License for using background music in my video?

Question: I want to use the song Spirit of Life by Blackmill as background music video but I wasn't able to find any information about license to use this song. I tried to contact Blackmill as well but no response. I'm trying not to use a different song because it works so well with my video currently. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Having licensed music for videos I've produced; from having custom tracks re-recorded by one of Audio Jungles top artists (1 Million in Sales); to one hit wonders who had radio airplay; to even Katy Perry...
You need to find out what Label the album is under; meaning, who owns the rights.
Blackmill will have no say, unless they own the masters which I doubt.
The label information should be easilly found on the CD/Album info.
Contact the label; and they will either have a licensing department or they will refer you to their agency.
It is a time consuming process; there is a lot of back and forth, and it could be expensive. Very. If they are under a large label; and they don't have an agreement with a "licencing agency" like ExtremeMusic; which basically mass sells known artists and because they do so on a large scale basis they have a basic rate sheet; 1 song for x use for x type of duplication used in x such a way = this price;  if they don't have that track on a easy to buy list; it's going to involve a custom negotiation where money talks and if you don't have the money...  don't expect a return call.
Contacting Blackmill or even their manager/management is likely going to prove a waste of time.
Comment: Thanks @Martin, it seems to me that he self-released his album though: https://www.discogs.com/label/259268-Not-On-Label-Blackmill-Self-released
Comment: If self released and they aren't under contract with a label; then your approach of contacting the band; or their booking manager; whoever handles their gigs; etc; would be your best bet. Just be persistent. But not pushy. Complement their work as well; their sound; as well of their work... that helps.


How does Upton Sinclair's The Jungle contribute to Historiography?

Question: I know Upton Sinclair was not a Historian, however his work The Jungle has had a significant impact on how society views industry standards, regulations, government agency's, etcetera. There are broad historiographical trends that his novel might fit in, like New Social History, New Left, and maybe Marxism. However does anybody know the specific implications that his work had on Historiography?
Answer: It has been said that Sinclair's "Jungle" was "aimed for the [American] public's heart and hit it in the stomach." That is to say that the main result was widespread calls for a reform of food processing practices, and the creation of the Food and Drug Administration to oversee this
Sinclair was decidedly left of center, probably socialist, and his book may have contributed to the mid-Western based "Progressivism" of people like Robert LaFollete of Wisconsin. But the main impact of this work was not "political," but rather "regulatory."
While regulation has a political component, it is the province of centrist "good government" types, rather than radicals on either side. Sinclair's book did only a little to wins socialist converts, but a lot to win reform of food processing, and contributed to the beginning of the environmental movement. (The book was published during the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt, a leading, and early, environmentalist.)
Comment: How are you defining politics, and regulation? Given the Platonic definition of politics, then Sinclair's book had a profound impact on not only government politics (like enacting the FDA), but also public politics. He shoved the atrocities of the blue collar working conditions in the bourgeois life. The question asks weather The Jungle contributed to how people wrote history. Marx's Communist Manifesto was published about 40 years earlier which had a massive impact in historiography.  Did Sinclair's work contribute to a Marxist understanding of history? If so, how did it contribute?
Comment: @SamanthaHutto: To use Dukakis' framework, I link "politics" to ideology, and "regulation" to "competence." tt's true that regulation has a political component, but this was the province of more "centrist" political policy makers. Sinclair was more of an "extremist," that is "socialist" rather than liberal or even "progressive." In this regard, his book failed to win many converts to socialism, but instead, became a rallying point for centrist "good government" types.
Answer: Upton Sinclair's work put him in the vanguard of several historiographical movements: people's history, muckraking, and undercover journalism. His attention to common people's experiences seems to be overshadowed by the memory of his seminal acts of journalism.


What is Hue and Saturation?

Question: I have difficulty in understanding what is Hue and Saturation. please explain what is hue and saturation to me with an example or analogy.
Comment: https://dsp.stackexchange.com/questions/67301/which-are-where-are-hue-saturation-and-intensity-images-in-this-figure
Answer: Hue is the main indication of color. It is the value actually telling you which color it is or the value that lets you go "red" when you see a red object.
Saturation is the perceived intensity. In other words it is a value of how dominant the color is, or how colorful the object looks.
Practical example: Regardless of the color, shadows generally happen to have low saturation values.
Comment: https://dsp.stackexchange.com/questions/67301/which-are-where-are-hue-saturation-and-intensity-images-in-this-figure
Comment: please also answer/comment on this question, if comfortable
Answer: If you draw a intensity on wavelength curve for each pixel in the image, hue refers to the peak of the curve, i.e., at the visible wavelength with the greatest energy from the output. Saturation is the relative bandwidth of the curve. As saturation increases, colors appear more "pure." As saturation decreases, colors appear more "washed-out."
The aim that we convert RGB to HSV is to separate the information from color space with the other information such as the brightness, pureness, and saturation.
The conversion from RGB to HSV is shown in this page with both mathematical formulas and the numerical look-up.
Answer: If the density of photons is equal at all frequencies in the visual range, then a typical human would usually see just gray, and the color saturation would be said to be zero.  For RGB image data, the same if R == G == B.  The hue would be indeterminate.
If all the photons are of identical frequency at the red end of the human visual range, then the saturation would be 100%, and the hue would be at the red end of the hue range.  Or R = 255, G = 0, B = 0 for 8-bit RGB images.
Answer: this comes from Wikipedia (but is consistent with my old 1970s communications textbook):
$$R, G, B, Y \in \left[ 0, 1 \right], \quad I \in \left[-0.5957, 0.5957\right], \quad Q \in \left[-0.5226, 0.5226\right]$$
$$
\begin{bmatrix} Y \\ I \\ Q \end{bmatrix}
=
\begin{bmatrix}
  0.299    &  0.587    &  0.114 \\
  0.595716 & -0.274453 & -0.321263 \\
  0.211456 & -0.522591 &  0.311135
\end{bmatrix}
\begin{bmatrix} R \\ G \\ B \end{bmatrix}
$$
$$
\begin{bmatrix} R \\ G \\ B \end{bmatrix}
=
\begin{bmatrix}
  1 &  0.9563 &  0.6210 \\
  1 & -0.2721 & -0.6474 \\
  1 & -1.1070 &  1.7046
\end{bmatrix}
\begin{bmatrix} Y \\ I \\ Q \end{bmatrix}
$$
the $Y$ signal is the monochrome intensity.  about the same as B&W.  a B&W TV would need only that.  the $I$ and $Q$ signals are the chroma or color signals.  as their names suggest, consider them as the "in-phase" and "quadrature" components of a single complex-valued modulated signal which is how the old NTSC standard used to do it.  $I$ is the real part, $Q$ is the imaginary part.
color "saturation" would be the magnitude of $I+jQ$ and color "hue" would be the complex angle of $I+jQ$.
Answer:
When we are on the HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminosity) color system in windows, if we move the white cursor vertically, only the Saturation tab varies as it controls the intensity of the specific color one is on.
However, if we move horizontally, only the Hue tab varies as it indicates the actual color we are in.
From this, we can see that the Luminosity tab controls the whiteness (upper limit) or blackness (lower limit) of any color.

What is Hue and Saturation?


Is it possible to walk between all three terminals in Dubai Airport without leaving airside?

Question: We are arriving into Terminal 2 on the 28th December and want to go to the business lounge in Terminal 1 before getting a flight from Terminal 3 eight hours later.
Comment: Can you edit your question once more? I think you submitted it before it was finished, now it ends in "bu".
Comment: possible duplicate of [Visiting a lounge in T1 at Dubai International Airport, during a layover at T3?](http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/5576/visiting-a-lounge-in-t1-at-dubai-international-airport-during-a-layover-at-t3)
Comment: Wow, it's *almost* a duplicate, but not exactly. :) That question is about T1 <-> T3. This is about all three terminals. Some answers on the other question would still be useful though.
Comment: Dubai airport is funny, t1 and t3 is only used for check-in, immigration and custom check. Gates, remote stand and lounges is located in ConcourseA,B,C. 3 concourses and t1/3 are directly linked or linked by APM.
Answer: From Wikitravel:

Dubai Airport currently has three passenger terminals. Terminals 1 and
3 are directly connected with a common transit area, with airside
passengers being able to move freely between the terminals without
going through immigration, whilst Terminal 2 is built on the opposite
end of the airport. For transiting passengers, a shuttle service runs
between the terminals, with a journey time of around 20 minutes from
Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, and 30 minutes to Terminal 3.

