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

[User]
If plants are constantly exposed to the sun, why don't they develop cancer?

Is there something special about plant cells that shields them radiation that is harmful to humans? It it possible for a plant to "develop cancer" or any sort of harmful mutation?

[Assistant] Plants do develop cancer.  But their lack of a circulatory system makes cancer not very harmful to plants.  Note that, in humans, cancer is usually only deadly when it is able to spread through the bloodstream and start growing in many sensitive areas of the body at once (such as the brain).  In plants, cancer just manifests as a local growth.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does water make things slippery, but licking my finger helps me pull out a cigarette or turn a page?

[Assistant] Water also has a trait called adhesion, which makes it clingy. This is why you can shake your hands really hard after washing them and they'll still be wet. Water sticks to paper and to your finger, *voil!* cigarette.


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

[User] [Batman Vs Superman] If Batman can stand up to Superman in a fair fight (using a specialized suit) isn't his whole argument that Superman is to dangerous to live obviously stupid and hypocritical?

[Assistant]
Not really. It's not as if Wayne just builds a SupeBuster armor and whoops up on Kal-El. In *The Dark Knight* books Wayne has to arrange a master plan around hugely circumstantial conditions that only *have a slim chance* of putting Superman at a critical disadvantage and would only work because Superman had become so confident in his power to overcome any human opponent. Bruce has *one chance* to use multiple layers of surprise and misdirection to get the job done, and if he misses the mark Supes would *actually be careful* in the future and pretty much reduce his chances of being bushwhacked to nil.

Edit: To clarify; Wayne *does* build a suit of SupeBuster armor, it's just not for beating Superman, its to *keep Wayne alive long enough to distract Superman from what's actually going down...*


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

[User] [Matrix] Why do people resist the Matrix? It seem pretty chill in there and reality is screwed anyways. Whats the point?

[Assistant]
For most people it's just that you that something is kinda wrong. The world seems weird and you just keep looking for why. For most that's as far as it goes, just a weird feeling you never quite lose, but for a very few it goes further.

Luck, certain skills or chance encounter means that you get contacted by attractive people who tell you that there is a secret and the world is hiding it from you. They say you're special and offer you the chance to learn the secret. It's appealing to believe them, to follow them, to look for more information.

For a few poor disillusioned souls they go through with a deal they can't possibly understand and wake up in a nightmare world, where humanity is a fragment of its past and they are a tiny worthless cog in a new human world. One much shitter than the one they left.

They didn't mean to leave, they didn't know what they were giving up, but then it's too late and they either have to accept it, try for a job on a ship to get a few moments back in the world they left, or kill themselves.

People don't know they're resisting the Matrix, they just are going on their instinct that something is weird in the world and for a very, very few they get to see a different world and most likely hate it.

That's what you get for resisting and it's an important lesson. You're better off ignoring those feelings, put them away as part of the human condition and go have a slice of pizza. It's not so bad in here and while you could keep looking, what's the point? Go read a book, watch a play, eat an apple, feel good? Then don't worry about it, you're fine where you are.


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

[User]
Is there a philosophical term for holding symbols higher than the ideas those symbols represent?

Some examples: In the collective american consciousness, the flag represents freedom, liberty, etc. but when someone does something involving the flag that people dont like (Kapernick) they seem disregard the idea that he has the freedom to do what hes doing. Another example: The Bible and Cross represent Christian beliefs in the teaching of Jesus, but many simply value the symbols without actually learning what the teachings of Jesus were. I guess theres a similarity between this and the shadows in Platos cave, but I cant think of a term for it.

[Assistant]
In semiotics, there's a concept of the 'floating signifier,' which is a kind of signifier that lacks a strict signified, so can refer to any number of different things by different people and/or nothing at all.

I think that's what you might be looking for.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can space bend? or have curvature?

Where is coming from: I have a stress ball in my hand... I was squeezing it...then I started thinking about space while watching the stress ball now I'm confused as hell. I don't have sufficient knowledge to frame the question succinctly so I will explain.

If space can bend i.e.is "pliable", does this mean it exists "within" something else? What does it bend into?

If a two-dimensional "space" object can only "bend" by moving through a three- dimensional space (like bending a piece of paper?), does this mean that a three- dimensional space can only "bend" through the fourth or fifth dimension?

Please ELI5 so I can get back to work.

[Assistant]
Whether or not our universe exists within something else is unknown at this time, and likely will not be known given our current understanding of physics, simply put, the boundary is accelerating away from us too fast for us to ever catch it.

What is often meant with "bending" of space time is how gravity distorts the path of objects.

Imagine, for example, rolling a marble across a perfectly flat friction-less surface.  If no one else touches the marble, we can expect that it will move in a straight line forever.

When space-time is bent, it changes the outside perspective of what that straight line is.  So if we have a massive object (a planet / star / black hole / galaxy / someone's mom), it bends space-time due to it's gravity.  An often used analogy is the bowling ball on a trampoline.  If you roll that same marble across a bent surface, you're still imparting the same energy on the marble, but from your perspective, it does not move in a straight line.

Now, with a trampoline, we see that the surface has a slope, but empty space cannot have a slope as it's not actually made of anything.  Thus we say that space-time is bent, as forces unseen are acting on the marble and altering it's path.  It is often said that gravity is not a force (such as hitting an object with another object, or magnetism, etc.), but a consequence of mass existing in an uneven distribution across the universe.

[Physicists; I've deliberately simplified a few things to make it a bit easier to understand in ELI5 style, be kind.]


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

[User] ELI5: Why are bullet trains shaped like a rounded bullet? Shouldnt a sharp tip like a spearhead make it more streamlined?

[Assistant] Aerodynamics can get quite odd at high speeds. A needle-sharp point isn't always the most efficient shape. There are also important concerns other than top speed and efficiency, like noise and overall length. Bullet trains need to be quiet, because they pass through a lot of populated areas. Sharp points and steep angles can increase wind noise. Trains also have a maximum non-articulated length that dictates how long any single car can be and still be able to make the turns in the track. The pointier the nose is the less internal volume is left over for all the stuff that needs too be in a locomotive.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can polls be representative if only the kinds of people willing to talk to pollsters respond?

I'm pretty sure if I got a call asking me to participate in a poll or survey, I'd just hang up. My friends and family say the same.

[Assistant]
A good poll accounts for this--there is data available on the kinds of people that are likely to respond to polls, and the pollster should weight the results to be more representative of the population polled. For example, many polls undersample young people, so giving more weight to the young people who did respond (considering their proportion of the population) corrects this bias.

This is one reason that it is very important to check a poll's methodology before considering the results. A poll that is poorly conducted is worthless. Since it is political polling season, it is worth noting that even the best of polls are bad indicators of how people will vote--people say one thing, but when they are in the voting booth it is often quite something else. Hence why so many in the Republican field are hoping for a primary win despite polling low.


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

[User]
ELI5: What would happen if a container was opened and closed in space... then brought back to Earth? What would be inside?

I don't understand very much about space, space physics, etc. so I have no idea what would happen.

Here's my hypothetical: If you opened a container (let's say a tupperware box) in space, closed it after a few minutes, brought it back down to earth, and opened it... what would be inside?

Would nothing be inside and air just get sucked into the box? I'm assuming whatever gas inside the box before opening it would be lost after being exposed in space. I'm expecting a very simple answer and I'm probably just very stupid.

Edit: Awesome! Thank you for all the answers and everyone who has contributed to the discussion; I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one who didn't understand "space dynamics" very well. Your collective responses have been amazing and understandable.

[Assistant]
First off, if you did that with a tupperware container, all you'd get is a bunch of crushed plastic.  The pressure differential would destroy the tupperware.

But yes, if you had an appropriate vessel, what you would return with is a box of empty space.  Nothingness.  Open the vessel, and air would rush in.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are so many scam call centers located in India?

[Assistant]
Because labour is cheap, but equally important, because of the legacy of the British Empire, there is a strong tradition of learning English as a second language.

EDIT - worth noting that on occasions where having faultless English with an English accent is important, call centres (sometimes called boiler rooms) are located nearer home. Spain is a favourite for scams targeting the UK.


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

[User]
Could humans survive in a 21% Oxygen atmosphere at a similar pressure to Earth's if 78% of the atmosphere was a gas other than Nitrogen?

And what gas other than Nitrogen would be the most ideal?

[Assistant]
There are lots of inert gases that would be just fine.  Helium, neon, argon, and probably krypton would cause no problems.  Xenon has some not-very-well-understood anesthetic effects, so that's out.

Other gases world be fine in the short term, but would eventually decompose.  Sulfur hexafluoride is pretty inert, but given enough time it can hydrolyse into hydrogen fluoride.  Hydrogen gas would be okay as long as it doesn't explode.

Oh, and don't let anyone feed you some line about heavy gases pooling in the bottom of your lungs and suffocating you.  That's a silly chemistry urban legend.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we even have nightmares? Why is the brain such a massive troll?

