Re: New TECHWR-L Poll - ADD

[Dick Margulis <margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net>]

Dan,

Let's back off a bit and ask the more interesting question of whether 
ADD is truly a _medical_ condition or is really just a social construct 
used to label one group within the normal spectrum of human cognitive 
styles. Think of it as analogous to, say, grouping body types into 
ectomorphs, mesomorphs, and endomorphs. It helps to think that way when 
you're designing clothes to fit a broad spectrum of the population, but 
that doesn't mean one type is medically superior to another.

So if we stop talking about ADD as a medical syndrome and start asking 
whether different people's cognitive styles are better suited to diverse 
tasks, it's fair to ask whether tech writing attracts ADD types more 
than some other occupation--truck driving, say--attracts them.

However, I agree with you that others might exploit information shared 
here to the disadvantage of the person doing the sharing. So your 
caution is well taken.

Dick


Dan Goldstein wrote: