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

[User]
[Pulp Fiction] Exactly who were the guys that fucked Marcellus Wallace?

In the (most bodacious) opening scenes of Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega and the BAMF visit the apartment to reacquire Marcellus Wallace's briefcase of god-rays.  What i never understood is that the guys in the room just look like unassuming college kids.  Not the kinds of people that would want to try and fuck over Marcellus Wallace.  Other than the guy in the back room, they are about as threatening as a potato.

Who were they and what was their deal?

[Assistant]
They liked to style themselves entrepreneurs. They had an idea, or a skill. Given a certain briefcase, which contained certain item(s), they could turn around and create a big pile of cash. They approached Marcellus with a proposal: Marcellus supplies the briefcase, the boys work their magic, and Marcellus gets to take part of that big pile of cash.

Unfortunately, things got a little fucked up. Maybe the deal where they would have exchanged the briefcase to some third party for the cash fell through. Maybe their chemical process didnt work quite the way they thought it would.
Maybe no one would buy, maybe they got pushed off their street corner, or out of the game. Could be their buyer turned up dead or maybe someone just changed up their routine or started using a new technique and now they had to come up with a whole new plan to turn the briefcase into cash. Who knows? Their plan could have been anything from making drugs, to selling an ancient artifact, to rigging  some students test scores (for a price).
Its always possible there was no plan, and they intended to double cross Marcellus from the start.

Regardless, the boys missed their deadline. Marcellus calls to ask where the money is at and they stall. They say they need a little more time, theyll have it wrapped up next week. Or the next. Or the next. They say its all just a big misunderstanding. That they never meant for things to get fucked up like this, but theyll make it right. And so on, and so on.

Eventually Marcellus realizes hes not gonna see that big pile of cash. Its time to cut losses. Hes gonna send some boys over to (a) recover the valuables in the briefcase, and (b) make sure that those boys dont bother him anymore, and that everyone knows not to try and fuck Marcellus Wallace.


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

[User] [American McGee's Alice] What is Alice's actual diagnosis? What kind of disease is that?

[Assistant]
Assuming that it's all in her head and there's no real wonderland (if not, we're kind of beyond psychiatry)?

Well, it's Victorian England so the actual diagnosis is likely "hysterical woman". But if we're going real psychiatry? Extreme unspecified psychotic disorder characterised by extreme dissociative/hallucinatory episodes, overwhelming flashbacks, distorted memories, extreme delusional paranoia and grandiose delusions. Also signs of extreme depression and anger issues.


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

[User]
Why aren't bacterial pandemics as common as viral epidemics?

It seems as though any modern epidemics or pandemics with importance are caused by viruses (like the Swine Flu, the Spanish Flu, HIV/AIDS, COVID), but the only bacterial epidemic I can think of is the Bubonic plague.  Is there any reason for the lack of bacterial pandemics, or am I just forgetting some that have occurred?

[Assistant]
Bacteria can be easily killed with antibiotics in most people.

The thing is, bacteria are living organisms with their own mechanisms of life that differ from humans, so making a medicine that kills the bacteria without the person is relatively easy.

Viruses however arent exactly alive, they are protein envelopes with DNA in it. When they get in a cell they use the cell own enzymes to replicate and just provide enough DNA to build its envelope.

That makes it a whole lot more difficult to make a medicine that kills the virus without killing the person

Also bacteria are less tolerant to living in air droplets or on surfaces, they dry up and die. Viruses can dry up then rectivate easier. Some bacteria can form spores that can tolerate dryness so there are exceptions.

Also immune system is much more capable of killing the bacteria without having to develop specific immunity, for viruses, you have to wait for the body to form specific antibodies.

The plague never fully disappeared, it still shows up everywhere and gets treated with Antibiotics, so it is no longer a big problem.


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

[User]
Japan or China?

A little background, I'm from Southeast Asia and I'm currently at the final level of a Japanese scholarship which basically means I'm almost guaranteed to get it. At the same time, there is a paid Master's position open in Shanghai under a fellow countryman with no competition and a scholarship I might stand a chance to get too.

My field is experimental particle physics, and I probably will be working either with ATLAS in Japan or "small" experiments with Shanghai. Both offer a good share of hardware and software experience.

So, I'm stuck between two choices. Given the case that I got both, which would be better for my postgraduate experience and academic career in the long run, Japan or China?

[Assistant] You should look at the research output of the respective labs as well as the number of post-docs and lab techs in each and you'll get a rough idea of how much "winging it" you will have to do initially. If you have to do everything on your own, the first couple of years will be hell, regardless of your scholarship and whatnot.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is the internet able to work... like that? How are we able to store so much on the internet and stay connected almost seamlessly?

The concept of the internet is always so bizarre to me and It's still a little hard to understand. How is it able to store so many things and have it be accessible to everyone? How are we able to be connected so quickly?

[Assistant]
Companies like amazon are where most of the "internet" is. In short, the internet is just a giant web that connects a bunch of computers together. Just like you can search through your own computer files to find the song you're looking for, you can search through "other peoples computers" to find webpages like facebook and the such.

Internet companies like comcast are laying down physical cables that are doing the physical connecting of computers. It's part of why internet costs so much - those companies are constantly laying down more cables or new cables, and that costs a ton of money.


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

[User]
[Spider-Man 2002] What was Green Goblin's goals beyond saving his company?

After Norman becomes the Goblin he kills the board that want him out and cripples his main competitor.  His company is now safe in his hands and profitable.  He meets Spider-Man and becomes obsessed with him and wants him to join up, but for what exactly?  He never states any goals, just a vague speech about how the teeming masses exist to hoist up the few exceptional people.

If he had never met Spider-Man, would the Goblin have just hung back since Norman had gotten everything he wanted by that point?

[Assistant]
I imagine he wasn't entirely sure of his own motivations. He would have found some excuse to cause chaos and destruction.

The Goblin formula didn't just make Norman stronger, it snapped his sanity like a twig.


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

[User]
[The Shining/Doctor Sleep]Would it have been possible to 'clean' the Overlook?

In Doctor Sleep, Dick Halloran gives Danny a lock box and tells him to memorize it inside and out. Afterwards, Danny is able to lock away the spirits of the Overlook that have latched on to him. Dick also tells Danny he can have as many lock boxes as needed.

If you had several people with the shining, and they all had mental lock boxes, could they have cleansed the Overlook?

[Assistant] I got the sense that the hotel site itself was somehow corrupted rather than it just being a place where multiple ghosts had accumulated. So even if you ghostbusted Roger, the tunnel child, Grady, etc bad things would continue to happen.


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

[User]
[MCU] Can Thor breathe in outer space?

I think the answer is no, or rather, he doesn't need to. He's traversed open space numerous times without any problems, and I've never seen him visibly inhale or exhale while doing so. However, I recently got around to seeing Infinity War and >!when he's out in space restarting the forge at Nidavellir,!< I am almost 100% sure I saw him visibly breathing (mouth open, chest rising and falling). Unfortunately I couldn't find any clips online to verify I saw it correctly, but assuming I did, what gives?

[Assistant] The act of breathing is habit for him whether there is air or not. He doesn't need it at least for the short amounts of time we see him in vacuum. Whether he needs to breathe at all or only once an hour or something remains to be seen.


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

[User]
ELI5:What happens to your finances while you're in prison?

Specifically, are you allowed to hold on to stocks?

[Assistant]
Sure.  In the US you don't lose the right to hold property just because you've gone to jail (unless you've had your assets seized but that's a separate issue).

If you have money, you can pay somebody to take care of your affairs while you're on the inside.  Most criminals, however, tend to come from poor backgrounds & are just fucked.


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

[User]
If a softball sized black hole were created on the surface of the Earth, what would be the process of events?

In the 2009 movie "Star Trek," they use a drop of something called Red Matter to destroy Vulcan by drilling a hole to the core of the planet and then launching the Red Matter into the center of the planet.

I don't believe it is realistic, though.  My theory is that, if a softball sized black hole were created on the surface of our planet, the two center points of both masses would attract each other.  This would mean that the softball would "fall" through the ground and eventually reach the center of our planet, were it would simply just float in the center of Earth.

Is this most likely the case?

[Assistant]
If it truly acts as a black hole, then anything that ends up within its event horizon is not going to be able to get back out. It would fall to the centre of the earth, sucking up everything that it touches, without expanding significantly (since the total mass of the earth would be much smaller than the initial mass of the black hole, according to RobotRollCall's calculation). Eventually it is just going to sit at the centre of the earth, sucking the entire earth into it, since the earth's crust would not be able to mechanically support itself as an empty sphere once all of the liquid in the centre had gone. The remaining black hole would then probably fall into a closer orbit to the sun, since it would have the same angular velocity as earth to begin with, but a much higher mass.

EDIT: the closer orbit part isn't right; the mass of a satellite doesn't affect orbital radius. Thanks leberwurst!


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

[User] ELI5 how does a malicious USB download malicious code just by plugging it into your PC?

[Assistant]
When you plug a USB device into your computer, your OS asks it what kind of device it is. This is so the OS knows what it can do. USB speakers know how to accept audio data; USB printers know how to accept printing commands and report their status; USB keyboards know how to send keyboard scan codes; and so on. There are USB standards for joysticks, steering wheels, and other video game controllers as well.

