6 ms·

You're not making an informed choice and reveling in your own ignorance I used to think the same, and then I started to drink socially and saw 1. all the thin

• Aerbil313 3y ago
  > Try drinking (responsibily) for a couple of years Active preaching of alcohol, this is the dumbest advice I’ve ever heard, maybe just after some people preaching for pornography. A drunk you is objectively not any better than a sober one, rather far worse. You have one life, don’t waste it.
  • kome 3y ago
    i would be very surprised if you are European... this very puritan approach to alcohol and life feel SO american.
    • contrarian1234 3y ago
      Haha, and my first thought was Saudia Arabia I do think drinking is great, but part of it is finding what amount you're comfortable with. It's also a skill that needs to be developed. Just saying no and not even trying it... I feel bad for these people people bc they're missing out on a lot For context I drink maybe once every couple of weeks - unless it's a particularly social period of my life. I find this a good medium for me
    • jacquesm 3y ago
      I'm a European and have seen the devastating effects of alcohol on both sides of my family. I can't imagine any positive effects that would be able to offset and I've never drank a drop in my life.
      • layer8 3y ago
        > I can't imagine any positive effects that would be able to offset and I've never drank a drop in my life. This is not without correlation.
        • jacquesm 3y ago
          You think observational and imaginative skills are limited to participants?
      • nly 3y ago
        Hundreds of millions of people drink alcohol every month and lead perfectly healthy lives unaffected by addiction.
        • jacquesm 3y ago
          I'm sure they do. And in the US alone 30 million (give or take) people have alcohol related problems.
          • Al-Khwarizmi 3y ago
  • andybak 3y ago
    I bet you're fun at parties.
    • Aerbil313 3y ago
      My life is infinitely more enjoyable waking up early to watch the sun rise while gardening instead of waking up hungover at 11 am to wonder what I did or said last night I don't remember. Modernity sucks.
      • andybak 3y ago
        That's rather a false dichotomy. I can't remember the last time I had a proper hangover and I can see the sunrise whenever I choose (although I'm not especially an early riser - but that has been true my entire life)
      • kredd 3y ago
        Not to be that guy, but social drinking isn’t about getting trashed every night and waking up at 1PM. Nor it’s about getting drunk so much where you don’t remember the previous night. To put into a perspective, I have a few drinks almost every night, but also go hiking or snowboarding at 6AM. Maybe it’s a PNW kinda thing, but I can guarantee I’m not an exception to the rule. The social drinking is about grabbing a drink or two, either solo or friends, to let yourself loose a bit. It’s about temporarily changing your attitude towards your environment, maybe cracking a couple of silly jokes. Maybe sitting at a beach or a park, watching sunset while listening to your surroundings. Moderation is the key when it comes to mind-altering substances. Obviously it’s easier to say, but if super-majority of your experiences are positive, it is ok to suffer from some mild bad experiences (agonizing hangovers a couple of times a year).
        • Mystery-Machine 3y ago
          Why this doesn't work while drinking tea?
          • andybak 3y ago
  • stn_za 3y ago
    Bwaha, a drunk me is objectively better than a sober me. By far. :P
• jowdones 3y ago
  Re: getting drunk on alcohol free beer. I remember one time in college at a party when I drank a large cup of Cola or Fanta something. Then colleagues laughed and told me it was half vodka. In like 5 minutes I could barely walk. Then they laughed again, told me there was no vodka, they were joking. A minute later I was perfectly sober. Then they laughed again and said the joke was that there's no vodka, actually it was. Predictably, minutes later I was intoxicated again. To this day I don't know if there was vodka involved or not.
  • Tenoke 3y ago
    If it was anywhere near 'half vodka' you would've tasted it.
    • jowdones 3y ago
      I know this from modern perspective, I make myself a tonic vodka sometimes and the ratio of tonic over vodka needs to be very high to not taste the latter.
  • radicalbyte 3y ago
    If it was half vodka and you're t-total then: a) You would have puked it up. b) You would have tasted the disgusting burning crap. c) You would have been out cold within an hour.
• throwaway_dhv7k 3y ago
  You also have no idea how many people look at people who drink alcohol with disgust and never invite them to their social events.
  • andybak 3y ago
    I think I would be able to take a reasonable guess at how many and it's not a very big number.
    • throwaway_dhv7k 3y ago
      The convenience of human existence at the moment is that you can make a number of mistakes every day and it doesn't lower the chances of your survival, your ability to leave offspring, and even can't hurt your self-esteem at all.
  • Al-Khwarizmi 3y ago
    No problem. I wouldn't like to be at an event organized by someone who looks at me with disgust for whatever reason.
  • poisonarena 3y ago
    im 38 years old, never seen or heard of anyone outside of maybe a particular religious group(maybe mormons?) doing something like this.
