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

[User]
[Toy Story] If a toy has dead batteries can it still work when people aren't watching? If so, does it mean a toy with dead batteries fakes not working when a kid is trying to play with it?

Maybe a toy with depleted batteries will fake not working but might allow the kids to play with it a little bit as if the batteries had a tiny bit of power left in them, like when a tv remote's batteries are dead and you turn them a little bit in the remote and it seems to allow whatever is left in it to be used. I've seen remote controls with dead batteries work for weeks doing this trick. Could be a way for a toy to cheat the rules if it truly wants to be played with and not forgotten.

[Assistant]
Even with dead batteries, a toy is still "alive," it would just lack the ability to do things that require batteries.

Examples:

Buzz Lightyear's wing lights, laser, and automatic recorded voice buttons wouldn't work.

RC 's remote wouldn't work. He'd perhaps be able to move around slowly.

Mr. Spell would probably be mute and unable to show words on his screen.


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

[User]
[ELI5] How come people with a stutter can sing perfect?

How come people with some type of vocal impairment or stutter or even people with autism can sing perfectly.

\*EDIT Wow guys I have a lot to read and something on Netflix to watch thanks for all the Info.

[Assistant] It uses a different part of the brain. Music as compared to straight speech. If you have Netflix, there is an excellent episode of "Explained" that talks about this. It highlights how people with serious brain injuries who are receiving speech therapy sing. People who basically cannot speak more than a few words can sing entire songs.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are "big guns" like the Death Stars and Starkiller Base the only way to destroy planets or are there other/better methods that could be used?

It's pretty clear that the superweapons created by the Empire and First Order are primarily *weapons of terror* as opposed to *weapons of war*.

That's not to say that they don't do the job but they were clearly designed to inspire fear by their size and massive scale of destruction.

But let's say that the Empire decided to take a utilitarian approach when it came to planet killing - is there a better way to acheive this goal or is the "Death Star" approach truly the *best* method available given their capabilities and technology?

[Assistant] Planetary bombardment by Star Destroyers can completely eliminate all life on a planet within days or even hours, though it doesn't destroy the planet itself. It also takes a sizable fleet, but was the standard method before the Death Star.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does the body decide when to send blood to a person's genitals?

What process increases that blood flow? Why does it happen randomly when I'm learning about mass-damper-spring systems?

[Assistant]
There is always blood flow otherwise the cells there would die. An erection occurs when blood is restricted from leaving so it backs up in the genitals. Vessels leading in expand to increase blood flow while those leading out constrict.

Why this happens without stimulation can just be due to normal fluctuations in testosterone, and is seen as normal healthy activity of the reproductive system. That or those mass dampers are particularly attractive today.


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

[User]
[MCU] Outcome 6,783,951: Dr Strange tries to convince Thanos of the flawed logic of his plan and suggests improvements.

What happened in the outcome where Dr. Strange actually uses logic to address the motivating behind Thanos concerns of overpopulation. Before the fight on titan, Thanos says:

T: "And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."

S: "Genocide."

T: "But at random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike."

At this point, strange notes that while not judging on a arbitrary basis like wealth is indeed fair, it would be unfair to be completely random. For instance, it would be more fair to inject some sort of weighting system to account for the length of a person's life. It wouldn't be fair to kill infant's at the same rate as 80-year olds, if individual utility is really the goal.

Strange then also notes that a snap that killed half the population in such a way, truly killing a random half, would leave important supply chains in chaos, killing off far more people from the resulting famine and mechanical failures than biasing the killing away from those who operated those things.

Finally, he tells Thanos that such a snap would only be effective for a short time. Global populations took 123 years to grow from 1bn to 2bn, from 2-3bn it took only 33 years, 3-4bn only 14 years. If he were to only snap once, the human population would be likely to return to its current level in less than 60 years. What Thanos is really fighting is the growth rate, not the current number.

Strange then offers a compromise. They agree on a number, and once a year Thanos triggers the stones to kill off anyone above the given age. Once the population falls to an acceptable level, they reassess and increase the age as possible to prevent runaway growth. This way, everyone (short of accidents and disease) gets to live a long(ish) life and enjoy the benefits of a less populated planet.

Would Thanos go for this? Would he even consider it? What if this was the best possible outcome Strange saw; would the rest of the avengers on titan agree to it? Was Thanos truly just an indomitable will with flawed logic?

[Assistant]
No.

For all of Thanoss talk, at the end of the day hes doing this because he wants to prove he was right on Titan. That if his idea was implemented, his people could have survived, and he wouldnt be the last of his kind.

Hes not the Reasonable, Comprising Titan-hes the *Mad* Titan, because he has the arrogance, drive, and genuine desire to *eliminate half of all life*. There is no composing with him, no reasoning, no counteroffer-just what he wants, and what he will do to get it.


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

[User] Is the speed of gravity slower in a medium?

[Assistant] In the weak field limit, gravitational waves behave in a very similar fashion to electromagnetic waves. In fact the mathematics is nearly identical and if we consider a medium of point mass oscillators (say a thin gas because the math is easier) we can calculate what the "refractive index" of gravitational waves in a medium and the accompanying dispersion relation. Thus, while the the effect is small, gravitational waves can slow down in the same way light slows down in glass or water.


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

[User]
Are there any practical uses for astrophysics?

Or it is only science for science, without any real world applications?

[Assistant]
There are some real-world applications that have come out of astronomy. Communication satellites are pretty obvious. GPS wouldn't work if we didn't take relativity into account. But there are other indirect advancements - digital cameras got a big boost from developing fancy telescopes.

But yeah, mostly it's more of a philosophical thing: knowing our place in the universe, understanding where we came from and what will happen in the future. If we live in a solar system, in a galaxy, in a universe, then it's probably worth knowing what those things *are* exactly...


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we recognize that mirrors are "silver" when they appear to be the exact same color as what they are reflecting?

It seems like they would have no color in our minds, like water, but when I think of a mirror it's silver.

[Assistant]
Not all mirrors are perfectly reflective, and things can be done to a mirror to make it less reflective (like fogging, smudging, etc).

If you look at something like the side of a butter knife, you can see that it has a color, despite also reflecting the world around it.  If you polish the side of that knife enough, eventually you'd get a usable mirror.

Common household mirrors are a thin layout of silver on the back of a pane of glass, so their color when less than perfectly reflective is the same as the color of unpolished silver.

*edit:* as had been pointed out, modern mirrors use aluminum, since it is almost as good but a lot cheaper.  Still, the language evolved in a time when aluminum was less common.


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

[User]
[MCU] Do other relams have "tech" like bifrost bridge ?

Specifically Nine Relams.

[Assistant]
It really depends on how "like" you're looking for.

We still don't have a clear answer for where sling rings come from, do they count?

The Guardians (and presumably most interstellar craft) use some form of portals/warp points for quick space travel

In *Thor: Love and Thunder* we see that >!Zeus' lightning has the ability to transport people great distances.!< That's probably the most Asgardian-esque "tech" that we've seen so far.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we represent molecular structures as beautiful alveolus-like schemas and do they actually look like that ?

[Assistant]
On that scale, to say that something "looks" like anything is incorrect. We're dealing with objects smaller than the wavelengths of visible light, so they don't have color the way we think of it. Furthermore, they don't really have a shape either, as objects behave like fuzzy clouds of here's-where-it-might-be rather than solid "things" at that scale. Chemical bonds definitely don't take the form of sticks connecting spheres either, they're just electron clouds getting comfortable with each other.

However, the electron clouds are, roughly, spherical, when all is said and done, and these spheres do appear to be sticking together when we manage to image them individually. Any image of something that small is going to be a metaphor at best, but the metaphor isn't a bad one.


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

[User] Is it likely that dinosaurs walked like modern day pigeons, with a back and forth motion of their head?

[Assistant]
It seems unlikely. Pigeons (and chickens) move that way to stabilize their vision. It's really only useful for creatures with a small head-and-neck mass capable of movement fast enough to blur vision otherwise; most other animals use other compensatory systems. (Humans, for example, have auto-tracking eyeballs.)

Dinosaurs, with more body (and head) mass, and thus somewhat smoother movements, would be more likely to use vision stabilization systems common to larger animals.


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

[User]
What is the area of a square when .5 is the length of each side?

.5 x .5 = .25. How can the total area be less than one of the sides?

[Assistant]
Draw a square that is 1 by 1, area 1 unit.

Sub-divide it into 4 equal squares.  Each of those smaller squares has a side of 0.5, half the big square.  There are four of them, so each smaller square has an area of 1/4 or 0.25.

Why can't the numerical value of the area be less than the numerical value of the side?


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

[User] [Stargate SG-1] - In season 1 it's mentioned that it costs 7 billion per annum to run the Stargate program. How on earth (and other planets) does it costs so much?

[Assistant]
It takes a small fortune to maintain an underground base with 28 floors filled with cutting edge equipment which has its own water reservoir and can be self-sufficient for prolonged periods of time. It houses thousands of soldiers, scientists, technicians and all sorts of support personnel who work around the clock every day.

And all this was before they started building off-world outposts and developing experimental weapons and technologies.


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

[User] ELI5:How will stricter gun laws prevent shootings in the US?

