Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Do all highly intelligent people drink regularly? #SheldonHadItWrong

I thought about my past University professor in the morning, and met another one in the evening. I had a very stimulating chat tonight - over a couple of glasses of water.

I think I am onto something.
I remember hearing my professor from a couple of years ago saying that he enjoys regular drinks of red wine. I also remember my dear girl friend enjoying some with him [wine] in all innocence, of course. He was her supervisor and a mentor. I think.
Dr. Donovan was extremely intelligent!
He must have had such a brain capacity, larger than the universe. I could grasp about 10% of what he was saying, but somehow I got B in the end (Nope - not having shared any wine or anything with him). The fact is, I am a great storyteller. I can talk about pretty much anything - which helped me even in the academic setting, yes! I enjoy philosophy, but hey, I am no Kant, Sartre or Kierkegaard (but that guy I get a bit).
Dr. Donovan was just something else. He had this grace about him while giving us lectures about stuff that half of us didn't fully comprehend. Sometimes it got me spacing out (more often than not), and doodling into my notebook. He was an attractive man. And he liked to talk about his private life and a love of wine a lot.
How could such an intelligent man consume alcohol?

Well, because most overly intelligent people do! I sometimes wonder, what the deal was with Sheldon. 
True, Leonard drank for him. But so did Penny... so where is the fine line? (No offense meant, Penny!) I mean, intelligent people drink and are still - intelligent. Not so smart people do, too - and get even worse.

Tonight, this lovely man, Ralf, a University professor and a writer, confessed he tended to drink too much.
To my surprise, he told me that 2 glasses were fine! In fact, he said 2 glasses are perfect to shut up the mind-chatter and open up the flow of creativity for writing. I was astounded. I did not want to believe that that was the smart's person secret for 'coping'. But it made sense.  Alcohol is a relaxant (apart from being a depressant), and that is why we non-abstinents use it.
However, people like you and I most likely cannot create too well on it. I have a nice IQ - won't publish, but I believe it is above average. I am not sure if I am using it right though! Would the right amount of wine enhance my skills? Kill the self-doubt, the stress of performing, the fear of judgment??
How come I was pissed after just 2 glasses the other day? I had to go right under my sheets. 

How stressful can a really high IQ get? The capacity to learn new things, be constantly hungry for knowledge - and then remembering it all - it is a stress in itself. Professors tend to be that way - high achievers priding themselves in their knowledge. 
The reason why I don't need to drink to relax is that my monkey mind-chatter also commands me to do nothing, to switch off the brain and put my feet up on the table. My mind also makes me feel guilty for procrastinating, but hey, I am a woman, I am being and feeling - that is what I'm doing.

These 2 professors are on the border of geniuses (perhaps). I wonder if Einstein drunk...  (Ok, googled, mixed responses. Whether it was his dirty little secret, we may never know. But he smoked, and he had strange sleeping habits!)
It is quite remarkable how intelligent people can drink themselves to creativity and also to nearly unconscious (yes, they did confess) - BUT there are still enough brain cells left for them to give jaw-dropping seminars that stimulate, inspire, and make us think


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