text:
Primary biliary cholangitis

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune disease of the liver. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, causing bile and other toxins to build up in the liver, a condition called cholestasis. Further slow damage to the liver tissue can lead to scarring, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis.

Common symptoms are tiredness, itching, and in more advanced cases, jaundice. In early cases, the only changes may be those seen in blood tests.

PBC is a relatively rare disease, affecting up to one in 3,000–4,000 people. As with many other autoimmune diseases, it is much more common in women, with a sex ratio of at least 9:1 female to male. The reasons for this disparity are unclear, but may involve the expression of sex hormones such as estrogen, which impact immune system response.

The condition has been recognised since at least 1851, and was named "primary biliary cirrhosis" in 1949. Because cirrhosis is a feature only of advanced disease, a change of its name to "primary biliary cholangitis" was proposed by patient advocacy groups in 2014.

Signs and symptoms
People with PBC experience fatigue (80%); this is a nonspecific symptom and can be debilitating, with a huge impact on quality of life. Its pathogenesis is still unknown, and is quite challenging to explore its specificity and to treat. Comorbidities that could contribute to or worsen fatigue, such as depression, hypothyroidism, anaemia, obesity, or medication side effects, should be promptly identified and treated. Dry skin and dry eyes are also common. Itching (pruritus) occurs in 20–70% of cases, and can develop at any stage of the disease. Textbooks tend to describe itching in the feet and hands, but patients may also experience itching of the scalp, face, back, or other areas. The itching is typically mild-to-moderate in intensity. It may manifest as a tingling, crawling or burning sensation, and can develop even with normal liver function tests. It does not correlate with progression of liver disease, and may even improve or disappear as the disease advances. Given the impact on quality of life and night sleep, pruritus is also correlated with fatigue. It can rarely be severe, non-responsive to medical therapy, and requiring liver transplant. Pruritus is characteristically intermittent, worse at night, and improves during summer. People with more severe PBC may have jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin). PBC impairs bone density and the risk of fracture increases. Xanthelasma (skin lesions around the eyes) or other xanthoma may be present as a result of increased cholesterol levels.

PBC can eventually progress to cirrhosis of the liver. This, in turn, may lead to a number of symptoms or complications, including:
 * Fluid retention in the abdomen (ascites) in more advanced disease
 * Enlarged spleen in more advanced disease
 * Oesophageal varices in more advanced disease
 * Hepatic encephalopathy, including coma in extreme cases in more advanced disease.

People with PBC may also sometimes have the findings of an associated extrahepatic autoimmune disorder such as thyroid disease or rheumatoid arthritis or Sjögren's syndrome (in up to 80% of cases).

Causes
PBC has an immunological basis, and is classified as an autoimmune disorder. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, with the intralobular ducts and the canals of Hering (intrahepatic ductules) being affected early in the disease.

Most people with PBC (more than 90%) have antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs) against pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC-E2), an enzyme complex found in the mitochondria. People who are negative for AMAs are usually found to be positive when more sensitive methods of detection are used.

People with PBC may also have been diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, such as a rheumatological, endocrinological, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, or dermatological condition, suggesting shared genetic and immune abnormalities. Common associations include Sjögren's syndrome, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hypothyroidism, and coeliac disease.

A genetic predisposition to disease has been thought to be important for some time. Evidence for this includes cases of PBC in family members, identical twins both having the condition (concordance), and clustering of PBC with other autoimmune diseases. In 2009, a Canadian-led group of investigators reported in the New England Journal of Medicine results from the first PBC genome-wide association study. This research revealed parts of the IL12 signaling cascade, particularly IL12A and IL12RB2 polymorphisms, to be important in the aetiology of the disease in addition to the HLA region. In 2012, two independent PBC association studies increased the total number of genomic regions associated to 26, implicating many genes involved in cytokine regulation such as TYK2, SH2B3 and TNFSF11.

A study of over 2,000 patients identified a gene, POGLUT1, that appeared to be associated with this condition. Earlier studies have also suggested that this gene may be involved. The implicated protein is an endoplasmic reticulum O-glucosyltransferase.

An environmental Gram-negative Alphaproteobacterium — Novosphingobium aromaticivorans has been associated with this disease, with several reports suggesting an aetiological role for this organism. The mechanism appears to be a cross-reaction between the proteins of the bacterium and the mitochondrial proteins of the liver cells. The gene encoding CD101 may also play a role in host susceptibility to this disease.

A failure of immune tolerance against the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC-E2) is a primary cause, with shedding of the antigen into apoptotic bodies or "apotopes" leading to the anatomic localization. Such autoreactivity may also be the case with other proteins, including the gp210 and p62 nuclear pore proteins. Gp210 has increased expression in the bile duct of anti-gp210 positive patients, and these proteins may be associated with prognosis.

Diagnosis
Most patients are currently diagnosed when asymptomatic, having been referred to the hepatologist for abnormal liver function tests (mostly raised GGT or alkaline phosphatase) performed for annual screening blood tests. Other frequent scenarios include screening of patients with nonliver autoimmune diseases, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, or investigation of elevated cholesterol, evaluation of itch or unresolved cholestasis post partum. Diagnosing PBC is generally straightforward. The basis for a definite diagnosis are:
 * Abnormalities in liver enzyme tests are usually present and elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase are found in early disease.  Elevations in bilirubin occur in advanced disease.
 * Antimitochondrial antibodies are the characteristic serological marker for PBC, being found in 90–95% of patients and only 1% of controls. PBC patients have AMA against pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC-E2), an enzyme complex that is found in the mitochondria. Those people who are AMA negative but with disease similar to PBC have been found to have AMAs when more sensitive detection methods are employed.
 * Other auto-antibodies may be present:

 * Antinuclear antibody measurements are not diagnostic for PBC because they are not specific, but may have a role in prognosis.
 * Anti-glycoprotein-210 antibodies, and to a lesser degree anti-p62 antibodies, correlate with the disease's progression toward end-stage liver failure. Anti-gp210 antibodies are found in 47% of PBC patients.
 * Anti-centromere antibodies often correlate with developing portal hypertension.
 * Anti-np62 and anti-sp100 are also found in association with PBC.

 * Abdominal ultrasound, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography or a CT scan is usually performed to rule out blockage to the bile ducts. This may be needed if a condition causing secondary biliary cirrhosis, such as other biliary duct disease or gallstones, needs to be excluded. A liver biopsy may help, and if uncertainty remains as in some patients, an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, an endoscopic investigation of the bile duct, may be performed.

Given the high specificity of serological markers, liver biopsy is not necessary for the diagnosis of PBC; however, it is still necessary when PBC-specific antibodies are absent, or when co-existent autoimmune hepatitis or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is suspected. Liver biopsy can be useful to stage the disease for fibrosis and ductopenia. Finally, it may also be appropriate in the presence of other extrahepatic comorbidities.

Liver biopsy
On microscopic examination of liver biopsy specimens, PBC is characterized by chronic, nonsuppurative inflammation, which surrounds and destroys interlobular and septal bile ducts. These histopathologic findings in primary biliary cholangitis include:
 * Inflammation of the bile ducts, characterized by intraepithelial lymphocytes
 * Periductal epithelioid granulomas.
 * Proliferation of bile ductules
 * Fibrosis (scarring)

The Ludwig and Scheuer scoring systems have historically been used to stratify four stages of PBC, with stage 4 indicating the presence of cirrhosis. In the new system of Nakanuma, the stage of disease is based on fibrosis, bile duct loss, and features of cholestasis, i.e. deposition of orcein-positive granules, whereas the grade of necroinflammatory activity is based on cholangitis and interface hepatitis. The accumulation of orcein-positive granules occurs evenly across the PBC liver, which means that staging using the Nakanuma system is more reliable regarding sampling variability.

Liver biopsy for the diagnosis and staging of PBC lost favour after the evidence of a patchy distribution of the duct lesions and fibrosis across the organ. The widespread availability of noninvasive measures of fibrosis means that liver biopsy for staging of PBC is somewhat obsolete. Liver biopsy does, however, remain useful in certain settings. The main indications are to confirm the diagnosis of PBC when PBC-specific antibodies are absent and confirm a diagnosis of PBC with AIH features (i.e. overlap PBC-AIH). Liver biopsy is also useful to assess the relative contribution of each liver injury when a comorbid liver disease is present, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In patients with inadequate response to UDCA, liver biopsy may provide the explanation and could undoubtedly inform risk stratification. For example, it may identify a previously unsuspected variant syndrome, steatohepatitis, or interface hepatitis of moderate or greater severity. It is also useful in AMA and ANA-specific antibody negative cholestatic patients to indicate an alternative process, e.g. sarcoidosis, small duct PSC, adult idiopathic ductopenia.

Histopathology stages (by Ludwig and Scheuer systems)

 * Stage 1 – portal stage: Normal-sized triads, portal inflammation, subtle bile duct damage: Granulomas are often detected in this stage.
 * Stage 2 – periportal stage: Enlarged triads, periportal fibrosis and/or inflammation, typically characterized by the finding of a proliferation of small bile ducts
 * Stage 3 – septal stage: Active and/or passive fibrous septa
 * Stage 4 – biliary cirrhosis: Nodules present, garland or jigsaw puzzle pattern

Cholestasis
Medical therapy of PBC targets disease progression and symptom control. The first-line treatment for PBC is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). UDCA has been the only drug available for two decades and more recently obeticholic acid (OCA), a semi-synthetic hydrophobic bile acid analogue, has been licensed in patients failing UDCA response or intolerant to UDCA. Several other agents have been studied, including immunosuppressants, but robust evidence of benefit is lacking.

