text:
University Challenge

University Challenge is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. University Challenge aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC revived the programme on 21 September 1994, the programme's 32nd anniversary, with Jeremy Paxman as the quizmaster. Paxman relinquished his role as host following the conclusion of the 52nd series in 2023, after which he was succeeded by Amol Rajan. In October 2022, an ITV documentary, Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's, explored how Parkinson's disease has impacted him and revealed that Paxman recorded his very last episode of University Challenge on 15 October 2022, which aired on 29 May 2023.

The current title holders are Imperial College London, who won a record fifth title in the final of the 2023-24 series on 8 April 2024.

On 21 April 2023, the BBC unveiled a new set and title card, which debuted on Rajan's first episode, which aired on 17 July 2023.

The show has always been produced by the same company (originally named Granada Television, renamed ITV Studios in 2009 and renamed again Lifted Entertainment in 2021), under licence from Richard Reid Productions and the College Bowl Company. It was recorded at Granada Studios in Manchester from its inception until the studios closed down in 2013; it is now recorded at Dock10 studios in Salford.

Format continuity
Despite periodic changes to the sets, studio layout, and presentation, University Challenge has preserved a high level of continuity from 1962 to the present. Some commentators have cited this as an essential element of its success. Elements of this continuity include:
 * The longevity of its quizmasters, with only three presenters in the programme's history;
 * The split-screen presentation during the starter question phase, which appears to place one team physically above the other. In the final years of the original Bamber Gascoigne era, the studio set genuinely was two-tiered, although the split-screen effect returned for the revived series and has been used ever since;
 * Long serving voiceover announcers, with only three in the programme's history – Don Murray-Henderson from 1962 until his death in 1971, then Jim Pope until his death in 2001, then Roger Tilling. Tilling's delivery typically becomes increasingly high-pitched as the episode progresses;
 * The theme tune "College Boy" by Derek New, which has been with the series since the 1960s (although the first series used "Ting A Ling" by Duke Ellington). "College Boy" was originally scored for an ensemble of tubular bells, flugelhorn, harpsichord, brushed hi-hat, bass drum and double bass. The original theme returned for the early Paxman-era episodes and was later replaced by a string quartet arrangement of the theme recorded by the Balanescu Quartet.

ITV (1962 to 1987)
The programme had its beginnings in an American television quiz show called College Bowl. Cecil Bernstein, brother of Sidney Bernstein who founded Granada Television in 1954, had seen the programme in the United States and liked the format. It was decided that Granada would produce a similar programme with competing teams from universities across the United Kingdom. From its inception in 1962, University Challenge was hosted by Bamber Gascoigne, who died in 2022. The programme's first match was a match between the University of Leeds (featuring a pre-famed Ian Channell, better known as The Wizard of New Zealand) and the University of Reading. The show was a cult favourite with a small but loyal core audience, and was one of a select few ITV programmes that was transmitted without any advertising breaks. Originally, the series started off in many areas, being broadcast at peak times or just after the nightly news around 22:30; by the early 1970s, the series was relegated to irregular timeslots by the various ITV regional companies, with some broadcasting the show during daytime, at weekends or late at night. In the absence of a regular networked slot, audience figures would often fall, leading the producers to make changes to the long-standing format of the programme. LWT stopped broadcasting the show in October 1983, with Thames following suit shortly afterwards. The programme was not broadcast in 1985 and returned in April 1986, when it was finally networked by ITV and broadcast at 15:00 on weekdays. The gameplay was revised, initial games were staged over two legs; the first in the classic format and the second played as a relay, where contestants selected questions from specific categories such as sport, literature and science, passing a baton between players whenever a "lap" of two correct answers was scored. The final series was also networked, but broadcast around 11:00 during the summer holiday period. Even so, the new networked time did little to save the series from the axe. The last ITV series was broadcast in 1987.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge could each enter up to five of their constituent colleges as separate teams, which are not themselves universities: they have far fewer students – numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands – than most universities. This was one ostensible inspiration for a 1975 protest, in which a team from the University of Manchester (which included David Aaronovitch) came second to Downing College, Cambridge, when they started a round by answering every question "Che Guevara", "Marx", "Trotsky" or "Lenin", in the hope of making the resulting show unbroadcastable. It was, however, broadcast, although only portions of the episode still exist in the Granada Television archives. Granada subsequently banned the University of Manchester for several years.

BBC
University Challenge was revived by the BBC in 1994, although still produced by Granada Television (branded since 2009 as ITV Studios), using the original format, with minor differences, and presented by Jeremy Paxman.

During the show's hiatus, a special edition of the show was made by the BBC, as part of a themed evening of programmes dedicated to Granada Television. It was presented by Bamber Gascoigne and broadcast on BBC2 on 28 December 1992. The teams included one of students from Keble College, Oxford, which had fielded the winning team in the final 1987 season, and a graduates team of celebrity alumni who had previously appeared on the programme as students, including journalist John Simpson and actor Stephen Fry. This show was preceded by a short documentary about the show's history. Bamber Gascoigne's final appearance as host was in Universe Challenge in 1998 (see below).

Postgraduates
Since its revival in 1994, the programme has featured a number of teams of postgraduate and mature students, whose participation has been criticised. The Open University won the 1999 series with a team with an average age of 46. In the quarter-final, they narrowly beat a slightly younger team from part-time and mature student specialist Birkbeck, University of London. Birkbeck won the competition in 2003, also with a substantially mature team. Host Jeremy Paxman said that the Open University team was "not in the spirit" of the competition. The team publicly replied by challenging him to specify in what way this was "contrary to the spirit of the quiz – or of the university".

Ineligible contestants
In 2009, Sam Kay, part of the team from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, was accused of not being a student when the show was filmed. Kay, who had completed a chemistry degree the previous summer, had been planning to go on to study for a Doctor of Philosophy, but dropped out as he did not have sufficient funding. He then became an accountant. The team, whose captain Gail Trimble was dubbed the "human Google", won the competition but was subsequently disqualified and the trophy awarded to the runners-up, the University of Manchester.

A few days later, it was also revealed that Charles Markland, a member of the 2008 winning team from Christ Church, Oxford, had transferred his studies to Balliol College halfway through the series. He said that his team captain had contacted a researcher concerning the situation, and had been told that this was not a problem and that the same team should be maintained for continuity purposes. It was also revealed that Freya McClements, captain of the 2004 winning team from Magdalen College, Oxford, was at the time studying at Trinity College, Dublin. Although it was mentioned in a BBC news story at the time, no action was taken because the BBC stated that the facts had not been brought to their attention.

Editing
In 2016, at the Henley Literary Festival, Jeremy Paxman said that, when students were unable to answer several consecutive starter questions, those questions were often deleted before the show is broadcast.

In popular culture

 * In an episode of the BBC comedy series Not the Nine O'Clock News, first broadcast on 15 December 1980, Griff Rhys Jones plays Bamber Gascoigne in a sketch that pitches two teams of criminals representing prisoners from Wormwood Scrubs and Parkhurst. The teams score "points" (remission of sentence) by "grassing" on possible suspects involved in a crime.
 * In 1984 an episode of The Young Ones, entitled "Bambi" (a play on Bamber Gascoigne's name), centred on a parody of University Challenge with a match between the fictitious teams of Scumbag College and Footlights College, Oxbridge. The cast included Stephen Fry, who participated in the real competition in 1980 while at Cambridge, and fellow alumni and Footlights members Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie as part of the "Footlights College" team, and Griff Rhys Jones as the host. The teams are arranged physically one above the other, in a parody of the show's split-screen format.
 * A quiz themed around BBC science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, broadcast in 1998, is entitled Universe Challenge. It opens as if it were a regular episode, but with Chris Barrie impersonating Jeremy Paxman. Gascoigne comes from behind with a blaster gun and blows him out of the chair to take over as host. This was Gascoigne's last appearance as host.
 * In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, University Challenge was placed 34th.
 * Starter For Ten is the title of a novel, first published in 2003, by British author David Nicholls. The plot is about a first-year student, Brian Jackson, who attempts to join his university team competing in University Challenge. Nicholls also adapted the novel into the film Starter for 10 in 2006, starring James McAvoy as Jackson, with Mark Gatiss portraying Gascoigne.
 * In 2006 Armando Ianucci's Time Trumpet presented a parody of University Challenge, set in a future where students are 'too lazy to learn'; this parody was later referenced in an episode of the 2007–08 series of University Challenge by the team captain of SOAS, Joe Perry, who, not knowing the real answer, simply answered "Venezuela?"
 * The quiz was the subject of the hour-long BBC Two documentary The Story So Far, first broadcast in November 2006.
 * In 2014, a two part documentary narrated by Richard Osman called 'Class of 2014' outlined a brief history of the programme and the team selection process both within the universities and by the production staff. The documentary attracted some criticism due to the large emphasis on Oxbridge and Manchester during the programme.
 * In March 2017 semi-finalist team captains Bobby Seagull of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and Eric Monkman of Wolfson College, Cambridge, appeared on BBC One's The One Show. In August 2017 the two were featured on BBC Radio 4's Today programme ahead of hosting their own show, Monkman and Seagull's Polymathic Adventure, on 21 August.
 * In 2024, Amol Rajan's reply "We need jungle, I’m afraid" was widely sampled by music producers, becoming a viral phenomenon.

