information – Pearl of Civilization

Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Chapter Numbers

I got physically agitated about the section numbering in a book that Simon showed me 😂

Spent time on the alt text to try to bring this chaos to you.

Beginning of the table of contents for Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.

A. Consciousness, with subheads I, II, and III
B. Self-consciousness, with subhead IV, and sub-sub-heads A and B
C. (AA.) Reason, with subhead V, sub-sub-head A, and a further nested section a

End of the table of contents for Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, continuing the lettered subheads from the previous page, and then,

(BB.) Spirit, with subhead VI, sub-subhead A, and nested sections a, b, and c; sub-subhead B with nested sections I, II, and III which have nested sub-sections labelled with a, b, c.

(CC.) Religion, with subheads that at least follow the numbering pattern from the first page

(DD.) Absolute Knowledge, with subhead VIII, Absolute Knowledge

Mastodon poll by @beandreams (me) from 1 Oct 2025.

Which baffling aspect of Hegel's table of contents are you?

C. (AA.) - 37%

One level of subheads is numbered continuously - 39%

New level of roman numerals in BB.VI.B only - 53%

Two levels of capitals before using small letters - 29%

All but one of the top-level sections group everything under a single sub-head. WHY. My urge to refactor is so strong 😂