text:
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999

The United Kingdom competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999, held on 29 May 1999 at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, The Great British Song Contest 1999. Eight songs competed over two rounds, with four songs selected through a radio-broadcast semi-final to advance to the televised final round, held on 7 March 1999, where viewers selected the winning entry through televoting. Girl group Precious received the most votes and were selected to represent the nation in the contest with the song "Say It Again".

Precious performed fifth at the international contest, and at the close of the voting process the UK finished in 12th place, receiving 38 points from 10 countries. At the time this result was the UK's second-worst placing in its competitive history, and was the nation's first finish outside of the top 10 countries in 12 years. "Say It Again" charted in several singles charts in Europe following the contest, and following further limited commercial success as a group Precious subsequently disbanded in 2001.

Background
Prior to the 1999 contest, the United Kingdom had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 41 times since their first entry in 1957 and had competed in all but two editions of the contest. Before this year's event, the UK had won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz, and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. The nation had also finished in second place on fifteen occasions, more than any other country. At the previous year's contest, the UK finished in second place out of twenty-five competing entries with the song "Where Are You?" performed by Imaani amassing a total of 166 points.

Per the rules of the 1999 contest, as the UK featured among the 17 countries with the highest average scores over the past five editions, they were permitted to enter the upcoming contest, and the BBC were subsequently included on the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) list of the 23 countries that had signed up to partake in the contest. The BBC opted to select its chosen entry for the contest through a national final, The Great British Song Contest 1999.

The Great British Song Contest 1999
The BBC organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. The Great British Song Contest was organised for the fourth time, and a similar format to that used for previous contests was implemented: following a public submission process, eight songs were selected to compete in a semi-final broadcast on BBC Radio 2, where listeners would choose four entries via televoting to progress to a televised final on BBC One, where a second round of public voting would determine the winning song that would represent the UK at Eurovision. More than 840 songs were submitted to the competition; a 40-song shortlist of these entries was presented to a panel of music professionals representing the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, which reduced the number of potential entries to 20, and BBC contest organisers then selected the eight semi-finalists from this shortlist on 21 January 1999.

Semi-final
The eight semi-finalists were featured on the Radio 2 shows Wake Up to Wogan and The Ken Bruce Show between 1 and 4 February 1999, with two songs being played each day on both programmes. The semi-final was then held on 5 February, hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce. Once all songs had been played, listeners were invited to vote for their favourites through televoting. More than 21,000 votes were cast during the one-hour voting window, and the result was announced at the end of the programme, with the qualifying songs being announced in alphabetical order by title.

Final
A free promotional CD featuring extracts of the four finalists was released and made available in high street record shops. Ahead of the final each of the four participating acts performed their competing entries on Top of the Pops on BBC One, with one act appearing each week over four editions: Precious appeared on the 12 February 1999 edition; Sister Sway on 19 February 1999; Alberta on 26 February 1999; and Jay on 5 March 1999.

The final was held on 7 March 1999, hosted by Ulrika Jonsson and broadcast on BBC One. Jonsson provided live links between the pre-recorded performances, with short introductions by the songwriters of each song preceding a repeat airing of each act's performance from Top of the Pops. Other segments of the broadcast included clips from the 1998 contest in Birmingham, an interview with last year's Great British Song Contest winner Imaani, footage of the upcoming Eurovision host city Jerusalem and the contest venue, and a repeat during the end credits of ABBA's winning performance of "Waterloo" from the to mark 25 years since the Swedish group won the contest in Brighton. Televoting lines opened following the performance of the final act, with a one-hour voting window provided in which viewers were able to vote; the results were subsequently announced by Jonsson on 12 March 1999 during Top of the Pops on BBC Two, with the top three acts announced in reverse order along with the number of votes received. 3.14 million viewers watched the Great British Song Contest final on BBC One, and the Top of the Pops results show attracted an audience of 3.04 million.

Promotion
Ahead of the contest, Precious made several appearances on UK television programmes to promote their entry to the British public. The group made appearances on ITV's breakfast TV show GMTV, the BBC's children's TV show Fully Booked, took part in a live phone-in interview from Jerusalem on the BBC's Blue Peter, and made a further performance on Top of the Pops, broadcast on 28 May 1999, the day before the contest. A BBC documentary, Precious: A Band for Britain, was broadcast on BBC One on 24 May 1999 which followed the members of the group from their first performances to being selected to represent the UK at Eurovision. "Say It Again" was released as an enhanced CD single on 17 May 1999, which featured additional mixes and a music video of the song.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 took place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on 29 May 1999. According to the Eurovision rules, the 23-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the winning country from the previous year's contest; the 17 countries, other than the previous year's winner, which had obtained the highest average number of points over the last five contests; and any countries which had not participated in the previous year's content. The UK was one of the 17 countries with the highest average scores, and thus were permitted to participate. The running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 17 November 1998; the UK was assigned position five, following and preceding.

Precious took part in technical rehearsals at the venue on 24 and 26 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 28 and 29 May. Ahead of the contest the UK were considered one of the favourites to win among bookmakers, alongside the entries from, and. The contest was broadcast in the UK on television and radio, with Terry Wogan providing commentary for BBC One and Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2. Wogan also made an appearance during the contest's opening segment, when the contest hosts Dafna Dekel, Yigal Ravid and Sigal Shachmon held a brief conversation with him on his experience as the host of the previous year's contest.

At the end of the contest, the UK placed equal 12th, with, receiving a total of 38 points. This marked the UK's second-poorest placing in the contest at that time, and was the UK's first finish outside of the top 10 countries since. The contest was watched by a total of 8.91 million viewers in the UK.

Voting
The same voting system in use since 1975 was again implemented for this event, with each country providing 1–8, 10 and 12 points to the ten highest-ranking songs as determined by a selected jury or the viewing public through televoting, with countries not allowed to vote for themselves. This was the second contest to feature widespread public voting, and the UK opted to implement this method to determine which countries would receive their points, with an 8-member back-up jury assembled in case technical failures rendered the telephone votes invalid. Around 323,000 valid votes were registered in the UK in total during the five-minute voting window, which determined the UK's points. Colin Berry was appointed the spokesperson and announced the results of the UK vote during the broadcast.

After Eurovision
Following the contest, "Say It Again" reached a peak of number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and also featured in Sweden's Sverigetopplistan and Belgium's Ultratop. Precious continued to release new music, having some limited success in the singles chart and releasing a self-titled album in 2000. The group eventually disbanded in 2001: later that year Jenny Frost became a member of British girl group Atomic Kitten; Sophie McDonnell went on to host several television programmes, including the BBC's children's shows 50/50 and The Saturday Show; Louise Rose moved into acting, appearing in several roles in TV and film; Kalli Clark-Sternberg found work as a session singer; and Anya Lahiri returned to modelling and acting and subsequently became a fitness instructor.

Ahead of the a new rule was introduced which provided the UK with a permanent spot in the contest. As one of the highest-paying EBU member broadcasters, which provided the largest contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest, the UK, along with France, Spain and Germany, became one of the "Big Four" countries that would automatically qualify to each year's event, irrespective of the average number of points received in past contests.


text:
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Don't Play That Song Again" written by John Springate and Gerry Shepherd. The song was performed by Nicki French. The British entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2000, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 3, the United Kingdom placed sixteenth out of the 24 participating countries with 28 points.

Background
Prior to the 2000 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-two times. Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. For the 1999 contest, the United Kingdom finished in twelfth place out of twenty-three competing entries with the song "Say It Again" performed by Precious, which was the nation's worst result since 1987.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2000 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry, reverting to the historic A Song for Europe title but retaining the format from the previous selection show The Great British Song Contest (1996–99).

A Song for Europe 2000

A Song for Europe 2000 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Eight acts competed in the competition which consisted of a radio semi-final on 14 January 2000 and a televised final on 20 February 2000. The semi-final was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, while the final was broadcast on BBC One.

Competing entries
On 12 August 1999, BBC together with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) announced an open submission for interested songwriters to submit their songs until October 1999. The 1,000 received submissions were reviewed and a 25-song shortlist was compiled (the song "Stand Up" written by Richard Silver was automatically included in the shortlist after winning the London International Song Contest which was also ran by BASCA) and presented to a professional panel headed by music producer Jonathan King that ultimately selected eight semi-finalists to compete in the national final. The eight artists were announced on 15 December 1999, while the competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show and Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 between 10 and 13 January 2000. Before the national final, the artist Pas De Deux was renamed as India.

