[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do liquids evaporate below their boiling temperature.

Water's boiling temperature is 100C or 212F, when you spill some on concrete or leave a cup of water outside, it disappears without it reaching 100C even if it is in the shade. The water from the ocean also evaporates, but it is not boiling. This happens with other liquids to such as isopropyl alcohol, or gasoline.

How does this happen?

[Assistant] Because "temperature" is a property that only exists in collections of particles, each particle itself only has it's own energy. So, all a particle on the surface needs, in order to evaporate, is to get hit from behind with enough force to overcome the bonding forces between it and the other particles.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
What's the point of ultra-competitive grants?

Yesterday I received the review for a marie curie grant we submitted. We didn't win it, which wouldn't be a problem by itself. But the problem was the review. We were wonderful. We got an overall score of 88/100! Top of the list!! The individual points of the review all got extremely high scores with extremely few and almost irrelevant "weaknesses" identified in the text.

We even used a consulting company to write the grant, that took care of pimping the grant up using all the buzzword that the EU wants to hear. Which, BTW, were the same that the national contact point for MSCA said that we *must* use.

So, what's the point anyway of a grant that you can't win even when the review is perfect? Apparently less than 8% of the submissions are selected. I mean... it implies that winning is just pure luck, if just one of the reviewers is in doubt whether to give you 4 or 5 in a single one of the points it's going to make the difference between passing or not.

[Assistant]
The point is simply that there isn't enough money to go around. Provide more money and the success rates improve.

And yes, the problem now is that even top-rated grants are getting rejected, which means that it is somewhat luck of the draw as to who is on the panel and how they feel that day.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why are metals with low melting points (eg mercury and lead) more poisons or harmful?

[Assistant]
They're unrelated. Gallium, indium, bismuth, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium are all metals with low melting points that aren't particularly toxic.

Gallium melts slightly above room temperature. You could have it melt into a puddle in your hand and suffer no ill effects.

Indium is a soft metal that melts below 200 C. It's not particularly toxic.

Bismuth has a melting point below that of lead. It's non-toxic to the point that pepto bismol's active ingredient contains bismuth.

Sodium and potassium have melting points below that of boiling water and both are essential to life.

Rubidium and caesium are not very toxic. The toxicity of their compounds is comparable to table salt.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Wars] The Kaminoans and Separatist remnants successfully create new clone and droid armies and Naboo successfully hides Jedi in response to the Empire. How does the Galactic Civil War play out?

Title.

In Legends, Gizor Dellso and other former Separatists (who weren't murdered by Darth Vader) create a droid army - along with a new, more powerful type of Super Battle Droid on Mustafar. Kamino, fearful of what the Empire will do, also creates a new clone army to fight the Empire. Lastly, Naboo hides Jedi from the Empire. What happened in response to all three events is that the 501st destroys Gizor and the remaining Separatists, along with their droid army; they destroy the clone army, Kamino's cloning capabilities, and take control over the planet; and finally they kill the Jedi on Naboo, assassinate the queen, and replace her with a pro-Empire ruler.

If these events don't happen and they are uninterrupted in their planning, how does the Galactic Civil War play out with a Clone Army, a Droid Army, and multiple Jedi involved?

[Assistant] Messily. The Empire couldn't concentrate their massive military against plucky gangs of heroes, but it was quite capable of waging symmetrical warfare. Arguably, larger enemy armies would have done it *a favour*. The Death Star could be delayed, and instead thousands of Star Destroyers and tens of billions of soldiers would be thrown into the meat grinder; this would remove the lynchpins that were exploited by the Skywalker-Vader conspiracy to bring down the Empire.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] How can we be sure that planets light years away will still be there when we get there?

[Assistant] You cant. But the odds are pretty good for a planet to last a billion years or sk. We can tell what stage the star is at in its lifecycle. But yeah...especially if it's taking you thousands of years to get there the planet may have been destroyed or chucked out of its orbit (especially in a binary star system)


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[TheCulture] What is it like to live in the Culture?

In Ian M. Banks Culture novels. What is it like to live in the Culture?

[Assistant] The very nature of being a culture citizen is that it is a post scarcity civilization.  For the vast majority of citizens, you simply live in opulence and do... whatever you want.  There is no need to "work" if you don't want to.  Any material possessions can be acquired with very little effort. "Free love" is there whenever your genetically modified body desires a sexual release and drugs are so readily available that they are actually manufactured within your modified human body.  It's pretty much heaven.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do I get dizzy when I stand up suddenly after sitting or laying down for long periods of time?

I'm a guy and I'm in pretty good shape. I run long distances so it's not a fitness thing. It's happened for a long time, and it's never really been a problem. I just can't see for a few seconds after I stand up sometimes. Once I was napping on a hammock and got up and became dizzy. I didn't wanna look dazed and stupid and I was on an open porch so I just started walking despite not being able to see super well and accidentally stepped on a dog. Poor thing. Thanks for all the real responses.

[Assistant] It's called orthostatic hypotension. Basically, when you stand up, you have less blood returning to your heart for a second or two so your blood pressure drops. Your veins eventually constrict to compensate for this.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why is it so hard for humans to draw straight lines?

[Assistant] All your joints have to pivot in sync to make the end of the pen you're holding move in a straight line. Because there's only one way for them to be in sync and so many more ways for them to not be, it's easier to draw a crooked line compared to drawing a straight line.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELi5: What are the colors and shapes I see when I'm in a 100% pitch black room with my eyes wide open?

[Assistant]
Those shapes and colours are called phosphenes. This is the result of your brain seeing, interpreting and offering stimuli to you.

Your eyes are connected to your brain through particular pathways. But also your visual part of the brain can be stimulated not just through your eyes, but you also see colours when you rub your eyes, bang your head, these are the result of information coming to your visual cortex part of your brain from biophotons as sources inside your body.

Both are why they are seen in the dark. There are actually about 15 different documented shapes, stars, patterns, grids comprising phosphenes that most people see in the dark!

The parts of the neuro cortex responsible for sight, was trained, and remains ready and healthy to serve you and prove our senses and awareness active when you encounter photons to stimulate the cells, rods and cones in your eyes or chemicals and electrical signals via our brain and body and transmit those signals.

* It is your eyes doing the sensing, and your brain the seeing. Colors and shapes are proof of activity and test signals from your brain, a work out letting you know everythings well and firing, the axions and synapses active, excersized and working. So enjoy the show!


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why smashing atoms together (fusion) releases a ton of energy, but splitting them apart (fission) does too.

[Assistant]
Different atoms.

Some (typically oversized ones) are unstable as they are, and release energy when they break up.

Some (typically tiny ones) release energy when they merge to make medium-sized ones.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5 what it means for something/someone to be Straussian?

[Assistant]
Leo Strauss was a philosopher who is most associated today with his research in hidden meanings.  He believed that most serious authors wrote in ways that led public interpretations to differ from secret interpretations meant for their students and close associates.

A very simple example might be if someone says something like "we're going to London again", most listeners will interpret that as they're going to the city of London, England.  However, someone who was with them on their last trip and knows their schedule may realize they are referring to something memorable that happened on that trip (like getting lost) and apply that to their current situation.

If there's a reason for an author not to speak openly about their true beliefs (like persecution or punishment) they may hide references to those beliefs in innocent statements in a way that serious study or insider knowledge can reveal them.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Doctor Strange 2: the Multiverse of Madness] Why couldn't Dr. S stick Wanda in the escape proof prison cells below the Sanctum like he did with other villains in No Ways Home?

[Assistant]
"Escape proof" isn't really a thing when your target can literally author her own reality on a whim. Kamar Taj _tried_ to trap her when she first invaded, but she found a loophole and quickly escaped.

Her improvisation was more powerful than the magic of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Wanda is basically the most powerful magic user in the MCU, because Chaos Magic's rules are more like suggestions than hard limits.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[D&D] What happens if I stick a Helm of Opposite Alignment on a demon?

Demons are always evil. Made of evil. Evil personified. A manifestation of sin and violence made flesh. Chaotic evil personified. They're innately, inherently, cosmically, down-to-the-atomic-structure evil.

What happens if I take a helm of Opposite Alignment and flip the polarities?

Is it immune? Does it work normally? Does it die? Does the helm die? Does it become an Archon? What?

Answers quickly please we can't hold the thing down for much longer and I need to know if this is a good plan ASAP.

[Assistant]
It may lose some of its innate powers, but otherwise it will be physically unchanged.

There was once a succubus who became Lawful Neutral, but that happened over time. The sudden alignment change will likely leave it wracked with more guilt than any mortal can understand and it may try to kill itself.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Lord of the Rings] How does the economy in Middle Earth work if the Dwarves mine most of the gold?

As the dwarves love mining and gold, I assume they have the lion share of gold and other precious metals. The Spanish Empire suffered from hyperinflation due to all the gold and silver they stole in the Americas. So does Middle Earth suffer from this?

[Assistant]
Well, consider the Mali Empire of West Africa, which had phenomenally huge stores of gold.

