h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Every now and then I overdo it.

Usually with the same mate and usually in the same place and walking home in the dark, trying to remember my way home (15 minutes out, 20 minutes back) and listening to old, old, music on my phone, I start to mull things over.

Frankly, I have more b*lls when I am fuelled by Milk of Amnesia.

So is an occasional overdose of loopy juice helpful to the thinking process or is it a hindrance?

(Car left at home).

PP.

If you can walk rather than stagger and are rational and it is not more than 3 of 4 times a year I should say that's alright.

Better if you don't but not life threatening

Errrr...Both, I think. It makes you think about thinks slightly differently.

Sometimes, yes, this does lead to great ideas you might not have otherwise had. Other times it gives you *terrible* ideas you might otherwise not have had.

But the key point is, it completely destroys your ability to tell which ones are which.

PP.

My brother and I have some grand ideas when out on the booze.

However in the cold light of morning the next day they are probably the worst / silliest ideas we ever had but it was fun at the time

This conversation has been effectively closed by KB who nailed it up there.

It certainly makes you creative - there's a huge amount of music which has been written during intoxication of every kind.

I always enjoy the documentaries where they interview rock stars about their recordings, especially when they can't remember a single thing about how they wrote the song.

>>I always enjoy the documentaries where they interview rock stars about their recordings, especially when they can't remember a single thing about how they wrote the song.

Rick Wakeman has said that he remembers being too drunk on many of the recordings of which he's least proud.

Depends.... innit.

anything which affects the way the mind works, can obviously then lead to differnt things happening in ones mind... Whether or not that's any better than doing it in a non-altered state is... well, I guess soemtimes it is better/more creative, and sometimes it isn't.... Whether its any more than chance, or any more really even than in the non-altered state.... dunno... hallucinogenic drugs, alcohol, deep meditation, sleep deprivation, etc., etc., all kinda can do it I guess, to varying degrees, and quite probably in slightly differnt ways.... A lot of which, I guess, opperate on pretty simular levels, biologically, in terms of altered brain biochemistry, or blood biochemistry (neurotransmittors, hormones, etc., etc.,) But... I think in general, the sort of thinking one can do, when the biochem gets too removed from the norm is less good... I'd not like to try take any kind of descision etc., e.G., when my endorphins are sky-high, or the blood stream is too intoxicated with outside influences like alcohol heck I make crap descisions when I'm tired, let alone out of my skull in some kind of induced altered biochemistry of blood and brain

When I'm writing software, the coding part of the job has to be alcohol free. Doing architecture or high level design I find that too much sleep leaves me with too many options - I can't make a decision. Slight tiredness allows me to get on with the job.

Even though I usually invest too much thought before I start to encode a design, it is normally not as painful as I expect it to be when I have to change, due to new requirements or unforeseen problems.

I think alcohol may be useful when doing more blue-sky thinking in groups, just to take the edge of the inhibitions and allow creativity to flow. Not a good state to commit to anything though.

>>hallucinogenic drugs, alcohol, deep meditation, sleep deprivation, etc., etc., all kinda can do it /

Indeed; so why is alcohol the subject of OP? Does alcohol bring about a particularly useful mindset, which cannot be achieved by those other means?

"Does alcohol bring about a particularly useful mindset, which cannot be achieved by those other means? "

From my , not extense experience, can say that a good wine, red my favourite, gives me the best mood. I feel relaxed, happy and feel like singing, and sometimes I receive

ah, it was about clear thinking, ...

better a good walk around the countryside

Or towel-folding works for me

"better a good walk around the countryside" [Maria]

For clear thinking, that's the ticket.

For creativity, caffeine can be useful. Alcohol is amounts just large enough to take the edge off inhibitions would be useful, too. I get good enough results from the caffeine that I haven't tried alcohol.

Then there's chocolate.

>>For creativity, caffeine can be useful.

A recent study* showed that caffeine-users performed less well than non-users when given delicate tasks to complete, although they felt they were doing much better than they really were. So while caffeine might well help creativity, it could also hinder you elsewhere without you even realising it; just like any other drug, I suppose.

I wonder if in near future there will be a whole host of ills attributed to caffeine, resulting in it losing it's dominant place as the most socially-acceptable of drugs?

*Sorry I don't have a link, it was on a TV show.

I remember studying with some friends late at night, drinking coffee, smoking... and laughing, I think it was more stimulant the company than the drugs.

Some take it just because of habit,not for its strong awakening effects, for that I think vitamin C or a good breakfast is more boosting than coffee.

forgot to add, is a great organoleptic? pleasure, maybe that is the reason for its stimulant power. It not always creates addiction.

Finger problem there.


Anyway, to quote from quotes above: "hallucinogenic drugs, alcohol,
deep meditation, sleep deprivation, etc., etc., all kinda can do it"

I am reminded of the wisdom I once heard from a junkie doing up a hit of
meth, "Any change of consciousness is a good change of consciousness."

It sounded like a very sage observation from an apparently expert source
but it has taken decades for the Truth of it to sink in. Partly because the
obverse is equally true that too much of any good thing is not a good thing.

Life is change, and consciousness, be it for the pursuit of pleasure or higher
endeavors including the loftiest ambitions, is best suited to a melange, a pot-
pourri of stimulations. A pinch of this, a punch of that, a spoonful of yet another.

But none of the favourite diversions is of any value when done obsessively and
without variation. Time must also be taken to observe effects and evaluate results
brought on by any altered state of mind.

Variety is the truly the spice of life.
And a potched boil never watches.

~jwf~