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Contour line

A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, isoquant or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a plane section of the three-dimensional graph of the function $$f(x,y)$$ parallel to the $$(x,y)$$-plane. More generally, a contour line for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has the same particular value.

In cartography, a contour line (often just called a "contour") joins points of equal elevation (height) above a given level, such as mean sea level. A contour map is a map illustrated with contour lines, for example a topographic map, which thus shows valleys and hills, and the steepness or gentleness of slopes. The contour interval of a contour map is the difference in elevation between successive contour lines.

The gradient of the function is always perpendicular to the contour lines. When the lines are close together the magnitude of the gradient is large: the variation is steep. A level set is a generalization of a contour line for functions of any number of variables.

Contour lines are curved, straight or a mixture of both lines on a map describing the intersection of a real or hypothetical surface with one or more horizontal planes. The configuration of these contours allows map readers to infer the relative gradient of a parameter and estimate that parameter at specific places. Contour lines may be either traced on a visible three-dimensional model of the surface, as when a photogrammetrist viewing a stereo-model plots elevation contours, or interpolated from the estimated surface elevations, as when a computer program threads contours through a network of observation points of area centroids. In the latter case, the method of interpolation affects the reliability of individual isolines and their portrayal of slope, pits and peaks.

History
The idea of lines that join points of equal value was rediscovered several times. The oldest known isobath (contour line of constant depth) is found on a map dated 1584 of the river Spaarne, near Haarlem, by Dutchman Pieter Bruinsz. In 1701, Edmond Halley used such lines (isogons) on a chart of magnetic variation. The Dutch engineer Nicholas Cruquius drew the bed of the river Merwede with lines of equal depth (isobaths) at intervals of 1 fathom in 1727, and Philippe Buache used them at 10-fathom intervals on a chart of the English Channel that was prepared in 1737 and published in 1752. Such lines were used to describe a land surface (contour lines) in a map of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio by Domenico Vandelli in 1746, and they were studied theoretically by Ducarla in 1771, and Charles Hutton used them in the Schiehallion experiment. In 1791, a map of France by J. L. Dupain-Triel used contour lines at 20-metre intervals, hachures, spot-heights and a vertical section. In 1801, the chief of the French Corps of Engineers, Haxo, used contour lines at the larger scale of 1:500 on a plan of his projects for Rocca d'Anfo, now in northern Italy, under Napoleon.

By around 1843, when the Ordnance Survey started to regularly record contour lines in Great Britain and Ireland, they were already in general use in European countries. Isobaths were not routinely used on nautical charts until those of Russia from 1834, and those of Britain from 1838.

As different uses of the technique were invented independently, cartographers began to recognize a common theme, and debated what to call these "lines of equal value" generally. The word isogram was proposed by Francis Galton in 1889 for lines indicating equality of some physical condition or quantity, though isogram can also refer to a word without a repeated letter. As late as 1944, John K. Wright still preferred isogram, but it never attained wide usage. During the early 20th century, isopleth (πλῆθος) was being used by 1911 in the United States, while isarithm (ἀριθμός) had become common in Europe. Additional alternatives, including the Greek-English hybrid isoline and isometric line (μέτρον), also emerged. Despite attempts to select a single standard, all of these alternatives have survived to the present.

When maps with contour lines became common, the idea spread to other applications. Perhaps the latest to develop are air quality and noise pollution contour maps, which first appeared in the United States in approximately 1970, largely as a result of national legislation requiring spatial delineation of these parameters.

Types
Contour lines are often given specific names beginning with "iso-" according to the nature of the variable being mapped, although in many usages the phrase "contour line" is most commonly used. Specific names are most common in meteorology, where multiple maps with different variables may be viewed simultaneously. The prefix "'iso-" can be replaced with "isallo-" to specify a contour line connecting points where a variable changes at the same rate during a given time period.

An isogon is a contour line for a variable which measures direction. In meteorology and in geomagnetics, the term isogon has specific meanings which are described below. An isocline (κλίνειν) is a line joining points with equal slope. In population dynamics and in geomagnetics, the terms isocline and isoclinic line have specific meanings which are described below.

Equidistant points
A curve of equidistant points is a set of points all at the same distance from a given point, line, or polyline. In this case the function whose value is being held constant along a contour line is a distance function.

Isopleths
In 1944, John K. Wright proposed that the term isopleth be used for contour lines that depict a variable which cannot be measured at a point, but which instead must be calculated from data collected over an area, as opposed to isometric lines for variables that could be measured at a point; this distinction has since been followed generally. An example of an isopleth is population density, which can be calculated by dividing the population of a census district by the surface area of that district. Each calculated value is presumed to be the value of the variable at the centre of the area, and isopleths can then be drawn by a process of interpolation. The idea of an isopleth map can be compared with that of a choropleth map.

In meteorology, the word isopleth is used for any type of contour line.

Meteorology

Meteorological contour lines are based on interpolation of the point data received from weather stations and weather satellites. Weather stations are seldom exactly positioned at a contour line (when they are, this indicates a measurement precisely equal to the value of the contour). Instead, lines are drawn to best approximate the locations of exact values, based on the scattered information points available.

Meteorological contour maps may present collected data such as actual air pressure at a given time, or generalized data such as average pressure over a period of time, or forecast data such as predicted air pressure at some point in the future.

Thermodynamic diagrams use multiple overlapping contour sets (including isobars and isotherms) to present a picture of the major thermodynamic factors in a weather system.

Barometric pressure
An isobar is a line of equal or constant pressure on a graph, plot, or map; an isopleth or contour line of pressure. More accurately, isobars are lines drawn on a map joining places of equal average atmospheric pressure reduced to sea level for a specified period of time. In meteorology, the barometric pressures shown are reduced to sea level, not the surface pressures at the map locations. The distribution of isobars is closely related to the magnitude and direction of the wind field, and can be used to predict future weather patterns. Isobars are commonly used in television weather reporting.

Isallobars are lines joining points of equal pressure change during a specific time interval. These can be divided into anallobars, lines joining points of equal pressure increase during a specific time interval, and katallobars, lines joining points of equal pressure decrease. In general, weather systems move along an axis joining high and low isallobaric centers. Isallobaric gradients are important components of the wind as they increase or decrease the geostrophic wind.

An isopycnal is a line of constant density. An isoheight or isohypse is a line of constant geopotential height on a constant pressure surface chart. Isohypse and isoheight are simply known as lines showing equal pressure on a map.

Temperature and related subjects

An isotherm is a line that connects points on a map that have the same temperature. Therefore, all points through which an isotherm passes have the same or equal temperatures at the time indicated. An isotherm at 0 °C is called the freezing level. The term was coined by the Prussian geographer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who as part of his research into the geographical distribution of plants published the first map of isotherms in Paris, in 1817.

An isocheim is a line of equal mean winter temperature, and an isothere is a line of equal mean summer temperature.

An isohel (ἥλιος) is a line of equal or constant solar radiation.

An isogeotherm is a line of equal temperature beneath the Earth's surface.

Rainfall and air moisture
An isohyet or isohyetal line is a line joining points of equal rainfall on a map in a given period. A map with isohyets is called an isohyetal map.

An isohume is a line of constant relative humidity, while an isodrosotherm is a line of equal or constant dew point.

An isoneph is a line indicating equal cloud cover.

An isochalaz is a line of constant frequency of hail storms, and an isobront is a line drawn through geographical points at which a given phase of thunderstorm activity occurred simultaneously.

Snow cover is frequently shown as a contour-line map.

Wind
An isotach is a line joining points with constant wind speed. In meteorology, the term isogon refers to a line of constant wind direction.

Freeze and thaw
An isopectic line denotes equal dates of ice formation each winter, and an isotac denotes equal dates of thawing.

Elevation and depth

Contours are one of several common methods used to denote elevation or altitude and depth on maps. From these contours, a sense of the general terrain can be determined. They are used at a variety of scales, from large-scale engineering drawings and architectural plans, through topographic maps and bathymetric charts, up to continental-scale maps.

"Contour line" is the most common usage in cartography, but isobath for underwater depths on bathymetric maps and isohypse for elevations are also used.

In cartography, the contour interval is the elevation difference between adjacent contour lines. The contour interval should be the same over a single map. When calculated as a ratio against the map scale, a sense of the hilliness of the terrain can be derived.

