text:
User talk:Curps/archive11

Solana
Might it be possible to put a permanent edit block on Solana to stop a repeat of the previous vandalism. There should be no need for anyone to edit this page. I have put the idea at Talk:Solana. --SqueakBox 01:16, Mar 5, 2005 (UTC)

I like the new Solana page. Is there any chance of retrieving the comment that was at Talk:Javier Solana/Solana vandalism and POV? --SqueakBox 01:50, Mar 5, 2005 (UTC)

One Salient Oversight wrote something this morning. But it doesn't matter. I am often getting edit conflicts when they don't happen, but I think this one was real. --SqueakBox 01:59, Mar 5, 2005 (UTC)

Have a look at my conclusion on the special talk page. --SqueakBox 17:45, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

We are into an edit war, Cumbey and I. She just reverted the article to her inaccurate version, Ferdinand González, misplacing of the Barcelona Conference (now up for deletion) etc. I think because she has made no attempt to clear up her mistakes that this is vandalism.--SqueakBox 03:37, Mar 11, 2005 (UTC)

Solana
I am very unhappy with User:Cumbey's latest contribution to the special page. I feel she is engaging in a personal attack. Is there any way to get mediation. I am actually going offline for a few days tomorrow, but she seems very angry at my edits, and is trying to take it out on me. While I feel I have accused her of breaking wiki rules, and I remain unsure about what is going on, I have not accused her of criminal acts. --SqueakBox 01:17, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

It was at the bottom and from last night, I only noticed the one's at the top this morning. --SqueakBox 01:21, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

I have edited the article to make it look like a normal political article. As I have included corrections, including that it is Felipe González not Ferdinand, and added bits like him negotiating the formal ending to the NATO-Russian hostilities, and put everything in chronological order that you will not let User:Cumbey just do a simple revert on it. Such a thing would be dishonest, especially for the corrections. --SqueakBox 01:45, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

Cumby left a letter on her User talk:Cumbey page which I hope means she is going to go away. --SqueakBox 05:03, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

I have just found a good spanish site and am correcting a lot of inaccuracies in the article. --SqueakBox 02:27, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC)

User:Cumbey has made another personal attack against me at Talk:Javier Solana--SqueakBox 04:29, Mar 13, 2005 (UTC)

Cheers. Cumbey is a woman! --SqueakBox 04:37, Mar 13, 2005 (UTC)

I got this I plan to make you (in)famous in my next book here in the USA, Richard Weiss, truth is an absolute defense from Cumbey in an email. Her next book is about Solana. She claims this is my name. What, if any, is wikipedia attitude to threats like this. I have written back saying she has no proof SqueakBox is Richard Weiss (she is guessing from my User page), and that if she libels me I will sue. --SqueakBox 00:15, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Template:Vfd
Thank you. Uncle G 01:44, 2005 Mar 10 (UTC)

User:Desertsky
hello CURPS, sorry to mess up this page; also my excuses to UNCLE. I get to old for this job; pls. advise me how send message to you (under CURPS) with- out disturbing other users contributions; I will have soon some news about Minor Planet Names and would like to ask you for editing, thanks DESERTSKY Hans-Emil Schuster

Star names
I wonder why you move proper name star articles to their Bayer designations. In my opinion, star articles should be primarily named after their proper names, and if one doesn't exist, then Bayer designation, and if the star doesn't have that, then Flamsteed designation. I understand that rare/unusual names are not good article names, but for example Kochab is quite popular name for β UMi. It is even recognized by SIMBAD which doesn't have many proper names. --Jyril 12:53, Mar 11, 2005 (UTC)

Germany
Curps, since I know that you're keeping an eye on the Germany article - please do not protect that page again, even if I keep reverting Jiang now and again. I have spent the whole winter trying to make the History section there more balanced and informative. I've already complied to Jiang's wishes by removing all subsections and reducing the size of images. But now I think it's Jiang's turn to compromise. I won't allow him to undo all my efforts. The History section is rather long, (depending on what you mean by "long"). But the corresponding "Deutschland" article on the German Wikipedia has a history section - "Geschichte" - which is as much as long, and nobody is complaining there. - Heimdal 13:36, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Curps, I understand what you're saying - although, why should the German history section be no longer than France's ? Actually, things are getting pretty heated over there at Germany, and I've reverted for the 3rd time this day already. That's enough for today. I just hope that the page won't be bocked again. -Heimdal 15:02, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Okay, it's not that I want to be proved right at all cost. May I therefore ask you for your personal opinion as a third party: Do you think that the history section is still within what is acceptable on the English Wikipedia, or is it too long already? Thanks. Heimdal 15:46, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Touching a Page to reset the Category
I tried posting without making the change, but it wasn't resetting the category, so I put a space around the template tag. Thanks for the input though. Besides, that Bot run is finished now. Kevin Rector 05:19, Mar 12, 2005 (UTC)

It does work in the browser. Hmmm. I'll need to look into that to figure out why it didn't work for my bot if I am called upon to do a similar bot run. Kevin Rector 05:35, Mar 12, 2005 (UTC)

Category sabotage
Thank you for informing me. I had noticed that JillandJack had burned up many categories, as well as all the other slanted info that user infiltrated across the encyclopedia. I planned on rebuilding them; I'll try to assist you on that task. I will also go defend the categories at the deletion pages as soon as possible. The rebuilding of vandalized categories and articles, as well as the question of which categories are appropriate for Quebec articles, shuld be a subject of friendly debate at the next Montreal meetup on March 14. Are you in Quebec or elsewhere? Could you attend? Salutations. --Liberlogos 11:56, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic protection listing
Thanks for the protection listing for this article on Protected page. I had just protected it myself and added a protect notice (doesn't really work on a redirect :) ). I headed over to add it to the list and saw your notice. This was my first protect as an admin, so please check my work if you have time. I have made a notice about the protection on Nagorno-Karabakh pointing to a more detailed one on Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 19:51, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 21:47, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks. CryptoDerk 03:18, Mar 13, 2005 (UTC)

Nulla
decided to delete WP:AN/3RR

oh nevermind, someone put it back now.

Cumbey threats
These threats were received by email. User:Cumbey claims SqueakBox is hacking into the wiki database. She is going to demand the hard discs from Jimbo Wales so she can get me put down for a long time because of my alleged hacking. She accuses me of having a stash of janja (sic) she means ganja, in my possession, and that she is going to tell the Honduran police about it. She is going to write to Jimbo demanding he reinstate her version of Solana. She is very unhappy with the new contributors. She thinks they work for me and I work for Solana.--SqueakBox 14:47, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Cumbey has now made threats against me at User talk:Cumbey.--SqueakBox 16:51, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Gaston Lagaffe
Thanks for editing the page. It looks fabulous. Frenchgeek 17:27, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Reversion of characters ° and ×
Can you please explain your reversion of the characters someone (not me) had put ino the Europa (moon) article, with your editorial comment "rv edit which screws up non-ISO-8859-1 chars (wrecks interwiki links, for instance)"?

What in the world do you mean by that?

Why do you find those particular characters objectionable? I don't know all the confusing details of how this stuff works, so could you just give some specific example of how this could possibly get screwed up? Is it browser-specific or platform-specific, for example?

In particular:
 * I just put this ° and this × in here by going to the list of characters in the insert box which opens up below the edit box every time I edit a page. That is a built-in Wikipedia feature, not something in my browser. To me, that is a very good indication that they are generally considered safe to use.
 * How would using ° rather than ° (&deg;) cause any more problems than using å rather than å (&aring;)?
 * in Meta:Help:Special characters it says "the most common special characters, such as é, are in the character set, so code like &eacute;, although allowed, is not needed."
 * Is there any difference in using å å å &#x00E5 rather than å (&#229; &#0229; &#xE5; &#x00E5 rather than &aring;)?
 * Is there any difference between entering å from a Norwegian keyboard rather than any of the above?
 * How would that be any different from using using ° rather than using any of &deg; &#176; &#0176: &#xB0; &#x00B0;?
 * Gene Nygaard 12:27, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Fiona Apple
I'm a little bit peeved at your re-reversions in the Fiona Apple article and your consequent comments on the discussion page. I can't help but say that they are based in ignorance, offensive though that may sound. In particular you say that stating her video for Criminal flirted with child pornography is a "serious charge"; that's just ludicrous. If one were to state that the video *WAS* child pornography, or any form of it, then yes, that would be a serious allegation. However what the phrase "flirted with" means is that it pushed the boundaries of the subject. Evoking the imagery of something forbidden is not BAD, it is meant to make one think. There is absolutely NO question, based on comments by both Fiona Apple and the video's director, that the INTENT of the video was to EVOKE the stereotypical imagery of 1970's child pornography: the young, thin, hairless models writhing in bathtubs, on shag carpeting with wood and formica wall background. The television using a poloroid attachment to pop out instant photos of the "characters" mid coitus, etc... We all know that hard-core fans of an artist are very quick to defend them if something is said that might be offensive or damaging, which is why there was an editing war over this subject. But the FACT is, this is what the music video intended, and it was HIGHLY controversial and a major part of Apple's signifigance up until this point in time. Your removal of it shows a resolute lack of understanding of the topic and of Apple. Pacian 01:30, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Blocked me?
You blocked me for editing the sandbox. I don't think it's fair. Just to let you know I'll be complaining.--212.100.250.207 16:37, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * I blocked you for the hoax Template:Page closed you created. -- Curps 16:39, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Willard Gibbs
(physical chemist is much better known than his father)

Agree, but we should at least put a note at the beginning of the page.

