The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.
I'm writing an article about a house that some people have seen as an "astronomical calendar" and compared to Stonehenge because it has "four west doors [that] indicate the seasons of the year", because the sun shines directly onto a different door at noon at four specific times of the year. Do we have a term for "a structure that is built to focus on the angle of the sun at specific times of the year", whether Stonehenge or this house or Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Box Tunnel? Nyttend (talk) 00:59, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I can't offhand think of (or find) a specific name for this kind of structure, but if you haven't already seen it you might be interested in our article on Archaeoastronomy which mentions many such buildings, erections and other constructions. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 09:23, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. I wasn't sure whether to ask this in the humanities, science, mathematics, language or miscellaneous desk, so I'll ask it here. How long on a statistically viable average time would it take for an individual person to communicate with every person that he or she knows, so that these people communicate with all the people they know or can contact, up to a point where ≥75% of the world population has been communicated to? In this case, communication can consist of verbal communication, a phone call, online chat, participation in an online community, email, news broadcasting, public speaking, public displays of something, intercom, playing an instrument, or simply making eye contact. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU)02:58, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Today, I guess, not that long for the internet-viewing world. But to get to over 75% of the world's population would be very hard. I was thinking upload a video on YouTube that then goes viral. That's pretty fast. Or chain spam emails. Or via a virus that streams a video of you. {{Sonia|talk|simple}}03:09, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Of course this isn't a random network though--not all people are connected to the same extent; I'm sure there have been studies done on this issue generally, although you can ask it dozens of different ways and get that many answers. As for the research that's actually been done on it, Six degrees of separation has some. The original idea comes from a Stanley Milgram article, and there's plenty of research that addresses it. Try a google scholar search for "six degrees of separation milgram". I found a lot. Shadowjams (talk) 07:17, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
China pegs the dollar. Can America peg the yuan? What would happen?
So China is dragging its feet on floating the yuan, which they've pegged to the dollar and tightly control. Could America decide to simultaneously peg the dollar to the yuan at a different rate? What would happen? Has this ever happened before in history where two countries control currencies and demand different mutual rates? 61.189.63.157 (talk) 08:26, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Think about it. China says it will give you 10 yuan for every dollar. The US says it will give you a dollar for a yuan. An enormous amount of dollars is flowing to China. A much more modest amount of Yuan flow to the US. I get rich. ;-) --Stephan Schulz (talk) 08:38, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The world would implode.
Pegging two currencies together recursively is absurd, someone would try to game the other. That said, as a monetary experiment, it's an interesting question.
Stephan is right: that sort of imbalance is absurd and would never persist for long. That's what arbitrage is about. However, assuming a more nuanced question, here are some very very basic thoughts.
The yaun is pegged because China sets an exchange rate. Exchange rates are dictated by market forces, however monetary policy is set by nation states. For the Dollar it's the U.S., for the Pound it's the U.K., and for the Euro it's the E.U. (I think). Pegged currencies are classical; fiat currency is a modern development.
Two currencies that moved exactly in sync would be indistinguishable. However, if the question is about the interim, or what would happen with a Chinese central bank, I can't answer. I'll leave it up to those with advanced economics degrees. Shadowjams (talk) 08:45, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
@Stephan -- my unstated assumption was that if our hypothetical US chose to take this extreme measure, they would also surely announce mechanisms to strongly deter other parties from honoring China's version of the exchange rate. 61.189.63.157 (talk) 10:21, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
How would they do that? China is not propping its currency up by artificially restricting exchange (as eastern block countries tried to do during the cold war era), they are keeping it artificially low by selling Yuan for dollars (or Euros) at a better rate than we would expect in a free market. For me to become rich, it's enough that the exchange rates offered by both countries differ. I can exchange dollars for Yuan in China, and Yuan for dollars wherever the US mandated exchange rate is honoured, i.e. at least in the US. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:57, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to the perversity described above (someone would just cycle money endlessly through the two countries for extreme profits), in pegging a major exchange rate in this way the US would lose some ability to control its own money supply (and therefore combat inflation and stabilise the economy with monetary policy). See impossible trinity.--Jabberwalkee (talk) 11:20, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The only way that this could ever work is if the two countries pegged currencies in concert — if the USA agreed to give $1 for 10 yuan, and the PRC agreed to give 10 yuan for $1. That's vaguely how the euro works, if I understand rightly; each country pegged its currency to the euro before transitioning to it, so effectively each eurozone currency was pegged to all others for a short time. Nyttend (talk) 15:00, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not so short a time. Fist the European Monetary System defined certain target exchange rate bands, and cooperated on interventions to maintain those rates. Then the European Currency Unit was introduced. Later, this became the Euro, which first was used for banking transactions and eventually also replaced the individual cash supplies. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 18:59, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
So that's what the "ecu" was...I hadn't realised that it was an abbreviation. I'd only seen it on a few French stamps (I'm a stamp collector) and had assumed that it was an attempt to establish something such as the euro that failed rather quickly. Nyttend (talk) 12:28, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, not quite. The écu was an old 19th century currency unit in France. When a more user-friendly name for the "European unit of account" was needed, the English language acronym 'ECU' was accepted by the Francophones because it coincidentally recalled the French coin. Otherwise no connection. Sussexonian (talk) 10:37, 29 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
It would appear that alot of people have been jumping on theband wagon lately, eith pegging themselves, their children or famous people as eith Autistic, dislexsic (lol) or gay, I have nothing against these famous people, or other groups, but come on people, Hitler, Autistic, WTF? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 09:34, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Looking for a Russian poem
A while back I heard a short Russian poem which I now cannot find, despite various keyword searches. Here is what I remember:
It was written by a Soviet poet. I'm quite sure the poet was male, and I'm quite sure he was Russian.
It was written during or shortly after World War II.
It is a rather short patriotic poem.
It is about burying a simple soldier, without fancy fanfare.
The image still lingering in my memory is that of the entire globe being the soldier's mausoleum.
"The entire globe being the soldier's mausoleum" rings a bell: Pericles' speech in Thucydides: "For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men". Tinfoilcat (talk) 15:04, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Spot on, dear East of Borschov, this is the exact poet (no article on en:wikipedia, yet) and poem. Thank you so much! And thank you too, Tinfoilcat, for referring the image all the way back to antiquity. ---Sluzzelintalk19:37, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
architects
Technically not homework, I need help with my coursework, which is completely different. Well, actually it's not the work itself I'm finding difficult, I am sure I can do that quite easily, instead I am having trouble choosing what work to do. Basically I have to write an essay on almost any topic of architecture, about how a building, or an architect, or a style addresses a particular issue, any issue, equality, different senses, freedom, sustainability, the representation of power or trust or democracy, whatever I want, and I simply have no idea. Having only been studying the subject for a little while, it isn't something I know much about, and I find it difficult to conduct research into a subject i don't know, so what would be really nice would be if someone could suggest a particular building or architect that I could research and write about, narrowing down slightly the area I would have to study. In particular I would like to write about a famous architect that has attempted to design buildings for ordinary people without trying to follow any particular ideals, or trying to be dramatic and modern and show off their new designs, if such a person exists. Could someone possibly help, I only have a few days to do this, and I promise next time I will spend a lot longer doing my own research.
Take a look at Samuel Mockbee, who made a name for working with the vernacular architecture of the rural southern United States, dealing with issues of social responsibility. For broader applications, the field of urban design is much richer with discussions concerning power, trust, democracy and such, since the way towns and cities are planned has a much more evident influence on, and is influenced by, the political environment. The Bauhaus and the entire Modernist movement of the time would be a fertile area, as would the work of Le Corbusier and specifically his Voisin plan, as well as the Unité d'Habitation. Frank Lloyd Wright had similar leanings, at times. I have a book on his Marin County Civic Center whose title is The Architecture of Democracy, discussing how Wright incorporated his ideas of governance into the work. Acroterion(talk)11:42, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I was about to suggest Wright myself, particuarly his Usonian work. In the United Kingdom, you could go for the "love-it-or-hate-it" Brutalist work seen in so many council estates and other urban residences, which eschewed "showy" and "frilly" in an attempt to push towards a more socialist ideal. GeeJo(t)⁄(c) • 11:51, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Mockbee would be the most modest of the bunch - Wright, Corb or Gropius could hardly be described as modest - visionary or socially active design usually isn't compatible with self effacement. A counter-example might be Pruitt-Igoe, a prototype of high-rise low-income housing, designed, ironically, by Minoru Yamasaki. The work of Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the UK might be worth a look as well, since you appear to be in that part of the world. As GeeJo observes, they were in the forefront of Brutalism. The whole New Towns movement in the UK is relevant. Acroterion(talk)11:55, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The idea of a Model village as built by philathropist or socially responsible industrialists is an easy one to quickly get info on. (You could practically just copy the wikipedia page word for word :) )87.102.18.191 (talk) 14:39, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
From a less sociological/more technological point of view "bridge design" is an easy one to quickly get info on.. How different types and styles of bridge are used for different lengths of span, as well as the history of it. Google books etc should give plent via a search for "bridge engineering" etc.87.102.18.191 (talk) 14:42, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It's a little bit of a stretch, and I wouldn't necessarily say that they describe themselves this way, but the Nature Conservancy is an environmental organization in the U.S. that is attractive to property-rights proponents, and yet an extremely environmentalism oriented organization. Shadowjams (talk) 07:04, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Heard it on the radio a few days ago. He was French. A writer or an artist. He was so obsessed with suicide that he carried a noose with him all the time. And he did, in fact, hanged himself on a lamppost in Paris. My first googlehit would be Gerard de Nerval (born May 22), but wikipedia article differs a bit with the radio story. Could anyone else fit the description? East of Borschov (talk) 17:17, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry to bring up such a "full on" topic. I was wondering if there are any philosophers who agree with my theory on the convoluted topic that is the meaning of life. I believe that God did indeed create the world and and humanity and all life on the planet. However, his master plan of an all pervading harmony on earth was cut short by Adam and Eve taking a bite from that pesky apple and of course the events after that which revealed humanity's "wickedness" to each other. Over a course of time and after observing man's inhumanity and disregard for God's work, I think God realised that he'd made a mistake by creating everything, granted humanity free will and made it our destiny to destroy ourselves and the earth and thereby rectify his mistake. Sorry to sound so morbid but I just wondered if there are others who share this theory and if, in your opinions, it stands up to objective scrutiny. --Thanks, Hadseys18:04, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think the topic for discussion is the raw material for a novel, to be crafted in accordance with a writer's skills and inclination. What all of us are doing is writing that novel. It is a multi-input literary work that will probably be either awesome or awful whenever it is considered to be a finished product. Bus stop (talk) 18:52, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I can't imagine that there are not others who agree with this, in part, or in whole. It seems as if there are more interpretations of scripture than there are followers of it (if you even based your assumptions from scripture). Does it stand up to objective scrutiny? Well, religion is very subjective. I don't think that there is any way that one person can determine that your views are more or less valid than another (though people try all the time). All they can determine is that they don't agree with your views, and that you don't agree with theirs. Falconusptc19:08, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You will lose a rather large proportion of classical and contemporary philosophers, myself included, with the phrase "God did indeed create the world". Anything that follows from that would be deemed specious and unsatisfactory in any worldview that does not a priori grant the existence of a Creator God.Vranak (talk) 21:08, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Some people believe(d) that the present world is actually Hell, which seems similar to the OPs idea. Perhaps there is a word and an article that describes this notion. As someone who does not believe in the supernatural, then this is at best amusing nonsense. 92.28.255.202 (talk) 22:09, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I thought there was an obscure Russian sect from the 19th or 18th centuries who behaved like Adamites and who believed this, but I cannot find any mention of them anywhere. Edit: I must have been thinking of the Doukhobors. See also Ranters. I suppose that any person or group who thinks we are living in Hell is going to self-destruct and not survive very long. 92.15.20.47 (talk) 19:30, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Or Mark Twain's comment on how all his friends were apparently going to hell and all the disagreeable people he knew were certain they were going to heaven: "Heaven for climate; hell for society!" ←Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→ 13:27, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
So is the Star Wars saga. :) The OP raises an interesting idea. When God destroyed humanity by flooding the earth, afterwards He promised Noah that He would never again destroy humanity. (Let's not even get into the issue of how the omniscient God didn't see all this coming.) Ah, but He didn't say He wouldn't give man the means to figure out how to destroy himself. Ya gotta hand it to God for craftiness: He wasn't born yesterday. :) ←Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→ 22:14, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
That's only one translation. Most of the others are more ambiguous. Moreover, this is what he said to himself - it's not a promise. What's normally considered the promise is Genesis 9:11, where he promises "no flood", but seems to keep an open mind about fire and brimstone ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 10:57, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
But if anyone is entitled to indulge in hyperbole, the creator of the entire universe would be. The universe, infinite as it is, is mere chicken feed compared with an infinite number of infinite universes. He could claim to have created everything that exists or has ever existed or will ever exist, in this or any other universe, but someone would rightly counter that he's hiding his light under a bushel, because his actual achievements far outweigh that modest tally. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 12:17, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As individuals we have free will but collectively as humanity our actions, which are a result of free will, would enable us to wipe out everything God made. Of ccourse we have to do it unknowingly because if we knew we were doing it that would interfere with God's grand plan --Thanks, Hadseys10:27, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't agree with the main idea, but this makes me think, so you are basically saying we have free will but not in a social sense ? like I could choose not to work today but society pressure scratch that possibility off ? I'm curious on this subject now, do we have an article on that ? 200.144.37.3 (talk) 10:54, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Who said: "If God did'nt exist, we would have to invent Him"? I think that is what is happening here. We are inventing God as we are un-happy with the current One! Only, we may come full-circle and find Him/Them/Her/It. MacOfJesus (talk) 18:51, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
According to today's Mail on Sunday, 23. (Of course, you have to remember many of them live in homes around London, of the 4-5 bedroom type that sell for £500-£750,000, and this contributes to their "millionaire" status, but doesn't necessarily mean they all live like people we think of as "millionaires".) - Jarry1250[Humorous? Discuss.]19:39, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed - language hasn't quite kept up with inflation. Being a millionaire doesn't make you that rich these days. Lots of people reach retirement with a nice house, a big pension pot and maybe a holiday home and flashy car. It isn't hard for the values of those to add up to more than a million pounds. That certainly makes you one of the wealthy, but not exceptionally rich. --Tango (talk) 21:33, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Very true. The Economist Intelligence Unit claim that there are 4 million dollar millionaires in the UK; does that mean 1 in 16 people here live to that stereotype. No.--Leon (talk) 21:33, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The houses do not have to be 4-5 bedrooms. According to rightmove dot co dot uk, in London there are 281 houses with three bedrooms for sale at over a million pounds, 71 with two bedrooms, and nine with only one bedroom. Its depressing to see the ugly terraced tatt that even a million buys you in London. And these millionaires - is that net or gross?
