13 ms·

Cédric Villani: mathematician challenging to be Paris mayor

150 points by satchet 7y ago

neonate 7y ago
http://archive.is/PhUZW http://archive.is/PhUZW
prideout 7y ago
Not just a mathematician but a Fields medal winner. The current mayor of Paris is also an interesting person, being a Spanish-born woman from a working class family. She has made huge strides in the greenification of Paris: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/world/europe/paris-anne-hildago-green-city-climate-change.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/world/europe/paris-anne-h...
- salamandar 7y ago
  It's not because you are good at maths that you are good at politics. And he's the best example about that we've had so far.
  - acoye 7y ago
    If politics works like it is said in "The Prince" (ie. Machiavelli), then I do not see any easily transferable skill set from renowned mathematician to politician. Except for game theory maybe?
    - salamandar 7y ago
      Yeah, agreed. And he proved he's a shitty politician. (with shitty ideas too, but that's my point of view)
- jnaddef 7y ago
  Current mayor is hated by a lot of Parisians because of the "greenification of Paris" as you call it. She closed a few roads and made them pedestrian-only; that was not well received by a number of people.
  - yardie 7y ago
    This appears to bother the people that live outside Paris rather than most Parisians. I'm all for it. I've watched my balcony become unusable from pollution. I imagine if half the stuff that was collecting on the balcony floor was going into my lungs my lungs would look like a 50 year heavy smoker.
    - jnaddef 7y ago
      I am all for it too, I was just giving some context for HN readers who might be surprised to see a lot of hate comments regarding the current mayor under most articles covering Paris elections :)
  - drdrey 7y ago
    Have you considered that maybe it has been in fact well received by pedestrians?
  - hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
    Basically, everyone without a car loves her, everyone who drives in Paris hates her.
    - latestagetest 7y ago
      I think one has to hate oneself to drive in Paris.
  - enriquto 7y ago
    > She closed a few roads and made them pedestrian-only; that was not well received by a number of people. And it has been very well-received by a larger number of people, I guess. As for me, I would make the whole city pedestrian-only. Clarification: I live in banlieue and take the RER-B every day.
  - Misteur-Z 7y ago
    She's applying short sighted solutions for the declining 2 million of "rich" Parisians (aka her electors) in an area of 12 million. She's basically flipping the bird to more 80% of the population. Lived in Paris for 20 years, everything is getting worse: - Public transportation => many subway lines are saturated - Traffic jams => stupid road and signals reworks (for cycling lanes mostly), it's a disaster, I am starting to think that about 90% of the population lives more than 5km from work and will never use a bicycle - Security => cops have been in overtime for 5 years with Vigipirate & gilet jaunes and have no time for anything else - Pollution => not a single cop around to enforce vehicles pollution laws, better hand parking tickets Overall feels like a third world country where the state is losing control over everything. Anyone younger and applying (scientifically) proven solutions could do. source: http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-perd-encore-des-habitants-27-12-2018-7977123.php http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-perd-encore-des-habi...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
97b683f8 7y ago
Nothing to see here unfortunately, he's like any other politician. I mean you wouldn't be able to tell he's received a Fields medal by the way he speaks and what propositions he makes. I too would like to hear him say " ... you bring up the subject of housing in Paris and I'll tell you how I think about the problem: in mathematics we have a rather abstract concept called a Group ... ".
- SiempreViernes 7y ago
  Maybe he’s secretly actually talking about a differen kind of building? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_(mathematics) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_(mathematics)
ummwhat 7y ago
Is he in favor of clopen borders?
- jefft255 7y ago
  I think he prefers neither open or closed.
acoye 7y ago
He was commissioned for a report on AI while been part of the french parliament. You can found it here in EN : https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_Report_ENG-VF.pdf https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_Report_ENG-...
hos234 7y ago
Looks like another Macron. Well done.
- p4bl0 7y ago
  It's one of the good reasons why it's a bad idea to have him in any position with political responsibilities.
  - hos234 7y ago
    I should have added a /s
  - ryuukk_ 7y ago
    you smell Melanchon, go kill yourself
flashyfaffe2 7y ago
Being a former Parisian, I can object here you can be a medal fields winner and not having a clue about economic problem. Paris is facing quite sensible issues right now ( higher debt, untidy streets, insecurity,etc...) and for now all he's proposing here is very similar to what any others politician would offer to get elected. Parisians need some radical changements and for now I haven't heard anything from him tackling the right issues but just big promises and gifts for all ( please note that this also applies to the others candidates as well).
- gabaix 7y ago
  What radical changes would you like to see? I don't live in Paris but I may be living there in the years to come.
  - flashyfaffe2 7y ago
    Not radical changes but just expect some common sense being applied. Over the last decade housing prices has doubled and the city receives a small percentage for each transactions. However this money did benefit only for the whole community but rather for clientlism. Debt has been getting higher and so the taxes. Driving has been made impossible and restaurants are too expensing for the similar service and quality you can get in London ( where I live now). Even the nightlife has been restricted Paris is becoming a big sleepy museum where only real Parisians do appreciate the lifestyle. Again I more disappointed here by the lack original idea And innovation promised by the candidate not by the mathematician. If you look at what the current mayor propose and you will find nothing that different. However I'm sure you will enjoy your Parisian experience, despite all the inconvenience, Paris is still a beautiful city.
