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

[User]
[Marvel] How does Captain America really feel about the culture of the USA today?

The comics generally portray Cap as an accepting individual, and I accept that. But, the world has really changed. Captain America liking black people is realistic and sensible. But, I cannot imagine how Cap might view gay marriage, trans people, the cold war, etc.

 I know in the comics, Cap saw the Cold War and honestly, his being frozen isn't too extreme because waking up in the 60s after the 40s isn't too bad. But as times age, Cap's time frozen ages too. Take the MCU, Cap has spent almost a century in ice. He missed all of that. What does Cap think of communism and socialism? The CIA? The Civil Rights Movement?

Hell, how does he view Neo Nazis and holocaust deniers? That would be a doozy. Imagine how he feels about inflation too.

How do you think Cap feels about all this? Is this stuff why he spends all of his time being a hero? Because he knows he's too separated to ever really join back in?

[Assistant]
gay people existed in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s (have always existed). Cap lived in a major metropolitan area, big enough to have a gay community. Trans individuals existed, even then.

The communities at the time didn't advertise, weren't open about their sexuality or gener nonconformity to nearly the same extent, but they did exist, they did have culture, and we have photographs, films, songs, books, all about these people from the period leading up to WWII (and all through recorded history, but that's beside the point).

Cap might be shocked to see a black man reach Colonel in the US armed forces, but only because he wasn't expecting it that soon. Cap might not know how to respond to gender non-conformity, but a person is a person, and that gives him the ability, the empathy, to treat whomever he meets as a human being, worthy of respect, no matter how they present. If it's cinematic cap, his response to most people's differences is most likely, a sincere smile at the thought that this person, whom might have faced persecution in his own time, can find happiness.

Cap also probably has a soft spot for people who get medical help to be the person they want to be. Remember - steve rogers was a 90lbs weakling before the Super Soldier serum.

Cap might have a bit of a sputter moment with some people who don't fit the 1940's idea of male or female, authority or subordinate, but in general, cap's portrayal is either savvy enough to figure things out or a good enough person to play things by ear and read the goddamn room till he figures the rules out. Rogers is not an idiot, and he can generally figure out the cultural mores. He would have made an amazing spy if the Super Soldier program hadn't gotten him first.

As for politics, the cold war, etc... Well, he was raised between the roaring 20's, the depression, and world war 2. He'd probably seen more drastic change in the world than most before he'd been frozen. He might not be surprised that US and Russia ended up at each other's throats. He'd probably been exposed to real Communism/socialism - the progressive, workers-uniting-to-help-each-other kind - and probably does not have the baseline knee-jerk hatred of it that modern americans seem to have.
He probably disliked the CIA's actions, but from a professional standpoint - they're bad at their jobs based on the publicly available history - and the Civil Rights movement is probably something he both applauded, and wished wasn't STILL fucking necessary.

I believe we have record of cap Punching lots and lots of Neo-nazis, as well as holocaust deniers.

Inflation? Ehh. You live through the depression, you get that money changes meaning pretty fast.

Cap spends his time hero-ing because that's his job. That hasn't changed. It's the same problem superman has - when you're the one that can do the job, you kind of HAVE to do it, because who else will? He may have some issues fitting into modern society, but he does try. And in most continuities, he's had years to do so. You can only bury yourself in the past for so long.


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

[User] [The Lord Of The Rings]How would the War of the Ring would have proceeded if Boromir had gotten the ring and survived Amon Hen?

[Assistant]
Bad.

Considering Boromir was already getting corrupted by the Ring simply by being nearby. Once he had full possession of it, it wouldn't have taken long for him to fall under its sway completely.

Assuming Boromir could master the ring for a short amount of time, Gondor would probably have done better in the war to begin with. But in saying that, Sauron's manpower supply was effectively unlimited compared to the Free Peoples and eventually he would've rolled over Gondor's defences, ring or not. Conventional victory wasn't possible, and whilst using the Ring against Sauron isn't exactly conventional, Boromir simply isn't powerful enough to wield it. Keep in mind as well that once Sauron learns Boromir is wielding the Ring, he will throw everything he has at him. He assumed Aragorn was wielding the Ring at the Black Gate, which is why he completely emptied Mordor to deal with Aragorn's rather small force.

As for Boromir himself, he would either a) die fighting, b) end up like Smeagol, c) fall under Sauron's influence. You also have to remember that the Ring is always trying to get back to Sauron. It would eventually betray Boromir and if it betrays him, especially while he's openly wielding the Ring, it will return to Sauron very quickly.

TLDR: Sauron would still win.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is a defeat device, and how does it work?

Ive just started watching Netflixs Dirty Money, and the first episode on Volkswagens emissions scandal revolves around defeat devices, how the NGO that discovered the lies couldnt believe at first that the company had put in place such a device, and that while tests showed that the cars complied to emissions standards in the labs, the same cant be said when they were tested on roads (I hope Im right). I just need to wrap my head around the concept. Thanks!

[Assistant]
In this case, it's just a device that senses when an emission test is taking place. When it senses the test is taking place, it alters how the car runs to conform with emissions requirements. In practice, this usually makes the car accelerate less aggressively. So when it isn't sensing that a test is taking place, it runs in a way that does not conform with emissions standards or even its own test result.

It's a way of gaming the emissions testing system.


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

[User]
Why are some fruits segmented?

Why are some fruits segmented (like an orange)?  Does this provide some sort of biological advantage?

[Assistant] It isn't necessarily a biological advantage as much as it is a product of fruit development. In plants, a seed (which develops from an ovule) is analogous to an animal's baby, while the fruit can be thought of as the ovary (which is the same term plant biologists use). For citrus fruits, such as oranges, each segment is functionally a different ovary. Interestingly, this is also why you find seeds in each segment as you're eating an orange. You can see this in other fruits too, such as apples, but the segments are only obvious if you cut it in half and look closer to the pit.


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

[User]
[Half-Life] What exactly does health measure?

Actual health would presumable be too complex to measure linearly. What exactly does the health bar in the HL games measure?

[Assistant] Expected chances of survival projected across the next 15 minutes updated by the second based on injures sustained (or lack therof) and remaining treatment medications available within the suit's system.


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

[User]
CMV: Fox News should be investigated for making unauthorized contributions to the Trump Campaign.

Fox News seems to be the most-watched news service in the US. When you compare their coverage of anything Trump with the other major services they are  complimentary toward him and play down or ignore negative stories. The network promotes a conservative point-of-view (which is probably good for balancing news coverage) but there is a big difference between balanced reporting and blatant support of the Trump Campaign and the Republican Party.

Fox News seem to devote a lot of their air time to in-depth coverage of the good side of the President, including giving him air time for frequent live appearances. This could be interpreted as a contribution to the Trump campaign since the opposing candidate almost never appears, more rarely in a long-form interview environment. It could also be argued that Fox News is at least partly foreign-owned (considering the Murdoch family).

I propose that Fox News be investigated for providing non-monetary but highly valuable contributions to the Trump Campaign and the Republican Party.

[Assistant] So you want to start a precedent where the government can punish media for reporting with a certain bias while a president is in office who has called the media the enemy of the people for years? How does this not end in the US government shutting down a bunch of networks?


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

[User]
Is the universe deterministic?

Read something interesting in an exercise submitted by a student I'm a teaching assistant for in an AI course. His thoughts were that since the physical laws are deterministic, then in the future a computer could make a 100% correct simulation of a human, which would mean that a computer can think. What do you guys think? Does Heisenberg's uncertainty principle have something to do with this and if so, how?

[Assistant]
The universe is not ~~ontologically~~epistemologically\* deterministic. ie, a computer (or a demon as the question was first proposed) cannot calculate the future to arbitrary levels of accuracy.

It may yet be metaphysically deterministic in that even though you can't at all calculate the future, if you were to "play out the tape" and then "rewind" and "play it back" the repeat would be the same as the first time through. Of course we don't have a way to time travel, so it's probably impossible to test the notion of whether the universe is metaphysically deterministic.


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

[User]
[Lovecraft] What's the deal with the Dreamlands?

So it's this other world we go to in our dreams, but people seem to live there. The story about the town of Ulther, where no man may kill a cat, suggests that there are whole cities of people living there. Are they dreamers too? Do they live, die, sleep and eat? Do they know they live in a dreamland? Can you dream there?

[Assistant] Dreaming is how human consciousness can enter the Dreamlands, other beings may be able to enter in other ways or may have developed there themselves. The Dreamlands are a real place with real inhabitants, though human perception of them may be extremely skewed and unreliable.


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

[User]
[ASOIAF] How would somebody like Ser Loras Tyrell fare in the Night's Watch? How does being gay apply to the oath they take?

The oath that every Man of the Night's Watch takes says that they'll take no wife and father no children. I don't think a gay man like Loras Tyrell is likely to do either of those things, so if he decides to get close with another Man of the Night's Watch, would he be breaking his oath?

[Assistant]
While some parts of Westeros are homophobic (as seen by the comments of Tywin Lannister when he speaks to Oleanna Tyrell), many other regions don't have a problem with it (Oleanna Tyrell's comeback, the passionate Dornish).

