The famous post-modernist scholar, Michel Foucault, famously discussed how medieval European societies’ attitudes to mental disorders were very different from those found in the modern world. In his landmark work, ‘Madness and Civilization’, the French scholar talked about how medieval European societies tended to see individuals suffering from as ‘special’, who had access to otherworldly, divine knowledge not available to others. This, as you can tell, is a very different attitude from how mental disorders are looked at today: As aberrations and pathologies that need to be corrected.

And while Joe Rogan may not be big on post-modernism, he does think that at least one of the most common mental disorders in America today is a superpower, as he told World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres on his podcast.

“I subscribe to the idea that ADHD is a superpower, I really do, because I think the people that can’t focus on nonsense, generally speaking, they can focus on things they love. Really focused, they get really excited about certain things, but everything else they can’t be bothered with. Like when I was a kid, I remember being in math class and checking out ‘cuz I said ‘Wait a minute, can I do this on a calculator?'” the UFC commentator said on episode #2315 of the JRE podcast.

“Yes, there are calculators, right, and there’s an unlimited supply of batteries, right… I’m like ‘I’m out, I’m not going to think about math now because this is not something I’m interested in, if I can do all this math on a calculator.’… Obviously, that’s a dumb way to think, I was 13,” he added.

Well, Rogan is largely right here. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do have trouble focusing on most tasks, there are some things that they can hyperfocus on, especially if they find that thing pleasurable. That, of course, can lead to breakthroughs or insights in certain fields like academia and the tech sector, where sustained focus is needed to arrive at said breakthroughs.

But then again, hyperfocus is a double-edged sword and puts people suffering from ADHD at greater risk of developing addictions. But to hear Rogan tell it, ADHD is overwhelmingly positive and the main reason he is so successful.

Why does Joe Rogan credit ADHD for becoming one of the most influential people in the world?

“You know, that’s one of the best things that happened to me through this podcast, that I get to talk to so many different people, that have lived so many different lives, and have so many different passions. And so many different interests, and so many different things that they have studied. It’s an amazing education. But I was a lot like you. I didn’t want to sit in school. Whatever ADHD is, I have it,” Rogan said.

Indeed, before Rogan started having two- to three-hour conversations with interesting people who specialized in a particular niche field, no one ever thought that format would be successful. But the UFC commentator, who dropped out of college because he just wasn’t interested in it, but was still curious and open-minded about learning new things, was able to make it a success precisely because of these ‘disadvantages’.

Some of the things Rogan describes, like not being able to pay attention in class, are consistent with ADHD. But to be fair, self-diagnosis is looked down upon in the medical field, so Rogan saying he has ADHD should be taken with a pinch of salt. What do you think about Joe Rogan’s thoughts on ADHD?