He talks about how remarkable it is that a fairly simple molecule such as mescaline can be so transformative to our subjective experience. So what happens when you tweak the molecule in various ways? What do the variations do, in turn? Can we find any rules that govern this relationship?
More generally, his idea is that if we want to study this thing we call “consciousness”—our subjective experience—then it’s useful to be able to twiddle the knobs a little, and these drugs potentially give us a way to do that. He sees himself as a tool-maker, developing experimental apparatus that other researchers ought to be able to use productively.
The Mystery of the Black Death—evidence that the Black Death wasn’t spread by rats (which weren’t common in northern Europe at that time) and wasn’t bubonic plague. It may have been some sort of hemorraghic fever.
This is of interest to ratioinalists because it’s about taking a second look at whether what everyone believes is actually plausible.
Is there a closure bias which favors just choosing a theory so as not to leave open questions?
Online Videos Thread
A one hour informal lecture by Alexander Shulgin, the chemist who invented most of the modern “psychedelic” and “entheogen” drugs
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z14oZqon5NM (others linked from youtube)
He talks about how remarkable it is that a fairly simple molecule such as mescaline can be so transformative to our subjective experience. So what happens when you tweak the molecule in various ways? What do the variations do, in turn? Can we find any rules that govern this relationship?
More generally, his idea is that if we want to study this thing we call “consciousness”—our subjective experience—then it’s useful to be able to twiddle the knobs a little, and these drugs potentially give us a way to do that. He sees himself as a tool-maker, developing experimental apparatus that other researchers ought to be able to use productively.
A very good suggestion!
For those who don’t know, Alexander Shulgin is one of the foremost figures in psychedelic drugs in the last century.
He discovered over 200 new psychedelic compounds himself and tested them on himself, his wife and a group of friends.
He worked at Dow and invented a “green” pesticide that allowed him to retire comfortably to work on his personal interests.
While he did not actually discover MDMA, it was due to his efforts that the drug was introduced to psychotherapists in the 70s and 80s.
Some of his books are banned in Australia.
He’s a true hacker—although the HN crowd might not agree.
The Mystery of the Black Death—evidence that the Black Death wasn’t spread by rats (which weren’t common in northern Europe at that time) and wasn’t bubonic plague. It may have been some sort of hemorraghic fever.
This is of interest to ratioinalists because it’s about taking a second look at whether what everyone believes is actually plausible.
Is there a closure bias which favors just choosing a theory so as not to leave open questions?
A previous post on LessWrong mentioned an online course on Google power searching. There is a recent Advanced course on offer as well.