Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
@jackmitcham.bsky.social
👨💼 Risk analyst / Operations researcher
🚀 Sci-fi writer working to become a sci-fi *author*
📖 Writing a novel set on a tidally-locked iceball planet, where wealth inequality follows the temperature gradient
👱♂️ Dad to the sweetest boy in the world
🚀 Sci-fi writer working to become a sci-fi *author*
📖 Writing a novel set on a tidally-locked iceball planet, where wealth inequality follows the temperature gradient
👱♂️ Dad to the sweetest boy in the world
If this were Roshar, they would both be Windrunners of the third ideal.
"I will protect even those I hate, so long as it's right."
"I will protect even those I hate, so long as it's right."
Two women trained as first responders were abducted by three ICE agents. One of the agents starts seizing. The other two don’t know what to do. The women jump into action and save the agent’s life, only to be re-handcuffed and processed.
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
www.startribune.com/detained-by-...
Detained by ICE, two women became first responders during agent’s seizure
The women say they guided agents through the emergency, later raising concerns about medical protocols, weapons safety and accountability.
www.startribune.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:10 PM
If this were Roshar, they would both be Windrunners of the third ideal.
"I will protect even those I hate, so long as it's right."
"I will protect even those I hate, so long as it's right."
If you focus on ICE, he says 30 points underwater on affordability and goes underwater on ICE too.
This isn't hard.
This isn't hard.
People are waving around 50/50 polling on abolish ICE and in the same poll Trump’s is like 30 points under water on affordability. It’s not at all crazy for professional politicians to think there’s a bigger advantage in talking about the latter!
January 22, 2026 at 11:29 AM
If you focus on ICE, he says 30 points underwater on affordability and goes underwater on ICE too.
This isn't hard.
This isn't hard.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
If we had a working Congress—and if the Republican party actually meant *any* of what it said over the last half-century about holding the Constitution and liberties dear—there would massive hearings, there would be firings, there would be impeachment proceedings.
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 10:14 PM
If we had a working Congress—and if the Republican party actually meant *any* of what it said over the last half-century about holding the Constitution and liberties dear—there would massive hearings, there would be firings, there would be impeachment proceedings.
When I was lower rated in #chess, I thought very highly of people rated ~1900. But they blunder constantly. I see almost no difference here compared to 1500. This opponent (black) was rated 1886, with a peak rating of 2042.
This was a 5/0 game, so plenty of time.
This was a 5/0 game, so plenty of time.
January 21, 2026 at 4:52 PM
When I was lower rated in #chess, I thought very highly of people rated ~1900. But they blunder constantly. I see almost no difference here compared to 1500. This opponent (black) was rated 1886, with a peak rating of 2042.
This was a 5/0 game, so plenty of time.
This was a 5/0 game, so plenty of time.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
You HAVE to stop WHATEVER you're doing and WATCH THIS www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5XR...
GWAR cover “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan
YouTube video by The A.V. Club
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:33 PM
You HAVE to stop WHATEVER you're doing and WATCH THIS www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5XR...
Made it to the top 1% in the world in blitz chess.
January 17, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Made it to the top 1% in the world in blitz chess.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
If anyone was still pretending this isn’t just about excluding trans kids from public life, the Trump administration just opened a Title IX investigation into a Maine school district because a trans student is on a *co-ed* cheerleading squad.
Newport co-ed cheerleading team is at center of Trump transgender athlete crackdownTrump admin focuses on swimming, cheerleading in Maine transgender athlete probes
The U.S. Department of Education announced a slew of Title IX-related investigations this week that include 2 school districts in Maine.
www.pressherald.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:09 AM
If anyone was still pretending this isn’t just about excluding trans kids from public life, the Trump administration just opened a Title IX investigation into a Maine school district because a trans student is on a *co-ed* cheerleading squad.
Maybe it's just who I'm following, but I'm not seeing many people post about the South Carolina measles outbreak. The number has doubled in the past 7 days, and there was a major exposure at a museum in Columbia, SC. This could get extremely ugly.
January 14, 2026 at 2:55 AM
Maybe it's just who I'm following, but I'm not seeing many people post about the South Carolina measles outbreak. The number has doubled in the past 7 days, and there was a major exposure at a museum in Columbia, SC. This could get extremely ugly.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
Jesus Christ @lukeoneil47.bsky.social
December 22, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Jesus Christ @lukeoneil47.bsky.social
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
One very familiar pattern in AI and science right now is going from a lot of false starts on hard tasks (there have been near-misses where AI appears to solve an Erdos problem but just finds an old solution no one knew about) to actually doing the thing soon after.
Three Erdos problems in 3 days.
Three Erdos problems in 3 days.
January 11, 2026 at 12:39 PM
One very familiar pattern in AI and science right now is going from a lot of false starts on hard tasks (there have been near-misses where AI appears to solve an Erdos problem but just finds an old solution no one knew about) to actually doing the thing soon after.
Three Erdos problems in 3 days.
