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

[User]
[Star Wars] Is there a reason the Jedi and the Sith don't use blasters beyond them being 'so uncivilised'?

Also, as a follow-up, is it ever explained *why* the Jedi (or Obi-Wan in particular) find blasters uncivilised?

[Assistant]
A Jedi favors a lightsaber because in the hands of a skilled user it's an excellent weapon for defensive or less-lethal purposes-- it can be used to block blaster fire, destroy a weapon, or relatively bloodlessly remove an attacker's limb rather than killing them.

The Sith use lightsabers both so they can kill an opponent face-to-face and to prove themselves stronger than the Jedi.


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

[User]
[I am legend] What's up with the Mannequin?

I saw alot of questions regarding the darkseekers/vampires and also a few answers that stated that they rebuild his trap and moved the mannequin as a bait. But the Mannequin (forgot his name sry) moves his head and i never understood why. Is wind the answer... is a windy day enough to turn the head of a mannequin or is there something far more weird going on. Someone said to me that this part was just a hallucination of Robert but we never saw another hallucination from his point of view and he didn't noticed it himself. Maybe there was a Mutant directly behind it.

[Assistant] This was clearly a trap designed to provoke an irrational response from the daywalker. The mutants are smarter than Will ever gives them credit for as evidenced by conducting a coordinated search and rescue for the young girl that was captured. There could have been any number of unseen ways to make the mannequin move slightly (piano wire, an unsteady base, poking it with a stick) in order to freak out the hunter and keep his focus so he doesnt spot the trap.


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

[User]
What to do when an advisor tries to bully you on a manuscript on which you are first author?

My former advisor (I'm now a postdoc) and I are co-writing a paper on which I'm first author. The history on this is I stopped working with this person (switched advisors) because I did not respect her approach to research (lack of theory, and other questionable yet common practices in my field) and actually discovered some things that were down right unethical. I had already undertaken the project on which this manuscript is based and didn't want to drop it because that would make me look bad. In addition to the problems with her approach I find her writing really unclear and even grandiose at times. Somehow she has gotten away with writing in this way but it's embarrassing. I wrote a paper with her in the past that I can't even look at because I let her have too much leeway. So now things have finally come to a head. I'm at a point in my career where I refuse to be passive about things that will be under my name. I care a lot about this paper and I won't endorse something that doesn't make sense to me. Basically she has tried to insert content that I disagree with and find unclear and poorly reasoned. I have tried to be diplomatic and expressed what I don't like and asked for justification. Now she wants a phone call. In the passed she has used meetings to exercise dominance. I am not sure what to do. In the paper she even tried to subtly use a dominance approach by asking me to delete my paragraphs in favor of hers, which I find unacceptable. I'm not her underling and my name is first on this paper. I don't take orders like that. As collaborators, what ever we decide to include in the paper needs to be achieved through mutual agreement. There certainly are things I would allow if it met some standard, but I'm not going to just do what she says. What would you do? I'm specifically thinking about the phone conversation. I don't want to allow myself to be put on the spot on anything. Strategies? I can't show that this stresses me or any sign of weakness.

[Assistant]
She's PI. Either give up authorship or let her do what she wants. When you're a PI, treat your students better than she did.

This current battle, as described, could easily turn into a pyrrhic victory.


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

[User]
If capacitance increases as distance between plates decreases, why aren't there very small 1F capacitors?

Is there a point where we cannot bring the plates any closer (engineering problem)?

[Assistant] When the plates are really close, the electric field between them will get really high ( E = V/d, where V is the voltage difference between the plates and d the separation distance). If this electric field is very high, the air between the plate will become a conductor (dielectric breakdown) and thus the capacitor will be discharged. Generally, we put a plastic material between the plates to increase the breakdown limit (dielectric screening), but if the distance between the plate is really small, it will be impossible to negate the breakdown effect (because nothing will fit to screen the electric field).


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

[User]
[Marvel] What is Thor's reputation on earth and universe in general ?

My guess he is widely respected and feared by heroes and villans alike. He is most well known as a god of thunder, but he is also a god of strenght, war, fertilty (heh) and oak trees (i guess the handle of mjolnir is made of oak).

Thought people of earth were like "hurr durr you are not a god there is only one true god hurr durr", if an alien scientist and cosmic entities refer to you as a god, than you are a fucking god.

He is also a heavy drinker, and is pretty brash and head strong (quite literally, Norrin Radd found out about it first hand ) but is also a good and loyal friend.

[Assistant]
Considering the amount of time that Thor and the Avengers saved the planet, the people of Earth love him for saving their asses. He is a god, but not God.

The people of Earth know that if someone is willing to put their life at risk multiple times to save an ungrateful race, then he or she must be a great person, even if they are heavy drinkers and are brash and headstrong.


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

[User] ELI5:How can Cities:Skylines with a 13 people development team do so much better than the multi-million dollar EA's Sim City (2013)

[Assistant]
Several factors which may or may not be the problem.

1, budget. You don't know the actual budget and type of deals "maxis" has with EA. They are given a budget, and they are tasked to produce a video game.

2, All the talent left. Maxis effectively doesn't exist. Was bought off and basically destroyed. Given worse condition, were tasked to work on projects they dind't wanted to, or with people they didn't like. Using methods and financing that wasn't optimal, etc.... So the people who were the creative directors, writers, artists, AI programmers (the original talent left). And the subsequent filling of the position from another EA owned franchises or even outsorced might not been omptimal.

3, Inconsistency. EA promises something, then it tasks Maxis to do it. Regardless if it's possible. So they try their best. New sim city might have been marketed as big true succesor of sim city. But they might not have been what the actual devs were told prior.

4, Actual evil - EA is a big corporation with the history of doing cruel, hearthless and dumb moves in order to gain short time boost of profit. Such as buying of franchises, and subsequently selling their next game, solely on name. Letting the game being average shovelware with slightly above average budget, and talent. Taking no risks whatsoever letting the franchise go dull.

Dead space 3 is considered not a horror game. Which is how Dead space was marketed. And is almost a platform for microtransactions. Which is weird, considering its a single player game.

Sims 4 is shell of what it was. Most things are missing, the things that work, are dull.

Dungeon keeper is mobile ported pay to win crap.

Only Bioware somehow is still holding above waters. But even then, you see the influence of EA on their games.


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

[User] ELI5: How were the graphics in Donkey Kong Country so much more impressive than the graphics in most other SNES games (like Super Mario World)?

[Assistant]
It used pre-rendered graphics.  Basically they built the characters and levels in a high resolution in 3D.  Then they coverted the 3D animations to 2D.  They're just flat pictures of the character, not the actual model.  So they were able to capture a lot of subtle detail that would be very difficult to reproduce if they built it straight in 2D.

It's closely related to rotoscoping, which can produce very realistic animations because it's traced from actual live action.


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

[User]
[Beauty And The Beast] What kind of father to a daughter would Gaston been?

In one scene, Gaston goes on about how he wants *"six or seven...strapping boys, like me!"*

In an Alternate Universe, Belle agrees to marry Gaston and ends up bearing his child: A daughter!

Thanks to unforeseen medical issues, this ends up being the couple's only child.

If we assume that Gaston sticks around (so no boring "he dumps Belle and leaves" cop-outs!), what kind of father is he to a daughter?

Does he ignore her? Treat her cruelly? Heck, is he actually okay at the job?

If we assume that Gaston is resentful of his daughter, how do those feelings manifest themselves?

If we're charitable and say that Gaston grows to love her, how does the girl turn out?

[Assistant]
I bet he'd teach her to hunt. Gaston is a self-centered prick but he is an exceptional huntsman and if he had only one child to pass his skills onto he would teach her all he knows about tracking and shooting and decorating with antlers. With an intellectually adept mother who has finally stopped daydreaming and started applying her mind practically and a physically adept father teaching her to hunt with bow and knife the resulting theoretical daughter Gabrielle would become a ranger admired by the townsfolk. Though not as imposingly bulky as her father she is quick, she is silent, her aim is true, her instincts sharp, and her heart is fearless.

Years pass and as she tracks an elusive stag deeper into the woods than she has ever been she is amazed to find a ruined castle, it's grounds overgrown and torn, as though great claws have spent decades tearing at the stone. A tormented bellow echoes across the darkness and a maddened creature lunges across the gardens, it's hate filled eyes glowing with inhuman rage as its cursed form is trapped forever in a monstrous form unable to utter even a single human word. Years have passed since the last of his servants was torn apart for some perceived provocation and in his loneliness the last of his humanity has slipped away.

Gabrielle stands her ground as the twisted monster bears down upon her but her stance is solid, her hand is steady and her aim is true. At last, the Beast knows peace.


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

[User] [Christmas] Santa has a very powerful skill set and the world's greatest workshop. Why is a glowing reindeer nose his only workaround for a foggy night?

[Assistant]
Technically, any of the Reindeer would have been fully capable of navigating the Sleigh on that night. The problem wasn't just the fog, it was the wind and the snow and the cold, and the fact that the Reindeer hadn't had a single payrise or performance-related bonus in nearly three centuries, and the new contractor was supplying only the cheapest freeze... basically, the Reindeer were all on strike.

