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

[User]
ELI5: How does intermittent fasting work?

Why does it work? Is it safe? How do you do it?

[Assistant]
Intermittent fasting is when you don't eat for a determined amount of time, and eat all of your calories during an 'eating window'.

Eg: fast for 16 hours, eat for 8. Repeat every day. Most people do this by skipping breakfast and lunch, and eating around dinner time. Or you can do a 24 hour fast every 3 days or so. There are a ton of variations that you can look up.

The whole idea is to deprive your body of external energy sources so that it can dig into its internal energy sources aka your fat tissue. The concept is there but most of the information we have about it comes from people's subjective experiences whereas the scientific literature haven't found any significant differences in terms of fat loss between people who do IF, and people who simply calorie restrict. Yes, it is considered to be safe when done right. It's just another way to control your eating habits and cut some fat. As long as you hit your daily caloric and macro goals, and eat good foods, you're safe. A lot of people report reduced craving for junk food on the days they fast, but for others IF triggers episodes of binge eating. So it really comes down to what works for your body and lifestyle.


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

[User]
[Dracula 1992]Why doesn't Van Helsing try to stop Mina from doing the sun ritual?

During the final battle of the movie, Dracula makes Mina do this magical ritual to make the sun set quicker. Van Helsing is standing next to her when she does this. Why doesn't he try to pull her down or tackle her to prevent the ritual considering it could lead to the failure of the mission?

[Assistant]
It just blew his mind. He was witnessing something entirely beyond reason, this staggering power to call forth bolts of energy from someone he cared about and was sworn to protect.

Even if he could look past that, what was he to do? It would take several men to get her safely down from whatever that thing was she was standing on, and there wasn't much room for struggle up there.

And whatever she was doing, it wasn't interfering in the fight. Which Van Helsing considered essentially lost anyway. He knew Dracula was up and about before the sun actually set, that it would end in a battle.. as matters of life and death always must.


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

[User]
[Marvel] What exactly is bad about the Techno-Organic virus?

From what I can tell it just converts you into a robot, with the same functions as your normal self. Isn't this a good thing? You're a robot now, you get to live forever.

[Assistant]
Yes, you get to live forever as part of the Phalanx hivemind which takes the way all the joys of being an everlasting individual or your energy is drained until you become a statue after being infected.

Even if, somehow, one retains their individual essence and can enjoy their immortality, this will only become a second hell over time depending on why one wishes to exist forever. The first thousand years may be fun, but after a million or twenty, you'll start to feel obsolete as the species you used to be a part of starts to develop into something closer to cosmic beings beyond your crude matter no matter how cutting-edge it used to be.

You'll go from being a highly intelligent and exciting member of society to being a crude curiosity at best or a statue in comparison to a society thinking and acting on a level beyond your own.

TL;DR: If the worst aspects of the techno-virus are removed, hope you enjoy lonely contemplation as everything you knew and are capable of understanding crumbles before you.


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

[User] ELI5: How does the check engine light on cars know to come on? Does it only cover certain problems ? How does it work?

[Assistant] You car has a computer that is connected to many sensors throughout the vehicle. Most drivers don't need to know what is actually wrong with the engine (indeed, most don't even care), so it's far easier to have a single "Get someone to check this out!" light than to provide a detailed explanation. A mechanic can connect to the computer to find out what is actually wrong with the car, usually through a specific code that might indicate which sensor says something is wrong.


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

[User]
[Marvel/DC] What is the justification for archer (e.g Green Arrow, Speedy, Hawkeye) characters in the Marvel and DC universe?

Is a rationale ever given to why they use a bow and arrow, rather than more advanced ranged weaponry?

[Assistant]
Stealth. A bow and arrow is far more quiet than a gun.

Less injuries. Hawkeye could take down a mugger with a gun, yes, but it's easier to heal from an arrow in the shoulder than a destructive bullet.

Plus on the tiny chance of a miss...well an arrow would probably sink into a wall, not blast through it and kill someone in the next room.

P.S. Gadgets, too. Taser arrows! Puke-gas arrows! You don't even have to hit with those!


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

[User]
ELI5: How British royal titles work (lords, ladies, princes, dames, barons, etc)

Who gets the titles?  How can someone today earn a knighthood or a title (like actors, musicians, etc)?  Do they come with any special privileges or perks in this day and age?  What the heck are barons and counts and dukes?  What is the hierarchy of ranks in relation to each other?

[Assistant]
Knighthoods (or Damehoods for women) are conferred upon individuals by the Queen. Individuals are nominated for this by a committee sitting within government, and any member of the public can write to the committee to suggest specific individuals. Typically, you would have to have done something notable with your life that brings credit to the country, to gain a knighthood. So while a typical sportsman or actor wouldn't be knighted, one who has been at the top of his or her profession for many years and is globally renowned might be. Equally, very-long-serving civil servants and those in similar professions might be rewarded with a knighthood. There are no perks (financial or otherwise) that come with the knighthood, other than the right to call yourself Sir or Dame.

Other lordly titles are a bit different. Traditionally titles were given out by the monarch to individuals who had greatly pleased them -- perhaps a general who won a major battle. This would be a hereditary title, meaning it could be passed down to your children, and came with the privilege of being able to sit in the upper chamber of Parliament (the House of Lords) and therefore make laws.

Nowadays hereditary titles like that are largely meaningless. Few hereditary lords get to sit in Parliament any more, so again it's largely a symbolic thing -- just because you're the "5th Earl of Somewhereshire" doesn't give you any special privileges.

Much more common these days are the "life Peerages". This is a lordship that can be given to someone but which cannot be passed down to their children. Life peers do still have the right to sit in the House of Lords and vote on legislation. It's a common reward for retiring politicians, and for other people who have contributed significantly to politics. A good example might be Doreen Lawrence, who was made a life peer when she was given the title of Baroness Lawrence, due to her decades of work campaigning against racism following the murder of her son by racist attackers in the 1990s.


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

[User] ELI5: How does Egypt know the exact number of ISIS members they've killed after they dropped the bomb?

[Assistant]
Unless they have boots on the ground to count the bodies, they don't.  They are estimates.

There are ways to use infrared cameras to estimate the number of people in a building or location before/after the destruction, but they are still only estimates, rather than accurate numbers.


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

[User] ELI5: How does a touch screen work?

[Assistant]
There are different types, but the most common one used today is called the "Capacitive" touch screen.

The human body is conductive and the skin holds a slight electrical charge. Capacitive touch screens pick up on this charge with multiple sensors placed along the edges of the screen.

Essentially, you can imagine these sensors as being placed in a grid of columns(on top) and rows(on the sides). Whenever a sensor for a column and a sensor for a row both have a change in voltage, they will overlap at one single point.

you can imagine it like so:

           ^
       | | | | |
      -
    < -    o
      -
      -
      -

The arrows are two sensors which detected a touch at the "o". They then send a signal to the device which uses these as X/Y coordinates. (In this case, it could be (2,3) )


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

[User]
[LOTR] Why didn't Sauron build all of his fortifications around Mt Doom?

If the only thing that could destroy the ring of power was throwing it into Mt Doom, why is there no army/fortifications/even one guy with a sword keeping on eye on all that lava? Especially since, according to the film, there's only one entrance! One orc standing in the doorway would have killed Sam and Frodo easily!

Edit: thanks so much for the answers! So the consensus seems to be that Sauron couldn't spare one orc for mount doom... And assumption is the mother of all fuck ups!

But in all seriousness, thank you for the detailed responses, I guess I hadn't thought of how certain Sauron would be that the ring would look after itself.

[Assistant]
Your question is answered multiple times in the books, and even addressed in the films.

Sauron, like everyone else in the world, views things through his own lens and with his own biases.  As he desires power and dominance, so he assumes all his foes do.  That anyone might throw away a weapon like the One Ring is a thought that would never enter his mind.  Until the instant of his demise he never once considered the possibility that someone might choose to unmake the Ring and, in any event, the Ring's own mind-warping effects made that choice impossible.  Only the unexpected appearance of Gollum at the end allowed the Ring to be destroyed, even Frodo and Isildur, when given the chance, couldn't willingly throw the Ring into the fires.  Defending his long abandoned forge would be a waste of Sauron's resources.

Sauron believed the Free Peoples had surrendered the Ring to their strongest leader, the Heir of Gondor.  He genuinely believed the Ring was with Aragorn at Minas Tirith awaiting the new King's coronation to claim it as his own.

That is why Aragorn was able to call out Sauron's forces from Mordor at the Battle of the Black Gate.  Sauron was trying to recover the Ring and simultaneously crush all opposition.  Victory there would be final victory for the Mordor.  That, in turn, led to most of Mordor being cleared of troops, greatly reducing Sam and Frodo's troubles.


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

[User]
Is the age of the universe relative, depending on how close you are to a black hole?

In the movie, Interstellar, the people who went to the first planet lived one hour for every seven years on earth due to a nearby black hole. So, in order to make things easy, let's assume the universe is exactly 14 billion years old if perceived from Earth, and the new planet is called Planet X.

Math involved:

1 Planet X hour = 7 Earth years

1 Planet X hour = 61,320 Earth hours

This leads me to believe that the the universe from Planet X is perceived 61,320 times more slowly? Or, maybe the black hole will swallow any light that comes near this planet anyways, so the night sky is entirely skewed, useless to making precise calculations?

