Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities: Difference between revisions

 

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:Those aren’t births. The horizontal bars represent how much of the current population was born in each year. The earlier years are smaller because more of the people born in those years have died. The number of living individuals born in each year (generally) goes down as you go further back in time. I’m not sure about the difference between those two birth years and later dates. –[[User:Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) ([[Special:Contributions/Khajidha|contributions]]) 17:47, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

:Those aren’t births. The horizontal bars represent how much of the current population was born in each year. The earlier years are smaller because more of the people born in those years have died. The number of living individuals born in each year (generally) goes down as you go further back in time. I’m not sure about the difference between those two birth years and later dates. –[[User:Khajidha]] ([[User talk:Khajidha|talk]]) ([[Special:Contributions/Khajidha|contributions]]) 17:47, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

::The blips don’t appear in the other graphs on the page. This suggests (younger) people are lying about their age in order to get a job or married or a drivers’s license or something. <span style=”font-family: Cambria;”> [[User:Abductive|<span style=”color: teal;”>”’Abductive”'</span>]] ([[User talk:Abductive|reasoning]])</span> 19:19, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

::The blips don’t appear in the other graphs on the page. This suggests (younger) people are lying about their age in order to get a job or married or a drivers’s license or something. <span style=”font-family: Cambria;”> [[User:Abductive|<span style=”color: teal;”>”’Abductive”'</span>]] ([[User talk:Abductive|reasoning]])</span> 19:19, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

:A spike in birth rate? A sudden drop in child mortality, followed by a sudden drop in birth rate? An error in statistics, causing 15% of the 18–19 year olds to be counted double? [[User:PiusImpavidus|PiusImpavidus]] ([[User talk:PiusImpavidus|talk]]) 19:24, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

{{clear}}

{{clear}}

This is a news photo of Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the official opening of part of the Victoria Line of the London Underground in 1968: [1]

I’ve found several copies of this photo on the Net, but none of them is provided with a caption that identifies the three men in the photo. As the line did not open to the public until later that day, I suppose each of them is either a London Transport representative of a member of the Queen’s household staff… but can anyone identify them?

—142.112.140.137 (talk) 05:09, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

[2] —Viennese Waltz 09:30, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Can you see the caption when you click on it because I can see on a google search it starts “Queen Elizabeth II opening the Victoria Line, London’s first completely new underground railway for 60 years. With her, from left; Maurice Holmes, …” but when I open the page, the caption is nowhere to be found. Nanonic (talk) 11:33, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I can see the caption. It reads “Queen Elizabeth II opening the Victoria Line, London’s first completely new underground railway for 60 years. With her, from left; Maurice Holmes, Chairman of London Transport Board; F.E Wilkins, Chief Public Relations Officer, LTB; Anthony Bull, vice-chairman, LTB; Richard Marsh, Minister of Transport.” —Viennese Waltz 11:36, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can’t see the caption. DuncanHill (talk) 15:41, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you can see it here.  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:12, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, so long as I don’t scroll down and back up, if I do that the picture gets replaced by adverts for a gluten-free Lady Gaga or somesuch. DuncanHill (talk) 10:52, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

We have articles on Maurice Holmes (barrister), Anthony Bull, Richard Marsh, Baron Marsh, and the London Transport Board (LTB). DuncanHill (talk) 15:44, 29 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sidebar since the Q has been answered: Interesting. I can see the caption in VW’s link with no issues. I assumed this was because I am using Firefox with NoScript, which blocks a lot of the noise, but even when I temporarily allow all scripts, I can see the caption fine. Likewise, Chrome and Edge also display the caption with no issue. If you’re one of the unlucky ones who cannot see the caption on the picture [here, what browser are you using? Are you accessing it via your phone? Matt Deres (talk) 14:29, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can’t see it in Firefox, Edge or Chrome. Using Windows 11 PC. Nanonic (talk) 16:20, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Weird. It’s a German site, but from top down there’s a header area, a search bar that spans the width of the screen, the caption in question, and then the image. Like this. Are you missing the other pieces as well? Matt Deres (talk) 16:43, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m in the UK and cannot access Imgur.[3] Here’s a screenshot of what I see [4] Nanonic (talk) 17:30, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(Bottom of the image page if you fancy that too)[5] Nanonic (talk) 17:34, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Edhe, Win11, desktop, in UK so Imgur useless. I see what Nanonic sees. DuncanHill (talk) 19:22, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

