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> I drink alcohol sometimes, and I know that I'm not an addict. > If Carl Hart wanted to prove that he is not an addict, he should stop using heroin for a cou

> I drink alcohol sometimes, and I know that I'm not an addict. > If Carl Hart wanted to prove that he is not an addict, he should stop using heroin for a couple of years, and then try to state his freedom from an addiction with a straight face. So by that logic... we should only believe that you're not an alcohol addict after you stop using alcohol for a couple of years?

wizzwizz4 6y ago
Indeed. Why do you think this is a gotcha? Do you think the comment's author hasn't thought of that?
- chimprich 6y ago
  Why do I think it's a gotcha? Because there seems to be a double standard: ordu is allowed to innately know that they are not an alcohol addict, but the author of the article is not extended the same courtesy. I don't know if ordu has thought of that, but they don't appear to have from their comment. I find the idea that the only way to know if you're not an addict is to give up for a period of years to be very problematic. Most definitions of addict suggest they are unable to control their compulsion, but I couldn't see any indication of that from the article. If the author of the article can sustain occasional use while maintaining a high profile job (science professor), their use doesn't appear to be out of control.
  - ordu 6y ago
    > ordu is allowed to innately know that they are not an alcohol addict, but the author of the article is not extended the same courtesy. Yeah, something like this. I'm not entirely sure that alcoholic addiction would be just like a nicotine one, but I believe it would be similar enough for me to detect it. If I'm right I might hope that my experience with nicotine could be generalized to alcohol. Maybe unrelated to a discussion of "is a period of abstinence is revealing", but I rarely drink alcohol, and a year or two without a drop of alcohol is a normal to me. > Most definitions of addict suggest they are unable to control their compulsion, but I couldn't see any indication of that from the article. I see no indication that he is able to control it. He is like "I want to take heroin, so I'm taking it". It is a very popular stance for addicts. When I tried to control my nicotine addiction it mostly ended with "I do not want to control". Even now I do not want to control, though I now see the difference between "I do not want to control" and "I want to smoke". I do not want to smoke and do not want to control my addiction. When plane uncontrollable falling to a ground due to a failure, a pilot could state that it is his intention, and therefore the fall is a controlled one. People often do something like this, but for an addict it is a symptom by itself.

wizzwizz4 6y ago

Indeed. Why do you think this is a gotcha? Do you think the comment's author hasn't thought of that?

chimprich 6y ago
Why do I think it's a gotcha? Because there seems to be a double standard: ordu is allowed to innately know that they are not an alcohol addict, but the author of the article is not extended the same courtesy. I don't know if ordu has thought of that, but they don't appear to have from their comment. I find the idea that the only way to know if you're not an addict is to give up for a period of years to be very problematic. Most definitions of addict suggest they are unable to control their compulsion, but I couldn't see any indication of that from the article. If the author of the article can sustain occasional use while maintaining a high profile job (science professor), their use doesn't appear to be out of control.
- ordu 6y ago
  > ordu is allowed to innately know that they are not an alcohol addict, but the author of the article is not extended the same courtesy. Yeah, something like this. I'm not entirely sure that alcoholic addiction would be just like a nicotine one, but I believe it would be similar enough for me to detect it. If I'm right I might hope that my experience with nicotine could be generalized to alcohol. Maybe unrelated to a discussion of "is a period of abstinence is revealing", but I rarely drink alcohol, and a year or two without a drop of alcohol is a normal to me. > Most definitions of addict suggest they are unable to control their compulsion, but I couldn't see any indication of that from the article. I see no indication that he is able to control it. He is like "I want to take heroin, so I'm taking it". It is a very popular stance for addicts. When I tried to control my nicotine addiction it mostly ended with "I do not want to control". Even now I do not want to control, though I now see the difference between "I do not want to control" and "I want to smoke". I do not want to smoke and do not want to control my addiction. When plane uncontrollable falling to a ground due to a failure, a pilot could state that it is his intention, and therefore the fall is a controlled one. People often do something like this, but for an addict it is a symptom by itself.