The difference between Scientific Awe and LSD hallucinations?
Um okay. Lots of subjectivity here of course.
Scientific Awe is a pleasure of epiphany, of real understanding, of seeing how things fit, while LSD’s awe is (for me at least) combined with a whole bunch of confusion and strangeness. It feels more intense, that yes! I grok it! is greater, and yet I’m never quite sure what it is that I grok. Explaining it into a Dictaphone just produces lots of rambling nonsense about unity and the connection of all things, including ideas, to each other.
The LSD thing will give you more ooomph, more intensity and certainty, as opposed to actual genuine scientific understanding which is of course always tempered by the other questions that understanding tends to bring up. You understand X but then that leads to the question “but why does X work that way?”
LSD is more emotional, more intense, and probably gives the “oh my god” response more, it’s more surprising, more sudden, more physical. It isn’t so tempered with new questions, perhaps because it doesn’t actually explain anything, so the feeling that it’s complete is perhaps the advantage. It leaves you feeling sated rather than curious.
Or did you mean the difference between LSD hallucinations and DMT hallucinations?
DMT is much sorter, minutes rather than hours, the bending of time and space in the visual field less intense, but the subjective feeling of understanding (I think false understanding, but it’s hard to remember that at the time) is much larger.
Probably LSD has made me say “oh my god” more often than DMT, if only coz I’ve done LSD so many more times and it lasts so much longer. Though DMT has thrown more friends off of the path, and onto that sated pan-theism they seem to indulge in.
Sex probably makes me actually say “oh my god” most, but there’s certain amounts of communication required during sex that isn’t needed when you’re tripping ;)
(EDIT: I wrote a bit about what LSD taught me a few years ago elsewhere FWIW. Most of it I still agree with, though I hope I’d write it better now.)
Thanks. Yes, sex is awesome too—but we can’t just count the OMGs there—because of signalling. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone claim that scientific awe is as awesome as the awe of love and sex.
Heh. Yeah, only two hits on google] for ‘science is better than sex’.
I certainly have seen folks claim that LSD is better than sex of course. I’ve even been one of them at times. They’re different enough that ‘better’ changes a lot in context though. Better for what? Certainly sex if better if you only have 90 minutes. LSD’s more mind expanding though.
If I had to give one of them up, I’d give up LSD.
If I had to pick one to have NEVER DONE, I’d pick sex.
Care to quantify the difference—on a scale of awesomeness? Which made you say “oh my god!” more—and how much more often?
The difference between Scientific Awe and LSD hallucinations?
Um okay. Lots of subjectivity here of course.
Scientific Awe is a pleasure of epiphany, of real understanding, of seeing how things fit, while LSD’s awe is (for me at least) combined with a whole bunch of confusion and strangeness. It feels more intense, that yes! I grok it! is greater, and yet I’m never quite sure what it is that I grok. Explaining it into a Dictaphone just produces lots of rambling nonsense about unity and the connection of all things, including ideas, to each other.
The LSD thing will give you more ooomph, more intensity and certainty, as opposed to actual genuine scientific understanding which is of course always tempered by the other questions that understanding tends to bring up. You understand X but then that leads to the question “but why does X work that way?”
LSD is more emotional, more intense, and probably gives the “oh my god” response more, it’s more surprising, more sudden, more physical. It isn’t so tempered with new questions, perhaps because it doesn’t actually explain anything, so the feeling that it’s complete is perhaps the advantage. It leaves you feeling sated rather than curious.
Or did you mean the difference between LSD hallucinations and DMT hallucinations?
DMT is much sorter, minutes rather than hours, the bending of time and space in the visual field less intense, but the subjective feeling of understanding (I think false understanding, but it’s hard to remember that at the time) is much larger.
Probably LSD has made me say “oh my god” more often than DMT, if only coz I’ve done LSD so many more times and it lasts so much longer. Though DMT has thrown more friends off of the path, and onto that sated pan-theism they seem to indulge in.
Sex probably makes me actually say “oh my god” most, but there’s certain amounts of communication required during sex that isn’t needed when you’re tripping ;)
(EDIT: I wrote a bit about what LSD taught me a few years ago elsewhere FWIW. Most of it I still agree with, though I hope I’d write it better now.)
Thanks. Yes, sex is awesome too—but we can’t just count the OMGs there—because of signalling. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone claim that scientific awe is as awesome as the awe of love and sex.
Heh. Yeah, only two hits on google] for ‘science is better than sex’.
I certainly have seen folks claim that LSD is better than sex of course. I’ve even been one of them at times. They’re different enough that ‘better’ changes a lot in context though. Better for what? Certainly sex if better if you only have 90 minutes. LSD’s more mind expanding though.
If I had to give one of them up, I’d give up LSD. If I had to pick one to have NEVER DONE, I’d pick sex.
On the other hand...