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

[User]
CMV: Shakespeares writings should not be required to read in schools.

Shakespeares works are hundreds of year old. They dont even include basic English in them, its mostly hard to understand, strangely worded sentences. They are not modern English literature, so I dont think there is a reason why the modern-English-speaking generation should have any reason to read them.

Why should students have to read them? I do not think that they teach us to read better, since, again, its not the english we know and use. Many people do not find them interesting either. Even if it is rewritten in easier to understand versions for students, its not like they teach as many morals (which might be the only thing there is important in them, and even then its difficult for many people to decipher hidden messages/morals in his works), as other books. Why are students so pushed to read his stuff?

[Assistant]
I'll give you 3 reasons why Shakespeare is still worth teaching in English classes:

1. Exactly as you say, it isn't written in the same style that we speak or read today. This is a good thing. Reading Shakespeare forces you to grapple with language in a way that you are not familiar with. Often times a word will not be familiar to the reader, or will be used in an unfamiliar way. This forces the reader to think differently, use context clues, and examine what is being communicated in a different way. In turn, it gives that reader the ability to utilize language in more creative and expressive ways themselves.

2. Shakespeare's plays are, well... plays. They almost always focus on the relationships between people. There is very little description of scenery or anything like that. In reading them, students can explore these human relationships in a sort of vacuum, and can see many elements of human nature displayed front and center. Because they are written to be performed, students can also learn a lot about how the same sentence can carry many meanings depending on how an actor chooses to perform the line. This carries over into a larger lesson about the intent of language and how the speaker and listener can often interpret two entirely different meanings from the same line.

3. It is the basis for much of what we consider literature today. Literature is sort of like memes. You may be able to look at a new SpongeBob meme and understand the point, but without having seen the SpongeBob episode on which it is based, you lose some of it's value. So even though you can read a modern novel and understand the plot, you lose a whole dimension of understanding when you aren't able to identify the basis for certain characters or situations.

As a bonus, there really are some very clever lines in Shakespeare. You may not pick up on them right away, but Shakespeare often makes dirty jokes and gives his characters some really funny retorts.


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

[User] Are there any animals that we have successfully brought back from being endangered?

[Assistant]
Tons, actually in the US the endangered species act saved the alligator, bald eagle, California condor, wolves, and grizzly bear to name a few. In 1900 Buffalo were killed to the point of there only being 39 left until we started getting our shit together and protecting them in Yellowstone. Today there are over 75,000 buffalo with 60,000 on private lands and the rest on state and federal lands.

Edit: The condor is not off the endangered species list, but it is seeing a steady increase of population   every year.


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

[User] ELI5: Why did we evolve to have one dominant hand and foot instead of just being ambidextrous?

[Assistant]
Ambidexterity takes up real estate in the brain, real estate that could be used for something else.

And since there just aren't that many situations where it gives a survival advantage, evolution decided to do something better with that brain space.


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

[User]
Why does Siberia get so cold?

What factors make the weather in Northeast Siberia (Yakutia especially) so much colder than rest of the world? Temperatures seem to reach -60C (-76 F) every 2-3 years.

The area is at similiar latitude as other areas (Finland, Alaska, Canada) that don't seem to get quite so cold.

[Assistant] Being far inland, away from the moderating effect of oceans, is a contributing factor (this is why Minnesota winters are so much colder than winters in Washington state, despite being at the same latitude).


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

[User]
ELI5: in ancient times, how did people know if people truly who they declared that they were?

In terms of royal ambassadors or members of courts and parliaments, when someone asks, who goes there? or what business do you have with the lord? how do the guards or officials know whether the other person is lying or not if theyve never met them before and banners or papers and officials seals can be forged or duplicated?

[Assistant]
99% of the time, any foreign dignitary would have given weeks of advance notice before they arrived. They would be accompanied by courtiers, guards, servants, tons of luggage, chefs, and all sorts of other people and things, all of which would be marked with the correct seals and paperwork. Pretending to be a member of the royal court, or of the noble class, would be difficult in any convincing manner. It was a **big** affair.

And the receiving party would have made a great deal of preparations for them. Parties and feasts withstanding, the courtiers of the receiving party would have already learned all of the likes and dislikes of their guests, the proper introductions, manners, and all of those little formalities.

Combine that with all of those noble families actually knowing each other throughout their lives, having partied with them for years, having learned about them during their adolescence (because they absolutely couldn't be caught in a socially awkward situation, that would be a huge faux pas), and so much more.

It's not like they just threw some farmers together to receive a noble guest. It was a big deal.

**It was** possible to pretend to be some very minor, distantly related member, or even a member of some exotic court (a Jamaican prince to England during the 15th century, maybe), but you'd have to be a decent actor with some decent forgers.


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

[User]
CMV: Society would be better off without gender norms

I think there is no need for the existence of gender norms. Certain norms (at least in the United States and I expect in much of the rest of the world) like the idea that girls must play with certain toys, boys must play with other toys, like certain colors, hobbies, etc. are entirely useless. There is no need to place these norms on children or adults and I think it actually does more harm than good. People will feel like they don't fit in their "norm" and might think negatively about themselves because of it or choose not to pursue hobbies of interest.

Other norms that exist primarily later in life like the idea that the man must be the provider or leader of the family is also a silly one.

Interested in other opinions here!

[Assistant] I think its ok to have a norm as in an average, such as, on average, there are more little boys than little girls who love trains.  The trouble is when those averages get enforced on everyone, such as saying that little girls arent allowed to love trains or a boy isnt a real boy if he doesnt love trains.  You cant eliminate averages, but you can make sure that all kids (and adults) get equal opportunity to explore and express their passions.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do you see colors and distorted shapes when you have your eyes closed?

[Assistant] When you're eyes are closed, your retinas are still sensing even though they're not actually seeing anything. However, the only type of data that your brain can receive from your retinas is visual input, so the brain puts an image to what you're sensing. (You see more wild colors and images when you rub your eyes while closed, right? That's your retinas sensing changes in pressure and your brain trying to read what they're sensing.)


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How the hell did the guys firing the Death Star laser even get that job?

Was it a lottery? What do they do when they're not pulling a lever and pressing a button? Other than getting cancer because they were 10 feet away from a planet destroying laser with no protective gear or even a guardrail.

[Assistant] They were selectively chosen by Grand Moff Tarkin. They consisted of some of the more loyal soldiers to the empire and were relentlessly trained so they wouldn't hesitate to fire the canon. Iirc a guy was shot out of an airlock because he hesitated for a quarter of a second or something.


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

[User]
[SUPERMAN] Could Superman escape an event horizon or survive falling into a black hole?

This may have, at some point, been addressed in the comics over the decades but its something I've wondered for a while.

[Assistant] The reason you can't escape once you've passed the event horizon is that escape velocity would be equal to or greater than the speed of light. Superman has demonstrated the ability to fly through space faster than light on a number of occasions, so he could theoretically escape (or rather he would have his own separate event horizon based on HIS fastest speed).


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

[User] ELI5: why is it that the various bugs and flies in the garden have decimated my bean and courgette plants but never touch any of the weeds?

[Assistant] The same reason that you eat beans and courgettes instead of the weed plants. They have higher nutritional value. Not only that, they have higher nutritional value than (practically) anything found in nature, or at least in the range those bugs travel. They're the product of hundreds to thousands of years of humans selectively breeding plants to get the most out of them.


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

[User] If tomorrow everyone in the US was secretly given $1,000,000 in liquid currency without any restrictions on it's usage and under the assumption that only they had been given the money, what would happen to the economy short-term and then long-term? How would the government react?

[Assistant] It would still cause inflation. Everyone would immediately start spending their $1 million. So all the store shelves would be emptied. So all the store owners would reasonably assume that when they restock the shelves, they could charge higher prices and still sell out their inventory. Rinse and repeat everywhere with everything that is for sale. If demand goes up but supply stays the same, then prices will go up. Demand for everything goes up if everyone all of a sudden has $1 million to spend.


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

[User]
[Marvel 616] From which bridge did Gwen Stact fall off from?

So, when Spider-Man is searching for Gwen Stacy and he sees Green Goblin waving at him, he comes to the conclusion that he took her to the Washington bridge because that was Norman's favorite president, since he likes money and Washington is in the dollar bill.

That's all well and fine, but the bridge that we see on the page it's not the Washington bridge but the Brooklyn bridge, but everyone else is acting like it where the former.

So which one is it, the Washington bridge or the Brooklyn bridge?

[Assistant]
It's supposed to be the Washington Bridge.

Why it looks like the Brooklyn Bridge?

No clear in Universe answer. Maybe in the 616 Universe the Bridge we know as the Brooklyn Bridge is actually named after the first President? Or maybe the same design was used on the Washington bridge instead of the one we are familiar with.


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

[User]
Why aren't all bridges basically the same shape?

Some are arches, trapezoids, suspension, etc. I can see that for different loads you would have to have more/less superstructure, but all the railway bridges I'm passing on this train from NYC to DC are all supporting basically the same thing (me, and the train I'm in), and the lengths of the spans are not that far off. And yet, I've noticed many different types! It can't be an aesthetic decision, so what gives? Thanks, Scientists!