But Rudolph - as well as being left out of their Reindeer Games - had never even been asked to join the union. They learned the error of their ways when he crossed the picket lines and worked through the dangerous conditions, effectively depriving them of their only weapon against the bloated (figuratively and literally) plutocrat who employed them.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do old countries outside of the U.S. study their own history?

A normal U.S. history class is able to cover a good amount of history in 1 year since the country is less than 300 years old. However what about the older countries in Europe and Asia? Do they just skip time periods and talk about the important events? How does it work?

[Assistant]
Does Germany count...?

It usually starts with Romans and Germanic tribes, goes on to Charlemagne, if there's time (there never is) so medieval history like crusades and inquisition, what is always dealt with in detail are the French Revolution, (the Napoleonic Wars in less), the German Unification, and of course the Fall of the Weimar Republic. Then rather extensively the Nazi regime and its crimes.

In general, German education, and to a large part history education, follows the "Never again" principle. Never again dictatorship, never again wars of aggression, never again genocide. So the focus on the Nazi regime and the Fall of the Republic is understandable.


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

[User] ELI5: EXACTLY why is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour a good thing?

[Assistant]
Because the value of the minimum wage hasn't actually risen in nearly 50 years, and there is nowhere in the country where a person can support themselves adequately on the wage. The argument that raising the minimum wage will cause companies to raise prices is somewhat true, but not nearly to the extent that the benefit to people is erased. When people, especially poor people, have more money, they tend to spend it on essentials very quickly, putting that money back into circulation and improving the economy. The effect on small businesses is also greatly exaggerated, and ignores the increased buying that will occur due to higher wages. Frankly, a company that cannot afford to pay its fulltime employees enough to support themselves shouldn't have those employees. We are still, as a society, paying for their living wage, we are just doing it through welfare and food stamp programs with large bureaucracies attached to them. Look at Walmart. On average, every Walmart store costs the government nearly a million dollars a year in payments to their full-time employees because they don't make enough while working to live.

A society which expects its poorest people to work for an inadequate wage is a society that is built on debt. Not just monetary debt, but a human debt, paid in tears and misery, and it cannot continue in this way forever.


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

[User] [X-Men] What are the upper limits of Eric's and Charles' powers?

[Assistant]
Neither of them have spoken for themselves, but at one point they fused into one being (Onslaught) without any kind of restraint. Onslaught could control metal at a subatomic level and simultaneously read the minds of every human being on the planet.

And at one point, Xavier was in possession of the Mind Gem, which would've allowed him to read the minds of every living being in the universe, if he had chosen to use it.


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

[User] ELI5: How do planes connect to the internet?

[Assistant]
A plane can connect to the internet two different ways.

1. Using an antenna on the ground, in a system similar to what your phone uses to connect to the internet

2. Connect to a satellite, this is the method they use if they aren't over land.


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

[User] [John Wick] I found a dead body in an alley. He looked to be shot an the only thing he was carrying was a small pouch of gold coins. What can I do with these?

[Assistant]
You can do the "right" thing and turn them over to police.  You can sell them and make a pretty profit.

Or if you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, bring one of them to the bar in the Continental Hotel and tell them Baba Yaga sent you.


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

[User]
eli5 What is a lunar eclipse?

I'm really confused, looking online it says it's when the earth casts a shadow on the moon.  But how is it any different from the various stages of the moon already?  Wouldn't a full lunar eclipse be the same thing as a new moon?

[Assistant]
There is a cone behind the Earth where light from the sun doesn't get to. Essentially, night-time (the area on the Earth where the Sun's light doesn't reach) extends upwards from the surface of the Earth, going further up the *more* you are exactly opposite the sun.

By sheer cosmic coincidence, the moon *sometimes* passes by the tip of this cone, which is pretty much exactly enough to cover the whole moon.

So why is this a rare occurrence? Well, in addition to the moon going around the Earth left to right (east/west), it also oscillates a little up and down (north/south). The only time you can get an eclipse (either lunar or solar) is when it happens to be passing down along the correct place on the north/south wobble at the same time it passes the right place on the east/west orbit.

In contrast, the phases of the moon are not caused by the Earth's shadow. They are just nighttime on the moon -- the portion of the moon that is facing away from the sun.


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

[User] [Spider-Man 2] Why did the garbage man that found Spider-Mans suit sell it for only a hundred dollar to JJJ? Shouldnt that suit have a worth of at least in the ten thousands?

[Assistant]
There are probably hundreds of cosplay spidey costumes in new york alone. There was no proof it belonged to spiderman himself. JJJ was the only one who seen so .any pictures of spiderman up close and personal, that probably thought it was real so he brought it.

No one else would probably buy it because they could get a Chinese knock off for cheaper.


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

[User]
Is it possible to "carbonate" liquids with other gasses?

What is special about carbon dioxide?  can we use other gasses to "carbonate" a liquid instead? If so why c02. If not why can't we.

[Assistant]
Many gases (like N2 and O2) dissolve in water.  But carbon dioxide is special because it doesn't just dissolve, it *reacts* with water to form carbonate and bicarbonate ions:

CO2 + H2O --> 2 H^+ + CO3^--

CO2 + H2O --> H^+ + HCO3^-

This releases hydrogen ions into the water, making it acidic, which is why carbonated water is tart.

This reaction removes CO2 *per se* from the water, making room for more to dissolve in: as a result, you can pack *much* more CO2 in water than you can other gases.  Like, 100 times as much!

This means that beverages made with CO2 are a lot bubblier than ones made with, say, nitrogen.  Guinness beer, for instance, is nitrogenized rather than carbonated: that's why it has less "head", tiny bubbles, and less tartness than other beers.

There are a few other gases that react with water when they dissolve: two good examples are sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3).  However, if you try to make a beverage out of them they will kill you, so CO2 is the best choice for drinkmaking.


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

[User] whats the difference nutritionally between concentrated and not from concentrate fruit juice?

[Assistant]
Concentrated fruit juice started as normal juice, was somewhat dehydrated (into a thick liquid), and was later reconstituted with water. This is done because concentrate stores for longer and ships more easily. Not-from-concentrate has been in its juice form the entire time. If you have ever seen the cans/tubes of frozen juice that you add water to, that is fruit juice concentrate.

Nutritionally there shouldn't be a big difference if the final product is just concentrate + water, but some people think that re-concentrated juice tastes different or has a different texture, it is certainly more "processed" (but that's an ill-defined buzz word that doesn't necessarily mean less healthy), and it has likely had a longer shelf life.


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

[User] ELI5 How does an alcoholic blackout work ?

[Assistant]
When the amount of alcohol in your blood reaches about 0.16 grams per liter, your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for forming long-term memories, stops working properly, and while you may be functioning just fine in the moment, the next day you will have no memories of what happened while you were in that condition.

Just to clear up a common misunderstanding, "blackout drunk" doesn't mean drunk to the point of becoming unconscious, nor to the point of engaging in stereotypically drunken behavior; it just means drunk to the point of not forming long-term memories, and sometimes neither you nor the people you're with may be able to tell you're at that point.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are coupons valued at "1/100 of 1 cent"?

[Assistant]
Prior to the 1900's there were these things called catalogue stores, or company stores, (and some other merchants played this game too) and they'd give you these little stamps with each purchase. If you saved up enough stamps you would be able to redeem them for items from the store, like the prize tickets at Chuck E Cheese.

In the early 1900's New York passed laws that forced these stores to allow people to redeem the stamps for cash. As such, these stamps would now have face values.

Other states followed suit and some of these states did not differentiate between stamps and coupons. So coupons now have face values because it is easier for the store to print one coupon type that works around the nation than to do different ones for each state to satisfy their laws.


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

[User] ELI5: Why porn appears disgusting temporarily after masturbating.

[Assistant]
Well, bblinken, the answer is pretty simple: that's a part of something we call the **refractory period**.

After a man ejaculates, his reproductive system goes into a refractory period. It's like **sex time-out**: No one likes time-out, right? It's okay, though; for some lucky men this time-out only lasts for a few seconds! Some guys, however, aren't so lucky; sometimes it lasts for *hours* or even ***days***.

A long time ago, it was really important that whenever you had sex a baby was made. But, ancient humans *had* to have sex time-out to survive! They had it pretty rough, huh?

Why did they need to have a refractory period to survive? We don't know for *sure*, but we think it has to do with the shape of the penis. It's shaped so that if you keep having sex after ejaculating, it has a chance of scooping out the semen you just put there. If you're an ancient human, that's **bad news**: You can't make babies without semen!

Why is the penis shaped that way? Well, if you want to make sure that you have strong, healthy babies they need strong, healthy parents, right? Imagine that the biggest kid butts to the front of the drinking fountain line after P.E.: He may get to go first, but he doesn't take *all* the water. All the same, the other guys in the group may still get a chance, but all the cold water is gone!

It's kinda like that with our genetic ancestors. The first guy had the best chance to win the sperm-to-egg race, but you couldn't count out the guys who came later if they had penises designed to snatch other guys' sperm right outta there! And that's kinda how the head of a man's penis is shaped when it's erect: like a big scoop.