UDCA improves liver enzyme levels, slows down histological progression, and improves liver transplant-free survival. UDCA also reduces the need for liver transplantation. UDCA should be taken at a dose of 13 to 15 mg per kg of body weight per day, usually in two divided doses each day. Liver chemistries usually improve within a few weeks of starting UDCA, and 90% of any benefit is observed after 6–9 months of therapy. Liver chemistries should be re-evaluated after 1 year of treatment. UDCA is usually continued lifelong. Up to 40% of people do not respond to treatment with UDCA. Patients with PBC who have an inadequate response to UDCA or those few (less than 3%) who are intolerant to UDCA are candidates for second-line therapies.

Obeticholic acid (OCA) is FDA-approved for the treatment of PBC in individuals intolerant or unresponsive to UDCA. OCA is a farnesoid X receptor agonist, and results in increased bile flow (choleresis). OCA is started at 5 mg daily, and liver chemistries should be rechecked after 3 months of treatment. If the liver chemistries remain elevated, then the dose of OCA may be increased to 10 mg per day. The most common side effect of OCA is pruritus.

Fibric acid derivatives, or fibrates, are agonists of the peroxisome proliferator activator receptor (PPAR), a nuclear receptor involved in several metabolic pathways. While fibrates are approved for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia, they exert anticholestatic effects and have been studied for the treatment of PBC. Among the fibrates, bezafibrate and fenofibrate, PPAR-alpha selective agonists, have been extensively studied as therapeutic agents because of their potential ability to decrease bile acid synthesis and bile acid-related hepatic inflammation. A randomized, controlled trial in 2018 showed its efficacy in patients with inadequate response to UDCA. While fibrates can be considered as off-label treatment for PBC that does not respond to UDCA, they should not be used in decompensated cirrhosis.

Elafibranor (Iqirvo) was approved for medical use in the United States in June 2024.

Additional medications are being investigated as potential treatments for PBC, and found to be ineffective as single agents (monotherapy), including: chlorambucil, colchicine, cyclosporine, corticosteroids, azathioprine, malotilate, methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, penicillamine, and thalidomide. Budesonide may be used as an off-label treatment for PBC, although its efficacy is controversial. Seladelpar, a PPAR-delta receptor agonist, is being studied for treatment of PBC.

Itching
Pruritus is a common symptom in people with PBC. First-line treatment of pruritus consists of anion-exchange resins, such as cholestyramine, colestipol, or colesevalam. These anion-exchange resins are nonabsorbed, highly positively charged substances that bind bile acids, which are negatively charged anions. Anion-exchange resins relieve itching caused by excess bile acids in circulation by binding bile acids in the gut and facilitating elimination. Bloating or constipation may occur with anion-exchange resins. Cholestyramine may affect absorption of UDCA; if cholestyramine is necessary, it should be taken at least 60 minutes before or 4 hours after UDCA is taken.

Treatment options for pruritus that does not improve with anion-exchange resins include: rifampicin, naltrexone, or sertraline. Rifampicin may rarely cause drug induced liver injury and should be avoided if serum bilirubin is elevated (greater than 2.5 mg/dL). Liver enzymes should be monitored after starting rifampin. Rifampicin induces enzymes, resulting in numerous potential drug-drug interactions. Opioid antagonists may cause a self-limited opioid withdrawal like reaction, with abdominal pain, elevated blood pressure, tachycardia, goose bumps, nightmares, and depersonalization. To avoid such reactions, the dose should start low and gradually be increased.

Other therapies

 * Fatigue is a nonspecific but often-reported symptom in PBC, and represents an unmet need since no therapies are licensed. A structured approach to management, quantifying fatigue and its impacts (through the use of disease-specific tools such as the PBC-40 quality-of-life measures), addressing contributing and exacerbating factors, and supporting patients to cope with its impact is effective. Drugs such as coenzyme Q and rituximab have been shown to be ineffective. A graded programme of exercise helps some individuals.
 * People with PBC may have poor lipid-dependent absorption of oil-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). Appropriate supplementation is recommended when bilirubin is elevated.
 * People with PBC are at elevated risk of developing osteoporosis as compared to the general population and others with liver disease. Screening and treatment of this complication is an important part of the management of PBC.
 * As in all liver diseases, consumption of alcohol should be restricted or eliminated.
 * In patients with advanced liver disease, the only curative therapy is liver transplant. Outcomes are favourable, with five-year patient survival rates better than for most other indications for LT (80–85%).

Prognosis
The introduction of UDCA has dramatically changed the pattern and the course of the disease. Numerous trials and observational studies have demonstrated its efficacy on liver biochemistry, histological progression, and transplant-free survival.

Among the UDCA-treated patients, the degree of the liver biochemistry improvement, i.e. the UDCA-response, identifies patients with different long-term prognosis. In the absence of cirrhosis, people who experience an improvement of liver enzymes to the normal range on treatment with UDCA have excellent survival, which may be similar to the general population. Survival is significantly reduced though, in those with abnormal liver biochemistry on treatment.

The two most important parameters in evaluating response to UDCA are alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin. Qualitative and quantitative definitions of UDCA-response have been developed, based on changes of bilirubin, transaminases and ALP, after a period of 6 to 24 months of treatment with UDCA at 13–15 mg/kg/day.

Patients at diagnosis can be risk-stratified based on the probability of UDCA-response. This is relevant to identify patients who would be eligible for second-line therapies before waiting for the treatment failure under UDCA, with potential impact on disease course.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is infrequent in PBC. Recent large-scale cohort studies highlighted that the lack of UDCA-response after 12 months of therapy and male sex are associated with increased future risk of developing HCC in PBC.

After liver transplant, the recurrence of disease may be as high as 18% at five years, and up to 30% at 10 years. No consensus exists on risk factors for recurrence of the disease.

Epidemiology
Epidemiologic studies report heterogeneous incidence rates of 0.33 to 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants per year, and prevalence rates of 1.9 to 40.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. Such figures, in particular the prevalence, have shown some increase in the last decades. Improvement of diagnostic tools, increasing disease awareness, and digitised patient registration with facilitation of case-findings, along with improved survival, likely contributed to the rising prevalence rates. The disease has been described worldwide, though North America and Northern Europe have shown the highest incidence and prevalence rates. Whether a true variation in disease prevalence exists among populations of different geographical areas and of different ethnicity or if this is a consequence of a difference in study quality is unknown. PBC is more common in women, with a female:male ratio of at least 9:1. The peak incidence of PBC is in the fifth decade of life. In some areas of the US and UK, the prevalence is estimated to be as high as one in 4,000. This is much more common than in South America or Africa, which may be due to better recognition in the US and UK. First-degree relatives may have as much as a 500 times increase in prevalence, but if this risk is greater in the same-generation relatives or the one that follows is debated.

PBC is considered a prime example of the female preponderance in autoimmunity with a female to male ratio of up to 9:1, confirmed by large cohort studies, although some recent data, using administrative registries, suggest an increasing male prevalence. Major defects of sex chromosomes, i.e. enhanced monosomy X in female patients and an enhanced Y chromosome loss in male patients, have been described and might well explain the greater female predisposition to develop PBC.

An association of a greater incidence of PBC at latitudes more distant from the Equator is similar to the pattern seen in multiple sclerosis.

Typical disease onset is between 30 and 60 years, though cases have been reported of patients diagnosed at the ages of 15 and 93. Prevalence of PBC in women over the age of 45 years could exceed one in an estimated 800 individuals.

History
The first report of the disease dates back 1851 by Addison and Gull, who described a clinical picture of progressive jaundice in the absence of mechanical obstruction of the large bile ducts. Ahrens et al. in 1950 published the first detailed description of 17 patients with this condition, and coined the term "primary biliary cirrhosis". In 1959, Dame Sheila Sherlock reported a further series of PBC patients and recognised that the disease could be diagnosed in a precirrhotic stage and proposed the term "chronic intrahepatic cholestasis" as more appropriate description of this disease, but this nomenclature failed to gain acceptance, and the term "primary biliary cirrhosis" lasted for decades. In 2014, to correct the inaccuracy and remove the social stigmata of cirrhosis, as well as all the misunderstanding, disadvantages, and discrimination emanating from this misnomer in daily life for patients, international liver associations agreed to rename the disease "primary biliary cholangitis", as it is now known.

PBC Foundation
The PBC Foundation is a UK-based international charity offering support and information to people with PBC and their families and friends. It campaigns for increasing recognition of the disorder, improved diagnosis, and treatments, and estimates over 8,000 people are undiagnosed in the UK. The Foundation has supported research into PBC including the development of the PBC-40 quality of life measure published in 2004 and helped establish the PBC Genetics Study. It was founded by Collette Thain in 1996, after she was diagnosed with the condition. Thain was awarded an MBE Order of the British Empire in 2004 for her work with the Foundation. The PBC Foundation helped initiate the name change campaign in 2014.

