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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What affects one's ability to have visionary experiences, according to the author, if one is using the first method mentioned in Appendix 1?
(a) The person's disposition before use.
(b) The duration of use.
(c) The number of times a person has used.
(d) The amount of substance that is allowed to reach the brain.

2. In what year does the experiment take place?
(a) 1953.
(b) 1978.
(c) 1925.
(d) 1962.

3. What development contributed greatly, according to the author, to pageantry and theatrical spectacle?
(a) Mass production of clothing and jewelry.
(b) Widespread literacy.
(c) Photography.
(d) Artificial lighting.

4. What substance is the author testing in the experiment?
(a) Mescalin.
(b) Acid.
(c) Cocaine.
(d) Angel dust.

5. Which of these is NOT a specialist who the author feels should be consulted by an aspiring mystic?
(a) Biochemist.
(b) Pharmacologist.
(c) Ornithologist.
(d) Psychologist.

Short Answer Questions

1. What materials were often used for self-flagellation?

2. Why is the first technique in Appendix 1 even less understood than mescalin use?

3. In what type of plant is the substance being tested commonly found?

4. The author feels that all human beings are naturally what?

5. To what does the author compare someone fasting and self-flagellating, instead of using drugs, to achieve a visionary experience?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what other way did faithful people sometimes induce religious visions, according to the author?

2. What other practices commonly incorporated into religious ceremonies produce results similar to the first vision-inducing method discussed in Appendix 1?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the first vision-inducing method discussed in Appendix 1?

4. To which spiritual practice does the author refer to exemplify the effects of a restricted diet?

5. What is the author's view of heaven and hell, as described at the end of the second essay?

6. What personal story is related by the author concerning the second vision-inducing method in Appendix 1?

7. What does the author begin to ponder after seeing a book of Sandro Botticelli's paintings in the World's Biggest Drug Store?

8. What does the author say about Plato during the first part of the mescalin experiment?

9. What is known about peyote before the author participates in his experiment with it?

10. In general, what is the topic of the first essay?

(see the answer keys)

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