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

[User] ELI: why can't you see the fog that is immediately around you?

[Assistant]
You see the fog immediately around you just as much as the fog further away - it's just that the more "accumulated" fog you would have to look through, the more dense it looks. Since fog is usually experienced outside (no shit, Sherlock), everything you look at is pretty far away - so even a density of fog that doesn't make a difference at an arm's length accumulates to a strong visual impairment at those long distances outside.
It's the same concept like dirty water (or most colored fluids really) - you can see something just fine when it is just below the surface, but the further down it is, the less visible it becomes.


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

[User]
According to Einstein, time, length, and mass are relative. Is there any unit of measurement that is not relative to the observer?

I'm just wondering it there is a non-relative unit of measurement, since time, mass, length, and the speed of light are all relative to the observer.  Or do we measure all things "relative to point (X,Y,Z) at the surface/center of the earth/solar system/galaxy/local group?

[Assistant] Yes, there are quantities that are Lorentz-invariant. These quantities remain the same when Lorentz-transformed. Lorentz transformations are how you switch between different inertial reference frames. So something that is invariant under Lorentz transformation is the same in all inertial frames. This includes, the speed at which massless particles move (c), mass, electric charge, etc.


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

[User] [Lovecraft] Someone take a picture of one of the Old Gods. Does looking at the photo makes you go insane?

[Assistant] Yes, yes you do go insane from looking at a picture, assuming that an image of an Old One can even be captured on film. It's the sheer impossibility of them that makes your brain break. I've heard stories that even just knowing they exist breaks your brain a bit.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is happening in my body when I'm throwing up?

Throwing up always has steps for me

1. "Wow my stomach is bubbly"

1. Then I get the initial feeling of 'doom' and that unmistakable lump in my throat

1. "Here it comes" My stomach starts contracting and I begin to dry heave the first couple times

1. Then I'm throwing up. Trying to catch my breath in between hurls.

What exactly triggers the throwing up and what is going on inside of me when throwing up?

[Assistant]
1. Something has upset your body and your body is warning you not to consume anything new while we sort this out.

2. Your body has decided that extreme measures are needed and is warning you to prepare (evolutionarily - to find a safe space to be incapacitated for awhile).

3. Your digestive system is performing its contractions in reverse. Usually your digestive tract performs nice coordinated contractions from top to bottom to force food down. When you throw up these contractions change direction.

4. Yes, you are now throwning up.


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

[User]
[Star Wars: The Phantom Menace] How did Yoda know about the Rule of Two?

In the Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon mentions his mysterious attacker could have been a Sith, the Jedi Council reacts that this is impossible because the Sith have been extinct for thousand of years. So I suppose the Jedi never discovered Darth Bane survived and started a new Sith Order based on the Rule of Two.

However, after Darth Maul is defeated, Yoda mentions to Mace Windu: "Always 2 there are. A master and an apprentice." How does he know? A few weeks before he was still convinced the Sith were extinct and now he suddenly knows about the Rule of Two?

And if the Jedi knew about the Rule of Two, then they would not consider the Sith extinct, right?

[Assistant]
The Rule of Two was a sort of extension of current Sith heirarchy. In every major Sith for ("Lord" Kaan's Brotherhood notwithstanding) there were always two Sith at the very top: the Master and his Apprentice. All other Sith were lesser to them, and as far as Sith philosophy was concerned the rest were unimportant in the grand scheme. It is logical that Yoda was able to reason that given there's always at least two Sith, the Master and his Apprentice, there must be another out there.

Another possibility would simply be reasoning that a Sith does not occur in a vacuum. A Sith must have a Master in order to become Sith, so of course there will be one more. It's a similar concept to Jedi always training in Master-Padawan pairs. Yoda, especially given how it was growing harder and harder to see things through the Force, would realize that it is not impossible for a pair or perhaps even a few pairs of Sith to exist in hiding for a millennia.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is water wasted?

I always hear that we have a limited amount of fresh water. If I take a shower that is too long, and that water is going into my septic tank and back into the ground, is there any harm besides the energy used in pumping and warming it?

In my instance my house is 100% solar powered and we are on a well and septic- am I wasting water by brushing my teeth in the shower?

[Assistant] Water isn't wasted but a lot of places have limited amounts of available fresh drinkable water, so when people say not to waste water they really mean don't waste fresh clean water. Yes we can clean water using various equipment but it's expensive and energy intensive. A lot of people also have to pay for their home water supply. Mine costs like $200 every 3 months.


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

[User]
[ATLA] How did Ozai manage to get his father to name him heir to be the next Fire Lord?

At the time, wasn't Azulon angry at Ozai and ordered him to kill Zuko? Azulon also died that night from being poisoned and so would have other things on his mind like not dying instead of last minute political changes. Why did everyone believe Azulon legitimately made Ozai the next Fire Lord?

[Assistant]
Ursa specifically used an untraceable poison, so Azulon's death looked entirely natural. It was probably suspicious that Ozai's wife disappeared at the same time Azulon died, but otherwise there was no evidence to point to foul play.

Ozai's word was good enough because Iroh wasn't around to push his claim. And when he did return he just accepted it.

I also get the sense that Ozai used corruption and bribery to cement his position (since every Fire Nation commander in the show besides Zhao comes off as incompetent comic relief or sniveling cowards). He also seemed unpopular amongst the honorable old guard like Jeong Jeong and Piandao, who probably would've been Iroh's supporters had Iroh chosen to claim his birthright.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is shower discouraged after massage?

Usually, massager says to avoid the cold entering our body. What's the explanation behind this?

[Assistant]
* The point of massage is to loosen tight muscles and increase blood flow in the massaged areas.
* When an area of the body feels cold, muscles contract and blood vessels in the area are automatically constricted to prevent energy loss.

So "cold entering your body" when showering would immediately end and reverse the effects of the massage.


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

[User] ELI5: How does the UN work?

[Assistant]
All the countries that are members of the United Nations send representatives to the council, and they have meetings, discussions, and hopefully agreements over all the subjects that are important to people all over the planet.

"The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization tasked with maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international co-operation, and being a centre for harmonizing the actions of nation."


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

[User]
Do you burn more calories running 1st thing in the morning before eating breakfast than in the evening? or does it make any difference?

I am thinking, if you run 1st thing you need to burn energy and as you haven't eaten anything for 8 hours you have to burn body fat calories.  Where as if you run in the evening you are burning off energy from the food.

**EDIT :** This is not a question about me trying to maximise my weight loss.  I always run in the mornings.  It's what I prefer and what I will continue to do.  I have already lost the weight I wanted to (42lbs - altho I put some back on cos I couldn't exercise due to illness and vacation)  This question just popped into my head during my run and I was just interested to know from a biological/metabolism point of view.

[Assistant] There is too much conjecture in this thread. We need someone to address morning exercise metabolism, specifically in relation to insulin / liver function and which energy stores are drawn upon. Psychosocial issues like 'I eat less after exercising' may not help the OP and do not answer the (extended) question.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are animals more in tune and able to sense certain natural disasters before humans? At what point in our evolution did we lose/miss out on this and why?

From a TIL post about a tsunami they were saying animals were reported moving to higher ground hours before the event. Why can animals sense disasters earlier than people?

[Assistant]
I would take "animals were reported moving to higher ground" with a huge pinch of salt. Where's the evidence? Who saw it? If this really is a sign of an impending Tsunami then why didn't someone report it?

Any animal moving in any direction is either moving to lower ground, higher ground, or ground of the same elevation, by definition. So 33% of the animals you saw today might be described as "moving to higher ground".


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people lose their accents when they sing?

[Assistant] A large part of accents is the pronunciations of various sounds, the stress patterns of words and the 'rhythm' of sentences. The last two are lost when singing, generally, because songs have their own stresses and rhythms that take precedence. The pronunciations of vowels and other stuff *is* kept in song, but the more noticeable things are generally lost.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do our eyes seem to dart around, move instantaneously, instead of a more fluid motion?

[Assistant] For the eye to form a clear image, it needs to pause the view in a fixed position. Therefore it is designed to move very quickly to a certain position and then pause there. Continuous smooth motion would lead to a less clear image.


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

[User]
[ATLA] Given the nature of the Avatar State, how has the line lasted this long?

The Avatar state is something like a defense mechanism in high stress situations. If the Avatar dies while in this state, the line is broken. This seems like its specifically designed to make sure the line ends quickly...the state is most likely to be triggered in high leverage situations, such as in a heated battle, or any other time when the Avatar is facing an imminent threat that may lead to death. So how have so many Avatars succeeded in avoiding the trap that was evidently set for them?

[Assistant]
Short version? Because to kill the Avatar *you have to actually kill the Avatar.* They aren't just the most powerful bender alive; they're basically all of the most powerful benders to ever live.

The Avatar state may be the Avatar at their most vulnerable, but they're also at their most powerful. In 10,000 years only one mortal ever had a chance at it, and that was against a ten year old Avatar.