Teams
Teams consist of four members and most represent a single university. The exceptions to this are colleges of the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of London and formerly the University of Wales which enter independent teams. While a number of other British universities have constituent colleges, only those where some teaching is undertaken at the college level may enter independent teams. The competing teams each year are selected by the show's producers, based both on scores from a general trivia quiz and the producers' judging of the suitability of the teams for television. Oxford and Cambridge ("Oxbridge") colleges are prevalent in the competition: for instance, of the Christmas series between 2011 and 2022, Oxbridge colleges represented one-quarter of teams and three-quarters of winners.

The contestants are identified by their surnames during gameplay, apart from at the beginning when they introduce themselves with their full names, where they are from and what they are studying.

The teams generally consist of mixed genders, mostly young adults but with some mature students also appearing.

Tournament structure
The current tournament format used for each series is that of a direct knockout tournament starting with 28 teams. The fourteen first-round winners progress directly to the last sixteen. Two matches, involving the four highest scoring losing teams from the first round, whose losing scores often exceed winning scores in other first-round matches, fill the remaining places in the last sixteen. Teams in the quarter-final round (last eight teams) have to win two matches in the round to progress to the semi-finals. Equally, teams must lose two quarter-final matches in order to be eliminated from that round. The pairings for matches are often chosen in order to keep stronger teams apart.

Question format
Starter questions are answered individually and are worth ten points. The catchphrase "your starter for ten" inspired David Nicholls' 2003 novel Starter for Ten and the 2006 film based on it starring James McAvoy. An incorrect interruption of a starter question incurs a five-point penalty; during the ITV series this took the form of five points being awarded to the opposing team, whereas in the BBC series five points are deducted from the interrupting team.

The team answering a starter correctly gets a set of three bonus questions worth a potential fifteen points, for which they can confer. Sets of bonus questions are thematically linked. They rarely share a connection with the preceding starter question, except when they are bonuses following a picture or music question. Generally, there are three separate bonus questions worth five points each, but occasionally a bonus will require the enumeration of a given list with five, ten or fifteen points given for correctly giving a certain number of items from the list (for example, "there are seven fundamental SI units. Give five for five points, six for ten points or all seven for fifteen points"). It is the team captain's responsibility to give the answer to the bonus questions unless another member of the team is specified with the phrase "Nominate [name]". The team member so named may then give the answer instead.

In the course of a game there are two picture rounds (occurring roughly one quarter and three-quarters of the way through) and one music round (at the halfway point), where the subsequent bonuses are connected thematically to the starter; if a picture or music starter is not correctly answered, the accompanying bonus questions are held back until a normal starter is correctly answered. Usually, in the recent contests, the first picture round focuses on science and technology, geography, and languages, while the second picture round focuses on art, film, television, and literature. The 2010 Manchester University team included a visually impaired student, Rachael Neiman, and the picture rounds in episodes involving the team were word puzzles for which she was provided with Braille transcriptions. Pieces of music played for the music round may be classical or popular – for example, on 25 July 2011, the pieces played were winners of the Eurovision Song Contest. Occasionally, audio clips other than music (e.g. speech, animal sounds or other field recordings) are used.

The pace of questioning gradually increases through the show. The sound of a gong signals the end of the game. At this point, the game immediately ends, even if the quizmaster is halfway through asking a question. In the event of a tied score at the sound of the gong, a sudden death question is asked, the first team to answer correctly being deemed the winner; this is repeated until a team either gives a correct answer to a question or is deducted five points for an incorrect interruption to a question. The ending of the programme is usually signified with the quizmaster saying, "It's goodbye from ([name of losing team], who say goodbye), it's goodbye from ([name of winning team], likewise), and it's goodbye from me: goodbye!"

Production
While the starter questions are being read out, the teams are shown on screen one above the other by means of a split-screen effect. When a player buzzes in, the shot zooms in to that player, accompanied by a voiceover identifying the player by team and surname, for example "Nottingham, Munro". The voiceovers are performed live in the studio by Roger Tilling and become more energetic towards the end of the programme. The 1986 series experimented with an actual two-tier set, which was discontinued the following year.

Notable contestants
Notable contestants in the regular student competition. Special Celebrity Christmas editions, where all competitors are distinguished, are excluded.''

Entertainers

 * Stephen Fry – Queens' College, Cambridge, 1980
 * Clive James – Pembroke College, Cambridge, 1968
 * Miriam Margolyes – Newnham College, Cambridge, 1963
 * John Sessions – reserve for UCNW Bangor, 1973
 * June Tabor – St Hugh's College, Oxford, 1968
 * The Wizard of New Zealand (Ian Brackenbury Channell) – University of Leeds, 1963

Authors

 * Sebastian Faulks – Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1972
 * Julian Fellowes – Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1969
 * David Starkey – Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Politicians

 * Aaron Bell – St John's College, Oxford, 2001
 * Tim Boswell – New College, Oxford
 * Damian Collins - St Benet's Hall, Oxford, 1995
 * Kwasi Kwarteng – Trinity College, Cambridge, 1995
 * David Lidington – Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, 1978
 * David Mellor – Christ's College, Cambridge
 * Malcolm Rifkind – University of Edinburgh, 1967
 * Mary Robinson – Trinity College Dublin, 1966

Journalists

 * David Aaronovitch – Victoria University of Manchester, 1975
 * John Authers – University College, Oxford, 1987
 * Christopher Hitchens – Balliol College, Oxford, 1968
 * Charles Moore – Trinity College, Cambridge, 1978
 * John Simpson – Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1964

Others

 * Brandon Blackwell (Quizzer / TV personality) – Imperial College London, 2020
 * Daisy Christodoulou (Teacher / Education campaigner) – University of Warwick, 2007
 * Patrick Finglass (Academic) – St John's College, Oxford, 2001
 * Alex Guttenplan (Academic) – Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 2010
 * Sarah Healey (Civil Servant) – Magdalen College, Oxford, 1998
 * Mark Labbett (Quizzer / TV personality) – University of Glamorgan, 1997
 * Eric Monkman (Academic / TV presenter) – Wolfson College, Cambridge, 2017
 * Mark Pallen (Academic) – Imperial College London, 1996
 * Jenny Ryan (Quizzer / TV personality) – University of Leeds, 2003
 * Bobby Seagull (Teacher / TV presenter) – Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 2017
 * Dorjana Širola (Quizzer) – Somerville College, Oxford, 2002
 * Gail Trimble (Academic) – Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 2009

Winners
The University of Manchester and Magdalen College, Oxford have both enjoyed four wins each, with Imperial College London having won a record five times. The University of Manchester and Magdalen College, Oxford are also the only teams to successfully defend the title the year after their win (Manchester's 2009 win came only after the original winner was disqualified). Trinity College, Cambridge and Durham University hold three titles, and a further six institutions have two titles: Sussex, the Open University, Sidney Sussex–Cambridge, Keble–Oxford, University–Oxford and Warwick. At the time of Magdalen College, Oxford's third win in 2004, no other institution had won more than twice; the trophy in use since 1994 was given to the college in perpetuity and a new once created for use from 2005.

Most series wins
Information in these tables obtained from Blanchflower – University Challenge Series Champions.

Lowest scores
Little is known about the lowest scores from the Bamber Gascoigne series, except that the lowest score ever was in the 1971–72 season, when the University of Sussex, fresh from two series wins, managed only 10 points. However, a low score was also achieved by Victoria University of Manchester in their first round match in 1975 when, for much of the recording, they answered only with the names of Marxists as a protest against the Oxford and Cambridge colleges being able to enter separate teams.

Under Jeremy Paxman, the lowest score achieved by a student team is also 10 which, coincidentally, was also achieved by a team from the University of Sussex, in the first round of the 2021–22 series when they faced the University of Birmingham who scored 245. In the same series, the lowest winning score for a student team was achieved, by Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who scored 85 in a quarter final against King's College London who scored 80. The second lowest losing score is 15, which was achieved by the University of Exeter in a 2008–09 quarter-final against Corpus Christi, Oxford, whose team captain Gail Trimble amassed 15 correct starter questions. However, the Corpus Christi team were later disqualified from the competition after it was found that team member Sam Kay had been ineligible for the last three matches. Therefore, the second lowest score officially achieved against eligible opponents under quizmaster Jeremy Paxman was by Lincoln College, Oxford, who totalled 30 in a semi-final against the eventual series champions the University of Manchester, in an episode televised on 9 February 2009, just two weeks after the Corpus Christi vs Exeter match. This was also matched in the grand final by St John's College, Oxford, against Peterhouse, Cambridge, on 18 April 2016.

Before these matches, the lowest score was 35, reached by New Hall, Cambridge, 1997. This score would have been lower if all deductions for incorrect interruptions had been applied.

The lowest score during the Professionals series was achieved by the House of Commons team, who scored 25 in 2003. In the 2014 Christmas University Challenge series, a team of alumni from Newcastle University also finished with 25.

An all-time record low score for the series was achieved in the final of the 2017 Christmas series, when Keble College, Oxford, beat the University of Reading 240–0. The previous year's Christmas series saw the lowest winning score of all time, 75, scored by the University of Nottingham, who defeated their opponents, the University of Bristol, by just five points.

Highest scores
University College, Oxford, scored 520 points in the final ITV season in 1987. In the Jeremy Paxman era, the team from Open University scored the highest score, 415, in the semi-final in 1997 against Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School.

