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

[User]
[Star Wars] What if Luke Skywalker would have turned to the dark side when Vader revealed himself as Luke's father?

Vader says that they can end the war, overthrow emperor Palpatine, and rule the galaxy as father and son. Would this have happened? Or would there have been a different outcome?

[Assistant] Luke was incredibly strong in the Force, as was Vader to a more limited extent. With some secret training a la Starkiller, it's feasible that they could have united and overthrown the Emperor (breaking the Rule of Two), though Vader might die in the process due to his vulnerability to Sidious' lightning. Then, the Rebellion is almost entirely doomed - but they still have Leia. Within a few years, she could be ready to confront her brother (and possibly her father).


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

[User]
[Dungeons and Dragons] Many of the greatest villains have believed that their actions were just. So, how does that effect their alignment? If a person does evil things, but with good intentions, are they good or evil?

As an example, from our perspective, ISIS seems chaotic evil.  But, they believe they're fighting to create a better world.  So, does that mean they're actually lawful good?

Really, very few people view themselves as evil.  Most everyone thinks they're a good person.  So, how does alignment get applied to bad people who think they're good?

[Assistant]
Alignment only work in multiverses in which there is an absolute definition for the extremes.

If, in yours, the definitions of good and evil are subjective, alignment must also be, which means that someone believing they are doing good will be good in their reference system, but not necessarily in yours.


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

[User]
I can't help but dislike rich kids for no reason other than the fact they are well-off. CMV.

I have a roommate who is pretty wealthy. He embodies the rich white boy stereotypes (pretty much a fratbro), which is almost funny because of how stereotypical it is. With that being said, he has treated me with nothing but respect and kindness thus far. Not only that, he's quite considerate, if I'm napping and he has his bros over, he'll keep the music down as to not wake me up. Overall, he's a nice guy.

However, I still think he's a fratty douche for no reason. I know I shouldn't think this way, but there's something about his lifestyle and his upbringing that rubs me the wrong way. When he talks about his problems, I can't sympathize, because in my mind, he has had the world handed to him on a silver plate. What problem could he POSSIBLY have that is that bad, as compared to everyone else?

I know some people are going to think I'm jealous, which is slightly true. However, wouldn't everyone be jealous of a guy who has everything handed to him in life?

[Assistant]
> However, wouldn't everyone be jealous of a guy who has everything handed to him in life?

And a billion people in the world are thinking about the same thing about you and your lifestyle.  Do you think you are deserving of their dislike?


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

[User] Whats going on with the euro??

[Assistant]
The Euro is a shared currency. Basically, a bunch of countries all use the Euro as their currency. This means that when these countries borrow money, they borrow Euros, and repay it in Euros. Now, a bit about the value of money - it's all based on how much there is in the market, and how much people want that money. The more Euros are out there, the less each one is worth, and the fewer people want Euros, the less each Euro is worth.

So, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland have all borrowed heavily (in Euros). Way too heavily, by all appearances, and it looks like they'll be unable to save themselves from bankruptcy. Now, when this happens normally, the country just prints a ton of its currency, and pays the loans with that. Your currency value drops because there are so many of them out there now, but you survive without having to refuse to pay anyone back. That means you are marginally better to borrow from than if you had just let the loans default, so you can maybe get credit again if you institute the right policies.

The thing is, Greece et al. don't control how many Euros there are in the market. The European Central Bank does, and they don't want to make new Euros, for a bunch of reasons outside the scope of this question. So if Greece is going to pay its loans, it has to look to actual taxed Euros, not Euros it can create out of thin air.

This leaves Greece with a few options, when it can't pay: first, it could just not pay, in which case, they're totally screwed, financially. Banks stop lending to them, nobody wants to do business with the government, and other European nations' banks (who lent Greece all that money to begin with) get totaled by the losses. Second, they could get the money from someone else - this is the idea with getting France and Germany to give them a bailout. They pay their debts, but accept restrictions on spending in return, sorta like how you might have to turn over your spending to your mom if she just paid off all your credit cards. Third, they could leave the Euro, return to the drachma (their pre-Euro currency) and pay all their debts back in drachma, which will be basically worthless. This isn't much better than the first option, *but* it allows them the print-money option if they ever find themselves unable to repay loans they get later.

If Greece leaves the Euro, it means a bunch of things: first, all those people who were lending to Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Italy are suddenly terrified that *they* are going to make their own (worthless) currency to pay their debts, so they stop buying. Spain and Co. grind to a halt when they can no longer pay their debts. Meanwhile, the value of the Euro drops precipitously, because nobody wants to get Euros to loan to Spain and Co., and there's suddenly a whole country's worth of Euro-spenders gone from the market (Greece). This is bad for Germany and France and the other, more stable Euro partners, because they rely on a strong currency for buying power.


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

[User] [Mario Kart] Since when they start allowing babies to drive?

[Assistant] These are closed course races held in the Mushroom Kingdom where the Princess is one of the racers.  Anything goes.  Also the races are actually remarkably safe.  Even after high speed crashes no one is ever injured or even damaged enough to stop racing.


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

[User]
[Mystery Dungeon] Where did Mewtwo come from?

If humans don't exist/are extinct in this world, where did Mewtwo come from?
Mind you, Super Mystery Dungeon explicitly states that the main characters came from the world of humans. While I may be taking it a bit literally, does that mean that this is a separate universe with no humans?

[Assistant]
World of humans may mean that it is just a world that primarily has humans. After all, there was a human natively in an offshoot future timeline...

Also, the humans seem to know about what the pokemon are... perhaps Mewtwo could have also come from the human world?


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

[User] [Marvel] Do characters who are always fully armored like Dr. Doom have to completely remove their armor any time they need to use the restroom, bathe, or sleep?

[Assistant]
DOOM is beyond petty things like using the restroom.

Really though, he likely just has a system in place to recycle or expel waste.  With him, it could be tech or magic.  Hell, maybe he really has done some kind of magic on himself so he doesn't need to go.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What is the criteria for a weak minded individual who can be manipulated by the force?

[Assistant] Basically anyone that isn't feeling any strong emotion or feelings towards whatever you're trying to do. A more skilled force user can implant an idea into a person's mind or even dominate their will but the basic mind trick isn't going to be too effective on most people. Someone just going through their day as fast as they can you can influence someone that cares about their job or the repercussions of doing it won't be as easily fooled. And someone that's in a heightened emotional state can be either more easily influenced or harder to influence depending on what you're trying to do. Telling someone that's mad to get into a fight is easier than trying to tell someone that's mad to forget what they're mad at.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does the key of a song playing on a set earphones change when the earphones are at some distance from the ears?

I was listening to a playlist on my earphones and after a while I dropped them not too far from my ears. I could still hear them but it sounded like the key had changed. Same thing happened when I put them back on, key returned to normal. Whats the cause of this?

[Assistant]
Higher frequencies get dampened harder over the same distance.
Additionally, you can only hear sound thats at least a certain loudness.
Headphones are low-power speakers and if you increase the distance high frequencies seem do drop out because the fall under that threshold.
The last thing to disappear if you increase distance is bass.


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

[User]
[Superman]How does he work out? Also, what's stopping him from putting on the pounds?

If he's so strong, then how does he build muscle?  I feel like nothing will ever be heavy enough to give him a workout.

Also, if he doesn't need to expend energy like a normal human does (working out, walking, running, etc.), then why doesn't he get fat?

Can he get fat?

[Assistant]
Remember: Superman *does* expend energy to move and use his powers; otherwise he would violate the basic laws of physics.  But he has an enormous stockpile of yellow-sun energy stored in his cells, from the photonucleic properties of his Krypton physiology.  Expending this energy doesn't make him tired or sore, as it does for humans, but it's still the equivalent of an enormous workout.  All we can theorize is that not all species have the same pain response to natural muscle tearing and rebuilding.

As for getting fat, Superman doesn't have to worry about that.  Earth food only has a limited amount of calories, and that energy is probably burned away in a split second considering Superman's power output.


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

[User] Is it true that mosquitos and fleas like the taste of some people better than others?

[Assistant] It's not taste so much as smell. Mosquitos are attracted to the CO2 we emit, but also more attracted to some people than others. Exactly why this is the case is still being studied, but genetics and lifestyle are likely part of it, as is determines the exact composition of your sweat and body oils. Everyone is slightly different in that regard.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What happened to force sensitive storm troopers?

If a storm trooper trained from a young age began showing signs of being force sensitive what would the empire or first order do with them?

[Assistant]
With the Empire, there are standing orders to look out for potential force-sensitives, who are brought to the attention of the Inquisitors.

They may be recruited and trained as Inquisitors themselves - or simply disappear.


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

[User]
[VtM] What is the smallest herd a Vampire could live off without killing them?

Under Vampire: The Masquerade rules, a Kindred must expend one blood point (defined as a pint or half a liter, iirc, feel free to correct me if that's wrong) to awaken every night, and further points to use his/her vampiric powers (Usually 1 point per use). Vampires in this setting can also feed without killing their victims, and it's fairly common for them to keep 'herds' of mortals to sate their apatite, feeding from a different member each night so as not to drain any of them.

