New Polywell Article On HotGas

Point out news stories, on the net or in mainstream media, related to polywell fusion.

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Diogenes
Posts: 6967
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by Diogenes »

I guess i'll weigh in here. Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) first put me onto the term "Credentialism." He laments that it is basically the power wielded by Liberal elites in their Ivory Towers to force pretty much everyone to pay them and to obey them.


He asserts that they have raised the cost of it insanely high, and that he predicts an eventual meltdown in educational costs, and let's face it, it really doesn't cost $100,000 / year to teach anyone whatever career discipline they are interested in pursuing. That is an artificially inflated cost, and a method of deliberate exclusion. (Elitism)

As Glenn Reynolds is also fond of saying about the minimum wage (that the natural minimum wage is zero) so too is this true of education. The Khan Academy will teach pretty much anyone the same material they would learn in most Universities, and they will do it for free, as a public service.

What they can't give you are "credentials", at least not yet, but I understand they are heading in that direction.


MIT and other Universities has been offering "free" classes. I believe at first they didn't offer credit, but I think they are now doing so. This appears to me to be the natural trend of higher education in the eventual future.


I say "Bring it on." Let everyone have the opportunity to excel, that can only now be afforded by the relatively wealthy.


I am for the "socialization" or "democratization" of education. It's about time these elitist bastards got tossed out on their "rent seeking" @$$.


As for this specific discussion of what constitutes an "Engineer", I prefer capability over Credentials. I've known a lot of "Credentialed" people (Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers, etc) who turned out to be incredible dumb@$$e$. Credentials are good, but the meat of a book is more proof than it's cover.
‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

No matter what myopic spin Alex wants to try and put on my words, my base point remains.
There is an option for capability, the question is how do you measure it? How can you assure the more than 300,000 thousand folks driving vehicles across the George Washingtion Bridge each day that it isn't going to fall down because the guy who built it or maintains it really didn't know what he was doing?
Or, the first passengers in a new airplane that it isn't going to fall out of the sky because a claimed "Aerospace Electronics Engineer" really wasn't, and screwed the pooch on something?

Many have died when they took someone on misplaced faith. So, how do you ascertain? Who is the judge? What do they base the judgement on?
How much in resources should be allocated and/or expended to test an unproven design by a dude who says he knows what he is doing?
How do you advance the art? Who maintains the body of knowledge? Who and how is new knowledge regulated and verified?

How does anarchy seem to be working out for LENR these days? Because this is what you are talking about: Science and Engineering with no structure.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

alexjrgreen wrote:Repetition doesn't make something true.
I no longer wish to continue the conversation with you.
I have underlined and bolded where, in the multiple statements I re-posted, I said Mike could attempt to meet the existing standard for IEEE and that would be fine. I went back and did this for others following the thread, not for you.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

paperburn1
Posts: 2484
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:53 am
Location: Third rock from the sun.

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by paperburn1 »

As far as getting a diploma "Peoples University" is certified and accredited and get you a BS degree for about 4000 dollars.
Yes that is 4000 USD total.
All online and proctored as needed. Right now they only have the capability of 2500 students a year.
Unfortunately they are facing trouble from on line scammers pretending they are the university. Bilking people out of their money. Hopefully they will overcome this problem and continue to grow or sprout many other "virtual university" that are accredited and accepted as well.
I too feel a education should not cost you several years of your life.
I am not a nuclear physicist, but play one on the internet.

Betruger
Posts: 2321
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 11:54 am

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by Betruger »

It's insidiously unfeasible because of sociopolitical reality, but the real issue is the paradigm paralysis of general public (and consequent political/corporate status quo) WRT curing aging. And yet social programs could sacrifice a few percent of their funding, for their current short term benefits, to start a serious anti-aging industry; for effectively unlimited long term benefits. Then humans could afford committing those currently-priceless years of life to pay for an educated future.
Man is not meant to live only 100 years. Not anymore, not when there is so much to know and so much to do.

Things need to change, and the academic status quo is just one of the inevitable casualties. The general public's (effective) immobilism against the accelerating upwelling of possibilities that science and technology allow will have to give way. The sooner the better. If it has to happen in extremely fringe splinter communities, seasteading and on Mars and whatnot, then so be it. But denying the democratisation of material and intellectual wealth, IOW killing material and cultural scarcity, is no good.


