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

[User]
CMV: Countries with Universal Healthcare fail to produce new vaccines, new medicines, new treatments, and are therefore inferior to the financially corrupt Privatized Healthcare System.

I don't think there's much contention that the privatized healthcare system of the United States frequently leaves people broken and without the care necessary to survive. It is heartless and bureaucratic, and frequently justifies the venom Reddit stores for it.

But with Ebola, H1N1, rabies, and outbreaks of the past, I can't recall ever seeing another country with universal healthcare establish the necessary treatment plan and large scale manufacturing of medication to control the problem.

YES I completely agree that million dollar medical bills for necessary procedures are outrageous, YES I completely understand that the birth of my own daughter shouldn't have to cost thousands of dollars ... but as corrupt as the financial side of privatized healthcare is, can't it be justified by the unmitigated success of their production?

**tl;dr Self interest will always, always, ALWAYS yield more R&D and in the case of diseases where people die, does that not at least assuage SOME of the villainy that always gets draped over privatized healthcare? CMV**

[Assistant]
Medical breakthroughs come as a result of laboratory research, mostly basic science research, which is funded almost entirely through national governments. The US produces more medical breakthroughs because it is a large and wealthy country, so the American government funds nearly as much research (in all fields, not just medicine) as the rest of the world combined.

As one measure: Americans have won 88 Physics Nobel Prizes and 98 Medicine Nobel Prizes. If the American free market explains all of our medical breakthroughs (remember, breakthroughs conducted at universities with taxpayer money) then what the heck explains that we have contibuted almost exactly the same proportion of Physics breakthroughs?


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

[User]
[Marvel] Does Spider-Man get cold in the winter?

Spidey's slinging around at high altitudes in New  York City wearing nothing but a spandex suit and a whole lotta faith in his webbing.

Wouldn't that get chilly? Does he at least put on a jacket?

[Assistant]
Spidey does get cold.  At various times he's worn a thermal layer under his suit, especially when it snows, but remember the following factors:

1. He's got superhuman durability.  He might feel cold, but it doesn't affect him as badly as it would a normal human.
2. He's active nearly all the time.  Webslinging is hard work, which helps him maintain his body temperature.
3. He has also been seen wearing hats and scarves, partly for the amusement factor, but it shows he knows when to wrap up warmer.


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

[User]
ELI5: If the petroleum industry receives over $4 billion in annual government subsidies (on average), why is there a tax on fossil fuels? Wouldn't these cash flows 'cancel out?'

ELI5: If the petroleum industry receives over $4 billion in annual government subsidies (on average), why is there a tax on petroleum? Wouldn't these cash flows 'cancel out?'

To my understanding, the subsidies decrease the cost of petroleum products, and taxes increase the cost. What's the point? Is this a vicious circle?

[Assistant]
Most of the subsidies for the fossil fuels industry in the US comes in the form of tax breaks. Some economists would be upset at using the term subsidy to mean tax break, but common usage of the word includes them.

Petroleum companies get tax breaks for doing specific things that the government wants to incentivize (or avoid punishing). For example, they get a foreign tax credit which allows them to deduct taxes paid in foreign countries from their profits that are returned to the US. The government allows that because it wants US companies to do business abroad while bringing money back into the US. Companies either wouldn't do business abroad or would keep their earnings outside of the US if they got double taxed on them. It's also worth noting that this tax break is available to pretty much all US businesses, not just the petroleum industry.

There are also subsidies promoting domestic manufacturing, exploration for new wells, etc.

There are a couple reasons you can't just trade these out for a tax on petroluem. First, the tax on gasoline is collected by both the stats and the federal government, which means the states also rely on the tax for money. However, the federal government is the one who gives the subsidies. So the people doing the taxing aren't always the same ones providing the subsidies. Additionally, people are the ones paying the tax and it's on gasoline. Petroleum companies are the ones getting the subsidies and it's on their businesses in general and drilling for oil; not just gasoline.

Second, if you remove the subsidies you lose your ability to influence the behavior of the subsidized industries. Without the subsidies companies could get the same savings without having to undertake specific tasks to claim the subsidy.


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

[User]
CMV: Because Aragorn was able to summon an (invincible) army of the dead, Rohan's aid wasn't necessary for the victory at Minas Tirith

Pretty much what the title says. It seems like Rohan lost a lot of good men, including Theoden, when they rode in to save Minas Tirith. However, I don't really see that their aid was necessary in the end, because the dead army would have just saved the city anyways. I understand that Rohan's involvement augmented the dramatic effect and it was pretty epic to watch them almost completely wipe out Sauron's army. But, in the end, I don't think it would have even mattered if they were involved or not and, quite honestly, it seems like a lot of lives were wasted unnecessarily. Regardless of how dramatically epic the scene was, Rohan wasn't needed to save Minas Tirith; Aragorn was able to do it himself.

[Assistant]
The army of the dead was changed both in role and in nature in the film adaptations.

In the original novels, the army does not fight in Minas Tirith at all; rather, they help Aragorn fight off the Corsais, servants of Sauron who owned a fleet of warships. Aragorn then seizes the fleet, releases the dead from their oath and sails to Minas Tirith with a very human army.

It is also heavily implied that the dead either cannot or do not inflict physical harm; they win the battle by terrifying the enemy into fleeing. Note that the corsairs were just human and it is doubtful that this would work against, say, trolls, uruk-hai and especially the Nazgul.

So in the novels, at least, they are nowhere near the weapons of mass destruction that they are in the movies, and Rohan was vastly more important.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is the British police force able to operate effectively when most of its officers don't carry guns?

I just learned about this today, and it just seems kind of unbelievable from my perspective (I live in the US fyi).

[Assistant] The vast majority of police interactions in the U.S. are extraordinarily far from requiring a gun.  When you call the cop because you've had a car accident, when you call the cop because you come home and you TV has been stolen, when someone has committed fraud, when someone has evaded taxes, when someone fails to pay all their traffic fines, when someone is speeding and so on and so forth.  A gun is a silly thing to introduce into the vast majority of policing situations.  We have a view of police work that it's all foot chases with armed criminals hell bent on killing everyone around them.  Doesn't really work like that.


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

[User]
[Star Wars]are Clone Troopers (living during the Old Republic era) allowed to decide they want to leave the Army & do something else with their lives?

I kind of feel like the Old Republic wasn't that worth saving if they were totally cool with life time slavery.

[Assistant]
They weren't allowed to leave during the war - that's desertion and a capital offense. We see a deserter in TCW Season 2, though ultimately his brothers decide not to turn him in as he was happier away from the war with a wife and two children to take care of (they weren't his children, he married a widow with two young children).

They get shore leave and possibly pay, there are bars for the clones to go when they're off duty.

What the Republic would have done with them after the war is a good question, but we know that the Empire basically tossed them out with little to no reparations after a couple years, replacing them with recruits.


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

[User]
[Batman] How would batman handle a kid being bullied.

Say batman is out at day and catches a group of High school seniors beating up and brutally bullied a 7th grader. How does he approach the situation and what happens if they try to fight him?

[Assistant] Fist meets face. In all seriousness he would probably intimidate the bullies into running away and if they try to fight him he will put them down quickly. (Think Guy Gardener) After he probably would check to see if the kid needs help and then would vanish.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Were there signs of the coming dictatorship of the empire during Palpatine's first term as chancellor before the separatist conflict?

When could the first signs be seen if one payed attention?

[Assistant] Oh sure. The Senate had been declining in power for years, democracy was dying, corrupt factions like the Trade Federation were amassing power.  Even the Jedi were playing politics instead of policing the galaxy. The rise of a corrupt authoritatarian like Palps was inevitable.


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

[User]
[Aliens] Why such a incompetent force?

It was pretty clear from the start of Aliens that losing the colony was not an unexpected result of building it right near where they knew the Xenomorphs were nesting. The fact that they were studying the creatures and probably sent tons of reports to Weyland also would of keyed them in on what might of happened when the colony suddenly went dark.

However, my question is...why such an odd response team? You had an incompetent leader with no actual training in the field, and a gaggle of oddballs that looked like they were either pulled from the court martialing line or were yanked outta bed and shoved into a sleeping pod.

Weyland clearly has the pull, they clearly have the knowledge of what happened out there and what might of became of the colonist and yet they send an unlucky gaggle of folks with no idea what they're up against minus Ripley.

[Assistant] It's to underline just how unprepared and outmatched they were for what they were going to find - because that information had been kept from them.  Probably the worst thing they had ever gone up against prior to this was mere humans.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a machine make something cold

I understand the highschool basics of the physics behind energy and heat, so the concept of a machine turning electrical energy into heat is easy to wrap my mind around. The idea of something making something cold was explained to me as an energy deficit being fixed, like if you put ice into water, the ice takes the heat and energy out of the water until the ice turns into water also. How does something like a freezer do this to the air inside? How does a machine receive energy to then take that energy away?