Specials
Some information from this table was obtained from the web pages listed in

Spin-off shows
The producers of the programme have taken the more recent inclusion of mature students to its logical conclusion by making two series without any student participants: University Challenge Reunited (2002) brought former teams back together, while University Challenge: The Professionals (from 2003) matched occupational groups such as civil servants, architects and doctors against each other. In 2003, the former was won by the 1979 team from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, the latter by a team from the Inland Revenue. The 2004 Professionals series was won by the British Library, and the 2005 series by the Privy Council Office. In 2006, Professionals was won by staff of the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford.

The show has seen numerous specials, including those for specific professions and celebrity editions, such as Universe Challenge, presented by former host and Red Dwarf fan, Bamber Gascoigne, where the cast of Red Dwarf challenged a team of their "ultimate fans" to celebrate Red Dwarf's 10th anniversary on the air. The cast was Chris Barrie (captain), Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn, Chloë Annett and Craig Charles. The cast, who at times seemed amazed at the fans' knowledge, lost, but by only 15 points, 280–295.

Similar programmes
Sixth Form Challenge, hosted by Chris Kelly, appeared briefly between 1965 and 1967. The sixth form contestants represented leading public schools and grammar schools. An untelevised version, Schools' Challenge, continues to run at junior and senior secondary school levels.

Challenging Times was a quiz show for teams representing higher education institutes in Ireland, televised by RTÉ from 1991 to 2001.

Other countries
University Challenge ran in New Zealand for 14 seasons, from 1976 until 1989, with international series held between the previous years' British and New Zealand champions in both 1986 and 1987. It originally aired on TVNZ 1 and was hosted by Peter Sinclair from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1989. From 1978 to 1979, Sinclair was briefly dropped from the show and was replaced by University of Otago lecturer Charles Higham, Sinclair returned in 1980 and from 1981 to 1982, the show briefly moved to TVNZ 2, it moved back to TV1 in 1983 and remained on the network until the series original conclusion in 1989. The series was revived in 2014 by Cue TV and aired on Prime with Cue TV owner Tom Conroy as host and ran until its second conclusion in 2017.

University Challenge, hosted by Magnus Clarke, ran in Australia on the ABC from 1987 until 1989. In the 1988 series, the University of New South Wales defeated the University of Melbourne in the final by 245 points to 175.

University Challenge India started in summer 2003, with the season culminating in the finals of March 2004 where Sardar Patel College of Engineering (SPCE), Mumbai, beat Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. The 2004–2005 season finale saw a team of undergraduate engineering students from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi, beat a team of management students from the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode. The Indian winners of the 2003–2004 season went on to beat the finalists from the UK show, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. UC India is produced by BBC World India, and Synergy Communications, co-owned by Siddhartha Basu, who also hosted the show.

University Challenge inspired the format of two Dutch-language shows: Universiteitsstrijd (the Netherlands), which ran for one season in 2016 on NTR, and (Belgium), which ran since 2019 on Canvas.

title: University Challenge


text:
Talk:University Challenge

Semi-protected edit request on 21 January 2021
Change Jeremy Edwards to Justin Edwards on 2020 Christmas University Challenge University of Manchester team. Sutt2467 (talk) 15:33, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. Yes, it was Justin Edwards. Well spotted, thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:06, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 April 2021
Change the current title holders to Warwick University

The 50th series just finished, and Warwick won, so it should be changed MrRespectfulP (talk) 01:08, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

 * Yes check.svg Done Sincerely, Deauthorized. (talk) 04:25, 6 April 2021 (UTC)

Warwick won twice
Under "Winners", it currently says that only six teams have won the title twice. Warwick, which won in 2007 and again in 2021 (this week), does not appear in the list of six. They should be included, and perhaps the number changed to seven (if that is in fact the correct number). Jehan mendis (talk) 10:14, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. Well spotted, thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:18, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 October 2021
In the section of the page "Winners", there is a paragraph relating to lowest scores on the programme. It currently references a score of 15 as the lowest team score in the Paxman era, however the 2021/22 series episode 14, between Birmingham and Sussex has now set a new record lowest score of 10 points. 2A00:23C7:7188:9D00:5558:8BEE:4F16:D835 (talk) 23:53, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

 * Pictogram voting wait.svg Already done Another editor has completed the edit request, so I have closed it. DigitalChutney (talk) 20:38, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Granada Television
Can someone please explain why this articele says that University Challlenge is produced by ITV Granada, whden it is currently a BBC Two programme? YTKJ (talk) 17:51, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

 * I've reworded it. It's currently made by Lifted Entertainment, that was previously the entertainment division of ITV Studios, which was previously the production wing of Granada Television. BBC Two broadcasts it, but they commission another production company to make it for them.  Dr Greg  talk 18:18, 8 October 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 February 2023
Remove Tom Scott from Notable Contestants, as he was part of Christmas University Challenge 2022, which is exempt according to the article itself. Owlie108 (talk) 13:46, 10 February 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ small jars 12:17, 11 February 2023 (UTC)

By protecting this article, you seal in the rot
Currently this article states and has done since known vandals from NCR Corporation, Duluth, Georgia, US at 192.127.94.7 talk wrote added it on 10:26, 28 November 2016:

 * The split-screen presentation during the starter question phase, which appears to place one team physically above the other. In the final years of the original Bamber Gascoigne era, the studio set genuinely was two-tiered, although the split-screen effect returned for the revived series and has been used ever since;

Are you kidding me? That was the point of the joke on The Young Ones. The two college teams have always been shwon in any broadcast in split screen using Chroma key in the early series. How could anyone be so stupid to think they went to all that expense to build a two-tiered set?

It should be reverted to the previous version, yes the 6.5 year old one:

 * The instantly recognisable split-screen presentation, which appears to place one team physically above the other (parodied by an actual double-decker set in the mock edition of the programme in The Young Ones – see below);

Un-freaking-beleivable!!! If you lot spent more time focusing on content instead of playing one upmanship embarrassing drivel like this might get spotted within in five years instead of almost seven!80.189.122.156 (talk) 21:20, 29 May 2023 (UTC)
 * They did have a two tier set circa 1987, there's a screenshot of it here. Bob talk 12:54, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

University Challenge was revived on the 21st September 1994
109.151.26.95 (talk) 19:03, 26 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Article lede already states that the show was revived on that date in 1994 Pinchme123 (talk) 21:09, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 8 April 2024
Change the first paragraph of the winners heading to state that imperial college London has won 5 times. 143.58.205.161 (talk) 21:14, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅. Now corrected, thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:19, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:University Challenge


text:
Ghostface Killah

Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo career with Ironman, which was well-received by music critics, in 1996. He has enjoyed continued success in the years that have followed, releasing critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film The Mystery of Chess Boxing. He is the founder of his own record label, Starks Enterprises.

Ghostface Killah is critically acclaimed for his loud, fast-paced flow, and his emotional stream-of-consciousness narratives containing cryptic slang and non-sequiturs. In 2006, MTV included him as an "honourable mention" on their list of the "Greatest MCs of All Time", while the editors of About.com placed him on their list of the "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)", calling him "one of the most imaginative storytellers of our time." Q magazine called him "rap's finest storyteller." Pitchfork Media has stated that "Ghostface has unparalleled storytelling instincts; he might be the best, most colorful storyteller rap has ever seen." NPR has called him "a compulsive storyteller", and asserts that "his fiction is painterly."

Early life
Ghostface grew up in the Stapleton Houses housing project in Staten Island, New York City, helping with daily care of two younger brothers who had muscular dystrophy. The 2019 series Wu-Tang: An American Saga depicts a feud between him and fellow Clan member Raekwon; however the feud was purely fictional and never took place in reality. Raekwon and Ghostface attended junior high school together.

Early work
A roommate of Wu-Tang founder RZA, Ghostface helped bring together the other seven members. In 1995, Ghostface guest-starred extensively on fellow Clan member Raekwon's debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., appearing on almost every song and receiving nearly equal billing. "It felt good to have my boy next to me, Ghostface, who basically comes from the same lifestyle as I come from. And we were able to sit down and concoct an idea that we both were able to respect and basically get everybody in the crew involved...", said Raekwon about Ghostface's involvement in the project. Raekwon intended Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... to play like a film, with himself as the "star," Ghostface Killah as the "guest star" and producer RZA as the "director." He also contributed songs to the Sunset Park and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood soundtracks; both songs were included on his first solo LP, Ironman, in 1996. The album, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, had a more pronounced soul influence (particularly 1970s soul) than previous Wu-Tang releases, and Ghostface's future albums would continue to feature this stylistic trait. He readily and regularly took on the role of executive producer for many collective efforts as well along with RZA and Oli Power Grant.

In the year 2000, Ghostface released his second studio album, Supreme Clientele. The album was well received by critics, and peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200. It included "Apollo Kids", a popular single which featured Raekwon and had a sample of "Cool Breeze" by Solomon Burke. "Cherchez La Ghost", another single off the album, became a minor club hit. Supreme Clientele marked a turning point in terms of RZA's influence on Ghostface's sound, as only six songs on it are produced by RZA, whereas on Ironman, its predecessor, every song but one is produced by RZA. Although he contributed fewer beats to the project than to Ironman, RZA personally oversaw the mixing and production of the album as a whole, thereby contributing to Supreme Clientele's unified sound.