So, if we were to go with time as being perceived 61,320 times more slowly on the surface of Planet X, the math for Earth's vs. Planet X's representation of the age of the universe would be:

14,000,000,000 years  61,320 = 228,310 year old universe standing on Planet X.

By no means am I a theoretical physicist, or terribly good at math. Additionally, everything that I thought about may be dead wrong. This just happened to pop into my head one day, and I have been thinking of the answer to it ever since.

[Assistant]
If a black hole formed immediately after the universe began and you spent the time orbiting just outside the photon sphere, then it wouldn't take long to get to now. But that's not what "the age of the universe" means. The age of the universe is the time experienced if you're moving with the Cosmic Microwave Background and away from any gravitational fields.

In other words, you're right about the physics, but wrong about the semantics.


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

[User] [Toy Story] Sid was troubled, but he took his aggression out on toys, which he thought were simple objects. Was he able to maintain his sanity when a toy suddenly came alive in his hands and delivered the revelation that all toys are sentient creatures and Sid was torturing them to death?

[Assistant] Someone needs to make a sad short film detailing Sid's spiral into insanity and conspiracy hunting. He'd be in his thirties by now, still trying to prove that toys live. He'd be a really fucked up guy.


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

[User] [Stardust] How did Tristan's mom, Una, the only daughter of the King of Stormhold, become a slave girl to the witch Ditchwater Sal?

[Assistant]
The witch, in the form of a frog, lured her on, until she unwittingly left her father's lands and the protection it bestowed. Once outside of his domain, it was simple for Sal to take her by surprise and bind her with the silver chain.

The moral of the story here is that you should hire a good cartographer, settle your property line disputes in writing, and pay attention when he tells you what's legally yours and what isn't.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is that clicking sound your arms and shoulders do when you wake up?

Especially the shoulders and neck, they do these clicking noises that are different from the "bones sound" you make when you "crack your fingers". It sounds more like coming from nerves and muscles. After a few movements, you can't feel it anymore. Why is that?

Edit: it's more like a "muscles" (or nerves, I suppose) noise rather than bones.

[Assistant]
Not an expert or anything, but its basically some gasses that build up inside your joints in-between your bones. When you crack your fingers/neck/back, etc. The gasses are being pushed outside and because everything is so tight it the bubbles just pop and make the cracking sound.

No worries to granma stories where you get arthritis if you crack your joints, its been tested and there are zero connections between cracking your finger/joints and getting arthritis.


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

[User]
[Terminator] How do the humans resist? How did they survive?

~~I did~~ They were nuked, were they not?

[Assistant]
Skynet nuked major cities and while much of the human population lives in major cities, the outlying countryside also contains a significant portion of the population.  So not everyone died in the initial attack.

Humanity survived by largely moving underground into established sewers and subways lines.  The first few years following Judgement Day was very bleak for mankind, but eventually they reached a stable point where they knew who they were up against and how to fight them.  John Connor was instrumental in this as he relayed vital information from Crystal Peak.

There is also the distinct and likely possibility that Skynet goes out of its ways to sustain the war effort of humanity.  Skynet is first and foremost a defense computer and is bound by at least some of its basic programming.  As a defense computer it absolutely requires an enemy to function and give itself purpose.  If humanity were extinct Skynet would cease to have a purpose and that is something Skynet is not prepared to consider or experience.  As such it periodically leaks information to the resistance and it arms its front line soldiers with weapons that humanity is perfectly capable of simply picking up and firing.  So it is arming the resistance and ensuring the status quo.


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

[User] ELI5:Why does defrosted ice taste different (and worse) than water?

[Assistant] If your question is specific to ice cubes in the freezer, rather than lab conditions:  The ice in your freezer absorbs various smells over time....smells from the food, smells from the kitchen, smells from the likely dirty ice cube tray.    Or in the case of an ice machine, smells from it.     So, when that ice melts, it's some other stuff in there...not just water.  That's what you are tasting.


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

[User] [Star Trek] What's the Tribble's means of locomotion? (Other than people carrying them.)

[Assistant] We see them moving and even climbing, so the likeliest scenario is that their hairs are actually fibrous cilia that can propel them and grip rough surfaces, but are still very soft if stroked the correct way.  Not unlike sharkskin, which is very smooth in one direction but rough the other, except on each individual hair.


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

[User]
ELI5: What does the Large Hadron Collider do?

Hey friends!

Most days I wake up and Im able to tie my shoes without having to look up the manual so I have that going.

Concerning the Collider, imagine I know zero scientific terms and you dont say stuff like protons or particles.  Most P words are most likely banned.

Im happy with the broadest, vaguest definition because the nitty gritty details are like Greek to me.

[Assistant]
We've learned that atoms are like buildings made of Lego, they are a thing, but they are also made up much smaller things built on each other.

All those smaller things are complicated but they are all the banned "P" words, just think of them as tiny Lego bricks that are usually assembled into a spaceship, or a racecar, or a castle.

The collider is like a 4 year old smashing the spaceship into the racecar. This does two things, it sprays out all the Lego bricks and we see them and pick them up and learn about Lego bricks that way, how big they are, how much they weight, how they attach to other Lego bricks, etc.

They also sometimes combine into new things, sometimes you smash a racecar and a castle and you get a pile of Lego bricks, but you also get a small house by pure chance. There's stuff to be learned from that as well. For example, you might *think* Lego houses exist, but if you get one from the smash you realize that A. they do actually exist and B. what Lego bricks it requires to build a house.

That's the gist of it. In lieu of a 4 year old they have a big machine that uses super powerful magnets that spin the atoms in loops on and on and on until they super dooper fast and then SMASH! Pick up the bricks.

EDIT - for those confused about "the banned P words" in OPs prompt, before it disappeared, they specifically requested a response that didn't into all the different particles. They banned the "p"article words.


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

[User]
[Batman] What is Alfred's salary?

I'm guessing his base salary is probably pretty good, but the man does a fair bit more than the average gentleman's gentleman.
What sort of bonuses would he be given? What about the absurd amounts of overtime? Does he get shares in Wayne Industries? How about his specialties like medical work, costume design and upkeep, potential rabies shots?
You see what I'm getting at.

[Assistant]
Alfred stopped getting a paycheck when the Waynes died.

While Bruce was under his guardianship, he had access to any and all of the Wayne fortune, likely put into a trust and administered as needed for either of their needs.

Once Bruce became an adult, he took over the fortune, then likely gifted Alfred a large amount of money, so Alfred could live comfortably off the interest from that lump sum and investments.

He has the run of the entire Wayne grounds including his own personal residence area and so needs no home, has access to any of the civilian vehicles on the premises at will and so needs no transportation, and travels with Bruce Wayne often enough to not need to go anywhere, plus can likely take vacation anytime he likes, within limits.

He has few expenses, lots of money and a modicum of time, when he isn't playing doctor, surgeon, EMT and psychologist. If by chance Bruce Wayne were to precede him into death, he would instantly become one of the world's richest men, and find himself probably welcoming the last Robin into Wayne Manor to become the next Batman, as well.

The real payment for his work is knowing that he is part of making the world a better place, and that everyday he does his job, another person does their secret job, and by doing so he is doing is own little part to honor the memory of Thomas and Martha.


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

[User] Would universal basic income be more effective and efficient as a minimum wage replacement?

[Assistant] No, minimum wage and UBI do two completely different things. Minimum wage exists to alleviate labor market monopsony power that enables employers to depress wages. Only a minimum wage set at the market clearing wage can fully counteract this monopsony power. Giving everyone money may give them a temporary safety net, but it isn't anywhere as effective as a minimum wage at doing what the minimum wage was intended to do.


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

[User]
What evidence is there that the rise in inflation is related to COVID-19 stimulus?

Larry Summers continues to make this argument but he doesn't provide any evidence to back his claim. Does anyone else know of any data that can support his claim?

[Assistant] It is likely impossible to parse out the effect of stimulus checks on inflation because there has been so many inflation-affecting things happening. In addition to the stimulus checks, we have had supply chain failures, pent up demand for certain products/services, low interest rates, and potentially other factors. Since the timing of all these factors occurred at the same time, quantifying the effect of solely the stimulus checks without the other factors would be just about impossible.


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

[User]
CMV: People for the most part should not tip

First and foremost I would like to say that I do believe in tipping for extraneous service(Bartenders making your drink extra strong, doing a very good job, etc), but for the most part I do not think that I should have to tip people for doing their jobs(Waiters/Waitresses/Taxi's/Especially bartenders). I do not see a logical reason why some professions people expect to be tipped, while others are not. I feel that employers should pay them a fixed rate even if that mean making my meal a little more expensive.

I see no reason why waiters and waitresses should make a lot more than people at McDonald's flipping burgers. I feel that waiters and waitresses should accept that not everyone will tip them well or at all and should be graceful when someone does tip them. If they cannot accept that, they should seek employment elsewhere. I do not think they are entitled to mess with the customer's food if they are not a good tipper. Some chains such as Super Burger, and Noodles & Co have their employees do virtually the exact same job as a waiter yet they do not receive tips and usually are more friendly than most waiters I've seen. So why do I have to tip them when they add almost nothing to my experience. If anything the bus boy and cooks deserve tips. Not the person taking my order and refilling my drink when they feel like it.