[Assistant] A freezer is effectively heating up the outside air with the heat that exists in the freezer by absorbing and concentrating and moving that heat around via thermodynamics and fluids under different states and pressures.  Basically, the most basic principle is that for a change of state to occur requires a lot more energy than simply raising its temperature.  So as a liquid changes to a gas, it must absorb a lot more energy than simply warming up the liquid.  Now, take a particular substance that changes from liquid to gas at a convenient temperature and pressure range for your application, and squeeze it (in liquid form) into a low-pressure space where it is forced to become a gas because of the pressure.  Changing to a gas requires a lot of energy, so it absorbs all the heat around it to do so.  Now as a hot gas it can move to a different location where it is cooled down and becomes a liquid again. This is called the refrigeration cycle. And its how air conditioners and freezers work.


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

[User] [LOTR & many other fantasy worlds] Why has there been no technological development in the hundreds of years chronicled?

[Assistant]
Technological development happens at an accelerating pace. It's tempting to think of a century as an eternity in an age when things we thought of as preposterous as children are mundane today. But how different was life, really, between, say, 3300 BC and 3100 BC?

Also keep in mind that the nature of Middle Earth is that of a decaying world. This is by the design of the Ainur. It is gradually transforming from a raw, malleable state, close to the mind of it's creator, into a gradually diminished, arthritic echo of its original idea. Like a melancholy, fading symphony, incidentally.

Lastly consider that the nature of enchantment in Middle Earth is to protect or to influence. As a result, there is little opportunity for the diffusion of power from those who already possess it to those who don't - clever tricks are of little significance in the face of unknowable influence which is sourced in the creation of the world. So what developments occur don't have much occasion to build on themselves and lead to further opportunity.

That said, the world is not without its innovations, although they might not be recognizable as such to those who are accustomed to thinking of novelty in modern terms. Take the Silmarils, or the sun and the moon, or the rings of Sauron, or the steganography used to protect the entrances to certain places, or blades which notify their wielders of enemy presence. These are all the devices of intelligent folk, used to solve practical problems.

Finally, few among us know what the future holds. It is said that the next age will be one of Men, creatures whose nature is not to preserve and delight, as do the Elves and Dwarves, but to expand and conquer. Perhaps their necessities will prove mother to inventions we have not, and have not needed to, imagine.


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

[User]
CMV: Unschooling is a terrible practice that sets children up for failure

My view is that unschooling results in children who have large gaps in functional knowledge required for full participation in higher education, the workplace, and generally in society. It is a disservice to children to withhold the socialization and learning that comes with a formal education. Furthermore, most of the activities and play that comes with unschooling can be done outside of regular school hours. Essentially, by withholding a formal education, you are taking opportunities from your child.

[Assistant] Define 'unschooling' for the group in order for people to be able to try and change your view. You also need to deal with the fact that 'schooled' children have 'large gaps in functional knowledge...'.


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

[User] How can we sing correctly if we hear our own voice different than it actually sounds?

[Assistant]
The difference between the actual sound of your voice and the the way you hear it is a difference in *timbre*.

Timbre is what differentiates how we perceive different sounds. It's differences in timbre that help us differentiate between the voices of two people. When you hear a piano and a guitar play the same pitch at the same volume, the difference you hear between the two sounds is also a difference in *timbre*.

Timbre is different from *pitch* which is what affects singing in tune. Because the difference in how we hear our own voice is a difference of *timbre*, and not *pitch*, it does not affect our ability to sing in tune.


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

[User] [Star Trek] What are some common strategies for the Kobayashi Maru simulation?

[Assistant]
Common strategies?

You might as well ask me to give you the scientific numerical breakdown of the Lourve?

The KM hasn't been a standard test for ages.

No its about adapting, improvising, innovating, exploiting and creating.

We don't mark you for completing it, we mark you for how far you will go. For how much you can push the confines of your situation to come out on top? Hacking the program isn't even an offence, but a good hack shows us that you know what its like to be forewarned, and the level of ICE we've got on the network alone requires some serious genius to break. If you hack it to win, thats fine because you chose your path to completion based on your ability to game the defining controls yourself.

Winning and losing are pointless when you are destined to fail, in these circumstances something changes. Old veterans have seen it, anyone who's come out of the rough end of an almost last stand have lived it. That moment where you can line up all of the variables and not be restricted by false barriers like chain of command or rules of engagement.

So what if you jettison several drive cores to wipe out the whole fleet and the KM? Or maybe trying to actively break the computer security on the Klingon FFI beacons so they fire on each other? Heard about the cadet who used an oddball theory on warp drives to destabilize localised warp space cause the incoming warping ships to split at the molecular level when they tried to enter the radius of the effect? He's now in top secret R&D. One plucky cadet convinced the bogies to defect to the Federation.

Hack the system, play out some kind of cultural blackmail, push the limits of our engineering and science, feint and decieve them, fight to the bitter end by adapting and making up tactics on the fly to cope with the oncoming doom. These are all how you pass the KM.

Do you know how you fail the test?

You try to save the KM by the book.

Anyone can follow SOP, thats the bloody point of it, but the KM exists because SOP will fail. When we setup the KM for a new batch we don't want to see textbooks answers we want to see what fresh new minds do when given the impossible to achieve and thrashed and thrashed until they damn well succeed.


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

[User] ELI5:why are some pets freaked out by their reflection in a mirror, and some aren't phased at all?

[Assistant]
They can't identify themselves by just looks. Dogs and cats rely heavily on smell for example, but a mirror doesn't smell. You see the shape of a dog, but not the smell of a dog, so no identity. It's like the slenderman, the shape of a man but no face.

They just can't understand that they're seeing themselves, but many just eventually stop caring. When you walk by something weird every day, eventually you'll just like, meh, whatever.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter: HBP] Draco Malfoy wins the Felix Felicis potion, not Harry. Does this lead to Voldemort's success? If not, what are the major impacts?

If Draco Malfoy managed to brew a better 'Liquid Death' than Harry Potter, would the change in events lead to a world in which Voldemort wins?

[Assistant] Draco and his Family don't appear to actually want to be serving Voldemort once he returned in person, so maybe Draco with liquid luck aids him in finding a way to escape Voldemort instead of killing Dumbledore which Draco doesn't really want to do "If i don't he'll kill me". The major impact would be Harry and Dumbledore not finding out how many horcruxes Voldey made from Slughorns memories.


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

[User]
Why do the left and right sides of the spinal cord cross before joining the brain?

Is there a biological/evolutionary advantage to the flip-flop of having the left motor center control the right side of the body, and vice versa?

Thanks in advance for your answer!

[Assistant] I don't have an answer, but one important thing to keep in mind is, sometimes the right question isn't "is there an advantage" but, "is there a disadvantage." While crossing may or may not have any specific advantage, as long as there isn't a specific disadvantage it wouldn't necessarily be selected against.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why does the sound of a knife/fork screeching on a dinner plate sound so terrible to us humans?

I almost want to cry after having heard it - but why?

[Assistant]
The two main theories are:
1) The sound reminds us of the sounds/calls a lot of primates and apes make when they are scared, in stress or alarmed. It could be hardcoded in our DNA to react to this sound with negative emotion, stress and fear
2) The typical frequencies produced are the same that can give rise to resonance in the ear canal, thereby amplifying the sound to unpleasant or even painful levels.


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

[User] ELI5: How do the kidneys know the difference between toxic metals and essential metals when filtering the blood and excreting the toxic ones into urine?

[Assistant]
They don't know anything.  The kidneys are filters.  Every substance has different density, shapes and other properties, all of which can be used to filter things out or put them back in.  It's like sifting flour.  Anything too big or the wrong shape can't fit and thus gets sifted out.

And sometimes they put things back in, such as minerls like iron which are need in small amounts but harmful in less amounts.  Those get put back in in the right amounts.  It's all biological eqivilants of sifters, sorting machines, and measuring cups, only on a much smaller scale.


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

[User]
[Music Videos] In Micheal Jackson's Thriller, who is starring in the movie Thriller? What is the relationship of the two worlds to each other?

Michael Jackson's classic music video Thriller begins with a couple driving a car which runs out of gas. The couple are dressed as 1950s high school students and talk of going steady before the man who looks exactly like Michael Jackson turns into a werewolf. His name is also Micheal.

The video then shows that this is just a movie in a theater. There is an audience watching this werewolf movie that includes another couple, that also includes a guy that looks like Michael Jackson but this time with a ~~different~~ **SAME** woman. The woman is scared of the werewolf movie and asks to leave. They leave and outside we see that the werewolf movie they were watching is called THRILLER.

As they walk home, this second Michael Jackson turns into a zombie and does a lot of zany dances. At the end of the video it turns out the zombie stuff was fake. Except as Micheal turns around one last time he now has werewolf eyes again, and a guy (Vincent Price) laughs evily.

1. Are zombie Micheal and Werewolf Micheal the same guy?

2. What is Thriller? A movie, song, video or dance? Is Thriller a state of being?

3. What is real and what is fake in the music video?

I've always been confused by this music video. Thank you for discussing it with me.

**edit**: I know it was Vincent Price. I didn't think that part was important. Corrected for the offended fans of Price.

**edit 2**: I have just been informed that the woman in the 1950s movie and the woman who walks home are the SAME WOMAN! aka Ola Ray aka Rancor-Food Dancer in Return of the Jedi. Awesome!