[Assistant]
There are a few theories about the purpose of dreams (and may apply for nightmares too.)

*During sleep, the brain has a lot of activity, and it's possible that random sequences of activity in the areas responsible for seeing and hearing lead to fantastic visions of imagination.  If this is the case, random sequences could lead to nice, pleasant dreams or just as easily, terrifying nightmares.

*The brain needs to stay active, so it may use the time that you're asleep to simulate threats that could happen in your life and prepare some sort of response.  If this is the case, nightmares seem like they'd be the norm (which they kind of are, as most dreams actually are unpleasant)

*The theory that people seem to hear the most is that the brain is consolidating memories, and it takes different memories and cobbles them together like patchwork.  If this is the case, there's no saying how they'd be cobbled together, and it'd be just as likely, if not more so that the dreams would be unpleasant.

Source: Am neuroscience major in college.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why doesn't every American citizen pay the same percentage of income in taxtes?

Suppose the government taxed every citizen 20% of their income. Why wouldn't that work?

[Assistant]
Because it wouldn't actually be fairer.

20% of your income when you make 20k is a big deal. Sure, it's "only" 4k, but you can feed a person for months on that much. In contrast, 20% of your income when you make 500k isn't a big deal at all; it may cost you 100k, but 400k is still enough money to buy basically anything you'd want.

So if you accept that poor people should be taxed less (which you must, if you think that percentage of income is a reasonable thing to tax), there's no reason to have everyone pay the *same* percentage.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do different animal species have similar anatomical structures?

[Assistant]
Similar anatomical structures may be due to homology, which means the structure was inherited from a common ancestor that already had that structure.  Humans and sharks both have hearts and two eyes because their last common ancestor did.

Similar anatomical structures may also be due to  homoplasy, which means the structures independently evolved in each lineage.  Hippos and alligators both have eyes and nostrils on the top of their head, independent adaptations to living mostly submerged in water.


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

[User]
Why does it hurt so much to get kicked in the testicles?

And is there an equivalent for women?

[Assistant]
The simple answer is because that area is packed with nerve endings.  These nerves serve several functions including sensing pain, but some sense temperature, pressure, chemicals, etc.

Getting kicked in the testicles can set off many of these nerves at once, sending a confusing set of signals to your spinal cord and your brain.

Thus pain, doubling over, vomiting, etc.


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

[User]
How is the Moon covered mostly fine dust if the erosion forces of wind, water, and plate tectonics do not exist?

If I remember right there was a point where the moon had mildly active plate tectonics (correct me if I'm wrong), but I still don't understand what other than meteor impacts could cause any erosion on the surface, let alone enough to make a fine dust.

Also on a side note, I know that relative to Earth meteoroids are called meteors when traveling through the atmosphere and meteorites when they've impacted the ground, but how should they be referenced in relation to the moon since it has no atmosphere?

Edit: Despite proofreading my post I still have a typo in my title. Frick.

[Assistant] Meteors are enough to create the regolith.  The moon (and the earth) are constantly bombarded with them, the earth has an atmosphere that burns most of them up before they hit the ground.  The moon having no atmosphere has no such protection.


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

[User]
[Snowpiercer] Why a train?

Why wouldn't they make some sort of underground shelter and harness geothermal heat?

[Assistant]
Some governments may have done just that, but the train was built by a crazy billionaire as a luxury cruiser.  It wasn't until the end of the world happened and a bunch of stowaways got aboard that the nature of the train changed.

Some become batman, others become the arrow, others build space rockets of dubious efficacy.  This crazy billionaire built a train.


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

[User] ELI5: What causes that sound you hear when you cup your ears?

[Assistant] Surfaces reflect sounds. Surfaces of certain sizes reflect sounds of particular frequencies. A cupped hand will reflect some high frequencies more than others. The diameter of the "cup" focuses those frequencies into your ear canal, emphasizing them. Since these sounds, which would normally pass your ears unnoticed, are now emphasized, they are perceived as a rushing sound. Also, your position is space is given a reference as your brain interprets sound for clues to your location in relation to all sound-reflecting objects around you. Cupping your hand behind your ear interferes with those clues.  Wait until you're older and your hearing naturally becomes less sensitive to those high frequencies and you'll find the effect is diminished or non-existent.


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

[User] How exactly does losing your voice work? What causes it/what is it?

[Assistant] The bodys response to damage includes inflammation and swelling. Your vocal cords are thin membranes and are very easily damaged by overuse (either too much or too vigorously- screaming a few times or talking loudly all day long). When they get damaged they swell, and the swelling causes them to become thicker and less flexible, meaning the dont vibrate as well or make contact with each other correctly, and youve lost your voice. Illnesses can also cause them to swell.


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

[User]
[Silly] The philosopher's high

Alright, this is somewhat ridiculous, but hear me out :

Apparently, runners get a feeling of euphoria while undergoing the physical effort that comes from running. Well, I find an analogous excitation whenever I understand a philosophical text, or when I'm battling with a demonstration, or whatever intellectual process I'm faced with.

During exams, for example, if I have to unknot a complex text, the more I'll write, the more I'll understand, and the more I'll understand, the more I'll write. This leads me to a strangely exciting slippery slope that gets me so hyped my handwriting becomes unreadable, and that I have to stop and breathe deeply for a while. My heartbeat even goes up, and my hands get sweaty !

The same goes for essays and dissertations : one discovery leads to another, one aspect to another, and soon I'm all fidgety.

When reading a text, whenever I begin to understand, I have to drop the book and jog around my room frantically, making silly hand gestures and thinking to myself "Of course, that makes total sense !", and I have to scribble whatever on my white board to summarize what I just extracted. This leads to my housemates and friends thinking I am some kind of absolute madman.

I'm here to ask if you guys get the same kind of euphoria from time to time, or if that is an uncommon and weird thing for one to be struck with. Lately it has become even more of a problem, as all the ends of my works are rushed and unreadable, and I systematically have to go through them a second time !

[Assistant] Definitely not just you. Making a really killer argument or figuring out a really clever way to present some complicated idea is a hell of a drug. Having to go back through your work and revise it for clarity isn't really a problem, since it's something you should do anyway. As Ernest Hemingway said, "Write drunk. Revise sober."


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

[User] ELI5: How do erasers erase?

[Assistant]
Take a pencil and write on paper. What happens is the pencil "lead" (really a black carbon stick of something called 'graphite') scrapes off and sticks to the paper. It's pretty sticky so it stays and forms letters and drawings.

Now take an eraser to that pencill drawing. Paper was rough and the graphite stuck to it, but eraser materials is a lot stickier than that. So the stuck-on pencil graphite transfers off of the paper and on to the eraser.

The eraser then wears away from contact with the paper and forms a little tiny plastic or gummy pill that contains the removed graphite, and that gets swept aside or blown off the page. The stickier the eraser, the better it removes and holds graphite, which is why newer white plastic-based erasers are awesome but old pink ones sometimes just make a huge mess.

**TL;DR: Eraser stuff is stickier than paper, so pencil stuff likes it better.**


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

[User] [Captain America] If Steve Rogers had never been frozen, and theoretically lived a normal life after WW2, would he still look like he had even barely aged since the 40's if you saw him today?

[Assistant]
The Infinity Formula, which nick Fury Used, effectively retarded aging.

When the Super Soldier Serum was briefly removed, captain when all old man.  He became young again when it was returned

Based on that evidence I'd say it fixes his body at the age of peak performance.  So locked somewhere in between mid 20s and early 30s.


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

[User] ELI5:Is it possible to get cancer in any part of your body? Are there parts of your body that are immune to cancerous growth?

[Assistant]
There is not (with the exception of hair and fingernails). If a part of your body contains living cells, those cells can turn cancerous.

You can get cancer of the bone, skin, muscles, blood, cartilage, nerves, etc etc.


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

[User] ELI5: How do you design locks that allow several different keys open the entry door to the same apartment complex, but also just the door leading to one of those apartments?

[Assistant] A modern lock have stacks of pins in them where each pin is split in two. Only if you insert the correct key will the pins will align with the cylinder and you can turn the lock. So called master key systems have some pins that is split in three. This means that there are two possible keys that match the lock as there are two different ways to align the split pins with the cylinder. This does weaken the system as now there are more places where a lockpicker can get the lock to open in. It is also possible to have intermediate keys in the system. So for example a cleaner might have a key that only opens some apartments but not all but the manager can open all of them. This is done by having multiple triple split pins in each lock. But of course this makes it even easier for a lockpicker.


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

[User]
CMV: I am a vampire, and I think that humans can and should be sustainably farmed.

As you know, human blood is required for sustaining our unlife.  (Though some SJWs insist that animal blood is able to do the job as well, they should be discounted for this discussion.)  It is *not* required to kill humans if we don't fully drain them of their blood; they can easily recover from the anemia in just a few weeks with proper care and nutrition.

