Yeah, like we didn’t already know that one.
You gotta love science though, swooping in like Captain Obvious to point out shit we figured out years ago and backing that up with some tests they performed on their mates. Case in point: the recent study published in Consciousness and Cognition that found that moderate drunkness inspires creativity.
Researches invited a record-breaking group of 40, that’s right FOUR ZERO, young men who were social drinkers to eat bagels, get a little sauced up and watch Ratatouille, after which 69% of the tipsy guys admitted to crying at the end (joking. But I’d bet good money they blubbed like little girls).
At the end, the drunk guys not only solved the questions they were asked relating to the film faster, but they answered 58% of their questions correctly, compared to the measly 42% the sober Joes got right.
The test subjects were kept just below the legal limit for the test though which, let’s be honest, is hardly drunk at all.
Their staggering conclusion following these ground-breaking tests? Getting moderately drunk dampens our brain’s “executive functionâ€, ie. the rational, logical part of the brain. Thus, if less executive function is inked to more creativity, this might explain why writers, artists and musicians are more vulnerable to substance abuse.
Well done science. Pat on the back.
As facetious as I’d like to be about this though, it now gives me a legitimate excuse to smash a glass or two of whisky in the evenings before I sit down to write.
Now I just gotta find an excuse for the two at breakfast, the three at elevensies, the five over lunch and the two at teatime and I’m all set!
Hit Time.com for the original piece here.
-ST
