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Berry paradox

The Berry paradox is a self-referential paradox arising from an expression like "The smallest positive integer not definable in under sixty letters" (a phrase with fifty-seven letters).

Bertrand Russell, the first to discuss the paradox in print, attributed it to G. G. Berry (1867–1928), a junior librarian at Oxford's Bodleian Library. Russell called Berry "the only person in Oxford who understood mathematical logic". The paradox was called "Richard's paradox" by Jean-Yves Girard.

Overview
Consider the expression:

 * "The smallest positive integer not definable in under sixty letters."

Since there are only twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, there are finitely many phrases of under sixty letters, and hence finitely many positive integers that are defined by phrases of under sixty letters. Since there are infinitely many positive integers, this means that there are positive integers that cannot be defined by phrases of under sixty letters. If there are positive integers that satisfy a given property, then there is a smallest positive integer that satisfies that property; therefore, there is a smallest positive integer satisfying the property "not definable in under sixty letters". This is the integer to which the above expression refers. But the above expression is only fifty-seven letters long, therefore it is definable in under sixty letters, and is not the smallest positive integer not definable in under sixty letters, and is not defined by this expression. This is a paradox: there must be an integer defined by this expression, but since the expression is self-contradictory (any integer it defines is definable in under sixty letters), there cannot be any integer defined by it.

Mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin in The Unknowable (1999) adds this comment: "Well, the Mexican mathematical historian Alejandro Garcidiego has taken the trouble to find that letter [of Berry's from which Russell penned his remarks], and it is rather a different paradox. Berry’s letter actually talks about the first ordinal that can’t be named in a finite number of words. According to Cantor’s theory such an ordinal must exist, but we’ve just named it in a finite number of words, which is a contradiction."

Resolution
The Berry paradox as formulated above arises because of systematic ambiguity in the word "definable". In other formulations of the Berry paradox, such as one that instead reads: "...not nameable in less..." the term "nameable" is also one that has this systematic ambiguity. Terms of this kind give rise to vicious circle fallacies. Other terms with this type of ambiguity are: satisfiable, true, false, function, property, class, relation, cardinal, and ordinal. To resolve one of these paradoxes means to pinpoint exactly where our use of language went wrong and to provide restrictions on the use of language which may avoid them.

This family of paradoxes can be resolved by incorporating stratifications of meaning in language. Terms with systematic ambiguity may be written with subscripts denoting that one level of meaning is considered a higher priority than another in their interpretation. "The number not nameable0 in less than eleven words" may be nameable1 in less than eleven words under this scheme.

However, one can read Alfred Tarski's contributions to the Liar Paradox to find how this resolution in languages falls short. Alfred Tarski diagnosed the paradox as arising only in languages that are "semantically closed", by which he meant a language in which it is possible for one sentence to predicate truth (or falsehood) of another sentence in the same language (or even of itself). To avoid self-contradiction, it is necessary when discussing truth values to envision levels of languages, each of which can predicate truth (or falsehood) only of languages at a lower level. So, when one sentence refers to the truth-value of another, it is semantically higher. The sentence referred to is part of the "object language", while the referring sentence is considered to be a part of a "meta-language" with respect to the object language. It is legitimate for sentences in "languages" higher on the semantic hierarchy to refer to sentences lower in the "language" hierarchy, but not the other way around. This prevents a system from becoming self-referential.

However, this system is incomplete. One would like to be able to make statements such as "For every statement in level α of the hierarchy, there is a statement at level α+1 which asserts that the first statement is false." This is a true, meaningful statement about the hierarchy that Tarski defines, but it refers to statements at every level of the hierarchy, so it must be above every level of the hierarchy, and is therefore not possible within the hierarchy (although bounded versions of the sentence are possible). Saul Kripke is credited with identifying this incompleteness in Tarski's hierarchy in his highly cited paper "Outline of a theory of truth," and it is recognized as a general problem in hierarchical languages.

Formal analogues
Using programs or proofs of bounded lengths, it is possible to construct an analogue of the Berry expression in a formal mathematical language, as has been done by Gregory Chaitin. Though the formal analogue does not lead to a logical contradiction, it does prove certain impossibility results.

built on a formalized version of Berry's paradox to prove Gödel's incompleteness theorem in a new and much simpler way. The basic idea of his proof is that a proposition that holds of x if and only if x = n for some natural number n can be called a definition for n, and that the set {(n, k): n has a definition that is k symbols long} can be shown to be representable (using Gödel numbers). Then the proposition "m is the first number not definable in less than k symbols" can be formalized and shown to be a definition in the sense just stated.

Relationship with Kolmogorov complexity
It is not possible in general to unambiguously define what is the minimal number of symbols required to describe a given string (given a specific description mechanism). In this context, the terms string and number may be used interchangeably, since a number is actually a string of symbols, e.g. an English word (like the word "eleven" used in the paradox) while, on the other hand, it is possible to refer to any word with a number, e.g. by the number of its position in a given dictionary or by suitable encoding. Some long strings can be described exactly using fewer symbols than those required by their full representation, as is often achieved using data compression. The complexity of a given string is then defined as the minimal length that a description requires in order to (unambiguously) refer to the full representation of that string.

