Intelligent people drink more alcohol, studies show

some random drunk

Drunk people may do some stupid things, but two studies are showing people who drink more are actually smarter. This is according to data from the National Child Development Study in the U.K. and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the U.S. Researchers measured kids intelligence before they turned 16 and put them in one of five categories ranging from very bright to very dull.
The Americans were revisited seven years later and the Brits were followed in their 20s, 30 and 40s, reports Discovery News.

In both studies the smarter children ended up drinking more alcohol later in life. They ended up drinking more often and in greater quantities when compared to the duller kids.

more here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/smarter-people-drink-alcohol-more-often-studies-195846264.html

Well I've always known we are a nation of geniuses, what do ye folks make of this?

saintsaltynuts

What a load of Shi*e.

dodderangler

And?
Dumb thick stupid smart brainiac geek
We all fcukin drink

Shryke

I saw research before that said the same thing. Also higher levels of drug abuse in general and higher levels of depression.
It's not some kind of catch all, but a higher tendency.

frozenfrozen

Stupid people are already happy

NegativeCreep

This just proves what I already knew. Im a fúcking genius!

Smarter people have more to worry about!

OneArt

I feel suddenly better about my five-day bender.

UCDVet

I wonder if it's a religious thing?

Smart people are less likely to be religious and I think most religions say not to drink?

Real Life

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Stupid people are already happy

this is very true. ive no scientific evidence to back this up but i conducted some research among people i know.
Pretty much everyone who i would consider to be on the more intelligent side and more rational thinking drink more, are more depressed and use drugs.

The others just never think about anything else out there but just go along with whats happening in their lives day to day and keep a positive outlook.

Max Power

Seems legit

UCDVet

UCDVet wrote: »

I wonder if it's a religious thing?

Smart people are less likely to be religious and I think most religions say not to drink?

Religious people prey to their god to sort out their problems, thus passing the buck as they assume god will worry for them.

jasonmcco

some random drunk wrote: »

more here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/smarter-people-drink-alcohol-more-often-studies-195846264.html

Well I've always known we are a nation of geniuses, what do ye folks make of this?

What i would take from this is that maybe intelligent people drink more to block out the pain of what their intelligent mind exposes them to(seeing the world and all its shortcoming probably depresses the intelligent more coz they are more aware of it)

jasonmcco

Real Life wrote: »

this is very true. ive no scientific evidence to back this up but i conducted some research among people i know.
Pretty much everyone who i would consider to be on the more intelligent side and more rational thinking drink more, are more depressed and use drugs.

The others just never think about anything else out there but just go along with whats happening in their lives day to day and keep a positive outlook.

Ignorance is bliss

zom

some random drunk wrote: »

Well I've always known we are a nation of geniuses, what do ye folks make of this?

I coudnt find anything more recent - 2008 chart:

http://bigotblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/alcohol_consumption_per_capita_world_map.png

Seems like we were the smartest along with Moldavians and Hungarians.

Scanlas The 2nd

It wouldn't surprise me, thinking too much generally removes joy from life. Often people use drugs and alcohol to replace the joy of life that relentless thought has removed.

Abi

I must be a fúcking genius then.

brummytom

It wouldn't really surprise me. I remember reading a while ago that depression was correlational with intelligence - clever people see life for the shítstorm it really is, so it makes sense they'd drink more to get over that.

Standard Toaster

we are all jin hthe gutter, but some of uis are lozoking at the stwars.


/hics

Princess Peach

Abi wrote: »

I must be a fúcking genius then.

Let's all form a mensa group, drinks served.

the_syco

Lets see... the smarter you are the more money you make, thus the more drink you can afford. Make sense.

B.A._Baracus

UCDVet wrote: »

I wonder if it's a religious thing?

Smart people are less likely to be religious and I think most religions say not to drink?

trolling post?

Haelium

Several problems I can see with the study, but it might just be the article not explaining it properly.

