User talk:Masatran

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Contents

[edit] Deleting redirects

Unfortunately, no, you cannot delete redirects. If you want to move a page to the location of the redirect, tell me which one you want, and I'll do it for you. If you just think it doesn't belong in the Wikipedia, you can list it at Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion. If that doesn't help come talk to me on my talk page some more. moink 22:59, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

Ok, I did the deletions for you. I also did the moves, although I could have left them for you to do. Happy editing! moink 23:02, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
I think that redirect is useful. Someone might look for Indian Institute of Science Bangalore and what they should get is Indian Institute of Science, right? That's exactly what redirects are for. moink 23:09, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
I suggest you list it on Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion then. It's outside my authority as a lone admin to delete it. moink 23:41, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Tamil vs Malayalam

My roommate speaks Tamil natively and also knows some Malayalam. I'll ask him the difference when I see him next. →Raul654 06:15, May 14, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] IIT vs. Indian Institute of Technology

Moved to Talk:Indian_Institutes_of_Technology#IIT_vs._Indian_Institute_of_Technology for greater visibility. Ambarish | Talk 22:55, 21 May 2004 (UTC)


[edit] ISO 8601 date format

from the pump

ISO 8601 date format "2004-06-14T05:43Z" is better than "05:43, 2004 Jun 14 (UTC)" for signatures, etc. Rajasekaran Deepak 06:20, 2004 Jun 14 (UTC)

The ISO-8601 formats are lovely for creating computer-readable text, but are not too readable for humans. I believe this argument has been done to death before but sadly cannot recall just where. HTH HAND--Phil | Talk 13:51, Jun 14, 2004 (UTC)

My own preference would be writing all dates in ISO 8601 format and having the software optionally display them differently... but that probably won't happen. Fredrik (talk) 14:47, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Mmmmh, just stating "is better than" seems quite POV. I like integers more, so maybe just the number of seconds since Unix time 0 is better...
Seriously, readability for humans is essential in this project, and ISO8601 means too many alphanumerical chars mixed together. Pfortuny 18:55, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)
The "T" could be replaced with a space "2004-06-14 05:43Z". Rajasekaran Deepak 00:04, 2004 Jun 17 (UTC)

[edit] Why ISO 8601?

  1. Widely used with computers and on the internet
  2. Lexicographic sort automatically sorts by time

Rajasekaran Deepak 00:04, 2004 Jun 17 (UTC)


What do you think of this? User:Omegatron/Date formatting — Omegatron 04:26, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Navarathnas

Hi. From your contributions, it seems like you might be able to see if my edits to Navarathnas are correct, and if it should actually be at Navaratnas. Niteowlneils 19:18, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

As far as I know, your edits are correct. Moved page to new location, with redirect at old location. A transliteration-to-Latin standard ought to be made for the Brahmi-based scripts. —Rajasekaran Deepak 18:27, 2004 Aug 25 (UTC)
Probably should--you volunteering? ;) All kidding aside, I know I'm not qualified--I know nothing of the language, and was just guessing based on the relative number of google hits for the two spellings. Anyway, thanks for the feedback and for doing the move. Niteowlneils 22:19, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Is not the mean of the standard Cauchy distribution zero?

Is not the mean of the standard Cauchy distribution zero? The Cauchy distribution page says: "The Cauchy distribution is often cited as an example of a distribution which has no mean, variance or higher moments defined". —Rajasekaran Deepak 15:58, 2004 Aug 24 (UTC)

The mean is not zero; there is no mean. If a probability distribution has a density function f(x) then the mean or expected value is
\int_{-\infty}^\infty x f(x)\,dx.\qquad\qquad (1)

Is this the same thing as

\int_0^\infty x f(x)\,dx-\int_{-\infty}^0 x f(x)\,dx\quad\rm{?}\qquad\qquad (2)

If both the positive and negative terms in (2) are finite, then (1) is the same as (2). If either the positive term or the negative term is finite, then (1) is the same as (2). But in the case of the Cauchy distribution, both are infinite. This means (2) is undefined, and then:

