[SoLiDUS]

In keeping with the recent thread about drunk driving, I believe I've
noticed something interesting which I believe deserves at least a moment
of thought from your part; even if slightly flawed it should still be a valid
concept.

As your alcohol consumption goes up, your intellectual faculties go down.
The reason for this is simple: the brain protects itself by shutting down what
it doesn't need to survive and if a certain amount of alcohol is reached, it
essentially shuts down everything, leaving you dead. At first, your advanced
cognitive abilities are hindered and shut down; after they go, the secondary
functions go: what you have left is only what you need to stay alive. Right
now, you're probably asking "okay, what the fuck are you getting at?" so I
will proceed to my hypothesis: regardless of weight or age, the higher the
person's intellectual quotient (IQ), the more alcohol can be taken without
ill effects. Let me elaborate and give you a real world example: that is to say
events that have occured.

I am very lucky to be surrounded by gifted friends: all of them have IQs
in the 140 < x < 170 range. When we go partying, we usually need a higher
quantity of alcohol to have the level of physical impairement felt by most
people around us: do not be fooled, we are not frequent drinkers. Why,
then, do we fair better than others ? Why do we seem to retain our abilities
longer than most of our "normal" friends ? I believe it has to do with the
fact that our brains need to shut down more before we start "losing it". Also,
our psychological impairement comes about much more slowly as well. The
reason for this, keeping in mind that we have no special genetic or physical
advantage, must forcibly be related to our cognitive abilities being better
than the average person's. This is quite a jump and conclusion to make but
I believe it to be right.

What are your opinions on this essay? Is IQ a factor in the time needed
for cognitive faculties to deteriorate to a point where regular physiological
movements are no longer possible in an effective manner because of the
amount of alcohol consumed ?