Is drinking half a bottle of vodka safe?

Miscellaneous Topics
#41

You’d have to drink ridiculous amounts to suffer from temporary amnesia. I guess a bottle of vodka could work. Even then some people, including me, seem to be less susceptible to this loss of memory…This can suck sometimes. :stuck_out_tongue:

All the reasons mentioned by Kevin are spot on. Alcohol mainly lowers inhibitions and has a general calming effect. Most people can find a use for both at some point. I believe it can also make you see the world through different lenses which I find interesting (and some times embarassing I guess). It’s a subtle effect but I think it’s there. A carefree, almost child-like approach to the outer world that you eventually outgrow. But it can even be a healthy habit…If you drink in moderation, meaning no more than a 1-2 glasses of wine or beers a day, it can lower your LDL cholesterol and prevent serious conditions such as strokes. A little alcohol can also temporarily help some people with insomnia but it’s probably not a perfect solution.

#42

hUVwR0rw5fk

#43

Well, I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks either, so… =P

I know what you mean though, but I don’t connect that with any of the stuff I take in. It’s just a positive circe: things are going well —> confidence boost —> focus boost —> things go even better.

Your memories define you and make up your personality. You don’t walk into the same trap over and over again or make the same mistakes over and over again because you learn, and you have no idea when you might get an opportunity to learn something new.

I know, but there is no threshold where it starts affecting your judgement, coordination, motor skills, balance, humor, etc. Any amount of alcohol affects your mind and body.

I’ve seen a lot of people do stupid stuff that for some reason was fun. I used to have a lot of friends in middle school, and we hung out a lot long after we all went to different high schools. We had so much fun doing pretty much nothing. We just walked around and talked about stuff during the whole summer vacations and stuff like that. Then everyone turned 18 and just hanging out wasn’t good enough anymore. It always ended up with us going to either a bar or (more often than not) going home to someone to drink get drunk. They’d all (well, except me and one other guy) just rather turn their brains into slime, and that’s not an overstatement in this case. It wasn’t possible to have any kind of conversation lasting more than two sentences. Well, I guess the point when I gave up and stopped hanging out with them was when one of the guys banged my crush in their intoxicated state as we’re all trying to sleep upstairs. Myeh, it’s not like they wouldn’t have gotten together anyway. What really bothered me was how much everyone had changed…

So well, I guess drinking together with your friends is fine. I do really enjoy going out with my close friends to a bar or to someone’s house or so, and most people I know drink responsibly. I can get pretty high on sugar myself, so I usually don’t have much problem blending in anyway, but I still don’t get what the point of the alcohol is in the first place. If we’re watching a movie, then for me half the fun is hearing everyone’s opinions on it, but I digress. My point is that if you’re in the company of people you trust, then at least it’s not that bad.

What bothers me is how people that are normally very cautious and careful think it’s completely safe to drug themselves in a public location. It’s scary to see people you care about being so vulnerable, and in many cases you are relied upon as the person who doesn’t drink. As I don’t see what the point is of alcohol, it just needlessly worries people who care about you and in general is really inconsiderate as it thrusts a lot of responsibility on me. People are supposed to be able to take care of themselves. There’s other stuff like people spewing out all their long-kept secrets or even exaggerating or making up stuff just to seem cool (“I’m more messed up than you, haha!”). Again, it’s inconsiderate to other people. It’s like wearing a seat belt. Half the reason to wear them is to protect yourself. The other half is not to make people who care about you worry, and to not hit the person sitting in front of you if you crash.

I guess this turned out more into a vent than a discussion, but meh…

PS: I’m 22 now, so it’s not like I’m new to alcohol.

#44

woo alcoholic beverages

#45

Like I said, if you don’t want to drink, don’t do it! I’m just trying to answer the question and balance out some of OP’s “woo alcoholic beverages” nonsense. I’m not here to convince anybody of anything, so if you don’t want to- just don’t!

Ha, I knew somebody would come along with that response.

I guess the closest I can come then is: have you ever had ice cream? Ice cream is just sorta fun to eat, and can put you in a better mood. But it is also really bad for you, so why do you do it? I’ve seen lots of people go from skinny to fat, so I don’t really like ice cream, so why do you?

(See what I’m trying to do?)

And any amount of ice cream will affect your body. You asked why people drink, and I’m just trying to give you the responsible reasonings instead of the cliches in this thread.

That happens to everybody. I’ve seen that happen too, and I don’t think it’s as simple as “people who drink change”. I’ve seen people get lost to WoW, or smoking, or to TV. Everybody is figuring out what their interests are. And sadly, for a lot of people, that answer seems to be “nothing”, and that’s when they drift down a road of becoming, well, boring. That doesn’t mean that it’s all because they started drinking though.

