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

[User]
How did Spinozas ideas about God challenge the views of orthodox theism?

I have read that Spinoza was (wrongly) called an atheist in his own time and was excommunicated from his Jewish community because of his views on God. I have also heard it said that the label of pantheism and the idea that he believed Everything is God isnt really accurate either.

So Im wondering:

1.) What did he actually believe about the nature of God.

2.) What problems did he have with the idea of God as proposed by Jews/Christians/Muslims.

[Assistant]
Spinoza believed a lot of the normal things youd expect about God. He thought he was a maximally great being, infinite in all ways, indivisible, necessarily existing, etc.

For a messy explanation, Spinoza explained things as substance (the thing) and its attributes that makes up its essence (how the thing is). So a triangle (substance) is a three sided shape (its essence). Spinoza argued that two substances cant share the same essence. For example, a triangle and a ball cant both be a three sided shape. If youre a shape and got three sides, then youre a triangle.

Spinozas idea of God as infinite and lacking nothing, meant that he viewed God as a substance with infinite attributes. That is, he doesnt lack any attributes. Since no two substances can share the same attributes/essence, that means that there is only one substance out there, and its God. Thats where the idea that nature is God with his thought comes from. All of reality is just God, and we see his infinite attributes manifested in the trees, people, stars, etc.

Thats already all heretical to Orthodox Judaism/Christianity/Islam. But Spinoza likely got in even hotter water because he openly denied the souls immortality, heaven and hell, that God punishes/rewards behavior, that prayer is anything other than superstition, that God has intention/goals/cares, etc. He also argued that the Bible was simply written by men, that the Law of Moses was never given by God, that Jesus was simply a moral teacher, etc.


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

[User]
I'm 0 negative blood type. Could I give blood directly from my circulatory system to any other person's?

Let's say I'm a witness of an accident and I have the equipment and formation needed to do a blood transfusion directly from me to the victim. Would it be safe to do so? In other words; does my blood need to be processed in some way before being given to other person?

(Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker)

[Assistant]
If you are witnessing an acute trauma, then no, you should not if you can help it, as there are better first-responder options, such as packed RBCs or IV saline. Being O- means that you have circulating plasma antibodies against other antigens. There are have been document cases of hemolytic reactions occurring several days after the transfusions, but this is *different* from the acute hemolytic anemia that occurs in ABO incompatibility, which occurs several hours after transfusion.

When considering plasma transfusion instead of red blood cell transfusions, AB+ donors become the *best* donors (because they will not create antibodies to the other antigens) and O- donors are the *worst*.


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

[User] [Star Wars] The Command Bridge is one of the most important parts of a ship, and the most valued officers on the ship give orders from there. Why have it obviously sticking out of the top of a ship where it just screams "Shoot me!"?

[Assistant] You ever notice how there's a bottleneck between the bridge and the rest of the ship? In case of a mutiny, it would be much easier for the more loyal high ranking bridge officers to hold the bridge against the lower decks rabble long enough that they could either regain control or else deactivate the life support.


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

[User]
CMV: All single use bathroom stalls with locking doors should be gender agnostic

(This is not a post about trans rights or bathroom bills.)

Single use bathroom stalls don't need a gender designation. There's no risk of seeing someone indecent and there's no issue with toilet hardware since they only serve on each person at a time. I don't see any reason why such bathrooms should discriminate on the basis of gender--it just seems a like a relical idea that crept in because bathrooms tend to be segregated. Making all single use stalls gender agnostic would lead to better outcomes for all genders as more people can access toilets when needed. By extension, I think it's reasonable to transgress a bathroom's posted gender discrimination policy if its single use (and you are reasonable about, i.e. dont cut lines, trash the bathroom, or generally be an ass). Defend discrimination! Change my view!

[Assistant]
I think that making all single use restrooms gender-neutral will lead to a doubling of restroom wait-times, because many establishments which currently install two small restrooms (one for each gender) would now be able to save money by only installing one.

Thus, you actually create an incentive to *reduce* overall access to restrooms in most locations.


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

[User]
[Doctor Who] Prior to the time war what did day to day life on Gallifrey look like?

How many time lords were there? What did they do for fun? How did their economy function? And so on.

[Assistant]
The problem with your question is that there really is no "prior," as a direct result of the Time War itself.

When you have two time traveling empires at war with one another, the concept of time itself breaks down. The combatants keep using more and more aggressive time incursions to try to disrupt each other's existence. Eventually, you have to militarize your entire civilization's past, so as to prevent the enemy from erasing your creation, or rewriting it such that you are always will have been their slaves (language tense of course is a problem, here).

Individual Time Lords and Ladies may have memories of childhoods in glorious cities, among beautiful natural wonders. These are the lucky ones who had their timelines protected behind walls of ontology that weren't horrible. Others might recall being raised in an infinite battlefield of nightmares, or spending their entire lives in a TARDIS at battle stations.

The Time War threatened to not only expand this terrible state of affairs to all sentient life in the universe, but to absolutely destroy all concept of continuity, everywhere and everywhen. That is why we are all better off that it was time locked away, although strangely enough history does not record just who might have done such a thing.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Prior to Anakin's Mustafar injuries, what was Palpatines plan to make sure the Chosen One didn't become powerful enough to overthrow his master?

[Assistant]
If Anakin did not get injured, that would likely mean Obi Wan was dead, and Anakin took Padme back to Coruscant, hoping that Palpatine could "save" her.

Palpatine would work some sith voodoo, telling Anakin she would be safe, but only so long as he was alive.

Anakin never even thinks about betraying Papa Palpa.


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

[User]
What's CERN doing now that they found the Higgs Boson?

What's next on their agenda? Has CERN fulfilled its purpose?

[Assistant] Nope. That would be a bit like if Galileo discovered the moons of jupiter and then we all decided that telescopes were played out. Scientists will continue to study high velocity particle collisions until the machine breaks.


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

[User] [Dead space] who created the markers, and for what purpose?

[Assistant]
*** spoilers*** Markers are the beginning of the life cycle of a brethren moon. We are unclear about the origins about necromorph moons but presumably they create the black markers. They then launch the marker to a planet inhabited by intelligent life, or the markers influence a planet to create intelligent life.

Once an intelligent organism discovers a marker, they see it as a perpetual energy machine. They then reverse engineer it, or are driven to do this by the markers psychic emanations. They then create red markers, which start the necromorph signal. This makes necrotized organic matter come back to life and spread the necromorph matter.

This brings the final stage of marker development. When enough organic matter has been converted, a convergence event begins. The black marker creates a gravity well sucking up a large chunk of earth as well as all organic matter on a planet creating a brethren moon. Thus a new brethren moon is born to launch black markers and make more moons. So, their purpose might be to consume and multiply like all living creatures.


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

[User]
If the Planck Length is the smallest possible measurement of length, then is it also the shorted distance that can be traveled?

Of course, assuming one could control movement to such a minute increment.

[Assistant]
The Planck length is neither the smallest possible measurement of length, nor is it the shortest distance that can be traveled. At least, as far as we currently know.

The difference between the Planck length and, say, a meter is essentially the same as the difference between a mile and a meter. Like meters and miles, Planck lengths are simply a unit of measurement for lengths. We use meters for everyday measurements because they're convenient. We use AUs, lightyears and parsecs for astronomical measurements because those are convenient there. Americans use feet and miles because... well... no idea really. And in the same way, various branches of physics measure lengths in Planck lengths because it is convenient.

Why is it convenient? Because when we measure things in meters, seconds, kilograms, etc... many equations in the field of particle physics contain various constants that you have to keep track of when you manipulate the equations. For example the speed of light and the Planck constant. These constants are not only an administrative burden, but they also make it harder to see the relations between various quantities.

So particle physicists introduced a new set of units that were chosen in such a way that those constants would be rescaled to 1. How do you do that? Well, suppose you're only interested in distance, time and speed. If you keep the second as your unit of time, but instead of using meters for distance, you use lightseconds, then the speed of light is no longer 299.792.458 meter per second, but simply 1 lightsecond per second. Any equation that includes multiplication with of division by c can now easily be simplified.

The system of "natural units" or "Planck units" contains a similar set of rescalings, but with more quantities, and done in such a way that some of these pesky constants become 1, so they can be crossed out of many equations.

The Planck length is simply the unit of length in this system. It was chosen as a matter of convenience and it has no proven physical significance.


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

[User] ELI5: Dr. Who. Basic premise / History / Popularity and where to begin if one has never watched it.

[Assistant]
The basic premise is that the Doctor is an alien (species: Time Lord) who travels around in a spaceship/time-machine called the "TARDIS."  The TARDIS is bigger on the inside and has a camouflage circuit that's been jammed to "London Police Box, 1950s" since the first episode.  He tends to be accompanied by "companions," people who travel with the Doctor on his adventures.

The show began in 1963 and, thus far, 12 men have played the Doctor.  This is explained in-universe by Time Lords growing a new body when they die.  The show went off the air in 1989.  There was an attempt to revive it in 1996 with an American-made television movie, but that didn't get the green-light for a full series.  It was successfully revived in 2005 with the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.

It was a cult show in Britain for many years, aimed mostly at younger audiences but having a strong following among science fiction fans, but the revival has brought it a more mainstream popularity.

I'd recommend getting started with Eccleston's episodes--Series 1, which aired in 2005.  Watch the modern series, then go back to the older stuff.  There's no need to slog through every episode (which is impossible anyway, given that a good many were destroyed in the old days of non-ubiquitous recording), just pick up a story or two (stories are several episodes long, though) from each Doctor.  And give the TV movie a look--it's not perfect, but the 8th Doctor's acting is very good.  Eric Roberts as "The Master"...your mileage may vary.


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

[User]
ELI5: Aneurysms

Nothing frightens me more than aneurysms.

[Assistant] Think about a balloon that has been filled with too much liquid. As the balloon stretches the surface becomes weak and it eventually will burst. This is the same concept with your arteries. Arteries are tubes that carry blood from your heart to all parts of your body. The most common place where this occurs is in your tummy or head. "Aneurysm" is the name for the condition of the weakened wall. If it pops or ruptures, it's referred to as a hemorrhage and is very dangerous.


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

[User]
[Lord of the rings] How much of a culture do orcs have?

Sure, they're warmongering armies working for Sauron.

But, like, they can't be fighting *all* the time, and Sauron wasn't around until recently. So, what do they do?

Do they have art? Culture? Games? Are there Orc Families?  Mordor has cities and factories and a standing army other signs of a functional nation so presumably there is *something* going on in there beyond sitting in a hole eating rats.

Do we know anything about what Orcs do when they're not in murderous hordes?

[Assistant]
Short answer: no.

Orcs arent naturally occurring, they were bred into being for one purpose .... war.

Any culture they do have would be heavily revolved around war.

Orcs made no beautiful things, but many clever ones including machines, tools, weapons, and instruments of torture, were delighted by wheels, engines, and explosions, and could tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled Dwarves, though they are often untidy and dirty. - LoTR Wiki about Orcs.

Theyre good craftsmen, assuming what you want crafted is something for killing.


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

[User]
If I took a spoonful of a neutron star and pulled it away from said star, would the spoonful expand to a larger size? What would the matter look like (metal, glass, gas, liquid)?

I heard a spoonful of matter in a neutron star weighs the same as Mount Everest. Would a spoonful of the stuff expand to that size?

[Assistant]
Neutron stars have a density of around 10^18 kg/m^3, which means that the total mass in a teaspoon is somewhere on the order of 10 billion tons. You'd want to take the scoop from the center of the star as the outside layers are more likely to be heavy elements and stuff.

So lets assume we can teleport a spoonful of neutron star into our cargo hold and steal it. Assuming we don't pressurize our cargo bay or container - the neutron star matter is no longer struggling between gravity and the degeneracy pressure which prevents collapse into a black hole.

The matter immediately explodes upon arrival in the cargo hold. The gas pressure is huge as the matter expands explosively. If the cargo bay holds then you're likely to have created a volume of matter with a density 10 million times that of solid rock. Do not stand in the cargo bay during this phase.

But it gets worse... The degeneracy pressure that was preventing the gravitational collapse of the star also prevents the neutrons from decaying. And when they decay they release energy. So the whole lot is going to explode ... again.

Our teaspoon of neutron star matter decays with the same amount of energy output that our whole Sun puts out over 2-3 seconds (roughly 10^27 J). This is about the equivalent of a trillion megaton nuke.

I strongly advise wearing protective gear when handling neutron star material.


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

[User]
[Fullmetal Alchemist]Why does the Father want Dr. Marcoh?

Dr Marcoh didnt do anything for them in the time he was captured.  The homunculus know how to create philosopher stones. So why do they want Dr Marcoh as their prisoner?

[Assistant]
Mainly because he was a lose end.

He has knowledge of the shadow government behind Amestris.

He knows how to create philosopher's stones.

His leads cause the Elrics and Mustang's crew to learn about Father's conspiracy.

And with his knowledge he had the potential survive human transmutation and be useful to Father's overall plan as a sacrifice.


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

[User]
[MCU] Weren't the Accords doomed from the start?

I know most of the Avengers signed on out of guilt or loyalty, but even if they all signed the Accords if a threat like Thanos or something came up, and the Accords prevented or hindered them from going out and saving lives, I don't think there's a single Avenger that wouldn't immediately break the Accords.

[Assistant]
Hindsight is 20/20.

When the Sokovia Accords were made, the UN, particularly the US, Russia, China, and Wakanda, were very concerned with a private organization with funding and military might of a state without any accountability at all.

Hulk alone is a walking natural disaster. Stark created a genocidal AI. Scarlett worked with said AI and almost destroyed an entire city just by mind-controlling Hulk. Thor is an Asgardian Warrior God prince.

So yeah, absent the knowledge that Thanos is out there waiting to Snap the universe in half, the UN would definitely want the Accords in place.


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

[User]
CMV: Anti-GMO people are worse than Anti-Vax people.

(disclaimer: This is more about Anti-GMO activists than people that wont eat GMOs. Most of those people are just ill informed.)

Vaccines save lives, and anti-vaxers endanger the lives of their families, but most Anti-Vax decisions only effect a small percentage of people. Sure anti-vax kids can break some herd immunity, but most people around anti-vaxers will not experience negative reactions. The same can not be said about anti-GMOers.

Being Anti-GMO, is extremely self centered. You would rather people in other countries die than eat food that is slightly different. We could prevent a lot of unnecessary death if people would give up their misguided ideals.

Firstly, GMOs are practically always safe, and are definitely safer then our current methods of food supplies. Just like vaccines, weve been using GMOs for decades, but people only care about it now because of ignorance about technology. Its just food that has been modified to be better. Just like vaccines, they were made to better the world, not kill it.

Secondly, GMOs save lives by improving the way that food can be grown.  Third world countries have to destroy lives and the environment with pesticides just to grow plants.  These less developed pesticides can cause cancer for those spraying it and can drain into the water. Of course most of these pesticides are not in our food once it comes to us, but the workers are still being introduced to constant high doses of chemicals.

GMOs on the other hand can be made to naturally reduce pests, making pesticides obsolete. With GMOs, workers will not have to be introduced to pesticides and would not have to suffer like the currently do. Its better to use technology that is nearly completely safe than to continue to use technology we know can be deadly.

Lastly, GMOs can help reduce world hunger. GMOs can create crops with higher yields with higher shelf lifes to allow for more food supplies to starving countries. GMOs can be made to survive harsher climates and smaller growing areas allowing for more widespread farming in places like Africa and Mexico. This allows third world countries to receive the necessary fruits and vegetables of a sustainable diet. We could save tons of lives by using safe GMOs.

[Assistant]
Anti GMO activists aren't protesting against the type of genetic modifications you've cited as support for the harm they are 'creating'.  They're protesting genetic modifications that are exploitative at their core.

For example: seeds that produce crops that don't themselves produce seeds for the farmers to replant.  This modification is disguised as a food feature, such as seedless watermelons, but for arguments sake can be presumed as a method of forcing repeat customers from farmers who go back to Monsanto each year to buy watermelon seeds for the market.

another lesser example: Not specifically lab based gene edited modifications, but by breeding and cross breeding 'families' of a produce...lets say artichokes...for traits such as appearance, or strawberries for super sweetness, rather than nutritional features, or traditional flavor profiles.  These changes in the commercial bench mark for a product have negative impacts.

The root arguments of the movement, rather than what the popular mouth pieces spew out on high profile media outlets, are about the pendulum swinging so far towards commercialism maximizing profits, rather than taste, sustainability, etc.  Those decisions are being made absent a dampening effect of public understanding, feedback, governmental oversight, etc.

The anti gmo movement is better than the antivaxxers because it's core argument doesn't have the negative side effects of deaths of people not involved in the decisions.  Immune suppressed persons who are unable to receive vaccinations and thereby rely on herd immunity.

Genetic modifications for yield (absent exploitative trait changes), or for pest resistance (absent negative side effects on the environment), or for growing environment expansion, are all good and should be pursued.  The problem lies with the corporate entities that are either doing the research, or hiring away the grad students with high salaries to modify a more perfect looking apple at the expense of using twice as much water to produce the same number of trees (hypothetical).


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

[User]
ELI5: When you push an object (but don't push hard enough to move it!) you use up energy but don't get any work done. Where does this energy go?

Imagine you push against a wall. You won't move it because it's too heavy and fixed in its position. But since you continuously apply a force to it there needs to be some sort of energy transfer. Does the wall take up that energy?

[Assistant]
There is no **mechanical** energy gained/transferred. All the energy is "lost" within your body and mostly turned into heat etc.

Otherwise this is essentially the same thing as an object being rested against the wall or just standing on the floor. There is a force but no transfer of energy.


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

[User] [MCU] Would the Avengers have any better chance of stopping Thanos if Quicksilver had still been alive?

[Assistant] Marginally. He wouldnt be much help in a fight, but in a few scenes where the Avengers are present while Thanos is obtaining a stone, he could in theory grab and run with it. Like after Loki drops we have a Hulk, he couldve handed off the tesseract to Quicksilver, who takes off before Hulk is beaten down. But itd all have to be interceptions, he couldnt take anything from Thanos without getting caught and overpowered.


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

[User] ELI5: Why aren't all types of plastics recyclable?

[Assistant]
Theoretically, they are. In practice it is a lot more difficult.

