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

[User] ELI5: What really happens when bread, cookies, chips, and other similar foods go "stale"?

[Assistant]
It has to do with changes in the structure of the molecules that give the food its usual texture, but the specifics vary depending on the type of food in question and what it's made of.

With foods that are normally moist and pliable/chewy (bread, cake, some cookies, etc.), the starches (long chains of sugars) that make them up spread out when cooked and link together, forming a sort of flexible mesh that's responsible for its texture. As the moisture from the environment begins to evaporate, the starches begin to crystallize, making them and the overall structure much more rigid, so it loses its pliability. It's essentially the same process as what happens with jello: when it has lots of moisture trapped inside of it, the overall structure is relatively pliable, but when you decrease the moisture, it becomes more rigid and brittle. Similarly, if you add heat to stale bread, it will help to recoup some of its chewiness and original texture (a bit of moisture helps with this too).

Try microwaving a sale dinner roll for a few seconds (with a damp paper towel, ideally) and see for yourself. It's the same idea as remelting jello by exposing it to heat (and maybe some water) and letting its structure reform.

Now with foods that are normally crispy (chips, croutons, breading, etc.), it's kind of the opposite: you want them to be dry and have a rigid molecular structure, so adding heat and/or moisture will cause their structure to become more pliable and chewy in texture.


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

[User]
Why do solar panels use Silicon cells rather than a metal with a lower work function, such as Cesium/Caesium?

Silicon has a work function of 4.05eV, whereas Cesium/Caesium which is 2.1eV. Surely solar panels made with one of the many other metals with a lower work function would produce a higher electrical output?

[Assistant] Solar cells operate through the photovoltaic effect, work function numbers are for the photoelectric effect which is different. Even if that wasn't a factor, Cesium is very expensive and has the nasty habit of reacting violently with water and igniting spontaneously in air. Additionally, it has a low melting point of 28.5 C so your solar cells would melt in sunlight.


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

[User]
How far from a mirror do you have to be to see yourself blink?

I understand that there is a delay in the time for the light to travel to the mirror and come back at any distance, so technically you always see a tiny portion of your blink in the mirror, but how far would you have to be so that you clearly see the blink and comprehend that you're seeing yourself blink.

[Assistant]
Let's say that you want to see the entire blink, from the moment your eye closes until when it opens again. Therefore, your eye must re-open before the light from the moment your eye first closed has had time to travel to the mirror and back. If the mirror is a distance *R* from your eyes, then it takes a time 2*R*/*c* for light to travel from your eye to the mirror and back. If *T* is the duration of your blink (the amount of time between the initial close-eyes event that begins the blink and the final open-eyes event that enables you so see the light coming back to you), then we must have:

*T* < 2*R*/*c*

Solving for *R*, this expression becomes:

*R* > *cT*/2

The average blink lasts *T* = 0.4 seconds, so you would have to stand at least about 60,000 km (37,000 miles) away from the mirror to see the entire blink. For reference, the distance from New York to Paris is about 5800 km. At this distance, you would need a powerful telescope and no air in the way to actually see yourself in the mirror.

UPDATE: Depending on which study you reference, average human blink duration can run anywhere from 0.1 seconds to 0.6 seconds. Blinking faster will change these numbers a bit, but not by much. A 0.1 second blink would require at least a distance of 15,000 km from the mirror.


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

[User] ELI5: how do anesthetics knock you out within 10 seconds of being injected?

[Assistant]
Nobody is actually answering the question: which is how do they **knock you out in 10 seconds** not just how do they knock you out which is much less clear.

The answer as to why does it work so fast is that anesthetics are extremely fat soluble, which means they enter the brain extremely quickly. Anything which can enter the brain extremely quickly will have a fast onset and thus works very quickly.


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

[User]
[MCU] What if Tony Stark had never become Iron Man?

How would the MCU change?

[Assistant]
Tony is captured by the Ten Rings but never builds the Mark 1 suit to escape from the cave.  He either submits to his captors' demands and builds a Jericho, or he adamantly refuses.  Either way, Tony Stark is killed.

Obadiah Stane takes over Stark Industries as its chairman and CEO.  Under his control, Stark Industries expands its weapons development program, and openly sells to organizations such as the Ten Rings. Without Tony, however, the development of new and innovative weapons and technologies grinds to a halt.  This allows competing companies such as Hammer Industries and AIM to catch up with and overtake Stark Industries.  With Stark Industries leading the way in selling to terrorists and other sketchy organizations, other companies begin to follow suit, leading to widespread chaos and instability all over the world.

Such worldwide instability is exactly what Armin Zola and Hydra were aiming to accomplish, so they launch Project Insight ahead of schedule.  Because SHIELD hadn't developed helicarriers yet, Project Insight instead involves Zola's algorithm identifying potential threats, and then assassins such as Clint Barton, Brock Rumlow, and the six Winter Soldiers are dispatched to eliminate the target.  On one such mission, Clint is sent to remove a rival agent named Natasha Romanov, but instead of killing her he decides to spare her, and recruits her into SHIELD.  For his disobedience, both Barton and Romanov are killed by Bucky Barnes, on Zola's orders.  Hereafter, to avoid other such incidents, only fully controllable agents such as the Winter Solders are used for Project Insight assassinations. Other victims include Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Erik Selvig, Pepper Potts, Maria Hill, Sam Wilson, Hank Pym, and countless others.

Bruce Banner, hiding out in Brazil after his gamma radiation accident, is discovered after some of his blood falls into a drink. Events eventually occur until the Hulk has his battle in Harlem against the Abomination. Afterwards, Blonksy is recruited into the Avengers Initiative, while Banner goes into hiding.  Eventually, Banner is tracked down by the Winter Soldiers, and he is killed while in human form.

Thor is banished to Earth for his recklessness nearly leading to war against the Frost Giants. Due to Erik Selvig's death, Thor never meets Jane Foster, and he is captured by SHIELD when he tries to retrieve Mjolnir. Despite his many attempts at escape, he is eventually interned by SHIELD in a maximum security facility.  Without his hammer or his powers, he has no means of breaking out.  On Asgard, Loki's plan succeeds, and he successfully kills Odin and Laufey, and destroys Jotunheim using the Bifrost.  Many of the Asgardians break away from Loki for his brutality, including Heimdall, Sif, and the Warriors Three.  They travel to Earth together and find Thor, but Loki sends the Destroyer after them.  Thor sacrifices himself against the Destroyer, which once again makes him worthy of Mjolnir. He defeats the Destroyer, but is unable to return to Asgard, due to Heimdall being on Earth and no one else being available or willing to open the Bifrost.  The Asgardians are left stranded on Earth.

Steve Rogers is discovered in the arctic, still alive.  He is woken up in a SHIELD facility, but breaks out when he realizes the radio's playing a baseball game he'd already attended.  SHIELD recapture Rogers, and he is brought before Zola.  Zola claims that he defected to the Allies after his capture, and has been helping the US and SHIELD ever since.  He shows Rogers the state of the world, one of chaos and unrest, and convinces Rogers that Captain America should do his part to help fight such turmoil.  Zola also shows Rogers that Barnes is also helping SHIELD take out enemy targets.  Rogers finally agrees to help SHIELD by becoming an agent and assassin, albeit rather reluctantly.

Thanos, noting that the Tesseract is on Earth, strikes a deal with Ronan the Accuser.  Ronan is dispatched to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract for Thanos.  In exchange, Thanos will give Ronan the means to destroy the Nova.  Ronan's massive ship, the Dark Aster, arrives in orbit around Earth.  The Asgardians arrive at the ship to negotiate a deal with Ronan, since Ronan's ship represents their only chance of returning to Asgard.  Ronan explains that he is at Earth to retrieve the Tesseract, and once he has it, he will leave.  If the Asgardians assist him, then he will repay them by taking them to Asgard.  This places him in conflict with the Asgardians, since they believe the Tesseract belongs on Asgard.  They fight, but the Asgardians defeat Ronan.  However, during their superpowered fight, the Dark Aster is knocked out of the sky and crashes in New York.  Ronan and the Asgardians all survive the crash, but they are separated, and Ronan departs on his own to find the Tesseract. Ronan tracks the Tesseract to the facility where it's kept and studied, easily overpowers the SHIELD guards and scientists, and grabs the Tesseract.  However, knowing that there's an Infinity Stone inside, Ronan decides to keep it for himself.

The Dark Aster crashing to Earth draws SHIELD's attention, and Steve Rogers is dispatched to New York to investigate. He encounters the Asgardians, and a rapport is built between them. Steve brings the Asgardians back to SHIELD, where an attempt is made to detain and/or recruit them.  The Asgardians, naturally, refuse.  They do, however, agree to help SHIELD recover the Tesseract from Ronan, since it now represents their only hope of getting home.

Ronan returns to his crashed ship and attempts to use the Tesseract to open a portal to Xandar, in order to destroy the Nova.  However, he is interrupted by Rogers and the Asgardians during the process, and in the confusion the Tesseract opens a portal to Thanos's Chitauri army, instead of Xandar.  The Chitauri swarm through.  Rogers, the Asgardians, Blonsky, and other SHIELD agents attempt to stem the tide, but they are unsuccessful.  The World Council, in desperation, fires a nuke at New York.  The device destroys New York, killing Rogers and the others in the process, but it successfully closes the portal due to the massive amount of energy it outputs.  The Tesseract, naturally, is left unscathed.

