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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k/Star Trek] An Eldar Craftworld is transported into Federation Space. What happens?

Greetings. I am the senior Farseer of a reasonably-sized Craftworld formerly local to what the humans call the "Ultima Sector" of the galaxy. Our world was recently attacked by those pitiful Imperials and, in our valiant defense, one of our noble Aspect Warriors breached one of their primitive warp drives and created a violent Warp singularity, dragging in our entire fleet. Miraculously, our Craftworld survived the travel through the Warp with minimal damage, and She-Who-Thirsts has not laid claim to all of our mortal souls. However, we now find ourselves in a peculiarly calm region of space, being hailed by a positively quaint little vessel claiming to represent a "Federation of Planets." The captain is a bald human who seems to be under the impression we're "some kind of Vulcan," whatever that means. My junior Seers have discerned that A) the Warp is calm, bereft of the influence of the Dark Powers or the Great Devourer, B) the Webway is entirely absent, and C) the Imperial Astronomicon is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully our considerable psychic powers seem unaffected.

I apologize for posing these questions in such a crude format, but given my unusual position I am certain you will understand. I must know: should I trust this little man? He talks of peace and seems well-intentioned, for a human. Where should we go? Are there other significant powers within these placid space? What do they think of us? Is our Craftworld safe?

[Assistant]
Safe? Is ones craft world safe?

Depends on where you are. I'd immediately establish where in relation to the federation are you?

Assuming you're in federation space, you're definitely not safe since despite their outward intention of peace they're literally at war most of the time.

The federation does a mediocre job at best policing their own space so it's likely you could get poached by a borg, klingong or other mostly sentient hostile parties.

I'd highly recommend finding one of the smaller planets somewhere in neutral space or possibly in the furthest corner of the galaxy. Buy time for as long as possible.


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

[User]
[Star Wars]How do the Jedi still believe that the both light and dark do not mean true balance?

I didn't know how to word this question hopefully it makes sense. Anakin and Obi-Wan met the Father, a living embodiment of the force, who stated that in order for their to be balance their must be equal parts dark and equal parts light. Too much of one side is bad. So how do the Jedi continue to preach that the dark side must be completely obliterated.

[Assistant]
Only Anakin, Obi-wan, and Ahsoka saw and experienced the events on Mortis. Do you really think the entire Order is going to change because of the experiences of three Jedi? Especially when there is no evidence of Mortis existing other than their anecdotal accounts?

The Jedi are not without their reasons either. The dark side has always been nefarious, corrupting, and destructive. There's nothing symbiotic about the dark side. It's like a cancer that drains the life of a patientkilling the person and itself in the end. In the Jedi's eyes, ridding the galaxy of such a thing is nothing short but good and perhaps even necessary for the survival of everything.


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

[User] ELI5: How pet ant colony produce queen? did they just appear randomly?

[Assistant]
They develop from larvae.

Ants lay 2 types of eggs, fertilised and unfertilised:
Unfertilised eggs hatch into larvae that turn into winged males.
Fertilised hatch into larvae that generally turn into sterile wingless female workers.

However a female larva that is well fed will turn into a fertile winged princess ant and fly off to start a new colony.

If there's no queen in the colony she'll stick around, bite her wings off and become queen.


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

[User]
[Smurfs] if smurfs reproduce asexually why are they all attracted to Smurfette?

All the smurfs are male and baby smurfs are delivered by the stork. Smurfette is a Gargamel creation that turned against him and joined the smurfs. It shouldnt be in their nature to be attracted to females. Why are they attracted to Smurfette?

[Assistant]
Because that is her purpose.
She was created by Gargamel to "mind control" Smurfs. There attraction to her is just that.
Or in other words: Smurfs are not Attracted to Smurfette. It is Gargamel Magic that make Smurfette attractive to Smurfs.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it that when we see or think about something, we see it in other places more?

[Assistant] You see so many different things daily. A good way to realise this is to just watch a road for a few minutes and count how many different cars you see. You wouldn't pay it a second thought, unless you had a reason to think about specific cars. You've always seen them - you always see most things, things are everywhere - but now they're much more obvious.


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

[User]
[WH40k] Does God-Emperor of Mankind has all those extra organs his sons have?

As we all know, God-Emperor was supposedly born as a man and lived as one among us for aeons, but he based his sons, the Primarchs after his genes, and based the Geneseed of the space marine legions after genes of the primarchs.

However thanks to geneseed, the Space Marines and Primarchs have all these extra organs that make them transhuman murder machines.

How much of those came from the Big E, if any?

[Assistant]
Big E was most likely 100% regular human, except filled to the brim with psycic energy.

However, all his organs are basically irelevant, since he is a shapeshifter and could probably grow any organs he wished.


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

[User] ELI5: What happens if someone dies on a submarine while underway for weeks, months at a time?

[Assistant]
Submarines have large freezers where they keep all the food that's necessary for their extended missions.

Let's just say that if someone dies on board, there's going to be a *lot* of ice cream at the wake.


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

[User]
[The Purge] Realistically, would upperclass people still go into "ghetto" areas to purge or would they be too scared?

Let's take a gated community going into...I don't know, the worst part of Chicago or Detroit. Would they go in or nah?

[Assistant] Law enforcement hasn't always been what it is now. Go back a hundred years or so and, for all intents and purposes, it ways the purge 365 days a year. That humanity is still alive is a testament to the fact that we don't start killing each other just because the police aren't there to stop us.


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

[User]
[DC/Batman] Why doesn't Batman lighten up when he's alone around other Justice League members, his bat family family and in general other superheroes?

I get that the whole serious persona is a necessity around regular civilians and bad guys, after all, he's there to incite fear and all.

But what about when he's around other heroes alone? Why does he STILL keep up the gruffy voice, serious no-nonsense persona? I'm assuming most know that he's Bruce under the mask anyways, and they'd also know that outside the suit, he's a billionaire playboy who socializes and hops around numerous parties. So, you'd think he'd be one of the more chill guys when he's with the Justice League members.

What's up with him being so into his Bat gimmick? I bet everyone just rolls their eyes when he's still in "serious" mode when no threat is around.

[Assistant]
If he's got the cowl on, he's in Batman mode. He's serious and he uses the voice. You do occasionally see a lighter side of him, especially with the few people he trusts to see him in the Batcave with the cowl off. That's how he acts with Alfred, the members of the Bat-family, and pretty frequently Superman. That's the most *honest* version of himself, and it's when he's neither the playboy Bruce Wayne or the over-gruff Batman - more serious than Wayne, but less serious than Batman, and it's when his real sarcastic humor comes out.

Most members of the League don't know each other's secret identities, after all.


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

[User]
ELI5: what is the second breath phenomenon that runners sometimes experience?

Is it real or just a placebo effect? And if its real, what exactly is happening in your body at that point?

[Assistant] All of the technical stuff gets complicated but basically the drop in energy is youre body running out of immediately available fuel sources. Once they are completely depleted your body resorts to braking down glycogen you have stored in your muscles. Once the glycogen is broken down into glucose, your body can utilize it and thus you feel that second wind


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

[User] ELI5: Why does blinking take me almost no effort at all, but winking forces multiple muscles/areas in my face to move oddly that aren't even near my eye (i.e. side of my mouth being raised/lowered)?

[Assistant]
The sequence of movements and the muscles involved are the same group of muscles that are active when something's in your eyes. You are not winking but using those muscle groups separately (one side only) to express yourself. It has to do with what nerves are supplying those areas and the nuclei of those nerves. Closure of the eye lid and movement of the muscles are done by the same nerve (Facial nerve). Hence the effort.

It is also a movement that is almost an instinct because you have used them before even as an infant when something gets into your eyes. So kind of like muscle memory but for the wrong task, but it still works at expressing so you keep using it. Practice hard enough, and winking will be effortless. ;)


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

[User]
[Marvel, 616] What specifically makes a being a god?

There would seem to be physical factors that distinguished Gods from other beings, In *Thor: God of Thunder* there was a time machine that could only be powered by Godblood, as well as a  magic weapon that was designed specifically to fight Gods, and did very well despite being used against many different Gods from many different planets.

On Earth we can trace Gods back to Earth's Elder Gods (mainly Gaea, but there are a few descendants of Set and Chthon), but what about Gods from other plants? We've seen Gods from the Skrull homeworld, Zenn-La, and a myriad of planets in *Thor: God of Thunder*.

What exactly defines someone as a god? What physical or supernatural features are associated specifically with Gods? what differentiates a God from a demon?

[Assistant]
As we have seen, cultures from all over the universe have had Gods of some sort. Dieties, like music and language, seem somewhat universal in that sense.

If we wish to speculate about their origins, we may look at what is common among all Gods: worship. It seems most likely that Gods are a form of living story, animated by the collective worship and adoration of their followers. Now, this does bring us to something of a "chicken and egg" paradox: which came first, the worship or the God?

Based on the fact that each culture has Gods with contradictory histories, it seems that Gods really must be the product of worship and not the other way around. Mortals invented stories to explain the world they did not understand, and in their explanation, they evoked the most powerful and subtle magic of creation. Mortal beings literally wish Gods into existence, and as such the God has properties that are as grand as a culture can muster with its collective worship.

Gods, then, are more metaphor than matter. They are a story echoed by the universe after it heard the first voice of the first mortal.


