In his Histories book 1 chapter 133, Herodotus asserted:
“Moreover, it is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk; and what they approve in their deliberations is proposed to them the next day, when they are sober, by the master of the house where they deliberate; and if, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk.”
Herodotus has been noted for sometimes passing along less than factual information. Is there any other source that corroborates some or all of the above?
The last line seems unlikely, but how does the first part differ from normal human behavior, at least for those humans who do get drunk? Substitute “designated driver” or “that one person who never gets buzzed” instead of “the master of the house” and it’s something I’ve seen quite often (I’m usually the one who remembers those details that have become hazy to the imbibers).
Issues I’ve seen discussed over drinks (with or without accompanying food): whether the coach of [insert sports team] is the greatest genius ever; the local economy; whether the coach of [insert sports team] should be fired or should have been fired already; this year’s clothing selections; the physical attributes of diverse famous people; unemployment data; work stuff; peace in the Middle East; the War of the Roses; how to define “hard” science fiction; who is the greatest [insert sport] player ever; the relative merits of different Doctors… some of those do lend themselves to actual bright ideas that can be put to work when sober.
It sounds like an early version of brainstorming. Get all kinds of wild and random ideas out there without criticism, and later see whether those ideas have any value.
Wasn’t it the Germans? I think that’s from Germania. checks Yup. And, yeah, that’s what I came here to say. The passages are very similar indeed. Maybe both the Persians and Germans really did it, but it smells to me like a trope.
Yeah. It also reminds me of shamanic rituals - get good and hammered, have visions & delirium, then try to find if they mean anything back amongst the living. Getting smashed has often been construed as one coming into contact with some other plane, the dreamworld or what have you.
Even if it’s not a real thing, it’s not necessarily a bad idea. As I’ve noted before, it sounds to me like the perfect way to decide whether or not you want to go to bed with someone.
Reminds me of the famous story about Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, first related by Roman historian Valerius Maximus.
Philip was a mercurial ruler and, like all Macedonians, a big drinker. On one occasion, after drinking too much, he was presiding over court cases at the royal tribunal. In one particular case he gave judgment against a woman, who was so appalled at the unfairness of the decision that she cried out, “I appeal!”
“Appeal to whom?”, said Philip.“I’m the King.”
“I appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober”, replied the woman.
He adjourned the case until the next day and then, with a clear head, found in her favor.
Johnny Hart and his associate cartoonists reportedly used to brainstorm while drinking beer, jotting down ideas and sketches for BC and Wizard of Id. (This was obviously in his younger, crazier, pre-heavily-Christian comics days).
It sounds awfully similar to the “debate drunk and sober” thing.