    - koalaman 7y ago
      Couldn't help to respond to this just to provide a contradictory opinion on Parisian restaurants and nightlife. I personally am a big fan of the quality of food, service, and fun to be had in Parisian establishments and I find them to be significantly better value than London and New York (where I live).
eindiran 7y ago
He has a few videos on Numberphile: On the Fields Medal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp3sgYKULp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp3sgYKULp0 On his wearing of decorative lapel spiders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4REVI30Qc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4REVI30Qc Beauty vs Utility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xopM9BFjcNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xopM9BFjcNo On his office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLpkCZkWfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLpkCZkWfc
blondin 7y ago
oh wow! much luck to him! i remember watching a talk from him on youtube and putting that book he wrote on my wishlist.
- p4bl0 7y ago
  Maybe he should keep to writing books and making YouTube video. The guy has no clue whatsoever when it comes to political matters. It's depressing.
  - solveit 7y ago
    > The guy has no clue whatsoever when it comes to political matters. I find it unlikely he is clueless and very likely that he has incentives that we do not see.
mlthoughts2018 7y ago
Can’t help noticing this is an anagram for Cerci D. Villain (the D presumably stands for Diabolical).
p4bl0 7y ago
He is already an elected representative in the French parliament, being part of the current government's majority. His political party and the government have already passed several laws that are very damaging to research and higher education (among other things, but these two topics Villani actually knows something about, and he should care a bit given his background). He has never said anything publicly about it, or only to support the government. I see this behavior as proof that he doesn't care at all about being a mathematician (well, except when it gives him credit he doesn't deserve), so he should just be considered another random politician, and he's not even a good one. Edit: fixed "dommageable".
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  "dommageable" is "damaging", for anyone who couldn't guess. Can you go into detail about what his party has voted for that's so bad for higher education and research? I consider myself pretty academia-friendly, and there's a lot of things I'd vote for that most people would consider damaging to higher education and research. For example, I think free college for everyone is a terrible idea. Most people consider that heresy.
  - syrusakbary 7y ago
    > For example, I think free college for everyone is a terrible idea. Most people consider that heresy. A terrible idea from what perspective? I'd love to hear more! (I'm on the other side of the spectrum)
    - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
      I'm not opposed to free college if 1) you're studying something with a proven ROI, and/or 2) you have a good academic history, and/or 3) you can't otherwise afford it. I think the idea that someone can get straight C's in highschool and get $50k a year to study art in college is not a good use of my tax dollars. I also don't think it's a good idea to give someone like me a free college education. I make $400k a year. I can pay for it my fucking self if I want to. The idea someone else should pay for it seems absurd. Further, some of the most expensive schools are some of the worst schools. I don't think we should be paying an unlimited amount of money for the same education. If the University of Pittsburgh can deliver results much better than USC (I'm not saying it can, this is a hypothetical) -- I don't think you should be able to get $70k a year to go to USC when you can study the same thing with better results at Pittsburgh for $20k. All that being said, I think it's a phenomenal use of my tax dollars to train someone to be a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer (etc), who's demonstrated an interest in medicine (or something relevant) and has done well in high school -- especially if that person wouldn't otherwise be able to afford going to medical school (or law school or whatever). Especially if the tuition at that school isn't excessive, and people who graduate from it actually go on to get jobs as doctors and not baristas at Starbucks. There's a lot of other things to consider as well -- is it just tuition we're covering? In Europe, most of the universities dorms and cafeterias aren't exactly 5-star hotels. Stanford's dorms can cost $2.5k per month for a swanky broom closet. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay for that. But I also think it's important to pay for room & board, because some people might really not be able to afford it, or will probably do worse in school if they have to work a full-time job to pay for room & board. I don't think it's a good investment to pay to put people in school and then set them up for failure. Additionally, I think students should have SOME Skin in the Game. If college is 100% free, I'm not sure that creates the best incentives for the students. Maybe the government should pay for 80% and give you a low-interest loan for the other 20%. And maybe the max you can get is the minimum tuition of schools in the top 5% in your field of study. And maybe you get a stipend for room & board that is reasonable. That, I think would prevent a lot of potential abuses.
aezakmi 7y ago
Paris is a multikulti failure.
throw234234 7y ago
Also see, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Painlev%C3%A9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Painlev%C3%A9
ajudson 7y ago
paywall
billfruit 7y ago
I have always wondered at the popularity of the first name Cedric, because the name was newly coined(in the early 1800s) by Walter Scott in his novel Ivanhoe, for the character Cedric of Rotherwood, a Saxon chief, and is not a historically relevant name.
- julienreszka 7y ago
  Close enough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdic_of_Wessex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdic_of_Wessex
enriquto 7y ago
I'm a bit sad to see such a brilliant mathematician playing the game of petty politics. I like when scientists participate in "everyday" duties, but in this case it feels that we completely lost the guy to administrative tasks.

