3 ms·
I was recently struck by this tidbit about Cormac McCarthy: > As a child, McCarthy saw no value in school, preferring to pursue his own interests. He described
by bliteben 4y ago
I was recently struck by this tidbit about Cormac McCarthy:
> As a child, McCarthy saw no value in school, preferring to pursue his own interests. He described a moment when his teacher asked the class about their hobbies. McCarthy answered eagerly, as he later said, "I was the only one with any hobbies and I had every hobby there was ... name anything, no matter how esoteric. I could have given everyone a hobby and still had 40 or 50 to take home."[15]
- rootveg 4y agoNot to mock but that sounds like a classic ADHD trait... coming from someone who in the last few month bought a e-piano, started painting and sailing
- rocketbop 4y agoCormac McCarthy does not have ADHD.
- renewiltord 4y agoEverything a pathology, innit mate? ADHD is only ADHD if it impairs your functioning. If you're interested in a lot and can complete things then it's clearly not a disorder. And the man has written many books so clearly does not have an attention disorder.
- noduerme 4y agoI swear, I did not read this before writing my response about pathologizing to the same post. I guess it's a type of thinking that presents a pretty narrow target. Easy to recognize as a crutch once you're aware of it.
- derefr 4y agoYou're thinking of having 50 attempted hobbies that you pretend you'll get back to one day. (I know; I have ADHD too.) But McCarthy meant that he had 50+ concurrent consistently-actively-pursued hobbies/passions. Which is something that's possible... if you have a lot of time on your hands, and you never allow anything into your life that drains you mentally so much that doing it kills your motivation to do anything else for the rest of the day. (Which IMHO is really only an option for people who are either retired, "independently wealthy", or being homeschooled.)
- hinkley 4y ago> is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and two short stories Still think he has ADHD?
- noduerme 4y agoThere's nothing wrong with being a dilettante. Definitely no need to pathologize it as part of ADHD. Dilettantism has led to some amazing art and music over time.
- JackMorgan 4y agoIf you are clinically unable to persue and enjoy them maybe it is ADHD. I myself paint watercolor and oil, am learning violin, joined a sailboat race team, am writing a book, started my own successful business that earns my living, lift weights, read 35 books, hiked 1000 miles of the AT, and became a volunteer firefighter, all this year. I'm currently designing a cabin I want to build. I'm having a blast. I definitely don't do as much with any of these hobbies as someone who only has one hobby, but I don't care, give me variety!
- amenod 4y ago[15] https://web.archive.org/web/20200111221557/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2009/dec/20/observer-profile-cormac-mccarthy https://web.archive.org/web/20200111221557/https://www.thegu...
- simonebrunozzi 4y agoFirst time I hear about him, and I feel I should read something by him. What's the single best recommendation you can give us?
- xhevahir 4y agoIf you want to read his latest, he put out his first novel in a long time just yesterday.
- danenania 4y agoThe Road.
- SauciestGNU 4y agoThis is where I started and it's engaging and bleak and heartbreaking. Such is much of his work. Blood Meridian is generally considered his magnum opus, but it's a much more difficult read.
- lukeasrodgers 4y agoBlood Meridian