User talk:DavidWBrooks

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User talk: DavidWBrooks/2003 archive

User talk: DavidWBrooks/2004 archive

User talk: DavidWBrooks/2005 archive

User talk: DavidWBrooks/2006 archive

The Mythopoeic man from Nantucket

You are absolutely right that "mythopoeic" in this context is "pompous and silly". But in the larger context, like many otherwise good articles that take themselves too seriously, it's silly to have an encyclopedia article about this limerick in the first place.

The fact that this word has been part of the article for over a year indicates a large degree of approval. I've yielded to you on other word choice issues, I'd appreciate if you would yield to me on this one. Thanks Ghosts&empties 19:25, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, I appreciate your humoring me.Ghosts&empties 18:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Category:Military brat

Well, somebody beat me to the category of military brat, but I went through last night and updated all of the brats on the List of famous military brats to have the category on their page. Well, the category has already been nominated for deletion. The reasoning is because it is a "non-neutral" term and parental occupation is irrelevant. Thus, I'm letting people who have contributed to the Military brat article know so that they can support keeping the category. Here is the link to the discussion [1] Balloonman 20:26, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Wikiproject Podcasting

I've noticed you've been active in dealing with issues of the Podcast page, and thought I'd let you know about the Wikiproject I've proposed. I've proposed a wikiproject to deal with all things podcasting and wondered if you'd be interested in seeing it happen. If you are, just over to the proposal page and find podcasting, then just add your name under 'interested users'. Cheers! Ganfon 22:44, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

My edit to Newspaper

Hi, DavidWBrooks.

I noticed your revert to one of my edits in the Newspaper article. I agree with you in that the link I removed is as good as any other. I do believe, however, that most links in that section don't meet WP:EL guidelines, since they each don't provide a unique resource that complements what the article has to offer. In my opinion we should choose the best of that directories and include in the "external links" section. One good directory is enough for readers seeking information on "Newspaper". Please, remember the policy "links should be kept to a minimum".

By the way, now I think I should have put more of my effort when editing and done the clean-up myself. My fault...

—Red Thrush 18:49, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

My response to the Curse Reversed

Because because the Red Sox won the World Series that doesnt mean the Yankees are cursed! The curse is just over!

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.86.122.109 (talk) 21:41, 30 January 2007 (UTC).

Make Way for Ducklings

Today's featured article, Make Way for Ducklings, is an article that you started back in February 2005. Thank you for your contributions! -- Jreferee 15:59, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

illions

David W(?) Brooks - How come yanks cannot get it right on the proper use of terms "billion", "trillion", "quadrillion" etc? Maybe yanks, like the media in general, are a bit lacking up top... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brf00 (talk • contribs) 17:44, 14 February 2007 (UTC).

Paul is dead

I should have put the other edits back, I reckon. Sorry about that. Wahkeenah 20:57, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

• At least all it's doing is posting that nonsense. What I would be dreading is some yahoo starting a revert war over the issue, claiming POV violation or some such. Wahkeenah 21:50, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

---

Why did you delete my comments about slant rhyme from the English words with uncommon properties entry?

Please sign and date your comments, so they're not just random sentences floating around. But hoping you'll check back here, I'll respond: because pointing out that words can be "rhymed" by words that don't quite rhyme doesn't fit in an article about specific words with specific properties. Any word can be slant-rhymed; that's something to be noted in rhyme or some such article. - DavidWBrooks 21:44, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

The "The" again

Talk:Barack_Obama#NYT_and_Harvard_Law_Review Your professional insights welcome. --HailFire 10:50, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Zohnerism

The "discuss" tag for merging Zohnerism goes to the Dihydrogen monoxide hoax talk page, where nobody necessarily knows that Zohnerism (the article) even exists. Shouldn't it go to the talk page for Zohnerism? - DavidWBrooks 13:00, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

I just checked, and the Zohnerism talk page stays with Zohnerism. Totnesmartin 14:24, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

Pareidolia

Responded to your comment on Talk:Pareidolia. Best, --Shirahadasha 01:27, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Spiritual Aspect of the Hippie Trail

The key fact of the Hippie trail was that most of the people who undertook it were in a spiritual search. The stock of ideas, values and other influences these people borrowed from the destinations they visited left an imprint in the following generations.