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

[User]
ELI5: If most last names were based off of the person's profession, place of birth, or father, then how and why did a last name become something you inherit?

Why didn't each descendant choose a last name that reflected their own profession, place of birth, or father?

[Assistant] Because you were VERY likely to inherit your profession as well if you were a member of the lower class. If you father was a smith chances are pretty good he would teach you and when he died you would own his smithy and your son will be a smith as well. There wasn't a lot of upward mobility in ancient society.


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

[User]
[general witches] Why do many witches wear the worst possible hats for flying on a broom?

The traditional wide-brimmed pointy witch hat has many disadvantages for a flying witch:

* not aerodynamic
* no strap + wide stiff brim = would definitely catch the wind and fly off
* no eye/face protection
* no impact protection
* not warm

Why don't they wear something more sensible?

[Assistant]
Well, to answer this question we need to ask why witches wear the pointy hat in the first place.  And to be honest, there's no definitive answer aside from "tradition", "it looks cool", and "witches like it".  Sure, some witches may keep things in their hat, such as potions, herbs, or reagents, but most witches prefer to carry such things in sacks or pouches.  Some witches believe that the pointy hat can serve as a focus for their magical power, akin to a magic wand for a wizard, but given that most witches do not cast spells with their hats, this claim appears to be flimsy at best.

Ultimately we may need to conclude that practicality is a secondary concern for witches and their pointy hats.  It seems that, for most witches, their hat represents a way for them to proudly identify themselves as a witch.  So even if this is not the ideal headwear for broomstick flights, witches will choose to wear it anyway, and will keep it on mid-flight through magic, adhesives, or an unobtrusive chin strap.


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

[User]
ELI5: Public Defenders: How would they even go about defending someone they're appointed to who seems like they're 100% guilty? Like if the crime is murder or something, do they HAVE to try and defend the person?

How can they feel good about trying to free someone who even they think could be a murderer or rapist and letting them go?

[Assistant]
The big misconception is a defense attorney's only job is insisting "my client didn't do it"; in reality a major responsibility of a defense attorney is making sure his or her client gets a fair trial and the least amount of punishment. They might even urge their client to plead guilty because they would fare worse in a trial.

John Adams, despite his support for independence of the 13 Colonies, still defended the British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre because he believes everyone deserves a fair trial in a civil society.


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

[User]
ELI5- if snakes must shed their skin because it doesnt stretch, how can they eat things so large that it stretches out the skin along the snakes body?

Im not asking about the jaw thing they do but the actual skin along the body after the snake has swallowed the egg or rat or deer or whatever.

[Assistant]
Ok, it's not that a snakes skin doesn't stretch, it's that the skin doesn't grow with the snake.

Think if it like a sock, you might still be able to stretch a small sock over your foot, but you'd rather have a sock that fits correctly. So they discard the overly tight sock, and replace it with a more appropriately fitting one.

This has the added benefit of helping keep their skin clear of parasites and other harmful infections.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it when I'm tired (or tipsy) my accent comes out?

When I'm more alert I don't have an accent.

[Assistant]
It's like when a shape-shifter has to concentrate on something else, they tend to revert to their true form.

It takes energy to fit in with those around us, even though we do it subconsciously. When we become impaired, our disguise starts to slip.


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

[User] ELI5:Where does the US dollar get its value if there is no gold standard?

[Assistant]
the same place, essentially, that ANYTHING get's it's value from: popular consensus. Anything on this earth has value because people have all agreed it has value, whether it's gold, gem quality diamonds, milk, or dollars. That value is usually (but not always, gem quality diamonds for instance ain't that useful) a function of the usefulness of the thing.

given that dollars are "legal tender", they are quite useful.


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

[User] ELI5: What's the difference between a "startup" and just a new company?

[Assistant]
Its mostly branding these days but a start up is typically a tech company that is funded by investors and intends to lose money for a few years while doing something innovative, risky, and new. Often a start-up isnt designed to be profitable ever but instead get purchased by a larger company.

So, if you just open a store (online or not) selling t-shirts or candles or whatever, itd be a small business. Its not a new concept and you want to make a profit from day one.

If you invent some cool new tech but the business model isnt clear, youd be more of a start up. An example of that might be if you came up with a new way to detect SPAM. Is it a business? Not really. But investors see it could have value if Google, Microsoft, etc. see the potential. So, its a start up. You (and your investors) eventually want to make money but maybe the end-game is being bought by a bigger company interested in your technology or patents rather than just selling a product to consumers.

That being said, start-up became a trendy term and every company looking for investment said they were one. So, the distinction is blurry nowadays.


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

[User]
Hunter vs. Hunter: Who would win, a Terminator or a Predator?

THE PLAYERS:

 * One yautja hunter with standard armament

 * One T-800 model terminator, armament must be procured in the field

THE HUNTING GROUNDS:

 * NYC, Chicago, L.A. or any city of similar size/population.

The two players must compete in the following scenarios:

 * SCENARIO A: BODYCOUNT
 * The goal is to rack up the highest number of "honorable" kills before being neutralized by human law enforcement/military forces.
  An "honorable" kill is any able-bodied human capable of fighting back (children, elderly, ill, or disabled are not counted.)

 * SCENARIO B: ASSASSINATION
 * The goal is to eliminate one Human VIP and escape the city before law enforcement/military forces mobilize a response.
  The VIP is protected at all times by a security detail of 12 armed guards (equipped with kevlar vests and submachine guns) and appropriate non-combat specialists (video surveillance, EMTs, drivers, etc.)

 * SCENARIO C: BUGHUNT
 * An Alien Queen has nested itself in the city!
  The goal is to infiltrate the Alien hive and exterminate the Queen while avoiding getting caught in the crossfire with the humans and escape.
  The city will be nuked in 24 hours.

 * Additional rules
  Killing or sabotaging the opponent is allowed, but is not the goal.
  Collateral damage is irrelevant, but will provoke an armed human response more quickly.

Who wins?

[Assistant]
A: t-800.

B: Yautja

C: Yautja

All battles are decided easily based on the difference in hunting types.  A t-800 is meant for defense.  It stands there with machine guns and takes bullet after bullet with no damage.  A Predator is a stealth killer.  He'll track a target and attack during optimal advantage.

A:  t-800 will go to a mall and kill everyone, honorable or not.  Human response shows up, t-800 takes the small arms fire without damage, kills the response and uses their weapons to continue.  A yautja would have much choosier selection about what constitutes an honorable kill.  We've seen them decide that pregnant chicks, fat dudes, and dudes with  non-obvious medical conditions aren't worthy.  By the rules those would constitute honorable kills for the t-800.

B: A t-800 finds the travel route of the target, stands in the road, and attempts to kill all protection of the target before getting the job done.  It can be evaded and distracted.  A yautja would get on a rooftop and shoulder cannon the vehicle, destroying it and anyone inside without ever being seen.

C: The t-800 is really at a disadvantage here.  Not because of its offense, but because of the defense of the aliens.  As melee strikers they can damage his limbs causing him to be ineffective.  Additionally their acid blood would leak on his metal parts and destroy it even in their death.  A t-800 doesn't have a self-preservation instinct.  The yautja we've already seen is capable of single handedly killing a queen (see AvP).

For a hunter on hunter scenario the predator tries to stealth close to the target but is unaware of the terminator's infarred vision.  Initial attack to the t-800.  No killshot is awarded, only damage.  Predator retreats, heals, and attempts a ranged plasma blast at terminator.  Terminator is disabled partially.  Terminator is limited to amount of weapons he has on him.  Melee is not a strength.  Predator has no such limitations and comes out on top.


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

[User]
CMV: Usage of the phrase "my truth" rather than just "the truth" is incoherent and absurd

I've heard people, both religious and non-religious, begin using the term "my truth" more and more. Things such as "We may disagree but you have your truth and I have my truth" or "You may not believe in X but that's *my* truth. It's true for me". In accompaniment to this, I've heard people promulgate that there isn't any ultimate/real truth, but that what's true for person A may not be true for person B. This seems absurd to me.

Truth is literally that which corresponds to reality. Reality is distinct from a person's *perception* of reality. I may be fully convinced that ghosts are real, but the fact remains: either ghosts exist or they don't. Saying they exist "for me" bears no real meaning. Sure, I could say that "I believe" or "It's my perception that" they exist, but equating opinion with fact is ridiculous.

As a clarification, I'm not saying we should stop sharing our opinions or begin declaring them as facts. Obviously that could be dangerously dogmatic. But if truth is involved in a statement, we ought to discuss "the truth" instead of "a/my/your truth"

CMV!

[Assistant]
Consider a situation where a husband and a wife get in an argument. During the argument, the husband yells.

To the wife, she felt like he was attacking her. Her interpretation of the situation is that he was being aggressive and using his power of voice to overpower her and shut her up.

To the husband, he interpreted the situation that he just got angry at yelled. She was saying things that were, to him, inflammatory, and he reacted strongly and yelled. To him, he was just yelling out loud, but not "at" her, or to shut her up.

Which one is true?

The correct answer is: neither. Both people interpret the situation based on their own unique histories, traumas, biases, limited perceptions, limited knowledge, etc. Neither person has a totally objective view on the situation. ***They literally can't***

However, it *is* true that the wife experienced things the way she did, and it *is* true that the husband experienced things the way he did. Those are their truths and they are completely undeniable. The husband can argue all he wants about how he didn't yell *at* her, but that doesn't change the fact that she experienced it that way.

