THE ECONOMIST: The Sad Demise Of The Three-Martini Lunch. “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.”

I think American business did better back in the days of the executive three-martini lunch. Back then, managers were only active and alert for half the day; that meant that in the afternoon, workers could get stuff done unmolested. Today’s mineral-water-and-jogging managers are able to interfere all day long.