Thanos gets out of his chair and travels to Earth to retrieve the Tesseract himself.  There is no one left to oppose him.  Thanos devastates Earth until the Ancient One decides enough is enough, and uses the Eye of Agamotto to turn back time to the point where Tony Stark is captured in Afghanistan.  She uses her astral projection power to plant the idea in his mind that he should build a suit of powered armor to escape.


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

[User]
[Ready Player One] Why isn't anyone playing with a mouse and keyboard? They would absolutely destroy everybody else who uses a VR headset.

*who uses a VR headset and haptic gloves/bodysuit, as some people kindly corrected me. Moving a mouse a few inches would be much quicker than moving your whole body.

[Assistant] I believe in the book it's implied if not stated that to play the Oasis a player has to be using a VR setup. The complexity and quality of the VR setups vary, but it seems everyone uses them. This is also probably due to the variety of activities needed to be preformed in the Oasis, like driving, sword play, or even acting out a scene. Plus, the better quality VR setups give more nuanced tactile feedback so you would be missing out on the deep immersion.


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

[User] ELI5:How does headache exactly hurts your head if your brain cannot feel pain?

[Assistant]
There are literally hundreds of of types of headaches, so each one can be representative of something different.

Sinus pressure, vascular issues, tumor increasing intracranial pressure, muscular tension, trauma etc. The brain could be the issue but it's usually transmitting from somewhere else.


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

[User] Can there be a case of information asymmetry where buyers have more information than sellers?

[Assistant] Sure, think of estate sales for example where people often don't bother to tally up everything exactly but just sell things in bulk and experienced people go there to grab the items that are sold way below value.


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

[User] ELI5: If you were to only drink 3,500 calories, and not eat any calories, will you still experience gain in weight? What's the different between calories you consume eating versus drinking (like soda, a starbuck caramel frapuchino, etc)

[Assistant]
calories are calories.  but some calories come with vitamins and minerals and fiber whatnot  etc that your body needs.

if you eat 3500 calories vs drink 3500 calories and get the same vitamins and minerals and fiber whatnot etc it's exactly the same.


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

[User]
ELI5: If photons are massless, why does gravity affect light?

Edit: All answers point to the distortion of the space time fabric by the mass of objects as the reason why.

However, an addendum to my original question then : Why does mass/energy distort space time?

[Assistant]
While photons are massless, gravity still affects them because gravity distorts space-time. Photons are not immune to this distortion.

Essentially, photons still need to travel the uneven surface of space. You cant walk in a truly straight line between New York and LA, because you need to cross over the Rocky Mountains. Light is sort of the same way.


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

[User] ELI5: How do take with a meal pills get absorbed into our body properly if there is a large amount of food in our stomach?

[Assistant] Medicines, vitamins and other chemicals are generally either water soluble or fat soluble.  Water soluble chemicals can be absorbed directly into your bloodstream and don't need to be taken with food.  But fat-soluble chemicals won't dissolve in water, and thus need some fat in your stomach.  Generally when a pill is suggested to take "with food" or "with a meal", it's because it's fat-soluble and almost all food has at least some fat/oil/lipids in it, so they don't bother to specify what kind of food.


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

[User]
Is an apple separated from the tree alive or dead?

If I plucked an apple, does it "die"? More technically, how are processes in a plucked apple different from an apple still on the tree?

It's a known fact that fruit&vegs ripen when left alone; where do they get the energy for that?

[Assistant] Technically, the cells that make up the fruit and the seeds are still alive, but they start fading the moment they're picked.  The energy they get for ripening is already there, it just needs to be converted to the right sugars and what not.  The cells of the fruit are still working (and will until they no longer have the fluids and energy they need).  What's important is that the seeds are alive and they have to stay alive in order to create a new tree.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] How are most people not looking like supermodels with all the advancement in cosmetic surgery?

You can get relatively non-invasive, pain free, cheap and risk free surgery to make you look like a whole other species. Think of how many people are unhappy with their looks. Their noses, foreheads, jaws, lips, breasts, whatever. Wouldnt most people take advantage of this system and transform themselves into perfection, or at least, wouldnt many people at least somewhat improve their looks through cosmetic surgeries? There should be many people walking around looking like supermodels. Good looking people like Uhura, Seven of Nine should be no longer an exceptional sight like nowadays but the norm.

How common is cosmetic surgery in Star Trek?

[Assistant]
>Think of how many people are unhappy with their looks.

This is a common 20th/21st century viewpoint...   But in the 24th century, mankind has grown out of those attitudes .

For the most part, mankind has evolved out of those materialistic views.  Things such as personal wealth, fame, fortune, and with that one can assume **vanity** went along with those vices.  By the 23rd century, our society has evolved out of judging people and creating status levels based on those gains and achievements.   Sure there would still be a minor few that desire those accomplishments, but they would be far and few between.

We're also talking about the fact that MOST of the people we observe are aboard a Federation Starship... an otherwise "military" type vessel where those same non-materialistic points of view are more or less encouraged and promoted even more so.   That said, have a look around the Enterprise D, for example... most of those people ARE actually "attractive" by 21st Century standards.  Chalk that up to a more consistent and healthy way of living overall due to our society's evolution.  But as far as glitz and glamour, it just doesnt exist like you are thinking with your 21st century mindset.


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

[User] [Judge Dredd] If Mega City 1 is so overpopulated why do they continue to allow children to be born?

[Assistant]
People die, you need new people; ain't much of a society if it disappears in 60-90 years.   This rules out actual solutions like contraceptives or gene alteration treatments in the water/air/etc.

So you get left with legal mechanisms, but the population is huge and the enforcement teams are tiny and also dealing with every other crime.

And what do you have Judges do about illeagal births?

Have them stomp the mewling tots as an illicit good?

Sentence everyone involved? that seems over reaching even for a megacity authority.

Gun down the lawbreaker parents and drop the bundles of humanity at an orphanage? that might halve the population if you can track down both parents.

Jail the parents and send the child for adoption, the prison system is already at its limits and, being a driving instinct, this is a crime most every human is likely to break given half a chance.

Do you get natural illeagal citizens?

 The city is a conservative dream city (literally a parody of British conservatism) with highly stratified class systems and a 'by your own bootstrap' economic model. 99% of the populace is living in squalor with no hope of that changing, they have no interaction with the social classes that define society or pass laws and zero impact on the lives of that group outside of violent crimes and robbery.  The ruling class like it this way, they have someone to feel superior too and lord over and a constant threat to isolate themselves from.

The simplest solution to population problems for the ruling class is to just ignore them. At some point somthing infectious will solve most of the issue.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why taste is subjective even though the structure of our taste buds and biology is generally similar or the same.

I understand that we can link positive memories etc and other sensory inputs with certain tastes and so on, but why does something literally taste good to some people and not to others? Does every item taste the same for everyone but different people perceive them in different ways?

[Assistant] A lot of how your specific taste buds work actually is controlled by your genes. For example, whether or not you like cilantro is genetic. Another example is broccoli and other similar vegetables. They have a compound in them which some people taste as bitter, while others don't, because some people have a gene which codes for a protein that interacts with this compound to make it taste bitter, while others don't. Some people are genetically predispositions to be more sensitive to salt, etc.


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

[User] [Children of Men] Are women still menstruating?

[Assistant] I remember in the book that it was a problem with the men's sperm count.  In the book, the main character is talking with a nurse who worked in the fertility ward of a hospital and she said she remembered thinking "what is wrong with the men of this country".  And also near the end of the book when a male child is born, the leader of the country plans to have him start impregnating the female members of the youngest generation when the boy reaches 13 and he isn't concerned at all about female infertility.  Meaning, that yes, the women menstruate as the lack of children is the fault of men.


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

[User]
If I fill up a water bottle with hot water and start to shake it. Will the water retain its heat longer(or will its heat increase) since I'm adding energy to it.

I'm bored at work shaking a bottle with hot water in it......

[Assistant]
Theoretically, if you shook it fast enough. But the warmth from your hand will likely contribute more heat than you shaking it.

And besides that, thermodynamics is working against you. By shaking the bottle, you're circulating the water. This means the hottest water is transferring some of its energy to the cooler bottle, resulting in a more efficient transfer of energy.


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

[User] What were the pressing questions for biology in the 60s?

[Assistant]
One of the biggest questions of the 60s: __How does DNA work?__

Before the 1950s biology was very focused on proteins, especially enzymes, since you could measure their activity and they had a clear function, DNA was mostly overlooked. But in the early 1950s experiments with bacteriophages demonstrated that DNA, not protein, was the heritable material, and suddenly the focus was on understanding DNA. Soon after that the DNA double helix was described and in the late 50s DNA polymerase was discovered.

Codons/the genetic code was cracked in the 60s, allowing us to understand how DNA encoded information. mRNA was found to be the intermediate information carrier between nuclear DNA and protein. Later on, the problem of a leading and lagging strand in DNA replication was solved by the discovery of Okazaki fragments. Restriction enzymes were also first discovered in the late 60s and their potential would be realized in later decades.

