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

[User] [General] Say a supervillain, imprisoned for legitimate criminal offense, were to escape and assist in apprehending a criminal even more dangerous than they were. What laws could we put in place to protect the rights of those who broke laws with good intention?

[Assistant]
A person with powers, according to some, should be seperated into *person* and *powers.* Just as hackers of some talent can perform "services" for their governments in exchange for a reduced sentence, villains with extremely useful power-sets (anything from weather control to mitigate natural disasters to precognition to predict villain attacks to super-inventing for any number of purposes) might benefit from either an early release program or some kind of superhero-enforced "probation system" where heroes from respectable teams attempt to rehabilitate the villain while said villain enjoys limited autonomy in exchange. Ultimately, the penal system is *supposed* to help criminals become better people instead of merely locking them away. If we made use of telepaths (consensually) and precogs to vet prisoners before releasing them into the world, we might very well be able to use villains for the greater good and reward them accordingly...

...while creating serious civil rights issues for the *non-powered* individuals who will, largely, never be afforded these rights or privileges outside of the aforementioned cases. Really, we just need to reform the whole criminal justice system so that powers are taken into account in a way that if possible benefits those without them.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is every book I come across a New York Times Bestseller?

[Assistant] There are multiple best seller lists fiction, non fiction hardback etc. Each list has 20 books on it and each list is updated each week. Add up all the potential books and that is a lot of books. Bookshops only have limited space so generally only stock the more popular books and you have the answer.


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

[User] [Fantasy RPGs] Are the tiny cities in games such as Skyrim their true size or merely a representation of their lore?

[Assistant] Usually they're just representations; the Imperial City in *Oblivion*, for example, is stated in-lore to hold several million citizens (it's the "city of a thousand cults"), yet in the game there's only about three dozen people there.


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

[User] ELI5:How come blowing on fire sometimes helps it burn (such as when kindling), but other times puts it out (such as candles)?

[Assistant]
Any time a question about fire pops up, its useful to start with the fact that combustion needs three things to happen: fuel, oxygen, heat. If any of those is removed or lowered to a certain point, things wont combust.

Now, if combustion of a fuel releases enough heat to keep the reaction going, and that heat is being released upon more fuel and oxygen, things will keep combusting.

To create a fire, you need vaporized (gaseous) fuel to combust, thats how you get a coloured gas above your pool of solid or liquid fuel. This means the combustion needs to be hot enough to vaporize whatever fuel its burning and keep this vaporized fuel particles hot until they contact oxygen.

This means that as long as a fire has a steady amount of fuel and oxygen coming in, itll be sustained. The moment you take away either the fuel, the oxygen, or the heat, youll quench the fire.

Now, when you blow on a lit candle, youre doing a couple things:

1. You increase the replenishment of oxygen;
2. You blow away the fuel (vaporized candle wax);
3. You cool down the reaction location (gas bubble around the wick).

You can see that because a candle is not burning the wick as its main fuel, but burning the wax, you can quench a candle fire by blowing on it.

Now, things like kindling are a different story. Kindling is the fuel in this case, and that makes the situation the following when You blow:

1. You add more oxygen;
2. You cool down the zone around the fire.

Now, because the fuel itself is very, very close to the combustion (solid instead of a gas), the temperature of the fuel can stay high even if the gas bubble around it is colder due to your blowing.

This allows the kindling to become hot enough to vaporize and turn into a fire. Youll notice that usually the fire only appears after you stop blowing on the kindling, because its only then that the vaporized fuel keeps hot enough to combust once its released (the gas bubble around the fuel isnt being cooled down by your blowing anymore)


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

[User]
Why are equipotential lines perpendicular to electric field lines?

Edit: In electrostatic case of course.

[Assistant]
In electrostatics, **E** is the (negative) gradient of some scalar field *U*(x, y, z). The gradient of *any* scalar field is always perpendicular to level surfaces of *U*. This is just a mathematical property, not a physical one, and it is an immediate consequence of the chain rule.

If **r**(t) is a curve in the level surface *U*(x, y, z) = c, consider the function f(t) = U(**r**(t)), which is identically constant. Differentiating with respect to *t* gives df/dt = 0, or

> grad(U)  d**r**/dt = 0

Now *any* line tangent to the level surface can be described with direction vector d**r**/dt for some curve **r** in the level surface at some parameter value of *t*. (This is more or less the definition of tangent line to a surface in multivariable calculus, but it actually *is* the definition of tangent space in differential geometry.) The above equation shows that grad(U) is perpendicular to all such tangent lines. Hence grad(U) is perpendicular to the level surface U = c at all points of that surface.

The fact that **E** is the *negative* gradient just means that **E** points in the direction in which the the parameter *c* is *decreasing* the fastest, rather than increasing the fastest. Multiplication of **E** by a constant scalar does not affect its perpendicularity with level surfaces.


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

[User]
What is the point of being curious?

For the longest time, I've been a proponent of curiosity and asking questions about every imaginable thing in general.

Ironically, I realised I never asked myself why one should.

Why be curious? Maybe the underlying question is, do we even need to aim to be curious?

Is spending your time being inquisitive and searching for answers worth the time you spend? It may be rewarding to have the answers, but is that it?