The Kolmogorov complexity is defined using formal languages, or Turing machines which avoids ambiguities about which string results from a given description. It can be proven that the Kolmogorov complexity is not computable. The proof by contradiction shows that if it were possible to compute the Kolmogorov complexity, then it would also be possible to systematically generate paradoxes similar to this one, i.e. descriptions shorter than what the complexity of the described string implies. That is to say, the definition of the Berry number is paradoxical because it is not actually possible to compute how many words are required to define a number, and we know that such computation is not possible because of the paradox.

title: Berry paradox


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List of Olympic medalists in biathlon

This is the complete list of Olympic medalists in biathlon.

Medalists in military patrol, a precursor to biathlon, are listed separately.

Men
The numbers in brackets denotes biathletes who won gold medal in corresponding disciplines more than one time. Bold numbers denotes record number of victories in certain disciplines.

Women
The numbers in brackets denotes biathletes who won gold medal in corresponding disciplines more than one time. Bold numbers denotes record number of victories in certain disciplines.

Relay (4×6 km)
The women's relay event has been competed over three different distances:
 * 3×7.5 km — 1992
 * 4×7.5 km — 1994–2002
 * 4×6 km — 2006–2018

Medal table
Note
 * This table includes 1924 military patrol medals.

Biathlete medal leaders

 * Men

 * Women

* denotes all Olympics in which mentioned biathletes took part. Boldface denotes latest Olympics.

Biathletes with most victories
Top 10 biathletes who won more gold medals at the Winter Olympics are listed below. Boldface denotes active biathletes and highest medal count among all biathletes (including those not in the tables) per type.

Women
* denotes only those Olympics at which mentioned biathletes won at least one medal

Medals per year

 * bolded numbers indicate the highest medal count at that year's Olympic Games.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: List of Olympic medalists in biathlon


text:
Biathlon World Championships

The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km), which we know today. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and finally, from 1989, both genders have been participating in joint Biathlon World Championships. In 1978 the development was enhanced by the change from the large army rifle calibre to a small bore rifle, while the range to the target was reduced from 150 to 50 meters.

Venues
The Biathlon World Championships of the season takes place during February or March. Some years it has been necessary to schedule parts of the Championships at other than the main venue because of weather and/or snow conditions. Full, joint Biathlon World Championships have never been held in Olympic Winter Games seasons. Biathlon World Championships in non-IOC events, however, have been held in Olympic seasons. In 2005, the then new event of Mixed Relay (two legs done by women, two legs by men) was arranged separately from the ordinary Championships.

Past Championships:

 * 1958 🇦🇹 Saalfelden, Austria
 * 1959 🇮🇹 Courmayeur, Italy
 * 1961 🇸🇪 Umeå, Sweden
 * 1962 🇫🇮 Hämeenlinna, Finland
 * 1963 🇦🇹 Seefeld, Austria
 * 1965 🇳🇴 Elverum, Norway
 * 1966 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany
 * 1967 Altenberg, East Germany (first event in East Europe)
 * 1969 🇵🇱 Zakopane, Poland
 * 1970 🇸🇪 Östersund, Sweden
 * 1971 🇫🇮 Hämeenlinna, Finland
 * 1973 🇺🇸 Lake Placid, New York, United States (first event outside Europe and in the Americas)
 * 1974 Minsk, USSR
 * 1975 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
 * 1976 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy (Sprint)
 * 1977 🇳🇴 Vingrom, Norway
 * 1978 🇦🇹 Hochfilzen, Austria
 * 1979 Ruhpolding, West Germany
 * 1981 🇫🇮 Lahti, Finland
 * 1982 Minsk, USSR
 * 1983 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
 * 1984 🇫🇷 Chamonix, France (Women)
 * 1985 Ruhpolding, West Germany (Men) and 🇨🇭 Egg am Etzel (near Einsiedeln), Switzerland (Women)
 * 1986 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway (Men) and 🇸🇪 Falun, Sweden (Women)
 * 1987 🇺🇸 Lake Placid, New York, United States (Men) and 🇫🇮 Lahti, Finland (Women)
 * 1988 🇫🇷 Chamonix, France (Women)
 * 1989 🇦🇹 Feistritz an der Drau, Austria (first joint Biathlon World Championships)
 * 1990 Minsk, USSR; 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway and 🇫🇮 Kontiolahti, Finland
 * 1991 🇫🇮 Lahti, Finland
 * 1992 🇷🇺 Novosibirsk, Russia (Team)
 * 1993 🇧🇬 Borovets, Bulgaria
 * 1994 🇨🇦 Canmore, Canada (Team)
 * 1995 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
 * 1996 🇩🇪 Ruhpolding, Germany
 * 1997 🇸🇰 Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia
 * 1998 🇸🇮 Pokljuka, Slovenia (Pursuit) and 🇦🇹 Hochfilzen, Austria (Team)
 * 1999 🇫🇮 Kontiolahti, Finland and 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway
 * 2000 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway and 🇫🇮 Lahti, Finland
 * 2001 🇸🇮 Pokljuka, Slovenia
 * 2002 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway (Mass start)
 * 2003 🇷🇺 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
 * 2004 🇩🇪 Oberhof, Germany
 * 2005 🇦🇹 Hochfilzen, Austria and 🇷🇺 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia (Mixed relay)
 * 2006 🇸🇮 Pokljuka, Slovenia (Mixed relay)
 * 2007 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
 * 2008 🇸🇪 Östersund, Sweden
 * 2009 🇰🇷 Pyeongchang, South Korea (first event in Asia)
 * 2010 🇷🇺 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia (Mixed relay)
 * 2011 🇷🇺 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
 * 2012 🇩🇪 Ruhpolding, Germany
 * 2013 🇨🇿 Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic
 * 2015 🇫🇮 Kontiolahti, Finland
 * 2016 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway
 * 2017 🇦🇹 Hochfilzen, Austria
 * 2019 🇸🇪 Östersund, Sweden
 * 2020 🇮🇹 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
 * 2021 🇸🇮 Pokljuka, Slovenia
 * 2023 🇩🇪 Oberhof, Germany
 * 2024 🇨🇿 Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic

Upcoming:
 * 2025 🇨🇭 Lenzerheide, Switzerland
 * 2027 🇪🇪 Otepää, Estonia

Men
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.

