Drinking Alcohol May Significantly Enhance Problem Solving Skills

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Analog

Lifer
Jan 7, 2002
12,755
3
0
drunk-girls1.jpg



Drinking alcohol may enhance a person’s problem solving skills, according to a new study.
Scientists found that men who either drank two pints of beer or two glasses of wine before solving brain teasers not only got more questions right, they also were quicker in delivering correct answers, compared to men who answered the questions sober.



While the latest findings go against the traditional beliefs that alcohol impairs analytical thinking and rational thoughts, lead author Professor Jennifer Wiley of the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered that alcohol may enhance creativity problem solving by reducing the mind’s working memory capacity, which is the ability to concentrate on something in particular.


“Working memory capacity is considered the ability to control one’s attention,” Wiley told the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS). “It’s the ability to remember one thing while you’re thinking about something else.”



While the latest study found that alcohol may enhance creative problem solving, previous research found that increased working memory capacity actually led to better analytical problem-solving performance.


Researcher from the current study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition also found that people who drank alcohol and had a blood alcohol level of 0.07 or higher were worse at completing problems that required attentional control but better at creative problem solving tests.



However, the surprising discovery was that participants with a BAC of 0.07 or higher solved 40 percent more problems than their sober counterparts and took 12 seconds to complete the tasks compared to 15.5 seconds by teetotal participants.

http://medicaldaily.com/news/201204...ills-analytical-thinking-creativity-study.htm
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
I've always thought a few brews seemed to clear out the cobwebs a bit. It's not because it's making you smarter, it's actually impairing you in such a way that you don't have the capacity to think about random other shit in the middle of focusing on something.

For instance, if I were taking a test sober I might be using part of my brain to take the test, but another part would keep butting in with worries about how the test defines my intellectual place in humanity, or how girls won't like me if I do poorly on the test, which then leads to thinking about embarrassing instances with girls in the past and other unhelpful shit. Drinking alcohol is taking away some of your brain's ability to process information, but it's the portion that usually only gets in the way anyway.
 
Saint Nick

Saint Nick

Lifer
Jan 21, 2005
17,722
6
81
People with DUIs wouldn't agree.

Also replace "Drinking Alcohol" with "Smoking Pot" and everyone would shit.
 
Last edited:
GagHalfrunt

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Most guys have a problem getting laid and women drinking is a known cure for that problem. So yes, I agree with this.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
126
SlitheryDee said:
I've always thought a few brews seemed to clear out the cobwebs a bit. It's not because it's making you smarter, it's actually impairing you in such a way that you don't have the capacity to think about random other shit in the middle of focusing on something.
Click to expand...

Or you just don't second guess yourself and just roll with your instinct. You look at something, see the answer and go, "Yep it's B". Mark it and move on. No second guessing yourself trying to over analyze and outsmart yourself.

Also applies to the afore mentioned cards. You just play the right card...not the smartest one.

:)
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,443
6,294
126
i dunno ... when i'm out and am hammered and the bill comes, i have a lot of fucking trouble trying to do the math for the tip.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
126
purbeast0 said:
i dunno ... when i'm out and am hammered and the bill comes, i have a lot of fucking trouble trying to do the math for the tip.
Click to expand...

That's the point the article made out...one or two pints and then you hit your beer window of brain bonus.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,443
6,294
126
vi edit said:
That's the point the article made out...one or two pints and then you hit your beer window of brain bonus.
Click to expand...

oh ok, i didn't read it.

i know too when i am at home playing street fighter 4 or something online, and have had a few, i usually play a bit better than when i am 100% sober. but then i continue to drink and i peak fairly early and my game goes to shit and my reactions start to slow down, timing off, etc. and then i just get frustrated as shit because i know what i SHOULD be doing but i just can't do it lol.
 
vi edit

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,344
126
Yeh it wasn't pasted into the OP. It was in the original article at the bottom.

I know that the "beer window" is true in many areas. For me it's stuff like bowling and darts. A pitcher into a game of those and I'm throwing my best. When I used to LAN party I always hit a zone a few beers in.

For me I think it's just a mental lubricator for a lack of better description. A few beers and you just are more relaxed and your body and mind just seem to be more in synch with each other. Stone sober and usually it's my brain trying to do too much.
 
Drekce

Drekce

Golden Member
Sep 29, 2000
1,398
0
76
If I have a glass or two of wine or a beer or two while designing or programming it definitely helps.
 
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