Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2013 May 26

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May 26

[Protected article] Inadequate, but not necessarily incorrect, summary of scholastic opinion

In an article titled "Yahweh", in the subsection "Ancient Israel and Judah" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh#Ancient_Israel_and_Judah), the statement is made at the bottom of the first paragraph that "These observations eventually overthrew the belief that Israel had always worshipped no other god but Yahweh." in reference to various entirely legitimate questions raised by Yahweh's use of terms that suggest other gods might exist, e.g., "Why do the Ten Commandments declare that there should be no other gods "before Me" (Yahweh), if there are no other gods at all?". The immediately following reference #34 is to Richard E. Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (Harper & Row, 1987)

Friedman is indeed a highly respected scholar, and I've read several of his excellent books; I have no qualms with him or the context of the reference. However, to be fair I suggest the following edit as a separate sentence immediately after the citation:

It should be borne in mind, however, that languages, inducing Hebrew and English, are highly nuanced; statements appearing to suggest the existence of two or more simultaneously existing divinities can just as easily be interpreted that humans who had been worshiping other (and therefore false) gods should cease such practices and not consider such idols / imaginary beings as real, or to continue worshiping them in addition to Yahweh.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Pfaoro (talk • contribs)

This is a reference desk for general queries, you may do well to post this specific article content question at its talk page Talk:Yahweh. That said there is the Wikipedia Policy of WP:BOLD where we encourage you to be bold with an edit however your proposal has no WP:RS (reliable source or reference). Since we are an encyclopedia its always desirable to have references when you make an article contribution. ^{Market St.⧏} _{⧐ Diamond Way} 01:50, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Agree that the talk page is the place to discuss this. But since it is here, I'll give my opinion that the statement does not belong unless you can find some reputable authority who said something along those lines. Looie496 (talk) 02:43, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

See "Golden calf".—Wavelength (talk) 02:51, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Also see Baal. Edison (talk) 03:25, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

---

Most relevant article is probably Henotheism... AnonMoos (talk) 15:16, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

It seems to me obvious from reading the Bible that gods other than Yahweh were worshipped in ancient Israel. The people who wrote the Bible were opposed to such worship, and praise those kings who attempted to prevent it, and condemn those kings who tolerated it. I doubt they would have felt the need to do so if it wasn't going on. --Nicknack009 (talk) 12:22, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Efficacy of detachable faceplates for deterrence of car stereo theft

I'm looking into the efficacy of detachable faceplates for car stereo theft deterrence. Is there any research that demonstrates this? Quotes from police departments? I can't find any research that's been done in this area. Sancho 17:26, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

I tried putting your search terms into google scholar, but there were only two results. One was a 2004 patent application [1], which only said (uncited) "detachable faceplates rarely work because people usually place the radio in the glove compartment, thus rendering the detachable faces useless".

The other is a report by an advocacy group in New York City [2], which attributes a statement that detachable faceplates made a big difference to car theft rates after their introduction (p10) to "Professor Andrew Karmen at John Jay College", as per this 2001 New York Times article [3]. That article in turn refers to research by Karmen [4] and his colleague Harold Takooshian [5]. In both cases, it seems the research is older than either prof currently lists on their web pages, but you could contact them to ask about it.

Hope this is a start and others have better results. 184.147.118.213 (talk) 18:43, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Weight

One of my friends have from a modeling agency told there there standard measurements are 80-60-90 (bust-waist-hips). She is 16-19 years old and is 178 cm tall. Is that unhealthy? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.161.143.239 (talk) 19:55, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Vi kan ikke give dig lægelig rådgivning. Læs venligst retningslinjerne øverst på siden. Hvis din ven er syg, så fortæl hende til at besøge en læge. μηδείς (talk) 21:27, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Pourriez-vous repondre en Anglais, s'il vous plait? AlexTiefling (talk) 23:03, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, given the OP's style I wanted to make sure he understood the relevant policy clearly, and assumed regulars would check this. μηδείς (talk) 02:29, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Jeez, I thought a 38 bust and 38 hips were ample. Edison (talk) 03:09, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Everyone's physiology is different, so you would have to see a doctor to get a valid answer. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:19, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

That would be pretty skinny for that height, but not exactly out of the ordinary for models, or necessarily unnatural. Compare with Twiggy, who was roughly the same, but with a hip measurement even narrower—that was forty-eight years ago, we now have more people (to choose models from that aren't necessarily unhealthy but simply skinny), people are taller than they were, and apparently hips are nearly nine cm back in fashion from then. It’s unhealthy if it is (health is not a body type). ¦ Reisio (talk) 05:32, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Seems a little bit off on the 80-60-90 average (31.5"-21.6"-35.4" to us old geezers), at least by the standards of 8 (Semi) Naked Supermodels. Only one has a waist as small as 22", three have 32" busts (rest larger) and one has 35.5" hips (rest are 34" or 35"). Clarityfiend (talk) 01:27, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

60 cm = 23.6" A little larger than your calculation. Astronaut (talk) 18:45, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

How the heck did I get 21.6? Well, that explains why I'm not an astronaut. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:03, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Maybe, but those women are all at this point selling their own personal appearance, whereas this person’s friend is probably more than anything selling the ability to appropriately fit into all the clothes to be put upon her. <shrug> ¦ Reisio (talk) 05:23, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

The OP said 80-60-90 were the agency's standards, not the friend's measurements. Clarityfiend (talk) 13:38, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Then I guess to you I’d say… Maybe, but those women are all at this point selling their own personal appearance, whereas this agency’s target employees are probably more than anything selling the ability to appropriately fit into all the clothes to be put upon them. <shrug> ¦ Reisio (talk) 23:20, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Shi'ite suburbs in Beirut

Which suburbs of Beirut are Shi'ite dominated? I want to visit there when I am in Beirut this June.--Donmust90 (talk) 22:59, 26 May 2013 (UTC)Donmust90

Shia Islam in Lebanon says the southern suburbs and Beirut#Quarters and sectors has a map that includes the southern part and you could check Category:Neighbourhoods of Beirut to see which of those qualify. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 00:32, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

These are not really tourist areas. You should definitely take a look at security guidance, such as that provided by the UK governmment here [6] and the Canadian one here [7]. In addition, be aware that locals may not welcome foreigners into their neighborhoods given the current state of tension (see this story for example [8]). I would strongly discourage you from roaming around unless accompanied by a trustworthy local who is from the neighborhood. --Xuxl (talk) 09:26, 28 May 2013 (UTC)