Material issues:

1. There are **many** different types of common plastics (HDPE, PET, PP, etc.) and also engineering plastics (PEEK, PMMA, Nylon); within these there are also many different grades of plastics (high molecular weight, branching, isotactic, and other confusing terms). This makes separating them very hard.
2. There are many different fillers and additives in plastics, these affect how the plastics respond to the environment they are intended to be used in. You'd want improved thermal stability for engineering plastics in high temperature environments, for example. These eventually in recycling can mix together to make a 'soup' of additives that make controlling the properties of recycled plastics difficult, so fewer organisations want to buy them as it will impact their product quality.
3. Many plastics simply cannot be mixed together, some like HDPE and PP can as they are polyolefins (simple chain or branched chain carbon-hydrogen plastics), but PVC contains chlorine, this will not mix well and can release HCl acid, which degrades the other chains more.
4. Degradation over time - plastics do indeed breakdown. Their molecular weight and other properties will diminish, this is exacerbated by reprocessing where thermal degradation occurs. Plastics *could* all be (mechanically) recycled, but eventually they will have to be disposed of via some other means (such as incineration or landfill). Chemical recycling is not yet at scale.

Systemic issues:

1. Poor investment in infrastructure (collection, separating & sorting, reprocessing) limits how well and how much we can achieve.
2. Legislation - sometimes this can directly actively impede expansion, but sometimes it relates to safety. You wouldn't want the additives used for some applications to become mixed in with food contact plastics, so there is legislation against this.
3. Incorrect disposal/waste management - from consumers and then illegitiamte or poorly operating companies.
4. Exportation of waste from technically able countries to those that are not able. This is a relatively simple one, and is based on cost/reward ratio of processing domestically vs sending it elsewhere.

There's plenty more to it, but these are some of the basics of the material and system issues.


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

[User]
[Nolan Batman films] "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you"...why does Batman kill Ra's but let Joker live?

Something bugged me while rewatching the trilogy. Batman had no problems not saving Ra's, who probably did more for Bruce becoming Batman then any other baddie ever did. Hell Ra's saved his life even.

So why does Batman save the Joker? Joker killed Rachel, turned Harvey against Gotham, tried to blow up a hospital etc. and somehow after all that Batman still saw it fit to save him from the fall. Why? I'm just trying to understand why Ra's had to die but Joker had to be "brought to justice".

[Assistant]
The only reason Jokers life was in danger was because Batman knocked him off the building. Batman would have been directly caused his death.

However, Ras life was in danger because Batman needed to stop the train. His death was only indirectly caused by him. Had Ras been anywhere else he would have lived.


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

[User]
How can lasers get hotter by going through a magnifying glass?

Doesnt this violate conservation of etendue? Can anyone help me understand what's going on here.

[Assistant]
I looked a bit further into your explanation involving negative temperature.

Negative temperature doesn't violate COE, in a laser it requires that there is population inversing in the lasing material. That's well know. A statistical definition of temperature as related to entropy is used to describe these systems. This is not the same way we think about systems with positive temperature, where thats a measure of kinetic energy of particles.

The laser beam itself does not have negative temperature by this definition. It just works the same as lasers are known to work. The "negative temperature" being refered to just focuses on the inverted population of the lasing material. Which transfers heat in the sense that the higher energy states relax and disperse that energy into the vibrational modes of the material.

So there really isn't any law being broken here.


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

[User]
[MCU] Did Wakanda ever intend to honor the Sokovia Accords

The Sokovia Accords were, if not the invention of Wakanda, at least heavily lobbied for by Wakanda. At the opening meeting, King T'Chaka made a powerful statement about how their "stolen vibranium" was used to create devastation, and how super powered individuals were a threat to the peace of the world.

But the Black Panther, who would clearly be covered by the Accords, operates in foreign nations all the time. One of T'Challa's first acts after the signing of the accords was to sneak into a foreign nation, attack a convoy, and retrieve one of his spies. Justified? Sure. Legal? Hell no.

When T'Challa learns that Klaue was in ~~China~~ Korea, he immediately invades that country as well, and in a very public fashion. There is video of the Panther violating the Accords up on YouTube.

So my question is: did Wakanda intend to honor the accords, but T'Challa had a change of heart after his father was killed, or were the accords designed by Wakanda to hinder the powered individuals of other nations, and thereby further secure Wakanda's secret advantages?

[Assistant]
First, we need to clarify the intent of the Sokovia Accords. The purpose of the Accords was not to regulate superhumans/enhanced individuals, as Clint Barton and Sam Wilson would certainly not be on this list, and arguably neither would Tony Stark or James Rhodes. The purpose of the Accords was to create UN oversight of the Avengers as a specific entity given their history of causing damage and ignoring sovereign borders during their heroics. Ant-Man and Spider-Man, had they not responded to the calls to fight in Germany, would not have been covered under the Accords statement that the Avengers would be directed by the UN.

The situation related to Bucky Barnes demonstrated the hypocrisy of Wakandas position. TChalla, or any Black Panther, could claim diplomatic immunity in the eyes of the international community due to his status as a member of the Wakandan Royal Family - and that is assuming he was ever caught, which Wakandas advanced technology would make difficult. Buckys incarceration without trial demonstrated that the UN was taking a hard line on any enhanced individual they found, but TChallas freedom after being apprehended in Budapest shows the preferential treatment he received as a diplomatic officer as well as a superhero.

So, long story short, no. The Black Panther, as he is not a member of the Avengers, would not be subordinated to the UN under the Accords, nor would he be held without trial like Bucky due to his station as heir apparent and later King of Wakanda.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we yell or make noise when were injured?

For example when you stub your toe or get a paper cut you often make a sound like ouch or tssssss. Or if you are stabbed you would shout loudly. Is this ingrained in us or is it something weve developed over time?

[Assistant]
Evolution.

Mammals from groups who yelled louder when hurt would warn their friends about a potential attacker who could help or run, both better than standing around doing nothing. The yelling also triggers a fear response so we are programed to be alert of potential threats.


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

[User]
CMV: Lawful Evil is better than Chaotic Good for the average person

Lawful Evil is better than Chaotic Good. Lawful Evil will stay in it's own lane, for more or less, and has clearly defined objectives and goals. Agreements, compromises, and working solutions are all acceptable and minimize the total damage and disruption. Chaotic Good on the other hand oftentimes rushes into situations thinking of their own misapplied, self-righteous principles and ignores the actual material reality of the situation. Chaotic Good more often than not just results in, leaving a broken mess behind them while celebrating that they freed the city (just ignore the burnt granaries that mean thousands more are gonna die of famine). Lawfulness means that people have dependability and can be assured some standard of survival. Chaotic Good oftentimes takes short-sighted steps and hopes that something later on will be better. More often than not, Chaotic Good actions simply lead to worse results in the long run.

[Assistant]
Lawful Evil is bad for innovation. It's a recipe for stagnation. If you want LE, then it's a roadmap for social regression back to "might makes right." It's the simplest form of what we now know as conservatism: backward-looking, unchanging, unadaptable, and fearful.

CG are the gamblers, and when they hit, they hit *big.* More often than not, CG stumbles or fails, but given enough success, it becomes what LE aspires to but cannot achieve on its own: prosperity, safety, novelty, competition, and resilience.


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

[User]
[General] I just got super-speed -- and with it, superhuman reflexes and perception etc. The problem: I can't switch it off! Everything is so SLOW. How do I adjust, and make sure nobody finds out about my new superpowers?

I got super-speed. Awesome! But I cannot, for the live of me, slow down my perception to previous "normal" levels. As a result, everybody is practically statues, even at my slowest. At my fastest, I can see lightning strikes descent from the sky and hit the ground at a snail's pace.

What do I do? Even if I talk like the slowest guy on Earth, people are gonna get suspicious, right? How do I live like this?!

[Assistant] If you're in the Marvel universe, look for a guy who calls himself Quicksilver. He has the same problem as you, so he might have some advice. If nothing else, you two can hang out with each other like normal people.


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

[User]
[Animorphs] Would a person with morphing ability be absurdly healthy, if they morphed and demorphed on a regular basis?

Since morphing restores you basically to "Factory settings" DNA and physiologically wise, and foreign objects on or in the body need to be conciously generated , if a person morphed and demorphed regulary, wouldnt that mean that virtually all illnesses, injuries, etc, would be cured?

All pathogens, infections, injuries, maybe even cancer would be gone just like that, barring genetic diseases. You would be the picture of health all the time.

[Assistant] Sort of. Towards the end of the war, the Animorphs gave disabled kids the technology. Some were cured by morphing, but others were not. If memory serves, the difference was whether the kids were born with their disability or not. Those who were born with it were not cured, those who became disabled later were. Then there's the case of Tobias's mother, who was cured of her blindness but not her amnesia.


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

[User] What is the difference between NPN & PNP transistors?

[Assistant]
NPN: A positive base-emitter voltage allows current to flow from the collector to the emitter.

PNP: A negative base-emitter voltage allows current to flow from the emitter to the collector

The arrow in the symbol shows the normal direction of current flow.


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

[User] [Star Wars] "Not to worry, we are still flying half a ship." How much of a ship can be lost before one must start to worry?