Ghostface wasted little time in recording his next album, the heavily R&B-influenced Bulletproof Wallets, released a year after Supreme Clientele. Its main single, "Never Be the Same Again", featured Raekwon and Carl Thomas. It produced another minor club hit, "Flowers", which featured guest vocals from fellow Wu-Tang members Method Man and Raekwon, and a popular single, "Ghost Showers" which featured Madame Majestic, whose other key claim to fame is that she sings on the popular Wu-Tang track "Gravel Pit".

Def Jam
In 2003, Ghostface signed with Def Jam Records. After temporarily dropping "Killah" from his stage name, Ghostface released The Pretty Toney Album in April 2004. The album, while containing two RZA productions, featured none of the Clan; instead, it featured collaborations with Missy Elliott, D-Block, and Jacki-O. The singles "Tush" and "Run", which were collaborations with Missy and Jadakiss respectively, achieved moderate success in the clubs and on the charts, and the album was featured on numerous "best of the year" lists; for instance, it was Pitchfork Media's #9 album of the year. Ghostface also appeared on the track "On My Knees" by UK R&B group the 411; the song became a hit in the UK and Australia. Ghostface then released an album entitled 718 (after the Staten Island area code) with a group of his protégés, the Theodore Unit. Ghostface also appeared on "He Comes" by De La Soul, on The Grind Date. In November 2005, Ghostface and Theodore Unit's breakout star Trife Da God released a joint project, Put It on the Line.

In 2006, Ghostface teamed up with underground artist MF Doom for a still-unreleased album entitled Swift & Changeable. MF Doom also produced several songs for Ghostface's 2006 album Fishscale, on which he chose to revert to the stage name "Ghostface Killah", rather than just "Ghostface". The album debuted strongly, appearing at the #4 position on the U.S. Billboard 200 and at #2 on the R&B charts, the rapper's most auspicious chart showing since the heyday of the Wu-Tang Clan and the release of his solo debut. The album also received near-unanimous positive reviews. Ghostface embarked on a limited-date tour of U.S. venues in support of the album, performing several of his concerts together with most of the other members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2007, Ghostface provided the theme song for the Irish animated series Skunk Fu! that ran on Kids' WB. On December 4, 2007, Ghostface released his seventh solo studio album, The Big Doe Rehab.

In a May 2008 interview, Ghostface Killah stated that he would make an R&B-inspired album in the vein of certain tracks he had done before with artists such as Ne-Yo and Jodeci. That album would become his eighth studio album, Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, which won good reviews from music critics. It featured singles such as "Baby" and "Do Over". In March 2009, Ghostface responded to the Rihanna/Chris Brown controversy by recording a song, "Message from Ghostface", which was dedicated to women in abusive relationships.

In a May 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, Raekwon indicated that Ghostface Killah was preparing to release a new album. In response to a question asking if the Wu-Tang Clan were going to release a follow-up to 8 Diagrams, Raekwon stated, "Everybody's doing different things right now — you got Meth [Method Man] coming out with an album, you got Ghostface coming out with an album, some guys working on their projects, some guys getting into the film world, everybody is multi-tasking right now." Ghostface appeared on a total of 8 songs on Raekwon's highly anticipated release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II.

Shortly after the release of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II, Def Jam contracted Raekwon to work with their label artists Method Man and Ghostface Killah on an album which later received the title Wu-Massacre. Production began in November 2009. Wu-Massacre was released March 30, 2010 to generally positive reviews from music critics; this time, however, reviews were more mixed, with some critics objecting to the 30-minute-long album's rushed feel. With heavy promotion, it sold 37,900 units in its first week; it has sold 64,000 units as of May 12, 2010. It features production from Scram Jones, Mathematics, and The RZA, who produced the album's lead single, "Our Dreams".

In 2010, Ghostface confirmed that he would be releasing two new studio albums, Apollo Kids and one which would serve as a sequel to his 2000 album Supreme Clientele. In 2011, Ghostface Killah featured on UK artist Josh Osho's debut single "Redemption Days".

Post Def Jam
Ghostface released a collaborative album with D-Block member Sheek Louch called Wu Block. The album was released on November 27, 2012, on E1 Music and debuted at number 73 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 8,600 copies in the United States. It fell to #152 in its second week selling 4,200 more copies. In January of 2017, Ghostface and Sheek Louch announced on their respective social media accounts that a second collaborative album was in the works.

In an interview with Complex Magazine on November 17, 2012, Ghostface confirmed that he had left Def Jam, making Apollo Kids his last album on the label. In the same interview, he also stated that Blue & Cream, the sequel to his critically acclaimed album Supreme Clientele, was 80-85 percent done. On April 16, 2013, Ghostface released his tenth album Twelve Reasons to Die which was produced by Adrian Younge and executive produced by RZA. The album was released in various formats such as CD, vinyl and cassette under RZA's Soul Temple Records. The deluxe digital and CD versions also came with a comic book.

He would later announce that the sequel to Supreme Clientele would be released between July and September 2013 and that his collaborative album with MF Doom would be released around Halloween 2013 though neither projects materialized. In January 2014, he appeared on the VH1 series Couples Therapy with his girlfriend Kelsey Nykole. Later that year Ghostface announced he would be releasing his eleventh album titled 36 Seasons in December 2014. He collaborated with Canadian jazz band BADBADNOTGOOD on an album titled Sour Soul, which was released in 2015 which earned a nomination for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.

A sequel to Twelve Reasons to Die, simply titled Twelve Reasons to Die II, was released on July 10, 2015.

Ghostface had a string of UK and European tour dates scheduled in 2016.

Ghostface provided vocals on the song "Purple Hearts" from Kendrick Lamar's album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers in 2022.

In January 2023, Ghostface partnered with Kano Computing to release exclusive music, videos, meetings, and concerts on the Stem Player.

In May 2024, Ghostface released his 12th studio album, Set the Tone (Guns & Roses).

Lawsuits and criminal charges
In 1995, Coles was issued an arrest warrant for robbery. In December 1997, Coles was arrested for weapons possession after being pulled over for a traffic violation whereby police claimed that Coles got out of the car and became verbally abusive. He was wearing a bulletproof vest which gave them probable cause to search him and his car where they found a .357 Magnum handgun and he was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. In February 1999, Coles was issued a 6-month sentence for attempted robbery, and later pleaded guilty to an additional charge of weapons possession and was issued five years of probation with four months of prison time.

In July 2011, Coles was sued by Jack Urbont for copyright violation stemming from the "improper use" of the 1960s "Iron Man" theme song, which Urbont claimed as his own. Urbont also took issue with Coles' appropriation of the Iron Man brand name. Coles was granted summary judgment on the lawsuit in April 2015, which stated that Marvel Entertainment, owners of the Iron Man character and brand, owned the "Iron Man" theme song, not Urbont.

In August 2011, Coles filed a lawsuit against Universal Music for unpaid royalties.

Personal life
Like fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, Coles is a convert to Islam. Ghostface is the father of rappers Sun God, Supreme, and singer Infinite.

Coles disclosed in a 2024 interview that he is a diagnosed schizophrenic.

Aliases
Ghostface Killah, like most members of the Wu-Tang clan, rapped under several personae, each with their own name, mythology and influences. Some recurring aliases:

 * Ghostface Killah (occasionally spelled Ghostface Killer, Ghost Face Killer, Ghost Face Killah, or abbreviated GFK)
 * Ghostface (shortened stage name during The Pretty Toney Album era)
 * Ghost Deini
 * Ironman, Tony Starks, or just Starks
 * Ghostface has frequently assumed the names of both Ironman and Tony Starks [sic], a reference to the Marvel Comics character Iron Man and his true identity, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. He released a 1996 album titled Ironman. His song, "Slept On Tony With Dirt," appears in the 2008 film Iron Man, and he also appears in a deleted scene on the DVD.
 * Starky Love
 * Pretty Toney, P Tone

Discography

 * Studio albums
 * Ironman (1996)
 * Supreme Clientele (2000)
 * Bulletproof Wallets (2001)
 * The Pretty Toney Album (2004)
 * Fishscale (2006)
 * More Fish (2006)
 * The Big Doe Rehab (2007)
 * Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City (2009)
 * Apollo Kids (2010)
 * 36 Seasons (2014)
 * Ghostface Killahs (2019)
 * Set the Tone (Guns & Roses) (2024)

 * Collaboration albums
 * 718 (with Theodore Unit) (2004)
 * Put it on the Line (with Trife Diesel) (2005)
 * Wu-Massacre (with Method Man and Raekwon) (2010)
 * Wu Block (with Sheek Louch) (2012)
 * Twelve Reasons to Die (with Adrian Younge) (2013)
 * Sour Soul (with BADBADNOTGOOD) (2015)
 * Twelve Reasons to Die II (with Adrian Younge) (2015)
 * The Lost Tapes (with Big Ghost Ltd.) (2018)
 * Czarface Meets Ghostface (with Czarface) (2019)

Movie appearances

 * The Show (1995) as himself
 * Belly (1998) cameo appearance
 * Black and White (1999) as himself
 * Hunter Dawson (2002) as himself
 * Big Wigs (2002) as himself
 * Fade to Black  (2004) as himself
 * Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) as himself
 * Iron Man (2008) as himself; also appearing in a music video aired on Tony Stark's private jet. (Cut in post-production, his cameo can be found in the DVD's deleted scenes section.)
 * Big Pun: The Legacy (2008) as himself
 * Up and Above (2008) as himself
 * When in Rome (2010) as Guggenheim DJ
 * Purple Tape Documentary (2016) as himself
 * You're Watching Video Music Box (2021) as himself

TV series appearances

 * The World According To Pretty Toney (2005 - 2007) as himself
 * 30 Rock (2006) as himself (episodes "Jack-Tor" and "The Source Awards")
 * Human Giant (2007) as himself (episodes "Mind Explosion" and "Mosh Pit!")
 * The Boondocks (2007) as himself (episode "Stinkmeaner Strikes Back")
 * Rushing Jason (2008) as Big Poppa
 * Mob Wives (VH1 Series) (2011) as himself
 * Couples Therapy (2014) as himself
 * Luke Cage (2018) as himself (episode "All Souled Out")

Video game appearances

 * Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (1999) as himself
 * Def Jam Vendetta (2003) as himself
 * Def Jam: Fight for NY (2004) as himself
 * Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover (2006) as himself
 * WWE Smackdown VS. Raw 2007 (2006) Coles had his song “The Champ” on the soundtrack
 * Def Jam: Icon (2007) as himself
 * Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009), created the theme music

title: Ghostface Killah


text:
Bamber Gascoigne

Arthur Bamber Gascoigne (24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022) was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster on University Challenge, which initially ran from 1962 to 1987.