[Assistant]
Curious question, literally. To answer it, in the negative (for purposes of argument), presupposes curiosity as the limit value of the answer, i.e., even if curiosity is minimally valuable (your being "rewarding to have answers"), it's answered out of curiosity.  To answer it, with a stronger utilitarian accent (your "that's it?" question), risks undercutting the question itself: if "that's it" (and this is a very big "if" for me), it's answered via curiosity, which, as is implied in "that's it?", may not finally be worthwhile. This further suggests that the question itself may not be structurally meaningful, if that's all that's implied in being curious. Put simply, it's self-defeating as such. The question, at a strictly logical level, begs the question of what's put into question, even if unwittingly. In a sense, then, contrary to form, the question itself demonstrates how properly basic curiosity is. Curiosity = questioning.

I suspect, however, that the question does not pertain to form or structure. If the value of being curious is determined by some other disposition, for example, satisfaction (material, existential, etc.), the answer to your question will vary according to the scale of values one holds and how curiosity serves that scale. If one sides with Socrates (and western civilization in general), that the unexamined life isn't worth living, then curiosity will be aligned with that scale of values in such a way that diminishes the weight of the "that's it?" question.


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

[User]
[General Sci-Fi] Why are aliens always attacking Earth for its resources when mining the Sol System's asteroid would be more economic?

Seriously. I've listen to enough science podcasts to know that asteroids are full of the minerals and metals that high-technology societies want...and they aren't covered with pain in the ass nuke-wielding ape-men.

[Assistant] Aliens heading for Earth are usually here for the humans or for the environmental resources. Sure, there's a lot of big rocks for the picking, but the only place you can grind humans into bloody mulch to plant your horror fungus is on Earth.


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

[User] [Fiction] Looking for an Actual 'Darth Jarjar' Character. Someone that is really good at hiding his power and making it seem like it's 'luck' has absolutely evil intentions. Fights skillfully but convinces the world it's buffoonery to employ his plot.

[Assistant]
Tobi/Obito from Naruto Shippuden is the perfect example. Upon introduction, he was Jar Jar Binks amongst an elite organization of the edgiest, most badass villains in the ninja world, providing slapstick comic relief in scenes where everyone was just trying to outbrood each other.

Then it was revealed he was pulling the strings all along, he was revealed to be the thought-to-be-dead best friend of the protagonist's mentor, he killed the protagonist's parents and caused several chaotic wars.

EDIT: As a lesser example, Grand Maester Pycelle from Game of Thrones. Pretends to be a senile old doctor but he's actually a corrupt politician. Not a brilliant schemer like some others, but he does dirty work for his master Tywin Lannister.


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

[User] [Bourne] Where does Jason Bourne get the money to keep running?

[Assistant] The majority is the money he already got from the Swiss bank as he established "it's enough to start a new life, any life" and since he and Marie kept a low profile he probably didn't run out of money until Ultimatum. In the last story he is seen getting money out of street fights, you can get a lot of money out of them knowing the winner and he is Jason Bourne so it's very difficult that he would be defeated, he is seen to be trained to get resources in any place he is located at so he is proficient in underground ways of making money.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] When Yoda asks Obi-Wan if Luke will finish what he begins, why doesn't Obi-Wan answer?

Does Obi-Wan have a suspicion that Luke will do the Bespin thing and not want to either lie to nor tip off Yoda?

[Assistant]
Don't forget that Obi Wan is dead.

His spirit is still there in order to advice both Yoda and Luke. He is not here to push Yoda into training Luke.

You should see it like he represents the pros and yoda the cons.
Re-watch the scene with that idea in mind, it gets clearer.

In order to summarize, he doesn't answer because Yoda doesn't really need him to. It's more like a rhetorical question to himself.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Chernobyl deemed to not be habitable for 22,000 years despite reports and articles everywhere saying that the radiation exposure of being within the exclusion zone is less you'd get than flying in a plane or living in elevated areas like Colorado or Cornwall?

[Assistant]
exposure is low if you come on a brief tour, stay on carefully selected path, and do not touch anything.

"habitable" means people can go anywhere and do all sorts of things including renovations and digging to replace pipes, all of which will kick up radioactive dust.


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

[User] [Jason Bourne] How is Bourne able to continuously foil the CIA even though his training becomes more and more obsolete and he's missed out on an entire decade's worth of advances in spycraft?

[Assistant]
Every time the CIA has set out to find Jason Bourne, they've succeeded. He's a ghost, but as you say he's a largely obsolete ghost - even in the first film, where two separate Treadstone assets are able to locate him.

The problem is, once they've located him they still have to actually capture or kill him - and the technology for that hasn't really progressed beyond guns, tasers, and burly men with a talent for brutality. Jason Bourne is very good at dealing with those things.

After the events of the third film, Bourne was missing, presumed dead. If they'd decided to search for him the CIA would probably have found him again, but going after Bourne had ended a lot of careers. Simpler to just accept that he's dead, and focus on active threats.


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

[User] [DC] If Batman has Clayface trapped in an empty milk gallon, does he need to poke holes for air?

[Assistant]
I assume you are asking if clayface needs air to live? The answer is that no one knows but if he does he can take it from water.

If you are asking about that question specifically then no because clayface will break it in like 2 seconds.


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

[User] Eli5: Why do so many monitors and screens work at either 30, 60, 120, or 144 hertz, rather than for example 50 or 100 hz?

[Assistant]
In USA they chose 60Hz as AC frequency. Because old CRT monitors where using that current directly (or divisors). 24 frames per seconds is easy to align on that frequency and became the standard in USA.