Turns out, there is a shitload about life that works this way.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is it hard to simulate human mouse movement?

I read that Websites can know that you're not a bot by looking at the mouse movement. But why would it be hard to simulate that?

[Assistant]
Because an automated system to move and click through dialogs and pages would have to be able to scan and know where the targets to click on are. No human takes a perfectly straight line between targets, and certainly not with the same speed that a computer could react.
You basically have to tell a computer to take a non-optimal path at a non-optimal speed, and to do so differently each time. It can't follow the same bezier curve, for example.
Most humans also idle with their hand on the mouse and make it wiggle, whereas the computer won't move the cursor if it isn't given a reason to.


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

[User] If I shoot a bullet straight up in the air and it returns to earth at my feet, at what point was the bullet at its highest velocity?

[Assistant] The highest velocity is when the bullet just leaves the gun. From then on the air friction and gravity slow it down. If the gun is above the ground you could argue it falls further that it ascended. However, one would have to take the terminal velocity into account. That would be a complicated calculation.


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

[User]
What is still terribly inefficient in OS implementations?

What common design being used in modern Operating Systems causes a significant bottleneck for other aspects of the OS.

[Assistant]
Context switching (like when doing system calls) involves a lot of computations and loading a *massive* amount of shit into memory. Afaik, however, there's no really good workaround for this, as all those computations and all that stuff is pretty necessary for security and system stability.

Same goes for switching between system threads and processes.


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

[User]
Why is it impossible to have a correct 2D map of the earth?

Thanks for the answers, the orange example did help :)

[Assistant] Because a sphere has non-zero intrinsic curvature and the plane has zero intrinsic curvature. You can't isometrically (preserve angles and distances) move from one to the other because isometries preserve curvature.


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

[User]
[Spider-Man Films] Where are the organs that produce Spider-Man's webs kept? Did he just grow new organs/glands after being bitten by the spider?

Talking about the Raimi films if that wasn't clear.

If the organ/gland grew in, I assume they pushed everything else to the side, so is Peter Parker just walking around with swollen wrists or something?

Also does he get a buildup if he doesn't shoot webs often enough?

[Assistant] I just assume he grew some spinnerets between his radius and ulna. He packed on a bit of muscle mass literally overnight, plus given his proportionate muscle strength, any slight loss of muscle mass in his forearms to make way for them (if any) wouldn't affect him too much.


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

[User]
[Startrek TNG] What do they gamble with?

 When Data learns poker he is fascinated by the role bluffing plays in the game...
With nothing at stake bluffing is a simple equation,,, so clearly something is at stake (Which is like money in that it may have different values to different people...)

[Assistant] They're playing for the prestige of being the best player at that table. Everyone starts out with the same amount of chips, no buy-in, but whoever leaves with the most can say they're the winner, and the first one to get knocked out will be described as the loser, which is valuable enough to them that it gives the game emotional stakes.


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

[User]
CMV: Gun Control Advocates should abandon attempts to ban so-called 'Assault-style weapons' and high-capacity magazines and focus on UBC and closing loopholes.

Couple clarifications:

* When I say 'high capacity magazines', I think the limit should be set at perhaps 20 or 30. No one in civilian life has any need for drum mags, but less than 20 seems overly restrictive.

* Assault-Style Weapons: ARs, AKs in semi-auto etc. Pretty much federal status quo.

* I think a gun ban or buyback just isn't in the cards. It's too ingrained in American culture to have enough support, and that's not considering the logistics or budgetary nightmare, or the exceedingly legitimate use cases such as hunting and livestock protection.

My core argument is that both sides are so thoroughly entrenched that no meaningful progress is possible. The NRA thinks the gun control lobby wants a gun ban. Gun control lobby thinks NRA wants guns on every street corner in every hand. These are obviously exaggerations of their actual positions, but it's hard to see any progress made, especially at the federal level.

If the gun control lobby shifts primarily to 'common sense' legislation, such as UBC and closing loopholes (as opposed to attempting to ban classes or categories of weapons entirely) that may actually allow criminals to acquire firearms, such as 80% receivers, one of two things might happen.

* The NRA might compromise, but this is a pipe dream.

* More importantly, moderate gun owners who were concerned about having their 17-round pistol magazines and lawfully obtained ARs confiscated could support gun control without shooting themselves in the foot, pardon the pun.

[Assistant]
All loopholes have actually long been closed. They do not really exist. Criminals acquire their weapons on the black market. They are normally stolen or smuggled weapons, not ones sold directly to the criminal by a store or gun show vendor.

Additionally all guns save for bolt action rifles, lever action rifles, single shot antique weapons and some older single action designs of revolvers are semi-automatic guns. Semi-Automatic means that when you pull the trigger the gun will fire with no other actions needed to be taken by you.

People in civilian life who have to deal with culling herds of wild animals, such as feral hogs have need of high capacity magazines for their hunting. You may think it is just a meme, but they really do travel in sounders of 30-40 large and will actively scatter the moment the group is attacked with some of them often turning to attack the hunters. If you are going to get the whole group and not just cause it to split into multiple groups only spreading the problem out you have to kill them all at once.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why are humans so seemingly backwards and behind the rest of the galaxy?

In GOG we've seen that there are many other humanoid species in the galaxy, including Xandarians who appear identical to humans. All of these humanoid species have achieved interstellar travel and are intergalactic civilizations with the Kree and Xandarians owning interstellar empires.

How is that Humans (Terrans) have barely made it off of Earth, and are even considered uncivilised by Asgardians? What is it these other species have? Is there anything biological different about Xandarians that give them an edge?

[Assistant] Well you're getting a view of the galaxy based on the adventures of the Guardians. They aren't spending their time on remote planets without advanced technology, so you're not going to see planets without galactic travel. As we've seen from the rest of the Guardians, it isn't as if alien species are miles ahead of human intelligence, so it may be as simple as factors like resources, time, and alien intervention behind the differences in advancement.


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

[User] [MCU] Could the Milano fly to Asgard or Terra?

[Assistant]
Terra/Earth, almost certainly yes.  Other Ravager ships can make the journey after all, so can the Kree.

Asgard...no idea. It's not very clear if Asgard is actually in the Milky Way galaxy, or even within the physical universe as opposed to a related dimension.


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

[User] ELI5: All the stages of starvation up to death.

[Assistant] The first stage would be the conversion of any stored glycogen (form of stored excess glucose) into glucose. The second stage would be the breaking down of any stored fats in your body to provide for energy. The third and final stage would be the rapid muscle wasting once you do not have any fats left for breaking down. By this point of time, you may undergo cardiac arrest or simply die from diseases due to a weakened immune system. You're pretty much screwed at this point.


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

[User] ELI5: in the show Silicon Valley on HBO they create a decentralized internet. What is that and in reality how would it work?

[Assistant] In a way it's already happened with the likes of torrents and blockchain for example.  It's the concept of data and routing being hosted by individual nodes opposed to sitting on a single server or server farm.


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

[User]
I believe there was nothing wrong with the Empire from Star Wars and I resent the Rebels from destroying it. CMV.

Here is why. The Emperor had an extraordinary foresight. When Attack of The Clones was underway, he got wind of the news about the impending Yuuzhan Vong attack. Later on, the Chiss confirmed about the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. If the Emperor had remained in power, the Star Wars galaxy would be ruled by the Empire - an extremely well oiled war machine. Not the pathetic New Republic which could barely hold its own. The Empire had Death Stars, Sun Crushers, weapons that could destroy at a scale no one can imagine. Whole planets, solar systems, wiped out in the blink of an eye. I doubt the Yuuzhan Vong would have been able to withstand such power.

Trillions of people were killed. All of this could have been prevented if the damned rebels had not shown up. Granted, Sidious initiated the Clone Wars in an effort to destroy the Jedi, over time his goal changed to that of preservation of the Galaxy. Yes, he only did so because it would keep him in power, but to me, the ends justify the means. If he had committed the atrocities he did, he would have saved so many more people than he committed atrocities against.
So, CMV. Don't tell me the plot is flawed, you don't like the concept of the Vong. Just CMV.

[Assistant]
I'll let Han Solo handle this one.

>That's not what The Empire would have done, Commander. What the Empire would have done was build a super-colossal Yuuzhan Vong-killing battle machine. They would have called it the Nova Colossus or the Galaxy Destructor or the Nostril of Palpatine or something equally grandiose. They would have spent billions of credits, employed thousands of contractors and subcontractors, and equipped it with the latest in death-dealing technology. And you know what would have happened? It wouldn't have worked. They'd forget to bolt down a metal plate over an access hatch leading to the main reactors, or some other mistake, and a hotshot enemy pilot would drop a bomb down there and blow the whole thing up. Now that's what the Empire would have done.


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

[User] ELI5 : why is a room heated to 65 quite comfortable, but a room cooled to 65 is freezing!?!?

[Assistant]
Temperature contrast and adaptation difference.

When the room is heating, your body adapted to the cooler temperature, thus it relaxes and your blood vessels slightly expand (they were contracted to lose less heat). When the room is cooling that means your body adapted to conduct more temperature (expanded blood vessels to prevent overheating) and cooling brings some shock, thus your vessels have to contract due to the potential risk of freezing.

