Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
@eaterofsun.bsky.social
Author, Editor @ The Economist, Chair @ The Degrees Initiative. Climate change, planetarity, critical zones, tv, burdens of life, etc. Reposts are not endorsements
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
"Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.
RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict".
The right call
RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict".
The right call
December 4, 2025 at 6:23 PM
"Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.
RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict".
The right call
RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict".
The right call
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Easy SF: takes place on Mars
Hard SF: takes place on PSR J2322-2650b
Hard SF: takes place on PSR J2322-2650b
Any hard SF writers out there in search of a truly challenging new locale?
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
December 4, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Easy SF: takes place on Mars
Hard SF: takes place on PSR J2322-2650b
Hard SF: takes place on PSR J2322-2650b
Wonderful obituary of Tom Stoppard by a colleague (of mine and his)
www.economist.com/obituary/202...
www.economist.com/obituary/202...
Tom Stoppard was an inexhaustible fountain of ideas
Britain’s most challenging playwright died on November 29th, aged 88
www.economist.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Wonderful obituary of Tom Stoppard by a colleague (of mine and his)
www.economist.com/obituary/202...
www.economist.com/obituary/202...
Any hard SF writers out there in search of a truly challenging new locale?
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
December 4, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Any hard SF writers out there in search of a truly challenging new locale?
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
arxiv.org/abs/2509.04558
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Outstanding reporting today from the New Media at the Pentagon.
December 4, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Outstanding reporting today from the New Media at the Pentagon.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
This is gorgeous.
A book from the 19th century that depicts the Rhine Valley by creating an impression of three-dimensionality and spatial distance.
@MasayukiTsuda2 #globalmuseum #books #travel #19thcentury
@MasayukiTsuda2 #globalmuseum #books #travel #19thcentury
December 3, 2025 at 3:50 PM
This is gorgeous.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
It's such a sad thing about human nature - say you absolutely loathed a book and everyone wants to know what it was.
Mention a book you loved, recommend it for readers, and the world is a chorus of crickets.
Y'all just want to hate on stuff
Mention a book you loved, recommend it for readers, and the world is a chorus of crickets.
Y'all just want to hate on stuff
December 3, 2025 at 6:28 AM
It's such a sad thing about human nature - say you absolutely loathed a book and everyone wants to know what it was.
Mention a book you loved, recommend it for readers, and the world is a chorus of crickets.
Y'all just want to hate on stuff
Mention a book you loved, recommend it for readers, and the world is a chorus of crickets.
Y'all just want to hate on stuff
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
🔌💡
Thread: Each week I run a simulation of Australia’s main electricity grid using rescaled generation data to show that it can get very close to 100% renewable electricity with 24GW/120GWh of storage (5 hrs at av demand)
Results:
Last week: 100% RE
Last 223 weeks: 98.6% RE (1/5)
Results:
Last week: 100% RE
Last 223 weeks: 98.6% RE (1/5)
December 4, 2025 at 8:18 AM
🔌💡
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Really interesting shift from Starmer basically saying Reform are beyond the pale of normal politics. An active threat, unlike Conservative Party
“If there is a Conservative government, I can sleep at night.” A right-wing populist Reform UK government, however, “is a different proposition”.
Starmer speaks to @zannymb.economist.com; note by @duncanrobinson.bsky.social
www.economist.com/britain/2025...
Starmer speaks to @zannymb.economist.com; note by @duncanrobinson.bsky.social
www.economist.com/britain/2025...
Our interview with Sir Keir Starmer
Britain’s prime minister understands the size of the moment. He just does not know how to meet it
www.economist.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Really interesting shift from Starmer basically saying Reform are beyond the pale of normal politics. An active threat, unlike Conservative Party
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
⚠️ Stand-off in Sheringham: Local campaigners have spent the past three nights camping out overnight in an extraordinary bid to save a 1950s Streamline Moderne style bus shelter in Norfolk, thwarting council contractors who attempted to demolish the structure at 2am.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
December 4, 2025 at 10:53 AM
⚠️ Stand-off in Sheringham: Local campaigners have spent the past three nights camping out overnight in an extraordinary bid to save a 1950s Streamline Moderne style bus shelter in Norfolk, thwarting council contractors who attempted to demolish the structure at 2am.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Spring, summer and autumn are the party seasons for trees but winter is when you really get to know them as people.
