# Shaman vs Spacemen **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224 "2014-09-11T19:38:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/21 "2014-09-11T20:56:00Z")
Shh… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/22 "2014-09-11T20:58:54Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Shh… I’m sorry. Am I harshing your mellow? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/23 "2014-09-11T21:01:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m sorry. Am I harshing your mellow? :dubious: You are boxing yourself in with your haughty list. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/24 "2014-09-11T21:03:56Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Shh… Are you hunting wabbits? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/25 "2014-09-11T21:04:30Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > You are boxing yourself in with your haughty list. So much for the Age of Aquarius. Look, could you at least throw us a bone and tell us why you think _Silent Running_ is important to this conversation? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/26 "2014-09-11T21:05:17Z")
Can we follow a middle course and do some limited solar system exploration…and stop harming the earth’s ecosystem? Cut back some on the rate of extinction of species, emit a little less CO2, stop conducting major wars? There’s room for some of both. Spiritualism is, I think, a dead end, but so is excessively sterile scientism. We do still have a lot to learn from nature: not it’s spiritual values, but merely how it works. When we have worked out artificial photosynthesis, we’ll have accomplished something that, till now, only nature knows how to do. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/27 "2014-09-11T21:06:08Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > You are boxing yourself in with your haughty list. So true. Free your mind and your ass will follow… ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/28 "2014-09-11T21:18:10Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > The earth is the womb of humanity, yes at some times we will need to leave the womb and become space borne. But you can see the stars from here, so it is a womb with a view. 😃 Hastily ducks and runs for cover… ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/29 "2014-09-11T21:18:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So much for the Age of Aquarius. > Look, could you at least throw us a bone and tell us why you think _Silent Running_ is important to this conversation? Ok remember the original questions - jungle, ayahuasca, shamans, space migration. Leave the jungle forever or take that little piece of Earth with you into space ? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/30 "2014-09-11T21:26:10Z")
To elaborate, let’s say the claims of some of the ayahuasca promoting shamen and their followers are true, and that this brew, taken in a traditional way and setting, is the key to psychological healing and creating an eco-sensitive society. That dooms our space faring descendants to being unhealed and eco-insensitive doesn’t it, because there are no jungles on the moon ? Either that or the world picture of the shamen isn’t complete. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/31 "2014-09-11T21:28:32Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Ok remember the original questions - jungle, ayahuasca, shamans, space migration. Leave the jungle forever or take that little piece of Earth with you into space ? Instead of jungle, we bring seeds, we don’t need psycho psoup, shamans are silly when you have real medicine. When you are talking space migration, you are talking rarity of storage space-the type of setup shown in _Silent Running_ is absolutely the worst way to go about it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/32 "2014-09-11T21:33:20Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > To elaborate, let’s say the claims of some of the ayahuasca promoting shamen and their followers are true, and that this brew, taken in a traditional way and setting, is the key to psychological healing and creating an eco-sensitive society. That dooms our space faring descendants to being unhealed and eco-insensitive doesn’t it, because there are no jungles on the moon ? Either that or the world picture of the shamen isn’t complete. Let’s stuff our spaceship with every foolish notion ever conceived, just in case one of them turns out to be a miracle cure! Why focus only on _your_ particular psycho psoup and the shamans that pserve it to the tourists? Seeems a little close-mined to me, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/33 "2014-09-11T21:37:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Instead of jungle, we bring seeds, we don’t need psycho psoup, shamans are silly when you have real medicine. When you are talking space migration, you are talking rarity of storage space-the type of setup shown in _Silent Running_ is absolutely the worst way to go about it. Seems like a lot of effort to go to. Why not just take some refined DMT on the spaceship with you ? The experience of smoked DMT is supposed to be kind of technological, Terence McKenna’s machine elves and etc., so is that an adaptation - a new medicine for a new space age ? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/34 "2014-09-11T21:41:05Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So much for the Age of Aquarius. > Look, could you at least throw us a bone and tell us why you think _Silent Running_ is important to this conversation? A film about a very large greenhouse in space. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/35 "2014-09-12T02:58:55Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > To elaborate, let’s say the claims of some of the ayahuasca promoting shamen and their followers are true, and that this brew, taken in a traditional way and setting, is the key to psychological healing and creating an eco-sensitive society. That dooms our space faring descendants to being unhealed and eco-insensitive doesn’t it, because there are no jungles on the moon ? Either that or the world picture of the shamen isn’t complete. Even if we are unhealed, that doesn’t mean we’re morbidly diseased. People live in big cities, surrounded by concrete and steel, overcrowded, under much stress, regulated, scheduled, and uptight. Okay, that’s bad. But…we live. We get along pretty well, really. We live our lives, eat and drink, have sex, write opinion posts on the internet, and generally do okay. It isn’t heaven, but it isn’t hell. More than seven billion humans have never drunk ayahuasca, and we aren’t soulless walking dead. Except my next door neighbor, who pretty much is. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/36 "2014-09-12T03:03:59Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Ok remember the original questions - jungle, ayahuasca, shamans, space migration. Leave the jungle forever or take that little piece of Earth with you into space ? Eh. Plenty of New Agie opportunities in space. Who needs to commune with the jungle when you have the stars? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/37 "2014-09-12T11:44:48Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Why not just take some refined DMT on the spaceship with you ? The experience of smoked DMT is supposed to be kind of technological, Terence McKenna’s machine elves and etc., so is that an adaptation - a new medicine for a new space age ? In space, no-one can hear you tripping. Radical, man. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/38 "2014-09-12T11:55:13Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > To elaborate, let’s say the claims of some of the ayahuasca promoting shamen and their followers are true, and that this brew, taken in a traditional way and setting, is the key to psychological healing and creating an eco-sensitive society. That’s a whole lotta _if_. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/39 "2014-09-12T11:59:05Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Yet mankind looks destined for space migration, This right here is a heavily woo-ish bit of twaddle, even though it is twaddle much beloved of science fiction geeks. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/40 "2014-09-12T13:10:07Z")
Let’s just send this someplace it’ll fit in better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224.md?page=3)