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Attention Kiefer.Wolfowitz, this template is appearing because there is currently 1 image with a tag requesting to be renamed (help out).

This user is busy in real life and may not respond swiftly to queries.

The Signpost: 09 January 2012

Please help out at the Paid Editor Help page

While not a huge backlog yet, we're getting to it on the Paid Editor Help page. The sections that need replies include Colin Digiaro, Guy Bavli, Strayer University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and a general backlog in the Request Edits category. If you could help in any of these sections (primarily the first four), I would be really grateful. This notification is going out to a number of Wikiproject Cooperation members in the hopes that we can clear out all of the noted sections. And feel free to respond to a section and help out even if someone else had already responded there. The more eyes we get on a specific request, the more sure we can be on the neutrality of implementing it. Thanks! Silverseren 03:35, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Silver seren!

I wish that I had time, particularly to help at Stevens Insitute of Technology, which should be much better known. A building with particularly thick walls in its particulary deep basement was the site of Charles Sanders Peirce's implementation of his optimal design (allocation of experimental units) of a response-surface experiment.

Its mathematics department is particularly strong in computational mathematics, and features a world leader in stochastic optimization.  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 13:34, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

RfA of SW and A Question

I m sorry for my comment. It was my first time when I became active in any RfA, so I got carried away way to far. I was so worked up that i ended up making a silly comment which u objected. It was not my intention to be aggressive or not to be polite, but that comment was like one. I understand my mistake and ensure you that you will not get any further complains for me.

I also want to be clarified, I thought that u might help me. Previously there was " " in my sign, but a editor friend showed me that why images are not proper for sign so i eventually removed it. But lately, i have kept " :) " in place of the picture. I wanted to know that will it create any problem, I have read WP:SIGN and didnt find any problem in using " :) ". I just wanted to be sure, so asked for an opinion from an senior editor. Please tell me if I m going wrong in any direction.

Again, I m very sorry for my comment and I ensure you i wont repeat that mistake again. Thank You! Yasht101 :) 01:41, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Yasht101,

You seem like a nice editor, and are obviously smart. I am sure that you will learn quickly, in fact, more quickly than some "editors" who seem not to have progressed much beyond line editing and schoolmarming despite years of opportunities.

I actually liked the smiley face in your signature. :) But, I suppose that "rules are rules". :(

I saw that you were from India. :) have a lot of friends from India, and in fact my profession is statistics, where we all look to the Indian Statistical Institute for guidance!

Best regards,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 11:31, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Thank you very much sir for that. I m really willing to improve myself and want to become a good editor like you (I saw your contributions) one day. If I make any mistake that you find then please let me know. It will be helpful for me to improvise. Happy editing! Yasht101 :) 11:25, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Yasht101! The only advice that I would ask you to think about is this: Young editors often edit on Misplaced Pages and become distracted from more important tasks, particularly studying and learning new facts and skills. Good luck!  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 11:31, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, I'll take care of it. I m a ranker of my school so there is always huge pressure from my family, relatives and teachers on me that I'll do very good in studies. I sometimes get badly frustrated and at that time wikipedia really helps me a lot. You can say that now wikipedia is my drug and I cant live without it. It has helped me in becoming more polite, sincere and thoughtful in my real life. Right now, i have my summer vacations so there will be a lot of edits by me as my exams just ended 5 days before. Yasht101 :) 11:40, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Congratulations on your achievements! You have every right to give yourself a well-deserved break, especially when you spend it helping others here! :)

Best regards,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 12:12, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

My list

I have created a list and i have included ur name in it. I hope u dont mind that. You can view it over Here! Yasht101 :) 01:41, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Sir, I am honored! :)  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 07:58, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Oh sir, I m no sir. I am in my teenage. Yasht101 :) 09:09, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Amartya K. Sen was young when Tagore named him "Amartya". John Stuart Mill was young when he began writing books for his father. Just work hard, have fun, and resist the temptation to fudge the truth.  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 09:17, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hey, thats really inspiring. I cant be great like them, but atleast can do something good with my life. Yasht101 :) 09:23, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

John Stuart Mill was not happy until later in life, and then he was saddened after his wife died. Some geniuses suffer from always wanting to please their father or mother for the rest of their lives, even after their parents are dead.

