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The disorder/difference thing is very much a matter of degree and context. Most disorders are essentially an extreme version of a 'normal' variation in some trait. ADHD among them. Psychiatrists define disorders when that variation is extreme enough to cause problems for the individual or those around them, but still there is a wide range of degrees between e.g. "struggling to get into work sometimes" and "literally can't hold down a job".

So you could argue that if you are on the boundary, whether you have ADHD traits to the extent of being a disorder depends on the environment you find yourself in, and so you could characterise that as some aspects of that environment 'giving you ADHD', but it's still not yourself changing.

by andsoitis49 minutes ago|

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> there is disagreement over whether it is a difference or a deficiency,

Deficiency, since it gets in the way of successful, effortless living.

People say they "suffer" from ADHD and use it as an explanation why some things harder for them than for others, etc. Many complain. People classify it alongside other mental health issues.

It's a bug, not a feature. Would anyone without it wish for it? Would anyone with it and given the choice for it to be gone choose to keep it?

by wincy18 minutes ago|

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The thing is it’s likely an evolutionary adaptation of being overturned for… something. I suspect hunting. Hearing a twig crack, being hyper focused and not being able to get something out of your head. Tracking your prey for hours, these would be useful in a low stimulation environment like say, the woods of Europe 20,000 years ago. It’s certainly a deficiency in most modern humans as we aren’t out chasing down prey, but that doesn’t mean it was never a useful trait.

by andsoitis14 minutes ago|

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> It’s certainly a deficiency in most modern humans as we aren’t out chasing down prey, but that doesn’t mean it was never a useful trait.

Balance. The inability to "focus" attention at the likely relevant thing as a matter of course is suboptimal. You don't want to get distracted by the wrong thing when it is a matter of life and death.

I don't know that your theory is any more likely than a theory of ADHD being less likely in those before-times because it would get you killed because you're not paying attention to the right stuff and nature then stomps on you. Not that I have any reason to believe this idea.