Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com
Cosmologist, pilot, author, connoisseur of cosmic catastrophes. TEDFellow, CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar. Champion amateur horologist. She/her. Dr.
Personal account; not speaking for employer or anyone else.
Personal account; not speaking for employer or anyone else.
Pinned
Katie Mack
@astrokatie.com
· Aug 7
I am absolutely thrilled to present to you:
How to Build a Universe (Theoretically Speaking)
available for pre-order now, wherever you buy your books!
www.simonandschuster.ca/books/How-to...
How to Build a Universe (Theoretically Speaking)
available for pre-order now, wherever you buy your books!
www.simonandschuster.ca/books/How-to...
This is why it's so important in your math classes to understand the difference between "if" and "iff." The comment below may be true as stated (if) but is obviously false as intended (iff).
Ted Cruz: "Right now, if you are left-wing transgender witch, you hate Donald Trump"
October 17, 2026 at 5:29 PM
This is why it's so important in your math classes to understand the difference between "if" and "iff." The comment below may be true as stated (if) but is obviously false as intended (iff).
Okay sorry I think we're done with "Tell me [] without telling me []." It had its time. It was always condescendingly smug but now it's also unbearably tedious; I think we can move on.
October 17, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Okay sorry I think we're done with "Tell me [] without telling me []." It had its time. It was always condescendingly smug but now it's also unbearably tedious; I think we can move on.
Reposted by Katie Mack
The kicker on this article is so emblematic about how the criminal justice system treats rape victims.
October 17, 2026 at 2:49 PM
The kicker on this article is so emblematic about how the criminal justice system treats rape victims.
Reposted by Katie Mack
Is it bad if major defense contractors have their own foreign policies?
October 16, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Is it bad if major defense contractors have their own foreign policies?
The part of this clip where he points out that gas was cheap the day before he started bombing Iran could be run on its own as an attack ad by the Democrats
Trump: "Unlike Biden and Obama and these guys, they don't look at gas pumps, but I do. And I'm looking at the price."
October 16, 2026 at 9:06 PM
The part of this clip where he points out that gas was cheap the day before he started bombing Iran could be run on its own as an attack ad by the Democrats
If you missed the sign-up but would like to read this issue of my newsletter, you can find it online here: mackkatie.activehosted.com/social/c74d9...
There's a subscription link at the bottom if you'd like to be on the list for future newsletters!
There's a subscription link at the bottom if you'd like to be on the list for future newsletters!
October 16, 2026 at 8:10 PM
If you missed the sign-up but would like to read this issue of my newsletter, you can find it online here: mackkatie.activehosted.com/social/c74d9...
There's a subscription link at the bottom if you'd like to be on the list for future newsletters!
There's a subscription link at the bottom if you'd like to be on the list for future newsletters!
Reposted by Katie Mack
Merriam Webster out here fighting for its life
October 16, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Merriam Webster out here fighting for its life
In about 15 minutes I'm going to send out the next issue of my e-mail newsletter, with dark matter news, cool neutrinos, dark energy, and a book cover reveal - UK edition! You can sign up here: mackkatie.activehosted.com/f/1
AstroKatie -
mackkatie.activehosted.com
October 16, 2026 at 7:15 PM
In about 15 minutes I'm going to send out the next issue of my e-mail newsletter, with dark matter news, cool neutrinos, dark energy, and a book cover reveal - UK edition! You can sign up here: mackkatie.activehosted.com/f/1
Reposted by Katie Mack
As both a certified CAR GUY and an economist-ish, I cannot imagine a headline more designed to drive me, personally, insane.
This "flying car" technology is neither new nor novel. It is not practical and would not sell.
Let me tell a story of actually useful car tech that never made it to market.
This "flying car" technology is neither new nor novel. It is not practical and would not sell.
Let me tell a story of actually useful car tech that never made it to market.
Could Tesla’s flying car send sales and shares soaring?
