The Lancet, a premier medical journal, printed a comment by Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winston Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge about the contention that there is “no safe level of drinking alcohol”: “…There is no ‘safe’ level of driving, but governments do not recommend that people avoid driving. Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention.” (p. 217)
Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization is basically the history of alcoholic beverages. Edward Slingerland points out the pervasiveness of alcohol in most of the world’s civilizations and religious. With a few exceptions, alcohol can be found in most human activities like parties, sports events, and weddings. And Jesus Christ’s first miracle was turning water into wine.
Of course, there are down-sides to alcohol. “Alcohol is the only drug, besides pure stimulants like meth, that is known to increase physical aggression and violence. Cannabis, kava, MDMA, and psychedelics all produce either mellow or introverted highs. Alcohol’s stimulated effect, when combined with cognitive myopia and loss of executive function, can induce aggressive or violent behavior, especially in people with already low levels of cognitive control.” (p. 249)
I’m not a big consumer of alcoholic products. About a decade ago, my doctor suggested that I drink one glass of red wine each day to protect my heart. I took his advice and so far so good. I’m not fond of beer. Once in a while I’ll have a mixed drink, usually something with rum in it. Not a fan of gin or vodka. The research continues on the pluses and minuses of alcoholic consumption. But, as Drunk points out, alcoholic consumption is going to continue as long as humans are around. GRADE: A
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
1 Why Do We Get Drunk? 17
Brain Hijack: Porn and Sexually Starved Fruit Flies 23
Evolutionary Hangovers: Drunken Monkeys, Liquid Kimchee, and Dirty Water 27
More Than Twinkles and Porn: Beyond Hangover and Hijack Theories 31
A Genuine Evolutionary Puzzle: An Enemy in the Mouth That Steals Away the Brain 35
A Genetic Mystery: We Are Apes Built to Get High 41
A Cultural Mystery: Prohibition’s Strange Failure to Take Over the World 49
Pickles for the Ancestors? 58
2 Leaving the Door Open for Dionysus 61
The Human Ecological Niche: Creative, Cultural, Communal 65
The Creative Animal 71