Using this method, a small herd of 20 or 30 adult humans can provide sufficient food for a single active vampire without killing any of the herd.  Additional humans can be used as breeding stock to help replace those who become sick or too old to contribute to the feeding process.

I know that there are some radicals who object on the grounds that humans are sentient beings who deserve autonomy.  But this is irrelevant.  Humans on ranches already live full and productive lives as our food sources and occasionally as our pets (though I think it is a bad idea to become too attached to a potential meal).

[Assistant]
The problem is that these ranches operate with little regulation or oversight.  While there are certainly some vampires who treat their food source humanely, there have been startling accusations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of humans.  Since vampires can't be captured on film, it's difficult to prosecute these offenses even when there's clear evidence that crimes have been committed.  There's concern that vampires who engage in sadistic practices with humans could become so desensitized to violence that they attack their own kind.  We were all humans once, after all.

Since many vampires don't have the time or energy to keep their own private blood farm, they end up purchasing most of their blood from shops.  This removes them from the actual realities of farming.  If the blood they're buying is harvested unethically, how will they know?  There are no universally recognized standards for sustainable, humane blood farming.  There are no regulatory inspections of human ranches.  We're all aware by now that "organic" blood is mostly a marketing gimmick, and that so-called "free range" blood is anything but - "sustainable" is likely to be another corporate blood industry lie.

There are ethical concerns involved in farming animal blood as well, of course, but the higher sentience level of humans should be taken in to account.  Involuntary captivity produces significant stress in humans, and there's emerging research suggesting that humans who have been subjected to stressful living conditions have higher blood cortisol levels.  Stressed humans living in overcrowded conditions are also disease-prone, requiring high levels of antibiotics and growth hormones to maintain their health.  Could these issues be contributing to the growing epidemic of vampire obesity?  It's getting to the point where many vampires are too fat to fly, making them easy prey for angry mobs and vampire hunters.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] What happens to toys that don't have faces or bodies?

Would a toy that doesn't have any face or body be able to come to life?

Like a Rubix Cube, or a video game console.

If they did, how would they interact with the world?

[Assistant]
Yes. There are plenty of toys without faces or bodies that we have seen:

* Mr. Spell
* Etch A Sketch
* Hand-in-the-Box
* Legs

They can move around using whatever appendages they have (as with Hand and Legs) or just simply by wobbling back-and-forth (as with Mr. Spell and Etch). They can communicate or interact with whatever they have at their disposal, spelling out words, drawing pictures, or with other forms of gestures or pantomimes.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] How could Voldemort think that he was the only person to have discovered the Room of Requirement?

When he stored the diadem in it he assumed that he alone knew of the room's existence. How could that be if the room was full of objects dating back hundreds of years?

[Assistant]
How could Voldemort hide a Horcrux in a vault of a known associate? How could Voldemort hide a horcrux in a fucking shack that can be traced to him rather easily? How could Voldemort make his goddamn snake into a horcrux?

Voldemort is bit conceited.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Star Killer Base seems like a huge effort for something they only could use twice. The Death Star could use hyper drive and didn't require an outside power source. Why not just make a third Death Star?

Update: Thanks again reddit for showing me that I'm completely wrong.

[Assistant] You call eating a star simply requiring an outside power source? This thing eliminates an entire solar system and obliterates planets half a galaxy away simultaneously. It's a planetary fortress with a hyperdrive. Plus, they didn't have to build the entire thing from scratch, unlike the Death Star. Seems like an huge improvement to me.


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

[User]
What are the best documentaries/movies about philosophy you've ever watched?

Edit: Thank you, very much for your suggestions!

[Assistant]
The Derrida documentary is absolutely daft. Have a couple drinks first, but it's a pretty fun ride.

[EDIT: also, unless you're fluent in French, don't have too many drinks, because it's in French with English subtitles.]


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

[User]
ELI5: How do countries actually take control of another country once they occupy the capital?

Like, when the capital falls, how does the country fall under the control of the opponent? How does it actually work, can't the existing government just say "No we're not listening to you we're doing our own thing?" Not just the capital but like cities in general, when the city centre falls, what makes the whole city fall? Also, if I'm understanding this correctly, can countries just skip the actual war and just occupy the capital if that's how it works?

[Assistant]
"Occupy the capital" probably implies that they've pushed their forces through the entire country and successfully reached the capital.  "Take control" probably means either "literally holding a gun to the leader's head until they 'voluntarily' declare that you're now in control", or "leaving troops all over the country, proclaiming that you're in control now, and daring anyone to argue with your soldiers and tanks and bombs".

There's no switch that's flipped or anything, it's just making a declaration, backing it up with either violence or the threat of violence, and being that way for long enough that people just get used to it and accept that you're in control now.


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

[User]
[Labyrinth] What was Jareth taking about?

His last conversation with Sarah was basically "Be my slave and I'll do whatever you want. It was very hard to discern what he actually meant,his goals, and his plan. Can anyone explain the character a little more?

[Assistant]
He'd do everything for her if she would just allow him to. If she'd just acknowledge him as her king, he would do the flashy and wonderful things that a king can.

The point is, he has the title of king but he doesn't control her unless she lets him. That gives her the real power. He would do anything for her.


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

[User]
CMV: No one cares about anyone but themselves

I don't really know how to give much detail on this. It feels like no one, myself includes, gives a damn about anyone but ourselves. If we cared about other people, we would never hurt them. We would do things to help them. We would actually want to hear what they have to say. They'd never annoy us. We'd always want to spend time with them. I don't think anyone has a single person in their life that meets this criteria. Our family, friends, children, spouses, etc. No matter how much we say we love them, we often use them to suit our own personal wants and needs. We ignore their wants in favor of our own. And often, we do it without thinking twice and without remorse.

[Assistant]
I think you believe that caring and love is a simple dichotomy.

Either you love someone and only want to help them, or you don't care and will hurt them if it helps you.

You forget that there is parental love where you will send a child to bed without supper in order to teach them to be grateful for the food they receive.

Romantic love often involves hurting people by working and being forced away from them, in order to secure a future where they can be together more often.

Unconditional love and support doesn't exist, and if it were to exist it would hurt those that the person most wished to help.

But you seem to be dealing with some stuff, so please go get help. Go talk to a doctor.


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

[User]
Eli5 Do fish swim slower near the bottom of the ocean? And if so, why?

Every video I see of creatures swimming or moving close to the bottom of the ocean they move slow and Im wondering if they always do that.

[Assistant] Yes, deep sea fish tend to swim more slowly.  The main reason is food, or rather, lack of food.  There's not much food way down there, and as a result the animals that live there have to save energy as much as possible.  That means moving slowly and not having much muscle.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a country just turn off the internet?

In recent events, Belarus was reported to have shut down the countrys Internet. How does that happen? Does the government control all the servers, or so they have a kill switch somewhere for all the service providers? What about mobile internet? Logistically, it doesnt make sense.

[Assistant]
>Does the government control all the servers

In a sense, yes. They send the police (or military) to the server companies and say shut the servers off or face arrest (or worse). They do the same with mobile providers.


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

[User]
Why are re-uptake inhibitors used instead of the neurotransmitters themselves?

You go to the doctor depressed and they say you have low serotonin levels that's why your depressed. So why not just give the person serotonin instead of a drug that just makes your brain not recycle it so quickly?

[Assistant]
Multiple reasons:

* They want drugs with long half lives so that you're not taking it every half hour. Serotonin would be rapidly processed. Reuptake inhibitors get stuck in molecular channels and hang out longer.

* Your brain has a blood brain barrier to filter out possibly dangerous molecules, viruses, bacteria, etc. Serotonin does not get through the blood brain barrier, so any you took would not make it to your brain.


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

[User]
ELI5: How it is possible that before 2. world war only men worked and still earned enough for whole family when today we have whole families (mom, dad, child) working and barely survive?

I asume that then capitalists were paying their workers fair (and actually care for them) instead of minimum required and rather buying 5 rolls royces, couple of yachts and jets like today? Speaking for the majority then and now. Can be?

[Assistant]
People don't realize that our "quality of life" is significantly better than during that era.

Even 20 years ago, we didn't pay for cell phone, internet, cable. Cut that out? That's $200 a month minimum.

Even 20-30 years ago, a lot of people had 1 or 2 pairs of shoes. 2 sets of clothes (daily clothes, church clothes). When you grew out of them, your younger sibling or relative go the clothes. Hell naw did you throw them away or give them to good will.

Everybody has a computer, tablet, electronics and gets new ones every couple of years. If you lived in a modest apartment, had 3 sets of clothes, no electronics, made your own food - your cost of living would decrease probably by 1/2.

Despite people complaining about the inequalities of the rich and the middle/poor, life in a 1st world country is much better.


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

[User] How do doctors know the prescription for glasses for babies/children who are too young to do the usual sight tests?