[Assistant]
Ooohh boy. Doozy of a question.

To answer it specifically: According to gun control advocates, making guns harder to purchase or more strictly regulating specific types of firearms will make it harder for the criminally-inclined to obtain and use them in the commission of crimes.

The honest truth is that it is a century too late for these kinds of rules to have any kind of immediate effect. There are so many privately owned guns- both legal and illegal- already in existence, this would not have much immediate effect on gun crime, especially considering that guns have a shelf-life of 200+ years. They don't expire. The millions of guns out there are still going to be out there even if all gun ownership was banned outright today. In effect, strict gun control laws today would have zero effect on the millions of already-existing guns out there while largely preventing law-abiding people from purchasing them. Super-strict, UK or East Asian-style gun control *can* work, but it has to be implemented wholly and relatively early in a nation's development. The cat's out of the bag here in the US in 2015.


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

[User]
Intuitive explaination on why colinearity blows up the standard errors of the regression coefficients

In Linear Regression, why does colinearity (or multicolinearity) increase the standard error of the coefficients' estimators ? Mathematically it is because of the Variance Inflation Factor, I know this, but intuitively, without the maths, why ?

[Assistant] The job of regression is to identify the independent contributions of each predictor on the outcome variable. Correlation among predictors makes it hard to distinguish each contribution. That difficulty leads to the inflated variance of the coefficient estimates.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is volcanic soil so fertile?

[Assistant]
The lava that comes out of a volcano is full of minerals containing phosphorus, potassium, etc. The things that plants need to grow.

As the lava rock gets broken down and mixed with organic material, it creates a nutritious soil for plants.

Over time, nutrients get washed or blown away by rain and wind, returning nutrients to the sea or other areas. The soil becomes less fertile as the nutrients are lost.


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

[User]
[It/Harry Potter] Would Pennywise and a Boggart approach their "performances" differently from each other?

An example to explain what I mean:

Bob is a boy who just saw *Jurassic Park* for the first time recently, and now he's afraid that a Velociraptor is going to eat him. He's so terrified, that he sleeps with the light on and asks his parents to check the closet and under the bed for raptors.

Imagine that Bob is unlucky enough to encounter a Boggart, and then, the next day, Pennywise locates him.

I assume that they would both take the form of a *Jurassic Park*-style raptor, but would their "performances" be distinguishable from each other? Would they basically act the same while in dino-form, or does Pennywise have additional dramatic flourishes that a Boggart wouldn't bother with?

[Assistant]
A Boggart is not truly alive or intelligent.  It's a non-being, and it's in its nature to take the form of a viewer's worst fear, but it doesn't do so out of malice or aggression.  Therefore, a Boggart would likely take the form of a velociraptor, and would exhibit behaviors typical of a raptor from Jurassic Park (hissing, growling, tapping its claw on the floor, etc), but it wouldn't go out of its way to scare little Bobby.

Pennywise, on the other hand, is absolutely alive, intelligent, and full of malice.  He would do everything in his power to scare the crap out of Bobby, so as to make him a tastier meal.  Pennywise would transform into a raptor, but there would likely be additional unnerving features to terrify Bobby: oversized claws and teeth, the ability to talk, the ability to do supernatural things such as walk on the ceiling or spit fire, etc.  And, of course, Pennyraptor would have no problem pouncing on Bobby and devouring the flesh off his bones.


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

[User]
[Robocop] Why wasnt the ED-209 marketed to the military from the beginning?

One of the things Dick Jones states during the ED-209s demonstration is the military applications are limitless and when he confronts Morton in the bathroom, he seems much more interested in military contracts that OCP already has or plan on having. Why didnt they just sell the ED-209 to the military instead of the police?

[Assistant] OCP already had military contracts for other projects, so I'd assume that Jones wanted to make it a military droid but was forced to work on a law enforcement project instead. Or he showed it to the military and they balked at it for being too expensive - the army prefers to go for cheaper products to save money.


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

[User] [TF2] I just got this nifty new rocket launcher. It can't hold quite as much ammo, but when I hit someone it patches me right up! Wait a second- How does it do that, anyway?

[Assistant]
See, we here mat Mann Co. just read a book about psychology, behavior, and positive reinforcement, so we went about designing a system that implements this on the battlefield. Simple really.

The reason you can't load a fourth rocket is because that space is occupied by a miniature dispenser if you will, albeit one that only dispenses health. But Mann Co. engineers didn't want to just waste all that health on useless soldiers that never do any damage to the enemy! So they used the hit detector already in place on the rockets (those detectors are what plays the hit sound) and programmed the dispenser only to give out health when the soldier actually does something good.

Positive reinforcement for actions in the form of mini health boosts. Psychology at its finest!


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

[User] ELI5: If sound travels better through water, why is it always quiet under water ?

[Assistant]
Sound travels 5x faster in water.

Above-ground noises are significantly attenuated when they cross the air-water barrier. So every sound originating above water is muted.  Underwater sources aren't affected by this.

However, making noise underwater requires more energy per dB, because water is 1000x as dense.   You need to vibrate 1000x the mass, which is ~~30dB~~ *60dB* (darn convention changes) of attenuation.  Our ears also judge sound logarithmically, where each 10dB sounds about 2x as loud.  So equal sound sources at equal distances underwater sound about ~~32x~~ *64x* as quiet.

Additionally, you'll kind of feel muffled, not just from the drop in volume, but because the sound doesn't seem to come from any direction.   Our brains are very well trained to find the direction of a sound source by the difference in time of arrival between our ears. That tells us left, right, or center, and the shape of our ears and face blocking sound from certain directions helps us judge forward/backward and up/down by subtle differences in volume.

Sound traveling 5x as fast makes the time delay only 1/5 as long. And since the volume is already significantly attenuated, we have trouble judging forward/backward from the small difference in volume caused by the shape of our ears. So everything sounds like it's coming from right in front of us, or on top of us.

**TL;DR** Sound under water is ~60x quieter, and it's really hard to tell where it's coming from. Hence the claustrophobic, near-deaf feeling you get like you're walking past one of those anti-echo fabric boards in an auditorium.


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

[User]
CMV: The special ed kid at our school should be allowed to ask someone to prom

Brief backstory first.

So basically, the special ed kid came to school with a posterboard, and said that he was going to make a promposal sign for one of the popular girls at school. One student, who has often acted as kind of his shepard, took the posterboard from him and hid it so that he couldn't ask the girl to prom. I believe that she thought that she was acting in his best interests since it was almost certain that she would say no.

My friend and I thought this was wrong of her to do, since we believed that he should be allowed to ask who he wishes, so we took the posterboard and went to give it back to the kid. On the way to give it to him, we were stopped by the Pre-calculus teacher, who told us (very firmly) to put the posterboard back or she would call our mothers. I am unsure of whether she thought we were trying to be funny, or whether she knew the full situation. We returned the posterboard to its hiding place, but were rather upset about it.

So our belief is that this was wrong, because he should be allowed the same rights as other students. Sheltering him from every negative thing is counteractive to him becoming independent after high school, and will just do more damage in the long run.

However, I can also see the other point of view. The kid is very easily upset, and can become angry. This has been shown in the past when other girls have rejected his advances. He can also be somewhat creepy to girls, following them around and getting uncomfortably close.

So what do you guys think about this? Again, I am leaning toward the opinion that he should be allowed to ask the girl, but I would be interested in hearing arguments for either side.

**Edit: I got a lot of really wonderful, thought-provoking responses, and thank you to all of you! There have been some recent developments, but I am not 100% sure of anything so I will update and respond tomorrow when I have all the details.**

[Assistant]
I was with you until you started saying how he gas gotten upset (obviously so much so that it is a known thing) and that he's made girls uncomfortable in such a way that that too is a known thing.

It sounds to me like the person who took the poster away *was* treating them like anyone else with that history with no regard for his "special needs", whatever they may be.

Lastly, is it possible that the person who took the poster away knows for a fact that the person who would be asked would say no? (Or want to say no, but worse would say yes out of pity and public humility by turning down a disabled kid?)

In that way, the special need's kid vitriol would be pointed at the person who took the sign away, and not the innocent girl who just didn't want to go to Prom with him.


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

[User] ELI5 When I trip while holding a glass of water in my hand - why is my brain focused on not spilling or dropping the glass instead of on protecting my body?

[Assistant]
Coming from an armchair scientist...

We've been trained since we were little kids that making a mess is a big no-no. Over time, we'll have become comfortable enough with our bodies that our reflexes will take care of protecting the body during a fall, and depending on the state of mind of the individual, they can use any remaining focus to take care of the second most important thing (falling glass) so as not to make a mess.


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

[User]
CMV: The riots are the only reason anything is being done about police brutality

Riots suck, but I think the people who say theyre hurting the BLM cause are wrong. It seems obvious to me that the riots are the only reason anything is being done to address police brutality at all.

Remember that it took them a week to file charges against Derek Chauvin WHILE we had nationwide riots. Does anyone really think they would have done anything if protestors were just having an easily-ignorable silent prayer vigil or something? Chauvin would be on the force today, receiving a medal for his heroism.