[Assistant] Civil engineer here. It depends on many factors which include what kind of vehicles will be traveling over it, what kind of forces it will have to sustain, what the geography is, what the climate is, what is it spanning across, what materials are going to be used, the length of the span, etc.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's in the middle of a canker sore?

There's some white stuff in the middle of a canker sore, surrounded by a dark red ring.  What's the white stuff?  A staph infection?  White blood cells?  Dead cells?  Thanks!

[Assistant] The yellow-white stuff is known as a "fibrin membrane". Fibrin is a blood protein that aids in scab formation, and it will ooze out of shallow wounds easier than red blood cells. Have you ever seen certain road rashes heal? The countless scratches can be big enough to let fibrin flow, but too small to let much whole blood out, resulting in yellow-white scabs.


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

[User]
Advice for a student starting Harvard CS50?

I'm about to embark on Harvard's CS50 course, however, I'm taking their transcript course which is basically the intensive and even more hands-on version with direct access to the instructors, etc. I'm essentially taking this as an elective course to supplement my remaining credit requisites at my own school in order to finish my degree - this is a topic that I'm really interested and becoming ever more prevalent in my field (design).

I know that their general CS50 certificate course is a really popular jumping-off point for new programmers, and I'm assuming a good share of members here will have taken, or at least dabbled in it and could offer some advice!

If not, to give you an idea of the course, the topics covered will be - Scratch, C, Arrays, Algorithms, Memory, Data Structures, Python, SQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Flask.

What advice would you offer to someone who is a total beginner to this other than dabbling with Tumblr HTML customization?

Literally anything - what you wish you did differently when you were learning any or all of the above.

What really helped you in your learning process that you were thankful to have?

Best note-taking practices?

Supplementary sites, resources, and helpful communities?

Thank you!

[Assistant] Honestly, make sure you do the work. A lot of failures or difficulties stem from people watching the video, thinking that they understand the content, and skip doing the work to move onto the next vid. The problem is there is a big difference between understanding the lecture and actual coding.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the Riemann Hypothesis and why is it important?

I hear about it all the time in different book/show references but Wikipedia wasn't helpful. Why is this problem so famous/important? Also if there is an explanation for the Riemann zeta function that would be great as well.

[Assistant] The Riemann Hypothesis is basically that there is some link between the prime numbers. As far as we know currently, the sequence of primes is totally arbitrary, but if we can find out what truly links them, then that gives immense power in mathematics. A lot of systems are based around primes, so knowing more about them could give us the key to these systems.


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

[User] ELI5: does it matter what type of toothpaste you use? And if it does how exactly do they protect against enamel erosion, sensitivity or gum disease?

[Assistant]
As long as it contains flouride, any of the major brands is fine. Extra words like cavity prevention are mostly branding.

Some contain extra chemicals to whiten your teeth. This is purely cosmetic.

Some help with sensitive teeth, which really does help if you have those.

If you don't have sensitive teeth or care about extra whitening, just pick a flavor.


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

[User]
Is it less difficult to become a professor at a smaller, less research oriented university?

I went to a small (2000 people) school for undergrad. We didnt offer PhDs and while some professors did research, many seemed to solely teach. The environment was much different than the research-focused state school where I did my PhD.

Im not that interested in continuing intensive research. I finished grad school in April and went into industry. Id like to stay here for awhile, but I loved the environment of my undergrad school and would be interested in possibly becoming a professor that focuses on teaching rather than research down the line.

Are these jobs still extremely difficult to get? Im aware how tough tenure track positions are, but Im curious if these positions are similar.

If it is relevant, my field is engineering.

Thanks!

[Assistant]
Ive served on numerous hiring committees at a teaching intensive PUI about the same size as your undergrad over the past 15 years and heres the deal: its not about being more or less difficult. Its about what kind of difficult. If you are a top researcher in an R1 PhD program with 5 tier 1 pubs and 1 semester as the instructor of record when you were ABD, you would not get hired at our institution. Thats not what we want. You can certainly come from those R1 programs, but you need to have a full teaching portfolio. Maybe one or two low tier pubs that show you know the field, but thats it.

Its not that its easy or hard, its just a different kind of hard than research track positions.


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

[User]
Can a fission explosion occur naturally?

Im currently studying nuclear physics and was wondering if its possible for a natural source of uranium 235 to have enough of that isotope to form a critical mass. I know its usually around .7% but has there ever been a case where an unusual amount formed?

[Assistant]
I am unaware of a naturally occurring fission *explosion* per se. However, we have evidence for natural sources of uranium-235 becoming critical and thus undergoing sustained fission reactions.

Specifically, there is a deposit of uranium in the Oklo Mine in Gabon. About 1.7 billion years ago, it went critical, thus allowing it to spontaneously begin a sustained series of fission reactions in tandem with groundwater that acted as a neutron moderator (these fission reactions are more likely when neutrons move slowly than extremely quickly). The uranium achieved high levels of concentration thanks to being dissolved in groundwater in the presence of oxygen on Earth, thus allowing it to be transported and concentrated due to water flow.

Due to the half-life of uranium, there are most likely no active natural fission reactors on Earth. But, the evidence we have showed that natural fission reactors can and have occurred given the right conditions.

Generically speaking, for an explosion to occur in the sense youre thinking of, you need to design an actual bomb. The heat released by the fission reaction would cause the material to expand and heat the surroundings (as what happened in Oklo), but it would be hard to believe that a warhead could occur naturally on Earth.


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

[User]
Is homosexuality more prevalent at single sex colleges?

Is there any indication that single sex colleges and universities in the United States have a higher percent of homosexual students than the general population of that gender.

[Assistant]
It might be helpful for you to specify the scope of your question. Keep in mind that at least in the US, all but three of the single-sex colleges are for women (there are exactly three  all-male colleges, not counting religious schools or schools which separate students by sex). One of those three is a historically black college in Georgia, which may skew the already small population we're talking about.

And the response to this is likely to vary across countries, simply because the educational systems are structured very differently. Even between the US and Europe, the social expectations of a college degree and settings of colleges are different.


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

[User] ELI5: why computer viruses exist, who profits from them, and how.

[Assistant]
Viruses are written by different people for different reasons.  Some will write it just because they can and they get a thrill out of causing damage.

Others will write a virus so that it can turn your machine into a 'zombie' which helps with sending out spam emails or clicking links - it is a cheap way of getting extra work machines to do your dirty work without having to pay for it.  Any money you make from the spam or link clicking is then yours.

A few may even be paid to do it, engaging in sabotage against competitors which is a form of financial gain (by causing monetary loss to their rivals).

Also keep in mind that some viruses also gather personal information from you which can be used to gain access to your bank accounts or credit card accounts.

Another one you hear sometimes is small anti-virus companies that create a virus that infects your system, which can only be removed using their product, which you must of course pay for.


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

[User]
[Donkey Kong Jr] Was Jr murdered or paid hush money to cover up Mario's past?

I dont think Jr ever appeared after he rescued his father. Now that Mario is a superstar, do you think Jr was paid off to hide that chapter in Mario's dark past, or is he sleeping with the fishies?

[Assistant]
Well he probably wasn't murdered, since DK Jr. went on to have children. The Donkey Kong from the Donkey Kong Country games is actually DK III, the son of Jr and grandson of the OG DK.

He probably just settled down after rescuing his father to raise his family.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is there still a need for a real-life person to come read gas and/or electric meters?

[Assistant]
I work in the gas industry.  For right now, our customers have meters that are read wirelessly.  We still require a human to drive down your street so that their wireless unit can be close enough to pick it up, but we don't have to go up to your meter anymore.

Prior to that, it was simply the best way to have a tamper-proof system so that the meter would read the actual amount of power/gas and be reported properly.


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

[User]
CMV: Being a doctor is a negative instead of a positive when it comes to dating

CMV: Being a doctor does not give you a leg up when it comes to dating.  There are many people who have said they would not date/marry a doctor due to unpredictable working hours, difficult personalities (big egos), and having to give up most of their aspirations due to the person's job (having to move for residency, take care of things at home, etc).

In the old days, being a doctor was considered a positive by many, but I think that is changing as priorities are changing (2 person working household, both people with career aspirations, desire for more quality time from their partner)

[Assistant]
Net negative vs. net positive really depends on the person you are trying to date.

The things you've said may be true for _some_ people, but for some people they may find the title and stable income that comes from being a doctor desirable.  If you _aren't_ a two income household, they may like the fact that a doctor is a decent, stable salary that can be depended on regardless of what happens in the broader economy.


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

[User] [Aliens] Is there anyway to protect your face from a facehugger in The Alien Movies. Like a strong helmet?

[Assistant]
Standards metal and glass won't with because the molecular acid can dissolve most things.

We know the stasis chambers can contain live facehuggers,  so whatever those were made out of could work,  assuming they don't kill the occupant.


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

[User]
[Alien (1979) film] If humans had knowledge that alien life existed prior to the events of the film, what species was it? The Engineers?

I recently rewatched the film and Ripley asks if the signal they are going to investigate is human. When they find the derelict ship and the Engineer's corpse they aren't that surprised by the discovery.

When they first encounter the Facehugger their fascinated by it but not shocked by its existence.

