I left a notice on several talk pages directing to here for the third nomination. I apologize, and the third nomination is actually here.

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was The result was No discernible consensus. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen such a convoluted AfD discussion. Beginning with an overly-long and complex nomination and ending up with a massive back-and-forth disagreement with 3 sections, 10 subsections, and a 7-section talk page. For the record, I’ll note this AN/I thread concerning this nomination. Also, even though the nominator signed the nomination on 22 March, the nomination was actually on 20 March. —Travistalk 19:31, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Myrzakulov equations (2nd nomination)

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Myrzakulov equations (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) (delete) – (View log)

Rationale for deletion

It seems to have been created by its original author, G.N. Nugmanova, a former student and collaborator of Myrzakulov, and subsequently enhanced by them both, or others in their immediate entourage, primarily as a vehicle for self-promotion. They have assigned his name to a large number of equations, which are mainly variations of the standard continuous spin field equation known by some as the Landau-Lifschitz equation. These variations are not generally known amongst experts in the field, and are likely to be of interest only to the author, her supervisor, and their collaborators. They do not justify a Wikipedia entry devoted to them.

In the scientific domain, most researchers, especially those of genuine distinction, do not overtly try to name an equation after themselves. If there happens to be such a coinage, it is usually arrived at as a result of common practice within the community of experts and gets adopted in time. The author of the equations in question seems not to have been content merely to have his student name one equation after him; he has produced over fifty of them! (if I understand his numbering correctly). It is very questionable however whether any of these have interest for anyone other than the Myrzakuov and his collaborators. To me, it seems clear that they are generally unknown to experts in nonlinear equations of mathematical physics, and do not have adequate interest, either from the viewpoint of physical applications, or intrinsic mathematical content, to justify having such an article devoted to them. It seems to be primarily motivated by an attempt at self-promotion.

It is true that Myrzakulov has published several papers, apparently mainly joint works with several other authors, in journals that generally have reasonable peer review standards. In fact some of these coauthors have somewhat more recognition in the area than does Myrzakulov. I am not impugning his qualifications to publish such articles, or commenting in any detail on their merits. However, I do find it very suspicious when an author of scientific papers that are not regarded by the expert community as having any distinction or notability chooses such unconventional means for promoting his work.

A great deal gets published in this field, and not all of it is of the first calibre. The fact that an author has published some papers in respectable journals is certainly not an adequate reason to have a wikipaedia article devoted to them, or to identfy them by the author's name as though this were common usage, and as if the equations had some established importance.

Work of genuine notability is, sooner or later, recognized within the expert community on its own merits, and not by such primitive self-promotional devices as enshrining them in a wikipaedia article that consists of little more than a listing of obscure equations to which the author has attached his own name and a number.

It seems that a previous deletion debate has taken place (Articles for deletion/Myrzakulov equations), and ended as inconclusive. This should not be the outcome of the present discussion. It is to be hoped that others, who are well qualified to express an opinion, will do so, and not just the author of the article in question, collaborators and friends. It should end conclusively with deletion of the article.R_Physicist (talk) 13:42, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Discussion Beginning of discussion

