Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2008 January 13

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[edit] January 13

[edit] cult cure

If someone were to join a cult, say one that teaches a certain man is now god because he had killed the original god. Ok, so the family of the one in the cult wanted to get that person out, who would they hire? What is the name if someone in this profession? Thanks, schyler (talk) 03:42, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Exit counsellor seems to be a reasonably popular term. You might want to see deprogramming as well. Algebraist 03:53, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Deprogramming is the one. Thanks very much. schyler (talk) 04:08, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Obesity/popular culture

Cross-posting with Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science

For some time I've been working on the obesity article. It contains a commonsense but entirely original research section on the place of obesity in popular culture. I cannot imagine there are no academic sources that deal with this question, but I have had great difficulty in finding the most suitable (and accessible) sources on this topic. Would anyone know of a source that deals with this reliably? JFW | T@lk 06:59, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

For scholarly articles on obesity in popular culture see list at [1]. Julia Rossi (talk) 08:39, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Principles of Feminism

What's the listed principles and main points of view of feminism? Flakture (talk) 08:02, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Does this help? Here [2] and the article Feminist theory. Julia Rossi (talk) 08:36, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Actually not, these contents are the expanded and ramified of some fundamental ideas that are wanted. 85.198.41.213 (talk) 21:01, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dolly Madison

Who is Dolly Madison? I'm studying American History, and I can't remember who Dolly Madison is. When I search her name in Wikipedia, I get a pastry brand name. Maybe add a page? Also, I don't know who had juristiction to do this, but if you're in contact with the formatter of the Humanities Ask a Question page, maybe include a sample message, so the explanation just on how to write a message is clear. Thanks! 76.104.194.195 (talk) 08:22, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

You are looking for Dolley Madison with an "e". Is there anything simpler than make a title and ask your question? The samples are in the list below the guidebox as actual people lay out their wishes. : ) Julia Rossi (talk) 08:33, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
There is a specific link to Dolley Madison at the top of the Dolly Madison article.--Shantavira|feed me 10:26, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Is the name "Goldstein" a Jewish family name?

Can any user please let me know whether the name Goldstein is a Jewish family name, or are there also non-Jews with this name? Thank you. Simonschaim (talk) 09:04, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

I'm not an expert on Jewish names but yes, it's a Jewish surname (as in it was originally associated with Jewish people) with a rather 'interesting' heritage [3]. However there is probably no name nowadays and this definitely includes Goldstein which is held by people who are not associated with whoever the name originated from. In the case of Jewish people, since it's usually considered to descend matrilineally (see Who is a Jew?) but family names usually descend patrilineally there are going to be a lot of people who are neither considered ethnically Jewish by most definitions nor practice Judaism and definitely don't consider themselves Jewish; and have not been for several generations. They could be 95% black, native Americans, Asian and be atheists, Muslims, Christians, Hindus... In most cases I suspect someone with the surname Goldstein has some Jewish heritage as in at least one of their ancestors was Jewish but the One-drop rule is somewhat silly if forced (if someone self-identifies that's a different matter) Nil Einne (talk) 09:56, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] wife taking husband's name

I have observed that in some countries wives take husband's name and in some not. What is the origin of this tradition? In what countries exactly does it takes place?217.168.3.246 (talk) 14:41, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

With every culture having its own rules, this is a very complex subject. You might start by looking at our personal name article, from where there are links to naming conventions in various countries....--Shantavira|feed me 15:29, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
I know that many families in Tonga pass on the wife's/mother's name. Don't know why, though. Wrad (talk) 00:56, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
Slightly off the subject but still relevant, some women in the U.S. will, upon marriage, start using their maiden name as their middle name and use their husband's last name as their own last name. Dismas|(talk) 11:03, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
In quite a number of Western cultures, it is fairly common for a wife to take her husband's surname. She may or may not keep her maiden name in some way. This does not usually occur in Chinese or Korean cultures. Maiden name actually discuss this quite a bit Nil Einne (talk) 11:34, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
You might want to look at the article on Kinship terminology. There are some societies in which the rules governing a wife's surname are held very strictly, and other societies where they are not. There are also more than just two ways this has taken place. For instance, in the old Norse societies a person (this applied to both men and women) was given a first name, and then was given a surname based on the first name of the person's father. If it was a boy, the surname would end in -son or -sen. If it was a girl, the surname would end in -dottar. Examples: Eric Thorsen (Eric, who is the son of Thor), Sven Olafson (Sven, son of Olaf), Hilda Karlsdottar (Hilda, daughter of Karl), etc. After marriage, the person, either man or woman, would still be known by his or her surname before marriage - so that Hilda Karlsdottar would still have been known by that name after marrying Eric Thorsen. This practice has been almost totally abandoned in modern times, though. I just wanted to use it to show that there are more than two ways in which naming conventions have been created to deal with marriage. -- Saukkomies 4:23 15 January 2008 (UTC)
The Norse naming practice is still the norm in Iceland - see Icelandic name. Valiantis (talk) 14:06, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Military garb

