

I drink, therefore I can - theoneill
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/printarticle.php?id=10751

======
zemaj
"Drowning your sorrows is always an option, but could there be creativity in
the bottom of that glass too? Unsurprisingly, several researchers have
endeavoured to find out. After all, many of the most creative pursuits - jazz,
for instance, and poetry - are associated with heavy boozing. Alas, not just
one but several separate studies have come to the same conclusion: drinking
alcohol does not make you more creative, it just makes you feel that you are,
which, as everyone knows, is the next best thing."

[http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227073.200-raise-
a-g...](http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227073.200-raise-a-glass.html)

~~~
zemaj
Also is it just me, or does that article piss anyone else on fundamental
level. I'm quite a heavy drinker but suggesting alcohol is inducive to
creativity is completely irresponsible. Do a quick Google and you'll find
plenty of studies countering this point. I think having an understanding of
the detrimental effects of alcohol is vitally important to using it
responsibility. That article uses the exact kind of vague pseudo-science
language and logic that can fool most people into believing it's correct. It
should be the writer's responsibility to check these facts. Someone should be
holding him responsible.

I don't know how Philip Hunter got his job as a "science journalist", but I'm
pretty sure he didn't study any science to get there.

 _grumble_ _grumble_ I must be getting old. I've never argued on the anti-drug
side before.

~~~
biohacker42
There a millions of people who get high every day, but there's still only one
Jimi Hendrix.

------
Encosia
The Ballmer Peak _is_ real.

~~~
nanexcool
For the two of you who don't know what that is.

<http://xkcd.com/323/>

------
spectre
I've experimented with drinking for creativity in programming.

I occasionally get a good idea out of it but mostly just leads to confusing
disjointed code. The difficulty lies in getting the level of intoxication
right.

For those looking to try it, my recommendation would be to find an issue you
can't solve sober. Make a copy that it doesn't matter if you destroy (you
likely will). Then try and solve it while intoxicated.

~~~
DougBTX
> Make a copy that it doesn't matter if you destroy

git checkout -b icanhasdrink

------
10ren
It could also be that slightly-old-of-touch-with-reality people tend to drink,
and also tend to be more creative in general. 552.

Churchill might seem an exception, but he suffered from depression (the "black
dog"), and received heads of state while he was smoking a cigar in the
bathtub. He also said "And you madam are ugly. But in the morning I shall be
sober". One of my favourite guys.

------
geuis
I have never known a single person in my life that drinks to get "creative". I
know people that are alcoholics. One old friend just gets morose. Another is a
freaking violent, unstable asshole that I try increasingly to stay away from.

I can drink a little, or a lot, or none. I'm lucky that I can occasionally
enjoy drinking without it "needing" it. Smoking is the vice that I can't seem
to stop.

There is nothing good that comes out of being an alcoholic. It doesn't make
you more creative of loosen your inner poetic homonculus. My brother is a
recovering alcoholic. For years he was the biggest ass I have ever known. He
stopped drinking completely about 10 years ago and while he still can be an
all around jerk, the family loves having him around now and I've actually been
building a real relationship with him after 20 years.

~~~
sho
To counter your anecdotes - I know 4 "serious" musicians, ie people who
regularly write and record music. 3 of them drink, especially when working. 2
of them I would consider total alcoholics. There are none of the negative
effects you mention.

However - personal anecdotes such as these are irrelevant to the core truth of
the matter. The fact is, a lot of people _do_ drink, and by whatever means, it
enhances the creativity of some of them. That you don't happen to know anyone
of this type doesn't mean they don't exist. The article did say that such
behaviour only seems visible in ~10-15% of the population.

Anyway it's not like they "drink to get creative", it's more like they're in
the mood for creating things when they're slight/somewhat/heavily intoxicated,
which is a lot of the time.

~~~
geuis
Personal anecdotes are a person's local data set. Its why statistics are
needed, by putting lots of personal data sets together we get around this he-
said/she-said bs. Essentially what I mean is that the term "personal
anecdotes" is often used as a way to summarily dismiss someone's accounts.

Personal anecdotes are very much at the core of this matter. Dismissing
someone's extensive personal experiences about the effects of alcoholism on
their friends and families is not irrelevant.

My brother: recovering alcoholic, dry for 10 years. His father: lifelong
alcoholic, died too young from an accident caused by being drunk at the time.
Had lost his leg years ago in an accident. Uncle and his wife: alcoholics, not
recovering. NOT the life of the party at family reunions. Good friend: known
over 10 years, he drinks like a fish. Gets extremely sad at times and I worry
about him, a lot. Another friend that I was seeing/dating for a while: sweet
girl when she doesn't drink. However, 90% of the time she's a violent,
unpredictable raging tornado of whiskey.

So while I'm glad that you know four quote "serious musicians" for whom
drinking helps, I'll stick with my personal anecdotes of drinking ruining
people's lives and causing them to die earlier than they should have. I'm just
glad I have my brother around now.

~~~
sho
Hey, I wasn't trying to downplay your personal experiences. They do sound
harrowing and I'm sure they've shaped your opinions, perhaps rightly so.

I was simply trying to point out that neither your nor my single data points
mean much in the grand equation.

You seemed to be trying to deny that alcohol can ever have this positive
effect on people. I merely wanted to counter your data point with one of my
own, and remind you that not only are our experiences insignificant in the
final reckoning, but that the are plenty of well-evidenced cases in
contradiction to what I perceived to be your thesis.

Anyway, nothing personal, and I really hope it all works out better for you
and yours.

