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Ponder Stibbons

When we first meet Ponder Stibbons he is a plumb 21 year old (according to L- Spaces timeline) undergraduate revising hard for his exams. He passed his exam with the highest mark possible; he had received his class mates paper in error. It had one question: Name.

(Moving Pictures)

He appears later in Lords and Ladies; he is now the reader in Invisable Writings. Ridcully chooses him to accompany him to Lancre with the Bursar and the Librarian. He hates the countryside having lived all his life in Ankh-Morpork. Ponder seems without purpose in this book, except maybe eating big dinners, a popular pastime at the UU.

(Lords and Ladies)

In Soul Music, Ponder seems to have found a greater purpose in life: Science, or at least Discworld closest magic/science equivilent. With the help of his students he has built a "Thinking Machine" named HEX. At the moment it can only do junior school maths, but who knows what the future may hold. In this book he also creates the discs first music recorder out of two crystal balls and wire.

(Soul Music)

In Interesting Times Ponder continues to work on HEX; it is now capable of working out spells. It is now starting to worry Ponder. He suspects some kind of magic is involved. He still does not have the respect of the rest of the faculty. They consider his work not to be real magic. The fact that a miscalculation on his part sends Rincewind to an unknown continent does not help matters.

(Interesting Times)

In Hogfather Ponder comes face to face with Death who gives HEX FTB as a reward for believing in the Hogfather. Ridcully seems to start to favour Ponder above the rest of the faculty; he sees in him something which the rest do not possess; common sense.

(Hogfather)

Ponder features greatly in The Last Continent. He is the youngest most depressingly keen member of the faculty. He has also slimmed down a lot. He is now described as skinny. This is probably caused by the increased workload. He is interested in everything and anything. He can't believe his luck when he is stranded on Mono Island with a God of Evolution.

(The Last Continent)

Ponder was born in Ankh-Morpork. His parents died when he was young and he was raised by his Aunt and Uncle. As a child he was bullied badly, as like most Wizards he was different from those around him.

He was a conscientious child; he still has all the pieces to all the games he was ever given, and his childhood books are wrapped in paper. As a boy, he was fascinated by fossils and animals.

Upbringing shapes a person; I believe that Ponder is so shy and timid because of the treatment he received as a boy.