Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 April 29

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April 29

Laughing Syndrome

So today I was at the park and a little boy had sat on a ant hill. He started to freak out as the ants started to crawl up his pants and I laughed at him as his mother was trying to help him get them all off. What makes us laugh at others pain? Is it because we aren't experiencing it ourselves?

Thank You

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 05:05, 29 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

The Laughter article would have you believe that laughing at inappropriate times is an indication of a serious condition. There are other causes. I guess it's the same odd mechanism that makes cats purr when they are very afraid or very happy. --Lisa4edit (talk) 06:05, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The name of this feeling is Schadenfreude (although our article doesn't seem to have much about the psychological aspects). — Insanity Incarnate 06:16, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually not quite, Schadenfreude both in the original and in the English use has a malicious background. An example would be a crook laughing after they'd cheated someone. Or smaller kids laughing when a bully gets beaten up by someone who's bigger than him. I think what Cardinal Raven was describing is laughing at something at the spur of the moment that you'd not find funny if you'd had had time to consider the ethics or if someone had just told you about it and you had not witnessed it yourself. It's more the "pie in the face" situation. --Lisa4edit (talk) 14:13, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

People can't help laughing at inappropriate times if unrehearsed slapstick is anything to go by (someone trips, misses a chair, puts their coffee on a table just as someone removes it, finds ants in their pants, etc etc). I'd say not experiencing it ourselves is a key – the same indignity would take away the fun, fast. It's more unusual for someone to laugh at a tragedy, though. They'd be missing a few social cues. Julia Rossi (talk) 08:32, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Seeing others being bitten by ants is ALWAYS funny. Green t-shirt (talk) 12:10, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and the whole world laughs at you. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 15:10, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Look at it this way. It's bad enough that the little boy was perturbed by having ants crawl up his legs. Do you want it to be even worse, by feeling bad yourself? Be glad there was some good salvaged from the situation from your having witnessed it. Vranak (talk) 17:07, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

And yet, imagine yourself in the boy's position. How would you feel about someone laughing at your misfortune? It would probably depend on how extreme it felt. Some things we laugh at when either there is obviously no serious harm done, or we assume there is no serious harm done (it is my suspicion that "Funniest Videos" type shows help us to make that assumption by adding the media as a buffer--e.g. "if they're showing it as funny, obviously no one really got hurt or it was taken care of, so it must be safe to laugh"). When someone has been seriously harmed, or when we would significantly increase the amount of harm by the act of laughing, hopefully it reduces the urge to laugh right? Would you find it as funny if you found out some kind of allergic reaction later put the boy in the hospital for days? Have you ever witnessed an "is it safe to laugh" pause right after someone has an accident? --Prestidigitator (talk) 19:01, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Good point. How the kid reacts to Cardinal's reaction is important. Maybe he'd start laughing too, if he's a good-natured child. Vranak (talk) 23:41, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." - Mel Brooks as the 2,00 year old man. Matt Deres (talk) 18:54, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Thank you all. Thanks for the links. And Vranak all though you could look at it that way I shouldn't be laughing at some kid. Who knows if it were a spider or something more dangerous and the boy's mother wasn't there? I do not feel guilt for it I just don't think its appropriate to do. Cardinal Raven (talk) 18:57, 29 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I see nothing ethically wrong with laughing at a kid with ants in his pants. Then again, this is coming from the guy who's banned from Georgia. Ziggy Sawdust 16:21, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

uzbekistan - "landlocked country"?

its written here in wikipedia that uzbekistan is a landlocked country, but there's the aral sea to the northwest of the country, so how come it's landlocked? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.248.101 (talk) 10:19, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually, Aral Sea is not a sea; it's a huge lake. Abdullais4u (talk) 10:33, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

It's all a question of definition. See landlocked country.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 10:58, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Also, as the landlocked country page points out, Uzbekistan is one of the world's two doubly landlocked countries. Anyway, the Aral Sea is rapidly becoming not so huge. Pfly (talk) 00:27, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

The Aral Sea is not even a huge lake now having lost over 75% of it's surface area in the last 50 years. Astronaut (talk) 02:29, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Rationale behind essay type questions

What is the rationale behind essay type questions in exams? Isn't it possible to test the candidate only through choose-the-best, or fill-in-the-blanks type questions? --V4vijayakumar (talk) 12:15, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Writing an essay forces you to actually think, as oppose to just ticking boxes. Multiple choice questions are for idiots. Green t-shirt (talk) 12:19, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

