User talk:Thomasmeeks

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Welcome!

Hello, Thomasmeeks, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and someone will show up shortly to answer your questions. Again, welcome!  RJFJR 03:19, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Social Choice and Individual Values

I screen the WP collection of articles once in a while so I wounded up reading your article.

It lacks in :

  • sectionning
  • inline citations
  • NPOVness, it has point-of-vue orientation (though I don't know the subject very well)
  • as you say, linking to other articles to let other people give feedback
  • that there is no lead section appropriate to what encyclopaedic search for

See Krazy Kat or The Illuminatus! Trilogy for template-like articles that can help with improving the article.

Other than that, your prose is really good and the text flows when I read it. Best of luck. Lincher 15:30, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

It looks good to me, but its still missing inline citations (as in referencing the books that were used for the article). For more info you should ask a Peer review or go into Good article phase in order to get more in depth advices. Lincher 15:01, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
I cannot give you more info on your article, to me it seems well written and referenced though some other fellas might find it needs more and a Good article nomination can help you with that. Lincher 23:17, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
I removed the cleanup tag for you, you could have done it. As for the spoiler, it can stay there, since it tells people that they might find info from the book on the article. Lincher 01:12, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Social Choice and Individual Values

((help me)) 1. This is the title of a new WP article I wrote. How can I make GO connect to it if I use only lower case for the GO window?

2. I'd like to get review comments as to clarity and content on it before I put links in other articles. Should I just go to the Talk page of related articles and solicit comments on the Discussion Talk page for Social Choice and Individual Values? (It's about a book by the economic theorist Kenneth Arrow.)

Thx. Thomasmeeks 23:23, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

  1. A redirect should do the trick. I already created one for you, but for more info check out Help:Redirect.
  2. Posting on talk pages sounds like a great way to get more feedback. I would also suggest Wikipedia:WikiProject Books as another good place to ask for feedback and see more details about this type of article. --Hetar 23:28, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Your message

Thanks for the message on my talk page. I'm not sure where I saw Social Choice and Individual Values... did you post about it on the Help Desk? It's on my watchlist and I often answer (and ask!) questions there. MCB 05:02, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] IIA

Thanks for the link to the online 1951 article. I had no idea it was online.

I'm not going to change anything substantial you did, since as the Ray article points out there are differences between some versions of IIA. (This depends on the type of IIA as well as the logical framework -- just because they're stated differently doesn't mean they're distinct, of course.) I did add a clarifier* that the two concepts are related because I feel this is important: everyone thought that the two concepts were the same for many years, and the intent was to get at the same concept in different ways. Frankly I see the need for a new article expanding on Ray's, discussing the ways to unify all the different types of IIA conceptually under one theoretical framework, making their differences clearer. Further, such a work could clarify what types of IIA are actually used in various proofs invoking them: I would not be surprised to see one type assumed and another used in the proof in some cases.

Regardless, best of luck to you in editing the article -- it could use some work, I think.

  • Actually my clarifier was poorly worded. When I think of something better I'll edit it; otherwise feel free to do the same.

CRGreathouse (t | c) 23:04, 6 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] test

test Thomasmeeks 20:40, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Help request for logging in Dear RJFJR: You were my greeter on April 22 when I was a Wiki newbie. What a difference a few months make. I have since created a couple of articles near the top of Google searches for that subject (perhaps more usual than not, I admit) and edited many more articles.

Yesterday something odd happened. When I prepared to Save the edit, Wiki said that I was not logged in. I tried to log in using my User name and password. The message was that I had successfully logged in, but the top line far righthand side of my Wiki portal indicated otherwise: log out. I tried getting a new password, which was received within seconds via email. It made no difference. Same thing today. I conclude that I am blocked from fully logging on. The "fully" refers to that my Wiki portal says "log out". (I have received no communications recently on my discussion page.) Is there anything that can be done to fix this? Or can you refer me to someone for assistance? My thanks.

One other detail and possible explanation: When I originally registered, Wiki responded by email, noting my IP address. With the change in passwords on July 22 and again yesterday Aug. 3, the Wiki email response noted that I had an IP address different from mine. It's where my User name (Thomasmeeks) should be in the present message. I had assumed that the discrepancy was a Wiki assignment. But I'm wondering if the discrepancy might be responsible for blocking my fully logging on. 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Odd, you have signed this with an IP address indicating you are not logged on, but the message "log out" at the upper right hand corner is where you click to log out and should only be shown if you ARE logged in. (Note that it says "log out" not "logged out"). If it lists your user name the the top right hand section then it knows who you are and you are logged in. You may get more information at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical). RJFJR 20:47, 4 August 2006 (UTC) I see. I have lapsed into Sign in status yesterday & today in edit efforts after attempting to log in, possibly an unrelated problem that I conflated with log-in status. Thx for your help & reference. At least my User name is back. Thomasmeeks 21:35, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Any way to remove underscoring of within-article hypertext?

The argument for underscoring is, I suppose, that newbies will more quickly figure that the hypertext is a link. As reader, however, I underscoring an unnecessary distraction. Thx. Thomasmeeks 15:28, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Either go to your perferences and click on the "misc" tab, then select "never" for the underlining links part. Or you can put this in your monobook.css:
a { text-decoration: none; }

If you don't want to bother with links at all, use:

/* IE-able */
a, a.new {color: black; text-decoration: none;}
/* NON IE */
a, a.new {color: inherit; text-decoration: none;}

GeorgeMoney (talk) 15:41, 11 August 2006 (UTC) Thx. Done. BW, Thomasmeeks 16:53, 11 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] table example

In compatible browsers, an edit toolbar can be automatically displayed with the edit box, provided that this has been set in the preferences.It appears automatically for editors who are not logged in. This functions partly as a typing aid and partly as a reminder of the available functions. All the functions are available simply by typing the code directly into the edit box (such as [[link]]) - this may be easier.

The toolbar works with Internet Explorer, the Mozilla Suite/SeaMonkey, Firefox, Konqueror, Safari and Opera.

For example:
Example of edit toolbar
To turn a piece of text into an internal link, select it and press the third button.

In Mozilla browsers and IE, you can format existing text by highlighting the text you want to format and clicking the relevant button on the toolbar. If you click a button without selecting any text, sample text will be inserted at the cursor's position (like so: Bold text). In other browsers, clicking on the button presents an explanation for that feature. (Pre-release 9.0 versions of Opera browser also seem to support the advanced functionality.)

All of the toolbar options, and further editing options, are available in Bananeweizen's Firefox extension.

