|
In the fictional universe of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books, Ponder Stibbons is a wizard in Unseen University. He is the Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic, Praelector and Reader in Invisible Writings and works in the High Energy Magic building. His first appearance is as a student wizard in Moving Pictures (1990).
His entry in The New Discworld Companion states that he was 'originally rather lazy by nature, he seems to have blossomed to become the youngest and most depressingly keen member of the UU faculty... as one of the few wizards at the University with his head screwed on in any fashion, he appears, quite against his will, to be in the front line'.
Stibbons' most succesful creation is Hex, a magical computer composed of glass tubes full of ants, and other assorted complex systems, such as mice. Hex is initially capable only of simple arithmetic; however as the series continues, and more complex additions are made to Hex, it develops the semi-sapience of a child.
In The Science of Discworld, a book which interleaved a Discworld story and real world science, Stibbons creates a device for splitting the thaum, once believed to be the smallest unit of magical radiation particles. The creation of this device borrows heavily from our real world splitting of the atom.
In The Last Continent he is offered the job as assistant to the god of evolution, but quits after only a few hours when he realizes that the god's big project is, in fact, a cockroach.
| 
