Remix.run Logo
Remix clone Hacker News
new | show | ask | jobsGithub
▲ KellyCriterion 5 hours ago

Today, I would not recommend anybody to go into graphics programming:

I started in 2001, when NVidias first Geforce 1 ("the Gigatexl shadercard") was first announced: The field developed since then with so much speed and innovations, it blows my mind of. Compared to what we could do 25years ago, the tech today is just fu*ing impressive.

Though, with this impressiveness comes a big "but": The space is developing at a speed which is really really scary. Nvidia came up with AI-based effects to influence scene & assets on their own - back then, we wouldnt have even thought about that this will be possible some day in realtime.

I do not know if its possible at all to be a "decent pro" in this field now - let me use other words: "Where is todays Jon Carmack?" - he was famous for squeezing everything out of the hardware, using ideas very hidden in the community etc. - today, there is not any competitive moat for people like him (he actually lives on his legacy), and that is because the field is so vast and evolving so fast that there is no chance to become the next one

▲sph 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I really dislike people that got into a thing and then try to discourage others. “Don’t be like me! I wasted my entire life” which is bullshit from a jaded person that lost passion. Telling people to stay away from graphics programming is not how to entice tomorrow’s John Carmack.

So here’s another perspective. If all you have done is web apps and Kubernetes, for example, do get into graphics programming. The feedback cycle is exhilarating, and you get to appreciate how mind boggingly fast your average computer is. You’ll get to optimize things that are ultimately unimportant because you have never learned how quick things are at the low level. There are a ton of resources and the maths is not too bad. You might find that 3D modeling is a creative outlet you didn’t know you needed. Even if completely inapplicable to your day job, you’ll find new ways to appreciate the art of programming computers, and might just decide to never touch Kubernetes again and spend the next 5 years writing your own game engine in your spare time. There are a lot of crazy people like that, and the community of hobbyists that are not ground down by life and game dev as a career is larger than you’d think. The Graphics Programming discord is a welcoming place if you want to check it out.

Go for it!

▲modeless 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Don’t be like me! I wasted my entire life

That's not the argument being made here. The field is changing. I had a good career in graphics, my life wasn't wasted at all. That doesn't mean a college student would have the same experience starting today.

▲sph 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Well, of course not, unless you are claiming that a future career in graphics is a bad idea, and there is no way you could say that with any reasonable certainty, I do not get the argument at all.

The field is always changing. You could find people in the 80s saying ‘I had a good career in graphics, a college student would not have the same experience starting today’

▲reactordev an hour ago | parent [-]

100% this. My dad told me not to get into it because of the web (he was a C guy) and instead I went head first into it AND did graphics programming (using C#, ewwww) just for the fun of it. Never discourage from someone wanting to learn, discourage the ego that thinks we need another John Carmack.

▲xboxnolifes 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Getting into a field that is changing is the best time to get into that field. The playing field gets equalized and you have more opportunity to be established as a strong expert.

▲kansface an hour ago | parent [-]

That is not a universal because the incumbents may hold the institutional reigns. See Academy for a counter example.

▲michaelchisari 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Seems like a great field to get into if you can make it to the top 5-10% skillset.

The rapid advances, in a trend replicating throughout society, push out the middle in favor of the top.

▲readme 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Out of curiosity, which fields would you say are the best to just be mediocre in?

▲michaelchisari 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Nepo baby.

Joking (sort of).

I can't say I know of any in the fields I'm familiar with. I've watched tech get increasingly top-heavy since the covid hiring boom and bust, although it was already trending that way.

There are a lot of fields dominated by boomers on the verge of retirement that are the safest bet for people who want to be good and make a good living but don't care to be extraordinary.

I've heard that from arborists, water treatment specialists, actuaries, a few others.

▲pfannkuchen an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Has tech really gotten more top heavy?

I feel more like people kept flooding into the middle and bottom, and companies that used to focus on top talent got watered down with those middle and bottom types.

A lot of the people getting laid off from Google and Meta would not have been hired at all in those places 15 years ago, for example.