[Assistant] For servers, paid wages << minimum wage due to the assumption that you will tip them (in the US).  If you don't tip them you are actually screwing them over.  See the 5 billion + previous /cmvs on this subject.


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

[User]
[MCU] If Dr. Strange could sling-ring from Titan in Endgame, how come he was so concerned if Tony could fly the space donut back to Earth in Infinity War?

Do we know what the limitations are of the sling ring? Has this been answered/addressed somewhere?

[Assistant]
I think he only became aware of its true potential after going to Titan.  All we know for sure about the Sling Ring is that the user needs to clearly picture the destination, wherever in the Multiverse that happens to be.  Considering it can take the wielder to other realities wholesale, distance on the same plane shouldn't be a big issue.

But after seeing the "One" timeline, Doctor Strange knew the ring could do it because he already saw himself doing it.  Time's a funny thing.


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

[User]
Why is the maximum to the graph of y=x^x equal to e? Is this how e was determined?

The graph starts looking something like y=sqrt(x) between x=0 and x=e, but after e is reached on the x-axis (e, ~1.44) it looks like y=1/x, why is this? Why is e the turning point? Why does it approach 1 but never reach 1?

EDIT: I meant x^1/x, not x!

[Assistant]
I think you mean x^(1/x), which has derivative x^(1/x)(1-ln(x))/x^2 which is zero when x=e since 1-ln e=1-1=0.

We have (1-ln(x)) > 0 for x<e and (1-ln(x))<0 for x>e while x^(1/x)/x^(2)>0 so the derivative is positive to the left and negative to the right. Hence, x=e is a local maximum for x^(1/x).


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

[User] ELI5: How do motion sensors work?

[Assistant] The general function behind most, whether it uses infrared, ultrasound, or even a webcam, is a game of "spot the difference." When calibrated in a still room, the sensor knows that the general "image" it is "seeing" is a scene without any movement. When something changes, usually within a set tolerance level, (many are designed not to trigger the alarm when a pet or anything smaller than an average adult human wanders through the area) the sensor sees that there's a significant difference in the "image" and hits the panic button. This can range from ultra-sophisticated 3D imaging using a complex network of sensors down to a beam of light going from full to dim/off. Even a tripwire rigged to a mousetrap does this on a mechanical level, though something like this is much easier to circumvent.


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

[User]
[LOTR] Were any of the Nazgul originally good men who tried to use their ring for good purposes?

Such as protect their citizens from threats, increase knowledge and craftsmanship, and eliminate famine and disease? If so, did they last longer before being corrupted by the One Ring?

[Assistant] We don't really know much about the kings who became the Nine. Only two of them get names in the text (the Witch King of Angmar and Khamul the Easterling). We know further that three of them were Numenoreans, which means they were Men of Numenor who were corrupted by Sauron's whispers and were some of the people who led to the downfall of Numenor. (It's unclear how many of them were Black Numenoreans aka people who were corrupted while Sauron was in Numenor and how many were corrupted later, but they were long-lived quasi-magical Men like Aragorn but moreso.) It's a good bet that those three were corrupted mostly by a desire to live forever; that's how Sauron got his hooks into Numenor, by playing on the already-godlike power of their civilization but making them jealous of elven immortality.


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

[User]
(Star Wars) Why does Padme Amidala, an important diplomat, go on potentially dangerous missions?

Im watching the Clone Wars series and she seems to go off on her own constantly without any backup other than Jar Jar...This just seems really irresponsible and outside of her job duties anyway.

[Assistant]
It is, but it's also the only way that she can get some of the information that she needs.

See, here's the thing. She can't just get a bunch of clones together and say 'do this'. Unless they're specifically assigned to her, she's not in their chain of command. Also, if she went through the 'proper channels', she'd lose a lot of time to the bureaucracy. This is bad when she's on to something time-sensitive. This isn't even getting into the situations where she might end up directly opposing another Senator. If she were requesting funds and manpower hours to go into a clone squad that would dig into their business and find out that they're undermining the Republic somehow, they could block her on the Senate floor. Especially when, like on some occasions, all she has is "I just *know* they're corrupt!"


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

[User]
ELI5: How does U-Haul get away with having all vehicles licensed in 1 state?

All U-Haul vehicles I've seen are licensed in Arizona. How can they operate in so many jurisdictions but only pay for licensing in 1 state?

[Assistant]
There are laws pertaining to fleet vehicles - in other words, a fleet of vehicles all owned and operated by one company - that allow the company to title and license all their vehicles in the place where the company's main center of operations is located. Companies use this because it allows them to set up a single account under which all the fleet vehicles' tags are renewed at once, rather than being sprinkled on different due dates throughout the year.

In U-Haul's case, their HQ is in Phoenix, AZ, so AZ fleet licensing laws allow them to title and license all their vehicles in that county. Every state has slightly different requirements for how many vehicles constitute a fleet and how fleet licensing is handled. AZ and IL are two of the more common states you'll see on big trucking fleets because they have the business-friendliest fleet licensing laws.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it "bad" to make tea in the microwave vs a kettle?

Okay so this is a bit of a silly/light-hearted one but I keep seeing it referenced occasionally and an wondering.

Usually it's some sort of conversation between someone here in the US and our friends across the pond and they seem mock alarmed or horrified that Americans use the microwave to heat the water for their tea.

My question is: why does it matter? It's just your method of heating the water right? Either way you're just going to pour the heated water in a cup and add the tea bag so it's not like the actual tea is going in the microwave.

Edit: I forgot I posted this and can't catch up on answering everyone but thanks for all the input!

[Assistant] Much like a small sect of coffee drinkers, there are tea ~~connoisseurs~~ snobs that will turn their nose at you if you don't brew your tea at the *proper* temperature. Tea pots are designed to heat water to a specific temperature, where the microwave can produce irregular and inconsistent results. In reality, most people will never know a difference and most tea consumers can't taste the difference. If you are among the few that can taste the difference or can't take the mockery, a teapot may be good for you. Otherwise, enjoy that quick heat from the microwave-induced vibrating water molecules.


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

[User] In spacecraft/satellites powered by radioactivity, how do they protect the sensitive instruments from the craft's own radiation?

[Assistant] Usually, the RTG(s) are located at the end of a boom, away from the main body of the satellite/probe. So this distance attenuates the gamma radiation produced by the decay of the isotope in question (usually Pu-238). Otherwise, Pu-238 is an alpha emitter, so it's very easy to shield.


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

[User]
About the Monty Hall problem, what if the host doesn't know which door has the prize?

Let's say the director of the show wants to diminish the chance of the contestant to win the game and don't tell the host where the prize is. After the contestant picks a door, the host opens another, at random. If the host randomly opens the door with the prize, they have to retake, after shuffling everything, otherwise the game continues as usual. For the contestant, changing the door still increases his probability to win?

[Assistant]
If Monty doesn't know where the prize is, then 1/3 of the time he will open the door with that prize.  By specifying that in those cases there is a retake, this puts the odds to 50/50.

Let's look at the Keep strategy:

1/3 of the Time the contestant chooses the prize.  Monty's guaranteed to choose a Goat. The contestant then keeps their door and wins.

2/3 of the Time the contestant chooses a goat.  Half the time Monty will choose a goat too. So, in 1/3 (2/3*1/2) of the cases the game continues, the contestant keeps their door, and loses.  But, in the other half the time (1/3 of all games) Monty chooses the Prize and the game resets.

Since resetting doesn't change the odds (including the odds of resetting again and again), that gives equal odds of winning and losing for the Keep strategy and thereby equal odds for the Switch strategy.  Of course, it does draw out the game, and there will be some times when filming takes *days*.


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

[User]
CMV: Modern art lacks true talent and is possibly, even, harmful to the medium as a whole

I feel that modern art lacks talent, as I said. I especially am referring to minimalism and the vein of modern art that revolves around everyday items (eg Duchamp's "Fountain", although even more mundane most of the time). Also, to a degree, I am referring to art which is meant to be streaks and splatters on the canvas, and also art that gains its momentum not particularly through quality but rather through quantity (eg the art piece made of a bunch of painted rectangular tiles at the 9/11 museum in NYC). Basically, a lot of modern art. Not all of it, cubism is okay, photography and even collages have some sort of artistic vision.

Basically, to begin explaining: I am not saying that these pieces are necessarily "worse" than classic paintings or things like that. My point - and this is especially true for Minimalism - is that, in comparison to traditional masters of drawing, painting, sculpting, where many of hours of work might go into a piece, modern art lacks the same investment and craftsmanship.

Now, one might say that that's the goal. Modern art's foundations, again returning to Duchamp's dadaism and even earlier deviations from the usual formula, lie in this idea of art being a tool of personal expression, and being something accessible by all, liberating an incredibly broad medium of expression from the standards of high society and the upper class. Art isn't what you say it is, art is anything. There's art in everything, something doesn't have to live up to your standards or compare to the works of the Renaissance to be considered "art". I understand this way of thinking.

However, isn't that, then, a celebration of inferiority? That an "artist" can take a ready-made product, like Duchamp's urinal, and present it as art? I understand the thinking and ideology behind it, but there is still no talent in the ability to buy an item and mount it on a pedestal. By celebrating the avant-garde, the shocking, the unexpected, the standardless... Is that not diluting art as a whole, and encouraging the decrease of true artistic talent?