So, I propose three scenarios:

1. A vampire who never uses his/her disciplines or powers, only wakes up each evening, expending one blood point to do so.

2. A vampire who does make use of his/her powers in addition to waking each evening, spending, on average, an additional 2 BP per night.

3. A vampire who, in addition to waking up and using his/her powers, keeps a ghoul. Ghouls are humans who drink vampire blood. It keeps them from aging, gives them limited use of vampiric powers, and makes them utterly devoted to the vampire who feeds them. Let's say our hypothetical vamp feeds his ghoul once a week, meaning that s/he expends a total of 22 BP in an average week.

What is the smallest herd of mortals this Kindred could maintain in each of these scenarios, without killing them, and feeding exclusively from them?

EDIT: I checked it V20. I was right. A blood point is half a liter, or approximately "One tenth of the blood in an average adult mortal."

[Assistant]
A safe ballpark figure for "humans" is about 5000ml of blood total. After a single point loss of around 2000ml you're looking at life threateningly low pressure and will generally be incapable of doing much of anything for yourself. A healthy adult human with plenty can sustain 500ish ml of replenishment of all the various components that go into blood per week. This figure can vary pretty wildly and can be as low as 300 or as high as 800 from some cursory googling.

So if you're willing to kill them and hang them upside down for all that red goodness, a human is worth 10BP.
If you're willing to risk killing them but otherwise don't need them to do anything but lay there and survive, a human is worth 4BP.
The average healthy human replenishes 1 BP a week, assuming each BP represents about half a liter of whole, complete blood including all the plasma, red cells, etc.

* Scenario 1 requires seven thralls. (One each day)

* Scenario 2 requires twenty one. (Three each day)

* Scenario 3 requires.. well.. twenty two. (Specified as 22BP per week).

In any case this represents the bare minimum figures. It would be wise to add a percentage of replacements and backups. People have accidents and become ill. A single Kindred that did not particularly care to exert him or herself could probably make due with a steady flock of about thirty people, maybe less if they expend some of their powers in pursuit of keeping everybody safe.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are/were Dalmatians fire dogs?

[Assistant] Dalmatians got along well with the horses that pulled the old fire carriages that were common before the advent of the modern fire engine. They would apparently keep other animals away from the horses and even keep the horses calm once they approached the fire. Also, they learned to recognized the fire bells and would run out of the station barking, warning civilians to clear a path for the carriage to come out.


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

[User] ELI5 Why batteries (cameras,power banks, cells, etc) are not allowed in luggage bags in airport but are allowed in carry bag.?

[Assistant] These items contain batteries which store a lot of energy. If there is a short circuit they can generate a lot of heat starting a fire. In a cabin with lots of people these fires could quickly be extinguished or at least contained until the airplane lands. However if the fire breaks out in the cargo compartment it might not even be noticed before it is quite big and can not be easily extinguished as people can not gain access to it.


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

[User]
CMV: The US/world is headed in a direction that leaves young adults/teens hopeless.

Maybe its the media, from Reddit to cable news, but it seems like a lot of young adults like myself, and younger teens, are distraught and hopeless. Housing, jobs, government, climate, etc. we all know the tone for the future based on the present narrative. Its bleak. Or seems so.

Id love for someone to offer new information or a different perspective. I hate feeling like this, but maybe all the media around me is tainted and theres a positive outlook that exists. Something I can look to besides being hopeless. Some path to hope for, even if I find it unlikely, its better than thinking there is nothing.

Because currently, its hard to be excited for the future, and Id latch onto anything someone can offer.

Edit: A lot of these answers seem to be comparing real world evidence of exaggerated negatives from the media, against possibilities that have yet to come. Which brings some hope to look for, but still feels like a carrot on a stick.

Edit 2 possible answer: the best answer so far, and has been stated by a few people, is that this happens to every generation. But when it happens to you/me. It seems more real than the issues in the past that we conquered. So while there is no answer to change the view of being concerned with world ending problems, or perceived world end problems, its normal to have a time of despair and hopelessness. And if you persevere, like generations before us, we will see that most of us will be just fine. So it is nice to know theres not a direction or solution we can see currently, hence the hopelessness, if you stick around and do the right thing, youll see (Ill see) that these issues werent that end of the world as we know it.

And I guess if it is the end of the world as we know it we are fucked anyway so why worry.

[Assistant]
Did you know that you're less likely to be murdered now than at any time previously in history?

Yup, taken as an aggregate and normalized on a per capita basis, even a couple of world wars doesn't equal the violence of endemic warfare, slavery, and vigilante justice prevalent in previous centuries.

This little factoid comforts me, hopefully it will comfort you too.


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

[User]
ELI5:How were (pre)renaissance scientiests paid for working on seemingly non-pragmatic ideas such as the motions of the planets etc.?

It seems like some scientists weren't set out to solve problems such as why does this wine turn sour, but many seemed to just be trying to find out more about what the hell is going on, however how did that bring an income for them to fund their experiments & time doing mathematics and scientific method?

[Assistant]
Because then as now, some people were curious and wanted to know the truth. Including powerful and wealthy people. A king or queen interested in astronomy or astrology or alchemy would take a learned man under their wing and provide him with a place to live, a salary, and means to perform their experiments.

In some cases this is not exclusive with working on "practical" applications also, IIRC Galileo drew a monthly salary from the Medici family to advise them on practical matters of architecture, engineering, and others, which left him with enough time to perfect the telescope and peek at Jupiter.


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

[User]
[Batman] Whats the deal with the Ventriloquist's dummy Scarface? is Scarface a split personality? Is he really a cursed demon doll forcing an innocent man to commit heinous acts like Wesker says. Is Wesker actually faking it and is really in control but pretends to be nuts to gain a lighter sentance

There's also the in between that Wesker IS in control but doesn't realize it because he uses Scarface as an outlet to convince himself he isn't in control. But I'm not really certain what his deal is all together!

[Assistant] Funnily enough, Wesker has a split personality but it's something entirely separate and Scarface is indeed a possessed doll.  The dummy has been passed on to other people (and in fact did not start with Wesker) and it keeps it's personality and memories.


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

[User] [Amazing Spider-Man 2] Why does Spider-Man take his sweet time with stopping the plutonium heist? Every second he spends cracking jokes and not stopping the truck just further endangers innocent people and allows more property damage to occur!

[Assistant]
The jokes are a part of his thought process. They help him adapt on his feet. He doesn't have Mission Control on the radio; he has to figure things out himself. The jokes are his way of coming to terms with his situation.

There are plenty of times when he responds wordlessly in a split-second when things are *really* on the line.


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

[User] Can electrical breakdown, such as lightning or electric arc, be considered as quantum tunneling effect?

[Assistant] No arcing is cause by the potential (voltage) increasing to the point that the permittivity of air can no longer insulate it.  Once the arc is struck the air around the arc is physically different.  Quantum tunneling has a signature aspect of negative resistance.  Voltage increases and current actually drops.


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

[User]
Will NSF let me use student funds for summer salary during a no cost extension?

I won't be able to use all the remaining funds on my CAREER award before it expires in 1.25 years, so I'll need to request a no cost extension. The problem is that most of my remaining funds are for grad student support, but it's not nearly enough to hire a new student. Are they likely to let me use the remaining money for my own summer salary during the no cost extension instead?

[Assistant]
Yes. The NSF doesnt track (or care) how you spend your grant funds as long as it is more or less on the work you proposed to do. This isnt something you even have to request approval for. You can just do it.

Edit: You need to request the NCTE. You do not need to request the use of the funds for summer salary instead of grad students.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Do wizards have to get real-life skills or jobs after going to Hoggwarts or do they just live in the wizard world forever?

Setting up my young kids to play Lego Harry Potter and seeing the the game broken up into Year 1-4 and 5-7 made me realize the kids in Harry Potter spend a shitload of their lives at Hoggwarts. Once they graduate from Wizarding School... then what? Do they go on to become lawyers and doctors and accountants and graphic designers and web developers with their education on alchemy and black magic defense?

Do they then have to go to Muggle-school for another 15 years and catch up like normal kids and learn actual history and life skills or do they just conjure up Muggle money for their whole lives and live however they want? Or do they just live in the wizard world forever now and do their careers in that world as whatever alchemist or wand-crafter or gryphon-whisperer or something?

I haven't read the books so forgive me if this is a really stupid question answered on page 2.

[Assistant]
It is answered in the books. Hogwarts graduates get professions within the wizarding community.

With some notable exceptions, they essentially live their entire lives in a secret parallel society from Muggles, having little to no interaction with anybody who is not in the magical community.


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

[User] [Batman] When Bruce calls villains by their real names, like Crane, Felicia, Victor, Garfield, etc. is that a sign of respect, or a psychological tactic to dismiss their reputation by refusing to use their title?

[Assistant]
It's more him trying to pull them out of their personas. When Crane puts on his mask he isn't Crane anymore, he's the Scarecrow.

Batman off all people knows how powerful this can be and tries to appeal to their humanity whenever possible.


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

[User]
How does a language handle an array "pointerwise"?

