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

[User]
ELI5: How are countries that have languages that depend on tone able to have a music industry?

This really may be an absolutely stupid question, but its been bugging me for a long time. Mandarin for instance is highly dependent on tone changes to say different words, but (pop)music takes away that ability because it takes away from the tune and melody. How does anybody make music that makes sense? Or can my western ears not pick up the small tonal changes they sing?

[Assistant]
It varies based on the specific language or culture, but since you brought up Mandarin I'll just speak to that.

In Mandarin, tonality is ignored in music. Native speakers can still understand it just fine based on the pronunciation and context, and it very rarely causes any kind of confusion. But Mandarin is pretty simple.

Hmong, for example, has up to 8 tones, and when people write lyrics for the Hmong language they actually do still include tonality. That means the lyrics are usually written out before the melody is worked out, so you can compliment the melody to the tone.

When you translate a song from a non-tonal language into a tonal-language, and you can't change the melody, you have to **severely** limit your vocabulary. The melody dictates the final syllable of every word, so you really have to do a lot of work to match the meaning and the melody.


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

[User]
Are there Chaotic Systems in the human body?

Does the body contain any systems that are unpredictable due to minute changes in the initial conditions?

I was wondering whether there are unpredictable systems in the body akin to weather or planetary orbit that over longer periods of time become unpredictable due to tiny differences in the initial conditions, down to quantum fluctuatins.

[Assistant]
A big one is heart-rate variability.

Though it is seemingly disturbing to think of chaos and heart in the same sentence, the inter-beat interval is *not* perfectly regular; in fact if that occurs, the risk for an arrhythmia increases markedly.

This has been known since at least the late 1980s, and more recently it has been hypothesized that these slight irregularities are protective, giving control systems greater flexibility in responding robustly to a greater range of inputs. In the case of cardiac rhythm it seems to help guard against re-entrant conduction of electrical signals to the intrinsic pacemaker pathway.


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

[User]
ELI5: How are surgeons able to reattach digits/limbs that have severed nerves and vessels?

I wouldnt think one could put such small structures back together in a way that functions.

[Assistant]
simple answer:

start with the smallest blood vessels to re-establish blood flow to severed limb. from vessels you scale in size to tissues, veins, ligaments, muscles, etc (not size ordered) then hope that the replantation is not rejected by the body.


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

[User]
[Batman] Everybody wants to know when Batman sleeps...but what about Robin?

Bruce Wayne can easily sleep into the afternoon and it's no big deal. He's an arrogant, playboy billionaire. He probably spends all night partying and has his business meetings in the evening.

But the Robins are usually somewhere between the ages of 12-18 in most stories. Don't they have to be up for school around 7am, all the way until 3pm? Then do homework? They probably get even less sleep than Bruce, no?

[Assistant] Tim was enrolled in a private school when he first became Robin, but for the most part all of Bruce's various wards and adopted kids are homeschooled/privately tutored. Additionally they have a lower workload, only actively superheroing a few hours a week unless an emergency requires their attention.


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

[User] [DC/ Shazam] Why do Billy Batson and the Shazamily get their powers from Graeco-Roman and Biblical figures but Black Adam gets his from Egyptian figures?

[Assistant]
I...don't quite get the question? It's because that's who they get their powers from. There's also a guy who gets his powers from demons, someone who gets his powers from evil souls

There are a lot of things that can give you powers in the DCU.


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

[User] [Wizarding World] What makes certain spells difficult to cast? We know pronunciation matters but other than that why are some spells harder to use than others?

[Assistant] One way to think about it is that it isn't the word that casts the spell, it's the wizard's mind. The word is just a mechanism for getting the mind into the right mode of thought to enable the magic to flow the way it's supposed to. There are many, many more element of that than *just* the word, exactly like there are a huge number of elements that go into a perfectly-executed standing back-flip, even beyond the proper timing in saying "alley-oop!"


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How do they aim the death star?

Whoever aims the death star, can't just point at a planet because they aren't seeing it. They're seeing it a few minutes ago.
Would the few minutes of light difference and possible time dilation actually matter in hitting a planet with a laser?
I imagine that at a certain distance the light difference wouldn't matter and at worst you'd just skim a planet's atmosphere and roast everything on it, but then again a solar system is huge.

[Assistant]
Given the generally predictable nature of planetary movement, automating the process of calculating "orbital lead" probably wouldn't be very difficult. In terms of hitting what it aimed at, the DS1 seemed to be working at a pretty high level in Rogue One, so there wouldn't likely be a big problem there.

About the only real issue is the human factor, if you take Tales from the Death Star as canon, where the guy who blew up Alderran was too traumatized by the experience to pull the trigger on Yavin IV.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does anti-venom work, and why does it require more venom to be produced (or is this a misconception)?

Sneks, how do they work?

[Assistant]
Anti-venom is made by injecting small amounts of the venom collected from the venomous animal into another animal. The animal's body creates antibodies(things in the blood which attack foreign things in your body that shouldn't be there) to fight off the venom. Then those venom fighting antibodies are extracted from the animals blood and presto. You can now give them to a person who has been bitten and give their body a huge amount of antibodies to help neutralize the venom in their blood before it does more damage. There are some antivenoms that can be used to treat multiple different venoms and also ones that are specific to one kind.

If you ever saw the princess bride you might remember that a character fed himself tiny amounts of a deadly poison to build up an immunity to it. We are doing the same thing but instead of making ourselves resistant to the venom (there are people who have done this though it's stupidity dangerous) we make another animal resistant and then use their blood to extract the antibodies and give them to people who have been bitten.


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

[User]
How are the Columbian Hippos (Escobar's Hippos) not horribly inbred if they started from a population of 4?

As per title, even if hippos don't suffer from inbreeding to the same extent, surely over so many generations it has to have some effect?
Estimates put the population at around 100 with potential to grow higher.

[Assistant]
Not sure about the hippos in general but the answer is that, yes, they would be horrifically inbred; however, that would now just be the new "normal" for the population. Any genetic defects in the founding group are going to be passed down to the descendants unless natural selection is able to snuff them out effectively. The types of defects that are present in the founder group, however, are pretty much up to random chance, so you can't always be 100% sure of what the effects will be.

Look at cheetahs for example. They bottlenecked hard a few times 100,000 years ago and never recovered, their genetic diversity is estimated to be about 1% that of other mammal species. Due to high rates of genetic issues, they suffer from low fertility, high juvenile mortality rate, and high susceptibility to infections.


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

[User] [The Incredible] What was so special about Mr.Incredible? Was super strength really all that rare, or was he just one of the first?

[Assistant]
Supers tend to be really specialized. For Mr. Incredible to be both super-strong *and* nigh-invulnerable is a pretty big deal. The only other known super with strength on his level is Stratogale, and she unfortunately fell victim to a cape malfunction.

He's also a really smart and canny fighter, as seen in his fights with the Omnidroids, which gives him an advantage over many of the other strong supers and allows him to pull off feats and victories they might not.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't Netflix help us get around throttling by encrypting their traffic and including the decryption in an end-user plugin?

Netflix has been effectively useless the last couple of weeks as Comcast has blatantly throttled my access to the service (yes, even post Netflix agreement to fork over money). One way around it (and to indicate it was throttling) was to access Netflix through a VPN. However this isn't a practical option for everyone and isn't practical if you're viewing on an Apple TV or related device. So my question again, is why can't Netflix encrypt its traffic and simply inconvenience us with a new browser plugin to install, or in the case of other media consoles, simply embed it in the Netflix app?

[Assistant] They would still be able to see where the traffic was coming from. Encryption doesn't hide the source or destination. Encryption is only useful for hiding the contents, and just watching the pattern would make it pretty obvious what it was. Also, plug-ins are a horrible, horrible thing that any sensible company will avoid whenever possible.


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

[User]
[DC Comics] How's the joker just a minor criminal in a medium security mental institution after almost pulling a 9-11 every few years?

Other than the obvious "it's for kids so adults act stupid" explanation, which isn't very satisfying, I can't really conceive why would this happen. Here's how I think it would work in the real world:

1) The Joker almost pulls of his first 9-11 style criminal act, he gets sent to Arkham on the basis that he's mentally ill and that the risk for escape isn't very high (it's not like he has many connections that the police know of)

2) The Joker escapes and almost pulls off another 9-11, Arkham gets closed because of letting DC's Bin Laden out and several people lose their jobs and fall in disgrace as a consequence. The Joker is sent to the highest security prison in the country.

3) The Joker escapes and almost pulls off a third 9-11, whatever prison he was in, since it was already the safest in the country, stays open (unless there was some serious negligence involved). The US would become laughing stock of the world if it wasn't for the extreme severity of the joker's acts, and whatever US president is there has to address for the third time the extreme severity of the Joker's acts and admits that no prison in the US is safe enough. The Joker is sent to the Death Row regardless of mental illness, with a good chunk of the US military trying to prevent his escape.

4) The Joker escapes the Death Row and the US Army and almost pulls off a fourth 9-11. The Joker is killed on the spot and legislation is drawn so that criminals who escape maximum security prisons and commit acts of a certain severity afterwards can be killed on the spot.

5) Most of Batman's villains are killed or trapped in the Batcave (since Batman wouldn't approve of the government killing them).