No. Essays test several important skills, such as the ability to string sentences together, to spell and punctuate properly, to construct an argument, to see the other side's point of view, etc. Besides, there are many disciplines (such as history and literature) where knowledge and understanding can't be tested by the types of question you describe. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:20, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

And multiple choice questions are decidedly not always for idiots. I took accounting exams and they included multiple choice questions which were incredibly hard. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Most "real-life" applications of knowledge aren't multiple-choice questions. Most require the ability to synthesize among the many things you've (allegedly) learned. Essay questions are better ways to test whether you have that knowledge and the ability to make a new synthesis with it.

Atlant (talk) 12:22, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

As a university lecturer; I want to hear you articulate and debate various points of view and then argue your decision on what is in your opinion crucial Mhicaoidh (talk) 13:15, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I've found that some students who could beat "anybody" at multiple choice vocabulary and grammar tasks, could not put one idea for such simple questions as "What is your favorite food?" into a sentence. It's probably a cultural thing. They grew up learning by "rote learning" and repetition. "Show and tell" is new and strange to them. But in "real life" your boss would not ask you "Did you do a) b) or c)" but rather "What did you do?" Even if your research in academia is sorting things by boxes, at some point you'll have to give a lecture to present your result. --Lisa4edit (talk) 13:56, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Essay type questions are subjective though, teachers can mark you down simply because they don't agree with you, at least with multiple choice you're either right or you're wrong. --124.254.77.148 (talk) 14:17, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Never heard of distribution grading have you? Any grading is subjective. They've had double blind studies and were surprised at the results they got. What about a teacher marking you up because he/she thinks that you are very creative and/or able to write a very good essay and will overlook your horrendous spelling? Have a look over at the language desk where some poor sod had one of those multiple choice language tests. I forget how many people came up with differing correct answers. It's always easy if you know the correct answer. But if you don't know whether they are looking at word type, number of letters, specific letters in or not in the words, letter sequences, same/different, emotion described, situation the words could be used in etc. etc. you'll have to rely on the fact that you have been trained to pick the most obvious choice. I once took one of those "what's the next number tests" because I kept messing them up and could come up with ways to fit most of the "wrong answers" in. Who says a vector calculation solution or points on a hyperbolic graph are "wrong" and x=y2 is "correct". Part of essay grading is structure. That's easy to learn. Once your "roadmap" is o.k. you're almost halfway there. Then there's how well you understood the issue and make your point. Depending on what type of essay exam it is that has a bigger or smaller influence. If the essay is on a subject that's where you score points. (If you argue Pocahontas invaded Australia in a history essay, I don't care how captivating it reads. You're sunk. In an English class it still might fly even if it's off topic.) Even if your teacher says that "writing style will not be graded" or some such. If you write them an essay that reads about as interesting as the raisin count in 200 consecutive bowls of oatmeal then it's not going to go down as well as if you can turn each raisin into a miniature alien landscape. Sorry this got a bit long. --Lisa4edit (talk) 19:39, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

How you think (present content and process information) is not the same as what you know (remember). Both need to be demonstrated. Julia Rossi (talk) 04:42, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

but, I am looking for something against this essay type questions?! :( --V4vijayakumar (talk) 13:37, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

So, when you asked for the rationale behind them, what you meant to ask was 'give me some reasons these questions are a bad idea'? If you told us what you wanted this for, we could help tailor your response appropriately. If it's just because you don't like them and you want to persuade your teacher not to set them, I think you're going to fail. Sorry. 130.88.140.11 (talk) 15:28, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Multiple choice tests are more economical, because you can use "trained monkeys" or simple computer programs to grade them with a template. (There are still a few professions that earn less than teachers. Which never fails to amaze me since cleaning ladies don't fall into that group.) Grading a pile of essays can take weeks, a pile of multiple choice tests a couple of hours. You can standardize result scales. (The current craze.) Essay type questions require a higher degree of language proficiency. Essay type questions require the ability to analyze problems develop strategies and formulate ideas. One can test absorption of a large volume of unrelated material with multiple choice tests. Essay type question are better for testing how well a specific subject area was processed. Essay type questions go back to old Greek styles, multiple choice questions are more modern. Parents and school board members can understand multiple test results. Just for a couple of "advantages/disadvantages".71.236.23.111 (talk) 18:18, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Image permission

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to have permission to publish the picture

"Persepolis at dusk which was on your site six months ago in my forthcoming book on architecture and urban planning, whose working title is Preserving the Urbis: Eco-Regionalism in City Planning. If you email me your email address, I can attach the picture for you.