Concerning the Night's Watch:

Many straight brothers frequent the brothels in Mole's Town and technically break their vows every night. The Lord Commanders usually turn a blind eye to this since they have bigger problems (approaching wildling army, impeding attack by the Others, dwindeling numbers, being forced to abbandon castles along the wall)

Chances are they wouldn't care, as long as it didn't interfere with your duties as a sworn brother.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is multilevel marketing legal when it is clearly just a pyramid scheme?

I've had like four people try to get me to participate in ambit energy and I just cannot fathom how they are allowed to operate legally.

[Assistant]
Because it isn't *just* a pyramid scheme. It's a pyramid scheme with just enough focus on the sale of a product to be legal.

The pyramid scheme is only the recruitment part, and if that was all that it was (getting paid to recruit people), then it would be an illegal pyramid scheme. But attaching a product to be sold (a la Amway, Herbalife, etc. etc.) then it can pose as a "legitimate" business. The focus of the business is to sell the product, but you also get a money for recruiting new people.

Nevermind that selling the product is almost impossible and the only likely way to recover losses is by creating additional dupes, as far as the law is concerned, as long as there is a product to sell, it's legal.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is there so much hate against Comic Sans font?

[Assistant]
1. Comic Sans =  Comic style font, sans serif. This is fine.
1. People used it  because it looks nice. This is fine-ish.
1. People used it IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES. Unless you're doing the lettering for a comic book, you're using it in the wrong place.
1. The font is hated because it's associated with incompetent computer users who have no idea about font choice or intent.


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

[User]
[Stargate] Physics

Matter can travel out only thru a dialed stargate, but "Energy" can travel bidirectionally. This seems to mean non massive particles, or luxons are bidirectional.
If you had a set of transport rings near each stargate, could a person beam straight thru the stargate in reverse? Are they basically energy at that point?
Or what about an Asgard beam from the other side? Could it beam someone in from the exit?

Brilliant breach tactic if you ask me.

[Assistant]
Ring transporters still use a matter stream so they couldn't go both ways through an active stargate.

Asgard beaming might be possible, but you have to have rather accurate readings on the location you travel too. Which usually means a ship or Asgard sensors in range, at which point you have travelled there with a ship, so you can beam down from it.

No point doing riskier transport through the gate.


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

[User]
Eli5: If you have a gas stove, is it more efficient to do "slow-fire" or "high-fire" and how does it work?

We're in the middle of a typhoon right now and it would be nice to know how to conserve gas.

[Assistant]
> is it more efficient to do "slow-fire" or "high-fire" and how does it work?

It is more efficient to adjust the size of the fire to the size of the pot.

On the stoves I've seen, the flames are shot out sideways.  The higher the flame setting, the more sideways they travel.  A small pot on a big flame can be untouched by the fire.

You want the flames to "crawl" along the bottom of the pan for a bit and then vanish.  The heat can then climb up the side of the pot rather than being pushed away from it.

Of course, it depends on what you're cooking as well.  Searing something in oil requires a different flame than boiling water for rice or pasta.


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

[User] eli5 - when an engine fires in space and creates thrust - was is it pushing against?

[Assistant]
For every action there is a reaction. The spaceship is pushing against the gas that is created when the engine fires.

ELI5. Imagine you are sitting on an inflatable raft in the middle of a swimming pool. You have 100 baseballs. If you throw the baseballs as hard as you can in one direction, you'll notice your raft moves in the opposite direction. You are basically pushing off the baseball. Now imagine you have 500,000 baseballs and you throw them very hard. That's basically what is happening in a rocket engine.


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

[User] What causes aftertastes? Why don't all tastes occur immediately?

[Assistant]
Taste is caused by molecules in food binding to receptors on the tongue (plus a lot of scent stuff but we'll simplify that away for now because it's a similar mechanism anyways).

Some of those molecules stay bonded for a longer time than others.


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

[User]
If a pregnant woman were to end up in a coma, would there still be childbirth?

Say that the woman is now braindead and 8-9 months pregnant, would the child die in the womb or would there be sort of an "inactive" birth where the body takes control?

[Assistant] Yes. The signal to start labor comes from the fetus. As the lungs (last organ to mature) send out higher and higher levels of surfactant this causes Prostaglandin production to change in the mother and this starts the process of inducing the muscles to contract and deliver the fetus. None of it requires upper motor neuron consciousness.


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

[User] Why do we hiccup?

[Assistant]
It's a left over nerve action from when we were fish millions of years ago.

Your lungs used to be swim bladders in fish and fish had an automatic way of adjusting the swim bladder to be higher or lower on the water.
For us this auto system now manifests as hiccups.

What triggers hiccups? Actually can't remember, sorry.


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

[User]
ELI5:How do cities know how big to make the sewers for future growth?

Say a sewer system exists but a new development is going to be built.  How does the city know how big to make the sewers?  And how does it know if another development will occur down the road in 5 years, necessitating an even bigger sewer?  Do they have to go and dig up the entire line to make it bigger all the way tot he sewer plant?

[Assistant] Cities usually makes plans further down the line. This is also why developers have to apply to the city planning commission before they build anything. If the utilities are not designed to handle the new development they will get denied and will have to wait for the utilities to be expanded. The city and developers are constantly talking to make sure the city grows at the right pace. Quite often the city might ask for development of new housing somewhere and build utilities to the site well ahead of time. Other times the developers might see an opportunity for new development and might have to help build the utilities to be allowed to build there.


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

[User]
[General] Are there any cases of 'a handful of average people saving the day' that are actually known by the populace they saved?

Playing a ton of video games, I'm actually curious whether there're any examples of a ragtag group of people who somehow save the day, and it's known by everyone. FF7 is the one example that springs to mind, or Star Wars.

[Assistant] The four hobbits in Lord of the Rings are not only crucial players in the War of the Ring, but return to the Shire to lead a rebellion there. They left as indistinguishable hobbits from many others, but returned heroes, and proved their mettle to free their homeland.


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

[User]
I don't think we should "respect" the beliefs of religious nut jobs. In fact, I think we should ridicule and reject them until their change their beliefs. CMV

Obviously, I'm an atheist. I'm one of those guys Bill O'Reilly is thinking about when he claims there is a "War on Christmas". For the record, I think it's okay if you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever - as long as it's in the spirit of taking a day off, hanging with family, stuffing your face with turkey and nothing more.

Culturally, I'm Jewish. And, yes, I love me some bagels, lox and cream cheese. But, that's because of the culture, not the belief in a supernatural being. I believe the Torah (and the bible) are historical allegory and very fascinating insight into people ~6000 years ago. I think much religiously-inspired art is very beautiful But, beyond my historical, aesthetic and sociological interests, I have no interest in religion. I think an actual conviction in the belief of a supreme, supernatural being is not only foolish... but, frankly, retarded.

And, I don't mean "retarded" in the ad hominem, pejorative way. I mean, if you fundamentally believe in god(s), you are rejecting thought, reason and inquisitiveness into the true nature of the universe. By rejecting those things, you are *literally* retarding your intellectual and emotional growth... as well as that of those around you.

All that said, I've heard it said that we should "respect" the beliefs of others. And, to that I say: No! We absolutely should not! If you believe in something so completely incongruent with reality, you're either mentally ill or being willfully idiotic. Since religious folks sincerely believe in the sanity of their views, they don't meet the criteria of mental illness. So, they *must* be willful idiots.

And holding rational, reasonable debates with religious people - especially evangelicals - is pointless. No matter how credible and thoroughly researched your debate argument is, they simply point to the unfalsifiable and untestable argument of - god. You can't prove god(s) don't exist, therefore god(s) exist. You can't prove where the singularity came from, therefore god(s) did it. You can't show me a Blu-Ray video of dinosaurs walking the Earth 14.5 billion years ago, therefore the Earth is 6000 years old.

And, ya know, I would simply laugh it off if it weren't for the fact that 1/3 of the U.S. population holds these extreme beliefs. Many more don't hold these beliefs, but still believe in supernatural beings... which is only slightly less bad. These deluded people influence public policy, voting, funding for science and schools, the economy... everything! We are fighting wars with people who hold these extremist views. We put men in weird hats on pedestals and think they're great guys because they kiss babies, help the poor and don't have sex. Yet, they're brainwashing those babies and poor people with a lie. And they're telling people who have sex - a completely natural and fundamental biological function - that they're bad people. And, lets not forget that they promote bigotry and hate.

So, bottom line: we should NOT humor or respect the beliefs of religious people who believe in supernatural beings. And, in fact, because those views are so demonstratively dangerous, we should shun and ridicule them as much as possible until such views are eradicated from or rejected by all of humanity.

And, if that means a "war" on things like Christmas... so be it.

CMV.

EDIT: P.S. For the record, I'm not looking to have my view on religion changed. I'm an atheist and that's not going to change. Period. But, I'm looking to have my view changed (if possible) on whether or not I should "respect" the beliefs of other... even if their beliefs are stupid and dangerous.

[Assistant] Your premise supposes that if we ridicule and reject them, then they will change their beliefs. In fact, those actions will only affirm their suspicions that you are a self-important asshole. If you treat them with respect then you are more likely to have a relationship and a conversation and change their worldview. If you make it "us vs them" then you will only back them into a corner where they treasure their belief as if they are a persecuted minority.


