System

Psilocybin’s effects offer an intriguing lens through which to critique systems of perception, agency, and transformation using your mind-model’s five layers. At the World level, psilocybin intervenes in the foundational interplay of space, time, and life, effectively altering an individual’s experience of these universal constants. Its Nahuatl name, “teonanácatl,” or “divine mushroom,” reflects its ancient role in bridging the cosmos and the self, suggesting that this layer is where psilocybin’s essence resides, reshaping the broader ecological and metaphysical connections.

Fig. 19 Psilocybin is itself biologically inactive but is quickly converted by the body to psilocin, which has mind-altering effects similar, in some aspects, to those of other classical psychedelics. Effects include euphoria, hallucinations, changes in perception, a distorted sense of time, and perceived spiritual experiences. It can also cause adverse reactions such as nausea and panic attacks. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the mushrooms were called teonanácatl—literally “divine mushroom.” Possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms has been outlawed in most countries, and psilocybin has been classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Source: Wikipedia.

The Perception layer is where psilocybin exerts its most direct influence. Its mind-altering properties—euphoria, hallucinations, and temporal distortion—demonstrate how perception is not an immutable reality but rather a malleable construct influenced by biochemical shifts. Psilocybin dissolves the barriers between conventional perception and altered states, revealing the fragility and plasticity of human experience. This yellow node’s ability to recalibrate sensory inputs highlights the profound interconnectedness of perception with the larger system.

See also

Contrast our 17-nodes of perspectivism to the classical binary of principal-agent theory.

Within the Agency layer, psilocybin poses a challenge to digital and enterprise-driven frameworks. The digital twin, as a concept of fixed representation, falters under the influence of a substance that creates fluid, nonlinear, and often unpredictable outcomes. Psilocybin’s effects destabilize controlled narratives of agency, suggesting that the rigidity of current systems fails to accommodate the expansive, sometimes chaotic potential of altered cognition. This aligns with its historical and cultural role in spiritual experiences, where individual agency merges with broader, ineffable forces.

Fig. 20 One of the Tassili figures referred to as having a mushroom-shaped head and supposedly holding a mushroom. Hypothesized to date back to 7000–5000 BC. A modern account of it has been described as “the most powerful cosmic homecoming I have ever experienced.” Source: Wikipedia

The Generativity layer introduces another dimension to psilocybin’s critique. Here, the substance operates in the space between parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism, depending on the context of its use. Its capacity to foster spiritual awakening and emotional healing positions it within mutualistic and commensal relationships, while its potential for panic and adverse reactions underscores the parasitic dangers of misuse or poor integration. This duality challenges the binary classifications of generativity, illustrating the substance’s complex role in human ecosystems.

Of course, the drug does not produce the transcendent experience. It merely acts as a chemical key—it opens the mind, frees the nervous system of its ordinary patterns and structures
– Leary

Finally, the Physicality layer brings the system’s biological realities into focus. Psilocybin’s conversion to psilocin by the body reflects the intricate balance between defense, retreat, and offense at the molecular level. Its ability to incite both euphoric states and adverse physical reactions like nausea demonstrates how the body navigates this chemical intervention. This interplay within physical systems mirrors the neural network’s dynamic reweighting of inputs, revealing the substance’s role in recalibrating the body’s defensive and adaptive mechanisms.

In totality, psilocybin’s effects resonate across your model’s layers, revealing a system that is simultaneously harmonious and discordant, transformative yet grounded in its physical roots. It offers a profound critique of rigid systems, urging a reevaluation of how perception, agency, and generativity interact with the immutable rules of the physical and cosmic worlds.

Show code cell source Hide code cell source

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import networkx as nx

# Define the neural network structure
def define_layers():
    return {
        'World': ['Cosmos', 'Earth', 'Life', 'Agent', 'Space', 'Time', ],
        'Perception': ['Perception'],
        'Agency': ['Digital-Twin', 'Enterprise'],
        'Generativity': ['Parasitism', 'Mutualism', 'Commensalism'],
        'Physicality': ['Offense', 'Lethality',  'Retreat', 'Immunity', 'Defense']
    }

# Assign colors to nodes
def assign_colors():
    color_map = {
        'yellow': ['Perception'],
        'paleturquoise': ['Time', 'Enterprise', 'Commensalism', 'Defense'],
        'lightgreen': ['Space', 'Mutualism', 'Immunity', 'Retreat', 'Lethality'],
        'lightsalmon': [
            'Agent', 'Life', 'Digital-Twin',
            'Parasitism', 'Offense'
        ],
    }
    return {node: color for color, nodes in color_map.items() for node in nodes}

# Calculate positions for nodes
def calculate_positions(layer, x_offset):
    y_positions = np.linspace(-len(layer) / 2, len(layer) / 2, len(layer))
    return [(x_offset, y) for y in y_positions]

# Create and visualize the neural network graph
def visualize_nn():
    layers = define_layers()
    colors = assign_colors()
    G = nx.DiGraph()
    pos = {}
    node_colors = []

    # Add nodes and assign positions
    for i, (layer_name, nodes) in enumerate(layers.items()):
        positions = calculate_positions(nodes, x_offset=i * 2)
        for node, position in zip(nodes, positions):
            G.add_node(node, layer=layer_name)
            pos[node] = position
            node_colors.append(colors.get(node, 'lightgray'))  # Default color fallback

    # Add edges (automated for consecutive layers)
    layer_names = list(layers.keys())
    for i in range(len(layer_names) - 1):
        source_layer, target_layer = layer_names[i], layer_names[i + 1]
        for source in layers[source_layer]:
            for target in layers[target_layer]:
                G.add_edge(source, target)

    # Draw the graph
    plt.figure(figsize=(12, 8))
    nx.draw(
        G, pos, with_labels=True, node_color=node_colors, edge_color='gray',
        node_size=3000, font_size=9, connectionstyle="arc3,rad=0.2"
    )
    plt.title("Photons & Divinity, Tryptophan & Red Queen, Silicon & Machine", fontsize=15)
    plt.show()

# Run the visualization
visualize_nn()

Fig. 21 Psilocybin is itself biologically inactive but is quickly converted by the body to psilocin, which has mind-altering effects similar, in some aspects, to those of other classical psychedelics. Effects include euphoria, hallucinations, changes in perception, a distorted sense of time, and perceived spiritual experiences. It can also cause adverse reactions such as nausea and panic attacks. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the mushrooms were called teonanácatl—literally “divine mushroom.” Source: Wikipedia