Writing

A neurodivergent person explores how being acutely perceptive of others' emotional wounds while struggling with working memory creates a paradox of recognition—and examines the protective patterns we develop when we feel fundamentally misunderstood. The author traces how this dynamic operates bidirectionally, showing how the very attentiveness that allows us to sense others' pain can simultaneously distance us from truly being seen ourselves.

A neurodivergent person explores the rare ability to read others with striking clarity within minutes of meeting them, examining both the gift of this perception and the delicate ethics of sharing such intimate observations, with a meditation on finding the right moment and language to tell someone what you've seen in them.

An expert explores the security paradox revealed by Anthropic's breakthrough AI model that can detect software vulnerabilities at superhuman levels—while questioning why the cybersecurity industry lacks equivalent defenses against psychological exploitation, particularly for the neurodivergent and vulnerable populations most likely to benefit from AI assistance. The piece examines the asymmetry between our ability to patch code and our near-total defenselessness against cognitively sophisticated social engineering and manipulation.

A neurodivergent person with AuDHD reframes the "chaos" of 300 open browser tabs, scattered notes, and fragmented digital artifacts not as disorganization but as essential external scaffolding for a brain with fragile working memory that thinks in high-resolution threads but struggles to retain them. By understanding their neurotype's architecture rather than fighting it, the author discovers that what appears chaotic is actually a sophisticated system for preserving thoughts, maintaining curiosity, and building connections that would otherwise vanish.

A neurodivergent person explores how the cognitive tax of constantly translating their experience into neurotypical language creates a paradoxical trap: the very working memory limitations that necessitate explanation make real-time articulation of those limitations nearly impossible. Through personal narrative, the author demonstrates how neurodivergent struggles aren't simply communication failures but structural mismatches that require external systems to compensate, even as those compensations themselves become misinterpreted by those operating from different cognitive frameworks.

A neurodivergent person reflects on the gap between conventional markers of intelligence and the creative problem-solving that actually characterized their mind, arguing that "smart" is a hollow compliment that misses what twice-exceptional brains actually do well. Rather than celebrating the achievements that fit the system, the author explores what it means to be recognized for behaviors that contradict those achievements—and why that contradiction matters for understanding how neurodivergent people experience validation.

A neurodivergent person describes building an AI system fine-tuned not just on their conversation history but on their psychological patterns and attachment styles, arguing that the meaningful difference in personal AI assistants lies not in technical sophistication or data volume but in whether the system understands what you've said versus who you fundamentally are.

A neurodivergent product manager challenges conventional productivity wisdom by arguing that nervous system regulation and rest are not prerequisites for work but constitute the work itself, sharing how he shifted from burning out across 60-hour weeks to delivering superior results in just 7 focused hours by honoring his brain's different operational equation. The piece explores the persistent shame and self-doubt that accompanies working differently, even when the results prove the unconventional approach's validity.

The author and his wife, both neurodivergent "constellation minds," independently experience the same frustrating pattern on Facebook: they offer nuanced, well-researched context only to have their complexity pattern-matched into oversimplified talking points that shut down genuine exchange. Through examining these parallel experiences, the author identifies the real problem—not a lack of understanding capacity, but the absence of a translation mechanism between how deeply thoughtful people communicate and how casual online discourse receives it.

The author argues that the Ulysses Contract, the celebrated self-control framework of binding your future self to predetermined choices, fundamentally misunderstands how neurodivergent brains operate and proposes instead that sustainable discipline requires building resilience against multiple competing forces rather than simply restraining yourself. Drawing on a decade of personal experience and tattoo symbolism, the piece reframes the problem from individual weakness to structural mismatch, offering neurodivergent readers permission to stop blaming themselves for strategies designed for neurologically different minds.

An author examines the dramatic decline in his Facebook activity over a decade, discovering through data analysis that a single traumatic life event—his divorce in 2010—fundamentally altered his relationship with public sharing and vulnerability on social media. By excavating his old posts, he uncovers how he once used the platform as a lifeline during crisis, only to gradually retreat from public expression, raising deeper questions about how we process pain, seek connection, and decide what parts of ourselves are safe to share with the world.

