From the tweet he's replying to:
>A quiet French engineer who never moved to Silicon Valley wrote the code that quietly runs the internet.
Why do some assume you need to move to SV to make an impact in tech?
I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
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Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#12Fabrice is kind of like a space explorer. He goes where few people went before.
I think I first noticed this either with regard to JSLinux, or possibly some software he wrote before that; don't fully remember which year. It's like some people go deliberately to more unique problems with regards to software that actually works in achieving that outcome, whatever the outcome may be.
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#13> A French engineer who lives quietly in Paris has spent 30 years writing software that the entire internet now runs on without knowing his name.
... do tech people really not know who Fabrice Bellard is?
He's kind of a household name in a lot of programming circles
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#14It's obvious that those that write the tools/infrastructure are less visible than those that create the end product. I don't know a single name behind the construction of the AI tensor core in Nvidia's chips but it is effectively what runs all of AI.
I think Fabrice is actually quite noticeable. His name kept on coming up again and again in the past. He is definitely not incognito as such, even if he may not be that interest in hyping up his own name either.
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#15First time I see his picture, and it’s a bit like someone’s revealed the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto when it’s clear they are going out of their way to protect their privacy and stay out of the limelight. My impression is the guy had always better things to do than engage with the greater internet, like thinking real hard and solving difficult problems. Much respect to his work, but even more respect to his work eth…
I imagined him with wild, long hair; possibly tattoos, huge and heavy set. The picture destroyed my imagination - and now I want my imagination back. :(
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#16It's obvious that those that write the tools/infrastructure are less visible than those that create the end product. I don't know a single name behind the construction of the AI tensor core in Nvidia's chips but it is effectively what runs all of AI.
They can't hear you, they're on a yacht
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#17"He is almost certainly a better overall programmer than I am." Hedging the claim with a lot of qualifiers. What's wrong with admitting someone is a better programmer? even giving someone else the benefit of the doubt?
I suspect being a "better programmer" cannot be said unequivocally at their level. At that percentile of achievement, it depends on the specific dimension you are talking about. It's true of the highest skill in any field.
I more suspect he is not just a better programmer but has a two orders of magnitude smaller ego.
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#18"He is almost certainly a better overall programmer than I am." Hedging the claim with a lot of qualifiers. What's wrong with admitting someone is a better programmer? even giving someone else the benefit of the doubt?
He says that Bellard is a better overall programmer, and for some reason you take this as evidence of a lack of humility?
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#19> A French engineer who lives quietly in Paris has spent 30 years writing software that the entire internet now runs on without knowing his name. ... do tech people really not know who Fabrice Bellard is? He's kind of a household name in a lot of programming circles
"Tech people" aren't one single homogeneous mass. His name is unlikely to show up in the same conversation as, say, DHH.
Re: I admire Fabrice Bellard. He is almost certainly a better overall programmer
#20> A French engineer who lives quietly in Paris has spent 30 years writing software that the entire internet now runs on without knowing his name. ... do tech people really not know who Fabrice Bellard is? He's kind of a household name in a lot of programming circles
I have an explicit rule not to meet or look up my heroes. Been burned way too many times.
I don't need to know who is building VLC, curl, ffmpeg or any of the other essentials in my life. I just appreciate their work and pitch in some money if possible.