So, the caption in question is in two parts: a title and some text; you and DuncanHill are only getting the title, while I see the text beneath as well. Hopefully, I uploaded this correctly: link. I checked the source but didn’t immediately see any reason why the caption would truncate. Matt Deres (talk) 12:31, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Thanks for the answer. I think my previous searches found the Getty image but without that caption, although following Viennese’s link worked for me. I also normally have JavaScript disabled. By the way, the event was not the original opening of the Victoria Line, but of the third section completed, an extension from Warren Street to Victoria station. —142.112.140.137 (talk) 02:42, 1 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

please suggest me topics of research in themes of law and justice in a globalised world also topics of research in themes of comparative constitutional law. Grotesquetruth (talk) 10:44, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Start with constitutional rights (there are many). Different countries guarantee different rights. Now, identify variances between countries, such as variances in digital privacy laws. Finally, identify which of those cross borders (globalised) such as social media services being located in one country with one set of privacy laws and constitutional rights, but the user is in a different country with a different set of laws and constitutional rights. Research. 4.17.97.234 (talk) 11:11, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can tell, the Journal of Negro Education is the oldest (1932)–does anyone know of any older ones? Thanks! Drmies (talk) 20:47, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Are there lots of songs of this kind?? Here’s one where this is the best set of singable English lyrics that I can think of:

In Holland there’s a house, in Holland there’s a house.
In Holland there’s a house oh yeah. For every single spouse oh yeah.
In Holland there’s a house, oh in Holland there’s a house.

(If possible, please think of a better singable phrase for the line where the above text says “for every single spouse”.) All sites talking about this song are Dutch, and the Dutch Wikipedia is the only Wikipedia that has an article on this song. (The song has more verses, and they remind me of “The Farmer in the Dell”, although the tune is very different.) Are there lots of songs known almost exclusively by people who don’t speak English?? Georgia guy (talk) 11:50, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Your question is unclear to me but how about Waltzing Matilda by strine speakers? 196.50.199.218 (talk) 12:39, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You need to get a Wikipedia user name. That song is Australian, and Australia is an English speaking country, so it doesn’t qualify. Georgia guy (talk) 12:50, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

My answer was tongue-in-cheek – a joke. Do you mean a song with English lyrics, sung by people who don’t speak English and the song is not sung by English (edit: speaking) people? 196.50.199.218 (talk) 13:05, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think the OP is looking for something like “Alouette” or “Sosban Fach” – songs that are frequently sung by English speakers without understanding them – but for English rather than French or Welsh. Tevildo (talk) 10:23, 4 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Dutch song Georgia guy refers to is In Holland staat een huis. DuncanHill (talk) 13:27, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Taking the question literally (Are there lots of songs known almost exclusively by people who don’t speak English?), the answer is yes, I suppose. Most traditional songs from parts of the world where few people speak English would qualify. Maybe you’re asking about English language songs? But then, “In Holland there’s a house” (an English adaptation of a traditional Dutch children’s song) still doesn’t qualify, as it’s mostly known by Dutch people, most of whom speak English. Just not natively. Maybe you actually wanted to ask about English language songs almost exclusively known by people who aren’t native speakers of English. A lot, I expect. Many European bands sing in English, for whatever reason. If they never break through in an English speaking country, the song will be mostly known by non-native English speakers. PiusImpavidus (talk) 15:29, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’ve been hoping to use Prisencolinensinainciusol as a legit answer to a question here for a long time. The links at the bottom will also be helpful. Matt Deres (talk) 18:47, 4 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

From Japan Air Lines Flight 2:

Commanding pilot Captain Kohei Asoh attempted an automatic-coupled Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach due to the heavy fog,  which he had never done before on a recorded DC-8-62 flight.

What is a recorded flight? Does this merely mean that there was no record of him doing this, or does it mean he hadn’t done this when flying aircraft with data recorders, or something else? The source — [6] page 9 — lists his recent flights in this aircraft model and says “There were no recorded automatic-coupled TLS approaches on any of the flights…”, so I’m unclear what this means. Flight recorder says the device has been required in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967, so I suppose he could have done it on a not-data-recorded flight when undergoing training seven months earlier. Nyttend (talk) 19:09, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The NTSB report states:

There were no recorded automatic-coupled ILS approaches on any of the flights in a E-8-62 series aircraft from July through October.

I interpret this as,

On none of the flights in a E-8-62 series aircraft from July through October have automatic-coupled ILS approaches been recorded.

Or, perhaps even clearer,

None of the records from July through October of the flights in a E-8-62 series aircraft indicate that an automatic-coupled ILS approach was used.

