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Comment by sph | Hacker News Reader

> He has the energy, intensity, drive, singular focus, and (for lack of better words) obsession

That's not ADHD man.

Unless you mean energy, intensity, drive and singular focus for something and the next day you forgot all about it and it's onto the next shiny thing.

For example, 3 hours ago I decided I want to write a video game. Never written anything more complex than PONG in my entire life. I know myself enough that I'll be writing down all the fancy ideas I have, and we'll see if I still want to do it in 2 days.

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I’m a bit of both. I have long-lasting, deep-running, intense passions for many things in life (I’m obsessed with aquatic stuff for example, and I’ll hop in the water with a mask and snorkel anywhere and any time of year if I might see something interesting… And my definition of interesting pushes the boundaries of the meaning of that word for most people), yet I’ve got those fleeting interests as well. Far too many of them for sure.

I’ve done the video game one before. Not coincidentally, it had an aquatic theme. I lasted like 2 weeks. I wasn’t discouraged by a lack of interest necessarily, but the sense that it was truly impossible to pursue.

I know some other people with ADHD who have very central and long-lasting interests, but you’re not wrong that the passing (and often even more intense) ones are real too. Perhaps more common as well.

That’s why I said “some presentations”; some people find a groove that allows them to go deep on something they’re interested in, I guess. But certainly not always.

I agree, it seems like experience varies. I fixate quite thoroughly on things for decent stretches. ADHD is a slight misnomer because I don't have an attention deficit, I have selective intense attention. It appears as a deficit because I can't control the focus and if I'm not working on what someone watching me thinks I should they think "that guy can't focus!" In reality, I'm exceptionally focused on something else and without my medication, the odds of me redirecting that focus are almost zero.

If it weren't for the need to occasionally comply for work etc, "ADHD" would be pretty neat and fun. Being mercurial and intense can be isolating, though.

I get interested, I seek out the most direct and as far as I'm able to gauge, best information related to the task I'd like to complete and I consume as much as I can about it until it's done or I'm bored. Or something else takes the intensity. I can juggle 2-3 intense interests at a time, this helps keep them going longer as I'll shift from one to the other if I hit a wall.

Yes, this is exactly my experience. When I’m allowed by life, I enjoy the way ADHD makes me a lot. I get that everyone’s accustomed to their own experience and way of life so everything is relative, but I feel like life without ADHD would be kind of boring. I get so excited about so many things and find experiencing them so gratifying and fulfilling.

My kids are often confused why I’m interested in things (most recently fish and frogs I found in a creek, or enormous boulders we came across on a forest floor which likely fell there from incredibly high rocky peaks hundreds or thousands of years prior) but to me it’s like, how can this not be exciting!? In both instances I was so deeply engaged and amazed by the subjects and it gives me this incredible sense of awe and appreciation for the world I live in. The rest of my family is so uninterested that my interest annoys them, haha.

There’s definitely a downside of course. Like you mention, losing interest in things usually means moving on to something else, but that’s not always a good idea or beneficial to myself or those around me. Even so, I love being able to get into things so intensely.

> ADHD is a slight misnomer because I don't have an attention deficit, I have selective intense attention. It appears as a deficit because I can't control the focus

Yes that is how exactly ADHD works. Focus is there, but not in our control.

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