The smarter you are the more you drink??

[barrons]

<p>Yup. </p>

<p>[More</a> Intelligent People Are More Likely to Binge Drink and Get Drunk | Psychology Today](<a href=“http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/201102/more-intelligent-people-are-more-likely-binge-drink-and-ge]More”>More Intelligent People Are More Likely to Binge Drink and Get Drunk | Psychology Today)</p>

[jym626]

<p>[ALCOHOL’S</a> DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN](<a href=“http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm]ALCOHOL’S”>http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm)</p>

<p>

ALCOHOL’S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops. On the other hand, a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety. Exactly how alcohol affects the brain and the likelihood of reversing the impact of heavy drinking on the brain remain hot topics in alcohol research today. </p>

<p>We do know that heavy drinking may have extensive and far–reaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple “slips” in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. And even moderate drinking leads to short–term impairment, as shown by extensive research on the impact of drinking on driving. </p>

<p>A number of factors influence how and to what extent alcohol affects the brain (1), including </p>

<p>•how much and how often a person drinks;
•the age at which he or she first began drinking, and how long he or she has been drinking;
•the person’s age, level of education, gender, genetic background, and family history of alcoholism;
•whether he or she is at risk as a result of prenatal alcohol exposure; and
•his or her general health status.

</p>

[Pizzagirl]

<p>Smart people drinking to excess doesn’t make drinking to excess a smart thing to do.</p>

[MomofWildChild]

<p>I think this study must have been done on my son’s social group at Penn!</p>

[QuantMech]

<p>Just wanted to point out that the study was done in the United Kingdom. The drinking patterns there are somewhat different from those here. </p>

<p>On average, the brightest and “heaviest drinking” group engaged in binge drinking fewer than 1.5 days in the past 12 months, with binge drinking defined as 5+ drinks on an occasion. They reported being drunk on average somewhere between 1 or 2 days in the past twelve months and 3 to 12 days in the past 12 months. This is not exactly American collegiate drinking. </p>

<p>I think a fellow of an Oxford or Cambridge college would probably qualify as a “binge drinker” on the day of the Founder’s Feast. If half of that group had 5+ drinks on one other day per year, you’d have the reported result.</p>

[kxc1961]

<p>The story resonates here: I have seen many examples of that. A few people I know are essentially brilliant, and yet, hopelessly drunk all the time.
I guess that is the God’s way of equalizing the playing field between those who are haves and have-not’s in intellectual horsepower…Funny how everything works out…just the way He had designed it.</p>

[manarius]

<p>“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” ~Ernest Hemingway</p>

<p>Maybe it’s just a way to cope?</p>

[kelsmom]

<p>Must be why my nerd college was such a party school. ;)</p>

[QuantMech]

<p>Take a look at the link. The headline is attention-grabbing, but they are not talking about American-college-style drinking (from what I hear about it).</p>

[ebeeeee]

<p>Love the thread title. My first thought was “okay sure I’ll go with that.”</p>