Semi-final
Eight acts competed in the radio semi-final which was hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce on 14 January 2000. A public televote, which registered 32,105 votes, selected the top four songs that proceeded to the final.

Final
Four acts competed in the televised final on 20 February 2000 which was held at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and hosted by Katy Hill. A public televote selected the winner, "Don't Play That Song Again" performed by Nicki French. The televote in the final registered 129,526 votes.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 took place at Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13 May 2000. According to Eurovision rules, the participants list included the previous year's winning country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the countries with the highest average scores between the 1995 and 1999 contests, and any countries which had not competed in the 1999 contest. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the contest. On 21 November 1999, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the United Kingdom was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from the Netherlands and before the entry from Estonia. The United Kingdom finished in sixteenth place with 28 points.

In the United Kingdom, the contest was televised on BBC One and BBC Prime with commentary by Terry Wogan as well as broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. The British spokesperson, who announced the results of the British televote during the final, was Colin Berry.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the contest. Around 535,000 valid votes were registered in the UK in total during the five-minute voting window, which determined the nation's points. The United Kingdom awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the contest.

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


text:
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "No Dream Impossible" written by Russ Ballard and Chris Winter. The song was performed by Lindsay Dracass. The British entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2001, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

In the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, the United Kingdom performed in position 16 and placed 15th out of the 23 participating countries with 28 points.

Background
Prior to the 2001 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-three times. Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, having yet to finish within the top ten. For the 2000 contest, the United Kingdom finished in sixteenth place out of twenty-four competing entries with the song "Don't Play That Song Again" performed by Nicki French.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2001 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.

A Song for Europe 2001

A Song for Europe 2001 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Eight acts competed in the competition which consisted of a radio semi-final on 26 January 2001 and a televised final on 11 March 2001. The semi-final was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, while the final was broadcast on BBC One.

Competing entries
In late 2000, BBC together with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and the Music Publishers Association (MPA) announced an open submission for interested songwriters to submit their songs. All composers and lyricists were required to be British citizens or residents in the United Kingdom for three years prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the national final: £47 for BASCA members, £70.5 for non-BASCA members and £11.75 for songwriters under the age of 17 by 1 May 2001. The submission period lasted until 20 October 2000. More than 600 received submissions were reviewed and a 28-song shortlist was compiled and presented to a professional panel consisting of representatives of the BBC, BASCA and MPA that ultimately selected eight semi-finalists to compete in the national final. The eight competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show and Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 between 22 and 25 January 2001.

Semi-final
Eight acts competed in the radio semi-final which was hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce during Wake Up to Wogan on 26 January 2001. A public televote selected the top four songs that proceeded to the final. Although the voting results are unknown, it is rumoured that Tony Moore won the semi-final.

Final
Four acts competed in the televised final on 11 March 2001 which was held at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and hosted by Katy Hill. A public televote selected the winner, "No Dream Impossible" performed by Lindsay D. The televote in the final registered 102,352 votes.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 12 May 2001. The relegation rules introduced for the 1997 contest were again utilised ahead of the 2001 contest, based on each country's average points total in previous contests. The 23 participants were made up of the host country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), and the 12 countries with the highest average scores between the 1996 and 2000 contests competed in the final. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the contest. On 21 November 2000, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the United Kingdom was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Turkey and before the entry from Slovenia. The United Kingdom finished in eighteenth place scoring 28 points.

In the United Kingdom, the contest was televised on BBC One with commentary by Terry Wogan and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. The British spokesperson, who announced the results of the British televote during the final, was Colin Berry.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Estonia in the contest.


text:
Template:No source

may refer to:
 * Di-no source, the template used for speedy deletion tagging of files without source information
 * Citation needed, the inline template used for identifying an unsourced claim within article text

title: Template:No source


text:
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Come Back" written by Martyn Baylay. The song was performed by Jessica Garlick. The British entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2002, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 2, the United Kingdom placed third out of the 24 participating countries with 111 points.

Background
Prior to the 2002 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times. Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, having yet to finish within the top ten. For the 2001 contest, the United Kingdom finished in fifteenth place out of twenty-three competing entries with the song "No Dream Impossible" performed by Lindsay Dracass.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 on 13 August 2001. BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2002 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.

A Song for Europe 2002

A Song for Europe 2002 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. Eight acts competed in the competition which consisted of a radio semi-final on 1 February 2002 and a televised final on 3 March 2002. The semi-final was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, while the final was broadcast on BBC One.

Competing entries
On 31 July 2001, BBC together with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) announced an open submission for interested songwriters to submit their songs. All composers and lyricists were required to be British citizens or residents in the United Kingdom for three years prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the national final: £47 for BASCA members, £70.5 for non-BASCA members and £11.75 for songwriters under the age of 17 by 1 May 2002. The submission period lasted until 19 October 2001. More than 550 received submissions were reviewed by various panels of music publishers, songwriters and record label professionals, following which a 20-song shortlist was compiled by BASCA and presented to the BBC which ultimately selected eight semi-finalists to compete in the national final in December 2001. The eight competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show and Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 between 28 and 31 January 2002.

Semi-final
Eight acts competed in the radio semi-final which was hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce during Wake Up to Wogan on 1 February 2002. A public vote consisting of televoting and online voting, which registered over 20,000 votes, selected the top four songs that proceeded to the final. Before the semi-final, the public was able to cast their votes online starting from 28 January 2002.

On 6 February 2002, the BBC announced that one of the finalists, "Never in a Million Years" performed by Zee, had been disqualified as the song was published on a compilation album in Hungary in June 2001. "Every Step of the Way" performed by Level Best, which came fifth in the semi-final, was selected as the replacement finalist. Another semi-finalist, "Lovestruck" performed by Honey Trap, was also set to be discussed by the BBC regarding a potential disqualification as it was claimed to be almost identical to a song with the same title, performed by Swedish singer Kinnda. The song was eventually not disqualified as it was ultimately eliminated from the semi-final.

Final
Four acts competed in the televised final on 3 March 2002 which was held at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and hosted by Claire Sweeney and Christopher Price. A public televote selected the winner, "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick. The televote in the final registered 107,298 votes.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 took place at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia, on 25 May 2002. The participants list included the previous year's winning country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the sixteen highest-scoring participating countries in the previous year's contest and any non-participating countries in the previous year's contest, up to 24 participants in total. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the contest. On 9 November 2001, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the United Kingdom was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Cyprus and before the entry from Austria. The United Kingdom finished in third place scoring 111 points.

In the United Kingdom, the contest was televised on BBC One with commentary by Terry Wogan, on BBC Choice with commentary by Jenny Eclair, and on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. Christopher Price was initially announced as the commentator on BBC Choice (as part of the programme Liquid Eurovision Party), however he was replaced by Eclair following his death a month before the contest. The British spokesperson, who announced the results of the British televote during the final, was Colin Berry.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Malta in the contest.


text:
Harvey Pekar

Harvey Lawrence Pekar (October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.

Frequently described as the "poet laureate of Cleveland", Pekar "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, the autobiographical comic narrative." Pekar described his work as "autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive, getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't."

Among the awards given to Pekar for his work were the Inkpot Award, the American Book Award, a Harvey Award, and his posthumous induction into the Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Life
Harvey Pekar and his younger brother Allen were born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a Jewish family. Their parents were Saul and Dora Pekar, immigrants from Białystok, Poland. Saul Pekar was a Talmudic scholar who owned a grocery store on Kinsman Avenue, with the family living above the store. Although Pekar said he wasn't close to his parents due to their dissimilar backgrounds and because they worked all the time, he still "marveled at how devoted they were to each other. They had so much love and admiration for one another."

Pekar's first language as a child was Yiddish and he learned to read and appreciate novels in the language.

Pekar said he did not have friends for the first few years of his life. The neighborhood he lived in had once been all white but became mostly black by the 1940s. One of the few white children living there, Pekar was often beaten up. He later believed this instilled in him "a profound sense of inferiority." This experience, however, also taught him to become a "respected street scrapper."

Pekar graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1957. He then briefly served in the United States Navy. After being discharged he attended Case Western Reserve University, where he dropped out after a year. He worked odd jobs before he was hired as file clerk at the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1965. He held this job after becoming famous, refusing all promotions, until he retired in 2001.

