Well, the non-eyeroll answer is much more interesting to ponder, even if it doesn't address truth discernment*. Thank you. :-)

I think it would be fair to read the book as a cultural narrative to a great extent, especially given the content of the first section. That said - there are *zero* textual hints, aside from that single sentence at the very beginning, that would lead a reader to the endnotes. No asterisks, superscripts, subscripts, or anything. Do those really trip up readers that badly, that they're best omitted? It seems to me they would have simplified the task of allowing readers to go back and forth between the endnotes and the text.


*Truth discernment could trigger an allergic reaction associated with the philosophy hangover, hah!