The New Yorker recently ran an article by Margaret Talbot called “Brain Gain” about the “underground world of ‘neuroenhancing’ drugs.” It explored the use by healthy people of drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin, which normally are  prescribed for disorders such as attention deficit or hyperactivity. 

The rise in prescription of these drugs to children and teens is well documented, and it seems only logical that the peers of those diagnosed users might get curious. A Harvard student interviewed in the article explained how he would get the drugs:  ”His brother had received a diagnosis of A.D.H.D., and in his freshman year Alex obtained an Adderall prescription for himself by describing to a doctor symptoms that he knew were typical of the disorder.” 

The question the article raises is whether quote-unquote normal kids — and adults, too — might not increasingly feel pressure to take these drugs to get an edge, to get ahead in today’s highly competitive world. It also explores how the popularity of these drugs, which preliminary studies suggest are good for boosting productivity but not necessarily creativity, reflect the particular demands of today’s society: Neuroenhancers “have a synergistic relationship with our multiplying digital technologies: the more gadgets we own, the more distracted we become, and the more we need help in order to focus. … They facilitate a pinched, unromantic, grindingly efficient form of productivity.”

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