I notice you removed the above section. Actually spiritual searching was a key component of hippie travel, both with respect to this specific route and travel to other destinations--"finding one's teacher" was the goal.

I specifically traveled to Peru, for example, on a spiritual quest. And there were thousands of others doing the same thing--to South America, to Japan, to India, to Nepal.

I believe some mention of this aspect of hippie travel needs to be included--perhaps a better edit. Apostle12 18:34, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it was certainly part of it, and needs to be mentioned. But not the most important part. - DavidWBrooks 18:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

contribution to uluru article

in appreciation of your contribution (you may have forgotten, it was a while ago) , Uluru is the official,accepted,endorsed and dare i say popular name now IMHO and you helped clarify this

Wiki works Newbyguesses 05:24, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

LoonyGeoffrey Was right!

Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy EXISTS! What are you talking about! IT IS TOO NOTABLE! ITS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR TRILOGIES OF ALL TIME! So honestly, how does it not exist yet? Its completed. They have finished the trilogy. So you were wrong, and LoonyGeoffrey was right! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.14.148.150 (talk) 15:22, 15 April 2007 (UTC).

Since the third movie hasn't been released it doesn't exist yet. - DavidWBrooks 15:30, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

Im sorry, but Pirates of the Caribbean is in fact a trilogy. You said it didn't exist yet, but it does. And yes, it is notable, and people have seen it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by LooneyGeoffrey (talk • contribs) 15:34, 15 April 2007 (UTC).

Trilogy means three of a kind - the third movie hasn't been released yet. So far it's a ... well, duopology, I guess, with the potential of being a trilogy. A few people may have seen the third one, but not enough to make it notable. - DavidWBrooks 15:38, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

RE: Uncommon English Words

Hi there,

You reverted my edit to the article, when I added the info about "hirple" rhyming with purple. Could I ask why you did this, since I cited my source (QI)? I was actually about to cite our Scots dictionary as well, but I had something else to do first.

Sorry if I made some kind of heinous error, I'm still a bit new around wikipedia with regards to the more technical things, despite the fact I've been here over a year or something! thefunkygibson^T¤C 21:01, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

It struck me as unnecessary; we weren't writing about hirple, but rhyming - alternative spelling was an extra factoid. It might be true and well-sourced, but still not necessary. That article already groans until tons of tidbits. - DavidWBrooks 21:57, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Ah right, ok :D I thought since there was the information about chilver rhyming with silver, it might be appropriate to add that there is a rhyme for purple too. Personally I'd have thought that the business about how to make orange rhyme with anything is more unneccessary than proving that a seemingly unrhymable word does actually have a little-known rhyme, but as you say there's lots of trivia and stuff in that article already. thefunkygibson^T¤C 22:08, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Tucks vs. Tux

Hi David, I wonder if either nickname for the ravine shows up in print anywhere. In the AMC White Mountain Guide, for instance, not only do they never use any nickname, they're careful to only refer to it as "Tuckerman Ravine", not "Tuckerman's", which is the common New England vernacular practice of adding the possessive. If there's no cite anywhere for either nickname, I guess I would still go with "Tuck's", just because it's an obvious shortening of the full name. Why would people call it "Tux"? ... Though come to think of it, the Concord Monitor had a photo last year of a (male) skier heading down the ravine in a prom dress. Do they have formal days up there now? <g> --Ken Gallager 17:17, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Okay, sounds similar to the way whitewater canoers in Pennsylvania like to call the Youghiogheny River "the Yock". It still felt wrong to me to have the nickname in the very first sentence, so I moved it to the paragraph about spring skiing. Thanks for setting me straight. --Ken Gallager 12:48, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject Iceland

Maybe you are interested in this project... --Michkalas 16:14, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Goodwin's Law

