Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2008 October 7

= October 7 =

Existing Gulags?
Do gulags still exist in North Korea? 203.188.92.70 (talk) 03:55, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Do you mean prisoner work camps? If so, they exist all over. See Labor camp.  Grsz  X  04:00, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * But there's nothing about North Korea specifically. Is there an article on this? 203.188.92.70 (talk) 04:14, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah, here we go.  Grsz  X  04:37, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * It's peculiar, labour camp doesn't refer at all to the US, whereas prison farm deals only with the US. Anyway my guess is by 'gulag' the questioner was really thinking of places where political prisoners are included in the inmates and they do forced labour. Dmcq (talk) 07:32, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Industries open to the world to compete in but utterly dominated by a region or cultural bloc
For instance international corporate law is shockingly Anglo-American. 95 of the largest firms are UK/USA and a few of the remaining are Australian. Shipbuilding according to the latest stats (our article needs catchup) is 90-something% East Asian. Many European countries fully participate in international finance/business and have high English fluency so the composition of the list is shocking. Many American/European countries had as late as the 70s, the majority of expertise and infrastructure, so how did that reversal happen? Anyways, can you think of any other you-would-think open industry that is so dominated? Lotsofissues (talk) 07:37, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * It does sound awful to dominate in law rather than producing something useful. I believe there was a state in the US which banned lawyers for a time. In Nigeria the people going to university all wanted to study law rather than anything else. Now they dominate in the email scam market. Dmcq (talk) 08:12, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Market dominance deals with some of this at a company level. Dmcq (talk) 09:04, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * You could also look at Business cluster: the theory is that specialized industries tend to cluster in a single geographic area, even when there are competing firms. --Xuxl (talk) 13:47, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Treasury bonds' risk
If everything has a residual risk, why do so many people consider treasury bonds risk free?Mr.K. (talk) 10:18, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Have a look at Risk-free interest rate. Remember that "risk-free" (in this case) generally refers to credit risk. So even if the US Treasury never defaults on its obligations, those assets may carry other market risks which is what you might be referring to as residual risk. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 10:33, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Actually, I suppose we must consider at least a tiny chance of default. Nothing can be risk-free. Nobody expects that serious governments will print money to pay debt. And what if a meteorite rain smashes major US cities?Mr.K. (talk) 10:39, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * "Serious" governments won't end up in that situation very often. Extreme events are dealt with in the link above. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 11:02, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm sure Mr. K knows that risk is relative. "Risk-free" most often is verbal shorthand for "it's very unlikely that you'll lose money."  Also, because some government securities sell at or below the real rate of inflation, in a sense you're paying for your low risk at the start, since the "investment" will end up with negative return.  One way of looking at risk in government securities is to imagine a choice between two governments: if you could choose between a two-year U.S. treasury bond at 2.11% (the yield in the 9/30 auction), what interest would you demand from a two-year bond from the Russian or Chinese government?  There's a pragmatic definition of risk.  --- OtherDave (talk) 12:53, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * The way I look at it is that if the US government (or another government whose debt is considered risk-free) were to default on its debt then the economic crisis that would ensue (or, rather, that would have to be already in progress) would be so major that the maths would break down anyway so it doesn't matter that one of your assumptions proved false. For example, the efficient market hypothesis is going to fail because computer systems won't be able to cope with the volume of trades, the assumption that people are rational actors will go out the window (during panic people do not behave rationally), etc. That your risk-free rate wasn't actually risk free will be the least of your worries. --Tango (talk) 14:27, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Offline information
What kind of information can't be found online?Mr.K. (talk) 10:28, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Check out the Resource Request page and notice what sorts of requests do not get filled. Now that isn't an indication that the information is not online, but I suspect there are a few there which are not going to be found online (like the three volumes of Monograph of the land and freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles). The factors that will decrease the likelihood of finding it online are: rarity (related to age of the information and overall availability), overall public interest, storage medium of the information (information printed on bad paper in the 1700s is unlikely survive the ravages of time nor will scrolls from Ancient Greece and Rome that happened to be in the hands of monks in Medieval Europe who thought the material was worthless and erased/wrote over the material), and interest by those who enjoy the material (rapid fans of certain types of fiction are likely to make even fairly obscure pieces available). The older the information is the more likely random chance will play a role in what survives (e.g. look at the extant works of ancient authors, there may be a correlation between the artistic worth of what survives but I suspect there will be exceptions).


