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Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

(angadh.com)
129 points surprisetalk | 6 comments | 17 Nov 25 14:57 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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earlyriser ◴[17 Nov 25 20:22 UTC] No.45957840[source]▶
I read champignons and it kind of fit even better. Adderall (Brave New World) and mushrooms (Island).
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brandall10 ◴[17 Nov 25 20:26 UTC] No.45957883[source]▶
Soma in BNW is more analogous to MDMA as it's about sedated pleasure, not mental clarity/performance.
replies(4): >>45958400 #>>45958782 #>>45960736 #>>45966806 #
gwbas1c ◴[17 Nov 25 21:15 UTC] No.45958400[source]▶
I seem to think marijuana is more about sedated pleasure than MDMA. Granted, it's been about 30 years since I read Brave New World.
replies(4): >>45958739 #>>45958881 #>>45959682 #>>45959974 #
mfro ◴[17 Nov 25 21:48 UTC] No.45958739[source]▶
I agree, soma definitely parallels weed much more closely, but I don't think it's a perfect match. Huxley imagines a drug a bit more insidious, without obviously negative side effects, and with somewhat unrealistic(imo) intended effects.
replies(1): >>45964537 #
1. lukan ◴[18 Nov 25 12:17 UTC] No.45964537[source]▶
Disagree. Weed is somewhat psychadelic ... and makes people enjoy the colors and not work so much. Soma made people numbless working with a feeling of glow. So I always understood it as antidepressant and moodlifter with some amphetamine compoments.
replies(1): >>45966673 #
2. ProllyInfamous ◴[18 Nov 25 14:35 UTC] No.45966673[source]▶
Weed isn't really psychedelic (it can be profound, and sometimes you'll get extra giggly...) but really it's more about being okay with the numbness.

It's also not really an antidepressant any more than it is an amphetamine (it's neither). Attempting to self-medicate in either direction is not beneficial, longer term.

If your marijuana usage carries you through such wide-ranging symptomology, that's on you homey [holds-back next pass to you]. It's okay to ask for help.

replies(2): >>45966745 #>>45967336 #
3. lukan ◴[18 Nov 25 14:40 UTC] No.45966745[source]▶
.. and it is on you, if you misread. I believe my writing was clear.

(Antidepressant was about "Soma", the Huxley fantasy drug)

replies(1): >>45981385 #
4. kakacik ◴[18 Nov 25 15:16 UTC] No.45967336[source]▶
> Weed isn't really psychedelic

Depends on mind, use, dose. I've had THC trips that were almost as strong as concentrated mushrooms can deliver on an empty stomach, seeing shit that wasn't, patterns, my mind was light years away, reality twisted. Almost as strong.

Didn't dance as a mist of atoms to shamanic music without any connection to my real 5 senses, but then again I hardly met mushroom user who did achieve that themselves.

replies(1): >>45992827 #
5. ProllyInfamous ◴[19 Nov 25 16:18 UTC] No.45981385{3}[source]▶
' " ` A soma in time saves nine ` " '
6. ProllyInfamous ◴[20 Nov 25 14:20 UTC] No.45992827{3}[source]▶
I agree with you that even higher doses of psilocybin (several grams) isn't that psychedelic (rather interconnected, e.g.)... I don't have enough experience with LSD to exclude its visuals capability, but even its quintessential acid visuals I rarely hear described [as such].

...unlike DMT (recommended) or Salvia (not recommended) or mescaline (neutral), which even at low dosages are strikingly visual. I have only met devils with the latter two. Ketamine isn't exactly visual, but its dreaminess is angelic.