  • With all due respect, if Wikipedia is to have any credibility whatsoever on matters of scientific content, it is not by "popular vote" that such things can be decided. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but if the conclusion about retaining/deleting articles that have been found by experts in the field to be unsuitable is to be determined by "popular vote", in which the opinion of knowledgeable experts in the field counts for no more than those who admit to not having read the article, and being without qualifications to judge it, this would reduce the process to something quite silly. I am curious to see if this really is the case, since it will give me a better idea of whether Wikipedia is a reliable mechanism for transmitting knowledge or just a sandbox in which all and sundry may have the pleasure of playing out their fantasies of wisdom and knowledgeability in a semi-public forum, but of no reliability whatsoever as a source of knowledge. R_Physicist (talk) 15:50, 20 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • With all due respect, it is not up to us to decide whether you are more knowledgeable in this nonlinear wave field than De Witt Sumners and Avraham Soffer - or any scientist outside Myrzakulov's entourage who quoted his equations, for that matter. Talking about boxes - WP:SOAP. If you are knowledgeable, why do you not fix, sorry, tear apart the article until all fantasy is removed? The argument here is not about whether we like the article or not, the argument is whether it is notable enough to deserve an article. I do not like the article in its present state either, but it is about something that has indeed been mentioned in a number of scholarly reviews. And in any case, it is not a vote. --Paul Pieniezny (talk) 16:15, 20 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Exactly right; it is not up to you to decide who is more, or less knowledgable, nor whether this article is notable or not, since you have agreed that you don't have the competence to do so. But there are others who do; it is not an empty field, but one in which there are many qualified experts. These, generally speaking, know of each other, via their publications, conferences, schools, etc., and there are others, who are less specialized as experts in the area, but nevertheless have the qualifications and judgment to understand what is in question. If you agree that matters of scientific content, validity, notability cannot be decided by popular consensus amongst those without the qualifications to do so, it is best to leave it to those who do to discuss and decide such questions amongst themselves.
The reason why I do not trouble to fix the article is given in my above explanation; it cannot be fixed, and it would take more than fixing to render such self-promotion into a valid criterion for notability. I won't tear apart the article either, because I have no reason to spend the time, or effort, to do such a thing, when my argument for deletion is clear on general grounds, and does not need a more detailed analysis to convince those who have the necessary expertise in the field.
That said, I don't plan to register any further comments until the end of the allotted five day period, and would prefer to see what others, those with the necessary qualifications, have to say. I may then write a brief summary of what I regard to be valid, or invalid arguments that have been expressed, and explain more precisely why the retention of such material is more damaging to Wikipedia's credibility than the mere fact of having another superfluous, self-promoting article in the system. R_Physicist (talk)

Okay, done as I'm ever going to be. Still needs a lot of technical work, which I just can't do. --lifebaka (Talk - Contribs) 00:45, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
E.g., the article on Heim theory is far more problematic, yet it survived two VFDs. It may look better than this article at first glance, but it is closer to being unacceptable according to the wiki rules. And from a physics point of view it is certainly horrible, because a pseudoscientific theory is given too much respect. However, even these much more serious objections were not good reasons to delete that aticle. I voted to keep it and then rewrote most of it, but it still has severe POV problems. The fact that it can be written up in such a way that it becomes acceptable was the reason why it was kept.
So no, this article should not be deleted. People who do not like it should just make the effort to rewrite it instead of putting it on VFD. Count Iblis (talk) 00:33, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Fixed above. Benjiboi 01:16, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Review of edit history of the article (Response to request for evidence)

Resumption of the debate

Edited above. R_Physicist has now given strong evidence of a conflict of interest, which should definitely be taken into account, both as a COI and evidence against notability. Mostlyharmless (talk) 04:53, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Usually articles are not accepted for publication in peer reviewed journals if they are not of sufficient interest. And you don't get to talk on a conference either. We really have to judge this in the way the mathematical physics community looks at it which, from my own experience, is a bit different than other branches of physics.
I've written a few articles on Mathematical Physics and I know that my work in that field is quite notable (I've not written any wikipedia articles on these topics). However, this does not translate into a large number of citations. Google would also not give you any clues about notability/importance. I have also written some papers on particle physics. These are i.m.o. less important, but the citation count is much higher and, if you ask Google, you would get the impression that this work is much more important. Count Iblis (talk) 14:40, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A small disagreement regarding Good and Bad Faith

