Is ADHD An Advantage For Nomadic Tribesmen?
Okay, I know that I harp on this all the time with my students, but here is more "proof" that attributes that might be important in lifestyles that are closer to nature can easily be seen as deficits in settled and/or modern cultures. The example I give my students relates to literacy...500 years ago you didn't necessarily have to be literate to get a job or to be successful. Although literacy was an advantage and often the privilege of the upper classes, it wasn't necessary. You could be a successful farmer, business owner, tradesperson etc. without being able to read. Today you can't even get hired to do the most menial of jobs without a basic level of literacy. Thus, as society has changed to be more text based, so have our conceptions of what is a strength and a deficit.
This story takes this idea back even further. The ADHD gene, while serving an important role in the survival of hunter/gatherer and nomadic cultures, can also be seen as a deficit in sedentary cultures that require more "seat time" and measure success by "time on task" rather than sustenance of the group. Context is everything; and yet we are so quick to reify these ideas of difference without taking into account the effects of society and culture.
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