Nevertheless perhaps a tad more readable than Gender studies, whose enterprisingly minimalist start by a certain L. Sanger was sadly not to be emulated by later contributors?Peter Damian wrote: ... Not even psychologists write as badly as this.
One of the most important aspects of a child's emotional development is the formation of his self-concept,or identity—namely, his sense of who he is and what his relation to other people is. The most conspicuous trend in children's growing self-awareness is a shift from concrete physical attributes to more abstract characteristics. This shift is apparent in those characteristics children emphasize when asked to describe themselves. Young children—four to six years of age—seem to define themselves in terms of such observable characteristics as hair colour, height, or their favourite activities. But within a few years, their descriptions of themselves shift to more abstract, internal, or psychological qualities, including their competences and skills relative to those of others. Thus, as children approach adolescence, they tend to increasingly define themselves by the unique and individual quality of their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs rather than simply by external characteristics.
(human behaviour. (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica)
I know which I would prefer to read if I wanted to inform myself about self-concept.Exhibit 1,324,612 on the failure of crowd sourcing to address even well settled academic ideas in a comprehensible way for a general audience. Here's the lede to wikipedia's article for a side by side comparison (all of those citations in the lede strongly imply some kind of ideological warfare has been taking place to boot).Kilmarnock wrote:Nevertheless perhaps a tad more readable than Gender studies, whose enterprisingly minimalist start by a certain L. Sanger was sadly not to be emulated by later contributors?Peter Damian wrote: ... Not even psychologists write as badly as this.
This is the Britannica's first paragraph on "self-concept" in its article on "human behaviour":
One of the most important aspects of a child's emotional development is the formation of his self-concept,or identity—namely, his sense of who he is and what his relation to other people is. The most conspicuous trend in children's growing self-awareness is a shift from concrete physical attributes to more abstract characteristics. This shift is apparent in those characteristics children emphasize when asked to describe themselves. Young children—four to six years of age—seem to define themselves in terms of such observable characteristics as hair colour, height, or their favourite activities. But within a few years, their descriptions of themselves shift to more abstract, internal, or psychological qualities, including their competences and skills relative to those of others. Thus, as children approach adolescence, they tend to increasingly define themselves by the unique and individual quality of their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs rather than simply by external characteristics.
(human behaviour. (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica)
I know which I would prefer to read if I wanted to inform myself about self-concept.
So many Wikipedia articles like this. Meticulously researched maybe (but we have to take that on trust even in Featured Articles if the forum will allow me to squeeze in a bit of Wordsworth micro-bitching here) and unfortunately absolutely unreadable.
I'm very sorry Larry's Citizendium appears yet to get off the ground. Indeed it looks as if we are stuck with Wikipedia, but it so sadly sadly needs expert editor committees to provide much needed peer review and give articles like Self-concept a sense of direction and indeed, in this case, coherence as well.
It's not that I don't support a people's encyclopaedia. I do passionately, but we do have to get real about quality control.
Self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity or self-perspective) is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as academics (and nonacademics),[1][2][3][4][5] gender roles and sexuality,[6][7][8] racial identity,[9] and many others. Each of these characteristics is a research domain (i.e. Academic Self-Concept) within the larger spectrum of self-concept although no characteristics exist in isolation as one’s self-concept is a collection of beliefs about oneself.[10][11] While closely related with self-concept clarity (which "refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable"),[12] it presupposes but is distinguishable from self-awareness, which is simply an individual's awareness of their self. It is also more general than self-esteem, which is a function of the purely evaluative element of the self-concept.[13]
Quite - but what about all those studies that found Wikipedia to be the very equal of Britannica?DanMurphy wrote: This is the Britannica's first paragraph on "self-concept" in its article on "human behaviour":
One of the most important aspects of a child's emotional development is the formation of his self-concept,or identity—namely, his sense of who he is and what his relation to other people is. The most conspicuous trend in children's growing self-awareness is a shift from concrete physical attributes to more abstract characteristics. This shift is apparent in those characteristics children emphasize when asked to describe themselves. Young children—four to six years of age—seem to define themselves in terms of such observable characteristics as hair colour, height, or their favourite activities. But within a few years, their descriptions of themselves shift to more abstract, internal, or psychological qualities, including their competences and skills relative to those of others. Thus, as children approach adolescence, they tend to increasingly define themselves by the unique and individual quality of their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs rather than simply by external characteristics.