  • If (1) is construed as a Lebesgue integral, then (1) is also undefined, since (1) is then defined simply as the difference (2) between positive and negative parts; however
  • If (1) is construed as an improper integral rather than a Lebesgue integral, then (2) is undefined, and (1) is not necessarily well-defined. We may take (1) to mean
\lim_{a\to\infty}\int_{-a}^a x f(x)\,dx,
and this is its Cauchy principal value, and it is zero, but we could also take (1) to mean, for example,
\lim_{a\to\infty}\int_{-2a}^a x f(x)\,dx,
and this is not zero, as you will see easily if you compute the integral. The various results in probability theory about expected values, such as the strong law of large numbers, will not work in such cases.

Michael Hardy 23:52, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Bounds of (standard deviation divided by mean), given that there are no negative samples

What are the bounds of (standard deviation divided by mean), given that there are no negative samples? —Rajasekaran Deepak 06:30, 2004 Aug 23 (UTC)

The greatest lower bound is zero. I'm going to have to think about the least upper bound.... Michael Hardy 01:55, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

OK, simple example: the Pareto distribution whose probability density function is 1/x3 for x > 1, and zero elsewhere, has a finite expected value, but infinite standard deviation. So the least upper bound is infinite. You can't narrow it down more than that. Michael Hardy 01:59, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia:Indian wikipedians' notice board

Hi. I would like you to be an active member of Wikipedia:Indian wikipedians' notice board. utcursch 07:36, Dec 29, 2004 (UTC)


[edit] Seeking you support

I am seeking your support and participation for starting the "Indian Collaboration of the Week". Please enlist your support on the page Wikipedia_talk:Indian_wikipedians'_notice_board if you would like to support. Thanks Arunram 09:13, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Tamil Wikipedia

Hi, just want to inform you that Tamil Wikipedia has a lot of activity these days. You may want to contribute to that effort. Thanks. -- Sundar \talk \contribs 10:46, September 12, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] wikipedia

when was the wikipedia was discovered?--S. Venki 12:46, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] rani magammal

I wikified the article,but there a lot fo other tamil names which need attention in the Rani Mangammal aticle,so please edit and expand.--Jayanthv86 03:53, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] US English idiom?

What does "She's lost it." mean in US English when there is no clue in the context about the "it"? —Masatran 01:02, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

It probably refers to emotional control. She's lost it usually refers to someone who is upset/angry or seemingly disturbed in some way. --TeaDrinker 01:04, 15 September 2006 (UTC) (edited to add, that is only on my authority as a native US English speaker) --TeaDrinker 01:05, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
Usually this phrase will refer to losing either one's patience or their reason. Example per usage one: She's lost it after having to wait for her brother for three hours. (i.e. she's fed up, exasperated). Example per usage two: After telling us the moon really was made of cheese, we knew she'd lost it. (i.e. She's lost her mind). You can probably tell which of these two is meant through context, and I wouldn't suggest actually looking for what "it" literally refers to-- just like how you don't look for an antecedent when you say "it's raining." Hope this helps! Dar-Ape (talk • contribs) 01:12, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Shaking fist

What does shaking one's fist mean? I saw this in a US English TV serial. —Masatran

Anger, usually directed at something or someone.---Sluzzelin 01:22, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
Literally speaking,shaking one's fist is a vaguely threatening jesture, I suppose because one is vaguely threating to throw a punch. However, it is often used to simply comment on the frustration of the shaker, and may also hint at an inability to actually do anything. It is frequently referred to and acted out even when someone has absolutely no intention of any violence whatsoever. I myself often shake my fist as a joke. Dar-Ape (talk • contribs) 01:26, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
Depending on how you interpret "shaking", it could be a gesture of encouragment, especially if it's held above the head and accompanied by calls of, "Woot, woot!".  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:27, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
Or, if it was looser, and depending on the facial expression it could be a symbol of masturbating. — [Mac Davis](talk) (New! SUPERDESK|Help me improve)

[edit] Multi-lingual dictionary or thesaurus?