I know that variables in higher languages, for example python, just point to specific places in the storage (to be accurate its just a reference but I think I know that the code "behind" variables work with pointers). What is an array? Is it just a bunch of auto-generated variables numerated? And those variables "point" to memory?

[Assistant]
In C the way it works is that when you declare an array, you specify its size and the type of the values the array will hold. When you store this array in a variable, you are actually storing the address of the first element of the array. Let's say that the address is 10 and let's say the array contains 4 byte ints. Then when you want to access the third element (i.e. array[2]), you just retrieve the value that is stored in memory address 10 + 2*4, which is address 18, does that make sense? 10 is the initial address, 2 is the index and 4 is the size of each element. So first element will be stored in address 10, second in address 14, third in address 18, and so on (if each element has a size of 4).

This works because in C an array is allocated in memory with all its elements sequentially, which is not the case for all languages. Some languages can store each element of an array in random places with each element pointing to the address of the next one (in a "linked list" structure).


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did older video games use checkpoints or locations to have to save your game instead of an options menu button like is most common now?

more like why technically, was it limited by the systems or etc...

[Assistant]
I did some reading on this and it seems that the method of saving really depends on the developer, and less about technology. Not to say there were technological constraints, of course.

Games use to be cartridge based, so saves had to be as predetermined points because all of the information was on the cartridge itself, done with either direct savepoints and sometimes with passwords.

When games converted to disc, the save information was stored on memory cards in earlier consoles because CD-ROMs are Read Only Memory and can not personally store the save.

But now all console saves are done on hard drives, and some games like *Destiny* and *Tom Clancy's The Division* require to be always connected to the internet and use the cloud to store information.

But it really depends on the developer, but almost all games have gone the way of autosaving so the player isn't too far behind after dying.


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

[User]
I believe that giving food to starving nations during a famine only worsens the problem in the long run. CMV.

The argument is basically this: say during a famine, in a certain area, 100 children are saved by foreign aid.  Those 100 children will grow up, and have an average of 2-3 children each.  This will cause a population surge and, with too many people to feed, the area will go into famine again, inciting more foreign aid.  Repeat the cycle until you get a population that is dependent on foreign aid to survive. If an area can only support a population of 10,000 there should only be that many people there.

Instead of feeding Developing nations, Developed nations should focus more on education and sex ed in those areas.

[Assistant] Famines do not happen because there are too many people to feed. Famines happen when you have a combination of overreliance on a single crop, inadequate government welfare, and random bad weather. Overpopulation just doesn't have anything to do with it.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the difference between forward and reverse osmosis?

I see "reverse osmosis water" on a lot of products these days and I'm curious how reverse osmosis is different.

[Assistant]
In osmosis, water travels through a membrane from a low-concentration (i.e. less dissolved solids) mixture to a high-concentration mixture until the concentration on both sides is the same.

This happens spontaneously and can be quite dramatic if one side is extremely highly concentrated.  This is why drinking salt water is so harmful, osmotic pressure starts sucking water out of your cells.

*Reverse* osmosis is the inverse process, forcing water to cross from the concentrated side to the pure side.  This *won't* happen naturally and requires high pressures, but also acts as a very effective filtration process because the membrane excludes most particulates and large ions.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are prices in stores like Costco and Sam's Club much cheaper than your average grocery store?

[Assistant]
They don't sell just anything, you will notice that while the core offerings are fairly consistent, the overall items they sell changes throughout the year.  They are spot buying what they can get at a large discount.

Because they offer far less "choice" than a regular store, they will buy significantly larger lots of a smaller number of items.    This kind of bulk buying gets them discounts because the manufacturer that sells it to them is assured a large transaction.  The seller has a streamlined process to only ship to a small number of stores and the buyer (Costco, etc) can receive fewer but larger shipments.  Much more efficient.

They in turn sell to consumers in larger lots.  Big boxes, full cases, big bottles.  They eliminate the inefficiencies of lots of small things, and only stock, inventory, and process at checkout large efficient units.

The stores are also designed to be very efficient with bulk storage right where it's needed.  It not fancy, but makes their jobs of managing inventory much easier.

Lastly some charge membership.  The people who are shopping are willing to stake $50 a year to do so.  They want be there and quickly learn the drill.  That gets them in and out of there more efficiently.

(Edited to clarify 1st paragraph)


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

[User] Does the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, create any gravitational distortion while running?

[Assistant] No.  The mass of the beams is about 7x10^-13 kg (2 x 1.5x10^11 proton/bunch x (1.67x10^-27 kg) x 1380 bunches) and it's uniformly distributed around the ring.  Even if you account for the protons having 4 TeV of energy instead of 1 GeV for its rest mass, that's only an extra factor of 10^3.


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

[User]
Eli5 What is Plasma?

I can't grasp the concept of it. And why and how is harnessing it from our bodies help cure diseases?

[Assistant]
Since you tagged the post as "Physics", i think the issue is you are mixing up *plasma*, as the state of matter, and *blood plasma*, as in blood which have been centrifuged to remove the blood cells.

The latter is often abberviated to plasma, which causes much confusion.


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

[User] [The Martian] Was there any opposition to putting in billions, if not trillions, into multiple attempts to rescue just one person?

[Assistant]
Nobody who mattered, and nothing that made a big enough splash to get national coverage.

Sure, there were plenty of people posting to Facebook and other social media that it was a waste of money to rescue one man from Mars when there are billions of dollars worth of problems that still need solving on Earth, but from the people who mattered?  Not at all -- Watney was considered an international hero for even *trying* to stay alive on Mars after the world thought he was dead.  There's no politician or pundit alive who could survive the storm of negative press they'd get trying to fight his rescue.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why were pants mainly for men and skirts for women back in the olden days?

Wouldn't skirts be better for males because of our genitalia? Wouldn't pants be better for females because of their genitalia?

[Assistant]
First off, many cultures around the world don't have this distinction - men and women in skirts is normal and they wouldn't understand the fuss. For the western world, trousers came about for practical reasons - they're easier to ride horses with is a big one. Women have kept skirts and dresses as western attitudes on femininity remained stuck with the idea that women can look pretty but don't really need to do anything practical. World War II was a major catalyst for wardrobe changes for women, but 100 years ago the idea of a woman in trousers was as difficult to understand for majority of people as a guy wearing a skirt today.

Up until about 100 years ago, children in the west still wore unisex outfits (think boys in frilly dresses) and even 50 years ago the idea of pink is for girls and blue is for boys didn't exist (historically, red was for men, pink was for boys and blue was for girls - red fabric dye was very expensive, and blue was a cheaper colour to produce).

On a side issue, you'll probably find that women's trousers have the flap covering the fly opening opposite to men's, with the explanation being that men dressed themselves and women were dressed by their maids (except for jeans).

Depending on the shape of the skirt, of course it's better for men, but western society in general has an issue with accepting this. Skirts are simpler to make and can even be warmer than trousers. For women, pants may make more sense than for men but skirts still do too.


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

[User] ELI5: why are prices always a cent cut short? Like "5.99" "299.99"?

[Assistant]
Two reasons.  1) people don't really pay attention to the cents so if the dollar is lower the price looks significantly lower.

2) cents are used as code in store so x.99=full price, x.98=on sale, x.95 = clearance.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a radio station determine the popularity of their shows?

Obviously they'd need stats to know whether a specific talk show/ dj is getting a lot of viewers to let advertisers know that it's worth paying to put an ad on their station. Can they tell, like television, how many "listeners" there are? I doubt it because they just send out a signal that other devices pick up. Do they rely on surveys? Callers?

[Assistant]
There are "consumer research companies" specializing in studying this issue for radio stations and other media companies. These consumer research companies, such as Nielson, do large surveys to determine what people are listening to, watching, and reading. They've benefitted enormously from the refining of "scientific" polling and have used it to make a successful business.

After the surveys, consumer research companies sell the information back to the media companies (radio, TV stations) who can then better determine where to spend their advertising dollars and which radio hosts, for example, are doing well with particular demographics.


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

[User] ELI5: Do hand sanitizers really kill 99.99% of germs? How can they prove that's true?

[Assistant]
ELI5 answer: they use the product on a surface covered in bacteria, fewer than 1 in 10,000 cells remain. Therefore they can say it's 99.99% effective. Simple as that.

Longer answer:

First it's important to note that "kills 99.99% of bacteria" doesn't mean that it kills all of 99.99% of known bacterial species, or anything like that, it's literally just number of cells present on a surface. So it doesn't say anything specific about the type of bacteria that it is good against - it's not that they know of one particular species that doesn't die but the others all do. These hand sanitizers are broad in their action and don't have much in the way of specific targets against specific things like an antibiotic does. Their active ingredients are various types of alcohol... which just generally kills stuff by denaturing proteins.

The 99.99% is just due to the methodology of testing these products. They're saying that after the treatment, fewer than 1 cell in 10,000 remain - that's pretty good!

If you wanted 100% effectiveness and all bacteria dead, you could try sticking your hand in bleach, or a flamethrower... but neither of those are going to do your hand much good. Hence the alcohol-based santizer is a good compromise between effectiveness and not damaging you.


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

[User] If you lay or sit in a position that causes a limb to "go to sleep," would you then be able to amputate that limb painlessly?