Funny enough, once color TV came in, the standard had to squeeze a little bit more data, and they shifted the frequency to 59.94 Hz to give that extra time, and NTSC was born.

Because of this, most monitor work with multiples of 60 or 24.

In Europe they had a PAL format based on 50Hz. For which 25 frames per second was easier to match, so it became standard over there.

Now modern panels can do any frequency refresh they want, the only reason to limit to those frequencies is because we want to. It's just software that abide to old standard.

I wish we would get rid of the 59.94 and round it to 60, so that we can leave the past behind. As for multiple of 50, let us wait for 300Hz monitor and forget about the distinction.


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

[User]
CMV:If you are in student debt you should have to pay it

So this isnt a view Im 100% certain so if i get a well backed up response it should be fairly simple to change my view. Basically despite considering myself fairly left wing I dont understand the American lefts obsession with student debt. In my view if you pay for a service, in this case higher education, you should actually pay for it.

From a left wing perspective, I feel the Joe Biden should be spending money on the truly disenfranchised and poorest in our society by providing social systems and lowering poorer Americans tax rates or trying to solve the multiple problems with US police force. Student debt seems to me quite low down on the list of worst things happening in the US at the minute, and the government should be spending more money on the poverty and problem stricken areas of society.

[Assistant]
I think deferred student debt isnt so much about avoiding paying for a service received, but about keeping the population reasonably well educated, and in various different fields.

I think there are a few reasons we would probably all be worse off if student debt couldnt be deferred (in no particular order).

1. Low income students wouldnt study risky fields - like science, music, philosophy, politics, history. We could lose out on great minds and innovations simply because they were too poor.

2. Universities would lose students to some subjects and may not be able to teach them anymore due to funding constraints

3. The population would be less educated, leading to more skilled immigration. Which is fine, except the citizens who would have studied are now undereducated and in lower paying roles. Over time many will become unemployed as demand for low education roles falls below supply.

4. If they had to pay straight away, many young people would be well below the poverty line and may be unable to complete their studies. This could also lead to increased social issues in this cohort.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do wind instruments work?

Why do some combinations of holes/valves produce notes and others produce nothing? Why do some need reeds and others work with just air?

[Assistant]
Sound is produced from oscillation (moving back and forth). To create a sound from blowing, you need to cause some part of the instrument to oscillate. Blowing over or between a reed will cause it to vibrate up and down, blowing into a brass instrument's mouthpiece produces vibrations from your lips, and in a flute, blowing over/at the edge affects the pressure within causing vibration.

For different notes, it's the one time the size of your instrument matters. Sounds propagate and reinforce more in a space the size of their wavelength. A certain length of tube will amplify a certain pitch. Lower pitch notes have a longer wavelength, and are more easily produced by bigger tubes. By closing or opening more holes on an instrument you're manipulating the size of the tube, and as a result, which frequencies get amplified.


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

[User]
[psychology]How does a psychosis
without hallucinations, delusions and
disorganized thoughts look like?

[Assistant] Mental health professional here.  Without those symptoms other positive symptoms could include paranoia or thoughts of conspiracy to harm or destroy you.  Manic type symptoms could also occur such as thoughts of grandeur and lack of need for sleep.  Negative symptoms could also occur, these include lack of interest in actives previously enjoyed, lack of concern with hygiene, and Catatonia.  Beyond this it could include odd, repetitive or ritualistic behaviors. This could include anything from repetitive head rubbing, to obsessively emptying and refilling cabinets.


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

[User] Can someone explain the Relationship between Canada and England?

[Assistant]
Right now, the two countries are allies, with Canada being a completely separate and sovereign nation.  This means the British government has no power over the Canadian government, no taxation by Britain is levied on Canada etc.

Many people get confused because of the royalty, and think 'Why, you have the same Queen!  Therefore you must be part of the same kingdom!'  While it is true the Queen is the same person, officially her title from a Canadian government standpoint is the "Queen of Canada", not the "Queen of England".  What this means is there is officially no overlap between the British government and the Canadian government, just one person with multiple job roles.

To further the separation, the Queen of Canada resides in England, so while she is not Canada (almost always), her job is done by a Canadian viceroy called the Governor General (currently David Johnson).  The elected Prime Minister of Canada 'recommends' to the Queen who should be the Governor General (read: the Prime Minister picks the Governor General).

Finally, the role of Queen / Governor General is mainly ceremonial.  The Governor General has two real powers.  They can, in a round-about way, veto a law coming into power (this has never been done, and is quite the convoluted process), and has the power to grant / refuse the request of the Prime Minister to call an election (Im not sure if the GG has ever refused the request, but it would be a historical event).

Another confusion in the relationship between the two countries lie in the path to sovereignty Canada has taken.  It was a long process, and difficult to pinpoint exactly when Canada became a fully separate nation from England.

In 1867 the Dominion of Canada was created with its own government, but Britain retain a lot of control over the country.  There are many significant steps from then to present day that mark steps toward further sovereignty.  For example, in 1931 the Statute of Westminster meant that Canada now had control over its foreign policy, Britain could no longer force laws on Canada, and Canada could repeal any British law in effect.  In 1949 Canada adopted its own Supreme Court, which meant the highest court for Canadian law moved from Britain to Canada. In 1965 we got our own flag, in 1980 our own national anthem, and finally in 1982 Canada brought its constitution home, which meant only the Canadian government could amend the constitution.