Simple economics handled the problem for them. Because gold was so easy for them to get, it had little value. So they traded it for salt, which was more valuable to them as a way of preserving food.

The dwarves thus probably trade their gold for things they need (maybe some protein. Hard to find a good meal down in the mines), and the gold makes its way to mints in various kingdoms where it's processed into currency.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
What do people mean by meaning (of life)?

For example, someone might say "meaning is constructed" or "there is no inherit meaning in the universe". But what do they mean? What is "meaning"?

[Assistant]
When something has meaning, it points to something else. Words have meaning. The word "water" points to liquid substance. Usually, when people say that their life has meaning, they want to say there is something for them to achieve which is beyond their life. There are multiple perspectives on this.

Theists believe that every individual exists for a very specific reason, that we are created in order to fulfill God's plan. Sometimes happens that a such person is unable to find their designated purpose, which is depressing - that may make them feel they are worthless, because they are unable to carry on the plan.

Existentialists believe that we are each responsible for creating purpose or meaning in our own lives. Hence, there is no inherent meaning in our existence, but we are capable to make a projection of a goal that is to be fulfilled at some time in the future, and therefore direct our everyday actions towards that.

Both these views share a common attribute: they say that the point of life will come later, if we discover and work for it. Hence life has meaning, ie it points to something else in the future.

Nihilism says that the life is meaningless and it is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence.

Then there is another view which appears to be similar to the nihilistic view, but not in a negative way. It says that lives do not have meaning in the sense that the point of it is not in the future but in the present, in other words the meaning of life is just to be alive. For example, we might say that dancing is meaningless because you do not dance in order to get to a particular point on the floor, but despite that it is a very enjoyable activity. So some people think life is like dancing - pointless but enjoyable activity.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Yanks - what on earth is a 'take a penny, leave a penny' jar?

[Assistant] It is to fill in differences in change when making purchases. Suppose you have $4.25 in change but the purchase costs $4.27; you can just take two pennies from the jar rather than break a larger bill. Alternatively if your purchase was $4.23 you would get two pennies in change, so rather than carry them around you could drop them in the jar for someone else to use.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] which chaos God would despise orks the most?

I'm asking this as I wish to have create a chaos army to rival against my ork army (Goffs) so I can play games with my friends/brother/ father etc.

From what I've read. Orks are asexual and have no desire for any of the indulgences that slaanesh offers his/her followers.

They do not wish for immortality so they bare no interest in following Nurgle.

And they have no interest in Tzeentch as they simply have no interest in making long term plans.

From what I understand however, khorne seems to at least tolerate the greenskins as he feeds off of their bloodlust.

All of this being said, which chaos God would most likely go out of their way to oppose and wage war on the orks? I personally feel it would be Tzeentch as I reckon that a species with no ultimate goal in life besides fighting would anger the changer of ways.
Any comments are more than appreciated :)

[Assistant]
I think you're right about Tzeench being the closest to an antithesis to the Orks. They spread like disease, revel in combat, and find joy in the suffering of others, so Nurgle, Khorne, and Slaanesh probably see them as, at the very least, entertaining. Tzeench, on the other hand, would see them as brutish, unsophisticated, unintelligent wild-cards that have a much better chance of getting in the way of things than they do actually helping. They're also incredibly difficult to change, in that, they have a very specific way of doing things that really doesn't evolve over time.

Tzeench has nothing that he can exploit within the Ork society, and they have every chance to fuck things up for him, so, at the very least, he's gotta find them incredibly annoying.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: What determines if something is "microwave safe"?

[Assistant] Microwaves work by causing polar molecules to continuously reorient themselves in the oscillating electric field which causes them to heat up. This field is the result of the microwaves themselves being emitted. One of the most abundant and polar molecules in existence is water. As such, microwaves can be thought of a primarily heating the water in the object and then that water transfers heat to the rest of the object. The tricky thing with plates, bowls, etc. is that some of them are made up of "hydrous" materials, meaning that there is water bonded to their constituent molecules. When this water continuously reorients itself in the electric field, it messes with the constituent molecule and can cause the object to be ruined. Or it can simply heat up the object to the point that it is dangerous to touch. This isn't restricted to water, so if the object has some other polar molecules in its composition, it may still be subject to this phenomenon. It is just most common with water.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: What does North Korea get out of its continuous empty threats of war?

[Assistant]
By making threats, they can get aid when they agree to rescind the threat.

Threaten to kill us in exchange for scheduled annual training with SK. Then agree to not freak out over the training, but only if we give them 300 bulldozers and 1000tons of rice.

Read The Mouse that Roared.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [40K] Against all odds, the Imperium of Man wins. What next?

[Assistant]
Honestly, it probably collapses into feuding nation-states or guts itself in an orgy of internal violence. The Imperium of Man is too bloated, too oppressive a regime to ever survive peace time.

"The Emperor Protects" is the refrain, the credo. Once everything is gone, all foes brought low and cast out, what, precisely, does the Emperor protect them *from*? The crippling poverty that much of the Imperium wallows in due to having their resources strip-mined to feed the warmachine? The neglect that leads to entire planets being wiped out by some over-worked administratum drone forgetting to carry the one? The ecological ruin of worlds like Kreig? The Imperium of man is not a society equipped for that kind of thing. You've suddenly got a bunch of out of work Astartes who can't do much of anything beyond lug a bolter, a brutal police agency, an even more brutal *secret* police agency, a religious body whose sole tenet has been intolerance of anything 'Other". It's a recipe for just utter, brutal self-destruction.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Physics] What's the difference between Field Theory and the Aether?

What's the difference between modern field theory and the old idea of aether? As far as I know they were both ways of trying to explain how waves propagate through 'empty space'. Did scientists assume that aether had to be massive or be made of particles to transmit waves? And if waves travel through fields instead of 'the aether', what is the fundamental difference between the two ideas in the first place?

Note: I just recently heard about the old idea of the 'aether' and it sounds a lot like a 'field' through which waves could be transmitted in otherwise empty space.  Which makes me wonder why it was abandoned.

[Assistant]
From a distance, they do sound pretty similar. The aether was supposed to provide a material through which electromagnetic waves propagated. EM waves are disturbances in the electromagnetic field, so it's easy to see why the two ideas can get confused.

The difference between the two is that the aether provided a *universal rest frame* for electromagnetic waves: it was something that existed and gave a reference point for measuring the speed of light, just like air is for sound waves and water for ocean waves. This was considered a necessary idea pre-Einstein (1905) even though the existence/usefulness of fields was known since Maxwell (1800s).

As experiments began to show that the speed of light seemed to be independent of Earth's motion through the supposed aether, more and more complicated aether theories were developed in order to agree with the results, until they became a little ridiculous. (In retrospect, very ridiculous.) Relativity was the answer: there *is no* universal rest frame, so no aether is required.

Now, fields are just defined over spacetime with no reference to a universal rest frame. While physicists generally take the opinion that fields exist and are real, they don't provide any reference point for zero velocity and therefore don't constitute an aether.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[MCU] Instead of always transforming into the green Hulk, Banner always transforms into the gray hulk. How does this change things?

The gray Hulk has super strength, though not as much as the green Hulk, and human intelligence, though not as much as Banner.

He is also a thoughtless, selfish criminal with next to no empathy or remorse. Interests include wearing nice suits, driving cars, wielding weapons, putting down others to make himself feel better, and general lack of manners or morals. He hates Banner.

[Assistant] You're speaking specifically of Joe Fixit, one of the incarnations of Grey hulk. If he never became Green Hulk, and only ever became Grey, we'd likely never know about him as no one would be after him.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: The difference between 32 bit and 64 bit computer programs.

I always see this and I never really know what it is. Does one run faster due to using more memory or something?

[Assistant]
So the difference is really hardware, and a 64 bit program is one that is made to run on a 64 bit CPU.

Think of the CPUs as having doors that stuff can go through (data, program instructions.) The 32 bit CPU has 32 doors, the 64 bit, 64. So that's why software written for a 32 bit processor (or 16, or 8) can run on a 64 bit processor, some of the "doors" are just not used.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Resident Evil] Why do all the bioweapon companies create "bigger, badder" monsters? Why not just try to make another Albert Wesker?

Albert Wesker, prior to his Uroboros form, could dodge bullets, catch RPG warhead being fired at him with his own hands and even withstand magnum shots fired at him from close range and beat Chris AND Sheva in hand to hand combat at the same time. This is the same Chris that punched a freakin boulder out of his way with one hand. Bottom line: Wesker is (was) damn strong

Seeing how Wesker's ego got him killed, in every other way he was a better BOW than anything Umbrella has ever made. So why do those companies keep trying to make big bad monsters like Tyrants or other plaga/C/G/T virus monsters?

Why not just replicate Wesker's DNA (from Jake, maybe?) and make an army of him?