In short, we evolved a uniquely-shaped penis and an automatic sex time-out to make sure it didn't work against us.


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

[User]
[Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon] How the hell did Old Valyria manage to house and feed thousands of dragons??

Just think of Balerion, the Black Dread. The largest dragon in Westerosi history. The last born and raised in Old Valyria. If that big boy is anything to go by then we talking thousands of dragons his size eating, sleeping, and shitting on a daily basis. Its fantasy I know but I struggle to suspend my disbelief that any preindustrial society could handle the strain such beasts would place on an economy without factory farms.

Maybe the Blood Mages of Old Valyria had some spells to to make extra big cattle and pigs. The wizards version of human growth hormones. because otherwise idk how it works.

[Assistant] Old Valyria was an empire similar to rome. Which makes westeros a sort of middle ages. They were almost definitely more advanced than westeros. They had magic that could apparently effectively mimic genetic engineering. Had  tons of slaves. They could very well have had the capacity to feed their dragons.


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

[User]
On a cellular level, what is a memory and how are they stored/accessed in the brain?

I understand that neurons can rearrange themselves to change what other neurons they are connected to. Are memories just a specific sequence of neuron activations or is there more to it? If that is the case, how does a neuron activation pattern incite a picture or a smell in our brain?

[Assistant] You won't get a concrete answer. From a pragmatic materialist perspective, yes there is some sort of physical structure that lends itself to memory storage within the neural networks in the brain. The problem is we have very little understanding of how this process works.


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

[User]
[WH40k] How powerful was Horus at his peak when he fought the Emperor?

How powerful was Horus at his peak when he fought the Emperor?

What type of feats did he have?

What was he capable of in term of strength, durability etc?

[Assistant]
Put it this way. At the time he was battling Big E, he had the full attention of all four chaos gods, cosmic beings which eventually take every soul that dies. They are immortal, implacable and bent on the destruction of all order in the galaxy. Just one of their millions of minor champions gifted with the tiniest sliver of a single chaos god's severely divided attention can decimate an entire platoon of Guardsmen easily. A Demon Prince with a sliver of a single god's full attention can demolish a planet. At the time of his destruction, Horus wielded the most powerful weapons forged since the Dark Age of Technology, was the most powerful known psyker in the galaxy, and wielded enough corruptive power to mutate an entire sectorum into demons.

That said, the God-Emperor still bitchslapped him out of existence so hard his soul shattered with a thought.

So... essentially, he was the second most powerful being in the galaxy... by a _very_ wide margin.


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

[User] ELI5: How exactly can a medication cause "suicidal thoughts or actions" in a person with an otherwise normal mental state?

[Assistant] They generally are not talking about "normal" people. And for many drugs with this warning it is not understood. In the case of antidepressants, it is sometimes thought of like this: When someone is extremely depressed, they have very little energy, they sleep a lot, and in general lack the drive or inspiration to do much of anything. They are bottomed out. But if they start taking an antidepressant and improve a bit, they gain just enough motivation to do something. In the severely depressed, that something may be suicide. Under this theory, it's thought that the risk of suicide is highest early in treatment because as the antidepressant therapy continues, mood improves and you will no longer be thinking about suicide.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] High ground memes aside, does this mean that Obi-Wan was a better fighter than Anakin at the end of RoTS?

It was a 1v1 on Mustafar.  Obi-Wan won, even thought Anakin was the chosen one. Does this mean that Obi-Wan > Anakin?

[Assistant]
A superior army can lose to an inferior if the right circumstances allow, so just because Obi-Wan defeated Anakin didn't nessasarily mean that he was a better fighter.

Obi-Wan excelled in a more defensive style of fighting. Giving ground, holding off your opponent until they make a mistake. Couple that with the fact that Anakin was clearly unstable mentally during the dual, meant that he was ripe to make a mistake.

Obi-Wan knew Anakin's fighting style, and what he was able to do. At the end the dual on Mustafar, he predicted what Anakin would do if he was in that position. He probably also deduced that if he taunted him that he held the high ground, he would react in a certain way, probably due to his ego. He was right and exploited it and that's why he won.


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

[User] ELI5: How does laying in a dark room, silent, motionless, eyes closed but conscious not give us the same benefits of actually being asleep. Trying to understand how being unconscious changes how our bodies regenerate during this time even though they are physically in the same state.

[Assistant]
When you sleep, a lot of systems shift gears. Brainwaves shift, metabolism, hormones, all the way down to the cellular level there is a shift in activity.

You ask why we dont get the same benefit from being still in the dark but awake

Why does your car continue to wear and age if left running but parked in the driveway and not moving versus a car shut off in the same driveway?


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

[User]
[Prometheus] Why does Dr. Elizabeth Shaw choose to go immediately to the Engineer home planet instead of Earth at the end of the movie?

How is she going to get supplies to survive the trip given that a commandeered Engineer spaceship likely wouldn't have food, water, or toothpaste available? Why not stop at Earth to resupply? Showing up on Earth with an alien spaceship is bound to get some attention and possibly get support for a well supplied and staffed mission to the Engineer home planet.

[Assistant] If she brought the ship back to earth, Weylund-Yutani would have taken the ship for reverse engineering and Dr. Shaw would have been disappeared. There was no way the Corporation was going to let all that profitable technology go to pick a fight that could destroy or damage their bottom line.


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

[User]
What are some relatively recession proof jobs you can get with an economics degree?

I'm 18 and planning on going into the economics field, I start university this September. With the current pandemic and a global recession becoming more likely what are some careers in economics I can go into that can hopefully protect me financially during any future downturns?

[Assistant] Heres some economics for yah. If an industry is expected to do better during recessions, its expected to do worse during booms. And if it doesnt fluctuate as much either way, then it will generally be less of a return (lower risk).


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

[User]
[Death Note] "The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven or Hell." Does this rule still apply to former Death Note users who had their memories erased?

Also, is this rule an absolute? Does repentance not work on humans who used the Death Note? Will all Death Note users eventually go to Limbo, regardless of their memories?

[Assistant]
There's no afterlife in the Death Note Verse.

The "rule" is essentially a cruel prank. The human who uses this note can neither go to heaven  nor hell, that's true...but that's got nothing to do with them using the Death Note.


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

[User]
Why are thunderstorms much less common in winter?

I've heard it has to do with the humidity of the air but I'm not completely sure.

[Assistant] Thunderstorms are driven by convection. Air near the surface needs to be significantly warmer than the air above it. In the winter, there isn't as much solar energy to heat the air near the earth's surface.


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

[User]
[Man of Steel] Watsonian reason: why people were pissed at Superman FOR SAVING THE WORLD!?

Yes, potentially millions of people died. Of course that is beyond terrible. But for god's sake, if it were not for Superman, EVERYONE would be dead! I am not saying that the people in-universe should not grieve or be angry, but Superman saved their lives and continues to do so two years later in BvS. He did so without any reasons besides 'it is the right thing to do'.

[Assistant]
Well to start he's the reason those other aliens came in the first place, for all we know we might never have encountered them if not for him.

He is a potentially all powerful being who we can't constrain in any way. Our first encounter with their species was most nearly the destruction of our planet.

As for his motivations we have no idea what they actually are he doesn't speak to anyone except Lois Lane. Sure it seems like he does good for the sake of good, but what if he stopped? Or if he decided a dictatorship is the best way to keep people safe?Who would stop him? What about the other ethical implications, how is he deciding who to save? How many potential controversies could this being with near limitless power cause when acting across borders with no sanctioned authority? He seems to be really American centric would our enemies consider him our weapon or a potential threat?

Most people don't have the insight into Superman that we have. A lot people might just think he's another alien that had a feud with the other ones that came to earth and he wiped them out and saved us in the process. Ever since he's been deciding what's right and wrong with impunity

These are the reasons people are afraid whether right or wrong until we learn more about him and his intentions we should fear and question him.


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

[User]
ELI5: Difference between character progression and character development.

It would be great if you could provide some examples from well known fiction.

[Assistant]
Character developement basically means that a character gets fleshed out, whereas character progression means that a character changes.

I'll give examples from Harry Potter, since it's a fairly well-known story. Dumbledore doesn't have much character progression, his character is pretty much the same at the end of the story as it started out. However, he has a good amount of character developement, as we get to know his world view and his motivations, for example. Harry himself on the other hand gets more character progression than character developement - the story is more about him coming of age than it is about exploring his character. Not that he's undeveloped of course, but it's less of a focus for him.

Essentially, characters progress, but they are developed.

Note though that character progression is often wrongly used interchangably with character developement.


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

[User]
[DC] In terms of Kryptonians, is Superman exceptional?

It seems like the more you look into Superman and what he can do/has done, the more reality-breaking things you discover (insert "no-limits" riff here). Would *any* Kryptonian raised on Earth be just as ridiculous, or does Superman have some sort of quality that puts him a step above?

[Assistant]
What makes Superman exceptional among Kryptonians is how Human he is. He was raised in smalltown Kansas by goodly parents who taught him Truth Justice and the American Way.

