I Did Mushrooms for Science, Pt. 1

So what we're doing today is I'm going to take 5 grams of magic mushrooms. And so what we're exploring is there was some recent evidence showing that there was interesting effects in both mice and also human cells. And so we are casting this really wide net of can we catch anything that demonstrates some kind of rejuvenation or longevity effect? We've measured 249 biomarkers. For example, getting a blood draw is pretty straightforward, but measuring your brain is really challenging. So this is Kernel Flow, and so think of it like a pulse oximeter for the brain, a wearable for the brain. I've been doing this every day for the past week. Then I'll do it at the peak of the mushroom experience, and then I'll do it afterwards.

Some people are asking, are you nervous?

Yes, I'm nervous based upon what I've read in your responses, that those of you who have done this or something similar have said that even 1 or 2 or 3 grams is a significant experience, and 5 is just next level. It's, it's unimaginable. So yes, I'm nervous.

All right, let's do this. Okay, you guys ready?

Cheers. Cheers. Don't die.

Hello?

Hey, Talmage. I don't know if you're watching the livestream, but your dad just took the 5 grams of magic mushrooms.

How are you feeling?

I haven't felt anything yet, so probably have 10 minutes until takeoff. So I just want to call and tell you I love you, and I'll see you in a couple hours.

I love you too. I'll see you on the other side.

Love you, Talmage.

Love you, Talmage.

Bye.

This most likely is the most measured psychedelic trip in the history of the human race. I don't think any human before me has measured 249 biomarkers before they took magic mushrooms.

Good to move forward?

Yes. On our blood drop tomorrow, we've got basically our full panel of markers across the board. It's a big one.

It's blueprint.

Advanced panel. It's 6 pages.

Yeah, if you're game.

I love this. We'll have wearable data plus cortisol, plus we'll have Kernel, so we'll have brain activity. Cool.

I think we should do a Kernel pretty much daily for a week after psilocybin.

I'll start it today, and then I'll measure vascular markers on Friday just to see if there's any kind of change. Kernel Flow is what I spent 7 years of my life building. It's basically a brain scanner that is like a bike helmet. And one of the things we're looking at is what changes the brain when you do psychedelics. So we basically invented the coolest technology in the world to take with you to do brain measurements. People think about magic mushrooms as a fun thing to do, like a fun psychedelic trip, or recently they've been looking at this for like PTSD or depression, but no one's thought of psychedelics in the form of longevity. So if society reframed its understanding of psychedelics to longevity, it might be a big deal because psychedelics fix broken things. Psychedelics don't make things younger.

Reminds me of New York. I didn't realize that this side of the country had this kind of aesthetic. I trust you in really hard circumstances. But my primary concern would be that you have a bad trip.

Yeah, my phone's been blowing up with messages of people who have been expressing concern that there have been founders that have done journeys and then they come back and check out.

Yes.

They don't find meaning anymore. They want to go off-grid. And so like, if I crash out, then it leaves a a whole to some extent.

And you're prepared for that to potentially walk away from it all, like by taking this, by doing this?

I don't know. I don't know what 5 grams means. I don't know what to anticipate.

Yeah.

Everybody is unquestionably confident that I'm going to emerge as a different human. So it's a total dose. So it's 4.67 times 5.35.

Correct.

But it seems to track more with the whole mushroom weight. So meaning all of the other alkaloids are playing a role. They're likely playing a synergistic role. It's combinatorially explosive that, you know, the complexity of how they would interact and how they would interact at the neurochemical level.

What's your guess about what's going to happen? I mean, I feel like you can play in probabilities, right?

Do you have the genetic proclivity to go crazy? What does the data say about people taking 5 grams of shrooms consistently? What environment are you taking it? What is your preexisting health condition? What's your mental state?

Yeah, a lot of people are suggesting I'm going to lose it during the session or even after as well. Probably. I think both. I don't know. People are basically guessing that it's going to be— it's going to overwhelm me and it's going to have consequences which I can't anticipate.

Oh, interesting.

Expecting radical change.

Interesting. Interesting. What is your take on that all?

I don't know.

I don't know how to anticipate this.

Kind of the biggest moment in your life.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, my intuition is that this is a moment. Like, this is— I can't quite get my head around it, but it feels bigger than I can comprehend. I don't know why. I don't know what was afoot, but it definitely feels like that to me. I wonder if this is a different force that I've not contended with before. I mean, I wonder, I wonder if this force is just fundamentally more powerful than my concept of me or my desires or my will or my wants. I wonder if it'll like rewrite me.

So I'm like, actually You're someone that doesn't resist. So I just can't imagine you not like absorbing all this energy and just like immediately propelling it back. Like, yeah, rolling with it. Like you are, you yourself are light. And so I feel like the light of this extra energy is just like additive. Yeah.

I do feel like I have this internal struggle all the time. I don't feel like I'm running the show. I just feel like something else runs me, and I find out after the fact. This is also true when I was depressed, when I was, you know, really considering suicide, when I'd lay down on the floor at night and be like, I'm done. Like, I can't move, I can't get up, I can't talk, but somehow it just happened. So yeah, I have this really weird relationship. So I think there's a version of me doing this which I don't control. Oh, that's fun hearing that sound. I haven't heard, you know, leaves crack like that really for a long time. I think this is what I remember hearing as a kid. I really wish all of you well, and I really sincerely mean that. You know, like, I've been in really dark places in my life, and, um, you know, there are people who pull up for you in life that are there for you, and, um, you know, without judgment, and are soft and supportive and strong, and I really wish all of you well in life, genuinely. I think that this is like a really special moment as a species, that we are transforming into something else. And it's this really wild time to be alive. It's the most spectacular time to be alive in history. So yeah, I think that we can do something special together. And I hope that everyone, you know, in whatever you're doing in life right now, that you feel strength and comfort and love. So Cheers to you and wish you all the best. All right guys, I will see you on the other side.