Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2011 December 26

= December 26 =

Haughty Byzantines
Why were almost all Byzantine royals that married abroad considered "haughty"?--Queen Elizabeth II&#39;s Little Spy (talk) 01:03, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * They were? -- Jayron  32  01:53, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Haughtiness means feeling superior to the people around you. The Byzantines, generally speaking, thought of themselves as the Roman Empire, with a glorious history extending back over a thousand years, and therefore superior to all of the upstart nations around them. Looie496 (talk) 14:26, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * The Byzantines were the Roman Empire. It still doesn't establish that the royals that married abroad were actually considered haughty.  -- Jayron  32  18:02, 26 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Slightly beside the point, but when it was suggested that the Empress Irene should marry Charlemagne, she was immedeatly. "Her subjects had no intention of welcoming this boorish Frank in his ridiculous cross-gatered scarlet leggings and unable to even sign his own name except by stencilling it through a plate" (from A Short History of Byzantium, by John Julius Norwich). The Dark Age was not dark in Byzantium, which remained literate and the guardian of classical learning. Alansplodge (talk) 19:09, 27 December 2011 (UTC)
 * The Wikipedia article on Irene notes that the marriage proposal only is mentioned in a single source, and claims that source is of dubious reliability, and also suggests simple court intrigue and the ambition of her finance minister as the primary reason for her deposition. -- Jayron  32  19:14, 27 December 2011 (UTC)
 * So it does. Norwich has it as the primary cause of her downfall. Alansplodge (talk) 19:32, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

No idea if the premise is true, but it has a ring of truth about it for one period I know about - during the long period from the start of the First Crusade, Byzantine sources are frequently astonished by the barbarism of their christian cousins. And the Franks marvel at the civilisation and wonders of Byzantium. I'd guess that taking someone from that society and sticking them into contemporary Frankish society might have prompted haughtiness. Of course, the ultimate sack of the city by the Crusaders hardly scores them points for being civilised. --Dweller (talk) 22:35, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

mystery novel dealing multiculturalism
Henning Mankell's "Faceless Killers" dealt with immigration and national identity and racism. Is there any other mystery novel that has the same theme as this one? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.22.61 (talk) 02:17, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * You might want to look at some of the works of George Pelecanos, who writes mysteries set in Washington DC that deal with some racial issues--I haven't read them, but my dad swears by them. Pelecanos also wrote for The Wire, which I will strongly recommend for this question, though it's a TV series and not a novel. Meelar (talk) 04:45, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * My mind immediately jumped to Walter Mosley and the character Easy Rawlins. Mosely is well known for taking the "Hardboiled detective" fiction and setting it amidst the racial tensions of 1940s-1960s Los Angeles.  The film Devil in a Blue Dress is based on one of his works.  -- Jayron  32  04:55, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

Scandinavian mystery writers
How mystery writers are today in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.22.61 (talk) 02:28, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * They're quite fine, thank you. -- Jayron  32  03:00, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

Sorry, I meant to say how many mystery writers are there today in Sweden, Norway and Denmark? 70.31.22.61 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.95.105.93 (talk) 16:20, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that question is answerable. How many plumbers or dockworkers or physical education teachers are there in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark?  There is likely a number, but someone may not have ever bothered to count.  Indeed, this is not the type of statistic which one keeps track of.  -- Jayron  32  18:01, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * It would also depend on how you define both "writer" and "mystery writer". Does somebody who wrote an unpublished mystery novel for NaNoWriMo count? How about an author who primarily writes in other genres, but wrote one mystery? For that matter, many books cross genres--for instance, Alastair Reynolds has written many books that could qualify as both mysteries and science fiction (see e.g. Century Rain).  Meelar (talk) 18:23, 26 December 2011 (UTC)


 * If you'd like a list of sorts here are your Scandinavian mystery writers: Karin Alvtegen, Sweden, K.O.Dahl, Norway, Aka Edwardson, Kerstin Ekman, Kjell Eriksson, all Sweden, Karin Fossum, Norway, Peter Hoeg, Denmark, Arnaldur Indridason, Iceland, Mari Jungstedt, Mons Kallentoft, Lars Kepler, Sweden, Jan Kjaerstad, Norway, Camilla Lackberg, Sweden, Steig Larsson, Asa Larsson, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Henning Mankell, Lisa Marklund, all Sweden, Jo Nesbo, Norway, Hakan Nesser, Sweden, co-authors Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom, Sweden, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Iceland, twosome Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Johan Theorin, Sweden, James Thompson, American living in Finland and Helene Tursten, Sweden.


 * It's nice to read on in the arctic circle, after the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Manytexts (talk) 14:36, 27 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I meant to say though that these are translated into English & other languages, while there are quite a few more yet untranslated to the world market. Manytexts (talk) 23:00, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Psychology textbook recommendation
I'm interested in self-studying psychology. I would like to request textbook recommendations on the subject. I'm particularly interested in:


 * adolescent psychology,
 * child psychology,
 * psychology of gifted children, and
 * study of memory.

