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Honest question - Do most adults need to retain new information very often?(excluding the typical HN audience who are constantly learning/innovating/reading/et

by soared 8y ago

Honest question - Do most adults need to retain new information very often?(excluding the typical HN audience who are constantly learning/innovating/reading/etc)

Elof 8y ago
Interesting question - continued learning is directly linked to statically better cognitive function and fewer brain disorders in elderly people, but that doesn't necessarily mean that learning as an adult is important for operating effectively in society. So, I guess that would mean that it's not really necessary to retain new information at a certain point in your life. As long as you can still access information that you've already obtained (which I believe alcohol exposure over a prolonged time can affect)
- pm90 8y ago
  Honestly there’s stuff I’ve done when I was drunk that I would rather not remember.
rconti 8y ago
I suppose this could extend to all kinds of things -- remembering to pay a bill, remembering appointments, peoples' names, project tasks, directions to new places, social obligations, where you parked your car, etc. But of course it's more relevant to things that need to be committed to long term memory, and I'm not familiar enough with how the brain works to opine on whether recurring things (bill payments) would be impacted.
imgabe 8y ago
I would posit that enough adults drink often enough that society is generally structured to allow people to function with whatever impairment occasional drinking creates, since that would be the baseline capability for the average person. That doesn't mean you couldn't benefit from doing better than that, though.
- usrusr 8y ago
  And yet I don't see myself surrounded by highly successful ascets. Maybe the typical winners are those who by chance happen to be somewhat immune to the negatives than others while still cashing in on the positives (see ajcodez post)? I do wonder occasionally who a parallel universe abstinent-me would be today. Would I have retained that deep focus excitability I had as a young teen? From a personal perspective it's difficult if not impossible to tell the effects of drinking years from the effects of years.
  - imgabe 8y ago
    I think you're right that there probably is some variance among individuals in that some are more negatively impacted than others. I think also "success" depends not only on individual performance, but also social connections. You can only get so far working on your own. At some point you need to be able to get along with other people, and alcohol does facilitate that to some extent.
minikites 8y ago
What makes you think most people don't need to learn or innovate constantly and why is HN in particular an exception?
ajcodez 8y ago
Another question - do you benefit more from social ties formed while drinking or preservation of memory and early mornings?
- alexis_fr 8y ago
  Understated. That’s the most important part of events that include alcohol: a good part of society is built around alcohol-as-a-socialisation-tool, and that may advance yout career and sentimental life, even though alcohol itself is counterproductive to this effect.

by soared 8y ago

Honest question - Do most adults need to retain new information very often?(excluding the typical HN audience who are constantly learning/innovating/reading/etc)

Elof 8y ago

Interesting question - continued learning is directly linked to statically better cognitive function and fewer brain disorders in elderly people, but that doesn't necessarily mean that learning as an adult is important for operating effectively in society. So, I guess that would mean that it's not really necessary to retain new information at a certain point in your life. As long as you can still access information that you've already obtained (which I believe alcohol exposure over a prolonged time can affect)

pm90 8y ago
Honestly there’s stuff I’ve done when I was drunk that I would rather not remember.

rconti 8y ago

I suppose this could extend to all kinds of things -- remembering to pay a bill, remembering appointments, peoples' names, project tasks, directions to new places, social obligations, where you parked your car, etc. But of course it's more relevant to things that need to be committed to long term memory, and I'm not familiar enough with how the brain works to opine on whether recurring things (bill payments) would be impacted.

imgabe 8y ago

I would posit that enough adults drink often enough that society is generally structured to allow people to function with whatever impairment occasional drinking creates, since that would be the baseline capability for the average person. That doesn't mean you couldn't benefit from doing better than that, though.

usrusr 8y ago
And yet I don't see myself surrounded by highly successful ascets. Maybe the typical winners are those who by chance happen to be somewhat immune to the negatives than others while still cashing in on the positives (see ajcodez post)? I do wonder occasionally who a parallel universe abstinent-me would be today. Would I have retained that deep focus excitability I had as a young teen? From a personal perspective it's difficult if not impossible to tell the effects of drinking years from the effects of years.
- imgabe 8y ago
  I think you're right that there probably is some variance among individuals in that some are more negatively impacted than others. I think also "success" depends not only on individual performance, but also social connections. You can only get so far working on your own. At some point you need to be able to get along with other people, and alcohol does facilitate that to some extent.

minikites 8y ago

What makes you think most people don't need to learn or innovate constantly and why is HN in particular an exception?

ajcodez 8y ago

Another question - do you benefit more from social ties formed while drinking or preservation of memory and early mornings?

alexis_fr 8y ago
Understated. That’s the most important part of events that include alcohol: a good part of society is built around alcohol-as-a-socialisation-tool, and that may advance yout career and sentimental life, even though alcohol itself is counterproductive to this effect.