 ​‑‑Lambiam 22:56, 3 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Which is exactly the difference between American exceptionalism and American nationalism? “American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations.” Replace “American” with any other country, and isn’t that the basic definition of what each nationalism stands for? Cambalachero (talk) 04:01, 4 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Nationalism is like tribalism but applied to a whole state, creating an ideology based on the (usually artificially constructed) conceit that its residents form a unified nation with a shared culture: shared values, shared traditions, and a shared glorious and heroic history. The ideology emphasizes the importance of protecting the purity of this shared culture against the intrusion of elements that are foreign to it. It does not necessarily suggest that this culture is better in some objective sense but will always have the suggestion of moral superiority – which is relatively easy if the ideology grounds its notion of morality in its own mores.

The ideology of exceptionalism holds that one has the higher ground in a (usually undefined) objective sense – and even suggests that this is predetermined by the natural state of affairs. When blended with religion, this has been so ordained by God: the nation state has been selected and privileged by God – possibly in order to play the leading role in global affairs.  ​‑‑Lambiam 06:01, 4 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Additionally, in some contexts, American exceptionalism may refer to the belief that there is something uniquely different about the United States—it is the “exception to the rule.” For example, historians may invoke American exceptionalism to explain why unlike most Western democracies, the U.S. did not see the rise of a mass social democratic party in the 20th century. Note that this theory tends toward determinism—events and conditions in the U.S. are explained with reference to presumed innate national characteristics as opposed to the choices of individuals, or simple chance. Nathaniel Greene (talk) 03:12, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have it in my head that some branch of Christianity – I thought Nestorianism – particularly venerated the Biblical Magi. Have I completely made that up?

This was probably Naimans#Religion, that sounds right. It should also appear in Keraites#Nestorian_Christianity, but it isn’t mentioned there. I remember seeing religious artifacts, sculptures or a decorative screen – several things like that, all themed with a version of the three wise men, from somewhere like Mongolia or Kazakhstan. Or perhaps just one tapestry and I’m confabulating the rest. Would like to find again, anyway.  Card Zero  (talk) 16:18, 5 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you search for “cult of the Magi”, you’ll find assertions of such a cult in widespread locations, including Catholic regions such as Italy (Milan, Florence, Ravenna) and the Holy Roman Empire (Cologne), but also among the Christians of Central and East Asia, who were members of the monophysitic Church of the East.  ​‑‑Lambiam 14:06, 6 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Obviously “veneration” is the correct term here, and worship wrong. And “cult” is being used in the old academic sense. The 3 Magi still have many strong folk traditions attached to them in Europe, covered in the article. Particular historical factors account for periodic upwellings of iconography, as here and later in Antwerp Mannerism. Johnbod (talk) 23:34, 6 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A problem with this term is that “Veneration of the Magi” is commonly used as a synonym of “Adoration of the Magi“.  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:50, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, there’s no problem – both refer to veneration/adoration BY the Magi of the baby Jesus, not the Magi as objects of worship. Johnbod (talk) 13:53, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is that the subjective sense is the only thing that pops up in a Google search.  ​‑‑Lambiam 00:40, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I don’t understand – what do you mean by “subjective”? Johnbod (talk) 15:50, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Let V be a transitive verb, and A a (potential) actor or group of actors. Then the phrase “the Ving of A” is ambiguous; it can refer to an act in which either

1. “A is Ving some (unspecified) object”; or
2. “Some (unspecified) subject is Ving A.

In the first case, A is the subject of “is Ving”; in the second case. A is the object. These are, respectively, the subjective sense and the objective sense.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:54, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See also Who Were the Biblical Magi in the Syriac Christian Tradition?. Alansplodge (talk) 16:39, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Did Nazi propaganda ever exploit the fact that the House of Windsor had historical German connections (for example King George V changed the name of the royal house from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor due to anti-German sentiment during the First World War)? 79.30.127.225 (talk) 08:02, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The Windsors weren’t the only. The Belgian royals were also of the house Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (their first king was an uncle of Victoria) and also changed name in response to WW1. The Dutch queen was the widow of a German nobleman and their daughter had married another, who took an active role against the Germans in WW2 (He was also a member of the Nazi party for a while. He later claimed that was purely opportunistic. An opportunist he was for sure). German nobles could be found in royal houses all over Europe. German nobility and Nazis didn’t get along very well. PiusImpavidus (talk) 09:30, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

