71–80 of 136 posts
All of his books are highly recommended -- and the further you get away from the ones about dolphins the better.
In case it wasn't obvious from the rest of the writing, 'with K' here means 'with ketamine'. Never tried it, but after reading this I must say it sounds fun.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read Lilly's Programming and Meta programming in the Human Biocomputer as a young man. Left me with a lot of questions, etc. That you replied to this post, indicates you may be familiar with Lilly? Anyway, if you have any published writing on even vaguely related subjects, eg your comment, perhaps post a link. I will read it. If you weren't aware, he spent a fair amount of time with Feynman, who if I remember corre…
I still need to finish that book.[0] Well, and move back to Holland, I suppose! They have pretty good float tanks there, among other things :) That's funny about Feynman, I didn't know that. I've read bits and pieces of Lilly. The most interesting thing I remember is that he was trying to establish two-way communication between humans and dolphins. I recall he was building some kind of computer system for the purpose…
On the simulation question... Not much, but we have a long way to go before any answers arise there. I could offer my insight on the subject, but aside from being sicker than usual today, it's a tough subject to speculate on and the environment here is not necessarily hospitable, so I'll just say fair question.
Well, it's unorthodox, but if we're sharing psychedelic visions... in 2018 I saw all of mankind marching together in perfect lockstep, atop an infinite uniform grey plane, to the beat of a central computer clock. "They are going to offer you a chip. You tell them, no thank you!" --- More broadly this strikes me as a new era of biology. (Genes -> Memes -> Temes) Straightforwardly then, we should aim for a symbiosis. (…
I read Lilly's Programming and Meta programming in the Human Biocomputer as a young man. Left me with a lot of questions, etc. That you replied to this post, indicates you may be familiar with Lilly? Anyway, if you have any published writing on even vaguely related subjects, eg your comment, perhaps post a link. I will read it. If you weren't aware, he spent a fair amount of time with Feynman, who if I remember corre…
And he was not an Ayrab (Salmon in his intro CS book claims Al-Khuarezmi was an Arabic scholar--which is false and made me lose all respect for Salmon as an educator. If he got such an elementary fact wrong, what else is there that could be incomplete?)
PS: Yes Alkhuarezmi wrote in Arabic, but he was not an Arab. All classical Persian scholars at the time were fluent in Arabic as it was the lingua franca of science, medicine, philosophy and theology.
John C. Lilly once said “there are infinities in the mind” while wearing a raccoon hat like Davy Crocket. He said it like he’s been somewhere! I’ve tried to all - I guess DMT, mushroom, etc. don’t work on me in a Terence McKenna storytelling fashion (I only get stoned and have very entertaining closed eye visuals that take me off to sleep). That said haven’t tried Ketamine. Maybe not for me. Same reason I don’t want…
I tried alcohol, DXM (cough syrup), codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone before I ever took my first puff of marijuana. I don't like smoke so I was very off put by it. Finally tried it when I was 16 or 17 and I remember it being really cool, like how music sounded, but overall was kind of underwhelmed. Strangely, as the years went on, I have grown much more sensitive to THC. I don't like the headspace it gets me in an…
I think it's because our society legalized and even promotes the strongest substances of them all, so THC seems very subtle in comparison to something like caffeine and alcohol which is arguably the most potent psychedelic inebriant known delivering loss of motor control, at high doses total loss of consciousness, completely altered vision and decision-making to the point you can't operate machinery or do basic tasks. It has hypnogogic effects that show you closed-eye visuals and make you sleepy. Kinda funny how alcohol is the most accepted "drug", to the point it isn't even called one - yet its effects are as intense and socially disruptive as the hardest drugs available.
Coffee, also. The effects of C. arabica is like a very strong version of the A. muscaria mushroom. We have cultivated it to be insanely potent over the centuries. Coffee is about the most potent and euphoric stimulant I can consume without it feeling like it's taking over and ruining my identity - like you get with a lot of pharmacological concoctions.
> the way high strength marijuana or an edible does
Yeah, I don't think it's great for every personality type. It's a "value-changing" drug that will change your opinions on things, and make you think about personal things in ways you would naturally avoid (sometimes to your benefit). I'm no psychologist but THC is powerful enough to change you enough that you can lose friends, family, and interests - but you may gain some new ones, or realize that you're better off without those things. At any rate, it's a very psychological drug that makes you re-order your life. Some people don't need it. If you don't, probably better off without it (not medical advice! just some guy's rant).
> salvia
I'll share my experience with it, because it's perhaps the most mis-marketed thing out there. My experience with the dried leaf (1x - just the real whole leaves you get at those hippie crystal type shops) is nothing whatsoever like people have described. I had 0 trips or any "high". The experience to me is an intense form of focus, as if nothing can distract you. It's subtle, but you can lock into work like crazy if you put this in a pour-over coffee. The best way I would describe it is you quickly "forget" or "let go" of unwanted thoughts, effortlessly, and it helps you focus. It's not euphoric in the slightest - so I think people miss this very useful effect. It's zen. Clear and focused. It might compete with ADHD medication, so maybe it's not promoted very much since it may be a market threat. That's the effect though IMO. Think - coffee high without the high. 10x, 25x salvia gets "weird" only because it's too much at once. I think if you "turned that effect up" to the max it would be like having dementia, because you would not be able to hold onto anything. But turn that effect back down to 1x and you have something quite useful for focused work. I compare it to A. muscaria, coffee, or tea, but it's "lighter" (and more efficient) than caffeine.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I expect it would take them all, but Earth is by far the easiest for it to start with. I don't see why it would leave anything for us unless we'd successfully instilled it with an interest in doing so, but that won't happen by mere chance and luck.
The SSE might consider to keep humanity around as a "backup" to reinstate itself in case something unexpected goes horribly wrong. For example, a strong solar flare might destroy the SSE (or at least critical parts of its infrastructure), or a non-earth SSE could feel threatened by the earth-SSE and wipe it out, while ignoring the harmless humans, who then rebuild the SSE. Diversity makes for more robust systems. And…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's great marketing and the only proof we have is 'trust me bro'. It is _terrible_ marketing. The AI companies are already dealing with a large backlash from the average consumer, many of whom are saying they hate it, that it's being forced down their throats, and that it's not actually improving efficiency enough to be worth the negative externalities. Telling people "We have no control over these things we're bu…
How exactly would the government ban training runs? Like how would that work? What would the legislation text look like? And how would it be enforceable without running afoul of the vagueness doctrine?