A random fun hypothesis by Paul Staments (in my own words): that the neocortex in humans evolved the way it did, because hominids have been consuming Psilocybin mushrooms for millions of years (until Christians and Nixon banned them and pushed the rest of the world to follow). In other words: there's symbiosis between hominids and Psilocybin mushrooms. Psilocybin mushrooms as food = more intelligent hominids (after the trip) = higher survival rate of hominids = higher survival rate for the mushroom due to active conservation by hominids.
Fun fact (according to Staments): Psilocybin mushrooms occur in higher concentrations around human settlements than in "wild nature" (still today).
No bible but mere history and tradition. That's where the original 'intent' came from.
>why should anybody care?
You shouldn't. This is just a comment on a certain kind of people that likely won't have any effect on them and that they are free to ignore.
Cool theory though. Do you have some links to dig into it? Also could it have applied to other naturally-occuring psychedelics (salvia divinorum, mescaline cacti, etc.)?
On the other hand, imagine a world where I don't have to make this tradeoff.
Dear HN, this person's got it. Hacker ethic is about finding the hidden ways in things, it's about not letting the world tell you what to do, it's definitely not about playing monkey tricks for money treats. Also, being a hacker is about fun. Fun, interestingly, is like, what happens when you don't have to force/trick/"hack" yourself into doing something. It's pretty great. If you're forgoing it for more volume of code then, maybe consider talking to someone about your goals and fears? Introspection and the ears of well-meaning people can do wonders for productivity, since nothing will let you do things quite like doing the right thing.
Recreational drugs, on the other hand, have ruined millions of people lives. You are being disengenuous to suggest that they have a positive effect to most people.
Finally, no one "intended" drugs to be anything. They are simply tools that humans have discovered. It is ludicrous to suggest that they have specific intention.
>Recreational drugs, on the other hand, have ruined millions of people lives.
Yes all recreational drugs are opiates and physically addictive. People have been overdosing on mushrooms and LSD for decades before the government undertook heroic prohibition efforts. That's definitely what's happened.
>It is ludicrous to suggest that they have specific intention.
The original users did them with a specific intention. That's what is meant by the passive form of 'intended'. Of course I am not forbidding you to enhance your IQ with minute LSD microdosings so that you can perform better at your next hackathon, by all means feel free to change the world.
Just look at the microdosing community.
What kind of mind does it take to do something like that? And is it ok to repurpose drugs for productivity if you channel that energy into solving the worlds problems?