I hope this helps!  Feel free to ask any further questions.


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

[User]
[DC] It took several years for Bruce to become as skilled as he is. How did the Robins get so skilled in far less time?

Dick was a gymnast, so he would have had an edge in acrobatics; this is understandable. Tim was already quite intelligent, while Jason knew the basics of combat from the streets.

But--apart from Damian, who was raised to be an assassin--how did the Robins get so skilled in far less time than Bruce? It took several years of intense, specialised training for Bruce to become Batman. However, for the Robins, a few months/years seem enough to turn them into polyglot, master martial-artist, detective badasses?

[Assistant]
Batman had to seek out various masters and learn from experience. Not only that, sometimes they had very strict requirements to join them that were tedious and made the learning process take longer.

The Robins have access to the guy who went through all that and who prioritizes training them in practical ways, rather than the ceremonies of some of them. Students always have an edge on their masters, because they're taught everything the matter knows in an efficient way without having to go through the discovery themselves. Once they catch up they can continue with the progress at a much younger, fresher, and with a more open mind.

It took us thousands of years to get to the steam engine, but now that we have all this information to build upon, you can see people making them out of Lego.


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

[User]
Is there any way that visible light could be strong enough to shine through an object we perceive as opaque?

I assume that radiation getting thru unshielded materials is the equivalent of this for non-visible light.

If not, why not?

[Assistant] Have you ever shined a flashlight through your hand? Certainly intense enough visible light can penetrate an opaque object, as long as it doesn't have an absorption coefficient of exactly 1.0 (which nothing has). However the problem is that for an opaque enough object the light might have to be so bright that the object heats up and is destroyed. That's because an object being opaque to visible light means that it absorbs visible light, and the energy of that absorbed light has to go somewhere (it goes into heat). So for example if you want to see through an opaque object, you can shoot it with a laser, and for many objects you will be able to see the laser light through the other side. But for more opaque objects (like a lump of coal) you would need a laser so bright that it would just light the coal on fire.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Why isn't the Juggernaut a bigger deal?

Juggernaut may actually be the strongest being on Earth-616, and should be considered a world-level threat at all times. And unlike every other threat that Marvel heroes have to deal with, Juggernaut is literally unstoppable. He can do whatever he wants.

Given his incredible power and lack of weakness, why isn't he a bigger deal? Why hasn't there been a concerted effort to put him down for good? And how has he been stopped by the likes of the X-Men and Spider-Man before, when he so completely outclasses them? Why aren't the Avengers and Fantastic Four keeping track of his movements?

[Assistant]
Why is he world level? What is he going to do punch the planet to death?

Yeah hes a problem, but on the hierarchy of shit the X-men have to deal with today he isnt at the top. Knock his helmet off and have any two bit telepath brain fuck him into unconsciousness. Or lift his ass and toss in the ocean, see you in a few months.

He has been put down "for good" before but.... he always manages to get out. Their typical containment process is to basically knock him out and keep him chained up.


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

[User] ELI5: How can Steam sell games so cheap?

[Assistant]
In a brick and mortar store, there is only so much shelf space.  Most of it is going to be taken up by $50-$60 new releases with a high profit margin.  They just can't make enough money to keep the lights on selling $20 games.

Steam doesn't have this problem, their shelf space is unlimited and it cost them almost nothing per unit to send them out.  So if they want to sell some 4 year old block buster for $10, that's almost pure profit for them and the publisher.


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

[User]
[Back to the Future] How could George McFly publish that book?

George McFly published a book about meeting the love of his life, Lorraine, because of an alien; Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan.

This all happened back in 1955 before Darth Vader or Vulcan were things, but in 1985 they are both very well established in science fiction.

Did he change the name to deal with copyright, or try and keep it true to his life's experiences? Could he even publish the book if he kept the real name of the alien in it?

[Assistant] Do we know that the 1985 book used the names Darth Vader and Vulcan?  The chance of George even remembering the names were remote: he heard them once, 30 years earlier, having just woken up and possibly being in a state of shock.


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

[User] ELI5: Why haven't humans evolved to find water as delicious as sugar and salt when it is essential to our existence?

[Assistant]
We do crave water. Have you never been thirsty? That's exactly what that is.

When it comes to our craving for salt and sweets and fats, it's because we need those things too but they aren't in wide abundance naturally, so we're wired to prioritize eating them when we encounter them.

And why not water? Because water *is* in abundance. The fatty part of our prey probably won't be there tomorrow. The water will.


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

[User] [Moon Knight] When Steven and Konshu turn back the skies to see where the stars were all that time ago, why didn't they just use one of the many number of apps that would do it for you?

[Assistant] They had a very good app, better than anything normally available. The issue was that they did not know the date and time that the star map referenced, which is necessary to  determine a position from it. Layla didn't understand why the app wasn't able to produce the answer and Steven merely had a hunch that it involved the motion of the sky.


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

[User] ELI5: Why would reclassifying internet as utility be a good thing?

[Assistant]
Currently, only Comcast can deliver over Comcast's network. So they're not competing with Verizon or Time Warner for cable internet customers. Right now, if TW wants to reach Comcast customers, they have to build hundreds of miles of cable side by side with Comcast's cables, which is prohibitively expensive.