Pekar was married three times. He was married from 1960 to 1972 to his first wife, Karen Delaney. According to fellow cartoonist R. Crumb, who knew the couple socially, "She left him.... She took all the money out of their bank account and ran off.... Never heard from her again."

His second wife was Helen Lark Hall, who appeared (as "Lark") in a number of early issues of American Splendor. They married in 1977. According to Crumb again (and as dramatized in the American Splendor film), "...she was trying to have a career in academia and Harvey would embarrass her. They'd go to these academic cocktail parties and Harvey would deliberately antagonize these professors. He thought the whole academia thing was bullshit. So he used to embarrass her and she'd become angry at him until finally she gave up on him." They divorced in 1981.

Pekar's third wife, whom he married in 1984, was writer Joyce Brabner who became a regular character in American Splendor.

In 1990, as described by Publishers Weekly, "Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma and needed chemotherapy. By the time the disease was discovered, the couple was in the midst of buying a house (a tremendous worry to Pekar, who fretted about both the money and corruptions of bourgeois creature comforts)." After Pekar's recovery, he and Brabner collaborated on Our Cancer Year (released in 1994), a graphic novel account of that experience, as well as his harrowing yet successful treatment.

Around this same time, Brabner and Pekar became guardians of a young girl, Danielle Batone, when she was nine years old. Danielle became the couple's foster daughter and eventually became a recurring character in American Splendor as well.

Pekar lived in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, with Brabner and Batone.

Early comics work
Pekar's friendship with Robert Crumb led to the creation of the self-published, autobiographical comic book series American Splendor. Crumb and Pekar became friends through their shared love of jazz records. It took Pekar a decade to do so: "I theorized for maybe ten years about doing comics." Pekar's influences from the literary world included James Joyce, Arthur Miller, George Ade, Henry Roth, and Daniel Fuchs.

Around 1972, Pekar laid out some stories with crude stick figures and showed them to Crumb and another artist, Robert Armstrong. Impressed, they both offered to illustrate. Pekar & Crumb's one-pager "Crazy Ed" was published as the back cover of Crumb's The People's Comics (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972), becoming Pekar's first published work of comics. Including "Crazy Ed" and before the publication of American Splendor #1, Pekar wrote a number of other comic stories that were published in a variety of outlets:
 * "Crazy Ed", with Robert Crumb, in The People's Comics (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972)
 * "A Mexican Tale," with Greg Budgett and Munan, in Flaming Baloney X (Propaganda Ink, c. 1975)
 * "It Pays to Advertise" with Willy Murphy, in Flamed-Out Funnies #1 (Keith Green, Aug. 1975)
 * "Ain' It the Truth" with Willy Murphy, in Flamed-Out Funnies #1 (Keith Green, Aug. 1975)
 * "The Boys on the Corner: A Good Shit Is Best" with Willy Murphy, in Flamed-Out Funnies #1 (Keith Green, Aug. 1975)
 * "The Kinsman Cowboys: How'd Ya Get Inta This Bizness Ennyway?" with Greg Budgett & Gary Dumm, in Bizarre Sex #4 (Kitchen Sink Press, Oct. 1975)
 * "Famous Street Fights: The Champ" with Robert Armstrong in Comix Book #4 (Kitchen Sink Press, Feb. 1976)
 * "Don't Rain on My Parade" with Robert Armstrong in Snarf #6 (Kitchen Sink Press, Feb. 1976)

American Splendor
The first issue of Pekar's self-published American Splendor series appeared in May 1976, with stories illustrated by Crumb, Dumm, Budgett, and Brian Bram. Applying the "brutally frank autobiographical style of Henry Miller," American Splendor documented Pekar's daily life in the aging neighborhoods of his native Cleveland.

Pekar and his work came to greater prominence in 1986 when Doubleday collected much of the material from the first ten issues in American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar, which was positively reviewed by, among others, The New York Times. (1986 was also the year Pekar began appearing on Late Night with David Letterman.)

Pekar self-published 15 issues of American Splendor from 1976 to 1991 (issue #16 was co-published with Tundra Publishing). Dark Horse Comics took on the publishing and distribution of Pekar's comics from 1993 to 2003.

In 2006, Pekar released a four-issue American Splendor miniseries through the DC Comics imprint Vertigo Comics. This was collected in the American Splendor: Another Day paperback. In 2008 Vertigo released a second four-issue "season" of American Splendor that was later collected in the American Splendor: Another Dollar paperback.

Pekar's best-known and longest-running collaborators include Crumb, Dumm, Budgett, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Zabel, Gerry Shamray, Frank Stack, Mark Zingarelli, and Joe Sacco. In the 2000s, he teamed regularly with artists Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld. Other cartoonists who worked with him include Jim Woodring, Chester Brown, Alison Bechdel, Gilbert Hernandez, Eddie Campbell, David Collier, Drew Friedman, Ho Che Anderson, Rick Geary, Ed Piskor, Hunt Emerson, Bob Fingerman, and Alex Wald; as well as such non-traditional illustrators as Pekar's wife, Joyce Brabner, and comics writer Alan Moore.

In addition to his autobiographical work on American Splendor, Pekar wrote a number of biographies. The first of these, American Splendor: Unsung Hero (Dark Horse Comics, 2003), illustrated by David Collier, documented the Vietnam War experience of Robert McNeill, one of Pekar's African-American coworkers at Cleveland's VA hospital.

Stories from the American Splendor comics have been collected in many books and anthologies.

American Splendor film
A film adaptation of American Splendor was released in 2003, directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. It starred Paul Giamatti as Pekar, as well as appearances by Pekar himself (and his wife Joyce, foster daughter Danielle, and co-worker Toby Radloff). American Splendor won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, in addition to the award for Best Adapted Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America. At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film received the FIPRESCI critics award. American Splendor was given the Guardian New Directors Award at the 2003 Edinburgh International Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards. Pekar wrote about the effects of the film in American Splendor: Our Movie Year.

Other comics work
On October 5, 2005, the DC Comics imprint Vertigo published Pekar's autobiographical hardcover The Quitter, with artwork by Dean Haspiel. The book detailed Pekar's early years.

In 2006, Ballantine/Random House published his biography Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story about the life of Michael Malice, founding editor of Overheard in New York. In June 2007, Pekar collaborated with student Heather Roberson and artist Ed Piskor on the book Macedonia, which centers on Roberson's studies in that country. In January 2008 the biographical Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History was published by Hill & Wang. In March 2009, he published The Beats: A Graphic History, a history of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, illustrated by Ed Piskor. In May 2009 he published Studs Terkel's Working: A Graphic Adaptation.

In 2010, Pekar started the webcomic The Pekar Project with the online magazine Smith. In 2011, Abrams Comicarts published Yiddishkeit, co-edited by Pekar with Paul Buhle and Hershl Hartman. The book depicts aspects of Yiddish language and culture. Artists in this anthology include many of Pekar's previous collaborators.

Critical writing
Pekar was an assiduous record collector as well as a freelance book, comic, and jazz critic, writing mainly about significant figures from jazz's golden age but also championing out-of-mainstream artists such as Scott Fields, Fred Frith and Joe Maneri. He published his first criticism in The Jazz Review in 1959. Pekar wrote hundreds of articles for DownBeat, JazzTimes, The Village Voice, and The Austin Chronicle; as well as liner notes for Verve Records and other labels.

Pekar occasionally wrote criticism about the work of other comics creators. For instance, he famously saw Art Spiegelman's use of animals in Maus as potentially reinforcing stereotypes. Pekar was also disdainful of Spiegelman's overwhelmingly negative portrayal of his father in Maus, calling him disingenuous and hypocritical for such a portrayal in a book that presents itself as objective. Pekar furthermore wrote that Maus ' portrayal of Poles is unbalanced — that, while some Poles are seen as helping Jews, they are often shown doing so for self-serving reasons. From 1986 to 1990, Pekar had a regular column in the comics anthology Weirdo called "Harvey Sez," in which he wrote about the contemporary comics scene.

He reviewed literary fiction in the Review of Contemporary Fiction. Pekar won awards for his essays broadcast on public radio.