[Assistant]
He was cracking a joke to try to defuse the tension in a very dangerous situation. Assuming it wasn't part of the design, it's worrying to lose *any* of your ship. Even if the rest of the ship has power and engines, something has gone horribly wrong and it may cause unforseen problems.

Of course, the ship might have multiple stages in which case losing upwards of 95% of the ship may be expected, and failing to lose it would be cause for concern. Though that's mostly limited to primitive societies. Modern ships do not have to have absurdly high fuel ratios. Not unless you're planning on travelling to another galaxy.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is Donald Trumps campaign front page news? Is it just the pure spectacle?

A man known for being a buffoon runs for president and nearly every news outlet reports on it heavily like it has any bearing on anything. Is this just reality show news, or is it something more?

[Assistant] Because Donald Trump is only in it for the publicity and he's now the ***12th*** person in the clown car of the Republican parties presidential candidates. Everyone knows he's got as much chance to be elected as a fly does flying straight in a tornado. He's in it for the free money, the publicity and the secret service detail.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it that a lot of homeless people in the US are veterans?

A lot of times when I see homeless people in real life or on TV, they are veterans. Usually older men, but sometimes younger. Why is this? I'm sure PTSD plays a factor, but aside from that, what is it that makes it difficult for veterans to return home and work/be able to afford to live?

[Assistant]
Veterans represent 11% of the adult population, but 26% of the homeless population.

Causes:

* Lack of income due to limited education and lack of transferable skills.  Not everyone services weapons systems for F-16's, a lot of the military does mainly unskilled physical labor.

* Combat-related physical and mental illness.

* Substance abuse problems, often secondary to combat trauma or the stresses of military lifestyle.

* Weak social networks due to problems adjusting to civilian life.


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

[User]
What happens when a black hole runs out of "food"?

In other words, if a black hole entered an area of the universe completely devoid of matter large enough to encompass the entire gravitational influence of the black hole, what would happen?

I don't know to many specifics about this, but just incase my question is completely misdirected: What would happen to a black hole put into a vacuum with no matter or energy including light (the black hole was teleported there instantly from another location)?

Also, do black holes eventually die? If not, is there some eventual change in phase similar to what happens to stars after extensive time?

[Assistant]
Black holes have a nonzero temperature, and since they cannot transfer heat through conduction or convection they must therefore radiate. (This radiation is known as Hawking radiation if you want to read up on it.) So if you place a black hole in a complete vacuum, it will very very slowly radiate away energy, until it radiates enough to collapse.

Having said that, the timescale for collapse of any black hole that we know of a mechanism to form is *ridiculously* large, on a timescale of 10^68 years. So "nothing at all happens" is a very good approximation.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do drinks taste better in glass bottles compared to plastic containers?

Can anyone explain the psychology behind it ?

[Assistant]
Part of it the taste from just what your mouth comes into contact. Glass will be colder than plastic, and glass and metal generally have less of a taste that plastic.

Anothing thing to consider is the difference between drinking from a bottle and a glass. With a glass, your nose is better exposed to the drink, thus you are able to smell it, which affects the taste experience you get from it. This is why Beers, Wines, Whiskies etc are meant to be drink from large open glasses.


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

[User] ELI5: When cooking popcorn, how do the fist kernels that pop not burn before the rest of the bag finishes popping; yet, overcook it just a bit and ALL of the popped kernals are burnt?

[Assistant]
The popping of the kernels is basically stirring the popcorn but when that slows down enough, the popcorn on the bottom burns, but not all of it. If it's burned badly enough, the smoke will make it all taste burned.
The same burning will happen if you try to pop too much popcorn for your container and being too full makes the popcorn cram in place, and then the bottom burns.


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

[User] ELI5:Why are computer viruses not considered a direct attack on my property and a crime?

[Assistant]
They are considered that way by the law.

All you have to do is find the guy who wrote the virus, drag him into court, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the virus was actually written by him, and then you can have the $200 (or whatever the value of your data was) you deserve.


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

[User]
Quick question regarding binary: How many permutations of "words" can be written with just 6 bits?

Yeah, I don't know much about this, so my question is phrased pretty terribly. Let's say I had a very simply system with 6 switches, each capable being ON or OFF. Would the number of permutations be 6!, or would it be 6^2? Or neither of these?

Thanks!

[Assistant] The first switch can be ON or OFF, which gives 2 possibilities. Whatever the first switch is the second switch can be ON or OFF, giving two possibilities. You multiply these to make 4 or 2^2. Keep doing this for all 6 and you end up with 2^6=64.


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

[User]
CMV: Canadian Geese are a weaponized wildlife.

Most everyone hates Canadian geese. They gang up and chase pets and people, they have no fear of blocking roads, and they shit EVERYWHERE. No other animal of similar size is so fearless or so agressive, so they must have been bred that way or trained.

I believe the reason the Canadian people are seen as so "nice" is because as a nation, they have found a way to channel their hatred of America into the geese via the food they feed them, or possibly little goose sized mind control helmets.

In conclusion we have been under attack by Canada for decades, and we are losing this war unless we send a weaponized animal attack of our own. I propose suicidal whitetail deer.

[Assistant] I think it's more that the geese have already subjugated the humans in their homeland making Canadians seem "nice" because their spirits are broken. The geese have been trying to expand their territory for years. They originally used to be in the US only seasonally, giving them an opportunity for recon and to slowly desensitize the human population to their presence. Now they don't migrate or leave at all...


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

[User]
[MCU] How fast is [Captain Marvel SPOILER]?

How fast is Project Pegasus's lightspeed engine? It seems unlikely it's literally the speed of light, because that's impractically slow for interstellar travel, and it seems to be faster than the system of jump points already in use.

[Assistant]
There are two kinds of interstellar travel in the MCU: jump points, and faster than light (FTL) engines.

Jump points are basically wormholes that allow you to travel between points without crossing the intervening distance. Very, very fast, and clearly the superior technology.

The problem is that you need to have an established jump point between two locations before you can use them. We see this in *Guardians of the Galaxy 2*, when they need to use multiple jump points to reach a location.

If there *isn't* a jump point to the place you want to go, you need to get there the old fashioned way, and that's when a lightspeed engine comes into play.

Consider just the distance between Earth and Mars - at its closest, about 40 *million* miles. Using our current technology, it takes about 150-300 days to send a rocket from earth to mars. If you were traveling at the speed of light, it would take 3 *minutes*.

Now assume you want to build out your jump point network. If we're building a jump point between Earth and Alpha Centauri, the closest neighboring star system, we would need to travel about 25,672,000,000,000,000 miles. It would take a modern earth tech rocket about 641,800,000 years to cross this distance.

The lightspeed engine could do it in about four and a half years, and that's why it's an important technology. It would allow civilizations to build jump points in otherwise unreachable locations.


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

[User]
How clean is water in the middle of the ocean in comparison to the water near the shores?

Also, if we had to resort to filtering water from an ocean where would be the most ideal point to do it at?

[Assistant]
The measure of 'cleanliness' would certainly depend on what type of contaminant/pollutant one is concerned about.  Different chemicals have different pathways into the ocean.  Some, such as those from agriculture run-off (nitrates, phosphates, pesticides), are going to be most concentrated in regions of river-runoff and likely not as detectable in the open ocean.  Others contaminants are delivered to the ocean via atmospheric transport and deposition (a good example is lead from leaded gasoline).  These pollutants have much broader spread over the ocean and the water in the middle of the Sargasso Sea is not much different than that in the Gulf of Mexico.

The best points in the ocean to draw uncontaminated water (assuming one could desalinate it) would be regions of persistent upwelling such as the western coast of continents or the equatorial band.


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

[User]
[Marvel] If Thor and Hulk can lift millions of tons why do they still get hurt by attacks from street-level hero Spider-Man, Iron Fist, and etc?

If they are so strong, it doesn't make much sense that lower-level characters can wound them at all.

Or despite their strength, they actually have a low defense?

[Assistant] You choose some really bad examples. Iron Fist is at near-peak human strength before he uses his chi manipulation. When he does that, he's strong enough to take down a helicarrier or destroy a nuclear train in one punch. Spider-Man is also at least a 10 tonner and has had feats above that. These two are only street level because they want to be.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do broken bones hurt when it rains?

[Assistant] When it rains, the pressure in the air will drop. This drop in pressure is often enough to cause physical changes in your body, such as the expansion of soft tissue and fluid around your joints. These minor changes may be noticeable in parts of your body that are already 'sensitive', like a broken bone or arthritic joint.


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

[User] [MCU] Why does Iron Man fall back through the wormhole after he guides the nuke through it? Shouldnt he just float off?

[Assistant]
Earths gravity probably still applies to him even through a wormhole. It might not be as strong as if he was in earths atmosphere, but it applies some force.

You could also kind of say that the wormhole might be applying gravity to iron man as well pulling it closer to it.


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

[User] [Marvel/Lovecraft] Would possessing the Mind Gem/Stone allow the holder to preserve their sanity in the face of an encounter with a Lovecraftian entity like Cthulhu? Also would possessing the Infinity Gauntlet make someone actually noticeable to one of these entities?

[Assistant]
> Would possessing the Mind Gem/Stone allow the holder to preserve their sanity in the face of an encounter with a Lovecraftian entity like Cthulhu?