Three Erdos problems in 3 days.
This is absolutely fascinating. So many of our human cognitive biases have been encoded into the vector space of LLMs.
Also interesting: apparently a key to getting this to work is to force gpt5.2 to work offline, meaning without access to the Internet. The reason is that, if it can search the web, it'll realize you've given it an open Erdos problem, and insist it's not capable of solving it.
January 11, 2026 at 12:41 PM
This is absolutely fascinating. So many of our human cognitive biases have been encoded into the vector space of LLMs.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
January 8, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Martin Peterson's creative response to being banned from teaching Plato (shared with his permission).
I think she's trying to say that going to war against our NATO allies would be acceptable if bread was cheaper.
The White House is laser focused on threatening a military takeover of Greenland.
Where’s the same focus on lowering costs?
Where’s the same focus on lowering costs?
January 7, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I think she's trying to say that going to war against our NATO allies would be acceptable if bread was cheaper.
If brute force was all that mattered, Stephen Miller would have been murdered a long time ago.
Miller owes his life to the laws and norms he wants to undermine.
Miller owes his life to the laws and norms he wants to undermine.
"Iron laws of the world"? Some of America's most important national accomplishments are about leading humanity away from this kind of bullshit.
If we let ideologues like Stephen Miller drag us back into a world where brute force is all that matters, all of us will be less safe.
If we let ideologues like Stephen Miller drag us back into a world where brute force is all that matters, all of us will be less safe.
January 6, 2026 at 9:31 PM
If brute force was all that mattered, Stephen Miller would have been murdered a long time ago.
Miller owes his life to the laws and norms he wants to undermine.
Miller owes his life to the laws and norms he wants to undermine.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
It’s weird that water became THE issue for why many people (publicly) dislike AI. Of all the concerns about AI use, even just limiting it to environmental concerns, water use is generally one of the least important.
But when I speak with people, especially younger ones, water usually comes up first
But when I speak with people, especially younger ones, water usually comes up first
January 5, 2026 at 7:09 PM
It’s weird that water became THE issue for why many people (publicly) dislike AI. Of all the concerns about AI use, even just limiting it to environmental concerns, water use is generally one of the least important.
But when I speak with people, especially younger ones, water usually comes up first
But when I speak with people, especially younger ones, water usually comes up first
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
January 4, 2026 at 3:14 AM
absolutely bizarre to see a violent, rogue american regime, which is threatening military attacks on a bunch of major trading partners and close allies, and openly fantasizing about hitler-style wars of territorial conquest, covered in the tone of horse-race political commentary
Apropos of nothing, a good song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9K...
Black Masks & Gasoline
YouTube video by Rise Against - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Apropos of nothing, a good song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9K...
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
The moderate position is indeed The Hague
January 3, 2026 at 6:45 AM
The moderate position is indeed The Hague
Pardon the language, but I'm angry.
January 3, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Pardon the language, but I'm angry.
Lol, they hung up on me after 25 minutes on hold. "Due to call volume, we will not be able to handle your call today." It's 2:25pm.
Unemployment insurance is so broken. I became unemployed in October. I'm still waiting on my first payment.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
January 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Lol, they hung up on me after 25 minutes on hold. "Due to call volume, we will not be able to handle your call today." It's 2:25pm.
Unemployment insurance is so broken. I became unemployed in October. I'm still waiting on my first payment.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
January 2, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Unemployment insurance is so broken. I became unemployed in October. I'm still waiting on my first payment.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
Just tried calling them, and the estimated wait time is nearly 2 hours. There are 203 people in the queue ahead of me.
Reposted by Jack Mitcham, Ph.D.
A List of Predictions Made in 1926 About 2026
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🧵
January 1, 2026 at 5:13 PM
A List of Predictions Made in 1926 About 2026
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🧵
I'm so glad my son is no longer in day care. This is scary.
CNN: “Surely you don’t think a daycare should be unlocked.”
SHIRLEY: “There should be a reception area.”
CNN: “No, every day care is locked.”
SHIRLEY: “Fair point.” 🤔
He shows up to a day care with masked men and wonders why they don’t let him in.
SHIRLEY: “There should be a reception area.”
CNN: “No, every day care is locked.”
SHIRLEY: “Fair point.” 🤔
He shows up to a day care with masked men and wonders why they don’t let him in.
December 31, 2025 at 8:54 PM
I'm so glad my son is no longer in day care. This is scary.
They're just f'ing with us now
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
Sauron, the high-end home security startup for "super premium" customers, plucks a new CEO out of Sonos | TechCrunch
Sauron is appearing on the scene as concerns rise about crime among the most wealthy.
techcrunch.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:27 AM
They're just f'ing with us now
Way easier said than done.
You don't need AI as an indie author, you need community. You need people who can help you when you're burning out (and vice versa, importantly). Trade labor with each other, beta read for one another, connect with editors and cover artists. Teach & learn. Help promote one another.
December 29, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Way easier said than done.