Alright, I realize that tryng to fix Wikipedia is like trying to bail-out the ocean with a thimble. But there's one little matter that I don't intend to let pass:
Wikipedia's Sundial article says (regarding Reclining-Declining dials): "In fact it is only in the last decade that agreement has been found on the correct hour angle formula for this type of dial [...] Previous formulae given by Rohr and Mayall are not correct." As I mentioned in a previouis post, the Mayall & Mayall formulas that Wikipedia quotes, miscopied, in a note to the article, give the correct answers, for arbitrarily chosen latitude, recline, decline-angle and time-of-day--right down to the last decimal place on the calculator. ..when a few copying errors and variable-misinterpretations are fixed. Anyway, Wikipedia's big emphasis is on citation of notable sources, especially for any implausible or surprising statements (like those quoted above). The ony citation that's positioned anywhere near the abovequoted passage is to Compendium, vol. 12, #1, March 2005. ...in an article entitled "Sundial Design Using Matrices". The person who re-posted that passage after I deleted it won't answer my question about whether or not that article is the source of that statement (It could just have been intended as a reference for that sentence's mention of the use of matrices). I'd like to get to the bottom of the matter of where Wikipedia got the abovequoted statements. So, could someone take a look at that Compendium article, and tell me if it says anything that supports the abovequoted statements--and, if so,what it says? I'd appreciate it if you'd paste its words on that matter into a post here, or an e-mail to me ( at [email protected]). thank you Michael Ossipoff ~ 26N, 80W
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