[Assistant]
Believe it or not, it's actually easier to control a 2.5-ton squid-coconut crab hybrid that spits acid ink than it is to deal with a super-soldier who possesses enhanced intelligence and cunning. The squid-crab thing can be hard to hide and can wreck shit quickly if let loose, but it can be put down with basic explosives and small arms fire. A Wesker-like creature, though, can be much harder to put down or contain, using its gene-altered brain to evade capture and its superhuman strength, speed, and stamina to take on entire battalions of goons.
Also, a bioengineered soldier, especially if it's some kind of Wesker clone, probably has its own ideas about what it wants to do with its existence than be an indentured mercenary-servant to some bioterrorist cult, being rented out to brutal dictators, corporate armies, drug cartels, and extremist political groups.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why do Chefs sear a steak, then finish off in the oven?

[Assistant] The Maillard Reaction - which is what happens when you sear/brown food, and creates that that roasted flavor.  You can't sear the entire piece of meat to the right temperature, it will ruin the outside while the inside warms, and you can't just warm the inside because you'll never get a hot enough temperature to get that seared flavor.  So you sear the outside, get those flavors, and then cook the rest to temperature in the oven.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
I believe that non-violent protests are pointless. CMV.

I feel like non-violent protests don't accomplish much besides wasting the time of protesters and their resources. Governments and corporations are marginally affected and as soon as people and the media lose interest they will continue about their business.

For example, In Bulgaria, there have been protests against government corruption for over 3 months, but the government refuses to aknowledge them.

In Romania, there have been anti-corporation protests for almost 2 months with not much success, the government actually protecting the interests of corporations.

I could also mention the Occupy movement that hasn't had much success up until now.

I think they should push harder for what they want and at least intimidate the entity they are protesting against. I'm not an advocate of violence but protesters should use at least a modicum of force when they have a clear, defined goal in mind.

[Assistant]
It's almost never about getting the actual opponent to change their views.  The KKK did not look at MLK's marches and think, "You know what, he might be right!"  The purpose of non-violent protests is for moderates.  If you read MLK's letter from the Birmingham Jail, he explains this in detail.  When an extreme and erroneous view is the status quo, this will generally remain that way long after it's time has passed, unless there is something that forces people to confront this injustice.  White moderates, a large part of the population, were content to let the status quo of racism to continue simply by virtue of it being the path of least resistance.  MLK and others forced them to contend with the injustice their inaction propagated, and this created the necessary change.

In Bulgaria, they aren't trying to convince the government of jack shit.  They're trying to get so much public support from their fellow citizens that it's simply impossible for the government to continue their practices.

The Occupy movement, while not particularly effective, got the discussion going on a massive scale.  Almost every person in the US now knows about class warfare, about corporate money in politics, and things of that nature.  Things like the Glass-Steagall Act and Citizens United are very well known.  This influences the electorate, and thus influences the direction of our country.  The government and corporations don't have to recognize OWS, the public does.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: The Republican alternative to "Obamacare"

[Assistant]
The Republicans don't have an 'alternative' because the basis of 'Obamacare' is the original Republican idea that was instituted in Massachusettes. If memory serves, this was an idea born out of the Heritage institute, a conservative think tank.

They now state that they're problem with it is that it was never meant to be instituted on a Federal scale.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: why do teabags swell up and get full of air when Im pouring hot water onto them?

[Assistant]
Air easily passes through dry fabric (or paper), but once it's wet, the water's surface tension prevents air from passing through it. So, a wet tea bag is (somewhat) airtight. If the tea bag gets wet while it has air in it, the air can't get out. And the air expands as it gets heated by the hot water.

Whereas if you lower the tea bag gently into water, the air escapes from the top of the bag which remains dry until the entire bag is submerged in water.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
(General) Why do dragons love gold so much?

Are they living embodiments of humanity's greed or do they just really love them some gems and gold?

[Assistant]
Dragons use shiny objects to attract mates. The more gold and precious gems a Male Dragon has, the more likely it is he'll find a mate. So, male dragons raid villages to get gold and gems from humans, this leads to more human adventurers (who usually carry loot of there own) storming their lairs.

It's a vicious cycle.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Justice League Unlimited] Would Mongul actually be able to take over Earth?

In "For the Man Who Has Everything", Mongul plans to conquer Earth and traps Superman in the Black Mercy. While fighting Wonder Woman, he mentions that Superman was the only obstacle in his way, and everyone else was "already dead". Batman later seems to affirm this, telling Superman that Mongul will kill Wonder Woman, and then all of them.

But, would he be able to? At this point, the Justice League has basically an army of superheroes, including one other Kryptonian (Supergirl), a Martian, a Green Lantern, and several magic users. Several of them, including Captain Atom and Captain Marvel (who wasn't part of the League at that point, but probably still an active hero) were able to give Superman a good fight, even if they eventually lost. Mongul is probably individually stronger than them (since he basically crushed Wonder Woman) but if the entire League attacked him at once, would he really be able to defeat them all?

[Assistant] No, not a chance. If Superman can beat him, then Martian Manhunter and Supergirl working together can also almost certainly beat him, or any other number of combinations. Batman is just trying to snap Superman into action, and Mongul is completely unaware of what he would be bringing down on himself if he killed Superman.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Batman] Do any of Batman's villains use data analytics in their crimes?

Does Joker sit at a computer and type up python code that can help him find the best goons and best places to rob? Computer science is usually only brought up when someone "hacks" into something.

[Assistant]
Clock King in the animated version would do that.

Anarky maybe?

Brother Eye as an artificial intelligence would do this for sure.

Cluemaster and Riddler.

The more intellectual Mob Boss types like Great White Shark or the Falcone family.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[40k] So, uh, what happened to all the black people?

Or the indian people for that matter, and what led to asians being relegated to one world of note?

[Assistant]
Think of it this way.  We spend how much of our lives cramped up in bomb shelters, fleeing emperor knows what in spaceships?

We know we used to be more of a light brown as everything mixed, and the various localized skin tones and features blended together.

But spending so much time indoors, in mines or in spaceships away from sunlight made out skin lighter over time, so that our bodies could take advantage of what sunlight we can get.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: why can the liver regenerate itself but the rest of your organs cant?

I was reading an article and it said the liver can be cut and transferred to another body and the liver will regrow in both people. Why cant we do that with other organs and why cant they fix themselves?

[Assistant]
The cells of the liver are "programmed" (genetically) to do that. The cells in your, say, your heart, not as much.

Why did the liver evolve this self-regenerative ability? Because, it's job is to process toxic junk in your body. It *has* to regenerate.

Why doesn't everything in your body do that?

1) your genes don't last forever. At the ends of your chromosomes are these things like called a telomere that caps it off. The telomeres shrink as they get copied to make new cells. Eventually, you run out of telomere space. And then you start losing critical genetic information. We think this may be what it means to get old, at least partly. You die.

2) evolution isn't particularly "smart." It just happens. While it would be nice to evolve into immortal, regenerating beings, our species is still able to survive and reproduce without it, so we did. If there were some mechanism to regenerate infinitely, it's probably rare or costly or just "locked out" for our species. By "locked out" i mean that the branch of the evolutionary tree we happen to spring from already eliminated that ability for one reason or another, including random chance (mutation).


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Harry Potter] If a Muggle somehow assembled all the necessary ingredients for a specific potion, would they be able to make that potion?

To rephrase: would you have to be a witch or a wizard to take advantage of the ingredients' magical properties, or are they inherent? Is there something special about magical people that would allow them to make potions, or is it just that it would be easier for them to find ingredients? Is there any step of the brewing process that can only be done by magic?

[Assistant] You can assemble all the ingredients for cake, but you won't *get* cake without heat - heat is the required energy input. Magic is the required energy input for potions; without it, they're just collections of inert ingredients, like cake batter.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] How does a pop-fliter for a microphone work?

[Assistant]
A pop filter blocks the flow of air from your mouth to the microphone, thus reducing "wind noise" caused by exhaling.

Since its not a significant barrier to pressure waves it achieves this with little or no attenuation of the sounds you intended to make.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
CMV: The statues of slave traders or racists should not be destroyed, and instead me kept in a museum to be looked upon in a non glorified manner

Recently protesters have been vandalising and destroying statues of slave traders or racist individuals.

Although I appreciate the message, I feel it is destroying a part of history.

These are statues of immoral people, but defiling them is defiling history. Destroying a Nazi rifle in a museum would not only fix nothing but it would take away a piece of our *memory*.

In Germany they have memorials for the holocaust victims all the time. They have countless museums dedicated to it. They do not forget. Rather they look back and learn

I think we should take these statues and put them on display in a completely non glorified way. This sends the message they want to send while not taking a way the memory that it happened.

EDIT: It's only been an hour but I've gotten to many comments to keep track of the different threads lol. It's also pretty late. I won't respond to much after this

EDIT 2: My mind has already been changed many times, but I can't delta 587 comments. Thanks :)

EDIT 3: Despite my previous edits I am still getting dozens of notifications at a time. Just please stop. I have already changed my mind

EDIT 4: Since some people can't read, I'm just turning off notifications for this post :).

