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

[User] [Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace] How durable are those flimsy-looking Federation Battle Droids? It seems like the Gungans could have won the Naboo battle with just a couple of WWII era machine guns.

[Assistant]
They're sturdier than they look, that armor is pretty effective against most conventional weapons.  However, the main driver in their design was cost effectiveness.  Those mk1 Battle Droids weren't much more than all-terrain blaster platforms, hence their lack of any on-board processing power or planning software.  The basic chassis, and the core of their operating system, was borrowed from a mass-market protocol droid.  This was then modified with armor, new software, and equipped with a mass-market, all-purpose blaster.

Remember, they weren't actually meant for war.  The first generation Battle Droid was meant mainly as a *threat*.  Second generation "Super" Battle Droids were designed for all-out war against an equal foe and so they carried heavier armor, redundant processing, and onboard weapons systems.


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

[User] ELI5: why is it things like honey can never go bad?

[Assistant] Bacteria grows in places with moisture. Honey has barely any moisture at all. Without bacteria, it will stay safe.  Honey is also acidic, bacteria doesn't like acidic things. The bees also add an enzyme to it that produces hydrogen peroxide. This has antibacterial properties. These 3 things keep it from spoiling.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does an Oreo package reseal itself without being sticky?

Edit: I can't believe how many up votes this got! I was just a bit stoned on my couch eating these fuckers. Next thing you know I'm tits deep in answers and up votes. Thank you!!

[Assistant]
In medical devices they coat the surface being stuck to in low adhesion material like a thin silicone. This allows for some stick without allowing for a complete adhesion. Like the Post-it note, they use a powerful adhesive but coat it very thin. The thinner the adhesive layer the less it will tend to "gum off" and leave residual.

Thin coats of powerful adhesive plus low adhesion coating on the surface being such to.


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

[User] ELI5: What makes ricin such a potent poison, and what makes it untreatable?

[Assistant]
Ricin is a plant agent that gets into mammal cells and interferes with construction of some proteins.  Alas, your cells need those proteins to work correctly, and the ricin causes the cells it gets into to die.  Then it gets into the neighbor cells, etc.  Too many cells die, and you die.

There is no antidote.  Ricin has been known for a long time, and many folks have tried to find one.  Alas, none have been found.  The "treatments" mostly involve removing any ricin from the body that hasn't been absorbed and keeping the person alive as long as possible in hopes that the body's cleanup processes can clear the ricin out.  If too much has been absorbed into cells over too large a part of the body, then the person ultimately dies.


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

[User]
Eli5 How come getting blood from someone else doesn't change your genetics?

If you're at the hospital and you get pumped full of blood, how come it doesn't change your genetics? Is blood unrelated to that sort of thing and I'm just stupid?

[Assistant]
There's no DNA in red blood cells, platelets, or plasma. Only white blood cells have DNA. Regardless, blood cells don't reproduce on their own. new blood cells are made in the bone marrow. If you get a whole blood transplant, you'll have white blood cells from the donor for about about 2-3 weeks and then they die and get replaced by your own new white blood cells made in your bone marrow.

The only way you could wind up permanently changed DNA in your white blood cells is if you get a bone marrow transplant. In that case, the donor bone marrow will continue to make white blood cells using the donor's DNA.

It's also important to understand that cells can't change the DNA of other cells. If you get a bone marrow transplant, only the white blood cells made in your bone marrow will have different DNA. They don't change your genome in any other part of your body. Same for an organ transplant. Getting a donor organ means only that organ has the donor's DNA. The rest of you is still you.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why do Operating System messages give useless (to most) error codes instead of simple explanations of what went wrong?

Example: Windows Update was failing. A string of numbers was the error. Turned out to be a simple matter of the system time being off. Why can't they just SAY "Check system time"?

[Assistant]
There are thousands of error codes in the systems and the OS is translated in many languages..

* It's cheaper to use codes because you can keep adding them all over and not have to send them for translation
* although some error codes have a common cause, others can because caused for various reasons and thus the explanations would be really long.
* numbers are also easier to pass up through the system if something low level failed.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is a solid state battery and why/how is it superior to lithium ion?

I keep seeing a lot of information about breakthroughs in solid state batteries for electric cars. People seem really excited about it and companies seem to be working hard to perfect it.

But Im struggling to understand why theyre superior and what makes a solid state battery such a breakthrough technology. Hoping someone can explain to someone who really doesnt understand this stuff.

[Assistant]
The majority of other battery types have some sort of liquid or gel inside them, which a solid state battery does not. How they work isn't all that different or important, but the major takeaway is that they can hold more charge than other batteries. So you either get more KWh for the same weight.

Thats important for EVs because those battery packs weigh a ton (sometimes literally) so being able to pack in the same charge with less weight is ideal.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Since the Empire was already destroyed, what happened between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens for there to be an established army of Storm Troopers running around all nimbly pimbly?

[Assistant]
The DEATH STAR was destroyed, and he Emperor was killed. There's a big difference between taking out the very top and getting rid of the foundations.

I suspect that we're dealing with the Imperial Remnant here.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do most women's lower back sway inward?

I have always wondered why a woman's lower back dips inward towards her front? Some of them it looks over-exaggerated. Female children do not have this.

Men for the most part do not have such a pronounced dip in their back.

[Assistant] The shape of the lower vertebrae is a little different as are most bones. The shape of the pelvis is very different (lower and wider) so the spine "enters" the pelvic circle at a slightly different height. The coccyx is also more movable and the sacrum is flatter and broader.  These are all almost certainly due to the shape being more conducive to pregnancy. Also, women tend to store more fat on their behinds which exaggerates the idea of a spinal curve, but it is merely the covering anatomy.


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

[User]
Do polar vortexes also happen in the southern hemisphere?

The polar vortex in North America is getting a lot of attention, but does it happen in the southern hemisphere as well?  If not, why?

[Assistant] The antarctic polar vortex is stronger and much more stable than the arctic polar vortex. The polar vortex is a normal thing btw. that is always there. But since the arctic polar vortex is less stable it can move more and reach latitudes it normally wouldn't reach.


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

[User]
ELI5:Super Hero "suffixes"; Early on, with so many ending in man/woman/boy/girl etc - How was this not seen as repetitive, in-house or copy cat by other agencies ?

Was it all just new in that era ? Was it not seen as having the idea copied by other comic agencies ? Would it not get boring ? ..
**"he has insane speed.. and tough enough to even shoot his girlfriend on Valentines" .."Oh. My. Days .. It's PistoriusMan" **.. Too soon ?
But seriously.. GoatGirl..LlamaBoy.. TableMan .. shouldn't it have got to a point where it was just boring/ silly/ repetitive ?

[Assistant] Comic book writers at the time wanted the character's name to scream what he / she does - especially where a character appears in many different short stories that someone might pick one up for no apparent reason in the middle of the story. Rather than having to read through the first episodes to understand that "Peter Parker" has superpowers of a spider, if his name was just Spiderman, people will know that he's a man, and that he's got something to do with spiders without even knowing the story.


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

[User]
[TES/Skyrim] Why don't people in Skyrim take down the Daedric shrines?

If the Daedra really are not liked by the general populace and their power is increased by worship, then why hasn't anyone attempted to take down the shrines? Are the Daedric princes so powerful that they are able to prevent people from taking down their shrines by manipulating them in some way? Is this also the reason why the Empire doesn't just destroy the Talos shrines all over Skyrim?

[Assistant]
>Are the Daedric princes so powerful that they are able to prevent people from taking down their shrines by manipulating them in some way?

Yes.

A Daedric Prince may or may not be able to stop an entire empire from tearing down their shrine, but they are shown many times throughout the series to have more than enough power to fuck with the individuals actually doing the demolition.  This successfully deters people from being the poor bastard responsible for tearing down the shrine.

The most obvious example of this is probably in Skyrim, with the Daedra quest in Markarth.  It opens with a vigilant of Stendarr investigating an abandoned house and planning to root out the Daedric influence there, and starts with him either being killed by the Dragonborn, or him trying to kill the Dragonborn.  It gets worse from there.

There is no 'good ending' to this quest.  It always ends with someone dying who doesnt deserve it.  Your best option is to simply not mess with a Daedric Prince.

---

The empire doesnt destroy Talos shrines because they all still secretly worship Talos.  The banning of Talos worship is a Thalmor demand in the peace treaty, because the Thalmor hate the idea of a human god.


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

[User]
Which would be the ideal amount of gravity to run the fastest 100m?

I'm pretty sure we would benefit from a lower amount of gravity, but not to the point of having none of it at all.

For example, how much would it take Usain Bolt to run the 100m in a track field on the surface of the moon? (let's consider he is wearing the same clothes, breathes the same kind of air, etc.)

[Assistant] The belief that a reduced amount of gravity helping us run may not be correct. Considering we evolved on earth, our bodies (and that of all other organisms) are optimized for the conditions the earth has set out for us.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What's with the "Roger, Roger" that the droids say?

Is it supposed to be a joke, like in Airplane?

