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

[User]
If a planet didn't rotate, would its gravitational force be stronger?

For instance, if the earth rotated less 900 mph, would the force we feel be greater?

[Assistant]
The gravitational force would be the same, it depends only on mass, but the net force on objects that lie on the surface would be higher due to no inertia wanting things flying off the planet ('centrifugal force', but it isn't really a force itself, just a result of inertia).

Objects not on the surface (i.e. orbiting the body) would experience the same net force if the body was spinning or not because the mass of the body is the same.  This assumes the body has homogeneous density.


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

[User]
[Spider-Man NWH] Do Ned and MJ remember helping Spider-Man?

So, we saw in Multiverse of Madness, She-Hulk and the end credits scene that people still remember Spider-Man and what hes done/their relationship with him (I.e. Strange and Wong remembering their multiverse/memory weeping hijinks and JJJ still hating him)

So, do Ned and MJ, despite not remembering Peter, still remember helping Spider-Man? After all, Ned was his guy in the chair and both of them got taken into police custody because of Spidey.

[Assistant]
Probably, as long as that doesnt interfere with their forgetting Peter Parker.

Just as Happy still remembers meeting May through Spider-Man, Peters friends probably remember their interactions with Spider-Man, just not his identity or any sort of recognition therefrom.


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

[User]
CMV: Teaching Doing Taxes Isnt a Worthwhile Thing to Teach Kids (US)

People love to talk about teaching kids practical life skills in school. I agree that kids should learn things like budgeting, first aid/CPR and maybe some cooking or something. However, whenever someone raises this, they inevitably mention learn to do your taxes.  This is a dumb thing to teach kids. First, the tax code changes, so the knowledge will be stale before its relevant to the kids. Their filing status also changes. In addition, almost everyone uses software to prepare it, so unless they are learning how to use every type of tax prep software, they arent benefiting. Finally, it supposes that we will always have a complicated system of tax preparation. We shouldnt encourage that by baking that assumption into our education system.

(Note: this is obviously US centric. I have no idea about other lands.)

[Assistant]
>First, the tax code changes, so the knowledge will be stale before its relevant to the kids.

The tax code doesn't change _that_ much for most individuals year over year.  Most folks will just take the standard deduction and have little income outside of their salary.  For them, filing taxes today isn't that different than filling them 10 years ago.

Moreover, even if a few details change, the forms and the process is still fairly static.  Learning _that_ can be valuable.

>Their filing status also changes.

There are only a few filing statuses - all of which can be taught as the differences are fairly minor.

>In addition, almost everyone uses software to prepare it, so unless they are learning how to use every type of tax prep software, they arent benefiting.

You can still teach them the basics of how tax returns work.  With that knowledge, you can use most tax prep software much easier.

>Finally, it supposes that we will always have a complicated system of tax preparation.

So long as companies like Intuit are involved, this is a given.  While simplifying the tax code is a good goal, we should teach people to operate in the world as it is, not how we wished it would be.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] If we, wizards, can literally generate/duplicate matter/objects/energy at will, what is the point of selling/buying anything that is not information/intellectual property?

The title says it all. Like, why do we even have an economic system? Most of our basic resources, like food, water,  clothing, space, shelter, and everyday objects, are infinite because we can generate/duplicate them. We can even generate some magic items for god's sake! And most if not all the labour can be done with magic, especially if we integrate muggle technologies. What is the point of money them? Should we not be truly a Communist society, as pretty much all members have access to the means of production (e.g. the wands)?
I mean, besides the hair of Scarlet Johanson (for, hm.... polyjuice reasons...), what other material product would I had to seek in the market during my lifetime?

[Assistant]
Can't duplicate magical goods, and Gamps Law has some applications to what you said. But the main thing is magical goods.

Not everyone can perform all the interesting item creations, broom makers charge a premium. Want a proper owl? Wizarding currency. Potions? Wizard currency. Specialty services? Same.

The list goes on.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] Aside from the "main six", are there any other alien races that may pose any significant threat to the Imperium?

(OOC clarification: By main six, I'm referring to the Eldar, the Dark Eldar, the Orks, the Necrons, the Tau and the Tyranids)

[Assistant]
The Barghesi are mentioned as being 'Hyper violent' and are quarantined in the Grendel Stars. You also have the Hruud, who are an almost constant threat on Imperial worlds, though mostly because they turn everything into garbage.

It should be noted, however, that the Dark Eldar, Eldar, Necrons and Orks only pose a potentially significant threat. Unless the factions within each (the Kabals, Craftworlds, Dynasties or Clans) were to band together (i'm talking within their own race, not between races) they don't pose any real threat.

The Tau, on the other hand, pose no real threat even united. The only reason they've manage to make as many gains as they have so far is because the Imperium is distracted elsewhere. If they were the primary concern, they would be squashed like an insect.


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

[User] ELI5: How was steady footage of trees and buildings being destroyed by nuclear blasts gathered? How were the cameras not destroyed?

[Assistant]
A couple of ways. You can of course put a good zoom lens on the camera and shoot from farther away than it may seem.

Or, you can build a really sturdy building. A couple feet of thick concrete can do wonders for survival of camera equipment even fairly close to the blast.

Finally, there is the use of a periscope. Bury your cameras a few meters deep and run a tube with some mirrors up above ground. The camera is going to be very safe and the only thing you need worry about is the destruction of your upper mirror and buried tube.


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

[User]
CMV: Instead of companies buying properties and flipping them, the govt. should buy them and section 8 them.

 So instead of companies like Zillow and open door buying all of these properties and fixing them up a bit and flipping them, I think the government should participate in this program equally if not more, and buy all of these properties and section 8 them. So then poor people or people in need could have opportunities to be in homes. I also think primarily that these should be in really good upper class neighborhoods with really good school systems, to give those people an opportunity to experience a good life.

Everything is about greed in America and everybody wants to make their money, and I get it to a point, but theres too many people waiting on list to get homes. This would include people in a domestic violence situation, homeless people, and impoverished people. All of these people need to be immediately housed in nice homes in nice neighborhoods.

[Assistant]
This is how you create a housing crisis.

The issue is supply. There is not enough housing being built, and the existing market is not sufficient in meeting the needs of those who want to live in those areas, and so the pricing rises. Your answer is to pull those homes from the market and further constrain supply.

The government being a landlord doesn't change the problem. We also need more affordable housing on a whole, but converting existing supply doesn't solve that problem, it only shifts the direction of the problem into creating more need for affordable housing.

If you want to "immediately house" people in need, the most economical and reasonable way is to build large, dense properties in areas where people are. It's that simple.


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

[User] ELI5 Why does salt kill snails?

[Assistant]
the salt extracts moisture from the snail.

snails "skin" is a thin membrane which is very permeable to liquid. this one of the reasons why they are slimy.

when you put salt on your skin it also sucks out water, but much slower. for a snail this happens very quickly, resulting in their death.


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

[User]
[pushing daisies] Would Ned be the best person to have with you during the zombie Apocalypse?

If he touches someone they become un-dead, then if he touches them again they are dead-dead for-realisies.  So if he touches an un-dead, does that make them un-dead-dead?   And then dead for realsies?  Or straight up dead for-realsies?  Either way, wouldn't this be working in his favor during an uprising?  Just avoid those flesh wounds Pie Man!

[Assistant]
>wouldn't this be working in his favor during an uprising?

Yes.  Especially since zombies usually attack by touch, and they would die-die the moment they made contact with him.

>Would Ned be the best person to have with you during the zombie Apocalypse?

Not even close.  Ned's a lover, not a fighter, and has serious anxiety issues even when dealing with the day-to-day operations of The Pie Hole.  He would spend most of the zombie Apocalypse in general panic, and would not be as useful as you might think.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why have internet service websites killed off professions such as travel agents, but have not killed off professions such as real estate agents and stock brokers?

I know websites like travelocity and hotwire have hit travel agents hard since the internet has boomed over the  past 15 years, but why isn't this applicable to stock brokers and real estate agents?

I can see an argument for stock brokers, but I don't see the value of real estate agents. Literally 90% of the agents I have worked with know little about the area they are representing or assisting in, and I don't see how they provide value. It seems like a very marketing heavy business with the electric fence known as the MLS guarding the industry.

[Assistant]
It has indeed killed off a *lot* of stock broker jobs.

Real estate agencies in many regions represent a *cartel.* They are hard to displace because they control so much of the market at one time, and collaborate to limit the success of any competing group that won't join their team. Cartels usually collapse eventually, but it can take many many years.


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

[User]
[God of War] Why didn't the gods just strike Kratos down when he's weakened?

We see that in GOW3 after Kratos swims the river Styx he is incredibly weakened, barely able to stand. So this seems to be the ultimate time for Zeus to come in and tear Kratos a new one. So why didn't he just teleport there and slaughter Kratos then and there?

(I'm just asking for the peeps who don't know. I already know a good enough reason why zeus would not.)

[Assistant] Zeus was too busy defending Olympus from the Titans to bother hunting down Kratos. Undoubtedly, he would have after the emergency ended, but Kratos managed to rejoin the fight quickly enough to make it not matter.


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

[User]
How does rain effect cigarette smoke/the diffusion of odours?