[Assistant]
How are protestors supposed to build those museums? Also what prevents museums from displaying these statues even after they have been somewhat destroyed? Do you think the historical value is lost when you add a paragraph of "During the 2020 riots against police brutality this statue has been beheaded by protestors."?
I would say there is now even more reason to display them and quite clearly museums didnt think there was enough reason to display them before the riots.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[The Matrix] What do the machines do, besides the Matrix?

Do they have a society?  Is there machine culture?  Is there a reason for having the matrix beyond simply survival?  Are the machines a civilization, or do they act only for self-preservation?

[Assistant]
The animatrix shows that before the war robots did build a society. We don't know if that society survived the war. But if they did it once there's no reason they wouldn't again.

The machines keep the Matrix going because they don't actually want to genocide humanity they just want us out of their tentacles.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Star Wars] How much is a finished Death Star worth and is anyone in the galaxy wealthy enough to submit a reasonable offer?

[Assistant] Buying the Death Star from the Empire is like buying a hydrogen bomb from the US government. A fair price for a hydrogen bomb, in terms of cost to produce, would probably be in the millions to tens of millions. There are plenty of wealthy folks who could make such an offer. No way in hell the government would actually sell one though.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Can an object have zero kinetic energy with respect an object in one frame, but nonzero energy with respect to a different object in a different frame?

Two objects in one reference frame, standing still with respect to one another, see each other as having no kinetic energy. However, an observer in a different reference might see the objects as moving, and therefore having non-zero kinetic energy. Am I thinking of this correctly? If not, where did I go wrong?

[Assistant] Sure.  When you're in your car on the highway, you are motionless with respect to the car and your fellow passengers.  To someone on the side of the road, you whiz by at 60 miles per hour.  In any given frame of reference, the kinetic energy an object is considered to have is the energy required to bring it to rest with respect to that frame of reference.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How you can survive getting a limb blown off, but if a main artery gets cut you bleed out and die.

[Assistant]
It all depends on how quickly you gain medical attention, the size of your blood vessels, stress of the patient, and where exactly you get hit.

Your body has actually evolved to automatically retract your blood vessels to shunt off the flow of bloo if you are missing a limb, but a cut in one of your vessels doesn't allow them to retract into the body so that you'll quit bleeding out.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why does soda/carbonated drinks fizz so much when fresh ice is added to the drink?

[Assistant] The surface of the ice is rough and has many imperfections, this creates nucleation site for bubbles to form causing many to form. Fun fact, Mentos being dropped in soda is not actually a chemical reaction. It is caused by the rough surface of the Mentos having many nucleation sites. The same thing happens when you add ice only to a lesser extent.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[40K] How would a space marine act should he be captured by xenos? How would a guardsman? Details included.

More specifically, if they were "kidnapped by aliens". They are held for study/interrogation and are unable to break out and escape. What is their attitude towards their captors once they realise that there is no hope of returning to Imperial Space? There's no torture involved, merely coercion along the lines of "let's be friends, we want no war, please help us attain peace and understanding" type deal.

[Assistant]
A guardsman would be fishpaste if caught by *most* xeno races.  The Dark Eldar would sell him into slavery, although he still might get killed first.  Only the Tau would recognize something like our contemporary rules of war, and would offer the gue'la freedom - on Tau terms - or would perform a prisoner trade.  (But any guardsman who was traded back to the Imperium would be interrogated and summarily executed by the Inquisition, so he'd *still* be fishpaste.)  For as long as they were permitted to act, they'd perform the duties in their *Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer*, which instructs them to go down killing before they killed you.

Oddly enough, the space marine battle strategy is similar - except *their* goal is different:  each space marine is host to an incredibly valuable geneseed, the source of their superpowers.  If the geneseed is lost, it represents a heinous blow to the imperium; but if it falls into enemy hands, it represents terrible danger.  So, they fight with two goals:

1)   Get back to Empire-controlled territory, killing as many xenos as possible on the way out.
2)   If 1 is not possible, ensure their body is completely annihilated - preferrably in an action that strikes a blow against the enemy.

Some enemies would act differently.  Chaos followers of Nurgle and Slaanesh would relish the opportunity to convert an extant Space Marine; Khornites woud kill him outright; and Tzeentch would vary on whether it suited its plans or not.

Individual chapters would fight differently.  Ultramarines have the not-quite-heretical belief that "The Emperor provides," and have a grim respect for the Tau; recalling the times that the Ultramarines have shown the Tau mercy - and the times they have worked together, fighting Chaos on Dolumar IV, Necrons on Malbede, and the numerous times they have fought together against the Tyranids, an Ultramarine might be able to parley with a Tau captor.  Grey Knights, dedicated to fighting Chaos, might work with the Eldar - the only race which is as concerned with Chaos as humanity is - although the chainsword would eventually bite into an Eldar neck, as the Eldar have fallen before.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do multivitamins have 5% daily value for some vitamins/nutrients and 1500% for others?

Why is there such a wide range of daily values? I can understand calcium being 5% for flavor or pill size reasons, but why even bother to have 1500% of something like thiamin? Would it be possible to engineer a pill that is 100% for everything?

[Assistant] This is generally divided by 'fat soluble' and 'water soluble' vitamins. Most water soluble vitamins are really hard to overdose on...like vitamin C. You can eat grams of the stuff and any extra just gets washed out in your urine. But, fat soluble vitamins like vitamin E can get stored in your fat cells and liver and reach a toxic level that will hurt you.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Saw Stops. How do they set off for a hotdog/finger, yet not be set off against lumber and such as the blade is intended to do? Being that lumber is harder and takes more pressure to cut through, vs a hotdog.

Are they not set off by pressure against the blade, such as hard materials and soft materials?

[Assistant]
They're set off by electrical conductivity. The hotdog/finger is quite conductive, so it completes the circuit that causes the stop to trigger.

Wood isn't very conductive, so it doesn't set off the trigger.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why can't I remember my birth/childhood?

I don't have *any* memories from when I was a young boy at all *(ages 0-4)*...BUT the now things I really do remember is being rocked to sleep by my Mom...that's about it. After 4, I have a few memories but really nothing from before that.

OH...I also have a Brain Disorder that may be related to this...lol my bad.

[Assistant] You aren't capable of forming permanent memories until you are about 18 months old. Your brain has not developed enough to start forming long term memories. It is a good thing, too, because you really don't want to be able to remember your conception.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How does YouTube.com (aka Google), manage it's storage and bandwidth costs when thousands of videos are uploaded and stored daily? Do the advertisers actually cover its costs?

[Assistant]
Do advertisers actually cover the costs? Yes. That's the business model of google. That's how they set their prices.

How does google do it? They have a lot of infrastructure, and a lot of smart people working for them who spend all their time at work coming up with ways to reduce the amount of bandwidth used, and the amount of computation required to produce results. They've built their whole company on this kind of technology, and they're among the best companies in the world for dealing with huge data sets, and storing them safely and efficiently. It's the reason that Google the search engine was able to out compete it's competitors in the early days. In most cases, it was better at finding related results, and faster too.

Edit: A couple of people have pointed out that Youtube is loosing money, but that Google as a corporation is able to cover the loss.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
How many holes are in a pipe if you cut a hole in the side?

So I know it's a topology thing that a straw has only one hole, the one that goes through it. I know that a mug similarly only has one hole, through the handle, that the actual cup part that liquid goes in is technically not a hole. So a hole is like, in one side/out the other kinda deal?
For example, how many holes does a 3 way pipe join have? Or a 4 way cross pipe join? Or like in the title if you had a pipe with a hole connecting to the inside area does that mean it topologically have 1, 2 or 3 holes?

Hope this question makes sense, I've watched a few topology videos and feel like my brain has been bent.

[Assistant]
It can be a bit of a trick figuring it out. Conceptually you end up reshaping the thing into something easy to understand.

Take a pipe. Assuming that the pipe walls have thickness, topologically you can stretch one end wide to make it a funnel, squish it short to make it like a washer, and round it out a bit to make a torus with one hole.

A T connector with 3 inlets you can do similar. Take one end open it up, shorten and squish the other two inlets, and you end up with two holes left.

A cross connector gives you 3 holes.

In general as long as funny twisty things aren't happening one inlet can get stretched out, and all the rest of the inlets become holes.

A shirt has 4 entrances arms, waist and neck, so 3 holes.

Donut has two entrances, top and bottom, and so has one hole.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do some people get so many cavities?

I'm not really familiar with the makeup of the teeth, and this is largely anecdotal, but why do some people get tons of cavities? In my case, I was never taught any real dental health by my parents. I probably brushed my teeth once or twice a month (I know, looking back it's absolutely disgusting), max all the way into my late teens when health classes taught me to be more vigilant with dental health. Even then I brushed maybe 3 times a week. I drank sodas and had tons of carbs and sugars as a kid, and went to a dentist for the first time at 26. He said I had no cavities at all. This stands in stark contrast with a number of my friends who would get a cavity filled once or twice a year during their teens even though they brushed 2-3 times per day. Is there a difference in makeup of some people's teeth that causes them to be more susceptible? Are teeth like other bones where your diet as a child can influence how strong they are?

