Just as we shake hands to show that we are not carrying a physical weapon, communal intoxication allows us to cognitively disarm in the presence of others. By the tenth toast of sorghum liquor at a Chinese banquet, or the final round of wine at a Greek symposium, or the end of Purim, the attendees have all effectively laid their PFCs on the table, exposing themselves as cognitively defenseless. This is the social function that Henry Kissinger had in mind when he supposedly told the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, “I think if we drink enough mao-tai we can solve anything.”68
