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Reality Switch Technologies: Psychedelics as Tools for the Discovery and Exploration of New Worlds
You are in possession of an exquisite machine motionlessly buoyant in the softly circulating fluids of your skull. A world-building machine. And psychedelic molecules are the tools for tuning and operating this machine...
From LSD to magic mushrooms to DMT to Salvia divinorum, psychedelics are used across the globe to stimulate the brain and change the nature of the subjective world. In sufficient doses, these molecules have the potential, not only to alter the structure of the normal waking world, but to replace it entirely - to hurl the tripper into fantastical realms of immense complexity and strangeness, bursting with extraordinary ecologies of apparently intelligent and communicative beings. Whilst these effects seem almost impossible to comprehend, let alone explain, as our understanding the brain's ability to construct our model of reality in normal waking life deepens, the mechanism by which psychedelic molecules perturb its world-building machinery such that entirely novel and unimaginably bizarre worlds emerge begins to reveal itself.
Chemical pharmacologist and neurobiologist Dr. Andrew R. Gallimore (author of Alien Information Psychedelic Drug Technologies and the Cosmic Game) explains in unprecedented depth and detail how psychedelic molecules interface with the human brain, alter the structure and dynamics of the experienced world, and rapidly and efficiently switch the brain's reality channel, opening up a vast number of alternate worlds for discovery and exploration. Ultimately, using both molecular and post-molecular technologies, humans will be able to enter countless different worlds at will, to establish communication with the beings resident therein, and to engineer reality itself.
From LSD to magic mushrooms to DMT to Salvia divinorum, psychedelics are used across the globe to stimulate the brain and change the nature of the subjective world. In sufficient doses, these molecules have the potential, not only to alter the structure of the normal waking world, but to replace it entirely - to hurl the tripper into fantastical realms of immense complexity and strangeness, bursting with extraordinary ecologies of apparently intelligent and communicative beings. Whilst these effects seem almost impossible to comprehend, let alone explain, as our understanding the brain's ability to construct our model of reality in normal waking life deepens, the mechanism by which psychedelic molecules perturb its world-building machinery such that entirely novel and unimaginably bizarre worlds emerge begins to reveal itself.
Chemical pharmacologist and neurobiologist Dr. Andrew R. Gallimore (author of Alien Information Psychedelic Drug Technologies and the Cosmic Game) explains in unprecedented depth and detail how psychedelic molecules interface with the human brain, alter the structure and dynamics of the experienced world, and rapidly and efficiently switch the brain's reality channel, opening up a vast number of alternate worlds for discovery and exploration. Ultimately, using both molecular and post-molecular technologies, humans will be able to enter countless different worlds at will, to establish communication with the beings resident therein, and to engineer reality itself.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2022
35 people are currently reading
735 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 14, 2023
I expected an epistemically questionable book with great graphic design. Instead there was a well-grounded summary of cortical function with descriptions of psychedelic drug effects illustrating how biological mechanisms translate to subjective experiences. And great graphic design.
January 15, 2023
What a ride!
First of all - the book is quite technical. Really more like a medical/chemical textbook.
What this book does best is that it gives you a glimpse of the sheer complexity of the human brain. Even one neuron is an advanced switchboard so complicated that whole volumes would not describe it fully. And that's just one neuron!
The brain is a wonder.
I loved World Space's concept - I would rather not spoil it, but it is impressive.
And the visual presentation is just a work of art on its own. A true simulacrum - bad copy without an original, mysterious, and nostalgic - nostalgic for something that was also never here in the first place. The schematics, the fake laboratory photos, the chapter counters, and the dividers... absolutely lovely.
I loved it.
EDIT: I have been thinking about it for a while and the truly best thing the book does is that it provides a new language to talk about these things - the world space, reality engineering, and the reality switch itself... it really makes you think about the world differently. And that is just awesome.
First of all - the book is quite technical. Really more like a medical/chemical textbook.
What this book does best is that it gives you a glimpse of the sheer complexity of the human brain. Even one neuron is an advanced switchboard so complicated that whole volumes would not describe it fully. And that's just one neuron!
The brain is a wonder.
I loved World Space's concept - I would rather not spoil it, but it is impressive.
