However, the data she is considering likely have what is called a hidden variable - an invisible force acting on the data results. In this example, one could see how the student would arrive at that conclusion. She concludes that drinking bottled water instead of tap water helps to prevent childhood diseases.” Her data indicate that households that use bottled water have healthier children than households that don’t. “A public health student gathers data on bottled water use in her state. James Stewart contains a fabulous example of this³: But the concept applies to situations outside of math, too. “Correlation does not imply causation” is a principle frequently taught to and recited by beginning statisticians and mathematicians². However, just because two things happen in proximity to one another does not mean that one causes the other, or even that the two have any bearing on each other whatsoever. On the surface, it might seem like all prolific writers drink, so drinking will help you become a prolific writer.
Now, I don’t believe drinking myself mad would make me successful in any way. I would literally sacrifice my health and sanity to become a great writer. And - in all honesty - if I thought becoming a raging alcoholic would allow me to become a famous writer, I’d do it. Part of that often means picking up the habits of those writers. Like any writer, naturally, I want to emulate other successful writers. Here I am, finding it difficult to write a post on Medium because I had a few ( okay, many) too many last night, and Stephen King wrote a best-selling novel in a state of blind alcoholism. In his book On Writing, Stephen King says that he barely even remembers writing Cujo, one of the most popular novels he ever wrote¹. I can’t help but wonder how so many writers who published so much good work felt like this and still managed to write. I still feel like shit, but I feel like shit in my soul now, not so much in my stomach. Now, at 7:58 P.M., the worst of the hangover seems behind me. I started today out vomiting in the toilet. However, I would argue that great writers like King, Hemingway, and Poe became prolific writers in spite of their drinking, not because of it.
Sometimes it feels like alcohol abuse is almost a prerequisite of becoming a good writer. For many people, this might be Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, or Ernest Hemingway. Anyone who has a passion for reading or writing has at least one favorite writer who was an alcoholic.
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