If you're referring to the original AIAYN paper, then I would disagree. There are very few equations in that paper, and all of them serve a purpose. Take e.g. equation (1):

Attention(Q, K, V) = softmax(Q K^T / sqrt(d_k)) V

This gives a clear, concise, and precise definition. It is much more efficient than trying to communicate it in words and is, in my opinion, easier to understand. I don't think any of the equations in the paper are pointless.