Do Physicists Drink? - Debating the Risks of Alcohol

[okkvlt]

alcohol isn't my intoxicant of choice because alcohol has lowered my inhibitions and caused me to do things that have gotten me in trouble. personally, i prefer cannabis and dextromethorphan(cough medicine). lately however i have done neither due to being on probation. btw, dextromethorphan, despite being legal IS tested for in UA's. i found that out the hard way.

personally i think that between marijuana and alcohol, alcohol is much more harmful. a little bit of pot never hurt nobody. but look at how many deaths are caused both directly and indirectly due to alcohol.

 

[Enjoicube]

Now that the age of drinking is upon me, I have given a bit of thought to this. To be honest, I don't think my drinking habits will change, I have 1 beer every 6 months or so. I am not opposed to drinking, but I don't have any time for it, during the school year I have too much work to even consider it, and even on break, I'm so often thinking about math and physics in which I don't wish to be disturbed. So drinking comes in the rare pauses where I am not reading or thinking about math or physics, and even then I'm often not in the mood to drink.

 

[kakarotyjn]

I don't want to drink,though I can drink much beer.I agree with Oddbio,I am afraid of damaging my brain.And I have a question why so much people like drinking alcohol?It really tastes bad,and it is not sweet.

I prefer beverage to beer in a party if I can choose :)

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I know lots of women that used to give out bogus phone numbers to guys in bars rather than refuse to give out a number.

That's how I ended up with my wife. You women should use a 555 number to insure that the number really is bogus.

 

[leroyjenkens]

That's how I ended up with my wife. You women should use a 555 number to insure that the number really is bogus.

Or just say you don't have a phone. If he asks for your address, say you live with your paranoid friend who doesn't want anyone giving out the address. That beats taking the chance that you'll bump into them again and have to explain why the person they called had no idea who you are.
Or here's a wild idea; try being honest.

 

[xxChrisxx]

Or here's a wild idea; try being honest.

This. Frank honesty works best in all situations.

"i'm sorry I don't want to give you my number" solves any potential problem.

 

[lisab]

This. Frank honesty works best in all situations.

"i'm sorry I don't want to give you my number" solves any potential problem.

Glad you specified frank honesty, because not all honesty is frank:

"What's your number?"
"It's in the phone book."
"OK, what's your name?"
"It's in the phone book, too."

No lie there .

 

[rewebster]

"What's your number?"
"It's in the phone book."
"OK, what's your name?"
"It's in the phone book, too."

"OK---it may take a day or two of trial and error before you get my call"

 

[BobG]

Never think about that, don't really care if it takes x amount of brain cells.

Life is for living. Do I really care if I've got 10% less brain calls at the time of retirement...? not really no. The way people talk about it, you'd think it was like getting a lobotomy.

In the wild, animals of prey tend to herd together for protection. The herd can only travel as fast as the slowest and weakest members, meaning the speed and strength of the best members is wasted. Fortunately, predators kill the weakest and slowest members, resuting in a faster, stronger, healthier herd.

I think it's only logical the most likely brain cells to be killed off by alcohol are the ones that were weaker to begin with. Just like predators improve the herd's performance by killing off the weakest members, alcohol improves the brain's performance by killing off the weakest, poorest performing cells.

That's probably why a person can remember so little after drinking extreme amounts of alcohol. The cells that have been contaminated by the memories of your stupidest moments are quite naturally killed off as soon as possible.

 

[rewebster]

In the wild, animals of prey tend to herd together for protection. The herd can only travel as fast as the slowest and weakest members, meaning the speed and strength of the best members is wasted. Fortunately, predators kill the weakest and slowest members, resulting in a faster, stronger, healthier herd.

I think it's only logical the most likely brain cells to be killed off by alcohol are the ones that were weaker to begin with. Just like predators improve the herd's performance by killing off the weakest members, alcohol improves the brain's performance by killing off the weakest, poorest performing cells.

That's probably why a person can remember so little after drinking extreme amounts of alcohol. The cells that have been contaminated by the memories of your stupidest moments are quite naturally killed off as soon as possible.

so, theoretically, drunks should be smart people because they have only the strong brain cells left!

 

[BobG]

so, theoretically, drunks should be smart people because they have only the strong brain cells left!

Not only should be true, http://giftededucation.suite101.com/article.cfm/gifted_students_and_alcohol_awareness. Of course, the IQ tests were done at the age of 10, so it's just possible that high IQ could make alcohol abuse more likely rather than the other way around.

They mention that the reason for the correlation between intelligence and alcohol abuse was something impossible to determine from the study, but I did find one possible reason interesting - that a higher IQ makes it easier for a person to hide signs of depression, making it likelier (and more necessary) for them to find their own, possibly less effective methods of dealing with depression.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Not only should be true, but is true. Of course, the IQ tests were done at the age of 10, so it's just possible that high IQ could make alcohol abuse more likely rather than the other way around.

