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Comment by hcurtiss | Hacker News Reader

I realize that this isn't terribly PC, but isn't it possible that testosterone is negatively correlated with attention span and compliance and positively correlated with risk taking? You certainly see it in other species. Without any value judgment at all, I would expect this would manifest in different outcomes in academic settings versus competitive markets. That is, it seems likely to me that some of this is due to innate differences between men and women.

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PC or not, academic literature supports your views.

http://psych2.phil.uni-erlangen.de/~oschult/humanlab/publica...

"Thus, high levels of testosterone are associated with willingness to incur greater risk in both sexes."

In my experience, this view has loose ties to ADHD, specifically regarding the hunter-farmer hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_vs._farmer_hypothesis

Doesn't say it in the article, but Hartmann's main book on ADHD discusses how he tested an African tribe for ADHD. 100% of those tested were "positive" for ADHD.

I believe we're looking at evolutionary aftereffects of generations of family-based societies where men hunt and women run the family.

Thanks. I don't have any education in this arena, but I know for certain why we geld male riding horses. It radically changes their disposition.

It takes a skilled rider to even think about riding a stallion. Geldings are puppies in comparison.

I don’t have any background is psychology. This information you provided increases my skepticism of ADHD as being a thing at all. In short, I’ve felt since becoming an adult that ADHD is simply the result of forcing people into situations that are poorly suited to their brains, implemented by people who happened to fair well in those situations. That is, the humans themselves aren’t broken, just a different neuro-variant.

>That is, the humans themselves aren’t broken, just a different neuro-variant.

I have also come to this conclusion though personal experience.

A well-intentioned person for whom I hold the utmost respect said I exhibited hallmark symptoms of ADHD. I realized the shoe really did fit, so I decided to get tested.

In the end, I was "diagnosed" with ADHD, allowing me access to a variety of drugs to "treat" it. They don't help. I have a stash of Adderall XR I don't use because it makes me feel...wrong. I've realized I need to change my approach to how I work. Systematic breaks to clear the mind helps tremendously. Coffee has a calming, stabilizing effect. Meditation of various types (Koru is an excellent system) has also helped understand my mind better to know when I'm getting off track.

I am fully convinced people "with" ADHD are supposed to be living as bold risk-takers because their bodies are literally wired for it. More men than women are wired like this, but both can "have" ADHD. Pencil-pushing desk jobs are not for these people, unless they're doing off-the-wall research and analysis.

I was diagnosed late with ADHD. Then I finally got a job where we don't do scrum. Never had to refill my prescriptions again. LOL

Do you mind expanding how ADHD clashes with scrum?

>Hartmann's main book on ADHD discusses how he tested an African tribe for ADHD. 100% of those tested were "positive" for ADHD

If this is indeed true, why are we not seriously reconsidering this whole thing of dosing kids on very shaky grounds?

The short answer: $$$$

Except that boys don't have elevated testosterone as children.

There are a couple of points in very early life, then not until puberty.

You could still point to the indirect effects of elevated T during infancy.

I think testosterone increases self-confidence, which in turn is incredibly helpful when it comes to things like negotiation, interviews, and just selling oneself.

I've heard from teacher friends that the year a boy hits puberty is basically a write-off academically

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