Mike Paul
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Mike Paul
@mikepaul.com
550 followers 210 following 280 posts
Human-Centered Learning in an AI World | Writer | Speaker | Educational Innovator
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mikepaul.com
Remember, you were born a stupendous badass. At least, you hope you were...
"Like every other creature on the face of the earth, Godfrey was, by birthright, a stupendous badass, albeit in the somewhat narrow technical sense that he could trace his ancestry back up a long line of slightly less highly evolved stupendous badasses to that first self-replicating gizmo—which, given the number and variety of its descendants, might justifiably be described as the most stupendous badass of all time. Everyone and everything that wasn’t a stupendous badass was dead." (Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon)
September 2, 2026 at 12:01 PM
mikepaul.com
I've been thinking a lot about this lately, for no particular reason.

#thereisareason
"“I’ve learned over the years that when you have really good people you don’t have to baby them,” Jobs later explained. “By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things. The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B work. Ask any member of that Mac team. They will tell you it was worth the pain.”" (Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs)
September 2, 2026 at 12:03 AM
mikepaul.com
Tomorrow, we start our staff vs. student reading challenge, with a bonus staff challenge. The stretch goal for staff is to average one hour of reading a day from September 1 to October 31. Here's my reading plan; these should cover about 61 hours :)
Tomorrow, we start our staff vs. student reading challenge, with a bonus staff challenge. The stretch goal for staff is to average one hour of reading a day from September 1 to October 31. Here's my reading plan: the four volumes of Robert Caro's Years of Lyndon Johnson. These should cover about 61 hours :)
August 31, 2026 at 11:21 AM
mikepaul.com
"It’s very hard to have ideas. It’s very hard to put yourself out there, it’s very hard to be vulnerable, but those people who do that are the dreamers, the thinkers, and the creators. They are the magic people of the world." (Brené Brown, Dare to Lead)
"It’s very hard to have ideas. It’s very hard to put yourself out there, it’s very hard to be vulnerable, but those people who do that are the dreamers, the thinkers, and the creators. They are the magic people of the world." (Brené Brown, Dare to Lead)
August 28, 2026 at 9:43 AM
mikepaul.com
“I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he’d taken a poll in Egypt?” he wrote privately, in an undated memo to himself. “What would Jesus Christ have preached if he’d taken a poll in Israel? It isn’t polls or public opinion of the moment that counts. It’s right and wrong.” (McCullough, Truman)
"“I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he’d taken a poll in Egypt?” he wrote privately, in an undated memo to himself. “What would Jesus Christ have preached if he’d taken a poll in Israel? It isn’t polls or public opinion of the moment that counts. It’s right and wrong.”" (David McCullough, Truman)
August 19, 2026 at 11:01 AM
mikepaul.com
Let's do this, gang. First day of school for 2026-2027.

Who knows? Maybe it'll also be dissertation completion year for me :)
August 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM
mikepaul.com
"Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements." (Seth Godin, Tribes) amzn.to/4bEgM2s

We need a few more heretics in the education world.
August 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
mikepaul.com
Ursula K. Le Guin was a master we didn't deserve.

#commonplace #scifi #sciencefiction #leguin
"Those who refuse to listen to dragons are probably doomed to spend their lives acting out the nightmares of politicians. We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night." (Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night)
June 10, 2026 at 4:33 PM
mikepaul.com
Every time this quote shows up in my reviews, it hits.

Life is hard, yes. It sucks sometimes. But it will get better.
"“It will,” Wit said, “but then it will get better. Then it will get worse again. Then better. This is life, and I will not lie by saying every day will be sunshine. But there will be sunshine again, and that is a very different thing to say. That is truth. I promise you, Kaladin: You will be warm again.”" (Brandon Sanderson, Rhythm of War)
May 31, 2026 at 5:27 PM
mikepaul.com
The great Harry Dresden, ladies and gentlemen.