[Assistant] There's a strong genetic component to oral health.  Some people just have different saliva pH levels and different amounts of carbohydrates and proteins in their saliva, and it all just fosters bacteria growth.  You happen to be lucky in that your mouth mostly takes care of itself.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:  Why do businesses with double doors usually only unlock one?

[Assistant]
For the same reason a lot of convenience stores and gas stations modify their doors to be harder to push open (they seem heavier). It makes it harder for people to run out and take off in a snatch-and-grab or other criminal situation.

You'll especially notice this in pawn shops that have two sets of doors and a little hallway in between -- they'll usually unlock only the doors diagonal from one another so that anyone who runs out has to go through one door and cut across to the one diagonal from it. This gives security more time to respond and apprehend.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Imagine that eventually humanity sets out to colonize the universe at near light speed. How much of the universe could they reach before it is too far to catch due to the expansion of space?

Assuming that the time it takes for humanity to develop near light speed travel and set out to colonize is negligible on the cosmic scale, how much could we actually reach?  Would it be comparable to the observable universe or much smaller?

[Assistant]
It's smaller than the observable universe. To observe something, light must have been able to leave there and reach us within the age of the universe. For light to reach us, there are two competing effects. One is that the light is moving towards us at the speed of light (of course). The other is that the universe is continuing to expand. If the expansion of the universe means that the distance between us and the light is increasing faster than the speed of light, then the light won't ever reach us. Nothing moves faster than light, so if light can't reach us, nothing can reach us.

But the expansion of the universe also means the *source* of the light is moving away at an ever increasing rate. That means that things that *used to be* close enough that we could exchange light are now so far away that we will never see the light they emit now. And vice versa - anything emitted from Earth that moves at or below the speed of light will never reach those distant galaxies.

So we can see galaxies that we can never reach. In the distant past, they were close enough that their light could reach us, even if it's only just arriving now. So we see them as they were in the very early universe.

In terms of what you *can* reach - there's no limit to the *distance* you can go. But because the universe is expanding, there's a limit to how much *stuff* you can reach. All of the galaxies you can visit are within a present-day distance of about 16 billion light years. They will move away as the universe continues to expand, but if you moved at (or near) the speed of light, you should be able to "catch up" with anything within this present-day radius. For comparison, the "observable universe" has a radius of about 46 billion light years, in the sense that the most distance galaxies we can observe are *presently* 46 billion light years away, because the universe has been expanding since the light was emitted.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Wars] Are there other types of Jedi besides Knights?

Obi Wan tells Luke that his father was a Jedi Knight, but often people will just say Jedi.
Is that just a shorter term, or are there other hierarchies of Jedi, such as Monks, Lords, etc, who do different things?

[Assistant]
Well, apart from the more well-known Jedi Knights, there are also the various Jedi Service Corps-- an organization consisting of four branches, the Agricultural Corps (which provided supplies to planets that had been devastated by natural disasters or war), Medical Corps (which operated one of the largest and most respected medical facilities in the galaxy), Educational Corps (which operated the Jedi Archives and provided schooling on disadvantaged worlds), and Exploration Corps (which specialized in the archaeology of lost civilizations, as well as the anthropological study of new cultures and welcoming new member worlds into the Republic.)

These were largely staffed by former younglings and Padawans who proved to not be up to the task of becoming a Jedi Knight, though it was not unheard of for even high-ranking Jedi Masters to decide the lifestyle was no longer for them and ask the council to reassign them to one branch or another of the Service Corps, and it was not seen as a demotion or a lesser career than that of the Jedi Knight by any except the inexperienced and impetuous.

In the aftermath of the Great Jedi Purge, the members of these organizations were arrested and executed or went into hiding, though it is also possible that some Inquisitors may have been former members of the Service Corps.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Star Trek] Riker once set a hand phaser to a pretty high setting and said it would destroy "half a building". Why don't phasers just get set to maximum so you can obliterate any cover and whoever is behind it?

[Assistant] Data is Vaporizing a complete Water source of a colony with just a hand phaser in one Episode. The typical explanation is: it would go against Starfleet spirit. They are using non lethal power for most time. And only use higher power if really necessary.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: how do you sell electricity back to the power company?

[Assistant] People with energy generation systems actually use a transformer to add their electricity to the public grid, and a meter counts how much they add. Power companies appreciate this as they can get a discount from their own energy generation, have a positive image (most home energy sellers are very eco friendly), and have a more distributed grid that is more resilient to power outages/problems. Also, some governments force energy companies to buy the energy in order to be more 'green.'


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: How do electric eels create/store their own electricity?

[Assistant] All animals can create small electrical impulses, it's how nerves and muscles work. The energy from food is used to move positive charges from inside a cell to outside, creating a voltage difference between inside and outside. Electric eels have evolved cells which are specialised for creating this difference. Stack thousands of these cells together and you can create a large voltage, like stacking lots of small batteries.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Mass explanation: Ive always been told that mass was not the same as weight, and that grams are the metric unit of mass. But grams are a measurement of weight, so am I stupid, was it was explained to me wrong, or is science just not make sense?

[Assistant]
The difference is gravity. Weight is dependent on gravity while mass isnt. So if you had a 5 kg object and you brought it to space, the weight would be 0 but the mass would be the same.

Grams are a measure of mass, not weight. If youre being pedantic, newtons would be the measure of weight in the metric system, but since the vast majority of us only have to deal with Earths gravity, we use mass and weight interchangeably.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Kwanzaa

I mean no offense by this question but.. as it starts today, I'm reading news articles that discuss the long standing tradition of Kwanzaa. Reading about it from Wikipedia and other sources suggests it's a fairly new holiday. I never know what to think about this holiday and would love insight for those who celebrate it or know more.

[Assistant] Kwanzaa is a secular holiday, meaning that it's not religious in nature. The festival itself is observed by a large number of African Americans, between the 26th of December until the 1st of January. Kwanzaa serves as a celebration of their cultural heritage / values.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Trek] They still do not have nonstick cookware?

In the episode "Mudd's Women" we are introduced to the miners on Rigel XII. We find that their cookware is very filthy because of the lack of water to use in cleaning. Eve suggests leaving the pans out in the open so the blowing winds and sand will scour them clean.

But you would think by that time in the future they would have a revolutionary form of non stick cookware. The nonstick cookware of today does require proper care and maintenance, But surely by the 23rd century people would have foolproof nonstick cookware, that even roughneck miners could use. As Lithium crystal  (Yes, the term used in the episode)   miners it is implied that they are wealthy, so it would seem to be a good purchase to make.

[Assistant] There exist revolutionary food replicators so they don't even need to cook. But these miners are obviously going through tough times, because apparently they don't even have enough water to clean cookware, so they have downgraded to more primitive methods. And just because they are mining an expensive resource doesn't imply wealth, since they are presumibly many costs to living on an alien world and mining in general, and we don't know the details of Mudd's finances.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why do they need to drill a hole into your larynx because of chronic smoking?

I don't get it. What do you accomplish breathing through another hole in your throat?

[Assistant]
Tracheostomy, a opening in the trachea, rarely made with a drill.

Its preformed when the larynx is obstructed by swollen tissue and the person either cannot breath or cannot move enough air to profuse oxygen. As for chronic smoking this could do lots of things to lead to a tracheostomy. Throat cancer, which could obstruct the airway. Food still finds it way to the stomach usually with no extra surgery required.

For the 5yr old, you can't breathe through your face holes any longer.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Since I have never seen it, I'm assuming it cant be done properly. Why do we not see people jumping out of airplanes with a super reinforced umbrella? Basically Mary Poppins style? What would happen is someone could build such a contraption and actually tried the jump?

[Assistant]
An umbrella isn't nearly large enough to slow someone down sufficiently. If you try to upsize it, you'll soon run into problems with the size of the umbrella inside the aircraft (even when it's folded). In order to avoid that, you would have to come up with a less rigid structure, for example by connecting the surface sheet to the user by rope rather than solid stick. That way you could fit the whole package into a backpack.

But at that point you're just reinventing the parachute.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: When resetting an electronic device (modem, cable box, cell phone, etc.) why do instructions say to wait 10-30 seconds after unplugging/turning off? Once the device no longer has power, does it really register the passage of time?

[Assistant] Lots of electronic devices have capacitors, which store a little bit of energy. It usually takes 10 seconds to empty all of these capacitors to fully turn off your device. 30 seconds is really just a generous amount to be almost certain.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: What happens to a decomposing body if it were left to "float" in space?

[Assistant] There is no life in a vacuum so the various life forms that contribute to decomp would not be there.  Also since it is close to absolute zero, it is the perfect freezer.  The body would be infinitely preserved.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Star Wars KOTOR] I remember in KOTOR one of the missions had me to go Ajunta Pall's tomb where he (as a force ghost) fights me. How is this possible?