[Assistant]
Most reasonable conclusion is that real Michael is an actor who've played a werewolf in the movie, hence why he's so excited to have his girlfriend see it. Since it's a relatively low-brow horror flick, he's clearly doesn't reap much fame or recognition, so he can just sit in the cinema.

Unfortunately, when they're going home and he's entertaining her with his patented moves, a horrible undead curse falls on town and claims his soul. His girlfriend survives by running for her life, until a break of dawn lessens the influence of the curse. But her final fate is still in question @\_@


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

[User]
[MCU] What if Loki's staff did work but....?

Before the invasion, Loki's tries to brainwash Tony but it fails, but what if the staff hit anywhere else and he turns. Would Jarvis still respond to a brainwashed Tony? Would Jarvis try to lock evil Tony in suit and/or try to undue the brainwashing?

[Assistant]
I dont think Jarvis was allowed the level of autonomy to sincerely refuse Tony anything, he ceratinly obeyed when Tony was very drunk or high when tinkering, so why not?  And in terms of knowing friend-or-foe, remember when the suits almost killed pepper because they know 'extremis meant bad-guy'?

I think Jarvis would back up Tony, the admin/prime-user, no matter what side he was on.  At this point Jarvis a brilliant intelligent agent, but wanst sentient.


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

[User]
How do we designate stellar areas?

Just some curiosity about the correct terms.

If you're speaking about a planet it's: Earth in the Sol system.

How do we differentiate locations on moons of planets?

Is it "Moon base 6 on Luna near Earth?"

Or  "Moon base 6 in the Earth neighborhood?"

[Assistant] I don't think there's any standard, since there's no need for one yet. All the moons in our solar systems are named, so we can use those, and we can't detect moons of exoplanets yet (we might have one or two, but not enough for much of a naming system, amd certainly none where we know anuthing about surface features). I'd guess that we'll just use normal astronomy names, ie an id number based on the project that detected it once we start finding more.


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

[User]
[Jurassic Park] How would 2 scientists with no experience in living animals sway the opinion of investors to approve the parks safety?

Alan Grant and Ellie Saddler were paleontologist (Ellie was, technically, just an undergrad in the novel) and Ian Malcolm was a mathematician. The insurance company and investors were concerned about the safety of the guests and animals being properly contained after the death of the worker; so why was the opinion to three scientists with no experience in animal containment and security going to sway their opinion? Wouldnt they want to hear from high-tech experts, major zoo engineers, and wildlife experts?

[Assistant] Hammond didn't hire them to give expert advice. He hired them to back him up. He likely knew actual experts wouldn't agree with him, but thought people without the expertise wouldn't notice the problems and would back him up.


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

[User] [LotR:TFotR] Gandalf says that the ring would hold terrible power if he took it. What kind of power, and what would happen ?

[Assistant]
Gandalf is one of the few people who has enough inherent power and force of will that he stands a good chance of being able to overthrow Sauron using the One Ring. Even if Gandalf just carried the Ring around with him, not intending to use it, he would know that he *could* defeat Sauron with it. The Ring would use his goodness and desire to protect others to persuade him that mastering the Ring is the only way to save everyone from Sauron. But to fully master the Ring and defeat Sauron would, because of the Ring's inherently corrupting nature, completely subvert his original intentions. While he would still *seem* good to most people and might even keep his good intentions for a while, it wouldn't stop with defeating Sauron. He would have to rule over everyone, for their own good, to protect all the peoples of Middle-earth. And between his own power and the power Sauron put into the Ring, there probably aren't many people who would have a chance of stopping him. Eventually you'd end up with the Middle-earth version of a dystopian police state. Some relevant quotes:

> Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).

-

> Thus while Sauron multiplied evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do some heavy products come in thin cardboard packaging (like soda cans), but some light products come in stout cardboard packaging (like toddler applesauce pouches)?

Most packaging seems pretty unintuitive!

Edit: great answers everyone, thanks!

[Assistant]
Soda cans by themselves typically are great at staying erect.  They are also pressurized which helps hold the load.  So, the box basically only needs to hold the weight of the cans so a person can carry them around.

The applesauce pouches are much more flaccid so the packaging has to prevent the pouches from squishing down and ejaculating their contents everywhere.


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

[User] Are Heideggers ideas concerning phenomenological ontology still taken seriously today?

[Assistant] Yes, definitely. His ontologizing of phenomenology made a huge impact on Continental thought. You can trace it through him to Derrida to Catherine Malabou. There are other impacts, too, but that' just to give a sense of how you get from the 1920s to now.


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

[User]
What makes our hair and facial hair never stop growing when pubic and arm-pit hair stop at certain length?

Bonus question: How about animal furs?

[Assistant]
Basically, there are different kinds of hair that grow--and more importantly for our question here--fall out at different rates.

Body hair falls out at about the same rate new body hair can grow to the same length to replace it so it tends to stay a "constant" length. Hair on the head falls out much slower than body hair, so it can grow much longer.

Fur on animals is typically the same as body hair on humans, though some animals--dogs and cats--go through rhythmic periods of hair loss called shedding.


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

[User]
[Teen Titans Go] What Earth is this taking place on?

I'm aware that there are multiple Earths (some may even say infinite), but the databases don't mention the Earth this version of Jump City is in. Do we have any idea?

[Assistant] Nothing concrete has been mentioned.  The Teen Titans Go! team are clearly aware that there's an alternate-Earth with better, more serious versions of them, as well as another alternate-Earth where they can meet their voice actors, writers, and production crew.  All we know is that it's a younger, sillier version of the original Teen Titans tv universe, which they're aware of because of Control Freak and 4th wall breaks.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why doesn't Darth Vader order all TIE Fighter Squadrons to defend the Death Star at the end of A New Hope?

I know Grand Moff Tarkin didn't want to send them out because he believed that doing so would make the Empire look weak, but Vader has a high position than him. Vader certainly wasn't as ignorant of a rebel victory, as he even had his own personal squadron fight. Why doesn't Vader just overrule Tarkin's orders?

[Assistant]
Because he wasn't allowed to.

While he was on the Death Star, he was under orders to obey Tarkin's every order as both humiliation and punishment. The Emperor had been displeased by Vader beforehand and temporarily stripped him of his normal command, while giving Tarkin a reputation boost by putting his second in command, the Dark Lord, under Tarkin's thumb.


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

[User] ELI5: Why don't we just spend billions (or trillions) to desalinate ocean water? Wouldn't this battle rising oceans AND water shortages?

[Assistant]
Well, no, it wouldn't battle rising oceans.

It would take care of a water shortage, and it is used in areas that have both money and a chronic shortage of fresh water -- Dubai is a great example.

But for the areas that don't have a chronic shortage, like California, it's not a great investment. Why? Because droughts end, and when they do, you've got billions and billions of dollars tied up in desalinization that can't economically compete with free water from the sky.

The other issue, for places like California, is that almost all of the water usage is away from the ocean, which means the *extremely* energy costly maneuver of sending water uphill.


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

[User] [Ian M Banks Culture Series] What do Culture orbitals actually look like? ...and why are they considered such an elegant form of habitation compared to terrestrial, ringworlds etc. ?

[Assistant]
Orbitals are generally ring-shaped, much like ringworlds, but they are smaller than ringworlds.  The ring shape allows them to generate artificial gravity by spinning the ring.  Generally there is a hub station in the center, rather than a sun.

As for why they're more elegant....

- Ringworlds are inefficiently large, requiring the mass of multiple solar systems to construct a single world.  A ringworld is generally constructed around a star because the civilization still requires the power output of the star to sustain its civilization.  In contrast, Orbitals are constructed from the mass available in a single solar system, and the Culture derives its energy from the grid.

- Orbitals are capable of supporting more life than a planet for the same amount of mass.  The Culture also tends to treat naturally habitable planets like a nature preserve.  They're something to visit, not something to live on.

- Cultureniks are pretty egotistical, and tend to consider the solution they've arrived at to be the best solution to any given problem, regardless of whether its *really* the best.


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

[User]
Has the evolution of mammals and of the human race been a steady progression of increasing body size, or were there periods when our ancestral lineage underwent significant decreases in body size?

Can the possibility be ruled out that we have direct ancestors which were larger than human beings? I cannot think of a particular epoch in which this could have occurred. There could perhaps have been a large synapsid in our lineage, or perhaps there was a very large fish.

[Assistant] There are lots of extinct megafauna larger than any living relatives: woolly mammoths, direwolves, saber-tooth cats, ground sloths, giant wombats. These aren't direct ancestors of modern species, but they are older, larger relatives.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Russia divided into several Oblasts, Krai, and Republics instead of just states or provinces, and what is the difference between a Krai and Oblast?

[Assistant]
It's just the Russian equivalent of a State or Providence. They can be used interchangeably.

Many people do that realize this but many American states are legally called commonwealths. A commonwealth is no different than a state but the name was chosen to be used in place of state. For example Massachusetts is a Commonwealth, New York is a State, both are considered defined legal areas for local jurisdiction.


