This video is sponsored by Schedule 35. students was Stewart Brand who went on to found the Whole Earth Catalog which was a sort of proto-internet that connected people to a variety of tools and resources that could help them build self-sufficient and independent lives
**It is surprising to find that psychedelic experimentation has an essential part in the development of modern computing and the internet. In the 1960s, Silicon Valley was largely defined by lab coats and pocket protectors, but the young engineers and scientists there were interested in the same questions of life and university that their counterparts across the bridge in the Bay Area were. Professor Harry Rathbun, a Stanford business law professor, gave a series of lectures in Palo Alto that introduced the audience to psychedelics, and his student, Stewart Brand, went on to found the Whole Earth Catalog, a proto-internet that connected people to resources that could help them build self-sufficient and independent lives. aht I did but also to tune in and see how technology could be used to make a better world
In their hunger to possess their own computers, PC hobbyists missed the crux of the original idea: communications as an integral part of the design. LSD’s influence continued to loom large, according to Rich Green, Vice President of the Palo Alto Historical Association, and it’s possible that the personal computer might not have even been invented without LSD. Famous turtleneck enthusiast Steve Jobs was also a proponent of LSD, having taken the substance 10 to 15 times between 1972 and 1974, counting these trips as one of the most important experiences of his life. He founded Apple in 1976 and his early Apple colleagues were similarly enthusiastic, using the substance for breakthroughs in their technology. This lines up with Timothy Leary’s conception of personal computing, seeing the cyber world as the future and psychedelics as an intrinsic part of the technological process. He called PCs the LSD of the 1990s and updated his famous motto to “Turn On, Boot Up, Jack In”.
It’s no surprise that Steve Jobs would found a company with the motto “Think Different”. For these folks, the purpose of psychedelic experiences wasn’t just to tune out, but also to tune in and see how technology could be used to make a better world. Nowadays, many are using microdosing not only as a way to open up creativity and make new connections, but as a way to be more efficient and effective in their jobs, reflecting the hustle culture of the 2020s more than the social and spiritual optimism of the 1960s.
So are we saying that we wouldn’t have modern computing technology without some dudes tripping out in the 60s? Well, not necessarily, but it’s interesting to note that psychedelic culture had a drastic impact on modern technology.