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Slontin was a cowboy (in the derogatory sense of the term) who thought bravado would keep him safe from intense radiation. The demon core incident wasn't an is
by liability 7y ago
Slontin was a cowboy (in the derogatory sense of the term) who thought bravado would keep him safe from intense radiation. The demon core incident wasn't an isolated incident, one of his less famous exploits involved swimming in an active nuclear reactor, which obviously irradiated him badly.
> "In the winter of 1945–1946, Slotin shocked some of his colleagues with a bold action. He repaired an instrument six feet under water inside the Clinton Pile while it was operating, rather than wait an extra day for the reactor to be shut down. He did not wear his dosimetry badge, but his dose was estimated to be at least 100 roentgen.[12] A dose of 1 Gy (~100 roentgen) can cause nausea and vomiting in 10% of cases, but is generally survivable.[13]"
- ethbro 7y agoThat seems unfair. As a trained nuclear physicist and engineer, he was no doubt quite clear on the risks related to radiation. Just because I choose to jump a motorcycle through a flaming hoop doesn't indicate that I think my body is impervious to flame. It means I weighed the risks and made a choice. In other words, ignorance, chance, and bravery are different things. And accidents are some mix of all of them.
- liability 7y agoExtreme risk taking is characteristic of young men. It's not so much a rational decision as it is a mind clouded by testosterone. Sometimes it's entertaining good fun. I enjoyed Jackass as much as anybody. The problem is when such men do it without consideration for the wellbeing of those around them. Slotin didn't, he regularly performed his "tickling experiment" with other people in the room.