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Absolutely not, but maybe there is a reason why we have used it for centuries? If you watch videos of people travelling to remote villages one of the first thin
by Pet_Ant 2y ago
Absolutely not, but maybe there is a reason why we have used it for centuries? If you watch videos of people travelling to remote villages one of the first things that old timers do is offer them a drink.
There is a value to a social lubricant. People get more passionate, or philosophical. People are less likely to discuss the cost of drywall impacting their bathroom renovation.
Sobriety is merely one state of conciousness, and there is no saying it is solely the best.
- squigz 2y ago> but maybe there is a reason why we have used it for centuries? This sort of thinking is rather problematic. There's lots of stuff we did for centuries that we now realize is bad for us or are just blatantly wrong.
- InSteady 2y agoKids spending too much time on TikTok? Won't do their chores on time? Try the ancient and time honored tradition of beating them until they behave as you would like! /s
- bobthepanda 2y agoRight. For most of history, humans were optimizing for calorie shortages. It is only relatively recently, and only in some locations, where food has become consistently abundant.
- darkgenesha 2y agoThe reason is that it's a coping mechanism for our shift from nomadic to sedentary living
- Clamchop 2y agoSimple is appealing but don't let it carry you away!
- warkdarrior 2y agoInteresting. Do we know why nomadic people do not drink?
- bobthepanda 2y agoI don’t think this is really true? The Mongols and Huns were nomadic and also drank.
- darkgenesha 2y agoI would say it's having a collective purpose. For example you wouldn't think to drink while trying to meet a tight deadline with your team at work. That same scenario would play out everyday but at a way more real and absorbing level, even if you're prosperous. This is exclusive to nomadic living because as soon as you are settled your collective purpose wanes and specialization kicks in... (then as your population balloons you need to patch together things like religion and politics to maintain collectivity) Although I guess you may drink for leisure or on special occasions if you have access, my point is more that dependency and using alcohol as a "social lubricant" is tightly tied to settled living
- mapcars 2y agoDepends, where? If you go to a village in India they probably offer you some food so delicious you could never imagine. But in the west alcohol is all people know.
- Pet_Ant 2y agoIt goes with food if you are European. It's part of the hospitality. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zxVcpOzOPY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zxVcpOzOPY Both the Italian man in the mountains, and the Greek lady in the mediterranean. As well as various Georgians in this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFFZpLbvJqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFFZpLbvJqQ Not saying you have to do it, but it's part of European cultures for centuries. There is no need to be dismissive of it. My partner is Indian, doesn't drink, and Indian food is no more or less delicious than genuine European food. I have no problem with people not drinking, just the smugness of those who make it a personality trait.
- bobthepanda 2y agothis isn't super crazy different across cultures, just the beverage is. In Europe it is beer because that is what is locally most present. Often it's coffee or tea where that is more locally available, and honestly even Europeans offer coffee or tea as part of hospitality. coffee actually used to be considered as, or more sinful than alcohol when it came to being a social lubricant. (it did not help that coffee houses became known as hotbeds of revolutionary thought in Europe.)
- nerdbert 2y agoHowever people don't live very long in India. In East Asia, where people do live a long time, you will be offered alcohol routinely. I'm not saying there's a causal relationship here, but I don't think that example works well.
- OfficeChad 2y ago[dead]
- babalulu 2y agoOne of the reasons we've used it for centuries is that in the days before treated water it was safer to drink. Microbes in water had the potential to make you very sick or even kill you. Even today, if you're traveling to a location where the water supply is suspect, it's safer to drink beer instead of water.
- adamomada 2y agoThis is a popular misconception according to the askhistorians faq. I don’t think you’ve ever had beer either, thinking that you could possibly replace water with it.