Also no, Bruce Wayne, even if he ran for president and won, would be completely unable to stop this all from happening.

So, anybody got a better explanation of this other than "it's for kids, duh"?

[Assistant] He's not. Arkham is a maximum-security facility (well, parts of it. It has lower-security wings that function much like any other mental ward, but there's definitely a supermax wing too.) and the Joker is one of their top-priority patients.


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

[User]
ELI5:How does a casino make money from a poker game? Every other game is played against the casino - with the odds stacked in the casino's favour. But in poker players complete against other players.

Do you pay to sit at a table?

[Edit] Many thanks for all this information.

[Assistant]
There are basically 2 ways.

1. Most casinos take a 'rake' from each hand which is generally 3 - 10% of the pot. It is usually capped so big pots don't make them a lot more.

2. For tournaments and at some casinos there is a simple fee to enter or to play for a period of time.

I guess the third is that by bringing people in to play poker they will generally also spend money elsewhere, whether it is gambling or just buying food and beverage etc.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do Christians in the US make a fuss about science and evolution, but Catholics in Europe don't?

I was brought up in a Catholic school in Europe, but wasn't indoctrinated about faux science.

[Assistant]
1. The Catholic Church has accepted modern science and does not take a strongly literal interpretation of the Bible.
2. Protestants, not Catholics are the ones leading the anti-science movement in the US.
3. The groups responsible do take the Bible as literal truth and object to anything that contradicts it (while ignoring all of the contradictions within the Bible itself.)


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

[User]
Typically how deep does the foundation of a skyscraper, or any tall building, go in relation to it's height?

I remember hearing a story from a friend who grew up in Toronto of when they built the CN Tower at the start they were just digging deeper and deeper and it was a joek among his peers that "Those idiots! They're looking at the blue prints upside down!"

[Assistant]
Architect / Engineer with a huge construction company here.
There is no "typical" foundation system. Two interesting anecdotes are the World Trade Center "Freedom Tower" vs. the Burj Kalifa (previously the Burj Dubai)

The rise in the bedrock beneath the surface of Manhattan actually is what created it's elongated shape at the mouth of the Hudson, rather than eroding into the delta that marks the end of the Mississippi River. Additionally, it's made the construction of the new york skyline financially possible. There are two rises in the bedrock, midtown and financial district.

The foundations of the "Freedom Tower" are basically just columns that hit bedrock. The bedrock has been tested, poked, prodded, leveled and worked to the right spot, they drill in some anchors and boom they're away. The steel goes right (basically) to the rock. The depth of the foundation, therefore, depended more on how deep they were willing to blast in order to put a few extra chillers or generators, vs. just putting them on the roof. In contrast, the relatively cheap foundation system (due to the height of extremely stable rock) meant they could spend that money on a taller tower. The tower itself is ~445m. from bedrock to spire, compared to a nearly negligible foundation

In contrast. The sands of Dubai are pretty much constantly in flux. The choice of foundation, therefore, can be thought of more as a raft. The foundation itself is the same size as the footprint of the building. It begins with 1.6m dia. steel pipes (filled with concrete) that extend 50m below the bottom of the foundation. Above that you have a reinforced concrete "raft" that is 3.7m thick to support a building that weighs approx 500,000tonnes.  There are additional buildings surrounding the actual footprint of the building that handle parking, mechanical and support spaces. etc. But this project was based on a radically different set of economic priorities. So you have roughly a 54m deep foundation for an 830m tall building (inc. spire).

TLDR: Typical is extremely location, program and budget dependent.


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

[User]
ELI5: If countries in Europe have unemployment levels of up to 25%, why is an unemployment rate of 8% in the U.S. such a catastrophe?

We were told this in our high school Econ class, but it was never discussed or explained.

[Assistant] Its a bigger catastrophe in Europe.  Greece and Spain, in particular, are suffering severe social crisis because it it.  European countries, however, have stronger social safety net programs than the US does.  This means being unemployed in Europe isn't as financially devastating to the unemployed person as in the US.


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

[User]
What texts should I read as an introduction to absurdism?

Or should I just jump right into Camus and Sartre's works?

[Assistant]
I would jump right into it. Both Sartre and Camus wrote a lot of fiction. I'd start with reading fiction firat, them maybe the more formally philosophical essays.

I'd take a look at Nausea, The Wall, and No Exit by Sartre.

For Camus, check out The Stranger, The Fall and the Myth of Sisyphus. The Myth of Sisyphus isn't fiction, but an essay. It is a must-read though for a beginning guide to absurdism or existentialism.

I would also go on and take a look at plays by Samuel Beckett, like Waiting for Godot. And stories by Kafka, like The Metamorphosis and The Castle.

It should be noted that Sartre considered himself an Existentialist, but not an absurdist. Camus vice-versa. But both movements cross-pollenated a lot. To understand one, it's best to also understand the other.

Once you're a bit more familiar with the works of fiction, I'd then dive more into the formally philosophical essays and commentary on the plays/fiction.


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

[User]
Would it be possible for a giant biological creature to live in space?

I'm think about something like the starship Enterprise of the Battlestar Galactica, but in a biological form ... Would it be possible??

[Assistant]
Anything is possible.  But likely?

I think an advanced race could genetically engineer space critters certainly.   But for one to evolve to live in space would be very strange.

A space critter following our current understanding of physics is going to be stuck in space.  So no dipping down to planets to munch on organics.  So it needs to get both its energy and its food from space, and be able to survive the temperature gradients and the radiation.

Maybe giant space plants, or wierd funguses, orbiting stars.


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

[User] [Star Trek] In a game of Hide & Seek, where would the best places to hide on a Galaxy-Class starship be?

[Assistant]
* Inside the holodeck. Create a simple holodeck program that displays an empty holodeck, except a foot or two shorter than the actual holodeck. Then, hide in the empty space.

* Inside a transporter buffer. Set up a transporter buffer loop and just remain suspended in there for awhile. Great hiding space, potentially fatal.

* In a space suit, with magnetic boots, hanging out on the outside of the hull.

* Out of phase. Look up some engineering files on how to duplicate the effect, then hide out of phase.

* In plain site. Convince the doctor to physically change your appearance, probably even changing gender and species. This seems trivially easy enough to perform and reverse. Simply change your appearance and hide out in plain site.

* In the holodeck, pretending to be an NPC.

* In the captain's private head. (Maybe you can convince Picard to let you do it as a lark. It's the last place anyone will look!)

* Hanging out in the elementary school in as a younger version of yourself. (Apparently the transporter can be used to make you into a younger version of yourself. Starfleet seems to loathe the concept of immortality, and thus doesn't use this for the obvious medical applications. But you could use it for hide and seek.)

* In a random barrel in a nameless storage bay, preferably one shielded from scans.

* In one of the stasis units in the sick bay morgue.

* Wesley's bedroom. That's the last place anyone would want to be.


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

[User]
What do bees do when it's stormy?

Like do they just not eat/hunt for the day? Or do they spend the night somewhere other than their nest?
If they get blown away from their nest, how far can they get until the can't find it again?

[Assistant] If it's going to rain and airpressuredrops, they stay in theirhives. Bees also do not fly around if the temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When it is cold, they cluster in their hive to stay warm. They use thehoneythat they make for food during the cold months when nectar is scarce.


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

[User]
[Dark Souls Series] Given that Chaos was created by attempted to use the Great Life Soul to create a new Flame, is it possible that it could serve as a stand in should the First Fire finally entirely go out?

Obviously there are problems with this, but, the Witch originally intended to use her Soul of Life to create a new flame, which, went out of control and caused rampant life (Chaos) therefor, is it possible that in a last ditch effort to "save" the world Chaos could be unleashed if the First Flame was fully snuffed out?

[Assistant]
Well that's exactly what they tried to do, it backfired horribly. It failed and demons infested the lower caverns of Lordran.

Plus the balance is still off. Where there is no Light, there is only Dark. You need the two, and the two are inseparable. The cycle must continue. Anyone who interferes pays the price, as the Witches learned. You could create a world under life, but we wouldn't survive it.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do American blind people tell the difference between different bank notes when they are all the same size?

I know at least for Euros they come in different sizes for better differentiation.

[Assistant] There was actually a major lawsuit in 2008 regarding this. The US government lost and and the courts found that the current currency design is discriminatory to the blind. They're in the process of changing it but it's a long drawn out process.


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

[User]
What the heck are freckles, and why do I have them?

I understand that skin color changes and evolved in different areas of the world based on the amount of sunlight. The idea that humans needed to better adapt to their environment is pretty solid...like the color of most societies around the world. I don't understand freckles...did the evolution of freckled skin get confused? I feel like im 50% white and 50% brown (in areas where I have a ton of freckles). Why no solid color? what is the benefit of freckles?  I often joke that it's the perfect camouflage for hunting potatoes.

[Assistant]
Robbins addresses some of the how, but not much of the why:

>Freckles are the most common pigmented lesions of childhood in lightly pigmented individuals. They are generally small (1 to several mm in diameter), tan-red or light brown macules that appear after sun exposure. Once present, freckles fade and darken in a cyclic fashion during winter and summer, respectively. This is not because of changes in the number of melanocytes, but in the degree of pigmentation.

