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Frank Cotolo
July 15, 2013 |
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Have you ever started to wonder about things and then wonder what you were wondering about in the
first place? This is the kind of thing that sends some people to the doctor, where they wonder if
the doctor is wondering about them or his yacht.
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Wondering used to be a pastime that did not lead to wondering if wondering is a symptom of some
malady. In the times we live, the wondering mind is associated with the conditions known as
Attention Deficit Disorder (A-D-D). Pronouncing the acronym has become the norm when talking about
the condition, though no one speaks the hyphens (A hyphen D hyphen D).
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I don't know why we don't just say the word "add" instead of pronouncing the acronym, since when we
speak of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome we say the word "aids" and we don't pronounce the
letters A-I-D and S. Perhaps it is because I have A-D-D that I cannot understand why we use a word
for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome but only the acronym for Attention Deficit Disorder?
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Again, this is something I wonder and such wondering can make one wonder more and more. As a verb,
"wonder" means to think or speculate curiously. There is no indication in the definition that
curiously speculating at any length or complexity leads to A-D-D. In fact, history insists that
much curious speculation is responsible for great discoveries. One must wonder if the state of
wondering led to discovering A-D-D. If that is the case then there is an incestuous relationship
between the disorder and the function describing the disorder, which defies the definition of both.
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Doesn't that make you wonder?
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Also as a verb, "wonder" means "to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel". Is it
safe to assume, then, that when one is filled with all those feelings then may be engaging in the
function of a mental disorder? Come to think of it, is it safe to assume anything? And why isn't
there an Assume Deficit Disorder? Is it because that condition would also spell A-D-D and people
would wonder which is which?
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Reactions to assumptions can make one wonder if one is neurotic. Some doctors feel neurosis is
"a relatively mild personality disorder typified by excessive anxiety or indecision and a degree of
social or interpersonal maladjustment". I wonder why neurosis is not just called "N", using the
letter (though when speaking the letter it is impossible to know whether a person means to designate
an upper- or lower-case letter).
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