Love the short post because more of your thinking shared is always good. Reading did prompt one question - you write about "increased randomness" and that just made me wonder, is random a fixed value? Can you be more or less random? Can you be more or less five? Fun way to start my day. Thank you!
Big fan of the short post. I like reading through your thoughts and it's easy for me to find time to read it! Also really love this quote: "it pays to try to be a scientist of yourself". This applies to so many different areas of life and people would really benefit to listen. Whether it's how much sleep you need, your diet, what exercise you do, etc. There are so many different bio hacks, diets, magic pills out there nowadays that promise to be a cure-all. In reality, I imagine people would be far better off listening to their bodies and not trying to mimic the morning routine of some CEO thinking that will lead to success.
As one who has ADHD I was fully prepared to be upset about this. But, in the end, the conclusion is spot-on. I know that for decades I didn't know I had ADHD and my work and personal life suffered. I was like the mice you discuss, I was constantly seeking my dopamine fix, not understanding what I was doing. I know what my Ritalin does for me but I don't know what it would do to someone who doesn't need it.
Great post, thank you! I think we all would like clear, absolute answers, but it really does seem like treating our lives as an ongoing science experiment is the way to go.
Thanks, David. I really appreciate the note at the end too where you say that it's part of a bigger body of work. I'm still thinking about how well Good to Go summarizes bodies of research so I liked you making a nod to something similar. I'm curious now about when you said you molded your work environment to fit your motivational and performance rhythms. What are some ways you've done that?
I'm an ADHD coach (and have it myself). The irony that many of the people I work with would rather not take meds if possible. They often come to me looking for ways to structure their life so they can get the most out of ADHD without the meds.
Also, +1 for a short post today, my ADHD brain thanks you.
Are there any studies on the opposite? Ie Folks who think they need to calm down before a big test and take a beta blocker or the like. I'd be curious about whether folks perform better or just think they do.
Adding my agreement to the other thumbs-ups [I might have made up the plural on that one] on short posts. This one was a fun and helpful read. AND I hope you also expand on this idea in a longer post in the future. For instance, is there a difference in the effect of pain killers on a person depending on if they have pain or not? Same with so many other drugs. As you say, we need to know much more about individual conditions and responses, to everything. But of course, considering the complexity of interactions in even one person's body, the idea of truly personalized medicine will likely remain a distant goal.
Hi David - I'm Arun from India. Range is one of the most helpful books I've read till date.
Coming to the point of this article, I have some personal experience to share. I recently got diagnosed with adult ADHD (in Aug 2023) and have been taking Ritalin for the last 3 months. The biggest way it has helped me is to chug along through the hard things and to push work to completion. The ADHD brain/nervous system works based on ICNU (Interest, Challenge, Novelty and Urgency), while the neurotypical brain can work based on importance. (more on this here - https://adhd.dk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Dodson-How-ADHD-Shapes-Your-Perceptions-Emotions-.pdf)
Without Ritalin, my mind would go beserk and from pillar to post in search of dopamine. I would be hyperactive, impulsive and have a tough time focusing my attention on the task at hand. I would have done a million things before realizing all that i had done was a waste of time (it is quite difficult to get this unless you have ADHD yourself). There is a popular quote in ADHD forums - "we always put in twice the amount of effort to just get half the work done", and this itself is a gross understatement, IMO. Bottomline - My work would be always absolutely scattered and my productivity absolutely zero!
What this study seems to suggest is that, the exact same problem happens even when dopamine exceeds the optimal threshold. It makes your try harder, but it takes your eyes off the ultimate goal. That extra dopamine makes one restless enough to ensure that they quickly lose sight of their ultimate prize!
I'm just jealous of Aristotle who figured out the power of the golden mean before the era of enlightenment and ChatGPT.
I can't agree more with your suggestion on how we all need to be our own scientists and just have one bit to add - we also need to be our own humorists. I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD {for the first time ever on Substack}, after reading this sentence: "In other words, they tried harder, but did worse. In science, the technical term for that is: LOL." While unfortunately this captures the essence of my 33 year life, I'm at least glad that now I know the most important thing in life (Dopamine)!!!
Fascinating! Have they developed a biological test to see who has a high number of dopamine receptors and who is low? It seems like that would be an important cross-reference for the knapsack test, so that you could show a direct correlation between dopamine levels, receptors, and performance. Otherwise it's just inferred. But I really enjoyed this post and would encourage you to do more. I also think these kinds of studies are super important, because it's *so easy* to mistake how you feel with how you think you're performing--a conclusion one could apply even in situations without smart drugs.
Love the short post because more of your thinking shared is always good. Reading did prompt one question - you write about "increased randomness" and that just made me wonder, is random a fixed value? Can you be more or less random? Can you be more or less five? Fun way to start my day. Thank you!
