4 ms·

> Imo Elon is starting to get into contention for greatest engineer of all time. I don't know man, did he design it himself?

AimForTheBushes 7y ago
Is there any reason to believe it would be happening now if he didn't exist?
- aflag 7y ago
  Maybe not. That still doesn't qualify him as an Engineer, though.
  - AimForTheBushes 7y ago
    I doubt SpaceX would be a thing if Elon didn't have engineering capabilities.
    - woodandsteel 7y ago
      I have read that when he gets interested in a technical area, he reads a ton of books at a remarkably fast pace, remembers everything he reads, next analyses everything at a fundamental level, and finally comes up with a radically better plan than anyone else has before. I guess you could call that engineering capabilities.
      - fastball 7y ago
        If that's not engineering I don't know what is.
      - uncleberg 7y ago
        I had three peers in my entire engineering classes like that. Two became PhDs, one has changed fields and applied himself rapidly. I wasn't like them, but that ability to understand on a fundamental level, not forget, and then very quickly tackle more and more complex problems so fast was like a superpower. It took me much much longer, without the detailed understanding.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - simonh 7y ago
    he's intimately involved in every aspect of the design of the vehicles. For example, he's personally responsible for the change to steel construction and had to convince the rest of the team to switch from composites.
  - nickik 7y ago
    He is has been the Chief Designer for SpaceX since Falcon 1.
SECProto 7y ago
Depends how you define "design". Most engineers I know are not involved in the bog-standard design, but rather when the decisions get outside the comfort zone of the designers (either engineers or engineering techs themselves). From all accounts ("Switching to stainless steel is one of the best design decisions I've ever made"[1], comments from Tom Mueller about Elon leading the design team on Raptor[2]), Musk is performing the role of a head engineer. Many jurisdictions would still have an issue with him using the title engineer. (edit: it's recently been determined to infringe on first amendment rights [3]. Still applies in Canada) [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/davt2l/cnn_interview_elon_musk_starship_could_take/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/davt2l/cnn_intervie... timestamp around 2:30 [2] https://twitter.com/lrocket/status/1099411086711746560 https://twitter.com/lrocket/status/1099411086711746560 [3] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yw798m/oregon-unconstitutionally-fined-a-man-dollar500-for-saying-i-am-an-engineer-federal-judge-rules https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yw798m/oregon-unconstitut...
- mncharity 7y ago
  Dan Rasky's description[1] of the make-or-buy decision on the PICA heat shield perhaps illustrates a bit of it. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06X2TZUKZU&list=PLpEqMkxe7Xk_00sUp7g_wYkAIIuVbGvYz&index=3&t=181 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06X2TZUKZU&list=PLpEqMkxe7X... (From the "Dan Rasky: SpaceX's Collaborative Design Approach" video of the "COTS: Dan Rasky" playlist of "Knowledge @ NASA".)
Paperweight 7y ago
Meta-engineer? Engineering executive? At least he's trying to advance humanity instead of squandering it all on yachts like almost all the rest of the world's billionaires.
- tomxor 7y ago
  Lets be honest, he's kinda transcended all definitions, and that is necessary to be the kind of full picture problem solver that he is... Gain all the information about the problem areas in all contexts from your experts, while having executive authority to execute radical solutions.
- kfrzcode 7y ago
  I think visionary is the best descriptor and there aren't too many of those folks alive at a given time that are properly placed to execute, and even fewer who actually DO execute. I was as entranced with the possibility of a permanent extraterrestrial base while watching the presentation last night as I was when I saw the boosters land tandem style in 2018. What an amazing thing to see happen, the people Elon has brought together have done amazing things on the shoulders of already incredible work.
- travisporter 7y ago
  Is there a Woz behind Musk?
woodandsteel 7y ago
If he didn't design it himself, the people he hired and gave overall direction to did. And they are doing way better than anyone else, which means he must have done a better job of hiring and directing than anyone else.

AimForTheBushes 7y ago

Is there any reason to believe it would be happening now if he didn't exist?

aflag 7y ago
Maybe not. That still doesn't qualify him as an Engineer, though.
- AimForTheBushes 7y ago
  I doubt SpaceX would be a thing if Elon didn't have engineering capabilities.
  - woodandsteel 7y ago
    I have read that when he gets interested in a technical area, he reads a ton of books at a remarkably fast pace, remembers everything he reads, next analyses everything at a fundamental level, and finally comes up with a radically better plan than anyone else has before. I guess you could call that engineering capabilities.
    - fastball 7y ago
      If that's not engineering I don't know what is.
    - uncleberg 7y ago
      I had three peers in my entire engineering classes like that. Two became PhDs, one has changed fields and applied himself rapidly. I wasn't like them, but that ability to understand on a fundamental level, not forget, and then very quickly tackle more and more complex problems so fast was like a superpower. It took me much much longer, without the detailed understanding.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- simonh 7y ago
  he's intimately involved in every aspect of the design of the vehicles. For example, he's personally responsible for the change to steel construction and had to convince the rest of the team to switch from composites.
- nickik 7y ago
  He is has been the Chief Designer for SpaceX since Falcon 1.

SECProto 7y ago

Depends how you define "design". Most engineers I know are not involved in the bog-standard design, but rather when the decisions get outside the comfort zone of the designers (either engineers or engineering techs themselves). From all accounts ("Switching to stainless steel is one of the best design decisions I've ever made"[1], comments from Tom Mueller about Elon leading the design team on Raptor[2]), Musk is performing the role of a head engineer. Many jurisdictions would still have an issue with him using the title engineer. (edit: it's recently been determined to infringe on first amendment rights [3]. Still applies in Canada) [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/davt2l/cnn_interview_elon_musk_starship_could_take/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/davt2l/cnn_intervie... timestamp around 2:30 [2] https://twitter.com/lrocket/status/1099411086711746560 https://twitter.com/lrocket/status/1099411086711746560 [3] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yw798m/oregon-unconstitutionally-fined-a-man-dollar500-for-saying-i-am-an-engineer-federal-judge-rules https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yw798m/oregon-unconstitut...

mncharity 7y ago
Dan Rasky's description[1] of the make-or-buy decision on the PICA heat shield perhaps illustrates a bit of it. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06X2TZUKZU&list=PLpEqMkxe7Xk_00sUp7g_wYkAIIuVbGvYz&index=3&t=181 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06X2TZUKZU&list=PLpEqMkxe7X... (From the "Dan Rasky: SpaceX's Collaborative Design Approach" video of the "COTS: Dan Rasky" playlist of "Knowledge @ NASA".)

Paperweight 7y ago

Meta-engineer? Engineering executive? At least he's trying to advance humanity instead of squandering it all on yachts like almost all the rest of the world's billionaires.

tomxor 7y ago
Lets be honest, he's kinda transcended all definitions, and that is necessary to be the kind of full picture problem solver that he is... Gain all the information about the problem areas in all contexts from your experts, while having executive authority to execute radical solutions.
kfrzcode 7y ago
I think visionary is the best descriptor and there aren't too many of those folks alive at a given time that are properly placed to execute, and even fewer who actually DO execute. I was as entranced with the possibility of a permanent extraterrestrial base while watching the presentation last night as I was when I saw the boosters land tandem style in 2018. What an amazing thing to see happen, the people Elon has brought together have done amazing things on the shoulders of already incredible work.
travisporter 7y ago
Is there a Woz behind Musk?

woodandsteel 7y ago

If he didn't design it himself, the people he hired and gave overall direction to did. And they are doing way better than anyone else, which means he must have done a better job of hiring and directing than anyone else.