▲dakolli 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nobody who has ambitions of being the top of their field in engineering wants to be a water treatment specialists, arborist or actuary (maybe actuary if you're a stats nerd). What you're saying is go do something on the based on the potential for you to be professionally successful.. What about people doing things they love?

I hate these people telling people who love to do a certain thing that they should just become a plumber or an electrician. Not everything is about spending your life to make as much pieces of paper the govt tells you are worth something.

I'd rather be in poverty working with computers everyday and doing what I love than make 10k a month being a plumber. I actually can't stand you people.

▲michaelchisari 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The question I answered was:

Which fields would you say are the best to just be mediocre in

> I actually can't stand you people.

Unnecessary. People who want a basic middle class existence are not greedy and should not receive disdain. Many have responsibilities to their elders or others, have kids or want them, etc. so avowed poverty is not realistic.

Especially when bohemian poverty is an increasingly vanishing option on a practical level.

▲witos2 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[dead]

▲readme 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean, there's other problems with OPs argument.

For example, "there's no chance to become the next one" implies it's only worth it to do something if you can become the absolute best person in the field.

It's a big world. Most of us will not be the very best at what we do. There are millions of fun games that were not written by John Carmack.

▲bashmelek 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Yeah, like I imagine they mean that as a career it is competitive and demanding while having few openings so you shouldn’t stake your education and future on it, but I’m with you. This is something I really want to learn well enough to contribute the world.

Another staple of HN I abhor is “don’t bother learning this cool thing unless an official IQ test says you are over 150.”

▲sph 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I live after the motto of "always disregard the naysayers." If someone tells you a thing is a bad idea, you can safely ignore their advice.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

— George Bernard Shaw

▲CrociDB 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Chill down. It's just someone who has a lot of experience in the field making an analysis of the current landscape of the career, using their own as an example.

> Telling people to stay away from graphics programming is not how to entice tomorrow’s John Carmack.

John Carmack was one of the _first_ graphics programmer to ever exist. The next John Carmack can't be in the same field. The same way we can't expect the next Beatles to be playing rock music. :)

▲tayo42 26 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That sounds nice, but we need to make money and there aren't alot of opportunities. I'd love to get away from web and infra nonsense but,in The right domain id even do it for a pay cut. Hobby work won't get you a job

▲zerr 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Isn't it mostly shaders programming nowadays?

▲fastball 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"These annoying, jaded horse-drawn cart builders, cautioning youngsters from getting into the field in 1908."

▲bsder 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> I really dislike people that got into a thing and then try to discourage others. “Don’t be like me! I wasted my entire life” which is bullshit from a jaded person that lost passion. Telling people to stay away from graphics programming is not how to entice tomorrow’s John Carmack.

Given that almost everyone who wants to be a "graphics programmer" is also somehow gaming industry adjacent, it is extremely fair to ward them off from the folly. I do the same for anyone wishing to do "VLSI hardware engineering." If you have the skill to do either of those, you almost CERTAINLY have the skill to do something else that is almost as interesting and not saddled by garbage employers.

The primary problem with being a "graphics programmer" beyond a tyro is that the biggest consumer of graphics programmers is the game industry which is a notoriously shitty and wretched industry. Every ... single ... employer. So, from the point of view of future potential, "graphics programmer" has very little upside over pretty much ANY other type of programmers.

Second, "learning graphics programming" is like "learning phone programming", you spend more time fighting godawful software infrastructure more than you do actual programming. AI actually kind of helps this, but it doesn't completely remove the fact that 80% of your knowledge has a half-life of 18-24 months.

Finally, saying "I want to learn graphics programming" is like saying "I want to learn engineering." What "graphics programmer" means is vastly underspecified. 3D game rendering and 3D/2D CAD rendering and 2D vector rendering are completely different skillsets. GPUs are great at the first and kinda okay at the second and kinda lousy at the third. Which kind of "graphics programmer" are you even going to be?