>Morphology. Hyperpigmentation of freckles results from increased amounts of melanin pigment within basal keratinocytes; melanocytes may be slightly enlarged but are normal in density. It is unclear whether the freckle represents: (1) a focal abnormality in pigment production by a discrete field of melanocytes, (2) enhanced pigment donation to adjacent basal keratinocytes, or (3) both. The caf au lait spots seen in neurofibromatosis are histologically indistinguishable from freckles, but the former evolve independently from sun exposure and can contain aggregated melanosomes (macromelanosomes) within the cytoplasm of melanocytes.


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

[User] [Marvel] Could Peter Parkers powers potentially pinpoint a player pointing a pistol at him in a video game? Or in vr?

[Assistant]
I doubt it because there's no actual danger to him and we've seen Peter walk right into situations that are merely unpleasant without any kind of warning.

Also, this question makes a decent tongue twister.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Did Palpatine or Darth Vader have any, just like, friends?

Who did they hang out with when there weren't ruling the galaxy? What did they do in their free time? I bet Palpatine knits. Right? Who were their pals? Did they watch Star-Football on Sundays together? These are the important questions.

[Assistant]
Palpatine had a small circle of people who considered themselves friends of his, or top advisers. Humans like Sate Pestage kept Palpatine's secrets and confided in him for many years. But it's debatable how much of it was a genuine, if professional, relationship and how much of it was Palpatine using them for different purposes, like he used everybody.

Vader kept himself as closed off and alone as possible, except when he was forced to interact with others or when he tried to conspire. Like his time with Starkiller. No one hated Vader as much as he hated himself so in those dark times, no one suffered more or in as much silence as he did.


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

[User] ELI5: why do domestic cats generally hate water?

[Assistant]
Think about when you drop something and that cat goes bananas and zips out of the room in a  split second.   Think about when you make a loud noise and cat bolts.  Cats rely on their ability to get themselves out of a situation at the first sign of danger.  Even the way they sit and sleep allows them to use their legs like cannons from a laying position,  and get off the ground and running full speed instantly.   Without this ability,  cats feel very insecure and vulnerable and may bite or scratch.   The same thing  can happen in small enclosed areas without stuff to jump on, or if they are weighed down by something.

When cats are in the water,  all this goes out the window.   The water sticks to every strand of fur due to surface tension and weighs a ton.   They aren't able to push themselves off the ground and use their rocket legs.  They suck at swimming due to their lean legs,  and the water alone can increase their weight considerably,  making it difficult to jump high,  run fast.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] Why was Shepard (a marine corps officer) made the XO on a navy ship?

Shepard is part of the Alliance Marine Corps and the N7 special operations force, trained in all matters of infiltration, ground combat, sabotage, etc. Why were they assigned as the Executive Officer of a navy vessel? They don't have the skills or training required for command of a star ship.

[Assistant]
The Alliance doesn't have a Marine Corps like the larger wet navies back on Earth. Alliance Marines are actually a sub-branch of the navy, with individual ground units treated much the same way as fighter squadrons. Although they have their own rank titles, that's more a matter of tradition than anything else and every marine is considered naval personnel and trained as such.

Kaiden Alenko, for example, served as part of the marine detachment of the original SSV Normandy but also worked in the cockpit during routine ship operations.

In addition, the ICT system provides training in leadership skills as well as combat. Couple that with Shepard's own naval training and natural leadership and tactical ability, and it's not too much of a stretch for Shepard to be given command of a ship. Especially with the endorsement of the Citadel Council and the urgency of the mission to stop Saren.


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

[User] [MCU] What if Iron Man called Steve Rogers?

[Assistant] Considering that Maw showed up almost immediately, it wouldn't matter much probably - Steve was tipped off by Banner minutes later with same info, so only real change would be that it would somewhat repair the bond of trust between Steve and Tony. However since after fight in Greenwich Tony was stranded in Space, it wouldn't influence events on Earth.


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

[User] [Marvel] If Zeus is real, does that mean Yaweh is real too?

[Assistant]
Yes, technically, but he's not the Omnibeing he claims to be- he's just another god.

There *is* an omnibeing- The One Above All- who fits closer to the traditional abrahamic conception of "God" but it's been made to some extent clear that's not Yahweh, that's a different being.


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

[User] ELI5 If the US raises the minimum wage to $15/hr, what's keeping inflation and/or cost of living from skyrocketing?

[Assistant]
The fact that every other raise in the minimum wage has resulted in the price of goods increasing by $0.10-$0.25 on average for every $1 the wage was increased. There will be some inflation, but it is more than offset by the new purchasing power of those getting the increase.

Now if you were to suddenly double the pay everything would be in chaos and all but the big stores with large volumes of business would not be able to keep up with labor costs as there is a lag between when you start to pay people more and that money gets spent on things. But if you ease into it with say $0.50-$1.00 increase a year you will not run into that trouble.


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

[User] [Ender's Game] Why exactly are they recruiting children to be generals?

[Assistant] The buggers are unlike any enemy Humanity has ever faced and "defeating" them the first time was something of a fluke. Not wanting to rely on the hope of a similar fluke to win the next war, they started recruiting children because they needed fresh malleable minds. This was in contrast to attempting to retrain adults whose minds were brought up on the concepts of traditional warfare.


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

[User]
What would happen to a helium balloon once/if it escaped earths atmosphere?

*assuming the material of the balloon is not plastic and was designed to withstand cold/wind etc. Is there a material that could make it out?

[Assistant] assuming there's no "wind" forcing it down and assuming the container it's in is strong enough to not pop once it reaches a certain altitude because of the pressure the helium would exert on the inner walls at high altitudes, it would stop rising at a point because the reason it rises is because the density/mass of the air around it is higher than the helium inside the balloon and also the pressure (force) the helium exerts on the inner walls of the balloon is enough to make it rise. At some point the density/mass of the atmosphere around the balloon would become the same or lower than that of the mass of the balloon + helium in it so the balloon would stop rising, i.e. it can't escape the earth's atmosphere due to the force/pressure the helium alone exerts on the balloons inner walls.


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

[User] [The Matrix] Why didn't the machines patch the security flaws that allowed humans to hack in?

[Assistant] Because the Matrix was designed to allow them hack in. It was the only way discovered to control the systemic anomaly endemic to the Matrix. Without allowing it, "The One" could not come to exist, and the Matrix could not be reset without killing everyone inside it.


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

[User] ELI5: LOTR Dwarves. Where do they come from? Why didn't the help out more during the events of the trilogy, what happens to them afterwards?

[Assistant]
**Warning**: major "the Hobbit" spoilers down below.

> Where do they come from?

The first Dwarves were constructed by the smith god Aule. He wanted to make a new race of intelligent beings that would have the same technical inclinations as him, but he found he could only make automatons bound to his will, with no independent life. In the end Eru, the God (capital G) of Tolkien's universe, discovered Aule's work and, while initially enraged, decided to give true life and sentience to the Dwarves. These first few Dwarves were scattered around Middle Earth and each became the ancestor of one of the main Dwarf lineages.

> Why didn't they help out more during the events of the trilogy?

There are two main reasons:

- Compared to their former glory, Dwarves as a race had considerably dwindled both in numbers and in power.

- Most Dwarves did not live close to the regions of Middle Earth that were involved in the War of the Ring. Dwarves have always been isolationist and only the Dwarves that were directly affected by Sauron's threat (the ones of the Lonely Mountain) intervened.

> What happened to them afterwards?

After Sauron's defeat there was a brief period of general prosperity and growth. Gimli, with King Eomer's permission, took a group of Dwarves to colonize the Glittering Caves under Helm's Deep; centuries later, Durin VII led an expedition to once again re-settle Moria, this time successfully.

However, the general trend of decline continued. Their population dwindled because women were only a third of their population and male dwarves had little desire to take wives or had difficulty finding one to their taste.

We don't know the ultimate fate of the Dwarves, but we know that they have a place in Eru's (God's) plan for the world and that they will participate in the Dagor Dagorath, the final battle between good and evil at the end of time. According to Dwarven legends, when the apocalyptic battle is finished they will help their creator Aule rebuild the world in its final, perfect form.


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

[User]
Why did we evolve two kidneys?

We only have 1 liver, heart, pancreas etc... so why did we evolve two kidneys? If it is a redundancy thing, then why don't we have two of other essential organs?

[Assistant]
This question is misleading because the question of "Why did we evolve X" is quite different from "What is the advantage of X"? The question of why we evolved something is answered in all cases by "because of mutation." We gain adaptive and maladaptive genotypes (which manifest as phenotypes like two kidneys) as a result of mutation.

Why a mutation is successful is an entirely separate discussion; sometimes we 'evolve' things which are neither useful or harmful and they are carried simply by accident of being linked with other beneficial mutations, or having no effect on our reproductive success.

Certainly responses can include the (dis)advantage of one versus two kidneys, but it is hard to say conclusively that the reason we *kept* two kidneys after evolving them is because that person was more likely to breed; it could be that he was simply stronger than his cohorts and killed them all, passing on the double-kidney mutation by sheer accident. And his children, perhaps now benefiting from the increased life expectancy of having the double kidneys had a longer lifespan to breed. Or any other of millions of possible enumerations.