If you grant me permission, please also let me know exactly how you wish to be referenced.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

Homa Djahansouzi —Preceding unsigned comment added by H.djahansouzi (talk • contribs) 14:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Hello Homa. Wikipedia is put together by thousands of volunteers, many of whom contribute images under a variety of licenses. Clicking any image in an article will take you to a page which has details of that image's license and the name or username of the person who created it. If your use of the image falls under the terms of the license, you do not need to ask permission to use the image; permission has already been granted. Otherwise, you need to contact the person who created the image. I've had a quick look and I can't find any image called "Persepolis at dusk" on the English Wikipedia; maybe it's this one?. Anyway, let us know if you have any more questions. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 14:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Why do some banks offer travel packages?

I've noticed that several banks offer their customers the opportunity to join in with travel packages. The customers pay for the trip. I was just curious as to the advantages for banks to do this? How did this practice start.

Midwestgold (talk) 14:50, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

bowler hat

I was just wondering what company makes the bowler hat?Jwking (talk) 15:25, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Walter Wright in Bedfordshire, England still lists what it calls an "authentic bowler shape" in its online shop: see here. -- Karenjc 15:42, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

For Edward Bates of Jermyn Street, London, see here. Xn4 23:00, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Just in case you were confused about this bowler is not a brand of hat, so many companies might make them. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:10, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Dumpster guitar

I recently found a busted-up acoustic guitar in the dumpster. The back side (the side opposite the strings, dunno what it's called) was cracked in two, so I replaced it with a new piece of plywood. The sides are broken at a couple points, and I plan to glue them back together with thin strips of plywood, or shims, or something. My question is thus: If I am able to glue the guitar back together without any major obstructions on the inside, will it still work, or will it screw up the acoustics? The neck was fully intact when I found it, and the side with the strings on it was split in half perpendicular to the strings. Ziggy Sawdust 15:46, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The side opposite the strings is called the sounding board, and it plays a pretty important part in how the guitar sounds. The vibration of the body is important so the acoustics will certainly be affected. It'll make a sound, but how nice that sound will be is anyone's guess :) It's worth a shot; it sounds like a fun project if nothing else. — Matt Eason ^{(Talk • Contribs)} 16:50, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The type of wood which is selected for the front of a guitar (mainly spruce, cedar and redwood) and the back / sides (maple, but also quite a few exotic timbers) generate different sound characteristics of the instrument which are then suitable (or unsuitable) for your type of music. Bear in mind that some of these woods are extremely costly (a few hundred USDs) as the trees are endangered and the supply is minimal.

If you have a qualified luthier in your vicinity, ask his or her advice. If both sounding board and front are broken the internal braces will have been affected and the resonance of the sounding board may be impaired. It may not be worth the effort - a custom made guitar takes more than a month´s work - to repair the instrument only to discover that it sounds like a shoe box with rubber bands. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 17:06, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

A friend of mine has built a few electric guitars. He frequents ProjectGuitar.com and says they have fairly good info. Also, they have a forum so that you can ask questions of other guitarpenters. Dismas|^(talk) 00:18, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I've never really owned/played a guitar before, so all this is new to me. Ziggy Sawdust 17:19, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

My guess is that it will sound pretty awful (it probably didn't sound that great to begin with, if it ended up in a dumpster like that), but it could still be an enjoyable project. Making a guitar that sounds nice is no trivial affair, and repairing one in the condition you found that one is probably counter-productive from an audio point of view (would be easier to just buy a new one; it was probably a very cheap guitar to begin with). But as a hobbyist thing to do there's nothing wrong with it, obviously. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 14:38, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Phone with best camera

Which phone has the camera with the most megapixels.

Need a new phone and camera so i thought i would kill two birds with one phone.