PBCers Organization
The PBCers Organization is a US-based nonprofit patient support group that was founded by Linie Moore in 1996; it advocates for greater awareness of the disease and new treatments. It supported the name change initiative. <!-- repeat from above

Name
In 2014 the PBC Foundation, with the support of the PBCers Organization, the PBC Society (Canada) and other patient groups, advocated a change in name from "primary biliary cirrhosis" to "primary biliary cholangitis," noting that most PBC patients did not have cirrhosis and that "cirrhosis" often had negative connotations of alcoholism. Patient and professional groups were canvassed. Support for the name change came from professional bodies including the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the European Association for the Study of the Liver. Advocates for the name change published calls to adopt the new name in multiple hepatology journals in the fall of 2015. -->

title: Primary biliary cholangitis


text:
Talk:Bloodscream

Untitled
Note: At the time Bloodscream was introduced, all vampires in the Marvel Universe had been destroyed by the spell called the Montesi Formula (see Darkhold) which also prevented any more vampires from being created. It is possible that Bloodscream was intended originally to be a true vampire, but had to be redefined as a result. Similarly, a group of psychic vampires called "The Ravens" that encountered the original X-Factor might have been intended to be real vampires at first. In any case, the spell has now been removed (thought the original vampires killed by it are still dead, unless revived independently, as was the case with Dracula.)

WikiProject Comics B-Class Assesment required
This article needs the B-Class checklist filled in to remain a B-Class article for the Comics WikiProject. If the checklist is not filled in by 7th August this article will be re-assessed as C-Class. The checklist should be filled out referencing the guidance given at Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment/B-Class criteria. For further details please contact the Comics WikiProject. Comics-awb (talk) 15:50, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

C-Class rated for Comics Project
As this B-Class article has yet to receive a review, it has been rated as C-Class. If you disagree and would like to request an assesment, please visit WikiProject_Comics/Assessment and list the article. Hiding T 14:56, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

So what's this about Zachariah Ravenscraft?
Here's a copy of an email exchange by the writers of the Handbooks of the Marvel Universe: > On Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 12:27 AM, angele_knight > wrote: > >> >> I have found references online that Bloodscream' s real name is Zachariah >> Ravenscraft and that he served under Francis Drake from 1577 till 1580. >> Would anyone happen to know if and where this info may be annotated >> within a >> comic or handbook? Thanks!! >> > From: "Nathan Elliott"  > To:  > Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 11:07 AM > Subject: Re: [Masters of Obscurity] Bloodscream question > >I had a discussion about "Zachariah Ravenscraft" with my friends too, and >no > one could figure out where it came from, so we figured it's another case > of > someone making it up and getting it on Wikipedia. His entry in the 2004 > Wolverine OHOTMU lists his real name as Unrevealed and his only alias as > Bloodsport. > > From: Jeff Christiansen  > To: mastersofobscurity@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 10:10 AM > Subject: Re: [Masters of Obscurity] Bloodscream question > > I often see notes about 2004-2007 handbooks, but people don't seem to > realize that the hardcovers are both updates and expansions, and that the > older profiles are often out of date. > In this case, however, Bloodscream' s real name remains unrevealed. > Hope this helps, Darci (talk) 16:36, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Bloodscream


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Mick Jones (footballer, born 1945)

Michael David Jones (born 24 April 1945) is an English former footballer who played as centre forward with Leeds United during the 1960s and 1970s. He was also capped for England.

Sheffield United
Jones was spotted playing local league football for Dinnington Miners' Welfare, from where he went on to become an apprentice at Sheffield United in 1961. He graduated from the intermediate side through the Central League side before making his debut in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 20 April 1963. He scored his first two league goals in the next fixture, a 3–1 victory against Manchester City at Maine Road four days later, on his 18th birthday. He made his England debut in 1965 against West Germany at centre forward.

Jones scored 63 goals in 149 appearances for the Blades, and had earned two caps for England when he joined Leeds United in September 1967 for £100,000, prompting the Sheffield United manager, John Harris, to remark "it would be the biggest mistake the club had ever made".

Leeds United
Leeds won the League Cup in his first season, although Jones did not feature in the campaign because he was cup-tied. Leeds also won the Fairs Cup, with Jones scoring twice during the competition, including what turned out to be the winner in the final against Ferencvaros. The first leg finished 1–0 thanks to Jones' goal and the second leg remained goalless to give Leeds the cup.

The following season Leeds won the League championship with Jones scoring 14 goals, and then joined by fellow striker Allan Clarke in 1969 to forge a strike partnership with Jones.

Leeds pursued a possible "treble" of League title, FA Cup and European Cup. Everton beat Leeds to the League title, and Celtic F.C. beat Leeds home and away in the European Cup semi-finals. In the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley, the game was 1–1 on a bumpy, sandy pitch (due to the Horse of the Year show being held there the previous week). with fewer than ten minutes to play. Jones fired a left foot shot into the net beyond Peter Bonetti. Chelsea, however, equalised quickly so the contest went to a replay at Old Trafford. Leeds took the lead in the first half, when a run by Clarke set Jones on his way towards goal, and he hit right foot shot past Bonetti. Chelsea, however, ended up winning after extra time and Leeds ended the season trophyless.

In 1972, Leeds beat Arsenal 1–0 in the Centenary FA Cup Final with Jones setting up Clarke for the only goal of the game. However, Jones suffered a dislocated elbow in the last minute of the game after landing awkwardly from an innocuous and accidental clash with the Arsenal goalkeeper, Geoff Barnett. Jones was assisted by Norman Hunter, up to the Royal Box to collect his F.A. Cup winners medal. The injury however, meant Jones missed the League title decider away to Wolves just two days later which Wolves won 2–1. The defeat cost Leeds the Division 1 championship title to Derby County by a single point. Perhaps his finest performance of the 1971–72 season came on 19 February 1972, when he scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in a 5–1 league win at Elland Road.

In a 29-match unbeaten run at the start of the next season, Jones bagged 14 goals as Leeds won the title, but he was now beginning to have problems with one of his knees and spent the summer of 1974 having intensive physiotherapy. In early 1975, he began playing reserve football again, but in constant pain. Joe Jordan took the number nine shirt. The team (despite Revie's departure in the summer to take over the England job) reached its first European Cup final, Jones was a spectator who did not figure in the team all season. He watched as Leeds lost the European Cup final to Bayern Munich and then retired at the age of 30, unable to beat his knee problem. His Leeds career ended with 111 goals from 312 appearances. Allan Clarke, Jones' strike partner, admitted that it was never the same for him after Jones retired.

International career
Jones played three matches as a centre forward for England, all friendlies, between 1965 and 1970. He played his international debut on 12 May 1965, when he was aged 20, England beating West Germany 1–0. He played his second game for his country whilst still at Sheffield United in a 2–1 victory for England over Sweden at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg on 16th May 1965. His third and last match for the Three Lions was on 14 January 1970, whilst at Leeds United, in a 0–0 draw with the Netherlands.

Honours
Leeds United
 * Football League First Division: 1968–69, 1973–74
 * FA Cup: 1971–72; runner-up: 1969–70, 1972–73
 * Football League Cup: 1967–68
 * FA Charity Shield: 1969
 * Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1967–68, 1970–71; runner-up: 1966–67
 * European Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1972–73

Individual
 * European Cup top scorer: 1969–70
 * Leeds United Player of the Year: 1973–74

title: Mick Jones (footballer, born 1945)


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Thinkism

Old discussion from VfD
Discussion concluded on June 1, 2004

Note: There are remnants of other VfD discussions in page history. jni 07:53, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

Thinkism
Vanity. No Alexa data, no indication on website that there are any other members of this "art movement" besides David Kam. - Hephaestos|§ 20:43, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * "Vanity" barely covers it, in my humble opinion. It's on the borderline of patent nonsense and original research.  This has gotta go, friends. - Lucky 6.9 21:54, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Vanity. UninvitedCompany 23:21, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Quite explicitly unencyclopedic. Currently also listed as a copyvio, but more likely vanity IMO. (Unlikely to be both.) Either way delete. Andrewa 00:04, 27 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Reasons given above. Thue 10:24, 27 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Vanity or copyvio. Andris 22:45, May 31, 2004 (UTC)


text:
Plan B

Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan.

Plan B  may also refer to:

 * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency birth control drug

Film and television

 * Plan B Entertainment, a film production company
 * Plan B Productions, a motion picture company
 * Plan B (2009 film), an Argentinean film by Marco Berger
 * Plan B (2019 film), a Kenyan-Nigerian film by Lowladee
 * Plan B (2021 film), an American comedy film
 * Plan B (2017 TV series), a Canadian French-language television drama series
 * Plan B (2023 TV series), a Canadian English-language television drama series adaptation of the 2017 series
 * "Plan B" (Veronica Mars), a 2006 episode of the TV series Veronica Mars
 * "Plan B" (30 Rock), an episode of the TV series 30 Rock
 * "Plan B" (The Vampire Diaries), an episode of the TV series The Vampire Diaries

Music

 * Plan B (musician) (born 1983), British rapper, musician and film director (alias Ben Drew)
 * Plan B (duo), a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo
 * Plan B (band), a German rock band
 * Plan B (Huey Lewis and the News album), 2001
 * Plan B (Scorn album), 2002
 * "Plan B" (song), a song by Megan Thee Stallion
 * "Plan B", a song from the album Too-Rye-Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners
 * Plan B, the debut album by the experimental post-hardcore band A Lot Like Birds

Published media

 * Plan B (magazine), a monthly music magazine
 * Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, a 2006 book by Lester R. Brown
 * Plan B (novel), a 1993 novel by Chester Himes
 * Plan B, a novel set in the Liaden universe
 * Plan B, a 2005 novel by Emily Barr