So any other Kryptonian who came to earth would bask in our yellow sun and be about as strong (apparently supergirl is actually stronger for instance since she stayed in orbit a lot longer) But not all of them would have the upbringing that makes him who he is.

Recall that Superman, at it's core is an immigrant story, written by two Jewish Kids about being a misfit. Superman, like any immigrant, is too much of one thing to be that, and too much the other to be this. But this is a strength rather than a weakness.


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

[User]
ELI5:Does DNA only become dangerous when it creates proteins with that intent?

I'm trying to understand this whole CRISPR innovation, and to my understanding it allows us to copy viral DNA to use as a cheat sheet for identifying viruses. Why isn't the viral DNA copied dangerous?

[Assistant]
DNA isn't dangerous in and of itself. DNA is what tells your body how to make the proteins your body needs as it is.

Normally, viruses insert DNA that makes a cell start producing more of that virus (while also keeping it hush enough that the body doesn't just stop it right away by being able to easily tell that something is wrong).

CRISPR lets us use this same mechanism, but inserts different DNA instead, so we can code it to make whatever proteins we want.


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

[User] ELI5: How did the original programmers manage to program keyboard functions without a keyboard?

[Assistant]
That is called bootstrap problem. How can you program something when no software exists that lets you program things. And how can a computer read what to do, if it doesn't know how to read.

The answer is that you have to write a really simple program yourself, onto the hardware. It never changes for a computer, and is used every time you turn it on. That tiny program doesn't do anything except tell every part of the computer what it is and where it can get the stuff it needs. This includes really basic stuff, like storage adresses and and how to read them.

From then on, the hardware can look up how to use the screen, how to read the keyboard, all those things. It's of course a bit more complicated than that, but once you have that first spark going, you can build up on that and program away.


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

[User] Can animals reason and use language?

[Assistant]
There are *many* different kinds of animals. Also, we don't know a great deal about how nonhuman animals think, so direct answers to your question (even regarding particular species) are all partly conjecture for the time being.

Some animals, such as earthworms, apparently have no reasoning capacity (they operate unthinkingly, entirely on reflex) and no language to speak of.

Some animals, such as hive insects, have no reasoning capacity but *do* engage in certain kinds of communication which might be called 'language'. Notably, bees have a 'dance' wherein they indicate with the motion of their bodies which direction to go from the hive in order to find food. However, these communication schemes are *not* a social development like human languages are, but rather built into the animals' biology; they cannot possibly learn a new 'language'.

Note that, in general, *all* invertebrates seem to be incapable of reasoning, save for the cephalopods and *possibly* portia spiders. On the other hand, most vertebrates seem to possess reasoning capacity, with mammals (save possibly the naked mole rat) and birds in general being the clearest examples.

Some animals have reasoning capacity but no language to speak of. This category probably includes many kinds of fish, most octopuses, and some amphibians and reptiles.

Some animals have reasoning capacity and 'language'. The obvious example is birds that sing to each other. Many birds and mammals fall into this category, along with probably some amphibians, reptiles, fish, and squid. However, in most of these cases it appears that the communication schemes are built into the animals' biology and they possess little or no ability to learn any expansion on their language.

Besides humans, there are some other examples of animals which apparently *can* learn entirely new features of language. There has been some success in teaching sign language to other apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas. Also, research suggests that cetaceans (that is, whales and dolphins) possess 'dialects' and learn different ways of 'speaking' from each other. Some other animals, such as dogs, horses and parrots, can be taught to respond in unique, non-instinctive ways to human voice or sign commands (e.g. a dog sitting down when you say 'sit'). However, other than the apes and cetaceans, this learned 'language' seems to be a fairly one-way thing; that is to say, the animals respond to *humans* saying things but show little or no indication of using that same 'language' with *each other.*

The one language feature that all nonhuman animals seem to lack is *grammar.* While apes can be taught 1-to-1 associations between specific signs and specific meanings, they don't seem to understand that the signs should be sequenced in a particular way relative to each other. For instance, where a human who wants a banana will always sign 'I want a banana' (grammatically correct), the apes are just as likely to sign 'want banana want banana me' or 'banana me want me banana banana' or any other jumble of signs with those meanings all mashed together. They know that they're putting those meanings together with each other, but the idea of an *abstract rule* by which arbitrary meanings within certain categories (noun/verb/adjective, subject/object, etc) can be systematically assembled into phrases seems to entirely escape their understanding. If you're using a narrow definition of 'language' that requires structured grammar, in that case humans seem to be unique on Earth in our ability to understand and use that kind of language.


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

[User] [2112] What where the priests of the Temple of Syrinx up to?

[Assistant]
Following a cataclysm of some nature, it was the theocratic control of man who remained on a lost or forgotten world.  Following the discovery by the protagonist, he endures a dream-vision of the truth which serves to herald or summon members of the Solar Federation who return to assert their claim on the world.

In short, it's a conspiracy to hide the truth and maintain control.


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

[User]
[LotR] Would Gandalf be powerful enough to turn the tides of the War of the Ring if they hadn't gone through Moria?

As it wasn't until after the battle with Balrog who had awoken within there did he go from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White, if the fellowship hadn't gone through would he have had this transformation? Did it matter at all to the power he had at hand?

[Assistant]
Gandalf the Grey could not have freed Theoden from his thralldom nor contended directly with Saruman. This Rohan would have been conquered by Isengard, with the Riders perhaps taking to Guerilla warfare. But without being mustered by Gandalf, they would not have been able to put up significant resistance.

More importantly, is that instead of Rohan coming to the defense of Gondor at the Battle of Pellenor Fields, its Isengard coming to the support of Mordor.

Middle Earth completely and utterly falls to Sauron.


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

[User] ELI5: How come when you do nothing all day you're more tired than when you're productive?

[Assistant]
Hormones, or signals for your body, require a stimulus to be activated. The stimulus could be stress, fear, arousal, pain, motion, etc.

When you sit around and do nothing, your body senses that it does not need to be alert, so nothing is stimulated and you stay tired.

When you are actively engaged in doing something, your body becomes aware that you may need to be alert or ready for action, and it prompts you accordingly.


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

[User]
CMV: Voting for the lesser evil is a better option than voting for a third option

There's always two parties or two party coalitions in elections and lately it seems everyone I know keeps voting not for the option they support, but against the option they don't want to win.

The emphasis in public discourse seem to be about absolutely not letting the other side win.

This of course is a reasonable thing to do as it can prevent an abhorent option from winning the elections and then ruling the country into a worse future.

But I've seen people say we should instead ignore that and just vote to support the option we want to win, even if it has no chance ... which will certainly take votes away from the lesser evil option that could win - effectively handing the victory over to the greater evil!

[Assistant]
suppose you have a small group of issues you vote upon, like environmentalism or gay rights or feminism or racial equality.

It makes sense to threaten voting for a third party because then the core parties need to cater to your whims or they'll lose your votes. You also need to vote for them if your core parties refuse to cater to you, or your key issues won't be met.

Of course if they compromise to you then you should change your vote but with no competition for your vote then the two parties can just ignore you. If you think your issue is very important you may be willing to take a loss to send a message.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why is it difficult to achieve orgasm on SSRI medication?

As in the title, i know it has something to do with serotonin levels. What is the issue exactly?

[Assistant] Theres not a 100% definitely know cause, but the leading theory is that screwing around with the serotonin levels in the brain affects the hypothalamus.   The hypothalamus is kind of the control center for other hormones.  Mess with that and the other hormones necessary for arousal and orgasm are impaired.


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

[User]
I don't believe our culture is in any sort of moral decline. CMV

So I've seen a lot of debate recently, most likely spawned from all the shootings, that say our culture is in some sort of moral decline. People are blaming the media, the divorce rate, and pretty much everything else under the sun on this change. To those people, our culture went from a moral, god-fearing, sensible one to a highly individualistic, greedy, immoral one.

I don't believe there's really any change at all, least of all a decline. Yes, our culture is changing with the rise of the media and our cushy first-world lives, but our culture has always been in a constant state of change. Do we have the same culture as that which existed in Medieval Europe, or the Roman Empire? We've changed drastically over the centuries, and we're not stopping. I for one actually enjoy our individualistic culture because it allows for people to be themselves without the fear of being shunned or stoned to death.

I also think people who are nostalgic for the "good ol' days" are fooling themselves into believing in a nonexistent time. I don't think we're any more or less moral as a society than we were a century ago. The media just shows a lot more of what we do as people. It's more out in the open and less private. So I guess you could say I believe our culture is embracing individualism and freethinking, but I don't think it's in any way more or less moral, and I don't think we have anything to worry about. We're not going to degenerate into some sort of hedonistic society.

[Assistant]
Things that were once considered unacceptable are now considered acceptable.
While for those of us who favour personal freedom, this is generally considered a good thing, if you believe in a certain moral standard as unquestionably right and any deviation as wrong, then the new allowance to all kinds of things is pretty clearly a decline.


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

[User] Why does England still have a queen?

[Assistant]
The answer is simply that the people of England (and the rest of the UK) are happy with a queen, and that anti-monarchist movements have never gained much ground.

