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

[User]
The first Earth-Orbit teleportation was completed today using tangled Photon observations, can someone explain how this works and how it could potentially be transitioned to matter?

From the article I read:

One of the most difficult to grasp aspects of quantum physics is how observing a quantum particle forces the particle's state to change.

This is known as the observer effect, and it is the result of the instruments necessary to measure the state of very small objects.

When quantum objects, such as photons, are "entangled" it means that they were formed at the same instant in space and so share the same existence.

The state of entangled particles are linked, so that if you measure the state of one particle it instantaneously affects the state of the other.

Questions arise about how long it takes, if observation of one of the entangled objects can change the state of the other object, for the other object's state to change.

Current research describes entangled particles as being part of the same wave function, which means that regardless of the distance between the entangled objects, the quantum state change will take place immediately.

This form of immediate change is what is being described when the scientists talk about teleportation.

By tangling two photons together and observing one, the scientists are instantaneously transmitting information in a potentially unlimited way.

While this has been performed many times in a laboratory setting, the Chinese researcher's experiments show it to be possible to teleport an object from Earth to orbit, and breaks the record for the longest distance for entanglement.

[Assistant]
The article you quote is really complete rubbish. There is basically not a single correct statement in it.

Teleportation works the following way:

You have Alice who has some qubit in an unknown quantum state and you have Bob who wants to know that state. Alice cannot just measure the state and tell Bob what it was, as single measurement does not reveal the complete state of the qubit and alters it in the process so that any subsequent measurement does not contain any useful information about the original state.

Alice can still send the quantum state to Bob if they have a classical communication channel between them and share an entangled pair.

What Alice does is performing a measurement that reveals the relation between the state she wants to send and her half of the entangled pair. Here quantum weirdness strikes for the first time: Even though there are infinitely many states, there are only four possible outcomes for this measurement. If Alice knows the relation between one half of her entangled state and unknown qubit had, then she knows the relationship between Bob's half of the entangled pair and the unknown state is. So she calls Bob and tells him what the result of her measurement was. Then Bob knows that the state of his qubit differs only by one out of four transformations from the unknown one. He performs this transformation and holds this qubit.

Note that only information was transferred. This kind of "teleportation" cannot be used for transmitting matter/energy and further note that no information was transmitted instantaneous or faster than the speed of light. The information transfer needs to include classical communication between Alice and Bob. If Bob doesn't get the message and doesn't transform his qubit accordingly, then the qubit will just behave completely random when measured.


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

[User] ELI5, after working out, why do muscles hurt more the next day as compared to right after the work out?

[Assistant]
It's not studied very well but the general consensus is inflammation. The body responds to injury (micro-tearing of muscle fibers) by sending white blood cells, enzymes, and other helpful devices to the injured area to clean house and repair the damage.

However some of these helpful devices will have  side effects which includes increased pain sensitivity in the area being repaired. This is why the muscle feels fine if its stationary, but hurts as soon as you move/contract it.

A similar and maybe more relate-able condition is getting a sunburn. You also don't feel the worst of that until 24 hours later, as the inflammation and repair process takes time to get into gear.


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

[User] Is PEMDAS a human invention, or is there some mathematical logic that says it must be done this way?

[Assistant]
Its a hierarchical schedule of what is implied in ambiguous representations in how mathematical expressions are written.

For example the expression 2x^2 means twice the square of x, not the square of twice x.

Only a textbook would deliberately create a sloppily ambiguous monster like -x^2 and make you decide if it means the square of negative x or the negative of the square of x. But if 2x^2 means twice the square of x, then by analogy -x^2 must be the negative of the square of x, the exponent applying only to the symbol its attached to.

So the OOO is not about math but about the grammar of written representation.


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

[User]
[Luke Cage] Luke's skin is bulletproof but what if he gets shot in the mouth or the eyes? Is he still bulletproof there?

His skin is unbreakable but his eyes and mouth aren't exactly skin. What happens if he gets shot or stabbed in those places?

[Assistant]
I've seen either

1. His entire body's durability is increased proportionally. His eyes and mouth are super-durable, but they're not as durable as his skin. So a bullet *might* be able to pierce his eye even though it would bounce off his skin.

2. His eyes and insides aren't superhumanly durable.

Usually it's the former. In Civil War (I think?) he fights Elektra and she tries to stab him in the eyes, but he's able to fight her off.


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

[User]
If all the sand in the Saharan Desert were to be removed, what would the remaining landscape look like?

I'm most specifically interested in areas consistently covered by dunes since I imagine the as-is landscape is pretty diverse.   Would the new landscape generally follow a similar profile where the dunes were? Would it be smooth or rocky/craggy?

[Assistant]
It depends, does removing the sand include all the sandstone? Are you removing that portion of the desert that is in the sand layers but not sand?

If you literally only eliminated the sand that was not cemented to other grains you would have a shit load of silt, clays, some water, and living things, on rock.


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

[User] [General] Which character legitimately could be considered the most evil?

[Assistant] I've always found Baron Vladimir Harkonnen to be really, really up there in terms of evil.  He is almost a complete embodiment of hedonistic pursuit and absolutely uncaring of what it'll do or cause, so long as it doesn't harm him.  He is incredibly sick and fucked up, with a lot of power.


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

[User] [Les Miserables] What was the point of buying Fantine's teeth and hair? What were they used for?

[Assistant]
Hair was used for expensive wigs or doll's hair for rich folk, and the teeth are a bit more grim...

The teeth were used for dentures. There was such high demand, in fact, that after battles one of the things that looters would be after was healthy teeth from corpses. There was nothing better for human dentures than human teeth, and Fantine's would have fetched a half decent price. Fantine would have to weigh up the value of her teeth against her potential attractiveness as a prostitute, but given her desperation and failing health, the short term gain was worth it to her.


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

[User] Why are there no cinemas with gigantic LCD / OLED screen instead of projectors? What are the reasons that companies like sharp and lg can't produce a few one off 32K mega tvs??

[Assistant]
Cost. Gigantic screens are far more expensive than projectors, harder to maintain, need more power, more complicated wiring, more complicated electronics, etc.

Samsung has just shown such a large screen, which is comprised of modular micro LED panels. If you get enough modules to reach the size of an average cinema screen, it's *eight to ten times* as expensive as an average digital cinema projector system at one million dollars. Sure, it's 8K instead of 4K, but that's still too expensive for most cinemas.


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

[User]
[Psychology] Why do people like listening to the same songs over and over?

I've noticed that we tend to gravitate to a handful of our "favorite songs" and listen to them repeatedly. Why is it that people like listening to these few songs over and over? At some point we can play the songs in our heads from memory!

[Assistant] Some people with ADHD and ASD become easily fixated on something they enjoy, and can stay glued to it for hours. In some ways, this is like stimming - a comforting or pleasant repetition. People with ADHD, for example, can be fixated on a video game because it gives them instant gratification (delayed gratification is a central problem for ADHD). Likewise people with ASD tend to like routine, familiarity, and comforting repetition. Playing a song you like repeatedly gives you predictable sensations - the opposite of sensory overload.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do CPU cores always come in even numbers?

For example, I've never seen a tri-core processor, or a penta-core, or a hepta-core. Is there a reason for this?

[Assistant] AMD Phenom processors were triple-core - the Phenom X3 series. The Xbox 360 also had a triple-core processor from IBM. Playstation 3 also used a processor with an unusual design - one main core and seven extra smaller cores.


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

[User]
[Ben 10] Why does Kevin's Amalgamated Forms look the way they did?

I was looking over the image of all of Kevin's monster form, and I got hit with a question:

Why out of all these form, the only one that seem fairly well put together and well mixed is the one in the Flashback of Omniverse?

 While all these form do look cool well enough, I wonder why did all of them except the one in the flashback look Frankenstein-lite, with all the different part.

Admittedly, the form in the flashback is also like that, but at the same time, it look weirdly well mix together, with may be the only asymmetrical feature being the two eyes on his face.

What do you guys think?

[Assistant]
The thing with Kevin's forms is that are all just an unstable combination of Omnitrix DNA samples.

Like originally he managed to absorb one alien at a time, but after being blasted with all that energy his body assumed a state of being made up of different incomplete parts.


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

[User]
[GENERAL] Does it take super speed heroes/villains the same time it normally would to run around the world just theyre moving too fast relative to earths time they reach their destination fast according to earth time? or are they actually fast and feel like they reach there destination fast?

clarification: lets say flash runs around the world- does it take him hours to get there relative to his perspective but fast to normal people because we cant see him moving faster than tome? or does he run around the world in his point of view just as fast as a normal person sees him do it?

[Assistant]
I get what youre asking. It always depends on the person.

Most iterations of Quicksilver experience each moment, so if he spends an hour at super speed while everyone is standing still as he runs, to him, he experiences that hour. He doesnt tire and processes things but if he spends an hour running in his perception at what feels like 30mph down the highway, as all the cars and the world appear frozen, he experiences in real time every one of those sixty minutes.

