Drinkers will talk about their imbibing of poison as if it’s either a necessary step towards having fun or as if it at least facilitates the process. For them that may well be the case, and if so it’s likely part of the problem.
I’ll admit that my own experience is limited. I’ve been drunk probably once in my entire life, and the total time I’ve spent buzzed is less worth figuring out than worth mentioning.
Even so, I think just one time with the experience is enough to begin to evaluate it.
Being drunk is like being ill — you’re physically and mentally out of sorts. Nothing works like it’s supposed to, whether it’s your speech center or your erectile tissue. I simply can’t fathom this state being considered pleasant, or in any way useful (unless you’re looking to sleep.)
And then you have to consider the sorts of things I consider fun. Most are intellectually or physically demanding, and the fun comes in confronting the challenge and overcoming it. Drinking just makes that harder, while simultaneously suppressing my ability to appreciate it, which definitely limits the already dubious appeal of using intoxication as a handicap.
So I simply can’t fathom drunkenness as an avenue toward or a measure of a good time. How about you?
I like a slight buzz, once in a while. But because it triggers my mania, which is NOT a typical response. And, well, I like Mania. I really do. But drunkenness for drunkenness sake? not so much.
Drunkeness certainly isn’t a measure of a good time, but (ignoring drinking games which are still fun when played boozeless) it can still be an avenue towards it.
Like you said, the fun in a physical or intellectual game comes from confronting and overcoming a challenge; and when the game is not fun, the players take on handicaps to make it more challenging. So in an environment that is social (rather than athletic or intellectual), drinking acts as a handicap.
Of course, there is a definite line between “more challenging” and “drunkenly impossibly;” I suppose that there is an optimal level of buzz which becomes unfun to rise above or fall below.