▲Toqoz_ 7 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

> Second, "learning graphics programming" is like "learning phone programming", you spend more time fighting godawful software infrastructure more than you do actual programming. AI actually kind of helps this, but it doesn't completely remove the fact that 80% of your knowledge has a half-life of 18-24 months.

What kind of knowledge are you talking about here? learnopengl.com is still relevant today for its technical knowledge of fundamental graphics techniques, in spite of OpenGL itself slowly dying. The knowledge itself is overwhelmingly transferable to whatever modern graphics API you’re using.

With mobile development, I can see that you’re mostly learning surface level tools and APIs, which get changed frequently as a new iOS version comes out. But with graphics it’s actually the opposite — most large features come with new hardware, and because most of your customers are generally using older hardware, you can’t even use those new features until the majority of users have upgraded and support it (usually with a new console generation).

Regardless of what you think of the games industry, graphics programmers are highly in demand and paid relatively very well. It’s hard and there’s a lot of surface area to cover to really be excellent, but the knowledge is relevant, longstanding, and rewarding IMO.

▲Animats an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> 3D game rendering and 3D/2D CAD rendering and 2D vector rendering are completely different skillsets.

Actually, no. Autodesk acquired Alias, and got the Maya animation system, in 2005. Soon after, the CAD tools had cinematic quality output. The architectural people loved this - good looking, accurate architectural renders came out. They especially liked that lighting worked, and you could use the CAD system to place real-world light fixtures.

▲sph 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Which kind of "graphics programmer" are you even going to be?

If one follows OP's advice, none at all.

> it is extremely fair to ward them off from the folly

I completely disagree with this. It is a damaging and unproductive attitude to teach beginners and young people. Who are you to say their future career prospect is a folly? The only thing that defines the talents of tomorrow is that they have ignored such advice and then pushed forward the state of the art in ways you couldn't even imagine. This is how progress works.

▲bsder 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> Who are you to say their future career prospect is a folly?

Someone who watched an industry chew up and spit out far too many young people. That's who and that's why I'm qualified.

> The only thing that defines the talents of tomorrow is that they have ignored such advice and then pushed forward the state of the art in ways you couldn't even imagine. This is how progress works.

You would encourage an individual to walk a path that is 90%(95%/99%) likely to damage their life horribly in the name of "progress"? Really? That's ... more than a little inhumane.

Would you encourage someone who likes writing to be a "journalist" right now? I should hope not. I wouldn't tell them to not write, but I sure would try to find a better way to channel that skill.

Or perhaps, if we substituted "pro basketball player" for "graphics programming" perhaps you could see the folly? Although, at least the individual playing basketball would gain the immediate benefits of being quite fit while the graphics programmer would enjoy no such side benefit.

▲dylan604 21 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> "Where is todays Jon Carmack?" - he was famous for squeezing everything out of the hardware,

Spinning that another way, there's Bill Gates (not sure of the authenticity though) saying something along the lines of why would he pay to spend that kind of time when CPUs/RAM/HDDs are getting faster/cheaper; users can just upgrade. If we determine which method is more successful based on their worth...

▲qingcharles 25 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Right. Most of the clever stuff that Carmack is famous for moved from software into hardware.

By argument about not getting into graphics programming is different -- are 3D engines, with their vertices and textures, going to even exist a few years from now? Or will everything be rendered directly by an AI world model? How much code will a game contain, or will it simply exist in a series of cleverly-worded prompts?

▲fasterik 37 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Graphics programming is intrinsically interesting. It sits at the intersection of several important fields, from computer science to mathematics to theoretical physics. There's no reason why someone shouldn't learn it if they have the interest and motivation to do it.

Maybe this is good advice for someone who's looking to transition into a new field but doesn't care about what they're actually doing. But that's not a good way to go through life; my advice to such a person is to follow what they find interesting and valuable, and constantly challenge themselves to learn new things.

▲bsenftner 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Graphics programming has this one very, very useful aspect, exponentially more valuable today: the matrix algebra pipelines, and then the requirement to 'think in matrix transforms' is a wonderful and visually engaging way to get your foundation for machine learning math.

