Michael Pershan
@mpershan.bsky.social
math teacher, writer
substack: pershmail.substack.com
website with links to publications etc: michaelpershan.com
substack: pershmail.substack.com
website with links to publications etc: michaelpershan.com
Pinned
Michael Pershan
@mpershan.bsky.social
· Aug 27
Really grateful to the crew at @hexliterary.bsky.social for giving this weird story a home. I can't say enough nice things about hex! I love what they're doing.
hexliterary.com?p=2829
hexliterary.com?p=2829
"The mathematical disciples are so necessary and so organically connected to magic that one who practices magic without them will go completely astray, and his work will be in vain." --Agrippa, 1530s
February 11, 2026 at 1:43 AM
"The mathematical disciples are so necessary and so organically connected to magic that one who practices magic without them will go completely astray, and his work will be in vain." --Agrippa, 1530s
Reposted by Michael Pershan
Dropped a couple excerpts of 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘢 on HAD today to celebrate myself and my book release.
(Also use it to announce an accompanying HAD call coming on Thursday...)
(Also use it to announce an accompanying HAD call coming on Thursday...)
TACOMA by Aaron Burch
THE HOUSE
The house was hard to believe. Bigger, nicer, everythinger than anywhere either of us had lived. Anywhere either of us had imagined we’d be able to live. Probably anywhere you’ve imagined...
www.havehashad.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Dropped a couple excerpts of 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘢 on HAD today to celebrate myself and my book release.
(Also use it to announce an accompanying HAD call coming on Thursday...)
(Also use it to announce an accompanying HAD call coming on Thursday...)
Reposted by Michael Pershan
![Comic. [2x2 chart. Top left quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of dinosaurs stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, and long-neck dinosaur. Top right quadrant: seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, and pteranodon. Bottom left quadrant: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are dinosaurs. Silhouettes of penguin, egret, ostrich, pigeon, falcon. Bottom right: don’t seem like dinosaurs x are not dinosaurs. Silhouettes of squirrel, stapler, plant, person, and bicycle.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihcxd5wcrrf5nxz3g4riglsrccbucmdns6kxrtmtj6gjgwqibp3fi@jpeg)
February 9, 2026 at 9:10 PM
There are a number of these that have just absolutely destroyed me.
Every story in Robert Olen Butler’s Severance are the last 240 words a decapitated person thinks after their head’s been chopped off.
February 9, 2026 at 10:05 PM
There are a number of these that have just absolutely destroyed me.
Reposted by Michael Pershan
roses are red
violets are not
violets are not
Severed head rituals were more widespread in Iron Age Iberia than we thought www.popsci.com/science/seve...
Severed head rituals were more widespread in Iron Age Iberia than we thought
Researchers now think at least two more groups joined the macabre custom.
www.popsci.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:03 PM
roses are red
violets are not
violets are not
How dare Chris Gethard say that he is not a household name. Which households, Chris? www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2uZ...
Preparing for the Creator Economy Apocalypse (with Chris Gethard)
YouTube video by Vulture
www.youtube.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
How dare Chris Gethard say that he is not a household name. Which households, Chris? www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2uZ...
Someone in here already solved one of my teaching problems by dropping a wealth of math contest questions in my lap. Join with the link below!
February 9, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Someone in here already solved one of my teaching problems by dropping a wealth of math contest questions in my lap. Join with the link below!
Drafted a 20 page story, because the other unpublished 20 page stories on my hard drive were feeling lonely.
February 9, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Drafted a 20 page story, because the other unpublished 20 page stories on my hard drive were feeling lonely.
Two announcements, including an invitation to join a math teacher chat space. pershmail.substack.com/p/two-quick-...
Two Quick Announcements
work opportunity + a discord group
pershmail.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Two announcements, including an invitation to join a math teacher chat space. pershmail.substack.com/p/two-quick-...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
Seahawks championship and my new book officially out on Tuesday. Just a giant day for SeaTac. MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING!
autofocusbooks.com/store/p/tacoma
autofocusbooks.com/store/p/tacoma
February 9, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Seahawks championship and my new book officially out on Tuesday. Just a giant day for SeaTac. MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING!
autofocusbooks.com/store/p/tacoma
autofocusbooks.com/store/p/tacoma
Reposted by Michael Pershan
Chris is a kind of writer that I love. I know this because every time he has a new story I love it. This story is no exception. It is funny and surprising and wonderful. Way to go, Chris.