It would be great if we could trust the authorities to pursue justice just because its the right thing to do. But in the real world, they wont act unless they have no choice. If theres not a fire to put out (maybe literally), why would they care?

[Assistant]
> It seems obvious to me that the riots are the only reason anything is being done to address police brutality at all.

It is not obvious to me at all.

We can look at a bunch of time in history when things changes without riots.


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

[User]
CMV:life holds no meaning. I'm a Nihilist and I don't care about much of anything anymore.

If the universe is temporally finite (Google heat death of the universe) then everything will end and ultimately there is no point.

Alternatively if the universe is temporarily infinite and without end what is the endgoal for mankind?

Meaning when you consider infinite time to advance to higher and higher levels of consciousness eventually possibly becoming immortal then wouldn't you eventually become utterly anhedonic because you've already done and seen everything you want and even everything you don't want to

Wouldn't you just be permanently bored and if you transcend boredom then what motivates you to live? The only reason to live is to breed to continue the bloodline but if you can't die there's no need for that and if you can't die there's no need to eat anymore so really the only thing to live for would be to search for entertainment to stave off boredom if you don't feel boredom anymore why wouldn't you just sit contentedly somewhere doing nothing for all eternity? Just never ending joy. Even writing this I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that even without boredom I can't help picturing being content but then growing bored of contentment I just can't picture never being bored and always feeling happy. I literally can't even picture it.

TLDR: Depression is a CUNT.

[Assistant]
Why tie your value to the universe's eternity or non-eternity, which, ffs, has nothing to do with you and you nothing to do with it?

Instead, raise your hand. Lower your hand. Raise it...lower it...or do the opposite or neither, you choose. That's *your* hand, and your power, and no one else's. *That's* the source of value, of meaning and things having a point.


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

[User]
CMV: boneless wings are just chicken nuggets.

chickens have bones in their wings so therefore chicken wings should be served with the bones still intact. chicken nuggets are just clumps of chicken, without bones, and are not classified as wings. boneless wings are just chicken nuggets, in all senses. boneless wings are referred to as boneless wings so adults will be more open to eating chicken nuggets. chicken nuggets are seen as a childish meal so boneless wings are essentially a term used to trick individuals into purchasing overpriced chicken nuggets.

[Assistant]
The main difference is, when prepared properly, a boneless wing is just the wing with the bone pulled out, but the flesh intact, whereas a nugget has not only been de-boned, but also ground and shaped.

A boneless steak is not a hamburger, and vice-versa.

In conclusion, nuggets are made of chicken-burger, (ground chicken), and boneless wings are exactly that, boneless wings.


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

[User] ELI5: When someone gets hit in the testicles, why is there a extreme nauseous feeling in the stomach and how are the two correlated?

[Assistant]
The testicles are formed in the abdomen where the ovaries are in a woman. They usually descend to where they normally are by the time an infant is 9 months old.

The testicles still have nerves that are linked to the abdomen where they were originally formed. Therefore, contact with them causes the feelings in your stomach.


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

[User]
[Finding Nemo] With many fish needing to eat other fish to survive, what is the culture like of the Great Barrier Reef?

Interesting things to keep in mind:

* The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has at least one school, though whether this is private or funded by taxfish dollars is not stated.

* We never see or hear of any form of currency, nor of any places in which to trade for food, goods, services, etc. However, Marlin and his wife obtained their house in some way (battle to the death?), so such a system might be present.

* Grouper, the fish that Marlin bumps into when searching for his recently-kidnapped son at the Dropoff, tend to eat "fish, sharks, juvenile sea turtles and crustaceans, including spiny lobster and mud crabs".

* The high number of children that Marlin and his wife would have had, provided that she lived, typically would not survive in the ocean.

* If there is a government, we see none (or very little) of it.

* There are no stores or careers ever mentioned in the GBR. The only career we've seen is Mr. Ray being a schoolteacher.

* Dory can read English, indicating that there is likely some college/institution for fish who wish to further their education. Additionally, Marlin's basic familiarity with "reading" reveals that translating characters into words is not a closely-guarded secret

* For the higher sort of institution described above to form, there is likely some form of written language for fish.

I'm guessing that these fish either live in an anarchy, or is an extreme caste system of some sort.

[Assistant]
Based on what we know from Finding Dory:
Dory was born in a human research institute which would explain where she learned English.

I believe that the "You can read?" comment from Marlin was just the most easily understood translation of "Blurbblupprbb" which would be most accurately translated as "You are able to gain information from the seemingly random marking that are found on these types of things?"


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

[User] [Marvel] Can Captain America (Steve Rogers) contract HIV? Would it lead to AIDS and if so, would it kill him?

[Assistant] While a odd question, Steve Rogers can get sick and die, the super soldier serum enhances his natural Resistances and human abilities but they are just that, enhancements, not immunities. An example of this is when he gets infected with the zombie virus in Earth 2149.


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

[User]
[Marvel] What is the the smallest sin a person could get burned by Ghost Rider's Pennance stare?

I know it only burns sinners and the wicked, but exactly how wicked do you have to be to burned?

It says in the bible that all have sinned before god so shouldn't the stare at least lightly singe everyone?

[Assistant] The penance stare varies between depictions.  In nearly every version it magnifies the pain and sin of the sinner several times over to burn them. Depending on the version depicted every single mortal person is vulnerable to the stares effect but it depends on whether on not the sins committed are in the big category of harming others and malicious in nature.  Stealing a candy bar may get you a bad burn and feeling awful for awhile but cheating on your wife or murdering someone will sear your soul and definitely kill you. Ghost rider is pretty judicious in his use of the stare saving it only for truly wretched people but in some depictions he's used it and conventional methods to kill everyone on earth.


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

[User]
Do different types of alcoholic beverages really induce different types of drunkenness?

I often hear things like "wine makes horny", "beer makes mates out of worst enemies", "vodka makes aggressive" and so on. Is there any truth to this principle?

[Assistant] Ethanol is ethanol, however there are other factors, what accompanies the booze, and the human factor. A lot of drinks have traditions and customs associated with them. Few people sip tequila, and probably even fewer take shots of $150 a bottle scotch.


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

[User]
Will bacteria consume aspartame? And if not, is it better for your teeth/breath?

Likewise, do foods containing aspartame resist rot longer than the same foods containing sugar? I know that it's one of the most-tested food substances out there, but my google-fu has failed me on this topic, and I've been wondering about it for a while. I know how it behaves in the human body, but not in bacteria. Apologies if this is something easily searched, I just haven't found it.

[Assistant] Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, is actually used as a sweetener for candy and chewing gum in Japan and (IIRC) Finland because, in addition to being low-calorie, it has anti-bacterial properties  oral bacteria attempt to consume it but are unable to metabolize it, and die.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why didn't Thanos send any of his children to keep an eye on Loki during the invasion of New York?

So in GotG, an incident involving a single infinity stone requires Thanos sends 2 of his most trusted spies and children to keep a close eye on Ronan who has notoriously bad temper. Thats fair enough, theres only 6 of these in all the universe and Thanos really dosent want to fuck this one up.

But in Avengers 1, gambling the only stone you own to gain a second (possibly a third if he knows about the time stone), particularly to the motherfucking God of Trickery of all people dosen't warrant such supervision?

Considering Loki was much easier to intimidate than Ronan, having one or more of his children present would serve as an effective reminder to Loki not to try anything stupid like undermine Thanos or >!escape with the one stone that lets you teleport to anywhere and escape as far from Thanos as possible!<

Why did Loki seem entirely unsupervised aside from the hordes of Chitauri wheras Ronan has Thanos' immediate (adopted) family involved?

[Assistant]
Probably because he knew Loki didnt want the stone, he wanted Earth, which Thanos would be fine to turn over to Loki after a culling. He didnt think Loki needed oversight because he underestimated Earths/humanitys ability to defend itself. If Loki got out of hand, he could easily turn his children and the Chitauri on him.

Ronan, on the other hand, did not just want Xandar. He wanted absolute power for the Kree. Far more likely to betray Thanos, because while Loki is slippery, Ronan is mad.

Plus, GOTG takes place after Avengers, so arguably Thanos learned from the Loki experiment never to play a game like that again without sending his children as insurance.


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

[User] ELIF how the square root function of a calculator works.

[Assistant]
There are methods (called algorithms) to do it. The most famous algorithm was known even to Babylonians (and it's very similar to the method Newton invented).

Imagine you want to find out the square root of 3.

1. Pick a random number (near to the value you expect). Call it x0. (I choose x0 = 1)

2. Then, find the average between x0 and 3/x0, that's 2 ( = (1 + 3/1)/2). Call your result x1. (x1 = 2)

3. Do the average between x1 and 3/x1. Call the result x2. Continue until you're satisfied with the result. (x2 = 1.75, x3 = (x2+3/x2)/2 = 1.723, x4 = (x3 + 3/x3)/2, etc).

The Square root of 3 is something like 1.7320.


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

[User]
CMV: One should feel more compelled to criticize their own political party rather than the opposing party

I classify as a Democrat. However, I criticize Democrats more than I do Republicans. At times, I actually feel inclined to defend Republicans from the criticisms of Democrats.