Individual (20 km)
This event was first held in 1958.

Medal table

Sprint (10 km)
This event was first held in 1974.

Medal table

Pursuit (12.5 km)
This event was first held in 1997.

Medal table

Mass start (15 km)
This event was first held in 1999.

Medal table

Relay (4 × 7.5 km)
This event was first held unofficially in 1965. It was a success, and replaced the team competition as an official event in 1966.

Medal table

Team (time)
This event was held from 1958 to 1965. The times of the top 3 athletes from each country in the 20 km individual were added together (in 1958 the top 4).

Medal table

Team
This event, a patrol race, was held from 1989 to 1998. 1989–93: 20 km. 1994–98: 10 km.

Medal table

Women
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.

Individual (15 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1988 the distance was 10 km.

Medal table

Sprint (7.5 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1988 the distance was 5 km.

Medal table

Pursuit (10 km)
This event was first held in 1997.

Medal table

Mass start (12.5 km)
This event was first held in 1999.

Medal table

Relay (4 × 6 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1988, the event was 3 × 5 km. 1989–91: 3 × 7.5 km. 1993–2001: 4 × 7.5 km. In 2003, the leg distance was set to 6 km.

Medal table

Team
This event, a patrol race, was held from 1989 to 1998. 1989–93: 15 km. 1994–98: 7.5 km.

Medal table

Mixed
Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines.

Mixed relay
This event was first held in 2005, at the Biathlon World Cup finals in Khanty-Mansiysk. In 2005–20, the women biathletes did the first two legs and the men did the following two (except 2006 when sequence was woman–man–woman–man), the women's ski legs were 6 km each while men ski legs were 7.5 km each (except 2005, 2006 and 2020 when ski legs were 6 km each for all relay members). In 2021, the starting gender became the result of a alternation: for the first time, men opened the relay and women closed it. Since then, this sequence alternates for each following edition. The distance skied became the same for all genders and depending on the one running the first leg (7.5 km if men run first, 6 km if women do), but in 2024 it became 6 km for every relay member no matter who runs first leg.

Medal table

Single mixed relay
This event was first held in 2019. Each team consists of two members - man and woman. The first of the team members runs the first and third legs (3 km each), the other team member – the second and fourth legs (3 km and 4.5 km respectively). In 2019 and 2020 the women biathletes started single mixed relay and the men biathletes finished it, in 2021 this order was reversed. Since then, this order alternates for each following edition.

Medal table

Total medals by country
Updated after the 2024 Championships.

Multiple medalists
Boldface denotes active biathletes and highest medal count among all biathletes (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

title: Biathlon World Championships


text:
Inedia

Inedia (Latin for 'fasting') or breatharianism is the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food, and in some cases water. It is a pseudoscientific practice, and several adherents of these practices have died from starvation or dehydration.

Scientific assessment
Documented studies on the physiological effects of food restriction clearly show that fasting for extended periods leads to starvation, dehydration, and eventual death. In the absence of food intake, the body normally burns its own reserves of glycogen, body fat, and muscle. Breatharians claim that their bodies do not consume these reserves while fasting.

Some breatharians have submitted themselves to medical testing, including a hospital's observation of Indian mystic Prahlad Jani appearing to survive without food or water for 15 days. However, the hospital Jani attended has not published official documentation about the event. In other cases, people have attempted to survive on sunlight alone, only to abandon the effort after losing a large percentage of their body weight.

In a handful of documented cases, individuals attempting breatharian fasting have died. Scientific societies such as the British Dietetic Association strongly disadvise the breatharian diet, qualifying it as "dangerous", and stating that "the basic fact is we all need food and liquid in our diet to live."

Rosicrucianism
The 1670 Rosicrucian text Comte de Gabalis attributed the practice to the physician and occultist Paracelsus (1493–1541) who was described as having lived "several years by taking only one-half scrupule of Solar Quintessence". In this book, it is also stated that "Paracelsus affirms that He has seen many of the Sages fast twenty years without eating anything whatsoever."

Ram Bahadur Bomjon ("Bakji")
Ram Bahadur Bomjon is a Nepalese Buddhist monk who lives as an ascetic in a remote area of Nepal. Bomjon appears to go for long periods of time without ingesting either food or water. One such period was chronicled in a 2006 Discovery Channel documentary titled The Boy With Divine Powers, which reported that Bomjon neither moved, ate, nor drank anything during 96 hours of filming. The documentary makers were, however, prevented from filming Bomjon continuously for that period of time. His claims have never been objectively verified.

Prahlad Jani ("Mataji")
Prahlad Jani was an Indian sadhu who claimed to have lived without food and water for more than 70 years. Doctors at Sterling Hospital investigated his claims in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in 2003 and 2010. The study concluded that Prahlad Jani was able to survive under observation for ten days without food and water, and had passed no urine or stool, with no need for dialysis. Interviews with the researchers speak of strict observation and relate that round-the-clock observation was ensured by multiple CCTV cameras. Jani was subjected to multiple medical tests. The research team could not comment on his claim of having been able to survive in this way for decades.