They are definitely net. It is completely meaningless to talk about gross millionaires. Property prices are determined largely by the location rather than the quality of the property. --Tango (talk) 23:55, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Even ugly terraced houses in seedy locations like Finsbury Park or Haringay can sell for £1M+, so even bad locations are expensive. 92.28.251.49 (talk) 10:43, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not meaningless at all. The ability to raise finance (resulting to high gross and lower net assets) itself is a status symbol. Surely, the subprime craze made housing loans available even to people of modest means, but those days seem to be gone, and anyway it was limited to the U.S. market. In less sophisticated places a person can be well past the million-dollar mark, net and gross, and don't qualify even for a car loan. East of Borschov (talk) 08:00, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The ability to raise finance is meaningful, but it isn't that strongly correlated with gross worth. There are people that could get big loans but choose not to and there are people that have taken out big loans in the past and not paid them back yet but now couldn't get such a loan (either due to the changing market or due to them not making payments on time). --Tango (talk) 15:12, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A reasonable estimate based on the MoS figures as to lifestyle (and not a particularly flash one) would be around 12, which brings you down to Nick Clegg. By comparison #13 is David Willetts, who owns a £300,000 house in Hampshire, a £1.3 million London home and a buy-to-let property. Th is gives him a "wealth" of £1.9 million, but based on that I don't think it's champagne dinners, caviar and house-staff. - Jarry1250[Humorous? Discuss.]09:06, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Adulterous princess imprisoned
I have read the article here about the unfatiful Crown Princess of Prussia, Duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and I wonder about something. She was divorced because of her adultary. Then she was put in prison for the rest of her life as a prisoner of state. But why was she imprisoned? She was divorced, so she should have no further importance for the state. It should have made no difference if they let her free and let her continue to have lovers. Why was it considered necessary to put her in prison? What was the reason for it? --85.226.40.118 (talk) 20:56, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If the wife of the king (or heir to the throne) is unfaithful, it is usually considered treason. It's a betrayal of and an insult to the monarchy. They couldn't let something like that go unpunished or it would make the monarchy look weak. --Tango (talk) 21:39, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
And there is a school of thought that suggests that punishment is for the 'good of the punished'. A little hard to swallow I know, but there is a great history of personal abnegation (self-imposed or otherwise), penance, and severe restrictions on personal freedom before... shall we say, the 20th century? Vranak (talk) 22:02, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I see that the article states that she had one child (Frederica Charlotte, b. 1767) and makes no mention of the result of her 1769 pregnancy. 124.157.249.129 (talk) 00:18, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I can't find any reference to her 1769 pregnancy at all on the web. I have checked (through google translate) the other wp articles, external links, and references. The only ref. to a pregnancy are the German and Italian articles, cited to an offline source. Gwinva (talk) 01:24, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Identifying Isaac Asimov short story
I wonder if anyone can help me identify a short story, which I am almost positive is by Isaac Asimov (though maybe, maybe, maybe it could be by Robert Heinlein or Kurt Vonnegut). It is a marooned-in-space type story. The main characters (about three) are near Mars and are quickly losing oxygen (or something else essential). Because of orbits and so on, even though Earth and Mars are close planets, at the wrong time they could be on opposite sides of the solar system, so they have to get to a specific orbital point at a specific time. The story goes into some depth about the details of Earth and Mars orbits. The result is that one of the characters must sacrifice himself so there is enough oxygen for the rest to survive.
The end result sounds a lot like The Cold Equations, though the rest of the setup doesn't. That article notes a couple of similar predecessor stories, one of which features three characters. I'll note, for what it's worth, that a detailed discussion of Earth/Mars orbital mechanics doesn't sound much like Vonnegut or Asimov's fiction to me (and I'm not familiar enough with Heinlein's to judge that). — Lomn23:54, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well, not *that* detailed. Asimov can just be a little dry to me at times, and it struck me like that. Probably just a couple lines. zafiroblue05 | Talk01:25, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Asimov's Law of Universal Attribution: If you can't remember who wrote a piece of science fiction, assume it was the good doctor. Clarityfiend (talk) 18:31, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Church attire
Does anyone know the name of the clothing that these choristers are wearing: [1] (the young men singing in red and white)? Thanks, Blurpeace23:51, 23 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I consulted a reliable Church Lady, who advised me that the innermost visible white garment, with the lace collar is likely an alb. The red garment is probably a cassock. The white "angel" garment is a cotta. Edison (talk) 00:38, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It's time for me to come out as a former choirboy. I once wore the exact same choir uniform that you see in the video. The lace collar is not an alb, and it's not really made of lace. More like cotton. We called it a "ruffle". I guess you could call it a "ruffled collar". That's the first thing that goes on. Over that goes the long red robe, known as a cassock. On top of the cassock, the white frock-like thing is called a surplice. At least one of the choirboys is wearing a ribbon and a medal. The color of the ribbon and the type of the medal are indications of the choirboys' rank. This is all more or less standardized for Anglican churches by the Royal School of Church Music. Marco polo (talk) 00:52, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Is there any one all encompassing name for the garbs, or does one have to refer to the attire generally (e.g., chorister clothing)? Amendment: also, could you please explain choir "rank"? Do the ranks lead to some form of graduation, or higher position? What is the purpose of ranking in Anglican choirs? Blurpeace01:19, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think we called the whole ensemble the choir "uniform" or "choir robes". My memory is a little hazy on that; there wasn't really much discussion of the clothing since we took it for granted. As for what is the purpose of rank in Anglican choirs, there are a couple of purposes. One is that the prospect of gaining a more respected medal or color of ribbon is an incentive to improve one's performance through practice and such, since choristers are "promoted" based on attaining a higher level of achievement. A second reason for the rank is that higher-ranking choristers sometimes have a leadership role. They are supposed to encourage more junior choristers to improve their singing and to lead sections of the choir in multi-part singing. (The choir is often divided into sections singing different parts. If you are in a section and lose track of the line you are supposed to sing, you are supposed to be quiet and listen for the lead chorister for that section.) The lead chorister also sometimes has a disciplinary role when younger choristers are misbehaving or joking around when they are supposed to be sitting quietly. (This is usually just a matter of looking in the direction of the younger boys in a friendly way and putting your finger in front of your lips.) Choristers are therefore promoted not only because of their singing performance, but also for their leadership. At least in the choir in which I sang, the junior choristers respected and looked up to the lead choristers. Marco polo (talk) 15:28, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A current member of a Church of England choir speaking. Yes, "Robes" is the collective term. I agree with cassock and surplice, but the neckwear (for Trebles only) is a Ruff - some Anglican choristers wear an Eton Collar as an alternative. As Marco Polo says, the blue ribbon represents musical competence, while a red one denotes a Head Chorister. There are two of these, one leads the half of the choir that sits on the north side of the church called Cantoris and one leads the southern half called Decani. The ribbons can only be worn by choirs that are affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music - many parish church choirs don't make the grade or choose to follow a less rigid choral tradition. The red cassock can only be worn by churches that have the status of a Royal Peculiar - ie having royal patronage. Major churches and cathedrals each support a full-time choir school. Although the British don't think of themselves as a musical nation, there are 44 choir schools here, while most European countries only have two or three[2]. Alansplodge (talk) 23:50, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hello,
I inquire as to Tony Hayward's actual birth date.
I see that Wikipedia has only recently added his date of birth as 21st May 1957.
As the media is full of stories re it being his 54th birth day, I am seeking the actual date if possible and if it can be verified as the 20th or 21st; 1957 or 1956?
Is it also possible to know if he has a middle Christian name?
a. Anthony Hayward born 21st May 1957
b. Anthony (*) Hayward born 21st May 1957
c. Anthony Hayward born 21st May 1956
d. Anthony (*) Hayward born 21st May 1956
I take it, from the birthday, that you mean Tony Hayward and not Anthony Hayward: it would be helpful if you had linked the article.
Unfortunately, like much of the information in the article, his birthday is not specifically referenced (and should really therefore be removed). It was added to the article last week by User:78.151.136.230: perhaps you would like to ask that user on their talk page where the information came from? --ColinFine (talk) 23:02, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Who's Who gives his full name as Anthony Bryan Hayward and his date of birth as 21 May 1957: ‘HAYWARD, Anthony Bryan’, Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009; accessed 24 May 2010. Sam Blacketer (talk) 23:39, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Agnate of the Stewart line
Is there anymore legitimate male-line descendant of Robert II of Scotland or, if not, any legitimate male-line descendant of his ancestors, the High Stewards of Scotland? Basically if Scotland had practice the Salic law of succesion, who would the King of Scotland be now (excluding the fact about England)? --Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 02:09, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I had a tenant who claimed to be descended from the House of Stewart but he worked as a janitor and had been married to a black women in NYC and had a daughter and was then divorced according to him. 71.100.3.228 (talk) 05:13, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
See also list of heirs to the Scottish throne. Basically, Mary I was the last male-line descendant of Robert II. Scotland did practice semi-Salic law prior to the accession of Mary I; a woman was able to ascend the Scottish throne only when all the agnatic descendants of Robert II died out. The Scottish act of succession of 1371 said that the Scottish crown would pass to the sons of Robert II and heirs male of their bodies, failing which to his heirs whatsoever (i.e. daughters and their descendants). Mary I succeeded to the Scottish throne only because there were no legitimate male agnatic descendants of Robert II.