I have just moved in opposite a flat full of very ignorant students. They smoke out of their kitchen window from about mid-day till 3-4am, which means if I have my windows open at any time that they are awake the smell of the smoke travels across the street (which is very narrow) and into my flat. Today has been very rainy and I have left my window open in my bedroom for several hours and have noticed that I haven't smelt any of their smoke, even though they have been smoking as usual. I wondered whether the rain has an effect on the diffusion of the smoke particles as they travel across the street and if so how? Or is something else sciency happening? I'm just really curious to know why.

[Assistant] The rain actually has a cleaning effect on the air. When rain falls, it attracts many aerosol particles including the particles made by cigarettes which cause their smell. Then the particles get brought to the ground and are released into the ground, never to reach your nose.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we stop smelling things after being exposed to them for a while?

Edit: Thanks everyone for the replies! Really appreciate y'all takin the time, fascinating stuff.

[Assistant]
The brain filters out everything that doesn't change, everything that is "expected". This way it can concentrate on the new things that are happening, things that (usually) are much more important.

It does the same thing for sights and sounds.


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

[User]
ELI5: In developing countries, poor people tend to be thinner than rich people. But in developed countries, rich people tend to be thinner than poor people. What explains the discrepancy?

Edit:

Poor Americans/Brits, and rich Chinese/Russians, are fat.

Rich Americans/Brits, and poor Chinese/Russians, are thin.

Why?

**Edit 2: In this thread - Answers to *why poor Americans are fat*. However, that does not explain how poor Chinese are *not* fat, or why rich Russians are fat.**

[Assistant]
I don't know that there's one answer to this, but if you're poor and in a developing country, there's a much higher chance you have food insecurity and more commonly intensive manual labor.

In developed countries, rich people can afford more time for exercise, and have better access to healthier foods, while poor, calorically dense foods, are cheap and widely available, and jobs have a higher proportion of sitting behind a desk.


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

[User] [General] I've been cursed with eternal lice, is there any way I can end my suffering?

[Assistant]
Absolutely; lice live in hair, so shaving yourself _completely_ should do the trick. Your pubic hair is a given, of course, and so is your head, but don't forget the spots people sometimes forget about - you're going to have to shave your eyebrows and your armpits as well.

Depending on the particular lice involved - and these are clearly magical - you might have to go further than normal and make sure that even the hairs on your hands and toes are gone, as well as your nose hairs.

Depending on the rate of hair growth, you may have to shave multiple times a day - there are people who shave in the morning and start to get a five o'clock shadow by lunchtime. Some sort of laser treatment might be in order.


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

[User]
[elder scrolls] if I owe my soul to multiple deities, what happens when the Dragonborn dies?

Lets say Im a member of the dark brotherhood, and a vampire, and a werewolf, and a nord, and a servant to about every daedric prince theres a quest for.

[Assistant] Ultimately the Dragonborn is not a human. He is a dragon in a human body. Therefore Akatosh has ultimate claim on they're soul, and he is strong enough to assert that claim. The Dragonborn will go to Akatosh.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Force sensitives seem to either become Jedi and aid the republic or become Sith/dark Jedi and desire power. Are there force users who don't stay with either faction after being trained, and just use their powers for their own purposes?

[Assistant]
This is now LEGENDS territory. . .

This is very common for many former Jedi. Less so with the Sith.  If a person wishes stop being a Jedi one simply needs to turn in his lightsaber (though this depends on the master) and renounce his connection to the order.  Some still consider themselves Jedi but to in their own path, no longer heeding the Jedi Council (example: Jolee Bindo).  Others create splinter groups (Djinn Altis). Others still leave the Order (Bardan Jusik and Ahsoka Tano). None of these circumstances prohibited the user from access to the force. Stripping the force from someone has rarely been done and only in extreme cases.

Edit: Changed "Tabo" to "Tano"

Edit 2: Changed "Ashoka" to "Ahsoka"


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

[User] ELI5: What would happen if we didn't remove the air bubble from syringes?

[Assistant]
The main risk with leaving an air bubble in a syringe is inaccurate dosing. With the syringe partly full of air, the amount of liquid won't be accurate to the markings on the syringe.

Getting air into a vein isn't a significant hazard unless it's a huge amount - like a whole drip tube full or someone squeezes a drip bag in, including the large air bubble.

The air will circulate in the veins and reach the lungs where it will lodge and get removed in a few minutes. The lungs will filter out the air so it can't travel to the brain except where there is also a "hole in the heart".


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

[User] ELI5: whats so special about Cuban cigars, why can't we just make them in the states?

[Assistant] If we could get the Cuban tobacco we could do a pretty good imitation; producing cigars alone is not the problem. It's all in the unique combination of growing conditions found on the island.  That's why California Pinot Noir won't taste the same as French Burgundy made with the same varietal grape, all other winery practices being the same.


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

[User]
[Futurama] When the PE crew go to Neptune, what are they standing on?

Neptune is an ice giant, with high pressures and winds and not much in the way of a solid surface.

Was it triton?

[Assistant] Look, Pal, you cant have fancy cyrogenics labs, fusion powerplants, and a booming starship industry without exploiting the mineral wealth of a few backwater planets. So the entire atmosphere of Neptune was siphoned off by space prospectors in the 2550s. Big whoop! Nobody is missing it!


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

[User]
ELIF: why does whipping creme whip and become thick, but milk or half and half doesnt?

Been making homemade whipped creme for years, but today I accidentally used half and half and wondered why it wasnt whipping. Why does heavy creme become thick when you whip it?

[Assistant] Milk and (dairy) half-and-half don't have enough fat to bind with the proteins to get thick and creamy when whipped. When you whip cream it traps air, and that's what makes it into whipped cream. That's really all it is.


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

[User] What happens to all of the energy in a lightning bolt when it strikes the Earth?

[Assistant] First of all the energy isn't "in" the bolt, the bolt is a sort of temporary wire between the earth and a cloud.  The energy is in the imbalance of charge between the cloud and earth.  A lot of the energy goes into ionizing the air.  It takes a lot of voltage to separate electrons from the molecules in the air.  Once the air is sufficiently ionized for a plasma channel to form energy goes into accelerating charge carriers and resistive heat loss.  The current in this plasma also radiates energy in the form of electromagnetic waves (including the visible white-purple flash from the extremely hot plasma) and air pressure waves (thunder) due to the rapid heating.  Once sufficient energy has been lost the air deionizes which results in a little bit more heat and possibly some more em radiation.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is nudity of "modern" people censored on the Tv but nudity of "primitive" people isn't censored?

Why is nudity of "modern" people censored on the various reality tv shows but nudity of "primitive" people living in the jungle isn't censored?

When Bear Grylls went swimming naked in the river on his survival Tv show they censored his buttocks or when women go topless in shows like Big Brother they censor their breast or air that episode late at night but when they show native people living in the  Amazon rainforest they don't censor their buttocks, breasts and genitals.

Isn't this a double standard or even racist?

[Assistant]
Legally, in the United States, the thing that is regulated is not the appearance of a nipple or butt cheek. It's "obscenity." The idea is that a boob or a butt presented for the purpose of titillation or in the context of sex is different than the same body part presented as part of a presentation on anthropology or science.

As a result, TV stations are usually willing to risk the Amazon stuff for the sake of accuracy. They usually aren't willing to make the argument that Big Brother nudity is about anything more than sex, and so they blur it. Bear Grylls would seem to fall somewhere in between, and they may blur that more because of something in his contract than something like this.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do social media apps like Snapchat frequently update their layout despite a negative response almost every time?

Seems like a waste of resources when users usually want it to remain the same.

[Assistant] It might be a "New" fancy thing that they might be able to advertise in some way, but usually, it's to keep up with what is deemed "Stylish" and "Modern".  It just like how windows 7 and older, ios 6 and older, OSX Mavericks  and older have these fancy 3D looking buttons, but later version have got these transparent, plain, single color buttons/icons with ariel or calibri font.  It's basically keeping up with trends.


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

[User] [40K, marvel] Thanos lands in the warhammer universe, how does he fare?

[Assistant]
Thanos is roughly Primarch-level in power, so fairly impressive on a personal level. If he brought his invasion fleet with him, he'd be a thorn in the Imperium's balls, but to a lesser extent than the Tau Empire. So pretty small fish, on the 40k scale.

Remember that Plan B in 40k is *Exterminatus*, so basically every other player in the universe can and will out-Thanos the newcomers.


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

[User] [Metal Gear Solid] In order to defeat Psycho Mantis and break his mind control, you have to transfer playstation controller ports. From an in-universe perspective, how the fuck is Snake breaking free?

[Assistant]
By switching his controller to the second port.

The game mechanics are a known, in-universe part of the Metal Gear world. They know there's a real-world CD case with Meryl's CODEC frequency on it. They know what save files are, and that you have to switch discs on the Playstation (and they know they've switched to new hardware, because they comment on not needing to switch discs anymore on Shadow Moses in MGS4). Revolver Ocelot will call you out if you try to use an auto-fire controller on the torture sequence. The End will literally drop fucking dead if you screw with your system clock during the sniper duel. And yes, Colonel Campbell knows damn well that there is a controller, there is a port, and there is a second port you can plug into.


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

[User] when they say things like a nuclear bomb could cause a blackout, what happens to the electricity? how does it work?

