Alan Shnir, Period 1, 11/4/21

The forbidden fruit. What does it mean? What is the forbidden

fruit? Is it sex, is it water, is lust, or is it just an Apple? Is it

me, is it you, is it Dr. Seuss? What if I told you that the forbidden

fruit is none of these at all. In fact, it’s a drug, a magic mushroom.

Is it a coincidence that when our primordial ancestors ate the

forbidden fruit that it came from a “Tree of Knowledge''? Or how

eating this fruit made them awaken to the real world, how it made them

see the world for how it truly was? Or how this forbidden fruit grew

upon a tree, much as how mushrooms do?

       Are all of these similarities to psychedelics just a

coincidence? Or maybe it’s an allegory? Maybe Adam and Eve is

history’s greatest allegory for a drug trip. We may never know the

true answer, but it is interesting to ponder this thought and to see

if this story lines up with the facts.

       The cognitive revolution (an idea pioneered by Yuval Noah

Harari) was the first of man’s three main revolutions (the other’s

being the agricultural and scientific revolutions), and is dated back

to have occurred 30,000-70,000 years ago. In this Time period, we see

humans start to use language, wear clothing, and create their own

cultural traditions such as specific burial patterns. Even though

earlier paintings exist, this is the time period from which we also

find the vast majority of human cave paintings. Human usage of tools

assembled from more than one piece, such as bow and arrows and modern

spears, can also be traced back to this period. This was the point at

which some scientists believe modern cognition may have evolved, and

humans may have started first being aware of themselves.

What does this have anything to do with psychedelics? The onset of

this psychological revolution is believed to have also coincided with

some of the first recorded usages of psychedelics in human history.

Human remains from 13000 years ago containing remnants of psychedelic

plants have been found in the Philippines, suggesting that we started

using these substances before the advent of farming.

Looking at the forbidden fruit in class as representing sexual desire

pushed me to keep finding a potential other meaning. This pushed me to

think, and explore, and even challenge myself when thinking about

basic human history. What if the forbidden fruit really was a

modern-day forbidden fruit. From history’s most famous origin story,

we can see countless different interpretations, whether it is a story

on humans realizing sex, or a story on realizing the neurological

effects of psychedelics. So maybe next time you think of Adam and Eve,

maybe think of an alternative interpretation, for you never know what

rabbit hole it will lead you down.