▲eichin 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I don't really see this with modern graphics programming, but I was highly amused that my 1980s-1990s graphics skills (in particular, coordinate transform math) were very useful when I started working in robotics in the 2010s-2020s (because forward and inverse kinematics are exactly the same thing as 2d/3d projections.)

The trick there is that they both have related physical analogs, and machine learning math doesn't really (in that while you can visualize them spatially, it doesn't seem to help solve any problems in that space.)

▲mathisfun123 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is like saying being a cashier prepares you for a job in high-finance because both involve arithmetic on dollars and cents.

I've been in ML for ~5 years in multiple FAANGs and I have never seen a rotation matrix.

▲bsenftner 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

A rotation matrix is but one of dozens and dozens of different types of basic transforms. It gets really fun with jacobian 12x12 matrix operations, and free form deformations. Which maps to ML far better than most imagine.

▲kilpikaarna 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I mainly learned linear algebra via hands-on 3D graphics, and have a hard time thinking about a matrix as anything other than 4x4 and representing a linear transform...

How much do you even think about explicit matrix math when doing high-level ML?

▲bsenftner 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

3D graphics is so much more than the basic transforms. Add in all the deformation systems blending together, and those often being physics driven off the animation. You all have seen modern VFX, right? That is not basic 4x4 transforms.

▲skydhash 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I’ve not done high level ML, but I’ve done introductory ML and the truth is while the input space and the output space can have N and M dimensions, there’s not a lot of constraints involved. The matrix there are more randoms.

The whole ML field is basically about starting from random points and trying to find useful shapes and constraints. Basically like trying to get object likeness in clouds

▲jplusequalt 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

TBF, I bet any graphics programmer would be a boon for a ML shop for their GPU/performance optimization knowledge alone.

▲cognoboffin 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Doesn’t RoPE use 2D rotation matrices ?

▲mathisfun123 5 hours ago | parent [-]

congrats you've found literally the only example ("the exception that proves the rule").

▲bsenftner 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Your fixation on the rotation matrix == 3D graphics is not right

▲cognoboffin 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

SVD, and PCA are also examples.

▲mathisfun123 3 hours ago | parent [-]

there is absolutely no sense in which the SVD/PCA decomposition is just a rotation matrix. you should probably review your linear algebra textbook (hint: scaling is extremely important).

▲moregrist 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

PCA is an orthogonal transformation of the covariance matrix, so like all orthogonal transformations, it’s _literally a rotation_ in N-dimensional space.

SVD is more complex but ultimately it’s just another useful decomposition of a matrix.

I’m not sure why you’re both negative and dismissive. Transformation matrices in graphics are a good and approachable way to get used to linear transformations, which turn out to be useful pretty much everywhere.

Whether or not that helps you with ML depends more on what you’re doing in ML. FAANG doesn’t have a monopoly on ML or on interesting work in ML.

▲mathisfun123 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> PCA is an orthogonal transformation of the covariance matrix

Yes you're now the second person the literally repeat the same thing I've already stated extremely clearly and succinctly: PCA is not just rotation (hint: you also need to understand covariance).

> I’m not sure why you’re both negative and dismissive. Transformation matrices in graphics are a good and approachable way to get used to linear transformations, which turn out to be useful pretty much everywhere.

I've already literally drawn the analogy/metaphor that I've drawn: if you think 2d/3d rotation matrices as they are used in graphics is any kind of introduction to the matrices in ML (modeling linear transformations or otherwise) then you're probably the type of person that believes that cash registers any kind of introduction to finance.

My point is not that hard to understand. Graphics in no way, way, shape, or form prepares you for ML. I don't understand why this is so controversial.

▲moregrist an hour ago | parent [-]

> My point is not that hard to understand.

Have you done any serious graphics programming? Even at the OpenGL 1.x level? What you’re saying just doesn’t make sense.

Just because you’re rotating and translating things in 3-space doesn’t negate that you have a stack of transforms that relate a point in world space to one on screen space and you want to be able to project from one to the other.

Nor does it make it any easier when you need to think about how to stack transforms to achieve effects like rendering a mirror.