The Flash(es) with very few exceptions always control their perception. So Flash can make the same run and it feels like Quicksilver, OR to his POV its like he teleports... but Flash emphatically DOES see and experiences it all, just.... very differently, as the powers of the Flash are very cosmic and metaphysical. If the Flash also sees something during such a quick jump that he wants to interact with, he has absolute automatic control to change modes.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What was the ring Saruman wore when Gandalf visited him in Isengard?

When Gandalf visits Saruman to consult him on what to do with the One Ring he discovered in the Shire he sees that Saruman is wearing a ring:

>But I rode to the foot of Orthanc, and came to the stair of Saruman and there he met me and led me up to his high chamber. He wore a ring on his finger.

Later Saruman proclaims himself a ring maker even. We know he made it a point to extensively study Saurons dark arts ostensibly to defeat him, so much so that he was seen as the expert on Ring-lore among the White Council.

>For I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman Ring-maker

So it clearly isn't just a decorative item, but a ring forged with the techniques he learned while studying ring-lore. So what is this ring? Is it Sarumans version of the One Ring? Would he have lost his physical form if that ring was destroyed like Sauron? Why isn't he wearing it when we see him in the Shire later? Did it work like he wanted to amplify and focus all his Maia abilities like Sauron?

[Assistant]
It certainly isn't anything on the level of The One. It is possible he made his own 'ruling ring'... but only to rule the other rings he made, which he gave out to his own minions in order to enforce his will on them. As such, they were probably all lost in either the battle of Helm's Deep, or the rout afterwards.

But who knows? As you say, Saruman is the expert on Ring-lore, likely second only to Sauron himself. He certainly knows more than we do about what is possible through their crafting. So he would also know better than us why one might stop wearing one.

Perhaps it had to do with the breaking of his staff, and his power. Or the loss of Isengard, or some of the things he held there.

We can really only guess.


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

[User] Is there a theoretical possibility of some day being able to empirically verify that particles are strings? If not, what is the theoretically smallest thing we will ever be able to see in a microscope?

[Assistant]
To verify something it has to be true. String theory is a highly speculative approach, and it is unclear if it has any connection to reality.

*If* string theory is a good description, then we could in principle verify it with giant particle accelerators. Where giant probably means larger than the solar system ...


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

[User]
[Meta] Just wondering what people think about questions for non-canon game mechanics

So, pretty much every video game contains elements that aren't canon. Soldiers recover from bullet wounds within seconds, the Dragonborn can carry a hundred pounds of cheese while wearing nothing but underwear, XCOM soldiers wait patiently for the aliens to move around and shoot them. These things have nothing to do with the actual universe and exist solely as game play mechanics, so what do you think? Should we indulge questions about these and come up with utterly non canon answers, or should we dismiss them as artifacts of the medium and potentially violate the Watsonian rule?

[Assistant]
Some of the most interesting threads I've seen have come from trying to explain game mechanics from an in-universe perspective. Ask sparingly, but an occasional question like that isn't a problem.

If you're tempted to say that it's just a game mechanic so everyone should just shut up, then you should move on. That thread isn't for you, and that's fine, but there's no benefit to sitting there festering.


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

[User] During a house fire, what causes the windows to shatter? Is it from the creation of smoke through combustion creating a pressure change from inside to outside, or a thermal expansion in the window frames?

[Assistant] The primary cause is thermal stress. Unequal thermal expansion of the glass pane over its area causes stress and cracking. It's a general problem of glass that is not specifically treated for heat resistance.


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

[User]
[META] Is this subreddit an appropriate place for people on the fence and not leaning in either direction?

When I see this being an issue is people not having strong opinions about something and wishing to form them. When this is the case - they may not have a strong case and there's nothing to argue against.

[Assistant]
If we want to accommodate people who are on the fence and looking to learn more about a topic maybe we need to include a new tag for that. for example

NSV (no strong view)

* for people who are on the fence about a topic and feel that they need to form a more robust opinion.

*provide a synopsis of your knowledge and thoughts on the various positions you're considering.

"but what about the deltas?" i'm glad you asked Timmy, you see the poster of a NSV could award deltas if someone can pull them off the fence.

just an idea.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the purpose of panicking?

Most "how to get out of extreme situations" guides say not to panic.

"Remain calm", etc.

So why do humans (and other animals) panic? Does it ever do any good, or is it just the byproduct of a scared brain with no real purpose to it?

[Assistant]
It's been pretty beneficial to our survival up until we started contending with our own technology; running away from danger is frequently a good strategy in the wild.

Panicking is the "flight" version of "fight or flight" and like any other adrenaline response it is there to help you ever overpower or outrun whatever threat you're facing; in nature there were more threats that needed running from or overpowering than ones that required calm rational thinking (something that gets thrown out in an adrenaline response), but now that we're dealing with less natural danger and more man-made danger, the opposite is true.

You're not going to overpower, for instance, the door in your car being held shut by water pressure if it gets driven into a lake, no matter how much absurd strength you get from being panicked. You're also not going to overpower a machine that has your finger stuck inside the gears, and by trying to pull away from it like your panic instinctively makes you, you may make the damage far worse.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] what is the lower limit of toy sentience?

So obviously the anthropomorphic toys are sentient, and they can be recombined into mutant toys, and mechanical toys such as Etch-a-Sketch are sentient. What about a ball, is it sentient? Or a chess set, are the pieces alive? What are the limits to toy sentience?

[Assistant]
If the child believes the toy can interact with his/her other toys.

Now according to this, etcha-sketch or the weird fishing pole shouldn't be sentient, but perhaps the kid doing the imagining found a way.

Based on this criteria, even a ball could be sentient. Even a mound of clay could be sentient. Hell, the clay container could even be sentient! Its magic based so logic isn't important.


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

[User] ELI5: How do online multiplayer games work so well despite so many differences in the systems behind each user (processing power, internet speed, display refresh rates)?

[Assistant]
They avoid dealing with those issues at all tbh. What you send them isnt whats on your screen you send your inputs. Then your inputs get sent and the game reacts to them on your screen and the server. Lag is actually a result of this process being interrupted.

To restate for clarity everyone just puts inputs in and the server sends that info to everyone playing whose computer then interprets them.


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

[User]
[Superhero Comics] Why don't aliens get superpowers?

Yes, I know there are alien superheroes and Supervillians. But they tend to be just, like, naturally powered. Superman, Venom, Martian Manhunter, Starfire- sure, they're superpowered from our perspective, but from theirs, they just have normal abilities. Venom is just another symbiote, which makes him very powerful to *us,* but he's not got *powers* any more then a bear has powers.

Or, like the lanterns, they had advanced alien tech which, again, not really powers so much as owning something.

But where are the super aliens? Where's the Skrull who was bitten by some radioactive animal and got its proportional strength? Where's the member of the Reach who was struck by lightning and became an avatar of the speed force? Given how many superhumans there are, you'd think the superaliens would show up in the various invasions of earth, but there's maybe a handful at most. The Heralds of Galactus and Lightning Lad are the only ones I can think of.

What's unique to humanity/earth that means we get all the cool powers?

[Assistant]
In case of Marvel.. humans were experimented on by celestials in prehistoric ages. That is the cause of mutations and superpowers.

Some other races like the skrulls have been shown to have mutants. But normally theyre killed as soon as its clear.

I think the kree have a strictly controlled breeding program weeding out irregularities.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Is there seriously a spell designed solely and exclusively to transform animals into water goblets? (Vera Verto) What would the possible practical use of such a spell? Why teach it to kids?

Ok, I get it, kids need to practice, but are y'all claiming that the sole purpose of this spell is to teach kids the basics of transfiguration? Spells do not come from nothing, someone invented them, usually for a purpose. What is the practical application of turning animals into water goblets? If you're threatened by a lion it may be easier to, you know, just kill it. And if you desperately need a water goblet, then I'm pretty sure it'd be easier to get one from transforming something that is not ALIVE. Or maybe not, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Assistant]
As practice.  Doing magic well requires some familiarity with moving magic around.  Consider them like agility drills for football players.  There is little practical application in and of itself for running in place and dropping down to the ground.  But do it enough and you start to bulid a little agility.

Similarly, turn animals into water goblets enough, and you will start to get a basic level of skill and understanding of the art of transfiguration.


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

[User] [Warhammer 40K] The Imperium had made it possible for the Atronomicon to be lit using only the power of sacrificed psykers in roughly the same numbers used now. Then the Emperor dies. How does Imperium fare?

[Assistant]
Bad shit still happens.
The Emperor is holding back the broken Webway gate below Terra, and if he were to expire, the infernal portal would break open, letting in countless hordes of daemons right inside the Imperium's capital. It's also theorized that the portal wouldn't just break open, but would also grow in size, possibly becoming a Warp Rift that swallows all of the Sol System.

