ADHD may have been an evolutionary advantage

[AuAL]

I was looking for a place appropriate to share this but couldn’t really find one, so I put it here.

ADHD may have been an evolutionary advantage, research suggests

 

[TBRS1]

I agree with the author. I imagine I'd have been a fine small furry animal. Probably a squirrel.

 

[Tom]

Interesting they devised an experiment. There was a similar study or paper several years back that stated autistic persons might have an advantage in certain hunting processes and also alertness to danger. But in that study it was spectulation only. So an experiment is an improvement.

But it would need much more elaboration I think to gain validity. Picking berries is just one activity and there are many needed for survival. And some come, or can come into play concurrently and aren't factored in the experiment. Competition for example. Is the ADHD also the early bird among gatherers, how well were they in conflicts over the berry bush with other gatherers or Cave bears. Clothing, shelters, etc, etc. It would have to be a very complex model I think.

 

[TBRS1]

So - genetically generated states that survive evolutionary editing confer some survival advantage, somewhere, somehow, over evolutionary relevant timescales.

Autism is genetic, it still exists; therefore, something is, or was, going on.

However, that genetic trait may no longer contribute to survival, even if it once did. Maybe it still does, but nobody is paying attention to the what & how of it.

Frankly, if weirdos like me didn't exist the world would be tediously boring.

 

[marc_101]

The study also cites previous studies and theories suggesting advantages for ADHD and austim. I work in academia. So many of my colleagues are on the spectrum or are very close relatives...

 

[Au Naturel]

I saw a study of a chimpanzee troop where one female showed what could be considered autistic traits in humans. It happened that while she was off alone, she devised a better way to extract tasty insects from bore holes in trees. Chimps, being smarter than humans, immediately befriended her, and she became an in-demand instructor for the troop. The knowledge enabled the troop to survive better.

A troop entirely of autistic chimps would probably collapse.

 

[Au Naturel]

The study also cites previous studies and theories suggesting advantages for ADHD and austim. I work in academia. So many of my colleagues are on the spectrum or are very close relatives...

I think moderate ADHD is only a disadvantage in modern society. Think about the contemporary settings where it is a "problem." They don't exist for paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups. The ability to focus intensely on what you are interested in is particularly useful if you are hunting - just like in video gaming.

 

[Fino]

Everything is hypothesized to be an evolutionary advantage. It's gotten rather silly.

 

[Au Naturel]

Everything is hypothesized to be an evolutionary advantage. It's gotten rather silly.

If it were a significant evolutionary advantage, it would be the normal state. Not a minority. More likely, a little bit in a small number of people is a good thing but if everyone has it, it's bad news for the tribe. Diversity is good.

 

[Tom]

I think 7 foot long feet would give autistics quite good evolutionary advantage as we could then ski from berry bush to berry bush.

 

[marc_101]

Everything is hypothesized to be an evolutionary advantage. It's gotten rather silly.

Yeah. I can think of experiments in which you can probably show that ADHD traits would get you killed by a lion while one is out there in the savanna daydreaming... (or trying to find berries)

 

[vergil96]

The study also cites previous studies and theories suggesting advantages for ADHD and austim. I work in academia. So many of my colleagues are on the spectrum or are very close relatives...

This year about a half of the proffessors that have taught me or more seem to be on the spectrum as they make zero or nearly zero eye contact and some of them are easy to spot because of their nonverbal communication.

I feel like autism in particular can be beneficial, but not for an average person, additional conditions have to be met. You have to have otherwise a very good brain so that the cognitive processes don't break in their weak points. Then, you can make use of the advantages. I can't think of a comparison.

With ADHD, in my opinion a sedentary lifestyle that requires structured activities such as focusing on a boring sheet of paper for long periods of time wasn't a thing throughout human history and for animals too, and now suddenly everyone is required to be sedentary and patiently do paperwork 8 hours a day - of course it won't work, because we're not made for it, like we're not made for waling on arms or living underwater.

 

[marc_101]

It's difficult, though, to separate shy and nerdy from ASD. Or teaching anxiety. It's not natural to be in a room with 20-25 people looking at you while you try to think. Now that I understand more about ASD, especially after hanging out here for a while, I'm getting better at making some distinctions. In some cases, I can verify because others tell me things, but most of the time I can only guess.

 

[vergil96]

It's difficult, though, to separate shy and nerdy from ASD. Or teaching anxiety. It's not natural to be in a room with 20-25 people looking at you while you try to think. Now that I understand more about ASD, especially after hanging out here for a while, I'm getting better at making some distinctions. In some cases, I can verify because others tell me things, but most of the time I can only guess.

What kind of separation do you have in mind? The line is quite fluid. I've been told before that I "don't have Asperger's, because I don't have deficits". Now there is a deficit, because they wanted me to suddenly switch from online classes to stationary and then gave me the worst schedule on the planet. So is it there or isn't it? "Nerdy" carries a lot of sutistic traits, similarly not everyone goes mute when anxious or can't handle large groups of people and not everyone gets anxious in large groups. My degree is computer science and there are plenty of people who don't appear to have autism until facrd with certain circumatances. I wondered about one lecturer, I talked with him about some formal requirements of the subject. Later I talked to a lecturer with whom I have a more friendly relationship and we were talking about social issues people in the degree often have and she told about the other lecturer that he used to have social issues and to seem very autistic. There is a lot going on, people learn to mask or cope in other ways and you can't tell. She said I appear very social and was mildly surprised that I was trying very hard to avoid an oral presentation or get rid of the audience and that I said I used to be awful at them and get the worst grades in class, and also that I asked her about materials how to prepare for "soft skills" questions at job interviews, because I need to think through what I have to say beforehand.

 

[marc_101]

I meant that it's difficult to tell who has ASD and who doesn't without the person revealing it or having more in depth conversations.

It's the flip side of "you don't look autistic" for the same reasons.

I think we're in agreement.