(human behaviour. (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica)
I know which I would prefer to read if I wanted to inform myself about self-concept.
Mostly based on 42 articles in the sciences, weren't they?Peter Damian wrote:Quite - but what about all those studies that found Wikipedia to be the very equal of Britannica?DanMurphy wrote: This is the Britannica's first paragraph on "self-concept" in its article on "human behaviour":
One of the most important aspects of a child's emotional development is the formation of his self-concept,or identity—namely, his sense of who he is and what his relation to other people is. The most conspicuous trend in children's growing self-awareness is a shift from concrete physical attributes to more abstract characteristics. This shift is apparent in those characteristics children emphasize when asked to describe themselves. Young children—four to six years of age—seem to define themselves in terms of such observable characteristics as hair colour, height, or their favourite activities. But within a few years, their descriptions of themselves shift to more abstract, internal, or psychological qualities, including their competences and skills relative to those of others. Thus, as children approach adolescence, they tend to increasingly define themselves by the unique and individual quality of their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs rather than simply by external characteristics.
(human behaviour. (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica)
I know which I would prefer to read if I wanted to inform myself about self-concept.
DanMurphy wrote:Exhibit 1,324,612 on the failure of crowd sourcing to address even well settled academic ideas in a comprehensible way for a general audience. Here's the lede to wikipedia's article for a side by side comparison (all of those citations in the lede strongly imply some kind of ideological warfare has been taking place to boot).Kilmarnock wrote:Nevertheless perhaps a tad more readable than Gender studies, whose enterprisingly minimalist start by a certain L. Sanger was sadly not to be emulated by later contributors?Peter Damian wrote: ... Not even psychologists write as badly as this.
This is the Britannica's first paragraph on "self-concept" in its article on "human behaviour":
One of the most important aspects of a child's emotional development is the formation of his self-concept,or identity—namely, his sense of who he is and what his relation to other people is. The most conspicuous trend in children's growing self-awareness is a shift from concrete physical attributes to more abstract characteristics. This shift is apparent in those characteristics children emphasize when asked to describe themselves. Young children—four to six years of age—seem to define themselves in terms of such observable characteristics as hair colour, height, or their favourite activities. But within a few years, their descriptions of themselves shift to more abstract, internal, or psychological qualities, including their competences and skills relative to those of others. Thus, as children approach adolescence, they tend to increasingly define themselves by the unique and individual quality of their feelings, thoughts, and beliefs rather than simply by external characteristics.
(human behaviour. (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica)
I know which I would prefer to read if I wanted to inform myself about self-concept.
So many Wikipedia articles like this. Meticulously researched maybe (but we have to take that on trust even in Featured Articles if the forum will allow me to squeeze in a bit of Wordsworth micro-bitching here) and unfortunately absolutely unreadable.
I'm very sorry Larry's Citizendium appears yet to get off the ground. Indeed it looks as if we are stuck with Wikipedia, but it so sadly sadly needs expert editor committees to provide much needed peer review and give articles like Self-concept a sense of direction and indeed, in this case, coherence as well.
It's not that I don't support a people's encyclopaedia. I do passionately, but we do have to get real about quality control.
Self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity or self-perspective) is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as academics (and nonacademics),[1][2][3][4][5] gender roles and sexuality,[6][7][8] racial identity,[9] and many others. Each of these characteristics is a research domain (i.e. Academic Self-Concept) within the larger spectrum of self-concept although no characteristics exist in isolation as one’s self-concept is a collection of beliefs about oneself.[10][11] While closely related with self-concept clarity (which "refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable"),[12] it presupposes but is distinguishable from self-awareness, which is simply an individual's awareness of their self. It is also more general than self-esteem, which is a function of the purely evaluative element of the self-concept.[13]
The oft-quoted study in Nature selected 42 articles -- all on "hard" scientific topics, of the sort that arguably elicit little controversy and comparably little attention. The Britannica's editors pretty thoroughly demolished that (non-peer-reviewed) study in a subsequent paper. Earlier, the Grauniad measured only five articles: four biographies (one living one, Bob Dylan), an ethnography, the article "Haute couture" and the article on "Encyclopedia", and came up with a less-than-laudatory result.Peter Damian wrote:Quite - but what about all those studies that found Wikipedia to be the very equal of Britannica?
