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Comment by dleslie | Hacker News Reader

I have kids, and I have family and friends who imbibe psychedelics. I have not imbibed such, but having observed their behaviour...

My mother-in-law high on psylocibin paints pictures in a manner not too dissimilar to how my toddlers approach it. The things they say, the way they use colour, the concepts being expressed, and how it becomes play...

Make of that what you will.

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If your mother-in-law is a professional artist, then I'd say this is interesting. If not, then she is just a novice like most people, and is having fun discovering the world of art, from the viewpoint that she discontinued it from childhood, when most kids give up drawing because their brains are frustrated with reconciling their drawings with the world around them which has correct perspective. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

This comment seems to me to be incredibly condescending and implies that a professional artist (whatever that definition is) cannot have fun making new discoveries for themselves in the world of art.

I am sorry that you are only interested in the professional artists on psychedelics; I think looking at its effect on all artists novice or otherwise is interesting.

Well, this comment seems incredibly condescending to me. You're not 'sorry', and I can't see the implication you suggest at all. Please allow people to freely be interested in what they're interested in.

I am fine with people being interested in whatever pleases them, so long as they aren't being mean to others about it.

Granted, a sibling comment to yours made me see how the person I responded to could formulate a reasonable argument. Whereas previously I could only see bourgeois academic snobbery. So, like you, I thought there was only one way to interpret it. But now, I have been enlightened.

I am indeed sorry.

"So, like you, I thought there was only one way to interpret it." Wow. All I hear from you is condescending snark. Just letting you know, it's pretty toxic.

I see, I am sorry. I was attempting to build a bridge, but put a foot in my mouth instead.

Yours is not a very charitable reading. I think gp is just pointing out that a lot of people "give up" on art at a young age, so a regression to childish tendencies when it comes to art and psychedelics may not imply such a regression generally. It would be interesting if the subject was a professional artist with many years of training and technique, because then to throw this all away to "do art as a three year old might" is much more indicative of the claim that psychedelics induce child-like behavior, which is the main point of discussion in this thread.

Yes I suppose it wasn't. I am sorry. I can see now this argument, which seems reasonable. I had mistakenly read the previous message as complete belittlement.

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