[edit] List of functions

(apart from the last two examples, these pieces of wikitext are created by typing abc, selecting it and clicking the buttons on the toolbar)

Icon Function What it shows when editing What it shows on the page
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Image:Internal link icon.png Internal link [[abc]] abc
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Image:Headline icon.png Section heading == abc ==

[edit] abc
Image:Image icon.png Insert image [[Image:abc.jpg]]
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Image:Nowiki icon.png Ignore wiki formatting <nowiki>abc '''[[Bold text]]'''</nowiki> abc '''[[Bold text]]'''
Image:Signature icon.png Sign talk comments (with time stamp) --~~~~ --Gareth Aus 22:49, 11 February 2006 (UTC)
Image:H-line icon.png Horizontal line ----

New on the English Wikipedia: create redirect page. Template:H:f User

[edit] example of table

[edit] August Esperanza Newsletter

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[edit] Book of Daniel

This article achieved its current layout through the efforts of a large number of editors cooperating, so the talk page of that article should be used to discuss changes or improvements to that layout, since more editors who took part will have that on their list and can join the discussion, without being left out. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 14:22, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Again, the talk page of this article should be used to discuss the changes so that more editors can take part. Also, I am one of those in the 6th century BC school myself... The reason the sentence was added that you are trying to move, is precisely because it has direct bearing on the reason many people think there is an early date. It is not the only argument but one of the main ones that is used for 6th century authorship (This point has already been discussed at length on the talk page, so moving the sentence without joining in there seemed a little pre-emptive...) ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 20:49, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] John P. Meier

I answered your question on my talk page with some page numbers, then went back and corrected them; sorry if you picked up the first (incorrect) edit. If you have a copy of AMJ handy you might select some quotations (I did my checking at the bookstore); otherwise, I'll add them when I'm next at the main library. Cheers, Michael K. Edwards 00:18, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Meier and miracles

I have been watching with interest your expansion of John P. Meier. I thought I'd call this quote to your attention, from page 482 of the Biblica 1999 citation: "Not only the global argument but also the probing of all the individual miracle stories and sayings point to a historical Jesus who claimed and was believed by his disciples to have worked miracles during his public ministry." This seems to get the balance of emphasis right, and might be worth using in a summary of this aspect of Meier's work (which he seems to regard as fairly central to his personal contribution to the wider dialogue).

Keep up the good work! Cheers, Michael K. Edwards 23:47, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] criterion of multiple attestation

I created a new article. I would appreciate your imput and review of it. My biggest concern is that the introduction basically consists of a long quote from Meier. While it is always good to make sure we have the authors views corectly, it seems unencyclopedic to start an article off that way. This problem exists in the criterion of embarrassment article as well. Anyway, tell me what you think.--Andrew c 18:15, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to move this discussion to talk:criterion of multiple attestation, if you don't mind.--Andrew c 22:32, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Public Choice Theory

Great work on the PCT article. Feel free to remove the cleanup banner when you feel comfortable with it. You've satisfied my reasons for adding it. Morphh 13:19, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Well, that's pretty authoritative. Thx, Morphh. You were right to post the banner, and I wouldn't have been emboldened to act without it. I may do a bit more on the article, but I'll return the honor of retiring the banner to you.
I think that the substance is there, but the article could still use some concision. Wish that there were a banner for that. Maybe there should be. Or I could at least post this on the PCT Talk page. BW, Thomasmeeks 11:39, 3 September 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Derivative

Hi. I don't understand this edit. Not at all really, and not for lack of mathematics education. Would you please visit talk:Derivative and explain what you mean? Thanks. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 16:00, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Never mind, I think I got it now. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 16:03, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Sorry. I have been kind of grumpy and inconsiderate. I don't own the derivative article, so please feel free to edit it. I won't interfere with your changes anymore. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 16:03, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Derivative again

Hello. I am not familiar with your use of "represent" as it applies to the derivative. You say "social science apps often use derivative + or - sign to 'represent' empirical-theory relation". I'm not familiar with this use - can you provide a reference to an example of such use? Also, I'm not sure this applies in the sentence in the article: is this use the representation of a property of a function? Also, I removed the wikidictionary link since it didn't point to any specific definition, and I don't think pointing to a definition of "represent" would really help the reader understand this use. Thanks, Doctormatt 18:46, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Misc.

May I respectfully suggest that you review this thread and talk page guidelines. I was not aware that deleting a Wiki template that I thought no longer applied (and for which I gave a reason) is suppression of a viewpoint. Thomasmeeks 19:00, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

In statistics, regression analysis examines the dependence of a random variable, called a dependent variable (response variable, regressor), on other random or deterministic variables, called independent variables (predictors). The mathematical model of their relationship is the regression equation. Well-known types of regression equations are linear regression, the logistic regression for discrete responses (both generalize in the generalized linear model), and nonlinear regression.

In statistics, regression analysis examines the relation of a dependent random variable ((the response variable) to specified independent variables (predictors). The mathematical model of their relationship is the regression equation. Well-known types of regression equations are linear regression and nonlinear regression. Linear regression ranges from ordinary least squares to the generalized linear model, which includes logistic regression for discrete responses.

[edit] Misc.

The social ranking of one pair of distinct social states, say x and y, is different for 2 sets of orderings, say R1, ..., Rn and R1', ..., Rn' with corresponding social orderings R and R' , such that x R y and y R' x.

In economics, wealth refers to assets minus liabilities, whether narrowly or broadly construed.

[edit] Your Request Images

Your requested images are finnally ready: Image:Maximum_tangentplane_boxed.png and Image:Maximum_boxed.png according to your instructions. --Freiddy 17:16, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Smith's definition

Thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia. Regarding the Economics article, I strongly feel that the lenghty quote from Smith (1776) does not belong in the introduction. It is of mainly historical interest and disrupts the reader. Much better to put it in a section that specifically deals with the history of economic thought or alternative definitions of Economics. Regards, Ujalm 20:48, 26 January 2007 (UTC).

I appreciate your comment, Ujalm, and the way you expressed it. I meant what I said in commending your Edit (in the my Edit summary, which I hope you read closely). It was a careful and well-considered Edit. Let me be very frank. Before today the Smith quote was a bit of a snoozer for me too. At the very time you made your Edit, however, I was trying to fix things with a new sentence preceding the quotation. Had you (instead of me) have put that new sentence in, I think my reaction before today would have been (after studying the quotation again): "Smith, you clever dog, you're one of us, just waiting to be rediscovered." From my perspective (today) I believe that the Smith quotation is of more than historical interest in showing the continuity of the economic perspective. If you disagree after perusing this (and possibly Smith), please let me know, either here or on the Econ Talk page. BW & regards, Thomasmeeks 21:37, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Economics is not only a social science but a science, so its practitioners claim.[1] For representing and the testing the theory, it may use mathematical economics and econometrics. Thomasmeeks 02:49, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

putnam "fact/value dichotomy" http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/PUTCOL.html