Also i am english so no out of country phones

84.13.11.137 (talk) 18:21, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Megapixels are a lousy method of determining whether a camera is any good, though it looks like most camera phones top out around 3MP at present. My understanding is that very few camera phones come anywhere near the quality of a basic point-and-shoot, much less any form of SLR. Going off CNet's best camera phones list, for example, the top phone shown has camera specs on par with the low end of the standalone market. Google searches for "best camera phones" and the like find many such lists. My advice, unless price is no object and you're just determined to combine these devices, is to buy separately. — Lomn 19:12, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The highest megapixels on easily available phones in the UK, is 5MP (Samsung, LG, Nokia and Sony Ericsson all do reasonably stylish models) but it shouldn't be too long now before someone announces something with more. Bear in mind that for the latest phone you usually have to pay for the phone as well as take out an expensive contract. There are plenty of 3MP capable phones available for free with even a cheap contract. Astronaut (talk) 02:09, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

No it's actually a physical limit now, the pixels are smaller than the diffraction limit of the lens and will not give you any more detail when you cram more pixels in, only reduces the amount of light that each pixel receives and consequently the amount of noise and noise-reduction needed. See also the megapixel myth. --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:45, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Most likely, what you will get will be no better than what you have already. Instead, why not donate your money to the "buy mattbuck an SLR camera" fund so I can take better photos for wikipedia articles. -mattbuck (Talk) 15:11, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks guys although my current phone is an N-gage QD so anything with a camera is better. And no I won't be donating to anyfunds.

Banks and appliances

The travel package question above reminded me of a question I had. When I was young, late 70s, many banks in the US would give away free appliances (toasters, toaster ovens, phones, etc.) just for opening an account. This was even the source of occaisional humor in sitcoms and things like that. Why would they do this? Did people actually make financial decisions based on getting a free $20-30 appliance? I'm guessing that this went out of vogue due to having to stock the appliances at the bank, or due to the overhead of having some company send them out and such. How big of a fad was this? (use whatever terms you like to define the size of something intangable like a fad :-) ) Dismas|^(talk) 21:47, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I remember when I was at university, banks offered book tokens or other small inducements to open an account with them. I think the idea was that people were generally more likely to move house than change their bank. When you first open a bank account you just want somewhere to put your money. It's only later in life, when the bank has filled your mail box with crap, turned you down for loans and mortgages, and stolen your money with outrageous fees, that you regret picking your bank based on getting £20 worth of book tokens. Astronaut (talk) 02:22, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

I recall seeing on television some banks in the US giving away guns when starting a new account. You make your bed... Boomshanka (talk) 03:40, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Is that with, or instead of a checkbook? :-)--Lisa4edit (talk) 07:14, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Incentives or freebies sometimes are the little thing that influences a decision. If you could flip a coin and choose either one, wouldn't you rather take the one with a toaster. Very few decision are made based on rational analysis. More surprisingly if you think you have made a decision based on rational analysis you are only fooling yourself. They've done a study on that. (Check the online science magazines.) You have made up your mind and then select suitable arguments to support your decision. The problem we have today is that too many people have too much stuff. One toaster is useful, 3 toasters are annoying. --Lisa4edit (talk) 07:14, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

When I started university, I kept my existing account but also opened a second one to help me budget. The choice of second one was, I admit, somewhat influenced by the fact that they gave me a wok. Seven years on, I've just closed that bank account - but I still use the wok :-) 81.187.153.189 (talk) 18:28, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

If you have several banks in one area, they have to compete for business. So years ago, some bank started to give away some cheap gee-gaws, and this brought in more business. So to keep up, the other banks started to give away more expensive gadgets.

It got to the point where the value of the give-aways was getting out of hand, and one of the government agencies decided that it was unfair competition, and decreed that the value of the product had to be deducted from the future interest. So we don't see such promotions much anymore.

Warning, the above is from a faulty memory, is O.R., and is U.S.A.-centric Bunthorne (talk) 04:50, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

US election website

In 2004 I used to frequent an independent non-partisan website that kept track of the current polling for the presidential race. It had the basic red/blue state map with shades of color indicating whether a state was strong or weak for that particular candidate. IIRC the site solicited donations to pay for certain polling data, I remember them saying that they would also cover the 2008 us presidential election. Does anyone know what site I am thinking of? I realize that there are probably several sites that have this information, the one I am thinking of was completely independent and had a nothing-but-the-facts style to it. Thanks, sorry my Q is so vague. --Diletante (talk) 22:52, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Try the superb www.electoral-vote.com -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:59, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Right now their webserver is giving me a misconfigured mime-type error. I don't think its the same site I was using in 04 though but it looks like a good resource, Thanks -- Diletante (talk)