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

[User]
ELI5: What difference did St. John Paul make to history and to the Catholic Church?

I just read today that Pope John Paul II was just made a saint, and I realize that I've been hearing all my life that he was an important pope and world figure without understanding why.

[Assistant]
He was the first (and so far only) Pope from a Communist country (i.e. Poland), and he devoted a lot of time and energy to using his position and influence to attack that political ideology. When the Polish anti-Communist movement *Solidarnosc* emerged in the early 1980s the Pope officially blessed the movement with his support, both before and after its suppression by the Polish authorities.

Although *Solidarnosc* didn't directly lead to the events that brough about the end of European Communism in 1989, it certainly helped show people that the system wasn't invulnerable, and knowing that the Catholic church would support them would certainly have been encouraging to other people.

Besides his anti-Communist activities, John Paul II also tried to create links between the leaders of the Catholic Church and those of the other major Abrahamic religions. In particular he tried to create good relations with the Orthodox churches, and with the major branches of both Islam and of Judaism.


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

[User]
ELI5: If electricity returns in a circuit, how does it ever actually get "used"?

If I plug in my lamp into the socket, and the power runs through my bulb, creates light and heat, but then the electrons return back into the socket, how does it get used up at all? Are some electrons lost as heat and energy?

[Assistant] The electrons in electricity are not like gasoline in an engine, they are more like water in a water wheel. Their movement provides the power but they aren't consumed in the process. There needs to be a return path (or a path to ground) in order for them to flow because they can't just bunch up at the other end. Like the water in a dam which is let over a water wheel to drive it, the electrons flowing are used to do work and the energy is derived from the greater potential of their arrangement being released, not because they are themselves a "fuel".


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

[User] ELI5: Why are some commercials on TV so much louder than other commercials or the TV show itself?

[Assistant] Technically they have the same peak levels. Thats the only thing the FCC regulates volume-wise. TV shows dont operate at peak volume the whole time.... that explosion or fight scene might be loud but its only for a second. The commercial airs at that same peak volume but for the whole commercial... and for the why? To get your attention.


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

[User]
Why do we sometimes have blurry vision when we wake up?

Is this something that only happens to people with glasses, or is this an occurrence for most people?

EDIT: Sorry, if this came off as anecdotal.

[Assistant] Eyes have some amounts of oil and mucus on them, and when adequately moisturized by the tear ducts we see fine through it.  When tears dry up (which can happen overnight), the oil and mucus can appear somewhat blurry.


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

[User] ELI5: Are the stars we see in the night sky part of another galaxy or are they on their own in space?

[Assistant] Without using any equipment, pretty much everything you could see in the sky will be part of our galaxy (Milky Way). Andromeda, the closest large galaxy to ours, is sometimes visible as a small smudge in the sky and that will be the only thing NOT in our galaxy visible with the naked eye.


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

[User]
[Naruto] If Naruto's shadow clone poops, then disappears, does the poop also disappear?

In a similar token, if a shadow clone eats something, then disappears, does the food then go into Naruto's stomach?

[Assistant] Difficult to explain but the poop disappear (or is divided in tiny bits) and the food is collected. Since when Naruto trains the fatigue is shared and multiplied when the shadows disappear because he uses more chakra, food should be assimilated in all the shadows stomach and when they disappear all the food should appear in Naruto stomach (result: Naruto explode). Other possibility: the shadows disappear and the food partially digested in their stomach fall on the ground. Third possibility: if the shadows digest everything the shared energy will be transmitted/given to Naruto.


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

[User]
[Gremlins] Why are Gizmos offspring bad when he was not?

The first water droplets turn out crazy, hyper, cruel, and sadistic mogwai. The one that the science prof pops is much the same. Later when Stripe jumps into the pool, his offspring are not switched back to being good.

[Assistant]
We see 7 Mogwai in the first movie (I just watched it again tonight).  Gizmo, Stripe, the other 4 at Billy's house, and the one given to the science teacher.

Gizmo is nice.  Stripe is mean.  The other 5 just seem to go with the flow.  When they're around Stripe, they're willing to follow his lead.  But when Billy takes one to the teacher, it's pretty well behaved (he doesn't say if that one is Gizmo or not).  It even says "uh oh" when Billy holds a water droplet over it.  Then when the other Mogwai grows, the two play with each other by tapping on the wall of the box.  Science teacher's Mogwai seems pretty nice as well, until he pokes it with a needle and draws blood.

I'd say that young Mogwai tend to follow strong personalities.  Left on their own, most will probably be fairly nice.  Maybe give them some time to grow older, and they will be like Gizmo.  But put a young Mogwai with a mean one, and it'll just do as the mean one does.


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

[User]
[CA:WS] Why did they build Project Insight in the middle of the Potomac?

Surely Shield has facilities in the Utah desert that would have been much cheaper and more secret, and also would have been better for public goodwill.

[Assistant]
Spoilers (Obviously).  The goal for project insight was to eliminate threats to HYDRA.  Where do you think the biggest threats were going to be as soon as it was launched?  SHIELD and the several members of the US government.  Building the project in Utah might make people question why a helicarrier was headed for DC.

Building right next to SHIELD headquarters also allowed HYDRA to ensure that the same agents that were working to infiltrate SHIELD at the top levels could also ensure that Insight was running smoothly, without having to travel back and fourth.  HYDRA was still a minority in SHIELD, so having all agents in the one place where a single strike would be most effective was important.

The Potomac was a location where the biggest threats to the success of an operational Insight were, and HYDRA wanted to be able to direct the project while infiltrating the highest ranks of SHIELD.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is there an association between teachers and apples?

Also, I've noticed it's specifically red apples.

[Assistant]
Long ago, teachers were paid by the families of students, rather than the government.  Some families could not afford to pay the teachers, so they made arrangements to give the teachers excess crops from their farms instead.  Apples were a common crop used for this purpose.

So why is it an apple instead of any other fruit or vegetable?  One idea is that apples used to be used for making cider, which adults liked, and after the temperance (anti-alcohol) movement, apples' reputation switched to that of a healthy food.  ("An apple a day keeps the doctor away.")  This kept apples as a commonly accepted thing to give to a teacher.  Another explanation is that apples are associated with the Tree of Knowledge from the biblical story of Adam and Eve, so apples could be viewed as a symbol of knowledge, which would be appropriate for an educator.


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

[User]
[W40K]For a 30,000 year old super genius the Emperor sure seemed to make a lot of bad choices. Out of this many, many, many bad decisions what is the worst one that he made? After not killing Horus quickly enough, obviously.

And if not the worst, what are just some examples of some of the particularly bad choices that he made?

[Assistant] Creating a few superbeings designed to lead unstoppable legions in conquest of the stars, giving them virtually unlimited authority, and then being a huge dick to about half of them and an *absolute cock* to the other half has to rank pretty high up there.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How would Palpatine react and what would he do if he was permanently stripped of his powers?

I'm a godlike reality warper more powerful than the entire Force itself and I just removed Sidious of all his power, permanently. All attempts for reversing the process will be completely nullified, there's no loopholes or ways around it. From now on, Palpatine is just a normal old man, forever.

Why did I do that? Because I'm curious for 'what if' scenarios. Palpatine is a very dark sith lord. All he wanted, all he really cared about was to gain power for the sake of power. Always becoming stronger was more than just a passion or even obsession for Sidious.

So I'm curious about how such a man would live the rest of his life. What will he do now that he's depowered?

[Assistant]
He'd try to find every loophole he can think of or game the mechanism blocking or removing his power and suffer a complete mental breakdown without hope of recovery when none of it works. In his public life as Emperor/Chancellor/Senator he suddenly loses his ability to cope with the work load, as he can no longer subtly influence people with the force and loses a degree of vitality that certain force meditation techniques bestow (this is more of a legends thing but it's substantial and can stave off tiredness or any need for rest for extended periods) and the additional stress will accelerate his mental breakdown.

If he's smart he'll retire and find a deep dark corner of the galaxy to die in as he tries to get his power back, if he isn't he'll try to force lightening Yoda/Vader (depending on what stage of his life he's in) just to try and force the force out of him in a high pressure situation.


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

[User]
People engaged in philosophy have a moral obligation to engage and refute "pseudo-philosophers"?

I teach philosophy and one thing I noticed among my co-workers is that they don't take some people seriously because they produce bad philosophy. In the US, unless I'm mistaken, this happens a lot with Ayn Rand. Here in Brazil, this usually happens with people that try to critique Marx without even touching his books (we had a dictatorship period that started in 1964 whose objective was to 'protect the nation from communism', so you can imagine from where these people came from). They also produce really bad philosophy. To take them seriously sounds like giving to them more than they deserve (or at least that's what I understand from my co-workers).

But the problem we're facing here is that one of those guys, who produces really bad philosophy, became popular. We're experiencing a political scenario that is very polarized right now and one of these guys became popular. One of the reasons for such a thing is that there is no one willing to publicly debate and contradict him, so his pseudo-philosophy finds space to flourish.

Is it okay to ignore people like him? Do people engaged in philosophy have a moral obligation to engage and contradict people like him?