So it appears there is a means to get between the terminals if you're a transiting passenger, but you have to take the bus, not walk.
After the pandemic, there are no more shuttle buses between terminals 3 and 2. There are only taxis, which cost around AED 50.00 as of end of 2023.
Comment: I transferred from T2 to T3 yesterday, the process took about an hour gate-to-gate. The transfer minibus is very, very slow, and only runs once every 15 minutes, and it can only take 16 passengers at a time. I had to get to an A gate, which added extra time. Beware!
Comment: The joint T1-T3 terminal is pretty long, from one end to the other takes about 20 minutes!
Comment: Yeah that sounds like the best plan.  Make sure to allow yourself enough time to get to your flight!
Comment: Thanks Mark, so basically we shuttle to T1 then it seems we may be able to walk from T1 to T3
Answer: You should not have any issues traveling between Terminal 1 and 3. As you are arriving at Terminal 2 and have a connecting flight from Terminal 3 you will be put on the transit bus to take you to Terminal 3.
I would like to add a point to @Mark's answer that unless you have a boarding pass for Terminal 3 or 1 (gates A, B or C) you cannot freely move between Terminal 2 and Terminal 1.  The airline has to specifically allow you to go there, because you may need to use public transport and they will ask to see your boarding pass before letting you on the bus.
Terminal 1 and 3 are connected, so you can freely walk around; and to get to gates A (the dedicated A380 gates), you need to take the train.
Answer: I arrived at Terminal 2 at night and had a big surprise: there is no bus that takes you to T1 or T3, only a taxi. So be prepared with at least 50-65 AED to pay to the taxi driver that will get you to T1 or T3 metro station.
Everyone says the transfer is available only if you have a ticket to fly to another destination. I was very disappointed about this.
Comment: The bus is for transit, not arrivals. So if you exited Terminal 2, there won't be a bus available.


"Work" tab in "Lubuntu Netbook" session is messed up

Question: I have just upgraded my laptop (Samsung NP300E5A, with 15.6" 1366x768 LCD) from Lubuntu 12.04 to Lubuntu 12.10 (full reinstall).
I used to use "Lubuntu Netbook" session (one of choices that login manager offers).  It shows installed programs not only in "start menu", but also full screen in tabs: "Internet", "Work", "Learn", "Play", "Preferences".  Some of those tabs are divided further, like e.g. "Work" tab which includes among others "Work > Accessories" and "Work > Office" subcategories (sub-tabs).
After installing a few programs Lubuntu Netbook now has totally messed up "Work" tab, and only this tab, see screenshot below (half size).

For example:

AbiWord is both in "Work" (as 'AbiWord Word Processor') and "Work > Office" (as 'AbiWord'), and they use different icons
Same with Catfish File Search; it is as 'catfish' with default [*] icon in "Work", and as 'Catfish File Search' in "Work > Accessories" with magnifying glass icon.
Dvdisaster is shown in "Work" tab twice, once with larger icon and 'Additional error protection for CD/DVD media' as on mouseover description, and once with smaller icon and 'data loss/scratch/aging protection for CD/DVD media' as description / hint.
There is "GDebi Package Installer" in "Work" tab instead of in "Preferences" like "Synaptic" is.
There is 'bash', 'bc', 'dash' etc. cluttering "Work" tab, all with default [*] icon.

There are no such problems with other tabs.
What could be the source of this mess, and how to fix it?  How to remove duplicates and console/commandline applications like 'bash' from there?
Answer: I've just installed Lubuntu on two machines, didn't have the issue.  Maybe it was a bad install?
Since this is a fresh install, I would recommend, reformatting and trying again
Comment: I think it was something I installed, because I seem to remember that "Work" tab was not broken just after install. But anyway installing package should not break `lxlauncher`.


What is the difference amongst JVM Spec, JVM Implementation, JVM Runtime

Question: I read the following words but I like to know differences among them...
 JVM Spec, JVM Implementation, JVM Runtime
Comment: @girinie: is my answer satisfactory?
Answer: JVM Spec: document describing how the JVM should behave.
JVM Implementation: an implementation of a JVM based on the JVM Spec.
JVM Runtime: an instance of a JVM implementation.
Answer: the jvm spec is just a document that describes how a java virtual machine must work.  Anybody is free to take that spec and build their own jvm implementation.  Think of the spec like a blueprint, and the implementation like the house you build from it.  As a contractor you are free to make minor changes, different materials etc, as long as the blueprint is followed.
The JVM runtime is the implementation.  The runtime is what is execute when you use the java command.  As i said, different companies have made their own implementations of the jvm runtime from the spec.
Answer: JVM Spec: A document, which describes an ideal virtual machine's features and behavior. It's a guideline to develop your own virtual machine with flexibility, such as how to manage memory.
JVM Implementation: A real virtual machine, which implements JVM Spec. There are lots of JVM implementations, such as HotSpot and JRockit, which have their own features and apply to different scenes to resolve different problems.
JVM Runtime: Maybe you mean "Java Runtime". It's a running JVM implementation, on which Java application is executing.
Answer: JVM Spec is specification of JVM, describe what a JVM should be and what function a JVM should support.
JVM Implementation is a real JVM implemented by the vendors, the JVM should fulfill all the entire specification.
JVM Runtime is a running program that which support java specified feature.
Answer: JVM Runtime :
Instance of JVM which runs your class file or application.
We run a java class as : java classFileName
So in above command; java is actually jvm instance ( or object). Thus there is one instance for every application running on the given machine. So if 5 applications are running at same time on your machine; this means that there are 5 JVM instances. Each instance manages its application. This is done to make sure that each application runs in a secure environment.
JVM Implementation : Java component which helps you to run your app/class file. There are different implementation by companies specific to platform ( like microsoft implementation of JVM for windows)
JVM Spec : Specification for implementing JVM. All JVM implementation should follow specification.


How to get CR2 (Canon raw) support for XLoadImage?

Question: I've been looking for a light-weight image viewer to replace gThumb now that I'm not running Gnome anymore, and found XLoadImage. How can I add support for Canon's raw CR2 format?
<code>anna@anna:~ $ xloadimage IMG_0001.CR2
TIFFReadDirectory: Warning, Photometric tag is missing, assuming data is YCbCr.
TIFFReadDirectory: Warning, SamplesPerPixel tag is missing, applying correct SamplesPerPixel value of 3.
OJPEGSubsamplingCorrect: Warning, Subsampling tag is not set, yet subsampling inside JPEG data [2,1] does not match default values [2,2]; assuming subsampling inside JPEG data is correct.
IMG_0001.CR2 is a 5184x3456 24-bit single-plane YCBCR TIFF image
IMG_0001.CR2: YCBCR  is an unsupported TIFF photometric style, sorry.
IMG_0001.CR2: unknown or unsupported image type
anna@anna:~ $
</code>
The only thing I've found so far is a plugin for GIMP, but GIMP is definitely not light-weight.
Answer: There is a command line tool dcraw that will process raw files to jpegs.
There are also several libraries for working with RAW files:

LibRaw
libopenraw
Comment: Do you know of an image viewer that uses any of the libs?


What would you call a real market that is close to perfect competition?

Question: I want to explain perfect competition to students using a few practical examples without going into much of the theory. But I want it to be theoretically accurate and I don't want to claim that those are examples of 'perfect competition'. I am thinking about calling it 'near perfect competition', but I wonder if there is a conventional term for a market that is close to perfect competition. This wikipedia article mentions 'close-to-perfect competition' but I'm not sure if that's a conventional term.
Comment: Is "efficient" not strong enough for what you're looking for?
Answer: I do not have a special term, but I give this analogy:

We know what a triangle is. But in the real world, it is impossible to draw a perfect triangle and there do not exist examples of perfect triangles.
Similarly, we have just learnt what perfect competition is. But in the real world, there do not exist examples of perfect competition. Nonetheless, here are some examples of real-world markets that come "close to" perfect competition ...
We stress that these markets are not actual examples of perfect competition. (To repeat, such examples do not exist.) Instead, these are merely examples that come "close to" perfect competition.
Comment: This is a great explanation, I will definitely use it. You have my thanks and upvote, but I got to accept the answer by Herr K because I really need a word for it not just for explaining, but for much less exciting administrative purposes of naming lessons, experiment apps etc.
Answer: I don't think there is a standard term for what you'd want to refer to. I'd consider the following good candidates though:

Near-perfect / almost-perfect / close-to-perfect / epsilon-perfect competition (the last of course comes from the notion of epsilon-equilibrium in game theory)
Markets with low concentration, or lowly / sparsely concentrated markets (based on the empirical measure of concentration ratio)


where was the ark of the covenant during the time of the judges?

