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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book 2: Appendix 2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is self-flagellation?
(a) The act of whipping oneself.
(b) The act of piercing one's skin.
(c) The act of burning oneself.
(d) The act of cutting oneself.

2. Why was Holy Week such an effective spiritual practice, according to the author?
(a) Because the faithful were gathered in large groups for the services.
(b) Because there is vivid and graphic mythology associated with it.
(c) Because it worked upon the penitents' feelings of guilt.
(d) Because it was preceded by Lent.

3. How does mescalin affect the user's brain function?
(a) It affects the brain's enzymes and absorption of glucose.
(b) It affects the user's ability to react appropriately to potentially dangerous situations.
(c) It blocks the brain's ability to filter sensory input.
(d) It makes users unable to recognize or remember familiar people, places and objects.

4. To what field of science does the author compare the human mind at the beginning of "Heaven and Hell"?
(a) Physiology.
(b) Etymology.
(c) Zoology.
(d) Ornithology.

5. According to the author, at the end of Appendix 1 what is one claim that is made almost universally by visionaries?
(a) They can only have the visions when they are in the right frame of mind to do so.
(b) They never have the same vision twice.
(c) They are unable to produce the visions at will, regardless of the methods they try.
(d) They are unable to recall the experience in anything approaching its original intensity.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What researcher performed experiments with touching parts of the brain with a fine electrode?

3. What topic does the author explore in Appendix 2?

4. How was the drug typically used up until the 1950s?

5. According to the author, what are the two reasons for the manner in which visionaries are received?

(see the answer key)

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