[andybak]

"Laughable" seems a little strong (as well as slightly rude).

I certainly think it's plausible that there's certain sectors that see a prevalence well in excess of the general population. And there's enough variance between companies that some will be even higher.

30% does sound rather high but "laughable" implies the person you are replying to has stated something so far beyond that that mockery is the only appropriate response.

[iLoveOncall]

I already changed to "totally unrealistic" before you commented, but yes, I believe that 30% when the prevalence is at 5% for high estimates is so far beyond reality that it can be laughed at.

[throwaway4aday]

By that measure it's totally unrealistic that the average height of NBA players is 6'6"

[dwaltrip]

I don’t think this is the greatest counter example, as there are far fewer NBA players than big-tech engineers.

Small groups can differ significantly from the population average more easily than large groups.

[iLoveOncall]

No, because being tall is a prime factor when hiring NBA players, but having ADHD is not when hiring software engineers.

[loudgas]

Being tall gives you an obvious advantage at basketball. As a result many tall people are drawn to pursuing a career in basketball. Could it be that ADHD gives you an advantage at the kind of tasks involved in software engineering, and that many people with ADHD are naturally drawn to this kind of work, even though the advantage is not so obvious as a physical characteristic like height?

[pcthrowaway]

Perhaps ADHD people are more susceptible to the attention-hijacking effects of computers and software.

So they decide they should go on to work with software since it keeps distracting them from everything else.

Ironic that they end up building even more psychologically exploitative software that hijacks our attention

[nibbleshifter]

The traits often looked for in software engineers when hiring can often bear a striking similarity to the traits an ADHD or autistic person may display.