Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-11-24/Humour

Humour

Good faith gibberish

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By Barbara Page

A simmering activity that not arrive

Not one of his better moments

No. 12 is the Lemniscus.

An experienced editor (from the order of the Enochian Angels) guiding new editors away from contentious talk page editing.

Cabal of IRS agents using "shadowy techniques."

DNA created by mind control though it resembles a holiday decoration as well.

Not a rapper but the man with the longest name.

Preamble

Please assume that all this content was created and edited in good faith. There is no need to disparage the efforts of well-meaning contributors to the encyclopedia. And some editors do not have a full grasp of the English language. You can't read the following content without multiple question marks appearing over your head (assuming that you are a cartoon character) and we often take ourselves too seriously. Some readers may be appalled that such content exists for the whole world to see on their cell phones, but so it goes. Reading Wikipedia for its entertainment value is a hobby of some (author included) and for the rest of you, well, you just don't get it. See if you can guess the article.

Your clues

More finely, one can distinguish thread switch (switching between two threads within a given process), process switch (switching between two processes), mode switch (domain crossing: switching between user mode and kernel mode within a given thread), register switch, a stack frame switch, and address space switch (memory map switch: changing virtual memory to physical memory map). What is this?
$\displaystyle \sum _{n}{\frac {a_{n}^{(\beta )}(x)}{n!}}t^{n}=\exp(\beta t+x(1-e^{t}))$

You'll never guess this one. Yet it is a distant relative of Umbral calculus which is described as "polynomial equations and certain shadowy techniques used to 'prove' them." Guess the name of the article and then click on the equation to see if you got the right answer.

The lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN; Deiter’s nucleus) has descending efferent fibers in the vestibulocochlear nerve distributed to the motor nuclei of the anterior column and exerts an excitatory influence on ipsilateral limb extensor motoneurons while suppressing flexor motoneurons. Guess this medical symptom.
In mathematics, the Federer–Morse theorem, introduced by Federer and Morse (1943), states that if f is a surjective continuous map from a compact metric space X to a compact metric space Y, then there is a Borel subset Z of X such that f restricted to Z is a bijection from Z to Y. Moreover, the inverse of that restriction is a Borel section of f. Guess the theorem.
Alto Bío Bío, differently than how it happens now, during centuries was marked for silence, or better said, a simmering activity that did not arrive to the ears of those in the valley. Where can you find this place?
According to Abulnaga (2004), the ? may use -( a) a very large eye diameter - (b) an inducer or having the impeller vanes extend into the suction pipe - (c) a recirculating pipe from the discharge side of the pump with pressurized froth to break up the bubbles at the eye - (d) tandem vanes at the impeller shroud - (e) split or secondary vanes at the shroud - (f) vertical arrangement,thus: the split vanes in a slurry pump must be thick enough to resist continuous wear.thus:
From then until married, Talyda make arrangements to Abortion Clinic owner to deliver a fetus that has been issued and stored, to be taken by Gambir who will put it inside the abdomen of the fetus of his pregnant statue, according to him, that's why his sculptures seems alive, because there is something that is supposed to live in it. What could be the name of this internationally famous Indonesian film?
but your acts as a samba school happened with the arrival of the innovative Paulo Barros, who in his first year he made a parade innovative and with an allegory about DNA during the time in which Paulo Barros was the school remained the same innovation, although by the judges, not being able to be champion. Where did this event take place?
When Yadav tributary kings by Wagle at sidhdes Temple (Shaka 99 1) bahala at saradadevi Temple (Shaka 1 9 44) and Patna in Chandika Devi Temple (Era of the establishment pre Kalina) Shake 1128 the temples yadavarava kheunacandra and govindaraja Maurya said Shaka 1150 Ashadhi 30 Solar Eclipse on parent Mr Sant mentioned in janardanacaritra memory is the memory of open lokadarsanastava. Where is this?
They were then rearranged slightly and corrected in the days following: 26 June through 2 July 1584; this arrangement corresponds to the majority of prayers inh Sloane MS. 3191 (The Book of Earthly Victory and Science) and is what is given in the published versions of that text, notably Geoffrey James' Enochian Evocation / Magick and Robert Turner's Elizabethan Magic. One of the illustrations is a clue
This signal can supposedly be recorded, transmitted electronically, and re-emitted on another distant pure water sample, where DNA can replicate through polymerase chain reaction despite the absence of the original DNA in the new water sample. What is this?
Where IAS 14 required companies to base their reported business segments on the information presented in their financial statement, IFRS 8 requires them to also base this segmentation on any distinction made between business segments by key management in their decision making and information that is used internally by the company. What the ...?
Abu Mohammad akthar abdul rafik sastan ibn Mohammad usthad ibn abdulla ibn Mohammad ibn hassan ali khan.madani (Arabic: ابومحمد اختارعبد الرفيق ساستان ابن محمد ابن عبد الله ابن محمد ابن حسن علي خان مدني )was preast in gundmi jumma masjid (1987 to 1992) and architect design department from 2004 at Saudi binladen group group of company and also Arabic teacher from 2008 at jeddah dawa center salam dist, was prasident karnata salafi association Saudi arabaia (2012–2014)life member of udupi alpa sankyathara vedike, karnataka state ssf founding member .aditor :subahan and almunir Kannada weekly, lived from (1970 CE / 1390 AH). Born: saligrama parampalli.karnataka India .eductation start : chitrapadi school saligrama, and gundmi prathamika shaale .. and uper studies :syed madani Arabic college ullala. Mashayikh: and Usthad . syed abdul rahman kunji koya thangal, shaik ahmed bawa musliyar, shaik sadr usthad vellimukh, shaik abdulla baithar musliyar, shaik abdulla musliyar velli mukk, shaik thayakod usthad, shaik ashraf moulavi, shaik muhsin al abbad jamia madina munavara, shaik wasiyulla abbasi jamia ummul kura makkathul mukaramah, Guess who?
Before flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had [him] record more home videos for the channel. "I said: 'Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let's not use expensive cameras.' We'll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it's theirs", recalled Braun. Guess who?

