User talk:Chalmersgreg

Why meaning is important to me
I have recently retired from a career in TV production operations followed by project management in the field of Broadcasting and Digital Media Projects. I have no tertiary qualifications.

I have experienced a world of electronics from the era of black and white television through to digital multimedia and webcasting, including all the transitions in between. I have spent hours tweaking two racks of analogue modules to line up a 400lb B&W TV camera; spent 45min doing a record line-up on a 2inch videotape machine; grappled with the first production model of the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument; edited video without an editing console; used countless edit controllers; up and downloaded thousands of hours of news footage via satellite; created mini databases on everything from XTs to Pentium IVs. Configured Architectural Accoustics software to control the production of committee coverage for Radio and TV; implemented booking systems, tender evaluation systems, asset management, etc. Configured webcasting servers, digital audio systems for archiving, etc.

Over the years, I have had the privilege to know and converse with many gifted and intelligent engineers. My thirst for knowledge kept me at their side; drinking in the qualities of the latest technology coming through the door. I discussed the fundamental concepts of physics, astronomy, electronics - anything that they were passionate about and could explain clearly. I sometimes found an individual with a particularly deep understanding of their science and would then become merciless. I would dig deeper and deeper into the science or technology they chose to discuss, looking for the foundation of its utility. I wanted to know (actually) what the EPROM was doing, what a CPU actually does, how a wave-guide transmitted efficiently, how a solid copper rod (suitably shaped) could be used to match impedances within a transmitter line.

One thing has stayed with me - a good scientist can describe a fundamental scientific concept in such a clear way that an untrained listener can grasp the idea confidently and apply it to other issues within the same area of science. The less competent ones would resort to mathematical definitions that allowed them to hide within a bodyguard of symbols unfamiliar to their audience and thereby escape scrutiny. Unfortunately, they also failed to convey the actual concept they set out to explain.

My mission in Wikipedia is to make sure that the sciences do not create a Tower of Babble within this resource, by using clumsy and confusing expressions to convey complex definitions. If computing has taught us one thing it has shown how even the most abstract and complex reasoning and computation can be broken down into a set of more simple instructions. I would consider it a victory for all, if in clarifying their definitions, contributers come to realise more clearly the meaning of concepts they long ago thought they understood fully.

My Sandbox
First sentences (from the Style Manual)

In recognition of the work done by experienced editors, and respect for the quality of Wikipedia; I intend to propose changes or suggest improvements or highlight difficulties in 'discussion' and/or 'talk' pages. I will not be making unsolicited changes to actual pages. Please acknowledge the respect I am showing for your work by accepting the fact that I do have some value to add, albiet my lack of formal education.

If possible, an article title is the subject of the first sentence of the article; for example, "The Manual of Style is a style guide" instead of "This style guide is known as ...". If the article title is an important term, it appears as early as possible. The first (and only the first) appearance of the title is in boldface, including its abbreviation in parentheses, if given. Equivalent names may follow, and may or may not be in boldface. Highlighted items are not linked, and boldface is not used subsequently in the first paragraph. For example: "Vienna (German: Wien [viːn], see also its other names) is the capital of Austria and one of that country's nine states." If the topic of an article has no name and the title is merely descriptive—such as Electrical characteristics of a dynamic loudspeaker—the title does not need to appear verbatim in the main text; if it does, it is not in boldface.

The normal rules for italics are followed in choosing whether to put part or all of the title in italics ("Tattoo You is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981"). Extract from the Manual of Style

My attempt to improve the definition of "Mass"

The mass of an object is a measure of how much it will respond to force. Weight is a measure of the mass of an object under the influence of the Earth's gravitation; or  (Weight  =  Mass × Gravity) Momentum is the measure of the mass of an object multiplied by its velocity; or (Momentum  =  Mass × Vector Force) Mass is independent of the density of an object. For example: Using weight; the mass of 1 ton of lead is equal to the mass of 1 ton of feathers, their densities are different, therefore, the ton of feathers is bigger (in size) to the ton of lead while still being the same weight.

GPC (talk) 06:02, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Scratchpad
- to hold copy/pastes prior to use as quotes and references -

At Leipzig on October the 16th the battle of the nations was fought. 150,000 French soldiers faced Russian, Austrian and Prussian army of 300,000. First day looked good for Napoleon. After that he lost. His luck had left him. France now "Has the honor of being alone".