by mentalpyro in Psychedelics, Psychedelics and Society, Psychedelics and the Universe, Psychedelics and You Tags: James Kent, Psychedelic Information Theory, Quantum Bullshit

For a glorious while in the mid-20th century, psychedelic research was exploding. It was the future of psychology. Papers and books were rife with new and incredible information. Sadly the party was not to last, and psychedelics fell into research obscurity and social criminality. But by the end of the 80’s, a “psychedelic renaissance” had begun. In the early 90’s (some) restrictions were lifted, making it easier to obtain materials and sanctions, and new research was popping up here and there.

Culturally, however, there was still the lingering background of disdain for drugs, as well as a New Age grasp within psychedelic groups. Heroes of the psychedelic movement were fond of mythologies surrounding their experiences, such as McKenna’s machine elves, or Strassman’s “Spirit Molecule.” Those wishing to explore the mind were often suckered into exploring flimsy worlds unrelated – UFOs, Spirit worlds, conspiracy theories, and of course gross misunderstandings of quantum mechanics. The rigor, optimism, and intellectuality that was destined to crown psychedelics as the lords of the psyche were gone – all that was left was a puddle of New Age beliefs that just so happened to be tied to people who took psychedelics. Sadly, the psychedelics were probably reinforcing these ideas.

Lo and behold, out from the depths of the Internet comes “Psychedelic Information Theory” (PIT) by James Kent, harkening back to the days when people who investigated psychedelics were scientists, not… well, anyone whose ever taken psychedelics. Kent hangs on to a keen sense of the possible whilst properly steering through scientifically alienating terminology and concepts (such as spirits, telepathy, etc). He does not debunk unless necessary; he incorporates phenomena that are too important to ignore, but too wacky to refer to with the terminology that they are best known by. It requires an open mind to read, but not one that’s blasted so wide that you’re covered in fish oil and bangles.

This book is a bit overwhelming at first. Linear, destabilized, oscillate, are words you will want to familiarize yourself with, among many others. Sure they are pretty straightforward on their own, but start throwing them all in the same sentence and you may rethink that position. There were some sentences that I had to read 5 or more times. Luckily, the material contained within those sentences was worth slogging through – many other books would have been shelved due to the semantic thickness.

Perhaps PIT’s greatest triumph is the question is asks. While most of us on psychedelics are asking grand “whys” of the universe, Kent steps back and ask “how?” “How are psychedelics doing this to our perception? How do shamanic rituals improve upon chemical methods?” I’ll spare you the details since the read is fascinating in and of itself, but the theory and speculation is remarkable. If any of it leads anywhere, and I’m sure it will, we will have nothing less than the psychedelic textbook. Future studies and theories will look to PIT for their foundation. I hope with every fiber of my being that there will be research into the notion of each psychedelic drug having unique attack-delay-sustain-release envelopes that imbue them with their unique “feel.” The implications for that could be vast in terms of steering your trip around.

Buy it, read it, love it. Half a century had to go by for a book to be worthy of joining its psychedelic predecessors. When you are done check out DoseNation, a blog-type-deal that Kent co-edits.