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

[User]
CMV: terms and conditions should be simplified for the consumer

Most products/services involve endless paragraphs of legal jargon and terminology which simply cannot be described as accessible for the average consumer hence, as many surveys on the matter suggest, most consumers skim read or do not acknowledge, to any extent, said T&C's despite their acceptance of them. Allowing T&C's to be simplified would allow consumers to make better informed choices before engaging in any contractual relationship. Consumers should be able to ascertain the fundamental principles that establish a contract with ease.

EDIT: I'm not suggesting the removal of the current T&C's (they should be maintained for valid reasons that comments below explain) but rather a supplementary version alongside for ordinary consumers (in that the event or pursuit of any legal challenge is unlikely) that covers the essentials of a contractual relationship.

[Assistant]
T&Cs aren't for the customer, they are for the business. The vast majority of users aren't going to even need to look at the T&Cs because they won't run into legal issues with it. Companies don't expect their customers to read the whole thing because they know this and know people will buy the product regardless of the length of the contract.

These contracts exist precisely for the users that would take advantage of a "simple" T&C. Most people don't care about reading it. Someone who was looking to make money from a foresight in the document would. A simple T&C policy would need added liability protections for businesses for issues not covered because they had a word count limit or whatever. The only reason they are this long is because people will take advantage of contracts that don't explicitly state everything they need to in a legal battle.


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

[User] Is the sun just gas or does it have a solid surface?

[Assistant]
The Sun has no liquids or solids. The entire Sun is plasma with the exception of some of the atmosphere (the outer few hundred km of the Sun) which is cool enough that not very much of it is ionized.

There isn't any clear "surface" to the Sun, either. We often define the surface to be the photosphere, the place at which the optical depth =2/3, because this results in roughly one-half of the light we see coming from layers below the photosphere and one-half coming from layers above the photosphere. But there's no actual physical boundary at the photosphere.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some fluids like blood and egg yolk become solids at higher temperatures instead of low temperatures?

[Assistant] Protein denaturation. Proteins consist of long chains of what are known as amino acids, these chains often fold into various three dimensional shapes because this gives them their properties, proteins are basically the molecules that do 90% of the work in your body and pretty much the most important molecule for life. Anyways, this folding into long chains can be disrupted by high heat, this causes what is known as denaturation, or unfolding into the chain. Both of these liquids are protein rich, and what happens is that all these proteins denature but often they will "interlock" when trying to refold again, causing a more solid state to occur.


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

[User]
ELI5: If we're able to create the illusion of the 3rd dimension on our 2-dimensional screens, why aren't we able to simulate/create the illusion of the 4th dimension in our 3-dimensional world?

(I know, time is the 4th dimension. I mean 4 spacial dimensions)

[Assistant]
You absolutely can.  The problem is that your mind won't be able to interpret the 3D projection of a 4D object as a 4D object.  It will just look like a morphing 3D object, similarly to how a rotating 3D object can create a morphing 2D shadow.

Our minds just aren't meant to comprehend 4D because all of our senses are technically 2 or 1 dimensional and "3D" is interpreted.  Even if you have exceptional mental imagery, it's still not going to be 4 dimensional (I'd love to be proved wrong on this)


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

[User]
[LOTR] The beacon system used between Gondor and Rohan

The beacon system consists of multiple, fixed, wooden stacks that will burn if it detects a signal from either direction.  Makes sense enough.

But who is manning these posts?  Is this a manned, military post?  Are these appointed families who live for generations in these outposts who monitor 24/7 the beacons in either direction?

Some of these beacons are in quite remote locations.  I don't see how anyone can sustain themselves 24/7 living there.

[Assistant]
>The Beacon-wardens were the only inhabitants of the Wood, save wild beasts; they housed in lodges in the trees near the summit, but they did not stay long, unless held there by foul weather, and they came and went in turns of duty. For the most part they were glad to return home. Not because of the peril of the wild beasts, nor did any evil shadow out of dark days lie upon the Wood; but beneath the sounds of the winds, the cries of birds and beasts, or at times the noise of horsemen riding in haste upon the Road, there lay a silence, and a man would find himself speaking to his comrades in a whisper, as if he expected to hear the echo of a great voice that called from far away and long ago.

The post was not a long-term assignment. Men would rotate out fairly regularly. Also, none of the beacons were on crazy remote mountain tops like the films. They were on a series of foothills on either side of the White Mountains.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does the US use "dry walls" to build its houses?

Why is this "building" method so prevalent in the US when it comes to houses? The US is ahead of global economy (in comparison with most of the world).

Brick and mortar has shown to be a better result for a house in regards to structure throughout a house.

I live in a 3rd world country and my house has double brick walls with a cavity and all houses are built like this. Using a drywall wouldn't be able to pass government regulations.

I feel the situation should be entirely reversed especially because of the hurricanes etc. in the US and poverty here.

[Edit: Sorry, I should have mentioned that I'm aware of the exterior not using dry walls as the structure would not hold up. My question originally comes from brick and mortar (cement) houses being built here for the poor (RDP houses in South Africa). The differences has been bothering me for a while as I feel it's quite a juxtaposition.]

[Assistant]
Because wet walls are a mess...

But seriously folks, the standard technique of drywall (or sheetrock) over a wood frame makes for a sturdy, relatively inexpensive building that can be put up a lot faster than by laying brick. Decent bricklayers are expensive and slow, guys who can nail up sheetrock are cheap and fast.

And in earthquake country, your nice brick walls are a tomb-O-death waiting to happen. Here in California, you pretty much CAN'T build a house of unreinforced masonry, it would be illegal. Properly reinforcing masonry against earthquakes is even more expensive.


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

[User] ELI5: Why when you turn on a hose, you have to wait a while for the water to reach the end, but increasing the pressure afterwards causes the output flow to rise almost immediately?

[Assistant]
Think of the water like some marbles in a tube.

If the tube is empty and you add a marble, it has to travel all the way down the tube before you see the same marble come out the other end, which takes time.

If the tube is already full of marbles and you force one marble in the end, then each marble pushes the marble in front of it and a different marble pops out the other end almost instantly. The marble you added didn't travel super fast, it's still in the tube, it was a different marble that got pushed out.


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

[User]
[CMV] I believe that alcohol causes more problems then its worth and should be banned.

There are studies which show that in limited uses alcohol can be good for you so maybe an outright ban is not ideal. Perhaps the government could instead introduce some sort of measure so that people could only purchase their drinks in limited quantity.

But alcohol in general just seems to cause so many problems because of the fact that it makes you lose your fears and gives you false confidence. You get bar fights, random street attacks, drunk driving, etc. It can even ruin marriages as some people just can't control their intake.

I was raised without ever being introduced to alcohol directly and am thankful for this. But today I was walking through a shop and noticed how colorful and enticing alcoholic drinks look and was like damn I want a piece of that. But since I've never tried it, I'm a bit reserved because I fear that I may like it too much and not be able to control myself.

Edit: Some measures to deter alcohol usage could be:
- Increase prices
- Treat it like cigarettes with deterrent adverts and pictures on bottles.

What are your views?

[Assistant]
This was tried in the United States, in the 1920s, and it was a massive failure.

(a) it turns out that laws which are not respected are extremely difficult to enforce. Look, for example, to speeding laws, which are widely flouted and enforced almost randomly; or to laws against possession of marijuana, which are also widely flouted and enforced somewhat randomly. Without *strong social support* for something being illegal, there's no social pressure from friends and family to conform.

(b) it's very difficult to suppress a trade in something that people want. some market will develop to provide for it as long as people are willing to pay for it. Back in the 1920s, smuggling of alcohol, both across the border from Canada and into the country from outside the maritime exclusion zone, was rampant.

(c) in order to suppress the trade in alcohol, you'd end up having to imprison casual users in order to deter use. that would lead to lots of people who are otherwise productive members of society becoming economic drains on society.

(d) many people are able to use alcohol responsibly, without fighting, driving drunk, attacking people randomly, or ruining their marriage. why should they be prevented from enjoying what they perceive as positive effects? worse, why should they be *punished* for enjoying those effects?


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

[User] [Star Wars] Why did Po's blaster bolt still have momentum after Kylo Ren stopped it?

[Assistant]
Time itself is subject to The Force. Some Force users can peer into the future, and visions of the past fill the tombs of the Sith Lords. The bolt continued at the same speed it was travelling when Kylo Ren released it, so it's momentum wasn't stopped. It was just momentarily arrested, a localised, temporary stripping of energy through the power and concentration of Kylo Ren.

This is also why the plasma didn't break apart and fall to the ground, and the magnetic field didn't break apart. The most accurate way to describe what was happening to the bolt is that it was temporarily suspended in time.

So when Kylo Ren released the bolt, like a rubber band, all the energy went back into the bolt and it carried on as if it had never stopped.


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

[User] ELI5: What exactly would classifying Internet Service Providers as Title 2 Common Carriers do?

[Assistant]
They would then have to allow competing companies the opportunity to make use of their infrastructure. You could purchase cable TV or internet from any entity that chose to lease the lines from the common carrier.