Thanks for helping with my submission to Goodwin's Law. I now realize the absurdity of pointing out how "it's important to note." I guess I just got used to saying that in essays in university to sound more important! I just wanted to say, however, that I think the thought-experiment is pedagogically important for the encyclopedia, as the subject of the article is not statistics, thus it makes it possible for someone who is reading this article, and is not versed in that subject area, to understand it simply. I think it fits in an encyclopedic format, but maybe it wouldn't be good for something like a newspaper, where everything extraneous should be cut out. Furthermore, I am afraid someone will cut the whole section out of the article if it doesn't have the weight of the thought experiment (i.e. someone who doesn't understand it thinks it's POV or original research and offhand cuts the whole thing), but that may or may not happen. Finally I think the standard form is also important for establishing the point (though this may only be because my educational background includes formal logic/philosophy) of it being a tautology, and it doesn't make the last sentence seem so much like vandalism, because, like I said, it is quite absurd. If it has the standard form to balance with it, however, then it will flow better. I also like the standard form from a pedagogical standpoint, making the reader better understand how Goodwin's Law itself relates to the tautology. I'd like to hear what you think. Chris b shanks 23:17, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

answered on Talk page

Thanks for your consideration :) Someone erased the whole thing anyways, so I tried to defend it. If you think it's worthy, could you please add your 2 cents? I also commented under the section "What does 'probability approaches one' mean?" trying to elucidate what the concept of OR really means. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Chris b shanks (talk • contribs) 06:12, 7 May 2007 (UTC).

Hi David

I wanted to contact you off-wiki, but you're not set up to receive e-mail. If you don't mind contacting me, my email is cbass (at) wikimedia.org. Thanks. Cary Bass ^demandez 21:53, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Someone's interested in contacting you for an interview. If you are interested, and have any other contact information, or simply would rather not, please let me know. Cary Bass ^demandez 12:59, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

Hi DavidWBrooks First I notice a contrast between your very good writing and the usual at Wikipedia (including mine) But I was wondering where you are getting the info about HBEF? The source I've added (Jim Hornbeck) gives a quite different history. KAM 14:29, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Happy Numbers

Hi. I've taken the Doctor Who reference back out of the Happy number article. Wikipedia's trivia policy explicitly mentions "popular culture" sections as a prime example of what not to do in an article. It's very cool that happy numbers got mentioned on Doctor Who, I agree, but it's a fact about a Doctor Who episode, really - it doesn't help anyone who came to Wikipedia to find out about happy numbers. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 19:15, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

True, but you're overlooking another sector of readership: those who didn't come to wikipedia to find out about happy numbers, who probably don't know they exist, but who encounter them via a Dr. Who search - and therefore learn about them. Which is exactly why the reference should be in the article. If there were lots of such references then you wouldn't want them - e.g., you wouldn't include every TV-show reference to "pi" - but this is so unusual and unexpected that it's just the kind of thing wikipedia does well. Over-literal trivia-stomping in this case cuts off a route of spreading a little recreational mathematics to a world that needs all the math help it can get. - DavidWBrooks 19:24, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi again. I've moved the conversation here to keep it together. You're right about people coming to the article because of the Doctor Who episode - that's why I read it. People like me, though, who came to it that way, already know it was in the doctor who episode. I'm not sure what you mean about people who didn't come to wikipedia to find out about happy numbers - if you didn't want to find out about them, why would you be reading the article? I think I must have misunderstood you - what have I missed? --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 19:54, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

PS - I don't think I've pointed you to the most helpful policy page Handling Trivia is more helpful. The paragraph about pink-eye and Mir sums up what I'm on about. --HughCharlesParker (talk - contribs) 19:58, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

My info comes from interviews that I've done and from IMDB

Dear Mr.Brooks, In response to your query as towhere I got my info about Paul Tripp,Gene London,Bob Keeshan,"The Space Explorer'sClub" and Sonny Fox?

I'm a writer and I've done research on these people via interviews,reading books like "Growing Up Happy","The Golden Age Of Live Television:Notes From The Survivors",etc.

I've also some info on the airdates of Paul Tripp's tv shows from the IMDB website(Actually..I wrote that article for that website and I got the airdates for that article from checking out the back issues of The NYC/NJ/CT.editions of TV Guide) And I've seen "Chuck McCann's Funstuff" at a private screening years ago. Mr.Fox' name in is the show's credits.

