The big problem is that Carmack is an elite software engineer, and he's not at that same tier in rocketry/aerospace despite being good at it. Elite vs good. Which is to say, he'd have to take a back seat at SpaceX (which is running at full speed; Carmack would have to try to get back up to speed in aerospace just to contribute, difficult by itself). His ability to contribute beyond that of other industry specific talent is very questionable, and there are far better people - at rocketry/aerospace - working there than him. Carmack knows that without question. It simply doesn't make sense for him to spend his time doing that; it's not the best use of his time given that SpaceX already exists (vs trying to start what SpaceX has become, in his Armadillo effort).
It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan spending the remainder of his athletic career trying to play baseball. Sure, he could have done that. If the White Sox had allowed him on the team (ignoring the strike for a moment), more than likely all he would have been doing is taking the job of someone better at playing professional baseball than him; while his greatest ability by far rests in his basketball prowess.
Carmack already did a deep run at aerospace. He has N time left. Where can he combo make the greatest impact and enjoy the work. I'd guess that's something close to the equation, it seems to be for most people in that position/stage of life. Working at SpaceX is unlikely to be that place all things considered. What might have happened if Carmack had joined in the early days instead of doing Armadillo is an interesting thought (it's hard to see how the SpaceX outcome could be much better than it has been though, realistically).
> The big problem is that Carmack is an elite software engineer, and he's not at that same tier in rocketry/aerospace despite being good at it. Elite vs good. Which is to say, he'd have to take a back seat at SpaceX (which is running at full speed; Carmack would have to try to get back up to speed in aerospace just to contribute, difficult by itself). His ability to contribute beyond that of other industry specific talent is very questionable, and there are far better people - at rocketry/aerospace - working there than him.
According to the book 'Liftoff' about the genesis of SpaceX. This does not accurately reflect how they hire. Domain knowledge and skill is part of the equation, especially for the leadership team. But they'll also pick up anyone with a proven ability of solving difficult engineering problems even from completely different disciplines.
SpaceX is doing things that haven't been done before anywhere, thus the domain experience can only take you so far...
> It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan spending the remainder of his athletic career trying to play baseball
Sure, but that could just as easily describe Carmack's current efforts in AGI (and I seem to recall that he even tweeted something to that effect himself, though I can't find it now). Him achieving AGI as a solo researcher seems less likely than him making some big technical contributions to SpaceX, or Tesla AI.
It's the equivalent of Michael Jordan spending the remainder of his athletic career trying to play baseball. Sure, he could have done that. If the White Sox had allowed him on the team (ignoring the strike for a moment), more than likely all he would have been doing is taking the job of someone better at playing professional baseball than him; while his greatest ability by far rests in his basketball prowess.
Carmack already did a deep run at aerospace. He has N time left. Where can he combo make the greatest impact and enjoy the work. I'd guess that's something close to the equation, it seems to be for most people in that position/stage of life. Working at SpaceX is unlikely to be that place all things considered. What might have happened if Carmack had joined in the early days instead of doing Armadillo is an interesting thought (it's hard to see how the SpaceX outcome could be much better than it has been though, realistically).