Mikhail Kats
@mickeykats.bsky.social
Optics/photonics researcher, applied physicist, and faculty at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Personal account + opinions
Was @mickeykats on Twitter
Was @mickeykats on Twitter
Nice aurora borralis map right now, if you're up and far-enough north!
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Nice aurora borralis map right now, if you're up and far-enough north!
Aaand the load-bearing feed is down
Given that a custom feed run by one person is kinda load-bearing for Bluesky, what's going to happen if/when there is an influx of new users?
January 20, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Aaand the load-bearing feed is down
Reposted by Mikhail Kats
I have long thought the hyper focus on the Nobel prize by many “bigshot” scientists is bad for science…
I had never considered that the hyper focus of a US president on the Nobel peace prize could be bad for peace
I had never considered that the hyper focus of a US president on the Nobel peace prize could be bad for peace
Not the sort of letter committed to paper by a well man. "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace"
January 19, 2026 at 8:25 AM
I have long thought the hyper focus on the Nobel prize by many “bigshot” scientists is bad for science…
I had never considered that the hyper focus of a US president on the Nobel peace prize could be bad for peace
I had never considered that the hyper focus of a US president on the Nobel peace prize could be bad for peace
Reposted by Mikhail Kats
It’s been a year and I use them but I have absolutely no idea what a passkey is. Half the time login fails with them and I have to do something else that works (like a password). I refuse to understand more. I’m tired of computers and don’t care. This is what it’s like for every non-nerd, isn’t it?
January 18, 2026 at 12:54 PM
It’s been a year and I use them but I have absolutely no idea what a passkey is. Half the time login fails with them and I have to do something else that works (like a password). I refuse to understand more. I’m tired of computers and don’t care. This is what it’s like for every non-nerd, isn’t it?
Probably time to write to write to our congressional representatives.. maybe they can be convinced to shut down this greenland nonsense
January 18, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Probably time to write to write to our congressional representatives.. maybe they can be convinced to shut down this greenland nonsense
Every time I teach electrodynamics, intro optics/photonics, or my grad nanophotonics class, I get pangs of wanting to write a textbook with unified notation, such that all of the topics build on each other
... But I've never had enough time to within even an order of magnitude to do it well
... But I've never had enough time to within even an order of magnitude to do it well
January 17, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Every time I teach electrodynamics, intro optics/photonics, or my grad nanophotonics class, I get pangs of wanting to write a textbook with unified notation, such that all of the topics build on each other
... But I've never had enough time to within even an order of magnitude to do it well
... But I've never had enough time to within even an order of magnitude to do it well
From what I can tell, none of the LLM-based models understand geometry very well (as measured by the ability to draw and evaluate simple diagrams in svg, for example)
Interesting that they can do as well as they do on math competition problems
Interesting that they can do as well as they do on math competition problems
January 17, 2026 at 6:23 PM
From what I can tell, none of the LLM-based models understand geometry very well (as measured by the ability to draw and evaluate simple diagrams in svg, for example)
Interesting that they can do as well as they do on math competition problems
Interesting that they can do as well as they do on math competition problems
Honestly, there are so many cool things to work on + explore
Instead, a lot of reaching out to program managers, writing pointlessly detailed budget justifications, etc. And if things go well, a bunch of reporting where every agency has their own format and requirements
Need something better..
Instead, a lot of reaching out to program managers, writing pointlessly detailed budget justifications, etc. And if things go well, a bunch of reporting where every agency has their own format and requirements
Need something better..
Imagining how much nice research I could've gotten done all last year if I didn't have to devote so many mental cycles to funding uncertainty for my group 🤔
January 17, 2026 at 6:18 AM
Honestly, there are so many cool things to work on + explore
Instead, a lot of reaching out to program managers, writing pointlessly detailed budget justifications, etc. And if things go well, a bunch of reporting where every agency has their own format and requirements
Need something better..
Instead, a lot of reaching out to program managers, writing pointlessly detailed budget justifications, etc. And if things go well, a bunch of reporting where every agency has their own format and requirements
Need something better..
I assume the right way to make a bluesky feed is to listen to posts from the firehose ... but couldn't you also just have it search for whatever you need and build the feed that way?
Is the downside that it's just slow?
Is the downside that it's just slow?
January 17, 2026 at 3:31 AM
I assume the right way to make a bluesky feed is to listen to posts from the firehose ... but couldn't you also just have it search for whatever you need and build the feed that way?
Is the downside that it's just slow?
Is the downside that it's just slow?
Starting my 12th year in Madison
January 16, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Starting my 12th year in Madison
Three quick thoughts:
1. It's kind of fun to click through random NSF grants
2. Totally wild that I can make this in like 45 mins, while taking a break
..
1. It's kind of fun to click through random NSF grants
2. Totally wild that I can make this in like 45 mins, while taking a break
..
January 16, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Three quick thoughts:
1. It's kind of fun to click through random NSF grants
2. Totally wild that I can make this in like 45 mins, while taking a break
..
1. It's kind of fun to click through random NSF grants
2. Totally wild that I can make this in like 45 mins, while taking a break
..
The Paul tweet has a stunning degree of financial illiteracy, never mind the lack of fact checking and the underlying lack of curiosity
Very annoying.
Very annoying.
Not only has Rand Paul increased this cost by a factor of 10,000, there was actually useful science behind the research as I explained in 2021.
wapo.st/4pKScAV
wapo.st/4pKScAV
January 15, 2026 at 11:51 PM
The Paul tweet has a stunning degree of financial illiteracy, never mind the lack of fact checking and the underlying lack of curiosity
Very annoying.
