the creation of meaning

[beenherebeforeagain]

Just saw this article LSD May Help Reveal What Makes Music Meaningful
that discusses a study that may show how meaning is created in the human mind, in that LSD seems to have made otherwise meaningless songs have meaning.

I know a lot of songs, books, and artwork became meaningful to me back in the day, when I was..shall we say...under the influence.


thoughts?

 

[Aštra’el]

The last time I had a psychoactive experience, I saw horrifying visions of mankind's future. I saw the horrors humans will experience in their obsession to extend their lifespans, of what they will do to themselves and each other. I saw the horrors mankind will become.

I currently have no desire to induce such an experience ever again.

 

[sun rise]

The last time I had a psychoactive experience, I saw horrifying visions of mankind's future. I saw the horrors humans will experience in their obsession to extend their lifespans, of what they will do to themselves and each other. I saw the horrors mankind will become.

I currently have no desire to induce such an experience ever again.

I did not have such experiences back in the day but I was on the edge a couple of times. I too have no desire to play chemical russian roulette. The drugs no doubt have uses when prescribed by doctors for specific conditions but I know from what happened to friends and almost happened to me that they are dangerous beyond belief otherwise.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I once read, somewhere, that music has been observed to cause neurons to fire in geometric shapes in one of the back areas of the brain. I think this amounts to a stimulus similar to touch, and neurons love touch. They like touch, such as a stroke, because it fires neurons in a particular order not at random. Touch is the basic stimulus which we must absolutely have. Music probably activates learning and reward systems in our brains, which explains why good music feels good. Eyesight is also a kind of touch, and as you know your eyes are always wanting to see more things. Music creates a hunger for more music. It activates us.

On top of that there is meaning to things. Being touched is meaningful, not because of a series of chemical interactions but because of what it is. Music has meaning, because it is beautiful.