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

[User] ELI5: if computers can run millions of data points per second, why do credit card chip readers take so long?

[Assistant]
Let's talk about all the things that happen when you put your card in.

The chip card is actually a little computer that the reader can interact with, so there are a few things going on here.

1. The reader authenticates to your card. This it where the PIN is involved. The reader authorizes itself.
2. The reader gets the information from the card about account information.
3. The reader contacts the bank with the card information and gets a challenge that only your card can properly answer.
4. The reader asks your card to perform the bank's challenge.
5. The reader then sends the challenge response along with the transaction details to the bank.

So where's the delay in here?

Step 1 is artificially slow. The PIN response by the card is slowed down in order to prevent brute force attacks on it. The card itself will also have things like lockout mechanisms, but artificially limiting the speed of authentication attempts is a real thing to prevent brute forcing (as well as making sure that the delay isn't somehow used to measure *how* correct an answer is).

Step 2 is fairly quick, nothing going on here.

Step 3 involves a network connection to the bank or other card authority. This may involve multiple jumps through interim providers. It is also slowed down by the final server having to do some sort of lookup on the card. These servers are going to be doing thousands or millions of lookups, so they can be a little slow sometimes.

Step 4 is not quite instantaneous.

Step 5 is again slow because you're contacting the bank.

So an artificial slowdown to prevent brute forcing and two different transactions that happen with the bank, along with one bit of computation in between.

Beyond that, credit card readers are often made with fairly cheap products. Spending more money to shave just half a second of processing time isn't a thing most people would do. Unless you have constant lineups at your cash registers, having a small delay is acceptable, so costs are cut there.


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

[User] [The Mask] is The Mask is Semi-Living Entity?

[Assistant] Im pretty sure that it is semi living.It can better be described as an alternate personality of the user.In the animates series there was an episode where Stanley put on half of the mask and the two could talk to each other.


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

[User]
[Staw Wars] What is the purpose of the second Death Star being larger than the first one?

The first Death Star was already strong enough to destroy a planet. Making a bigger one seems like it would use up more resources to build, keep running, and to move around.

[Assistant]
The Death Star was a (super)weapon of terror. It was a slow, cumbersome logistical nightmare but it could blow up an entire planet in one shot. It's use was just as much psychological as it was physical. "Obey or we will literally one-shot your homeworld and kill you and everything you know."

Then the rebels blew it up and hailed it as this great victory over the Empire.

So the Empire just builds another one. Not only that, but it makes the next one much, much bigger. More guns, more shields, devoid of the original's weakness (or it would have been if finished). It's the ultimate show of force against anyone harboring anti-Imperial sentiment. "Blow up even our most powerful weapon and we'll just build another one. A better one. You can't stop us so it's pointless to try."


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

[User]
[Marvel] How do all the different gods work together in the same universe?

There are Norse gods (Thor), Egyptian gods (Khonshu), and even a representation of the Catholic God (The One Above All). How do all these gods from different religions coexist with one another and don't fight over control?

[Assistant]
There are a few answers.

1. They don't.

2. A common enemy (Infinity Gauntlet Thanos, Galactus, The Celestials, Doctor Doom, ect.)

3. A unified goal.

4. The One Above All and/or The Living Tribunal tells them to. (One Above All isn't exclusive to Christianity. One Above All is the literal absolute, omnipotent, uncontested supreme being of all reality and beyond. Catholicism is merely an interpretation.)

The thing you have to take into account is none of the gods are actually omnipotent (The One Above All excluded ). They can do mind boggling feats that defy explanation, but they're not the only ones who can do it. For an instance, Odin once drained all his power into the Destroyer armor in a vain attempt to stop a Celestial. It didn't work.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. They sometimes will compete for control, but it's less through epic scale wars and more like political negotiations or proxy wars.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is power restored after an outage caused by damaged poles or power lines?

Near my home this morning, a car crash occurred at an intersection, and a power pole was hit and split in half. The power company said there were power lines in the road. This caused a power outage to about 1300 people. After about an hour, crews had restored power to those affected by the outage, but they said that they still needed to repair the broken pole and equipment.  If they didn't fix the pole yet, then how was the power restored?

[Assistant]
They fixed / replaced the wires that were broken, and strung them up between the poles that were left intact, with perhaps a temporary pole or suspension wire to hold them in place until the full sized permanent pole is ordered and placed into the ground.

A residential area is also a "grid" (that's why it's often called the power grid), which means that there are multiple connections available and they can re-route the electricity much like they re-route cars to go on alternate roads until the main road is re-paved or whatever.


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

[User]
[ The Terminator]- Why did the CSM-100 think that it could buy a Plasma rifle in 40 watt range in 1984?

It clearly had knowledge of the available guns in the shop, even though they would have all been 50 years before its time. And in T2 the same model has detailed files of Dyson and the history of skynet. So why the slip up?

[Assistant] Its possible that they were in early development by the government at the time.  That particular detail may have been omitted from the records it brought back with it, so when it checked its files for weapons of the era...


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

[User] [Halo] How do the marines aim using the Assault Rifle if it has no iron sights or a scope? Also, how do they aim Covenant weapons? Do they just spray and pray?

[Assistant] No, though the MA5B Individual Combat System and the Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle both have models with pop-up sights, the most common models just interface with a soldier's on board electronics suite to display an aiming reticule on their heads-up display.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do the normal bacteria in our mouth attack out teeth and gums,but those in other parts of the body do not attack those parts?

[Assistant]
The bacteria in your mouth are like junkyard dogs. They are there because they are good at breaking down things that are coming into your body, but they are also aggressive and not well-trained. They'll stop someone from stealing stuff from you, but they might also bite your friend they've never met before.

Also, there are other bacteria in your body that are even worse. The stuff that lives in your intestines is like a pack of wolves. As long as they're contained in your guts, they are great at breaking down almost anything that comes through. If they ever get out, though, they'll try to eat everything they come across.


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

[User] ELI5:How did the United Kingdom, an area about the same size as Alabama and Mississippi, have the ability to colonize so much of the world?

[Assistant]
Mostly how they could conquer those countries with so little manpower was advanced technology. British had modern guns, railways, ships etc so no one could really stand their power.
They didn't have to bring so many of their own people to those colonized countries too because they created new elite on locals which they used to control whole country. British had for example military forces in India which were consist of Indians but were ruled by British.


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

[User] When you wash your skin with lukewarm or hot water after youve been in freezing temperatures, why does it feel like the skin is burning? Is your body actually in danger or are the nerves misinterpreting what is happening? Are there other examples of this situation?

[Assistant] This happens because when your body gets cold it constricts blood flow to the extremities first so that it can maintain heat in the core areas of the body such as the brain and and abdominal. This causes nerves to shut down in the extremities which is why you don't feel as much pain when you are cold and any pain you feel seems duller. Then when you introduce sudden heat to the area it is a huge boost in energy to these nerves that were pretty much shut down and this energy causes them to surge and reconnect with the central cortex and you experience this as pain. Also, when they are hit by the sudden heat your nerves have to preform a kind of calibration to readjust themselves to what is actually painful.


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

[User]
Does changing temperature have "inertia?"

When anything with mass, let's say a liter of water, changes temperature, can that change in temperature have any sort of "inertia?" For example, if I boil a liter of water, and then put it in a freezer that is exactly 0C; does the temperature simply fall to zero, or can it build "inertia," that would cause the water's temperature to dip below zero, and then effectively "rebound" and settle at 0C?

[Assistant] No, for the reason that changes in temperature require a sink to 'move heat' (**this is not a rigorous way of talking about it**) in or out of. If the water is getting colder, it has to be making something else hotter by giving energy to it. By the laws of thermodynamics it can't be making anything already hotter than it is even hotter as this would result in a decrease in entropy and that's against well established empirical fact. Hence no 'inertia': changes in temperature always have an external body driving them, whilst in any given reference frame an object's momentum is constant.


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

[User]
ELI5: how do we "hear" memories?

i understand how we're able to "see" memories in our mind's eye, but how is it that we're able to "hear" memories and be able to recall people's voices and sounds? does this have something to do with the mind's eye too?

EDIT: it's been great to read all your responses! i've learned a lot, cheers for taking the time to read and reply!

[Assistant] Pretty much - but it would be the minds "ear" rather than the minds eye - that is the memories work pretty much the same way but the memories of visual things are processed by the same part of your brain (kind of) that processes how you see things but memories of sounds are processed by the part of your brain (kind of) that processes how you hear things.


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

[User] Why do whales die on land even though they breathe outside water?

[Assistant]
1. Their bodies aren't designed to be supported by a hard surface. Their buoyancy in water supports the whole body evenly and prevents the crushing of internal organs.

2. They overheat. Whales are very well insulated and rely on the water around them to keep them at a livable temperature.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do AMD CPUs have way more GHz for the same price? And why is Intel still considered better?

Intel i5 4x3,4Ghz costs more than AMD 6x3,9Ghz but is still considered better by friends rankings and user experiences.

