A short YouTube monologue (uploaded Jan 23, 2024 by Katie McManus) arguing that Leonardo da Vinci likely had ADHD. The speaker cites patterns of unfinished paintings and many untested or nonfunctional inventions (e.g., flying machines) as evidence and frames these behaviors as consistent with ADHD-like inattentiveness/impulsivity rather than solely external factors.
Leonardo da Vinci absolutely had adhd. There's no way this man did not have adhd. Most of his inventions didn't work. He designed flying machines that. I'm sorry, did not work. Like, I. I don't know if he ever tested them, but I'm pretty sure people would have died. He started so many paintings that he never actually finished. You know, and back in the day, when people would commission an artist to do a painting and they didn't finish the painting and they just kind of skedaddled to another city, state, I can imagine that was pretty scary because these rich people had, like, people, you know, with weapons that they could hire to send after you. And yet, here's a man who let himself be frustrated, left things unfinished, because could you imagine trying to develop a flying machine that's just not working? And you've been working on it for years, and it's something you're doing in your spare time, and no one's actually paying you for it because, you know, no one actually believes that people can fly.