I feel this way because I feel that raising awareness for the problems involving the Democratic Party will over time encourage the individuals who make up the party to improve. I believe that outwardly making these criticisms is a way to keep my political party in check.

The Democrat's relentless criticisms of the Republican Party in the form of condescension, exaggeration, and misrepresentation is something that I criticize extensively. I believe that the parties differ due to distinct values arising from differing backgrounds; they don't differ because of any differences in moral character (speaking in terms of the Parties as a whole). I can't relate to Republicans, but I also don't feel inclined to challenge their beliefs because that reflects an entire lifetime of specific and distinct life experience. I believe that hubris on the part of the Democrats is why we lost the 2016 election. This is something about the Democratic Party I believe needs to improve, and vocalizing this concerns are steps in the direction of progress.

Criticizing the opposing party does little in terms of progress. Say someone begins a political debate with you. Will you be more inclined to listen to them if  they shared your political affiliation or had the complete opposite affiliation?

Keeping your own party in check through constructive criticisms is more impactful than trying to challenge the fundamental beliefs of people who are politically different from you.

[Assistant]
This view is one of the reasons the Democrats lose to the Republicans so much. Republicans fall in line and vote as a block, where as Democrats don't fall in line and vote together as much as the Republicans do. Instead Democrats fight among ourselves and publicly criticize our own candidates.

If you're playing defense, then you can't perfect your form. You're just too busy trying to stay alive and fight for your life. Once you have a cushioned lead, *that's* when you can work on perfecting your form. The Democrats are constantly playing defense just trying to stay alive and so they have no time to perfect their form and debate the nuances between the various Democratic positions.

If we want Democrats to have the ability to debate among themselves, we need to give them a comfortable lead politically in the nation. We do that by voting together in a block for Democrats - and not getting into public fights and critiquing Democrats running for office because they aren't 100% perfect with our ideals.

Once Democrats are in office more and have more power, they will produce more. This will cause more people to vote because people would rather vote *for* something rather than *against* something, and seeing the results that the Democrats can produce will cause more people to vote *for* more results like that. And from there we can debate among ourselves about the very best way to progress forward and the very best platforms and candidates.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do glowsticks crack when you bend them?

[Assistant] There are two chemicals in a glow stick. One of the two is isolated within another, smaller container inside the main glow stick. The cracking is that container breaking, allowing the two chemicals to mix. When they do mix, they release a glowing light.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some vehicles (certain busses, semi trucks, etc) have completely flat front ends? Isn't this the last aerodynamic shape possible without getting concave?

[Assistant] A lot of vehicles prioritize length and internal volume over aerodynamics. A bus operator for example wants to be able to fit the maximum number of people in his buses, while still staying under the total allowable length for a bus.


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

[User]
Why does rain (appear to) fall non-uniformly?

When driving through extemely heavy rainfall, I noticed that rain appears to have roughly coherent torrents (or "streaks") of higher density (on the scale of meters). Why is that? Is it an optical illusion? The nature of pseudo-randomness (but then why would the "period" be as big as a meter)? Is it some sort of "oscillation" of wind?

I don't think I've ever noticed this with regular rain, so maybe it happens only with very heavy rain? The doplets were definitely big.

[Assistant]
If you think about it, it would be weirder if rain was always completely uniform .  That would suggest there was another process monitoring and controlling the rain.

You should expect with any natural phenomenon that it will be variable.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do planes know when there's an air turbulence in front to turn on the seatbelt signs?

When there's a turbulence coming, the lights always go on a few seconds in advance. Can the pilot see the turbulence coming or is there a radar or something like that?

[Assistant]
There are multiple ways that pilots can know turbulence is coming.

Some kinds of turbulence can be seen on the radar on the plane. Sometimes pilots can see conditions that are likely to cause turbulence (like layers in the clouds). Additionally, pilots will report turbulent conditions on the radio, so at times air traffic control may provide pilots notice of upcoming turbulence.


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

[User]
If E. Coli is found in our intestines and used in various medicine, why is it harmful in food?

E. Coli has come up various times in my biology class, such as being used to create insulin treatments, and also mentioned as being found in the human intestine. So my question is why, such as the Chipotle scandal, is it considered harmful when found in food?

[Assistant]
*Escherichia coli*, usually called *E. coli*, refers to a large group of bacteria that is commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals, usually warm-blooded mammals.   E. coli is not normally found in the environment, so when there is E. coli in the water, than usually means an animal has defecated in the water or that there is human sewage present. When any E. coli is found on food, is means that someone had poop on their hands after the bathroom, or someone in the field that picked the produce pooped and it wound up on the cilantro.

Most strains of E. coli are harmless; however, some strains, such as E. coli O157:H7, can make people sick, causing severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting.  The last part, O157, refers to a bacterial chromosome, called a plasmid, that can be shared between bacteria.

All in all, E. coli makes up a huge part of your intestinal flora, but some mutated E. coli can make you sick. Any E. coli on food is indicative of feces, regardless if it will make you sick or not.


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

[User] [MCU] Who was guarding the Soul Stone before Red Skull? Did the Space Stone send him to Vormir intentionally for that purpose?

[Assistant]
Red Skull was always guarding the Soul Stone. He guarded it from the point it was placed in Vormir to the point it was retrieved. He guarded it before he was born and after he died. He guarded it while he was still on Earth.

He was always the guardian of the Stone.


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

[User]
[Star wars] in attack of the clones when yoda intervenes count dooku fighting anakin and obi wan

Dooku pulls a space pillar down onto the pair of Jedi and Yoda struggles to hold it from falling on them....why doesn't yoda simply pull the two Jedi out from under it as that would involve much less effort no?

[Assistant] In addition to it being a split second reaction, the Force relies on concentration, *especially* for more difficult tasks. It's kind of similar to the "transporter problem" in Star Trek (2009). It's much easier to lock onto one rather stable thing than to grab two moving (and living) things at once. Yoda would have had to ensured he quickly focused on grabbing both his allies with enough force (pun intended) to pull them to safety, but not *too* much to risk harming them (like Force Pulling them into a wall or crushing their bones when Force Grabbing them). Yoda has a lot of skill with the Force, true, but in that moment with barely any time to think Yoda had the choice of moving two other Jedi at once (who could have regained consciousness and freaked out, tried to shake off Yoda's Force control instinctively not knowing he's saving them, and thus led to either of them getting *more* injured), or moving one rather sturdy pillar which can be damaged and tossed around for all Yoda cares.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do Anti-Depressants have side-effects like Worsening Depression and Thoughts of Suicide when they are used to treat such problems?

[Assistant] The way it was explained to me was, usually the suicidal thoughts are something that's pre-existing but the patient was too depressed to really even consider doing anything about it. The antidepressant may give them enough get-up-and-go to make suicide seem a realistic option while not bringing them above that, or before it has the opportunity to do so.


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

[User]
How do Americans get 115V?

Well obviously from a plug socket, but I digress.

In Europe, our power is generated in 3 phase (Red, Blue, Yellow, all 120 degrees apart), and when it's transformed down to its consumer power level, the voltage across any two phases is 400V. When there is a star load, you can take power from a single phase relative to the star point, and that comes out as 230V.

How does America get 115V? Is it transformed down from 230V at some point? Is the 3-phase voltage different? Is there some other witchcraft going on?

[Assistant] most of us do get 240V to the home, as a single phase- but that phase is "split" - the transformer that supplies the house is center-tapped, that center is pinned to ground, so there's effectively a +120 and a -120.  obviously not really positive and negative since it's a/c, but they're 180 out of phase.  so some circuits get one polarity, some get the other, and if we need the full 240 (like for an air conditioner or the stove, etc) we use both.


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

[User]
The universe must have always existed.

I have a line of thinking here which I can't see how it isn't logically sound but at the same time many scientists don't believe this. Can anyone tell me if I'm wrong somewhere in my theory.

By universe here I am referring to everything in existence (in other words if there are multiple universes I am referring to them all or whatever else exists).

There two possibilities.

1. The universe always existed and was always changing.

2. The universe began at some point.

If 2 is true then the universe must have come from nothing. This defies even basic logic and makes absolutely no sense. Of course it could be true but if it is we may as well throw out all our intellect as it's clearly useless for for predicting what happened or will happen if something can come from nothing.

 So is it then not simply a fact that the universe always existed and was always changing?

 If this is true, why are there some scientists who believe the Big Bang was the actually start of everything?

[Assistant]
That sounds a lot like Parmenides.

1. Nothing can't exist, because Nothing is Nothing, lack of existence.

2. What exists, exists.

3. Nothing can't start existing because it is Nothing, and for it to suffer or cause anything, it must exist.

4. What exists can't create itself because it already exists.

5. Everything that exists has always existed.


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

[User] [Matrix] What happens in the real world when you get pregnant in the Matrix?

[Assistant]
1. Ann and Joe have sex in the matrix.

2. Matrix logs the event and sends it to central processing.

3. Central processing determines if an "impregnation" will occur.

4. If so, an egg from Ann and sperm from Joe are extracted from their real world bodies and transferred to a fetus farm.

5. Ann finds out in the matrix she is "pregnant" and the simulation proceeds as if she were.

6. If there are any complications from the real world artificial reproduction process, the matrix simulates a miscarriage.