[Assistant] GHz is only a measure of CPU clock speed. It's a good way to compare very similar CPUs but for CPUs of very different design, architecture, and features, differences in clock speed don't really mean much. Simply put, different CPUs do different amount of work per cycle. For example, let's say it takes one CPU 12 cycles to multiply two large numbers. A different CPU might need only 8 cycles. CPUs have different features, can do multiple tasks simultaneously, have different sets of onboard memory (called cache), are sometimes able to increase their clock speed temporarily above the normal clock speed (overclock). One number is simply not enough to compare different CPUs - you need to look at overall benchmark scores.


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

[User]
[Marvel/MCU] Has Steve Rogers ever watched the movie Inglorious Basterds? If so, what did he think of it?

Just curious what his thoughts would be as a WWII vet and someone who personally punched out Hitler/The Red Skull.

[Assistant] Hed probably think of them as brutal psychopaths who take killing Nazis too far.The Nazis were the enemy,but what the Basterds do to them is arguably far too brutal,especially because of the fact that not every Nazi soldier was a piece of shit who deserved it.


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

[User]
[DOOM] Why is destroying the argent energy filters such a huge setback to the UAC?

If they built them once, they should be able to do so again. It's not like they destroyed the blueprints after finishing them, and even if they did get lost, they should be able to figure it out again. Plus, there's still the wreckage that should be salvageable to some degree.

[Assistant] The Filters were designed to channel and then purify Hell-Energy, an energy-form that is exceptionally dangerous to handle in it's raw state. In fact, given how Hell-Energy tends to react to things, it's probable that the Argent Filters actually contained some fragmentary material from Hell it's self. Be it organic components from some sort of Demon, or some Demon-made construction, it wouldn't really matter, because replacement of something like that would be extremely difficult.


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

[User] How are clothes washed aboard the ISS?

[Assistant]
They don't wash their clothes -- they get new ones every so often, and dispose of the old ones as waste.

I recall an interview with Chris Hadfield in which he explained that astronaut clothes barely get "dirty" -- the astronauts don't sweat much, their clothes only loosely contact the skin (because of effective zero-g), their food is eaten mainly from enclosed pouches or wraps and they never really go "outside".


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

[User] Why are your ears, nose and throat all connected?

[Assistant]
Because once upon a time your ancestors were fishes.

I'll do this one organ at a time.

**Throat**

Your throat is derived from a structure called the **pharynx**.  The pharynx in fishes is essentially the tube between the mouth and the entrance to the esophagus.  This tube, in fishes, has holes in the side.  These holes are called **pharyngeal slits.**  In most fishes, there are thin, highly vascularized filaments inside these slits, and the pharynx is used to pump water over these filaments.  We call this sort of structure a "gill."  In humans, the pharynx is the back part of the throat up to the epiglottis.

**Nose**

The nose develops initially from a pocket that forms in the anterior head of an embryo called the **nasal capsule**.  This capsule contains all the sensory receptors of the nose and is tightly integrated with the anterior brain via the olfactory nerve.

In early fishes, the nasal capsule is just a pocket in the side of the snout. Later fishes have a flow-through system, with an anterior and a posterior nostril.  When you get to the lineage that leads to tetrapods, the posterior nostril slips inside the mouth, and the flow-through nasal capsule not only becomes a means of smelling things, but a means of getting water into the mouth, where it could then pass over the gills. We call this internal nostril a **choana**. The choana later becomes a means of getting air into the pharynx for passage into the lungs as our ancestors start moving onto land.  In most reptiles and amphibians, the choana is perforates the bony palate right behind where your canine tooth is.

Now, in mammals, what we see is that there is what's called a "secondary palate" which is a plate of bone that forms between the oral cavity and the choana to create an actual nasal cavity, which is what we have.  You still have a passageway between the nasal cavity and the pharynx, but it's further back now. This, among other things, allows you to breathe while chewing and to avoid getting food wedged up your nose all the time.

**Ears**

There are three parts to your ear: the inner ear, the middle ear, and the outer ear.  The inner ear includes a series of canals associated with balance (**semicircular canals**) and a series of tubes and membranes that transduce sound waves into firing of nerves.  The outer ear includes the rubbery flap of ear on the outside of your head (the **pinna**) as well as the ear canal.  The middle ear contains a series of bones (**auditory ossicles**) that connect the eardrum to the inner ear.  Of these, the middle ear is the only part of the ear directly connected to the throat.

Now, there are three bones in the middle ear; the **malleus**, the **incus**, and the **stapes**.  You may know these as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup.  Fishes have these same bones, but they don't use them for hearing.  They're part of their jaws.  The malleus is a bone from the lower jaw called the **articular**.  The incus is a bone from the upper jaw called the **quadrate**.  The stapes is a bone that braces the upper jaw against the skull, called the **hyomandibula**.  The upper and lower jaws occurs between the quadrate and articular. There is a passage that runs past the hyomandibula called the **spiracle**, which is essentially a specialized pharyngeal slit.  It was used to modulate water flow across the gills.

Now, as our ancestors crawled out of water, they started using these bones in their jaws to carry sound to the inner ear.  The articulation between the quadrate and the articular is still the primary jaw joint in most amphibians and reptiles, for example.  In mammals, though, a second jaw joint forms called the **temporomandibular joint** (TMJ) and the quadrate/incus and articular/malleus completely separate from the lower jaw.  The spiracle slit never opens, leaving a thin membrane across the surface of the spiracular opening.  This membrane is the eardrum or **tympanic membrane**.  What's left of the spiracle now is the middle ear and the tube that connects the middle ear to the throat, called the **eustachian tube**.

So, in other words, the reason these organs are all connected is because of a combination of how these organs develop and the evolutionary history of these organs in our distant fishy ancestors.

Hope this helps.

**tl;dr: because once upon a time our ancestors were fish and these organs did very different things**


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

[User] ELI5: If stomach acid is so strong, how do some foods get through into our stool without being broken down (like seeds?)

[Assistant]
Because acids are strong only with substances they can react to. That's why we kept sulfuric acid in glass and nothing happened.

Now those seeds are made of a material that does not get dissolved or digested very well, so it remains whole through the trip to wave you good-bye.


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

[User]
[Netflix's Punisher] Why did the store owner try to sell Frank child pictures?

The big gruff ass dude comes into his shop buys a police scanner and a fucking shotgun with shells, and this guy decided to see if Frank was a pedo? Like couldn't he read the room?

[Assistant]
He was trying to make a sale.  Frank showed he had lots of money and seemed to have zero morals.  In most people's experience, sex is one of those things that always sells so the skeezy  pawn shop guy shot his shot.

He started trying selling him reg
sex and normal porn. Frank wouldn't bite.  So he... expanded on the available  options he had available.  *That* triggered Frank's interest.  Shop keeper misread that interest and kept upselling.

So yeah, dude fatally misread the room in his rush to make some shady money.


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

[User] ELI5: What causes some people to be heavier sleepers than others?

[Assistant] Kind of piggybacking off this question a bit, but does being calm and stress have anything to do with this? Could trust also be another thing? As in if you felt you were in danger (Living in a warzone or something) you would wake up faster and easier.


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

[User]
CMV: There isn't a problem with attempting to be "race blind" in daily life

The intention of being race blind in my opinion is to allow yourself to see all others as equal to you, implying that race is irrelevant to how someone is going to act in their day to day lives, and pushing yourself to see everyone as just another human who goes through painful and difficult situations in their lives that may or may not be because of something like race, or gender. Of course discrimination and racism still exist but is the solution not to help everyone understand that, despite the past, we are all humans, with minds that experience the same emotions.

[Assistant]
The point though, is that even if we are all equal and we are all humans with the same emotions, we don't experience the world the same way, because race still does exist and we are treated differently.

Being blind to that fact doesn't make it go away.


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

[User]
[LoTR] What would the full extent of Gandalf's powers look like? What exactly is he capable of?

excuse my ignorance but isn't he the, or one of, most powerful beings on middle earth.  He is only able to use these underwhelming abilities because the valar(?) forbid it?

[Assistant]
Gandalf as you know Gandalf showed his capabilities against Durin's Bane (the Balrog), because he had no choice. The thing is, magic in Middle Earth is generally not flashy or spectacular in the same way other universes treat it. Magic is literally divine energy, Eru's (God) will at work. Such an energy CAN, and did, sink continents and literally reshape the world, but for the most part it's subtle and "natural". As in, most magic can be seen in every day things, like the sun rising or life growing and spreading. Gandalf can tap into these things and make them "better". Think about (in the film) when Gandalf put a crystal on his staff and blew into it, treating it like a small fire, before it illuminated the caves into Moria. That's the kind of magic he does.

Gandalf wasn't always an old man walking the earth. He was created as Olrin, a "lesser angel", but still very wise. Olrin would have likely been spectacularly "powerful" (though not on the level of Sauron), but he knew better than the flaunt it. It's why, when he came to Middle Earth with the other Istari, he was singled out and given one of the three great rings. His "real power" is actually his great wisdom, and the desire to travel and learn more to add to said great wisdom. Above all else, that's why he alone accomplished his mission.


