> That implies Karpathy is either dumb or desperate

This kind of thing happens to big names in software all the time. Carmack going to Facebook is a prime example - he joined with the idea of using all those resources to build world-changing tech, and instead he ended up headlining conferences, and fighting a losing battle against the corporate types who were put in charge of Oculus.

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nine_k 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Hasn't Carmack solved a few serious engineering problems, making Oculus more or less the most advanced VR device? (The fact that an advanced VR device does not seem to be needed by the mass market is not an engineering problem.)

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gruturo 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes - but - ironically - he did that _before_ joining them. IIRC he literally started collaborating and helping them while being at a different company.

	▲	StilesCrisis 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That seems surprisingly common to me. Visionary engineer has solution to problem, gets hired, solves the broad strokes in the first year, then spends N more years in meetings with exec stakeholders and worrying about schedules/hiring/financials instead of _doing the vision work_.