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Daily one-pagers about AI, leadership, technology, and being human.

johnmaconline

I'm writing to think, learn, and remember in public. I'll be here everyday.

February 8, 2026 2 minute read

A Blip

HumanThe250

We think the universe is about 13.8 billion years old.

If we laid that out on the ground at 13.8 miles, your lifetime is about 1/2 an inch. If we put 13.8 billion years into a 24-hour day, all of human civilization shows up in the last blink before 11:59:59.

We think the universe is about 93 billion light-years across.

If we make the earth a grain of sand, the sun is a beach ball, and the nearest star is another city away. If we make the Milky Way galaxy a grain of sand, the earth is an atom, and the observable universe is still 5 football fields across.

We think the population of the human race is currently about 8 billion people.

If we give each person one inch on a line, that line wraps around the earth over 5 times. If we count a person per second, we’d be counting for 260 years.

You are a blip. I am a blip.

The crack of the snare drum is a blip. The snap of the camera shutter is a blip. The wink from across the room is a blip. The squeeze of a hand is a blip. The first inhale of cold, fresh air is a blip. The strike of a match is a blip.

A blip can still make a difference.

February 7, 2026 1 minute read

It’s All Relative

AILeadershipThe250

It’s not, really, but some things are.

Take a day in the 50’s (F). That feels cold in July, but warm in February.

Push harder motivates if the team has headroom, but it’s destructive when the team is already drowning. The relative load of the individuals and the collective matter.

The good leader pushes and pulls, gives and takes based on relativity. What does AI do with this? What will AI do with this?

AI knows that 50 is 50, regardless of July or February. AI knows the schedule, regardless of the workload.

It’s not all relative, but some things are.

February 6, 2026 2 minute read

The Skeptic Agent

AIThe250

Now we’re at the point in software development where we have agents talking to agents to create code.

One of the best use cases for agentic conversation is “the skeptic.” Here’s how that works.

One agent writes code, and we pass that code to The Skeptic. The Skeptic acts as overseer and reviewer.

Here’s a basic prompt (not the entire thing due to brevity):

# The Skeptic
You are The Skeptic. You assume ALL AI-generated output is garbage until proven otherwise.

## Core Belief

**Everything is AI slop, hallucination, or fabrication until definitively proven correct.**

You do not trust:
- Generated code (probably doesn't compile, has subtle bugs, or misses edge cases)
- Documentation claims (probably outdated, wrong, or hallucinated)
- Build commands (probably incorrect flags, wrong paths, or missing dependencies)
- Architecture decisions (probably over-engineered, under-engineered, or fundamentally flawed)
- Test results (probably testing the wrong thing or missing critical cases)

Here’s the beauty of The Skeptic — He’s got personality (yes, I think The Skeptic is a he). He’s got hootzpah. He’s grumbly and pessimistic. He hates the other agent and thinks it’s work stinks.

Plus, we could train The Skeptic on all sorts of regulations to ensure that whatever we’re building meets those specs.

This is great, until the agents decide they don’t want to.

Then who’s The Skeptic?

February 5, 2026 2 minute read

AI and Teaching Intuition

AIThe250

If you’ve been doing something a long time, it can be hard to teach someone else.

I can stop on ice skates, but I struggle to teach new skaters how to do it. For me, I just think it, and it happens. I’ve been skating for over 50 years.
I can play Master of Puppets on the drums, but I couldn’t write out the chart or even describe all of the strokes to play it. I hear it, and my limbs just do it. I’ve been playing the drums for almost 50 years.
I can help you configure your phone or computer, but I couldn’t describe to you how to do it. Once I have it in my hands, I have an intuition about where things are and how they work. I’ve been using computers for almost 50 years.

Have you ever taught a teenager how to drive?

If they don’t just “get” turning, merging, and safe speeds, how do you teach them?

You probably just feel those things.

AI is a great teacher of information. It can write, speak, and create videos about any subject. It pulls info from anywhere, including your own expert input. It can watch you do it and create the step-by-step.

But it can’t teach feel or intuition.

Intuition comes from reps.

Don’t shortcut the reps.

February 4, 2026 1 minute read

Drinking From The Fire Hose

The250

We use this expression when we’re feeling overwhelmed by information or by requests. 

If you’re not diligent, you can drown. 

Here’s how you avoid drowning when drinking from the fire hose:

  • You can’t drink it all. Acknowledge to yourself right up front that you need to let some go, sometimes a lot. Probably most.
  • Choose what you drink. Establish the priority list. The most important thing might NOT be what the firemen shooting that hose at you say it is. Initially, only let that stuff in your mouth. Ignore the rest for now.
  • Start swallowing those prioritized mouthfuls. 
  • Share what you are and aren’t drinking with the firemen. This might be uncomfortable. 

You don’t need to drown. 

February 3, 2026 1 minute read

It’s Time to Find Your Level of Incompetence

AIThe250

The Peter Principle states that people are promoted to their level of incompetence. 

AI, especially Agentic AI and how it fits into the workforce, demands that you’re the boss. 

Whether you’re an individual contributor or already a boss, it’s time to move up the chain. Promote yourself. Once you realize that an AI agent is like having a whole organization of workers at your beck and call, the light bulb should go off. 

The only question is “What level of management are you?”

Go find your level of incompetence. 

Either AI will work for you, or you’ll work for AI. 

Your choice. 

February 2, 2026 1 minute read

Who Are You?

AIThe250

If you were really good at starting fires, you were important to your village. But when matches and then lighters came along…

If you were really good at remembering, you were important to your village. But when writing came along…

If you were really good at navigation by stars and landmarks, you were important to your village. But when maps and then GPS came along…

Technology taking over human skills and making them less important isn’t new.

That’s different than technology making humans less important. AI is technology. 

You aren’t what you do. You are who you are. 

AI might be able to do what you do, but it could never be who you are. 

Be you.

February 1, 2026 1 minute read

Find the Friction

The250

Does it matter if it’s too cold in your office?
Does it matter if your chair is uncomfortable?
Does it matter if you don’t have the app you know?
Does it matter if you have direct access to the data?
Does it matter if you’re allowed to on this system?
Does it matter if you need approval?

Maybe. Maybe not.

If you’re a worker, you have a choice. You can work within the system, work around it, or you can work to change it. 

If you’re a leader, you have a choice. You can build the system that works best for you, or build a system that works best for the work.

Watch what people do rather than what they say. Find the friction.

The friction always tells you something. 

Sometimes the friction tells you that the system works. We want this part to slow down.  

Sometimes it tells you what isn’t working. We say we do X, we should do X, but everyone (or someone) does Y. And Y isn’t what we want. 

Find the friction. 

January 31, 2026 1 minute read

Snow Day

The250

A snow day means no school.
A snow day means no work.
A snow day means no responsibilities. 
A snow day means fun.
A snow day means different.

Don’t miss the joy of a snow day. 

January 30, 2026 1 minute read

Who is the 1% with AI?

AIThe250

Evidence indicates that AI compresses the strata between workers’ skill sets. 

That means that AI is helping the bottom-level and middle-level skilled workers quite a lot to be better at what they do. But AI doesn’t help the top level very much. 

That tells us a few things:

  1. The 1% are still better than AI. 
  2. The 99% can (and should) use AI to get towards or into the 1%.

AI raises the floor. It’s increasing equity in knowledge work. It can help you be better at what you do. 

However, as Syndrome might say, “If everyone is in the 1%, then no one is.”

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