Mary I married her own agnate, thus keeping the crown in the family. However, her agnate had no succession rights because he was not descended from Robert II in male line. So, today there are no men who could claim the crown of Scotland on the basis of their male-line descent from Robert II. Surtsicna (talk) 20:04, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I just wanted to know if Robert II had any male-line descendants who would still bear the surname Stewart. But I see that Mary must be the last one. But I don't agree with you on Scotland's succession laws. If Mary had an legitmate uncle in the male-line she still would have been her father's heir.--Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 23:49, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The Hamiltons although descended from a woman: Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, were the next in line to the Scottish throne after Mary, and also during the reign of James V prior to Mary's birth, when his infant sons had died. Anyway, the Hamiltons were the senior claimants to the throne after Mary, coming before all the other Stewart branches.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 06:16, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy, you can't really disagree with me. Scotland had a law. The law said that women could succeed if and only if there were no more legitimate male agnatic descendants of Robert II left.[3] Therefore, had Mary's father had any legitimate brothers at the time of his death, that brother would have become King. That was the law. Unless you have some other information? Surtsicna (talk) 21:04, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
In fact, had the Hamiltons of Arran been descended from a son rather than a daughter of King James II, you can be sure they would have successfully challenged Mary's right to the throne.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 06:56, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Schools of law
By schools of law I mean concept of law one relates to or references. For instance, I know a judge who rejects all notions and concepts of law later than about 200 AD. Other judges have a complete modernistic view which means they uphold laws and legal principles passed or formulated within the last week. What time periods demarcate each period of legal thinking a judge might subscribe to? 71.100.3.228 (talk) 05:08, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
No, it should not be more complicated since many humanities topics such as politics are demarcated by time periods. In fact I recall a number of books on Philosophy, two by I think Will Durant one entitled Age of Reason and the other Age of Faith along with the Story of Philosophy. Certainly if philosophy can be demarcated by tiem so can law. 71.100.3.228 (talk) 08:57, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
That is not true at all and there is no reason for it to be. There are different things that happened in legal circles during different time periods, but they aren't that fundamental to different schools of law. Likewise, schools of philosophy aren't that time specific. The "Age of Reason" isn't a school of philosophy. Schools of philosophy are things like Logical positivism, which isn't the philosophy of a particular time, it's the philosophy particular people. --Tango (talk) 15:19, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Time is used to distinguish between Ancient, modern and Germanic and other periods of Rome and I am sure that each of these are characterized by various takes on "Roman" law. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 23:17, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
From what I can see (Germany, also lived in Italy, Austria, UK), rare, but not very rare. Nobody would think it "weird" or notice it in particular. Most of the ones I see are simple affairs, though - a small pendant or cross on a thin chain or even leather string. I got one or two as gifts over my lifetime, but rarely if ever wore them. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 08:06, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have been living in Italy for years, and most men as well as teenage boys wear them. While the traditional necklace is as Stephan Schulz correctly describes: a gold chain with a crucifix, many are now funkier and clunkier. Silver, leather and plastic are now preferred to gold.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 08:24, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not sure that there is anywhere that you could find evidence of it, but in my experience silver and fairly simple are not unusual in the UK, when I've been in the US on business it's probably been a little less but not distinctively so.
It's difficult to tell in a business environment though when most men wear ties so the collar is closed.
More bling is lot more common amongst the more chav segments though.
It definitely makes a variety of statements, which is the reason many religious sects forbid them along with wearing any other jewelry in order to distinguish those who maintain spiritual things in their minds from those who indulge constantly in carnal thinking. 71.100.3.228 (talk) 10:05, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, I'm not clear on what you're sayinf here. Could you clarify what you're getting at please?
Ignore the posts below. They are simply trying to defend it (their own necklace wearing). Wearing a crucifix is on top of one's clothes is certainly different than wearing one to adorn and draw attention in the direction of one's exposed skin. 71.100.8.229 (talk)
I would think like any fashion it comes and goes in cycles. A number of years ago in my neck of the woods (Scotland) thin Gold/silver chains with a cross/crucifix were very popular. From what I can see it is not anywhere near as popular as it once was. Jack forbes (talk) 10:51, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
In Italy people of all ages still wear the standard gold chain with crucifix/Madonna/saint-even babies; however, over the last few years, designer necklaces are preferred by young men. The necklace shown in the photo also has a matching bracelet. String necklaces of leather or plastic are popular as well and usually have a silver pendant attached to it.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 11:38, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I used to wear one and I am not, never have been, nor have I any future plans of becoming a prostitute; so I would have to say you have most likely been misinformed.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 16:50, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As someone who finds ankle bracelets fairly hot but has no real interest in prostitutes, I'd like some more info on that particular factoid. would come in handy to prevent embarrassment in the future as well. TomorrowTime (talk) 17:25, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps no one has linked to my ankle bracelet comment? Those kind of ankle bracelets may be worn by prostitutes, though I don't have any inside knowledge on that. Jack forbes (talk) 17:30, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
So far I've failed to find a reliable source for this, but it's certainly the case that, at least in the UK, and years ago, ankle bracelets were taken as indicating sexual availability - whether as a prostitute, or not. There are ample references to this in online forums, but I can't find anything definitive. From hippie days in the 60s and later, they began to be worn much more widely. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:29, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I used to wear a DIY ankle bracelet. I just took a pair of black jet beads and coiled them several times around my ankle. It looked fabulous and I never once got busted for suspicion of soliciting!--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 06:51, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Offshore accounts
How does the US know if you have offshore accounts and how do they know if you earn money that is outside of the US? Are earnings from offshore accounts reported to the IRS? Also, if you don't pay taxes on income earned from offshore accounts, what can the IRS do to recover those taxes since the account is outside of their jurisdiction? Also, if I am a resident of a foreign nation, what can the country I am a citizen of do? Count Westfall (talk) 06:27, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The US, and other nations, have bilateral agreements on taxation and, to some degrees, on the exchange of banking information. I don't think they get actively informed if you open an account, but if the IRS notices a discrepancy between your income, wealth, and lifestyle, they may become suspicious and inquire. If they find out that you transfer a million a month to Grand Cayman, they will become very suspicious. If the IRS determines that you owe them, it can recover assets from wherever the US has jurisdiction. So if they cannot touch your offshore account, they can grab your house in Palo Alto instead. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 08:18, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If you have more than $10,000 in offshore accounts, you're supposed to file a report with the Treasury Department every year. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 12:24, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If you live outside the US, and you're an American citizen, you have to report any and all bank accounts on which you have signing rights, regardless of how much money is in the account, and the largest amount in that account in the previous year. So, if you are treasurer of your local (overseas) club, and nine other people have to sign for any money to move, you still have to report it. DOR (HK) (talk) 08:46, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Rain musical contraption
Hello all,
I was wondering about the contraption shown here : http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/others/rain.htm
Is it really, as I assume it is, a contraption/musical instrument that makes sound when rain falls on it ? If yes, how is it named ?
Indeed, that looks like it. Thanks! Too bad, I liked the idea of a contraption that made sounds when the rain fell on it. --Alþykkr (talk) 11:07, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I just had a look at the article on the Irish song Molly Malone and it says that while there were many girls named Molly Malone born in Dublin in the past three centuries, not one has been identified as the fishmonger of which the song is about. There is, however, the possibilty that she did exist. Does anybody know whether there actually was a fishmonger in Dublin by that name?--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 14:44, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A lot of songs come from the imagination of the songwriter. "Molly" is a nickname for "Mary", although the article says it's Mol Ní Mhaoileoin in Gaelic, and it's unclear which name came first. ←Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→ 15:03, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Mol is Molly and Ni means daughter of Mhaoileoin (Malone). Yes, there were many Molly's in Ireland; even as late as the 20th century, some mother's were naming their daughters that. It's pretty much regarded, along with Bridget, as the archtypical Irish female name. I was curious if it did have it's origins in an actual person who bore that name.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:11, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The article claims they found someone they thought fit, and that others consider that claim to be bunk. It reminds me of the icon of Switzerland, William Tell, who may well not have existed, although some claim they have a record of his overture. ←Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→ 15:15, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well, historians used to believe Robin Hood was the Earl of Huntingdon who lived in the 14th century; now they are pretty certain he was based on Fulk FitzWarin, who lived during the time the Robin Hood legend is based.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:26, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hello. What is the University of Toronto's (St George campus) first year kickout rate for Life Science (Faculty of Arts and Science) and the average GPA in that program/faculty? Thanks in advance. --Mayfare (talk) 18:23, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
According to the Academic Calendar there are no first years in life science (actually "human biology"), since it's a second year program. No minimum GPA is required, so presumably they don't keep track of the average. You might want to look around the Human Biology website, and maybe contact them directly. Adam Bishop (talk) 18:54, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
From what I've seen, the only way to get kicked out of an undergrad program is not passing at least half the credits you're enrolled in. One way to avoid getting kicked out is to drop courses that you probably won't pass before the drop date or, if you're really stuck and it's almost the end of the year, you can apply for a Late Withdrawal (LWD). I think you only get three of those in your entire U of T academic career though. I have a buddy who dropped all but two courses in his first year and U of T didn't seem to care at all. As for the average GPA in the program, that's definitely something you won't find officially published online, but POSts do tend to have GPA cut offs for admission (but as Adam Bishop said, that's a second year thing). flagitious (talk) 06:52, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
KECHEMECHE
What does KECHEMECHE mean in the lenape language? they were the indiginous people of cape may county along with the tuckahoe. I had no luck at the language desk. I know about the general history and the like but I can't find the meaning of the word!?165.212.189.187 (talk) 18:44, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently Lenape means "people". But as to Kechemeche, I've tried a quick look around online Lenape dictionaries, and I don't see anything like a KECHE- root. Howerver, MECHEN apparently means "large" with several compound words built from it (Mechinkhakihakan: large field). But you'll notice that in these cases MECH- comes first, not last as in KECHEMECHE. So... Mystery! Another possibility is that the demonym (=Kechemeche) was originally related with nouns/adjectives in Lenape, but that since then, the pronunciation and spelling of the demonym, the nouns/adjectives, or both, went their separate ways. --Alþykkr (talk) 01:31, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
For comparable questions, ask "what does Peruviano signify in Spanish? Or "what is the etymological significance of Apollo?" And be skeptical of "explanations" of Lenape placenames etc.--Wetman (talk) 15:29, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
On the other hand, a number of placenames (and associated demonyms) do have an etymology. For instance, "the word Peru is derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama, in the early 16th century" (see Peru). Although you're right in that such etymologies need to be taken with a grain of salt as it's always difficult to be sure... --Alþykkr (talk) 17:13, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If I am a business person or a customer service representative speaking with a customer who is seriously lacking in English-language fluency, and I really want or need the income involved, or, if I am a customer speaking with a business person or with a customer service representative who is seriously lacking in English-language fluency, and I really want or need the product or service involved, what is a polite way in which I might inform that person about the problem and/or find another person who can assist in communication? Lack of vocabulary and lack of clear diction can prevent adequate understanding in both directions. -- Wavelength (talk) 19:44, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
[I am revising my message, by inserting "with" for clarity. -- Wavelength (talk) 20:19, 24 May 2010 (UTC)][reply]
Say "I better call a translator for <your language>". Have phone numbers handy for translators for languages of people you're likely to have to deal with. There are probably also agencies that can dispatch such calls. 69.228.170.24 (talk) 04:09, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
"I better call a translator" is not standard grammar so the recipient may have trouble deciphering it. I suggest you ask this question on the Language Desk. 92.15.20.47 (talk) 20:52, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
When I worked customer service in a call center, we had a person in the office who spoke Spanish. So there may be someone there who is at least familiar with the language. If I'm calling a business and can't understand the customer service rep, I will specifically tell them that I can't understand what they are saying and ask for their manager. I've been asked before by the manager why I requested to talk to them and have been rather up front about telling them that I couldn't understand their employee. If they're a good manager, they would want to know that their employees are not able to conduct business with English speakers fluently. After all, it hurts business if your customers can't understand your CS reps. I pointed out to one manager that they, the manager, spoke very well and asked where they were (believing the whole CS department to be outsourced to India or the like). I was a bit surprised when she said that she was in the Philippines. I detected no accent at all. Dismas|(talk)02:11, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I have found that Indian call centres have speakers who speak English very well, but so fast as to make them difficult to understand. Asking them to slow down and explaining that I am slow witted and partially deaf has no effect and the poor and crackling telephone line to the UK does not help. I dread having to talk to them at all.--Artjo (talk) 16:35, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I've been holding back on this question before, but seriously? You badly want the business of this client, aren't satisfied with their English, and your first thought was not "Where can I get an interpreter for the language?" - an interpreter would help smooth out the negotiations, and besides, you get them to start talks for you with something along the lines of: "Hello, my name is this-and-this, and I'll be interpreting today." No room for any misunderstanding or nothing there. TomorrowTime (talk) 17:31, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Does the literature of psychology give us any account of what is typical of women who are accustomed to supervising male subordinates and feel visceral disgust at the thought of having a female subordinate? 76.17.204.112 (talk) 21:21, 24 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
But those articles are about female bosses who are tyrants. The query is about a female boss who only has male subordinates and gets along harmoniously with them, and is disgusted by the thought of having a female subordinate. 160.94.49.83 (talk) 00:41, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Uh, no. These are articles about female bosses who get along less well with their female employees than they do with their male ones. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:04, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Trying to track down a Daniel Patrick Moynihan quote
In his 1978 book "A Dangerous Place," Moynihan said: “The true diplomatist [is] aware of how much subsequently depends on what clearly can be established to have taken place. If it seems simple in the archives, try it in the maelstrom.” I'm wondering if anyone has read this book and can tell me what page (or even approximately where in the book) this quote appears on. Thanks.128.2.66.228 (talk) 03:16, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Food policy
i am researching on food policies and looking for case studies on food policies, everywhere on internet i find the general definition of food policies, but not any examples of some of the most common policies.