TL;DR: The Carrion-Lord of Mankind may not be a God, but he's vitally important to humanity's survival, whether he's fueling the Astronomicon or not.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why did they refer to the Death Star as a space station or battle station?

The Death Star:

- has sublight engines for maneuvering in system

- has hyperdrive capability

Why and how do they consider it a space station? Its called a mobile battle station, but I dont really see what thats supposed to mean.

If a space station has both sublight and FTL maneuverability, why not just call it a starship?

[Assistant]
In Star Wars a "Battle Station" is defined as a large space craft whose power generation is primarily for combat purposes. If it's mobility is self powered, then one could slap "mobile" the front to better describe it. The death star, and even capital ships, fit into this category.

Also in Star Wars, "Space Station" is interchangeable with "Star Ship."


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

[User]
ELI5: What differentiates a "cuss word" from a normal word?

In simpler terms, what determines/determined words like "damn" and "sh*t" to be bad words?

Thanks :)

[Assistant]
Well, in some sense, words are defined by what meaning people ascribe to them.  So, a word is a cuss word or otherwise vulgar because people ascribe to it a meaning or connotation of vulgarity.  Bad words are bad because people believe them to be bad / insulting.

But if we dig a little deeper, cuss words tend to have one of three basic origins - sexual, scatological, or blasphemous.  The first category includes your F-word, the second one contains s**t and related, and the last one has your hell and your damn and so forth.

Why these particular origins?  Because that's what was considered "unclean" or taboo, especially from a historical setting.  Those topics, even today, aren't exactly the paragon discussion topics for polite society, and to associate an action or a person with something unclean is to, in effect, call the other person unclean or otherwise insult them.


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

[User]
[Futurama] Why doesn't the professor get laser eye surgery?

Surely in another thousand years, we'll have perfected eye enhancement to the point where coke-bottle glasses are no longer necessary.  What gives?

[Assistant]
HE DID.

But it was botched.

In the Futurama Movie "Bender's Game", when Leela ends up destroying the ship, The Prof. says something in the lines of that it was as beautiful as the day he got botched laser eye surgery.


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

[User]
[MCU] Could the Avengers have stopped the Chitauri invasion without the nuke?

It looked like they were loosing the battle before the nuke destroyed the mothership and shut all the Chitauri down. Would the Avengers have been able to save the day without the nuke?

[Assistant]
If Mr. Stark was unable to catch the nuke and redirect it, the invasion would have still failed. The Avengers had control of the portal and were about to close it, so further reinforcements would be unable to get through. A few minutes later, the nuke would have detonated, turning the earthbound Chitauri and most of Manhattan into ashes, and leaving one seriously pissed off Bruce Banner on the loose.

I guess you could call it saving the day, because most of the Earth would be saved, but the death toll would be enormous.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What did Sidious do with all his power as Emperor?

Usually emperors have many benefits and live in luxury, but Sidious  to me seems to be like some sort of "pure evil" villain, who does evil things because he's evil - which is boring. Did he have some real reasons to become Emperor?

Did he want even more luxury and money? Most of the time emperors also had hundreds or thousands of wifes/sex slaves, but Sidious also never did that...

[Assistant]
Basically nothing in the classic sense. He did not want luxury or money, nor was he interested in pulling the strings on every micro-decision in the galaxy.

What he used his power for was mostly to give him the resources and time to delve further into the force, and study long-lost secrets of the Sith. As Emperor, he could spend months or years totally unbothered by anything other than his studies. And if he needed a pesky civilization wiped away so he could poke through their underground ruins to find a 10,000 year old Sith temple, he could use the Imperial military to do just that. (we see something like this happen on Lothal)

Taxes and resources could be changed or redirected at his whim to further these goals as well. He could demand the entire galaxy twist to his will, and they would do it. It's just that most of his will was devoted to becoming more and more powerful with the dark side. Everything from the Clone Wars to the restructuring of the Republic into an Empire was to serve this goal.

Palpatine's only other concern was wiping out the Jedi and fulfilling a thousand year revenge plot. But with Vader and the Inquisition at their peak, he considered that matter mostly settled.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some men grow patchy beard, and other men grow full breards?

I'm 15 and I have a bit of a patchy beard and I want all the hair follicles in my face to actually have hair.

[Assistant]
Generally, your ability to grow hair (both body and facial) will increase until, usually, your early-mid 20's. At 15, some people ( like <1%) can grow full, respectable mountain-man/viking beards. The overwhelming majority of people are in the same situation as you, only able to grow facial hair in small amounts (often only directly below the sideburns and the very bottom/center of your chin).

Best advice? Just wait.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some high-powered cars "explode" out of the exhaust when revving the engine or accelerating?

[Assistant]
It's the sound of fuel igniting in the exhaust manifold.

Generally it's caused by the throttle being opened and suddenly closed, momentarily leaving the engine with too much fuel and not enough air to burn it with in the cylinder. The normal action of the pistons pushes the unburned fuel out of the cylinders via the exhaust valves, where it lights off in the hot exhaust system.


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

[User] Does your body employ any kind of error correction on the electrical signals in the neurological system?

[Assistant]
In a sense, yes. You generally need a certain amount of excitation to make an action potential, so a little noise doesn't do anything. Motor neurons often work in agonist-antagonist combinations, so that rather than just one firing making a muscle move, you have to both excite AND inhibit in the right measure. In the basal ganglia, a collection of groups of neurons in the brain, you have to break a constant inhibition to allow motor signals to get through to the spinal cord and on to muscle. The overall effect is pretty nice: You can think about moving without actually doing it, and execute movements smoothly or stay still without lots of twitching. (People with Parkinson's have losses in the basal ganglia, with resulting difficulties in motor coordination.)

The eyes are actually particularly oriented towards noise reduction. While most sensory stuff is geared towards neurons depolarizing only when they get a stimulus, photoreceptor neurons are constantly depolarized and firing; light HYPERpolarizes them, reducing their firing rate, and starting a signal to the visual cortex. This avoids sending a lot of random noise from ion channels, and helps ensure that only real stimuli get through.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are Kinder eggs still banned in the US but other food with toys in them, like Yowie and Choco Treasure, are not despite basically being the same?

[Assistant] The US bans non-edible things being "embedded" inside food, which is reasonable enough if it stops someone selling a chocolate bar with bits of plastic in it. However, the plastic capsule inside a Kinder egg is also considered to be embedded, and banned even though there's little chance of you trying to eat the egg whole and choking on the capsule. The legal versions avoid the ban by having a ring of plastic which protrudes from the capsule to the outside. Now you don't have a plastic capsule embedded in a piece of chocolate, you have two separate pieces of chocolate outside a plastic capsule.


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

[User] ELI5:How does my GPS know there is traffic ahead?

[Assistant]
You know how apps require permission for your location?  It's like that.  GPS networks process information from other users currently stuck in traffic.

In some cases, like Google Maps and Waze apps, the permission for your location is exactly the reason they are so accurate for traffic.


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

[User] [ DC, Marvel, Indiana Jones, Ben 10, and various other science fiction universes] When a person is "sped through time" how come they always show the person getting grey hair and signs of aging, instead of simply starving to death from the increase in metabolism with no sustenance?

[Assistant]
It depends on whether we're dealing with a largely physical or magical universe, but in the end it's for much the same reason they don't also gain superspeed.

Which is to mean that it typically only *looks* like they're sped through time. In more physical universes, what is actually happening is a rapid accumulation of defective proteins, flawed mitosis, creation of cellular debris, DNA damage etcera.

It's sort of like the difference between actually letting a machine work for ages until it rusts and intentionally engaging in some chemistry so that it rapidly oxidizes/forms rust. The end result may *look* similar, but only one is actually due to passage of time(in the latter case, you won't see material wear-and-tear for example). A machine rusted through an intentional chemical reaction can still have a full battery - the same applies to living organisms/metabolism.

In universes whose laws of physics contain magical forces, it's because such magics generally don't involve the energies of Time - they involve energies of Death. That is, such magics typically forcefully move you closer to death/rip away your life, the physical manifestation of which usually looks like rapid aging.


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

[User]
Why does the world bounce around when viewed through a camera while walking but stay steady when just using my eyes?

If I hold a camera and walk, when I view it later it makes me nauseous. Running with a camera is even worse (obviously). How do our eyes filter out the bouncing? Do they somehow stay steady while our heads bounce or does the brain somehow filter it to make everything appear much more stable?

[Assistant]
The vestibular system corrects for motion and smooths it out.

You can "bypass" this by closing one eye, then taking your finger and repeatedly (but gently!) pushing your other eyeball to the side. You will see the world move around as you push, because your vestibular system isn't aware of the force that's causing your eyeball to move.


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

[User] ELI5 Asteroids mining will begin eventually, what will be the consequence if earth quickly gains weight?

