I consider synthesis in mathematics to be almost inevitable. In Physics, it is less so, because you hav to estimate error and you are more reliant on experimental results. It is also harder in Physics to be sure that you are being reasonably complete; that there is no cold fusion. There is still value in explaining what feeds into an equation. So, yes, it is hard to place this one outside of wikipedia. I think the occasional exception holds, and it holds better with a basis and explanation. Unless I miss my guess, there are prerequisites to really understanding this one.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Gray" shimgray@gmail.com To: "English Wikipedia" wikien-l@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:27 AM Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] A definite version of WP:CRYSTAL
2008/11/13 Jay Litwyn brewhaha@edmc.net:
Since I believe in global warming and I see a contest between it and economics, I see a very hot dispute that really should be off-loaded. There are so many other places for volatile information to go. In other words, if someone did [[global warming]], I think they should expect to end up on another site, unless the article is restricted to history.
I think this is going to end in tears - where do we draw the line? Do we just not talk about global warming; do we talk about it as something that is believed to have happened up to and including last week; do we talk about it and imply it may continue to happen; do we talk about it in general terms in the future but give no numbers?
I'm not sure this approach is helpful; it tries to deal with a small set of specific (percieved) problems by applying a draconian general rule. I mean, take cosmology. We'd be a shoddy encyclopedia if we didn't talk about the [[heat death of the universe]], a very well-known concept... but it's entirely hypothetical, it exists as a paper theory with some substantiating numbers, and it's several billion years ahead.
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk
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