‘Psychedelic’ derives from the Greek words for ‘mind manifesting’
At least twice over the last few years, I’ve been chatting with a tech exec who casually mentions that they microdose (psychedelics, usually). I’ve never done it, but those who have claim it enhances their creativity and dissolves the boundary between body and mind. (“Psychedelic” derives from the Greek words for “mind manifesting.”)
Elon Musk reportedly microdoses ketamine, ecstasy and LSD to manage depression. Former Google president Sergey Brin microdoses psilocybin. Tech conferences regularly feature at least some level of recreational drug use, or at least people referring to recreational drug use. A survey of 500 tech leaders last year suggests many of them are doing it to escape the stress of an industry in turmoil. (Tech layoffs, anyone? I’m pretty sure there’s a connection.)
But what is microdosing actually like? On Medium a few years back, a software engineer and chronic illness sufferer described how one year of microdosing psilocybin helped her overcome a lifelong fear of public speaking. She dives deep into the science of brain plasticity and published a curious beginner’s guide for anyone contemplating trying it for the first time. I’m reminded of this slightly different use case (more macro than micro-dosing): A 75-year-old embarks on a mushroom-assisted spiritual journey, writing “I speak to my younger brother, gone 14 months. I forgive my parents for everything.”
What are your experiences with psychedelics, if any? Anything notable? If so, I encourage you to write about it on Medium.
From the archive
Eight years ago, future Medium product director Buster Benson shared a comprehensive list of 175 cognitive biases, or hidden flaws in the way humans think. Over 1.7 million people shared the list, which eventually became a book titled Why Are We Yelling? The Art of Productive Disagreement. (Here’s Benson’s talk at Google about how to disagree.) One highlight:
We favor options that appear simple or that have more complete information over more complex, ambiguous options. We’d rather do the quick, simple thing than the important complicated thing, even if the important complicated thing is ultimately a better use of time and energy. See: Ambiguity bias, Information bias, Belief bias, Rhyme as reason effect, Bike-shedding effect, Law of Triviality, Delmore effect, Conjunction fallacy, Occam’s razor, Less-is-better effect, Sapir-Whorf-Korzybski hypothesis
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Written by Harris Sockel
Edited and produced by Scott Lamb & Carly Rose Gillis
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