User talk:Eric Kvaalen

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[edit] Welcome to the Wikipedia

Here are some links I thought useful:

Feel free to contact me personally with any questions you might have. The Wikipedia:Village pump is also a good place to go for quick answers to general questions. You can sign your name by typing 4 tildes, like this: ~~~~.

Be Bold!

Sam [Spade] 18:33, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Darfur conflict

  • Not all of the Sudanese are black. Go there, as have I, and see it for yourself. I agree with some of your edits, but the distinction is part of the reason for the genocide, I've reverted most of your revisions, reinserting "black Africans" with aesthetic and structural alterations. —ExplorerCDT 07:08, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Hebrew translation at Munich Massacre topic

Your suggestion of 'Guys, try to escape' would be Hevre Tivrekhu.


[edit] Image of flashlight spectrum

Somebody (maybe you) put your image on the black body page, saying that it shows that the flashlight is radiating as a black body. Actually the shape is quite different. This could be because the filament is not really black, or it could be that the power dimmed while you were taking the spectrum. How long did it take to do the spectrum? Sometimes the battery in a flashlight is not strong and it dims rather quickly. EricK 16:28, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, you know I can not for the life of me figure out why that spectrum peaks where it does at around 650nm. It doesn't make any sense. The full spectrum was taken in a matter of milliseconds so dimming is not the cause of the shape. I tried shining the flashlight directly into the Ocean Optics HR2000 spectrometer without the fiber optic coupler and I get the same result. I just don't know. It should peak much further into the IR. Although I think the spectrum approximates the shape of a blackbody fairly well, maybe it needs to be taken off of "blackbody" for the time being. --Deglr6328 23:14, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Help with Arabic text

Hello. I have been adding new articles on Syrian politicians and expanding and wikifying existing ones. I noticed that you added the Arabic text name to the Abdul Halim Khaddam article and I wondered if you would be so kind as to volunteer your services to do the same for the following articles if you are able: Luai al-Atassi, Taj al-Din al-Hasani, Khalid al-Azm, Nureddin al-Atassi, Bahij al-Khatib, Jamal al-Atassi, Hafez al-Assad and Shukri al-Kuwatli. Thank you. --AladdinSE 16:01, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks for contributing to nutrition!

You contributed to the Science Collaboration of the Month that has just ended its run:

Surface science - See improvements

Thanks, and let's keep improving it so it may become a Featured Article!

- Samsara contrib talk 12:08, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Analgesics

I see that you added Tetrahydrocannabinol to Template:Analgesics. But the linked-to article does not mention analgesic properties. Could you please justify this addition on the Template talk:Analgesics page? Thanks --Macrakis 16:29, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unimodal

You made some changes to Unimodal function and Vysochanskiï-Petunin inequality. I take your point about positive probability at the mode; this is just the limit of a sequence of unimodal continuous random variables. But my problem is that I think it is meaningful to say it is possible to consider unimodal probability distribution functions for discrete random variables, such as the Binomial distribution or the Poisson distribution. It si possible to produce meaningful inequalities for them such as theorem 3 of [1]. But then the Vysochanskiï-Petunin inequality may not apply: consider P(X=-1)=0.02, P(X=0)=0.96 and P(X=1)=0.02; this has a standard deviation of 0.2, but

P(\left|X-\mu\right|\geq 4\sigma) = 0.04 > {4 \over 9 \times 4^2} .

Hence my emphasis in the Vysochanskiï-Petunin inequality that the random variable needs to be continuous as well as unimodal. --Henrygb 20:47, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, of course. I have re-edited the article to try to make it a bit clearer. EricK 07:30, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Allah

[edit] Hérouxville

Thanks for your help with this article. I was meaning to correct spelling and to format it to what seems to be the standard for cities in Quebec - with a comma (Hérouxville, Quebec), the move is an improvement. Berimbau1 15:27, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Style notes

Hi Eric. Thank you for your additions to entire function. I have a few style comments. First, if a sentence ends with a formula, one should put a period at the end of the formula. Second, math should always be either in math tags or in italics. And third, it is better to write ln(x) than ln(x). I hope this can be useful. You can reply here if you have comments. Thanks. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 03:20, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] AfD nomination of List of English words difficult to translate into French

List of English words difficult to translate into French, an article you created, has been nominated for deletion. We appreciate your contributions. However, an editor does not feel that List of English words difficult to translate into French satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion and has explained why in the nomination space (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and the Wikipedia deletion policy). Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of English words difficult to translate into French and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of List of English words difficult to translate into French during the discussion but should not remove the articles for deletion template from the top of the article; such removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 16:51, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alexandr Men

A tag has been placed on Alexandr Men, requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done for the following reason:

Redirected from Typography error

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not meet basic Wikipedia criteria may be deleted at any time. Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as an appropriate article, and if you can indicate why the subject of this article is appropriate, you may contest the tagging. To do this, add {{hangon}} on the top of the page and leave a note on the article's talk page explaining your position. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would confirm its subject's notability under the guidelines.

