3 ms·

We hear a lot of psilocybine lately, it cures altsheimer, people in coma awake miraculously. As long as we do not understand the workings, it reminds me of the

We hear a lot of psilocybine lately, it cures altsheimer, people in coma awake miraculously. As long as we do not understand the workings, it reminds me of the days when radium or other nuclear substances were the cure for everything.

inigyou 2mo ago
It's a drug that makes your neurons more susceptible to forming new connections. Of course it's going to be useful for a lot of brain treatment. In addition, it's highly illegal which means these things didn't get found out a lot sooner.
- exhumet 2mo ago
  upside is that in most states you can just go buy the spores and they just so happen to conveniently have spawn bags right nearby. BUT DONT EVER COMBINE THE TWO AND WAIT A FEW MONTHS
  - Denatonium 2mo ago
    Here on the east coast, you can just wait until May comes around and it rains a couple days in a row. Then, you can just go for a walk by your local river/creek and wade through the seas of Japanese knotweed, lesser celandine, and box elder maple while looking for mushrooms growing out of the wet woody debris. Between them and nearby mulch beds, SWIM has allegedly found psilocybe ovoideocystidiata pretty consistently for the past several years, in Minecraft. Just don't try and take any shortcuts with the identification. It's better to throw out questionable specimens than risk needing a liver transplant.
    - exhumet 2mo ago
      thats awesome, also on the east coast but northeast so nothing of note besides the nice fall weather to help cause a flush if they just so happen to get the process started this year... or something, not like id know
Cthulhu_ 2mo ago
We don't fully understand the workings because it is (was?) classified as a drug, making research into it a lot more complicated. Thankfully there are charities and organizations that lobbied to make it more researchable.
- cachius 2mo ago
  Funny how 'drug' in English is a homonym for at the same time bad recreational substance and good one to cure illness. In German it's Droge and Medikament
  - cachius 2mo ago
    TIL I learned about Janus words that have two opposite meanings depending on context, also known as contronyms or auto-antonyms: Cleave: To split apart ('cleave the wood') or to adhere closely ('cleave to one's principles') Sanction: To give official permission/approval or to impose a penalty/ban Oversight: Watchful supervision or an unintentional mistake/omission Dust: To remove fine particles ('dust the shelf') or to sprinkle them on ('dust the cake with sugar') Bolt: To secure firmly in place or to run away suddenly Clip: To fasten together ('clip the papers') or to cut off ('clip the coupon') Fast: Moving quickly or fixed firmly in place ('stuck fast') Left: Departed (verb) or remaining (adjective) Screen: To display/show ('screen a movie') or to hide/conceal Weather: To withstand or endure ('weather the storm') or to wear away/deteriorate over time Peruse: To read carefully and thoroughly or to skim casually Trim: To decorate/adorn ('trim the tree') or to cut away excess ('trim the hedges') Rent: To pay for the use of something or to receive payment for allowing someone to use something Table: In British English, to propose for discussion; in American English, to postpone or remove from discussion
cachius 2mo ago
We hear a lot about LLMs lately, they solve reasoning, mimic empathy, and awaken consciousness miraculously. As long as we do not understand the workings of the mind and brain, it reminds me of the days when machine learning or Bitcoin were the cure for everything.
nathan_compton 2mo ago
I think the main difference is that radium was new and people have been using psychedelics forever.
- polymer8563 2mo ago
  Yeah exactly, such "comparison is my passion" vibes from parent comment given radium was not used for ritualistic practices for thousands of years before Radium was even discovered

inigyou 2mo ago

It's a drug that makes your neurons more susceptible to forming new connections. Of course it's going to be useful for a lot of brain treatment. In addition, it's highly illegal which means these things didn't get found out a lot sooner.

exhumet 2mo ago
upside is that in most states you can just go buy the spores and they just so happen to conveniently have spawn bags right nearby. BUT DONT EVER COMBINE THE TWO AND WAIT A FEW MONTHS
- Denatonium 2mo ago
  Here on the east coast, you can just wait until May comes around and it rains a couple days in a row. Then, you can just go for a walk by your local river/creek and wade through the seas of Japanese knotweed, lesser celandine, and box elder maple while looking for mushrooms growing out of the wet woody debris. Between them and nearby mulch beds, SWIM has allegedly found psilocybe ovoideocystidiata pretty consistently for the past several years, in Minecraft. Just don't try and take any shortcuts with the identification. It's better to throw out questionable specimens than risk needing a liver transplant.
  - exhumet 2mo ago
    thats awesome, also on the east coast but northeast so nothing of note besides the nice fall weather to help cause a flush if they just so happen to get the process started this year... or something, not like id know

Cthulhu_ 2mo ago

We don't fully understand the workings because it is (was?) classified as a drug, making research into it a lot more complicated. Thankfully there are charities and organizations that lobbied to make it more researchable.

cachius 2mo ago
Funny how 'drug' in English is a homonym for at the same time bad recreational substance and good one to cure illness. In German it's Droge and Medikament
- cachius 2mo ago
  TIL I learned about Janus words that have two opposite meanings depending on context, also known as contronyms or auto-antonyms: Cleave: To split apart ('cleave the wood') or to adhere closely ('cleave to one's principles') Sanction: To give official permission/approval or to impose a penalty/ban Oversight: Watchful supervision or an unintentional mistake/omission Dust: To remove fine particles ('dust the shelf') or to sprinkle them on ('dust the cake with sugar') Bolt: To secure firmly in place or to run away suddenly Clip: To fasten together ('clip the papers') or to cut off ('clip the coupon') Fast: Moving quickly or fixed firmly in place ('stuck fast') Left: Departed (verb) or remaining (adjective) Screen: To display/show ('screen a movie') or to hide/conceal Weather: To withstand or endure ('weather the storm') or to wear away/deteriorate over time Peruse: To read carefully and thoroughly or to skim casually Trim: To decorate/adorn ('trim the tree') or to cut away excess ('trim the hedges') Rent: To pay for the use of something or to receive payment for allowing someone to use something Table: In British English, to propose for discussion; in American English, to postpone or remove from discussion

cachius 2mo ago

We hear a lot about LLMs lately, they solve reasoning, mimic empathy, and awaken consciousness miraculously. As long as we do not understand the workings of the mind and brain, it reminds me of the days when machine learning or Bitcoin were the cure for everything.

nathan_compton 2mo ago

I think the main difference is that radium was new and people have been using psychedelics forever.

polymer8563 2mo ago
Yeah exactly, such "comparison is my passion" vibes from parent comment given radium was not used for ritualistic practices for thousands of years before Radium was even discovered