So in cannon, did humans already have direct contact with some primitive alien species and/or find ruins and realized E.T. life existed because of such findings?

[Assistant] The Prometheus voyage begins before Ripley is born, and so, yes, humanity does have an inkling of life existing beyond Earth.  How much of an inkling depends in part on how much data the Prometheus mission was able to send back.


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

[User]
[Marvel/MCU/DC] Would destroying an AI character violate Batman's no-kill rule?

If it came down to it, would Batman permanently put down an AI enemy, or would sufficiently advanced tech cause him to consider it taking a life?  He might be able to get away with Zola, due to him just being a rewrite of a brain onto memory banks, with the real Zola having already died.  However, Ultron, while inorganic, is fully sentient, so would Batman be able to destroy Ultron (assuming he had the means to) without breaking his no-kill policy?  How about Vision?

[Assistant]
He wouldnt flat out kill the AI if he felt it was sentient enough to feel emotion. If it can fear then he wont kill it.

Doesnt mean he wouldnt lock it in it own personal hell for infinity in a locked hard drive in his cave full of surprises.


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

[User]
ELI5: How was the Emancipation Proclamation "enforced" during the Civil War? If the South had seceded from the Union, why didn't they just ignore Lincoln and keep their slaves?

title.

[Assistant]
The Proclamation was issued at a time when the Union army was making steady gains against the South. It freed slaves in those states not yet under Union occupation--as Union troops advanced further, slaves they encountered were freed. The Proclamation was intended so that slaves would be free after the prospective Union victory, which would defuse the power of slaver owners in the South and hopefully aid reconstruction. It would also make the cause of abolition easier, though this proved unnecessary since the 13th Amendment was adopted before the reintegration of the South.

It also had a significant effect in stimulating slave escapes on the Southern plantations, since before there had been no guarantee that a slave escaping from the Confederacy would be treated as free in the Union.


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

[User] ELI5: What's the difference between All-Wheel Drive (AWD) and Four-Wheel Drive (4WD)?

[Assistant]
AWD:  Typically a "passive" system.  The driver does not have to manually engage or even think about it (though it can be engaged manually if desired, in some vehicles). In most AWD cars, front-wheel-drive is the normal mode, and the rear wheels are not driven (or are barely driven) under normal circumstances.  Only when slippage is detected at the driven wheels, does the system activate and send power to the rears (or vice-versa in a rear-wheel-drive vehicle).  AWD often uses some type of fluid-driven coupling bewteen the front and rear driveshafts (there is often no hard mechanical link, like gears and such).  There are permanent all-wheel-drive cars that use a combination of computer control and a viscous fluid system to drive all four wheels all the time, and many systems can send varying power independently to each wheel as needed,  though the vast majority of the power is still sent to the main driven wheels.  AWD has the advantage of being more flexible and allowing more road-condition versatility ( transitions from hard to soft, slippery surfaces etc).  AWD is typically used to provide more traction when needed in situations the average driver and vehicle might encounter.

4WD:  In most 4WD vehicles, power is sent to the rear wheels under normal circumstances.  If extra traction is needed, 4WD can be engaged manually by the driver, or by the system if an auto mode is available.  Enaging the system links a transfer case to the front driveshaft, sending a set portion of the engine power to the front wheels via a mechanical/gear-driven link.  In most 4WD cars, the front hubs must be locked to the system, and the system can be damaged if operated on non-slippery surfaces, as the wheels are mechanically connected into the drive system and are not able to spin at different speeds if necessary.  4WD has the advantage in true, unimproved, off-road environments.


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

[User]
Is it possible to convert heat to electricity without going through the boiling water->turbine process?

Example when a nuclear reactor heats up, can that heat be converted to electricity without water->steam->Turbine? If so how does that work?

[Assistant]
Yes, it's possible.  However, the water boiling approach is more economical.

One way to do it is with what essentially boils down to an oversized thermocouple.  You put one side next to something hot (say, your reactor) and the other side next to something cold (say, cooling water) and it produces a voltage.

I've seen this mechanism used for a small toy-sized car used in a college competition.  They took liquid nitrogen for their cold source and had some chemical reaction that got very hot for their hot source.  With this they were able to make barely enough electricity to get the car to roll on smooth level ground.


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

[User]
Official Thread: ISIS

This is the official thread for the current situation in the Middle East.

We've been getting dozens of questions for the past month or so, so let's pool all of our explanations, questions, etc. in a central location!

Thanks guys :)

[Assistant]
ISIS is an extremist group of Sunni Muslims whose stated goal is to establish a new caliphate in the Middle East.  A caliphate is an Islamic Empire, and its leader (the caliph) is said to be a successor to the prophet Mohammed.  ISIS follows a very strict, conservative interpretation of Islam, labeling all who don't comply as infidels, and promoting their deaths through jihad.

The group goes all the way back to the late 90s, when it was a smaller and less organized group.  It went through a few different names and made different countries its targets.  However, during the US invasion/occupation of Iraq, it gained a lot of traction in disputed regions, and a lot of fighters joined to fight the Americans.  It renamed itself the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), and it became well-organized.  It also gained the financial support of Al-Qaeda.

After the US troop surge in Iraq, ISI had to retreat to some of the more remote areas of Iraq, and its numbers dwindled.  However, since the US has pulled out of Iraq, lesser security and sectarian tensions have allowed it to re-flourish.

More recently, Syria began a civil war against their president, Bashar Al-Assad, in 2011.  Because Syria shares a border with Iraq, it was easy for ISI units to move into the disputed areas.  ISI had been able to recruit a great number of rebels in Syria to join its organization, as they were already willing to fight against their current government.  Renaming themselves ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), they have made incredible gains against Al-Assad's government.  However, holding so much territory (and the military assets/infrastructure within) has very nearly turned ISIS into a de-facto nation, and it has also given them the strength to better project force into Iraq.

At this time, ISIS controls about 2/3 of the area of Syria and 1/3 of the area of Iraq.  They are infamous not only for their warring and extremism, but also for their cruel treatment of prisoners and captured locals.  They have been raping and murdering everywhere they go, as well as human trafficking.  They also have more or less made terrorist threats against pretty much everyone and everything non-Muslim (including historical Buddhist shrines).  They have become so extreme, that even Al-Qaeda has recently denounced them.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why wasn't Luke at all affected by killing everyone on the Death Star?

Was it a legitimate military target? Yes. Was it nesecarry? Yes. Did it arguably make the world a better place? Yes.

At the same time though; he killed probably over a million people and even if it was morally justified that's not the kinda thing you can do without some form of guilt or ptsd; especially if the force would have made him cognitively aware of at least some of those deaths.

[Assistant]
There was probably a lot of introspection and self-doubt between ANH and ESB. Right after the Death Star's destruction, though, he's just happy to have survived. By the time ESB rolls around he's probably processed it as something he had to do.

It's the same reason we don't see Leia's grief at losing her homeworld. Once the post-battle euphoria wore off, she was probably inconsolable for a long time. But ESB takes place three-and-a-bit years later, which is plenty of time to work through grief.


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

[User]
Whats the behavioral pattern called when people impute to others the behavior they themselves show?

I.e in politics:

Party A: Party B isnt doing enough against climate change! (While Party B is doing *something* and Party A does nothing)

another example:

Person A: Yall are so racist (while Person A has been racist beforehand)

Its often used to kind of get the moral upper-hand in debates.

Thanks in advance!

[Assistant]
Depends on the degree of intentionality. Projection, deflection, hypocrisy. Or manipulation, gaslighting, lying. In any case, it is emotionally abusive.

In debates, as well as in relationships, if the tactic is successful, it changes the subject, deflects attention, sows doubt, and throws the target off balance.


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

[User]
CMV: if Kobe Bryant's accuser had testified against him in court, he likely would've been convicted of rape.

In 2003, Kobe Bryant was arrested for sexual assault. Bryant insisted that the sex was consensual, and the charges were later dropped as his accuser refused to testify.

Consider these facts:

* When questioned by police, Bryant lied repeatedly about the encounter. It wasn't until the police informed him that they had physical evidence did he confess that it happened.

* According to both Bryant and his accuser, she never verbally consented to what happened.

* After the trial, Bryant admitted in a public statement that he could understand that his victim didn't feel that she consented to the encounter.

[Assistant]
should have and likely would have are very different things, especially when it comes to rape charges.  i have personally attended somewhere between ten and twenty sexual assault hearings where the evidence was more compelling than what you've listed, and where no conviction resulted.

in terms of your three bullets, the last one is irrelevant, because it was after the charges were dropped. he certainly would not have said that at trial (he may not have said anything at all).  the second is relevant, but not dispositive because verbal consent wasn't required.  the first one is relevant certainly, but then again, there was no trial.  bryant's team definitely would not have missed the opportunity to make the entire trial about the accuser, turn it into a massive media circus, and manufacture all kinds of ways to make the accuser look like a liar.  bryant either would not have testified or he would have testified after extensive trial prep by the best trial attorneys in the country.  the accuser would have had her interests represented by the state, which had already demonstrated a bias in favor of Bryant during the aftermath of the report.

all in all, i think you're being extraordinarily optimistic about how rape trials proceed.  the accuser chose not to move forward for a reason; specifically, that the thing having happened is only a small part of a conviction actually being obtained.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What was the Empire's official statement in regards to the destruction of Alderaan?