The common carrier (the current cable company) could continue to offer service, and they would have the right to charge other companies that wanted to use their lines, but the end result would be that you would have only one set of physical cables that theoretically any company could offer service over.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it that sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night feeling refreshed and wide awake, however, if I sleep for a solid 8 hours, I still don't want to get out of bed?

[Assistant]
You have different sleep cycles. So at times your in a very light part of your sleep, and other time your in the REM (rapid eye movment) or dreaming part of your rest and thats a very deep sleep.

So when you wake up natually during the night your most likely in a very light sleep. Other times when your building a go kart with your ex-landlord and you wake up feeling like shit the REM cycle of your sleep has been disrupted.

Theres also various apps that will wake you up on the lighter parts of your sleep.


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

[User] Why are there so many acidic fruits, but few if any alkaline ones?

[Assistant] Fruits are "designed" by natural selection to lure animals to help spread their seeds in exchange for a nutritious snack. Therefore fruits must be apetising to the target animals. Most animals use acids as a part of their digestion and therefore alkaline substances, which react with acids can, at least make digestion less efficient, and at worst create toxic or dangerous by products when consumed. This is why acidic foods taste sour, which is a pleasant taste as long as it isn't too strong. But alkaline foods taste bitter, which leads to them initially being unpleasant (you can acquire a taste for bitter foods like coffee, if they end up being safe and bring other pleasant sensations like a caffeine buzz). Because of the predisposition of animals to avoid bitter foods on first tasting them, it is not to a plant's advantage to produce an alkaline fruit. It will scare off potential seed vectors.


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

[User]
eli5 Why do towels/linens get stiff when left to air dry but are fluffy when put in a laundry dryer?

I noticed that my wash cloth in the shower will get stiff when it air dries and realized other things seem to do the same. Im guessing it has to do with the heat and/or motion?

[Assistant]
Motion. It's more noticeable in hard water areas.

If you air dry, a small quantity of dissolved minerals will be left coat the fibers. Like a water stain. It makes the fibers stiff until it breaks off.

In a drier, because the fabric is always in motion, the mineral deposits dont get a chance to build up.


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

[User] ELI5: How, when, and why did mankind find out cow milk was potable?

[Assistant]
Human babies drink milk from their mothers.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that animal milk would be a good source of food.  The hard part would have been domesticating the cows so you could *keep* milking them.

A quick check shows that cows were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago.


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

[User] [Golden Sun] I just summoned Judgement. A minute ago, I saw the world destroyed, along with everything on it. Now everything's back the way it was, except the monsters that were attacking me have turned to dust. What happened?

[Assistant] It's actually a reality warping spell that destroys the very universe itself, while instantaneously replacing everything within the blast zone with another universe. This new universe is exactly the same as the previous one, only difference being that the googly eyed mushroom that had offended you doesn't exist anymore.


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

[User] [Marcel] Why does J. Jonah only want pictures of Spider-Man when New York is crawling(pun intended) with superheroes?

[Assistant]
JJ is pro-mutant rights, so he doesn't really want to focus on the X-Men.  The Avengers and Fantastic Four regularly work with the US government as well.  Those guys don't set him off.

But Spider-Man?  Well he's wearing a mask, so he must be up to no good.  And plus, Spidey is a smartass, and he's lipped off to JJ before.  He's clearly some punk-ass kid, and he knows how to push the crazy old man's buttons.

In the end, Jameson takes himself too seriously, but he's also a muckraker and kind of a hack.  Spidey is just the perfect personality type to set him off.  He's obviously got super powers (so he's not like Daredevil, who is clearly just an athletic guy who beats up muggers).  He's not supernatural like Ghost Rider (where the reader probably doesn't believe he's real anyway).  And he's not an outright criminal, like the Punisher (every newspaper covers him).

The Daily Bugle will happily take pictures of Johnny Storm fighting Doctor Doom, and they'll put it on the front page.  When Galactus shows up, or Kang tries to invade, those guys get all the attention.  But on a slow day?  When nothing is really going on?  That's when JJ focuses on Spider-Man.  Spidey is always stopping a robbery or fighting some two-bit no talent guy in a costume.  And the great thing is, Spider-Man doesn't have a lawyer.  Make up a bunch of stories about how the Avengers were secretly working with the Masters of Evil, you'll hear from their high priced law firm.  Spidey?  He *never* sues.


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

[User] ELI5: What's the difference between pasta and egg noodles?

[Assistant]
Pasta may or may not have eggs - most Italian pasta is durum wheat flour and water, nothing else. If you buy dry pasta, like spaghetti or fettuccine, that's all it will be most of the time.
It's not significantly harder to make at home than if it has eggs, just takes more time.
Egg noodles always have eggs.

Pasta can be in many different shapes, only some of which are noodles.

There isn't really much difference in daily use of the words - the differences are technical and only really of interest to purists.


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

[User] Before dust clouds collapse into a star, is there a solid core, and if so, what is it made of?

[Assistant]
Absolutely! It depends on what stage it is, but it is generally made out of the same things planets are. This is because it forms from the same cloud, generally! Dust naturally gets drawn to itself through gravity. Dust becomes rocks, rocks become boulders, boulders become...mountain-sized boulders. You get the idea. It's possible they look similar to asteroids. After a while, and due to chance, you'll get a bunch of planet sized ones. These large objects will gravitate towards each other and either combine or destroy each other. After achieving a certain amount of mass compared to its surroundings, it can become spherical...but in a pre-solar system with constant collisions, that's probably not required. The bigger you are, the more dust is attracted to you, and the faster you grow. Sidenote: this is why the larger planets can hold a larger atmosphere and retain more heat.

After enough of this, a HUGE one appears. If it's lucky, and isn't flung out of the dust cloud, it might build up enough mass to reach a turning point and start a nuclear reaction at its core from all the pressure. If it's unlucky (either because of random chance or because there's something bigger than it around), it gets flung out of the accretion area and is known as a brown dwarf. Brown dwarfs can also form along the edge of dust clouds and simply run out of dust to accumulate. One step smaller than a brown dwarf is a gas giant, similar to Jupiter.

As for what they're made of, it would presumably be the same stuff as brown dwarfs and gas giants:
> Gas giants have some of the characteristics of brown dwarfs. For example, Jupiter and Saturn are both made primarily of hydrogen and helium, like the Sun. Saturn is nearly as large as Jupiter, despite having only 30% the mass. Three of the giant planets in the Solar System (Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune) emit much more heat than they receive from the Sun.

The younger a celestial body is, the more likely it is to have heavier elements (heavy elements are ONLY made available through the supernova of a star, and the universe is only so old)...but even then, those elements would be scarce.


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

[User] ELI5 Why do you not feel hungry when you're sick?

[Assistant]
There are advantages to eating less.  Digesting food requires energy.  That energy is better used by your immune system.  Eating less can result in lower iron in your blood, which can sometime starve the bacteria that may be causing you to be sick.

Those are the reasons why it can be helpful to eat less.  When we are sick our bodies release cytokines, which among other things, reduce our apetite.


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

[User] Humanity has observed Supernovae. But have we also seen stars appear? I.e. them starting the fusion process?

[Assistant]
The formation is too slow to notice changes over a human lifetime, or even the history of astronomy.

We have found many stars in all different stages of formation - instead of following them over time we can reconstruct the formation from looking at many stars together.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is our current computer storage bottleneck?

So, what limits our current storage speeds? Is it the actual storage medium, the interface from it to the host, or the willingness to develop faster storage?

[Assistant] There are engineering solutions to all of those issues.  The bottleneck is cost.  Faster equipment is more expensive, and once storage is "fast enough" it's not profitable to make faster replacements.


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

[User]
Can I deploy a personal mobile app for free?

Hi, I've been working as a developer for 3 years now. My father has a cycle parts wholesaling business  which he manages EVERYTHING himself and I might inherit said business in the near future.

Now, personally I don't like being in the sales part of things, but I'd be willing to do inventory and supply management, so it got me thinking that I could develop a simple inventory/supply chain management mobile app for the business.

Problem is, I have zero mobile development knowledge. I'm pretty optimistic that I can develop the app, but I'm not sure if I can deploy it on my phone (and maybe my dad's phone) for no deployment costs. Maybe I can use a spreadsheet as a database, or maybe I can invest a little bit for the database management.

I will really appreciate any feedback on this. Maybe you could also give me some business advice. Hehe.

[Assistant]
You can do it in either iOS or Android. Both you can program for if you want a native app. You use to be able to put native apps on a small volume <10 of IOS for development without charge. Android you install via apk package.

You can also write the SW to run within a programming environment on the phone. For example Pythonista you can write apps in and use all the features on the phone, its just not as clean as a native app, but its pretty flexible if you need access to the camera etc.

But an easier solution would be a web based solution. As long as your not using any features like the camera on the phone. You can host the website internally from a laptop since you probably only need access while at work. No need for a hosting company. If you need access outside of work set up a vpn on the laptop.


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

[User]
CMV: Kashmir should have been part of Pakistan

I must begin by saying I am not Indian nor Pakistani .