Early life and education
Gascoigne was born in Richmond, London on 24 January 1935. He was the elder son of Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne by his marriage in 1934 to Mary ("Midi") Louisa Hermione O'Neill.

Gascoigne was educated at Sunningdale School in Berkshire before winning scholarships to both Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge (1955), where he read English literature. He initially wanted to become an actor, though found it tiresome to have to play the same part for more than a week, so instead turned to writing. While at Magdalene, he initially submitted scripts to the Footlights sketch troupe, though they were never performed. However, he wrote a college revue in his second year, which was seen by the producer Michael Codron. Codron liked it enough to put it on in the West End as a musical called Share My Lettuce, in 1957. It was performed by Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams (with music by Keith Statham and Patrick Gowers).

Gascoigne then spent a year as a Commonwealth Fund scholar at Yale University (1958–59). He carried out his National Service in the Grenadier Guards, including six months of duty at Buckingham Palace, before being posted to Germany. After completing his National Service, he became employed as a theatre critic, firstly for The Spectator, and then The Observer.

He met his wife, Christina Ditchburn, at Cambridge, and they married in 1965.

Ancestry
Gascoigne's family were originally Norman, arriving in England in the early 13th century. Gascoigne's mother was a daughter of Captain the Hon. Arthur O'Neill and Lady Annabel Hungerford Crewe-Milnes.

His father was the son of Brigadier-General Sir Ernest Frederick Orby Gascoigne and Laura Cicely, daughter of General Edward Henry Clive, of that family of Styche Hall, Shropshire, from which also came the soldier and administrator of India Robert Clive (Clive of India).

Gascoigne's great-grandfathers included Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, and Edward O'Neill, 2nd Baron O'Neill. He was a nephew of Sir Julian Gascoigne, who was in charge of the Household Division during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and of Terence O'Neill, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1963–1969).

Gascoigne was a direct descendant of the 18th-century Lord Mayor of London Sir Crisp Gascoyne and the Tory politicians Bamber Gascoyne (the elder) and Isaac Gascoyne. Isaac's son General Ernest Frederick Gascoyne, of Raby Hall, Liverpool (1796–1867), was his great-great-great-grandfather. The name Bamber was the surname of the Lord Mayor's wife, and was given to their son.

University Challenge
Gascoigne was the original presenter (from 1962) of the television quiz show University Challenge, based on the US series College Bowl. He held the position for 25 years, until the end of the initial run in 1987. As well as presenting the show, in its initial series he also set all the questions. His questioning manner was regarded as firm yet polite. Phrases he often used which became catchphrases include: "Your starter for ten, no conferring", "fingers on buzzers” and "I'll have to hurry you." The show was initially only set for 13 episodes, but it was such a hit that Gascoigne eventually presented 913 episodes. A number of contestants later became notable in their respective careers, including Stephen Fry and Miriam Margolyes. When the show was revived in 1994 with Jeremy Paxman, Gascoigne declined to apply to present it again, as he was already involved with other projects. In 1984 Gascoigne was parodied by Griff Rhys Jones in the alternative comedy series The Young Ones, in an episode entitled "Bambi". Ade Edmondson, a regular cast member of The Young Ones, later appeared on the real University Challenge. In 1998, Gascoigne presented a parody named Universe Challenge based on the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf.

Gascoigne was also portrayed by actor Mark Gatiss in the 2006 comedy-drama film Starter for 10, directed by Tom Vaughan.

Television and books
Gascoigne was the author of Murgatreud's Empire, a 1972 satirical novel concerning an entrepreneur who finds an island of pygmies, and trades them arms for treasure, recreating the development of European medieval weaponry and armour. This was originally written as a script, although the play was abandoned because of the impossibility of finding suitable performers for a cast of forty pygmies.

In 1977, Gascoigne wrote and presented The Christians, a 13-hour television documentary series on the history of Christianity, produced by Granada Television and broadcast on ITV. The same year he wrote a companion book, under the same title, with photography by his wife, Christina Gascoigne, published by Jonathan Cape. In 2003 it was revised and republished as A Brief History of Christianity by Robinson Publishing.

Gascoigne wrote Quest for the Golden Hare, a 1983 account of the internationally publicised treasure hunt associated with the publication in 1979 of Kit Williams' book Masquerade. On 8 August 1979, Gascoigne was witness to the burial by Williams of a unique jewelled, solid gold hare pendant in an earthenware jar "somewhere in Britain". The book documents the search and a scandal associated with finding it.

In 1987, Gascoigne presented a documentary series of six 30-minute programmes on Victorian history, Victorian Values, produced by Granada Television. The programmes looked at how Victorian society put in place the infrastructure of the modern welfare state.

In 1988, Gascoigne devised and presented a BBC Two arts quiz called Connoisseur, for which he also set the questions.

Gascoigne was the writer and presenter for the TV series The Great Moghuls (1990), a study of the Mughal Empire of India. The series was based on Gascoigne's 1971 book of the same name, which features photographs by his wife.

Other activities
Gascoigne established an online history encyclopaedia, HistoryWorld, based on British history. He had already published a hard copy of this encyclopaedia, but he saw the internet as an opportunity to reach millions more than the book alone. He also established TimeSearch, which presents multiple searchable timelines collected from various websites.

Gascoigne was a lifelong supporter of the Liberal Party and subsequently the Liberal Democrats. He publicly endorsed the latter during their 2019 general election campaign. In August 2014, Gascoigne was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

On the death of his great-aunt Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, in 2014, Gascoigne inherited an estate at West Horsley, Surrey, including West Horsley Place, a large country house dating from the 16th century. Gascoigne sold some of the late Duchess's possessions and used the proceeds to restore the house. This was followed by the building of an opera house in its grounds, the Theatre in the Woods, which serves as the home base of the Grange Park Opera. An original pencil and chalk study for the painting Flaming June by Sir Frederic Leighton was found on the back of a bedroom door in the house. Art historians had known a sketch existed as it had been included in an art magazine in 1895, but did not know who owned it; it was probably bought by the Duchess's paternal grandfather after Leighton's death. From 2018 until 2023, West Horsley Place was used as the filming location for the fictional Button House in the BBC TV comedy series Ghosts.

External interests
Gascoigne was elected in 1976 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was a trustee of the National Gallery, a trustee of the Tate Gallery, a member of the council of the National Trust, and a member of the board of directors of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He was also a patron of the Museum of Richmond.

Personal life, honours and death
Gascoigne was married, for 57 years, to Christina (née Ditchburn), daughter of civil servant Alfred Henry Ditchburn,. He met Christina at Cambridge. They lived in Richmond, London, from the late 1960s. She is an artist working in ceramics, silks and other media. The couple did not have any children.

Gascoigne was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to the Arts.

In January 2022, Gascoigne was hospitalised for three weeks with pneumonia. Following his hospitalisation, Gascoigne's health drastically declined. He died at his home in Richmond on 8 February 2022, at the age of 87. Stephen Fry led the tributes to Gascoigne, saying he was "such an elegant, intelligent man". Victoria Coren Mitchell, host of BBC quiz show Only Connect, said: "No quiz host has ever seemed more like they could answer all the questions themselves."