[Assistant]
We don't have an in-universe etymology for it, but real world; "Roger" used to be used for the phonetic for "R" (it's now Romeo), with "R" being shorthand for "Received and understood".

It's just them announcing that they've received their orders.


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

[User] ELI5: Can we patch up the holes in the ozone layer with manufactured ozone?

[Assistant] No. The problem isn't the supply, it is created constantly by solar radiation. The issue is that chemicals are catalyzing it to break down too quickly, and just dumping in more fuel doesn't solve the problem.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly is attraction and how do we develop these attractions to specific traits, qualities, and behaviours?

Help me reddit??

[Assistant]
It is a combination of biology, experience, conditioning, and learning.

Biology - We are (generally) biologically attracted to people with symmetrical facial structures, indications of ability to pass useful traits to offspring, people of the same race, social economic status, education level, etc.

Experience - We are (generally) attracted to similar people that we've been in previous relationships with or who have had important roles in our lives. Which is why we are sometimes attracted to people who are like our parents, or mentors, idols, etc.

Conditioning - We are conditioned to be attracted to people who fit a certain ideal. This is reinforced by images we see on TV, in movies, in magazines, pornography, advertising, etc. We constantly see these "ideal people" succeed, be desired, and are represented in sexual and romantic ways which makes our brain associate them with attraction.

Learning - We learn from others what is attractive. Parents and friends influence our values of what we find attractive and worthwhile in potential partners.


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

[User]
[Return of the Jedi] Why did the rebel attack force fly into Deathstar II through the tunnels instead of the gigantic gaping holes in the other side?

It seems like they could have made it to the core generator faster and maybe Lando could have gotten out without tearing off the scanning dish on the Millenium Falcon.

[Assistant] Just because the surface isn't complete doesn't mean there is a path to the core via that area.  The plans acquired by the Alliance indicate that the only access routes to the reactor chamber had entrances lying on completed portions of the superstructure surface.


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

[User]
Can your immune system create resistance against bacterial infections the same way it does viral?

Say you got a bacterial chest infection and was prescribed antibiotics to treat it. Would your immune system create some kind of resistance to it if you were to come in contact with someone else who had the same infection after you'd recovered?

[Assistant]
Got a masters degree in Biochemistry, applying to medical school currently

Yes your immune system would create resistance. The way this is accomplished is by the immune systems utilization of cells called B lymphocytes. These are memory cells that remember an antigen (a chemical marker that is specific to the bacteria behind the infection). The next time your body sees this bacteria, and its corresponding antigen, such as being in contact with someone else who currently has the infection, your immune response is much more robust as this is a secondary immune response and the body has already fought it.

There are subtle differences in how our immune system handles viruses vs bacteria but for a laymans understanding this antigen recognition pathway is the same for both.

This at its core is what a vaccine is. Giving you antigens in a safe manner, thus preparing your immune cells for a significantly faster/stronger response when youre exposed to the real thing.


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

[User] Why is the energy of an EM wave dependent on its frequency, even though the energy of a classical (mechanical) wave is depended on its amplitude?

[Assistant]
The frequency dependence that you mentioned is the energy of a single photon, E=h*v* . The *total* energy associated with the EM field in, say, a certain region of space, or incident on a surface in unit time is determined by the number of photons, as well as the energy of each individual photon.

The number of photons is proportional to the amplitude of the wave, and this is what people mean when they speak of quantized fields.


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

[User]
ELI5 Is being weightless in orbit exactly like the sensation of endlessly falling?

Is falling in orbit the same as vertical falling, and do astronauts constantly have that sinking feeling and simply get used to it?  Is space sickness a thing like sea sickness, and are there cases of astronauts in training that just cannot overcome it?  When they get back to earth, does falling lose its thrill and roller-coasters etc just become mundane?

[Assistant] Well, all an orbit is is just falling but moving sideways fast enough that you miss. The feeling is what physicists call "freefall" and it's the first few seconds of falling before wind resistance really takes hold.


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

[User]
CMV: The most unfair advantage a person can have is their parents.

Parents help or hurt their childrens future. A rich or educated parent can give their children benefits of their money or knowledge while poor or uneducated can do neither.

Mark Zuckerberg and Kylie Jenner are examples of this advantage.

Mark Zuckerbergs father taught him Atari BASIC programming and later hired a tutor to advance his skills. Mark then went to Harvard and we all know the rest of this story. Had Marks father not understood computer programming (which was a specialty skill in the 1990s) or the money to hire a tutor would Mark have created Facebook? While that question cannot be answered it is certain that Mark had advantage of an educated father to identify and future his abilities.

Kris Jenner capitalized on the attention of a sex tape of her daughter Kim and an R&B singer. Kris then orchestrated a conglomerate of shows, products and promotions to bring the family into prominence. Kylie was a child when this began. Kris financed plastic surgeries to create a look that would sell. Kylie rode the coattails of her sisters, who were also created by Kris. She did not create or earn her business on her own. Yet she is close to passing Zuckerberg to become youngest billionaire in history.

[Assistant]
I'd argue that being born in a developed country is a far greater advantage than being born to good parents. If your country doesn't have good infrastructure, housing, jobs, healthcare or food,  you can have amazing parents, but you'll still struggle to make it. Just take a look at the numerous underdeveloped African countries for examples.

On the other hand, if you're born to bad parents in a developed country, you have a much greater chance of making it. You have social services, food banks, free healthcare, adoption processes etc.


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

[User]
Why did Kryptonians not know about their powers?

I mean how did a space-faring race, with multiple planetary  colonies never encounter a yellow/blue (or any other colour that powers them up) star?

Edit: Ah carp, I just remember that in the movie (not sure if it's like this in the comics or old movie canon) Kals father says "he'd be like a god to them" So my question now is; If the Kryptonians knew that different coloured light affected them, why didn't they capitalize on this?

[Assistant]
I can't speak to the comics, but since you mentioned the movie: In Man of Steel, it's implied that the Kryptons were simply not interested in expansion or conquest.  They used to have colonies on other planets, but they abandoned them, presumably because the Kryptons loved their home planet so much that they would rather be ordinary on Krypton than a god on some backwater world.

Even Zod doesn't much care to rule Earth, and he can't be bothered to deal with humans.  He just wants his Krypton back.


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

[User]
[Dune] in the 1984 film, why does the emperor obey the demands of the Spacing guild?

I'm just confused as to how much power this emperor has if he is willing to obey the demands of the spacing guild, such as ordering the Reverend mother out of the room, demanding to know the emperor's plans, then ordering the execution of Paul. I never read the book and am only familiar with the movie.

[Assistant] In order for anyone to do *anything*, they must operate within the restrictions imposed by the Spacing Guild.  The restrictions include restrictions on use of atomics, shield use, shield-lasgun-cancel-bombs, mass casualty combat, attacking noncombatants, etc.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k/Fantasy] Why do the Daemons of Chaos have such a difficult time conquering the Fantasy world when they have already destroyed countless worlds in the 40k universe?

Daemon technology seems to be identical in both worlds, but why are they more successful in destroying several worlds inhabited by trillions of people with future-technology, and unable to conqueror the fantasy world with probably less than a billion inhabitants with medieval/renaissance technology. And I don't think magic is a constant because both universes draw their abilities from the warp, 40k psykers, fantasy mages.

[Assistant]
They are two very different entities. The forces of the Immaterium in 40k are beings from another, nonphysical, dimension. The creatures of Chaos in the Fantasy are simply influenced by Ancient Dark Magics.

In short, 40k Chaos is backed by there own fucking universe while the Daemons in the Fantasy are all on there own.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Dumbledore arrives at the orphanage, takes one look at young Tom Riddle, and says, "never mind, screw this, I'm gone." What happens next?

Tom Riddle gives Dumbledore the creeps or something, and, for whatever reason, he decides not to bring the kid to Hogwarts. So Riddle never becomes Lord Voldemort, never finds out about Horcruxes, never finds out he's a wizard... Or does he? Would someone else eventually come along and set him on that path? If not, what happens instead?

[Assistant]
How did Dumblydore find Tom? Through the ministry. They keep track of all magical children and task the nearest schools to extend an invitation for education. If Dumbledore decided he wasn't equipped to handle the child, they likely would've just sent another headmaster to take him on.

In the unlikely event that he's not sent to a magical school, he would definitely still go on the magical path. He was a genius, so while his magic probably wouldn't be as refined, he would've found creative uses for his magic and wouldn't have needed a wand or even motion to cast spells. His goal would now be ruling over muggles, which he would be very successful at until the ministry took him out.


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

[User] ELI5: How does testosterone affect muscle growth?

[Assistant] Testosterone is a messenger. It's made by one part of your body (testicals, adrenal glands, ovaries) and the message it sends is basically "be more man like". So when your muscles get the message they are like "f yea let's grow bigger" and they do. It also tells your bones to grow faster, your chin to get broader, your voice to deepen, and other stuff. Everyone has some testosterone in them but men have something like 100x more than women on average.


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

[User] If you are in water right underneath the moon and the moon is at it's closest, do you float better than other places on earth?