Question: After Joshua, during the time of the judges, where was the ark located? In Judges 18 it seems that the people did not have a central place of worship.
Comment: Why do you think Judges 18 implies that? (Note, in particular, its last words.)
Comment: 31. And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of G-d was in Shiloh.
Comment: so, is this saying that the house of G-d was in Shiloh the whole time it's just that people were not going to it? So, the Ark was being kept in Shiloh?
Comment: Obviously, at least part of the period of the judges, the _mishkan_ (house of God) was in _Shilo_. Whether it was there the whole time or not is a fine question (and is essentially equivalent to yours, above), but my point was that Judges 18 is a poor choice of support for your assertion that "the people did not have a central place of worship" because (besides the fact that it doesn't say so) it says the opposite.
Answer: The Mishnayot in the last chapter of Zevachim outline the journey of the Tabernacle. When the Jews arrived in Israel:

The Tabernacle was in Gilgal for the 14 years of capturing and dividing the land.
It then moved to Shiloh for 369 years.
When Shiloh was destroyed (I Samuel 4), the Tabernacle was moved to Nov until it too was destroyed (I Samuel 22:19)
whereupon it was moved to Givon until the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem by King Solomon.

The Ark, meanwhile:

had been taken from Shiloh when it was destroyed by the Philistines. It was in their hands for 7 months (I Samuel 5:1)
then it was returned to the Jews at Beit Shemesh (I Samuel 6:13) who placed it into care in Kiryat Ye'arim (I Samuel 6:21).
It stayed there until King David brought it up to Jerusalem, stopping temporarily at the house of Oved Edom the Gittite (II Samuel 6:10).
Comment: Thank you! Do you by chance know any good books on the subject..?
Comment: I thought it was in Shiloh, too, but Judges 20:26-28 says the ark was at Bethel and Eleazar, father of Phinehas (the same as Eli from 1 Samuel, where the ark is in Shiloh?) was ministering before it. I'm confused.


My automatic Honda Accord will only go past 30-40 mph in D3...How big is this problem?

Question: So I just bought a Honda Accord for a 1,000. Basically the only drive gear that works is my D3. The 1st, 2nd, and D4 gears won't let the car go past 30-40 mph. Is this a serious problem?? What has to be fixed???
Answer: Sounds like the transmission needs to be replaced or rebuilt. Expect to pay $1500 or more to have the work professionally done. If you can figure out how to install a replacement, you can probably buy a good one with warranty for $900 or so, and might be able to find a working one as-is for a lot less.


CiviVolunteer: is there a way to send mailings to smart groups targeting shifts for volunteers

Question: We have a group using CiviVolunteer v4.6-2.1.1 with Angular Profiles v4.6-1.0.1 on CiviCRM 4.6.17.
The scenario - which is basically what most groups need when doing volunteer management is to be able to send reminder emails to people, letting them know the shifts they've committed to.  Now there can be multiple shifts during the day with the same role - for e.g.  You have an upcoming fundraiser and you want to manage volunteers to do phone calling for a a few days, and you have a role called "Phone Caller" with four 2-hour shifts per day.
Currently, CiviVolunteer isn't integrated into CiviMail, and you can email your volunteers INDIVIDUALLY through your email client of choice (you select the email application to use when you want to email an individual inside CiviVolunteer).
So I'm poking around Civi to see if we can create smart groups of the individuals who signed up for a particular shifts by looking at the activity record that CiviVolunteer creates.
I see that that the Volunteer Role, and Volunteer Need (which has the actual date and time the individual signed up for - but looks like it's in a separate table with another ID) are exposed in the activity record.  CiviVolunteer also records the activity type as Volunteer, the Date, the Time, and sets the status to SCHEDULED when someone signs up.
Now in the UI, you can't search on the TIME in the activity record (which would be very helpful for targeting groups who signed up for a shift during a particular day).
I also see that you can get to the Volunteer Need field (which is a reserved field for CiviVOlunteer) via the Search Builder, but have no way through the UI to know what value to put there to get to the actual volunteer date and time shift to be able to conduct the search.
There is also no token available for the Volunteer Need field in the Mailings feature - which would be another way to send reminders to folks so they know what shift they signed up for.
It seems that this piece is huge for volunteer management.   I remember Frank talking about more work on the mailing piece,  but I was wondering if there's a current solution or work around to be able to send targetted emails to remind people of the shift they signed up for.
There is one wacky way, where you can create a role such as "Phone Caller Sept 12 5pm shift" or something - since volunteer roles are available in the search.  But this would be so inefficient and wacky that I wouldn't advise this workaround at all, especially if it's a huge volunteer project.
Any ideas?
Answer: The "who signed up for a particular shifts" part is the problem right now. At present, you could use scheduled reminders to send an email to anyone with any volunteer activity between X and Y o'clock, but if you have two shifts (or projects, for that matter) you won't have a way to distinguish between them, so they'll all get the same message.
We're expecting to finish a proper integration with scheduled reminders sometime before March 2017, but probably not in 2016.
Comment: Is this feature implemented yet?


Functions without a prologue and epilogue?

Question: I was just wondering what exactly causes a function without a prologue/epilogue to be generated? If a program is compiled with just stdcall/cdecl convention, why is it that there are some calls which lead to a subroutine that doesn't have the typical push ebp -> mov ebp,esp. Are these just sanity checks generated by the compiler? Are these subroutines important? Or is that impossible to say without actually analysing it? For example, would a compiler produce a call to a subroutine which moves one value into eax and then returns or would that be the programmer changing the binary of the executable?
Comment: Do you know what the purpose is from a prologue/epilogue?
Comment: What this prologue code does is save the stack frame address. Later on at the end of the function, in the epilogue code, the stack frame gets restored again. You can disable this behaviour in the compiler flags if you wish.
Comment: Related: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/43310704/creating-a-c-function-without-compiler-generated-prologue-epilogue-ret-instruc
Answer: The prologue and epilogue are not required by the CPU to execute functions, so most compilers only generate them when necessary, or optimization is not enabled. In particular, leaf functions (those that don't call other functions) do not usually need a prolog (unless required by the ABI) and the compiler may safely omit it.
Answer: Frame-Pointer Omission compiler option:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2kxx5t2c.aspx
For gcc see -fomit-frame-pointer
https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc-4.5.2/gcc/Optimize-Options.html
Comment: That is quite specific for Microsoft's compiler – which indicates that without, it will generate a prologue/epilogue *even when not needed*. I dare say there is another, better reason.
Comment: No, it disables prologue/epilogue generation it /Oy specified. And this is default behavior for the Release build. But you may specify /Oy- if you still want prologues in release code.


Is there ever a case where invoking the right against self incrimination is in itself incriminating?

Question: Does the invocation of the 5th amendment ever constitute evidence of having committed a crime?
Comment: Not exactly, but I've got an interesting case.  Let me see if I can find it
Comment: Invoking the 5th Amendment can't be used against you in a criminal case against you, but it can be used in a non-criminal case against you (e.g. a case for civil damages from assault or theft) even if the non-criminal case involves the same factual basis as the criminal case. And if you testify without invoking the 5th in a civil case, then your testimony can be used against you in a criminal case against you.
Answer: I haven't found a recent case like this where it constitutes evidence.
Military members didn't have an express right to remain silent until somewhere in the 1950s, so one chances are there might be cases prior to that point.  The present right is codified in 10 U.S.C. 831, which is Article 31 of the UCMJ.
That said, there is certainly a well documented adverse inference effect.  While jurors aren't supposed to take the silence into account (e.g. when a defendant elects not to testify or exercises a right against self-incrimination), it's a difficult thing to do, practically speaking.
Comment: Jurors typically listen to the judges instructions. In a criminal case, where the defendant does not testify the judge will typically instruct the jury not to draw an adverse inference. If the prosecutor tries to have the jury draw an adverse inference from that, they may be subject to sanctions and a mistrial will most likely be declared. In civil cases, however, juries can draw an adverse inference from the defendant remaining silent.
Comment: @Viktor; good point.  I meant that it can be difficult psychologically to not be influenced, even when it violates an instruction.
Comment: Jurors hear the judge's instructions. Whether they actually listen to them, or whether anybody can truly ignore information they already hold because a judge told them to, is a more complicated question ([my favorite example](http://loweringthebar.net/2011/11/man-who-stabbed-his-first-two-lawyers.html)).
Answer: From the point of view of another jurisdiction; Australia does not have a statutory or constitutional right against self-incrimination, however, such a right is recognised in the common law.
Juries are specifically permitted to draw inferences from silence where the defendant is in the position to know material facts that are not otherwise in evidence. For example, there was a Queensland case (name escapes me for the moment) where the facts were that a husband and wife had hired the defendant as a deck-hand on their yacht and sailed into the South Pacific. No further news was heard of the couple but the defendant and the yacht turned up without them whereupon the defendant was charged with their murder, tried and convicted. The trial judge instructed the jury that they could draw inference from the defendant's silence when he was clearly in a position to know what happened and chose not to offer any explanation. The court of appeal held that the direction was OK.
Comment: This is a akin to the [***spoliation of evidence***](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoliation_of_evidence) rule.
Comment: I am curious, did the prosecution offer any other evidence of the defendant committing the crime?


Why Are These Double Parshiyos?