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

[User]
CMV: The human race is doomed.

The world is in a bad state right now. Worse, most people are going in the wrong direction. Soon, the planet will be so fucked past the point of no return.

* The Amazon rainforest is burning

* Siberia is burning

* Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreeement

* Pollution

* Most people don't know about the effects of climate change and very few people are doing a thing to curb these effects.

Soon, humanity would have procrastinated so much that it would have waited until the last minute to get their shit together. By that time, it would be too late to save the planet, the ice caps would have melted, all food sources would have been depleted, and humanity would get an F on their assignment to not take the planet for granted.

CMV

Edit: Thanks for changing my view. I think humanity is slowly but surely moving forward with technology and innovation, despite the media contributing to fears of climate change.

[Assistant] You do realize the human race has existed when it was much warmer and much colder than it is now, right? During the Viking age, there were settlements on Greenland, with farms, which are now underneath glaciers. We survived more than one ice age, and huge warming cycles after each one. We'll survive whatever comes our way, and we'll learn from it.


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

[User]
[DC] I'm a surgeon at metropolis hospital, after a fight between a hero and a kryptonian, after that I'm told to do the autopsy of the dead kryptonian, what am I looking at that differs from a regular human?

I was given the right tools and the body is somewhat intact.

[Assistant]
I would expect similar internal organ function and recognizable cell structures. Nearly all life in a lot of  comics can cross breed. Not every species with any thing/one,.but enough that assuming you haf the tools to do it, you can figure it out in time.

There would likely be a multi chamber heart, similar stomach and intestinal tract, Lungs, muscle and skeletal structure.

They might not all be in the same place. Heart may be more centered, the way intestines flow etc. The key difference is kryptonians ability to absorb solar radiation. A similar process to plants photosynthesis.


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

[User]
[Batman] What is Batman's contingency plan for Alfred?

Batman is known for having plans to take down the entire Justice League.

What kind of plan would Batman have if Alfred decides to betray him? (ie. What if Alfred is mind controlled to be evil)

[Assistant] Well if Alfred is mind controlled to be evil, whoever is controlling him would be likely be aware of Bruce's identity already (why else would they bother controlling the butler of a public billionaire) so Batman's got deeper issues to address. Just take out Alfred and bat-cuff him, then off to go whoop the poor bastard who thought this was a good idea.


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

[User]
How did the Big Bang not form a super massive black hole?

So, when a star's mass exceeds a certain threshold, it collapses into a black hole.

In the beginning, all the mass in the universe was in close proximity.  How could all that mass not trigger a black hole collapse? Surely there was more mass in the local area of the blast than exists in a black hole, and light (a massless particle) is a lot harder to suppress than actual mass.  Therefore, it should have been impossible for any matter to have escaped the Big Bang (?!).

What am I missing...

EDIT: Front page! Thanks reddit!

[Assistant]
The Big Bang singularity isn't the same as a black hole. A black hole is a point in space time with infinite curvature. The Big Bang singularity was the entirety of space time. And the entirety of space time expanded.

That being said. We have no working theory of black holes or the Big Bang. We just see that our models asymptotically reach these points. We can't explain what actually happens at these points, though.


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

[User] [Batman] I feel like there is a lot of public trust in Batman because he is very good at what he does. What are some times Batman has messed up big time?

[Assistant]
That time his anti-Justice League contingency plans were stolen by Ra's al Ghul.

That time he created a global security AI called Brother Eye to monitor metahumans and then it went all Skynet/Ultron/etc and started an evil robot apocalypse.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Did at any time Vader or Sidious consider eachother friends?

I mean, sure, Anakin considered Palpatine a friend, but when they were both sith, did they have any sort of friendship?

[Assistant]
No, they both knew what they were to each other and simply held a pretence in place to hide the cold truth; Vader was simply another tool of the Emperor and it had cost him everything to become so. The closest thing that Darth Vader held to a friend during the Empire was probably Grand Moff Tarkin and even that could have changed in a heartbeat; the friendship was also rather weird, after all when Tarkin owed Vader a favour the latter asked him to collect a crew of bounty hunters and hunt him down.

The teachings of the Sith doesn't allow for friends, you're either the master or the apprentice and the apprentice should always be looking for ways to upgrade his status. The fact that Vader didn't was one of many reasons why he disappointed Sidious, the other primarily being the mental block that stopped him from reaching his full potential.

No, they weren't friends and there weren't any games nights, they fell into the true roles of a Master and Apprentice and that's all there was between them until Vader knew of Luke.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are the benefits of hacking your wifi router?

I saw a post about it being OK'd by the FCC. I didn't even know that was a thing? Come some one please explain?

[Assistant] You know how companies sometimes have multiple routers that they make that have different speeds and prices?  A lot of the times, the cheaper ones are basically the same as the more expensive ones, but artificially slowed either through a simple wire connection somewhere, or through firmware.  They wanted to make it illegal for people to hack their routers to be faster.  That's moot though, the main point here is that it shouldn't be illegal for you to modify things you own.


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

[User]
CMV: Governors of states have no business "calling" for the death penalty for the perpetrator of a crime. (At the moment, I'm looking at you, Nikki Haley.)

Governors execute the laws that their legislatures pass, they respond to disasters, they act as a backstop to the judicial system if someone is harshly punished through pardoning people, they guide economic policy, they are chief cheerleader for their state. Basically, they have plenty to do, and plenty of places to show folks that they are leading through doing leadership things in a very leady way.
They shouldn't be inserting their opinion  into a system that has police, district attorneys, prosecutors, and judges who all have their own roles to play. It's bad enough that juries are already tainted by the media coverage of a story, but now your own governor is telling you what you ought to do.
I feel like consoling the people by throwing despicable criminals under the bus is a cheap and dishonorable move.

[Assistant]
The Governor is the Head of State, and is (up several levels) the Prosecutor's boss.

Look at it this way:

* The Prosecutor is allowed to call for the death penalty, right?
* The Attorney General, as the Prosecutor's boss, can have the Prosecutor call for the death penalty.
* Keep on down the chain, and the Governor can direct the Prosecutor, through the chain, to call for the death penalty.


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

[User]
Why is water to steam always the source to turn a turbine to generate power ? Why is it not the liquid that expands the most when vaporized?

I was just thinking that in energy generation methods such as geothermal & nuclear they always heat up water to produce steam in order to turn the turbine. Wouldn't it have greater energy yield if it was a liquid that expanded more than water upon vaporization and had a lower boiling point/ heat capacity than water?

[Assistant]
As you allow any vapor to expand as it does work, it cools down. As the vapor cools, the amount of 'usable work' that can be done decreases. So we want a substance that not only expands a lot when heated but also carries away a great deal of thermal energy so it can be used to do the greatest amount of usable work.

Water has an extremely high heat of vaporization and specific heat capacity (it is the reason why steam burns a lot worse than hot water, trust me I've been burnt by an autoclave before) which means water must absorb a lot of thermal energy before it vaporizes. Which also means steam can do a lot of work before it cools too much to be unusable. This work can be extracted from the steam in an 'adiabatic expansion' process. (Its hard to make anything perfectly adiabatic, but you get the idea)

Add to it the fact that water is easily available, free, can be released into the environment, and not corrosive, its a win win.


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

[User] Why does jerking a table cloth quickly from a table not disturb the plates but if you do it slow they all come off? Shouldn't there be the same amount of friction whether you pull it fast or slow?

[Assistant]
If we look at Newtons second law: F=ma, we can clearly see that force is proportional to acceleration. When we pull the table cloth away quickly, a higher force is required to accelerate the dishes with the table cloth. The force of friction is given by u*Fn, where u is the coefficient of static friction (depends on the two materials in contact) and Fn is the normal force, so like you said, the force that can be provided by the friction does not change, however it is not high enough to move the plates with a fast enough acceleration when we pull the cloth away quickly.

Also, once the cloth begins to move relative to the plates, we no longer use the coefficient of static friction, but rather the coefficient of kinetic friction, which is even lower. Once the cloth begins to move out from under the plates, theres even less frictional force.


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

[User] [DC] Can Harvey Dent/Two-Face be cured?

[Assistant]
Yes, it's possible to alleviate his mental condition, as well as eventually repair his face - in fact that had been done at least once, and probably more in publishing history.

Unfortunately, Gotham is not the city where skeletons stay in the closet forever, so eventually SOMETHING is bound to happen that would push him back into one extreme or another.


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

[User]
How is time synced?

We sync clocks to a central clock, but how is that clock kept accurate?

[Assistant] It's not one central clock, it's a large number of highly accurate atomic clocks around the world. These clocks are synced against each other periodically by averaging the tiny differences between them. This global average is called UTC or coordinated universal time.


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

[User]
Was CMBR visible light in earlier periods of the universe?

If Cosmic microwave background radiation was once gamma but red-shifted to microwave, does this mean that at some point the photons we are receiving would have been within the visible spectrum of light in earlier period in the universe?

If so when?

[Assistant] Yes. The cosmic microwave background is an almost perfect blackbody radiation and its origin lies in the recombination phase, a time when free protons and electrons cooled down enough to form neutral hydrogen. At this time, the gas was around 3000 K hot, so the light was primarily red. Before that, that plasma was opaque, so no light from earlier times can reach us.