[Assistant] Extremely unlikely. Parasthesia is usually caused by reduced circulation; reducing circulation enough to inhibit nerve responses would cause both tissue damage and significant pain of its own accord.


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

[User] [LoTR] Could Sauron have taken a different approach and rather than put all his eggs in one basket instead split his power between several rings of equal power, or even held back a minor portion for himself? How might things have gone differently if he had gone in this direction?

[Assistant]
He likely wouldn't have been able to corrupt people like he did if the Ring wasn't as powerful. Remember, the ring was designed to try and bend even the elves to his will.

Granted it failed, but it was a risk he was willing to take.


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

[User] ELI5: When you become partner at a corporation, why must you "buy-in" and what happens with your money?

[Assistant]
You cannot become a partner at a corporation; you can become a partner at a partnership (sometimes called a "firm") or you can become a shareholder of a corporation.

In both cases, the money you contribute becomes the property of the company, and can be used however the managers of the company wish to use it. Since you are now one of the owners of the company, you will receive a fair share of all future profits, and have a vote in how the company is managed and by whom.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do hydrographics work?

I've seen lots of videos of people dipping various objects in water with some sort of design, like army helmets in camo, and the object comes out with an awesome print on it but nothing in their arms or anything. How do the designs transfer from the water to the object so perfectly?

[Assistant]
It's the same process as painting anything. You need to prepare the surface for adhesion between the print and the surface. You actually have to lay down a basecoat color before dipping. You lay the pring on the dipping tank, spray with an activator, slowly dip the object into the tank, swirl around and take it out. Once the print is dry you can then clearcoat it.

It takes a lot of practice to get the print to come out perfect every time. Flat objects are easy, objects with a lot of curves, holes, or grooves make it harder to produce. you can run into problems with stretching the print out and distorting it or getting air bubbles that will leave a void.


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

[User]
Existentialism in the contemporary times.

Do you think existentialism would hold up with the recent advancements in neuroscience and physics?
I.E. Does the freedom of choice (or lack thereof) dictate the existentialist movement in the recent times? Or do Existentialists ignore the mechanisms of the brain and carry out their lives according to "Existence precedes Essence" and "We are condemned to be free"?

[Assistant]
I don't think recent advancements in neuroscience and physics in general - is there some in particular you have in mind? - would pose much of any problem for existentialism.

On the contrary to what a lot of people who haven't read much existentialist philosophy seem to assume about it, existentialism doesn't postulate that we have some *transcendental* free will which is beyond "mechanisms of the brain." To use the Heideggerian jargon that Sartre makes a lot of use of: the discoveries of neuroscience and physics, and much else, are part of one's facticity, or "throwness," which is the concrete background of which human freedom exists and is limited. These are only the facts of existence that precedes essence.


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

[User] ELI5: How is buying a textbook, starting a Meetup group, and chipping in for a professor to stop by every week for a few hours is different than paying $40k a year to attend grad school?

[Assistant] Accreditation. If you go through a proper university course, there are standards in place to make sure you've been taught certain information, and having a degree reflects that. Plus, when you attend a university, you're also paying for access to a lot of the facilities.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some people get car sick, even if they are looking at the road while they are moving? And why is it more likely while you are on a hill or mountain?

[Assistant]
Car sickness generally comes as a result of your vestibular system sensing motion that does not agree with what your brain expects.

The vestibular system is essentially the system your body uses to sense normal movement.  Your inner ear and other nervous system functions work together to let your brain figure out if your body is moving.

Normally, your brain takes input from the vestibular system and combines it with other senses to understand what's going on.  What you see is one of the most powerful tools your brain uses to check and validate what the vestibular system senses.

When you turn your head left, your vestibular system says "hey, we think the head is turning left".  Your eyes say "hey, it looks like we're looking left now".  Your brain recognizes that both systems are in agreement and accepts the turn as normal.

When you're in a car, your vestibular system is sensing motion outside the control of the body.  It feels acceleration, turning, and all sorts of input.  Meanwhile, your eye's don't necessarily see the same things the body feels.  Oftentimes looking out the window helps, but without a constant frame of reference, not all brains are able to reconcile what is seen and what the vestibular system feels.

Any time the vestibular system isn't in agreement with other senses, the brain can potentially trigger a nauseous response.  Very literally, your brain thinks it may be poisoned (that's how it explains why things aren't in agreement), and it wants you to puke up the potential poison.

The reason it may be more common on a hill or mountain can come from many different reasons:

- If you can't see the horizon clearly, you may not be able to accurately judge what "level" is, and it may confuse the brain.

- Road conditions on mountains are often poor, and the small bumps may exacerbate the problem.

- Driving on a flat surface generally means that motion happens on two axis.  Driving on hills or a mountain introduces a third axis.  That's another variable that might be off with your vestibular system, and it can lead you to getting sick easier.

Essentially, the more chances you give your brain to have mismatched inputs, the more likely you are to get sick.


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

[User] ELI5: How come a Liger is larger on average than both a Lion and a Tiger despite being the product of them mating?

[Assistant]
It's a genetics thing. Male lions have a gene that stimulates growth. Female lions have one that mitigates growth. Put them together and you get a normal sized lion.

However, female tigers don't have the same "Whoa, stop growing now" gene, so when a male lion and a female tiger mate, it produces offspring that just grow and grow (to a point at least).

Contrast this with tigons, where you have a male tiger and a female lion mating, and you end up with offspring about the size of a tiger.


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

[User]
Lisp Programmers: Is there actual use of Lisp in industry? How do you use it at your work? How do you overcome the "Lisp quirks"?

Hi all

I'm mainly a Python programmer but also know a little C. After diving a bit into Scheme (a dialect of Lisp), I found that:
- the monotone syntax are source of a lot of bugs and confusion (like parentheses, quoting, knowing what expression is evaluated, etc)
- the almost typeless design makes introducing type mistakes very easy
- the little to no distinction between code and data can be a security threat

I think Lisp is an interesting concept but I can't see how it can be used effectively in the real world.

Do you use a dialect of Lisp (Clojure, Common Lisp, Scheme, etc) at your work?
What do you use it for?
How do you overcome these issues (or I guess features if you use it properly) listed above (and perhaps more)?

[Assistant] I have this weird friend of a friend who got an internship in a company that does exclusively Lisp, despite never having used it before, and this company is actually profitable to the point it is basically printing money.


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

[User]
[ATLA] Could Toph have learned to read/write by having the words written in sand?

Mild spoilers for the last(?) season(Not suuuuper important spoilers, but it's a neat scene that I'd rather not spoil too heavily):

>!Toph is at the beach, and using sand bending, creates a sand version of Ba Sing Se. !<

Idk how to avoid this tiny spoiler, but the TL:DR is that Toph learns to sand bend, and with pretty good accuracy, too. My idea was that, based on her ability to sand bend, someone could write in the dirt/sand, and toph could see it, and learn to read/write through drawing in dirt/sand.

[Assistant] I suppose so, but one could also gain the same results from scratching letters on a rock, inscribing them on a clay tablet, or embossing them on a metal sheet. With an earthbender as strong as Toph, she might even be able to sense the letters written on a piece of paper with iron gall ink or lead paint.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are NASDAQ and Dowjones

Are they corporations or what? Every day on the local news they talk about those two and I'm not sure what their significance is.

[Assistant]
NASDAQ is a market where stocks are sold. A stock is essentially a share of a company: if you own a stock in, say, Apple, it means you own a part of Apple, and are entitled to a percentage of their profits, depending on the percentage of total stock that you own.

Stocks are sold on different markets around the world. There are many big ones in major financial cities, such as London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc. The NASDAQ Market is the second largest in the world behind the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (often abbreviated to just 'the DOW') is an index measuring the value of the 30 largest publicly traded companies in the United States. (To be publicly traded means that you have issued stock, and those stocks are traded on markets such as the NASDAQ, NYSE, etc).


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

[User] ELI5: What actually is that static or buzzing "noise" you hear when wearing earplugs or in a very quiet environment?

[Assistant]
It's difficult to know exactly what buzzing noise you're referring to, but here are three potential answers.

1.)  Electricity.  When in your living room with nobody talking and no programming on, there are still lights, or computers, or some electronics plugged in.  In North America electricity hums at 60 hertz, and in Europe it hums at 50 hertz.  These are both near the bottom of human hearing, so this is a low pitched hum.

2.)  Your circulatory system.  When you put a seashell up to your ear and hear 'the ocean', that's the sound of your blood flowing echoing off the walls of the shell.  It's possible for you to hear this in less extreme circumstances.

3.)  tinnitus.  Tiny hairs in your ear vibrate when sound waves hit them, and those vibrations are interpreted by your brain as 'hearing'.  Sometimes, when those hairs haven't vibrated in a long time, they spontaneously vibrate just to make sure they're still working.  This results in a perceived sound (a ringing or a buzzing) that doesn't come from any perceivable source.  This happens frequently in people who have hearing damage.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can a fighter jet force a (kidnapped) airliner to land?

Threaten to shoot it down? That wouldn't be very wise.

[Assistant]
Wise compared to what?

