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I fell down the pontifier rabbit hole from a HN comment in early 2021 as well and I’m glad other people have found the story as fascinating as I did. I do thin

I fell down the pontifier rabbit hole from a HN comment in early 2021 as well and I’m glad other people have found the story as fascinating as I did. I do think the article makes him a bit overly sympathetic and glosses over some of his eccentricities. Like the fact that he seems to really think he can build a nuclear fusion reactor from an old MRI machine and I guess all of the Nem saga: https://whoispontifier.wordpress.com/2018/05/14/the-journey-begins/ https://whoispontifier.wordpress.com/2018/05/14/the-journey-... I still haven’t decided if all this is or isn’t some sort of elaborate performance art, but I appreciate the effort in any case. And even though I think he’s probably a few cards short of a deck, you do kind of root for him in the end.

mikea1 3y ago
> you do kind of root for him in the end I'm rooting for him too. He doesn't have all the qualities of a classic protagonist, yet I find myself hoping that he succeeds in his madcap endeavors. I admire his grit: I would have not had his fortitude in the face of violent threats nor withstand the constant frustration.
pard68 3y ago
I'm not anywhere near knowledgeable enough to chime in on the feasibility of creating a nuclear reactor from a MRI machine, but there is this guy in Floyd, Virginia who has created a nuclear reactor from some old medical equipment, so maybe it's possible with a MRI machine too?
- ThrustVectoring 3y ago
  Nuclear fission is relatively straightforward so long as you either don't know or don't care about the health risks of radiation. It's just a pile of spicy rocks at the end of the day. Fusion, on the other hand, requires you to get center-of-sun temperatures and pressures going on to work properly. That usually requires either extremely difficult engineering processes or a fission bomb (and more precise engineering calculations but they're actually reasonably solvable).
  - alright2565 3y ago
    I don't know exactly what he's doing, but fusion is pretty easy to do: https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/ https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/
    - whatshisface 3y ago
      I don't know about easy, but hundreds of people have accomplished this as a hobby project using the Farnsworth design, including a handful of very disciplined teenagers.
  - jmopp 3y ago
    I always thought fusion was easier than fission, since all* you really need is water and electricity — the problem being that it's currently impossible to get more energy than what you put in * I am eliding over the fact that building a Farnsworth fusor is still a challenge, but less of a challenge than sourcing, purifying, and enriching uranium certainly.
    - Retric 3y ago
      If you just want any reactions then fission is still way easier, you get more fission from a random bit of uranium ore or in some cases even a banana than from a fusor. Nuclear fission includes radiative decay, what makes a nuclear reactor rather than a bomb or pile of rock is becoming self sustaining where the reaction is driving the reaction. Fusor’s don’t get there, ITER will as the energy from fusion is driving more fusion reactions. It’s the difference between rotting wood and a fire.
- adastra22 3y ago
  Nuclear reactors are easy. Nuclear fusion is not. At least not a useful fusion reactor.

mikea1 3y ago

> you do kind of root for him in the end I'm rooting for him too. He doesn't have all the qualities of a classic protagonist, yet I find myself hoping that he succeeds in his madcap endeavors. I admire his grit: I would have not had his fortitude in the face of violent threats nor withstand the constant frustration.

pard68 3y ago

I'm not anywhere near knowledgeable enough to chime in on the feasibility of creating a nuclear reactor from a MRI machine, but there is this guy in Floyd, Virginia who has created a nuclear reactor from some old medical equipment, so maybe it's possible with a MRI machine too?

ThrustVectoring 3y ago
Nuclear fission is relatively straightforward so long as you either don't know or don't care about the health risks of radiation. It's just a pile of spicy rocks at the end of the day. Fusion, on the other hand, requires you to get center-of-sun temperatures and pressures going on to work properly. That usually requires either extremely difficult engineering processes or a fission bomb (and more precise engineering calculations but they're actually reasonably solvable).
- alright2565 3y ago
  I don't know exactly what he's doing, but fusion is pretty easy to do: https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/ https://www.instructables.com/Build-A-Fusion-Reactor/
  - whatshisface 3y ago
    I don't know about easy, but hundreds of people have accomplished this as a hobby project using the Farnsworth design, including a handful of very disciplined teenagers.
- jmopp 3y ago
  I always thought fusion was easier than fission, since all* you really need is water and electricity — the problem being that it's currently impossible to get more energy than what you put in * I am eliding over the fact that building a Farnsworth fusor is still a challenge, but less of a challenge than sourcing, purifying, and enriching uranium certainly.
  - Retric 3y ago
    If you just want any reactions then fission is still way easier, you get more fission from a random bit of uranium ore or in some cases even a banana than from a fusor. Nuclear fission includes radiative decay, what makes a nuclear reactor rather than a bomb or pile of rock is becoming self sustaining where the reaction is driving the reaction. Fusor’s don’t get there, ITER will as the energy from fusion is driving more fusion reactions. It’s the difference between rotting wood and a fire.
adastra22 3y ago
Nuclear reactors are easy. Nuclear fusion is not. At least not a useful fusion reactor.