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

[User] The mRNA vaccines use a seemingly roundabout method for creating the spike protein: inject mRNA which is then read by cells which then create the spike protein. Why not cut out the middleman and inject the spike protein directly?

[Assistant]
You can, that is usually how we make a subset of vaccines. There are actually several COVID vaccines in the works right now that are using cell culture and large fermenters to make lots of spike protein.

The problem is that you need to purify the spike protein out from the cell goop, and you need to prove to the FDA that you did a very good job at reliably getting a very pure final product. We know how to do this, we have known how to do this for a very long time, the problem is that the entire process takes time to develop and validate.

mRNA we can just synthesize from scratch, so we know that the final product is pure because we know everything that we put in. This means that we can rapidly generate the vaccine for testing without spending all that time on purification.


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

[User] [Inception] What would make for an absolutely deception-proof totem? Even something like a dungeons and dragons die has a small chance of being successfully faked.

[Assistant]
In the way that the totem is *supposed* to work, literally nothing. Since you know all the elements of how your totem works, then eventually your subconscious can be made to reveal those elements to any skilled thief, exactly the same way any other piece of information can be uncovered.

What's worse, because of the conceit that your totem will only work "correctly" when you're awake because no architect would be able to correctly construct its particular flaws, then if someone *really* wanted to mess you up, all they really would need to do is steal your actual totem in the real world and replace it with a copy which works like a perfect version of that thing... in which case you'd go for your totem to check that you're out of the dream, see it not doing whatever it is supposed to do when you're awake, and conclude that you're still dreaming. At which point, you're likely to lay down on some traintracks or something.

However, people with some severe psychological flaw of some sort actually have a built-in fool-proof totem system, because their subconscious tends to intrude upon whatever dream they happen to be sharing, even if it is not their own or they're not the architect of it. Hence, Mal.

So a skilled dream-infiltrator can always be assured that they're definitely in a dream when the object of their intense traumatic experience shows up. And, conversely, if the thing that terrorizes their nights and gives them insomnia **doesn't** happen to show up randomly, then they can be certain that they're actually awake.

At least until the full-blown psychotic break hits.


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

[User]
[Wall-e] How are the blob-people actually paying for all the stuff they are constantly buying?

The Captain of the ship seems to be the only one with a "job" that he would be getting compensated for, so how is everybody else aboard the ship able to buy things?

Was passage on the ship *ridiculously* all-inclusive?

Are the passengers just running up monumental bills to the point that they will be indentured to Buy-n-Large for generations after the ships land?

[Assistant]
You're still thinking in terms of capitalism.  In the future, we did away with such primitive concepts, along with the concepts of "exercise" and "productivity".  We have robots for those kinds of things.

Instead we simply get our allowances.  They determine what we can and cannot buy.


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

[User]
How do shape-shifters get the accent right?

This has always bothered me. Shapeshifters like Mystique are able to turn into someone they've never spoken to before and look exactly like them. They can also speak exactly like them. How? Identical twins would sound different if raised in seperate places to seperate families...

Also, if a shapeshifter changes into somoene, are they as strong as them?

[Assistant]
Practice.

In all seriousness, many shapeshifters have, by necessity, a low-level psychic field that lets them transform into a perfect copy, down to the fingerprints, retinal patterns, and dental thingummies of anyone they transform into. It's not telepathy, it's more of a perfect awareness of who and what you're about to transform into.

Most of them aren't aware of this and don't really ping as 'psychic', since it seems to be merely another sense that is nearly unique to shapeshifters.


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

[User]
ELI5: Time.

So from what I learned, time is a dimension, and so is space. We move through both. When we move through space we change our position relative to other objects in space, but how does time come into play here?

What is the effect of time and how does it affect space? How is a rock that is standing still in space, but moving at maximum speed through time different from a rock that's moving at the speed of light and not moving through time at all?

[Assistant]
From a scientific perspective, time is infuriating. We haven't been able to come up with a definition of time that doesn't rely on circular logic.

However, we are fairly certain that time exists, and is not just a part of our perception. The reason we believe this is because the mathematical functions that rely on time to describe other things all work out. Granted, that's not proof.

Time is essentially one-dimensional. We believe that it is possible to change the rate at which something experiences time, but strangely, it doesn't seem possible to go in the other direction. For some reason that has eluded us, it seems that the universe is compelling everything to only move *forwards* in time.


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

[User] ELI5: What are those dust motes we see floating around made of? How do they form?

[Assistant]
Most of the dust particles that you see wafting around in the sun are organic. These come from plants or animals that have dried out and can break down into smaller and smaller pieces over time. Because these eventually very tiny bits are usually not made out of heavy atoms like the kind that are in rocks and stuff, dust from organic sources is often very light, and so it pretty much floats given the lightest whiff or current of air.

Humans and their hairy pets produce a lot of dead flakes of skin and tiny bits of hair that really can contribute to household dust. The next time you have a thin sliver of sunlight coming into where you live, some of the bits that are floating around in there... are very likely yours.


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

[User]
Do insects have a sense of hearing?

They certianly make a lot of noise - so i suspect some speicies do.
But what about a beetle or a bee?
And if the answer is yes - how do they hear? Do they have ears?

[Assistant] Yes. They hear by means of ears (a tympanic membrane with nerve fibers attached) and by very delicate hairs (trichobothria, sensilla) that respond to vibrations in the air. Sound is very important to insects in courtship.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why do pixels on certain digital devices like old calculators cast a shadow?

I've just noticed how the black pixels on monochromatic, non-backlit screens like digital radios and calculators cast a shadow on the screen itself, how is that happening?

[Assistant] i believe the device you're referring to is a LCD liquid crystal display. basically its a clear liquid that turns solid and opaque with the applicaation of a minor electric current. so that opaque segement is actually blocking light, casting a shadow on the reflector behind it.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why thermal detonators are never used?

As i know the clone/stormtroopers has a thermal detonator on their back. Why they never use it?

[Assistant] Because they're rarely in a position where that would be a good idea. A high explosive in an enclosed space is a Very Bad Idea. And if they'd set Endor on fire, they probably would've had a hard time dealing with it.


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

[User]
ELI5: is it possible to not have citizenship of any country?

For example i get expatriated from the US and i don't get a citizenship to for a example Sweden.

[Assistant]
Short answer: yes, it's possible. The repercussions are that any nation can declare you persona-non-grata which means you can be arrested simply for being present in their territory.

Additionally, you would be legally considered an alien anywhere you were, and have to deal with the local issues.


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

[User]
Why does vomiting relieve nausea even when the nausea is not caused by something in your digestive tract?

For example, nausea caused by drug use via insufflation or unsettling images.

[Assistant] Nausea is a response due to cues that evolution has shown our biology to be indicators of something you've ingested being toxic. The relief of nausea from throwing up isn't necessarily connected to the cessation of those cues, just trying sensation of your vomiting. Which leads to the awkward situation of you throwing up but the nausea returning because the cue causing it wasn't related to what's in your stomach.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How does Darth Vader poop?

We never see him take any part of his suit off except the helmet, so are there systems in place to handle waste products from what's left of his actual body? Or does he have to take some part of his suit off and shit like a normal person? I know he's "more machine now than man" by the time of the OT but presumably he still experiences bodily functions right?

[Assistant] Since the suit is primarily a life-support system, and we see that it's more or less a 24/7 thing, it stands to reason that both nutrient intake and waste extraction are handled by it.  If your nutrient intake is that heavily controlled, it's probably close to 100% energy-efficient nutrition, meaning there's probably close to 0 solid waste.  What little there is could easily be handled by a suit like that.


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

[User]
[ELI5] Why anesthesia makes you go to sleep so easily?

Hey everyone !
Even when you countdown from 10 you are falling asleep at 5. Also why this kind of drugs act so fast! What kind of chemical reactions happens in our bodies.

Thank you

[Assistant]
Anesthesia flows through the blood into your brain, where it interrupts specific brain cell connections that keep you awake.

Your body makes a natural (weaker) kind of anesthesia when you are falling asleep as well.


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

[User]
[Last Airbender] Did the world really live in harmony before the fire nation attacked?

There's always conflict is there not? Hell Korra deals with 4 separate crises within about a 3 year period in which war almost (and did on some occasions) broke out. It goes to show its not exactly uncommon for there to be war in the Avatar universe. Is Katara just exaggerating?

[Assistant]
Yes they lived in harmony, but also yes there was still conflict. One doesn't completely cancel out the other.

What Katara is saying is that before the fire nation went full on conquering dictatorship all the nations were of equal standing in the world. Before the war an Air Nomad could happily glide through the fire nations archipelago, a firebender general could take a relaxing vacation in Ba Sing Se without people being terrified for their lives.

It wasn't all peace and hugs before the hundred year war but whatever peaceful lives they had changed when the fire nation attacked.


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

[User] How do my nerves decide when to tell my brain that something is painful?

[Assistant]
Your body uses a plethora of receptors throughout your body to keep tabs on its current condition. In particular, there are a class of receptors known as nociceptors that function solely to warn the body of when there is a "painful" stimuli.