The Empire blew up a well-known and peaceful planet. Surely other planets would want to know why. What was the official statement they would give to let people know why? Surely they must have had some sort of excuse to blow up a peaceful planet with billions of inhabitants.

[Assistant] Alderaan's Royal family were traitors and members of the rebel alliance. The Tarkin Doctrine was based on fear. If *Alderaan* could be destroyed due to a few bad apples in leadership, then any other planet could be next.


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

[User]
[LOTR films] Why didn't Gandalf use magic to light the warning beacons of Gondor?

Wouldn't it have been safer instead of having Pippin scale the side of a cliff to get to the beacon?

[Assistant]
The Istari aren't supposed to be throwing fireballs around - minimal magical footprint to get the job done. They were just here to aid mortals.

Hobbits are light and good climbers, so it wasn't all that dangerous anyway.


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

[User]
ELI5 The naming conventions of sea vessels, HMS, SS, RMS etc.

What do they all stand for and do they vary across nations, civil/military etc?

[Assistant]
AHT	Anchor Handling Tug

AHTS	Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel

CRV	Coastal Research Vessel

C/F	Car Ferry

CS	Cable Ship

DB	Derrick Barge

DEPV	Diesel Electric Paddle Vessel

DLB	Derrick Lay Barge

DCV	Deepwater Construction Vessel

DSV	Diving Support Vessel/ Deep Submergence Vehicle

DV	Dead vessel[1]

ERRV	Emergency Response Rescue Vessel[citation needed]

FPSO	Floating Production, Storage and Offloading Vessel

FPV	Free Piston Vessel

FPV	Fishery Patrol Vessel

FV	Fishing Vessel

GTS	Gas Turbine Ship

HLV	Heavy lift vessel

HSC	High Speed Craft

HSF	High Speed Ferry

HTV	Heavy Transport Vessel

IRV	International Research Vessel

ISV	International Space Vehicle

LB	Liftboat

LNG/C	Liquefied natural gas carrier

LPG/C	Liquefied petroleum gas carrier

MF	Motor Ferry

MS (M/S)	Motor Ship (interchangeable[citation needed] with MV)

MSV	Multipurpose support/supply vessel

MSY	Motor Sailing Yacht

MT	Motor Tanker

MV (M/V)	Motor Vessel (interchangeable[citation needed] with MS)
[citation needed]

MY	Motor Yacht

nb	Narrowboat

NRV	NATO Research Vessel

NS	Nuclear Ship

OSV	Offshore Supply Vessel

PS	Paddle Steamer

PSV	Platform Supply Vessel

RV	Research Vessel

RMS	Royal Mail Ship or Royal Mail Steamer

SB	Sailing Barge

SS (S/S)	Steamship (with screw propellers, can be either coal- or oil-
fired)

SSCV	Semi-Submersible Crane Vessel

SSV	Sailing School Vessel, Submarine and Special Warfare Support
Vessel[2]

ST	Steam Tug

STS	Sail Training Ship

STV	Sail Training Vessel or Steam Turbine Vessel

SV	Sailing Vessel

SY	Sailing Yacht or Steam Yacht

TEV	Turbine Electric Vessel

TIV	Turbine Installation Vessel

TS	Training Ship

TSS	Turbine Steam Ship or Twin Screw Steamer

TV	Training vessel

there are also prefixes for certain countries (USS would be United States Ship, FS is French Ship, JDS is Japan Defense Ship, HMS is His/Her Majesty's Ship/Submarine, ect)


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

[User]
Is bait scientifically classified as a tool?

If a predator uses bait to catch it's prey, has that predator used what scientists would classify as a tool?

[Assistant]
It depends on whose definition you are using.

Some researchers consider a tool to be an object that is manipulated by the animal to extend the physical impact the animal has on itself or the environment. Some researchers will differentiate "tool use" and "object use".

A bird using bread to catch a fish may be consider using a proto-tool.

For more info search "tool use by animals".


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

[User]
ELI5:Why do smaller animals have faster heart rates than larger ones?

Are there any exceptions to this trend?

[Assistant] This is for mammals only, and it's because of metabolism. Small things cool down faster than big things, so small things need to burn more energy to keep warm, so small things have faster heart rates. It also helps that it's easier to move a small thing than a large one.


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

[User]
Why must we turn off all electronics while on a flight?

In fact, why do we have our tray tables up? What would a seatbelt do at that speed? Why does 3 inches of incline matter?

Shouldn't our comfort matter more?

Explain this to me like I'm five.

[Assistant]
If anything goes wrong on a plane, there's a good chance it's going to happen during take-off or landing.  You have to turn off your electronics so that - if anything does go wrong - you'll be able to hear the pilot or flight attendants give you instructions.

Your tray table is up so you can stand up and get out of the row easily when you need to evacuate.  Same for putting the seat up.

The seatbelt keeps you in your seat in case the plane hits turbulence.  It's not going to do squat if you hit a mountain, but if the plane drops 50 feet in an air pocket and you don't have your seatbelt on, your head is hitting the ceiling - hard.

Your comfort matters, but I'd rather be uncomfortable than dead.


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

[User] [DnD] I'm first in my wizarding school and this dork who could barely cast a cantrip took a summer job with a bunch of adventure types and came back and is now the most powerful wizard in the city what gives?

[Assistant]
You learned in a controlled environment where your teachers gave you new material when they felt you *were* ready.

The "Dork" risked his life, and had to *be* ready. Believe it or not, change changes people. Plus, delving into ancient tombs and fighting other mages is an *excellent* way to find old spell scrolls you can copy into your book.


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

[User]
How much of the sub-prime mortgage crisis was caused by Fannie Mae?

I seem to be running into the argument lately that Fannie Mae was the number one contributor to the recession, and that if Bush's attempt to make Fannie Mae more conservative with their lending would have gone through, then the recession would have been prevented.  How much, if any truth is there to this?

[Assistant]
'Subprime' referred to loans that Fanny and Freddie would not finance. The loans that met Fanny and Freddie's requirements were 'prime' loans. Hence, 'subprime' loans were those that could not financed through Fannie and Freddie, and were instead financed through Wall Street's mortgage backed securities.

Given this, how could Fanny and Freddie have been the main cause of the subprime crisis?


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

[User]
CMV: Pedophiles are not necessarily rapists, have no control over whom they are attracted to, and should be encouraged to go to therapy rather than socially scrutinized.

I was thinking about sexuality, gender and race. People sometimes have racial dating preferences by being attracted to specific members of specific races (not necessarily of their own). People find this as an acceptable form of racial discrimination (e.g - choosing to only date White women) because attraction cannot be controlled.

Same with homosexuality or heterosexuality. We sexually discriminate based on our personal preferences, and it is okay. This; however, wasn't always the case. The LGBT community has been (and in many cases, still are) the target of violence and scrutiny- even leading up to some deaths of in-closet victims who were discovered to be such. Homosexuals do not control whom they are attracted to, which is why we now no longer scrutinize them.

So why do we treat pedophiles any differently? Some might say "Because children do not have a choice and shouldn't have sex with pedophiles", as if a pedophile *must* have sex with children. But this isn't what is being said. It is possible to acknowledge that a pedophile is attracted to children, *prevent them from having sex with children*, but also have sympathy for their condition. We treat pedophiles as the worst kinds of human beings, that pedophiles who are sent to prison are the most likely to be killed over other kinds of inmates.

And yet they do not have a choice with whom they are attracted to. My opinion is that pedophiles shouldn't be ousted as child rapists, but be provided a means to recognize and handle their condition in a way that allows them to function in society without actually having sex with children. Therapy wouldn't be to cure pedophiles, but help them control urges. If we keep scrutinizing them, they are less likely to seek therapy and more likely to stay in the closet, fueling the demand for illegal child exploitation through child pornography. Perhaps, we can develop a way for them to have sexual release (like adopting current sex robots) **without** them having sex with real children as a part of their therapy.

TLDR: Pedophiles don't have control over their sexuality. We shouldn't scrutinized them because it makes more closet pedophiles fuel the demand for child porn. We should treat them, give them therapy, and provide means that would deter them from seeking sexual release with real children.

[Assistant] This is already being done. Diagnostically it is called pedophilic disorder in the DSM. The treatment isn't just therapy, but also medicine, commonly medroxyprogesterone. The aforementioned drug lowers the libido of the individual on it.


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

[User]
ELI5: Are we travelling at the speed of our galaxy?

Or does our solar system travel at a different speed?

[Assistant]
The galaxy itself is also rotating a little bit, so you could say the solar system is also rotating around the galaxy in that sense. Otherwise, yes. We could be considered to be travelling at the speed of the galaxy, relative to other galaxies (with tiny fluctuations from various sources).

It isn't particularly insightful, though. Since movement is relative, it doesn't really matter how fast we would want to think we are moving. It just depends on how we are moving relative to other things.


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

[User]
Light Speed travel and Invisibility?

Could an object traveling at faster than light (I know its impossible but for this question lets assume it isnt) conceivably be invisible to the naked eye? Since the eye requires light to register images would an object traveling faster than light not give off color and hence not be observable?

[Assistant] Imagine a jet fighter. It travels faster than the speed of sound, but that does not make it inaudible. Regardless of the consequences of time travel and infinite energy requirements, an FTL object with mass would encounter normal matter in its path and collide with massive consequences, which would certainly be visible.


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

[User]
[General] How do zombies differentiate human from zombies?

Just started the series and Im full pf questions.
If the zombies are dumb, shouldn't they not know the difference what a human or zombie is?

[Assistant]
Depends on the setting, and cause of the zonbie.

Magical zombies are typically under some sort of control,  and react more to the edicts of their creator than anything.  Even spontaneous magical zombies are usually able to differentiate between the animating magics (Necrotic, Dark Magic, Negative Energy, etc) and seek out sources of actively living magic.

Bological zombies, likewise, typically have ways to differentiate between infected and uninfected. Being able to identify the viral or parasitic presence in another os essential to minimising wasted energy in trying to infect an already infected individual. So they can detect sufficent quantities of either their own infectious agent, or undesirable elements in a prospective host, typically via smell.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does spinning around in a circle make us dizzy?

[Assistant] IIRC, balance is sensed in the inner ear by a pocket of fluid.  When you spin in a circle, the fluid starts to spin too (think whirlpool); when you stop spinning, the fluid doesn't.  Ergo, although you've stopped, it continues to feel like you're spinning.


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

[User]
Was our sun formed from an old nebula or accretion disk?

The Milky Way is 13.2 billion years old. Did an older more massive star create the sun and it's neighbors through a nebula type of birth? Or did we just coalesce out of a gas cloud 2/3rd of the way through the Milky Way's lifespan. Is there any research being done on this?

[Assistant]
It's kind of both of those things.

It started as a giant molecular cloud and as the matter started to collapse to form the sun it was also spinning. Conservation of angular momentum meant that the matter that was collapsing had to spin faster which created more heat. Pressure + magnetism + gravity + rotation and the cloud eventually became an accretion disk.

All of the elements in our solar system that are heavier than lithium were formed by earlier stars that ejected the heavier elements during the last phases of their lives. But the hydrogen helium and lithium would have been created in the big bang.

So it's kind of a combination of all that you wrote in the OP.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it so unsafe to drink untreated water in the wild today? Haven't humans been drinking any available water since the beginning? What has changed?

[Assistant] It was never safe to begin with.  Historically, and today in parts of the world lacking safe drinking water supplies, water-borne illnesses are a major problem and a major cause of sickness and death, especially in children.  People just didn't/don't have any other choice but to take the risk.


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

[User]
[General] So...can Three Laws Complaint robots participate in...kinky sex? Asking for a friend.

In all seriousness, I've always wondered. It brings up important questions about human relations and consent as well, but hey. Can a robot..."harm" an individual (human) with their consent?

[Assistant]
Of course they can.

**A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.**

There's a difference between pain and harm.  Pain is a temporary sensation with minimal long-term effects in and of itself.  Harm is a long-lasting, possibly permanent case of damage, of which pain is but a symptom.  Even a robot compliant with the laws would likely be smart enough to differentiate between a light yelp and an agonized scream, especially if previously instructed on the matter.

**A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.**

...considering the context, self-explanatory.  Robots would make for fantastic subs.

Hope this helps.  Remember to charge it regularly.


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

[User]
What happens in wooden barrels that gives alcoholic liquids flavor and color?

I was wondering what occurs during the storing of alcoholic liquids in oak and other wooden barrels. How does wood release flavor and color, and what is the flavor of wood?

[Assistant]
In the case of bourbon, the oak barrels have been charred before being filled. As the liquor spends years in the barrels, it soaks into the wood, and expands and contracts with the changing temperatures of the seasons. This motion in and out of the burned wood does two things, first, a certain percentage of the alcohol is lost to evaporation through the wood. (This has the interesting side effect of promotion of an unusual species of mold on buildings around aging houses, that feeds on alcohol vapor) Secondly, the compounds originally present in the wood, and those produced in the charring process diffuse into the liquor.

Edit, however, to a bourbon drinker, it's magic, and that's all there is to it.


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

[User]
Are bees the best pollinators? And could other pollinators take their place?

Why are bees held in much higher esteem than other pollinators? Are they the most efficient pollinators? And if so, what gives them the edge over other pollinators? Additionally, if bees dissapeared today would it be possible for plants to be pollinated just as efficiently if an extant species rose up to fill in the bee's "job"?

[Assistant] Different plants are adapted for pollination by different means - grasses are wind pollinated, many crops are bee pollinated, some plants are pollinated by other insects or vertebrates. The degree of specificity varies, with some plants requiring a specific insect species and others being pollinated decently well by a range of insects. Honeybees are a big deal because theyre colonial and humans have figured out how to move big groups of them around in boxes to pollinate crops. If every honeybee died, other bees and insects would pick up some of the slack, but yields might not be as good. Humans can also hand-pollinate, but its really time consuming.


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

[User]
Does being in a compound affect the radioactivity of elements like uranium?

Each isotope of uranium has it's own half-life. Uranium is also capable of forming compounds with oxygen or fluorine. Does being in a compound affect the half life of uranium? What happens to the compound if/when the uranium decays?

What about other elements besides uranium in compounds?

[Assistant]
>Does being in a compound affect the half life of uranium?

No, in general the half life of an isotope is independent of its environment, though in isotopes that decay through electron capture there is a small effect and if an isotope can only decay by electron capture, then keeping it completely ionized will stop its decay.

> What happens to the compound if/when the uranium decays?

In general the energies involved in nuclear decay are much much higher than those of chemical bonds and so usually the molecules will be broken apart. However, there are examples of compounds that will stay together through the decay. The perbromate ion was originally produced by the decay of selenate ions, until chemical methods of production were discovered and helium hydride ions can be produced by the decay of diatomic tritium.


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

[User]
ELI5 how it's possible that I can hear if a sound is coming from in front of or behind me.

Or top/bottom for that matter.  It's easy to understand how it works for left/right - if a sound is coming from my left, it reaches my left ear slightly before my right and is also slightly louder in my left.  But how does it work for the other 2 dimensions?

[Assistant] I had a demonstration of this in a physiology class once - put 4 people around a test subject: one in front, one behind, one left and one right. Test subject closes their eyes, a person claps, and they have have to point at who they thought clapped. If the person was in front or behind the chances of getting it right are 50:50, you can't tell, as the sound reaches each ear at the same time and volume. The same should go for above and below if you couldn't feel a vibration coming through your feet or whatever. In real life you may hear a noise an instinctively turn your head a little to counter this problem and locate the source. Add visual stimuli and often movement from the object that suggests where it's coming from/going to, and the crudity of our hearing is masked. In the little experiment above the guesses about the direction of the clapping were often confident, the brain seemed to fill in the missing data and jump to a conclusion.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why doesn't the IOC just buy an island somewhere and hold the Olympics there every time.

It seems to me that the countries that participate in the Olympics should just get together and buy an island somewhere, build the necessary structures and hold the Olympics there every four years. It would save a lot of money, the buildings wouldn't just be used once and abandoned. Countries could still bid to "host" the Olympics, they would just be in charge of the theme and opening and closing ceremonies, and whatever else is involved beyond building the actual structures required. Why is this not a viable option?

[Assistant] For one, the Olympics are about international community, and isolating the games goes against that. The Olympics are also a huge draw for tourists. Cities that host the games are counting on the idea that the tourist revenue they make will offset the cost of building. Also, anyone traveling to see the Olympics would want to have restaurants, night clubs, etc. to go to while they're there. A secluded island wouldn't have that.


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

[User] [Mulan] What did Mushu do, or not do, that led Fa Deng to disasta'?

[Assistant]
Given he had his head chopped off. We can either assume Mushu talked him into going into a battle he knew for certain he could not win, which led to him getting beheaded by a halberd on horseback or being kidnapped by enemy forces and beheaded. Or Mushu made a mistake that led to Deng being responsible for something that ruined a generals plans, the general was so angry he had him executed.

Yeah medieval China was messed up.


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

[User]
[MCU] Is Rhodes still using the Mk 2?

Seems to be pretty outdated by now. Also, why did it already have an arc reactor in it?

[Assistant]
> Is Rhodes still using the Mk 2?

Sort of.  The Mk2 suit Rhodes took from Stark's Malibu residence has undergone extensive upgrades.  They include armaments installed by Justin Hammer, communications and software suites from SHIELD and AIM, and hardware/firmware upgrades from Stark himself.  The War Machine suit is now considered unique and distinct from all of Iron Man's other suits.

> Also, why did it already have an arc reactor in it?

Because Stark wanted him to take it.  As pointed out by Romanov and Fury, Tony Stark's suits are meant to have countermeasures that prevent unauthorized usage.  In addition, the suits were powered by the arc reactor in Stark's chest.  However, at the time, Stark was suffering from palladium poisoning.  He did not want to leave the world without an Iron Man, but he was also too proud to "pass the torch" to Rhodes.  Therefore, he deactivated the safety measures on the Mk2 suit and installed an external power source on it, knowing that Rhodes would eventually take it.

Of course, the removal of the safety features on the Mk2 suit would have unintended consequences several years later, when Savin hijacked and took the suit.


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

[User] Are there any solved questions in philosophy?

[Assistant]
Sure, primarily in the philosophy of logic and math.

We know for example, that you cant define truth within a formal language without getting some version of the liars paradox thanks to Tarski.

And we also know that any mathematical theory which is isomorphic to peano systems cannot both be consistent and complete thanks to Gdel.


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

[User]
Is the South Korean economic miracle an example of successful corporatism? If so, why did South Korean corporatism succeed while Italian Corporatism didn't?

From the looks of it, it seems like blatant corporatism, Park-Chung Hee wants to industrialize his country, he establishes direct ties with businesses like Samsung, Hyundai and LG that soon morphs into Chaebols, he helps them in any way he can, he offers them low interest rates, offers subsidies, etc. If that's the case, why did Italian Corporatism under Mussolini fail?

[Assistant] If you look at the developmental economics literature they attribute a lot of the differences in success to institutions and other government policies. Italy had a rampant history of corruption and nepotism, Germany and Japan did not. Later Korea protected its domestic industries but internally had quite stiff competition with the most successful firms gaining support for their production with the end goal of exporting goods. Japan had a somewhat similar system (the chaebol is based on the zeibatsu). And Japans economic development was modeled on Germany where the state provided the needed capital to firms, as their internal capital markets werent as developed as Britains.


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

[User]
[Aladdin] Why didn't Aladdin ever punish Razoul?

He's been persecuting Aladdin ever since he was a child. He tried to drown, execute, and kill him more than once. He tried to forever separate him from his father Cassim in the King of Thieves and in the same movie he tried to dethrone him. And throughout the tv show, he never shows him any respect and continues to berate and mistreat him and Aladdin does nothing about it.

How come he didn't fire him, imprison him in the palace dungeon, or banish him from Agrabah to get back at him? As Prince and heir to Agrabah he should have the authority to do so or could easily convince the Sultan to do so for him.

If I was Aladdin, Razoul, the man who's tried executing me my whole life and fails to show me any respect despite all I've done for Agrabah, would be the last person I'd trust to guard me with my life when I become the Sultan.

[Assistant]
Revenge isn't really a motivator for him, and besides, he's been on the wrong side of petty leaders abusing their power too many times to take much joy in doing it himself.

What he wants is comfort, security and validation, and he got that now, so he's got no interest in settling old, irrelevant grudges. He's got his happy ending- let Razoul seethe in the corner all he likes.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why are human penises so long compared to most other primate penises?

The average penis length in humans is usually about 5-6 inches but primates like gorillas have a length of only about 1-2 inches. Why is this considering they're also much larger than us too? Is it a biproduct of evolution? Coincidence?

[Assistant]
There's a very interesting theory about this, called the sperm (or semen) displacement theory. It goes a little something like this.

Way back when, humans, and in particular, human males, weren't so much into the pair-bonding thing, and women regularly had sex with multiple men. This meant that the sperm in the woman's vagina (which can live for a few days) wasn't necessarily 100% yours. Larger penises with coronal ridges (that is, a long shaft with a slightly wider head) created a "vacuum scraper" that essentially allowed the most recent male mate to scrape away the semen from the previous mate. Larger penises achieved this more effectively than smaller penises, giving them the selective advantage necessary to become a relatively common trait among human males.


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

[User]
CMV: Trumps speech in the middle east should be praised, even if you're a liberal.

I'm no Trump supporter, and I believe it would be best if he gets impeached, however, I also believe we should give credit where credit is due.

Villifying Trump when he does something well (r/politics) is as bad as glorifying him when he does something poorly (r/T_D).

In his speech, he basically said (paraphrasing), that it doesn't matter what America believes in or what the Middle East nations believe in, only working towards their shared interests should matter. Taking a more aggressive stance against extremism is in everyone's best interest.

This was in stark contrast to past approaches of preaching American values to people of the Middle East.

I think it's a step in the right direction not to go there with a holier than thou approach and instead say that our number 1 priority is simply to reduce extremism.

Whether giving SA guns toward that end was a good idea or not is a different story, but I'm focusing on the speech.

Some mention the speech was hypocritical since Trump slammed Islamists in the past, but criticizing him for not doing the wrong thing as you expected him to is weird.  Changing one's mind or actions towards something better is not a bad thing.

Edit: adding Trump quote:

We are not here to lecture, he said. We are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership  based on shared interests and values  to pursue a better future for us all.

Edit 2: Gave a delta to Sayakai who pointed out Trump singled out Iran later in the speech (apparently not covered by American sources), which considering that sectarian lines don't follow national lines, makes the whole speech contradictory and counterproductive.

[Assistant]
It would've been a good speech if he'd stopped about two thirds in. But he didn't - instead of focusing on a bipartisan anti-terror approach, he then drove the focus of the speech towards the political situation between countries. Opposition against Iran (and Syria) may well have its place, but that place should not be during this speech, especially not in this matter. Dumping the responsbility for terror on Iran, when so many countries had and have their hand in it (among them Saudi Arabia itself), doesn't do the topic justice at all. He claims that he wants unity, that the divide between Sunni and Shia shouldn't matter, and then pulls out the divide and preaches opposition.

If he wanted to speak honestly against extremism and for unity against extremism, he should've left the geopolitics at home.


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

[User] Why do we get a runny nose when it's very cold out?

[Assistant]
cold induced rhinorrhea is what you're talking about. It's actually a combination of reasons
1) mucous membranes produce more mucous due to the drying of the nasal passage
2) When you exhale, your breath (that is, the water in your breath) condenses and fluid builds up inside your nose, which contributes to your runny nose.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we not see that many animal corpses in forests, deserts etc where animals would probably be dying regularly? Do all of them get devoured by scavengers or be absorbed into the soil?

[Assistant]
Mostly scavengers, if you know what your looking for  you absolutely will see body remnants in these areas. But they are also covered pretty quickly by foliage and sands.

I make good money picking up skulls/sheds in high school from nature parks around me.


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

[User] [MCU] Thor goes joins Guardians of the Galaxy because there is beer on the ship but insists on bringing a bunch of old and recent gaming consoles on the ship too. Which game each of the Guardians would play the most and who is the best gamer amongst them?

[Assistant]
Gamora-no games

Drax- rage quits immediately and destroys a console

Rocket-immediately re-engineers console to be a weapon/controllable murder bot

Mantis-Cooking Mama

Quill-becomes immediately hooked on Uncharted franchise, notes how much its like him and Indiana Jones

Groot- stays hooked on his classic basic old school machine, says how original and purer it is, compared to the corporate cash grabs that came later (he is a teenager)


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it called box office when movies get return profits after being released?

Obligatory not a native English speaker.

So what do these profits have in common with a box or an office? Why is the expression used and what are its origins?

Edit: Thanks for the replies everyone, the concept is now clear to me.

[Assistant]
The "box office" is the place at a movie theater where tickets are bought/reserved. Like when you go up to the cinema and tell the person you want 2 tickets to the midnight showing of whatever - that room where they sit is the "box office".

"Box office revenue" or "earnings" or "profits" just refers to how much money a movie makes specifically while in movie theaters - it's how much they've made through ticket sales *at the box office*. Afterwards when the movie comes out on Blu-Ray and DVD you start talking about how much money a made *overall*.


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

[User] [WH40K] What are some lesser known aspects of the 40K universe that most people don't know about but you find intriguing?

[Assistant]
That there are millions of planets and some are normal world's with regular people living completely average lives. World the Imperium and other factions either hasn't found or don't care for. Places where people may be living in complete ignorance of what's going on up in the stars or are so far away from those fronts it's a non factor to them.

And at any time something can come in and totally wreck their shit.


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

[User] How does the ozone layer heal itself?

[Assistant] Radiation from the sun is absorbed by diatomic oxygen molecules in the upper atmosphere and the energy breaks the molecular bond. Some of those free oxygen atoms recombine with diatomic oxygen to create ozone (O3).


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

[User] ELI5: where did ties originate? Why did people start wearing them?

[Assistant] There was a super long war between France and uhh....Germany^? The french guys hired some Croatian mercenaries to fuck shit up, and these guys wore a piece of cloth around their neck as part of their uniform. It kinda caught on. You know how to french are with fashion. Just look at those weird wigs.


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

[User]
America would've been better off with a Millet system than a State system. CMV

Firstly I'll explain what the Millet system is. The Millet system is an alternate model for federalism in which rather than have state laws apply over strict geographical regions, the government is composed of Millets whose law applies to its people rather than places.

The first example of a Millet system is the Ottoman's system, in which Millets were defined by religion. However Millets could also be constructed around ethnicity, language, nationality, or whatever trait that could hold a person to identify with their Millet. A system where upon reaching adulthood a person may choose to be a citizen of whichever Millet they wish would work too.

For the 13 colonies a free form Millet system seems most appropriate to me. 13 millets would exist, perhaps additions ones for Native Americans.

