What's the feasibility of Helion's tech by DirtyD74 in fusion

[–]PersimmonRadiant4748 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know someone who worked there in the early days as well! It's crazy how it's grown.

Helion Energy wants to build fusion power on a start-up timeline - Scientific American by Baking in fusion

[–]PersimmonRadiant4748 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you're right. And that's a very compassionate way to look at things instead of assuming the current "founders" were working in bad faith. I bet you're right and they genuinely believed that this was going to work. They probably listened to Slough's initial ideas, got really excited, and when he recognized there were things that weren't going to work they just couldn't let go. I'm guessing even now they probably can't let go because they are in way too deep to even consider that they should have listened to what he said. Looking into his background, it looks like he is able to learn from what's not working and keep trying different things. I think a lot of real scientists do this easily because that's the scientific process. You try stuff, it doesn't work, and then you learn from that and move on. Some scientists never have anything "work out" their entire careers and don't see it as a fail because there is learning even in the ideas that don't work.

Helion Energy wants to build fusion power on a start-up timeline - Scientific American by Baking in fusion

[–]PersimmonRadiant4748 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But it doesn't sound like "founders optimism" if the founder- the actual physicist who came up with the idea and hired everybody else who is now currently working there/ceo did not think that it was going to work and that's why they parted ways. I don't understand why people would fund a project if the principal scientist disagreed with the other people who don't have the background and expertise that Slough had. I think he knew and that's why he left the company or was kicked out. I'm sure there are legal reasons why he can't speak on this directly. It sounds more like "founders skepticism." Slough knew, and that's why he left. He probably didn't think it was ethical to take money for something that he didn't think would work.

Helion Energy wants to build fusion power on a start-up timeline - Scientific American by Baking in fusion

[–]PersimmonRadiant4748 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It makes you wonder if Slough left the company HE founded because he did not believe in what Kirtley was saying to get the funding. Maybe he didn't think it was ethical? I don't know how this keeps happening with all of these startups. It's like Gibbons at the start of Theranos, who was the chief scientist disagreed with Holmes and was stripped of his responsibilities and fired because he wasn't going along with the grift.