 * Another place you could check out are the master lists compiled by the folks who make scanned comics available. They have a master list of all the comics produced by different companies and mark whether a scanned copy is available. I do not have the list handy and can't quite locate a copy, but I know several exist. If I remember correctly, the list follow the factors I listed above. Older comics were less likely to be available, along with comics that were not particularly popular.--droptone (talk) 12:03, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Other possibilities:
 * Why don't they just get over it?
 * Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
 * Does a person who posts philosophy-undergrad questions ever leave the basement, or can pizza just get downloaded?
 * --- OtherDave (talk) 13:01, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Expensive information
What kind of information can't be found for free?Mr.K. (talk) 10:29, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Lots of information...You cannot find out detailed information about your health (from a medical professional) without paying - either you pay, your insurance company pays or your government pays. On IMDB you cannot find out certain information without 'IMDB pro' which costs money. In stock market trading terms a lot of information is free (level 1 I think?) but information at higher levels costs extra. Most knowledge that can be sold for a profit will be sold for a profit, though similarly with the right tools and techniques a hell of a lot of that info can be found for free...Or to use a point from Good Will Hunting you spent 100 thousand on a fancy education you could've gotten for $100 in late book fees at the library. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 12:42, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Proof of address
Why do banks care where we really live? Is that regulated by law? Or do they need our addresses for a potential civil law litigation? Mr.K. (talk) 11:17, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * In Europe they must have proof of address to comply with money laundering legislation. If you deposit or withdraw a large sum they must ask you what it is for and record the answer. Itsmejudith (talk) 11:21, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Do they ask what is it for or where did it come from? What if you don't know what is if for?Mr.K. (talk) 11:40, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * They usually ask both. You can answer "general living expenses" or "top up current account". They might think that was odd if the sum was very large. Of course in the current climate you might say you felt it was safer to keep the cash under the bed and they would probably believe you. Itsmejudith (talk) 12:03, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Similar laws in the U.S. - Banks must demonstrate an attempt to avoid transactions of illegal funds. It used to be that banks should use ignorance as a defence.  Now, they must show that they asked who owns the money (ie: who are you, where do you live, what do you do) and what the money is for (ie: where did you get it, what do you want to do with it).  In all reality, the bank doesn't care.  They are required to ask the questions, but not required to ensure the answers are truthful. --  k a i n a w &trade; 18:48, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Another reason is that if the person dies, they have a way of identifying the account. Accounts are frozen till the person in charge comes and asks for them. Yes, the Social Security number helps, but it's just another failsafe to make sure the person is receiving funds fromt he right deceased person. In fact, banks often have someone who scans the obituaries every day; if they read, "John Smoth, of 22nd Street in x township," and they have 3 John Smiths with accounts, they more easily know which one to freeze till the estate process begins.Somebody or his brother (talk) 12:40, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

do violinists get callouses the way guitar players do?
do all stringed players? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.120.232.170 (talk) 13:40, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I am a guitarist, and not a violinist, so this is just speculation, but any activity which produces friction at the same point on the skin is likely to produce calluses. See Callus for more information.  --Jayron32. talk . contribs  14:08, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Cellists certainly do, particularly on the side of the left thumb, from playing in thumb positions; to the degree that if you're as out of practice as I am, it can be quite painful until you develop the calluses. I also remember a friend once taking a week-long taster course on the sitar, and painting his fingers with something thick and robust after the first day. --ColinFine (talk) 20:11, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Recognizing that this is original research of the most ghastly kind (personal experience), I can tell you that as a violinist myself, the answer is YES. You only get them on the four fingers of your left hand, and a bit on the side of your thumb sometimes.  Antandrus  (talk) 20:36, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

fly"s eye dome
where do I buy fly"s eye domes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.144.127.86 (talk) 14:51, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