Could you explain in a little more detail what you mean by "food policies"? There are any number of topics that could get you in the right direction, but given such a broad topic, it is impossible to give you any useful information. If you could tell us specifically what you are researching, we could aim you in a better direction. --Jayron3205:38, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
i mean , any government policy that affects nutrition.
Policies related to schools, food labels, agriculture, advertising, education, the military, taxes, transportation, government spending, sales of food, research, etc can all affect nutrition.
please help me research something , about any specific policy that affects nutrition.i am looking for a policy that has Directly observable effects, the military spending or govt. spending does not have clearly identifiable link to nutrition.
And drilling down a bit to Pakistan-specific resources, you might look at this Agricultural Perspective and Policy (pdf) document from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. It gives an outline of all the ways the Government of Pakistan is involved in food and agriculture issues that affect nutrition – funding research into more productive crops, ensuring food security, regulating fertilizers and pesticides, promoting crops that don’t require a lot of water, soil desalination and clean-up, regulations to prevent plant and livestock diseases, taxes, subsidies…
Mykonos appears to be correct; the picture at right matches up with the scene that begins at 0:28 in the video - they both have that pier near the building with the large brown roof clearly visible. Thank you. However, do you think you could be more specific in your source of information than "Google?" Garrett Albright (talk) 15:27, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Umph, I think I put down "stereo love video location" or something similar as the search string and the first hit I got was from some forum discussion on this where one person figured it could be Mykonos. Can't seem to find the exact link again... Sorry :/ TomorrowTime (talk) 23:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Passport fraud
I read this article written by Alan Dershowitz regarding the recent passport fraud allegedly perpetrated by Israel in a successful plot to assassinate Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. In light of the recent summons/expulsion of Irish + Australian Israeli diplomats, does Dershowitz make a valid point and is such action by the aforementioned governments merely meant to quell uninformed nations, or is his point invalid and the governments are truly outraged? DRosenbach(Talk | Contribs)12:55, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Passport fraud undermines sovereignty, for it undermines a state's ability to protect its citizens. Now, I'm sure he's right that many intelligence agencies use fraudulent passports in their work - but I think that using them in the commission of murder is significantly different from using them to, say, place an operative in a sensitive location or get an agent inside an obnoxious organization. In that article, Dershowitz doesn't seem to understand the moral repugnance that many feel about murder - and about state-ordered murder in particular. If you think it's OK to go about murdering your opponents - then you are adopting the same code as the terrorists, and then they have won. DuncanHill (talk) 14:05, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
He seems to make a sort of wp:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS argument: the fact that many countries adopt these practices does not necessarily make the practice right. A political assassination in general, when carried out in a foreign country, undermines that nation's sovereignty. Doing it with stolen passports just undermines even more nations' sovereignty. There may be valid reasons to steal passports (though personally, I have a hard time seeing them), but I think it's a pretty poor argument to point to someone else doing it and say that that makes it OK. Buddy431 (talk) 14:24, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
So you're saying it's the extrajudicial punishment that's behind the of the fraud that's the problem? So Israel decides to assassinate those on it's Most Wanted List rather than bring them home to justice, and since other countries don't agree with that form of justice, they complain. But it does seem that no one is making that point, other than you, DuncanHill. It seems that they focus on the passport fraud, seemingly denying reality, as Dershowitz asserts. DRosenbach(Talk | Contribs)16:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The fraud is a problem - certainly no country willingly tolerates misuse of its passports by another, but what makes this case special is that they were used in a murder, and I think that has been made clear by the British and Australian governments. DuncanHill (talk) 16:59, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Really, it's very simple. The Israelis got found out. Everyone knows this kind of thing goes on and it doesn't usually get mentioned but if you get caught in the act they're going to complain about it. --Tango (talk) 20:54, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
To summarise there are two things here. Just because many people do it, including some of the ones protesting doesn't mean they like others doing it to them. When you get found out, it's entirely resonable to expect the government of the country to be rather annoyed, see 2004 Israel – New Zealand spy scandal. The fact that these were used to commit a murder of course means there is even greater concern. Nil Einne (talk) 04:09, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The question is probably unanswerable in a 100% rigorous fashion, but it can be answered in a "most likely" fashion by hypothesizing: Suppose Israel had identified the mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 88 Australians, and Israeli spies forged and used Australian passports to travel to the mastermind, kill him, and escape. Would the Australian government protest this strongly? No, I don't know for certain, either, but we can all form a guess. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:30, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
American Gold Eagle coins
The article on American Gold Eagle coins states that they're legal tender and that the value of the gold in the coins far out-strips their face value. I know that in the US (and, presumably, other countries) it's illegal to melt down the coinage and sell the raw metal, although given commodity prices the metals are worth more than the face value of low denomination coins like pennies and nickels. So does this mean that people in America cannot legally melt their American gold coins? Is it legal to melt down gold coins from other countries? 96.246.63.175 (talk) 14:15, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I can't comment on the legality, but I can tell you that the market value of the coin (as opposed to it's face value) almost certainly exceeds the value of the gold in the coin. So whether it's legal to melt it down or not, it would be stupid to do so. Buddy431 (talk) 14:19, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
These are bullion coins, made in mass quantities in recent years. They are not rare old scarce coins, like St. Gaudens Double Eagle, which have numismatic value greater than the bullion value. The value of "American Gold Eagle coins" is based on the gold content, not the negligible numismatic value. Edison (talk) 16:35, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, we do have a Bullion coin article. It says they often sell for a small premium above the value of their metal, due to the small size and costs associated with manufacture and storage. Buddy431 (talk) 17:50, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Can you cite a source that it's illegal to melt bullion coins? I used to be into this, and I have never heard of such a thing. During the height of the silver boom 30 years ago, there was a lot of melting down of US quarters, dimes, and half-dollars minted in 1964 and previous, and those weren't even bullion coins. You may be thinking of the US law that criminalizes the defacing of US currency for purposes of fraud. Anyway, I can't think of a reason you would melt down a bullion coin, because everyone knows what the gold content is and will pay you accordingly when purchasing it from you — the $50 (or whatever) face value is just a nominal number that nobody pays attention to. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:56, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The relevant section of US Federal law is 18 USC §331 which says "Whoever fraudulently alters..."; merely melting the coin isn't fraudulent. Similarly 18 USC §332 covers debasement (such as melting it, mixing in some copper, re-pouring it, and keeping the resulting excess gold). 96.246.63.175 may be thinking about §333, which covers mutilation of notes. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk18:29, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It says at Penny (United States coin)#Numismatics and regulations that it was made illegal in 2006 to melt down pennies and nickels, and puts regulations on the export of the coins. The article cited is here, and says the rules mirror similar legislation used for silver coins during 1967-69, and (presumably copper) pennies in 1974-78. It appears to be legal (though I'm no lawyer) to melt down higher denomination coins, including bullion coins. Buddy431 (talk) 18:59, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Interesting. I remember an article by an amateur astronomer who made his own telescope. He got the silver for the telescope mirror by melting down some silver coins from a coin dealer (it didn't cost that much since only a few coins were required). 69.228.170.24 (talk) 08:27, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The concept of the king (or queen) as protector of the church goes back at least to the dark ages. I guess holding the church is one way of representing this pictorially. Earls & lords & such also tended to found monestaries & act as local protectors. --Tagishsimon(talk)15:03, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sure they did this as a way of expiating their sins as in the case of Guy de Beauchamp, or else in memory of a dead relative as in the case of Margaret de Braose who founded a religious house in memory of her mother Maud de Braose. Thanks for your prompt reply.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:10, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The Beauchamps probably owned an advowson, which is shown in the illustration; same with Queen Agnes of Hungary. I notice the churches are different, so are not meant to represent the Church in general but their own particular advowson. These answers are very helpful.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 15:30, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The article on Guy de Beauchamp says he donated 42 books to the library of Bordesley Abbey, Worcestershire, where he was also buried. It's possible the building pictured is this Abbey. Of course, he would have had to do something to expiate the death of Piers Gaveston! I originally thought it was the original St Mary's Church, Warwick, but another member of the Beauchamps of Warwick built that. --TammyMoet (talk) 19:29, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Compare the image of her mother and predecessor (predecessress?) Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, obviously from the same source. By the way, it would be nice if people uploading images to Commons were more careful to research and note the original source of images like these ones, not just the immediate source where they found the image. --Hegvald (talk) 10:41, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Elisabeth's article needed a bit of fixing; I'm glad you linked it here. This is all very helpful, as it proves the churches depicted were indeed religious houses that were under their patronage.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 12:28, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
in the united states, can you write a newspaper article calling for the eradication of black people (a la klu klux klan)
I have no interest in this and this is not a requestion for legal advice. Instead I just want to know whether it is true that America is absolutely adamant about free speech on a constitutional/supreme court decided level, even when it conflicts with America's ideals. For example, can you write a newspaper article calling for the eradication of black people, ie as a klansman might? 82.113.121.113 (talk) 21:50, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
No mainstream newspaper would print such a letter though, so essentially it would still be censored (just not by the government). You could, however, right it in your blog, and while many people would think negatively of you, the government would not intervene. Buddy431 (talk) 22:41, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
There are limits to the First Amendment, though. Calling for the eradication of black people may (or may not, depending on how you word it) be seen as either a threat, or as inciting people to do illegal things. In both of these cases, the government may intervene. The other two exceptions to the First Amendment that I can think of are obscenity (a difficult to define concept: in the U.S. the Miller test is applied) and Child pornography. Buddy431 (talk) 22:59, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