[Assistant] They can map the shape of the eye pretty easily and get about 90% of the way to knowing the prescription. Then they need feedback from the patient for the fine tuning. Babies just cant give that last little part that doesnt matter much.


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

[User] How do you estimate the percentage of species not found if you do not know the total the number of species (since they haven't been discovered)?

[Assistant] A field scientist will not likely have enough time to survey an entire rainforest. However, one can easily survey several 10ft by 10ft patches within the area. Suppose you're in an area that's as large as 1 mile by 1 mile. You select several 10x10ft patches and count all the insects in those locations. You find that on average, there are 5 species present that have already been identified, and 5 species present that are new to science. You can then extrapolate and assume that in the entire square mile patch of land, that only half of the species present have already been identified. So yes, there's some guesswork and statistics involved, but it can be very accurate. Of course, you can actually test how accurate the predictions were by fully surveying the entire area, but this is rarely done due to time and funding constraints.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Avada Kadavra is a spell that basically insta-kills you, and is considered "Unforgiveable", I get that. However, is it also "Unforgiveable" to use the effects of other spells to kill?

Such as setting a building on fire, or pushing someone off a roof?

[Assistant]
The term 'unforgiveable' is more about what that spell signifies. Avada Kadavra, Crucio, and Imperio are powerful spells that require a powerful wizard to wield, and, the user must truly understand what using those spells entails. Not just 'know', but, actually *want* to use them.

It shows intent at the purest level. You'll go to trial for using one, sure, but the indicted pretty much admits to guilt simply by using them.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why does Dumbledore fiddle with Voldemort's cursed basin of poison for just a couple seconds before immediately concluding that the only way to the bottom is to drink its contents?

I don't want that guy in my D&D party.

Why can't you just flip the basin over or put a hole in it?  We know Dumbledore is capable of animating tons of rock and manipulating matter on a fine scale.  Why can't you turn the poison into something safe to drink?  If you can't do that, why can't you summon something to drink the poison for you, or transfigure yourself into something that can drink the poison safely?

What are the limitations of the charm put on the basin by Voldemort?  Does it have to be a basin?  Does it have to be poison?  Is it a difficult spell to cast, or are there first-year troublemakers breaking into Prefect bathrooms at night, pissing in the sinks, and then charming the sinks with that spell?

**tl;dr did Dumbledore drink magic Drano because Harry forgot his Dremel at home?**

[Assistant]
I think if Dumbledore could have done something to not drink the poison, he would have. It was obviously protected by a very strong magical enchantment and it was clear Dumbledore knew this was the only option (meaning nothing physical/magical would have changed the state of it).

And secondly Dumbledore isn't the kind of person who'd force someone else drink poison.


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

[User] [Cosmos] Tell me about the ship Neil deGrasse Tyson is using.

[Assistant]
Manufactured by a joint-project between Robert Goddard and the then toddler Carl Sagan in '40. Used one of the first liquid fuel motors ever created. Subsuquently overhauled in '56, for Mercury; '70, for Skylab; '87, after the Challenger tragedy; and lastly in '13 after the retiring of the Space Shuttle.

Runs on a hybrid fuel of Sulfuric Acid and liquified dreams. Can reach a top speed of 42c thanks to Douglas Adams's highly advanced-- and classified-- work in quantum physics. Comes equipped with fully stocked bar and air mattress.

Carl nearly wrecked in 1954 driving home from his high school prom-- boy, was his dad pissed. Other than that, not too many fender-benders or accidents.

It's got about 16,000,000,000 lightyears on the odometer, thanks to some stunts Steven Hawking pulled with a black hole, after that time Neil accidentally left the keys at Oxford.


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

[User] [Detective Comics] Does the Flash mentally age faster?

[Assistant]
The mental effects of the speed force are weird, to say the least.

The Flash can do things like go through thousands of tries of a combination lock, without losing focus or getting bored to death. He can carry on normal conversations with people even though he's perceiving time at such a sped-up rate that normal humans are little more than statues.

This indicates that the speed force insulates the Flash from ill effects of thinking, perceiving and reacting and superhuman speeds, so probably protects him from rapid mental aging as well.


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

[User]
CMV: Firearms should be required by law to be locked when being stored or not in use.

I believe that states should require gun owners to lock their firearms when they are not being used (often referred to as Safe Storage Laws). Locking can include trigger locks, barrel guards, lock boxes/safes, etc. To me, keeping guns locked seems like the responsible action to take as a gun owner. For example, evidence provided in 2016 showed that in Pittsburgh alone 79% of crimes involving firearms were committed by someone who did not own the weapon. There is plenty of global evidence that supports safe storage laws including suicide by firearm rate reduction.

This is for a psychology assignment so I am open to all opinions. I only ask that the conversations remain civil.

[Assistant]
Not everything that is a good idea should be required by law.

For starters, firearm deaths are way down on the list of death causes.  Let's start with heart disease and cancer.  We could do save far more lives by making it illegal to sell, make or eat high cholesterol foods.  Same with cancer and tobacco products.

Now let's think about enforcement.  Are the cops going to come into people's homes to check compliance?  If so, let's have them check for smoke detectors, carbon monoxide and faulty wiring (and make those all illegal too while we are at it).

At root, we have criminalized enough in our society.  We have too many people in jail.  Try another way of encouraging people to do what's right on this one.  Public awareness campaigns, gun lock giveaways, etc.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can a hacker be tracked after he's hacked a system?

Edit: Thank you everyone, it's all very clear to me now!

[Assistant]
You can look at styles and methods of one hack and associate it with the same methods being used in other hacks with known attackers. For example, certain malware programs are known to be Russian others are known to be American. Once you know the attack methods, you can often know the attacker.

The hacker could of made a mistake and left traced that they were there.  Those logs might be viable to trace the hacker's origin.

You can trace the released information backwards.  Find out who has the information now, then find out where they got it from and so on until you arrive at the hacker.

If you have access to the routing infrastructure of the internet (like the US government does) then you might have the ability to track historic traffic. Giving you the ability to tell who was sending packets to where at what times.

Or it could be ways that we simply aernt aware of.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why over the past 15 years, the typical CPU clock speed still remains around 2.8 to 3.2 GHz?

I know you can overclock the CPU to 5.0GHz, but I am not really talking about that.

Desktop CPU clock speed has increased from 1mhz to 2.8ghz over the past 40 years. But has remained at 2.8 to 3.2 average over the past 15 years...

Why not increase it along with other factors as well? What makes 3.0Ghz so perfect?

And if the clock speed is not the bottleneck, why do people that overclock the CPU see improvements in performance?

[Assistant]
We're starting to run into some hard limitations of CPU manufacturing. The faster the clock speed, the more heat the chip will generate. If we push the clock speeds much higher than what they are today then people will need some exotic cooling solutions.

The normal way to increase clock speed without creating more heat is to make the wires thinner which lets the chips use less voltage. But, we're getting very close to fundamental limitations about how small the wires can be. They use to be able to pack twice as many transistors in the same space every 24 months or so. That pace has significantly slowed in recent years.

Finally, when you're talking about things happening in a billionth of a second, you start having problems keeping the entirety of the chip in sync. Electricity flows fast through the wires, but if we go much faster than the time it takes for the electrons to get from one side of the chip to the other will be slower than one clock cycle. This creates all sorts of new problems.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do parents urge/force their kids to finish their food? Won't they just eat what their bodies tell them to?

[Assistant] Children don't stop eating because they're full, they'll stop eating because they want to go play with something or they don't like peas - in either case, they'll be whining about being hungry in an hour.


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

[User] Why can't I look at a word without reading it?

[Assistant]
Because the human mind is an expert at pattern and relationship/structure detection and recognition. That is essentially how we think.

We are masters of pattern recognition, so when you glance at a word your pattern mind kicks in and you have no conscious choice but to 'decode' that pattern. (you read the word).

But if you create a 'word' without those familiar patters, you will not 'read' it. So do you read **kzbuudccq**?


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

[User]
If I were traveling at the same speed as an electron, would I observe it generating a magnetic field?

In other words, I know that a moving electric charge produces a magnetic field. So assuming there was a lone electron flying through empty space and I could match speeds with it and observe it while travelling parallel to it. Since, from my frame of reference, neither of us are moving, is it generating a magnetic field?

If not? Intuitively I would think someone traveling slightly slower WOULD observe a magnetic field.

I know this is somehow deeply tied to the questions which sparked Special Relativity, I can never find a good answer as to WHY though. It's been bugging me since I first started learning about Maxwell's Equations.

Thanks!

[Assistant]
Your idea is correct, but in reality you see a magnetic field no matter what.

If the electron were a point charge **with no spin**, the magnetic field it produces would be zero in any frame where it's not moving. And in any frame where the electron *is* moving (no matter how slowly), the magnetic field would be nonzero.

But in reality, electrons have spin. And since they have spin and charge, they have an intrinsic magnetic moment. You cannot perform a Lorentz transformation to remove this magnetic moment, so it's present in all inertial frames.

