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Zen is the work of a huge team of talented engineers. To single one out as "the man behind Zen" seems very wrong. I don't know what Jim Keller's contribution to

Zen is the work of a huge team of talented engineers. To single one out as "the man behind Zen" seems very wrong. I don't know what Jim Keller's contribution to Zen was (and without a blog or autobiography or similar from someone well placed inside the team, then neither do most commentators), but if he did work on the Zen architecture, it's hard to believe that he would have accomplished much without the help of a good team. Keller is the main AMD engineer singled out for praise on The Internet, while the hard work (and given that Zen is such a success, it's surely the result of a mountain of hard work) of everyone else is mostly ignored.

sremani 9y ago
In our 5000 years of recorded History, the Leader gets the glory and/or the sword. Now a days, they do get Golden parachutes but attributing success to Leaders (and in many cases rightfully so) has not changed.
santoshalper 9y ago
No doubt, but on the other hand, look at his resume. Every project he has led has been a huge success, and when he left AMD for a time, they floundered. Lots of people work hard and contribute, but the value of a top leader is undeniable.
VT_Drew 9y ago
And Apple was more than Jobs and Woz, but they get all the credit.
- chaostheory 9y ago
  It's true. https://www.theymadethat.com/things/iwe/apple-macintosh-128k https://www.theymadethat.com/things/iwe/apple-macintosh-128k It's just so hard to track any history related to people who are not super famous.
  - netsharc 9y ago
    Reading Woz's book, it seemed like he knew what every gate on every chip on the first Apple computer... if not gate, at least every chip.
    - chaostheory 9y ago
      The strange thing about Woz is that I don't know what he worked on at Apple after the Apple II https://www.theymadethat.com/people/31em5b/steve-wozniak https://www.theymadethat.com/people/31em5b/steve-wozniak
- pow_pp_-1_v 9y ago
  From what I have read, Woz is in a league of his own. If anything he doesn't get the credit he deserves.
0xbear 9y ago
The main contribution of a technical leader is calling bullshit on things that are bullshit. Left to their own devices, large teams of people will produce a lot of things, but someone qualified needs to decide which of those things actually need to be produced, and how to make them work when you put them together. So while you are right, and he is not the only person "behind Zen", it would also be wise to not underestimate how crucial his contribution was. Dude very obviously knows his shit.

sremani 9y ago

In our 5000 years of recorded History, the Leader gets the glory and/or the sword. Now a days, they do get Golden parachutes but attributing success to Leaders (and in many cases rightfully so) has not changed.

santoshalper 9y ago

No doubt, but on the other hand, look at his resume. Every project he has led has been a huge success, and when he left AMD for a time, they floundered. Lots of people work hard and contribute, but the value of a top leader is undeniable.

VT_Drew 9y ago

And Apple was more than Jobs and Woz, but they get all the credit.

chaostheory 9y ago
It's true. https://www.theymadethat.com/things/iwe/apple-macintosh-128k https://www.theymadethat.com/things/iwe/apple-macintosh-128k It's just so hard to track any history related to people who are not super famous.
- netsharc 9y ago
  Reading Woz's book, it seemed like he knew what every gate on every chip on the first Apple computer... if not gate, at least every chip.
  - chaostheory 9y ago
    The strange thing about Woz is that I don't know what he worked on at Apple after the Apple II https://www.theymadethat.com/people/31em5b/steve-wozniak https://www.theymadethat.com/people/31em5b/steve-wozniak
pow_pp_-1_v 9y ago
From what I have read, Woz is in a league of his own. If anything he doesn't get the credit he deserves.

0xbear 9y ago

The main contribution of a technical leader is calling bullshit on things that are bullshit. Left to their own devices, large teams of people will produce a lot of things, but someone qualified needs to decide which of those things actually need to be produced, and how to make them work when you put them together. So while you are right, and he is not the only person "behind Zen", it would also be wise to not underestimate how crucial his contribution was. Dude very obviously knows his shit.