I've also done some checking on the airdates of these tv shows from back issues of The L.A. Times.The N.Y.Daily News,TV Guides etc.

I hope that my info is acceptable for your site.

Also,if it is permissible? I'd like to write articles on Claude Kirchner, Joe Bolton,Ray Forrest,Jack McCarthy(The former NYC based tv announcer,co-founder of WPIX TV Ch.11 and former kids tv host),Joe Bova,and Fred Sayles(former New Jersey radio/tv announcer,singer and kids tv host)?

KidsTV 13:23, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

why do you delete the rotten apple links?

I makes me wonder? That serie tells the whole story much better than the websites you link to? I simply do not understand why you do it? Please get back to me....

thanks

M

Gravity Research Foundation Goals of Roger Babson

Please feel free to add the quotes in the Foundation article. I don't believe the death of his sister and grandson were the principle causes for creating and managing the Foundation. He had a sincerely intense fascination with gravitation. Roger and his wife "scoured" the world for writings and substances to shield gravity. Chapter 10 of Kaiser's dissertation provides a wealth of information about the Foundation during Babson's day. The articles and papers I have collected reveal the fascinating role the Foundation played during the anti-gravity research programs of the fifties. You may find the gravity control propulsion projects section of the Anti-gravity article to be interesting. Tcisco 05:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Wibberley work and Wiki resources

Thanks for beginning the stub on Leonard Wibberley. I came upon it and Wiki work by chance, when looking for an out-of-print book of his, found it incomplete and vandalised in his name, and so began working on it. I think it's now in appropriate shape for an encyl. article. By contacting his family I've been able to fill out the bibliography in fair scholarly form, and only a little remains to be done in that regard. I'd also like to cross index his titles in attractive ways--"scifi", "sea", "religious" etc.--preferably with colors or little logos, a la Tufte. (MrZaius put in the tabular form for me as an example, and that would work, tho' not so attractive.)

This effort also involved linking Wibberley to his first wife, Olga Maynard, and here Wiki has a scoop, since these two writers avoid ref. to ea. other in all printed matter. Wibberley's no. of pubs and their span also provided a case study of changes in presses from postwar pd to present corporate ownerships.

Finally, as a university professor, I'm familiar with objections to students' use of Wiki. These seem to me dubious for several reasons. Two are: the high quality of some of the articles and, as students must learn to distinguish good from indifferent to poor sources, Wiki would be a good training tool for that. There are other good reasons, as well, including the example of trust and openness of the project. Thanks for your help in all. Alethe 12:38, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Wibberley article & pillar of originality

I read you: thanks for the tip! The revised & almost complete biblio. (better now than anything 'out there' & I hope improving the Wiki gen'l standard) is ascertainable from the USC special collections site. What I did was to find it by contacting the family (& Cormac Wibberley is a link), & provided a URL for the world to see. The other info. is also findable on web, tho' it takes sifting. The only 'scoop' is the marriage. It's maybe "new data". But, recalling '#12, "ignore rules", we thereby get a link to the another site, on dance, and filling out of existing info. that LW was in Trinidad during the war. I do, however, plan to use the' verifiable public sources rule when fixing the article on Eugene Loring and get rid of the french fries stuff--as with the stuff on Richard Wollheim, which gives Wiki a bad name. (In all this one needs only to be aware of recursive spirals--windows, which produce windows, which....--that, if it doesn't lead to madness does to missed meals, warm beer and cold tea. However, if Leibniz is right, in time all Wiki articles will have internal links to all other Wiki articles, and it'll all be one big article, reflecting part of the mind of the Great Wiki. Long before then there'll be Wiki hoods and secret electronic handshakes.) Alethe 16:47, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Paid by the revert

Ever wish we got paid by revert on Seven Wonders of the World and New Seven Wonders of the World ... ? According to the interiot edit counter, they are my #1 and #8 most edited articles. What a pitty that 95%+ of those edits are reverting someone else's "test." --Kralizec! (talk) 16:24, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Unable to keep up with the firestorm of "test" edits, I eventually gave up and requested that both articles be protected with a {{pp-semi-vandalism}}. --Kralizec! (talk) 16:11, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Machu Picchu Views