So even when the electron is perfectly still, it has a magnetic dipole moment and thus generates a weak magnetic dipole field.


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

[User]
Is it common for a professor to tell a student they will write a letter of recommendation with no intention of doing so?

Hello, all. I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I am applying for an internship which constitutes the last year of my undergrad degree. The programs I applied to all require a letter of recommendation from both a chemistry and a biology professor. No problems with the letter from the chemistry professor but the due date for the letters was 2 weeks ago and the biology professor still has not sent hers. She was the only biology professor I had had up until this past semester and I had done well in the classes she taught that I had taken (93%+), besides being an active participant in her classes. I asked her in late September if she would write me a letter of recommendation and she agreed. I provided her with the necessary forms (an evaluation was also required), my personal statement, and a copy of my transcript, all contained in an envelope with my name and purpose on it. I finished my interviews mid-november and after was told that her letter had still not arrived but not to worry because she was historically not late. I emailed her and my chemistry professor after the interviews to thank them once again for being an integral part of this process, hoping that would remind her in the event she forgot. I never received a reply from her (though I got an enthusiastic one from the chem professor). Last week, I received an email from one of the program directors that she had still not received it from the bio professor, so I politely emailed her again to remind her (at this point, it was a week late). I never received a reply. Today, I received a second email that they STILL had not received it. This professor has always replied timely to me when I emailed with a question/to set up an appointment with her. Anyway, thanks for letting me at least vent. I'm not sure what my next course of action should be as it has become apparent that I am not getting a letter of recommendation from this particular professor.

[Assistant] It's way more likely that the professor is incredibly busy and just forgot about it and hasn't seen your email. Send more emails and try to find her if possible. If there was a physical paper form to fill, bring new copies to her office just in case.


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

[User]
Are electrons running through electrical wires bound to any atoms? Or are they just free-flowing?

High school chemistry taught me that electrons exist as part of the "shell" of an atom. Whenever we spoke about electricity in physics class, I always got confused; how can these electrons just be flowing by themselves? Do they not need some sort of atom to exist within?

[Assistant]
Electronic orbitals get a little more complicated when you are dealing with a solid rather than a single atom. High school chemistry only really taught you about isolated atoms. The lower electrons bound closer to the atom's nuclei are indeed fixed there. These do not contribute to electrical effects. It's the valence, or outer electrons, that come into play with electricity.

When you throw a whole bunch of atoms together, the atomic orbitals you learnt in chemistry no longer exist. Because of the pauli exclusion principle (the reason why in chemistry two electrons can't share the same orbital) two electrons cannot hold the same state within the solid. This leads to what are known as electronic bands, rather than orbitals.

Basically, when you throw two of the same atom together the valence electron states cannot overlap. This leads to two new states very close to the isolated atom energy level, but slightly off and not overlapping. Throw a few billion billion billion atoms together and you basically get a continuous bands of allowed energy levels. The bands are really made up of a lot of discrete possible states of energy and momentum that electrons can uniquely hold, but we treat them as a band. These bands really aren't localised to an atom, their wave function is more so for the composite solid.

Now just like an isolated atom has higher unfilled orbitals that an electron can be moved up into by addition of energy without being totally ionized from the atom, there are higher unfilled bands in solids that electrons can move up to given energy without being ionized. These higher unfilled bands have lots of empty states to any electrons that move up into them, so they facilitate electrons moving around. Which is what electricity is. So in electricity the electrons aren't bound to any specific atom, but they aren't ionized and totally free. They are just in a higher energy level, with a lot of very close by empty energy levels, which allow them to move between them freely.

In metals the valence band, the band with all the bound electrons that aren't free to move, overlaps the conduction band, the band of mostly empty states where electrons can freely move. This means in metals it takes basically zero energy to get electrons to hop up into the conduction band where they can move about. Simply applying a voltage is all it takes to get lots of electrons to move.

In insulators the story is a little different. The valance band, where electrons are at rest, and the conduction band above that have a high energy gap.  That means it takes a lot of energy to move an electron up. Very few electrons are free to conduct because of this, so they are poor conductors. The only way to make them really conduct is a very high voltage, which will give the electrons so much energy they will be pulled away.

Lastly there is semiconductors, which are the basis of electronics and computers. These are the same deal as insulator, but the energy gap is much smaller. This means at room temperatures, the thermal energy is enough to cause a useful amount of electrons to jump the gap into the conduction band. As well as the electrons that move up to the conduction band being able to conduct electricity, the empty space they left behind in the valance band allows other electrons that aren't moved up to fill their place. In essence, this empty place constantly being filled by electrons appears to move, so we actually treat it as a positive particle known as a *hole* that conducts electricity too. We can alter this energy gap with impurities, which is crucial to making electronics fucntion. Other things can cause the electrons to jump this gap, such as visible light photons giving them the energy. This is the basis behind solar-cells.


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

[User] ELI5 How does reverse image lookup work?

[Assistant]
There's not a single way but the general idea is to first downscale the image to something small (like 32x32) and then use an algorithm that detects disctintive features of that image and encodes them into an even smaller value, it's like some sort of extreme compression. Comparing this encoded values is much quicker since they're much smaller than the original image.

Also the search engine is continually looking for images in the web in order to keep a database of encoded images and the corresponding addresses. So when you give it an image for a reverse lookup the engine encodes the image in the same way, then looks for similar values in the database and finally obtains the images from the stored addresses.


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

[User]
[Pacific Rim] Why did the Jaeger pilots need to be mind connected with the Jaeger?

The documentary shows that they held joysticks with their hands and their feet were strapped to giant walking leg simulators. I don't see them controlling the Jaegar with their mind at all.

Why the need for a risky drift at all?

[Assistant] The suits contained neural receptors that captured the pilot's brain signals and turned them into commands for the Jager. In other words, the suit does not capture the actual motion but it takes the signals generated by the brain that command the limbs to react. The mechanical peripherals were just like a treadmill so that the pilots can move in place.


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

[User]
How do scientists measure the drainage basin of a river?

I read a comment on here saying that most of the continental US drains into the Mississippi River. What sources of water are they measuring, and how do they calculate the total land area that's feeding into a given river?

[Assistant] In the modern, this is a pretty simple task in most Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In short, if you have a digital representation of topography (digital elevation models or DEMs, think a grid of x,y,z points representing elevations) you can run flow routing algorithms (the mathematical equivalent of placing a drop of water on a pixel in the DEM and using the local slope, i.e. the relationships between that pixel and its neighboring pixels, to figure out which way the drop would flow and then doing that for every pixel to make a map of flow directions) and then flow accumulation (using the result of the flow routing to figure out which pixels flow to which other pixels downstream and/or accumulate flow from other pixels upstream) to produce a map of the drainage area upstream of any pixel in the DEM. Then it's simply a task of querying the right pixel, i.e. find the the pixel that represents the mouth of the Mississippi river and query the drainage area.


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

[User]
Cognitive decline post-COVID - does it improve over time?

I understand that evidence at this point might be limited, but is there anything to suggest that the cognitive decline caused by COVID-19 will improve over time, or does it look like the damage would likely be permanent?

[Assistant]
No one knows for sure, but cognitive issues after severe viral infections are common and not really uncommon after even minor viral infections. Even a cold will show lower test scores for several months. Anything that really engages the immune system will. The very minor lowing of skills from minor cases is likely in lines with that and will recover.

On the other hand very severe covid where you have low oxygen for a period of time is more likely to be real actual brain damage. People on ventilators that barely could get oxygen into their lungs for weeks that come out with issues are very likely suffering from that extended lack.


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

[User] ELI5: Nuclear powered submarines. How do they work and manage the nuclear waste and why don't we have more nuclear "stuff" like nuclear trains or nuclear Google headquarters?

[Assistant]
Nuclear submarines are electric submarines with a built-in nuclear power plant. The nuclear reactor powers everything on board, from desk lamps to propulsion to water desalination.

Nuclear fuel lasts a *long* time! Every 20 years, or so, they take out the spent fuel and loads in new fuel. The spent fuel (nuclear waste) is brought to a facility for temporary storage before it can be put in permanent storage (I don't think anyone have built a permanent storage for nuclear waste yet).


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

[User] Life generates a lot of odorous particles that float around for us to smell. Where do they all go? Why doesn't the world get progressively stinkier over time?

[Assistant] Biologist speaking off the cuff: Stinky things of biological origin are generally made of complex (large) organic molecules. These are generally unstable over time and are broken down into simpler, less stinky molecules by heat, light, oxidation, as well as living organisms (bacteria for the most part).


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

[User]
Was Plato BSing us when he suggested he had a separate, hidden philosophical system which he never covered in his writings?