For guidelines on specific types of articles, you may want to check out our criteria for biographies, for web sites, for bands, or for companies. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Sydney Know It Alltalk 13:55, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

In russian Alexander is spelt Aleksandr, and in cyrillic Александр. If you created the page Aleksandr Men, it should have been fine, but I believe that "Alexandr Men" is a cross of language. Sydney Know It Alltalk 00:02, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 3O

The 3O has been answered. Note that there's not a policy, but I usually alert the other party when I seek a 3O. WLU (talk) 18:54, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Timeline of the future

A proposed deletion template has been added to the article Timeline of the future, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but this article may not satisfy Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and the deletion notice should explain why (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the {{dated prod}} notice, but please explain why you disagree with the proposed deletion in your edit summary or on its talk page. Also, please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Even though removing the deletion notice will prevent deletion through the proposed deletion process, the article may still be deleted if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria or it can be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. If you agree with the deletion of the article, and you are the only person who has made substantial edits to the page, please add {{db-author}} to the top of Timeline of the future. Moyabrit (talk) 19:17, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

  • Citations to reliable sources on your re-created version of this article will save it from future attacks as unsupported speculation.
    Yellowdesk (talk) 00:50, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hey

Hi, i notice your pretty hot on the old stats (judging by your edit history), thus i wonder if you would be willing to help me out with a few questions i have; I am currently taking a stat module at university, and i'm completely lost! anyhow if your're happy to help out now and then, then that would be great. :) user:Jamesmh2006 18:07, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

I left you a message on your talk page to contact me by e-mail.Eric Kvaalen (talk) 10:33, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The positive predictive value must exceed the prevalence

Hi, In the article 'Positive predictive value' (PPV) you changed the original sentence that I wrote 'The positive predictive value must exceed the prevalence' after another had yet made a small change. I suggest to use again my original phrasing. It seems to me that it is utmost important in medical statistics. It seems to me that from a statistical theoretical point of view it is completely indifferent of the PPV exeeds or do'nt exceeds prevalence. From a statistical point of view it is all the same if we call white positive and black negative or the inverse, it is all the same if we call 5 or more than 5 positive and less than 5 negative or the inverse. In medical statistics it is not indifferent. This brings us to the question 'What is, in medical statistics, a positive test result?'. In medical sciences everyone seems to know intuitively what a positive test result is. But I never read a mathematical definition of a positive test result. Let's make a trial: a positive test result ponts to disease or more mathematically: a positive test result makes disease more likely. I suppose that everyone is satisfied with such definitions. But if so, why not saying, the PPV must exceed the prevalence because it is saying the same but in a more clear, precise way. It is not a mathematical law that PPV must exceed prevalence, it is a demand, a conveneance, a must. If we do not accept that 'must' we can no longer state that a positive test result points to disease, that LR+ always exceeds 1, that a positive test result makes disease more likely a.s.o.. Not accepting that 'must' makes communicating results more complex and even in some cases contradictory. Theoretically there is only one case in wich PPV does not exceeds prevalence, namely if prevalence aquals 100% but in this case there will be no need for testing doe a sentence as: 'Except in the case that PPV equals prevalence, PPV must exceed prevalence', seems to me having no sense. So I suggested to come back to my original phrasing: 'The positive predictive value must exceed the prevalence.' If you have no further objections I will put this sentence back. Michel soete (talk) 10:13, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

I didn't understand your English, and the sentence was completely wrong because of the phrase "unless the test is perfect", which as you point out was added by someone else. (If the test is perfect, then the PPV is 100%, so it does exceed the prevalence!) What you meant to say apparently was "The positive predictive value ought to exceed the prevalence" or "The PPV must exceed the prevalence for a test to be useful." As I wrote, the actual PPV may be less than the prevalence. Either because the test is no good, or because it's not very good and so by chance the PPV comes out smaller than the prevalence. I think my sentence is perhaps clearer than just saying "the PPV must exceed the prevalence for a test to be useful," because it explains why.
If you want to continue the discussion, please use my e-mail. If you are French (as I suppose), I prefer you write me in French. Eric Kvaalen (talk) 10:33, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Bonjour, Je suis d'expression néerlandaise. J'ai l'impression que je n'etais pas compris en langue anglaise et j'essayerai de me faire comprendre en langue française. Ce que je voulais dire est qu'il peut et doit être interdit que PPV est moins grand que la prévalence. Si on calcule un 'PPV' qui est moins grand on peut appeler un résultat qu'on a soupconné d'être positif un résultat negatif (et trouver un nouveau PPV qui est plus grande que la prévalence). Pour les sciences médicales il y a des fort bonnes raisons pour agir de la sorte. Si on agit comme ça on peut également dire que PPV doit (toujours, pas géneralement) excéder la prévalence (The positive predictive value must exceed prevalence). Si on agit de la sorte on peut dire LR+ est toujours plus grand que 1, qu'un résultat positif est toujours (fortement ou faiblement) indicatif pour maladie etc... Le fait qu'on constate qu'un PPV est moins grande que la prévalence n'indique pas que l'association serait faible mais c'est l'indication qu'on a choisi pour appeler un résultat positif qu'on devait et doit appeler négatif. Si n'y a aucune association il n'y a pas un critère pour appeler l'un ou l'autre résultat d'un variable dichotome positif ou négatif donc il me semble que 'Unless the results are totally random (that is, not related to wether the person has the condition) peut être omis.

