"Jensen Huang: The Heart of NVIDIA" Reading Notes#
Author: Stephen Witt
Reading Time: 5 hours
These are the notes and excerpts I recorded while reading "Jensen Huang: The Heart of NVIDIA" on WeChat Reading.
Recommendation Preface: From Moore's Law to Huang's Law#
Dare to dream, think deeply, and achieve.
Dare to dream, think deeply, and achieve.
There Is No Other Way, This Step Must Succeed#
But even if Prim is stubborn, he is not Huang's "opponent." When Huang first articulates his views, he can always clearly unfold from premises to arguments and then draw conclusions. However, once the fuse is lit, the interlocutor faces two choices: either follow his line of thought or bear the potentially explosive consequences. Those who disagree with Huang often find themselves stunned when he erupts in anger and harshly reprimands them in front of colleagues. This is Huang's anger.
But even if Prim is stubborn, he is not Huang's "opponent." When Huang first articulates his views, he can always clearly unfold from premises to arguments and then draw conclusions. However, once the fuse is lit, the interlocutor faces two choices: either follow his line of thought or bear the potentially explosive consequences. Those who disagree with Huang often find themselves stunned when he erupts in anger and harshly reprimands them in front of colleagues. This is Huang's anger.
Collapse, Confrontation with Prim#
"Those who say victory doesn't matter," Kirk said in a gentle, non-threatening tone, "have never won anything."
Christensen believes that compared to reducing profitability, enhancing profitability is actually easier. A decrease in profitability often means that a company voluntarily reduces profits or even deliberately produces low-quality products, which usually leads to dissatisfaction among investors and makes executives feel that their careers are stagnant. For this reason, Christensen proposed a profound and unexpected viewpoint: "In certain cases, it is correct not to heed customer opinions, investing in low-performance products for lower profits is also reasonable, and even pursuing small markets instead of large markets is wise." This point is often overlooked in the media's discussions about "disruption."
"Those who say victory doesn't matter," Kirk said in a gentle, non-threatening tone, "have never won anything."
Christensen believes that compared to reducing profitability, enhancing profitability is actually easier. A decrease in profitability often means that a company voluntarily reduces profits or even deliberately produces low-quality products, which usually leads to dissatisfaction among investors and makes executives feel that their careers are stagnant. For this reason, Christensen proposed a profound and unexpected viewpoint: "In certain cases, it is correct not to heed customer opinions, investing in low-performance products for lower profits is also reasonable, and even pursuing small markets instead of large markets is wise." This point is often overlooked in the media's discussions about "disruption."
TNT2: The Standard for Every Professional Gamer#
He trains for 8 to 12 hours a day in deathmatch competitions, even breaking up with his girlfriend to free up more practice time.
Vivoli stated, "Since we created this category, we naturally became the leaders in this field."
The microchip industry is more like the fashion industry—if your product today is the same as yesterday's, you've made a serious mistake. In the semiconductor field, every few years, all technology needs a complete overhaul.
As Grove later said, "We all must embrace the winds of change."
In tournaments, if you choose to remain passive, your chips will gradually deplete. The only way to survive is to find a good hand, bet all your chips, and repeat it over and over again.
For him, not daring to take risks is the greatest risk.
He trains for 8 to 12 hours a day in deathmatch competitions, even breaking up with his girlfriend to free up more practice time.
Vivoli stated, "Since we created this category, we naturally became the leaders in this field."
The microchip industry is more like the fashion industry—if your product today is the same as yesterday's, you've made a serious mistake. In the semiconductor field, every few years, all technology needs a complete overhaul.
As Grove later said, "We all must embrace the winds of change."
In tournaments, if you choose to remain passive, your chips will gradually deplete. The only way to survive is to find a good hand, bet all your chips, and repeat it over and over again.
For him, not daring to take risks is the greatest risk.
Ian Buck, The Unintentional Creator of a Low-Cost Supercomputer#
From a technical perspective, Dennard scaling law indicates that as transistor sizes decrease, their power density remains constant. This theory was first proposed by Robert Dennard and his colleagues at IBM in 1974. The core idea of Dennard scaling is that as transistor sizes shrink, their power density remains unchanged, thus making the power of the chip proportional to its area.
In my view, the genius of CUDA lies in making gamers pay for the enormous costs of chip development.
From a technical perspective, Dennard scaling law indicates that as transistor sizes decrease, their power density remains constant. This theory was first proposed by Robert Dennard and his colleagues at IBM in 1974. The core idea of Dennard scaling is that as transistor sizes shrink, their power density remains unchanged, thus making the power of the chip proportional to its area.
In my view, the genius of CUDA lies in making gamers pay for the enormous costs of chip development.
Bill Daley: NVIDIA's Chief Scientist#
Christensen's work is not a playbook for startups but a manual for executives of stagnating large companies.
Huang has no clear vision for future technologies. Some tech experts, like Elon Musk, start by imagining themselves standing on the surface of Mars and then work backward to construct the necessary technologies to achieve that goal. Huang, on the other hand, is the opposite; he starts from the functionality of current circuits and strives to project their potential forward. Only at the boundaries of rationality does he allow himself to slightly overstep into the realm of the nebulous unknown.