[edit] Economic language and reasoning

May 1 2004 Economics relies on rigorous styles of argument. Economic methodology has several interacting parts:

  • Collection of economic data. These data consist of measurable values of price and changes in price, for measurable commodities. For example: the cost to hire a worker for a week, or the cost of a particular commodity, and how much is typically used.
  • Formulation of models of economic relationships, for example, the relationship between the general level of prices and the general level of employment. This includes observable forms of economic activity, such as money, consumption, preferences, buying, selling, and prices. Some of the models are simple accounting models, while others postulate specific kinds of economic behaviour, such as utility or profit maximization. An example of a model that illustrates both of these aspects is the classical mathematical formulation of the Keynesian system involving the consumption function and the national income identity. This article will refer to such models as formal models, although they are not formal in the sense of formal logic. Economists often formulate very simple models in order to define the impact of just one variant changing. This is called the "ceteris paribus"-assumption (All others equal), meaning that all other things are assumed not to change during the period of observation. Example: "If the price of movie tickets rises, ceteris paribus the demand for popcorn falls."
  • Production of economic statistics. Taking the data collected, and applying the model being used to produce a representation of economic activity. For example, the "general price level" is a theoretical idea common to macroeconomic models. The specific inflation rate involves taking measurable prices, and a model of how people consume, and calculating what the "general price level" is from the data within the model. For example, suppose that diesel fuel costs 1 euro a litre: To calculate the price level would require a model of how much diesel an average person uses, and what fraction of their income is devoted to this —but it also requires having a model of how people use diesel, and what other goods they might substitute for it.
  • Reasoning within economic models. This process of reasoning (see the articles on informal logic, logical argument, fallacy) sometimes involves advanced mathematics. For instance, an established (though possibly unexamined) tradition among economists is to reason about economic variables in two-dimensional graphs in which curves representing relations between the axis variables are parameterized by various indices. A good example of this type of reasoning is exhibited by Paul Krugman's online essay, There's something about macro.[2] See also the article IS/LM model. One critical analysis of economic reasoning is studied in Paul Samuelson's treatise, Foundations of Economic Analysis: he identifies a class of assertions called operationally meaningful theorems which are those that can be conceivably refuted by empirical data.[3] As usual in science, the conclusions obtained by reasoning have a predictive as well as confirmative (or dismissive) value. An example of the predictive value of economic theory is a prediction as to the effect of current deficits on interest rates 10 years into the future. An example of the confirmative value of economic theory would be confirmation (or dismissal) of theories concerning the relation between marginal tax rates and the deficit.

Formal modelling, which has been adapted to some extent by all branches of economics, is motivated by general principles of consistency and completeness. It is not identical to what is often referred to as mathematical economics; this includes, but is not limited to, an attempt to set microeconomics, in particular general equilibrium, on solid mathematical foundations. Some reject mathematical economics: The Austrian School of economics believes that anything beyond simple logic is often unnecessary and inappropriate for economic analysis. In fact, the entire empirical-deductive framework sketched in this section may be rejected outright by that school. However, the framework sketched here accurately represents the current predominant view of economics.

[edit] Language and reasoning: Save the box?

In Econononics#Language and reasoning is the following (boxed as a digression):

Advantages of this most recent Edit compared to the previous Edit is that the identity equation (the equation of exchange) is distinguished from its empirical-theory counterpart, the modern quantity theory of money. The question can still be posed as to whether the example is too complicated or too much of a digression?

[edit] Economics (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs)

Request Semi-protection until there is a consensus to remove it. As discussed at Talk:Economics#Vandalism and reverts in this article, close to 34 out of the last 100 Editors since March 29, 2007 have been vandals. Thus, close to 68 ((= 2*34) out of last 100 Editors have involved vandalism or reverting vandalism. Almost all vandalism has have been by unregistered users. From Feb. 16 to March 24, 2007 when semiprotect was in effect, there were no instances of vandalism. The article used to be a featured article. It has a better chance of returning to that status if vandalism is stopped. Thanks. --Thomasmeeks 00:23, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Economics (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs)

Request Semi-protection until there is a consensus to remove it. Semi-protection was removed prematurely & without Talk page discussion, much less consensus with the following Edit summaries:

15:40, 23 May 2007 Taxman (rm protected template, not currently a target)
15:39, 23 May 2007 Taxman (Protected Economics: doesn't seem to still be target of massive vandalism [move=sysop] (expires 01:51, June 21, 2007 (UTC)))

Taxman's Contributions history indicates that he did not go through this page to request unprotect. Evidently his Admin status allowed it. The problems with User:Taxman's justification are discussed in today's comment at Talk:Economics#Semi-protection for Economics article.

Here is the earlier protection request and action:

Request Semi-protection until there is a consensus to remove it. As discussed at Talk:Economics#Vandalism and reverts in this article, close to 34 out of the last 100 Editors since March 29, 2007 have been vandals. Thus, close to 68 ((= 2*34) out of last 100 Editors have involved vandalism or reverting vandalism. Almost all vandalism has have been by unregistered users. From Feb. 16 to March 24, 2007 when semiprotect was in effect, there were no instances of vandalism. The article used to be a featured article. It has a better chance of returning to that status if vandalism is stopped. Thanks. --Thomasmeeks 00:23, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
(Semi-protected – Steel 01:51, 10 May 2007 (UTC))

--Thomasmeeks 15:05, 24 May 2007 (UTC) (signature added)

It's generally nicer to speak to the person in question before rushing around people's talk pages and project pages asking for others to reverse them. – Steel 16:46, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
Declined, - please discuss with the unprotecting admin, User:Taxman - Alison ☺ 16:49, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
Will do. I was under the impression that administrators were subject to the same process as others for removal of semiprotect and that previous semiprotectors were to be contacted. I had also thought that discussing removal of semiprotect on a Talk page section for that the subject (such as the one indicated above) was standard practice, as suggested by one of the templates. Maybe I'm too close to the disruptive effects of vandalism & not-so-good Edits on the progress of the article to be particularly chastened. --Thomasmeeks 18:19, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Economics" article request for semi-protection

[edit] Economics (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs)