How can something that is dead materialize in the living world? He was a sith too. Does that mean the sith force ghosts were even stronger than Jedi ones? I understand this is non-canon, but I'm still interested.

Obi Wan tells to Vader if he were to be struck down he'd become stronger than you'd ever imagine, yet here you have a dead sith lord chillin in his tomb as a ghost and can yet combat you in the living, hell how does my lightsaber even hurt him?

[Assistant]
The Sith have their own form of Force Ghost, but not nearly as useful. If a Sith is powerful enough their spirit can remain in a certain area or item simply out of malice alone.

The problem is it isn't so much a ghost as much as it is a shadow, a pale imitation of what once was. Imagine Harry Potter ghosts rather than the actual spirit remaining. They also aren't free to follow or travel the galaxy, they are trapped in their tombs and temples for eternity.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
The FIRE in the Alegory of the Cave

I never undestood why there's a fire to cast shadows on the wall.

Some people are using puppets to cast shadows in the wall with a fire behind them. So the shadows represents the material world, what we can see with our senses.

Then the prisioner gets free and go outside where he can see the real world, the ideal forms.

What do the fire represents here? and the puppets? why does the prisoner get past the fire and the puppets as if there were nothing in between the back of the cave and the world? Why do we need a fire for the alegory to work and not just shadows coming from the sun an real people casted on back of the cave?

It looks like the shadows are imitations of the imitations of the ideal forms. But I don't think that's the most usual interpretations...

[Assistant] The sun is the form of the Good, which illuminates all the other forms. If the sun illuminated the puppets then it would seem like there was truth to be found in appearances and the material world. Plato tries to avoid this at all costs - he wants to show you how something can resemble truth but be totally cut off from it. Hence, the fire - it does something very similar to the truth, but it is totally separate from it.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [The Incredibles] Where are all of the Golden Age villains?

[Assistant]
Probably defeated by Golden Age heroes; likely Mr Incredible himself, or in jail and way past their prime in terms of revenge.

Some may have simply given up or are still waiting for their hero rival to resurface; but that hero is unfortunately dead.

It is also likely a small but significant amount of villains ended up having a wardrobe accident and are well and truly ex-villains!

Would be fitting that a fair few simply integrated into modern society and are literal evil behind business and political practices.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why parts of the borders between the countries in African continents are just straight lines while it is not the case in other continents?

[Assistant]
Many of these countries were created fairly recently by colonial powers who did not care much about local traditions. They just drew the borders where it was easy for them.

In older countries, the borders are usually set by centuries of cultural tradition and geographic features.

You see the same thing in North America (USA and Canada): the borders of the western states and provinces are straight lines drawn by distant bureaucrats.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Planet Hulk] Why does the Hulk wear armor?

Isn't that like putting a bullet proof vest on a tank?

[Assistant]
No, it's not like putting a bulletproof vest on a tank.

It's like putting an awesome paint job on a tank. It's meant to look badass.

And, to be fair, he'd be a lot less intimidating if he weren't wearing clothing, so he's gotta wear *something* if he wants to settle some fights without slaughtering everyone. Might as well make it something that looks cool. The weight is utterly irrelevant for his strength, so mobility's not a problem.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Borderlands] why are the borderlands 2 characters stronger/better than the borderlands 1 characters?

Angel says Zer0/Maya/Axton/Salvador are stronger than the original vault hunters?
What makes them better?

[Assistant]
Roland and company weren't the first, really (judging by Marcus' story intro). They were, essentially, the ones that got lucky. They turned up for reasons of their own (and were steered, partly). If they, specifically, didn't turn up, someone else would have.

There was a weird sort of "quality control" afoot with the second batch. Jack, fearing that Vault Hunters were gonna ruin his plan, actively started luring Vault Hunters to Pandora, then killing them. (See, for example, the billboard during the opening for BL2).

The Vault Hunters we get, then, were the ones who survived the process- they were, essentially, vetted. The less-powerful ones were dead.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5:Why is it uncomfortable to exercise? It does not seem to make evolutionary sense.

[Assistant]
You should keep in mind that for essentially every animal but present-day humans (and even for some of us today), famine is much more likely than feast. So all creatures are evolved with an emphasis on gathering, storing, and preserving reserves of energy in case of famine.

There is a part of your brain that, towards that end, wants you to never exert more energy than you need to. Why run when you can walk? Save the calories. Why walk when you can sit? Save the calories. Why do crunches when you could... not? Save the calories.

Of course, for most of us today, we have too much food, and all could stand to burn extra calories. But our bodies don't know that yet. They still assume we're one bad season away from starving to death.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Mass Effect] Not to sound xenophobic...but are all Batarians such assholes?

I would say most other alien races are at least cordial to humans. Hell, Krogan always have gruff and aggressive attitudes, but they aren't always dicks. I hear one even writes poems! But Batarians? All I ever hear about them are nasty things. You never see or hear about any "nice" Batarians. Just asshole mercs, slavers, terrorists, and bartenders that try to kill humans.

[Assistant] Yes, they've been assholes since day 1.  They've bombarded Salarian Planets, annexed Asari colonies, and directly fought the Citadel several times.  Humanity's arrival was pretty much the breaking point for everyone - the Citadel dealt with their bullshit for too long, said fuck it, and gave Humanity the Skyllian Verge instead.  Now they're a rogue state.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5 What is so significant about Shakespeare's work?

I recall some of it from high school. I remember enjoying most of what I read/participated in.

I just do not fully understand what about this individual's work warrants being studied to the extent that it seems a subject unto itself.

[Assistant]
Shakespeare was prolific and his writing was exceptionally high in quality.

He really knew how to captivate an audience, he could cover a wide range of genres (comedy, tragedy, romance) and his stories were also complex and profound - the type of thing that makes people 'think' and debate afterwards. The topics he covered have also stood the test of time, being largely as relevant today as they ever have been.

That's why people still love his stories.

People *study* Shakespeare because he was a master of the English language. He didn't just put together great stories, he did so with poetry, which is widely understood to be one of the most complex ways of going about spinning a yarn. The way he used words, phrases, sentences and rhythm had never been seen before and he did it at a level that most people still can't match today.

Added to that, he actually invented a lot of words and phrases. And not nonsense, a whole heap of stuff that people use everyday without knowing. We're talking 'sorry sight', 'wearing your heart on your sleeve' and 'a method in his madness'.

The way he constructed his work still impresses people and still influences how we write, talk and tell stories today.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Is there any such thing as good virus?

I know we can genetically modify bacteria to become useful and I'm wondering if there's any chance of doing the same thing a virus. If there is, what are the hypothetical applications it can have?
And no, i'm not talking about vaccines here.

[Assistant] Sure. There are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. We could use them to treat disease in lieu of, or in addition to, antibiotics. The concept of gene therapy also uses retroviruses to inject new material into the genome.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Who is the Milton Friedman or Richard Feynman, of your field or area of study?

I wanted to know more people like these two gentlemen who are able to discuss complicated topics in layman's terms and/or make you see things in a different way.
Edit: thank you for all the thoughtful responses. I wanted to clear the air on this question. The fact is that I left the question a little open to get your ideas and opinions. I want to learn both about people who have made great contributions to their respective fields and also about people who popularize their field. I think both ways are righteous because I doubt that there are many people like these two who have made great contributions, and have popularize their fields while doing so.

[Assistant]
Robert Sapolsky in human behavioural biology / neuroendocrinology. His 'Human Behavioural Biology' course is on Youtube and utterly amazing.

Daniel Kahneman's 'Thinking, fast and slow' is probably the best pop psych book written in decades.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: why do fraudsters use stolen credit card details to buy things that I think can be easily traced back to them?

Background - over the weekend, I received a call from the bank saying there are suspicious transactions on my account. Turns out the fraudster has used my credit card details to purchase 3 flights online.
EDIT: should have mentioned the fraudster spent GBP 3000 on 3 separate transactions on 2 websites.

Wouldn't the fraudster need to input their names, date of birth, and passport details while purchasing flights? So the bank can trace back to exactly who committed the fraud? Isn't that really risky?

[Assistant]
You are considering fraudsters to be just like you. You have a fixed address. You own important things. You can be traced.

The fraudster lives in a different world. Those airplane tickets may have been shuttles to Washington D.C. Buy, board, fly, leave. Three people may have flown a short flight. They were gone before they could be traced.

A fraudster may do a thousand dollars worth of damage in order to get a few dollars worth of value. It does not matter to him or her. What matters is that their was a gain for them. Things can be bought online, then returned for cash. Fake IDs can be arranged that work to buy things. Then those things can be pawned.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Urban Fantasy] I'm a college student, and my grandfather is a wizard. Today for my birthday he gave me a beginner's spellbook, and one of the spells generates infinite money. How can I take advantage of this without getting caught?

[Assistant]
Probably using the same methods used to launder money gained through criminal means or cash in hand work / business (tax avoidance).