Interpretation
There are several rules to note when interpreting terrain contour lines:
 * The rule of Vs: sharp-pointed vees usually are in stream valleys, with the drainage channel passing through the point of the vee, with the vee pointing upstream. This is a consequence of erosion.
 * The rule of Os: closed loops are normally uphill on the inside and downhill on the outside, and the innermost loop is the highest area. If a loop instead represents a depression, some maps note this by short lines called hachures which are perpendicular to the contour and point in the direction of the low. (The concept is similar to but distinct from hachures used in hachure maps.)
 * Spacing of contours: close contours indicate a steep slope; distant contours a shallow slope. Two or more contour lines merging indicates a cliff. By counting the number of contours that cross a segment of a stream, the stream gradient can be approximated.

Of course, to determine differences in elevation between two points, the contour interval, or distance in altitude between two adjacent contour lines, must be known, and this is normally stated in the map key. Usually contour intervals are consistent throughout a map, but there are exceptions. Sometimes intermediate contours are present in flatter areas; these can be dashed or dotted lines at half the noted contour interval. When contours are used with hypsometric tints on a small-scale map that includes mountains and flatter low-lying areas, it is common to have smaller intervals at lower elevations so that detail is shown in all areas. Conversely, for an island which consists of a plateau surrounded by steep cliffs, it is possible to use smaller intervals as the height increases.

Electrostatics
An isopotential map is a measure of electrostatic potential in space, often depicted in two dimensions with the electrostatic charges inducing that electric potential. The term equipotential line or isopotential line refers to a curve of constant electric potential. Whether crossing an equipotential line represents ascending or descending the potential is inferred from the labels on the charges. In three dimensions, equipotential surfaces may be depicted with a two dimensional cross-section, showing equipotential lines at the intersection of the surfaces and the cross-section.

The general mathematical term level set is often used to describe the full collection of points having a particular potential, especially in higher dimensional space.

Magnetism
In the study of the Earth's magnetic field, the term isogon or isogonic line refers to a line of constant magnetic declination, the variation of magnetic north from geographic north. An agonic line is drawn through points of zero magnetic declination. An isoporic line refers to a line of constant annual variation of magnetic declination .

An isoclinic line connects points of equal magnetic dip, and an aclinic line is the isoclinic line of magnetic dip zero.

An isodynamic line (from δύναμις or dynamis meaning 'power') connects points with the same intensity of magnetic force.

Oceanography
Besides ocean depth, oceanographers use contour to describe diffuse variable phenomena much as meteorologists do with atmospheric phenomena. In particular, isobathytherms are lines showing depths of water with equal temperature, isohalines show lines of equal ocean salinity, and isopycnals are surfaces of equal water density.

Geology
Various geological data are rendered as contour maps in structural geology, sedimentology, stratigraphy and economic geology. Contour maps are used to show the below ground surface of geologic strata, fault surfaces (especially low angle thrust faults) and unconformities. Isopach maps use isopachs (lines of equal thickness) to illustrate variations in thickness of geologic units.

Environmental science
In discussing pollution, density maps can be very useful in indicating sources and areas of greatest contamination. Contour maps are especially useful for diffuse forms or scales of pollution. Acid precipitation is indicated on maps with isoplats. Some of the most widespread applications of environmental science contour maps involve mapping of environmental noise (where lines of equal sound pressure level are denoted isobels ), air pollution, soil contamination, thermal pollution and groundwater contamination. By contour planting and contour ploughing, the rate of water runoff and thus soil erosion can be substantially reduced; this is especially important in riparian zones.

Ecology
An isoflor is an isopleth contour connecting areas of comparable biological diversity. Usually, the variable is the number of species of a given genus or family that occurs in a region. Isoflor maps are thus used to show distribution patterns and trends such as centres of diversity.

Social sciences

In economics, contour lines can be used to describe features which vary quantitatively over space. An isochrone shows lines of equivalent drive time or travel time to a given location and is used in the generation of isochrone maps. An isotim shows equivalent transport costs from the source of a raw material, and an isodapane shows equivalent cost of travel time.

Contour lines are also used to display non-geographic information in economics. Indifference curves (as shown at left) are used to show bundles of goods to which a person would assign equal utility. An isoquant (in the image at right) is a curve of equal production quantity for alternative combinations of input usages, and an isocost curve (also in the image at right) shows alternative usages having equal production costs.

In political science an analogous method is used in understanding coalitions (for example the diagram in Laver and Shepsle's work ).

In population dynamics, an isocline shows the set of population sizes at which the rate of change, or partial derivative, for one population in a pair of interacting populations is zero.

Statistics
In statistics, isodensity lines or isodensanes are lines that join points with the same value of a probability density. Isodensanes are used to display bivariate distributions. For example, for a bivariate elliptical distribution the isodensity lines are ellipses.

Thermodynamics, engineering, and other sciences
Various types of graphs in thermodynamics, engineering, and other sciences use isobars (constant pressure), isotherms (constant temperature), isochors (constant specific volume), or other types of isolines, even though these graphs are usually not related to maps. Such isolines are useful for representing more than two dimensions (or quantities) on two-dimensional graphs. Common examples in thermodynamics are some types of phase diagrams.

Isoclines are used to solve ordinary differential equations.

In interpreting radar images, an isodop is a line of equal Doppler velocity, and an isoecho is a line of equal radar reflectivity.

In the case of hybrid contours, energies of hybrid orbitals and the energies of pure atomic orbitals are plotted. The graph obtained is called hybrid contour.

Other phenomena

 * isochasm: aurora equal occurrence
 * isochor: volume
 * isodose: absorbed dose of radiation
 * isophene: biological events occurring with coincidence such as plants flowering
 * isophote: illuminance
 * mobile telephony: mobile received power and cell coverage area

Algorithms

 * finding boundaries of level sets after image segmentation
 * Edge detection
 * Level-set method
 * Boundary tracing
 * Active contour model

Graphical design
To maximize readability of contour maps, there are several design choices available to the map creator, principally line weight, line color, line type and method of numerical marking.

Line weight is simply the darkness or thickness of the line used. This choice is made based upon the least intrusive form of contours that enable the reader to decipher the background information in the map itself. If there is little or no content on the base map, the contour lines may be drawn with relatively heavy thickness. Also, for many forms of contours such as topographic maps, it is common to vary the line weight and/or color, so that a different line characteristic occurs for certain numerical values. For example, in the topographic map above, the even hundred foot elevations are shown in a different weight from the twenty foot intervals.

Line color is the choice of any number of pigments that suit the display. Sometimes a sheen or gloss is used as well as color to set the contour lines apart from the base map. Line colour can be varied to show other information.

Line type refers to whether the basic contour line is solid, dashed, dotted or broken in some other pattern to create the desired effect. Dotted or dashed lines are often used when the underlying base map conveys very important (or difficult to read) information. Broken line types are used when the location of the contour line is inferred.

Numerical marking is the manner of denoting the arithmetical values of contour lines. This can be done by placing numbers along some of the contour lines, typically using interpolation for intervening lines. Alternatively a map key can be produced associating the contours with their values.

If the contour lines are not numerically labeled and adjacent lines have the same style (with the same weight, color and type), then the direction of the gradient cannot be determined from the contour lines alone. However, if the contour lines cycle through three or more styles, then the direction of the gradient can be determined from the lines. The orientation of the numerical text labels is often used to indicate the direction of the slope.

Plan view versus profile view
Most commonly contour lines are drawn in plan view, or as an observer in space would view the Earth's surface: ordinary map form. However, some parameters can often be displayed in profile view showing a vertical profile of the parameter mapped. Some of the most common parameters mapped in profile are air pollutant concentrations and sound levels. In each of those cases it may be important to analyze (air pollutant concentrations or sound levels) at varying heights so as to determine the air quality or noise health effects on people at different elevations, for example, living on different floor levels of an urban apartment. In actuality, both plan and profile view contour maps are used in air pollution and noise pollution studies.

Labeling contour maps
Labels are a critical component of elevation maps. A properly labeled contour map helps the reader to quickly interpret the shape of the terrain. If numbers are placed close to each other, it means that the terrain is steep. Labels should be placed along a slightly curved line "pointing" to the summit or nadir, from several directions if possible, making the visual identification of the summit or nadir easy. Contour labels can be oriented so a reader is facing uphill when reading the label.

Manual labeling of contour maps is a time-consuming process, however, there are a few software systems that can do the job automatically and in accordance with cartographic conventions, called automatic label placement.

title: Contour line


text:
User:Gerrym2

I was introduced to Wikipedia by a friend. I am a criminal defense attorney in Austin, Texas, and I look forward to contributing content.

I'm not familiar with the Wikipedia markup language yet, but the url for my wesite is: http://www.egmlaw.com/

Gerry Morris gerrym2@yahoo.com

Greetings, Gerry.

