Why dyslexia is not a ‘disorder’ but an evolutionary advantage
https://nu.federati.net/url/286817

>The experts suggested that dyslexia, which causes difficulty reading, writing and spelling, is a useful specialisation and not a “neurocognitive condition”.
>
>Non-dyslexics are better at using knowledge and exploiting what is already there while dyslexic people have a particular knack for tackling the unknown with gusto.
>
>And in the days before literacy, this penchant for adventure would have been invaluable in helping societies adapt and thrive.
>
>About one in five people have dyslexia, and their tendency to push the envelope would have been balanced out by other members of a prehistoric society, leading to a well-rounded group with equally useful skill sets.
>
>However, Dr Helen Taylor, from the University of Strathclyde, and Dr Martin Vestergaard, from the University of Cambridge, said that dyslexia was now seen as a problem because modern education systems focused on the things sufferers struggled with and neglected what they excelled at.
>
>They reassessed past studies on dyslexic individuals and disagreed with the prevailing theory that it was a cognitive deficit.
>
>“Striking the balance between exploring for new opportunities and exploiting the benefits of a particular choice is key to adaptation and survival and underpins many of the decisions we make in our daily lives,” said Dr Taylor.
>
>“Evidence strongly indicates that individuals with developmental dyslexia do not have a disorder but instead, are specialised in explorative cognitive search,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
>
>However, since the invention of written language, dyslexia has been seen as a problem, not a talent.
>
>“Schools, academic institutes and workplaces are not designed to make the most of explorative learning,” said Dr Taylor.
>...

Related: Can dyslexia ever really be a superpower
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/can-dyslexia-ever-really-superpower/

While I have dyslexia to a limited degree, mostly transposing joining letters and numbers, I can see how the "specialised in explorative cognitive search" works for myself, I see patterns where other don't and I also think it help with the programming I do, when I don't mistype things.