[Assistant]
A nuclear explosion causes a pulse of electromagnetic radiation. This pulse is a rapidly changing electrical field and rapidly changing magnetic field.

These would couple/induce rapidly changing currents/voltages in electrical/electronic devices and these could be enough to damage/disable those devices.


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

[User] In an asymmetric encryption algorithm, can a private key be used to encrypt information with a known outcome to prove that a message came from a trusted source, or would this reveal how to decrypt all messages encrypted with the public key?

[Assistant]
Yes, and it is done all the time. This is what we call 'signing' a message with a private key - take a plaintext message, take the checksum of that message, and encrypt that checksum - a known outcome - with the private key. Any user can then look up the public key, decrypt the cyphertext, take the checksum of the message, and compare them.

This is also the basis of cryptocurrency.


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

[User]
What happens to fat cells as fat is metabolized?

Is fat metabolism basically just a point in time process, or does it kick off a process of longer changes to the fat cells?  What is that process and how long does it take?

This question comes from a thought I had on a 6 hour bike ride yesterday.

[Assistant]
The fat cells (adipocytes) undergo very little changes when fat is used in metabolism, other than decreasing in volume. DNA modifications such as methylation/demethylation and histone remodeling may be long-term effects of fat loss by adipocytes, but this is unclear at this time.

A skinny person and a fat person have the same number of adipocytes. They are like trash bags; when empty they are flat and take up little space, but they have enormous storage capacity. When a person loses fat, the triacylglycerides (TAGs), or fat molecules, are clipped into 2-carbon pieces which then are used in the citric acid cycle (Kreb's). Fat is eventually breathed out as CO2. The adipocyte trash bags are emptied and thus take up less volume.


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

[User]
ELI5 why some areas rarely have thunders, while others have several in the year.

I grew up on the Balkans where there were often thunders. 2 times out of 3 if it rains - it thunders. Now I live in Berlin, and I've only witnessed three thunderous rains in 4 years. Tonight is the third time. I don't get it. ELI5 please.

[Assistant] To form thunderstorms you need conditions where a big mass of warm, wet air at low altitude can very quickly rise up to high altitude. Usually this happens in areas where a low, warm, and wet air current meets a high, cold, and dry one. The two masses of air basically trade places and cause the massive updrafts that form huge thunder clouds.


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

[User] I'd like a simple explanation of what is String Theory. I don't get it.

[Assistant]
String theory is the idea that a particle isn't a pointlike object, but an extended object like a string. String theory was first introduced as a model of the strong interactions. It was found that such a theory could describe specific cases of particle scattering observed in the strong interactions. The theory had some success before it was realized that quantum chromodynamics described the strong interaction much better.

People still worked on the theory and discovered that one of the vibrating strings acted like a massless spin-two particle. The only massless, spin-two particle that can exist is the graviton, the hypothetical force carrier for gravity. It was then found that one could use string theory to derive Einstein's equations for general relativity. People then shit themselves when it was realized that string theory contains all the fundamental particles and their interactions. Dreams of unification spread throughout the world.

Then nothing happened for a while and people got angry and mostly abandoned string theory. Someone then realized that 4-dimensional field theories could be rewritten as 5-dimensional gravitational theories. It turned out that in this framework easily solvable gravitational theories could be used to do calculations in hard to solve field theories.

And that's where we're at right now.


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

[User]
[Marvel/DC] How are those with telekinetic powers so sure of what theyre manipulating?

For example if someone like Jean Grey is pulling someone towards her, how can she know shes pulling the whole body and not just a bone or organ?

[Assistant] Usually telekinesis powers are based on will. So, if they want to pull the person toward them, their mind will comply, pulling the whole person, because they want the whole thing closer to them. But, if they specifically think that they want that person's femur to be over there instead of inside of that person, then their powers will focus in on that specific part.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why was it so hard to prosecute old time mob bosses?

What I'm wondering is why did prosecutors have such a hard time convicting mobsters/mob bosses of murder?

[Assistant] The higher up you were in the food chain, the harder it was to get convicted.  In most cases, the mob bosses never kill anyone with their own hands.  That means that there is no physical evidence, such as fingerprints, that ties them with the crime.  Futhermore, they never directly order anyone to kill either.  The order usually gets passed down through several people; the mob boss never actually talks with the hitman.  Also, if any hitman did confess, and implicated the boss, there is a good chance they would get killed in jail by fellow gang members.  So, there was a heavy incentive to stay quiet.  Finally, these gangsters had a lot of money, enough money to bribe enough people to bury any evidence that might incriminate them, and get some top class lawyers.


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

[User] For millions of years we didn't brush our teeth, floss, or use mouthwash. Why is it so important then?

[Assistant]
Because our modern diet contains acidic and sugary foods that erode enamel and feed bacteria that causes tooth decay. We went from a diet of roots and game meat to bathing our teeth in phosphoric acid and sugar and chomping on a variety of meats dressed in sugary spices. Let that sit in your mouth for a while and you have a breeding ground for bacteria ruining your teeth.

We also live longer than our ancestors did and need to prolong our pearly whites as much as we can.


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

[User] ELI5: How are artificial color dyes made differently from natural color dyes?

[Assistant]
Natural dyes are made by taking something that's the right color and processing it into a dye.

Artificial dyes are made by putting generic, commodity chemicals into a chemical reaction process that ends up with a dye.


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

[User] [LotR] Why didn't both Saruman and Sauron protect their rears when they were attacking respectively Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith?

[Assistant]
In Helm's Deep, Saruman wasn't expecting the signal fires to go up.  He didn't expect a company of heroes to show up and break the siege.

At Minas Tirith, Sauron had all the cards.  He had an overwhelming army led by friggen unkillable Nazgul, he thought Gandalf was dead from the balrog.  Gandalf and Aragorn are realistically the only two that can lead a resistance against him.

Sauron is powerful, he's not all-knowing, but he thinks he knows more than anyone else.  Having a resurrected Gandalf advising Aragorn-with-the-sword-that-cut-his-ringfinger-off, was a surprise to him.  He didn't expect stuff like that.


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

[User]
ELI5: The history of the situation in Ukraine, beginning with the coup earlier this year.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I am horribly ignorant on this topic. I realise that the situation in Ukraine has continued to develop over the past months and I feel that I should develop a solid understanding of what is going on.

[Assistant]
This goes back to the formation of the USSR, but let's look at really modern history for purposes of the ELI5.

- Since 2004 Ukraine has been swinging back and forth between pro-Russian puppet leadership and pro-Ukrainian leadership.

- In 2004, there were mass protests, and a forced re-election after the Russian puppet (Yanukovych) won under a highly questionable vote count. The pro-Ukrainian candidate (Yuschenko) then won during a "fair" election (or as fair as it could be).

- Then in 2010 the pro-Russian puppet (Yanukovych) won after 6 years of, well, corruption perpetrated by the pro-Ukrainian leadership.

- The pro-Russian puppet then proceeded to be even more corrupt than the previous leaders, and was outright acting like a puppet of Putin. This all culminated in 2014.

- By this point the Ukrainian population was really sick and tired of mass corruption (by everyone), but the degree to which Yanukovych stole from the people was just plain over the top. **The boiling point came when Yanukovych rejected a deal from the EU** which would bring Ukraine into the Eurozone along with a lot of trade, job, and travel opportunities. It would also give more oversight (theoretically) of the Ukrainian government, and hopefully limit the extent of corruption.

- Rather than accepting a deal from the EU, he took a deal from Russia. This prompted mass **peaceful** protests urging him and parliament to accept the EU deal rather than Putin's deal.

- After months of peaceful protests, and time running out on the ability to accept the Russian deal, Yanukych instituted draconian laws against protesters, such that you became eligible for several **years** in prison just for coming out to protest. This was the last straw and Maidan began.

- It started small, a group of really, really disgruntled Ukrainians calling for Yanukovych to resign in light of a) not taking the EU deal in spite of the general public's best interests/desire, and b) creating draconian laws severely limiting free speech.

- Then it grew, riots happened, people were hurt, tortured, killed. Controversy. More riots, etc, and then eventually Yanukovych was just forced out.

- Then the fun began. After Yanukovych was ejected from Presidency without any official procedings, Ukraine was in an interesting situation. Things got worse when basically all members of parliament that were pro-Russia leaving a very nationalistic Ukrainian gov't (with the main party having neo-Nazi ties, whilst not necessarily being a neo-Nazi party). The first thing they did was eliminate Russian as an official national language, an action which marginalized a huge chunk of their population in Eastern, and Southern Ukraine.

- Southern Ukraine - a.k.a. Crimea.
Crimea is an ethnically Russian majority area. After the toppling of the gov't, they decided to have a vote to secede from Ukraine (which was illegal). It is widely believed (and blatantly obvious) that Putin helped orchestrate this, and the voting choice was between "Secede from Ukraine" or "Secede from Ukraine and join Russia".

- They voted to "Secede from Ukraine and join Russia". And Russia begrudgingly accepted /s. Thus, Crimea went from being a part of Ukrain to being a part of Russia.

- But it didn't end there. Now, immediately after the toppling of the Ukrainian gov't these secretive armed forces began to appear throughout Eastern Ukraine. At first in Crimea, but then in other regions. They took over gov't buildings, and wanted to copy the Crimea action of "voting to secede and join Russia".