Check out the new users log at New_user_log, and take a moment to introduce yourself. -- NetEsq 01:27, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User:Gerrym2


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User talk:Burningsquid

Welcome to the Wikipedia
Here are some links I find useful

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Cheers, Sam Spade 15:46, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Burningsquid


text: User talk:206.78.5.167

title: User talk:206.78.5.167


text:
User talk:Pgreenfinch

Archive User talk:Pgreenfinch/2004-2006

Random walk hypothesis
Someone has created a new Random Walk Hypothesis page, so it looks like some merging needs to be done. --Calton | Talk 04:46, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

EU vote
Salut Pgreenfinch, I noticed your EU contributions. Currently we have a vote for keeping many relevant images in the sections. Would be great to see you voting and commentating there. This is the version to be discussed ]. all the best Lear 21 04:46, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Economics, Economy
Salut Pgreenfinch, j'ai lu tes remarques sur economics et l'usage du mot economy. J'ai juste publié un nouveau article sur economy et voudrais demander ton opinion la dessus. Bien sur je parles Anglais ainsi. Peut-etre tu pourras participer à la discussion qui va bien sur paraitre? --Jörg Sutter 17:15, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Viel Arbeit, Jörg :-). L'approche historique me paraît interessante, mais il me semble qu'il faut bien séparer ce qui est history of economics de ce qui est history of economy (or economic history), autrement dit l'évolution de l'activité économique au cours des millénaires, par exemple en détaillant les vagues de Toffler. Voir notamment l'article du wikipedia français "Théorie des vagues de développement" --Pgreenfinch 22:27, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Pgreenfich, you're right. The problem is, that the science Economics started in the early 20th century/late 19th century. I should have mentioned Max Weber by the way. Economic history on the other hand is of course influenced by economic schools. I will have a look at the article in French soon. Your--Jörg Sutter 09:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

OK, Jörg, I appreciate what you do to improve this article. --Pgreenfinch 17:19, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Pgreenfich, somebody is deleting my article on economy without any discussion. What can I do?--Jörg Sutter 13:04, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
 * In my opinion, you can initiate an History of the World economy article, filling it with your text and maybe a few additions (like those I referred to about Toffler's development waves), and put a summary and a link to it in the economy article as well as in the economic history and World economy articles.
 * If that other contributor (whom I think is not specialized in economics) deletes that, I will join you in restoring it. I think that wikipedia is lacking food on this economic history theme and that your efforts to feed it has to be supported. But as you may know, there are sometimes "edit wars" in this "cooperative" encyclopedia, but I don't think that, in this theme which is not that "hot", it can go very far ;-) --Pgreenfinch 14:00, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Dear Pgreenfich. That's a great idea and of course it will take time for me. To my shame I have to say that I didn't knew Toffler until now. Do you know Peter Sloterdijk? Your--Jörg Sutter 07:15, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

 * No, Jörg, I don't know about him, I would be happy to know more. I'm not an economist by profession, it is just that, as shown in my user page, I accumulated some (theoretical and practical) knowledge of this field in general, and of various related aspects, as it has always been of high interest for me. Let us call it a "violon d'Ingres". --Pgreenfinch 08:38, 7 February 2007 (UTC). PS. I see that there is a Peter Sloterdijk article, but it seems quite vague, I'm not sure it explains clearly his philosophy and even less how it could be practically applied to economic matters.

Joining Wikipedia project Finance
Some of us were creating the wikipeida project Finance, and we could use some more people who are experienced in this area Let us know if your interested WikiProject Finance

--DrewWiki 14:25, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Marketing plan
Please reconsider your edits to Marketing plan. Please read WP:COI regarding conflict of interest in editing Wikipedia articles. This external link marketing plan basics is apparently something you have written. Please remove the external link from the article. Also, the external link How to Write a Marketing Plan is actually a link to a site about how to write a business plan, not a marketing plan. If either of these links were used in writing the article, please reference them, do not put them in the External links section. Since this is a practical topic, it should use practical references, not theoretical ones.

I'm placing this comment here instead of on the article talk page because I assume you don't know about WP:COI. --SueHay 21:28, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

OK, I just gave a reference to a page I used in writing a part of the article. Please note that no interest is at play as that site is non commercial and purely educational. Also it is highly ranked by Google for the "marketing plan" topic, so I suppose it can be considered as a useful and relevant practical reference. --Pgreenfinch 22:17, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
 * You used this reference for the 10th item on a 17-item outline? Where did the rest of the outline come from? --SueHay 22:37, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Most are consistent with other sections of the site, but this one is the most directly linked to an item I added myself. I would not multiply the references to that site, although other items are consistent with it, as it would become promotion instead of references. I can study with you what is the best way to do, and see how to place more references (for example to the Australian site), but I will be able to do it only next week, as I will not have much time and not be available in the forthcoming days. --Pgreenfinch 06:49, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Please be a gentleman and withdraw your link and outline section from Marketing plan. You originally added that three years ago, and the article's history indicates that you've consistently restored your own link after removal by other Wikipedians, and also kept your own link when removing "linkspam" yourself. Please just withdraw your link with the explanation that you feel it's a conflict. Bowing out gracefully is the right thing to do. Think about it. --SueHay 02:10, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
 * And what if the link is useful for Wikipedians? And how that would solve the problem of references for that article ? --Pgreenfinch 10:22, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Greed and fear
A "" template has been added to the article Greed and fear, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but the article may not satisfy Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and the deletion notice explains why (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). You may contest the proposed deletion by removing the  notice, but please explain why you disagree with the proposed deletion in your edit summary or on its talk page. Also, please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Even though removing the deletion notice will prevent deletion through the proposed deletion process, the article may still be deleted if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria or it can be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. Gavin Collins 09:54, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

I responded to your Applied Information Economics comments.
You seem confused about what AIE is about. AIE is not a descriptive model for prices. It has nothing to do with EMH. It is a normative/optimization decision analysis tool not a descriptive tool for prices. It does not ignore what you call "soft" considerations and, in fact, explicitly models them. Your comment about considering "emotional factors" is mostly irrelevant since its not a descriptive price model. (although it does adjust for some "emotional factors" in regards to the use of human judges for estimating quantities). It helps decision makers optimize decisions by prioritizing information gathering in an economically optimal way. Thats it. Everything you were talking about seems to apply to the economics of asymetric information in markets. This topic is currently discussed under Information Economics. But, like I said, these are completely different topics.Hubbardaie 11:32, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

 * This does not appear in your description. Also you quote the MPT, which is precisely in line with the EMH. Also a normative / optimization model needs obviously to estimate values that fit reality even if the decider has its own - let us say more "rational" criteria - for example related to its risk / return obectives. Maybe you should explain better in the article. Another thing is that if this article has no section about the limitations of the method, it is one-sided and therefore non encyclopedic. As I'm sure you know those limitations, so why don't you express them yourself to avoid as you said a "confusion"? --Pgreenfinch 13:18, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Actually, MPT doesn't necessarilly make assumptions about EMH but people who use MPT might also make an EMH assumption. It simply uses the "given" risks and returns of potential investments.  It never addresses whether those risks and returns are based on information unique to one investor (in violation of EMH) or whether those are simple "market" returns and risks. Although its often assumed that the probability distributions of returns are derived from historical volitility, the actual MPT optimization approach makes no such assumption.  It simply computes an optimal portfolio position, regardless of where one gets.  Regarding the rest of your comment, I think you make a good point.  I certainly don't intend to cause any confusion from my explanation of AIE.  Since I have a COI, I'm not going to make direct changes to the article itself, but I'm willing to discuss them in the article's talk page.Hubbardaie 13:42, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Please archive your talk page
Please archive older discussions on your talk page. For information on how to do this, please see Help:Archiving a talk page. --Foggy Morning 01:42, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

Economy
Hi P., if you are interested in keeping the standard term Economy in the EU article consider to reestablish it at your convenience. all the best Lear 21 (talk) 21:00, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

EU Economy, economic policy, ecoomy and economic policy
Hi, I reverted away your suggestion to change the section title on European union to Economy and economic policy. However, I do think there might be some merit in the suggestion, I'm just not convinced. I like economic policy for several reasons. First, because the section is mainly about economic policy, not about the economy. The material about the economy merely serves as an introduction to the section, giving people an idea what we are talking about.

Second, the EU as an organisation is not concerned with the economy. It does not have policies aimed at boosting the economy, rather its primary aim is to harmonise and free up trade between the member nations. Yes, of course this impacts on the economy, but that is not its primary concern. This article ought to be about what the EU does, not about what accidental things happen in the same place.

