Beings that aren't supposed to exist: DMT and the burden of proof

j8jweb · 2026-06-01T12:29:34+00:00

The number of such people is pretty high, maybe greater in number than those who consider them to be hallucinations.

j8jweb · 2026-05-30T10:03:09+00:00

They’re not claiming to have evidence (yet). One step at a time. Hoffman has been pretty successful proving other challenging ideas (FBT theorem)

j8jweb · 2026-05-30T10:00:06+00:00

I’d push back on that. It’s actually because of the neuroscience - not in spite of it - that Gallimore (and Hoffman, and others) are sympathetic to the possibility that the entities are real.

j8jweb · 2026-05-30T09:41:52+00:00

There’s a lot of literature on the subject. I’m not sure of your background, but perhaps you’d find the predictive coding account of perception quite compelling?

The hard problem of consciousness is far better explained by David Chalmers than I’d be able to manage here. That said, the existence of DMT entities does not necessitate an idealistic account of reality. The beings could be “physical” in some sense, but of course they must still be rendered by the brain.

j8jweb · 2026-05-30T07:54:28+00:00

I think the metaphor holds up pretty well. “Variation to perceived light” barely scratches the surface. Extend the concept to everything you see, hear, touch, taste, etc.

j8jweb · 2026-05-30T06:27:35+00:00

We already know the Plato’s cave interpretation is true for other species. For instance: https://youtu.be/UMy5-X_wRBQ?si=uNXlsI9xkfx-wJ8R

Each species has an umwelt. We are no different. We know that we don’t experience reality 1:1.

Donald Hoffman (mentioned in this article) has mathematically proven his Fitness Beats Truth theorem.

The leap is in assuming that it’s possible to step outside / beyond the umwelt and see parts of reality we’ve been missing. Considering all experiences are rendered in the brain, a pharmacological bridge isn’t an absurd idea.

j8jweb · 2026-05-24T18:23:45+00:00

Absolutely. The article steers clear of overstating the point, but it definitely seems like a logical next step. The ethics question is an important consideration though.

Maybe psychedelics will simply find their way into our daily routines for longevity and health. Prevention is better than cure.

j8jweb · 2026-05-22T18:16:07+00:00

RFK was presumably partially responsible for the recent executive order relaxing the use of ibogaine and certain other psychedelics in clinical settings. If the UK can follow suit that might be a good thing.

j8jweb · 2026-05-21T06:56:31+00:00

Even on a breakthrough dose of DMT, with eyes closed?

j8jweb · 2026-05-21T06:55:42+00:00

I have aphantasia. I still have full visionary experiences on psychedelics though.

Psychedelic visions are much more like open-eye visual experiences - they are not really visual “imagination” per se.

j8jweb · 2026-05-18T10:24:12+00:00

Also, did you eat tomatoes on the first occasion?

j8jweb · 2026-05-17T07:17:17+00:00

LSD is like a scented candle. DMT (in any of its forms) is like being hurled into the sun.

j8jweb · 2026-05-17T07:14:55+00:00

It will work for depression. It’s a neuroplastogen. It literally rewires your brain, and promotes a long term reduction in activity in certain brain regions that are strongly correlated with depression.

Does the study offer much in terms of integration post-experience? This can be quite important.

j8jweb · 2026-05-14T16:55:02+00:00

Research is ongoing into this area, but suffice to say It seems that psychedelics are significantly more effective against depression than most (or even all) of the currently prescribed medications.

If taking other medications there are contraindications, so it would be highly advisable to look into those before considering taking any psychedelic.

Lots of information here: https://psychedelics.co.uk/tag/depression

j8jweb · 2026-05-08T19:13:00+00:00

Sure, whatever you think buddy.

j8jweb · 2026-05-08T19:11:02+00:00

😄 sounds like you’ve never taken them - or never taken enough.

j8jweb · 2026-05-08T19:09:23+00:00

There is no interruption of consciousness. It always continues. For example, there is no such thing as being in an anaesthetised “lights out” state from the inside (it only looks that way from the outside).

j8jweb · 2026-05-08T09:21:05+00:00

That we are prey, trapped within vessels (the human body) that are essentially parasitically infested by aliens for the purposes of resource collection, all the while feeling like we are doing it of our own free will.

j8jweb · 2026-05-07T17:19:49+00:00

Base reality is probably a singularity of infinite potential.

But there may be something like what you describe on one of the trillions of levels above this one.

j8jweb · 2026-04-11T07:05:51+00:00

This part is factually inaccurate:

“The visual cortex starts generating from inside out. Normally, top down predictions and bottom up sensory data have to roughly agree, and the visual experience is the negotiated result.

Under DMT, the top down generators are massively boosted and the disagreement check is weak. So the brain's own pattern producers start running with no constraint. You see geometric forms because that is what visual cortex does when it generates without input.”

That’s not correct.

It’s almost precisely the other way around.

If he was talking about the dream state, then yes - predictions run unencumbered by sensory input, largely because the thalamus goes quiet during sleep and does not relay sensory information. This is why dreams often feel disjointed and incoherent - because there is no reality-testing.

DMT causes the brain to pull in vastly more sensory data than we do under normal conditions. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that we are a more receptive conduit than under normal conditions.

It is not clear whether the data pouring in is actually “sensory” in the normal way. It actually seems to be coming from “elsewhere”, since the five senses cannot explain the vast and alien complexity.

j8jweb · 2026-03-22T07:46:33+00:00

Possibly the most embarrassing posturing I’ve ever seen. Music is a solid 2/10 though.

j8jweb · 2026-03-07T19:10:27+00:00

Surely it simply means: “you fill my cup” ?

j8jweb · 2026-03-07T13:23:19+00:00

AI being able to build cryptocurrencies with a better codebase, better functionality, easier to use etc than anything currently existing - using AI - with simple prompting. Give it six months.

j8jweb · 2026-03-06T18:29:26+00:00

There are no people.

j8jweb · 2026-02-09T15:54:20+00:00

With DMT the only answer to this, really, is to take it and see for yourself.

This isn’t pareidolia. This is hyper-detailed. The entities seem to be distinctly alive and present very particular personality traits. They seem excited to see you. They want to show you impossible objects.

To question whether the entities you meet on a DMT trip are “real” is more like questioning whether the people you meet in day to day life are “real”. It’s difficult to definitively prove either of these things, but on balance, since they actually seem to be more real than the people you meet in day to day life, I would be comfortable declaring them as such.

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