Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2017 July 6

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July 6

NFL
football team doctors

What percentage of team doctors in the nfl were formerly military doctors? also, has there been any speculation in the media that team doctors might face civil or criminal penalties if they had knowingly deceived players about the danger of getting dementia from head injuries? thanks.64.134.223.214 (talk) 03:24, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This isn't really an answer, but I think some general background regarding medical accountability can be gleaned from the case of Purdue Pharma (see also [1]). I think the "new nonaddictive opiate" scam has been run four or five times over the past two centuries; this time the government managed to seize a fraction of the take, and 400 hours of community service. Wnt (talk) 08:48, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure where the question about being former military doctors comes from or how it has any relevance. The importance is that the doctors used by NFL team be trained in sports medicine, not battlefield trauma, because that is the field they need to intervene in. It's not a full-time job either, so team doctors usually have a medical practice on the side. Whether or not they served in the military is immaterial. --Xuxl (talk) 14:41, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
    • I am the OP.-Military service is certainly immaterial to the second question(about legal repercussions) that I asked, but it definitely isn't immaterial to me! I have a personal interest in finding out more about whether what seem to me to be callous attitudes among team doctors and workmans comp doctors come from previous military medical practice and the military triage type of thinking.64.134.234.17 (talk) 23:10, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Concussion can occur in either area - a lot of military injuries are "mild traumatic brain injury" [2] and some references in [3] seem to suggest the same for sports. The OP's suggestion that doctors in either area might be tempted to downplay concussion for their employers' benefit seems like a reasonable idea, though by nature it would seem hard to prove, since the standard of care in any industry is the standard of care in that industry. Wnt (talk) 15:11, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The NFL and the NFL Players Association include medical liability (especially concussion liability) in the NFL player's agreement signed by both sides. It is an extensive document, full of legal speak. The take-away is that the NFL reduced liability for concussions (and general medical liability) to cases of extreme negligence while the players got better health care coverage and more concussion rules. 209.149.113.5 (talk) 19:24, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon an early implementation of an Elevated park? -- SGBailey (talk) 11:56, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

They are, quite obviously,
terrace and mound
)?
Now, draw you own conclusion
Gem fr (talk) 13:38, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Terraces seems the more likely structure, though there is very little evidence to show what they looked like. Wymspen (talk) 14:08, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I just looked at our article and was quite impressed. We currently quote a wide range of ancient sources, all of which are in practically perfect agreement about the construction and dimensions (400 feet on either side) of the Gardens, and also seeming in agreement with the ancient bas-relief of the Nineveh gardens. So the trees were growing atop wide stone platforms that sat upon four pillars each coming together in arches, with the roots visible (in some way I don't fully understand) in places between them. The floor was made watertight with bitumen/asphalt reinforced with reeds, brick and mortar, and lead; Archimedes screws were used to bring water up from an aqueduct. I had no idea that the design was so well known. I think this pretty clearly qualifies as an elevated park, at least for Refdesk purposes - you could practically rebuild it from these instructions, and it ought to work just as well, and have it decay just as quickly once the favorite wife no longer is in the picture. You might encounter hindrances from
WP:NOR policy if you edit the article, but this isn't the place to discuss that aspect of it (use the talk page for that). Wnt (talk) 23:11, 6 July 2017 (UTC)[reply
]
There seem to be some possible traces of the aqueducts remaining in Nineveh (if ISIL didn't destroy them). Also, it should be explained that at the time, Nineveh was briefly the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. However, Babylon is the more widely known ancient capital city of the region, so the story of the hanging gardens being built in "the great capital" was moved there. StuRat (talk) 02:04, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
From our Nineveh article: "At this time, the total area of Nineveh comprised about 7 square kilometres (1,730 acres), and fifteen great gates penetrated its walls. An elaborate system of eighteen canals brought water from the hills to Nineveh, and several sections of a magnificently constructed aqueduct erected by Sennacherib were discovered at Jerwan, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) distant.[18] The enclosed area had more than 100,000 inhabitants (maybe closer to 150,000), about twice as many as Babylon at the time, placing it among the largest settlements worldwide. Some scholars believe that the garden which Sennacherib built next to his palace, with its associated irrigation works, comprised the original Hanging Gardens of Babylon." StuRat (talk) 02:30, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The ancient sources listed seem awfully consistent and specific for people who are going to get confused what city they are talking about. Is there any reason why the idea, once successful, would not be copied from one place to another? Wnt (talk) 18:46, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
For one thing, you would need certain geographic conditions to permit aqueducts. That is, you need a consistent water supply at higher elevation, nearby, and no mountains in-between, unless you plan to drill a hole through them. Then you need lots of masons with free time to construct it all, and the money to pay them, and the will to do this rather than some other large project, like a higher, thicker city wall. StuRat (talk) 18:11, 8 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I would rather qualify an elevated park as a sort of hanging garden, than the other way round. My 2 cents. Gem fr (talk) 07:54, 7 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]