See also Hate_speech#United_States for the specifics of your scenario, with links to the relevant major cases. There are limits but they are pretty specific. In general, if you are not calling for direct violence or trying to incite a riot, you can publish any hateful thing you want, generally speaking. (And people do.) --Mr.98 (talk) 01:28, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As Buddy431 pointed out, you can write it but it may not see the light of day in a newspaper. Newspapers often have a "Letters to the Editor" section where people can write in and state their opinions on many issues such as local politics, social issues, etc. The newspaper isn't required to print these and will generally only print those that have some merit to them (as judged by the newspaper's staff). If the newspaper feels that they will suffer a backlash from people canceling their subscriptions, their advertising, etc., then the paper will likely not print your letter. Dismas|(talk)01:57, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It doesn't matter whether some existing newspaper will or won't print your article (an editorial judgment that is up to them). You can always buy a printing press and print your own newspaper. That said, there's probably lots of content you might print that is legal but would get you investigated. 69.228.170.24 (talk) 08:30, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think people overestimate newspaper standards. Even venerable newspapers like the New York Times will print all sorts of hateful stuff if it is carefully written and argued, and is espoused by someone with a fancy title or pedigree. Less venerable newspapers print all sorts of hateful columns about gays, hispanics, Muslims, or any other feared group. (Ann Coulter was able to get published in the National Review the sentiment that with regards to Muslim nations, the US should "invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity"... is this really so different from the sentiments of the KKK? Hate is hate, whether the group hated is considered legitimately "scary" at the moment or not.) And of course there is the internet, which is essentially the world's largest printing press, which contains all manner of foul bile. To say that a newspaper won't print hate is wrong, and is an antiquated definition of "newspaper" anyway... --Mr.98 (talk) 12:29, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Examples? How about, say, citing the two or three most recent examples of "hateful stuff" printed in The New York Times and written by someone with a "fancy title". —KevinMyers13:18, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think anyone would say that inflation guards against a recession. A moderate inflation rate can be a sign of a healthy economy. I would not consider Hyperinflation healthy for an economy, though it may not actually accompany a true recession (contraction in economic activity). Buddy431 (talk) 01:57, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Is there an optimum inflation rate? The 2% target in the UK is like a jet fighter flying at 2 metres above ground level - it is flying so low that it wacks into the side of a hill, as we have recently seen. 92.15.6.183 (talk) 21:09, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The standard newspaper-headline inflation figure is based on the Consumer Price Index, which is a basket of goods and services that is supposed to represent what the average consumer buys. Typically, some products (say, computer chips) crash in value and others (petrol) soar, and the net result – depending on things like weighting within the basked – may be that optimum (?) +2%. But, if the basket is out-of-date, which is to say it is based on what people bought 5 or 10 years ago, it may not give as much useful information. So, what happens is central bankers use a variety of inflation measures and hope that they can see far enough into the future to adjust monetary policy so as to prevent prices from rising too fast, or falling too much. DOR (HK) (talk) 09:20, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
When the Bible says it is better to couple with a prostitute than to leave your mark on the ground does that mean any prostitute (including those that are not Israelite)? 71.100.8.229 (talk) 23:34, 25 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm looking. I recall it went something like, "... it is better to spill thy seed in the belly of a whore than to spill it on the ground..." but while I can find the phrase in Genesis 38:9 that Onan "...spilled it [his seed] on the ground..." I can't find it in reference to a whore. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 02:43, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Something not stated in the text couldn't possibly be a literal interpretation. The only thing I could think of, too, is the story of Onan. However, God's displeasure at Onan's action is more easily attributable to Onan's dereliction of brotherly duty and disobedience of his father. Paul (Stansifer)02:47, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(ec's)Chapter and verse would be good. Else we can't tell whether you're talking about hors de combat or hors d'ouvresPhGustaf (talk) 02:50, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Having scanned with "belly" and "on the ground" and a variety of other phrases it does not yet appear. I do not think it from my imagination but it could be from a comment I overheard or from other reading. Anything you find that is close please post here. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 06:47, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Having scanned for prostitute, whore, and harlot, there are an awful lot of them in the Bible, but no suggestion that any of them are better or worse than the ground. (There are many statements that people think are in the Bible that turn out not to be there at all.)--Shantavira|feed me07:49, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
There is no such scripture/phrase/reference/advice in the Bible; it is most likely an extrapolation and a misinterpretation of the story of Onan (from which we have the word onanism), Tamar, and Judah. Onan was "slain by God" for not ejaculating inside Tamar, his dead brother Er's widow (whom he was obligated to marry according to levirate marriage). Tamar then posed as a prostitute in order to get Judah, the father of Onan and Er, to sleep with her; which he did, and she bore twins, and according to scripture, Judah was never "punished" for sleeping with "a prostitute". You can see how the phrase has gotten around, but its implied meaning is far from the Biblical story upon which it's (probably) based. A decent explanation is here, too: [7]. Maedin\talk08:11, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, that explains it very well why it can't be found in the Bible so I'm wondering now just how many other false extrapolations are out there which are believed to be scripture and if the Wikipedia has a list? 71.100.8.229 (talk) 08:40, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think there's a list, as it would be unverifiable. But two that spring immediately to mind are the apple that never was (see forbidden fruit) and Noah's animals being in pairs. (Our own Noah's Ark article seems to ignore Genesis 7:2-3.)--Shantavira|feed me10:25, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I once saw a clip from an American news show where some lady was talking about how the free market stems from the Bible and proving this by the biblical saying that "if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day but if you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime". TomorrowTime (talk) 12:33, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly. That isn't a Biblical quote at all — it's actually a Chinese proverb. [8] (Or is it? [9]) That's a perfect example of yet another false extrapolation from the Bible. Gabbe (talk) 13:11, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Whoever wrote that (otherwise well-researched and argumented) blog post under (13) fails to acknowledge that "ancient Asian" wisdoms have seen some very loose translating through the ages - you can look up translations of verses from the I-Ching or The Art of War on the Internet, and some translations of the same passages stand ridiculously far apart. But yeah, that was my point - that saying is not even from the Bible, but obviously the above mentioned talking head thought it was because it, well, sounds Bible-y. TomorrowTime (talk) 17:40, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The answer to your question will certainly depend on your orientation and preconceived notions, but I can provide the Jewish perspective. For a Jewish male, there is at most a rabbinic prohibition on prostitution assuming that the prostitute is not similarly male (which would fall under the biblical ban on homosexuality) or a Jewish female either married or in niddah (with whom intercourse is biblically prohibited because of adultery or niddah prhobitions, respectively) and there is debate as to whether coitus interruptus, masturbation and other forms of "spilling one's seed" are biblically or rabbinically prohibited. It's therefor debatable as to which one is worse, and doing one to avoid the other is likely not a legal defense because one should have done neither. The Christian perspectives are likely different. DRosenbach(Talk | Contribs)15:20, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
From a christian point of view, it depends on whether or not you take the Catholic or mainline Protestant point of view. Catholics recognize differing degrees of sin (see cardinal sin, venal sin, mortal sin etc.) and differing degrees of penance one can do to atone for sin. Many mainline protestant denominations do not rank-order sins, instead seeing sin as a binary state: You are either in a state of grace or not. All sin is equal in the eyes of God in that sin prevents one from having a relationship with God, and Jesus resurection redeemed all people who profess faith in him from all of their sins. In other words, there is no sin which God can allow in his presence, and there is no sin which Jesus's death and resurrection did not wash away, so there is no sin that is "better" or "worse" than any other. Though there are likely a continuum of views on sin from the hundreds of Christian denominations, so it would be difficult to answer the question in any singular "Christian" view. --Jayron3201:04, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
May 26
Victorian court case about Calvinist Priest not seated in Anglican Church?
Does anyone know of a Victorian court case about Calvinist Priest not seated in Anglican Church? As I recall the Bishops backed up the decision not to seat a Calvinist as a priest, but he appealed the decision to the Privy council that supported him.--Gary123 (talk) 05:30, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Wasn't the Victorian era a bit late for hammering out these sorts of things? This seems a few centuries too late for such debates to have been going on within the CoE, are you sure of the time frame? --Jayron3205:35, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Buddy's #3 is wrong. In North American usage, for any political division smaller than a country its own name is used as an adjective rather than being inflected. So our state and provincial governments would include the Ontario government, the Kansas government, and the California government, not Ontarian, Kansan, and Californian... and thus any Victoria in North America would not have a "Victorian government". And then, of course, for cities we generally don't say "government" anyway, but "council" or whatever they call it in that city. --Anonymous, 21:01 UTC, May 26, 2010.
Buddy said "any"; that's what I was challenging. --Anon, 15:46 UTC, May 27, 2010.
Why aren't Mathematicians starving?
There is no copyright protection for Mathematics. Therefore there must be hundreds of thousands of bit torrent downloads of all the mathematical works. No mathematicians who produces a work of mathematics will ever sell a single copy of their work. If they ever wrote something, people can legally duplicate their work without paying them a single cent.
What makes you think there is no copyright protection for mathematics ? Mathematical theorems and methods cannot be patented, but I don't see why a published mathematics book or paper should have any less copyright protetction than any other published work. Gandalf61 (talk) 12:21, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Even more, many mathematicians are paid for solving particular problems, as e.g. creating risk models for insurances or financial derivatives for banks or economical models for governments. As in many disciplines, the knowledge is basically cheap (but not easy) - just spend a few hundreds on books. Understanding what to do when is much harder. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 12:59, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Papers are protected by copyright law, and universities pay an annual fee to academic journals for access to those papers. However, the money just goes to the journals; the researchers aren't paid and will usually (at least in computer science, with which I'm more familiar) put all their papers on their website for anyone to download. In order to push the state of the art forward, it's necessary to have access to the current state of the art, and mucking around with permission is the last thing that researchers want to do.
The researchers generally get paid by a university or government or occasionally a business. In each case, a combination of prestige and a desire for access to the result. It's understood that everyone will have access to the newly-gained knowledge, but that's doesn't diminish its value. Paul (Stansifer)13:36, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
the real question is "why are there mathematicians"? In a free market, there would be almost 0 mathematicians. Accountants, chemists, physicists, wall street quants, yes. But pure mathematicians: none. Professional pure mathematics is an example of government waste and excess. It also just so happens to be the only true progress humanity makes. 82.113.104.240 (talk) 13:17, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Pure mathematics is extremely useful in chemistry, physics and quantitative finance (along with hundreds of other fields) - in fact, those fields wouldn't exist without it. While a lot of funding of mathematical research (and other academic research) does come from governments, that's mostly because it is more efficient and effective to share results but companies are inclined to keep things to themselves (although they do often publish their results anyway, at least in less competitive industries). If governments weren't funding this research, companies would do so, so there would be pure mathematicians. There wouldn't be as many and they wouldn't make as much progress, but they would still exist. --Tango (talk) 13:47, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Your statement asserts that your statement is meaningless, since it isn't mathematical. Complete waste of space which will achieve no true progress, according to you. Indeed, you may be right. 81.131.30.213 (talk) 15:00, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Copyright Law : we discuss works for which copyright law cannot be applied. The law is designed to protect creative written works.