The point of this pedantry is to to note that asking the question of "Why did we evolve X" is dangerous, as it seems to imply a designed evolution - e.g. we evolved this because it was beneficial. Some phenotypic variation demonstrably increases reproductive success, but oftentimes the mutation is ineffective enough at a breeding level to have no actual effect on reproductive success.


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

[User] ELI5:How were the trenches in World War 1 and 2 made? Did they predict where a battle would be ahead of time and dig there, or did they dig them during battle over time?

[Assistant]
In WWII, trenches tended to be built ahead of time in areas that were expecting to be attacked. Trenches are used like walls or other fortifications, so if you had an area you felt was likely to be hit, or if you had a position you wanted to strengthen, you'd make up some trenches so if it was attacked you'd be ready. But in WWII, trenches were relatively small and simple constructions for the most part, designed to give a little bit of extra cover to the troops but not expected to hold for a significant time in most cases because tanks were so widespread and the battles moved quite quickly.

In WWI however, it was the exact opposite. When you think of trenches in WWI you're probably thinking of the German/French/British western front, though trenches were used all over the place. In this area though, trenches were the most effective and most prominent feature, and it's where the biggest battles tended to take place.

Early on in the war you had very large infantry and cavalry groups moving around trying to fight each other, but because they had so many machine guns and artillery pieces these formations were all but obliterated. It was extraordinarily bloody, and nobody could achieve anything, because the battlefield was just a constant mess of explosions and machine gun fire. So in order to just try to survive, people started digging into the ground to protect themselves, and these desperate defences soon grew to become complete trenches.

The battles now found a stalemate where you couldn't move because if you tried you'd be minced by the artillery and machine guns, but the enemy couldn't destroy you either because you were protected by your trenches. So both sides just sat there, unable to resolve anything, for years trying to find a way to get out of the stalemate. In the meantime, because they were living in the trenches and couldn't leave them anyway, they spent a huge amount of time and energy digging and digging and digging, and so eventually many of the trenches were dozens of feet deep, full of buildings and bunkers and all kinds of things underground, and the fortifications would often span many miles from the actual front line so that people could come and go and move equipment and supplies in and out of the trenches while being protected from the artillery.


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

[User]
ELI5: Fundamentally, what is mass?

If you want go even further how are the particles that have no mass?

[Assistant]
There are two types of mass, which as far as we know turn out, for reasons unknown, to be exactly the same:

 - Gravitational mass is the quantity that determines how much gravity something has. According to general relativity, gravity is caused by objects trying to take the shortest possible path through spacetime: if their route through spacetime is bent, their path is altered, and we observe that as gravity. The more massive something is, the more it bends spacetime, and so the more gravity it exerts. Objects with no mass don't bend spacetime, and so don't gravitationally attract other objects (although they can be attracted by objects with mass). (edit - correction: objects with no rest mass still bend spacetime because they have energy)

 - Inertial mass is the measure of how resistant an object is to acceleration. Heavier objects require more energy to accelerate to the same speed than a lighter object would. In a vacuum, massless objects travel at the speed of light without any force acting on them (although it's possible for objects with mass to travel faster than massless objects in certain mediums).

There's no known fundamental reason why these two masses end up being the same thing, as they're two entirely different concepts. However, the fact that they are the same is one of the fundamental facts which general relativity relies on.

Fundamentally, mass (both gravitational and inertial) comes from two places. First, via E=mc^2 , you have the mass resulting from the energy that binds the smaller particles together (e.g, gluons binding quarks together in a proton). For constituent particles like protons, neutrons, or atoms, this is the source of the vast majority of mass. Second, you have the mass of a particle resulting from its interaction with the Higgs field. The Higgs field is a field that permeates the entire universe and interacts with particles proportional to their mass: particles with a lot of mass interact with the Higgs field a lot, and particles with no mass don't interact with it at all. This interaction is mediated by the Higgs Boson.


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

[User]
CMV: the honeymoon phase is bs.

I think people say this so they dont feel as bad that they arent as happy in their relationship as they were in the first few years/months. As long as both people in the relationship put in effort and energy, the so called honeymoon phase doesnt have to ever end.

Stop using this phase as an excuse to justify not putting in enough energy as time in the relationship goes on.

Ive had a few people tell me about the phase and say things like the relationship will go from the honey moon phase to more business like.

I used to believe it was real and i mentioned it because i was very happy in the first couple months of my relationship and the person i was talking to told me it wasnt real and how they had been in their relationship for years and they were still super happy. I know every relationship and person is different but thats the point exactly. every relationship is different.

change my view.

[Assistant] Honeymoon phase is not about happiness. It's about carefree happiness that overshadows mundane and/or problematic things. Cause freshness of relationship will overshadow them. When honeymoon phase ends, those things will show themselves - and that does not mean that there will be no happiness, because happiness is a thing that should absolutely be there. It just won't be as carefree as one in the beginning.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some lamps and other fixtures require two turns to turn on and off?

[Assistant] They're 3-way switches, but you apparently did not put a 3-way bulb in the lamp... using a 3-way bulb would allow the lamp to have 3 brightness settings. If you use a standard bulb, it's two turns on, two turns off instead of low, medium, high, off.


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

[User]
Advice for someone seriously considering quiting a post doc

I started my post doc close to a year ago. It was my dream post doc with who I thought would be perfect mentors. But, you guessed it: bad mentors! At first I thought the issue was me: "I'm new so I don't get the lab culture yet", "I work on this project that functions very differently from the rest of the projects in lab so that's why I feel out of place and unmentored"... Then slowly I started realizing that the red flags I was trying to explain as something about me or circumstancial were actually symptoms of a toxic lab environment brought on by toxic mentors. The covid pandemic highlighted a lot of the toxic behavior even more and recently their toxicity has been more directly targeted at me and my work.

So I've reached a breaking point where I've decided I want to leave, but I'm not sure how or where. Spoke to some friends in industry and that's a possibility of course, but I'm scared of taking that exit and hating it. (biggest concern is little freedom to ask my own questions)  But ultimately I guess I hate where I am in academia now (and I'm also not asking my own questions here either! For much less pay than industry) so it's not very different. I could consider another post doc but I worry I'll run into another toxic environment. Another issue is that my current mentors are well known and I feel like leaving them will put me on an academic black list in my field. I also have guilt leaving academia as a POC who had always enjoyed mentoring students, and thought I could be part of increasing representation in STEM. Someone once told me that if all the good people leave academia it  keeps self selecting bad people. While I get that point, at what cost does that come for the good people who stay?

After this rambling post I guess I want advice on transitioning either to a new post doc or to industry.

[Assistant] You're trying to make a decision between a known bad and an unknown unknown.  It's basically impossible.  So just start applying for other jobs, postdocs *and* industry, right now.  You're not committing to anything until the moment you sign a new contract.  Apply widely, accept every interview you're offered, see what jobs exist, and see what's open to you.  Find out what your actual, real, concrete options are and then decide whether they're better than where you are.


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

[User]
[avatar] why did zuko pass out when he released the appa?

I never understood, why he passed out.

[Assistant]
Because he was so conflicted and confused that it was making him physically ill.

He made a decision that went against everything he *thought* he believed in, because he was finally starting to realise that it wasn't what he actually wanted. As Iroh said, he was finally asking the big questions. Who was he? What did he want?


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

[User]
ELI5: why there doesnt seem to be a state between "liquid" and "frozen" for water, like "viscous" or "syrupy"

why does it seem to go from "liquid" to "frozen" instantly?

[Assistant]
Other things which do have that transition zone of "syrupy" (e.g. syrup) are much more complex substances than water.  Inside them, there are many different types of molecules - hydrocarbons, sugars, fats, actual cells, etc. - which contribute to a gradually changing viscosity.  Water, however, is (for our purposes) just one, uniform molecule, so we see it melt and freeze at a specific temperature.

In chemistry, those other things which have a gradual viscosity change would be called something different - a solution, a suspension, or probably a combination with all the many different actual substances that make up that syrup, honey, molasses, etc.


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

[User]
[40k/Warhammer] How do you actually 'kill' a Nurgle Plaguebearer or Marine?

Iv seen many depictions of either being shot or stabbed and then dropping instantly. I'm curious to know what is happening here. I get that they don't have regular bodily functions as they are demons or so corrupted to the core to make the distinction irrelevant, so how do regular bullets or normal metal edged weapons actually cause any fatal damage?

Not including epic heros or pskers, how does getting stabbed or shot by a bunch regular Imperial Guardsmen (while limited in example) actually bring down a being where their organs and internal physical makeup is essentially meaningless?

[Assistant]
Plaguebearers, like all daemons, are never truly killed when they are slain in the materium.

Rather, maintaining a physical presence in the materium is itself a strenuous task for creatures of the warp. Damaging their physical body strains this manifestation until it can no longer be maintained, and they retreat back to the warp. Daemons often dissolve into a nondescript substance due to this upon defeat.

A chaos marine is still "mortal" in to the extent that space marines are considered as such. Hurt them enough and they die, likely returning to their patron diety's realm where they may or may not be put to use.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] Arent heat sinks a step back in weapons technology?

I love my old school Carfinex hand cannon. Years of trigger discipline and shot control means I can shoot evenly paced shots all damn day with out ever having to replace a heat sink. Not to mention the ability to eject heat into a charging vorchas face before i can get my omniblade out.