Thanks Curps
Thanks for speedily reverting the vandalism by User:Oxag on my talk page! I wasn't sure what had happened and when I suspected it was vandalism I did not know how to revert because I could not even get to my talk page. Paradiso 04:30, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks from me too. Not as bad as getting one of the Pain series, but, uh...caught me off guard. Shiri 04:33, Mar 21, 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks from me as well. Talk about getting a shock. Much appreciated. Dblevins2 04:45, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Vandalism on other Wiki with your username
Hello, Curps. Someone is using your username and also copied the content of your user and talk page on Memory Alpha. This user is vandalizing articles and adding content that is not acceptable for us. Please let me know if this is an imposter. Should it be you, please stop... :) You can reach me on Memory Alpha, I'm User:Cid Highwind there. -- 217.225.27.203 12:27, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * The account "Curps" on Memory Alpha is not me. I would appreciate it if that account was blocked and the user page edited to reflect that it is an impostor. -- Curps 15:37, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Done, thanks for your fast response. -- 217.225.27.203 16:32, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Trumpets
This probably could have been phrased better, I concur. It's just that this thing has been going on forever, and it's easy to lose patience. — Itai (f&t) 13:57, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Spirit Rover
Hi! I'd be grateful if you could change the article back; if you check you'll find that there are quite a few articles concerning the various rovers, all but one (Opportunity rover, which somehow I missed) I switched, as well as changing links, etc. The text of most if not all the articles uses the capitalised 'Rover' for the name, and the lower-case 'rover' for the description, which is why I changed the article titles — to make articles and titles consistent. Mel Etitis ( Μελ Ετητης ) 16:55, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * I went to three of the pages with one or other of the 'rovers' in the title, and none of them had any discussion of capitalisation (in fact everyone was using the capitalised form). Which of the Talk pages do you mean?  (Note, by the way, that it isn't just two pages — there are at least ten, I think, such as Spirit Rover timeline for 2004 February, Opportunity Rover timeline for 2004 January, etc.) Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:30, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * I saw, that, but it seemd, as you said, to be about an earlier naming issue, not this one. Having made a large number of changes, including removing double redirects and other redirects (with an enormous number left because of other name changes), I'm a bit reluctant to get involved if it's going to be one of those interminable Wikipedia squabbles.  I made the changes because I thought (obviously completely wrongly) thatthey'd be uncontroversial; I really should know by now. Mel Etitis  ( Μελ Ετητης ) 17:40, 21 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Wraybm1

Hello Curps, I am relatively new to editing and such but... I was just on the Popes page and saw that someone did some vandalsim to it. I was in the process of fixing it when you did it before me. First off... good job. Secondly, how did you do it? Is there a way to just revert to an older edit. I was trying to copy and past the text out of older edits. I'd like to be able to do this, as vandalism usually is rampant throughout every section of an article and it is impossible to select a single column in the comparable versions history view. I hope my question makes sense.

Wanted to say thanks
Thanks for adding me (Jeff Alu) and Eleanor Helin's name also. Do we know you??

Jeff

--AnimAlu 23:47, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Abdullah Öcalan to merge with PKK
Can you please reconsider your desicion. The mans life mostly revolved around the organisation. His life basicaly is a very short summary of PKK Activity. His pre organisation life is not significant from any average person. These two articles are also subject to vandalism every here and there it would simplify my workload enforcing a non vandal world if these articles were merged. Thanks --Cool Cat My Talk 17:05, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Re: the Categories Star and Stars
I'm so sorry - Here's my problem:

A star is a giant ball of gas in space. However, Stars is a well-known band from Montreal

I'd like to create an entry for this band, but currently the Stars entry redirects to Star. A bunch of other entries link to Stars, and I am in the process of changing those links so that they go to star instead.

Additionally, I found the Stars category. The main article of this category should be Star, since Stars is just a redirect page. But with the catmore tag, I didn't see a way to do this, unless I disregard the catmore tag and instead just enter it manually. Is that ok to do?

Do you have any more suggestions? I'm kind of new to this (as you can most likely tell!)

Zdeněk Miler
Why did you move Zdeněk Miler to Zdenek Miler? --Rammer 08:56, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC) Thanks for the quick response? --Rammer 09:09, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Curps, don't forget to add the titlelacksdiacritics template when doing these kinds of moves.
 * Urhixidur 12:34, 2005 Mar 24 (UTC)

 * Oops, you're right. -- Curps 16:35, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Autoblocks
Thanks, that explains a lot! I was wondering why, having cleared an autoblock that was obviously of me, I was able to continue editing even after blocking him for another hour.

It seems this is much better than I feared. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 21:48, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * It's no good, I hit a new autoblock every few minutes. I even hit an autoblock *twice* trying to post this edit! It takes several minutes to locate and clear each autoblock because the database is flogged to death.

 * This guy has only vandalized a few pages, but we must be blocking thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of potential editors who happen to use NTL. I'll lift the block and check back in an hour or two to clean up any mess that needs it. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 22:31, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

please stop
It is a petition. Trying to shut it down is inappropriate in that context. -- Netoholic @ 00:59, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

"02:49, 2005 Mar 25 Curps (Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Requests for de-adminship/Snowspinner moved to Wikipedia:Requests for de-adminship/Votes for deletion/Requests for de-adminship/Snowspinner)

This action is incredibly disruptive. Whatever point you're trying to make is getting lost due to your odd behavior. -- Netoholic @ 02:52, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

 * It's not really a Vfd at all, it's a petition. So I moved it to the petition namespace, which seems to be under Wikipedia:Requests for de-adminship/ -- Curps 02:53, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Yeah, that wasn't funny the first time. All I did was make a petition (location is debateable), but you are truly disrupting the VfD process to make a point.  Get a grip. -- Netoholic @ 02:58, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

Okay; you fix it, please
You don't like me to impose a solution? Please, you impose a solution. If you think you have more authority than I do, you probably do. If you have the power to unilaterally bypass social mechanisms and throttle me, then you have the power to impose a unilateral solution on these political fanatics.

Every existing method of conflict resolution has failed. This endless, pointless debate is wrecking everything with which it comes in contact. It's not even limited to China-related pages; it spills into the Pump, a half-a-dozen policy talk pages and, I swear, I think I come across it while I'm trying to edit Graph theory. The debate is a cancer eating away at the fabric of WP society.

I have not violated 3RR. My plan (such as it was) is to move this debate, wherever I find it, to the designated area on a daily basis. I expect some folks will move it back where they feel their pissing contest will draw a larger audience. I plan to move it, decently, out of sight, again, once a day.

Jiang complained, as you do, that there is no page at: PRC vs ROC, hence no Talk page is appropriate. I agreed, and asked his suggestion for a better name for the venue. He wanted the whole thing dumped back into Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese). I asked again for some distinct name; he has not answered. Now, I ask you. Go ahead, pick a name -- any name, any namespace -- just so long as it doesn't overlap with real discussion. Believe me, I don't have a dog in this fight. I simply have no opinion on the "Taiwan question", the "Mainland China" question, or any of the other thousand forms of the debate.

My actions are only disruptive to those with a dog in the fight. Before I started moving comments in this debate to a designated area, Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese) had grown to a whopping 150K; I could barely get it to load in my browser, let alone edit it or make any comment on any other issue -- one upon which some consensus might be reached, one having nothing to do with PRC, ROC, or any of that.

What I have done is to archive portions of a verbose discussion in a central location. I'll admit I have done so with a great deal of huffing and puffing, and you're welcome to censure me for that. But I contest any censure of my actions or characterization of them as disruption or vandalism. Archival of discussion is a normal function on WP. Would you be happier if I arbitrarily archived any entire Talk page I found with this debate simmering on it? I have contrived a method of archiving this -- foolishness -- while preserving not only the foolishness itself for those who care to indulge, but also the legitimate business of the forums so polluted.

Kindly restore the templates you moved to template namespace. Template namespace is there to use the template mechanism; it is not a comment on content. Many users set up templates for special purposes; it is a utility namespace, and that's what I've used it for. I'm prepared to defend each and every template and, for that matter, each and every use thereof.

Please do not tell me everything is going to be okay. Don't ask me to wait around for consensus to pull out of this furball; it will not. Human beings have been executed by their leaders for expressing opinions on this subject; there are plenty of warriors on both sides who will not lay down their arms. You will not get these folks to the bargaining table, let alone get them to agree on anything. The debate itself is pointless. It has gone on for years; if a solution by consensus or any other existing method were possible, it would have taken place. No new information is going in; a great smoke and noise is coming out.

I took action. You don't like it? You take action. Be bold. If you think this needs to be decided at the Highest Levels, get together with the other bigwigs and thrash it out. There is not much point trying to do serious work on one corner of this project while holy wars rage everywhere. This debate is merely one egregious offender.

