Great Minds on Learning

Schools, universities and training departments took shape in the age of mass printing initiated by Guttenberg and others in the Sixteenth Century CE. Jeff Jarvis, In The Gutenberg Parenthesis (2023), argues that this development opened a parenthesis (or bracket) which closed with the rapid spread of internet technologies in or around the year 2000. We are now in a post-text, perhaps post-literate age, which in many respects looks more like what preceded the parenthesis.

The phrase, The Gutenberg Parenthesis was coined by Lars Ole Sauerberg at the University of Southern Denmark and the idea was developed by Thomas Pettitt. It argues that the age of print — roughly 1600 to 2000 — was an interruption in the normal run of human communication.

Great Minds has been on this ground before: two episodes in May 2024 covered the invention of writing, and literacy and orality. This is a sequel, which addresses the impact on learning of low-cost publishing without gatekeepers, social media and AI. If the bracket really has closed, the consequence is not a curriculum change: it's structural.

In this episode:

• What you would actually see in a medieval university
• Chaucer, Dante and Petrarch: authorship before print
• The riot of forms — broadside ballads, pamphlets, corantos, newspapers, the essay, the novel, etc.
• The arrival of silent reading
• Post-literate or post-print? The reading statistics, and the middle-class moral panic
• Why text-based assessment is the wrong test for a world of doing
• Is an LLM the most Gutenbergian object ever built? Derrida, tokens and decoders

Links and resources:

• Jeff Jarvis — The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023)
• Walter Ong — Orality and Literacy; and his doctoral work on Ramus
• John Amos Comenius — Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658)
• Michel de Montaigne — Essais (1580) · Miguel de Cervantes — Don Quixote (1605)
• George Thomason — the Thomason Tracts, British Library
• David Goodhart — Head Hand Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century (Allen Lane, 2020)
• Donald Clark — Learning Experience Design, second edition
• Donald Clark — AI and Productivity (Kogan Page)
• Previously on Great Minds on Learning: the two Scribes episodes, May 2024 — the invention of writing, and literacy and orality

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Nobody is born into the world already able to design a brochure, cut a dress, light a photoshoot or shred on the guitar. All of it has to be learned. The question this episode asks is how, and whether the answer has anything to teach the rest of us.

In this episode, Donald Clark and John Helmer focus on the people who make things: artists, designers, film crews, painters, musicians. Both of them have history in different parts of this territory. John has been a working musician and songwriter, and worked in advertising and arts PR. Donald sat on the board of Skillset and spent ten years as deputy chair of the Brighton Dome and Festival.

They take us on a journey, from Ruskin's drawing classes to punk's screen-printed sleeves, art schools, the golden section ... and what a skill is worth once the machine has copied the homework.

In this episode:

1. Introducing Creators and Learning
2. Four Thinkers: Ruskin to Robinson
3. Applied Arts and Design
4. Screen and Audiovisual Arts
5. Visual Arts and the Art School
6. Performing Arts and the Grassroots
7. AI and the Means of Production
8. Summing Up

Links and resources:

• John Ruskin — The Elements of Drawing (1857): https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30325/30325-h/30325-h.htm
• Herbert Read — Education Through Art (1943)
• Elliot Eisner — The Arts and the Creation of Mind (Yale, 2002)
• Ken Robinson — "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" (TED, 2006): https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity
• Ken Robinson — All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (1999)
• John Carey — The Intellectuals and the Masses (1992)
• Bert Weedon — Play in a Day
• Andy Clark — on the predictive brain
• Tomorrow's Warriors — grassroots jazz development
• New Generation Jazz
• Brighton & Hove Music Service
• Donald Clark — AI and Productivity (Kogan Page): https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/ai-and-productivity-9781398623316

CONNECT WITH LEARNING HACK

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/@JohnHelmerConsulting
• X: @johnhelmer
• Threads: @jphelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

What education and workplace learning can take from sports coaching.

Modern sports coaching has abandoned the drilling of isolated techniques in favour of practice that is variable, contextual and informed by data. Opening Season 8, John Helmer and Donald Clark ask what education and workplace learning can learn from sport. From constraints-led practice and Moneyball analytics to AI tutors, coaching and performance support.