These young guys just joining thr yellow suns are all about these new heat sinks though. They fire are quick as they can as much as they can untill that sink is full and then it pops it self out. Id rather carry some extra gernandes on my belt over those things any day.

What gives gun manufacturers?

[Assistant]
Heard of world war one back on old Earth? Trigger dicipline and shot control, even from veteran troops, doesn't hold up well against rapid automatic gunfire.
The trigger dicipline and shot control that frankly can't be expected of even veteran soldiers in a firefight, especially not close quarters.

If anything, this lethal experiment have been going on too long. God knows how many of our guys died in this absurd experiment in leaving soldiers defenseless with an overheated weapon instead of slapping in a new heat sink and continue laying down supressive fire.

Abandoning brass cartridges was abandoning centuries of arms developement, yet nobody bat an eye.


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

[User]
ELI5: time - How do we "travel" through time?

My actual 5 year old asked me this weekend "How do we move through time" and it got me thinking... do we fall through the time dimension like we do through space via gravity? Gravity, to my understanding, is a result of the Higgs creating the property of matter we interpret as mass, and bends spacial dimensions such that we fall to a lower energy state - is there some similarity there with time such that we fall through that dimension as well? If so is there any theory as to what creates that one way flow? As I thought about it all I could imagine was some kind of odd (time, not mass) singularity that forces the flow of time in one direction. Is there possibly some Higgs like particle that creates this field?

[Assistant]
Richard Muller's recent book "Now: The Physics of Time" is a great read that may provide you with fodder to appease your kid.

Basically, his hypothesis is that the reason time flows from past to future is because of its necessary connection to space in the form of space-time. Because new space is being constantly being created, new time is also being created as well, because it is impossible to uncouple space and time. They are just one thing, space-time. The creation of new time, the hypothesis goes, is experienced as the flow of time toward the future.

Hope that helps.


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

[User]
CMV: Everyone is overreacting about the TPP.

I'm skeptical about the doom and gloom surrounding the TPP, and here's why.

First of all, we are getting everything we know about the details of TPP from news sources reporting on leaks. We are getting this information from the same media outlets that we criticize day in and day out for spinning stories and providing incomplete facts.

Secondly, who's to say that the providers of these leaks (WikiLeaks) are not withholding other important information about the TPP. What if WikiLeaks is only trying to push an agenda by deliberately providing incomplete information?

And lastly, the hyperbole surrounding corporations being able to sue governments sounds a lot like what we heard around the time of the Obama care rollout with regards to the "death panels." I just don't see how the fear mongering surround the TPP is any different than what we've seen in the past with other major legislation. Hell, the average citizen barely knew what the ACA entailed when it was passed, but here we are just fine.

Let me get one thing straight, I am most certainly not supporting the government and its actions to hide the details of the TPP. I just think that there is a massive overreaction to this legislation as a result. I wouldn't be surprised if half of the information spread about the TPP ends up being false or much tamer than it's made out to be.

[Assistant]
A big reason why many people are so vocal about the TPP is a reaction against how quietly it is being covered in mainstream media sources. Both supporters *and* opponents of the TPP agree that it would have enormous ramifications in the global economy. Regardless of whether its impacts will be positive or negative, it would be reasonable to assume media sources would cover (at least moderately) the negotiations and movements of such a potentially powerful treaty.

The fact that it is being so sparsely covered by the media gives opponents cause for suspicion and raises many questions. If the TPP were to be publicly scrutinized and widely accepted by the public there would be no need to hide it from the public eye. On the other hand, if its supporters suspected the treaty would not hold its own well under close scrutiny, they would only benefit from hushing its coverage. It turns out that the people who would benefit most from what little we know about the treaty *are exactly those people who effectively own those media sources which aren't covering it.*

TL;DR: It's being ignored by the media. Some people think this is because the involved corporations don't think it will be accepted by the public under close scrutiny - these corporations control the media. 'Overreactions' are an attempt to cancel out the media silence.


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

[User]
My Boss Sent Me A Journal Article to Read and I Can't Understand It...

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting in this sub so please bear with me.

So, I graduated with my BA in Psychology this past May. A couple of weeks ago I started a job as a Research Assistant working with a highly distinguished professor in the field of cognitive science and abnormal psychology. Now, cognitive science (or any science for that matter) was never my strong suit.  I also fulfilled my science requirements in undergrad 2 years ago, so I forgot a lot of information. I was hired mainly to work on one of his projects that has nothing to do with his primary research interests, but aligns perfectly with my interest of abnormal psychology and working with a completely different population.

Last week, I got hired to work on another project. So now I'm working part-time in both projects. My boss sent me a lengthy article to read, and I can't understand a majority of it. My boss mentioned that if I had any questions, I can just ask. But, I'm afraid that I'll look incompetent and that I really don't belong in the lab. The paper was way too advanced. I've been researching key terms, going on websites and reviewing notes from years ago. Although it does help, I feel so inept and that I don't really belong in this lab.

Imposter syndrome has already got the best of me. I'm one of the youngest working in the lab. Most of my co-workers have PhD's. It's so intimidating. I know the common sense answer here is to just ask my professor questions, but I've had demeaning professors before and I'm trying to prevent a poor situation.

What do you suggest I do? I'm not considering dropping out of this project, considering my boss really needs an RA for this project. I definitely still want to work in this project because I love learning new things. I'm just overwhelmed with imposter syndrome symptoms and I'm not sure where to begin.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Assistant]
Look at the older papers cited in the article; it's likely these will provide some of the background for how the research in the article itself came to be. Keep going down the rabbit hole as needed.

Are the new project and subsequent article cognitive science-based, and that's why you feel you don't understand them? Try to fit the paper in with the concepts you do understand from the new project. Do you need to thoroughly understand everything from the article before you will be able to carry out your duties as an RA? In that case, you will need to explain the situation to your PI. That's improbable, though, ime.


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

[User] ELI5: Are tea and coffee metabolized the same way water and dry herbs/beans would be separately? Does the water undergo a chemical change when it steeps/brews? About what percent of the initial water is metabolized by the body normally?

[Assistant]
Tea and coffee are not metabolized in the same way that the dry herbs or beans would be because only some of the substances in the herbs/beans are leeched out into the water. The water doesn't undergo a chemical change but rather dissolves chemicals from within the brewed substance.

The body doesn't really metabolize water, it metabolizes the substances carried within the water.


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

[User]
ELI5: How trees get their rings.

I'm sure we all know the saying that for every ring you see in a stump of a tree, each ring is supposed to represent one year of the trees life.  I'm sure that statement is debatable... but my question is how are those rings formed?

I hope that question makes sense. I'm just confused as to how a tree, which grows continually overtime, has noticeable rings that can represent the lifespan of the tree.

[Assistant] Trees grow at different rates at different times in the year, producing slightly different appearances in cross-section. After roughly a full year, the tree should cycle through a similar pattern of growth.


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

[User]
[Walking Dead] How are so many characters able to remain overweight with such scarce resources?

Also why aren't they encouraged to lose weight since they would be more useful in a fight or other physical task and faster in a retreat?

[Assistant]
The only people with a bit of weight on them come from well stocked communities such as Alexandria, the Kingdom and the Sanctuary with the exception of possibly Eugene who found people to take care of him and keep him safe.

The people living in Alexandria have it very comfortable compared to the rest of the world and only a few of them venture outside of the walls the overweight ones have been assigned duties which keep them inside such as stocktaking, Jerry has the ear of King Ezekiel and his role seems to be herald rather than anything else so it's doubtful he's going to be doing a lot of fighting (I think the only time he's been outside the Kingdom is during a delivery to the Saviours) and according to Negan Fat Joey is "*not the most badass sonuvabitch, but he's loyal*" so he's either being assigned other duties within the Sanctuary such as tending to the vegetables or has found himself a niche to exploit which keeps him safe.


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

[User]
ELI5 - Why does the sun tire you out?

For example if you just sun tan all afternoon, physically you dont really do anything but lay there. Then afterwards feel sleepy and tired. What causes this?

[Assistant]
When you sit in the sun, your body is absorbing the energy of the light hitting you as heat.

This means your body heats up.

Our bodies dont like heating up or cooling down too much, they like to stay at about the same normal body temperature.

So, when youre in the sun, you body has to do extra things to get rid of that extra heat (assuming its not like, a cold day)

This would primarily be through sweating.

So even just sitting in the sun all day, your body is using up energy to dump the extra heat, and it is also losing water through sweating, which adds to the tired/groggy/headache feeling.

This also doesnt mention the extra energy your body has to spend on repairing your skin from all the damage the sun is causing.


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

[User]
[Castlevania] Why is Lisa Tepes in Hell?

According to a Speaker, during the battle in the Priory, Belnades and Belmont caught a glimpse of Hell itself through a portal.  Apparently they spoke of seeing Dracula and his wife Lisa together in that accursed place.

Why was Lisa Tepes in hell though?

She was not a vampire, committed no terrible sins the Speakers mentioned, used her knowledge to help others and was actually beginning to turn Dracula himself back to the light.

