Comment by hurlyburly on My Childhood Death Spiral · 2008-09-16T02:02:42.000Z · LW · GW

Regarding alcohol and lowering of IQ, am I correct in assuming that we are talking here about the temporary negative effects on cognitive ability of occasionally imbibing alcohol in moderation? Or are there studies I'm unaware of that show that occasional alcohol use has an adverse and permanent effect on cognitive ability?

If we're talking about the former, I'd be curious if those who are so vehemently anti-alcohol under all circumstances and with no exceptions are consistent in their application of the rule that anything that temporarily decreases cognitive ability should be avoided in all cases. I'd be willing to bet that there is something of a cognitive refractory period after having sex, so these people would presumably avoid sex entirely (if they can do so without other negative effects), they would be obsessive about never eating so much food that it might leave them momentarily feeling bloated and less intellectally capable as a result, they would avoid concert music of every form if like me they sometimes hear the music internally for days afterward with such vividity that it can be very distracting (and thus equivalent to a small cognitive impairment), etc.