Is there any multi-lingual dictionary or thesaurus, either on the internet or on paper? Given a word whose language is not known, I want the meaning of the word, in a single place, in the other languages.

Also, is there any scheme for phonetic ordering (parallel to lexicographic ordering) of words?

—Masatran 11:54, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

The "Online Etymology Dictionary" at http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=w&p=7 is one look at the meaning of a word, over time, in various languages.Edison 14:51, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Wiktionary is a possibility for the first part of your question. -- the GREAT Gavini 15:40, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

...although that is still in development. My OED CD-ROM can list words by phonetic transcription, in IPA, and presumably there is an equivalent facility in their on-line version, though you will probably have to pay a subscription to access it.--Shantavira 18:03, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hi

This is Kishore Kottary. —Kishore Kottary 13:15, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Latin transliteration of Indic scripts in editing

From Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals):

Kindly provide Tamil Lexicon = IAST = ISO 15919 characters among the clickable ones below the edit window. This is the standard system to transliterate the Indic scripts into Latin, and has a billion potential users. —Masatran 13:34, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dravidian Wiki Project

Hello Masatran,

I saw your edit on Dravidian topics template. It was a pleasant surprise to see someone taking part in editing the Dravidian topics template in regards to Dravidian culture since I have thought of forming a Dravidian Wiki Project. This will help expand on the topics of different Dravidian ethnic groups such as the Kannadigas, Telugus, Tamils, Malayalis, and more Dravidian groups. This project will also go beyond borders to include the Brahui Dravdians of Pakistan, and the Malto people of Bangladesh. It will also expand on the dances, arts, and literature of each Dravidian group in South Asia. Furthermore, the Dravidian people page needs a lot of work to be done due to vandals and others changing the info on the page and filling it with major POVs. So much so, the page on Dravidian people has been turned into a propoganda tool to discredit Dravidians for their existence. Earlier, I have put a map showing the different regions Dravidians are in along with some pics of different Dravidians, Vedda Dravidians, and Australian aboriginals to show similarities. On the Talk:Dravidian people there is a small discussion in regards to the existence of Dravidians. Therefore, I have put a neutralitiy/factual accuracy tag and a cleanup tag on the page. Administration has been notified of this. Having you on this team would be a plus and starting a Dravidian Wiki Project would be of benefit to wikipedia and its readers for further knowledge of other cultures. Please let me know if you would be interested. Regards.

Wiki Raja 23:28, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Hello again,

I have also created the Dravidian martial arts page. We can do more with Dravidian Wiki Project. Also, it would be great if someone could get me info on martial arts in Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. Take care.

Wiki Raja 23:37, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Semantic-Web edition

From Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals):

We could make a Semantic Web edition of Wikipedia. It will be immensely useful in Artificial Intelligence. --Masatran 10:04, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

  • Just like the Semantic Web has been. *snicker* Seriously, it's easy to read hype about the Semantic Web and assume it can do things it doesn't do, such as organize a body of knowledge as vast as Wikipedia and successfully do any reasoning with it. rspeer / ɹəədsɹ 11:09, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
  • There are projects specifically intended to do this. See Semantic wiki, and there are also specific tagging schemes in place for things like biographical data. Night Gyr (talk/Oy) 16:46, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Troy and Trojan cognates?

Are Troy and Trojan cognates? --Masatran 11:10, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

I think they're more likely doublets. 惑乱 分からん 11:21, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Not doublets, because they're not even the same part of speech, besides having entered into English from the same source. Whether you consider them borrowed directly or indirectly from Latin Troia, Troianus, the adjective as we have it was originally derived (in Latin, by the Romans) from the place name. The two words are cognates only in a general and trivial sense that should probably not be employed (in that they are both formed on the basis of the name Troia). You could say simply that "Trojan is derived from Troy," as long as you understand that this production of one word from the other happened before their transformation into English. Wareh 16:13, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Word common to many religions?