But a single physical device can be more than one of these. You can have a keyboard that also has a trackpad or an audio device in it; or a dock that supports audio, Ethernet, and video too.

Which means that the "thumb drive" you just found in your office's parking lot might be other kinds of device besides a thumb drive. As other folks have mentioned, it can act as a keyboard, and send keystrokes just as if you were typing. If the malicious device is very cleverly designed, it can even add and remove different virtual devices over time  e.g. not appearing as a keyboard until the computer is idle but not yet locked.


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

[User] [Elder Scrolls] Female Vampires created bei Molag-Bal are called Daugthers of Coldharbor. Is there a Name for the male equivalent?

[Assistant]
Daughters of Coldharbour are, likely, related to Lamae Bal in some way, even if only by association of how they get their 'Gift'. Molag Bal being what he is, rape is almost certainly involved. He has a special place in his 'Heart' for violating people, and the first Daughter of Coldharbour is one of his earliest examples in this world.

The Daughters of Coldharbour are special though. They are Molag's insult to Arkay, and represent the King of Rape's violation over the very cycle of birth and death. Since women are the only ones that can give birth, it stands to reason that they are a special class of Vampire above the others, a perfect sympol of domination over another god.

Harkon is just an Elder Pureblood. He will never be as perfect as a Daughter of Coldharbour.


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

[User] ELI5: Can a person feel pain or other sensations in a transplanted organ? And if so, how do the severed nerves connect to the rest of the body?

[Assistant] In general, the nervous system is not great at registering sensations from internal organs consciously. They are vague, and poorly localized as to where they are actually coming from. really the only type of organ that is commonly transplanted that you would normally get much sensation from is the intestine. That said, there is no attempt to reconnect the nerves during transplant surgery. This does not affect how the organs function.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are you susceptible to getting shingles if you've had chickenpox?

I've had shingles, and it was a nightmare. I was also one of those kids who was part of a "chickenpox party" growing up.

I have heard people say that you need to have had chickenpox to develop shingles later. Is this true?

[Assistant] Yes. Both are caused by the same virus (varicella herpes zoster). The first time you get infected, it manifests as chickenpox. Since the virus is now in your body, the next flare up, sometimes decades later, manifests differently, as shingles. The virus remains in the nerve cells and once it reactivates it travels to the ends of nerve cells inside skin and causes the painful localized rash and blisters typical of shingles. People who have not had chickenpox might get infected in contact with people who have active shingles.


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

[User]
[The Matrix Series] Is there any evidence that humans voluntarily chose to be enslaved by the machines?

At first, this idea seems far-fetched, but so is keeping humans alive as a power source. So is there a possibility that after humans caused irreparable damage to the Earth that they made a deal with the machines to keep humanity alive in the Matrix? That way humanity could survive its inevitable extinction while the machines cleaned up Earth or calculated a more permanent solution for humanity, such as space travel?

This optimistic view that machines are imprisoning humanity to save them isn't completely new and ties up some loose ends. We already clearly know that the humans aren't enslaved as a power source. It's already considered that Zion, and the hellish Earth it occupies, is just another level of the Matrix. And its already thought that the machines just ran with the Power Source narrative to keep the rebellion occupied from their real goals.

So is there any evidence to this, or is this just more Matrix speculation?

[Assistant] There's no evidence to that effect.  Nothing that really refutes it solidly either, though.  Still, if it was a mutually agreed upon arraignment, you'd expect the nature of the Matrix to be a little different.  There wouldn't be the need for the deception, nor for the One/Zion cycle.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Can Thanos, the 'mad titan' actually see death the entity or is he imagining it?

Thanos is supposedly insane, but death as an entity exists in Marvel. So is he actually conversing with her or is he simply mad and hallucinating the whole thing?

[Assistant]
Well the Infinity Gauntlet series starts with Death bringing Thanos back to life and empowering him, because he was dead. And giving him a mission. And hanging out with Death for a while, during which quite a few heroes and other entities also recognized her and talked to her.

So yes, it's really her.


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

[User] [The Incredibles] If heroes were retired, who dealt with the villains? Why didn't the government instead force the heroes to work for them?

[Assistant]
No weirdos trying to save us, no weirdos trying to kill them and by association us.

And the police, instead of letting spandex clad losers fight our battles, just shoot on site. Apparently most of the supers aren't that bullet proof.


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

[User]
[Smash Bros.] How do all the fighters know how to create an Energy Shield?

Hi, I'm a Koopa, and I won some front seat tickets to the Multiversal Battle Tournament from a radio promotion to watch His Majesty King Bowser compete against other fighters from many different worlds.

During the first match, his Highness reared back to breath fire on some giant electrified yellow rat. However, the rat seemed to make a defensive posture and a blue bubble formed around it, shielding it from the flames. (Some human kid with a red hat in the row behind was shouting the rat's name, apparently it's called Peekachoo?)

I thought that it was one of the rat's special powers, but no, later on, the green-clad knight did it too, but his was yellow. Then the really tall dude in the orange armor with a cannon-hand created a green bubble to defend against one of the rat's lightning bolts (Wait no, she wasn't a dude, she was a girl. I remember because she took off the armor to fight in another match for some reason...). And THEN, his Highness blocked one of cannon-arm's missiles with a red bubble of his own!

As I kept watching the fights, I realized that EVERY fighter could make a shield-bubble. Even Princess Peach! (Who, by the way, made his Highness look like a chump in that last match. Why does she need Mario's help all the time? That's a question for another day I guess...)

How is this possible? Is this some kind of special ability that all fighters who compete here need to learn? Can I learn how to do it? It would certainly be more effective than hiding in my shell, all Mario needs to do is jump on me and flip me over.

(Actually, now that I think about it, Yoshi couldn't make one either, he just hid in an egg. Is there some special reason Yoshi can't make a bubble?)

[Assistant]
Smash bros. is the manifestation of a child's imagination while playing with his action figures. So whatever the kid wants goes.

Also, the addition of bayonetta into smash is clearly the result of the child hitting puberty.


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

[User]
ELI5: why did the 1918 flu pandemic stop? If that same flu came now, would it be a major pandemic again?

What was the 1919 flu season like?

[Assistant]
The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was so bad because it was an introduction of a brand new type of flu - H1N1.  No (or very few) living people at that time had any previous exposure or immunity to H1N1.  Thus, when the influenza virus shifted to this new type, nobody's immune system had any defense.  Since that time, H1N1 has drifted a little each year, but not enough to cause a pandemic quite like the one in 1918.  The virus did shift other times, and H2N2 and H3N2 types were introduced, causing their own pandemics.  This seems to happen every 60 years or so, as people who were exposed an children begin to pass away and what is called "herd immunity" wanes.

We had another, milder H1N1 pandemic introduced in 2009.  That virus still circulates today and causes most of the human flu cases each year.  If the 1918 flu strain was reintroduced, it is very likely that it would not cause nearly the death toll it did back then, due to the fact that the closely related 2009 H1N1 gives us some protection.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Would the Rebel's deflector shield at Hoth already have been up regardless of where Ozzel jumped in from hyperspace at Hoth?

The Rebel Alliance started an immediate evacuation as soon as they knew about the probe droid. They wouldn't be able to evacuate the shield generator or power plant so why not immediately turn the deflector on in case the Empire arrived before the evacuation started? Would they have been able to bring any unused fuel for the shield generator with them or did they need to leave it behind, either because it was too bulky to move quickly or that they needed it in place in case the shield was needed for combat. If they can't evacuate the fuel, there is no reason to not keep the shield up until the transports are ready to take off.

[Assistant]
The shield prevented their own ships from leaving. They temporarily dropped it to fire the turbo lasers out and allow ships to slip out with it. But there wasn't enough power for them to keep it permanently on and it was a giant glowing beacon of where they were. Better to leave it off until the enemy was near them or within attack range than to broadcast their position to anyone that may be looking.

Edit: ion canon not turbo laser.


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

[User]
[Black Panther] How did Wakanda avoid colonization?

As far as I'm aware, Wakanda has always existed as a monarchy. Considering they have vast reserves of vibranium (and possibly other rare earths), how did they keep European powers out during colonialism? The only other nation with a similar history is Siam (now Thailand), which maintained its monarchy by giving Britain free use of its ports and favorable trade deals. Did Wakanda ever give this kind of deference to a European country?

[Assistant] European colonizers leveraged their more-advanced weaponry to take over swaths of Africa. That only works if you actually *have* more-advanced weaponry. Even in the 17- and 1800s, vibranium-based arms could easily repulse European invaders. Even if Europe *wanted* to take the Vibranium (even if they knew enough about it to know it was desirable), they couldn't possibly have mustered the military force required to mount any sort of incursion into Wakanda.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does a large crowd of people singing in unison never sound dissonant while there are loud individuals in that crowd that do?

This question hits me every time I'm at a concert. If I listen to the crowd as a whole, the singing sounds perfectly on pitch. But if I listen to someone standing next to me, it can sound terrible if they are just totally off. Are there that many good singers in every crowd?

[Assistant]
Your brain is doing a few tricks with the sound. Keep in mind, only one ear drum per ear, and it's only capable of doing so much.

