User talk:RalphBlanchette

Hi, RalphBlanchette. Based on your editing history, you seem to be new to editing Wikipedia. That might be misleading --- perhaps you've been editing for years under another user name --- but I'll take it as given until you correct me.

Frequently, new editors correctly identify the most important parts of Wikipedia, which are the ledes of important articles, such as Mathematics. Then they fight epic battles over those ledes, only to see their efforts fail. Or maybe they succeed, only to fail in the next battle, six months later.

I propose that you focus your effort on the deeper (meaning: lower on the page) parts of articles. The best thing that you can do is add content with citations to reliable sources. How that content is presented to readers, with what priority, can be adjusted later. Everything is being adjusted all the time.

Of course, I am not your boss, and I have no more right to edit Mathematics than you do. I'm just trying to help you avoid frustration. Regards, Mgnbar (talk) 01:49, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

Hi Mgnbar,

Actually, I've been editing Wikipedia for over 20 years. My user name is Blanchette (User:Blanchette) but last time I logged on I found that someone sharing my IP got on the Wikipedia shitlist and I could not edit articles so I created a new ID. Probably a mistake. I don't generally review years of previous discussions before I offer an opinion on a talk page (I'm more cautious editing actual articles). If I see an article on something and I want to know what it's about I look for a definition. A definition -- if you can make a good one -- is better than a description for fast concept formation. So I made a try for it -- understanding that better minds than my own may do better and add it to the article. I have not been editing Wikipedia lately and perhaps I'm rusty or the culture is changing and leaving me behind. I could have searched for a reliable-source definition of mathematics but I figured math experts could do that better than I should they agree that a definition was in order. I have a very high opinion of this vast resource and the editors who make it possible, so I like to help where I can (Special:Contributions/Blanchette). If you have any follow up please leave it on my Blanchette talk page (User talk:Blanchette). Thanks. Blanchette (talk) 01:25, 22 May 2026 (UTC)