If the holder is prepared for it, then likely yes. However if insanity sets in before he can realize... well, shit.

> Also would possessing the Infinity Gauntlet make someone actually noticeable to one of these entities?

As long as these things are manifested in the home dimension of the Infinity Gauntlet, they're under it's purview. However it should be noted that Many-Angled Ones are outside of the universes in the Marvel reality, so IG holder can't just wish them away when they're not invading.


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

[User] [The Terminator] Kyle tracked down Sarah earlier than the T-800. Instead of waiting for the T-800 to spot her and make its move, he straight up kidnaps her and takes her far away, explaining everything to her. How could Kyle make her understand the danger she's in without even seeing the T-800?

[Assistant] He can't. She would just think that he is some crazy stalker who kidnapped her, ranting about killer robots and 'the future'. Eventually, she would find a way to escape his clutches (he can't kill her to keep her there), and reach a police station. The station logs the case file on their newfangled computer, and Skynet sends the Terminators in.


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

[User] ELI5: What causes that indescribable scent when it first starts to rain?

[Assistant]
Its called petrichor, and its a scent thats created when rain hits dried soil. Plant oils soak into absorbent dirt over time, and are then released into the air when the dirt starts getting wet.

The scent has been isolated and is commercially available as a fragrance material called geosmin. The human sense of smell is *ridiculously* sensitive to geosmin, and you can smell it in concentrations as low as just a few parts per *trillion* - one single drop of geosmin in an Olympic-size swimming pool is detectable.


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

[User]
[Avatar] Could Toph bend adamantium?

In the episode where Zoka builds his sword, he saved a little rock of meteorite that Toph could easily manipulate, also she can bend metal. What are earthbending limits?

[Assistant] According to Toph, she's able to metalbend because even metal contains bits of Earth, and she's actually bending the impurities ("slag") within the metal rather than the metal itself.  The baddies in Korra used highly purified platinum, which is immune to metalbending because it is mostly free of these impurities.  Any highly purified metal should theoretically be immune.


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

[User]
What did Satre mean with his quote 'Hell is other People'?

This quote came up in a song I listened too, and I knew I heard it somewhere befor, so after a little bit of research I found out it is a quote from J.P. Satre's 'No Exit'. However I did not find anything that helped me understand what he wanted to say with it. I am hoping some of you can enlighten me.

[Assistant]
You judge yourself by imagining how the other would judge you so if you have a bad relationship with others you will have a bad relationship with yourself.

If you have a bad relationship with the others, being dependant on how the others are viewing you, you are "living hell" because of the them.


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

[User]
Would a poke with the same force as a punch do more damage?

This question is assuming I won't break my finger/hand performing the poke. Mainly, I have no idea what determines how much harm an impact causes to a person.

[Assistant]
There are two major components of "punching damage", aka blunt force trauma: Acceleration and compression, which also corresponds to two types of transfers of kinetic energy: elastic collision and in-elastic collision respectively.

Compression is when you absorb impact energy in an inelastic collision. This is what causes bruises and it can in serious cases deform hollow organs and lead to ruptures.

Acceleration is when the impact energy transfers to you in an elastic collision, making you accelerate and experience massive g-forces during a short period of time. This is what "knocks you out", and is generally the more dangerous of the two.

If the poke and the punch had the same kinetic energy (same speed and weight behind the punch) the poke would be more dangerous in terms of "compression damage", as the impact area would be smaller. But the "acceleration damage" would be more severe, as your fingers in a poke would probably compress on impact, thus making some of the impact energy go to compressive damage to *your* fingers.

TL;DR: If you aim for a soft-spot such as the throat or the eye, the poke would do more damage. If you aim for a harder part such as the forehead, you'd do better with a punch.

EDIT: Typo.


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

[User]
ELI5 What are we feeling when we eat spicy foods?

Edit: Thanks guys, really helped. I was eating chicken wings yesterday when it came to me.

[Assistant] Capsaicin is a chemical compound in spicy foods that binds to certain receptors on your tongue (and other parts of your body) that gives the illusion of heat. You can eat ice cold spicy food that will feel very hot.


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

[User] ELI5:Why is it when substances like paper dries off after it gets wet it's all crusty and roughish?

[Assistant] When paper is made, its wet fibers are carefully compressed and dried.  This allows the paper fibers to have their flat surface.  When allowed to get wet, finished paper absorbs the liquid and the paper fibers are allowed to decompress and they lose their flat surface.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Why are The Thing's (Ben Grimm) powers so much worse than the rest of the Fantastic Four?

All of the members of the Fantastic Four got some pretty high tier versions of super powers, like real good fire manipulation, real solid force field manipulation and even the stretching power seem pretty good, even if it's not plastic man level. But Ben got, Rocks? Not only that, but his are the ones that can't be turned on and off again. Should he not get something of equal power if he got it from the same source? Is there an in fiction reason as to why he got the short end of the stick in so many ways?

[Assistant]
His powers *are* on roughly the same level- he can lift multi-story buildings, shrug off bazookas and is immortal, with more extreme feats when pushed. He's often underestimated because, well, he's in the same universe as the hulk. But his powers are indeed high level.

Now, they happen to *also* be powers that society finds ugly to look at. But, hey, that's society's problem. Inherently speaking, his powers are very good. He's just got the bad luck to live in a society that finds giant rock people weird.


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

[User]
I think that the Obamacare website fiasco has done more to perpetuate the destructive belief that government is inherently bad than have the actual purveyors of that belief. CMV

The Tea Party and conservatives in general have always been pushers of the ideas that government can't do anything right, that the free market does just fine, and that Obamacare in general is the devil come to eat our children.  The recent unpleasantness is not only indicative of mind-shattering incompetence, but has done long-term damage to the audacious idea that government can help people at all.  This last consequence is what angers me the most, followed closely by the apparent incompetence and dereliction of duty by all involved, including the President himself.  And my answer to "he can't be everywhere" is that this was his signature program, his baby.  If he, of all people, the guy that brought campaigning and some government websites into the 21st century, can't make this work....well, that's what other people, en masse, are thinking, and it will infect government-as-a-force for good for a long time.  Anyway, change my view.  Please.

[Assistant]
Healthcare.gov isn't *the* Obamacare website, despite what everyone's been saying. Each state was allowed to set up its own healthcare exchange, with federal funds. In fact, they were encouraged to do so; states that run their own exchanges have more control over healthcare policy within their state. And in the states that *did* set up their own exchanges, there aren't nearly as many technical glitches.

It's just that, for some reason, over half of the states decided they didn't want to do that. So the responsibility for setting up the exchanges in each of those 27 states fell to the federal government. More importantly, these are the states where the idea you're talking about is already very prevalent. If they really didn't think the federal government could do healthcare right, why didn't they take some federal money and do it themselves?


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does a glass of water get little bubbles in it after sitting for a while?

I poured a glass of water this morning and didn't finish it. When I got back from class later, it has bubbles on the side of the glass. Why?

[Assistant]
When you pour the glass of water, there will be some gasses actually dissolved in the liquid. Oxygen for example, dissolves better as the water gets colder.

While you leave the glass sitting the water warms up and the gasses can no longer remain dissolved so they form small bubbles in the water, float to the top and escape. However, if the bubbles are on the side of your cup they will get stuck on tiny imperfections in the glass which is why you are able to come back and see them.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Do less advanced ships get decommissioned or demoted to lower duties?

When ships like the Enterprise, and the other equal ranked front line ships, go from using Galaxy Class to Sovereign, do the second line ships get the now old Galaxies, and so on down the line, or do those ships get decommissioned?

Basically, is there somewhere out in the galaxy a very old former Enterprise or Excelsior doing boring patrols, or do they chop them up?

[Assistant]
Starfleet keeps ships in service unless there's a big enough reason to decommission them, such as being severely outdated past any real usefulness (such as the *NX*\-class ships).

*Excelsior*\-class and *Miranda*\-class ships, for example, were introduced into service when James T. Kirk was a Starfleet Admiral. They were still in service when the Dominion War broke out, over a century later.


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

[User] [Mass Effect] Why didn't the Reapers shut down the relay network when invading our galaxy?

[Assistant]
They would have, but Prothean meddling prevented the Reapers from executing their decapitation strike. Their backup plans failed as well because the Alliance navy destroyed Sovereign and Shephard destroyed the Alpha Relay (which was a special relay capable of sending a fleet directly to the Citadel, bypassing the relay network).

Without the Citadel, the Reapers had to manually reach the borders of the galaxy and fight their way in through the relay network. This necessitated the occupation of a large number of star systems, as to simply beeline for the Citadel would have left the Reapers with an outstretched force surrounded on all sides by opponents.

That scenario again changed when the Illusive Man revealed the existence of the Crucible to the Reapers. The superweapon would only function if connected to the Citadel, so the Reapers had now a large incentive to abandon their slow, steady caution and assault the station to then move it in Earth's orbit. A large reason why their assault was so easy was also that they had already destroyed large portions of the Galaxy's military and had pinned down much of the rest in thinly spread fighting.


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

[User]
I hate my PhD supervisors. Is it worth even continuing?