If they were classified as a common carrier, they would have to let TW/Verizon access their network to provide internet to the end user (and vice versa). This increases competition and drives prices down. Sorta like how home phone service used to be super-competitive, because every company could provide it over the same lines. Comcast gets the rent money from the competitors, so they're still upkeeping the network and expanding it.

~~I had internet from a small company that rented Comcast's network in Boston, called RCN. Same speeds as Comcast, but literally half the price. If RCN were bigger (it only covered a small part of one town), Comcast probably would've had to drop their prices, too.~~ *Edit: Turns out RCN has its own network. No idea how it was so cheap.* Britain, meanwhile, made British Telecom's network common carrier, and saw prices drop and speeds increase as everyone invested together in the network to sell a better product. BT could sell more space on the network with more investment, and buyers were out there and cutthroat with each other on prices and features. They're at about our average download speed (according to Ookla) and well below the US for cost.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does an elevated pulse from anger/anxiety contribute towards heart problems, but during exercise a fast pulse is healthy?

I recently had a terrible disagreement with someone and everytime I think about it I start shaking and my heart starts pounding from adrenaline, which according to Google is unhealthy. But our hearts are accelerated when exercising, which is supposed to be a good thing - so what is the difference?

[Assistant]
Think of your blood vessels as the plumbing for a house. Exercising requires blood to flow to different muscles, much like opening up multiple water valves in a house to turn on the sprinklers, wash clothes, run the dishwasher, and take a shower at the same time. More water gets pumped from your water main (heart) to do all those things.

When you're stressed or angry, without doing anything, the blood pressure has no where to go. It's like having more water pressure in your plumbing pipes without any exits. Over time, this can damage the pipes and lead to bigger issues. Chronic high blood pressure can injure your blood vessels.

This is why exercise is a good thing to do when you feel stressed or angry as an outlet for your increased heart rate and blood pressure.


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

[User]
ELI5: In old videos from the 1940s, did people really talk slower than now or is it the recording that makes it slowed down?

I am watching a documentary about the nazi's and when they show old footage of anyone giving a speech they are talking very slow.

[Assistant]
Politicians to this day have a certain way of speaking, taking it clause-by-clause with lots of pauses.  This is partly to lend importance to their speech; and partly because in public speaking, especially in large open spaces, you often have to pause a lot because of echoes from the PA system.

Announcers and performers in older movies, TV and radio were expected to have a more formal, educated style than is the fashion today (in the UK it was called "King's English" or "BBC English").  Also, because of the quality of sound recording in those days, it was necessary to speak more slowly and distinctly than one would in ordinary conversation.


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

[User]
[GOT] What if the white walkers were to win?

What are their goals? Let's say they wipe everyone out and all that remains in Westeros are white walkers. Do they make their own society? Do they have a culture?

I've always wondered that about so many stories, like what Skynet will actually do if humans are all eradicated. Although some theorize that "Robots" is a distant sequel to the terminator franchise.

[Assistant]
It'll be a cold day in Hell.

Seriously though... The Others do seem to have a degree of sophistication, a noted hiearchy, the ability to converse and negotiate. That indicates that they DO have a society and culture. If they win, it would signify a perpetuation of their culture, magics and existence over the more.. warm creatures of the the world.


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

[User] ELI5: Why wont denatured alcohol act as a sanitizer?

[Assistant] Denatured alcohol (ethanol with methanol and pyridine in it) is just as good at killing germs.  But, it's also a little good at killing humans. Since hand sanitizer might get inside the human, particularly tiny humans, it's not a good idea to use denatured alcohol when you can use the non-poisonous version of ethanol instead.


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

[User] ELI5 What happens to the empty space in your body when you have a kidney/lung removed?

[Assistant]
It depends which organ. If a lung is removed, the other lung expands a bit and takes up some of the space. The remaining space fills up with fluid. The kidneys and the organs surrounding it don't have well-defined positions, so if a kidney is removed the other organs shift around and the space fills in with fluid. Eventually fascia (connective tissue) will grow in as well.

It's rare for a procedure to involve putting a foreign object in to compensate. It's usually done in cases where the organ was providing structure itself, like when breast reconstruction is performed after a mastectomy.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do I sleep easier with a noise in the background?

I can't sleep without my fan on.

[Assistant]
It 'masks' other noise, that is the constant droning (which is a sort of white noise) elevates the ambient noise level up a notch but still comfortable, this has the effect of softening any sudden extraneous noises say from the road traffic outside. Your instincts will wake you if any sounds are unexpected and because our hearing adapts to surroundings really quite dramatically and automatically the soft and predictable noise say of a fan keeps you hearing from going into the super sensitive mode, your basic instinctual brain will be less likely to throw up the 'alarm wake up' signals for the unexpected noise source.

tl:dr it's an instinct to help us survive midnight T-rex raids on your camp. Still useful even though we ate all the T-rex's (did that happen?) but we are safer now, it's hard wired in your brain that it you are sleeping you are a sitting duck, so wake up and run away you fool!


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

[User] What does Sartre in "Being and Nothingness" mean when he says that reducing an existence to its manifestations is not succeeding in overcoming all dualisms but instead converting them into a new dualism of finite and infinite?

[Assistant] There are infinite ways in which something can manifest itself within consciousness, but it can only be experienced one mode or way at a time. An egg is the source of an infinite number of experiences, but it can only give me one side of itself at a time.


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

[User]
Why does tellurium poisoning make your breath smell like garlic?

