I’m Ian. I live in the Midlands, England. I spent roughly twenty years working in community education and accessibility — helping people with disabilities, cognitive challenges, low skills, and chronic illness learn to use technology. I watched, many times over, what made the difference between a tool that transformed a life and one that arrived too late to help.
I know that from the inside now. I have a progressive neurological condition. I’m watching my abilities slowly change, and I’m in a quiet race against time — building systems and learning tools while I still can, so they’re there when I need them more than I do today.
This blog documents that process. Specifically, it documents what it’s like to use AI — Claude, made by Anthropic — as a genuine cognitive partner when your bandwidth is genuinely limited. Not a search engine, not a chatbot. A thinking partner that works at your pace, without social overhead, available whenever you need it.
The blog runs across three sections. My Journey: The Blog is the personal strand — what this actually feels like from the inside. AI Tips is the practical strand — guides and observations that anyone in a similar situation could use. Mind, Consciousness and AI is where I explore the deeper questions that living with cognitive decline and using AI every day inevitably raises.
Everything here is written semi-anonymously — first name only, no identifying location details, no names for the people close to me. That’s a deliberate choice, not an evasion. The condition is real, the experience is real, and the thinking is mine.
If something here resonates, or if you’re in a similar situation and want to make contact, I’d genuinely like to hear from you.
Get in touch
You can reach me at thinkingathalfspeed@gmail.com
This blog is written with the assistance of Claude. That’s not a footnote — it’s rather the point.
Thinking at Half Speed 