Their feedback is always too broad for any real application, they're, at best, indifferent about me continuing my studies after severe extenuating circumstances (worsening of my physical and mental health, the passing of my mother after a long battle with cancer, my wife being diagnosed and treated for autoimmune disease, and more) and they go out of their way to passive-aggressively make me feel like I don't work (every conversation with them starts with "as we've already told you" even when they haven't told me, they don't believe in any form or shape of encouragement and have never said a single positive thing about me or my work, they constantly ask if I'm still interested in continuing my PhD even though I've been meeting my deadlines, etc). More than that, they actually recommended  that I quit my part time job so I can focus more on my PhD, even though all they ever tell me is that I'm falling behind with no actual advice to fix things. They are purposefully opaque and honestly might as well be magic 8 balls at this point, randomly answering my questions and serious concerns haphazardly. Further, they are charging a premium because I'm an international student, and I am being charged literally the highest possible cost for my PhD (the bench fees are absolutely ridiculous for a non-lab based PhD). I have a professional doctorate degree and a masters degree already, and received them both with honors. I've never had any problems with anything coursework related before this horrible, horrible experience.

I'm at the end of my first year, and may or may not pass my first year. But I'm wondering: if I even do pass, should I even continue? Best case scenario is 3 more years of suffering, then a PhD so I can get a teaching job that pays less than my current consulting job but that I'm passionate about. Worst case scenario is I fail the final viva and lose some very serious time and money.

Anyway, rant and questions over. Thanks for reading, appreciate any thoughts.

[Assistant]
Quit. Reading your post it is very hard to tell where the actual problem lies, but it doesnt matter. Whether it is you or it is them, you are miserable and it sounds like you dont even want what you will get when you finish. Unless Im missing something, the decision seems easy.

That said, you admit that there have been serious impediments to your progress this year, but blame your advisors for telling you that you arent making enough progress. Honestly, you sound like someone who blames everyone else for their problems. It has been a rough year for everyone. You might want to take a step back and reassess the situation before you make your decision.


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

[User] [MCU] How did the Super Soldier Serum change Steve Rogers mentally?

[Assistant]
I don't think it did. He always had the mental fortitude. He accepted a very small chance to help his country. He figured out the flag puzzle. He dove right into basic training when he knew it wouldn't work. He literally dove onto what he thought was a live grenade to protect others, some of whom didn't like him one bit.

Steve was willing to die to help asshole soldiers protect America.

Edit: All -before- the serum.


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

[User] ELI5: Why people have birth marks.

[Assistant] Birthmarks are caused by some body tissues, such as blood vessels, smooth muscle, and fat when they grow too much. It is not well understood why this happens, but one of the leading ideas is that there is an imbalance in the different factors relating to skin cell growth and migration.


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

[User]
will food rot/expire in outer space?

i am just wondering will food rot in space.

[Assistant]
Yes it can do, it depends on the circumstances. Ordinary untreated food would rot if it was in a spaceship. 'Space food' eaten by astronauts tends not to rot, because it is treated and vacuum sealed.

If you mean 'will food rot in the vacuum of empty space?' then the answer is that it won't rot exactly as there is no air; but it will undergo chemical changes. Bombarded by the solar wind and cosmic rays it will likely become ~~radioactive~~ irradiated and disintegrate into more stable compounds and form a kind of dust.


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

[User]
[ warhammer 40k ] Why do all the primarch looks like the natives of their planet?

So my question is why or how surely they should all look like the emperor considering they have his DNA but they all resemble their homeworlds people for example look at Khan and Vulkan and corrax so I just wanted to know how or a reason why?

[Assistant] The image of the Emperor you see pre corpse is only what he allows you to see, he can change his appearance to some extent to blend like hes been doing his whole life. Thats why not he or his experiments are bound by the normal laws of genetics. As for why some Primarchs look completely different, for Vulcan its the environment in his home world that the radiation emits and causes humans that live there to look like that. Also think about how animals are shaped by their environment, so will humans as well after all some Primarchs have been living in those planets for at least a century. Corax has been living in an underground prison for all his childhood thats why hes pale. But you gotta remember this was planned by the Dark Gods to ensure the Primarchs survive and adopt a violent society to serve their needs.


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

[User]
How does someone get a PhD, and what does it mean?

I don't exact get what a person does to get a PhD. What they do after their Masters? Do you apply to a university to "do a PhD"? Do you still get educated through higher-level course or something? What is a PhD thesis supposed to be?

[Assistant]
>What they do after their Masters?

They often enroll in some classes, teach other classes, and perform research which will make up their thesis.

>Do you apply to a university to "do a PhD"?

Yes.  You need not just a university but an adviser with whom you will work closely.

Another thing is that some programs have qualifier exams.  Meaning, you enroll in the PhD program and have to pass a very difficult (usually written) exam by some deadline.  If you don't pass by that time, you go home.

> Do you still get educated through higher-level course or something?

Usually there are some course requirements.  You might also take courses that are essential to your research, for instance, stat courses for a psychology PhD student.

>What is a PhD thesis supposed to be?

It is an original work you must produce in order to be granted your degree.  The idea is that a PhD is a research degree, so you must demonstrate your ability to contribute to the research in your field.

A thesis is usually based on the work the student has done under guidance of their adviser.  It is not uncommon for a thesis to take over 5 years of work, depending on the field.


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

[User]
[Akira] Couldn't someone have easily killed Tetsuo Shima by shooting him with an arrow? Or a silenced firearm? If he doesn't hear or see it coming he can't focus on it to deflect it right?

with all of those cops and military soldiers trying to kill him, none of them thought to just hit him in the head with a slingshot?

or impale him with a bow from a bow and arrow?  robin hood style?  or a silenced rifle/pistol?

[Assistant] All of those things make sound, especially the suppressed gun. Your best bet actually would be to use a gun that shoots faster than the speed of sound. The bullet should hit before he could even hear the report.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does only a pinch of salt make so many meals so much better?

[Assistant] Short version : Sodium draws out flavours, creating a stronger, bolder taste. Finishing salt (used after cooking) can provide a good contrast that makes accompanying flavours more pronounced. Ever try salted chocolate?


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

[User]
CMV: A millionaire is less likely than a billionaire to suck a dick for $1 trillion

This is based on a debate between my gf and myself.

We were discussing how many people would refuse to suck a dick for any amount of money whatsoever, and both agreed that the percentage is probably pretty low, probably single digits. I know we both would for the right price, and we both would encourage the other to do so for the right price as well, and we're reasonably well-off. The disagreement comes from the fact that I believe that a billionaire is more likely to suck a dick for a trillion dollars than a millionaire is, and she disagrees. I might do a poor job of representing her arguments, but the crux of it is that Jeff Bezos, for instance, has way more 'fuck you money', and therefore has less need to suck a dick for a trillion dollars compared to somebody who 'only' has $5 million in the bank.

This does make some objective sense from a purely mathematical standpoint, but my counterpoint was that a millionaire is rich and has more than enough, but a billionaire is rich, has more than enough, and also quite possibly fundamentally doesn't understand the concept of 'enough', making them more likely to suck a dick for a huge increase in their wealth. Many millionaires probably fall under this definition too and would suck the dick without hesitation, but the fact is that many upper middle class people who planned well for retirement and are currently in their 70s, living off their retirement savings, while technically millionaires, aren't necessarily cut from the same cloth as billionaire types. Someone with $5 million in the bank has enough, and is possibly even aware of the fact that they have enough, although possibly not. Once someone has hit the point of being worth $1 billion though, they almost by definition either don't understand the concept of 'having enough' or quite simply find the idea to be irrelevant. Anyone with over a billion dollars is already at the point where a 50% or even 90% decrease in their net worth would make zero impact on their day to day quality of life.

To Bezos, every billion after the first doesn't provide any sort of benefit besides status. He has the most billions, and having the most is the only value that they provide to him directly at this point. So if Bezos, worth a bit over $100 billion, was given the chance to increase his net worth by a factor of ten simply by sucking one dick, I don't think he'd hesitate to do it. Assuming that no one else was given the same offer, it would practically ensure that he remains the richest man in the world for the remainder of his life, which is unlikely otherwise.

My argument is that there would be more internal debate among the 1% than among the 0.0001% when it comes to sucking the dick. I think millionaires would probably 50-50 suck the dick for a trillion dollars, whereas poor people, middle-class people, and billionaires would almost universally suck the trillion dollar dick. I realize this is somewhat of a silly question, but quarantine has fucked with our brains to the point where it feels very serious, and I'm hoping for some good discussion on this issue to help with some of the stir craziness. Looking forward to reading input and throwing out deltas.

EDIT:
Some posters have reasonably asked for some clarification about the source of the trillion dollars, so I guess for the purpose of this conversation it could be helpful to specify that the offerer of the trillion dollars is a genie who can magically create it, and will do so only after getting a blowie from the recipient. Nobody else would get the offer if it's refused; everything would simply stay the same if the genie's dick remains unsucked.

EDIT 2:
For some more clarification, I'll consider a comment delta-worthy if it presents a moderately convincing argument, based on sociology or psychology or some other hard or soft science, that a billionaire would not be significantly *more* likely than a millionaire to partake. It's obviously an absurd hypothetical, so I'm not expecting hard sources and formal logic, just something moderately convincing enough to the point where I at least become a bit uncertain in my view, even if it isn't fully changed.