The case has attracted criticism, both after the 2003 tests and the 2010 tests. Sanal Edamaruku, president of the Indian Rationalist Association, criticized the 2010 experiment for allowing Jani to move out of a certain CCTV camera's field of view, meet devotees, and leave the sealed test room to sunbathe. Edamaruku stated that the regular gargling and bathing activities were not sufficiently monitored and accused Jani of having had some "influential protectors" who denied Edamaruku permission to inspect the project during its operation.

Jasmuheen
Jasmuheen (born Ellen Greve) was a prominent advocate of breatharianism in the 1990s. She said, "I can go for months and months without having anything at all other than a cup of tea. My body runs on a different kind of nourishment." Interviewers found her house stocked with food; Jasmuheen claimed the food was for her husband and daughter. In 1999, she volunteered to be monitored closely by the Australian television program 60 Minutes for one week without eating to demonstrate her methods. Jasmuheen stated that she found it difficult on the third day of the test because the hotel room in which she was confined was located near a busy road, causing stress and pollution that prevented absorption of required nutrients from the air. "I asked for fresh air. Seventy per cent of my nutrients come from fresh air. I couldn’t even breathe," she said. On the third day, the test was moved to a mountainside retreat, where her condition continued to deteriorate. After Jasmuheen had fasted for four days, Berris Wink, president of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association, urged her to stop the test.

According to Wink, Jasmuheen's pupils were dilated, her speech was slow, and she was "quite dehydrated, probably over 10%, getting up to 11%". Towards the end of the test, she said, "Her pulse is about double what it was when she started. The risks if she goes any further are kidney failure. 60 Minutes would be culpable if they encouraged her to continue. She should stop now." The test was stopped. Wink said, "Unfortunately there are a few people who may believe what she says, and I'm sure it's only a few, but I think it's quite irresponsible for somebody to be trying to encourage others to do something that is so detrimental to their health." Jasmuheen challenged the results of the program, saying, "Look, 6,000 people have done this around the world without any problem."

Jasmuheen was awarded the Bent Spoon Award by Australian Skeptics in 2000 ("presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle"). She also won the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize for Literature for Living on Light. Jasmuheen claims that their beliefs are based on the writings and "more recent channelled material" from St. Germain. She stated that some people's DNA has expanded from 2 to 12 strands, to "absorb more hydrogen". When offered $30,000 to prove her claim with a blood test, she said that she didn't understand the relevance as she was not referring to herself.

, five deaths had been directly linked to breatharianism as a result of Jasmuheen's publications. Jasmuheen has denied any responsibility for three of the deaths.

Wiley Brooks
Wiley Brooks (1936–2016) was the founder of the Breatharian Institute of America. He was first introduced to the public in 1980 when he appeared on the TV show That's Incredible! Brooks stopped teaching shortly before his death in 2016 to "devote 100% of his time on solving the problem as to why he needed to eat some type of food to keep his physical body alive and allow his light body to manifest completely". Brooks claims to have found "four major deterrents" which prevented him from living without food: "people pollution", "food pollution", "air pollution", and "electro pollution".

In 1983, he was reportedly observed leaving a Santa Cruz 7-Eleven with a Slurpee, a hot dog, and Twinkies. He told Colors magazine in 2003 that he periodically breaks his fasting with a cheeseburger and a cola, explaining that when he's surrounded by junk culture and junk food, consuming them adds balance.

Brooks later claimed that "All McDonalds are constructed on properties that are protected by 5th Dimensional high energy/spiritual portals", encouraging the consumption of Diet Coke and McDonald's Double-Quarter-Pounder/with cheese meal ("It is also acceptable to combine 2 quarter-pounder with cheese burgers to make one double-quarter pounder if you can't get the double-quarter-pounder with cheese where you live"), and discouraging the consumption of "water of any kind". The idea of separate but interconnected 5D and 3D worlds was a major part of Brooks' ideology, and Brooks encouraged his followers to only eat these special 5D foods, as well as to meditate on a set of magical 5D words.

Brooks's institute has set various prices for prospective clients wishing to learn how to live without food, ranging from US$100,000 with an initial deposit of $10,000, to fifty billion dollars, to be paid via bank wire transfer with a preliminary deposit of $100,000, for a session called an "Immortality workshop". A payment plan was also offered. These charges were typically presented as limited time offers exclusively for billionaires.

Hira Ratan Manek
Hira Ratan Manek (1937–2022) claimed that since 18 June 1995, he lived on water and occasionally tea, coffee, and buttermilk. Manek stated that sungazing was the key to his health, citing yogis, ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Mayas, and Native Americans as practitioners of the art. While he and his proponents stated that medical experts confirmed his ability to draw sustenance by gazing at the Sun, a method which came to be known as "HRM phenomenon" (by his initials), he was caught on camera eating a big meal in a San Francisco restaurant in the 2011 documentary Eat the Sun. Manek died in March 2022, less than a month after his wife Vimala died.