So, when you have several people singing, odds are they are getting close enough to the actual notes. They are going to be up and down from that note, but especially in a well known song, close enough is good enough in a group. What will happen is the varying vocal qualities of the group are going to wind up harmonizing with each other, due to resonance.  Notes are very rarely so pure that they hit it *just* so. In fact, many very gifted singers have a timbre to their voices which is naturally resonant. You get overtones that are not pure, and give the sound a lot of depth. In a large crowd, this is going to get exaggerated, because you in essence have one enormous voice with all the little crinkly bits around the edge to give it character.

Go listen to a large professional choir to see the difference. When you get very precise technical singers together, they don't resonate the same way.


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

[User] Why does a lump form when a mosquito bites you, and why does it grow as you scratch it?

[Assistant]
It doesn't so much "grow" as you scratch it, it grows because your body is having an allergic reaction and is swelling in the area. Whether you scratch it or not, you'll still get a temporary swelling in the area.

Blood is a very complex fluid that has some special properties. Clotting's a big one - you get a cut or a puncture and your body tries to block off the leak by sending platelets into the area which effectively glue the problem spot closed.

So when it sticks you the mosquito injects a little saliva into the area to introduce some combination of anti-coagulants, anti-platelets (both of which prevent clotting) and vasodilatory chemicals (to help increase blood flow) so it can efficiently vacuum up your blood. Then off it goes to use all that protein to create eggs.

Unfortunately that injection also pushes foreign proteins into the area.... and boom, allergic reaction as your body reacts by producing histamines which cause the highly localized swelling and itchiness to occur.

It takes a little bit for your body to react, so that's why mosquito bites are itchier and swell up after a few minutes, and then after a longer while, the histamine reaction dies down.


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

[User]
[MCU] What would be the best use of Infinity Stones for a benevolent being who wants to change the universe for the better?

If a traditionally good guy possessed the Infinity Stones and the ability to use them, what would be the best way to go about? Can you turn the universe into a paradise? End hunger, pain, make everyone ecstatic?

[Assistant]
"Traditional" heroics would be to fly around saving people from crimes.  At this power scale, crimes probably involving giant space squid.  Save as many mass-genocided populations without fiddling with the timeline by dropping them off in the future.  (See also Dark Phoenix.)

I'd try to make the universe "Lighter and Softer" with self-sustaining colony spaceships and Delicious Fruit Pies.  Create marginally powerful hero-attractive items and drop them off in conspicuous treasure chests.  Hide Elixers behind people's grandfather clocks.  Basically be the Santa Clause of Convenience.

You can't plan for everything, but you can try to make things nice and easy.


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

[User] [1990 movie The Witches]How did the world respond to around 50 women turning into rats in an upscale hotel? There were several dozen credible witnesses, it does not seem like the sort of thing which could be covered up...

[Assistant] A single incident, even with witnesses, is not enough to convince people that something unbelievable is real.  Even if there was video people would think it was a PR stunt or a deep fake.  Look how many people these days don't even believe in mass shootings and there is nothing magical or supernatural involved.


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

[User] ELI5:Whay is a drug den called a "Trap house"?

[Assistant] Essentially, once a drug dealer has been successful, he will eventually obtain a house not meant for living in, but just a place where all the junkies know there will be a constant supply of dope, and shelter, which is probably the two main demands of a drug addict that hangs out in trap houses. And that's where the "trap" is. A steady supply of drugs, a roof over your head, and being surrounded by only other drug users or sellers is the haven every junkie is seeking, so why would they want to leave? It'll just keep drawing them back in, pretty much "trapping" them there until they somehow make a change. "Trapping" can also be used as a term for just selling drugs, and it's the same concept, once an addicted is hooked on your supply, you have them "trapped".


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

[User]
[DC] If he was 100% certain he could get away with it, would Captain Cold harm/kill a civilian?

So Snart and the Flash have a gentlemen's agreement that the rogues don't harm civilians and Flash won't turn them all into a fine red mist, but what if they could get away with it? Would Captain Cold ice someone as soon as he knew he was in the clear or is he that committed to his code of ethics?

[Assistant]
Cold isn't a crazed killer like most supervillians- he's ultimately a common thief with a cold gun in this for the money. He's more selfish then most but he still doesn't *like* killing people.

He's willing to kill if he has to, but even in the times when the Flash has been dead or otherwise inactive, he still works to minimize casualties. He's a criminal, not a monster.


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

[User]
Why does an electron have the same amount of charge as a proton, even though a proton is much bigger?

An example of this size could be a negatively charged cat trying to discharge a positively charged building.

[Assistant] They both have a the minimum amount of charge that can exist freely in this universe. This is independent of the size of the particle. The W boson is 80 times as massive as the proton and has the same charge.


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

[User]
[40k] How long until Chaos starts to intervene in regards to the Tyranid invasion of the galaxy?

The Chaos Gods may be dicks but they can't ignore the source of their power/existence being eaten by aliens that don't contribute to the greater warp. It's all good and well for the Imperium to cop the brunt of it but surely there is going to come a point where chaos realises that they are going to have to step in to save themselves. After all during the Horus Heresy (potential spoilers!) one faction had the idea to let chaos win so they would burn themselves out by killing almost everybody, thus the source of their essence. So if tyranids devour the galaxy obviously chaos is fucked. How/when would chaos start to specifically fight tyranids?

[Assistant]
The Chaos Gods won't intervene. They can't. They aren't rational, sapient beings. They have no concept of the 'long game' nor do they have the reasonable faculties required to play it. They are absolute expressions of their emotional concepts, and cannot see beyond them. Khorne is totally incapable of thinking outside the 'martial prowess' box, and even Tzneetch has no long term goals, he simple plots and plans for their own sake (trapping himself as much as his 'enemies').

The Chaos Gods are also inherently self destructive. They feed on emotional response, and to drive those responses they commit violence. The end result of their 'victory' would be the extinction of all life in the galaxy. But then there would be no emotion to feed them, and they would cease to exist. This just reinforces the idea that the Chaos Gods are totally incapable of rationalizing 'The End'.

So... Chaos will never turn its primary focus on the Tyranids, because they are totally incapable of understanding the Swarm as a threat to their own existence.


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

[User]
Why Is Religious Belief Often Considered Part Of Someone's Identity?

Hello everyone. I am autistic and I am having trouble understanding the concept of identity, particularly identity in terms of religious identity.

Why on earth would someone consider a bunch of metaphysical and philosophical claims to be "part of them"? A claim is not part of someone. I accept evolution, but according to my mother, this would not be part of my identity, but my acceptance of Hinduism is?

Yes, I understand that evolution and religion are different types of claims people may or may not accept, but why is one considered part of someone's identity and the other isn't?

How can a religious/metaphysical/philosophical belief be "part of someone and how they view themselves"? Please explain. This has been bugging me and worrying me for ages. I want to understand, but I just can't. Please explain.

[Assistant] Religion doesn't just involve beliefs, but also membership in a community of believers, which ties it to identity. In cases like Hinduism, it is especially difficult to separate membership in a religious community from membership in a society generally.


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

[User]
ELI5: how was it possible for whales to evolve from land mammals to massive ocean mammals?

Did they get a blow hole mutation and start sleeping under water or something?

What land mammal was it that eventually evolved into a massive ocean mammal?

Why did the whale go back into the water in the first place? Why didnt other mammals do this too?

[Assistant] Probably from something like seals or walrus, which spend a lot of time under water anyway. Over time, they develop the ability to spend longer and longer periods of time underwater, until they get to a point where they basically never go on land anymore, and they lose the ability to even do so because it never gets used. Voila, whales. And other mammals didn't do it because they didn't need to. Whatever evolved into whales was hunting for food in the water, so being able to stay in the water was advantageous. Other mammals which hunt on land had no need to ever go into the water, so never evolved the ability to do so.


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

[User]
Why are gases more soluble in cold liquid, but solids are more soluble in warm liquid?

Ex: Carbonated drinks stay fizzy when refrigerated, salt dissolves in water better when the water is hot.

[Assistant]
Great question. Gas molecules tend to fly around and bump into each other. If you add heat to a gas, which is in a ballon, the volume of the balloon increases because gases expand when you heat them. As you add the heat, the gas molecules move faster and collide with more force. Solids, on the other hand, are in relatively fixed position.

Say you have a pot of boiling water with the lid on, water molecules are constantly being shot out of the liquid and being shot back into it. The amount the leaves and enters depends on pressure, temperature, and volume of the container. The more heat inside the water, the faster the water molecules will shoot out.

A hot gas in a liquid will have a lot of energy and be able to escape the liquid, but a colder gas will have less energy to escape and be more likely to remain in the liquid making it more soluble.

The atoms in solids are in fixed positions and bound together by either ionic or covalent bonding. Let's assume the liquid in this case is water and the dissolvable substance is salt, which has ionic bonds. When you had heat to water the molecules will move faster and with more energy. Water molecules with more kinetic energy will slam into salt particles with more energy which allows it to break apart the salt particles with more ease. Simply imagine throwing a baseball really fast, then really slow, at a LEGO structure. The faster you throw the baseball, the farther the LEGOs will fly.


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

[User]
ELI5: The last time gas was this price, higher grade gas was $0.10 more and premium was another $0.10. Right now it's $0.30 more for each upgrade. What changed?

Just to clarify, people, I'm not asking for the difference between the grades of gasoline, or why premium costs more than simple unleaded.

My question is why the markup itself on higher-octane fuels has increased so significantly, 3x what it was.