An amazing range of West-European royalty (including the House of Windsor) has its dynastic roots in the Saxon House of Wettin.  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:38, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Part of the Nazi ideology was “Germans good, non-Germans bad”. I don’t know if the Nazi propaganda ever used the historical German connection to paint a positive image of the British Empire in the period before 1939, but it would have been useless for the vilification that ensued when Hitler decided that Britain was an enemy that had to be destroyed (see Nazi propaganda and the United Kingdom).  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:48, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hitler was known to despise royalty, but fawned over the Duke of Windsor during the duke’s 1937 tour of Germany. It is widely suspected that Hitler intended to reinstate Edward as a puppet monarch if Britain had been defeated; one possible reason that Churchill packed him off to the Bahamas for the duration. Alansplodge (talk) 16:04, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Manfred von Richthofen was killed by a single bullet. But is anything known about how many bullets had hit and (probably only slightly) damaged his aircraft in those last seconds? —KnightMove (talk) 15:50, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I couldn’t find anything, except that the aircraft was quickly stripped for souvenirs as soon as the identity of the pilot was known. Considering the number of people who claimed to be shooting at him, it seems likely to me that there were several, but we’ll probably never know. Alansplodge (talk) 16:27, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, there really seems no option to do more. —KnightMove (talk) 09:27, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Featured on the cover commemorating the second anniversary of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine?