It is probably the accumulated work of many students studying for exams. Many wikipedia entries in physics are like this, dominated by endless TeX formulas. Often the only useful parts are the figures, which may have good captions.TungstenCarbide wrote:Stress (mechanics) (T-H-L) ... Reads like a graduate student's myopic and masturbatory lecture to himself.
Many of Wikipedia's engineering and science articles are like this. Another area where they look like this are health topics other than pharmaceuticals. I've also seen computing technology articles clearly written by people studying for their A+ exams.piku wrote:It is probably the accumulated work of many students studying for exams. Many wikipedia entries in physics are like this, dominated by endless TeX formulas. Often the only useful parts are the figures, which may have good captions.TungstenCarbide wrote:Stress (mechanics) (T-H-L) ... Reads like a graduate student's myopic and masturbatory lecture to himself.
Consumerism has weak links with the Western world, but is in fact an international phenomenon. People purchasing goods and consuming materials in excess of their basic needs is as old as the first civilizations (e.g. Ancient Egypt, Babylon and Ancient Rome).
A great turn in consumerism arrived just before the Industrial Revolution. In the nineteenth century, capitalist development and the industrial revolution were primarily focused on the capital goods sector and industrial infrastructure (i.e., mining, steel, oil, transportation networks, communications networks, industrial cities, financial centers, etc.).
At that time, agricultural commodities, essential consumer goods, and commercial activities had developed to an extent, but not to the same extent as other sectors. Members of the working classes worked long hours for low wages – as much as 16 hours per day, 6 days per week. Little time or money was left for consumer activities.
Ha, yeah, that is an excellent example of Wikipedia's "outdated recentism" - expect more of this as time goes on.Vocal wrote:The Józef Oleksy (T-H-L) article is dribbling shit as far as I can tell. He's a former Polish PM, but resigned over accusations of espionage (!). This incident has two/two-and-a-half sentences about it, but a subsequent scandal in which he said bad things about fellow party members gets half the article devoted to it.
Try reading the article history from this version onwards. A brillaint example of recentism in action.
That's a good name for it. Something happens that causes someone to go in, clean up old stuff, and write a bunch of new stuff about some recent event that seems important but really isn't. Then the subject fades into obscurity, and the article stagnates like that indefinitely.Volunteer Marek wrote:Ha, yeah, that is an excellent example of Wikipedia's "outdated recentism" - expect more of this as time goes on.Vocal wrote:The Józef Oleksy (T-H-L) article is dribbling shit as far as I can tell. He's a former Polish PM, but resigned over accusations of espionage (!). This incident has two/two-and-a-half sentences about it, but a subsequent scandal in which he said bad things about fellow party members gets half the article devoted to it.
Try reading the article history from this version onwards. A brillaint example of recentism in action.
(Part of the problem here is that the political party he was part of imploded)
Or 'Wikipedia's most absurd generalisation'This involvement by women is in striking contrast to women's lack of participation in earlier uprisings such as the widespread popular revolts of the late Middle Ages. This indicates that women's new assertiveness had something to do with the weakening of the patriarchal control of women as feudalism declined and market relations expanded.
Marxists, such as Vladimir Lenin, warned against food riots.
I see this excellent article was added only this year, the work of a single author and her sockpuppet. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... on=historyAs austerity economics is imposed across much of the world, working class women are predicted to face the majority of the burden in the form of public sector job losses and welfare cuts.[26] Whether this will lead to more women-led uprisings remains to be seen.
A small, but perfectly-formed article. As indeed is the mouse. (And yes, it is a rodent - I checked).The Kakadu Pebble-mound Mouse is a rodent native to Australia. It is one of the pebble-mound mice.
AndyTheGrump wrote:Still, wikipedia does get it right sometimes:
Kakadu_Pebble-mound_MouseA small, but perfectly-formed article. As indeed is the mouse. (And yes, it is a rodent - I checked).The Kakadu Pebble-mound Mouse is a rodent native to Australia. It is one of the pebble-mound mice.
