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I dislike theories like this; how ADHD, and depression could be mechanisms that evolved because of some evolutionary advantage they give us. I am not denying th

I dislike theories like this; how ADHD, and depression could be mechanisms that evolved because of some evolutionary advantage they give us. I am not denying that could be the case, but living in a world full of stimulation everywhere is vastly different from living in a hunter-gatherer commune. ADHD could just be a neurological defect that never manifested itself in a quiet communal lifestyle, and become pronounced with modern technology. I don't think there's much point in theorizing how it could've offered an evolutionary advantage, because even if ADHD existed at that time, it would be very, very different from what it is today.

corobo 3y ago
> evolved because of some evolutionary advantage In fairness that's not really how evolution works. If a person reproduces, their traits are not eliminated. Evolution doesn't optimise for advantages, it eradicates disadvantages that preclude reproduction > ADHD could just be a neurological defect that never manifested itself in a quiet communal lifestyle, and become pronounced with modern technology. I agree on this - My personal theory is that ADHD is basically just a lower level of background dopamine (expanded thoughts here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39453578 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39453578) in the same way some people have trouble producing insulin - in the age of basic survival it's probably not that much of a hindrance, there's a constant supply of dopamine spikes. Surviving, being an integral and useful part of the tribe, getting bored of the current berry bushes and moving on to finding the next while the normal people finish harvesting this lot, chasing down wild animals while not being eaten, getting major props for inventing a better pointy stick to hunt with, that sort of thing. Modern day doesn't really have as much of that - the high enough to matter dopamine spikes are at least much less frequent (compounding that over many years leading to depression and lack of motivation etc)

corobo 3y ago

> evolved because of some evolutionary advantage In fairness that's not really how evolution works. If a person reproduces, their traits are not eliminated. Evolution doesn't optimise for advantages, it eradicates disadvantages that preclude reproduction > ADHD could just be a neurological defect that never manifested itself in a quiet communal lifestyle, and become pronounced with modern technology. I agree on this - My personal theory is that ADHD is basically just a lower level of background dopamine (expanded thoughts here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39453578 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39453578) in the same way some people have trouble producing insulin - in the age of basic survival it's probably not that much of a hindrance, there's a constant supply of dopamine spikes. Surviving, being an integral and useful part of the tribe, getting bored of the current berry bushes and moving on to finding the next while the normal people finish harvesting this lot, chasing down wild animals while not being eaten, getting major props for inventing a better pointy stick to hunt with, that sort of thing. Modern day doesn't really have as much of that - the high enough to matter dopamine spikes are at least much less frequent (compounding that over many years leading to depression and lack of motivation etc)