4 ms·

Grothendieck (the mathematician) was at some point giving lessons at a place which had no library. Someone pointed out that there were not many books to read th

by jffhn 7y ago

Grothendieck (the mathematician) was at some point giving lessons at a place which had no library. Someone pointed out that there were not many books to read there, so he replied: "Here, we don't read books, we write them."

onion2k 7y ago
I've not heard that quote before, but I'm going to guess it was more an apology for the poor state of the library than a serious suggestion about how to achieve what Grothendieck achieved.
- jffhn 7y ago
  I never thought it could be an apology (it's kind of a material detail, they could still find books elsewhere), but rather a mix of sincerity (at least regarding his creativity), stimulation and joking.
DyslexicAtheist 7y ago
it's probably why mathematicians are among the worst writers out there. https://twitter.com/0xabad1dea/status/1201923650133352448 https://twitter.com/0xabad1dea/status/1201923650133352448
- harmoat 7y ago
  To be fair wikipedia is supposed to be an encyclopedia, not a textbook.