Ray Maor
In a television documentary produced by the Israeli television investigative show The Real Face (פנים אמיתיות), hosted by Amnon Levy, Israeli practitioner of inedia Ray Maor (ריי מאור) appeared to survive without food or water for eight days and eight nights. According to the documentary, he was restricted to a small villa and placed under constant video surveillance, with medical supervision that included daily blood testing. The documentary claimed Maor was in good spirits throughout the experiment; that he lost 17 lb after eight days; that blood tests showed no change before, during or after the experiment; and that cardiologist Ilan Kitsis from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center was "baffled".

Hinduism
Some Hindu religious texts contain accounts of saints and hermits practising what would be called inedia, breatharianism or Sustenance through Light in modern terms. In Valmiki's Ramayana, Book III, Canto VI, an account of anchorites and holy men is given, who flocked around Rama when he came to Śarabhanga's hermitage. These included, among others, the "...saints who live on rays which moon and daystar give" and "those ... whose food the wave of air supplies". In Canto XI of the same book, a hermit named Māṇḍakarṇi is mentioned: "For he, great votarist, intent – On strictest rule his stern life spent – ... – Ten thousand years on air he fed..." (English quotations are from Ralph T. H. Griffith's translation).

Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi details two alleged historical examples of breatharianism, Hari Giri Bala and Therese Neumann.

There are claims that Devraha Baba lived without food.

Some breatharians claim that humans can be sustained solely by prana, the vital life force in Hinduism. According to Ayurveda, sunlight is one of the main sources of prana, and some practitioners believe that it is possible for a person to survive on sunlight alone.

Taoism
Bigu (grain avoidance) is a fasting technique with various different interpretations, from simply avoiding eating specific grains, to avoiding all grains, to eating no food at all, and drawing sustenance from gulps of air.

Jainism
There are varying types of fasts practised by followers of Jainism. Some Jain monks and laities continuously fast for months. These fasts last six months or even longer. A Jain monk, Sahaj Muni Maharaj, is said to have completed his 365-day fast on 1 May 1998. Another Jain monk Hansaratna Vijayji was said to have completed 423-day fast in 494 days in 2015. He had previously claimed to have fasted for 108 days in 2013 and for 180 days in 2014. Several others have claimed to have fasted for six months.

title: Inedia


text:
Bihar (disambiguation)

Bihar is a state in India.

Bihar may also refer to:

India

 * Bihar Province, former colonial province in British India
 * Bihar Subah, a Bihar-based Mughal imperial province
 * Bihar Sharif, headquarters of Nalanda district, Bihar, India
 * Bihar Circuit, a Hindi film distribution circuit comprising Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal
 * Bihar River, a border river of Palamu district, Jharkhand, India
 * Bihar, Unnao, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India

Elsewhere

 * Bihar County, a historic county of the Kingdom of Hungary
 * Bihor County (Bihar County in Hungarian), a county of current-day Romania
 * Bihar, the Hungarian name for Biharia Commune, Bihor County, Romania

People

 * Bihar (king), a khagan of the Khazars

title: Bihar (disambiguation)


text:
Talk:Bo Diddley

Door-knocking rhythm
In England, at least, there is a traditional rhythm for tapping or knocking on doors which resembles the Bo Diddley beat. I presume this goes back in time long before BD. I don't know if there is a similar tradition in the USA. I'm not suggesting that this is the origin of the BD beat, but it does imply that the rhythm is a fairly natural one, and not necessarily of African origin.86.173.167.113 (talk) 14:34, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

 * It's mentioned in the article. Hyacinth (talk) 22:48, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

"Bo Diddley was one of the first American male musicians to include women in his band"
Doesn't make much sense, so I have changed it. The citation is a dead link also. Mydogtrouble (talk) 23:20, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

A bio of Peggy Jones, (Peggy Malone, after marrying)who needs a Wikipedia page. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0540493/bio Mydogtrouble (talk) 23:46, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

First name
Was his name ELLIS or ELIAS? This is inconsistent at several points throughout the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Venqax (talk • contribs) 16:38, 17 March 2015 (UTC)
 * ELLAS. The errors seem to have been introduced in this edit - I'll revert it.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 17:12, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Bo and the Rolling Stones
I remember reading at the time, probably in Melody Maker, that the bottleneck used by the Stones on I Wanna Be Your Man had been given to to them by Bo — in hindsight, maybe on that 1963 tour.

Can anyone confirm or deny?

Paul Magnussen (talk) 17:15, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 4 one external links on Bo Diddley. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080815163720/http://www.newmexicomusic.org:80/noteable.php?select=5 to http://www.newmexicomusic.org/noteable.php?select=5
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150402171103/http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=60a08a4d-9f34-45ac-b395-c284d9a5ef50&entry=index to http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=60a08a4d-9f34-45ac-b395-c284d9a5ef50&entry=index
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20090928074108/http://www.cbc.ca:80/snb/latestshow.html to http://www.cbc.ca/snb/latestshow.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 17:44, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Meaning
This Wikipedia article on Bo Diddley currently has the following statement:

'Guitar craftsman Ed Roman stated that an unspecified source says it was his nickname as a Golden Gloves boxer.'

