commitment to the material in that depth is not the product of drugs
> Getting hit on the head
Well - there are recorded cases of brain damage unlocking abilities and aptitudes (albeit with great rarity). So probably not recommended.
But rest assured, psychedelics are less painful, cause less damage and have a higher probability of beneficial effects.
If you think drinking alcohol or taking cocaine has the same mental effects as psychedelics, then, I guess all I can say is don't talk about what you don't know.
Hofstadter doesn't own thinking about consciousness, thinking deeply, or thinking philosophically. As a matter of fact these sorts of things, to many people - many more than who have even heard of Hofstadter - associate them with psychedelics. So it's not unreasonable, it's not an insult, to think Hofstadter going pretty deeply into questions of meaning, putting mind-bending Escher works in his book, referring to the person that wrote GEB as different from Hofstadter himself, etc... is psychedelic. These are things that most people find eccentric, and what psychedelic users find psychedelic.
The only way I could find insult in such comparisons is if I felt psychedelics themselves were morally inferior or insulting. I would examine that.
So from my point of view, it devolved into flamebait the moment you said comparing GEB to psychedelics is insulting. Because to me, it makes sense on a lot of personal levels.
As I've said in another comment. If you think drinking alcohol and taking psychedelics have similar mental effects. Then I suggest you stop talking about what you don't know.
I did not struggle with 'looking behind the curtain' while reading GEB, nor did I find the concepts silly - I was rapt with curiosity the whole reading and came to many profound conclusions about the book and it's ideas - and I was not on LSD. Whatever helps you personally understand the world in a more meaningful light is wonderful, but it certainly was not needed for me and I doubt (based on what I know about the author) it was needed for him when writing this book.
What I find insulting is saying that calling GEB trippy is an insult. It's genuinely trippy and there's nothing wrong with that.
Because it is. And your trying to move the goalposts after the fact is just digging that hole deeper.
The suggestion that Hofstadter has tripped isn't insulting because GEB is a trippy book. Even if it weren't it wouldn't be insulting, only confusing, unless you think that trippy is a bad quality. Examine that.
GEB is whimsical, fun and mind-bending. If it were written any other way it wouldn't be trippy. There is nothing wrong with that.
At risk of asking a leading question: is it some idea that deep truth should come from reason rather than the noise and chaos of psychedelics? (I don't do them myself, but hold them in very high regard as a force in the world)
It's true that many people feel a deep connection to and understanding of consciousness during a psychedelics trip. Did they actually gain any knowledge about how their own brains work in the same way that a neuroscientist or ML expert might understand it? I contend that they did not, even if they feel that they did.
In a similar way a drunk might suddenly feel that he has the ability to dance. That's hardly a replacement for salsa classes.
Of course there are exceptions. Many brilliant people take psychedelics and credit them with breakthroughs in their fields, that can't be ignored. But you'll notice that its always _in their field_, ie they were already thinking about a problem and psychedelics offered them a new perspective.
i might feel a bit differently, but I think I hear where you're coming from: that it does a disservice to great people when we flippantly imply their greatness originates from simplistic things outside themselves (if I'm still way off, feel free to correct, but pls don't feel obligated to engage :) )
There are several famous mathematicians known for their avid use of amphetamines.
You think this is saying drugs sometimes lead to commitment? It sure reads like an absolute statement to me.