Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Piotr Blass (Second nomination)

Piotr Blass

(Auto)biography of a mathematician who does not, I believe, pass WP:PROF. Previous nomination last August ended in delete, roughly a dozen !votes to two, and has since been blanked by Jimbo. I would encourage you to look at his own resume [1] to come to a conclusion about his notability. Delete. bikeable (talk) 16:18, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I should have been more detailed in my nomination, especially as the previous AfD has been blanked. Main contributions appear to have been on Zariski surfaces, the importace of which I cannot speak to, but which didn't impress many participants in the last AfD. His web page lists 32 publications between 1980 and 1994; a solid record but hardly outstanding. His political activity is certainly non-notable (one editor pointed out that he was not even in the NY Times' of candidates). This article has expunged most of the name-dropping and dubious claims of the previous article, although a section on work with Solidarity has been marked as "citation needed". Overall, a mathematician of borderline importance with a tendency to WP:COI. bikeable (talk) 16:38, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

To make things clearer: the debate was blanked but the history is still available here. Please read everyone. Also this is not the second time but maybe fifth time the article has been made. See this list. Mhym

Weak Keep I think his political candidacy may give him additional notability outside academia as per WP:NOTE, although admittedly it does seem quite marginal for inclusion. Walton monarchist89 16:31, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Strong Keep

The work on Zariski Surfaces is quite fundamental.Outstanding students listed in Wikipedia.Political activity consistant from pre solidarity days in Poland to current run for US Congress District 22 of Florida.Created a coalition of independent candidates in Florida against considerable odds. The Ulam Quarterly Journal was a true milestone in electronic publishing and continues to exert considerable influence on research. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.163.189.9 (talk) 17:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

- The above anon vote is the subject of the article. --Salix alba (talk) 17:30, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Week keep I think Blass is notable for the Zariski surface, although less so for the political candidacy (there are very many write in candidates in all sort of elections, no mainstream coverage other than basic candidate statements). However there is a lot of negative coverage, just google to find it. The article has problems with WP:AUTO being written almost entirely by the subject, the previous version deleted had a lot positive spin and name dropping. Currently the article is reasonable OK but there are sign of the same material creeping in again. I'd be happier if the article stayed very brief which would be inline with other mathematical bios of similar stature. The Solidarity stuff is new and I don't think it can be verified. --Salix alba (talk) 17:30, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Delete We have seen this all before [2]. There is nothing notable about Blass. As can be seen from the history and list of contributions by anon -- this is Blass himself. His electoral activity is below the radar. His thesis "Zariski surface" is cited the total of 4 times - not enough for notability as other suggested. The importance of the "Ulam quarterly" is unsourced and POV. The rest is all name dropping. Mhym 17:41, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Strong Keep

Thank you Salix Alba for your objectivity! As for mainstream coverage there are two articles in our Palm Beach Post both available on line and also a couple of positive comments in the Sun Sentinel dealing with the 2006 governor election. Getting mainstream media coverage in Florida is quite difficult as you may know as as evidenced by the Sun Sentinel article. I am in the process of getting letters from the Michnik people about my role in the democratic opposition in Poland in the period 1961-1989 and shall make them available to the wikipedia community. Thank you for reckognizing the role of the Ulam stuff and collaboration with Grothendieck. Also several of my students are already in Wikipedia. Today is MLK day: We shall overcome! best wishes Dr Piotr Blass www.pblass.com ps I believe that my friend Mhem is at the University of Miami---Nobody is a prophet in his own country--- shalom pb —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.163.189.9 (talk) 21:25, 15 January 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Keep Seems notable enough to merit inclusion on Wikipedia, given his numerous runs for office, ect. Mcr616 22:36, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

keepnotable as a politican.at least.DGG 23:45, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

keepactual number of citations for piotr blass from google scholar is 91

and not four as claimed above . Also the book "Zariski Surfaces and differential equations in char p>0 " by Piotr Blass and Jeff Lang has sold thousands of copies via Marcel Dekker and can be found in most research libraries in America,Europe,Asia and Australia as can be verified by library search

dr piotr blass