And the visual presentation is just a work of art on its own. A true simulacrum - bad copy without an original, mysterious, and nostalgic - nostalgic for something that was also never here in the first place. The schematics, the fake laboratory photos, the chapter counters, and the dividers... absolutely lovely.
I loved it.
EDIT: I have been thinking about it for a while and the truly best thing the book does is that it provides a new language to talk about these things - the world space, reality engineering, and the reality switch itself... it really makes you think about the world differently. And that is just awesome.
November 1, 2022
Please don't stop writing books like this.
March 11, 2025
Really interesting book on the effects of various psychedelics on the human body. The perspective is from a pharmacological and medical point of view for the most part and a lot of the chemistry talk was completely lost on me, but I found the phrasing of how the brain perceives “reality” to be really thought provoking and perspective shifting.
The last chapter about exploring the World Space was very captivating and makes me think that there is a new age of exploration on the horizon, but instead of new continents across the ocean, there are “magical fractal shores beyond the veil!”
Also the physical book itself is visually really cool. The only reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because the chemistry talk was very technical and hard to get through at times. Pharmacy students and pharmacists might get a better kick out of those parts.
The last chapter about exploring the World Space was very captivating and makes me think that there is a new age of exploration on the horizon, but instead of new continents across the ocean, there are “magical fractal shores beyond the veil!”
Also the physical book itself is visually really cool. The only reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 is because the chemistry talk was very technical and hard to get through at times. Pharmacy students and pharmacists might get a better kick out of those parts.
November 28, 2023
Utrolig kompleks, men veldig interessant. Boken lå lenge an til 2-3 stjerner, ettersom nevroanatomien&kjemien var mye vanskeligere forklart enn i tradisjonelle popscience. MEN det her er ikke tradisjonell popscience, den forteller om hvordan vi kan reise til ulike verdener via Tryptaminer, Delerianter, Dissosiativer og Salvia- og hvordan hjernen forsøker å konstruere og predikere det vi opplever. Verdt å høre podcaster/foredrag med Gallimore før man begir seg ut på denne.
January 11, 2026
Marivious resource on understanding the neuroscience behind psychedelic experience with a very nice state-space framework! I really appreciate Gallimore’s goal to describe not just classic serotonergic psychedelics but dissociatives, dimerizers, and kappa opioids too, and the relationships between all of their methods of action; this is a rare thing to see. I fully believe that the study of psychedelic experience is as important for the advancement of consciousness research and cognitive science as the study of quantum mechanics is to the advancement of physics in general, and Gallimore's work really shows what it looks like to take this idea seriously.
Do not be fooled by the post-cyberpunk, fictional-looking graphic design; this is a serious academic work, not a book of popular science, trip reports, or new-age spirituality. I highly recommend that readers already be well acquainted with the phenomenological qualities of different ethnogens (either from personal experience or from the many wonderful psychonautic/trip report resources elsewhere) and know at least a first-course's worth of neuroscience (or related knowledge like deep learning) to properly appreciate this text.
I considered myself relatively knowledgeable on many of the topics covered in this text such as the organization of the cortical columns, the brain’s use of Feedback-Feedforward Alignment as opposed to classic backpropagation for learning, the roles and receptors of the major neurotransmitters, hopfield networks and attractor landscapes for representing memories and plausible seeming states, and the all encompassing importance of brain waves and harmonic modes for characterizing conscious states and binding by synchrony, among a great many other things; and yet find my understanding of each of these things deeply clarified and unified by reading this book so that what once seemed to be many disparate facts now all shine cleanly in my mind as many mechanisms that all fit deeply together. This book also taught me many fascinating facts I did not know before, though I really ought have. I had no clue about the importance of mGluR2 inhibition for classic psychedelics, nor did I know about the claustrum's role in modulating sensitivity to synchronized firing. This book has really done wonders for strengthening my understanding of not just psychedelic experience but brain function as a whole and if you have similar interests and knowledge as I did, I really give it my highest recommendations.