A few months ago, I was assigned to do some basic research on tellurium for a school project. When researching I found out that Tellurium breath has a garlicky odor it never said why though. It is some chemical reaction or just a coincidence?

[Assistant]
The odor of garlic, and garlic breath, comes mostly from sulfur compounds.

Tellurium is in the same column of the periodic table as sulfur. That means in chemical reactions it behaves similarly to sulfur. Not identically, but similarly in some important ways.

So when tellurium compounds enter your nose, they trigger sense receptors almost the same way the sulfur compounds do. Your nose sends that signal to your brain, and your brain has learned over time to associate that particular signal with "garlic."

If you had practice and experience, you could probably learn to detect the subtle differences, and distinguish sulfur from tellurium by smell. But inhaling enough tellurium to get that practice might not be a good idea.


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

[User] What did Nietzsche argue to show Christianity is a precondition for nihilism?

[Assistant]
Nietzsche doesn't argue that Christianity is a pre-condition for nihilism. He argued that Christianity is a particularly virulent historical example of nihilism. But nihilism is, conceptually, something separate and apart from Christianity.

As for where he makes this argument, it's an argument made throughout many books. The gist of Nietzsche's position is that, by focusing effort and attention on a supposed afterlife, Christianity effectively constitutes a rejection of actual life and the actual world.


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

[User] [Marvel] Do She-Hulk and Jen have separate personalities?

[Assistant] Generally no. Jen feels more outgoing and confident as She-Hulk normally, but it's less of a different personality, and more like that feeling you get when wearing an awesome outfit and feeling ready to take on anything.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does a blood pressure monitor actually measure blood pressure?

The one that wraps around the arm and squeezes it. How is that actually measuring the blood pressure?

[Assistant] It squeezes your arm until blood cant pulsate into your arm. It starts to let go until blood starts to move. Thats the top number. It keeps on letting go until there isnt enough squeeze left in the cuff to detect the pulsating blood. Thats the bottom number.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are there people talking about colonizing Mars when we haven't even built a single structure on the moon?

Edit: guys, I get it. There's more minerals on Mars. But! We haven't even built a single structure on the moon. Maybe an observatory? Or a giant frickin' laser? You get my drift.

[Assistant]
Because despite the moon's relative proximity, it's actually easier to establish a colony on Mars. Mars has an atmosphere, as well as oxygen trapped in water ice and minerals (which you always require more of). This makes a potential colony relatively self-sustaining, whereas a colony on the moon would be forced to utilize supplies from Earth--requiring a steady stream of cargo craft that cost thousands of dollars each to launch.

There are various other reasons, but the biggest one is that Mars has more economic potential and could support a colony, where the moon requires a lot more work to be made livable.


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

[User]
[Lovecraft] Could humans use AI and robotic servants to fight Eldritch Abominations?

Is there any evidence that the maddening and insanity-inducing effect that Lovecraftian entities have on humans, would work on machines? If all of humanity united to stay in a bunker somewhere, not perceiving or facing Eldritch creatures directly, could they just send wave after wave of autonomous drones to harm the elder things that can be hurt by physical force?

[Assistant]
Part of the problem with facing the eldritch horrors is that they don't follow the natural laws as we understand them.  They may exist is six or seven dimensions, be composed of non-elementary particles, exert forces beyond the four fundamental ones we have described, etc.

Our machines would suffer the same shortcomings in dealing with them as we do because we have modeled them on our senses.  Whatever methods they used to identify and lock on to targets would be subject to failure.  Their sensors would return gibberish data or be uninterpretable (which is similar to what happens to us when faced with the ineffable and unknowable).  Besides, how would we program them in the first place if we're unable to properly cope with contact ourselves?

The other problem is a question of scale.  Beings capable of traversing interstellar distances and slipping between dimensions are not going to be put off by a handful of monkey boys hiding under a few hundred feet of stone.  If, for some reason, our paltry efforts were even perceived and noted as being threatening, They would be able to deal with us in short order no matter where we were.


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

[User] [Pokemon] Im a new trainer interested in Ghost types. Which Pokmon will be dangerous to me if I try to train them?

[Assistant]
Most if not all ghost pokemon are naturally harder to train than basic types due to their nature. At best they will be mischevious and at worst can be dangerous to train if you don't know how to handle that specific pokemon.

Banette is a very spiteful pokemon that would take a lot of effort and knowledge to overcome its nature, while pokemon such as Yamask are much easier to handle as they are more affable toward humans.


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

[User] When our sun enters the red giant phase in five billion years, terminating all life on earth, is there reason to believe that the human race will still be here?

[Assistant]
Five billions years is an amount of time incomprehensible to humanity.  All of the existence of the hominids that could be called "human" has occurred in just *one million* years.  That includes every single thing that every single human that has ever lived and died has ever done, and most of that has only been in the last few tens of thousands.  Everything that Carl Sagan mentioned in the "pale blue dot" quote happened in what is less than the blink of an eye compared to the timeline of the planet.  All life as we know it has only come into existence in *less* than five billion years, and that includes any number of cataclysmic setbacks in evolution.

If nothing else, humanity would have long, *long* since ceased to exist from sheer natural selection, even presuming that we somehow manage to survive as a species in the here and now, which in geologic time, is the next few hundred thousand years.


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

[User]
[Pacific Rim] If you were in charge, how would you handle the Kaiju threat?