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

[User] [Star Wars + Aliens] If a facehugger snags a Jedi/Sith, would the resulting xenomorph be a force user?

[Assistant]
Not necessarily, because the Force isn't necessarily related to genetics.

And even if there was, the xenomorphs aren't intelligent enough to actually train the ability and use it. A few species of animals in Legends had some instinctive control over the Force, so *maybe* a xenomorph from one of those might.

This is actually a topic that comes up every once in a while.


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

[User]
[Misc] How do emotions power anything?

I know this is a very broad question, but I'm just wondering if anyone can come up with an explanation that's a little more in-depth than the general "power of friendship" or "fueled by anger/fear" explanation for stuff such as Personas or the Lantern Rings, and so on. I'll take any and all answers that have some thought and seem relatively logical.

[Assistant] All humans are psychic to a lesser extent. The purported bonds of friendship causes one to link with another's psyche on an instinctual level. This gives the impression that simply having friends who trust you a lot grants a person with the ability to process, utilize, and coordinate thoughts much faster than on their own, having their comrades add their input and experience to their own. Range and results vary. Some cultures and civilizations have also figured out ways to process said energy through technology or magic. Sometimes the process is very simple and direct, but other times, the 'emotional energy' is utilized to access a different power/energy (eg: transdimensional energy, z-space, etc.) which is why we witness such a varying range of power output at times.


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

[User]
[WH40k] Would it have been better to simply let the emperor die and then try to reform the Empire before it had withered for so long?

Would it had been better to simply let the Emperor die and then have the Ultramarines attempt to re-constitute the Imperial remnants (Sans Tera which would be overrun with demons) when the Ultramarines were at their strongest, instead of the current state where the Emperor will eventually die and the Empire and almost all space marine chapters are both withered and beset by enemies on all sides.

[Assistant]
No. The emperor is the most powerful psycher in all of mankind's history. Without his influence and protection over us, there would be nothing holding back the terrible wrath of the daemon gods of chaos. Wrap travel would be impossible without his psychic divinity, and his death would instantly strand countless billions in remote corners of the universe, condemned to die at the hands of whatever beasts they come across.

Every day, a thousand souls are sacrificed that the emperor may continue to live. It would be worth it if it were a million souls being offered up daily for our god. Without him, we are lost, and the scourge before us would overwhelm us.

The emperor is no mere man. His psychic abilities are so powerful, they rival and even surpass that of the gods. Our survival is dependent on that; it is his blessing that protects us from daemons; it is his power that holds the daemon gods at bay. If he is ever lost, we are lost.


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

[User]
ELI5: Today, China's richest man lost $15 billion since his stocks crashed. Where'd that money go?

Where dat penny?

[Assistant]
It doesn't have to *go* anywhere.

Imagine if you had a painting that you purchased for $13 billionit's a very nice painting.  Other people agree that your painting is very very nice.  In fact, many people think that you got a good deal by buying it for "only" $13 billion and they make offers to buy it for $15 billion, but you're happy where you areyou want to keep the painting.

At this point you have $15 billion worth of painting.  There aren't $15 billion sitting around with your name on it, but the value of your assets includes that painting which most people agree is worth a lot.

Then one day people have a shift of opinion and decide that paintings aren't worth that much.  Suddenly nobody wants to give you anywhere close to $15 billion for the painting.  Perhaps the best offer is now $1 million1/15,000 what it had been worth.  You still have the same assets, but now your assets aren't worth as much.

Stocks work essentially the same way.  You decide that you'd rather own stocks than money, but you still get to count the stocks as part of your net worth because you own them and they're worth money.  Then one day people decide that they don't want those stocks very much and the value of the stocks crash without you ever losing any asset and without any money changing hands.  The value of the stocks is just gone.


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

[User] Do your pupils really dilate when looking at someone you find attractive?

[Assistant]
Theres a lot of things that can make your pupils dilate, but one of the most classic reasons (which also applies to looking at your crush) is excitement. If a sight can raise your heart rate, give you butterflies in your stomach, or feel like your hearts gonna burst, itll also dilate your pupils.

On the other hand, a very scary person also fits the bill, and can dilate your pupils as much as (or more than) an attractive one.


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

[User]
Why are fighter jet air intakes square?

Seems like an odd choice of shape.

[Assistant] They're not all square. Technically they are more rectangular. Some of it has to do with radar signatures and some of it has to do with airflow during supersonic flight. The F-16 does not have a rectangular or square intake.


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

[User] In astronomy, how do you know a star or galaxy is redshifted and not just red?

[Assistant]
Red shifted doesn't refer to the color of the object.

It's like the Doppler shift. The spectrum of light is determined by passing it through a spectroscope. This breaks the light up similar to a prism.

Each object has a unique spectrum based on absorption bands and emission bands.

So if an object is a second or third generation star it will have spectra of elements in addition to hydrogen and helium.

You then compare these bands to a known reference, a spectroscopic image of elements taken on earth.

The bands will be the same, however, if the image from the object is shifted towards the red, meaning it's been spread wider, the object is moving away from us.

If the bands are shifted towards the blue, the waves are compressed and the object is moving towards us.

Hope this helps!


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

[User] ELI5 - How is Costa Rica able to switch to 100% renewable energy and what energy sources in particular are they using?

[Assistant]
They are not 100% renewable, not even close. Most energy is used for transportation, which still uses fossil fuels. Much of the rest is farm machinery, also powered by fossil fuels.

100% of their electrical generation comes from renewables.

They don't have a very high demand. They have a mild climate and no heavy manufacturing to speak of. As a hilly and wet country they are able to make a great amount through hydroelectric power (over 80% of their production) and as a small and volcanically active country, geothermal power is able to make up a sizeable amount as well (15%).

Consider a country like France. They do not have significant hydroelectric or geothermal potential. They do have plenty of heavy manufacturing. They are the world's 8th largest electricity producer and world's largest exporter. Only 10% or so of production comes from fossil fuels. They are able to do this because about 80% of their generation is nuclear power.


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

[User]
What is in the vacuum of outer space?

To clarify, what exists between, for example, to planets? There's no air or other gases (in most scenarios), so what fills the empty vacuum of space? It is my understanding that a perfect vacuum, an area in which literally nothing exists, is impossible, so by extension something needs to inhabit that area. So what exists in the void of space?

[Assistant] Your understanding is what is only somewhat correct.  Space is made up of a small, very countable, number of hydrogen atoms per cubic meter and some larger number of mobile particles like neutrinos and photons, though due to their nature, they do not change the properties of the vacuum that is space.


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

[User]
ELI5: The US Health Care System.

I'm from the UK so I have used the NHS for all my medical needs. The US system baffles me but it is discussed quite regularly on reddit, can someone please explain?

[Assistant]
Doctors and hospitals are like private businesses. But most people don't pay them directly; instead the person gets "health insurance" pays medical bills. Many employers pay for their employees' health insurance, but many don't, and some people have none. Only old people and a few special groups get free health insurance from the government. Poor people often have none.

Also, often the insurance doesn't pay the whole bill, only 80% or some other portion.


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

[User] ELI5: If the Andromeda Galaxy is roughly 220,000 light years in diameter, how can we know what it actually looks like at any given moment? (since the light from the far end is 220,000 years behind the light at the closer end)

[Assistant]
Because 220,000 years is not very long in terms of the time it takes stars to move much relative to the whole galaxy. It is something like 0.1% of the rotation time of the galaxy arms. So the light from one end and the other are not off by much.

So, the farthest point is about 0.1% off of the closest point in terms of what they actually are compared to what they look like.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Does Tony Stark ever exert himself when lifting something heavy while he's wearing the Iron Man suit, and if so, why?

The Iron Man suit has vast strength, compared to human muscle. Therefore, any lifting effort that Tony puts into lifting something heavy is just a drop in the bucket, compared to what the suit is already putting out, and really it just puts Tony at risk of herniating himself. Really, if there's anything that he can't lift effortlessly while wearing the suit, then there should be no point in straining his muscles, because there's nothing more for him to add to the mix. So, why should any physical feat ever be difficult for Iron Man, when the suit's strength is the only strength that has any real impact?

[Assistant] Yes and no.  The suit works by amplifying his movements and the force required, so he can just as easily pickup anything from a paperclip to something reaching the maximum of what the suit is capable of.  However, the problem with that sort of thing is that without some sort of feedback you don't know how much force you're exerting.  You don't want to try to pick up an egg only to crush it, or shake the presidents hand and accidentally take his arm off.  To work around this, Tony incorporated a haptic feedback system into his suit which simulates how much force the suit itself is applying.  That way he knows whether he's giving something a gentle nudge or is going to send it flying.  So yes, he exerts himself, but its entirely for usability and not some sort of limitation of the suit itself.


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

[User] ELI5: How can a link to a YouTube video on reddit have 4,000+ upvotees, while YouTube says the video only has 1,000 views?

[Assistant] View counts are delayed to prevent people from figuring out what truly counts as a "view", so that it's hard to design algorithms for artificially inflating view count. Likes and dislikes are not delayed however. So in your example, the video does have at least 4,000 views, they just haven't shown up yet.