Theater, music and media appearances
Pekar's comic book success led to a guest appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on October 15, 1986. Pekar was invited back repeatedly and made five more appearances in quick succession. These appearances became notable for the increasing hostility and verbal altercations between Pekar and Letterman, particularly on the subject of General Electric's ownership of NBC. The most heated of these was in the August 31, 1988, episode of Late Night, in which Pekar accused Letterman of appearing to be a shill for General Electric and Letterman promised never to invite Pekar back on the show. Despite the ban, more than four years later Pekar appeared on Late Night again — on April 20, 1993, and he made a final appearance on Late Show with David Letterman on May 16, 1994. After Pekar's death, Letterman reflected in 2017 that...

"He was great.... He would just go after stuff. He ... would go after me, he would go after the network, he would go after everything, in a very committed way. It wasn't a gag, it wasn't an act, he would really go to work on you.... [Pekar] was anti-establishment in a way that you don't see guys like that anymore. And that used to really upset me, because I just thought 'Come on Harvey, don't do this to us, just play the game, blah blah blah blah.'... I'm a completely different person now. And I would be so much more better equipped to view the immediate surroundings of that show now, than I was [then].... Now, jeez, I wish I could have had Harvey on every night."

Pekar appeared in Alan Zweig's 2000 documentary film about record collecting, Vinyl. In August 2007, Pekar was featured on the Cleveland episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations with host Anthony Bourdain.

While there had been earlier American Splendor theater adaptations, in 2009, Pekar made his theatrical debut with Leave Me Alone!, a jazz opera for which he wrote the libretto. Leave Me Alone! featured music by Dan Plonsey and was co-produced by Real Time Opera and Oberlin College, premiering at Finney Chapel on January 31, 2009.

In 2009, Pekar was featured in The Cartoonist, a documentary film on the life and work of Jeff Smith, creator of Bone.

Death and work released posthumously
Shortly before 1 a.m. on July 12, 2010, Pekar's wife found Pekar dead in their Cleveland Heights, Ohio, home. No immediate cause was determined. In October the Cuyahoga County coroner's office ruled it was an accidental overdose of antidepressants fluoxetine and bupropion. Pekar had been diagnosed with cancer for the third time and was about to undergo treatment.

Pekar was interred at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. His headstone features one of his quotations as an epitaph: "Life is about women, gigs, an' bein' creative."

Some Pekar works were to be released posthumously, including two collaborations with Joyce Brabner, The Big Book of Marriage and Harvey and Joyce Plumb the Depths of Depression, as well as a collection of the webcomics that ran as a part of The Pekar Project. As of 2019, however, none of those projects have yet seen print. Working with illustrator Summer McClinton, Pekar, politically a leftist, also finished a book on American Marxist Louis Proyect tentatively called The Unrepentant Marxist, after Proyect's blog. In the works since 2008, the book was to be published by Random House. After a conflict between Proyect and Joyce Brabner, Brabner announced that she would hold the book back indefinitely.

In December 2010, the last story Pekar wrote, "Harvey Pekar Meets the Thing", in which Pekar has a conversation with Ben Grimm, was published in the Marvel Comics anthology Strange Tales II; the story was illustrated by Ty Templeton.

One of his final graphic memoirs was "Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me" (2013) in which he explains how he lost his faith in the Jewish state. It was illustrated by JT Waldman and the epilogue was penned by his widow, Joyce Brabner.

Legacy
Frequently described as the "poet laureate of Cleveland," Pekar "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, the autobiographical comic narrative."

According to Los Angeles Times columnist David Ulin, American Splendor "remains one of the most compelling and transformative series in the history of comics." In addition, Pekar was the first author to publicly distribute "memoir comic books." While it is common today for people to publicly write about their lives on blogs, social media platforms, and in graphic novels, "In the mid-seventies, Harvey Pekar was doing all this before it was ubiquitous and commercialized."

In October 2012 a statue of Pekar was installed at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library, a place he visited almost daily.

On July 25, 2015, the city of Cleveland Heights, Ohio dedicated the corner of Northwest Coventry Road and Euclid Heights Boulevard to the life and legacy of Harvey Pekar. This area is now known as Harvey Pekar Park.

Awards

 * 1986: Inkpot Award
 * 1987: American Book Award for American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
 * 1995: Harvey Award Best Graphic Album of Original Work (for Our Cancer Year)
 * 2000: PRNDI (Public Radio News Directors Incorporated) Commentary/Essay first prize for the essay, "What's in a Name"
 * 2001: RTNDA (Radio-Television News Directors Association) Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Writing for the essay, "Father's Day"
 * 2011: Eisner Award Hall of Fame

Comics format

 * American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar (Doubleday, 1986)
 * More American Splendor (Doubleday, 1987) ISBN 0-385-24073-2
 * The New American Splendor Anthology (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1991) ISBN 0-941423-64-6
 * Our Cancer Year, with Joyce Brabner and Frank Stack (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994) ISBN 1-56858-011-8
 * American Splendor Presents: Bob & Harv's Comics, with R. Crumb (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1996) ISBN 1-56858-101-7
 * American Splendor: Unsung Hero, with David Collier (Dark Horse Comics, 2003) ISBN 1-59307-040-3
 * American Splendor: Our Movie Year (Ballantine Books, 2004) ISBN 0-345-47937-8
 * Best of American Splendor (Ballantine Books, 2005) ISBN 0-345-47938-6 Selections from his later, Dark Horse period.
 * The Quitter, with Dean Haspiel (DC/Vertigo, 2005) ISBN 1-4012-0399-X
 * American Splendor: Ego & Hubris - The Michael Malice Story, with Gary Dumm (Ballantine Books, 2006) ISBN 0-345-47939-4
 * Macedonia, with Heather Roberson and Ed Piskor (Ballantine Books, 2006) ISBN 0-345-49899-2
 * American Splendor: Another Day (DC/Vertigo, 2007) ISBN 978-1-4012-1235-3
 * Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History, edited by Paul Buhle, with art (mostly) by Gary Dumm (Hill & Wang, 2008) ISBN 978-0-8090-9539-1
 * American Splendor: Another Dollar (DC/Vertigo, 2009) ISBN 978-1-4012-2173-7
 * The Beats: A Graphic History, mostly by Pekar with contributions by other writers (including Joyce Brabner). Art mostly by Ed Piskor, with additional art by Jay Kinney, Nick Thorkelson, Summer McClinton, Peter Kuper, Mary Fleener, Gary Dumm, Lance Tooks, Jeffrey Lewis, and others. Edited by Paul Buhle (Hill & Wang, 2009) ISBN 978-0-285-63858-7
 * Studs Terkel's Working: A Graphic Adaptation, edited by Paul Buhle . With art by Sharon Rudahl, Terry LaBan, Gary Dumm, Peter Gullerud, Pablo G. Callejo, et al. (The New Press, 2009) ISBN 978-1-59558-321-5

Published posthumously

 * Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land, co-edited with Paul Buhle. With art by Barry Deutsch, Peter Kuper, Spain Rodriguez, Sharon Rudahl, et al. (Harry N. Abrams, 2011) ISBN 978-0-8109-9749-3
 * Huntington, West Virginia: "On the Fly", illustrated by Summer McClinton (Villard, 2011) ISBN 978-0-345-49941-7
 * Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me, illustrated by JT Waldman. Epilogue by Joyce Brabner. (Hill & Wang, 2012) ISBN 978-0-8090-9482-0
 * Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, illustrated by Joseph Remnant. Introduction by Alan Moore. Edited by Jeff Newelt (Zip Comics and Top Shelf Productions, 2012) ISBN 978-1-60309-091-9

Prose

 * Circus Parade by Jim Tully. Foreword by Harvey Pekar. Introduction by Paul J. Bauer and Mark Dawidziak. (Kent State Univ. Press, 2009) 978-1-60635-001-0

title: Harvey Pekar


text:
Talk:Muhammad al-Idrisi

Untitled
Probably worth including under "in popular culture", he has a landform on Pluto named after him, referenced here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geological_features_on_Pluto#Montes — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.114.68.72 (talk) 18:25, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

I removed the reference to the Tabula Idrisiana on the grounds that I can find no references at all to this name outside of Wikipedia and its mirrors. So far as I can tell, it's always called Tabula Rogeriana in English --User:Paul Drye

Never was moroccan, when the Almoravid empire, the capital was Aoudagost (Mauritania), and your family was originated from Malaga (Spain). true, he was spanish or mauritan, Ceuta never belongs Morocco (founded at 1956). (Sustrai (talk) 00:03, 9 October 2011 (UTC))

usefull information

 * google "&as_q=Sarif+Idrisi"