[Assistant]
You have to realize how *large* earth actually is. The statistic that gets this across the most clearly is that if earth were a billiard ball, then Mt. Everest would not be large enough to disqualify the ball for competitive play. Mt. Everest is not big enough, when compared to the overall size of earth, to make a noticeable difference on its size. Earth's diameter: 12,756,200 meters. Mt. Everest: 8,848 meters.

The point of all that is that it would probably take millennia of constant work to mine enough materials to ever make a difference in earth's size or weight.


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

[User] [Meta] Why are humans in fantasy and sci-fi usually the young and fledgling race?

[Assistant]
Both settings assume great antiquity in their histories.  Elves and dragons and other fantasy creatures live for hundreds and thousands of years.  Only several generations of them would have passed since human civilization even began, meaning their civilizations likely spanned tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years before that happened.  Compared to fantasy races, humans have only been civilized for a mere fraction as long (maybe a few thousand years) and are thus a "young" race.

In Science Fiction settings, the time span of antiquity is much vaster.  Humans as a species have only existed for about 300,00 years.  Yet in SF, ancient races can inhabit true "deep time", where civilizations could have existed millions or even billions of years before homo sapiens even existed.  Compared to truly elder races of the cosmos, humans are not merely young, but infants.


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

[User] Why do roaches turn over before dying?

[Assistant]
Joel Achenbach used to have a great article in the Washington Post called "Why Things Are & Why Things Aren't" (available in book form!) in which he addressed this particular question.

Take it away, Mr. Achenbach...

>Bugs have a standard choreography of death.  Tremble.  Lurch.  Collapse.  Flip.  Wriggle.  Expire.

>The lurching part is unsettling to watch, the flip is puzzling, and the wriggling as absolutely disgusting.  We realize some of our readers are squeamish about insects, so we will only mention one last time that as they die their legs are constantly wriggling, wriggling, wriggling.

>We spoke to Dick Froeschner, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution who has watched many bugs die in various situations in the laboratory  another example of a job that's fun AND you get paid to do it  and he said the back flip is merely a function of gravity and inertia.

>Think of a barstool.  The seat is perched high atop long legs.  If one or two of those legs were to suddenly collapse, the barstool wouldn't drop straight down but would topple over to one side.  The same thing happens to bugs, and that gets things rolling, so to speak, for them to turn upside down.

>We should remember that insects have six legs, spiders eight (Rush Limbaugh ten).  In a diagram you'll see the legs evenly spaced and roughly in the same position.  In reality, they are continually moving in different directions, some splayed wide, some pulled in close.  When the insect starts to die, its legs will fold up, but not simultaneously.  One or two or three legs will collapse first.  The insect doesn't collapse straight down but topples over with some angular momentum.

>It doesn't always roll onto its back, of course.  Sometimes it will be on its side, a-wrigglin' like there's no tomorrow.  The flailing will usually knock it the rest of the way over.  Once on its back, there's no return.  The legs are up in the air and they have nothing to push against.

>"It's just the physical condition of things; there's nothing psychic or fancy.  It's just what happens and how gravity works on it," says Froeschner.

>There are exceptions.  If a bug has something on which to clamp the claws on the end of its legs  there are itty-bitty claws down there  it can die standing up straight, with legs locked in place.
Makes you want to rush right out and get some Roach Motels, huh?


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

[User]
Why does a program need to compile?

Why does a program need to be "compiled" after being written, and why (I assume, judging from the Compiling xkcd comic) does it take a long time? I have some very limited experience with Javascript. Why don't Javascript programs need to compile?

[Assistant]
The machine code actually executed by your computer's CPU looks nothing like the source code written by programmers. "Compiling" a program means turning that source code into the corresponding machine code.

Some programming languages aren't "compiled", however; they are instead "interpreted". This is where the programming language has some kind of runtime that decides, based on each line of the program's source code, what to do. Scripting languages like Python and PowerShell are this kind of language. An interpreted program usually runs somewhat slower than a compiled program, since there is a fair bit of overhead in parsing the source code, updating the runtime's state accordingly, and performing the operations the source code describes. On the other hand, a program written in an interpreted languages does not need a potentially time-consuming compilation step before it can be executed. This can mean it's faster for the programmer to get what they want done.

JavaScript is a little bit different from most other scripting languages. JavaScript runtimes typically use what's called "just in time" compilation. You can think of this kind of runtime as dynamically generating and caching the machine code for the program, as and when that machine code is required.

I should also point out that the programming language itself does not really dictate whether it is compiled or interpreted. You could very well use an interpreter for C code, just as you could use a compiler for Python code. But people talk about languages in terms of their most common implementations. The standard implementation of Python is an interpreter (specifically one that converts the source code into a simpler bytecode form, then interprets _that_), so people generally call Python an interpreted language.


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

[User]
How is it that gamma and radio waves can go through walls, but visible light can't?

Gamma waves have really short wavelengths and radio waves have really long ones, but both can go through walls (like a brick wall for instance) while visible light can't. Why is that?

[Assistant] I know you probably wanted an answer from physics, but here's an answer from economics:  We choose wall-building materials for their opacity to visible light, but not their opacity to radio waves or gamma waves.  If visible light could pass through walls, we'd change the materials walls were made of.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do things itch and why does scratching help?

[Assistant] Itching occurs when more skin cells die in a particular area of skin than the skin can naturally slough at one time, sending a nervous signal to the brain to eliminate them, and scratching the itch removes("sloughs") the dead skin cells...depositing them underneath your fingernails.


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

[User]
CMV: Many racist believe they aren't racist because for decades society has taught that racism is bad. But they believe themselves to be a good person. Therefore what they believe must not be racist.

I believe this can be applied to a wide range of other isms but let's stick to racism.

I hold this view because I believe more people than the plain old blatant racists that exist in the world that everyone can identify are actually racist and this is my explanation as to why it isn't acknowledged more broadly as an issue, particularly by racists. There are also different level of racism in the world so I am not saying that there is a large portion of the population that would lynch someone. However, if a person sees some of their beliefs in someone they will be more lenient in finding an alternate explanation.

So racism, loosely defined, is the discrimination against a person or group based on race. For decades society has taught that this is wrong. That harboring racism is bad. However, I believe there is a large swath of people in society today that still hold racist beliefs but believe they are a good person. They have proof that they are good because of a number of other societal metrics that they meet they are a good person. They might follow the law, possibly a good Christian, volunteer for charities, or any number of highly valued actions in society or maybe just don't do anything they deem bad. So if they are not bad they must not be racist! And if they are not racist then others holding similar views must not be racist either!

What comes after that varies from ism to ism but for racism I believe it turns into something like "I am good person so I am actually defending myself, and other that believe this, from outside threats. We are the victims!". The Civil War becomes defense of states rights. Opposition to the Civil Rights movement is rolling back government over reach. Voting rights restrictions are securing our elections from threats. But certainly not racist.

Edit 1: I did not call you, your mom, or everyone racist. Just my belief that racists exist that deny their racism. I did not say any political view or shade of skin was immune from being racist. I do not hold those beliefs nor are they present in my view here.

I do not believe that all racism is equally bad or that even a small amount of racism automatically makes you a horrible person. I believe it's a spectrum of bad that people will jump through a lot of hoops to not be labeled with to maintain their "goodness".

[Assistant]
So youre asserting that many racists believe they arent racist, due to lack of self awareness and confidence that they believe themselves to be [good people].

How could one change a generalized viewpoint like this? (Its also conjecture; we cant point to data to change your mind.) Are you looking for anecdotes?


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

[User]
Can brain damage alter what a person sees?

I know that our senses (eyes, ears, etc) just relay information to the brain, and the brain is what actually does the sensing (seeing, hearing, etc). So can damage to a specific part of the brain alter how the brain understands the data from our senses? Moreover, is it possible to change how the brain interprets the info from the eye for example, so as to create images that are not actually there?

[Assistant]
Yes.

Most often this will be "negative" phenomenaa loss of some aspect of perception. This can be loss of depth information (*astereoscopy*), loss of color (*achromatopsia*), loss of movement continuity (*akinetopsia*), loss of recognition of objects (*visual agnosia*, of which *prosopagnasia* for faceblindness is one particularly salient example), or problems with judging size/shape (*metamorphopsia*).

To the extent brain damage may cause seizures affecting the occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes, positive phenomena ranging from gyres of color to fully-formed hallucinations of people can occur.


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

[User] ELI5: why does water dry out skin instead of moisturizing it?

[Assistant] Because it "tricks" your skin. The water gets the skin wet, and in response, the skin stops producing naturally moisturizing oils - because why would it need the oil? The skin is super moist. But then the water evaporates/gets absorbed super fast (compared to how long it takes to make new oils). So your skin gets dry until the oils can be made again.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do advertisers & marketing people believe it's a good strategy to make ads that are deliberately annoying, and to run them several times in a row during a commercial break?

