What are they? Are there papers on this?

steve_adams_86 21 hours ago | parent | next [-]

There are only papers which suggest this could be true, none that conclusively prove it. That I’m aware of.

There are some cool studies done where people with a without ADHD are tasked to forage berries. The people with ADHD do better and adhere to foraging patterns which existing theories suggest would be more optimal.

A lot of the studies like that indicate the individual with the condition might benefit more from ADHD than the group they’re in, but I’m not sure that studies have explored group benefits very much.

There’s an often cited paper in which nomadic men who carry a certain ADHD-related allele (DRD4-7R, a dopamine reception variant with ADHD traits and novelty seeking) tend to have better nutritional status. I can’t recall much about it or how high quality it is.

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Weryj 18 hours ago | parent [-]

I’ve always thought, it’s not absurd to think there different development routes which the brain takes depending on the environment it develops in.

With your foraging example, it does make me think ADHD is a small group/individual optimisation. Prioritising high vigilance and individual productivity over social cohesion.

I speak with no authority. I don’t even know how such a theory could be tested.

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thaumasiotes 18 hours ago | parent [-]

> I’ve always thought, it’s not absurd to think there different development routes which the brain takes depending on the environment it develops in.

What do you think nutritional stunting means?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunted_growth

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Weryj 17 hours ago | parent [-]

I don’t mean from a nutritional standpoint, but a behavioural perspective. Smaller groups would have an higher percentage of responsibility per individual to be vigilant and proactive.

It would make sense to me that evolutionary there would be different mental development paths depending on the requirements of their situation.

This is coming from my understanding that ADHD is more prevalent in stressful upbringings.

	▲	psd1 14 hours ago \| parent [-]
		If adhd is heritable, then the stressful upbringing could be symptomatic of the parent's condition instead of causal.

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wao0uuno 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

A psychiatrist told me that people with ADHD perform better under extreme pressure and chaos. No idea if that's true. Personally I don't even think of ADHD as a deficiency. It's just a trait that is not compatible with modern society and workplace.

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animal531 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A common meme you'll see on ADHD in online posts are about how people with it are perfectly calm during emergencies, but then when any inconsequential thing happens such as e.g. breaking a shoelace and they'll just unravel and/or take forever to deal with it.

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hirvi74 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

There might be a correlation, but I doubt causation. I would argue people with ADHD, like myself, tend to end up in situations where extreme pressure and chaos is more common. Thus, we have more exposure than the average person. I imagine it can be a trainable trait in many people.

	▲	tccole 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah, I think this is the key point. I am better at handling chaos because I grew up around chaos (my mom has adhd and so do I) so I am much better at handling things falling apart.

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idnexjwnfodnn 19 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't know about papers but I had a doctor tell me they are overrepresented among snipers in the military. ADD could be an advantage to hunting.

	▲	bmacho 13 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Or ADD just sucks there less than in other areas. Like being physically weak is not an advantage in white collar jobs.

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erlich 15 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

ChatGPT's take was that 10 ADHD people/animals would go exploring and if one produced a new source of food then it would be advantageous for the group, but the other 9 could fail and be completely useless. A bit like venture capital funds haha.

So there is still room for complete failure in life, and maybe its a lot of luck/environment that some ADHD people succeed naturally.