“The Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis suggests that less intelligent individuals have greater difficulty than more intelligent people with comprehending and dealing with evolutionarily novel entities and situations that did not exist in the ancestral environment.”
In other words, human intelligence evolved/progressed to address situations that aren’t fundamentally essential to basic survival… in theory.
This theory is now being used to explain preferences, values, etc… including some interesting data indicating smarter children (in the US and UK) grow up to be adults that drink more than their less-intelligent peers. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is considered “novel” in that it was not a basic necessity for the original humans’ survival.
Because boozing is evolutionarily novel, intelligent people are more able to comprehend it, thus making them more likely to show a preference for it, even when controlling for factors such as socio-economic status, ethnicity, religion, marital status, etc…
The graph below shows the latent factor for adult quantity of alcohol consumed by the cognitive class of survey respondents as indicated during childhood.
It is important to note that the relationship between intelligence and drinking is correlational, not causal… so don’t start drinking more to make yourself smarter. It won’t work…
… unless you believe Cliff Claven’s buffalo theory:
“Well you see, Norm, it’s like this … A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.
In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”
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