This episode is about Attention Deficit, both the diagnosed kind and the undiagnosed kind. It’s also about embracing the kind of thinking people who think this way do. The bike industry is filled with people whose minds are fast, flexible, and maybe a little out of control, and that’s ok.
Podcast (revolting): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:21 — 52.5MB)
Good episode, possibly the best thus far. The only thing thing I wanted to make note of is that although attention deficit and hyperactivity are not necessarily mutually exclusive, some of the commentary leaning on the idea that hyperactive energy leads the charge amongst people with ADHD, as in Robot’s close on people with attention deficit ‘creating motivation and energy for other people’ and as being ‘frenetic, here we fucking go’. This assumes a public face to their ADHD and how it might positively serve the collective, like in the energy of seeing HR with Bad Brains, or Cardiel pumping a crowd at a skate contest. Oftentimes though this energy could be viewed as pure chaos, to the point that we might worry about their (and our!) safety given this unbounded energy. As often as not though, attention deficit reveals itself inwardly, that motivation and energy manifesting as a singular, hyper focus at the expense of everything else in that moment…walking away from a half eaten sandwich because you simply had to go to look for the short in your car stereo in the middle of the night, or bailing a film half way through to swap stems to dial in the fit on an as of yet unfinished bike build. To be certain, there is chaos in this as well, doors left open, pots left on the burner, just not the Darby Crash like spinning energy that might serve to positively motivate those around you. Even writing this, my girlfriend is waiting for us to go food shopping, but knows i’m not going anywhere until I finish. But, ya, you are both right, wtf were we supposed to do confronted with the education system as it was?! We did well in the things towards which we had an innate affinity/proclivity, the rest be damned, making half hearted attempts without much success. It’s only in this age of endless children’s assessments that through my son’s diagnosis as being on the neurodivergent spectrum that I found that I am as well, but in the 80’s we were just poorly performing students.
Lost generation.
Thanks
Oh ya, Steve’s ‘worst student in the world’.
I get it, and sure, we may not be worse than those who have given up being students, but in the sample of current students we still might feel that way, and yet still be able to eke out a degree, somehow, someway.
I love this… And thank you so much for the very thoughtful response.