I've been reading Micheal Joseph Furgeuson's The Drummer and the Great Mountain. I just got my book yesterday and I'm really enjoying it. This book explains what he calls the hunter-farmer theory. His conclusion is that people with ADD/ADHD are actually hunter-types. They have inherited more of the genetic traits and tendencies from our androgenous hunter ancestors that would have been positive attributes necessary for survival. Here is part of his description:
"The hunter requires a very specific set of traits in order to survive and complete the task at hand:
Hyper-focus for short, intense periods of time.An ability to be "distractable" -- scanning the horizon for game, or for a potential threat.Sensitivity to the surrounding environment -- listening for the slightest twig break or sensing the most infinitesimal movement.The capacity to be completely "in the moment."Energy output consisting of times of high energy, followed by times of relaxation after the hunt.Your time horizon is in minutes and seconds, not months or years.
Whereas the farmer requires a nearly opposite set of skills:
An ability to do the same task day-in and day-out.A capacity to maintain focus and not get distracted. This translates into having successful crops -- which your very survival depends upon.A steady, day-in and day-out even energy output.A time horizon that consists of months and years. Rewards happen much slower, and there is a need for always coming back to "the big picture."
This idea creates a whole different paradigm for people with ADD/ADHD to view ourselves. Rather than a mental disorder that needs some type of cure, we are equally but differently valuable. Our brains are wired differently, but if we can understand those skills and tendencies, we have something separate and unique to contribute to the world. The power in Fergussen's book, and in this theory, is the idea that with some awareness, these same traits can also be extremely valuable in the modern world as well. Once we learn more about why our brains work the way they do, we can use the skills we have to succeed. Too many of us have been trying to learn and work -- make our living -- the way the majority do it. In fact, most of us have been told it's 'the way' and that furthermore we aren't very good at it. Here is what Ferguson says. "Now, perhaps more than any other time in history, us hunter-types are needed for developing broad outside the box solutions to the massive problems facing our world today."