So Kashmir is a muslim majority region , it should have went by defintion to Pakistan in 1947 . Most of the pro-indian arguments are :

>The king of Kashmir was given a choice to either join India and Pakistan and he chose to join India

The 1947 partition didn't divide South Asia along the religions of the local rulers , it divided them along the religions of the people who inhabited those states . India is also hypcritical about this as India invaded (rightfully) the Hyderabad state which is a hindu majority state with a muslim ruler .

>the Pakistani army infiltrated Kashmir in order to take the land by force

Hindus and Sikhs from Punjab arrived in Kashmir as refugees and told about the killings of Hindus by muslims in Pakistani Punjab (violence was very common in both sides during the 1947 partition) so local Sikhs and Hindus began massacring the Muslim majority (the mahraja was involved at certain points) , many Pakistani tribesman decided as a result to invade Kashmir to stop the massacres and they saw a lot of success which led the mahraja to ask India for assistance as long as he agreed to join them . This began the war .

>Kashmir has a signifcant Hindu population

Yes , Jammu is majority Hindu , you can just make it join India . Other regions like Bengal and Punjab were both divided along religious lines and then given to their respective countries , why couldn't they have done the same for Kashmir ? The Hindu and Budhist majority regions both share a border with India .

Now the best solution to the conflict would be an indepandant Kashmir (as the majority of Kashmiris want that) but it would be hard to manage a landlocked country surrondered by mountains from all sides (except if India and Pakistan would help and allow for free trade and the use of their ports) but at the moment , I think the Kashmir should logically be part of Pakistan .

[Assistant]
>The 1947 partition didn't divide South Asia along the religions of the local rulers , it divided them along the religions of the people who inhabited those states.

Kashmir was an important exception though. Kashmir enjoyed some degree of local autonomy and because of that the ruler was allowed to choose a side. So legally (with the 1947 rules) Kashmir should be part of India.

The other things (invasions, populations etc.) do not matter for the 1947 rules.

If you want to make 2019 rules we shouldn't force a independent Kashmir but instead hold a democratic, legitimate referendum.


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

[User] [The Purge] I've killed (without realizing at the time, and I have proof I didn't know) someone who holds a ranking higher than 10 and should have been immune from the Purge. Will I now be charged with outright murder-1 or would the circumstances limit my responsibility to manslaughter at worst?

[Assistant]
Probably...assuming you survive the rest of the night.  Find a safe space and/or run because that VIP's security detail is going to be gunning for you now.  Either this is a setup and you're supposed to take the fall or everyone's going to think you're some kind of assassin.  Regardless, your life is worth less than the shell casings that will soon be bouncing all around the general vicinity.

Once the dust clears tomorrow, there will be an investigation.  Present yourself for arrest in a different district in case the person you killed was the victim of a coup within his/her own organization.  Give your evidence.  And pray.  Maybe one of those things will save you.


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

[User]
If there was a giant ring of steel with a radius one foot greater than the Earth's radius placed around Earth, would it seemingly levitate one foot off the ground?

Let's just assume that the Earth is perfectly round in this situation, and the steel is unbendable and indestructible. Would it appear to float? Why or why not? What if the steel wasn't unbendable/indestructible?

[Assistant]
This is actually an unstable situation. It's impossible to place the ring perfectly, and that means it's going to be slightly closer to the ground on one side of the Earth than the other. This means that Earth's gravity on the ring will be slightly stronger on one side than the other, and it will fall to the ground on that side.

On the other side of the Earth, you'd see a long beam floating two feet off the ground, disappearing into the distant horizon.

If it's bendable/destructible, it'll just buckle and fall to the ground everywhere.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How was Dooku seduced to the dark side?

It seems Palpatine had a difficult enough time convincing young Anakin to join. Anakin was at least initially going to help Windu. How in the world did Palpatine convince an older Jedi to quit cold turkey and go dark?

[Assistant] Dooku was an idealist that was pretty disillusioned with all of the powers-that-be: Senate, Jedi Council, Republic in general. But in order to change that system, he'd need a lot more power than being a Count would allow. Palpatine convinced him that he agreed that the current system sucked and that there was a better way of running the galaxy, and seduced him via the power he could gain by creating a civil war and knowing enough Dark Side stuff to survive any Jedi peacekeepers who might be sent after him to stop said war.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the significance that all galaxies complete one revolution every billion years? How does this help us better understand the mechanics of what makes them tick?

[Assistant]
If this measurement of 1 billion years turns out to be true and is the same for all galaxies, then it is significant because if we know the speed of the rotation, then we can measure a lot of other things about the galaxies- their masses especially. The equations for how this works would be out of the ELI5 boards, but they are connected.

Also- if one billion years -per-rotation is the speed, it leads us to more questions. !!And this is how science works- solving problems and finding new questions!!
-Why is it 1B years?
-Are they the same direction?
-Are bigger galaxies necessarily older because of what this new data states?
-Does this change when two disc galaxies merge? And does this shine any light on non- disc galaxies?
-And the black holes at the centers of many galaxies spin- does this mean the spin gets faster, slower or doesnt change when the stars are swallowed up into the black hole since the mass of the stars just become added to the mass of the black hole?

Also by knowing the speed and mass we can begin to measure the amount of energy making the galaxy spin- which could lead to identifying more information about the black hole.

And once know about the mass and energy we can study the effects of the galaxy on its neighboring galaxies or giant dust clouds. And so on.
Its science! And its always so exciting!


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

[User]
What is it about GR that causes the subtle changes in the Perihelion Precession of Mercury?

I create and present Planetarium shows at the local college. I've done show on Special and General Relativity, so I have a solid understanding of these effects, but the mechanism by which GR affects the orbit of nearby celstial bodies still eludes me.

What I understand: Mercury's orbit varies ever so slightly from the orbit calculated with Newtonian physics. Apparently this variation is due to relativistic effects since it orbits so closely to the Sun (this is about as far as most internet sources will delve into it). In the last day or two, there are reports that the closely orbiting stars around Sgr A\* (the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way) also display variations in \*their\* orbits which confirm some effect of GR. Are these the same effects, just at different scales? Are their orbits slowing during their closest approach as compared to an external observer? What is it \*actually\* that's going on that modifies these orbits?

Thanks in advance!

[Assistant]
So, in Newtonian gravity, the potential from a star is proportional to 1/r

In General Relativity, it turns out that this is just an approximation that's only accurate when momentum is low and distance is large. The fact that *momentum* matters is a clue here. In General Relativity, gravity isn't only caused by the rest mass of the objects - the flow of energy and momentum actually matters too.

This extra term is proportional to the sum of the masses and the square of angular momentum, divided by the speed of light squared, divided by distance *cubed*. This is technically another approximation, but it's a better one.

Dividing by the speed of light tells us that this is going to be a small number most of the time. Dividing by distance *cubed* means it's going to be particularly small if you're not really close. So "real" gravity has this small extra bit that's so small that it's hard to measure except in odd circumstances.

The measurable bit is the *precession* of the orbit. For a 1/r potential, you get "conic section" orbits - every orbit is an ellipse or circle, a hyperbolic orbit, or a parabolic orbit. For elliptical and circular orbits, they always trace out *exactly* the same track. This is something unusual about 1/r potentials, and isn't a universal thing with orbits in general.

However, if your potential isn't exactly 1/r, then your elliptical orbits aren't exactly the same every time. The orbit *precesses*, and rotates slowly around the Sun in a spirograph kind of pattern. This can happen classically, because the influence of Jupiter etc means that the potential isn't perfectly 1/r, and planets are actually the main effect on the orbit of Mercury. However, the planets don't actually add up to quite enough, and you need to take into account this 1/r^3 potential from General Relativity as well to make the orbits work.

So, we're not talking about stars getting so close to a supermassive black hole that they experience Interstellar level time dilation - you have to be right on top of the black hole for that to matter. The more common effect is that gravity is *a little bit stronger* in General Relativity than you'd expect to find classically, and the potential has a slightly different shape so it's not something you can explain by just correcting the mass of the Sun or black hole.


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

[User] [W40K] What is the Dark Age of Technology and why was it so dark?

[Assistant]
Dark Age of Technology was the peak of human technological advancement and generally the peak of human civilization. It was then mankind expanded with ease to every corner of the galaxy. It lasted for ten thousand years from the 15th millennium to the 25th and was followed by the Age of Strife where warpstorms cut off Terra/Sol from its colonies and most colonies from each other making society collapse and regress.

It is called dark not because of any features of the age itself but rather because so little is known about it and so much of the technologies from that age has been lost forever.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are the directions "left" and "right" associated with liberal and conservative political philosophies?

I'm liberal and I'm right handed, am I a traitor?

[Assistant] It comes from the French Revolution when people loyal to religion and the king would gather to the right of the president of the National Assembly while supporters of the revolution would gather on the left. The right thus became associated with traditionalism and conservatism while the left with equality and revolution.


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

[User] ELI5: why does paper turn yellow and brittle as it ages?

[Assistant]
Wood pulp from trees is made up of two major substances: lignin and cellulose. To make paper, we want just the cellulose part. So ordinary papermaking uses a strong acid, sulfuric acid, to break down the lignin in a sort of "cooking" process. They mostly neutralize the mash before making paper out of the remaining cellulose, but not entirely.