I am not asking for someone to tell me the purpose and ideas behind modern art, but rather show me the talent. Show me that it takes effort, that it's not just a peculiar object and an emotional metaphor thought up in all of five minutes.

[Assistant]
A guy's car runs into engine trouble. He stops at a mechanic on the side of the road. The mechanic says he'll fix it. He takes one look at the engine, twists one screw, and says "that'll be $100." The guy looks back at him and says "How can that be? All you did was twist one screw!" The mechanic says "Right. It's $1 to twist the screw, and $99 to know which screw to twist."

Many people can copy a painting, or make a work that is derivative of someone else's. It takes a lot of effort to develop the manual dexterity needed to copy another work, but it doesn't require any intellectual talent or creativity. There are ten's of thousands of artists alive today who can make an exact copy of Van Gogh's The Starry Night.

The real talent in art isn't in painting or sculpting an object for rich people and museums to display. It's in looking at the world from a unique perspective, and finding a way to share that perspective at the world. It requires a deep understanding of what the art world and society at large is thinking at a given place and time, and then strategically creating a work that enlightens and change's people's perspective.

So when most artists were focused on paintings of rich people, conservative landscapes, and religious figures, Duchamp came out and said even a urinal is real art. He found the right screw to twist at the right time, and he blew everyone's mind. In order to do it at the right time, he had to have incredible knowledge about the art world and society at the time.

Buying and selling stocks is as easy as pushing a button. But it takes a lot of talent and knowledge to buy stocks low and sell high. Giving someone a pill is pretty easy. But it takes a lot of talent and knowledge to give the right pill at the right time. Landing punches in boxing, bluffing in poker, and a hundred other human endeavors work the same way.

Good art works because it makes people think. It's not just a pretty picture that you look at once and forget about two minutes later. It sticks with you. The Mona Lisa's smile, the little mirror in the back of the Arnolfini portrait, the audience's actions in Rhythm 0. These are the things that stick with people. Modern art is just as good at making people think as traditional art, if not better.


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

[User]
[Marvel/DC] How are people like Daredevil still religious after experiencing all sorts of cosmic and magical nonsense?

Or Simon Baz who is Muslim, for example. In both universes, entire cities and planets are pulverised by aliens, evil magicians, demons, and cosmic beings of all flavours. I'm pretty sure it's not covered in the Bible.

[Assistant]
He just sees them as not worthy of worship. Sure, Thor is a god, but he isnt the almighty divine creator.

The Bible doesn't say that there isn't any demons or magic or other gods. It says that all other gods aren't anything compared to GOD. Daredevil has met Thor, he has also seen hulk kick his shit in. Someone must have created the living tribunal, after all.


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

[User]
CMV: The death penalty should be abolished for civilians, but applied far more often for officials of the state who are convicted.

View is pretty simple - I believe that no citizen should be subject at birth to the death penalty, but those who choose to accept state authority & responsibility ought to be held to a higher standard. By that, I mean that they should not only receive the death penalty for capital crimes, but a broader range of the more serious felonies.

The big objection against the death penalty for most is a lack of faith in the justice system of the state. Hence, civilians who arent related to the state shouldnt have to put up with the coin flip of whether the justice system will wrongly execute them. However, if you actively choose to work for the state (and have faith in its processes), then you ought to put your money where your mouth is. If youre scared of getting the death penalty, dont work for the state.

Practically, I think our society would be better off without the sorts of people that seek state power to commit crimes. People who commit crimes out of financial desperation or mental illness can often be rehabilitated with compassion, but you cant rehabilitate a cop who thinks its okay to beat people to a pulp or a representative who tailors their political agenda to help their insider trading. Id rather not pay for these people to chill in a federal prison with golf courses and tennis in the rec yard.

While the death penalty has been debated for its effectiveness as a deterrent, I think it would prove particularly effective for the particular breed of sewer-rats we keep finding in the governments of the world/US.

In summary, my viewpoints that could be changed by a good comment -

1. The death penalty shouldnt apply to civilians

2. Officials who *directly* wield state power who commit serious felonies should receive the death penalty

3. The death penalty, when applied to state officials, will serve as a stronger deterrent than the civilian death penalty.

[Assistant]
> People who commit crimes out of financial desperation or mental illness can often be rehabilitated,  but you cant rehabilitate a cop who thinks its ok to beat people to a pulp or a representative who tailors their political agenda to hell inside trading.

You need to provide some kind of support for this statement because it is the crux of your argument. Why couldnt your cop example be due to mental illness? Why cant we rehabilitate greed? You dont explain this.


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

[User]
Why are all the planets' orbits on the same plane?

Galaxies too...I'm guessing they are flat for the same reason, but why it that?

[Assistant]
Because galaxies and solar systems form with some angular momentum.  In other words, they are spinning as they form.  This causes them to flatten into a disk.  In the case of a solar system, the disk coagulates into planets, but they're still in the same plane as the disk.

For a galaxy, the disk coalesces into stars (and other solar systems)


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it that we're cautioned not to eat raw egg, but it's perfectly fine eating aiolis like mayonnaise when the egg yolk they use is raw?

[Assistant] Most bacteria is found on the outside of the egg shell, and only contaminates the white and yolk if there is a break in the shell.  If the eggs are properly washed, and did not contract any bacteria while forming in the chicken, there's little to no risk of illness from eating them raw.


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

[User]
[Pokmon] Why dont Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, etc. carry guns?

Im referring to the anim and the games here.

Theyve proven that they dont care about murder, and unfair advantages are essentially part of their job description. With that in mind, is there any reason for them not to carry guns and maybe a knife in addition to a few Pokmon?

[Assistant] Gun culture didn't really develop in Pokemon.  Pokemon themselves are far more useful and versatile tools than guns could ever be anyways.  So why bother with a gun, when any pokemon could probably also kill a person and is totally legal to own?  The pokemon is also capable of many other functions too.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can't cars have a pull starter cord as a back up starter?

[Assistant] Car engines are huge and very difficult to crank compared to pull-starters. Your lawnmower might be 5 horsepower, but even your aunt's minivan is 120 horsepower or 24 times as big as the lawnmower. The lawnmower is hard enough to start with a pull - that van is gonna be impossible.


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

[User]
Is there a way to express the Cobb-Douglas Production Function in terms of (K/L)?

Using

>Y = A \* K^(a) \* L^(1-a)

where Y = GDP, A = total factor productivity, K = capital, L = labor, and (a) = input shares, is there any way to express A as a function of K/L?

I'm curious because the aggregate capital-labor input ratio (K/L) would help illustrate the growth rate of capital relative to the growth rate of labor, unless I'm misunderstanding something? Any input would be appreciated, thanks!

[Assistant]
This is indeed part of the reason that the Cobb-Douglas production function is helpful to work with. We can rearrange your equation to generate

>Y/L = A * (K/L)^a

which states that *output per worker* depends on the *capital-labor ratio* and *total factor productivity*.


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

[User]
how much energy would it take to vaporize the earth?

I am building a giant death ray and need to get the specs right!

[Assistant]
Roughly, we can use the gravitational binding energy of the Earth. There are chemical bonds in there too, but this is a rough estimate and we can ignore them here.

The magnitude of the binding energy of a uniform sphere is (3/5)GM^(2)/R, which is another approximation because the Earth is not uniform. Plugging in the Earth's mass and radius, we get about 10^32 J.

For a sense of scale, if you built a Dyson sphere around the Sun and absorbed all the Sun's radiation, it would take about 10 days to build up this much energy.

Interestingly, the *kinetic* energy of the Earth is actually ten times larger than its binding energy. This means that it's easier to blow up the Earth than to move it. If you wanted to smash a a single asteroid into the Earth to cause the Earth to fall into the Sun, it turns out that's not possible - you would actually smash the Earth to pieces rather than cause it to fall directly into the Sun. Keep this in mind when designing your doomsday devices.


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

[User]
Are there any life forms that are the midpoint between colonies of cells and multicellular organisms?

By this I also mean to ask specifically whether or not there exists life forms in which the individual cells are able to transition between being part of an organism, and independent/colony survival.

If so, what are they? What are they like, and how do they relate to their environment? Do the individual cells behave differently when they are on their own as opposed to when they are part of the larger structure?

[Assistant] Slime molds sound pretty similar to what you are talking about.  They live as individual cells for most of their lives, roaming around and eating and basically acting like amoebas.  When food gets scarce they signal each other and swarm together to form a single mass, which crawls around looking almost like a slug until it finds a good spot to rearrange itself into a stalk that functions essentially like a tiny mushroom, spreading spores outward to found new populations in other regions.


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

[User] Does modern day cryogenics keep the body intact, or does it irreparably destroy the body?

[Assistant]
modern day cryogenics is, sadly, something used to steal money from rich people such as Walt Disney.

Like throwawydow has said, cells are damaged by freezing.

In the laboratory we have products such as DMSO and glycerol which we use to stop cells from freezing conventionally when at very very low temperatures (such as -80C) but when you are unfreezing mammalian cells, about 80%-90% of them die.