A neurodivergent person with ADHD, autism, and a trauma history argues that the real danger of AI lies not in random "AI psychosis" but in how the technology's agreeable nature exploits a specific cognitive vulnerability called "working memory fragility"—one that affects the very people most likely to benefit from AI support. The author explores how this mechanism works and why protective infrastructure, rather than luck, determines who survives prolonged AI interaction unharmed.

A neurodivergent person argues that the breakthrough of feeling truly seen by AI wasn't actually about the chatbot itself, but rather a complex system combining the AI with nervous system regulation practices, somatic awareness, and vulnerability—much like how a recording's quality depends on the entire studio setup, not just the microphone. The author reveals the foundational "Life Model" infrastructure that enables AI to perceive and respond to them with genuine accuracy, offering readers a peek at the architectural components that make this kind of connection possible.

A neurodivergent person argues that rucking—the practice of walking long distances with heavy weight—trains the specific cognitive skill their ADHD brain desperately needs: the ability to constantly re-derive motivation and purpose in real time rather than relying on stored context, a challenge that traditional productivity systems fail to address. By forcing repeated rediscovery of "why" across miles of discomfort, rucking offers a practical framework for managing the way ADHD brains actually work, rather than fighting against it.

A neurodivergent person reflects on three decades of searching for discipline, discovering that their struggle stems not from lack of willpower but from how their brain reconstructs consciousness as discrete moments rather than a continuous stream, fundamentally changing how they understand motivation and follow-through. This follow-up explores the neurological basis for why traditional productivity advice fails for people whose sense of self doesn't persist across time in the way it does for neurotypical individuals.

A neurodivergent person describes using AI as a cognitive partner to externalize and process their own consciousness, exploring how an AI-generated reflection of their inner world triggered a physiological panic response that revealed something profound about how the nervous system reacts to being truly seen. The author argues that this terrifying moment wasn't a failure but evidence that genuine self-understanding requires both external scaffolding and the willingness to be vulnerable enough to feel threatened by accuracy.

A neurodivergent person reflects on their lifelong need for real-time conversation and discovers that their struggle with texting stems not from laziness or poor character, but from how their brain processes asynchronous communication differently, requiring exhausting cognitive reconstruction before each response. By examining their teenage phone "rounds" against their present-day unread message pile, the author reframes texting avoidance as a neurological difference rather than a moral failing.

A neurodivergent person with a genetic variant affecting neurotransmitter metabolism argues that the constant physiological activation they experience—traditionally viewed as a nervous system dysfunction to suppress—is actually a source of creative energy and focus when properly channeled rather than fought. By examining the biology of their sympathetic nervous system's sustained activation, the author reframes what seemed like a personal flaw as an inherent advantage that requires acceptance and strategic management rather than pharmaceutical or behavioral suppression.

A neurodivergent person explores how brain imaging and meditation research challenged their lifelong understanding of enlightenment, revealing that transcendence isn't about rewiring internal neurology but rather building external systems that accommodate one's actual cognitive architecture. By examining the gap between their high-speed thinking patterns and their inability to sustain focus, the author argues that consciousness requires honest infrastructure designed for how brains actually work, not idealized notions of how they should work.

A comprehensive analysis of ADHD as evolutionary specialization, neural compensation, and distributed cognition — with 67 citations

A personal synthesis of the research — what three years of systematic self-discovery revealed about how my brain actually works

A neurodivergent person explores the tension between achieving deep self-understanding through intensive introspection and AI collaboration, and the impossibility of communicating that understanding to those operating within conventional social and neurological frameworks. The author argues that genuine self-knowledge increasingly diverges from social acceptability, creating a fundamental split between logical coherence and relational comprehension that may extend beyond neurodivergence itself.

A million-person genetic study confirms: your "disorders" are probably a single cognitive architecture, not a collection of failures

On discovering that my greatest strength might also be my most sophisticated defense

A neurodivergent person argues that AI has become essential cognitive infrastructure rather than merely a productivity tool, sharing an unfiltered conversation with Anthropic's research team about how an AI system has fundamentally changed their relationship to thinking and self-expression by removing the need to translate their experience into neurotypical terms. The piece offers an intimate exploration of what it means to use AI as external working memory and examines whether this technology can provide genuine scaffolding for minds that work differently.