[Assistant]
A million dollars isn't 'more than enough'. It's a middle class retirement fund.

I think the top handful of billionaires are more likely than other billionaires.  Just because they don't want someone else to get it.

The rest of the billionaires really do have enough.


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

[User]
What would happen if all my DNA disappeared?

I brought up this question with a scientist friend of mine, and given she was unable to answer, I leave it to you:

What would pass if all of the DNA in my body (from every cell) were simultaneously broken down into peptide bonds?

Obviously I wouldn't be able to have children, but I'm thinking that all my cells would also cease to function, leading to instant death.

What do you think?

[Assistant]
Short answer: yes, you would die. It probably wouldn't be instantaneous, though.

Longer answer: cellular function depends on the transcription of DNA into messenger RNA, and the translation of the messenger RNA into proteins. Because most proteins in the body are constantly being recycled (degraded, remade and replaced), the loss of DNA would mean that your cells wouldn't be able to regenerate all the proteins lost to normal turnover. Eventually, this would lead to cell death, because all of the functions that keep you alive depend on proteins - for example, all the enzymes that are required for cellular respiration and metabolism of food into energy that can be used by cells. However, it wouldn't be instantaneous, because cells have some reserves of key proteins available for exactly this reason (in case of DNA damage). There are also small reserves of messenger RNA available that the cell would probably transcribe in order to regenerate proteins lost to normal turnover. But once the protein and mRNA reserves were expended, the cell would begin to die as the proteins required to maintain its structural integrity began to be degraded.

Provided your cells don't die due to lack of proteins involved in cellular function, they would be unable to divide to form new cells, because the process of cell division depends on the replication of DNA. No DNA, no new cells, so tissues with normally rapid cell turnover (like the lining of the gut) would begin to die.

Actually, your example isn't all that far-fetched. One of the main ways that radiation damages the body is through catastrophic DNA damage. Cells become unable to generate new proteins and divide (as described above). Therefore, the cells that normally divide most quickly/most often (such as gut lining epithelial cells, hair follicle cells, etc.) die first, leading to some of the most well-known symptoms of radiation poisoning, like nausea and hair loss.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] If the global wizarding community decided to rescind the Statute of Secrecy what would be the best approach to follow in introducing themselves and the existence of magic in general to the rest of the world?

[Assistant] Adapt the events of their recent history into a series of novels and movies which allow people to develop a romanticized affinity and familiarity with their world, before revealing that they are all accurate.


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

[User] ELI5: The difference between diamond cuts and what makes one better than the other?

[Assistant]
A lot of it is about light reflection. If you ask your mommy for a pocket mirror, you can put it near a lamp and make light reflect on the wall. When you move the mirror, light will do funny things and move on the wall. When you cut a diamond, something similar happens. If the pointy end of the diamond (the side that is hidden, under the ring) is too far away or too close to the top of the diamond (the pretty top you can see) it will reflect light in a way that does not look good. If you, look at the top, you will find that it is not shiny at all, and the people who buy them want them to be as shiny as possible. So you have to cut it exactly at the right place. Each time you make a little cut, which are the small shapes you see inside the diamond, you make a little mirror for light to bounce. If you meant cuts as in heart, pear and oval, you are talking about ''fancy cuts''. A lot of it is about the quality that your diamond has before it is cut. When you take it out of the earth, it is not always in a very good shape. Some people with big magnifying glasses look at it and decide if the shape and the shiny-ness is good enough. If it is very good, they will very likely cut it into the round brillant cut, which is usually the most ''ideal'' and popular form. The ''fancy cuts'' are a lot about fashion. Every few years or so, people start liking new things and that also affects jewelry, and diamonds.
(I worked in a jewelry store, I've seen diamonds and pretty gemstones with lots of funky colors)


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

[User]
If you close your eyes and push on your eyeballs, you see colours and oscillating patterns. Why is this?

Are the rods and cones in your eyes also sensitive to pressure increases somehow? Or is the effect from some other part of the optic system? Or is this like "seeing" pain sensations?

[Assistant]
>Are the rods and cones in your eyes also sensitive to pressure increases somehow?

That's it.  It is one of many examples of neurons receiving non-standard stimulation and responding.  Other good examples include the "hotness" of peppers and "coldness" of menthol: both are temperature sensations set off by chemical interactions.


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

[User]
[Dark Souls] How could humanity thrive in the dark?

Apparently, humans are creatures of the dark, and the dark age would be the age of men....
But how could humanity survive and build a civilization without the sun and fire? What kind of humans would they be?

[Assistant]
Different people have different interpretations, but IMO:

The Age of Dark isn't an age without a sun, nor an age without fire. It's an age without "Fire" (capital eff), not fire (lower case f). "Fire" (capital eff) in this instance is the primordial Fire, the power of the Gods, which is why the Age of Fire is also called the Age of the Gods. "Dark" in the Age of Dark is not darkness, like the absence of light, but the absence of Fire, the absence of Gods. Humans were created by the Furtive Pygmy, born from the Dark Soul; the "Age of Dark" is so named *for us*, not for the lighting conditions, which is why the Age of Dark is also sometimes called "The Age of Humanity" in canon.

Dark is Dark, Dark is not darkness, Dark is humanity. Fire is Fire, Fire is not fire, Fire is Gods. Age of Fire is the Age of Gods, Age of Dark is the Age of Humans. When the flames of the Fire fade, the Gods have died, and humans inherit the Earth.


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

[User] ELI5 How does making the '8' sign in Google Maps improves the compass accuracy?

[Assistant] The compass in the phone does not work the same way as the old whiskey compass. Both are trying to locate the direction of the magnetic field but where a whiskey compass will have a needle that spins around until it points in the right way the phone compass is stuck in place and can only measure the magnetic field in two directions. The problem is that there may be different factors that changes the readings of the magnetic field. So in order to really be able to find out what direction you are pointing it needs to compare the current reading with the readings in all directions. When you spin the phone around it can take readings from multiple directions. So that if there was an offset in one sensor making it read a stronger magnetic field then there really is it can see that it is not affected by where you point the device and can therefore ignore that offset.


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

[User]
CMV: Waking up at night from a text is your own fault. It's your phone, stop getting pissed at others because you left your sleep up to random chance

EDIT: I think there's occasional exceptions where people may need the *text* sound on at night but that's got to be a small minority. I think that if it's somebody who has stated to you they don't want texts at night, then of course it's gonna be your fault sending them one, but the vast majority of the time this happens the person getting the text hasn't made that clear upfront, and then gets upset, which is the problem. I should point out that the DO NOT DISTURB feature on Android (iPhone too) solves this problem, making even less of an excuse for people to get pissed lol

*FINAL EDIT*: *Straight up I realized a lot from this post. First of all, it's really obvious there are 2 camps on this subject: one is older people with kids, responsibilities or jobs who prefer to let people reach them at night via text for 'pressing' matters, who grew up with rotary phones where the phone could easily wake you at night. The other is people like me, 20-30 year olds who are probably single, where literally virtually everyone we know is also like us, and anybody who complains about waking from texts is deemed a turbo-idiot because ALL of us stay up late and have very wack sleep schedules. The cut and dry is: if you're the sort of person who often texts with people casually late at night, past like 12am, you're likely to be on the side of 'mute your fucking cell dumbass'. If you're over like 35 and have a family you're probably of the opposite opinion. It's pretty clear that's all that's going on here. So my original post, I concede a lot of what I was saying to a number of comments to be honest. I'll leave you with this argument...when you cross the road, do you look both ways? Yes. Even though there are traffic lights, even though people are supposed to stop and not hit you. So why do you look? Because you're taking matters into your own hands to not get hit, because some people are dumb. So there's truth on both sides a bit: if you text someone late it could be considered inappropriate. Conversely, if waking up because of this happens to you a lot (regularly) like I see in some of the comments, take matters into your own hands somehow and alter your phone settings for some contacts, instead of willfully getting annoyed at the world repeatedly. /discussion*

It's come to my attention that some people get really pissed when they get texts at night. This is especially stupid when they have friends who are known night owls.

So, they are complaining about waking up because of *their own device*. **That really should be my whole argument basically, but here's more...**

So am I saying it's OK and cool to text people in the middle of the night? Well, think of it this way: In reality you'd be stupid to do it, because of this exact phenomenon. That's why I don't do it, and also cause I don't usually have a reason to do it. But it doesn't change the fact I will defend your right to be able to do it lmao, because honestly, sometimes I just want to text somebody at night so that they can see the fucking text when they get up.

On top of this, isn't it just supremely dumb to have a text sound on at night? Between calls from telemarketers early in the morning, and texts from your drunk or fucked up friends late at night, aren't all arrows really pointing at you failing to turn your sounds off?

I get that people aren't gonna want to fuss with their settings daily, but here's the real confusing bit to me: why the hell do you want an incoming text sound anyway? I have never, ever in my life regretted not knowing that I got a text RIGHT away. I check my phone often enough. I get enough texts anyways, that I get back to people in like an hour or so usually, and often a lot faster. I check my phone when I feel like it, instead of when my phone decides. Having the sound on isn't even good for your mental state anyway, or your fucking sleep apparently. *Use vibrate if anything I guess, that makes a billion times more sense.* What kind of texts are you getting where you're gonna be burned not replying in 1m? Billion dollar business deals? Who do you even know that needs such a super quick response? It's literally just tech addiction.

