A gas range? I doubt that highly.

Induction? Sure. I believe induction relies on the metal in the pan to heat up. Quartz or other photonic/IR? Easily.

Open flame? Fuck no. Unless you're talking about leaving it for a set amount of time. But leaving it for any appreciable amount of time on an open flame = burning paper plats. Natural gas has a specific sustained combustion temp.

Though, the distance between the actual flame and the paper plate atop the pot rests, combined with normal air convection and circulation could balance out to less than the ignition temp of the paper plate.

But I doubt that. Open flame heat rises rapidly and concentrates. Even a barely lit low temp candle will char wood a foot or two above the flame source given enough time.

I want to believe!

This seems crazy, but there are stranger things under the sun, so what the fuck do I know?

*observes pillar of smoke in the direction of kenko's house*

Why would you want to simmer a paper plate? I mean, I really care about simmering. I really, really care. And yet I've never wanted to simmer a paper plate, so I think that maybe I don't care about simmering as much as I think I care. About simmering.

The lowest heat setting is 'off,' right?

Simmer means a liquid is involved. You can actually boil water in a paper cup over an open flame. I heard about this when I was about 7 and it stuck fast in my brain until I was about 35 and my wife's cousin had packed those cup-of-soups for a little canoe picnic, but no way to boil water. It was great fun to be all, "we'll boil water in the paper cups", get the look like "you have lost your mind", and have it work. The weak spot was the bottom edge where the side and bottom come together which on these containers was really long. Any paper that was in contact with water did not burn. I highly recommend this one.

Damn, I thought you said "Viking rage," and I was all like, "click, click!"