Astrology and ADHD

Many years ago, I owned a book on astrology. This provided detailed descriptions of the types of personality associated with each of the twelve star signs. I was born almost at the end of the month of August, and so fell within the Virgo range. Reading the book, I did find some congruity between my own character and that attributed to Virgo. However, I find it difficult to believe that the motions of the constellations affect individual character or the events in our lives, although seasonal variations may play a part. The school year in England begins on the first day of September, and so I was the youngest child in my primary school and in every year group throughout my education. I believe this had a profound effect on my personality - always being the youngest, struggling to be taken seriously by my more confident and more grown-up peers.

Few doubt that personality is deeply affected by the experiences of childhood and adolescence, and also by the culture in which a person is raised. But there are clearly variations between people raised in similar circumstances, and these variations have attracted the attention of philosophers and psychologists. The result has been multiple definitions of personality types and traits in levels of detail that rival those proposed by my old book on astrology. A recent approach is to define different types of personality as variants of psychopathology, of which the most popular is ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This began as a diagnosis for a specific range of behaviour problems in young people, but has since been extended to include adults with milder symptoms. People in the latter group (which may include myself) tend to start more projects than they finish, have problems beginning tasks which do not interest them, are restless, sometimes disorganised, and may be loners. On the other hand, they are creative, recognise patterns where others do not, and are good in a crisis. They are therefore useful members of a team.

‘Team’ here is the crucial word. A good team has a balance of different types of people with a range of useful skills, and well-balanced teams of this kind are the major productive force in human society. Seeing society as a network of teams differs from the opinion that society is little more than a relentless competition between individuals. In organisations built on such principles, people with ADHD can be disadvantaged, and may compare themselves ruefully with people who are ‘neurotypical’. But this is a misconception. There are many other types of personality besides ADHD, and those who rise to the top in big organisations are often people with self-seeking, conformist, and ruthless personalities. As Lord Acton wrote, "Great men are almost always bad men". Another problematic personality type is found among those who are conformist, uncreative, fearful of change and diversity, and willingly subservient to any powerful individual they can worship. Thankfully, most people fall in neither group, and are kind, tolerant, and caring. I am lucky to be married to a wife with such a personality.