The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.
-- Rabindranath Tagore
Perhaps, in the spirit of this book as one that attempts to reach consensus—as opposed to truth, which requires a pre-established ground as proven by Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem—through exclusion, it is easier to say who this book is not for. Like any creator, I would like my content to be shared, read, and ruminated over as widely as possible. The Chair of the Department of Philosophy where I did my Masters always told me that it was important to be as rigorous as possible—to be able to defend your argument against the strongest possible counterargument. I hope to have done that, and because it is completeness I desire, I would be more than happy to entertain any sort of justified criticism that any reader can muster. It is the best way to identify gaps and improve my understanding of reality and my place in it. In this manner, this book is for anyone, friend or foe. But let me be more specific.
This book is for both the neurotypical and the neurodivergent. It is for the neurotypical in giving them a chance to see inside the mind of someone with substantial neurodivergence. To see into a world that they could not subjectively understand. With greater emphasis on diversity, affirmative action, and the recognition that those who think differently have something to contribute that may even be profound while being available as a vast pool of labour that is constantly underemployed, it is important that neurotypical people have some sort of basis of understanding of how some neurodivergent mind works. Of course, my mind is not representative of every sense of neurodivergence out there, but as I have been diagnosed at different times with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder in addition to my epilepsy, and others have commented that I appear to be "on the spectrum" due to the way I conduct myself, I feel I can at least provide an example of a different way of thinking than what is considered typical complete with a neuroscientific explanation of how this might come about. In addition, I speak in general of mental illness and the mental health crisis we are facing, and speculate on the mechanisms that could cause them. It is hoped that this will help to further open the minds of those that are neurotypical to see neurodivergence as being as natural as any other spectrum of ability or proficiency. For example, there are those that can swim, and there are those that can swim really well. Practice is important, but large feet cannot be taught and provide a huge advantage.
Politically active / Politically apathetic
Travellers / Non-travellers
Stable / Adventurous
Old / Young
Academics / Professionals
Neuroscientists / Amateur brain enthusiasts
Historically colonial / Historically colonized
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