education | Science and Fiction

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Studying with ADHD – a day at university with Miriam.

Content warning

ADHD

The short story

Miriam is stressed. The day has already started off horrible because, once again, she’s slept badly and pressed the snooze button on her alarm clock far too many times. Having just arrived at uni, she rushes into the lecture hall where her seminar is about to begin. Introduction to General Literary Studies. As she enters the room, she realises she was supposed to read a long text in preparation. Damn it, she thinks, I forgot it again. I wanted to – it was actually really interesting – but I just can’t manage more than two pages at a time. Then everything gets a bit of a blur and my brain is in complete chaos! Oh well, I’ll just sit down now, listen and hope nobody notices.

But Miriam didn’t actually need to read the whole text. Miriam has ADHD, a disorder affecting activity and attention. Almost nobody at university knows about it, as her condition is invisible. She finds it difficult to concentrate on one thing, is easily distracted and quickly becomes restless when she has to sit still for long periods or wait for a long time. That’s why she’s given more time than others to complete her university assignments. She is also allowed to complete exams in a separate room and take breaks in between to move around. Miriam applied for this so-called ‘compensation for disadvantage’ at the examinations office. Although it wasn’t easy for her to “come out” there, submit a medical report and fill in the forms. She’d also heard at her university’s help centre for students with disabilities that it might be difficult to get such adjustments for ADHD. Many experienced that applications like this were rejected. She was advised to try anyway, as decisions are always made on a case-by-case basis. So she applied for the adjustments – and she actually got them. Only her lecturer never received it. Miriam simply kept forgetting to give it to her. Because there are so many other things swirling round in her head that she can’t always organise properly. Then she remembered it again, but at some point she felt so embarrassed about handing it in in the middle of the semester that she just let it go.

‘Who knows what the point of it is anyway,’ thinks Miriam. ‘When I think back to Professor Meier’s reaction last term…’ She’d sent him her request for compensation for disadvantage well in advance of the upcoming exam. At first he didn’t reply at all, and when she found the courage to speak to him about it after the lecture, he simply snapped, ‘The exam conditions are the same for everyone.’ I really don’t want another unpleasant experience like that, Miriam thinks, as the seminar is already over again. Thankfully, no one noticed this time that she hadn’t read whole text. During the discussion, Miriam simply let the others do the talking.

A break. But once again, hardly time to relax a bit. So many students all talking at once, such a hustle and bustle in the corridors; it’s noisy, with distractions everywhere that you can so easily get caught up in. That’s why Miriam prefers to withdraw; she doesn’t go to the canteen – that noisy hall – but looks for a quiet corner instead. Today is no exception. A bit of peace and quiet to recharge her batteries before carrying on.

The next event is a seminar on poetry. Miriam relaxes a little. This is her favourite seminar to attend. Right at the start of the term, the lecturer, Mr. Schröder, sent an email to everyone in the course: “If you are entitled to compensation for a disadvantage or have any special needs that I can take into account in my seminar, please do get in touch with me.” Miriam hadn’t expected that; no one had ever asked or offered such a thing before. At that moment, she felt so seen and taken seriously that she replied straight away without hesitation. She wasn’t afraid that she wouldn’t be believed or that it would put her at a disadvantage. It took the pressure off, as it was clear from the outset that she would be given more time for the essay she would soon have to write.

The seminar is now in full swing. Some of her fellow students are currently discussing a poem. Miriam realises she’s getting restless and can no longer follow the discussion. At times like this, she often doubts herself. The others are doing all this much better, she thinks whenever she finds herself unable to keep up in the seminar again or hasn’t completed an assignment on time. In reality, Miriam’s grades are above average, but she sometimes finds it hard to see that.

The discussion in the seminar goes right over Miriam’s head. Her nervousness mounts and she starts drumming her fingers on the table. Mr. Schröder smiles briefly and says, “You’re welcome to move around a bit if it helps you stay focused. Or shall we take a short break – three minutes?” Miriam is relieved. That’s just what I needed, she thinks. And the break seems to do the others good too. Afterwards, everyone is much more focused on the task at hand. A short break – a small thing, really, but a great help to Miriam.

