Hello, Mark, and Welcome to Steemit.

That a very interesting intro! It sounds like you have plenty to write about / post, not only personally (thank goodness), but also academically.

And you've come to the right place. Not only does Steemit provide a pre-fab publishing site, it also offers a wide audience, some (many) of whom will find you.

Below are a few basic points of advice re posting on Steemit.
1 – Longer posts are more lucrative than short posts. If you make a post of 20–30 paragraphs, it's more likely to earn rewards.
2 – Include some photos, images or graphs, to complement the text.
3 – Make sure the text and photos are formatted properly, so that your post looks attractive and appealing.
4 – Be yourself.
5 – Be interesting and informative.
6 – Create quality content. Steemit is intended to be a platform of quality content. (You will see many insignificant posts with meager content and no quality. Most of those of posts [called “shitposts” by Steemit whale Stellabelle] will earn few rewards and soon pass into oblivion.)
7 – Get online and start curating. Read various posts, comment on those posts you find interesting, and upvote those posts. That’s the best way to attract followers.

Hope this helps for now. Good luck, and Full Steem Ahead!

p.s. Unlike you, I never really found Facebook to have any interest or much value for me, so I abandoned it in 2012. On the other hand, since I launched myself here on Steemit, I've been spending most of my days creating various types of content.

Speaking of which, your interests seem not only wide-ranging, but also deep. So, you could possibly consider making SERIES of posts here on Steemit. Most of my posts are parts of large series, and that helps in attracting an interested audience.