I have no prior background in psychology, however.

Could people please provide recommendations? I'm interested in books that are not too big but are considered very standard in the area. I'd like to study enough psychology to become an expert in general psychology but these aspects are most interesting to me now. Thanks so much. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.216.12.253 (talk) 06:17, 26 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Many college-level introductory psychology classes use Psychology (now apparently in its 8th edition) by Henry Gleitman. Mine did, 20 years ago, and it was a fine introduction. As it covers the whole of a large subject, each area only gets a single (inevitably rather shallow) chapter. If you haven't studied psychology academically before, it's a good place to start, and specific textbooks on areas like developmental psychology (the bulk of your request) will often assume you've already been exposed to broad general material such as Gleitman. -- Testovergian (talk) 13:29, 26 December 2011 (UTC)


 * A good general strategy is also to find what books are on the syllabus for some university unit, and will therefore usually teach you what is de rigeur in a certain field, helping you to head towards expertise. I agree with the Gleitman choice for starters, though. IBE (talk) 13:46, 26 December 2011 (UTC)


 * Also check the textbooks of David G. Myers and Philip Zimbardo. 88.8.76.47 (talk) 23:38, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

Thank you so much everyone. I really appreciate your suggestions. I'll try Gleitman's book since it is standard. I'll let you all know how everything goes in the future.

Of course, if there are further recommendations, then I'd be interested to hear them. The more books the better since this will be my first introduction to the subject and it is good to have several sources. Is MIT considered a strong department in psychology? If so, then I can try MIT's open courseware as OCW often furnishes an excellent way to learn new subjects.

Finally, are there other good websites/forums where one can discuss psychology textbooks and psychology in general? I think it might be good for me to discuss the subject with other people as I am learning it for the first time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.216.12.253 (talk) 03:19, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Also, are there any websites where I can download Gleitman's textbook (the eighth edition) for free? I am very eager to read it and do not have the money at the moment to buy the book (it is quite expensive on amazon). I would really appreciate a website where I can download this textbook for free. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.216.12.253 (talk) 03:38, 27 December 2011 (UTC)


 * You could join WikiProject Psychology as an alternative to a discussion forum. Wikiprojects are not just for talking about the topic, but you will get a lot of meaningful discussion going based around editing psychology articles. Basically, any skill is learnt by doing, not just reading, and editing Wikipedia as part of a project (with academic contributors) is a great way to make sure you don't fall into the trap of reading without putting your knowledge to some use. They will also be able to help with more textbooks. IBE (talk) 19:26, 27 December 2011 (UTC)


 * If you happen to live near a university or college, you might want to see if there is a used book store or textbook exchange on or about campus; you can often find used textbooks at very reasonable prices. The 8th edition of Psychology was only introduced in 2010; you might be able to find some very steeply discounted copies of the 7th edition (still perfectly good; published in 2007; but no longer the official text from the Psych 101 syllabus, so harder to resell to college students) as well. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 22:24, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Westernmost naval battle of the American Revolution
Looking for a name for the battle mentioned on this historical marker, which took place on the Wabash River below Fort Sackville soon after George Rogers Clark captured it in early 1779. I've looked in places such as Western theater of the American Revolutionary War, but I can't find a name for the battle, and since I don't know the name, Google hasn't been helpful at all. Nyttend (talk) 13:14, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * It may not have a name. Blueboar (talk) 13:58, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * It seems, from looking at Battle of the Wabash that this may have been the Battle of Vincennes or a related battle, this seems to be covered at Illinois_campaign. -- Jayron  32  18:49, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Ahh, thanks — I didn't know about the Illinois campaign article. The "Siege of Fort Sackville" section covers it: search for the words "supply convoy".  Nyttend (talk) 19:02, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * You'll find more at Leonard Helm, and even an illustration of Helm returning with the captured boats. —Kevin Myers 20:35, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Which Earl of Northumberland?
In Rowse's The Expansion of Elizabethan England he writes: "Northumberland was very conscious of sea power, and under his government we see the beginnings of the dockyard at Chatham, the constitution of a separate Victualling Department." Which Earl of Northumberland is being referred to here? Ericoides (talk) 17:22, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Assuming this is refering to Elizabethan England (as the title implies), then Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, who occupied the peerage during the early years of Elizabeth's reign, or his son Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland who occupied it during her later years, are the likely choices. -- Jayron  32  17:59, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Aha, if you look at the link to the text that I gave, we are in Henry VIII's reign and the choice seems to be between Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland and Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. Ericoides (talk) 18:01, 26 December 2011 (UTC)
 * John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Vice Admiral, Lord Admiral, Lord President of the Council - no better match.  --Saalstin (talk) 02:03, 27 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, you must be right. Thanks very much. Ericoides (talk) 06:42, 27 December 2011 (UTC)