It takes a bender of rare and exceptional quality to go toe to toe with the Avatar, and only the very best of the best could dream of doing so against a fully-realized Avatar in the Avatar state.


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

[User] [General Superhero] Are there many instances where an enemy of the hero is fully aware of their secret identity but chooses not to reveal them or exploit that knowledge to their own advantage? And if not, why not?

[Assistant]
With Batman there's quite a few villains who know but generally keep it to themselves for various reasons:

* Ra's Al Ghul, Nissa Al Ghul, Bane, Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, and David Cain because of their personal codes of honor.

* Riddler because he thought the value of the knowledge was devalued by how many others knew it- then he got some brain damage and forgot entirely.

* Talia and Catwoman because they love him even when they're against him.

* Hush because he wanted to maintain and use Bruce Wayne's identity for himself.

* Joker because acknowledging/accepting the fact that Batman has a life beyond the cowl ruins the fun of their dynamic for him.

They all have used the knowledge as a weapon against him at one point or another though.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do you doctors diagnose bacterial/viral illness?

I.E. Ebola etc.

[Assistant]
Clinically, some bacterial/viral illnesses have very distinguishing features that give you a hunch towards what the disease may be caused from. Symptoms such as a certain rash, whether there is a fever, whether there is any pus, etc., point you in the direction of viral, bacterial, or even fungal infection.

If you think it's a bacteria, or fungus, you can sample it (from blood, urine, wound, etc) and allow it to grow or "culture". From there microbiologists can perform different tests on the bacteria that grow to determine which species it is and which antibiotics/antifungals are best for fighting them off (known as determining the bacteria's sensitivities).

If you believe it's viral you often don't need to pursue it any further (especially if we're talking about a respiratory or sinus infection) as you often just treat the patient's symptoms  until the virus resolves. However, there are a few instances in which you need to determine the exact virus for treatment. In those cases, you would also similarly sample it (blood, CSF/fluid around your brain and spinal cord, cervix, etc.) and perform fancy biochemical tests to determine what type of viral strain it is.


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

[User]
[DC-Dark Knights] Why is the Batman Who Laughs wearing bondage gear?

Ok, yes. He's an evil Bruce Wayne. He doesn't have his moral core any more. That's why he kills people.

But why is he dressed like a cenobite? Why is he wearing some kind of gimp suit covered in straps and a dog collar for a mask?

His whole thing is "I'm the ultimate Batman"- why not dress like Batman? Make the eye-lenses red or something, give the bat logo fangs. I dunno. That seems more on brand then...whatever the hell outfit he has on right now.

What was the chain of logic here? Even from an evil perspective, why is he dressed like that?

[Assistant] At his core, batman is a symbol of fear. The Batman Who Laughs has taken that to a point where his costume is disconcerting on a level beyond just bat allegory, and even his usual idolaters are unnerved.


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

[User]
ELI5: What keeps a wheel from spinning loose in a tire

Let's say I'm driving down the road at 50 mph and I forcefully press on the brake pedal. Let's also say my brakes are good and completely stop my wheels from spinning (the wheels lock up).

I get that tires are "sticky" in their contact to the road, so what keeps the tire from continuing to rotate while the wheels stay fixed in place? I would expect the car to slide like it's on ice.

Or to put it another way, I have pen that has a rubber grip. If I firmly hold the rubber with one hand and turn the pen with the other hand, the pen moves independently from the rubber (when I apply enough force).

So how come if someone floors the gas, the wheel turns and the tire too? How come the wheel doesn't spin loose inside the tire.

Aren't tires just rubber around the wheel? How are they so efficient at transferring the power and staying "timed" with wheel?

Edit: Thank you to everyone for your explanations! All very simple and straightforward. I never thought about the math relating to tire pressure, that's quite a bit of pressure and it all makes sense.

[Assistant] The tire has a "bead", which is the inner portion of the tire that sits inside the wheel/rim. The air pressure of the tire pushes this material outwards, along with everything else. Since this is resting inside the wheel, it pushes the tire hard against the wheel. This provides a lot of friction that prevents the tire from slipping relative to the wheel.


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

[User]
What are arguments against the school of Relativism?

Do no objective truths exist at all? Or are some objective and some are relative? Relativism seems like the most likely school of thought that most people go with but what are arguments against Relativism?

[Assistant]
American Pragmatism offers a theory called Objective Relativism, which kinda splits the difference between strict Objective Truth and pants-on-head Relativism.  Objective Relativism is the theory that truths are objectively true relative to specific contexts.

For example, baking directions.

The question "What is the objectively true temperature at which to bake a cake?" is not answerable.  This because baking is subject to considerations of altitudes.  The *same cake* must be baked at different temperatures, depending on the altitude.

* At sea level, bake a cake at 350.

* At altitudes over 3,000 feet, bake a cake at 375.

For your purposes, this can be an argument against both Relativism and Objective Truth theories.  This is not Relativism, since there are definite answers.  And also this is not Objective Truth, because the answers depend on context.

There is a correct temperature at which to bake your cake.  But the correct temperature depends on a few factors.


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

[User]
ELI5:How can people without insurance who are taken to the ER after having a heart, stroke, car accident etc be required to pay their hospital bill when they're unable to consent to any of the services being performed?

I recall going to the ER in college and signeing a form consenting to paying my bill for any services performed. How can people who are unconscious be forced to pay for something they never agreed to. Can't they just say after the fact that they never agreed to anything and would have been happy to have been left dying on the side of the road.

Edit: A lot of answers seem focused on the obligations of doctors and hospitals. What I'm asking about is what are the obligations of the patient. If emergency rooms have to take everyone regardless of ability to pay, why would anyone ever pay for treatment they never consented to?

[Assistant]
Because in the absence of contrary information (a medic alert bracelet saying "let me die"), society (and the law) has decided that basic, minimum care to preserve life is the default standard.  So you are therefore liable to pay for the service.
The opposite would to be require consent at all times from injured before doing anything.  Considering that the more serious the injury, the higher the likelihood of not being coherent or awake, a ton of people who would otherwise be save would instead, die.


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

[User] [King of the Hill] In "Hanks Bad Hair Day" season 4 episode 19 the military got rid of barbers. In season 9 episode 15 there are a group of barbers operating openly. Why would the military re-engage such a silly profession? I found it surprising that Bill could hide his job... How did he do that?

[Assistant]
As is clearly established in the episode, after the Army Barbers Corps is shut down, the base secretes a barbers chair in a games room and reclassifies Bill as a pinball repairman because soldiers had problems with civilian barbers.

I would imagine that this same situation played out on multiple other bases until the army brass realized that The Army Barbers Corps was necessary and re-established it by s09e15.


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

[User] ELI5: How black holes and anti-matter work.

[Assistant]
Black holes: All stuff (matter) in the universe pulls on everything else. This force is called gravity. If you bring enough matter together in one place it will clump together. This is why planets and stars don't just fall apart. The more stuff you put in one place the stronger that it will pull itself together. Eventually the effect of all of the pulling will cause the stuff to collapse in on itself. Once you reach a critical limit it will keep pulling until the stuff is condensed into such a small space that not even light can escape its pull. The area around it will look black because light can't escape. Hence, black hole.

Anti-matter: Everything in the universe is made of a handful of fundamental particles: proton, neutron, electron, etc. These particles have an electric charge. Electrons have a negative charge, protons a positive charge and neutrons have a charge of zero. Each of these particles have a pair that is identical in every way (mass, spin) except it has the opposite charge. So, a positron looks exactly like an electron except it has a positive charge. If an electron and a positron meet they will destroy each other and generate pure energy.


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

[User]
ELI5: in chemistry, what's the difference between "-ite", "-ide", and "-ate"?

AFAIK they're all salts, but what is the significance of the different suffixes?

[Assistant]
-ide is typically nonmetal compoundes (sodium chlorIDE). -ate is an ion with the largest number of oxygen ions, while -ite is used for a smaller number of oxygen ions (NO2 = nitrite NO3 = Nitrate)

For more fun, lets look at chloride:

Cl =  Chloride

ClO = HYPOchlorITE

ClO2 = chlorITE

ClO3 = ChlorATE

ClO4 = PERchlorATE

EDIT:

A silly way to remember this is that the hungry hippo -ATE the one with more oxygens (substitute any rediculous animal to assist in making a mental image)


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

[User]
ELI5 AMD vs Intel. What's the difference? Why do gamers prefer Intel if it's the same GHz.

Thanks for answering.

[Assistant]
clock rate doesn't give the full picture of the performance think of it like the gas mileage of a car. Intel makes cars(processors) with higher mileage or in other words they are more efficient then AMD processors. You can have an Intel processor that's clocked lower than an equivalent AMD processor and still have it outperform or be on par the AMD processor because Intel's architecture designs get more work done per clock cycle.