For small amounts, you simply keep it as cash and spend it as cash, when needed. If you need a large amount of money to put in your bank, you'll need to get smarter. One way people use is to set up a business such as a restaurant then get friends/ acquaintances to come in and pose as customers and spend the dirty money.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Avatar - The Last Airbender] Questions about the missing Moon

Wouldn't the Moon vanishing instantly cause earthquakes and tidal waves? After all, the planet's crust and oceans would "rebound" without the lunar gravitational pull.

Or was the missing Moon just an illusion? Like, by magical/miraculous means the Moon was not visible to humans anymore, and its powering to waterbenders was cut, but physically it was still there keeping the tidal bulges?

[Assistant]
IIRC the moon doesn't completely disappear, it just gets much dimmer. So the moon is still physically present, it just isn't the source of spiritual energy it was before.

You're also making a lot of (admittedly reasonable) assumptions about the way the world of TLA works. It's possible that the moon's influence on the Earth's tides is less of a physical effect than in our universe, or that the moon's presence wasn't missed for long enough for those changes to take place.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Audio files

I know that in video files, the video is broken into frames, which are broken into pixels, which have RGB values.

What is happening with audio files? What are the numerical values that are actually stored? What do the terms 8/16 bit, 44100 Hz and 128 kbps mean?

[Assistant]
I'll assume you have a vague idea of how analogue audio works - you have some voltage on a wire that constantly changes.  These changes in voltage make your speaker move in & out, causing air to move, creating sound.

When you get into digital sound, you take a *sample* of this voltage and convert it into a number.  This is done thousands of times per second - 4000 Hz (samples per second) is about the lowest that's useable, 8kHz is phone quality, 44.1KHz is CD quality & some high end recording equipment records at 192KHz.  This is your "sample rate".  The other important factor is how much range you have with those numbers ("sample depth") - 8 bit gives you 256 different levels, 16 bit gives you 65536 levels & for high-end studio gear, 24-bits gives you millions.

Hopefully it goes without saying that higher sample rates and sample depths are going to give you sound that more closely resembles the original source.  It's generally considered that 16-bit, 44.1KHz audio is good enough for anyone to listen to (and 24b/192KHz is used in studios when making originals).

That's all for *uncompressed* audio.  When you start compressing audio with lossy compression (like MP3s), you're choosing to *throw away* some of your audio data in order to save space/bandwidth.  In this case, you set a target *bitrate* for how much data you want to save.  128kbps means that you're only using around 128 kilobits of data (16 kilobytes) per second - this used to be considered adequate.  These days, 192kbps or even 256kbps are common.  For reference, uncompressed CD audio is about 1.4 *mega*bits per second.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
CMV: Science is held up up as some pure bastion of unadulterated truth, when in reality, its often subjective and/or inconclusive.

Today, science seems to be just another religion with millions of people that put their blind faith in without question or test. And just like Christianity of old, proponents will scoff at and shun anyone who is skeptical of it in its currently established form.

Now Im not a flat-earther or anti-vaxer trying to gain a platform; obviously the scientific process has helped us understand truth in countless ways. But the entire history of science is about overturning established conclusions and consensuses, and I think anyone who unconditionally accepts and molds their world view to whatever todays scientific consensus is is just as blind as a religious zealot who refuses to acknowledge scientific observations of the world.

This sentiment is obviously different in its application to various schools of science: its simple to understand chemistry because we can easily observe the cause and effect, like a math problem. Things like behavioral science and climatology are different because patterns are much more spurious and subjective to personal bias and interpretation.

As somebody who has participated in research and reporting at university, I know that studies are easy to manipulate (whether intentionally or not) based on the goals and biases of the researcher. Theres a reason why you can look at recent studies on any topic and find wide varieties of conclusions of the same question; because each study has a different goal or agenda...someone seeking to either confirm of deny a certain premise. Anyone else that has participated in scientific research should be able to confirm that factors of personal belief or bias can greatly affect ones conclusion, even with a well-designed experiment.

The fact is, science is always changing but too many people treat it like its a settled issue in all cases and worship it as the savior of humankind, when any scientist is aware of how little we truly understand about the world and new information is constantly coming forward. If we take science as it sits and hold it up as some supreme truth, well be 1) stunting our future growth by stifling discourse and experimentation, and 2) doing humanity a moral disservice by beating society into conformity with information and conclusions that may well be incorrect and later proved wrong.

To be concise, I dont wish to debate about any particular scientific issue, but believe that science is best served by skepticism in general, and that society is unwisely trending towards treating established scientific principles as the God of the new age: an entity to be bowed down to, praised, and never questioned.

[Assistant]
The fault in your logic is in the very title:

>Science is held up up as some pure bastion of unadulterated truth, when in reality, its often subjective and/or inconclusive.

No one who really understands science actually does this.  What science is is the best explanation of the current evidence that we have - that explanation could very well be wrong and we are open to it being wrong based on new evidence.  Science accept that while there may be objective "truth" out there, we can never claim to be certain of what that truth is because there always _could_ be new evidence that disproves our current theories.  A theory that can't explain something acknowledges this gap in understanding and always admits that it is an incomplete theory.  For example, our "macro" level physics is well understood but it doesn't mesh with what we know of quantum physics yet - physicists will be the first to tell you that while our theories work and seem right, we are clearly missing something critical and our theories are incomplete.

The goal of science is to follow what we believe the best explanation we have is for things and act accordingly, but always be testing and re-verifying that that explanation is truly the best we can come up with.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Transformers] so what's *really* the deal with those cassette-looking guys?

so i'm just an ordinary Cybertronian fellow, trying to scratch out a living in Iacon.

there's a weird guy named Soundwave that carries people around in his chest receptacle.  it's not just one person, either!  Soundwave manages to carry many people within him.  i've seen punks like Rumble and Frenzy come out of Soundwave, i've seen beasts like Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, and Ravage come out of him, i've even seen Ratbat come out of him.  that guy used to be a Senator for Primus' sake!

are they parasites? symbiotes? what does each party get out of the relationship? is Soundwave drinking their knowledge while they're within him? are they asleep while it's happening? do they interact with each other when they are together inside him?

these little guys are all sentient and at varying levels of intelligence.  to the best of my knowledge, none of them were forged in the Well of Allsparks together, and therefore aren't 'related'.  are they willingly entering Soundwave? are they slaves?

it's so weird and confusing... but if i just flat-out ask the guy, he might kill me.  what do you think?

[Assistant]
Soundwave's Cassettes are "Infiltration Units" who have skills that are useful to employ (Ravage's stealth, Rumble and Frenzy's sabotage potential, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw's reconnaissance skills, etc), but also small bodies that would make them vulnerable in open combat. Soundwave, who's a pretty big fellow and skilled combatant, serves as both a field commander for them and a walking tank to transport them safely.

On at least one occasion, having their brain and spark put into a smaller cassette body was used as a punishment; Senator Ratbat used to be a normal-sized Cybertronian, and Soundwave's boss, but he was a complete ass who exploited Soundwave and eventually the tables were turned. Soundwave allowed him to live, but only as a cassette.

That doesn't seem to be the case with most of the others though, who were always that small, and who Soundwave had a good relationship with. He collapsed in anguish when Ravage died, they were very close.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5 how do anti anxiety medications like benzos work?

[Assistant] Neurons in your brain send signals to each through chemicals called neurotransmitters. Different neurotransmitters do different things. There's a neurotransmitter called GABA which is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. In other words, it reduces signals between neurons, and thus essentially calms down your brain. Benzos increase the effectiveness of the GABA in your brain, which in turn increases its calming effects.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [James Cameron's Avatar] Why do the bows and arrows seem to be ineffective at stopping the gunships from taking down home tree, yet they prove to be crucial weapons in the final battle?

[Assistant] Jake Sully gave them a really good pep talk before the big fight. Prior to that they were attacking anywhere on the vehicles. After he described how they worked they focused their attacks on the windscreens and rotors that are more vulnerable to attack. They started aiming for where they could deal the most damage instead of blindly attacking the entire craft.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Can you actually hear your thoughts?

[Assistant] To hear things, the stimuls has to be in form of pressure wave. That is why you can't hear things in space because it is an empty vacuum. To hear sounds, pressure wave has to actively register as pressure in the hair cells located in the basal membrane in the cochlear of your inner ear which causes your ear to transmit pressure to auditory sound in your temporal lobe.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Eli5: when two objects colide what decides which breaks?

Like if I threw an egg at a wall the egg would break, but if the egg is going really fast the wall would break too? Whats the underlying mechanic for this?

[Assistant]
The amount of force involved. The egg needs 1kN of force applied to the shell to break and the wall needs 100kN. Force from the impact is proportional to the speed you throw at and the mass of the thrown object.

Edit: after the egg shatters the force it exerts on the wall quickly drops because it isn't a single solid object anymore, so the calculations get a bit harder than just speed and mass. But that's the general idea.

(All the values just estimated without any calculations, actual numbers are probably very different).


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[Charlie and the Chocolate Factory] How dangerous was it actually for the Oompa Loompas in Loompaland?