It's definitely better to kill everyone on the plane than let the plane be used as a missile and kill everyone on the plane and everyone in a 100 story building.

300 deaths is better than 3000 deaths....


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

[User]
[Limitless] What exactly does NZT do?

Beyond being super smart, Eddie gets unnatural abilities like being able to recall his time spent in the womb and perfectly imitate fighting moves he's seen on tv(which hints at the pill not only affecting his mind). He describes using  as not getting high but having  ''clarity''.

The pill seems to have less side effects if you sleep weel and don't cosume other drugs(Eddie's words) and is a lot more effective is somebody is already smart. Also in the series, Eddie is puzzled why the main character isn't using NZT to chase greater ambitions  which means being agressively ambitious is an expected effect.

What the hell does that pill do?

[Assistant] theory. The pill doesnt do or add anything to you the way youd think of like caffeine or something. It removes what is blocking our perception and kind of enables what everyones probably capable of doing (to an extent).


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

[User] ELI5: How do stores like dollar general make profit?

[Assistant]
Cheaper off-brand products bought in bulk.

Think of it like this...You have Scotch-brite brillo pads for washing dishes you can buy at a Wal-Mart for $2 right?, Where as Dollar General sells the knock off "Scot-brit" brillo pads for $1.

It costs the "Scot-brit" company 20 cents per pad they make, They sell them in bulk to the retailer at 40 cents a pad for 50,000 pads to distribute to all their stores nationwide, Which they sell for $1.


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

[User]
Can Weyl fermion particles escape the event horizon of a black hole?

Since these newly discovered particles have no mass are they completely unaffected by gravity? Could they then easily escape from a black holes event horizon?

[Assistant]
Mass generates gravitational fields, but everything is affected by gravity. Gravity is not a force in the way you think of forces.

Light (photons) also have no mass, but they are affected by gravity. The key thing to understand is that gravity doesn't affect mass, it affects space itself. When something is moving in a gravitational field, it's moving in a straight line from the point of the view of the object, but the straight line itself is warped. So, for example, the planets are moving in a straight line, but the line itself is bent into an ellipse around the sun. That's why everything is affected by gravity, because everything is travelling through the same space.

In the case of a black hole, space is actually warped so severely that it bends back on itself. That's why there's no escape -- it's not that the force of gravity is strong (because gravity isn't a force at all), it's because there's literally no physical path from inside the black hole to outside the black hole.


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

[User]
(XCOM: Enemy Unknown) Why does XCOM only have one VTOL?

I don't quite understand why my organization, with the full backing of most industrialized nations of the world, only has one  Skyranger. It seems that for humanities "first and last line of defense" we only get enough money and resources to spread ourselves too thin around the world. I can build more fighter jets and am currently researching how to build out own flying saucers. But why can't I make any more troop carrying vehicles that'd let me carry out operations in more than one part of the world at a time. Given random nature of the extraterrestrial attacks and that there's always more than one attack going on, it seems like that would take top priority over autopsies and interrogations.

[Assistant]
You may be familiar with the single Skyranger used in the primary operations conducted by XCOM. There are in fact multiple Skyrangers held in reserve in the event that one is lost during an operation. The Skyranger constitutes the best in stealth and engine technology developed by humanity pre-invasion. This being the case XCOM conducts only one operation at a time with only a single strike team in an effort of mitigate the loss of vital equipment and personnel should they be captured and their weaknesses exposed.

Along with this, the amount of assets brought to bear during an XCOM operation is staggering. The intelligence and information support could could easily support an entire battalion but is instead used to support the small strike team. This is only sustainable for one operation at a time due to limitations of the the command and control systems developed thus far. However this fact is most attributed to the success of the XCOM project.

Conducting strike operations may be the most prevalent, but the XCOM project is much greater in scope. The advanced information gathering and support systems are also used in support of the client nations. The XCOM CIC is linked in with the conventional military forces around the world, providing tactical and strategic support. Many XCOM soldiers, when not conducting operations, are sent as military advisers to support and train the conventional military forces in combating the Alien threat. If the situation calls for it and time is a limiting factor the reserve Skyrangers are used to transport XCOM personnel supporting the client nations.


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

[User] in the FAQ it is stated that one proof of the universe's expansion is that "more distant galaxies are packed closer together". What sort of measurements have been made to show this?

[Assistant]
Telescope observations were done to establish two things.

1) The distance to galaxies using Supernova Light curves and redshifts.

2) How seperated the galaxies are (basically galaxies "per square inch")

Its found that at larger distances, there are more galaxies per unit area at that distance.

So at 10 billion ly we might have 5 galaxies per unit area.  At 12, the average is 8, at 13 the average is 14 per unit area.

Its essentially a matter of sectioning off a portion of the sky and counting.  Then comparing that to the distances for each galaxy.


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

[User]
ELI5: Silica Gel Packets

Some products (bags, cases, ...) come with those silica gel packets inside to control humidity. Should I leave them there while I use it? Is it bad for electronics or something else? Or is it used only while it is stocked in the store before selling?

[Assistant]
They are there to absorb moisture in the packaging. To prevent misting during transport through different temperatures.
They won't help much after openning. Also they have a "capacity" for absorbtion, after a while they are useless.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does drinking water when you need to pee, make that urge much stronger even though that water is far from reaching your bladder?

[Assistant]
Tl;dr: if your bladder is already full of urine, your body was pretty happy with its water level. The body is very picky about its water level. If you add more water, it will quickly make more urine to allow for absorption of the water you just drank. An overfull bladder is potentially harmful, so normal urge to pee can be upgraded to "urgency" to protect the bladder when the body knows you're about to have an increase in urine production and your bladder is already full.

Long version:

Top answer covers where this reflex comes from from an evolutionary standpoint, but not the actual mechanism of *how* this happens.

The brain has a very specific group of nerves called the thirst center that use a few different means to tell how much water is in the body. The thirst center is *extremely* sensitive.

If you already have a full bladder, your body was likely already happy with the amount of water available in the body. The exceptions here would be if you are on certain types of medication or have some specific medical conditions.

If you add more water to the equation, the thirst center flips from "we are happy with this amount of water" to "we have too much water." Flipping this switch sends a few signals to certain blood vessles and the kidneys. The signal is an order for the kidneys to produce more urine by working harder and faster. We are wired this way because having too much water is extremely dangerous.

We don't know this for sure, but based on what we see in people who experience urinary incontinence, the sensation we typically experience telling us we need to pee is produced by certain nerves in the bladder as it fills. The more intense version you describe is called urgency. Urgency appears to involve sensors not just in the bladder, but also the kidneys. The kidneys that just got the order to work double time.

The kidneys know they are about to start making more urine. If the bladder is already full, adding more urine can damage the bladder itself or the muscles that allow us to retain urine and pee voluntarily. Thus the stronger "urgency" signal helps protect the bladder by encouraging immediate emptying before more urine is produced.

There is also speculation that the thirst center receives signals during the process of swallowing water. The theory is that the muscles that move stuff through your throat can tell the brain whether that stuff is liquid or solids. This part of the process appears to be a "shut off" signal to stop us from drinking too much water when thirsty. It may also contribute to "urgency" directly or by kick-starting the process by fast-tracking the message to the "thirst center" to begin the rest of the process.

Edit: clearer distinction between the Tl;dr and full text.


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

[User] ELI5: How did Crysis look so good for it's time?

[Assistant]
We've been doing photo realistic CGI for years. If it's a movie, you can calculate all the effects ahead of time on a supercomputer and just show the end product. If it's a game you have to calculate the effects at least 30 times a second on whatever combination of hardware player has.

Crysis had effects that only computers of a future could generate in real time. Hardly anyone had PCs powerful enough to run it in all its glory.


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

[User]
[John Wick] How will John Wick fare in a fight with goons that have military experience and military teamwork against him?

I remember in the Punisher Max Slavers arc, Frank Castle tried to ambush the slavers but he made a mistake underestimating them and was forced to flee. In the John Wick films, the majority of the enemies just rush at John and spread out all at once to attack him. Would John Wick be forced to flee in that same scenario?

[Assistant]
We actually see about how it'll go at the beginning of John Wick 2 when Santino blows up John's house. When confronted with a one man army like John, a proper squad with military training and equipment will go to combined arms tactics with an emphasis on heavy ordinance.

That is to say John will be located, pinned down at a distance, and then exploded with a rocket launcher.


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

[User]
How much more rain does California need before it's out of drought trouble?

This question brought to you by a concerned Californian!

[Assistant]
The drought in California has 1 measure and it is  snowpack. For California to get out of drought the state needs a snowpack over 40 inches(across the whole mountain range) and maintain it from the months of November to March.
2013 snowpack averaged 25 inches, 2014 snowpack average is 8 inches thru February 1st. Snowpacks will fill the reservoirs.


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

[User] How come transits of Venus are very rare yet we can detect exoplanets with them much farther away?

[Assistant]
There are two planets that are closer than are closer to the sun than Earth.

There are millions or billions of stars we can watch for transits. Even if only a small fraction have planets and a smaller fraction of those can be seen from Earth, there are still many many more planets that we could see transiting than just two.

There is also the issue that Earth moves around outside of Venus so the angles line up less often. Exoplanets are so far away that the Earth's position is not relevant.