If **you** wanted my attention really badly for something quickly, would you text me or call me? If you were waiting outside my building to come inside, would you text me or call me? If you had anything important to tell me that was time sensitive, would you text me or call me? If you answered 'call me' to all 3 of those questions, congrats! There is hope for you

It's called a ringer. That's my version of 'ding'. Ringer = holy fuck I need your attention. Text = casual, non life-threatening chat where there's not urgent up-to-the-minute fuck-giving at hand. If there's ever a situation where I'm anticipating some contact I don't want to miss, I tell people to call me. My ringer is always on. (I turn it off when I sleep cause I'm not fuckwitted lol, cause I have friends that are known night owls and so am I sometimes).

[Assistant]
>they should have a setting where you can tell the phone when you usually sleep, so that your ringer and sounds are all off late at night

Android has "do not disturb" which does this. You can also set is so you can get calls and text from certain contacts too in case of emergency.


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

[User]
ELI5: What Hanlons Razor is.

The textbook definition, Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, has been confusing me for a while.

[Assistant]
You go to a door and grab the door handle to open it. The door handle is shaped weird and has sharp edges.

You could assume that the person who made the door handle that way is an evil jerk who was trying to cut your fingers.

You could also assume that the person who made the door handle was an idiot who probably didn't care about you or anyone who might actually use that door.

Hanlon says you should assume the latter: there are more lazy or stupid or uneducated people that accidently ruin your day, than there are bad guys who are trying to ruin your day.


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

[User]
How to choose an appropriate title in Biotech industry (without industry experience)?

Currently, I am working at a University. I have 10+ years of experience in lab with PhD degree.

I am looking for a job in Biotech industry.

Should I choose the such as research associate or senior scientist?

My concern is that I may be overqualified as a research associate, but for a senior scientist I lack industry background, as commented by my friends.

Any advice? Thank you in advance.

[Assistant]
Senior scientist is entry level research with a PhD and often (though not necessarily) postdoc in hand.

If your 10+ years experience includes time before your PhD and the years you've spent in training roles, Scientist or Senior Scientist are your biotech industry level to target.

If you have a PhD + 10 years researcher (not faculty) experience after PhD it's Senior Scientist to Principal, depending on how much leadership or management you had the opportunity to develop. If you were faculty for ten years, you can go higher.


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

[User] Why do heavy weight lifting champions look "Fat", while those who take part in muscle competitions look like all muscle (Arnold Schwarzenegger)?

[Assistant] If the competition is about actually using the muscles, then the athletes involved don't have to bother with lowering their body fat enough for the muscles to be seen clearly under the skin. Body-builder competitions are basically a beauty pageant. It's awfully hard to get your subcutaneous fat down far enough that your well-developed muscles can be seen underneath.


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

[User] Is there anywhere in our solar system, outside of Earth, where it is safe to be without a space suit?

[Assistant]
50km above the surface of Venus is pretty nice.

You'd still need an acid-proof rain-coat and an oxygen mask but otherwise fine.

**Edit:** You'd want to add UV and solar wind protection to that list, but then again what's a little ionising radiation?  Also, regular wind, windy up there, ooh boy.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do tornados only seem to occur in the US?

[Assistant]
They don't only occur in the US. However, they are more common in the US because air currents from the gulf collide with warmer air coming up from Mexico, and colder air coming off the Rockies. This causes great conditions for what is called tornado alley.

Also, news about them is usually local, and doesn't go international unless there are lots of casualties, so you don't hear about them as much when they're in Bangladesh.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Masters, I have had some troubling visions over the construction of my lightsaber

I am to go to Ilum soon and construct my lightsaber once I find my crystal however, in my dreams I seem to be constructing two lightsabers, where this might be understandable for some I don't plan on mastering a form that utilizes two lightsabers.

Sometimes I think I see what looks like myself in the future with said lightsabers, proficient in form v like my master, but with the second lightsaber slung on my belt almost like a backup, any counsel on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[Assistant]
Hey, The Force is The Force. While getting such visions is rare, and the future is always in motion, you should *probably* make a second lightsaber.

Of course, it's twice the effort. Finding a second crystal that will attune to you will be tricky. But, if you feel that The Force is guiding you, it will of course be allowed.


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

[User]
If something is infinite, is it also necessarily exhaustive? Is the "infinite monkeys on typewriters will write Shakespeare" trope true?

Not sure if I used the precise terminology ("exhaustive"), but the "an infinite number of monkeys typing on typewriters will eventually write Shakespeare" adage is a misrepresentation of infinity, correct?  Like for instance, I could have an infinite set of numbers that never included the number 1234, right?  It could just have 1233 and then expand into infinite numbers that start with 1233 without ever including 1234, and still meet the definition of "infinite", right?

I guess my question really is: does something have to include all possible outcomes to truly be "infinite"?  Or can something have infinite outcomes but not all possible outcomes?

[Assistant]
In the monkey example it is assumed the output of the typing is one long string of alphanumeric symbols for which each symbol is chosen uniformly from a fixed and finite alphabet. So for any postion, the chance of it being one symbol is the same as for any other symbol.

Such a string of uniformly chosen symbols has the property of being normal. This means that not only do all individual symbols occur with the same probability, but all possible strings of length 2 have the same chance of appearing. The same goes for strings of any finite length. (See Wikipedia's article on normal numbers for a more precise definition.)

The entire works of Shakespeare is just a finite string of symbols. So it will eventually appear, and it will appear infinitely often, and just as often as any other string of the same length.

Your intuition is correct though. Not all infinite strings are normal. There is no reason an infinite string of digits has to contain the string 1234 or, indeed, any given finite string.


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

[User] What would happen if you detonated a nuclear bomb in the Mariana Trench?

[Assistant]
Roughly 1/100th of a cubic kilometer of sea water is converted into steam (which would have a volume roughly the same as liquid water at these pressures) and then is rapidly recondensed.

A couple seismologists annotate it as possible instrumentation error and you're left wondering if you could have found a better way to spend the money.


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

[User] ELI5 - Why do we hate our own voice when we hear it recorded?

[Assistant]
When you hear your voice normally, you hear a sound transmitted through the air just like everyone else hears... but you also hear some of the sound transmitted through your jaw and skull. Since bone transits sound very differently to air, the way you hear your own voice is different to how everyone else hears it.

When your voice is recoded and played back, you hear the sound as everyone else does, transmitted through air, and not through bone.

I doubt that *everyone* **hates** their voice when it's recorded, but they certainly find it strange. And if you do hate your voice, then it's only because of the strangeness - because it sounds different to the way you normally hear your voice.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do professional athletes get paid as much as they do?

[Assistant] The teams they play for make many times more than that from ticket sales, advertising, merchandising and so on. Those teams make more money when they have better athletes, enough so that it's a perfectly sensible business practice to pay that much to get the very best ones they can.


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

[User]
Would you be able to measure your speed relative to the rest of the universe with the speed of light?

What I am saying is, would you be able to measure your speed and the direction you are travelling in relative to the while universe?

E.g. If you had a laser and flashed it at a detecter and calculated the speed to be the speed of light plus 100km/h, would that mean relative to the rest of the universe, the set-up is travelling 100km/h in the direction opposite that of the laser beam?

Sorry if this is ridiculous, just a thought I had.

[Assistant]
The speed of light is constant in every reference frame. So no matter what you're doing, you'll always measure the speed of light at 299,792,458 m/s.

Related to that is the fact that there is no universal rest frame. That means, there's no "relative to the universe" when it comes to motion. Motion is always relative to something else.


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

[User]
[Avatar: The Last Airbender] Aside from looking cool, why does Azula bend blue fire?

We have already found out that Iroh and Ozai are two of the most powerful firebenders ever, and Zuko is proficient enough to be able to redirect lightning. Why do they all use regular fire and hers is different?

[Assistant]
Azula is a firebending prodigy, and her blue flames are significantly hotter than the orange fire produced by other firebenders.

She can produce a far larger amount of flames than others, last longer without tiring, shoot herslef into the air by creating a jet of flames, and condense the flames in a way which lets her cut through objects.


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

[User]
[Stranger Things] Why does Vecna kill the way he does?

The way he breaks the limbs backwards and crushes the skull, I understand that he was absorbing them to some degree, but *why* does that require the limb breaking? Is that part just theatrics because hes a bit of a misanthrope and hates/is punishing the people he kills?

[Assistant] He's a sociopath. Breaking the limbs is entertaining to him the same way a child may pull the legs off bugs or cut the whiskers off a cat. He doesn't so much enjoy it as he enjoys the reaction to what he's done to his victim right before he kills them..


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

[User]
How long can I leave a cup of water out without getting sick

So when I go to bed, I fill up a big cup of water with ice that I leave on my nightstand.  I drink it during the night and in the morning.  When I come home from work, I will still drink from the same cup with the same water.

Will I get sick from this.  Should I fill it up again?

[Assistant]
you can pretty much leave it till it evaporates... Water doesnt have any nutrients to nourish bacteria, and has small amounts of things like fluoride that kill anything in it.

It is extremely more likely that you would drink it, or it would evaporate before it had any effect.