Same goes with contrast showers  you alternating hot and cold water, thus providing a slight thermal shock to the body. It may be good for your blood vessels tonus, but some people may suffer panic attacks because of them.


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

[User]
What does "Entropy" mean?

so i know it has to do with the second law of thermodynamics, which as far as i know means that different kinds of energy will always try to "spread themselves out", unless hindered. but what exactly does 'entropy' mean. what does it like define or where does it fit in.

[Assistant]
Entropy is a measure of "how many microstates lead to the same macrostate" (there is also a natural log in there, but not important for this conversation). This probably doesn't clear up much, but lets do an example, with a piece of iron.

If you just hold a piece of iron that you mined from the Earth, it will have no, or at least very little, magnetic field. If you take a magnet, and rub it on the piece of iron many times, the iron itself will become magnetic. What is happening? Well, iron is made up of many tiny magnetic dipoles. When iron is just sitting there, most of the time, the little dipoles all face in random, arbitrary directions. You add up all of these tiny little magnetic dipoles and if they are just random, they will, on average, sum to zero. So, no overall magnetic field.

But when you rub a magnet over the piece of iron, now the little dipoles all become aligned, facing the same direction. Now, when you add all of the individual dipoles together, you don't get zero, you get some number, pointing in the direction the dipoles have aligned.

So, tying this back into entropy- the non-magnetized iron has high entropy. Why? Well, each of those individual dipoles are one "microstate", and there are many, many options of how to arrange the individual dipoles to get to the "macrostate" of "no magnetic field." For example, think of 4 atoms arranged in a square. To get the macrostate of "no magnetic field" you could have the one in the upper right pointing "up" the one in upper left pointing "right" the bottom right pointing down an the bottom left pointing left. That would sum to zero. But also, you could switch upper left and upper right's directions, and still get zero, switch upper left and lower left, etc. In fact, doing the simplified model where the dipoles can only face 4 directions, there are still 12 options for 4 little dipoles to add to zero.

But, what if instead the magnetic field was 2 to the right (2 what? 2 "mini dipole's worth" for this). What do we know? We know there are three pointing right, and one pointing left, so they sum to 2. Now how many options are there? Only 4. And if the magnetic field was 4 to the right, now there is only one arrangement that works- all pointing to the right.

So, the "non magnetized" is the highest entropy (12 possible microstates that lead to the 0 macrostate), the "a little magnetized" has the "medium" entropy (4 microstates) and the "very magnetized" has the lowest (1 microstate).

The second law of thermodynamics says "things will tend towards higher entropy unless you put energy into the system." That's true with this piece of Iron. The longer it sits there, the less magnetized it will become. Why? Well, small collisions or random magnetic fluctuations will make the mini dipoles turn a random direction. As they turn randomly, it is less likely that they will all "line up" so the entropy goes up, and the magnetism goes down. And it takes energy (rubbing the magnet over the iron) to decrease the entropy- aligning the dipoles.


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

[User]
I, as a man, don't want my fianc to take my last name despite being HIS wish. Please CMV.

1. I think it's an outdated practice even in heterosexual couples, not measuring in the sexism and the misogyny.

2. For this reason, I don't want to change my last name. He is okay with that.
3.  I also can't understand the possible benefits of getting one's name changed

4. He really wants to take my last name. He has changed his name multiple times before, on multiple turning points of his life.

Trying to understand, and change my view, to any logical reason for my emotional aversion to this.

[Assistant] Well it sounds personally important to him as a symbol of the next step of your guys' life together. It's an opinion that's informed by social practice, but hey, so is your peeps' decision to get married in the first place. He's choosing to change himself in a way that inherently ties his identity to you. That's pretty damn romantic.


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

[User] ELI5: What the hell has happened to Shia LabBeouf?

[Assistant] He started ripping off other people's works, notably making a critically acclaimed short film that turned out to be stolen almost word for word from a comic he once publically praised. When he got caught out for doing it (and it led to people realising much of "original" work was plagiarised), he initially denied it, then started some completely over the top, sarcastic "apology" campaign. The media called him an ass for it, and he responded by acting like a spoilt child and doing increasingly idiotic and faux-controversial publicity stunts to try and keep himself in the public eye since the Hollywood media no longer cared for him as an "artist" since he is a plagiarist.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly causes pupil dilation/constriction after ingesting drugs?

I understand that our pupils dilate when were in the dark, and they become constricted when we look directly at the sun for example. But why do certain drugs alter our pupils, and for what reason?

[Assistant]
Certain drugs can change pupil size by activating or blocking the sympathetic/parasympathetic systems. If a drug causes sympathetic activity then it will directly cause the pupil to dilate. If it activates parasympathetic activity then the pupil constricts. Here's another interesting part: The drug can also block one system and allow the other to take over unopposed. Meaning you'd get the effects, but would not actually be activating that system.

The reason for the systems is due to our ability to collect light and focus. Sympathetic activity requires us to pull in more light and have a better immediate surrounding visual field versus a better focused field further away.


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

[User] ELI5:Why was I taught all about "The food pyramid" during school but later in life I found out it was apparently all wrong..?

[Assistant]
The fact is our bodies are very, very complicated and the science has been dead wrong over and over regarding them, especially in regards to nutrition.

Up until about 10 years ago it was assumed that fat makes you fat and cholesterol intake clogs your arteries.

As it turns out, the only biological signal to the liver to store fat is sugars/carbohydrates. Fat on the other hand, in the absence of much sugar, is used as fuel (particularly for the brain) and discarded.

Cholesterol on its own is not bad, it's a required nutrient in fact.

During the low/no fat diet fads of the 80s and 90s people thought they could gorge themselves on low/no fat chips and cookies and lose weight. How wrong we were on something so simple to test.

Science has become religious for some  (especially around these parts) and they've misunderstood it to be gospel rather than "this is what we think we understand about X at this point in time". Because of this dogmatic thinking, the food pyramid many of us followed and became overweight following was making us all into sugar/carb addicts or worse, diabetics, and nobody wanted to stand up against the scientific authorities  (particularly the USDA)


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What was SUPPOSED to happen to Anakin?

It's been forever since I've seen the prequels, but IIRC, the Jedi Council didn't want to train him because he was too old. So if Qui-Gon hadn't died and Obi-Wan hadn't continued to defy them, what would they have done with him? Turning him loose runs the risk of him turning evil and becoming a really powerful enemy, and locking him up for a crime he hadn't committed doesn't seem like the Jedi way. What was the right move?

[Assistant]
The Council wouldn't have done anything unless Qui-Gon were to quit the order and trained him in secret. Without proper training Anakin might not have gotten as powerful as he did with training despite having  really high Force potential.

He could've used his untrained force abilities to become an amazing pilot most likely.


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

[User]
CMV The Force Awakens is the worst star wars movie to be made so far

I'm tired of hearing people talk about how good it is when in reality it was just the original Star Wars movie with a bigger budget. Rey and Fin are two of the most unbelievable characters to ever have been created in any movie or TV show. The writing for the movie is lazy and just pushed along by coincidence. The original characters don't even hold true to how they were in the original trilogy. The acting was bad, the jokes were bad. How in the fuck did the first order come about? Are the "rebels" just going to fight whatever fucking super power there is in the universe for no good damn reason? The movie makes me physically angry!

[Assistant]
I like to think of TFA as the movie fans *need* but not the one fans *deserve.* Star Wars fans were left gun shy after the prequel trilogy. Lucas missed the mark on a lot of things there and many fans went into TFA with very low expectations. Combine that with the fact that TFA is the first Star Wars movie since the Disney acquisition, and fans were seriously nervous about it. If Lucasfilm had produced it start to finish, the movie would have been cut some serious slack. But under Disney/Abrams, the critics were out in force and the movie had to be safe for them. So the movie did what it was supposed to do-- it was **safe** and it managed to convince fans of Star Wars that Disney wasn't going to shit all over their beloved franchise. It took the tried and true road because it was what the fans needed at the moment.

The fact that this was needed at all speaks to the weakness of the prequels. Surely Phantom Menace or Clones, and the damage they caused, qualify as worse movies than TFA for all these reasons.


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

[User]
How viable is the UK's decision to leave 3 months between vaccine doses to attempt to vaccinate more people rather than committing to the original plan of 21 days between doses?

Unsure if the wording is right in my title. I'm wondering if this firstly, will in fact mean more people are vaccinated sooner. Secondly, will the second dose of the vaccine be as effective when given 3 months after the first dose than it would be 21 days after.

[Assistant]
I get it. Herd immunity, where the virus dies out because so many people are immune that the virus has nobody left to infect, is pretty far off right now. So there is no broad social benefit to giving 2 doses to the same person to make them 95% protected.

On the other hand, one dose of the vaccine is about 62% effective. That means that about 62% of people won't get the virus if exposed. But even if you do get infected and develop symptoms, the likelihood of developing severe illness is drastically reduced.

If you only have, say, 100 doses, it is better to have 62 people immune and 38 somewhat protected against severe illness, than 50 of them almost totally immune but the rest totally unprotected.


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

[User]
String theory, what is its status as of now?

