Talk:Enoch Root

elixir vitae

This article states that Enoch uses the elixir to "to resurrect himself after he dies." Based on Daniel's application of the elixir to Newton in The System of the World, the process of combining the elements and consuming them seems to be fairly difficult for a corpse. If there is something I missed, please enlighten me; otherwise, this information is incorrect and should be changed. --Ckostovny 20:00, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Presumably someone else applied the elixir for him. It's fairly incontrovertible, however, that the elixir was used by Root to bring himself back from the dead on at least one occasion in Cryptonomicon. Possibly Rudy von Hacklheber, who knows his secret and brings him the cigar box in which the elixir is kept, applied it to Root - but certainly someone did. 128.135.108.227 (talk) 07:21, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Elihu Root

I wonder if there's also a reference to American politician/diplomat Elihu Root. The "wise man" image, involvement in major geopolitical events (WWI, the League of Nations), interest in mathematics, comments about the value of gold, etc. all fit pretty well. -- Jake 07:37, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Stephenson has said to us on a few occasions (in person, at various conventions where they've both attended) that Root is also based somewhat on Richard Thieme. Problem is he's never once said this in print, so this falls under original research, which is a shame, but those are the rules. 141.154.76.233 (talk) 13:11, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

What does Enoch Root look like?

I just realized that I think he looks a lot like Gordon Freeman. Other thoughts? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.20.237.230 (talk) 19:13, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

It seems he has a Twitter account. Perhaps the member icon is canonical? Bridgman (talk) 02:11, 8 January 2010 (UTC)

Incorrect redirect of Enoch Root article to Baroque Cycle article

I just undid User:TTN's September 2009 redirect of this article into the main Baroque Cycle article (an action which deleted the information rather than migrating it to the main article). There was no discussion prior to this major action nor comment by User:TTN about it. This topic merits an article because Enoch Root is a key character in 4 different Neal Stephenson novels (not just the BC books) and has been analyzed by readers possibly more than any other single Neal Stephenson character (Hiro Protagonist, who only appears in one novel, Snow Crash, might be a close second). The article itself is needing a number of quality upgrades, but it is far from unsalvagable. Bridgman (talk) 18:27, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

Enoch as racist?

Makes no sense, he was only against the fascism, not the whole of Chinese culture. -Sparky (talk) 15:50, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Redirect

This article does not claim and does not provide evidence this character has received significant third-party coverage independent from the work in which it appears. The single cited source offers only verifiability of elements of the plot, and not the kind of significant treatment necessary for an encyclopedia entry. I am redirecting it to the original work in which the character appears; if TBC seems more appropriate, please correct. --EEMIV (talk) 23:18, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

This article does have sources, I would have to firmly disagree with your outright deletion of this article. A merge of notable material would be more appropriate. I am willing to discuss this further. Sadads (talk) 02:58, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

The article has a single source that verifies plot and makes a minor claim about the character being racist. This is insufficient for WP:GNG. As for a merge: I wholly support merging all content that is cited to a third-party source. A redirect is not, as you assert, an "outright deletion"; the edit history is intact, and cited content can be migrated to an appropriate destination. Ultimately, however, this article makes no claim and offers no evidence of notability, and a search for the character's name in Google Scholar suggests the character simply doesn't matter to the real world. Google Books offers a few more hits, although they really do appear just to be fleeting references, i.e. not the "significant" coverage required to meet GNG. I invite you to add citations and bolster the standalone-worthiness of this article or to conduct a merge. Perhaps some of this content would be more appropriate sitting in the Plot sections for Cryptonomicon/the various Baroque Cycle books. When merging, please be mindful to use {{mergedfrom}} and {{mergedto}} tags. Barring a compelling assertion of notability, I plan to restore the redirect in a few weeks. --EEMIV (talk) 13:21, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

After more than a month, no contributors to this article have added an assertion of real-world notability, and search results in Google Scholar and Google Books still don't offer more than fleeting references that merely substantiate plot. I have merged all cited content to Cryptonomicon. --EEMIV (talk) 12:15, 16 September 2010 (UTC)