Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

news.brown.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 135 posts

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#31

Post by minikites »

soared wrote: post #15
rconti wrote: post #9

I know everyone is recommending the book Why We Sleep, but I'll pile on and say that I found it to be a fantastic read, and the consequences of alcohol consumption are devastating. Stats like 40+% reduction in retained information from just a few drinks the night after learning new facts. Or the night BEFORE learning new facts. And how the ill consequences occur even if you abstain for several DAYS after learning new…

Honest question - Do most adults need to retain new information very often?(excluding the typical HN audience who are constantly learning/innovating/reading/etc)

What makes you think most people don't need to learn or innovate constantly and why is HN in particular an exception?

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#32

Post by relaxxxxxxxxxxx »

ra88it wrote: post #28
hamandcheese wrote: post #13

> They make people nauseous or they give people hangovers, so why do we find them so rewarding? Why do we remember the good things about them and not the bad? Is this not generally true? I like to hike, but a lot of times climbing a mountain is absolutely miserable, and I might be sore for some time afterword. Yet I always remember it as a great experience. Or with past relationships, I have to try to remember the ba…

Yes, I think it is quite normal. Alcohol is a cheap, ubiquitous drug that helps us relax today, for a roughly proportionate cost which we can pay tomorrow (plus whatever longer-term costs like liver damage or memory formation which we can ignore or put off for even longer). It's not confusing or unintuitive. Alcohol helps us relax. That's all it does! Which leads to all the other behaviors that are secondary to sudde…

Could you say relax again for me please?

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#33

Post by hnuser355 »

Perhaps it’s weird but I don’t seem to have this issue. But I generally drink 1 standard drink per day max (actually weighed out on my little scale cause I am a huge dork) and only 5x per week probably. I basically feel a bit happier and a bit lazier after drinking some alcohol. Mildly more social.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#34

Post by vasilipupkin »

minikites wrote: post #30

If alcohol were invented today, I don't think there's any way it would be legal in most nations. The only reason we tolerate it as a society is millennia of inertia.

Geez, lighten up. Yes, some people definitely develop alcohol addiction but about 80% do not and are free to enjoy good quality drinks that not only give you a buzz, but also potentially taste great like good wine or whisky or mezcal.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#35

Post by matt_j »

relaxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: post #32
ra88it wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I think it is quite normal. Alcohol is a cheap, ubiquitous drug that helps us relax today, for a roughly proportionate cost which we can pay tomorrow (plus whatever longer-term costs like liver damage or memory formation which we can ignore or put off for even longer). It's not confusing or unintuitive. Alcohol helps us relax. That's all it does! Which leads to all the other behaviors that are secondary to sudde…

Could you say relax again for me please?

Don't do it.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#36

Post by joegyoung »

minikites wrote: post #30

If alcohol were invented today, I don't think there's any way it would be legal in most nations. The only reason we tolerate it as a society is millennia of inertia.

In the Clean episode of "How we got to now" with Steven Johnson, Steven states that the beer-brewing process kills disease. Although no-one realises this in the middle of the 19th century, it means if you live in an unclean environment, beer is a very sensible drink.

>> https://subsaga.com/bbc/documentaries/science/how-we-got-to-...

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#37

Post by ryanmercer »

hamandcheese wrote: post #13

> They make people nauseous or they give people hangovers, so why do we find them so rewarding? Why do we remember the good things about them and not the bad? Is this not generally true? I like to hike, but a lot of times climbing a mountain is absolutely miserable, and I might be sore for some time afterword. Yet I always remember it as a great experience. Or with past relationships, I have to try to remember the ba…

>Is this not generally true? I like to hike, but a lot of times climbing a mountain is absolutely miserable, and I might be sore for some time afterword.

I'm a strength athlete. Minor injuries are the norm, serious injuries are a guarantee if you lift long enough. I tore my meniscus a 14 months ago and kept on lifting and I have numerous friends that have delayed surgeries so that they could still compete in specific competitions.

It tears us up, it's miserable, but man it's worth every second of discomfort, every little bit of pain.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#38

Post by FigBug »

mrspeaker wrote: post #27
hamandcheese wrote: post #13

> They make people nauseous or they give people hangovers, so why do we find them so rewarding? Why do we remember the good things about them and not the bad? Is this not generally true? I like to hike, but a lot of times climbing a mountain is absolutely miserable, and I might be sore for some time afterword. Yet I always remember it as a great experience. Or with past relationships, I have to try to remember the ba…

Even when you think of the worst (physical) pain you've ever experienced... it never seems all bad (even when it was life-threatening!) - I actually remember it kind of fondly?! Is it some sort of Stockholm Syndrome for bad things?

I had my arm 90% severed in an industrial accident, judging by the amount of morphine they had me on, I must have been in a lot of pain. But I can't remember the feeling of the pain at all, but I can remember all the things I was doing to try and reduce the pain.

Every injury since (broken leg, broken collar bone, dislocated finger) has seemed like the worst pain I've ever experienced, but I know logically it can't be. And once I recover I forget the pain again.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#39

Post by noarchy »

vasilipupkin wrote: post #34
minikites wrote: post #30

If alcohol were invented today, I don't think there's any way it would be legal in most nations. The only reason we tolerate it as a society is millennia of inertia.

Geez, lighten up. Yes, some people definitely develop alcohol addiction but about 80% do not and are free to enjoy good quality drinks that not only give you a buzz, but also potentially taste great like good wine or whisky or mezcal.

I think there is almost a neo-Prohibitionist attitude coming from some, of late. Though this is largely anecdotal, I think it got ratcheted up by the movement to see marijuana legalized, where weed has often been compared to alcohol.

Aside from this, I agree that the vast majority can enjoy these substances without destroying themselves, leading very productive lives with some of the evident downsides that even casual consumption can bring.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#40

Post by eagsalazar2 »

ordu wrote: post #2

Sadly enough, that all this science explores averages. I cannot drink alcohol because I remember "side effects" much more clearly than "direct" ones. I used to have fun from drinks, but with age I did it less frequently and for the last 10 years I didn't drink at all. Why? Is there is some psychological cause or some biochemistry mechanisms works at higher/lower intensity than in average fly? I cannot even make a gue…

This is interesting to hear from other people. I basically stopped drinking because the side effects (being hungover specifically) made it no longer appealing on a totally emotionally level. I didn't realize this was "a thing". Nowadays I'll sometimes have 1 glass of wine and those alarm bells start ringing loudly preventing me from having a second.
Post reply on HN