And that’s not even touching on the existential fact that these people probably say that we were the ones who changed and became boring.

My point is that blaming it all on drinking is an oversimplification- your friends probably would have drifted apart no matter what. It’s just that drinking is the most obvious change, but at 18 it’s nowhere near the biggest thing that’s changing.

[quote=“theagentd,post:43,topic:51375”]
It honestly sounds like the problem is, you need to find better friends. :stuck_out_tongue:

#46

You couldn’t force me drink even if my life depended on it. I don’t surround myself with people who’d force me to drink. I’m not writing this in some attempt to get confirmation by random people online; I know what I want and don’t want to do. =P

I don’t think this is valid comparison. Eating ice cream does have clear benefits. It’s sweet and tasty and can cool you down on a warm summer day. Alcohol on the other hand doesn’t taste good (God, it tastes like cough medicine…) or improve anything. In my opinion there’s no clear advantage in drinking, but a majority of people I know still enjoy it. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.

Everything we consume is a trade-off. If you’re accepting the risks of eating ice cream and think the benefits outweigh the cost, then you eat ice cream. I don’t think that this comparison is completely fair, since the body does have use for sugar to some extent, and the drawbacks of eating lots of sugar are bad teeth, which can be prevented and treated in other ways. The other obvious risk is diabetes, which is far from a guaranteed outcome from a single ice cream. I accept these risks when I have my ice cream. On the other hand, alcohol has much more severe guaranteed consequences in my opinion. It endangers both you and your friends and also waste the most valuable resource you have in life: time.

You’re completely right. The fact that those people valued drinking so highly that they wanted to get drunk all the time as soon as they turned 18 was a difference that was there from the start. I’m not blaming the fact that we split up on drinking specifically.

[quote=“KevinWorkman,post:45,topic:51375”]

I’m no longer hanging out with them. Speaking of which, I met one of them at my uni a few weeks ago. He asked me for help with defining variables in Java. He’s on his 4th year and he’s had 4 classes on Java.
PS: We’re both studying compute science but he’s on his 4th year and I’m on my 3rd.

#47

Like I’ve said, I’m not really here to talk anybody into anything. I seem to have been sucked into a “debate” that I don’t really have any interest in- I thought you were asking a general question out of genuine curiosity, so I thought I’d chime in, but I think what you really want to do is complain about your friends- and that’s cool too, I just don’t have much to say about that other than “yeah, that happens, and it sucks.”

I do think it’s a fair comparison: your original question was “why do people eat ice cream?” and I said “here is why some people eat a couple ice creams a week” and you came back with “but my friends eat 25 ice creams every weekend, so people who eat 2 ice creams are stupid.” That’s an oversimplification, but do you see how we might be having two different conversations?

Too much of anything is bad for you. Too much water can kill you. Too much ice cream is bad for you. Too much beer is bad for you. But a little ice cream, like you’ve said, can be beneficial. So can a little beer.

Other than that, I’ve given you a few reasons, so I don’t think you’re necessarily trying to figure it out, as much as you are trying to prove it wrong- and with something as subjective as this, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Sorry, but how did that single beer I drank last night endanger anybody? And if I deem that as time well spent, who is to say I’m wasting it? That’s the kind of over-dramatization that made me chime in in the first place.

Again, you seem to just want to complain about your friends, and that’s fine, but I don’t think it’s “alcohol’s fault” that your friends are changing so much, and I don’t have any wise words for you other than to agree that it sucks when that happens.

I understand your feelings there. I think many people have a propensity to not be interested in things, and they can gravitate towards brain-numbing things like television, smoking, video games, and sure, drinking too much. I’ve seen people choose to play WoW instead of go to class, or even go on dates. But there are also many people who are interested in things, who do go to class every day, but who want to play video games for a couple hours every once in a while. So it’s not as simple as “everybody who plays video games is a slacker”, just like it’s not as simple as “everybody who drinks 3 beers is a raging alcoholic”.

Again, sorry that your friends changed, but I don’t think it’s as simple as blaming alcohol, and not everybody who enjoys beer is like your friends.

I’m just trying to answer your original question, not get into a big debate. So I’d be happy to answer any other questions you have, but if really what you want to do is vent about your friends (which is fine, really), then I think I’ll bow out of this one.

#48

For me it’s all of the reasons you mentioned, plus in moderation you do remember what happens. Lightens up the mood, makes everyone more fun. Sometimes I have a few beers with my friends while gaming or watching a sport on TV, both activities which I don’t normally enjoy much but after a few drinks becomes more fun and social.
[/quote]
Pretty much nailed it. I wouldn’t say that “in moderation you do remember what happens”, I’d say “only in rare cases when you overdo it, you can’t remember”. It never happened to me and I can hardly remember anybody who had that happen (no pun intended :P).