The monarch is just a figurehead nowadays, with almost no political power. If they ever tried to make a fuss with what little power they do have, they'd likely not have it for very long. But their existence appeals to peoples patriotism or whatever with the end result that the monarchy continues.

Overall, the monarchy probably brings in money, looks nice and makes people happy. So, people like having it and it isn't going anywhere. The current queen is particularly popular and has had a very long reign, so most people remember her fondly. She's also perceived to have been a very good monarch, extremely dedicated, and is generally well respected even by those few who don't want the monarchy.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do horses need metal shoe rings? Are they not able to walk on their own like other animals?

[Assistant]
Well they actually are more than able to live without shoes, wild horses never have shoes. For domestic horses which are bred for riding or pulling shoes help with their foot health. Horse hooves are made of keratin, basically they're really big thick fingernails, meaning much like human fingernails they're somewhat pliable and prone to fractures.

However, unlike humans a split nail doesn't just give them a hangnail. They have to walk on a potentially painful split or the split may get infected. Wow by shoeing the horse the owner prevents pain and more importantly saves money from expensive vet visits.


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

[User] ELI5:How does the human ear discern between a quiet noise and a distant noise?

[Assistant]
A quiet noise from a nearby source will have more high frequency content than the same noise made much louder from far away. This is because air absorbs high frequency sound energy over distance but not low frequency to the same extent (think about how a plane sounds low and rumbly from far away, but when you are close, it sounds like all of the frequencies).

Additionally, nearby sounds will create stronger reflections off of surfaces close to you, creating a more full sound compared to distant sounds which will most likely consist of just one apparent location, or the reflections will be recognized as an echo, another indication that the sound is a large distance away.

If you are not near any other objects, the first effect will be the predominant way your ear/brain make the distinction.


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

[User] [Fallout] What was Vault-Tec hoping to gain from the Vault Experiments after the event of Nuclear Detonation?

[Assistant] Nobody expected the war to be as destructive as it was or to happen as soon as it did. Vault 111 is evidence enough of this, the project in this vault was only supposed to last for a few months at which point the inhabitants would be unfrozen and the data analyzed so that in the future when the nuclear apocalypse does happen, Vault Tec could potentially freeze the most important people and wait it out. Other vaults had social experiments to figure out what problems a vault society would encounter and how to solve those problems. None of the vaults were supposed to actually save people, they were just data collection.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does a computer playing chess make different moves against a player making the same moves in different games if the computer's moves are all calculated?

[Assistant]
A ) computers may utilize randomization to alter their plays: especially in the opening moves.

B ) computers might not get quite as far in their calculations each round in each game, so they might not always arrive at the same results.


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

[User]
ELI5: How Are Sleep Cycles Regulated In The Brain

As someone living with narcolepsy, I know a lot about managing my sleep. Going to bed at the same time, waking up at the same time, consistency, etc. there are a ton of things you can do to improve your quantity and quality of sleep.

That said, I know nearly nothing about *why* a lot of these things are required. To me, for example, it makes no sense that one would feel more rested if they woke up in the morning, versus the night, and yet that's merely one stipulation to restful sleep; there are a lot more that seem like they don't make sense.

What I would like to learn from this thread is what chemicals are used, how/why they are produced and consumed, and what can be done to "cure" narcolepsy (given said information about chemicals and whatnot).

[Assistant]
There are a lot of parts of the brain involved in sleep and arousal.

One part is the eyes themselves. There are specialized cells called ipRGCs (intrinsically photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells) that are not involved in vision, but send signals that its daytime and you should be awake. They do this by reducing the amount of melatonin that is released. The ipRGCs send signals to a part of the brain called the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) that regulates the pineal gland, which is where melatonin is produced and released. If you try to wake up at night then the ipRGCs dont send the signal to the SCN and so melatonin is not suppressed.


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

[User]
ELI5 : When you get cold what stops our body from just heating itself up like when we are sick?

I know people can get fevers up to +100f/37c. So why can't our body just flip a switch and turn on a fever essentially. I have plenty of "stored" energy so I don't see how that would be a problem.

[Assistant] It tries, but you are leaking heat far faster than your body's ability to produce it.  The problem isn't heat production; it's heat loss.  There's a reason why people used to put people with high fevers in an ice bath.  That reason is because it works.


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

[User] ELI5: why is it unhealthy to stare at phones for long periods of time (like on social media) but healthy to read books?

[Assistant] Instant gratification is one concept related to this question. When reading a book, your brain is engaged in an activity that requires critical thinking and patience. To find out the ending to the book you have to finish it. The brain is ultimately rewarded with the satisfaction of completing the book and interpreting its meaning. This is delayed gratification. Social media is an activity that requires no critical thinking. It rewards your brain every 5 seconds by giving you stimulating information rapidly. This is instant gratification. One fear is that we are losing our ability to simply exist in our own skin and we use the instant gratification of phones to distract our minds. Also, its possible to have an actual addiction to social media.


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

[User]
I think photography takes no skill and should not be considered an art form. CMV

I am not impressed at all by photography and I feel like most people say that photography is such a grand form of art because they don't want to make waves. It is a bit like the emperors new clothes because nobody wants to admit that they don't see how it is art.

I really don't think it takes much skill at all, because really all you do is point a piece of metal at something and push a button, and anybody can do that. I do not think it should be considered an art form for this exact reason. Besides how aesthetically pleasing or deep in meaning something is, I think art should be measured at least in part by how hard it is to do. I find a beautiful photograph of a sunset to be a bogus piece of art for the same reason I think 3 gray horizontal lines on a canvas is a bogus piece of art. Anybody can do it.

Even if one does think that it is a form of art, which certainly could be argued, I do not think it should be in the same category as painting, sculpting, music, theatre, etc. Those art forms take skill.

Not everybody can create a painting like Leonardo Da Vinci
Not everybody can write a piece of music like Mozart
Everybody with functioning hands can take a photograph.

I would like to know why most people I encounter think it is a great form of art. CMV

Edit: It has been made clear to me that the Leonardo Da Vinci and Mozart argument does not hold up.

Edit 2: I definitely see how it could be considered art now, and my arguments have almost entirely been effectively refuted, but I think this is why I think photography is not as impressive as painting or music.

 With painting and music, one has to create something original, whether or not it is based on something, it is original and it comes from the mind, whereas a photograph is only capturing something that already exists.

[Assistant]
"Not everybody can create a painting like Leonardo Da Vinci Not everybody can write a piece of music like Mozart Everybody with functioning hands can take a photograph."

These aren't equivalent arguments. Anyone with a paintbrush and paint can paint a painting. Anyone with a piano can compose music. And anyone with a camera can take a photograph. But making a GOOD painting, song, or photograph is where artistry comes in.

Understand that photographers don't just walk along, see something cool, and snap a photo. They spend hours figuring out optimal lighting, positioning, color, framing. They meticulously consider their subjects, express their artistic vision through selection how they capture it. They take thousands of photos to find one good one, and often even that's not enough. Taking photographs good enough to consistently make a living off it is incredibly difficult, takes an incredible understanding of visual space, and certainly requires as much hard work as other art forms.


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

[User] [Cartoons] Who is smarter: Jimmy Neutron (from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) or Dexter (from Dexter's Laboratory)?

[Assistant]
Dexter seems to have acomplished a lot more just based on the fact that his lab exists in some sort of tardis-like rhelm outside of normal space.

Something tells me Jimmy Nutron would win in a game of chess (but he would loose to Mandark). As for a no-holds-bar battke if combat engineering prowes, Dexter would suit up in a skyscraper sized meca with an aname level of dextarity, and pretty much just stomp on whatever Jimmy is able to come up with.


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

[User] ELI5: How is the USA able to have a naval base in cuba and why hasn't cuba tried taking the land back?

[Assistant]
Well Timmy, a big reason is that the base at Guantanamo Bay is old.  Very old.  In fact, it's probably older than your great-grandpa!!  "Gitmo," as it's called, was built all the way back in 1897, during a small war that many people have forgotten about called "The Spainish-American War."  As a result of that war, Cuba became it's own country, and basically rented the US the land for the base.  There's a treaty , which is an agreement between countries, Timmy, signed in 1903 that says while the land is ultimately Cuba's, the US has jurisdiction and control.  What that means is that Cuba owns the land, but the US can say or do whatever they want there.

Now, why doesn't Cuba want it back?  That's a very good question.  Another treaty signed in 1934 says that the land can only go bck to Cuba if BOTH governments agree to it.  As a funny story, we actually pay a monthly rent on the place!!  In 1903 it wasvalued at $2000, and that's what we paid.  The amount has been adjusted for inflation, so we pay Cuba $4,085 a month.  But the REAL funny part is that, under their old leader Fidel Castro, the Cuban government has only cashed ONE of those checks!!

In reality, Cuba doesn't care.  They have their own problems to deal with, yanking 45 square miles of land back from the US, while being a public relations triumph, wouldn't give them much.  All the buildings and equipment are US property, so the US would take it all back.  And if Cuba tried to take it by force, that would be considered an act of war, and the US would start doin military things to them.  So they just leave it there.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does aluminum foil have 1 side shinier than the other?