Very annoying.
Would be cool to have an open-source competitor to reddit, but a closed-source one? I don't know, reddit is basically the best of the bunch..
Kevin Rose, Digg’s original founder, and Alexis Ohanian, husband of Serena Williams and co-founder of Reddit, are relaunching Digg.
Launching a competitor to Reddit in 2026 feels like it’s a decade too late. I’m curious to see if anyone actually wants this?
Launching a competitor to Reddit in 2026 feels like it’s a decade too late. I’m curious to see if anyone actually wants this?
Digg launches its new Reddit rival to the public | TechCrunch
Digg, a reboot of an earlier social news site, is now relaunching as a Reddit competitor focused on communities.
techcrunch.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:37 AM
Would be cool to have an open-source competitor to reddit, but a closed-source one? I don't know, reddit is basically the best of the bunch..
I... what?
January 15, 2026 at 2:51 AM
I... what?
I am bad at guitar, so it takes me a ton of time to learn to play anything, by which point I am bored and tired of the bit I am trying to learn
Is there a name for the crossover point where the time it takes to learn a piece is exactly equal to the amount of time at which boredom sets in?
Is there a name for the crossover point where the time it takes to learn a piece is exactly equal to the amount of time at which boredom sets in?
January 14, 2026 at 5:37 AM
I am bad at guitar, so it takes me a ton of time to learn to play anything, by which point I am bored and tired of the bit I am trying to learn
Is there a name for the crossover point where the time it takes to learn a piece is exactly equal to the amount of time at which boredom sets in?
Is there a name for the crossover point where the time it takes to learn a piece is exactly equal to the amount of time at which boredom sets in?
A well-functioning electoral system would result in one blob on this chart, not two discontinuous ones
While a substantial number of members of the House of Representatives are retiring, don’t expect these retirements to produce many flipped seats or shifts in the ideological makeup of either party.
open.substack.com/pub/charlesa...
open.substack.com/pub/charlesa...
January 14, 2026 at 4:05 AM
A well-functioning electoral system would result in one blob on this chart, not two discontinuous ones
Bluesky on Android has had a bug for >1 year, where some fraction of the time when I go to my profile, there are no posts displayed
The bug survived updates, a re-install, and a change of phones, so I am pretty sure it is real
I tried reporting it a few times and no luck
Anyone else see this bug?
The bug survived updates, a re-install, and a change of phones, so I am pretty sure it is real
I tried reporting it a few times and no luck
Anyone else see this bug?
January 13, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Bluesky on Android has had a bug for >1 year, where some fraction of the time when I go to my profile, there are no posts displayed
The bug survived updates, a re-install, and a change of phones, so I am pretty sure it is real
I tried reporting it a few times and no luck
Anyone else see this bug?
The bug survived updates, a re-install, and a change of phones, so I am pretty sure it is real
I tried reporting it a few times and no luck
Anyone else see this bug?
Two funding rejections today. Starting to circle the drain a bit!
Let's hope for a better rest of 2026
Let's hope for a better rest of 2026
Imagining how much nice research I could've gotten done all last year if I didn't have to devote so many mental cycles to funding uncertainty for my group 🤔
January 13, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Two funding rejections today. Starting to circle the drain a bit!
Let's hope for a better rest of 2026
Let's hope for a better rest of 2026
I definitely experience some version of this, where I put off a task I'm dreading (especially if there are multiple unread emails about it in an unread thread)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The main ways out seem to be (1) procrastinating on something even less pleasant or (2) absolute deadline
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The main ways out seem to be (1) procrastinating on something even less pleasant or (2) absolute deadline
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:34 PM
I definitely experience some version of this, where I put off a task I'm dreading (especially if there are multiple unread emails about it in an unread thread)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The main ways out seem to be (1) procrastinating on something even less pleasant or (2) absolute deadline
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The main ways out seem to be (1) procrastinating on something even less pleasant or (2) absolute deadline
Is it just me or is Jan 2026 even crazier than any time in 2025?
January 12, 2026 at 1:12 AM
Is it just me or is Jan 2026 even crazier than any time in 2025?
Given that a custom feed run by one person is kinda load-bearing for Bluesky, what's going to happen if/when there is an influx of new users?
January 11, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Given that a custom feed run by one person is kinda load-bearing for Bluesky, what's going to happen if/when there is an influx of new users?
Claude "compacting conversation" is a nice feature but it would be much better if it gave the user the option to select portions to keep/discard
January 11, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Claude "compacting conversation" is a nice feature but it would be much better if it gave the user the option to select portions to keep/discard
Reposted by Mikhail Kats
as of today putin's three-day military operation has lasted as long as the Great Patriotic War. congrats to irony for its total victory over russia
January 11, 2026 at 11:55 AM
as of today putin's three-day military operation has lasted as long as the Great Patriotic War. congrats to irony for its total victory over russia
The protestors in Iran are brave
Hope the Iranian people can have a better future
Hope the Iranian people can have a better future
January 11, 2026 at 4:50 AM
The protestors in Iran are brave
Hope the Iranian people can have a better future
Hope the Iranian people can have a better future
Skin impression of an edmontosaurus, a large duck-billed dinosaur, showing small scales
From the Hell Creek formation, ~66 mya
From the Hell Creek formation, ~66 mya
January 11, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Skin impression of an edmontosaurus, a large duck-billed dinosaur, showing small scales
From the Hell Creek formation, ~66 mya
From the Hell Creek formation, ~66 mya