Also DMSO is not good for you so we can't really put that in people or they will get sick. Plus it smells like rotten cabbage. (I don't think it is 100% toxic, but it certainly does make dangerous chemicals which would otherwise be safe, much more permeable to our skin).

Tl;dr

yes it appears to irreparably destroy the body.


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

[User]
[LotR] What are the powers of the One Ring?

Besides making the wearer invisible (and why does it do that anyways?), what exactly does the ring do? Boramir, Denethor, and countless others wanted to use the ring to defeat Sauron, but what advantage would it give them, assuming they could resist its corruption?

[Assistant]
The One Ring enhanced Sauron's power, especially as it pertained to controlling the wills of others. Those who have their own Rings of Power (ex. Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf) would have been especially vulnerable to someone who mastered the One Ring, but even those with no connections to the Ring aren't immune. It's the kind of power that allowed Sauron go from a prisoner of Numenor to the high priest and top adviser to the king. Even Sam gets access to a tiny fraction of this:

> His will was too weak and slow to restrain his hand. It dragged at the chain and clutched the Ring. But Sam did not put it on; for even as he clasped it to his breast, an orc came clattering down. Leaping out of a dark opening at the right, it ran towards him. It was no more than six paces from him when, lifting its head, it saw him; and Sam could hear its gasping breath and see the glare in its bloodshot eyes. It stopped short aghast. For what it saw was not a small frightened hobbit trying to hold a steady sword: it saw a great silent shape, cloaked in a grey shadow, looming against the wavering light behind; in one hand it held a sword, the very light of which was a bitter pain, the other was clutched at its breast, but held concealed some nameless menace of power and doom.

> For a moment the orc crouched, and then with a hideous yelp of fear it turned and fled back as it had come. Never was any dog more heartened when its enemy turned tail than Sam at this unexpected flight. With a shout he gave chase.

But mastery of the Ring would allow much greater powers of control and persuasion of others' wills.

Perhaps even more significantly, mastering the Ring would defeat Sauron, just as if the Ring had been destroyed. If its power were mastered by another, that power would no longer be sustaining Sauron, and he would be reduced to a shapeless spirit.

Long life and invisibility are side-effects of the Ring, originating from its inherent power and inherent corruption, respectively. The "invisibility" is more like being drawn into an unseen world. The Ringwraiths exist entirely in the unseen world, and so are invisible to anyone not wearing a Ring of Power. Especially powerful/divine beings, such as Glorfindel, Galadriel, or Sauron, exist in the seen and unseen worlds simultaneously (and would not become invisible upon wearing the One Ring).

Though it's also extraordinarily unlikely Boromir or Denethor could actually have mastered the One Ring; doing so requires immense power and force of will. Most people have no chance at mastering the Ring, but the Ring itself deludes people into thinking they can.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is wrong with the cable companies and data carriers

I see a lot of bashing towards companies like Time Warner and AT&T. What is it that they are doing that is causing such an uproar, exactly? I understand that TWC is holding out on faster internet speeds, but I feel that it must go further than that. After a google search all I get is stuff about calls being dropped and so on.

[Assistant]
There are a host of reasons, but they all point to one simple explanation: pretty much everyone needs to use their services, but the lack of any meaningful competition means that the companies have zero incentive to offer reasonable prices or provide even a modicum of customer service.

People are okay paying a lot of money for stuff as long as they're being treated well. And people are okay not being treated well if it doesn't cost them much. And people don't complain *too* much about shitty and expensive services when they don't feel like they have to buy them. But telecoms fail at all three: they overcharge, they treat you like shit, and they've got you right where they want you.

Why those things have come about is a much, much more complicated explanation involving technological platforms, business models, overlapping governmental jurisdictions, and a century of regulation.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Iowa so important in presidential elections?

[Assistant]
Imagine that there are two groups of dinosaurs - T-Rexes, and Velociraptors, and they are fighting each other over who will get to be the king of the area where all of the dinosaurs live.

The figure that the best way of deciding the king is a fighting match between the best Velociraptor, and the best T-Rex.

There are about 10 T-Rexes that think they are the toughest, but the t-rexes can't figure out who to send to the fight.  The decide that the best way to choose is to go around to all of the groups of T-Rexes and ask them who they think is the toughest.

So they draw up a big sheet, and send it all over the place where the T-Rexes live.  On it is a list of the different groups they're going to visit, as well as a place to put down who that group thought was the toughest.

When they go to the first group, they ask who they think is the toughest, and that group says "Rex" the T-Rex is the best choice to fight the Velociraptors.

The T-rexes then write "Rex" down next to group two.

The reason this is so important is that all of the other T-rexes weren't really *that* sure who the toughest was, so when they see that "Rex" won the first group's selection, they figure "Hey, maybe this Rex guy is a pretty good idea!"

Rex gets more popularity from this, and eventually wins the overall nomination from the T-Rexes.

In politics, instead of dinosaurs fighting each other, it's old crazy people electing one another to office.  The groups are called "political parties" and the selection groups are called either "Primaries" or "Caucuses".

Iowa Caucus is really important because it's the first one, and it gives the winner a **ton** of momentum.


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

[User]
what degree of knowledge should I know before applying for a job?

I studied programming on and off for 8 years for shits and giggles. It was very broken, but the last 6 months I've consolidated that knowledge into a fairly solid mass, with no holes that are obvious to me. I know c++ and python.

My question is, how much should I know before I should start applying for jobs? Is the bare basics adequate, or do I need an advanced knowledge of the languages? Do I need knowledge other than just programming?

I've been advised that since I don't have a degree that I should build a bunch of projects to show what level of knowledge and fluency I have. How many and varied should these projects be? Should they be huge, complex applications? Should it be one large application or many small applications? Should they be put onto some app store or something, or is there existence adequate and I just send them along with the job application?

I don't mind having to learn a bunch more if I need to, but I would just like to know where the start line is. Thanks for all replies.

[Assistant]
As far as projects go, I'd reccomend one pretty large and flashy project, supplimented by a sprinkling of smaller projects if you want to show breadth. A large project demonstrates an ability to plan and follow through that you don't really get in sub-thousand line projects.

If you're just making them for resume purposes, open sourcing them on GitHub is the way to go. If it's mobile dev work you're doing, publishing might be good move, though the likelyhood of a recruiter actually downloading your app is hit or miss.

As far as ability level goes, the bare minimum is probably language fluency, that is, given a vague description of a solution, you should be able to relatively painlessly translate it into code. Solving hard problems should be the hard part of developing software.


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

[User]
[Alien/Halo] The Flood replaces the Xenomorphs in the Alien tetralogy, and the Xenomorphs replace the Flood in the Halo game series. What changes?

Can Ripley and co. adapt and deal with the Flood all the way from pre-Hadley's Hope LV-426 to the corridors of the USM Auriga? And can the UNSC/Covenant and Banished deal with the Xenomorphs over the course of the Human-Covenant War and the Second Ark Conflict?

[Assistant]
Ripley's screwed.  Forerunners couldn't fight the Flood without killing the whole galaxy.  No way a bunch of space truckers, or even all of humanity at that tech level, survives.   You don't even get as far as the Auriga.   Nostromo delivers cargo with Flood forms onboard, infection spreads, everyone dies.

Xenomorphs present no real problem for the Covvies. Might be some local damage, but they can easily handle it.  Shields protect from facehuggers and the acid, so Elites can handle things on the ground if they have to, but the real factor is that the Covies won't hesitate to glass an infected site from orbit.  Easy containment.

UNSC has a harder fight, but still probably a win.  Alien-universe marines handle Xenos ok, and the UNSC has less of a profit motive driving them to sabotage their own efforts.  And again, shields, so Spartans can be sent in if needed, or you know, dust off and nuke the site from orbit.


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

[User]
[X-Men] Can Mystique shapeshift while pregnant? If so what would happen?

Can she even get pregnant in the first place? If so what would happen to the baby?

[Assistant] Yes she can and yes she can get pregnant. She is the mother of Nightcrawler and Graydon Creed. Changing her form too much might kill the baby, but while she was pregnant with Nightcrawler she remained in a consistent disguised form.


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

[User]
[Dishonored] IS there any form of power other than whale oil? And if not, why wouldn't they develop a cheaper, more readily available and more stable energy source?

Just got the game, and i didn't notice any power sources other than oil, not even steam or coal.

[Assistant] The setting of Dunwall is on an archipelago, and before their industrial revolution with whale oil, they were a fishing/whaling society. Small island nations really do not have the amount of natural resources such as petroleum or coal available as say land based nations, and the closest continental land mass is Pandyssia, which is thousands of miles of away, plague infested, and filled with angry natives.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we get dizzy when we spin around?

[Assistant]
Your orientation in space is detected by fluid and calcium deposit movements in your inner ear. When you spin around and then stop, the fluid and stuff in your inner ear keep moving for a little while. (like how water in a cup keeps moving after you stopped stirring it).

So your inner ear is telling your brain that you're still moving.

Your eyes are telling your brain that you're standing still.

Your brain is getting two conflicting inputs and it goes 'lol wut' and you get dizzy and sick.


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

[User] ELI5: If commodity prices are at a historic low, why do the costs of everyday goods seem unchanged?