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

[User]
ELI5 How are beavers benificial for ecological systems?

Beavers were recently reintroduced in my country to help the ecological system develop. All I know is that they build dams, which I would assume isn't very good for river fish. I also just learned they tend to eat/use young trees, which can't be good for the forest growth. How do they actually benifit the ecological system?

[Assistant]
They store water above sea level. Among other things, this makes them one of the most valuable creatures nature has ever created. They are classified as a keystone species like salmon. This means without them, other parts of the ecosystem will collapse.

You could rid all the humans off the planet and leave the beavers. In a century they can reforest what we deforested in Canada, which is a lot. They can turn deserts into rainforests if you give them enough time.


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

[User]
Why do intuitionists reject classical logic and mathematics?

I am on a section of my Philosophy of Mathematics course on intuitionism, and am having a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea of intuitionism. Most of the primary reading I've been assigned, especially the Brouwer, is very difficult to break in to. I understand that the movement rejects the Completed Infinite and the Law of the Excluded Middle, but why do intuitionists choose to reject such things? Thank you very much in advance!

[Assistant]
Because intuitionists believe that mathematical reasoning depends crucially on processes of mental construction, and this requirement leads to certain consequences that are at odds with classical logic.

For example, on this view, you cannot prove the existence of something by simply negating its non-existence, as you can in classical logic. That is, in classical logic, you can prove that Ex(Px)i.e., "There exists an x such that x is P"if you can prove \~\~Ex(Px), or "It is not the case that there does not exist an x such that x is P". This is a *very* common proof technique in classical mathematics and logic.

In intuitionistic mathematics, however, you have to be able to actually *construct* some particular object *n* such that Pn. For example, you have to be able to construct some particular number n that has the property P. From Pn, you can then infer Ex(Px) using existential generalization.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] The Empror lived during the DAoT. Does he posses knowledge of how humanity's technology worked at that time?

I mean yeah I know there were other Prepetuals living back then but the Emperor is a super genius who most likely guided humanity from the shadows since he was born so he must know a lot of cool, super powerful technology right? And if he does then why didn't he restore humanity to that technology level(minus AI)?

Bonus question, did the Iron Men rebelled because of chaos corruption or did they just find being slave labour surprisingly unenjoyable?

[Assistant]
Probably not. At the time humanity had this sweet system where machines just did everything. All the higher technology was basically designed and built by the AIs, it is why the Mechanicum literally communicates in binary.

Anyway the Emperor probably understood more than most but he clearly wasn't aware of what was coming otherwise he'd have done more about it before hand.


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

[User]
The mitochondria and chloroplast are examples of endosymbiotic relationships, but are there any other examples of eukaryotic cells forming an endosymbiotic relationship with another organism?

If there aren't, then what stops cells from forming such relationships? If there are, what is the nature of the symbiotic relationship, and are they able to pass on these endosymbionts to subsequent generations?

[Assistant] Corals have a symbiotic relationship with Zooxanthellae. The symbiont performs photosynthesis and helps feed the coral. The coral aids the symbiont with waste removal, safety, and a supply of carbon dioxide. Corals are not born with symbionts, they acquire them from the environment. In times of stress, the coral may eject their symbiont. That's called coral bleaching because the photosynthetic symbionts are the primary source of coral's color.


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

[User]
What is the power my computer uses turned into?

Am I right in thinking that most of the energy is simply turned to heat and some of it into light and other electro-magnetic fields?

So would a computer have the same efficiency for heating as an electric heater would? (Of course on a smaller scale, while my CPU might get up to 65C it's much smaller)

[Assistant]
You are correct. Practically everything is converted to heat. Even the light radiating from the computer is eventually turned into heat when it hits the walls.

Your computer works just like electric heater + tiny fan combo but the placement is important. If you have PC that is placed in some corner, the room feels much colder than if you would have electric heater placed under window. Laptops can work as nice spot heaters in the wintertime.


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

[User]
Would being underwater help survive a nuclear bomb?

If I jump in my pool, on the river near my house knowing that a nuclear bomb, or atomic or H-Bomb exploded around 10 km from my house, would I survive?

The way I see it is that water will protect me from the heat, so then I will be able to surface up after the explosion and escape.

[Assistant]
If it was a powerful airburst, in a clear cloudless sky, the thermal radiation from the initial burst, expanding at the speed of light, could give you severe burns before you realize anything unusual was afoot.  If you were looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time, you're also blind now.

A modest weapon  100kt  isn't going to do much blast damage at 10 km. So if the prompt thermal radiation didn't get you, you might not even need the pool to evade the pressure wave. And if you're upwind of the blast,  you may not have to worry about fallout.

A 1 or 2Mt airburst is a different story.  A 10km, you're probably toast regardless.  The thermal radiation will spontaneously ignite suseptible materials out to 10km and beyond.  Blast effects will be harder to survive as well.


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

[User]
CMV: Pit bulls Should Require a License to Own

In this month alone, 6 people and 9 animals have been killed in a pit bull attack. Many others have been maimed and permanently disfigured/disabled because of a pit bull attack.

Pit bull supporters often say "it's the owner, not the dog." Personally, I disagree. According to Wikipedia,

>The bull-and-terrier was a breed of dog developed in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century for the blood sports of dog fighting and rat baiting, it was created by crossing the ferocious, thickly muscled Old English Bulldog with the agile, lithe, feisty Black and Tan Terrier. The aggressive Old English Bulldog, which was bred for bear and bull baiting, was often also pitted against its own kind in organised dog fights, but it was found that lighter, faster dogs were better suited to dogfighting than the heavier Bulldog. To produce a lighter, faster more agile dog that retained the courage and tenacity of the Bulldog, outcrosses from local terriers were tried, and ultimately found to be successful.

These dogs were bred specifically because they are aggressive, powerful, and violent. Now, personally, I believe all pit bulls should be neutered and the breed should be heavily restricted. But at the very least, I think owners should be required to demonstrate that they are experienced pet owners, carry insurance, and perhaps have taken a dog training course, so they can recognize when their pit is agitated and how to prevent a tragedy.

I also think pit bull ownership should carry a legal duty to reasonably protect others from the pit. "Reasonable" would include measures such as displaying signage warning neighbors and guests that a pit bull lives in the home, not letting the pitbull stay in a yard unmonitored (regardless of fencing), and keeping the pitbull leashed at all times in public.

I would also like to see regulations preventing shelters from "rebranding" obvious pit mixes so that families and owners are not duped into adopting a pitbull mix. Ideally, shelters would need to provide a warning to potential adopters (and of course, adopters would then need to have a license to own a pit).

Before anyone tries, please know that I'm unlikely to be swayed by any kind of anecdotal "but my velvet hippo is a good girl and never hurt anyone" arguments. That's what most owners say when they're being sued for injuries their pit caused a child or another pet. I understand they don't all attack- but it's in their breed, so something could trigger them.

[Assistant]
The question isn't "What percentage of dog attacks are from pit bulls," but rather, "What percentage of pit bulls commit attacks."

In the last decade (2010 - 2021) there have been 430 fatal dog attacks in the US. And I'll give it to you, 185 of them (or 43%) were committed by pit bulls.

However, the important thing to remember is that there are *4.5 million pit bulls in the United States*. That means that less than 0.00004% of the pit bull population have committed fatal attacks *in over a decade*.

So yes, pit bulls *do* attack at a statistically higher rate. That being said, over 99% of pit bulls have not attacked. And the ones who *have* are likely either intentionally trained to be aggressive, or subjected to willful abuse/negligence.


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

[User] How come gases are so cold in their pressurised cans?

[Assistant] The gas in a can like spray paint isn't actually cold. Its the same temperature as the can or the air around it. Its when the gas is rapidly expanded that the temperature drop happens. The opposite is also true. When you compress a gas it heats up. Its what makes most air conditioning systems possible.


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

[User] ELI5 Why can't certain organs such as the pancreas or brain be transplanted? (what other organs cannot be transplanted?)

[Assistant]
It is possible to do a pancreas transplant, but it's indicated only in people who have also a kidney failure, therefore it's a double transplant, kidney and pancreas.

Keep in mind that when you receive a transplant of any kind you'll have to do a immunosuppressive treatment for the rest of your life. It's far more easy and safe to use insulin and enzymes for the rest of your life!


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

[User] Why is it that we started building a space station, rather than a moon base?

[Assistant]
The ISS is about 1000 times closer to the Earth than the moon, so we can actually move people and things back and forth in a reasonable time frame.

The low gravity could actually be seen as a bonus - we need to study the effects of near-zero gravity on humans so that we know how to deal with the effects long-term.


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

[User]
[Too Many Cooks] Do the Cybernetic Operational Optimized Knights of Science actually stand a chance against the Beast Rebels of the Hellscape?

In most iterations of of the "Too Many Cooks" scenarios, the victims have no chance against The Killer. Often, he takes them totally unawares. In the case of Katie Adkins, she is able to notice and at least attempt to escape, but in the end, she is caught and killed.

