5th March 2007, 6:44 PM
(This post was last modified: 5th March 2007, 6:59 PM by Dark Jaguar.)
Touched a nerve I think! :D
"Altering conciousness", right. The brain is malfunctioning as you are applying doses you aren't even properly measuring out, nor do you know the actual effect it may produce. No scientific rigor is being applied in this attempt to mess with your BRAIN, the very seat of what makes you you. That's what makes it more childish. I'm sure you are feeling some odd emotions as parts of your brain are triggered to fire in an uncontrolled manner, including the inhibition center of your brain, but this isn't some path to "other ways of knowing", because only empiricism works.
No offense intended really. Honestly, if you want to do certain things to your body, so long as you stay inside and don't operate heavy machinery while the chemicals are in effect, it's fine I suppose. However, when someone goes as far as to suggest completely baseless assertions about it being a path to enlightenment or the key to some weird awareness, or other woo nonsense, that's when I remember that all scientific evidence has shown is that people just sit around with overactive imaginations and certain parts of the brain, such as the sections that allow us to categorize the world around us and mentally create concepts like distinct objects vanish, so you get vapid statements like "I am you, we are all part of everything and it's all seamless MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *cough* AAAAAAAN". It's just a chemical rush, nothing more.
And here's a gem, "don't knock it until you've tried it". Well I can collect sufficient evidence WITHOUT actually trying something to conclude I want no part of it. This is obviously not the same thing, and I in no way am attempting to say that it is as bad or in the same category, but for the purposes of this analogy it works: I can determine just fine from empirical observation the effects of having an arm removed to conclude that I don't want to have anything to do with it. I need not try it to find out if it is "right for me" or whatever nonsense they pass off as "empowerment of the individual" in commercials these days.
In short I'm a cynical bitter shell of a human being who's heart has turned to black coal long ago. Except I'm not and in general am pretty happy go lucky carefree. It's just that things like that anger up the blood for me, in the same way the odd drug law does so for you.
I'll at least note that drug control is certainly a fairly recent development in American history. From the history I've seen and read, it was due to problems with really hard stuff being abused by "Pop" sitting on top of his "His" bed on the other end of the room from his wife using one of those solid metal massive syrenges. It started really causing problems and to prevent an epidemic, laws got passed.
As for what it SHOULD be, well, I just don't care enough to actually give an opinion here. I don't give it much thought and honestly you don't seem to be hindered by it, going by what you are saying.
"Altering conciousness", right. The brain is malfunctioning as you are applying doses you aren't even properly measuring out, nor do you know the actual effect it may produce. No scientific rigor is being applied in this attempt to mess with your BRAIN, the very seat of what makes you you. That's what makes it more childish. I'm sure you are feeling some odd emotions as parts of your brain are triggered to fire in an uncontrolled manner, including the inhibition center of your brain, but this isn't some path to "other ways of knowing", because only empiricism works.
No offense intended really. Honestly, if you want to do certain things to your body, so long as you stay inside and don't operate heavy machinery while the chemicals are in effect, it's fine I suppose. However, when someone goes as far as to suggest completely baseless assertions about it being a path to enlightenment or the key to some weird awareness, or other woo nonsense, that's when I remember that all scientific evidence has shown is that people just sit around with overactive imaginations and certain parts of the brain, such as the sections that allow us to categorize the world around us and mentally create concepts like distinct objects vanish, so you get vapid statements like "I am you, we are all part of everything and it's all seamless MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA *cough* AAAAAAAN". It's just a chemical rush, nothing more.
And here's a gem, "don't knock it until you've tried it". Well I can collect sufficient evidence WITHOUT actually trying something to conclude I want no part of it. This is obviously not the same thing, and I in no way am attempting to say that it is as bad or in the same category, but for the purposes of this analogy it works: I can determine just fine from empirical observation the effects of having an arm removed to conclude that I don't want to have anything to do with it. I need not try it to find out if it is "right for me" or whatever nonsense they pass off as "empowerment of the individual" in commercials these days.
In short I'm a cynical bitter shell of a human being who's heart has turned to black coal long ago. Except I'm not and in general am pretty happy go lucky carefree. It's just that things like that anger up the blood for me, in the same way the odd drug law does so for you.
I'll at least note that drug control is certainly a fairly recent development in American history. From the history I've seen and read, it was due to problems with really hard stuff being abused by "Pop" sitting on top of his "His" bed on the other end of the room from his wife using one of those solid metal massive syrenges. It started really causing problems and to prevent an epidemic, laws got passed.
As for what it SHOULD be, well, I just don't care enough to actually give an opinion here. I don't give it much thought and honestly you don't seem to be hindered by it, going by what you are saying.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)