Please prove me wrong. Please prove me an insolent fool, a rude buffoon, a maniac on wheels. Prove my actions unwarranted, extreme, overreaction. You will earn my most sincere apologies. Show me. Bring the combatants together, or for that matter, allow them to continue their war, somewhere away from the general business of this project. Let your solution serve as a model for the other holy wars raging here, which are all too numerous and visible.

Let us disagree, but let us do so with some fragment of civility. — Xiong (talk) 12:03, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

 * Please see my comments at Village pump (policy), in reply to your comments there.

 * Disputes at Wikipedia are settled according to mechanisms described at Dispute resolution, not by unilateral "settlement" of the kind you attempted to impose. Over the years Wikipedia has seen far worse disputes than the one over China/PRC/ROC/Taiwan and the dispute resolution mechanisms have worked so far.

 * You are right, I don't believe you violated the 3RR, but as a relatively new user I thought you might not be aware of it, so I just wanted to point out its existence to you. Sorry if you were already aware of it, but your other actions suggested that perhaps you weren't familiar with Wikipedia policies (on dispute resolution, etc).

 * If Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese) grows too big the usual solution is to create archive subpages. For instance, something similar to the archive links I have at the top of this talk page... this is a standard practice on Wikipedia.

 * The dispute over China/PRC/ROC/Taiwan naming is not an emergency as you describe; there are not raging edit wars going on and everyone is quite civil. Right now the best course of action is patience.  At some point, we may have to appeal to the broader Wikipedia community and conduct a wide-ranging survey to try to gather consensus. -- Curps 18:26, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

User templates
Never mind what I said about moving my templates. I didn't understand that they would still work in their new location -- which I agree is more appropriate. I'm still learning. In future, I'll consider creating templates in that space. Sorry. — Xiong (talk) 13:02, 2005 Mar 25 (UTC)

Sticky template trouble
I don't know how you feel about helping me with this, but I'm trying to straighten up nicely after the move and be as helpful as possible, rather than otherwise -- and I seem to have run into a technical problem. One of my templates is stuck.

I have my settlement (diatribe, call it what you will) now at: User:Xiong/Template:Xiongxiong. When it appears at the top of the very bulky debate pages, User:Xiong/Chinatalk and User talk:Xiong/Chinatalk (renamed for consistency and, perhaps, greater neutrality), I wish "xiongxiong" to appear with an "Add new section/edit" link at the very top of the page. This way, somebody who cannot load the whole thing can still add his bit. So, I have another template: User:Xiong/Template:Xiongxiongadd, which consists of nothing but the edit link and the main "xiongxiong" template, by reference.

Now, this seems to work just fine when I preview it; but when it appears on the new Chinatalk pages, the Add link points to an old page. The last thing I want to do is confuse matters and annoy you by inviting the public to re-create the old page via new section edit.

Would you please fix this sticky template? — Xiong (talk) 02:59, 2005 Mar 26 (UTC)

Yes, adding the NAMESPACE variable fixed it. I should have thought of that myself. I didn't read the description of PAGENAME closely enough; I was fixated on the difference between PAGENAME and PAGENAMEE. Thank You! — Xiong (talk) 18:26, 2005 Mar 26 (UTC)

Polish and German names (just noticed)
Only just noticed your comment against one of my votes on Talk:Gdansk/Vote back last month. Not wanting to start a protracted discussion, just wanted to clarify my comment, as it looks like you didn't quite follow what I meant.

On the "Cross-Naming General" vote:

 * The naming of many places in the region that share a history between Germany and Poland are also a source of edit wars. For these places, the first reference of one name should also include a reference to other commonly used names, e.g. Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) or Szczecin (Stettin). An English language reference that primarily uses this name should be provided on the talk page if a dispute arises.

I agreed and commented "(and no objection to post-War use of Stettin (now Szczecin) in articles other than its own)", to which you mentioned "List of cities in Poland needs a complete makeover then, and a whole lot of other pages too. -- Curps 08:06, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)"

I know what you were trying to say (notably because you said so rather more verbosely elsewhere in the page), but you're answering something I didn't quite say. By "no objection", I was trying to say that I don't object to seeing "Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland)" in an article. I wasn't suggesting that we should mandatorily change references thus, merely that I didn't think we should mandatorily remove such references. As it is, I'm happy to sit with the consensus of the votes.

Just thought I'd make sure you didn't think I was any more mad than I am ;o) — OwenBlacker 15:27, Mar 25, 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Curps/archive11


text:
User talk:PicassoNumaNuma

Thanks for experimenting with Wikipedia. Your test worked, and has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any other tests you want to do. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. Thanks. Edward 20:04, 2005 Apr 12 (UTC)

 * You have been indefinately blocked by CryptoDerk. Redwolf24 02:01, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

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

title: User talk:PicassoNumaNuma


text:
Eijkman (crater)

Eijkman is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon's southern hemisphere. It lies about a half crater diameter to the southeast of the larger crater Lemaître. To the south-southwest is the crater Crommelin, and to the northeast is Fizeau.

The rim of this crater is well-defined and has not been significantly worn down by impacts. Nevertheless, there are a few tiny craterlets along the edge and a small craterlet along the northern inner wall. The inner walls display some minor terracing along the northwestern edge. Near the midpoint of the crater interior floor is a horseshoe-shaped central peak formation, with the open end pointing towards the south.

Satellite craters
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Eijkman.

title: Eijkman (crater)


text:
Talk:Tamar of Georgia

Comment
Dear Levzur, I just cannot understand why have you removed the words stating David Soslani's Ossetian roots. As far as I know, he was a descendant of the Georgian prince Demetre Bagrationi, who was a son of King Giorgi I and his Ossetian wife Alde.

Best wishes, Kober

Correct name
I do belive that the correct English name would be king Tamar. For example, we say Davit Mepe, which is King David in English, so we should use Tamara, rather than Tamar, I suppose. SosoMK 20:59, 12 March 2007 (UTC)
 * you mean King Tamar (considering that in georgian she is called [Tamar Mepe]). And i to dubble Soso about name of the article - Tamar of Georgia sould be King Tamar of Georgia. psycho_NIX 13:01, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

she was king not queen so you sould use king tamar not queenMerriame (talk) 19:12, 14 December 2020 (UTC)

David Soslan, A Historic Name, A Legend, and A Historic Legend
Was David Soslan descendant of Bagrationi Family? Is it a definitive information? The only thing about David Soslan, what we know is; he was the son of the king of Alania.

how did she die?
doesn't say... anyone know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.246.9.199 (talk) 21:02, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Image in the infobox
I don't understand why the medieval image has been replaced with a modern one. In which way is this picture "a standard depiction"? I think it's far better to have a contemporary or near-contemporary depiction rather than a highly romanticized modern image whose origin is not completely clear to me. I think this is a 20th-century picture whose authorship and copyright status is not indicated. --KoberTalk 04:17, 22 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, if by highly-romanticized you mean it is not overly-simplistic and does not have scratches...I agree, it is certainly not a flat, medieval depiction. I have nothing against the older frescoes per se, but my reasoning was that 1.the previous image was already present in the article and 2.that it was very hard to decipher what Tamar and her apparel actually looked like. The modern painting, regardless of its idealistic depiction, I feel gives the readers a better idea without throwing them into confusion.
 * Moreover, just because the fresco is contemporary does not mean that it is more representative than the modern depiction based on it; lets face it, medieval painters were not very good at what they did, not only in Georgia but across Europe. If we remove everything romanticized, I'm afraid pages of most monarchs will be left without any paintings.
 * Finally, I do not see why this image should be singled out. For example, the painting by Hungarian Zichy has never been challenged even though it depicts Tamar's court more as that of Islamic Persia,( with peacock feathers and carpets) than as that of a proper, Christian Georgian monarch. I am afraid this is a result of perverted Russian fantasies of Georgia as an exotic place where they could get away from the drabness of their contemporary, neoclassical St. Petersburg. My image will provide a good counterbalance to this falsehood. And again, the old frescoes are still in every corner of the article for everyone to be seen. Regards.-- ComtesseDeMingrélie  14:30, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

 * It's not our job to assess the painting skills of medieval artists. The image of Tamar from Vardzia is not definitely over-simplistic. Having scratches is not a valid reason to reject the image. I don't agree that "because the fresco is contemporary does not mean that it is more representative than the modern depiction based on it". Did you know that many modern portraits of Georgian monarchs so familiar to us are in fact based on the portraits of the 20th-century Georgian actors and actresses? Regarding the painting by Zichy, I would basically agree with you, but in this case at least the authorship and date of the painting are known. Could you provide similar info for the picture you're insisting on?--KoberTalk 15:46, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

 * I just updated it with the info of the book from which the scan is made. I honestly do not know the name of the painter, it just says mid-19th century, but we do not know the names of those who painted frescoes either. And to be fair, neither do we know whether they also used some people as models, or Queen Tamar was modeling herself, or they just painted from memory. Regards.-- ComtesseDeMingrélie  16:06, 22 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, we don't know who painted the fresco, but what we do know is that it is not subject to copyright. Your image may well be from the mid-19th century and hence in public domain, though. I did not really know that Salia's book included colored illustrations. --KoberTalk 16:21, 22 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Kober, I think you perhaps unintentionally deleted my work on specifying who the Zakarids were and how they were related to Q.Tamar. Can you explain please. Zimmarod (talk) 20:10, 26 February 2012 (UTC)
 * hello, hello, anyone there? Zimmarod (talk) 21:08, 9 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry for a late reply, but I think mentioning the Zacharids' background in each section is redundant. Their origin in the Armenian milieu and the fact that they held high ranks at Tamar's court are already mentioned earlier in the text.--KoberTalk 04:20, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

a legend about her tomb
according a legend in machakhel; Tamar dedopal buried in there (machakheli-efeler/ეფრატი village, Artvin)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.236.61.123 (talk) 16:58, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

move Tamar of Georgia to Tamar the Great

 * Support to move. Jorjadze (talk) 19:28, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
 * If no objections are met page will be moved. Jorjadze (talk) 16:42, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
 * That's not a proper procedure for move. Please follow Moving a page and Requested moves.--KoberTalk 17:05, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Exactly. And for the record I oppose the move.--The Emperor's New Spy (talk) 19:14, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

Requested move 02 November 2013

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was not moved. --BDD (talk) 20:01, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

Tamar of Georgia → Tamar the Great – Her name is not just Tamar of Georgia but it should be Tamar the Great as her importance is very high. Jorjadze (talk) 10:49, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

Survey

 * Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with  or  , then sign your comment with  . Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.