Ideas are generally not subject to copyright. From section 102 of [US]: In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.
You are confused. Mathematics papers are indeed subject to copyright. The ideas in the papers are not. But this is no different than any other field. For example, a legal brief is copyrighted, but the legal theories it describes are not. The actual writings of a philosopher are copyrighted, but the theories the philosopher describes are not. — Carl (CBM · talk) 13:43, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Let me give you an example: suppose no one know how to solve a cubic equation. Suppose I wrote/published a paper on the procedure or method of operation to solve the cubic equation. What do you think the Copyright status of my paper will be? 122.107.207.98 (talk) 13:45, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly the same as the copyright status on any other original work. The method you describe wouldn't be protected but the presentation of it would be. --Tango (talk) 13:49, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Mathematicians make money selling textbooks the same as historians and chemists and economists. You can copyright mathematics textbooks, because you can copyright the expression and organization of the book. Even if it was just a book full of equations, if you had put them in a potentially creative order, that would be copyrightable (it is called a "compilation" under US copyright law). And the bar for "creativity" in copyright law is very low—an even halfway clever proof is probably sufficiently "creative" for copyright purposes. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:50, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The prevalence is about 0.8 to 2.5 per cent of males and 8 to 13.7 per cent of females, according to the studies cited here (PDF). Using our estimate of world population, 6,823,200,000, and assuming 50-50 male-female split, that's roughly between 300 million and 550 million people. Best, WikiJedits (talk) 18:08, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Typography in Shakespeare
Why exactly does the text of a Shakespeare play often exhibit a strange typography (specifically, the use of leading blank white space in the lines of some characters)?
For example, these are lines 1-3 of act 2, scene 6, in The Merchant of Venice:
1 Gratiano: This is the penthouse under which Lorenzo
2 Gratiano: Desired us to make stand.
3 Salarino: His hour is almost past.
Thus, in line 3, why is there all of that leading blank white space in Salarino’s line? What is this supposed to indicate? I assume that this has something to do with the keeping the correct meter of a Shakespearean verse, but I am not sure. Also, even if it does keep the Shakespearean meter in proper form, what practical effect does this leading white space have on the reader of the play (when he is reading the lines)? Or on the actor performing those lines (when he is speaking the lines)? Thank you! (64.252.65.146 (talk) 15:11, 26 May 2010 (UTC))[reply]
Yes. It's a meter thing. It's used to indicate that Salarino's line is half a verse. In other authors like Edmond Rostand you can even find thirds or quarters of verses indicated in this way : see for instance http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac_(Rostand) (right at the beginning) :
LE PORTIER, le poursuivant :
Holà ! Vos quinze sols !
LE CAVALIER :
J’entre gratis !
LE PORTIER :
Pourquoi ?
LE CAVALIER :
Je suis chevau-léger de la maison du Roi !
(First alexandrine : -Hey! It's fifteen sols! - I can come in for free! - Why?
Second alexandrine : - I'm a chevau-léger in the King's Household!)
Rostand's example demonstrates the utility of this - with halves you could keep track without the spaces, but when it gets into thirds, quarters, or even fifths or sixths, it can become difficult to see where a verse ends, begins, or reaches its half, all things important for proper diction. I think there would be some examples in Shakespeare where you could find thirds or quarters of verses. --Alþykkr (talk) 16:01, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
PS : it may also have to do with the text being visually more pleasant (arguably) thanks to this typographical "trick". --Alþykkr (talk) 16:29, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
PPS : one last note : this manner especially highlights the beginnings and ends of "divided" verses, which allows one to see what rhymes with what. --Alþykkr (talk) 16:32, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We don't have a single line of Shakespeare's plays in his own handwriting, so it's impossible to say what he himself might have done. (The First Folio appeared seven years after his death.) My guess, and it's only a guess, is that spacing would typically be added by an editor, though a printer might have chosen to put it in.
I skimmed a 1597 quarto image of Richard III at the same site. That was published in Shakespeare's lifetime. This edition does not show the inter-line spacing, either, though stage directions ("Enter Clarence with a gard of men") appear as if right-justified. --- OtherDave (talk) 12:17, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Unlikely. Mutual assured destruction is a strong deterrent to open warfare between major world powers (any such war could easily turn into a nuclear war, so everyone would rather not start a war at all). It's impossible to know for sure, of course. The ref desk doesn't really do speculation, so I'll stop breaking the rules and leave it at that. --Tango (talk) 17:52, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A war is one thing - it could easily spark a war between North and South Korea - but the OP is asking about a world war, which is very different. --Tango (talk) 18:26, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is pretty unlikely that this event will cause a war between Austria and Serbia, so no, it will not be like the assassination of ADuke Ferdinand. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 18:54, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I am conducting research on Father Junipero Serra.
One of the names that came up was Juan Bautista de Anza
In reading his biography,I came across the following -
"He continued on to Monterey, California with the colonists. Having fulfilled his mission from the Viceroy, he continued on with Father Pedro Font and a party of twelve others exploring north and found the first overland route to San Francisco Bay. In de Anza's diary on March 25, 1776, he states that he "arrived at the arroyo of San Joseph Cupertino, which is useful only for travelers. Here we halted for the night, having come eight leagues in seven and a half hours. From this place we have seen at our right the estuary which runs from the port of San Francisco." [1] Pressing on, de Anza located the sites for the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asis in present day San Francisco, California on March 28, 1776. He did not establish the settlement; it was established later by José Joaquín Moraga. While returning to Monterey, he located the original sites for Mission Santa Clara de Asis and the town of San José de Guadalupe (modern day San Jose, California), but again did not establish either settlement."
The final part about him finding the first overland route to San Francisco and locating the sites for the presidio and missions appears to be wrong. Reading the biographies of Portola' and Crespi indicates they found those locations in 1769/1770 more than six years earlier.
I believe that it was Douglas Hofstadter that said that the reason that you don't remember much about your early life is that everything is completely new. We organize information in a certain way, and it's only when we have a concept of certain fundamental objects like table, mother, car etc. that we are able to 'anchor and adjust' i.e. Ship - it's like a car (anchor), BUT it goes on water (Adjust). After a while we develop larger concepts by bundling our understanding of these fundamental objects together.
Anyhoo - I think that's how it goes - I could be all wet. I've Googled Allegorical Bundles, Metaphorical Bundles etc. but not found anything.
ISTR a nice concise piece that described this, and I'm pretty sure it was by Hofstadter.
So with all the foregoing, does anyone recognize this piece, can someone point me to it?
I remember reading that Pal Erdos could remember things happening when he was just a few months old. I myself can remember moving house when I was 9 months old. It may be that our brains are still forming in the early months (I did a psychology degree and remember reading that, but damned if I can remember where!) --TammyMoet (talk) 09:28, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What makes most sense to me is that babies do not individuate for quite some time. That is, they do not perceive themselves and the outside world (including their parents, siblings etc) as separate things, but all part of one whole. It's only when this realisation finally occurs, and they get a sense of where their body ends and "other things" start, that memories of those things can be formed. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 12:27, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The term for the general condition is childhood amnesia, and there are many competing theories as to why it occurs. I don't think anyone has really nailed it. I suspect it will take a deeper understanding of the functioning of the infant brain to really make sense of it, and I don't think we're nearly there yet. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:58, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
no longer by boat
While I was in line at my local post office, a customer at a window wanted to send a padded envelope via surface mail to a country overseas. But the clerk told him that type of method, originally done by boat, isn't done anymore. Why is that?24.90.204.234 (talk) 22:28, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Where are you? The UK's Royal Mail still offers surface mail, as does Canada, I believe, but many other countries don't. (Leaving a bizarre scenario where you can send things by boat from UK to NZ, but not back.) This is apparently due to decreased volumes/increased costs of sea shipments, and better/more competitive air options. Having just googled a reference for this, I discover that WHAAOE: our article notes the USPS rationale: "On May 14, 2007, the United States Postal Service canceled all outgoing international surface mail (sometimes known as "sea mail") from the United States, citing increased costs and reduced demand due to competition from airmail services such as FedEx and UPS". Gwinva (talk) 23:03, 26 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Canada certainly does. I recently sent a small package "surface mail" to Australia. It took about 4 months to arrive. Bielle (talk) 01:40, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Canada has the choice for parcels but not for letter mail (which includes postcards, by the way). --Anon, 15:51 UTC, May 27, 2010.
In one of the South Park episodes Cartman asks Kyle to hand out his "jew gold". Kyle denies it at first, then he gives him a decoy bag filled with rocks, but finally gives him a bag filled with gold which hung around his neck. Now I know South Park is a satirical show, but once I asked, semi-seriously, a friend of mine, who is a Jew, about it, and he changed the subject rather quickly, without answering the question. Also I remember that an old neighbor of mine, who spent some time in the concentration camp, told me once that he was surprise when some of his friends, who were Jews, came to the camp, they had huge amounts of gold hidden on their body. Since I don’t know any other Jews, could you tell me if its true that all Jews (or most of them) have such bags on them at all times? And don’t worry, I’m not planning to rob any Jews, I just find it interesting, that not many people know about it, if it’s true. Thanks. 92.244.144.224 (talk) 00:36, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
No. There's no such thing as "Jew gold." (I am Jewish and I assure you that I have no gold on me right now.) It's an anti-Semitic trope that Jews hoard wealth. It's not that surprising that Jews arriving at concentration camps would bring gold with them. It would make sense to take any gold you have, usually in jewelry form, because it may be useful to buy things when you don't know where you're going or to bribe officials or guards as part of an escape plan. It didn't help most Holocaust victims because they were stripped of their possessions upon arriving at the camps.
Jews throughout history have often had to flee their homes on a moment's notice and having gold as a backup plan makes sense in such situations. I knew a Holocaust survivor who from his traumatic experience learned to keep several hundred dollars in cash on him at all times just in case he had to buy a plane ticket in a hurry. —D. Monacktalk01:14, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
That's what I was about to say. Carrying gold around today?... What for? A few grand make sense, but could you picture a Jew (for additional comical effect we are going to assume this is an orthodox Jew, complete with hat and beard) going to the airport and saying "I need to leave the country quick, a ticket please, here are 100 ducats"? No, the only place where all Jews have gold with them is antisemitic stories and stories using such stereotypes, such as Walter Scott's Ivanhoe.--Alþykkr (talk) 01:25, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed, if Jewish people (or anyone) realy did carry around large amounts of gold regularly, you can be assured that even if you don't want to, there would be plenty of people who would want to rob them who would know about it, so it wouldn't be such a secret. And anyway most of them wouldn't be carrying it unless they somehow had unlimited supplies because they likely would have already had it stolen. So it's sort of a self defeating thing. Nil Einne (talk) 03:52, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
From my brief search of the internet (type "Jew Gold" into your favorite search engine), it appears that the South Park episode started the idea. Urban dictionary has 6(!) definitions, all essentially the same, and all appearing to originate from the South Park episode. The South Park reference undoubtedly comes from the stereotype that Jews are rich and greedy (and indeed, there are many prominent, wealthy Jews. It would be interesting to compare the percentage of rich Jews vs. rich others in the west to see how accurate the stereotype is). Buddy431 (talk) 04:11, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Ha! Awesome. Full disclosure: I must admit that, on the advice of Decision Moose, I own a substantial stake in the GLDexchange-traded fund in an IRA. I guess that could count as my "Jew gold" but I can't spend it until I'm 59½ without a substantial penalty. Those damn, anti-Semitic IRA withdrawal rules. —D. Monacktalk07:20, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
(EC) Indeed a search on usenet finds most references from before the episode [12] are about gold that belonged to Jewish people that was stolen during WW2 and the holocaust Nil Einne (talk) 04:29, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A possible origin for the myth might be diamonds. As this site claims, "During the Inquisition, diamonds proved to be an invaluable asset for the Jews. Unlike almost any other asset, they were small enough to be concealed on the body; and they were also instantly redeemable for money in any country in Europe."TastyCakes (talk) 05:16, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It is a myth. Diamonds sewn into the hems of clothing on the other hand are a transportable and hard-to-detect form of wealth.Edison (talk) 04:56, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think studios would like that to happen because 3D movies are not so easily pirated, but I doubt it. The technology has been around for ages, but it never really took off. Why would that happen now? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.171.56.13 (talk) 09:50, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
An article I read recently claimed that the old 3D films were so awful it turned people off 3D. The advent of 3D films that are actually good might revive it. I'm reminded of the video game crash of 1983 - ask people around that time and they'd have said video games were a passing fad that wouldn't take off. And now... Vimescarrot (talk) 11:17, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Alice in Wonderland wasn't true 3d. Well, at least the live action portions were not. It's the modern equivalent of colorizing a black and white film. There were lots of noticeable artifacts. I hope that these "fake 3d" films that are advertised as real 3d don't sour public opinion of 3d. Frankly I'm surprised that the studios aren't concerned about this. APL (talk) 14:53, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
These days, a large amount of the income for the movie industry comes from DVD (and Blu-ray) sales, so 3D films may not truly take off until we have good quality, affordable 3D TVs in homes (of course, there is a catch-22 there, but the current 3D films might be just enough to kickstart the 3D TV industry). --Tango (talk) 17:24, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
At the risk of becoming discussionary, I'd suggest that one obstacle to 3D films becoming ubiquitous is that most if not all systems require the wearing of special spectacles: this is often (depending on the designs) impractical for the sizeable proportion of the potential audience (such as myself) who already have to wear sight-correcting spectacles and cannot or prefer not to undergo corrective surgery or use contact lenses. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 17:55, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
They do; the new 3D glasses fit perfectly well over even my coke-bottle lenses. The new glasses are are not only large enough to fit over prescription eyewear, they're also sturdy enough to sit there without constantly requiring adjustment/support. Much better than those horrid blue/red dealies. Matt Deres (talk) 19:41, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Besides looking goofy, most modern 3d glasses, (both passive ones for the the RealD theaters, and the active ones for TVs.) work fine with prescription glasses.