According to Plato's letters (which I realize have prominent scholars arguing for and against in terms of authenticity) he denies that he has never written, or will ever write, a book on what he "seriously" studies. And as "Whenever one sees a man's written compositions-whether they be laws of a legislator or anything else in any other form-these are not his most serious works, if so be that the writer himself is serious."

According to the seventh letter, the truth about "the highest things of nature" does not at all "admit of verbal expression like other studies". Avoidance of writing is "the greatest safeguard"; it is not right to divulge the truth improperly, the second letter states.

So this leads you to think that he never wrote about his true philosophical system. But I have a hard time believing that.

This is because Plato's associates  Aristotle, Xenocrates, Crantor  base their interpretation of Plato's philosophy on statements made in the dialogues.

How could people so close to him be unaware that his writings contained no serious teachings?

[Assistant]
I think what Plato meant by that was that he understood correctly, that there was a deeper meaning and higher truth to reality than is apparent at once, an existential plane which transcends words and the physical realm and any attempts to describe in writing this meta-reality was at best a fruitless attempt and at worst an irresponsible and mistaken approach to the matter. Think of it as his own greek version similar to the philosophical system in Buddhism about the Two Truths doctrine in which there is a conventional truth and a higher ultimate truth.

Then again, you can't blame him for saying that. 2500 years later, Wittgenstein arrived at the same conclusion. That the word is not the thing and that our model of reality is not reality itself.

It goes to show the timelessness of Plato's mind. A true genius for the ages.


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

[User] [Lord of the Rings] How do Hobbits grow/hunt/raise enough food to sustain their heavy diets?

[Assistant] the shire is absurdly fertile, and hobbits don't actually eat an insane amount. book describes them as having 7 meals when they can get them, implying they don't always; and from what we've seen a hobbit meal is about what you would expect for a human of that size. add in that they are growing human crops, but only eating hobbit size portions it's not that hard to imagine them keeping their larders full.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] If Snape had already accepted the morality issues about killing Dumbledore, why wouldn't he create a horcrux?

Harry would have seen it in Snapes memories at the end, found the horcrux, and brought snape back to life to thank him.

[Assistant]
Because creating a horcrux involves incredibly dark magic, sacrificing a part of your soul, and things so horrible that people who hear the details feel ill afterwards.

We don't know how horcruxes are created. We know murder is involved, but that is all.

Also, the horcrux must be created by the person who is going to become immortal. Harry couldn't make one for Snape, since it wouldn't be Snape's soul filling the object, but a fraction of Harry's own soul.

In addition to this, if the owner of the Horcrux feels remorse for the act, and Snape regretted killing Dumbledore (Even if he understood it was necessary, he didn't want to), the horcrux would fail and he'd regain his soul with a nearly fatal amount of pain.


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

[User] [DC Comics]If Billy Batson were 60+ years old, would his Captain form still look like a young man?

[Assistant]
Eeyup. Billy has the power of the Gods,, and the wisdom of Solomon.

When he says SHAZAM, he isn't simply activating another form - he's taking a mantle of power drawing from each of the gods. Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury.

So, his form would still be young and powerful.

Also see Black Adam, who has similar power, and who lives in his other form permanently, to avoid his frail elderly mortal body.


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

[User]
Reducing if, if-else statements possible on c#?

Hi,

I am working on my own project in c# and during this quest of learning I was wondering if there is a way to avoid using too many if statements. I've read that you could use OOP, but nothing that I've seen seems to be coherent for me to understand. For example, I have this code... and I want to find a way to not have to keep adding if statements in case I add another state to my light.
I would like some ideas, there's nothing to solve here lol :)

    public void checkColor(string color, int state)
            {
                if (color == "r" && state == 1)
                {
                    redState = lampOn;
                }
                else if (color == "r" && state == 2)
                {
                    redState = lampBlink;
                }
                else if (color == "y" && state == 1)
                {
                    yellowState = lampOn;
                }
                else if (color == "y" && state == 2)
                {
                    yellowState = lampBlink;
                }
                else if (color == "g" && state == 1)
                {
                    greenState = lampOn;
                }
                else if (color == "g" && state == 2)
                {
                    greenState = lampBlink;
                }
                else if (color == "b" && state == 1)
                {
                    blueState = lampOn;
                }
                else if (color == "b" && state == 2)
                {
                    blueState = lampBlink;
                }

            }

Thanks!

[Assistant]
you could separate the two checks as a start ...

    var tmp;
    switch(state)
      case 1: tmp= lampOn
      case 2: tmp= lampBlink

    switch(color)
      case 'r': redState = tmp
      case 'g': greenState = tmp
      case 'b': blueState = tmp

Though really the first question to me is why you got an int-state coming into the function, and then a lampOn/lampBlink state (which seems to come from variables) and not just a LampState-Enum that is used in both places.


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

[User] ELI5 what happens in the brain during those 10 seconds when you wake up and you don't even know who you are.

[Assistant]
Think of your brain like a computer. When you turn a computer on, it doesn't start running right away. It has to boot up first, filling up various bits of the computer with the memory that makes it able to show you cat videos.

When you wake up, it's kind of like your brain rebooting.


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

[User] Can Economic theories and models be derived using only formal philosophical logic, or are mathematical proofs absolutely necessary for the derivation of these models?

[Assistant]
No, strictly speaking you do not need math.

However, this is part of the history of economics. It's so math heavy nowadays because math is a clear and concise language. That makes it much more easy to know what people try to say, and to work with that scientifically, test hypotheses, etc.

Certain groups still argue about what some bygone economists were "actually" trying to say because even after elaborating your theses over multiple books, words are still imprecise. Math nicely avoids those issues, and economics is better off for it.


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

[User]
[Batman] Aside from the obvious two, what are some of the most popular rumours and gossip about billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne?

Everybody's heard the scurrilous claims about him and his youthful wards, which I find extremely unlikely but I'm still not going to reject out of hand because rich people are twisted freaks.

Similarly, everybody knows he's blatantly funding Batman, although the claims that he could actually be Batman are self-evidently ridiculous.

What I want to know is, what other claims do the tabloids and the gossip websites like to make about him? Who do they think he's screwing? What do they think he's wasting his money on? If I were to suddenly start reading celebrity magazines, what impression would I get of him?

[Assistant]
Bruce Wayne is basically a Kardashian.  He's always in the tabloids and connected to every high profile female that steps through Gotham.  He's been linked to reported Vicki Vale, a foreign diplomat named Talia, exotic dancer Selina Kyle, and numerous others.

Besides being a womanizer, he's got a pretty good image.  His Wayne Foundation does a lot of charity work, but his detractors claim he is only a figurehead.


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

[User]
CMV: People shouldnt get mad at or ridicule others for holding differing beliefs without at least trying to explain why those beliefs are wrong.

It is increasingly common in this day and age to have people with differing political beliefs attack each other for those beliefs just because they are different. This is not just a problem between the Democrats and Republicans, but its also becoming clearly visible in the progressive-moderate schism in the Democratic Party itself.

In my opinion, this should not happen without at least an attempt to see the other sides point of view and change it. Attacking them does the opposite, it alienates the other person from you and your base and only triggers an attack against you. I believe you cant just baselessly attack someone without a coherent explanation as to why they should change the way they think. Otherwise you cant complain about them not being able to see your side of the story.

Obviously I understand that some views are severely skewed and dont deserve the light of day to be argued (ex. all Mexicans are rapists, a wall will stop immigration, the coronavirus is a hoax, climate change isnt real, Bernie Sanders is a communist), but when it comes to genuine issues of concern, I think time should be taken to civilly argue them.

[Assistant]
Where do we draw the line between "genuine issues of concern" and views that are "severely skewed and don't deserve the light of day to be argued"? Because this is entitlerly subjective but actually pretty important.

People can be genuinely concerned about views we think are ridiculous. Some people are actually genuinely concerned about Bernie Sanders being a communist, for example. But by this post, it seems like it's okay to attack and ridicule them.

And as silly as some views seem, this applies to every topic. For every single issue, there will be some people who are legitimate concerned about it and others who think it's a totally obvious foregone conclusion, not even worth debating.

So who decrees what's a genuine issue of concern and what's allowed to be mocked? You? Me? The president? There's not going to be one judgement everyone agrees on.

Either it's okay to attack and ridicule in all these cases or you should make an attempt to understand and change the opposing view in all these cases. (Or we say that each individual can choose whether they want to seriously argue or just ridicule a certain view.)


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

[User]
[Detective Pikachu] What is the role of Pokemon trainers in this universe? (spoilers within)

Pokemon cant understand human speech, so trainers cant give commands or battle strategy. In the Ryme City cage fights, it seemed like they just let the Pokemon....have at each other. The Sinnoh League exists in the world, so clearly there is a culture of Pokemon battling outside of Ryme City.

What is the point of trainers when it seems like the whole world operates like the Battle Palace from Emerald? I dont think you can communicate battle strategy from emotions....