String theory has been around for some time now and gets a lot of attention in popular science. It would be nice if the physicists here could tell me whats the status of string theory as of now

*Has there been any experimental evidence so far or suggestion for the existence of strings?

*Have we been able to work back from first principles to derive accepted theories like QED or QCD ?

*Why do a lot of physicists think that strings could be the answer? Has there been any alternative theories that work better?

EDIT: Thanks for the answers! After reading it I am left with one question though

*Has string theory become too mathematical? Has it grown into branches of Math not too accessible to physicists?

[Assistant]
>*Has there been any experimental evidence so far or suggestion for the existence of strings?

No, and given the tiny distance scale on which string theory operates, it is hard to imagine what experimental evidence might even be feasible to obtain.

>*Have we been able to work back from first principles to derive accepted theories like QED or QCD ?

It is not clear if string theory even has a unique solution; the best we can say is that string theory has the ingredients necessary to incorporate the Standard Model, but we do not have a direct path to show that string theory predicts the Standard Model.

>*Why do a lot of physicists think that strings could be the answer?

The appeal of string theory was that for the first time, we had a theory that combined gravity and quantum mechanics in a way that appeared successful, restricted certain other features of the theory (dimension of spacetime, symmetry groups) that were arbitrary in particle theories, did not require *renormalization* (a logically sound procedure that many find distasteful), and provided a natural geometrical interpretation of interactions.

>Has there been any alternative theories that work better?

Among those who work on string theory and related topics, the current thinking is that string theory is actually one corner of a deeper underlying theory called M-theory, which involves a broader range of geometrical objects, and which incorporates the 5 distinct string theories plus 11-dimensional supergravity as special cases of M-theory.

There is an alternative approach to quantum gravity called *loop quantum gravity* that has also garnered attention.  Loop quantum gravity approaches things by directly modifying the structure of spacetime.


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

[User] [Star Trek] Even if they suppress actually laughing out loud, do any Vulcans appreciate the spirit of humor and comedy? They seem to have disdain for lowbrow human jokes like slapstick, but what about something more highbrow and dry, like societal/political satire?

[Assistant] Controlled emotions and nonexistent emotions are two different things. Vulcans *do* feel amusement, even if they don't show it outwardly (and even if they don't find the same things amusing that humans do).


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

[User] ELI5: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

[Assistant]
Well kid, you remember the difference between nouns, verbs and adjectives, right?  And sometimes you can put "that" or "also" in a sentence or take it out and it doesn't change the meaning?  Well, put those together and you have this sentence.

Let's take something with the same structure.  "Dallas chickens that Dallas chickens fight also fight Dallas chickens".  It's a pretty meaningless sentence, but at least it's understandable.  You can remove the "that" and the "also" and you get a sentence with the same meaning.  "Dallas chickens Dallas chickens fight fight Dallas chickens."  Still with me?

"Buffalo" has three meanings in this sentence.

1.  "Buffalo", the town

2.  "buffalo", the animal

3.  "buffalo", the verb, meaning to bully

Replace "Dallas" with "Buffalo", "chicken" with "buffalo", and "fight" with "buffalo", and you get "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo".

Go wash your hands.


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

[User] ELI5 why some of my hard-boiled eggs are nearly impossible to de-shell, while others take hardly any effort.

[Assistant]
Fresh eggs have shells which are more porous and stick to the inner egg when boiled. Less fresh eggs develop a small amount of gas which, when you boil it, separates the egg from the shell like a little bubble. The shell becomes less porous over time. The result is that the eggs become easier to peel after boiling.

N.B.: Regardless of the freshness factor, putting a spoonful of baking soda in the water when you boil your eggs should make them easier to peel, too.
Source: sister keeps chickens for their eggs.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

You always hear about "sailing the seven seas", so are oceans also seas, but seas aren't necessarily oceans?

Edit: The reason I asked this is because Google says a Sea is usually a body of water that touches a landmass, but we don't call it The Pacific Sea when you go to the beach in California.

[Assistant] Seas are geographic locations of the oceans where land and ocean meet. There are more than 7 seas. Our oceans have general boundaries, but ultimately it's difficult to really tell where one ends and another begins. Our Earth has 1 ocean, we just geographically call areas of this 1 ocean: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic.


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

[User]
[X-Men & Assassin's Creed] can Magneto's helmet protect him from an apple of Eden?

I've been binging the X-Men series during the quarantine, as well as playing the Assassin's Creed franchise, and I was wondering if an apple could affect Erik if he had his helmet on.

[Assistant] The Apple activates a certain gene bred into humans by the precursors, its not a telepathy thing so im gonna say it could. since the helmet blocks whatever brain waves telepaths use to control some one.


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

[User] [Game of thrones] how would it change with the introduction of gunpowder?

[Assistant] Castles are rendered more or less useless; every middling lord or wealthy merchant can now outright threat the monarchy; the Iron Throne collapses and a federal republic is founded with or without an interim period of incredibly bloody war of all against all.


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

[User]
What am I missing with the ontological argument? It seems like one of the silliest philosophical arguments for anything ever, yet some people take it seriously? Or do they? Is it just a historically interesting piece of theology?

Truly it can't be compelling for anyone? I just don't get it.

It relies on an assumption (that the most perfect or "great" thing can be conceived) then makes a subjective analysis of "greatness" then assumes that this hypothetical greatest being would have to exist in order to fulfil the qualities necessary to be the greatest thing one of which is to exist.

I've learned about this argument multiple times and every time I just think it's the stupidest fucking thing. Yet invariably someone says they find it compelling. Am i missing something here?

[Assistant]
> It relies on an assumption (that the most perfect or "great" thing can be conceived) then makes a subjective analysis of "greatness"...

This seems like a strange interpretation to me. Anselm is here using the typical language and context which is used to refer to one of the central concepts of the philosophical tradition of which he was an heir, notably the concept around which the theory of ontology typical to the time was framed, a concept with origins in Plato (notably, the theory of exemplar causality) and Aristotle (notably, the theory of analogical predication), and which was continually developed through the broadly Neoplatonic and Augustinian tradition that connects Anselm to these classical sources.

Is there a good reason to think that, appearances notwithstanding, Anselm is not referencing this philosophical background, but is rather introducing a novel analysis along the psychological and subjective lines you indicate here?


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

[User] ELI5:Why does water vapour form distinct clouds rather than just spread out more evenly in the sky?

[Assistant]
Sometimes it does spread out more evenly, and then you get a grey overcast day.

Clouds form when the temperature falls below something called the "dew point", or when pressure falls. Cold thin air can hold less water vapour than warm air, and so when the temperature and/or pressure falls below a certain point the invisible water vapour that's in the air and contributes to something called "humidity" starts congealing into tiny floating droplets instead.

You get this as condensation and dew too, just that doesn't float. Take a cold surface such as a glass of water with an ice cube on it and the cold glass causes condensation to occur there. Ditto dew on grass after a cold night.

The air is filled with regions of warm and cold. On a hot day, thermals cause warm humid air to rise into the atmosphere, injecting upwards into colder air regions with less air pressure. The water vapour comes out into visible droplet form, and a cloud forms. They're poofy and clumped rather than perfectly distributed because that warm air rises unevenly, more in some places than others.

Or a plane flies along spewing warm moist air out of its engines and you sometimes get a contrail.


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

[User]
[40K] So our ship was blown off course in the Warp and we emerged in real space beyond the light of the Astronomican. How do we figure out where in the galaxy we are?

How do we determine our real space location and how do we get back to the Emperor's light?

[Assistant]
You triangulate you location based on any known stars you can detect and make a short jump towards Terra. Keep triangulating and making short jumps until you see the Astronomicon or (more likely) die.

Alternatively, give up and land on the nearest habitable planet. Or maybe forsake the imperium and embrace chaos.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter]Does the Pope know about witches and wizards?

We know for certain that the Minister of Magic has direct contact with the Muggle Prime Minister of the UK. I think it's safe to assume the same courtesy is afforded the President of the US.

At what level of world leader do you have to be brought into the loop on the Wizarding World for security purposes? How could this affect a religious world leader like the Pope?

[Assistant]
Yes. In ages past, there was a lot of violence between the church and the wizarding community. Magic was seen as the result of bargaining with the devil and was an affront to the true miracles of the holy trinity. This attitude was not improved by the cruelties committed by pure-blood supremacists of the wizarding community against muggles, which were quite extensive around the time of Hogwarts inception (hence Salazar Slytherins open involvement in the founding).

It was not uncommon for the church to lead a village against an unmasked witch or wizard, and exorcisms were frequently held for children struggling to control their wild, untrained magic. Where these exorcisms were successful, or problem children handed over to the church to raise, the survivors grew up to become holy men and women who performed small miracles by God with their unrefined magical will (no wands).

In todays world, the church and the magical community is both more knowledgeable and connected with greater oversight by the Vatican and Ministry. Both communities are becoming far more progressive and brutalities against each other viewed as heinous crimes. It would not surprise me if Pope Francis was more welcoming of the arcane than his predecessors, and may spell a new age of acceptance of magic as a god-given gift rather than a curse.


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

[User] ELI5: Do fat or overweight people have more blood than normal-weighted people?

[Assistant] Yea, since more mass has to be supplied. Otherwise you'd need a faster circulation system, thinner bloodstreams, and that'd also mean a higher average pulse, which would cause heart issues aside the other likely ones that already exist when you are overweight.


