4 ms·

I don't think you need to be "on the spectrum" to experience what you described.

by collyw 7y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 7y ago
No. It's just common for us. A lot of us are also completely undiagnosed. Programming/engineering is a fairly natural habitat for people like us. Anyone that can get into "the zone" is probably eligible. I was a manager for many moons. That's really unusual for folks like me. One of my top engineers was absolutely brilliant. Verbally, he was rather reticent, but he could wax eloquent in emails, and his designs were exquisite. He had a high school diploma. That was all. I remember him sending a rewrite of an image processing filter back to Japan. The Ph.Ds there, had submitted a Monte Carlo-based filter, and he rewrote it with a modeling calculation that improved the performance 100X. He also submitted the design as a PDF document. With live Postcript code, generating the charts, using his simulations. They were flabbergasted. Sometimes, it's a good idea to let odd just be odd.
gremlinsinc 7y ago
I might be spectrum but definitely have ADHD-i my wife has ADHD-h Difference basically being I can only focus on one thing at a time (and the things connected to that thing), but I jump from 1-1-1-1 in a circular mode. My wife is now like she's mentally got a rope on everything at once but never finishes any of the things in her focus because there's too many. I guess in programming terms we both have focus issues but she's asynchronous and I'm only synchronus. If I get bored or my mind wanders of task I end up on hn, Google, Reddit or doing anything that isn't work. Started taking meds a year ago at 39 and light and day difference when I'm on my Vyvanse. Sometimes I front load a couple days worth of work (freelance by the hour),; I'll literally be up 48 hours and put in 24+ hours of work, insomnia is a side effect of Vyvanse, so I usually when I'm past me limit I'll go off the next day and catch up on sleep and family time and relax a little then the following day jump back in, though I don't always go full in for two days. Trying to not kill myself cause I have kids, but I work best when everyone is asleep anyways.

I don't think you need to be "on the spectrum" to experience what you described.

by collyw 7y ago

I don't think you need to be "on the spectrum" to experience what you described.

No. It's just common for us. A lot of us are also completely undiagnosed. Programming/engineering is a fairly natural habitat for people like us. Anyone that can get into "the zone" is probably eligible. I was a manager for many moons. That's really unusual for folks like me. One of my top engineers was absolutely brilliant. Verbally, he was rather reticent, but he could wax eloquent in emails, and his designs were exquisite. He had a high school diploma. That was all. I remember him sending a rewrite of an image processing filter back to Japan. The Ph.Ds there, had submitted a Monte Carlo-based filter, and he rewrote it with a modeling calculation that improved the performance 100X. He also submitted the design as a PDF document. With live Postcript code, generating the charts, using his simulations. They were flabbergasted. Sometimes, it's a good idea to let odd just be odd.

gremlinsinc 7y ago

I might be spectrum but definitely have ADHD-i my wife has ADHD-h Difference basically being I can only focus on one thing at a time (and the things connected to that thing), but I jump from 1-1-1-1 in a circular mode. My wife is now like she's mentally got a rope on everything at once but never finishes any of the things in her focus because there's too many. I guess in programming terms we both have focus issues but she's asynchronous and I'm only synchronus. If I get bored or my mind wanders of task I end up on hn, Google, Reddit or doing anything that isn't work. Started taking meds a year ago at 39 and light and day difference when I'm on my Vyvanse. Sometimes I front load a couple days worth of work (freelance by the hour),; I'll literally be up 48 hours and put in 24+ hours of work, insomnia is a side effect of Vyvanse, so I usually when I'm past me limit I'll go off the next day and catch up on sleep and family time and relax a little then the following day jump back in, though I don't always go full in for two days. Trying to not kill myself cause I have kids, but I work best when everyone is asleep anyways.