Request Semi-protection for as long as allowable. The beginning of the school year coincides with a big jump in the rate of vandalism of the article to a rate similar to last Spring (& Fall 2006 for that matter) before semi-protection was granted. Of the last 100 Edits, 36 were vandalism (deleting significant amounts of material without explanation, only degrading spelling, personal messages, etc.). Thus, more than 70 percent of Edits were for vandalism or reverting vandalism. All of the vandalism was done by newly registered or unregistered users. By eliminating that source of disruption, semi-protect I believe would hasten the improvement of the article. My thanks. --Thomasmeeks 13:03, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Semi-protected - I can't semi-protect preventivly per WP:PROTECT. On the other hand there has been a fair amount of vandalism I have semi-pd it for a week. -Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 23:31, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
I believe that the answer above is referring to preemptive semi-protect. Wikipedia:Protection policy#Semi-protection says that:
Semi-protection should not be used: As a preemptive measure against vandalism before any vandalism has occurred. (Emph. added)
But the above request referred to heavy recent vandalism. Maybe I am missing something. Is there any help on clarification? --Thomasmeeks 01:35, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Hello again, TRE. A bit more. For the above, I did review the most recent 100 Edits of Economics to tabulate the number of vandalous Edits (and yes, that was time-consuming). Those Edits occurred from Sept. 6 to Sept. 25. That is a fair amount of time to sample. As noted the vandalism rate was consistent with rates described in earlier requests for semi-protect in Spring 2006. So, there does seem to be a persistent pattern, both recent and earlier. I agree with not preempting vandalism, that is, trying to stop vandalism before there is any pattern of it. But wouldn't you agree that that is different from stopping the an observable pattern of vandalism that has occurred? Otherwise, what would be the point of semi-protect? If you agree, wouldn't you consider extending the semi-protect more in line with the patteern of vandalism for that article? Last time it was granted, that was for 40 days. 2 months before then, it was for 45 days. Thank you for any help that you can provide. --Thomasmeeks 11:26, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for replying. I do not know if you had to a chance to read all the way through the 11:26, 26 September 2007 Edit above. In any case I regret that I was not explicit enough. In your 23:27, 25 September 2007 Economics Edit is this summary:
Protected Economics: Vandalism [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed] (expires 23:27, 2 October 2007}
This comes to 1 week of semi-protecton. My Edit immediately above was as to whether semi-protect could be extended beyond 1 week in line with earlier semi-protects and in line with the probable recurrence of vandalism. The situation would be different if vandalism was not a recurring feature of Economics. I believe that allowing such disruption reduces participation in the effort to clean up the article. Thank you for your help. --19:15, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Economics (edit|talk|history|links|watch|logs)

Request Semi-protection for 60 days. Of the last Edits over a 21-day period from Oct. 14, 26 were vandalism (deleting significant amounts of material without explanation, only degrading spelling, personal messages, etc.). This continues earlier patterns for the article. Almost all of the vandalism was done by newly registered or unregistered users. By eliminating that source of disruption, semi-protect I believe would hasten the improvement of the article. My thanks. --Thomasmeeks 16:03, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Break

Since at least the 1960s, macroeconomics has been characterized by further integration of micro-based modeling of sectors, including rationality of players, efficient use of market information, and imperfect competition,Ng, 1992 This has addressed a long-standing concern about inconsistent developments of the same subject.[4]. Analysis of long-term determinants of national income across countries has also greatly expanded.

The vast majority of economic theory is in terms of either macro or micro economics. However, a few authors argue that 'mesoeconomics', which considers the intermediate level of economic organization such as markets and other institutional arrangements, should be considered an additional branch of economic study.

Mamalakis claims that mesoeconomics "unifies and reconciles the macro and micro approaches and is a "richer" way of studying the dynamics of economics than the two traditional models.[5]

(for example, Kurt Dopfer, Stuart Holland and Markos Mamalakis)


For ease of reference, here is a log from the article history tab of 16 consecutive recent Economics edits by User:Wikidea with repeated material of each log entry omitted except for the latest edit.

(cur) (last) 01:59 Wikidea (69,700 bytes) (→Economic analysis of law - erred on section heading weight again, sorry)
01:57 (69,699 bytes) (→Economic fields - added economic analysis of law)
01:53 (66,566 bytes) (→Econometrics)
01:44 (66,566 bytes) (changed more headings - now they're just a bit more uniform, and presentable)
01:42 (66,573 bytes) (→Language and reasoning - got rid of superfluous box)
01:41 (66,664 bytes) (→Criticism and contrarian perspectives - changed headings slightly)
01:38 (66,679 bytes) (→Criticisms of economic theory and practice - deleted sub sub headings)
01:34 (66,894 bytes) (→See also - reordered with multicol templates, and deleted some of the links that already appear in article body)
01:30 (67,233 bytes) (Changed substantially areas of study; proper sub headings; only deletion was the extra text on heterodox economics. Copy added labour and game theory. Please see talk.)
01:11 (65,790 bytes) (sorry, didn't do sub-headings correctly, fixed that. On principle, all sections and subsections should have main article links.)
01:09 (65,780 bytes) (→Schools of thought - reordered according to chronology; merged "mainstream" with neo-classical and deleted section on heterodoxy. These two are useful categories, but don't go into enough depth)
00:51 (66,161 bytes) (→Core concepts - cleaned section with pictures on right and main article links at top)
00:47 (66,235 bytes) (removed wikimedia links from top, because they belong at bottom and are there already; portal too)
00:30 Wikidea (66,308 bytes) (Moved core concepts up page, because this is material which readers need to be introduced to at the start)
00:24 (66,327 bytes) (moved schools of thought up the page to go next to history)
00:13 (66,454 bytes) (merged development of idea section with history of economics because both main pages are the same)

[edit] Wikipedia:Protection policy#Unprotection

The following has benefitted from comments of Steel, though he is not responsible for remaining deficiencies.

1st paragraph: CURRENT version (with sentences numbered for ease of comparison and reference):

(1) With the exception of any pages tagged with the {{office}} or {{reset}} templates, any admin may unprotect any page after a reasonable period has lapsed, particularly if there is no discussion on the talk page.
(2) However, unless consensus has been reached, pages should not be unprotected soon after protection without prior consultation with the admin who first protected the page.
(3) This is particularly important in the case of controversial pages, where the conflict may start up again and the protecting admin may be in touch with the disputants.

Provisional PROPOSED alternative:

(1a) Anyone may request unprotection through Wikipedia:Requests for page protection or discuss it on the article Talk page. Any admin may unprotect any page (except for pages tagged with the {{office}} or {{reset}} templates) provided a reasonable period has elapsed.
(2a) For non-WP:RPP action, admins should factor in visible Talk-page section discussion as to (un)protection.
(3a) This includes the case of controversial pages, where conflict may be renewed with unprotection.

Purpose: to clarify, simplify, and guide admins and non-admins.

Rationales for proposed alternative:

  • It is written for non-admins (as well as admins), & not just as an afterthought.
  • Non-admins are more alerted to put there (un)protect concerns on the Talk page, so an admin can factor in those concerns.
  • Admins are busy people. The end of (3) is too special, roundabout, & uncertain to warrant mention.
  • It reflects the current paragraph.

Other advantages of proposed alternative:

There no added admin burden whatever at WP:RPP.
(2a) only states clearly what a prudent admin would be doing anyhow.
Non-admins are more directly informed of what they need to do to make it easier for admins to decide on unprotect.