Thanks in advance and I apologize if my English sounds strange, it's not my natural language.

[Assistant]
I am not sure many philosophers would be very effective at "engaging" and "contradicting" popular public figures.

Notice for instance how hard it is for scientists to get the public to understand global warming or other issues. These are complicated issues and people tend to believe what they want to believe rather than what's actually true, and you can't help that just by telling the truth, because telling the truth doesn't change what they want to believe.

Even if you *can* fix it by telling the truth, philosophers might not be particularly good at engaging in this sort of process. One reason bad philosophy can flourish is that it's simpler to say stupid things than it is to say correct things. If you want to get things right, you have to be very complicated. People don't like complicated things. They prefer simple answers. Good philosophers can't really give simple answers to complicated questions, but terrible philosophers can. So, terrible philosophers have an easier time of it.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are the warm states seemingly the ones that are more socially conservative?

except for California, it seems that the states that have warm weather are also the ones that tend to be more socially conservative (anti gay marriage, strong Christian influences, etc...)

[Assistant] The climate is related insofar as being more suitable for agricultural activity, which means a rural lifestyle, and there's a pretty clear correlation between urbanization (or the lack of it) and political ideology.


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

[User] ELI5: How does herpes work? Why/how does it occasionally make wounds appear, and why cant we just kill it/won't it just die?

[Assistant]
After the initial infection, the virus lives dormant in nerve cells and can periodically reactivate.

It does a few things to evade your immune system, like interfering with a process that normally allows virally infected cells to tell white blood cells, "hey, I've got a virus inside me. Come kill me!" It also interferes with other processes that would normally cause the infected cell to die.

When it's hanging dormant inside your cells, it's just a little loop of DNA floating around inside them. Lots of viruses are very difficult to kill because of this. Most antivirals are designed to interfere with virus's ability to replicate in some way but destroying a segment of viral DNA or RNA without damaging your cells' DNA/RNA is pretty challenging to do.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it bad if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours?

[Assistant] other than the fact that its an inconvenience - having blood remain in the penis for such a long time (blood rushes to the penis during an erection) causes blood to become deprived of oxygen because its not being circulated. also causes damage to the organ.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Do Force Ghosts truly retain their free will? If so does that open up the possibility of one turning to the Dark Side?

[Assistant]
Becoming a Force ghost is something you **cannot** do if you are dark sided. It is straight up impossible. To become a Force ghost one must acknowledge and yet reject the dark side within oneself.

Legends speak of dark side ghosts, but these are often just illusions or echoes of the past, or even more akin to what we would call liches - spirits bound to an object or location with little to no ability to affect anything outside of what they are bound to.


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

[User]
CMV: Exams should utilize multiple choice less often

I mean the issue is that multiple choice oftentimes encourage students to cram, memorize and regurgitate rather then learn. In certain subjects multiple choice is fine when you cannot just come to the correct answer by guessing or using process of elimination (or by memorizing everything before the test and regurgitating it on the test).

I feel that multiple choice tests doesn't necessarily measure how well you're learning as well as how deep you're learning. It does not necessarily tell you how well you're able to apply the info or to seen connections between pieces of information. It does not tell you whether or not you have the skill set of applying the info or to figure things out. All because you score well on a multiple choice test doesn't necessarily mean that you understood the information or actually learned the info well. Learning involves the ability to apply and see connections, or to have a deep understanding over the issue or else you aren't actually learning (instead you're just memorizing).

So to sum it all up, it does not necessarily provide students a way of demonstrating their knowledge and what they're learning. It does not measure understanding, instead it measures memorization.

Another issue is theirs's a higher chance that a person would be able to guess things correct based on intuition and process of elimination. For example a lot of multiple choice tests has only a limited amount of answers and the person could easily eliminate some of them due to how silly they are. Because of the limited amount of answers their's a higher chance for a person to guess something correct.

Multiple choice tests also doesn't necessarily even measure how well you retain info, as sometimes you can answer a question correct with only a vague memory of something and the answers provided that you have to choose from may provide a hint to the true answer of the question.

I think tests should be more short answer and analysis and less multiple choice.

[Assistant] Multiple choice is so that teachers can grade all the scores without being biased. With multiple choice you are either right or wrong, but with word problems the teacher could be strict or not, or the teacher could even be wrong. It also takes more time for the teacher to mark.


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

[User]
[Witcher] What do Witcher medallions do and how do they work?

We know that they are meant to warn the wearer of danger and magic by agitating. But how? I can understand it responding to a magical aura by wobbling or something because that is simple. But at a few points Geralt's amulet manages to warn him or more physical dangers, like being ambushed, but how in the hell does that work?

We also know that they are made from silver and infused with elemental energy at what can only be assumed to be a layline, but also that a replica can be made from crystal by a sorceress with presumably limited experience.

[Assistant]
>The witcher medallion is not only an insignia of our profession, it is also one of its tools. It has numerous useful capabilities that are accessible, of course, only to one who possesses the necessary knowledge and training. First of all, it reacts to the presence of sorcerous auras in the immediate surroundings, making us aware of nearby spellcasting, active illusions, or magical creatures. It also warns the owner of sudden dangers, thus providing an additional moment to react. Keep in mind, though, that the medallion is not infallible. A very strong magical aura, such as those found in Places of Power or during the solstices, can provoke aberrant reactions. In large cities, where people widely use simple magical amulets or sorcerous alarm systems to protect their homes, coin, or ruttish wives, the medallion can also behave abnormally.
>

As to how it works, the explanation can't really become more detailed than "magic". It is a magically active item, and magically programmed to give reaction to the approach of appropriate things.


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

[User] ELI5: If my skin is constantly replacing itself, how do things like scars, moles and tattoos remain permanent?

[Assistant]
Those things all remain for different reasons.

For a scar: Think of your skin like a weave of cloth. Some fibers go - and others go |.  When you get a large enough break in your skin (depth) the fibers will reach across to knit back together. But, all that new skin is basically going in the same direction, rather than in the weave. When they do that, all is well with the world and your skin doesn't really try to get it go be perfect. It's good enough, which means biologically there is no reason for excess resources to be spent "fixing" it.

For a tattoo, the ink is below the layer that is making your epidermis, but above the other layers. So, skin above is constantly pushing out, but the ink is just a wee bit too deep to get pushed out with it. Tattoos do fade over time, slowly.

Moles are often much more complex than just areas of skin. Then can be, and often are, malignant melanocytes, basically the thing that makes the melanin (color stuff) in your skin. Your skin wouldn't "know" to cover it or destroy it, as it is skin tissue that is just not doing its job the right way.


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

[User]
[X-Men] The original timeline was altered starting in the seventies. But the events of "The Wolverine" were caused by Logan saving a man in WW2, well before DOFP. So, hypothetically, shouldn't the events of The Wolverine have happened in the new timeline as well?

The original X-Men movies were all scrapped from the timeline. That's without question. But even in the new super happy everyone lives timeline, the soldier Logan saved still had to eventually grow old and desire his immortality, leading to Wolverine being summoned to Japan and yadda yadda yadda. So basically I'm asking if some slightly alternate version of The Wolverine still occurred, with there of course being minor differences like Logan still being friends with Scott on facebook rather than visiting his grave.

[Assistant] It's entirely possible that the events played out similarly. But, Logan wouldn't have been wandering around the Yukon drunk, full of regret over killing Jean. He'd likely have been living at the Mansion when Yukio came looking for him. He may not have agreed to go to Japan, or he may not have gone alone, both of which would completely change how the events played out.


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

[User] ELI5: How can Scientist view the Atoms of something with an Electron Microscope without seeing the Atoms that make up the lenses of the Microscope?

[Assistant] Electron microscopes do not see things in the same sense as a microscope; it's an incredibly sensitive machine that detects the wavelengths of things with sensors. Think like echolocation or cat\fish whiskers. Electron microscopes don't have lenses.


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

[User]
I believe there is no advantage to living an ethical unselfish life.CMV.

I know people who do not have the smallest qualms about screwing over their best friends to get what they want.
I know guys who cheat on their pretty girlfriends about their one night stands with even prettier girls. these same guys who would steal from their own best friends and not show a sign of remorse when caught. this very same person would then hide an important piece of information about the job interview that both of you are supposed to be attending tomorrow.
No ethical qualms about anything whatsover. I see these people all around me.
I try my best to be as nice to people and helpful as i can, but when i see these scumbags out there, with all the success that i work so hard for, and it all just falls into their laps, i think why not just be like them.
CMV magic internet people.

[Assistant] Do you know any 60 year olds like that?  They tend to have health problems, no wife to care for them, undependable 'friends' like themselves, and poor relationships with their kids.  Initial success is easy to cheat your way into, but character is more likely to produce lasting success.


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

[User]
What part of honey is antimicrobial?

I've often heard that honey is antimicrobial, and it does seem to have an incredible shelf life for something that's mostly sugar and water. What is in honey that keeps it from going bad?

[Assistant] Oddly enough, it's the sugar. Honey is so concentrated that it exerts tremendous osmotic pressure, essentially meaning that it sucks the water right out of micro-organisms. In addition, it's fairly acidic, and contains some hydrogen peroxide. You do have to keep honey sealed, or it will absorb moisture and eventually spoil.


