And all too soon & before you knew it, you're the mentor.
...doesn't seem fair, huh. ;^)
Alec...Just a comment on presentation and editing. What's with the double-barrelled phraseology? And the extended metaphor?
While this exercises your obviously impressive vocabulary, it has the effect of doing two things - a) clouding the real points you are trying to make and b) make you come off as verbose. Verbosity, is often construed as a being more puff than substance.
Cutting to the chase, might also reduce your essay to a more manageable read. Just a few initial thoughts. I will admit, I haven't had the time to read the article throughout. I hope to get back to it later in the day.