An Era's Drug Of Choice II

Meghan O'Rourke responds to Margaret Talbot's article on cognitive enhancers:

Adderall is a drug for our Information Age not because it actually works as a “cognitive enhancer,” it strikes me, but because it merely makes it possible to do what we once used to take for granted, before instant-messaging technology and mobile email started to make our brains go haywire. That is, they make it possible to ignore that blinking light on the “CrackBerry” and finish a task. Studies have actually shown that multitasking and using email at the office all day leads to fall in IQ larger than if you smoked a joint at work. From that perspective, Adderall isn’t an enhancer. It’s just a corrective that gets you back to the norm. Only it’s not really a norm, just as drinking a VitaminWater and eating a power bar is not the same as drinking water and eating vitamin-packed fruits and vegetables.