The 50s/60s were in many ways the beginning of molecular biology as we know it, and the questions about how DNA works enabled the massive advancements in biology and medicine weve seen in recent decades. In the 1970s Sanger sequencing was invented allowing for Genes to be read and cataloged. Uses of restriction enzymes were also discovered so by the late 70s early 80s recombinant DNA was being used to modify genes and engineer bacteria/yeast to make useful proteins, like insulin. PCR was invented in the 90s and the first human genome was sequenced in the 00s.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's the difference between Republic of China and People's Republic of China?

I understand that Republic of China is more capitalist, and People's Republic of China is communist.  I also know that Republic of China is based out of Taiwan.  That's it though, can someone help with the rest?

[Assistant]
Before WW2, a nationalist party called the Kuomintang was in control of China. Back then all of China was the Republic of China. But following WW2, there was a communist revolution, and the People's Republic of China was established.

The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan where they continued to run the government of the Republic of China, which they claimed was still the legitimate government of all of China.

The UN continued to recognise them as China's government until the 1970s, when the PRC was invited to take their place as China's representatives. The PRC has a policy that they will not have diplomatic relations with any country which recognises the ROC as a legitimate state, which is why even countries like the USA *technically* don't recognise Taiwan as a country. Although there are a few countries which do.

Taiwan has now evolved into a modern democratic country. A lot of people in Taiwan don't really think it's the legitimate government of mainland China any more, and would like to drop their claims to it.

But officially declaring Taiwan as an independent country would cause problems, even though that's exactly what it is in practice. The PRC sees Taiwan as a rogue province, an integral part of China which is currently defying the legitimate government. And they have threatened to take military action if Taiwan officially declares independence.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is dry firing a bow dangerous?

Most people who never shot one would think it's the same motion as firing a arrow.

[Assistant]
When you pull back the string of a bow, you're putting a lot of stress on the bow.  When you release it, that string flies forward, releasing a bunch of energy.

Normally, it transfers that energy into an arrow.

When you dry-fire it, that energy has nowhere to go & just results in a bunch of vibrations which could potentially weaken the bow.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do computers and websites often take a while to detect an incorrect password but often detect correct passwords immediately?

The title is fairly self-explanatory but what I'm mainly getting at is why does it take a computer a while to detect an incorrect password instead of detecting it immediately?

[Assistant] This is a security measure. If it rejects you in .1 second, you can guess 10 passwords a second. If it rejects you in 3 seconds, it takes you 30 times as long to brute force the password. In many cases, the delay will increase after multiple failed guesses as well.


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

[User]
[WH40K] On average, how long does it take from one end of the galaxy to the other end with warp drive?

I know it's quite unstable but on average.

[Assistant]
1 Year. At its most stable, using the Imperium's most reliable drives, travelling from one side of the galaxy to the other is about a years journey.

The Tau take longer, but that's mostly because of course corrections, there's no reason to believe their drives are inherently slower.

The Eldar can do it in minutes.


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

[User]
CMV: Thanos' plan makes no sense when you take economics and policy into account.

I  have to preface this by saying I realize this isn't a serious topic,  and I understand it's not an important problem to debate (or is it?).

Additionally,  I did not grow up reading Marvel comics, and I have had very little  context on Thanos besides what I saw in the Avengers movies.

Thanos'  plan to eliminate half the universe's population makes no sense to me.  It seems to stem from the idea that the universe is over-populated, that  resources are too scarce to accommodate everyone. He believes that the  snap will prevent economic collapse.  He says: ***what's happened since then is that The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It's a paradise.***

I am failing to see how this would work:

1.	The  post-snap scene shown in the movie does not show a thriving  civilization. Why wouldn't we see hundreds of worlds being perfectly  happy with how things are now?
2.	If  you cut half the population, I imagine that would initially cause  political chaos, all the jobs needing to be transferred, all the people  making moves because certain people are gone.

But  let's say that passes, and now everything is stable, with just half as  many people. Suddenly, 2x the resources are available, but half the  people are there to use them.

Would this  not lead to a universe-wide baby boom? How would people not want to  start wars with other planets for those unused resources? Am I supposed  to buy the idea that everything will be 2x more readily available and  things will just go on as normal?

3.	I  understand that Thanos saw this strategy work on Gamora's homeworld, but  I don't see how it would have worked in that case either, for the  reasons above. In that sense, I believe Thanos is really falling for a  logical fallacy by thinking his past approach will work anywhere.

Please change my view! I'd love to hear some points that clarify Thanos' plan and hopefully help me make sense of it.

Update: lots of people posting insightful comparisons with the Black Plague, and talking about how Thanos might be the only one who believes his plan. My takeaway remains that his point makes no sense, but hes just being a space Genghis Khan.

[Assistant]
Thanos is also known as "The Mad Titan". He's not exactly sane.

From the Avengers movies, we can see that his kill 50% plan originated from his homeworld, and his plan to save it. That is the driving motivation behind all his actions.

He had a plan, they rejected him, and his homeworld was destroyed.

So, now he wants to repeat his plan, to show and demonstrate that it would work. That is was others fault that his homeworld was destroyed because they didn't listen.

Note : The motivations are different in the comic, and most of this here is speculation.


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

[User] [DC] Has the Joker ever considered giving up his evil ways?

[Assistant]
In one story called Going Sane, he thinks he killed Batman.

He loses all homicidal urges, gets plastic surgery, and moves a couple states away. He falls in love and everything.

But he relapses once he discovers Bats is still alive, ofcourse.


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

[User] [Wh40k] We lost 36 million infantry with only 230 surviving but we won the battle. Is this a success?

[Assistant] You said it yourself, we won. If the enemy are defeated, if their foul ambitions are denied, if their attacks are repulsed, it matters not how many men gave their lives in the Emperor's name. A victory is a victory, and it's promotion, tea and medals for everyone involved in planning it.


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

[User] ELI5: If a thundercloud contains over 1 million tons of water before it falls, how does this sheer amount of weight remain suspended in the air, seemingly defying gravity?

[Assistant]
At the scale of cloud droplets viscosity is a force vastly superior to gravity. Gravity is applied to mass, viscosity* is applied to surface area, and smaller things have more surface than they have mass. Imagine you drop a stone into water - it will sink to the bottom right away. Now if you grind this stone into sand and let this sand fall into water it wouldnt sink right away, despite being the same mass. It will take its time, and if you stir this sand just a little, it will make a swirling sand cloud in the water which can persist for a few minutes - precisely because sand particles have much more surface area than the original stone while having the same mass. The same thing happens with water droplets in the cloud. Very small water droplets just float on the upward air currents (note that thunderclouds form when there are strong upward currents to begin with). When this droplets become bigger by joining each other (reducing their overall surface area) they start falling to the ground making rain.

Edit: *viscous friction actually.


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

[User] If a werewolf continuously travels using modern technology like planes, etc to avoid the full moon does that mean it could live a normal human life and avoid transformation?

[Assistant]
To answer this, I'll talk a little about Gargoyles.

Gargoyles (*Greg Weisman's famous Disney series*) turn to stone at sunup and do so with variability as they travel around the world (a little before or a little after) depending on their biological clocks.  Stone sleep is what it is: sleep--although much less voluntary.  It's more autonomic.

While constant travel away from experiencing a full moon would disrupt a werewolf's cycle, he would eventually have to succumb to transformation--and perhaps a very uncomfortable one at that.  Imagine the equivalent of not sleeping for days and how tired you feel and how helpless you are when trying to fend off sleep.


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

[User]
[Gurran Lagann] human eradication

After the time jump why didnt the anti-spiral races just nuke all the humans and the fill all the underground villages with poison gas or something of the sort?

[Assistant]
Their intentions are not just to wipe out humanity (because they might always miss someone), it's to destroy the willpower of the Spiral Warrior leading them (Simon).  The Anti-Spirals know that any individual Spiral Warrior is a universe-scale threat, and can't be stopped by blunt force.  Instead, they have to be Demoralized (like the Spiral King) and convinced to live their life in pleasurable pursuits until they die.

Demoralization, not eradication, is their real goal.


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

[User]
Academia vs Industry

Why is it harder to get a job in academia compared to industry sectors although the salaries in academia are significantly lower?

[Assistant] Because there are significantly more PhD holders than there are viable academic jobs. And thats because universities use grad students as cheap labor without any concern for how many of them will secure jobs, stable long-term jobs are being replaced with short-term contract jobs that cant be the basis of an actual career, and in many fields jobs are outright disappearing as universities shutter or downsize.


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

[User]
[DC] What is Batman's general opinion on the death penalty?

Batman is vehemently against killing his foes, or even letting other people kill them, but what about legal execution? How does Batman respond to criminals being legally put to death?

[Assistant]
Batman doesnt kill for one major reason:

He doesnt trust himself to be judge, jury, and executioner.

He knows if he started killing criminals he would lose it. All he does is give a beating, terrify, and hand over to the police, because Batman knows the legal system is capable of being judge, jury, and executioner, because thats literally its whole job.


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

[User]
The term "radical atheist" is invalid in the context relative to "radical Christian". CMV.

A radical Christian would follow the bible to an extreme extent. I think it's fair to say that this is generally not ideal for others. What exactly does a radical atheist do? Any act by an atheist would not associate atheism to it because atheism only declares a lack of belief and nothing else.