1 - Measuring IQ for children is difficult due to differences in how quickly some children develop mentally compared to other children. Was their IQ measured again as adults?
2 - IQ itself is rather shakey.
3 - Both studies took place in western countries with similar cultures. If the same study was done in France or Germany there could be a completely different outcome.
4 - How big was the sample? For all we know there was 20 people studied, in which case the study would be useless.

Not saying the study was useless, just looking for more details. The media tends to leave details out when reporting scientific studies.

Shryke

Haelium wrote: »

Several problems I can see with the study, but it might just be the article not explaining it properly.

1 - Measuring IQ for children is difficult due to differences in how quickly some children develop mentally compared to other children. Was their IQ measured again as adults?
2 - IQ itself is rather shakey.
3 - Both studies took place in western countries with similar cultures. If the same study was done in France or Germany there could be a completely different outcome.
4 - How big was the sample? For all we know there was 20 people studied, in which case the study would be useless.

Not saying the study was useless, just looking for more details. The media tends to leave details out when reporting scientific studies.

I guess once someone invents the internet you'll be able to do a search pretty easily on that sort of thing.

TeddyTedson

Sweeping generalisations as such never warrant much merit.
However I understand that deep thinkers would want to escape their own mind from time to time. We all have our vices. The pacman is a big drinker for example, but then so too is Twink...

It does of course destroy brain cells too

Haelium

Shryke wrote: »

I guess once someone invents the internet you'll be able to do a search pretty easily on that sort of thing.

Did a search, didn't find any details on the methodology, but I did find this:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201011/why-do-smarter-healthier-and-richer-people-drink-moderately

Allyall

Rumoured to be from Cheers.. But apparently not true.

“Well, you see, Norm, it’s like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it’s the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”

Defiler Of The Coffin

Alcohol can make you feel smarter, many's a problem was solved on the barstool and forgotten about the next day!

MagicSean

The intelligent ones know when to stop though.

Tom_Cruise

How do you measure intelligence anyway?

I want to measure my intelligence
(Im pretty sure im a genius)

Defiler Of The Coffin

MagicSean wrote: »

The intelligent ones know when to stop though.

Indeed, after puking all over the floor and tearing up the jacks it's probably time to stop.

Shryke

TeddyTedson wrote: »

Sweeping generalisations as such never warrant much merit.
However I understand that deep thinkers would want to escape their own mind from time to time. We all have our vices. The pacman is a big drinker for example, but then so too is Twink...

It does of course destroy brain cells too

I don't believe that has ever been proven. It does effect brain chemistry but destroying brain cells isn't something that it does, and the brain is more robust than people think in this area. It does recover and repair itself.
It seems drinking in moderation is the best thing you can do, more so than abstaining. Moderate intake seems overall beneficial. Binging on anything is going to be damaging though, especially in the long term.

Haelium wrote: »

Did a search, didn't find any details on the methodology, but I did find this:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/addiction-in-society/201011/why-do-smarter-healthier-and-richer-people-drink-moderately

If we had a few more studies from different regions I'd love to see the corollaries. Your link gives to the idea that people with more control over their lives submit themselves less to alcohol and drug abuse. That's a good point to make. But it has a huge flaw for me.
You're talking about post grads vs. the rest in the US and getting a post grad doesn't equate to intellect. We all know idiots that have degrees. Any dumbass can graft away for a qualification.
I'm not knocking post grads either! I would give more credence to a (the OPs) study that gauged, hands on, the intelligence of participants rather than one that went by the means of classifying someone with a degree as automatically more intelligent, when they may well just be more well off in the case of the US and its university system. There are more holes to pick at there.
It seems to have been a survey that was done as well? People tend to lie on those things. The OPs study would be more concrete in that regard as well maybe?

Neither study to me seems particularly sound but we don't need science to know there's truth in something, although citations always help. I may be going on a bit..

gb40

Homer Simpson had it right!

UCDVet

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

trolling post?