In this episode:

• Practice, Constraints and Variability
• Deliberate Practice and Autonomy
• Gadgets, AI and Analytics
• Scenarios, Simulations and Coaching
• Desirable Difficulty and the AI Tutor
• Multimodal Learning and Performance Support

Links and resources:

• Donald Clark — Learning Experience Design (second edition in preparation)
• Donald Clark — AI and Productivity (Kogan Page): https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/ai-and-productivity-9781398623316
• Nick Shackleton-Jones — How People Learn (Kogan Page)
• Jeff Jarvis — The Gutenberg Parenthesis
• Johan Huizinga — Homo Ludens (1938) — see also GMoL16, Gamification
• Michael Lewis — Moneyball (2003)
• Jabbr — boxing and combat sports analytics
• Jamestown Analytics — Tony Bloom's recruitment analytics company
• STUDI Blog post https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/ Website: https://studi.ie/ Books How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football's Data Revolution by Ian Graham AI for Sports by Chris Brady

CONNECT WITH LEARNING HACK LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer YouTube: www.youtube.com/@JohnHelmerConsulting X: @johnhelmer Threads: @jphelmer Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social Website: learninghackpodcast.com

Recorded live at Online Educa Berlin, this episode of Great Minds on Learning explores AI and the Global South through history, hard lessons, and contemporary debate. John Helmer and Donald Clark examine early techno-utopian experiments, the ethics wars around AI, and newer perspectives rooted in language, power, and lived experience. From Negroponte and Mitra to Gebru, Arora, Manyika, and Mugane, the conversation asks who AI is really for—and who gets to decide.

00:57 – Intro

01:58 – Introduction to AI & the Global South

14:11 – Nicholas Negroponte

17:38 – Sugata Mitra

24:11 – Global South takes on AI

28:11 – Timnit Gebru

32:27 – Payal Arora

37:39 – James Manyika

43:12 – John Mugane

54:49 – Summing up

58:41 – Q&A

Great Minds on Learning explores 2,500 years of learning theory—from the Greeks to the geeks. Hosted by John Helmer and Donald Clark, the podcast connects historical ideas to today's debates in education, technology, and society.

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• Website: https://learninghackpodcast.com

In this final episode before the summer break, Donald Clark and John Helmer explore the rise of happiness and wellbeing as central themes in psychology, education, and policy. From Seligman's Positive Psychology to Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach, they examine the thinkers who defined the science—and pseudo-science—of flourishing. Is wellbeing a universal human right, or a set of scantly-evidenced models that has somehow become an industry? And what happens when AI becomes your therapist?

⏱️ Timestamps

• 00:00:00 - Start
• 00:01:24 - Intro
• 00:02:25 - Introducing Wellbeing
• 00:09:07 - Martin Seligman (1942–) & Richard Layard (1934–)
• 00:21:47 - Ed Diener (1946–2021)
• 00:29:57 - Carol Ryff
• 00:41:22 - Corey Keyes
• 00:51:01 - Amartya Sen (1933–) & Martha Nussbaum (1947–)
• 00:58:37 - Lucy Foulkes
• 01:09:03 - Summing up

🔗 Contact

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

Learning at Scale, from Theory to Action.

This episode explores the thinkers who shaped organizational learning—how institutions learn, adapt, and evolve. From Herbert Simon's decision theory to Argyris and Schön's double-loop learning, Peter Senge's "learning organization," Japanese knowledge creation, and Finnish activity theory, we trace how learning moved beyond individuals to become a strategic force for change. A must-listen for anyone in leadership, workplace learning, or change management.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 - Start
• 00:01:24 - Intro
• 00:02:23 - Introducing Organizational Learning
• 00:06:29 - Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001)
• 00:18:38 - Chris Argyris (1923–2013) & Donald Schön (1930–1997)
• 00:30:14 - Peter Senge (1947–)
• 00:43:17 - Ikujiro Nonaka (1935–2025) & Hirotaka Takeuchi (1946–)
• 00:57:01 - Yrjö Engeström (1948–)
• 01:07:20 - Summing up

Connect:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

The surprising modernity of medieval minds.

This episode explores the medieval thinkers known as the Schoolmen—philosophers who fused logic, faith, and classical learning to shape what would become the modern university. From Anselm's ontological argument to Ockham's razor, Donald Clark and John Helmer examine the enduring legacy of scholasticism on how we teach and learn today.

