Hulver's site || Shing-Tung Yau

Shing-Tung Yau

good	1 vote - 33 %
whack	2 votes - 66 %

3 Total Votes

Shing-Tung Yau: Good or Whack? | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

needs a picture by martingale (4.00 / 1) #1 Tue Sep 26, 2006 at 08:28:08 AM EST

If you're going to ask us to whack, then I'm sorry but I for one need a picture. Dammit!
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$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$

It certainly sounds like by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #2 Tue Sep 26, 2006 at 11:16:33 AM EST

he's a prima donna who can't handle being beaten to the punch.

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Faith, and the possibility of weaponized kissing?

except of course by martingale (2.00 / 0) #4 Tue Sep 26, 2006 at 07:26:31 PM EST

that the "journalist" in question is a layperson unqualified to make any kind of judgement about what all the expert comments mean. The need to make a "story" out of a collection of facts (and it appears, non-facts) is strong with the magazine crowd.
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$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Hmmm... by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #5 Wed Sep 27, 2006 at 10:47:01 AM EST

Well, we (I) can't judge the math, but vanity pages, PR firms and threatening lawsuits don't sound like someone who feels secure about themselves.

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Faith, and the possibility of weaponized kissing?
[ Parent ]

well by martingale (2.00 / 0) #6 Wed Sep 27, 2006 at 08:25:10 PM EST

I *can* judge the math (I'm not familiar with his area though), and I recognize the supposedly damning type of comments from his colleagues about his achievements for what they are: fairly commonly expressed in backroom mathematical contexts about many different people. They are the equivalent of "he's good, but he's not perfect" chitchat.

Like most mathematical statements, one can't understand their meaning if one doesn't understand the jargon and idioms, which this reporter certainly fails to get. That's of course besides the concrete facts that her interviewees have published open letters complaining about selective quoting and having their words twisted, and the fact that some of the quotes are actually from nonexistent people (which of course is most likely a misunderstanding by the reporter or her aides, but does not bode well for the quality of the article).

I think it is eminently sensible for Yau to have hired a PR firm, since the damage to his standing, while easily dismissed as a hatchet job in the mathematical community, does have serious repercussions in terms of funding and university politics.

Just as it is a very bad idea to defend oneself in a court of law without a lawyer, it is a bad idea to defend oneself in the court of public opinion without a PR firm. Even if on the whole, the only good PR people are dead PR people.
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$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

The quality of the article by ObviousTroll (4.00 / 1) #7 Thu Sep 28, 2006 at 09:05:24 AM EST

You raise some good points; I forgot a key principle about the press - every time they write an article about something I know about personally, I notice that they've screwed it up. So why should I believe them when they write about things I know nothing about?

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Faith, and the possibility of weaponized kissing?
[ Parent ]

: my personal point of view: by martingale (2.00 / 0) #8 Thu Sep 28, 2006 at 09:02:47 PM EST

The press is always full of crap, but it must still be read to be able to talk to others. Such is the bane of modern man.
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$E(X_t|F_s) = X_s,\quad t > s$
[ Parent ]

Thank you by yicky yacky (2.00 / 0) #3 Tue Sep 26, 2006 at 12:51:24 PM EST

All of this had hitherto flown beneath my radar. Excellent.

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A cynical, mercenary, demagogic, corrupt press will produce in time a people as base as itself - Joseph Pulitzer

Shing-Tung Yau: Good or Whack? | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback


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