On top of that Intel cpu's are known on avg for being much better at single threaded work than AMD's cpu's and Intel has hyper threading which allows one physical core to act like 2 logical cores further increasing performance whereas AMD really doesn't have an equivalent to hyper threading.

As a result Intel cpu's are usually more expensive then AMD's though.


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

[User]
CMV: It is hurting your child to not be open with them about things like religion, drugs, and sex.

I feel that without bring open to your child, youre causing them problems in the long run. The more mystery is surrounding a topic, the more interest a kid has in it. Obviously dont start talking to your kids about sex and drugs at 8 years old, but at an appropriate age.

Many people want to believe their kids will never have sex or never drink or try drugs, which may be true in some cases, but if it does happen, I think they need to be aware that teenagers try things.

For example: sex. If youre not open with youre kid about sex and offer to buy them condoms or allow them to be on birth control or whatever else, youre going to hurt them in the long run by making them believe it is a bad thing.

[Assistant]
Presumably there is some line between "being open with them" and "enabling risky and dangerous behavior." You wouldn't go buy your kids cocaine because they'd do it anyway, right? But that's not exactly a clear hard line, and there's bound to be disagreement where that line is, exactly.

Could it be that what you're calling being open with them some other people could reasonably consider enabling?


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some stretches of coastline have beaches while others do not?

[Assistant] (oversimplified) Some beaches(or coastlines) are erosional and some are depositional. The erososional rocky beaches have cliffs, no or little sand, while depositional beaches (where sand and sediment are deposited at a rate that exceeds erosion) have barrier islands shores lagoons and such.


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

[User]
ELI5: What actually happens at a truck weigh station

Ive never understood what the point of a weigh station. Sometimes tucks dont stop at them and Im confused?

[Assistant] The weigh station is a place for the DMV and the police to perform routine control of vehicles. Their names comes from the big scales that are required to make sure big trucks are not carrying too much cargo and might be a hazard to drive. But there are usually many different types of vehicle inspections that could be done at the site. Before the weigh station there is usually a sign or a light instructing that might instruct the trucks to report for inspection. But if there are no inspections currently taking place then these signs will instruct them to just pass the weigh station. There are different laws regarding what trucks have to report for inspection and under what conditions in the different states. But a lot of times trucks that does not carry any cargo will be allowed to pass and if the weigh station is full they will also be allowed to pass. Sometimes there is someone controlling a light and will pick out only certain trucks for inspection and let the others pass. In addition to the lights and the signs the weigh station might also be in touch with the truckers using CB radio so the truckers might have been given other instructions then the sign say.


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

[User] [ELI5] When i'm wearing headphones and I remove the cord from the device, I hear a static. What exactly is happening there?

[Assistant] There are small voltages involved in sending an audio signal to your headphones. So when you pull the plug out you are disconnecting an electrical circuit. In the split second the resistance is spiking as the voltage tries to connect to push across the air gap. It's not enough voltage to "arc" electrically but it's essentially a tiny attempt. This tiny electrical spike is picked up by the speakers in your headset and reproduced.


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

[User]
Why doesn't peanut butter need to be refrigerated?

Does the high fat content, or something else about peanuts, prevent microbes from growing? Thanks!

[Assistant]
You do have to refrigerate some peanut butters. The name brand ones don't need refrigeration because they have been shelf-stabilized. They have lots of sugar and preservatives in them, which inhibits spoilage.

Some (but not all) "natural," "organic," "artisan," etc peanut butters - the kind you tend to find at farmers markets rather than the big box groceries, need to be refrigerated because they have low (or sometimes no) sugar, and have no preservatives, etc.

Long story short, check the label to see if it needs refrigeration.


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

[User] Why are credit unions apparently better than banks?

[Assistant]
When banks generate profits, these profits are distributed to their shareholders.

When credit unions generate profits, these profits are distributed back to their customers. Credit unions are run by the community, for the community.

There are benefits to both sides. With major banks, you have greater "accessibility" to your account, including ATMs in most urban areas and even international coverage. With credit unions, the money that is generated is invested back to your community. This is often how credit unions can offer 2.5% APY on money sitting in your *checking* account (usually up to $5000-$7500).


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did infantry soldiers make a square formation against cavalry?

I have seen several photos of soldiers in the Napoleonic era forming square against cavalry charges. What benefits did this yield, and was it an effective strategy?

Edit: Thanks for the excellent responses, guys!

[Assistant]
A well disciplined square formation was absolutely very effective against cavalry (although by no means immune) but only if done right.

First, there's no flank or rear to attack, which is the ideal tactic when using cavalry. In a square formation, all your weapons are facing outward.

Second, horses have the same self preservation instinct as humans but without military training, and and such, they won't willing run into volley fire or a wall of bayonets. A well timed square could catch a cavalry charge off guard and take large numbers of them out with volley fire and impale the rest with bayonets.

The flip side is that a poorly timed or executed square could quickly turn into a death trap. If the square formed too early or didn't time their fire correctly, the cavalry could regroup at a safe distance and harass them back with their own fire. Worse, infantry support could surround the square and attack or hold them in place under artillery fire.


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

[User]
[40K] Are there any Space Marine Inquisitors in M41?

The story goes that 8 of the 12 founding members of the Inquisition were Astarte. As much as I've read through Lexicanum, I've never encountered Space Marine Inquisitors after the founding of Inquisition.

[Assistant]
A Space Marine is a 2 metre tall superhuman with acid spit and muscles so big it makes it hard to enter buildings without smashing the doorway. The inquisition is a secret police force that hunts the Emperor's enemies through the shadows. Space Marines don't fit this style of operation, and they're also too valuable to waste on softly-softly investigation anyway.

Some inquisitors keep close ties to the Space Marine chapters, as 1000 supermen make a good friend but marines marines will never join the inquisition. Unless  there's one left from the chapter again, as was the case during the Founding.


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

[User] [Disney]Could Jaffar have simply wished for the ability to grant wishes and avoided what happened?

[Assistant] His wish to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world was already pretty much the best wish he could have made. Everything bad that happened to him past that was due to his own paranoia and insecurity. The nagging doubt that Aladdin planted in his head, that since all power was granted by a genie, it could be taken away be a genie as well, could only be resolved by becoming a being of equal or greater power than the genie. He had no other wish that could satisfy his fear of his power being taken away. Even had he foreseen the negative consequences of his wish and not done it, the idea still would have driven him crazy even. You know those crazy wizards who build crazy dungeons full of traps and monsters and lock themselves away from humanity for hundreds of years because they haven't quite figured out how to make themselves 100% invincible rather than 99% invincible. That would be Jaffar had he not made the genie wish. the way he ends up chained to the lamp is just a literal manifestation of the way his lust for power and control is self defeating.


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

[User]
[LOTR] How long does it take for someone to become a ringwraith?

"They were once men, great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one falling to darkness."

So nine great kings of men receive rings as gifts from Sauron. Dwarves and Elves also received rings, so this is presumably before Middle Earth knew that Sauron was a servant of Morgoth. How long does it take before they become the horrifying demons in the iconic black cloaks that we know and fear? What exactly is the process involved? Do they slowly start looking more like Gollum before eventually taking their poltergeist form?

[Assistant]
It's never stated exactly, but it seems to take quite a long time from the perspective of a normal mortal human. Wearing one of Sauron's rings (not just the One Ring) extends normal lifespans far beyond natural limits, and all of the Nazgul were kept on their mortal thrones far longer than they had any right to be. Their transformation occured at different rates as well:

> And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thraldom of the ring that they bore and of the domination of the One which was Sauron's.
>

 It's said that the Nazgul as we know them first appeared about 700 years after Sauron first forged his rings. So it's probably a process of centuries for a living mortal man to become an invisible wraith. And it's assumed that their slow degradation into his servants included a loss of their physical form as they slipped further into shadow, which would mean they all once had a terrifying gollum-style appearance. If only for a brief time in the context of their new existence.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What would Luke have seen in the cave if he didn't bring his weapons with him?

[Assistant] Probably something similar. The test wasn't about whether he brought weapon or not but how he reacted to whatever vision he received. Luke failed the test in the tree because he reacted out of fear. He would have failed that test without his lightsaber.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do porn companies make money?

With such a large amount of free porn out there, how do companies make enough to survive? I assume ad revenue but is that alone their only source of income? Do they still receive ad revenue even with pop up and ad blockers? What is the average salary of a porn star? How much do they get paid for a single shoot?

[Assistant]
One way is advertising, as mentioned here a few times. Banner ads alone can pay up to $1.50-$2.00 cpm (per 1000 impressions). Video ads are much more, I've seen them as high as $10-$15 cpm, but $5-7 CPM is closer to average. Serving millions of ad impressions a day will add up significantly.