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

[User]
[LotR] What kind of feats would Gandalf be capable of were he to wear the One Ring?

Also what would a fight between Gandalf with the One Ring and Sauron without it be like?

[Assistant]
Gandalf would try to use the ring to do good, but it would ultimately corrupt him.  If Gandalf were to possess the one ring, he would start to do things that he would believe to be good for the people of Middle Earth, but the things he would be doing would really be evil.

Sauron is said to be the most powerful of all the maiar.  Even without the ring, Gandalf needed the help of the rest of The White Council to drive him out of Dol Guldur.  Gandalf vs. Sauron without the ring would end in Sauron winning.  Gandalf *with* the ring would probably defeat Sauron with ease.

Keep in mind that Gandalf with the ring wouldn't be as powerful as Sauron with the ring, because only Sauron can use it to its full potential.


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

[User]
Is the theory behind vapourizers (for cannabis, etc) scientifically sound?

Basically, how realistic is it to claim that a very specific heat level can separate a chemical like THC from plant matter without combusting the material? This is one of those subjects that it's very hard to find unbiased information on, and since I haven't taken chemistry since high school it would be cool to hear answers from some of the more scientifically-oriented folk on Reddit.

[Assistant] Yes, different chemicals have different phase transition temperatures.  THC boils at 315F and plant matter burns at approx. 450C.  Therefore by controlling temperature you can turn the THC into a vapor without burning the bud.[6]


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

[User]
ELI5 Why do dogs act unable to jump up on a piece of furniture and refuse to jump up on it until you pat/tap on the furniture to call them up?

My dogs are familiar with the furniture, they get up without me, and they know they are allowed on the furniture. However, when I'm sitting on my couch or bed, they will not jump up unless I pat/tap on the furniture to call them up.

It's not just my dogs being strange though, I've asked family members and friends and heard their dogs do the same thing.

What's the deal with this? Some sort of evolutionary trait?

[Assistant]
Dogs are a pack animal with a hierarchy mentality.  If they require your permission to leap onto the couch that you're sitting, then they most likely view you as the alpha.

If the dog is jumping onto the couch without permission, it would be their basically challenging you for the alpha spot.  By waiting for your permission before jumping up, they are proving their submissiveness.


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

[User]
CMV: I think Fifty Shades/Twilight type novels are no more harmful than any other media with flawed characters.

A common complaint about the Fifty Shades of Grey series and the Twilight series is that it will make impressionable young girls think that abusive behavior is acceptable.

To me, this is the same argument as saying that shooting games make kids violent. This is the same as saying Metallica influenced murderers, when murderers caused murders, not media. Even if the media is saying "steal this album" or "beat your wife", it is important for the individual to make the right decisions despite what the media surrounding them dictates they do, and for parents of society to parent instead of restricting the media and doing it for them.

To me, with this argument you take away the onus from the potential criminal, or someone who is going to take advantage of a naive young girl, and putting the onus on society to provide media that is squeaky clean and acceptable to everyone (a very tough goal).

Specifically, people who support this notion that it somehow creates poor, unacceptable behavior, are disconnecting their opinion from any situation in which media is blamed for other poor, unacceptable behavior.

This is within a society that has:
1. A movie rating system to prevent youngsters from seeing too much

2. TV that is shaped to be morally acceptable based on strict standards

And also, there is much more questionable, much more perverse books in the library/bookstore. Same goes for Netflix/movie theater.

I feel that by suggesting that we limit people's access to these movies and books to "save the children", that there could be censorship repercussions that aren't worth it.

Note: I am not commenting on the quality of these stories. I read the Twilight Saga many times, and I couldn't make it all the way through Fifty Shades series. I watched most of the Twilight movies. They are of decent to poor quality and artistically okay(at best). The infatuation/love/lust is what sells these novels. I don't care to argue over why they suck as a story outside of the potential societal implications.

[Assistant] I think 50 Shades is probably *more* damaging than Twilight because it presents itself as an intro to BDSM relationships for people who aren't already familiar with them.  Safe, healthy BDSM absolutely requires consent, trust, and the ability to say "no" to anything, at any time, and for any reason.  But in 50 Shades, Christian Grey is so controlling that Ana is *afraid* of him.  She worries about visiting family members and being allowed to drive.  She feels pressured into sex acts.  This isn't BDSM, it's an abusive relationship with about a million domestic violence red flags.  But 50 Shades is the first and *only* BDSM education that a lot of its readers will get.  They're going to think that fear is something normal and desirable that they'll just have to tolerate if they want kinky sex.  Twilight features unhealthy relationships too, but most people get their relationship education from more than one source.


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

[User] ELI5: How are animals born with instincts? That is, how is it possible that newborn animals are born with the knowledge to do things like go to the water (sea turtles) or swim to a certain location to mate/eat (orcas)?

[Assistant]
Evolution works because only the variations that work get a chance to reproduce and pass on their genes while the variations that are detrimental tend to die.

Baby sea turtles make a great snack for a lot of animals. Hatching sea turtles can go in any direction they want really. But the safest direction for them to go is the water.

Imagine thousands or hundreds of thousands of generations of sea turtle babies hatching year after year. Which ones have the best chance of survival? The ones attracted to the sea. They are the ones most likely to pass on the genes that gave them a preference for the sea.

The sea turtle babies that preferred to warm up in the sun a little likely all get eaten and don't pass on their genes.

A selective pressure like that will change animals over successive generations until the urge to make a run for the sea is very strong in all sea turtles. After all, the ones missing that urge never reproduced.

And not everything is simple instinct. Whales like orca's, often reproduce in very specific places because of their requirements. The reproduction of most animals is closely tied to the availability of food because reproducing is very resource-intensive for the parent and the young also need food.

So, in the case of whales, they're not instinctively driven to certain areas. They're instinctively driven to reproduce when they get the chance to glut on food. For orca's, that's when other whales, seals, penguins, fish etc. start to reproduce. Which in turn is often when the food for those animals start to reproduce.

Orcas tend to be very habitual. Different pods specialise in hunting different food sources. A pod can be traditional whale hunters, seal hunters or fish eaters despite all orca's being the same species. As such, they all share the instinct to reproduce when food is plentiful but where that is varies and is learned behaviour that young orcas pick up from their parents.


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

[User] [Magic 8-ball] How long do I have to wait when the Magic 8-ball responds with "Ask again later."

[Assistant] You have to go do something else and forget about the 8-ball. As soon as you think about it again, you can ask it again. You can't set up an alarm to remind you and you can't put the 8-ball somewhere obvious like on your dining table. It has to come naturally. The 8-ball will know if you try to cheat.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do so many Hollywood celebrities join Scientology?

[Assistant]
They're doing so less and less. More have been leaving than joining of late. But it has been a combination of factors.

Active recruitment by the church, going after and marketing to aspiring actors in Hollywood. No other church really does that, at least not to the same degree.

The more big names do it, the more small names see it as worth pursuing. "If it's done so much for Tom Cruise's career..."

Its "theology" appeals to the humanitarian instincts many artistic types have, and also, simultaneously, it appeals to their narcissism and self-importance.

Hollywood is nothing if not a pool of insecure people desperately in need of counseling, and Scientology provides a version of that through "auditing". All it is, really, is intense, vocalized introspection in the presence of another person. It can be a very helpful form of therapy.

Celebrities are treated well by the church, especially the very famous ones. The church provides community and a support system. Kinda like a mafia family. They'll have your back.

Yeah, I've been on a Scientology kick recently.


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

[User] What's the difference between banks and credit unions - is one really more safe than the other for our money?

[Assistant]
First, it's not a matter of safety; all of the savings accounts they offer are likely to be FDIC insured (ask!)

Banks are for profit.  They exist to make money off of you.

Credit unions are typically non-profit and customer-owned.  They do not exist to make money off of you.


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

[User]
Could something be truly instant?

Nothing is instant, right? Not even light is instant, and light is the fastest moving thing we know of, (except it isnt really because shadows are theoretically faster) so wouldnt that make nothing instant? But if I were to drop something, wouldnt it be instant? I mean like down to the smallest unit of measurement we know, would something falling that length theoretically move instantly because there is no way it could move faster, right?

[Assistant]
The answer depends on what you mean by "instant". Science only gives rigorous and precise answers when you ask rigorous and precise questions. Unfortunately it's a bit difficult to answer your question precisely because it's not clear what you have in mind when you're saying "instant".

It sounds like you may be asking "can anything move a nonzero distance in zero time." The answer is no, physical and/or information-carrying entities cannot traverse a nonzero distance in zero time. There is a universal speed limit for anything that carries information, and that speed limit is what we call "the speed of light" (historically named, because light was the first thing we found that travels at exactly the universal speed limit).

You mentioned shadows; that's an example of something that isn't a physical or information-carrying entity. The traditional example is "sweeping" a laser pointer or a shadow, but there are other, more abstract examples - the common element is that you can't use those things to actually transmit information across the "distance" involved.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are actions like kissing, hugging, holding hands specifically considered displays of affection? Specifically in terms of psychology or biology.

