Like most "definitions," mental health diagnoses tend to include factors we relate to, as well as factors that feel completely off the mark.
In a sense, it's a poignant reminder that we shouldn't just blindly and wholly embrace something without studying the deeper implications and nuances. And yet? We often do... typically in the name of expedience, or simply because we long for having a sense of "belonging," even when it's a semi-poor fit.
As I write recently, the original definitions and criteria for ADHD was based wholly on what school teachers could observe, primarily in young boys. 40 years later, we now know that those original ideas represent only about 30-40% of the condition.
In the recent expanded description of ADHD, one of the things I really relate to is the strange nature and experience of time. Specifically the strange experience of time consisting primarily of "now" and "not now," rather than the more typical past, present and future.
Along with endowing me with a really deficient sense of how long it it will take to complete many normal tasks, this kind of "time blindness" makes life extremely challenging, at times.
Although I got better at it over the course of many years, I was always greatly challenged in determining low long a book editing job would take... which was important because I was trying to derive a living from being an editor.
Since, I have somewhat had the problem solve itself in the sense that my entire gig has largely been displaced by AI.
For most people, running their manuscript through an AI agent is viewed as "good enough," when compared to having a professional (human) editor painstakingly go through the manuscript at a cost of $1000-$2000, depending on complexity and length.
In some twisted way, I am less bothered by losing one of my long-time sources of income than I am by the idea that "good enough" is now accepted as the status quo.
Just another step towards Idiocracy!
Of course, the title of this post came from pondering the proliferation of what I now call "synthetic content" that seems to be everywhere. People just give a topic to an AI agent, request 500, 1000 or whatever words... and there's "their" essay.
It's worrisome.
What's worrisome is that when people consistently hand off their creativity to AI, it doesn't take long before they sink into a place where their own native creativity starts to shrink.
The brain is pretty much like any muscle in the body... if you stop using it, it gets weaker and eventually starts to atrophy, even if only slightly.
It's one of the reason why some places in the world — like Sweden — is now starting to remove computers and smartphones from classrooms and are getting back to teaching students how to write by hand, long hand.
Some might make the argument that we are going backwards, but I see it more as a proactive self-preservation move. There's growing evidence that excessive reliance on electronic devices reduces "working intelligence" significantly, not least of all because there are so many distractions that it becomes difficult to hold a thought.
It's one of those times where I find myself grateful to not be a 100% technological "native!"
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!
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2026.08.13 23:27 PDT
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