So over time, the leftover acidity in the paper gradually attacks it, breaking down the cellulose (which is much more resistant than lignin, but still, it's acid) and causing that sort of aging.

For long-term survival, that's why people use "acid-free" paper. It costs more but the papermakers use extra care to fully neutralize it. Whereas something meant to be thrown away quickly, like newspaper, uses the cheaper and still very acidic paper. It can start yellowing a day after it's printed.


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

[User] ELI5 - Why does the urge to urinate or deficate come and go, instead of remaining constant until It's relieved?

[Assistant]
Nerves really can only detect changes in signals.  If you've been drinking at night sit outside and stare at one particular light as strongly as you can. You'll notice your peripheral vision fade to black and you'll experience temporary blindness.

Also if you're laying in bed with your arm across your body, lay as perfectly still as possible and eventually you'll loose sensation of your arm.

All sensory nerves work in this way.   When fecal matter moves into your rectum, your pressure nerves signal that your bowels are filling/stretching, and you get the urge to empty them.  If the volume stays the same you will not feel as strongly.    However getting up/ jumping up and down, will reactivate the nerves.


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

[User] ELI5 How does a recession or market crash stop inflation?

[Assistant]
Inflation is when many people have money to spend and there isn't enough stuff => prices rise.

Recession or market crash or interest rate hike => people have less money; there is still stuff, so prices fall.


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

[User]
[They Live] Nothing is probably going to change after the aliens being exposed.

We already know that the aliens are extremely manipulative and experienced in using propaganda.  They probably have public relation campaigns and talking points ready to go.  Earth's rich and powerful are already bought into the system and aren't going to want anything to change.  A lot of average people's incomes would be damaged by a rebellion.  In all likelihood, wouldn't we just keep trudging along with the alien's hyper-capitalism like nothing happened?

[Assistant]
I think the issue is one that the Aliens couldn't fully mitigate: they look *gross.*

Vaguely resembling human corpses or undead monsters, the sudden collapse of their disguises would lead to a paroxysm of appalling violence. Unless they have security teams of entirely aware humans (unlikely) or aliens, they're likely to be murdered by their own guards in the first quarter hour of the revolution. Some of them even being gunned down by soldiers thinking they're doppelgangers who *replaced* their elite human identities like the Thing.

The remaining few aliens may try to get the system back under control, but they face severely weakened positions relative to the human social climbers around them, who can make fast political gains in killing them.


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

[User] ELI5: What makes olive oil so healthy and sunflower oil unhealthy?

[Assistant]
sunflower oil contains a lot of linoleic acid, a so called omega-6 fatty acid. our current nutrition generally lacks omega-3 fatty acids while containing plenty of omega-6 fatty acids. the balance of omega-3 to omeg-6 is considered important for health, so sunflower is often called unhealthy.

olive oil contains substances that supposedly have health benefits, like antioxidants.


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

[User]
LI5: Why can't everyone just use a common currency?

I got full marks in both AP Macro- and AP Microeconomics, so explain like I'm 5, but know the basics!

**EDIT: [SOLVED], thanks everyone, I feel really stupid :P**

[Assistant]
Currencies are influenced by economics. By using our own currency, we make sure we're not being dragged down by countries that are poorer than us.

Example: The richer countries in the EU aren't too happy with what's happening in Greece because the Euro is suffering from it. Or rephrased: How their strong Euro is influenced by the weak Greek economy.


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

[User]
[Vampires] If a vampire cannot enter someones home unless they are invited in, where is the line drawn on home?

-Traditional House.
-Pre-fabricated house.
-Apartment\Condo.
-Trailer.
-Tiny Home.
-Camper/RV.
-Furnished Storage Unit.
-Tent.
-Refrigerator Box.
-Lean-to.
-Cave.

At what point is a Vampire free to just approach and snack on an unsuspecting victim?

[Assistant] A home is where a person lives. The threshold  is what keeps the supernatural out. The threshold is a magical energy field that weakens any supernatural being that crosses it without the free pass of an invitation. The threshold is strengthened by positive emotions over time, so its power is more determined by the dwellers than the structure.


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

[User] Why is the weight unit "pounds" abbreviated "lbs" instead of something else that makes sense?

[Assistant]
It comes from Latin. Pounds were originally "libra," which is actually short for "libra pondo," which means "weight pound."

Bonus: this is also why the symbol for the British currency, the Pound, is an L, as in .


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

[User]
ELI5:Can you increase the speed of sound by using different gasses?

Is there a gas that moves quicker than Co2, or is the movement of gases by pressure waves a constant force?

[Assistant]
The speed of sound is increased if the density of the gas is lower. For example, in helium, the speed of sound is 1007m/s at atmospheric pressure and 20C, almost three times as much as in air. In a heavy gas like xenon, it's only 178 m/s.

That is because the less dense gas is easier to push, while the force created by the pressure doesn't change.


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

[User]
Why are humans the only animal that has to take meticulous care of their teeth?

Why is it that I have to floss and brush frequently if I don't want a mouth of rotten teeth, but a dog, cat, etc. can go most of its life without practicing any dental hygiene and still have a very functional set of chompers? I imagine part of it must do with our diet, but even those with very good diets have to keep up with oral cleaning to avoid problems.

[Assistant]
1. Animals don't eat nearly as much sugary and acidic things.
2. Animals often do clean their teeth, just not with toothbrushes and toothpaste.
3. Animals have much shorter lifespans than we do, and they haven't recently increased their lifespan by a shitload.
4. Not brushing and flossing isn't exactly gonna kill you, animals also get teeth problems but they live with them until they die.


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

[User]
[MCU] (Endgame spoilers) Why is Thor cool with the fact that Valkyrie basically used to work as a human trafficker for a sadistic space dictator?

It's one thing to be depressed and want to drink your sorrows away, it's another to cope with your past by kidnapping people for a sadistic dictator knowing that they're going to be forced to fight to the death in an arena for the sick, bloodthirsty amusement of others. Valkyrie has innocent blood on her hands and must've ruined a shit ton of innocent lives before she suddenly decided to be one of the "good guys."

Her job before she met Thor is something that only a person who is straight up evil would do. And not only does Thor decide to befriend her, he decides to make her queen of Asgard? How would you feel if you were an Asgardian whose kid died because they were kidnapped by the Grandmaster while vacationing on Sakaar, and now you find out that the woman who kidnapped your kid for him is now your queen?

[Assistant] Given how Thor behaved in his youth, how Hela behaved in her earlier days, and how Odin behaved before Thor's birth, having a history as a genocidist or a war criminal doesn't disqualify someone from the Asgardian throne. Looking at that list it may actually be a requirement.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] how do shields work exactly?

So I was watching Star Trek Into Darkness last night, got to one of the scenes where the Vengeance just lights up the enterprise with its lasers. Big chunks are blown off the ship, people die, the whole shebang. Then I think sulu says shields are down to 5%. If the shields were up how come the ship took damage?

[Assistant]
The ships still have armor. Shields can be used in ways besides just "Stop projectile"

Those scenes where the hull was being shredded and chunk blown off look bad, and they are, but without the shields sealing off breaches or holding the hull together the ship would have been destroyed in the first salvo.

More advanced shields like from TNG can soak much more damage and deflect that damage out to space but the OG timeline had shields that werent nearly as tanky.

Imagine a submarine with a field that can maintain hull integrity(Literally hold it together), soak some damage and auto seal breaches.


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

[User] ELI5: When scientists say a planet is habitable, they are referring to habitable condition for human life. Are they considering there may be life very different from us, in which our habitable definition may not be habitable for them, and vice versa?

[Assistant]
They're looking for planets on which it's possible to have liquid water.

Life requires chemistry.  Forget magical beings of energy or something like that.  That's Fantasy Sci Fi.

Now, since life requires chemistry it'll require something for that chemistry to take place in otherwise it'd be one compound sitting over there and another sitting over there and doing nothing with each other.  The best liquid for this to occur in is water.

This is not because we use water, it's because water is literally the best liquid for chemistry.  Water is able to dissolve more things than any other liquid.  This means that liquid water has a higher chance of chemistry occurring in it.  This means a higher chance for life to exist.

If we one day find life existing under way different conditions then we can add that to our list of things to look for but until then it makes sense to look for what we know works.


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

[User]
[Marvel 616] What power tier is Kitty Pryde?

Her powers make her seem too powerful to be a street tier, and she has some crazy feats that could possibly make her a city buster. She could also take on characters well above street tier.

How strong is she exactly?

[Assistant]
Bear in mind that power tiers are nebulous things that only really rely on how the hero operates. Wildcat, for example, is street tier on his best day, but he's been JSA since day one.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Spider-Man is someone who the League wouldn't have minded recruiting, but he's considered a street level hero because that's the kind of crime he usually handles.

Batman and Moon Knight are very much the same in terms of how they operate, but Moon Knight is street level while Batman is world-class.

Power tiers are largely how the character treats themselves and what they do, not what they're capable of. Kitty Pryde could screw up a lot of things or kill a ton of people, but she doesn't. Much like Spider-Man, she operates on a lower level than she's capable of.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some of us sneeze when going from darkness to sunlight?

