205 – The Snake Cult of Consciousness

We discuss the idea that human consciousness may have literally been kick-started by a ritual developed by a snake cult, which is surprisingly plausible.

The Snake Cult of Consciousness by Andrew Cutler

or listen to the original post in audio, thanks to AskWho for providing!

OTHER LINKS

Review of Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Scott Alexander

Eve Theory of Consciousness (v2) also by Andrew Cutler

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Pronouns by Andrew Cutler

Erowid Psychedelics FAQ, read before tripping!

Sam Harris’s Episode 346 – The Best Kept Secret In History?

We found the account of young hunter-gatherer boys living in a flow state, here

Our analysis of The Truman Show as a retelling of the Genesis Fall From Grace myth

Our aborted attempt at an analysiscast of Planecrash

When Steven mentions Marcus speaking to his son Quintus he is reference Eneasz’s historic fantasy novel What Lies Dreaming

0:02:19 – Feedback

0:13:06 – Snake Cults!

1:36:51 – Guild of the Rose Update

1:39:01 – Less Wrong Posts

1:55:15 – Thank the Patron

We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out.

Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong?

Our Patreon page–your support is most rational, and totally effective. (also merch)

Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast

LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode:

Words as Mental Paintbrush Handles

Variable Question Fallacies

Next Sequence Posts:

37 Ways That Words Can Be Wrong

Dissolving the Question