Her only crime, if you can call it that, was to be falsely condemned and burned at the stake as a witch by a man who so betrayed his oaths as a priest, God forsook the church he was in.

[Assistant] They could be mistaken about what they were viewing. It's possible that the structure of the afterlife does not really mesh with the classical "fluffy cloud heaven vs flaming brimstone hell" model, but may be something more akin to a Greco-Roman underworld (a single space shared by all dead, with areas reserved for those that merit exceptional treatment) or a What Dreams May Come style network of interconnected afterlives (where one builds their own "heaven" or "hell" with whatever they mentally bring in with them). It looks like Hell, but it may be something else entirely.


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

[User]
Where do saltwater mammals such as whales, seals, etc, get drinking water?

Do these animals not require water in the same way land mammals do? What about fish and other sea creatures?

[Assistant]
They primarily get water from food, both as water in the food and as a byproduct of metabolism (plants use water and CO2 to make food, and those come out again when the food is broken down).  Some may drink some water, but most of the water comes from food.  There are land animals that also get their water that way, particularly desert ones.

Saltwater fish, on the other hand, do drink (a lot).  They excrete excess salt through their gills.

Some other marine organisms have salt concentrations roughly the same as their surroundings, so they don't need to drink.


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

[User]
CMV: The scene depicted at the end of the Bad Bad Not Good video Lavender(Nightfall remix) should not be considered a serious threat and it is being blown out of proportion

For those who don't know, in a recent music video entitled Lavender (Nightfall remix), Snoop Dogg is shown pointing a fake gun at a clown dressed to resemble Donald Trump. He points the firearm at Trump's head and after pulling the trigger a flag with the word bang comes out as is the typical fashion for a mock firearm.

Now people are criticizing this as a threat against the president's life and many people are calling for Snoop to be investigated by the FBI. I object to this for the simple reason that the video in question is obviously artistic expression. Nothing about the video implies the threat is genuine and I see no reason why this should be taken more seriously than any anonymous Internet user proclaiming that they wished Donald were dead.

Furthermore, even if the video appeared more serious in tone, Snoop has never been known to commit violent acts (at least not in the last decade) and for him to even entertain the idea would mean putting his career in serious jeopardy.

For these reasons I think the backlash against this video is completely overblown, CMV.

[Assistant] The backlash is exactly as intended. Snoop, and anyone else who creates this kind of piece, is doing this for the exact purpose to create a large reaction. If people didn't get annoyed or offended, the video would fail in it's intention to direct attention to his work and viewpoint.


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

[User]
[The Walking Dead] Considering the undead are called walkers and zombie movies don't seem to exist, are certain musical artists/songs non-existent?

Rob Zombie, White Zombie, The Cranberries hit song "Zombie"? Do none of these exist in this world due to the term being nonexistent?

[Assistant]
One of the things that is usually universal in zombie media is that no one has ever heard of zombies before the main outbreak that destroyed everything. If they had, people wouldn't be bitten while trying to help the foregone, people don't realize that head shots kill them, or there are in-universe explanations to explain away these things.

If people were aware of zombies there would be no massive infestation, more like local outbreaks of a highly terminal disease, but otherwise completely manageable. They have to be completely ignorant for the whole world to fall apart.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it when I'm upside down, the blood is "rushing to my head", but when I'm standing it's not "rushing to my feet"?

[Assistant]
Because the blood vessels in your feet are used to having the gravitational pressure of blood pooling down there. The vessel walls are thicker as a result, so they don't apply pressure to the nerves in your feet. Alternatively, your head is filled with much more delicate blood vessels, not only because it's not conditioned to have to fight gravity, but also so that the barrier between your brain and your blood is much thinner to allow for faster extraction of oxygen and nutrients from your blood.

The sensation of "blood rushing to your head" is because your vessels are experiencing higher than normal pressure in your head while upside down and it's expanding the vessels, and in turn, applying pressure to your nerves. Likewise, your brain is in a bone cage and has no where to expand. The more blood in your brain, the more pressure builds in your skull, and you feel it.


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

[User] [Dwarf Fortress] Im a simple craftdwarf, Im trying to make a toy for child but everything I make menaces with spikes. How do I make it stop?

[Assistant]
First, understand that you do not create, you simply express. You are a conduit for Armok, all creation flows through him, you are merely a vessel into which he pours a fraction of his own creativity in order for you to express the beauty of his creation. It just so happens that your vessel was filled pretty much to the top with thoughts and knowledge of menacing spikes.

But fear not, your dorflings know enough to not hurt themselves, and if your are at all concerned, that's why the elves come once a year. Sell them anything dangerous and let their stupid elflings stab themselves with them.


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

[User] ELI5: How are astronaut suits built in such way so that there are absolute no gaps or holes for air to escape? What is the material provided?

[Assistant]
We are good at making stuff with no holes. You can buy a drysuit for a couple of hundred currency units and can be pretty confident it will have no holes.

Also atmospheric pressure isnt very high, a diver going to 100 metres depth needs a suit that is airtight to 10 times the pressure a spacesuit needs to withstand.


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

[User]
[General Fantasy] Newly-minted evil king here! I'm trying to trap a princess in a castle, and I already know knights in shining armor are going to be up my ass about it. What are some foolproof traps to ensure the princess remains locked up as long as possible?

Cost isn't an issue.  Neither is magic.  Evil king, after all...

[Assistant]
So, genuine question: have you considered "not in the castle"?

Make a sturdy hut in the woods with some guards and keep her there. Stick some wards on it. If the magic is available, maybe a pocket dimension or something, i dunno what magic you have.

The Heroes will break in all they like, but it's just manticores and pit-traps. No-one thinks to scour the woods.


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

[User]
Is a single vertical propeller enough for full flight and control?

Ive seen a toy floating around my advertisements that looks like a small ball with a fan on the inside. Youre supposed to be able to toss it and it will come back to you. Its called the fly orb.

My question is though, is this single propeller enough to give this toy full flight capabilities (ex. up, down, left, right, etc)? OR is it not able to fly and control itself alone due to their only being one propeller and thats the reason why the toy is advertised to just return to your hand.

Edit1: Could also ask in this way, is a single vertical propeller enough to create a drone?

I am asking this here because 1. I am no scientist and 2. I have no idea how to look that up because the search terms are just too long. Hopefully the question makes sense, thank you!

Edit2: Thanks for the fantastic responses! For future reference the short answer is no, one propeller is not enough for quadcopter like flight. The replies below explain further.

Edit3: Thanks again for the great responses. So the answer above is not totally wrong, however it should be noted that single prop. copters utilize multiple stabilization techniques to achieve flight. Links are provided by the wonderfully smart posters below!

[Assistant]
I looked up the "fly orb" things you are talking about and it looks like they combine a propeller for lift with a small gyroscopic flywheel so that when you throw it into the air it keeps the same pitch/roll.

To directly answer your question, no these orbs are not capable of the kind of controlled flight we associate with quadcopter drones, and it will not return to you from just any throw. It is just taking advantage of the unusual flight characters of gyroscopically stabilized objects to move in unintuitive ways. It will only return to you if you throw it in one of couple very specific ways, not if you just chuck it across a field.

Edit: To be clear, a craft with a single propeller and a gyro *could* be capable of controlled flight, but it would require a powerful onboard computer and high quality motors and controllers, which you are not going to find on a $20 plastic toy. Well, not for at least a few more years anyway.


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

[User] ELI5: If the liquids we drink end up in the stomach, how does our stomach acid not get thinned down by the constant flow of liquid?

[Assistant] It does get diluted, but the stomach walls just add more concentrated acid back in. Even if you weren't drinking anything, purely solid food is mixed with the acidic liquid-y contents of the stomach and sent on to the small intestine together, so you "lose" acid over time regardless. The stomach would lose its function very, very quickly if it couldn't maintain its contents' proper acidity.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are there any Force-sensitives around who don't really go in for the whole Jedi/Sith religious war and just think it's cool to be able to move stuff around with their minds?

In the galaxy there have to be some people who are able to use the force but just think it's a useful tool and employ it as such instead of the ultimate connection to everything, right?

[Assistant]
The Jedi and Sith are just two of the hundreds if not thousands of Force-based organizations.

Force sensitivity in and of itself is an extremely rare trait (the Jedi themselves are by far the largest such organization, and they still only numbered around 10,000 just before the Clone Wars, despite most of the known galaxy being in their jurisdiction), so you're unlikely to find someone (other than a child) who isn't a part of one of those traditions.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do diabetes 2 patients sometimes need amputations??

[Assistant]
They are generally also at high risk to develop peripheral artery disease, where plaque deposition in the arteries of the limbs starts restricting blood flow.

Eventually flow is too restricted to properly support the tissue, and it can die or become severely infected.


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

[User] ELI5 Is the order of the Latin alphabet completely arbitrary, or are the letters of the alphabet arranged that way for a reason?

[Assistant]
The letters are organized that way because the alphabet was (somewhat) inherited from prior cultures, and they had a similar order.

So the Latin script is inherited from the Etruscans, who inherited it from the Greeks, who inherited it from the Phoenicians, etc. It all traces back to the Ugarit people who lived in the Levant a few thousand years ago, who themselves were (apparently) misusing Egyptian hieroglyphics, and who ordered them the way they did for reasons that have long since been lost to time.