Yes, rich people are willing to pay more, but what changed that the rich are willing to pay *even more* than they used to.  Or is it a supply problem?  Something else?

[Assistant] Nothing, the owners know that they can get away with putting a bigger markup on premium so they do. People that get premium are not as discerning when it comes to price. Also many gas stations only have the price of regular displayed so you really can not tell the price of premium until you get to the pump. Lastly compared to Europe, we do not have that many vehicles that require a higher octane gasoline so people really don't get that much up in arms about it.  Source: our company builds and leases out gas stations and also we run c-store distribution company.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is music digitally stored AND played?

I've been wondering about this for quite some time now, but can anyone explain it without sounding overly complicated?

There are no musical instruments inside a speaker, so how is it able to play recorded music? And relatedly, how is a recording instrument able to store sounds/music?

[Assistant]
Every single sound is just a combination of waves in the air. Instruments and the like are designed to create certain specific combinations, which is why (for example) a trumpet sounds like a trumpet: it vibrates the air in a attern that is (more or less) unique.

Speakers are cool in that they are capable of producing any sound wave. They do this simply by vibrating a plate back and forth very carefully to create the exact same wave that was recorded. (This vibration is caused by an electric current creating a magnetic field that can push or pull the metal plate)

Recording sounds works in very much the same way. If you play loud sounds at a speaker, the plate inside it will vibrate, and then produce a current which can be stored as data.


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

[User] [Pokemon] Why can't I capture fainted Pokemon?

[Assistant]
Capturing a pokmon is no slavery: it is a contract of mutual agreement. When you throw your pokball at an enfeebled pokmon, this one has to aknowledge that you are worthy of being its new master.

When knocked out, they are not able to make this acknowledgement of their own free will. Therefore, the pokball will not seal the contract.

This acknowledgement is performed by wireless bond with the pokmon's neural system. That is why even asleep or paralysed pokmons are able to agree to the contract. Aware of their state, they are even more inclined to do so.

The reason why super/hyperballs have a higher success rate is because they are more comfy. As you know, pokmons are stored as data inside the ball. Their biological functions are still simulated, however, that is why they suffer from poison while in the balls. A consequence of this simulation is that they are conscious. Instead of letting them float in a black void where they can think but not sense, the ball generates a small virtual environment, fed to the pokmon's simulated senses.

A small preview of this environment can be seen by the pokmon when the neural bond necessary to the acknowledgement is made. Seeing that they will spend most of their time in a high-quality hyperball virtual landscape can be much more appealing than a meager pokball virtual-kennel.


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

[User] How do they prevent the ISS from crashing into satellites and space junk?

[Assistant]
The ISS is hit by very small debris occasionally and has had near-misses by larger debris. Things in orbital space don't move around at random but on consistent paths. Most of these paths are not perfectly stable, being affected by the varying gravity of the Earth, the light drag of gasses in the stratosphere, and the forces of solar wind and even the pressure of light, and so their orbits can 'decay' over time, causing them to fall into the Earth after some period of time. Active satellites maintain or change these paths with periodic boosts by small on-board rockets or thrusters.

The paths of most large objects in space are recorded and continuously tracked so that their possible locations at any time in the future can be predicted, allowing collisions to be avoided. But very small objects cannot be easily detected by radar or telescopes and so are much harder to predict. So manned spacecraft are usually armored for protection against being hit by these small objects.

With the number of things in orbit today very large, there is a potential hazard called the Kessler Syndrome. This is when a collision between two things in orbit produce a lot of small debris that fly off in many directions and can't be tracked, colliding into other things producing even more debris, and so on. If this was severe enough, it could destroy most satellites and create a vast swarm of debris preventing manned spacecraft from safely travelling to space for decades or centuries, until all these small objects were finally swept out of orbit naturally or deliberately cleared by other means we haven't yet developed. This is what makes the militarization of space very dangerous for our future in space. You can't use or even test weapons in space without the risk of causing one of these Kessler events.


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

[User]
Before and during a recession, what is seen as the better option: cash or real assets? Or neither?

Additional questions: does the attractiveness between these asset classes change when not in a recession? What is seen as the least valuable asset class during a recession? Why?

[Assistant]
You can measure the risk of an asset in terms of the coefficient of variation between the real returns of the asset and consumption growth, sometimes called its "beta".

Assets with fixed nominal payments like Treasury bonds tend to perform well. Inflation tends to decrease when consumption falls, so the real returns on bonds go up. Because returns increase when consumption growth decreases. Bonds are said to be a "negative beta" asset as a result.

Assets like equities tend to do poorly. They are "positive beta" assets. Returns increase when consumption goes up.


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

[User]
[40k] How big is the Imperium of Man?

So my question is how big is the Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40k?  Roughly how many planets are part of the Imperium and how many people live within the Imperium and how many soldiers does it have?

[Assistant]
**Size?** Spans the whole galaxy. (They do not control the entire galaxy however)

**Planets?** Tens of Millions under their control.

**Population?** Quadrillions.

**Soldiers?** Trillions.

**Space Marines?** At least 1 million.

*Edit*

Thanks Lochdonin for the corrections!


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

[User] ELI5: Why do hang overs get worse the older you get?

[Assistant] The toxins that makes you hungover (acetaldehyde and formaldehyde) stays in you / affects you more because the body gradually loses its ability to get rid of it. Another factor to make it worse can be increased alcohol intake with increased tolerance, allowing for higher levels of toxins.


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

[User]
Better understanding dialectics

So from what I was taught at its most basic, dialectics refers to two different ideas interacting to produce a new idea? Is it essentially a description and analysis of how concepts or ideas constantly change? What does dialectical thinking look like?

[Assistant]
Broadly speaking, you're right. In the history of philosophy, 'dialectic' has typically been the name for a process wherein two elements produce something new through their interaction. The classical example is Plato's dialogues, wherein two interlocutors arrive at an idea (or an aporia -- lack of a firm idea) through their discussion.

The clue is that 'dialectic', the word, comes from Greek *dia* (meaning between, across, through, etc.) and *legein* (to speak).

The idea of dialectic underwent something of a transformation in modern Germany, however: first in Kant and then in Hegel. For Kant, dialectical thinking is the result of human reason being stretched beyond its limits. When we try to know whether or not there is an immortal soul, for example, we are applying reason beyond the realms of possible experience, and consequently we arrive at contradiction. This is 'transcendental dialectic' for Kant.

For Hegel, contradiction is not a dead end (as it was for Kant), but the moment at which progress becomes possible. 'Hegel's dialectic', insofar as there is such a thing, is the process by which a philosophical position is espoused and developed in as much depth as possible, until its *internal* contradiction is revealed. For Hegel, this is the first, 'negative' moment of a dialectical process.  The next moment takes place when this negative -- the *contradiction* -- is not averted (as it is in Kant), but embraced: the negative is itself *negated*, and becomes a positive element of a new, broader philosophical position. This is the process by which Hegel's *Phenomenology of Spirit* (the introduction to his philosophical system) progresses.


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

[User]
[DC] Can batman learn magic if he wanted to? And if he can, why doesn't he?

I'm not sure if in DC universe normal people can learn magic. But if any mortal can learn magic with enough effort and brain power can batman? And is there any universes where he does? But also does batman have anything against magic?

[Assistant] The necessities of magic make the most scientific and analytical minds ill-suited to the task. People like Wayne and Luthor can't be good at magic, because magic goes against the very way they see the universe. Sure, they can learn some spells (he knows one: an antimagic spell), but they will never be GOOD at it.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does our body differentiate between intention and action?

For example, thinking hard about lifting my hand Vs actually lifting my hand.

[Assistant]
Different areas of the brain use the same neuro pathways for an action and though.

So you have some neuro pathways for things like arm movement. Its like a telephone wire your brain can use to get information about that particular action to different parts of the brain.

You have part of that brain that controls muscles. If this part uses that pathway, it causes the muscles to actually activate.

Then you have another part of the brain that controls thought. If it uses the pathway, it causes you to imagine the action, without actually doing it.


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

[User] [Marvel/MCU] Ant-Man jumps into Thanos' morning cup of (iced) coffee. Upon being swallowed by the Mad Titan, he activates his suit's giant form. What happens?

[Assistant]
We know nothing about mcu Thanos yet, so we can't answer that.

616 Thanos is just as durable on the inside as he is on the outside, so antman will be crushed. Thanos is so hard to kill he can basicly survive without a brain, kinda.


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

[User] If Potassium acts as a counter-agent to sodium in the body, is there a scientific reason we're not simply adding potassium to high sodium foods (i.e. processed frozen food) to lower the overall sodium level?

[Assistant]
Mechanistically while yes they offset each other in terms of electrochemical gradient for depolarization vs repolarization, they are not regulated by the same mechanisms. Raising one does not change the other or vice versa medically. There are various ion channels and other transports by which these electrolytes pass in and out of cells.

To clarify: They oppose each other in terms of electrochemical gradient BUT sodium or potassium intake do not affect/antagonize each other significantly on a clinical basis.


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

[User]
[Fallout 3] Whats the state of international travel in the Fallout universe?

In Fallout 3 there are at least two characters who have travelled from Europe to The Captal Wasteland, Moriarty & Dukov. Neither seems the type to make a voyage of discovery, so they must have known to some certainty what to expect when they arrived.

How would they have travelled there and what kind of international infrastructure exists?