Apparently, pebble-mound mice "construct mounds of pebbles around their burrows, which play an important role in their social life". Evidently they have a more exciting social life than the average Wikipedian.
The scope of this article seems to have been somewhat restricted by its rather peculiar definition of "women-led uprisings". Otherwise, I should have thought that any article entitled List of uprisings led by women could hardly have failed to mention two of the most famous examplesnamely, the Boadicea-led British revolt and the Zenobia-led Palmyrian revolt against the Roman Empire.Peter Damian wrote:List of uprisings led by women http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_up ... d_by_women
Which has a particularly strong opening: "Women-led uprisings are mass protests that are initiated by women. " ...
Sanger seems to have a thing against gender studies .Kilmarnock wrote:Nevertheless perhaps a tad more readable than Gender studies, whose enterprisingly minimalist start by a certain L. Sanger was sadly not to be emulated by later contributors?
Sangerpedia was nothing if not minimalistic...Versus wrote:Sanger seems to have a thing against gender studies .Kilmarnock wrote:Nevertheless perhaps a tad more readable than Gender studies, whose enterprisingly minimalist start by a certain L. Sanger was sadly not to be emulated by later contributors?
Thank you for leaving your mark on Wikipedia, young Mendoza.Eduardo Mendoza 12/01/09
I was born in Tecomatan. My father is Eliodoro Mendoza (El Surdo) and Socorro Zarate my Mom. My grand parents were Luis Mendoza and Celerina Zaragoza. The name of the school i attended to is "Ing. Jose Luis Arregui". People there clebrate the day on "Sata Cruz" every 3rd of may. Wild cats, Coyotes and Armadillos are some of the exotic animals that still exist there. Up untill the time i left the village we all new each other. 2007 was the last time i visited my little village. i missed it so much! i was able to see some 4 & 6 year old kids claiming threes (Huamichil) to collect the fruis and sell them to get money to spend. It reminded me the time when i used to do it. Tecomatan will allways be in my memory. i will continue telling my kids every thing i can for them to know where i come from.
Espero que otros tambien me acompanen y pongan sus experiencias y asi hacer un cuadro mas grande de el pueblito que nos vio crecer.
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Please, don't go fouling my study, Eric.EricBarbour wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Transit_Industries
Fear not, I didn't put it in the list. Seriously though, I think you'll end up with a very high percentage of thesethekohser wrote:Please, don't go fouling my study, Eric.EricBarbour wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Transit_Industries
Premila changed her name as Devika, which proved to be lucky, In 1958 she made her debut in Mudhalali paired with veteran Film actor S.S.Rajendran With the big Tilagam adorning her forehead, the movie was a Block Buster; Devika represented the quintessential Indian woman, caring, self effacing and sacrificing. Sivaji and Devika figured in some memorable movies like Karnan, that powerful mythological, and the hilarious Bale Pandiya and Kulamagal Radhai, Neelavanam, annai Illam, Pavamanippu among the best. Her looks in fact made her the ideal choice for producers of historical and mythological films. Neela vanam was one of the best movies for her excellent performance. This movie is always memorable and enjoyable her role with Nadigar Thilakam. After seeing this movie nobody will forget Devika. This movie must be watched
Devika also made an indelible mark in family drama, the genre that easily wins the hearts of the audience, both urban and rural. With producers churning out such films, some tear-jerkers and others light, and no dearth of heroines, it was due to her talent and charm that Devika got the opportunity to play memorable roles in films like Vanambadi, Vazhkai Padagu and Nenjam Marappadhillai. If the song Sonnathu needhana... in C.V.Sridhar\'s Nenjil Or Aalayam attained immortality the credit for making it visually poignant goes to Devika, who rendered it in the landmark film. She had carved a niche for herself with her grace and beauty at a time when other heroines vied for the top slot. She did total justice to whatever character she portrayed never failing to give a wholesome performance. She was a blend of grace and charm, a versatile actress Devika acted in about 150 films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
(cur | prev) 19:52, 27 March 2010 24.215.190.223 (talk) . . (4,386 bytes) (+4) . . (I, Michael Holman, have added important biographical information to my own wikipedia page...) (undo)
(cur | prev) 19:29, 27 March 2010 24.215.190.223 (talk) . . (4,382 bytes) (+81) . . (I, Michael Holman, again have added important bio info about my life and career as an artist in NYC) (undo)
(cur | prev) 19:26, 27 March 2010 24.215.190.223 (talk) . . (4,301 bytes) (+3,546) . . (I, Michael Holman, have added important biographical information to my own wikipedia page...) (undo)
Bamf, the sound generated by the fictional Marvel Comics character Nightcrawler when teleporting
BAMF!, a band from Missouri
British Art Market Federation, a professional organization of art dealers
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, an agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany
“Bad ass mother fucker” – slang for cool
The hell? Only the first two are actual refs, the rest is just a large list of links with no purpose. I'm going to lop that junk off now, maybe throw it on the talk page if anyone wants to expand the article.