[Assistant] I think it's the same principle as with training, say, dogs, or horses, in real life-- you train them to respond or act in certain ways by rewarding (or not rewarding) certain actions, and nudging them in the direction you want them to go.


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

[User]
[MCU] How does everyone understand each other.

So how do asgardians, genetically modified rodents, human-alien abductees with 4th grade educations, tree people, frost giants, kree, thanks, humans and whoever else all manage to speak english perfectly? Not only that, but there have been cases of language barrier in the MCU (the russian guy in iron man 2) so this couldn't be an alternate reality with only one language.

[Assistant]
Asgardians speak the language All-speak which allows every thing with sentience to understand them and likewise. Basically they are so advanced they figured out the root of all language. Probably that magic vs science thing Thor mentioned.

Most cosmic beings like Silver Surfer/Galactus are mentally so far beyond us that all they need are a few words spoken and they can become fluent in a language.

I believe Quill just uses a universal translator.


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

[User] We can't specify the position of an electron around the atom, applying the same principle we also can't specify the position of the nucleus, right?

[Assistant] Right. The nucleus has a much larger mass, however, which *usually* corresponds to a smaller uncertainty in position. In addition, if people talk about the uncertain position in an electron, they usually mean the relative position of electron and nucleus. Due to the big mass differences, this is roughly the same as an uncertain position of the electron.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why should I care that the NSA is "spying" on me?

Reddit makes a big deal about it, acting like it's a surprise. Patriot Act was signed, I thought everyone knew this was happening. I'm not doing anything illegal, why should I care?

[Assistant]
The NSA is made up of people.  People are fallable & can abuse power.

On top of that, the Bill of Rights explicitly says that the government must get a warrant, approved by a judge, based on having legitimate probably cause, before violating somebody's privacy.  Even if you don't care about *your* privacy, you should probably be concerned that a government agency is wiping it's ass with the constitution and acting as if the law does not apply to them.

We're a nation of laws.  The laws are just as much about restricting government power as they are about controlling citizen behavior.  If the government stops playing by the rules, there's no point in having them.


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

[User] How do birds detect magnetic fields to know which way is north and south?

[Assistant] Their eyes can see it. Light induces the formation of radicals (unpaired electrons) in part of the bird's eye that are affected by the earth's magnetic field. Their orientation to the poles affects the signal, so they can very accurately tell north and south. Without it, their travel over water or at night would be fatally off course.


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

[User] ELI5:. Why do auto immune diseases like psoriasis only target certain parts of the body or skin and not everything?

[Assistant]
Psoriasis does affect the entire body, it simply is worse in some places for any of dozens if not hundreds of reasons. Some factors are sun damage, friction damage, chemical agitation, etc.

There are also forms of psoriasis that affect more than the skin, such as psoriatic arthritis which affects joints.  With this form you will have more skin reactions at the joints damaged by the arthritis.


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

[User]
[Marvel/X-Men] If Magneto hates and looks down on human, how does he have so many kids?

Magneto has a ton of kids in almost every mythos hes in. In any given universe, hes had 3-4 kids at least. Even if we dont count 616 Wanda and Pietro, the fact that he considered them his kids means that he was still involved with their mother.

However, most of these kids mothers are humans. Magneto looks down and despises humans and have tried to wipe them out or enslave them before. If thats the case, why is he so willing to enter into romantic/sexual relationship with human women and father children with them?

[Assistant]
His detachment from humanity built gradually, over the course of many years. He didnt start out hateful; he was driven to it, in a large part by the death of his first child.

And except when possessed by Sublime, hes never been fully hateful - just uncaring of human life. Even at his most villainous, he treated humans who werent actively fighting him or expressing bigotry with an appropriate courtesy.


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

[User]
[endgame] what were the avengers going to do to thanos after they caught him?

sorry if this is a dumb question. I rewatched that endgame scene where the avengers ambush thanos while he is making some soup and one thing I forgot about was that rocket seems genuinely surprised that thor kills thanos. so did they have other plans for him? like were they intending on taking him to trial or was it their plan to kill him anyway? (maybe in a more respectful manner for example)

[Assistant]
There wasn't really a plan.

They mainly wanted to get the stones to undo the Snap.

I think the confusion came more from the ruthlessness and swiftness of the kill, Thor killed him the second he couldn't provide new information.

Not really something Thor is known to do.


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

[User]
Why is the Moon now considered a planet based on Alan Stern's findings?

What exactly does his new definition change that would count the Moon as a planet? And is it possible that in the near future this new definition become the more recognized definition?

[Assistant]
The new definition is simply that the body 1) never underwent fusion on its own and 2) has sufficient gravity to maintain a spheroid shape.

Under the new definition, moons like Luna and Titan, dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris, as well as rogue planets and exoplanets, will all be called Planets.

Basically, he hates the fact that Pluto isn't a planet and wants to redefine the term to one that allows Pluto to be called a planet again.


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

[User] Why are our fingerprints spirals?

[Assistant] No one can answer that because No one knows about regularity of fingerprints, because fingerprints are not genetic. All of your finger and toe prints are formed when youre rubbing the inside of the amniotic sac.


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

[User]
ELI5: if an other Earth existed, identical in every physical way to our planet, however is located in a different part of the universe, would humans eventually evolve on the other Earth?

Yo.

[Assistant]
No. The series of biological events leading to the existence of humans is an accumulation of VERY unlikely individual events. The reason we have ended up the way we have is not because there is something inherent in the geology of the earth that has driven us toward this outcome. We simply represent one of many possible solutions to a particular problem.

For comparison, consider the marsupial mammals of australia and the placental mammals of africa. These environments are very similar and in each environment, there are categories of animals that have evolved to exploit particular niches. For example, there is a niche for living underground and eating worms. Thus the mole and the marsupial mole. Not closely related at all, but they have many common features such as very large front claws, because they are solving similar problems. For a more disparate example, consider the niche for large grazing animals. Africa spawned antelopes, etc; Australia spawned kangaroos. Not remotely similar or closely related.

It is possible that an earth-like planet could come to contain life forms that occupy the human niche, but they are very unlikely to solve their problems in the same ways.


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

[User] ELI5 - How are height requirements calculated for theme park rides?

[Assistant]
ELI5 answer is that they calculate how short someone would have to be to slip out of the restraints, then add plenty of safety margin to accommodate everyone with different-length torsos, legs, etc.

Some rides even have height maximums, where your dangling legs could crash against something. It's the same idea; the max height is calculated and then taken way down, as a safety factor.

In all likelihood someone just outside the limits would be fine. But in these things a huge safety factor is absolutely required.


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

[User]
[WH40K] I'm a child that has been selected to become an Ultramarine...

I have been taken/snuck off world by my parents through traders, what happens to me if I'm found aboard the ship by Smurfs? What if I am found by another Chapter and they try to conscript me, would Smurfs know/ care?
I don't like needles..

[Assistant]
Honestly? They probably wouldn't care.

Ultramarines would definitely have filed paperwork, but it would probably be kept on the local planet.

Why would they care about you? There are thousands of kids on your planet jumping at the chance to become one of the Emperors angels.

Enjoy your life with your heathen, God-Emperor hating parents. You  heretic.


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

[User] [Marvel] Why does Doctor Doom keep losing to the fantastic 4 when he was able to render The Beyonder powerless?

[Assistant]
Hubris and emotion, mostly. Doom is ferociously capable, but he has a blind spot around Reed Richards that would dwarf most eclipses.

When Doom turns his attention to non-Reed ambitions, he tends to excel to a universal tier.


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

[User]
[Marvel] How does the economy continue to function?

With cities constantly being destroyed how is there still a functioning market. Investing must be highly unstable unless people are speculating on the need for disater relief. Also, there are a lot of people with the tech to shutdown the banking system on a whim.

[Assistant] If Stark and others are investing enormous sums into rebuilding the cities, they're likely also investing huge amounts into incentives for businesses to occupy the quickly rebuilt properties.  This probably means that large urban areas attract a weird sort of business, one that's willing to take huge risks in return for big rewards.  These businesses likely benefit from economic incentives (including huge tax breaks) while also running enormous risks to their physical assets.   This lets companies offer high wages to draw in employees, who likely also benefit from an artificially low cost of living.  It must be like living in the Wild West, a place of enormous potential and enormous risk.


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

[User] I keep hearing AI technology is making huge leaps right now, but no specifics whatsoever - so how am I personally impacted by AI and when will its effects become very hard to ignore for the end user?

[Assistant]
well, small things you might not notice outright are happening constantly due to AI constantly getting smarter. AI is responsible for your Google searches becoming more accurate, your ads becoming more relevant, and even new features in your electronic gadgets like your smartphones, like your lockscreen unlocking with just your face from recognizing it. the problem is that since improvement is so gradual, it's hard to notice on a day-to-day schedule, kind of like when you look at pictures of of you and your friends when you were younger and think "wow, we didn't seem that small at the time!"