Other

 * Plan B free agency, a concept in the National Football League
 * Plan B Skateboards, a skateboarding company
 * Plan B Advertising Agency, advertising agency
 * Plan B Toys, a company based in Ohio, United States
 * Plan B (charity), a British climate litigation organisation, also known as 'Plan B. Earth'
 * Plan B, a derivative or fork of Plan 9 from Bell Labs

title: Plan B


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Natural hygiene

Old discussion from VfD
Discussion concluded and article kept on June 1, 2004

Natural Hygiene
This article was listed for deletion, and a notice added to the page, but the mediawiki page wasn't started. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 14:10, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * I listed it. This is an ad for quackery.   This showed up on Cleanup, and someone had tried to NPOV it, but I doubt there is anything worth saving in this malarkey.  Smerdis of Tlön 14:23, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. I think the subject is quackery, but I think the editor did a pretty good job of NPOV'ing it. The subject should be mentioned in an encyclopedia. Thue 14:58, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * KEEP - This is a well known branch of alternative medicine popularlized by Paul Bragg. A bunch of trolls have tried to destroy this article.  But, the vandalism can be removed. The use of the word quackery is advocating a point of view. -- John Gohde 18:27, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * KEEP - I am the original author of this page. I thought this was an encyclopedia, without censorship.  Freedom of speech and freedom of health is a necessary thing if men are to aquire knowledge and pursue their own happiness.  Whether it is quackery or not, is an opinion.  I have had 32 years of experience with this.  For those that are opposed, what experience do you have with Natural Hygiene?  -- User:Paulbmann
 * Keep. It needs a lot of work to become truly NPOV (rather than just an argument between two sets of advocates) but is a perfectly valid article to be here.--ALargeElk 16:19, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. I listed it on Cleanup, and I was the editor who went through it and tried to NPOV it - in its original condition it was essentially an advertisement for the system it describes, and I'm afraid that is POV.  Obviously the original author didn't like the results, and since I believe the system described is a particularly noxious kind of quackery, I may well have been too aggressive in my edits.  But the place for that debate is the article's talk page.  As far as VfD goes, whether we are for or against the system, it undoubtedly exists and has quite a significant following, so it is not just entitled to but needs an article.  What it can't have is an uncritical piece of advocacy.  seglea 17:25, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep it. Even if it's harmful stuff you don't agree with, it has a place in an encyclopedia so long as it is a theory of health that some people believe in, and provided the entry about it is NPOV - which it seems to be in process of becoming. Tonusperegrinus 18:04, 26 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Withdrawing this; when I first read it my impression was that it was full of self-promotion that no attempt at NPOVing could fix, and idiosyncratic nonsense along the lines of the "real magic" article that was deleted a few days ago. It seems that it is idiosyncratic nonsense with a following.  I am going to have to get out the book that has Martin Gardner's account of the death of Eugene V. Debs in it, it seems.  Smerdis of Tlön 20:25, 26 May 2004 (UTC)


text:
Talk:List of honorary British knights and dames

Honorary Dames overlooked
I had been fleshing out this page by searching on google for "Honorary Knight", but I just realized that I'm missing all the "Honorary Dames". So the disparity on this page in the ratio of males to females is entirely my fault due to that oversight. I will get around to fixing it eventually unless someone else finds this topic interesting enough to work on with me. :-) Jimbo Wales 21:18, 1 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Title
This was moved to List of honorary British knights; I've moved it back to List of honorary British Knights, the correct capitalisation. HTH. James F. (talk) 13:44, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) Hi, I've been following Berliner Philhamoniker for years, and I am interested in their current conductor, Simon Rattle. It is said on their official website that he was granted as KBE in 1994. However, when I looked up the list of KBE, I could not find his name. I would appreciate if anyone would verify this. Thanks a lot.

Michael Wang

Semi-protected edit request on 14 January 2023
Please add the following people to the European Royalty section, based on the contents of Category:Recipients of Honorary British Knighthoods:

Order of the Garter (KG):
 * Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844)
 * Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (1887)
 * Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (1911)
 * Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1911)

 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 17:37, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Order of the Bath (GCB):
 * William I of the Netherlands (KB) (1814) (GCB) (1815)
 * William I of Württemberg (1815)
 * Leopold I of Belgium (1816)
 * Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792–1862) (1830)
 * Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen (1834)
 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 05:10, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Prince Ernest Frederick of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (1835)
 * Louis William, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1836)
 * Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1839)
 * Archduke Friedrich of Austria (1821–1847) (1842)
 * Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (1783–1851) (1843)
 * Prince Waldemar of Prussia (1817–1849) (1846)
 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 19:55, 28 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1848)
 * Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1848)
 * Prince Napoléon-Jérôme Bonaparte (1855)
 * William I, German Emperor (1857)
 * Christian IX of Denmark (1863)
 * Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1867)
 * Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1877)
 * Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885) (1878)
 * Alexander of Battenberg (1879) (civil); (1886) (military)
 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 19:45, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

 * George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1882)
 * Frederick III, German Emperor (1883)
 * Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1885)
 * Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1885)
 * Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (1887)
 * Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (1887)
 * Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1887)
 * Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine (1892)
 * Adolphus I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1892)
 * Ferdinand I of Romania (1892)
 * Constantine I of Greece (1895)
 * Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (1897)
 * Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1897)

 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 21:36, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1900)
 * Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (1901)
 * Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (1901)
 * Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1901)
 * Gustaf V (1901)
 * Prince Valdemar of Denmark (1901)
 * Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1903)
 * Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein (1903)
 * Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1904)
 * Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen (1904)
 * Gustaf VI Adolf (1905)
 * Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (1905)
 * Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1907)
 * Christian X of Denmark (1908)
 * Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (1956)
 * Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (1958)
 * Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark (2000)
 * Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe
 * Prince Albert of Prussia (1837–1906)

 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 22:53, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
 * Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark

Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
 * Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (1901)
 * Christian X of Denmark (1901)
 * Prince Harald of Denmark (1901)
 * Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1901)
 * Prince Tommaso, Duke of Genoa (1903)
 * Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1904)
 * Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden (1905)
 * Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1905)

 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 18:45, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern (1907)
 * Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (1907)
 * Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg (1907)
 * Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse (1907)
 * Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg (1907)
 * Hermann, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1907)
 * Prince Leopold of Bavaria (1907)
 * Prince Gustav of Denmark (1908)
 * Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (1908)
 * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1908)
 * Archduke Joseph August of Austria (1908)
 * Prince Georg of Bavaria (1908)
 * Prince Konrad of Bavaria (1908)

 * ✅ GiovanniSidwell (talk) 20:12, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1911)
 * Paul of Greece (1937)
 * Prince Claus of the Netherlands (1982)
 * Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
 * Friedrich, Prince of Wied
 * Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg
 * Alexander I of Yugoslavia
 * Prince Axel of Denmark
 * Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
 * Charles I of Austria
 * Prince Charles, Count of Flanders
 * Frederick IX of Denmark
 * Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
 * Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark
 * Leopold III of Belgium
 * Prince Paul of Yugoslavia

Royal Victorian Order (KCVO)
 * Prince George Valdemar of Denmark

Royal Victorian Chain (RVC)
 * Constantine I of Greece (1902)
 * Christian IX of Denmark (1904)
 * Wilhelm, German Crown Prince (1904)
 * Gustaf V (1908)
 * Gustaf VI Adolf (1923)
 * Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1934)
 * Umberto II of Italy (1935)
 * Olav V of Norway (1955)
 * Frederick IX of Denmark (1957) 2601:249:9301:D570:BD54:AD75:8ED:95CC (talk) 18:25, 14 January 2023 (UTC)

 * Did not add any of the unreferenced honors, including Leopold III which references 2 pictures that don't appear to prove anything about his reception of the honor. GiovanniSidwell (talk) 21:53, 2 March 2023 (UTC)
 * For the Leopold III example, in the second image, he appears to be wearing the insignia of a GCVO. 2601:249:9301:D570:55B1:36BA:6D0B:9B35 (talk) 02:46, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

 * This is quite a long list, so I have begun completing it in pieces, I will place done messages once all the persons above the message have been added GiovanniSidwell (talk) 17:37, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 March 2023
Requesting the following additions to the "Asian, African and Oceanian royalty" section:

Order of the Bath (GCB):
 * Muhammad III as-Sadiq (1865)
 * Prince Arisugawa Takehito (1902)
 * Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (1907)
 * Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (2010)
 * Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2012)

Order of the Bath (KCB):
 * Ibn Saud (1935)

Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
 * Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (1997)
 * Haitham bin Tariq (2021)

Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG)
 * Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu (1951)
 * Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2013)
 * Zeid bin Ra'ad (2019)

Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
 * Prince Nashimoto Morimasa (1909)
 * Vajiralongkorn (1996)
 * Sirindhorn (1996)
 * Chulabhorn (1996)
 * Haitham bin Tariq (2010)

Royal Victorian Order (DCVO)
 * Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco (1980).

Order of the British Empire (KBE)
 * Ibn Saud (1916)
 * Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2013)
 * Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2013)
 * Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (2013)

Order of the British Empire (DBE)
 * Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi (2013)
 * Moza bint Nasser

Order of the Star of India (KCSI)
 * Khazʽal Ibn Jabir (1914)
 * Ibn Saud

Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)
 * Khazʽal Ibn Jabir (1916)
 * Ibn Saud (1920)

Royal Victorian Chain (RVC)
 * Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (1918)
 * Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu (1930)
 * Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1967) 2601:249:9301:D570:4D32:6E07:1C0E:CA6A (talk) 14:23, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

 * There are a lot of IPs (or maybe just you changing a lot) making good edit requests to this page lately, so I've asked that it be unprotected. Snowmanonahoe (talk) 18:32, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: The page has been unprotected, so you can add these and further edits yourself. Thanks for putting up with the edit request process for so long. Snowmanonahoe (talk) 18:31, 26 March 2023 (UTC)


text:
Social proof

Social proof (or informational social influence) is a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in choosing how to behave in a given situation. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice.

