[pyre]

  > You know what actually makes a difference in life?

Taking action makes a difference in life. People don't take action just for its own sake. They have motivations. Where do this motivations come from? Ultimately the mind. The mind can be influenced by books and general knowledge, as well as experiences. Do you contest that if one did the same thing twice (once on drugs, the other not) that those experiences would different? Who's to say that the experience on the drugs can't be the one that inspires someone to do something with their life (or in this case, to alter their way of viewing the world)? You? What authority do you have in such a field? What are you credentials to make such proclamations?

[edtechre]

You could claim the same about getting high off of glue since that affects the mind too. Seriously, what every day experience /doesn't/ affect your mind?

My point stands on its own. Taking action makes a difference, dropping acid does nothing for anyone. End.

[lhnz]

So your argument is that (1) since every drug/substance/experience affects your mind everything is the same, (2) consuming something does not create so therefore has no utility to anybody: the only utility is 'taking action'.

These points do not stand on their own. Everything might affect your mind but that doesn't mean that every experience is the same. Consuming something may not make a difference to other people's lives, but it might give direct utility to yourself (for example eating food, drinking water, reading a book, watching a film.) This article was about an increase in openness. If you become more open as a result of doing something then indirectly your future actions might hold more utility to the people that you affect.

[pyre]

  > Taking action makes a difference, dropping acid does
  > nothing for anyone. End.

Converted to:

  > Taking action makes a difference, <blank> does
  > nothing for anyone. End.

You could insert anything into this sentence. Heck, I could insert "reading a book" into that sentence because "reading a book" is not "taking action," yet reading a book was one of your examples of a 'good' thing to do earlier in this thread.

You're ignoring the possibility that something that 'does nothing for anyone' can directly influence someone to take actions which do something for someone. E.g. if someone drops acid/watches a documentary/reads a book and it directly inspires them to open a soup kitchen for the homeless, how does that fit into your world view? Are the two things completely separate and without causation? Or is it only the influences related to drugs which hold this place in your mind (i.e. can never have a good outcome, so therefore if there is a good outcome it can't be because of the drugs)?

[headbiznatch]

Taking actions to alter one's self can easily improve the ability to take actions that affect others. A simple example: lifting weights so you can be a more effective fire fighter. There are many others, including the ingestion of chemicals to alter mind state. Oh, I don't know: like drinking that cup of coffee in the morning, the one that gets you through your emails and keeps you from being a grumpy asshole all day?

Posting to a forum with your self-righteous, unapproachable attitude is the DEFINITION of masturbatory. You clearly cannot politely engage others on this topic, so why bother commenting here to simply tell the druggies how you feel about their petty dalliances? To make yourself feel better?

[barrkel]

What do you think "takes action", if not your mind? Your point, such as it is, is self-contradicting.

[bmelton]

So everything's on the level, I should probably mention that I've downvoted just about everything you've said in this thread except this post, which strikes my curiosity.

Would you consider meditation equally as pointless as dropping acid? How about worshiping a God, or Gods? Sitting alone in a park? Writing a journal? Looking through a yearbook or perhaps a photo album? Are these things all pointless in your mind as well?