Miriam is done. She finds it almost impossible to cope with more than two classes a day. In addition, she sometimes feels a bit strange at university, without being able to say exactly why. Even in the canteen, amidst the loud conversations and hectic movements, she often feels out of place. Despite all this, she enjoys her studies and is passionate about her subject. And every now and then there are moments like today, when Mr. Schröder took her need for a break seriously in the poetry seminar. Little gestures like that give her hope and show her that she’s welcome at uni and that she belongs there. She’s now also found the courage to tell her colleague Ayla about her ADHD. Ayla was surprised at first, but then completely open and understanding. Sometimes they now spend their break together – in a small, quiet café a little way from the canteen.

Miriam is certain that she can get through her degree, even if it isn’t always easy. She just needs a bit more time and lecturers who understand her situation.

This story was originally written in German and translated to English by Helena Hartmann using DeepL. It was written without any help of AI.

The study

Bröder, C., Schwabe, U., Burkhard, J., Gröschl, B., & Hoche, R. (2025). Chancen schaffen, Vielfalt fördern: Studierende mit Beeinträchtigung im Blick. Impulse für eine inklusive Hochschullehre. DZHW. https://doi.org/10.21249/dzhw:inklusivelehre:1.0.0

Used data: Die Studierendenbefragung in Deutschland 2021. Available through the FDZ DZHW: https://doi.org/10.21249/DZHW:sid2021:1.0.1.

Connection between story and study

Many students find themselves in the same situation as Miriam. Almost a quarter have a health condition, which makes studying more difficult for many of them. However, most of these conditions – particularly mental health issues – are invisible and therefore often go unnoticed by lecturers and fellow students.

In the study I conducted together with Ulrike Schwabe, Jannis Burkhard and Benjamin Gröschl, we focused on students with a health impairment at German universities. The findings, which are based on data from a Germany-wide student survey, show that health-related impairments are not at all uncommon among students. Twenty-five per cent of all students have some form of health impairment, whilst 16% state that their impairment makes their studies more difficult. The proportions vary across subject groups, but on average 11–24% of students across all subjects report such a disability. In most cases, the disability is not noticeable to others, or only becomes apparent at a later stage. Mental health conditions are the most common, but mobility, sensory or chronic disabilities, as well as multiple disabilities, are also present.

Although there are no notable differences in academic performance between students with and without disabilities, students with disabilities tend to rate their own abilities as lower. They also feel less well supported by teaching staff and more often feel out of place at university. Almost all report difficulties – with organising their studies, in teaching and during examinations. Most mention problems with the workload. Many find measures to compensate for disadvantages helpful, particularly when it comes to examination problems. However, these measures are rarely asked for, often due to uncertainty as to whether they are even entitled to them, or a lack of awareness that this option exists at all.

Miriam’s fictional story not only illustrates the difficulties that people with health impairments can face whilst studying. It also shows the difference that lecturers can make when, through their attitude and open communication, they demonstrate that inclusive teaching is not just a buzzword for them, but that they actively practise inclusion at university.

The author

Charlotte Bröder is a research assistant in empirical educational research at Free University Berlin. The study was carried out in collaboration with Ulrike Schwabe (DZHW), Jannis Burkhard (DIPF) and Benjamin Gröschl (LMU Munich) and was produced as part of the ‘EQUAL-NET’ project (Inequality across the Life Span – An Interdisciplinary Network of Research-Practice-Partnerships), which was funded by the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (grant number 01JG2305).

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

What if the mightiest technologies of today morph into a child’s plaything and homework companion tomorrow?

Content warnings

None

The short story

Noah stared at the table. The sun was barely up, but his mind was a cauldron of ideas waiting to burst forth. Suddenly, he raised his hand, and with a swift motion, he conjured a fantastical landscape.

Mountains shot up towards the sky, casting surreal shadows over a couple empty coffee mugs. Rivers meandered through the cliffs, leading to deep oceans. A couple houses popped up, and with another wave of his hand the landscape was filled with lush vegetation and clouds. As Noah marvelled at his creation, a smile crept across his face as his imagination unfolded before him. He was overjoyed with this feeling that anything he could think of would simply appear in front of him.

Then suddenly he was interrupted: “Finish your breakfast buddy; it’s almost time for school!” With a final wave of his hand, Noah, just 10 years old, makes the entire landscape disappear and grabs his breakfast like his mom told him.