Do they really believe that annoying someone is a useful goal, in that they will therefore remember the brand better? Do they have any actual psychological research that proves this? Regardless of the fact that many will outright refuse to consider their company at all once they've been annoyed? Doesn't the rise and widespread adoption of ad-blocking software disprove that hypothesis?

[Assistant] We are all familiar with those ads on television that just scream at us to switch them off. They are just so excruciating that you cant bear to watch them. Afterwards you ask, why did a company make such a downright irritating ad? What possible benefit can accrue to them from actively irritating their potential customers? Then the answer comes to you. You can remember the product precisely because the ad was so horrible. The old dictum that "No publicity is bad publicity" has just operated in front of your eyes. The ad that you hated so much has given, the company that sponsored it, that most valuable of all benefits to be derived from advertising; brand recognition. You might cringe when you think of the advertisement. But you will remember the name of the product. Job done for the advertiser.


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

[User]
[Batman/DC]What, specifically, is the Joker's diagnosis?

So, I haven't seen it yet, so no spoilers, but what with all the kerfuffle over suicide squad, it got me thinking...what exactly is Joker's diagnosis? He is typically shacked up at Arkham rather than Belle Reve, implying that he's been found mentally unfit to stand trial. But as I understand it(I'm not a lawyer, so maybe i'm wrong), that typically comes with some sort of a diagnosis.

So...what exactly is the Joker's condition? I'm not a psychiatrist, though I have something of a morbid interest in mental illness(family history and all), and I can't really think of any symptoms he exhibits that would lead to a specific diagnosis of any variety.

[Assistant] The short answer is everything.  He's got some multiple personality going on (sometimes he's a crook, others completely homicidal), obviously a sociopath, narcissism (he think the world revolves around him and Batman), biopolor (shifts from gleeful to enraged), and some obsessive compulsive.


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

[User] ELI5 why are injuries caused by acid considered burns when it has different effects on human flesh from heat?

[Assistant]
Because by and large the way it is treated is the same. Copious amounts of water, dressing and seeking medical attention.
In the worst cases, treatment in a burns unit, skin grafting and so on.

It might not technically be a burn, but it's easier to lump people together into rough approximations of their clinical needs.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do big companies know my password when they say theyre not storing it

As the title reads. When I try to change my password to an old one on for example office, the App Store or Netflix it tells me I cant use a previous password. How can they have that information, without storing it?

[Assistant]
They store the hash of your password.

Basically, if your password was "password123", they would put it through a series of standardized computations to arrive at some hash value like 456732543672. It's impossible to derive the original password from that hash, but if you're entering it again, it will again be computed into a hash and then check if the hashes match.


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

[User]
[Futurama] Why in the year 3,000+ is society obsessed with the events and issues of 1960's America, a period that for them is over a thousand years in the past and should hold no meaning?

It would be like if us today were still doing everything that was going on in Roman times, yet we aren't.

[Assistant]
Aren't we? Look at all the movies/ books/ games that are set in historical times, or at least sort of historical magical settings.

The present is boring, the past and future are fun to fantasise about.


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

[User]
[General]So I want to make an evil pact with the dark gods/ruinous powers/demons from the underworld. How can I do this with the least amount of loss on my part?

So essentially I want to trade my services for the powers of the unholy rulers of hell. But I realize there is quite a bad history where participants in these pacts bad deals and suffer for it. Advice on this matter?

[Assistant]
You want something small.

No, you don't want to incinerate people at a distance. Really, you don't. Or command absolute obedience. That commands apocalyptic sacrifices, with commensurate penalties for failure. You want.. mild discomfort. You want to inconvenience people. They itch. The traffic lights go red. Their bank accidentally charges them 50 bucks and forces them into the red. You want people to not get their mail, for their phone to run out of charge at just the wrong moment, for the police to be looking for that split second they're doing 190km/h in a school zone for a really good reason. Batching problems make their coffee decaf by mistake, birds see an enormous red target reading 'shit on me' atop their heads. That's the sort of thing that minor demons do, and they'll be happy to have another one essentially for 'free' in the world. It's one thing to kill someone. It's another one entirely to turn their existence into pure misery.

But they still want souls, and you, presumably, want yours. So: Easy. You know your neighbour? The one you don't like? Bastard mows his lawn at 7am because 'the sun's up!'. His cable gets hooked up the same day, and manages to sever yours. Weeds from his garden invade your yard. The wooden fence rots because of the sprinkler that won't stop leaking because of those weeds, creates holes and then your dog eats a toxic plant on his property, then explodes from stomach pressure on yours. When your niece was petting it. Practices his yodelling at 3am, because it reminds him of his Austrian homeland (He's a fat balding Taiwanese man with bad dandruff). Always seems to get your mail instead, and opens it. His bins get emptied - yours are thrown over the lawn by angry garbage men because of something he did.

Your soul is sort of promised to Hell, but you've got an entire lifetime to seek redemption as well as snazzy new powers. They'll happily take the neighbour's soul - after all, it was already promised to them and it's easy to collect this way. Now you can be that annoying neighbour; you'll just have to watch out for people willing to make a pact with the devil because they just couldn't stop pissing you off.


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

[User] [40K]Does Chaos make their own Space Marines? Or is every Chaos Marine a Space Marine that has turned to Chaos?

[Assistant] Chaos does make their own Space Marines, but due to the mutating effects of the warpstorms Chaos Space Marines like to hide out in, most warbands are forced to use geneseed stolen from loyalist Space Marines to increase their numbers.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why don't more cars have doors that open upwards? They seem like they can use parking space more efficiently

Cars with doors that open sideways require more parking space, so it seems logical to me to have more cars with doors that open upwards. I don't imagine the difference in costs is high enough to be prohibitive.

[Assistant] They have more complex moving parts that are prone to take damage more often. They are much more expensive to install into cars and they are more expensive to repair and maintain. It is cost prohibitive.


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

[User]
[Dead Space/Hyperion] I got infected by the Necromoprh Virus while wearing a Cruciform Parasite.

We dropped onto a place filled with Unitologist heretics, practicing a perverse version of the Sacrament of Resurrection. We mowed down the whole group and mowed them down again when they came back to life as monstrous creatures. We managed to destroy the Markers, but I'm afraid I got infected. Will the Cruciform save me?

[Assistant]
YOU HAVE THE MARK OF THE CRUCIFORM.

Also, this is a really amazing and weird question, so congrats on that.

They both sort of act in the same way, so it's a questions of which one is stronger.

I have absolutely no idea, your best bet is to crucify yourself on some electric thingy and see how you go.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How was Vader redeemed?

Vader aided a tyrant in getting to power, butchered children, stood by as planets were destroyed, killed his own comrades and was a general all around dick.

Then, his big redemption is to make a split second decision to save his own son. Then he gets to be a force ghost and go chill with the other Jedi without even a harsh telling off.

[Assistant]
A telling off by who? The force?

Anakin became a ghost because of the strength and *nature* of his connection to the force.

By changing things inside himself, letting go of the anger and hatred to realise that he was still capable of being the good man he thought he had left behind, the good man he thought he had killed.

By reconnecting with that truth of who he was and wanted to be, even for a short time, he was able to reconnect with the light side of the force.

So if there was any forgiveness involved then it was Anakin forgiving himself. And why would it take more than that? There's no other judgement involved, no authority deciding who deserves forgiveness and who doesn't.


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

[User]
[LotR] Why doesn't Sauron turn invisible when he wears the ring?

Bilbo and Frodo turn invisible when they don the Ring of Power, but Sauron is seen wearing while not invisible. Why is that?

[Assistant] The apparent invisibility is actually the transfer of the physical body into the wraith-world - the realm of spirit. Beings such as Sauron are already fully present in that realm as well as the physical world - it is their native realm - so that transference has no further effect.


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

[User] ELI5:Why is it important to keep finding big prime numbers ?

[Assistant]
And, there are practical uses as well.

 - There are mathematical techniques that turn prime numbers into locks.  The bigger the number, the stronger the lock.

 - Some of these locks make keys from reasonably large prime numbers chosen at random.

 - Numbers made of solid ones in binary are easy for computers to work with.  (11 111 1111 11111 111111 etc.)  These are called "Mersenne numbers", which makes Mersenne *primes* especially useful large primes.  They're easy to guess, so you can't use them as "random" large primes.

Why not:

You might write some code that can do math with 4096-bit numbers.

The smallest period over time for which modern physics makes sense is the Planck time.  If you start at the Big Bang and start counting the age of the universe using "Planck times" as your units, you would be up to 61-digit numbers by now.  In binary, that's 203 bits.

You cannot imagine how many 203-bit numbers there are without a powerful metaphor like that.  You would need a much more powerful metaphor to get from 203-bit numbers to 4096-bit numbers.

It's easy to pick random 4096-bit numbers, obviously, and math with them is decently fast.  Thus the usefulness in cryptography.