Third, I rather like having two sections in the index, economic policy and development policy. Again, this emphasises the fact that the EU is an organisation for making and implementing international rules.

Someone suggested 'culture' should be changed to 'cultural policy' for the same reasons. I think this is more difficult, because the EUs main cultural policy is that it is not concerned with culture, but it is certainly arguable. Also, there is some sense in having some general information about the EU which is not strictly policy but does affect its operation. Though I do think this should be consolidated under one main heading. (ie, with the current demographics). Sandpiper (talk) 11:55, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

 * Maybe the bias is that the EU is considered in this article as just an administration. In reality the EU is first an economic space, which has also an administration that developped its role progressively with various institutions and policies (most of them economic and very few in other fields, I agree there is no real cultural policy). Maybe one day it will be more than an economic space and its administration will (hopefully) have a broader political role, but this is another idea. I think this article is not very clear about the real nature of the EU. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 17:26, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah, but I don't think that is true. I have commented below also, but I think the EU is an administration which just happens to include certain countries. Any random collections of countries chosen from a list would have an economy, a favourite sport, certain languages, but it would just be random informataion which really had nothing to do with your having chosen to consider them together. The EU can only be considered as one economic space in so far as the countries concerned are members of the EU. It would not be considered as one unit if the EU did not exist, and the area being considered keeps changing as membership changes. Sandpiper (talk) 19:50, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

AfD nomination of European Union member states at the 2004 Summer Olympics
An article that you have been involved in editing, European Union member states at the 2004 Summer Olympics, has been listed for deletion. If you are interested in the deletion discussion, please participate by adding your comments at Articles for deletion/European Union member states at the 2004 Summer Olympics (2nd nomination). Thank you. Paulbrock (talk) 16:27, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

The phrase European Union applies at the same time to the area and community and to its institutions.
I'm not quite sure what you are trying to achieve with this line? Is this supposed to be a disambiguation? A very big source of argument on this article is indeed whether there is effectively a country called European Union, and by and large we don't think there is. There is debate whether this article should confine itself solely to the institutions, so for those editors, obviously your line is not acceptable. Even for those who argue we should discuss the region, I am doubtfully they want to explicitly point out the possible difference in the introduction Sandpiper (talk) 10:10, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I will try to be clear and use a logical approach that seems to be missing in this article. That people argue seems to me precisely a symptom that the article is confusing. Those who consider just the intitutions could make a subarticle (or a section) titled European Union Institutions. If they are interested in policies (which is another level) they could create European Union policies as an article or a section. As to call it a country has no sense it should not interfere in the article. But that it is basically a region with close ties and common aspects, cannot be denied and deserves to be described as such (population, geography, economy...) and is the natural basis of the main article about the European Union. An article normally explain the "what" before explaining the "how". And an article that is not clear from the start about what it deals with is not encyclopedic. Whence edit wars after edit wars about any chunk of flesh, because of a lack of squeleton that help to see what part of the body is involved --Pgreenfinch (talk) 13:38, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I think the way probably I, but also others, would see it is that the economic region you are describing is not the [European Union], but [Europe], and such descriptions belong in that article, not the EU one. The ties are because all those countries are in Europe, not because they are in the EU. Most european countries now are in the EU, (or semi-attached) so the two are becoming somewhat confused, but they have joined the EU because they already had many things in common, they did not suddenly get those things in common from being members. I have noticed some sources arguing that countries cannot become members because they are not geographically within Europe. This always struck me as rather odd. I can quite imagine that as current new members become properly assimilated, people on their borders will again be thinking about joining, whatever continent they are in. This diversity is something of a challenge for the EU as people from increasingly different cultures are joining, who may have rather few things in common. If someone wanted to pursue a foreign policy aimed at peace in the middle east and N. Africa, they might be much better advised to encourage those countries to join the EU, then bombing the hell out of them. But then, that would definitley not suit the USA.

I do not really regard the EU as a place, but a collection of places which have agreed certain things in common. The unique thing about them is not what the sum of each of their GDPs happens to be, but the special rules and institutions they have created. Yes, people do refer to the EU as a place and eg to its economy. It does exist as a defined region and people treat it as one when this is appropriate. Obviously, it has defined borders and measurable characteristics. But nonetheless most people do not regard it as a country. I am british, I think if you asked most peole living within the EU, they would say they are French, German, etc, and if you asked them how the balance of payments is, or some other measurable property of a country, they would automatically think about those things in relation to their own country. I have some idea how the economy of the UK is going along, but much less about that of the EU, which hardly disturbs my consciousness except to argue about it here.

I am still sitting on the fence with regard to your proposal. I think it sits much better next to the primary definition first line, where it serves as a dictionary- style explanation. But it will need slightly re-phrasing as it doesn't read quite right as it stands. having said that, I'm not quite sure how to rephrase. Did you mean"... to the area, and community, and to its institutions" or "to the area and community, and to its institutions" (three things, or two things)? Sandpiper (talk) 19:43, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thenks for the question, although I'm still puzzled that you introduce the country notion in that debate. Anyway, it is possible to be at the same time from a town (some urban areas, like the one where I live, straddles two countries)), from a country, from the EU and from this planet, those things overlaps. The degrees of belonging and the types of traits involved will differ with the area covered of course. If you want to rephrase it seems to me that your second wording "to the area and community, and to its institutions", which separates clearly the entity itself and its institutions would be the clearest. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 23:32, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I deleted the line, as 4 editors have agreed so on the talk page of the EU article. Please discuss why you think it adds something there first before adding it again; the consensus at the moments is clearly not in favour of this line. Also please keep content discussion on the talk page of the EU article (extensive as it may be). Why I think it does not add anything is because the terms are in practice used interchangably (area, community and institutions); this is in my opinion not an indicator of confusion but rather of context related use of aspects of the Union; while in other contexts other properties are more important; in that sense the line adds little to nothing (cf France refers to its area, its government, its institution and foreign relations..... would be an irrelevant addition to that article). Anyway, please look for consensus first on Talk EU. Thanks Arnoutf (talk) 20:05, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Entryism by Scientology into AA
Hi Pgreenfinch. I removed the note in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entryism#Religious_entryism that "The Church of Scientology has also practiced entryism in taking over Alcoholics Anonymous meetings" because I searched for a long time in news sources, blogs and generally on the web and failed to find any evidence for this assertion. You reverted this removal. You may question my motive, but I certainly have no connection to either Scientology or AA; indeed, I am very critical of Scientology. Even though Scientologists infiltrating AA meetings sounds plausible, the statement is unverifiable. If you know of a source to back this claim, please discuss this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Entryism#Religious_entryism. I am reverting back to it being removed. Fences and windows (talk) 21:57, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Recession
Dear Peter GREENFINCH:

You write:
 * comments not about economic recession but just stock market tips by just one person

Nouriel Roubini is a distinguished professor and researcher, and his views have been widely cited in the context of the current down-turn.

See Google search

--Chakreshsinghai (talk) 01:22, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

I know that, but it is only one person, from one country, giving one advice and wikipedia deals with facts and notions, not with predictions by celebrities. I might even share to a large extent his analysis, although I find it a bit simplistic, as is the case for any monoscenario, and missing a few factors. Btw, the article is overfocused on the US situation. I know the US is the source of the mess, but the article topic is not "recession in the US". --Pgreenfinch (talk) 07:52, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Peter,

Nouriel Roubini is not a celebrity. He is an acknowledged expert. Globally acknowledged expert. He is a researcher and has worked hard to be an expert. His analysis identifies some of the key developments in the present crisis.

It would be nice to see more details on the global recession(s). I had added some things, but no one else has contributed anything significant on it.

Truth is, whether you like it or not, USA is the global economic center. Textbooks written in USA are used worldwide. I would like to see someone contribute that will explore the global linkages.

Certainly this crisis has its origin in the USA, as you acknowledge it.

--Chakreshsinghai (talk) 18:05, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Chakreshsinghai I don't think you understand, what you consider an analysis, but which is in fact a prediction, limited to just one scenario, however smart and hard working is the expert who formulates it, has not its place in an encyclopedic article that describes notions and events. WP is not a blog nor the editorial & comments page of an economic newspaper. A link to some article by Roubini would be amply enough, and preferably to a real analysis by him, as we could expect something a bit more academic and more thorough from such an erudite. Some key factors are totally lacking such as those linked to currency market, interest rates, inflation, foreign trade effects and policies, unemployment, standards of living, level of production / consumption / capital spending, public budgets... In fact it is not really a paper about recession. As it would be unfair to say that Roubini has a very narrow idea of what is a recession, better take out an analysis that can give that impression. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 21:50, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

 * This being an encyclopedia, is not the place for the type of detailed analysis that appears in refereed journals. --Chakreshsinghai (talk) 00:54, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Stock market cycles
Peter:

There are quite a few studies on yearly seasonality in countries outside of USA. Can you locate and summarise them, since you are the international expert?