[Assistant]
Nope! The Moon is pulling both you and the water equally, so it makes no difference to how you float.

Tides work because gravity drops off with distance. The near-side of the Earth is pulled by the Moon more than the far side. So the water tends to be pulled away from the middle, and piles up on the near side, and falls away to the far side (edit: just to repeat, that's *to* the far side, ie there are high tides on both opposite ends) - although the exact level of this and the timing of this depends a lot on the local geography. Over thousands of kilometres the difference in the Moon's gravity is big enough that there's a net difference in force, and that makes the water flow.

But if you're *in* the water, you and the water are in pretty much the same place, feeling pretty much the same force. So you don't really experience any extra force relative to the water.


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

[User]
[The Matrix] How is every Zion called Zion?

So were on the sixth iteration of the Matrix in the films. And in Reloaded were told about the cycles and how Zion has been destroyed 5 times and will be destroyed again. Weve become very efficient it. How does that part of the cycle work without it somehow being in a two-tier Matrix? Yes, I get the idea that there will always be humans to create a city. But, specifically called Zion? Plus, in order for the machines to become efficient at it, theyd have to be familiar with its structure. So surely the structure stays the same as well?

EDIT: Can people please stop commenting about the Matrix-within-a-Matrix theory because Ive already mentioned it in my original post. Please read the full post before commenting.

[Assistant]
>specifically called Zion?

Depending on interpretation, the robots didn't say the *previous* versions were called "Zion" by the humans in those versions. They're saying "this is the sixth version of what you *now* call Zion."


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

[User] [Warcraft] What could Arthas have done differently at Stratholme to lead to a better outcome, given the limited knowledge they had about the Plague and Scourge at the time?

[Assistant]
Probably spent more than 15 seconds debating Uther and Jaina as to the merits of his plan.

Arthas was right; the only option they had at that point was damage control. If he tried a little harder than telling his friends "we need to kill everyone", he might have been able to convince them. He just did a shit job of articulating what he intended to do and why. In terms of actual actions, no, there was no cure available and at that point the Undead had basically succeeded. Having Uther and Jaina stand with him during that horrible event likely could have prevented his fall from grace and transformation into the Lich King.


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

[User] Do we know why the inner planets of the solar system are all rocky compared to the outer planets which are all gas giants?

[Assistant]
We used to think we did, it was based on the distribution of mass through the solar system and fit a nice curve. It was assumed that due to the amount of mass in a disc available in the planet forming period that we would find smaller planets closer in due to a lack of material (small volume), followed by giant planets where there is a lot of material (large volume and large amount) and finally further out it would tail off to smaller objects (less amount despite large volume).

These days.... No we dont. Exoplanet observations have thrown a lot of our knowlage out the window (everything from stability of systems, migration of planets and even formation mechanisms have all required a "back to the drawing board" approach).

We know now that planetary systems are very dynamical. Small perturbations of orbits can result in wild migrations in short (astronomical) timescales. For example if you plopped down a distant Sun-like binary in our own system it is possible for Neptune and Uranus to be ejected from the system in a timescale of the order of 100Myr, this is quite rapid!

Even if we consider the problem of migration of planets we dont really know the initial conditions. We have observed Hot Jupiter planets in young and even T-Tauri type stars. This means they must have formed in-situ, something that was not thought to be possible.

What we theorists need is a lot (LOT) more populations statistics so we can improve models of planetary system formation and evolution.


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

[User] ELI5:Why are there crushed stones alongside rail tracks ? what is there use and what will happen if they are not there ?

[Assistant] The crushed stones are called track ballast on which the sleepers (ties) are laid. The sleepers bear a lot of weight, the ballast helps them  bear the weight. They also allow water to drain through and also prevents creepers and weeds from growing on the ground beneath the tracks. They hold the ties in place which hold the tracks in place and distributes the weight of the train equally which would otherwise overwhelm the sleepers or the tracks and they would  sink into the ground.


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

[User]
CMV: Reality is most likely very different to how we perceive it.

We perceive the world via our senses, things like sight, sound, smell and touch. But if we evolved without eyes, we would have no concept of color. I understand that color is determined by the wavelength of light, but we probably wouldn't even have a concept of light. In fact, without eye sight, we may not have asked many of the scientific question we have, so far.

How can we be sure that we are not lacking the ability to resolve other elements of reality due to our limited array of senses? Could there not be much more stuff around us that we are unable to interact with physically, or at least knowingly interact with it physically?

Perhaps that is were Aliens could exist? They could be right in front of us without our knowledge, existing in a non physical form or at least as far as we understand physical forms. I'm not saying Aliens are among us, I am just saying we may not have any idea if they were. Like I said, reality is most likely very different to how we perceive it.

[Assistant]
>How can we be sure that we are not lacking the ability to resolve other elements of reality due to our limited array of senses?

Because we have machines with sensors that compensate for the limitations of our senses. We don't have the ability to see radio waves, for example, but we know they exist because we have machines that detect them.

>Could there not be much more stuff around us that we are unable to interact with physically

What does it mean for stuff to be "around us" if we are unable to physically interact with it?


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

[User] Why does looking directly at the sun hurt our eyes?

[Assistant] The sun is a powerful energy source. If you focus the light of the sun using a magnifying glass, you can ignite paper (and ants). Now replace the magnifying glass with the lens in your eye, and the paper with the retina in the back of your eye.


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

[User]
ELI5: what determines the credited roles of movie producers.

Associate, executive, co etc.

[Assistant]
**Executive Producers** are usually people who provide funding or other support to a movie, but aren't directly involved in the day-to-day production of the movie. They may pay for things or they may use their connections to secure ideal locations or actors/talent to boost the quality of the movie.

**Producers** are the actual overall project managers of the movie process. They bring together the needs of the director/s, budget folks, and acting talent to ensure the movie can get made/produced.

**Associate/Assistant Producers** are the younger/less experienced subordinates that work for the producer. They do the "busy work" associated with producing a movie, such as managing documentation or supervising filming and set work at off-site locations or at odd filming times.

**Production Assistants** are the gofers of the production set. "Go fer a coffee run" etc. They usually work very long days (12-16 hours) for little/no pay and are usually college-level or recent college graduates.


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

[User]
What about the insect mating process requires them to be attached so long?

The most common insects I see this with is all types of flies and they stay attached even while flying. TIA!

[Assistant] Its not so much the mating as it is staying attached prevents another male from trying to inseminate a receptive female immediately after the mating occurs.  This is an evolutionary advantage to increase the chances that the primary male passes on his genetic material to another generation.


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

[User] Are there any examples of a species disappearing from the fossil record because of a predator species being so successful in hunting it? (Other than extinctions humans have caused?)

[Assistant] Fossilization is actually a pretty rare phenomenon. Only a tiny fraction of all living beings get trapped as fossils. That make it pretty difficult to make the types of conclusions you are asking about using the fossil record.


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

[User]
[Gremlins] A mogwai stowed away on our interstellar space flight. When can I feed it?

Do I use the time in relation to our Earth and sun or do I go by the time on RX-822 and it's dual suns? It's only dark for 20 seconds at a time on New Eden, do I just not feed him during those 20 seconds and let him go nuts the rest of the time?

[Assistant]
Perhaps the best way to discover the solution is to expose the single mogwai to a few drops of water to make a few more of them. Keep them contained so they can't run amok and cause chaos. Then feed each one at a different time of day (local New Eden time), and see which ones transform and which ones don't. Then kill the ones that transform into gremlins, and also kill any of the non-transformed ones that don't have sweet, gentle dispositions. You don't want to keep any of the mogwai that are going to TRY to eat during the time of day when they shouldn't. Find good homes for any remaining gentle mogwai, with people who understand how crucial it is to care for them properly.

Obviously this should be done very, very carefully. If gremlins get loose and damage your technology, you're going to have all kinds of problems. But since you have interstellar travel, you should also have weapons powerful enough to deal with any gremlins that result.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What the hell is the point of Count Dooku's bent lightsaber?

It seems to literally just be a lightsaber that someone dropped too hard so now it's harder to hold.

[Assistant]
There are different styles of lightsaber combat, otherwise known as "forms." The classic forms of lightsaber combat are as follows:

* (I) Schii-cho

* (II) Makashi

* (III) Soresu

* (IV) Ataru

* (V) Shien/Djem So

* (VI) Niman

* (VII) Juyo

Dooku is a master of Form II, Makashi. The style is characterized by precise, fluid, and efficient motion. It shares many similarities with fencing, including stance, footwork, and the usage of one-handed movements.

Dooku's lightsaber, a curved-variant, gives him greater control of his blade, due to the hilt fitting better in his hands. Makashi duelists are known to construct their lightsabers toward their preferred fighting style.


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

[User]
If a majority of the US is living paycheck-to-paycheck why are housing prices so high?

I understand it's supply and demand and we have a shortage of housing.

What I don't understand is why those lower-income people don't just stop renting the expensive places and thus lower their rents due to less demand?  If everyone is broke who is affording the expensive places to live?

[Assistant]
Basically in key urban areas, there's a lot of competition for a big shortage of houses among people of all income-levels.

