DUNE, Frank Herbert, Jr. and psilocybin

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

Frank Herbert, Jr. wrote the Dune novels that have been made into movies and TV series. Apparently, according to Paul Stamets, a significant source of inspiration for Dune was Herbert's experiences with psilocybin and his hobby of cultivating mushrooms. Pretty cool if true. I've never heard this before, but it does appear on his Wikipedia page. (Frank Herbert - Wikipedia)
I'd love to know more about this if anyone has any info or experiences to share. I wonder if there are any audio or video recordings of Stamets taking about this. If anyone knows anything else about Herbert's use of psilocybin and how it might have shaped his vision for Dune, please post about it.
The sleeper has awakened... and it craves information. ;-)

 

[downwardsfromzero]

I've heard this before too. The blue colour of the spice is in the Dune stories is derived directly from the blue bruising of the shrooms.

There's not much else for me to add, but I'd love to know more about the cultivation techniques Herbert may have used, if that information is even out there somewhere.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Here's a very old thread exploring an angle on this: Spice = Dune?

A search turned up this rather wonderful blog entry, although most of it's somewhat tangential to this thread:

Higher than the Shoulders of Giants; Or, a Scientist’s History of Drugs

I. The United States used to introduce new constitutional amendments all the time. But after the 26th Amendment in 1971, we stopped coming up with new amendments and haven’t added any since. …

slimemoldtimemold.com

along with this marvellous (but here completely irrelevant) link

 

[Voidmatrix]

Given the prohibition paradigm and negative scope in culture surrounding drugs, it may be hard to find any other information aside from Stamet's recitation of conversations with Herbert as a source to support this idea. Nevertheless, it's a cool idea.

One love

 

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

Thanks for the links. I will have to read Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. I've wanted to read this book for some time, now I must make time to read it. Thanks for the info. I wonder if there are any videos of Stamets talking about his interactions or conversations with Frank Herbert, Jr. Might be revealing. ;-)

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Mycelium Running is a great book, highly recommended. I don't remember reading the Herbert quote there, although I was focussing on the technical details so it may have slipped me by.

 

[Tony6Strings]

I just ate a 200 mg/5 gram psilohuasca and am about to watch the new Dune movie with my girl.

 

[Mitakuye Oyasin]

Have a fun ride. The film is very well done. Amazing sound bed and great SFX. Part 2 will be even better as that is where most of the action and revelation is, this one is mostly set up.

 

[Dirty T]

I recently saw Dune in IMAX and then in a group of friends with our projector and 120" screen. I wasn't tripping while watching but I did watch Foundation during my last 2 treatments and it was awesome. Very therapeutic. I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it. It traumatized me) it has inspired me to read the entire series, hopefully by doing so can help me reconnect and put to bed some of my childhood trauma.

 

[Bill Cipher]

I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

You read Dune when you were 3 or 4.....????

Allow me to adjust my skepticals.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

You read Dune when you were 3 or 4.....????

Allow me to adjust my skepticals.

I had taught myself to read by the age of 4 so this claim, while unusual, is far from impossible.

 

[Th3_tRuTh]

As Void said, it may prove difficult to validate, but I have noticed some similar parallels myself. In fact the spice in the books and movies/shows is orange. Similar to "full spec" or jungle "spice". The spirituality of the Fremen is very similar to ancient mysticism. There is the prophecy angle, the messiah concept, transformation on a global, even universal scale, etc. There are many things about this story that I have loved ever since I was a child also. I did not read it that young but when I was little, I saw parts of the movie on TV and those parts stuck with me until I found the book when I was about 13, then watched the movie. I love this story.

 

[Voidmatrix]

I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

You read Dune when you were 3 or 4.....????

Allow me to adjust my skepticals.

I had taught myself to read by the age of 4 so this claim, while unusual, is far from impossible.

I was reading and doing arithmetic at 3. Granted, my parents were giving me "easy" reading like Green Eggs and Ham, but by the time I was in accelerated classes in kindergarten, they were giving us bits of Shakespeare. I think reading and comprehension at such young ages is possible to a degree but is dependent upon a variety of factors like influence, introduction, encouragement, etc.