[Assistant] Hugging, holding hands, and kissing releases chemicals in our brain that are used for feel-good, bonding, and trust. Building these things are important for our survival and reproduction, because these things ensure that both the mom and dad will be together to take care of their offspring.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] The dark lord is already a known serial killer. Hes been able to split his soul into (at least) seven pieces and hes even rubbed elbows with some pretty influential people, even being related to a hogwarts founder! But now, hes obsessing over a minor...

Even if the ministry isnt going to confront him for murder, shouldnt they at least be concerned about the kid thing? What about his death eaters, even if they dont mind murdering the boy who lived, would it be difficult to take this dude seriously? Like, hey Voldemort, why dont we focus on the ministry and on other- more *important* matters? Why didnt he think to wait until Harry turned 18?

[Assistant]
First of all:

Nobody knew that Voldemort made Hocruxes

Secondly:

The first Time Voldemort met Harry Potter he seemingly died. That's why Harry is so famous in the first place. Nobody would question why you would prioritize going after the person that defeated you when they were barely a year old.

That person **must** be special in some way or form.


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

[User]
[Man of Steel] Why did Zod need to terraform Earth?

Couldn't he and his buddies just live on Earth with superpowers?  Kryptonians seem to have no trouble living on Earth.

[Assistant] Besides the fact that it would have taken decades for Zod and his followers to fully adapt, Zod wanted to rebuild Krypton because without it he has no purpose.  His purpose, the reason he was born, was to protect Krypton.  His coup d'tat against the Council was launched in order to protect Krypton.  Conquering Earth and renaming it Krypton simply isn't enough for him.  He wants it all back right down to the last blade of grass so that he can have purpose again.


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

[User]
Why do large airplanes retract their landing gear after taking off?

Recently there have been a handful of instances in which a plane had to be landed with landing gear that was stuck retracted. I am curious as to whether the benefits outweigh the risks.

[Assistant] The landing gear cause a tremendous amount of aerodynamic drag at the high air speeds attained in commercial aviation. As a result, with gear down an aircraft can't fly as fast and burns significantly more fuel (for a large passenger jet, roughly twice as much fuel for the same distance traveled). Given that a jet might burn more than 100000 liters of fuel in a given flight, that does not represent a negligible cost.


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

[User] ELI5: What exactly is a muscle knot and how do they form?

[Assistant]
Healthy muscles are supposed to be soft and squishy with lots of blood flowing through them. Sometimes parts of muscles become less soft (aka tense) for different reasons; could be injury, use it too much without resting, use your body asymmetrically, don't use the muscle enough, sit hunched over.

That part of the muscle gets firm because it can't relax on its own. Usually the pain is concentrated in a few spots and this is what many people call knots. Knots are not a technical term and body workers don't always use it, but that's what most people think about when they feel that lumpy part of the muscle that's sensitive to the touch. Trigger points are sometimes called knots.

There are lots of techniques to help it go away, but it takes time and attention because the tension didnt form overnight and healing it can't be done overnight.


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

[User] ELi5: How are artificial flavors made?

[Assistant] Without getting too detailed, scientists place the chemicals of the desired food that they want to replicate, into the food that they are trying to create. Flavors are normally very complex, with sometimes hundreds of different chemicals to create a single taste. But many flavors, particularly fruit flavors, have just one or a few dominant chemical components that make up most of the taste. They place these components into food in order to give it a certain flavor. For example, if you put Octyl Acetate -- what mainly creates the flavor of Oranges -- into a piece of bland gum, you have successfully created Orange flavored gum.


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

[User]
How are published review articles regarded as an undergrad, as opposed to primary/lab research?

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right place to ask, and thanks for reading!

Due to covid, I didn't get the chance to do real experimental research for my final year project in STEM-research. Therefore, I wrote a (narrative) review, and I got the opportunity to publish it in an academic journal. However, I didn't learn any real lab skills or experiments during undergrad (except a week-long course during which we did some basic pipetting)

How would you regard this if someone applied to an internship in a lab, or for an internship project? Would such an article still give the indication that someone could do research, even if there are no 'hard' research skills? Or would you prefer candidates who did more experimental stuff?

I'm applying to research internships currently, and I am trying to get an indication of where I stand/what I could apply to. Thank you in advance!

[Assistant] I would say the ability to write, understand the publishing process, and being successful at it is incredibly valuable.  Knowing lab work/instrumentation is a plus, but lots of people learn this while in grad school.


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

[User]
[MCU] What if Captain America remained a soldier instead of a spy?

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve had found his place in the army fighting with his comrades to take down what was the ultimate evil at the time, Hydra.

Then after he was found after being frozen, he started working for Shield, as a spy/agent. But that didn't fulfill him.

What I'm trying to say is that maybe he would've been better off had he enlisted in the army of today. Because that's who he truly was. Maybe he would not have been as withdrawn at times. Because in Winter Soldier, he's not re

What helps in my argument is In the ending of Winter Soldier, Falcon had turned down Nick Fury's offer to join him, saying "I'm more of a soldier than a spy."

So what do you guys think?

Scenario: Steve Rogers is offered to join Shield, but he refuses as he doesn't think he'd be a good fit. So he enlists in the army once more, quickly rising through the ranks. How different would he be?

[Assistant] He would still grow disillusioned.  Steve Rogers has never been one to blindly follow orders, and when he's not up against literal Nazis it will be very easy for him to see through the hypocrisy of the US military-industrial complex waging war on foreign nations for oil and other resources.  While that ethical issue could certainly use an opponent like Captain America, he's still better suited to countering imminent, legitimate threats to the world like HYDRA coups and killer robots armies.


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

[User]
I heard somewhere that if one could see the Andromeda galaxy in its entirety, it would look 2-3 times the size of the moon, is this true?

I can't remember where I heard it, but supposedly all we are seeing when we look at it through consumer grade optics is just the bright center. Is this true?

[Assistant]
I've heard 6x as the number, but why don't we do a bit of calculation and figure it out?

The moon's angular size is about 32 arcminutes, which translates to roughly a half of a degree.

Andromeda is 2.5 million lightyears away and about 200,000 lightyears across. So its angular size if it was all visible would be arctan(200,000/2500000) which comes out to about 4.5 degrees. By that estimate, Andromeda could be up to 8.5x larger across than the moon in the night sky!


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

[User] ELI5: What is a"Tick" in gaming development terminology.

[Assistant]
If you have a game that runs in realtime, you are generally simulating some processes - they can be as simple as Mario moving right and jumping, or as complicated as the physics in a flight simulator.

But the key point is that you cannot simulate these processes perfectly smoothly - you cannot have an infinite number of simulation steps per second, because that would require infinite computing power. So what games do is that they cut up time into discrete steps, and the calculations are done for each step.

Each of those steps is a tick, and having a tick of, say, 10 ms means that you have one of those steps every 10 ms, or 100 every second.


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

[User]
Those of you who are actual scientists... what is it like?

How did you get to being a scientist? Did you love your field from youth and then decided to pursue it?

What is it like? Is it like a daily office job, where you get into your lab in the morning, leave in the evening? Or is it a full time thing, when you spend all your day thinking about it?

Any advice if I were to become a scientist?

(I'm not sure if this is a correct subreddit to post this into, but I couldn't think of a better one)

[Assistant]
A lot of it involves reading papers to see what's already been done in the field, and to keep up with current research. Reading a crapload of papers is a good way to familiarize yourself with a field because you start to recognize authors, trends, important papers, etc. Other than that there are experiments, analysis of data from experiments, and possibly theory or modelling depending on what kind of science you're in.

Basically the process is to get a bachelor's degree in science or engineering, then go to graduate school and eventually earn your PhD. It's really beneficial to have good grades, because that's what opens a lot of doors. It's also important to talk to people in the field, because it helps to know people.


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

[User] [Terminator 2] Why did the T-1000 need to open the elevator doors? Why not just seep through?

[Assistant]
Liquefying requires more processing power than moving as a solid object. That's why gunshots temporarily stun it; it doesn't feel pain, it just has to spend some of its "murder the shit of out John Connor" CPU cycles to molding itself back into shape.

Because of this, unless there's a reason why moving as a liquid is necessary (like passing through the locked, grated door in *T2*), the T-1000 is programed to prefer moving as a solid.


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

[User]
Noam Chomsky says that America is a 'state capitalist' - how true is this?

Chomsky:

* Capitalism is a bit of a myth. We have state capitalist societies. And the state has always played an essential central role in development and extension of the capitalist system. That goes back to England in the 17th century and all the way through the history of development, but let's just take the recent period.

* Take today's high tech economy. Take say your iPhone. If you take your iPhone and you the technology in it and take it apart, turns out that almost everything comes from the state sector. The GPS was developed by the Navy. The electronics was developed in military labs.

* The computer that's in front of you - the computers began to be developed in the 1950s. It wasn't until 1977 that Apple was able to product a computer that could be marketed for a profit. That's after about 30 years of research and development in the state sector.