In San Francisco, for example, the nature of the problem is that it's really difficult to build enough housing to meet the huge and ever-growing demand for it, in large part because regulations have made it hard to demolish all of the two-story, single-family homes that were build decades ago and replace them with high-rise complexes that can house fifty-times the people on the same land area. So you get janitors and grocery store clerks competing against software engineers and Market Street traders for the same housing downtown, and this high demand for low supply bids up the price until only the latter group can afford it. The lower-income people can and do "just stop renting the expensive places", but it's because people with more money are able to outcompete them.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Why is the photon torpedo called "photon torpedo"?

Quoth *Memory Alpha*:

> Photon torpedoes were warp-capable tactical matter/antimatter weapons commonly deployed aboard starships and starbases by various organizations.

and

> The weapon was armed with a photon warhead. The warhead had a detonation chamber filled with antimatter. Upon detonation the torpedo created a matter-antimatter explosion and a flood of ion radiation.

Now, photons are not matter, nor do they have an antiparticle. It's not possible to annihilate photons in a particle/antiparticle reaction at least in our world, which means that whatever the "photon" designation of the "photon warhead" signifies, it is not the same as that antimatter payload, nor that with which the antimatter payload reacts.  "Photon" can thus not refer to the payload of the weapon, which would be properly indicated by the term "antimatter torpedo", unless photons are in any way a separate part of the payload. If they are, in what way?

To me, it seems more plausible that a photon torpedo carries only a matter/antimatter charge (or possibly an antimatter charge that reacts with the matter of the torpedo itself), and the "photon" designation refers to the emission of photons generated during a matter/antimatter reaction, which would be conform with our world's physics. Is this the correct reading?

Edit:
"Ion radiation" may then be a misspelling or shorthand for "ionIZING radiation", which is what high-energy photons, such as in gamma radiation, are. Or it may refer to alpha radiation, which consists of helium cations (ions with a positive charge), for which "ion radiation" would be a term that I've never heard used before, but which would be, I suppose, technically correct, and which would be created in some unknown fashion, perhaps the matter of the torpedo itself, or thinly-stretched matter floating around space in some locations - gas clouds, dust - being ionized by the photon emission of the matter/antimatter reaction.

[Assistant] Your second explanation (that the "photon" comes from the result of a matter/antimatter collision, possibly using deuterium and antideuterium, as deuterium is already used as a fuel source for the ship's conventional fusion reactors) is the correct one, though that then opens up the question of "just why the heck are quantum torpedoes called 'quantum' torpedoes"?


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

[User] [General Fantasy] I'm a wizard's apprentice and I'm trying to find out whether I want to use a staff or a wand for my magic. What are the specific uses of each? Are there any other casting devices that I should know about?

[Assistant]
What does your Wizard Master use?  Given that you are his apprentice he's likely to be teaching you magics belonging to specific schools and that will influence your equipment choice.

I know a recent development especially popular among female magic users has been to rebel against the phallic traditional tools and move to non-traditional devices such as bracelets and rings.

For general thoughts though -

Wands are smaller, more concealable.  Handy if you spend a lot of time outside in the "muggle" world.

By comparison a staff is much larger... but a good quarter staff is a pretty nice weapon and sometimes the answer isn't magic... it's cracking skulls.


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

[User] ELI5: i was told that wider tires don't equate to more area of contact with the road. Then why are all high performance tires wider than everyday tires?

[Assistant]
Wider does, in general, mean more contact with the road.  However, there are a lot of considerations that go into the design of a tire and its traction and handling qualities.

Bluntly, your "contact patch" is your traction.  That's the surface area of your tire that is in contact with the road at any given moment.  The width, inflation, rubber compound, tread pattern, and flexibility of the tire control the size and effectiveness of your contact patch.  The setup of your vehicle's suspension is also a big factor in traction and handling.

A performance or racing car on smooth, dry pavement should generally have a wide tire, a "slick" (no tread), and a rubber compound that is perfectly suited for the temperature and handling required by the course or road being used.

A tire that is too wide might give exceptional traction in a straight line (i.e. drag racing), but is a poor choice for a road course.

A wide tire is also a poor choice for standing water, snow, or ice.  A narrower tire in this case puts more weight per tire area on the ground, helping the tire to push through the water, snow, or ice and make contact with the ground.  This is what tread patterns are for, also.  Those grooves channel water and other debris away from the tire and increase the weight per area.

I grew up in an area that received a lot of winter weather.  A Corvette, even with snow tires, is practically uncontrollable on snowy or icy roads due to the light weight of the car and the large contact patches of the tires.  When foul weather is involved, a wider tire equals less contact with the road.


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

[User]
ELI5: Whats the practical difference between an open source and a proprietary operating system?

Like I know something like Linux is an open-source and I know that windows is proprietary but what does that mean? Also what is Ubuntu and how does it relate to Linux?

[Assistant]
Software is like a cake. Proprietary software is made according to a recipe that's kept secret by the baker. It may taste great, but if you're allergic to hazelnut, you'd have to ask (and trust) the baker about it, or do a chemical analysis, or just try and hope for the best.

Open source software gives you a copy of the recipe along with the cake, so you can check the ingredients, or you can make your own cake.

Linux is just the naked cake. There's also a variety of sugarcoating and sprinkles and candles for it (most of them themselves open source), but not all of them work together well. A distribution like Ubuntu offers you ready-made package deals that are (somewhat) tested to go together.


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

[User]
Bourdieu  difference between habitus and cultural capital?

I'm writing an essay on the difference in given names in different social classes. I need to include Bourdieu, but: I can not really grasp the difference between habitus and cultural capital. Can somebody help me?

[Assistant]
A **habitus** is in essence the way a person perceives the world. It is the lens through which they view society. Our individual habitus' are dependent on our own experiences. Our own experiences affect how we view our position in society. Our experiences direct our desires,  our expectations, and our mannerisms. A celebrity will view the world differently than a non-celebrity due to their personal experiences. A successful business man will like-wise have a unique perspective due to the experience of belonging to the elite class. A homeless person will have a different social "reality" than a business man, they will experience things differently, and will view the world uniquely because of it. A habitus is a way of thinking and being.

**Cultural capital** refers to the non-monetary assets which effect social mobility. This includes style of dress, vocabulary, education, mannerisms, skills, and artistic ability. If you know how to interact with those of the upper classes, if you know how to entertain them, if you know how to think like them, you theoretically have a greater capability to exercise upward social mobility. Bourdieu realized that money is not the only factor which affects social agency (opportunity). He postulated that by behaving a certain way, by talking a certain way, by liking certain things, you have more "tools" which you can use to get what you want out of life; you have capital (possessions) not available to everyone that you can use to your advantage.

In terms of your essay, you may say that individual habitus' affect names in that those of the lower classes do not know of or cannot relate to "upper-class" names as much as they can "lower-class" names. Maybe they don't think upper-class names sound cool, or are not desirable, due to their own experiences. In relation to cultural capital, maybe lower class individuals do not have access to the knowledge (through inadequate education) of names outside of the names which are common in their social or geographic vicinity.

Good luck with your paper!


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

[User]
ELI5: How come Chinese don't get sick more frequently, or even start an epidemic, seeing as how they treat and handle meat?

Even in supermarkets all kinds of meat are handled poorly.
Basically anyone is free to touch the meat with their bare hands.
It's even worse in the summer with butchers setting up their own "shop" out on the street without any kind of refrigeration.

[Assistant]
Are you kidding me? Chinese people don't trust food at all and have culturally ingrained habits to protect against food poisoning. To name just a couple:

* Only eat things that are well-cooked. If it's not piping hot from a street vendor, don't trust it. This is also one reason steak isn't popular in China - why are you eating partially raw meat? Doesn't that seem like a terrible idea?

* Don't eat raw vegetables. People are more relaxed about this in some contexts (like various liangbang cai), but the idea of salad is still pretty out there. WTF - you're eating leafy greens that have been near dirt and god-knows-what raw?! Do you have a death wish?

* Only drink water that's been boiled. This is why Chinese restaurants (read - the ones in China, not Panda Inn on State St) serve hot water. Also helps explain the popularity of tea, though baikaishui is the bare minimum. Key word: "Kai" - it's been boiled.

* On the kitchen prep side, you wash everything - even raw meat - before doing anything with it.

* Scald EVERYTHING. In the old days, you would order a pot of hot water and tea and scald every dish at your table before eating in a restaurant. Now, most restaurants have plastic-wrapped dishes and utensils (ostensibly-autoclaved), or disposable goods. This also explains that extra 1 or 2 kuai fee at a restaurant - that's what it costs to keep your dishes clean.

* Live animals are popular. That way, 1. you know it's fresh and 2. you control the butchering yourself.

TL,DR: Chinese people have been living in densely-populated urban areas for millenia, and are paranoid about cleanliness.


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

[User]
Why isn't the mosquito an intermediate host for HIV/AIDS? Can it be?

