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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 is known about the substance being tested as of the year the experiment is performed?
(a) It is only safe to use in small doses.
(b) It can have serious or even fatal side effects, but only in a very small percentage of people who use it.
(c) It alters one's mental state, but often induces anxiety or panic.
(d) It can alter the subject's mental state without any noticeable side effects.

2. What were the two primary uses of the science of "pyrotechny," according to the author?
(a) Religious ceremony and weaponry.
(b) Stage lighting and religious ceremony.
(c) Fireworks and stage lighting.
(d) Weaponry and fireworks.

3. How does the author respond when the researcher asks him if his experience with the drug is positive or negative?
(a) It is mostly positive, but frightening at times.
(b) It is neither positive nor negative; it just is.
(c) It is positive for him, but he can see where it would be frightening for others.
(d) It is mostly negative, but the positive parts make it worthwhile.

4. What is the main quality of the drug being tested?
(a) Psychedelic.
(b) Hallucinogenic.
(c) Sedative.
(d) Stimulant.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the Dharma-body?

2. What is the difference between the two techniques the author describes in Appendix 1?

3. What substance is the author testing in the experiment?

4. What two techniques, according to the author, can produce effects similar to those of mescalin?

5. According to the author, in Appendix 2 what was the result of our ancestors' winter diets?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How was pageantry used as a political tool?

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

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

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

7. How is the practice of pageantry related to theatrical spectacle, according to the author in Appendix 3?

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

9. What does the author say in "Heaven and Hell" about gemstones?

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

(see the answer keys)

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