Also, despite the fact that there are shit tons of free porn available, a lot of people get subscriptions. Subscriptions are not that expensive but they do add up for a company. These days you'll get 4k quality videos, thousands of photos from every shoot, behind the scenes shit if you're interested, every video from every star on their roster. You basically get it all. Just like with drugs, there are casual users and there are hardcore users. Millions of them. Hell, with porn, it's probably not too far fetched to say there are a billion people using it in some way, shape, or form.

A smaller, but probably not uncommon method in some respects, is money earned from stars' appearances at clubs and other similar venues. For instance, if a star is contracted to a major company like Brazzers and a nightclub wants that star to appear at their club for a night as a crowd draw, they might pay $20,000 for that appearance. The star would get a large cut of that, their management a small amount, and the parent company another small part. This is just an example to get the idea.


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

[User] [X-Men] Can Wolverine drown, or die of thirst or starvation?

[Assistant]
I don't know about starvation or thirst,  but drowning is a common theme in his comics.

He killed his son by drowning him.  He's been nearly drowned several times but someone managed to stop it.

For the most part drowning wolverine is the only way to really kill him.  You just have to keep him down there long enough for everything to give out.

(The newest movie does differ, but we don't know how long he was down there.  Maybe it wasn't too long.  In the comics, he dies from drowning and it's the one real way to do it)


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

[User] [BttF] After knocking her out in 2015, Why did Doc Brown remove Jennifer from the time machine instead of leaving her inside the car where she would be safer?

[Assistant] Doc wasn't certain exactly long the knockout would last, nor exactly how long he and Marty would be gone. He couldn't risk Jennifer waking up and potentially causing damage to the DeLorean. Or even worse accidentally using it. Leaving them stranded in time with God knows what happening to Jennifer. Now why didn't doc make some sort of biological lock ok the DeLorean so only he and Marty could use it? That's a good question.


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

[User]
[Incredibles] Questions about Jack Jack's powers?

Why didnt they believe he had powers at first? He's just a baby so not so hard to believe or assume that he would get his powers later or he already had powers but too young to use them and or know how to use them yet, right?

In the second movie they all found he had powers and were surprised. Did they not see him use any of his powers when he was fighting Syndrome in the air?

Why and how does he have so many powers? Everyone else in the family including his brother and sister only have one.

[Assistant]
>Why didnt they believe he had powers at first? He's just a baby so not so hard to believe or assume that he would get his powers later or he already had powers but too young to use them and or know how to use them yet, righ

Presumably, in the incrediblesverse, powers are generally active from birth. After all, thinking about it logically, they're innate biological traits. Why *wouldn't* they be? Jack-Jack is an outlier, but most supers clearly have powers as a baby.

>In the second movie they all found he had powers and were surprised. Did they not see him use any of his powers when he was fighting Syndrome in the air?

No- he was a baby and far away

>Why and how does he have so many powers? Everyone else in the family including his brother and sister only have one.

Technically he only has one- he's a shapeshifter. That's just a very versatile power.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the difference between Watts (W) and Volt Ampere (VA)?

It seems to play a role wether the system is DC or AC, but I cannot get my head around this.

[Assistant]
VA is used in AC circuits because those circuits have real power and reactive power.

The easy thing is what's called real power which is the energy you want transformed into something else: light, heat, a motor spinning, etc. It's measured in watts. There's also reactive power which is the energy used to create the fluctuating magnetic and electric field that allow AC machines to work. Those fields require current to flow as they build up and collapse, but you get the energy back so they don't consume real power. Reactive power is measured in volt-amps reactive, or VAR.

Real and reactive power combined give you the circuit's volt-amps. Mathematically, real and reactive power are at right angles so we just use (watts)^(2) \+ (VAR)^(2) = (VA)^(2) . You may also see the term power factor. That's real power divided by total valt-amps.

Knowing how much VA a circuit needs is important because all the part it's made of need to be able to handle that current and it's more than just the current that's making power.

EDIT: Stupid autocorrect. Changed "mother" to the "motor" it should have been.


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

[User] ELI5: What is exactly happening when AC power is being converted to DC energy?

[Assistant]
There are electronic components called diodes.  These are sort of like one-way streets for electricity.  If you try to pass AC through one of these, only half the wave will get through, say the positive half.  This is called a *half-wave rectifier*.

Now, if you do two of these, one in each direction, you can have one stream that gets the positive halves of the waves and a second that takes the negative half.  You can then combine these together using some more diodes so that you basically get the full wave, but with all the negative bumps flipped to positive.  This is a *full-wave rectifier*.

Sometimes, your circuit uses 3-phase power.  There are 3 wires running AC, but  of a cycle out of step with each other.  If you fully rectify this, you get a signal that's just a slightly bumpy version of DC.

Regardless of single or 3 phase, the next step is to smooth things out as best you can.  This can be done using a *low-pass filter*.  LP filters let through signals that don't vary much, and are resistant to quickly changing signals.  If you've got a sound system with a woofer and a tweeter (low and high speakers), there's an LP filter making sure the woofer only gets the bass.

A simple LP filter is just a coil of wire, known as an inductor.  When you pass a current through it, it generates a magnetic field.  This field is resistant to changes in the current.  It store energy, and when the supply drops, it gives off some of the stored energy to stabilise it.  When the current tries to increase, the inductor takes in some of that energy to 'charge up' the magnet.  This means the current coming out the inductor will be smoother than what went in.


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

[User]
[Lovecraft/OuterHorror] Would people of modern day be more resistant to the maddening effects of witnessing mythos creatures?

Most of the stories are set in the 20s and 30s. Understandably, when characters from those decades see an unnatural tentacle monster, their mind starts to break. However, such an image wouldnt really be that alien to a modern person who has a lifetime of fantastical media exposure. Would this neutralize at least some of the mind breaking effects?

[Assistant] It's not the fact that something has tentacles or is monstrous. Rather that the human mind cannot handle perceiving something that defies comprehension. To gaze upon these horrors is to gaze upon something so wrong and alien, so incomprehensible, that one loses their sanity. If one is lucky the only lasting effects will be horrible nightmares and the knowledge that everything and everyone you know and will ever know means absolutely nothing. Such is the cosmic horror of these entities.


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

[User]
ELI5: what stops the lawyers from over-billing you?

Example: a lawyer with a $300/hour rate works at your request on some document and then bills you $2400 claiming that it took him 8 hours. Is there a system that stops the lawyer from quickly finishing your work in 4 hours and billing you for 8?

[Assistant] In principle, this would be a fraudulent billing practice and a breach of contract. In practice, it would be very difficult for you to substantiate and way more expensive to sue over rather than just paying. Realistically, lawyers who blatantly overcharge are held in check by the fact that people will just use other lawyers.


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

[User]
Food safety sources often say that re-cooking questionable food isn't safe because, although it may kill bacteria, the contaminants could have produced "toxins" that won't be destroyed. Is this true? What are some examples of this?

You made a mistake with your food -- you left it out too long, or cooked it at too low a temperature. But it's not salvageable. You have to toss it, because while re-cooking it properly may kill bacteria, it won't remove the "toxins" they could have produced.

I've seen this many times over the years and it always seems like folk wisdom that's repeated without a complete understanding. I've never seen an example of what these toxins may be or what contaminants may produce them.

Suppose some meat was left at room temperature for 24 hours, well outside the FDA "danger zone" (40 to 140 F for more than 2 hours). If that meat is then thoroughly cooked at high temperatures for an extended period of time, what specific risks remain?

I would guess there are also factors involving bacterial population... i.e., eradicating a large population of E. Coli that grew over 24 hours is maybe more difficult than killing a smaller infection. But I'm specifically interested in the idea that bacteria or other parasites may produce byproducts that go on to survive a thorough cooking.

[Assistant] Some bacteria produce heat-stable toxins that can resist temperatures up to boiling.  One source of these is _E. coli_ bacteria, which produces a peptide simply called heat-stable enterotoxin, but this is not the only source.  A lot of these bacteria are common in the environment, so it's hard to pinpoint any specific source of contagion.  Most of the risks are gastrointestinal, like food poisoning, diarrhea, et cetera.


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

[User]
[D&D] how do i protect a white dragon again?

Ok, so for soooome reason one of those IDIOTIC white dragons managed to summon me, and signed a contract that I'll make sure his hoard is protected throughout his mortal life in exchange of his soul and his aid in the blood war, now I'm a pretty seasoned devil, a pit fiend with experience, however THIS DRAGON IS SO MENTALLY SLOW HE CAN'T EVEN HOLD ON HIS OWN let alone be schemed as he has such limited understanding of none physical terms that it's beyond me how i managed, so... Please, HOW DO I PROTECT THIS MORON'S HOARD?!, while he does all in his power to be detected and victorious over those waaaayyy out of his league, please help!

[Assistant]
How did such an incompetent as *you* become a pit fiend? Let's make this nice and simple for you. Why do you **want** to protect his hoard? Because it's a part of the **contract**. Why did you make the **contract**? Because you want his **soul**. When do you get his soul? When he **dies**.