[Assistant] A.C.H.O.O. Syndrome (yes,seriously) aka photic sneeze reflex  isnt fully understood but is thought to likely be caused by the fact that eye and nose nerves run into the brain in the same place so a very strong signal from the eyes might get misconstrued as a signal from the nose needing a sneeze to clear it.


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

[User]
I think checking should be legal in women's international hockey. CMV

The title pretty much sums it up. Anyone watching olympic hockey should have noticed that the women play quite a different game than the men. I think it's sexist to assume that women need to play a less physical game than the Men. Moreover, the current rule that contact is ok if making a play on the puck is vague and subject to inconsistent application by referees.

U.S.A. forward Jocelyne Lamoureux said of the rule application:

> It would be easier for the refs if we were able to check. In some games, checking is basically allowed. In some, you can't even rub players out on the boards.

These are elite athletes. Trying to coddle them is sexist and degrading. Change my view.

[Assistant]
Checking used to be legal in women's hockey, and it created a sluggish and plodding pace of play.  The change was made not because women couldn't handle physical play, but because it negatively changed the way that the game was played.

Various hockey leagues have different rules.  Fighting is outlawed in the European leagues, but no one outside Don Cherry would argue that it's because European players lack the toughness to fight.  Full facial protection is required in American college hockey, meaning that there are 21- and 22-year-old players playing with more required protection than other players their age in different leagues; no one would say college players lack the toughness to expose more of their face to danger.

Leagues of all levels make changes to the game in order to address certain issues that may exist.  Checking in women's hockey isn't a protective measure or about "coddling", it's because the previous experiment with checking allowed was a complete disaster.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] What do units like Khorne Berserkers do in their downtime?

Champions of Khorne are always described as being eternally bloodthirsty, flying into a mad rage and slaughtering anything nearby if their bloodlust isn't satiated in time. I remember reading that devotees will incur Khorne's wrath if they go a day without bloodshed. But even Kharn has to travel in starships to get to the battlefield. What if it takes a week to get to a planet? What do Khorne Berserkers do when they are en route to a destination, etc? Surely they can't just go nuts and slaughter the crew of the ship they're on - it almost assuredly would mean their own demise as well. And their weapons and equipment would need maintenance eventually. They would eventually have to keep it together long enough to go on killing again.

[Assistant]
They clean skulls and offer them for the skull throne. They fight each other or are kept locked up in chains so they dont... you know... kill everything by the time they get there.

That being said there arent that many of them comparatively so as Ciaphus Cain observes in his memoirs, the Beserkers he does encounter almost overwhelmingly come from teleportation. The ones that dont arrive alongside warbands singularly. However the relative intactness of the warbandees/ers indicates that Khornate Beserkers have at least a modicum of self control.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are cars so mass produced to the point of them just sitting in car lots by the hundreds. What do they do with old models that dont sell too they just crunch them up?

[Assistant]
They get sold.

During normal supply times, it's rare that a car is going to be unsold for a long stretch of time.

A car sitting for 30, 60, 90 or even 120 days isn't going to cause a dealer to panic and want to offload it ASAP.

Manufacturers carefully monitor what cars and which trims are selling best, and make sure to supply dealers with models that will be sold the quickest.

Usually the cars that linger do so because they are odd balls.

They might be the most absolute base model with 0 features, very few people want them.

They might also be the highest trim model, with absolutely every option under the sun. Very few people want to spend that much money.

Or they might be a custom order someone made and for some reason never followed through with the purchase. Now the dealer is stuck with this car tailor-made for this one person and have to sell it to someone else.


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

[User] Eli5: Why is the English alphabet in the order they're in?

[Assistant] The Alphabet that English uses is arranged in a random order, but it's a random order that has been conserved through many languages and about 3000 years or so. It has been long enough that whomever (or more likely, the long line of people) who made the choices that lead to it are all long dead.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do women traditionally take longer to cum than men?

[Assistant] Male orgasm is necessary for procreation. Female orgasm may help improve odds of fertility, and does help drive having sex more often but is not vital for procreation. As such it is just a happy side benefit that women can orgasm at all.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do seasonal changes in weather make everyone sick?

I used to work in a pharmacy and every significant change in weather opened the floodgates of sickness: coughs, colds, runny noses, etc.

Why?

Also, what's the best thing to do to prevent or stop it?

[Assistant]
Certain viruses and bacteria spread and multiply better in different conditions. People haven't been exposed to these diseases in months and thus may not have a high level of resistance, although they will likely build up a resistance by the end of the season.

Also, changing weather results in changes in human activity. People are more likely to go outside when it gets warm out, where they're exposed to pollen and other allergens (seasonal allergies are often mistaken for colds). When it gets cold out, people tend to stay inside in close contact with everyone else, which allows for easier spread of diseases.

Another point is that heating and cooling systems are turned on, and if they haven't been cleaned they can have buildups of allergens like dust or mold growing in them.

As far as prevention goes, the most reliable advice would be to practice good hand washing (including before meals whenever possible), get plenty of sleep (as a lack of sleep can weaken the immune system), and take allergy medication if you get any seasonal allergies.


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

[User] ELI5: How exactly does a terror organization claim responsibility for an attack?

[Assistant] They issue a press release by contacting a member of the media or self release a message to one of their supporters who will post it for them. Terrorist groups are active on social media, nothing a twitter account can't handle.


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

[User] If the immune system can mistake a harmless substance as an invader (ie. allergies), can it mistake a HARMFUL virus/bacteria as harmless? If not why?

[Assistant]
You seem to misunderstand the way the immune system is 'trained'. Adaptive immune cells are not given a catalogue of antigens to attack. If that were the case, how could they possibly target newly mutated pathogens?

Instead, they are taught what *not* to attack. Unfortunately, this system can backfire and produce cells capable of launching an adaptive response against things they shouldn't. For example, a bit simplified, the cause of allergy is the adaptive response against a harmless protein, which can lead to over-inflammation. Alternatively, an adaptive response can be launched against a self antigen - the cause of autoimmunity.

So, to answer your question, pathogens can indeed avoid the immune system, but not in the way that, for example, cancer cells do it. It really can't result that way because of the training process of immune cells.


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

[User] [Mass Effect] What was the total casualties of the Reaper War?

[Assistant]
Reports and statistics have been hard to come by ever since the sudden failure of the mass relay network.

Our best estimates:

**Batarian**

Civilian: Complete eradication with fewer than 1,000 remaining in refugee camps within the citadel and possible hideouts on Omega.

Military: Estimates of about 20,000, primarily spaceborne Batarians that were not in their home systems and not actively enlisted by the hegemony in defense. Effectively only pirates remaining.

**Quarian**

Reports provide contradictory and mixed information, some claiming the migrant fleet was annihilated. However, long range sensors have picked up potential activity on Rannoch which may indicate either the fleet was dismantled for reassembled ship shelters planetside, or that the Geth have begun mass uplifting and industrialization.

**Salarian**

Civilian: Unscathed. With exception to a few breeding pools, the Salarian civilian population was left relatively untouched by the Reaper invasion due to their distance from dark space.

Military: Suffered between 60-80% casualties to the STG during the second battle of the Citadel in High Earth orbit.

Salarian Spectre is injured and currently inactive.

**Asari**

Civilian: 40-50% losses. Reapers had difficulty huskifying populations that were active biotics. Thessia suffered the heaviest of civilian losses.

Military: Moderate to heavy losses to their fleet, though most personnel serving in the battle were aboard the Destiny Ascension, which survived.

Asari Spectre K.I.A., Battle of Thessia.

**Turian**

Civilian: There's no distinction in Turian society between civilian and military.

Military: As a majority of Turians were actively enlisted and formed a majority of the forces fighting the Reapers, Turians saw the highest casualties amongst the council races second only to Humanity. Reaper siege forces orbitally bombarded any cities, outposts, and districts that actively resisted them and *All* Turians resisted. Palaven is currently uninhabitable due to smoke, dust and debris as well as climate destabilization due to higher than usual radiation post-bombardment.

Turian Spectre K.I.A., Defense of Palaven

**Humans**

Civilian: 80-90% losses. Despite preaching peace and trade the human population was surprisingly eager to enlist in active combat roles in defense of their homeworld. Suffering 20% population loss within the first few days of the assault, the purging of the population accelerated when the Citadel was brought into orbit and large captive population centers were processed by the hour. Entire nations have collapsed and withdrawn support to the Alliance due to the extent of infrastructure damage.

Military: Completely combat ineffective. With over 99% of Alliance naval losses, the fleet has been effectively dissolved with exception to logistics and resupply ships.  Active combat personnel are K.I.A. in the tens of millions, with hundreds of millions M.I.A. . Few pockets of scattered resistance fighters have reported in.

Human Spectre Status Unknown.


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

[User] Why do I wear a lead vest while the dentist blasts my head with x-rays.

[Assistant]
To protect the rest of your body from harmful radiation. Radiation exposure is time-sensitive, meaning the longer you've been exposed, the more chances there'll be damage.

By limiting radiation exposure only to parts that's relevant, you don't end up unnecessarily irradiating other parts that might be exposed in the future (for example, you may require a chest x-ray later).


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

[User]
[Left 4 Dead] What makes the Special Infected, well, special?