[Assistant] I saw this on how it's made once. Once of the final steps in rolling the foil thinner and thinner would tear a single layer of foil, so they roll two layers together. One side gets rolled against a huge roller, and the other against another layer of foil. One of those sides ends up shiny (I think it's the one against the other layer of foil), and the other dull.


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

[User] [DC] How resistant is Superman to demonic possession?

[Assistant]
Not very.

Of all his weaknesses-- his vulnerability to  magic and magical things is a biggie. He has no special will power, no special ability to deflect magical affects -- it they're not a physical affect (IE, hurling a boulder magically) they're going to have their full affects.

DEmons, as magical creatures, can slip right back Superman's otherwise impervious nature to make themselves at home. Sure, Superman is a good person with a very strong moral code, so they won't run the show for long... but even a few minutes in Superman's body could spell disaster.

To this end, friends like Zatanna and others help him with protective enchantments... but they can't be there all the time, now can they?


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

[User]
[Star Trek: Picard] If androids were banned, why weren't holograms banned as well?

Holograms are also AIs, and with the hard light technology or whatever it's called, they can touch physical objects, so they could do the same things the androids did on Mars. Heck, even the AI of a ship's computer might be dangerous as it could crash the ship into a city...

[Assistant]
Generally speaking, Holographic Assistants are far less sophisticated than true androids. They generally require much larger processor systems (like a ships core) and are far less adaptive than a true Positronic Brain, and they seem to come with far more hard-coded restrictions. It required Harry Kim going in and disabling The Doctor's deactivation commands before he wasn't at the whim of anyone who wanted to just shut him off (or who forgot to do so).

Now, we do know that Holograms CAN achieve similar thresholds to Androids such as Data, Lore, Soji etc. But it's extremely rare, extremely taxing on their systems, and generally requires long-term use with plenty of modifications. Things which, following the ban on Synthetics and AI Research, are probably restricted. The programs may have a built in timer to prevent them from running too long, and probably have kill-codes installed to prevent tampering.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does a penis shrink in cold water?

I know this may sound funny to some and immature but I've always wondered why.

(Update)
Our human body is composed of water for the majority, and when water freezes in expands. How come it shrinks when it's in cold water?

[Assistant]
Penis size is regulated by blood flow into the penis.  The mechanism behind an erection, for example, is pretty much just an increase in blood flow to that part of the body.  This causes the penis to expand much like a balloon when it's filled with water.  In other words, there is a relationship between blood flow and penis size.

Heat regulates blood flow.  When the temperature is low, the body undergoes vasoconstriction, the constriction of the tubes that carry blood throughout the body.  By making these tubes smaller, less heat is exchanged between the blood and the outside environment, so the blood stays warm.  However, vasoconstriction also decreases the blood flow to the penis, which as explained in the first paragraph, affects size.


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

[User]
What happens to food that ends up in your lung?

If you swallow some food and it goes down the wrong pipe (I mean something small like a chip or something) what happens to it? How does the lung get rid of it?

[Assistant]
Depends on the size, texture, and what it's made of.

The body's first response is to try to just cough the the thing out.
If that doesn't work, it tries to smother it in mucous so that it can be pushed out. As a side effect of this, you make too much mucous and get pneumonia (here called 'aspiration pneumonia', because it's due to an inhaled foreign object).
Next thing to try is to attempt to break the object down. The mucous starts this process, and assorted white blood cells (macrophages), will come along and attempt to eat away the object slowly. If it works, it will eventually go away completely.
If the object is made of something that can't be readily broken down or absorbed by the white cells, it will either calcify into a solid lump, or will cause destruction of surrounding lung tissue, which will eventually be walled off by scar tissue.


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

[User] How exactly do Oncologists predict how long a patient has left to live ?

[Assistant]
Interestingly, there is a bit of a mismatch between what patients want and what oncologists want when it comes to predicting life expectancy of cancer patients.

Most patients (>70%) want to know how much time they have left. A realistic sense of expected time left can help facilitate end of life discussions, prioritize expenses, avoid potentially heavy side-effect associated care and improve quality of death.

Most oncologists (>80%), though, dont provide patients with time left estimates. The reasoning being it is difficult to get right (within a few weeks, often impossible; within a year more feasible), is stressful for doctors and he only limited evidence that making any prediction is actually good for the patient.

As for how the oncologist makes the prediction, its mostly trying to make sense of the data we have and statistics. Most major cancers have good data sets on survival rates, disease progression rates etc. stratified by stage and basic health status info. That plus personal experience is how the oncologist will attempt to make an estimate about life expectancy. Its onviously tricky, though, where patient health and support networks can be hard to quantify but have an outsized impact on survival. Further, the data we have is historical, but the field is always - and often rapidly - changing. What was true five years ago may not be true today.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are plastic chip bags always chrome on the inside?

[Assistant] Chip bags are usually given an interior coating of aluminum. This is because most bags are made of polyethylene, which is not an oxygen barrier. As the oils in the chips oxidize, the flavor changes (they basically sour), which would severely shorten their shelf life. In order to slow this process, the plastic is doped (coated) with a very thin layer of aluminum to help block oxygen. The bags are also usually packed in a nitrogen or other inert-gas environment to further delay oxidation.


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

[User] Eli5 What makes countries follow Geneva Convention in war? Just because an action is deemed illegal, whats the incentive for countries in war to abide by it?

[Assistant]
Because they want their opponents to also abide by the rules. While there is a slight advantage to, say, not looking after enemy POWs properly, there is a huge disadvantage to not having your own POWs not looked after by the enemy properly. So this provides an incentive for all combatants to abide by the rules regarding POWs (or at least, *be seen to* be abiding by those rules).

This is also why verification organisations such as the Red Cross are so important.


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

[User]
[DC] How would things differ if Thomas and Martha Wayne had found and raised Kal-El alongside Bruce as his adoptive brother?

Edit: My original post didn't make it clear that Bruce was still in play here. Events leading up to and including the murder of Thomas and Martha still happen as Superman's powers won't have manifested until his teenage years.

[Assistant]
The only reason Bruce becomes Batman is because he becomes lost in the world after the death of his parents, and goes off to learn combat skills. If he had a brother who very quickly began displaying superhuman ability, it's likely that he would cling to that brother with everything he had, and therefore never become Batman.

However, Bruce's darkness would influence Clark into using fear as a method of fighting evil. Thus we would see a Superman who behaves a lot more like Batman, but has all of Superman's natural abilities. Superbat would also have near-infinite funds at his disposal to "upgrade" himself in many ways using expensive tech.


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

[User]
Why do people with Down Syndrome look the same/very very similar?

I feel somewhat bad for asking this question, obviously I know they are all unique but they do seem to share very similar facial characteristics.

[Assistant]
People with Down syndrome have similar features because of genetic abnormalities. Because genes are essentially the code for how your body is built, a large change in the code (via an extra chromosome 21 in the case of those with Down syndrome) causes specific features to emerge. The features are similar from person to person because the code contained within the extra chromosome is similar and is expressed similarly from person to person.

If you look at people who suffer from some other genetic diseases (Patau, Edwards, DiGeorge, Williams, etc.), those individuals also share similar features that are distinct from individuals with Down syndrome (although there is some overlap from one syndrome to another). These syndromes all feature a specific gene disruption that results in shared characteristics of those who have the disease.

If you do some image searching, you can find lots of examples of the more common characteristics for all of these conditions.


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

[User]
Do radios work in Faraday cages? Could you theoretically walkie-talkie a person standing next to you while in one, or do they block radios altogether?

And would a Faraday cage prevent radio signals from OUTSIDE reaching the inner radio?

EDIT: If there was a hole or break in the Faraday cage could radio signals leak in?

[Assistant] The walls of the cage are a barrier just like with any other cage. If you're both inside or both outside the cage it's like the cage isn't there. If one is inside and the other outside the RF can't get through the cage. Of course, the design of the cage and the conditions it's used under determine its effectiveness but ideally the RF won't pass through the walls of the cage.


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

[User]
What do you say when someone says studying Philosophy is useless?

Theres always a surprise when I say I'am studying Philosophy, as opposed to Business/Scientific related fields. I've always maintained that it is the study of all fields, and about yourself but there seems to such a huge stigma involved. Theres no right or wrong answer so in the end it is useless to study. It is as if you are going around in a huge circle with no end in sight, and that Philosophers have not done anything in so far to help mankind to date since Aristotle/Kant.  I feel as that they are wrong, that they have not looked into Philosophy but only at the name, and brush it off as rubbish. Can someone give a explanation of how Philosophy/Philosophers have helped or impacted our time?

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this post, and put their input. Thanks.

[Assistant] Ask them how they know what is useful and what is not.  Before they answer, tell them that they are about to do one of two things: 1) use philosophy, or 2) say something someone else told them to say, and therefore something they themselves know nothing about.


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

[User] Why have the French been branded as cowards in war when history seems to provide bouts of contrast (Napoleonic wars, World Wars, etc.)?

[Assistant] During World War II, they were quickly taken over by the Germans.  It was so quick that many people thought they hardly put up a fight.  They had a vichy (puppet) government for pretty much the rest of the war. They have since been labeled as cowards or quick to surrender.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't car manufacturers sell directly to consumers?

