User:Sphilbrick/sandbox

I have some concerns about the 24 Wikipedia articles about the Greek letters, along with some related pages. I'm not quite sure where best to post this so I'm starting here.{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Rodger I. |date=2017-12 |title=Fundamental constants as monitors of the universe |url=http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789813226609_0476 |language=en |publisher=WORLD SCIENTIFIC |pages=3657–3663 |doi=10.1142/9789813226609_0476 |isbn=978-981-322-659-3}}

My initial concerns related to the paucity of references. I'm not sure which one I looked at first but, for example, look at Gamma. You will see 31 examples of how the lowercase and uppercase letters are used as symbols in mathematics and science. Very few of them have references (especially before I added seven references recently). While all are wiki-linked in this article that's not always the case. The link will bring you to more information but it doesn't necessarily provide clear evidence for the assertion.

At a minimum, my hope is to enlist some volunteers to provide references for each of the statements and correct them or remove them if there are errors.

However, as I looked at more articles, I ran across additional concerns related to the overall structure of these articles.

At a high level, there is a consistency of structure among these 24 articles.

Here is my crude summary:

This table does portray a large degree of consistency, but it masks, especially in the case of "body", some differences worth discussing.

class="wikitable"

|Alpha

|Beta

|Gamma

|Delta

|Epsilon

|Zeta

|Eta

|Theta

|Iota

|Kappa

|Lambda

|Mu

|Nu

|Xi

|Omicron

|Pi

Short description

|TRUE

Hatnotes

|TRUE

Greek Alphabet sidebar

|TRUE

Lead

|TRUE

Pronunciation

|FALSE

|TRUE

|FALSE

|TRUE

|FALSE

|TRUE

Body

|TRUE

Unicode

|TRUE

Notes

|TRUE

|FALSE

|TRUE

|FALSE

|TRUE

|FALSE

Categories

|TRUE

As an aside, I asked ChatGBT to summarize the layouts. Some might find it interesting but I won't rely on the summary for any further points.

Prompt

Create a summary of the layouts of the 24 Wikipedia articles about Greek letters

Results

Sure! Here's a summary of the layout of the 24 Wikipedia articles about Greek letters, focusing on their general structure and content:

1. Introduction

Overview of Greek letters: Most articles begin with a brief introduction, covering the letter's position in the Greek alphabet, its origin, and its use in ancient and modern contexts.

Phonetic properties: Some articles mention the phonetic sound or value of the letter in the Greek language.

2. Etymology/History

Origins: A section detailing the historical origins of the letter, often tracing its evolution from Phoenician or other ancient scripts.

Use in Ancient Greek: Some articles discuss the letter's role in Classical Greek, including any variations or changes over time.

3. Character and Appearance

Symbol: A visual representation of the letter in both uppercase and lowercase forms is often included.

Typography: Some articles may detail the typographical variations or fonts in which the letter is used, especially in printed materials or digital texts.

4. Pronunciation

Sound and phonetics: Explanation of the letter's phonetic value in the Greek language. This can also include how the letter is pronounced in modern Greek versus Ancient Greek.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): For phonetic accuracy, some articles include IPA symbols or references.

5. Mathematical and Scientific Uses

Mathematical/Scientific Symbols: Many articles dedicate a section to how the letter is used as a symbol in mathematics, physics, engineering, etc. For example, Alpha (a) is used for angles, Beta (ß) for beta particles, and Gamma (?) for gamma rays.

Greek letters in formulas: Some articles feature common formulas or equations where the letter appears.

6. Cultural and Linguistic Significance

Common Expressions: Greek letters often have symbolic meanings in various fields. Articles may mention their use in popular phrases, idioms, or expressions.

Significance in Greek culture: Some articles may discuss the letter’s cultural importance or its role in philosophy, literature, and Greek mythology.

7. Modern Usage

Contemporary Roles: Includes how the letter is used in modern Greek as well as in other contexts like academia, technology, or branding.

Transliteration: Some articles will discuss the transliteration of the letter into the Latin alphabet for use in non-Greek languages.

8. See Also / Related Articles

Links to related letters: Articles often feature links to other Greek letters or related topics, such as the Greek alphabet, modern Greek, or historical uses of the letters.

9. References and Further Reading

Citations: Most articles conclude with references to scholarly texts or sources, and sometimes include links for further exploration.

This general layout applies to most of the articles about individual Greek letters. Some articles may also feature additional sections depending on the unique aspects of the letter, but this structure remains common across the 24 entries.

Let's start with some simple observations.

All articles have a link to wiktionary, although not all use the same template. Easily fixed
While all articles have references only a few have a notes section. This may be warranted.
Some articles have a see also section some not. Is this warranted?
All articles have a parenthetical pronunciation guide in the beginning of the lead. Some articles go on to discuss pronunciation in more detail in the lead some do not. Some articles have a standalone section about pronunciation with a variety of section headings (pronunciation, sound value, Names,Greek/Latin/Cyrillic/IPA). I think this deserves rationalization.
One article has a further reading section. Is that specific to that letter or doe it deserve to be in all articles?
Some articles have a specific section on history others do not or include that type of information as part of the lead. What's best?

As mentioned earlier, my bigger concern is the handling of "uses" of the letters which is typically a section in the body. This section goes by various names (Uses, Mathematics and science, Uppercase/Lowercase, Symbol and I think others) In addition, some articles have a separate section for uppercase versus lowercase, some mention B for lowercase,e rs the revers,e and some cover both uppercase and lowercase at the same time. This begs for a standard approach.

Going beyond the articles about the 24 letters (I'm deliberately ignoring for the present the archaic local variants and the treatment of diacritics), there are at least two other articles worth noting.

I have no issues with the first of these two articles although I haven't looked at it closely. While there is some redundancy I'm firmly in favor having subjects handled at a high level and separately in more detail. The second article is more of an issue. In some sense it's a summary of the "uses" sections in each of the individual articles, with a curious distinction that it covers only certain fields while the individual articles cover more fields of study. That's worth discussing but more importantly, the use is related to mathematics science and engineering are not always identical between the summary article in the individual articles. We should discuss what if anything should be done.