A good source of articles is http://www.jstor.org/

--Chakreshsinghai (talk) 03:47, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't believe too much in "cycle" regularity. I know it is something quite popular that many academics in various countries have worked in trying to detect them, I know also that some famous theoreticians have mentioned it, but incidently (for example the Arbitrage Pricing Theory uses them as some of its "factors" or baby betas). But I think, and I am not the only one, that this is close to representativeness heuristic - as are also various TA tenets - and I'm not too sure it can be trusted as regularly reproductible. That does not mean it cannot be mentioned in the article but I'm not too keen in entering in a topic I'm not too convinced of. On the other hand I agree fully that "near-cycles" happen, due either to the underreaction - adjustment - overreaction phenomenon, or to economic factors, which lead to (irregular) market "trend-cycles". Well, maybe I will one day develop that. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 07:29, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Toxic debt
Toxic debt is not worthless; remember there is real property standing behind it. What it is, is illiquid, it cannot be readily valued or sold at a value which reflects its underlying value, whatever that is. Thus when the depositors or investors of a bank withdraw funds there is no way to generate cash. Fred Talk 14:26, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

OK; I made a small change, you are welcome to find a better wording. Another aspect is that the fair value is not known which lead to attribute them a very low value in the balance sheet. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 16:15, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

 * I think your redirect should work the other way, to illiquid asset. I have written an article under that name on Wikinfo, but it is more a dictionary definition, see http://www.wikinfo.org/index.php/Illiquid_asset It would be inappropriate to copy that here, but that seems to be the term in general use. Fred Talk 17:15, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Not so sure it is the general use. IMO, better wait to see how the general use will stabilize. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 08:14, 20 September 2008 (UTC)

March 2009
Welcome to Wikipedia. We welcome and appreciate your contributions, but we cannot accept original research. Original research also encompasses novel, unpublished syntheses of previously published material. Please be prepared to cite a reliable source for all of your information. EqualRights (talk) 11:07, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

I'm bizarrely reproached original research because I tried to relativize and clarify an original research section which title "Political Instability related to the economic crisis" is an unreferenced generalization based on a point of view. Seems to me that the solution, in the absence of reliable source to justify that generalization, is to remove the section, whence the original research. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 13:17, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Global financial crisis of 2008–2009
This is a comment related to the discussion about the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 thread on the No original research noticeboard.

There are several options you have. As I posted there, it seems, that in addition to the possible original research claims, you think the section has issues with reliable sources and neutral point of view. The appropriate venue to air those complaints is on the noticeboards I linked. I'm not sure that you want me to evaluate those claims because I looked into them when I was writing my post for the NOR noticeboard and didn't see anything major. I admit that I didn't look that thoroughly as I was concentrating on the original research aspect. In any case, I think it'd be best if someone else offered their opinion on the other matters. Of the two, I don't think that the reliable source claim is very strong, and if you wish to pursue this, I'd suggest focusing on the NPOV aspects.

You can also ask for a second opinion on the NOR noticeboard. While others are free to give there own opinion, if you state you are asking for one, it might be more forthcoming. I would not take offense if you did this, nor would I consider it forum shopping.

There are also other forms of dispute resolution. If you haven't done so already, you can ask for a third opinion, open a request for comment, or even try informal or formal mediation.

Kind regards -Atmoz (talk) 16:59, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Thanks a lot Atmoz for your detailed answer. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 18:13, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Scientology controversies
Your edits to the article have been reverted. I invite you to provide a rationale and reach consensus at the article's talk page. Thank you. > RUL3R >trolling >vandalism  09:59, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

You kiding? Is the fact that scientology was condemned for fraud this year in France not a rationale against scientologists insulting European democratic countries in WP articles? Can WP accept such propaganda? --Pgreenfinch (talk) 10:35, 13 December 2009 (UTC)
 * It is not propaganda. The section is only describing the state of affairs. All statements are atributed to their sources in accordance with policies. I find nothing that says "Germany is evil for not allowing Scientology." > RUL3R >trolling >vandalism  13:39, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Pgreenfinch, edits like these, deleting whole impeccably sourced sections, are beyond the pale. Please have a look at the sources you are deleting, claiming they "libel" Germany: we are talking the New York Times, Washington Post, The Independent, CNN, etc. And you know very well that we have plenty of pages critical of the United States human rights record too; suppressing notable criticism of one particular country isn't the Wiki way. Please stop. -- JN 466  13:40, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

You currently appear to be engaged in an edit war. Note that the three-revert rule prohibits making more than three reversions on a single page within a 24-hour period. Additionally, users who perform several reversions in content disputes may be blocked for edit warring even if they do not technically violate the three-revert rule. When in dispute with another editor you should first try to discuss controversial changes to work towards wording and content that gains a consensus among editors. Should that prove unsuccessful, you are encouraged to seek dispute resolution, and in some cases it may be appropriate to request page protection. Please stop the disruption, otherwise you may be blocked from editing. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 13:42, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Are you going to leave somebody libeling a democratic country with an accumulation of one-sided sources (from other countries btw) ? I find it of very bad taste to accuse me just because I find this practice as inacceptable and contrary to what WP is. Why don't you block that harasser who is the real disrupter ? --Pgreenfinch (talk) 17:42, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Multi-speed Europe

The article Multi-speed Europe has been proposed for deletion  because of the following concern:
 * No clear topic. The issues raised should be covered in other articles on the general topic under broader, more neutral titles.

While all contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the  notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing  will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. The speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. Jaque Hammer (talk) 13:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Your free 1-year Questia online library account is approved ready
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Books and Bytes: The Wikipedia Library Newsletter
Books and Bytes Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2013 by , Greetings Wikipedia Library members! Welcome to the inaugural edition of Books and Bytes, TWL’s monthly newsletter. We're sending you the first edition of this opt-in newsletter, because you signed up, or applied for a free research account: HighBeam, Credo, Questia, JSTOR, or Cochrane. To receive future updates of Books and Bytes, please add your name to the subscriber's list. There's lots of news this month for the Wikipedia Library, including new accounts, upcoming events, and new ways to get involved... New positions: Sign up to be a Wikipedia Visiting Scholar, or a Volunteer Wikipedia Librarian Wikipedia Loves Libraries: Off to a roaring start this fall in the United States: 29 events are planned or have been hosted. New subscription donations: Cochrane round 2; HighBeam round 8; Questia round 4... Can we partner with NY Times and Lexis-Nexis?? New ideas: OCLC innovations in the works; VisualEditor Reference Dialog Workshop; a photo contest idea emerges News from the library world: Wikipedian joins the National Archives full time; the Getty Museum releases 4,500 images; CERN goes CC-BY Announcing WikiProject Open: WikiProject Open kicked off in October, with several brainstorming and co-working sessions New ways to get involved: Visiting scholar requirements; subject guides; room for library expansion and exploration Read the full newsletter ''Thanks for reading! All future newsletters will be opt-in only. Have an item for the next issue? Leave a note for the editor on the Suggestions page. --The Interior 20:46, 27 October 2013 (UTC)''

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"find new deposits to refinance the loan"
Hi, I'm not at all sure about your recent edit in which you said banks need to "find new deposits to refinance the loan". Do you have a reference for that? Cheers, Mick.

