At 05:58 PM 10/13/2009, Chris Zell wrote:
Personally, I wonder if the scientific community is nearly incapable
of progress because it's dominated by undiagnosed Aspergers and
related syndromes. Instead of being fascinated by shiny objects,
they obsess about assorted technicalities and tend to be puzzled by
common social demands. Hint, Hint.
I score high on the appraisal test, so mea culpa, comrades.
I don't think I have Asperger's, but I know at least one brilliant
mathematician who does. However, I'm sure I have Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder, and it is, indeed, a disorder, and difficulty
with "common social demands" can be a big part of it, indeed, that's
part of why it's a "disorder" and not merely a "difference." Some of
the damage from these conditions can be averted if the person and
those in relationship with him or her are aware of it, and know how
to move around it and factor for it.
And, of course, there can also be benefits from the conditions,
that's one of the complications. I wouldn't trade my ADHD for
"normal" for anything. But it can also be a damn nuisance! Lost a big
contract once because I was concentrating on some work; when I do
that, everything else disappears. I looked up, saw the clock, and I
was late for the appointment. Got there and was told that, too late,
you were late so we don't want you to do any more work from us. It
was stupid for that company, my work was excellent, and saved them a
lot of money, and it was only a new Controller (apt title!) who had
just come out of the military and who was imposing his standards. My
ability to be on-time with him had nothing to do with my ability to
perform the work on-time, because, in that business, when I had a
job, I'd start it immediately and not stop until it was done. Time
would largely disappear. And, of course, if I had an appointment
during that time -- I was working for another customer -- it was
indeed possible I'd miss it if there wasn't some kind of reminder.
I've learned, now, to set alarms on my iPhone.
Classic problem, there is a story about it in Driven to Distraction,
Hallowell's excellent book about ADHD. Employee comes up with idea to
save his company millions of dollars a year. Tells his boss, who sets
up a meeting in a month and asks the employee to prepare a report.
Employee sits down, tries to write the report, but something
distracts him. Sits down again, same thing. Finally, the day before
the meeting, the employee sits down and this time pushes through all
distractions, and finishes the report by 6:00 A.M. Then falls asleep
and wakes up and it's late, rushes to work and hands the report to
his boss, who says, "Thanks. You're fired." The company did implement
the suggestion and did save millions of dollars a year. The employee
ended up okay, though. He started his own consulting business and was fine.
If the company had understood the employee's condition, they'd have
done two things: first, not set up a condition where someone with
ADHD is likely to fail, i.e., a deadline in a month for something
that takes a day's work to do. Smaller chunks might be needed (and
it's more complicated than that). If the boss had said, "Get me a
preliminary report on that, at least an outline, by tomorrow," it
would have been on his desk the next day, or maybe the employee would
have slept through that day, and it would have been there the day
after that, no harm! Second, they'd assign him a secretary, someone
to keep him on track, and he'd be worth it.