Could Tesla’s flying car send sales and shares soaring?
Tesla revealed its next-generation Roadster on Thursday in Texas, with one of the three new versions performing a jaw-dropping kickflip and demonstrating flying capabilities. However, analysts contacted by Euronews Business do not expect the model to generate significant revenue.
l.euronews.com
October 16, 2026 at 3:25 PM
As both a certified CAR GUY and an economist-ish, I cannot imagine a headline more designed to drive me, personally, insane.
This "flying car" technology is neither new nor novel. It is not practical and would not sell.
Let me tell a story of actually useful car tech that never made it to market.
This "flying car" technology is neither new nor novel. It is not practical and would not sell.
Let me tell a story of actually useful car tech that never made it to market.
Yesterday I provided my immune system with the latest enemy intel and let me tell you it is working VERY hard on those cellular combat drills right now 🫠
October 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Yesterday I provided my immune system with the latest enemy intel and let me tell you it is working VERY hard on those cellular combat drills right now 🫠
This is neat! Thanks to @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social for the shout-out in @theguardian.com! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...
October 16, 2026 at 3:44 PM
This is neat! Thanks to @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social for the shout-out in @theguardian.com! www.theguardian.com/books/2026/o...
Reposted by Katie Mack
We found that the most gendered experience wasn’t work-life balance, the focus of most retention efforts. It was feeling devalued, in formal evaluations, but particularly in everyday interactions. Unlike every other topic, the gender gap in devaluation was larger among more senior faculty.
October 14, 2026 at 10:27 PM
We found that the most gendered experience wasn’t work-life balance, the focus of most retention efforts. It was feeling devalued, in formal evaluations, but particularly in everyday interactions. Unlike every other topic, the gender gap in devaluation was larger among more senior faculty.
Reposted by Katie Mack
this goes incredible places and I love everyone involved
October 16, 2026 at 1:45 AM
this goes incredible places and I love everyone involved
FYI Southern Ontario friends: at least two of my local pharmacies in K-W have updated covid shots available NOW for all adults. (The "only high-risk groups" availability was slated to extend to later this month, but apparently they opened it up early.)
October 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
FYI Southern Ontario friends: at least two of my local pharmacies in K-W have updated covid shots available NOW for all adults. (The "only high-risk groups" availability was slated to extend to later this month, but apparently they opened it up early.)
I would take more seriously the people promoting the idea of AI consciousness if they first materially grappled with the (much more obvious) consciousness of animals and how that affects our moral obligations to them.
October 15, 2026 at 1:13 AM
I would take more seriously the people promoting the idea of AI consciousness if they first materially grappled with the (much more obvious) consciousness of animals and how that affects our moral obligations to them.
Reposted by Katie Mack
Ha!
Here’s a joke mission patch for a Jupiter rover I sketched back in 2017.
Here’s a joke mission patch for a Jupiter rover I sketched back in 2017.
October 14, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Ha!
Here’s a joke mission patch for a Jupiter rover I sketched back in 2017.
Here’s a joke mission patch for a Jupiter rover I sketched back in 2017.
Reposted by Katie Mack
Aaron Swartz, coding prodigy and hacktivist who helped develop RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit, died by suicide after facing $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison for felony charges, just for downloading pdfs of research papers with the intention of making them accessible to the public.
Being GenX/Millennial is such a trip. In our lifetimes, we saw people our age getting wild criminal penalties for pirating music and now have to sit and watch as companies gobble up our work with impunity.
Still trying to understand how Napster got shut down, but Anthropic is going public and still hasn’t paid us authors yet after stealing our work.
October 14, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Aaron Swartz, coding prodigy and hacktivist who helped develop RSS and was a co-founder of Reddit, died by suicide after facing $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison for felony charges, just for downloading pdfs of research papers with the intention of making them accessible to the public.