Christensen's work is not a playbook for startups but a manual for executives of stagnating large companies.
Huang has no clear vision for future technologies. Some tech experts, like Elon Musk, start by imagining themselves standing on the surface of Mars and then work backward to construct the necessary technologies to achieve that goal. Huang, on the other hand, is the opposite; he starts from the functionality of current circuits and strives to project their potential forward. Only at the boundaries of rationality does he allow himself to slightly overstep into the realm of the nebulous unknown.
Brian Catanzaro, The Only Engineer with a Literature Degree#
I hope you all have the opportunity to experience a lot of pain and suffering. One of my greatest strengths is that my expectations are very low. Those who have very high expectations of themselves often have low resilience, and unfortunately, resilience is crucial for success. So if I could give you advice, I hope you all have the opportunity to experience a lot of pain and suffering.
I hope you all have the opportunity to experience a lot of pain and suffering. One of my greatest strengths is that my expectations are very low. Those who have very high expectations of themselves often have low resilience, and unfortunately, resilience is crucial for success. So if I could give you advice, I hope you all have the opportunity to experience a lot of pain and suffering.
Jacob Usher, Born for Computational Language#
At that time, the paper needed a title, and Jones drew inspiration from a Beatles song, half-jokingly suggesting "Attention Is All You Need" as the title. He originally just made a joke and did not expect the team to actually adopt that name. However, later he found out that someone had even tattooed that phrase on their arm, showing its influence.
At that time, the paper needed a title, and Jones drew inspiration from a Beatles song, half-jokingly suggesting "Attention Is All You Need" as the title. He originally just made a joke and did not expect the team to actually adopt that name. However, later he found out that someone had even tattooed that phrase on their arm, showing its influence.
On This Day, Wall Street Witnessed the Highest Single-Day Wealth Accumulation Record#
Horstmann believes that Huang's success is due to his adaptability. "I often ask myself, why did we start in the same cubicle, with similar IQs, and worked just as hard," Horstmann said, "but why did this person not only found this amazing company but also build a network of people willing to go through fire for him?" Horstmann feels that Huang has been constantly changing himself. He recalls Huang at LSI, always able to maximize the use of simulation software. Horstmann said, "Now, he is still doing that, but he is 'engineering' himself. He was not born a great CEO, nor was he destined to become one. He transformed himself into such a person through continuous abstract thinking and by solving the input and output problems that a good CEO should possess."
Horstmann believes that Huang's success is due to his adaptability. "I often ask myself, why did we start in the same cubicle, with similar IQs, and worked just as hard," Horstmann said, "but why did this person not only found this amazing company but also build a network of people willing to go through fire for him?" Horstmann feels that Huang has been constantly changing himself. He recalls Huang at LSI, always able to maximize the use of simulation software. Horstmann said, "Now, he is still doing that, but he is 'engineering' himself. He was not born a great CEO, nor was he destined to become one. He transformed himself into such a person through continuous abstract thinking and by solving the input and output problems that a good CEO should possess."
This Is Not a Ridiculous Science Fiction Story#
"Perhaps that's true. If you want to achieve greatness, it won't be easy," Huang said.
Compared to worrying that technology will exterminate humanity, executives are more afraid of Huang's severe reprimands.
"Perhaps that's true. If you want to achieve greatness, it won't be easy," Huang said.
Compared to worrying that technology will exterminate humanity, executives are more afraid of Huang's severe reprimands.
Epilogue: Everything Will Be Renewed#
This is the insight that NVIDIA and Huang bring us: the brave are fearless and unafraid of failure. Huang embodies many extraordinary qualities. Among a thousand people, there may not be one with his work ethic, and perhaps among ten thousand, there may not be one with his intelligence. However, the most commendable quality of Huang is his courage: he dares to discard traditional notions and act according to his rational judgment. It is his firm belief that sets him apart from the crowd.
Entrepreneurs eager to replicate Huang's path to success must follow his blueprint for success: the primary task is to (continuously) master the top expertise in their field. This is a lifelong process that requires initial educational investment and a passion for continuous learning. Once you become such a lifelong learner, you must be willing to try, dare to take risks, and push your field forward.
This is the insight that NVIDIA and Huang bring us: the brave are fearless and unafraid of failure. Huang embodies many extraordinary qualities. Among a thousand people, there may not be one with his work ethic, and perhaps among ten thousand, there may not be one with his intelligence. However, the most commendable quality of Huang is his courage: he dares to discard traditional notions and act according to his rational judgment. It is his firm belief that sets him apart from the crowd.
Entrepreneurs eager to replicate Huang's path to success must follow his blueprint for success: the primary task is to (continuously) master the top expertise in their field. This is a lifelong process that requires initial educational investment and a passion for continuous learning. Once you become such a lifelong learner, you must be willing to try, dare to take risks, and push your field forward.
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