  • Reply. Good faith and bad. So far, the discussion has been at a fairly courteous and responsible level. The last comment most certainly isn't. Good faith means: "Compliance with standards of decency and honesty (American Heritage Dictionary); Bad faith: "With or characterized by intentional deception or dishonesty" (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law). I don't specially care if some unidentifiable contributor decides to use insulting language - there are always such people out there. There is, however, no substance to his accusation. Everything that I have stated is accurate and in good faith. For those who know enough about the scientific content in question, it is a matter of sound judgment and credibility. Therefore, I hope that this one crude contribution will simply be treated by everyone as it deserves - by being ignored. R_Physicist (talk) 22:30, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know what you mean by "unidentifiable contributor", since I signed my post, and my user page has my real life identity.
  • Perhaps I am particularly clumsy in finding things, but I am afraid that Jerry was the only information regarding identity that I could find at your user page. R_Physicist (talk) 06:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Did you try clicking on the icon labelled "about me" on the navigation bar? That's all anyone could want to know about me. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 07:11, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, and I was also the administrator who closed the first deletion discussion for this article.
  • Thank you for telling me that. I presume, however, that you expect that communicating this information will increase my respect for you. I am sorry, but if so, you are mistaken; it does rather the opposite, since now I know that the person who likes to use insulting language, and accuse people, without grounds, of "bad faith" is also the administrator who closed the first discussion. That tells me more about the nature of that administrator, but it neither inspires me with respect nor does it give me much further confidence in the process.
Another bad faith assumption. No intimidation intended, mate. My statement was one of surprise that you, as one who presumably read the previous discussion, would recognize me as an interested party. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 07:11, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Now, since you like to make accusations of "bad faith" - how would you characterize the fact that you, as an administrator who closed the first deletion discussion - presumably in the capacity of a "neutral arbitrator" - are entering here as an aggressive participant? And apparently using this intimidating announcement to increase your authority and weight in the debate? Are you perhaps announcing that you are planning also to be the administrator who closes the debate on the present discussion, and hence it is a foregone conclusion? If so, thank you for telling us so after a mere two days of discussion so that I, and all the others who have taken part will know we have been wasting our time in view of the fact that you, an administrator, with your mind made up already, will be deciding the issue in any case. Or should we just place faith in your sense of fairness, and neutrality, and sound judgment, which you have been so aptly demonstrating? Frankly, I would place judgment in your "good faith" at this point only if you stepped out of the debate completely, and declared yourself disqualified for ending the debate, or having any say in the outcome. After what you have said, I would suggest you have no grounds left to claim objectivity, or neutrality - you have been, simply, acting as an aggressive participant, who is now further trying to influence the outcome by announcing yourself an "administrator" who had closed the first discussion, with the implication, obviously, that you could do the same with this one. I am looking forward to learning what a Wikipedia administrator, after demonstrating such gross lack of impartiality, is really entitled, or expected to do.R_Physicist (talk) 06:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Being neutral at the time of closing is not an implied oath of forever neutralness. I am not eligible, by my own standards, to close subsequent AfD's for articles that I have previously closed AfD's for. Therefore my participation in this discussion is entirely ethical. The fact that I now have an opinion on the notability of the subject does not mean that I did not close the previous discussion in an impartial manner. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 07:11, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Six distinct statements in the nomination are clear examples of bad faith. Forget your dictionary definitions and your interpretation on how they should be applied to this discussion, read Wikipedia:Assume good faith; wikipedia's use of this special phrase is what is meant by that phrase when it is used here.
  • I have looked up Wikipedia's article "good faith" and found nothing in it at variance with my notion, or the standard dictionary definition of the term. Perhaps you should have another look at what that article says before you tell others to forget dictionary definitions, and adopt yours. Let me quote you a part if it:
"Accusing others of bad faith
Making unwarranted accusations of bad faith (as opposed to explanations of good faith) can be inflammatory, and is often unhelpful in a dispute. If bad faith motives are alleged without clear evidence that others' editing is in fact based upon bad faith, it can also count as a form of personal attack, and in it, the user accusing such claim is not assuming good faith." R_Physicist (talk) 06:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That is just plain silly. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 07:11, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
So the six bad faith statements are:
  • article seems to have been created...primarily as a vehicle for self-promotion.
  • others, who are well qualified to express an opinion, will do so, and not just the author of the article in question, collaborators and friends.
  • I do find it very suspicious when an author of scientific papers that are not regarded by the expert community as having any distinction or notability chooses such unconventional means for promoting his work
  • primitive self-promotional devices as enshrining them in a wikipaedia article
  • Most people...do not have so little modesty as to overtly try to name an equation after themselves
  • It seems to be primarily motivated by an attempt at self-promotion
Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 03:22, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • By listing these assertions, and hopes, I see you feel you have demonstrated them to be prima facie evidence of "bad faith". But I am afraid that, for most people, simply asserting something is not prima facie evidence of anything.
In summary, I would say you have done a very good job of demonstrating where you stand on all of these things. I presume it will be clear to anyone else reading these remarks. R_Physicist (talk) 06:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Qualified to comment I find the previous entry very troubling. Are you saying that being "the administrator who closed the first deletion" makes you more qualified to judge the article based on its scientific merits? I subscribe to the opinion, stated earlier, that this article does little else than to promote an individual who is not recognized by the academic community as the article might suggest, and to create confusion through incomplete and misleading information. Please consult any reputable text in this field and check for yourselves. --Antignom (talk) 03:56, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
See my reply to your post below, for my opinion on expert snobbery. I do not believe that being the admin who closed the first debate makes me qualified to comment. I belive that being a person with access to an internet-connected computer makes me qualified to comment. I also do not like your view that any text book that supports this article is disreputable, and any text that supports your view is reputable. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 04:15, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Evidence Fine, then please provide any textbook which reflects the claims of this article. --Antignom (talk) 04:33, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A return to the main discussion