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

[User]
Wouldn't a two currency system work?

So, if you had two currencies. One with a max supply that was slowly issued with the rate of inflation decreased each year till zero, and a second with a fixed rate of inflation. The idea is the people that accumulate the first use it to borrow the second to make investments.

Would most likely be more complicated in reality with multiple lending protocols interacting with each other. Also the second currency pushes the inflation five to ten years off into the future. So, you're incentived to invest the second or buy longer duration bonds in the second to acquire above average inflation.

Wouldn't such a system work? Wouldn't the first be like gold, and the second stimulate the economy to push up the price of gold?

[Assistant]
Why would anyone buy the first one and why would it have any value?

>Also the second currency pushes the inflation five to ten years off into the future. So, you're incentived to invest the second or buy longer duration bonds in the second to acquire above average inflation.

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. How do you "acquire inflation"? How can a currency push inflation off into the future?


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

[User] [Incredibles] If you're a supervillain trying to locate Supers in hiding, where do you start? Look for patterns of people being helped by a "mysterious vigilante"? Maybe some kind of facial matching based on photos of supers compared to the general populace?

[Assistant] The weak link is most likely the government. They take an active hand in keeping the ex-heroes hidden and safe, and as with any government outfit that means paperwork. Expense reports, travel logs, mileage on government vehicles, a $7 reimbursement for a hot dog an agent paid for out-of-pocket after visiting an ex-insurance agent, all of it gets tracked. They keep all the *actual* files on the supers locked up like Fort Knox, but bet your ass that all that other bureaucratic stuff is far more accessible. You're not going to get a name that way, but if you know that Agent Phil checked out a flame-retardant suit from a warehouse in Pittsburgh, rented a car for 1 day, and then returned the suit via mail undamaged, you have a starting point.


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

[User]
[Comics] Have superheroes who are willing to kill (e.g. the Punisher) ever killed a "criminal" who was later revealed to actually be innocent?

This scenario seems like an inevitability without trials etc.

[Assistant] Not the punisher. he was once fooled into thinking he had killed someone innocent, and he was ready to end himself for it. the fact that he was immue to the penence stare also implies that he has yet to harm an innocent.


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

[User]
[DC] If Superman looks down at the ground and uses his heat vison, how far will the laser travel?

Is it gonna stop at one of the Earth's inner layers or will it go clean through to the other hemisphere?

[Assistant] It depends on how strong Superman wants it to go down honestly. Theres this popular moment in an animation (I forget which), but he used it against a mirror to shave his face so it never went through it or broke.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do athletes perform worse after they have sex or masturbate?

I mean, why do muscles get so tired after orgasms?

[Assistant]
There is no physiological basis for the belief that having sex in the days leading up to a sporting event or contest is detrimental to performance. In fact it has been suggested that sex prior to sports activity can elevate the levels of testosterone in males, which could potentially enhance their performance.

 "Sex before the big game?". Nature. June 9, 2006.

 "Sex and Sports: Should Athletes Abstain Before Big Events?". National Geographic. February 22, 2006.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Why isn't Captain America grossly backwards?

Back in the 40's segregation was tolerated, women had littler rights etc.  I feel like he is more of a rose tinted caricature of a 1940's person than a realistic representation of one.

[Assistant]
He spent most of his life as a sickly, scrawny kid.  He's had his share of discrimination, so he doesn't actively try to discriminate against others.  Especially as an Irish-American in New York, he would have grown up much more accepting of other people than your average '40's American.

That said, he sure would have experienced culture shock, but he's got a genius-level IQ and humility up the wazoo.  It wouldn't take much for him to say "Oh good, everyone's way closer to being equal now.  That's probably a plus."


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

[User] [GOT/ASOIAF] How does genetics work in this world? The Targaryen's don't have any phsyical ailments, the Lannister kids are 2/3 okay in terms of attitude and Gilly and Little Sam seem to be fine? Is it different in the books compared to the show?

[Assistant]
A few things.

It's not like incest automatically creates a toxic avenger. It only increases the chance of severe problems. And mostly if it builds up over generations.

We don't know detailed medical profiles of the characters, they could have hidden problems that we don't see on the show or would only become
revealed in their older years. Assuming the characters make it to their older years. Most don't.

Targaryens are known for having a 50/50 chance of kind of normal/batshit crazy. So there's that.


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

[User] Why are so many of Australia's native mammals marsupial?

[Assistant] Australia separated as an island before the evolution of placental mammals. This left the ancestors of modern marsupials to evolve into what we have today. Australia has no native placental mammals; the dingo was Naturalised by Aboriginals about 50000 years ago. They originated in Asia.


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

[User]
[LotR] Why does Denethor hate his son Faramir and love Boromir so much?

Denethor always seems to jump the gun to congratulate Boromir's successes, yet totally ignores anything Faramir achieves and unfairly blames him for outcomes out of his control. Why the vendetta and favouritism?

[Assistant]
There's a few big reasons for Denethor's issues with Faramir:

1. Faramir is close to Gandalf, and Denethor is convinced that Gandalf plans to restore Aragorn/Thorongil (as he was known when he served in Gondor) to his throne, which would essentially usurp Denethor's power.  So Denethor sees this as disloyalty from Faramir.

2. Faramir is more independent and free-thinking than Boromir.  Denethor is convinced that Boromir would have done "what is best for Gondor" and delivered the Ring to him, while Faramir threw away his chance to bring the Ring to his father.  Of course, this points towards Faramir's wisdom more than anything, but to the ruler of a kingdom that's teetering on the brink of destruction, it sure does look like treason.

3.  Denethor just lost his favorite son, the strongest man in Gondor, and his heir.  Now his less-favored son is all that he has left, and he's taking out his grief on Faramir.  And on top of it, Faramir was willing to take on the quest himself, but Boromir went instead, meaning that Denethor *could* have sacrificed Faramir to keep Boromir by his side.  The good person inside of him is likely disgusted by that sentiment, but the grief-stricken madman who's been influenced by Sauron sees only an opportunity that was lost.

4. Denethor's wife Findulias grew ill after Faramir's birth (possibly birth-related complications) and never recovered, dying a few years later.  By all accounts he was completely devoted to his wife and never really recovered from her loss; it's likely that he blames Faramir for killing her.

5. Sauron has been whispering in his ear through the Palantir.  And Sauron ain't known as the deceiver for nothing.  He's great at turning allies against each other and turning small grudges into full-blown hate.  Denethor, mad with grief, was especially susceptible to this manipulation.

6. Faramir is, realistically, a better leader than Boromir, and Denethor knows it and hates it.  His golden son was a born captain and a strong warrior, but he was also headstrong, close-minded, and proud to a fault.  Faramir was just as great a captain of men, but he was also thoughtful where his brother was rash, and he was open to council where Boromir would trust his own instincts.

So Faramir was at the center of a big maelstrom of issues that his father had, and he was the outlet that his father chose for all of them.  Until, of course, Denethor decided to take them out on himself instead and get a little too fire-happy.


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

[User] [STAR WARS] Why didn't Yoda and Mace Windu confront Palpatine together?

[Assistant] When Anakin told Mace Windu about Palpatine being a Sith Lord, Mace decided that it would be better to act fast.  The longer the Chancellor remained in power, the more damage he could do.  Yoda was on Kashyyyk at the time, so wasn't available to assist in the arrest.


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

[User] Is the saying 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning' true? If so, how does a red sky connect with the weather?

[Assistant]
It is sometimes true in the middle latitudes - between about 30 and 50 degrees North or South - where the winds blow mostly from west to east.

The red sky is caused by dust in the air. When there's a lot of dust in the west, where the sun sets, it indicates dry, stable air to the west, which usually doesn't include storms. Since that air is moving towards the observer along with the prevailing west-to-east winds, the weather around the observer should be fair the following day or so.

On the other hand, if there's a red sky to the east - where the sun rises - it means a fair weather system has already passed, usually followed closely by a storm system.

At low latitudes - say, Mexico - this rule is reversed.


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

[User] [Terminator] Where did Miles Dyson and other engineers of Cyberdyne think the CPU and remains of the first Terminator came from? Was there an accepted theory of it's origin? Where their clues or outright proof of its origin?

[Assistant] Typically they believed that they were supposed to be dirty engineers trying to reverse engineer government technology or another companies stolen property. They believed that once they fully understood what they were working with another team would step in as any proprietary technology was removed and told to find alternatives. Sort of like a jigsaw puzzle with large chunks missing and someone being told to draw the final picture on it with the pieces they had. Because of how corporate espionage works Dyson and his team wouldn't know if they were the dirty or clean engineers until the project was finished. But secretly the team was scared witless by the project since it was decades ahead of even the rumors of what was being developed by anyone at the time. And the way the chips code sort of wrote itself when being worked on was something that led privately to fears it was an intelligence agency design meant to destroy anyone that integrated it into their systems as a Trojan horse type trap.


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

[User] ELI5: why aren't cars protected underneath? Why aren't they enclosed in some kind of cowling or shield? Would that help to prevent damage and rust? Is there any way to enclose your car in a shield? Would it help anything?

