Every time I type x+ ^+ 2 in kate or any other text editor I get x². There is a way to change this behavior to get instead x^2, that is, to disable automatic superscripting?
SnapOverflow
It's because the ^ symbol on the keyboard layout you are using is a "dead key" (
dead_circumflex). You can do:x + ^ + ^ + 2
or
x + ^ + Space + 2
to achieve what you want.
Or you can switch to some other keyboard layout or customize the layout you are using.