[FRIAM] consciousness conundrum

[Steve Smith]

I grew up with rodeo cowboys (ab)using "horse tranks" on themselves as
much as on their horses (shoeing/trailering/etc.)   I never saw anyone
"riding the k-pony" much less "in a k-hole" but that could easily have
been masked by the pervasive alcohol (ab)use.   I didn't know this was
Ketamine until later.   I heard the term "riding the k-pony" but not
"k-hole"... probably a more modern term?

I did some work
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0167278984902598>
in the early 80's with an anesthesiologist who was full of anecdotes
about how anesthesiology was still more an art than a science and his
prime exhibit was a recently deprecated cocktail which A) induced
paralysis; and B) yielded short-term amnesia.   The way they figured
this out apparently was that a variation *also* included low levels of
Ketamine... not enough to be the primary anesthetic, but to induce
modest dissociation "on the way in and out" to reduce anxiety?  Those
with the Ketamine-laced cocktail fared *much* better in recovery, as
*apparently* the others were psychologically traumatized by the
experience (imagine paralysis during surgery, even with amnesia), even
though they didn't have any physical side effects.

My only personal experience with anesthesia was whilst having all 4
(impacted) wisdom teeth removed in my late teens.   I can't say I was
present for the whole procedure, but I definitely remembered a LOT of
details that I didn't think I should have experienced.  It was not
traumatic, and I think it must have been the strongest experience I've
had with dissociation.   I can't say it was particularly compelling in
it's own right, but I am glad I had the experience.   By some
extrapolation, I can imagine how such experiences could be in some way
addictive.  It seems unlikely (for several reasons) that the anesthetic
was Ketamine (early 1970s), but significantly dissociative.

I have a stronger sense of Dave's "X-consciousness being aware of
ego-consciousness and it's fading"  in variations on lucid dreaming.  
Of course my brain activity is not flatlined (I assume) in that mode.  I
don't have out-of-body experiences but I do become an extreme "observer"
of my own consciousness... I can't really parse that well...  other
experiences with dreaming include what I interpret as a "post-hoc"
fabricated "memory".   If something intrusive is happening in the world
around my sleeping self, I am as likely as not to build an elaborate
dream-story around the intrusion (sound, smell, cold, etc) which can
feel like it lasts for *hours* when in fact, the intrusion may have been
very short, sometimes all but instantaneous.  The dream-story "builds up
to" the event as if with foreknowledge.    I interpret it as "post hoc
fabrication".  Others report it as "foreknowledge".

If I had a k-pony, I suppose I would now have to name it "yoda".

- Steve


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