Social proof is used in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that the surrounding people possess more knowledge about the current situation.

The effects of social influence can be seen in the tendency of large groups to conform. This is referred to in some publications as the herd behavior. Although social proof reflects a rational motive to take into account the information possessed by others, formal analysis shows that it can cause people to converge too quickly upon a single distinct choice, so that decisions of even larger groups of individuals may be grounded in very little information (see information cascades).

Social proof is one type of conformity. When a person is in a situation where they are unsure of the correct way to behave, they will often look to others for clues concerning the correct behavior. When "we conform because we believe that others' interpretation of an ambiguous situation is more accurate than ours and will help us choose an appropriate course of action", it is informational social influence. This is contrasted with normative social influence wherein a person conforms to be liked or accepted by others.

Social proof often leads not only to public compliance (conforming to the behavior of others publicly without necessarily believing it is correct) but also private acceptance (conforming out of a genuine belief that others are correct). Social proof is more powerful when being accurate is more important and when others are perceived as especially knowledgeable.

Uncertainty about the correct conclusion
Uncertainty is a major factor that encourages the use of social proof. One study found that when evaluating a product, consumers were more likely to incorporate the opinions of others through the use of social proof when their own experiences with the product were ambiguous, leaving uncertainty as to the correct conclusion that they should make.

Similarity to the surrounding group
Similarity also motivates the use of social proof; when a person perceives themselves as similar to the people around them, they are more likely to adopt and perceive as correct the observed behavior of these people. This has been noted in areas such as the use of laugh tracks, where participants will laugh longer and harder when they perceive the people laughing to be similar to themselves.

Social proof is also one of Robert Cialdini's six principles of persuasion, (along with reciprocity, commitment/consistency, authority, liking, and scarcity) which maintains that people are especially likely to perform certain actions if they can relate to the people who performed the same actions before them. One experiment which exemplifies this claim was conducted by researchers who joined a door-to-door charity campaign, who found that if a list of prior donators was longer, the next person solicited was more likely to donate as well. This trend was even more pronounced when the names on the donor list were people that the prospective donor knew, such as friends and neighbors. Cialdini's principle also asserts that peer power is effective because people are more likely to respond to influence tactics applied horizontally rather than vertically, so people are more likely to be persuaded by a colleague than a superior.

Early research
The most famous study of social proof is Muzafer Sherif's 1935 experiment. In this experiment subjects were placed in a dark room and asked to look at a dot of light about 15 feet away. They were then asked how much, in inches, the dot of light was moving. In reality it was not moving at all, but due to the autokinetic effect it appeared to move. How much the light appears to move varies from person to person but is generally consistent over time for each individual. A few days later a second part of the experiment was conducted. Each subject was paired with two other subjects and asked to give out loud their estimate of how much the light was moving. Even though the subjects had previously given different estimates, the groups would come to a common estimate. To rule out the possibility that the subjects were simply giving the group answer to avoid looking foolish while still believing their original estimate was correct, Sherif had the subjects judge the lights again by themselves after doing so in the group. They maintained the group's judgment. Because the movement of the light is ambiguous the participants were relying on each other to define reality.

Another study looked at informational social influence in eyewitness identification. Subjects were shown a slide of the "perpetrator". They were then shown a slide of a line-up of four men, one of whom was the perpetrator they had seen, and were asked to pick him out. The task was made difficult to the point of ambiguity by presenting the slides very quickly. The task was done in a group that consisted of one actual subject and three confederates (a person acting as a subject but actually working for the experimenter). The confederates answered first and all three gave the same wrong answer. In a high-importance condition of the experiment subjects were told that they were participating in a real test of eyewitness identification ability that would be used by police departments and courts, and their scores would establish the norm for performance. In a low-importance condition subjects were told that the slide task was still being developed and that the experimenters had no idea what the norm for performance was—they were just looking for useful hints to improve the task. It was found that when subjects thought the task was of high importance they were more likely to conform, giving the confederate's wrong answer 51% of the time as opposed to 35% of the time in the low-importance condition.

Cultural effects on social proof
The strength of social proof also varies across different cultures. For instance, studies have shown that subjects in collectivist cultures conform to others' social proof more often than those in individualist cultures. Although this trend seems reoccurring, there is evidence which suggests that these results are a simplification, and that an independent subject's personal individualistic-collectivist tendency also makes an impact upon their decisions. Additional variables, such as the subject's sense of social responsibility, need to be taken into account to better understand the mechanisms of social proof across cultures; for example, more collectivist individuals will often have an increased compulsion to help others because of their prominent awareness of social responsibility, and this in turn will increase the likelihood they will comply to requests, regardless of their peers' previous decisions.

Copycat suicides
Social proof has been proposed as an explanation for copycat suicide, where suicide rates increase following media publication about suicides. One study using agent-based modeling showed that copycat suicides are more likely when there are similarities between the person involved in the publicized suicide and the potential copycats. In addition, research performed by David Phillips between 1947 and 1968 further supports the existence of copycat suicides.

In entertainment
Theaters sometimes use specially planted audience members who are instructed to give ovations at pre-arranged times. Usually, these people are the ones who clap initially, and the rest of the audience follows. Such ovations may be perceived by non-expert audience members as signals of the performance's quality.

In television shows, television studios have discovered that they can increase the perceived "funniness" of a show by playing a pre-recorded laugh track at key moments. They have found that even though viewers find a laugh track annoying, they perceive shows that use canned laughter to be funnier than those that do not.

In e-commerce
In e-commerce, social proof takes the form of positive testimonials from previous customers. Showcasing these testimonials is one of the tactics that is found to be effective in encouraging potential customers to sign up.

In social media
Social proof is exploited on social networks such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The number of followers, fans, views, likes, favorites and even comments that a user has made, positively affects how other users perceive them. A user on X (formerly Twitter) with a million followers is perceived as more trustworthy and reputable than a similar user with a thousand followers, resulting in faster growth of followers and higher engagement and click-through-rates.

title: Social proof


text:
Walter Leaf

Sir Walter Leaf (26 November 1852, Upper Norwood – 8 March 1927, Torquay) was an English banker, classical scholar, and psychical researcher. He published a benchmark edition of Homer's Iliad and was a director of Westminster Bank for many years, eventually becoming its chairman. He was a co-founder and later president of the International Chamber of Commerce and served as president of the Institute of Bankers, the Hellenic Society, and the Classical Association. He married Charlotte Symonds, the daughter of John Addington Symonds. He was a Cambridge Apostle.

Academic career
Walter Leaf was born on 26 November 1852. In 1865, he won a scholarship to Winchester College. However, his parents became concerned that living conditions at Winchester would be unacceptable, so they rented a house at Harrow on the edge of London, where their son enrolled in April 1866 at Harrow School as a day pupil. From Harrow, he progressed to Trinity College, Cambridge. He won a scholarship to Trinity in 1870, became a senior classic in 1874, and was elected to a fellowship the following year. He was concerned with uncovering the physical reality of the classical world, in contrast to the Cambridge Ritualists, and was the foremost Homer scholar of his generation. His edition of the Iliad was published in two volumes (1886–1888) and was regarded for several decades as the best English edition of Homer's epic poem. Leaf also translated works from Russian and Persian, and was fluent in several European languages, including French, Italian, and German. He was president of the Hellenic Society and the Classical Association. He also took an interest in ancient geography.

Banking
In 1877, he entered the family textile firm, becoming chairman of Leaf & Company Ltd. in 1888. In 1892, Leaf & Co. merged with Pawson & Co. to become Pawsons and Leafs Limited. Walter became a director of what would become Westminster Bank in 1891 and its chairman from 1918 until his death. From 1919 to 1921, he was president of the Institute of Bankers. He worked tirelessly for the International Chamber of Commerce, of which he was a co-founder in 1919 and elected president in 1925.

Psychical research
Leaf was a member of the Society for Psychical Research. He translated Vsevolod Solovyov's A Modern Priestess of Isis (1895).

Leaf studied the medium, Leonora Piper. He did not believe that the personality of a person could survive death but came to the conclusion that "memories of the dead survive and are under special conditions accessible to us." This was in opposition to sceptics such as psychologist G. Stanley Hall, who described her mediumship as a case of secondary personality.

Death
It was his doctor who early in 1927 recommended him to visit Torquay, in the south-west of England, for the sake of his health. After a few weeks he died there, however. His funeral ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Publications

 * The Iliad of Homer: Done into English Prose (1892, 1911) [with Andrew Lang and Ernest Myers]
 * A Companion to the Iliad for English Readers (1892)
 * A Modern Priestess of Isis (1895) [with Vsevolod Solovyov]
 * Versions from Hafiz, an essay in Persian metre (Alexander Moring, Ltd.) (1898)
 * Troy: A Study in Homeric Geography (1912)
 * Homer and History (1915)
 * Quatrains From the Greek (1919)
 * Little Poems From the Greek (1922)
 * Strabo on the Troad (1923)
 * Banking (1927)
 * Walter Leaf, 1852–1927: Some Chapters of Autobiography (1932) [with Charlotte Mary Symonds Leaf]

title: Walter Leaf


text:
Wilton culture

Wilton is a term archaeologists use to generalize archaeological sites and cultures that share similar stone and non-stone technology dating from 8,000-4,000 years ago. Archaeologists often refer to Wilton as a technocomplex (Archaeological culture), or Industry. Technological industries are defined by a common tradition of stone tool assemblages, but these technological industries extend to common cultural behaviors. As such, archaeologists use these industries to define a discrete cultural taxonomy. However, technological industries have the potential to generalize different cultures and communities at regional scales that, in more local settings, are distinguishable in both technology and cultural behaviors.