 * shows many alternative names (transliteration?)
 * follow links and
 * the map (again)
 * from online (Spanish translation)
 * follow and

 * in French
 * in Kroatioan

 * google "&as_q=Idrisi"

references in Wikipedia

 * Links toMuhammad al-Idrisi see also redirects Links to Idrisi, Links to Al Idrisi, Links to Al-Idrisi, Links to Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi
 * Links to IDRISI (IDRISI project at Clark University, software Idrisi)
 * google "&as_sitesearch=en.wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi"
 * Links to de:Al-Idrisi see also redirects ...
 * Links to de:IDRISI (project IDRISI at Clark University, Idrisi (software))
 * google "&as_sitesearch=de.wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi"
 * Links to ms:Abu Abdallah Muhammad Al-Idrisi see also redirects
 * Links to pl:Al-Idrisi see also redirects

 * google "&as_sitesearch=fr.wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi"
 * google "&as_sitesearch=es.wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi"
 * google "&as_sitesearch=wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi" google all above + others

About alternative names used for Idrisi

 * Dear friends, I just wundered when looking at Timisoara about the first mention of that town without a link to Idrisi (now it is inserted) and was quite surpriesed as well, that the forms at Timisoara (Sarif al Idrisi) and Idrisi (Idrisi - and also all redirects and forms in other languages) where different.

 * It is the same problem over and over again, also between western languages only. It would be helpfull not to have such great differences between the names in different languages. There allways will be orographical or spelling differences as âl-İdrisi for tt.wikipedia.org and that is OK.
 * Idrisi should not be used alone because it is an disambiguation for
 * for Al-Idrisi
 * for the IDRISI project at Clark University
 * for the Idrisi (software)

 * Because the exposed place in History of geography and the future articles in other languages similar alternative forms should be found and mentioned in the main article. Please see also en: Village pump (miscellaneous)#indications about bibliographic item(s) (see Catalog). Regards Gangleri 22:03, 2004 Oct 13 (UTC)

Poland
when writing about Poland he has conflated it with the land that is the modern-day Czech Republic, because he wrote about "a country surrounded by mountains" — this seems to be a very confused statement. What does it mean? He applied the term "Poland" to an area different from the 1945 polish borders? come on... dab 09:48, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * You need of course to pay attention when he wrote his great work. He could neither travel everywhere nor forsee our times. Regards Gangleri 16:00, 2004 Oct 14 (UTC)

 * that's exactly my meaning. He didn't 'conflate' anything, he wrote about his times, not about modern Europe. I really don't get the point of this passage. dab 22:26, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * hey there. i just read this now. The point is that Poland in 12th century was certainly not 'surrounded by mountains'.cheers

-- 87.205.37.223 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 23:04, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

See also ...

 * See also ...
 * Arabic name Gangleri 23:49, 2004 Oct 17 (UTC)
 * de:Benutzer Diskussion:Martin-vogel (in German) Gangleri 15:55, 2004 Oct 14 (UTC)

page move
I moved it to Muhammad al-Idrisi for consistency with Ahmad ibn Fadlan (first name plus characteristic (geographical) name, not just (al-)Idrisi, but not full name either). I adjusted all redirects (no multiple redirects should be left). dab 22:29, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)

consistent name usage

 * Halló, google "&as_sitesearch=en.wikipedia.org&as_q=Idrisi" shows different examples of name usage inside en.wikipedia. How to write the short form of the name: al-Idrisi or Al-Idrisi? If agreement for the short form will be achieved: How to write it at the beginning of a sentence (starting with a majuscle or not)? Gangleri 23:41, 2004 Oct 17 (UTC)
 * Way late, but for anyone sle confused: Treat it like the first character of any sentence. That means a Majuscle even though the word "that" is normally written in minuscle. --Enyavar (talk) 14:50, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Map image may not be the best choice
I've uploaded two image files with what look like better copies of the Idrisi map than the one given in the article; both are thumbnailed here for comparison. I suggest the use of either one of these as they include more detail. The one thing about the existing article image is that the map copy is south-oriented just like al-Idrissi's original, but the north-oriented ones are more helpful for comparison with the actual shape in modern maps. The first one is given in the link to "the map" in the section "usefull information " on this talk page. The link's address is http://www.historisches-franken.de/andechs_geheimnis/technik_weltkarte431.htm. The second one is from a google search. Note that both these copies are north-oriented. --Scriber 02:48, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

 * these are not original, they appear to be european copies. Pure inuyasha 01:21, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
 * that is correct, all these world maps are later-age reconstructions or copies. The second map has since been deleted from commons, apparently copyright issue. --Enyavar (talk) 14:50, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Seven continents?

 * "al-Idrisi constructed a world globe map of 400 Kg pure silver and precisely recorded on it the seven continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains."

How can he have recorded all seven continents in the early 12th century? Honestly.
 * Done, Has long since been removed. --Enyavar (talk) 14:50, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Muslim vs. Morroco
Acording to all this diferent, no?... because if Almoravid was a Empre, and he born in Ceuta, Spain... when I talk about Morocco?Bokpasa 19:18, 7 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I did not understand what you mean, but the Almoravids are the name of a ruling dynasty not a country. Claiming Al-idrisi to Spain because he is born in a city controlled today by Spain is completely wrong.--A Jalil 13:29, 10 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Is not city controlled today by Spain, its a Spanisch city. Acording to Larousse, Almoravids was a Empire, dynasty and a sect. The begening of Almoravids was Senegal and Mauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Muhammad_al-Idrisi&action=edit&section=10#

Bokpasa 08:53, 3 December 2007 (UTC)retania, not Morocco.
 * Al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta when that city was still part of Morocco, ruled by the Almoravid dynasty. Spain as a country did not exist at that time. S711 (talk) 21:33, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

 * Morocco was part of Almoravid Empire, as Algeria and Portugal. Almoravid was country and islamic sect and a dynasty. Its different! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.30.61.7 (talk) 10:40, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Let us stick to what is common usage under historians. They say that the Morocco was ruled by the Almoravid dynasty and that Ceuta was a part of Morocco at that time (UNESCO, General History of Africa II, Africa from the seventh to the eleventh century, p. 336-435, The Almoravids). If you disagree please cite a source to back it up.S711 (talk) 10:20, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Copyright violation
The section "Chief work and achievement" needs a more thorough re-writing as it was lifted by an editor (now banned for copyright violation) from http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Sicily1.pdf. This is copyright 2003, 2004 of FSTC Limited (Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation). - Fayenatic (talk) 09:01, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I have now removed the section that was in violation of copyright. The above link may provide a useful source for an editor who wishes to expand the article, but any text from it must be rewritten, not copied. - Fayenatic (talk) 06:53, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Legacy section
I tagged the "Legacy" section as unreferenced. It was part of this edit, the rest of which was removed for copyright violation. (I got involved because I had previously spent an hour wikifying one of the same contributor's new articles, before that got deleted for copyvio.) This still includes the WP:PEACOCK sentence that "He was so remarkable that he was nicknamed the strobe of the Arabs" -- and I am not sure what the latter means anyway. User:Attilios removed the tag on 5 Sept but as he has not responded to a longer note on his talk page, I have reinstated the tag. - Fayenatic (talk) 19:54, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Same place-name
Ceuta and Sabtah aren't the same town? From the Latin "Septem"(Seven) or "Septem Frates" (7 Brothers)

Tabular Rogeriana
The illustration is upside down. Can someone smarter than me turn it over? Thanks. 155.213.224.59 (talk) 17:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Anyone with the same problem, please check out File:TabulaRogeriana upside-down.jpg (north up = reversed) and File:Tabula Rogeriana 1929 copy by Konrad Miller.jpg (south up = "original"). Enjoy. --Enyavar (talk) 14:50, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:38, 14 September 2022 (UTC)
 * TabulaRogeriana upside-down.jpg

Orphaned references in Muhammad al-Idrisi
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Muhammad al-Idrisi's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "harley": From Tabula Rogeriana: Harley & Woodward, 1992, pp. 156–161. From Age of Discovery: Harley & Woodward, 1992, pp. 156–61.

