LOVED these comments about whether ADHD is a "mental illness" (@Yanwar and I talked a lot about this.). Here are some thoughts. > ADHD is labeled a "mental ill

LOVED these comments about whether ADHD is a "mental illness" (@Yanwar and I talked a lot about this.). Here are some thoughts. > ADHD is labeled a "mental illness" in the opening paragraph @skywopper is right that our article suggests the value of neurodiversity, and thus it's weird to think of ADHD as an "illness". But @Yanwar is right that because so many people think of ADHD this way, it's important to acknowledge this POV, and think about how our research puts pressure on it. I'd add that negative perceptions of mind-wandering (and by extension, ADHD) go WAY BACK in the history of Western thought. Back in the 1200s, Aquinas classified mind-wandering as a "daughter sin" of sloth (!) [1]. So we wanted to engage, head on, with this intellectual tradition that casts mind-wandering as a "sin" and ADHD as an "illness". [1] Thomas Aquinas (1273) Summa Theologica, IIa IIae q.35a.4