Also people tend to use certain substances to lower inhibitions, to generate an environment where creativity is allowed and enjoyed and stupid mistakes can be l

Also people tend to use certain substances to lower inhibitions, to generate an environment where creativity is allowed and enjoyed and stupid mistakes can be laughed off later -- if you say something dumb then tomorrow you can all laugh because it's not that you're dumb, it's the substance talking. It felt like Asimov spent the whole essay just at the brink of suggesting they open bottles of wine at these sessions without quite saying it. But you don't need much for this effect (even a placebo would likely do) and too much tends to be detrimental. Certain deeply creative fields really lend themselves to this sort of 'help' be it from alcohol or the more mild drugs like marijuana or hallucinogens for whatever unexplained reason -- music, comedy, writing, art. It's not unheard of even in those fields which are a little more technical, though it's much less common, though there are some very vocal well-respected examples. Jobs and Sagan to name a few are really the poster children for this sort of 'enhanced-creativity'.