- Ukraine didn't want any of it, and started attacking these forces. More of them grew. No one knows for sure who they are. They claim to be Ukrainian separatists, but high likelihood of Russian soldiers and special forces being present.

- And so that's where we are today. Ukrainian separatists are trying to gain as much control in possible in Eastern Ukraine, likely in order to facilitate further territorial acquisition for Russia. However, Ukrainian army and volunteer forces are actively trying to kill them/get them out of Eastern Ukraine in order to restore order. Oh, and Russia seems to be actively helping the separatists both financially and as of this week by live artillery fire.


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

[User] [Yu-Gi-Oh] In the Pharaoh's Memories arc, how much of the events that occurred were accurate compared to the past?

[Assistant]
I'd say the general outline is the same. Thief King Bakura tries to resurrect Zorc and the Priests want to prevent that.

As we learn, what we see is not the actual history but a Dark RPG based ono it. So the characters and places are real, but from the moment the first time rewind happens because Yami Bakura used his hourglass, the game steers away from what happened in reality. Still, most of the things that happen parallel to this are probably still history, but at the very latest when Yugi Muto and his friends arrive it becomes a whole new history.


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

[User] ELI5: why dont bugs die when they fall from from heights that are very high for their size??

[Assistant] Square-cube law mostly. Air resistance has way more effect on smaller animals just because of the ratio of their mass to their size. Same reason why an elephant would be dead if it fell from more than a few feet in the air.


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

[User] If we say sharks as a species are roughly 400M yrs old, does this mean that sharks from back then could theoretically interbreed with todays sharks?

[Assistant]
They couldnt interbreed, but thats not the defining feature. Differnt species of shark cant interbreed today, thats how we define species, if two of the same animal can breed to make fertile offspring. When they deviate enough that two cant breed anymore its called speciation.

When they say sharks are 400M years old that means that 400M years ago speciation occured to create the clade Selachimorpha which we commonly refer to as sharks.

A bit oversimplifying but you get the idea.


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

[User]
[matrix] why didn't the humans stop trading with 01?

Cheap ai products caused the war why didn't the world government just isolate them like n. Korea.

[Assistant]
Why does the world by China's electronics? Why does the United States buy Russian rocket motors?

People want a bargain. They can forgive child labor and political differences.

01 was considered a peaceful nation, and they were involved in talks with the humans' governments for as long as possible.


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

[User]
(ELi5) OSI Model and TCP/IP Model in Simple Terms?

I'm not a computer science student. But I want to learn it and grasp these two models in very simple language and terminology.

[Assistant]
The OSI model is a fiction that gets taught to students, which then everyone proceeds to mostly forget because it's not quite accurate to the real world

The underlying idea is that you structure stuff in layers, and the upper layers don't really care what's going on below.

* Layer 1 is the physical layer. That determines how data is actually physically communicated. And this can be electrical pulses, or pulses of light (fiber), or electromagnetic radiation (wifi), or smoke signals. Nothing above really needs to care.
* Layer 2 is node to node communication -- if you hook up a machine to another directly with a cable. Ethernet goes here.
* Layer 3 is networking -- how stuff gets along a chain from A to B to C to D. The IP protocol goes here.
* Layer 4 is Transport -- where you have the concept of a transferring arbitrary amounts of data from A to B. TCP goes here.
* Layer 5 is session  -- where you have the concept of a constant connection. TCP is also here.
* Layer 6 is presentation -- concerned with formatting, compressing and encrypting data. For instance SSL.
* Layer 7 is application -- which is whatever you run on top of all of this, like HTTP.
* Layer 8 is the user -- not an actual layer, but something you might see people jokingly refer to.

In practice the layers that get talked about is 1, 2, 3 and 7:

* It's a bad cable (layer 1)
* There's two computers with the same MAC, or they're not plugged into the same switch (layer 2)
* IP address is misconfigured (layer 3)
* Something is wrong with the application itself (layer 7)


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

[User] [Portal] What makes a surface portal conductive/non-portal conductive?

[Assistant]
The surface must be reasonably free from vibration, and it must be _reasonably_ flat. Pits and crevices in the surface up to 2 cm deep and 1 in wide seem to be fine, though protrusions must be paper-thin in order for the portal to "cast" over them.

The surface material itself must have specific conductive properties. Ideally, stable, isolated ferromagnetic particles must be present but INSULATED from one annother. Concrete, or specially treated moon dust in gel, has sufficient suspended iron to do so perfectly. A damp rock, a solid iron surface, and plywood, for instance, doesn't.

This is a major reason why portal guns were never sold to the US military; Aperture felt that the device was unsellable because too many structures are made of wood.


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

[User]
[Star Wars Episode III] Prior to facing Sidious, who was the last person Yoda had to go "all out" in order to fight?

When Yoda fights Sidious, after how many years is Yoda seriously fighting with his full power? I don't suppose he had many fights in his life where he had to give it his all. I was wondering, before facing the Emperor, who could've been the last opponent Yoda took seriously in a fight. Like, back in Episode II when he fought Dooku, was he even trying?

[Assistant] He was definitely trying to beat Count Dooku. But in his prime, Dooku may have been the best duellist in history. And even at the start of the Clone Wars, he was *among* the greatest. The fact that he had to distract Yoda by threatening Obi-Wan and his apprentice in order to escape, then, shows you that Yoda wasn't just toying with him.


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

[User] ELI5: If 8 ounces is a cup, why does my 16 oz bag of shredded cheese say 4 cups?

[Assistant]
Ounces are a unit of weight, while cups are a unit of volume. Different materials have different densities (the ratio of weight to volume). For example, pillow stuffing has far fewer ounces per cup than steel.

Adding some confusion to the issue, the "fluid ounce" is a unit of volume, equal to the volume of one weight-ounce of water. Thus, a cup (eight fl.oz.) of water weighs eight weight-ounces, but a cup of cheese (also eight fl.oz.) may weigh significantly less.


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

[User]
[Halo] Can this Covenant glassing be quantified?

So I was reading a Halo book called Silent Storm and I came across this passage:

>"John could not quite understand what he was seeing on the planet below. From what he had been told about the Covenant's method of orbital bombardment, the aliens could glass no more than a few square kilometres of ground at a time, but what he saw on Etalan was on a whole new level. It was as though the Covenant had punched through the planet's crust into it's mantle, creating a volcanic geyser that was going to burn away the last traces of humanity by flooding the entire world with molten stone. And if the aliens had *that* kind of power, if they were capable of cruelty of such a massive scale, Task Force Yama *had* to slow their invasion."
>
>pg.223

I was wondering what exactly was going in on in there and if someone could explain it to me, and hopefuly quantify it so I can put it into perspective

for context they where shooting at this:

>Did you not hear my question, Fleetmaster?
>
>I did, Nizat replied. I hesitate because the technique has never been tried before. But this world is so primitive that it could work here. I hope you do not expect me to guess. Not at all, Nizat said.
>
>But there are risks. Are we not at war? There are always riskseven when fighting the humans. Then your guidance will be most appreciated, Nizat said. Egini is unique in two ways that serve our purpose. First, there is a shield volcano on the equator so enormous that we can see it venting ash and steam even from orbit. And a plasma bombardment might trigger an eruption, Survey said. But would that be enough? On any other world, no, Nizat said. But there is only one spaceport on the entire planet, and it has already been glassed. So there can be no evacuation if the volcano erupts.

[Assistant] They glassed a super volcano.  Think Yellowstone national park.  A giant magma chamber the size of a city that normally takes centuries or longer to build up enough pressure to cause an eruption.  The covies simply gave it a relief valve that caused that pressure to release earlier than normal.  If Yellowstone were to blow it will destroy most of the northwestern US in the blast wave and southwestern Canada.  The ash and pyroclastic ejections will cover most North America with fiery rain and acid rain followed by a nuclear winter as the dust and ash will block sunlight for years.  Further away places like Hawaii Australia and Asia will see lesser effects but still be rocked by earthquakes tsunamis and the fiery rain and ash clouds.  Something like Yellowstone will kill 50-60% of earth's population through direct and indirect causes.  In the silent storm they simply did that on a lesser extent since the planet was smaller but the volcano was vented instead of erupting causing higher pressure on the lava released which would put it higher in the atmosphere and spread further away from the volcano by wind and even possibly the effects of the planets orbit.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Since Thanos is super smart, does he realize he is a huge klutz?

Thanos is as smart if not smarter than Reed Richards. Does he realize 99% of the time his schemes fail, he is the main reason for the failure? He seems pretty clumsy, and I'd assume, Thanos being Thanos, he should have addressed this issue at least once.

[Assistant]
I feel it's important to point out its not nearly a 99% thing. Its happened twice - he list the Infinity Gauntlet because he became arragant, and when he had the Heart of the Universe and destroyed the universe - although here he does vemkanw that he was just acting as a pawn for greater powers (TOAA).

Other than those instances hes been killed by Drax in Annihilation, which he couldn't predict, he's been turned into stone by Adam Warlock after fighting all the Avengers (and winning for the most part), and most recently he was imprisoned so to speak by his son, whilst fighting and beating the Avengers yet again *and* being betrayed by one if his Black Order.

He does admit that he is the reason for his downfalls often though, but he can't change his nature.