It's a good idea to spend more time with your calculus book, Sen, and Mill, and most importantly your friends and family (even if it means that you have less time on Misplaced Pages). Have you read Sen and Drèze on poverty in India? C. R. Rao has an inspiring book, Statistics and truth: Putting chance to work, that you may enjoy. He starts off by thanking his mother for waking him at 4 a.m. (when his mind was freshest) to study. Kiefer.Wolfowitz 09:41, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Sorry for my late reply, I just missed out your username in my watchlist. My mom doesnt have time to wake me up early so I myself get up at 4:30 0r 5 and start my work. I havent heard of the book that you mentioned. I'll buy it next time when I visit the book-store. Can you briefly describe what exactly is in that book? I m sorry if I m wasting your time or bothering you. Yasht101 :) 16:15, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Yasht101!

I'm a statistician, and so when I see an intelligent young person I mention that statistics is an interesting profession and useful tool for anybody.

Rao's book is an interesting lecture for a general audience. I trust Google Books or World Scientific have brief discussions of it. Rao begins by discussing some ideas of Charles Sanders Peirce, about three modes of reasoning, deduction, induction, and abduction, although I forget whether Rao discusses Peirce in detail.

It might be worthwhile just to begin with Peirce, whose work appears freely at many sites, including Wikisource.

Proceeds from Rao's book benefits the Third World Academy of Science, which sounds like a good cause to me. (A baseball coach and mathematician also recommends waking at 4 am in the summer, when it is cool and quiet....)

I have long been a fan of Professor Sen, whose good sense and good humor make his super-human intellect non-intimidating! Many years ago I remember picking up Sen's article on "Millions of missing women" and thinking about all the scientific/statistical questions it raised!

Cheers,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 16:25, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Discipline Global Mobile

On 25 March 2012, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Discipline Global Mobile, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the music company Discipline Global Mobile has the policy that copyrights belong to artists and consequently does not own even its corporate logo (pictured)? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Discipline Global Mobile.You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Casliber (talk · contribs) 10:59, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Warm greetings

I stopped by here to tell you that I took your "oppose" most seriously in the Snotty/Scotty RfA. My decision to support was with a trace of reluctance, for that reason as well as some earlier negative interactions of my own. But the editor has shown clear signs of maturing and taking previous criticism to heart. As have you, my friend.

Above, I have read your efforts to welcome, advise and mentor a young editor from India. Your kind words and informed comments about his country impressed me greatly, and I have no doubt that the favorable impact they had on that young person will be long lasting.

A few moments ago, my wife showed me a friendly and encouraging comment that a young man wrote in her high school yearbook over 40 years ago. My wife felt very isolated and insecure in those years, and was greatly impressed and cheered by that brief note. She is again in touch with him through Facebook, as he is a music professional and one of our sons is an aspiring semi-professional musician. Kind, supportive words can be remembered for decades. Cullen Let's discuss it 16:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Cullen328,

Thanks for your kind words! However, "mentoring" would be too strong! I tried to find a nice way to say (while being honest) that editing Misplaced Pages is a poor use of time at his age---my usual (and according to many, unwarranted) paternalism.

About my "improving". All of us have our bad days, and I was irritable a few weeks ago because I was editing too much while under real world stress. However, the Discipline Global Mobile article is now GA and led today's DYKs, so perhaps the effort was worth it.

Regarding the RfA, I cannot comment fully per WP:NPA, apart from saying that (whatever one thinks of Keepscases) it is another thing entirely to try to "poke" Fetchcomms in the eye, to state contempt for the NPA blocks, etc. I would prefer the candidate to state that he will stay away from articles and editor-conflicts, and then I would be the first---or 100th now---to applaud his great contributions elsewhere and support him without reservation.

Cheers,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 17:04, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

The erudition and kindness of your remarks cannot be called paternalism, and in my view, your recommendations were at least heading in the direction of constructive mentoring. Because I am unfamiliar with the specifics of the Keepscases/Fetchcomms incident, I will refrain from commenting. Instead of taking the time to delve into that unpleasantness, I will instead read Discipline Global Mobile. Congratulations on the GA and DYK. Cullen Let's discuss it 18:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

What an outstanding article about an interesting and worthy topic! I thought that it would be about a cell phone company. I was a founder of and participant in a cooperative record store in the suburbs of Detroit from 1970 to 1972, and I remember selling King Crimson albums very well back then. "It was 40 years ago today . . ." Cullen Let's discuss it 18:54, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

I'm adding my delighted grins here, too, about the way you've been communicating with that young editor :D It's been a joy to be reading. Cullen – I still have, somewhere, my copy of In the Court of the Crimson King. Wonderful stuff. Pesky (talk) 19:08, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Aah, Cullen, you were in Detroit in 1972. You must have been familiar with an alphabet soup of sectarians. Have you read Detroit, I Do Mind Dying: A Study of Urban Revolution with its many fascinating chapters, e.g. Mr. Justin Ravitz, Marxist Judge of Recorder's Court? Judge Ravitz required that everybody stand when the jury entered the chambers! :)  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 19:58, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