The Christian being referred to here isn't solely one that believes in Christ and his teachings, but those who follow the bible to some extent. A belief in Christ and his teachings is hardly a religion if the bible is excluded. You do not have to be religious to acknowledge that Christ was a real person, and that his general lessons for life are good ones and should be used as guidance. I think one would be more of a humanist at that point.

Semantics aside, the same cannot be said about atheism. There is no "bible" for atheism, and there are no guidelines set in stone (excluding the lack of belief). Is Richard Dawkins a radical atheist? If not, what exactly makes someone a radical atheist? The point being that religions can be followed to a radical extent by nature, atheism can't.

Being a "radical atheist" does not make sense because there is no room for misinterpretation because there are no rules/changes to enforce onto others.From this, you may think, "Ah! But someone who enforces atheism would be a radical by your logic!". However, this would be false. You would not call a doctor who encourages a healthy diet a radical doctor. Encouraging a healthy diet is not related to being a doctor in any way. Likewise, encouraging atheism is not related to atheism either.

To try and cover points that may be brought up, lets give the counter-point: encouraging and enforcing are two different things, someone who enforces atheism instead of encouraging atheism would be a radical atheist. This would also be false due to the point I make above, enforcing atheism is not related to atheism whatsoever. At this point, you could call such a person a radical; you could even call him a radical atheist. However, this is in a different context than when the term "radical Christian" is used. In this context, "radical" and "atheist" are two different adjectives, whereas in the context of the term "radical Christian", a single adjective is being used. To simplify with an example, I propose the terms "athletic person" and "athlete". A person may be (but is not exclusive to being) athletic. An athlete is exclusive to a person whom the definition of "athletic" applies to.

I am not comparing based on literal definitions, I am comparing based on context of the terms which is closer to the discussion of "radical atheism". If you believe otherwise, please provide a clear definition on what a radical atheist does/is.

[Assistant]
radical
/radikl/
Adjective
(esp. of change or action) Relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.
Noun
A person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform.

In this sense, an atheist can indeed be radical, and quite a few are. This is the same use of the world people employ when talking about radical Christians. The problem here is not that people are being inconsistent when using the word radical to refer to atheists and Christians, the problem is that you've misunderstood the usage of radical in reference to Christians in the first place.


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

[User] [Pokemon] How are Pokmon eggs created and laid? Why do eggs need to be walked?

[Assistant]
>Why do eggs need to be walked?

It isn't the walking that causes eggs to hatch - they take a certain, variable amount of time to hatch and have to be kept warm much like bird eggs. In the games that time is correlated with steps.


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

[User] ELI5: Does every single car in the world have a unique key?

[Assistant]
> Does every single car in the world have a unique key?

No. There are too many cars and too few combinations. It is possible for the coded chips to have a truly unique combination but the physical keys are reused.


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

[User]
What are some unwritten rules of etiquettes in research/academia that you often see being overlooked?

Recently had a misunderstanding between my PI about publications, authorship, roles in the project were which lead to some conflict. Looking back, I see that we could have avoided those misunderstanding if we had talked about these things before we started the project and made those point crystal clear rather than talking about it in the middle.

Another etiquette that I learned about although I'm not completely sure. If someone else applies for the grant which is awarded and leaves, its polite to keep them updated about the project or invite them as a co-author on any potential papers or acknowledge them in the paper if they'd prefer that.

[Assistant]
Hmmm... less political than your examples, but clean up after yourself and respect the common equipment. If your agarose spills in the microwave, don't leave it for someone else to clean up. Do your dishes.
If you notice that tips or a reagent are running out, be sure to order more or alert whoever handles the ordering. Don't wait until things run out to speak up.
Common sense stuff, but somehow overlooked. :)


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

[User]
ELI5:How do LEDs get so hot despite putting out so much light and using relatively little power?

If you touched an incandescent lamp you would probably burn yourself, but that used 75 or 100 watts. Meanwhile LED lamps use 10-15 watts and put out just as much light, yet still get insanely hot. Even LED tape needs some sort of cooling to run at their specified voltages and current. Why do they get so hot? Shouldn't most of their energy be released as light rather than heat?

[Assistant]
incandescent bulbs give about 14 lumens per watt (2% efficient)
LEDs theoretically can generate over 200 lumens per watt (30% efficient)
LED bulb turns a larger fraction of the source power into visible light, virtually none of the waste energy is radiated away, so it must be handled by conductive/convective means.
LED that has a 30% conversion efficiency, 11 watts x 0.7 = 7.7 watts have to be dissipated.  So with LED, the idea is to get as much heat away from the emitter as possible. That's why you'll end up with a hot casing of an LED lightbulb. The casing is hot because it's trying to dissipate the heat of the electronic driver circuit and of the LEDs themselves.
the emitter die itself is highly refractive, which causes some of the generated light to reflect back into the die rather than leave. That light strikes the die and heats it up.
for a white LED. A white LED is made up of a blue emitter with a phosphor coating. The blue light hits the phosphor coating, which in turn fluoresces and emits yellow light. Some of that light is simply absorbed though, which heats up the phosphor. Some of the blue light also passes through. Your eyes see this mixture of blue and yellow light as white light.

So you've got heat losses in the electronics to regulate the power that the LEDs need, losses in the emitter die, and losses in the phosphor. To keep all of that stuff running properly, the heat needs to be removed.The housing is a heat sink, so it will be hot.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What percentage of jedi turn to the Dark Side?

[Assistant] A loooot less than 1%. In 25,000 years of history, an extremely small (relatively speaking) number of Jedi ever turned to the dark side. Granted, the entire Sith war with the Jedi is all about Jedi who turned and started culturally appropriating the Sith race, so take that as you will, but Jedi falling from the Order itself has rarely ever actually happened.


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

[User] ELI5: If there are fewer leaves in the winter, does it mean we have less oxygen then?

[Assistant] No. The global oxygen level do not fluctuate that much if at all from things like loosing leaves because half the world is always going to be in summer. Also equatorial rainforests are always in summer, and contribute the most of anything to filtering air.


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

[User] [Overwatch] If the Chronal thingy on Tracer's torso anchors her in regular spacetime, does that mean she'll perpetually be in her 20s forever, or does she age naturally?

[Assistant] As far as we know about her condition, without her thingy she'd experience time from a normal frame jumping between all points of her time as she lived it randomly. The anchor just keeps her experiencing time how people normally do.


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

[User]
[40K] How did the Emperor's battle with Horus kill him?

I know next to nothing about 40k, but a bunch of my friends are into it and were explaining the main storyline to me. They all told me that the Emperor died not long after his battle with Horus (which he won). How? Isn't the GEoM like this all powerful dude?

[Assistant]
Hes not literally all powerful. If he was there wouldnt be much of a story. Anyways, sonce Horus was his son, he was basically heartbroken and reluctant to kill him, and only did so when Horus mortally wounded him.

Also, he didnt die. His body is decaying, but his spirirt still resides in it, and is simultaneously holding the eye of terror shut as well as powering the astronomicon.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's going on with McDonald's?

So, I've heard they're struggling with management and that their recent marketing and innovation ideas didn't help the company, but McDonald's is a huge brand. How can they question their future in such way?

[Assistant] mcdonald's ought to realize its target market. people who love shitty, addictive food. they keep trying to push healthy items and act like they're being more ethical. there is a massive market out there of people who do not care about animal rights and/or being healthy. that's who they have served for decades and they ought to get back to that if they want to see profits.


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

[User] Higher inflation increases employment because it stimulates demand or because real wages are lower?

[Assistant]
In the standard macro models, higher inflation doesn't  increase aggregate demand, the opposite is true in fact, it tends to reduce demand. Demand may fall because of the lower real value of savings, lower real wages, a reduction in the real size of the money supply, or because the central bank raises real interest rates in response to higher inflation.

Higher inflation is associated with higher demand, but the causation is likely to be the other way.  Increased demand causes firms to raise prices, leading to higher inflation.


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

[User]
CMV: Vanna White has the best job in the world

Currently Vanna White's salary is reported to be $10m/year. Her job entails walking back and forth in front of screens she needs to tap when they light up while wearing beautiful gowns and shoes and hair and makeup. She'll film promo spots. She is a household name across the country, yet I assume she could blend in to many crowds or do things like grocery shopping without getting harangued by adoring fans. Sometimes she travels to resort destinations when the shows are done from places like Hawaii. Also Pat Sajak is quite funny and purportedly very nice, so he's probably a good coworker. I cannot think of a better job than Vanna's, even for an introvert like me.

[Assistant] Judge Judy. 47 million a year, probably more now on her new show, 52 workdays per year, and she gets to call people morons with impunity every one of those 52 days and people absolutely love her for it. And she doesnt have to care how she looks in a sparkly dress.


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

[User] ELI5: why are female tits so sexualised ?

[Assistant] They are a secondary sexual characteristic and as such indicate that the woman is past puberty and therefore physically developed and ready for producing offspring. Them being large indicates that she is well fed (not an issue in modernity) and them being firm indicates youth and health. These factors give some very base instinctual attraction to them in a sexual manner. Western society (particularly American) amplifies these natural impulses by focusing on them as a sexual region of the body and making both nudity and sexuality taboo in open society.