That’s perfectly fine. You’re not the only one that reads his posts :slight_smile:

I myself drink in moderation. Not regularily at all, just at parties. When I drink, I usually drink more that a couple of beers, but just because everything is percieved much more positively, at least for me. I tend to have much more fun when a little drunk, compared to when I’m not. If you don’t feel comfortable with drinking alcohol, stuff won’t be more fun for you, probably. Also, It depends on your friends, too. I’m pretty lucky, I’d say, because my friends usually don’t get too drunk and are really tolerant. If you don’t want to drink, it’s perfectly fine for us.

Yep. It’s a trade-off. Also, you don’t instantly become dumb when you drink alcohol, it’s just that it’s more common that dumb people go over their limits :slight_smile: It’s possible you get brain damage when you get a little drunk everyday though (I heard about someone who was very intelligent, but drank beer everyday and now is mentally disabled…) or when you drink very much for once.

As Aristoteles says, you need to find your middle (mesótes), the moderation. :wink:

17, Male, Germany

#49

Nailed it.

theagentd, this is the answer to the question you’re actually asking. This is why your friends act the way they do. It doesn’t mean that the rest of us are like that.

#50

It’s a gradual process. Over-consumption of alcohol (more than 3 ‘units’ per day) slowly deteriorates brain tissue, as (among other reasons) your brain-matter is fatty, and fat easily dissolves in alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption (to the point of passing out) does immediate damage, and some neurologists compare it to being hit by a baseball bat (whatever that entails…)

One or two units per day is actually better for your brain than zero, but I can’t get myself to drink that ‘much’…

#51

No, I don’t want to complain about them. >___> That was 4 years ago and I have barely seen them since. I’m sorry if it came out that way, but from my perspective you’re just acting defensive now. Since this is a topic I rarely get any serious answers for and you were kind enough to answer my questions I wanted to continue the debate…

Anyway, to make this clear… I really don’t hold a grudge against people who drink. Some of the most enjoyable times I’ve ever had have been going out with my friends to drink. I don’t look down on them (or anyone else) for drinking, but I also don’t understand WHY people choose to drink. THAT’s what I want to find out, and you’ve given me a lot of answers. I’m not trying to convince you to stop drinking! I want YOU pretend you’re going to convince ME to start! If that makes sense…

There are lots of things that you shouldn’t eat or drink at all, like fast food and candy in general. Moderation implies that the action has some sort of benefit when done in small controlled amounts. Something inherently dangerous and possibly damaging shouldn’t be done at all, especially since from my perspective it doesn’t really hold any advantage.

And yes, I most likely am overestimating the risks of getting drunk, or rather the potential dangers that follow, like accidentally hurting yourself or others, embarrassment forever immortalized on social networks, or simply being a generic nuisance to everyone around.
Those are all things that scare me a lot, probably more than other people (?). On top of that, it’s also really expensive, so for me it wasn’t a very difficult choice.

I’m not accusing you of endangering anybody by having a beer, but as far as I know there isn’t a threshold for when alcohol starts affecting you negatively. As an example of what I mean, I did some quick Googling and came to the conclusion that I can drink up to 3 beers and still legally be allowed to drive, but after drinking 3 beers the same chart classifies me as “impaired”. For me (and probably 99% of everyone out there) it isn’t about being “legally” drunk; it’s the fact that if I’ve drunk any amount and end up causing an accident I would not be able rule out that it was because I was “impaired” by whatever tiny amount of alcohol I had had, and that I could’ve done something different to avoid that outcome. I realize that I’m again exaggerating with a rather extreme example, but that’s still how I feel even if we take the driving out of the equation. For the record, I do enjoy having a cider every now and then but that’s solely because I think they taste good and that they’re more socially accepted than Coca Cola. If I had to say that I’m against anything at all, it’d be drinking at bars and other places that with random people you don’t trust when you’re in a state where your judgement and ability to protect yourself is (possibly ever so little) impaired.

I don’t know… It feels like whenever I try to ask people what they enjoy about drinking they usually get all defensive and just respond with some variation of “I don’t drink so much that it’s dangerous so why do you care?” which doesn’t answer my question, so it was a pleasant surprise that you guys took my question seriously. I’m not sure if continuing the discussion will yield anything good, but if anyone wants to I’ll be glad to continue it. I guess that some part of me is a bit jealous of people who seem to be able to enjoy themselves without a worry in the world…

Anyway, thanks for all the answers!