—Amble (talk) 16:19, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The magazine had an explainer on the inside cover. It’s actually a wrap-around with more authors on the back cover. On the front are (from top-left) Damon Knight, Robert Guinn, Joan De Mario, Charles J. Robot, H.L. Gold, Ray Bradbury, W.I. Van der Poel, John Anderson, Bug Eye and Poul Anderson in the bottom-right. Simonm223 (talk) 16:40, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You can see the whole wrap-around cover, and the key, at Archive.org. It was the top Google result for galaxy science fiction october 1952. DuncanHill (talk) 16:41, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I should mention that “Robert Guinn” is Robert M. Guinn, the magazine’s publisher, not the politician Robert H. Guinn that the link above points to. Tevildo (talk) 00:07, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Nice, thank you both! Added to the image’s description. —Amble (talk) 17:15, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Charles J. Robot is the “guy” holding the cake, so I think the redlink is unwarranted since his writing was considered too mechanical. Bugeye, on the other hand, received a glowing review from Marvin the Martian for his masterpiece, “A Terran Odyssey“. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:05, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is this (making a Chinese-style gravestone) even possible in the USA? Or does it have to be manufactured in China, then imported to the US? Or maybe manufactured in California or Hawaii (with a lot of Asians), then imported to other states? Another question is, can one buy a plot of farmland just to plant a gravestone on it? Or is the farmland zoned as a farmland and must be used as farmland? What about buying a plot of religious property (which may not come with property tax) and modifying it and using it as a big mausoleum to store family urns, and because the building is so big, the property may be open for other families so that other families may place their own family urns inside the building and treat the building as a private place of reverence, contemplation, respect, honor, gratitude; and most of the time the building would be left empty (not locked, because you never know if a random person needs to come in in an emergency and ask for good luck) except for Qingming Festival when people may feel compelled to visit the dead? 164.107.181.45 (talk) 17:45, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When you say “Chinese-style”, do you mean Chinese characters/logograms? Lots of American companies advertise that they can do it for you. Why would it be a problem when they can inscribe pictures as well? Also, it seems it wouldn’t be economical to source it out, especially considering the shipping cost for heavy, single items. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:16, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think the OP means the style of engravings. On American gravestones, there will usually be the person’s name, birth date, death date. On Chinese gravestones, there will be the dead person’s name, the dead person’s wife (who may be still living), the dead person’s sons and daughters, the dead person’s sons’ wives, the dead person’s daughters’ husbands, the dead person’s grandchildren through the sons, the dead person’s grandchildren through the daughters. I suppose, if the person had known of a great-grandchild and then died, then the great-grandchild would also be added. The American custom seems to be a manifestation of American individualism, focusing on the individual person’s birth, death and everything in between; the Chinese custom seems to be a manifestation of Chinese familial collectivism, focusing on the dead person’s relationship to descendants. No matter which side you are on, Chinese or American, people will talk about what the dead person did in their life and will pass down family lore. Yrotarobal (talk) 00:17, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The laws on burying someone on private property vary widely from state to state in the U.S., and even within states. See here. You will have to check with local authorities and likely seek legal guidance if you wish to proceed. Xuxl (talk) 15:01, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t think there are any restrictions on gravestones in the United States. For restrictions on burial locations, see the link that Xuxl provided. Farmland typically is not subject to any zoning rules, but would still be subject to state-level restrictions on gravesites. Religious property is typically owned by a congregation or other religious community, so simply buying religious property for this purpose may not be a satisfactory solution. John M Baker (talk) 06:44, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps it is possible to classify a family’s traditional cultural practices as religion, and it just so happens that other Chinese families have similar familial-cultural practices too so they may also use the same building. There you have it, a ‘congregation’. The outdoor graveyard and indoor mausoleum are a big part of it. From an outsider’s perspective, the whole thing looks like an ancestral shrine dedicated to several lineages that are different from each other but at the same time related in the same civilization. Yrotarobal (talk) 15:38, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In the Whither Shall I Wander? episode of Upstairs, Downstairs, Mrs Bridges is upset that the food she has prepared for luncheon will be served on a tray in the morning room, instead of properly at table in the dining room. It’s a fish dish, something like “sole du gleary”. Allowing for Mrs Bridges’s pronunciation, can anyone say what it was? Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 21:35, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Is that episode on Youtube or some similar site? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What’s up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:53, 7 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here. The term is enunciated first at 12:26 and again at 13:59.  ​‑‑Lambiam 00:33, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Cold consommé (a variety of soup). Tevildo (talk) 00:51, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The OP is not asking about that phrase, which comes earlier in the clip and is perfectly clear. —Viennese Waltz 11:55, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot reconcile /ˌkəʊld ˈkɒnsəˌmeɪ/ with what I hear, which is closer to /ˈsəʊl də ˈklɪɹi/. Also, we know from the preceding dialogue that this is a fish dish, so a name like “sole de …” would be fitting – but none of the several common dishes with a name fitting this pattern has a final component sounding like /ˈklɪɹi/.  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:28, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot watch the clip, as ITV won’t let people in Britain watch it, but I remember a cold consommé was also mentioned, to be eaten by a different character than the sole. DuncanHill (talk) 13:14, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sole meunière? — Verbarson  ^talk_edits 11:42, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, it definitely was not sole meuniere. DuncanHill (talk) 13:14, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This is sole Dugléré. —Viennese Waltz 11:56, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, that must be it. I don’t think I’d ever heard of it before. DuncanHill (talk) 13:14, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m looking for the original French version of this famous sociological article by Pierre Bourdieu. Every single source/reference online only lists the English translation, including French-language sources (such as this publication by the Canadian government and this thesis by a UQAC master’s student); the citation is always of a translation of the work by that was published in some edition of The Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. I can’t even find where the original was published, and searches through the Internet Archive as well as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France have turned up empty. Does anyone know why this might be, or know somewhere I could borrow/purchase/otherwise access the original?
(fugues) (talk) 11:45, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Our article on M.Bourdieu has a table stating that the original was an article in German, ‘Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital’ published in Soziale Ungleichheiten (Special Volume 2 of the German sociological review Soziale Welt) in 1983. That’s out of print, but the article is available for Springer subscribers in this handbook. Matt’s talk 14:19, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I mean Bourdieu was French and never wrote anything else in German, so I think it’s evident that this article wasn’t originally in German. Incidentally, the title “Forms of Capital” actually comes up again later in the table as being a translation of part of Sociologie générale – 2. Cours au collège de France, a sort of edited anthology of transcriptions of Bourdieu’s lectures, but I can’t find any other information about this work or its translations that would confirm this. The translated version certainly does not read as though it is a translation or summation of a lecture, and is never cited as such. (fugues) (talk) 19:24, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The German version states, “Originalbeitrag, übersetzt von Reinhard Kreckel.“^[7] I think this implies two things. One: yes, the original was not in German but presumably in French. Two: this French original was not published.  ​‑‑Lambiam 21:02, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