[Assistant]
You can add an oil coating to prevent rust which can help. The issue with a cover is if water and salt slowly get under there over time they would be hard to wash off and would end up staying and causing rust just as much as if the parts were exposed. Also, there are hot parts like the exhaust that you wouldnt want to cover up to avoid too much heat staying in the car and possible fires. And it would make maintenance more difficult and expensive.

Lastly it would add to the cost of the car. If you have an old car youre probably wishing theyd done more from the factory to make it last longer. But *if you were buying a new car* would you be willing to pay more for a car that will last longer? The manufacturer only cares about selling you a new car, not how long it lasts you. Customers will demand cars that are reliable and will pay more for cars they think will last, but this has its limits.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How much of the universe did The Empire control?

I know Star Wars is set in a galaxy, rather than the entire universe, but it got me wondering how much of the universe/galaxy did the empire actually control, taking real life and there are an estimated 100 billion planets in our galaxy alone, I imagine the empire in star wars could only control a few million at most and even that many seems like too much to be under the control of one man (The Emperor).

Have other galaxies ever been explored within the Star Wars universe or is it all set in the same galaxy?

[Assistant] Star Wars in set in only one galaxy. Other galaxies aren't mentioned (atleast in canon). The region at the circumference of the galaxy is referred to as the Wild Space, beyond which no one knows what exists.


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

[User]
[Deadpool] How did Ajax know Wade's cancer was cured?

When Ajax first sees the effects of Wade's mutation, he says...
>I've cured you, Wade. Now your mutated cells can heal anything. It's attacking your cancer as fast as it can form.

How did he know that was one of the effects?  Other than his hideous appearance, there was no indication the cancer was being fought by the mutated cells, never mind accelerated healing ability...

[Assistant] Because that is one of the "standard" effects everyone gets. Improved healing. That is why they go terminal patients, Ajax doesn't have massive scarring from accidental cuts due to not feeling pain and the buyers of the soldier slaves  aren't going to spend millions if they just drop dead a week later from liver failure.


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

[User] ELI5: Waterboarding; If no water actually goes through the cloth, how come people experience drowning and how it leads to asphyxiation? Why can't a person simply KNOW that the water won't go through and breathe normally?

[Assistant]
The sense of drowning is a reflexive one, you cannot control it.

Knowing does very little. Knowing you are going to get tickled doesn't mean the tickling won't work. Knowing somebody is going to put something down your throat doesn't negate the gag reflex.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do video game cheat code devices (Action Replay / Gameshark) work?

What exactly does the device do to create a cheat code environment?

[Assistant] Games (and any software) will load elements that it needs to use into the device's memory. These cheat devices find where that piece of code lives in memory and modifies it. So basically it looks in memory for where your number of lives are stored and changes it to whatever you tell it to. In the case of setting something to unlimited the cheat device prevents the game from changing what is stored in memory.


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

[User] ELI5: If Cancer is the uncontrollable spreading of cells in your body, then what is stopping scientist from creating a drug that stops the early spreading of cancer?

[Assistant]
How do you target "uncontrollable spreading of cells in your body" without targeting "cells in your body"?

That's the #1 question of cancer treatment.  How do you kill a part of the body gone crazy, but not kill parts of the body that haven't gone crazy?
The go-to "solution" for a while has been to find ways to target the fastest-growing cells.  But that doesn't always work, and it still has side effects.  That's why people on chemo lose their hair - because the fastest-growing cells in your body, apart from cancer of course, are your hair follicles.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the Gaia Theory?

[Assistant]
Gaia Theory is simply that you can study the entire earth as if it were a single organism.  All life and non-biological substances on the planet react to each other, and evolved in such a way that they are impacted by each other.  As such, you can study large scale changed to the earth (both the biological and non-biological parts) as all part of a complex interworking system, the same way you might study one of the complex systems in humans (such as the Krebs Cycle).

At times it has be criticized because proponents have a tendency to act a little bit too much as if the Earth actually is a living organism, and it's sometimes used by people in a pseudoscience way, but there is good science around the theory.


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

[User] Why do we use 1/12 of the mass of carbon-12 to define what is the value of u, instead of the mass of hydrogen-1?

[Assistant]
H = 1 _was_ the original scale used by Dalton, but O = 16 has also been used historically as oxygen was a common lab reference material. Different countries adopted either or both scale for whatever historical or cultural reasons. However, when new isotopes of oxygen - O-17 and O-18 - were discovered, the scale is found to be slightly off, as samples of oxygen can vary in weight depending on isotopical composition. Not only that, the old scale was largely adopted by chemists, while the "pure" O-16 = 16 scale was common amongst physicists.

Because carbon-12 was already a common standard reference for mass spectrometry, it was a good compromise for everyone when IUPAC finally decide to settle on a unified scale.


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

[User] ELi5: what is that horrible painful massive 'lump' in your chest when you drink or eat something too fast?

[Assistant] Food and fluids get transported through your esophagus. Where the esophagus connnects to the stomach, a) it has to pass through an ligamentous opening in the diaphragm, which is a rather narrow passage and b) there is a sphincter muscle that is usually contracted to prevent stomach acid to flow back into the esophagus. When you swallow your food too quickly, the sphincter may need a few extra seconds to relax and let the food into the stomach. In these - usually - seconds, the food is stuck in the esophagus, which is unfortunately located right behind the heart. And your heart really dislikes something pressing against it, therefore causing that uncomfortable feeling.


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

[User]
I believe that rather than spending money on programs for the severly mentally disabled, schools should put money into programs that can help develop those who will eventually contribute to society. Please CMV

I go to a high school in the U.S that has an extensive program for those with severe mental disabilities. I'd say there are at least three seperate classrooms and about 20 people who are employed to take care of them. I think that this is a waste of money that could be used on extracurricular programs to help develop students who will eventually contribute somthing to society. Also, when I saw mentally disabled I mean students with disabilities that cause them to lack any conceivable form of communication or intelligence that allows them to contribute anything. I'm not really sure how to phrase that, but I'm thinking of anyone who falls into the very low IQ range (70-) or is completely unable to express intelligent thoughts that they may or or may not have. I do, however, understand that people with minor learning disabilities (ASD, aspergers, etc.) are not only able to contribute to society, but are sometimes incredibly intelligent.

[Assistant]
The goal of those programs is to help those with significant mental impairments function properly, so that they can also be constructive to society. Essentially, it's to help them get to that level of functionality that you describe those with less significant disabilities as having, and you suggest you don't have much of a problem with them.

Plus, *not* having these programs would be *worse* for society.

If the mentally impaired children you mention were placed in classrooms, the ability of the class to function would be compromised, due to the amount of monitoring required for the lower-functioning students. This would mess up the ability for *all* students to contribute to society, which it seems you favor. And if they simply stay at home? Then an enormous economic burden is placed on the family who must have to monitor and support such youth - possibly forever, seeing as they might not have the knowledge or skill to help mentally disabled children function well. Economic stress and possible unemployment, for families who only wish to help their mentally disabled children.


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

[User]
Why do products like eggs, milk, butter, cream cheese spoil if left out of the fridge, but once baked into a cake, can be left at room temperature for days, or even weeks?

I thought it is because once they are baked, the bacteria is destroyed. But if I cook scrambled eggs and leave them out, they will rot pretty quickly.

[Assistant]
One of the principal reasons is moisture. Generally speaking, bacteria, moulds and other microorganisms tend to reproduce very well in a wet or moist medium, and reproduce poorly in an arid one. Dry flour can be left out for months, but add a bit of sterile water to it, cover and let it sit out on the counter, and it becomes a science experiment, as all its included (and previously dormant) microflora sense the available moisture, become bioactive, begin to feast on its freshly dampened starches, and start reproducing like mad.  Likewise, consider the different results  obtained from leaving out jars of skim milk powder and liquid skim milk, or the olfactory difference between a kitchen sponge left sitting in the bottom of the sink for a few days, versus one that has been carefully wrung out and placed on an absorbent clay plant saucer after each use.

By driving out most of the water with heat, the cook creates a more challenging environment for micro-organic growth, even if the finished dish is not rendered entirely dry. Your room-temp scrambled eggs may go bad pretty quickly, but that is because at a microbial scale, they still contain oodles of moisture; the equivalent volume of dry powdered eggs will support far less bacterial growth over the exact same time period and temperature range.

 Cooked carrots, on the other hand, will spoil far more quickly than raw ones, simply because cooking has caused the fibrous cellular skeleton to collapse, and has converted the root's overall woody structure into a dense, moist mush in which newly-split off bacteria may more easily travel and spread, instead of being limited to competing with their new twin for the same microscopic wet spot within a forest of dry, insoluble fibre.

Your cake example *will* indeed go mouldy fairly quickly, if it remains nice and moist in a plastic bag of minimal volume. Anybody who goes on a rainy 3 day hike in the Pacific Northwest, only to discover how quickly blue fur will start to grow on their beef jerky, learns the importance of keeping even food that usually requires little or no refrigeration as dry as possible. After all, we don't refer to basic foodstuffs like sugar, oatmeal, cornstarch and flour as *dry* goods without a reason.

