OK for a start I can’t prove the statement above so I’m lying.

And I’m not 100% sure of the meaning of the word ‘hedonism’ but I’ve always taken it to mean someone who lives life solely for the pursuit of pleasure, so for the purposes of this blog post, we’ll take that as the real meaning, OK?

I’d always thought that the pleasurable things in life were more attractive than the alternative. Despite having parents who come from Yorkshire, where people are brought up to think if something makes you suffer, cry or explode it’s good for you, I’ve always gone for a more pleasure-based approach to my activites.

Likewise most of the things that the various religious texts don’t want you to do seem to be a whole lot of fun, if you do them with the right people (or vegetable in some cases), and I’ve always been partial to good food, good sex, good wine and good company. There are things of course that I try NOT to experience too much of – work, debt and pain being at the forefront of these.

Now the people I know who share my love of pleasure also seem to be among the most intelligent of my friends, relatives and aquaintances and I always thought that it was BECAUSE they were intelligent that they sought out the finer things in life.

Not so it appears.

It would seem that recent science has proved (and no I can’t find the source – Google it yourself) that the endorphins released when we experience a pleasurable sensation are actually neuro transmitters, and these in turn form more connections in your brain and so actually makes you more intelligent!

So – which of these do you think releases more endorphins?

1. An 8 hour shift in a steel smelting factory?

2. A cream cake massage from a Swedish model?

Working, it would seem, doesn’t improve your intelligence as much as taking the day off to have sex with your partner.

What more can I say?

have fun!

•