It's excessively roundabout an outlook WRT the last few posts' topic, and it doesn't really speak to MSimon's case, but it is the root cause. It's roundabout and tangential because we're so far off track from where we should be. Curing aging would bridge the chasm that keeps people -- currently, with their so-limited outlook due to current lifespan and all of its immediate consequences (e.g. can't afford 4000$/a few years of quality education) -- from considering that "science fiction" alternate reality that's beyond such a flimsy obstacle, the thin veil of a few % of current big govt social programs.
There's no humane justification for denying future generations the well being of longer, less hurried lives.

Given enough time anything is possible, and here anything means anything realistically conceivable. Which is vast.
You can do anything you want with laws except make Americans obey them. | What I want to do is to look up S. . . . I call him the Schadenfreudean Man.

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

An interesting perspective.

I fully agree that the academic status quo is at risk, and needs to adapt. To what, I am unsure. In a seeming departure from what I said about, the higher education system is broken, and has turned into a self licking ice-cream cone (like Rossiclown :D , sorry couldn't resist), and is not reflective nor responsive of the rapid change in our societal culture. The reason I say seeming departure, is that I remain committed to my fundamental stance that science and engineering requires structure in order to mitigate the potentially massive risks that a lack of structure or anarchy may place on the table regarding risk to innocents, who may not wish it.

Seat of the pants engineering and science belongs in the garage or backyard, where risk is not dispersed indiscriminately.
While some folks seek risk or 'adventure', most folks are probably not interested in hurtling down the interstate highway at speed in or near a car that was built by amateurs, or self-professed experts that nobody is holding accountable.
Standards have meaning and intent to protect the public from idiots.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

DeltaV
Posts: 2245
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:05 am

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by DeltaV »

It used to be that, to get a PhD, you could submit a thesis to certain schools and successfully defend it, not having taken any classes. I wonder if any schools still allow that route.

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

Some, but not many. Most now require academics (pay me the money) at/via the institution prior to a doctoral dissertation.
Not all grant a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS, like a Masters) either, as a certification of completing the academic requirements.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

Diogenes
Posts: 6967
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by Diogenes »

Betruger wrote: There's no humane justification for denying future generations the well being of longer, less hurried lives.


This perception bothers me quite a lot. Considering the sweep of history, i'm not sure extending lives is necessarily a good thing at all. I can just imagine what a longer lived Caligula might have accomplished.


This notion also reminds me of all the wonderful speculations people had regarding the invention of movies and television. They were to be "great teaching methods", and to used "improve education", and yet they have turned out to be that "Vast Wasteland" that Newton Minow noticed back in the 1960s.


Longer lived humans will likely engage in more extended debauchery and oppression. At least that is the direction in which I would be betting. Have you been noticing what sort of "glitterati" is leading society nowadays?
‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

Skipjack
Posts: 6805
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:29 pm

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by Skipjack »

Can we please take this discussion over to General? No offense, but peoples opinion about MSimon's existing or non existing degree is not exactly newsworthy, nor is Diogenes' opinion on whether longevity is desirable or not.

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

Fair enough. I think I am done with it anyway. :)
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

Betruger
Posts: 2321
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 11:54 am

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by Betruger »

Moved to elixir thread in general.
You can do anything you want with laws except make Americans obey them. | What I want to do is to look up S. . . . I call him the Schadenfreudean Man.

parallel
Posts: 1131
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:24 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by parallel »

Looking for an update on progress with the Polywell I visited this thread. As soon as I saw ladajo's name I new there would be no news on the actual subject.

ladajo
Posts: 6258
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:18 pm
Location: North East Coast

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by ladajo »

Yeah Parallel is here!!!

Let's play!

:lol:
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

pbelter
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:52 am

Re: New Polywell Article On HotGas

Post by pbelter »

Image

The picture seems like fake but the story is not.
Eistein is not a professor and MSimon not an engineer because the Important Bureaucratic Paperwork says they are not.
Power of organized Academia... heh.

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