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Turn On, Tune In, Write Code

Turn on, Tune in, Write Code

In the period between Hofmann’s 1943 eureka moment and the countercultural embrace of psychedelics, the CIA undertook its top-secret MKUltra project, under the auspices of which unsuspecting people were dosed with LSD to explore its utility for psychological warfare, brainwashing, and mind control, sometimes with tragic results. As Bateson argued in a memo written immediately after he heard the news from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the escalation of humanity’s destructive capacity was making the dangers of direct combat intolerable, meaning psychological warfare would come to play an even greater role in the future. As the trend of microdosing — calibrated to enable continued social and professional functioning while under the influence — makes clear, the drugs are now increasingly seen as an adjunct to everyday “square” existence, a means of coping with the pressures and demands of the status quo.

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