This magical landscape wasn’t just Noah’s imagination at play; it was his homework, an interactive lesson about the wonders of nature. His teacher, Mrs. Anderson, added this assignment to his try-at-home activities. According to his mom, she used to do these kinds of things on paper, drawing them herself, but Noah never managed to get the picture in his mind onto the paper like that. Each day, he and his classmates made their own worlds to learn about ecosystems, geography, and the delicate balance of the natural world.

Noah shares these fantastical worlds with his friends at school. He has a large classroom with a lot of other kids, but he enjoys going there a lot. Mrs. Anderson was always there to help with all sorts of stuff, while the school’s A.I. assistant talked him through his class problems. Neither of them would just give him the answer, no matter how nicely he asked, but he always figures it out eventually. Sometimes the computer is wrong or confused, just like Noah. That’s okay; Mrs. Anderson always knows how to fix it and explain things in a different way.

Noah’s world is still small; he spends most of his time at home and at school. Noah is part of the generation growing up with these tools, and the impact of these technologies goes a lot further than his classroom. Through games and creative exercises, Noah is learning how to use technology and A.I. to make his own life easier and prepare him for a new world where this has become the norm. Noah’s knack for using A.I. in games will come in handy when he grows up, allowing him to maybe even think of completely new ways to do tasks. Working with this technology will most definitely be a lot easier and more natural for him than for his parents, who struggled a bit when businesses and industries adopted A.I. into their core workflows. This was not all that different from previous generations who struggled with using computers, smartphones, or social media.

In a matter of a few years, A.I. systems were incorporated into more and more aspects of life. At first, A.I. changed mundane tasks, eliminating the need to spend hours drafting, struggling to articulate ideas, or wrestling with data. The A.I. seamlessly took over these responsibilities. This meant that a lot of jobs disappeared, changed, or were created. The early days were rough as companies were still refining and improving how A.I. systems functioned, and we needed to ensure everyone had equal access and knew the A.I.s weren’t always correct. With time and practice, using A.I. systems became as common as the computer and smartphone before them. integrating and automating our work to a point where we can’t even imagine doing it manually. This future wasn’t filled with starships yet, but there sure were a lot fewer boring, repetitive tasks in our jobs, allowing us to focus on the things we enjoy about our work.

This story was originally written in English and the artwork was generated using AI.

The study

Dwivedi, Y. K., Kshetri, N., Hughes, L., Slade, E. L., Jeyaraj, A., Kar, A. K., … & Wright, R. (2023). “So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy. International Journal of Information Management, 71, 102642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102642

Connection between story and study

This paper dives deep into the whirlwind unleashed by ChatGPT and image diffusion models, exploring their unexpected impact across diverse fields. It’s a collection of expert opinions from various domains, showcasing how A.I. is reshaping the landscape, with a slight focus on research and education. The story shows a future where the concerns in this paper have been addressed and A.I. has become a part of life, like computers and the internet.

Since the publication of this paper, some time has passed. We are used to ChatGPT, so the hype has died down a bit. However, rules and regulations are still lacking, and the concerns that many of the experts raise are still at play. Early adopters have figured out a ton of applications and learned how to get the computer to create exactly what they want to create. Big corporations are now finding their own way, buying or developing models to put into their products. Soon, an A.I. assistant will be incorporated into everyday products like Office, Google, or iPhones, becoming a part of everyone’s lives.

It is no longer a matter of ‘if’; it’s a matter of ‘when’ and ‘how’ this technology will become integrated into our world. We need to deal with the advent of A.I. and its progression. Before we get to that kitchen table scene, we need to make sure that we are ready. The potential is huge, but so are some of the risks. Proactive education on the moral and ethical use and training of A.I. models, robust regulations, adequate accessibility for all (not just wealthy individuals), and research will be incredibly important to deal with risks such as privacy concerns, bias, increasing divides, and misuse. Looking ahead, synthetic media will become more common as we work out the kinks in this initial wave of A.I. tools. I prefer to stay a bit techno-positive, but I do recognize the importance of the problems discussed in this paper. I see a future where A.I. helps make us more efficient, innovative, and improves the overall quality of life for everyone, even as we navigate all these potential challenges.