Reposted by Katie Mack
Y’all, I hate to rain on the dead bot parade, but the Yandex data center destruction doesn’t seem to have significantly impacted social media bots. I made temporal graphs of X posts about AfD around the time of the attack and there’s no sign of a sudden dip or residual impact on that conversation.
October 13, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Y’all, I hate to rain on the dead bot parade, but the Yandex data center destruction doesn’t seem to have significantly impacted social media bots. I made temporal graphs of X posts about AfD around the time of the attack and there’s no sign of a sudden dip or residual impact on that conversation.
Reposted by Katie Mack
I'm dying laughing at how the cat has conformed to her flower shaped bed today
October 13, 2026 at 2:48 PM
I'm dying laughing at how the cat has conformed to her flower shaped bed today
Reposted by Katie Mack
October 13, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Reposted by Katie Mack
Perseverance has set a new off-world record! 🏅
On Oct. 11, the rover's odometer hit 28.1 miles (45.22 km), eclipsing the distance record set by NASA's Opportunity rover. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster science.nasa.gov/blogs/persev... youtu.be/XaxuV6tsIb4?...
On Oct. 11, the rover's odometer hit 28.1 miles (45.22 km), eclipsing the distance record set by NASA's Opportunity rover. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster science.nasa.gov/blogs/persev... youtu.be/XaxuV6tsIb4?...
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Record Drive Path Animation (as of Oct. 11, 2026)
YouTube video by JPLraw
youtu.be
October 12, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Perseverance has set a new off-world record! 🏅
On Oct. 11, the rover's odometer hit 28.1 miles (45.22 km), eclipsing the distance record set by NASA's Opportunity rover. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster science.nasa.gov/blogs/persev... youtu.be/XaxuV6tsIb4?...
On Oct. 11, the rover's odometer hit 28.1 miles (45.22 km), eclipsing the distance record set by NASA's Opportunity rover. Longer drives are putting more geological diversity within reach faster science.nasa.gov/blogs/persev... youtu.be/XaxuV6tsIb4?...
Today I replied to an e-mail from a friend I really like, who is awesome and cool and whose e-mails I love to receive. I had been wanting to respond for a while but somehow just… did not.
The e-mail I replied to was sent in January, 2024.
Why am I like this.
The e-mail I replied to was sent in January, 2024.
Why am I like this.
October 12, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Today I replied to an e-mail from a friend I really like, who is awesome and cool and whose e-mails I love to receive. I had been wanting to respond for a while but somehow just… did not.
The e-mail I replied to was sent in January, 2024.
Why am I like this.
The e-mail I replied to was sent in January, 2024.
Why am I like this.
Apparently there are some people still unaware of this, but: e-mailing a stranger to ask them to pass on a message to a more famous person they have worked with is *astonishingly* rude. (It’s also usually pretty rude, in a different way, to do that to a friend! Tread carefully!)
October 12, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Apparently there are some people still unaware of this, but: e-mailing a stranger to ask them to pass on a message to a more famous person they have worked with is *astonishingly* rude. (It’s also usually pretty rude, in a different way, to do that to a friend! Tread carefully!)
Reposted by Katie Mack
After ages of sitting unread in my ebook storage, i finally got down to reading @astrokatie.com’s The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking), prompted by the news that her new book is imminent, and it is an absolute delight.
October 12, 2026 at 8:45 AM
After ages of sitting unread in my ebook storage, i finally got down to reading @astrokatie.com’s The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking), prompted by the news that her new book is imminent, and it is an absolute delight.
A wonderful thing about the general aviation community is that it is pretty small and tight-knit and you get to know a lot of people who are wonderful and open and generous and kind. But it is also a community with rather more sudden death than most and god it hits hard when the worst happens.
October 11, 2026 at 11:43 PM
A wonderful thing about the general aviation community is that it is pretty small and tight-knit and you get to know a lot of people who are wonderful and open and generous and kind. But it is also a community with rather more sudden death than most and god it hits hard when the worst happens.