#dailycommonplace
"“Holy shit,” I breathed. “Hellhounds.” “Harry,” Michael said sternly. “You know I hate it when you swear.” “You’re right. Holy shit,” I breathed, “heckhounds." (Jim Butcher, Grave Peril)
May 29, 2026 at 1:49 PM
mikepaul.com
"Every problem that society has, the library has, too, because the boundary between society and the library is porous; nothing good is kept out of the library, and nothing bad." (Susan Orlean, The Library Book)

#dailycommonplace
"Every problem that society has, the library has, too, because the boundary between society and the library is porous; nothing good is kept out of the library, and nothing bad." (Susan Orlean, The Library Book)
May 11, 2026 at 12:12 PM
mikepaul.com
Silly routines & rituals
Date stamp in a pocket notebook
April 21, 2026 at 11:40 AM
mikepaul.com
"“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it,” Gracen said with a cynical tone. “Those who do? We’re doomed to watch others repeat it around us while we try to hold things together." (Evan Currie, Archangel One)
March 11, 2026 at 3:13 PM
mikepaul.com
"There are no leaders. There are only terrified souls trying to live till the day when She loses control and the machine turns on Her. Until that day, unless I find a distant hill where the final sleep will free me, I will tell my quiet lies. There is nothing more to it than that. There are no heroes of my generation. That role has yet to be filled. For my part, I am just the locust. I speak of dreams called nightmares. No more should be expected, at risk of driving the reflection so deep into the mirror it will never emerge again." (Harlan Ellison, Stalking the Nightmare)
March 10, 2026 at 1:33 PM
mikepaul.com
Seeing this quote today reminds me of something from Harlan Ellison, “Sat cito, sat bene: It is done quickly enough if it is done well.”
February 25, 2026 at 6:06 PM
mikepaul.com
The danger isn’t that AI can’t teach. It’s that it can simulate teaching well enough that we stop asking what’s been replaced.

www.eclecticeducator.com/p/ai-as-co-t...
The danger isn’t that AI can’t teach. It’s that it can simulate teaching well enough that we stop asking what’s been replaced.
February 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM
mikepaul.com
"Classrooms in which deeper learning is the goal are ones where meaningful academic content is paired with engaging, experiential, and innovative learning experiences." (Kia Darling-Hammond and Linda Darling-Hammond, The Civil Rights Road to Deeper Learning)
February 19, 2026 at 4:33 PM
mikepaul.com
"Historically, the working class has often been more resistant to change than the class oppressing them.”" (Brandon Sanderson, Shadows of Self)
February 18, 2026 at 2:11 PM
mikepaul.com
Well, this was certainly a learning experience. Heck, it still is. I'm working on a couple more articles, so I guess I'm going to get more practice :)

Yes. I am now officially published. This was a team effort, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity.
February 12, 2026 at 10:44 PM
mikepaul.com
This week's hallway quote from Ursula K. LeGuin...
For fantasy is true, of course. It isn’t factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it, too, and that is precisely why many of them are afraid of fantasy. They know that its truth challenges, even threatens, all that is false, all that is phony, unnecessary, and trivial in the life they have let themselves be forced into living. They are afraid of dragons because they are afraid of freedom.
February 9, 2026 at 5:08 PM
mikepaul.com
Tonight's reading materials...
New comic books
September 8, 2025 at 9:09 PM
mikepaul.com
Nice little milestone this evening.
1,000 days in a row reviewing highlights from Readwise
August 31, 2025 at 2:34 AM
mikepaul.com
Saturday mornings are ruff...
Bassett hound asleep
August 30, 2025 at 5:52 PM
mikepaul.com
More students (and teachers) should grasp this concept. School is a great thing, to be sure, but so is learning on your own. If we can bring that type of learning into our schools… oh, what a time we could have.

open.substack.com/pub/austinkl...
School is one thing. Education is another. The two don’t always overlap. Whether you’re in school or not, it’s always your job to get yourself an education.
August 26, 2025 at 2:16 PM
mikepaul.com
"Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear." (Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind)
"Fear tends to come from ignorance. Once I knew what the problem was, it was just a problem, nothing to fear." (Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind)
August 24, 2025 at 3:19 PM