Prehistoric man----ADHD----Contemporary knife making.

[Fred.Rowe]

I know a good deal about, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, I have to; I have a child who has the condition and the only way to deal with it is to understand it.
My son's doctor explained to me that in early prehistoric man this condition was an asset. People with this condition respond well to unexpected and dangerous conditions. They made good mammoth hunters; they would thrive in this man versus dangerous large animal scenario. What they were not good at was the daily routine; around a quite camp, they were disruptive waiting for the next mammoth or big toothed cat hunt.

She explained to me that today, ADHD is not an asset, we have become such creatures of control and habit, with little of the unknown in our lives that people with this condition find it hard to cope in a world consumed with conformity.The doctor also said;that in todays world people who's minds work in this manner are found in many of the arts, music, graphic arts painting and she agreed contemporary knife making. People with this type of mind are the ones who take risk and push the envelope, you will never find them following. They will be the ones pushing the limits, whatever they're doing.
In modern knife making I believe, they are an asset for they are the ones who will drive diversity. You wont find them copying the accepted norm. "Without deviation from the norm progress is not possible" and thats true in knife making. I advise people working in my shop to perfect that which needs perfection, but to experiment with everything else. You will be amazed, at what you create when this vision is adopted.

Choose to be the mammoth hunter and not the guy sitting in camp stirring the fire.

Happy hunting, Fred

 

[Willie71]

Another Mammoth Hunter here. ( I have used that analogy in my practice for 10 years now.) My son has ADHD, my wife has inattentive subtype ADHD, I was diagnosed 4 years ago, and after I was diagnosed, my brother and my father were both diagnosed. We are all successful people with college and university educations, but we had to work very hard to adapt to a world that doesn't understand us. When we are "on" we do great things, but when we are "off" we can't find our car keys or coffee cup LOL!!!!! There are many strengths to having ADHD (or depression or anxiety for that matter- they all have an adaptive reason to exist) but we are specialists, not generalists, and need the support of our clan to function. We don't do well on our own. We make great paramedics, lawyers, and emergency room nurses. We thrive on crisis, which is when we feel "normal." The current meds are excellent. I personally take them and life is SO MUCH EASIER with them. There are few side effects too.

 

[Broomhead]

I have ADD, which is ADHD without the hyperactivity. My ADD has a heavy emphasis on hyposomnia (the opposite of insomnia) where its difficult to stay attentive because I'm tired all the time. Without my meds I'd sleep for hours during the day and turn around and sleep through the night. Thanks to modern chemicals (meds) I can stay awake, pay attention, and let my creative juices flow. In school I'd always get in trouble for drawing or otherwise not paying attention. I also thrive on chaos though, like ADHD folks do, and like to push the limits as well.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I like to comare ADHD with

 

[jawilder]

I like to comare ADHD with

^Classic^

 

[brand0n]

We make great paramedics, lawyers, and emergency room nurses. We thrive on crisis, which is when we feel "normal."

I had to laugh out loud because this is so true, we do thrive on crisis, in a crisis is when I have the most concentration.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Another Mammoth Hunter here. ( I have used that analogy in my practice for 10 years now.) My son has ADHD, my wife has inattentive subtype ADHD, I was diagnosed 4 years ago, and after I was diagnosed, my brother and my father were both diagnosed. We are all successful people with college and university educations, but we had to work very hard to adapt to a world that doesn't understand us. When we are "on" we do great things, but when we are "off" we can't find our car keys or coffee cup LOL!!!!! There are many strengths to having ADHD (or depression or anxiety for that matter- they all have an adaptive reason to exist) but we are specialists, not generalists, and need the support of our clan to function. We don't do well on our own. We make great paramedics, lawyers, and emergency room nurses. We thrive on crisis, which is when we feel "normal." The current meds are excellent. I personally take them and life is SO MUCH EASIER with them. There are few side effects too.

Each day starts in our family assessing which person we will be working with. Once I understand which, I can adjust my approach so as to get the best possible outcome. It seems like this mind set is associative with brilliance. Our son is at the genius level which adds, in a very profound way, to the dayly personality juggling. Never a dull moment.
Yes, I forgot to add the paramedics and firefighters; We have friends who are firefighters and also ADHD; they have expressed to me: "I am most alive when I'm inside a burning building. " We took our son to the Amen clinic in Maryland for brain scans and assessment; the best move we every made in helping him to get his life moving. Thanks for posting and sharing, Fred

I have ADD, which is ADHD without the hyperactivity. My ADD has a heavy emphasis on hyposomnia (the opposite of insomnia) where its difficult to stay attentive because I'm tired all the time. Without my meds I'd sleep for hours during the day and turn around and sleep through the night. Thanks to modern chemicals (meds) I can stay awake, pay attention, and let my creative juices flow. In school I'd always get in trouble for drawing or otherwise not paying attention. I also thrive on chaos though, like ADHD folks do, and like to push the limits as well.

