# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/61 "2014-09-13T20:14:42Z")
> [@](#): > > You still haven’t explained why your particular brand of psycho soup shaman/magic Well, that’s not the topic so I can’t help you there. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/62 "2014-09-13T20:33:06Z")
Alright look, I’ll help you. I’m not proposing any particular anything. My basic question is - are hippies and shaman full of shit ? I’m almost putting it on a plate here for you because you will have some ready made, modular, snap together answers learned from various critical thinking/anti woo forums (I’m guessing, forgive me if I presume too much). You consider that and I’ll think about how to mine the crustal deposits on uranus. ---
**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 13, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/63 "2014-09-13T20:32:55Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Well, that’s not the topic so I can’t help you there. Was it the topic when _you_ brought up the need to bring shaman along on the journey? ---
**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 13, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/64 "2014-09-13T20:37:27Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Alright look, I’ll help you. I’m not proposing any particular anything. My basic question is - are hippies and shaman full of shit ? It depends on what they are talking about. Can you pick a specific topic for us to focus on, or is focusing not something you like to do? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/65 "2014-09-13T23:37:37Z")
Well, you need to know a wee bit about the interaction of shamanism and western culture first before getting the OP, so maybe you should skip this topic. I think that’s the solution here. ---
**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 13, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/66 "2014-09-13T23:59:05Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Well, you need to know a wee bit about the interaction of shamanism and western culture first before getting the OP, so maybe you should skip this topic. I think that’s the solution here. Nah. I think the solution is less fuzzy-more topic. For instance, You started this whole mess with > [@](#): > > It’s pretty trendy nowadays to go to the jungle and speak with mother ayahuasca, who will - they say - help to bring the wisdom of the forest into your psyche and help inspire you to heal the planet and the human race. 1. It’s only trendy among a very small number of new-agey tourists. 2. Did you really think anyone would know what the hell you were talking about with your in-house communal doublespeak? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/67 "2014-09-14T01:20:19Z")
I see the struggle for assertion and status is hotting up. How alpha are you feeling, a little bit more than just before you wrote that ? ---
**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 14, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/68 "2014-09-14T01:24:28Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > I see the struggle for assertion and status is hotting up. How alpha are you feeling, a little bit more than just before you wrote that ? Enough with the amateur psychoanalysis, please. The only thing I am struggling with is figuring out what point you are attempting to reach with this thread. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/69 "2014-09-14T01:24:44Z")
1. It’s only trendy among a very small number of new-agey tourists. 2. Did you really think anyone would know what the hell you were talking about with your in-house communal doublespeak? 3. Only ? Why only ? I didn’t see a trendy-among-new-agey-tourists quota anywhere ? Maybe you are the quota setter ? 4. Yup, and they did, but not you. I don’t know why you persist in being baffled when you could move on. Perhaps you are one of those trolls I’ve heard about. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/70 "2014-09-14T01:28:24Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Enough with the amateur psychoanalysis, please. The only thing I am struggling with is figuring out what point you are attempting to reach with this thread. You sure about that ? You seem pretty abrasive, tends to be a sign of struggling for status. Why not just enjoy other threads ? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/71 "2014-09-14T01:30:56Z")
Look I’ll find a nice thread, this one has no shamen or new agers at all, and doesn’t need any to be introduced. You’ll enjoy it, give it a go. > **[Can blind people serve on jury duty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=223638)** > > So I saw a really horrible movie that I won’t even mention the title of for fear an innocent victim may accidentally go and see it. In said atrocity, a blind person served on a jury, and it was questioned whether this was allowed, but claimed that it... ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/72 "2014-09-14T04:02:09Z")
MrQwertyasd, this forum is dedicated to fighting against ignorance (scroll up, it’s right up there in yellow), that’s why woo is not very compatible with it. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/73 "2014-09-14T04:10:59Z")
[Uh-huh.Me](http://Uh-huh.Me) too, I love fighting ignorance. I’d like to fight the ignorance that creates such a gap between what seem like antithetical views of human health and destiny - ie - shamen vs spacemen. A minority interest it seems. Thought I’d poll the thoughts of my fellow travellers, turns out they don’t like the diversion much, and don’t seem to like me going down that way. That’s OK. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/74 "2014-09-14T04:11:06Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > MrQwertyasd, this forum is dedicated to fighting against ignorance (scroll up, it’s right up there in yellow), that’s why woo is not very compatible with it. Not to mention OP’s that don’t even bother to make fuck all sense. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/75 "2014-09-14T04:56:38Z")
Never mind, can’t please everyone all the time. And nobody pays me to be pleasing anyway. I got to make some Uranus jokes so I’m happy. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/76 "2014-09-14T06:29:18Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > But you can see the stars from here, so it is a womb with a view. 😃 > Hastily ducks and runs for cover… In the city where I recently lived, there is in fact an ultrasound clinic called “Womb With a View”. I saw their ads around. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/77 "2014-09-14T15:49:23Z")
I thought the OP was pretty clear. It stated that there is some popularity to communing with mother earth/forests, using a brewed intermediary (in my mind implying some validity of the practice). It stated the OP’s belief that mankind is destined to reach the stars . Then it asks if, once Man has gone to space, we lose the ability to commune with the forest, or do we bring the forest with us (as shown in the not-documentary “Silent Running”) This allows responses re.: # The “woo-ness” of communing with the forest (and possibly, the drawback of using a hallucinogenic brew with pervasive quality control issues) #The likelihood of Man going forth into space # The ability to commune with earth or forest while in space. # Wether or not future space denizens will bring forests with them. It doesn’t reasonably require the OP to defend assertions, or explain his “Silent Running” reference. I thought the OP entertaining, as something I would’ve never considered an issue. Fwiw, I think the ayahuasca thing is woo of a fine grade, as is the whole communing with earth. I’m not sure Man will ever colonize space, but if they do while in human form, they’ll bring some vegetation. But not to facilitate communing. ---
**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 14, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/78 "2014-09-14T16:07:14Z")
If we are migrating to other planets, shouldn’t we be concerned with “communing” with whatever nature exists on the planet we end up on, instead of bringing in invasive plants and bugs that might not survive, and could very well destroy our new home? We’ve seen the problems that have developed when species of plants and animals that are alien to locales other than their own screw up an ecosystem. BTW, if the OP is going to make assertions, such as the possible need for shamans on a space journey, asking why that particular magic caste should be singled out among all the others for inclusion on the trip is certainly reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/79 "2014-09-14T19:40:35Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Perhaps you are one of those trolls I’ve heard about. It’s against the rules to call other people trolls in this forum. You are free to in the BBQ Pit, though, so do it there next time if you want to do it at all. Don’t do it in this forum again, however. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224/80 "2014-09-14T20:57:40Z")
Shaman vs. Spacemen? I think the spacemen would win. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaman-vs-spacemen/698224.md?page=5)