Read my new story about life and death at a community garden. GOD OF THE COMMUNITY GARDEN at the one and only @burialmagazine.bsky.social
God of the Community Garden
burialmagazine.neocities.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Chris is a kind of writer that I love. I know this because every time he has a new story I love it. This story is no exception. It is funny and surprising and wonderful. Way to go, Chris.
The only thing more powerful than hate? Super-hate.
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 AM
The only thing more powerful than hate? Super-hate.
Good vibes in here so far! Teachers, math people, university whatever, all welcome.
February 9, 2026 at 12:33 AM
Good vibes in here so far! Teachers, math people, university whatever, all welcome.
Reposted by Michael Pershan
“Everything you tell me now, I hear for the first time in my life,” is such a better and funnier answer than “is there a sportsball happening”
In 1979, the “New York Times” asked Isaac Bashevis Singer if he planned to watch the Super Bowl.
February 9, 2026 at 12:19 AM
“Everything you tell me now, I hear for the first time in my life,” is such a better and funnier answer than “is there a sportsball happening”
Any teachers out there, especially math teachers: wanna join a discord? Message me!
February 8, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Any teachers out there, especially math teachers: wanna join a discord? Message me!
I recommend
Thunder From a Clear Blue Sky
Gloria Patri
and am preodering
The Walls Are Closing In On Us
Thunder From a Clear Blue Sky
Gloria Patri
and am preodering
The Walls Are Closing In On Us
February 8, 2026 at 7:09 PM
I recommend
Thunder From a Clear Blue Sky
Gloria Patri
and am preodering
The Walls Are Closing In On Us
Thunder From a Clear Blue Sky
Gloria Patri
and am preodering
The Walls Are Closing In On Us
Read this very short Brian Evenson story right now. magazine.nytyrant.com/no-matter-wa...
February 8, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Read this very short Brian Evenson story right now. magazine.nytyrant.com/no-matter-wa...
A huge part of creative research mathematics is asking new questions. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/s...
February 8, 2026 at 1:11 PM
A huge part of creative research mathematics is asking new questions. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/s...
Somehow the article is dumber than the headline.
February 8, 2026 at 3:53 AM
Somehow the article is dumber than the headline.
What I've been saying!
Also if every temperature feels like another temperature, how do you know what any temperature feels like?
February 8, 2026 at 2:27 AM
What I've been saying!
I hate the "feels like" temperature, don't you dare tell me what to feel.
February 8, 2026 at 2:10 AM
I hate the "feels like" temperature, don't you dare tell me what to feel.
I read TRAIN DREAMS today after watching the movie, in general I loved it but the most striking difference to me is how little space DJ gives in the novella to family life before (spoilers) offing them, which sort of reduces the impact of their deaths, which to me feels like a limitation.
February 8, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I read TRAIN DREAMS today after watching the movie, in general I loved it but the most striking difference to me is how little space DJ gives in the novella to family life before (spoilers) offing them, which sort of reduces the impact of their deaths, which to me feels like a limitation.
Listening now!
@mpershan.bsky.social happy Ratboys release day!
February 6, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Listening now!
Reposted by Michael Pershan
I think learning/teaching is about the dance between explicit understanding and our implicit habits, and I think this is confusing, and I think this is also what's confusing about being a person more generally. pershmail.substack.com/p/understand...
Understanding and Habit
Making sense of arguments about teaching
pershmail.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:09 PM
I think learning/teaching is about the dance between explicit understanding and our implicit habits, and I think this is confusing, and I think this is also what's confusing about being a person more generally. pershmail.substack.com/p/understand...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
Just saw a post with George Clinton citing the Beatles as his favorite band, which reminded me of this quote he once gave me
February 6, 2026 at 3:12 AM
Just saw a post with George Clinton citing the Beatles as his favorite band, which reminded me of this quote he once gave me