Wonka claims that the reason he took the Oompa Loompas away form their homeland is that Loompaland is full of whangdoodles, hornswogglers and snozzwangers, that would have eventually wiped out the Oompa Loompas.

Is that true? Were the Oompa Loompas really that maladapted for life in their own home environment?

[Assistant]
There is one important thing to remember when thinking of evolution:
You don't need to be the fastest, toughest or strongest, you only need to survive until you get old enough to multiply.

Seeing that they are pretty plentiful, they might just have been eeking by by pumping out more small Oompa Loompas than got killed.

And for how dangerous it was?

*Appearently so dangerous that no one else made it back to tell the tale*


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Why do most substances in the liquid state thicken as they cool down towards a solid, but some substances, such as water, suddenly become solid at freezing point rather than thickening in a gradient as it cools to freezing point?

[Assistant]
The viscosity of water does change with temperature, as do all pure liquids.  Going from boiling down to the freezing point, the viscosity of water more than triples.  The other liquids you are thinking of are probably on their way to a glass transition rather than freezing into a crystalline solid.  In this case, the material will appear to get more and more viscous until it ceases to flow altogether.

Many mixtures exhibit the behavior you are describing, though.  For example, mixtures of alcohols and water get very viscous when they are cooled significantly below 0C.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5 Why does only half of a wine cork expand when removed from the bottle?

Why does only half of the wine cork expand when removed? Every time I remove the cork from a wine bottle, half of it expands and the other side stays the same size as the bottle opening. I just never understood why that happens. I drink 3 for $10 bottles of wine too so...high class.

[Assistant]
Because the part that doesnt expand is the top which is dry, the bottom portion absorbs moisture from the wine and expands, or tries to but the bottle holds it tight. In fact this expansion helps the cork seal better.

Once you pull the cork out the part with the moisture can now expand.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
[One Punch Man] How strong is Saitama actually and why?

Weve seen consecutive normal punches as well as one serious punch that didnt even make contact with Boros, but how *stong* is Saitamas hit if it were to make contact? Also, is there more beyond the one serious punch?

[Assistant]
From a purely internal viewpoint we've only confirmed he can strike hard enough to block a planet destroying blow (assuming Boros wasn't lying). So it is fair to say he can punch at least hard enough to destroy the whole planet. Borus also claimed that Saitama basically played with him during that fight so he's potentially greater than planet destroying but to what level we don't know.

Externally we know Saitama can hit as hard as the plot demands. Fundamentally the show is meant to explore what happens when the character gets no catharsis or development. He is forever trapped as an unbeatable force of nature who's existence is pointless due to a lack of challenge. It is why he's more excited for grocery shopping than fighting villains, shopping is more challenging.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: Why do strongmen often have big guts and you never see body builders in "world strongest" competitions?

[Assistant]
Bodybuilders alternate two kinds of training:

* "bulking"- where they train intensively to get bigger muscles and eat a lot, prioritizing stuff that helps grow muscles. But they also gain fat from that.
* "cutting"- where they go on a very strict diet to eliminate fat, while training lightly to maintain the muscles as much as possible.

The cutting actually makes the bodybuilder weaker, but is neccessary to achieve the "ripped" look. Right before the competition they also dehydrate themselves. It's not unheard of for bodybuilders to faint on stage.

Strongman don't do cutting because it doesn't help  them get strong. They just keep the fat they gain while building muscles.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [Ridley Scott's Alien] Have Humans encountered alien species that aren't Xenomorphs, Engineers, or Predators?

[Assistant] Yes, but we don't know much about it.  At the beginning of Aliens when the Colonial Marines are bs'ing with one another, they specifically mention 'Arturians' (sp?) (in the context of having sex with one) and further mention that their gender doesn't seem to matter.  You've also got Hudson's reaction during the briefing later on, in which he very casually surmises the situation as a 'bug hunt,' suggesting the CM's have gone on (seemingly) similar missions in the past.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
Why was the Boston Tea Party justified but not lootings of the more modern protests weve witnessed on the news?

It just seems hypocritical.

[Assistant] It is, and many revolutionaries have made exactly this point. For example, one big theme in Malcolm X is that Americans *lovveeee* the American Revolution and the whole "no taxation without representation" idea, or at least they claim to. But then when it comes to black people resisting the state for very similar reasons (e.g., the lack of political representation), they are demonized as extremists.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] [MCU] "A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones. I even held one in my hand." Did the Red Skull know that the Tesseract was just one of six equally powerful objects? Did he have a long-term plan to acquire the others eventually? How much did he know about the other stones?

[Assistant]
The Red Skull possessed an Earth-written version of *The Book Of Yggdrasil*, which he took from the same church that had been housing the Tesseract [Marvel Studios Visual Dictionary]. In Thor: The Dark World, Odin has an Asgardian version of the same tome, which he uses to reveal to Thor and Jane the history of the universe. He specifically mentions relics that predate the cosmos, and speaks of the reign of the Dark Elves before the big bang. This was just a few pages, so the entire book is likely to have contained at least some information on the Infinity Stones.

Red Skull almost certainly studied the pages of this tome, so he definitely knew a whole lot more about the universe than most would assume. It's very possible that the Infinity Stones didn't conspire to send Red Skull to Vormir, but that he accidentally sent himself because he was thirsty for power but inexperienced in weilding the Space Stone.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] ELI5: why does it seem when we get sick with a cold or flu it always seems to happen overnight. For example, we always wake up with a stuffy nose or wake up with a sore throat or just wake up feeling unwell when we're coming down with something.

[Assistant]
Hi! The infection itself happens a several days before you feel the first symptoms (so not in the night before you get sick). The cold and the flu are caused by different types of viruses that are mainly spread via aerosols and bodyfluids. After the infection, the virus needs some time to replicate in your body. That can take approximately 3-21 days. The onset of the symptoms can be at any time, but as you described, many people feel the first symptoms in the morning. And that's mainly because of the stresshormone "Cortisol" in your body. It has a lot of different functions. One of them for example is to suppress (-> "decrease") your immunsystem activity and inflammatory processes.
The amount of the secreted Cortisol is timedependand. The highest level of Cortisol in the blood can be measured around 8 o clock in the morning, the lowest concentrations can be measured in the evening. So that' s the main reason why symptoms feel worse in the morning than during the rest of the day.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User] Eli5: Why does blood come out of the mouth when people are shot in the chest, or is this just a movie trope?

[Assistant]
15 years as a Combat Medic with the Royal Marines here. Don't recall seeing blood coming from the mouth for any chest or abdomen gunshot wounds, even if they were shot in the lungs. Any open injury to the lungs will usually become a sucking chest wound and a haemopneumothorax so any blood in the lungs would unlikely be expired through the mouth.

I did however quite often see blood coming out of the mouth with blast lung, something we would typically see when the casualty has been too close to a large explosive blast and the shock waves and pressure damages the lungs internally. One symptom is haemoptysis otherwise called 'spitting up blood'. Ironically I've never seen a case of blast lung or any of the injuries you would typically see as the hero dives metres from an explosion in movies or TV.

I do wonder who these movies get as consultants sometimes.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: Why are Al Jazeera and the likes of BBC held in such high regards?

Surely these news sources have a lot of bias also?

What gives them the impression of reliability and neutrality?

Why do they seem capable of pumping out high quality material consistently better than their competition? Especially since there is so much competition.

I can't help but feel like I see a *lot* of high quality documentaries from the BBC, and Al Jazeera seems to be unbiased, as far as American news channels go.

Has it got something to do with funding or are my opinions just wrong?

[Assistant]
Part of it is the financing.

The BBC is financed by television license fees and while in theory accountable to the British government they enjoy a great deal of freedom.

Other media may have to please their owners and their advertisers, but state run media at least do not have to content as much with the idea of not angering their advertisers and depending on the country may not see as much as influence from the governments that finance them.

Al Jazeera is based in Qatar and partly funded by the Emir and his family. They don't have as much freedom criticizing their own government, but they have reasonable freedom abroad and especially in cases where Qatar doesn't have a dog in the fight so to speak.

Another thing that both have in common that they are not as profit driven as private media. There is no need to search after the lowest common denominator or punch up the sensationalism to gain viewers, because of their other sources of funding.


[System] Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:

[User]
ELI5: How does Google know/decide which search queries are 'inappropriate' (pornstar names etc.) and to stop trying to auto-complete them?

Example: Suppose you want to look up Asa Akira. She's ranked as the number 2 pornstar on Pornhub, so you'd think there would be plenty of searches for her. However, typing in "asa akir" doesn't auto-complete to "asa akira" even though that's obvious what you're looking up. How does Google know/decide to NOT auto-complete that search, and why? Note: SafeSearch is off.

[Assistant] Since Google can see what links you click on from their page, their system can notice that searching "Asa Akira" (nice choice BTW) tends to lead to pornographic sites. Using this information, they'll decide that the term indicates a desire for pornography and they won't put it in auto-complete. It's fine if you want to search it, they just aren't going to *suggest* it to you - same for other NSFW or objectionable content.