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

[User]
[Avatar: TLAB/TLoK] What are some unexplored possibilities for the different bending style?

So we've seen the beding styles expand a bit from the 1st season.

Water: Blood bending, healing, spirit control

Earth: metal bending, lava bending, vibration sight

Fire: lightning, blue fire, fire propelled flying, mr. explody face

Air: unaided flying

What other possibilities of bending do you think could exist in this world?

[Assistant]
Metalbending is achieved by bending trace minerals in the metal. That implies that sufficiently high level Earthbenders could bend trace minerals in our bodies, specifically, our bones. That's right. *Bonebending* is possible.

(And it also sounds like something out of a horrible Avatar porno)


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

[User]
ELI5: If cancer is just cells mutating and dividing without abandon, how does it cause the "rot" we see in later stages?

Title.

[Assistant]
The cancerous "rot" you show below is a result of necrosis where the tumor has grown so much that it no longer get nutrients and oxygen from the blood supply. The cells on the interior of the tumor die. There are two types of cell death: apopotosis, which is tightly regulated, and necrosis, which is unregulated. Unregulated dying, as is the case in tumor rot, causes a cell to release all of its contents onto neighboring cells, causing those cells to necrose as well.  This usually results in the entire area to start decomposing, causing secondary bacterial infections and general gross-ness. This is part of the reason why people with necrotising fasciitis (flesh eating disease) have to get entire areas of necrosis removed, like arms or legs or whatever to prevent the rot from spreading. Fortunately, in humans cancer rarely gets so bad that you see that extent of rot. Usually the tumor is palpable and can be treated or removed before huge rotting occurs.

Source: PhD in cancer metabolism.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do liquids seem significantly colder after we've had mint-flavored edibles?

[Assistant] Essentially the menthol (active ingredient in mint) tricks your brain into believing it is cold. It causes a specific protein reactor to open up, which happens to be the same reactor that reacts to temperature (cold also makes it open).


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

[User] Do plants require constant nutrition or do they eat in cycles?

[Assistant]
Plants don't really eat, as such. They get their energy from photosynthesis, which can only be done during the day (or during the light cycle if growing under lights), so you could definitely say energy production is cyclic.

Nutrient and water uptake from the roots is nearly constant (but not always) if they are available, however water & nutrients may be stored depending on needs and what kind of plant it is. Some nutrients and gasses are taken in through the leaves as well as roots.

A lot of it comes down to the conditions, availability of water & nutrients, and the plant itself. It can vary quite a lot.


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

[User] [Warhammer 40k] What is Nurgle and Isha's relationship actually like, at present?

[Assistant]
Nurgle is very happy with their relationship as he has a fast repairing very tough subject to test all his diseases on.

Isha isn't especially happy being repeatedly infected, but it gives her a chance to offer cures to people and she's not being eaten by chaos gods, so it's better than nothing.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why divers coming out of depths need to decompress to avoid decompression sickness, but people who fly on commercial planes don't have an issue reaching a sudden altitude of 8000ft?

I've always been curious because in both cases, you go from an environment with more pressure to an environment with less pressure.

Edit: Thank you to the people who took the time to simplify this and answer my question because you not only explained it well but taught me a lot! I know aircrafts are pressurized, hence why I said 8000 ft and not 30,0000. I also know water is heavier. What I didn't know is that the pressure affects how oxygen and gasses are absorbed, so I thought any quick ascend from bigger pressure to lower can cause this, no matter how small. I didn't know exactly how many times water has more pressure than air. And to the people who called me stupid, idiot a moron, thanks I guess? You have fun.

Edit 2: people feel the need to DM me insults and death threats so we know everyone is really socially adjusted on here.

[Assistant] Going from sea level to 8000 ft is a pressure difference of less than one atmosphere. Every ~32 ft of water depth is equivalent to one atmosphere. Divers undergo a much greater pressure differential than personnel flying in aircraft.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why dont structure fires create a chain reaction of gas line explosions the lead back all the way back to the source?

Edit:  sounds like the consensus is lack of oxygen in the pipe network and one way valves. Thanks folks!

[Assistant] You can't have an explosion without oxygen. Gas pipes are full solely of gas, and they're also really quite tough. You have oxygen at the end of the pipe, so you might get a fire at the end, but the oxygen won't burrow down into the pipe because the hot gasses (CO2 and water) that are bursting out of the end of the pipe don't let anything else come back the other way. As a result, gas pipes tend to just keep a small flame at the end of them during a fire, rather than having the fire chase down the entire pipe.


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

[User] ELI5: How did it take 100 years to discover the happy birthday copyright was invalid? And do they have to repay the people they collected royalties from?

[Assistant]
Simply put: the US Congress passed a law in the 1920's that extended copyright for works in publication.

Fast forward to the 1980's / 1990's, and Warner Music has bought the papertrail that demonstrates copyright to Happy Birthday, including a publication of the lyrics with a piano arrangement of a melody, and use that to show that the copyright would be extended by that law to the present day.

Fast forward to the 2000's, and an archivist / researcher uncovered documents showing that Happy Birthday was in print and copyrighted *before* the documents held by Warner Music, and that the publication date of those records demonstrate that the copyright on the lyrics expired *before* the law passed by the US Congress in the 1920's would take effect.

All that's left to Warner Music is a few particular melodic arrangements *for piano* that were published as set to those lyrics; vocal arrangements etcetera aren't covered, the lyrics aren't covered.

Whether the people who paid royalties get them back depends on what they do and what courts decide. To get that back, they probably would have to prove that Warner Music was aware of legitimate documentation that demonstrated the copyright expired, while they were billing for royalties.


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

[User]
Why is the year 2100 not a leap year?

2096 and 2104 both are, so why not that too?

[Assistant]
Leap years make up for the fact that a year is not exactly 365 days.

Having one every four years works if the year is 365.25 days long, which is almost right, but not quite.  If we had a leap day every 4 years, then after 400 years, we'd be off by about 3 days.  So we want to eliminate 3 leap years -- so the years 2100, 2200, and 2300 won't be leap years, though 2000 was.

So the rule is this: Years divisible by 400 are leaps years.  Years divisible by 100 but not by 400 are NOT leap years.  Years not divisible by 100 but divisible by 4 are leap years.  Years not divisible by 4 are not leap years.


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

[User]
[Batman] For members of the regular mob; Is there any real reason to operate out of Gotham?

Forget about Batman for a moment; but its also a town thats a constant warring battle ground for The Penguins gang... Hatters henchmen, Black Mask, Riddler, Falcone, Maxi Zeus... and so on and so on and so on...

And once you add the headache of Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Spoiler... Batgirl... Batwoman, frequent visits from members of the Justice League, the GCPD, Wheres the profit to be made, by trying to lay claim to a city block in Gotham, let alone one of its Boroughs?

[Assistant]
The police are *awful*. Underfunded, riddled with corruption, hopeless, almost all the competent police transferred to other cities. The people are used to looking the other way and not prying their noses in.  Sure, the Batfamily is a problem, but it's also, like, 10 people. Unless you're unlucky enough to bump into one of them or one of the 4 good cops in the city, the forces of law really don't have much power here, at least until you get big enough that Batman goes after you specifically, and then you have the money and connections to fight back.

As for the other supervillians? Sure, their gangs are a threat, but you'll have other gangs operating anywhere you happen to go. The penguin's mob is only different from the Metropolis Mafia in that the head of the Metropolis Mafia doesn't walk around making bird noises and building murder umbrellas. Most of Gotham's supervillians are just crime lords in stupid costumes. You'd need to take *someone* down to lay claim to an area anyway. It's not gonna be harder if that someone is wearing green question marks and talking like a puzzle book.

The more chaotic supervillians- Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy- again, *dangerous*, but just one person, and they rarely care too much about the comings and going of the mob. Unless you're unlucky enough to bump into one, they'll mostly stick to their own weird plans. Sure they might try to destroy the city sometimes, but it's the DCU, that happens wherever you go. If anything, Gotham's safer. Sure, Joker's bad, but in metropolis you'll occasionally have General Zod wreck the place and that fucker can tank a nuke.

Basically? The actual odds of meeting a supervillian or superhero are pretty low, and without that, what you have is a city with powerless police, apathetic citizenry and rival mob bosses who are all hampered by debilitating mental health conditions and overwhelming obsessions with batman.

If you're willing to live with a little risk? Gotham is a great place to make a fortune as an up and coming crime lord. Choose a theme, put on a Halloween costume and get ready to make it big!


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

[User] [The Matrix] What is the difference between Neo and the kid who can bend the spoon? It seems like Neo's unique ability (manipulate the Matrix) can also be achieved by the kid. So is the kid also The One?

[Assistant] No, The Kid just has the "superpower" of mentally realising that the world around him is not real. People like Morpheus or Trinity can leave the Matrix, but on some unconscious level, they still get tricked by how real it seems. However, The Kid is kind of "lucid dreaming"-he knows, even down to his lizard brain that nothing in the world around him is real, so he can do what he wants. Neo has this power innately because he's The One.


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

[User] [Mass Effect] I am a typical Human Systems Alliance captain in charge of a Frigate. What are my duties and day to day life like?

