Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Mathematics
This is a collection of discussions on the deletion of articles related to Mathematics. It is one of many deletion lists coordinated by WikiProject Deletion sorting. Anyone can help maintain the list on this page.
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Mathematics
- Polya's shire theorem (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View AfD | edits since nomination)
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References are too sparse to support a full article, and I find no good place to merge this to. - UtherSRG (talk) 11:35, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Mathematics-related deletion discussions. UtherSRG (talk) 11:35, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Keep I'm not sure why you think too sparse. For example, a Google scholar search [1] doesn't seem to support "sparse". (Note all those papers specifically about the theorem are independent of Polya.) -- Taku (talk) 12:11, 29 May 2025 (UTC) This article [2] cites two textbooks for the theorem. A textbook coverage (besides scholary works) is usually good enough for Wikipedia to cover a theorem. Taku (talk) 13:08, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Directed infinity (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View AfD | edits since nomination)
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There is only one source, from the website Wolfram, which itself doesn't quote any other sources. I found nothing about it when roaming the internet for information (except this WP article, and the Wolfram post). Moreover, the "rules for manipulation" look like original work, and are mathematically unsound. 𝓔𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓹𝔂 fighter 💬 09:37, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Mathematics-related deletion discussions. WCQuidditch ☎ ✎ 10:40, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Comment. If this does have a proper definition anywhere, I suspect it's in the context of contour integration (e.g. the contours used to define functional calculi for unbounded sectorial operators) and/or conformal mapping (e.g. the Schwarz–Christoffel mapping). I haven't found anything concrete along these lines though. Preimage (talk) 08:25, 31 May 2025 (UTC)
- List of humorous names in mathematics (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View AfD | edits since nomination)
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Essentially WP:OR, personal taste (or lack of it) whether something is "humorous" ("killing field", hilarious; "mother functor", if you pronounce it completely wrong it almost sounds like, well, you guessed it) and not a defining characteristic for most of these. Fram (talk) 14:48, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Language, Mathematics, and Lists. Fram (talk) 14:48, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Rename to List of unusual names in mathematics or Draftify as a new Category:Unusual names in mathematics. Describing the terms as humorous is subjective, but there is agreement among WP:RS that these terms are unusual. TurboSuperA+(connect) 15:53, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Happy to do that WikiNukalito (talk) 19:38, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- There is obviously subjectivity in humour, but firstly there are numerous compilations of these online, even in fairly reputable places refs 1,2,3,4; secondly many of them are deliberate jokes e.g. look at the name origin section on Cox–Zucker machine and lastly there are similar pages e.g. in mathematics Mathematical joke or elsewhere Lists of pejorative terms for people where inclusion or exclusion of examples can't be completely objective.
- Feel free to change the list, but you know, have some fun too. WikiNukalito (talk) 15:57, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Adding to this request to keep, as per Wikipedia:Notability#Stand-alone lists and references 1,2,3,4 these terms have ' been discussed as a group or set by independent reliable sources'. The items are not just personal taste, they're all in the lists in the quoted references. WikiNukalito (talk) 12:28, 24 May 2025 (UTC)
- Delete pure WP:OR. Azuredivay (talk) 19:14, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Would you also delete this article? Obviously more developed than this one but basically the same idea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement WikiNukalito (talk) 19:56, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- That is not really similar to this article. Azuredivay (talk)
- Delete as trivial, subjective, and potentially endless. —Tamfang (talk) 20:10, 24 May 2025 (UTC)
- Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Liz Read! Talk! 22:31, 27 May 2025 (UTC)- There's nothing quite as fun as explaining jokes on Wikipedia... Taste is subjective but to re-iterate, these are intentional jokes, with well documented and well known stories (The 'Ten Martini Problem', Cox–Zucker machine etc etc.) or if not intentional, then referenced in articles [1] about such things.
- This kind of list is not unusual on here either Wikipedia:Unusual_place_names, Wikipedia:Unusual articles, List of humorous units of measurement... and the criteria for inclusion is not particularly subjective either - intended to be funny or well accepted to be. If you think some entries on the list don't meet those criteria, delete them. I would have perhaps improved the list if it hadn't been flagged for deletion 10 seconds after I created it. The people applying subjective criteria are the ones calling it tasteless.
- Move it to 'List of mathematics considered humorous', if that helps to preserve the sanctity of the encyclopedia which hosts articles like Breast-shaped hill and -ussy WikiNukalito (talk) 19:04, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- Any more subjective than List of films considered the worst? Just rename along that vein and demand the sources. Hyperbolick (talk) 06:33, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- That list of films specifies who did the considering. —Tamfang (talk) 12:30, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
Delete. This might be considered humorous by a ten-year old boy, but it's basically childish. Athel cb (talk) 15:06, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- Rename to "unusual names" and rework the paragraph. Tepkunset (talk) 18:13, 30 May 2025 (UTC)
- Generalized game theory (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View AfD | edits since nomination)
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This concept doesn't seem to meet notability guidelines, since most of the articles that talk about this concept are from the authors themselves. The current sentence in the lead "The theory was developed by Tom R. Burns, Anna Gomolinska, and Ewa Roszkowska but has not had great influence beyond these immediate associates" is especially problematic for a Wikipedi article.
However, the article has a lot of content and has been around since 2008, so it could benefit from a deeper look from the community to validate this 7804j (talk) 19:31, 14 May 2025 (UTC)
- Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Economics and Mathematics. 7804j (talk) 19:31, 14 May 2025 (UTC)
Withdrawn by nominator. Will proceed to merge as proposed by another contributor as soon as this discussion is closed 7804j (talk) 19:13, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Weak keep - I wrote this page after AfDs for two other pages on work related to Burns. While the concept is primarily used in the work of Burns and his research group, it is used in multiple peer reviewed articles and represents a significant part of the research agenda of that group. The theory remains in use within that group (and even if it didn't, I'd still !vote wk). Smmurphy(Talk) 22:43, 14 May 2025 (UTC)
- Merge: Since the concept seems to be almost exclusively tied to the originating author, the article contents should be merged to Tom R. Burns, who does have a wikipedia page. The concept on its own does not merit the page existence, as per nomination. Pragmatic Puffin (talk) 08:51, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
- I think that's a good idea, so I'll withdraw my nomination and proceed with the merge once this discussion is closed 7804j (talk) 19:11, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- I propose to extend the "merge" to this article as well. 7804j (talk) 15:00, 24 May 2025 (UTC)
- I think that's a good idea, so I'll withdraw my nomination and proceed with the merge once this discussion is closed 7804j (talk) 19:11, 20 May 2025 (UTC)
- Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Star Mississippi 02:33, 22 May 2025 (UTC) - Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Malinaccier (talk) 18:41, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Merge: The basic material is verifiable in reliable, but not fully independent sources. Because of the lack of independence, I don't think it satisfies notability according to WP:GNG. Given that the topic is closely associated with Tom R. Burns and we try to preserve verifiable content per WP:PRESERVE, a merge to Tom R. Burns is a reasonable alternative to deletion. --
{{u|Mark viking}} {Talk}
20:41, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
Mathematics proposed deletions
- The Taylor Prize in Mathematics (via WP:PROD on 17 May 2025)
- ICTCM Award (via WP:PROD on 17 May 2025)
List of mathematical objects (via WP:PROD on 14 May 2025)- Chemical game theory (via WP:PROD on 12 May 2025)
- Composition ring (via WP:PROD on 12 May 2025)