Alexander Grothendieck: A Country Known Only by Name • Hacker News Board

Re: Alexander Grothendieck: A Country Known Only by Name

#31

Post by thedailymail » Mon, Jun 05, 2017, 9:40 AM UTC

mattkrause wrote: post #25

ryanx435 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can tell it's a terrible title because the only comments are discussing the title and not the content of the article

So...having read the article (honestly!), I'm still not sure why this is the title. He bounced around Europe as a young man (due to WWII), but he did the vast majority of his work in France. However, Wikipedia says he was technically stateless because he held off on applying for French citizenship. I would guess the title an allusion to that--and his reclusiveness later in life, but I still feel like I'm either missi…

About midway through the article, Cartier (the author) says that "Grothendieck had a taste and a talent for naming things, which he used as a major intellectual strategy. Thus, my title, “A Country Known Only by Name,” is an homage to his way with words."

I agree with others that it's not the most straightforward title he could have used (although I don't think it's the same thing as clickbait). But personally I enjoyed the sense of mystery it lent to an article I might otherwise have skipped.

Re: Alexander Grothendieck: A Country Known Only by Name

#32

Post by mattkrause » Mon, Jun 05, 2017, 10:40 AM UTC

thedailymail wrote: post #31

mattkrause wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So...having read the article (honestly!), I'm still not sure why this is the title. He bounced around Europe as a young man (due to WWII), but he did the vast majority of his work in France. However, Wikipedia says he was technically stateless because he held off on applying for French citizenship. I would guess the title an allusion to that--and his reclusiveness later in life, but I still feel like I'm either missi…

About midway through the article, Cartier (the author) says that "Grothendieck had a taste and a talent for naming things, which he used as a major intellectual strategy. Thus, my title, “A Country Known Only by Name,” is an homage to his way with words." I agree with others that it's not the most straightforward title he could have used (although I don't think it's the same thing as clickbait). But personally I enjo…

I read that but the country part still confuses me--it's a very odd way to refer to a person. This made me wonder if it was a reference to something. "No Country for Old Men", for example, is from the first line of "Sailing to Byzantium", a poem by Yeats.

Re: Alexander Grothendieck: A Country Known Only by Name

#33

Post by PhasmaFelis » Mon, Jun 05, 2017, 8:52 PM UTC

Retra wrote: post #23

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being an influential mathematician doesn't really put you high on most people's awareness. But you're misstating the problem. If the title had been "A country of which nothing is known but the name Obama", I would still have assumed that it was about a little-known historical nation that happened to share a name with the last US president. It's just a really weird, confusing title.

Well, if all you do is read the title, then what does it matter how confusing it is?

I read the title to decide if the article is worth reading. I'm not sure what you think titles are for.

Re: Alexander Grothendieck: A Country Known Only by Name

#34

Post by PhasmaFelis » Mon, Jun 05, 2017, 8:53 PM UTC

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #15

dbranes wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's literally word for word the title of the linked article, which makes it a reasonable choice for a title, no?

Not necessarily, since the internet is notorious for producing awful article titles. (Although usually they're deliberate clickbait rather than this sort of obscureness.) I believe HN's policy is to change the title if it's confusing or inaccurate.

I'm just baffled why this is getting downvotes. If you don't like HN's policy, complain to dang, not me. If you don't think there's a lot of clickbait on the internet, there's really nothing I can do for you.