Question: During a regular (non-leap) Jewish year, there are four instances where two of the weekly Torah portions are read together in the same week. This is because there are not enough weeks to read all of the portions separately (especially because we do not read a weekly portion during Shabbos of Pesach and Sukkos).
Why were those eight specific portions chosen for doubling?
Comment: There are actually many other variations of Parshas that were joined/split to help the calendar fit, but nearly all of them have fallen out of use in the last few hundred years.
Comment: @DoubleAA, where would I find such info ?
Comment: @noach try https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%91%D7%9C_%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%AA%D7%95_%D7%98%D7%95_%D7%98
Answer: The Parshoyos that are sometimes doubled are: Vayakhel-Pekudei, Tazria-Metzora, Acharei-Kedoshim, Behar-Bechukosai, Chukas-Balak, Matos-Masai, Nitzovim-Vayelech.
The Gemara in Megila 31b says that Ezra established that the curses of Chumash Vayikra should be read before Shavuos and the curses of Chumash Devarim should be read prior to Rosh Hashana.
The Rambam in Tefila 13:2 mentions that the Minhag is to read Bamidbar before Shavuos, Veschannan after Tisha B'Av, Nitzavim before Rosh Hashana, and on a year with one Adar - Tzav before Pesach.
Although there may be other reasons - it seems that the Parshios selected are more connected in content than the others.
Comment: See the Tanya Rabbati which records a variant Mesora of the Parasha names and count. Of significance is that he doesn't list Vayalekh as a separate Sedra; both Nitzvaim and Vayelekh make up a Sedra called Atem/אתם. See also the footnotes, which brings a third version from Machzor Romi with the same variation of names. http://bit.ly/2oGMuSj
Answer: I am expanding on Gershon's answer so that you can see things more clearly.
The Gemarah Megillah dictates a large part of the calendar on its own. Here's how:

"the curses of Chumash Vayikra should be read before Shavuos"

This explains why there is a "burst" of doubled portions between Pesach and Shavuot during a non-leap year. Three of four weeks during Sefira are doubled portions. If the last day of Pesach occurs on Shabbat in Diaspora, in a non-leap year, Behar-Behukotai is separated in Israel. (I have stated this in "reverse" intentionally, b/c usually in a non-leap year, we expect these two to be doubled everywhere. However, in this scenario, Israel is 1 week ahead of Diaspora.)

V'eschannan after Tisha B'Av

This is mentioned by Ramba"m, and I have to see if he or a commentary mentions a reason as to why this is important, as it' snot mentioned in the Gemarra. Doing this explains why Matot and Mas'ei are almost always doubled. There are a few rare exceptions when they are separate. Separation occurs only in a leap year when Pesach occurred on Sunday or it is a maleh leap year with Pesach being on Tuesday. In Israel, it can also occur when Pesach started on Shabbat, as you will see next year (5779).

the curses of Chumash Devarim should be read prior to Rosh Hashana

Interestingly enough, this rule is "superseded" by Rambam's

Nitzavim before Rosh Hashana

because Ki Tavo is always read two weeks before Rosh Hashanna; never immediately before. (I don't know why.)
Netzavim is paired with Vayelech when either Rosh Hashanna or Yom Kippur occur on Shabbat. This is easy to understand why. When neither occur on Shabbat, as in this year, there is an extra SHabbat between Yom Kippur and Succot available to read Ha'azinu, otherwise, Ha'azinu is read on Shabbat Shuva.
(Vayelech has the anomaly of being read either 0, 1 or 2 times within the same Hebrew year.)
As for why those specific parshiot were chosen for doubling, Gershon is correct that they tend to have similar content. But, that is part of the story. This lengthy article explains that much of the doubling has to do with parsha "size management".  As a Torah reader, after I read this article, I walked away still shaking my head wondering about how well they really "managed" this. Matot / Mas'ei is a 4-water-bottle-sipping double!

Why Are These Double Parshiyos?


How to answer -だね question?

Question: So I've come to learn that something + だね means something along the lines of "Is it __?" with an expected yes answer. I received this kind of comment as a response to a photo I posted on the internet. What are some common/friendly ways to respond to this?
Comment: In spoken language, one often uses うん、そうだね. On the internet, this feels a bit too content-deprived. To give "common/friendly ways to respond" maybe you can give (or make up) some context, i.e. provide a full sentence that ends in ~だね. If the comment was only "だね", then I think no response is needed, but only shows agreement on part of the commenter.
Comment: That all depends on how you *want* to answer it.
Comment: I'm voting to close this as too broad. Any answer would depend on the exactly question being asked as そうだね isn't really appropriate for everything and it's a lame answer, but anything else would depend on context.
Answer: I think it would depend on the context. For example, if someone commented to my photo:

これ、プードルだね。It's a poodle, right?
  インドカレーだね。It's Indian curry, isn't it?
  あ、ディズニーランド(に行ったん)だね!Ah you've been to Disneyland?

then I would respond:

うん!/はい!/ そうよ。/ そうだよ。Yes.
  そうよ、かわいいでしょ。Yes, isn't it cute?
  はい、おいしかったです!Yes, it was yummy!
  うん。楽しかったよ。Yes, I had so much fun. etc...

If someone commented:

オシャレ/ステキだね。It's so fashionable/cool.
  ハンサム/イケメン/美人だね。You look so handsome/pretty.
  かわいいプードルだね。Your poodle is so cute!
  かっこいい車だね。What a nice car!
  (to the food I prepared) おいしそうなカレーだね。Your curry looks yummy.
  etc...

then I would respond like:

そう?ありがとう!/ ほんと?ありがとう!^^ Really? Thank you!

If someone said:

そっくりだね。You two look so alike.
  珍しい花だね。It's an exotic flower, isn't it.
  変な動物だね。It's a strange animal, isn't it.

then I would say

そうでしょ。/ そうね。(feminine) / そうだね。(masculine) Yes, I know.
  そう?Oh really?

etc etc...
Comment: @TokyoNagoya [01414]{おいしいよ}~ [1442]{いっしょに} [91780]{くいなはれ}.
Comment: A:[美味]{うま}草{そう}~  B:[草]{そう}[種]{だね}、一緒に食べよう!
Comment: [馬]{うま}[烏賊]{いか}~ [馬]{うま}い[象]{ぞう}~ ・・・何のゲーム?
Comment: リアクションに悩むわ、このやり取り・・
Answer: I think ね is sort of rhetorical, and I'd only answer it if I was talking to someone in person. Even then, the answer would probably be something perfunctory like そうだ, just to feign attentiveness ;)
I could be wrong; I learned this from Tae Kim, so you can check out that reference and see if it helps. Also, the example sentences at Tangorin and Jim Breen's WWWJDIC come off as making it sound rhetorical/for flavor, in the same category as よ and ざ.
Comment: What is ざ? ....
Comment: そうだ sounds pretty curt.
Comment: @Earthling Oops, I meant ぞ.
Comment: @TokyoNagoya I'm really not the best at politeness. This may have been the wrong question for someone like me to answer...
Answer: You're right about the expected "yes" answer. 「~だね。」 is a rhetorical question, and a full answer is not expected. ね is a sentence ending particle that changes a statement into a rhetorical question. だ is the casual copula used with nouns or な-adjectives.
The asker is usually mentioning something they think (subjectively) and they expect you to agree with their thoughts. Answering with「うん、そう」 or even simply 「そう」 would work as a general answer.
*As mentioned in the comments below, 「そう」is unnatural as a response to a compliment. In that case you can use 「そうだね」(そうですね)to agree without sounding too arrogant.
It is also common to respond by repeating the statement asked. For example:
Aさん:今日は寒いね。 (Today is cold, isn't it?)
Bさん:うん、寒い。(Yes, it is cold.)
Unfortunately I don't have enough rep to comment, so I attempted a full answer.
This answer comes from my limited experience, so please correct me if I am wrong.
Comment: I think it's okay to put a 。 before a 」... 「~~だね」「~~だね。」「そうだね」「そうだね。」--- 別にどっちでも。。。
Comment: 「あっ、そう」「うん、そう」 「そう」

They seem pretty provocative for those who appreciate your photos. そうですね is safer. (Sorry for off topic, but you don't need 。 before 」)
Answer: For a male speaker, if you're in a casual setting and just want to agree and keep the conversation going: だよなぁ〜。

How to answer -だね question?


How do I roleplay a character more intelligent than I am?