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

[User]
Could a short-sighted person focus on far away objects through the reflection in a close up mirror?

For example, if a short sighted person were to try to read some text 20 ft away using a reflection from a mirror a foot away from their face,  would it appear clear to them?

[Assistant] No, it would appear just as fuzzy to them as looking directly at the text (slightly fuzzier in fact, since now you also add the distance from the eyes to the mirror and back the the equation). Optometrists use the same effect for the opposite means. If you want to test the right glasses for a person who can't see far away objects, you would need to place objects really far away (like 10 meters). Usually an optometrist's office is too small for that, so what they do is place a mirror on one side of the room, and let the patient look via the mirror to the opposite side of the room. This way you only need a 5 meter room to display on object 10 meters away for the purposes of the measurement.


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

[User] ELI5: Why, when baking, does it matter if butter is 'softened' or 'melted' isn't it the same thing either way? What difference does it make?

[Assistant]
No, it is not the same thing. The difference is the texture.

When you cream soft but unmelted butter with sugar and add eggs the texture of the semi-solid butter helps to trap air bubbles in the batter, which makes your end product lighter.

When you use melted butter you lose this property, as the melted butter doesn't have the structural cohesion to hold the air bubbles in suspension.

Butter also contains a fair amount of water; when the structure is destroyed through melting this water is free to combine with flour to develop the gluten and give a chewy consistency to the end product.

This, incidentally, is why cakes not containing butter often depend on whipped egg whites and the support of ungreased pan sides to add that structure.


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

[User] [MCU] Since Peter Quill is the same species as Ego, does he still possess the abilities of a celestial, or did he lose the source of his powers at the end of Vol. 2?

[Assistant] It seems like Peter possessed the ability to tap into another celestial's power all along, and so he likely retains that.  However, without the battery of power that was his father, he also likely won't be able to repeat the things he did while fighting his father.  This raises questions about what Quill could accomplish were he given a similar battery of power again, though.


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

[User]
ELI5: Can someone explain Shia LeBouf's speech to me (as in why/how)?

How did it even come about? Was he being totally serious? Is he just cracked out? I'm baffled by it. Was it for something in particular? I suppose I just need background information on it.

[Assistant]
The "do it" one?

IIRC that was done for a students short film. Not sure if it's entirely improv or if they outlined what he had to say. It was shot on green screen so they could edit him in. They wound up posting the raw footage and he wound up cut into everything.


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

[User]
[40k] Did the God Emperor hate religion from a moral standpoint or from a practical standpoint?

Basically did the Emperor try to stamp out religion for pragmatic reasons, like not letting it fuel Chaos, or was he a militant atheist/antitheist who believed Humans could become supreme through the power of SCIENCE! and knowledge?

[Assistant]
Practical, most likely.

It's heavily implied in earlier texts that the Emperor was behind the rise of at least one major religion on Earth, and that the entire plan backfired catastrophically, dividing people rather than uniting them.

Science, on the other hand, brings people together, because there is, ultimately, only one answer. So, for his goal or unity, reason and the scientific principles are far better.


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

[User] [Predator] Does the predator race have any concept of honor? It kills humans from an elevated perch, while invisible, using an aimbot plasma cannon. The whole method involves no risk and requires no stealth or skill. Why do they hunt by shooting fish in a barrel like this?

[Assistant]
They do in a way. They will only attack people with weapons. It seems their honor is based on 'warriors fighting warriors'. It doesn't seem to matter how that warrior fights as long as they fight.

It seems the Predator race treat the hunts as a beat em up style game. They come down and kill a bunch of henchman until the bosses show up (Arnold and Danny Glover)


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

[User] ELI5: why does changing your body temperature by just a few degrees affect you so much?

[Assistant]
Some proteins and enzymes that are critical to brain and bodily functions are only stable in the narrow temperature band that we've evolved to keep at through complex thermoregulation methods (the proteins and enzymes don't hold their fragile shape when the temp changes a lot, and when they unfold or fold a different way they're effectively useless).  When they break down your brain don't not work so awesome not further any much.

Your extremities can withstand larger temperature swings, but your brain function starts to break down if you slide more than a few degrees off normal for too long.


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

[User]
ELI5: why does vision turn into a rainbow prism when on LSD?

EDIT: seeing a lot of comments saying it doesnt actually do that, Im speaking from my own experience. Ive microdosed and taken up to 3 tabs at once, it pretty much is guaranteed every time.

[Assistant]
LSD is a molecule that is almost like seratonin, but not quite. Seratonin isn't just "the happy hormone", it's a really common molecule used to communicate between neurons. LSD molecules bind to the same receptors in your brain, but because they're a little wrong, they cause your neurons to work kind of wrong, and it results in weird conscious experiences.

It can result in weird sensory hallucinations (visual and auditory), and that's what's usually depicted as trippy rainbow prism stuff. But it also affects other stuff in your brain (which can be positive, or negative). So you shouldn't take it expecting just a fun light show.


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

[User] ELI5 When wanting to exit our solar system, do we have to always go outward from the sun in the direction of the other planets? Or can we simply travel "north"?

[Assistant] You could but you never would. Since the earth is orbiting the sun, your rocket is already orbiting the sun. This means it's already moving at some 100,000km/h and you can use that speed to help you exit the solar system. If you wanted to travel "north" then you need to bring extra fuel.


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

[User]
[Pokmon] Why did every gym leader decide to base their entire gym around one Pokmon type when that's obviously a terrible strategy?

Like why wouldn't a fire gym leader decide to diversify their roster, after one kid with a Squirtle wrecks their whole gym?

[Assistant] The gyms battles are tests, not competitions.  That fire gym is there so that trainers that can't even train up a mid level water pokemon aren't wasting everyone's time at the *actual* tournaments, where you'll find teams with a lot more diversity.


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

[User]
[Marvel] I was hanging out with my friends -- they are mutants, while I am an inhuman -- when some anti-mutant law enforcement tried to arrest us. They found out that I don't have the x-gene; will I be let go?

They used an x-gene scanner -- obviously, I was the only one that came up negative. Since I am not a mutant, are they going to let me go? It's not like they would be able to do much to me, especially with my upper-tier powers.

[Assistant]
Not so fast there, bucko. You may not be a mutant, but you are consorting with mutants, and odds are these guys are a-holes who consider consorting a problem in and of itself. Expect an arrest attempt.

Also, don't get too cocky about these guys. As a group taking action against mutants, they need to have some sort of recourse if they say "you're under arrest" and the mutant says "no". At a minimum they're sophisticated enough to have x-gene scanners, and could have other high-tech gear close at hand. And if you get past them, they probably have heavy hitting backup on speed dial; sentinels, non-mutant superhumans, powered armor, "tame" enslaved mutants, etc.


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

[User]
[It's A Wonderful Life] Was George Bailey still arrested after everyone gave him money to help him?

I mean, I know the police officer ripped up the warrant for his arrest, but that was sort of an in-the-moment decision, right? I mean, for all anyone knows, George laundered the $8,000 dollars that went missing, and the fact that he's getting a ton of monetary gifts to replace it doesn't change that.

[Assistant]
Mr. Potter will look for other ways to ruin George and his bank, but the fact is, the money is back where it belongs. $8,000 is $8,000. George could have snorted the original $8,000 up his nose for all anyone can prove, but if the bank can again fulfill its obligations, that goes a long way.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Potter tried to get some further investigation or prosecution started, but with the books balanced, it seems unlikely it will amount to much.


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

[User] ELI5: How can the laxative effects of caffeine or cigarettes onset within minutes, while effects of regular laxatives (e.g. bisacodyl) take hours to manifest?

[Assistant]
Caffeine and Nicotine are stimulant laxatives. They trigger muscle contractions in the intestines to get your bowels moving. They are also delivered through the blood.

Bisacodyl is only slow acting if you take it orally. It is also a stimulant laxatives, but when taken orally it must be digested before the drug takes effect. If taken as a rectal suppository or enema, the drug acts much faster usually within an hour. Often as fast as 15 minutes.


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

[User]
What does "100% humidity" mean?

I know what humidity is, but I want to know how they determine the percentages. What kind of scale are they using that determines that the concentration of water vapor in the air is "100%," because that would seem to imply that we're drowning, but that's obviously not what it means.

[Assistant] It's based on the capacity of the air to hold water vapor. At 100%, the air has taken up as much water into the air as it can. If the temperature or pressure changed to reduce this carrying capacity, then the water will condensate back into a liquid.


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

[User] ELI5: why have humans evolved to only be required to consume such a small percentage of their body weight daily relative to some other animals on earth?

[Assistant] We tend to eat relatively high-calorie diets, with our focus on grains and other carbohydrates. We also cook our food, which makes it easier to get at the calories. By comparison, a lot of plant-eaters have to chew, swallow, partially digest, regurgitate, and re-chew their food to get the maximum out of it, nutritionally. Another way of doing the same thing is to just eat a huge amount of food, and process it quickly.