Hi, Mick, Just accounting rules: assets and liabilities should be equal. (In bank Asset liability management, it is a bit more complicated as it must be true for every class of maturity. Of course, if it does not find such deposits, it can borrow on the money market which is also a kind of deposits, not by clients but by other banks. If you find a better way to word it... --Pgreenfinch (talk) 23:06, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

 * Hello gents. This article is at risk of turning into an incoherent mess of OR and selective POV narrative.  The problem has a long history, which you can see by reviewing both the article revisions and talk page archives.  I suggest that until the recent problems raised on the currently visible talk page threads are resolved it's risky to begin adding any new or unsourced material to this article.  We are going to get farther and farther away from what was good in the version of, say, a month ago.  Please consider.  SPECIFICO  talk  23:13, 25 March 2014 (UTC)
 * OK, SPECIFICO, personally I did not add much, but Asset liability management, which also has an article, is at the core of the topic, in facts it is more important that the old notion of fractional reserves. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 23:24, 25 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I am not saying that the old content was complete or even that it was good. I'm just concerned that the baby's being thrown out with the bathwater. Most importantly the recent edits violate just about every core WP policy. If somebody has the time and energy to do so, the matter could be brought to ANI to clear the air. See here: .  I don't have the time to do so at the moment.   SPECIFICO  talk  00:24, 26 March 2014 (UTC)
 * OK, SPECIFICO, I see what is the issue. --Pgreenfinch (talk) 08:20, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

Invitation to comment on important issue in Fractional Reserve Banking
Hi, I am just reaching out to a few people that have previously made edits on the fractional reserve banking page. There is an important issue being discussed on the talk page which IMHO needs some neutral opinions. If you could make a comment, that would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Reissgo (talk) 19:02, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

Financial Economics review
When convenient, please visit Financial economics - I've done a major edit a few months back. Thanks. Fintor (talk) 10:54, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

February 2015
Your recent editing history at List of cognitive biases shows that you are currently engaged in an edit war. To resolve the content dispute, please do not revert or change the edits of others when a proposed contribution gets reverted. Instead of reverting, please use the article's talk page to work toward making a version that represents consensus among editors. The best practice at this stage is to discuss, not edit-war. See BRD for how this is done. If discussions reach an impasse, you can then post a request for help at a relevant noticeboard or seek dispute resolution. In some cases, you may wish to request temporary page protection.

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 * The funny thing is that it seems to me that it is you who started a reversion without dicussion --Pgreenfinch (talk) 22:22, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

 * Hi Pgreenfinch. I am not sure if you have failed to follow the article history, or if you are somehow still unfamiliar with WP:BRD. Either way, please see here for the bold original addition, and here for my reversion. Everything else after that has been a failure on the part of 24.252.141.175, and now yourself, to start discussion on the talk page. Regards Andrew (talk) 02:12, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
 * I know, the good old WP tradition / reflex to fossilize its articles. Your problem anyway! --Pgreenfinch (talk) 08:13, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
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"Global nation" listed at Redirects for discussion
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title: User talk:Pgreenfinch


text:
Lisdoonvarna

Lisdoonvarna is a spa town in County Clare in Ireland. The town is famous for its music and festivals. Although the music festival was discontinued in the 1980s, Lisdoonvarna still hosts its annual matchmaking festival each September. The population was 829 at the 2016 census.

Geography
Lisdoonvarna is located in the area of County Clare known as the Burren, on the N67 road between Ballyvaughan and Ennistymon. The Aille River flows through the town, where it is joined by the Gowlaun and Kilmoon streams.

The town is in the civil parish of Kilmoon. Nearby townlands in this parish include Ballyinsheen Beg, Ballyinsheen More, Rathbaun and Rooska.

Name
The town takes its name from the Irish Lios Dúin Bhearna meaning the "lios dúin", or enclosured fort, of the gap (bearna). It is believed that the fort referred to in this name is the green earthen fort of Lissateeaun ("fort of the fairy hill"), which lies 3 km to the northeast of the town, near the remains of a Norman-era castle.

History
The present town is a comparatively new one by Irish standards, dating mainly from the start of the 19th century.

The spa official opened in 1845, but the town was visited before by people partaking of the waters. Even by the 1880s, however, the facilities were quite primitive. The wells were privately owned by the Guthrie family and were later developed and baths built by the new owner, a Dr. Westropp, who lived in a house overlooking the spa.

On 11 September 1887, the house of landowner Mike Walsh was attacked by "moonlighters" (members of one of the organized bands of desperados that carried on a system of agrarian outrages in Ireland). A detachment of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) defended the house and its owner, and there was heavy fighting in and around the house. Head Constable Whelehan was killed. All the moonlighters were captured. Seven constables, four acting constables and two head constables received the Constabulary Medal for valour.

The spa prospered into the 20th century. In 1920, it was called the "Homberg of the Irish priests".

The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956.

Historical maps of Lisdoonvarna show how the Main Street looked in the nineteenth century. It also gives the location of the RIC barracks and the many hotels associated with the town, such as Queen's Hotel and Eagle Hotel, amongst others.

Events

In September each year one of Europe's largest matchmaking events is held in the town attracting upwards of 40,000 romantic hopefuls, bachelor farmers and accompanying revellers. The month-long event is an important tourist attraction. The current matchmaker is Willie Daly, a fourth-generation matchmaker.

A now-defunct music festival which took place near the town is celebrated in a song of the same name written by the Irish folk singer Christy Moore. This festival took place until 1983, when the last event was marred by a riot and the accidental drowning of eight people.

Spa
The spa originally consisted of four wells. Copperas Well, on Kilmoon stream, is now closed. It was used externally for skin conditions, ulcers and sores. The Magnesia and Iron Well remains open in season. The Twin Wells offer water rich in iron and sulphur. The main Sulphur Well lies at the bottom of the hill. All the waters contain iodine.

The spa park is located at the confluence of the Aille and Gowlaun rivers. The spa complex features a Victorian pump house among other amenities.

Transport
Bus Éireann route 350 links Lisdoonvarna to several locations: Ennis, Ennistymon, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Fanore, Kinvara and Galway. There are a number of journeys each way daily. Onward rail and bus connections are available at Ennis and Galway.

Spectacle Bridge, spanning the Aille river, dates from 1850.

title: Lisdoonvarna


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Western culture

This page is an archive of the discussion surrounding the proposed deletion of the page entitled Western culture.

This page is kept as an historic record.

The result of the debate was to keep the article.

I don't know whether the phrase'Western Culture' is precise enough to deserve an entry (although it is linked to a lot, mainly from alternative medicine pages), but I am pretty sure this isn't what it should look like. It never defines what it's setting out to do; the very first sentence is highly tendentious, and the article doesn't get any more encylopedic from there on. It's incredibly narrow in scope, simplistic and generally wrong-headed. I say delete it and, if necessary, start again with a blank slate - there's no point trying to edit this into a useful article. Harry R 15:52, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Merge what can be salvaged into Western world. DopefishJustin 16:26, May 12, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Western Culture seems to be a useful title by itself, and the author of the page is known to keep improving his work. Let's not discourage. Suggest listing page on cleanup instead. Kim Bruning 18:12, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Checked Deletion_policy. The correct procedure here would be to list the page on Pages_needing_attention. Suggest we follow policy. Kim Bruning 18:17, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep and not merge. Western culure is a seperate entity.  People may add to it at anytime.  It will be a huge article with hopefully many spinoffs.  It is just that--a starter page.  I add to it all the time.WHEELER 18:38, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep! Sure it's a culture! IMO this listing is part of the chronic anglocentricity of the English Wikipedia, which is neither a disgrace nor a surprise but something to keep in mind. Western culture = civilisation = good is something we all know isn't an identity, but we tend to assume it anyway. Example (which is on my list to correct but feel free to do it): Home currently redirects to house. Yeah, sure. Andrewa 21:01, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * neutral. There's no such thing as western culture. They are all widely different. But they are related cultures since early. In Europe there are three main cultures, Anglo-saxon, Greco-Latin and Slavik Pedro 22:53, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Comment: I take your point that there are many different cultures within western civilisation, but I think that there's a recognisable culture by this name too. Culture is like (and often allied to) language, it occurs in continuums. Andrewa 09:45, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Legitimate topic. And what's wrong with the article? It seems to me at a very quick glance that it is a reasonable and well-written exposition of what might be called a traditional point of view. That is, the traditional point of view from within, uh, Western culture. So, sure, it might benefit from added discussions of the history and meaning of the term "Western culture," debate over whether there is such a thing, etc. But I don't remotely see this as a candidate for outright deletion.  Dpbsmith 23:07, 12 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Comment- "Western Civilization" is a more common term for what's described here. Perhaps change that redirect. Mackerm 15:04, May 13, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep, not merge. Could use some help with the formatting and such.  But it is an article. --Starx 05:06, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Needs work. But keep, don't merge - David Gerard 11:31, May 13, 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep, but copy any relevant content to related topics. I seem to remember Western culture being mentioned by various Eastern demagogues (not necessarily meant pejoratively). --Zigger 19:59, 2004 May 13 (UTC)
 * As big and ambiguous a topic as this one is, I vote keep. This should eventually become a very big article. --Beelzebubs 22:47, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Are you kiding Western culture is way to a broud topic don't nuke it but break it up into smaller articls---Yammy Yamathorn 22:54, 13 May 2004 (UTC)

 * Come on kids! Join the fun working on it.Keep. The Land 23:53, 13 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. The Western world is not the same as Western culture and the Western World page is already quite long. Agree article needs work, but if it develops, parts of Western World could be merged the other way. -- EuroTom 14:11, 15 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of Western civilization, replied "It would be a good idea." I agree with those who feel that this would be better titled "Western civilization"; I would argue strongly that there is no one overriding culture. However, I would not merge this with the Western world article. What it really needs is a good old-fashioned chainsaw edit, and the loving addition of some additional material. Denni 17:21, 2004 May 18 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue should be placed on other relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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São Paulo Museum of Art

The São Paulo Museum of Art (Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP) is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi, whose main body is supported by two lateral beams over a 74 m freestanding space. It is considered a landmark of the city and a main symbol of modern Brazilian architecture.