Question: What are some strategies and techniques for role playing a character that is more intelligent than you actually are? It's pretty easy to pretend to be someone who is less intelligent, but the reverse seems very difficult.
Answer:
As a gamemaster: Cheat. Use out-of-character knowledge. If the players surprise you with a plan, have a contingency plan for the NPC materialize even though you hadn't actually thought about it beforehand. Just make sure that you hide the "seams" caused by these cheats, and that you don't make the NPC seem smarter than they're intended to be.
As a player. Ask to roll for things. You can't come up with a plan better than a plan you can come up with. But the GM has a lot more information than you, and can MAKE plans successful. For the little things, "cheat." You totally knew that was going to happen, so you made sure to take some small precaution to help you. Just make sure the GM is okay with what you're doing.
Comment: 1: In a game of Scion I had a custom Epic Intelligence Knack I called (uncreatively) "I knew you'd do that...", where a player could make one retroactive action for an LP based on things they only knew currently.  Ex: "I had a feeling you would give me fake money for the hostage, so I gave you a fake hostage", or "I suspected you would try to shoot the mayor so I switched that gun for blanks when I bumped into you."

2: That's 7th Sea's method - they recommend having some stock phrases/actions and rolling to see how successful.
Comment: I don't think I agree with the "roll for things" idea. As a DM, creating a riddle just to answer it yourself is no fun at all. Giving hints or partial solutions can be fine, though. For example, I once had the characters trying to find out where they had to go next from the half-charred remains of a letter in my hideous handwriting. I refused to read them what I had wrote until one of my players realized that her character could roll Decipher Script for this; then I read them what the pieces had but did NOT tell them how they were pieced together.
Comment: @Yandros That could be a mismatch of expectations, though - just because PCs are supermodel astrophysicists doesn't mean the *players* will enjoy solving physics equations while showing off this season's new swimwear. ;)
Comment: @AllenGould Which is one of many reasons why it's important to communicate with your players and make sure everyone is having fun.
Comment: @Yandros The flip side of that is you can end up punishing a player for not being as smart as his character. (to use the classic example, you don't force the fighter's player to carry 200 lbs before he can use his high STRENGTH)
Comment: @AllenGould I understand how that could be a problem (in fact, I remember when a DM of mine expected me to perform the duties of my bard... even though I have zero musical talent), but that's why I suggested giving hints or partial solutions instead. Just giving them the solution is basically a "you don't need to play, just roll a a die to win!", and wouldn't be fun at all.
Comment: This is good but being prepared is not the only aspect of intelligence, it would be nice to see additional areas and examples to make it a truly great answer
Answer: If your character is truly Intelligent, then the DM should help that character by offering INT checks and challenges that your character can solve with a DC check (or however that works in your game system).
You should collaborate with your DM and have him/her feed your character solutions to puzzles or extra information that your character can share with the group. If the DM is more flexible, then you can simply invent the information on the spot as if your character figured it out. We use this method particularly as it helps keep the role playing lively. Sometimes the DM will slightly amend the players explanation to fit better with the story.
E.g.
You are investigating the ruins of an ancient city with high towers and enormous buildings.
You don't know anything about this, but the DM gives you the nod. You say:

I recognize these ruins! They are from the ancient civilization of the Tromdaurs. They were an advanced group of half-orcs of extraordinary intelligence. They valued artistry in architecture and built massive edifices to their gods. Each architect would pair with a builder who would suggest different ways of increasing the stability and size of their constructions. Over time they began to spend more and more time building and less time on other intellectual or physical pursuits. Their architecture was incredible in size and craftsmanship, but a band of elves came through the land with no respect for the half breeds work and wiped out the last of the Tromdaurs. Rumor has it some of them hid in the hills and their descendants lie in revenge for any elves that ventures near the site.

The DM may amend or change a few points to fit the campaign, but roll with the rest of the story. Similarly for solving a puzzle. The DM can setup a puzzle and give you the solution that amazes the rest of the party with your intelligence.
Comment: The bit about the GM allowing your made up suppositions to be true is super-awesome.
Comment: Just make sure other players are aware that's what you're doing - I did this once, and it took many sessions before it came out that the players thought I was playing favorites because random things the "smart" player came up with seemed to be "just right".
Comment: @jonathan-branam - some systems allow for the made up suppositions being true part, but it seems that players and GMs forget about it.  This works well for a character that is more intelligent than the player, but also a character that is more charismatic, has more contacts, etc.  It is a hard enough thing to add to a system, but equally hard to remember.  I like that you pointed this out!
Comment: +1, although honestly as both GM and player I enjoy this type of approach for any character, even Joe Average. It helps to get the player(s) more invested in the world when they help build it, and it means less worldbuilding I'm forced to do!
Answer: Keep copious notes, and convince the GM to let you refer to them in out-of-game time. A good GM will provide you with more information than the other players might have, in order to spur you along somewhat.
One other idea that I've seen that worked really well was an agreement with the GM that you could discuss things with the other players, out-of-game time, and develop ideas as a group of players (rather than characters) that you can then present as the idea your own character had.
Comment: I like it, especially due to the second half. It could slow down the game, which would be like choice paralysis - except that the others aren't just waiting to avoid continuity issues like one character telling the other something while they're not available for conversation - but instead participating.
Answer: Transfer intelligence from players having less smart characters to players having smart characters. For example, if Tim plays Duruk, a dumb half-ogre, and Mark plays Alyssa, a smart mage, any bright idea that Tim proposes is done by Alyssa instead of Duruk.
Answer: If you have ever seen the show "House," House is very brilliant.  I believe there are three factors that make him seem so much smarter than the average person:

Script.  Other characters are written to fall into his traps.
A writing staff.  Instead of a single person (House) coming up with his lines, the best line is taken from multiple suggestions.
Time.  While a single sentence or action may only take a few seconds, much longer was spent writing it.

As a player, I think that the first of these is less useful than the other two.
The second two can definitely come into play, though.  If you forget something, ask another player out of character.  In a critical situation, ask the DM to pause for a minute so that you can come up with a plan.
These two small changes can make a character seem much more on top of their game.  Good luck!
Answer: The word "Obviously" is always helpful at the table. "Obviously Dr Von Brainiac will now bore you all with minute detail about the flux capacitor as we drive to the meeting with Iranium selling terrorists ..." or "Obviously my character would have said that, I'm just to dumb to have thought of it!"
Don't be afraid to let everyone at the table imagine stuff happening based of what your character is capable of. When the herbalist makes potions you all imagine the smell of the cauldron, the mixing of ingrediants, the choosing of sub-ingrediants and this is no different really. A good gaming circle will let you get away with this because it is obvious in the same way its obviously that the brawny character can take that punk half elf because his stats say so!
Also, if you are going to play a smart character (and they don't need to be smarter than you, just smarter in the current feild) then be happy to share the character with the GM. Let him use your character as a mouthpeice when explaining background or theory. This helps both you and him/her. Your character appears smarter and more knolwedgable because of a mix of specific info from the Gm and your general role playing.
GM: "So yeah, Dr Von Brainiac tells you that the car runs on Iraniam because of its unstable matrix. he explains why only mad terrorists use this stuff and why you need to buy it from them because it simply isn't available any other way. [insert more plot specific data]"
Dr VB's player: Yeah and then I drift off into a story about how I once was kidnapped by the IRA and had to brew guiness for them from shoe leather ah those were the days ..."
The same tricks are equally true when playing a character of the same inteligence as you but with specific knowledge you might not have such as Mythos, lores or knowledges.
Answer: There are a couple of strategies that come to mind.  They represent a strategy of behaving like an intelligent character would, and trusting the game master to represent that in the world

Remember that an intelligent character will want more facts to make decisions with, so concentrate your efforts on collecting data, and them make an informed decision.
Play tactfully. An intelligent character will avoid burning bridges.
It's better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.  Don't do obviously stupid things. Everyone even intelligent characters make mistakes, but drinking the cup of fluid on the altar because you are thirsty is beyond a mistake.
Concentrate on coming up with eccentric, or clever solutions to problems.  At the very least ask the GM about the potential of various things in your surroundings.  These may spark the GM to give you the core of a plan.

Beyond these and other "smart people" behaviors, it's up to the GM to provide you with the epiphanies that your character would have, now that you have laid the ground work to have them.
Comment: @Praeriewolf what you describe as tact is more akin to "Wisdom" than "Intelligence" as normally encompassed by games (i.e. ability to memorize spells, etc). The other advice is good for all players.
Comment: Intelligent people burn bridges *all the time*, it's just that the bridges they burn are ones they don't think will ever provide value again. I don't think 'tact' is necessary for intelligence.