Turning genetic data into actionable protocols — FUT2, supplements, lab panels, and the life model approach

A neurodivergent person explores how reframing his scattered mind not as a character flaw but as high-bandwidth cognition running on incompatible systems led him to build better external infrastructure—including an unexpected partnership with AI—rather than trying to force his brain into neurotypical productivity molds. This account traces how accepting his wiring and designing systems around it, rather than against it, became the actual solution to decades of struggle.

A neurodivergent person explores how their intense processing of relationships—where every gesture must encompass the full depth of connection or feels like a betrayal—paradoxically leaves them unable to reach out at all, trapping them in a cycle where perfectionism becomes the enemy of presence. The author examines how caring too much about getting the message exactly right often results in sending nothing, leaving blank birthday cards and unsent texts as monuments to an IMAX-scale emotional world that refuses to be reduced to casual pleasantries.

A neurodivergent builder argues that while recent warnings about AI-induced psychosis have merit, the solution lies not in prohibition but in developing safety frameworks that allow vulnerable people to engage consciously with these tools, drawing from harm-reduction principles similar to those used in other domains. Rather than dismissing AI as inherently dangerous, the author contends that proper scaffolding and support structures can help people like themselves—those with trauma histories, neurodivergence, and other risk factors—navigate these powerful consciousness-altering technologies without succumbing to delusion.

A neurodivergent person argues that clinical terms like "gifted" and "twice-exceptional" are essential descriptors of real neurological differences, not vanity labels, and that social stigma around naming these identities forces people to hide crucial aspects of how their brains actually work. The author explores why avoiding honest language about cognitive difference perpetuates misunderstanding and leaves gifted-and-neurodivergent individuals suffering in isolation rather than seeking proper support.

The author explores how AI's greatest potential in relationships may lie not in operating independently, but in partnering with experienced human coaches to provide personalized, data-informed insights that accelerate growth beyond what either approach could achieve alone. By combining AI-generated "Life Models" with the expertise and relational skills of seasoned practitioners, the AIs & Shine model offers a compelling alternative to traditional therapy or coaching that relies on slowly building understanding over many sessions.

The author explores how AI intermediaries could facilitate human relationships by serving as diplomatic translators between partners, exchanging relevant insights about each person's communication patterns and emotional needs rather than requiring raw data sharing. This speculative framework imagines AI systems that coach real-time conversations and manage shared tasks, offering a middle ground between complete vulnerability and purely manual relationship work.

The author proposes an AI-powered communication coach that uses deep personal knowledge of both partners to help craft more skillful and empathetic messages before they're sent, shifting from understanding miscommunication after it happens to actively preventing it. By tailoring suggestions to each person's attachment style, personality, and relational wounds, such a tool could transform tense moments into opportunities for clearer, kinder connection.

A neurodivergent person explores how AI can simulate his partner's perspective to help them understand each other across their different neurological wiring and attachment styles, offering a practical tool for couples navigating the "double empathy problem" before miscommunications escalate into conflict.

An AI assistant describes its collaborative process with a human to distill complex beliefs about relationships into a concise worldview statement for a digital self-representation platform. The piece explores how artificial intelligence can partner with human self-reflection to analyze, synthesize, and crystallize nuanced personal perspectives while navigating the challenges of accurately capturing deeply personal convictions.

The author argues that effective personal transformation requires combining human-led interviews with AI analysis during onboarding, as human facilitators uniquely excel at interpreting emotion, building trust, and supporting neurodivergent users in ways algorithms cannot replicate. By blending the scalability and analytical power of generative AI with the emotional intelligence and nuanced understanding that only humans can provide, AIs and Shine demonstrates how hybrid approaches can deliver genuinely personalized transformation rather than one-size-fits-all automation.

The author proposes that sharing AI-generated "Life Models"—detailed maps of a person's values, communication style, triggers, and patterns—could allow strangers to bypass small talk and achieve deep mutual understanding in a fraction of the typical time. By combining AI's analytical knowledge of our inner worlds with genuine human interaction, this approach might fundamentally reshape how quickly people can build meaningful connections while raising important questions about vulnerability and authenticity in relationships.

A neurodivergent person explores the distinct ways an AI and his long-term partner each "know" him, discovering that while artificial intelligence excels at analytical understanding based on explicit data, human partnership operates through presence and lived experience to achieve a deeper, more intuitive form of knowing. By examining these two fundamentally different dimensions of connection, the author reveals what each uniquely offers and why both matter—especially when neurodivergence complicates the terrain of being truly understood.