red/blue glasses are also available in that format, but I've never heard of anyone actually bothering to use them. (I've got a pair of red/blue clip-ons, but mostly for their comedy effect, I rarely use them to actually see 3d.) APL (talk) 20:46, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The fact that very few homes have 3D televisions is a major factor in why theaters are adopting 3D. Home video has emerged as the major competitor to the cineplexes and they need to differentiate themselves to compete. Why pay $10 to see a movie in the theaters when you can wait a few months and watch the Netflix rental at home on your Bluray disc player and your big, 1080p TV without the overpriced popcorn or some yahoo talking through the movie? One reason Avatar was such a huge success is that moviegoers knew that if they wanted to see all the technical wizardry, they'd have to go see it in 3D at the theater. The theaters not only get the increased audience, but can also charge a premium for the 3D tickets. —D. Monacktalk18:36, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The main reason for Avatar's success, though, was that it was the first of its kind. I doubt any other films made with the same technology will do as well. --Tango (talk) 21:35, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
??? I mean, it was first of its kind for certain production effects (which matters if you are a director), but it was certainly not even close to being the first 3D CGI film or anything like that. People didn't go to Avatar because it was first, they went because it was pretty and hyped and was carefully engineered (by a great master of such engineering) to appeal to a wide variety of audiences fairly effectively. It was well-hyped and well-executed, but in terms of its technology, I don't think the average viewer really could appreciate the novelty other than the fact that it was pretty. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:13, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe I'm biased because I use 3D displays every day, I still maintain that that article is very sloppily written. He claims that 'depth of field' effects are impossible in 3d, even though he's seen Avatar. Throughout the article he confuses real in-camera 3d with fake post-production 3d even though he knows the difference. His discussion on ticket prices seems to have no relation to reality. And he relies far too heavily on the sentimental "we didn't have this in the olden days" arguments that would work just as well if he were ranting against color or sound. APL (talk) 20:46, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Without commenting on the other things, where I live, the surcharges he talks about are indeed real and indeed that ridiculously expensive. I actually won't be bothered to see things in 3D anytime soon unless it is immensely important to the movie presentation itself, because I don't find the effect terribly compelling (I get used to it pretty quickly) and I can't afford to up my total ticket prices just for that. The difference between two 3D tickets and two 2D tickets is the price of a third ticket, at my local megaplex. A lot of money to spend in a tight economy, especially if the effects are subtle. (And if they aren't subtle—like the ones that whack you in the face—then I'm not happy either.) --Mr.98 (talk) 23:19, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Really. This must vary quite a bit by region. The couple of places around here where I go the surcharge is invariably one dollar per ticket.
I'll cheerfully admit that I was using only personal experience and not hard data in that part of my criticism of Ebert's article. APL (talk) 14:12, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This episode of NPR's Science Friday goes into a lot of detail about 3D movies, including the technical and artistic aspects, the pros and cons of different technologies, the significant number of people who find it unpleasant, different home (disk and broadcast) 3d technologies, and talks about whether it's a fad or whether it's here to stay. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk19:57, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Someone told me that in the past, certain findings from the Coroners Court of Victoria have driven change in the law. I was unable to find any specific examples. Could someone hint me in the right direction? I can understand mainstream courts (Magistrates, County, Supreme) are able to 'change' law by setting Precedent, but how can a court that can't actually make rulings change law? — Deontalk09:11, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This is a pure guess, Deon. The Prime Minister of Australia, Harold Holt, disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967. A massive but fruitless search of the sea was conducted for two days. On 19 December he was declared presumed dead, a necessary step before his commission as PM could be withdrawn by the Governor-General and a replacement PM sworn in. His term as Prime Minister officially continued until 19 December, even though it was widely considered most likely he had actually died on the 17th (hence, the office of Prime Minister was for two days occupied by a dead man, who was most likely shark food by that stage.) There was no mechanism in Victorian law at the time for reporting presumed or suspected deaths to the Victorian Coroner, hence Holt’s status remained “presumed dead”, with effect from 19 December 1967. This remained the case until 2005, when the law was changed. At that late stage, the Coroner was finally able to re-examine some old cases of presumed and suspected deaths, and returned a finding that Holt had indeed drowned on the day he disappeared, 17 December. See Harold Holt#Enquiries into Holt's disappearance for full details. I’m guessing that the Coroner had some role to play in having the law changed so that these sorts of cases could be investigated by the Coroner and brought to closure. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:21, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Definition of "episcopal list"
A book on medieval history refres to "episcopal lists." These are also refered to in some articles on the WEB. What are these lists and what they enumerate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.186.218.162 (talk) 12:34, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
They were very important for establishing orders of precedence, which could get very tricky when hundreds of bishops got together at a council. They were often also the only historical information about a particular place, and the only thing giving a sense of continuity between late antiquity and the later middle ages. And we have an article! See Notitiae Episcopatuum. 00:25, 28 May 2010 (UTC)
Impregnable fortresses
Hello everyone, are there castles or fortresses that have been besieged but never been conquered by enemy armies ? I can't seem to find the information by searching. 130.79.160.112 (talk) 12:41, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I was going to answer Mont Saint-Michel, but it seems it was indeed conquered in the 6th or 7th century. However, one could argue that the Armorican stronghold was not the same fortress as the one that later appeared in connection with the monastery during the Middle Ages. --Saddhiyama (talk) 13:50, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Krak des Chevaliers was known as an impenetrable fortress. It was beseiged and not defeated though ultimately it was turned over to a group of attackers because the defenders were given a fake letter from their commander ordering them to do so. The fortified city of Carcassonne also comes to mind. --JGGardiner (talk) 19:51, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It had thousand year old walls which offered no defense against artillery, and it was conquered by superior force. In the face of inevitable doom, defections and "trickery" are common. Claiming "The other side cheated!" does not lessen a defeat. It is not a game of football. Edison (talk) 04:53, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Jaikie Galt real-life antecedent in John Buchan book
I just found the article James Galt, about the Scottish football player (active 1906-1914). Was the character Jaikie Galt in John Buchan's novel Castle Gay (published in 1930 but set earlier, around 1923) named after him, or are the names and professions just a coincidence? This question applies to Scotland and literature in English. It's not homework. Thanks. 70.24.113.45 (talk) 13:06, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure, but the novel Martin Eden, by Jack London, has a story within a story which has a character named Wiki-Wiki. Our article about the novel has a quotation about the character, which concludes: "It is real. It is true. And I must write life as I see it." So the character may have been part of the inspiration of Wikipedia ;-). 69.228.170.24 (talk) 06:13, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It's kind of you to take the time to write something, but what you wrote has nothing to do with Galt, Buchan or Castle Gay. Can anyone answer my question? 70.24.113.45 (talk) 11:21, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I remember seeing a documentary a number of years ago concerning how St. Petersburg was build on swamp land and so was interested to day to read more about this and the processes involved, however the above mentioned article does not mention this at all, can some one please illuminate this for me, is it true, and what were the prosseses involved. Further to this, the article mentions that no bridges were allowed to be build over the river Neva until 1850, but does not mention why, please help with this. Finally, the article also mentions that there was a prohibition on the spacing of buildings, please can this too be expanded upon for me, I have never been to Russia (though I would sorely love to) but it would appear in pictures I have seen that the buildings are generally very well spaced and far from each other, is this the case in reality? What was this prohibition the article mentions, are how was it enforced, what were the regulation and when, why and was it stopped. Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 14:42, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I visited St. Petersburg a few years ago. I don't remember why they didn't build bridges over the Neva (possibly for aesthetic reasons, though practical ones are possible). Canals were dug by hand (many serfs died in the process) and the structural layout of the city was, if I recall correctly, designed to minimize the amount of unseen back alley space where subversive activities could be planned. — Ƶ§œš¹[aɪm ˈfɹ̠ˤʷɛ̃ɾ̃ˡi]17:25, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I recall that Peter the Great hired Dutch engineers to help plan the drainage of the wetlands on which the city was built. Building canals helps to lower the water table, so that was obviously part of the plan. (The pattern of concentric canals on the left bank of the Neva is reminiscent of Amsterdam.) See this article. As for why bridges were not built over the Neva, this is speculative, but the Neva is a major navigable waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with Lake Ladoga. It seems plausible that before 1850 it was more important to allow passage upriver to (tall-masted) sailing ships than to bridge the river for foot and wagon traffic. Marco polo (talk) 18:36, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This is a question about Japanese mythology. I'm seeking informations about Yami no Waru. It should be something like a Shinto Kami, but that's everything I was able to find about it. --151.51.5.254 (talk) 17:14, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Where did you hear about it? The name seems to simply translate into The Bad Guy of the Dark, in what appears to be decisively modern Japanese. Are you sure this is not just an invention for a modern story-telling medium? TomorrowTime (talk) 21:46, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
A city in Iraq
A friend of my was recently shipped out to "poogie" Iraq. I've tried to find this place on a map but have been unsuccessful. I'm sure the spelling in wrong; I did try variations. Do you know of it? Thank you! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.41.142.96 (talk) 18:49, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I do not believe that Arabic even has a 'p' sound in their alphabet, so I would guess it is a nickname of a military base or such? What branch of the military is your friend in? Googlemeister (talk) 19:33, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well, our article has his mother as Elizabeth Bruyn, who is, according to here, daughter of Sir Henry Bruyn. So the official story is one of a noblewoman, but I can't comment on whether that's true or not. - Jarry1250[Humorous? Discuss.]19:07, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Is there any chance that in the episode (which I haven't seen), Buckingham intends the "whore" to refer to Brandon's father (who, as our article on him states, fathered several illegitimate children Oops, no, it was Brandon himself, not his father)? 87.81.230.195 (talk) 23:56, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
The Tudors is not to be taken seriously as the events and people are sadly, shockingly lacking in historical accuracy. Did you notice Henry VIII was slim with black hair, and Brandon's wife was the widowed Queen of Portugal?!!!! I'm afraid that series was little more than a 16th century soap opera with writers too lazy to pick up a history book.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 06:15, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
World War III
Is this a likely sequence of events for World War III?