[Assistant]
I don't believe we get a hard answer, but the Far Harbor DLC from Fallout 4 does show that people are operating powered fishing vessels on the Atlantic with some success. There are dangers; storms are still a huge risk factor, as well as hostile FEV-altered aquatic life. While it doesn't look like international trade had been re-established, it does tell us that small vessels can traverse the ocean, if someone is willing to roll the dice. Of course, not many do, since America is still kind of shot to hell, so you only see a random smattering of folk who felt a mighty need to GTFO of Europe instead of any significant gatherings of Continental or UK folk.

As far as knowing what to expect, they'd have some clues. American and European fishermen could be crossing paths up by Newfoundland or Greenland (or at least close enough to pick up each other's signals), a sufficiently well built receiver could detect American radio transmissions, and there is also the option for visual recon prior to landing.


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

[User] [Guardians of the Galaxy] How come Rocket Raccoon is the only one who can understand Groot?

[Assistant]
In information theory, there's an implication of the theorem called the Shannon Source Coding Theorem, and the concept of the Shannon Limit, which instructs us that for any given set of symbols, there is a limit to the amount of distinct bits of information that can be communicated via possible arrangements of those symbols.

What that *tells* us is that Groot is *not* communicating using the English language. Or  whatever language it happens to be that those other anthropoform bipedals around him are using.

Groot's communications are instead *"out-of-band"*. The same phenomenon happens with, for instance, Earth Mockingbirds. They remember and perform everything  from car alarms, to musical passages, to human speech, to the sound of engines starting to the stop notifications of transit busses.

Yet, when mockingbirds perform these, their choice of which performance isn't (usually) communicative. Instead, studies demonstrate that they choose the performance to match the acoustic qualities of the environment (quiet, loud, cluttered, open plain, high up perch, down in the grass, sheltered in a cubby), and *modulate particular frequency bands and amplitudes*  which may or may not be in human hearing capability  to convey their meaning to their intended recipient. The performance that humans experience is, for mockingbirds, simply a carrier, a *base* against which to set their communications.

TL;DR: ^*wheeze* ^^**sound** ^^**of** ^^**children** ^^**laughing** *tinkling of bells*
`Understanding`
`is a three-edged sword`
^^^**_creaking_** ^^^**_of_** ^^^**_an_** ^^^**_old_** ^^^**_boat_** *sealing of an airlock hatch*


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

[User] Why does putting a leaf between pages of a firmly closed book prevent the leaf from decaying?

[Assistant] Dehydration; by applying pressure and absorbent layers you're accelerating the removal of water from the leaf. Once it gets below a certain threshold, microorganisms don't have enough free water to function and reproduce, and decay is prevented.


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

[User]
[Blade Runner] Why is Tyrell still on Earth?

Is there an in-universe rationale for Tyrell to remain on Earth?  JF Sebastian explains how he was denied authorization to go off world because of a genetic disorder, but that wouldn't make sense for Tyrell even theoretically.  He owns the terraforming technologies.  No one would/could tell him no.  So he has to stay on Earth by choice then, right?  Why do you think that is?

[Assistant]
Tyrell was a chess player, a man who quoted classics and utilized biblical analogies to the bible. Try as he might, he was someone who was tethered to the our planets art, history, and writing.

"The life that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And you have burnt so very very brightly, Roy. Look at you! You're the prodigal son. You're quite a prize."


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

[User]
ELI5: In automotives, what are drivetrains, powertrains and transmissions and what do they do?

I don't know too much about automotives, so please explain as simply as possible, thank you.

[Assistant]
Power train: everything that makes the car move. this includes; Engine, Transmission, Driveline, Differential, Axles, Hubs, Bearings, etc.

Drivetrain: same as above minus Engine.

Transmission: takes the engine speed, Generally measured in RPM(revolutions per minute) and then multiplies those revolutions through different gear ratios, I.E.  a 1:2 gear ratio would mean if the engine turns 1 time, the output of the transmission is turning 2 times. ratios can be less than less than, greater than, or equal to 1:1.


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

[User] Why do some flowers, mushrooms, and plants prefer areas with less light to grow? Shouldn't all plants want more energy from the sun?

[Assistant]
Firstly, mushrooms are parts of fungi and do NOT photosynthise. The mushroom is a fruiting body used for reproduction.

As for plants, sunlight is a double edged sword. It provides the energy to do photosynthesis, but sunlight is bad for plants the same way it can give us sunburn-- the high energy photons damage cells and components and cause injury.

Plants thay prefer low light environments probably evolved to tolerate limited light. As such, they would have less pressure to evolve mechanisms to handle harsher, more direct light that other plants would.


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

[User]
Why is Radioactive Iodine in the treatment of Thyroid Cancer administered orally as a pill rather than through IV?

I'm trying to understand the rationale and reason for why radioactive iodine therapy used to treat thyroid cancer is administered orally as a pill rather than as an IV directly into the blood.

From what I understand, thyroid cells are the only cells of the body which will readily absorb iodine - thus making this radiation a very safe form as it won't damage other cells.  But as the RAI is taken as a pill, the radiation irritates the stomach lining and salivary glands, causing nausea and vomiting as a side effect.

Wouldn't having an RAI infusion avoid that particular side effect?

[Assistant]
The side effects wouldn't be avoided, iodine will naturally go to the salivaries and stomach regardless of administration method. (look up an iodine 123 scan for example, they use iv)

The tablet is safer to handle, there is a low risk of a spill. It is easy and simple to administer, and the dose can be more accurately measured (off site)


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

[User]
ELI5: Why US Telecos still use CDMA technology, when majority of the world uses GSM for the communication?

What's benefit of using CDMA in the US ?

[Assistant]
The main reasons are a matter of timing, corporate greed and legacy.

Back when the US networks where starting to form, the switch from analogue to digital cellular technology was also happening and CDMA had some interesting advantages over GSM.

One of the most appealing features at the time (And still continues to be) was that it is easier to lock a CDMA user into the network that provides the phone than it is with GSM technology whose spec demands that they be interoperable between networks. CDMA makes it harder for a user to leave a network for another one and take the phone with them (In some cases it's impossible).

There where other benefits to CDMA as well such as greater capacity on the network, a questionable theory that call quality was better and so forth but GSM caught up very quickly and eventually leapfrogged CDMA in the quality and feature departments.

Now of course, some of those network operators have folded into the big players you see today and frankly switching from CDMA to GSM is a BIG commitment those network operators don't really wish to undertake.

CDMA as a technology outside of the USA and small parts of Russia is dead with the advent of 4G. GSM has been taken up by most of the world, mostly driven by Europe's mass uptake of it. Though 3G briefly was based on a variance of CDMA, 4G uses a technology called LTE which is a further refinement of GSM technology.


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

[User] [Red Dead Redemption] Are John Marston and Arthur Morgan famous figures in the modern day?

[Assistant] I think Dutch has a better chance at having a few books written about him and his exploits with the gang, given how infamous he is, but John and Arthur would likely get at least some recognition by association - especially John since he personally takes Dutch down and makes a name for himself in the process.


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

[User]
ELI5: Where do they get the "other people" for a police lineup?

Where do they get the people other than the suspect from for police lineups? Are they just paid actors or something?

[Assistant] The TV type line up is these days mostly replaced by the photo line up.  But traditionally they got other cops, people off the street or even criminals to fill in the slots.  With the photo line up you use mugshots.


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

[User] ELI5: How does the gold standard work in a broad sense?

[Assistant]
Imagine that your currency of choice is solid gold because gold is something that humanity as always valued highly and anyone on earth is willing to take payment in gold out of confidence that they will later be able to use it to buy whatever else they need in turn.

But solid gold is also heavy and inconvenient to lug around to make transactions with, so you, the government owning a lot of gold, store it all in one place and instead issue paper slips that each essentially state "I, <government>, promise to pay the bearer of this paper slip X amount of gold upon having it returned to me." (instead of paper slips you could also use some other recognisable token, such as small metal discs)

As long as people believe the government will keep that promise, they can happily use such a paper slip in place of the actual amount of gold it represents. The government now effectively have a paper currency, but there can only ever be as much paper in circulation as represents the amount of gold that the government actually has stored.

To "move off the gold standard" essentially means that the government stops promising to pay out gold upon being given back the paper slip. The currency essentially becomes a commodity in itself with a value determined solely by how useful people overall believe it to be for making transactions now and in the future.


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

[User]
ELI5: Whats cracking when i crack my knuckles?

Or toes or back or any other joint that you "crack"? What's actually happening in the joint?

[Assistant]
A lubricant is found in your joints, called synoval fluid. When you crack your knuckles, you reduce the pressure on the fluid and gas bubbles (nitrogen, oxygen, CO2) burst.

It takes about 20 minutes for the gas to dissolve back into the fluid, that's why you can only crack your knuckles every 20-30 minutes.


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

[User] ELI5: why do people and animals tilt their heads when they are curious?

[Assistant]
This is a cool one!

Our ears, just like for all animals, are on equal height on the sides of our heads.

Tilting our heads makes the sounds hit our ears at a slightly different moment, without turning our heads, which would reduce our sight.

This helps with estimating from how far away the sound is coming while still keeping an eye out.

Humans being social group animals, learned quickly to recognise this behavior as "paying attention"

So we also started doing it in conversations as a signal that we are paying attention.


