&gt; What really sticks out to me is the brain damage-like effects of the disease<p>Absolutely... there&#x27;s an <i>incoherence</i> to true (not armchair diagnosed) schizophrenia. The mind falls apart.<p>Traditional shamans and modern ones like McKenna himself might hold ideas that some might find irrational, but their thought patterns are coherent and their reasoning ability is there. They&#x27;re lucid and can think. McKenna&#x27;s brilliant wordsmithing is the polar opposite of what you see with degenerative mental illness.