Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2016 November 12

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November 12

Death of Leonard Cohen

The death of leonard cohen (11.10.16) is not mentioned in the site Deaths_in_2016#

How can it be ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.249.60.130 (talk) 10:16, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

It's mentioned under November 7, which is when he actually died. Adam Bishop (talk) 11:47, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

That, or November '77. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:45, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Royal Mail Question About Domestic Letter Boxes

Give me information about Royal Mail policy regarding what is an acceptable domestic letter box for the reception of mail. For example, policy relating to letter boxes mounted outside a properly where mail could be retrieved by strangers putting their hand into the box, which are less secure than letter boxes built into a door where post enters the house itself and cannot be retrieved by strangers. Give me information about what happens when a letter box do not conform to the standard, what action is taken against the resident, and whether mail deliveries are suspended in these circumstances. Any information relating to the minimum acceptable standard of domestic letter boxes for the reception of mail. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RMailQuestion (talk • contribs) 11:59, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Tiny letter boxes are a perennial problem for the post office because it means the postman has to leave a 739 card ("Something for you") and take the item back to the delivery office. There is now a recommended size for the aperture which builders are supposed to provide - basically it has to be wide enough to accommodate the envelope for an A4 sheet without folding. Springs which can trap or even slice off a postman's fingers are also discouraged. Outside blocks of flats you often see ridiculously small banks of letter boxes. Contractors do not go out of their way to make these secure. There's no comeback to the resident apart from the risk of mail being stolen - the Post Office suspends delivery in the case of risk to their staff - e.g. dangerous dogs loose in the front garden, poor surfacing of private roads etc. This being a nation of doglovers there's always a risk of the postman's fingers being bitten as he pushes mail through the slot. Postmen are trained in the correct way to deliver mail - pushing letters so that they fall to the floor without their fingers protruding beyond the aperture. As far as ensuring the mail falls to the mat is concerned, this precept is honoured more in the breach than the observance. However, most letter boxes have a flap which must be raised so any mail held by the brushes will probably not be visible from the street. 80.44.161.39 (talk) 12:23, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

The Royal Mail regularly delivers to open porches, barns, boxes and various other accessible containers at the request of householders who do not have letter boxes. If they have a policy not to do this, then it is widely ignored. Dbfirs 13:16, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

It goes further than that. Courier companies routinely deliver to a "safe location" or a neighbour if the addressee is not at home. You can, however, opt out of the service. You can also have goods delivered to shops, stores and railway stations if it's easier to collect them from there. There are also plans afoot to deliver by drone. The Royal Mail is happy to tailor its service to customers' specific needs. However, the requirement to deliver to the front door is mandatory in the absence of special arrangements, along with the universal service obligation and the requirement to deliver six days a week (except public holidays). Royal Mail service is far superior to that provided by other postal administrations. Australian farmers bemoan the fact that their "postie" will only deliver to a remote mailbox at the edge of their property, and some of them make daily treks only to return empty - handed. 80.44.161.39 (talk) 16:07, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

To what extent are the smartest people believed to be academics?

I am not after a debate on what intelligence is. Rather, I'm after the following sorts of information.

• Are the best mathematical minds in maths or physics in academia, or in industrial science/engineering and/or finance?
• Are the best humanities people in academia, or in think tanks/working as artists?

Any ideas?--Leon (talk) 18:16, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Define "best" and "smartest". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:52, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

Per Bugs, I'm not sure the question is answerable, because I have no faith that anyone has attempted to quantify this information, nor has published any reliable sources on it. --Jayron32 02:44, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

It also presupposes that there's a division. Many academics also have jobs or work as consultants in the private sector, either concurrently or subsequently. Was Einstein smarter when he worked in the patent office or when he worked at the university? Matt Deres (talk) 04:04, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

The profs at universities can't be all that smart, because they never seem to learn the native language spoken by the students. :-) StuRat (talk) 04:45, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

One way to go about this might be to track the career progress of Oxbridge graduates with first-class honours. I have no idea whether this has been done systematically, but it would be likely to show whether those individuals who have succeeded within a rigorous academic system as students choose to continue as researchers. Carbon Caryatid (talk) 14:22, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

• The question is impossible to answer without a definition of 'best', and 'best' is impossible to define. And I say that as an academic. Regarding the above point, just because someone is from Oxbridge, doesn't mean they're the best. They do get an advantage on the job market, and to some extent in academia as well. But, especially at post-graduate level at above, Oxbridge isn't necessarily best in each field, as the research excellence rankings show clearly. Fgf10 (talk) 19:17, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

See previous discussion Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 May 13#Pronunciation of German loanwords in English. The linked book, [1] makes the point that outstanding performance is a function of having achieved a certain number of hours of experience and being in the right place at the right time. Provided the teaching provided by the university is competent, it is immaterial whether study was at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard or some lesser institution. 92.8.63.27 (talk) 12:24, 15 November 2016 (UTC)