The Alchemy of Action by Doug Robinson #
The Alchemy of Action, Doug Robinson. The main question on the title: “Why do people climb mountains?” A great question, especially to someone who spends as much of their free time climbing as I (and many of my friends) do. The answer: “Because it gets us high.” A more intriguing answer than Sir Edmund Hillary’s “Because it’s there.” More concretely, the book argues—suggests, in an appropriately humble way, may be more appropriate—that adventure sports (running, skiing, climbing, etc) can cause the body to produce DMT and/or anandamide (a new-to-me neurotransmitter that binds to the same receptors as THC), which is responsible for feelings of euphoria, heightened perception, and the like in these contexts. A self-published book about psychadelics certainly runs the risk of becoming too detached from the facts on the ground; and although Robinson’s writing style often veers towards Huxley and Hunter S Thompson, it struck me as relatively well-informed and very appropriately scientifically modest: he knows when and is clear to flag when he’s speculating and when he’s reporting results from the literature. And this description of various metabolic pathways and the scientific literature is intermixed with some good old-fashioned mountain man memoir writing (Robinson was a pioneer in the golden era of Yosemite climbing and a long-time mountain guide in the Sierras). Am I fully convinced of the core thesis? No. Do I regret reading the book? Definitely not. Do I want to follow-up and see what’s been discovered on these topics in the 20 years since Robinson wrote this? Quite possibly. Grade: B+