From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Mon Jun 04 2001 - 12:51:57 MDT
"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" wrote:
>
> Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de wrote:
> >
> > It's not a reactor, because reactors are usually associated
> > with being critical. He was just a kid fooling around. Unless
> > he ingested some of the isotopes (judging from the description,
> > he did sound like a sloppy experimenter) nobody even got hurt.
> >
> > He could have done real damage if he built a particle
> > accelerator. Luckily, wunderkind he was not.
>
> For Ifni's sake, Eugene, what does a "kid" have to do to qualify as a
> wunderkind these days? Found his own moon colony?
Incidentally, let me amplify on that: The person in question built a
neutron source - first from americium, then from radium - in order to
transform thorium-232 into fissionable uranium-233. I'm conditionally
impressed. (Conditional on the story not being an urban legend.) The
transmutation of elements is a perfectly reasonable accomplishment for a
merit badge, whether or not you go on to achieve the coveted critical-mass
badge before the authorities catch up with you.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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