I am reading *In Praise of Wolves* by R.D. Lawrence and I just learned mosquitos are an intermediate host for *Dirofilaria imitis* (common dog heartworm) as well as malaria and encephalitis. How does the mosquito transfer the disease? Is it through blood contact? If so, is it theoretically possible to contract HIV/AIDS from a mosquito bite if he is carrying the pathogen?

[Assistant]
HIV is an extremely fragile virus and it cannot use intermediate hosts -- it doesn't infect anything other than humans.

Some viruses, for instance influenza, can survive outside a host for extended periods of time (hours, days, or even weeks in the case of influenza, if the conditions are favorable).  Some viruses, again like influenza, infect more than one type of organism (e.g. humans, chickens, pigs).

HIV isn't like that.  Once it leaves the host's body it last for mere minutes before it breaks apart.  Tweak the conditions even a little bit, like adding some saliva (HIV can't even be transmitted human to human via saliva) and it doesn't last for any amount of time at all.


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

[User] [Alien] Why does the facehugger stay on a host's face for so long?

[Assistant]
The facehugger's presence stresses the host with oxygen deprivation and other nasty processes. This helps to compromise the host's immune responses (and neutralises their conscious defences) so the embryo can "bed in."

If the host were conscious they might do any number of unpredictable things, and if they were sedated but otherwise unmolested they have a better chance of rejecting the embryo.


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

[User] ELI5: Why don't teeth repair themselves?

[Assistant] Most of the tissues in your body have blood flowing around them. The blood delivers the materials your body uses to repair itself. The teeth don't have that -- they formed inside your skull and pushed outward, and at that point they've left the factory and can't be changed afterward.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Was Obi Wan a particularly exceptional Jedi? I know Anakin, Mace Windu and Yoda were to be incredibly impressive, but what about Obi Wan?

[Assistant]
*"Obi-Wan is a great mentor... hes as wise as Master Yoda, and as powerful as Master Windu."* - Anakin Skywalker

As Obi-Wan Kenobi goes, he was one of the most formidable Jedi Masters in the Order. While he was not the best duelist, nor did he have the strongest connection to the Force, it was everything else about him that made him so amazing.

Of course, he was no slouch when it came to skirmishes - Kenobi was the undisputed master of Form III, the most defensive of all lightsaber forms. He also has some mighty impressive wins under his belt, taking out Darth Maul (twice), General Grevious, and defeating a young Darth Vader in combat. On the battlefield as a General, he had incredible mental acuity and a knack for strategy that led his armies to multiple victories.

But Obi-Wans reputation is due to his remarkable discipline. He devoted himself completely to the Jedi Order. While being a skilled combatant, violence was never his first resort if a dispute could be settled without it. Such actions earned him the nickname, "The Negotiator". In addition, Obi-Wan suffered great loss over the course of his life, yet is a sterling example of not harboring hatred and fear, and never let it affect his belief in the Forces will.

Even in the darkest times, Obi-Wan never let go of his belief in the Force. That belief guided him through his life and afterward, and that trust made him instrumental in bringing balance to the Force.


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

[User]
What leads to transformer explosions emitting the colors they do? (i.e. green or blue vs red)

Here in NYC, the sky was glowing a light bluish color 4 hours after sunset when a transformer blew up in a nearby neighborhood.

[Assistant]
It comes down to the chemistry involved in the oil in the transformer, and the electrical arcing you get when it happens

We have been conditioned to think all explosions are yellow/Orange/red by movies, when in the real world they aren't. In the movies they use gasoline, propane, and other hydrocarbons to produce the fireballs we see. They're relatively low velocity, and visually spectacular, so perfect for filming.


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

[User]
[DC Silver Age] Batman to Superman: "Hey buddy, could you have your friends in Kandor whip me up a costume made from Kryptonian cloth? Then it will be invulnerable just like yours!" Why not?

Since Superman and Batman were palsy-walsy best buds back in the weird and wonderful Silver Age, it seems possible Batman could have made a request like this.  An invulnerable Bat-costume sure would have been useful, especially when Batman went "dark" in the 1970s.

[Assistant]
Many of these other responses are forgetting a few things.

First off, while Kandor is small, it's possible for things to be enlarged coming out of the city. In any case, Kryptonian fabrics are also super elastic. Superman has grown giant, turned into an ape, been super-fat, and the fabric's never strained. It stretches, constantly fitting him comfortably. He's still wearing the same costume he wore as Superboy, in fact, with no alterations for his growing size.

Second, the invulnerable fabrics of Krypton are bulletproof to the point that there's no impact felt through them. Superman's let people wear his costume and they've been immune to cold, flames, and been bulletproof with no injury to them.

Third, resources aren't an issue for them, they have no trouble clothing their children and Superman and Jimmy had no issue with creating Flamebird and Nightwing costumes.

The real reason Superman has never given Batman an invulnerable costume from Kandor is simple. Pride. Batman, even in the Silver Age, has always been an immensely proud figure, taking pride in his skills. He wouldn't ask for such a crutch and Superman wouldn't insult him by giving it to him unasked, the Man of Steel sharing a similar sense of pride that bordered on arrogance at times. Would it be *smart* to? Absolutely, but Batman would probably make an excuse about his skills growing rusty with such a thing to rely on and it would hang in the trophy section of his Bat-cave forever.


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

[User]
CMV: Sharing custody of a pet after a breakup is a major new-relationship red flag.

So, a while ago, I met a guy who, six months prior, had broken up with his girlfriend of four years. He and his ex had two dogs, both of which were acquired during their relationship. The two of them shared custody of the dogs, meeting up to trade the dogs once a week. We dated for a few months, and I ended up breaking up with him for a variety of reasons, one of which (not the major reason, but definitely one of them) was this shared-custody dog arrangement.

I think sharing custody of a pet is a bizarre and unhealthy thing to do for several reasons:

* First, I think moving between homes so often is unhealthy for the pet.  Pets need a stable environment and the inconsistency of moving around so often is hard for them to understand.  Consequently, they act out.  His dogs certainly did; they were noticeably unsettled/destructive/anxious when they were coming back or preparing to leave.

* Second, I think it is weird for an person without children to commit to sharing a pet with an ex for the duration of that pet's life - essentially, treating the pet as indistinguishable from a child.  With a young dog, we're talking ten-plus years of the ex being a constant presence in the other person's life.  One of the pluses of dating a person without children is that they have no children.  Of course, we love our pets, but they are not children.

* Third, there is a flavor of codependency attendant to arrangements like this - sustaining a pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for all people/pets involved (the pet, as discussed above, and the exes, who have to keep in relatively close contact with one another *right away* after the breakup to manage the arrangement), rather than doing the emotionally difficult but more mature thing: determining who gets to keep the pet.  Rather than having a clean breakup and moving on, sharing custody of a pet keeps the exes mired in the past. (Ask me how I know!)

All are big red flags for a person who is considering a relationship with one of the exes, as all reveal tendencies toward unhealthy attachment and immaturity.

CMV.

[Assistant] I think the fact that he is willing to at least communicate with his ex about something like this is a good thing. In his mind, he probably thinks that the dogs benefit from consistently seeing both of their owners, so he is able to put his differences with his ex aside for the good of the dogs.


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

[User] [Tower defense games] I'm sending wave after wave of my minions against increasing complex and dangerous towers. Why can't I just attack the towers first? I have flying units.

[Assistant] You could attack the towers. But how much good would it do? This guy can materialize stone towers complete with soldiers and weapons just by transmuting money. Any towers you do destroy will be gone for mere seconds. Better to just hope you can get a few soldiers through and wreck the dude himself instead of fighting a war of attrition against enemies made from your own soldiers pocket money.


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

[User]
CMV: The right to determine the Sovereignty of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) sits with the Island's population

Today is the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War and the time seems ripe to have a discussion about sovereignty, what I'm really interested in is the views of third parties, i.e. people who don't directly support the British or the Argentinian claim to the islands.

A short history

The first settlement on the Falklands was established by the French in 1764, the following year the British set up a settlement on the opposite side of the island, the Argentinian claim originates in 1767 when Spain, essentially, purchased the French settlement. The British and Spanish settlements came into conflict in 1770 with the British leaving the island  but the following year Spain paid restitutions and allowed the British settlement to be re-established. Britain then abandoned its settlement in 1774 leaving a plaque claiming sovereignty, the Spanish did the same in 1811.

In 1816 the country that we now know as Argentina became independent from Spain and inherited all of Spain's sovereignty claims in the region, including the Falklands, but the islands remained unoccupied till 1828 when Argentina granted fishing rites to a man named Luis Vernat who set up a sealing venture. Britain responded to this venture and the Argentinian claims of sovereignty by sending a task force to the Island in 1833 who demanded that a British flag be raised above Port Louis, a demand that was complied with. Apart for a few months during the Falklands war Britain has retained control of the Falklands ever since. Over time settlers moved to the Falklands and today there is a local population numbering around 3,400.

Argument

The population that currently resides on the Falklands is, essentially, the island's original population. Whilst various global powers have bickered about who controls the islands no one ever resided there before the British Colony was established, all previous presence on the island had been either government or business ventures. No resident of the Falklands has ever been displaced (Vernet was encouraged to continue his operation after the British took control but declined) and Argentina has never directly governed the islands (apart from a short period of time during the war).