There is a well known relationship between intelligence and religious faith. The more intelligent someone is the less likely they are to self-identify as religious.

A quick Google will turn up studies that show it.

I also know some religions explicitly say getting drunk is a bad thing, or even that alcohol consumption is bad. So I wondered if it could explain the differences in drinking and intelligence.

Rynox45

Seems obligatory to point out that "Intelligent people drink more" and "Those who drink are more intelligent" aren't equivalent statements.

juan.kerr

So does that mean non drinkers are dumb?

This study wasn't paid for by the drinks industry by any chance?

As with most of these studies it is a load of ********.

UCDVet

juan.kerr wrote: »

So does that mean non drinkers are dumb?

This study wasn't paid for by the drinks industry by any chance?

As with most of these studies it is a load of ********.

No, it doesn't mean non-drinkers are dumb.
It also doesn't mean drinking makes someone more intelligent.

It shows a correlation between intelligence and drinking. That's about it.

Studies show that more educated people earn more than those without the same educational attainment levels. That doesn't mean all rich people are educated or that no educated people are poor, or that every single person who didn't go to college earns less than everyone who did.

gbee

Did it say what was drunk? I doubt it would refer to the average Dutch Gold candidate from a corpo estate tbh.

YellowFeather

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/smarter-people-drink-alcohol-more-often-studies-195846264.html wrote:

Drunk people may do some stupid things, but two studies are showing people who drink more are actually smarter. This is according to data from the National Child Development Study in the U.K. and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the U.S. Researchers measured kids intelligence before they turned 16 and put them in one of five categories ranging from very bright to very dull.

Ah here. These guys need more alcohol.

juan.kerr

UCDVet wrote: »

Studies show that more educated people earn more than those without the same educational attainment levels. That doesn't mean all rich people are educated or that no educated people are poor, or that every single person who didn't go to college earns less than everyone who did.

Thanks for clearing that up. Now, can you take a look at my limping cat please?

UCDVet

juan.kerr wrote: »

Thanks for clearing that up. Now, can you take a look at my limping cat please?

No worries - lots of guys suffer from 'limping cat' problems. Talk to your doctor....they can probably get you some pills.

flutterflye

I think I must be fairly dim then - I rarely drink.
Ah well, back I go to counting my split ends. So far I counted eleventeen.

flutterflye

UCDVet wrote: »

No worries - lots of guys suffer from 'limping cat' problems. Talk to your doctor....they can probably get you some pills.

What about my cat - will she eat my baby if I leave her alone with him?

UCDVet

flutterflye wrote: »

What about my cat - will she eat my baby if I leave her alone with him?

Cats can be dangerous and in extreme cases they *do* eat babies; but only very cute ones.

Your baby should be fine

Aodh Rua

some random drunk wrote: »

more here: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/smarter-people-drink-alcohol-more-often-studies-195846264.html

If more intelligent people drank more alcohol, they wouldn't drink so much. You can say "they're too smart for this world" and all its variants but realistically all we actually know is that we have only this world. And that drinking in excess is stupid and short sighted.

WindSock

'Intelligent people drink more'

'Studies show intelligent people use illegal drugs regularly'

'Athiests are more intelligent than thiests'

I always think some gombeen who does these things / are these things, sits around all day trying to prove themselves or justify their choices by showing how more intelligent they are than everyone else.

Sin City

Hic, alert Mensha, Im a genuish, hic

Archeron

Everybody grab a bottle of whiskey and head for the large hadron collider.

666irishguy

Intelligence might mean they get a better job and in turn have more money and free time to socialise and drink more.

Sin City

Brian Cowan.

I think that says it all

kowloon

Is this just another case of someone doing a survey and jumping to conclusions, making no effort to understand their findings?

Reminds me of the whole 'people who drink moderately are healthier and live longer' BS. As it turns out, many people who drink nothing at all abstain because they're in bad health, some of them even being recovering alcoholics. They skew the result by dying earlier. But it gets into the papers on a slow day and becomes accepted as fact.