If he really did it in a week, why hasn't anything come out of his AGI startup yet, two years later? Maybe it wasn't as easy as he seemed to imply, despite his towering intellect.
Anyone can read an absurd amount of text in a week. To absorb and understand it all is a different matter entirely.
Seems more likely to me that Carmack simply convinced himself he'd understood it all. He does seem to think very highly of himself.
The guy did pioneer 3D gaming, improve linux networking in the process (to support his games), build vertically landing, reusable rockets years before SpaceX's and play a pivotal role in modern VR.
I would not bet against his understanding on technical topics where he's done a serious deep dive. Also it was more than a year, not just a week.
I would generally agree. Another point could be that even if you understand something, executing on something can still be hard, especially when trying to push beyond existing limits or implementing something complex.
Anyone can read an absurd amount of text in a week. To absorb and understand it all is a different matter entirely.
Seems more likely to me that Carmack simply convinced himself he'd understood it all. He does seem to think very highly of himself.