It depends on your ethical theory I guess. To my mind, Gladwell's actions have predictable negative consequences and he should be held at least somewhat respons

It depends on your ethical theory I guess. To my mind, Gladwell's actions have predictable negative consequences and he should be held at least somewhat responsible for those consequences. Of course he's free to write what he likes, and I am not arguing for censorship or judicial intervention. But I think he has a negative impact on society and argue against him on that basis. He is the same as the "visualising higher dimensions video" or homeopathy, or any pseudo-science -- using the right words to get the answer you already thought of. I just love jerf's response to the video I mentioned (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1385736 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1385736) and I'd like to misquote it here: I can not anti-recommend Gladwell enough. He is anti-knowledge, convincing you that you know something when you actually understand it less well after reading than before.