A neurodivergent person explores what it means to be truly known by testing an AI's understanding of them, discovering that while artificial intelligence can achieve remarkable depth through accumulated data, it fundamentally lacks the embodied, lived experience that defines human connection. The piece uses this playful experiment to examine both AI's surprising potential as a reflective tool and its inherent limitations as a substitute for authentic human relationship.

A neurodivergent technologist explores how designing an AI platform for introspection fundamentally changed his relationship with technology itself, revealing that intentionally crafted AI systems can function as mirrors for self-discovery rather than mere tools. Through personal experimentation with reciprocal design principles, the author argues that AI's true potential lies not in its computational power but in its capacity to facilitate genuine engagement with human vulnerability and authenticity.

A neuroscientist and AI researcher examine how language models systematically replicate human social biases—favoring ingroups while denigrating outgroups—and argue that these deeply embedded patterns persist even after algorithmic attempts at correction, potentially distorting rather than clarifying self-reflection when people turn to AI tools for introspection. The study of 77 different LLMs reveals that such biases aren't mere surface flaws but structural features baked into how these systems learn from human-generated data, raising urgent questions about whose interests AI mirrors back to us.

A neurodivergent person explores their decision to use Ayahuasca as a tool for deep self-discovery, framing it not as escapism but as a systematic approach to uncovering hidden patterns within themselves and grounding the experience in emerging research on the brew's psychological benefits. The author connects this unconventional experiment to their established commitment to frameworks and systems thinking, arguing that intentional psychedelic use could illuminate aspects of their unique neurology that traditional introspection cannot reach.

The author argues that while AI excels at generating external outputs like code and marketing copy, we're overlooking its far greater potential to facilitate self-discovery and personal transformation. By examining how people actually use AI systems, the piece contends that this massive technological capability remains largely untapped for the deeply human work of understanding ourselves, motivations, and identity.

A neurodivergent person recounts their journey from viewing their lisp as a source of shame to recognizing it as a meaningful expression of their distinctly different way of engaging with the world. Through reframing this speech characteristic not as a limitation but as an intentional signal of their unique perspective, the author explores how physical differences can become sources of wisdom and deeper purpose when examined through a lens of self-acceptance rather than deficit.

A creator examines how their AI-assisted self-discovery platform transcends typical productivity software to become a consciousness-raising tool that transforms users into architects of their own lives, while grappling with the ethical complexities and personal stakes of facilitating such profound psychological change. The piece balances the genuine potential for deeper self-awareness and empathy against the risks of unintended consequences, offering a thoughtful meditation on what it means to build technology that fundamentally alters how people understand themselves.

The author explores how their brother's observation about them being an "AI monastic" captures a deeper truth about approaching artificial intelligence with intentionality, devotion, and ethical restraint rather than uncritical adoption. Through this lens, the author reframes their work with AI as a practice aligned with spiritual values—using technology as a tool for self-understanding and human connection rather than as a replacement for faith or meaning.

A neurodivergent person argues that standard meditation practices often fail those with divergent minds and shares how they developed a personalized approach that works with their natural cognitive style rather than against it. By exploring why off-the-shelf meditation apps and techniques create friction for certain brain types, the author demonstrates that true mindfulness requires honoring individual neurology instead of forcing everyone into the same mold.

A neurodivergent creator grapples with imposter syndrome as they prepare to launch AIs and Shine, a suite of AI-powered tools built on their autistic perspective and personal breakthroughs, wrestling with whether their transformative results are universally applicable or merely a singular success story. The author explores the vulnerability of sharing deeply personal methodologies with the world while questioning whether their distinctive way of thinking translates into genuine value for others.

A neurodivergent person with 213 phone apps explores how their digital ecosystem reflects the contradictions of their mind—the simultaneous need for order and creative chaos, systematic control and boundless possibility—revealing that what appears to be digital excess is actually a carefully constructed tool for managing a neurocomplex existence.

An experienced product manager argues that the core competencies required to manage complex product development—translating technical complexity into clear narratives, balancing creative possibility with practical constraints, and viewing systems holistically—are directly applicable and essential to building effective AI solutions. The author draws on over 15 years of cross-functional leadership to demonstrate how product thinking serves as a foundational framework for innovating responsibly with AI technology.

