Hacker News Reader

Comment by nexuist | Hacker News Reader

I wish there was some sort of official guidelines on when the black bar is appropriate. There is no doubt that Mrs. Johnson helped accelerate the field of computer science and legitimized its existence, as not just a branch of mathematics, but a whole new field on its own.

The bigger question is, is that what the black bar is for?

View on HN

I'm not sure, but we usually see it for pioneers in the field and in my opinion she certainly qualifies.

She was a pioneer in civil rights and advancing social mores. There's no question she has made great contributions to humanity. But in computing, she was one of numerous analysts performing calculations as part of a massive, sprawling government program. Millions of engineers, scientists, and mathematicians have died since and we honor very few of them. I admire Johnson enormously but her work in math is not what distinguishes her.

I'm curious why you think her work in math is separate and distinct from her work in advancing equality? I think her mathematics work alone distinguishes her but even if you don't, why do you not view her social contributions to the field as worthy of recognition?

Jackie Robinson was a great baseball player but his contributions to the game extend far beyond how he performed on the field.

The guidance I've always seen is that the black bar is added "when someone important to the HN community dies". And I agree with the commenter you're replying to, Katherine Johnson and her work certainly qualify as important to the HN community.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com