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

[User]
Does the vast quantity of salt spread onto roads to prevent freezing have a negative effect on the local environment?

Currently experiencing an unusually intense cold snap in the UK and local gritters are out spreading in force. But when the ice melts and the salt dissolves, won't this leave a lot of salt water flowing into the ground etc?

[Assistant]
short answer: yes, it's bad for the local environment. Salt run off from roadways gets into groundwater and is toxic for plants bc it prevents them from getting enough water, and essentially drying them out.

this run-off also feeds into our drinking water supplies, and while it's not likely to be too dangerous, it's considered a toxic chemical (some of the chemicals they treat it with aren't safe for consumption) so it is hazardous to our health in high concentration.

some towns are opting to use eco-friendly options like beet juice!


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

[User] If 3rd world debt was restructured or forgiven would it lead to economic growth or would the moral hazard make things worse off?

[Assistant] It would give a short term boost, sort of like an opportunity. But eventually, it would change nothing, as what decides economic prosperity are these countries' institutions, not their amount of debt. The effect on their debt taking wouldn't be large if this was an one-time thing.


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

[User] When I watch star wars or star trek I noticed the ships look aerodynamic. Wouldn't it be better to make them as small as possible instead of long triangle shaped fighters?

[Assistant]
Regardless of aerodynamics the ships need to look cool on screen, and they need to be identifiable as something akin to contemporary planes and ships.

Some of these ships also need to fly in atmosphere(s) (e.g. the battle at the start of Star Wars Episode III) so it makes sense for them to be aerodynamic.


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

[User] Why does the economy NEED to grow constantly?

[Assistant]
Population growth.

We've gained 100MM people in the last 30 years. In the next 30 we will probably add 200MM. Those people will need houses in which to live, jobs at which to work, food to eat, cars and roads to drive them on, etc. If they don't get those things, they will either go somewhere else for them or take them off of people by force. Then things start getting... messy.


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

[User] ELI5: How was the first software created and integrated into computers when there wasn't any software to do it?

[Assistant]
Physical punchcards (card with holes dotted on them) were fed into computers to set memory switches on or off which would then act as the program and data to be executed.

When a basic computer is "booted" its instruction pointer points to a location in memory.  The 1's and 0's at that location are retrieved and depending on what's there different actions are caused: that might be loading a memory location, adding two numbers together, or storing the result.   Using a relatively small set of instructions, vastly complicated processes can be made.

Computer data, being binary, has always been interpretable as numbers.   Eventually punchcards were phased out in favour of analogue tape which stored the numbers as magnetic patterns on the strip.   Analogue tape gave way to magnetic disks (floppy disks) and magnetic harddrives then solid state drives (SSDs) which is basically 'now'.

Fundamentally the same thing is being done as with the punchcards, just the process is faster.


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

[User] ELI5: What's Guerilla warfare?

[Assistant] Guerilla warfare is a type of strategy used in conflicts against more powerful opponents, some people will use the term 'asymmetric' warfare to describe the uneven forces at play. Guerilla warfare emphasizes NOT meeting the more powerful enemy in the battlefield, by striking only at vulnerable targets or disabling support services (like fuel or food supplies) guerilla fighters can weaken their enemy without risk of being wiped-out in battle.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why do airline pilots print off large piles of paper on a dot matrix printer at the gate?

What is on those sheets of paper?

Is there not an electronic way to do this?

Do they rip off the edges of the dot matrix paper and call it printer bacon like I did when I was little?

[Assistant]
Airline pilot here. TLDR - this is the simple way to produce documents that have to be signed and then copies go to various different places.

Often when we get to the gate we collect the flight plan, weather charts and briefing information. This is mostly laser printed and is a backup to the same content on our company ipads.

The documents that you may see being printed on a dot matrix printer include the loadsheet, fuel receipt, dangerous goods declaration / notice to captain etc. The significance of this is that an impact method printer like dot matrix can be used with carbon paper to produce duplicate/triplicate copies of the document. These particular documents are legal documents that require the captains signature on them. Therefore, these documents are printed off, the captains signs on them, then a copy stays with the crew, a copy goes with the dispatcher and a copy gets filed somewhere.

Its a simple way to evidence what documentation was used for the flight and to ensure there are no discrepancies between what the crew are using and what ops have on record. You cant really do that with a laser printer or an ipad (at the moment).


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

[User]
Gas giants

Why are Neptune and Uranus different colors from Jupiter? What is the big storm on Jupiter, how long has it been active? Why do some giants have rings and others have multiple rings? How wouldn't the multiple rings decimate each other over the billions of years of planetary development?

[Assistant]
The Gas Giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, are colossal planets made up of mainly gas. The different colours you see are because they are made up of different types of gas, and these reflect light differently, so appear different colours. Uranus has a lot of icy material like water, methane and ammonia in its atmosphere, so it appears an icy blue colour. Jupiter has such huge pressures in its lower atmosphere that hydrogen turns to liquid and starts to act more like an alkali metal, like potassium. Saturn's atmosphere is mainy hydrogen and helium. If you could find a body of water large enough, Saturn would float in it. Neptune is another icy planet, giving it a deep blue colour.

The big storm on Jupiter is known as the Big Red Spot. It's massive, slightly bigger than the entire Earth. We don't know how long it has been going, but it's at least 200 years, based on records from astronomers at the time when it was discovered. The 'winds' of gas around it are very fast, 400km/hour and more.

All of the Gas Giants actually have rings, even Jupiter. Saturn is the most famous for them since its rings are huge and complex. The amount of debris making up the rings is based on how much there was around when the planet formed.

The material in the rings around Saturn, for example, is constantly colliding, breaking up, and reforming, it's pretty chaotic in there. Saturn's moons have a gravitational pull on the rings which can be seen as they go past, pulling some material out. Saturn is so big that rocks escaping from the ring are soon pulled back in, though lots do get out permanently. Saturn has trillions of bits making up its rings, so they won't be disappearing any time soon.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is cancer so hard to cure? Will we ever find an infallible cure?

[Assistant]
Usually, cells that cause disease are very different to your cells. Bacterial cells have very different characteristics to human cells and so we can use treatments that exploit those differences to only eradicate bacteria.

However, cancer results from mutated human cells, so cancer cells and human cells are overall very similar. Therefore, methods that eradicate cancer cells will often also eradicate human cells and we must rule them out. That makes it very hard to find a treatment.


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

[User]
HOW does ATP store its energy?

My AP Bio teacher said that it is due to the phosphate groups repelling each other, and the energy being released when they are able to fly apart. Is this true? I'm thinking it's bogus.

[Assistant] Not really "repelling" each other, but energy can be stored in the form of a bond. If the products of a reaction have bonds that are _lower_ in energy than the reactants, energy will be released, and you can say that energy was stored in the bonds of the reactants.


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

[User]
[Men in Black] What purpose does the noisy cricket serve?

It seems like an absurdly impractical weapon in every sense, why would it be issued to a fresh agent on his first mission?

[Assistant]
The noisy cricket is a hugely strong, but extremely compact weapon. Agent J's training was accelerated at all stages through necessity and it was felt that he needed a weapon that he could have on him at all times, as he was unfamiliar with the capabilities of all alien species. He needed something that he could have in a pocket, pull out quickly and it would finish the job in one shot.

The kickback which we've seen is easily eliminated by a fully trained and certified user, but again, short time-scales meant that J had to learn on the job.


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

[User]
[I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream] How does AM alter reality?

He somehow creates new lifeforms (worms for food) at will, can transform the survivors into different grotesque forms, magically prevents them from committing suicide, and plays with their mental state. Given that he is a computer, how is this possible? Or am I just being pedantic?

[Assistant] There's no magic to it. AM has solved the fundamental equations of reality. Matter, energy, emergent metaphysical properties, these are all 2 + 2 to an intelligence so far beyond anything we can conceive. What's a little will manipulation or genetic alteration at that point?


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

[User]
[DC] How many people defend Gotham?

I know there's the Batman, Batwoman, and Simon Dark, but who else?

[Assistant]
-The Bat Family (anywhere from 5-15 people at a time, more if you include Alfred, Lucius, and others)

-Alan Scott

-Ragman

-Catwoman (she's arguably a member of the Bat Family)

-The Night Shift (*Gotham By Midnight* crew that includes The Spectre)

-Most of GCPD (Comm. Gordon, Bullock, Montoya (The Question), Crispus Allen, etc)

-The We Are Robin Youth Movement (also technically part of the greater Bat Family)

-Birds of Prey (depending on continuity)


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

[User] ELI5: Why do planes always go around the world instead of going past the poles to get to the other side quicker? For example: Alaska to Europe over the North Pole. Does it mess up internal navigation systems too much?

[Assistant]
There are many routes that take you over the Arctic.  Sometimes longer routes are used to take advantage of east/west prevailing winds.

In the past, polar routes were less frequent, because of Extended Operations (ETOPS) rating.  ETOPS was how far away from any airport, measured in time, an airplane was allowed to go.  Early ETOPS ratings were low, 60, 90, 120 minutes, which left much of the earth, including arctic regions, inaccessible.  Once ETOPS ratings reached 180 minutes and beyond, most of the earth except for the Antarctic is open to flight routes.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is it that we create dreams in our sleep of bizarre or extraordinary imagination, however conscious thought hardly achieves such imagination?

as I wake from a dream and think "how did my mind create such a detailed and imaginative narrative, but if I were to sit in front of a blank word doc all I would do for a while is stare at a blinking cursor,  struggling to think up something lol"

[Assistant]
There is a part of your brain that tests the reality of what you perceive.  You see someone with three arms, and it goes "whoa, check again", so you look more closely and see there are really two people, one mostly blocked.

