Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 1d

Fantastic! Looking forward to catching up!

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 1d

That would be great! I go climbing twice a week at Yonder so I am around. Give me a shout when you have settled in and we could go for coffee on a weekend morning?

1

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 1d

Blackhorse Road.

A photo a block of flats in silhouette with bright lights coming out of the windows, against the background of a dark metal sky.

1 2

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 2d

When I gave up smoking, I first missed the nicotine and then I missed the habit itself - the framework it provided for processing my emotions during the day e.g. to have a break, reflect on a problem, celebrate the completion of a piece of work, focus on something someone was telling me etc.

1 6

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Joel Suss @joelsuss.ft.com · 2d

📢New piece from me on US inflation today in the @financialtimes.com📢

It's not just (still modest) tariff-related effects boosting core goods and headline above target, core services excluding housing remain elevated

2 2 7

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 2d

Kremlin-backed crypto coin moves $6bn despite US sanctions on.ft.com/3IPU2RR

Kremlin-backed crypto coin moves $6bn despite US sanctions

A7A5 token enables Russian financial flows after Washington cracks down on related exchange

on.ft.com

1 15 19

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Kashana @kashana.blacksky.app · 3d

“Women didn’t love him. They still don’t.”

Business Insider @businessinsider.com · 3d

Martin Escobar hadn't tried an AI companion before xAI released Ani in July. Now, he says he loves his AI girlfriend.

Women didn't love him. His AI girlfriend did

Martin Escobar hadn't tried an AI companion before xAI released Ani in July. Now, he says he loves his AI girlfriend.

www.businessinsider.com

15 39 330

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 3d

People need to start taking crypto more seriously. Not in the sense of buying into it, but in understanding how important it has become in finance and geopolitics. There’s a quarter of a trillion dollars worth of stablecoins in circulation. That’s real money.

www.ft.com/content/dbd0...

Crypto skulduggery isn’t a bug, it’s the whole point

Exploiting regulatory loopholes is the name of the game

www.ft.com

1 1 12

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

beetle moses @beetlemoses.bsky.social · 28d

8 410 2.4K

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 5d

Please join me in congratulating Woman on her appointment

Sky News @news.sky.com · 5d

Woman named as new Archbishop of Canterbury in historic first

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the next Archbishop of Canterbury - the first time a woman has been appointed to the role in the Church of England's history.

news.sky.com

410 2.6K 17K

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 5d

Have we passed peak social media? @jburnmurdoch.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/a072...

31 130 470

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 6d

Pavement have just released remastered versions of a bunch of their best songs on a new compilation called Hecklers Choice.

youtu.be/03fjKD93Bdg?...

Summer Babe (Winter Version 2025 Remaster)

YouTube video by Pavement - Topic

youtu.be

3

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 7d

OpenAI employees are very excited about how well their new AI tool can create fake videos of people doing crimes and have definitely thought through all the implications of this

220 3.3K 11K

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Kit Yates @kityates.bsky.social · 7d

If my reading of this is correct and this is the Royal Society's final position on the issue then this is a complete capitulation.

I think this is worse than if they hadn't considered the issue of Musk's membership at all.

A statement from the President of the Royal Society | Royal Society

A statement from Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, regarding threats to the values that allow science to flourish.

royalsociety.org

4 13 63

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 7d

Terminal centrist brain rot that threatens us all.

The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 7d

"I am increasingly concerned over threats to the values that allow science to flourish." Read the full statement from the President of the Royal Society Sir Adrian Smith: royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...

A statement from the President of the Royal Society | Royal Society

A statement from the President of the Royal Society regarding threats to the values that allow science to flourish.

royalsociety.org

3 4 24

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 7d

"Europe is, rightly, focused on re-arming, but there is already one army in Europe that has shown, standing alone, that it can hold its own against the Kremlin — the armed forces of Ukraine" - on.ft.com/4nvX0tW via @financialtimes.com

We need Ukraine as much as it needs us

Kyiv is not merely a victim — it is an exemplar for western democracies and defence industries preparing for future wars

on.ft.com

3 26 97

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 9d

Had a lovely time talking with these students afterwards. What a great bunch.

bsky.app/profile/theb...

Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 9d

@olihawkins.com getting deep into blockchain nerdery with maths students at @ucl.ac.uk

Oliver Hawkins pictured delivering a lecture to UCL students, who are seated in a lecture theatre

9

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Alan Smith @theboysmithy.ft.com · 9d

@olihawkins.com getting deep into blockchain nerdery with maths students at @ucl.ac.uk

1 2 5

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Martina Pugliese @martinapugliese.bsky.social · 10d

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

This was a bittersweet great read

Why I gave the world wide web away for free | Tim Berners-Lee

My vision was based on sharing, not exploitation – and here’s why it’s still worth fighting for

www.theguardian.com

1 9

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 10d

I’m just describing something that happened historically in the domain of migration policy discourse. The switch from “immigrant” to “migrant” happened around the same time as the policy focus on net migration. There has always been the double standard around immigrant/migrant versus e.g. “ex-pats”.

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 10d

I should probably have said “coalition government” but the Lib Dems refused to own the policy.

3

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 10d

I think it was around 2010 when the incoming Conservative government set the net migration target of “tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands”. After that the policy discourse became organised around the official statistics. “Migrant” was originally demographic terminology.

2 1 4

Reposted by Oli Hawkins

Tim Harford @timharford.ft.com · 13d

Does economics use too much maths - or the wrong kind of maths? on.ft.com/3IqOgGb

The wrong kind of maths

[FREE TO READ] Why the mathematics used in economics for decades needs a rethink

on.ft.com

8 10 40

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 11d

Some autistic people find weighted blankets helpful. Facebook’s algorithm may have seen something that can be evidence of autism, like one of your posts on miniatures. I am not in any way joking.

2

Oli Hawkins @olihawkins.com · 12d

Very nice!

1