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

[User]
ELI5: How was France chosen for a spot on the U.N. Security Council as a veto-wielding member?

It just seems like there would be better options for this spot, Brazil, India or Japan?

[Assistant]
It was one of the surviving non-Axis great powers at the end of the war.  Whatever one might think of France, from the perspective of a person living in 1945 with a knowledge of history, leaving France out would have seemed much less odd a concept than the inclusion of China probably was.

Brazil was a minor power.  India was part of the British empire and not independent at all.  Japan was smoldering ruins and under American occupation.  So those were never even really considered.


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

[User] What's left in the ashes after a fire burns itself out?  And why is it no longer flammable?

[Assistant]
Well, to some extent there will be charcoal, unless you've gotten very complete combustion. The rest (white stuff) is inorganic compounds that don't burn. Calcium carbonate (chalk) and oxide (quicklime), potassium and sodium carbonates (potash and soda ash), plus some phosphates, silicon dioxide (quartz), and various metal oxides such as aluminum oxide (corundum).

Depends a lot on the type of wood and the combustion conditions, too. But in short: Besides the charcoal, it contains a mixed bag of minerals.


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

[User] Eli5:What prevents our bodies to get rid of excess food/calories that are not necessary, and instead turns it into fat?

[Assistant] Through most of human history and that of our evolutionary ancestry, storing energy was beneficial to survival since food was more difficult to come by. As a result, we evolved to store excess calories for future energy. But now we live in a society of abundance where it is not as useful.


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

[User]
ELI5: What were the purposes of the Nazi concentration camps?

I understand that to pull off genocide on this scale, you can't just shoot people in the streets and leave them there...there needs to be organization, and planned disposal. But what I don't understand is why anyone relocated to these camps was kept alive for any period of time greater than what it would take to line up for the firing squad.

Were they producing anything for the war effort? Slave labor essentially? If so, why were so many people killed in droves when they could have aided the war?

[Assistant]
The original purpose of the concentration camp was to imprison the Nazis political enemies.  This was not *quite* so fantastically despotic as it might appear; Germany had been rocked by violent demonstrations, street fighting, and violence between the revolutionary Communist Party supported by the USSR and right-wing militias.  In fact, Germany's socialist party had previously declared martial law in Prussia, a state where they controlled the regional government, and were doing a pretty good job suppressing political enemies who were trying to subvert socialist rule with violence. So something had to be done to control political violence and radicalism in Germany; but the Nazi Party approached this in the most cynical way possible and actively framed all possible opponents as violent radicals and ended up putting all sorts of leftists, of any stripe, into prison camps along with violent criminals and other social undesirables.  Then they added to that a number of extremist elements from within the Nazi party (basically, leaders of a paramilitary wing who the Nazis didn't need any more, because they now gave orders to the *real* military).  Many of these labor leaders and Nazi "brownshirts" were just flat-out murdered, but the ones who were imprisoned really were just being warehoused.  It's not like they couldn't kill whomever they wanted.

Subsequently, the Nazis added more and more people to the camps, eventually embracing all of the Nazis' btes noires.  Political dissidents, religious dissidents, homosexuals, cultural degenerates, lazy people, Soviet POWs, whatever.  Adding the Jews to the camps was, in itself, not spectacularly different from nastiness in other countries at the same time.  For example, in 1941, the US bundled up all the US citizens of Japanese descent living on the West Coast and shipped them off to concentration camps in the Rockies.  The official US rationale was that they were "the enemy within" and there was no way to be sure which of them were spies, collaborators, and secret saboteurs, so it was better to lock them all up just to be sure.  The Nazis had always had the same ideology about the Jews.

The movement of Jews into concentration camps was accelerated as Nazi Germany faced more and more of a dilemma about housing (Allied night bombing destroyed far more civilian housing than anything else) and food. At first there was no specific plan to kill the Jews, although you know how these things go... the "concentration camp" was invented by the British, who figured out that if you herded lots of Boers (Dutch South Africans) into crowded, dirty camps and didn't feed them, then they would die like flies of infectious diseases.  The first mass-killings of concentration camp inmates were probably of Soviet POWs. In 1942 the relevant Nazi administrators apparently came to the conclusion that, of all of the zany pre-war ideas for what would happen to Jews (send them to Madagascar, for example), the simplest solution was to kill them.

> Were they producing anything for the war effort? Slave labor essentially?

Yes, they were producing all kinds of things. The book *Schindler's Ark* is a semi-fictional account of one German businessman who got contracts to produce goods with Jewish labor, you can read it if you are interested.

> If so, why were so many people killed in droves when they could have aided the war?

There are three basic theories:

1. Nazis be crazy, yo

2. Intentional executions at the concentration camps were a small part of the total death toll; the major problem was lethal epidemics among the prisoners, especially as crowding increased and the available food and medicine decreased as the war got worse and worse for the Nazis

3. The Nazis didn't have enough food to feed their slaves anyway, so it was easier to work them into the ground and then shoot them.


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

[User] ELI5: Why when the bathroom mirror fogs up does it defog itself from bottom to top and not top to bottom?

[Assistant]
Remember the old expression, "Heat rises"?   Well, that means that as the air cools back to "room temperature" in a bathroom, it appears to do so from the floor up.  That's because the cooler air is dropping to the floor, pushing the still warmer air to the ceiling.

Cooler air is able to absorb more heat from other matter, like glass, than warmer air.  So the lower, cooler air is able to draw away heat from the portion of the mirror that it touches, which is near the bottom.  That air then becomes warmer and rises again, pushing now cooler air down, and continuing the process.


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

[User]
ELI5: How did Trey Parker and Matt Stone convince Comedy Central to let them use the word "shit," uncensored, 162 times in the episode "It Hits The Fan"?

And what, if anything, did the FCC have to do with this decision?

**EDIT:** Just in case some people don't watch the show, I'm referring to the TV series *South Park.*

[Assistant] FCC has nothing to do with cable. It's only the main networks: ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. Most cable channels do not air vulgar things out of fear of advertisers, not any legal restriction. Comedy Central's advertisers go in knowing what to expect from the network and apparently don't care because CC uses swear words and vulgarity regularly.


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

[User]
How much space does a photon take up?

I always imagine them being tiny but then how does a long wavelength differ to a shorter one?

Also how many photons could fit in a given space?

[Assistant]
There are two possible answers:

1. It has zero volume

2. The question of a photon's volume has no physical meaning.

I tend towards the latter. It doesn't have a volume any more than it has a smell, a star sign or a favourite Spice Girl.


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

[User] [IRL Folklore] Why are the Fair Folk harmed by cold iron?

[Assistant]
Cold iron comes in two forms, raw or cold-forged into a weapon.

It hurts faeries because back in the days when the fae had power in this realm, they were so intimately connected to the Earth that they could not be harmed by normal weapons that came from it.

Remember, this was the time before artificial materials- *everything* that was used as a tool or weapon came from nature.

Except one.

Cold pure iron, in it's rawest form came from:

Deep in the bowels of Earth, from places older than even fae. Long before anything we think of as nature ever existed. If somehow men could get a hold of it, they had in their hands something with more of a connection to the Earth itself than even the faeries had, and therefore could hurt them.

The heavens. The only other source of pure iron was meteoric iron, which was incredibly rare and also, very, very old. Put simply, it wasn't of Earth. No protective enchantment of the fae against the natural world mattered to something not of this world in the first place.

So that's raw cold iron. But if you've seen either of these, they don't come out in very usable forms. How does one use cold iron offensively other than throwing heavy chunks of it at the very elusive and maneuverable fae?

You forge it. No, not with heat, it has to stay cold, remember? Smelting the ore changes it. Once it's glowing hot it is harder, but the special connection it has to the Earth is burned out of it.

So you must keep the iron at its normal temperature. Which means you have to take a heavy anvil, and strike the cold iron into a mold until it is of the shape you want.

This is not easy, and the weapon is less strong and less refined that a properly smithed one, but used skillfully, it will do serious damage to a fairy.


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

[User]
I got my first (skype) interview! Any advice?

Next week I have my first Skype interview for a faculty position! Its a 30 min interview for a STEM department at a R1. Any advice? What kind of questions might I be asked? Are there ways I should prepare or just wing it and answer honesty?

[Assistant]
* If possible, use a wired connection.
* Test your audio & video settings. Find out what sort of ambient lighting & noise might distract your interviewees.
* Frame your viewable area so that you're presenting the most professionally appropriate appearance you can.
* Put googly eyes or something near the camera so that you're looking at it (and your interviewees will feel like you're looking at them rather than at your screen).
* Use the wall behind and the border around your screen to hang easily accessible notes so you can refer to important ideas/questions.


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

[User] ELI5: Why female animals don't have periods?

[Assistant] Most female animals don't have menstrual cycles. Commonly, most female mammals have an estrogeous cycle. That means that they absorb the entire endometrium if there is no conception. Whereas humans (and other primates, elephant shrews and certain kinds of bat) shed this layer.


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

[User]
ELI5: Sugar alcohol

I just tried a new protein bar and instead of sugar it contained sugar alcohol. What'd the difference? Should it be avoided?

[Assistant]
It depends on the alcohol.  If it's Maltitol/Lycasin, that's the stuff that's in those Sugar Free Gummy Bears that turn your butt into a lava machine.  It doesn't digest well.

