Talk:Claude Shannon

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Mindmatrix in topic Flame-throwing trumpet?

Birthplace?

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Jamessevener has changed the birthplace from Petoskey to Gaylord, based on the nyu reference (currently number 4). But the mit reference (currently number 6) clearly says he was born in Petoskey. Help? --JBL (talk) 03:09, 12 November 2019 (UTC)Reply

Britannica's biography gives his birthplace as Petoskey [1]. So does his obituary in the Notices of the AMS [2]. An article by a pair of local historians says that his family lived in Gaylord, but he was born in a hospital in Petoskey [3]. So does his Royal Society bio [4]. I think this is grounds enough to reinstate the old phrasing. XOR'easter (talk) 18:33, 17 November 2019 (UTC)Reply
Also, the NYU page is just a course website; I wouldn't take it too seriously for biographical minutiae. XOR'easter (talk) 18:39, 17 November 2019 (UTC)Reply
Absent overwhelming evidence to the contrary an AMS bio is definitive. EEng 18:46, 17 November 2019 (UTC)Reply

Shannon Centenary Section

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Much of the section is written in future tense, but the events were scheduled to occur in 2016. After checking to ensure that the events occurred as scheduled, the section needs to be rewritten in past tense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xphileprof (talkcontribs) 19:44, 6 August 2020 (UTC)Reply

Flame-throwing trumpet?

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The article claims Shannon to have invented a "flame-throwing trumpet", linking an MIT Museum page. Said page does not mention or show any such device. Neither today or back in 2016. It does list an extensive number of inventions, all reasonably related to Shannon's other interests. A flame-throwing trumpet is an outlier and requires extra-ordinary proof, but zero is given. Various online sources mention it, but it appears to have been copied from this article by a lazy journalist. No additional evidence is given anywhere. --2003:DB:9F03:182:257:9C07:F65E:41D4 (talk) 12:55, 18 June 2022 (UTC)Reply

Apparently, this has been in the article since 25 August 2004 (see this diff). The ref was added on 28 April 2016 (see this diff). We would require a reference published before August 2004 to verify this claim. (I've seen numerous articles published afterwards all making the same statements without citing sources, including many obituaries; some have surely used this article as their source.) I've removed the statement, with no prejudice against its reintroduction with a valid source. Mindmatrix 14:17, 18 June 2022 (UTC)Reply