I wonder to what extent ADHD is about externalized memory. If you can’t see it, you can’t think about it, so everything is out in plain sight and they have to scan/dart around physically, and in non-home environments it looks like “distractability”
(to be clear, I am not ADHD)
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I might have the opposite of adhd though not in an obsessive form. My ideal is everything put away out of sight except what I am actually working with. Inbox/computer desktop/browser/physical desktop/office all at near zero. Only working materials and aesthetic mood setters out
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Interesting idea
but def not the case
the dependence on external memory is much much further downstream than a primary component
A shorter half-life to short-term memory or less RAM might be a consequence
I suspect it’s chronic sleep deprivation …or at least allergies/toxins
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e.g. I have exceptional short-term memory in controlled environments: raw numeric/conceptual recall
but it has to be IMPORTANT
I can’t count how many times someone asked me to grab something, I walk around & return empty-handed
Each room I enter is like a half-life on my cache
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I am, and I can tell you that a LOT of coping successfully with ADHD is externalizing not memory but memorization, freeing the mind up to focus on synergistic thinking, which is something we tend to do really well.
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Poor short term memory is usually something ADHD ppl struggle with but I think it has something to do with time focus. Too few seconds of looking/listening and you’re unlikely to get short term recall bc you have already moved on. Or were distracted in the first place
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a lot
the cognitive root cause of a ton of the challenges are lower short term memory capacity -> also leads to some learning of move up abstraction ladders very quickly
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I deal with ADHD which has gotten quite a bit worse with age and for me it's more about chasing stimulation, maximizing engagement and the desire to be assailed with novelty. This could manifest in hyperfocus on challenging topics (without follow through) or in bingey behavior.
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