No, the original title is clearly clickbait – meant to be misinterpreted as something other than what the article is about. Here is what a real pun in a newspaper headline looks like:
Yeah, it's a pun. So what? The title being a pun doesn't make it any less misleading. Puns and clickbait are not mutually exclusive.
My real gripe is that there's a time and place for everything and a newspaper ought to know and respect that line. You don't mislead someone skimming your headlines into thinking the pentagon has been attacked for the sake of a joke. I like clever headlines as much as the next guy, and I understand that for the sake of a joke you might leave some ambiguity in the air and mislead your reader slightly, but this goes far past that.
I think using the word 'mathematical tile' indicates that it is a maths/geek article rather than serious news, and takes this into the safe zone. Just. It's a fine line though.
The title, being a pun, is only meant to be misinterpreted for the first half of the sentence. It can hardly be clickbait if the reveal is made by the end of the anchor text.
http://threepanelsoul.com/2010/03/22/on-astronomy-minors/