The museum was founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand and Pietro Maria Bardi, and is maintained as a non-profit institution. MASP distinguished itself by its involvement in several important initiatives concerning museology and art education in Brazil, as well as for its pioneering role as a cultural center. It was also the first Brazilian museum to display post-World War II art.

The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, considered to be one of the finest in both Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. It also houses an important collection of Brazilian art, prints and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also contains one of the largest art libraries in the country. The entire collection was placed on the Brazilian National Heritage list by Brazil's Institute of History and Art.

General context

At the end of the 1940s, the Brazilian economy was going through large structural changes as a result of accelerating industrialization. The city of São Paulo subsequently established itself as the most important industrial hub in the country. Prior to that time, São Paulo's role in modern art had been marked by the Week of Modern Art of 1922. Despite the importance this event had enjoyed in the 1920s, Modernism wouldn't draw much attention of city dwellers and institutions in the following decades. There was only one art museum in São Paulo, the Pinacoteca do Estado, solely devoted to Academic art, and a commercial gallery.

Assis Chateaubriand, founder and owner of the Diários Associados, or "Associated Daily Press", the largest media and press conglomerate of Brazil at the time, was one of the most influential individuals of this period. In the late 1940s, Chateaubriand started a campaign to acquire masterpieces to form an art collection of international renown in Brazil. He intended to host the museum in Rio de Janeiro, but ultimately chose São Paulo, where he believed it would be easier to gather the necessary funds, since this city was enjoying a very prosperous moment. At the same time, the European art market had been deeply influenced by the end of World War II, making it possible to acquire fine artworks for reasonable prices.

With the help of Pietro Maria Bardi, an Italian professor, critic, art dealer and former owner of galleries in Milan and Rome, Chateaubriand created a "Museum of Classical and Modern Art". Though he initially planned to lead the project for only a year, Bardi dedicated the rest of his life to it. He moved to Brazil together with his wife, the architect Lina Bo Bardi, and brought along his library and his private art collection.

Beginnings (1947–1957)

The museum was inaugurated and opened to the public on 2 October 1947, displaying the first acquisitions, among them canvases by Picasso and Rembrandt. In these first years of activity, the museum was located on the upper floors of the Diarios Associados headquarters in the Centro neighborhood of São Paulo. Architect Lina Bo Bardi was in charge of adapting the building to the needs of the museum, dividing it into four distinct areas: an art gallery, a didactic exposition room about the history of art, a temporary exhibition room and an auditorium.

MASP was the first Brazilian art museum interested in acquiring works of modern art. The museum quickly became a meeting point for artists, students and intellectuals, attracted not only by its holdings, but also by the workshops and art courses it offered.

In the 1950s, the museum created the Institute of Contemporary Art (offering workshops of engraving, drawing, painting, sculpture, dance and industrial design), the Publicity School (presently Superior School of Propaganda and Marketing), organizing debates about cinema and literature and creating a youth orchestra and a ballet company. The courses were frequently given by important names of the Brazilian artistic scene, such as the painters Lasar Segall and Roberto Sambonet, the architects Gian Carlo Palanti and Lina Bo Bardi, the sculptor August Zamoyski, and the motion-picture technician Alberto Cavalcanti.

Along with the amplification of the educational program, the museum expanded its collection and began to be recognized internationally. Between 1953 and 1957, a selection of 100 masterpieces housed in the museum traveled throughout European museums, such as Musée de l'Orangerie (Paris) and the Tate Gallery (London), in a series of exhibitions organized with the intent of consolidating the collection. In 1957, the collection was also displayed in the United States at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and in the Toledo Museum of Art. The following year, the holdings of MASP were exhibited at other Brazilian venues, such as the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, in Rio de Janeiro. This established the museum on a global level.

Consolidation of the museum

The collection's rising growth and importance soon required the construction of a building to headquarter the museum. With that purpose, the São Paulo City Hall donated a plot of ground, previously occupied by the Belvedere Trianon – a traditional meeting point of the Paulistano wealthy, which had been demolished in 1951 – to host the first edition of São Paulo Art Biennial. The ground on Paulista Avenue had been donated to the City Hall with the condition that the view to the downtown area and the valley of the Nove de Julho Avenue be preserved.

The new MASP building was the brainchild of Lina Bo Bardi. To preserve the required view of the downtown area, Bardi idealized a building suspended above ground, supported by four massive rectangular columns made of concrete. The construction is considered to be unique worldwide for its peculiarity: the main body of the building stands on four lateral supporting pillars, generating a free area of 74 meters underneath the sustained building. Constructed between 1956 and 1968, the new site of the museum was inaugurated on 7 November by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom during her visit to Brazil.

Assis Chateaubriand would not get to see the inauguration of the new building. He died months before, a victim of thrombosis. The media empire which he developed had also been facing difficulties since the beginning of the 1960s. Growing debts and the competition in the media market by Roberto Marinho's press conglomerate – caused the scarcity of the funds which had permitted the gathering of the collection.

The overthrow of Diários Associados and the death of its founder made the government intervene and pay for some of the debts contracted with foreign institutions. During the government of president Juscelino Kubitschek, Caixa Econômica Federal granted a loan to honor the financial obligations of the institution and secured the loan with its art collections. Years later, in the 1970s, the museum's debt with the Brazilian government was negotiated and paid off.

In 1969, in response to a request by the museum, the Brazilian Institute for Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) registered MASP's holdings as part of the national heritage.

In the 1970s the museum gained fame in the Eastern Hemisphere by organizing many exhibitions using selected works of its collection at Japanese museums. In 1973, the collection was presented at the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Brasília. MASP's collection was presented again in Japan in 1978/79, 1982/83, 1990/91, and 1995. In 1992, works of the French school and Brazilian landscapes were exhibited in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, in Santiago, Chile, and in the Biblioteca Luís Angel Aragón, in Bogotá.

In 2021, plans to construct a 14-story extension with an underground link to its current building were announced, to be completed by 2024.

The building

Construction on the present building of the museum began in 1957, and the building was inaugurated in 1968. MASP is famous for its remarkable brutalist structure, and it is considered one of the landmarks of the Brazilian modern architecture. The building is located on the former site of Belvedere Trianon on Paulista Avenue, from which it was possible to see the Centro of São Paulo and the Cantareira Mountains beyond. José Borges de Figueiredo, the investor who sold the plot of ground to the City Hall, wrote a non-binding letter to the administration, asking that it be preserved as a "public place in perpetuity". While in the following years multiple proposed projects ignored his wish, the architect Lina Bo Bardi and engineer José Carlos Figueiredo Ferraz ultimately conceived an underground block as well as a suspended structure. The structure stands eight meters above the ground, supported by four pillars connected by two huge concrete beams. A free space of 74 m between the pillars was the largest free span in the world at that time. The building inaugurated the so-called protected reinforced concrete technique in Brazil.

In the construction, totalling approximately 10000 m2, there are – besides the permanent and temporary exhibition galleries – a library, photo gallery, film gallery, video gallery, two auditoriums, a restaurant, a store, workshop rooms, administrative offices and a technical area. The building's installations and finishing are homely, as Lina Bo herself described: "Concrete visible, whitewash, a flagstone flooring covering the great Civic Hall, tempered glass, plastic walls. Industrial black rubber flooring covering inner spaces. The belvedere is a 'square', with plants and flowers around, paved with parallelepipeds, according to Iberian-Brazilian tradition. There are also water spaces, small water mirrors with aquatic plants. […] I didn't search for beauty. I've searched for freedom". In 2003, the building was also registered as national patrimony by Brazilian Institute for Historic and Artistic Heritage.

In the museographic area, Lina Bo Bardi also innovated by using tempered crystal sheets leaned on concrete blocks bases as display supports for the paintings. The intention is to imitate the position of the canvas on the painter's easel, but it also has roots in interwar Italian exhibition design. In the reverse of these supports, which are not used anymore, there were labels with information about the painter and the work. Paradoxically, the museum abandoned this model of exhibition at the end of the 1990s, when the method was beginning to be noticed and implemented by foreign institutions and artists.