Of the 4096-bit numbers, about 1 in 2839 are prime.  It's surprising that we can estimate such precise odds, but the Prime Number Theorem makes it possible.  Take the number of digits (4096), multiply the natural logarithm of the base (ln 2).  The PNT says that this estimate becomes more correct with more digits.

Mersenne numbers are much rarer.  So rare, you cannot imagine how rare they are.  In the near-infinity of 4096-bit numbers, only 4096 of them are Mersenne numbers.  Only some of the Mersenne numbers are prime.

You cannot guess a randomly-selected 4096-bit prime, even with an entire universe of computing power.  But it's pretty easy to check a mere four thousand possibilities.

You could knock that out with a calculator if you were bored.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Why was a murdered man's alma mater designated as who decided where his kid should go? What authority did Dumbledore have to take baby Harry from an active crime scene?

[Assistant]
Dumbledore wasn't just a headmaster, he was also  Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards (basically equivalent to the Secretary-General of the UN) and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot (basically the head of the highest court of wizarding law).  In other words, Dumbledore did have quite a lot of legal authority.

More importantly, though, was Dumbledore's role as the leader of the fight against Voldemort, analogous to a general fighting against an enemy army.  James and Lily Potter were killed by Voldemort, so Dumbledore stepped in to decide and oversee what would be done next.

Plus... he's *Dumbledore*.  Who's gonna tell him he's not allowed to do something?


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

[User]
[Alien] What kind of government does Earth have?

Is The Company the government?

[Assistant]
No. The Three World Empire governs most of Europe, Asia, and Africa, while the United Americas is a supernation made up of North, Centra, and South America.

Basically, Earth at the time of *Aliens* is ruled by two hyperpowers and run by megacorps, like Wey-Yu.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is dating a friend's ex-partner so looked down upon?

Is it a cultural thing or is it across the human spectrum? Is it a personal preference? I actually can't wrap my head around it and was hoping for a simplified explanation.

[Assistant] Suggests you were daydreaming about your mate's partner when you should have been supporting your mate - i.e. conflict of interest. Also, it sucks for your mate who has to think about his/her mate being with their ex-partner and also potentially having to interact with them whenever they hang out with you.


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

[User] ELI5: Why were telephone/headphones cords spiraled back in the days, but they're straight now?

[Assistant] It used to be that phones were connected to a landline and therefore screwed into the wall, or at lest could not be moved far. So in order to allow people to walk around with the headset without tangling it the phones would have spiraled cords that would stretch out when needed and contract when not. This allowed people to walk around the room while talking on the phone. Nowadays phones are all wireless in some way or another. So if you want to walk around you can just carry the phone with you and there is no need to vary the length of the chord. It does not get tangled as easily. If you are sitting at a computer you are more or less locked to the screen and can not move around anyway. So there is no need for a spiral chord there either. That being said you can get spiral chords today as well. However they are more expensive and bulkier then their straight equivalents so most people do not bother with them.


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

[User]
In Marxs writings, what is the distinction between concrete labor and abstract labor? Why is this is important for his larger critique of the commodity form?

What do you think?

[Assistant]
Concrete labor is what goes on in the act of producing things. Qua concrete, it is always labor of a particular kind - harvesting, hammering, driving, data-entering, etc., and it is measured by the actual amount of time that passes during the labor process.

The most plausible interpretation of the concept of abstract labor is that it is, as the name suggests, an *abstraction* from the concrete character of various types of labor which is accomplished in the exchange relation. In an exchange society, money sets all commodities (in various proportions) potentially equal to each other. So, e.g. one pack of cigarettes = $20 = a copy of *Das Kapital.* In setting various commodities, which are products of heterogeneous labors (e.g. cigarette-rolling and book-binding), equal to each other, the exchange relation practically abstracts from the concrete, particular character of the labor that went into the production of these commodities.

Okay, but this seems a little strange - why talk about it? What's the point? Well, at least one of the things Marx wants to draw attention to here is a particular feature of capitalist society. In capitalist society, people do not consciously, collectively decide how the whole of society's labor should be allocated. Instead, private firms carry out their concrete labors, and it is only by having their products purchased on the market that this labor can be *retroactively validated* as part of the whole social labor. If the products do not find buyers, this labor will have been "socially irrelevant" so to speak. So, what Marx wants to draw attention to is that a society of generalized commodity exchange engenders a sort of contradiction between the concrete and the abstract: we have concrete private labor which, through exchange, is able to count as abstract social labor.

Ultimately, these considerations play a very broad role in Marx's thought. For example, he suggests in places that the political form of the abstract equality of persons derives from this abstract equality of labors in the exchange relation. How exactly that works is a little too much to get into here.


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

[User]
[The Ring]How little of the video needs to be seen?

Let's say I saw the first five seconds of the video but immediately closed my eyes after. Would I still be killed?

[Assistant]
I think the video mesmerizes you so that, once you start, you want to watch it all the way through.

If something external stopped you, though, you might be okay.  It seems like the video is some kind of spell and it needs to play all the way through in order for the curse to take effect.


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

[User] ELI5: How do different video formats change the size of a video, even at the same resolution and frame rate? Isnt it the same video youre watching?

[Assistant]
There are two things that you can tweak.

The first is the compression algorithm. This will be things like MPEG versus h.264 or h.265 algorithms. They describe how to strip down the video file to as few elements as possible to reproduce it later. Essentially, you trade storage time for CPU time to compress/decompress it.

The second is the lossy factor. Most video compression formats do not attempt to serve back the exact same set of pixels. Instead, you get something that is good enough to be recognizable on the other end. Of course, the amount of detail you want to keep is an adjustable factor in the compression algorithm. You can take the same source video and throw it into the same algorithm with two different settings and get different quality video out the other end.


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

[User] ELI5: How does DNA translate to an animals natural instincts? As in, how can genetic code give an animal innate knowledge about the natural world while the animal is developing in the lightless womb of its mother?

[Assistant]
Let's look at a very very simple example - ticks.

Ticks have a few instincts - "Move towards warmth" "Move towards the scent of carbon dioxide" and "When the smell of carbon dioxide is very strong - BITE."

These are not learned behavior; a tick starts exhibiting these as soon as it hatches from an egg.  Moving towards warmth means that rather than lying on the ground, where they're unlikely to be picked up by an animal, they crawl to the top of grass, where the warmth of the sun is greater - and where they're more likely to get picked up by an animal.

Once they're on an animal, they start to burrow towards the source of carbon dioxide - the mammal's skin, which is constantly emitting carbon dioxide.  There, the scent is very strong, and the tick bites and starts to feed.

These are all hard-wired into the tick's brain.  The "warmth sensing" brain circuitry feeds directly into the "movement" brain circuitry.

These are simple examples, but the kind of provide a template for more complex examples.  Mammals have a hard-wired desire to stay close to their mother when very young, to seek out and suck on nipples, to flee from loud sounds.


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

[User]
[Godzilla] What exactly is "atomic breath"?

It seems like it's definitely more than fire.  Some kind of plasma perhaps?
Why is it called atomic?  Is it some sort of hardcore radiation beam?
  Wouldn't that leave the cities he battles in irradiated for years?

What is his breath?  How does it work?

[Assistant]
I believe the Atomic breath is basically made of the same material as an atomic bomb, such as those unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Godzilla firing his atomic breath is like someone hitting their opponent with a nuclear blast.


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

[User]
ELI5:How a suicide hotline works

It has always intrigued me wondering how they work and how successful they are.

[Assistant]
I know someone with years of work at a crisis management center. what i thought was really interesting is she told me when someone calls in and they immediately say they are going to kill themselves, it's a cry for help thing and they don't really worry too much.

But if the person talks about everything but suicide, THAT is a huge red flag. like if they start listing all their problems and mistakes. That is when you need to be the most worried  because this person has already decided they are going to die, they just want to explain themselves to another person first.


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

[User]
ELI5: How were the older cartridge games programmed?

Did the programmers have to know machine code to make the games, or was there some sort of higher-level language that compiled down to machine code, or something else entirely?

[Assistant] The oldest cartridge games (like for the Atari 2600) were programmed exclusively in assembly language. For the 2600 specifically, programmers often kept track of how many cycles their commands took in order to avoid overly long functions that would cause the video output to break. The book *Racing the Beam* goes into exquisitely detailed explanations about this if you wish to study further.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do cats love to sit in boxes so much?

[Assistant] Cats evolved solitary creatures (except for lions), so they are quite vulnerable in the wild by themselves.  Thus, they like being in tight quarters with enclosed sides if possible to protect themselves from predators while they sleep/rest.


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

[User]
[Harkness Test, Mother of Learning] Female aranea are sapient. Male aranea are not. When they have sex, is that bestiality?

And if not, would members of other species be allowed to have sex with male aranea?

[Assistant]
I've never heard of "Harkness Test, Mother or Learning", but since they're the same species, no, it wouldn't be bestiality. Whether it's morally right depends on who you ask.