When you dream, this part of the brain runs at reduced capacity, and you are no longer as critical of things that don't make sense.  This does two things:

* allows you to think up bizarre and extraordinary things you otherwise might not
* makes stupid and nonsensical things seem extraordinary

The second is a lot like the story of someone getting high, and writing down these deep and proud thoughts.  The sober up and read them, and they wind up to be stuff like "trees are green" and "people should stop fighting".  They only seemed deep because you lacked the judgement to see they were not.


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

[User]
CMV: America needs a populist political movement that focuses on widely agreed upon political and economic reforms instead of wedge issues and culture wars

According to polling data there are a great many political and economic reforms that are widely supported by the general populace  and would be beneficial to the majority of Americans. Statistically most Americans support things like higher minimum wages, ending citizens united, a more socialized healthcare system, electoral reform, and an end to outsourcing and free trade agreements. However instead of focusing on these areas of common ground most politics and political movements focus on issues that are both widely divisive and much smaller in scope such as abortion, gun control, which bathrooms people should be allowed to use, and how different groups are represented in the media.

The result of this is that people continue to be politically divided in spite of the large degree of common ground many of us have politically. By contrast an agenda of political and economic populism could both unite people and lead to real progress for many. Not only are political and economic reforms fairly universally supported, but they can also be argued for through appeals to rational self interest unlike a lot of wedge issues and culture war stuff which are heavily subjective and difficult to sway people on.

Obviously achieving this wouldn't be easy but I think it would still be the best way to achieve tangible progress on political and economic reform in this country instead of the perpetual gridlock we always seem to be in now.

[Assistant]
The issue with unified left- and right-wing populism that completely ignores cultural discourse is that although both sides may end up agreeing on the *problems*, there still lies a significant gap to bridge with regards to the *solutions*.

The Nazis, for example, were environmentalists. Instead of increasing regulation of industry, as most liberals/leftists would advocate, they laid the blame on Jews, Poles, and other minorities. It's debatable whether they truly even believed in environmentalism, or if they were just using it as a thinly-veiled excuse for their bigotry.

Another thing is there is no guarantee that both sides will work together long enough for actual progress to be made. Trump's rhetoric in his 2016 campaign was grounded in populist rhetoric - he even called for raising taxes on the rich. When it came down to the actual policy, however, it ended up being just that - rhetoric.


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

[User] Does a ketogenic diet can affect the half-life of a liposoluble drug?

[Assistant]
No, it does not.

Liposoluble drugs *may* accumulate in body fat if they're present in excess, however, the speed at which they break down isn't affected by how many ketone bodies are present in the system, as when the drug is being broken down, it's not in the body fat yet.

When the excess is stored in body fat, then it's released as the fat cells break down and this is dependent on how many ketone bodies are present, yes, but not solely on this fact. If you take in enough nutritional fat, your ketones will prefer to break down the nutritional fat.

TL;DR: No.


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

[User] ELI5: How does the cremation process actually work?

[Assistant]
Basically a body is put in a cheap easily burned container, a cardboard or thin wood casket, it's then burned at an extremely high temperatures in a gas furnace, called a 'retort' until all moisture has been removed, all tissues have been reduced to just some carbon ash and trace minerals, and the bones are reduced to extremely brittle chunks of dry calcium. It's the bones that form the majority of the 'ashes'. After burning, the cremains are tumbled with steel balls or processed through a bladed grinder (known as a Cremulator) to produce a powder that resembles fine gravel.

So in realty, the majority of cremation 'ashes' are actually just incinerated powdered bones.


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

[User]
Would it be easier to build higher buildings if they were shaped as pyramids or would it cause more problems due to the wind etc?

For example would it be possible to build a pyramid with the same apex as the Burj Khalifa (828 m.) or would it just be impossible for the base to sustain that much weight? If the money was there would we encounter more problems building such a pyramid than we would building normal "rectangular" buildings?

[Assistant]
Not science disclaimer: This is not science.
Land is sold by the acre which is surface area. The whole point behind very tall buildings like the Burj Khalifa is to maximize *that* patch of planet that it is built upon. When the design constraints begin at the very bottom, the only choice is to go up.
Pyramids have very large footprints for buildings of their size. The Great Pyramids of Giza had no footprint constraints when design began. There is no reason that a pyramid would not be a good design for a very tall building. It just won't happen for a while because very tall buildings are only in demand in tightly packed metropolises.
TL;DR: Location. Location. Location.


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

[User] If I "butt chug" alcohol will I still fail a breathalyzer like I would if I drank the alcohol orally?

[Assistant]
The breathalyzer is an indirect measure of blood alcohol concentration. The core assumption is that ethanol in your blood will be in equilibrium with air in your lungs, just like how gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange between blood and air.

This exhcange will occur regardless of route of administration. As long as you have blood alcohol, it will be in your breath - at least that's the idea. The point is also moot - since it's an indirect measure anyways, a blood test is always used to confirm blood alcohol levels.


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

[User]
I think that the gender wage gap is due to the majority of women's decisions and not discrimination. CMV

I know a lot of liberals are saying that women make 77 cents less than their male counterparts. However, I heard the libertarian's counter point and it's not that they are individually making less, it's just that women work less than men do as a whole. That being said, I want to say that **I am not a misogynist**, I believe women should be treated equally to men in what they do. So if a woman puts in as much hours, does as much work, and have as much education and experience she should be paid the same as a man with the same qualities.

It's just that as a whole, women tend to be the care-takers. They also (as a whole) tend to chose lesser paying jobs. Ie; There's more men in engineering sciences. And there's more women in social sciences (Ie; psychology, etc). I believe that women are capable at doing whatever they want, however, women (as a whole) tend to have interests in jobs that pay less than some men do. And that is the reason why there is a gender gap. I believe we have evolved as a society to not discriminate against someone based on gender and race (for the most part at least).

[Assistant]
You unduly separate "women's decisions" and "discrimination". A woman's career choices can be affected by the judgments she expects from people. Even a simple "I want to help people" thought can automatically and unconsciously lead to teaching or nursing for a woman and being a doctor for a man. This is because of the lack of stereotype-breaking role models in children's lives.

Additionally you fail to ask why all those traditionally female roles are less well-paid. Teachers' pay is set centrally so it's not just the market (although if something is caused by the market that doesn't mean it's not caused by the patriarchy too). Why do we value things women want to do less than we value things men want to do?


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

[User]
Is there a way to fix this stupid mistake I made?

EDIT: Resolved, details at end.  Thanks for everyone's comments!

I'm a second-year PhD student in Canada studying mathematics.

Last August in a fit of planning ahead, I signed up for two winter courses (the term that just ended).  I managed to entirely forget about one of them (the stupid mistake).  In my defense, I signed up for a two-part course, and when I dropped the first half, I forgot that I'd signed up for the second half, and didn't drop it as well.

I'm not going to claim this wasn't my fault, because it absolutely was.  However - a sub-question, if you will - does this seem a) plausible and b) reasonable that a whole term could pass without me going to class, submitting assignments or writing the midterm, and in addition that I never heard a peep from anyone about the course.... and the prof wouldn't question that, and would just submit an F as my mark at the end of it?  Especially with the current climate, they must have moved the course online.  I'm baffled.

Anyway, back to the question.  My department's administrator submitted a request to let me retroactively drop the course.  The graduate department denied it.  Fine, I made a mistake and I will take the consequence of my GPA dropping from 11 to 6.67.  But now it seems like the graduate department is going over my file with a fine-toothed comb and looking for things to complain about.  They're now claiming that I need to pay back scholarships from the Winter 2018 term (my first term in the program)  because I "wasn't a student" that term.  Can they really go back retroactively, 16 months later, and demand that?  How is that related to what happened this recent term?

I've contacted the school's Ombuds Services and I should hear from them within a couple of days.  In the meantime I'm answering emails that I'm getting from the dept admin to the best of my ability, but keeping them short.  Any advice on precedents, what's reasonable, and what I can do to fix this situation are appreciated.  I'm happy to clarify anything: it's my first post and I wasn't sure how much detail to include.

EDIT: After four days of stress and emails, I just got one from my department chair saying "A mistake was made..." and telling me it's all resolved.  I'm left scratching my head but I know better than to poke that sleeping bear.

[Assistant] Under the circumstances, and assuming that you reported everything accurately, it seems unreasonable for them to deny your request to retroactively drop the course.  Regardless, it seems perfectly reasonable for them to request that you repay scholarship funds for a term in which you were not a student, but you say that was your first term in the program.  Something isn't right there and you need to figure out where the confusion lies.  Perhaps you were supposed to be enrolled in a certain minimum number of credits.


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

[User] [40K]What's the afterlife like for each species?

[Assistant]
There is none, for the most part. When you die, you fade into the background noise of the Warp. There is no heaven, no hell, as those things imply a continuation of consciousness after death. Most souls are far too weak to maintain that sort of coherency after death.