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

[User]
Can I overcharge an electronic?

Is it possible if I leave my phone or something with a rechargeable battery on the charger too long for it to be damaged somehow?

[Assistant]
This is the case with cheap electronics using batteries other than lithium. All lithium battery chargers are "smart" with circuitry to prevent overcharging, as that could result in a fire.

Some cheap electronics that still use the older style NiCd and Nimh battery technology use trickle charging - electricity at a low current and constant voltage. These chargers do overcharge the battery, but the low charging rate means the batteries don't get too damaged from being overcharged. In recent times you can find these systems in use with cheap power tools.


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

[User]
Responding to student email after job talk

Greetings Academics!

I received an email from a graduate student who attended my job talk campus interview(which included a teaching demo) for a position I turned down.

The email expresses student and her assertion of other students sentiments of connection and devastation at my decline. I remember this student in particular and the demo in general as the class was very engaged the whole time. The email was very kind and didnt press for information. The student seemed concerned to ensure it didnt come across as inappropriate.

My question is guidance on how to respond. I imagine I should be brief and focus on the affirming the pleasant experience and avoid details of why I declined. I would feel heartless to not respond but curious on how to navigate this. Any suggestions of what to say or what to avoid saying would be appreciated!

ETA: sent email. A balance of the feedback that felt true to self as well. I meant every word and that felt good. Thanks for all the feedback!

[Assistant] Your instincts are correct. Thank the student(s) for reaching out and for their concern. Thank them also for their engagement during the class, and wish them well. No need to provide personal information.


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

[User] ELI5 when a computer program freezes, why cant the program automatically restart itself instead of someone having to manually force quit and restart it?

[Assistant]
The program almost certainly doesn't "know" it's frozen. In order to respond to an error causing the program to freeze the developers would have to know about the error and write code to handle it. Why, if they know about it, would they do what you suggest rather than fixing it or otherwise handle it more gracefully than the program freezing?

Your operating system likely "knows" the program is frozen, but the OS doesn't make the assumption that a user wants to kill and restart a program immediately when it freezes because, often, you don't.


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

[User] How long can viruses survive on a p95 mask or filter?

[Assistant] This is tremendously dependent on the virus itself.  What you're asking, essentially, is how dessication-resistant are viruses.  HIV won't survive very long at all (minutes).  Norovirus will survive for extended periods (days to weeks).  The stability of different viruses is tremendously variable, and is one of many determinants of viral transmission rates.


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

[User]
[general fantasy] If two demigods breed, do they have a chance at birthing a full god?

Demigods are usually the result of a god having a child with a mortal. The resulting child being half divine and half mortal.

If two demigods breed and all the DNA lines up just right, could the child be fully divine DNA and thus a full god?

[Assistant]
Generally-speaking, no, because it's not a matter of genetics; it's a matter of "divinity". That's more often than not a quality that transcends any question of flesh or construction, and has more to do with nature, or essence. Once the quality of divinity has been mixed with mortality, it's not fully divine anymore, and becomes something different than what the godly parent possesses.

I suppose the best analogy might be to liquids. Say divinity is like fruit juice. If you mix two types of juice (two gods reproduce), what you get afterwards is different than either original, but it's still juice (i.e., a full god).

But when you mix some grape juice with *saltwater*, say (god breeding with a mortal), then what you've got at the far end is not precisely juice, and it's not precisely saltwater either. And no amount of mixing "salt-juice" is ever going to get you "pure juice" again.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why was Finn on Jakku?

When they infiltrated Starkiller base, Finn told Han that he worked maintenance.  Why would a designated maintenance worker get a combat role?  Does the Empire force their Stormtroopers to do work like that? I would expect them to hire civilians to do that kind of work (or slaves).

[Assistant]
1. The First Order is not the Empire.

2. Finn was assigned to sanitation, not maintenance.

2. The First Order's stormtroopers *are* slaves. They're kidnapped from birth and pressed into service.

3. It's possible that he was part of the sanitation crew until he showed some trait that the First Order looks for in its stormtroopers (obviously not loyalty to the cause. Possibly a strong stomach) and was transferred into their training program. We know 100% for sure, though, that the raid on Jakku was in fact his *first* mission as a stormtrooper, so he would not have been one when he was working sanitation on Starkiller Base.


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

[User]
How does diborane (B2H6) exist?

The hydrogens having two bonds is really perplexing to me and it kinda breaks what we are taught at school about bonding and orbitals.

[Assistant]
OK so what you were taught wasn't wrong, any more than say teaching someone stuff in mechanics and talking about perfect spheres etc is "wrong". It's just that you got a simplified version.

So firstly let's consider methane, CH4 - the Carbon 2s and 2p orbitals hybridise to form sp3 orbitals. This means the carbon can now have 4 equivalent bonds arranged in a tetrahedral structure, and together with the 4 H atoms, it now means that there are 8 electrons in the outer shell of the Carbon which makes it "happy", or technically it is now in a low energy state which makes it relatively stable because the 4 available orbitals are all full.

Hopefully you're with me so far.

Now Boron has 1 electron less than Carbon, so if it did the same thing: sp3 hybrid orbitals, 4 bonds to H atoms, it would have just 7 electrons, 3 from the Boron and 4 from the Hydrogens. That's not enough. But it gets around this with the 3 centre, 2 electron bonds, in which it effectively shares 2 electrons with another Boron atom via these "banana bonds".  Each Boron now effectively has 8 electrons in the outer shell, so just like methane, the structure is now stable.


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

[User]
[Star Wars, Prequel movies only] Why did the Senate let / vote for the Republic an Empire and Palpatine becoming its Emperor?

People loved Palpatine, he was popular, ok. He was charismatic, led the Republic against the Confederation in a gigantic war. Victory wasn't easy, but they won. But that won't make you instantly an Emperor.

And then suddenly the Jedi tried to assassinate him, unsuccessfully. Ok, that made a lot of senators angry, understandable. Still no reason to change the government in such a drastic way.

Jedi were generals, and that might made them look dangerous, so I guess senators felt unsafe. Again, understandable. But that's not enough reason to the whole Empire thing, especially when they have Orders like 66.

I know Palpatine used corruption as a hidden weapon, but no way the majority of the Senate was in his pocket... right?

[Assistant]
Apparently it was enough reason, or at least he convinced them it was. He was a very charismatic person with a lot of political and emotional clout among the Senate.

I mean, this is stuff that has literally happened over the course of human history. It doesn't take any real stretch of the imagination.


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

[User]
ELI5: The Tragedy of the Commons

Is it just the concept of self-interest trumping the common good? Or is there more to it than that?

[Assistant]
Imagine there's a pasture full of grass that's not owned by a private individual.  Farmers from around the area bring their cattle to this pasture to graze for free.  The act of grazing slowly destroys the pasture.  All farmers realize that if the pasture gets over-grazed that all of the grass will die and the pasture will be of no benefit to anyone.  If one farmer takes his cattle away from the pasture to let the grass regrow, another farmer will just take his place and the pasture will get destroyed anyway.  So what happens is that none of the farmers remove their cattle because the destruction of the pasture is seen as inevitable.

One proposed solution to this problem is to allow private ownership of the land.  The private owner can charge a small fee to each farmer who comes to the pasture.  When the pasture needs to recover, the private owner will only let a few (or no) farmers in, because if the pasture is destroyed then the private owner won't be able to make money off of it anymore.


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

[User]
ELI5 : If short wheel based car handle so well, why are high end sports cars so long?

For example the mini Cooper. Handle incredibly well, lotus elise also short wheel based. Handles great, so why are cars such as lambo, ferrari, mclaren are so long in comparison?

[Assistant] because short wheelbase handles great at low speed.  long wheelbase is more stable at high speeds. a mini is great bombing arount a track at 70 - 90 mph but at 180 it would be serious brown trouser time.


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

[User]
How does leather tanning work? Can you apply similar methods to something like, banana skins?

Bit of a bizarre question, but how does leather tanning work, and is it possible to "tan" a vegetable/fruit skin- for example, something thicker, like a banana skin?

Just curious if it would be possible to make usable leather out of vegetables/fruits/plants rather than animals.

[Assistant]
No, tanning happens due to the formation of complexes which cross-link the collagen fibers, both strengthening them and making them more difficult to break down(for example, by microbes). Fruit skins are made primarily out of cellulose; the process that will "polymerize" collagen fibers won't do the same to them.

You can extract cellulose out of something and make a stronger polymer out of it; for example, cellophane. It's not really similar to tanning, though.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why pharmaceutical prices in the USA is a thousand times more than the same drug sold in a developong country

For example, here in Bangladesh 20mg of Fluoxetine (Brand name Prozac) costs 0.037 USD while in the USA it costs 7.5 USD per tablet at Walmart.

That is just insane!! These two drugs have the exact same material yet their prices are a thousand times different. Can someone ELI5 why this is so?

[Assistant]
About 200 years ago, commercial developers were facing a problem. It cost money to invent something new, but once you invented it it was really cheap for a craftsman to take it apart and build it themselves. Governments feared that new technology development would cease altogether. Their solution was to grant a short-term monopoly on any new invention, allowing inventors to reap all of the benefits of their investments to make it profitable to improve them.