150 points by satchet 7y ago

http://archive.is/PhUZW http://archive.is/PhUZW

Not just a mathematician but a Fields medal winner. The current mayor of Paris is also an interesting person, being a Spanish-born woman from a working class family. She has made huge strides in the greenification of Paris: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/world/europe/paris-anne-hildago-green-city-climate-change.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/world/europe/paris-anne-h...

salamandar 7y ago
It's not because you are good at maths that you are good at politics. And he's the best example about that we've had so far.
- acoye 7y ago
  If politics works like it is said in "The Prince" (ie. Machiavelli), then I do not see any easily transferable skill set from renowned mathematician to politician. Except for game theory maybe?
  - salamandar 7y ago
    Yeah, agreed. And he proved he's a shitty politician. (with shitty ideas too, but that's my point of view)
jnaddef 7y ago
Current mayor is hated by a lot of Parisians because of the "greenification of Paris" as you call it. She closed a few roads and made them pedestrian-only; that was not well received by a number of people.
- yardie 7y ago
  This appears to bother the people that live outside Paris rather than most Parisians. I'm all for it. I've watched my balcony become unusable from pollution. I imagine if half the stuff that was collecting on the balcony floor was going into my lungs my lungs would look like a 50 year heavy smoker.
  - jnaddef 7y ago
    I am all for it too, I was just giving some context for HN readers who might be surprised to see a lot of hate comments regarding the current mayor under most articles covering Paris elections :)
- drdrey 7y ago
  Have you considered that maybe it has been in fact well received by pedestrians?
- hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
  Basically, everyone without a car loves her, everyone who drives in Paris hates her.
  - latestagetest 7y ago
    I think one has to hate oneself to drive in Paris.
- enriquto 7y ago
  > She closed a few roads and made them pedestrian-only; that was not well received by a number of people. And it has been very well-received by a larger number of people, I guess. As for me, I would make the whole city pedestrian-only. Clarification: I live in banlieue and take the RER-B every day.
- Misteur-Z 7y ago
  She's applying short sighted solutions for the declining 2 million of "rich" Parisians (aka her electors) in an area of 12 million. She's basically flipping the bird to more 80% of the population. Lived in Paris for 20 years, everything is getting worse: - Public transportation => many subway lines are saturated - Traffic jams => stupid road and signals reworks (for cycling lanes mostly), it's a disaster, I am starting to think that about 90% of the population lives more than 5km from work and will never use a bicycle - Security => cops have been in overtime for 5 years with Vigipirate & gilet jaunes and have no time for anything else - Pollution => not a single cop around to enforce vehicles pollution laws, better hand parking tickets Overall feels like a third world country where the state is losing control over everything. Anyone younger and applying (scientifically) proven solutions could do. source: http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-perd-encore-des-habitants-27-12-2018-7977123.php http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-perd-encore-des-habi...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

