ped a special interest in treating adolescents and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD) and have never read a clearer or more helpful explanation of how differently the ADD person thinks and processes information from the rest of us (the "Earth People", one of my patients calls the non-ADD persons, since he spent all his undiagnosed life feeling as if he were from another planet). So I chose to read ADD wherever West writes "dyslexia". Be that as it may, and whatever the terminology, it is enormously supportive and helpful to my ADD patients when I explain their observations of their differences in West's terms. There is a poster in my waiting room showing a picture of Einstein, with a reference to how poorly he did in elementary school and the caption: "They said he was a nice enough kid, but no rocket scientist..." West discusses Einstein, and Faraday, and Maxwell, and how they thought differently; what a useful way to understand that not all differences from the norm are inferiorities. For the kid or adult who wonders if she is stupid but is certain she doesn't learn the same way as most of those around her; for the parent who is searching for some way to validate an unhappy child; for the teacher who is struggling to understand the pupil who seems to have brilliant flashes interspersed with an almost stuporous inattention and a talent for intrusion and non sequitors; for the mental health worker who is searching for a model with which to understand these most enigmatic clients; for the skills coach who KNOWS these kids and adults are NOT "lazy, stupid, or crazy", and needs some way of showing this to them... for all these sojourners with the ADD person, this book is enormously helpful and stimulating. I use material from it every day, gratefully.
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cognized the dangerous trajectory humankind was hurling toward. In short, we have developed systems incoherent with life-systems. We have energy, finance, production, and many other systems foundational to our civilization that do not result in the regeneration of life. We have mutated dis-harmonically from the precious aspect of Spaceship Earth's Life Support Systems. Ironically, we haven't found another inter-galactic habitat that offers the same kind of support as our own. However, an awareness of this dilemma has spread globally among the commons in a variety of manners from nuclear power-plant disasters, toxic plastic in our water, lack of dignity for all forms of life, and a myriad of other situations. My realization to this dynamic occurred a couple of decades ago when I realized and witnessed the influence the communications network had on human behavior; and that it wasn't oriented toward the benefit of life, but the short-sightedness of manipulation and control. Since then, I have been on a quest for what Buckminster Fuller described as a fulcrum point. A dynamic point that if you apply some energy toward it, it would catalyze a significant shift in the direction of a system - similar to the rudder of a ship. This took me on a journey across many disciplines spanning anthropology to virtual reality in search of that fulcrum. The journey was extremely humbling because of the wisdom we have available to us from our history and present day. It also frequently caused despair because of the magnitude of corruption that permeates so many of our systems. It made me question whether we were worth the effort of trying to help. But continuously I would encounter amazing people and fellow earthlings to inspire and fuel my pursuit. Paul Quaiser - Human Sustainability Institute
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