The author

Fabian is a neuroscientist turned data scientist who now works in marketing. Most of the time he works on data analyses and gives talks about topics such as marketing tools and A.I. tools and ethics.

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A story about babies and robots understanding intentions through gaze.

Content warnings

None

The short story

Less than a year after giving birth to his child Leo, Lucas decided to make his family of two into a family of three by getting a new kitten. “Leo, look, that’s our new kitty!” Lucas gushed, looking over at the new arrival.

As Lucas watched Leo speed-crawl over to the kitten and start pulling its tail, he wondered whether Leo understood that he wanted him to look at it. Did he understand the word kitty, that it corresponds to the fluffy blob currently rolling its eyes and accepting its fate at the hands of a curious baby? Did Leo understand that when Daddy looked at something – particularly if he said Leo’s name and looked directly at him first – that Leo should mentally follow some imaginary beams from Dad’s eyes until they hit some interesting object (the aforementioned fluffy blob)?

Lucas wanted to believe that the answer was yes. With no other adults in the house, it could get pretty boring! Lucas hoped that when he read to Leo – or when he called his name, or when he thought they were sharing a moment – he understood in at least some way what was going on. At the very least he hoped that he understood that he was being communicated to. But what if this wasn’t true?

The kitten let out a loud meow and broke Lucas out of his pensiveness. Leo crawled over, swapping one warm body for another and crawling into Lucas’ lap. Lucas smiled and whispered “I wonder what’s going on in that little brain” as he stroked Leo’s head. Leo’s response was a blank stare, confirming Lucas’ fears.

Determined to be the Best Dad Ever™, Lucas had been obsessively reading about developmental psychology ever since finding out he was pregnant. However, he often found himself going down rabbit holes about topics that weren’t particularly practically relevant for actually raising an infant. Lucas recalled coming across a research paper – while down one of these rabbit holes – about how babies learned to follow gaze.

Lucas vaguely recalled the two theories the paper had presented. One proposed that babies were born with an innate understanding of each other’s intentions. In other words, when Lucas looked at Leo and then looked at the kitten, was Leo thinking “Daddy wants me to look at the kitty”? The other theory suggested that babies learn through being rewarded by repeated interactions. Had Leo just learned over time that he would be “rewarded” with interesting things if and when he did look in the same direction as Dad, without any real understanding of what was going on?

Lucas noticed that Leo was nodding off, tired out from all the excitement of the new kitten. He carefully placed him in his crib, and pulled up the paper on his laptop to have another look. The paper described how other scientists had taught a robot to follow someone’s gaze without the robot needing to have any understanding at all of what was going on! The authors then went on to test whether babies learned in the same way as the robot and found evidence that they did! Lucas paused, for a moment saddened at the thought that Leo had no idea that Daddy was communicating to him. But then his feelings changed, and he picked up his phone and texted his best friend “I just learned that Leo is a genius baby robot, I will not be taking any further questions at this time.”

This story was originally written in English and without any help of AI.

The study

Silverstein, P., Feng, J., Westermann, G., Parise, E., & Twomey, K. (2021). Infants learn to follow gaze in stages: Evidence confirming a robotic prediction. Open Mind 25(5),174-188. https://doi.org/10.1162/opmi_a_00049

Connection between story and study

This publication explores how babies learn to follow someone’s gaze. There are two main theories: one suggests babies understand adults’ intentions from birth, while the other proposes they learn through repeated interactions. Previous research taught a robot to follow gaze, finding it learned in stages (horizontally and then vertically), which challenges the first theory. This study used eye-tracking to test babies’ gaze-following abilities at six, twelve, and eighteen months. Results showed six-month-olds didn’t follow gaze, while twelve- and eighteen-month-olds only did so horizontally, supporting the idea that babies learn to follow gaze through reinforcement learning, rather than innate understanding.

The author

Priya (they/them) is currently a postdoctoral researcher for the Psychological Science Accelerator - a globally distributed network of researchers that pool intellectual and material resources to accelerate the accumulation of rigorous knowledge in psychological science. They are working on a project investigating generalisability (and researcher predictions of generalisability) in psychology. As well as this, they continue to work on a variety of side projects across developmental psychology and metascience.