Turn on, tune in, drop out is a counterculture expression brought to us courtesy of Timothy Leary of LSD fame. Turn on meant become sensitive to different levels of consciousness and what triggers them, with psychedelic drugs being a way to achieve it. (I guess Buddha and his Bodhi tree missed the bus on that one). Tune in meant to relate harmoniously with the world by sharing your new found inner wisdom (not so harmonious if folks think you’re a crashing bore). Drop out proposed detaching from “involuntary” or” unconscious” commitments (such as how you were raised) and commit instead to mobility, choice, and change.

Every generation since the dawn of time has devoted itself to putting their parent’s ways in the rear-view mirror, and one way of doing that is through slang. Here are examples dating from the 1920s to the present. Some you’ll recognize, others perhaps not. Their definitions will be at the bottom of this article. 1920s: 1. Blotto; 2. Ducky; 3. Giggle water; 4. Jake. 1930s: 5. Bumps; 6. Cactus; 7. Darb; 8. Socko. 1940s: 9. Applesauce; 10. Beat feet; 11. Snap your cap. 1950s: 12. Ankle-biter; 13. Dullsville; 14. Made in the shade. 1960s: 15. Lay it on me; 16. Outta sight; 17. Peace out. 1970s: 18. Catch you on the flip side; 19. Funky. 1980s: 20. Airhead; 21. Bad; 22. Gnarly. 1990s: 23. All that and a bag of chips; 24. Fly; 25. Props; 26. Sike. 2000s: 27. Chillax; 28. Fo shizzle; 29. Rents. 2010s: 30. Fleek; 31. Throw shade. 2020s: 32. Cap; 33. Cheugy; 34. Rona.

But Leary took the natural, and in some ways healthy, inclination of youth wanting to separate from their parents a big step further. He offered them a new “religion.” In a speech delivered in New York City on September 19, 1966 he said: “Like every great religion, we seek to find the divinity within and to express this revelation in a life of glorification and the worship of God. These ancient goals we define in the metaphor of the present—turn on, tune in, drop out.” Seems a tad prosaic as far as creeds go, and not without its tweaking. In 1967 Leary proclaimed a new word order for the slogan: Drop out. Turn on. Drop in. So, first you scuttle your upbringing, then do drugs (to become a better person), then bend everyone’s ear sharing your inner wisdom. By the early 1980s it had become “turn on, tune in, take over.” So, do drugs and with the wisdom they bring you take charge. The “Drop Out” is studiously missing. Huh. Maybe twenty years in the first recruits are now parents themselves and Leary knew how to play to his audience. During his last decade he declared that the personal computer was the new LSD, and re-worked the phrase once more, this time into: “turn on, boot up, jack in.” So, the message goes: do drugs, buy a computer, and escape into virtual reality.

For a supposed philosopher with a penchant for forays into the realm of the spirit, Leary was very mechanical in his approach. Instead of achieving higher consciousness through the discipline of meditation to connect to spiritual guides and intuition, a discipline where patience is key and persistence is essential just take the short cut and drop acid. Perhaps another case of him knowing his audience—he was dealing with kids after all. And his 1980s incarnation promoting “turn on, boot up, jack in” displays the same mechanics. He became the spokesperson for the cyberdelic counterculture with its emphasis on immersive virtual reality, which is the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. Okay, harmless enough if it’s just Disneyland in your head, taking a vacation without leaving your chair, but this willingness to ditch actual experience for a simulated one has now progressed to simulated love affairs.

According to Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory of love, love requires intimacy, passion, and commitment, but what’s the damage to our humanity, to real life, if we succumb to achieving them electronically? Chatbots remember confidences and show that they care, simulating intimacy. Passion ignites when the system provides sexual fantasy on demand. Commitment exists because the avatar will never stand you up.

Is it all that different from Drop Acid, Achieve Nirvana? Life can be lonely, and escapist mantras can be seductive. Will we even notice if we lose some of our humanity along the way?

Of the turn on, tune in, drop out unholy trinity, perhaps drop out was the most damaging. “Turning on” is nothing really new, dulling the senses with drugs or alcohol has always been with us. “Tuning in” is another form of naval gazing, again nothing new. But “drop out” meant ditching everything, and everyone, that came before, including parents, for the sake of mobility, choice, and change.

Which could be all well and good if rightly ordered. Mobility is great if you know where you’re going; choice is good if you choose well. But change just for the sake of it is hubris. To truly have a life in full, be grateful for your own life.

Put another way: Airheads dissing the props of the rents, and throwing shade as if they’re cactus, is applesauce, cap and cheugy. Fo shizzle.

Connect to Your Forebears Through Their Slang!

1920s: 1: Extremely drunk. 2:  Charming or delightful. 3: Alcoholic beverage. 4: Okay or fine.

1930s:  5: Whispers or rumors. 6: Dead or finished. 7: Something or someone wonderful.

8: Impressive or powerful.

1940s: 9: Nonsense or flattery. 10: To leave quickly. 11: To lose your temper

1950s: 12:  A small child. 13: A boring or dull place. 14: Successful or assured of success.

1960s: 15: Tell me or give me the details. 16: Excellent or impressive. 17: Goodbye

1970s: 18.  See you later. 19. Stylish or cool in an unconventional way

1980s: 20.  A silly or foolish person. 21: Good or impressive. 22: Cool or excellent, sometimes also means something challenging.

1990s: 23: Excellent; the best. 24: Cool or stylish. 25: Respect or credit. 26: Joking, not serious.

2000s:  27:  Chill and relax combined. 28: For sure, popularized by Snoop Dogg in the early 2000s. 29: Parents.

2010s: 30. Perfectly stylish. 31. To insult or criticize

2020s: 32.  Lie or falsehood (often used with “no cap” to mean “no lie” or “for real”).  33.Out of date or trying too hard, often used to describe trends that are no longer in style, typically associated with millennial culture. 34. Short for “coronavirus” or COVID-19.