A 2-day call for comment is requested before submission (although nothing prevents any changes in the current article section before then). One possibility is listing consecutive amendments below (1b, 1c, etc.).

OK. I note that the 2nd paragraph of the lead refers only Wikipedia:Requests for page protection as a means of (un)protect, whereas the Unprotection section concentrates on admins.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Lazear, Edward. "Economic Imperialism". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 
  2. ^ There's Something About Macro by Paul Krugman - a brief introduction to macroeconomics.
  3. ^ Paul Samuelson, Foundations of Economic Analysis, p.4).
  4. ^ Howitt, Peter M. (1987). "macroeconomic relations with microeconomics". The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, pp. 273-75. London and New York: Macmillan and Stockton. ISBN 0-333-37235-2. 
  5. ^ Walz-Chojnacki, Greg (1999-04-27). Markos Mamalakis: The man behind 'mesoeconomics'. Faculty/Staff Newsletter. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.


The estimated parameters measure the size of relationship between the response variable and each of the respective predictors. The 'prediction' of a regression equation is in the sense of causal-like association, rather than a forecast, in that values of the response variable used in the parameter estimates are already known.

[edit] 3RR warning on Book of Daniel

Warning

Please refrain from undoing other people's edits repeatedly. If you continue, you may be blocked from editing Wikipedia. Note that the three-revert rule prohibits making more than three reversions in a content dispute within a 24 hour period. Additionally, users who perform a large number of reversions in content disputes may be blocked for edit warring, even if they do not technically violate the three-revert rule. Rather than reverting, discuss disputed changes on the talk page. The revision you want is not going to be implemented by edit warring. Thank you. ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 14:40, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Codex Sinaiticus, I can use all the help I'm offered. I was relieved to see that the history of the article shows me with the same number of reverts as you today (that is, 3). But your point, which I was aware of, is well taken. I would never intentionally violate the 3RR rule. Thank you for your taking the trouble to write. --Thomasmeeks 16:01, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Linear Regression

Permission granted in favour of the support for the given lead. Woollymammoth 20:01, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] ... my very first spat at the Wikipedia ~

~ ... just getting my feet wet, here. Sorry for stepping on toes. By all means, hate mail and death threats are never turned away, in my mailbox. I totally understand your frustration. It's important to vent. Get it out of your system.

~ I'll go back, and make everything nice. Okay?


Acknowledged,
A. Samuel Joseph III, Geospatial Econometric Analyst 07:52, 17 March 2007 (UTC)


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[edit] Link to the data page

Dear Thomasmeeks, I do not think that the place of the external link you added to Regression was well chosen. Regression is not only about Americal econometric data, to say it sharply, and external links should not be placed in the body of the text. See WP:LINKS. I suggest you to add it to the article about data sets and/or Economerty, in the section External links. Greetings,--Ioannes Pragensis 19:57, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Dear Ioannes Pragensis:
Thank you for your comments. For ease of reference, let me meke the following points.
1. The relevant guideline in WP:LINKS is the first substantive sentence of the link:
Adding external links to the text of the article can be a service to our readers, but they should be kept to a minimum of those that are meritable, accessible and appropriate to the article.
Is it of service to our hypothetical reader? I believe so. To quote from, well, my Edit summary, it "answers the question that one hopes the innocent lay reader might ask as to 'data' at the end of the 2nd paragraph: 'Such as from where?'."
2. The relevant lead guidelines are for establishing context and providing an accessible overview, which I believe the footnote does, with or without the link.
3. The link in question was the top-ranked "data sources" hit. It includes American economic data to be sure, but msny other kinds of data (including data for agriculture, crime, demography, education, health, voting, and transportation, other data sites, links to other lists of data, etc.) from around the world in every instance (even including the U.S. Statistical Abstract, which has comparative international statistics at the end), statistical abstracts ro other conntries, etc. The link is also very inviting to look at.
4. North America is of course the largest audience for English Wiki. I can't see what the problem is for American data, especially when there are so many sources from elsewhere. By the way, the link in questiom is at a Canadian university.
Comments are welcome. --Thomasmeeks 15:09, 27 March 2007 (UTC) (Next to last line corrected.) --Thomasmeeks 13:14, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Hi Thomasmeeks,

1. Read please WP:LINKS to the end - under "External links section" it states that the best place for external links is the External links section at the end. Otherwise you "should give your reader a good summary of the site's contents, and the reasons why this specific website is relevant to the article in question" - which is impossible here, because the website is relevant only very loosely if at all.

2. Either the footnote is important, and then it can be in the main text after a re-formulation, or it is unimportant and should be dropped from the lead. I've never seen footnotes like this in good WP leads. We should keep the style of the whole work.

3. and 4. May be it is true that the USA is the most important audience, but the content should be unbiased (read WP:BIAS). The link is from a university, but it is not officially supported by the university. The server does not matter, important is the authority. Moreover the list has not only cultural bias but also a "discipline bias": regression is widely used also outside of economy (e.g. physics, biology, medicine etc.).

Have a nice day,--Ioannes Pragensis 10:12, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Thx for your response below, Ioannes Pragensis. I'm responding here on the hope that differences could be narrowed. As to your (1) above, WP:EL#External links section says not that ELs are "best" in their own section but that they are "most common" there. (It implies that placement elsewhere can be justified.) The discussion (and heading) there seems to refer to ELs for an EL section. The first paragraph of WP:EL#What to link agrees with the reason I gave in the Edit summary for including it:
external link attempts to provide user-friendly answer to question 'For example from where and what kind of data?'.
If would be very helpful if you could indicate what consideration(s) in WP:EL for excluding the link can override that reason for including the link. Again thx. --Thomasmeeks 21:17, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Derivative once more

I guess you might have had mixed experiences with Derivative, but I think you made valuable contributions and left helpful comments. I have just completed a rewrite of the article. One of the goals was to make the initial parts of the article more elementary and accessible (although it now becomes a bit more advanced later on). I would very much value your comments. Geometry guy 21:13, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reginald H. Fuller

You wrote most of this article, so I thought you'd want to know. Dr. Fuller died this evening, 4 April 2007. He was my grandfather.