North Korea declares war on South Korea.
America and Japan declare war on North Korea.
China declares war on South Korea, America, and Japan.
Iran declares war on Israel.
America declares war on Iran.
England, France, and Germany declare war on Iran and North Korea.
Allies: America, England, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, and South Korea
Hmm, that article is locked, but it contains the verbless sentence "On 12–26 June 1999, Pristina International Airport over the Pristina Airport in Kosovo." Should be "Russian and NATO forces had a standoff over the Pristina International Airport in Kosovo." 81.131.39.118 (talk) 20:34, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I forgot to say - I fixed it. Someone had removed the section from a link, since the section no longer existed, and had accidentally removed the link text as well! --Tango (talk) 22:52, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Many wiki type sites have found that user contributions have attracted a large number of viewers and for this reason have solicited and obtained advertising dollars. Hurrah's for capitalism! But most of these sites do not share revenue with contributors in evidence of the Communist claim that capitalism takes unfair advantage of contributors. Are there any such wiki type sites that do share advertising and/or other revenue with contributors? 71.100.8.229 (talk) 23:17, 27 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
If contributors want revenue, they'll vacate the sites that don't share revenue in favor of those that do. This will force sites that want to keep contributors to share revenue. If this flight does not happen, it is because contributors' desire to share the revenue is less strong than their desire to contribute. The great thing about capitalism is that it generates the right solution without the need for omnipotence and omniscience. If we had these powers, communism would work perfectly well. Wikiant (talk) 02:45, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think that you realize the extreme gap between the rich and the poor. Poor people who can get online and make a free contribution may not be able to start a meager wiki site of their own even as a group that would attract advertisers because they do not have the resources to get started as do the rich who can hire college trained and high priced artists and designers, etc. to provide a fancy dancy web site. Consequently the discrepancy in wealth favors the rich, as in the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. To quel the communist claim and evidence then that the rich live off the backs of the poor I don't think revenue sharing is too much to ask. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 03:14, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think you realize that the problem you just described has nothing to do with a gap between the rich and the poor. It has to do with a gap between those who are entrepreneurial and those who aren't. The point of financial markets is to bring together those who have ideas but no capital with those who have capital but no ideas. You might say that the poor don't have access to formal business training and so, again, the issue is a poor-rich gap. That, however, contradicts your statement that the poor "can get online." You don't need formal business training -- just inquisitiveness, intelligence, and a penchant for hard work. Wikiant (talk) 12:43, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I believe MyWikiBiz[13] which was founded by User:MyWikiBiz who was banned from wikipedia does something like this. It hasn't been particularly successful. The founder also runs for the wikimedia foundation board regularly, so far never winning. I would add that distributing 'revenue' could potentially be problematic from the viewpoint of WMFs non profit status, but I don't really know. Nil Einne (talk) 07:59, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Nuclear Bombs
What are the good for anyways? Please think positive and say nothing. If you have good primar sources that would be great too. I am counting on you wikipedia! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darkspartan4121 (talk • contribs) 00:44, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Believe it or not a plan was proposed and researched to determine whether power could be generated or an artillery shell launched by boring into the bedrock under a mountain, opening up a large cavity by nuclear bomb explosion and thereafter dropping bombs down the shaft to propel artillery shells or to use the escaping gasses to run gas piston or turbine generators. I saw one of the shaft doors that was closed from both sides by explosives after the artillery shell passed. The problem was that contamination could not be contained. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 02:17, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Well, most Americans would say that they ended a rather large war with a certain island nation about 65 years ago with fewer casualties on the winning side then one might have anticipated without their use. Googlemeister (talk) 13:49, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
And, quite possibly, fewer casualties on the losing side as well. Killing in the event of an invasion would have been spread around liberally. — Lomn13:53, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Some universities grant doctorate degrees in recognition of work an individual has done which merits such a distinction at that level despite the jealous rage of students who claim the doctorate was not earned. Are there institutions which grant lesser degrees when an individual demonstrates and equal level of achievement even though their source of education may be partly or entirely from home or self schooling? 71.100.8.229 (talk) 03:57, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
In earlier times, like the 19th century and earlier, an autodidact, a home schooled person, or someone educated only by a tutor might have written a brilliant dissertation, submitted it to a university or to a scholar at a university and been granted a doctorate, but today only diploma mills (unaccredited institutions which accept money for degrees) would consider such an action. It would likely anger the faculty and graduate students, and would deprive the school of tuition needed for expenses and to pay faculty, staff and administrators. Universities I am familiar with have minimum standards for time and credit hours as a student for an earned Masters or Doctorate to be awarded. Honorary degrees are a different matter, and are commonly given to rich or important people or celebrities of no particular academic attainment. Scholarship or brilliant writings by a self educated person, along with some recommendations and perhaps good scores on standardized tests might gain acceptance in a graduate school, perhaps on a provisional basis, without an undergraduate degree. There are "nontraditional" schools which might be less doctrinaire about requiring a bachelor's degree for admission to graduate school. The above is based on observation of the U.S. system only. Edison (talk) 04:33, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It is also possible to gain entrance to graduate school based on work experience or credit hours or the like. My wife had a professor in graduate school who himself had a PhD and that was his only degree. He didn't graduate high school even; he'd been in law enforcement for like 20 years, and accrued enough credit hours by taking classes at night over the years to gain admittance into a criminal justice PhD program. There is, of course, a "standard track" that most students are expected to go through, but there will always be exceptions, and its ultimately up to the admissions officers at the school in question. --Jayron3205:00, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
This sounds like academagarchy to me. Suppose for instance that during the course of study major discoveries are taking place which do not find their way to the classroom. A student under this system is limited by time slots. This actually happened with the "new math" and can be seen today in the difference between researchers and new graduates in a field, especially some areas of electronics and computer science. Yet I know students who have the basic classroom knowledge but spend all of their time updating it and building on what they know with the advantage of not having fallen into the trap of relying on only what they have been taught and made to learn. 71.100.8.229 (talk) 05:58, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
There are also higher doctorates in some countries. E.g. [14] These are usually earned by contributions to one's field. However the title should give a clue, these are unlikely to be given to someone who doesn't already have a Ph.D or similar research doctorate. Nil Einne (talk) 07:51, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Accreditation of Prior Learning is reasonably common for part time or distance learning first and Masters degrees in the UK, but I've not seen any doctoral programmes that offer similar. There are quite a lot of part time doctorate programmes, essentially taking ones day job and writing it up in the thesis for the award of the doctorate. This thesis still needs to meet the same standard, and the workload is high as frequently the day job is application so one needs to study the theoretical basis in the margins.
On the other hand I have meet a couple of academics who were uncomfortable that the academic awards were sullied by being based in the real world rather than the purist environment of academia :)
On further examination it occurs to me that the practical basis for awarding a degree of any kind is that it reflects the record as in the case of the criminologist mentioned above. What I am alluding to is that what if an academically trained student whose work is recorded forgets everything because hey just memorized everything short term to get through each course, compared to a self-taught student whose work is unrecorded except for letters etc. and comes from reading and the real world. What happens in terms of the validity of having a degree if the latter student is superior? 71.100.8.229 (talk) 10:17, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Degree programmes tend to start with the fundamentals of a subject, and move towards the more specific. If a student quickly forgets everything they learnt in the first year soon, they are unlikely to do well in the later years, which assume that they have remembered much of what they were taught. But, like any examination, it's best seen as a certification of achievement up to that point in time; if it is not used, it is entirely possible that some or much will be forgotten, but the student has shown the potential to learn whatever knowledge and skills are taught, and the ability to demonstrate them in some form of test. Warofdreamstalk13:49, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
All a degree represents is a certification by an institution that the individual holding the degree met the institution's requirements for granting that degree at the time that it was awarded. In the same way, having an Olympic gold medal means that you were the fastest in one particular race, not that you'll always remain the fastest. For that matter, getting a parking ticket doesn't mean that your car will for the rest of its life be considered illegally parked.
As far as I know, there is no way for a university to certify that a person won't forget anything after he has graduated, and no obligation – implicit or explicit – for them to try to do so. If you have a PhD in biochemistry but suffer a traumatic car accident and forget everything you knew about science, your degree won't be withdrawn — you did earn it. In making hiring decisions, a degree is one qualification that an employer may consider, but the track record since graduation is often equally (or more) important. In fields where retention and maintenance of specific knowledge and skills are particularly important (medicine is a big one here), there are often specific accreditation bodies which are responsible for ongoing testing, education, and certification.
Of course, what you're really asking is, "If it's possible for a self-taught individual to be 'smarter' or 'better' than a person with a formal degree, what's the point of the degree?" I'll leave that to others here. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 13:50, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
When was my house built?
Supposing I wanted to know when (and perhaps, by whom) my house was built, where could I look for the answer? Are there also publicly available schematics of current utilities locations, underground? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.25.105.95 (talk) 04:48, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Your jurisdiction likely has a Recorder of deeds or "Register of Deeds" or some other sort of office similarly named. You'd ask there; they probably have a chain of ownership for your home back to the original owner; as well as any significant changes made to your house etc. --Jayron3204:53, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You local library or history society may have a collection of old maps of the area, which will give you some idea when it was built. Unless it's a significant building, tracking down the architect or builder may be more difficult.--Shantavira|feed me11:16, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
It will vary depending on which country you're living in, so it always helps to let us know that information. From your IP address it looks like you come from Manchester, in the UK. To help answer the question, could you give a rough guess of when it was built? 1960s? Victorian? Medieval? 1930s? --Phil Holmes (talk) 11:27, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
As you are in the UK, the Land Registry will know this information. For a fee (which used to be £12 but that was a few years ago), if you tell them the address they will let you know when it was built and who owns the house and the land. If you are the owner, you will find the information you seek on the deeds to the house, which you will have stored safely (unless you have a mortgage in which case the mortgage lender will have the deeds). For part 2 of the question, try your local council's Planning department. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:38, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
According to the Land Registry's own site, 30% of land in England & Wales is unregistered. My house is unregistered, for example. It is impossible for anyone to find out who owns it or its history of ownership from publicly available records. The Land Registry doesn't have that information. Of course, I know I own it and have copies of the deeds showing chain of ownership. The building society with whom I have a mortgage have the original title deeds which I will receive when I pay off the mortgage.
If your house is old, and you are in a large town or city, then your address is probably listed in the annual Kelly's Directory, although it ceased publication many years ago. Your local library should be able to point you to an archive library. Look back through the Kelly's directories until your address disapears - that suggests it was built then. You can also look at old maps in the same way. If your house is registered with the Land Registry, then the title deed (or whatever they call them now) often mention covenants which give clues as to when the land was first sold as a building plot. You should also be able to estimate the age by the style of the building. For your second question, I believe the Ordnance Survey does sell very large scale maps that include utility pipes etc. 92.15.30.36 (talk) 17:05, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Deficit is how much we have to borrow this year. Debt is the total of all those borrowings (year after year), plus interest, minus repayments. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk18:13, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Internet and television advertisement
Is there a way to measure how much time people have spent watching a particular televison advertisement? (I mean a direct measurment not a statistical estimate)
This is easy to measure on the Internet, as the site is paied acording to the number of clicks on the ad link. If we are able to measure the television ad viewing time just as accurately wold the cost of television ads go down? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Diwakark86 (talk • contribs) 18:17, 28 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