Oh don't misunderstand me, obey the letter of the agreement you made. By all means, protect his hoard for the duration of his mortal life. To do otherwise would violate the law of Asmodeus.

But please inform me where in the contract does it say you can't *shorten* his mortal life yourself? If he's as mentally incompetent as you're claiming that's such a simple clause that an Imp would have added. Kill the dragon and collect his soul yourself, just make sure none of his treasure is damaged or lost when you do.

Assuming that you're either exaggerating the Dragon's idiocy or your own competence and such a loophole is not available to you. Why do you care whom the dragon challenges? The sooner he does the sooner you can collect his soul and the sooner you can move on to a different contract.

**Encourage** the fool to challenge foes beyond his strength. Silver dragons enjoy the regions as White dragons, and any variety of Ancient dragon would crush a youngling with ease. If none are available, entice powerful adventurers to challenge him outside of his lair with the promises of his hoard after they slay him.

By the hells they could even end up your next contracts if you've half a brain in that horned skull of yours.


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

[User] ELI5: Why when we are in a car accident for example, we tense our muscles, when in reality keeping your body loose will cause less damage?

[Assistant] Its a natural survival instinct, for example, thousands of years ago if a person was confronted with a tiger we would tense up, this is due to the adrenaline and allows the body to move faster because the tensed muscles hold more energy.


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

[User] What is fire?

[Assistant]
Fundamentally, a fire is a chemical reaction of fuel (charcoal, or gasoline, or methane- whatever you're burning) plus oxygen, which gives off energy in the form of light and heat. The actual flame that you see comes from a combination of two sources.

The first source of light comes from the actual chemical reaction itself.  As the chemicals react, electrons in the atoms get more energy and transfer to 'excited' states.  They then give off this energy as they go back to their original state.  This gives off light of a single wavelength (the blue at the bottom of gas flames, for example).

Another source of the flame is hot particles of soot and gas.  Just like a metal glows red-hot when heated, the soot and gasses given off by the fire glow red hot from the heat of the chemical reaction.  This is what causes the normal orange glow (of a campfire, for instance).


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

[User]
ELI5: How do things lose their smell?

What makes things stop smelling the way they do? Additionally, what causes things to get specific smells after getting older?

[Assistant] When you smell something its receptors in your nose react withsmall particles of the thing you smell. So when something produces smell it releases small pieces of itself in the air. Eventually it will run out of pieces to release and lose the aroma.


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

[User]
In the current employment market with such a glut of applicants, how is a failed search even possible?

With literally hundreds of applicants for each job posting, how does it actually happen that the search committee is unable to find someone? In my frustration I'm thinking it's ineptitude...but I've never been on a search committee, and so I'm looking for a more empathetic explanation.

[Assistant]
I've been on a search committee numerous times when we have had a failed search. I'll give you a breakdown of the current one:

1. Position for an assistant professor, tt. 75 applicants total.

2. 20 are international and blindly apply to everything, whether they have the experience/expertise we need or not.

3. 20 are obviously using PUIs as a backup if they don't land an R1, and it's very obvious in their application.

4. 20 are pretty mediocre. They don't sell themselves well, and never make it past the "meh" stage for pretty much everyone. They need to go to a workshop that teaches them how to put together an application packet.

5. We give a phone interview to 8 people we all agree on from the remaining 15. Not all of them are good. Many trip over words and can't answer basic questions. One person asked us to remind them of what the job was even for. He did not make the next step.

6. The next step is to figure out which of the 8 were the best bet. We invite 3-5 of them because that's what we can afford.

7.  Of those, some can't teach. We have had a few strong ones, and some where the person has zero energy, or has a lot of inaccurate information in their presentation.

8. We decide to offer a job to the top, but they may have already accepted somewhere else. So we try the next person, and they may also have accepted somewhere else, or didn't like the area when they visited, or wouldn't settle for our pay scale. If those things happen, we have a failed search.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why is Tony Stark more traumatized by the New York incident than being kidnapped by terrorists?

It seems like being kept in a bunker for three months and forced to make weapons for a terrorist organization would have more emotional impact than one fight with aliens and almost falling to death from the sky. Remember, Stark had a similar falling incident in the first movie and he seemed unfazed, so why did he get PTSD from the fight in New York when he's clearly been through worse?

[Assistant]
Possibly due to the fact that he felt like he had some sense of control over the bunker incident. he was actively developing a plan to escape and turn it on his captors. In the Battle of New York, he had already been exposed to extreme stressors (fighting with Captain America, trying to prevent the Helicarrier from crashing, being tossed out a window) with no time to process or deal with them.

Often times, humans can manage stressors if they have time to process through them. in this instance, Tony simply had too many traumas to manage.


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

[User] What is the physiological reason that increased arousal leads to increased quantity of ejaculate [Possibly NSFW]

[Assistant]
> Presumably the body doesn't produce extra quantity when extremely aroused

Emotions aren't brain weather, they're physiological states.  You salivate more when you smell amazing food (or you're particularly hungry); you produce more ejaculate when you're more aroused (or aroused for longer).  In a sense, from the male perspective, arousal is physiological preparation for insemination.


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

[User] [WH40K] What Space Marine Chapters do not follow the 1000 member rule?

[Assistant]
The Black Templar are famous for not following the Codex Astarte.

When the High Marshal (sort of like a Chapter Master) is asked about his 'chapter' size, he simply replied "Not enough."

There is about 5.000 - 6.000 Black Templar divided by several crusades. This is probably the reason they are allowed this, they are basically never a united fighting force (as that was the reason of the Codex Astarte 1.000 Astarte rule).


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

[User]
How does deodorant work?

I sweat a lot, but I never smell from it. How?

[Assistant]
Your sweat itself does not smell, but when it mixes with the bacteria in your pit hair, it does. Aluminium chlorohydrate is the active ingredient in deodorants; this chemical reacts with your sweat in order to basically clog the sweat glands.

Next time you are purchasing deodorant, choose the one with the most Aluminium chlorohydrate in it. It is listed as a percentage, so make sure to also compare the weight of it.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do game makers know what computer specs you'd need to run the game?

My guess is that they use different PCs and make the game at different quality but that'd take too long so idk.

[Assistant]
Games undergo an optimization process to ensure they operate reasonably well on a reasonably inexpensive machines. This involves improvements to the code of the game to make it run more efficiently and avoid unnecessary operations, as well as providing the lower-quality textures and various filters that make up the "video settings" menu in the game.

During this process they typically target a few different common specs that they want to support well - for example, many games are optimized to use about 3GB of VRAM at their highest 1080p settings, since the GTX 780 is an extremely popular card among 1080p gamers (while 4GB and more is usually necessary for 1440p or 4k.) Of course, it is also important to provide a good experience for everybody using a GTX 680, 770, or one of the various R9 AMD cards with 2GB VRAM.

CPU performance is pretty linear - it's not difficult to ensure the game runs on an i7, i5, FX-8XXX, and FX-6XXX and figure out at what point the game stops working. Most games are optimized to run on 8GB of RAM.


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

[User] Eli5 What are imaginary numbers? When we started getting into that stuff in school I got completely lost.

[Assistant]
You know what a square root is, right? It's the number X that, when you multiply it by itself, gives you the number Y. X^2 = Y.

Now, you also know that whether you multiply two negative numbers together or two positive numbers together, you get a positive number at the other end of the math. Therefore, you can't take the square root of a negative number, because there's no way for you to get a negative result.

But *imagine* for a second that you could. Define a number *i* such that *i*^2 = -1, and you have the *imaginary unit,* the basis of all complex numbers.


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

[User] [Astronomy] Do we know enough about the heavy metal output of supernovae to speculate as to what the mass of the first generation of stars was? What do we know about the first stars?

[Assistant]
The heavy metal output of supernovae doesn't tell us much about the mass of the first stars, because the lifetime of the highest mass stars is only around 3-10 million years. Thus, there have been thousands of generations of stars since the Big Bang. We would need to observe extremely old stars to detect the influence of the very first stars- scientists are trying to do this, but don't get your hopes up.

The big difference between the first stars and later stars is that the first stars don't have any elements larger than Hydrogen and Helium in them, which makes them relatively transparent to light. (Edit: this means that the star is less (but still very) opaque not that it is actually invisible.)

 In order for light to interact strongly with Hydrogen and Helium it needs to have the same frequency as one of its electron transitions (or ionizations), which is unlikely. Adding heavier elements greatly increases the probability that the light will be absorbed. As a result, the radiation pressure has a much stronger effect on modern stars, which limits their maximum mass and makes a collapsing cloud more likely to fragment  to make small stars.

We think that the first stars may have all had masses above 100 solar masses, so they would have died quickly by going supernova. But we're not sure - the first stars might also have had small masses due to other effects.


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

[User]
Why don't we use freezing to desalinate water?

I am wondering the energy costs of making potable water by heating methods compared to freezing it.

My line of reasoning is that a byproduct of the cooling would be useful in tropical climates and the final product could be heated by the ambient air before use.