 * Oppose No one is arguing that she was not called Tamar the Great but Tamar of Georgia is the more common form used in sources. Overall it is ill advice to use nicknames to denote monarchs of Georgia due to their obscurity to English audiences; the "of Georgia" tell us more about the person than the nickname that many might even get. The nickname is still shown in the article. --The Emperor's New Spy (talk) 10:57, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Oppose The "X of Georgia" construct is more informative and descriptive. Furthermore, the Georgian nicknames can be rendered in English in various ways, creating confusion. Even the Georgian-language encyclopedias don't use nicknames in the title of an article about a monarch.--KoberTalk 12:25, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * You may want to read WP:COMMONNAME. Jorjadze (talk) 18:00, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

 * Comment/suggestion "Tamar the Great" is definitely an option to consider, however, I'm not so sure if it is a suitable title. Google Books indicates 375 results for "Tamar of Georgia" and 171 for "Tamar the Great".
 * "Tamar" "queen" gets over 51,000 results, so why don't we rename this to Tamar, Queen of Georgia similar to Diana, Princess of Wales? Please see the VIAF page for Tamar. "Tamar, Queen of Georgia" is what the Library of Congress uses . -- Ե րևանցի talk  19:24, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Tamar was NOT the Queen. She was one of the greatest monarchs and was called as KING Tamar (თამარ მეფე tamar mepe). Jorjadze (talk) 18:00, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * A female king? I have no idea what the word "mepe" means and it is quite irrelevant in English Wikipedia. Read my comment over. "Tamar, Queen of Georgia" is the form that the Library of Congress uses. -- Ե րևանցի  talk  18:31, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Current discussion is to move it to Tamar the Great. Do you support it or oppose? Jorjadze (talk) 18:36, 3 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm leaning towards oppose, because Google Books results has more "Tamar of Georgia" than "Tamar the Great". -- Ե րևանցի talk  18:44, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Discussion

 * Any additional comments:
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Any source on naming her son Lasha?
Why would a Kartvelian(or Armenian) monarch would do such a thing? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.172.61.230 (talk) 18:10, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

 * Lasha means beautiful, or pretty in old Georgian. it was a sort of nickname to king George IV given by his mother King Tamar. Zhuvacka (talk) 19:30, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:53, 14 August 2019 (UTC)
 * Georgian empire with tributaries.png

Trebizond
I thought the Trebizond expedition would have begun in the Reign of Alexios III, just before Alexios IV and slightly more before the Latin occupation of Constantinople etc.? Middle More Rider (talk) 19:04, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Tamar of Georgia


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Keep your socks on

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was speedy delete. – ABCD 23:34, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Keep your socks on
delete made up nonsense Sc147 20:05, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * What was that all about, and why was my article deleted with a grand total of 0 votes as of yet, even before I got to comment on it? --TVPR 21:19, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * It was far too creative to be a wikipedia article. Kappa 21:29, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
User talk:Dynamicanatomy

Dynamic Anatomy is a book by Burne Hogarth. It serves as a manual for artists on how to draw the human body, in a muscular, idealized form. The book features detailed pencil drawings of virtually every part of the male and female bodies, in dramatic and expressive poses, limbs and torsos contorted and extended, and exquisite detail in more complicated parts such as hands feet. Dynamic Anatomy is most usefull if an artist is studying classical drawing in an attempt to emulate the renaissance styles.

title: User talk:Dynamicanatomy


text: Category:Health charities in the United Kingdom


text:
Emilia Plater

Countess Emilia Broel-Plater (Emilija Pliaterytė; 13 November 1806 – 23 December 1831) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman and revolutionary from the lands of the partitioned Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Raised in a patriotic tradition in Līksna near Daugavpils, she fought in the November Uprising of 1830–1831 against the Russian Empire. She raised a small unit, participated in several engagements in present-day Lithuania, and received the rank of captain in the Polish insurgent forces. When the main forces under the General Dezydery Chłapowski decided to cease fighting and cross into Prussia, Plater vowed to continue the fight and wanted to cross into Poland where the uprising was still ongoing. However, she fell ill and died.

She was a leader in an uprising and her story became widely publicized and inspired a number of works of art and literature. A maiden warrior, she is a national heroine in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. She has been venerated by Polish artists and by the nation at large as a symbol of women fighting for the national cause. She has been referred to as the Lithuanian or Polish Joan of Arc.

Early life
Plater was born in Vilnius into a noble Polish–Lithuanian Plater family. Her family, of the Plater coat of arms, traced its roots to Westphalia, but was thoroughly Polonized. Much of the family relocated to Livonia during the 15th century and later to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of which Vilnius is the capital. She is described as either Polish, Polish-Lithuanian or Lithuanian.

Her parents, Franciszek Ksawery Plater and Anna von der Mohl (Anna z Mohlów), divorced in 1815 when she was nine years old. A single child, she was brought up by distant relatives, Michał Plater-Zyberk and Izabela Helena Syberg zu Wischling, in their family's manor Līksna near Daugavpils (Dźwina), then Inflanty (now Latvia). It was an aristocratic family that owned several manors along the Daugava River with about 15,000 serfs. Plater-Zyberk served as vice-governor of the Vilna Governorate under governor Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki. Plater's tutors included Wilhelm von Dalwig, captain and military engineer working on the Daugavpils Fortress. Well-educated, Plater was brought up to appreciate the efforts of Tadeusz Kościuszko and the Prince Józef Poniatowski. She was fascinated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, who she could read in the original German language. She was raised in an environment that valued the history of Poland, and her literary heroes included Princess Wanda and Adam Mickiewicz's Grażyna. She also admired Laskarina Bouboulina, a woman who became one of the icons of the Greek uprising against the Ottomans, Polish fighter Anna Dorota Chrzanowska, as well as Joan of Arc. These pursuits were accompanied by a childhood interest in equestrianism and marksmanship, quite uncommon for early 19th-century girls from aristocratic families. She was also deeply interested in Ruthenian and Belarusian folk culture and had contacts and friends in the Filaret Association.

In 1823, one of her cousins was forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army as a punishment for celebrating the Constitution of 3 May; this incident is said to be one of the key events in her life and one that galvanized her pro-Polish and anti-Russian attitude. In 1829, Plater began a grand tour throughout the historical Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, visiting Warsaw and Kraków, and the battlefield of Raszyn. Her mother died a year later; her father remarried and refused to even meet his daughter. After the outbreak of the November Uprising against Imperial Russia, she became a vocal supporter of the anti-Tsarist sentiments in the lands of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A dozen or so females joined the uprising, including Antonina Tomaszewska, but Plater became the most famous of them all.

Uprising
In her note from 25 March written at the Antazavė Manor, Plater claims that joining the uprising was her sole idea and that she had hoped to go to war her entire life. She cut her hair, prepared a uniform for herself and organized and equipped a group of volunteers. She went to her cousin Cezary Plater in Dusetos and delivered a passionate speech after a mass on 29 March. The following day, her group attacked a post station in Daugailiai and captured horses for her unit. On 4 April, she signed a declaratory document marking her access to the local uprising forces. The same day, her unit is rumored to have seized the town of Zarasai, although the historians are not sure this event really occurred.

She planned to take Daugavpils where two of her cousins, Lucjan and Ferdynand Plater, attended a military school and hoped to start an uprising from within, but after a reconnaissance mission discovered that the city was defended by a strong garrison and was impregnable to attack by such a small force as her own unit, that plan was abandoned. Her unit was composed of roughly 280 infantry, 60 cavalry and several hundred peasants armed with war scythes. She then turned to Samogitia and headed for Panevėžys, where on 30 April she joined forces with the unit commanded by Karol Załuski. On 4 May, she fought at the battle of Prastavoniai; shortly afterwards, with Konstanty Parczewski, she fought at Maišiagala. On 5 May, she witnessed General Dezydery Chłapowski entering the area with a large force and taking command over all units fighting in the former Grand Duchy.

