Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2023 September 23

= September 23 =

Intermediate points in time
Given any temporal point P in the past, all points in time between P and the present must also be in the past. So, starting from P, each one of those intermediate points in time must be reached before finally reaching the present. Those intermediate points were their own present and in P's future. Likewise, given any temporal point F in the future, all points in time between the present and F must also be in the future. So, starting from the present, each one of those intermediate points in time must be reached before finally reaching F. Those intermediate points will be their own present and in F's past.

For example, if the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago, then that necessarily implies the existence of the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary periods in the past. Also, the existence of the years 2023 (present) and 10000 (future) necessarily implies the existence of the years 2024, 2025, ..., 9998, and 9999 (all in the future).

Is there another name for those intermediate points in time? GeoffreyT2000 (talk) 01:46, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * What's wrong with "points in time"? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:26, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * These intermediate points form the intersection between the solid past light cone of F and future light cone of P. ("Solid" here means the insides of the cones are included.) This is related to the concept of causal diamond. The intermediate points between P nd F are the union of the causal diamonds of all causal curves connecting P and F. Generalizing the concept of causal diamond so that it does apply to a causally connected pair (P, F) would be an obvious step to take. --Lambiam 09:19, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

Idol of Hindu god on Mount Bromo
Mount Bromo The articles says thus: At the mouth of the crater, there is an idol of Ganesha, the Hindu god of wisdom which is being worshipped by the Javanese Hindus. The reference is to a blog section of a major Indian daily and the cited post relies on hearsay without saying anything conclusive about the presence of the idol. A google search throws up some videos all of which show either nothing of Ganesha idol or some apparently manipulated visuals. Can somebody delve into it and provide reliable source or remove the possibly phony thing? Narrativist (talk) 09:18, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Google Image "mount bromo ganesha" and you'll see plenty of pictures of it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:52, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for throwing light. It's interesting that most of the travel vloggers, unless prompted by faith, failed even to notice such a thing there. For example, this with a man of Indian origin, and this. The blog link supporting the claim doesn't seem appropriate to my eyes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Narrativist (talk • contribs) 02:45, 24 September 2023 (UTC)
 * The many photos of it might lead to a better source, with its own photo. The statue does not appear to be very large compared to the volcano, so it might be easy to overlook. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:03, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

Interesting
I am puzzled by the wording of a four-page advertisement wrap round Thursday's edition of the London Metro. It says:

Another interest hike?

There follows a picture of a green credit card with the word "zilch" picked out in white and the MasterCard symbol. It continues:


 * Zero interest.
 * Still.
 * Get the credit you deserve.
 * From 22.6% APR Representative.

Aren't the representations incompatible? A credit card that didn't charge interest might be popular but it wouldn't remain in business very long. 2A02:C7B:11E:9000:B5A0:201F:5CC2:29 (talk) 09:33, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Credit card companies charge a fee to the stores that accept them. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:24, 23 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Credit card offerings that tout an initial interest-free period after purchases exploit a Loss leader strategy to encourage habitual use of the card and consequent drift into expensive debt. Interest calculation is also simpler when all interest charges start from, say, a fixed day of the month. Philvoids (talk) 15:42, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

Restoration ecology
Which universities and companies are leading research centers for applied restoration ecology using the latest advancements in technology? Viriditas (talk) 21:16, 23 September 2023 (UTC)


 * User:Viriditas, if no one here has a better suggestion, reading the bio sketches of the editorial board of the journal Ecological Restoration might give you some starting points. A lot of the hits for the string "restoration ecology" turn up papers by Chinese investigators, but I haven't looked into their affiliations. As it happens, the Society for Ecological Restoration will be having a conference this week in Darwin. Not sure when or where the proceedings will be published, but could be something to keep an eye on. The sponsors of that conference might also provide some hints. Folly Mox (talk) 07:24, 25 September 2023 (UTC)


 * thank you for the great advice. You've given me enough to keep me busy for months. Viriditas (talk) 08:39, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I was pretty sleepy when I posted the above, and neglected to look for this, the Society for Ecological Restoration's listing of academic programs in restoration ecology and related degrees, or this, their listing of "environmental restoration leaders in private and public industries". This is just one organisation's opinion, but might be more fertile ground for investigation than looking into individual researchers given the scope of your question.I probably also should have done this google scholar search for "professor of restoration ecology", which turns up people affiliated with a subset of the above lists, including at least one institution with a named chair in the field (University of Wisconsin Madison, not entirely surprising given their academic press publishes the Ecological Restoration journal mentioned above). Folly Mox (talk) 17:14, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the update. I am curious about how much overlap there is with ecological engineering and ecotechnology.  Would it be wrong for me to assume that there isn't very much? Viriditas (talk) 22:05, 25 September 2023 (UTC)
 * I would assume some overlap, but I'm not a scientist. This follow up is sufficiently different to your initial question that you might not get yelled at for asking at WP:RD/S, though. They might have some editors who know about the topic area there. Folly Mox (talk) 23:43, 25 September 2023 (UTC)