This is your mind on plants - Michael Pollen
Summary
- Pollan discusses 3 mind-altering plant products: opium, caffeine and mescaline from the poppy, coffee and mescaline cactus respectively. Part is scientific - what makes these plants do what they do? But part is also political and how governments (especially the USA government) have dealt with mind altering plants.
How I discovered it
- I read Michael Pollens other books about nutrition and food and really enjoyed them.
How the book changed me
- This made me realy think about why Jehovah created certain plants that have mind-altering side effects. Are we using them wrong? We use caffeine all the time - is that what He had in mind for coffee? and how about the poppy plant? Why do we say coffee is ok, but opium is not?
Details
- Caffeine saves us from withdrawal symptoms
- NASA experiments determine that Spiders on caffeine make weird webs
- London coffeehouses eventually become institutions
- The exotic idea of drinking hot beverages reduced disease
- Honore de Balzac was dependent on caffeine for his creative output
- Caffeine improves cognitive output
- Spotlight consciousness vs lantern consciousness