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

[User]
CMV: if great britain not giving the 13 US colonies representation in parliament was so unfair, it's not fair that guam/puerto rico/all the US territories don't get representation in congress.

edit: thank you all so much! you've helped me to see many of the reasons why my opinion was flawed. i will be tapping out of the conversation. thanks once again!

yeah, basically what the title says. the 13 colonies (basically british territories, but more self sufficient than US territories) didn't get representation in parliament, which let to the american war of independence. so why doesn't the US give the us territories representatives in congress? i understand that the colonists basically self-governed, but they still had to follow british rule and pay taxes to britain, so they wanted representation. "no taxation w/o representation" so since people in US territories pay some taxes to the US government, they should get some voting representatives in congress, right? i think the main thing i'm unsure of is that the us territories aren't as self-sustained as the 13 colonies.

[Assistant]
There are pros & cons to it.

The biggest difference is that US territories dont pay federal taxes, they just pay taxes to their local governments.

So they have less direct influence over national policy, but they also dont have to adhere to it in the same ways that states do . So they can make laws that are uniquely specific to being a territory.

For example, though English is mandatory, they still primarily use Spanish. This would put them at a significant disadvantage when it comes to following national policy, which will dramatically affect their unique culture.

So being a territory means you have the full protection of the US without necessarily needing to be a part of the process.

I mean one prime example of this is Hawaii. While they still maintain a lot of their unique Hawaiian heritage, its been completely Americanized. A place like Puerto Rico would effectively experience gentrification.


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

[User]
Is the universe fundamentally incomprehensible for human minds? How could we know if so?

So this is something I've wondered for a while, but have never really looked much into, so I'm not sure whether it counts as science vs philosophy, or if it's even a question which deserves much thinking/writing at all!

As we know from every other species of animal on the planet, whilst many can be incredibly smart there's always a hard 'limit' to their comprehension of the world and how it works. You're never going to get a dolphin to fill out your taxes or explain atom theory to a dog. Is there any writing/thinking on applying similar issues to humans and the comprehensibility of the fundamental way the universe works?

It seems entirely possible that human brains could simply be unable to handle some things. But how would we ever know that? Or is there some way in which cognition could be deemed 'complete' (like a mental version of a turing machine).

[Assistant]
You might be interested in Kant. Considering his project was precisely about determining the limits of our mind and reason.

According to him, reality-in-itself is incomprehensible by the virtue of our reality having to be shaped by our mind. He both establishes the thing-in-itself as necessary, while at the same time unknowable.


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

[User]
Why are (some/most) humans instinctively afraid of the dark and feel safe in the light, when through a survival viewpoint it should be the other way around?

This is kinda psychology/biology maybe? Sorry if its tagged wrong.

If darkness enables an animal to hide from others, wouldnt we feel better in the dark rather than in the light because were more exposed in the light?

Does it have something to do with the fact we arent accustomed to seeing in the dark and some other creatures are?

[Assistant]
A tribe of humans are close to the toughest mofos on the plain, in daylight, when we know what is coming.  We communicate well, we work well together, we're bigger than most things, we have weapons including 'stand off' defences (ie we can throw spears and rocks and fire arrows etc).

Our biggest danger is a surprise attack, on an individual.  And that is far more likely to happen at night.


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

[User] ELI5: When examining the tent from the Dyatlov Pass incident, how would they be able to tell if the tent was cut from the inside or the outside?

[Assistant] When you cut most materials like canvas, the tear is not symmetrical.  The stitch of fabric will be pushed inwards on the side the knife is pushing from, and pop outwards.  The waterproofing may be distended as well.


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

[User] ELI5 Why is slouching so comfortable when it's actually bad for you?

[Assistant]
Slouching is comfortable for some people because it takes less effort and (short term) your bones are still within a normal range of position.

You're basically trading off some muscular stress for extra bone, tendon, cartilage, and possibly nerve stress.  These parts: muscle, bone, cartilage, tendons, and nerves, have different tolerances, responses to stress, and wear differently.  Some of these parts can suffer (sometimes severe) damage for prolonged (even light) stress.

Muscle is more adaptable than the other parts.  So, it's best to stress muscle most of the time.  You get the side benefit of getting stronger and looking more attractive.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Does Chewbacca see Han as an equal, or more of a beloved pet?

Think about it. Wookiees can live for many times longer than a human, and they're physically superior to us and apparently at least equal mentally. They're basically higher life forms.

Chewbacca had bound himself to Han Solo with a life debt - but since he could expect to live for centuries after Han's death, from his perspective that was no more of a long-term commitment than you or I might make by buying a kitten.

What does Han's friendship really mean to Chewbacca? He knew going in that he was going to outlive the little hairless ape, and spend potentially centuries more wandering the galaxy and making new short-term friendships. Could Han really be that important to him in the long term?

[Assistant] Given that Chewbacca is a reasonable and honorable person, and not a racist bigot, he does not judge the value of sentient beings by their lifespans or physical prowess.  The life-debt carries no less meaning for him because Han's natural lifespan is shorter than a wookie's.  Han is his equal, and a true friend.


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

[User]
ELI5: What do artists mean when they talk about rendering?

I hear the term "rendering" thrown around in both traditional and digital art communities like it's some sort of buzzword, but I've never gotten a clear explanation as to what it means.

[Assistant]
Think of the work you do in the software like a pencil sketch of an idea
You get everything where it needs to be and laid out,
but then you need to ink the sketch, do coloring and shading. Thats rendering.
If you render a low res work....say a southpark episode. The computer has almost no shading to do, the colors are simple fills, and shadows rarely exist. The rendering speed can approach real time.
If you want to render a photorealistic world, with photorealstic people every object is coated in a high resolution skin, the computer needs to create all the shadows and highlights the sources of light demand...and you want 23fps?..and your rendering times stretch out into YEARS of processing time on your weaksauce laptop.

So you pay to have rendering done at a server farm where hundreds of computers will each chip away at seconds of your footage, returning results....well just about as fast as your wallet allows.

In olden days, animation shops would send their work to cheap foreign sweat shops for dozens of low paid third world artists to "render their ideas a reality in ink and paint" For computer graphics those sweat shops are render farms.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a home central AC work? Does it use any water?

The more I google about how a central air conditioner works, the more confused I get.

I read that legionella bacteria is a concern with big air conditioning units, but only ACs that use a humidifier or cooling tower. I think just any ACs that use water can harbor the bacteria. I read that its a concern especially in large central air units, like those used in stores or office buildings. But I cant figure out if the central air conditioners that people use on homes (with the big box outside the house) have a humidifier or a cooling tower or even use water at all.

Could someone explain how home central AC units work, whether they use water, and whether they are a risk for legionnaires disease? Thank you!!

[Assistant]
First, lets talk legionella.  This is a water borne bacteria that can cause some serious health issues.  Fortunately, as you  saw, it's not a concern for small scale air conditioning.

Home ACs use a refrigerant (Freon used to be it, R410 i believe is the current rage).  This is a chemical that boils/condenses at very specific conditions of temperature and pressure.  There are a few components to the home AC.

1. Condenser - this is the big box outside.  It consists of a fan, coils, and a compressor.  The refrigerant flows through the coils and enters the condenser as a gas, gets compressed, and the heat is blown away by the fan.  This is why when the unit it running the air coming off the outside unit is quite warm.  This also condenses the refrigerant into a liquid.

2. Evaporator- this is the unit inside.  It consists of tubes and the air handler.  The air handler is basically another fan that blows the warm air from inside your house across the tubes holding the refrigerant.  This causes the refrigerant to evaporate and cool down the air before it is passed to your house.  This also drops water out of the air and reduces the humidity.  The refrigerant is now a vapor which gets passed back to the condenser.

It's the same cycle your refrigerator goes through to keep your food cold.

For large scale units, it's usually more efficient to use water cooling rather than a compressed refrigerant.  This is where the legionella concern comes from.  Instead of passing the water through a closed loop, it goes to cooling tower.  There, the water falls through the air, shedding the heat, and giving off some vapor.  In this wet, humid environment legionella can grow like gang busters.


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

[User] [Pokemon] What did Jessie and James mean by "evils of truth and love"? What's so bad about truth and love?

[Assistant]
The Team Rocket motto espouses a philosophy of radical criminality.

If you take the lines "To protect the world from devastation!/ To unite all peoples within our nation!" as revolutionary goals posed against the "evils of truth and love" you can see how Jesse and James seek to invert conventional morality and demonstrate the ways that the versions of "truth and love" in the dominant culture are, in fact, socially constructed propaganda that contribute to the disunity, rigidity, and lack of open-mindedness in society. The mechanism through which they intend to do this is by transgressing society's laws

However, it's pretty apparent that Jesse and James, when they make this grand pronouncement are, in fact, full of shit and just want to steal pokemon from a group of children for their own personal gain. Doesn't make their rhetoric any less interesting, but it does reveal it to be pretty hollow and performative.


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

[User]
[Kingdom Hearts] Does wielding a Keyblade make you super human?

We see Sora do some clearly superhuman feats by the end of KH2, but I was wondering if that was something the Keyblade was responsible for.

In 1 we see him learning how to use magic, and that he channels it through his Keyblade, but he still keeps that ability when he temporarily loses his weapon.

So does the Keyblade grant him these abilities or is this strength something regular dudes can aspire to attain?

[Assistant] It's a bit of both. Keyblades are seen giving individuals powers beyond their normal reaches such as the Chi Blade and other weapons but the Kingdom Key doesn't appear to do that as it's been wielded by multiple people without any noticeable effect. In the case of Sora, a lot of his power comes from his heart and ability to connect with others. The stronger keyblades in the games come from keychains formed through friendships and some of his magical abilities comes from friends as well. Overall in Kingdom Hearts it's the strength of ones heart that makes them more powerful and Sora has an exceptionally strong one amplified by the fact that he makes friends with almost every person he comes across.


