The Book Of THoTH

Hi everyone, hope you all like this one...

Everyone knows Francis Crick and James Watson were the Nobel-winning scientists who figured out the 3-dimensional structure of DNA... it exists as a double helix.
But what they didn't teach us in bio-chem, was that the "secret of life" was discovered while at least one of the scientists was high on LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

Francis Crick, who died in 2004 (88yrs old), admitted on his deathbed that he had been regularly taking small amounts of LSD when he arrived at the conclusion that DNA must exist as a double helix.

In the 50's, LSD was the greatest new "invention" in the scientific community; scientists were patting themselves on the back for having created it, and it did not yet classify as illegal.

According to many sources, quite a few scientists at the time dosed themselves with LSD to try and get an edge and break through in their field.
One of these scientists was Francis Crick, who "saw" the double helix while in the drug-induced state.

An atheist, Francis Crick believed in intelligent design, and advocated the possibility of panspermian origins of Earth life.

[panspermia (n): the notion that micro-organisms and biochemicals can spread life throughout the universe]

Crick even suggested that ancient, intelligent aliens engineered the life we see on Earth today.

He started his scientific career in particle physics, but changed direction in the late 40's after reading Schrodinger's thoughts about how physics might apply to biology. After the mid-sixties, Crick turned his attention towards neuroscience, focusing on vision and dreaming.

Many scientific and artistic "revelations" have occurred while under the influence of drug, dream or trance induced psychological states (eg structure of benzene (carbon ring) was deduced by a scientist who dreamed of a snake chasing it's tail).

"Almost all aspects of life are engineered at the molecular level, and without understanding molecules we can only have a very sketchy understanding of life itself." - Francis Crick

I'd really like to know what the BoTers think of all this...

V.

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How much we forgive the young, the beautiful, and the amusing. -Nanushka.

I would bet that's alot more common than gets reported. Altered states of consciousness and great ideas/discoveries go hand-in-hand. I read that Albert Einstein's theory of relativity came to him in a dream and that he was big into the abstract. And marijuana turns everyone into a philosopher. At least for 15 minutes. Given some of the things I've heard people say they've seen on an LSD trip nothing would surprise me. I know of at least one person that said the LSD sent them back in time to the Bible.

I'd have to agree. I think there may be many examples. I also wonder why Crick felt the need to confess about the LSD...

V.

If you've not read "Supernatural" by Graham Hancock, do so now !

Although I've a feeling this thread may be as a result?

It came as a major shock to me to read that Crick had been under the influence when he got the idea for the DNA structure. The more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. Einstein said that he could "see" what he was talking about, and that aids understanding much more than endless amounts of textbooks. I'm not sure but I think this is where the "imagination is more powerful than knowledge" phrase came from.

You're right about Panspermia, except his view was that DNA could not have arisen by chance alone, and that life here was seeded directly, hence "directed panspermia" whether this notion came about from a similar situation I don't know, but it's an idea I support and have for many years.

http://www.daviddarling.info/encycloped ... rpans.html

See also the excellent Lloyd Pye articles about the same thing here at BoT

http://www.book-of-thoth.com/sections-l ... es-33.html

Taking LSD or other hallucinogenics could well be the 'doorway' to another reality, or at least a glimpse of it, its claimed this is how shamans received their knowledge of plants and healing.

An analogy for this may be that our current reality is one channel on a TV, and the ingestion of hallucinogenics or entering a trance state where consciousness is severely altered is tuning into another channel that we can't ordinarily experience, yet exists simultaneously.

Let me know if I'm on the right track as to what you'd like to discuss Viva

groovy

I haven't read Graham Hancock, but I will. There are no copies at my university or town libraries, but I can order it from Amazon.com. It seems he has quite a few interesting books...

As for Crick, the story stunned me on many levels. Among other things, I was reminded of the circumstances of Terence Mckenna's timewave revelation.