Passing thought I had. Why is it that the Special Infected (Hunter, Smoker, Spitter and the like) have almost superhero like abilities? Is it some sort of mutation of the virus? Was it something about their lives as a Humans?

[Assistant]
It's genetic. The protagonists canonically literally get the same sturdiness as zombies but aren't affected by the mind altering zombification part. It's covered in the comic. Presumably the special zombies are similar in that their genetics allowed them to mutate in such a way when they were infected.

Seems to also have a gender trait since some of them are specifically a certain gender (Witch)


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

[User] If there are a finite number of atoms in the entire universe, that means there is still a finite number of permutations of atoms possible. Can our very existence occur again then on a infinite time scale if we are just made out of a certain permutation atoms?

[Assistant] The thing is, the universe might continue to grow rapidly enough with density decreasing enough that the probability tends more and more towards zero to the point where it would likely never happen even on an infinite time scale. It's kind of like how a 3D random walk, after a while, will likely never return to the starting point even given an infinite amount of time.


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

[User] [Game of Thrones] Why Beric Dondarrion thought that participating in trial by combat is still a good idea after he died six times in battle?

[Assistant]
Even the best warrior can die in battle. And as demonstrated, Beric can come back from it even if he does.

And precisely *none* of the times he died, excepting against Sandor Clegane, were in trials by combat, and after he did against Sandor, he never died in another.


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

[User] Does the Sun actually have a surface?

[Assistant] There isn't any clear "surface" to the Sun in the way that a hard planet like Earth has a surface. Its outer layers just get less and less dense and then transition into the corona and solar wind. We often define the surface to be the photosphere, the place at which the optical depth τ=2/3, because this results in roughly one-half of the light we see coming from layers below the photosphere and one-half coming from layers above the photosphere. But there's no actual physical boundary at the photosphere.


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

[User]
Why do some animals tilt their heads when they are interested?

Like dogs, when something is interesting and it's paying attention to it, they tilt their heads to the side. Does this behaviour have some sort of survival value? Does it help them focus?

[Assistant]
Animals cock and bob their heads as a depth perception gauge. So, yes it's kind of a survival quality. If they don't understand something it would serve their best interests to obtain as much information as they can, such as its size and location in space.

EDIT: obtain(s)


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

[User]
Why have appendicitis/appendectomies seem to have gone down dramatically over the past decade or so?

My wife and I were talking, and realized we haven't heard of anyone having an appendectomy in many years.

We googled it and it appears that stats online agreed. Cases for appendicitis have declined sharply over the past 10 years in the US.

Although, google didn't offer any cause to this.

When we were younger, we used to hear about people having appendicitis all the time. Now, not at all.

What's happened? What's changed?

[Assistant]
For a long time, appendectomies were the preferred treatment options for appendicitis because scientists thought that the appendice was a vestigial organ and thus removing it would prevent any further inflammation without causing any damage to the patient.

It was discovered a decade ago that the appendix is in fact useful as a reserve of good bacteria for the gut. Since then, first intention treatment is a high dose of antibiotics and appendectomies are only done on recurrence.


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

[User]
[The Matrix] Why would the machines willfully eject you when you take the red pill?

When you take the red pill it inserts a tracking code so the humans can find you and Im assuming triggers an ejection protocol at the "farm". My question is, why would the machines at the farm just flush an awoken human into unknown sewers when they are aware that there is a human resistance?

[Assistant]
<Begin Log>

*Pinging Pod 2001:4560:4860::5501*

Ping response: 2 ms Fragmentation: 0%

Status: Normal

*Pinging Pod fe80::9dad:8454:feca*

Ping response: 1ms Fragmentation: 1%

Status: Normal

*Pinging Pod a9e4:9e9e:1999:deca:cefa*

**Request Timed Out**

**Request Timed Out**

Ping Response: 4500 ms Fragmentation: 88%

Status: **Corrupted**

Sent.Response: Host Heartbeat Panic

flushCorruptHostNode /f a9e4:9e9e:1999:deca:cefa -NoRecycle "Corrupt Hardware- Do Not Recommend Recycle"

Command Completed.

*Pinging pod 5541:1270:fa13::4001*

Ping Response: 2ms Fragmentation: 1%

Status: Normal

<eof>


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

[User] ELI5: How do outdoor holiday lights not short out or cause a fire. I see outdoor decorations plugged into extension cords and they are exposed to the elements such as rain and snow.

[Assistant]
Typically both the outdoor extension cord and the exterior outlet will have a fuse or ground fault interruptor to kill the power if theres a short.

Of course, people do rig improper shit up all the time and burn their houses down with holiday decorations.


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

[User]
When filling something with an air compressor, does the rate at which it fills decrease as the pressure increases?

A month or so ago I was filling up the tire on one of our cars and it seemed to be taking forever.

This led me to ponder the rate at which air was coming out of the pump. I couldn't find any numbers on it, so I'm turning to you askscience.

Here is my logic: Air compressors (not really sure how they work, to be honest) through some witchcraft and wizardy create pressure inside the tank and then push air into an object through a nozzle. The air flow seems like it should have a rate, or the rate at which the object is increasing in volume (Kilograms per second or something perhaps?). However, as the pressure in the object increases, the object pressure gets closer to the level of the tank, so the change in pressure is decreasing, making it harder for air to be pumped into the object being inflated.

The question: Is my logic true?

edit: Liters/second -> kilograms/second (thanks unhedged)

[Assistant] Yep, you're quite correct. Once the pressure in the object reaches the same as the maximum pump pressure, there would be no flow at all. If you then gave the tire a good squeeze, air would flow back through the compressor until the pressure equalised again.


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

[User] [LotR] Can the One Ring corrupt some lowly animal, like a worm or a mosquito? What would it look like?

[Assistant]
Cast aside at the gates of Moria by a master he thought loved him, Bill the Pony sadly wanders off.  Then with a rage building inside him, he turns, charges Frodo, lifts him by the collar with his teeth, and gallops off into the woods.

A month later, Dark Lord Bill is coronated at Mordor, the One Ring firmly on his tail, with Shadowfax leading 8 black steeds.  The Nine Dark Riders are now the Nine We-don't-need-no-steenking-riders.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do some companies limit online services in certain countries?

For example, Netflix. Wouldn't they have more customers if they provided all services all over the world?

[Assistant]
If a company is restricting services, it is generally either because they cannot carry out those services in that area (no supply network, for example), it is simply too expensive to carry out their services in that area (taxes and tariffs there might be higher and eat into the margin until it is not profitable) or it is not legal.

With Netflix in particular, the right to stream a certain program is bought per region / country. So if Netflix USA buys the right to air Supernatural, that doesn't mean Netflix in France has those same rights. Often what happens is that rights to air in particular regions have already been contracted out to other services, or that they are asking a higher price than Netflix is willing to pay for those rights, so Netflix doesn't / cannot acquire them.


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

[User]
Why don't we have a good, high-detail photo of Pluto?

Specifically, why isn't the Hubble ST able to get one? It's strange to me that we have the landmark deep field shot, but still haven't uncovered much about a relatively close object.

[Assistant] Pluto is smaller than the galaxies in the UDF image to say the least.  It may be much, much closer but it is far smaller still, in comparison.  If you look around a little more you will find that even for big "close" planets (in comparison to Pluto) by far the best images come from missions to the planet, not Hubble.  Cassini has taken much, much better shots of Saturn than Hubble ever could, if you want such good images of Pluto you'll have to wait for a mission to go there.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are the seasons not centered around the summer and winter solstice?

If the summer and winter solstice are the longest and shortest days when the earth gets the most and the least amount of sunshine, why do these times mark the BEGINNING of summer and winter, and not the very center, with them being the peak of the summer and peak of winter with temperatures returning back towards the middle on either side of those dates?

[Assistant] It takes a long time for the oceans to heat up and cool down, and to a lesser extent, rocks.  This means that the actual weather temperatures and weather patterns experienced lag the day length by some time.  In Europe, for example, the Atlantic Ocean reaches its maximum temperature around September, and the ocean temperature is important in setting weather patterns in places with maritime climates, or even a fair distance inland.  This means that although the longest days are in June, the hottest months are July and August.


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

[User]
What exactly is the problem preventing us from having a grand unified field theory?

Everyone knows how QM and GR are "not compatible", but what would it take to solve the problem and what implications would the discovery of the graviton have on quantum gravity? Suppose we ignore frameworks such as M theory, is a working model mathematically impossible to build or is a lack of data the issue here?

[Assistant]
Sadly, just observing a graviton wouldn't tell you much about quantum gravity. Gravitons can show up in calculations done in the "semi-classical limit," where gravity is very weak. You just include quantum mechanics in the usual way, and out pop gravitons. Quantum gravity would become important when gravity is extremely *strong*, like near the center of a black hole.

To solve the problem, we need some way of experimentally probing physics at extremely high energies - or, alternatively, extremely short distances, strong gravitational fields, etc. These energies almost certainly can't be produced in a lab on Earth. So we'll either have to look to the skies (these energies did exist in the very early Universe), figure out new ways to do experiments on Earth, or else find some other way to be very, very clever.