Big fan of the short post. I like reading through your thoughts and it's easy for me to find time to read it! Also really love this quote: "it pays to try to be a scientist of yourself". This applies to so many different areas of life and people would really benefit to listen. Whether it's how much sleep you need, your diet, what exercise you do, etc. There are so many different bio hacks, diets, magic pills out there nowadays that promise to be a cure-all. In reality, I imagine people would be far better off listening to their bodies and not trying to mimic the morning routine of some CEO thinking that will lead to success.
The Q&A are nice.I think the format creates a natural break and makes for an easier read
Great post - keep the short ones coming.
For anyone interested in dopamine and motivation I can highly recommend Dr. Anna Lembke’s book: “Dopamine nation” and the Hubermann lab podcast!
As one who has ADHD I was fully prepared to be upset about this. But, in the end, the conclusion is spot-on. I know that for decades I didn't know I had ADHD and my work and personal life suffered. I was like the mice you discuss, I was constantly seeking my dopamine fix, not understanding what I was doing. I know what my Ritalin does for me but I don't know what it would do to someone who doesn't need it.
Great post, thank you! I think we all would like clear, absolute answers, but it really does seem like treating our lives as an ongoing science experiment is the way to go.
I like all your writing-- so write whatever you want and I’ll probably read it!
Thanks, David. I really appreciate the note at the end too where you say that it's part of a bigger body of work. I'm still thinking about how well Good to Go summarizes bodies of research so I liked you making a nod to something similar. I'm curious now about when you said you molded your work environment to fit your motivational and performance rhythms. What are some ways you've done that?
Great, great, great job.
Thought provoking and an entertaining thoughts and commentary. It even gave me time for including the comments!
It’s good to run some 800 races and not just 5km/10km!
I'm an ADHD coach (and have it myself). The irony that many of the people I work with would rather not take meds if possible. They often come to me looking for ways to structure their life so they can get the most out of ADHD without the meds.
Also, +1 for a short post today, my ADHD brain thanks you.
Are there any studies on the opposite? Ie Folks who think they need to calm down before a big test and take a beta blocker or the like. I'd be curious about whether folks perform better or just think they do.
Adding my agreement to the other thumbs-ups [I might have made up the plural on that one] on short posts. This one was a fun and helpful read. AND I hope you also expand on this idea in a longer post in the future. For instance, is there a difference in the effect of pain killers on a person depending on if they have pain or not? Same with so many other drugs. As you say, we need to know much more about individual conditions and responses, to everything. But of course, considering the complexity of interactions in even one person's body, the idea of truly personalized medicine will likely remain a distant goal.
Hi David - I'm Arun from India. Range is one of the most helpful books I've read till date.
Coming to the point of this article, I have some personal experience to share. I recently got diagnosed with adult ADHD (in Aug 2023) and have been taking Ritalin for the last 3 months. The biggest way it has helped me is to chug along through the hard things and to push work to completion. The ADHD brain/nervous system works based on ICNU (Interest, Challenge, Novelty and Urgency), while the neurotypical brain can work based on importance. (more on this here - https://adhd.dk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Dodson-How-ADHD-Shapes-Your-Perceptions-Emotions-.pdf)
Without Ritalin, my mind would go beserk and from pillar to post in search of dopamine. I would be hyperactive, impulsive and have a tough time focusing my attention on the task at hand. I would have done a million things before realizing all that i had done was a waste of time (it is quite difficult to get this unless you have ADHD yourself). There is a popular quote in ADHD forums - "we always put in twice the amount of effort to just get half the work done", and this itself is a gross understatement, IMO. Bottomline - My work would be always absolutely scattered and my productivity absolutely zero!
What this study seems to suggest is that, the exact same problem happens even when dopamine exceeds the optimal threshold. It makes your try harder, but it takes your eyes off the ultimate goal. That extra dopamine makes one restless enough to ensure that they quickly lose sight of their ultimate prize!
I'm just jealous of Aristotle who figured out the power of the golden mean before the era of enlightenment and ChatGPT.
I can't agree more with your suggestion on how we all need to be our own scientists and just have one bit to add - we also need to be our own humorists. I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD {for the first time ever on Substack}, after reading this sentence: "In other words, they tried harder, but did worse. In science, the technical term for that is: LOL." While unfortunately this captures the essence of my 33 year life, I'm at least glad that now I know the most important thing in life (Dopamine)!!!
Loved the shorter format
Fascinating! Have they developed a biological test to see who has a high number of dopamine receptors and who is low? It seems like that would be an important cross-reference for the knapsack test, so that you could show a direct correlation between dopamine levels, receptors, and performance. Otherwise it's just inferred. But I really enjoyed this post and would encourage you to do more. I also think these kinds of studies are super important, because it's *so easy* to mistake how you feel with how you think you're performing--a conclusion one could apply even in situations without smart drugs.
Enjoyed this short post and learning about the topic. Plan to learn more.