Topic: Graduate School

A 1972 experiment at Memphis State University tested the rudimentary consciousness of plants using a philodendron and an eight-channel physiograph. The study found that the plant reacted "off the charts" only when a person who had previously torn one of its leaves entered the room, ignoring others who had not caused it harm. This research suggests that plants possess a form of memory and can distinguish between different human individuals based on past interactions.

Martin Ball recounts his first experience with psilocybin mushrooms at the Gathering of the Vibes festival in Northern California after his freshman year of college. He describes a period of discomfort where patterned rugs or leaves triggered psychedelic states, leading to a heart murmur diagnosis due to panic. He eventually returned to mushrooms during graduate school, which provided the foundational breakthrough for his later writing.