— JBazuzi (talk • contribs) 05:59, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regression

Dear Thomasmeeks, I hope you are well too. Regarding your pet external link: In order to settle our difference, I posted it to Economic data, section External links, where I hope it can survive and be useful to readers. But please do not post it where it has no special meaning and where it challenges WP:EL. Thank you, --Ioannes Pragensis 19:17, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

...Answer to you post above: You should consider the whole text of the guideline, not only the part about placement of links. Under Links normally to be avoided, it says "Sites that are only indirectly related to the article's subject: the link should be directly related to the subject of the article. (...) a website on a specific subject should usually not be linked to an article about a general subject." Which is exactly what you do: a general subject (regression) and link to a special type of data (econometric data). Moreover, because you are probably in a conflict of interest here, you should read also this part of the article. Cheers,--Ioannes Pragensis 21:32, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
I appreciate your comment, Ioannes Pragensis. I assume that:
  • your objective, like mine, is to improve (or maintain) the quality of the article (within Wiki policy)
  • you are trying to do just that by raising the question of Wikipedia conflict of interest (from which, however, I believe that I can easily defend myself).
Please allow me to respond more specifically to your comments above. (This is not a long response, but I have taken a great amount of time to formulate it.) I do strongly agree with WP:EL as a guideline. But that is different from a WP policy. Thus, the section you mention is titled "Links normally to be avoided" (italics added). The implicature is that an exception may be justifiable. As stated above, there is justification, I believe, in the first paragraph of WP:EL#What to link. Far from being meaningless, the "source" link is in context and accessible and illustrates sources (and kinds) of data, moreover in an attractive, user-friendly format. Anyone not interested in pursuing the link can ignore it. Where is the downside here? I'd welcome your thoughts. Sincerely, Thomasmeeks 16:49, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
Dear Thomasmeeks, you surely know that regression has many uses, some of them far from econometry. Imagine a biologist who reads the article in your version: she comes to the link, reads your site and comes to the false conclusion, that the method has no meaning for her as a biologist, because it uses econometric data. (I mean WP:NPOV - in this case, do not prefer one branch of science over other branches) - Further, the lead of an article should summarize the whole text, not introduce external links. - Further, we prefer internal links if possible, and it is well possible here "(External) Links should be kept to a minimum." - WP:EL; the internal links will lead the interested economs to your link easily, because I added it to the appropriate page, while the others will choose their way through Wikipedia. - Further, I cannot judge whether you are in a conflict of interests, but you behave as if you were. To enjoy a high credibility here, you should avoid such things. Thank you for understanding.--Ioannes Pragensis 22:36, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
Dear Ioannes Pragensis, thx for your reply. The link in question did have the advantage of being labelled at the top "Data sources" and had many non-econ. cleasificatons (unless econ. is defined imperialistically). It was by far the cleanest layout of sites I compared it with. My intended audience was the inquisitive layperson who might click to it and say "Wow, the data are all around me and there for the taking" and be charmed by the rolling marquee bell curve. I believe that inclusion of link would provide WP:LEAD context conducive to further reading of the article. Still, I do recognize the appropriateness of acceding to a well-defined objection such as you have raised (even if few potential biology majors would be seduced into econ;). Sincerely, Thomasmeeks 12:28, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
I think they would easily find similarly charming data in their own domain :-) I spent once two months by doing complicated regressions with a heap of data about forests and it was really challenging. Have a nice day, --Ioannes Pragensis 12:47, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nu

I don't see any reason to go to war over the use of “ν” to represent the velocity of money in the article on the quantity theory, but its use isn't pointless. The name “velocity” is unfortunate; the velocity of money is more of a frequency, and “ν” is often used to represent frequencies. (I will quickly grant that no one should be flustered if someone refers to nu instead of vee, but I've seen such things happen.) —SlamDiego←T 00:03, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Well, we're both good pacifists, right?* If I had had more space, I'd have said "seemingly pointless." I hadn't visited the article in a while. At first I took the passage as the edit of someone with a troll sense of humor. I quickly concluded otherwise. Still, it struck me as an unnecessary substantive wrinkle, esp. for the level of generality of this article. I do respect the large volume of work you've put into improving the article.
*Anyhow, a prudent stance with you on the other side (;). BW, Thomasmeeks 00:44, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
My present thinking is that the article on the quantity theory needn't have that wrinkle, since it is in the article on the equation of exchange (which was less substantial when the wrinkle was originally incorporated in the article on the quantity theory). I would urge that the wrinkle be left in the article on the equation of exchange.
(In mid-April, I beefed-up the article on the equation of exchange after a discussion with Radek about where to put a money demand formula that he'd dropped into the article on the quantity theory for lack of a better home.) —SlamDiego←T 01:20, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
Well, I'm a little like the dog who knows not to bark beyond a certain point (the Eq. of exch. article in this case). In that article the Nu reference still lacks context & comes across as a puzzling personal preference of economists who do use it. Sorry. --Thomasmeeks 02:25, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
I take your point. Well, how 'bout we note it and explain it in the article on velocity, but pull it also from the article on the equation of exchange? I could be reasonably comfortable with that. —SlamDiego←T 03:05, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
(1) The Velocity of money article too? Oh, my. Well, it would be bounding it anyhow. But if the explanation is as above, so far as I can determine, it would still lack context and rationale: Why a Greek letter for vee? Why in particular Nu for vee? Where is the citation for wide enough acceptance to warrant it? If it is merely product differentiation or a display of classical education by originator(s) of the usage, that doesn't warrant it IMO. If it is a less parochial usage, that at least would give some context, though I don't know that it would be worth preserving.
(2) On your initial point above (about velocity as a frequency or rate), in an encyclopedia, we go with the terminology we have, though the rate of turnover of money (as on a conveyor belt) is not so distant from a common notion of velocity IMO. --Thomasmeeks 14:50, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
  1. I'm not precisely sure to what you refer as “context”, but the rationale seems plain. There are two common symbols for frequency, “f” and “ν”; you'll find about a million hits on Google looking for the latter. (I didn't claim merely that “‘ν’ is often used to represent frequencies” in economics; but something more general.) This isn't a use of a Greek vee, though I suppose that the point of an economist writing “M•ν” instead of “M•f” is so that people used to “V” will not be too traumatized. Nu is really just a form of en; the capital nu is “Ν”. (The Romans basically adopted the Greek alphabet, but then took it on a different evolutionary path.)
  2. I'm not proposing that we rename velocity; I'm proposing that the encyclopedia let readers know that there's also another symbol in use. The reason that I'd noted this minor datum in some articles without explanation was that I'd simply been thinking in terms of some student sitting in lecture and wondering what the H_ll nu was, when he or she had been expecting vee. (I worry about people being tripped-up by such things because I've so often witnessed it.)
—SlamDiego←T 22:13, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

(New line -- I keep losing count of the colons.) Thx for responding. The nub: I believe that if the questioned statement appears in a standard reference on the subject (velocity in the equation of exchange, not "frequency" in general), that satisfies a necessary condition for inclusion of the statement in the article. If not, well, WP policy says no to such inclusion.

The reader might accept that the symbol for velocity in the formula was vee but be puzzled that some economists use nu instead. The lack of context refers to there being no explanation in the article as to why nu would be preferred to vee & no indication of who or how many "some" economists are (or were) who use nu. If there were an attributed source, the reader might at least accept that it is so. There would still be the question of whether it is worth mentioning (and why).