• Lewton 3y ago
  > When that does happen , it's generally because of issues of self control, a predisposition to alcoholism or bc they tried it a few times and never got used to it Or maybe it’s because my drinking buddies got older and I saw the toll it takes on people It’s like the day you realize how much better life is when you get a good nights sleep and then can never go back
  • contrarian1234 3y ago
    See to me the whole idea of "drinking buddies" always felt a bit excessive. With close friends I don't particularly need alcohol to let loose. I don't worry about how I come off or feel judged. I can be crass or obnoxious when the mood takes me. Their opinions of me have already been cemented over the years. Sure sometimes you can get together and get trashed and turn it up a notch - but it's never necessary To me all the benefits i illustrated are in the realm of meeting new people and making new connections - or trying to get with people from the acquaintance stage to the friend stage I suppose
• ramraj07 3y ago
  I’ll respectfully turn down the offer of drinking responsibly for any amount of time. The best medically grounded advice at this point is that the most responsible amount of alcohol to drink is zero. If you can. But then that goes to sugar as well. But I’m already used to sugar so that’s a hard sell for me, just as I assume it’ll be a hard sell to ask you to go sober. Which I won’t suggest either. If you already drink and like it, sure the best course is to keep it to a glass or two a week and have fun. As for the “social lubricant” argument: sure people open up more once you pour a bunch of drinks in. I’ll also take your argument that maybe they truly don’t reveal their selves to sober me (I doubt it, I’m generally cooky and have multiple times been asked “are you sure you’re not drunk?”). Also isn’t it interesting that alcohol brings out the worst qualities in many people as well? Almost every single instance of me hearing a friend having something “inappropriate” happen to them, it was in a bar or pub and there most definitely was alcohol involved. Only over the top creeps do inappropriate things when sober. I’d rather not be in a place where the likelihood of creepy shit going down skyrockets and watch a movie instead. But what exactly do you reckon you learn from your friends or colleagues that I don’t get to? I have a good job, which I’ve progressed through quite well, so clearly I didn’t miss out on any inside detail that could have only been gleaned professionally over a drink. I have few friends but from what I hear from many, more meaningful ones than most people. Almost always when I skip a party or pub outing the next time I meet someone they just say “yeah you didn't miss much.” If I’m missing on some secret second life that is only accessible after you sign up to permanently imbuing this drug forever, yeah I’ll pass. Sounds like a cult and it doesn’t matter what orgy or salvation it promises. Sometimes it’s more important to keep your freedom and senses than to experience everything.
  • distcs 3y ago
    [deleted]
    • ramraj07 3y ago
      I spent a couple years in college station. The concept of a designated driver did not exist there. I doubt it does in any campus. The main places I’ve found myself around drunk people was in academic conferences and in work outings/happy hours. Well employed, highly educated people. Not unemployed hobos. And a good fraction of them start touching inappropriately. Sure it’s still anecdotal but I didn’t claim to anything but. What non anecdotal data are you looking for? This literally commentary on a letter to an editor in the times.
• nly 3y ago
  Alcoholic beverages can also be incredibly tasty. There are a thousand thousand varieties of beer, wine, cider and spirits out there to try. A couple of drinks a couple of times a month is well worth the health impact to live a little.
  • anthk 3y ago
    There are lots of beer with 0% of alcohol which are just as tasty as alcoholic ones.
• ajuc 3y ago
  For what it's worth I was a teetotaler for religious reasons till 18, they I drank through my 20s (usually 1-2 beers in pub with friends, on weddings etc I drank wódka pretty heavily cause I'm in Poland, but that was maybe twice a year thing). I stopped again in 30s for health reasons (unrelated to drinking). There isn't much difference IMHO. Most people don't care if you drink. The single biggest issue is dancing without alcohol, but I managed in high school so I'm fine now.
  • contrarian1234 3y ago
    That's super interesting. You feel you are connecting and making friends at the same pace? I moved from a very drink-heavy society to one where people drink very sparingly. I now often make aquaintences and have the feeling that if only I went out for some drink with them then we could potentially be friends. It never happens, and life makes up sail past each other Maybe I'd still not connect :)) but my gut feeling is that I could at least make 30% more friends if not significantly more
    • ajuc 3y ago
      I'm still going to after-work parties from time to time, I just drink nonalcoholic stuff. The biggest difference in friend-making was when I graduated and started to work, not when I stopped drinking 5 years later. Also I was never very social to begin with. So maybe what's normal for me is "not connecting" for you :)
      • contrarian1234 3y ago
        Yeah, I could see maybe life circumstances not bringing it out. I'm naturally quite shy and reserved and not particularly outgoing around new people. So I feel some drinks help in this regards as it set a nice social setting to open up. But for instance if you're mainly meeting friends-of-friends then I could see alcohol playing a smaller role Interesting to think about. Thanks for the perspective :)
• dang 3y ago
  Please edit out personal attacks and swipes from your HN posts. Your comment would be fine without those bits. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  • deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
• anthk 3y ago
  In Spain alcohol it's basically something for granted. If you don't drink, you are the outsider, or you must be ill to not be harashed for not drinking a beer in the pub with your friends.