Selected publications

 * 1962: Twentieth Century Drama, London: Hutchinson University Library ISBN 978-0-0906-5843-5
 * 1968: Leda Had a Little Swan (play, cancelled on the day before opening, in New York, after fourteen previews)
 * 1968: World Theatre: An Illustrated History, Ebury Press ISBN 978-0316305006
 * 1971: The Great Moghuls (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape; New York: Harper & Row
 * 1973: The Treasures and Dynasties of China (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne and Derrick Witty), Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-00925-7 Republished 2003 as A Brief History of the Dynasties of China  ISBN 1-84119-791-2
 * 1973: The Heyday, Jonathan Cape  ISBN 978-0224009058 (novel)
 * 1974: Ticker Khan: A Fable, Jonathan Cape ISBN 978-022-401061-0
 * 1975: Castles of Great Britain (introduction; with Christina Gascoigne), Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-24098-1
 * 1977: The Christians (with photographs by Christina Gascoigne), London: Jonathan Cape; New York: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-03220-6 Revised and republished 2003 as A Brief History of Christianity, Robinson Publishing  ISBN 1-84119-710-6
 * 1981: Why the Rope Went Tight (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen; New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books ISBN 978-0688005900
 * 1982: Fearless Freddy's Sunken Treasure (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen ISBN 0-416-06510-4
 * 1982: Fearless Freddy's Magic Wish (children's stories, with pictures by Christina Gascoigne), London: Methuen ISBN 978-0-416-06520-6
 * 1983: Quest for the Golden Hare, Jonathan Cape ISBN 0-224-02116-8
 * 1986: Cod Streuth, Jonathan Cape ISBN 0-224-02388-8
 * 1986: How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet, Thames & Hudson; revised 2nd edition 2004 ISBN 0-500-28480-6
 * 1988: (with J Wright): Bamber Gascoigne's Book of Amazing Facts, London: Walker Books ISBN 0-7445-1082-1; ISBN 978-0-7445-1082-9
 * 1993: Encyclopaedia of Britain: The A–Z of Britain's Past and Present, Macmillan Publishers ISBN 0-333-54764-0
 * 1997: Milestones in Colour Printing 1457–1859: With a Bibliography of Nelson Prints (The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography), Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0-521-55441-1
 * 1998: A Brief History of the Great Moghuls: India's Most Flamboyant Rulers [revised edition of The Great Moghuls (1971)], Philadelphia: Running Press ISBN 0-7867-1040-3
 * 2007: Bamber Gascoigne's Challenging Quiz Book, London: Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-14-103470-6
 * 2010: A Brief History of the Second World War, HistoryWorld ISBN 1-908143-00-2
 * 2011: A Brief History of the First World War, HistoryWorld ISBN 1-908143-03-7, ISBN 1-908143-03-7
 * 2011: The Maya, Aztecs, Incas and Conquistadors: A Brief History, HistoryWorld ISBN 978-1-908143-06-8
 * 2014: The Dynasties of China: A History, The Folio Society ISBN 0-786712-19-8

title: Bamber Gascoigne


text:
User talk:Tiles

User talk:Tiles/archive

Cabora Bassa
Hi, all the references I have describe the South Africa end as a substation "near Johannesburg", not "near Pretoria". The two cities are only about 50 km apart, but do you have a pointer to a reference that shows where this HVDC converter station is? I'm Googling for it but no-one has included a map so far (and electrical utilites are getting close-mouthed with this sort of information anyway). Thanks, --Wtshymanski 21:00, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * See Tiles 06:42, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks! I looked at the map and Apollo substation really is closer to Pretoria than Johannesburg...in spite of what the BPA paper says. I'd look forward to any comments or edits you can do on any of the HVDC articles. --Wtshymanski 16:44, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Roy Orbison referencing.
Yes, along those lines is great. Ideally there would be reliable references that back up all the important material in the article. And for the specific note, consider using Footnotes3 or Footnotes4 to automatically set up the linking. That way the note can be found in the text easily. So yes that reference is good, and more is better :). Thanks - Taxman 03:04, Apr 24, 2005 (UTC)

Glasgow
Hello. I see you've done a bit of clearing up after the last bout of editing of Glasgow. I've a hunch, however, that there's a lot more clearing up to be done: try this diff and you'll see that for example the place is Officially known as the commercial capital of Scotland -- does this mean for example that there's a "Mayor of the commercial capital of Scotland", and if not, what does it mean? What "office" so named it? -- and that It is a bustling European city has a population of 612,000. And this is just the start. I've already reverted it all once, but I must admit to minimal knowledge of Glasgow and I was hoping somebody would just revert the last batch of changes. Sorry that you actually spent time on it, but I'm afraid you or somebody else will have to spend a little more ... or of course revert it.

I'll be watching this page, so if you reply, please do so here. -- Hoary 08:37, 2005 May 21 (UTC)
 * I've spent a liitle more time and cleaned up some of the duplication and loose statements. There is more to do.  I tried at one stage to have the article recognised as a FAC but had no idea that it had deteriorated so much since then.Tiles 03:06, 22 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your trouble, and my apologies for not having been firmer on our (I suspect) young friend at the start. Actually I was about to wade into the article a second time, but I really didn't want to: almost every alteration he made was for the worse, leaving me with little inclination to trust even those few additions that seemed to make sense -- but, knowing next to nothing about Glasgow myself (I've never been there and I'm halfway across the planet from there), I'd have had to check it all via Google or similar. What a waste of time! By inclination, I'm democratic, but the results of open access at WP can try my patience at times. -- Hoary 03:16, 2005 May 22 (UTC)
 * Although Wellingtonis my home, Glasgow is my home town and I should have been more alert. Babyoil did have something to add, especially the Defoe references.  I must agree, though, that open access has its downside - as has democracy. Tiles 05:38, 22 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Tiles, you've done a great job. But what a mess that article still is. I've a feeling that a lot of it comes from wishful thinking, stuff half remembered from dodgy comments half digested from TV seen months previously, etc. Of course, this all makes me wonder what the articles on other cities are really like. -- Hoary 05:18, 2005 May 24 (UTC)

You're doing an excellent job, Tiles. I just hope that the other recent, er, contributor has other diversions that will keep him away for some time.

Incidentally, as somebody far from Britain and quaint British notions of identity, I'm amused by the way that the article still points out that this is a "European" city. (What might one otherwise expect? African? Oceanian?) -- Hoary 07:09, 2005 May 28 (UTC)

Glasgow Images
I don't see what the point of the extra code that you keep putting in for the images in Glasgow is. Certainly on my computer, and all my browsers, the only effect is to move the images halfway across the page, forcing the text to the left into a very narrow column. If this is the intended effect it doesn't look good at all. If it's meant to do something else, what is it? Maccoinnich 15:11, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi.
 * You are mistaking me for somebody else. This is the first time I have adjusted the images in the Architecture section.  I did so because they were all over the place.  I positioned them to the far right of the page which leaves adequate space for the remaining text.  I can only assume that your browser is at fault if you have the problem you describe.  I have used the same mark up as is used at the top of the page for the Buchanan St, George Square and City Chambers images.  Do you have the same problem with that section? Tiles 05:04, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

 * Hi, sorry, so it is your first time, my mistake. But it's not just one browser - it's 3 different browsers (including Internet Explorer) which give the fault.  Genuine question - how were they "all over the place before"?  Because without the code, it seem much better arranged to me. Maccoinnich 23:00, Jun 7, 2005 (UTC)

 * On my work computer the images are split over two lines ie there are two on one line across the page and there is one word of text (Unlike) and the other image on the next line.  On my home computer the 3 images are spread horizontally across the page, splitting the text.  Because they are unequal lengths, there is a ragged appearance.  By shifting them to the far right, the appearance of the page is improved and the text in uninterrupted.  This happens on both computers.  I note that somebody has re-arranged all the images so that it now looks like the article has acne. Tiles 22:57, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Country music
I cited some sources, so it's up to him now to cite some contrary sources (I sincerely doubt there are any, though if scholarly, such an opinion would be quite interesting). If anything, country music understates the importance of black music, and is certainly far from unduly Afrocentric. Tuf-Kat 20:40, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)
 * Oh, thanks, but don't worry about it -- I had that page on my watchlist, so I would have noticed sooner or later anyway. Tuf-Kat 07:41, Jun 14, 2005 (UTC)

Category:Wikipedians in New Zealand
Hi, You might want to consider adding User NZ res to the top of your user page, which will add you to this category automatically and also add a nice graphic. Sendervictorius 08:31, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Category:Wikipedians in New Zealand
Hi, You might want to consider adding User NZ res to the top of your user page, which will add you to this category automatically and also add a nice graphic. Onco_p53 08:42, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Will do Tiles 04:37, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

Talk:Country_music
I have revamped and readded the former "Criticism" section as "Reception". Thought I'd give you a heads up. Hyacinth 11:56, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

 * How is the tone inconsistent with the rest of the article, and what is wrong with that? Hyacinth 08:37, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Devil's Marbles
Hi, some time ago (Nov 2004) you added some text to the article Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve suggesting that the Arrernte people are the traditional owners of the site. I'm pretty sure however that it is actually Kaytetye country (Arrernte country is much further south). Would you disagree with me changing that text? This is assuming of course that the story about the myth is correct (I'll try to check it out). Dougg 10:50, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Auckland meetup
Just to let you know that a meetup is planned in Auckland for the 25th of June (see Meetup/Auckland for more details), and that you are cordially invited. GeorgeStepanek\talk 00:21, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Jock Purdon Banner.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Jock Purdon Banner.jpg. However, the image may soon be deleted unless we can determine the copyright holder and copyright status. The Wikimedia Foundation is very careful about the images included in Wikipedia because of copyright law (see Wikipedia's Copyright policy).

The copyright holder is usually the creator, the creator's employer, or the last person who was transferred ownership rights. Copyright information on images is signified using copyright templates. The three basic license types on Wikipedia are open content, public domain, and fair use. Find the appropriate template in Image copyright tags and place it on the image page like this:.