Do not be fooled by the post-cyberpunk, fictional-looking graphic design; this is a serious academic work, not a book of popular science, trip reports, or new-age spirituality. I highly recommend that readers already be well acquainted with the phenomenological qualities of different ethnogens (either from personal experience or from the many wonderful psychonautic/trip report resources elsewhere) and know at least a first-course's worth of neuroscience (or related knowledge like deep learning) to properly appreciate this text.
I considered myself relatively knowledgeable on many of the topics covered in this text such as the organization of the cortical columns, the brain’s use of Feedback-Feedforward Alignment as opposed to classic backpropagation for learning, the roles and receptors of the major neurotransmitters, hopfield networks and attractor landscapes for representing memories and plausible seeming states, and the all encompassing importance of brain waves and harmonic modes for characterizing conscious states and binding by synchrony, among a great many other things; and yet find my understanding of each of these things deeply clarified and unified by reading this book so that what once seemed to be many disparate facts now all shine cleanly in my mind as many mechanisms that all fit deeply together. This book also taught me many fascinating facts I did not know before, though I really ought have. I had no clue about the importance of mGluR2 inhibition for classic psychedelics, nor did I know about the claustrum's role in modulating sensitivity to synchronized firing. This book has really done wonders for strengthening my understanding of not just psychedelic experience but brain function as a whole and if you have similar interests and knowledge as I did, I really give it my highest recommendations.
October 27, 2024
Incredibly beautifully written, illustrated and designed book on bio- and neurochemistry combined with thought-provoking musings on the philosophical/epistemological implications. The latter chapters deal with the effects of various psychoactive substances and explain what happens in your brain during their effective duration. Loved it!
October 11, 2023
very straightforward yet extremely technical explanation of the wonders of the brain; quite hard to follow at times, luckily I've some background in ML, which helped A Lot. one thing RST does beautifully is give new vocabulary to talk about the effects of psychedelics from this unique perspective that i believe many hold, but cannot put into words.
with a mind that has doubted reality for years now, i found especially the first couple chapters on the Consensus Reality Space extremely touching, and somehow feel this newfound appreciation for the World my brain has modelled for me. as if being given the theory and now knowing it is subjective, which confirms prior beliefs, makes it realer than ever before, and faker than i could ever believe. jumping between extremes of Real and Fake + Love grows only.
additionally, this made me realize that properly taking care of body and brain is vital for World Space exploration. so i will. what a fucking ride!!
love love love
(ah, yes, i should mention that this book is properly unhinged)
with a mind that has doubted reality for years now, i found especially the first couple chapters on the Consensus Reality Space extremely touching, and somehow feel this newfound appreciation for the World my brain has modelled for me. as if being given the theory and now knowing it is subjective, which confirms prior beliefs, makes it realer than ever before, and faker than i could ever believe. jumping between extremes of Real and Fake + Love grows only.
additionally, this made me realize that properly taking care of body and brain is vital for World Space exploration. so i will. what a fucking ride!!
love love love
(ah, yes, i should mention that this book is properly unhinged)
July 16, 2024
The Nature of Human Consciousness
This book is about psychedelic drugs and how they affect the brain at the biological and chemical level, so those with even a passing interest in those things will love this book. But it also provides an implicit exploration of the nature of human consciousness, which even those without an interest in drugs or biology may find fascinating. I’m shocked this book is not more well known - it is a gem
This book is about psychedelic drugs and how they affect the brain at the biological and chemical level, so those with even a passing interest in those things will love this book. But it also provides an implicit exploration of the nature of human consciousness, which even those without an interest in drugs or biology may find fascinating. I’m shocked this book is not more well known - it is a gem
November 25, 2022
The first chapters summarises predictive processing and how brain operates in the most satisfying way. Furthermore, the details of how different psychedelic molecules binds and reshapes targeting protein receptors is perfectly balenced with the overview picture of the phenomenological experience that these substances give rise to.
June 1, 2023
This one is more or less grounded in reality and it's more of a"how the brain works and how complicated it really is" than "here is how you switch realities".