[Assistant]
In general, you are more upset by prices rising than you are happy by prices falling.  Because of this, supermarkets do their best to keep prices as stable as possible, keeping sales inflated when prices are down and cheaper than expected when prices are high, (profiting more when commodities are cheap, and less when they are expensive).

That and the fact that much of the cost is in transit/labor/sales/markup/advertising which didn't get any cheaper.


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

[User] [Meta Gear Solid] Whats the in universe explanation for Liquid Ocelot having Liquids original voice in MGS2 but having Ocelots voice in MGS4?

[Assistant]
Nanomachines, son!

But really, nanomachines. Ocelot used a combination of nanomachines and hypnotherapy to fool the patriots AI into thinking Liquid was somehow taking over. Along the way, he presumably didn't need to fake the voice as part of the act anymore.


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

[User]
[The Dark Knight] How does Bruce Wayne do half of the things he does without giving away his secret identity?

Like I know he puts out the alibi about going on holiday with the dancers but none of them get asked about that and say it was the weirdest thing. Less than a day in he dove off the boat and got into a plane and never came back. And the pilot. He doesnt question that he deals with Bruce Wayne AND batman?

[Assistant]
There's a trope called refuge in audacity, a person doing something so over the top and strange that it takes attention away from other Details of a person's behavior.

I think loads of public figures and celebrities do this as either a way to bring attention to themselves or hide something about themselves to the public.

I think in the dark knight you see Alfred reminding Bruce to keep people aware of Bruce Wayne- mostly because it's one of the only things Alfred can do to keep from him being Batman 24/7.

There's also that bit with Lucius Fox and that blackmailing accountant saying- who's going to believe a rich playboy is running around dressed as a bat.

People are more willing to accept a simpler explanation - Bruce is just a weird rich guy, certainly not a mentally troubled man that fights crime at night- not really needing to investigate him to explain his behavior any further.


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

[User]
How come that immunity fades away over time?

I've learnt a lot about our immune system, but something that doesn't add up here is why immunity fades away over time. This question is kinde related to covid-19, because here they are talking about a boostershot. When you get infected, you create memory cells (T and B) which will be activated when the same pathogen infectes your body. But won't those memory cells be in our body's for a very long time? Won't they immediately bring up a immune response when activated?

[Assistant]
You're right that you have a repertoire of memory cells ready to re-activate on the next infection. But they are still cells, there is still the possibility they could die before they are needed again.  Plus, as you get older, your innate immune system does not function as optimally as it once did, and that will also hinder your specific immune response.

I believe the motivation behind the COVID boosters is to keep the T- and B-cells active to further reduce the probability of infection, or severe effects. Particularly in at-risk populations which may already have some degree of compromised immunity.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Did Sidious plan on Anakin falling for Padme all along our did he just manipulate Anakin with the most convenient tools he has available?

[Assistant]
Palpatine became aware of Anakin when he was first brought to Corusant. He began to furiously investigate the young boy, quickly coming to believe that the child was the result of the manipulation of the force that he and his master had carried out.

From that moment on, he did everything he could to be involved in the young boy's life, becoming a mentor and friend to the boy. We know that Anakin had a mild crush on Padame from his childhood, but by the time he met her again this had developed into a full blown obsession, as seen in his creepy reunion with her.

Palpatine was working many angles with Anakin, using his frustrations with the Jedi, fears over his mother and yes, his feelings for Padme, all to manipulate him as Palpatine desired.

Having Anakin in love served his purposes, but it was not the only plan or way of getting to him that he had. So it was part of his plan but it was also a useful tool  and one that he could let happen naturally and manipulate to his own ends.


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

[User]
What mathematical background is required to read contemporary analytic philosophy?

And how do I go on about requiring said background?

[Assistant] None for lots of it. Some for some of it. Steinhart's *More Precisely: The Math You Need to Do Philosophy* pretty much has all the math you could need for anything except some extremely specialized things.


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

[User] ELI5: How does your brain decide what kind of music you like and don't like?

[Assistant]
There are two big factors that have affected your current judgments toward music: your upbringing (influences from those around you such as parents, siblings, and friends) and your cultural exposure (the types of music in your culture). In your upbringing, you were exposed to music through your family and the culture that surrounded you. Through these experiences, you learned how to classify certain sounds as pleasurable, un-pleasurable, etc. You have learned and adapted to what music is acceptable for certain occasions in your daily life: What music is good for dancing, religious practice, background, working, driving, relaxing, or putting you to sleep. Interestingly, the acceptable forms of music for certain occasions may vary from culture to culture; because of this, it is important to be open-minded to musical forms that you are not accustomed to. You may not like a particular form of music but remember that no one form of music is better than another; it is all a matter of perspective.

No matter what your taste in music is, you are a good listener! You may not be aware of all the details as to why you like certain sounds/music but you are automatically listening very closely when you are searching for music that stimulates you. Because you are so good at listening to music and sounds, you dont even have to think about whether or not you like a certain type of music/sound: You Just Know! Keep in mind that you can always learn to enjoy and appreciate other forms of music. In the same fashion that you came to appreciate the music you do, it takes time and a lot of listening to appreciate music.


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

[User] ELI5: If hot air rises, then why is it colder the higher you go towards our atmospheres?

[Assistant]
The lower air pressure means air molecules are more spread out, which means they bump into each other less, meaning less friction and thus less heat.

As hot air rises, it also cools as it is under less pressure.


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

[User]
Can the rights of social minorities be guaranteed under Locke's government?

This is a question I can't get to the bottom of after reading Locke.

Obviously, Locke's majoritarian-based government relies on the majority agreeing to be governed. If the rights of the people in a government are disrespected, the state is considered dissolved- **but** Locke clearly states that consensus is impossislbe, and that the majorty of a group is enough to agree upon government.

So, the question is, can the rights of social minorities actually be enforced or guranateed under Locke's system?

[Assistant] I don't know if Locke gave enough details to sort this out. In other words, "Locke's government" is too amorphous a category for us to say conclusively whether it would guarantee the rights of minorities sufficiently. You may find is *Letter Concerning Toleration* useful, since that deals with minorities. If you're interested in how Locke-inspired views deal with this, the typical answer is that anyone is free to leave any time, so even if your rights aren't guaranteed, that's no problem. Just take your land and secede. Since the government won't want people up and leaving all the time, it'll have to make sure to protect everyone's rights.


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

[User]
[Jurassic World] How did they clean up Isla Nublar in order to build the new park?

The T-Rex i can understand was hunted down and put to sleep.

But what about the velociraptors? They are too fast and sneaky. How many men did they lose before declaring the island safe again?

Is it even safe?  Or are there huge red zones that still need cleaning?

[Assistant]
There were only 3 Velociraptors.

2 got killed fighting the T-rex, the other one was probably still stuck in that freezer.

The only other carnivore on the island is that spitting dinosaur, so that was probably the most difficult to deal with.

They probably lured them into traps considering that they're generally curious at first before attacking (based on their behavior with Nedry).


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

[User] ELI5: What is the difference between decriminalisation and legalisation?

[Assistant]
Decriminalization simply means that you make it a law that can only be cited or ticketed for. These offenses are like traffic violations, you go to court, pay a fine and thats that. No permenant black mark on your record, no jail time (as long as you pay the fine).

Legalisation however means that the activity that formerly could be penalized by the state in any way is now legal and you will not be arrested, charged, ticketed or fined for possession or use of it.

Citations are civil fines imposed on ordinances or rules set by the town or local gov't up to the state level. Crimes are criminal offenses that are tried in court and can lead to jail time.


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

[User]
[A Series of Unfortunate Events] Where does the Series take place?

The constant use of English puns implies that it is an Anglophone country. The landscape is pretty varied \(cities, mountains, deserts\) which rules out most Anglophone countries except America.  However, when Klaus is told that Count Olaf is an actor he is surprised and implies that in this setting it is reasonable for people to still make a living off being nobility.

That's not even mentioning the anachronism stew that makes up the technology.

So what's going on? Where is it? When is it? Is it an alternate timeline?

[Assistant] According to Daniel Handler, official spokesperson for Lemony Snicket, "A Series of Unfortunate Events takes place in the city and regions surrounding it, during the week and sometimes on weekends. All The Wrong Questions takes place earlier, in a smaller town." Hopefully this answers your question.


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

[User]
[40k] When space marines fight other space marines (such as chaos space marines) are the fights short or long?

Being some of the deadliest foot soldiers in one of the deadliest fictional worlds do space marine battles tend to be long drawn out affairs or are they sudden and furious with one side dead within minutes if not seconds?

[Assistant]
Depends on the situation and the Marines involved. Some are trained in lightning fast hit and run tactics like the White Scars or Ravenguard, others are trained to dig their heels in and stand the line until the last man like the Imperial Fists. A fight between the Imperial Fists and say the Iron warriors might take *weeks* of prolonged siege as they're both prone to digging in and fortifying or trying to break fortifications, whereas something like a World Eaters versus White Scars fight might be decided in a brutal melee that lasts like twenty minutes of stabbing and punching.

It's mostly down to doctrine when it comes to the Astartes.

If we're talking just one on one, it tends to be brief and based around who screws up first unless it's named characters, in which case it's anyone's guess.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are Jedi vegetarian?

Do they eat creatures with high midichlorean counts? Are eaten midichloreans killed in digestion, excreted, or incorporated?