Please signify the copyright information on any other images you have uploaded or will upload. Remember that images without this important information can be deleted by an administrator. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Magnus Manske 08:28, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Looks like you've got a fact wrong!
Hi Tiles, On the first line of text on your userpage, it basically says "wellington is the southernmost capital in the world", well in fact It's not, Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands (yes, you heard me!) is the southermost capital in the world. Stanley lies below 40° latitude, Wellington lies just above 40° latitude, even our beloved wikipedia states it! Also, I live in Wellington just like you do! -- Lego@lost 22:44, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

 * I can see the difference now :) -- Lego@lost EVIL, EVIL! | 04:37, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

Wellingtonians
Hello, Tiles, I doubt if I've ever talked to you. ButI decided to say a few friendly words to everyone in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedians_in_Wellington since joining that category recently.

From Scotland, eh? Two of my grandparents were born there and one of the others may have passed through. A fellow at Strathclyde helped with my genealogy.

Kind regards - Robin Patterson 06:13, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

=

Image:LocMap_Geikie_Gorge.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Geikie_Gorge.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 03:55, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:LocMap_Purnululu.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Purnululu.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 03:55, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:Canberra.jpg listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:Canberra.jpg, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 20:53, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:LocMap_Nitmiluk.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Nitmiluk.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:14, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:LocMap_Litchfield.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Litchfield.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:14, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:LocMap_Kakadu.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Kakadu.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:15, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Image:LocMap_Keep_River.PNG listed for deletion
An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, Image:LocMap_Keep_River.PNG, has been listed at Images and media for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:15, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

File:Transmission Towers.jpg
This image is listed as being released under a free licence.

Before I move this image to Wikimedia commons, could you confirm the permission you obtained from Transpower?.

Sfan00 IMG (talk) 13:10, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

NowCommons: File:Harvard Square.JPG
File:Harvard Square.JPG is now available on Wikimedia Commons as Commons:File:Harvard Square (1).JPG. This is a repository of free media that can be used on all Wikimedia wikis. The image will be deleted from Wikipedia, but this doesn't mean it can't be used anymore. You can embed an image uploaded to Commons like you would an image uploaded to Wikipedia, in this case:. Note that this is an automated message to inform you about the move. This bot did not copy the image itself. --Erwin85Bot (talk) 23:14, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

File:University of Glasgow.jpg
This file is currently the subject of a deletion discussion at Wikimedia Commons, Please contact someone from that project URGENTLY, if you do not want this file deleted. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 18:56, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Commons:File:Transmission Towers.jpg
This file was moved to Commons from English Wikipedia, but some description information may have got lost in the process.

As you are noted as the original uploader, or in the history for the file, it would be appreciated if you could help in reconstructing this information.

Thanks for you assistance and keep uploading 'free' media :) Sfan00 IMG (talk) 22:41, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Unreferenced BLPs
Hello Tiles! Thank you for your contributions. I am a bot alerting you that 1 of the articles that you created  is tagged as an Unreferenced Biography of a Living Person. The biographies of living persons policy requires that all personal or potentially controversial information be sourced. In addition, to ensure verifiability, all biographies should be based on reliable sources. If you were to bring this article up to standards, it would greatly help us with the current Category:All_unreferenced_BLPs article backlog. Once the article is adequately referenced, please remove the unreferencedBLP tag. Here is the article:

Thanks!--DASHBot (talk) 23:26, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) Owen Marshall -

GA reassessment of Natalie Maines
I have conducted a reassessment of the above article as part of the GA Sweeps process. You are being notified as you have made a number of contributions to the article. I have found some concerns which you can see at Talk:Natalie Maines/GA1. I have placed the article on hold whilst these are fixed. Thanks. Jezhotwells (talk) 05:35, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:52, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Invitation to an in-person meetup in Mohua / Golden Bay
Thinking about your summer break? Think about joining other Wikipedians and Wikimedians in Golden Bay / Mohua! Details are on the meetup page. There's heaps of interesting stuff to work on e.g. the oldest extant waka or New Zealand's oldest ongoing legal case. Or you may spend your time taking photos and then upload them.

Golden Bay is hard to get to and the airline flying into Tākaka uses small planes, so we are holding some seats from and to Wellington and we are offering attendees a $200 travel subsidy to help with costs.

Be in touch with Schwede66 if this event interests you and you'd like to discuss logistics.  Schwede 66  09:14, 13 November 2023 (UTC)

title: User talk:Tiles


text:
User talk:Pieter Suurmond

Hello there, welcome to the 'pedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you ever need editing help visit How does one edit a page and experiment at Sandbox. If you need pointers on how we title pages visit Naming conventions or how to format them visit our manual of style. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or add a question to the Village pump. Cheers! --maveric149

title: User talk:Pieter Suurmond


text:
User talk:Jbailey

Hello there, welcome to the 'pedia! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. If you ever need editing help visit How does one edit a page and experiment at Sandbox. If you need pointers on how we title pages visit Naming conventions or how to format them visit our manual of style. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or add a question to the Village pump. Cheers! --maveric149

Welcome, Jbailey. I'd love to see more articles about UU's, as I became one a year a couple of years before joining the Unification Church. --Uncle Ed 21:16 Feb 19, 2003 (UTC)

Welcome. On page Talk:Wiki, you once asked
 * Does anyone know what year the first Wiki existed? I'm trying to explain to someone that this is not an Internet technology of the month, but googling for "WikiWikiWeb history" is a pointless search. -- Jeff Bailey

Since then, the article has been updated with the information you wanted (1995). Happy editing. -- DavidCary 02:54, 21 May 2004 (UTC)

Nomination of Gabriela Mistral Elementary School for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Gabriela Mistral Elementary School is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Gabriela Mistral Elementary School until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. John from Idegon (talk) 13:59, 4 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Hi, Jeff. I see this is the first school article you've worked on. Schools of a lower academic level than high schools are presumed not notable. You have to make a stronger showing of notability than GNG in order for it to be kept. It must meet the qualification for companies and organizations, WP:ORG, which requires widespread coverage. I don't see it for this school. Coverage that shows the school is a school is not sufficient, you need something exceptional, and that exceptional thing has to be covered outside the region the school is in. The community can decide. John from Idegon (talk) 14:50, 4 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks, John. I was unaware that there had to be coverage outside of the region as well.  My notability claim for this school is certainly within this region, but I haven't looked outside of it to know whether it has it or not.  I'll look for extra sources to see if I can address this concern. jbailey (talk) 15:23, 4 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Ok, none of your latest is particularly constructive.

 * 1) You cannot blank an article at AfD. Read the AfD template..
 * 2) Copying the entire contents of the article you wrote to the school district article is a violation of WP:WEIGHT. Unless you are prepared to write equally detailed analysis of all the other elementary and middle schools in the district, your edit puts unfair and undue emphasis on one school over all the others.
 * 3) We do not use infobox school in school district articles.
 * I'll be undoing it all. John from Idegon (talk) 01:13, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * As I requested the AfD status, I expected I could take it out. You provided additional details (notability outside of region), and I agreed and completed what you started.  I will likely flesh out the rest of the schools, although it may take me a while to do that.  Please stop assuming that I will or won't do work.  As I noted in my original comment, please use the talk pages to actually discuss this with me.  I'm happy to do the work to get both the important information in here and match the style required. jbailey (talk) 05:10, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Please do yourself a favor and start listening? You've made less than 100 edits to articles here; I've made more than 24,000, and the vast majority of them have been to school articles. I am one of the coordinators of Wikiproject schools. Please believe me when I tell you the level of detail that you have in that article is never going to be appropriate in a school district article. Ok? No one is picking on you or doubting your willingness to work, we (and I am not alone) are trying to tell you that for this venture you have chosen an inappropriate subject. Altho this is the encyclopedia anyone can edit, that does not mean it is the encyclopedia that will include everything you choose to write about. Sorry you have wasted so much time on this. If there is anything I can do to help you understand the exceedingly (and IMHO, unnecessarily so) complicated notability guidelines, please let me know. Thanks. John from Idegon (talk) 05:48, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * It is unclear why you're choosing a harsh tone or an attack on inexperience. I've never claimed to know more than you, so your statements border on being an attack rather than being constructive.  Please reconsider.  Specifically, the only claim to notability that you've objected to was visibility outside of the region causing it to have to be on the district page rather than on its own page.  If you have further guidance, I'm happy to hear it!  Accusing me of failing to listen when I have directly addressed all feedback given to me so far comes across as intentionally pernicious.   Can we go back to assuming Good Will and work together on producing the best article possible? jbailey (talk) 06:53, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * John, did you intentionally remove the school district for Mountain View-Whisman School District infobox as well when reverting the edits to the page? You reverted 7 edits. I understand the first 3, I don't understand the following 4. jbailey (talk) 05:41, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Mountain View-Whisman School District Logo.jpg
 Thanks for uploading File:Mountain View-Whisman School District Logo.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --B-bot (talk) 02:30, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Logo No Shadow Gabriela Mistral Elementary Mountain View California.png
 Thanks for uploading File:Logo No Shadow Gabriela Mistral Elementary Mountain View California.png. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --B-bot (talk) 02:47, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

Nomination of Stephen White (programmer) for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Stephen White (programmer) is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Stephen White (programmer) until a consensus is reached, and anyone, including you, is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. Dawnseeker2000 12:34, 6 January 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:Jbailey


text:
User talk:William M. Connolley/Old Talk 2

User:William M. Connolley/Old_Talk_1

Scientific opinion on climate change
The opinion of the scientific community about global warming is completely within the topic of global warming and should not be seperated just because it's a big article. I think that a view of the general consensus of scientists about global warming is necessary for NPOV. The scientific opinion of global warming doesn't seem like a topic onto itself. LDan 22:33, 24 Sep 2003 (UTC)

 * Why should that be at a seperate page? The title of the section is called Scientific Opinion, so why should there be a page scientific opinion of global warming? This doesn't make sense. Please explain it to me; I am at a loss. LDan 20:32, 25 Sep 2003 (UTC)

 * You could seperate anything from the Global Warming page; there's nothing special about this survey. Wikipedia has no policy against really long pages. See Creationism. LDan 00:21, 26 Sep 2003 (UTC)
 * I made a post to the Village pump about this debate.
 * In those cases, it is policy to break up those pages into a series, see Early Russian East Slavs for an example of something in the series of History of Russia. And anway, there is no such warning on the global warming page.LDan 16:42, 26 Sep 2003 (UTC)

William M. Connolley 09:59, 30 Oct 2003 (UTC)) I was going to comment on this earlier but forgot: all this would be better in the sci op of cl ch page. My POV is that the vast majority of scientists support the IPCC consensus, because their work is summarised there - thats what IPCC is. But Ed insists on the Black Helicopters, sadly.