Therefore there is no population that has a greater say in the sovereignty of the Falklands rather than the people who have made their lives there. That population almost universally wants to be British, in a 2013 referendum 99.8% of the votes were in favour of keeping the Falklands as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, there were only 3 votes against.

The right to determine sovereignty sits with the local population and what they want is clear, change my view.

Edit - signing off for a bit, I'll answer posts later on. What's been most interesting is people questioning the right to self determination, I never suspected that would be the issue that would dominate discussions.

[Assistant]
> The right to determine sovereignty sits with the local population

This is not usually the case elsewhere. Even much larger communities neighboring their "parent" countries can't detach their region from their current country. The majority-German speaking areas of Belgium and Italy can't just decide that they're a part of a different country, a majority-Latino city in the US (say, El Paso) can't just decide it's a part of Mexico, etc.

I don't necessarily think Argentina should have sovereignty in the Falkland Islands, but the local population can't just shop around for a country that will accept them, along with the various perks of their geography.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is (Adobe) Flash so hated by browser/OS makers and why does it still continue to thrive despite (apparently) everyone discontinuing support for it?

[Assistant]
Adobe Flash always has been an absolute nightmare. The only reason it became popular was because it was the only system available to display advanced interactive content on webpages at the time that was practical, and it stayed popular because it was the easiest platform to make content for.

Flash is just crazy inefficient, your browser might use 60mb of memory and 1% of your processor to display a complex webpage with text and images. If you tried to do the EXACT same thing in flash, you'd be using say 50% of your processing power and 500mb of memory. The other problem with flash, and this is completely ridiculous, is that only until a year or two ago flash would constantly crash, even with the most basic code being used without any bugs in that code.

Making the issue worse... everyone and their dad thought it would be a great idea to spam flash across every website, sometimes having 50+ flash programs running on the same webpage for no conceivable reason other than it "looked cool".

When you combine how mind blowingly slow flash is, with how insane of a resource hog it is (when just idling there in a tab you're not even using) with how insanely buggy it is, with how much it was abused when it had no reason to be there, flash became the pinnacle of being the absolute worst way to deliver content on the Internet.

Flash is so bad at one point you could have two tabs open, one playing a highly detailed MMO with console graphics, and the other being your dad's website with one animated button open in another tab that you're not even looking at. That one animated flash button might take up 20% of your memory and use 30% of your processing power while randomly crashing the whole browser every few hours, while you can run an entire video game in in another plug-in with a fraction of resource cost and no crashes.

Flash continues to thrive and became extremely popular because it's really easy to make content for it, but everyone hates flash because it runs content less reliably and efficiently than a Ford Pinto that is leaking gasoline and is actually on fire.

Flash is kind of like if you made the easiest most user friendly tools to create content, and then made the process of displaying that content go through a Rube Goldberg machine for even the most basic functions.


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

[User]
Any suggestions for improving writing skills for a current PhD student?

I am a current PhD student in organizational behavior (think a mix between anthropology and psychology).  I know all the theories I need to know, I read a lot of articles in my field daily, I have great ideas, but when I try to put papers together I can't seem to write linearly.

I'm wondering if anyone took any life-changing writing classes, practice in some way, etc etc, that made you a publishable writer? Any suggestions? I'm also in the Boston area which, surprisingly, only seems to have undergraduate writing courses that I can find for research purposes.

[Assistant] Write what you need to say without worrying about if it is well written. Just get all the ideas on the paper for your first draft, even if it sounds like you're talking like a caveman or an instruction manual - then go through it again and make it pretty.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do guys grow hair on their chests and backs, but girls have none? What's the point of even having any in those places?

[Assistant]
Women do have hair on their chests and backs, but men's body hair is longer, darker and coarser, thus more visible.

There are many theories about why we have body hair, including insulation and additional tactile feeling:

>Androgenic hair extends the sense of touch beyond the surface of the skin into the air and space surrounding it, detecting air movements as well as hair displacement from contact by insects or objects.

See Androgenic hair on Wikipedia.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] If Muggles cannot "see" Hogwarts as it appears like an empty ruin to them, how would muggle born Witches/Wizards' parents come to visit?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but somewhere it is said that since muggles aren't able to see things like magical places, hogwarts school looks like rubble or ruins to them.

Now, the only known visit by a parent in the novels was Lucious Malfoy and Cederic's father (I think). However, I do realize Lucious was usually only there for his own work/scheming interests. Mr. diggory came to support his son in the tri-wizard tournaments.

But what if a muggle parent wanted or needed to come to the castle? Say a muggleborn was chosen for Tri-Wizard glory, or the child was in bad shape at the hospital wing. How would a muggle as a parent of a witch or wizard come and navigate in the castle?

[A friend says parental visitation must be a discouraged notion, but even in the 90's these are not the days parents sent their 5th graders away for 4 months at a time. I know many boarding schools are easily a place for the rich to be rid of their children, but since not attending a boarding school means your child won't learn magic it isn't an option to not send them away. 11-year-olds (even some at 17) have a hard time with being away at camp for a week let alone a year. Imagine the homesickness of a muggleborn family who learned their child would be sent away this long mere weeks before. There are bound to be many reasons a parent might need to come to the castle.]

[Assistant] Close Muggle relatives of Wizard are allowed by the Ministry to have the Wizarding world revealed to them, in which case they have a spell put on them to become immune to usual Muggle repelling effects. Case in point: Hermione's parents went to Diagonal Alley, which is hidden in the middle of London under a Muggle repelling charm.


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

[User] ELI5: What is my money doing when it is removed from my bank account on Day 1, but doesn't show up in my Paypal until Day 8?

[Assistant]
A few things:

1. to the model of paypal this is "the float" - they can make a little money by maintaining a predictably large pool of cash that they can make interest on.  This isn't much these days, but sometimes it is.

2. they are waiting for a period of time to pass where the transaction can't be reversed.  Paypal doesn't want to give you what is liquid-funds to buy stuff with if it can't be sure it _really_ has a handle on your cash.  The wait gets them outside the reversal window of the transfer.


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

[User] Favourite philosopher to read?

[Assistant] Nietzsche. He's funny, polemic, depressing, passionate, witty, clever, challenging, and puzzling. Other people may be way more clear and straight forward in their arguments, but Nietzsche's just fun to  read overall (at least for me). It's a nice break from trying to read something so dry and systematic as Kant.


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

[User] If I were to construct a lightsaber that produced 2 blades in such a manner that they would pass through each other, what would happen when I turned it on?

[Assistant] It wouldn't work. The separate magnetic containment field for each blade would break each other apart, causing the plasma to escape, the energy flow to be disrupted, and the lightsaber would short out.


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

[User]
If you align gears around the entire earth (starting/ending in front of you), how long would it take the last gear to move from when you move the first one?

My fellow neuro friends and I were discussing this last night and we feel like the answer should be be simple, but we were a little stumped.  To make sure the question is clear:

You align gears (starting in front of you, for example), have them go around the earth and end back in front of you.  How long would it take to see the last one move from when you move the first one?

Keeping this as simple as possible, gears in perfect condition, no weather issues, etc.

Let me know if you need me to clarify and sorry if it's a bad question!

[Assistant] Assuming you start with perfect contact between all the gears, then the force will be transmitted at the speed of sound of whatever material the gears are made out of.  That is what the "speed of sound" in a material is - the speed at which mechanical forces are transmitted through it.


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

[User]
ELI5:Different Negative Prefixes

In english we have a lot of ways to say something is "not" something.

If something is not safe it's "unsafe."

If something is not active it's "inactive."

If something is not tasteful it's "distasteful."

If something is not typical it's "atypical."

What is the origin of having all of these prefixes and is there any reason as to why we paid which ones with which words?

[Assistant]
**un-** From the Latin in-, usually implies a reversal (unfold) or an opposite (unfriendly).

**in-** From the Latin in- as well, with a more general meaning of not.  Many words came form Latin with the in- prefix, rather than adding it later, giving the words time to acquire different meanings.

**dis-** From the Latin dis-, similar to -un, but stronger, often implying more permanence, as is disbar, disown, disability.

**a-** Used in this sense it is of Greek origin, and refers to absence rather than negation.  Compare amoral to immoral (variation of in-)


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

[User] Does Einstein's theory of relativity connect electric and magnetic fields?

[Assistant]
Yes; namely under changes of inertial frames in relativity (Lorentz transformations) E and B fields mix into eachother.

Super minimal example to show this: static charge, there's only an E field. You change reference frame, it gets moving and therefore part of the E has turned into a B.

Said in modern words, this implies E and B must be part (components) of a larger object that "transforms well" under Lorentz transformations, that is to say it doesn't mix into anything else, just into itself. This object is the Maxwell tensor F.


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

[User]
CMV: Organ donation should be mandatory when you die

There is absolutely no reason not to be an organ donor. The only thing that will change from your decision to donate or not to donate is that if you don't donate someone might suffer and die because of your superstition / selfishness.