#52

Not reading all that but to answer the question " why do we do it?"

Well I don’t drink to get drunk, I’ve drunk and brewed craft beers for 4 years now. I like the taste and I enjoy going to a pub and seeing what new beers they have on, I go with my friend who also enjoys craft beers.

Like for example, on Monday I had a pint of chocolate and raspberry stout. Was delicious :smiley:

#53

:slight_smile:

#54

No worries, I’m not trying to be defensive. I just think we’re having two different conversations: you’re complaining about people who drink too much and act like idiots, and I’m defending a quieter type of person who has a beer and watches Galaxy Quest with the gf (which is exactly what I plan on doing tonight).

The truth is that you have every right to be annoyed by people who act the way you described- if your friends really are endangering themselves and others, then that’s pretty ridiculous. But not everybody (or not even most people) who drinks is like that.

[quote=“theagentd,post:51,topic:51375”]
It makes sense, but that’s not really my style- if you don’t want to drink, that’s cool, and you shouldn’t. Nobody should try to convince you otherwise.

I’ve described some of the subjective benefits, and other people have mentioned the health benefits of drinking in moderation. And sure, people who don’t eat candy at all are probably better off than people who eat a pound of candy every day- but what about a person who unwinds with a single candy bar on the weekend? Can’t the subjective benefits (decreasing stress levels, increasing happiness) outweigh the objective downsides (becoming fat)? It’s the same with drinking beer- if all I did was work all the time, eventually I’d crash from the stress. Or I can counteract that by just unwinding with a beer on a Friday night- and sure, other people might unwind differently, and that’s cool. But having a Mad Elf and watching Galaxy Quest sounds like a perfect Friday to me!

Yeah, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. It’s fine to have reservations or to not want to drink at all! But some of the stuff that’s been said in this thread sounds like it came directly from a middle school guidance counselor, haha. If the people you know are getting so drunk that they hurt themselves or others, then that’s a huge problem. But most people aren’t like that, so I think it might be a little bit of paranoia to worry too much about it. But again, if you don’t want to drink, that’s completely okay!

That’s a different thing altogether- I don’t drive even if I’ve had a single beer. I’m pretty sure I can’t hurt anybody watching a movie on my couch, haha.

[quote=“theagentd,post:51,topic:51375”]
This is just me rambling now, but it’s interesting- ciders aren’t really a thing around here, and Coca Cola is pretty much everywhere. Interesting that our locations have beer in common though, haha.

I guess it’s because some of the things that have been said in this thread are a little bit dramatized- I’m not here to defend people who get so drunk they endanger themselves, or to defend people who drive drunk. So if you ask people to speak for that type of behavior, they might get a little defensive, because people who can enjoy drinking responsibly are probably just as annoyed with those types of people as you are. So lumping us all together as “people who drink” seems a bit unfair, know what I mean?

I don’t suppose you ship to Washington DC, do you? :stuck_out_tongue:

#55

Relevant XKCD:

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#56

Alright.

I’m not going to write as much because… basically it’s an uphill battle and everyone already has a stand.
All my life I had this discussion and although I am only 26 I get too tired by now.

I wish intensely that they were more people like agentd out there, but they are extremely rare.
First of all when I talk about alcohol I dont ever speak about the one beer at home. I only talk about getting “drunk”. of course any amounts where you endanger or simply bother people can be negative.

I feel this planet lacks at this point a basic compass of morality, ethics, manners, politeness…
Doing something “fun” (screaming, decreasing logical thinking, puking) is valued more than being analytical, critical, question things, using logic, curiosity, ambition.

It is easier to do something mindless now, and not worry about the future, then to do something that is right
And people like doing easy things. I don’t, I don’t get the point of something without challenge.

Its pretty sad when people need to, or without much thinking, use chemicals to be able to lighten the mood.

The whole party and alcohol issue is really a mirror of society. Which is why I think most people suck. The don’t value intelligence or justice. They value power, “fun”, money.

Now what the fuck has justice to do with alcohol ? I fundamentally think that all drugs are morally wrong. Now there are medical reasons you shouldn’t, there are social reasons you shouldn’t, but personally I think it’s just a matter of right and wrong. Willfully diminish my good judgement that good save or endanger someone, is wrong.
Right and wrong, morality, is not about directly influencing anyone, anyway. If you choke a stray kitten to death, thats wrong. No one really cares, especially if no one knows… The universe doesn’t care, nature doesn’t. But right and wrong are not about that.