How curious. I think it’s still sort of unclear, so I might keep searching. Thanks for your help. (fugues) (talk) 17:20, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It is very likely that Reinhard Kreckel knew Bourdieu’s theory of capital from his 1979 article “Les trois états du capital culturel” and asked him directly and personally for a contribution to be included in the collection of articles that would form Soziale Ungleichheiten. And, also very likely, Bourdieu agreed on the condition that he could write in French and that Kreckel would take care of the translation.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:37, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In a lot of official photos in which Vladimir Putin is showed in his office, a desk set with writing items that look like they are made of some kind of green stone and with a golden eagle perched on top of it often appears. Do we have some information about it? Is it a unique art piece or some prestigious furniture from some luxury brand? Thank you! 195.62.160.60 (talk) 12:42, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You too can look like the world’s second-most-powerful psychopath, for only £6440!. DuncanHill (talk) 14:21, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Oh look. It comes complete with a handy “stress ball”, in the shape of planet earth… Martinevans123 (talk) 14:27, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As soon as you mentioned green stone, I figured it must be malachite. Xuxl (talk) 15:05, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ah yeah, green. You sure it’s not Kryptonite?? Martinevans123 (talk) 15:22, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A good photo of his custom desk organizer is in this MSN news article. 4.17.97.234 (talk) 14:58, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The rear view of the £ 6,440 luxury desk set “Eagle” (malachite) matches what Putin displays on his desk.  ​‑‑Lambiam 19:55, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The false balance article is currently tagged because it is missing sources. A while back I looked into this and had great difficulty finding a good book or paper to use. Can anyone make some suggestions? I would like to add sources and remove the tag. Viriditas (talk) 17:47, 8 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A cousin to WP:UNDUE? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What’s up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:16, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The article has 32 references. Have you asked the user who inserted the template why she thinks that more are needed? —Wrongfilter (talk) 12:50, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A generic {{Refimprove}} without any {{citation needed}}‘s is hardly ever helpful.  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:00, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, but I previously tried to find a good book, textbook, scholarly paper, whatever, on media bias and could not find one. Can anyone recommend a standard text? Viriditas (talk) 20:50, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A less anemic definition of false balance than that currently in the article was given in 2012 by Margaret Sullivan, the then public editor of The New York Times:^[8]

Simply put, false balance is the journalistic practice of giving equal weight to both sides of a story, regardless of an established truth on one side.

There are several scholarly papers, many of which focus on the effect of bothsidesism with respect to a specific issue, mostly climate change. Here are some links to more general ones:

 ​‑‑Lambiam 18:14, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I used to be a fan of reading old books. I remember in the 1980s there were loads of books about media bias, and now I can’t find any at all. Viriditas (talk) 22:00, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Media bias may be related to the problem of maintaining a false balance, but is IMO essentially a different issue – you can find bias in media on both sides of the left–right soectrum, whereas false balance mainly festers on the centre-to-right half of this spectrum. Some books discussing media bias:

 ​‑‑Lambiam 08:29, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thoughts on my Gaza peace plan? Brown for a new Palestinian state, Blue goes to Greece. I’m thinking that this will make Palestine the wealthiest nation of all time in terms of GDP per capita. (Note: I’m aware that ECR applies for contentious topics; I hope it doesn’t extend into the RD space). Thank you 85.131.184.138 (talk) 07:12, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The ref desks are not supposed to be a debating society. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What’s up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:16, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you think Egypt, Jordan and Saudi-Arabia would agree to cede substantial parts of their territories to this new state, in the case of Jordan including its only coastal city, I fear you are mistaken.  ​‑‑Lambiam 18:21, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I am trying to find out who wrote under the nom de plume “Scalpel” in The Church Family Newspaper in about 1900. An example column, from 16th November 1900, is here. Thank you, DuncanHill (talk) 21:33, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It appears to be Constance Roth. ^[1]

A. Constance Roth to be exact in the naming. Seemed to be a cartoonist, journalist and artist who taught life drawing.^[2]

Wikimedia Commons has several photographs of Constance Roth.  ​‑‑Lambiam 19:12, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting, very, but no mention of The Church Family Newspaper, and she appears to have been in South Africa in 1900, while the speech reported on was at St James’s Hall in London. DuncanHill (talk) 19:24, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yip. scope_creep^Talk 19:31, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Apokrif (talk) 22:51, 9 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. Does anybody have any information on the surname Juffermans. I was planing to create a surname article but can’t find a single thing on that surname. I’ve found several Juffermans folk, all dutch so I know its from there but I can’t find anything else. scope_creep^Talk 13:19, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It appears to be a patronymic derived from the nickname(?) Jufferman, which literally means “maiden man”. Compare the German surname Jungfermann, and see here for a discussion of genitive -s in Dutch surnames. Zacwill (talk) 16:58, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Undoubtedly Dutch. The nickname Jufferman could refer to a man living close to or even sharing a home with an unmarried woman (possibly his sister, otherwise it would likely be inappropriate to share a home). According to this, in 2007 there were 567 people (0.0035% of the population) with that name living in the Netherlands, 43 of those in the municipality Oestgeest (a place near Leiden), accounting for 0.2% of the people living there, both the highest number and highest concentration. Most others lived in the same area. So it’s not a very common name, mostly found in the far west of the country. PiusImpavidus (talk) 17:51, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Given the strong concentration,^[9] it is very plausible that the Dutch surname originated with a single individual, not more than a few generations ago. This might have been someone migrating from Germany with the name Jungfermann, which got adapted to Dutch. This seems to be confirmed by this genealogical record: “Johan Casper JUFFERMANS (1698-1758)”. The German name could originally have referred to a commoner who was married to a gentlewoman. Onfortunately, this is all highly original research.  ​‑‑Lambiam 18:57, 10 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Speculation, but plausible. Family names in the Netherlands were legally fixed in 1811 (or 1795 for the parts annexed by France then), but de facto had been mostly fixed (apart from spelling) for some time already. Assuming between 2 and 3 generations are alive simultaneously, you can go from a single individual to 567 people in 10 or 11 generations if we assume about 1.7 sons per man. All could easily be male-line descendants of a single 18th century man. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:47, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It would be interesting to deep dive on it to trace to root, maybe as far back as the 16-17th century or even earlier e.g. 10th century. However, it looks as though there is enough for a micro article and the begininng of a list. That is ideal. scope_creep^Talk 22:01, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Just saw the genealogy record. scope_creep^Talk 22:21, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is an ostensibly reliable source claiming an extraordinary fact which I cannot corroborate. A book review in Holocaust and Genocide Studies by Alan L. Berger claims that the famous American painter Norman Rockwell was the uncle of infamous American Nazi George Lincoln Rockwell (emph. mine):^[1]