Sugar Alcohols are what you get in Sugarless Gum, so many of them aren't going to have that effect on you.


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

[User]
How can SmartWatches measure the blood pressure?

And how accurate is it?

[Assistant]
I do research on hemodynamics, which uses some of these same principles.

The smart watch estimates blood pressure based on something called pulse transit time, which is a calculation of how much time it takes between the heart squeezing and the wrist getting more blood flow.

The optical sensor can measure changes in oxygenated blood vs deoxygenated blood, and it can measure pulsatility of blood.

Ideally, you want an EKG to tell you when the heart contracts, and a device that measures the pulse. The longer the time between the two, the more relaxed your blood vessels are.

But smart watches don't have an EKG, and they don't know when your heart contracts. So it looks at the shape of the pulse curve, looking at kurtosis (how narrow the curve is) and skewness (how much the curve clumps to the right or left). A stiff blood vessel or a system with a lot of resistance will have a quick peak in pulsatility and a steeper slope.

These data are combined with estimates based on your age, sex, height, and weight.

The result is slightly better than a wild guess. The principles are correct, but the smart watch is uncalibrated, so it's not accurate. It could probably reliably detect when your blood pressure increases or decreases, but not give you an accurate number.

Ditto for its ability to detect oxygenation. The best devices rely on transillumination (like light going through your fingertip, rather than reflected illumination.

TLDR: smart watches are not accurate for blood pressure. It guesses how tight your blood vessels are based on the contour of pulse changes in blood flow, incorporating general demographic data.


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

[User] Eli5: why doesn't minimum wage increase with inflation?

[Assistant]
Because neither political party want it.

The Republicans don't want it because the businesses that form a lot of their backing doesn't want increases in the minimum wage.

The Democrats don't want it because while the want increases in the minimum wage, they don't want to lose the issue -- that is, if there are automatic hikes in the wage, they won't be able to use raising it as a campaign issue every few years.


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

[User]
[WH40k] Is Nurgle actually a good guy?

So I know this has been talked about alot but wonder whats the actual truth and what is pro/anti-nurgle propaganda?

Most chaos gods seem to have some obvious drawbacks:
Tzeentch will get bored of you and stab you in the back, followers of Slaanesh will eventually be consumed by their own hunger for more, and Khorne will propably add you sooner than later to his collection of skulls.

But Nurgle? Sure you will get all kinds of diseases but if you endure them(and that this is his domain: Endurance in the face of despair) you are rewarded with eternal bliss.
My understanding is that followers of Nurgle transcended despair and suffering by accepting the universal truth of Entropy.

So why shouldn't you become a follower of Nurgle? Whats the catch?

[Assistant]
I don't think you can attribute a good guy/bad guy tag to any of the Chaos Gods, especially not Nurgle. While they are horrifically destructive creatures, they are constructed beings that embody a small range of emotions - they are more limited in the ways they can think than you or I, and don't really have the capacity to grow or change what and how they behave.

Also, the reason no sane person would join Nurgle is because of how your instinctual response to his corruption is CANNOT BE, NO RUN AWAY CANNOT BE, and y'know, the horrific pain as fist sized lumps of pus are building in your absomen while you start to hallucinate from the fever. One of Nurgle's moves to get Mortarion and the Death Guard to join was to basically torture them with disease untill they pledged their souls to him.


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

[User]
[Oculus horror film 2013] Is the mirror invincible? Can it be beaten?

What we know about the Mirror

-It can control what a Person can see, feel and hear. Giving the victim visual and auditory hallucinations

-The Mirror has a malevolent intelligence to turn people against each other

-The Mirror will protect itself from it's victims willing to do it harm by playing mind games

-It traps the souls of the people it kills

-It's sphere of influence is 13 meters

-The mirror will remember you, if you ask a delivery man to move the mirror into an open space to destroy the mirror, It will search the delivery mans memories recognize your voice and trick the delivery man to protect the mirror and or make an attack impossible

-It replaces your memories and creates fake ones

-Most deaths attributed to the mirror have been from dehydration, starvation, general neglect.

-The Mirror also causes violent deaths between spouses or by suicide

-Recording the Mirror to keep a solid grasp on reality only works so well because it will make you move the Cameras and damage your equipment

How do you defeat a malevolent mirror that can control other people and everything you see, feel and remember within close proximity?

[Assistant]
I think you would need a patsy. You would need to get some stupid jerk to buy the mirror for their house, BUT do it without telling them who you are. Maybe hire one person to hire another person to buy the mirror and move it to a home which has a nail bomb placed in the room with it disguised as something else.

Then, when that person leaves the room/house, set off the nail bomb remotely. Then ensure that the mirror was in fact destroyed by having Patsy B report back to Patsy A on the status of the mirror. If it doesnt work, find a new method of destruction and new patsies.


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

[User] ElI5: how do they know what other planets are made off, how can the be so sure? Jupiter could be made of a completely unknown gas?

[Assistant]
Each atom absorbs specific wavelengths of light dependent on the element. So if we look at Jupiters spectrum, we will see dark lines where Jupiters atoms absorb light. By analyzing what wavelengths are these lines we can tell which atoms Jupiter is made of, or at least which atoms can be seen near its surface.

We can also deduce the mass of celestial objects from their gravity interactions. Knowing the mass and size of planets allows to calculate their average density, which helps to deduce what they are made of.

Also we have already landed spacecraft on at least some of the planets and drilled some holes into them.


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

[User]
Why are gun control laws being decided at a national level while issues such as gay marriage/rights are mostly left for states to decide?

I know that gay marriage/rights have been decided at a national level in some instances, but it is still up to individual states to pass/deny gay marriage.  In addition, states also have their own gun control laws.  So, why is gun control such a heated topic on the national level at this time?

[Assistant]
Some laws are passed at a federal level when they are believed to be independent of states' individually differing needs. Additional laws are passed at a state level based on what representatives see fit for their own specific state.

Because federal laws need to apply to everyone, they are often met with more resistance and debate. They typically take longer to pass. Currently, the laws banning same sex marriage are at the state level, and it is easier to repeal these individually than to make one constitutional ammendment declaring same sex marriage a right, and these bans unconstitutional.

It's also worth noting that much of the legislation surrounding guns is at the state level.


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

[User]
[LotR] if the Valar wanted to see their world play out and not intervene, then why send the Istari?

Why send the Istari if they just wanted to see the world play out as it was? If they did care, then why not intervene themselves or allow the Istari more power?

[Assistant]
They do care. They care so much about the world and letting it develop on its own that they DON'T directly intervene. The very fact they sent literal angels down to aid the people of middle earth shows how much they care.

The thing is, as we saw in the first age, if the Valar directly intervene, middle earth will no longer be middle earth. Their direct involvement tends to reshape continents, destroy untold amounts of land and kill everyone living on it. If they allowed the wizards unfettered access to a repertoire of divine abilities, they would no longer be able to accomplish their mission of making the MORTALS solve the problem and GROW from the experience. The mortals would just come to depend on the magic and stagnate while the power does everything. And it's possible that if an Istari were allowed full access to a magical armory, they could let that power go to their head and become another magical lord over an army of worshiping mortals.

If you want to look at it in a really cold, clinical way, the Valar and Eru above are looking down at a petri dish. They could easily drop in some chemicals and eradicate a growing infection, but the goal of the experiment is to see how all the other microbes adapt to it and learn how to kill the bad cells on their own. Dropping in chemicals and agents would probably kill just as many of the desired subject species as it would the infectious. When the desired cells learn how to adapt to the infection on their own, there will never again be a need for said chemicals. And the immunity will be passed on for the rest of the experiment/existence.

The Istari in this analogy are like specifically designed food and hormones that promote growth. The Istari can help, they can advise, their mission is to do their best to make sure everyone stands on their own and deals with the problem. In this experiment idea, they help the good cells grow and mature faster than they would naturally, speeding along their defense building until they, again, can handle it on their own.


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

[User]
[DC Films] Why did Joaquin Phoenix's Joker's makeup seem to stay on much better than Heath Ledger's Joker's makeup?

Ledger's Joker's makeup seemed to keep peeling off, yet Phoenix's Joker's makeup didn't seem to have that issue. Why not?

[Assistant]
In Joker, he is, by trade, a clown.  Makeup (both quality, and application) is a professional requirement for the job and one he would have paid close attention to for that reason.

Ledger's Joker on the other hand, has no clown-based origin that we know of so the makeup could very easily be of lesser quality or not applied properly, and with no care to the craft other than just to disguse and conceal.  That said, it also makes him look way more creepy and frightful.


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

[User]
What would be examples of industrial activities not done for profit?

By industry I mostly mean manufacturing and other stuff done in factories, refineries, plants, etc., as well as mining. The Secondary Sector.

[Assistant] Bosch AG is one of the biggest ones. They're a German company who are one of the largest industrial goods manufacturers with USD 100bn in revenue a year, making everything from automotive components, household appliances, to power tools and packaging. They're owned by Robert Bosch Stiftung which is a charity that mostly operates hospitals and a lot of other non-profit activities like education.


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

[User]
ELI5, Why are the ends of our nails always white?

Even when I cut the ends off the ends turn white within a day?

[Assistant] Nails are naturally white-transparent, but most of the nail is joined to the finger underneath it, so you are seeing the color of the finger through the nail. The end of the nail is detached from the finger, so you are seeing the color of the nail there.