It's not clear, to me anyway, what this means especially as the associated reference only has a similar statement. But after a search on the web, I found this link that says that Bo Diddley tried his hand as a boxer http: //www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/arts/music/03diddley.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (Incidentally, this NY Times article cites more derivations of the Bo Diddley name than are included in the Wiki article)

As a result I think this is what Ed Roman meant (not necessarily the truth about the Bo Diddley name):

Bo Diddley was a boxer at one time but not very good, hence the description 'Golden Gloves boxer'. From this Bo Diddly was given his stage name meaning 'absolutely nothing'. CPES (talk) 16:28, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

"Diddley"
I'm concerned that recent edits have changed "Bo Diddley" to "Diddley" throughout the article. In my opinion, "Diddley" was not his surname. The two word name "Bo Diddley" was his nickname, and should have been retained (where we do not use his real surname, McDaniel). I'll be guided by any written advice that exists, but my thinking is that the use of the single word "Diddley" as his name should be avoided. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:41, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Agree 100%. What's next, "Bopper"? Martinevans123 (talk) 09:17, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

 * MOS:SURNAME includes "People who are best known by a pseudonym should be subsequently referred to by their pseudonymous surnames, unless they do not include a recognizable surname in the pseudonym (e.g. Sting, Snoop Dogg, The Edge), in which case the whole pseudonym is used." Most sources use "Waters" and "Wolf" (for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf) – they are common last names.  However, "Diddley" is not and "Bo Diddley" is seen more often. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:03, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Right. Snoop Dogg is not called Dogg I don't think. 50 Cent is not called Cent. And so forth. At any rate this seems to have been fixed. Herostratus (talk) 15:22, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Captain Beefheart seems to bounce back and forth, between “Beefheart “ and “Van Vliet”, at random? Martinevans123 (talk) 15:35, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

 * I remember reading some time ago (in his painter phase) that he was trying to distance himself from CB and wanted to be known as Don Van Vliet. Using "Van Vliet" would sidestep the issue. Otherwise repeating "Captain Beefheart" throughout the article would get very tiring.  This may be a problem with longer pseudonyms. —Ojorojo (talk) 16:13, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

 * I think that CB was, in his music phase, routinely referred to as "Beefheart". "Muddy Waters" is an interesting one in that it was originally a two-word childhood nickname, but over time I think "Waters" did get adopted as a sort of surname.  In Bo Diddley's case, some sources may have taken the same approach, but to a much lesser extent.  I know that there are guidelines that say we should be consistent over matters like this, but in my view it's much more important to reflect what good sources say, avoid any confusion, and to use some common sense over what names are used in articles.  For example, I tried to avoid, in this article, referring to "Sausage".  Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:44, 29 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Wouldn't want to see you horsing around. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:13, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

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Why his guitar was rectangular
After having his Gibson stolen, he decided to create a unique guitar. If anyone stole it, walked about with it, people would say "hey that's Bo Diddleys guitar".

86.180.10.82 (talk) 17:00, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

The Guitar is called the Bo Diddley Gretsch.
It is one of the few guitars to be named after a musician. 47.36.98.222 (talk) 17:00 January 11 2020 (UTC)

drums
He actually could play drums so I added drums in instrument list proof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRy4GTqIQ2I 44:16 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.180.144.9 (talk) 09:43, 11 November 2018 (UTC)

Bo Emphatically States That His Middle Name Is Not “Otha”
He claims that his name is Ellas Bates McDaniel (spelling of these names not checked).

See 5:00 - 5:20 in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqvx2evI0eE

Opie8 (talk) 11:10, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

 * Most reliable sources give his birth name as Ellas Otha Bates - and therefore so does Wikipedia - although Eagle and LeBlanc (in Blues: A Regional Experience, pp.227-228) state that "he may be Ellis Landry, born in late 1927...".  Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:01, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

 * Quite an interesting video, published by something called "www.newseuminstitute.org", so presumably copyright compliant. It might sound a bit odd that he should very clearly state in that interview with Ken Paulson on Speaking Freely that his name is "Ellas Bates McDaniel" and to state "...my name is not Otha.. if you read that in a book someplace.... I don't know where they got that Otha from...."? But then the article does says he later "dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel". So there's no real problem. Many people, especially in show-business, don't use their birth name. His name, for most people, is Bo Diddley. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:52, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
 * p.s. the DAB page for Otha doesn't give any clue as to its origins, although there are a couple of other African Americans there who also have the name. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:10, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

 * His official website, by the way, states "...born Ellas Otha Bates....".  Ghmyrtle (talk) 13:08, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