Because we all know battling it out with giant suits that need two people to pilot and building a wall around the ocean is a waste of time.

[Assistant]
A six hundred yard sharpened and barbed tungsten carbide rod positioned over the rift with nukes strung along it every hundred yards. Rift opens, Kaiju rises up, and the tungsten rod spears through it like the the kebab skewer of the gods themselves. Piggybacking on the properties of Kaiju flesh that allow it to pass through the rift, the rod plummets back down through it.

The nukes are on a timer which is set to go off three minutes after they stop receiving a radio signal from this side of the breach, and to disarm themselves if they start to receive it again. In this fashion we can guard against the nukes being detonated where it might affect us. Instead, the Kaiju-Kebab is marinated for a short time in saltwater and then flash-seared, along with its home universe, in five coordinated nuclear blasts.


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

[User]
Asking a question for a story Im writing: what kind of job/position would a computer scientist have on a research submarine/boat?

Pretty set on one of my characters being a computer scientist and I also want my story to take place on an aquatic research vessel - what kind of work would a computer scientist do in such a scenario, realistically?

[Assistant]
Realisitically? None. You can make it a hobby of there's, but actual computer science requires very little to no physical presence. Additionally, any sort of data analysis is done by a person qualifed in the field of work who actually understands the important factors, rather than someone whose only applicable skill in the field is being able to code mathematically (in fact coding is a very common skill in most sciences because of this).

Computer science research is basically pure math.

You could have a IT/ tech support person onboard but if you want to be realistic the person would just be a biologist/oceanographer who was trained to work with the computer systems. Much like how astronauts are given medical and computer training, rather than specifically selecting for people with medical and tech degrees.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Did Sidious know that Anakin would fall in love with Padme? And if Anakin already had feelings for Padme before he and Sidious met, how did Sidious know? Seems like his plan relied on it.

[Assistant]
>Seems like his plan relied on it.

Not really, it made it easier to get him. But Anakin was questioning the System since Episode 2 and was always butting heads with the Concil, who would've Kick him out if he wasn't the **Chosen One**

Palpatine exploited Anakin's need for Order and a real Father Figure. His Secret Marriage made it just that easy to convince him.


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

[User]
[Marvel][All] Which universes could kill/disable the Hulk?

Banishment *kinda* counts, but makes me sad.

Assume that Hulk is very angry at everyone and is trying to cause as much damage as possible.

Here's my thoughts:

Marvel: The Hulk can be banished/subdued temporarily by Earth's heroes, though the only thing stopping hulk at his most powerful (Worldbreaker Hulk) would be the Sentry. Even if banished, he would find his way back home again (according to Strange in WWH).

Dune: I've only read the first book, but I think the Hulk would deal with everything on Arrakis with ease. The only thing standing in his way *might* be Muad'Dib, who could find a solution to the Hulk, if there even is one. Even so, they don't posses the technology to tranquilize or restrain him, so I wish him luck.

LOTR: If everyone tries to beat him down with brute force, Hulk will easily smash everything in his way until Eru comes down from the heavens to fix things up. It's possible that someone like Bombadil could calm him down.

WH40k: No idea.

The Culture: No idea, but I'm assuming yes.

DC: No idea.

Chronicles of Narnia: Aslan might be able to calm him down. Additionally, the Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea (basically God) could either calm Hulk the fuck down, or make the Hulk a dimension all to himself. Other lesser magic wielders might be able to calm the Hulk down if they get to him before he can get *really* pissed off. They also might be able to temporarily slow/restrain the Hulk, but his anger would eventually make him strong enough to overpower them.

All Nintendo Franchises: Well, Ganon might be able to put up a good fight. If the Triforce is assembled, then the Hulk is basically done. The Sages might also be able to banish him to a different realm, but they'd have to restrain him first. A mini-mushroom could make the Hulk tinier, if it was able to affect him at all. Other than that, GG.

League of Legends: ~~Amumu might be able to make him too sad to be angry, if that makes sense.~~ I'm not really an expert on League lore, so another champion might be able to deal with him more appropriately.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Anyone piloting the Heart of Gold would have their way with the Hulk, so long as he isn't already on board. This universe might actually be able to kill the Hulk.

Star Wars: I'm not super well-versed in the Extended Universe, but I'm pretty sure that they could contain him eventually. If they could contain Abeloth, they can probably contain the Hulk.

Feel free to add universes and add detail, or correct places where I fucked up!

[Assistant] Pretty sure Transmetropolitan's The City could find a way to cope with him.  They are a civilization that builds Dyson Spheres and copes with apocalyptic grey goo scenarios, as well as producing guns that require two back-up spines to fire.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it that some hospitals have a religious association in their title (Methodist, Baptist, etc)?

I have always wondered this hoping there would be some significant historical event that set precedent or something of the sort, and wanted a more simple and interesting answer than what Google would provide, so why is it?

[Assistant] Because the hospital is either currently associated with that denomination, or was founded by that denomination. Same with faith based postsecondary institutions. For example: "Washington Adventist University"


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

[User] ELI5: During this financial crisis in Greece, one of the main explanations for its cause is the extravagant social programs the Greek people have. Can anyone describe what they have?

[Assistant]
Retirement age is as low as 55 for some jobs, pensions at 80% start at 58 (compared with 65 for many other countries like Germany). There is a heavily bloated public sector.

