"Shulgin believes that psychedelics are, for the mind, what the telescope was for astronomical research, or the microscope for biology. They are instruments that create grounds for new discoveries. He equates the continued animosity toward exploration of the mind through chemicals to the Church's reaction to Galileo's theory that the Earth was not at the center of the solar system. Three hundred and fifty years ago, Shulgin notes, the Church proclaimed, "The Earth is at the center of the universe, and anyone who says otherwise is a heretic." Today, the government proclaims, "All drugs that can expand consciousness are without medical or social justification, and anyone who uses them is a criminal." In Galileo's time, authorities said, "We do not need to actually look through that mysterious contraption." Now the government says, "There is no need to actually taste those mysterious compounds." In the past, the Church said, "How dare you claim the Earth is not the center of the universe!" Today the government says, "How dare you claim that an understanding of God is to be found in a white powder!"