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February 14

What were the 27 Nupedia articles that existed and when were they created?

I'm making a document about the history of Wikipedia, that's why I'm asking. Mondtaler (talk) 13:45, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Mondtaler: I think that Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia has most of them listed. According to Nupedia they would have been created between 2000 and 2003, I am not sure if there is a way to be more precise unless the article history here at Wikipedia has the creation dates. RudolfRed (talk) 00:55, 15 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I just noticed the info box at Nupedia has links to archived versions. You might be able to get the dates that way. RudolfRed (talk) 00:59, 15 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I got it now. Mondtaler (talk) 15:45, 16 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Temporal optimized database indexes

Is there a database that implements indexes that allows for temporal importance without indexing dates themselves. I've been wanting to ask this for a while, but I didn't have a good example. I think I have one now. Assume that I have a database of every song-charting system like Billboard 100. I have the chart, date, position, song, and artist for every song on the chart going back as far as I can get data - 1920s maybe. The importance here is that I have a lot of data that required indexing to make finding data quick. Next assumption is that nearly 100% of queries on this database are for artists who have recently released songs. So, for the artist index, I want those at the top of the index tree or heap or stack or whatever is used so they are found faster. I could force it by indexing chartdate and artist and then trying to force a sort on chartdate. That isn't effective though. I don't want every artist to be split into a separate index entry for every date a song charts. What I expect to find is something like the Beatles being near the top of the index because they likely have the most dates with songs charted on all the various music charts around the world. Michael Jackson will be up there as well. But, neither has released a lot of songs recently. Instead, I want Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa to be near the top because they have charted recently. So, the words required to ask this question are difficult because if this example doesn't make it clear, any answer is going to go down a very different path. If it helps, my solution is to partition the data table based on chart date, giving each partition a separate index. Then, querying artists with recent releases will find them in the partition of most recent chart dates. But, if I don't include a date in my query, it will scan the index of all of the partitions to see if the artist appears in any of them. So, this is not really optimal. Also, please simply tell me that this is a stupid request and no database engine has this concept. Then, I can stop trying to find it. 75.136.148.8 (talk) 19:52, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

You might be going down the path of "premature optimization" - complicating your design by attempting optimizations before you have identified that there is a particular need for that optimization. Looking up an entry in an index has a time complexity of roughly O(log N), where N is the size of the number of entries, so the difference between a lookup into an index of the complete dataset and an index of a subset is not all that great. And for your example, is Michael Jackson really considered "recent" on a 100 year scale? His Thriller album came out over 40 years ago. -- Tom N talk/contrib 23:03, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe use Michael Jackson's Structured Programming? Martin of Sheffield (talk) 23:42, 14 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

February 18

Do LLM reach B2 or C1 levels (in writing) in at least some languages?

Like the title. In my usage of LLM I am quite impressed by the mastery of the language. Yes I know, it is all a (huge) statistical model behind it but still, impressive compared to pre Dec 2022 attempts.

I made a cursory search and no notable search engine could help me find studies that assess which level some LLM reached in writing. Say the last version of GPT3.5 or Bard in 2023 or even the latest GPT 3, that was less powerful but still a massive model.

From experience I would expect at least B2 or C1 (if not directly C2), but of course that is different from an official assessment. Pier4r (talk) 09:35, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I haven't the foggiest what B2 or C1 level of language means. If you found a way of expressing it which wasn't jargon you might get an answer. NadVolum (talk) 13:30, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Those are CEFR levels. It is the level of language fluency. When you learn a language you can take exams for these levels. If memory serves, C2 is completely fluent, C1 is close to fluency, and with B1 and B2 people can have basic conversations, but ones that are far beyond "what is your name? my favourite colour is blue". —Panamitsu (talk) 13:37, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How would you measure such a thing? Undoubtedly there are tests, which some people might value, but those are made for humans. An AI may perform reasonably well on some aspects of language use and at the same time very poorly on others. In other words, such a test is useless. BTW, I never experimented with LLMs, so no experience. PiusImpavidus (talk) 19:59, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Various models are routinely given exams or tests.^[1][2][3] --Lambiam 22:08, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In the CEFR levels there are tests (for humans) in reading, writing, listening and speaking. I was wondering if there were studies applying writing/reading tests to LLMs.

