The creative act is a letting down of the net of human imagination into the ocean of chaos on which we are suspended, and the attempt to bring out of it ideas. It is the night sea journey, the lone fisherman on a tropical sea with his nets, and you let these nets down - sometimes, something tears through them that leaves them in shreds and you just row for shore, and put your head under your bed and pray. At other times what slips through are the minutiae, the minnows of this ichthyological metaphor of idea chasing. But, sometimes, you can actually bring home something that is food, food for the human community that we can sustain ourselves on and go forward.

When he later discovered that the end of the 13th baktun in the Maya Calendar had been correlated by Western Maya scholars with December 21 not far from his own hypothesized end date he decided that the Maya were more likely to be right on this subject and he adopted their end date. All these factors according to McKenna were the most important factors that promoted evolution towards the Homo sapiens species. He was introduced to geology through his uncle and developed a hobby of solitary fossil hunting in the arroyos near his home.

He was noted for his knowledge and the ability to articulate his knowledge of the use of psychedelics metaphysics plant-based entheogens and subjects ranging from shamanism language historical and civilizational timelines the theoretical origins of human consciousness and his concept of novelty theory. Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16 1946 – April 3 2000) was an American ethnobotanist philosopher psychonaut researcher teacher lecturer and writer.