Michel soete (talk) 20:45, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] AfD nomination of Timeline of the future

I have nominated Timeline of the future, an article you created, for deletion. I do not feel that this article satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and have explained why at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Timeline of the future. Your opinions on the matter are welcome at that same discussion page; also, you are welcome to edit the article to address these concerns. Thank you for your time. Docg 21:01, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Notability of William Hunter (statistician)

A tag has been placed on William Hunter (statistician) requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done because the article appears to be about a real person, organization (band, club, company, etc.), or web content, but it does not indicate how or why the subject is notable: that is, why an article about that subject should be included in an encyclopedia. Under the criteria for speedy deletion, articles that do not indicate the subject's importance or significance may be deleted at any time. Please see the guidelines for what is generally accepted as notable. If this is the first page that you have created, then you should read the guide to writing your first article.

If you think that you can assert the notability of the subject, you may contest the deletion by adding {{hangon}} to the top of the page (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the article's talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would confirm the subject's notability under Wikipedia guidelines.

For guidelines on specific types of articles, you may want to check out our criteria for biographies, for web sites, for bands, or for companies. Feel free to leave a note on my talk page if you have any questions about this. Doctor Will Thompson (talk) 11:26, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] William Hunter (statistician)

Hi! In order to make sure that the article doesn't get deleted again I would suggest that you add some more information that establishes his notability. The obituary mentions 4 prestigious prizes, if you know what they were that would be a good thing to add, or a partial bibliography with his most important articles/books. Pax:Vobiscum (talk)

I tagged it, I didn't delete it, which means that someone else deleted it, check the deletion log and complain to them. Doctor Will Thompson (talk) 00:43, 30 March 2008 (UTC)
Looking at the article, I can see you just wrote the same thing again, take Pax's advice and add more information that estblishes his noteability, it looks just like an obituary rather than an encyclopedia article. Doctor Will Thompson (talk) 00:47, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Hi. If I might butt in, I suggest that you take a look at Wikipedia:Notability (people). If you can find any specific points there that William Hunter meets, then I recommend that you make that clear in the article. Also, you may consider stopping by Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography; there are lots of suggestions there for improving a biography. Cheers, Bovlb (talk) 03:48, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of language, table

the origin of language page 103. Muntuwandi (talk) 22:31, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wildcat

Please don't make moves like this. We follow Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed 2005) for mammal common names and, as such, it doesn't matter what the common name is for an animal in America or in any other particular part of the world. The disambiguation page is the place for that kind of information, or in the article itself. - UtherSRG (talk) 16:10, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Hippocampus

Hi Eric; I'm not so keen on your edit to hippocampus. I won't change it, because your facts are correct, but in my opinion the "electrical circuit model of the hippocampus" is basically cargo cult science: it crudely duplicates the form of the structure, but has zero chance of duplicating the computational functions. I believe that most hippocampal researchers feel the same way I do -- we've avoided expressing this in public because that sort of thing leads to flame wars that end up making everybody look bad. So basically I think talking about this stuff unbalances the article, but since I can't really support that by appealing to the literature, I think it would be best for me to leave it up to you to decide if you want to do anything about it. Looie496 (talk) 18:56, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fustat

Hiya, I have reverted your edit to Fustat, because there are sources which contradict your change. If you have different sources, I encourage you to add them, and/or bring things up at the talkpage. --Elonka 23:17, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, I tried to check your references, but they were not online references. Can you quote exactly what they say about this? Because it is well known that Misr is an ancient Semitic root for Egypt. In the Bible it's call'd Mitsrayim, which is a dual (as opposed to singular or plural). The article on Egypt also points this out. I don't have my Arabic dictionary with me to see what meaning the root might have in Arabic, but according to the Egypt article it means "metropolis", "civilization", "country", or "frontier-land". It is certainly not the normal word for "town", and it certainly had the meaning of "Egypt" long before the time of Amr ibn al-'As.