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It's an evolutionary advantage for humans today. There's a reason ADHD articles are shared profusely here. Information moves faster these days, you need ADHD
by theultdev 3y ago
It's an evolutionary advantage for humans today.
There's a reason ADHD articles are shared profusely here.
Information moves faster these days, you need ADHD to process it efficiently and hyper-focus on long tasks.
Those who can do that naturally become developers.
You just have to workaround social norms like work schedules.
Helps to own your own business or at least work remotely.
- tailspin2019 3y ago> Helps to own your own business or at least work remotely. I wonder how many ADHDers learnt this during COVID. It may have been the first opportunity for some to experience this and perhaps realise that they can work more effectively in a different environment (which they have more control over).
- andybak 3y agoAbsolutely. Lockdown was a complete revelation to me. The removal of FOMO and the narrowing of options was incredibly beneficial.
- Filligree 3y agoIt can be an advantage; it certainly isn't so at all times. But you're right that most of the disadvantages stem from other people, and aren't inherent. It's more than a bit annoying.
- theultdev 3y agoThe inverse is true as well, not having ADHD can be a disadvantage, especially for developers. (trying to stay focused on a long task or figure something out quickly skimming through things)
- dailykoder 3y agoThat's what you'd think when you hear people talk about hyperfocus. But trust me, you don't want to have ADHD. You only want to have the good sides of it.
- theultdev 3y agoTrust me, I do. Bad side is I get a pizza and bed day. Good side is I have fun coding for 18 hours and get a week of work done.
- dailykoder 3y agoYeah but that's the point. The spectrum is way too broad. For some people that's their daily life. For me it's either I get paralyzed and depressed for a week or two and basically can't get anything done. Or I kinda work "normal" (maybe just being a lot faster than neurotypical people, but certainly not longer). 18 hour hyperfocus sessions only occour every few months for me.
- theultdev 3y agoAgreed, I was mainly responding to the "trust me you don't want it" I realize others have a differing degrees and handling of it. Thus you can't say whether one individual "wants" it or not.
- hashmal 3y ago* ADHD doesn't mean you can hop from X to Y to Z superfast/efficiently while remembering anything meaningful. * Hyperfocus isn't a spell you can cast at whatever task at hand. It happens only when you're really into a given topic... And ADHD tends to push you to procrastinate on things you like a lot: you end-up in hyper-procrastination mode. Above points can be used to your advantage with great benefit, but it's not automatic. Some people with ADHD compensate intuitively and do impressive stuff, others need medication just to get out of bed. Both of these extremes can be the same person at different times.
- theultdev 3y agoYou can learn how to hack your stubborn brain and take advantage of the waves of motivation. Stimulates are a instant gratification solution, but man take those all the time and you will be pretty damn irritable and mentally tired after awhile. It's natural for "ADHD" people to work in waves. Long sprints and rest in between. I know it's popular to advocate drugging yourself, but people reach for that too quickly. Society is the problem, not them.
- dailykoder 3y ago>It's natural for "ADHD" people to work in waves. Long sprints and rest in between. I know it's popular to advocate drugging yourself, but people reach for that too quickly. >Society is the problem, not them. I wish it was that easy. It's not. ADHD is an extremely broad spectrum. There are some habits which CAN bring me into hyperfocus, but they don't work all the time. What do you mean by people reach to fast for stimulants? Coffee and energy drinks basically have the same effect as methylphenidate on me, they just don't last as long. Before my diagnosis I was always flabbergasted that people were so astonished as I told them that coffee and energy drinks bring me down. Now I know the reason why. But in the end reducing my coffee and energy consumption, but taking meds in a controled way works a lot better for me. But I also know people where meds don't work at all (in a beneficial way). There is really no way to sum up "ADHD people". It's just way to nuanced. Edit: I am literally sitting in the office right now, hyperfocusing on the weird typing frequency of my neighbour and just can't put on my headphones and start coding. I would even try to hear that with my noise cancelling headphones on. Gotta get up now, take a short walk and hopefully when i come back i can start.
- hello_kitty2 3y ago> Those who can do that naturally become developers. No. Those who can do that become multi millionaires/billionaires. Developers get stuck on the local minima of programming.
- viraptor 3y agoIt's not that simple. I mostly got rid of my ADD and haven't noticed any disadvantages beyond learned behaviours that are not productive anymore. You definitely don't need ADHD to keep up with information - for me it's easier without. I can jump between topics, but can also choose not to - that was not an option before. The occasional hyperfocus is not necessarily helpful either - hours of sleep sacrificed to continue doing something fun are not a great outcome.
- theultdev 3y agoI never said it was simple. Just that it's a trait that can give great benefit. Anecdotal of course, as is yours. But everyone handles their brain differently.
- viraptor 3y agoIt would be interesting to hear more feedback about it from people who experienced both sides. Hopefully there's going to be many more over time. I'm becoming a bit sceptical regarding the advantages, but there's a lot of confounding variables there.