> In 1999, Gladwell wrote a New Yorker article defending the explosion of ADHD amphetamine prescriptions to children against criticism from media and public figures. Gladwell’s response: “...are too many children taking the drug—or too few?”
Now, I don't know anything about the other claims in Shame Project, but... when you call Ritalin (methylphenidate) an amphetamine, you immediately call into question everything else that's written. MPH is not derived from or related to anything in the amphetamine family. There are similarities in the mechanism of action, but it's just as close to other stimulants, e.g. cocaine.
I don't know if that's deliberate (since amphetamines are obviously "bad") -- that is, FUD -- or if it's simple ignorance, but I'm suddenly very wary of everything else they write on his work.
> In 1999, Gladwell wrote a New Yorker article defending the explosion of ADHD amphetamine prescriptions to children against criticism from media and public figures. Gladwell’s response: “...are too many children taking the drug—or too few?”
Now, I don't know anything about the other claims in Shame Project, but... when you call Ritalin (methylphenidate) an amphetamine, you immediately call into question everything else that's written. MPH is not derived from or related to anything in the amphetamine family. There are similarities in the mechanism of action, but it's just as close to other stimulants, e.g. cocaine.
I don't know if that's deliberate (since amphetamines are obviously "bad") -- that is, FUD -- or if it's simple ignorance, but I'm suddenly very wary of everything else they write on his work.