Funnily enough, when I started reading the first paragraph and thought "I wonder who the author is", then I scrolled up and read "Angelina Jolie" and thought "oh" not thinking anything of it.

It was until "Brad Pitt" that I realised, hah! Early morning.

I don't get why they don't make a bigger thing of who the author is on this one.

I quite like how they did that, it made the reading experience interesting.

Famous people frequently contribute columns to the NY Times. By not making a big deal about it, they elevate their status.

Every link I've seen to this today that's not on HN has been all about who the author is.

she's credited in the byline

Yes - but you miss that because it's not normally important - i.e. it's no one you've heard of.

as a lifelong newspaper reader i check the byline. i'd argue knowing who the author is is normally important, especially in the case of op-eds.

Agreed. I can't imagine not checking the byline. It's even more valuable now than ever before because we can check the byline and Google the author if it's an unfamiliar name.

Breast cancer is more important in "someone important, like an actor"?

I'm sure there's something in that they are famous yes, people have some sort of empathy with celebrities because they feel they kind-of know them through films, books and press over the years. It's not quite the same when it's someone you don't know at all.

It's a braver decision from someone who depends on their looks for livelihood. Also creates a mindset "if she could do it, then so could I"

I'd expect it's less brave for someone from an industry and social circles comfortable with implants, injections scalpels, etc, and with a bit more than a "livelihood" to ease the experience. The experience would surely be more foreign to the average woman, requiring more bravery. Angelina isn't dependent on the look of her breasts for her "livelihood". 87% risk is a no brainer.

It's easy to talk about 'no-brainers' in the abstract. A different story if it's your own favourite bit.

More people will think about it because more people think about her physical appearance.

At first I thought "oh, it's just another guy named Brad Pitt."

I had the exact same reaction