I'd say so, unless they were drunks at the age of 10.

I guess this is one reason why me being an idiot is a good thing. I've never drank alcohol in my life.

 

[Oddbio]

You can't just go applying that logic willy-nilly to any situation. Alcohol is not a conscious predator, and your brain cells aren't running anywhere that would make the stronger ones "escape" the alcohol. I would guess that it's just random. But you never know, the alcohol might even be more attracted to more active synapses.

 

[rewebster]

Not only should be true, http://giftededucation.suite101.com/article.cfm/gifted_students_and_alcohol_awareness. Of course, the IQ tests were done at the age of 10, so it's just possible that high IQ could make alcohol abuse more likely rather than the other way around.

They mention that the reason for the correlation between intelligence and alcohol abuse was something impossible to determine from the study, but I did find one possible reason interesting - that a higher IQ makes it easier for a person to hide signs of depression, making it likelier (and more necessary) for them to find their own, possibly less effective methods of dealing with depression.

and, maybe, all those smart people realize that they have to do something (drink) to fit in (to have fewer brain cells)---



so, maybe, if you run into someone who appears to be smart and not fitting in, suggest that they need a good night out at their favorite pub...

 

[Oddbio]

Also.. I wonder how their IQ compares in adult hood. They only say they were more gifted in childhood, so perhaps a higher childhood IQ is in fact more conducive to them eventually drinking alcohol for whatever reason, but it doesn't in any way imply that alcohol is increasing their intelligence.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I would guess that it's just random. But you never know, the alcohol might even be more attracted to more active synapses.

Alcohol damages the brain in a several different ways:

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm

The worst is the permanent memory damage caused by thiamine deficiency in long term, heavy drinkers. Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome is outright debilitating, and its sufferers have to be institutionalized.

If you google "alcohol brain cells" or "alcohol brain damage" you'll find all aspects of alcohol's effect on the brain are constantly being studied and it's not random.


Brain cell damage aside, it should be obvious to anyone who has ever been even slightly drunk that the slowed, sloppy, emotional thinking that results is counter productive to a rigorous mental activity like physics. The hangovers are equally counterproductive. Had Feynman not put the brakes on his increasing temptation to spend his time drinking he might very well have stalled his carrear, or have sent it into a descending spiral ending in a crash.

 

[Norman]

When I started reading this thread I thought for sure it would be a fun, goofy little thread. But the amount of anti-alcohol talk is quite alarming! I am truly surprised. Well I would have been much more surprised before I moved to the south anyways.

As a physicist I think I need to give our overwhelming stance on alcohol: we like it.




Ok, all kidding aside, I enjoy certain types of alcohol a lot. I would much prefer a beer over a soda with food- the overly sugary-ness of soda just ruins food in my opinion. And I would much rather have a beer than plain old water. I have a list of beers that I find to be excellent additions to a meal and makes for an enjoyable evening chatting with my friends and/or family.

I also have a half dozen or so whiskeys that I absolutely adore partaking in- they are typically quite expensive so over-indulgence is unlikely.

I had a good friend in grad school who was slightly older than me. His statement on physics and drinking was this: "Going to grad school in physics is about drinking." This wasn't always true for me, but I often went out with the other grad students on Friday nights for dinner and a couple beers. When I took my 2nd semester of quantum, 2 friends and I spent all our study sessions for the final in the bar having a beer or two over the course of an afternoon.

But then again, I probably have a skewed sense of all things alcohol- I grew up in http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/31237904.html" and my family owned a tavern.

 

[DrClapeyron]

I don't worry about brain damage when I drink as much as I do worry about liver damage.

 

[BobG]

I don't worry about brain damage when I drink as much as I do worry about liver damage.

I was about to reply that a liver isn't as important to a physicist as a brain, but it turns out liver disease can damage the brain, as well.

 

[BobG]

You can't just go applying that logic willy-nilly to any situation. Alcohol is not a conscious predator, and your brain cells aren't running anywhere that would make the stronger ones "escape" the alcohol. I would guess that it's just random. But you never know, the alcohol might even be more attracted to more active synapses.

Then how do you explain the spinning room sensation that acohol gives you? And does the room spin the same direction when you're drunk in the Northern hemisphere as when you're drunk in the Southern hemisphere? And does the room spinning cause the Earth's spin to speed up or slow down due to conservation of momentum?

(Silliness aside, here's one popular theory on why the room spins: Room Spins when Drunk)

 

[diazona]

Then how do you explain the spinning room sensation that acohol gives you? And does the room spin the same direction when you're drunk in the Northern hemisphere as when you're drunk in the Southern hemisphere? And does the room spinning cause the Earth's spin to speed up or slow down due to conservation of momentum?

