David Dobbs recently wrote an article for the Atlantic called "The Science of Success" about a "controversial" new theory suggesting short/short and short/long human serotonin-transporter genes, long held as increasing the risks of developmental disorders such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety, are also responsible for artistic genius, success at business or politics, and other desirable traits.  Individuals that have the short/short variant of this gene are called orchids, because, if not given proper care, they wilt and wither, but if raised in the right environments, they bloom spectacularly.  Individuals with the long/long variant are called dandelions: they are able to take root and survive almost anywhere.  Of course this is an oversimplification, but this new research could usher in a paradigm shift in how we think about child development or workplace dynamics, as well as providing the answer to the long-fought nature vs. nuture debate: it's both.

I know plenty of people with "ADHD": they were typecast at young ages as being genetically inferior to others; their inability to pay attention to things in which they had no interest would be a crippling handicap that would make it difficult for them to succeed in school or at work.  Their frightened parents were conned into forking over money for cocaine for children: ritalin, as a boon to the pharmaceutical industry, psychologists, and psychiatrists.  Not to sound so conspiracy theorist, but perhaps these people were simply not made for mid-management or accountancy?

A friend of mine was diagnosed with ADHD at age eight and given ritalin.  After a few weeks and many attempts to convince his parents that he didn't like the person he became while on the drug, he decided to take matters into his own hands: he pretended to take his pills for ten years, before finally telling his parents that he was not going to be a lawyer and instead would go to art school.  He is now a successful artist.  Another friend with "ADHD" runs his own business.  A third works for a venture capital firm, where his ability to pay attention to multiple things at once allows him to perceive widespread industry trends (and net a huge salary).  As anyone who watches the Sopranos knows, the same traits that prevent us from following the rules make us good at breaking them.

The number of young children diagnosed with developmental disorders and put on medication has increased dramatically in recent years.  My mother is a kindergarten teacher and says a third of her students are on medication for being hyperactive.  What!  Five year olds are hyperactive.  I know because I teach them.  I find that if you outcrazy them, they make you their leader and do whatever you say. 

In Japan, a nation of office workers and where I work, there is a famous proverb: the nail that sticks out gets hammered.  Hyperactive children, children who are not interested in solving equations, children who are different in any way are tormented by peers and teachers alike.  School starts at 8:50 and ends at 4:20.  After school, students go to cram schools, where they prepare for standardized national examinations that will determine their life's path.  While such a system allows for very high test scores and high levels of work-ethic, it also fosters one of the largest rates of undiagnosed depression and suicide in the world. 

Labeling people with "disorders" because they think and behave differently has been on the rise in recent years.  Arianna Huffington has made curbing such diagnoses and medication for five-year-olds her most recent crusade.  Undoubtedly, seeing such individuals as orchids instead of problems for teachers is a step in the right direction.  It is both moral, and, thanks to recent research, scientific.