Well, you get about 89 million Google hits for "frequency" with vee instead of Nu. If 89:1 is the ratio among economists for velocity, it's a good reason for not mentioning it (too arcane). At least nu has advantage of a parallel to n in stat (frequency in your usage).

In the above, you write “M•ν” (nu the second term). Let me replace the nu with a vee: “M•v”. Now let's italicize the latter: M•v. I leave it to angels and orthographers to determine that the latter versions are not nu's. I think that your impulse not to puzzle the uninitiated unnecessarily is very sound. --Thomasmeeks 23:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

P.S. Here's one reason why a small vee might sometimes be used instead of large vee: it can be construed as a real ratio, e.g. real income y over real M, analogous to the way k (=1/V) is often written in the Cambridge cash-balance version of the equation of exchange. No reason to construe the small vee as a nu in that case of course. --Thomasmeeks 00:42, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I've seen “ν” on chalkboards, and heard it called “nu” (so I know I wasn't mistaking a vee). Whether I can find it explicitly named “nu” in a published work is another question. I'll start looking (albeït that this has to be lower priority for me).
The article on the velocity of money explicitly notes that it is a frequency, and (now) notes that nu is a common symbol for frequency. I don't see how the reader will be puzzled.
I quite agree that the glyphs for lower-case nu can be taken as glyphs for vee. If the uninitiated were never to hear reference to a nu standing for velocity, then I could agree that glyphs, rather than characters were the only real worry, and that naming the character would be of very little use.
The reason that the web has so many hits for frequency with a vee is the greater ease of entering a vee than a nu when using a standard computer combined with exactly that glyphic near-equivalence. The reason that people went to the extra effort for those 1000000 nu is because that is one of the two actual standard symbols. (“f” is transparent, but it is already over-worked for generic functions.) I would be very surprised if you could find any standard mathematics or physics text that used vee for frequency.
—SlamDiego←T 02:07, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Well then, the oral tradition lives, possibly illustrating the difference between truth and Wikipedia:Verifiability. The latter, we may both agree, is an operative standard for the purpose at hand.
I believe that a reasonable test along the lines you have presented is the following. Using an Advanced Search with Google Scholar, enter:
ν velocity "equation of exchange" (with nu)
v velocity "equation of exchange" (with vee)
The first yields 9 hits. Of these I could find none that use nu to refer to velocity (from the Edit menu Find on this Page search or inspection).
The second had 554 recent hits, including Thomas Humphrey's magisterial survey article. If it ain't noteworthy enough for Humphrey (not to mention the others) well, . . . --Thomasmeeks 13:58, 20 June 2007 (UTC)
Since I haven't, at present, got a reference that names the character as nu (and since you have made a good-faith effort yourself to find one), I have suppressed the report. Should I at some point find such a reference, I will (on the assumption that I'm still wrestling with Wikipedia) restore the report and either add a footnote or secret the reference in an HTML comment. —SlamDiego←T 01:27, 21 June 2007 (UTC)
OK. I hadn't seen it before, but the "velocity of circulation" entry in The New Palgrave didn't have it either. BW, Thomasmeeks 15:00, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Partial reversion

I have reverted one change that you made to the article on the quantity theory, specifically,

In its modern form, the quantity theory builds upon some straightforward mathematics of the equation of exchange.

The equation that follows isn't itself the equation of exchange, but the reader could be led to think that it were. I believe that you were seeking to replace the wiki-linking removed from the header, but there's a wiki-link to the article on the equation of exchange not much further down in the section. And we want to avoid claiming that a theorist who rejects the classical dichotomy (and thus the equation of exchange) is not “modern”. —SlamDiego←T 02:12, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Ain't it the truth? I didn't follow my nose down far enough. --Thomasmeeks 02:33, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Foundations

Thomas -- please see my comments on the discussion page for Foundations of Economic Analysis. That article needs a more concise summary of the main contribution of the book. --Rinconsoleao 10:57, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Marginal utility

[Transcribed from my talk page.]

On the above article, Slam, I had just completed addressing your (5) on the above Talk page when I discovered your two added comments. The sun may never set on SlamDiego, but it definitely rises for me. And I plan to rise with it. I do not believe that you have addressed my last Edit summary. It is easy to claim correctness if the statement is too obscure to say anything about it. The audience should be not me but the poor but brilliant soul without benefit of much background trying to make sense of the first sentence on the basis of what is there. If you have the itch, hope you have more to say on the above Talk page (on your own schedule of course & not ncessarily soon). But I probably won't be able to respond soon. I know that will disappoint you, but get over it. --Thomasmeeks 01:15, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

I'll be glad to respond to any specific assertions or questions that you put on the article talk page. Concerning points actually in contention, I'll be glad to direct you to which of the references already in the article deal with those points. The reason that there isn't a whole lot there in that first sentence is that a lot less needs to be there than the British marginalists and their neoclassical heirs thought and think. The extra stuff that they incorporated is discussed in the body of the article. —SlamDiego←T 01:30, 15 July 2007 (UTC)
BTW, I expected my comment
This article is laden with references that make plain that the neoclassical conception of utility is a special case.
to the talk page to be read in the context of my immediate prior edit summary:
It is only a *rate* under the presumption of quantification.
—SlamDiego←T 05:46, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Hi Thomas-- just so you know... I just left and extensive message on Slam's talk page, with questions about things I still don't understand in the theory of marginal utility he's writing about... --Rinconsoleao 22:43, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Before I saw this note, I moved the discussion (which seemed completed) into my tenth orc hive. If either of you wants to resume some part of it, that would be okay, so long as the resumption is on my talk page, rather than in the hive. —SlamDiego←T 05:54, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Help please

Thomas, my copy of "Foundations" is old... a 1969 printing of the 1947 edition. I understand you have a more recent and expanded edition. I just cited Foundations, Ch. 3, in the page on Economic equilibrium, where there was an unreferenced assertion that "most economists caution against attaching a normative meaning to the equilibrium price". The quote I am referring to in Foundations is in the first paragraph of the subsection of Ch. 3 entitled "Convertibility into a Maximum Problem". Could you give me a hand by updating the reference I inserted, with the precise page number from the edition you have?