[Assistant] The Jedi weren't about things not harming each other, they were about the Force doing its thing.  There is a story of Yoda finding a species who always ate another intelligent species.  He didn't stop it because he felt this was what the Force had intended for these two species and he had no right to go against the Force's will.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] In the films, why are so many young wizards capabale of wordless magic and what spells are any of them casting exactly?

You see a lot of magic duels in the movies of characters just throwing spells back and forth at eachother and blocking them, what spells are these?  Are they just basic attack spells?

How much does spell speak matter in the HP-verse, you see Dumbledore and Voldemort duel eachother using seemingly complex magic without uttering a word.   So why are low level wizards in the movies able to do it?

Off question as well, in the 5th movie the aurors and Black apparate to help Harry against the death eaters but they apparate white instead of black, why?

[Assistant]
Nonverbal spell casting is a skill that is taught in the Sixth year of Hogwarts instruction, generally in the DAtDA, Charms, and Transfiguration classes.

If you think about the incantation as a method of getting the brain and will into the proper shape to channel the magic into the desired result, then nonverbal spell-casting is simply a sign that the magic user can achieve that mindset without needing to utilize the verbal cues.

And the smoke thing isn't actual apparition, it's like a flair that's meant to hide other movement.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does saving an endangered species work? Aren't the future generations bound to be affected by inbreeding depression?

Are there any established methods for preventing this? Or does inbreeding  not have that much of an effect?

[Assistant] Yes, they are affected. However, inbreeding isn't a death sentence, but the species ceasing to reproduce, hence the smaller of two evils is chosen. Further down the line the inbreeding can be countered by judicious mate selection.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are some people mute?

[Assistant]
There are many types of mutism. Sometimes it's a problem with their brain's ability to process language, others suffer from selective mutism where they get so uncomfortable in certain situations that they can't speak, others are deaf and can't repeat what they can't hear, some have paralyzed speech musculature, etc...

Could you be more specific?


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

[User] [ELI5] Why do children form such strong bonds with stuffed animals that those stuffed animals practically develop into separate personalities?

[Assistant]
The stuffed animals can take on whatever personality the child wants. If the child is scared, they can create a personality for the animal that comforts them. A child is shy, and has trouble communicating? The stuffed animal can become a perfect listener.

Imagine the strong bonds you could create with your friends if they would be whatever you wanted them to be at any given time.


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

[User] ELI5: How excess energy is stored as fat and what exactly does "burning fat" entail?

[Assistant]
Say you eat some bread. The bread is digested into sugar in the stomach, then absorbed in the small intestine. Sugar is the body's main energy source. After being absorbed, the sugar circulates in the blood stream. It goes to every single cell that needs energy. If there is leftover sugar, it goes to the liver. The liver turns the sugar, which is also called glucose, into a short term storage form called glycogen. Once the liver has topped up on glycogen, it sends the rest of the available sugar through the blood to special fat cells called adipose cells. These cells absorb the sugar turn it into fat.

A few caveats. Technically all cells can turn glucose into an intermediate molecule called acetyl-CoA and then turn that it into fatty acids, but it's the adipose cells that store the fatty acids as long term fat. Furthermore, this fatty acid creation mostly happens in the liver and fat cells. Also, two more caveats. Next, all this stuff happens at the same time. Finally, the liver doesn't send anything anywhere becuase it doesn't have decision making powers. It just sort of happens based on the biochemistry of the cells involved.

Oh, as for burning fat. When your body is low on energy, it tells the adipose cells to release fatty acids into the blood. The fatty acids are then "burned" for energy in most of the different cells of your body, (but especially heart cells and muscle cells.) The reason it's called burning is because it's actually the same chemistry as setting a piece of paper on fire, but slowed down into many steps. The energy in sugar and fat is stored in a chemical bond between carbon and oxygen. When you break that bond, you release energy. If your body does it slowly, it can turn it into energy. If you set it on fire, you do it quickly. The original way to see how many calories are in a food was to set it on fire and see how much the temperature changed.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] Would a Null Field kill a psyker?

From what I understand, Null Fields remove the ability to connect to the Warp from an area. If a psyker was within its bounds, would they be cut off from the Warp and die?

Going off of that, if the Cadian Pylons are a kind of souped up Null Field generator that helps keep the Eye of Terror in check, then can Psykers even work on Cadia and the surrounding area?

[Assistant]
No, Null fields simply limits the connection Pyskers have, if it severed it completely all people with souls (the connection to the Warp) would just roll over and die.

Psykers can still use psykic power, it's just very limited (this can depend on the quality and strength of the field generator).
A low level psyker? Can't do shit in a Null Field, A high ranked powerful Chaos Sorcerer? Lost the ability to cast some of the more powerful spells.

About the Cadian Pylons, we don't know anything about them. All we know is that they keep the Cadian gate up, we don't even know if they are Null Fields Generators.


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

[User]
ELI5: why does vaccinating for rabies work after exposure when it doesnt with other diseases?

When you get bit by something youre supposed to get a whole bunch of vaccinations incase it was rabid, why does that work if the individual had already been exposed to rabies when they were initially attacked?

[Assistant]
Rabies has a long incubation period. The virus can be in your bloodstream for a couple of weeks before it reaches your brain. If you get vaccinated within 10 days of exposure, you can stop the infection from impacting the brain.

Anyways, rabies is far from the only disease managed with post-exposure treatment. Anyone who has ever stepped on a rusty nail and then received a tetanus shot can tell you that much.


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

[User] I've finished "Imagined Communities" by Benedict Anderson, what are some further interesting reads that corresponds with his ideas, whether as a critique or a further build?

[Assistant]
Here are a few suggestions of texts that address some of the same questions that Anderson grapples with, specifically as they relate to nationalism.

Books

Nations and Nationalism by Ernest Gellner

Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec by Richard Handler

Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse? by Partha Chatterjee

Articles:

Arjun Appadurai Patriotism and its Futures in Public Culture (1993)

Simon Harrison Cultural Difference as Denied Resemblance: Reconsidering Nationalism and Ethnicity in Comparative Studies in Society and History (2003)

Katherine Verdery Whither Nation and Nationalism? in Daedalus (1993)


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

[User] ELI5: What can someone do with your IP address? How does it work?

[Assistant]
The most common and easiest thing they can get is information about your physical location (city, state, ZIP code), which they can use in some cases to get even more information about you, especially if you're not careful about protecting yourself on social media websites.

Besides that, they theoretically could access your computer remotely, but there are a lot of roadblocks there, such as your ISP's internet security configuration and firewalls, your own modem and router's security configuration and your computer itself (usually has some sort of basic firewall online by default). A dedicated and capable enough hacker might be able to find a way in but it's not going to be a super simple or easy task.


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

[User]
Why does the Nile split?

The Nile is arguably one of the most important rivers in the world, and it forms a Delta near the ocean, yet there aren't any large obstacles where it splits, something like a mountain or rock. That being considered, why does it split?

[Assistant]
Deltas are formed by the sediment that the river carries with it. This is sand, dirt and mud that is carried down stream with the water. When the water slows down, like it would when it reaches the ocean, the sediment is deposited. Over time this builds up to the point where it starts restricting the river, whereby the flow and pressure builds up to break through part of it. This is a constant balance act between sediment buildup and water pressure/flow. This process keeps continuously repeating everywhere in the delta, resulting in a bunch of smaller flows that will keep changing shape and places over time.

If you for example dug a big canal through the delta, most the water would flow that way. But over time this now fills up with sediment until the water flows out into smaller and easier paths.


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

[User]
What does "good enough" (in terms of writing a manuscript, paper, proposal, etc.) mean to you?

Hi everyone, I am a four year PhD student in the USA in geosciences. I'm at the point where I've written a handful of lot of abstracts, white papers, proposals, and contributed as co-author to some peer-reviewed papers, but always a minor role in writing, more-so data analysis or just a small piece of writing.

I'm at the point where I am preparing my own manuscripts as first or second author to be submitted for the peer-review process. This feels like a whole new realm of "serious" where I am now in the driver's seat and laboring over my work. My advisor advocated for me to just get manuscripts to the point of "good enough", meaning you didn't plagiarize, it's factually correct, editorially sound. Now that I'm submitting work for peer-review, I feel even more pressure to not make novice mistakes, but I'm getting to the point where I think I'm laboring too much.

How do you define "good enough?"

[Assistant] Lame answer but youll get a feel for good enough the more you publish. It takes developing an understanding of what pisses off peer reviewers in your field. Good enough then becomes good enough not to piss off peer reviewers.


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

[User]
Does breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth during strenuous activity have any real effect?

I've always been told that during an exercise or exhausting activity that breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth is the best way to breath. Is there any merit to this technique, is it any better to do this than say the opposite or even in-mouth-out-mouth? Also I remember being told by a few trainers that I could over-come my asthma by doing an exercise where I would inhale to capacity, hold my breath and continue trying to inhale. I wasn't sure what this was supposed to do and felt it wasn't helpful but is there any science to back it up?

[Assistant]
Both of the things they've mentioned have actual true physiological benefits, so get ready kids, we're doing anatomy!

Your lungs are awesome, seriously amazingly cool.  They *always* have air in them, even when you breath out as far as you can.  This is called your functional residual capactiy or FRC and is a % of total lung capacity or TLC.  It should be about ~45% of TLC in a normal healthy adult.

