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This is a page to discuss the suggestion to delete "47 references".

  • If you are suggesting a page for deletion, add your initial rationale to the section "Deletion rationale".
  • If you want to discuss this suggestion, add comments to the section "Discussion".
  • If a consensus has been reached, an administrator will explain the final decision in the section "Admin resolution".

In all cases, please make sure to read and understand the deletion policy before editing this page.

Deletion rationale

Most of these are coincidence, some of them are just nonsense. The real, provable, phenomenon is described at 47. Also, I hate the number 47 being linked all over MA; you might find something like 456472.93 or 647.

Here is some class-A nonsense from the article:

  • Although it was before the number 47 had any intentional meaning to Star Trek, there were some instances of 47. ... ( followed by a list of known coincidence references)
  • With the exception of the two episodes without stardates, all TNG Season 7 episodes have a substring 47 in the stardate. ... (right after 46 from season 6)
  • ...While decoding the BBC's weather report, Janeway writes 74 on the wine label.
  • ...Another reference is the book Bashir is reading. He was at page 294: take 4 and 9-2 : 7. (or 94 : 2 = 47)
  • ...At the end, Major Kira says there are 1730 new casualties posted. 17+30=47.
  • Episode 9 : "Final Mission" : A 47 was seen in a string of rapidly changing numbers on the ops display as the Nenebek left the shuttlebay.
  • ... during the crew's poker game, the numbers 4 and 7 appear frequently.
  • Episode 2: "Realm of Fear" : 47 can be seen on the control panel of the medical scanner Dr. Crusher uses on Barclay. It is the second button down.

You can also see from the quick, admitedly not very precise, analysis on the talk page, that 47 is the 43rd most common number sequence, so around 42 non-joke sequences are more common among the pieces of meaningful Star Trek number data here at MA. Oh 40s! --Bp 14:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Anyway, it is rubbish, delete. --Bp 14:52, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

  • Keep, but establish better rules for what to accept and what not to. I don't think what are obviously random number strings should be accepted, or cases where one has to do math (i.e. "He was at page 294: take 4 and 9-2 : 7. (or 94 : 2 = 47", which I thought we had already agreed to remove). I don't think that 47 being the 43rd most common number is a reason to delete this. The fact of the matter is that we have production information saying this number is important, and none saying the others are. I don't care if it were the 10,000th most common number, that doesn't make the other numbers more relevant from a production POV. --OuroborosCobra talk 15:06, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
    • Of course, there are only 100 2-digit number strings, not 10 thousand. Nearly half of them more common than this one. The point is that you could pick any number and find several "references" to it. This list is 99% speculation because we have no idea if a 4 with a 7 after/near it was intentional or just occured by coincidence. That is the primary reason it should be deleted. The phenomenon/in joke is described at 47, that is enough. --Bp 15:22, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
      • Then perhaps the criteria should be limited to known references from production sources (like DVD commentary), or instances where it is strictly "47" or "74" and they are not part of a larger number. By the way, the "10,000th" was intentional hyperbole. It was to illustrate the point that I don't care how rare it is, that is irrelevant. --OuroborosCobra talk 15:24, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
        • ...which can still be covered on the 47 page. --Alan 23:08, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
          • It would be a pretty damn long section. --OuroborosCobra talk 23:10, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
            • Would it? How many can you confirm? --Bp 23:34, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
              • That is a little hard to answer when we have not even agreed upon criteria, now, isn't it? --OuroborosCobra talk 23:39, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
                • Ok, let's say that we are going with your "Then perhaps the criteria should be limited to known references from production sources (like DVD commentary), or instances where it is strictly '47' or '74' and they are not part of a larger number." Now how many can you confirm? --Bp 02:08, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
                  • Well, I don't have the DVDs to confirm production side, so I am having to exclude any that are in a string that are probables (like Species 8472, I highly suspect it to be a reference, but I don't have a DVD to confirm). If we just go on instances of 74 or 47, I lost count in the 80s on what we currently have collected. I'd guess that under those criteria we have over 100 references. If we exclude 74, we have nearly a hundred I'd guess. Getting kind of long here :) --OuroborosCobra talk 02:34, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
                • So, of at least 240 refs, "nearly a hundred I'd guess" could possibly be legit because they are distinct, specifically stated forty-sevens, (I don't believe there are that many), and Zero of them are confirmed intentional 47 in-jokes. So, as I said in earlier, the article is 99%, wait... 100% speculation, and the phenomenon is already thoroughly described at 47. Even if we accept your figures, it is more than half coincidence/nonsense. --Bp 03:20, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
                  • If even 1/4 is still acceptable, than it is worth keeping its own article at the size that list would be. As I also said, I have no clue and cannot even estimate as to the production conformable directly ones since I do not have either DVDs or production sources like the various books out there. No offense, but neither do you. Or do you, and are you willing to do the work and count before deleting what could be a legit article? --OuroborosCobra talk 03:29, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
                  • Another thing, I do not appreciate you telling me that "you don't think there are that many" when you haven't lifted a finger to do counting. I did. --OuroborosCobra talk 03:33, 23 May 2007 (UTC)
                • I did count. Zero. Zero with sources that prove they are intentional references. 240+ unproven refs. At least 19 nonsense refs, the ones I skimmed out and listed above. If you can prove any of them, start a new list with those. Delete this monster pile of rubbish, and start a new list. You can't, you won't. And if you try, you will not even come close to the 100 you claim, or the 35 ("1/4") that you consider acceptable for saving it. --Bp 03:55, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Admin resolution

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