I honed a lot of useful practical skill with linear algebra trying to get graphics to do what I wanted. And I say this as someone who’s spent the bulk of my career using linear algebra in the context of quantum mechanics, physical simulation, and ML-adjacent areas.

▲mathisfun123 an hour ago | parent [-]

> negate that you have a stack of transforms that relate a point in world space to one on screen space and you want to be able to project from one to the other.

no it doesn't "negate", it's all completely orthogonal (pun) or irrelevant. like for real just please take a look at

https://docs.pytorch.org/docs/2.12/nn.html

and tell me which operators you're imagining have any resemblance with typical graphics linear algebra.

like when you people make such claims do you really have anything concrete in mind or just hype?

▲cognoboffin 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

SVD is the decomposition of a matrix into two rotation matrices and a scaling matrix, by definition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_value_decomposition

▲mathisfun123 3 hours ago | parent [-]

i don't understand who is having trouble reading the dialogue here you or i;

> there is absolutely no sense in which the SVD/PCA decomposition is just a rotation matrix... (hint: scaling is extremely important)

...

> SVD is the decomposition of a matrix into two rotation matrices and a scaling matrix, by definition:

yes that's exactly what i was implying when i said SVD more than just rotation, scaling is also important.

my point, which is my same original point, is that if you think learning about rotation/euler matrices is going to prepare you in any way, shape, or form for ML (vis-a-vis SVD/PCA or RoPE or anything else) you're in for a very rude awakening.

▲srean 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

... and I have been both situations for longer and have seen tons and tons of them (*)... So?

Not so hypotheticals -- Heck the inputs that you want labelled could be rotation matrices. The desired output could be a rotation matrix. Generating more convenient features could be via a rotation matrix. Dimensionality reduction could be through a reduction matrix. Sparsity could be encouraged by proper use of rotation matrices. Shows up if you want to build in group theoretic invariance in your predictive model.

(*) If you consider Householders then even more

▲pascahousut 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Is the linear algebra of machine learning more complicated than that of graphics?

▲ekholm_e 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I'm a data scientist and not a graphics programmer, but my guess is that it's just abstracted away more. If you're using ML/DL libraries, you're mostly just calling APIs that handle the linear algebra and calculus for you. Unless you're actively contributing to those libraries, you likely don't ever need to "touch" any of the underlying operations. Up to a point, it's useful to understand how things work under the hood, but where that point is kinda depends on your job. For instance, I could write code to do 'naive' matrix multiplication, but I couldn't, like, contribute to BLAS.

▲molybd3num 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

i think so

▲lp4v4n an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Very interesting insights, thanks for this.

Indeed "be a graphics programmer" nowadays sounds like "be an assembly programmer".

A kind of time waster for a nerd with too much time in their hands.

▲Profan 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

How about people like Inigo Quilez? I'd say they're still quite high profile in today's landscape. And the main thing is I think there's just way more people in the field overall today too, not everyone can be famous! It's totally fine to not be as high profile as literally one of the most well known people in a field, it's fine to just do it because you enjoy it! The math and art of graphics (and games in general) programming is beautiful in and of itself.

▲cjk 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Couldn't disagree more. I've only recently started digging into graphics programming and I've found it incredibly rewarding. It's the _one_ area of expertise that I don't yet have that has been preventing me from solo-developing a 3D game engine.

It takes five minutes of trawling through the videos on the GDC Vault to see all of the clever and interesting ways modern graphics engineers are eking every bit of performance out of modern hardware. Is it as clever or innovative as Carmack's fast inverse square root? I don't know. I'm not sure how to compare those things. But there is still plenty of room for that flavor of work for those that are interested.

▲bsenftner 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Well, then: "merry Christmas" so to say: https://flipcode.com/archives/

▲cjk an hour ago | parent [-]

This is brilliant. Thanks!

▲hoistthesales 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

JC was a bit of an anomaly but also his image is mostly coming from players and journalists. Developers struggled to use the later id software engines (partly why UE won that war).