Hope everything is enjoyable in your life. Congratulations for your actions you are a Wikipedian. My primary purpose is to explain you why I have reverted your modifications, and also to start a dialog or colloquium with the aim to improve content without imposing views. I will give you reasons for it(rational behind), however you need to make an effort to remain neutral, it is hard, read Carl Rogers or Albert Ellis but I sense your intelligence and know that we and Wikipedia, more importantly its readers, will benefit for our collaborative interactions in the near future. Count me as one of your co-workers. Now see the MP talk page. John Manuel-17:30, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

New Seven Wonders of the World

Would you mind casting your professional eye at my additions to New Seven Wonders of the World? Things got kinda busy at work all of a sudden and I fear I was too rushed to be writing at my eloquent best. Thanks, Kralizec! (talk) 22:45, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

AP Stylebook

You got me! Guess I was being a bit facetious, using the sentence describing the rather peculiar grammatical style as an example of it. Actually, I'm a big fan of the serial comma. I think this was the first time I've let one go, ever. --gwc 05:42, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

nn

I am not using a bot, and I am reading the articles. Thanks for the advice about the nn templates, feel free to remove any you don't agree with. Zargulon 19:38, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

It is amazing what some people are willing to do when waiting for a computer programme to run..! Zargulon 20:18, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Reply to your question in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos page

Back in February 2007, you asked in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos Discussion Page why the Mathematical Tripos in Cambridge is referred to as "the taught mathematics course" at Cambridge. I'll try to give you an answer.

Basically, in the Oxbridge university model, one often distinguishes between "taught courses", such as those leading in Cambridge to the BA, MEng, and MSci degrees, and "research courses", such as those leading to a PhD degree or, more rarely, to the MLitt, MSc, or, in the case of Natural Sciences, a few MPhil degrees. The difference between the two classes of the degrees is that the awarding of the former requires attending a certain number of university lectures and passing a series of associated final written exams, whereas the latter traditionally requires only the submission of a research thesis that is examined orally. For the PhD degree in particular, the submitted thesis, in addition to reviewing the existing literature, must also document, in an scholarly manner, sound original research that represents a substantial novel contribution to existing knowledge in the field to which the thesis topic is related. Results arising from a PhD thesis are also expected to be passible of publication in peer-reviewed journals and/or as books/book chapters. (Note: Cambridge PhD students in a few departments, e.g. engineering, are also required nowadays to take classes and written exams in their first year, but that normally doesn't count for credit towards their final degree, except to help ensuring their continuation in the program when they're up for a formal performance review).

Generally speaking, "taught degrees" in Cambridge or Oxford are initial (bachelor's or undergraduate master's) degrees, whereas "research degrees" are advanced (graduate master's or doctoral) degrees. Several graduate master's degrees however, e.g. most Cambridge MPhil degrees in humanities and social sciences, are actually, in the British terminology, "part-taught, part-research degrees", requiring that the student attend lectures, take final written exams and submit a research thesis, which may be orally examined or not depending on the course.

The Mathematical Tripos in particular is typically a "taught course" in the sense described in the first paragraph, leading to the undergraduate BA degree for students who pass the examinations for Parts I and II respectively, and to the graduate Certificate of Advanced Studies in Mathematics for students who take and pass Part III examinations.

Note: If we were to use the Oxbridge terminology to US degrees, an American undergraduate B.S. or B.A., as well a graduate M.B.A., J.D. or M.D would be typically "taught degrees". An American M.S. or M.A. can be in turn either wholly "taught degrees" or "part-taught, part-research" degrees depending on the program. Finally, the American Ph.D could be classified as a "research degree" even though in the US, all PhD students are required to take regular graduate classes in their first years in the program and also pass a series of (written or oral) preliminary/qualifying exams, in addition to submitting a succesful research thesis.161.24.19.82 20:32, 12 July 2007 (UTC)