Chłapowski advised Plater to stand down and return home. She allegedly replied that she had no intention of taking off her uniform until her fatherland was fully liberated. Her decision was accepted and she was made a commanding officer of the 1st Company of the Lithuanian 25th Infantry Regiment. She was promoted to the rank of captain, the highest rank awarded to a woman at that time. Her companion Maria Raszanowicz was promoted to the rank of poruchik (lieutenant). She spent some time in Kaunas, before the insurgents were forced to retreat in late June. On 8 July, the insurgents tried to capture Šiauliai but were defeated by the Russians. Plater's unit was in charge of protecting the baggage train with supplies. When the train was attacked, about 300 insurgents were killed and the supplies were captured by the Russians.

The following day, General Chłapowski decided to cross the border into Prussia and become interned there. Plater vocally criticized that decision, refused to follow orders and instead decided to try to break through to Warsaw and continue the fight. However, after separating from the main force, accompanied by Maria Raszanowicz and her cousin Cezary Plater, she became seriously ill. The uprising ended in October and many of her biographies claim that the heartbreak exacerbated her illness leading to her death. She died in the Justinavas Manor of the Abłamowicz family (now Vainežeris) on 23 December 1831. She was buried in the small town of Kapčiamiestis near Lazdijai. After the defeat of the uprising, her estate was confiscated by the Russian authorities.

Stefan Kieniewicz, in a more critical treatment in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, notes that a lot of her exploits are poorly documented, and it is not always possible to separate legend from facts. He notes it is not certain she ever commanded any unit, and that her role as the company commander of the 25th Regiment was more honorary than real. At Prastavoniai, she fainted from fatigue and fell off her horse. She had to be rescued at Kaunas, though accounts vary. According to one version, her clothes got caught when riding through a gate and she fell off her horse but was rescued by S. Maciewicz. Another version claims that she fought valiantly and refused to retreat, but was rescued by colonel Kiekiernicki. At Šiauliai, she was purposefully held behind front lines, as her comrades tried to ensure she would not endanger herself.

Legacy
The first poem about Plater was composed by Konstanty Gaszyński in June 1831. Her life and death were widely publicised shortly afterwards by the Polish press, which contributed to her growing fame. The image of the maiden warrior became popular and became a symbol of the uprising. Adam Mickiewicz immortalized her in his 1832 poem, Śmierć pułkownika (Death of a Colonel) where he called her up as a leader, although the description of her death is a pure poetical fiction and was only loosely based on her real life. The poem promotes Plater from captain to colonel and refers to her as the leader of the uprising. Mickiewicz has also idealized her personality and skills, portraying her as the ideal commander, worshiped by her soldiers. That poem has entered the elementary curriculum in communist and independent Poland.

Other literary works based on her life were published, mostly abroad, both by Polish émigrés and by foreigners. In the Polish literature, Plater's life is featured in a novel by Wacław Gąsiorowski, seven plays, and several poems, including those by Antoni Edward Odyniec and Maria Konopnicka. A four-act play Les Polonais: événements historique by Charles Prosper was performed at the Cirque Olympique in Paris in 1831. Other plays were written by Janina Sedlaczek (1895), Władysław Winiarski (1912), Adam Znamirowski (1915), Eustachy Czekalski (1917), Wanda Brzeska (1927), Tadeusz Korczyński (1933), Tadeusz Orsza Korpal (1937). A Lithuanian play by Antanas Vienuolis was staged by the Kaunas State Theatre in 1939. A poetic drama by Judita Vaičiūnaitė was broadcast by the LRT Radijas.

Józef Straszewicz published three successive versions of her biography in French. An English translation, supported by among others President John Tyler, was published in New York in 1843. Most of the later biographers and writers largely follow the idealized version of her life presented by Straszewicz. Plater was also featured as a role model in the Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1845) by the women's rights advocate Margaret Fuller. In 1996, Halina Filipowicz published a study from a feminist perspective on Plater's legacy on gender roles and stereotypes in Poland. She also became the theme of paintings by several artists of the epoch, among them Hippolyte Bellangé, Achille Deveria, Philipp Veit, and Wojciech Kossak. A lithograph by François Le Villain based on Deveria's work became one of the most recognizable portraits of her, popularizing her image as a delicate and noble female warrior.

Emilia Plater has been depicted on the 50 zloty in 1940. She was depicted on the Second Polish Republic's 20 zloty note. During World War II, a Polish female support unit, Emilia Plater 1st Independent Women's Battalion, a part of the Soviet Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division was named in her honor; its former members founded a village of Platerówka in Lower Silesia. Several streets, including Emilia Plater Street, Warsaw In Kapčiamiestis, a small memorial museum in her honor was opened in 1984 and a monument to Plater by sculptor Antanas Ambrulevičius was erected in 1999.

Emilia Plater is a patron of 14 schools in Poland and several in Lithuania.

Artistic and historical exhibitions commemorating Emilia Plater have been taking place in Belarus, although her figure remains largely ignored by the official state ideology of the Lukashenka regime.

title: Emilia Plater


text:
Steven T. Katz

Steven Theodore Katz (born August 24, 1944) is an American philosopher and scholar. He is the founding director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University in Massachusetts, United States, where he holds the Alvin J. and Shirley Slater Chair in Jewish and Holocaust Studies.

Biography
Katz was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England, in 1972.

Prior to his appointment at Boston University, Prof. Katz taught at Dartmouth College from 1972 to 1984. He joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1984 through 1996 as a Professor of Near Eastern Studies (Judaica); during the years 1985–1989 he served as Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies and Director of the Jewish Studies Program. He has also held visiting posts at Yale, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Pennsylvania, Yeshiva University, Harvard and Warwick University.

He currently edits Modern Judaism: A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience, published by Oxford University Press.

Academic misconduct censure
In early 1995 Katz's appointment as the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was announced. Shortly afterward it was reported that Katz had been disciplined by Cornell for two matters. Katz had misrepresented how close a book he was writing (The Holocaust in Historical Context) was to publication. In documents dating to 1983 Katz had claimed that the book's publication was imminent on Harvard University Press, while it actually only appeared in 1994 on Oxford University Press. A 1991 Cornell report by three deans found that Katz had "knowingly and deliberately misrepresented his claims of completed and published scholarly works" in both his resume and grant applications. Katz was also punished by Cornell (his salary was frozen for years) because during a 1989 sabbatical he had accepted a paid teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania, in violation of Cornell policy. Katz maintained his innocence, but in the wake of much criticism from within the Jewish community and Holocaust museum board he stepped down in March 1995.

Mysticism
Katz adopts a "Contextualist" interpretation of mysticism, and has contributed to and edited a number of books dealing with mysticism. He distinguishes two basic approaches to the scientific study and understanding of mysticism: an "essentialist model" and a "contextualist model".

The essentialist model argues that mystical experience is independent of the sociocultural, historical and religious context in which it occurs, and regards all mystical experience in its essence to be the same.

The contextualist model states that mystical experiences are shaped by the concepts "which the mystic brings to, and which shape, his experience". What is being experienced is being determined by the expectations and the conceptual background of the mystic.

Jewish studies
Katz has argued that the Holocaust is "phenomenologically unique" and the only genocide that has occurred in history, and defines Holocaust to include only "the travail of European Jewry" and not other victims of the Nazis. He has argued this in depth in The Holocaust in Historical Context. In 2019 the second volume was released and the third is in the works.

Katz is the editor of Modern Judaism, an academic quarterly. He was on the editorial board of the Encyclopaedia of the Holocaust (NY: Macmillan, 1990, Hebrew and English-language editions).

Professor Katz acts as an American representative on the European Union sponsored International Task Force on the Holocaust. Additionally, he still holds a position as Chair of the Holocaust Commission of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, after previously serving on the United States Holocaust Museum's Academic Committee for five years as their Chair.

Selected publications

 * Jewish Philosophers (Bloch Publishing, 1975)
 * Jewish Ideas and Concepts (Schocken Books, 1977)
 * Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis (Oxford University Press, 1978)
 * Studies by Samuel Horodezky (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Saadiah Gaon (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Maimonides: Selected Essays (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Collected papers of Jacob Guttmann (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Jewish Neo-Platonism (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Arno Press, 1980)
 * Mysticism and Religious Traditions (Oxford University Press, 1983)
 * Post-Holocaust Dialogues: critical studies in modern Jewish thought (New York University Press, 1983)
 * ''The Cambridge History of Nineteenth Century Religious Thought in the West" 3 Vols. (Cambridge University Press, 1988)
 * Anti-semitism in Times of Crisis (New York University Press, 1991)
 * Frontiers of Jewish Thought (B'nai B'rith Books, 1992)
 * Mysticism and Language (Oxford University Press, 1992)
 * Historicism, the Holocaust and Zionism: critical studies in modern Jewish thought and history (New York University Press, 1992)
 * Interpreters of Judaism in the Late Twentieth Century (B'nai B'rith Books, 1993)
 * The Holocaust and Comparative History (Leo Baeck Institute, 1993)
 * The Holocaust in Historical Context, Vol. 1 (Oxford University Press, 1994)
 * American rabbi : the life and thought of Jacob B. Agus (New York University Press, 1997)
 * Mysticism and Sacred Scripture (Oxford University Press, 2000)
 * Kontinuität und Diskontinität zwischen christlichen und nationalsozialistischem Antisemitismus (In German and English) (J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 2001)
 * The Impact of the Holocaust on Jewish Theology (New York University Press, 2005)
 * The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol. 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
 * Obliged by Memory: Literature, Religion, Ethics (Syracuse University Press, 2006)
 * Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses During and After the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2007)
 * The shtetl: new evaluations (New York University Press, 2007)

Awards

 * 1984 - National Jewish Book Award for Post-Holocaust Dialogues
 * 1994 - "Outstanding book in philosophy and theology" (American Association of University Publishers) for The Holocaust in Historical Context
 * 1999 - Dr. Leopold Lucas Prize (University of Tübingen) awarded by Professor Volker Drehsen with an address entitled "Continuity and Discontinuity between Christian and Nazi Antisemitism"
 * 2007 - National Jewish Book Award for Volume IV of The Cambridge History of Judaism, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period

Finalist

 * 2007 - National Jewish Book Award runner-up for Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses During and After the Holocaust

title: Steven T. Katz


text:
Ellerman (crater)

Ellerman is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. It lies within the outer blanket of ejecta that surrounds the Mare Orientale impact basin, and is located to the west of the Montes Cordillera mountain range. To the northwest of Ellerman is the larger crater Gerasimovich.

