‘I don’t like the term neurodivergence – it sounds like political correctness’: Werner Herzog on fans, fanaticism and baby foxes
www.theguardian.com
The Bavarian auteur talks directing Kate and Rooney Mara in Bucking Fastard and his popularity on Instagram

Contemporary psychiatrists might detect behaviour (in the plot of Herzog’s latest film) consistent with autism or ADHD hyper-focus. Not Herzog. “I do not relate to all these trendy terms – I just can’t hear it, it dusts out of my ears,” said the Bavaria-born US-based director, speaking in the idiosyncratic, heavily accented English familiar to viewers of documentaries like My Favourite Fiend. “Neurodivergence sounds like there’s some sort of clinical aberration – these sisters are dead centre.”

  • FinjaminPoach@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    17 days ago

    An argument i heard along these lines:

    "What is neurodiversity? What is neurotypicality? Because if you’re definining a “normal” and a “non-normal” brain, then what datum (baseline) or point of reference do you use to determine who is normal or not?

    The answer is productivity and subservience. The neurodiverse person is generally just someone who breaks from the anticipated program, doesn’t produce value for an employer … "

    Same guy went on to suggest that ADHD people thrived throughout history when we weren’t all tied to such

    My thoughts on this are that even if ADHD is “not real” in some way, the help available for it is essential healthcare and should be made available to people anyway. If it is real in a very definite way (e.g an ADHD gene that could be turned on or off) then it should be noted that even non-ADHD people benefit from the psychological and medical help directed towards sufferers of ADHD. So nobody should take our care away.

    If ADHD is ‘not real’ in some way, we are all still suffering those symptoms; smartphone addiction, crippling disconnection, brain fog, exhaustion, difficulty socialising and anxiety. They’ve gone up more recently, suggesting either than modern times are worse for ADHD people or that ADHD is “not real” and rather the combination of multiple symptoms like these - hence the problem being modern life in general.

    • applebusch (she/her)@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      10·
      16 days ago

      its definitely real though. the way my brain responds to stimulants is completely different from how people without ADHD respond. often caffeine has no effect on my wakefulness at all, and usually makes me sleepy, unless i have a lot. and taking my prescribed stimulants makes me calm and focused where others would be euphoric and amped up. thats the most clear evidence that my brain literally functions differently, but theres also a mountain of other more subtle evidence.