It is not surprising that [George Lincoln] Rockwell, a proponent of authoritarian leadership, had an aversion to authority. His inability to control his temper cost him many positions. He failed in advertising, illustration (Norman Rockwell was his uncle), and public relations.

I cannot find any other source which claims this, and this book explicitly denies any relation:^[2]

Norman Rockwell became increasingly concerned that he not be identified with George Lincoln Rockwell, who was the head of the American Nazi Party. Obviously, the two individuals were unrelated, and were not remotely part of the same family. Norman Rockwell, a strong advocate of human rights, abhored [sic] the political views of George Lincoln Rockwell, and missed no occasion to say so.

―Howard • 🌽³³ 11:46, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You can see that Norman Rockwell and George Lovejoy Rockwell (father of George Lincoln) have different parents. The book American Fuehrer doesn’t contain any mention of Norman Rockwell. The only uncle of George mentioned there is one Roscoe Smith. Alan L. Berger got it wrong somehow.  Card Zero  (talk) 15:11, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Rick Rescorla says in the introduction that his name was Richard Cyril Rescorla, and in the infobox that his birth name was Cyril Richard Rescorla. Google searching for <“rick rescola” name change> finds only irrelevant results, so I’m unclear if he changed his name at some point or if the article is wrong at one point. I’m leaning toward an error, since the article says nothing about him changing his name; can anyone find anything solid to help? Nyttend (talk) 18:33, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In the U.S. Army Register of 1967 he is listed as  RESCORLA CYRIL.^[10] In a 1970 book on firefights in Vietnam, published by the Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army, he is named as 2d Lt. Cyril R. Rescorla.^[11] More than a few book sources describing his actions on 9/11 give his name as Cyril Richard “Rick” Rescorla.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]} This abundance of sources does not mean much; they are quite possibly based on ultimately a single source.

However, he appears as Richard C. Rescorla in 1973 in the role of “Criminal Justice Planner” at the Office of Community Affairs and Planning of Oklahoma^[22] and in 1980 as co-author of a book entitled Foundations of Criminal Justice.^[23] He is further listed in 1983 as Rescorla, Richard C. as being promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel^[24] and in 1988 as  RICHARD C RESCOLA as being promoted to the rank of colonel.^[25] Then he is also named as Richard C. Rescorla as the bank systems senior security specialist of Bank Administration Institute,^[26] as the author of an article in The Magazine of Bank Administration,^[27] and as the director of security of the Continental Bank of Chicago,^[28][29]

Could he have changed his name between 1970 and 1973?  ​‑‑Lambiam 20:52, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can’t speak to Rescorla himself, but it is not uncommon for people to use different versions and arrangements of their forenames in different contexts, or come to prefer one over another over time (I myself have used in everyday life three different shorter versions of my full name).

This is particularly true of writers, sometimes to make distinctions between different kinds of works (e.g. Iain Banks aka Iain M. Banks), and sometimes to give the impression of being two (or more) different writers (for an extreme example, see Robert Lionel Fanthorpe). Another motivation might be to distinguish themself from someone else with the same name in the same or a similar field to avoid confusion, such as David/’Davie’ Jones who, to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees adopted the name David Bowie. In many jurisdictions, such adaptions and adoptions do not require a formal legal change of name, so long as no tax evasion or other fraud is intended.