Probably due to its location amidst rugged surroundings, the otherwise circular rim of this crater is somewhat irregular and polygonal in shape. The loose material along the inner walls has slid down to form a ring of talus around the base, leaving walls that slope straight down with no terraces. There is a small crater along the northern rim top.

title: Ellerman (crater)


text:
Giant mouse lemur

The giant mouse lemurs are members of the strepsirrhine primate genus Mirza. Two species have been formally described; the northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza) and Coquerel's giant mouse lemur (Mirza coquereli). Like all other lemurs, they are native to Madagascar, where they are found in the western dry deciduous forests and further to the north in the Sambirano Valley and Sahamalaza Peninsula. First described in 1867 as a single species, they were grouped with mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs. In 1870, British zoologist John Edward Gray assigned them to their own genus, Mirza. The classification was not widely accepted until the 1990s, which followed the revival of the genus by American paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall in 1982. In 2005, the northern population was declared a new species, and in 2010, the World Wide Fund for Nature announced that a southwestern population might also be a new species.

Giant mouse lemurs are about three times larger than mouse lemurs, weighing approximately 300 g, and have a long, bushy tail. They are most closely related to mouse lemurs within Cheirogaleidae, a family of small, nocturnal lemurs. Giant mouse lemurs sleep in nests during the day and forage alone at night for fruit, tree gum, insects, and small vertebrates. Unlike many other cheirogaleids, they do not enter a state of torpor during the dry season. The northern species is generally more social than the southern species, particularly when nesting, though males and females may form pair bonds. The northern species also has the largest testicle size relative to its body size among all primates and is atypical among lemurs for breeding year-round instead of seasonally. Home ranges often overlap, with related females living closely together while males disperse. Giant mouse lemurs are vocal, although they also scent mark using saliva, urine, and secretions from the anogenital scent gland.

Predators of giant mouse lemurs include the Madagascar buzzard, Madagascar owl, fossa, and the narrow-striped mongoose. Giant mouse lemurs reproduce once a year, with two offspring born after a 90-day gestation. Babies are initially left in the nest while the mother forages, but are later carried by mouth and parked in vegetation while she forages nearby. In captivity, giant mouse lemurs will breed year-round. Their lifespan in the wild is thought to be five to six years. Both species are listed as endangered due to habitat destruction and hunting. Like all lemurs, they are protected under CITES Appendix I, which prohibits commercial trade. Despite breeding easily, they are rarely kept in captivity. The Duke Lemur Center coordinated the captive breeding of an imported collection of the northern species, which rose from six individuals in 1982 to 62 individuals by 1989, but the population fell to six by 2009 and was no longer considered a breeding population.

Taxonomy
The first species of giant mouse lemur was described by the French naturalist Alfred Grandidier in 1867 based on seven individuals he had collected near Morondava in southwestern Madagascar. Of these seven specimens, the lectotype was selected in 1939 as MNHN 1867–603, an adult skull and skin. Naming the species after the French entomologist Charles Coquerel, Grandidier placed Coquerel's giant mouse lemur (M. coquereli) with the dwarf lemurs in the genus Cheirogaleus (which he spelled Cheirogalus) as C. coquereli. He selected this generic assignment based on similarities with fork-marked lemurs (Phaner), which he considered to also be members of Cheirogaleus. The following year, the German naturalist Hermann Schlegel and Dutch naturalist François Pollen independently described the same species and coincidentally gave it the same specific name, coquereli, basing theirs on an individual from around the Bay of Ampasindava in northern Madagascar. Unlike Grandidier, they placed their specimen in the genus Microcebus (mouse lemurs); however, these authors also listed all Cheirogaleus under Microcebus and based the classification of their species on similarities with the greater dwarf lemur (M. typicus, now C. major).

In 1870, the British zoologist John Edward Gray placed Coquerel's giant mouse lemur into its own genus, Mirza. This classification was widely ignored and later rejected in the early 1930s by zoologists Ernst Schwarz, Guillaume Grandidier, and others, who felt that its longer fur and bushy tail did not merit a separate genus and instead placed it in Microcebus. British anatomist William Charles Osman Hill also favored this view in 1953, noting that despite its larger size (comparable to Cheirogaleus), its first upper premolar was proportionally small as in Microcebus. In 1977, French zoologist Jean-Jacques Petter also favored the Microcebus classification, despite the threefold size difference between Coquerel's giant mouse lemur and the other members of the genus.

The genus Mirza was resurrected in 1982 by American paleoanthropologist Ian Tattersall to represent an intermediate branch between Microcebus and Cheirogaleus, citing the Coquerel's giant mouse lemur's significantly larger size than the largest Microcebus and locomotor behavior more closely aligned with Cheirogaleus. Adoption of Mirza was slow, though in 1994 it was used in the first edition of Lemurs of Madagascar by Conservation International. In 1993, primatologist Colin Groves initially favored the Microcebus classification in the second edition of Mammal Species of the World, but began supporting the resurrection of Mirza in 2001. In 1991, prior to adopting Mirza, Groves was the first to use the common name "giant mouse lemur". Prior to that, they were popularly referred to as "Coquerel's mouse lemur".

In 2005, Peter M. Kappeler and Christian Roos described a new species of giant mouse lemur, the northern giant mouse lemur (M. zaza). Their studies compared the morphology, behavioral ecology, and mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences of specimens from both Kirindy Forest in central-western Madagascar and around Ambato in northwestern Madagascar, part of the Sambirano valley. Their study demonstrated distinct differences in size, sociality, and breeding, as well as sufficient genetic distance to merit specific distinction between the northern and central-western populations. Because Grandidier's description was based on a southern specimen, they named the northern population as a new species.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced in 2010 that a biodiversity study from 2009 in the gallery forest of Ranobe near Toliara in southwestern Madagascar revealed a population of giant mouse lemurs previously unknown to science, and possibly a new species. They noted a significant difference in coloration between the two known species and the specimen they observed. However, further testing was required to confirm the discovery.

Etymology
The etymology of Mirza puzzled researchers for many years. Gray often created mysterious and unexplained taxonomic names—a trend continued with his description of not only Mirza in 1870, but also the genera Phaner (fork-marked lemurs) and Azema (for M. rufus, now a synonym for Microcebus), both of which were described in the same publication. In 1904, American zoologist Theodore Sherman Palmer attempted to document the etymologies of all mammalian taxa, but could not definitively explain these three genera. For Mirza, Palmer only noted that it derived from the Persian title mîrzâ ("prince"), a view tentatively supported by Alex Dunkel, Jelle Zijlstra, and Groves in 2012. However, because the reference to Persian princes might have come from Arabian Nights, a popular piece of literature at the time, Dunkel et al. also searched the general literature published around 1870. The origin of all three names was found in a British comedy The Palace of Truth by W. S. Gilbert, which premiered in London on 19 November 1870, nearly one and a half weeks prior to the date written on the preface of Gray's manuscript (also published in London). The comedy featured characters bearing all three names: King Phanor (sic), Mirza, and Azema. The authors concluded that Gray had seen the comedy and then based the names of three lemur genera on its characters.

Evolution
Based on studies using morphology, immunology, repetitive DNA, SINE analysis, multilocus phylogenetic tests, and mitochondrial genes (mtDNA), giant mouse lemurs are most closely related to mouse lemurs within the family Cheirogaleidae, and together they form a clade with the hairy-eared dwarf lemur (Allocebus). Both dwarf lemurs and fork-marked lemurs are more distantly related, with fork-marked lemurs being either a sister group of all cheirogaleids, or more closely related to sportive lemurs (Lepilemur).

Although Mirza, Microcebus, and Allocebus form a clade within Cheirogaleidae, the three lineages are thought to have diverged during a narrow window of time, so the relationships within this clade are difficult to determine and may change with further research. All three are thought to have diverged at least 20 mya (million years ago), although another estimate using mtDNA places the divergence between Mirza and Microcebus at 24.2 mya. Divergence between the two recognized species of giant mouse lemur is estimated at 2.1 mya.

