Microdosing

Microdosing is the regular use of a tiny, subperceptual dose of LSD as a kind of mental tonic. In the account of Silicon Valley’s psychedelic history, it marks the persistence of an ambition first explored through research into whether psychedelics might foster creativity and cultural change: the dose is small, but the hoped-for reach extends into everyday work and innovation.

Definition and Contemporary Use

The practice is described as taking a tiny dose at regular intervals, rather than as the guided, full psychedelic journeys associated with earlier research. By the time of the account, microdosing had become popular in the technology community. Its appeal lay in the possibility of using LSD to support creative thought, although the evidence here establishes the practice and its cultural enthusiasm, not its effectiveness as a cognitive aid.

Silicon Valley’s Continuing Interest

The narrative connects contemporary microdosing to Al Hubbard’s earlier work in Silicon Valley, where the potential of LSD to enhance creative imagination received a sustained test. That connection is presented as a line of influence, not a simple or proven cause: the Valley’s later interest in psychedelics grew in a culture already shaped by experimentation with creativity and human potential.

Workplace Experiments and Legacy

The interest had also entered some workplaces. One Bay Area technology company used psychedelics in management training, while a handful of others instituted “microdosing Fridays.” These examples place microdosing within a broader effort to bring psychedelic ideas into professional life. Its recurrence suggests that the older question of whether psychedelics can change how people think had not disappeared; it had been recast as a contemporary experiment in workplace culture.