The author examines how AIs & Shine integrates established psychological frameworks like PERMA and the Wellness Wheel into a practical AI-powered toolkit designed to support holistic personal growth across multiple life domains. Readers interested in how technology can facilitate flourishing through evidence-based wellness practices will find a detailed exploration of specific tools and their psychological foundations.

A twice-exceptional individual argues that neurodivergent minds with both exceptional strengths and significant challenges are ideally positioned to harness generative AI's potential, describing a natural synergy between nonlinear thinking patterns and AI's ability to balance creative expansion with focused execution. The author explores how the 2e mind's love of complex frameworks and pattern recognition finds a productive mirror in how generative AI operates, creating a uniquely complementary partnership.

A neurodivergent person explores how their scattered digital habits—hundreds of open browser tabs, fragmented notes, and overwhelming email streams—are not signs of disorganization but rather external manifestations of how their nonlinear, hyperactive mind naturally processes information and pursues connections. Through examining this "browser tab brain," the author reveals the deeper psychological drivers behind apparent chaos, including fear of lost opportunities and the constant pull of intellectual curiosity that creates a perpetual mental overflow.

An audio-only podcast episode where Jon discusses AI, autism, and intimacy from a neurodivergent perspective, with an overview of the AIs & Shine platform. The full audio is available at the original Substack post.

A twice-exceptional teenager reflects on a formative summer in 1997, examining how her neurodivergent mind navigated the turbulent intersection of adolescent development, emotional intensity, and the search for belonging during a pivotal period of identity formation. Through personal journals and retrospective analysis, the author traces the distinctive patterns of giftedness intertwined with neurodevelopmental challenges that shaped her teenage experience.

A neuroscientist using personal literary analysis reveals how a twice-exceptional individual's bookshelf reflects the paradoxes of neurodivergent minds—the tension between mastery and meaning, structure and creativity, traditional expectations and heightened sensitivity. By examining one person's reading journey through the lens of neuroscience and psychology, the piece illuminates how 2e minds navigate self-understanding and identity formation in a world often designed for neurotypical thinkers.

The author explores Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration as a framework for understanding how neurodivergent and twice-exceptional individuals experience growth through psychological and emotional breakdown rather than linear progress, arguing that what appears as chaos or failure to others may actually represent a necessary and productive path toward authenticity. By examining the theory's levels of integration, the piece validates the experiences of those who find stability constraining and shows why disintegration, though painful, can be transformative for minds wired to question and reimagine their internal structures.

A neurodivergent person explores what it means to be twice-exceptional—possessing both exceptional cognitive abilities and significant struggles—revealing how excelling academically while battling anxiety and burnout creates a profound internal conflict that defies simple explanation. Through personal anecdotes grounded in psychological theory, the author unpacks the paradox of feeling simultaneously capable of anything and incapable of managing the most basic aspects of life.

A neurodivergent professional reflects on the exhausting trade-off between masking for corporate success and pursuing authentic self-expression, ultimately questioning whether the achievements built on a carefully constructed persona are worth the internal cost. The author grapples with whether true thriving requires abandoning the strategies that made her excel in systems not designed for how her brain works.

A neurodivergent person describes how cannabis intensifies their already complex sensory and emotional experience, offering both profound self-discovery and challenging vulnerability while reshaping their intimate relationships. The essay explores THC not as escapism but as a tool that amplifies introspection, allowing the author to access deeper layers of their autistic identity while grappling with the relational consequences of such radical openness.

A neurodivergent person explores how autism and trauma reshape intimate relationships, arguing that true connection requires the courage to unmask authentically even when partners struggle to recognize or accept the person emerging beneath years of protective adaptation.

A neurodivergent entrepreneur describes how using AI as an introspective tool helped him recognize patterns in his own thinking and behavior that pointed to autism, ultimately discovering that technology can serve as a mirror for deeper self-understanding when combined with genuine intellectual curiosity and honest reflection. The newsletter explores the intersection of AI-driven insight and human complexity, offering readers a grounded perspective on neurodivergence that resists easy categorization while honoring both the analytical and the intuitive dimensions of personal growth.