“OMG he said choking a kitten is equivalent to getting drunk” - no. I’m saying morality is something people don’t seem to care about really anymore.
and I’m not even religious D:

looking at all the news, historical events, medical effects, no one can defend alcohol really, all they can say is “well its not that bad if you don’t do it too much” - you could stop altogether, but that would be harder.

Bill Cosby did a famous bit about him being confused how getting drunk can possible be “having a good time”, I recommend it:

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But he also tried to be an intellectual his whole life, while people usually just try to work their dead end jobs and burp the loudest they can. Different set of goals in life :stuck_out_tongue:

You dont have to agree, people usually don’t, I’m just sad that in general our society embraces dumbness so so so much more than intelligence.

#57

Haha would not even know where to begin, postage and packaging would be ridiculous for a start. My brews are not that great being fair, I have managed to imitate a few of my favourites, a few of which are below, I have been trying to brew something like dark island for a year a half, no luck:

I feel like an alcoholic lol, could add a lot more but will keep it at that :smiley:

#58

I don’t really disagree with some of the stuff you’ve said. But I also think you’re setting up a false dichotomy between “the smart people who don’t drink” and “the stupid people who do drink”. That’s like me saying that everybody who plays video games is an idiot, because I’ve seen people ruin their lives by playing WoW for 12 hours a day. It’s like me saying that everybody who watches any TV is an idiot, because I know people who watch TV instead of doing anything with their lives.

I’m not really going to get into this because it’s mostly subjective, but there is an idea of “morality from evolution” which I talked about in this post. That’s why killing kittens is morally wrong. But I think you’re making a bit of a subjective leap to tack on “all drugs are morally wrong”, but hey, you’re entitled to your opinion. It’s just mildly frustrating to be called immoral because I drank some beers while watching Galaxy Quest on my couch last night.

[quote=“Cero,post:56,topic:51375”]
This thread has listed several “defenses”, but again, if you don’t want to drink, then please don’t. But not everybody who drinks is immoral, either.

Many people would say that eating meat is immoral. Or that giving less than 50% of your income to charity is immoral. Or that not protesting war is immoral. The point is that this stuff is subjective, so it seems a bit unfair to make broad generalizations about people you don’t know.

[quote=“Cero,post:56,topic:51375”]
Are you really using Bill Cosby, who is currently being accused of raping many women throughout his career, as an example of intellectualism and moral superiority? I guess I don’t really have to say anything to that!

Again, I think you’re setting up a false dichotomy. Some of the most interesting and intelligent conversations I’ve had were over a couple beers. It would almost seem less intelligent to make the kind of broad generalizations and over-dramatizations that have been made in this thread.

Too much of anything is bad. People who spend all day on the internet looking at buzzfeed and reddit are probably missing out on quite a bit- but then again, the internet can also be used to connect people all over the world. People who spend all day watching TV are probably missing out on quite a bit- but then again, tv can be a great provider of information and entertainment. People who can’t handle themselves while drinking are probably missing out on quite a bit- but then again, a few beers every now and again can be great for some people. People who play video games all day are probably missing out on quite a bit- but then again, video games can also be beautiful, artistic, or just plain fun.

Not everybody who drinks is an immoral idiot, just like not everybody who watches a little TV is an idiot. It’s honestly a little rude of you to make broad generalizations like that, IMHO.

#59

Well i want to chime and speak for the third type of person, or in this case, drinker. The one who perhaps drinks a little much and has a great time doing it.

I am pushing 40, work in science and am surrounded by regular drinkers to heavy drinkers. I have not noticed any lack of brain function, and quite frankly seem to be getting older and wiser. The people i work with are all very smart. Well most of them are.

BUT by god you can’t make me grow up! I am having the time of my life, and have been for 30 years. It just keeps getting better. Sure i can’t blame alcohol for that, but fairly regular nights out are a part of it.

Why do i drink. I get euphoric with alcohol. And super euphoric with even more. Lucky that because it means i get very polite to police officers, which is a very good thing after drinking Mojitos all day in Puerto Rico…

However i have never just sat down and sculled spirits like that on purpose (how that happen on accident is a long story). It just something you shouldn’t do. Sure have a lot of back to back shots. But don’t bottoms up a bottle. How much you have eaten etc with have a very large effect on the outcome as well, so just because it worked out once does not mean it will again.

My wife however doesn’t like it and won’t come out and party often at all. That is fine, she also plays video games that make no sense, while she doesn’t like eve online. Different people like and enjoy different things. There is no write or wrong about it.

The only thing that i get upset about is the driving. Doing the alcohol thing to yourself is one thing. Putting others in danger is not!

#60

Yes there is, my missus doesn’t like EVE either and it is putting a right strain on our relationship :p. Joking aside, I did read your post and jolly good, keep on living :D.