Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 March 16

= March 16 =

Can very small children be depressed?
Besides cases where a child has a very difficult life situation (hunger, war, child abuse etc.) can very small children be depressed? I am talking about perhaps 5 and younger.

I am speaking of long-term depression for no particular reason, the way adolescents and adults can sometimes suffer from depression.

--24.228.94.244 (talk) 01:25, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * According to this Associated Press report (on NBC.com): "Kids as young as 3 can have chronic depression". —71.20.250.51 (talk) 01:41, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Insofar as all sorts of chemical imbalances are possible congenitally, it would be odd to expect there couldn't be a least the analog of adult organic depression. I think this video speaks volumes as to the sorts of problems a three-year-old can have from the environment as well. μηδείς (talk) 01:58, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * It does seem to be quite rare in young children, and this is no doubt due to differences in brain physiology at that age. At the other end of the spectrum, they often seem happy for no discernible reason.  That is, without an external cause.  Understanding why this is might help us treat depression in both adults and children. StuRat (talk) 03:45, 17 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Yes, and conversely schizophrenia doesn't usually show up until around age 20, which indicates some sort of developmental precursor. μηδείς (talk) 05:20, 17 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Stu, kids often seem to have the innate knowledge that happiness comes from within. It's adults who have the problem understanding this, and who look for answers externally.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  07:56, 17 March 2014 (UTC)


 * One might add "neglected", "lack of love", "verbally abused or threatened" to your list of "difficult life situation" that may make small children depressed. Star Lord  -   星王 (talk) 10:44, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Clinical depression must apply to children for them to warrant a dedicated paragraph in Major depressive disorder, which I coincidentally read earlier:

''Depressed children may often display an irritable mood rather than a depressed mood, and show varying symptoms depending on age and situation. Most lose interest in school and show a decline in academic performance. They may be described as clingy, demanding, dependent, or insecure. Diagnosis may be delayed or missed when symptoms are interpreted as normal moodiness. Depression may also coexist with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), complicating the diagnosis and treatment of both. '' --89.242.206.103 (talk) 15:16, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I removed some of the invoked refs not defined on this page μηδείς (talk) 16:09, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Cloud direction
Where do clouds head? East or west? (This is not homework, just forgot) Yutah Andrei Marzan Ogawa1 2 3&#124;UPage&#124;&#9786;&#9733; (talk) 13:08, 16 March 2014 (UTC)
 * They follow the wind direction. In the UK, the wind mainly comes from the south west (making the clouds go towards the north east), but not always. It will be different depending entirely on the weather conditions and whereabouts you are. Alansplodge (talk) 13:31, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Where do they go most of the time?Yutah Andrei Marzan Ogawa1 2 3&#124;UPage&#124;&#9786;&#9733; (talk) 13:32, 16 March 2014 (UTC)
 * In general, opposite of the direction of the Earth's rotation. 71.20.250.51 (talk) 15:25, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * See the map on the right and also Global Wind and Current Patterns which shows the relationship between winds and ocean currents. Alansplodge (talk) 16:37, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I see that Andrei Marzan lives in Japan and the Philippines. Clouds generally move in the same directions as winds, and those vary by location and season. For example, in January, winds and clouds tend to move from northwest to southeast in Japan and from northeast to southwest in the Philippines.  In July, winds and clouds tend to blow from south to north in Japan and from southwest to northeast in the Philippines.  But these are tendencies, and winds may blow from directions other than the prevailing direction at any time.  Also, winds thousands of feet above ground may blow in a different direction than winds at the surface. So clouds can also move in any direction.  But these are the winter and summer tendencies for Japan and the Philippines. Marco polo (talk) 01:38, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Can you think of any circumstances where clouds would move against the prevailing winds? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:06, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Sure. Whenever you have a low pressure system, of the sort that gives rise to fronts, the clouds revolve around the low pressure center.  In the US, the system as a whole almost always moves from west to east, but the clouds spinning around it can move in any direction. Looie496 (talk) 14:29, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, that's true of hurricanes as well. The key point is the storm system, which will be pushed by the winds, yes? So while a given cloud (such as a band in a hurricane) might spiral around the center of the storm, it is also being pushed in the direction of the storm system, right? However, standalone clouds such as normal cumulus clouds should flow with the wind at their altitude, right? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:56, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * In the UK, a succession of low-pressure areas or depressions, generated by the Gulf Stream, are the normal state of affairs. Sometimes, an area of high pressure or anticyclone nudges in from continental Europe, forces the depressions away, the winds come from unusual directions and and we get a spell of nice weather (or very cold weather in the winter). Alansplodge (talk) 18:05, 17 March 2014 (UTC)


 * A cumulus cloud sitting on top of a thermal can be unmoving even in the presence of a strong wind, with the cloud forming on the windward side and vanishing on the leeward side at a rate that exactly counters the wind. --Carnildo (talk) 00:35, 19 March 2014 (UTC)


 * See Could Climate Change Stop the Wind? for additional information.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 16:14, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Not sure how it is where you live, Bugs, but here in Massachusetts, winds occasionally blow from every possible direction, even though the prevailing wind direction is from west-northwesterly in winter and southwesterly in summer. Marco polo (talk) 01:48, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Maybe those winds are coming down from Canada. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  19:31, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

International Space Station
If international cooperation among participating nations fails, then which nations will own and control the International Space Station? This is not a request for a prediction (WP:CRYSTAL), but a question about protocols which may already exist now. I did not find an answer in the article "Politics of the International Space Station". —Wavelength (talk) 19:21, 16 March 2014 (UTC) and 19:32, 16 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Then, by default, control goes to Luxembourg, followed by Lesotho, then Tonga.--24.228.94.244 (talk) 19:35, 16 March 2014 (UTC)on


 * One obvious factor is getting humans there, and back. With the demise of the space shuttles, can any other vehicle but a Soyuz do that? HiLo48 (talk) 02:15, 17 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Yea, but the Russians probably couldn't run it all alone, so it might end up just being abandoned. StuRat (talk) 03:36, 17 March 2014 (UTC)