Otherwise, I agree with your points.
Comment: I think an intelligent person would only burn a bridge if there was no other choice.  Hence using "avoid" burning bridges.  If nothing else, an intelligent person will burn bridges less often than an unintelligent one.
Comment: @Modern Hacker The question is not specific to D&D, so that's not necessarily correct. As I stated in another comment, the idea of Intelligence and Wisdom in D&D is actually reversed.
Answer: I love the idea of the GM allowing you to make stuff up because you "know" it. That requires a lot of trust on the GM's part, though.
Beyond the mentioned "make an int check" idea, I have found that collaboration helps. While you may not have the smarts to come up with brilliant ideas on your own, a few people talking together can come up with more ideas than you yourself may have thought of. In my groups, we would sometimes discuss for a short time (out of character) a puzzling situation, and the best idea/thought/strategy that came from this discussion would be presented by the clever character.
This was very helpful when I made a character that had extremely high wisdom and intelligence scores, and then due to a fluke happenstance, my intelligence was raised even higher. Oh man! The only downside is this can encourage out of game chatter and some people really like to discourage that. Personally, I didn't find it distracting, and it didn't require the GM to just hand me information (due to int checks), which personally I found to take away some of the fun and challenge of a difficult scenario.
Another suggestion: never underestimate the power of NOT saying something. Waiting till more facts present themselves and keeping ones peace is the best way not to reveal ones ignorance.
Answer: I would recommend breaking the concept of "intelligence" up into specific faculties which are easier to model individually. As a rough list, I would expect an intelligent character to have: A good memory, a broad base of knowledge about the world around them, good analytical skills, and an active imagination.
1) A good memory can be modeled by taking notes. Choose a method that is the least taxing for you, the player, whether that's taking notes or recording the session (if the other players are cool with it). My recommendation is to avoid long form notes because they're of low reference value.
2) A broad base of knowledge can be handled through two methods. One is to take lots of knowledge skills, and to ask for checks on those skills whenever you think they might be relevant. The second is to talk with the DM, and as another poster mentioned, see if they will allow you to assert your character's knowledge by making up minor or interesting details about the world.
3) Good analytical skills means the ability to break things down into smaller pieces and to see how they fit together. IRL, people who face the kinds of high-stress life-or-death situations that PCs face are trained to follow certain models of thought that compress this process. Studying some of these models will help you to evaluate problems. Here are two simple models:
OODA - Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. This is the decision process taught to fighter pilots. It involves four steps which cycle, one after the other. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leadership/ooda.html
Draw, See, Think, Plan. This involves asking and answering four questions:
What does the state I want to be in look like?
How does it differ from the state I am in?
What specifically must happen to get me from my current state to my ideal state?
What resources do I need to get there?
There are tons more of these heuristics you can find for yourself. These are very basic ones, but they give you basic ideas of how to break down complex problems in manageable components. SWOT analysis and SMART goals may also be useful for longer term plans for the character.
4) An active imagination - This is the most difficult to model without having. One simple way to use your imagination well is whenever you find yourself limited or constrained, ask yourself why that limit or constraint exists, and what it would take for the limitation to be true or not. Then gather information about the situation and decide whether the limitation actually exists. This is very similar to DSTP up above.
For example, if you won't attack the evil mastermind because his bodyguards will kill you, ask yourself why and how they will. What would it take for them not to kill you in a fight? e.g. they are only armed with melee weapons so if you could keep them at range you would be fine. What would be needed for them not to close to melee range with you? etc.
These are all ersatz intelligence at best, but they'll help you model the thought processes of a highly intelligent character.
Answer: What you can do is generate a convincing facade.
For high intelligence characters you will have fall back on those mechanical crutches to represent things that you can't do or know (like in any system where the character has a skill in something you know nothing about) but you can still represent a convincing impression of high intelligence that the players will associate with you having a huge pulsating brain.
Where I've played high intelligence characters or NPC's I've employed a variety of methods to make the character seem that way, as I certainly can't claim to be a mega-genius myself:

Attitude. Attitude is everything. If Cyberpunk teaches anything to any other game system - how you interact and react to everyone else is all important; how you present yourself; if it's that you treat everyone else as a know-nothing ignoramus or that you have to sigh after explaining things and repeat slowly, or ask if they need a diagram, or wait for everyone else to speak so you can use several extremely long words relevant to the topic, you can make them seem mega-intelligent. For NPCs you can grant them breaks; if the party explains something that they've worked out and have surprised you, it's not a bad thing to comment from the NPC "Oh, so you only just realised that?" (Although this can be a pain in the ass if you do it all the time, but then, that's character!)
Technobabble I do this a lot when playing high intelligence characters; the GMs usually cut me a break as I don't use it to meta, but more to sound intelligent. But you can explain things (especially in science fiction, but it works in magic worlds too) using words and terms you make up in order to sound like a genius.
Quote stuff Intelligence usually means learning; so quote stuff - when the party encounters an Owlbear and makes some comment about it, regail them at length with Grand Mage Nicolas Proon's treatise on the functional compatibility of composite monsters; there are a bajillion books out there, make some up and quote them.
Shticks Treat the party as an experiment, name everything in latin, refuse to work in any measurement except cubits, give the character some obscure attitude to the world. Why? Well, that's the kick. Sooner or later someone will ask why cubits are the ideal measurement for absolutely everything, then you can tell them. They should regret asking after the first twenty minutes of explanation ;)
Not of this world Speaking of the world, to a mega intelligent character their attitude to life could be wildly alien to that of most people. Almost certainly they will have some grand plan for everyone and everything that will solve all the worlds ills (or bring it under their control) but the way they treat people (back to attitude again) can be wildly wierd. This is best seen in Vampire the Masquerade in exceedingly long lived characters plan intricate plots over centuries, do you have a brain for that level of human chess?
Insanity And as a final backstop drop in a few crazy edges; I tend to only use these occasionally (although sociopath does crop up usually) But don't use too much madness, you want intelligence, not lunacy!