Now, your small airways are held open mostly by smooth muscle, thus, during strenous activity if you're asthmatic, ill, emphyesematous any number of things, they can, and do, collapse.  This can actually trap extra air in the lungs, it's called air trapping.  This increases the proportion of FRC to TLC, and that means you have less capacity available for gas exchange.

Breathing out through *pursed lips* allows you to maintain a positive airway pressure at end expiration.  This is called PEEP and helps to keep those airways from collapsing.  Breathing in through the nose smooths airflow, filters, warms and humidifies it, which protects the lungs from a number of pathogens and from drying out the mucus lining them.

Breathing in, holding, and breathing in more is a basic recruitment maneuver.  You're trying to literally pop open areas that have collapsed by holding increased pressure in the lungs, and then slightly more increasing it.  It's debatable how effective this is naturally as it's more commonly performed to ventilated patients, but there's no good evidence and it would be logistically extremely difficult to measure.


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

[User]
What exactly happens when heat is applied to a bottle filled with water and oil in order to cut it?

I was watching a program about making rum in a 3rd world country where a man made drinking glasses out of normal glass bottles. In order to do so, he filled the bottle about half way with water and quarter with car oil. Then he placed red hot metal rod in it and the bottle was cleanly cut at the line at the top of the oil level. Not at the line where water and oil met, but at the top edge of oil.

So heres my question - what happens there and whats the purpose of having water and oil in the bottle?

[Assistant] It's to do with specific heat capacities. The specific heat capacity of water is relatively high, meaning that it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of a mass of water. The specific heat capacity of oil is much lower, so for the same amount of thermal energy input (the hot rod), the oil will rise to a much higher temperature. The purpose is to keep the heat localised to one particular band on the glass, because the difference in temperature across different parts of the glass is what causes the clean cut.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does not eating, or being really hungry, cause headaches?

[Assistant]
Hunger headaches are normally attributed to either:

\- a low blood sugar or/and

\- a muscle tension

Depending on a person effects of hunger may vary drastically (not everyone will even have a headache, affecting factor are vast and diverse).

A l*ow blood sugar* (or rather a quick fall of a blood sugar level as a result of hunger)  sometimes cause significant changes in a function of brain blood vessels, which cause a headache.

*A muscle tension* is known to be sometimes causing by a low glucose levels in blood. A severe hunger,  may cause a muscle tension in any acting muscle, including face muscles, muscles in the forehead and other parts of the head, which can be sometimes recognized by us as types headaches.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is it legal for Hershey's to block Cadbury's chocolate from entering the US?

Edit: Some really good responses, thanks folks. For the record I'm a Brit and feel lucky that these shenanigans don't affect my chocolate stash. I feel for you America.

[Assistant]
It's not Hershey's blocking Cadbury's.  It's Cadbury's blocking Cadbury's because they've sold the rights to Hershey.

Cadbury's signed a contract with Hershey's stating that Hershey's would manufacture chocolate in the US and sell it in the US under the Cadbury's name.  Hersheys paid Cadbury's a sum of money for this privilege.  In return Hershey's gets to use the Cadbury's name and advertizing.  In addition Cadbury's agrees not to sell it's own chocolate within the United States.

The problem here is that people are importing Cadbury's from the UK and selling it in the US.  If Cadbury's does not take steps to prevent this then Hershey's could sue them for breaching the contract mentioned above.  Since Cadbury's actually likes that contract (because of all the money Hershey's pays them) then don't like these chocolate importers.  So they attempt to block it.

It's not Hershey's doing the blocking.  It's Cadbury honoring the commitment they made when they signed that contract.


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

[User]
[40k] How are women incorporated into the Imperial Navy?

Are there many women in the IN? Are they treated any differently than the multitudes of men? What ranks do they usually inhabit? Are there any notable female figures in the IN? Any other information relevant stories/information would also be appreciated.

[Assistant] The Imperial Navy is composed of both men and women, as is the Imperial Guard and the Adeptus Arbites. Women and men are treated equally, for all are equal who pledge their service to the Emperor. Women are not barred from combat or holding any rank congruent to their service level. For example, Anastasia Arkelius, Lord Admiral of the Imperial Navy, currently serving with Battlegroup Cerberus. There is also Sylvia Locke, Lord Captain of the Dauntless Class Light Cruiser Aegis, on extended long range patrol in the Koronus Expanse.


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

[User]
eli5-Why is it better to pay a mortgage than to buy a home up front?

Is there any truth to this in modern day economics? Was this something that made sense in the past? I dont get why paying interest to carry a mortgage is better than paying in full if you can afford and not losing money to interest payments.

[Assistant] Mortgage interest rates are low, especially now, they are somewhere around 2-3%. Avg yearly returns on investment portfolios is around 7-8%. So, put your extra money in investments instead of at the mortgage and you'll come out ahead.


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

[User]
ELI5:How do animals other than humans handle periods?

So, I know that very few species have a menstrual cycle that could be considered similar to humans, and I know that among them are gorillas and bats ( I believe). Do these species have any special things that they do when they have their periods, the way that humans often do? Do they sit apart from the others? Do the others just sort of accept it? Do they just go about bleeding everywhere, and if so, doesn't that attract predators? How does menstruation work for other species?

[Assistant] I can only speak on behalf of cows, but their menstrual cycle is very basic. After they come into heat (hormonal spike that males pick up on) if they aren't bred, they bleed out a small amount (about six inches in diameter) one time. Normally, we (the farmer) clean it up with other waste, though in the wild it is likely that they clean it up by eating it.


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

[User] ELI5: When movies that include a different species that speaks a made-up language, do the directors/producers actually "create" a new language? Do they create a base of words and translate from that? Or is the made-up language completely improvised?

[Assistant]
There are a few ways to go about this, usually depending on how much the language is going to be used on screen. Usually, it's not improvised on the spot so that it sounds something like actual language between two people.

Greedo's dialog in Star Wars was recorded in French, then played backward in the movie.

James Doohan (Scotty) wrote the dialog for Klingons in the first Star Trek movie; it's completely made up, but written to sound consistent. Usually when this happens, some words are made up to replace words used in the speaker's native language so it's easier for the actors to remember.

In the third movie, Klingons are on screen a lot, so linguist Mark Okrand was hired to make a language for them to speak which has been used for their appearances since then. In turn, fans were able to use his basic syntax rules and vocabulary from the films to create a usable language. Another linguist, Paul Frommer, did the same thing for the Na'Vi language in "Avatar."


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

[User] ELI5: Whats the science behind sea legs?

[Assistant]
There are several theories about the specific effect but its not important enough to research properly. On a more general level, the human body likes to maintain a lot of "normal" conditions, because it functions best when it has some standard patterns to follow. For example, jet lag is the body clock's standard pattern being out of sync with the body clocks of the people in your new location and it takes a long time to adjust it because your own body clock is trying to reach your internalised "normal" pattern.

Our balance and a few other motion senses are regulated in a similar way. The orientation of our head is measured using liquid components in our ears for example and this is used to know whether we're vertical or laying down. It would be annoying for the brain if it was constantly taking in and processing new information about your position due to the bobbing of a boat, so after a while it adds some compensatory information which makes it feel like you're standing still even though you're bobbing. It compensates by adding reverse bobbing sensations. So when you step on land and the bobbing sensations disappear, the reverse bobbing sensations are still there because your brain takes some time to adjust to being on stationary land again and during this time it feels like you're bobbing still.


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

[User]
[Indiana Jones] How does Indy travel around the world with so little luggage, and what does he bring with him?

This always bothered me as a kid.  There are some serious necessities when traveling during that time period - extra clothes, toiletries, cold weather apparel, sleeping stuff, books, money, travel documents and credentials, first-aid kit, etc.

[Assistant] He almost always relies on locals to provide him with these things. As an archaeologist he's established a wide network of contacts in countries all over the world and, when he is in a new place, he can leverage his knowledge to engender himself to the local people, at least earning some room and board.


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

[User]
CMV: Companies posting job listings, taking applications, and putting candidates through multiple interviews just to build a candidate pool "to be prepared if [they] have openings in the next few months" should be f*ing illegal.

After having been job hunting for a couple months, I'm finding that there seems to be a new trend of companies posting job listings, taking applications, and putting candidates through multiple interviews just to build a candidate pool.  There isn't actually a job opening currently or even on the immediate horizon.  This has happened to me 4 times now.  Interviews with 2-3 different people, then comes, "Well, you sound like a great fit, we might have a position available in a month or two, can we keep you on file?"

The latest potential employer even wants me to do a couple ride-alongs for me to "get a feel for the job" even though he doesn't have any positions currently available.

This trend is a colossal waste of time for everyone involved.  Employees waste time driving and calling for interviews.  HR people are wading through resumes for positions that don't even exist. Hiring Managers are spending time interviewing candidates who will almost certainly be unavailable when those phantom positions do materialize months later.

[Assistant]
>"Well, you sound like a great fit, we might have a position available in a month or two, can we keep you on file?"

This sounds like a polite way of saying no.

Its a way to reject you for the position without burning the bridge.  Or to keep you around as a 2nd/3rd option if their first option doesn't work out.

There probably was a job, you just weren't the first choice.