A person does not have the right to decide whether to donate their organs. Just because you used to control those organs and that meat sack when you were alive does not mean you should have the rights to it.

I equate your organs after you die to your excrement. If we could build a machine that takes in the populations feces and urine and turns it into a life-saving antibiotic / energy source / something else useful to society, you do not have the right to opt-out of that system. Why should you? There is nothing to be gained from letting your excrement go to waste, so, why should we let you stop it going to something useful?

[Assistant]
> There is absolutely no reason not to be an organ donor. The only thing that will change from your decision to donate or not to donate is that if you don't donate someone might suffer and die because of your superstition / selfishness.

> A person does not have the right to decide whether to donate their organs. Just because you used to control those organs and that meat sack when you were alive does not mean you should have the rights to it.

While you could force people to donate, this will make people distrustful and unsupportive of their government. A much better approach would be an opt-out system: individuals can still choose not to donate, but you also still have access to all the organs you need since very few people actually do. Win-win!

For example, Austria has an opt-out system, yet a consent rate of 99.98%. If you were to opt out there, you wouldn't be doing any harm, all else being equal.


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

[User] [Fallout] When did Mr. House enter the chamber exactly? Who made it and the Lucky 38 in the first place? How is he able to move around at all in his pod? What's it look like on the inside from his perspective?

[Assistant]
>When did Mr. House enter the chamber exactly

We don't know exactly just that it happened well before the nukes fell.

>Who made it and the Lucky 38 in the first place?

The pod was probably designed by House himself and was assembled and built by workers and factories he owned. The Lucky 38 was built by a construction company like any pre war building would.

>How is he able to move around at all in his pod? What's it look like on the inside from his perspective?

This again is speculation, but it seems like he's completely connected to his computer systems and experiences the world through them.


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

[User]
CMV: Universal child care is more important than universal health care

It is more important for the government to sponsor child day care (birth  kindergarten) than it is to spend on health care. Health costs are mostly consumed by the elderly . Child care costs are almost by definition consumed by working age parents. Free child care would eliminate the need for a parent (usually female) to leave the workforce and reduce house hold income to care for the child. This absence from the workforce is a contributing factor to the wage gap (Im not here to debate this part) females experience when returning to work after kids are in school. This would be a natural economic boost to the middle/lower class that needs all the income they can get.

Anecdotally, my wife is a teacher and once we have our second child we will be spending more in day care than she makes for the year. For reference the day care near us charges $329/wk  per child.

Edit: I mean to refer to day care costs, not health care. Also for the sake of debate I'm pretending we have to pick either health care or day care costs.

[Assistant]
Universal health care covers universal child healthcare, and are of equal importance. If you're talking about a government paying for **all** care for children, that's a bit trickier. When you have a kid, you take on some responsibilities that the government is not responsible for. The important point here is you *don't have* to have children, but in a country with universal health care, you *have* to have health care (I'd hope you'd sign up for it at least).

As for the government paying for day care, well, since ages 0-4 are very important for a child's growth, you technically shouldn't be putting them in a day care. The government already provides for education past age 4, which is a pretty big expenditure in itself.

If we're talking about comparing importance, universal health care covers all people of all ages for their entire lives. Universal child care covers kids of age 4 or less and would ease a bit of the burden of the parents. It is decidedly not more important.


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

[User]
What is the benefit of leaded gasoline in cars?

I am aware that leaded gasoline is terrible for the environment and for your health and that is why its banned in most places. But what is the benefit of putting lead in gasoline that caused people to start doing it in the first place?

[Assistant] Tetraethyl lead was one of the first known cost-effective ways to produce fuel with high octane ratings (less likely to detonate during the compression stroke before the spark plug fires). This allowed engine designers to produce engines that were more powerful for their size.


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

[User]
[Hunger Games]  Why doesn't Capitol establish colonies in other areas of the world?

If Panem is the last remaining collection of humanity, why not send a few people away to try and found colonies in the other parts of the world?  Surely the remnants of the North American continental plate isn't the last bit of habitable land?

[Assistant]
there really isn't that much arable land and due to a lot of lingering fertility issues related to fallout the population hasn't really expanded enough to justify it.

Further at this point anyone suggesting doing so is looked upon as a potential traitor and in extreme cases could disappear.


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

[User]
[Superman] Does Superman help pay for all the damage he causes to buildings after his fights?

Taxes in Metropolis must be high as fuck if he doesnt.

[Assistant]
No. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't afford it on a reporter's salary.

Superman tends to be really careful about collateral damage if he can help it, fights that level city blocks are usually against really powerful foes where the city would have been destroyed anyways like Doomsday, Darkseid, Zod, etc... He also has a lot of good will with the citizens so he tends to get a pass.

If the damage is caused by Superman negligently, for example in JLU, Batman has picked up the tab as part of the Justice League.


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

[User]
ELI5: If cocaine is expensive, why is crack so cheap?

My best guess is that by smoking cocaine, you get more of the drug into your bloodstream quicker, therefore a smaller amount of crack gets you equally high.

[Assistant]
cocaine is used to manufacture crack.  There is less cocaine per dose of crack than there is per dose of cocaine.  The process of making it into crack makes it much more potent so you can consume less for the same high.  This allows them to sell it cheaper.

One does not normally smoke cocaine.


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

[User] ELI5: When a zygote first begins to divide in the womb, how do the new cells "know" what to differentiate into? How does a "kidney cell" know that it's a "kidney cell" and not a "brain cell" or a "nose cell"?

[Assistant]
Each cell in your body contains your entire DNA sequence, or genome, but not all genes are "turned on," so to speak. Rather, some cells use only parts of your genome, and other cells use other parts of your genome. No cell in your body uses the whole thing.

So, your question really might be rephrased: how do the cells know which set of genes to use?

For that, you have to go all the way back to the moment of conception. The point at which the sperm enters creates some damage on the way in, which we call a pole. The egg cell starts depositing chemicals in the area in response to the damage.

As the cell starts to divide, some new cells grow near that pole and are being influenced by those chemicals that were dispatched in response. The influence is that it starts turning certain genes on and off: specifically, they start activating genes that start creating proteins. Some of those proteins will diffuse to farther reaches of the cell, but most of them stay local.  The farther away, the weaker the effect.

These chemicals, in turn, will end up turning other genes on and off. This creates multiple layers in the developing embryo (3 layers, to be exact). Each layer only has the capability of forming certain types of cells.

How each cell comes to "know" its function (i.e., has certain genes turned on, or "expressed," if we use better terminology here) starts to become a little different at this point, as a few different processes are in play, and not all organs form at the same time. It would be a different explanation for each one.

Within a few weeks, most (not all, but most) of the cells have differentiated before starting to divide. For example, cells that form the heart walls are already cardiac muscle cells: they're just splitting into more cardiac muscle cells to complete the process. Once something becomes one kind of cell, it isn't going to be able to switch to something else. It's fixed in that particular role.

By the time you're born, your "nose cells" can only split into more nose cells because they're fixed in the role. You can't grow a "kidney cell" there because the genes for the kidney aren't active in the nose cells, and if they split, you'll just have two cells that don't have the kidney genes active. As such, you can't grow a nose in your kidneys or another hand on your ear.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does dragging a scissor along a length of ribbon cause it to curl?

Wrapping gifts yesterday and currently watching *Elf*...

[Assistant]
This is actually a well studied phenomena and the reason is pretty cool.

Basically you are stretching one side of the material more than the other side and that deformation persists after you run the blade down the ribbon.

Since one side contracts more than the other side it tends to curl naturally.


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

[User]
[DC] How valuable is Constantines soul?

IIRC hes sold his soul to Trigon, Satan and other demon lords and actually had them fight over it to escape judgment lol. If he made a deal for power in exchange for giving up his soul no struggle how powerful would he be?

[Assistant]
Not *that* powerful. He's a powerful mage, yes, but he's not one in a generation soul or anything. He'd get power but he wouldn't get to dictate terms.

The reason for the fighting over his soul is less that it's particularly valuable and more that he scammed hell. He gave each of the lords of hell legal rights to his soul, but they couldn't *all* take it. As demons they were unwilling to share, so they'd have to go to war over it, plunging hell into a devastating civil war and leaving it vulnerable to heaven. So they had to let him live until they found a loophole.

As with any conman, it's not how valuable the product is, it's how valuable you can convince the mark the product is. In a straight deal, it's just a soul. So he avoided a straight deal.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] How much damage could an experienced wizard do if they went on a rampage?

An experienced wizard from the Harry Potter universe decides they want to cause as much death, destruction and chaos as possible.

What can they do to achieve this and how successful would they be?

[Assistant] People always forget that one little spell from Deathly Hallows. Its called FIRE FIEND and it releases giant flame demons that consume everything in their path. Apparate from city to city and cast this spells and you've got some major damage there.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why you see colors when you close your eyes really hard.

I've always wondered why this happens, almost as if the colors dance in and out of sight when I shut my eyes and focus on the backs of my eye lids. Any knowledge on this?