For thkse strong enough to maintain a sense of Self, though... The Warp is Hell. Their souls are tortured and consumed by the Daemons within, and they have to experience the whole thing.

Only the Eldar really escape this, by capturing their souls in the Infinity Circuits of the Craftworlds, and World Spirits of the Exodites. This twilight existence is more like a sensory deprivation pool, the spirits within being barely conscious, but better a zombie-like eternity than being food for Slaanesh.


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

[User] ELI5: The system for numbering interstate highways.

[Assistant]
Primary routes have two digits. Odd numbered highways run north and south, with lower numbers in the west and higher numbers in the east. Even numbered routes go east-west, with the lower numbers in the south and higher numbers in the north.

Three digit routes starting with an even number are loops within or around a city. Three digit routes with an odd number are spurs into a city. For such three digit routes, the last two digits indicate the primary route they are based on.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can you have two electrical switches that perform the same role independent of the other switch?

In many houses you have, for example, a corridor with two light switches at either end. When you turn either switch on/off then the light turns on. Similarly, either will turn the light off, independent of the other switch's position. This does not seem to follow either series or parallel circuit logic, so how can this be?

[Assistant]
It's called a three-way switch. The two light switches are wired up to each other, and also to the light. There's an extra piece of wire connecting the two switches to each other.

When both switches are on, the light goes on. When both switches are off, the light goes on. If one switch is off and the other switch is on, the light turns off.

That way you can control the light from either side. It doesn't matter if an individual switch is on or off - they just need to be in the same state as the other switch.


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

[User]
[harry potter] why is voldemort more feared than Grindelwald?

Voldemort terrorized only England, while Grindelwald terrorized the whole of Europe (practically the whole world) there is no comparison with a single country with several countries.

[Assistant]
Because Harry Potter is set in England.

It's very possible that in the USA no-one gives a shit (indeed, if Voldemort is seen as a local problem, it explains why no-one stepped in to help), but the books are set in a place where its still fresh in everyone's memory that he started a brutal civil war and nearly set up a genocidal regime. Of course they're going to be more scared of him then a historical figure from decades ago.


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

[User] ELI5: Since anti-inflammatory medication and ice suppress the body's natural reaction to injury, do these treatments impede the healing process?

[Assistant] Yes, in most cases yes taking an anti-inflammatory will slow the healing process but let you continue on with your life pain free and mobile.  There are a few cases where excessive swelling can lead to Compartment Syndrome, in which case an anti-inflammatory drug would speed up the healing process.


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

[User] ELI5: why are cities banning e-cigs?

[Assistant]
first off no city is banning them but many are treating them like "regular" cigarettes

e-cigs produce vapor, which is much better for you than smoke. but not a lot of data has been gathered on their potential problems also they still will effect nearby persons by exposing them to the nicotine vapor. Also many establishments have found that allowing e-cigarettes encourages "real" cigarette  users to smoke in places they are not allowed b/c they see the e-cig and think "well they are doing that so i can do this"


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

[User]
CMV: Pessimism is no more "realistic" than optimism.

I hear pessimistic people make the claim that: "I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist." When pushed for more information, they usually make the claim that their worldview is somehow more accurate than that of an optimist.

I disagree. I feel that you create your own reality. If I spend my days practicing gratitude and putting out happiness and optimism, my life will be better. If I focus on all the things that go wrong with the world (the news), see challenges as threats rather than learning/growth opportunities and treat everyone around me with bitterness, of course life will suck.

Pessimistic people are no more realistic than optimistic people.

Change my view.

Edit 1: There are some great responses here, some are very close to a delta. I will respond to each within the next day, I just got a lot busier than expected.

[Assistant]
Have you heard of the planning fallacy?

It's is a phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimistic bias (underestimate the time needed).  It's also the tendency to underestimate the time, costs, and risks of future actions and at the same time overestimate the benefits of the same actions.

In a 1994 study, 37 psychology students were asked to estimate how long it would take to finish their senior theses. The average estimate was 33.9 days. They also estimated how long it would take "if everything went as well as it possibly could" (averaging 27.4 days) and "if everything went as poorly as it possibly could" (averaging 48.6 days). The average actual completion time was 55.5 days, with only about 30% of the students completing their thesis in the amount of time they predicted.

70% of people underestimate their requirements even when planning for a worst case scenario! If this was something more serious, like a job deadline, they could cost the company a lot of money, or lose their job. If they are a military strategist, it could lose a battle!

The 30% of students who completed their thesis in the time they predicted, would have been called pessimists by the rest of the class. They would [ quite rightly] call themselves realists.

A "pessimist" would pack plenty of food, safety gear and first aid equipment for a week long hike "just in case" an optimist wouldn't even pack enough stuff for a best case scenario, and so when someone inevitably gets hurt, they end up dead.

Optimist's also make poor choices because they under estimate risks and overestimate benefits of actions they take.


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

[User]
CMV: People will never change their view if you call them ignorant or evil.

From what I see in politics, there is a big emphasis on convincing the common voters that the opposition is evil or ignorant.

I have never heard a story of a Nazi or white supremacist that has changed their view because the media and everyone they knew repeatedly called them evil.

Changing peoples minds is more about convincing them why the other side is better rather than demonizing the side of the person you are trying to convince.

I see many people, especially in American politics, that a majority of people either try to say their idea is perfect with no flaws and people are idiots for not having their ideas implemented or say if you disagree with me you are ignorant and evil.

I just wanted to know if there was an merit to that strategy and why people do it even if it is in a sense immoral.

Edit: White Supremacy and Facism were just examples. I want you to argue for doing it for real world issues like socialism, abortion, gentrification, taxation, immigration, etc.

[Assistant]
It might not be about changing the view of the hard-core evil person. They've got their own self-justification for their way of thinking and they think they're right and justified.

It's more about labelling that way of thinking as being socially unacceptable so that other people who may be toying with adopting it don't take that path.


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

[User]
I know the Earth was formed 4.5-4.5 billion years ago, but what definitive event(s) actually took place then?

Is the birth time defined as when the mass that would become the Earth separated from the mass that would become the sun?

Is it calculated from when the Earth adopted a normal orbit or when it adopted a regular rotational pattern?

Or is there some other definition/s that is used?

[Assistant] There is a time scale of accretion and we are still working out the exact length but it started about 4.55ish billion years ago and then continued for some amount of time (probably 20-50 million years). Generally we use it as starting to form Earth.


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

[User]
[Batman Vs Superman] So about Batman.... **Spoilers**

Why was Batman so... Bloodthirsty? I mean, he blew up a lot of cars and shit. I thought his whole thing was that he never killed?

[Assistant] There are a lot of Batmen in lots of continuties. While most have a "no-kill" policy, it seems like this Batman lost that aspect of himself, Alfred mentions it actually, in his line about "good men turning cruel". What would of caused Batman to lose his moral compass is probably the death of someone close to him, probably a Robin or Batgirl or something, we did see a shot-up Robin costume, so that might be a hint.


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

[User] What is the minimum size for a star?

[Assistant] In terms of mass, about 0.075 the mass of our Sun. That is the lowest mass a star can be while still maintaining fusion reactions. If you mean in terms of size then that would be neutron stars which weigh more than our Sun but have a radius of only about 10-20 km.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Why are so many of the central figures in Galactic history human?

[Assistant]
By simple virtue of the fact that humans are the most numerically superior species in the galaxy. Humans spread all over the galaxy and colonized every world possible. There's simply so many of them that it's difficult to avoid their influence.

Of course, by the time of the Empire, anti-alien prejudice was in effect and there were deliberate efforts to prevent non-humans from doing anything too important.


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

[User]
[One Punch Man] How would Saitama react to an opponent that utterly outclasses him?

so, the whole thing about Saitama is that he is powerful enough to beat everyone in one punch. this has led to him feelings incomplete and bored because all he wants is for someone to give him a good fight.

but instead of  a fair fight, how would he react to facing an opponent that effortlessly outclasses him? like imagine he makes Saitama look like one of those casual villains he himself fights. like, Saitama can wail on him for hours and he wouldn't get a scratch on him while all this guy needs to do is flick his fingers and Saima is put into a coma.

how would Saitama react to this? he always wanted a fair fight, but I'm not sure how he would feel about being on the other end of the power dynamic.

[Assistant]
That seems to more or less describe his first fight, pre-OPM/Caped Baldy, against the crab monster with the permanent marker nipples. A big part of his character is that, as a certain singing cowboy would say, someone forgot to put in the quit when they were making Saitama, to the point where he's defied all known human limits simply by refusing to back away from his goals.

In the face of that sort of certain doom, he'd stand his ground, do his best, and if he dies, he dies. If anything, that moment of actual struggle before the end would be more satisfying than any of the easy, "consecutive normal punch" wins he's racked up since losing his hair.


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

[User] ELI5: If fruit juice is highly acidic, and the acid in citrus fruits (citric acid) is used as a preservative, why does freshly-squeezed citrus juice only last a couple of days in the fridge?

[Assistant]
It's the oxygen present that allows microbes to metabolise the contents of the juice.

Citric acid is a useful preservative in food packaged with minimal oxygen, but it's pretty ineffective when there's a good supply of oxygen.