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

[User] ELI5:Why does earth axial tilt dictate seasons but the distance from the sun does not?

[Assistant]
Distance from the sun *does* have an impact, but not as much as axial tilt.

Moving slightly closer to the sun doesn't make a big difference - can you even tell whether the sun's closer or not by looking? (don't look straight at the sun, by the way)

Axial tilt, though, makes the number of hours of daylight in one hemisphere a lot more and in the other a lot less. Having an extra few hours of sunlight during the day makes the day warmer, and puts more heat into the ground, water, and atmosphere so that the next day is warmer, too!


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

[User] ELI5: Why can contact lenses be worn all day without issue, but nap with them in for an hour and they get glued to one's eyeballs and one's eyes get gunky.

[Assistant] The eye is a self cleaning mechanism.  That's what blinking and tears are all about.  However, this mechanism is shut down during sleep, so your eyes stay shut.  Contacts irritate the eye, but you can learn to tolerate it.  However, without the cleaning mechanism, the irritation is much more painful.


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

[User]
ELI5: If aliens exist and have been to this planet, why would the government have to keep it hidden and "top secret?"

The whole Area 51 conspiracy and such. Why does it even have to be hidden? Assuming aliens are there, a large amount of the population already believes they are there, so why even continue to hide it if it's already largely speculated? For technological reasons?

Edit: Thank you all for clearing up my misunderstanding of Area 51. I've never done research on it and had always associated it with aliens. My ignorance!

[Assistant]
Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.

Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

From the Documentary: "MIB"


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

[User] ELI5: why do batteries have multiple lower voltage cells in series instead of just one big cell at the rated voltage of the battery?

[Assistant] To explain what cowboysauce means, each chemical reaction pair has a specific voltage that is dependent on the chemicals.  You cannot change it by making it into a bigger container or larger surface area.  That could change the current but not the voltage.  the only way to get more volts is to place the batteries in a row (in sequence), so each one adds a potential (a voltage), until you have the target total voltage.  Kind of like why a ladder has many steps.  Our legs can only go so high with each lift (just like a single chemical cell can), but if we put lifts in a row (cells in sequence), we can get up pretty high.


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

[User]
For the programmers of this subreddit , How far do you think we are from driverless semi trucks?

For the programmers of this subreddit , How far do you think we are from driverless semi trucks?

[Assistant]
They already exist. They're being test driven on highways right now.

I think in the short term what we'll see is the semi's just driving the highway, depot to depot, with 'porters' taking care of the last few miles in town. Governments will first roll out approved routes for trucks to drive, which will be major highways etc. It will still be a very long while before they're approved for in town driving.


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

[User] [Marvel DC] Why do Marvel heroes fight amongst themselves more than DC heroes do ?

[Assistant]
The 2003/2004 JLA/Avengers crossover story does a beautiful job of showcasing the differences between the DC and Marvel worlds and their characters. It should be said that the art and writing of these four-issues hold up extraordinarily well to this day. The story is canon to both universes, with the aftermath of the crossover having played a role in a later DC event, as well as having been cited in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

We are shown that the Marvel earth is smaller with less urban development (no Gotham, no Metropolis, etc) and that the speed force does not exist in the Marvel universe, yet other laws of physics do carry over. The Scarlet Witch can use the more powerful and, for lack of better term, *chaotic* Chaos Magic of the DC universe. Superman is still powered by the Marvel Earths sun.

JLA/Avengers makes the DC world out to be a semi-utopian world of sorts, in which heroes are icons and celebrities and are practically worshipped. The Avengers first observations of this world are the futuristic architecture and the massive billboards and screens which project the heroic feats of the DC superheroes.

On the other hand, the Marvel world is portrayed as far more dark and violent, where the heroes are never quite enough to protect everyone, and where people are quick to anger and to commit violent acts against mutants and other beings with powers. When Wally West first lands in the Marvel world, he is met by an angry mob chasing after a mutant boy. Wally himself is mistaken for a mutant, and had his vibrational frequency not corrected itself and brought him back home, he would have been killed.

These are the natures of their worlds.

It is easy to get caught up in all of the classic superheroes in brightly-colored spandex suits, yet if you take a moment to really think about each universe, particularly in a more modern age, you realize just how different they are.

The DC universe is protected by the Justice League, the super friends! All of the old-school notions of superheroes hold true here.

The Marvel universe is home to super soldiers, assassins, and a mutant population who is hated by most others. In truth, there are very few traditional super heroes in the Marvel universe. Those that *do* fly around NYC in a bright costume, saving people out of the good of their heart, like Peter Parker, are distrusted and barraged by the media.

I imagine that anyone would be untrusting and on-edge in that world, which is so much more like our own.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] What exactly is required for a normal person to learn Magic and Shouts?

* I  know that they are two entirely different things, but I thought I would just ask for answers for both in one question rather than ask to separate questions.
* By normal, I mean someone other than the Dragonborn
* **Magic**
* How long does it usually take someone to learn a spell?
* How common is the use of spells from people other than Mages?
* **Shouts**
* It is said that mortals are only able to learn and use the Thu'um through a  long process of meditation and the practice of the words, but what exactly does that mean?
* Why isn't learning the words of the Thu'um enough to use it?

[Assistant]
Magic itself seems to be like any other course of study you can pursue in Tamriel.  Perhaps more difficult and less reliable than smithing or alchemy, for example, but far from impossible to get into and excel in if you have the potential and the drive to achieve it.  For example, the Dragonborn has taken down scores of common bandit camps, and at least one will have access to a basic Restoration spell, or up to mid-grade Destruction spells like Fireball or Ice Storm.  As a modern day analogy, taking a few computer classes won't make you a programmer, but the skills will still come in handy when Grandma's computer goes buggy for the tenth time this year.

Shouts are a wholly different, more primal form of magic.  Using the Voice is not merely a matter of knowing the incantation or gesture and firing off an Ice Spike in Nazeem's direction, but truly *understanding* the Word of Power and taking its meaning fully unto your very being.  For dragons, as expressions of Akatosh, this comes naturally.  But for a mere mortal, it takes time and focus to even begin such a process.  By the time a mortal can use a full Shout - Unrelenting Force for example - they know not just every possible meaning of the word, but how each word impacts and affects the world around them.  To provide another real-world analogy here, consider some speeches by world leaders; very rarely are these done on the fly, and most have been prepared after weeks or even months of constant revision and recitation, with the speaker knowing *exactly* what they say and *exactly* how to get their point across, with everyone knowing *exactly* what they mean.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] How do the multiverses work?

For example, are there only like four Marvel universes within its multiverse, such as the Avengers, X-Men and Spiderman and Deadpool etc? Is it also the same in DC? How does it generally work?

[Assistant]
The Earth of the main Marvel universe is called Earth-616. The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men and so on all exist within that universe. The vast majority of comic books published by Marvel comics that don't carry a specific imprint (like the Ultimate line which takes place on Earth-1610) take place on this Earth, or at least in the universe in which that Earth exists.

Vast numbers of alternate Earths/Universes exist. For instance, the early 90's Iron Man, Fantastic Four and Hulk cartoons take place on Earth-534834. Earth-10005 is where the X-Men movies produced by 20th Century Fox exist.

The current Marvel Cinematic Universe takes place on Earth-199999. It was intended during production to include the Oscorp Tower from the Amazing Spider-Man in the New York skyline in order to indicate that this new series also takes place on Earth-199999. Instead, this takes place on Earth-120703. Similarly, most Marvel-based movies and TV shows take place on their own Earths unless there's a clear crossover.

Each Earth is often very similar or wildly different to Earth-616. Sometimes a small difference can lead to a big change, like the Starks having a baby girl instead of a boy. On this Earth, Steve Rogers and Natasha Stark were a couple and this prevented the Civil War from taking place completely.

On Earth-6078, Ben Parker lived and his wife May died, leading to a very different Spider-Man more interested in fame than responsibility.

And on Earth-1218, superheroes only exist in comic books, TV and movies. In this universe, the idea of other universes is something comic book writers made up. Of course, this universe is extremely boring and no sane person would want to live there.

Although it does not have a number, and how all of their constant crises affect this is unknown, but in theory the DC universe is a universe that exists within the Marvel multiverse.


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

[User]
[Alien] What if a facehugger impregnated a Jedi or Sith?

Would it have force powers?

[Assistant] I doubt it would get full on force powers as that comes with training, but perhaps increased intelligence, awareness, force sensitivity if it comes from a Jedi and maybe increased intelligence, awareness and lightning touch if it comes from a Sith.


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

[User]
CMV: The United States is slowly but TOTALLY collapsing before our very eyes.

From unsalvageable political polarization, to our undying reliance fossil fuels, to the mental health/healthcare crisis, to gun violence. Aside from civil rights (I understand that this is no small footnote and is a great improvement) it seems like literally **nothing** has gotten better/no improvements have been made to this country in at least 40 years. Seems like we are all worse off financially, mentally and physically. I would love for someone to give me some solid evidence that we aren't beyond redemption. I am only talking about the United States because I live here and don't really know what other countries go through other than what I read from the news, which at this point feels untrustworthy, politicized and fueled by capitalist gains.

