Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I was just about to share the very same article above after reading your comment just to check that it's the same.

My favorite part of the article, to which I as a mathematician relate a lot on my a-ha moments:

> If there was a nut to be opened, Grothendieck suggested, Serre would find just the right spot to insert a chisel, he’d strike hard and deftly, and if necessary, he’d repeat the process until the nut cracked open. Grothendieck, by contrast, preferred to immerse the nut in the ocean and let time pass. “The shell becomes more flexible through weeks and months — when the time is ripe, hand pressure is enough.”




Serre understands the nut, Grothendieck understands the universe :-)


And a suitable inversion tells you that both are almost the same :)




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: