Conversation

Engineering disciplines in order of DIY hackability from most to least, based on non-knowledge inputs Software Kitchen chemical (baking soda class) Electrical (non-electronic) Mechanical Electronic Civil Aerospace (hobby drone grade) Chemical (non-kitchen) Material science
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Chemical is the one with the sharpest divide between what you can do at home versus industrial grade. You hit the limits of baking soda and vinegar pretty quickly.
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Mechanical is interesting because there’s usually a crappy home version of everything. Like hand metal filing/hacksaws for machine tools. The only thing you really can’t do at home is heat treatment.
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Material science is unbelievably inaccessible. You’re restricted to scavenging. Electronics is weird. The inputs are very specialized, but also cheap, safe, and unrestricted enough to buy at consumer budget levels. It’s easier to get diodes than sulphuric acid.
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Engineering education hack: the more mediocre you think you are, the better it is for you to go into a high capex discipline. Not only are there natural barriers to entry keeping teen geniuses out, there is way more arbitrary detail to master, and less use for prodigal talents
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In software you can go from number theory prodigy to cryptography startup before you hit puberty. In nuclear engineering, you’re lucky if you get certified as a knight of standards and practices and get anywhere near fissile material before age 30
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yeah, roughly even my friends who have degrees in nuclear engineering from MIT, the barriers to entry for actually *making* a reactor are pretty profound similarly with nuclear fusion with the exception of farnsworth fusors it's not *totally* infeasible tho
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