[Assistant]
> From unsalvageable political polarization, to our undying reliance fossil fuels, to the mental health/healthcare crisis, to gun violence. Aside from civil rights (I understand that this is no small footnote and is a great improvement) it seems like literally nothing has gotten better/no improvements have been made to this country in at least 40 years

We're far less reliant on fossil fuels than we were 40 years ago, and the murder rate is half of what it was.


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

[User]
CMV: Short men are being body-shamed and it has to stop.

Also equating short men condition with that of fat women is illogical. Height is not something that one can change while weight can be trimmed through exercising.

Its been a common theme for women who are 52 to claim they wont date a guy under 510. I didnt know you needed to be an NBA player to get some considerations.

People will say that tall women struggle with dating but thats not true at all. Tall women are considered beautiful thus why they become models and set the standards for beauty. Usually its Tall women themselves that assumes that the dating pool is small because I cant wear heals and be with a man shorter than me!

I have never heard a man say that he has a height threshold for females, but you cant Go a day without seeingmen over 511 are kings or an unnecessary and provocative attack on men of short stature. There has been many great short men in history and short men are just as capable of anything as a tall men(unless maybe basketball lol).

CMV: Body shaming Short men has to stop.

Stop insulting people for no reason on factors that are completely outside of their control.

PS:
They claim its all a big joke but its been ingrained in the minds of naive girls that this girl stopped talking to me because I was too short for her
First of all, I am 57 and 3 inches taller than her
Second of all , I wasnt even seeking any romantic relationship. This is absolutely disgusting.

[Assistant]
>but you cant Go a day without seeingmen over 511 are kings or an unnecessary and provocative attack on men of short stature.

I've literally *never* seen those kinds of statements. Where are you seeing them?


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

[User]
ELI5 why the contraceptive bill is a 1st Amendment issue.

>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

How does the bill contradict this?

*Edit* Thanks guys. I guess my question was more, how do people get convinced that it is, when it seems clear (at least to me) that it has nothing to do with it...

[Assistant]
It doesn't and it's not a bill, it is a rule change.

Since these hospitals and charities receive government money for both operations and staff, they have to follow rules and regulations. The president, as head of the Health and Human Services Dept, sets these rules. Obama recently changed the rule exemption religious health care organizations from the contraception provision requirement.

Until now, they could deny coverage to their female employees for birth control. Obama is now making them play by the same rules as all other hospitals and charities that get tax money, they have to provide coverage for it.

The compromise yesterday was this: instead of the government requiring these hospitals to DIRECTLY provide coverage, the health insurance companies used by these businesses would INDIRECTLY cover it (which is in their interest as BC is cheaper than babies). So that the catholic hospitals can still say they don't provide birth control but the female employees can still get it.

The media does a bad job at nuance. This isn't a freedom of religion thing, its a they take your tax money, but get to follow their own rules thing.


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

[User] [Doctor Who] why doesn't the doctor ever outfit his companions with their own sonic screwdrivers?

[Assistant]
Well, the first thing is that usually, he's there. No point in letting them all run around with advanced technology that can do nearly anything, especially if in a place or time that might be able to use that technology and alter history. One sonic in any given time and place is generally enough.

The second is that he does lend it out if necessary.

The third is that certain special companions get their own sonic. Specifically Sarah Jane and River Song.


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

[User] [WH40k/Marvel] How Orky is the Hulk?

[Assistant]
Physically and socially? Not at all.

Based solely on their tendency to want to beat the everloving shit out of whatever happens to be unlucky enough to be in their way? Yeah, the Hulk is pretty Orky. The problem is he doesn't seem to care about Gork or Mork, doesn't use any Dakka, doesn't belt-out a WAAAAAGH! like a proper Ork, and turns into a squishy, pink Human when he stops being angry.

Put him at the forefront of a major WAAAGH!, where enemies would be laid out before him for days, or weeks, or even months, though? It would be pretty hard to ignore the whirlwind of pain he would be able to dish out.


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

[User] [Despicable Me] Could the Minions be tried for crimes they commited during the times of Napoleon or Ancient Egypt?

[Assistant]
Can't retroactively charge people for crimes. Plus jurisdiction. And actually proving it was that specific minion.

Basically it wasn't actually a crime then, nobody has any standing to bring charges, and even if you could the little bastards are so interchangeable you can't prove which one did what. And you can't charge the whole race because that's breaking SO many rules.


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

[User] [DC Comics] If Darkseid is a multiverse being, with only one version of him in continuity, is it the same for other gods? If not, why?

[Assistant]
Yes it is, theyre all positioned in the Sphere of Gods, on Skyland, Underworld, Apokolips, New Genesis, so forth.

Technically, all the versions of him and any other god seen are emanations of the true concept, which is a nice way to ignore irrelevant or canon-breaking stuff.


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

[User]
When we search for other planets that may support life, why do we postulate that life must exist only within the confines that we currently know it to exist?

Earth is older than the life that exists on it, so life evolved to fit the surroundings it had.  Why do we search only for planets with similar temperature, atmosphere, gases present, etc?  could not life evolve to fit many environments or are there certain absolute necessities?  If so, how do we know?

[Assistant] We don't so much postulate that life exists only on worlds like earth, we expect that worlds like earth are likely to contain life.  Might as well go for a known possibility than something we have absolutely no idea about.


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

[User]
Would a spacecraft be visible in deep space?

Say for example you are right between the sun and Proxima Centauri. Would there be enough ambient light from surrounding stars in deep space to make your spacecraft visible? If so, how much would you be able to see? I think it's interesting because in science fiction movies, spacecraft are almost always beautifully lit up, regardless of where in space they might be. How realistic is this?

[Assistant]
Ambient light? Certainly not. We detect almost everything that is far away from radioactive emissions or infrared emissions.

Even at pluto, the amount of ambient light is very very small.

However, if your ship were constantly emitting a radio signal in the direction of earth, and we were actively detecting that frequency, it's possible that we might detect the craft.


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

[User] (ELI5) Why do kittens deactivate when they are picked up by the skin on their neck?

[Assistant] It's their way of transforming into "transportation mode". When they're small, their moms carry them by the nape of the neck since they can't easily move on their own, they don't necessarily know where they're going, etc. By going fully relaxed like that it makes it easier for the mom to carry them. That instinct carries with them into adulthood, though it's definitely *not* recommended to do this to adult cats to carry them around since there's more weight and more opportunities for injury.


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

[User] Does hydrogen peroxide in the ear actually help with ear blockages?

[Assistant] Earwax is mostly keratin and long chain fatty acids.  The oxygen that evolves from hydrogen peroxide breaks up these polymers, allowing the water to carry the liquefied ear was out of your ear more easily.


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

[User] [Fallout - New Vegas] Why does Mr. House buy snowglobes for 2,000 caps each, but only wants to give a few hundred for the platinum chip, which will allow him control of the strip?

[Assistant]
The 'few hundred caps', as you called it, is actually hundreds of hundreds *thousands* of caps spent to get the Platinum Chip back. He was looking for it for *200* years, and spent massive ammount of money to even find it (Yes Man mentioned 812,545 caps spent on it just in 2280), after he actually found and retrieve it, the Courier was supposed to deliver it to him, he got paid for it yet he failed, he lost his delivery, so he got the chance to get it back and fix his mistake.
Giving him another few hundred caps is just the good will of Mr. House and should be considered a bonus.

The Globes on the other hand are a side job, it's a deal between courier and the Mr. House.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the proof for 1+1=2 over 100 pages long?

[Assistant] Because the proof has to first define what the numbers 1 and 2 mean, as well as defining the concept of addition and proving that addition operates in the manner that it does, all before tackling an actual instance of addition being used.


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

[User]
ELI5: Once you have an idea, how do you get it into production?

IE. investors, app development, protection from others blatantly stealing your idea?

[Assistant]
1. Have money to invest in the idea
2. Find other people to invest in the idea
3. Legal costs to know if you're actually the first to have the idea
4. Legal costs to patent idea
5. Make more business contacts, potential customers
6. Finding a manufacturer
7. 100/0 split on costs & profit for you & manufacturer **or**
8. x/y split on costs & profit for you & manufacturer
9. Realize you have no business plan
10. Make more business contacts & start begging
11. Find a new project
12. Sell out & be rich **or**
13. Accept failure & the $100k you threw into the money pit

You cannot stop someone stealing 'an idea'.  Ideas are free, always.  You need a 'something' to protect & get the right legal protection for.  If you have a great idea and don't know the industry you think would benefit the most from the idea, your only hope is to be really lucky because if you don't succeed immediately, someone else will solve how to work around / improve / undercut your idea.


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

[User] [General Vampires] Let's say a husband and wife get turned. Are they still technically married or does "Til death do us part" apply?

[Assistant]
Legally, death is not immediately capable of dissolving a marriage. A death certificate is needed, upon which the marriage dissolves. Depending on the Vampire breed, a death certificate is unlikely, thus the marriage continues.

Religiously, they are no longer married because they are evil incarnate devil spawn, and the church dissolves their marriage in the eyes of the lord, and hopes your bodies burn in this world so that do not burn in the next.