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

[User] Of we were to send mirrors into space in all directions, would we be able to look back in time once the mirrors have travelled far enough?

[Assistant]
Yes and no.

If you send the mirrors away at 70% of the speed of light, then after 10 years they will be 7 light-years away. Light reflected at that moment will have been travelling for 7 years... and will have to travel another 7 years to get back. In other words 17 years after you sent the mirrors away you get images from 3 years after you sent the mirrors away.

So yes: In 17 years you will be able to see 14 years into the past...

But no: You won't be able to see back further than the point when you launched the mirrors.

This is not the case if you somehow can move the mirrors faster than the speed of light. In that case you really would be able to see into the past.


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

[User] If you were to lose a Liter of blood, how long would it take your body to make that amount of blood back?

[Assistant] The plasma would be replaced very quickly; as soon as you ate a meal. The volume would be replaced within 6 hours. The red blood cells can take up to a month to regenerate. This is why you can't give blood more than once a month.


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

[User]
ELI5: Animals can only be impregnated during the blood but women is the opposite.

Please help.

[Assistant]
Because it's not the same blood. Women's bleeding gets rid of the lining of their uterus as part of the menstrual cycle. Animal bleeding happens as a result of the hormone shift when they go into heat, which is called the estrous cycle. Some other primates menstruate like people do, but most don't.

edit: seriously you guys can't understand this question?


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

[User]
ELI5: Hair color genetics. I was born with red hair, after 2 years it turned blonde. Now I'm dark blonde with single strands of red and black. Why?

I've been dying my hair red because it looks more natural on me than my actual color...

[Assistant] Genes turn on and off throughout puberty. The gene responsible for producing eumelanin (causes black hair) probably turn on, or the gene responsible for pheomelanin (causes red hair) probably turn off.


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

[User] I've often heard Jupiter referred to as a "failed star." Is this a fair representation? How close in terms of mass was it to actually becoming a star?

[Assistant] Not really. The minimum mass required to fuse hydrogen is about 80 times the mass of Jupiter, which is generally considered the lower bound of what a star is. For it to fuse deuterium, it has to be about 13 times the mass of Jupiter, and objects in this range are called brown dwarves. So, it's not like just a little bit more material would make Jupiter a star.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Was there any Clone Army contingents that did not receive the Order 66 execution message?

As we're all aware, our galaxy's holograms are not the most quality. For example, I know right before the beginning of the Clone Wars, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had sent the Jedi Council a message from Geonosis to Coruscant regarding information about Count Dooku's assassination plot on Senator Amidala. That holo was only able to be relayed to Coruscant through Kenobi's apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, as he was on Tatooine at the time.

So bearing in mind weak holo signals, were there any Clone Army contingents that did not receive our great Emperor's execution order 66 as they were so far out in the galaxy? If so, what became of them? Could there be remaining bloodthirsty Jedi out there?

[Assistant]
The military channels used by the Republic during the Clone Wars were extremely strong and heavily encrypted. The signal was relayed from Coruscant through priority holo channels to Star Destroyers throughout the galaxy. Star Destroyers are known for carrying some of the most advanced sensor and communications equipment in known space so it's doubtful that they missed the message. Those Ships then relayed the command directly to all the Clones they carried.

If a contingent did not receive the command (if they were too isolated or their Star Destroyer's communications were down) they would receive the order as soon as they linked back up with the Command Network.


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

[User]
[MARVEL] If Odin knew how, could he create a Cosmic Cube?

I'm asking because I've come across posts saying a CC \*\*has\*\* to be created by the Beyonders and others (including the wiki) saying anyone who can open a dimensional rift to the dimension inhabited by the Beyonders can create one. And I can't 100% recall if Odin had one.

"Sentient beings wanting to create a Cosmic Cube must first generate a force field to open a rift to another dimension inhabited by the Beyonders, allowing the extra-dimensional energy to filter through the rift. When entering the Earth's dimension, the energies can be held in a matrix, and the force itself would shape the matrix into a perfect cube." - The wiki.

Thank you very much in advance.

[Assistant] Odin could brute force create one but he also possesses the wisdom to know nothing good could from doing so. Creating a power source that does not require discipline and wisdom to use would be similar to having an infinity stone floating around tempting people like the One ring.


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

[User] [MCU] Could Tony Stark replicate the Super Soldier Serum that gave Steve Rogers his abilities? If he could, why hasnt he?

[Assistant]
People trying to replicate the super soldier serum and failing has been the cause of like 40% of the bad things to happen in their world.

Could Tony do it?  Maybe, after some trial and error.  But the errors aren't worth it.


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

[User]
[Marvel] What would happen if the Incredible Hulk were to be cut in half?

Would he die? Is it even possible? Would it work like a starfish and create two hulks?

[Assistant]
HULKS NOT NEED PUNY CORPUS CALLOSUM! HULK HAVE TWO HA;F-BRAINS! NOW HULK REGENERATE! HULK HAVE TWO BRAINS!

WHO IS REAL HULK?

HULK IS REAL HULK!

HULKS SMASH!

-Transcript from the Echo Labs, last emergency recording before black-box event.


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

[User] ELI5: If a lawyer falls under the impression that their client is guilty, do they have a legal responsibility to defend the client regardless or to drop the case?

[Assistant]
Everyone is entitled to a legal defense, even the guilty. A lawyer cannot lie for his client, but he doesn't have to. A lawyer's job is to force the opposition to prove its case.

Remember that the standard of innocence in a US court isn't "innocent" it's "not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."


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

[User]
How a service can give a subdomain to each user?

When I was a teenager, I was surprised how blogger or other blogging services like wordpress allow you to have a subdomain. I experienced a lot and found some CMS's have their tricks to create some sort of "network" (Specially wordpress, it's called wordpress network if I'm right).

But recently, I saw it's not only done by blogging services, but by PaaS, SaaS or DBaaS services as well. I am really curious about this. How can I make a web app I developed make a subdomain for each user?

[Assistant]
The answers here aren't particularly direct. There are really two main options. For both of them you need to have a way to sign up a new entity (user, site, etc.) and make the subdomain available, such as adding it to a database. The main options:

1. As someone mentioned, you can have a wildcard entry in DNS that points to your server. This means all subdomains would be directed to that one same server. When a request comes in, it will include the desired domain in the HTTP request. Using that, the subdomain can be looked up in the database, and the appropriate redirection or content served up.

2. You run your own DNS that provides answers for any subdomain query under your domain. You can still respond in a way that provides a common server, as in #1, but also provide specific other servers for some subdomains. If you don't want to run your own DNS you could host these other specific addresses in some other DNS host, such as your internet providers, if they allow it.

Note that both of these options can be used together.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why can there only be two Siths?

And why was Dooku trying to make Ventress into a Sith?

[Assistant]
At the end of the Jedi-Sith Wars, Darth Bane was the only surviving Sith Lord. He knew that the infighting among the Sith was a major cause in their defeat. So in order to hide the fact that the Sith had survived, he came up with the Rule of Two. The Sith shall always only exist as two, a Master to embody the Dark Side of the Force, and an Apprentice to crave it.

This rule allowed the Sith to grow again covertly. It resulted in Darth Sidious, who managed to become the Galactic Emperor and annihilate the Jedi Order.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] How did negotiations with Dementors go for working as prison guards? Did they have a leader? How were they recruited? Are the sentient enough to follow rules, how are rules communicated? Clock in, clock out? Vacations? Pensions?

[Assistant]
Wizards: "Hey, if you stop crawling the countryside, eating random innocents, we'll provide you a steady supply of souls to devour."

Dementors: "Cool."

Voldemort: "Hey, if you help me take over the wizarding world, I'll let you eat every Muggle on the planet."

Dementors: "This idea intrigues us, and we would like to subscribe to your newsletter."


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

[User]
ELI5: How can there be WiFi on an airplane?

I'm taking a flight across the country, and my plane has WiFi. What kind of black magic is at work here?

[Assistant]
The earlier systems, like Boeing's Conexxion, used a special kind of antenna called a phased-array antenna.  That antenna sent radio signals to a satellite in orbit which was then sent back to earth to an ISP.  Slow, but it kind of worked.  You also needed an antenna dome added to the top of the plane.

The newer systems, like Gogo, use cellular transmitters on the plane to talk to special towers on the ground.  The towers are just like your 3G/4G towers but the signals point UP instead of down at the ground around them.  Gogo is planning to add satellite transmitters later so they can handle overseas flights.

Once the signal gets to the plane it's sent to a normal wifi access point and access/billing is handled at the ISP.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why does the TV show Cops need someone to sign a release form and To Catch a Predator or even celebrity dirt / TMZ shows don't?

On Cops there are people with their faces blurred out all the time, but on To Catch a Predator they're never blurred and I'm sure they don't sign a release then. What gives?

[Assistant]
It has to do with where the individual is being filmed.

The reason paparazzi are able to take pictures of celebrities is because they are almost always taken in a public place. In most places in the country, it is completely legal to film anyone who is in public or in view of the public (this is why paparazzi stand on sidewalks and film people out walking).