By the way, I have done (and am still doing) some rewriting of the introduction to the "Foundations" page. You are welcome to edit, revert, etc., as you see fit... but I suppose you don't need me to tell you that! --Rinconsoleao 19:37, 16 July 2007 (UTC)


[edit] JEL codes

Hi Thomas, thanks for picking up the baton on this. I keep meaning to get back to it, but I'm flat out at present. JQ 00:12, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Game Theory

HI. Yes, Wikipedia:Requests for comment#Request comment on articles would be a good idea I think. Suicup 07:19, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

The following section was retrieved from a deleted portion of Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor's Talk page at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:The_Random_Editor&oldid=160566077

[edit] "Economics" article request for semi-protection

Hello, TRE. Thank you for acting on the above. I left a request of clarification at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection, but you might not be able to respond to it there before it is archived. In any case, could you instead consider looking at a copy of it on my Talk page at User talk:Thomasmeeks#"Economics" article request for semi-protection (with any added comments I can get in there before that)? Thank you. P.S. I read your User page -- all of it. I believe that I am writing the right person, though I am not given to premature optimism. --Thomasmeeks 10:12, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. Indeed you did semi-protect. I regret not being more explicit at User talk:Thomasmeeks#"Economics" article request for semi-protection. Would consider taking another look there? I have added another note (dated 19:15, 26 September 2007) to try to clarify. My thanks. --Thomasmeeks 19:36, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
Thank you, again. Interesting idea. What would you think of this refinement: to see whether or how long it would be before vandalism returned to high levels, say over a 2-week period or 50 Edits, whichever came first? 2-weeks or 50 edits (a provisional number) has the advantage of a reasonable sample size or time period, rather than depending on a possibly temporary lull or surge of vandalism vs. good Edits.
If semi-protection returns (which you would determine), I could write up the result for the Talk page. There are already 2 data points for this article as to removing semi-protect in Spring 2007. In the first case, it did not take long for the previous rate of vandalism to return. In the 2nd case, which was close to the end of the Spring semester, my impression is that vandalism did not return to previous levels until late August, possibly because of the school break. While an immediate extension of semi-protect would have been nice, the knowledge gained from this little experiment might help the article as to guidance for future semi-protect & be of wider interest. My thanks. --Thomasmeeks 22:10, 26 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Semi-Protect

I already semi-pd it Thomasmeeks. -Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 16:06, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Let's let the current semi-p run out and then review any new vandalism that pops up. If after ten edits 3 have been vandalism, I will re-protect it for 2 month. --Тhε Rαnδom Eδιτor 20:44, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Editting methods

Hello Thomas, you can see my comments about reverting some of your recent edits in the History of economic thought page - though don't let me give you the impression that I don't appreciate new additions and material if you've got it (let me guess, you used Samuelson's book in your introductory course?). Do you know though, is Economics (textbook) the same this as Foundations of Economic Analysis, except the more recent version? Wikidea 08:53, 28 September 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Feedback needed

Hello, I recently made some additions to the article Lange Model and I was wondering if you could give me any feedback. Thanks so much! --EMB330 20:34, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for your time and advice. It has been very helpful, and I appreciate your feedback!--EMB330 08:26, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Talk:Mathematics

Thank you for your comments. I have essentially said what I wanted to say, and see no point in my iterating the same arguments. I have to confess that I am unable to understand most of your typical posting; I read them and re-read them and emerge at the other end, not enlightened but dazzled, confused and puzzled as to what it is you are actually saying. For that reason, I am reluctant to continue the discussion, since I would probably be reacting to what is my misunderstanding of your intentions.  --Lambiam 09:49, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Generalized Ozaki cost function

Generalized Ozaki cost function is a Wikipedia:Articles requested for more than two years that recently was created. In view of your many contributions to the Economics article, please consider adding more info to the Generalized Ozaki cost function article. Also, please consider helping out at Wikipedia:Articles_requested_for_more_than_a_year#Business.2FEconomics. Thanks. -- Jreferee t/c 02:23, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lucas' Law

Dear Thomas, a while ago you left me a little message on my page offering assistance with wiki matters. I have stubmled across the page on Lucas' Law. I have, after a quick look on the web been able to find anything about Spencer Lucas and this Law and the page is unreferenced and seems a bit odd. How should one proceed in such a situation? I think what I am not sure of is how in economics we would get regular editors to look at things and check things out. Thanks in advance (Msrasnw (talk) 10:49, 30 March 2008 (UTC))

[edit] PPF

Dear Thomas, the PPF looks a bit problematic to me. It slopes upwards for a short section. I think this might have damaging implications for standard analysis. Best wishes. PS: Lucas' Law is up for deletion as a hoax (Msrasnw (talk) 19:10, 3 April 2008 (UTC))

[edit] Sorting stubs alphabetically

Hi there! I was overjoyed to find the {{DEFAULTSORT:}} function. At the bottom of an article, usually near the stub template and categories, put in (for example){{DEFAULTSORT:Hound of the Baskervilles, The}}. This will force the database to always sort the article in this order, regardless of its category, even stub categories. HTH, Her Pegship (tis herself) 17:00, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Mathematical economics

Sure thing. I was intending to continue the section. I'll trim the quote down a little bit but I wanted to keep moving on, basically showing the quote as an example of a very common criticism (namely that mathematical econ ascribes scientific exactness to what may not be a scientific process) as Heilbroner is not the only critic on that front (though he is surely the most famous.

I may add page citations to that quote but I am concerned about how to do that. The article is linked from findarticles, which uses its own pagination, separate from Challenge magazine, whose pagination is unknown to me.

Also, pages within the boland citation face the same trouble, although I think it is actually shown in google books (even though my pdf is from the author's website). thanks for the help.

As for Popper's thoughts on that, the Boland article is pretty enlightening. If you can't find a copy of it available, put something on my talk page and I'll put a link up.  :) Protonk (talk) 18:18, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks a bunch for the help. If you see any problems that I haven't fixed, let me know and I'll fix them. Or you can fix them, it won't hurt my feelings. I'm probably not done w/ the criticism section yet, I might put a few more sentences in there, but the bulk is done. from the looks of it, most of the criticism sections of econ. pages need to be rescued.Protonk (talk) 00:03, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Economics

I've no idea what your cryptic message about jogging at dawn is meant to imply. I stick to my point though - since I first looked at this page, you've been working on it, and blocking people changing it: including my own efforts a while back. It hasn't changed, and I'm afraid that you might need to let go of it for a while. The page is a COMPLETE mess on so many levels. This "In the beginning stuff" and then "Schools of Economicst" (which is actually history) half way down. The random selection of little bits of microeconomic tools in the middle, with a long list of stubs about various economic areas, which really provide the reader no information on their own. And then the bottom third of the page is consumed by "criticism," which is against the style guidelines. It should be integrated into the text. On the other hand, I know you've done a lot with putting in various interesting snippets of references, which makes the list long: but that's not a substitute for proper structure, flowing prose, and readable text. When people try to change the page, you respond with half a hour's worth of reading, and people give up. But you haven't managed to bring the page anywhere near GA. It's not in the slightest personal, or discourteous to say what I mean, and that's that I really do think that you should give it a rest! (And no, you won't convince me otherwise, the page speaks for itself) Wikidea 14:26, 30 April 2008 (UTC)