Side discussion on the need, or lack of need, for Expertise

Wikipedia does not need real experts. We just need people who know how to read and write. The experts can do the research and write the theories themselves, other experts can peer-review their theories, then journalists and authors can write about the experts and their theories, and then common folks like me can write articles about the subject. Everyone in the world is welcome to participate at that point, even children. No experts needed. This snobbery about only qualified people should comment here, and collaborators are not welcome is pure unadulterated nonsense. Experts should go off somewhere and be experts, and common, normal, ordinary, non-special, everyday, average wikipedians should build wikipedia. Of course, experts can also be wikipedians... I have expertise in some things... everyone does. But we don't have to restrict our contributions to our fields of expertise. And we can not discourage non-experts from participating. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 04:04, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Truth and opinion I agree that everyone should be able to say (write) whatever they wish about any subject, with no restrictions. However, science-related articles do require expertise. It is not about "snobbery", but about true or false. You can state your opinion that the Earth is flat, and write a Wikipedia article about it. If, however, you claim that your opinion was recognized by the scientific community, by due critical process, then you are misleading the readers and cast serious doubts about the validity of any Wikipedia entry. --Antignom (talk) 04:28, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Ah, yes. But if some other complete nutbag writes that the earth is flat, and calls it Professor Nutbag's Earth Flatness Theory, and it gains attention enough to have 5 books written about it and peer-reviewed journals. Then I can create the "Nutbag's flat earth theory" article, and all of the geological experts who come by with scientific data about how round the earth is would have no purpose in the discussion. Wikipedia is not about publishing the truth. It is about writing about notable subjects in a neutral way with adequate references in reliable sources to verify the content of the article. We do not publish original research, so we don't need experts. We are a tertiary source, and we do not care if the theories we write about are right, wrong, seriously flawed, downright ignorant or otherwise really really bad. We only care that the subject is notable. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 05:19, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That is very relevant indeed. It means that if an adequate number of people start a "cooperative" of mutual referencing, they can generate arbitrary Wikipedia entries, which should be considered valid according to your definition. That's very amusing, but also makes the whole enterprise irrelevant to those who do care about the truth - because it can get drowned by countless such arbitrary entries.--Antignom (talk) 05:54, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It will be okay, really. We have nearly 2.4 Million articles in English alone. I think if a consortium conspires to get a fringe theory article into wikipedia through elaborate means, that includes having books written and articles in papers and journals, then they will not only have tricked themselves past our notability gate, they will have actually created notability. Notability is created everyday. And it is okay. Jerry talk ¤ count/logs 06:06, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I would like to add, that of course any sourced criticism is welcome in a fringe theory article and is welcome in this article. (Though of course, no one has suggested that this article is putting forward a fringe theory, just a fringe way of naming things.) "All of the geological experts who come by with scientific data about how round the earth is would have no purpose in the discussion" is about the hypothetical discussion about deletion of the article on flat earth theory. Hypothetical, since I suspect the geological experts would actually want to keep the article to put in their criticism.--Paul Pieniezny (talk) 23:08, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Return to the main discussion

