Hunter Vs. Farmer Hypothesis

The hunter vs. farmer hypothesis was proposed by Thom Hartmann about the origins of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults, suggesting that these conditions may be a result of a form of adaptive behavior.

Hartmann developed the hunter vs. farmer idea as a mental model after his own son was disheartened following a diagnosis of ADHD, stating, "It's not hard science, and was never intended to be." However, more recent molecular and clinical research has given support to the hunter vs farmer hypothesis. Nonetheless, some researchers used the hunter vs. farmer idea as a working hypothesis about the origin of ADHD.

Read more about Hunter Vs. Farmer Hypothesis:  Overview, Science and The Hunter Vs. Farmer Hypothesis

Famous quotes containing the words hunter, farmer and/or hypothesis:

    Verily, the Indian has but a feeble hold on his bow now; but the curiosity of the white man is insatiable, and from the first he has been eager to witness this forest accomplishment. That elastic piece of wood with its feathered dart, so sure to be unstrung by contact with civilization, will serve for the type, the coat-of-arms of the savage. Alas for the Hunter Race! the white man has driven off their game, and substituted a cent in its place.
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    It is surely a matter of common observation that a man who knows no one thing intimately has no views worth hearing on things in general. The farmer philosophizes in terms of crops, soils, markets, and implements, the mechanic generalizes his experiences of wood and iron, the seaman reaches similar conclusions by his own special road; and if the scholar keeps pace with these it must be by an equally virile productivity.
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    It is an hypothesis that the sun will rise tomorrow: and this means that we do not know whether it will rise.
    Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)