About This Book¶
This intelligent textbook provides comprehensive, accessible coverage of dementia and cognitive decline for patients, families, caregivers, students, and healthcare professionals.
Why Dementia Education Matters Now More Than Ever¶
Dementia is one of the most pressing public-health challenges of the 21st century. As populations age around the world, the number of people living with dementia — and the number of family members caring for them — is climbing fast. Understanding what dementia is, how it progresses, and how to live well alongside it is no longer specialist knowledge. It is essential literacy for almost every family.
In the United States (2024 figures):
- An estimated 7 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia1
- About 1 in 9 people age 65 and older (11.3%) has Alzheimer's dementia1
- Almost 12 million unpaid family caregivers provided an estimated 18 billion hours of care to people with dementia in a single year1
- The cost of caring for Americans with Alzheimer's and other dementias is projected to reach $360 billion in 2024, not counting the value of unpaid family care1
- By 2050, the number of Americans 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to nearly double to 13 million1
- Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and the fifth-leading cause among adults 65 and older1
- Two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer's are women1
- Older Black Americans are about twice as likely, and older Hispanic Americans about one and a half times as likely, as older White Americans to have Alzheimer's or another dementia1
Worldwide:
- More than 55 million people are currently living with dementia globally, with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year — roughly one new case every three seconds2
- The global number of people with dementia is projected to reach 139 million by 20502
- Dementia is the seventh-leading cause of death worldwide and one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people2
- The total global cost of dementia was estimated at US \(1.3 trillion** annually, a figure expected to rise to **\)2.8 trillion by 20302
- Despite its scale, dementia remains widely misunderstood and stigmatized in nearly every country, leaving families to navigate diagnosis and care with little reliable information2
These numbers represent millions of human stories — parents, partners, neighbors, and friends — and the family members who quietly carry them through each day. You are not alone in this. You are joining a global community of learners, caregivers, and advocates working to bring clarity, compassion, and competence to one of the hardest journeys a family can face.
Tokie Believes in You
Hi, I'm Tokie. I know dementia can feel overwhelming when you're first
learning about it — there are so many new words, and so much at stake.
That's exactly why I'm here. This whole book is free and open
source, with no paywalls and no access codes, because every family
facing dementia deserves clear, honest, hopeful information. We'll
take it one chapter at a time, and I'll be with you the whole way
through. Together, we've got this.
A Different Kind of Textbook¶
This book takes a fundamentally different approach to dementia education. Instead of dense medical prose written for specialists, every chapter is written at a 9th- to 10th-grade reading level, with medical terms translated into plain language the moment they appear. Each chapter is narrated by Tokie, a warm pedagogical guide who walks beside the reader through difficult material.
The textbook is built on a learning graph of 200 interconnected concepts organized into 12 categories — from foundational neuroscience through diagnosis, treatment, daily caregiving, and legal planning. Concepts are introduced in the order their prerequisites are established, so understanding builds naturally from chapter to chapter rather than dropping the reader into the deep end.
Throughout the book you will find interactive MicroSims — browser-based visualizations that let you explore brain anatomy, watch how neurons communicate, see how protein aggregation drives Alzheimer's disease, and step through the stages of dementia at your own pace. These are not passive animations. They are hands-on learning labs you control.
Purpose¶
The goal of this intelligent textbook is to give everyone touched by dementia — patients, families, caregivers, students, and healthcare professionals without specialized dementia training — a single trustworthy place to learn what they need to know, when they need to know it.
Features¶
- 15 chapters following a validated learning graph of 200 concepts
- Interactive MicroSims for hands-on exploration of brain anatomy and dementia processes
- Comprehensive glossary of dementia and neuroscience terms in plain language
- Chapter quizzes aligned to specific concepts and Bloom's Taxonomy levels
- Frequently asked questions drawn from real caregiver concerns
- Annotated references to authoritative sources at the end of every chapter
- Tokie, a compassionate pedagogical mascot who guides readers through hard material
- Open source and free — no paywalls, no access codes, no expensive editions
About The Author¶
Rick Tanler is a serial software entrepreneur, business intelligence pioneer, and thought leader currently focused on the intersection of human wisdom and artificial intelligence. With over 35 years of experience, he is best known for founding and leading Information Advantage, Inc., a company that defined the early landscape of data warehousing and business analytics.
In the early 1990s, Rick founded Information Advantage, serving as CEO and Chairman. Under his leadership, the company grew from a startup to over 650 employees in eight years, securing major clients like Target, 3M, Cargill, and Mastercard. He successfully navigated the company through an IPO before its acquisition by Computer Associates in 1999. During this era he also authored The Intranet Data Warehouse (Wiley, 1997) — the first guide to combining corporate data warehouses with intranets — a foundational text that captured the methods he and his peers were pioneering in real time.
Rick has transitioned from traditional data analytics to a philosophy centered on 'Liquid Intelligence' — the idea that intelligence must flow and adapt to uncertainty rather than remaining static. He argues that while AI serves as a 'bulldozer' to clear data, human wisdom is required to navigate ambiguity and consequences.
Rick is also the author of the book The Intranet Data Warehouse, which he collaborated on with Dan McCreary.
Currently, Rick is collaborating with Arun Batchu to operationalize his theories into 'Wisdom as a Service' or the 'River of Infinite Insight'. His goal is to build a peer-to-peer network of experts to capture and distribute high-value, 'tribal knowledge' that AI models alone cannot generate.
How others describe Rick's work:
- Pioneered the concept of "The report is the interface" utilizing intelligent agents
- A leader in Quantitative Data Analysis vs. Qualitative Data Interpretation
- Advocate for "Critical Learning" — the relentless search for truth through deep data engagement
- Expert in predictive market shifts and advanced sales forecasting
How to Cite This Book¶
If you reference this textbook in academic work, presentations, or other publications, please use one of the following citation formats.
APA (7th edition):
Tanler, R. (2026). Understanding Dementia: An Intelligent Textbook. Retrieved from https://rtanler.github.io/Dementia/
MLA (9th edition):
Tanler, Rick. Understanding Dementia: An Intelligent Textbook. 2026, https://rtanler.github.io/Dementia/.
Chicago (Author-Date):
Tanler, Rick. 2026. Understanding Dementia: An Intelligent Textbook. https://rtanler.github.io/Dementia/.
BibTeX:
When citing a specific chapter, please include the chapter number and title — for example, "Tanler, R. (2026). Chapter 2: Brain Anatomy and Function. In Understanding Dementia: An Intelligent Textbook."