You don’t need to be JC to earn a decent living as a graphics/game programmer.

▲psygn89 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think the people that go into this field today (and for a while now) probably do it for the love of it, not the pay or widespread fame of doing something extraordinary in the field. Not that you can't have it all, but not being some legend I, well, I think that's a strange reason for someone already interested in game dev not to step into the field?

▲jayd16 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You can still read a bunch of papers and be first to market using exotic tech. The main issue right now is that games are so incredibly high budget and the bar is so high that you really need to stand out in many ways.

We see folks posting photo real, Gaussian splat FPS maps here every now and then but without also innovating on gameplay its just a tech demo. Those don't cut it these days.

▲markus_zhang 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What if I just want to program some rendering engine for a game that looks like DOOM 3 and its predecessors? I think that’s still quite doable?

▲corysama 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Old 3D engine guy here. I highly encourage folks to make a 3D engine for fun and learning. Shipping a game with it would be a cherry on top. Come join us in r/graphicsprograming, r/gameenginedevs and the graphics programming discord.

▲markus_zhang an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Thanks. I have 3 days of vacation ahead so will use the time to sort out the math first. Code shouldn’t be too hard for a very simple 3d demo.

I tried my hand on hand a while ago and found out I couldn’t make out how many pixels to draw, say, a line in the 3d world. It involves a transformation to the world and another transformation to the camera, so I couldn’t make it out without any study.

This is probably very trivial so hopefully 3 days is good enough.

▲shermantanktop 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Seems like a lot of people work for a long time perfecting their special flavor of ice cream and never quite get to the cherry on top.

A lot to be learned from building a 3D engine, no doubt, but anecdotally the chances that it will lead a working game that anyone wants to play seem low. That's not a bad thing, unless they tell themselves they are going to ship a game any day now, just as soon as they do X, then Y, then Z, ...

▲halestock 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Huh? Just because you're not going to become the next graphics programming legend you think it's not worth getting into graphics programming at all?

▲JasonSage 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It's also a great way to not become the next "graphics programming legend" --I think a fast-moving field with lots of new developments is actually an exciting place to be a pro.

▲alexashka 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The moment you realize most people's thinking is no better than a hallucinating LLM :)

▲groundzeros2015 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

There is more to graphics than AAA games or blockbuster movies.

▲ 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]
[deleted]
▲redlewel an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Boooooooo

Keep learning yung ones

▲nicebyte 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Ridiculous justification.

"Where is todays Jon Carmack?"

Where is the "John Carmack" of ML? Where is the John Carmack of physics? This hero worship crap needs to be left in the past. There isn't a singular active researcher you can point to and say "this person has made the field what it is today". There are very influential papers, but they all have multiple contributors. Is that really a valid reason to not engage in a particular area of research or engineering?

And who cares anyway? No matter what you choose to do with your time, chances are that you will not have that much of an impact on your chosen discipline. You should choose how to spend your time based on whether an activity genuinely interests you, not on whether you think it would be easy to get recognition.

▲OkayPhysicist 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Physics is a weird one to bring up, because even compared to other fields, it's one where breakthroughs are frequently the result of relatively singular genius. Newton, Faraday, Planck, Einstein, their discoveries were generally not incremental progress along existing lines of inquiry like most physics research is, they made pretty radical changes to our understanding of the world writ large.

In comparison, Carmack is grossly overhyped. He's like the Feynman of CS: A significant contributor to relatively young field, and a pretty influential communicator, but their contributions were moreso being the first to make a certain type of incremental progress than a paradigm shift.

▲nicebyte an hour ago | parent [-]

No, that is exactly the reason I am bringing up physics. There used to be a time when a singular person could make an outsized impact. In the recent past though, this has not been the case: significant breakthroughs are usually the result of coordinated effort of many individuals. Is that really a valid reason to not do physics?

▲nicebyte 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

now, if you said "don't get into it because your primary employment prospects would be games or film industry, which are known to be less than stellar towards their workers" - that would be a different story.

▲anthk 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Fabrice Bellard.