 ::You've raised some very interesting points. I must admit that I usually ignore WP:IAR, because I've yet to find a case when the consequences of following the core policies are worse than the consequences of ignoring them. SYN is always a tricky problem, because in a way everything we do is synthesis, but I tend to ask myself if the result is simple narrative or whether there's a resulting claim (implied or explicit). If there's a claim that hasn't already been made in reliable sources, then alarm bells start to ring. I think the consequences of making a novel claim with even the slightest chance that it's incorrect are far worse than making no claim at all. On the other hand, if the claim might have merit, then the author should be encouraged to enter it into the literature by the appropriate channels. ::Re your sandbox, that's very interesting. We're obviously thinking along similar lines. I think it's fascinating when one starts to not only understand but actually grok the policies. Incidentally, I hope you don't mind, but I fixed a typo.   