Further about the "tests, which some people might value". Those levels are required for entire naturalization programs or access to schools or universities. Pier4r (talk) 22:19, 21 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't claim otherwise. But your comment on naturalisation programmes makes me think of the following. Some years ago, an anti-immigration party in my country had an idea to reduce immigration. To do it in some fair way, they implemented a language test. Immigrants had to follow a language course in their old country and only after passing the test, they qualified for immigration. It turned out that some people passed the test after learning the language for just a few weeks (when they were still barely understandable), whilst some native speakers failed; the test was barely more accurate than a coin toss. But that didn't matter; the test was effective in reaching its goal, namely reducing the number of people who qualified for immigration. PiusImpavidus (talk) 12:12, 22 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A similar test, the Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer, was implemented in Germany as a condition for getting a residence permit, although the European Commission thinks it violates EU law.^[4] The test can be taken in Germany, though. --Lambiam 08:02, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

For information: CEFR is the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a framework promulgated by the European Union to describe the achievements of learners of foreign languages. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 09:55, 22 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Excess space in image metadata

When I edit metadata of my photos to be uploaded, for some reason there's always an excess space at the beginning of "Public domain" (before "P") in the Copyright holder field (as in this photo's metadata), even though I repeatedly hit backspace to remove it. No excess space appears in other editable fields. Any idea how to get rid of it? Brandmeister^talk 15:43, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is something specific to Wikimedia Commons. I did not succeed in figuring out how the make-up of the table is generated; it must be something deep inside the system. Your best bet may be posting this question at the Commons:Village pump. --Lambiam 21:59, 18 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

February 24

Upload 8K 60 fps Coaxial cable

Does it 8K 60 FPS upload Coaxial Cable can cause slow share network cable?

I have a download speed of 81.00 Mbps and an Upload speed 11.34 using an HP laptop connected to Wi-Fi 5. I have a home modem Arris surfboard SB6121. I don't have AT&T fiber optic or faster technology types of internet. 47.234.198.142 (talk) 01:32, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

8K could use a lot of bandwidth, so yes, your streaming 8K could choke up the upload capacity! Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:03, 24 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

At the end of the day, a Coax cable is just a length of copper. A such, the whole cable industry is a series of scams, design to trick idiots into buying pricy cable. In actual fact, copper is copper, and regardless of the cost, it's the same darn metal! It doesn't matter what fancy baloney claim the cable manufactures claim, all cables are just the same copper strands inside. I hope this helps. Pablothepenguin (talk) 12:29, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

February 26

Windows 11 multiple desktops: app always across desktops

Windows 11 has (at last!) introduced multiple desktops. I know how to mark a window as being available across all desktops (either that window, or all windows of that app). Is there a way to set that whenever a particuar app is opened, it will automatically be available across all desktops? I haven't found one. ColinFine (talk) 10:44, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Easter date list

Is there any tool that lists years of Easter Sunday occurring at any given date until very many millennia from now? The table at Robin van Gent's Easter calculator lists them until year 3000, and I have downloaded an external web application that makes lists until 4099, but I want to make lists of Easter occurring on a rare date (like 22, 23, 24 March or 23, 24, 25 April) until more than 10,000 years from now and in such calculation I use the van Gent's calculator. For example, if I want to make a list of every occurrence of Easter on 22 March, then I test Easter date on all years when 22 March is on Sunday and write down all years that actually have Easter on 22 March. But is there an easier tool to do this? --40bus (talk) 11:16, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@40bus: Not an app, but this site [5] has a csv file you can download that lists all the Easter dates for 1583 to 4099. Since it is a plain text file you can just search for "March 22" to get those dates. RudolfRed (talk) 05:32, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Since the exact date of Easter Sunday by definition is determined by a combination of the March Equinox and the occurrence of a full moon shortly thereafter, one could perhaps calculate the date themselves, by looking up future dates for the occurrence of full moons. Powerful computations have been run on our behalf to determine the precise date of the Moon's phases and other extraterrestrial phaenomena. Pablothepenguin (talk) 12:26, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

February 27

@@ Line 73: / Line 73: @@
 I have a [https://www.speedtest.net/result/15927661906 download speed of 81.00 Mbps and an Upload speed 11.34] using an HP laptop connected to Wi-Fi 5. I have a home modem [[google:arris%20surfboard%20SB6121|Arris surfboard SB6121]]. I don't have AT&T fiber optic or faster technology types of internet. [[Special:Contributions/47.234.198.142|47.234.198.142]] ([[User talk:47.234.198.142|talk]]) 01:32, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
 :8K could use a lot of bandwidth, so yes, your streaming 8K could choke up the upload capacity! [[User:Graeme Bartlett|Graeme Bartlett]] ([[User talk:Graeme Bartlett|talk]]) 10:03, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
+::At the end of the day, a Coax cable is just a length of copper. A such, the whole cable industry is a series of scams, design to trick idiots into buying pricy cable. In actual fact, copper is copper, and regardless of the cost, it's the same darn metal! It doesn't matter what fancy baloney claim the cable manufactures claim, all cables are just the same copper strands inside. I hope this helps. [[User:Pablothepenguin|Pablothepenguin]] ([[User talk:Pablothepenguin|talk]]) 12:29, 27 February 2024 (UTC)