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 00:03, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Egyptology
The al-Idrisi who wrote an account of the Pyramids (discussed in El-Daly's book) is a different figure (Abu Jacfar Muhammad Ibn cAbd Al-cAziz al-Idrisi, d. 1251). This section should be removed from this page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.29.69.171 (talk) 23:10, 21 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Done. Sorry about that. --Kansas Bear (talk) 00:24, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Muhammad al-Idrisi


text:
Gàidhealtachd

The Gàidhealtachd (English: Gaeldom ) usually refers to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and especially the Scottish Gaelic-speaking culture of the area. The similar Irish language word Gaeltacht refers, however, solely to Irish-speaking areas.

The term is also used to apply to areas of Nova Scotia and Glengarry County, Ontario where the distinctive Canadian dialects of Scottish Gaelic were or are still spoken.

"The Gàidhealtachd" is not interchangeable with "Scottish Highlands" as it refers to the language and not to the geography. Also, many parts of the Highlands no longer have substantial Gaelic-speaking populations, and some parts of what is now thought of as the Highlands have long been Scots-speaking or English-speaking areas such as Cromarty, Grantown-on-Spey, etc. Conversely, several Gaelic-speaking communities lie outwith the Highland, Argyll and Bute and Outer Hebrides council areas, for example the Isle of Arran and parts of Perth and Kinross, not to mention Nova Scotia, North Carolina, and other areas to which there was significant migration. Gàidhealtachd also increasingly refers to any region where Scottish Gaelic is spoken as a first language by much of the population.. However, Gàidhealtachd is sometimes used to refer to the Scottish Highlands, by organisations such as Highlands and Islands Enterprise (Iomairt na Gàidhealtachd 's nan Eilean) and the Highland Council (Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd).

Galldachd ('Gall-dom', Gall referring to a non-Gael) is often used for the Lowlands, although it is also notable that the Hebrides are known as Innse Gall due to the historical presence of Norsemen.

History
Until a few centuries ago, the Gàidhealtachd would have included much of modern-day Scotland north of the Firth of Forth and Galloway (up until the 18th century, and maybe later), excepting the Northern Isles, as evidenced by the prevalence of Gaelic-derived place names throughout most of Scotland and contemporary accounts. These include Dundee from the Gaelic Dùn Deagh, Inverness from Inbhir Nis, Argyll from Earra-Ghàidheal, Galloway from Gall-Ghaidhealaibh, and possibly Stirling from Sruighlea (though the etymology is uncertain). Gaelic speakers from what would be considered traditionally English-speaking/non-Gaelic regions today included George Buchanan (from Stirlingshire), Robert the Bruce (from Galloway), and Margaret McMurray (from Ayrshire).

For historical reasons, including the influence of a Scots-speaking court in Edinburgh and the plantation of merchant burghs in much of the south and east, the Gàidhealtachd has been reduced massively to the present region of the Outer Hebrides, the Northwest Highlands, Skye and Loch Alsh, and Argyll and Bute, with small Gaelic populations existing in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries also contributed to the decline of the language, as they reduced the population of the Scottish Highlands, which were predominantly Gaelic-speaking at the time.

Canadian Gàidhealtachd
In Canada, at one time Scottish Gaelic was the third most spoken language after English and French; in 1901, there were 50,000 speakers in Nova Scotia alone.

It has survived as a minority language among communities descended from Scottish immigrants in parts of Nova Scotia (especially Cape Breton Island), Glengarry County in present-day Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.) The Codroy Valley on the island of Newfoundland had a Gaelic-speaking minority until the 1960s.

title: Gàidhealtachd


text:
Chalmers

Chalmers may refer to:

 * People
 * Chalmers (surname), people with the surname Chalmers
 * Chalmers Tschappat, American football player
 * David Chalmers, Australian philosopher

 * Places
 * Chalmers, Indiana, a US town
 * Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand
 * Port Chalmers (New Zealand electorate), a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate
 * Chalmers Institute, a historic building in Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA.

 * Organizations
 * Allis-Chalmers, a manufacturing company
 * Chalmers Automobile, a former U.S. car company
 * Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

title: Chalmers


text:
Talk:Gàidhealtachd

Map
Might there be a map of the Gaidhealtachd? -- Anon

Loanword
Gaeltacht as a loanword of scottish gaelic is somewhat dubious due to both being dialects of the same language and also the name in itself can be formed from roots in both irish and scots gaelic

 * I've rephrased the reference to Gaeltacht and removed the reference to it being a loanword. I don't know whether it is or isn't, but if you add it back, please leave some sort of citation or reference here.  ☸ Moilleadóir 06:55, 14 February 2007 (UTC) ☏

 * Does anyone know if there is a linguistic correspondence between 'Gaeltacht' and 'Gaidhealtachd' that matches other correspondences between the languages/dialects? I've not taken phonetics yet, so..

 * Not sure exactly what you mean (& you really should sign your posts), but as whoever-it-was said above they are both reasonable formations from the respective words Gael (Irish, older spelling Gaedheal) and Gaidheal (Scottish Gaelic). Both words go back to Old Irish Goídel, itself a loan from Old Welsh Guoidel.

 * Ó Dónaill (Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla 1977) gives these meanings:

 * Gael, 1. Irishman, Irishwoman. 2. (Scottish) highlander.
 * Gaeltacht, 1. Lit: Irishry; Irish(-speaking) people. 2. Irish-speaking area.   3. Gaelic-speaking area of Scotland.

 * Dinneen (Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla 1927):

 * Gaedheal, an Irishman, a Highlander; a Catholic; cf. Sasanach, a Protestant, and Albanach, a Presbyterian...[!]
 * Gaedhealtacht, the state of being Irish or Scotch; Gaeldom, Irishry, the native race of Ireland; Irish-speaking district or districts; the Gaeltacht [i.e. the then new officially defined area?]; bean de'n Gh., a woman of the Irishry (Art MacC.*); G. Alban, the Highlands of Scotland.
 * * Art McC.—Art McCooey, an Armagh poet of the 18th century.

 * I don't have the equivalent Gaelic dictionaries to make a comparison, but I imagine there is a parallel development there. The reference to Art McCooey in Dinneen shows that the word Gaedhealtacht is likely to have existed in Irish for some time, though with a slightly different meaning than the geographical/linguistic one, which probably wouldn't have been a useful one in Ireland prior to the famine since Irish was widely spoken.

 * So, perhaps the specific meaning of a defined area of Gaelic/Irish speakers did come from Gaelic, but it's quite hard to tell.

 * ☸ Moilleadóir 06:16, 11 September 2007 (UTC) ☏

Pictish
Note that much of the east of Scotland was a Pictish speaking area and, although some parts switched from Pictish to Gaelic, others switched from Pictish to Scots, so it's a little exaggerated to claim that all of Scotland was Gaelic speaking at any time. -- Derek Ross 22:01, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)

 * It's not so much that, more that Pictish was absorbed into Gaelic. Northumberland was Gaelic-speaking at one time, actually. --Gabriel Beecham/Kwekubo 19:29, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * That's nonsense, all Picts went from Pictish to either Gaelic or Norse, unless you suppose Pictish survived until the thirteenth century, when we have the first evidence for English north of the Forth. - Calgacus 22:11, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

Caithness
The inclusion of Caithness as a traditionally lowland scots speaking area is as misleading as it is common. The northernmost part of Caithness went from Norse to Lallans but Gaelic was also widely spoken in the region as well. An Siarach
 * Removed Caithness; the BBC says the remnants of an indigenous Gaelic population were still speaking the [Gaelic] language into the twentieth century. --Bangalamania (talk) 14:07, 3 October 2020 (UTC)

Numbers
How about adding a rough estimate of how many people are in the Gàidhealtachd, or how many speak Scottish Gaelic. It may be depressing but it's essential. Quis separabit? 21:32, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

Maps and numbers
I may try to SVG-ise the map, but a nagging doubt: it shows the number of people able to speak Gaelic, to some level of competence, not those who do speak it. Plenty will learn the language, which is encouraging, but with no thought that they will use it in everyday life. By the same reckoning, the whole of the Irish Republic could be marked as "Gaeltacht" as everyone learns Irish at school (and almost everyone abandons it as soon as they can).

In the Hebrides though and elsewhere in the west Gaelic is indeed a vibrant mother tongue, used at home and in everyday life. Those are the relevant figures - are they available? Hogweard (talk) 18:23, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:Gàidhealtachd


text:
User talk:78jaylee

Welcome
Hello, welcome to Wikipedia.

You might find these links helpful in creating new pages or helping with the above tasks: How to edit a page, How to write a great article, Naming conventions, Manual of Style. You should read our policies at some point too.

