Talk:Spontaneous human combustion

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CRAW309 (talk) 05:32, 2 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Pyrotron" seems like something unfit for an encyclopedia.

Larry E. Arnold in his 1995 book Ablaze! proposed a pseudoscientific new subatomic particle, which he called "pyrotron".

Is quackery of this degree actually useful in an encyclopedia? Is it notable enough to warrant inclusion? It feels like undue weight is being given to absolutely ridiculous woo in this article. TricksterWolf (talk) 21:54, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Three cheers for Arnold's ridiculousness. Yes ok, this article is a woo magnet. He gets a slight comeuppance from Joe Nickell. Perhaps the balance could be made more explicit. And I'm not sure Arnold belongs, based on just that primary source, in the "Overview" section. But every article needs a slight spark of novelty? Martinevans123 (talk) 23:31, 8 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Merger proposal

CLOSED

Reject merging of article(s) as community observation that this death is not a case of SHC holds sway. See STATUS QUO. GenQuest ^"scribble" 18:32, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Formal request has been received to merge: Mary Reeser into Spontaneous human combustion; dated: March 2023. Proposer's Rationale: There is nothing notable about this individual besides the fact she allegedly died from spontaneous human combustion and its article has a paragraph about her in the "Notable Examples" section. ~216.165.127.20. Discuss here. GenQuest ^"scribble" 13:15, 16 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think to oppose this. The daughter-in-law and FBI thought her combustion wasn't spontaneous. The leading source cited in the article for the "spontaneous" claim says nothing of the sort, only that it was a mystery, and the only claims are from people speculating and passing on other people's speculation on the matter. I accept no end of people may have claimed spontaneous combustion (possibly sufficient for notability) but there was no evidence for "spontaneous" and the opinion of anyone involved was either unsure or thinking it was not. The article should either be deleted or changed to make it clearer the claims were uninformed and speculative. Thincat (talk) 16:56, 16 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see much to merge. The pertinent information is already at Spontaneous human combustion, and it is made clear there that Reese's death was probably just an accident involving a cigarette. I think a redirect would suffice. Joyous! Noise! 02:01, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Citation 28 link is broken

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1720-ball-lightning-scientists-remain-in-the-dark/ I believe this is the link to the page citation 28 is trying to reach. 49.177.136.152 (talk) 10:06, 3 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. I've now seen to it. Thincat (talk) 13:09, 3 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Education assignment: LIT 3319 Contexts

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 January 2024 and 2 May 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Envylivion (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Envylivion (talk) 01:36, 21 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Article is missing pre-Rolli reports.

This idea and the term "spontaneous human combustion" were both first proposed in 1746 by Paul Rolli ...

Considering the whole pseudoscientific nature of the topic, it would be inaccurate to attribute the whole idea to Paul Rolli without mentioning any older reports of SHC.

For one see the the mention of Servius Tullius by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History here [1], NinuKinuski (talk) 16:19, 3 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Where exactly in that passage is spontaneous human combustion mentioned? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:41, 3 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It appears also that there are sudden fires [...] and even in the human body [...] when Servius Tullius, while a child, was sleeping, flame darted out from his head; and Valerius Antias informs us, that the same flame appeared about L. Marcius, when he was pronouncing the funeral oration over the Scipios, who were killed in Spain

The citation of it: See Livy, i. 39, and Val. Maximus, i. 6. 2. Although it would be rash to pronounce this occurrence and the following anecdotes respecting Marcius to be absolutely impossible, we must regard them as highly improbable, and resting upon very insufficient evidence.

references the book 1, ch. 39 from the History of Rome (Livy), and the book 1, ch. 6, section 2 of Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium by Valerius Maximus. NinuKinuski (talk) 14:15, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Some flames, appearing to come from someone's head, do not really constitute death by a complete (or almost complete) reduction of a person's body to ashes by burning? Martinevans123 (talk) 14:20, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, I was under the impression SHC consisted of both non-fatal and fatal combustions, only later in the Overview section it was specified as death from a fire. NinuKinuski (talk) 14:37, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Even without death, these seem to be very different in terms of scale/ outcome? If you have any WP:RS sources that say that Pliny or Servius Tullius were reporting cases of SHC, these might warrant reappraisal here. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 14:44, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]