Abhishek Ambad blogs

  Without having met Elon, I think he’s undeniably pretty smart (and I think a few counter-examples shown above here are irrelevant, everyone makes mistakes at times). Firstly, Elon’s preference for physics-based  first-principles thinking  is part of it. Whether it’s can we make an electric jet? OR Are reusable rockets feasible? the approach has to be first principles-based otherwise the answer will often be ‘no’. Why would anyone want to think any other way? There’s a price to be paid: you will be labeled a ‘dreamer/idealist’. (Confession: I’m a physicist too and have been accused of these wonderful sins). Secondly, Elon’s  bookishness  is another ingredient. I learned SO much from books in the old days. A smart techy person who is motivated by wanting to fix or innovate things (like the world) can rapidly reach a professional level in any subject in a TENTH the time someone doing a course would. It’s a fact. I learned to design, build, and MACHINE-CODE progra...