You are also allowed to film and photograph anyone on your own property.  This is how "To catch a predator" works. They have proprietary rights over the homes they work out of. Although in about half of the states, it is illegal to record a person , either over the phone or with a camera without getting their consent first. So "to catch a predator" cannot do what it does in all states.

Since "cops" often takes place in other peoples property, they have to gain consent of the homeowners, bar owners, crack house owners, to publish photographs taken on their property.

Tldr: Watch it again. If people are in the background eating at a restaurant or on some other private property, faces will be blurred out. If they are standing around in the road, you will see their faces.


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

[User]
If gravity can bend light, is it possible for light emitted from the front of an object to strike the rear of an object if it is above a gravitationally significant object?

For example, if I had a flashlight and turned it on a certain distance from a black hole, could the light bend around the black hole and hit my back?

[Assistant]
Yes, theoretically.

To clarify, gravity isn't really bending light itself. It is bending the space that light travels through.

Because of how great distances we're talking about, and the speed of light and the strength of the gravitational field, it would be extremely difficult to aim the light source so accurately that it would hit itself in the back. Just a fraction of a degree off, and it would probably miss your back by thousands of miles.


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

[User]
CMV: In games with repeatable daily content, the content should always reset at a set time and not 24 hours from the previous attempt.

I've run into this in several games over the years when you are allowed to buy X item from a shop once a day, or you are allowed to fight X monster once a day.

To enforce the "once a day" part, game developers have two choices. They can either have the game reset at a certain time of the day (say midnight, GMT), or they can use a timer and have the game reset at 24 hours after the last attempt. My view is that with very few exceptions, the game should always reset at a set time.

The timer method is inconvenient, and causes you to miss out on potential gameplay. For example, say on the first day I first kill the monster at 7:00 before I go to school. On the second day, at best I am going to be allowed to repeat the action at 7:00 plus whatever time it took me to complete the activity, so like 7:05. Realistically, I'm probably not going to start at the exact second that the timer expires, so say 7:10. On the third day, this compounds, and I'm starting at 7:15, then 7:22. Eventually, I can't do it before school so I have to wait till I get home and start the timer at 3:00, then 3:10, etc.  If I have anything going on in my life that doesn't allow me to be near the computer at those times, I could lose multiple hours. Soon, I've lost a day.

Contrast this to the "reset at midnight" method. The timer resets when I'm sleeping, and I have the entire day to complete the activity. I'll never lose out on gameplay as long as I can play at least one time during the day, at any time that I chose.

I can only think of two exceptions to this. First, if the game developer determines that resetting at a specific time will be gamebreaking due to technological limitations. I could see that having a huge rush of people doing X activity at the same time could conceivably stress the game servers and crash the game.

Second, if there is legitimize concern that resetting at specific time will harm gameplay in some way. Maybe having a rush of items entering the game economy all at once would be detrimental. However using "gameplay" as an excuse should be seriously weighed against the inconvenience that it would cause.

I can think of several other reasons that a timer would be used, but none of them outweigh the inconvenience to the player. In order to change my view, you will need to both present a reason to have a timer, and also make a case that the reason is important enough to override the downside of having one.

[Assistant] I have seen this practice take place a lot in mobile games and at least in those games it seems to be more of a way to get players into a schedule that keeps them playing the game. Often features of game design that might seem annoying to some are really in place to hook others, i.e. loot boxes or pay to win elements. By having an action that you can only repeat every 24 hours from a set time, that action might become part of your daily routine. For example if you play a farming game on your phone harvesting your crops every morning at 8am can easily become a daily habit. If the clock resets daily however, players have a lot more freedom to do the task whenever they want, increasing the chance that it falls out of their daily routine. Having players repeat the same task everyday at a specific time is what a lot of these devs want, as it keeps you in the game. Overall the potential profit that repeatable actions bring is most likely greater than the inconvenience to players.


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

[User]
How does muscle memory work?

I know that basketball takes a lot of muscle memory to be good at but how does it work? Is it sort of like a computer program, like as it happens over and over the brain develops and runs the program/ Also, what triggers muscle memory and how long does it take for muscle memory to set in?

[Assistant] muscle memory is pretty similar to normal memory. when you use your muscles, various synapses in your brain fire, and when they fire they become stronger synapses, just like when you study something synapses in your brain fire and then get strengthened. so repeating a motion over and over will build up those synapses the and allow your brain to recall those muscle movements in the same way that reviewing material for a test over and over will make you able to recall that information more easily.


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

[User]
[The Elder Scrolls] If there is mages who can create powerful lightning bolts, why hasn't Tamriel entered a Industrial Revolution?

 One of the most simple Destruction spells that exists, "sparks" already seems to generate bolts with significant amps, being able to overcome air resistance and shoot lightning with precision, if even a novice wizard can achieve such feat, why isn't this a more common of energy generation?

 One could argue they don't have resources to harness electricity, but there are several Dwemer experts who seem to slightly understand their technology, this small knowledge should be enough to come up with a contraption to store electricity, but they don't seem to come up with anything?

 I know that some cultures and regions would be against such a thing, like the Bosmer of Valenwood, but some places, like High Rock are brimming with magic users and Dwemer technology Scholars, why haven't they started a industrial revolution if they clearly have the means to?

[Assistant]
>Dwemer

This is the main reason for the lack of an industrial revolution in Tamriel.  The Dwemer *did* have an industrial revolution, and it ended very poorly for them.
So poorly the entire race no longer exists. People researching the Dwemer (such as Arniel Gane in Skyrim) tend to have bad things happen to them as well, so overall people are reluctant to follow in the Dwemers footsteps.

Beyond that, Tamriel is currently in a temporary dark age.  In the past, the Empire had a space navy and space stations (TES Battlespire occurs entirely on one such station).  The high elves had Sun Birds, which were ships that could also fly into space.  In the (dubiously canon) future, robots and time travel will be developed, and those robots will travel back in time to wreak havoc on the past, like Pelinal Whitestrake who made it his cyborg mission to fuck up the Ayleid empire, and KINMUNE which is probably the thing that the College of Winterhold questline is about.


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

[User]
[DUNE] If a laser making contact with a shield generates a nuclear explosion, why aren't the more fanatic factions use this effect to perform suicide attacks?

Since lasers making contact with shields results in sub-atomic fusion and subsequently a nuclear explosion, it seems to me like a single person firing a lasgun at a shield, could take out an entire army or military compound. From a tactical point of view, sacrificing a single soldier to deal so much damage to the enemy makes sense, and given how fanatical some factions in the Dune universe can get, I bet there would be plenty of volunteers for the task.

I have only watched the 2021 film, so I don't know if at some point anyone actually does what I'm suggesting, but from what I know of Dune, suicide attacks like that should be a legit strategy that for some reason isn't being used.

If it turns out, this is indeed a common strategy in Dune and it just wasn't shown in the film, feel free to call me an idiot.

[Assistant]
Its not consistent enough to be a useful tactic. Odds are your lone soldier just blows himself up and you get in deep trouble for using nukes without the benefit of actually having nuked anything.

Beyond that pretty much every relevant faction has actual nuclear weapons, which generally lie unused for cultural reasons. If they decide to take the gloves off they dont really have to rely on basically rolling dice.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are AAA games increasingly removing local multiplayer (split screen) game types?

I understand that online multiplayer is a huge component nowadays. We still live in the real world though! When I have people come over to visit my place, I like to do a bit of split screen. Games like Evolve won't allow this, meaning that I simply can't fire up that game which is a huge shame. Why?

[Assistant]
Along with the answer about selling multiple copies, it also requires more resources out of the machine to run a split screen game.  The CPU needs to process the movements and actions of twice the characters, and the GPU has to render 2 separate screens.  this ups the load on hardware, and typically a hit has to take place in either FPS, resolution, or texture quality.

Target MP gaming demographics are typically college age to 30+ year old males.  this demographic doesn't typically live close enough or want to travel to their friend's house to play with them.  This is more done as kids or middle/high schoolers.  It doesn't make financial sense to spend money to develop something used by a fraction of your purchasers, especially one that could in theory hurt sales.


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

[User]
[Hobbit/LoTR] If Smaug had killed Bilbo, would he have destroyed Sauron?

It is said that dragon fire is one of the only things that can destroy rings of power. If Smaug had managed to incinerate Bilbo, and the ring would probably have been in his pocket at the time, would he have unknowingly destroyed the Ring and Sauron?

Would Middle-Earth have been a better place if Bilbo was killed?

[Assistant]
Dragon-fire was hot enough to melt the lesser Rings, but not the One. To quote Gandalf:

> It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough; nor was there ever any dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could have harmed the One Ring, the Ruling Ring, for that was made by Sauron himself.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are old recipes so vague?

I was reading an article a little bit ago and it gave an old Medieval recipe. But the recipe was super vague. No measurements at all. How did people use them?

[Assistant]
Recipes were vague for 3 reasons.

1. No standard measurements existed.
2. Ingredients were of widely variable quality and availability.
3. The people making them were expected to know how to cook.

Modern recipes are mostly aimed at people who don't really know cooking that well, and are made simple enough that if you can read and follow directions you won't fuck it up. This is made possible by having a widespread standard of measurements and ingredients of near identical quality being available anywhere.