I have been exposed to a lot of different ideas. That is probably the most important thing for my readers to know. Admittedly, this is very general information, but I think this is the most important thing you can know about me.

Why should you care about that? The answer is simple; you are likely reading this because you want to know if I can be of any service to you, and that's a very good reason! Clearly, I can only serve you if I have something to offer. How else can an author serve his reader than to share true, new, and useful information? So, what you really want to  know about me is whether or not I have what it takes to provide insight.

Because I have studied within several different disciplines academically, worked many different jobs professionally, and done many other things in many different places, I am somewhat de-centered; I have scope. The more exposure one has to the varieties of life, the more scope one can possess. This is the single greatest credential that I can offer in response to the biggest question about me that you should be asking... "Why should I listen to you?"

Ideally, listening to me will help to add to your own scope. If you learn anything by reading my book, then you have increased the breadth of your own knowledge. Whether or not you are critical or sympathetic, you will gain and grow, unless, of course, you already know everything I have to say.

"Lives of..." usually involve a small biography, but that's likely to be rather boring. In my case, at least, the details and events of my life are not worth noting despite being generally interesting on account of their scope. But, for those who need to know what an author is like in order to enjoy his book, I will at least provide some kind of handle to grab onto. So, instead of a biography, I'll tell you what I'm like by way of comparison. This is not just my attempt at humor, I consider this to be a legitimate means of communicating who I am.

I will choose the method of analogy to complete this task. So, by way of analogy, if you begin with Richard Swinburne (a philosopher) and take away thirty years, a great deal of education, reputation, and intelligence, then add to the mix the socially awkward likeability and carefree nature of Jack Black (a comedian and actor), then you begin to get a pretty good picture of what I am like.

I am a likeable man of merely moderate social skill, which I often regret. Nevertheless, I live a rich inner life that is, fortunately, quite enjoyable, despite being difficult to share. While it is fun to be inside my head, it is not so much fun to be at my side. I try to remedy this by making it as much fun as possible to be in front of one of my creations. I suppose that this is the artist in me speaking.

For those with a need for facts and statistics rather than personality, then please peruse my (2) CV's offered below free of charge.

(1) Art, Graphic Design, and Illustration:

• See my professional CV / Portfolio at www.pensgard.com/design

(2) Philosophy:

• See my CV and recent papers at www.pensgard.com/phildocs