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He seems to be deliberately missing the point. Obviously drinking, especially heavily, is bad for health and plenty of other things. The question is why people
by thenoblesunfish 6y ago
He seems to be deliberately missing the point. Obviously drinking, especially heavily, is bad for health and plenty of other things. The question is why people still get so much benefit out of it that they keep doing it, despite the downsides. I‘d posit that social lubrication is something people want, and sadly in the UK, self-medication is something a lot of people turn to.
- 01100011 6y agoAgreed. Something in us seems to require exogenous chemicals to facilitate social interaction and bonding. I don't think it necessarily has to be that way, but it is. You can't talk about getting rid of alcohol or tobacco without discussing their benefits and offering alternatives.
- P9dCddDPe7j 6y ago> The question is why people still get so much benefit out of it that they keep doing it, despite the downsides. No, this isn't even the question. It is clear that people will keep doing things that have downsides, with out any explainable benefit. This is called addiction. It isn't a new idea.
- lanstin 6y agoPeople clearly derive benefit from drinking; not the hard core alcoholics but the shy guy that likes to tell stories volubly and dance with less shame.
- P9dCddDPe7j 6y ago> People clearly derive benefit from drinking; not the hard core alcoholics This part is what I was commenting about. Not your shy guy.
- stjohnswarts 6y agoSo I have alcohol a few times a month when I go socially with friends and now I'm an alcoholic. Hokay then! Is that why alcohol (whiskey/vodka/rum) sits on my counter for literally months (couple of years?) before completely consumed? That definitely seems very addictive of me.
- P9dCddDPe7j 6y agoMaybe the comment wasn't about you? Do you see any downsides in your use of alcohol? No? Then you're not what my comment was about.
- thenoblesunfish 6y agoThe term “addiction” is dangerous in discussions about these topics because it can has such a range of meanings. Sometimes it’s used to mean chemical dependency that you can observe in lab rats and which causes clinical withdrawal symptoms. Some people use it for anything people do to “cope” despite it being bad for them, so you could be addicted to almost anything and it need not have any obvious chemical basis.
- heavyset_go 6y ago> The question is why people still get so much benefit out of it that they keep doing it, despite the downsides. You could ask the same thing about speed and meth.
- thenoblesunfish 6y agoYou certainly can - I’d guess that fewer people feel those drugs benefit them and/or society in the long term, but not zero (insert Paul Erdos anecdote here).