Oops, just saw this today. Look, don't let Ed bully you too much. He's clearly intent on making Wikipedia push a minority POV. NPOV clearly states that pseudoscience does not have to be treated equally, but rather the mainstream scientific consensus can be presented as such, as long as it is explained why it is the consensus. So you don't have to let Ed's pseudoscience have equal space in articles. If the IPCC clearly represents the scientific consensus then it's OK to say so.

(I'm sorry if this looks like a request for you to do my work for me, but I'm not a scientist and I try not to edit too far out of what I know. I would expect science articles to be written mostly by scientists...) Evercat 22:23, 3 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Thanks for the comment. I feel contrained to add only such stuff as I can reasonably support from references, sadly Ed feels no such limits. But, I'm optimistic enough to hope that (a) there is enough well referenced to support the "truth" (well, in science terms, the two are in some senses identical) and (b) most readers can distinguish POV and not. Perhaps the last is a little hopeful.

 * That's not true, but at least you said it tactfully. My grounding in science is pretty strong, and my math credentials are impeccable. On the other hand, if you guys think 67% means consensus I guess the other 33% are just being uncooperative. --Uncle Ed 19:55, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Voting in Science
Scientific findings must be reproducible, otherwise they're junk. Voting only counts in politics. --Uncle Ed 19:55, 19 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Its a fair point (about voting), but not entirely correct. Perhaps a purists POV. Perhaps even a non-scientists one. A given idea in science is either right or wrong, or partially right, etc. And ultimately "science" usually plumps for the correct theory. So far so good. But what about the stages when an idea is being considered? GW is at this stage. Almost all (climate) scientists have adopted it (this is my assertion). When should one say that there is "a consensus"? that there is "almost unanimity"? Or whatever? Surveys don't exist (the Bray one is old, and a small sample, and perhaps not even the right questions) to answer this. "Everyone" now accepts relativity - there is clearly consensus on this. Would you claim that in the absence of a survey this cannot be shown? How would you attempt to demonstrate it? I could find any number of webpages that conclusively disprove relativity :-).

 * I have come to believe that the sci op on cl ch is on the wrong track. What matters to Science (capital S) is the papers in journals - that is a true measure of the current of science. And we all know what they say.

 * As for "Scientific findings must be reproducible"... err,, what are you talking about?

I'd like to see a sample of what you've been smoking, doc. Maybe it will put transport me to a 50 First Dates alternate reality...

GW and Relativity are distinct cases: only a fruitcake like you would think of comparing apples and oranges! ;-) GW is still in the hypothesis stage; it's "being considered", you said.

Relativity passed through the "being considered" stage long ago. Astronomers and physicists have verified the theory, by matching predictions with observations.

My great-grandfather, Charles Lane Poor, did not accept relativity when it was first presented, on the grounds that its predictions weren't sufficiently verified by the body of observations then current. I don't think a professor of celestial mechanics at Columbia University would have published his doubts unless, at the time, there was good reason to do so. (My father said that later on, of course, Prof. Poor accepted the theory.)

The problem is that in the last 15 years, GW has remained in the hypothesis stage but activists want governments to take drastic immediate action. You, Sheldon & Evercat seem to want the Wikipedia to endorse the GW hypothesis -- despite (a) the principle that Wikipedia shouldn't endorse ANY point of view and (b) the fact that scientists have not yet come to a consensus that GW is true.

With respect and good humor, Uncle Ed 14:48, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * Since when was "I'd like to see a sample of what you've been smoking, doc" an example of respect and good humor? --Trainspotter 14:25, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * LOL, well spotted, old bean! It wasn't nearly as funny as only a fruitcake like you would think of comparing apples and oranges! Don't worry: Dr. C. and I made our peace long ago and all this banter is considered good sport between is (correct me if I'm wrong, William). --Uncle Ed 13:47, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * (William M. Connolley 14:52, 2004 Mar 12 (UTC)) Well, I seem to have taken up asking you for advice now... yes indeed, we're on good terms now, AFAIK. I must archive some of the old stuff.

 * (William M. Connolley 18:24, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)) So, what about the question: how exactly would you demonstrate that relativity is now consensus?

 * Oh, I dunno. Do a survey of penguins? --Uncle Ed 18:26, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Pueblos
Mr. Connelly,

 * (William M. Connolley 11:53, 2004 Mar 12 (UTC)) I've said it before: if you insist on using my title, use the right one. And spell my name right.

I read your notice at the RC patrol, and noted your repeated edits on a subject involving United States relations with Pueblos of the SouthWest. I appreciate your concern, which presents an occasion to more accurately understand the legal record that created todays Pueblos. It is not the kind of thing that can be presented at four a.m. though. I assure you on the Pueblos that is the way the story is told.

Of respect for the Pueblo people who are mostly sleeping at this hour, I encourage you to stay your sense that the term appears dodgey and allow that you may learn something interesting about our country's history if you will wait long enough for me to find an easy source for you to confirm this widely understood fact. It's just that its the middle of the night here, so please wait until I can help you better understand this before you further assert the irrelevance of the history of the term.

Pueblo does not refer to a Native American Communty, any more than human refers to an animal. One is a subset of the other, but not the other way around.

Thank you, Kareem 11:21, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * (William M. Connolley 11:53, 2004 Mar 12 (UTC)) For the moment I'm going to leave the page. You've promised sources: I trust you will uphold that promise.

Hey, doc, look at this cool edit Kareem made. Bet that warms your heart, after hanging around with penguins and ocean currents all day. Eh? :-) --Uncle Ed 13:43, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * (William M. Connolley 14:52, 2004 Mar 12 (UTC)) Hmm, time will tell. I'm taking your advice though. And I've been hanging around with having our IT folk reboot our machines and other tech frustration, not penguins, sadly.

Wind
Hi. I noticed you made substantial changes to the Wind article. Commentary on the Talk:Wind page. Denni 19:08, 2004 Mar 11 (UTC)

Scientific method
WMC, I noticed your dialogue with Banno at Talk:scientific method, and have promptly corrected the lack of date on an earlier comment which he regarded as unfortunate. Perhaps you might find informative the back and forth we had at Talk:philosophy of science. Most of it is, I think, archived. You will likely see that, to a considerable extent, there was not actual engagement of ideas. I am at a loss how to proceed in this context in which writing is hostage to all others; the WP approach has virtues, considerable ones, but also some interstices which lead to unfortunate results, or at least so I perceive. In some sense, I feel that in this matter I have broken my lance and am without access to a forge and anvil.

You appear, from some of your comments, to have similar difficulties with some (all?) of the existing content/tone at scientific method. Perhaps you will find your lance less subject to fatigue if you contribute at scientific method.

I am uncertain whether you would prefer comment here (as above) or on your Talk page. Please feel free to move this as you prefer.

ww 15:18, 30 Mar 2004 (UTC) <--note date!

 * (William M. Connolley 22:27, 2004 Mar 31 (UTC)) Thanks for the comment: talk page in future, but I'll move this in a moment or ten. Anyway, sci method has come on a bit and I'll try to find an example for the "math simp" section. But at least the NPOV header is gone, for now. As to tone (please to all don't elaborate this here: go to scientific method for discussion) I think there is a bit too much philosophy there, and will have another look at it soon enough.

Scientific Skepticism
So fightening for an article which has been in a POV state for a long time is silliness on my part? You need to grow up and understand that sometimes one sole party can be in the wrong. It's like saying the "allies and axies need to stop fightening and grow up". It's silly. - Lord Kenneth 02:32, Apr 1, 2004 (UTC)

 * (William M. Connolley 08:21, 2004 Apr 1 (UTC)) Improving an article is good. "Fighting" for an article is less clear. Breaking the rules of war is bad. Recruit some helpers so you don't go over 3 reverts but your "opponent" does. Note: I voted for a temp ban for both sides.

Reddi
Since you were helping in the struggles with Reddi over luminiferous aether, it would be helpful if you could also take a look at Trouton-Noble experiment, where he is causing similar problems. (Be sure to look at the history, of course, because he keeps reverting.) It's hard to deal with this guy rationally. Thanks! —Steven G. Johnson 21:09, Apr 16, 2004 (UTC)

 * (William M. Connolley 21:23, 2004 Apr 16 (UTC)) Will take a look. There are two quickpolls too...