Psychedelic Information Theory
Jenna Hartel, James L. Kent Cydelic, Tim Gorichanaz, Keith Munro
Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l ACSI February 7, 2025 DOI: 10.29173/cais1980 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThis panel systematically examines information phenomena during altered states of consciousness induced by psilocybin-containing mushrooms, drawing on the book Psychedelic Information Theory and situating the discussion within information behavior research. The session explores psychedelic information at four levels: personal, microsocial, macrosocial, and the meta-perspective of Information Science. The approach is explicit and balanced, aiming to leap beyond conventional notions of information.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Magic mushrooms |
| Keywords | Computer science Psychology |
| Key finding | Proposes a systematic framework for analyzing psychedelic information phenomena across personal, microsocial, macrosocial, and meta levels. |
Abstract
Inspired by the conference theme, Leaps and Stumbles, our panel takes a quantum leap beyond conventional notions of information. We provide a systematic consideration of information phenomena during altered states of consciousness generated by ingestion of “magic mushrooms.” Our exploration is anchored in the book, Psychedelic Information Theory: Shamanism in the Age of Reason (Kent, 2010) and is situated within the information behaviour literature. The session will be systematic for its explicit and balanced treatment of “psychedelic information” on four levels, namely: personal, microsocial, macrosocial, and the “meta” perspective of Information Science (Bates, 1999).