[Assistant]
The bulk of the Systems Alliance fleet is patrolling the Skyllian Verge dealing with Batarian raiders and similar. The on going conflict with the Batarians and with the criminal forces that operate in the Verge is the bulk of humanity's focus.

Additionally establishing that the SA does rule those places, many human colonies are basically unauthorised and join the Alliance by simple "look our military is here now".


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

[User]
[Marvel/General] does someone like Captain America have to eat a lot more to maintain his abilities? I imagine that yes, but not as much as a regular person with world class abilities

I was reading that guys like Hafr Jlus "Thor" Bjrnsson eat about 10K calories a day and he's a world class strongman.  Hes also massive (6'9", 420 lbs).  Cap is 6'4" and ~220-240 lbs and he can probably match or *just* exceed Hafr in any strength thing.  But Cap can also match any other human at any physical category with little or no training because of the SSS.

His body is hyper efficient at managing and reducing the deleterious effects of "fatigue toxins" and the literature has made it seem like his body is just *better* at essentially everything.  So if it's better, it must be far more efficient (how could it not be more efficient? in MCU he's smaller than pretty much all of the world's strongest men by a significant amount and could outlift or at least match any of them so his muscles clearly have higher output).  An average adult needs ~2000 calories a day.  There's no way that a guy as big and as capable as Cap can get by on 2000 calories, but I'd imagine that he wouldn't need 10,000 either if he's smaller and his body is better at everything (energy conversion and such).  Maybe he and others like him can get by on more than an average adult but less than a real world class athlete like 4000-6000 calories a day.

[Assistant] His body is going to be efficient so he'll utilize more of the food than the regular person, but he's still going to need more than 2000 calories a day.  Especially that he leads a highly active lifestyle, running and working out even on off days, and saving the world on occasion.  A regular human with that lifestyle would need an increased calorie intake, he's gonna need at least that and probably more.  But at least he won't get fat.


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

[User]
ELI5: How did Hawaii come to be part of the USA? Why did this happen in the first place?

I went on a holiday to Hawaii when I was young (about 10?) and it seemed like essentially it's own nation, with it's own distinct native culture and people which have been around for thousands of years.

I had never questioned it, even when I was there, but today I realised I had no idea why Hawaii is a US state in the first place. How did it become one? What were the motivations of the USA in merging it with their nation (I'm guessing it's a strategically advantageous position for trade and military, i.e. Pearl Harbour)? How did Hawaiians feel about becoming a state?

Australian here, by the way.

[Assistant]
Hawaii was independent and had a native monarchy.  In the latter part of the 1800s American business interests, especially sugar plantations became increasingly powerful in Hawaii, eventually becoming the dominant power.  In 1887 these interests overthrew the Hawaii monarchy in order to attempt to gain annexation to the U.S.  This worked and Hawaii became a U.S. territory.  In became a state in 1959.

Basically the same story as Anglo-American colonization elsewhere.  We came in and took the land from the natives and set up shop.


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

[User] ElI5 how did people in the midevial age or in poor countries discover where to build wells for their village?

[Assistant]
Wells are just dug down till you hit the water table. Doesn't particularly matter too much where as long as you aren't talking hundreds of miles away. Once you get a hole below the water table, water will seep in from the sides till it makes a pool at the bottom of the well. Depending on geography you might have to end up digging deeper though, so you wouldn't want to start a well from the top of a hill.

As for what the water table is, water sinks into the ground and pools on top of solid bedrock. More water = higher water table. It's replenished by rain, and slowly seeps to lower elevations through the ground.


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

[User]
After the big bang, when all was  quark/gluon plasma, why did more complex matter emerge rather than a quick rush towards entropy?

As I understand it, shortly after the big bang, with the temperature very high, all that existed was a quark/gluon plasma.  Why does this relatively simple state of matter complexify into what we have today rather than dissipate very rapidly into heat death? Why does matter get wrapped up in itself, into stable forms, such as atoms rather than just dissipating. What are the breaks that prevent potential work being converted to entropy as quickly as possible?

[Assistant]
The early universe wasn't smooth due to quantum fluctuations in the distribution of matter (and possibly space too for that matter).  Gravitational energy could then take hold on the uneven clumps and condense into the matter we see today.

Had the universe been perfectly smooth with every piece of matter/energy at an equal and consistent distance from it's neighboring matter/energy than everything would have been pulled equally in all directions not allowing for the coalescence.  This also assumes everything would radiate it's heat entirely equally and consistently as well.


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

[User]
[LOTR] Would a police anti-riot water cannon be effective against a Balrog? What about a powerful searchlight?

They are both hard elemental counters to its fire and darkness.

[Assistant]
Durin's Bane, the Balrog fought by Gandalf, actually does fall into the water in the depths of Moria.  Gandalf reports that it crawled out of the water as creature of slime and then burst into flame again as came into the open air.  Therefore, we know that the flame is magical in nature, so a water cannon isn't going to do shit against it.

As for the spotlight, it might give you a momentary advantage.  However, it will not be an effective counter because of the magical nature of the creature.  The Balrogs were created by the original Dark Lord, Morgoth, who Sauron was just a servant of.  They are actually Maia (a certain rank of magical beings). The Maia also include Sauron and all the Istari (wizards) like Gandalf, Saruman, etc.  So, in the end, no physical power can really counter the Balrog.  It is going to take magical power coming from a wizard or some other divine/magical being.


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

[User]
ELI5: How foldering technique is better than straight up sending message?

I recently came across the foldering technique where instead of straight up sending message, they store their messages like drafts and then different person can access and read these messages. From what I have understood, this technique is better because the message is never sent and the suspicion is less.
I am confused since, after writing a message, someone, inevitably, has to log in to the same server where the message is stored to be able to read it. Though the message might not be sent but authorities can still see which device logged into the server. In straight messaging, the authorities can see to which device the message was sent to and from where. So how is foldering less suspicious technique?

[Assistant]
When one sends a normal email it is transmitted across multiple servers to reach it's end point. It's like the message is handed from person to person until it reaches it's destination. Any of those servers could maintain a copy of it. If the message isn't encrypted or perhaps only weakly encrypted then the owner of that server could read it.

The foldering technique means that the message never leaves the server it's initially stored on making it more difficult for someone to read it other than those with access to that single server.


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

[User]
[X-Men] What are the Power Levels?

So... as someone who does not really know too much about the X-Men i have read about different power levels here multiple times now, but it's never really explained what the criteria for the idividual levels are, how large the percentage of mutans is that are on each level, how many level there are... could someone maybe explain them to me?

Also... Omega seems to be a level with a lot of very interesting mutants... is it everyone with power over matter that is not telekinesis? what are the different omega-powers?

[Assistant]
Alpha - Can pass for a human and/or has no negative effect due to abilities (eg Kitty Pryde)

Beta - Either cannot pass for a human under scrutiny (Wolverine) or has a limitation on their power (Cyclops)

Gamma - outright cannot pass as human (Nightcrawler)

Delta - Can pass for humans at first glance, but their powers are not obvious combat powers (Forge, Longshot (if he were human))

Epsiolon - Cannot pass for a human, no real significant power (most of the Morlocks)

Omega - Have powers which have no foreseeable limits which can affect the fundamental nature of the universe (Magneto, Iceman)


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

[User]
I believe that it is morally acceptable to have sex with someone while they are in a relationship with someone else. CMV

I believe that it is wrong to cheat when you are the one in the relationship because you made an agreement with your SO to be exclusive and you should respect those boundaries in order for the relationship to work. As an outsider, however, if someone chooses to cheat on their SO with you, you are not to blame. You should be able to do whatever you want. The only time it would be wrong to have sex with someone who is in a relationship is if you are friends with the person they are cheating on. In this case, it would be a betrayal of the friendship.
The SO's in the relationship should hold full responsibility to avoid hurting each other, but if they intend on cheating with others, the others do not play a part in the betrayal. By the same logic, if your SO cheats, you should get angry at them, and not be angry at the person they cheated with for tempting them.
You could argue that by enabling the person to cheat with you, you are playing a part in harming their SO. However, if it is impossible for the SO to find out, then they never end up getting hurt and no harm is done at all.
Yes this sounds a lot like I'm trying to justify being the "other" person in this kind of situation, and that's because I am. I cannot seem to see how this is going to be hurtful to the other person if they never find out, and why it would be my responsibility even if they did. If it wasn't me that the cheater was cheating with, it would be someone else. They are the one with bad intentions.

[Assistant] Your argument suggests that, because the loyal half of the couple is not a friend, deliberately taking action that violates their trust is justifiable. A logical extension of this reasoning is: it is okay to hurt people, so long as you don't have a personal relationship with them. That's thin, at best.


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

[User]
Is there a rational reason to be good and altruistic if you're an atheist?

Hi, I don't believe in any god, Kant's arguments don't convince me, I know from my own experience and from seeing others that being good to others doesn't necessarily make you happier person. Are there any good philosophical arguments that could help convince me that there is a point in trying to be a good person?

[Assistant]
Moral philosophy in general rarely requires belief in a god. Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle, for example, cite *eudaimonia*, or human flourishing or well-being, as the good. Kant's moral philosophy, though you say you aren't convinced, is premised on good will, from which he details particular duties to others.

Perhaps you might want to read Scanlon's *What We Owe Each Other.*