Attribution

Almost all content in this article is taken from the linked articles; see their page histories for attribution.

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24 November 2017 (all comments)

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I'm sorry, but I'm not laughing. WP:SOFIXIT applies to the poor English ones; this is a collaborative project, and although I frequently wish those with poor English would write more simply so it would be easier to figure out the intended meaning, we need their enthusiasm and knowledge. The maths, engineering, and computer science I can't judge because of my own ignorance in such subjects, but I'm informed on a site that should not be named that two of the examples are by a distinguished expert. Wikipedia very much needs experts, and my impression is that that is how mathematics is written about. Not all our readers share my ignorance. We need articles on advanced topics, too. Yngvadottir (talk) 20:19, 25 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Yngvadottir. Do you know where the shortcut SOFIXIT shortcut leads to? It leads to a Wikipedia namespace article entitled Be bold. Why shortcut to a six letter article via an eight letter shortcut? That is like spending $8 for $6 of value. It is very mean, condescending, and misconstrues the target article. It is not humourous. I am not laughing. Cheers! {{u|Checkingfax}} {Talk} 21:42, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Checkingfax:? They're both seven keystrokes. And you misspelt "humorous". Yngvadottir (talk) 21:51, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

...um..If I could understand the content, I could probably fix it. I love distinguished experts, I spend a lot of time hanging out with some. I am poking fun at the content not the contributor(s). I am perfectly fine if you don't laugh. Welcome to the majority. Best Regards, Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 13:36, 1 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The poor English ones, I agree should just be fixed rather than mocked. The sci/tech ones are a serious problem though. Not because they're incorrect, but because anyone who can understand articles so dense with jargon and shoptalk has no need to consult a general purpose encyclopædia. In the meantime, they erroneously project the impression to laypeople that these topics are "hard'. Lankiveil ^{(speak to me)} 03:42, 26 November 2017 (UTC).[reply]

But we're not just a general encyclopædia; we're a comprehensive one. Links make it much easier for readers than it was with print works (and we also have more pictures). And we should of course have basic and survey articles (and do). But difficult topics exist and we should cover them; for another example, we are consulted by medical students, so we should have specialised medical articles (like one of the other examples here) and not just basic material for laypeople. Yngvadottir (talk) 04:53, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I don't object to the inclusion of some advanced materials, but to use Context switch as an example, that gobbledygook is in the article lede. I don't think it is unreasonable that articles should at least start off with some text that is comprehensible to a layperson, or even a first year university level student, before getting into the heavy jargon. Lankiveil ^{(speak to me)} 05:17, 26 November 2017 (UTC).[reply]

Perhaps I am making fun of my own ignorance.Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 13:36, 1 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I am not a techie, but I live among techies, and I don't find that excerpt objectionable. It endeavours to explain or contextualise each term a little, and presumably the body of the article clarifies further. Yngvadottir (talk) 05:53, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if this challenges the point or proves it, but the "holiday decoration" isn't DNA at all. It's a protein (or actually, three copies of the same protein) that interacts with DNA. You can see that in this picture - all three protein copies are green, the candycane in the middle is the DNA (double-stranded; one strand is white and one is red). Opabinia regalis (talk) 05:34, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It still looks like a holiday decoration and I am tickled that DNA can be synthesized by mind control. It will make a marvelous barnstar. I am putting my image as I spread Christmas cheer on talk pages. Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 13:36, 1 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia has the perennial problem of being not sure of who the "implied reader" is for an article. I did not find the lead for the "Context Switch" article to be particularly dense: according to this readability analyzer, it is about "college graduate" level, which is roughly when the material would typically be taught (maybe college undergraduate, but close enough). Incidentally, it has roughly the same readability as the lead for Rhetoric. The lead for "Context Switch" does contain jargon; but the words are all wikilinked, and one really needs some background before one can understand the concept. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 07:51, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Kingsindian. According to surveys, 25 percent of English Wikipedia readers/editors are between the ages of 10 and 17. The average reader/editor has a sixth grade reading level. The lead of an article is supposed to be a hook. It should include running prose from each section in the article. A good distillation of the lead creation guidelines can be found here. Having fun! Cheers! {{u|Checkingfax}} {Talk} 21:58, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

@Checkingfax: According to which surveys exactly (link)? Not the 2012 editor survey, where only 15.6% of editors were 18 or younger. Regards, Tbayer (WMF) (talk) 20:38, 28 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Tbayer (WMF). The survey that I read, silly. LOL. It blended editors and readers as "cohorts". Having fun! Cheers! {{u|Checkingfax}} {Talk} 21:17, 28 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Read where? Regards, Tbayer (WMF) (talk) 22:32, 28 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia humor is like golf humor. Having fun! Cheers! {{u|Checkingfax}} {Talk} 21:42, 26 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Remember folks, this is humour (in theory). Like I said before I created the list of articles that readers were supposed to guess, I mentioned that Wikipedia can be (probably not meant to be) a form of entertainment. BTW I like writing for eighth graders. Best Regards, Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 13:36, 1 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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