History my butt, ADHD is an increasing advantage in a world increasingly controllable, and where mundane tasks are increasingly automated... it makes us resist authority... It makes us unable to spell... think about it, if most people had ADHD, an overbearing authority, religous or governmental, is inpossible unless you drug them. Think of CEOs with ADHD... ADHD is not an inability to concentrate, only an inability to concentrate when I'm not interested. ADHD is an enormous source of intelligent non-conformity in this society... If a computer can spell for me, why should I? I challenge you, could we have lasting freedom without it? Could we have such material innovation? check out 'The Drive of Progress in Man' [book avalible on amazon] It's about the modern anthropological context of ADHD and dyslexia, and its awesome.

I'll certainly agree that sitting in a classroom for six hours a day, being lectured at, is definitely NOT biologically normal or healthy for humans.

I agree that ADHD is a valuable source of creative thinking and non-conformity - and I have ADHD myself - but I disagree with the notion that good spelling is not important. Although oddly enough, I see more bad spelling from "neurotypicals" than people with ADHD. I happen to place a high value on good spelling and get very irked when, say, someone sends me an e-mail written in text-message speak.

Okay, back to the main subject of the article. I recently took a cognitive psychology class in which the professor said that ADHD isn't exactly a "disorder." It's a problem in the context of a modern industrialized society, but the truth is that modern industrialized society is the problem for most of us. We're not meant to apply our brains to working in retail or at a desk for eight hours a day, and the lecture model of teaching that dominates in schools everywhere is actually one of the worst ways to get someone to learn anything.

I think people with ADHD just have less tolerance for the drudgery and crap that comes with living the way we do. Even regular people have a tough time with it, and that accounts for a lot of stress, depression and other problems.

I have a spitball theory about ADHD that one of its genetic saving graces in civilized society is it protects intelligent non-comformists from political oppression. Most of my ancestors for the last 2,000+ years were serfs in societies where original thinking was usually regarded as taboo and could easily get you ostracized if not killed. But because ADHD also presdisposes one to be less motivated, less accomplished, and often socially awkward/withdrawn, the higher levels of intelligence, creativity and contempt for authority were safely concealed.

Consequently, a modern, liberal society could be the best setting of all for ADHDers because there are fewer hazards to being noncomformist and more opportunities to use all the gifts that being ADHD imparts.