At the time of Waterloo some cavalry wore a crescent shaped thing below their neck. What is it called and what is it for? - CarbonLifeForm (talk) 16:49, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

You're thinking of the gorget worn by officers. By the early nineteenth century, it was a small crescent-shaped badge of commissioned rank. In most cases, wearing it also showed that the officer was on duty. Xn4 17:13, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Living Gods

Is there a list of living gods on wikipedia? E.g. Aga Khan and Sultan of Brunei? MrsBucket (talk) 16:57, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

There's this - List of people who have been considered deities. Xn4 17:09, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
Hmm. Are you sure about your examples? The Sultan of Brunei is Muslim, no? And Aga Khan seems to be affiliated with a branch of Islam. Islam is a monotheistic religion, so no way either of those would be considered a god. —Nricardo (talk) 05:31, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
A person believing in one religion may be himself considred a god in a different religion. Jesus was Jewish, but he is considered a son of God by Christians. Haile Selassie was Christian, but he is considred a God incarnate by Rastafarians. — Kpalion(talk) 22:57, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Non-fiction recommendations

I'm heading to the library tomorrow, and after having finally gotten round to reading my Christmas gifts (The World Without Us, Anyone Can Do It (autobiography by Duncan Bannatyne), and Salt: A World History (hmm, no article on that one yet)), I figured it might be worthwhile coming here to see if anyone can recommend any interesting non-fiction available through the Warwick Library Service (mostly because I'm too skint to buy any more books for a while.) I've no major qualms about subject matter, so long as the book doesn't presuppose knowledge on the topic and is a fairly good read. Any suggestions? GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 22:55, 13 January 2008 (UTC)


Here are a few, new and old, that I have enjoyed and that appear to be in your library system, though I cannot vouch for any specific library:
Troublesome Words and A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson, plus any of his travel books, if you like a good laugh;
The Scottish Enlightenment: The Scots’ invention of the modern world by Arthur Herman;
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman (though I am always a bit suspicious about the amount of fiction in an autobiography);
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle;
A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and The Universe in a Nutshell, by Stephen Hawking;
The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet, by Benjamin Hoff;
The Bottlebrush Tree: A village in Andalusia, by Peter Seymour-Davies;
Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a management revolution, by Thomas J. Peters. Bielle (talk) 00:51, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
Mutants : on the form, varieties and errors of the human body by Armand Marie Leroi. [4]
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins [5]
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson [6]
On Writing by Stephen King [7]
Rockpocket 01:25, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
This is a bit sweeping, GeeJo. Any particular areas - Civil War history, hang-gliding, UFOs, pre-Raphaelite art? Xn4 01:43, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Like unto Salt (a focused history), there is Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World and Rat: How the World's Most Notorious Rodent Clawed Its Way to the Top, and The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World , and The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell and Spice: The History of a Temptation. Gotta love the titles. Rmhermen (talk) 01:57, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Yes! The God Delusion is amazing. Try also,
Enjoy, --S.dedalus (talk) 02:43, 14 January 2008 (UTC)
I recently enjoyed John McPhee's Uncommon Carriers, a recent non-fiction book where McPhee travels around the world looking at how stuff gets around (one chapter is about trains, another is about big rig trucks, another is about barges, etc.) and the people who make it happen. It's really pleasant and there's a lot of unexpected things, little tid-bits about one's everyday life that one never noticed. Unfortunately after typing all that out I see that it's not in your library system, so I suppose it's not all that valuable to you, but anyway it's worth taking a look at if you get a chance to, a pleasant book. Not like all those depressing-looking things that S.dedalus suggested. ;-) --24.147.69.31 (talk) 03:25, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

Ok, I think that's enough to keep me busy for a while. I was deliberately vague as I'd rather try picking from a cross-section, and it looks like it paid off, as some on the list I've already read, and others I haven't. Thanks guys :) GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 11:34, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

My favorite non-fiction book is The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes. --Sean 14:33, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tikkun

Although you have "Tikkun" in wikipedia, there is no link to it in the side bar that comes up when you search for "Torah". This made it a lot harder for me to find out what the tikkun was called. please add that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.249.88.220 (talk) 23:25, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

The pages that are presented are the result of a fully automated search function. There are several thousands of Wikipedia articles that prominently refer to the Torah. The page "Tikkun (book)" does appear for the search term "Torah", but only as number 156 in the list. There is no plausible way for us to make it appear earlier.
For future reference, the Wikipedia:Help desk is the best place for questions related to using Wikipedia.  --Lambiam 23:53, 13 January 2008 (UTC)