Whether or not members of other species would be allowed to have sex with them depends on the local laws and if the male aranea wants to or not - but yes, that would be bestiality. It would be bestiality if a non-aranea had sex with a female aranea, too.


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

[User]
CMV: gene editing of humans should be allowed.

To those not yet aware a doctor in China claims to have genetically modified the genes of the fetus of a woman with HIV to be resistant to the disease. The doctors actions have been condemned by the Chinese government as illegal and medical experts are critical of his actions as reckless and unethical.

I mostly agree that the way he went about his research was wrong, but I don't understand why gene editing of humans should be taboo. If we can eliminate harmful conditions like huntingtons disease I don't see why we shouldnt.

As for the "designer babies" issue, there are some potential safety concerns and if widely used the issue of genetic diversity could potentially be something to worry about, but I don't really see an ethical dilemma.

The "playing god" argument is just plain silly, humans already change the environment to suit our own desires and even modify our own bodies, how is making changes at a genetic level any different?

In short my view is that there isn't anything wrong with genetically altering humans so long as the process is proven to be safe and some steps are taken to keep the overall gene pool diverse.

[Assistant]
We have a perfectly legal, safe, and cheaper way to prevent huntington's:  Manually selecting the egg and sperm using IVF.

Even if the technology were proven to be 100% safe, there would still be huge social concerns and other concerns.  Could you imagine being in a world where the rich have access to making their babies smarter and the poor don't?

Maybe you don't agree that that particular social issue outweighs the good that could come from designer babies, but that is completely different from "isn't anything wrong".

Try watching the movie GATTACA to see some of the social concerns played out such as employers discriminating based on genetics, multiple classes of people, etc.

And that is before you might consider that potential problems might arise several generations down the road.  Could you imagine a problem like infertility only presenting itself after several generations of reproducing this way?

Also, based on our current knowledge, we would only know a few things to do.  So if we knew a way of boosting intelligence, EVERYONE with a designer baby would get that exact change or collection of changes.  EVERYONE would get the breast cancer gene turned off, etc.  We'd end up destroying genetic diversity.  And it'd be short sighted because many genes and traits can cut both ways, such as students who suffer from ADHD can actually be more creative and would thrive in a world not confined to classrooms and cubicles.


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

[User] ELI5: In the Stanford prison experiment, the guards were told to act in ways that would break the prisoner's spirits. So what about the experiment was controversial? That they went overboard? That they enjoyed being in positions of power? That the experiment became (or was from the start?) immoral?

[Assistant]
Whats questionable is the conclusions people draw. Its often put forth as proof that when people are given power over others they get nasty. But as you described in your post title, the guards were **instructed specifically** to be nasty.

It undermines the conclusion that the nastiness was a spontaneous result of the power dynamic.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it in movies a guy will snap another guy's neck and he will die instantly?

Does this happen in real life? What exactly are the causes of death?

[Assistant]
Neck snaps are particularly useful in film because they require little to no special effects work. Just have the actor turn their head, dub in a cracking sound, and you are done. It looks better than the terrible "judo chop" used previously.

Breaking your neck could be lethal in reality, but it would be terrible difficult or impossible to do by hand on an unwilling target. The cause of death would likely be from spinal cord damage stopping breathing or something similarly traumatic.


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

[User] If light has gravity, would two parallel laser beams shining out to infinity eventually intersect and form a single beam?

[Assistant] No. In order for the two beams of light to interact gravitationally, they need to have "center-of-mass" (CM) energy. Two parallel beams of light have zero CM energy, and so are not gravitationally attracted to one-another. Two anti-parallel beams of light, on the other hand, have a CM energy, and so will be gravitationally attracted to one-another. If they start out anti-parallel, they will eventually be drawn together. ~~They will eventually form a single beam (but moving in opposite directions), and so the photons in each beam will collide.~~ **They will cross-paths, and then orbit each other, like snakes.** When the paths cross, most will pass through each other, but every once in a while two photons (one from each beam) will interact and scatter off in a different direction.


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

[User]
ELI5: If we get uranium from the earth, why is nuclear waste such a big deal?

If uranium exists naturally in soil and ocean water, why is there such a big deal about environmental contamination with nuclear waste? Why can't we just put it back when we're done with it, leaving the mining site as it was before? If it came from the environment, why do we try so hard to keep it away?

[Assistant]
Because nuclear waste is not just leftover uranium. Regular uranium is fairly stable and harmless, but the waste after splitting it is not. It is highly radioactive, damaging to humans and all other life.

Just like oil also comes from the ground, but when burned to CO2 it's a harmful greenhouse gas.


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

[User]
Why do we die (so quickly) due to lack of oxygen? Can all our cells not respire anaerobically like our muscles can?

If our cells can respire anaerobically, why do we die (so quickly) when suffocated? Wouldn't the cells just start respiring anaerobically until oxygen was re-supplied so the lactic acid could be broken down?

I'm assuming here that all cells can respire anaerobically like muscle cells can.

[Assistant] Most cells in the body *can* respire anaerobically and do a decent job of surviving the ensuing onslaught of organic acid byproducts... except brain cells, which are wholly dependent on oxygen because of their high rate of metabolism.  Because our brains are so busy and burn through so much glucose (both in the neurons themselves and in the glial support cells) once the reserve of oxygen in the bloodstream is exhausted, neuronal death starts almost immediately.


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

[User]
CMV: The average college student should go to community college and live at home and transfer to your local state school while still living at home.

Just my thoughts on the student loan crisis.  My wife and I both went to community college and local state schools while living at home to save money. We were both pretty average students in high school and college and while we got accepted into all of the colleges we applied to, they would have forced us to take out massive student loans.
I realize staying at home isnt possible for everyone, but most college students I know have a similar background as me and they chose to leave home for the experience. Although they were just average, many of my my high school alumni that went on to college went to school far away from home to get an common degree from an average school.
Its been 10 years since I graduated high school and my wife and I have average salaries and graduated with zero student loan debt.  One of my coworkers is from my high school class and he went away to school and never stops talking about his student loan debt.

[Assistant]
Just as you've used generalizations, so will I.  College and the college-years are not just about going to class and learning a skill.  They are about understanding who you are as a human being, how you interact with people in various settings, how you organize your life, etc. It is a semi-structured place to help mold who you are as an adult.

Again, being generic, living with parents and attending a community college is a vastly different social experience than moving away on your own for the first time. You will experience those years differently.  Maybe not on the academic side, but on the social side you will.

I would argue that if a person wants to understand who the are and what they find valuable, doing it outside of the comfort of your parent's house is best. The tour guide Rick Steves has a a great motto (paraphrased); "travel is the enemy of ignorance."  You learn more by interacting with different people than just reading about them. You generally become more open-minded and less sheltered as you meet new people, whether you like them doesn't matter.

If the average student cares about saving money as the only point of college, then yes, go your route.  If they want to experience the full spectrum of life as a young adult than go away from your parents. You can always learn, go to class, or get a job.  You are only 18-23 once.


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

[User]
ELI5 How do flat earthers back up their belief?

I really don't understand how the people who believe the earth is flat justify their position.  What evidence do they show? I mean we have literally been to space and seen the Earth is a spheroid.

I can to a point understand why creationists don't accept evolution: some people just can't conceptualize the massive time involved in the evolutionary process, and stick to their fiction. But with the flat earthers,  we can actually see, in real time that the earth is not flat. Please, ELI5 what evidence they use to back up this belief!

[Assistant] Have you ever actually seen the Earth from that point of view? Evolution deniers are actually denying rock solid evidence observed first hand by scientists. Many people believe the scientists are being dishonest and therefore don't believe the claims, the same can be said with flat Earthers. They have never actually observed the Earth from any point where it looks anything other that flat, what, are they just supposed to take the scientists words for it?


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

[User]
ELI5: How English stopped being a gendered language

It seems like a majority of languages have gendered nouns, but English doesn't (at least not in a wide-spread, grammatical sense). I know that at *some point* English was gendered, but... how did it stop?

And, if possible, why did English lose its gendered nouns but other languages didn't?

**EDIT:** Wow, thank you for all the responses! I didn't expect a casual question bouncing around in my head before bed to get this type of response. But thank you so much! I'm learning so much and it's actually reviving my interest in linguistics/languages.

Also, I had no clue there were so many languages. Thank you for calling out my western bias when it came to the assumption that most languages were gendered. While it appears a majority of indo-european ones are gendered, gendered languages are actually the minority in a grand sense. That's definitely news to me.

[Assistant] "Anne Curzan suggests that genders were lost because of the language mixing that went on in Northern England during that time. Between the 700s and the 1000s, there wereVikingsinvading northern England where peasants lived. The two groups spoke different languages: Old English and Old Norse. However, it is quite likely that many people werebilingualand fluent in both languages. Both Old English and Old Norse had gender, but sometimes their genders contradicted each other. In order to simplify communication, gendered nouns simply disappeared."