Wikipedia has more than 60,000 "biographies" of football players that look like Brigham's -- only they usually have NO references at all.Tarc wrote:One has to wonder just how many dozens or hundreds of similar things are going on right now undetected. Its all just become too big to manage.
It's okay, Andy. Tarc came to the proper conclusion (see the final sentence of his post.) The question is, how long will it be before you also come to the correct conclusion?AndyTheGrump wrote:Careful Tarc, don't go improving Wikipedia, you'll get into trouble round here if you do that.
I tried to argue with the Wikipediots in 2006 and 2007 that maintainability ought to be an inclusion consideration, and so low-notability topics should be deleted or at least suppressed from view, but Jimmy's "MY COCK IS NOT YET BIG ENOUGH WE MUST HAVE MOAR ARTICLES" won out.Tarc wrote:Its all just become too big to manage.
Well, it is kind of a ridiculous article, especially the image at the top. Most of the people contributing to the article are probably either in it for the lulz or interested in promoting Batman as gay for some political reason.Randy from Boise wrote:You are surprised that Batman's "youthful ward" named Dick who runs around in lycra shorts and sheer leggings is perceived as gay?
Perish the thought!
RfB
Or possibly just enjoying the chance to contribute to an article where the blindingly obvious coincides with what the sources say, and to annoy the narrow-minded in the process. Come to think of it, the latter probably qualifies as 'politics'...Most of the people contributing to the article are probably either in it for the lulz or interested in promoting Batman as gay for some political reason.
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (August 2012)
Jerusalem (play /dʒəˈruːsələm/; Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim About this sound ; Arabic: القُدس al-Quds About this sound and/or أورشليم Ûrshalîm) is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such,[ii] and one of the oldest cities in the world.[1] It is located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea. If the area and population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area,[2][3] with a population of 801,000 residents[4] over an area of 125.1 km2 (48.3 sq mi).[5][6][iii] Jerusalem is also a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.[7] The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE.[1] In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent. Today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters.[8] The Old City became a World Heritage site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger.[9] Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond its boundaries.
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Jewish tradition since, according to the Hebrew Bible, King David of Israel first established it as the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel in c. 1000 BCE, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city.[10] In Christian tradition, Jerusalem has been a holy city since, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified there, possibly in c. 33 CE,[11][12][13] and 300 years later Saint Helena identified the pilgrimage sites of Jesus' life. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city.[14][15] In Islamic tradition in 610 CE it became the first Qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (Salah),[16] and Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later.[17][18] As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi),[19] the Old City is home to many sites of tremendous religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Those editors who believe that we are nearing consensus on the lead are, as they know, sorely mistaken. The moment anyone tries to make an actual edit to the article page, the pro-Israeli opponents of change will swoop down with arb-barbed talons to restore the woeful status quo.
The status quo, sanctified by hundreds of thousands of archived talk-page words, is, alas, the best that this committee can come up with. The pro-Israel campers have deified "capital" into a mountain range, and the anti-Israeli campers have added a rider and an exegetical footnote that points out the absurdity of that word. Fortunately, I doubt that any reader has ever read that footnote, and most readers, stymied by that Henry Jamesian first sentence, probably scurry to the online Britannica to read about the world's most contentious city.