Also, I have read of many induced hallucinations that involved snakes... often two, intertwined snakes. Apparently Mckenna's brother took a drug (ayahuasca or psilocybin) with some South American Shamans. He didn't think the drug was working until he realized two giant serpents were sitting on either side of him...

I feel like there might be a link between the double snake visions, and Crick's double helix.
Maybe Crick also saw the snakes, just like the guy who figured out the structure of benzene.

But the strangest thing about it (IMHO), is the fact that Crick confessed. Throughout his career, he went to considerable lengths to conceal the facts about his drug use. It's easy to see why he would do that.

But was he just protecting his reputation?

And why confess at all? Because of deathbed-guilt? He was an athiest. Or was it something else? Why did he feel the need to tell people that drug-induced hallucinations solved one of the greatest mysteries of all time?

V.

[EDIT] PS. Great Pye articles!

You've GOT to read Hancocks "supernature" a huge part of the book is about this very subject!

The twin snakes seems to crop up in a lot of mythology, going way back to Ancient Sumer. The serpents have generally represented life, or life force.



He probably was, new ideas in Science, more so in times gone were often ridiculed or patronised, if it were known his idea was born out of a drug induced vision I'm sure his peers wouldn't have give him the time of day.

I think he did so in the end as a way of purging himself of that guilt perhaps, even though there is nothing to feel guilty for.

Looks like this thread caught someone's attention who disagrees.


http://lsdbritain.com/page9.htm

Scroll down to about the 11th paragraph.

Pansy posters ! why do people do that, post on a seperate site their views on something here, why not just join and say no, I disagree for reasons x, y and z ? I'm just relaying what I read in several places not just Hancock or the Daily Mail besides, they claim the evidence for the claim is flimsy, the claim that he didn't is even more flimsy given Cricks openness regarding LSD and its uses, I know which seems more likely to me given the circumstances. All that their "evidence" amounts to is that there was no evidence of him doing so. There's no evidence that he didn't either, so it can go both ways.

Well at least it shows people are noticing, even if they don't join in the discussion

Because it's easier to sound right when there's no counterargument? I don't know, but I thought it was funny to see the site mentioned by name. And I don't think the "rumor" is implausible to warrant that guy's indignation. Crick almost sounds like he'd just dropped some acid the night before that interview.

Criticism at a distance you're probably right about counter argument there. Is it that much of a scientific heresy to envision under the influence of an hallucinogen ? Good to see you Illuminatus.. have you been away, or am I just confused again

I was away for about awhile and been spotty since getting back. The place has changed some I noticed.

Sure has, always something to add or improve ! good to see you're back though

I can easily believe that the ingestion of LSD can help make great breakthroughs like this. There is the strong case for LSD assistance and the weak case. The strong case is more or less what you mention, Thoth, that LSD can help you see another "channel"on the TV screen of reality. Some claim that one begins to see the underlying structure of life - sort of the "scaffolding" upon which our reality is hung. These intrepid psychonauts claim to have seen a reality somehow MORE REAL than the one we normally experience. And from this they were able to delve deeper and come back with some astounding insights. But they were high, so should we believe them?

The weak case is that LSD is an agent for "focus and amplification". This seems to be accepted truth back from the days when LSD was a legitimate area of study... and was legal to boot! So if it IS that... if it is about "focus and amplification" and if you are a scientist that has been struggling with a difficult problem for some months and you then take some LSD, is it not plausible that you will then be able to hold much greater focus on the possible solution and amplify its ramifications until it either "clicks into place" or shows why it is an unsuitable candidate for a solution postulate? I contend that "focus and amplification" might make LSD eminently suitable for complex problem solving in people that have really delved into the problem beforehand.

Or it COULD if LSD was legal.

And if it was suitable for everyone to use. It really isn't. If you aren't ready to face your inner demons you could have a rather unpleasant trip. Focus and amplification really can work in exactly the wrong way too.

Or so I would have to believe. I, of course would NEVER touch anything that the brave and wise elected officials of my country's government have determined to be bad for me. They know best and I am incapable of deciding on such matters for myself.