November 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Spring, summer and autumn are the party seasons for trees but winter is when you really get to know them as people.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Oklahoma University has placed a grad student instructor on admin leave for failing a psychology paper on gender for citing *the Bible* as a source of empirical evidence.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
December 1, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Oklahoma University has placed a grad student instructor on admin leave for failing a psychology paper on gender for citing *the Bible* as a source of empirical evidence.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
From Copernicus: This shows how the expected date for breaching 1.5C has been creeping ever closer in recent years. The orange date shows the baseline for the extrapolation; the red date shows when 1.5C is breached based on the trend...
November 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
From Copernicus: This shows how the expected date for breaching 1.5C has been creeping ever closer in recent years. The orange date shows the baseline for the extrapolation; the red date shows when 1.5C is breached based on the trend...
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
November 30, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Its almost as though he were "the most openly corrupt president in US history"
"Trump has set free a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims."
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Its almost as though he were "the most openly corrupt president in US history"
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Its conclusion echoes something the magnificent Kevin Zahnle said to me over coffee maybe 20 years ago: that "the frequency of atmospheres showing signs of biogenic oxygen is the most interesting question we [=humankind] know how to answer".
November 29, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Its conclusion echoes something the magnificent Kevin Zahnle said to me over coffee maybe 20 years ago: that "the frequency of atmospheres showing signs of biogenic oxygen is the most interesting question we [=humankind] know how to answer".
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
I realize political hypocrisy means nothing, but it's still remarkable that on the same day that he closes the airspace over Venezuela, supposedly to prevent drug running by a narco-state, he also pardons the former president of another state who was convicted just last year for doing the same thing
November 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I realize political hypocrisy means nothing, but it's still remarkable that on the same day that he closes the airspace over Venezuela, supposedly to prevent drug running by a narco-state, he also pardons the former president of another state who was convicted just last year for doing the same thing
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Because the survivors of the “drug" boat attack were defenseless (unable to protect themselves or fight back) ordering their murder is a war crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Restoring the rule of law will require court-martialing, convicting & imprisoning those issuing such orders.
Restoring the rule of law will require court-martialing, convicting & imprisoning those issuing such orders.
November 29, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Because the survivors of the “drug" boat attack were defenseless (unable to protect themselves or fight back) ordering their murder is a war crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Restoring the rule of law will require court-martialing, convicting & imprisoning those issuing such orders.
Restoring the rule of law will require court-martialing, convicting & imprisoning those issuing such orders.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
AI researchers gamed by AI.
Major AI conference flooded with peer reviews written fully by AI
Controversy has erupted after 21% of manuscript reviews for an international AI conference were found to be generated by artificial intelligence.
www.nature.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:37 AM
AI researchers gamed by AI.
This piece about Mills et al "A reassessment of the “hard-steps” model for the evolution of intelligent life" pushes all my buttons, and I hugely look forward to reading the paper, sitting down and talking with Phil about it and then hearing Andy Watson's view.
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
November 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
This piece about Mills et al "A reassessment of the “hard-steps” model for the evolution of intelligent life" pushes all my buttons, and I hugely look forward to reading the paper, sitting down and talking with Phil about it and then hearing Andy Watson's view.
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
The irony is rich.
November 28, 2025 at 7:39 PM
The irony is rich.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
November 28, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
👇🏼
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
November 28, 2025 at 7:51 PM
👇🏼
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Radio 6 is a tribute to all that is best at the BBC. It is inform, educate and entertain in musical form: Utter loveliness. And then they periodically allow the news department to mutilate it with these context-free anti-asylum bulletins, reminding you of all that's worst about the BBC.
Radcliffe and Maconie on BBC 6 music is one of my favourite things
Having it interrupted by breathless news bulletin telling me ‘government has banned taxis for asylum seekers’ *really isn’t*
New lines like ‘Home Office spent £1k over weekend on taxis’ would struggle to make a local newspaper
Having it interrupted by breathless news bulletin telling me ‘government has banned taxis for asylum seekers’ *really isn’t*
New lines like ‘Home Office spent £1k over weekend on taxis’ would struggle to make a local newspaper
November 29, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Radio 6 is a tribute to all that is best at the BBC. It is inform, educate and entertain in musical form: Utter loveliness. And then they periodically allow the news department to mutilate it with these context-free anti-asylum bulletins, reminding you of all that's worst about the BBC.
Reposted by Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun
Pelican just about to go to sleep, yesterday.
Cute.
Cute.
November 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Pelican just about to go to sleep, yesterday.
Cute.
Cute.