In the classical meaning of zugzwang, any move a player makes results in a loss. But in this game, it is not the players that lose: whatever either side does, it is the reader who loses. --Ravpapa (talk) 05:01, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
Undoubtedly, there are some who actually think there is some sort of encyclopedic justification for an entire article on homosexuality and perceived homosexuality in the Batman franchise. Most are probably exactly as I described, however.AndyTheGrump wrote:Or possibly just enjoying the chance to contribute to an article where the blindingly obvious coincides with what the sources say, and to annoy the narrow-minded in the process. Come to think of it, the latter probably qualifies as 'politics'...
Cool as a word has been around for a generation, it has transcended being an in-word into just being commonplace. I think that there are nuances - there is the "cool" of meaning "good" which is as pointless as the casual use of "awesome" for something of mild interest, however, when someone says "That's not cool" there is another layer of meaning in there, suggesting a lack of fair play or morality.Peter Damian wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_(aesthetic)
Two points here. One, it's a really crap article. Two, the word 'cool' itself. Is it cool to use it? Jimbo uses it a lot, practically in every other sentence. Is it just one of those words that are completely meaningless but whose use is an attempt to ingratiate yourself with a certain group that is desirable to you?
The use of polysyllabic words as a means to demonstrate erudition is a standard trope in American cinema. Rest assured that this is not universal across the United States; that's mainly Southern California culture (which tends to get reflected in American cinema because the American film industry is centered there). Midwesterners and especially Southerners are much less likely to do that.dogbiscuit wrote:I always recall listening to American specialists on Horizon and they speak in a very sophisticated way, same with "Air Crash Investigation", and it gives an air of knowledge. American police on TV cop shows do the same thing, but don't have the education to back it up.
I've been picked up on that before. I think the generalisation is that there is seen in Wikipedia though, where there is a tendency to feign intellect with vocab, and Americanisms. I notice that some Brits seem to adopt them to fit in. I'll have to dig up some examples where it jars.Kelly Martin wrote:The use of polysyllabic words as a means to demonstrate erudition is a standard trope in American cinema. Rest assured that this is not universal across the United States; that's mainly Southern California culture (which tends to get reflected in American cinema because the American film industry is centered there). Midwesterners and especially Southerners are much less likely to do that.dogbiscuit wrote:I always recall listening to American specialists on Horizon and they speak in a very sophisticated way, same with "Air Crash Investigation", and it gives an air of knowledge. American police on TV cop shows do the same thing, but don't have the education to back it up.
Americans are not all of a piece, any more than Brits are.
As a native Midwesterner that has lived in The South for several years now, I can certainly vouch for that. We can often be more blunt and caustic (sometimes in a passive-aggressive way) than our supposedly more sophisticated cousins on the East and West Coasts. One of my father's favorite observations was, "That boy doesn't know his ass-hole from a hole in the ground" (the "d" in "ground" generally being silent). I suppose I could come up with a more southern-California-friendly polysyllabic formulation of that, but I do not know to do that without seeming like what our British cousins would call a "pompous prat."Kelly Martin wrote:The use of polysyllabic words as a means to demonstrate erudition is a standard trope in American cinema. Rest assured that this is not universal across the United States; that's mainly Southern California culture (which tends to get reflected in American cinema because the American film industry is centered there). Midwesterners and especially Southerners are much less likely to do that.dogbiscuit wrote:I always recall listening to American specialists on Horizon and they speak in a very sophisticated way, same with "Air Crash Investigation", and it gives an air of knowledge. American police on TV cop shows do the same thing, but don't have the education to back it up.
Americans are not all of a piece, any more than Brits are.
Reminds me of Sexuality in Star Trek (T-H-L). An article so atrocious that even DGG, one of the primary inclusionists though not an ARS dogmatic, has tried to get it deleted in the past.The Devil's Advocate wrote:Undoubtedly, there are some who actually think there is some sort of encyclopedic justification for an entire article on homosexuality and perceived homosexuality in the Batman franchise. Most are probably exactly as I described, however.AndyTheGrump wrote:Or possibly just enjoying the chance to contribute to an article where the blindingly obvious coincides with what the sources say, and to annoy the narrow-minded in the process. Come to think of it, the latter probably qualifies as 'politics'...