as a matter of common sense, if a particular scientific theory in a very active field is published on almost entirely by one group, and a few scattered other people, it is probably not generally notable. If, as you say it is not yet generally written about because it is still new, it is almost by definition not yet notable. This is especially true for calling something after one's self. If X and his students are almost the only people who call something--even something notable-- X's Law, or X's Equations, then that name is not generally used and is almost certainly self-puffery. Newton's Laws are not named after him because he & his associates called it so. The same goes for everything else in the world. You can publish any number of papers referring to yourself, and it won't get you anywhere. that's what we mean by substantial 3rd party coverage--not you and your friends. I cannot say for sure whether this work is scientifically important, but I can say for sure that the name is not widely used, and that would hold even if it the papers were published in a language I understood even less of. DGG (talk) 05:18, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Comment That all makes an excellent reason to rename/refocus rather than delete. Once the SPAs drama, possibly including the nom on this, is sorted out we really need experts on the subject to weigh in on what is most appropriate. Benjiboi 11:52, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
and your suggested names is? Based on discussion here, I dont think they're considered distinct enough to have a generally accepted name.DGG (talk) 17:25, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for taking the trouble to look at this. I am not familiar with what the conventions of "best practice at AfD" are, since I am just a working researcher scientist, not a Wikipedia expert. But I don't believe that the emphasis has been on "conflict of interest", at least not by me; this was a term used by another user. The data that I provided regarding the origin of the article and the numerous anonymous updates was in reply to a very legitimate request on the part of another user for proof that these really were from the person after whom this article, and equations had been named, or his immmediate entourage.
Like the others who have also "voted" for deletion, I have given as the reasons arguing for this deletion: 1) The fact that the article primarily presents material that is, from the viewpoint of the field, of very obscure interest, if any at all (i.e. "lack of notability", in Wikipedia terms) and 2) that its presentation as a list of equations carrying the name of its author is completely contrary to "best practices" in science, which accord names to equations only if the scientific community, not the individual in question, feels that that this recognition is merited. (This also falls within the Wikipedia criteria for deletion: advertisement / self-promotion.) There is a third reason as well, that I had intended to mention only in my summary, and will do so there in detail, and that is the impact that such self-promotional articles have on other articles, that are of more central importance to users of Wikipedia, when such self-promoting authors or friends of theirs do the secondary harm of peppering these other articles with links and reference to theirs. When this is done systematically, but always under an anonymous identity, one begins, indeed, to have doubts on the legitimacy of these actions. This might again sound like an accusation of "lack of good faith", but how else can one characterize such conduct?R_Physicist (talk) 13:11, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
WP:COI explains our concept of "conflict of interest", which is the broad term we use to include self-promotion and other ways that people add material that puts their outside interests ahead of Wikipedia's. While this is a concern, that relates to quality of content, not the topic itself. The topic should be discussed on its own merits, regardless of who started the article. Charles Matthews (talk) 17:58, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]


If you want to criticize someone's English, it might not hurt to be able to spell "typically" correctly. Michael Hardy (talk) 23:58, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I don't; I was asked (invited) to do so. And I have no intention whatsoever to do it. For more relevant contributions, see the recent reply a few paragraphs below. --Proscience (talk) 00:18, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This is a fairly rude response that doesn't even have much to do with the matter at hand. This is a deletion discussion. Please confine your contributions here (which are, indeed, your only contributions) to the matter at hand. --Cheeser1 (talk) 21:28, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
1. My poor english says that I need in your help (so please and I would like ask you correct english of my comments);
2. My logic says that I can't reply you symmetrically. So this my asymmetric reply means and may be proved (I suppose) that my logic is more or less normal ... . Ngn 92.46.69.162 (talk) 22:21, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]