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

[User] [Farscape] How come the Luxans are a warrior culture? Given that bleeding can be fatal for them due to it becoming toxic, how could such a species develop a culture of seeking or glorifying battle when even the smallest cut could be fatal?

[Assistant]
Pre-antibiotics, humans can also die of the smallest wound, and frequently did. "Infected cut" was a common cause of death, especially with wounds inflicted by unclean blades among the dirt of a battlefield.

And yet, the pre-antibiotics world had no shortage of warrior cultures anyway.

Cultural traits don't always evolve to be sensible. We don't know what exactly in Luxan history led to a warrior culture, but it would be far from the only culture we know of whose values are destructive to the people in it.


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

[User]
[South Park] What was the nicest thing Cartman has ever done for anyone?

By that, I mean something truly kind for another human being without any selfish ulterior motives behind it.

[Assistant]
He successfully "reaches these keeeds" and helps them solve their inner city high school kid problems by teaching them how to cheat like rich kids.  Throughout most of the episode he is sincerely interested in helping them for no other reason than him wanting to help.

Normally when he is being helpful the twist is that he was secretly selfish the whole time, but in this instance he's selfless, and the twist is that his method of helping is horrific.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a disease make a comeback like Ebola or the Bubonic plague have recently?

I find it utterly terrifying to think Ebola or the Bubonic plague could make a serious. Beginning of the zombie apocalypse stuff.

[Assistant]
Ebola has no cure, or even a real treatment. It never really went away. It's just that humans aren't commonly exposed to it (it probably normally lives in bats), and when they are it tends to kill quickly enough that it burns itself out.  So you see a series of fairly quick and nasty outbreaks in the areas in which infected bat populations come in contact with humans, in west and central Africa.

Plague is different, in that it's curable with antibiotics. It lives in various rodents, and occasionally breaks out because it too has never really gone away. If it happens in a richer country, it's usually dealt with pretty easily. Isolated cases pop up in the US and Canada now and again, incidentally.


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

[User] [Star Wars] How do Jedi justify bringing children (padawans) to battle?

[Assistant]
By the time the padawans are actually brought into battle, they're very well trained so it's not like they're bringing in civilians to fight. In addition, they're bringing in students who are at their youngest, early teenagers. Not actual children.

In addition to all that, the Clone Wars was an all hands on deck situation. If they could afford to leave trained fighters behind, they would have. All personnel that could wield a lightsaber were out there, or if they weren't, they were back at the Temple either guarding it, or training the next generation of Jedi.


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

[User]
Why is it that an overpowering smell or mixture of smells make it harder to breathe?

I'm not sure if it's just me but when I walk into a store like Yankee Candle or any other store with an overpowering smell, it becomes difficult for me to breathe. I've always wondered what the reason for this was because all it is is air with an aroma I'd assume.

Edit: Thanks for all the answers guys. I'm still fairly new to reddit but I knew I could count on you guys for some good input.

[Assistant] As mentioned previously, asthma may be a possibility.  However, our bodies have nociceptors (receptors for "noxious" substances) that can be tricked by innocuous stimuli.  We squint reflexively in sunlight, we recoil from tickles, and when we encounter certain smells, our airways constrict, complicating breathing.


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

[User]
[Spider-man] Why do Spidey's eyes on his costume often change depending on his emotion?

Is there any explanation for this or is it just an art choice?

[Assistant] In order to avoid the mask slipping around and possibly blinding him during combat, several sections of the interior of the mask are slightly adhesive, to make sure it stays in place and the eyeholes stay over the eyes. As a result, several of Peter's facial expressions (mostly ones involving eyebrow movement) are visible.


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

[User]
Why do people become more awake after a certain point in the night?

I've talked it over with a few people, and everyone's agreed that there's a certain time of night (it varies between people) after which people aren't really tired and become more awake and aware again. After that point, it's much harder to get to sleep. Why does this happen?

[Assistant] You have two systems that drive you to sleep (1) the homeostatic system that tallies your sleep debt and (2) the circadian system that makes sure you sleep at the right time by regulating both sleep drive and arousal (making sure you stay awake). If you wait long enough during the night the circadian drive to put you to sleep will lighten up and it will begin to promote wakefulness. The problem is that eventually your sleep debt will mount and you won't be able to stay awake during the day even if your circadian system is promoting arousal.


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

[User]
[DUNE] If interstellar travel without spice is impossible, then how did they find/get to Arrakis in the first place?

Arrakis is clearly not where humans came from. In fact, I think in this universe they came from Earth.

[Assistant] Advanced artificial intelligence computers and blind luck navigating FTL. Spice doesn't create FTL it just makes it safer without the aid of thinking machines. Before the discovery of the prescience spice grants (ability to see the future) machines calculated the safest route based on billions if not trillions of variables or humans just YOLO'd it into the void and sometimes managed to not die in the process.


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

[User]
Why is the nozzle on a rocket engine designed to reduce the gas pressure to the external pressure ? How is it more efficient ?

I've been learning on my own how rocket engines works (well approximately), and I've understood the part about the third law of motion and conservation of momentum. But I don't understand the pressure related aspect of such engines. I've seen that depending on what altitude you mean to use it, you have to elongate the nozzle so that the pressure reduces as much as possible until at the end of the nozzle, it is equal to the external pressure. But I would think that to increase the speed of the exhaust gas, one would need  high pressure gas so that it wants to go even faster out of the engine ?

Also I don't really understand the need for pressurizing the gas before the combustion chamber : is it to help combustion ? To reduce the size/weight of the combustion chamber ?

Thanks if you answer !

[Assistant] Your intuition of high pressure --> higher exhaust speed is valid, but to get the most out of that pressure you have to let it accelerate to that speed, i.e. expanding back to atmospheric pressure. Whatever pressure above atmospheric is left over at the end of the nozzle continues to accelerate the exhaust without actually providing more thrust.


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

[User] [Doctor Who][Star Wars] Would the Doctor's psychic paper work on Obi-wan?

[Assistant] Psychic paper wouldn't even work on a padawan, nor on most other force-sensitive beings. Highly creative or slightly psychic humans have been shown to be immune to psychic paper, such as Shakespeare for example.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why do modern tvs struggle so much with vertical stripes

My Sony bravia tv has, apparently best in class motion processing but struggles massively with vertical lines in any scene. Think Venetian blinds, wood panelling etc

Why?

[Assistant]
Do you have any motion interpolation features turned on? Repeating patterns like stripes or grids play havoc with those. If the camera moves approximately the same distance as (or a multiple of) the repetition interval of the pattern, the interpolator is going to have difficulty telling the difference between that and if the camera had moved by a different multiple, or not at all, when trying to draw an in-between frame.

Otherwise it might just be artifacting caused by the compression used on the source video.


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

[User]
ELI5 where does the flu come from every year?

Or maybe even where does it go? I have never understood how 8 months out of the year there is no flu, and then all of a sudden you need a flu shot because the flu is going around. It just doesnt make sense??

[Assistant]
The flu exists all year round, it just spreads more rapidly in flu season.

Flu season is partly due to the weather. The flu can spread more easily in the cold because it survives longer outside the body when it isn't hot, humid, and sunny out. That and people tend to stay indoors more in the winter where they can be exposed to more people.

Many flu strains just never go away, they just keep coming back over and over again infecting small parts of the population that isn't immune to that strain. Most flu shots actually contain multiple strains for that reason, and the annual flu shot will likely contain the COVID 19 vaccine for decades to come (once the vaccine is available) for the same reason.

Lots of new flu and cold strains originate from South East Asia. These types of viruses are naturally found in birds and pigs and jump to humans and mutate. Which then makes them infectious to humans.

These areas of the planet are notorious for high population densities of humans living close to livestock, and for massive enclosed markets with various animal cages piled one on top of the other which is why these jumps occur so often.

These viruses then spread person to person and spread all over the globe thanks to air travel and travel in general.

COVID 19 for example originated in Wuhan and spread over the world in the exact same manner. It's believed to have mutated from a bat or pangolin virus in one of these markets. That's why the US built a virology lab in Wuhan exactly because that's where a lot of flu and cold strains originate. It's about getting ahead of the game and seeing what strains are coming next.

To answer the next question the solution is get rid of the high density animal markets. China has known about this problem for decades but it's been difficult to fix because these markets have existed for centuries. But COVID 19 has hopefully convinced them that this needs to happen.


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

[User]
[DC] What is Lex Luthor's ultimate goal?

Reading Final Crisis and he could kill Superman but he would rather fight with him against Darksied.

[Assistant]
It depends on your interpritation but most people (including me) believe he wants to be both the Savior of mankind and to be beloved by all for doing so. He can't do that with Superman around because he fills that niche perfectly, thus his irrational hatred of Superman.

During Final Crisis he could of killed Superman, but then Darkseid would of won. And people can't be cheering his name if everyone is Darkseid. Temporailiy teaming up with Superman is the logical choice. He even says "I'll take all of the credit."