As Void said, it may prove difficult to validate, but I have noticed some similar parallels myself. In fact the spice in the books and movies/shows is orange. Similar to "full spec" or jungle "spice". The spirituality of the Fremen is very similar to ancient mysticism. There is the prophecy angle, the messiah concept, transformation on a global, even universal scale, etc. There are many things about this story that I have loved ever since I was a child also. I did not read it that young but when I was little, I saw parts of the movie on TV and those parts stuck with me until I found the book when I was about 13, then watched the movie. I love this story.

Right there with you. The spice being vital for space travel and traveling without moving are endemic of the hyperspace experience. And shoot, I find it vital for life as well bahahaha.

One love

 

[Th3_tRuTh]

Right there with you. The spice being vital for space travel and traveling without moving are endemic of the hyperspace experience. And shoot, I find it vital for life as well bahahaha.

One love

INDEEEEEEED >_<

Pranam

 

[Bill Cipher]

I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

You read Dune when you were 3 or 4.....????

Allow me to adjust my skepticals.

I had taught myself to read by the age of 4 so this claim, while unusual, is far from impossible.

Okay, but Dune is over 700 pages long, and it's a mind numbingly boring slog for even fully grown nerd people. If he's saying that he picked it up and tried to muscle through a couple of isolated passages at four, I suppose that's feasible enough. However if what he is saying is that he read the whole thing (or even a single complete chapter from anywhere in the book) regardless of understanding, then I must adjust my skepticals.

With all due respect.

I was reading and doing arithmetic at 3. Granted, my parents were giving me "easy" reading like Green Eggs and Ham, but by the time I was in accelerated classes in kindergarten, they were giving us bits of Shakespeare. I think reading and comprehension at such young ages is possible to a degree but is dependent upon a variety of factors like influence, introduction, encouragement, etc.

I've got a kid who was a voracious reader at four. Of Green Eggs and Ham, and other books which were developmentally feasible for four year olds. She'd read all of the Harry Potter books by the time she was nine, but there's a big difference between four and nine, and the Harry Potter books are page turners; reading Dune is like taking the world's longest and most constipated shit. It's convoluted and esoteric and full of clunky prose. I'm not sure I believe that a four year old Stephen Hawking could have read it.

With all due respect.

 

[Voidmatrix]

I felt immersed and had a revelation I had read one of the books when I was very young (3 to 4 years. I read the book and understood what it said but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

You read Dune when you were 3 or 4.....????

Allow me to adjust my skepticals.

I had taught myself to read by the age of 4 so this claim, while unusual, is far from impossible.

Okay, but Dune is over 700 pages long, and it's a mind numbingly boring slog for even fully grown nerd people. If he's saying that he picked it up and tried to muscle through a couple of isolated passages at four, I suppose that's feasible enough. However if what he is saying is that he read the whole thing (or even a single complete chapter from anywhere in the book) regardless of understanding, then I must adjust my skepticals.

With all due respect.

I was reading and doing arithmetic at 3. Granted, my parents were giving me "easy" reading like Green Eggs and Ham, but by the time I was in accelerated classes in kindergarten, they were giving us bits of Shakespeare. I think reading and comprehension at such young ages is possible to a degree but is dependent upon a variety of factors like influence, introduction, encouragement, etc.

I've got a kid who was a voracious reader at four. Of Green Eggs and Ham, and other books which were developmentally feasible for four year olds. She'd read all of the Harry Potter books by the time she was nine, but there's a big difference between four and nine, and the Harry Potter books are page turners; reading Dune is like taking the world's longest and most constipated shit. It's convoluted and esoteric and full of clunky prose. I'm not sure I believe that a four year old Stephen Hawking could have read it.

With all due respect.

Dammit Bill, I love you, and you crack me up, with all due respect :lol:

I definitely understand you (first book is 412 pages, which is still long for a 4 year old) and wasn't necessarily trying to say that they must be correct in their assertion, but allowing room for feasibility.

reading Dune is like taking the world's longest and most constipated shit

I'm dying :lol:

I would've probably done even heavier reading early on if my father wasn't such an overbearing ass that took the fun out of it.

One love

Edit: Something seemed off with 412 pages (which I looked up). My copy is closer to 500 pages. Think version and publisher dictate total length, but regardless, it's fairly long.