ComestibleVenom

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/he...gy/26EXEC.html

"You can be truly smart and still struggle in life if you lack the ability to plan, organize time and space, initiate projects and see them through to completion, and you cannot resist immediate temptations in favor of later better rewards.

When those capacities are damaged or underdeveloped, even people with intelligence and talent may flounder. They are often misunderstood as being willfully disorganized or lazy, possessing a bad attitude or, from a parental viewpoint, "doing this on purpose to drive me crazy."

More and more, however, neuroscientists are saying such puzzling underachievers may suffer from neurological abnormalities affecting "the brain's C.E.O." This control center, really an array of "executive functions," orchestrates resources like memory, language and attention to achieve a goal, be it a fraction of a second or five years from now."

This is a fascinating article, and I myself will pursue it.

I 'should' be entering my third year of university. Due to a lack of concerted direction, my mind - one I hold to be an able one - has not carried me to academic success.


Tomorrow, I will attend a meeting with the dean of a college to "explain my past underperformance" in order to continue the post-secondary education I so unfocusedly began. I will hand him a letter that is suitably conventional. I will admit, however, that this article in the NYTimes has thrown the explanation within the letter into doubt.

I will admit to him that I require further research into that question, years more. To do so will require additional education of course.

There is, as some perceptive person might note, some danger in doing so. One may very rationally fear that the Dean will take this to be an instance of the creeping excapulation. An appeal to mere neurochemistry to absolve myself, my central cartesian agent, of responsibility for what I have done - or perhaps merely to disguise mere incompetence.

It's not that simple of course. Despite the game-theoretic importance of the agent qua an individual agent linked with an individual human body and history, there are neurochemical considerations to be noted and compensated for in personal behavior. I seek not to deny the importance of systematicity in lifestyle, but point out our perception of just what effort is involved may be skewed by background assumption not corresponding to natural constants.

deano

dear god,that sounds just like me.

but ive been training myself to be organised and to try hard for once now.

try joining a gym,or running or some other organised hobby,working out has taught me commitment etc.

Godless Dave

I was just diagnosed with ADD for very similar symptoms. When I remember one of my 15 or so NY Times registration IDs I'll check out that article.

RoddyM

I think it's in the DSM IV. Multiple registration disorder. Eli Lily has a cure for it, Multiregol.

Baloo

Shit, and all this time I thought I just spent too much time lurking on ii...

Majestyk

I suffer from a major case of procrastination disorder. I've never gotten around to actually having it diagnosed, though. (I'm not joking)

Whether it is ADD or some other neurological phenomena it is a major pain in the ass in one sense and kinda sweet in another.

It has on one hand allowed me to become familiar with a fair number of subjects but prevented me from excelling in any of them. I will drop one subject as soon as it becomes tedious and another catches my interest. This isn't limited to academics. Personal and business tasks fall to the same lack of prolonged focus.

It is not something that I normally admit to, as it tends to not instill confidence of my ability in others. It's just one of those things that I accept about myself and learn to live with.

redwards

You just described me, to a T.

emphryio

Well it's too late now but I would have strongly suggested that you do not take or bring up that article to the Dean. This because the Dean will be interested in proof that you will do better starting now. This article (which I don't have access to) probably doesn't explain a surefired way to start doing better right now.

Godot

Like the others above, this one described me fairly well. It took me eight years of pissing around in different majors to finally get my undergrad. The U of C gave me a "dean's vacation" so I went crosstown to Mount Royal for two years before heading back to uni.
I'm sure you've never heard this before, but you'll figure it out eventually.

How did the meeting with the Dean go, anyways?

jayh

I hope this does not sound to insensitive, and I make no judgements of the inner motivations of anyone here, but sheesh....

Here comes the next big excuse. Poor little Johnny ... he would do better but he has an undeveloped exectutive function.

So at 25 Johnny can't keep a steady job, can't maintain a relationship.

A few people may have actual brain damage, and organization may come easier to some than others, but self discipline is exactly that.

Jay