That's why things spoil quicker once the packaging has been opened. It's not really to do with introducing microbes, it's to do with introducing fresh air!


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

[User]
ELI5: What led up to the Salem Witch Trials?

I'm looking to understand the religious/political climate that surrounded the events and how they got to that point.

[Assistant]
Following the Glorious Revolution in England, parliament passed the toleration act, which granted all protestants the right to worship freely across British territory. That meant that Puritan New England had to let Quakers and Anglicans and other folks they kind of hated worship freely. Prior to this act only people of specific denominations got to vote in elections in most of the colonies, so this was a political as well as religious issue.

So basically, you had a bunch of Puritans in Massachusetts being forced to accept the political rights of people they had previously rejected and the crown exerting more influence over the colony.

This was really the context for the upheaval and the witch trials: The colony had failed in its religious mission.


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

[User] [Star Wars] When two Jedi face a foe together, why doesnt one just use Force manipulation while the other light saber-fights? 2-on-1 doesnt usually end in victory, as weve seen so many times in battles with Darth Maul and Count Dooku.

[Assistant]
The short, blunt version is that A) the Jedi train their people to act as lone wolves, and that's reflected in their combat doctrine and B) the Jedi Order suffers massive institutional inertia, making it hard to adjust to changes in the battlefield.

For the former, consider that the traditional mode of operation for the Jedi has them (and possibly a Padawan) rolling off alone into the unknown to act as a problem solver. They are trained to act alone, and that includes the fighting styles, which all place heavy emphasis on the individual acting alone; there's a "fencing" form, a "blocking" form, and a "power attack" form, but no "tag team" or "spear wall" form.

For the latter, especially in the Late Republic period, the Jedi basically need to be drug kicking and screaming into any major adjustments, which they do grudgingly. They don't make any changes to their training or practices that aren't absolutely mandatory. Probably the most damning example would be Obi-Wan himself, who in spite of having multiple *first-hand* experiences of being in asymmetrical saber fights has personally adopted no tactics beyond some minor signals with his trainees; even if the Jedi as a whole stick their heads in the sand when Darth Maul took out Qui-Gon, one would think that he would have been changed by the experience. But the training methods of the Jedi at that point encouraged an extremely straight line "this is the way we do things" sort of thinking, and made adjustments difficult.


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

[User]
[Enders game] Why did no-one else think of shooting the planet with the ultra-powerful planet killer?

Seems like a pretty damn obvious thing to do.

Yet everyone acts like it was a genius move when it could have easily been done straight away by **anyone** saving thousands of lives!

[Assistant]
The Doctor Device was never intended for use as a planet-killer.  Its design was specifically to obliterate the Formic swarm-fleets, causing a chain reaction that would ultimately result in the destruction of every ship in the area at the molecular level.  It was a first-strike preventative measure, meant to hit the RESET button on the Formic forces and make them start rebuilding from scratch.

Ender, as noted earlier in the book, knew that the best path to victory wasn't to win *a* fight, but to win *all future fights* at the same time.  He extrapolated the weapon's abilities in ways that hadn't been considered, and directed his fleet to draw the Formic ships very close to their home planet before firing.

No one had conceived of planet-busting the Formic because it was never the goal.  It wasn't so much that Ender's actions were brilliant on an intellectual level, but that his entire tactic -- sacrificing the fleet to permanently end the Formic -- was the peak of "outside the box" thinking at the time.


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

[User]
Would it be effective to remove all nonfunctional junk DNA from human/animal genome?

Well, apart from making it incompatible with his own species.

According to several articles I've read, big part of human genome is not relevant to any proteins or any other mechanism in our organism.

[Assistant]
There's no such thing as junk DNA, that term has fallen out of favor.

There is coding DNA and non-coding DNA (formerly "junk").  We're learning that much non-coding DNA may have a structural or regulatory role that we are unaware of.

That being said, there's a lot of DNA that can be done away with, but doing so wouldn't make any cellular process that much more efficient.  The only process that would really be affected would be replication, and the enzymes that polymerize DNA are so mind-blowingly effective already that a couple million extra base pairs between friends isn't too much of a problem.


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

[User]
What determines the lifespan of a species?

Why is it that humans can live up to 100, but dogs have an average lifespan of 10 years, and flies/insects only live a couple of days? What determines it? Is it the enviroment or something to do with the animal's anatomy? Would we be able to increase other animals' lifespans like we did with our own?

[Assistant]
It's a combination of factors. Over long periods evolution selects for traits that improve chances of survival to adulthood and reproductive success, which often doesn't promote longevity. Because humans require a relatively long time to reach sexual maturity, keep learning throughout our lifetime and live in social groups benefiting from members surviving long past their reproductive phase evolution favours traits improving our longetivity. So that explains why different species developed such different lifespans.

What limits a species lifespan in pratice varies wildly between species. Some insects lose their digestive system when reaching sexual maturity for example, so their bodies simply run out of resources causing them to die. Dogs on the other hand are mainly limited by genetic instability. Dogs annually lose approximately 3.3% of the DNA in their heart muscle cells while humans lose approximately 0.6% of their heart muscle DNA each year for example. They often die because their body has degraded to a point where they're no longer able to find food. While humans (in nature) often die from infection or disease.

Humans have extended their average lifespan vastly by simply getting better at preventing things from killing us. Using the same approach we can extend average lifespans for dogs a little while it doesn't improve the lifespan of these insects at all.

We don't understand aging good enough at this time to tell how much more we can extend our average lifespan, but probably with at least a few decades. Beyond that we'll need capabilities for repairing permanent damage to our DNA, with which we can extend the life of dogs as well, or genetic manipulation which even enable us to let those insects live longer by hacking a degistive system into their adult bodies.


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

[User] [Skyrim] Why is the Dragonborn allowed to be the highest ranking member of so many guilds after only joining for a few days?

[Assistant]
Well in Skyrim nearly all these guilds are actually on their knees.

The Companions just had their leadership wiped out and were subject to a long lived curse that the Dragonborn happened to clear. Of the remaining circle members do any of them strike you as leadership material? The dude literally foreseen by their old harbinger who brought their revenge against both the Silver Hand and Glenmoril Coven and freed Kodlak from an eternity in Hircines hunting grounds is there though.

The College is also pretty much on its knees. They are tolerated about as well as the shrine to Mehrunes Dagon is tolerated, only because trying to march in and remove it would cause nasty consequences. The Dragonborn saves them from whatever it is happens at the college. Also again none of the high ranking mages have anything like leadership abilities there.

The Dark Brotherhood literally ends up as 3 people with you explicitly selected by the Night Mother.

The Thieves Guild has also lost most of its leadership. Karliah doesn't seem all that interested in going from exiled to leader. Brynjolf probably should have been leader though.


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

[User]
ELI5: How did the Israel, Palestine & Gaza Strip situation actually come about and develop?

Apologies if this is and should be obvious to many already. However, I follow the contemporary news cycles on this important and controversial Middle Eastern situation, but I often feel that reports on it assume that all viewers/readers already have an in depth prior knowledge of all that has come before, and how this conflict actually began.
Therefore I thought I'd ask for an ELI5 summary as I'm not sure myself how all of this started. Thanks a lot!

[Assistant]
You need to go back hundreds, if not thousands of years, really. But the ELI5 version is that you have two Peoples living in a very small area that really, really don't like each other. Both think that land is their Birthright, and they're carrying over generations of hatred. There's a huge circle of violence going on, to the point where why it actually started *doesn't matter anymore*.

At this point there's no Right or Wrong side. Both sides are responsible for pretty bad stuff, and both sides seem unwilling and/or incapable of stopping the cycle (though there are doubtless people on both sides who want to!)

If you want an ELI15 explanation, let me know.


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

[User]
Do you burn more calories as an exercise goes on?

For example say do I burn more calories on the last squat of the set versus the first squat of the set.
I'm curious because you are struggling more as the exercise goes on so it would take more energy to continue?

[Assistant]
What you're noticing is likely not an increase calories being burned, but simply muscular fatigue.

Your muscles use a molecule called atp to provide the energy to contact fibers. Atp is synthesized in part from creatine phosphate, another molecule stored in your muscles. When you use your muscle enough to deplete your creatine store, your body switches to glucose to provide energy, which is stored in your muscles as glycogen. As your exercise goes on, the amount of glycogen and creatine in your muscles goes down, making it harder to produce the same force since you have less energy sources in your muscles.

In addition, the byproducts of the chemical reactions that allow your muscle fibers to contact can interfere with ion levels in your muscles. Various Ion levels are very important to allow your muscles to react properly to signals to contact from your nerves, and high levels of these byproducts can reduce your your sensitivity to nervous signals, making you weaker.


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

[User]
[Pokemon Anime] Why don't trainers name their Pokemon?

I understand it makes sense you wouldn't name Tauros #18 or whatever, but why do so few trainers name their core team? There are bonding *and* branding potentials!

Is it also weird that Team Rocket's talking Meowth doesn't have a proper name?

[Assistant]
We have seen some trainers name their Pokemon (Richie's Pikachu and those trainers from the Mewtwo movie), but it seems nicknames just aren't a big part of culture.

And Team Rocket's Meowth pretty much named himself, it'd probably piss him off if Jessie and James randomly started calling him Paws or something.