The sleep symptom has to be addressed or you don't have enough awake time to have a life; I am familiar with this condition as well. I worked with 12 to 18 year olds in a teaching environment and became fairly good at identifying the different conditions.
Thanks for posting and sharing your story, Fred

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Fred,
I will need to move this thread. Do you want it in ATG or General Discussion?

 

[Fred.Rowe]

I had to laugh out loud because this is so true, we do thrive on crisis, in a crisis is when I have the most concentration.

My son tells me multi tasking is a way of life; when he gets down to a single issue he gets agitated. He showed me a cartoon that he said explained very well how his mind processed information; the cartoon showed a bewildered sufferer with hundreds of balloons floating overhead, each one an idea or issue in his life and he found it almost impossible to choose one.
Fred

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Evening Stacy!

I put the post up to show how knife makers with ADHD approach knife making and how their contribution, even though extreme at times is important.

If you think it would be more applicable somewhere else; its just the click of a button.

Fred

 

[Willie71]

ADHD can be associated with brilliance, but the only scientific evidence shows there is the full range of intelligence, but the average is 5 IQ points higher than the general average. It's not a significant difference, but it helps dispell the myth that ADHD is a developmental disorder. The highest comorbidity is atypical depression, winter depression, and bipolar depression, all characterized by irritability and oversleeping.

 

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

Thanks! I'm always trying to impart how attention is learned, not natural for kids for the same evolutionary reasons! Although I would dispute her as serrations that hunters are disruptive when not hunting- I've not seen contemporary or archaeological evidence, but am not involved in that world any more.

I am currently awaiting my booking to find out if I have the same types of issues, it good timing for me that you posted this. I've always found my drum beat to be different, and liked being around creative people. I have a hard time visualizing abstracts so most of the art world is beyond my reach, but creating knives seems to fill the creative and scientific void well for me!! Probably why my knives look different as well....

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Since a lot of the folks who would post on this subject will be registered users, I don't want to put it in ATG. I'll move it to general discussion.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Thanks! I'm always trying to impart how attention is learned, not natural for kids for the same evolutionary reasons! Although I would dispute her as serrations that hunters are disruptive when not hunting- I've not seen contemporary or archaeological evidence, but am not involved in that world any more.

I am currently awaiting my booking to find out if I have the same types of issues, it good timing for me that you posted this. I've always found my drum beat to be different, and liked being around creative people. I have a hard time visualizing abstracts so most of the art world is beyond my reach, but creating knives seems to fill the creative and scientific void well for me!! Probably why my knives look different as well....

Possible not disruptive, more like not in there element. I equate these things to our daily life; like most I would guess. Your are correct in that there are many variations of this type mind set, there is no single manifestation.
Fred

 

[Hickory407]

That was an awesome read I too have ADD I lack the hyperactivity but a lot of the things you said were characteristics of adhd I have as well especially pushing the envelope this was nice to read though becuase most of the time when people talk about ADHD or ADD its all negative. I have figured out really I am just better at multitasking and handling unforseen circumstances (which I am grateful for being law enforcement it has come in handy more than once)

 

[Willie71]

Thanks! I'm always trying to impart how attention is learned, not natural for kids for the same evolutionary reasons! Although I would dispute her as serrations that hunters are disruptive when not hunting- I've not seen contemporary or archaeological evidence, but am not involved in that world any more.

I am currently awaiting my booking to find out if I have the same types of issues, it good timing for me that you posted this. I've always found my drum beat to be different, and liked being around creative people. I have a hard time visualizing abstracts so most of the art world is beyond my reach, but creating knives seems to fill the creative and scientific void well for me!! Probably why my knives look different as well....

I am certainly disruptive when I am not hyper focused, or on my meds. It only takes my wife 5 min to realize I forgot to take my meds. I need to be busy, or I call apart. I can relax more now that I'm on the stimulants, which is counterintuitive, but its how it works.

If anyone is interested, we use a self screen that is available online: the ASRS v. 1.1. It's really simple to fill out, and if positive, further assessment is warranted. False positives are rare.

 

[Willie71]

Kris, in Edmonton, we use dr.chokka and dr. Youssef for ADHD spectrum assessments. Both are excellent and I have referred to them for years.

 

[Ismellgood02]

I have ADH-LOOK SOMETHING SHINY! seriously I don't, or at least I've not been diagnosed if i do, but sometimes my friends wonder.

 

[Lycosa]

Good luck, Man! It can get nutty.
I think I have it also. Thank goodness for Bladeforums.

 

[Willie71]

This came up in another thread, but is more appropriate here. Are you a visual learner? Visual learners tens to look at the big picture and associate information with what they already know. Auditory learners tend to memorize smaller pieces of information, and may or may not make the big picture out of it. Visual thinkers think in images and videos. Auditory learners think in words. How do you learn and hold on to information?