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

[User] ELI5: How come when the Holocaust is brought up people immediately think of Jewish genocide but forget that Polish and Gypsy folk were also killed alongside them?

[Assistant] Probably just because Jewish people were the majority that were killed. It's the same concept as when you bring up racism, most people immediately think of racism towards black people because of slavery, when racism could be toward any race.


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

[User]
What does it mean when we say that the four fundamental forces are "unified" at high energies?

I understand the basic premise is that in the chaotic, high-density, high-energy and low-volume state of the early universe, the fundamental forces are "unified" and are really a single force acting on the universe until energy levels fall.

But how do we know at which energy levels this unification occurs? And if we know this, why do we need different equations to describe the now-disparate forces? Shouldn't they, in principle, be describable by the same theory even at the lower energy levels we find them in today?

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this. How does this factor in the search for a quantum gravity theory?

[Assistant]
>What does it mean when we say that the four fundamental forces are "unified" at high energies?

It means that they are all described by a single field theory, in which a certain local symmetry (a gauge symmetry) is restored at a high enough interaction energy.  Above that energy, interactions behave a certain way which respects that symmetry.  Below that energy, the symmetry is spontaneously broken and the interactions now behave differently; they do not respect the (newly-broken) symmetry but may still respect other unbroken symmetries, allowing some aspects of the interaction to be well-described as a different interaction with a different symmetry.  This is the case, for example, in electroweak theory, in which the SU(2) x U(1) symmetry describing an electroweak interaction is spontaneously broken, leaving behind a part of the interaction which still respects a U(1) symmetry (electromagnetism), plus a part of the interaction which doesn't (the weak interaction).

(Edits for correctness.)

>But how do we know at which energy levels this unification occurs?

Experiment is the only way to *know* for sure.  But there can be strong theoretical hints.  In quantum field theory, interactions are characterized by a coupling constant related to the strength of the interaction.  Though calling it a constant is something of a misnomer, because the coupling constants "run" with the interaction energy level, becoming stronger (or weaker) as the energy increases.  One of the hints pointing at a "grand unified theory" that unifies the strong and electroweak interactions is the observation that under certain assumptions, the coupling constants for each of these separate interactions approaches the same value at a much higher energy level -- the "GUT scale" which is currently way, way beyond scales that we have the capacity to probe via experiment.

>And if we know this, why do we need different equations to describe the now-disparate forces?

Because the unified symmetry is broken at low energies; it isn't respected anymore so the character of the forces change.

>Shouldn't they, in principle, be describable by the same theory even at the lower energy levels we find them in today?

They are describable by the same theory.  The same theory just makes phenomenologically different predictions at lower energy levels when the symmetry is broken than it does at higher energy levels when the symmetry is not broken.

Hope that helps!


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

[User] How do "pop rocks" candies work?

[Assistant]
Tiny bubbles.

The candy is made by making a hot syrup of melted sugar and flavorings, and then mixing it with high-pressure carbon dioxide. As the foamy mixture cools and hardens, lots of tiny gas bubbles become trapped inside, still at high pressure.

When you eat the candy and it starts to dissolve, those bubbles pop. The release of pressurized gas is what makes the rocks fizz in your mouth.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Which Jedi that lived during the final days of the Republic was the most ideal example of what a Jedi should be?

The person closest to the textbook definition of a perfect Jedi.

[Assistant]
Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Kenobi embodied the Jedi principles of peace, tranquility, selflessness, and acceptance of the Will of the Force.  What's more, he also embraced the Jedi way of self-improvement through the Force, in that he recognized he would fall short of the ideals described in the Jedi code, but he would always be willing to admit his faults and make amends.  For example, when he realized he loved Anakin too much and was letting his emotions blind him to Anakin's fall to darkness, he simply let go of his attachment and took on Anakin with a clear mind.

Obi-Wan was also the master of the Soresu form, the most defensive lightsaber form, and one that matched the Jedi philosophy best.  He was quite happy to simply be the "eye of the storm" while enemies beat themselves into exhaustion against his defenses.  In fights, he would always endeavor to be calm, and merciful, and to do no more damage than was warranted.

Finally, he had a complete lack of ego.  Where Jedi such as Yoda or Windu would recognize themselves as one of the most powerful Jedi in existence, Obi-Wan never felt that way about himself.  He was seen as one of the cleverest and most skillful Jedi in the Order, but he never even considered putting himself in that category.

I suppose the following passage from Matthew Stover best epitomizes the Jedi that Obi-Wan Kenobi was:

> A phenomenal pilot who doesnt like to fly. A devastating warrior whod rather not fight. A negotiator without peer who frankly prefers to sit alone in a quiet cave and meditate. Jedi Master. General in the Grand Army of the Republic. Member of the Jedi Council. And yet, inside, he feels like hes none of these things.
Inside, he still feels like a Padawan.


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

[User] Do cases of extraordinary animal intelligence such as Alex the Parrot show how intelligent that species is, or are there "geniuses" within the species making them outliers?

[Assistant]
Alex the Parrot, and Koko the Gorilla received specialized training
from experts in psychology to reach their unusual performance levels, so it would be a mistake to assume that their prowess
is 'ordinary' to the species, but it would also be a mistake to
assume that they were radically different in basic intellect.

It's an instance of the old 'Nature vs Nurture' debate.
I would hold that it's an indication of the existence of native talent.
The case if the 'Wolf Boy' demonstrated that without nurture
during development, a Human does not develop 'normal' intellectual skills.


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

[User] [SPACE] Space blockade. Why not go around?

[Assistant]
You can blockade a planet if you have enough ships to have sensor range over the entire orbit of the planet.

It is harder however to blockade a section of space, which is why we see a fair few space minefields. You can be inconvenient at best in an attempt to blockade an empty part of space, the best you can really do is make the enemy waste time and fuel going around you.


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

[User]
Why do we believe gasses compress to form stars?

Im not challenging that, but I just want to know the logic that went into forming that hypothesis so I can better understand how it all works.
~ Thanks!

[Assistant]
So the important force here is gravity, coupled with the idea that the universe in not homogeneous (the same every where).

So the argument is as follows:
Imagine a small box with a uniform density/distribution of hydrogen (let's ignore the edges for now)
If we wait for a long time nothing would happen as the force on all the atoms of hydrogen is the around the same and if we got lucky and some of it clumped together the mass of the clump is not enough to create a concentration of mass big enough to cause a significant amount of gravity. The key here is the gravitational force will never outweigh the pressure force that can build up with such a small total mass in such a small box.

Let now take a big box, universe size and apply a bit of post big bang fluctuations in density to the gas, not much mind. In some part of the universe you might get a gas cloud that is a bit more dense and massive than the surrounding clouds, this sets off a slow and steady attraction that is greater than other cloud attractions. Suddenly the gravity of this low density/high mass gas cloud can start attracting drifting hydrogen around it. Over time this process has a positive feed back loop, it gets bigger, attracts more as it's mass is bigger. It can now start to pull in other, smaller gas clouds further away.

This is a bit like if you got a box of magnets, separated them all out then knocked one into another, you'd end up with a big blob of magnets as they all start grouping up in a chain like reaction.

After a while this gravitational pull due to the gathering of mass starts to compress the gas that is producing this gravity. The gas gets denser and denser until the density and temperature is enough to start thermo nuclear reactions.


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

[User]
Why isn't Psychopathy/Sociopathy in the DSM-5?

Although the DSM-5 has "Antisocial Personality Disorder", this seems to be much more based on the impulsive criminal behavior clinicians come across in the criminal population and disregards the functional psychopaths and sociopaths in society.  People with Dependent Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (for example) can also be fully functional in society, yet they get the "benefit" of a diagnosis.  So why has Psychopathy/Sociopathy been dismissed?

EDIT: lots of interesting information, but very little actually addresses my question directly.

EDIT 2: iglet007 gives a great answer.  Read it.

[Assistant]
Theyve not been dismissed, theyve been reclassified due to new, more effective diagnostic criterion and to hopefully diminish the use of mental illness as equated with criminal behavior.

It happens in medicine all the time we dont call PTSD shell-shock anymore, we dont call panic disorders hysteria (which has really sexist roots btw), we dont identify Aspergers as a unique diagnosis within the autism spectrum just because those individuals happen to have academically-oriented special interests. Its just the evolution of medicine.


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

[User]
ELI5 : Why does nobody play man to man defense in soccer?

Watching soccer I notice nobody defends in a tight man to man defense (think basketball or ultimate Frisbee). I can see why man to man may not work with a slower team but you would think that with a very quick/physically gifted team man to man would put a lot of pressure on the opposing team causing a lot of turnovers.

[Assistant] It's also not practical to cover all the space on the pitch. As a basic rule of thumb your team is compact on defense and expanded when you have the ball. Being compact in the space between you and your teammates allows the formation to hold more firm which provides cover to the immediate player pressuring the ball and allows the other defensive players to cut off as many passing lanes as possible to other opposing players. Expanding when your team has the ball allows more space for the player on the ball and more open space for players off the ball to move into space and open up passing lanes/make runs. Tight Man to man defense would drag defensive players out of position/formation leaving large gaps or open spaces on the field for the opposing team to exploit. You do see more tight man to man marking on corners and set pieces as the immediate threat is the ball being whipped into the box in which case the amount of space to defend is much smaller, like in basketball.