The Quantum Cat in 2026

Jan 04, 2026

First, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you for reading, for subscribing, and for your kind feedback.

I set out at the start of last year to write more often, while still focusing on quality over quantity. In practice, that has meant devoting more time to both researching and writing. Luckily, this has been enjoyable. As I wrote last year, it is easier to write about things I find interesting, and this year I have been fortunate to cover everything from the rusting of our Moon to the lost sisters of the Pleiades.

In the coming year I hope to keep that up, and so I also want to take this opportunity to renew my commitment to writing about interesting things, and to taking the time to make that writing good.

The Year Ahead

Aside from that, I have a few other things to announce:

My aim remains to send out about one email per week. I don’t always meet this target, so in practice it will probably be a bit less.
For the past year, paid subscribers have been getting additional articles. This comes to about one extra article each month, though again, I will try to increase this rate. Most of these articles are “deep dives”, that is, they explore a topic in greater detail. Examples from the past year include the Gaia telescope, the evidence for recent supernovae close to Earth, and the ways in which we make progress in science.
For the next week, I will offer a discount on subscriptions: $30/€25 per year, or $3/€2.50 for a month. Please do consider taking one.
That said, I am not fully happy with the subscription model Substack employs. I am currently working on re-editing and updating articles I’ve written over the past year, including those that were for paid subscribers only. My aim is to collect these in an e-book or PDF format and make this available for a one-time purchase (i.e. with no subscription necessary). Paid subscribers will get early access to the articles and free access to the booklet. If this trial works well, I plan to offer more such booklets in future for those who want to support me without signing up for a subscription.
I’d like to thank all those who have written to me over the past year to ask questions or just to give some kind words! Please don’t hesitate to get in contact with any feedback or questions. I’d be especially happy to hear about any articles you liked (or hated!), any topics you’d like to hear more or less about, or any questions you have.