Want To Get Those Creative Juices Flowing?

[mosaix]

An article that may be of interest to writers in this week's New Scientist (17th March, pp 14)

http://www.newscientist.com/article...sts-ability-to-solve-problems-creatively.html

"Andrew Jarosz and colleagues from the University of Illinois at Chicago gave 40 men either a vodka and cranberry drink, adjusted according to body weight, or a non-alcoholic one. The subjects then took a test which involved linking groups of words with a single concept

The tipplers solved 38 per cent more problems than their sober counterparts and reached the correct answer faster. They were also more likely to say they hit on the answer with a "sudden insight".

It goes on to say "... supports the idea that alcohol fuels your creativity by allowing you mind to wander ..."

As if we needed any encouragement!

 

[Vertigo]

Oh dear! That does sound rather encouraging!

 

[Dozmonic]

I have a rule when it comes to this. If brainstorming ideas, a drink is fine. If I'm doing some actual writing or editing, the quality of what I produces drops significantly

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Is there any research involving margaritas? Or possibly a Tom Collins? Wine coolers? Anything but vodka!

 

[mosaix]

I have a rule when it comes to this. If brainstorming ideas, a drink is fine. If I'm doing some actual writing or editing, the quality of what I produces drops significantly

Very wise. The article ends "it is possible to get a little too unfocussed".

Is there any research involving margaritas? Or possibly a Tom Collins? Wine coolers? Anything but vodka!

I'd assumed that they used vodka because, to me anyway, it is tasteless.

 

[Warren_Paul]

I remember a friend of mine, whenever she had an assignment at university to do, would take a dozen beer with her to her room and shut the door, and not come out until the morning; beer gone, and assignment finished. Always got high marks.

Is there any research involving margaritas? Or possibly a Tom Collins? Wine coolers? Anything but vodka!

Is it specifically that you don't drink vodka, or just because it's tasteless? There is always flavoured vodka. If you find one called "42 Below" it's worth buying, rated as the best vodka brand there is - and made over here in little ole NZ. They do several different flavours.


There is some truth to different alcohols having different effects on your mind. Gin for instance makes us all weepy and miserable - people drunk on gin tend to cry over the littlest of things.

 

[Venusian Broon]

I remember a friend of mine, whenever she had an assignment at university to do, would take a dozen beer with her to her room and shut the door, and not come out until the morning; beer gone, and assignment finished. Always got high marks.

12 cans/bottles for the beer fairy to complete your assignment - woah Inflation is a cruel mistress! In my day it only took a four pack. Demand for his services must be rocketing.

(cue stories, eeh when I was a lad, of getting pints of beer for 78 pence in the student union and having a whole night out in central Edinburgh: alcohol, chips and buses to and fro and still having change from a tenner....)

 

[Bowler1]

Fleet Street when it was old style journalism was awash in beer and booze. This was accepted as normal, seen as necessary by some editors!

There does seem to be an accepted link between being merry and creative.

Be warned, more than merry my writing, in my experience, ends up as rubbish and not with the effort. But only in the cold hard light of morning!!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Um, but sometimes my late night ramblings end up the best scenes. Highly edited and made intelligible, yes, but the ideas often hold up.

 

[Venusian Broon]

What about after it's all ended?

Has anyone else been in that state the next day, after consuming too much the night before, found themselves with a strangely super-calm and ultra-clear minded hangover? One where difficult concepts and ideas flow pass pleasingly and understandably over your brain like a cool, clear mountain stream passing you as you sit on a pleasant grass bank on a warm summer's day?

It's certainly happened to me quite a few times.

I believe there is a tribe somewhere in South East Asia who hold that the highest mental state a human mind can have is during a hangover. So if a difficult decision has to be made, the tribe get together, get blitzed and in the morning sort out their problem.

Mind you it was Keith Floyd, the sadly departed TV chef that said this, and I can't find anywhere else that says this, so it's probably complete tosh.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

No, in terms of decision making processes, this is an acceptable way of feeding into the process, allowing your gut - heuristic - feelings to come to the fore. Provided you combine these thoughts with some sort of supported, satisficing process, it not only works but enhances the decision.

But then I've often thought Floyd had more sense than he was given credit for.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I'd assumed that they used vodka because, to me anyway, it is tasteless.

Is it specifically that you don't drink vodka, or just because it's tasteless?

When my dad turned alcoholic, he drank vodka because he thought nobody could smell it. He never had much of a sense of smell, but the rest of us could smell it a mile away. I still can't stand the smell of the stuff.

Gin's the one that's pretty tasteless to me! I'm not a fan of tequila (nor it of me), but I do love margaritas -- and also can't stand rum, but I love strawberry daiquiris. Just gotta cover up the booze.

Hey, I just realized I'm in the right place to ask this, since there are a few Aussies in the house -- do they still make Matilda Bay wine coolers?

 

[Warren_Paul]

Hey, I just realized I'm in the right place to ask this, since there are a few Aussies in the house -- do they still make Matilda Bay wine coolers?

I believe Miller dropped them a long time ago. No longer in production. Wine coolers went out of fashion back in the 1990s

Okay, well that is understandable on the vodka thing then, sorry TDZ

 

[Mouse]

Pfft. What a load of bunkum. I don't drink. I can't remember the last time I had alcohol. Can't stand the stuff. Nothing wrong with my imagination, thank you.

 

[Glen]

Floyd on Fish

Two facts about Floyd on Fish: the only cookery show that was worth watching, and it had a Stranglers soundtrack.

I think drinking and writing are a bit like drinking and darts. The first couple of drinks might settle you for the game, and the next two might hone your creative powers and accuracy, but its all down hill from there.

Of course, like darts, if you drink enough while writing - over the years you develop a nice belly-table to put your notebook on.

 

[Christopher Lee]

Is there any research involving margaritas? Or possibly a Tom Collins? Wine coolers? Anything but vodka!

I would have to say that anything that makes you tipsy would work just fine. For me, that is two shots of Jack Daniels, a margarita to sip on, a pencil and a pad of paper.

 

[Dante]

Sucks for me because I can't stand alcohol. I don't have problems with creativity though. I get too many ideas that I don't know what to do with all of them. I lack the discipline to develop them all and that's what's frustrating.

 

[Warren_Paul]

I would have to say that anything that makes you tipsy would work just fine.

This would be true, of course there is scientific proof that people can have varying reactions depending on the alcohol consumed, but in this particular case I believe it's actually the fact that alcohol in general relaxes us, making it easier to think because we aren't stressing out trying to force ourselves to come up with ideas. In this situation, anything goes, drink your favourite spirit/liqueur/whatever...

And for those that don't drink alcohol, just think of something else that relaxes you, go do it, then come back and write, it's the best cure for writers block.

Myself, I listen to my favourite music as I write. Infact, I need to have music going in the background to write well.

 

[Ursa major]

So if I want to be creative, particularly in the linking of (groups of) words with concepts, I have to start drinking alcohol?






If only I'd found out about this earlier....

 

[James Coote]

It's not about the alcohol as such, it's just that we need to be less stressed to be creative

Alcohol is overrated. Sure it's fun once in a while, but certainly in the UK, there is a competitive drinking culture, and people associate drinking with a good time, even though when their experiences are viewed objectively, they have actually had a terrible time. Getting in fights, getting injured falling over in the streets, losing a whole day or more to illness/hangover the next day and building up long term medical problems

Would it be better to have two fully productive days without alcohol or one day with slightly elevated productivity and the next day wasted?