Description
Though giant mouse lemurs are relatively small cheirogaleids, they are more than three times larger than the smallest members of the family, the mouse lemurs. Their body weight averages 300 g. At around 300 mm, their bushy and long tail is longer than their head-body length, which averages 233 mm. Their forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs (with an intermembral index of 70), a trait shared with mouse lemurs. The skull is similar to that of dwarf and mouse lemurs, and the auditory bullae are small.

Like other cheirogaleids, the dental formula for giant mouse lemurs is ; on each side of the mouth, top and bottom, there are two incisors, one canine, three premolars, and three molars—a total of 36 teeth. Their upper teeth converge towards the front of the mouth, but are straighter than those in mouse lemurs. The first upper premolar (P2) is relatively small, but nearly as tall as the next premolar (P3). Unlike mouse lemurs and more like dwarf lemurs, giant mouse lemurs have a prominent anterior lower premolar (P2). Also more aligned with dwarf lemurs, the first two upper molars (M1–2) have a more anterior hypocone that sits opposite the metacone, compared to the mouse lemurs' more posterior hypocone, which is presumably a symplesiomorphic (ancestral) trait. Also on M1 and M2, the cingulum (a crest or ridge on the tongue side) comprises two small cuspules. In all other dental characteristics, giant mouse lemurs are noticeably similar to both dwarf and mouse lemurs.

Giant mouse lemurs have two pairs of mammae, one on the chest (pectoral) and one on the abdomen (abdominal). Their fur is typically grayish-brown on the dorsal (back) side and more gray in color on the ventral (front) side. The tail is typically black-tipped. The new population found by WWF in 2010 has an overall lighter color, along with reddish or rusty patches near the hands and feet on the dorsal side of the arms and legs. This population also has a red tail, which darkens at the end. Vibrissae are found above the eyes (superciliary), above the mouth (buccal), under the lower jaw (genal), near the top of the jaw (interramal), and on the wrist (carpal). Like mouse lemurs, the ears are large and membranous.

Ear size is one differentiating factor between the northern giant mouse lemur and Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, with the former having shorter, rounded ears, while the latter has relatively large ears. The northern giant mouse lemur is generally larger and also has a shorter tail and shorter canine teeth. This species also has the largest testicles relative to body size of any living primate, with an average volume of 15.48 cm3, corresponding to 5.5% of its body weight. If human males had comparably sized testes, they would weigh 4 kg and be the size of a grapefruit.

Distribution and habitat
Coquerel's giant mouse lemur has a spotty distribution across western Madagascar's dry deciduous forests due to the forest fragmentation throughout the region. The dry forests in this lowland region vary in elevation from sea level to 700 m. The range of this species is divided into northern and southern subpopulations, which are separated by several hundred kilometers. Both historical and current populations between these ranges are uncertain. The southern region is bound by the Onilahy River in the south and the Tsiribihina River in the north, while the northern population is found in the northwestern corner of the island at Tsingy de Namoroka National Park. They are most commonly found in forests near rivers and ponds.

The northern giant mouse lemur is found in isolated forest patches along the northwest coast in both the more humid Sambirano valley and Sahamalaza Peninsula, as well as the Ampasindava Peninsula. Its range extends from the Maeverano River in the south to the Mahavavy River in the north. The new population reported by the WWF in 2010 is found in the gallery forests of Ranobe near Toliara in southwestern Madagascar.

Behavior
Giant mouse lemurs were first studied in the wild by Petter and colleagues in 1971. His observations were secondary to his primary research interest, the fork-marked lemurs north of Morondava. Both northern and southern populations were studied intermittently between 1978 and 1981, and in 1993, long-term social and genetic studies began in Kirindy Forest. Behavioral studies of captive individuals have also been performed at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) in Durham, North Carolina during the 1990s.

Population density and territory
Before the recognition of more than one species, differences in population density were noted between southern forests like Kirindy and northern forests near Ambanja. Later, it was recognized that Coquerel's giant mouse lemur was found in lower densities than the northern giant mouse lemur. The former range between 30 and 210 individuals per square kilometer (250 acres), with lower densities in open areas of the forest, while the latter has been recorded with 385 to 1,086 individuals per km2. However, in the case of the northern giant mouse lemur, populations were found in more isolated forest fragments and it is thought that their consumption of introduced cashew and mango help sustain these higher populations.

According to studies of Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, home ranges of both sexes vary from 1 to 4 ha with frequent overlap, particularly on the periphery of their range. Individuals most heavily use and aggressively defend a smaller core area within their range. Individuals can have up to eight neighbors. Home ranges of males tend to overlap with those of both females and other males, and typically expand to four times the size during the mating season. Female home ranges show no variability in size, and can remain stable for years. At Kirindy Forest, genetic studies showed that the home ranges of related females tend to clump closely together, while unrelated males may overlap their range, suggesting male dispersal and migration is responsible for gene flow.

Activity patterns
Both species are strictly nocturnal, leaving their nests around sunset to stretch and self-groom for a few minutes. Both species typically forage between 5 and 10 m above the forest floor, though Coquerel's giant mouse lemur has been observed on the ground. They primarily move by quadrupedal running and occasionally leaping between branches, and use the same feeding postures as mouse lemurs, such as clinging to tree trunks. When moving through the trees, giant mouse lemurs scurry rapidly like mouse lemurs, unlike dwarf lemurs, which use more deliberate movement. Slow movements are usually seen in lower, denser foliage when hunting for insects, while more rapid motion and leaping is typically seen at moderate heights of 2 –. Surveillance of the home range involves slower movements in lighter foliage near the tops of large trees, while movements along the border of a home range is more rapid and occurs at a lower height. Similar movement patterns have been observed in captivity as well.

Giant mouse lemurs begin foraging moments before the sun disappears, occasionally participate in social activities during the last half of the night, and return to one of their nests prior to sunrise. Cold temperatures cause them to leave the nest later and return early, sometime during the second half of the night. During the first half of the night, giant mouse lemurs are more likely to rest for an hour or more, usually at the expense of social activities, but not feeding time. Rest periods are longer when temperatures are low. Unlike many other cheirogaleids, they remain active all year and do not enter daily or seasonal torpor.

Nesting
Both species sleep in round nests up to 50 cm across made of interlaced lianas, branches, leaves, and twigs gathered from nearby trees and woven using the mouth and hands. Nests are typically between 2 and 10 m above the ground in the fork of large tree branches or surrounded by dense lianas. Trees covered in thick lianas as well as trees with year-round leaf cover (e.g. Euphorbiaceae) are favored for nest construction, though large bare trees may be used by building the nest higher. In addition to nesting in dense lianas, individual giant mouse lemurs will rotate between 10 and 12 nests every few days to avoid predators. Only females have been observed building nests in the wild, though males, females, and young have been observed building nests in captivity. Multiple nests are sometimes built in the same tree or in nearby trees and are shared by neighboring giant mouse lemurs, fork-marked lemurs, and the introduced black rat (Rattus rattus). Unlike most other nocturnal lemurs, giant mouse lemurs do not appear to sleep in tree holes.

Social structure
Both species usually are solitary foragers, although the northern giant mouse lemur tends to be the most social, possibly due to its higher population density. Up to eight (typically four) adult males, adult females, and juveniles may be found in a northern giant mouse lemur nest, whereas Coquerel's giant mouse lemurs do not nest communally, except when females share their nest with their offspring. Males do groom and call to females when they come into contact, and according to radio-tracking and direct observations at Analabe near Kirindy, they form pair bonds, sometimes briefly traveling together during the dry season. However, most interactions between adults are infrequent and typically occur later at night and particularly during the dry season in overlapping core areas, often involving chases and other agonistic behavior, and only rarely social grooming. During the mating season, males act aggressively towards one another, pulling out fur around the head and shoulders and biting the head.

Giant mouse lemurs use at least eight vocalizations, the most common of which are contact calls, which sound like "hum" or a "hein" and are used when moving and when meeting familiar individuals. A "mother-infant meeting call" used at dawn before returning to the nest consists of short, modulated whistles. Both males and females have distinct single note calls used in territorial behavior; the female call sounds like "pfiou" and the male call is a short, loud whistle. Both sexes use an alarm call, which sounds like a "croak", and an agonistic call, which consists of repeated "tisk-tisk-tisk" sounds. Females exhibit a "waking call sequence", sometimes referred to as "loud calls", which start when foraging commences and then switch to quieter "hon" calls possibly to indicate their position to their neighbors. A long "sexual call sequence" consisting of soft whistle and several modulated, hoarse "brroak" calls is used by both sexes during estrus. Studies of captive individuals have found other vocalizations, but their purpose has not been determined. The northern giant mouse lemur appears to be the most vocal of the two species. Although vocalizations are the primary form of social communication, they also scent mark using saliva, urine, and secretions from the anogenital scent gland on small branches and other objects.

