places like Esalen, but the interesting thing is that some of the group were introduced to LSD through fairly formal experiments. Before it became illegal, LSD was considered by many to be a research substance to probe the powers of mind rather than a recreational drug, and there were many experiments in prestigious universities, research centers and hospitals leading up to 1966 when new laws started to come into force. So some found it by ‘above ground’ means, others through more unconventional channels and some never touched it at all. It’s not clear what role to give to it, but they were immersed in this amazingly vibrant culture and open to anything from ESP, to psychedelics to quantum theory. Experimentation was the norm, a flourishing counter culture was transmuting into a New Age enthusiasm and these folks had a front row seat for all of it. Some of them became enthusiasts and some became skeptics, and while they didn’t necessarily believe that LSD or ESP were a means to a new cosmic consciousness, they did know that something strange was going on and wanted to probe it using scientific methods. The psychedelics, the parapsychology and some of the occult stuff was open for debate, if only to see how these burgeoning currents could be linked
back to such equally strange-sounding ideas as Bell’s Theorem. So nothing was off the table. The idea was to pursue these strands and see where they led.
Building on ideas like Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and the quantum effects of measurement in Bell’s Theorem, how much was consciousness itself being factored in as a physical element. Very much so. For many members, it was a real passion – not for all though. Again this was something that had fascinated physicists 2 or 3 generations previously and it wasn’t unprecedented by any means. They drew