* Now suppose we had capitalist societies, one of the principles of capitalism is supposed to be that if you invest in something, especially if you invest to make a risky costly investment over say 30 years, and there's some profit that comes out, it's supposed to go back to you. But our system doesn't work like that. It goes to Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

* Now the public pays the costs through various devices (the university labs etc) and then after many years, something has handed over to private corporations and they make the profit.

* Same with the internet, the beginnings of the internet were in the late 1950s. It developed over decades within the government system, meaning taxpayer support. Finally around 1995, the public made a gift to private corporations say "ok you guys can have the internet that we developed."

* Now we have the half a doze huge mega corporations which turn the internet. Across the board, that's the way it is. If you go back to the 19th century when the (what was then called) "America system of production" developed amazed the world with mass production, quality control, interchangeable parts. Most of it was developed by government. That's where you can do experimentation, you can make investments for the long term. Private corporations don't do that. They want to make profit tomorrow.

Is Chomsky right?

[Assistant]
Unfortunately there isn't a strict and consistent definition of capitalism, economically speaking, and other potential flavors of capitalism fall to the same sythe. This makes it difficult to talk about what capitalism is *really though* when everyone conversing is using the same words to refer to different ideas. Put another way, if Marx points to systems of production and allocation present in the 18th and 19th centuries and calls them capitalism, while Chomsky points to those same systems and calls them state capitalism, it is unclear to me that they even disagree, let alone what potential implications would arise from the disagreement.

However, if you're looking for examples of state involvement in markets, you don't even have to go as far as product R&D. Markets cannot exist without some degree of state influence. We rely on the state to enforce property rights, for instance, without which markets and trade aren't really possible.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does your body keep trying to vomit when your stomach is already empty?

I'm staying home today because I am ill, and I have noticed that after vomiting three or four times within ten minutes, the last few times hardly anything came out.

What gives? Does your body just not know when to stop or does it want to make super certain that you have been cleansed fully?

[Assistant]
Your sympathetic nervous system senses something is wrong (like a stomach flu or poisonous food).
Then pushes the evacuate button. But it takes time to reset. This lag or delay causes you to vomit a bit more :)


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

[User]
[MCU]Isn't Thanos's plan sort of useless since populations will just re-populate again?

Does he just have to snap his fingers every 50 years or so? I mean human population doubled/tripled in the last 100 years so..

[Assistant]
Thanos' entire plan stemmed from the belief that if he'd been listened to, his honeworld Titan would have been saved.

Had his people carried out his plan, they would've carried on *knowing how close they were to dying out*. With that in mind they would likely limit their population growth, and succeed much like Gamorra's species.

However, Thanos is a psychopath and doesn't realise that most of the people he slaughters aren't in need. Xandar for example was perfectly fine without him; Earth is another example.


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

[User]
If morality is not a phenomenon that can be researched through science, how can we say that there is objective morality?

Question. Don't we inevitably fall into moral nihilism?

[Assistant] The same way we can say there's objective anything else, namely, by saying that the truthmakers for moral statements don't depend on what we think, feel, or want. This has nothing much to do with science one way or the other.


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

[User] [battlestar galactica] Admiral Adama mentions to Starbuck that her leg needs to be strong enough to push the pedal in a viper. How much strength does she need and why? Also overall how physically fit do you need to be to effectively pilot a viper during combat?

[Assistant]
Pushing the pedal on a viper when it's in the bay is easy. Pushing the pedal on a viper when pulling a 5G turn while your guns are shaking the ship to pieces and enemy fire is raining down on you is damn hard. Having a muscle twinge in a training flight is unnoticeable to the layman's eye. Having a muscle twinge in combat can mean you and your viper are going up in a ball of flame. Or worse, your wingman's viper goes up in a ball of flame.

There's a reason Adama demands his pilots be at the top of their game. Because he can't afford to lose any.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do India and China have such high populations compared to other countries with large land size (like the U.S., Russia, Canada, and Australia)?

It boggles my mind why India and China each have over a BILLION more people than other big countries like the U.S., Brazil, and Australia.

I understand that North America wasn't heavily populated prior to the European mass migration, but why is the Asian region so heavily populated compared to other continents?

[Assistant]
It largely comes down to arable land.

Canada and Australia just don't have anything like the right climate to support such massive populations and the agriculture required to sustain them. Here in Canada, a huge portion of the country is essentially a cold desert, and in Australia they have the opposite problem.

The US is another matter, as there's a huge amount of high quality farmland. And as a result (well, there are other factors too, but this is a major one) they have the third largest population on earth.  So it's not as though the US is relatively empty or anything.

China and India are both huge countries with ancient civilizations and intensive agriculture using just about all the available land in areas with large and fertile river deltas.  They've been among the most populous places on earth for a very long time now; this is by no means a recent thing.


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

[User]
[INCEPTION] In the story, is Inception a common job? A thing that is famous? Famous enough to be known as illegal?

I mean first Ariadne is so chill about it, like it's a regular job that everybody knows. Then Yusuf figuring out that Cobb is asking a strong chemical compound for a dream within a dream phase. So is it safe to say that in Inception storyline, inceptioning is known, accepted? Or is it like an urban myth, an underground practice?

[Assistant]
Dreamsharing is known, probably not common given the need to train her from the ground up, but known enough that the act of extraction is something people with things to hide can be trained to subconsciously resist.

Inception though appears to be an urban legend, why else would Cobb be unable to defend his innocence in his wifes death?


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

[User] [General Tabletop] I have just ascended from a level 0 commoner to a level 1 commoner. How can I expect my life to change?

[Assistant] You'll find that you start to become more aware of opportunities in your hamlet.  You've spent a few hours a day for the past few weeks training your sword arm, and last week a passing adventurer dropped an old leather breastplate on the side of the road, and you picked it up and patched it back together...you've suddenly got the means to venture a bit further away from home.  One night you hear rumor of a treasure hidden in the local forest, and on a whim you decide to don your patchwork armor, brandish your cheap iron sword, and get yo treasure hunt on.  Suddenly, with nothing more than a wing and a prayer you are an adventurer.


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

[User]
If I take ice II at 500MPa and -80C, and reduce the pressure to 100kPa, will the ice reorganise itself into ice I? Does it need to be melted in order to transition between its solid phases?

Do any of the solid phases of ice form a stable configuration that can be taken out of its usual temperature-pressure boundaries once formed?

[Assistant] I don't know about ice specifically, but for other materials, phase changes between different solid phases certainly does take place. For example the changes between the different phases in steel is used in order to create the desired microstructure to give the desired bulk physical properties for particular applications of steel.


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

[User]
What is the real world application and significance of calculating digits of Pi - up to the 13th billion digit?

Is there a real world significance to calculating the digits of Pi - other than raising the bar? Latest digit calculated was about the 13.3 billionth digit.
At this point I starting to believe that it's not useful in real world applications other than feeling mankind better.
Thanks.

[Assistant] Most math is done without a care to real world applications. For many mathematicians, it's applicability is very low on the priority list (unless you're writing a grant proposal). This falls into that category, but it is more of a programming thing, so it is about one-upping everyone in programming rather than in math. Kinda like speed runs of video games.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some online payment processors require the CVV code and others don't?

[Assistant]
Two main reasons.

You can process a payment without a CVV but there's a higher degree of fraud. Bigger companies may accept that risk because it's still a small percentage of their overall payments. Smaller companies like mom and pop stores will suffer badly with a fraud payment so they absolutely need the CVV.

Also some nasty websites will store the CVV after the first time you use it, and provide it automatically. However this is a MASSIVE risk and they may get shut down or fined over it. There's an entire audit process called PCI around this.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is the death zone above 8000m still dangerous with supplemental oxygen?

Recently I have watched a number of documentaries about Mount Everest. It is always stressed how dangerous it is for the mountaineers to stay in the death zone above 8000m for too long, even if they use supplemental oxygen. Why does the use of oxygen not prevent altitude sickness and the risk of HACE and HAPE altogether? Should they not be fine for a long time, as long as they bring enough oxygen bottles?

[Assistant] The main difference between being at sea level and being at high altitude, besides it being cold as fuck, is that the air is much lower pressure. This effectively means theres less oxygen available for breathing which is why tanks are required, but it also reduces the oxygen pressure in the blood, referred to as partial pressure. Yknow how divers who come up too fast get bad things happening? That's cos nitrogen suddenly decompresses in the blood and forms bubbles. It's not as bad with oxygen on Everest cos the difference in pressure is much smaller, but it's still bad. Instead of forming bubbles, the effective maximum amount of oxygen in the blood reduces. This means even with an oxygen tank you have less oxygen than you do without a tank at sea level, and it's sufficiently low that if you stay for too long your brain explodes.


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

[User] [ELI5] Why do electric cars not use battery packs which can be changed at service stations for fully charged ones, therefore negating the need to wait for charging. The service stations then recharging the pack for the next customer.

[Assistant] The batteries are heavy (!) and very expensive, and in order to fit into unusual parts of the car, they don't all have the same shape. Also, the technology changes every few years, so they don't have a long shelf life. Also, the market is currently small, so stations wouldn't make a lot of money doing this -- especially when the competition (go plug your car in) costs only pennies.