History
Originally defined from archaeological assemblages recovered from Wilton rock shelter in 1921, archaeologists use Wilton to refer to stone age foraging and pastoral communities in portions of east Africa and throughout South Africa that are associated with small stone tools and an increase in the number of formal stone tools like scrappers and backed tools. Archaeological assemblages in Zambia contains evidence for non-stone technology that has led some archaeologists to hypothesize an increased importance of wooden tools Wilton tool sets.

Archaeologists initially recognized Wilton foraging communities from the Holocene beginning 8,000 years ago up through the Iron Age until 500 years ago, though recent studies separate Wilton from the final late Stone Age at 4,000 years ago. Despite Wilton as a term meant to generalize the behaviors of human populations, foraging communities that utilized Wilton-like technology and exhibited Wilton-like behaviors can be found in near-coastal, inland, and montane environments. These diverse landscapes contradict the specificity of Wilton culture that archaeologists had hoped to encompass with this term. In fact, archaeological deposits and isotopic data show that Wilton foragers used a wide range of technologies and exhibited diverse behaviors including diets, mobility, and exchange networks.

Early accounts of Wilton archaeological assemblages posit that similar technology equates to identical cultural identities, suggesting prehistoric communities represented a single culture that ranged from southernmost South Africa to as north as Zambia. Archaeologists characterize Wilton by a greater variety of stone tools and smaller, more formal, stone technology. Additional wooden and bone tools lead archaeologists to think that biological materials played an important role in communities that made Wilton technologies. This technology distinguishes Wilton technology from earlier technological industries such as the Oakhurst. Oakhurst technology dates from 12,000-8,000 years ago and is defined as a technological industry that contains few formal tools and large stone tools, especially large stone scrappers. Previous technological industries like the Oakhurst may have included biological tools like bone and wooden implements, but since biological remains do not survive in the archaeological record, archaeologists are not able to always use these biological tools to define technological industries. It is these changes in stone and non-stone technology that imply changes in cultural behaviors of foragers at these sites and thus, have caused some archaeologists to recognize Wilton technology as a single cultural entity.

Wilton is widely described as a shift from large to small stone technology with an emphasis on stone scrappers and backed tools, though not all sites associated with Wilton contain high numbers of backed tools. This discrepancy offers some evidence that broad categories like Wilton overgeneralize behaviors of people whom, though may have had some cultural activities in common, exhibit diverse tool sets. Many archaeologists acknowledge that Wilton is not a single culture or identity but, instead, solely reflects general trends over small regions in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Transvaal, and most of South Africa from 8,000-4,000 years ago.

Wilton rock shelter
Wilton technology was first described by John Hewitt after he excavated with the collaboration of C. W. Wilmot a cave on the farm Wilton near Alicedale in the eastern Cape of South Africa. Later sites are found along the coastal and the interior of South Africa and as north as the countries Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Wilton site is adjacent to the Karoo region of South Africa and represents a diverse environment that could have easily supported forager groups living in this area. Three dates came from the Wilton rock shelter that ranged from 8,260-2,270. This date range allowed archaeologists to track changes in the size and type of stone technology through the Wilton site and initially defined Wilton technology. The observed environment and time constraints at this site, among others like the Oakhurst site and Matjes River, provide archaeologists with insight into a time range in which foragers produced Wilton technology and thus, exhibited shared technological industries.

At the Wilton site, Hewitt first noted that this site contained remnants from two distinct cultures, distinguishable by the size of the stone tools. The stone preceding Wilton technology appeared much larger at the Wilton site. Based on the large size of the stone tools, Hewitt supposed that this material pertained to a predecessor of Wilton technology, known today as Oakhurst. The significant component of Wilton sites is decreased tool size compared with Oakhurst and an increase frequency of stone scrapers. Furthermore, the stone material at the Wilton rock shelter is predominantly Chalcedony. This assemblage was dominated by stone scrapers and few backed tools. Scrapers were likely used for processing animal hides. Backed tools were created by blunting one margin of the stone tool at a near-90 degree angle. These backed tools were likely hafted to projectiles and served as barbs. Archaeologists have used the assemblage at the Wilton rock shelter to define other Wilton-like assemblages throughout South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Evolution of Wilton as a technological industry
In 1929, Goodwin and Van Riet Lowe initially used Wilton as a term to describe Microlith archaeological assemblages that contained small stone scrapers and backed tools. During this early period of excavation, Goodwin and Van Riet Lowe broke up Wilton technology into two variations defined by the interior and coastal geography of South Africa. The technological industry they associate with interior sites was termed Smithfield, leaving Wilton to define coastal foragers. Forager communities that used Smithfield technology were thought to be contemporaneous with Wilton but contained much larger stone technologies. During the mid-1900s, archaeologists began recovering more Wilton-like objects from other locations in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The stone technology in each of these regions reflects similar characteristics of Wilton technology but each contained slight variations in the technology, likely reflecting local differences due to the variation between environments. For instance, the site of Gwisho in Zambia had predominantly more backed tools than scrapers, contradicting what was originally found at the Wilton rock shelter. Backed tools soon became a significant component of Wilton assemblages. Building on the increased frequency of Wilton sites, Deacon used radiocarbon dates and backed tool frequencies to show that Smithfield could not be contemporaneous with Wilton and thus, must be the preceding technological industry, now termed Oakhurst.

Today, Wilton technology covers much of the same geographical scale as the preceding industry, Oakhurst. Wilton was originally associated with the archaeological assemblage from Wilton farm, which included a high number of scrapers, though archaeological assemblages elsewhere showed additional evidence for backed technology. So, today, Wilton technology is associated with an increase in formal tools like scrapers and backed pieces as well as a significant reduction in size. Wilton technology represents an increase in homogeneity across much of South Africa, including some sites in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This pattern of standard, Wilton, tool kits breaks down after 4,000 years, entering into the final late stone age. Evidence for the introduction of ceramics, pastoralism, and ironworking post-dating 4,000 years ago has created a mosaic of final late stone age technological industries in Southern Africa. This mosaic of industries makes it difficult to make regional generalizations of technological industries like Wilton. So, the term Wilton is now limited from 8,000-4,000 years.

Technology
Archaeologists associate Wilton assemblages with an assortment of different types of stone and non-stone technology. Stone materials are one of the longest-lasting artifacts and, as such, allow archaeologists to interpret the behaviors of past peoples. In rare instances, it is possible for archaeologists to recover non-stone technology, hereafter referred to as biological material. Biological materials like wooden shafts of spears or digging sticks give insight into the broader cultural pattern of past foraging communities that is usually only represented via stone materials. For the Wilton archaeological record, archaeologists have access to a wide variety of stone tools and cases where biological tools were recovered, allowing Wilton to be defined by not only stone but also non-stone technology.

Stone technology
Initially derived from the Wilton rock shelter in South Africa, Janette Deacon classified the Wilton assemblages into four phases that mark the beginning of Wilton (stage 0), a growth phase (stage 1), a mature phase (stage 2), and a decline phase (stage 3). Janette Deacon recognizes a pre-ancestral stone industry at Wilton rock shelter dating to 10,000 years ago by the presence of large stone scrapers made from Quartzite materials. Furthermore, these stone materials are associated with large fauna, suggesting pre-ancestral peoples foraged large animals. These large stone tools are attributable to what Goodwin and Lowe would term Smithfield, a contemporaneous but distinct culture from Wilton. At 8,000 years ago, scrapers at the Wilton site become much smaller, and very few tool types are represented at this time. Deacon claims that this forms the basis for a growth phase (stage 1) of Wilton, which turns towards a mature phase (stage 2) dating to around 4,800 years ago. Stage 2 is represented by the smallest variation in scraper size and shape as well as a faunal assemblage dominated by small animals, distinguishing the Wilton from its predecessor. Additionally, this period is correlated with an increase in backed tool manufacture at Wilton. Though Deacon does not bring attention to this increase, backed tools become a prevalent factor in Wilton assemblages with sites like Gwisho. Then, around 2,270 years ago, the stone scrapers at Wilton become more variable, and formal tools decrease, suggesting a decline phase (stage 3). Stage 3 at the Wilton site is also correlated with the occurrence of pottery. Deacon suggests that "The correlation between the appearance of pottery and the 'death' of the Wilton cultural system is perhaps significant." These observations at Wilton rock shelter formed the basis for how Wilton assemblages are colloquially recognized, but soon, archaeologists realized that Wilton assemblages do vary in technology depending on where they are located.

Where Goodwin and Lowe originally define Smithfield, now known as Oakhurst, as the interior cultural equivalent to Wilton, Deacon showed that Wilton is constrained to the middle-Holocene (~8,000-4,000 years ago) and excludes assemblages identified as Oakhurst. Specifically, the main difference between Oakhurst and Wilton is a decrease in tool size and an increase in formal tools. Moreover, Deacon showed that there is a correlation between Wilton assemblages and an increasing quantity of formal tools like small segments, backed tools, and scrapers. These stone implements are similar to previous stone technologies that show up in several archaeological assemblages dating back to the Howiesons Poort (~70,000 years ago). Stone segments are often geometric in shape forming crescents that are then backed. The process of backing involves repeated percussion against one edge of a stone tool at a nearly 90-degree angle. Archaeologists associate these backed tools and segments as inserts that would have been hafted to form spear-like weapons. Some archaeologists argue that the reoccurrence of standardized stone segments and backed tools reflect a similar adaptation to environmental stress including increasing populations and deteriorating climate.

