Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Group (mathematics)

Group (mathematics)

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/March 14, 2022 by Wehwalt (talk) 17:53, 5 February 2022 (UTC)



A group, in mathematics, is a set together with an operation that combines any two of its elements to form a third element. To qualify as a group, the set and operation must satisfy a few conditions, called group axioms, that are familiar from number systems. The ubiquity of groups in numerous areas—both within and outside mathematics—makes them a central organizational tool in contemporary mathematics. The concept of a group arose from the study of polynomial equations, starting with Évariste Galois in the 1830s. After contributions from other fields such as number theory and geometry, the group notion was generalized and firmly established around 1870. Today, group theory is a very active mathematical discipline that studies groups in their own right. Symmetry groups are widely applied in molecular chemistry and various physical disciplines.
 * Most recent similar article(s): The last article from Wikiproject Mathematics is Josiah Willard Gibbs in 2016. The last mathematical concept that is also attached to WP Mathematics is Parity of zero on Aug. 29, 2013.
 * Main editors:, , (nominators), , , ,  (FAR contributors)
 * Promoted: September 17, 2008, "Kept" at FAR on May 22, 2021
 * Reasons for nomination: Mathematics has been an underrepresented topic at TFA. The vast number of editors involved in this article will showcase the collaborative nature of Wikipedia. If I missed a contributor to this article, please add them to the main editors line above. This would be a TFA re-run.


 * Coordinator comment Ran at TFA on November 5, 2008, so eligible for re-run Jimfbleak - talk to me?  13:26, 18 January 2022 (UTC)


 * Support as nominator. Z1720 (talk) 19:55, 17 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Support because unlike other mathematical concept articles, this one is written in a way that the average reader might understand it. Groups are especially important in public key cryptography (and computer security), which could be noted in the lead, in addition to mentioning chemistry and physics. Jehochman Talk 13:04, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Glad to see this nominated. Two quibbles with the proposed text: First, The ubiquity of groups in numerous areas—both within and outside mathematics—makes them a central organizational tool in contemporary mathematics. is an awkward sentence, as it refers to things outside of math, but then comes back and says these things make it important within math. Second, why switch out the image in the article lead? It seems higher quality (less blurry, transparent background, etc.), plus it uses the more normal 3x3 form of a Rubik's cube and would allow us to wikilink Rubik's Cube group. &#123;{u&#124; Sdkb  }&#125;  talk 05:33, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Can the awkward sentence be replaced with specific examples of fields where groups are important? Show don’t tell. List cryptography, chemistry, physics, {other branches of mathematics}. Jehochman Talk 14:40, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
 * This blurb is a copy-paste from the blurb when the article was TFA 2008, including the image. I do not know enough about this topic to make changes, so I encourage and support other editors who want to improve upon this. Z1720 (talk) 19:18, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Swapped out image. I'd still like to see the sentence changed, but overall I'm at Support (trusting that the article overall is in good shape having recently survived a FAR). &#123;{u&#124; Sdkb  }&#125;  talk 19:41, 20 January 2022 (UTC)


 * The blurb is super eye-catching because the image is transparent, so Support from me. Panini! 🥪 16:16, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Support. Gog the Mild (talk) 21:29, 23 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Support, and I'd love to see 0.999... done next. Wikipedia has quite a few good mathematics articles, but only 17 featured ones (and only 8 for mathematical concepts), so I think showcasing them is important.  TheTechnician27  (Talk page)  03:28, 5 February 2022 (UTC)