# The Edison Gene



## Werewoman (Mar 19, 2009)

Speaking of brains.....

I have a book called "The Edison Gene - ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child" by Thom Hartmann.

In the book he presents ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as being an adaptive trait in approximately 20% of the population. He is the father of the 'hunter vs. farmer' theory of human survival skills. As someone who has struggled for over 40 years with 'being different', this book was a Godsend.

Basically, while agriculture is the 'norm', there does still exist some indigenous tribes today that are hunter/gatherers. ADHD is an ancient skillset conducive to their way of life.

Example: A hunter must always be hyper-vigalant. If he is chasing a rabbit to feed his children and he senses a deer nearby he must be able to suddenly change focus from the rabbit to the deer because obviously a deer is even better when it comes to finding food. Once he begins tracking this deer, his focus must remain keen (hyperfocus) and tenacious in his pursuit. His very life depends on these abilities. Children with ADHD have these same skills. The problem is, these skills are not conducive to an agricultural society. In fact, hunters can't survive unless they can adapt to this way of life. So, we do. Some of the 'farmers' are not very tolerant of us - thus we are considered to have a 'disorder'.

A quote from the book, "Edison-gene children and adults are by nature: enthusiastic, creative, disorganized, non-linear in their thinking (they leap to new conclusions or observations), innovative, easily distracted (or to put it another way - easily attracted to new stimuli), capable of extraordinary hyperfocus, understanding of what it means to be an "outsider", determined, eccentric, easily bored, impulsive, entrepreneurial, and energetic. All of these qualities lead them be natural explorers, inventors, discoverers, and leaders." 

'Farmers', on the other hand, require a completely different skillset for survival. They must be able to perform the same task thoroughly and repeatedly in order to ensure a good crop and keep their food animals maintained until it is time to slaughter them for meat. This requires the ability to make rows, plant seeds, rotate crops, pull weeds, maintain a constant source of water (requiring close proximity to that source), harvest and store the food. These things are torture to the ADHD person.

As a result of this shift in survival ability from hunter to farmer, people adapted very well. If they did not, they wouldn't survive. But there are those of us who survived in spite of that. We are still 'hunters' trying to live in a farmer's world. It's not a good or bad thing, it just is. 

The real problems arise for our children. Our schools (this is coming from a school teacher, btw) require the ability to sit still for long periods of time while remaining focused on a single task. Lessons are frequently learned by rote. Most children are able to do this without a problem, but the 'Hunter Child' becomes mad with boredom. Thus, they act out according to their nature which is very disruptive to those around them. These children are punished, medicated, made to feel stupid, and do not understand why others get angry at them. They act out their rebellion which begins a viscious cycle. In the end, they start to question their self-worth.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for people like me. Step outside the 'norm'. I became a technology teacher - a class where sitting still is useless as an educational tool. Activities have to be hands-on and tailored to the child, not the system. Students that fail at core subjects thrive in the environment I provide for them. On top of that, my husband (also ADHD) and I are entrepreneurs. Between the two, I stay very busy and love every minute of it. 

It still causes a lot of problems for me, but I refuse to medicate myself though I've tried it. I am appalled we give amphetimines to children to try to force them to be 'normal'. I refuse to take a dangerous drug for something that, frankly, only drives others crazy. Being ADHD doesn't bother me. 

Until we accept children the way they are 'made' and accomodate them accordingly, we will continue to damage them. Some of these children end up in prisons and institutions. Many turn to drugs and alcohol.

I write this because almost everyone knows a Hunter Child. If you do, read the book. It will not only change your perspective on our children but on human evolution as well.

And with that, I had a sticker that read, "You laugh because I'm different...I laugh because you're all the same"


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## Nik (Mar 20, 2009)

Saw an interesting article recently that lies tangent to this hunter/farmer hypothesis...

IIRC, it implied that ADHD kids do better at 'boring' stuff if they've recently run around and got the 'pants ants' out of their systems. Or pumped up their endorphins ??

FWIW, I've heard an analogy that ADHDs can see 'stepping stones' when others only see 'paths': This, too, could be checked...


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## Saeltari (Mar 21, 2009)

Very interesting. Thanks for posting, and I completely agree with you about the medicating!


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## dustinzgirl (Mar 21, 2009)

I totally agree. Which is why I also believe that 1--we need to stop medicating our hyperactive kids. And 2---we need to stop forcing our hyperactive kids into non stimulating education environments (sitting in a classroom all day getting lectured for hours is just too much).


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## Nik (Mar 22, 2009)

"(sitting in a classroom all day getting lectured for hours is just too much)."

Um, because only what gets measured gets done ??

Our neighbour, a 'Head Teacher', struggles to find, then justify school time & resource for *anything* that is not going to directly benefit subsequent SATs...

Spooling curriculum stuff is readily checked and check-listed. Instilling wonder is harder to quantify. Fortunately, enough of her staff have that magic. More fortunately, the School Inspectors approve...


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