I left the Detroit area in 1972, before Justin Ravitz was elected as a judge, but I was very familiar with Ravitz when I was a teenage radical, because his law firm was noted for defence of black militants and leftists. When I was young, people like George W. Crockett, Jr., Ken Cockrel (father of a recent Detrot mayor), Frank Joyce and Sheila Murphy were the "heavy hitters", and all are profiled in that book, which I haven't read but should. Joyce headed a group called "People Against Racism" and they had an unofficial youth affiliate called "Youth for Peace, Freedom and Justice" that I joined about the time of my 17th birthday. Groups like the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement, the Motor City Labor League and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers were the "workerist" groups that were widely discussed among my friends, although we were white, lower-middle class and working class New Left radicals, and had little connection with the big factories or the unions. We heard stories about the Ford Hunger March (my article) and the strikes and sit-ins of the 30s from the old timers. Cullen Let's discuss it 20:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages for World Heritage

I need your assistance in developing and spreading a wikiproject. Can you help me in developing and spreading this page in wikipedia: Misplaced Pages:Misplaced Pages for World Heritage

Thank you and Happy editing! Yasht101 :) 06:55, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I think that such political campaigns (here aimed at influencing a government of governments) are better conducted off-Misplaced Pages. I agree that such a campaign is worthwhile, and I suppose that Facebook would be a good place to organize this campaign.  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 15:20, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Previous accounts of another editor.

Hi KW. I see you've asked for history of a user's previous account. Could I request that you remove that query from the RfA, asking at the user's talk page if you feel it necessary, as it is the sort of thing that leads to a lot of the "drama" that you find at RfAs and isn't related to that RfA. As it happens, I'd also suggest that you don't even bother with the question - if the user is under a WP:CLEANSTART he will be under no obligation to tell you, but there should be nothing to worry about, if they're avoiding a near block/ban, then they are unlike to answer truthfully. Thanks for your time Worm · (talk) 14:24, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I would not want to speculate whether the person be evading a ban or block or whether they be unlikely honestly to answer, but a reply would be informative.

The editor compared this RfA, which has only my opposition, to torture! His comparison already moved beyond pathos skipping bathos into hysteria. Consider my question as a humble attempt at helping Nick Bottom return to normal form. :)

 Kiefer.Wolfowitz 15:07, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Indeed, I believe that torture in this case is more than a little excessive on the wording! I believe SW is doing exceptionally well, which shows how much further he's come - I opposed last time but didn't feel the need to this time. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. At this point I couldn't give a Puck. Worm · (talk) 15:18, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Well said, sir! :D  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 15:21, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

RE: Freedom House

saw your comment on my talk page but im not sure what you want me to do? A 2O in what?Lihaas (talk) 15:49, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi Lihaas!

I reverted about 11 edits. The last 5 or so were by a very reasonable editor, who has been very good at working out a consensus. I haven't heard from the POV-pushing editor of the middle 5, or the student who incorporated an essay. I was afraid that all 3 would go bananas...! False alarm,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 15:53, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 00:22, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Hi, KW - and please take part in discussion on your edit

Here. Same good old FH:) KR, FeelSunny (talk) 16:01, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks!

I'm rather constrained for time so was blunter than usual! ;)  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 16:12, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Afd

Hi Kiefer, I saw that there is an Afd open about a statistics related topic, and the article is flagged as "needing attention from an expert". Since I see you know a lot about statistics, if you're interested, you may want to look at Restricted randomization. (Note: I haven't !voted in the discussion and have no real opinion either way about the subject.) Mark Arsten (talk) 17:22, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks!

I saw it earlier on the math-stats project(s), and meant to have a look.

Cheers,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 18:08, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

Category:Yes album covers

Category:Yes album covers, which you created, has been nominated for discussion. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 04:22, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

"All I know can be shown by your acceptance of the facts there shown before you

Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion"

Jon Anderson, "Starship Trooper", Yes,

Please make yourself redundant from the redundant task of moving "Yes album covers" to the redundant "Yes (band) album covers", which is redundant because no other Misplaced Pages Yeses have album covers.

Sincerely,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 08:27, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Does mention without link (ordinarily) prohibit a See also?

Hi Kiefer!