One of the costs of producing potable water with heat is the cost of cooling it before use.

[Assistant]
> One of the costs of producing potable water with heat is the cost of cooling it before use.

Where did you get that idea? You recycle the heat with a counterflow heat exchanger. The outgoing stream heats the incoming one.


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

[User] [Hellraiser] Could Leviathan/the Cenobites do anything to a completely sinless individual that is 100% good?

[Assistant] Leviathan, and by proxy the Cenobites, don't deal in good or evil. They deal in desire which is not restricted to just physical pain/pleasure like we saw with Frank. You could hand the Lament Configuration to someone who has selflessly dedicated their entire life to helping children and the Cenobites would play the mental torment/pleasure game with them. Instead of the individual being tortured/pleasured directly, they would be forced to witness the worst tortures that children can suffer while also seeing the same children living a life in paradise.


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

[User]
Whats the process of hospitals adopting new medical practices as new medical information is discovered?

Are there meetings were doctors go over new medical discoveries and choose which ones they trust to implement? Is it purely a cost issue? Are there approval barriers? Thanks!

[Assistant]
Every hospital has committees for this. The medical executive committee will discuss things like this and whether to adopt recommendations or policies. This happens infrequently and there is usually a huge discussion about it.

One month we discussed evidence that people given X before surgery had fewer heart attacks during surgery. The next month we discussed new evidence that people given X had a higher rate of hemorrhage. Therefore no recommendation to give X was made. Surgeons could opt to do either.

I promise you it is more complicated than you think :)


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does a song sound completely different after listening to it while asleep?

I fell asleep last night listening to David Bowie's "Life on Mars" on repeat. Today I went to listen to the song and I didn't even recognize it, I thought Spotify was messed up so I tried YouTube and it was the same. Then I used the same headphones I was wearing before and it still sounded wrong, just something was way off. I googled around and found some other people who had experienced the same thing. What causes this, and will it ever go away? That was my favorite song of his and now I can barely listen to it.

Edit: Just to clarify what off about it, the piano seems louder even though I had never really noticed it and his voice seems to be deeper and slower tempo. The intro of the song is almost completely unrecognizable besides the lyrics.

[Assistant] During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the brain activity fluctuates & changes very rapidly and processes the music constantly. The sound of the music will get so familiar, after listening to the same song for several hours on a constant loop, the brain anticipates what will happen in the song. So basically, you know when a riff is coming, or when a tone will pitch. In other words, you get bored with a song eventually.


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

[User]
Why do CRT monitors work differently in the Northern and Southern hemispheres?

My supervisor was telling me today about how the psych department at my uni has to spend huge amounts of money on getting CRT monitors in (they're still the gold standard in perception research because you can display things for more precise amounts of time).

One of the biggest costs, apparently, is getting the monitors adjusted for the Southern hemisphere. The little bits of info I've been able to find through Google tell me that it's something to do with differences in the Earth's magnetic field in each hemisphere, but does anyone know what those differences are, and how exactly it affects monitors?

[Assistant]
CRT monitors work by shooting electrons whose paths are bent by magnetic fields which can control where the electrons strike your screen. The CRT monitor creates a magnetic field in order direct the path of the electron. However, the Earth's magnetic field will also affect the path that the electron travels in, and the CRT must account for this.

Let's just talk about a 1 dimensional case here. If the monitor wants to create an magnetic field pointing, for example, to the left and the Earth's magnetic field is pointing to the right in the region you are in, then the monitor would have to create a slightly stronger magnetic field in order to compensate. Where if you switched hemispheres, the Earth's field would be pointing in the opposite direction thus lining up with the field the monitor needs to create, so the monitor would create a slightly less powerful field in order to compensate. The monitor's field is much larger than the Earth's, so this is a small correction so thus moving monitors across the Equator only creates a small color error- but if color fidelity is important, it is something that must be compensated for.


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

[User]
Can a seismically active area be "overdue" for an earthquake?

I live in the beautiful pacific northwest. Growing up we had small to moderate sized earthquakes at least once a year, but the last one I experienced was a largish one in 2004. Some people say we are due for "the big one." Is that how it works?

[Assistant]
There isn't really a TL;DR answer to this question as this is a fundamental question in the study of active faults and earthquakes. As best we understand it, there is some fundamental and physically based limit to the strength of any particular fault. Once a sufficient amount of strain has built up, this fault will then fail and there will be an earthquake.

To think about this more, lets consider a totally idealized case. Here are some of the main components to this idealized scenario: 1) There is one fault in our system, 2) This fault is completely homogeneous along its length so it's perfectly straight with no variation in orientation and has the same exact rock types on either side and down the length of the fault plane, 3) The loading rate (the motion of the two blocks on either side of the fault with respect to each other) does not change with time or along the length of the fault, 4) The fault has a set amount of strain it can accommodate before it fails in an earthquake, 5) When the fault fails, all of the strain that was accommodated is released in the earthquake, 6) The fault length and properties (how much strain it can accommodate, etc) do not change with time or after earthquakes. Now, in this idealized scenario, we would expect a predictable cycle of earthquakes to happen on this fault, so in this idealized place, we could unequivocally say when a "big one" will occur, presuming we know exactly how long it was since the last earthquake occurred.

As you might have guessed, almost all of those assumptions are violated in real systems. On human timescales, the far field loading rates likely are not changing, but there almost always multiple faults within a system which may accommodate different amounts of strain at different times. Additionally, when you have an earthquake on one fault, it may add or decrease stress/strain on another fault. Faults almost always contain complexities, gaps, different rock types, changes in orientation with respect to the movement of the sides of the fault, etc so that determining how much strain various parts of a fault can accommodate before it fails is challenging, to say the least. In many areas, we also don't have particularly long records of earthquakes, so coming up with chronologies for faults is hugely important to be able to make reasonable assumptions about recurrence intervals.

All that being said, it does seem that some large faults do have relatively (emphasis on relatively) repeatable earthquake scenarios. Really though, what is repeatable is how much energy a fault or fault system needs to dissipate through earthquakes. The San Andreas is a perfect example. On the basis of histories of earthquakes going back to ~1600 in the San Francisco Bay area, this section of the fault system can accommodate ~4 meters of displacement before it has to begin dissipating this via earthquakes. The weird thing about the SFBA segment of the San Andreas system is that it seems to do this in one of two ways. Way one is through a "cluster" of relatively large magnitude (6.5-7.5) earthquakes, where almost all of the faults in the system fail over the course of a few decades like what seems to have happened between ~1690-1760. Way two is one, giant earthquake that ruptures only one or two faults, but does so over a huge area, i.e. the 1906 earthquake. Behavior like this is why it's fundamentally hard to say whether a "big one" is eminent. For the SFBA, we know that the region has accommodated about ~3.5 meters of strain so we're getting close to what appears to be the threshold, but we can't say with absolute certainty how that strain will be released (decades of big earthquakes or one giant earthquake) or when it will be released.

There are similar complications in the records for the Cascadia subduction zone, the main seismic source for the pacific northwest. There is some evidence that there is a periodic aspect to the failure of the subduction zone, but determining where we are in the seismic cycle can be extremely difficult.

EDIT: Not that this verbose answer needed more words, but the Cascadia subduction zone is also problematic because in terms of thinking about earthquakes because it seems to experience a lot of what we call "slow-slip events", "episodic tremor and slip" or "episodic creep", basically where measurable amounts of strain is released in things that kind of look like earthquakes, but last for extended periods of time (hours-weeks) thus don't generate seismic waves that people can feel. How these fit into the total slip budget and then determining how that relates to where we are in the earthquake cycle add an extra layer of complication.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do eyelashes stay colored for so long while other body hairs go gray quicker?

[Assistant]
Hair is always falling off and regrowing. Eyelashes don't do this as often as the hairs on your head. Hair turning gray is a result of the natural cycle of the hair follicle over your lifespan.

As the cycle continues, your hair produces less color, turning gray. This process usually begins after age 35.

Other factors such as vitamin deficiency, stress, and genetics also play a role to when your hair starts losing color.

In some ways this is similar to cancer being more likely to occur the older you are. As cells divide, they lose a bit of themselves that keep them from turning into cancer. Over time, it accumulates and has a higher chance of turning into a cancer cell.


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

[User]
How hard of a read is Derrida?

And what philosophers should one make sure they are familiar with before trying to read him?

[Assistant] Derrida is difficult; anyone who tells you otherwise is either pretentious, not reading him well, or thoroughly detached from most folks' abilities. You need to be extremely confident in whatever language you're reading him in. He's not afraid to spam ten-gallon words and intricate sentences, as postmodern writers are notoriously wont to do, and he's a linguistic whose language often has several layers playing at once. He draws extensively on Heidegger and Hegel, both of whom are even more challenging to read, by most standards. But don't be daunted; be patient instead. Derrida is near the summit of the mountain of philosophical history. If you climb up by following the chronology of relevant philosophers (Aristotle is necessary for Kant, Kant for Hegel, Hegel for Heidegger, etc.), you'll be well-equipped to tackle the postmodernists with a thorough understanding both of the problems they saw and of how to read their famously difficult prose.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why Rainbows are curve if light travels in a straight line?

We all know that light follows Rectilinear Propagation and it sometimes bend while diffraction, but i never understand the concept of rainbow and the reason why it is a curve. I have read books and all and everywhere it says that white light passes through raindrops and boom! It is now a circular arc of 7 lights. I understand the phenomenon of refraction and know light of different wavelengths separate when passes through a prism. But after passing through prism, those light travels straight.

But why is rainbow curve?

[Assistant]
The rainbow is visible as a curve because it's actually a circle around the sun. Basically the entire sky is scattering light but you can only see the rainbow effect in the part of the sky that forms the correct angle from the sun to the sky to your eye.

This is also why rainbows move as you do, they're defined by your positional relationship with the sun, as you move that relative position also moves.


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

[User] [MCU] Is "Ancient One" part of a title within the cult, or just "Sorcer Supreme?" What about "Master of the Mystic Arts?"

[Assistant] "Sorcerer Supreme" is the title of the leader of the cult, and essentially the Sorcerer Supreme is the master of the masters. "Ancient One" is not a title in the cult, but rather it's just what the other members all called her because she was literally so old that nobody left alive knows her real name.


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

[User]
[Elf] What is Santa if he's not human?

Papa Elf specifically says that, before Buddy, no human had set foot on the North Pole. What kind of being is Santa?

We briefly see other fantasy creatures like gnomes and trolls exist in this universe. Santa doesn't resemble either one, though.

[Assistant] Santa Claus is a unique entity. He is, in a sense, a manifestation of Christmas and humanity's Christmas cheer; this is why he his power decreases as people's belief does. He exists outside time and as long as Christmas exists so will he.


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

[User]
If someone built a perfect cube made from one-way mirrors, what would we see if we observed it?

I don't know too much about the mechanics of one way mirrors, I assume that there would be no light inside, making it seem black.

How could we add a light source to to the cube and how would it change what we see?

[Assistant]
There is no such thing as a perfect one way mirror. How it works is that the "mirror" side is brightly lit and the other side is dark. The person on the bright side will see his own reflection. Light still passes through from either direction.

In your scenario, the outside of the cube is the mirrored side. All you would see looking in is your own reflection.


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

[User] [Star Wars] The Jedi have had their philisophical roots set in Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Taoism - what is the Sith philosophy set in?

[Assistant] Sith philosophy is still based rather largely in the theology of the aforementioned religions. A Sith Lord is simply what you get when you stray from the path of the dharma by giving in to your passions, emotions and other such worldly attachments.


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

[User] There's no sound in a vacuum because sounds are vibrations in the air, and in a vacuum there is no air to vibrate. So where does the energy that would go into vibrating the air particles go instead?

[Assistant] Normally, if you hit a tuning fork or clinck a wine glass etc, the thing vibrates for a short time (which causes vibrations in air), and then stops vibrating. The reason it stops vibrating is because, as you note, some of the vibrational energy is transferred to the air. But additionally, a large portion of that vibrational energy is transferred into heat. So if you hit a tuning fork or a wine glass in vacuum, it will vibrate a bit longer than it would have in air, but it will still eventually stop vibrating, and that vibrational energy will end up as heat.


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

[User]
[Futurama] How exactly did Zapp Brannigan achieve the rank of 25-Star General?

The man is beyond incompetent, and only many occasions his actions have been responsible for the death of hundreds of DOOP soldiers.

During the chase of the Planet Express ship he lost the entire crew when they were blown out of the Nimbus.

How exactly did he even make it this far in DOOP?

[Assistant]
Wasn't it for defeating the killbots?

Edit: Yes at the Battle of the Octillion Systems where Zapp discovered their weakness (the pre-set kill limit). After sending waves of waves of his own men at them they reached their limit and shut down.  Not sure if that was the specific action which lead to his promotion to 25-Star, but it was the kind of brilliance that has made him a hero to us all.


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

[User]
ELI5: the Boeing 737 Max uses a computer to 'fly against nature'. What does this mean?

I heard a pilot talk about this today: "It shouldn't be able to fly, but there is a computer constantly making adjustments to power and trim to keep it flying." How is this achieved and wouldn't it be easier to stick with what we know?

[Assistant]
I suspect the pilot attributed more to the changes in the new design then it could be attributed with. The 737 Max have limited changes from previous 737s and is mostly performance items from the 787 development. The flight computers and cockpit are the same as previous models and the airplane have most of its major design elements from 1966.

But there is such a thing as he describes. It was developed for fighter airplanes. One of the fundamental principles of stable flight is that the center of mass have to be in front of the center of drag/lift. The most extreme example is a dart. If you throw a dart backwards it will flip around so the heavy pointy end faces front even as you release it. And a similar thing happens for aircraft as well. This is why the classical stable aircraft design is to have a heavy engine in the front and a long light tail with fins on it. The aircraft will naturally fly the way you are pointing it. However for fighter airplanes this is a problem as they often want to go a diferent direction and therefore want the front to face a different way. So starting with the F-16 the new fighter design have the center of mass moved far enough behind so the aircraft is unstable. The aerodynamic forces on the aircraft will always want to turn the aircraft around. And pilots are not fast enough to react when this happens which is why you need flight computers to do the actual flying.

That being said the modern airplanes also have very similar flight computers and will constantly adjust different things like power and trim. However this is done for fuel economy and comfort more then being a requirement for stable flight. Pilots can and regularly do turn these features off for various reasons. For example when they are diagnosing an issue, certain items are not working or they need the training.


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

[User]
CMV: It's impossible to help random beggars just by giving them money

Background: I'm from Germany, so we do not have probably as extreme poverty issues as e.g. the US or other 3rd world countries.

Assumption: While we have a social safety net, which entitles every citizen to a home and money to not starve, I can fully understand that also here people fall through the system. Either due to mental illness, addiction or just bad luck. E.g. the movie "I, Daniel Blake" really shows how easy and undeservingly you can end up like that.

In public transport or on the street I regularly come across beggars/homelss people. I would say there are four categories:

1. Organized begging. These poor souls are basically slaves being owned by a criminal organization. They drive them everyday to there begging spots and collect them in the evening.
2. Drug / alcohol addicts, collecting money to survie/ continue consuming.
3. People with bad luck that are fighting to get out of their tough spot.
4. Scammers / pick pockets / etc. Think this is by far the smallest group.

(1) I think I cannot help at all by giving money. It breaks my heart to see this stuff happening. I heard horror storys of some mother being blackmailed with her kids. I do not understand how the govrment / police is not fighting to help these people. If I give them money, it will not end up with them but with the criminal organization. Yes it might help them not to get punished or something for not making enough money, but that's it.

(2), (3) and (4) are impossible to distinguish. And I can even only distinguish them from (1) by social profiling, e.g. their skin color and country of origin.
I don't want to finance someone's drug use. It's only enabling and potentially killing them.

The times where I genuinely thought that a beggar was (3) and believed the story they were telling, I learned later that they were lying. Also I ended up giving away money based on someones charisma, which is probably not a good selection criterion.

This brings me to my view that I cannot contribute by supporting homeless people just by giving them money. It seems just super heartless and not what I expected I would do, when I was a kid.

Alternatives I could consider:

* Buying/giving them food
* Giving money to organizations that help homeless people

Note: In other countries many many more poverty and (3) beggars exists and there it probably makes more sense to give money.

[Assistant]
I mean, obviously this greatly depends on what you define as "help." Even the people in category 2 or 4 will probably enjoy getting your money and will be materially better off to have it than to not have it. You won't be alleviating their poverty or fixing the problems that caused their situation in the first place, but booze money is booze money.

On the other hand if you're defining "help" as fixing their situation, then you can't do that anyway, regardless of what you do with your money, unless you're a billionaire. The structural problems in society that lead to homelessness and poverty are outside of your reach to fix with the money that you have available to you, and while charity can help mitigate some of the worst outcomes, it can never really fix the problem.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do artists get their royalties from their songs being played on the radio?

I'd imagine all fees based on individual airplay with with difficult to enforce/calculate.  Perhaps radio stations buy in bulk package deals? Are their middlemen involved and how?

[Assistant]
They go through a licensing organization like ASCAP, and deliver a list of what songs they played.  ASCAP is a business whose entire job is to watch for public performances of music (radio play is considered a public performance) and make sure that royalties are paid.

Performing artists do *not* receive royalties from public performances.  Songwriters do.  Sometimes that is the same person, but in the world of pop music, it is often different.  For instance, when "Juice" is played on the radio, Lizzo receives no money; a team of songwriters does.


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

[User] [Star Wars] How did the battle of Endor not become a giant forest fire with all the blasters being discharged?

[Assistant] Setting a tree on fire tends to be harder than you'd think. Fires normally start (and carry on burning) because of dry material, and Endor isn't arid enough for that to be a problem. So nothing that will easily catch fire means that even if fires did start, they'd be relatively self-contained.


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

[User]
[Dragon Ball] If the Dragon can do anything Kami can do, why does Kami need to gather the balls during the Freiza saga to wish everyone back to life?

I mean, if the dragon does anything Kami can, why doesn't he just bring them back to life without the dragon balls?

[Assistant]
His power is limited by his creator, but his powers are not the same as his creators. He can't do things like kill someone Kami isn't strong enough to kill because Kami simply doesn't have enough power to do that and so neither does Shenron. It takes X amount of power to kill someone, and so if Kami doesn't have X amount of power then neither does Shenron and so the wish is beyond him.

Reviving people isn't a matter of having enough power (for the most part) though. It's just a different kind of power. Kami doesn't have that ability, but he was able to make Shenron who has a wider range of abilities.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] Why are all the forts so rundown?

These are essential fortifications for the control of Skyrim, especially during the middle of a bloody civil war. So why is that the most effort put into repairing gaps in the wall or destroyed turrets isn't much more than a few wooden barricades?

[Assistant]
Until the Civil War, Skyrim had enjoyed relative peace for centuries.

Even the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion didn't actually touch Skyrim directly. So really, why bother maintaining forts you don't expect to ever use?


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

[User] Eli5: Why is it so hard to sit still while talking on the phone ? Why do people always get up and pace around while on the phone ?

[Assistant]
It's all about using different parts of your brain at once.

People are saying it's so you can get other jobs done at work, or seem authoritative, but that doesn't exactly explain why we do that in our own homes during personal calls.

Think of talking to friends, it's often to easier to do when you're also enjoying a meal, walking, playing games. etc.

I've even heard of people who play Mario Kart while on the phone, deliberately, during professional calls, and who say that makes it easier to focus.


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

[User] Have we physically measured time dilation in a real time experiment before?

[Assistant]
Yes, there have been experiments with planes carrying highly accurate atomic clocks being flown around. Upon arrival, the difference in time on the onboard clock and the ground clock matched what was predicted.

In addition, satellites that have highly time-sensitive functions are being corrected for the effects of time dilation. An example would be the GPS satellites. GPS is as accurate as it is because the time dilation experienced by these satellites is very close to the amount of correction being applied.


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

[User]
[Batman] We can talk about the philosophical reasons why Batman doesnt kill the Joker, but why has the Joker never been legally executed?

With all the crimes hes committed, theres no way a mental illness defense would still exonerate him. Besides, its not like a trial is really necessary, the man himself glories in his crimes. Certainly Batman would be at least indifferent to this option, as hes discharged his duty by bringing Joker in. Now its up to the law to decide what to do with him. So why hasnt the law decided to execute him? Why do they keep trying to send him to Arkham, where they know hell just escape again?

[Assistant] Fuck that, why hasn't he been illegally executed? No cop or guard ever decided to just shoot him and claim self defense? It's not like any jury out there would ever convict considering how many deaths are on the Joker's hands.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is 2% volume not twice as loud as 1% volume?

I would just like to know, for this has baffled me ever since I've had a computer.

[Assistant] The percentages associated with volume levels on your computer have no physical meaning. They are constructed by engineers to create a reasonable distribution of volume as it is perceived by your ears. That's why two devices will have a different noise level for "60% volume" even if their max volumes are the same.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] I managed to board and capture the Death Star without causing too much damage, what would the empire/rebels response be?

I am expert general from the clone wars in command of billions of battle droids and I surprise assault the Death Star, board and capture it with minimal damage. I have plenty of troops to man the entire stations defenses and all systems. And yes, I am aware of the weakness and patch that vent up real quick. Do I now have power over the entire galaxy or would Palpatine and the empire have a plan to defeat me?

What would the empire do? Would they surrender or fight?
What would Palpatine/Vader do?
What would the rebels do?
What would Luke/Han do?

[Assistant]
>patch that vent up real quick.

Your Death Star will explode by itself quite soon, when the reactor overheats.

If you manage to engineer some solution to this, you've probably angered Palpatine so much that he might come to deal with you personally. Anger gives him strength. You're not a Force-user are you? Oh dear. Clouding your mind with the Force, and evading your sensors with his cloaked shuttle, he'll come aboard along with Vader and the Royal Guard stormtroopers. It's been demonstrated time and time again that no amount of battle droids are a match for Darth Vader, and today he has the absolute creme de la creme of the stormtrooper corps behind him.

The Emperor could afford to simply wait in the shuttle, warming up his lightning for when you're dragged in front of him. He won't, though. You really pissed him off. The Sarlacc could take notes from the suffering that's about to be inflicted.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] Did Cerberus really bring Shepard back as they were?

Shepard has seemed off to me ever since their miraculous revival by Cerberus.

Theyre much more passive compared to when they were going after Saren. They dont really consider any other options, they just do whatever the Illusive Man tells them to do. I would have expected them to ditch Cerberus entirely and rally up the old team to go after the Collectors, but no, they didnt do that.

I could just be looking into things, but Im worried that Cerberus either didnt actually revive Shepard (cloning?) or they brought Shepard back wrong somehow (control chip, altered mental state, etc).

Ask me for clarification if you need me to further explain what Im talking about.

Edit: Also, how did Cerberus even get the funding and resources to *bring someone back from the dead* and clone the most advanced Alliance ship ever made (only bigger)? Like half a year before Shepard died, they were a rogue intelligence agency (and that was before Shepard blew up a bunch of their bases).

[Assistant]
There's plenty of evidence that, yes, they brought Shepard back exactly as they were. The Illusive Man _insists_ on it, in fact. Miranda was the one who wanted to add a control chip (which, once she gets to know how awesome Shepard is, she feels guilty about).

We also know that Cerberus had a few... test-runs and did make some Shepard clones, and _they_ didn't turn out super right.

> Theyre much more passive compared to when they were going after Saren.

I mean, that's not _my_ experience with Shepard. Also, Shep very blatantly ignored TIM's "requests" on several occasions, up to and including sharing Cerberus information with the Alliance and other allies, blowing up Cerberus facilities, and blowing up the collector base.

> would have expected them to ditch Cerberus entirely and rally up the old team to go after the Collectors

With what resources? The Alliance wasn't interested and were denying the collectors (heck, and the reapers) even exist. Shep was -- vocally reluctantly -- using Cerberus and their vast resources.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What would Chewbacca have done if R2D2 didn't take back his move when playing Dejarik (holographic chess) on the way to Alderaan?

Chewbacca seems like a friendly person and I doubt he would rip out the arms of either R2D2 or C3PO.

[Assistant]
Yeah, Chewbacca is not a "rip off your arms" level of sore loser, but by the way he acts he more than likely are the kind to mad about losing for a long time, complaining to all around him.

He was just playing along with Han to get an easy win.


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

[User] eli5 I don't know if it's only me but why do you always get "butterflies in your stomach" when your stressed or before a roller coaster or something. What is that tingly feeling, why does it happen, and how does it happen.

[Assistant]
Its actually a part of your nervous system reacting to the outside stresses. And tied into your natural Fight if Flight response.

Your nervous system detects a "stressful" situation and starts working. One of the first thing it does is redirect bloodflow. Away from less important systems, like your gut and digestive system, and into more important areas like your legs, incase you need to run.

Your stomach reads this lack of bloodflow, and sends the signal to your brain. Causing the butterflies feeling.


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

[User]
[LOTR] Were the population of Middle Earth aware of the rings?

Did your average hobbit or human know about the rings and their power? Do the orcs realise that they are enslaved by the ring?

[Assistant]
No. Remember, it had been gone for 2500 years when Gollum found it, and he had it for something like 400 years before he lost it.

There was lore about it, but after that long the information on such a thing is sparse and not much more than legend at best.

Even Gandalf had to do a great deal of work to figure out if the ring Bilbo had was THE ring.


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

[User]
[Ben 10] Why does the omnitrix give some aliens clothes but some are naked?

I think this really started with that episode where it explains that rath is always naked for some reason and that raths species USUALLY wears clothes. So I understand for the species who don't wear clothes like wildmutt obviously doesn't need clothes but why does rath not wear clothes then if it's his species norm? Jerry rig used to not wear clothes until omniverse. But usually unless there's physical limitations the aliens wear clothes similar to Ben's or at least works for the alien. So what's with this inconsistency?

[Assistant]
Answer that sounds like a joke but might be genuinely the case- none of the naked forms have external genitalia.

As it is to some extent connected to Ben and designed to be used by multiple species comfortably, it might simply be automatically applying human american modesty standards- clothes for any species where you could see their dick. Any others, it doesn't bother with the effort- humans don't have a problem with that.