I hate dealing with salesman at dealerships. They are always assholeish.

[Assistant]
Back in the day when cars were sold, they are unrealiable. They needed service & maintenance every now and then. So having a local place for service was essential. Also cars were huge investment and the customers need to be educated and given options before buying a car, hence physical sales office made sense.

But these sales-service office had to be owned by franchises, because  if manufacturers open a sales-service office they can undercut the franchised ones and make them go out of business, hence the franchise rules made sense in those days..

Now back to current. Hardly these days cars need any maintenance except oil change, tire rotation and brake change for the first 50K miles. Electric cars doesn't need oil change or even brake pads ( the brake pad won't worn out due to regenerative braking ).  Internet gives the user all information they want, most of the cases the users are more informed than even car sales people.

So dealership is stupid for any cars and it should die. For electric cars it doesn't need at all.

Well what happens for local economy when the dealer ship dies, well they will suck it up and move on with other business. We can keep supporting something wrong just because it feeds one or two people and makes the owner filthy rich.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are some food considered 'breakfast' food? And some only considered lunch...etc, as a norm?

[Assistant]
You typically eat breakfast on a completely empty stomach, some 12-14 hours after you last ate.  Breakfast food tend to be milder for this reason.

They also tend be easier to prepare.  It is largely lost in this age of fast food and microwave ovens, but food preparation used to be a full time job.  Breakfast was a fast meal that the cooks didn't have to get up 4 hours early to prepare.


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

[User]
How does the nucleus in atoms stay together?

Basically that, how do all the protons stay together when their electromagnetic fields should make them repel each other
?

[Assistant]
Protons do repel each other through electromagnetic interaction, but there is another force, a residual effect of the strong interaction, that brings them together. When protons are close to each other, the residual strong interaction effects overtakes the electromagnetic interaction.

Protons are made up of three particles called quarks: two "up" quarks (with charge 2/3) and one "down" quark (with charge -1/3). If a particle is called a quark, that means it feels the strong interaction. That interaction has the peculiar behavior of working in the "opposite" way to electromagnetism: where electromagnetism gets weaker the farther apart the charges are (it behaves like 1/r^2, where r is the distance), the strong interaction gets stronger the farther apart the quarks are (it behaves like r). It behaves pretty much like a rubber band.

Because of this behavior, having a solitary quark requires ridiculously large amounts of energy, and quarks tend to bunch up. This is called confinement. Due to the nature of the interaction, they will either form bunches of threes or quark-antiquark pairs. When this happens, the resulting particle (in this case, the proton or neutron) does not feel the strong interaction.

However, if you bring two protons close enough so that their quark components can "see" the components of the other (i.e. the distance between the protons becomes comparable to the distance between the quarks), they will feel a residual effect and will interact with each other. This is what happens in the nucleus.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are there so many different bread-type snacks in Japan?

For years, I've watched this Japanese youtube channel by the name of "shitemita", the guy does nothing but food unboxing videos, and I noticed that there's like a million different "bread with cream filling" snacks. I believe they're called "pan" (pronounced "ponn" like pond) in Japanese.

Literally, hundreds and hundreds of different ones, many different brands, some branded with cartoon/anime franchises, tons of different flavored fillings and different flavors of bread, etc.

Why are there so many of these? What has created such an incredible demand for "bread with cream filling" snacks? Do they just like them that much?

[Assistant]
Well in general there is a bit culture of rapidly cycling fads in Japan, to an extent that would baffle most people in the US. We're largely familiar with their most unusually long-lived franchises, like Pokemon, but the average Japanese craze lives and dies in Japan (or some small part of it) in a matte of weeks, or months. In that time though, *huge* amounts of money can be made, and companies sometimes specialize in merchandising these fads.

As for stuffed bread though... that's huge there, and not just cream-filled. In general though, a buns or breads are insanely popular in Japan... and most of Asia. In Japan though they have a particular style which eschews more traditional buns, and goes for actual bread. You find bread stuffed with yakisoba, or curry, or green tea custard. It's cheap to make, easy to ship, and relatively inexpensive. Students (and teachers) go for it a lot, but you may be getting a slightly distorted view from your source.

Having said that, "fast" food in Japan tends to be much higher quality than in the US, and a much more viable option. Often fast food, ready-made meals in 7-11's, and bento sets in supermarkets are some of the only affordable sources of quick food for a lot of city dwellers.

Finally... on average I'd say that the average Japanese person doesn't love sweets as much as the average Westerner. That's not to say that they don't like candy, but when it comes to desserts they're often more subtly sweet than cloying. An egg custard in bread, maybe with some sugary-cookie dough criss-crossed on the top is sweet, but not too sweet.

So... external cultural factors: China started the whole "bun" thing, which includes the soft ones, but also more bready ones, some filled with egg custard. Internal cultural factors: variety-driven market, big market for fresh fast food. Palette.

Having said that though, a far more universal portable fast food would be rice balls (onigiri).


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

[User]
Any philosophy PhD's transition to artificial intelligence?

I work in philosophy of mind and am looking to transition to a non-academic job after my PhD. I'm very interested in artificial intelligence, has anyone made the career switch? Any advice?

I see some fascinating jobs in A.I. ethics but would be interested in being involved in many ways. Recommendations for technical skills to pick up? Thanks so much!

[Assistant]
I know of someone who did this in industry (but don't know them well). They did one of those expensive coding boot camps and started off low on the software engineering ladder. Over time you could probably leverage the project management experience from the PhD in combination with the new experience as a software engineer to get a management position.

I also know someone in academia who works staunchly in philosophy but is learning a lot about AI and is interested in using it for their research. It's a struggle though because there's a lot of background stuff to learn about for AI, while they still have to be producing excellent philosophy work at the same time.

Technical skills: programming in Python, linear algebra, calculus, probability, and statistics.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What are Darth Vaders motives for doing the Empires dirty work following Padmes death?

Anakin/Vader is one of my favourite characters of all time but I always felt a disconnect between the Vader we see at the end of Episode 3 getting put in the suit vs the Vader we see at the start of Episode 4 enthusiastically carrying out the Empires dirty work.

When Vader is told hes accidentally killed Padme at the end of Revenge of the Sith he seems like a pretty broken man, literally and figuratively. He sold his soul for the power to save the love of his life only for his powers to kill her in the process. Now hes done horrible things and is barely alive, and obviously heartbroken.

The next scene hes watching the Death Star getting built, and the way he crosses his arms almost gives me the impression of satisfaction? And then in A New Hope hes out acting as an enforcer for the Empire.

If I were Anakin waking up in that suit, I think I would be pulling a Padme and simply lose my will to live. Or Id put a lightsaber through my head. What happens between the events on Mustafar and finding out about Luke that the only reason for him existing is for him to carry out the Empires will?

I havent seen a lot of content besides all the movies and some of Clone Wars so let me know if theres something that explains this in anything.

[Assistant]
The 2017 Darth Vader comics cover the transitional period between three and four.

A decent chunk of it was him having the opportunity to take out his anger and lingering resentment on various Jedi who escaped the purge, many of whom he maintained grudges against from his time as Anakin. He also finally, *finally* had the absolute authority to beat in the head of any civilian, politician, trooper or bureaucrat who he saw as letting their flaws and/or personal agenda get in the way of finishing the job. For Vader- a dark, twisted reflection of Anakin- that was more important than what the job *actually was.*

Towards the middle of it, he also had the carrot of possibly being able to use the dark side to ressurect Padme, although that went about as well as anything involving the dark side does.

Lastly, he found out about Luke much earlier in the Disney Canon than he did before; he was plotting to overthrow the Emperor almost immediately after Yavin, and had Luke as the light at the end of the tunnel for a few years before Bespin.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why does anyone care if the Shrieking Shack is "haunted"?

So, to cover up Lupin's lycanthrophy, the rumor was spread that the shrieking shack was haunted, to scare people off from investigating. Reasonable enough. There's just one problem. It's in the village of hogsmede, populated entirely by wizards, and there's absolutely no reason wizards should give a fuck about ghosts.

At Hogwarts you see a ghost probably once a week. If you're a girl, you see one every time you go to the bathroom. They're commonplace parts of the school life. And they're harmless. Annoying, but they don't seem to be able to possess people or hurl furniture or any of the other Ghost abilities you see in fiction. They just stand there and look sad.

So who cares if the Shrieking Shack is haunted? It's the Wizarding World. *Everywhere's* haunted. It's like saying an abandoned building has a rat nest. Icky, but if you're already interested in exploring, it won't scare you off.

What's it gonna do, scream at you?

[Assistant] I think they use "haunted" to mean "inhabited by dangerous supernatural things" rather than specifically for ghosts. So it could be full of boggarts, dementors, trolls, wearwolves, murderous house elves, or any other dangerous magical creatures. People just say haunted because it's easier than going into specifics, especially since no one really knows what's going on there.


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

[User]
CMV: It's better for employees to be open with each other about how much they are paid

(For preface, this is only relevant to salaried employees, it seems hourly employees are more open about their pay.)

