He spoke to a previous user, consulted a doctor, and took it as part of a test by an Oxbridge Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology with "an international reputation in the fields of cognitive psychopharmacology, neuroethics" [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Sahakian ].
That is some level of 'looking'.
I wouldn't. And what OP said is absolutely true when it comes to nootropics. Moda should not be taken lightly. Start with the basics and work your way up.
You jump in the "deep" end with modafinil and you get a headache, a sleepless night, and people call you ugly? Why is that "not to be taken lightly"? People do a lot worse than that casually.
I was heading into the article expecting him to end up with a stay in a psychiatric unit, with long term memory loss or personality disorders, with organ failure or loss of consciousness. 'Drug nightmares' can go really badly.
And if the good effect was moving him a few percent in focus, do "the basics" ... do anything measurable at all?
He comes up with the idea of dud pills (that stuff really sounds like modafinil, and the sulfur smell test is a dead giveaway,) and the doctor pontificates on liver enzymes - when anyone with a passing familiarity with the substance would suggest starting with a much lesser dose and structuring appetite, hydration, and sleep so as not to have a terrible time.