A Mathematician's Lament
A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhartby Paul Lockhart
Shares rank 21 of 60 articles by recommenders
People recommend it for making mathematics feel fascinating and creative; the main caveat is that it treats maths only as art.
People recommend it for making mathematics feel fascinating and creative; the main caveat is that it treats maths only as art.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Changed how readers see mathematics
“it fundamentally reshaped math from something that I happened to be good at to something I was deeply fascinated by”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Mathematician's Lament – Paul Lockhart (2002) [pdf]” “This paper really got me into mathematics even more.”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “A Mathematician's Lament – Paul Lockhart (2002) [pdf]” Passionate, enjoyable writing
“I remember reading Lockhart's Mathematician's Lament and loving it.”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “If math is more than proof, we need to better celebrate the rest of it” “I also love A Mathameticians Lament.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Mathematician's Lament – Paul Lockhart (2002) [pdf]”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Treats maths only as art
“I love this essay, and book, but by focusing on maths as art, it focuses on only one aspect of meaning.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Mathematician's Lament – Paul Lockhart (2002) [pdf]”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| A Mathematician's Lamentby Paul LockhartThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I remember reading Lockhart's Mathematician's Lament and loving it.”
“This paper really got me into mathematics even more.”
“I also love A Mathameticians Lament.”
“I love this essay, and book, but by focusing on maths as art, it focuses on only one aspect of meaning.”
“it fundamentally reshaped math from something that I happened to be good at to something I was deeply fascinated by”
“The bit at the end with his description of the various math classes was pretty funny”
“explains this problem splendidly”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.