I also loved the author's course on neuroscience available for free on youtube: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...-
I also loved the author's course on neuroscience available for free on youtube: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=P...-
April 1, 2025
Very interesting book. Recommended if you can stomach lots of neurochemistry and neurophysiology. Reads like a scientific review article but it feels needlessly too deep and technical for my taste. There are a lot of interesting concepts and ideas, but ultimately it doesn't really add much if you look beyond the lengthy pharmacological explanation of how different drugs work. Still a great read, even just for the last chapter where the author speculates about what's the future of these drugs and how we could use them to better understand our brains and these worlds (i.e. using DMT under IV for hours/days and try to be in the DMT world enough to gather and bring back information). It sounds like science fiction but theoretically it is possible. Looking forward to seeing these clinical trials.
July 12, 2025
Way too technical for dimwits like me , however theres enough here to provide some genuinely profound insight and shift your perspective far out of its cosy comfort zone.
( as with most , almost all in fact, concerning ontology, philosophy of mind ect- theres an absolute laser tight focus on a fledgling western perspective, ignoring the 3000 plus years of study carried out by for example Hindu Vedantists, Eastern Buddhists ect- basically a huge chunk of the planet for the majority of recorded history but sadly thats par for the course within the insular world of academia)
( as with most , almost all in fact, concerning ontology, philosophy of mind ect- theres an absolute laser tight focus on a fledgling western perspective, ignoring the 3000 plus years of study carried out by for example Hindu Vedantists, Eastern Buddhists ect- basically a huge chunk of the planet for the majority of recorded history but sadly thats par for the course within the insular world of academia)
July 25, 2023
Phenomenal book describing the action and effects of psychedelics at a biochemical/ cortical level. The book provides clear descriptions that effectively conceptualize all of the mechanisms into a comprehensive framework. Using the idea of the World Space and cortically generated models is an excellent way to build an understanding of the neuroscience behind our reality generating machinery. Organization, typeset and design are great. The book is fun to follow, and written at an accessible level.
April 11, 2024
Reality Switch Technologies is about 80% neuroscience and 20% psychedelic's. That's not a bad thing, just wasn't what I expected going into it. The author does a fantastic job explaining the complex way the brain works and how it receives and processes the information that constructs our reality. He also does an amazing jobs in covering the ways various psychedelic's interact with our brain and how they most likely produce the effects that they do. Great read if you want to learn more about the scientific side of psychedelic's and their effects on our brain chemistry and reality.
July 7, 2024
Surprisingly technical on the neuroscience side. It can be hard to follow at times, but not what I consider a difficult read. You can tell he really put effort and time into this book. It's really a pleasure to look at. I like the language he used to describe his concepts: "Reality engineering", "Reality switch", "World Space".
January 6, 2025
A perfect description of information flow from the lowest level of neuron receptors to neural networks, and how even slight changes with the help of different substances can lead to a total reality switch. This is a great book if you want to know how different types of drugs work and why you experience what you experience under their influence.
January 20, 2025
It's a crazy book. Gets really deep into the neuroscience of psychedelic experiences and goes into the supernatural a little bit. Andrew Gallimore is Terrence McKenna of the 21st century; more science but still slightly mad.
This book discusses a topic that in my opinion needs the attention similar to that of the atomic bomb or AGI. What if there really are other realms?
This book discusses a topic that in my opinion needs the attention similar to that of the atomic bomb or AGI. What if there really are other realms?
January 28, 2023
Andrew Gallimore will be a scientific legend that history looks back upon. This ship definitely seems to be heading in the direction of his ideas. Only a matter of time to me before the ideas in this books are a part of our existence.
April 30, 2023
bought this cuz it looked unhinged and it was
October 31, 2022
Gallimore's first book (Alien Information Theory) provided a theoretical thesis on the relation between brain states and consciousness reality (as well as and how we can learn about those states thru psychedelics state modification). This book develops on that thesis thru a technical analysis to develop a model for the neural and pharamcological underpinnings of the brain reality interface and how that reality is engineered potentially.
Loses a point for the weird decision by the editor to have random japanese, kanji, photographed pages etc to make it look like one has found a lost manuscript. Gallimore is a serious pharmacologist,neurobiologist. No need for these "pop science" aesthetics.
Loses a point for the weird decision by the editor to have random japanese, kanji, photographed pages etc to make it look like one has found a lost manuscript. Gallimore is a serious pharmacologist,neurobiologist. No need for these "pop science" aesthetics.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews