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

[User]
What to do when higher phil. courses not offered?

I just started going to a university with a not very big philosophy department. I asked a couple professors about courses/seminars on Hegel or Heidegger, both of whom I am interested in. The professor who is the most geared towards phenomenology said she wasnt interested enough in Heideggers work to offer a course or seminar on him. She also mentioned previously offering a course on Hegel but is no longer continuing that and doesnt plan to. I am not sure what to do now. I could try submitting an individual studies contract but Im not sure how that would go on a topic that the professor isnt interested in. Am rather lost, any advice?

[Assistant]
A few courses of action:

* Confer with your faculty on the advanced subjects they would be amenable to doing directed studies (depending on how your college uses these names).  As an undergrad it's worth letting go of the idea that you can/need to study specifically what you want to study.  Always prefer to choose from a course menu offered by the best professors rather than from a menu of topics you've selected yourself.  (I think this is true in grad school as well, though the dynamics are different.)
* Check to see if your college has credit sharing agreements with any other local/regional colleges with better course offerings.  If so, make use of them insofar as they don't mess up your degree progress.
* Just forget about it and finish your BA.  If you want to do advanced study, well, that's what the MA/PhD is for.


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

[User] [DC] Would a Kyrptonian body-builder on Earth be significantly stronger then a non-body-building Kryptonian, or would the extra muscle mass be negligible?

[Assistant]
Kryptonians naturally achieve an optimal physique when exposed to yellow sunlight, regardless of their physical activity. This is likely due to the theory that Kryptonian strength isn't completely dependent on their musculature, but involves some kind of telekinesis.

The only time Superman has shown a significant increase in muscle mass is when he absorbs very large amounts of solar radiation.  The process the Eradicator used on him after the first battle with Doomsday, for example, eventually resulted in Superman becoming a giant, muscle bound figure who couldn't turn off his heat vision. His body seemed to use his muscle fibers to store solar energy in the same way a human uses fat cells to store calories.

With that in mind, it's more likely that a Kryptonian sun bather would be bigger and stronger than a Kryptonian body builder.


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

[User]
At what point in time did the universe inflate to a size larger than the observable universe?

Wikipedia cites Alan Guth saying that (in 1997) the universe was currently 10^23 times bigger than the observable universe. Is this correct? Additionally, if the universe started as small as it was and inflated so far past our observable bubble, but still is some number of times bigger than our observable bubble, how can people say that it is infinite?

[Assistant]
The universe doesn't have a size. It just keeps going and going.

You should probably bear in mind that a *lot* of theoretical cosmology has changed radically in the past decade or so, due to new observations. Anything related to cosmology that dates from last century has a better-than-even chance of being wrong.


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

[User]
When a virus injects a cell with DNA, what makes the cell able to follow the instructions? Could the process be controlled for medically useful reactions?

From what I've remember in school, viruses inject a living cell with DNA in a way that somehow makes it listen to that instead of what it already had, reproducing virus after virus until the cell is depleted.  How does the new DNA supplant the existing DNA?

Once replaced, what enables the cell to turn itself into something else?  I was under the impression that stem cells were valuable for their special ability to do something similar?

If viruses are reproducing that effect, can we use them?

I'm sorry if this is super obvious or simplistic, but I tried to research it today and everything I found was not helpful at all.

[Assistant]
Viruses have a few ways of infecting the host cell depending on the type of viruses. In general, after the virus injects its genetic material, it will create RNA copies which code for protiens that cut and paste DNA. These proteins allow the virus to put its genome into the host's genome. When the host cell translates that section of DNA, it will create another copy of the virus.

There are a few other tricks the viruses can use to make the cell express their genes more often by making that spot expecially attractive to the replication mechanisms.

Viruses have been used to insert genes into organisms as a way to genetically modify them with desired genes by attaching those genes to viral DNA.


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

[User] Is it possible to have saltwater rain?

[Assistant]
Normally, no, since the process of evaporation will distill fairly pure water, and leave all solubles like salt behind.

I can imagine a scenario, though. If we start with a salt lake, which has not seen rain in quite a while. Very dry conditions. A windstorm would pick up a lot of dust, which would include salt, and disperse it in the air. Then if it rained immediately after, the water droplets would pick up some salt on the way down.

Kind of like if it's just been dry and dusty for a few days, and then a light rain comes along, it just makes everything dirty. That's water droplets picking up dust out of the air and just depositing it back on the ground.


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

[User] ELI5: Since Jews are such a tiny percentage of the population, how are they represented so well in elite groups? 13% of Nobel prize winners, 48% of US billionaires, etc. how is this?

[Assistant] Jewish people originated in an area where most people were not allowed by their religion to loan money and charge interest. Jews could, and this lead to them becoming bankers and becoming quite wealthy. Wealth tends to perpetuate wealth, as well as education which then perpetuates wealth. A head start means a lot, so it just compounds (like interest).


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

[User]
Who would win in a fight between the Justice League and The Avengers?

I overheard some scientists talking about this new dimension they found called Earth-7642. Apparently there's another group of superheros. If humanity depended on our supers versus theirs, do they even have a chance? I mean, we have Batman.

[Assistant]
Let's base this off of character abilities and we'll start with the two most current rosters. For the Avengers main roster (Marvel Now!) we have: Cannonball, Sunspot, Manifold, Shang-Chi, Captain Universe, Hyperion, and Spider-man. For the Justice League main roster (New 52) we have: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg.

It could be very easy to give the advantage to the League, they certainly seem to have a lot of firepower with Superman, Green Lantern, and Cyborg alone. As well as a considerable amount of backup and utility. This team of Avengers seems to be made up of people we have never heard of. Conflict between them and ultimately who wins will eventually boil down to two men. But before we get to that, lets see who outs whom shall we?

The first casualty of this fight would ultimately be Aquaman. His strength and durability does him little good when he is easily dehydrated and rendered useless without a close source of water courtesy of Susnpot. Sunspot is ultimately contained and sent packing by the powers of the Lantern. Next out would probably be Wonder Woman, though she is powerful she cannot match Captain Universe. The two women would surely fight it out for quite some time before Captain Universe wins out with telekinesis and the unpredictable Uni-Power. However Captain Universe is also easily contained and dealt away with by Green Lantern. Our next big fight would be between Spider-man and Cyborg. With technology on his side Cyborg could gain an early advantage. Until he realizes that this is not the wise-cracking Peter Parker but instead the diabolical psyche of Dr. Otto Octavius with all of the power and none of the responsibility Cyborg is destroyed by a collapsing building. However our web-slinger is not expecting the attack from the shadows that drops him and renders him unconscious. The Batman learned by watching the fight that Spidey could sense an attack coming. But what if the attack wasn't pre-meditated and even caught the attacker by surprise? A gamble that pays off for the Dark Knight. This leads us to a knock-down drag-out fight between two martial arts masters, Batman and Shang-Chi.

As the two hand-to-hand beasts battle it out we turn our attention to Cannonball. Sam tries to keep up with Barry as the Flash races around the scene helping his teammates. Unfortunately the Scarlet Speedster is in a class all his own. Cannonball loses his focus in his frustration and drops his protective shield just long enough to get driven into a building on a tight hairpin turn. Flash enjoys his victory, but only briefly. As he takes off to assist Batman he finds himself running past.....himself. Confused he attempts to stop to see what just happened only to realize that he can't stop. The reality bending teleporter Manifold has trapped the Flash in a Mobius Strip of reality, forcing him to speed along until he starves. This is when the Man of Steel gets involved, crashing down on Manifold before he can teleport away. Smasher now swoops in to avenge her fallen teammate. Using her goggles to absorb superhuman durability and increases her strength exponentially. Swinging for the fences she begins to duke it out with the Last Son of Krypton. Green Lantern awaits his time to strike and contain Smasher, he's so focused he doesn't realize he is being watched from outside Earth's atmosphere. Before anyone knows what happened The Emerald Knight is gone, and only a cloud of dust remains. Smasher's durability cannot hold up to Superman, especially once her goggles are destroyed. Superman stands victorious, but only momentarily.

Batman and Shang-Chi fight hard and long before both of them ultimately succumb to exhaustion. They are both human after all.

Superman surveys the carnage and stands proudly, the last man standing. That is until he is blindsided by an unknown force seemingly from space. From the rubble he stares up into the eyes of Mark Milton, Hyperion an entity not too unlike himself. This is where the true battle takes place, a fight for the ages as these two godlike beings go at it without stopping for days. But Hyperion realizes something, though still formidable his opponent loses some of his umph when the sun goes down. On the 20th day Hyperion seizes his chance when the sun goes down and no moon rises. Using all of his strength and effort Hyperion launches himself and the Man of Tomorrow into space and out past the edge of our solar system. With no means of recharging, the fight soon turns in the favor of Hyperion. After dispatching his foe, Mark Milton stares into the cold reaches of space and contemplates the questions that will come to plague him for his whole existence: What is his purpose? And can he die?


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

[User]
CMV: using partial bleep censoring/grawlixes, e.g. "sh*t" instead of "shit", where the audience knows the censored word is pointless

I'm surprised by how often I see "sh\*t" for "shit" and similar substitutions in contexts where essentially 100% of the audience will be adults (or near enough) and familiar with the word in question. A reader familiar with the word will still understand the full meaning. I can see some value in a form of it where the audience includes young children and the writer does not want to teach them a word that their parents might not want them to know, though in that case I think far more of the word should be censored, e.g. "s***".

I've deliberately picked a word that most people on reddit won't find very offensive, but this applies to racial slurs and such as well, which many here find extremely offensive. If the word is too offensive to use, it makes more sense to me to avoid referencing it directly at all, e.g. "Joe was fired for referring to a coworker by a racial slur". If it's necessary to quote it for precision or emotional impact, it may as well be quoted in full.

I've seen it done for words describing traumatic experiences too. I'd be surprised if anyone's PTSD is less triggered by seeing a word related to their experience with a single letter obscured than by seeing the full word, but please do surprise me if you have personal or professional experience, or research that contradicts this.

[Assistant] The idea is to signal an intent not to offend and to demonstrate understanding of the taboo associated with the word.  It's like saying the f-word, pretty much everyone knows the word you mean in context but are more fine with it because it signals a lack of intent to use the word offensively often talking about the word in meta.


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

[User]
[MCU] When did S.H.I.E.L.D. become an Earth defense organization?

It's been a long time since I last watched the MCU, so I have a hazy memory.

I remember that S.H.I.E.L.D. started as a division of the U.S. government, but then I realized that it was as if it could legally deploy anywhere in the world (I don't think it was like a U.S. military or CIA operation).

When did S.H.I.E.L.D. become the "Earth Defense Force"?

Was it after the Kree-Skrull War?

[Assistant] SHIELD was originally founded post-WWII as you said, as a division of the US government to protect it from threats. It grew in size and scope post encounter with Captain Marvel when the government realized the existence of extra-terrestrial threats, the US government probably thought that it couldn't handle it by itself and brought other governments into it. Aside from extra terrestrials is also deals with enhanced individuals that seem to be becoming more common, advanced/alien technology and other threats to global security.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Malaysia "Split in two". What are the differences between the two islands and how does it administrate itself?

[Assistant]
Originally,back in 1948, Malaysia was called Malaya and it only consisted of the West part. However after making deals and trying to get Singapore, Brunei,Sarawak and North Borneo(all these countries generally had a Malay heritage as well) to join then and form a country called Malaysia. All those countries agreed with the exception of Brunei. However sometime in the 60's, huge racial problems began to emerge in Malaysia and with racial clashes in Singapore which led to the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia. which is how we ended up with present day Malaysia.

In terms of administration, the country has a Prime Minister which basically controls everything, however most states have a "Sultan", imagine them like a mayor,they don't really have much power and are mostly ceremonial.


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

[User]
Why does temperature affect the appeal of food?

Some foods are best eaten hot, others are best eaten cold, and others still can be enjoyed either way. So first off, does the temperature affect the actual *taste* of food?

* If so, why?
* If not, why does it affect the appeal of the food?

Hope this makes sense.

[Assistant] Temperature increases volatility, and taste is roughly 75% olfactory. On top of that it affects texture and color, which also play a role in flavor. Taste in foods with a temperature higher than 86 degrees F or lower than 68 degrees also becomes more difficult to distinguish- Hot coffees taste less bitter whereas slightly melted ice cream tastes sweeter. Other variables include time of day it was eaten, age, gender and degree of hunger of the taster.


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

[User] Does a solar panel receive as much energy on a hot sunny day than on a cold sunny day?

[Assistant]
Hi, solar engineer here.   In short, no. Temperature does not affect the solar insolation received on an array.  However, higher temperatures decrease the voltage and efficiency of PV cells, so when it is hot they typically produce less energy.

When it's cold they actually produce more, but in most places colder weather corresponds with less direct solar radiation.

When designing a PV system, designers have to take into account the highest and lowest temperatures an area will experience to make sure the array will fall within the voltage window of the inverter.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why are Tusken Raiders such assholes? Why don't the people of Tatooine fight back?

So I was just wondering about Tusken Raiders earlier today. They torture Anakin's mom to death for no reason and whenever we see them in the movies, they're being assholes. I looked through Wookiepiedia but it didn't really tell me much.

Is there a reason Tusken Raiders are such assholes? How come the people of Tatooine don't get together in a big angry mob and wipe them out like Anakin did?

[Assistant]
Basically, Tatooine was once a lush, beautiful planet before it got glassed by the Rakata during the Infinite War. After that, pretty much all life adapted to the harsh conditions and things were generally peaceful until a few thousand years later when the Republic discovered it. They disrupted the Tusken water supplies and fucked with their territory, so the Raiders declared war.

So, in short, they had their own planet and were surviving okay there, until some ugly looking space people moved in, started taking up their territory, using up their resources, and taking over the few livable places on Tatooine. They also wrecked Tusken holy sites.

In their mind, they're not being assholes. They're fighting a war against an invading alien force that's been trying to take their stuff for thousands of years. Anakin wiped out one small village, there's thousands of Sand People out there and they're all in a better condition to fight than the colonists. They've also got a better grasp of tactics: If an army was raised to fight them, then they'd have a force go and destroy the human homes while the army was romping around for them.

They know the planet better, their mounts don't break down, they can get around faster... As it is now, the Raiders are losing the 'war' because they haven't formed a single army and the settlers have had outside help. They kill a farm or two at a time. However, if prompted, they'd probably form an army and be a threat to entire cities.


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

[User]
[RPGs in general] Are sidequests canon? If so, why are the heroes so easily distracted?

In most RPGs, the threat to the world is pretty eminent. Why are the heroes just stopping to do random stuff?  And not all these sidequests are just quickly help a villager. Many of them are intensive and time consuming.

[Assistant]
Sometimes you've just got to pace yourself. Yes, the end of the world might be just around the corner, but what good will it do if you rush in headlong, all bile and bluster, ill-prepared and over-exerted?

Taking the time to reassure yourself of your skills, get yourself centred and even just spread a little calming influence over the community... these all help to ready you for what lies ahead.


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

[User] [medaeval folklore] So I just picked up a load of primo cinnamon from an Arabic trader, and he told me the chiseling bastards get the stuff from phoenixes. What role does cinnamon play in the phoenix lifecycle? Am I sprinkling bird shit on the duke's dinner?

[Assistant] Well, the phoenix has a keen sense of smell and is particularly fond of herbs and spices. Each time it lands, it collects pieces of cinnamon bark and all kinds of fragrant leaves. It tucks some in among its feathers and carries the rest in its claws in order to craft a nest out of these materials. The trader probably got some of the cinnamon from the bark that lines a phoenix's nest, since its much harder to find the trees on your own.


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

[User] ELI5 why sometimes when we wake up in the middle of the night, our vision can get "fuzzy" or "grainy"

[Assistant]
Nursing student here ~

You have 2 receptors in your eyes, rods and cones. When it's dark, only the rods - the cells that detect light - are active. Problem is, they're not the best with detail.

Cones, which are responsible for color detection, are FANTASTIC at gathering sharp, clear and vivid details of your vision, but they don't work when there's not enough light hitting them.

(Additionally, there is ALWAYS fuzz in your vision if you choose to focus on it, but your brain is typically both so stimulated by color/detail, and so used to seeing it, that it tunes out that visual "grainy" texture.)


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

[User]
[D&D/General Fantasy] An old man claiming to be a wizard wants to construct a tower on my property. Should I accept?

I'm a landowner of a considerable amount of real estate, and I was recently approached by an apparent wizard who wants to build a tower on my land. He claims it has something to do with "lay limes" or something to that effect. I know nothing about Wizards or their work, and I've never heard of such an offer. He's offered to buy 2 acres for a very handsome sum, but I can't help but feel like there's something I need to know.

[Assistant]
Depends.

Having access to a wizard, and one who has an interest in protecting your land, is useful, really useful.

But it can also be dangerous. It would be ideal if you could vet the wizard somehow, do you know anybody who knows a trustworthy wizard?

Without any other information it's a huge gamble.

A good wizard can make your life so much easier, but a bad one can ruin your whole decade.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does it suddenly feel like our hearts drop everytime we see or do something startling like a teacher calling us over to their desk?

Admit it, you got scared whenever a teacher called you over.

[Assistant]
The release of adrenaline (more accurately called Epinephrine) is a hormone released by your adrenal glands, preparing you for a fight or flight scenario.

The release of adrenaline speeds up the beating of our hearts and it's that fluttering sensation that makes it feel like our 'heart is dropping', when something scary or nerve racking is happening.

EDIT: Grammar.


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

[User]
What distinguishes philosophy from the social sciences?

A good example would be political philosophy vs political science or philosophy of mind vs cognitive psychology. I have a feeling that empirical research (being a tool of science) may be the answer but am unsure.

[Assistant] Political science looks at different forms of government, demographics and voting trends, policies and their outcomes, etc.  Political philosophy and theory deals with questions like what is power and how does it operate, what is the moral or ethical basis for political legitimacy, what metaphysical or epistemological ideas underpin our political beliefs, etc.


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

[User] ELI5:If soap breaks down oil, why is the sebum in blackheads unaffected by washing your face?

[Assistant] Soap doesn't really "break down" oils.  It acts as a connector between water and oil.  Water is polar and oil is nonpolar.  Soap has a polar end and a nonpolar end so it acts as a hitch between the two and allows water to wash away with the oil attached.  If blackheads are too deep then they won't be pulled away by just water running over them cause they're stuck in there.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we avoid raw meat when japan consumes it so often?

I used to think it was just sushi/sashimi, but now I realize they eat raw egg, chicken, and possibly more.

[Assistant] They take care to ensure that the chickens are raised and processed in a hygienic fashion to minimize contamination with harmful pathogens. They're not going to the local ~~Giant~~ grocery store and grabbing a pack of saran-wrapped Perdue chicken tenders and just slapping them on a plate.


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

[User]
ELI5: Donating $5 to offset my carbon footprint during air travel - what exactly is that $5 doing?

Some airline websites will ask you to donate money to offset your carbon footprint - where is that money going and how is it offsetting my carbon footprint?

[Assistant]
It depends on the airline, but most likely they are using your extra $5 to buy carbon offset credits. How these credits work, differs from country to country, but the gist is this:

A company performs some sort of work that is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This might be planting trees, generating carbon-neutral energy, promoting energy efficiency, etc. This work creates carbon offset credits, which are audited and verified by some sort of authority. The authority be be a government, an industry watchdog, a reputable non-profit organization, etc. These credits are then sold on a market to either companies or individiuals.

So basically, you're helping pay for work that has already been done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that the savings you've paid for will assumed match the emissions that are generated as a rule of your travel.


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

[User]
CMV: The United States Should Have Mandated Military Service as a Disincentive for War

This is a belief I have quietly held for awhile, so might as well post in here. I believe that the United States is more willing to go to war than we should be (Iraq and Afghanistan). I believe that Congress would be less willing to vote in favor of war if all American families had to worry about their kids dying overseas for shoddy reasons. Change My View.

One note before we start, I will not be convinced by arguments that the US is correct in their war making decisions. That is not an argument that will change my view. I have no desire to get into a pointless debate on that topic that will change neither of our minds. My CMV is directly related to whether or not it is worthwhile to mandate military service in exchange for a decline in our willingness to warmonger.

Edit: Sorry if I am slow to respond to newer comments. My view has been changed and I will try to get through comments eventually to award deltas where applicable! Thank you for your time and responses!

[Assistant]
Required military service would likely have the opposite effect.  Knowing that they had a few million more soldiers,  logistic support etc. Leaders would be incentived TO declare war,  partially to give them something to do.

Military training also makes it more likely that individual citizens would support military over diplomatic solutions.  Because that's what you're trained on... if all you have is a hammer after all.

Even the threat of not being reelected isn't that large of a threat.  Not getting reelected isn't even enough of an incentive to stop politicians from harassing the people in the office.

Conscripted CIVIL service on the other hand...


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] Only chance for mankind without an Deus Ex Machina?

I'm fascinated with the lore of the Warhammer 40K Universe, but I don't see any hope for humanity to redeem itself.. hell, even to survive seems impossible in the "The End Times". The winner of the Ocatarius War will crush Terra without a doubt in my mind.

So..

Could the Imperium survive, if they just pull ALL their resources back to fortify their position in the Segmentum Solar? For instance, evacuate most worlds and relocate them in said segmentum, give every man and woman a lasgun and rudimentary training. And more important, stop defending worlds at the other edge of the galaxy, to strengthen the "borders" around the Segmentum Solar.

Would it be possible for the Imperium to survive the next 10.000 years?

[Assistant] The Imperium needs all those thousands of planets for resources. The other problem here is heresy. Its mans right to dominate the Universe, its what the Emperor wants and anything contradictory gets you a death sentence.


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

[User]
ELI5: April Fool's Day.

Why is this day dedicated to pranks and tomfoolery?

[Assistant]
When you retire you can claim any April Fool's days you participated in for a modest tax break in most European and North American countries.

It's supposed to encourage more fun and happiness, as happier people live longer. Of course the actual tax break is hard to police, and a lot of people probably claim more pranks than they've done, but the system was probably built to deal with that. Also, interestingly, there's the guilt factor so people end up actually performing tomfoolery more than they normally would anyways. jk.


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

[User] [General Science Fiction] How do territorial borders work in space, given there are 3 axes of movement. Also, how do barricades in space work?

[Assistant]
They could define them as based on three-dimensional volumes, or they could just have stars or planets each belong to specific governments. Also, it's extremely rare but not impossible for them to have territories within planets, such as one government only owning a single continent.

Barricades depend on the setting. Usually they don't exist. They could use mines that watch for ships and shoot down anything coming anywhere near them. Also, sometimes FTL travel is based around choke points that can be barricaded easily.


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

[User] Why can humans distinguish between simultaneous instruments in a piece of music but have difficulty following simultaneous conversations?

[Assistant] They're not really the same thing... one of them is noticing that there's more than one sound going on, and the other is processing two separate conversations at once. If we were incapable of realizing that more than one person is talking at once, then it would be a better comparison.


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

[User] [DC] Since Dr Manhattan was able to travel from his earth to the DC prime earth, where does that put his universe on the map of the multiverse?

[Assistant] He isn't on the map. Earth-Watchmen is either part of a separate multiverse or a standalone universe. In Doomsday Clock, Manhattan explains that he is a newcomer to the entire DC multiverse, not just Earth-0.


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

[User]
CMV: It's not "anti-science" to include transgender people with their gender of identification.

Critics of transgenderism (?) say that biology shows there's only two genders, male and female, based on sex chromosomes (which are implicit from one's anatomy and hormonal balance if one's chromosomes are not known). After all, biology classes do say that men have XY and women have XX. To not lump in transgender people with members of their biological sex, then, is denying biology.

I know that it's undeniably clear that we are a sexually dimorphic species. The division of people with XX chromosomes and people with XY (with their respective anatomy, sex hormones, etc) is about 50/50. This is something that can be empirically tested.

But if you were to say something like "people who have XY chromosomes and this kind of anatomy are men, and people with XX chromosomes are not and cannot be"--is that a statement that can be empirically tested?

My point is, it's only a "scientific" statement in the sense of "used for scientific purposes," not "demonstrable empirical fact of nature." Including transgender people with their identified genders when appropriate does not deny empirical facts of nature, as critics claim.

The statement "people who have XY chromosomes and this kind of anatomy are men, and people with XX chromosomes are not and cannot be" is merely a statement defining the boundaries of a category. These categorical criteria serve a purpose in many scientific, medical, anthropological, etc. contexts, but they need not be ironclad in all contexts. Different contexts sometimes call for categorical words to have different criteria!

Here are **four** examples of categorical words that have biology-based definitions but don't always adhere to those definitions in all contexts:

* Genetically, I'm <5% Jewish. This may be relevant in some medical contexts, bringing up what kind of conditions I or my progeny may be predisposed to. But in, say, a demographic survey, I wouldn't call myself Jewish. It's just not relevant in my life, neither ethnically nor religiously.
* I'm pretty sure we all understand that to be a "father," such as for the sake of celebrating Father's Day or contact info for the kid's school, need not involve the actual physical sire of the child. For many purposes, it's the male figure who's raised the kid as a typical biological father would. But if you were to go on the Maury show to be told, "You are not the father!", you'd *know* he doesn't mean "You are not the one who's been raising this boy alongside the mother his whole life!"
* Rabbits and hares were declassified as rodents in 1912 because their teeth suggested that categorizing these animals in a different order would reflect phylogenetics better. But in pet stores and pet owner communities, they might as well be rodents because they're lumped in right alongside them.
* To put it pithily, "knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that it doesn't belong in a fruit salad." To put it more maturely, yes, tomatoes are considered "fruits" by botanical criteria, but in culinary contexts, they're not.

If people want to discuss whether it's a good shift to categorize transgender people by non-biological criteria in non-biological contexts that distinguish between men and women, that's worthwhile. It's just that the "anti-science" angle reflects a misunderstanding of what a scientific fact is, I believe.

In short, the big trans question isn't so much whether the biological definitions of male and female are valid so much as it is whether these biological definitions should serve as the categorical boundaries between men and women in all non-biological contexts.

[Assistant]
>In short, the big trans question isn't so much whether the biological definitions of male and female are valid so much as it is whether these biological definitions should serve as the categorical boundaries between men and women in all non-biological contexts.

If you're talking about a context where this is not a useful distinction, why would ANY discussion of gender, biological or identified or otherwise, be worthwhile?


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

[User] What can I do as a high school student to better my chances of success in college and to go down the path to being a researcher?

[Assistant]
Honestly, focus on the present.  Your interests will likely change. Do well on your standardized tests. Do well in your classes. Be involved, if possible try to obtain a leadership role. Perhaps reach out to your local university. Some professors will take on high school volunteers in their lab.
Acquire good study habits, even the best students can struggle due to poor time management. After taking a few college courses look into labs that might pique your interest.


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

[User] ELI5: Is there any difference between eating 10 cookies today and eating 1 cookie every day for the next 10 days?

[Assistant]
Yes.  Eating a large number of cookies will add many calories into your diet.  Your body will be busy processing those calories and using them for energy as they come from fast-energy sources like simple carbs.  Other food you eat with fat and protein after eating 10 cookies will be set aside until the cookie carbs are burnt, and will lead to weight gain.

Eating 1 cookie a day is probably not a huge enough influx of carbs or calories and will be fairly inconsequential and not promote weight gain nearly as much.


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

[User]
ELI5: Isn't burning firewood more ecofriendly than burning coal or LPG?

The way I understand it the main culprit in climate change is carbon.  By burning coal or LPG we are releasing carbon that was trapped millions of year ago.  But by burning wood we are only releasing carbon that was trapped as little as 5 years ago.  This carbon would again be absorbed by trees and we would have a very short carbon cycle.

The problem would be deforestation.  But that can easily be countered by legislation that says that only approved firewood can be burned as fuel.  And that will result in large swathes of land being used to plant trees which grow fast and result in good quality firewood.  This will also result in biotechnology research that engineers trees that grow faster and burn more efficiently.

There would be investment in optimising planting and harvesting patterns.  As also investment in trapping the smoke.  Instead of venting it through chimneys into the air, it could be trapped in some filters.  Most of what those filters will trap would be ash and there would no doubt be some use that could be found for that.

Or am I way off?

[Assistant]
Yes, burning firewood is more ecofriendly than burning coal or (I think you were going for) Liquid Natural Gas, largely because it's renewable. But it's **energy density** that's the problem.

A cord of firewood is a certain volume, and a huge part of that cord is empty airspace because firewood doesn't stack exactly perfectly. Further, the wood itself is filled to brimming with air because wood's not that dense. So in addition to harvesting costs and drying wait times, you have massive added transportation costs to get it to the plant where it will be burned. Then you have to add the extra calories that are lost in the combustion process because, even after seasoning, that wood still has a percentage of water content that "steals" heat from the wood's fire in order to evaporate away.

That makes it *way way way* less efficient at generating industrial levels of electricity than coal or LNG, and that outweighs a lot of the ecofriendly argument.


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

[User]
I have been trying hard to appreciate and enjoy Dr. Who, but it continually disappoints. CMV

I moved in with a new roommate back in January who is a big Who fan (though he's only watched the newer, rebooted series), and because we are buddies I've tried to gain an appreciation for the show myself. But the more I watch it, the less I like it. I've watched up through the first episode of the 4th series. Here are my major problems with the show:

1) There is no suspense. The Doctor and his companion are in trouble again? Don't worry! Only throwaway, one-off characters ever die. The Doctor can't die and the Companions have plot armor (this may change in the series I haven't watched). So while the Doctor and Co. are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, the only emotion I feel is boredom.

2) Should I be concerned about the latest convoluted plot by some (ludicrous looking) alien criminals to destroy the earth and all of humanity? No dice. Just more boredom. You can always count on the Doctor to make some last minute play to save everyone in the nick of time.

3) Speaking of Deus Ex Machina, the Doctor's plans to save everyone are never particularly clever or interesting. They all essentially boil down to making some big speech to the bad guy and then pressing some random buttons (don't forget the lovely Sonic Screwdriver, which is literally a pocket-sized Deus Ex Machina). Talk about lazy writing.

Ultimately I'm left wondering why I should care about anything that's happening on the screen. The Doctor is generally charming and I occasionally enjoy the British humor when it's not too over the top (Aliens that constantly fart? Good one.), but nothing is at stake and it basically feels like I'm watching a bunch of people play elaborate dress up while random shit happens left and right. The rare revelation (like Captain Jack being the face of Boe) does not make up for all of the other convoluted, random plot points that just feel pointless and silly.

Perhaps I'm taking it too seriously. I'm a big fan of television and movies and it's likely I'm putting too much thought into the whole thing, but that's only because I'd like to be able to enjoy the show. Please CMV, help me see the show in a new light so I can bro out with my roomie.

[Assistant]
You miss the point. It's not meant to be suspenseful. The world will always be doomed. The world will always be saved. The sun rises. The sun sets. And so it goes. Our doctor and his companion rush hand in hand from one apocalypse to another, smiling like children...

And that's your hint that you're not meant to take any of this too seriously. It's all about the fun.

The real suspense, comes from how the world is in danger. For example, the only time the Earth is destroyed, our heroes are crashing a party where everyone from around the entire universe came to say goodbye to the Earth. Some of those someones are intelligent memes. Another is a rather attractive tree. The last human is a nasty, evil, joke.

And the punchline to it all? The Earth being destroyed actually meant something to Rose Tyler. Think about that. The writers actually gave the viewers credit enough to be jaded about the end of the world, but gave their characters enough credit not to be able to just blow it off.

There's another episode, where people wait in traffic jams that last their entire lives. And they fully explore this insane concept.

Or the angels that kill you by sending you back in time with a touch, so you're forced to live out a brand new life...it may even be a wonderful one. But there's the separation from those you love...

Is it a punishment, or a reward? The answers to that question are as unique as fingerprints.

That for me, is the appeal. The chase, the suspense, all the action - that's just one step from a shameless dance number. It's fun for the sake of fun. But the creativity? The formula forces them to come up with new ways of making each episode unique, in a way that shows with more creative freedom never, ever touch...


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

[User] ELI5: if European diseases killed 90% of indigenous N & S Americans, why didn't American diseases return the favor when European ships returned?

[Assistant]
Europeans had built immunity to a wider array of pathogens over the centuries, from Black Plague, etc., etc., because their range of territory covered was so much wider.

By 1500, Europeans had been attacked by Jihadists from North Africa coming by boat across the Mediterranean, had traveled to the Holy Land to return the favor via the Crusades, had trade voyages of Marco Polo, had experienced invasions by the Mongols and the Huns, etc.  Not to mention 1500 years of pan-European contact.

Whereas the typical NA Indian had primarily traded only with adjacent tribes, and there was no widespread large-ship-building and seafaring tradition.

The Europeans were inoculated to a variety of diseases; the NA Indians, to practically none.


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

[User] Did we make engines first and searched for a compatible oil and gas OR oil and gas was found first and engines were made to work with it?

[Assistant]
Kinda both.

First, the oil / gas.

Humans have been using oil/grease for rather a long time before the engine came out, we have records of it being used in various projects back into roman times.

Similarly, humans have been burning hydrocarbons for energy well before the engine was invented. And humans had been making explosions to drive work long before the engine was invented.

Second, humans have had various attempts at some kind of engine long before the gas powered one was invented.steam engines, water power engines, muscle power engines etc.

Finally, designing is an iterative process, you start with something existing (even if the idea is new, most of the tech you need usually exists already in one form or other).

And you try and tweak it into place, then you change something to try and make it better, and that change might require a change elsewhere, and that one opens up new possibilities.

And you repeat untill you have something that works.

So what you have are oils gases and engines being developed for different applications, and with each iteration of the engine, they all changed.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why, with all our fancy technologies and stuff, are vacuum cleaners still so loud?

The vacuum noise is terrible and I hate it. :( Surely we could get rid of it - right?

Edit: What parts / design is missing from a vacuum cleaner to make it quiet?

[Assistant]
In all honesty, we could make vacuums  that run basically silent.  We do have the technology.

But they would be complicated, probably rather large, and VERY expensive.  And people just aren't interested in paying ludicrous amounts of money for a vacuum cleaner.  Therefore they don't make them.


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

[User]
[BttF] What about the Libiyans?

What happened to the Libiyans after the events at Lone Pine Mall? Assuming one or more survived the crash...

Did they escape and exhaust more resources trying to find a Dr. Brown who has disappeared from the present time? Did the Doc leave an anonymous tip for the FBI? Would Marty eventually be questioned by the Feds regarding the theft of illicit weapons-grade plutonium from foreign actors? Would he receive further questioning regarding the complete and utter disappearance of Brown, who the Feds would have attempted to question/arrest first? I realize it was late at night, but did no one hear or report automatic gunfire or RPG explosions? Did Marty and Doc "clean" the situation up, all nice and tidy?

[Assistant]
Say you're an angry militant Libyan. You put your neck out in a big move to steal weapons grade plutonium for this crazy-haired nut job because the guy was a genius. He's smart enough that you're confident he'd deliver. No man that smart could be dumb enough to double-cross you, right?

Wrong. Now you're pissed. It's been months with no progress and no bomb. Worse, there's no contact with this guy. He kept himself clean. As you start working harder and harder searching for this guy, pouring more and more resources into finding him, your search for answers becomes overshadowed by your thirst for blood. You're angry. Finally tracking down his home address led to nothing but an empty case of goods. Then finally there's contact: the loon called his own house (where you've tapped the phone) and given some kid a meeting place.

You send two of your men with an arsenal. You want no question that Doc Brown is dead. And if he HAS built a weapon and decides to turn it on you? You've even got an RPG to make sure you take out Hill Valley instead of anything you actually care for.

So the attack happens. Your men kill Brown before getting carried away and crashing as they try to chase down the kid roped into helping that nut job. The driver pulls through but the gunner isn't so lucky. Driver claim the kid "disappeared" as the sped after him, but you realize that's the brain damage from the crash talking.

You decide it's better to not test your luck with American authorities to kill some kid.  Seems said authorizes haven't done anything to investigate the death of Brown, whose body the kid must've taken and buried secretly.  Best not test your luck. Subsequent searches of the doctor's house prove useless. The goods never returned and the house was all but deserted. It's clearly best to get out of the states and let the trail die before the weapons grade plutonium trail leads to you.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] How would a Boggart portray a more abstract fear?

A Boggart's abilities seem to be limited to shape-shifting itself, it doesn't seem to be able to affect the senses of the person facing it.

How then would a boggart deal with someone with a fear that isn't as cut and dry as 'spiders' or 'dementors'? What about a fear of  being unimportant, or the dark, or being lost, etc?

[Assistant] Boggarts transform into the moon in from of Lupin, but Lupin isn't exactly afraid of the moon- he's afraid of transforming into a werewolf and losing control. It's safe to say the would probably do something similar in your cases- using symbols or triggers to reflect the vaguer fear.


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

[User] [DBZ] What's with Piccalo's cloths beam? And his extended arms that never come back? And his shape shifting that never comes back again?

[Assistant]
His Clothes Beam is an extension of his magic. It's the same magic that he'd use to, say, create the Dragonballs.

His stretchy arms come by every now and then, but they're really only valuable for suprise. Piccolo much prefers 'hard' martial arts, while the stretchy arms are really only good for 'soft' grabs and throws. There's no reason to throw a punch with them when he can throw an energy blast instead.

His shapeshifting is rarely useful. When he turned into a giant during the tournament, ki blasts weren't nearly as common and Goku was still restricting himself to the rules of the Tenkaichi Budokai. When he fought Garlic Jr, he was basically making a point. Either way, the power gained wasn't that much. Goku, when facing Piccolo in his Great Namek form for the first time, even points out that he doesn't get any more powerful. He just becomes larger and heavier, giving his blows more weight.

In any case, his shapeshifting lacks usefulness. Once he hit a certain point, becoming denser and having more weight behind his punches wouldn't actually matter to his enemies that much, and it really just made him a bigger target. He's only ever had two men inside of him, and that's one too many.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why don't cars have direct drive transmission instead of a gearbox?

Wouldn't direct drive be more efficient/less complex than an engine with a transmission?

[Assistant] A gasoline or diesel engine has an ideal speed that it wants to be running at. This is usually somewhere in the range of 1500-4000 revolutions per minute. But, the wheels of your car need to spin either slower or faster than that depending on what speed you want to go. So, a gear box lets your engine continue to run in its ideal range while the tires spin at a higher or lower rate.


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

[User] ELI5: The dissolution of Yugoslavia.

[Assistant]
Yugoslavia had major domestic problems in the 1990s. They had foreign debt, unemployment and inflation, which caused a turmoil. In addition to that, nationalism became dominant over communism. Yugoslavia was made up of six countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Slovenia was the first to break apart, followed by Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. The only two countries that made up Yugoslavia in 1993 were Serbia and Montenegro. However, the communist government of Serbia wanted to gain back those countries and began a war with Croatia.

Another conflict came to Yugoslavia as Bosnians declared independence. However, Serbs living in Bosnia wanted to build a greater Serbia and began an "ethnic cleansing", in which they drove out Bosnian Muslims from their homes. Finally, Bosnian Muslim government was surrounded by Bosnian Serbs. Americans wanted to end these conflicts and that resulted in Dayton Agreement, instituted in 1995, which created two self-governing groups in Bosnia - Bosnian Serb Republic and Muslim-Croat Federation.

During this, Croatia took most of the territory controlled by Serbs, which resulted in massive exiles of Serbs from Croatia. Kosovo Army, made up of mostly Albanians, later began revolts against Serbian rule. NATO (National Atlantic Treaty Organization) began a series of air strikes in Yugoslavia in 1999. Finally, the ruler of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic lost a presidential election in 2000 and was eventually forced out of office by mass demonstrations. In 2003, Yugoslavia no longer existed.

It was just called Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006, Montenegro declared independence and the union was completely abolished.

Formal names of Yugoslavia:

1. Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918 - 1929)

2. Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929 - 1941)

3. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1943 - 1991)

4. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992 - 2003)

Countries that split apart from Yugoslavia:

1. Slovenia (June 25, 1991)

2. Croatia (June 25, 1991)

3. Macedonia (September 8, 1991)

4. Bosnia and Herzegovina (March 1, 1992)

Countries that split apart from Serbia:

1. Montenegro (June 3, 2006)

2. Kosovo (February 17, 2008)


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why did Tom Riddle ask about the creation of seven horcruxes?

I have been doing research about the rise of notorious dark wizard Tom Riddle, and I have learned that after his final demise, it was discovered that horcruxes had been keeping him alive. The first mention of them is from an interview of Horace Slughorn. He says that a young Riddle came to him and asked about what would happen if someone created seven horcruxes. Why would he have asked that if he only purposely created six horcruxes. The diary, the ring, the cup, the diadem, the locket, and the infernal snake Nagini were all that he intended to create, with Harry Potter and Quirrell being more or less accidents. So why would he have asked about seven?

[Assistant]
He wasn't necessarily looking into seven HORCRUXES, but splitting his soul into seven parts: one part in himself, six parts in horcruxes. Seven is an incredibly powerful number, as should know anyone who's taken even BASIC arithmancy or numerology classes. Seven days of the week, seven arms on the Menorah, Seven Pillars in the House of Wisdom, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Sacraments, Seven Layers of Earth (in Islam), Seven Chakras on the Body, Seven Days of Shiv'a (mourning), etc.

Voldemort succeeded in splitting his soul seven ways, which is part of why he became nigh unstoppable in the old, dark days. When he tried to kill Harry and his curse rebounded, his soul split AGAIN, half residing in himself and another half in Harry. With eight soul shards rather than seven, he became vulnerable, which is how is downfall began.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it more difficult to inhale when a force of wind or cold air is hitting your face?

[Assistant] Mammalian Dive Reflex. It's a reflex that keeps us from accidentally breathing in while underwater, but cold air or wind can sometimes imitate the sensation of water well enough that it triggers the reflex, making it difficult to inhale.


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

[User] ELI5: How do transplanted organs, connect back to the new body? Do doctors reenginner tens of millions (?) of connections back?

[Assistant]
There really arent that many connections.

Take the kidneys for instance. There is the renal artery going in, the renal vein going out, and the tube for urine going to the bladder.

For the most part, thats really it.

Sure there might be a bit of connective tissue that holds the organ in place, the body can easily grow that back though on its own, its pretty good at repairing itself. Arteries and veins will eventually grow into each other to make a better seal.

Similar case for the liver. One artery in, one artery out, bile duct is also connected connected, stitch those together and it should work.

Fun fact: Many organs have nerves, these are not connected during a transplant. Nerves in organs are only really needed to feel pain to tell the host that something is wrong. This includes the heart, so people with heart transplants can actually have heart attacks that they do not feel simply because the nerves are not connected.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the right hand more likely to be the dominant one?

[Assistant]
Short answer: we don't really know.

There is definitely a social component: for a long time lefties were trained to use their right hand instead. But this was because people were overwhelmingly right-handed to begin with. So it doesn't explain why righties are more common; it just means they are a little less common than we thought. Past rates of lefties is around 6-8% in times when right-handedness was enforced, compared with 10-12% lefties today.

There are advantages to having a dominant hand in nature: it means you can specialize your tool use and manipulation to one stronger, better-controlled hand. Many animals favor one limb over the other. It's not hard to imagine the benefits. But that doesn't explain why it should usually be the right hand. For example, chimps favor one hand, but it's somewhere around 50/50 to 67/33 in favor of righties. So this doesn't explain why we tend to favor the right.

This leads us to the theory that we have a gene that controls hand dominance, but instead of the options being right and left, the options are right-handed and random, meaning that these people could wind up with either hand dominant. This would go a long way to explaining why righties outnumber lefties 9 to 1.  This is called the dextral/chance model.

But current research shows that it's far more complex than that. The genetics of handedness do not come from a single gene, but some interaction between a number of genes, perhaps hundreds.  We also now know that handedness is not strictly genetic: identical twins for example aren't any more likely to have the same dominant hand than fraternal twins.

But none of this explains why the right hand is the popular one. For a long time, scientists have suspected it had to do with the development of language, because the right hand and language processing are both controlled by the left side of the brain.  So maybe when we were developing language, it caused us to tend to be righties.  Left-handed people also tend to process language on the left side of the brain, so the solution isn't as simple as mirror brain layouts. Best guess is that language processing improved the left side of the brain, which made it advantageous to favor the right hand.


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

[User] If an astronaut were to take their smartphone into space would they be able to play games that require directional control? Would the lack of gravity affect the game playability?

[Assistant] Maybe, with some really intense calibration. Accelerometers use really tiny springs with one half of a capacitor on it (one plate), and acceleration causes this hanging plate to get closer to another half of a capacitor, but farther from the opposite side's half capacitor. This creates a difference in capacitance, which a circuit can interpret and map to game inputs. Now these accelerometers are usually calibrated for 1g, but something tells me if they were calibrated for smaller values it would still work, based on the knowledge acceleration without gravity (ie, flicking the phone) will still register. Though tilting might experience less success. Sorry for the wishy washy answer, its a really good question that i cant provide so much a conclusion on, just some hopefully helpful info and inklings.


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

[User] ELI5: How are 2nd floor joists supported at exterior walls in old turn-of-the-century (1900) brick homes?

[Assistant] They were typically set into beam pockets recessed into the masonry facade/structure. There would basically be a notch or hole left in the brickwork and the joist slid in. The vertical load of the joist is now supported by the masonry below in compression.


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

[User] [Avengers] How was Loki able to use the Tesseract to transport himself to its location in the first Avengers movie? What prevented Thanos from doing this later when it was in Odins vault?

[Assistant] Loki (or a Loki mirage) was there all along whispering in Dr. Selvig's ear. It was either Loki the entire time; in which case he just needed the scepter transported to him, Loki there part of the time and that was just a return trip from meeting Thanos, or it was a ghost that was influencing Dr. Selvig to arrange the gate to bring Loki's main body. Another option was that Loki was there with the staff all along and the entire thing was a show to make a grand entrance.


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

[User] Is there a theoretical limit on how long carbon chains can be?

[Assistant]
Non-reusable shopping bags are chains of polyethylene thousands of atoms long. UMHWPE chains can be hundreds of thousands of atoms long.

Usually polymer size is expressed as molecular weight in Daltons. So take the highest molecular weight polymers you can find and divide by the mass of a subunit, which would be 14 Daltons for polyethylene (a carbon and two hydrogens).


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

[User]
CMV: If President Biden and the US Government are going to forgive Federal student loan balances, they should also give money to those people who are below certain income levels and can prove they paid for school themselves.

I think the student loan crisis in America is a massive problem and it is handcuffing a huge segment of an entire generation by not allowing them to accumulate wealth or own homes because people don't have the ability to save. So loan forgiveness makes sense in that regard.

But forgiving the outstanding balance owed on Federal student loans is also an enormous slap in the face to every student and family or parent who worked and studied and scrimped and saved to afford to pay for higher education themselves without loans or borrowing less than they otherwise would have. People made decisions at great personal sacrifice to avoid the burden of paying off student loans for years following graduation - whether it was to go to a less expensive state school or community college, earn academic, artistic, or athletic scholarships, or simply work and save enough to pay for school themselves - and deciding to simply forgive the balance owed by people who made lesser or no sacrifice? It's incredibly unfair.

If the US Government is going to forgive outstanding balances owed on federal student loans, it should also allow citizens who paid for school themselves (with some kind of timeframe and income/asset limit) to demonstrate they did so and apply for some form of reimbursement.

[Assistant] Your argument is based on a "fairness" principle as if there are solutions in which all parties involved find "fair" outcome. There are no such paradigms in current economic climates. Someone is getting the short end. Whether it's the banks, the taxpayers, or the students. Right now, the current students are getting the short end when education price inflation is greatly outpacing any previous generation. In your view, forgiveness would move the short end to those who already have paid or chose not to participate. However, those individuals are likely able to handle to short end compared to those massively in debt. TLDR: someone gets fucked no matter what. Who is a matter of opinion.


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

[User] ELI5: If microwaves work by heating water molecules, how do they heat things without water molecules, like plates?

[Assistant]
It doesn't just heat water, it's just that water is good at absorbing the microwave radiation.

The microwave is designed so the inside wall reflects as much of the radiation as possible. So if there is a photon which completely penetrates whatever you put into the microwave, it's probably just going to bounce off the wall and make another pass - until it's absorbed by something. So regardless of what you put into the microwave, it's going to receive a similar of power, be it an empty plate or a huge bowl of soup.


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

[User]
ELI5: How dirty are coins?

On one hand, they are made of heavy metals.
On another hand, they are usually in moist and warm environments (pockets).
And on yet another hand, they may have other non-living grossness.

What wins , by how much, and why ?

[Assistant] Coins are known to be some of the dirtiest objects on earth. No joke. There is a extremely fascinating episode of "dirty jobs" where Mike Rowe visits a hotel in California who offers coin cleaning free of charge. They started in the 1800s when women commonly wore gloves and the coins would tarnish them.


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

[User] Why is Silicon Valley located in the United States instead of, say, Europe or Japan? Also, why have other countries been unable to replicate their own silicon valley on par with the United States?

[Assistant]
It's a combination of all the elements being centrally located and a bit of luck with being first. For starters you have two strong research universities (University of California Berkeley and Stanford University) that had a tremendous amount of government tech funding during and after World War II. Many of the brightest students moved into the area for those research opportunities. You have a near perfect climate that no one wants to leave (never gets cold, never gets too hot) making it a great place to live and work.

The tech firms that came out of those research grants like Hewlett Packard hired those bright tech graduates. Stanford and Cal gained a reputation as excellent computer science and technology schools attracting the best students and funding the best graduate research projects and again no one wants to leave because of the awesome climate.

Funding floods the area because great ideas are coming out of there. This huge companies grow and then it becomes the central location that top talent is attracted too. Sandhill road becomes synonymous with private equity funding and we come to today where tech talent is cultivated and even bad ideas get funded because everyone wants a piece of it.

There is a vast amount of tech talent in Japan and Europe but those economies were devastated after WWII and it took years to rebuild the infrastructure. Japan and now China have grown there own talent but there is a language barrier with the rest of the world. (English is taught as a second language throughout the world and much of the top tech talent already speaks it. The same cannot quite be said for Japanese and Chinese although there are certainly growing exceptions to this).

Tldr: Great weather, money, great education system, language that top talent learns, money and got there first.


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

[User] ELI5: What is object-oriented programming?

[Assistant]
Imagine an object. This can be anything, such as a dog, a bag, a bottle, a car, or any other conceivable (or sometimes inconceivable!) THING.

Think about what each dog, or each bag, or each bottle, or each car has in common. They can DO things, and they can also have special quirks to them.

Dogs bark, chase cats, scratch themselves, and sleep. They can be timid, quiet, loud, excitable, of any number of colors, big, small. Cars can move, can stop, can contain passengers, can go fast, or slow.

Object oriented programming is a way to describe what a thing IS and what it can DO.


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

[User] [Superman] Kal-El is discovered as an infant by Governor Theodore Roosevelt in 1899. How does history change?

[Assistant] This would be during his second marriage, in which the child from his first did not get on well with the step mother. So Kal El *might* have more struggle with women (although it might have more to do with Alice than her step mum). He'd probably be more likely to enlist, as every child did, and also have a bit more confidence as Clark Roosevelt, being more used to the public eye long before his decision to be Superman.


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

[User]
eli5 How does traffic work in movies ?

Like I know on residential they can shut down the block to film what they want.

Generally speaking do they pay extras to drive around the scene to create traffic flow ?

And scenes on the express way are they extras driving those cars.

[Assistant] Sometimes the vehicles are actually going down a street and following the traffic. A stunt driver could be placed on top of the car, driving for them but out of camera view to the actors driving. And sometimes the entire car is on a trailer pulled behind a truck with camera crews at all angles filming as they drive down the street. Youll occasionally see them with police escorts in LA.


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

[User] [Star wars tesb] 1. Why did the wampa keep luke alive when it planned to eat him later on; and 2. How did it know to disarm him?

[Assistant] Wampas prefer meat from a fresh kill, not something that has been dead for hours.  And the wampa didn't disarm Luke, his lightsaber simply fell his belt and landed nearby when he was hung upside down.


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

[User]
If plastic is derived from petroleum, and the world has such a big litter problem with it, then why can't petroleum based plastics be turned into energy instead of being dumped?

In other words, why can't we get energy from plastic (a product made from oil)?

[Assistant] Because it's still cheaper to drill, pump, ship, refine, and burn the stuff than to collect, sort, wash, and burn it. Plus, something like <1% of all electrical power comes from oil in the United States; it's much cheaper and easier to use natural gas and coal. Most oil goes towards fueling vehicles, and- unfortunately- recycled plastics don't lend themselves well towards burning in a combustion engine (not enough liquid hydrocarbons, not enough aromatic hydrocarbons). People are working on it, but recycling still ends up being pricey in comparison to pumping it. That may change eventually, but it's still a while off.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] If we found the right thing to have the Blade of Godric Gryfindor absorb, could it become the ultimate weapon?

The blade does not dull or rust and only takes in that which makes it stronger.

So that could be very interesting indeed.

First what is defined as strengthening it?

We know it is now permanently impregnated with basilisk blood, so it can absorb and secrete poisons.

What is the best thing the blade could take in which fits the criteria of "Does not weaken blade" AND "Strengthens the blade" ?

[Assistant]
It already is the ultimate weapon. It's unbreakable, and with basilisk venom infused it is 100% deadly. It's clearly stronger than a killing curse because killing curses don't affect horcruxes, and killing curses are already one of the strongest ones in existence.

I don't see how it could be any deadlier unless you wanted it to shoot out curses or something. Or if you're talking about making it more beneficial to the bearer you could talking about maybe adding some positive attributes to it.


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

[User]
[Lord of The Rings] What would have happened if Gandalf had taken the ring when Frodo offered it to him?

Or for that matter, what would have happened if the various "super powers" of middle-earth had taken the ring when they were given the opportunity?

Elrond
Galadriel
Elendil
The Balrog
Denethor
Boromir

Gandalf says that through him the ring would "wield a power greater than anything beyond imaging" Or something else like that.  What does he mean by this?

[Assistant]
Tolkien actually answers this in *Letter #246*:
>"Of the others only Gandalf might be expected to master him - being an emissary of the Powers and a creature of the same order, an immortal spirit taking the visible physical form."

He then explains that *perhaps* Elrond or Galadriel could use the ring against Sauron, but only Gandalf would be able to confront Sauron alone.

>"One can imagine the scene in which Gandalf, say, was placed in such a position. It would be a delicate balance. On one side the true allegiance of the Ring to Sauron; on the other superior strength because Sauron was not actually in possession, and perhaps also because he was weakened by long corruption and expenditure of will in dominating inferiors. If Gandalf proved the victor, the result would have been for Sauron the same as the destruction of the Ring; for him it would have been destroyed, taken from him for ever."

So a possibility existed that Sauron could have been defeated through use of the Ring. The only problem was that Gandalf would essentially replace Sauron:
>"Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great)." [Written in the margin Tolkien wrote: 'Thus while Sauron multiplied [illegible word] evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.']


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

[User] ELI5: What is China's water crisis? How bad really is it?

[Assistant]
Their waters are polluted and they are draining their aquifers.

The are building a lot of infrastructure to help convey water from places that have it to places that need it, and working on cleaning up the pollution. But a lot of people will be drinking bad water in the meantime.


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

[User] [Jurassic Park] Why didn't they use bird DNA to fill in the Dino DNA gaps? Birds are much more closely related to dinosaurs than frogs are, and they have the added benefit of not changing sex.

[Assistant]
Contrary to the film portrayal of the events, InGen scientists used the DNA from a variety of species to fill in the gaps. They made their best guesses as to what each gene was supposed to do, and matched it with a gene from an animal that seemed the best match for that process.

Not every dinosaur was able to change sex and reproduce. Only the ones that had that specific set of genes from frogs.


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

[User] Why is it that hair grows to extensive lengths on your head, while leg and arm hairs remain quite short?

[Assistant]
Hair doesn't actually stop growing. The different lengths you see get are just a result of them falling out before they can get any longer.

A follicle will produce new cells for a certain period of time depending on where it is located on your body. This period is called the growth phase called anogen. Then it will stop for a period of time (the rest phase called telogen), and then restart the growth phase again.

When the hair follicle enters the rest phase, the hair shaft breaks, so the existing hair falls out and a new hair takes its place. Therefore, the length of time that the hair is able to spend growing during the growth phase controls the maximum length of the hair. Scientists have observed hairs on different parts of the body. They find these ranges of growth for different kinds of hair.

Scalp hair (Anagen , grows 4 to 8 years) (Telogen, rests 2 to 4 months)

Eyelashes. trunk, and extremities (Anagen, grows 1 to 6 months) (Telogen, rests 2 to 4 months)

Hope that helps!


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

[User]
[World War Z novel] What were each countrys version of Yonkers?

Yonkers was a horrible military disaster for the United States and prompted the government and military to retreat towards the Western US (the Battle of Yonkers didnt make a lot of realistic sense to me but World War Z is the same novel that has zombies moving in hordes at the bottom of the ocean, so whatever).

This begs the question, what were each countrys version of Yonkers? South Korea had the Battle of Incheon but what about Japan, or Germany, or the UK,  Canada, Brazil, etc.?

[Assistant] In many ways, Yonkers was *everyone's* "Yonkers". It was a big, messy, horrible failure that made it clear that the tactics and gear for the last war weren't going to work. If America, the MFing patent holders on "shock and awe" couldn't shock or awe this enemy, **no one was going to do it**. Before then, people still thought that this was still a controllable situation, and that drastic measures weren't needed. After that, anyone who tried to argue for conventional combined arms warfare got the screenshots from Yonkers shoved in their face. It was the wake-up call. With limited exceptions (the Israelis, individual thinkers like Knight, Warbrunn and Redeker, and possibly the North Koreans and top level Chinese politicians), Yonkers was *the* "oh fuck" moment.


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

[User]
[DC] Would Batman fabricate or re-create evidence to convict someone whom is 100% certainly guilty?

Or has he done this, in the past? We know he will disregard most laws and commit multiple crimes to bring someone to what he sees as "justice." Dangling someone off a skyscraper to encourage them to turn themselves in or inform on a partner in crime, for instance, is ludicrously criminal behavior.

As a for-instance: Lex Luthor admits a criminal scheme to Batman, or Batman witnesses the crime. Luthor then covers his tracks so well that it can never be traced back to him, as he often does. Does Batman's moral code allow him to beat confessions out of people (violent crime to bring a criminal to justice) but not straight up frame Luthor for a crime he 100% knows Luthor committed?

You have to figure, as the world's greatest detective, his frame-ups would be airtight.

Edit: Thanks for all of the discussion - it looks like he did something sort tangential to this in No Man's Land with forging notarizations on unauthorized copies of titles and deeds - enough for me to think forging evidence is a tool in his toolbox, to be taken out if he feels it's necessary to achieve justice.

[Assistant]
Yes. During No Mans Land he created forgeries of the entirety of Gotham City municipalities paper records to prevent Luthor from fraudulently claiming ownership of city properties. This was after Luthor had hired Bane to destroy those records. This would have resulted in the majority of Wayne Corp real estate holdings becoming Lexcorp holdings.
So imo he will stoop to fraud and forgery to win.


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

[User] ELI5: How are "scratch n' sniff" stickers made?

[Assistant] There are tiny (microscopic) capsules filled with scented chemicals on the surface of any sort of "scratch n' sniff" surface. When you scratch them with your finger, you rupture some of them and release the smell.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Was Vader truly holding back on the Second Death Star, or was he giving it his all?

Like, everyone says he could have destroyed Luke at that point, but, in the fight it honestly looks like he just doesn't have it anymore. He ends the fight panting and wounded, is clearly startled when Luke rushes him, and seemed to move on the defense at that point. In fact, Vader even starts off the duel seeming exhausted, like, as if his strength was already waning before having to face his son, like, just watching his behavior in ESB and other duels post-Mustafar, Vader seems really warn out already.

[Assistant] I don't think Vader was holding back either. He may have been hesistant to kill his son, but that doesn't mean he purposely threw the fight or didn't take opportunities to attack him. And people forget that Luke is a powerful Force-wielder in his own right by the time of their final duel.


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

[User]
[Terminator 2] Instead of using the minigun against police cars what if they saved it for the T-1000?

How effective would it be? Would it be able to keep the t-1000 from forming back together?

[Assistant]
The whole point of the T-1000 is that it's ultimately impervious to projectile weapons.

Punching holes in it slows it down marginally.  Big holes slow it down more, small holes less so.  What the minigun does is punch a lot of small holes very rapidly.

Best case scenario is that they can use it to break the T-1000 into very small parts for as long as they have ammo.  After the ammo runs out, it more or less instantly reforms.

At the end of the day, it's not an effective weapon against the T-1000 and it was a good tactical decision to use it against the police instead.


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

[User]
ELI5: what is the difference between stereo sound, Dolby sound, and all the other types of sound?

Whats the difference now? Come on fellas help me out.

[Assistant]
Mono (1) - the sound comes from all the speakers and sound the same.

Stereo (2) - Two different sounds played on two (or more) speakers.

Stereo w/ bass (2.1) - Same as stereo, but there's a rumbly box making shaky noises.

Dolby Surround Sound - Dolby's version of many sounds coming from many directions. (5.1 - 5 speakers and a rumbly box, 7.1 - 7 speakers and rumbly box.


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

[User]
CMV: A one season tv-show is not a miniseries

This CMV was prompted by a recent post on Facebook, where HBO, after the success of Chernobyl, promoted its other miniserieses. What bothered me was that among other genuine miniserieses, like The Pacific, there were normal tv-shows that were meant to last multiple seasons, but, for one reason or another, were cancelled and only had one. Shows like Vinyl, or Luck.

I believe that if you have a tv-show that is designed to be a series that lasts multiple seasons, it's not a miniseries, if it's cut down prematurely. There are usually many storylines that are left unresolved, character arcs that are incomplete, stories that were never told, but possibly set-up. If Game of Thrones flopped and only ran for one season, it doesn't make the show a miniseries.

Miniseries is exactly what it says. Series that is miniature by design. The time and format were purposeful for the story it wanted to tell.

Imagine the following: A pilot for a tv-show is released, but for some reason or another, the rest of the show is not. The pilot does not magically become a movie, by the virtue of having no other episodes released. You might market it as a tv-movie, but it's not. It's an episode of a show that never aired.

[Assistant]
Your focusing on the semnatics and ignoring the pragmatics. And humans speak in pragmatics.

People looking for one season shows - miniseries - dont really care if they were intended to be like that. Miniseries can be unresolved.

So when people ask: Oh Im looking for a new miniseries. Are you not going to say Luck or Vinyl for semantic reasons? Or would you say them because pragmatically you know they mean 1 season tv shows?


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

[User]
ELI5 What does a score of 24 indicate in the AQ test?

i took a test and the result i got was 24, the results in google tell me that i may have traits related to autism, is that the only thing that it indicates?

[Assistant]
Honestly? It couls mean you're probably you're just a bit more introverted than most people, maybe your social skills aren't quite as good as everyone else's, there's a lot of possibilities.

Don't get worried over things that you shouldn't be worried about.


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

[User] [ASOIAF] Robert was made king because he was a distant relative to the Targaryans. What would have happened of he didn't have that relation but still won the Rebellion?

[Assistant]
The rebellion was actually led by Jon Arryn. He started it when he refused to follow the Mad King's command and kill Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark.

All three of them led their armies in important battles during the war and all three of them had their moment of glory. Robert got a lot of fame because he killed the crown prince, Rhaegar Targaryen, but that was only possible because Ned arrived with a force and saved him in the Stoney Sept. Both Ned, Robert and Jon Arryn were at the Battle of the ~~Bells~~ Trident, where Rhaegar was murdered.

After that, Ned went on to capture King's Landing where he found the Lannisters sacking the city and Jaime sitting on the throne covered on Aerys' Targaryen, the Mad King, blood.

He could have claimed the throne for himself at that moment, or for Jon Arryn. He could've taken the knee and claimed Jaime was the king now, for he was sitting on the Iron Throne.

However, Ned had little interest in the crown, or in the south, and he considered Jaime a dishonorable man. Jon was already aging and Robert not only had killed Rhaegar, he was single, in his prime, with a shadow of a claim to the throne.

They made the smart choice. They married Robert to a powerful vassal house, the Lannisters, and used that weak claim (it came from his grandmother and, in Westeros law, that is pretty much the same as nothing) to give him legitimacy.

Doing that, Robert could rule with support of a vast majority of his vassal lords (5 out of 8). The Tully's of Riverrun had supported him during his war after marrying two daughters to Lord Stark and Lord Arryn, the Starks and Arryns were obviously not an issue and the Lannister had a Queen by his side. Since Robert controlled the Baratheons, the remaining houses being were the Greyjoys, the Martells and the Tyrells.

The Tyrells fought for the Targaryen's during the rebellion, but did the bare minimum. They had little interest in finding themselves in the wrong side of the table.

The Greyjoys rebelled. Not because they had a problem with Robert, or they supported the Targaryens. They simple saw an opportunity and tried their luck. It not only didn't work for them, it gave Robert an opportunity to unify the kingdom against a common enemy. Under Robert.

The Martells were the real problem. Rhaegar was married to one of them, and the Lannister butchered her and her children when they sacked King's Landing. By the start of the books, however, they have not made any moves against Robert.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**TL;DR:** Robert was single, so they could marry him off to gain another ally for the throne and his weak claim was only an excuse to give their coup some legitimacy

*edit*: Rhaegar died in the battle of the Trident, not the Battle of Bells.


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

[User] ELI5: Why arent all instruments written in concert pitch?

[Assistant]
It's counter intuitive, because you'd think everything would be easier that way, but the current way is actually easier on instrumentalists.

Take the trumpet for example.  The most common trumpet is pitched in Bb.  It has a nice, open, brassy sound.  But the C trumpet is a bit brighter, and is often used in orchestral music.  So a well-rounded trumpet player would have to learn to play the instrument twice.

We avoid that by writing the music differently.  So a trumpet player sees the note F, on the bottom space of the staff.  If he's playing a C trumpet (concert pitch), he holds down the first valve and plays an F.  If he's playing a Bb trumpet, he holds down the first valve and plays a concert Eb, which he calls an F.  Either way, he uses the same fingering and similar embouchre.  Same with middle C - one line below the staff.  On both trumpets, you'd see the note and play an open fingering - on a C, it's a C, on a Bb, it's a Bb.

So because of that, the trumpet player only has to learn the instrument once.  Even if he's never seen a C trumpet before, he can pick one up, read the music (which is in C - concert pitch), and play it perfectly... it'll just sound a whole step higher than if he'd played his Bb trumpet.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Would the imperium survive if Vader managed to overthrow Palpatine somehow? How would his reign be?

[Assistant]
No. Two reasons:

Operation: Cinder. Palpatine had the building blocks in place for the First Order/Final Order to rise in the event of the Galactic Empire's fall, because he felt that an empire without him at the top was no empire at all. The FO and the Empire would have started fighting each other eventually if Vader's empire lived that long.

Vader had zero patience for politics. He would have dissolved the Galactic Senate even sooner than Palpatine did. Then he would've kept his hands firmly off the wheel and let the moffs (Tarkin especially) run things. Since Tarkin's doctrine was basically "squeeze the local systems until they break," rebellion would likely have sprung up much sooner. Except it would probably look closer to Saw Gerrera's vision than Organa and Mothma's.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do professional tennis players always take a spare ball when serving, despite having a small army of ball boys/girls to serve them new balls on command?

...surely running around with an extra ball in your pants is uncomfortable and puts you at a disadvantage to your non-serving opponent?

[Assistant]
For each point, they get two chances to serve.  They get a "do-over" if the serve hits the net or goes outside the lines.

Getting a new ball for every serve would just slow the game down too much.  Any disadvantage is negated by the fact that the other player does it too.


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

[User]
[Pepsiman] Does Pepsiman drink Pepsi cola exclusively, or does he occasionally indulge in other Pepsi products like Montain Dew, Mug root beer, and Sierra Mist?

Sorry, I meant Mist Twist (man, what a stupid name).

[Assistant] Pepsiman is allowed to consume any Yum Brand product.  As of 2015, 22 PepsiCo brands met that mark, including: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lay's, Gatorade, Tropicana, 7 Up, Doritos, Brisk, Quaker Foods, Cheetos, Mirinda, Ruffles, Aquafina, Naked, Kevita, Propel, Sobe, H2oh, Sabra, Starbucks (ready to Drink Beverages), Pepsi Max, Tostitos, Mist Twst, Fritos, and ...


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

[User]
ELI5: How come you never see baby crows?

I see crows all over the place, but how come you never see any baby crows around or at least younger ones?

[Assistant]
You undoubtedly see very young crows, but don't realize it. The tiny ones are still in their nests, and by the time they are able to fly/explore, they are about the size of an adult. They are a bit duller and their beaks are a bit stubbier, but they are easy to recognise if you know what to look for.

Baby for animals isn't necessarily what we view as baby for humans.


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

[User]
[DC] How powerful is a Motherbox compared to a Green Lantern Ring

Don't get me wrong, motherboxes are insane, to the point a little kid with one managed to take over the world until Orion and Lightray stopped her.

But are they stronger than Lantern Rings?

[Assistant] Idk if you've read it or not, but Godhead from new 52 is pretty cool and is related to this topic. It's about the new gods learning about the lantern rings and the white lantern. High Father actually finds out that the white lantern ring IS the life equation and will give him a huge advantage against darkseid. So they go out and take rings from every corps to bring them together and recreate the white lantern power. The new gods take out the GL like they're nothing. Just a random NG soldier's basic tech was enough to break the constructs. The New gods are just more advanced and powerful. a Motherbox in weapon form is def going to be strong than the GL rings. The white lantern however would be more powerful than a motherbox. Highfather with the life equation was crazy in the story, if i remember right, he converted a whole planet into more new gods.


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

[User] What makes a fallacy a fallacy?

[Assistant] A **valid** argument is one where, if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Fallacies describe ways an argument can be invalid invalid (typically - there are probably things people refer to as "fallacies" that aren't strictly fallacies, but whatever). So, for example, the fallacy of affirming the consequent describes an argument that is invalid because you can't get the conclusion "P" from the premises "if P then Q" and "Q."


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

[User]
[MCU]How much did Tony Stark spend on all Iron Man suits?

I read somewhere that he spends 1.5 billion on regular suits and 7 billion on each nano tech suits. There were 49 regular suits and 36 nano tech suits if Im not wrong. That means he spent 325.5 billion dollars on all his suits up until Endgame, where he wore the Mark 85 suit. Theres no fucking way this man spent over 300 billion on suits lol. He also spent a lot of money on the Avengers facilities and shit like that so that would mean he probably spent like half a trillion on everything. Does anybody have any idea how much he actually spent?

[Assistant]
There's a difference between what his suits theoretically cost and how much he spent on them.

The thing of it is that he did all the R&D work himself, he already owned all the tooling, or built that himself from tooling he already owned, and built the things himself.  What he spent was essentially the cost of raw materials, which is probably in the hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars.

So while it would cost hundreds of billions to buy them, (if he was selling), he actually spent very little.  Realistically, he probably spent more on the vault he keeps them in than on the suits themselves, since he would've contracted that out.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do toilets tend to be made out of porcelain?

[Assistant]
Porcelain is hard, waterproof, and easily sterilised. It's easy to produce and is glazed to be non-porous meaning it's tough for bacteria to take hold.

Plastic is not strong enough and it's prohibitively expensive to produce vacuum formed toilets , and stainless steel is cold and not appealing en-mass (from a design perspective). There's no reason to update the design.


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

[User] [Star Wars] If Anakin is 'too old and full of fear' then how could Luke not be?

[Assistant]
The Jedi order at the time just prior to the Clone Wars had grown weak and their ability to see through the force had become clouded. Part of this was due to the interference of Sidious and Plagueis, who sought to blind the Jedi through a gathering of the Dark Side. As a result, the Masters of the council could no longer detect the finer points of a padawan's destiny, as they had become accustomed to doing. They could see that Anakin was destined for great things, and prophecy suggested he would be a great aid to their cause, but they knew it was just as likely he would become a powerful agent of the Dark Side, if trained in the ways of the Force. Anakin was clearly driven by passion and his attachment to family and friends, even at that young age, and those are qualities not easily overlooked by Jedi, even when they are fully in command of their prescience.

Essentially, they knew Anakin was going to go on to do great things. Terrible, yes, but great. They just had no way of knowing until it was too late about the terrible part of it, and that made them justifiably antsy. Luke, on the other hand, was basically the last hope of two dying old men. He very well could have gone down a dark path, and cast the galaxy into darkness, but really, how much worse than Palpatine could he have been? Kenobi and Yoda trusted that Luke would listen to the Force, and find the right path, and they ended up being correct, but it was still very much a gamble.