  • Comment. This is an example of someone with no claim to even the slightest understanding of the meaning of the article, or the context, admonishing a known expert in the field, during a very pertinent exchange with the author of the article, that he should stick to the "matter at hand". The fact is, Proscience was exactly addressing the matter at hand, and using a simple analogous example, the Nonlinear Schrodinger equation, known to everyone in the field, to illustrate his point. The discussion was cut off by this rude interruption, followed by the sinister remark that followed - introduced by User:Scarian - someone with the authority of an administrator!, (followed by the nodding approval of this same user).R_Physicist (talk) 12:43, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Note to closing admin - User:Proscience is a new account. Possibly suspicious. ScarianCall me Pat 21:53, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This and others duly noted on talk page. --Cheeser1 (talk) 22:01, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
a) may be better use NSE than NS for nonlinear Schrodinger equation;
b) in my next comments I will present 3 magnetic equations to compare ... . Ngn 92.46.69.162 (talk) 22:21, 22 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I am using the notation used by professor Zakharov himself (at least up until February 29, when I last saw him). Now, to address more substantial issues: the user Ngn claims to belong to the scientific community. As such, he/she is subject to higher standards of education (and, yes, of logic of the argument) than the average reader is. This is the point of my comment above, which was not meant as an insult. There are two possibilities: either Ngn gives up the claim that the article in question has any scientific standing (in which case, this topic will cease to interest me), or he/she agrees to carry on this debate at the level expected from a scientist. If neither option is pursued, then I expect that my colleagues and I will stop contributing, for obvious reasons, but also that we might describe this situation in other media, of clear relevance to scientists, in order to expose what we perceive to be a blatant attempt to self-promotion, in a vacuum of constructive scientific scrutiny. --Proscience (talk) 00:18, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Stop it now. Both of you. You've made your points in this AfD. Cut the side-commentary/bickering. --Cheeser1 (talk) 00:20, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Cheeser1: this is my last contribution to this topic. I do not appreciate the tone of your commentary made at 00:20, 23 March 2008 (UTC), although I am convinced it was made with the best intentions. If you read (again) my previous entry, you should notice that it is objective and relevant to the issue. Then again, there is a limit to how much time I can afford to spend contributing here. I will check again the status of this discussion when it is over. --Proscience (talk) 00:33, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A serious critique by the nominator for deletion - and a challenge to participants in the Wikipedia community

Is this science fiction, fantasy, an "other-world" nightmare or reality.? What is Wikipedia all about? The tyranny of the ignorant? I am very curious what all the threatening remarks, gratuitous insults and assaults by the uneducated upon the integrity of the knowledgeable leads up to. Is this a serious process, or one in which a small number of Wikipedia "insiders" act out fantasies of power and importance, while those who, in the real world, are highly qualified scientists and professionals devoted to advancing our actual state knowledge, are silenced by threats, intimidation, and manipulative tactics, while administrators who believe that "expertise" is irrelevant, do nothing to intervene? Is it that only Wikipedia experience and status has any importance in this environment?
I have a feeling the outcome of this debate will have more significance for Wikipedia than merely whether this poor article is kept or deleted. If the questionably empowered class of "Administrators" turns out to be the only real decision makers, wielding the power to overrule all others, then all depends on them. If they choose to ignore the advice of those who are best placed to provide expert opinion on the substance of the article in question, and decide simply according to their own notions, even though they have no knowledge, but prefer to heed the "all-inclusive" principle, or the views of other users who are equally ignorant of the subject, the outcome is meaningless, and the implication for the reliability of Wikipedia as a source of knowledge is clear.
Having said this, I expect to receive a barrage of attacks, threats, intimidating remarks, citations for violations of rules, aspersions cast on my character, integrity, competence, etc. from those seasoned "insiders" who feel insulted or threatened by these self-evident remarks. But are there also those who believe in the value of Wikipedia and hold another view? Are there enough of those who do have an adequate respect for knowledge, qualifications, real-word competence and, simply, the truth, who have a say in how Wikipedia is run and decisions are made to tilt the balance? I am curious to see who actually holds sway in this strange setting, that claims to represent "the masses" and knowledge simultaneously. R_Physicist (talk) 08:14, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Back to the main discussion

Look, the topic here is a collection of equations, not a scientist. Please discuss the notability of the equations. Charles Matthews (talk) 07:57, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  • Please do not confuse the actions of Cheeser1 with that of an admistrator. All of the unwarranted deletions, transferences, reductions to invisible boxes, re-orderings of material, have been his, single-handed mischief, as has been the irresponsible accusations that the contributions of several qualified scientists to this discussion are the result of some kind of nefarious conspiracy, or multiple identity hoax. All of this is the work of anonymously "identified" user Cheeser1, not an adminstrator. R_Physicist (talk) 11:43, 24 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A note, and maybe a clean start Before I get into the substance of what I want to say, please note that I am not arguing for or against deletion in this debate, and I doubt I will. I just want to clarify a few things.

  1. Wikipedia does not require any degree of relative importance or notability in a field, only a certain degree of absolute notability, as defined by wikipedia policies and guidelines.
  2. Wikipedia also doesn't care too much about off-wiki consequences, except where any user is using wikipedia to their own ends to the detriment of wikipedia, as defined in the conflict-of-interest policy.
  3. We also don't care, as a matter of policy, about strict objective accuracy or truth, only verifiability.
  4. This is not the place to debate or argue to change these factors. Do that on the relevant policy/guideline pages and/or the village pump.

