Did you see the Gorilla? Good news for Slackers and ADHD sufferers!

Every time we talk about whether or not you saw/missed the gorilla, there are questions regarding if one state is more desirable than the other. If I missed the gorilla, does it mean that I have laser-like focus to my attention and can therefore concentrate better and avoid distractions? If I saw the gorilla, does it mean that I have more discerning visual skills and am more attuned to my surroundings? Daniel Simons, the creator of this research, says that we can't really draw any trait distinctions from this one context, and that individual's ability to selectively focus their attention will vary from context to context. It's kind of a cop out.

However, there has been some interesting research recently regarding ADHD, an individual's inability to focus and what that might mean for creativity. Jonah Lehrer reports in the WSJ about some research which ties this lack of focus to increased creativity as it allows individuals to bring in ideas from unrelated and disparate sources; it appears that for some tasks, focused attention may not always a good thing!