In Zambia, the stone technology from Luano Spring contains similar components to South African Wilton assemblages. Zambian Wilton technology is defined from the Mumbwa site, which shares similar technologies to South African Wilton and dates to the same later stone age period (8,000-4,000 years ago). Stone technology from Luano Spring consists of mostly quartz materials and, like South Africa, reflects a shift towards decreased size and emphasis on formal tools. However, this site is unique because of the frequency of Denticulate tools. The prominence of these types of tools likely reflects regional adaptations to different environments and access to raw materials like quartz. Due to this variation, some have termed these assemblages in Zambia as Nachikufan. Others have further noted that not all Nachikufan assemblages in Zambia reflect a similar Wilton-like appearance and thus, question their role in the later stone age industries. The distinction between Wilton and Nachikufan is defined by the absence of large scrapers, which had defined the previous Oakhurst technologies.

Similar sites in Zambia like that of Gwisho contained both inorganic (stone) and organic tools. Stone technology at Gwisho was similarly made on quartz raw materials. The stone flakes from Gwisho were irregular and accompanied by Wilton-like formal tools such as small scrapers and backed tools, but this site also contained denticulate tools, though not as many as was recovered from Luano Spring. A comparison between Gwisho and Mumbwa shows that Gwisho varied by the frequency of ''heavy stone tools (defined as tools used for woodworking ) and Burins, showing local variations in Zambia assemblages. '' However, like South Africa, the similarity in decreased stone technology, emphasis on small scrapers, and backed tools suggests Wilton technology in Zambia appears homogenous across space during the later stone age.

Non-stone technology
Archaeological sites in Zimbabwe and Zambia provide evidence of worked bone and wooden implements, providing an insight into the organic tools associated with Wilton technology. Specifically, the site of Pomongwe in Zimbabwe as well as Gwisho and Amadzimba cave in Zambia provide an assortment of bone and wooden technologies. Pomongwe cave in Zimbabwe has preserved several wooden and bone tools dating around 2,000 years ago and assigned as a Wilton assemblage. Two large and four small wooden projectile points and an element shaped like a hook were recovered from Pomongwe in association with notched bone shards, which are likely the result of scraping motions. Cook suggests that the wooden tools may have been used as digging sticks to acquire food resources, whereas the hook-shaped element may have been used as an animal trap. There was one cylindrical bone element that was hollowed out and may have been used as a flute or smoking pipe. Together, these biological tools allow archaeologists to infer the hunting and social behaviors of foragers associated with Wilton technologies. Furthermore, Cook contrasts the similarity of these biological tools with those found in South Africa and Zambia, arguing that Wilton technologies are similarly designed across southern Africa.

Gwisho hot springs in Zambia are broken up into three discrete sites, Gwisho A, B, and C. The Gwisho sites in Zambia contain several crushed bone and elephant ivory that was likely used for bone marrow as well as evidence for use-wear, suggesting these objects fall under the category of technology. Examples of bone tools found at Gwisho include points, awls, and needles. These types of tools were also encountered at the Amadzimba Cave in Southern Rhodesia, though Fagan and Van Noten argue that the bone technology at Gwisho is not as advanced as those recovered from Southern Rhodesia. Other sites in Zambia like Mumbwa have not yielded any evidence for bone tools. This variation could be the result of clear differences in technologies that foragers used at these sites, or taphonomic biases. That is, since biological materials rarely survive in the archaeological record, sites that lack evidence of biological tools may simply reflect instances with poor preservation, instead of technological changes.

Wooden fragments found at Gwisho are another form of technological strategy that implies the importance of wood-as-tools at these sites. Many wooden tools at Gwisho Springs are fragmented and unidentifiable, but each one shows signs of chopping, smoothing, and cutting, implying the intentional working of these wooden implements. Fagan and Von Noten identify several types of wooden tools at the Gwisho sites that include Pointed implements, digging sticks, club-shaped objects, and an array of smoothed fragments. They interpret the implements as evidence for pestles, knives, arrow shafts, and armaments. Similar types of wooden fragments were recovered from the Pomongwe site in Zimbabwe. Since these wooden tools are associated with Wilton-like stone technology, this relationship provides evidence of the importance that biological tools played in communities that made Wilton-like stone tools. Biological tools do not preserve in every archaeological context and thus, provide one explanation for why other sites associated with Wilton do not exhibit evidence of biological tools.

Cultural behavior
Archaeologists like Goodwin and Lowe first used the term Wilton to describe a distinct stone tool assemblage with the implication that these assemblages were associated with unique cultural behaviors of foraging communities. Though some archaeologists show that Wilton sites dating between 8,000 and 4,000 years ago share similar stone and non-stone technology, contrasts between sites like Gwisho Spring, Pomongwe, Mumbwa, Wilton rock shelter, and Rose Cottage Cave show variability in the tools that foragers used during the middle Holocene. Changes in frequency and types of tools present reflects the variability at each of these sites. These changes might be a result of different environmental adaptations, however, Wilton-like assemblages still reflect homogeneous shifts from large to small tools and thus, may suggest a changes in behavioral adaptation that may include different diets, social networks, and population changes.

Diet
Archaeologists use a variety of methods to understand the past diets of forager communities including the presence of faunal remains and isotope data. Diets of many Wilton sites have been interpreted through the presence of faunal material, while few sites along the Southern coast of South Africa interpret diets through isotopic data. Wilton sites located in the cape of South Africa are generally associated with the collection of small animals, differentiating the preceding phase in which Oakhurst assemblages are correlated with large animals. Plant use also appeared to increase during Wilton occupations until 2,000 years ago.

These trends of plant and animal use are also reflected in the South African interior at sites like Rose Cottage Cave. At this inland site, an analysis of the stone tools shows that plant processing was a common task that foragers practiced. Preserved starch grains suggest that people at Rose Cottage Cave likely harvested underground plants including bulbs and tubers. Specific animals that were consumed at this site include antelope, vlei rat, warthog, and springbok among many more species. Northern Wilton assemblages also contain evidence for increased hunting of small game and heavy plant processing. In the Lunsemfwa basin, along the Lunsemfwa River in Zambia, the most dominant species present are bovids. Among the list of bovids represented here, past peoples consumed zebra, tortoise, aardvark, and small browsing antelope. In this region of Zambia, these fauna represent a similar environment that exists in Zambia today. Musonda and Gutin similarly show that the presence of fauna at the Mufulwe rock shelter in Zambia suggests periods of increased aridity that would have forced foraging communities to seasonally migrate between different sites on the landscape. This contrasts South African interior sites where the environment was less stable, yet both sites show similar animal and plant use patterns among the inhabitants. Even along the southern coast of South Africa, despite the vicinity to the ocean, the faunal assemblages reflect terrestrial hunting strategies but with a slight increase in marine resources. Sites like Nelson Bay Cave show continued dependence on small game animals from 9,000-5,000 years ago. However, after 5,000 years ago diets at Nelson Bay Cave and other coastal sites reflect an increased dependence on marine resources. At Nelson bay cave 3,300 years ago, marine resources like fish and seals became a staple food source for these people. The site of Matjes River, which lies 14km along the shore from Nelson Bay Cave shows a similar trend away from terrestrial foods but, instead of foraging marine resources, isotopic and archaeological data suggest the inhabitants of Matjes River had a mixed diet. This mixed diet included terrestrial bovids with an increased emphasis on the collection marine of foods like shellfish. Contrasting these two examples, skeletal remains from the inland site of Witcher's Cave show an exclusive terrestrial diet. So, it is clear that, where other Wilton sites in South Africa and Zambia show a continued dependence on small bovids and plant processing through the middle Holocene, forager communities in the southernmost portion of South Africa along coastal environments reflect a variety of behaviors that diverge from the classic Wilton generalization after 4,000 years ago.