If you care for more detail: For instance there are nocireceptors dedicated to detecting temperature. At a certain temperature, these receptors produce an action potential that coincides with around 42 degrees Celsius, or the known heat-pain temperature. The produced action potentials can then be integrated in your central nervous system to processed in your brain.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40000] What would be the aftershocks of the Imperium of Man gaining access to Covenant level Slipspace Travel?

For those that don't know such slipspace ftl drive , from halo, allows a ship to travel at 912.2 light years per day for a maximum duration of 60 days before it must stop. Furthermore it is not effected in any way by warp beings and works at pinpoint accuracy, thus allowing ships to appear in perfect formation.

Assuming the imperium gains such technology how does this change the Warhammer 40000 universe and how does to effect everyone, other factions included?

[Assistant]
Utterly devastating and crushing against everyone.  Although this system of travel is slower than warp travel (it takes one year in the warp to cross the galaxy but 3 with rhis method) it is more predictable.  No longer will travel risk having the ship reach its destination 100 years late and no ships will be lost in transit due to failed Gellar fields.

The ability to arrive in formation means the Imperium could start a battle with a few ships, see how things are going, assemble a formation one half light year away, then slip in to the battle in formation.

This method of travel is more universal than the webway and faster than the Tau.  Xenos will see the bureaucracy of the Imperium suddenly appear removed as ships appear with consistency.


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

[User] ELI5: why do the waves of the 2004 and 2011 tsunamis only look like 10-20 some odd feet high in the videos as they made landfall but reports say that they were hundreds of feet high? They don't look like it videos. Sorry for customary units.

[Assistant]
You're thinking of the kind of wave that you could surf on, but that's not what most tsunamis look like.

The distance between the top of one wave and the next is about 10 or 15 miles, so it doesn't look like a huge wall of water. Out at sea, the wavelength is even longer, so the amplitude -- the height of the waves -- is perhaps three feet, too shallow and too slow for ships to detect. Only when they make landfall do the waves bunch up, but they're still far apart and moving quite slowly. ("Tsunami" is Japanese for "harbour wave", so called because boats out at sea would not notice anything unusual, but would return home to discover the harbour destroyed by the wave.)

If you were standing on a mountain watching the tsunami coming in, you wouldn't see anything in the distance. You might see a strange-looking swell nearer the coast, but the first obvious thing you see is the water receding *away* from the coast. But then the water returns -- not in one huge wave that breaks at skyscraper height, but just water coming in... and coming in... and simply not stopping. It can take several minutes for the wave to reach full height.

If the water is forced into, say, a narrow bay, it gets squeezed and so rises even further -- that will be why reports talked of the 2004 tsunami reaching 80 to 100 feet in places.

It's not like a 100-foot-high wall of water: it's the sea level rising 100 feet.


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

[User] ELI5:Why does using a fly swatter make me so much more effective at killing flies?

[Assistant]
Flies can detect very small changes in pressure around them and your hand coming at them is a very obvious change in the air around them.

A fly swatter is designed so it does not disturb the air as much (all the tiny holes) and makes it harder for them to detect that something is coming at them.


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

[User] [Star Wars] (possibly NSFW) Does Darth Vader have functional genitals (post-RotS of course)?

[Assistant]
From a physical perspective, no.  Short of his leg-stumps, Anakin's balls were the closest things to the lava proper when he ignited on Mustafar.  When he was immolated, the damage was severe enough that he required several machines simply to continue living (replacing respiratory function, assisting cardiovascular activity, stimulants and painkillers to manage the never-ending agony of having your eggs scrambled, etc.).  Considering that several organs and tissues encased in solid layers of blood, muscle, and bone, odds are good that the seeds of the dark side were roasted beyond recognition.

From a pscyhological perspective, also no.  Emotionally, Darth Vader is not capable of arousal, often cited as being entirely too loaded with self-loathing and coldly-burning rage that he can't feel the need to ready his lightsaber and keep it activated.  He's hard, but he can't *get* hard.  His wife died by his own hand, his children were dead, everything he believed in had been crushed and he was the crippled slave of a sociopathic master.  All in the space of a few days.  People (in fiction and out, many of whom have their balls in perfect working order) have gone mad from less.  Even if Anakin had been blessed with XL magazines, Darth Vader didn't have the will to pull the trigger on the love cannon (or, post-RotS, love peashooter).

On the plus side, the certain complete lack of gonads and almost certain lack of penis means that - thankfully - Darth Vader can only metaphorically fuck you.


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

[User]
Can a gravitational locked planet outside the Goldilocks zone support life on the side facing the star?

I have read that based on a stars size the Goldilocks zone will differ from star  to star.

I have also read that if a Planet has one side locked facing the star with in the Goldilocks zone it wouldn't be able to support life because it would be too hot.

So what if it is outside the Goldilocks zone but the side facing the sun has all the things needed for life.

Would the science support the possibility that life could be possible?

Would this planet also need a moon orbiting around it to help create tidal currents on the liquid side and helping the tectonic as well?

And perhaps if the planet also needs to turn would it be possible that instead of turning in relation to the sun like our planet does but on a tilt it spins in a way that one its poles are facing the star.

Yes I have no idea what would cause a planet to rotate like that, but my question is basically can a planet outside the known habitable zone with a single side always facing the star support life and does the math allow for this?

[Assistant]
There are multiple definitions for the habitable zone around a star, depending on various assumptions. The classical model doesn't include atmospheric effects, which obviously have a significant influence on surface temperatures. It also doesn't account for a tidally-locked planet, or the possibility of alternative types of biochemistry (meaning life based on a solvent that is not water).

All that to say, the habitable zone concept is more of a loose guideline than a precise limit on where life could exist. The planet you are describing is theoretically capable of supporting life, despite not being exactly within the habitable zone. Since we have yet to find extrasolar life, there's no validation for any version of the theory, so take it with a grain of salt. It's more of a best-guess as to where life is likely sustainable that a hard limit on where life can reside.

Regarding requiring a moon, that delves too far into speculation to be really meaningful.


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

[User]
does the amount of tension a wire is under affect its ability to conduct electricity?

If so is it only to a minute extent?

[Assistant]
Yes, mechanical strain affects the resistance of a conductor three ways.
The resistance of a wire is (rho)L/A, where rho is the conductivity of the metal, L is length and A is cross-sectional area. If you stretch the wire, L goes up, A goes down, and rho goes up because the molecular bonds are being strained. The effect of rho changing is small in metals, but much larger in semiconductors.
All three of these effects, taken together, are why we can measure stress and strain on objects with strain gages -- a subject well worth googling.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are DVDs encoded differently around the world (i.e. Region 1, Region 2, etc.)?

[Assistant]
They're not encoded differently, they're just locked to that region by the firmware on DVD players.  A Region 1 DVD player is technically capable of playing a Region 2 DVD, it's just got a little software switch saying "only play Region 1" set inside it.  It's possible to get region-free players or hack some models to ignore region codes.

Why do they do this?  Money.

The movie business has a long & complex history of studios giving exclusive distribution rights to distributors in different parts of the world.  The Japanese distributor has a contractual monopoly on movies from studio XYZ and doesn't want the Bolivian distributor trying to undercut their business, so the DVD standard included region codes.  This also allows companies to sell movies much cheaper in poor markets (eg - India) than they would in rich countries (eg - United Kingdom) without having to worry about movies from India getting moved to the UK and getting sold on the grey market.

This is the same reason that services like Netflix have different titles available in different countries.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does singing sound good when you put together a group of bad singers? e.g. a fifth grade choir.

[Assistant] It's all about "blend".  A good choir teacher will encourage their group to blend well so that there are no individuals that are way louder than others, and any of the "not as good" singers might be asked to sing a little softer to help with the blend.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why won't companies ship to P.O Boxes?

Just overall, I am wondering, I tried to google it, and could not find a easy answer, but why won't most companies ship things to P.O Boxes?

[Assistant]
The law says only the United States Postal Service may deliver to post office boxes.  Also, if the package needs to be signed for, a PO box cannot do this.

On the other hand, it's not unusual for companies such as The UPS Store, FedEx/Kinko's (not to mention many mom n' pop stores) to offer mailboxes that don't belong to the USPS, and one can have packages *not* shipped by the USPS delivered to such boxes.  And during business hours, there *will* be someone there to sign for the package.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why copyright lawyers and legal departments don't just Google mp3s exactly the way we do, and shut down the websites where they are hosted?

Beemp3, mp3skull, etc. It's not like these sites are hiding..What legal restrictions preclude companies from demanding that these sites be taken down or prosecuted?

[Assistant] Let's say you live in an apartment complex, and someone found 50 people dealing drugs, selling guns, doing [insert illegal activity]. Do you think they apartment should be bombed down and the owner sent to prison? Unless the owner takes part in those actions, then only the users are the ones to blame.


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

[User]
[Spider man] How strong is Doctor Octopus without his arms?

I saw Doc Ock shrug off a brick and punches from spiderman like they were nothing but Aunt May hitting him in the back of the head with an umbrella, that somehow manages to stun him. Any other inconsistencies?