With these tricks I've managed to convince people the characters and NPC's I play at least are intelligent ;)
Comment: You make it seem like all intelligent characters are annoying douches...Some intelligent characters should be but certainly not all of them.
Comment: Pure gold! This winter all of them shall be tested out.
Answer: Depends on time commitment and the style of campaign. I'm going to assume that you're willing to devote some out-of-game time to game preparation and that roleplaying is a major focus of the group (as opposed to combat or world-building or something like that).
1) Intelligent people in societies with writing tend to read and write a lot. This is honestly really important. A lot of people seem intelligent merely because they have a vast pool of knowledge to draw from, gained both by memorized knowledge and an understanding of how to use research methods to find the right answer quickly.
You can portray this in-character fairly easily by depicting your character spending time reading, or reciting poetry or whatever is the most common method of passing knowledge from one person to another in the setting. Reading isn't just restricted to wizards. Fighters with a high int might do so too. And the material doesn't even have to be something related to their class--it could just be general knowledge. Have your character spend time writing too, not just consuming knowledge. Maybe they spend some time describing the anatomy of monsters recently fought, or simply summarizing the events of a particular harrowing adventure next time the party has some down time.
You can portray this out-of-character by doing the same; reading setting materials, summarizing them in your own words, and keeping the notes with you. Maybe take some in-setting history and summarize it in (simple) long-format poetry. Even if it's not very good that still usable. Have your character quote relevant portions at times.
2) Intelligent people aren't always right, or have perfect knowledge. A lot of people who seem intelligent are merely confident in their answers. This confidence might well be misplaced. If you want to play a character that seems intelligent, all you really have to do is make some knowledge checks, use the resulting information to come up with a plan of action, then defend that solution. Even if you aren't necessarily right--even if the DM does not 'cheat' for you--you can still seem intelligent if you pull it off right. This is one of the areas of nebulous difference between intelligence and wisdom. A wise character might well simply be someone more willing to spend more time considering options or evaluating the opinions of others.
3) Intelligent people tend to pay attention to the world around them. While it's not perfectly true (absent-minded professor types with high int, low wis, for example), it's generally true that intelligent folks try to learn from the world around them. Have your character do the same. When they make mistakes, have them spend time afterwards trying to figure out how it could have been done better. This is not the same as spotting hidden dangers or concealed ambushes or whatever--it's just an outward focus.
4) It's hard to portray intelligence without goals and opinions. Have your character develop some of them. They don't have to be world-shattering ruthless-acquisition-of-power type goals. Maybe it's as simple as trying to figure out an easier way to do something to avoid work. These goals should also be comprised of some long-term goals and a rotating set of short-term goals. While this is easily interpreted as a suggestion that all intelligent characters be driven and ambitious, that's not the intent here.
5) Don't sell yourself short. For the most part (disorders aside), people have basically the same mental hardware and intellectual capacity. The main difference between people who seem intelligent and people who seem dim comes down to how that hardware gets used. Have your character spend time considering his actions and how to best achieve his objectives. This is as true of fighters, rogues, clerics, etc as it is for stereotypical high-int wizards. Rich Burlew does a great job of portraying a high-int fighter in Order of the Stick, for example. Spend time thinking actions through, considering consequences, etc.
Answer: Doing this by yourself is pretty much impossible, since you can't make your character come up with ideas you didn't come up with yourself. In my experience, it worked quite well to rely on a little subtle help from the Game Master or hints from your group of players. Unfortunately, these little "out of game" moments might annoy you if you'd rather maintain the atmosphere.
In my case, I played a wizard of sorts. (I'm from Germany, where we have our own D&D ripoff named Das Schwarze Auge ["the black eye"]) and he's able to make prophecies. The game master can slip him hints every once in a while, which makes my character able to come up with ideas I wouldn't have thought of all by myself.
Answer: I had one player who was honestly not that smart playing a really high INT wizard. What he did to roleplay his character as smart was to constantly reference books that I made up for him, which implied a lot of scholarship. He would say things like "Hmm we could enter the goblin cave but Melchiors Guide to the Far East says very little about goblins." Its an inherently meaningless statement but gives the implication of lots of knowledge. I did tell him this idea initially but many of the sentences he was able to come  up with were simple but worked.
Answer: As others have suggested, as a GM you can "cheat" by using out-of-character knowledge. This is somewhat harder to do as a player, but still possible to a more limited extent.
Study the rules of the game thoroughly. In the real world, few people understand the hidden mechanisms that make things work (physics, mathematics, etc.). In the game, however, you have a the luxury of a rule book that tells you how things work. Most characters would not reasonably know these things, but if your character is extra-smart, he or she has probably figured some of them out. Read the books with an eye toward exploitable rules.
For instance, in many editions of D&D, rolling a natural 20 means an automatic hit regardless of how good a creature's armor class is. In practice this means that 20 completely untrained peasants can fire a bow at a anything and there's a pretty good chance that at least one of them will penetrate its hide no matter how tough it is. A high enough number of opponents can overwhelm nearly enemy this way (things get trickier with damage reduction). This might be unexpected for an average person, but an intelligent character could figure it out.
Some people might call this munchkinism, but as long as it's roleplayed well it can lend an air of authenticity to a high Intelligence score. Just don't do it when you're playing a dumb character.
Answer: My answer will paraphrase some of the above, but I felt like making one singular post than several comments.
For starters, I agree with the idea that a smart character could make relevant skill checks so the player gets more information than someone else at the table.  One big problem I once encountered was during a mystery game where someone made the Sherlock Holmes character (it was Victoriana strangely enough) and expected to be handed everything because his character had investigative abilities far beyond his own.  Our GM for the game crafted extra pieces of evidence that only his character put together in his (in character) head but the player still needed to fit it all together.
Another idea is the idiot savant.  Let a player act out a stupid idea but for some dumb reason it works.  Often times this creates quite a comedic effect at the table.  For example, there is an episode of Avatar the Last Airbender where one of the characters, Sokka who is not known for being particularly logical/smart comes up with an idea involving using rotten eggs to find natural gas leaks inadvertently.
One method I used in a game was I allowed each player to roll a relevant skill, and their result was how much time I gave them to come up with an answer/action (it was AEG's roll and keep system, so the average roll was in the high teens, low twenties).  Granted this is still limited by the player but a smarter character gives them an edge.
Lastly, in a comment above that I made, I made a special advantage for uber intelligent characters to allow them a free retroactive action to respond to something that had just happened to give the character that genius effect from a TV show when they cut teh rug out from under someone.
Answer: There is one tool that may help you out if you find yourself havigh remarkably high Int, but not the same real-world Int to play it.
Remarkably low Wisdom.
All the intelligence in the world is for naught if you can't think ahead and plan for it...and your inability to due so, rather than being chalked up to your lack of intelligence, can then be attributed to your lack of foresight instead.
You could also consider ways in which YOU are intelligent, and focus on those aspects of intelligence instead.
Perhaps you aren't as good at solving riddles as you'd like to be.  Not everyone is, and certainly not everyone who is 'intelligent' is able to solve every riddle this world has to offer...but maybe your mage (as an example) doesn't actually like riddles at all.  Maybe, in fact, they would rather study ancient literature and let their knowledge of the world flourish like a flower, utilizing their powers to crush armies beneath their heels (or develop an efficient method of steam-powered transportation on tracks), rather than focusing on 'trivial things like that'.
The upside to this method is that the 'focus' of your intelligence actually makes for a much more memorable character, dedicated to their way of life rather than 'the way of intellect'.

As per the comments, I should make mention that this is based on a type of system where "intelligence", or the ability to utilize knowledge, is separated into different statistics, and assumes (specifically) that it is separated by "intelligence" and "wisdom".  Your own system may not have such a separation (though it may have mental statistics separated in a different way, such as White Wolf's system which splits it in three directions), and even then, you may wish to play a character who IS very learned AND sharp.
If that is the case, this answer unfortunately won't help you much.  If it's just a matter of only having one statistic for your 'intelligence', you could still try to play it off this way (since your character would still be greatly intelligent, but perhaps not able to direct it very well), but if you WANT to play a character who is very smart and very good at using their intellect...you either need to get very good at solving problems using the knowledge you have of a situation, or you need to ask your DM for help.
Take notes, ask other players and the DM what information might be useful (doing so out-of-character so that your own character doesn't look like he's grasping at straws), plan ahead for circumstances that would reasonably happen.  Of course even the most intelligent person can't plan for everything, but with some help from your fellow players and your DM, you can at least make it seem like your character is quite sharp.
Comment: It would vary between systems, but I would argue that they would not in fact have a very 'crisp mind' at all.  If anything, they would be remarkably bad at utilizing their own knowledge.  This is assuming a certain definition of Wisdom though...and it assumes a system mechanic that delineates different types of intelligence.  So I will mention this in my answer.
Comment: I have been given this advice over and over again, but **fail to see haw is it helpful in any way**. An intelligent character with low wisdom *still* needs to have legendary crisp mind, something that ordinary, earthly people do not have. Besides, what is "Wisdom" - the question is not tagged with a particular system!
Answer: Our practice on this subject as a player
We almost never roll for intelligence only if it is about having some in-game knowledge, the roll might decide if you know it by raw literal knowledge or not, it is usually about knowing somebody semi-famous person or knowledge about an usually unfamiliar culture etc...
Our general solution:
Hold a 5-10 minute private conversation with GM, and tell your ideas, and ask for hints from him, then include those things into your plans. Our games often becomes plots/intriques. If your character is more intelligent than you possibly, tell this to GM, and ask: "does my character see some circumstance on the subject what I didn't notice?". In case you get the desired information, you can use it for your cause. Always be aware your character's personality. A good character wouldn't plot for a murder just because (s)he knows something.
A side effect of this method is interesting game with factions within the team, temporal alliances and fun outcome/personalized goals. Also the remaining people most probably will be excited: "what does this guy planning, I have to find it out".
Answer: There are good ways and bad ways to do this. Never, ever, say "I roll Intelligence to see if I come up with a clever plan". Plans are for the player to come up with, not the character. Finch's "Primer on Old School Gaming" describes the player as the character's "guardian angel"; a dumb character may be saved by a smart player, and likewise a smart character is limited by his player.
It is absolutely appropriate to roll for things like "Do I understand this inscription?" or "Have I heard of the town this NPC is from?" Absolutely enjoy your bonuses on spells cast per day, number of languages, etc. But don't ask the DM, "OK, my character is smart, what do I do?" The game is played by players, not characters.
Comment: Well, in old school gaming, this is true. But it seems a rather sweeping statement to apply to all RPGs anywhere, ever.
Comment: Not all games have DMs, or even GMs. Not all have survival as the default motive of play. That is to say, not all games are old-school D&D. And those not-D&D games do often have intelligent characters who are a challenge to play. -1 for belligerent absolute statements and an answer that is too self-righteously narrow to be relevant to most games.
Comment: While I agree one shouldn't ask for plans, I don't agree that a dumb character should be saved by a smart player or a smart character being limited by his player. It does happen, yes, but both should be discouraged. If a DM observes a character acting smarter than he should be (because of an intelligent player) then the player should have to roll to see if they continue along the path they are taking. The opposite should be true as well. If you are going to limit a characters intelligence to what the player is capable of, then there is no point in even having an intelligence attribute.


Was Durin's Bane a servant of Sauron?

Question: Just wondering if Durin's Bane was under orders from Sauron when he fought Gandalf and if Sauron would have the power to control a Balrog?
Sauron did have servants in Moria but if the Balrog served him why keep such a powerful force in there? Wouldn't it make more sense to have him leading his armies?
Comment: The balrog wasn't a servant so much as an ally. I believe both the Balrogs a and Sauron served Morgoth/Melkor but I'll leave the answer to someone much more familiar with Tolkien lore!
Comment: Sauron no more controls the Balrog than I control the lion sleeping on the other side of my house. It's more of an understanding that if I leave him alone, he'll do the same. I basically just keep the adjoining door closed and try not to wake him up.
Comment: related: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/33631/why-was-the-balrog-unconcerned-with-the-fate-of-middle-earth
Comment: Cool thanks KennyPeanuts
Answer: The only indication that Sauron had anything to do with the Balrog is given in a footnote to Appendix A in Return of the King:

Or released from prison; it may well be that it had already been awakened by the malice of Sauron.