[Assistant]
Sight is caused by the cells at the back of your eye reacting to light. These signals are carried along a wire called the retinal ganglion to the part of your brain that sees.

The cells in your eye and retinal ganglion cells are designed to be stimulated by light, but can be stimulated by lots of things. Pressure on the eyes, electric shock, or very strong magnets.

You can also stimulate the visual area of the brain directly. The visual area is right at the back. A strong impact here will cause you to see "stars", random patterns of light.


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

[User]
[Halo/Star Trek/Mass Effect] The Enterprise and the UNSC Infinity appear just before the Battle of Earth in ME3, do they intervene?

What's the Federation's and the UNSC's protocol when appearing in an obviously alternate universe where humanity is fighting off a bunch of ancient alien robots? Do they intervene or float away?

[Assistant] In regards to the Federation, it depends on which Enterprise shows up.  The Infinity would most likely jump into the fray just on principle given what the UNSC crew has experienced with their own Earth.


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

[User] [Witcher] Since losing their ability to have children seems to only be a prerequisite to graduate Aretuza, could a self taught Sorceress retain her reproductive rights?

[Assistant]
Ciri did.

She was being taught by Yenefer and was a sorceress until she locked it away in the desert during an encounter with Lara Doren.

Also Francesca Findibair. Though she's an elf which means she's only fertile if young, but likely did not go through any sterilization procedure other that just getting older.


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

[User]
If electrons are attracted to protons, then what keeps them apart?

Sorry if it's a stupid question but no one has ever explained that to me.

[Assistant]
This is not a stupid question at all! It was historically very important to figure out why the electron doesn't just crash right into the proton. One short answer is that quantum mechanics finally comes to the rescue.

Edit: please let us know if you are interested in a more detailed explanation, etc...


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

[User]
[MCU] Eternals Celestial Design

Why do all the celestials we see in Eternals look kind of similar Giant Stone Humanoids with six eyes while Ego and the Head of Knowhere look completely different?

Also how did Ego not know about this Society of other Celestials? He thought he is the last one.

[Assistant]
I've seen it postulated that Ego Emerged prematurely from a dead, dying, or destroyed planet. It would explain why he instinctively gathered debris to form what would become his planet/body, because the core of his being is encased in a planet again. Ego has no real solid form like Tiamut and Arishem because his egg was destroyed, he's an incomplete Celestial, just a bundle of power wrapped up in some space junk.

Let us suppose that this is true. Arishem might have just written him off as a lost cause. He can't exactly fulfill the duties of a celestial when he's essentially confined to his planet. He also may not even be powerful enough to generate or renew suns, as if the above theory is correct, then he never absorbed the requisite amount of energy to properly Emerge. This could also explain why Ego, although clearly powerful, is not exactly stable. That's part of why he needed Mantis (disregarding a theory that Mantis is in fact a child of Ego herself) to help him rest peacefully. Perhaps, had his plan succeeded, Ego would have had enough power he would have become a fully powered Celestial, at which point Arishem would definitely take notice of him and probably seek him out.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is ancient Mesopotamia described as a lush land but (the most equivalent) modern Iraq is mostly desert?

I've never been to Iraq and I know that the two regions don't exactly overlap, but still I'm surprised that a country that today is described as mostly desert in the past was the perfect area for agriculture and human wellbeing.

[Assistant]
Civilization formed on riverbeds and river-valleys. Even modern day Iraq has plenty of lush areas fit for agriculture near rivers and sources of water: it's not all desert.

The cradle of civilization formed between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, meaning water was easy to get. The same was happening around the Nile, which floods with incredible regularity causing agriculture planning to be very easy for early civilization.

Additionally climate changes (not *that* climate change) is a thing. The Sahara desert for instance isn't a permanent desert, it has trough the lifetime of the earth flipped between being a desert and being covered in grasses, forests, and lakes as the African humid period went on. It's not impossible to think that the area you're referring to at one point had a very different climate.


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

[User] ELI5: What exactly happens when I hold back a bowel movement for a short while and then the need to defecate seemingly disappears for several hours after?

[Assistant]
The reason it comes and fades, and then recurs (repeat as needed) is that Peristaltic waves move in a one way direction down the digestive tract. The waves push the intestinal/colonic contents toward the posterior opening. These waves are not conscious, but occur at regular intervals day and night. Often the cycle occurs in the 10 to 20 minute time frame, but not always.

The urge to poop comes when fecal material enters the rectum and approaches the internal anal sphincter. The internal sphincter opens, and then the external opens. When we are potty trained, we can resist opening the external sphincter, and wait for the next urge to void the bowels. Babies can't control the external yet, therefore more frequent and usually softer poop.
One of the dangers of putting off pooping in adults is that the colon is a very good organ for the reabsorbtion of water...so the longer one puts off pooping, the more water is removed from the fecal mass...the result is dry, hard and smaller feces; in fact they may become little hard spherical masses and in extreme cases must be removed manually.


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

[User] Do microscopic life like protozoa die of old age?

[Assistant] Single-celled organisms do not. When they split into 2 daughter cells, the cells are effectively equivalent and equally capable of surviving and reproducing further. In a sense, the first cell to begin splitting over 3.5 billion years ago is still "alive" in the form of its many, many descendant cells.


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

[User] [Warhammer Fantasy] With all the terribly lethal and unfriendly races that share the The Old World, how did humanity ever form communities or nations and advanced technology without being immediately crushed by the other physically superior races?

[Assistant]
Humans were once fragmented into tribes, skirmishing with each other, struggling to survive. Eventually, a young blacksmith named Sigmar rose to become leader of his tribe, leading the defense during a (Greenskin or Beastmen) raid.

He was obviously blessed, and his strength and charisma allowed him to unite most of the human tribes, leading them in a devastatingly effective campaign against the Greenskins, driving them back to their caves in the mountains.

Sigmar spawned a line of strong leaders, who worked to form the Empire. Humanities greatest strength is unity, and also their leader's ability to beat the crap out of enemy leaders with a huge ass hammer.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do Jedi/Sith always try to slice with their lightsabers instead of stab?

A lightsaber is equally good at stabbing and slicing, so why do they always opt for swinging in wide arcs that are easily blockable? It seems like stabbing thrusts would be *much* harder to block, and incidentally that is what killed Qui-Gon.

As a related question, when two powerful force users fight (like Anakin and Obi-Wan), they can predict each other's moves, so they wind up in parrying every one of their opponent's swings. Why do they waste their energy uselessly swinging at each other, instead of taking their time and playing psychological games while waiting for an opening (like Vader and Obi-Wan on the Death Star)?

[Assistant] It is actually equally as hard to defend against a stab as it is to land one.  Stabbing requires most of the target's attention to be diverted, and the simple fact that the entire blade of the saber is being pushed directly forward makes it easy to block or deflect with the other saber, and it becomes easy to dodge as well.  That's not to say that stabbing will *always* be ineffective, but if the Jedi can react fast enough to deflect a blow with the saber, there's a high possibility that they'd be able to evade or deflect a stab.


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

[User]
Can someone explain how consciousness isn't a byproduct of brain activity?

I'm trying to understand the mind/body problem, and every explanation of it I read or listen to I end up thinking why an individual experience isn't more than complex neural activities. Emotions are hormones aren't they? also personalities can be changed with drugs that alter brain function, can't they? which would suggest we are just matter at the end of the day.

I'm not a sceptic, I'd love to be told for definite that consciousness is not produced by the brain but is in fact something else that sits in the brain. I hate the material-science answer of 'meh, complex brain' but I can't see another answer to that.

My interest in this stems from NDEs and the hope for something after death.

I suppose I need a good definition or example of what the mind/body problem is and why science hasn't answered it.

Can someone explain how consciousness *isn't* a byproduct of brain activity?

[Assistant]
Well.. it's not per se the case that consciousness isn't the byproduct of brain activity, it's just so that we can't prove it is.

Maybe this becomes clearer when you look at what philosophers call: "the hard problem (of consciousness)". This is the question of why we have experiences at all. It seems strange that adding pieces of matter together, which alone don't seem to be conscious, seems to generate consciousness. It's like putting a lot of marbles together and then expecting consciousness to arise. That would just seem weird.

We know that we are conscious and we know that brain processes influence our consciousness (our thoughts, feelings, etc.) and that hormones have a role in emotion. We can't however equal brain processes with consciousness nor can we equal hormones with emotions. Putting hormones into a glass doesn't mean there's feelings in a glass and simulating brain states in a computer doesn't mean that computer is conscious. There seems to be something over and above that which we can't quite grasp. Something primary.

Now the mind-body problem is not about explaining which hormones and which brain states effect consciousness in what way. It's about explaining how consciousness and matter can interact. Take Descartes substance dualism. Descartes posited that matter is an extended substance whilst mind is an unextended substance. The question then arises how the two can interact. How is the mind connected to the body for instance if it is not extended? Is it situated in a part of the body, or in the whole body? If it is situated in just a part of the body, how can we have conscious awarenss in the rest of the body? And if it is situated in the whole, doesn't that mean that the mind is extended? Such questions are of importance for the mind-body problem.

Hope that helps.