Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 May 14

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May 14

Are lists on Wikipedia complete/ kept up to date? Have the criteria for notability in academics changed over time?

Hi!

I am working on an article about an Austrian professor of theology and I am trying to figure out how to best proof that his work has been notable enough. As a point of comparison I would like to use lists of theologians ( Category:German_Christian_theologians, List_of_Christian_theologians#21st_century) to see how notability has been established for other people in his field.

That's where my question comes in: Are lists like the ones mentioned above kept up to date? Can I be sure that they include all articles that fall under their category?

Furthermore, I would like to know if the criteria for notability in academics (Wikipedia:Notability_(academics)) have changed over time and whether or not I can use articles that have been posted a few years ago as a reference or not.

Thanks in advance A WP-noob Marianowitsch (talk) 19:04, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

With only a relatively few exceptions (please don't ask me to specify them), you can safely assume that any list or category on Wikipedia is inherently incomplete. That's the nature of a project where stuff gets added to articles by random people as they become aware of it, or become interested enough to bother putting in the work. Compared to the mass of people who ever read or search for stuff on WP, there are not that many actual builders of the encyclopedia. We always need new editors. Come on down. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:16, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Most complete lists are those with a clearly defined scope — all items are clearly article-worthy ("notable"), if you know the field, it's easy to ascertain whether something's missing or not, and either there's essentially never a new entry (the last new entry on List of counties in Rhode Island was created in 1750), or new entries are qualified in a very public and clear manner (List of prime ministers of Australia clearly won't get any new entries until the incumbent leaves office). Lists such as the ones you linked should always be deemed incomplete. Nyttend backup (talk) 20:34, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for the helpful answers - I'll try my best to contribute to WP, if my time allows it. But I have already tasted blood by making small corrections in an article about a rather unknown french philosopher - it feels really good to contribute sth. Btw.: On the subject of my original question: If I stumble upon an article about a theologian that fits into one of the lists, I can just add them to it, right? Marianowitsch (talk) 19:37, 18 May 2021 (UTC)

Curiosity from 1927

I recently saw Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis. A fascinating dip into the past. At the 30:14 to the 30:25 mark there is a line of people walking through the streets dressed in costumes that are eight or nine feet tall interspersed with a couple people wearing what looks like a some kind of box. Can any of you tell me what this is about? Is it an advertisement or something else? I will be interested to learn what your research comes up with. MarnetteD|Talk 19:11, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

They're advertising something called Bullrich Magensalz, which was some kind of remedy for an upset stomach. The scene is referred to on page 49 of this academic article [1] (pdf). --Viennese Waltz 19:40, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

It's bicarbonate of soda. See w:de:August Wilhelm Bullrich and w:de:Bullrich-Salz. DuncanHill (talk) 19:47, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Very interesting. Thanks for your research skills Viennese Waltz and DuncanHill. The article mentions that it goes back to the 1820's and that it is still for sale in Germany today - or at least in 2019 - just amazing. I don't know if there is any wiki-article where the "Bull-rich Giants" could be mentioned but I do appreciate your helping me learn about this. MarnetteD|Talk 20:47, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

It is for sale in Germany as of today. "As there is always a fire to extinguish."  --Lambiam 11:07, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

Happy to be of assistance. You could probably add it to the article on the film if you wanted to, using the article I linked to as a source. --Viennese Waltz 21:21, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

That could work Viennese Waltz. Might go well with some other specific places or items from the film. That would give me an excuse to watch it again :-) MarnetteD|Talk 21:28, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

When Looking at the table of contents of Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis, I couldn't help but be reminded that another meaning of the German word "Akt" is "artistic nude"... AnonMoos (talk) 23:14, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Where does that word come from anyway? I know the meaning but not the etymology. JIP | Talk 17:01, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

wikt:Akt says "The artistic sense derives from the 19th century practice of sketching models carrying out actions, for which the models would usually be nude", JIP. --ColinFine (talk) 21:07, 15 May 2021 (UTC)