acid birthday

"November 16, 1938 Swiss chemists Arthur Stoll and Albert Hoffman become the first scientists to synthesize LSD, the highly hallucinogenic drug that went on to become a part of the 1960s recreational drug culture. The name LSD comes from the German term “Lysergsäure-diethylamid”, or ‘Lysergic acid diethylamide’ in English, while the substance itself is derived from a fungus that grows on rye. Five years after the initial synthesis, Hofman self-administered a dose to experience what he soon found were considerable psychotropic effects."

Behind the curtain

Albert Hofmann portrait by Peter Fraser

Dear Mr. Steve Jobs,

Hello from Albert Hofmann. I understand from media accounts that you feel LSD helped you creatively in your development of Apple computers and your personal spiritual quest. I'm interested in learning more about how LSD was useful to you.

cette «substance magique», ce «révélateur d’âme»

The following types of reactions were observed

(1) Disturbed general condition, vegetative symptoms, sensory symptoms of the most varied types (2) Disturbed perception, hallucinations, particularly of an optical nature (3) Psychomotor effects, often with impulsive outbursts of anger, weeping or laughing (4) General effects of intoxication (5) Changes in the ego in the sense of depersonalization and alienation of self or surroundings ("My ego runs away from me" ... "There are two of me and I see my other self. I hear my voice but I do not recognize it.") (6) Disturbances in notion of time.

As I lay in a dazed condition with my eyes closed (I experienced daylight as disagreeably bright) there surged upon me an uninterrupted stream of fantastic images of extraordinary plasticity and vividness and accompanied by an intense, kaleidoscope-like play of colors. This condition gradually passed off after about two hours. (Albert Hofmann, 1943)

Phonokinetoscope