The Effects of Alcohol on Innovation

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The number of new patents were reduced by 15 per cent annually in counties that went from wet to dry during prohibition. Andandi i predict, in the book, i say i predict th the gocovet locke downs, we're going to look back and see the same effect. It's very much like prohibition, drinking's been driven into the home, and it's been made a solitary pursuit. I think we'll see negative effects of that for years.

Do we have alcohol to thank for civilization? The answer, according to Edward Slingerland’s new book, “Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization,” is a resounding yes. Edward, who’s a professor at the University of British Columbia and self-proclaimed “philosophical hedonist,” says that far from being an evolutionary fluke, our taste for alcohol is an evolutionary advantage — one that we’ve relied on for millennia to help us lead more social, creative, and pleasurable lives.