In the case of the COOKS, it looks superficially different -- the COOKS seem to be aware of what they're up against, prepared, and ready to take on the BRotH. They have big, heavily-armed spaceships, beam pistols, etc.

Is it an illusion, though? Are the COOKS actually just as doomed as all of the previous victims of The Killer? As an analogy, consider Battlestar Galactica. If you looked at a few short scenes from it, you'd see a fairly disciplined, competent crew, piloting a big, heavily armed spaceship ready to go up against the Cylons in battle. However, if you know the full story, they don't really stand a chance: the most they can do is run away. They're outnumbered, outgunned, infiltrated, and logistically desperate. (Of course, BSG doesn't end with humanity's extermination, but not because the Colonial forces are ever able to turn around the basic military situation, IIRC. The COOKS may not be so fortunate.)

Does the BRotH have an overwhelming advantage, and are the COOKS, even if theyre competent and effective as individuals, collectively as helpless and doomed as Katie Adkins was against The Killer? Or do the COOKS actually stand a chance in this one, this being the one case where The Killer faces real, effective resistance?

[Assistant] There may be too many COOKS. Much like the saying "too many cooks" implies, having too many efficient and competent experts can sometimes lead to failure or getting nothing done. Ultimately, the BRotH will be spoiled by how easy it is defeat them due to the fact that there are, indeed, Too Many COOKS.


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

[User] ELI5: If a wind turbine (or any generator) is producing electricity but no one is using it where does the electricity go?

[Assistant]
Nowhere. The effort needed to turn the wind turbine is equal the produced power. The more load is needed the harded is to turn the turbine. If you disconnect the load it will be very easy to turn the turbine. There still be voltage but there will be no currect.

In real life you have to stop such a generator the prevent damage. This is valid not only for wind turbines but any other generator eg. in nuclear power plant. Let's say that eg. power lines to power plant is damaged and the plant is cut away from grid. Then the reactor has to be stopped and steam is vented away from turbine. Withtout load and still huge steam delivery to turbine it would speed up and damage.


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

[User]
[The Truman Show] How did they keep the other kids around Truman from spilling the beans when he was a child?

This isn't just about child actors' acting skills being a problem; the real question is how they kept the kids from flat out *telling* Truman, or otherwise letting the truth slip.

Kids can be terrible when it comes to dealing with an outsider. If they all knew that Truman was the special kid that they were all working around, then they'd almost certainly start to ostracize him, just as surely as if he were the weird kid in class, and possibly worse, because they all basically have to work *for* him, without his knowing.

Add to this that kids are not great at keeping secrets. You'd think that one way or another, eventually one of them would tell him; either in a fit of anger ("Oh, yeah, Truman? Well you aren't even a real kid! We're all just actors! So there!") or else in a misguided movement towards friendship ("Truman, we're super good friends, so I have to tell you the biggest secret that you'll ever ever hear...")

So how did the producers prevent this from happening? How did they keep the other kids from treating Truman weird for being the only one not in on the big secret, and how did they keep any of them from just telling him the truth?

[Assistant]
He _never_ had good, long-term friendships as a child, which is why he's fairly detached and formal with the people around him. He greets his next-door neighbors from twenty feet away, with a robotic and... frankly... _staged_ performance.

This formal, proper upbringing helped ensure that he'd be controllable and acceptable for TV, _and_ avoided getting him in situations like you mention. It was a gamble, of course; it could have turned him into a sociopath, but hey, Dexter turned out pretty popular too, and with some careful editing...


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

[User]
ELI5: What does "nose" smell like? How does your nose ignore itself to smell its surroundings?

Is it something that your brain does to not sense it, or does your nose or body produce something to mask the smell? Could we possibly smell other noses' scents? Is it the same for animals? Or is there even a smell in your nose?

[Assistant]
Your brain only has the capacity to notice things that are changing in your environment.  Sensory inputs that remain constant (and are deemed not a threat or at least not a source of interest) are not given any attention by the brain.

Your ears, eyes, and skin do the same thing.  Moments after you sit down you don't feel the chair on your ass anymore (until you think about it).  You didn't notice that the light bulb was buzzing until you turn the light off.  etc.


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

[User]
What's that feeling you get when you're stretching
or yawning--a sort of thrill that quickly spreads
through the body?

[Assistant]
When you stretch it is basically dilating your blood vessels, which is why athletes stretch before exercise, to ensure maximum blood flow to increase O2 exchange efficiency. E.g. if you sat down for a long time, standing up allows more blood to flow in those areas which have been deprived of sufficient O2, so your muscles don't feel as fatigued as they have a surfeit source of energy provided by the blood flow.
And yawning induces stretching of muscles and therefore to the same effect.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people with british accents seem to lose their accents when they sing?

[Assistant]
It's not unique to British people, it happens with basically all accents. An accent is mostly someone putting different stresses on syllables and using a different pacing/rhythm than we're used to. When singing, these (and many other factors that determine accent) are dictated by the song, and deviating can mess up how the lyrics pair with the melody.

That means they switch to a more neutral way of speaking, which just happens to be really similar to what we consider to be the standard "American" accent.


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

[User] [Fallout 4] Why are magazines worth $32.99 in the pre-war era?

[Assistant]
Inflation.

Consider that, on average, $1 in 1950 (the approximate point of timeline of divergence) is the equivalent to about $10 today. If we assume a similar inflation rate (not exactly a reasonable assumption, but for the sake of argument it works) by 2077 we'd be looking at somewhere around $25 for the same 1$ purchase.

And then consider the resource crunch leading up to the Great War. While America had basically just solved all the worlds problems within the 18 months leading up to the apocalypse (though kept everything tight lipped) commodity costs sky-rocketed over the previous decade. Things were starting to stabilize in America, sure, but not enough to bring down something like magazine costs.


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

[User] ELI5: What do OLED screens do that make them an improvement over LCD screens?

[Assistant]
Traditional LCD screens use a backlight, the LCD pixels change the color of that light as it passes through them. The backlight makes these screens thicker, and the LCD pixels can't block all the light from the backlight so the display isn't capable of displaying true black.

OLEDs emit their own light, there is no backlight. This means the screen can be much lighter and thinner (even to the point of being flexible) and can display true black as each pixel emits no light at all when turned off.


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

[User] When I am falling asleep, why do I suddenly know that turning over will be more comfortable and can't sleep until I do?

[Assistant]
These silly answers are way off. Fact is, your body has several systems (sinus, circulatory, etc) that alternate sides while you sleep to keep you turning over every so often to avoid tissue damage from prolonged weight on any certain part of your body.

Ever had a runny nose that kept switching nostrils? Same thing, same reason.


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

[User]
[Dune] If Feyd-Rautha was raised among the fremen would he have become the Kwisatz-haderach?

Assuming that he was not twisted by life among the harkonnens, and instead raised among the fremen, he would have met the ancient reverend mother and at least learned of the existence of the water of life. Seeing as he was at the same stage of the breeding program, one generation prior to the target, would he also be able to convert the waters and have prescience?

[Assistant] No.  The reason that Paul was able to do so was because he was born a generation earlier than intended.  This is all allegedly thanks to some wibbly wobbly timey whimy prescient influence from the future.  Jessica was supposed to have a daughter with Leto and the daughter was to be married to Feyd in order to conceive the Kwisatz Haderach.  Her having a son, Paul, caused the Kwisatz Haderach to be born a generation early.


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

[User]
ELI5: Household water softeners

I recently visited the US midwest where it seems everyone has a water softener in their house. Growing up with hard water, I was really annoyed at how my hands/body felt really soapy and slick after trying to wash off the soap I used. Also, it felt like the extra soapiness make my skin break out more.

**ELI5:** Why do people use water softeners in the first place? Is there any advantage to having soft water over hard water, or vice versa?

[Assistant]
Hard water is full of dissolved minerals in the water, typically calcium and magnesium. A water softener uses an ion exchanger to remove them, and replace them with sodium ions.

Soft water reduces the calcium deposits that form in the pipes and shower glass. It also reduces soap scum buildup on shower tubs. As for that soapy slimy feeling, that's a personal preference issue from soft water, but soaps tend to work better in soft water compared to hard water.


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

[User]
ELI5 Are cows constantly producing milk?

I just drove past a field of cows and there were babies too. The calfs we're so cute! But it got me thinking... When cows make milk it usually goes to their babies, right? So how is it that we have constant stores of milk and cheese at the supermarket? Do we only get milk from cows who's calfs didn't make it (passed away)? Or is it that cows always have milk so it's no big deal if we take it instead of it going to a calf? Need some dairy farmers to help me out with this one please!

[Assistant]
They take dairy calves away from the mothers and bottle-feed them (or sell them for veal). The milking makes her body think the calf is nursing, a lot, and so she keeps producing milk steadily, usually for about a year. Then she has to have another calf to keep the milk supply going.

If you have a small homestead and don't need a lot of milk from your cow, you can let her keep her calf and still milk her, and that will be enough milk for most homesteaders. But it's not profitable for large dairies.

If you saw the calves with their mothers, those are likely beef calves. They used to remove the calves at a certain age to force weaning, so the mother could back get in shape for her next pregnancy, but trial and error showed that caused more losses than it prevented so most beef calves stay in the pasture with their mother until they're old enough to go to a feedlot.


