---
title: "Grothendieck Prime Incident"
description: "Grothendieck Prime Incident - URL: https://chatgpt.com/c/6a84a0b9-e430-83ea-b6e2-266aeb8cd2da - Created: 2026-08-18T18:13:23.216Z --- What grothendieck prime incident does Danny refer to: https://ci…"
doc_version: 1
last_updated: 2026-09-26
canonical_url: "http://parc.yolo.scapegoat.dev/note/transcripts/2026/08/18/chatgpt-transcript-grothendieck-prime-incident"
---

# Grothendieck Prime Incident

Grothendieck Prime Incident - URL: https://chatgpt.com/c/6a84a0b9-e430-83ea-b6e2-266aeb8cd2da - Created: 2026-08-18T18:13:23.216Z --- > What grothendieck prime incident does Danny refer to: https://ci…

## Content

# Grothendieck Prime Incident

- URL: https://chatgpt.com/c/6a84a0b9-e430-83ea-b6e2-266aeb8cd2da
- Created: 2026-08-18T18:13:23.216Z

---

> What grothendieck prime incident does Danny refer to: https://circumstances.run/@hipsterelectron/116862073493912155

I’ll trace the post and its surrounding context, then identify the specific “Grothendieck prime” anecdote Danny is invoking.

```json
{"open":[{"ref_id":"https://circumstances.run/@hipsterelectron/116862073493912155"}],"response_length":"medium"}
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Searching 11 websites**

</details>

```unknown
python -c import requests; urls=['https://circumstances.run/api/v1/statuses/116862073493912155','https://circumstances.run/@hipsterelectron/116862073493912155.json'];
for u in urls:
 print('URL',u)
 try:
  r=requests.get(u,timeout=10,headers={'User-Agent':'Mozilla/5.0'}); print(r.status_code, r.url); print(r.text[:3000])
 except Exception as e: print(e)
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Inspected Mastodon post context**

</details>

```unknown
sid=116862073493912155
ts_ms=sid>>16
ts_ms

```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Decoded Mastodon status ID and converted timestamp to date**

</details>

```json
{"system1_search_query":[{"q":"\"hipsterelectron\" \"July 4, 2026\""},{"q":"\"hipsterelectron\" Grothendieck July 2026"},{"q":"\"danny mcClanahan\" Grothendieck 57"},{"q":"\"circumstances.run\" \"Grothendieck\""}],"response_length":"long"}
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Searched 7 websites**

</details>

```unknown
curl -k --resolve circumstances.run:443:116.202.120.150 -H Accept: application/activity+json -L --max-time 10 https://circumstances.run/@hipsterelectron/116862073493912155
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Searched remote Mastodon replies**

</details>

```json
{"system1_search_query":[{"q":"\"@hipsterelectron@circumstances.run\" \"57\""},{"q":"\"@hipsterelectron\" \"57\" Mastodon"},{"q":"\"hipsterelectron\" \"prime\" Mastodon"},{"q":"\"hipsterelectron\" \"Grothendieck prime\""}],"response_length":"medium"}
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Searched 13 websites**

</details>

The reference appears to be the standard **“57 is prime”** Grothendieck story. I’m checking the original biographical source because the anecdote is explicitly described as a legend, not a firmly documented event.

```json
{"find":[{"ref_id":"turn567669search6","pattern":"All right, take 57"},{"ref_id":"turn567669search6","pattern":"Grothendieck prime"}],"response_length":"medium"}
```

<details><summary>💭 Thinking</summary>

**Searched 1 website**

**Clarifying the reference**

I can’t fetch the original link directly, so I’m inferring from the wording. Danny likely means the famous anecdote where Grothendieck reportedly named 57 as a prime; however, the story’s exact provenance remains uncertain.

**Clarified the reference**

</details>

Danny is referring to the famous **“Grothendieck prime” = 57** anecdote.

The story goes that during a mathematical discussion someone asked Alexandre Grothendieck to consider a **specific prime number**. Grothendieck reportedly asked, essentially, “an actual number?”, and when told yes, replied: **“All right, take 57.”** citeturn392153view0

The joke is that

$$
57 = 3\times19,
$$

so **57 is not prime**. Hence mathematicians sometimes jokingly call 57 the *Grothendieck prime*. citeturn909274search2turn567669search18

There is a little more significance to the story than “great mathematician makes elementary arithmetic mistake.” Allyn Jackson's biography of Grothendieck introduces it specifically while discussing how extraordinarily **abstract** his mathematical thinking was and how little he relied on concrete examples. David Mumford is quoted immediately afterward explaining that Grothendieck essentially did not think through mathematics by examples in the way many mathematicians do. citeturn392153view0

One important caveat: **the incident is not securely documented**. The AMS biography itself calls it a *legend*. So Danny's reference is to a piece of mathematical folklore, not necessarily to a historically verified exchange. citeturn392153view1

So, in one line: **someone asked Grothendieck for an example of a prime; he allegedly chose 57, which is $3\cdot19$.**

## Sitemap

- [Home](http://parc.yolo.scapegoat.dev/)
- [Home markdown mirror](http://parc.yolo.scapegoat.dev/index.md)
- [Markdown sitemap](http://parc.yolo.scapegoat.dev/sitemap.md)