Once you have a monopoly, you gain access to a bunch of tools to make money. Instead of charging about what it costs to make something, you charge whatever price will get you the most profit by figuring out how many people will buy at each price, multiplying that number by the profit per unit at that price, then picking the most profitable price.

The American market is most profitable at the price they set in America. In Bangladesh, though, the most profitable price is lower. So they set different prices in different areas, arguing that otherwise their most profitable move would be to charge American prices everywhere, denying developing nations access at all. As that would be a thing that would actually happen, governments agreed, granting discount drugs to developing nations while improving the profit of drug companies over all.

So, basically, the companies charge the 'real' price in developed nations that they need to to make their research budgets work, then charge a production-cost price in developing nations that wouldn't be able to access the drug otherwise. Everyone wins - you get new drugs being developed all the time (which you pay for), and Bangladesh gets the drugs that they can barely afford to produce.


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

[User] [WH40K] Exactly how powerful is the psychic powers of the God Emperor of Mankind? Are they stronger than Martian Manhunter or Nate Grey?

[Assistant]
Psychic power in wh40k doesn't work in the similar way to powers from comics.

Really, it's like hell storms fingering their way through a small hole into the real world, and this hole is  you.

That's why the most difficult thing in wh40k is not to be strong, but to control bits of such power and survive.


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

[User]
What is the environmental benefit to purchasing a Nissan Leaf if the grid is charged on is powered by fossil fuels?

Suppose my house gets power from an oil powerplant?  Any way we could compare this to the Toyota Corolla?  What would be the net difference on pollutants to the environment?  While the Nissan Leaf itself doesn't pollute very much for driving 30 miles, I assume recharging it for 30 miles creates some pollutants from the power plant.

What if it's hooked up to a coal power plant?  Same questions.

I was told by someone that powerplants are, at best, 50% efficient.  Are cars any better?

[Assistant]
There are 3 benefits:

* First of all, power plants as extremely efficient (compared to your car engine). The reason being that they are built to run at a specific RPM and a specific temperature and constant (almost) output etc. Car engines, on the other hand, are very inefficient - below 30% of power plants - because they have to give bursts of power, are still running when you don't need power, vary in operation temperatures and, well,  are just smaller and cheaper. So **creating the same amount of energy produces much less pollution** in power plants. Much much less.

* A power plant is easier to upgrade - immediately upgrading the environmental benefits of all electric cars. Upgrading all the cars in the world is much more difficult. So, even if right now the electric car pollute because of the coal plant, once more solar panels are installed (for example) **all** the electric cars become "less polluting" all of a sudden

* The pollution of power plants is "out of the way" - usually the plants are built outside of residential areas, and they have these huge "chimneys" that move the pollution up and out of reach. Pollution from cars are, on the other hand, right in the cities, right in the residential areas. Kids (and adults...) breath this pollution when going to school, opening a window at home, playing around in parks. So even if both methods polluted the same - just having electric cars makes the streets and parks and homes less polluted.


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

[User] ELI5: What would happen if we went back to the gold standard?

[Assistant] It wouldn't be possible. The world's economy is built on the debt infrastructure of fiat currency. Forcing the US to benchmark it's currency against the dollar would cause the US economy to collapse, taking the world economy with it.


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

[User] I keep hearing about Richard III. Who was he, and why does everyone care so much that his skeleton was discovered recently?

[Assistant]
He was a king of England.  Partially well known because Shakespeare wrote a play about him.

He's pretty controversial historically and it's rare that a king of England has their body uncovered under a parking lot, so it's a pretty big deal.


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

[User] [The IT Crowd] Now that Big Ben is being renovated  can The Internet stay on top of the clock tower? What did the Elders of the Internet decide?

[Assistant] That's what the renovation is FOR. It's to reinforce the Internet now that it's also being put in like, phones and TVs. The Elders of the Internet shut down Big Ben so they could fix the Internet and make more room for all those adorable puppy pictures.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Why doesn't Vader implement Beskar in parts of his armor?

[Assistant]
In the old Expanded Universe, Vader's gloves specifically *were* Mandalorian Crushgaunts, constructed from Beskar. This is how he is able to block Han's shots on Bespin in TESB. It is unclear why other portions of the suit were not similarly treated, though it may have to do with Sidious' seeming desire to use the armor to remind Vader of his new vulnerability.

Though Crushgaunts exist in the Disneyverse, there is no mention so far of Beskar's use in Vader's armor.


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

[User]
Are there any body parts that can't get cancer?

I recently learned that teeth can get cancer which got me to wondering, are there any body part that can't get cancer? Because it doesn't seem like it.

[Assistant] Cancer is caused by an error in cell devision that causes the cell to replicate faster then it should. That means that the only cells that cannot become cancers are the onces that can no longer replicate. So that means you cannot get cancer in your red blood cells (no DNA either),  something like your hair (no longer alive) or certain nerves(sheets can be a problem though) which do not replicate.


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

[User] Are there any substances which are opaque in the visual spectrum but transparent in the ultraviolet spectrum?

[Assistant] Wood's glass is transparent for IR and UV but opaque for almost all of the visible. It used to be used for blacklights, although health concerns have generally led to it being replaced with compounds that pass a bit more visible (so you know the bulb is on and you are receiving UV)


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

[User] ELI5:Why does food that tasted awesome as a kid (sugary cereal, Chef Boyardee) taste awful as an adult?

[Assistant]
Children have the most sensitive sense of taste.  That is why bitter things are so hard for them.  Really all strong flavors are confronting to them.

That is why they gravitate towards things that are sweet and not bitter.

As we age our taste-buds reduce in number and also shrink.  By the time we are elderly the sense of taste is greatly diminished.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] Someone stole all of my sweetrolls but all the guards do not care and are in fact rude and dismissive about the issue. Is there someone I can go to about this?

It may not seem like a big deal, but I'm just a simple baker and having close to 70% of my shop's inventory stolen like that really threatens my livelihood.

[Assistant]
Hire some thugs to teach them a lesson. Alternatively, spread the rumor that you've done the Black Sacrament. The first option is cheaper, but there's always a chance that the thief will win and find out who sent thugs after him. The second option has the advantage of anonymity. Plus the Dark Brotherhood will go after anybody except their own members.

Gotta recommend the second option. It's pretty unlikely that your sweetroll thief is going to join the Dark Brotherhood *or* destroy it.


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

[User]
[Powerpuff Girls] How did Professor Utonium obtain "everything nice" for his creation?

You can buy white granulated sugar and most varieties of spices at your local grocery store. How does one obtain "everything nice" for the formula? Does it specify what counts as everything nice? It looks like a whole mix of things in the intro. Does what you consider nice affect the creation's personality?

[Assistant]
I think you're giving him too much credit.

It's clear he just grabbed whatever he found at the Townsville Toy Store girls aisle.

There was no scientific rigour in this shopping excursion and it's clear from multiple episodes that he knows next to nothing about raising girls.

It's very sterotypical stuff he got and he's lucky it worked out.

Also mojo the monkey played some small role in all this and he possibly used him to bounce ideas off of and a monkey will have no clue what little girls would actually want or need.


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

[User]
[Star Trek Voyager] Why does Janeway bother with crew meetings when no matter what advice she is offered she has already made her decision and will not back down from it no matter how insane it may be or how huge the problems that will result from it are?

Example, we ARE going through Borg space despite the insanity of doing that.

[Assistant]
It's less "already made her decision" and more "nobody has offered a truly viable alternative". As risky and otherwise crazy her ideas may be, the meetings are an opportunity for people to object and offer alternatives. It is rare that an alternative is anything more than simply "don't do that" or an idea that doesn't actually connect to the intended result Janeway is going for.

With nobody offering an alternative that works or leads to the same end, the original plan wins by default.


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

[User]
[Marvel 616] All the genius heroes decide to use their knowledge to get together and improve the world. How does the world look now?

What I mean by this is, from a Doylist perspective, the "Reed Richards is Useless" trope is gone. Heroes on longer have to keep the Earth similar to how it is IRL. just poofs away and Reed, Tony, T'Challa, and everyone else with super-intelligence joins together to use their collective knowledge to improve the Earth.

They still act in-character, ofc. Tony doesn't just give every military an Iron Man suit since he has canonically stated that he doesn't want other people to have that power.

How does this Earth look after 1, 5, 10, 30, or even 100 years?

[Assistant]
That kind of unrestricted technological growth powered by their near unfathomable collective wealth would be nigh world ending if they didnt manage themselves carefully.

Society has to grow, adapt, and learn with technology level. If you came to earth in the Middle Ages and have them nukes, death would com come for everyone at once.

Our society still ties a lot of worth to jobs, money, and wealth. What happens if we reduce the need for employment (through stuff like replicators and automation) to an amount far below the average population?  What happens when we have a post-scarcity economy?  there needs to be systems in place to take up the slack, but there also needs to be a fundamental change in society that separates worth from occupation.

Their limiting factor would be how they can grow society, not technology.

From a purely technological standpoint, in 5 years Id expect non Terran colonies in the sol system, and a dyson swarm limitless power apparatus.  Wireless power transmission, and instant, lossless data transmissions.

In 10, advances in medicine and bio-tech make death a non-issue. (Another interesting situation for society).  Genetic engineering would be a on the table, and with the theoretical ability to engineer super-humans, wed get god their pretty quickly.