97b683f8 7y ago

Nothing to see here unfortunately, he's like any other politician. I mean you wouldn't be able to tell he's received a Fields medal by the way he speaks and what propositions he makes. I too would like to hear him say " ... you bring up the subject of housing in Paris and I'll tell you how I think about the problem: in mathematics we have a rather abstract concept called a Group ... ".

SiempreViernes 7y ago
Maybe he’s secretly actually talking about a differen kind of building? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_(mathematics) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_(mathematics)

ummwhat 7y ago

Is he in favor of clopen borders?

jefft255 7y ago
I think he prefers neither open or closed.

acoye 7y ago

He was commissioned for a report on AI while been part of the french parliament. You can found it here in EN : https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_Report_ENG-VF.pdf https://www.aiforhumanity.fr/pdfs/MissionVillani_Report_ENG-...

hos234 7y ago

Looks like another Macron. Well done.

p4bl0 7y ago
It's one of the good reasons why it's a bad idea to have him in any position with political responsibilities.
- hos234 7y ago
  I should have added a /s
- ryuukk_ 7y ago
  you smell Melanchon, go kill yourself

flashyfaffe2 7y ago

Being a former Parisian, I can object here you can be a medal fields winner and not having a clue about economic problem. Paris is facing quite sensible issues right now ( higher debt, untidy streets, insecurity,etc...) and for now all he's proposing here is very similar to what any others politician would offer to get elected. Parisians need some radical changements and for now I haven't heard anything from him tackling the right issues but just big promises and gifts for all ( please note that this also applies to the others candidates as well).

gabaix 7y ago
What radical changes would you like to see? I don't live in Paris but I may be living there in the years to come.
- flashyfaffe2 7y ago
  Not radical changes but just expect some common sense being applied. Over the last decade housing prices has doubled and the city receives a small percentage for each transactions. However this money did benefit only for the whole community but rather for clientlism. Debt has been getting higher and so the taxes. Driving has been made impossible and restaurants are too expensing for the similar service and quality you can get in London ( where I live now). Even the nightlife has been restricted Paris is becoming a big sleepy museum where only real Parisians do appreciate the lifestyle. Again I more disappointed here by the lack original idea And innovation promised by the candidate not by the mathematician. If you look at what the current mayor propose and you will find nothing that different. However I'm sure you will enjoy your Parisian experience, despite all the inconvenience, Paris is still a beautiful city.
  - koalaman 7y ago
    Couldn't help to respond to this just to provide a contradictory opinion on Parisian restaurants and nightlife. I personally am a big fan of the quality of food, service, and fun to be had in Parisian establishments and I find them to be significantly better value than London and New York (where I live).

eindiran 7y ago

He has a few videos on Numberphile: On the Fields Medal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp3sgYKULp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp3sgYKULp0 On his wearing of decorative lapel spiders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4REVI30Qc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq4REVI30Qc Beauty vs Utility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xopM9BFjcNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xopM9BFjcNo On his office: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLpkCZkWfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLpkCZkWfc

blondin 7y ago

oh wow! much luck to him! i remember watching a talk from him on youtube and putting that book he wrote on my wishlist.