 * An artist indignantly clarifying his name and previous inaccuracies on television would probably be relevant and would perhaps carry considerable weight in a general biography of the man. Many artists have official websites.  These are typically not run by the artist.  Many pages of this sort have contain glaring inaccuracies, and there is no standard for them journalistically.
 * Do any of the notorious "Otha" sources provide any backing whatsoever that would establish more credo than the words from the artist's mouth?
 * Also, "But then the article does says he later "dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel". So there's no real problem." Does the article in question also carry more weight of fact than the artist's words in an interview? As you can tell, I'm intoning that different sources, as most know, have differing gravitas.
 * As to the argument "But then the article does says he later "dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel". So there's no real problem. Many people, especially in show-business, don't use their birth name. His name, for most people, is Bo Diddley." The article in question does not carry as much weight as the artist's words, so yes, there is indeed a problem/conflict, and the fact about having a stage name is oddly irrelevant here, as his stage name has been preserved and noted very clearly in the article.
 * I'm a bit new to Wiki, but Ghmyrtle perhaps you can help: "most reliable sources claim" begs substantiation. Which reliable sources, how did you determine their reliability, and how did you determine that the majority of reliable sources contain the "otha" error? Is it Wiki's policy to preserve an error, due to the widespread nature of the error?  That would be in the opposite direction of anything methodologically journalistic, wouldn't it?  Meaning, it doesn't seem to stand to reason.  Also, please see my note about "official websites".  Thank you!
 * --Royal2Real (talk) 14:07, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * You need to check out the guidance on reliable sources. "Is it Wiki's policy to preserve an error, due to the widespread nature of the error?" - yes, in the sense that it is policy to report what reliable sources say, rather than what people believe to be true.  What he claimed in one interview should not outweigh the volume of other sources.    For example, the encyclopedia published by the University Press of Mississippi states "Otha Ellas Bates" here; the encyclopedia African American Lives gives "Otha Ellas Bates";  the well-respected book Blues: A Regional Experience by Eagle and LeBlanc (p.227) states "Ellas Otha Bates"; the LA Times obituary gives "Otha Ellas Bates"....  the list goes on.   His official social security death record gives his name as "Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel".   I'm not opposed to mentioning what he claimed in the interview, but multiple sources regarded as authoritative give a different picture - as does his official website of course. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:51, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Royal2Real, the comment "But then the article does says he later "dropped the Otha and became Ellas McDaniel" was made by me, not Ghmyrtle, thanks. The relevant comment on the video is from 4:25. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:05, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Hey all, glad to see a lively discussion! Ghmyrtle I have checked out the page on reliable sources. I'm checking it out again for you now.  I have a few more questions of interest:
 * It looks like you're making a quantitative argument. You've argued that the greater alleged quantity of "reliable sources" should generally necessitate a greater favoring of even a journalistic repeat-error.  There are some problems with this.  "What he claimed in one interview should not outweigh the volume of other sources."  This is not how journalism typically works, because this is the precise same argument as "If it's popular, it must be right." which I would hope nobody of adult age would find a convincing edict.  You then list a few sources, but without any apparent attention paid to the reliability and veracity (or lack thereof) of each source.  Simply listing a volume of citations does not make each citation worthy, accurate, integral, or even trustworthy or "reliable".
 * I'd like to point you to a couple of things, to further illustrate. Wiki's the guidance on reliable sources states, under the header "questionable sources": "Questionable sources are those with a poor reputation for checking the facts or with no editorial oversight." -- This is true of some of the sources you're hinging your argument upon.  A legacy artist's website (run by whom, a service hired by his estate?) is not a source known for fact checking, and quite obviously is not subject to objective "editorial oversight".  It is an unreliable source for something as hard-data related as an artist's birth name, or even preferred off-stage moniker.  Further, the same guidelines in the very page you directed me to describe websites "that are promotional in nature" as falling under "questionable sources".  You've mentioned "but multiple sources regarded as authoritative..." Those don't appear to be authoritative sources, as per Wikipedia's own guidelines.
 * So, Ghmyrtle, it looks like we may need to clear up the following: I've challenged your consensus-via-volume argument, we'll need elucidation on that I think if we're to move forward, as well as addressing the questionable sources you've listed, as per the idea that they should be admissible.
 * Good to be among music-lovers! --Royal2Real (talk) 15:49, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Martinevans123 Hey Martin, believe me, I've seen the portion of the video you're talking about, I've actually been talking in favor of it this entire time, haha. It's a great clip!  However, Bo does not state or even imply what you've alleged here.  The portion of the video beginning at 4:25 does not in fact include Bo stating 'The 'Otha' was later dropped'", nor does he even imply this by stating "That's why I have the name Ellas...".  I can help with the linguistic mechanics involved with why this is not an implication, if that will help.  In the video, Bo also outright disparages the idea that the name "Otha" was ever belonging to him at any point, actually.  He intones with his mocking impression at 5:17 with "somebody decided... we'll just give him [a name]!" very strongly that "Otha" is an entirely fictitious and erroneous fabrication of the press/media.  So I appreciate being pointed to the video, but I will point you back to the same video, having pointed out that the implication of "the 'Otha' was later dropped" is not in that video!  Funny trails we walk in this editing business, haha.  What can we make of this, then?
 * --Royal2Real (talk) 16:11, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Hey Royal, I believe you've seen the video. That time code was really for the benefit of other editors. I'm not claiming he says anything about "Otha" there, apart from you what you have already quoted. The sources that Ghmyrtle quotes are good enough for me. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:36, 21 November 2021 (UTC) p.s. his official website still states "...born Ellas Otha Bates....".