As the millets have no strict geographical boundaries, merely the rough boundaries that exist defined by where people belonging to each Millet live, the issue of slave states would not have occurred. In fact I find it a lot less likely that a civil war could've occurred at all.

This would've made a lot of the issues the US had with the state system void, but preserved the benefits of a federal system.

There are obviously problems with the Millet system of course. Such as the complications of committing crimes where the perpetrators and victims are abiding by different millet laws.

[Assistant]
The whole purpose of states in the first place were to de-centralize the US government. If there was a millet system it would be controlled by the Federal government, thus defeating the point.

Also the system just sounds extremely weird in general and, to be frank, unnecessary.


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

[User]
[Mad Max] Is it possible there are any remnants of the Australian government and/or military left?

Just something Ive been thinking about lately. I discuss this somewhat in a somewhat related question I posted 2 years ago but I thought Id make a post asking this specific question.

While there is of course some government left during the first movie, what about by the later ones? Such as Fury Road?

Is there any chance that any remnant of the Australian government or military could still exist?

[Assistant]
Let's sort this out by timeline.

The first film was when the society was already on the brink of collapse, and MFP was a rudimentary, hastily formed police force to try to protect some small renmants of functional society left.

By the second film, global apocalypse already occured and society crumbled. MFP ceased to exist and you see proof of it as some of Lord Humongous's gang wears MFP leather and drives MFP cars.

Third film, set 15 years further, there is nothing left. Hell, people were shocked when Max said that he was a cop.

And the fourth film, which, while a reboot, is set a bit after the trilogy, you can see that it's a wild wasteland like in Fallout. However, Immortan Joe's backstory shows that his original gang were former Australian military. He was a Colonel and his inner circle are his former disciples.

So, yeah, maybe there was military, but mostly in the first movie, if at all.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do we know whether an alternate medicine works or not when there are people around us who claim that their disease was diagnosed and cured by it?

I specifically mean Ayurveda and homeopathy here. They say that Ayurveda has cured cancer without any nasty side-effects of chemo. We know that these alternate disciplines don't have proper diagnostic methods for most of the diseases because there were no microscopes or MRI equipment back then. Then they say they didn't need all those stuff and they diagnosed diseases just by checking your pulse or whatever. Doctors and scientists, please help me. Thank you very much for your comments and replies.

[Assistant]
To determine if a certain type of treatment works, it must produce better results than placebo.

The confusion begins because placebo works, and people feel better with just taking placebo. Same as some people get better when taking alternative medicine. However if the number of improved patients is the same as the number that get better with a placebo, the treatment remains in alternative category.

That's how you can understand many stories of people getting better.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] If a witch or wizard were capable of free-flight, would they be allowed to play Quidditch without a broom?

It's not really spoilers by now, but Voldemort and Snape can both fly without the aid of a broom or thestral. Would they, according to the rules of Quidditch, be allowed to play without a broomstick to carry them?

[Assistant]
While Voldemort is the first person to use flight unaided by anything but a wand, he is *not* the first person to fly unaided by a broom.

Ignoring, first, the fact that you can't just whip out your wand willy-nilly and cast whatever you like on the Quidditch Pitch, the rules also clearly state that participants must ride a broomstick. Flying by other means is a foul, as it is completely against the spirit of the game.


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

[User]
When applying Occam's Razor, how does one know what the "simplest solution" is?

For example, regarding the Theory of Evolution (which I believe, but I just needed an example)... The idea that over eons animals have various mutations that over time slowly change the organism ever so slightly, generation after generation, weeding out those mutations that don't help an organism survive until it finally becomes the animal we see today.... or God created a creature that fits perfectly in its environment. When I word the two options that way, the God option seems the "simplest solution". I never really understood how someone decides what the simplest solution is.

[Assistant] The explanatory economy Occam's Razor aims at is about economy of assumption-making. It's not about which explanation can be articulated in the simplest terms, or most briefly. "God did it" is a very simple explanation, but Occam's Razor still favors the theory of evolution, by comparison, because it's more epistemically modest, if you will. It explains the phenomena it aims to explain (species differentiation, etc) in naturalistic terms. Its assumptions are humble, based merely on the biological evidence around us. Whereas with "God did it", that supernatural assumption is a mighty big one. It's simpler, yes, but it's not more economical in epistemic terms, because one would have colossal difficulty in establishing God's existence in the first place.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do extreme temperatures (hot and cold) make sore muscles feel better?

[Assistant] Your blood vessels constrict (& this reduce blood flow) when cold & dilate (& this increase blood flow) when warm. Reduced blood flow tends to reduce swelling (useful shortly after an injury or using muscles). Increased blood flow tends to improve healing (useful once the swelling decreases).


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

[User]
[DnD]Aboleths are ancient quasi-immortal Cthulhu-esque horrors who live at the bottoms of oceans and deep underground and enslave humanoids to serve them, they are chaotic evil. One captures a slave with a deck of many things and draws swap alignment, how does an aboleth go about being lawful good?

Aboleths love hoarding powerful magical items, and they love enslaving humanoids. So this scenario does not seem too preposterous, they enslave someone and find a Deck of Many Things and experiment with it and have the good or poor fortune to draw one of those cards that swaps your alignment on the alignment axis permanently. So now the chaotic evil horror unto the gods is lawful good. How exactly do you go about being lawful good in a deep subterranean lake or the bottom of the ocean?

[Assistant] They would likely release their slaves (or keep them, but in better conditions, depending on local law). They would likely seek out a local authority that hss a similar alignment (lawful good needs a structure to adhere too typically) and attempt to assist it, within the confines of local law, custom, and their alignment. They would likely do so from the depths, knowing that they could not simply waltz in the front gate and be accepted.


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

[User] ELI5: why the creator of mine craft is a billionaire and Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of mario, donkey kong, legend of zelda is only worth 40 million?

[Assistant]
In the initial phases of minecraft, the creator was the only one creating it. And when its property was growing, only a small team was involved in development. So initial proceeds are split in between small people only. And when the team grew larger, he still earned money

Meanwhile, Mario and Zelda were not created by small teams. They were created by a larger studio of developers at Nintendo. The profit is split in between larger amounts of developers, meaning less money goes to the actual creator.

lastly, Miyamoto had to put a lot of money into funding creation of new games. That's why his profit is a little slower. Because development costs for minecraft are much lower.


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

[User] ELI5:How humans didn't get eaten by predators who heard babies screaming when humans lived in the wild.

[Assistant]
Predators (at least modern ones anyway) look for easy meals. It's not worth risking injury.

If you find a human child *by itself*? Snacktime.

If you hear a crying child, go to the noise, and find several adult humans with pointy sticks and fire? Not worth the risk.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Revan and Malek's names

Were Revan and Malek their real names? If so why are they the only sith to keep their real names with the Darth title?

If they weren't their real names then why did Revan keep Sith name when he returned to the Jedi?

[Assistant]
The important thing to take away from Sith naming convention is the concept of choice. The Sith ideology is all about personal power and personal strength, so many Sith feel the need to "choose" their own name, to have power over everything; even what they are called.

Malak felt the need to do that, Revan did not.

(Sidenote; Darth Vader is interesting because his name was chosen for him by Darth Sidious, which is interestingly reflective of their power dynamic)


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

[User]
eli5 The percentage rule

Can someone explain how/why X% of Y is equal to Y% of X? I know its true but I cant figure out why. Thanks!

[Assistant]
Think of it this way. Let's take 25 percent of 3. We'll you can write this as 0.25 x 3
Now flip it. 3 percent of 25. Well that's just 0.03 X 25. They're the same thing! Just a factor of 100 different both sides.


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

[User] [Half Life] While holding the gravity gun I turn it around and pick myself up with it. What happens?

[Assistant] It delivers a healthy electric shock to you when the attractor field conducts through your body, creates a circuit with the gravity gun, and shorts out. Probably not enough to give you a heart attack unless you had a pre-existing heart condition, but it certainly won't feel pleasant.


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

[User] ELI5: How are electrical devices onboard the ISS grounded?

[Assistant]
It is not grounded if you use the meaning connected to the earth. A connection to earth is not required for the electrical system but is a practical way to have a common reference level and possible return part of the electrical system.

The frame of ISS will be what is defined as ground ie 0 voltage.  This is exactly how it is done in a car where you do not have anything conductive that connects it to the ground.


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

[User]
CMV: Providing insurance, all insurance, is a service better suited for government bureaucracy rather than the private sector

Basically the title: heres an example.

John buys a car. In Johns state it is illegal to operate it on public roadways without possessing valid insurance. John sends a form to the DMV and is approved for his specified insurance policy. John pays an additional $30 in taxes every month to the DMV. John now has auto coverage in case of an accident. The DMV takes Johns money and at the end of the year finds it there were significantly less car accidents and the DMV has a surplus. This surplus is returned proportionally to all policy holders. As of now this money is kept as profit for privatized companies. Under the new system the money is returned to the holders of the policy. So the DMV takes x amount of money, spends y amount of money on filling policies, paying agents and fraud officers, rent, overhead expenses and gives z left over money back to the policyholders in the fashion of x - y = z. Everybody pays in a little, everybody gets their claims filled, everybody gets paid for the work and the largest world entity takes on all the risk, a load it could certainly bear with the newer revenue. Risk bearing spread among everyone instead of a select few.

