The sociology of drinking

I have an attraction/aversion thing with Gladwell. He's a great writer and fascinatingbut I can't read him without thinking of this Mencken quote"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clearsimpleand wrong." I also tend to think this a situation of the exception proving the rule. Look to an isolated culture with aberrant drinking patterns for universal truths doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.