If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

 * If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username.

 * You can sign your name using three tildes, like this: . If you use four, you can add a datestamp too.

 * If you ever think a page or image should be deleted, please list it at the votes for deletion page. There is also a votes for undeletion page if you want to retrieve something that you think should not have been deleted.

Again, welcome! - UtherSRG 19:02, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:78jaylee


text:
User talk:Patrick-br

Welcome
Hello, welcome to Wikipedia.

You might find these links helpful in creating new pages or helping with the above tasks: How to edit a page, How to write a great article, Naming conventions, Manual of Style. You should read our policies at some point too.

If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

 * If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username.

 * You can sign your name using three tildes, like this: . If you use four, you can add a datestamp too.

 * If you ever think a page or image should be deleted, please list it at the votes for deletion page. There is also a votes for undeletion page if you want to retrieve something that you think should not have been deleted.

Again, welcome! - UtherSRG 19:02, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Usercategorization
You were listed on the Wikipedians/Brazil page as living in or being associated with Brazil. As part of the User categorisation project, these lists are being replaced with user categories. If you would like to add yourself to the category that is replacing the page, please visit Category:Wikipedians in Brazil for instructions. Rmky87 06:22, 17 September 2005 (UTC)

Congratulations
Thanks! I like to edit those articles. Regards, Carioca 13:10, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Galicia
Recently WikiProject Galicia has been created. Perhaps you are interested in joining us to help improving Galicia articles at English Wikipedia. --Stoni(talk) 14:18, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

Simple Wikipedia
Desculpe-me, como estou contribuindo naquela Wikipedia e vi que tem muito trabalho a ser feito, só quiz fazer uma divulgação. Paulistanum 22:02, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Só vou consertar um erro que tinha cometido. Paulistanum 23:41, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Image:Carlos_Slim.jpg
Thanks for uploading Image:Carlos_Slim.jpg. I notice the 'image' page specifies that the image is being used under fair use, but its use in Wikipedia articles fails our first fair use criterion in that it illustrates a subject for which a freely licensed image could reasonably be found or created that provides substantially the same information. If you believe this image is not replaceable, please:

 * 1) Go to the image description page and edit it to add , without deleting the original Replaceable fair use template.
 * 2) On the image discussion page, write the reason why this image is not replaceable at all.

Alternatively, you can also choose to replace the fair use image by finding a freely licensed image of its subject, requesting that the copyright holder release this (or a similar) image under a free license, or by taking a picture of it yourself.

If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified how these images fully satisfy our fair use criteria. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on [ this link]. Note that any fair use images which are replaceable by free-licensed alternatives will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Abu badali (talk) 23:27, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Nomination of Smart Package Manager for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Smart Package Manager 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/Smart Package Manager 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 good 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 template from the top of the article. SL93 (talk) 20:58, 16 September 2011 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
Hi, You appear to be eligible to vote in the current Arbitration Committee election. The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to enact binding solutions for disputes between editors, primarily related to serious behavioural issues that the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the ability to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail. If you wish to participate, you are welcome to review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. For the Election committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:12, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Patrick-br


text:
User talk:Podom

Welcome
Hello, welcome to Wikipedia.

You might find these links helpful in creating new pages or helping with the above tasks: How to edit a page, How to write a great article, Naming conventions, Manual of Style. You should read our policies at some point too.

If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

 * If you made any edits before you got an account, you might be interested in assigning those to your username.

 * You can sign your name using three tildes, like this: . If you use four, you can add a datestamp too.

 * If you ever think a page or image should be deleted, please list it at the votes for deletion page. There is also a votes for undeletion page if you want to retrieve something that you think should not have been deleted.

Again, welcome! - UtherSRG 19:04, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Podom


text:
Talk:Spontaneous symmetry breaking

Definition
The opening definition is circular to the point of being silly.

Quantum Vacuum Collapse
QVC redirects to this page. A more explicit explanation of why would be nice.

vacuum states
This article uses the term vacuum state that is inconsistent with the definition at Vacuum state: a vacuum state is supposed to not contain any particles. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to speak of the energy minimum or the ground state? --141.154.205.61 21:47, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Although I also do think that it is not a convenient wording for this subject, the vacuum state is not defined as not containing physical particle but defined as being the state with the lowest possible energy. Syrinesyrinesyrine (talk) 20:19, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

langrangians
A Lagrangian isn't even necessary for the process of spontaneous symmetry breaking. Neither is a vacuum. What's necessary is simply a solution to symmetric dynamical equations which isn't invariant under the same symmetries. Phys 19:04, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

 * I have, as may be obvious, only an amateur interest in physics, so I'm sorry for my somewhat loose explanation. I put in the Lagrangian bit so that I could provide a more concrete example of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and also because this is how I learned about it. I have reworded the article ("one way of seeing" instead of "is accomplished by") in order to be more accurate. If you have further suggestions for restating it, I definitely welcome them. Thanks for the input. Jcobb 05:12, Feb 21, 2004 (UTC)

Is it supposed to be the lagrangian or the lagrangian density? The lagrangian is generally not lorentz invariant. JeffBobFrank 23:43, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Technically you are correct that it is more accurately described as the Lagrangian density. However, as can be seen in the Lagrangian article itself, many different entities end up being called just the plain Lagrangian (for another example the n-form L dx^0 wedge dx^1 wedge ... wedge dx^n is also commonly described as the Lagrangian even though it is something slightly different). In the context of this article, I don't think it is necessary to make the distinction between Lagrangian and Lagrangian density. Jcobb 07:53, Mar 21, 2004 (UTC)

What's wrong with my example on the Earth's gravitational field? It's not a scalar field, but it's still an example, one everyone is familiar with. Phys 00:20, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * What's the example with Earth's field? Wilgamesh 21:14, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Well, you know, you've been around WP long enough to catch on to the requirements of the articles. It may have had a point to make, but it certainly didn't make it clearly. Please don't add chat to articles when it really belongs to the talk page. Charles Matthews 08:33, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Hi! I added another example I think is worthwhile because it's easily imaginable/testable, and yet still non-intuitive (like the ruler example). I may have made a mistake, but I think it's right, I remember seeing it in an undergraduate mechanics class with the pot cover, drill and marble, and it was fantastic! Jesse 12:58 2 Apr 2004 (Paris Time?)

the article says: In this state the Lagrangian has a U(1) symmetry. However, once it falls into a specific stable vacuum state (corresponding to a choice of θ) this symmetry will be lost or spontaneously broken.

but is this correct ? the lagrangian is U(1) symmetric independent of the state what is probably meant is the symmetry of the state itself and not of the lagrangian

so I would suggest: In this state the system has a U(1) symmetry. However, once it falls into a specific vacuum state (corresponding to a choice of θ) this symmetry will be lost or spontaneously broken.

Mexican hat potential
Shouldn't there be a little more explanation of how/why it's called that? At very least, a link to the Mexican hat wavelet? - JustinWick 16:46, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

It sounds clear enough to me. Penrose's picture looks more like a hat though. David R. Ingham 01:14, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, it was not clear enough to me. Sure, it was clear why it was called "Mexican hat" (it does _sort_ of look like a Mexican hat), but what is not clear is the axes. Please label the axes, and/or which angle is Phi, which Theta, what coordinates _are_ you using, anyway? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.119.233.229 (talk) 19:04, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

ferromagnetic materials
It is not mentioned that the lowest energy configuration must also minimize the magnetic field energy. I am not sure that that is needed in such a brief mention of this example.