Between 1996 and 2001, the current administration of the museum undertook a vast and controversial reform. Despite the indispensable restoration of the general structure, dramatic changes implemented by the architect and former director of the institution Julio Neves included the substitution of the original floor conceived by Lina Bo, the installation of a second elevator, the construction of a third underground floor, and the substitution of the water mirrors for gardens. Some architects allege that the reform caused a profound distortion of Lina's original project.

The formation of the collection

The main body of the collection was assembled between 1947 and 1960. Pietro Maria Bardi, formerly owner of commercial galleries in Milan and Rome, was in charge of searching and selecting the works which should be acquired, while Chateaubriand looked for donors and patrons, trying to tempt potential ones with banquets and lavish ceremonies.

These methods drew lots of criticism, as was the fact that the museum acquired works of art without the proper corroboration of authenticity. This impression was endorsed by the fact that the museum was at the time, just after WWII, one of the major buyers of art in the international market. Unlike other institutions, whose acquisitions depended on approval of a curators council, the São Paulo Museum of Art usually acquired its pieces quickly, sometimes by telegram. The works of art were generally acquired at Christie's, Marlborough, Sotheby's, Knoedler, Seligman and Wildenstein.

At the end of the 1960s, Chateaubriand's press conglomerate was facing troubles, with growing debts and competition from Roberto Marinho's media companies. The financial difficulties of Diários Associados caused the decline of the museum's financial resources. Consequently, the museum then added to its collection through spontaneous donations of artists, companies and private collectors.

Overview of the collection
The São Paulo Museum of Art collection is considered the largest and more comprehensive collection of Western art in Latin America. Among the 8,000 works of the museum, the collection of European paintings, sculptures, drawings, engravings, and decorative arts stands out. Early modern French and Italian schools of painting are broadly represented, forming the main body of the collection, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, Flemish, Dutch, English and German masters.

The museum also keeps a significant collection of Brazilian art and Brasiliana, which shows the development of Brazilian art from 17th century to the present. The museum also possesses important holdings of Latin American art and North American art.

On a smaller scale, the museum's holdings include representative objects of many periods and distinct non-Western civilizations – such as African and Asian arts – and others which stand out for their technological, archaeological, historic, and artistic relevance, like the select collections of Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman antiquities, besides other artifacts of Pre-Columbian cultures and medieval European art.

Paintings

Italian school
 * Tiziano Vecelli (known as Titian) – 1 painting
 * Tintoretto, Jacopo Comin – 2 paintings
 * Giambattista Pittoni – 1 painting, Dioniso e Ariadne
 * Sanzio, Raffaello – 1 Painting, Resurrection of Christ
 * Botticelli, Sandro – 1 painting, Virgin and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist
 * Mantegna, Andrea – 1 painting
 * Perugino, Pietro −1 painting
 * Allori, Alessandro – 1 painting
 * d'Antonio, Biagio – 1 painting
 * Bassano, Jacopo (Jacopo dal Ponte) – 1 painting
 * Bellini, Giovanni – 1 painting, Madonna Willys
 * Bordone, Paris – 1 painting
 * Guercino – 1 painting
 * di Cosimo, Piero – 1 painting
 * Francia, Francesco (Francesco Raibolini) – 1 painting
 * Giampietrino (Gian Pietro Rizzi) – 1 painting
 * Nelli, Ottaviano – 1 painting
 * Reni, Guido – 1 painting
 * Saraceni, Carlo – 1 painting
 * del Sellaio, Jacopo – 1 painting

Brazil and the Americas
 * de Almeida Júnior, José Ferraz – 6 paintings
 * do Amaral, Tarsila – 2 paintings
 * Américo de Figueiredo e Mello, Pedro – 2 paintings
 * Calixto de Jesus, Benedito – 3 paintings
 * Di Cavalcanti, Emiliano – 2 paintings
 * Malfatti, Anita – 2 paintings
 * Meirelles de Lima, Victor – 4 paintings
 * Portinari, Candido – 17 paintings
 * do Rêgo Monteiro, Vicente – 2 paintings
 * Rivera, Diego – 2 paintings
 * Segall, Lasar – 2 paintings
 * Stuart, Gilbert – 1 painting
 * Volpi, Alfredo – 1 painting
 * Visconti, Eliseu – 2 paintings

French school
 * Bonnard, Pierre – 1 painting
 * Cézanne, Paul – 5 paintings
 * Chardin, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon – 1 painting
 * Clouet, François – 1 painting
 * Corot, Jean-Baptiste-Camille – 5 paintings
 * Courbet, Gustave – 2 paintings
 * Debret, Jean-Baptiste – 1 painting
 * Degas (Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas) – 3 paintings
 * Delacroix, Eugène – 4 paintings
 * Drouais, François-Hubert – 1 painting
 * Fragonard, Jean-Honoré – 2 paintings
 * Gauguin, Paul – 2 paintings
 * Gobert, Pierre – 1 painting
 * Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique – 3 paintings
 * Lemoyne, François – 1 painting
 * Léger, Fernand – 1 painting
 * Manet, Édouard – 4 paintings
 * Matisse, Henry – 2 paintings
 * Mignard, Pierre (and workshop) – 1 painting
 * Modigliani, Amedeo – 5 paintings
 * Monet, Claude – 2 paintings, including Boating on the River Epte
 * Nattier, Jean-Marc – 4 paintings
 * Pater, Jean-Baptiste – 1 painting
 * Picasso, Pablo Ruiz – 3 paintings, including Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
 * Poussin, Nicolas – 1 painting
 * Renoir, Pierre-Auguste – 12 paintings, including Pink and Blue
 * de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri – 10 paintings
 * Vestier, Antoine – 1 painting
 * Vuillard, Édouard – 3 paintings

Spanish school
 * El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) – 2 paintings
 * Goya y Lucientes, Francisco – 4 paintings
 * Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban – 1 painting
 * Velázquez, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y – 1 painting, the Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares
 * Zurbarán, Francisco de – 2 paintings

Dutch, Flemish and German schools
 * Bosch, Hieronymus – 1 painting
 * Cranach, Lucas (the Elder) – 1 painting
 * Dornicke, Jan van – 1 painting
 * Dyck, Anthony van – 2 paintings
 * Hals, Frans – 3 paintings
 * Holbein, Hans (the Younger) – 1 painting
 * Massys, Quentin – 1 painting, Ill-Matched Marriage
 * Memling, Hans – 1 painting
 * Oolen, Jan van – 1 painting
 * Post, Frans – 5 paintings
 * Rembrandt – 1 painting, Portrait of a Young Man with a Golden Chain
 * Rubens, Peter Paul(and workshop) – 1 painting
 * Ruysdael, Salomon van – 1 painting
 * Van Gogh, Vincent – 5 paintings

English school
 * Constable, John – 1 painting
 * Gainsborough, Thomas – 3 paintings
 * Hogarth, William – 1 painting
 * Lawrence, Thomas (and workshop) – 2 paintings
 * Raeburn, Henry – 1 painting
 * Reynolds, Joshua – 1 painting
 * Romney, George – 1 painting
 * Turner, J. M. W. – 1 painting

The museum also has some small collections of photographs, costumes and textiles, kitsch objects, etc.

Theft
On 20 December 2007, around 5:09 am, three men broke in to MASP and stole two paintings considered to be among the most valuable pieces in the museum's collection: O Lavrador de Café (The Coffee Farmer) by Cândido Portinari, and the Portrait of Suzanne Bloch by Pablo Picasso. It took the perpetrators just three minutes in total to successfully carry out the heist, using a hydraulic jack and a crowbar. Art experts estimated the value of the paintings to be around $55-56 million in U.S. dollars. Both pieces were recovered by the Brazilian police a few weeks after they were stolen, on 8 January 2008, in the city of Ferraz de Vasconcelos, in Greater São Paulo. Two suspects were arrested, although the Brazilian Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, speculated that the thieves were "linked to international gangs." The incident was described as "a major embarrassment" for the museum, which was revealed to have "no alarm system and no sensors. Video security cameras captured some of the raid but, since it had no infrared capability, the images were obscure." Additionally, none of the museum's collection was insured. MASP's president, Julio Neves, stated that they did not have the resources to finance a modern security system, and that they had instead "opted for security by patrolling, with people and cameras"; he promised improvements in light to the incident. Just two months before the robbery, "two thieves tried to break into the museum but were spotted and fled", and in 2005, MASP was forced to close temporarily "when its power was cut off for nonpayment of bills."

title: São Paulo Museum of Art