Reproduction
Reproduction starts in November for Coquerel's giant mouse lemur at Kirindy Forest; the estrous cycle runs approximately 22 days, while estrus lasts only a day or less. The mating season in this southern population is limited to a few weeks, whereas the northern giant mouse lemur is thought to breed throughout the year, a trend seen in only two other species of lemur: the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) and the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer). The northern giant mouse lemur had been observed breeding year-round in captivity if their litter did not survive or was removed, but at the time this population was thought to be Coquerel's giant mouse lemur.

One to three offspring (typically two) are born after 90 days of gestation, weighing approximately 12 g. Because they are poorly developed, they initially remain in their mother's nest for up to three weeks, being transported by mouth between nests. Once they have grown sufficiently, typically after three weeks, the mother will park her offspring in vegetation while she forages nearby. After a month, the young begin to participate in social play and grooming with their mother, and between the first and second month, young males begin to exhibit early sexual behaviors (including mounting, neck biting, and pelvic thrusting). By the third month, the young forage independently, though they maintain vocal contact with their mother and use a small part of her range.

Females start reproducing after ten months, while males develop functional testicles by their second mating season. Testicle size in the northern giant mouse lemur does not appear to fluctuate by season, and is so large relative to the animal's body mass that it is the highest among all primates. This emphasis on sperm production in males, as well as the use of copulatory plugs, suggests a mating system best described as polygynandrous where males use scramble competition (roaming widely to find many females). In contrast, male Coquerel's giant mouse lemurs appear to fight for access to females (contest competition) during their breeding season. Males disperse from their natal range, and the age at which they leave varies from two years to several. Females reproduce every year, although postpartum estrus has been observed in captivity. In the wild, the lifespan of giant mouse lemurs is thought to rarely exceed five or six years, though in captivity they can live up to 15 years.

Ecology
Both species are omnivorous, eating fruit, flowers, buds, insect excretions, tree gums, large insects, spiders, frogs, chameleons, snakes, small birds, and eggs. Coquerel's giant mouse lemur is thought to opportunistically prey on mouse lemurs after an individual was found with a half-eaten gray mouse lemur (M. murinus) in a trap. During June and July, at the peak of the dry season, this species relies on sugary excretions from the larvae of hemipteran and cochineal insects as well as tree gums. The sugary excretions are obtained by either licking them from the back of the insect or collecting the crystallized sugars that accumulate beneath the insect colony. During this time of year, feeding on insect secretions can account for 60% of feeding activity. In contrast, the northern giant mouse lemur relies on cashew fruits during the dry season.

Giant mouse lemurs are often sympatric with mouse lemurs, such as M. murinus, though they are typically found higher in the canopy and favor thicker, taller gallery forests. At the Marosalaza forest (north of Morondava), Coquerel's giant mouse lemur is sympatric with four other nocturnal lemurs (mouse lemurs, sportive lemurs, dwarf lemurs, and fork-marked lemurs), but manages niche differentiation by feeding at different times and specializing on insect secretions during the dry season.

Diurnal birds of prey such as the Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus) are their most significant predators. Other documented predators of giant mouse lemurs include the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), Madagascar owl (Asio madagascariensis), and the narrow-striped mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata).

Conservation
In 2012, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessed both Coquerel's giant mouse lemur and the northern giant mouse lemur as endangered. Prior to that, both species had been listed as vulnerable. Populations of both species are in decline due to habitat destruction, primarily for slash-and-burn agriculture and charcoal production. Also, they are both hunted for bushmeat. The population announced by the WWF in 2010 was found outside the limits of a nearby protected area, PK32-Ranobe, which was granted temporary protection status in December 2008 and is co-managed by the WWF. Its forests were not included in the protected area due to existing concessions for mining activities.

As with all lemurs, giant mouse lemurs were first protected in 1969 when they were listed as "Class A" of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. This prohibited hunting and capture without authorization, which would be given only for scientific purposes or the national interest. In 1973, they were also protected under CITES Appendix I, which strictly regulates their trade and forbids commercial trade. Although enforcement is patchy, they are also protected under Malagasy law.

Giant mouse lemurs are rarely kept in captivity, though they breed easily. In 1989, the Duke Lemur Center held more than 70% of the captive population (45 of 62 individuals). At the time, the DLC was coordinating a captive breeding program for Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, and all individuals kept at American facilities were descended from six individuals imported by the DLC in 1982 from the region around Ambanja. As of 2009 the International Species Information System (ISIS) recorded only six remaining individuals registered in the United States and Europe, all reclassified as northern giant mouse lemurs and considered a non-breeding population; in 2015 only a single female remained on record.

title: Giant mouse lemur


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Neural network (biology)

A neural network, also called a neuronal network, is an interconnected population of neurons (typically containing multiple neural circuits). Biological neural networks are studied to understand the organization and functioning of nervous systems.

Closely related are artificial neural networks, machine learning models inspired by biological neural networks. They consist of artificial neurons, which are mathematical functions that are designed to be analogous to the mechanisms used by neural circuits.

Overview
A biological neural network is composed of a group of chemically connected or functionally associated neurons. A single neuron may be connected to many other neurons and the total number of neurons and connections in a network may be extensive. Connections, called synapses, are usually formed from axons to dendrites, though dendrodendritic synapses and other connections are possible. Apart from electrical signalling, there are other forms of signalling that arise from neurotransmitter diffusion.

Artificial intelligence, cognitive modelling, and artificial neural networks are information processing paradigms inspired by how biological neural systems process data. Artificial intelligence and cognitive modelling try to simulate some properties of biological neural networks. In the artificial intelligence field, artificial neural networks have been applied successfully to speech recognition, image analysis and adaptive control, in order to construct software agents (in computer and video games) or autonomous robots.

Neural network theory has served to identify better how the neurons in the brain function and provide the basis for efforts to create artificial intelligence.

History
The preliminary theoretical base for contemporary neural networks was independently proposed by Alexander Bain (1873) and William James (1890). In their work, both thoughts and body activity resulted from interactions among neurons within the brain.

For Bain, every activity led to the firing of a certain set of neurons. When activities were repeated, the connections between those neurons strengthened. According to his theory, this repetition was what led to the formation of memory. The general scientific community at the time was skeptical of Bain's theory because it required what appeared to be an inordinate number of neural connections within the brain. It is now apparent that the brain is exceedingly complex and that the same brain “wiring” can handle multiple problems and inputs.

James' theory was similar to Bain's; however, he suggested that memories and actions resulted from electrical currents flowing among the neurons in the brain. His model, by focusing on the flow of electrical currents, did not require individual neural connections for each memory or action.

C. S. Sherrington (1898) conducted experiments to test James' theory. He ran electrical currents down the spinal cords of rats. However, instead of demonstrating an increase in electrical current as projected by James, Sherrington found that the electrical current strength decreased as the testing continued over time. Importantly, this work led to the discovery of the concept of habituation.

McCulloch and Pitts (1943) also created a computational model for neural networks based on mathematics and algorithms. They called this model threshold logic. These early models paved the way for neural network research to split into two distinct approaches. One approach focused on biological processes in the brain and the other focused on the application of neural networks to artificial intelligence.

The parallel distributed processing of the mid-1980s became popular under the name connectionism. The text by Rumelhart and McClelland (1986) provided a full exposition on the use of connectionism in computers to simulate neural processes.

Artificial neural networks, as used in artificial intelligence, have traditionally been viewed as simplified models of neural processing in the brain, even though the relation between this model and brain biological architecture is debated, as it is not clear to what degree artificial neural networks mirror brain function.

Neuroscience
Theoretical and computational neuroscience is the field concerned with the analysis and computational modeling of biological neural systems. Since neural systems are intimately related to cognitive processes and behaviour, the field is closely related to cognitive and behavioural modeling.

The aim of the field is to create models of biological neural systems in order to understand how biological systems work. To gain this understanding, neuroscientists strive to make a link between observed biological processes (data), biologically plausible mechanisms for neural processing and learning (neural network models) and theory (statistical learning theory and information theory).

Types of models
Many models are used; defined at different levels of abstraction, and modeling different aspects of neural systems. They range from models of the short-term behaviour of individual neurons, through models of the dynamics of neural circuitry arising from interactions between individual neurons, to models of behaviour arising from abstract neural modules that represent complete subsystems. These include models of the long-term and short-term plasticity of neural systems and their relation to learning and memory, from the individual neuron to the system level.

Connectivity
In August 2020 scientists reported that bi-directional connections, or added appropriate feedback connections, can accelerate and improve communication between and in modular neural networks of the brain's cerebral cortex and lower the threshold for their successful communication. They showed that adding feedback connections between a resonance pair can support successful propagation of a single pulse packet throughout the entire network. The connectivity of a neural network stems from its biological structures and is usually challenging to map out experimentally. Scientists used a variety of statistical tools to infer the connectivity of a network based on the observed neuronal activities, i.e., spike trains. Recent research has shown that statistically inferred neuronal connections in subsampled neural networks strongly correlate with spike train covariances, providing deeper insights into the structure of neural circuits and their computational properties.

Recent improvements
While initially research had been concerned mostly with the electrical characteristics of neurons, a particularly important part of the investigation in recent years has been the exploration of the role of neuromodulators such as dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin on behaviour and learning.

Biophysical models, such as BCM theory, has been important in understanding mechanisms for synaptic plasticity, and have had applications in both computer science and neuroscience.

title: Neural network (biology)