Very good breakdown of the many many flaws in that study. It's unbelievable that the science editor of the Guardian didn't spot some of those glaring flaws before publishing the article! Unfortunately evolutionary biology and quantum mechanics are probably the two important scientific areas most often misused by people wanting to further non-scientific or even pseudoscientific arguments. I loved the point about the assumption that someone with adhd would hyperfocus on something beneficial. That made me laugh because I know how often I hyperfocus on completely unhelpful things whilst neglecting important things that need doing. A few weeks ago a huge part of a day with all its important tasks such as cooking etc were totally disrupted because I was hyperfocusing on the differences between two virtually identical styles of a Japanese martial art which I am never going to participate in anyway! I was totally absorbed in this trivial and pointless subject as if my life depended on it!
@cynanthropewoman3608Ай бұрын
Nothing makes me want to smash my head into a brick wall more than the "autism and ADHD is an evolutionary advantage" argument. Sorry but I know that had I been around in the hunter gatherer days, I'd have likely been "forgotten" out on a hunting trip due to the fact that I can't easily bond with others. Add to that autism meaning that I need a LOT of time to myself and you have a recipe for disaster in a community where you would need to stay together to survive. My ADHD would not be an advantage, as being distracted means that I miss a lot of things due to not being able to focus. "Oh look, I found a berry! Oh shit there's a sabre tooth tiger there and I'm going to die because I hyper focused on the berry." It can also cause social issues and the racing thoughts in my head contribute to my anxiety. It does not make me a wonderful inventor, strategist of anything useful. It makes me distracted without my medication and cave people did not have Concerta to hand. A point not mentioned that I'd like to bring up is that history has shown repeatedly that humanity, regardless of time period do not look kindly upon those who are seen as different. There has even been research suggesting that non-autistic people are by default less likely to see autistic people favourably. I don't know the full ins and outs of that study but I have seen enough anecdotal evidence that this is still the case in the real world. Anyone for whom the traits developed into a full blown disorder would have likely not survived and/or been killed by another human being. Let's not forget that time in history where autistic children were abused because they were seen as "changelings."
Пікірлер: 2
Very good breakdown of the many many flaws in that study. It's unbelievable that the science editor of the Guardian didn't spot some of those glaring flaws before publishing the article! Unfortunately evolutionary biology and quantum mechanics are probably the two important scientific areas most often misused by people wanting to further non-scientific or even pseudoscientific arguments. I loved the point about the assumption that someone with adhd would hyperfocus on something beneficial. That made me laugh because I know how often I hyperfocus on completely unhelpful things whilst neglecting important things that need doing. A few weeks ago a huge part of a day with all its important tasks such as cooking etc were totally disrupted because I was hyperfocusing on the differences between two virtually identical styles of a Japanese martial art which I am never going to participate in anyway! I was totally absorbed in this trivial and pointless subject as if my life depended on it!
Nothing makes me want to smash my head into a brick wall more than the "autism and ADHD is an evolutionary advantage" argument. Sorry but I know that had I been around in the hunter gatherer days, I'd have likely been "forgotten" out on a hunting trip due to the fact that I can't easily bond with others. Add to that autism meaning that I need a LOT of time to myself and you have a recipe for disaster in a community where you would need to stay together to survive. My ADHD would not be an advantage, as being distracted means that I miss a lot of things due to not being able to focus. "Oh look, I found a berry! Oh shit there's a sabre tooth tiger there and I'm going to die because I hyper focused on the berry." It can also cause social issues and the racing thoughts in my head contribute to my anxiety. It does not make me a wonderful inventor, strategist of anything useful. It makes me distracted without my medication and cave people did not have Concerta to hand. A point not mentioned that I'd like to bring up is that history has shown repeatedly that humanity, regardless of time period do not look kindly upon those who are seen as different. There has even been research suggesting that non-autistic people are by default less likely to see autistic people favourably. I don't know the full ins and outs of that study but I have seen enough anecdotal evidence that this is still the case in the real world. Anyone for whom the traits developed into a full blown disorder would have likely not survived and/or been killed by another human being. Let's not forget that time in history where autistic children were abused because they were seen as "changelings."