I read somewhere that Aum, Amen, etc. are the same word, found in many religions. Can someone confirm, deny, or give references? --Masatran 11:16, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

I had troble finding any real information about the etymology on "Aum", my first impression was that it was just a fuzzy connection, based on outward similarities. "Amen" could apparently be traced back to Hebrew words, but "Aum" is seemingly only a "holy syllable", containing the "basic sounds" or something, also Sanskrit is of Indo-European origin, Hebrew of Afro-Asiatic so a connection seems improbable or very distant. 惑乱 分からん 11:33, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Also, those two words have very different meanings. I would be extremely surprised if there was any link.--Shantavira 18:11, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Semitic etymologies most often procede by Triconsonantal roots (in the case of Amen, the root is glottal stop - m - n) so any connection with Aum is highly dubious. AnonMoos 18:16, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

The word 'Abbe' meaning father crops up time and again in it's various forms in various prayers - I wondered if you were thinking of that.87.102.23.143 21:47, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Abbé is from abbot, originally from Aramaic abba, but this seems to be an even further diverge from amen in sound and meaning, I think on a level akin to English "dad" and "dat's it". 惑乱 分からん 13:01, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

The thing you read probably also mentioned Amun. Still, it's very unlikely there's any connection between these three. A related common "factoid" that may feed into this is the word Amen supposedly being in more languages than any other word because of its religious use.--Pharos 06:50, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Just to be clear, the Semitic word for father — אב (’āḇ) in Hebrew, אבא/ܐܒܐ (’abbâ) in Aramaic — is in no way related to the root אמן (’-m-n) with the base meaning of 'trust' or 'steadfastness', from which we get Amen. Also, the former does not mean 'daddy'. As Egyptian is not a Semitic language, yet still related to them, more complex sound changes are in action. The spelling of the name Amun in Egyptian is ỉmn and has the base meaning of 'hidden'. There appears to be no semantic overlap between the two words, and the complex phonetic correspondence of the Egyptian ỉ with the Semitic ’ is not a straightforward one. Any assertion that the words are related rests on very shaky ground indeed, without any convincing evidence to support it. — Gareth Hughes 15:42, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hi

hi --A. V. Gomathirajan 10:41, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Drawing/sketching applications for UIQ 3

From Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 April 22#Drawing/sketching applications for UIQ 3:

What are the drawing/sketching applications available for UIQ 3? --Masatran 19:18, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

I just found the pre-installed Notes application, but I need a drawing area with zoom, scroll, etc. And in-built rectangles, circles, etc. Like a mini-version of Inkscape, or Gimp. And preferably free software. --Masatran 00:14, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Send e-mail from alternate address to Google Groups

From Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2007 May 22#Send e-mail from alternate address to Google Groups:

How can I send e-mail from my alternate e-mail address to Google Groups? Currently, Google Groups accepts e-mail only from my GMail address. --Masatran 06:50, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] pencil-and-paper cryptography

I see from Wikipedia:Reference_desk_archive/Science/December_2005#Kerberos_on_pen-and-paper that you are interested in "manual" encryption techniques. Have you heard of the VIC cipher (which was apparently never broken in practice) or the Solitaire (cipher)? Have you heard of "Lazy Prisoners and Narrow-Minded Wardens"? You probably already know about "perfect encryption" using a one-time pad.

Or are you more specifically interested in the possibility of something like "public key encryption", but using manual techniques? As far as I know, such a thing has not yet been invented. However, I have some ideas about how to build one. Unfortunately, posting Original Research WP:OR is banned on Wikipedia.

So where is a better place to post those ideas? http://cryptodox.com/ ? Naturally, I expect other people, such as yourself, to quickly point out the fundamental flaws in my ideas :-).

--75.19.73.101 00:23, 27 October 2007 (UTC)


[edit] protein homology

I updated the answer with some links. --Rajah (talk) 06:07, 14 April 2008 (UTC)