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Thank you for this comment! I suspect most people would do far worse than you in the mental exercise of explaining views they don't actually hold. As a conserva

Thank you for this comment! I suspect most people would do far worse than you in the mental exercise of explaining views they don't actually hold. As a conservative, "This scary pill out there that could make me give [strong values that I'm happy with] up, destroying what meaning my life had previously. It's not much consolation that I'd later self-report it as a positive change." summarizes my thoughts about MDMA perfectly.

starfallg 6y ago
If you generalise this, it sums up the difference between the mindsets perfectly. Conservatives aren't scared of change, they're scared that they themselves, and others around them, would come to fully accept it. The fear is that this completely invalidates their current worldview rendering existence meaningless. It's the fear of being wrong about life on an emotional level.
- saithound 6y ago
  So a non-conservative, not having these fears, would willingly take the serial killer pill discussed above.
  - starfallg 6y ago
    No, they won't too but for different reasons (instead of the fear of being wrong).
    - saithound 6y ago
      If your mental model of conservatives says that they would not take the serial killer pill because they fear being wrong about serial killers, then I don't think it's a particularly good model.
      - starfallg 6y ago
        Hence the reason why that's not a contentious topic in politics. It's only applying to current political charged issues.
Malician 6y ago
I think the scariest thing about MDMA is that it's not really the pill that can do that, the pill is just a shortcut to the type of high-intensity scenario in your brain which can lead to that sort of change. There are plenty of both good and bad other scenarios that could lead to a similar result. Falling in love, meditation, near-death experiences. Where does your brain go when you take the bumpers off? I think the biggest problem with how many people see MDMA and psychedelics is uncritically accepting the first things that come to mind after taking them, that feel oh-so-true, or that they "give" you insight. It's still you, you're not God, you just have a whole lot more feelings for a bit. (But, depending on what walls you have up intellectually or emotionally, having those feelings take them down for a bit can be very productive.)

starfallg 6y ago

If you generalise this, it sums up the difference between the mindsets perfectly. Conservatives aren't scared of change, they're scared that they themselves, and others around them, would come to fully accept it. The fear is that this completely invalidates their current worldview rendering existence meaningless. It's the fear of being wrong about life on an emotional level.

saithound 6y ago
So a non-conservative, not having these fears, would willingly take the serial killer pill discussed above.
- starfallg 6y ago
  No, they won't too but for different reasons (instead of the fear of being wrong).
  - saithound 6y ago
    If your mental model of conservatives says that they would not take the serial killer pill because they fear being wrong about serial killers, then I don't think it's a particularly good model.
    - starfallg 6y ago
      Hence the reason why that's not a contentious topic in politics. It's only applying to current political charged issues.

Malician 6y ago

I think the scariest thing about MDMA is that it's not really the pill that can do that, the pill is just a shortcut to the type of high-intensity scenario in your brain which can lead to that sort of change. There are plenty of both good and bad other scenarios that could lead to a similar result. Falling in love, meditation, near-death experiences. Where does your brain go when you take the bumpers off? I think the biggest problem with how many people see MDMA and psychedelics is uncritically accepting the first things that come to mind after taking them, that feel oh-so-true, or that they "give" you insight. It's still you, you're not God, you just have a whole lot more feelings for a bit. (But, depending on what walls you have up intellectually or emotionally, having those feelings take them down for a bit can be very productive.)