I think the moment you're after where the advancements in AI will be sudden and impossible to ignore is called "singularity," which is basically where AI become as smart as humans, and therefore are more efficient than us at improving their own intelligence, which would explode the speed of becoming smarter astronomically. that is rumoured to happen in the next couple of decades, which will absolutely be one of humanities most notable accomplishments - for better or for worse (dun dun dun!)


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

[User]
[Superman] How does Superman have such a muscular figure?

I mean, he can bench press the Earth for 5 days straight.  With strength like that, there's no way he could work out the necessary amount to reach the tone and muscle size he has.

[Assistant]
He also is not human. His whole body is different, his cells are different. As we have seen in comics/movies, all Kryptionians have a similar body shape that resembles what we on earth would call a desirable shape.

Superman gets his energy from the sun, not eating. and no matter how long he stays in the sun, he will never get fat.

So, in conclusion, he just looks the way he looks because he is Kryptonian.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are the mechanisms that enable giant tortoises to have exceedingly long natural life spans?

Is there a genetic component or limited lack of predators?

[Assistant]
The mechanisms that enable giant tortoises to have long natural life spans are not well understood, but it is likely that a combination of factors contribute to their longevity. Some possible factors include genetics, a low metabolism, and a lack of predators in their natural habitats.

Giant tortoises are known for their slow metabolism, which means that they burn calories at a much slower rate than most other animals. This slow metabolic rate may help them to conserve energy and avoid wasting resources, which may contribute to their long life spans. In addition, giant tortoises are typically found in isolated environments, such as remote islands, where they are not exposed to many predators. This lack of predation may also help them to avoid the dangers that can shorten the life spans of other animals.

Overall, the long life spans of giant tortoises are likely the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors.


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

[User] ELI5:What's the connection between entropy and the end of the universe ?

[Assistant]
Imagine the universe is a box, a really big box.  The box is full of water, with a bunch of packing peanuts suspended in the water.  The peanuts dissolve in the water over time.  It's slow process, but sooner or later all of the peanuts will be completely dissolved in the water.  It's like they were never there at all.

This is entropy, and the end of the universe.  All the stuff in the universe is slowly dissolving away - through processes ranging from gigantic explosions that scatter star-stuff through the void to physical matter literally vaporizing back into energy over a long, long time.

Once everything is scattered/dissolved, the universe will be "dead", because there won't be enough energy left for anything interesting to happen ever again.

In the analogy, you can't get the packing peanuts back out of the water without cracking open the box and adding energy (in the form of a filter or something).  So the packing peanut leftovers will just float in the water forever, not doing anything.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we say someone was "in" a movie, but "on" a TV show?

[Assistant]
It's an interesting phenomenon that goes back to how television was first referred to. A television is a physical object, so when you watched one, you were watching the pictures projected *on* the television screen. "Look, the president is *on* the television."

A movie, however, is not perceived as a physical object, but is instead a collection of information, much like a book or song. Someone is in a movie in that they are included in the collection of information the movie contains

Over time these definitions have merged and blurred, but we still have the "in vs on" division as a relic of an older style of language.


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

[User]
ELI5: How countries like Costa Rica can just abolish their military and manage to live without an army for so long time??

It was abolished in 1949!!

[Assistant]
Who lives right next door to Costa Rica? - The USA.

The same USA that has made it absolutely clear that nobody... NOBODY picks a fight with the people in our backyard (except us).  The same USA that spends more money on military than the next 10 countries on the list combined.

Costa Rica doesn't need an army... they have the US military.


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

[User] Are domesticated animals like cats & dogs conscious about gaining weight? Do these animals "feel the need" to lose weight like humans do if they ever become too slow?

[Assistant] The answer is probably not entirely scientific, but why would they? Animals don't understand that if you eat too much, you gain weight. They don't make plans that take months to work out. They don't conceptualize looking fit for a partner. Animals do not become fat in the wild, so there is also no instinctive response to becoming fat.


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

[User] [Dragon Ball Z] Can the Dragon Balls be destroyed? Is there something that prevents them from being destroyed?

[Assistant] While no one has directly tried to destroy the Balls themselves, the fact that Shenron was killed by King Piccolo, and that Vegeta killed Piccolo (which killed the Dragonballs) suggests that the Dragonballs are far from being invulnerable.


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

[User]
So broadly speaking, white reflects radiation and black absorbs radiation. Then why do paler people experience sun damage so much faster than darker people?

I mean I know it's because of melanin but I guess I'm just approaching biology like the amateur physicist I am here and I'd like to reconcile the two! I mean why does melanin end up making skin darker to reflect more light?

EDIT: Thank you all so much for your great answers! Really enjoyed reading the discussions that were started too :) I think the reality of biology tends to be so much more complex than the (relatively) simple scenarios examined in physics, and that's part of what makes it so interesting!

[Assistant] The purpose of melanin is not to reflect light. Melanin actually absorbs the UV radiation from the sun. Without sufficient melanin the UV radiation penetrates our skin cells and damages the DNA. If you're out in the sun without protection long enough the DNA damage gets severe enough to kill the cells resulting in various degrees of sun burn.


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

[User] [Marvel/DC] Why is the Earth so prone to creating and hosting superhumans compared to other planets?

[Assistant]
For the Earth of the Marvel 616 universe, basically, it's because the Earth was apparently an excellent experimental space for ancient space gods, the Celestials. The genome of homo sapiens is very resilient and very malleable, and so makes for good experimental stock.

On top of that, the Sol system happens to be at a hyperspace nexus for several alien empires, and so in their trips through the local group of galaxies it has been embarrassingly easy for other races and entities to find it as they travel to and fro on their various missions. It's a clearing on a well traveled path, as it were.

Lastly, it is a planet full of secrets it keeps from itself. The populace in general is not interstellar, but are advanced enough to live comfortably, and the relatively few beings who do know much of the greater outside universe will actually conspire with alien interests to keep their fellow humans in the dark. If you need a place to hide, do dirt, do experiments, do *anything* you don't want others to know about, Earth is about a good a place as you can get.

Between those three factors, humans have become a stew of various experiments that all started maturing at the advent of the atomic age.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does deep breathing relax you?

[Assistant] Holding your breath (or breathing much slower all of a sudden) highly decreases your oxygen intake. This activates a "dive reflex" that also happens when you dive into water. This puts your body into survival mode, decreasing the heart rate, rerouting blood away from the extremities and to the vital organs, and makes your brain calm down. This all conserves oxygen and also happens to calm you down (the brain uses alot of oxygen, so the your body wants to calm it down to conserve oxygen)


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

[User] [Supernatural] Would home-loaded shotgun shells firing a spray of salt-coated iron/hardwood/silver flechettes be a good all-purpose rounds?

[Assistant]
Many hunters have toyed with the idea once or twice, but the thing about these damn  ghosts and whatnots is that there are too many of them playing by too many rules. Even a good multi purpose shot can still only have so many uses and you definitely wouldn't want to go up against some nightmarish hellspawn and find that your buckshot is impotent.

Beyond that, the time it takes to make the shots and the cost in wasted material (using all that silver when all you need are some splinters soaked in holy water) just doesn't pay off in the context of a hunter's lifestyle, we don't have the luxury of abundant time or money.

You'll be better off just researching what you're going up against and tailoring your arsenal in consequence. This is after all a matter of life and death.

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to make a couple of these rounds to load into a sidearm, in case you get taken by surprise.


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

[User]
ELI5: What runs the internet? Is it just a collection of servers? Is there any single place, that if destroyed, would destroy the internet?

I hope i don`t get put on a list for asking this...

[Assistant]
The Internet itself was designed to be completely distributed. It's mostly just a collection of servers, with routers that all figure out the routes to the different servers on their own.

The only largely centralized piece of this is the Domain Name System- the thing that turns URLs into IP addresses. If you took out all 13 clusters that make up the root of that system, you'd pretty well cripple people's ability to use the Internet, although there's enough redundancy in the system that we'd probably be able to recreate it pretty quickly.

The biggest risk is probably someone cutting all of the trans-oceanic cables which would splinter the Internet into an American Internet and a European-Asian-African Internet.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are we so close with Saudi Arabia despite their connections to terrorism?

[Assistant]
They have lots of oil, we want lots of oil. They oppose Iran in the Middle East, we oppose Iran in the Middle East. They spend a lot of money supporting terrorists, we spend a lot of money supporting some of the same terrorists sometimes. They like buying very expensive stuff from us.

All in all, they're bastards, but they're reliable bastards who more or less toe the US line.


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

[User] ELI5: When an animation studio like Pixar has multiple dozens of people, all with their own styles, working on a project, how do they keep everything uniform?

[Assistant]
Usually in animation we have model sheets and motion bibles (terms vary from studio to studio) that tell us how each character expresses themselves, reacts, and moves. Everything from how they look over one shoulder, how they smile, where their centre of balance is, what they do when surprised, and so on.

This helps keep all the work uniform.