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The Real Richard Alpert

  We always knew that many of the names on LOST already meant something. The names Locke, Rousseau and Bentham are all names of philosophers. Whenever I heard the name Richard Alpert, I always thought about Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Incredibly, by pure chance, several days ago I stumbled across the name Richard Alpert while re-reading a book called The Holographic Universe.

  Here's the interesting part:

  ... in 1966, the now infamous Harvard psychologist Richard Alpert journeyed to the East to look for holy men who could offer him insight into the LSD experience. He found several who were willing to sample the drug and, interestingly, received a variety of reactions. One pundit told him it was good, but not as good as meditation. Another, a Tibetan lama, complained that it only gave him a headache.
   But the reaction that fascinated Alpert most came from a wizened little holy man in the foothills of the Himalayas. Because the man was over sixty, Alpert’s first inclination was to give him a gentle dose of 50 to 75 micrograms. But the man was much more interested in one of the 305 microgram pills Alpert had brought with him, a relatively sizable dose. Reluctantly, Alpert gave him one of the pills, but still the man was not satisfied. With a twinkle in his eye he requested another and then another and placed all 915 micrograms of LSD on his tongue, a massive dose by any standard, and swallowed them (in comparison, the average dose Grof used in his studies was about 200 micrograms). Aghast, Alpert watched intently, expecting the man to start waving his arms and whooping like a banshee, but instead he behaved as if nothing had happened. He remained that way for the rest of the day, his demeanor as serene and unperturbed as it always was, save for the twinkling glances he occasionally tossed Alpert. The LSD apparently had little or no effect on him. Alpert was so moved by the experience he gave up LSD, changed his name to Ram Dass, and converted to mysticism

- from The Holographic Universe - by Michael Talbot

  Mention was also made in the book that it is possible to experience an LSD trip by taking a placebo LSD! For me, I'll just continue to watch LOST.

The Herb Alpert Experience

The Real Richard Alpert

The Richard Alpert Experience