Perhaps because he started as a mathematician, Roger Penrose got that wrong in The Road to Reality. Soft iron can be easily magnetized but spontaneously loses most of its magnetization when taken out of the magnetic field. For an isolated ferromagnetic material, the stable configurations have the magnetization of the domains pointed around in small closed loops, so that the field energy is nowhere great. Small iron particles are "super-paramagnetic" with the whole particle having the same direction, but they are not good examples of topologically stable grain boundaries either. He should have used a different type of crystal with only short range interactions. David R. Ingham 01:14, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Many examples are not spontaneous
Many of the "other examples" are not really examples of _spontaneous_ symmetry breaking (other than in a very convoluted sense which does not help to explain the concept). The examples of an observer on earth are not about spontaneous breaking, here the question should be why there are planets at all, and not just evenly distributed matter. The heated fluid has its symmetry broken from outside, and so on. --95.102.240.208 (talk) 15:53, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

I am in agreement completely with the comment above. Specifically, the example of the thin fluid covering an infinitely large Euclidean plane is one that is easily, and accurately modeled by incorporating the curl of the resultant vector field (del x F) or in the case of this two dimensional example the component called vorticity. Because the heating is continuous (temperature is a continuous function whether you like it or not) the curl exists everywhere on the vector field AND it is not an emergent phenomenon that arises once enough heat has been added. It is simply a consequence of the small vorticity patterns becoming apparent to the eye. Additionally, since this example used an infinitely large Euclidean plane, the observed covection cells are only semi-stable and will evolve as heat is added. In any case, this is absolutely NOT an example of symmetry breaking. And so I have deleted it. Do not forget that each individual point has its own vorticity value that in this non-discontinuous system behaves nicely. Other energy addition materia may not behave so well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.223.137.171 (talk) 21:56, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

 * I am in agreement with Lugia2453's reversion of your peremptory deletions. In particular, I see nothing in the above arguing for your wholesale deletion of the best intuitive example of symmetry breaking in simple mechanical systems, to my taste (which the Weak interactions book of Commins and Bucksbaum bothers to highlight: "Take a thin cylindrical plastic rod and push both ends together. Before buckling, the system is symmetric under rotation, and so visibly cylindrically symmetric. But after buckling, it looks different, and asymmetric. Nevertheless, features of the cylindrical symmetry are still there: ignoring friction, it would take no force to freely spin the rod around, displacing the ground state in time, and amounting to an oscillation of vanishing frequency, unlike the radial oscillations in the direction of the buckle. This spinning mode is effectively the requisite Nambu–Goldstone boson." If you may improve this, or if you have a better non-technical example in simple engineering which exemplifies a Goldstone mode and which does not require QFT or even QM, go ahead. But as you notice from the above pleas for nontechnical examples, non-physicists often come here for insight.Cuzkatzimhut (talk) 22:22, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Why does it matter?
Symmetry is a fairly intuitive concept. What has always puzzled me (as a non-physicist) is why symmetry breaking is considered so significant. Of course a ball rolling off the top of a symmetric mound is no longer in a position to roll in any direction. And of course a pencil, once balanced on its tip but now fallen over, is no longer in a position to fall in any direction. That's common sense. Why is that so important to physicists? And perhaps more to the point, what mathematical or theoretical leverage does symmetry breaking provide? RussAbbott (talk) 04:23, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

 * Even though inexpert, your question is by far the best question on this page at this point in time. I tried to address it by some tweaks. What the article did not emphasize was that the "breaking" is only apparent, and the symmetry is still present, albeit "hidden" and acting in mathematically powerful ways, in the "Nambu-Goldstone mode", fleshed out in Goldstone boson. The article further had a couple of unsound confusions between the Higgs mechanism (requiring SSB), and the Higgs boson (an optional feature of implementation, at least theoretically): I removed those. It also had too many illustrations of the breaking of discrete symmetries, which do not require Goldstone bosons and cannot thus be utilized in the Higgs mechanism.

 * In condensed matter physics, SSB underlies the characterization of phases, and massless excitations. In particle physics, it is the foundation of the Theory of Electroweak Interactions and further describes the lowest energy sector of the Strong interactions, namely chiral symmetry breaking, for which Nambu was awarded the Nobel prize discussed. Cuzkatzimhut (talk) 16:15, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Transcribed from Comments page
I'm surprised that this article is rated  A . I came to this page because I wanted to understand symmetery in physics and symmetry breaking. This article didn't help. The overview and the first section are not useful to someone who doesn't already understand the concept. The examples are useful, but they are incomplete. So I looked further and found a couple of other interesting articles: The Future of Language: Symmetry or Broken Symmetry? and The Symmetry-Breaking Paradigm by Jim Coplien. These are where I came to understand that symmetry is invariance under a transformation. RussAbbott (talk) 05:42, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Isn't symmetry added also?
This may seem like a foolish question, so I apologize in advance.

When water vapor condenses to liquid or when (liquid) water freezes to ice, symmetry is broken. (Right?) There are fewer possibilities after the state transition than before. It's like the pencil falling down.

But symmetry is added also, isn't it? In the case of ice there is a new symmetry that characterizes how the atoms in the ice crystal relate to each other. They are always in a fixed relationship, no matter how the ice is moved around in space. So isn't that an additional symmetry that is added when the symmetry going from water to ice is lost?

Or is that better expressed as a new "conservation law?" The new conservation law states that the atoms in the ice crystal will retain the same mutual relationship no matter how the ice crystal itself moves. If symmetry is invariance under a transformation, isn't this "conservation law" an example of symmetry?

Or am I completely confused? If so, would you tell me why. RussAbbott (talk) 05:25, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Does symmetry breaking involve release of energy?
Please forgive me if this question is ignorant because I am uninformed on this subject, but do symmetry breaking phase transitions always involve release of energy? Examples of symmetry breaking I have heard of that involve the release of energy are: freezing (crystallizing) of water, superconductivity, ferromagnetism, magnetic refrigeration, and (I think) the phase transition to the Guth cosmic inflation period in the early universe. Is this always a feature of symmetry breaking? If so, should it be added to the article? -- Chetvorno TALK 22:10, 24 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The symmetry-breaking concept is one of reducing (trading) potential energy for energy in another form, kinetic, for example. If there's no change in the potential, then no energy will be transacted.  Phase change would essentially be a different energy configuration.  Since some phase changes can occur continuously, I don't see why there'd be a necessary discontinuous phase change.  That is to say, I can't see why you'd release any more energy than just what would be released by reducing the potential independent of a change in phase.  70.247.169.197 (talk) 05:30, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

Ball example
The "ball sitting on top of a hill" example is good for symmetry. It is not, however, a good example for spontaneous symmetry breaking because it does not show spontaneity or independence from external causes.Lestrade (talk) 19:52, 30 November 2008 (UTC)Lestrade

Also, a dome is the upper half of a sphere-like surface, so all domes are upward unless stated otherwise. Therefore, saying "upward dome" obscures the discourse. My two cents. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.172.90.176 (talk) 10:47, 6 July 2012 (UTC)

Norton's dome is adduced in Further see links at bottom of article to address similar issues. Cuzkatzimhut (talk) 21:51, 28 January 2017 (UTC)

Merge proposal
I have suggested that the article Broken symmetry be merged into this one because it covers much the same stuff, focusing on translational and rotational symmetry breaking. Reyk YO!  00:22, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

I agree - David Drakard —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.234.252.67 (talk) 09:08, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

 * Agree. I'd like to see info on translational and rotational breaking in this article.  70.247.169.197 (talk) 08:28, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

Symmetry breaking vs. Wavefunction collapse
Any similarity? I found reading these 2 subjects separately confusing.

That is a profound and deep question. When we make a measurement the probabilistic state of possibilities of the system collapses to distinct values. In symmetry breaking possible system values are realized which no longer express the invariant state of the system. The former is not reversible, yet the latter, is.

The whole article is a hodge podge of tinkered together, ontologically different, concepts. Should be rewritten from scratch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ahhaha (talk • contribs) 14:58, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Continuous Symmetry
The first paragraph aims to talk about an example of ferromagnetic continuous symmetry breaking but treats the inversion symmetry m(-x)=m(x) which is discrete. The correct continuous symmetry example for magnets and such is a rotation symmetry (in dimension>1) where the hamiltonian/free energy of the system is invariant by rotation of the magnetic moments/spins. I think it's important because of the consequences that the breaking of a continuous symmetry implies that do not physically appear in a system invariant by inversion. (And because it is straightforwardly false.) Syrinesyrinesyrine (talk) 20:36, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

Need to define order parameter
Note to future readers. "order parameter2 is used without being linked or defined.

title: Talk:Spontaneous symmetry breaking


text:
1998 Danish general election

General elections were held in Denmark on 11 March 1998. Although the centre-right parties led by Venstre had been expected to win, the Social Democratic Party-led government of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen remained in power in a very close vote that required several recounts.

Venstre leader Uffe Ellemann-Jensen resigned as party leader a few days after the election. The new Danish People's Party made a successful electoral debut. Voter turnout was 85.9% in Denmark proper, 66.1% in the Faroe Islands and 63.2% in Greenland.

title: 1998 Danish general election