When was the last time Michigan voted for a Republican presidential candidate?
I'm from Michigan, and I know it's a strongly democratic state (or at least it has been for the past several presidential elections), and I was just wondering when the last time was when a Republican presidential candidate won in Michigan. --Alinnisawest,Dalek Empress ( extermination requests here ) 18:39, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * See United States presidential election, 1988 -- k a i n a w &trade; 18:42, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks, kainaw! I knew it had been a while, but wasn't sure when. Kind of ironic, because Jackson, Michigan is the birthplace of the Republican party... --Alinnisawest,Dalek Empress ( extermination requests here ) 18:45, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You may find people who dispute that. From History of the United States Republican Party "The Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin, where the Republican Party was first organized locally in 1854" - However, this apparent discrepancy is explained by the following from www.gop.com: "The first informal meeting of the party took place in Ripon, Wisconsin, a small town northwest of Milwaukee. The first official Republican meeting took place on July 6th, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan." (Pick your definition of "birthplace".) -- 128.104.112.147 (talk) 23:52, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

The question of the "birthplace of the Republican party" is actually kind of indeterminate, since "Anti-Nebraska" meetings and coalition groups fairly spontaneously sprung up all over the northern U.S. in response to the Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854. The place of the first meeting to use the word "Republican" to describe itself (or the first meeting for which there is currently-surviving evidence that it used the word "Republican") does not mark the founding of the Republican party in any very meaningful sense... AnonMoos (talk) 05:39, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

politic in USA
Can I know the processus of appointment of high personalities in USA? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.207.217.5 (talk) 18:46, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * You can look at Politics of the United States for information on the organization of the government, Elections in the United States for information on how political leaders are elected to office, or even read the United States Constitution, which lays out the entire process officially. --Alinnisawest,Dalek Empress ( extermination requests here ) 18:50, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * In USA, high personalities tend not to go into politics, but stick closer to the Entertainment field.--Wetman (talk) 23:26, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Some high personalities have simply claimed they stopped using years ago, when running for office. Edison (talk) 03:52, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Please don't bite the newbies. The last two posters are joking about the fact that "high" can refer to drug usage.  The original poster was obviously talking about high political offices.  --Anonymous, 22:45 UTC, October 8, 2008.

Searching for an article on the problem of bearerless names
Salutations. I'm planning on writing an article on Meinong's Jungle, and I want to see if there are other similar articles I should look at first. The basic topic is the problem of bearerless names; that is, "how can we refer to things that don't exist?", "why is it that people seem to have serious converstaions about Harry Potter when there is no such person" etc. However, I can't find articles on The present King of France (a famous example), problem of bearerless names, non-referring names etc. The question arose most prominently around the birth of analytic philosophy amidst exchanges between Alexius Meinong, Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russel. There's an article on the theory of descriptions, but that is only a solution to the problem. Can anyone find the Wikipedia article I am looking for? the skomorokh 20:31, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * King of France? Do you mean the Legitimist claimnant, the Orleanist claimnant, the Bonapartist claimnant, or the Jacobite claimnant?  I've always found "the present King of France" to be a silly example, since you are actually discussing something that does exist. --Carnildo (talk) 21:07, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Really? Who would that august personage be, Carnildo?  (Btw, 10 marks for consistency with "claimnant", but it's spelled "claimant".)  --  JackofOz (talk) 22:12, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Possibly The King of France? ៛ Bielle (talk) 22:56, 7 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I sometimes refer to such persons as the king-subjunctive. —Tamfang (talk) 05:37, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Maybe you'll like definite description better than theory of descriptions? - Nunh-huh 04:14, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


 * I proposed including Image:L actuel roi de France.jpg on the Definite description article, but no one seconded my suggestion... AnonMoos (talk) 05:31, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
 * We have an article empty name. Algebraist 10:35, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Thank you Algebraist for hitting the jackpot, and everyone else for the entertaining sideshow! the skomorokh 12:24, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Need reference re: Aroostook War
Dear Wikipedians,

Wikipedia's article on the Aroostook War says that in February 1839, Mainers heard that the Mohawks had offered their military support to Quebec. I need to know the origin (reference, citation) for that fact, for an article I am writing on early West Branch Penobscot settlers.Mainehist (talk) 23:26, 7 October 2008 (UTC)