The DMT Laser Experiment

A diffracted red laser, an altered state, and reports of code-like glyphs — one of the most unusual attempts to turn a recurring experience into a reproducible experiment.

Safety note: this page documents the experiment's history and evidence status. It deliberately does not provide instructions for obtaining, preparing or dosing controlled substances, nor encouragement to point lasers at eyes — direct laser exposure can cause permanent injury.

Origin

Around 2019–2020 (his own accounts vary), Danny Goler reports observing that a 650 nm red laser passed through a diffraction grating and projected onto a surface appeared qualitatively different when he viewed it under N,N-DMT: rather than a smooth interference pattern, he describes seeing repeating geometric, glyph- or "code"-like structure. This single observation grew into the entire Code of Reality program.

What participants report

Across interviews and the pilot-study write-up, participants under the protocol report: the lattice resolving into structured, symbol-like forms; recurring motifs across sessions; and for some, strong subjective conviction of perceiving "information." Reports are self-generated and unblinded.

Why it attracted attention

The claim is unusually testable: it proposes a shared external stimulus producing matched imagery across observers.
The optics are ordinary and reproducible — anyone can produce the stimulus (we won't tell you how to do the rest).
High-profile media amplification (VICE, Shawn Ryan Show, The Why Files) brought mainstream attention in 2025–2026.

How it evolved

From personal observation → demonstrations to visitors (Goler reports >300 people having witnessed the effect) → the January 2025 IPI Letters pilot write-up claiming >1,000 participants → the nonprofitCode of Reality Inc. → the Veilbreak open experiment registry (~82 community entries) → the Vision Pro spatial-registration experiment aimed at testing exact cross-observer correspondence.

Limits of the available evidence

All outcome data is self-report; no objective record of matched imagery is public.
No blinded, pre-registered controlled study has been published.
The pilot publication is non-peer-reviewed by category, and its sample-size claim lacks a public dataset.
"Consistent descriptions" ≠ identical symbols at identical positions — the distinction Goler's own Vision Pro work now targets.

Scientific alternatives

Classical optics: diffracted coherent light inherently produces speckle/lattice structure that can plausibly be parsed as glyphs under any state of reduced perceptual stability.
Pattern completion & pareidolia: DMT reliably increases tendency toward structured hallucination; expectation-rich framing ("you will see code") shapes content.
Expectation & social contagion: most participants arrive knowing the claimed result.
Andrew Gallimore's public assessment (Jan 2025) engages these questions sympathetically but notes decisive controls are absent.

Full claim-by-claim assessment: Evidence Dossier. What would change the picture: decisive experiment.