Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2019 October 14

= October 14 =

Sources on the collapse of the European Union
Are there good sources with analytics on the collapse of the European Union? I want to write an article on this topic. --Vyacheslav84 (talk) 13:43, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * What collapse? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:34, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * European Union --Vyacheslav84 (talk) 05:27, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Where does it talk about a "collapse"? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:34, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Possible disintegration of European Union--Vyacheslav84 (talk) 12:17, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Well it hasn't collapsed yet ;). But there was a bunch of discussion about its long term stability around the time of the potential Grexit a few years ago.  The basic idea was that the EU-wide Euro makes it impossible for the member countries to float their currencies against each other, so that lets the big exporting countries (i.e. Germany) put the squeeze on the importers.  There was a prediction that if Grexit happened, Italeave, Czechout, and several others would be next ("Departugal" was another good one).  Brexit doesn't count since the UK is not on the Euro.  67.164.113.165 (talk) 15:24, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Examples authoritative sources? --Vyacheslav84 (talk) 05:25, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Have you seen our History of the Euro article? What you are discussing may already be covered there. Blueboar (talk) 15:30, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * I see there's a section about bailouts but those were seen as bandaids over the more fundamental issue of non-synchronized economies on a single currency being unable to float. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 16:13, 14 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Since this is Europe, those Band-Aids would be Elastoplasts. SinisterLefty (talk) 21:52, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

The British narrative on Brexit is often focused on the EU playing hardball in negotiations to discourage other countries from following suit, because if a few wealthy countries that 'pay in' did, it could collapse. But this is all speculative. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 09:44, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

What happened between 540 and 565 CE?
Sorry I am not very familiar with this very early period of the middle ages, Population_of_the_Byzantine_Empire says its population density fell from 8.13 per km2 to 5.59 per km2 in just 25 years. Apparently without change of territory size. Is it a bad data point, or did something very significant happen, like a plague? --Lgriot (talk) 14:37, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * See Plague of Justinian, the first major wave of Yersinia pestis to hit Europe and its surroundings. --Stephan Schulz (talk) 14:42, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Thank you! That, indeed, would explain it. --Lgriot (talk) 14:47, 14 October 2019 (UTC)
 * You are very welcome! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 15:14, 14 October 2019 (UTC)


 * I have added a brief note to the article's lead by way of clarification. Alansplodge (talk) 17:22, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

Modern philosopher
Is philosopher a job any more outside academia? What do they do for money? Temerarius (talk) 21:45, 14 October 2019 (UTC)


 * They can write books or do shows on PBS, like Closer to Truth. SinisterLefty (talk) 21:48, 14 October 2019 (UTC)


 * "Any more"? When was it ever a job in the "real" world? Clarityfiend (talk) 04:54, 15 October 2019 (UTC)


 * Well, there were once salons, where various intellectuals, including philosophers, could get food, drinks, and maybe a room in return for their contributions to the conversation. So, in a sense this was a job. The hosts of such salons were essentially patrons of the arts, including philosophy. A philosopher might make a circuit of the various salons, so as to not wear out his welcome.SinisterLefty (talk) 06:01, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

According to dining philosophers problem they subsist on spaghetti and have to share forks with other philosophers. So it is a fairly low-overhead existence. 173.228.123.207 (talk) 22:54, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
 * At least while they remain seated. —Tamfang (talk) 20:42, 18 October 2019 (UTC)