[Assistant]
Depending on WHEN youre jumping in hes physically a normal human. While as of late hes been using an armored suit, hes, at his core, a human.

Spider-Man is known to pull his punches so him only mildly roughing up Doc Ock isnt so surprising.


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

[User]
[Aliens] What else do the Colonial Marines do? Are there other less dangerous aliens they kill?

Obvs theres still plenty of human conflict for them to be so well equipped, but during the briefing Hudson (i think) asks if the mission is "another bug hunt", and their first dropship thats destroyed had "Bug Squasher" painted on the side.

However its obvious the Xenomorphs are something theyve never seen before, but is there some other chitinous extraterrestrial species they routinely and more easily have to exterminate more out of annoyance than potential extinction? Something maybe in between Martian Buggalo and Klendathu Arachnids? Something... uh young... Predators cut their teeth on before Xenos and Humans?

[Assistant]
One thing to keep in mind is that "xenomorph" is *not* the name of the Aliens' species. When Lieutenant Gorman says that "a xenomorph may be involved," in the movie *Aliens,* he is not referring to a specific type of creature. He is using a fancy five dollar word which just means "alien," but he doesn't actually know what specific creatures they are dealing with.

So to me, that means that, yes, the marines are somewhat used to dealing with alien life, or at least aware of the possibility that it may happen, and they are used to dealing with other *xenomorphs,* although not the specific ones they encounter in the films.


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

[User]
CMV: People convicted of a road-rage related offence should be banned from driving for a substantial amount of time.

Road rage has become a huge problem in this country (USA). The solution i'm thinking would work would be to make it mandatory for these people's liscences to be taken away for a substantial period of time (months, years or permanently for the worst and/or repeat offenders). I have been personally affected by others commiting road rage... I think an example might help. Heres a short story of when i was affected by a road rage incident as an example:

\----start of story---

When i first started driving years and years ago. I was a pretty frightened and overly cautious kind of a driver. To the annoyence of everyone else on the road, I had decided that going 5 mph under the speed limit everywhere i drove was a wise idea (it was dumb). Well, so one day i was driving down a back road doing 20 mph on a 25 mph speed limit stretch of road like i usually did (there was a train of about 10 cars behind me at one point). So i get to an intersection after about 10 minutes of driving and this guy pulls up next to me and starts screaming about i had so inconvienienced him by my slow driving.  It was terrifying. And just when one would think a situation like that could not get any worse... my friend who was sitting in the passanger seat decides to flip the guy off. Oh man, he went from screaming, to sounding like a screeching unhinged diabolical entity of some description. It was beyond terrifying. At one point he even blocked my car in (false imprisonment in my juristiction)  so he could countinue to screech at me (couldnt understand anything he was saying) for several more minutes.  This horrific behavior and harrassment of his went on until I yelled the apparently magic-to-his-ego word "Sorry!". This defused the situation and he finally let me drive off and escape from his harrasment.

\---end of story---

My view with that is: No matter how much of a turtle-power driver I admittably was at the time.... I or anyone else do not deserve to be cruely harrassed by some angry dude who has no business behind the wheel of a car.  Why cant guys like that simply have their liscense taken away? I think if the guy who falsely imprisioned and verbally assaulted me had his liscense taken away for say.... one year. I bet 100 dollars that he is never going to mistreat another driver again.... Of course there is also the consideration that even unreasonably angry people need a way of getting to and from work, the grocery store, the gym, etc. But then again can't Mr. Angry just take public tranportation or ride a bike for a year?   I mean, it would be hard to feel sorry for them when they brought it upon themselves. And honestly i think they could learn a lesson from it... that or they will only become angrier and angrier and soon become now known as Mr. Very Angry or something (hard to say, really.. not everyone is wise enough to learn from their mistakes i guess \*sigh\*)

Of course what if within that year Mr. Angry goes and does some yoga and takes anger managemnt classes... should his liscense be given back early? Or is it more important to protect society from his potential for anger problems behind the wheel?

And if Mr. angry gets his liscense back after a year and then gets back on the road... Good for him! But if Mr. Angry decides to commit another act of road rage... maybe then his liscense should then be taken away permanantly to protect society and other drivers from his apparently incurable anger problem?

Also yes i am aware that road ragers do sometimes get sentanced by judges in court to be banned from driving for certain and significant periods of time.  But my view is a little different in that I think that a very long ban or permanent ban should be automatic and mandatory even for first-time road ragers.

I just want my overall road experience to be peaceful and calm and i'm sure that is what most others want.

My overall view at this point is that banning road ragers from the road for significantly long amounts of time would be benificial for me and other calm and collected road users.

[Assistant]
A study done in Florida in the 90 showed that people going too slow were more of a problem than people speeding. It leads to min speed limits in many places. So it is all about perspective. The reality is people will drive without a license because frankly we need to do so to get to work in so many cases.

The real fix is people learning to handle life differently and not provoke each other. If you're not comfortable going the speed limit then don't drive that road. And if some one gets aggressive walk away.


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

[User]
[A Quiet Place] Why wasnt Regan allowed in the basement?

The title says it all.

[Assistant] It clearly wasn't very sound proof, and the girl can't hear. There's a lot of electronic equipment that's very noisy, as we see in the end. If she were to accidentally turn even one thing one, she wouldn't notice until it's too late and They be screwed.


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

[User]
[DC] Why can't the flash end all crime

Flash is far beyond the speed of light so why doesn't he run around and end crime?

[Assistant]
Here his superspeed is a hindrance.

So, he catches all the criminals doing crime right this second. But it's literally just this second. Because of how fast he goes, he's done in milliseconds- which means if you start your crime spree *a single second later*, you've missed the flash's crime-fighting wave.

Also note he doesn't have any sensory abilities other then "run and check", and again, he has to do so at this instant. Same "start 5 seconds later and you're fine" issue applies.

To end all crime, he'd need to be *constantly* running around the world, at max speed, all the  time. He'd have to literally always  be fighting crime. No hobbies, no social life, no job, nothing. Just constantly running to every spot on earth,over and over, until he dies.

I feel we can excuse him not doing that.


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

[User] [Toy Story] How different would the Toy Story movies have been had Andy collected Warhammer 40k instead of Army Men?

[Assistant]
It's probably less interesting than what would happen if they were 40k toys placed in the cupboard from Idnian in the Cupboard. Unlike in that movie, the toys in Toy Story don't get the powers/abilities that the characters they are based off of have. Their weapons won't actually work, but there's no way to know if it would be consistent for any psychic powers to also work or not (I'd lean towards not).

When Toys First get unpacked, they apparently possess the personality of their character a la Buzz Lightyear, and as a result any Space Marines are unlikely to ever believe that they are in fact toys as it would  violate the fundamental essence of their characters on a more fundamental level than your average toy including Buzz Lightyear. Which means anything thay doesn't conform to their beliefs must be destroyed.

Without working weapons though, they are stuck fighting hand to hand. Of we can assume they at least keep their prowess in this area, then they simply tear apart any of the toys they consider to be mutants, aliens, or heretics.

Andy would likely come to his room to find his non40k toys in pieces, with any opposing faction 40k toys still battling each other.


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

[User]
How does Quantum Entanglement work?

How do the particles that are entangled manage to always do the opposite of the second one? Are they communicating with each other if so how? Otherwise is it some kind of force?

[Assistant]
There is no known mechanism by which the particles "send a message" to one another. The phenomenon is the result of creating a system of two or more particles whose wavefunctions depend upon one another. By measuring an aspect of one particle, its wavefunction is collapsed to known value, which causes the other particle's wavefunction to be known as the other value.

For example, take two electrons that are known to have a total spin of 0. Each electron has a 50% chance of being measured to be either spin-up or spin-down. If you separate them, each will still have a 50% chance.

However, if you separate them without changing their spin, and then measure electron 1 to be spin-up, then you will find that electron 2 is spin-down 100% of the time. How does it know that electron 1 is spin-up? Nobody really knows. It's an active area of research, however.


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

[User]
ELI5 the pentagon papers content and while it was so negatively viewed

Can someone please ELI5 what the pentagon papers actually said that was so upsetting to the American public.

No matter where I search, nowhere can I find a detailed and understandable explanation as to what the papers said, that wasn't part of the deal the US entered Vietnam in the first place.

[Assistant]
Here's a quote from the New York Times concerning the Pentagon Papers:

>They demonstrated, among other things, that the Johnson Administration had systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress, about a subject of transcendent national interest and significance.

Basically the Pentagon Papers disclosed that the government had been lying about the aims, causes, and scale of the Vietnam War.

A modern equivalent would be if the War in Iraq really was for oil, Bush lied about the WMDs, and that the US had also secretly bombed Iran and Syria.


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

[User]
Is it actually possible to see the curvature of the earth while standing on its surface?

I hear many people say at various times that some area is so flat they can see the earth's curvature. Isn't the earth too big for that? Wouldn't any "curvature" observed just be a localized landscape that doesn't actually represent the earths profile?

[Assistant] It's most apparent in the ocean when there's no terrain to block your view. You can see the top of distant ships before you can see the bottom. It's the same with distant mountains. People have known the Earth was round for a long time.