1. Do you think that Daniel belongs in Mensa? Why?
2. How does he describe Santa Monica? How does Daniel see the world differently than others? How does that present itself in his descriptions?
3. What is the point of the phone call on page 31, can you relate it to any similar situation in your life?
4. Is Daniel’s cleanliness representative of something other than the need for a clean environment?
5. List three things that you keep in the back of your mind and do not often express.
6. Why does Philipa seduce Daniel? What part of the conversation do you think convinces her to go through with it?
7. How does Daniel’s relationship with Brian begin?
8. What does the magic square say about Daniel? Who else does Daniel say is interested in magic squares? Why does he bring them up?
9. How does the magic square alter his relationship with Clarissa? Have you ever discovered a hobby that a friend had that shocked you?
10. The jog with Brian is a turning point in the book. Agree or disagree.
11. How does Daniel divide his mail? Is there a similar process in your life, anything that you divide into components? How does that kind of organization help someone?
12. Read the following quotes and choose which one you like best. Explain your choice with your understanding of the quotation.
a. “The point is, you see,” said Ford, “that there is no point driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself from going mad. You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later.” (Adams)
b. “The neurosis in which the search for safety takes its clearest form is in the compulsive-obsessive neurosis. Compulsive-obsessive to frantically order and stabilize the world so that no unmanageable, unexpected or unfamiliar dangers will ever appear”. (Maslow)
c. “Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence.” (Bierce)
d. “Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.”(White)