Some time ago, here, you removed a See also link to Riemann surfaces. You kindly wrote a brief explanation, with a reference:

RS are mentioned in article, so cannot go in See also section, per WP:MOS

However, when I glanced through WP:MOS, I found nothing about this subject on its main page; but I did find something on its layout subpage, namely the following:

As a general rule the "See also" section should not repeat links which appear in the article's body or its navigation boxes.

(See WP:ALSO!) Is this what you were referring to, or did I miss some other text?

Note, that indeed Riemann surfaces are mentioned once in Multivariate function Multivalued function , but that there is no link to this article. Best regards, JoergenB (talk) 13:31, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Hi JoergenB!

I think so. It seems that I over-stated the guideline, which suggests not linking (rather than prohibiting such links).

For the multivalued function article, I think it would be useful to link Riemann surface where it appears.

If you look at the journal Set-Valued Analysis (which is edited by Mordukhovich or Wets, I believe), you can see that it neglects Riemann surfaces. Perhaps I am following that example?

Thank you for your understanding and for your gracious words. I am in a rush today, moving again....

Best regards,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 14:39, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

So, this isn't my field of expertise; I'm more of an algebraist and cominatorian; but I've got the impression that Riemann surfaces are more of an alternative to multivalued functions than a subitem. In multivariate functions (or set-valued functions), you manipulate the range (e.g., simultaneously considering two different "square roots", or the set of both roots as one value, for every complex number); in the alternative, you replace the domain by a Riemann surface (or by a higher dimensional complex manifold), and as the result get an ordinary univariate function (e.g., by defining the square root on the twofold helix joined at the origin). If I've understood this correctly, it might motivate a brief section on Riemann surfaces in Multivalued function. However, as the article is organised now, I think that a "See also" is more natural than a somewhat obscure link in the middle of the example section. JoergenB (talk) 15:32, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

My judgment is that set-valued analysis has many more related topics, epigraphs, subdifferentials, level sets, tangent sets, cotangent sets, normal sets, etc. I have difficulty imagining a reader moving first from multivalued functions to Riemann surfaces, unless the reader were an editor depositing the link from the former to the latter (the editor's interest). I think that some Swedes have written theses generalizing convex analysis to complex spaces, with little results to show for their work, alas, and essentially no international interest. I am arguing against your adding the link. I am not stating that I shall remove it. Sincerely,  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 16:21, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Well, as I mentioned, I do not belong to the "pluricomplex school", and I have no opinion on the relative merits of different subfields of complex analysis. (I mentioned the higher dimensional counterparts for completeness.) Since I also think that analysists would be better editors for a potential new section on alternative approaches, I'll defer this to your opinion. Thus, I only have added a link to the only occurrence of RS in the article, to wit,

... thus reducing the multilayered Riemann surface of the function to a single layer'

although I still think that this could be fairly confusing. (As I wrote, the function on the Riemann surface is not technically the same thing as the multivalued function on (a subset of) C.)

If you think this improves the understanding, you might add a {{further}} to the examples section. JoergenB (talk) 19:08, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

I'm sure that we could ask JEB and get a very strong opinion ... probably citing Beurling or having hallowed refererence to "hårdsvenskanalysis" (or was it "svensk hårdanalysis"?). ;)

There was a nice Russian monograph using residue calculus of multivariate generating functions that the AMS translated and published, that you should look at. (I like positivity: Sedgewick & the French guy's 2nd volume had a long section on Pringsheim's theorem; I don't remember whether it mentioned Boas's correction of Pringsheim's proof? The Generatingfunctionology books has a section on Hayman's method: You might look at Paul R. Rosenboom, who had a nice probabilistic paper on it, that seemed never to have been read, when I looked 10 years ago.)  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 20:38, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK for John Rainwater

On 1 April 2012, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article John Rainwater, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that a University of Washington fake mathematician created as a student prank became the author of several well-received papers in research journals? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

The DYK project (nominate) 16:02, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

• A dull hook for dullards.  Kiefer.Wolfowitz 19:13, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 07:04, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

Concern about comments

Kiefer.Wolfowitz, I have become increasingly concerned lately about the tone of many of your edits. Some examples of what I view to be problematic edits follow: , , (edit summary), , , , (edit summary), , , , , . Editors have been complaining to administrators about these and other comments you have made. It is starting to become disruptive. I am bringing this to your attention in the hope that you will temper your comments in the future, and especially avoid attacking other editors. If things do not change, we will have to involve other editors in making the decision of where to go from here. Good Ol’factory 21:47, 3 April 2012 (UTC)