Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2022 June 5

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June 5

Talk to improve the page.

Historians are confused about the history of Prithviraj Chauhan. Books which do not match with history should be removed from this page. That's why it is necessary to have this conversation. -- Karsan Chanda (talk) 01:44, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

The place to discuss this is on the Prithviraj Chauhan talk page, unless you have a more specific question to be discussed here. And who would be the arbiter to identify "Books which do not match with history"? See also: WP:SOFIXIT, but be prepared to cite your edits with reliable sources; and, consensus is necessary for potentially contentious changes (on the talk page). 2603:6081:1C00:1187:3460:F48F:DAE7:DD12 (talk) 02:58, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

References

"no ifs, ands, or buts"

In the Chase_(House_episode) episode of House, a doctor makes the patient repeat the phrase: "no ifs, ands, or buts"[1] as a way of checking the patient's mental capacity. Both the doctor and the patient are involved in Catholic seminary/monastery systems, and the episode is particularly focused on their Catholic background.

1. Is the phrase "no ifs, ands, or buts" somehow connected to the Catholic faith?

or

2. Is the phrase "no ifs, ands, or buts" used to check mental status because it's kinda hard to pronounce and has nothing to do with Catholics?

Thanks. Daniel T Wolters (talk) 04:03, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

In hindsight this question might have been better suited for the Language RD, so apologies if I posted it in the wrong place. Feel free to move this question if Language RD is the better place. Daniel T Wolters (talk) 04:05, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12050961/ Nanonic (talk) 05:28, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

And also http://sites.psu.edu/enddsd/wp-content/uploads/sites/6976/2013/09/2011-may-MMSE.pdf Nanonic (talk) 05:30, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

To clarify, the first is an investigation into the applicability of using the phrase to test cognition in a subset of all ethnicities. Therefore it's reasonable to assume that it's a common used technique in general. The second confirms this. Nanonic (talk) 05:34, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Very cool. Thank you! Daniel T Wolters (talk) 06:18, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Side note: It's always surprising when something in House is real. If I were watching the episode I would have dismissed the mental test (without if's, ands or buts) as some quirky gimmick. Bumptump (talk) 22:00, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

In British English one would be more likely to say "no ifs, buts, or maybes". I have no idea if it would be used in a diagnostic test. DuncanHill (talk) 22:10, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Old English proverb suggesting that unrealistic speculation is pointless: "If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there'd be no work for tinkers' hands". [2] Alansplodge (talk) 14:30, 6 June 2022 (UTC)

Less old, but old: "If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas." 64.235.97.146 (talk) 15:19, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

According to this, both are variants of the same nursery rhyme, If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Alansplodge (talk) 16:40, 7 June 2022 (UTC)