p4bl0 7y ago
Maybe he should keep to writing books and making YouTube video. The guy has no clue whatsoever when it comes to political matters. It's depressing.
- solveit 7y ago
  > The guy has no clue whatsoever when it comes to political matters. I find it unlikely he is clueless and very likely that he has incentives that we do not see.

mlthoughts2018 7y ago

Can’t help noticing this is an anagram for Cerci D. Villain (the D presumably stands for Diabolical).

p4bl0 7y ago

He is already an elected representative in the French parliament, being part of the current government's majority. His political party and the government have already passed several laws that are very damaging to research and higher education (among other things, but these two topics Villani actually knows something about, and he should care a bit given his background). He has never said anything publicly about it, or only to support the government. I see this behavior as proof that he doesn't care at all about being a mathematician (well, except when it gives him credit he doesn't deserve), so he should just be considered another random politician, and he's not even a good one. Edit: fixed "dommageable".

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
"dommageable" is "damaging", for anyone who couldn't guess. Can you go into detail about what his party has voted for that's so bad for higher education and research? I consider myself pretty academia-friendly, and there's a lot of things I'd vote for that most people would consider damaging to higher education and research. For example, I think free college for everyone is a terrible idea. Most people consider that heresy.
- syrusakbary 7y ago
  > For example, I think free college for everyone is a terrible idea. Most people consider that heresy. A terrible idea from what perspective? I'd love to hear more! (I'm on the other side of the spectrum)
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    I'm not opposed to free college if 1) you're studying something with a proven ROI, and/or 2) you have a good academic history, and/or 3) you can't otherwise afford it. I think the idea that someone can get straight C's in highschool and get $50k a year to study art in college is not a good use of my tax dollars. I also don't think it's a good idea to give someone like me a free college education. I make $400k a year. I can pay for it my fucking self if I want to. The idea someone else should pay for it seems absurd. Further, some of the most expensive schools are some of the worst schools. I don't think we should be paying an unlimited amount of money for the same education. If the University of Pittsburgh can deliver results much better than USC (I'm not saying it can, this is a hypothetical) -- I don't think you should be able to get $70k a year to go to USC when you can study the same thing with better results at Pittsburgh for $20k. All that being said, I think it's a phenomenal use of my tax dollars to train someone to be a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer (etc), who's demonstrated an interest in medicine (or something relevant) and has done well in high school -- especially if that person wouldn't otherwise be able to afford going to medical school (or law school or whatever). Especially if the tuition at that school isn't excessive, and people who graduate from it actually go on to get jobs as doctors and not baristas at Starbucks. There's a lot of other things to consider as well -- is it just tuition we're covering? In Europe, most of the universities dorms and cafeterias aren't exactly 5-star hotels. Stanford's dorms can cost $2.5k per month for a swanky broom closet. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay for that. But I also think it's important to pay for room & board, because some people might really not be able to afford it, or will probably do worse in school if they have to work a full-time job to pay for room & board. I don't think it's a good investment to pay to put people in school and then set them up for failure. Additionally, I think students should have SOME Skin in the Game. If college is 100% free, I'm not sure that creates the best incentives for the students. Maybe the government should pay for 80% and give you a low-interest loan for the other 20%. And maybe the max you can get is the minimum tuition of schools in the top 5% in your field of study. And maybe you get a stipend for room & board that is reasonable. That, I think would prevent a lot of potential abuses.

aezakmi 7y ago

Paris is a multikulti failure.

throw234234 7y ago

Also see, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Painlev%C3%A9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Painlev%C3%A9

ajudson 7y ago

paywall

billfruit 7y ago

I have always wondered at the popularity of the first name Cedric, because the name was newly coined(in the early 1800s) by Walter Scott in his novel Ivanhoe, for the character Cedric of Rotherwood, a Saxon chief, and is not a historically relevant name.

julienreszka 7y ago
Close enough https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdic_of_Wessex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerdic_of_Wessex

enriquto 7y ago

I'm a bit sad to see such a brilliant mathematician playing the game of petty politics. I like when scientists participate in "everyday" duties, but in this case it feels that we completely lost the guy to administrative tasks.