That could be an Ig Nobel prize in the works

 

[xxChrisxx]

I was about to reply that a liver isn't as important to a physicist as a brain, but it turns out liver disease can damage the brain, as well.

Fact is if you've pickled your liver, not being able to do some physics is the least of your worries. A liver is needed for survival, intelligence isn't.

 

[MotoH]

You've got to have a drink every now and then. Who doesn't love catching an edge and dancing? It is the only way i'll start to dance. *cough*prom*cough*

And all the physicists at the LHC drink regularly it seems like from the pictures they post up at their parties!

 

[Jack21222]

You've got to have a drink every now and then.

Or else what?

 

[xxChrisxx]

Or else what?

Or else!

 

[MotoH]

Or else what?

Or else you will be a lonely soul with no friends.

 

[diazona]

Or else you will be a lonely soul with no friends.

I'm already a lonely soul with no friends - I'm in grad school Nothing to lose here.

 

[Monocles]

There has been many a drunken occasion where I declared that my 3 favorite things in life are math, physics, and booze. Maybe it's not entirely true (I have a lot of "favorite things"), but I am certainly pro-drinking.

 

[Galteeth]

It seems to me like people are making a distinction between drinking and abstinence. There is a lot of difference in what one means by drinking. Many people I know drink at nearly every social occasion. Personally, I drink perhaps once or twice a month. I think amount of alcohol consumption would be significant in terms of things lik long term effects and IQ.

 

[DrClapeyron]

As long as you are not a perpetual drunk, which is different than being a perpetual drinker, and you do not resort to alcohol poisoning and liver disease you will be just fine.

Beers: Blue Moon, Saint Arnold's Ale, Guiness, Ziegen Bock, Shiner Bock, and Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale.
Whiskeys: Wild Turkey 101, Jameson, Knob Creek, and Wathen's.
Gin: Tanqueray and Bombay Saphire.

Enjoy!

 

[union68]

In addition to my academic life, I'm also a musician. And hey, we all know drinking is a requisite for that. Ha.

I have recently rekindled my love affair with Johnnie Walker Black. In my opinion, it's the best bang-for-your-buck scotch on the market. I also second the recommendation of Knob Creek given above. It's like liquid brown sugar.

I've also been drinking a lot of white ales lately. I don't know why, I usually don't like the spices in them. Wasatch While Label White Ale is absolutely fantastic.

I'm cool with people who don't like boose, it's their right. Or, I should say, I'm cool with them unless they're preachy. That judgmental, pointed-finger, holier-than-thou trip gets really old.

 

[Pythagorean]

In addition to my academic life, I'm also a musician. And hey, we all know drinking is a requisite for that. Ha.

I thought it was hallucinogens?

 

[union68]

Nah, not for me. I was the guy who had to babysit the people on bad trips.

 

[cronxeh]

As long as you are not a perpetual drunk, which is different than being a perpetual drinker, and you do not resort to alcohol poisoning and liver disease you will be just fine.

Beers: Blue Moon, Saint Arnold's Ale, Guiness, Ziegen Bock, Shiner Bock, and Santa Fe Nut Brown Ale.
Whiskeys: Wild Turkey 101, Jameson, Knob Creek, and Wathen's.
Gin: Tanqueray and Bombay Saphire.

Enjoy!

Great philosophy, great choice of drinks.

I thought it was hallucinogens?

Nothing wrong with some Salvia here and there, not that I've done any in years.. I believe it is still legal.. If not, some morning glory seeds and a good schnapps to chug it down

For kids reading this.. just say no to drugs, mmkay

 

[vanesch]

In this thread, I think the meaning of "to drink" is a whole spectrum, from "not entirely avoiding a glass of an alcoholic drink" to "being drunk each day from morning to evening". Clearly, the last behavior (and even less extreme behavior) is obviously bad for your mental and physical health, there's no doubt about that. As to much more moderate use of alcohol, probably it does have some negative effect, but that's a joy/risk analysis that is open to discussion.

Personally, I do drink sometimes a glass or two of beer or wine, with some friends, or with a dinner, and very rarely (a few times a year) somewhat more on some special occasions. I used to drink more when I was a student, that's true (as there were more occasions, and others did so too). I've had a few bad years of "beer and chips in front of the TV set" but I got rid of that. Although I like good beer and good wine for their taste, and I do like the somewhat "relaxing" effect of the first few drinks, I hate the feeling of "drifting away and loosing control" (getting drunk).
I don't drink strong alcohol, except for a very occasional glass of whiskey of which I like the taste.

I've been around some heavy drinkers (seriously suffering from alcoholism) and it is such a pathetic sight that it is, I think, a good reminder of staying far from the "red line".