Timestamp

• 00:01:24 - Intro
• 00:02:23 - Introducing The Schoolmen
• 00:07:27 - Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109)
• 00:14:53 - Peter Abelard (1079–1142)
• 00:28:02 - Hugh of St Victor (1096–1141)
• 00:38:41 - Albertus Magnus (c. 1200–1280)
• 00:44:02 - Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
• 00:50:15 - Duns Scotus (1266–1308)
• 00:59:54 - William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347)
• 01:05:32 - Summing up

Connect

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• X: @johnhelmer
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• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

In this episode of Great Minds on Learning, John Helmer and Donald Clark examine prominent critics of higher education. Economist Bryan Caplan, linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, and tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel offer powerful critiques of the academy. Meanwhile, Harold Wilson, Jennie Lee, and Paul LeBlanc present alternative visions for more inclusive and effective systems. Is higher education broken—or just in need of reinvention?

TIMESTAMPS

· 00:00:00 - Start

· 00:01:54 - Intro

· 00:02:55 - Introducing Critics of Higher Education

· 00:07:19 - Bryan Caplan (1971–)

· 00:20:10 - Noam Chomsky (1928–)

· 00:31:41 - Peter Thiel (1967–)

· 00:44:06 - Harold Wilson (1916-1995) & Jennie Lee (1904-1988)

· 00:57:11 - Paul LeBlanc

· 01:06:15 - Summing up

Connect with us:

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· X: @johnhelmer

· Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social

· Website: learninghackpodcast.com

Education's Ideological Battleground. Education is never entirely neutral. In our own time it has been increasingly seen as deeply ideological. However, whose ideology is being promoted – and does unpicking one set of biases only serve to replace it with a different, opposing set? Donald Clark and John Helmer explore the provocative ideas of influential theorists Paulo Freire, Allan Bloom, Henry Giroux, Judith Butler, Camille Paglia, and Jonathan Haidt. This episode dives into critical pedagogy's role in shaping today's contentious educational culture wars, examining how these thinkers challenged traditional perspectives, ignited fierce debates, and reshaped our understanding of education's relationship to power, politics, and identity.

Episode timestamps:

• 00:01:54 – GMoL intro
• 00:03:00 – Introducing Critical Pedagogues
• 00:07:37 – Paulo Freire (1921-1997)
• 00:18:23 – Allan Bloom (1930-1992)
• 00:34:06 – Henry Giroux (1943–)
• 00:43:21 – Judith Butler (1956–)
• 00:59:48 – Camille Paglia (1947–)
• 01:14:41 – Jonathan Haidt (1963–)
• 01:35:15 – Summing up

Contact:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html Contact Donald

• X: @DonaldClark
• Blog: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/

From Babbage to Turing: the roots of AI.

In this first episode of Season 7, Donald Clark and John Helmer trace the roots of modern computing and AI through six foundational figures—Babbage, Lovelace, Hollerith, Bush, Newman & Flowers, and Turing. Exploring their machines, insights, and visionary ideas, they uncover surprising links between early data technologies and the digital learning landscape of today. Expect Steampunk vibes, deep dives, and a speculative look at how history shaped learning innovation.

• 00:01:54 - Intro
• 00:02:58 - Donald & John catch up - Donald's new tattoo
• 00:05:42 - Introducing Roots of AI: Early Computing
• 00:13:41 - Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
• 00:24:14 - Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
• 00:36:31 - Herman Hollerith (1860-1929)
• 00:50:43 - Vannevar Bush (1890 - 1974)
• 01:02:50 - Maxwell Newman (1897-1984) & Thomas Flowers (1905-1988)
• 01:10:25 - Alan Turing (1912-1954)
• 01:28:20 - Summing up

Great Minds on Learning comes from the Learning Hack team and is produced by John Helmer. The podcast is based on a series of blog posts written by Donald Clark, who kindly collaborates on this project.

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnhelmer
• X: @johnhelmer
• Bluesky: @johnhelmer.bsky.social
• Website: learninghackpodcast.com

The Blog that started it all: https://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2021/09/these-were-written-as-quick-readable.html Contact Donald

• X: @DonaldClark
• Blog: http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/