In 20, Id expect a society with a permanent virtual reality while machines take care of our basic needs.  We would need to invent problems to keep us entertained.   Our machines would be less metal, and more bio-synthetic composite with nanotechnology,  and near lossless energy conversion

In 100 years, we would be in a post-human era with a centralized hive mind. All of humanity interconnected to form a new intelligence.   We would be one of the strongest galactic empires in the known universe.


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

[User] ELI5: When someone has severe damage to a vital organ like the heart, it is often said that they "die instantly". Why is this? Doesn't it still take a couple minutes for the brain to lose oxygen and stop working?

[Assistant] Sudden drops in blood pressure cause instantaneous unconsciousness. Although they technically may be alive for a short period of time following that incident, they are not responsive, there's no blood flow and thus no nutrient/oxygen delivery and waste disposal, and there's no way to effectively resuscitate the injured person in what little time remains before permanent brain death. So, they are to all intents and purposes dead in every realistic sense of the word.


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

[User]
Has there ever been an equivalent of the Manhattan Project or 60's Space Program, in the realm of medical technology?

Has the realm of medicine ever had a huge project, with ample funding, directed at a very specific goal, that was then achieved in within several years?  I arrived at this question after wondering how long it would take us to cure cancer or AIDS if such programs had, say, 10 times or 100 times their current funding.

[Assistant]
The eradication of smallpox is one such achievement, involving the level of international cooperation that is absent in the other two examples.

For something more current, the 1000-dollar genome is a goal that's tackled mostly by private companies. We're getting very close to achieving that goal.


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

[User]
Is there a way to know if a piece of information (document/file) was created at certain point, but not in a future time?

Besides something like carbon dating, if I create a piece of information or document, is there any mathematical or computer science way to prove that it was made, for example, on a Monday, and not on Tuesday by someone and put in Mondays date?

[Assistant]
In order to achieve this, you need a data structure that can't be modified after the fact (except perhaps through unreasonable amounts of brute force effort).

One approach relies on a trusted authority and this approach is mimics the concept of a notarized document. You include in the document a statement on the creation date of the document authored by a trusted authority and an electronic signature for this message. The signature depends on the message in this case: Change the message and the signature has to be changed as well.

Thanks to public-key cryptography, anyone can verify that this statement was signed by whoever holds the private keys of this authority. And unless one can break the encryption scheme, there is no method to retroactively change the contents of the statement and update the electronic signature to still be valid, except by the original signing authority.

This removed the need to trust the author of the document, but replaces it with the need to trust this third party signing authority.

Another approach is to simply announce the creation of the document publicly. Post about it on a blog, take an ad out in a newspaper, etc... Having multiple public sources that date the creation means that one should be able to verify with a reasonable degree of certainty what the creation date was. However, with time, these sources become less readily available.

Finally, one could store a statement regarding the creation of the document in a blockchain structure. Blockchains such as Bitcoin allow for small messages to be embedded in transaction. By including the hash of the document in a transaction, one could create an immutable timestamp that proves the document was created no later than the timestamp of that blockchain transaction.


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

[User] ELI5: Do plants or trees have unique DNA fingerprints like humans do that can be used to identify individual plants?

[Assistant]
Every individual everything that is not a clone or twin of another individual has its own unique DNA.

Bacteria clone themselves so the daughter cells of a bacteria will share the same DNA as the parent *except* for random mutations that occur naturally. And bacteria can pick up genetic material from their environment. Anything that reproduces asexually will be similar.

Some animals, mostly bugs but sometimes fish, lizards, and other animals (although not mammals, naturally) can do something called parthenogenesis, where females produce eggs without the need for sperm. These are *usually* but not always clones and share the same DNA.

Plants can send out underground runner roots that will grow into a new plant that is identical to the original. These share the same DNA. Some plants, especially ferns, have a step in their reproductive cycle where they sent out spores instead of seeds, which will grow into copies of the parent plant with the same DNA. Humans have learned how to plant cuttings from a parent plant which will grow into a copy of that parent. Corals and other simple animals can also be cut or fragmented and grow into new individuals with the same DNA.

And of course, all of your own cells have your same DNA (mostly, except for random mutations). This is true of more or less all complex multicellular life.

But other than these kinds of exceptions, *all* living things that we know of have their own unique genetic code. So as long as that plant was grown from a seed and not a runner, spore, or cutting, yes, it will have its own unique DNA that can be traced to that one individual (or its clones from runners, spores, or cuttings taken from that plant).


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

[User]
Is it possible for the air to become oversaturated with signals from wireless objects?

Say if everything became wireless - headphones, chargers, HDMI cables, etc. - is it possible for there to be too many waves in the air for the addition of more signals?

[Assistant] Yes. "Radio waves" are just light that is on a different wavelength. It would be like trying to look at a dim phone screen in the bright sunlight (that's almost literal). There are however methods to reduce the effects, such as directionality and polarization. The FCC (in the US) also maintains strict control over the radio waves to prevent this kind of thing from happening.


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

[User] ELI5 why overweight people (whether due to health or bad habits) bulk up in the midsection of their bodies from a biological point of view, even though they gain weight everywhere else in their body as well?

[Assistant] Well not all overweight people bulk up in their midsection. There are Android and gynecoid body types with regard to fat distribution. Android is what you are describing - where a person can have skinny legs, flat ass, but a disproportionately bigger stomach. Gynecoid, you will see smaller waist, with fat mainly collecting in the hips, thighs, buttocks. More common in women. Its your genetics. This being said, high stress (high cortisol levels) can be another predisposing reason for fat collecting specifically on the abdomen.


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

[User]
[Marvel/DC] Are the various heroes and villains aware of their power level compared to each other?

Especially in "nerd" discussions, we talked about one hero is a higher tier than another hero because one hero can lift this much weight versus another hero. Or how much faster one hero is compared to another speed based hero.

Like in the first Avengers movie just as an example, when Thor and Hulk were fighting in the Helicarrier, they assume each other is strong but are they aware of the differences in strengths and all that?

[Assistant]
I would say sometime yes they do.

If you take a look at Lex, he knows he can't beat Superman hand to hand that's why he has power suit that gives him the ability to fly and to be super strong, he also carries Kryptonite with him all the times and has a team of villains and robots to help him when things go bad.

Batman also knows the limits of his strength and even the limits of the powers of other super heros, thats why he has made plans on how to stop them if any one becomes evil.

I also remember in the animated movie Justice League: War Shazam just attacks Darkside and gets owned by him, he did it to impress Wonder women but its clear that Shazam thought he could take him alone.

so there are some characters that don't know what their limits are but there are others that think their limits are better than others.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Do only humans come in both magical and non-magical varieties? Are there any other species that have their own equivalents to muggles and squibs?

[Assistant]
Only humans, the rest of magical creatures wouldn't work without magic.

Dragons, Hippogryphs, Centaurs can't work on a mundane physiological level without magic, so every squib version of them would be a stillborn.


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

[User]
[Marvel] How does Daredevil sleep?

Basing this on how the Netflix TV show depicts Daredevil's extrasensory abilities, if he can 'see' light/heat then how does he stop it to sleep? Are the things Matt 'sees/detects' lost when he shuts his eyes?

[Assistant]
He doesn't literally see the "world on fire" from his eyes. That's just the  mental picture he paints of the world thanks to the input he gets from his senses. He can feel a room's heat, bounce some sonar around with his hearing, pick up all the smells, and when he puts it all together the rough sketch is his world on fire that he imagines.

It takes superhuman focus to just do daily activities when his senses are so strong. He meditates and applies that same focus to fall asleep when he wants to.


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

[User]
ELI5: Your immune system causes symptoms like fever, swelling, etc, when fighting an infection. I usually get more mild symptoms than my wife when we both get sick. Does this mean my immune system is weaker or stronger?

If your immune system is what causes those symptoms, does That mean my immune system can't fight as hard, or that it doesn't have to fight as hard to win.

[Assistant]
That's an awesome question, but unfortunately it doesn't have a clear answer, as there are so many variables that can change the response.

There are 2 components to your immune system: the innate and adaptive. The innate just travels around and freaks out at everything it doesn't recognize. It doesn't matter if it's the common cold or anthrax. (slight exaggeration, since it does matter if it's bacterial or viral). It's going to react the same way. These are responsible for fever, phlegm, swelling, etc.  These happen within hours of being infected. The end goal here isn't to kill the infection. It's to fight until your adaptive cells can bring reinforcements.

You also have an adaptive immune system. These are (primarily) your T and B cells, which take time. They have to 'study' the infection, find a good way to kill it, and then mass produce the antibodies. This can take anywhere from hours (if you've already made antibodies) or days-weeks (if it's something brand new).

Let's say you get an infection that you've seen before. Your innate system attacks right away, and you start to notice those general signs of being sick. But then, your pre-formed antibodies quickly kill it.

Or maybe it's a brand new infection, but for some reason, they don't trigger your innate system as strongly as hers. Therefore, you only get mild symptoms until your adaptive* system kills it. It's also possible that your innate response being smaller actually lets the infection grow, causing you to be sick for a longer period of time

At the end of the day, you can't really say your system is stronger or weaker. The real question is whether it's good enough, and it sounds like both of yours works.