This is not a keep or delete argument, rather a few points for people to bear in mind. Address these points, or other valid reasons for deletion, in your comments and arguments, please. SamBC(talk) 13:56, 24 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]


1. Ishimori equation (IE) [1984]
2. Isotropic Landau-Lifshitz equation (LLE) = Heisenberg ferromagnet equation (HFE) [1935]:
3. Myrzakulov I equation (M-I) [1997]:
4. Mikhailov-Yaremchuk equation (MYE) [1982]
As you can see (if even you are not expert in this area) these 4 magnetic equations are very different and are independly each to other. Moreover IE (1), M-I (3) and MYE (4) are integrable, at the same time LLE=HFE (2) is nonintegrable in the soliton theory sense. Additionally these equations were constructed by different authors. This is why we use for them different names. Note that they describle nonlinear dynamics of magnets but in the different physical cases.Ngn 92.46.69.162 (talk) 12:18, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting, not only because it gave me an idea of what the thing is about, but also because it hints at how the article could be improved, by getting rid of the obvious WP:UNDUE listing of all these equations. The problem I see now is Wikipedia's rule "No Original Research". "Moreover IE (1), M-I (3) and MYE (4) are integrable, at the same time LLE=HFE (2) is nonintegrable in the soliton theory sense." - can this be sourced in some way or other? If so, you have your article, I think - in both senses: we have a good text to build on and deletion does not look like a serious option. --Paul Pieniezny (talk) 22:51, 23 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Preparing to sum up

Umm... Was that directed at me? --lifebaka (Talk - Contribs) 00:03, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Huh? No. I was just pointing out that these "relatively off-topic debates about various things that AfD isn't the venue for" were repeatedly moved or otherwise organized (in the most generous AGF way possible, at least at first) by me, in order to try to keep this debate going smoothly. --Cheeser1 (talk) 00:05, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hokay, just makin' sure. --lifebaka (Talk - Contribs) 00:07, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Note to closing admin - this section, apparently, is for users to repeat their rationale (R physicist refuses to deviate from the awkward, nonstandard style he has pushed onto this page, and has demanded that users repeat their rationales here to "sum up" what would be a short list of concise rationales - like any AfD - were it not for his polemical essays). In light of this, this section will contain some (but perhaps not all) duplicate !votes. --Cheeser1 (talk) 05:38, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure if wacky is meant to characterize the original title, or the contents of the essay, but no matter. I'm also not sure what the "author's votes" means. My understanding was that, in any case, the decision is not merely a matter of "vote counting" (although regarding the numbers, you clearly are right) but weighing up the value of the arguments presented. Please note that there has only been one "essay". The other interpolated discussions were: 1) A summary, in response to a request by user "Michael Hardy", of the evidence for the self-referential origin of the article, via an analysis of edit histories and outside sources; 2) an exchange between user "Jerry", who announced he had been the admin to have closed the previous debate, while taking a very aggressive position in the present one, and myself, regarding his use of the term "bad faith"; 3) another extended exchange between "Jerry" and "Antignom" in which "Jerry"'s hostility towards "expert input" was spelled out. R_Physicist (talk) 14:26, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
An uninvolved admin comes along and closes it, not any who've commented already. --lifebaka (Talk - Contribs) 14:52, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Today on "Super Tuesday" there is not yet a consensus either way. So, the decision will be made by "superadministrators" who may not take into account all the votes here, some time later. Count Iblis (talk) 15:55, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
a) not close my article as no consensus
b) not renominate it.

Reasons: I with my article were in 3 "World Wars". Please see my article wikihistory:

1. "First World War": for the first time I created it in RuWiki. There it deleted with the help of my two "friends".
2. "Second World War": second time I created same article in EnWiki. In this case there was more democratic audience. And we had some perspective. But in the end with the help of my "old friends" from RuWiki we obtained "no consensus".
3. "Third World War": One of users send us (I and my article) to 2nd nomunation. In this case just one moment is very nice: today I hope this War will finish.
So my "famous" article 3 times was in "World War". We tired and want take some rest. But now you want send us to "Fourth World War"? I'm afraid that the results and participants of the next War will be same. Ngn 89.218.75.202 (talk) 16:22, 25 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.