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Comment by xdfgh1112 | Hacker News Reader

"LSD-like" can mean "acts like" just as well as "looks like", so you're being hyperpedantic.

Actually, I don't think he's being pedantic at all. LSD binds to a wide array of proteins and receptors in the brain (including dopamine receptors) and the binding profile of this substance is most likely very different from that of LSD. Likely to be much more specific to 5HT2a, closer to psilocybin than LSD. IMO they just said "LSD-like" because it would make a nice headline.

See this diagram on wikipedia for LSD binding affinities (lower means more affinity): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#/me...

Scientists are excited about a new hotdog-like food that prevents depression without the meat: cake!

I guess it's like the question of: could you say an SSD is "hard drive-like" even though it works totally differently? I would say you validly could.

While you could say a drug is "LSD-like" because one of the many receptors it targets is also targeted by LSD, that would be more akin to saying a keyboard is "hard-drive-like" because they both plug into a computer.

Biology is extremely complex, and even drugs that have similar receptor binding profiles can have very different effects.

Most drugs will have action across a wide range of receptors. There are a multitude of drugs that target the 5-HT2A receptor, including the most common antidepressants and antipsychotics, for example.

Hmm, depends on the receptor, where the molecule or the hard drive docks to?

So USB hard drives might be keyboard like (for USB keyboards), but hard drives which dock to the SATA connector aren't …

Anyway, such comparisons sometimes limp and sometimes don't have any legs at all.

or alternatively the headline is just super clickbaity by adding LSD when it was not needed.

So using LSD in a title makes it clickbaity? Come on, that’s ridiculous. Don’t squeeze the life from that term by applying it to anything you don’t like.

The comparison to LSD is sensationalized and misleading making it clickbait even if the link is not deceptive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickbait

> So using LSD in a title makes it clickbaity

Yes alluding to something illegal makes it clickbaity.

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