4 ms·
> Now, three completely independent cultures have reported the same specific type of hallucination, and two cases are attributed to the same DNA-verified mushro
by culi 2mo ago
> Now, three completely independent cultures have reported the same specific type of hallucination, and two cases are attributed to the same DNA-verified mushroom species. That indicates that these bizarre psychological effects aren't cultural manifestations or coincidences—they must have a shared underlying chemical and neurological basis.
Rubroboletus sinicus is another species under investigation. Another bolete.
The Chinese Daoist Ge Hong also wrote in Baopuzi around 300 CE about this effect from a mushroom and it seems to be common knowledge in pockets of China. Mushrooms that have this effect are collectively called xiǎo rén rén.
I also found this bit funny from the Wikipedia:
> In 2023, Lanmaoa asiatica received international media attention after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was reported to have eaten a dish that contained it during an official visit to China. Yellen stated that the dish had been thoroughly cooked, and she experienced no ill effects (hallucinations).
- account42 2mo ago> Mushrooms that have this effect are collectively called xiǎo rén rén. "Little people people" or does the second rén have a different meaning here?
- eloisius 2mo agoThe effect of reduplicating is to make it diminutive. It like adding -ito to the end of a Spanish noun.
- plucas 2mo agoAre you sure? I thought that's what "xiǎo" was doing here, with "rén" being repeated meaning "everyone".
- eloisius 2mo agoI would defer to a native speaker, but Chinese is extremely contextual, and even native speakers often can’t tell you the formal rules of usage for something like this. There’s a lot more listening to register and intuiting intent required than with English. The same phrase used in different way can have a different function. In this usage it does not sound like plural “people” to my ears. You can say something like 「你看！可愛的狗狗」 and it’s “look! A cute doggy” (reduplicating 狗 gǒu). On the other hand you could say 「人人都知道她是小三！」 and it means “everybody knows that she’s (his) mistress!” (reduplicating 人 rén).
- z2 2mo agoI think this first example is spot on. Though a sibling comment's Wikipedia link doesn't mention it, there is a diminutive or hypocorism use that I feel is best translated into English with the -y or -ie suffix. 狗狗 doggy 猫猫 kitty 鸟鸟 birdie 宝宝 baby And it kind of works for verbs too: 看看 [take a] looky
- eloisius 2mo agoYeah, I'm not sure what's going on with that Wikipedia page. > Reduplication is sometimes employed in verbs and adjectives to enhance the effect of them. > 胖胖的 pàng pàng de ('quite fat') from 胖 pàng ('fat') This is the exact opposite of how I'd understand it. Saying someone is 胖 is just calling them fat (rude), but 胖胖的 is teasing, cute, chubby, etc.
- throwaway_7274 2mo ago> teasing, cute, chubby, etc. gordito
- Eloissssss 2mo agoThe usual Chinese expression to describe the mushroom hallucinations is 见小人 (jiàn xiǎo rén), literally “see tiny people.” Usually there isn't a second 人 (rén) being reduplicated here. 人人 does mean “everyone,” but that's a different construction, and Chinese noun reduplication isn't generally equivalent to adding Spanish -ito. You may also see 小人儿 (xiǎo rénr), where 儿 is a colloquial/diminutive suffix.
- zarzavat 2mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication#Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduplication#Chinese
- doginasuit 2mo agoMaybe they are not just little but socially oriented (i.e., a people person).
- not_a_bot_4sho 2mo agoI see you got some answers already but I'll tell you plainly it make it cute. Like 'mei' means girl but "mei mei" means cute/precious little girl. 'Go' means dog, "go go" means a cute little dog. And so on.
- bossyTeacher 2mo agoIt's funny how the Wikipedia article call hallucinations "ill effects". I am yet to hear people call caffeine effects "ill effects". People and their sociocultural biases, uh?
- awestroke 2mo agoThe large majority of people want absolutely nothing to do with hallucinations
- cactusplant7374 2mo agoThe religious will love them if they arrive naturally. There are even a few studies that administered psilocybin to religious professionals. They described it as the most profound experience of their life.
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- yvan-eht-nioj 2mo agoIs this the same majority of people who seem happy for social media companies to shape their realities?
- awestroke 2mo agoImagine a person who does not want social media companies to shape their reality, yet does not want their perception of reality to be compromised by hallucinations. Or perhaps you would be fine with being snuck LSD on your way to work, or court, or picking up your kids from kindergarten? Most people do not seek out hallucinations
- clarionbell 2mo agoSeeing things that don't exist is generally detrimental to your short term survival.
- 2mo ago