However, this doesn't imply any service or even awareness (and as both were Maiar in origin it's hard to imagine either serving the other), and it's difficult to reconcile with the Balrog's inactivity during the destruction of Eregion in the Second Age, when surely it would have been more useful:

The power of Moria endured throughout the Dark Years and the dominion of Sauron, for though Eregion was destroyed and the gates of Moria were shut, the halls of Khazad-dûm were too deep and strong and filled with a people too numerous and valiant for Sauron to conquer from without.

A Balrog would certainly have been useful during the battles at the end of the Third Age, but you're forgetting that Sauron's policy was one of secrecy for a long time, and it was only quite late that he went to open war: by which time the Balrog had already been destroyed.
Comment: @JerrySchirmer - no, it didn't.  Read your *Tale of Years* and *Durins Folk* - the Balrog was inactive between the Breaking of Thangorodrim and TA 1980 (and the Dwarves of Moria were certainly **not** wiped out in the Second Age).
Comment: @turinsbane - "in the second age he united all Morgoths remaining servants" - the Balrog didn't awake until Third Age 1980.
Comment: All this is true but im pretty sure that the orcs in Moria were sent there by Sauron & the balrog allowed them to stay unlike the dwarves plus in the simarillion it says in the second age he united all Morgoths remaining servants on & under the ground under his government
Comment: @turinsbane Are you sure that Sauron sent those Orcs?  Orcs tend to obey the strongest force they can find.  Who's to say those weren't the beginnings of the Balrog's own army?
Comment: @Zibbobz in unfinished tales the hunt for the ring it notes that Gollum was in great peril of discovery by the servants of Sauron that lurked in Moria
Comment: @DarthSatan: The Balrog led the army that wiped out the dwarves of Moria and Celebrimor's elves in the second age.  Presumably, it went to sleep sometime following the fall of Sauron at the end of the Second Age.
Comment: The prison comment is intriguing; the Misty Mountains are far enough from Beleriand that an accidental imprisonment due to the tumultuous War of Wrath seems unlikely, and equally unlikely is the idea that the Valar would imprison any captured Balrogs in Middle-earth rather than back in Aman.
Comment: The Balrog was not imprisoned there.  In the appending "About Durin's Folk" Tolkien writes "Thus they roused from sleep a thing of terror that, flying from Thangorodrim, had lain hidden at the foundations of the earth since the coming of the Host of the West: a Balrog of Morgoth." The Balrog had run and hidden itself until roused 5000 years later.
Answer: I was browsing through Appendix B in The Return of the King and I came across some interesting points from the Third Age calendar:

1980: A balrog appears in Moria and slays Durin VI.
2480: Orcs begin to make secret strongholds in the Misty Mountains. Sauron begins to people Moria with his creatures.

There's no doubt in my mind that Sauron knew of Durin's Bane's existence by (and probably far earlier than) the time the War of the Ring started.
Answer: Some servant, hiding underground doing nothing.  Nah, he was Melkor's servant, just as Sauron was.  That's why he ended up in Moria.  With Melkor gone, that whole army kind of crept off and hid away.  Smaug pillaged a bit and fell asleep inside a mountain.  Balrogs crept underground and stayed there.  Shelob too, found some cave and led pretty much a normal spider lifestyle (well, people instead of flies, but hey, she's big).  Sauron's army, on the other hand - orcs, trolls, Nazgûl - was pretty active, since it had its commander.  Although when Sauron bit the dust they basically did what Melkor's gang did.  Seems the standard operation for these dark guys is lose it and scatter when their leader goes.
Comment: Shelob never served Melkor she was her own master & i don't think Smaug had even been born when Melkor was conquered.
Comment: Yep.  I meant the kinds of creatures that served him, rather than individuals.  Shelob was a descendant of Ungoliant (although Ungoliant was also arguably working WITH Melkor rather than FOR him).  As for Smaug, he was a dragon - and even though he himself didn't work for Melkor, dragons were part of Melkor's horde.
Answer: No, the balrog was unrelated to Sauron.
Sauron no doubt knew about balrogs, having been a servant of Melkor, who created them. But from all that's shown in the LOTR there's no evidence he controlled the one in Moria, or even was in communication with it (the orcs seemed to hold the balrog as some sort of demi-god more than another asset of Sauron, it's not even sure whether the orcs of Moria were under control of Sauron or an independent group, left over from the distant past).

From the books, Moria was a dark and evil place all of its own, its hatred for the company the result of an ingrained hatred of everything else (and probably especially of dwarves), rather than aimed specifically at them.
Comment: @TylerH Prior to, and during the events of the Hobbit, Moria was lost to orcs. Following the events of the Hobbit, Balin journeyed back to Moria in an attempt to reclaim it. His new colony lasted approximately five years before being once again overcome by orcs. It seems it was unknown to Gimli that Moria was again lost prior to the Fellowship entering the city. Also, this may be worthy of it's own question.
Comment: Melkor did not create the Balrogs, which were Maiar like Sauron.
Comment: Moria wasn't a dark and evil place, nor did it have "a hatred" for the Fellowship, even figuratively. Are you confusing Moria with the mountain Caradhras? It is that peak that, allegedly, hates all living creatures.
Comment: Somewhat off-topic, but was Moria already lost (that is, inhabited by a Balrog and thousands of orcs/goblins) during the events of the Hobbit (and if so, was it known to anyone)? And, whether yes or no, why wasn't Gimli (a dwarf of royal blood) not aware of the loss of Moria to the forces of darkness?
Comment: @AndresF.: but he made them into what they were, corrupting them and taking their ability to take an arbitrary form.
Comment: @JerrySchirmer Sure, but that's some twisting of the phrase "created them", unless the OP was using a figure of speech (which would be acceptable!).
Answer: No. The Balrog may have been an ally though because, like Sauron, Durin's Bane once served Morgoth. So undoubtedly they knew each other, as Sauron was Morgoth's top lieutenant, and in The Silmarillion Sauron once led a group of Balrogs in an attack against the Noldor in Beleriand during the First Age.
Answer: No. Durin's Bane and Sauron are both servants of Morgoth, but Durin's Bane doesn't serve Sauron.
Answer: Not so much an answer, rather to highlight a possible tactic in Sauron placing the Balrog in Moria, and thus supporting the hypothesis of Sauron having influence over the Balrog:
Sauron certainly didn't rush his rebuilding after any defeats in the first two ages. I propose that, in a long calculated stratagem for victory in the Third Age, he would seek all potential retreats and strongholds for his enemies, be eradicated or controlled.
He warped Saruman to his service via the palantír, having him build an army and, amongst other things, destroy Helm's Deep. What other stronghold, (ignoring Gondor) would have remained, but for the Balrog and the Goblins?
Moria would have clearly been capable of hosting an extremely large number of refugees and retreated armies. Tens of thousands easily. Sauron would surely have considered this. I discount the Realms of the Elves as realistic similar retreats for various reasons, chiefly the difficulty of accepting Dwarves.
With regard to why the Balrog got there after the War Of Wrath, and so long before the Third Age, is probably the main issue with this theory. Issued there by a clever and far sighted Sauron, guessing the future inevitability of Moria and the dwarves?
Anyway, yea. There you go. Conjecture I know, but from the strategic mind of Sauron the Great?! Surely a certainty... or not.
Answer: Gandalf the Grey defeated Durin's Bane although he did die but Gandalf the White was easily overpowered by the Witch-king who is not really as strong as Sauron so the possibility that Durin's Bane could be a servant of Sauron is there in terms of power but in the story there was no clear evidence that Durin's Bane was a servant of Sauron.
Comment: "gandalf the white was easily overpowered by the witch king" - this only happens in the movies; in the books there is no contest between them; the Witch-king rides in, meets Gandalf, and before they can even get to fight the Rohirrim arrive and the Witch-king departs.  By the way - capitals, punctuation, sentences!!!
Answer: Personally I think Durin's Bane was not a servant of Sauron. I also believe that the orcs in Moria didn't come across the Balrog a lot. I say this because, when it emerges, the orcs say "gash" which means fire in more of a surprised way, IMO. If the orcs were servants of the Balrog I think they'd refer to him in a better way. Just my opinion. Like you said, if Durin's Bane was a servant, why would he keep him in a mountain which has no strategical value to him?
People tend to bring up the fact as well that there were black Uruks of Mordor in Moria, so Durin's Bane and Sauron must have an understanding. I fully disagree; if I remember rightly Gollum had recently entered Moria to avoid the Nazgûl who were trying to capture him after Sauron realized Gollum could be of use to the good guys. I think the black Uruks we see in Moria may have simply been hunting Gollum. Also Durin's Bane doesn't really seem to care about anything going on in Middle-earth unless unwanted travelers entered his realm.

Was Durin's Bane a servant of Sauron?