High IQ linked to drug use • Hacker News Board

Re: High IQ linked to drug use

#81

Post by swalkergibson » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 12:44 AM UTC

billpatrianakos wrote: post #75

swalkergibson wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two points. First, I believe the parlance is recovering addict. If you choose to subscribe to the 12 step method of recovery, you are never fully "recovered" from addiction. Second, marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes are all gateway substances. The dangers of these mood altering drugs are self-evident. It seems to me that we should be doing everything possible to educate people before they get hooked, not try and dea…

Excuse me, you're right. I am technically recover ing . I choose to say recovered because not everyone understands that terminology and some might assume I'm currently in treatment or the beginning stages of recovery. I feel like saying recovered sends a message that now I've been sober for quite some time and totally stable and living the same kind of life anyone else would (job, car, family, what have you). I also…

What would be the alternative to the scare method? How do you get real about substances and the process of addiction?

Re: High IQ linked to drug use

#82

Post by davidcuddeback » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 3:58 AM UTC

adamtmca wrote: post #50

Higher IQ = go to college/ university = experimentation.

That was my first thought when reading the article. There's probably a correlation between high IQ and college attendance, just as there's probably a correlation between college attendance and drug use.

Re: High IQ linked to drug use

#83

Post by thoerin » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 4:23 AM UTC

swalkergibson wrote: post #42

mistermann wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doing certain drugs = high risk.

One thing leads to another. Why tempt fate? Addiction is a complex disease which no one has really figured out, why even put yourself in a position to ruin your life?

Because drug use is a unique experience and you only live once. Why do anything dangerous? Because sometimes the experience is worth the risk.

Re: High IQ linked to drug use

#84

Post by maximusprime » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 9:02 AM UTC

thoerin wrote: post #83

swalkergibson wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing leads to another. Why tempt fate? Addiction is a complex disease which no one has really figured out, why even put yourself in a position to ruin your life?

Because drug use is a unique experience and you only live once. Why do anything dangerous? Because sometimes the experience is worth the risk.

Being in a car crash is a unique experience.

There's some things you don't need to try.

Re: High IQ linked to drug use

#85

Post by hessenwolf » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 9:19 AM UTC

mannicken wrote: post #80

hessenwolf wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't agree more. Having spent some time living near a lot of junkies, it seems the people that got addicted to heroin were the people who tried heroin. You could hardly say they were idiots to try heroin - the pushers are fairly good marketers, get somebody fucked drunk, give them some cocaine and ectasy, and then a hot girl convinces them to try it, and they have a (brief) lifetime customer.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/heroin.html about 23% of users become dependent. Alcohol has 15% addiction rate, I believe. Heroin (diacetylmorphine) is merely a cheap and potent painkiller, cheaper than other popular ones like oxycodone. It's used in UK to treat severe pain. It's not the strongest one out there (fentanyl is stronger), nor will it make you addicted instantly. You will probably get addicted if you h…

Ha ha ha. Professional statistician here. Drug statistics are shit. There just completely shit. I mean, really, you just can't measure that stuff. Nobody tells you anything, it's dangerous as hell, and when people do tell you stuff, they are usually lying, to you and to themselves. In good quality, controlled experiments, results are still pretty open to interpretation.