Material exchange
Since archaeologists recognize Wilton as a shared system of cultural behaviors, there is an implied relationship Wilton communities have with one another that span from southernmost South Africa to Zambia. However, archaeological evidence suggest inter-regional and intra-regional variation. For instance, the way in which past peoples made arrowheads and backed stone tools, suggests different methods of production and thus, limited communication between foraging communities associated with Wilton technology. Inter-regional variability can be seen between the Wilton rock shelter and sites like Zambia. At Wilton, there are few backed tools, something that, today, defines Wilton assemblages but in contrast, sites in Zambia exhibit a high number of backed tools. In contrast, some archaeologists suggest that the reduction in stone tool size is a practice that spread through large social networks. However, there is much more variety in the types of non-tool stone material remains including the use of shell beads and ochre. Shell beads are interpreted as materials that can be traded and represent group identities on the landscape. On the other hand, ocher has functional uses such as ultraviolet protection and mastic for binding stone tools to spear-like weaponry, however, many scholars have also argued that ochre was used to symbolize group identities like shell beads. Ochre was also recovered from burials that date to Wilton period, suggesting ceremonial importance for ochre. Though stone technology may have been exchanged on the southern African landscape, the presence of non-tool stone materials during the mid-Holocene does suggest a diverse array of behaviors. Among inter-regional variations in technology, there exist intra-regional burial practices primarily located along coastal environments that vary widely in the material culture that accompanies burials. Hall and Binneman show increased emphasis in burial practices and material production from two South African sites, Klasies River Caves and Welgeluk Shelter. These authors show an increase in shell bead production that accompanies burials and suggest that this reflects a stressed environment and increased emphasis on group identity. These authors posit that such environments may drive increased social exchange between forager communities and further suggest this may indicate semi-permanent settlements. However, differences in shell materials and non-stone technology between Nelson Bay Cave and Matjes River, in South Africa, suggest limited material exchange. In this latter case, archaeologists interpret, not an increase in exchange networks, but evidence for exclusive behaviors associated with territorial defense. To exemplify regional differences in Wilton communities, more recent studies of the Drakensberg montane region show large networks of forager communities. Stewart and colleagues use isotopes of strontium to show that ostrich eggshells traveled hundreds of kilometers into this region 8,000 years ago. This pattern contrasts that seen along the coastal regions where foragers are grounding themselves to specific parts of the landscape of South Africa, suggesting regional differences in mobility and potential for material exchange. For 50,000 years, forager communities in Africa have used ostrich eggshell beads. Archaeologists believe that the increase in bead production links prehistoric cultures to an increased need to symbolize group identities. The extensive movement of shells inland and the symbolic potential of these objects suggests highly mobile groups of people during the first period of time that we see Wilton-like technology (8,000 years ago). These networks once used to span from East to South Africa but appear to be disconnected after the Last Glacial Maximum. For instance, the stylistic design of eggshell beads remained similar between southern and eastern Africa until 33,000 years ago, forming an inter-regional network of foraging communities. By 19,000 years ago, the design of these beads varied, and by the middle Holocene, eastern and southern African communities appeared separated from one another. The spatial extent of social exchange was likely limited by prehistoric networks. The isolation of southern Africa may reflect the reason why Wilton-like technologies only extend as far north as Zimbabwe.

Lastly, the use of Ochre during this period has been interpreted as both, a symbolic and functional material. Ochre is a mineral pigment that past foraging communities have used since the Middle Stone Age for burials, symbolism, and hafting stone tools. During the Holocene, there is an increased use of ochre with evidence that ochre was heavily used in burials and hafting stone technology. Given that Wilton technology is associated with an increase in backed tools, it is likely that ochre was used for hafting these implements to create weapons. However, sites in southern Namaqualand, South Africa, exhibit an absence of preserved ochre on the backed tools in Holocene assemblages. This absence may suggest that ochre was used for other functional purposes during the Holocene and not exclusively for hafting stone tools. An additional use of ochre may be as an insect repellent and protection of UV light. By contrast, ochre may have been used as a social adaptation. For instance, the symbolic use of ochre could be related to signaling group identity and artistic expressions in the form of rock art. Most middle Holocene assemblages spanning from the coastal regions to inland montane environments do contain evidence that ochre was heavily used. However, the vast majority of archaeological assemblages in South Africa do not provide adequate context to directly observe the use of ochre as symbolic material. Archaeologists use ethnographic data to interpret how prehistoric populations may have used ochre and to infer the magnitude of its cultural significance.

Demographics
One implication of small, standard, stone tools that Wilton represents is related to the movement of peoples through southern Africa and hence, the interaction of different forager populations. Goodwin and Lowe initially considered Wilton to be a culture that migrated into South Africa from a more northern region, but Deacon showed that Wilton was likely an adopted feature of already existing technologies and was not an effect of a pioneering culture. Building on this hypothesis, Judith Sealy posits that Wilton technology was developed under low populations that occurred due to increased aridity throughout much of South Africa during the middle Holocene.

Current hypotheses suggest that the size of human populations is directly linked to changes in climate and hence, result in technological changes. Environmental data shows favorable climate and increased site density from 12,000-8,000 years ago, corresponding to Oakhurst technology, which consists of large, informal tools. Favorable climate fosters highly productive ecosystems and thus, adequate amount of resources to support large group sizes. Climate and demographics during this time implies large forager populations. However, during the middle Holocene, temperatures increased, forming arid regions that became unsuitable for forager populations in South Africa. Archaeological sites in South Africa show a discontinuous spatial distribution of Wilton technology and thus, suggests sparse populations. The use and emphasis on small, formal, stools from 8,000-4,000 years ago can be explained as a strategy for coping with poor environmental conditions. Yet, the uniform transition from large to small tools may suggest that there were extended networks between foraging communities in South Africa that extended north into portions of Zambia and Zimbabwe. This evidence provides support that ameliorated climate and sparse, but well-connected, foraging populations may be a component to the development of Wilton technology.

Significance to modern African communities
Khoisan, sometimes just referred to as San, is the name for the Indigenous communities of South Africa and to many archaeologists, represents direct cultural descendants from later Stone Age foragers. At an early account for the site of Mumbwa in Zambia, Protsch argued that Khoisan peoples emerged in central Africa around 20,000 years ago. Other accounts by d'Errico and colleagues use evidence from Border Cave to suggest a much earlier emergence of Khoisan communities dating to 40,000 years ago. These case studies argue that the stone and non-stone tools of early foraging communities in central and southern Africa reflect similar tools used by Khoisan today, but other archaeologists argue on the basis of scientific inference that the similarity of technology does not imply cultural continuity over 40,000 years. These contrasting views reflect two main components of the Kalahari debate in which the question of cultural continuity between late Stone Age peoples and modern Indigenous communities comes under scrutiny. On one end, the cultural identities of African communities represent a direct link to prehistoric populations and can help to describe prehistoric behaviors. On the other end of this debate, cultural contact and transformation have been ongoing for thousands of years and so, modern communities do not reflect the exact cultural behaviors or identities of prehistoric populations.

During the Holocene, the question becomes whether Wilton technology reflects the foundation for modern Indigenous communities in South Africa today. Wilton is the last colloquially recognized technological industry before the final late Stone Age that post-dates 4,000 years. After 4,000 years ago, the technologies that foragers use become less standardized and more variable across Southern Africa. Increased variability in the types of tools people made may reflect human choices to specialize to specific environments and may signal a disconnect from exchange networks that some posit existed from 8,000-4,000 years. At 2,000 years ago, pastoral communities entered South Africa from northern regions and began to interact with foraging communities. Contact between foraging and pastoral communities likely impacted the types of tools present and cultural behaviors. Some scholars show that not all foraging communities conformed to pastoral lifeways, but, instead, adapted to the presence of pastoralists by specializing in tools designed for a new economy. A change in economy after 2,000 years may not have changed cultural practices of foragers during this time, but the introduction of this economy did change the kinds of stone technology. Therefore, this brings up an issue with connecting present and past cultural identities based solely on technology.

During European contact, other scholars posit that this interaction created a kind of Creolization. Creolization refers to the expression of new cultural traits as an effect of the contact between two unique cultures. Evidence for creolization in the historic past raises questions about whether cultural identities remained intact up until the present day. If cultural identities are intact, then archaeologists can use modern Indigenous communities to interpret Holocene behaviors, but the creolization may suggest a shift in cultural behaviors. This raises an additional question about what the difference between stone tools and cultural behaviors. In the instance where foragers in South Africa increased the production of stone scrapers as a result of changing economies with pastoral communities, does this reflect a change in cultural behavior or material production? Furthermore, since tools may be driven by changes in the economy and not necessarily cultural behaviors, this makes it difficult to argue that cultural identities are directly linked to stone technology. This brings us back to the concerns that stone industries like Wilton overgeneralize cultural behaviors and may not accurately reflect groups identities across southern Africa.

title: Wilton culture


text:
Talk:Jeff Bezos

Lauren Sanchez Affair and Sexts
Why is there no mention of Jeff's affair with Lauren Sanchez? It received wide publicity and news coverage, and their relationship continues to receive coverage. I understand there's likely an Amazon-led PR effort to sanitize any mention of his infidelity, but it's notable and news-worthy.

This needs non biased factual references.

Request for Addition of Additional Details Regarding Marital Infidelity and Lauren Sanchez Affair
I brought this up in an earlier post, so here it is again, with reputable, non-biased sources:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/03/inside-the-bezos-affair-a-tale-of-love-lust-uncertainty-lauren-sanchez

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-relationship-timeline-photos-2020-1

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/jeff-bezos-affair-national-enquirer/

I'd be happy to provide some text if someone is willing to make the edit and brave the wrath of Amazon's sycophant PR team.

"Jeff Jorgensen" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Jorgensen&redirect=no Jeff Jorgensen] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Estar8806 (talk) 00:50, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 May 2023
May i please permission to edit this... I know him more personally and would like to include things that havn't been editied along with many grammar errors. Thanks!

Again thank you so much for your time. HELLOcute (talk) 00:10, 10 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. – Muboshgu (talk) 00:13, 10 May 2023 (UTC)

Jeff Bezos’s adopted father
Why isn’t Jeff Bezos’s adopted father listed as his parent as well? You all give the biological father's existence more credibility than the man who adopted and raised him, Miguel Bezos. Plasmawipes (talk) 13:28, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

 * sir I'm respected you Vali asim (talk) 06:50, 7 May 2024 (UTC)
 * The article gives roughly one sentence to each of Bezos' biological and adoptive father. The infobox only lists biological father, but a) this is a trivial additional point of recognition and b) the person infobox template doesn't seem to have a meaningful line item for adoptive parents. This might be something worth raising at the infobox template talkpage. For this specific article I think what matters is the equal weight in the text. -- Euryalus (talk) 07:06, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Jeff Bezos


text:
User:Sansculotte

de:Benutzer:Sansculotte

title: User:Sansculotte


text: Template:Five oceans

title: Template:Five oceans