- MarissaBrand
- gordman
- mithunsarker
- Kim07
- Ralph Waldren
Were The Grateful Dead the Forerunners of FOSS?
Maybe not, but this article does have some interesting details about what The Dead were trying to do:
Micky Hart puts this succinctly: "Our main focus was the idea of group mind. We saw the Grateful Dead as a group mind and one in which we were able to share with the audience. We were able to take an image and project it into the audience and send it to receptive receivers."
This article recounts the group's attempts to do a mass psychic experiment of group mind, a concept which certainly has some echoes in FOSS. Whether or not you are interested in concepts like this, consider the observation and conclusion of the author:
But from a fortean angle the results are not really the point. No, the point is that all concerned had the courage of their convictions and strength of belief to attempt the manifestation of a wild talent, involving over 6,000 people. These experiments were, to date, the largest telepathy tests conducted outside of laboratory conditions, with over 2,000 people being involved at each concert. They reflected a zeitgeist, rapidly fading from our memories, in which it was believed the human subconscious had limitless potential and could be accessed and directed by drugs, music and intent. Contrast that with the general drabness of psychical research in the early 21st century! Now largely forgotten, the world's biggest telepathy experiment has become just another footnote in the annals of both parapsychology and rock and roll. Ah well, I guess you had to be there.
I think the author of this article, Andy Roberts, needs to read The Cluetrain Manifesto. The 60s are coming back!
And if you're following the SCO vs. Linux case, you may find a bonus in the same online publication - some think that this may be the explanation for their actions.
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