Other reasons for the slower spoilage of many cooked foods versus raw include: the high efficiency of heat at sterilizing food by killing the bacteria already contained within it, meaning more bacteria must find and colonize it before spoilage sets in with a vengeance; its denaturing effect on natural proteins; and its ability to convert starches into sugars, which at sufficient concentrations will literally suck the moisture out of any remaining bacteria via osmosis.  That's one of the reasons unrefrigerated honey simply doesn't go bad.


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

[User] ELI5: When you read that flu has killed otherwise healthy people, what are the symptoms that actually take them out? Are they drowning in lung fluid or exhaustion from coughing, or what?

[Assistant]
A few ways.  The flu can cause intense inflammation in your lungs and you can die from respiratory failure.   That's the most direct way (along with heart or organ failure, also brought on by inflammation).

But the flu can kill you by making you susceptible to other bad stuff, too, because your body is weak and slow from trying to fight off the flu.  In fact the most common way to die from the flu is to get it and then get pneumonia as a result.  that's how the elderly usually go when it happens to them.


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

[User] [Watchman] The experiment that Manhattan-ified Osterman has been replicated. There are now two beings with the powers of Doctor Manhattan. How do they interact? Could one destroy the other?

[Assistant]
The only reason Osterman came back at all was because he had the patience of a watchmaker and the brilliance of a nuclear physicist.  The only reason he became Doctor Manhattan was because he was patient enough and smart enough to pull together his constituent parts from practically *nothing*, and applied these lessons to the world around him.  Thus, the only way he could be replicated is if this second person had the same kind of patience and the same kind of brilliance; Doctor Manhattan was quite possibly the *only* person on the planet that could have pulled it off.

And if someone else could do it, all we'd have is more of the same.  They wouldn't interact much; they wouldn't see the point.

And besides, pulling himself together from total destruction was the first trick Doc learned...


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

[User] ELI5: Why can't humans hibernate?

[Assistant] Humans are a tropical species, so there's no need for us to hibernate. When we left the tropics, we just made it feel like we were still there rather than evolving to hibernate because no one wanted to die of the cold.


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

[User]
ELI5: During first contacts, why is only the native population at risk for decimation from unseen diseases and not the foreigners?

In relation to the recent saga of the American killed by North Sentinelese tribesmen, I saw this quote in an article: "There are fears 21st century diseases such as the mild common cold could kill off the tribe."

Why is it always the native population that are at risk in these situations and not the outsiders? Couldn't the North Sentinelese have a disease among them that they know to be relatively harmless but could easily kill non-natives?

[Assistant] Simply said, it is possible but because we live in much denser places and have a global exchange of pathogenes, we are more likely to carry a (deadly) disease than them. Further, we have cuttibg edge med. technologies if it comes hard on hard.


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

[User]
[Physics]Can ALL physics be represented mathematically?

Sorry for such a simple question, a quick google didn't give me what I wanted.

I have been working in computer simulation with physics engines and got to wondering, are there any psysics that don't have a definate mathematical equation to represent it?

[Assistant] Just a protip: you don't need to type "[Physics]" in your title because you can add it with the "flair" button after you post. I've gone ahead and done that for you. It'd be nice if more submitters would do this since it makes it easier for experts to home in on their questions. (Right now the moderators are just tagging most things ourselves.)


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

[User] ELI5: Why do plastic items not dry in the dishwasher as well as glass items?

[Assistant]
Not enough heat capacity.

To save energy, the dishwasher doesn't blast hot air on the dishes until all the water is gone.  Instead it heats them up to a pretty high temperature (which also sanitizes them) and then circulates air over them.

Glass and pottery store heat really well, as you've learned when you try to take them out of the microwave, and they boil the water off.  The plastic is just too light, and it doesn't store enough heat to evaporate all the water that is on it.


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

[User] ELI5: Why have male testosterone levels been dropping for the last 60 years?

[Assistant] Just from quick googling, it seems that this whole idea that testosterone levels are declining comes from a single study printed in the *Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism* in 2007. I'd caution against drawing broad conclusions--the study only sampled a small group of men in the Massachusetts area born between 1915 and 1945, and didn't even obtain a baseline sample until the 1980s. Not sure anything meaningful can be derived from this data. If there are other sources I'd be curious to see them.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why is Scarlet Witch weaker than Captain Marvel?

 Scarlet Witch seems to be much weaker than Captain Marvel. Since both of them got their powers from Infinity Stones (neither being the Power Stone), shouldn't their power level be similar? If not, why? Or is Wanda as powerful as Carol and I just didn't notice?

[Assistant]
Possibly they are similarly "powerful", but their abilities are in different areas.  Wanda can read and control minds, lock people in a "fugue state", and has extremely powerful telekinesis, including on herself to fly.

Carol is tough, can fly, and shoot energy blasts.  It's like comparing apples and oranges.

They were made differently.  Wanda was created by human technology, Carol by the catastrophic failure of Kree tech.  If they're differently powered it may be due to that.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] If a bunch of Hogwarts kids are practicing Quidditch and one of them falls off their broom, will the other students be able to catch them, or do they fall and die?

[Assistant]
It takes more than a fifty foot fall to kill a wizard.

Hell, a fifty foot fall might not kill a muggle.  On top of that, wizard healing is the tits.  Anything short of death or mental trauma can be fixed up pretty easily.


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

[User]
Why are microphones so much smaller than speakers?

How can microphones still pick up low frequency vibrations if the size of the thing inside that vibrates is smaller than the wavelength? We value larger speakers presumably because they can produce lower frequency vibrations, but we don't see huge microphones.

[Assistant]
You don't need the full length of a wave to pick it up. The physics behind it can be complicated, but basically there is a piece of metal between magnets and the flux of the metal as it move in the pressure wave creates a voltage in the magnets. This voltage can be very small, as long as it's measurable. Once it's measured you can boost it up much higher so that you get a better signal with more power.

Speakers on the other hand need to expel lots of power, the exact opposite of a microphone. The best size to transmit a wavelength with is (I think) 1/4*wave-length. Speakers which make high frequency noise (tweeters in your car) are usually very small so as to best meet the optimal size or the transmitter. Your mid's are usually a little larger than tweeters. Subwoofers are usually large; the best size for a 30Hz frequency is something like 11m. Since that's HUGE, we up the power going to the subwoofer to overcome the losses.

So speaker size depends on what type of sound you are trying to get out of it due to how they physically operate. Microphones do not really matter on their size, but their sensitivity to pressure waves. Since being very large doesn't make the microphone more sensitive it doesn't matter, while different sizes allows speakers to create more efficient (and hence louder) sounds at different frequencies.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Did the Jedi sort of screw themselves with Anakin when they berated him over his mother right from the start?

In TPM, the Jedi Council practically acts like Anakin is unreasonable and dangerous for committing the crime of missing his *mother*. That's gotta set a really bad precedent. Do you think, perhaps, had they simply argued that he would be better off with his mother, or just free to live his life with someone to watch over him, he'd have resented the Council as much as he did?

[Assistant]
The Jedi by this point have begun following a very flawed version of their own code. They belive that "there is no emotion, there is peace". This is impossible, even the greatest zen masters cannot and wouldn't hope to suppress every flicker of emotion.

An alternative version of the code exists which states "emotion yet peace". This makes much more sense, emotional control is a healthy pursuit, particularly in beings with superpowers. Emotional repression is the opposite of what you want to do.

Basically, Anakin needed firm but fair guidance, not to be ripped from the only family he knew and told that his emotions were evil.


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

[User]
I want to understand Trumps trade war on allies better

When I heard he was imposing tariffs on allies, such as Canada, I immediately just assumed that it was dumb. Then I heard they tariffs on us first and were asked to stop before Trump did what he did but that was from someone that doesnt know the situation that well. So my question is were they tariffing us first? And if they were why? How long? And on what?

Edit: thank you to everyone that has responded, I think I get it now but if there is anything that you feel was messed please go ahead and explain it.

[Assistant]
**1. The tariffs are nothing new.**

The tariffs have been around for decades, well before NAFTA. The USA aren't reacting to any new development. As such, if Trump wanted Canada to drop dairy tariffs, that could have been on the agenda when renegotiating NAFTA.

**2. The tariffs are on dairy products.**

Within NAFTA or any other free trade agreement, not all goods are duty-free. Each country sets a list of exceptions and that list is the source of much of the negotiations.

The sole example brought by Trump so far is dairy products.

**3. Supply management is the cause.**

Canada imposes the tariffs on dairy because of supply management, which has been in place since the 70s. The result is that the supply of milk becomes severely limited and that drives dairy prices up. The intent was create more stability for dairy farmers.

On the flip side, it makes Canadian milk dar more expansive than foreign milk. The system would crumble apart without protectionism.

**4. That wasn't the inital justification given.**

The US initially claimed tariffs on steel and aliminum were due to "national security." When Canada pointed out how preposterous it was deem Canada, America's closest and steadfast ally, a threat to national security, Trump then claimed it was due to dairy tariffs.

**5. Canada imposes these tariffs on everyone.**

During the CETA negotiations with the EU, a major sticking point was by how much to increase the quotas on foreign cheese. In other to protect its cheesemakers working with costlier milk, Canada limits duty-free cheese imports. As such, French cheese are more expansive in Canada than the US due to smaller supply.