Regarding Rescorla himself, I can offer one piece of background information (from personal knowledge, a reference might have to be sought). In the British military section of his article it is stated that:

“In 1956, at age 16, Rescorla left Hayle to join the army. At the time, Britain practiced conscription (known as National Service), which required every young man to serve for two years in the Armed Forces. Rescorla, however, chose instead to volunteer. This required him to serve three years as the conditions for volunteers were considered to be better than those of conscripted soldiers.”

A further motivation would be that conscripts had to join whatever type of regiment or corps the Army recruiting officer assigned them to, often an infantry regiment, but volunteers could choose which they joined. My own father, a bank clerk, volunteered in 1956 a few months before he was due to be conscripted for exactly this reason, enabling him to join the Royal Army Pay Corp. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.153.108 (talk) 12:40, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Findmypast has a Cyril Rescorla born in 1939, Registration District Penzance, Registration Quarter 3 (March-May), no middle name given, mother’s maiden name Rescorla. Volume 5C, page 360. There’s no Richard Rescorla born around then. Just because it says Cyril on your birth certificate doesn’t mean that anyone ever calls you it, and it’s quite possible to grow up not knowing what name your birth was registered under until you need to apply for a passport. DuncanHill (talk) 12:52, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Our article says he became known as Rick after moving to the USA. DuncanHill (talk) 12:54, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hmm. Not entirely convinced that the Daniel Hill work used in our article is a reliable source. DuncanHill (talk) 13:00, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In ’63 and ’65 British newspapers carry reports of him in the US Army as Richard Rescorla, in ’63 he praises US Army discipline, in ’65 he praises British and is boasting about how many Communists he’s killed. DuncanHill (talk) 13:09, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

He was Cyril Richard for his Bronze Star 31 December 1965, Richard Cyril for his Silver Star 10 February 1966. Richard Cyril on his Petition for Naturalization in 1966, on which he says he entered the USA under the name of Cyril Rescorla. See documents here. DuncanHill (talk) 13:19, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you’re a working class graduate of UK secondary school with a good but not especially outstanding academic record, and join the Royal Logistic Corps as a new recruit at age 18 and don’t get into too much trouble in the Corps, about how long does it typically take to get promoted to Corporal? I’m reading a story about such a guy and his promotion from Lance Corporal came through after something like 6 years in the service. I had thought advancement through these relatively low ranks was normally much faster. Thanks. 2601:644:8581:75B0:AA40:3E7D:E46E:5699 (talk) 01:59, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Passing over the minor point that UK students do not graduate from secondary school; my answer to your question is: that would depend entirely on the individual and their motivation and ability (or lack of it) to pass necessary further training courses, and their ability to command others. My father volunteered to a similar Corps and made Lance Corporal in a few months, others were/are never so promoted; it’s not automatic based on service time. That being said, I (FWIW) would have thought 6 years to be slower than average, but details of such matters, though probably not a military secret, are not readily announced or easily found.

The numbers in the Army’s rank structure are ‘pyramidal’, so only a proportion of each rank can be promoted to the next, and in fact ‘over-promotion’ leading to too many at higher ranks in proportion to the ones below them is an ongoing potential problem, with some soldiers arguably ‘meriting’ promotion but being blocked from it. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.153.108 (talk) 13:11, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What term is used for successfully completing secondary school in the UK, then? —User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 17:49, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You leave school. There’s no successfully or unsuccessfully about it. DuncanHill (talk) 19:22, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a breakdown of US election by voters into six main groups of male/female × White/Black/Hispanic. Do such breakdowns also exist for other US presidential elections? My main interest are 2008, 2012 and 2024. —KnightMove (talk) 05:42, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

We have the population pyramid from 2020.

.

Why is there a larger number of people born in the years 2001 and 2002 (those displayed as being 19 and 18 years old), compared to before and after? Icek~enwiki (talk) 15:32, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t understand that diagram. Can you please explain it to me? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What’s up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:12, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Those aren’t births. The horizontal bars represent how much of the current population was born in each year. The earlier years are smaller because more of the people born in those years have died. The number of living individuals born in each year (generally) goes down as you go further back in time. I’m not sure about the difference between those two birth years and later dates. —User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 17:47, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The blips don’t appear in the other graphs on the page. This suggests (younger) people are lying about their age in order to get a job or married or a drivers’s license or something. Abductive (reasoning) 19:19, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A spike in birth rate? A sudden drop in child mortality, followed by a sudden drop in birth rate? An error in statistics, causing 15% of the 18–19 year olds to be counted double? PiusImpavidus (talk) 19:24, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]