 * This is fatuous reasoning, Royal2Real, and one would think you'd know better. It should be obvious that we cannot use a subject's own claims about himself, whether in a video clip, a book, or a newspaper or magazine. Familysearch.org cites the United States Social Security Death Index database, Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel, 02 Jun 2008; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service). His headstone says "Elias B. McDaniel". I've added a cite of the Encyclopedia of African American History to the article. Anyway, just as an aside, I saw Bo Diddley play that chunka "gitar" on the beach not more than 50 feet from the breaking waves, and it was sublime. I think the rednecks in attendance were confused by that rectangular box, thinking it was a joke. He was laughing. Carlstak (talk) 17:10, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * If you want to challenge the reliability of sources, the place to go is WP:RSN - not here. Sorry, but we're here as encyclopedia editors - being music lovers as well is incidental!  Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:42, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * There are a profound number of points that have been missed here. Let's take them one by one.
 * Martinevans123 "The sources that Ghmyrtle quotes are good enough for me." They are not good enough for Wikipedia, as per Wikipedia's own current standards. Please see WP:RS
 * "p.s. his official website still states "...born Ellas Otha Bates...."." Martin, I have already covered why this is not a "reliable source" as per Wiki's own guidelines.  I would advise carefully reading before responding, I know I always try to, and I find that helps with understanding.
 * Ghmyrtle "If you want to challenge the reliability of sources, the place to go is WP:RSN - not here." That is incorrect. That page is to delineate what constitutes a reliable source in Wiki's eyes, this page is in part to discuss whether or not the material in the article, including given citations, are subject to proper Wiki standards, amongst other things.
 * "Sorry, but we're here as encyclopedia editors - being music lovers as well is incidental!" You seem to have taken my polite send-off, intended as "I see you also enjoy music, I do too, this is a good thing" to mean "I allege that the purpose we are here for is not to edit, but to be a category of person called 'music lover'" That's really not what I wrote, nor intended.
 * You make a great point though! We are indeed editing, and part of that should necessarily be holding the edits to Wiki's standards.
 * To be extra clear, and to put part of my argument in simplified terms: I have not challenged the content of Wiki's guidelines, I have used the guidelines to challenge some of the relevant citations. None of these citations have been adequately defended against my having pointed out that they're unreliable, and so the edit I made remains largely appropriate, and significant changes are still warranted.
 * --Royal2Real (talk) 17:26, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * No, there aren't "a profound number of points that have been missed". We've got a small disagreement as to whether his birth name was Ellas Otha Bates. If you feel dissatisfied, you might want to open an RfC here. Cheers. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:32, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Martinevans123 "No, there aren't "a profound number of points that have been missed". I disagree, though I'll re-word that to: A few very important points have gone un-addressed, which I think have disproven the counterclaims toward my edits not being to the general benefit of the article. Being that these points appear to have been ignored/not contended with, they do indeed remain un-addressed.  "We've got a small disagreement" Subjective.  "as to whether his birth name was Ellas Otha Bates." That seems incorrect.  The principle disagreement appears to be whether or not certain sources should be favored in relation to other sources, you've also ignored Ghmyrtle's veracity-by-volume argument, which, while I disagree, should not be forgotten, as Ghmyrtle has made an effort and those views deserve to be considered.  Again, I think I disproved his point, but I'm not willing to pretend his argument doesn't deserve airtime.  Thanks for the cheers, though I would've liked you to participate!  I'll do the RfC and see if some other parties might be able to properly address the points made.
 * --Royal2Real (talk) 19:31, 21 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Carlstak Good to see you! The sarcastic and condescending tone of "This is fatuous reasoning, Royal2Real, and one would think you'd know better." is childish and emotional, and not acceptable here.  Perhaps a bit fatuous, even! lol.  Let's calm down and try not to get our heads full of hot air, shall we?
 * "citing U.S. Social Security Administration" THIS is a valid citation. Have you seen the parts above where I was describing Wiki's guidelines regarding the quality of citations?  SSA records like that would be an example of a "reliable source" WP:RS.  Which is good!  One would think that in your efforts to snark you may have had the clarity of mind to present your case instead -- This citation doesn't appear to be included in the article's footnotes, however.  Have I missed it?  Might you include it rather than removing my edits with presumptuous and passive-aggressive commentary?  Thanks.  Also, I don't know that "I think the rednecks in attendance were confused" comes across as anything but simultaneously smug and tragically ignorant.  That's a fine way to get a more tolerant person than yourself to disregard your already bitterly emotional language.
 * "It should be obvious that we cannot use a subject's own claims about himself, whether in a video clip, a book, or a newspaper or magazine." No, it should not be, as that doesn't appear to be suggested by the guidelines, and you've provided only alarmingly circular logic here. While it IS obvious both to most people, and via the guidelines, that such interview sources involving a claim by the artist themselves, are not to be taken as irrefutable fact, you'll notice I'm not arguing anymore for more than the inclusion of Bo's words regarding this issue.  One of the thing I'd attempted to add, if you'll take a look at the edit history.
 * I wonder if WP:PRIMARY might be relevant, wherein we find "primary sources that have been reputably published may be used in Wikipedia, but only with care, because it is easy to misuse them."
 * We could look at WP:RS/QUOTE: "The accuracy of quoted material is paramount [video of the person speaking the quote would appear to be fairly reliable as to whether or not he said it] and the accuracy of quotations from living persons is especially sensitive." Should we not consider the quotes from the interview? Should we not include his own protestations about his name?  Surely we should at least mention it, which my now excised section about the name controversy would be useful for, and the existence of that section would also seem to be partly necessitated by Bo's strident clarification in the video, and implication that it was a big deal he was sufficiently concerned about, even at that advanced point in his career.  A recording of a TV program of that sort and era would certainly be considered a published and reliable source.
 * The video clip fits Wiki's definition of a reliable, published source, as demonstrated, is a direct quote from the person the article is about, seems to carry with it both by evidence of importance to the artist, and by the clearly evident bevvy of documents and attestations about his name having roughly 12 trillion different forms, is certainly a worthy addition to the article.
 * If we could get everyone to type in a more mature and dispassionate manner, that would surely be more beneficial to this process.
 * --Royal2Real (talk) 19:31, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

Tl;dr. Bludgeoning this page won't work. Carlstak (talk) 19:49, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

WP:TLDR, in case you don't know the abbreviation. I'm still participating, thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:03, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

It is entirely possible that Diddley just never learned his middle name from his mother and therefore believed that he had none. 67.180.143.89 (talk) 18:51, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bo Diddley