5 ms·

Consider it a neurochemical hack that reliably induces certain perceptual shifts. Those shifts in turn can help stabilize various emotional disequilibria. Does

• meowface 9y ago
  The parent post was answering a difficult question with nothing other than their personal feeling about it. They have absolutely no evidence that it wouldn't have the same anti-depressant effects if someone was unconscious during their trip.
  • _jal 9y ago
    I absolutely agree with everything you said. I still find it to be a valid accounting of their own internal observations; the fact that it is subjective and not subject to external validation doesn't mean it is useless, it just means you're not extracting particular results from it that you apparently desire. There are ways of knowing things that cannot be externally validated. That doesn't mean you can't study them within the four corners of the scientific method; we study pain, depression and lots of other things that take place in the head, too, and a big part of the input is "feelings". But even without scientific rigor, we can know things. I don't need a study to know when to eat, and I know I've undergone perceptual shifts for various reasons. Since I'm not leading a policy crusade for legalization, a PR campaign to change public perception of legalization or a company that just really wants to sell mushrooms, I don't need more certainty. TL;DR: there are different ways of knowing things that are good for different purposes.