There's a weird cultural norm (at least here in the US) where people are very quiet about how much money they make. Generally it seems the only people who know your salary other than you is a very short list: your HR/accounting department, your spouse, and yourself. In places I've worked my boss usually doesn't even know how much I'm paid. It's considered very taboo in the US to openly discuss your salary in the workplace, for no real good reason.

I think this should change. If employees were more open and willing to share salaries with each other, it would help root out potential discrimination in the pay, give employees who are getting paid less than their peers leverage for a raise, and just generally give employees more clarity and power over their financial lives.

When people decide NOT to openly discuss salaries it gives employers the power to underpay employees, because they simply don't know they could (potentially) be getting paid more.

[Assistant] The problem is that people frequently over-estimate their value and under-estimate the value of other employees.  This results in fragile employees being told that they kind of suck (or suck relative to someone else).  That can be damaging to morale and to the individual's own mental health.  Rather than resulting in a pay increase, it can result in them losing their job all together (whether it be over bitterness, lack of self awareness or storming out in misplaced disgust).  That's not good for anybody.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do most life forms have a similar face structure?

Most life forms seem to have a similar "face" structure. IE. eyes above mouth, etc. Why?

[Assistant] Evolutionary descent from an ancient (very ancient) common ancestor. Mouths probably developed first... jelly fish, starfish, anemones, etc. have openings into their digestive areas. Eyes developed from light sensing "spots". As evolution progressed, creatures with the most advantageous changes reproduced to pass on these traits. Over hundreds of millions of years the basic plan obtained its "bells and whistles" we see today. If we were to anthropomorphize nature and evolution, they don't like reinventing the wheel. That is, if it ain't broke don't fix it. And it seems the basic facial plan works just fine and is passed along.


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

[User]
Could we eradicate the cold virus if we isolated everyone for two weeks?

The cold virus remains in your body and contagious up to 5 days for most people. For some it could be a bit longer so thats why I chose two weeks instead of 5 days just to be safe.

The cold virus will not survive more than 2 days without a host.

Animal cold viruses are not compatible with humans.

For those who need to have someone to take care of them, they would have to add 2 weeks to the quarantine time for each additional person with them. The group size would have to be limited as to not allow the virus to mutate and infect the first person that had it.

Considering some asshole doesnt keep the virus in a lab to infect everyone again is this possible? Would totally be worth it imo.

[Assistant]
There is not one cold virus. Parainfluenza 1-4, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Rhinovirus and Coronavirus families account for almost all "common colds" we see. Some families like the Rhinoviruses are naked organisms and rather resistant to environmental conditions. Some people are carriers who do not ever exhibit clinical symptoms and can harbor and shed the virus over years. These would be two sources of organisms that would be impossible to limit with simple isolation.

As far as being feasible to isolate everyone, hard to fight a few million years of community living. What about multiple person homes or children young enough to still require care from others?

None of the common respiratory viruses, and especially those who cause the "common cold" are considered candidates for being able to be eradicated.


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

[User]
[Starcraft] What do the Protoss think of mouths?

I had this thought in the shower a few days ago. Perhaps the most striking aspect of Protoss physiology (at least compared to humans and even Zerg, who all have mouths) is that they lack any sort of facial orifice. This makes sense if you think about it, as both functions of the human mouth are done by other processes in Protoss (they gain energy through photosynthesis and communicate telepathically). So, I wonder, what do most Protoss think when they see a human mouth? Are they disturbed by the disgusting food-hole on our faces, or do they take it in stride and accept the evolutionary backwardness or our species?

[Assistant]
They probably think its gross as fuck.

>You have a hole in your face that... that you put food into?

>>Yeah...

>Ughh even fucking nastier you *talk* out of it too?!?! Gross its all wet and shit, how do you things even breed with each other...? Dont... dont tell me you use that gaping fucking wound on your face for that too? Do babies come out of the same hole you shovel food into? Thats like Zerg level disgusting.


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

[User] What frameworks and/or languages lasted longer than expected?

[Assistant]
COBOL is still widely used in business mainframes around the world. It just wont die.

As for frameworks, Flask comes to mind. It was intended to be a mere April Fools joke but enough people happened to like it and so it is still developed and used even today.


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

[User]
CMV: Male persons should have the right to decide against a child without consequences.

IMHO, male persons do not have equal rights as female persons in this particular case.

A male - let's call him Peter - wants to avoid pregnancy - wearing a condom is aquite effective way to do that. But sometimes Peter can be unlucky - while he sleeps with a woman ('Sarah'), the condom tears apart. Bothdon't recognize the accident untilthey'redone. Sarah wants to keep the child and gets pregnant - her decision. But what about Peter? Here comes the unfair part: Sarah has a choice where Peter has not. He doesn't want the child but has to pay anyway, because of an accident and a decision of Sarah.

Peter should be able to insist on after pill, abortion or to give the child away after birth. If Sarah still wants the child or is strongly against after pill / abortion Peter should not be forced to care about the child.

[Assistant] Abortions are allowed in order to uphold body rights, not to allow people to avoid paying child support.  The fact that abortion results in no child support because of there being no child, is incidental.


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

[User]
[LOTR] did humans of Middle-earth separately evolve to have light skin and dark skin or were they all just instantly created as they are?

If they were just created as they are , and evolution based on the climate of their lands was not the reason , why are the northerners light skinned and the southerners like the Haradrim have darker skin?

[Assistant]
Both, probably. They were created as they were, and their descendants continued to evolve. Middle Earth is supposedly our own Earth, at an earlier stage of development, when the geometry of space-time was a little different and magic, angels, demons etc still lingered, but it totally has scientifically describable physical reality, and you could create complex machinery there.

Edit: Edited some stuff for pedantic reasons.


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

[User]
[Marvel Comics] Would Peter Parker be as witty or funny as Spider-Man without his powers?

Danger sense aside Spider-Man seems to be operating on a whole other level of quick reflexes and accelerated reactions. It is almost as if the world is moving a little bit slower than he is and bullets and pumpkin bombs are easy to avoid.

So... do you think his jabs, jokes and observations would be as rapid fire and acute if he did not have spider-sense and reflexes?

[Assistant]
No. At least not overtly so. He's probably as witty before the powers as without, but unlikely to have the confidence to say what he's thinking.

When he's got literal super powers and is anonymous, anyone would be more likely to say what's on their mind.


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

[User] Are trinary star systems possible?

[Assistant]
Yes, there are triple star systems, and also quadruple, quintuple, etc. However, they tend to arrange in subgroups. Say you have a triple system with components A, B and C. Probably you'll have A and B orbiting together closely one to the other and the C component orbiting both A and B from far away, as if A and B were a single star. The reason for this is that a configuration where A, B and C all orbit one another is very unstable and sooner than later one of the components would get flung away.

EDIT: Typo.


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

[User]
ELI5: The difference between agonists, partial agonists, inverse agonists and antagonists

The last two are really confusing me. All help is much appreciated!

Cheers!

Edit: Thanks so much for the overwhelming response guys. I really appreciate it!

[Assistant]
Agonist = molecule that binds to receptor and acts like the endogenous ligand, causing X effect.

Partial agonist = molecule that binds to receptor and acts like the endogenous ligand but partially causes X effect. Not as strong. When placed with an agonist, acts as a competitive antagonist.

Inverse agonist = molecule that binds ot receptor and causes the opposite effect of X.

Antagonist = molecule that binds to receptor and does nothing. Does nothing if agonist is not present, but has a 'negative' effect if the agonist is present. Can be competitive, taking the same spot as the agonist, blocking it, or noncompetitive, taking another spot that completely stops the receptor from working.


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

[User]
As we understand black holes, how does gravity outside the event horizon affect items inside the event horizon?

Let's say that there's a Jupiter sized planet orbiting around a black hole.  Would items inside the event horizon be affected by the planet outside it?

Also, would that not also affect where the event horizon was?  Wouldn't the gravity pull from the planet slightly move the event horizon inward a bit?

Also, following that train of thought, would it not be possible for two event horizons to cancel each other (mostly, not absolutely) out if two black holes were to be in close proximity?

[Assistant]
>Let's say that there's a Jupiter sized planet orbiting around a black hole.  Would items inside the event horizon be affected by the planet outside it?

Yes

>Also, would that not also affect where the event horizon was?  Wouldn't the gravity pull from the planet slightly move the event horizon inward a bit?

The event horizon is a coordinate singularity depending on the coordinate choice. The standard EH is a curve of constant Schwarzschild coordinates t and r. However, if you have a planet with significant gravity, spacetime is no longer Schwarzschild and you cannot build Schwarzschild coordinates again. In general, your absolutely arbitrary "reasonable" coordinate system will have an event horizon covering the BH singularity. The shape and position and state of motion of the horizon depends on the coordinates.

>Also, following that train of thought, would it not be possible for two event horizons to cancel each other (mostly, not absolutely) out if two black holes were to be in close proximity?

They won't cancel eachother out. What actually happens is very, very difficult to understand, and again you cannot use Schwarzschild coordinates. However, an EH will always cover the singularities, whatever the coordinates.