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

[User]
ELI5: If something happens to cause everyone in the world to be infertile, theoretically how long would it take us to find out?

I was just watching the movie Children of Men, great movie by the way, but I was just wondering what are some logical reasons that could cause infertility of the entire human race, and how fast we would be able to realize it.

[Assistant]
1 week, rounding up to the nearest week.

All the OBGYN's would suddenly have no one coming in reporting a pregnancy. They would each probably consider it just a fluke but after talking to other doctors they would realize something was off.


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

[User] [Superman] Do only certain types of teleportation work on Kryptonians? Eg: Shouldn't Star Trek or Stargate style disassembly/reassembly based technologies fail due to their invulnerability, but space-folding/portal based methods should be ok?

[Assistant] There are precious few cases where teleportation has failed to work on Superman, but your hypothesis seems valid. It is likely that portal based teleportation is the most commonly used in the galaxy, seeing as it's the basis for the Zeta Beam, and probably the Thanagarian Relativity Beam as well.


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

[User]
Could we provide a stable high-bandwith connection to / from Mars?

i.e "Internet on Mars"

Apart from the obvious latency issues which would make 2-way real time communications impossible, is it even remotely doable?

[Assistant]
It would probably be possible but you'd certainly need some new protocols for communication. That is, just boosting the power and using directed antennas on normal wifi isn't going to do it. Wifi certainly assumes that packets move almost instantaneously, introducing 4 to 20 minute latency is absolutely going to break it even if your transmission power is sufficient to get the signal across the planets. Same goes for the transport layer. HTTP servers probably aren't too amused when the TCP handshake takes something like 8 to 40 minutes.

Suppose you are on Mars and want to get a webpage from Earth internet. You'd probably send a message over some interplanetary protocol to a proxy on Earth. That proxy could then do a normal TCP connection to the HTTP server, on the Earth Internet, and get your webpage, storing the data until it has the entire webpage. Then the proxy would send it back to you, again over the interplanetary protocol.

Then you run into some obvious usability problems. Like you request the front page of a news website. After 8 minutes (in the best case) you get your front page. Then you click on an interesting news item, another 8 minutes pass until you get the page for that. So maybe a better idea would be to get packages of a whole lot of pages at the same time. So you get the front page and all the top news items in one go, even though you might only read one of them. This could be done fairly easily the same way we now have separate sites for desktop browsers and mobile browsers. Just add an interplanetary browser to that mix which has pages that minimise needed HTTP requests.

Or better yet, make a proxy on Mars that has cached a huge amount of stuff on the Earth Internet so that you never actually need to send anything to Earth. Essentially you have a copy of Earth Internet on the Mars proxy server. The proxy server then gets slowly updated by something on Earth. Naturally this wouldn't work with highly dynamic and interactive websites, only real solution there would be for there to be a duplicate web server on Mars.


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

[User]
Eli5: How do color changing cups work?

I have a cup that changes from white to purple when cold. How does that happen?

[Assistant] They are coated with thermochromic paint. The paint can change colour or become transparent when subjected to heat (or by extension cold). How these paints change colour is a little bit beyond eli5 imo but still in short, heat changes the structure of the paint temporarily allowing it to absorb/reflect different wavelength of lights.


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

[User]
Writing first book - when to approach publishers?

I'm a mid-career (10 years post PhD) UK academic in psychology, and I'm writing my first popular science book. I've written about 2.5 chapters of 10 or 12. Should I approach potential publishers before I've finished a draft with a proposal? Then they could advise on length, format etc. Or should I wait until I've drafted the whole thing before approaching publishers? Advice from those that have done it before especially welcome.

[Assistant]
**STOP!**

Contact some publishers and see if they are interested in your proposal  -tell them you have two sample chapters (many require a sample chapter or two) and can provide an outline of the rest.

Do not write a whole book without a contract!!!!!!!


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

[User]
How do you explain to a person 200 years ago that racism is bad?

Recently in a practical ethics class ( not a major, was just interested ), the topic of animal rights was brought up, naturally, Peter Singer's Animal Liberation was a must-read, and "speciesism" was compared with racism and sexism and called a mere prejudice, instinctively as a meat lover but less of an animal abuse lover, it is hard to accept Singer's stance. Shelly Kagan's What's wrong with Speciesism points out that Singer, too, resorted to instincts in proposing only sentient agents have moral standing.

Shelly Kagan "defended" a view that ( probably ) most of us agree on with the concept of "Modal Personism", but seem to still resort to instincts. While it sounds very nice and convenient for us, it gets me wondering, a person 200 years ago might be able to use a very similar argument to defend racism, and one from our times would find it very hard to accept, then how can one consistently accept Kagan's defence?

I still love my meat, but this remains one problem I find hard to be consistent with, I can just go ahead and be a proud speciesist, or maybe take Carl Cohen's view and say we have a unique responsibility to fellow humans, but it still feels like prejudices Singer suggested.

Is there an actual way to differentiate racism from speciesism, or maybe even sentientism? Or is it in the end really just instincts and culture?

[Assistant]
It'd be pretty trivial to convince some 200 years ago that 'In the case of peoples which have no significant difference between them, we should not treat them differently.' The problem would of course be that 200 years ago that people did think there were significant differences between races, something that a lot of people still believe to this day.

>Is there an actual way to differentiate racism from speciesism, or maybe even sentientism?

The traditional defence of 'speciesism' is that there are in fact (morally) significant differences sufficiently strong between us and most animals, such that its permissible for us to use them in basically whatever way we want. The question of whether this is actually true or not is one of the major fulcrums around which discussions of animal rights go around in Philosophy, probably the biggest one.


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

[User] ELI5: How do we keep in contact with spacecraft such as Voyager 2 that are at the very edge of our solar system?

[Assistant]
With very big dishes on Earth, and very sensitive receivers that can find the tiny signal.

Fun fact: the Voyagers' radio transmitters are 20 Watt -- which is the same power as the bulb in your refrigerator.

So we're effectively looking for a flickering fridge bulb, 19 billion kilometres away...


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we wake up with morning face?

Puffy eyes, fat face.

[Assistant] When you're up and about and walking around,  your heart has to work against gravity to pump blood up into your face. But when you have been laying horizontal in a bed for 8 or so hours it gives blood the opportunity to "pool" or "settle" in your face, resulting in puffiness. You'll get a more extreme example of this if you hang upside down for an extended period of time.


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

[User]
A reply to the 'fallacy of composition' objection to Mill's proof of utilitarianism?

The charge of a fallacy of composition against Mill's Utilitarianism is essentially an objection to his jump from 1) Each person ultimately desires their own happiness (a sort of hedonism) to 2) Everybody desires everybody's happiness, and so the good is a maximisation of the general happiness (not just your own happiness). This logical move is important to the theory as it argues why the moral action is that which maximises the general happiness (the principle of utility) not just the action that maximises your own happiness (A sort of ethical egoism).

My question is, this seems like quite an obvious/strong objection to Mill's 'proof' of utilitarianism, but I cannot think how he could justify this logical jump, as it seems clear to me to be a fallacy of composition (attributing some feature of the members of a collection to the collection itself). So, How do utilitarians reply to this objection?

[Assistant]
I think Utilitarians would argue that they are not actually committing it.  Mill is not arguing that happiness is merely desirable, he is arguing that it is *worthy of desire*.  Namely, Happiness is Good - specifically Mill is claiming that Happiness is *the only* Good.

"[x] is desirable to me, therefore it is desirable to all," is only a fallacy of composition if we mean by desire "capable of being desired."  But Mill does not mean that.  He thinks Happiness is objectively Good.  To put it Platonically, it is The Good.

Sidgwick defends the move by explicitly claiming that "The good of any one individual is of no more importance, from the point of view...of the Universe, than the good of any other.''  He is following Bentham here who says "Each to count for one."

Mill is making the same move in different words.  Good is Good, not for *you* specifically.  So when you say:

> 2) Everybody desires everybody's happiness,

Mill is saying "Everybody *ought* to desire everybody's happiness."  Or, more carefully, "everybody ought to desire, on aggregate, a maximization of happiness in terms of quantity and quality."

Why?  Because happiness is the only Good.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the common cold?

I had an idea that it was just an extremely common virus that we can't cure. However, upon looking it up some sources say that there are over 200+ viruses that cause the common cold. Does that mean the common cold is just some blanket term we have for viruses that cause these symptoms?

[Assistant]
The common cold is a syndrome (a constellation of symptoms) which can be caused by several different viruses. It's difficult to count the number of viruses because of how many strains, variants and subvariants exist if each.  But it's thought that the most colds are caused by rhinoviruses, while many of the others are caused by non-SARSCoV2 coronaviruses.

It can also be caused by respiratory syncitial virus, adenovirus, coxsackievirus, parainfluenza virus, influenza and of course SARSCoV2 (covid-19), but there are several other potential viruses than can cause similar symptoms. Many of these virus also can cause more several disease, whereby most people wouldn't call it a cold any more. These are more appropriately called flu like illnesses, which unfortunately some get mixed up with the stomach flu, which usually has nothing to do with influenza at all.