Q: Why does Nurse Ratched use negative words like “Deficit” and “Disorder”? A: Jealousy.

Just ask McMurphy

OK, I’m being unfair to director Milos Forman and writers Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman and Ken Kesey. The term "ADHD," - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - was first used in the DSM-III diagnostic manual five years after their brilliant film One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest came out.

On the other hand, you just know that their Nurse Ratched would have reveled in those disparaging words.

***

There’s a certain type of person who is much needed in today’s world.

They’re much needed because of another type of person who is also much needed.

Let me tell you about the second type of person first.

In centuries past, these people were regarded as “prophets.” Nowadays we understand that their ability to see how events will unfold has more to do with their inquisitiveness, their tendency to be distracted by every curious new thing that comes across their path. While others “have their nose on their desk” as a friend once put it, these second type of people have a wider view that brings a collection of disparate bits of information into their skulls. They tend to be good at seeing how things will evolve – and bad at communicating those observations.

Perhaps because of that wide view, they also tend to be inventive. Inside this kind of mind, those bits of information have a way of assembling themselves into remarkable new creations. These creative types tend to be the folks that come up with the solutions to difficult problems: not just physical objects, but new methods and new ways managing as well. Or they produce imaginative new designs, architecture, and art forms.

In an article on the subject (which I can no longer find in order to cite,) Peter Gray notes that

“ADHD symptoms correspond with improved performance on tasks that involve divergent, or ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking.”

As in, the thinking required for solving problems, particularly the kind of problem that has not been previously encountered.

As in, important problems.

Clinically, words like “bipolar” and “ADHD” and “autism spectrum” are used to describe people whose curiosity and creativity tend to overwhelm their ability to manage things. In an attempt to repair the language that’s used to describe these unfortunate fortunate folks, let’s alter this definition of ADHD: Attention Diversity Hypercuriosity Deftness.

For that matter let’s just avoid clunky acronyms. Let’s just say they’re deft. The lucky ones among the deft folks somehow manage to work with more grounded folks who help them get their creative efforts noticed and made into products and systems that change lives – and which often make them and their helpers wealthy.

https://www.bphope.com

has identified some of these “mentally deft” individuals:

• Virginia Woolf

• Vincent van Gogh

• Ernest Hemingway

• Theodore Roosevelt

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge

• Ludwig van Beethoven

https://psychcentral.com

identifies some more contemporary deft folks:

• Mariah Carey

• Demi Lovato

• Russell Brand

• Catherine Zeta-Jones

• Carrie Fisher

Because idiosyncrasy is more accepted in the art world, many of those folks who were able to capitalize on their deftness come from that space. But think of the number of brilliant business and product ideas that get put into practice years after their creators have an opportunity to benefit.

You may have heard of the glamorous actress Hedy Lamarr, who wowed audiences with her beauty in films such as Samson and Delilah (1949) and Tortilla Flat (1942). But did you know that Hedy Lamarr, with help from her friend, composer George Antheil, invented the spread spectrum communication system and patented it in 1942? Spread spectrum uses a technique called frequency hopping, in which the signal jumps from one frequency to another in a pseudo-random pattern, making it much more difficult for enemies to jam or intercept the signal. More recently the technology has found additional usefulness in mobile and wi-fi communications.

Sadly, Lamarr didn’t receive any financial benefit from her patent. While she had an understanding of technology, she didn’t have the expertise or focus to commercialize her invention. In particular, she never organized an effort to get through the gatekeepers at the US Navy to show how spread spectrum could help the war effort. As a result, she lost out on the millions of dollars that others have made from spread spectrum technology. And the Navy lost out on an important technology (until after her patent expired.)

Despite the challenges she faced, Lamarr's invention has had a lasting impact on the world. Spread spectrum technology is now used in a wide variety of devices, and it has made wireless communication much more secure and reliable. Lamarr is often called the "mother of Wi-Fi," and was a pioneer in the field of wireless technology.

Now imagine if an organized, practical, task-and-goal oriented person had helped this bright, creative, but somewhat disorganized inventor-actress manage the process of getting her the engineering and management help her patent called for, and promoting it to the Navy in a focused and organized way. And then imagine how together Hedy and her admin would have reaped at least tens of millions of dollars of royalties from her invention.

Or imagine if a similarly organized, practical, task-and-goal oriented person had helped Vincent van Gogh get his paintings noticed by galleries around Europe and the world. Imagine if that had been you, and in appreciation for your help Vincent gave you a few of his cypress paintings.

So now you can probably guess the attributes of the first type of person I mentioned.

Are you that kind of person?

Are you an exceptionally well organized person? Are you good at working patiently with bright and creative but not-so-organized folks? Do you have a talent for keeping such folks focused and on-task?

If so, not only do they need you; the whole world needs your help in transforming their creations into reality. Surely there are bright ideas about climate change, resource shortage, and business plans cooking in Deft folks’ heads, eagerly waiting for your help to bring those ideas to life.

Someone should start a club called Hedy’s Revenge, where creative people who need help with organization and focus can find smart, organized helpers to share the rewards of a relationship. We’ll put it into Creators’ Village in Authentiverse.