Change my mind by convincing me why this would not work and be better.

Edit: Im going for the day; will do more replies at work tomorrow.  I have continued to enumerate what would cause me to change my view in the recent posts.

[Assistant]
The problem with government is that there is no requirement for it to be good. In business, if you have a crappy product then your company goes bankrupt. If you dont keep up with the times, if you pay your employees too much, if your product or service sucks, the the competition will do it better and cheaper.

In government, things move so slow, everyone is in a union, technology is from the 80s, republicans and democrats dont agree and cant pass anything. Its the worst.

Yes, you can have a universal auto coverage for all program, but it would be more expensive, slower, less responsive, and people that worked there would be unmotivated to make anything better.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why is California so dry even through is it near the ocean?

Why does California not get the typical afternoon storms that the eastern costal cities/towns get? I was under the impression that those storms were caused by the heat and evaporation of water from the ocean. California has both heat and ocean yet they dont get the same storms.

[Assistant] The east coast has the gulf stream which brings warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico up the coast. The west coast has the opposite effect. They have an arctic stream the draws cool dry air from the arctic down the coast. If you've ever been in the Pacific ocean, you'll notice right away that it is cold even in the heat of summer.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Would Severus Snape's attitude towards Harry change if he encountered sincere reconciliation?

OK, so I'm curious what people think about this. I get that it's out of character, I get you could pick loads of holes in this, but I really wanna pick people's brains no this rat's nest of resentment, lies, ill deeds.

Let's suppose a couple things, first off Snape overhears Lupin and Harry talking, and he hears Lupin straight-up say that Snape's got good reason to dislike Harry, that Harry's father mercilessly bullied and harassed him to the point of using illegal magic, often for no reason, and Sirius Black tried to have Snape killed, and he, Lupin was a Prefect and let it all pass, hence Snape dislikes and distrusts both of them. However, let us also assume Lupin leaves out any embarrassing details (like Snape being dangled and stripped by Potter).

Second, assuming the above actually occurred, let's assume Harry spoke to Professor Snape afterwards, and expressed a sincere wish for a reconciliation, not for a friendship, but an end to hostilities, and an apology for mistrusting Snape in the past, and straight-up says he's heard the other side of the story and understands why Snape dislikes him and his Dad so much. Let's also assume Snape does a little legilemency and realizes it's genuine.

How is Snape likely to take this? Would this have any effect on him? Or is his resentment too deep for any healing to take place? Would he just get angrier that it's coming up again?

Bonus points if Sirius also tried to bury the hatchet and owned up to trying to get Snape to meet Lupin when he was a werewolf.

Genuinely curious what people think, any variations or conditions that occur to you etc totally welcome.

[Assistant]
Snape is Neville's worst fear, and that kid had his parents tortured into insanity and an uncle who threw him out a window.

Snape took deliberate action to kill the husband and child of the woman he felt he deserved.

Snape teased two innocent people with the fact he was going to subject them to having their soul devoured by creatures of darkness.

Snape is possibly more evil than Umbridge. He won't be redeemed that easily.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does the musical scale go CDEFGAB, and not ABCDEFG?

[Assistant] i think the original scale in music theory was A minor. A minor is ABCDEFG. C major is the major equivalent to A minor because it contains the same notes. Major scales became much more popular than minor scales and therefore CDEFGAB became the "standard" scale.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is 24 FPS unplayable in video games, but looks fine to me in movies/TV shows?

[Assistant]
A lot of these responses are correct but are missing a critical point; That is that games require input and interaction while movies and television are passively observed.

When a game renders a low amount of frames per second, *especially* when it dips under ~30 FPS, the player can feel the difference much more because it takes more time for input to be read and then displayed on the screen.

In other words, this means that every action a player makes in such a scenario feels sluggish and unresponsive because when our brains are expecting to perceive a change much faster than we do. It can cause an element of frustration and it certainly does not help in immersing the player into the game as they are effectively being constantly reminded that something is wrong.

Television and movies on the other hand require no input from those watching it so utilizing lower frame rates - so long as they are constant - is far more comfortable than if we were to play a game at the same FPS.


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

[User] ELI5 How does Google photos separate photos into such specific categories without them being labeled manually.

[Assistant] With machine learning. A computer program has looked at many many images that _were_ labeled, and it learned from them what sorts of labels to put on other photos. It learned by looking at an image that people had labeled but not looking at the label, guessing a label and then comparing the result with the label given by a human. Then it made a note of whether it was right or wrong. Doing this many times with many different images it learned to label automatically.


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

[User]
ELI5: how can some people function normally while needing substantially less sleep than other people?

Like how can some people who get only 5 or 6 hours of sleep every night function at the same level as someone who gets 8-10 hours of sleep a night?

[Assistant]
This is something that is still debated. First, some people insist they only need 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night and then survive off sugar and coffee to stay awake. Very few people can actually do this healthily, but some can. Scientists have linked a gene to most of the people who survive on extremely little sleep, but it's still unsure what exactly does. But ignoring extremes, its probably mostly a matter of efficiency.

For example. Given the exact same lifestyle otherwise, some people need around 2000 calories a day while another needs 2500 for the same lifestyle. So that is a matter of how efficiently their body processes calories. The same can be true of sleep. Someone whose body falls into deeper sleep more quickly and who has fewer periods of wakefulness might need less sleep than someone whose body needs a while longer to achieve the same depth of sleep. It also could be their brain just more effectively using the sleep. Some may be caused by personal sleep habits and some genetics. It would be more strange if everyone needed identical amounts of sleep.


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

[User]
How did scientists measure the radius of atoms and other stuffs?

They can seem to measure very accurate things at 10 decimal places. How do they do it?

[Assistant]
The most accurate measurements are spectroscopic measurements, in which the energy between states of e.g. atoms is measured. These measurement happen typically with lasers, the frequencies of which can be very well controlled. This is the domain of atomic physics, which is mainly quantum mechanics dealing with discrete energy levels and interaction of matter with photons.

First, remember that the energy states of electrons orbiting a nucleus are quantised.

In a spectroscopic measurement, the frequency of a laser is scanned along a certain range while it passes through a sample, e.g. a gas of atoms. Most of the time, the light will not interact with the sample. Only when the frequency (and thus the energy of the photons that make up the light) is equal to the energy difference of two internal states of the atoms, some of the light can be scattered. In this way, the energy levels of atoms are measured very precisely.

Finally, one can calculate from theory what the electron orbits and the corresponding energies should be. These calculations depend however on some constants, such as the Bohr radius, which describes the distance between the nucleus and the electron in a hydrogen atom. By comparing these calculations to the results of the measurements, these constants are retrieved. (The Bohr radius is now known with a relative uncertainty of 0.2 parts per billion.) These constants can then be used in the theory to calculate the sizes of different atoms.

TL;DR: Experiments measure the spacing between energy levels, theory relate these energy differences to (among other things) the sizes of electron orbits. Both lasers and quantum mechanics are very accurate.


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

[User] ELI5: How could old tvs (and Home appliances in general) be fixed with just a hit? Why this doesn't work anymore?

[Assistant]
Home appliances used to have a lot of "discrete", i.e. separate and relatively large, components.  Lots of problems were due to loose connections and other similar mechanical issues. By hitting the TV/home appliance, you could (with some luck) reconnect the components and fix it.

Nowadays, home appliances are smaller (think OLEDs vs cathod ray tubes). Because the components are so small (and often "integrated" in few chips), it's unlikely that you can fix a TV by hitting it.


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

[User]
Could somebody explain why the US is not on the gold standard?

And for what reason it is more useful to us as a country? and perhaps what exactly our current system it?

[Assistant]
The Gold Standard, as the name suggests meant that all money issued by the U.S government was effectively a certificate that one could redeem for a fixed amount of gold. The U.S Government could only print as much money as it had gold reserves, because every 'dollar' had to have a corresponding amount of gold stored somewhere for which it could be redeemed.

The advantage of this system was stability, and resistance to inflation. A government couldn't print absurd amounts of money and thus devalue their own currency (like the pre-Nazi German Government did) and money retains its value because it can always be traded in for gold.

There are a number of disadvantages though:

- Economists believe that being on the gold standard makes a recession much harder to escape. If your government can only print as much money as it has gold, it can't inject money into the economy during times of weakness.

- There's only a finite amount of Gold in the world. The amount of money circulating in the U.S alone right now is more than the value of all the gold that has ever been mined in the entire world put together.

- Economists believe that what you want for a currency is a slow, gradual rate of inflation because it encourages people to spend, invest or deposit their money rather than store it in a mattress. A gradual, predictable inflation rate is most easily achieved without the gold standard.

**What the U.S has now:**

The U.S currently operates what is called a *fiat currency*, which is a fancy way of saying "not tied to a specific commodity like gold or silver. Basically, the U.S dollar has value because the government says it does. The government is willing to accept these specific pieces of paper as taxes and charges.

The actual 'value' of the U.S dollar is determined by the market and the laws of supply and demand. Traders exchange their currencies for U.S dollars at the best possible rate they can get. The going rate at any given time is the value of the U.S dollar.