Several other experiments showed that Americans link even moderate drinking with stupidity, which the professors call the “imbibing idiot bias”.

This may be short-sighted. Another recent paper from the journal Consciousness and Cognition by psychologists at the University of Illinois confirms what many have long suspected: a couple of drinks makes workers more creative. Tipsy employees, they say, find it hard to focus on a task, but this makes them more likely to come up with innovative ideas. This may help to explain the success of Silicon Valley, one of the last workplaces in America where hard and soft drinks still jostle for space in the company fridge.

via Drinking at work: The boredom of boozeless business | The Economist.