I was working on something involving psychotropic drugs, and it got me wondering what the relationship was between a mind-altering substance and a torrid climate ... other than that the pretty poppies grow nicely there, I mean.
And so we learn that "tropic" is ME
tropik, LL
tropicus, Gr
tropikos, belonging to a turn (of the sun at the solstices), from
trope, a turn.
I just thought I'd share.
Sorry. I *did* search for psychotropic with no hits.
But it's good that Sparteye brought up tropic again here so that Bingley could direct us all below the equator for a very interesting, topical discussion on tropes of all types.
one good trope deserves another.
So can we then assume that psychotropic means to "turn the mind?" I'm reminded of the Timothy Learyism: Tune in, turn on, drop out.
Sparteye, have you read Huxley's "Storming Heaven?"
Yes, DougS, psychotropic drugs, for instance, would be ones that turn the mind, as you put it.
But--I'm just kidding around here--a psychotropic would also be Hannibal Lechter at the conclusion of Silence of the Lambs.
Timothy Leary paid a high price for his use of recreational drugs. And so did a lot of the pathetic jerks who copied
him. I saw quite a few of them when the melody was over
but the malady lingered on.
Doug, I have not read Storming Heaven. What about it brought it to mind here?
Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream by Jay Stevens
A fascinating book about the early days of LSD experimentation. Harvard, the US Government, celebrities, Leary, Kesey, et al. I read it years ago and remember not being able to put it down.
Nice Lechter ref, WW!
paid a high price for his use of recreational drugs
yeah, but...
every society has recreational drugs that are acceptable, and others that aren't. Alcohol is OK, weed is not.
LSD is taboo, but giving pregnant mothers, about to give birth scopilame,(not sure of the spelling-i'll look it up in a few) (a close cousin to LSD) is OK. it causes halucinations too.. but its OK 'cause doctors prescibe it. (or did for many, many years.)
opium and cocaine were legal OTC drugs once. tylonol might not be addictive, but an accidental overdose can be as deadly.
through out the ages, people have found all sorts of drugs that are psychotropic, and societies have accepted them, or rejected them.. as they see fit, with no clear cut 'rules' as to why one is acceptable and another isn't.
one is acceptable and another isn't
perhaps it depends on what "kind" of people adopt said drug?
one is acceptable and another isn't
perhaps it depends on what "kind" of people adopt said drug?
definately. there are subsystems in any society. many religious groups frown on alcohol, (even wine) and some, prohibit caffine, (no cola, coffee or tea) and others employ drugs as part of their religious cerimonies.
teen agers, and others who want to test societal mores often experiment with proscribed 'drugs'.
and then there are people like rush limbaugh!
Dear of troy: Of course, my problem is that I had to take
care of the losers.
I allus figgered if you were strong enough to handle acid you didn't need it.
It was Huxley's Doors of Perception. And Albert Hofmann's LSD, My Problem Child is a good read by the inventor of acid.
Jheem, thanks for the correction, I got the author's name right in a subsequent post, but failed to edit the first. I read Storming Heaven and Doors of Perception at about the same time... or I was on blotter when I posted, heh heh!
ran across this while perusing Arts and Letters Daily(
http://www.aldaily.com/)
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/16882fascinating.