This is combined with a culture of tax evasion even called "national sport". It could be as high as 40-45% of taxes uncollected.


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

[User] Can someone with an O Rh- blood type really donate blood to every single human being on earth or is there more nuance to it?

[Assistant] A little.  There's an extremely rare subtype of O- called "Bombay" in which the H antigens are completely absent on erythrocytes.  Those folks will react to "regular" O-, but otherwise yeah, O- can be received by "anyone".


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

[User]
ELI5: The plot of Final Fantasy

I've tried reading Wikipedia articles but it's very non-linear and erratic.

[Assistant]
The FF series are almost all standalone titles. They have no larger continuity between the various entries.
There are some exceptions, such as FFX and X-2. Also XIII,  XIII-2 and Lightning Returns.
FF Tactics, FFXII and Vagrant Story are also part of the same universe.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why are programs allowed to use 100% CPU ?

Why doesn't the OS prevent any application from hogging the CPU ?

[Assistant]
We bought the CPU to be used, not to sit idle.  If one program wants all of the CPU and no other programs want any, why would the program that wants it not be given it?

The CPU doesn't have inertia.  If someone else comes along and asks for CPU, it can be taken away from the first process in a tiny fraction of a second.


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

[User]
For Zizek, is ideology unique to capitalism?

My understanding of ideology in Zizek's work is that it is constituted by unconscious fantasies that structure our very experience of reality, and that these fantasies are whatever allows us to reproduce the current social order or continue to tie ourselves to it. For example, ethical consumerism is ideological because it convinces you that you only need to continue to consume to fix problems brought on by a consumerist society  you reproduce the same power structures of consumerism, but you also "buy your redemption".

But from what Zizek says about psychoanalysis, I'm assuming that he thinks ideology *isn't* unique to capitalism, and that we are always in ideology  we would be in ideology under socialism, communism, or any other societal organization.

But Zizek's discussions of ideology focus on capitalist ideology. I'm wondering: in the absence of capitalism, under some other system, what would ideology be? Just more fantasies that give our lives meaning? That makes "ideology" out to sound like a version of metaphysical anti-realism, or transcendental idealism  we only know the world through our own beliefs and concepts and desires and such?

[Assistant] The film, The Perverts Guide to Ideology has several examples of Eastern Bloc ideology. In reference to the film Jaws, he makes the point that the ideological function of the shark changes depending on the position of the viewer (in America, fear of Russia; in Russia, fear of America; there are Catholic and buddhist interpretations, and so on).


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

[User]
ELI5:Why don't Muslims celebrate Prophet Muhammad's birth like Christians celebrate Jesus' birth?

Prophet Muhammad's birthday is next Monday (13/1) why don't Muslims celebrate it like Christians celebrate Jesus' birthday(25/12 or 7/1 for Coptic) Muslims buy candy that are designed for the Prophet's birth but don't gift each other!

[Assistant]
Probably for the same reason they forbid the making of effigies to him or any other prophet. It would also move the focus from worshipping their god onto worship of the prophet.

Also Jesus was supposedly god incarnate whereas Muhammad was only gods prophet on earth.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do private bodyguards function against armed threats in places where it's illegal to carry?

Private bodyguards have the same rights as every other civilian. This means that if a state prohibits people from having firearms, private bodyguards wouldn't be treated differently.

How then will a private unarmed bodyguard be able to protect a vip in very dangerous parts of town where almost everyone (Edit: a lot of persons) has illegally obtained firearms? Are they trained to disarm people? Or do they just scatter and bail?

[Assistant]
There's a few angles to this.

In most countries where it's illegal to carry firearms, there are trainings and licenses you can get to actually carry them. They're very involved and costly, but a person with private bodyguards tends to have the resources for it.

For the people with private bodyguards that have business in the dangerous part of town where somehow everyone has illegal firearms, they don't really care about whether firearms are illegal - they themselves tend to not be up to much good.

And of course, vast majority of locations even with shady activity do not have a huge array of firearms in firearm-illegal countries, and so it's not strictly necessary in the first place.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does pouring water on a grease fire make it worse?

[Assistant]
Oil burns at much, *much* higher temperatures than water boils.  And oil floats on top of water.

So when you throw water onto a grease fire, the water sinks below the oil and is flash-boiled to steam by the intense heat, which blows the oil out like a small explosion.  This causes the oil to break into thousands of tiny droplets.  All those droplets have a *lot* more surface area than the original pool of oil, allowing the oil to mix with oxygen at a greatly-increased rate, which speeds up the combustion of the oil so much that it transitions from "on fire" to "exploding" (this is the same general reason why a pile of sawdust is perfectly safe, and you could put a cigarette out in it, but a large cloud of sawdust in the air is an explosion hazard).

So the end result of throwing water on oil is a giant fireball of flaming oil droplets that will probably set your house on fire.

**Edit:** Clarified some wording.


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

[User]
[Beaniverse] What does Mr Bean do for a living?

He seems to have an awful lot of leisure time for his hijinks. Even Homer Simpson is at least occasionally seen at work.

[Assistant] In the original television series he was a student, at least in part of it, but he doesn't live well. A good chunk of his hijinks are around getting money and resources easily or illegally, and doing things the cheapest way possible.


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

[User]
ELI5: Whats happening when the body shudders?

Today I was on a packed train and I was sat down, someone walked past me and their bag touched the top of my head very lightly and it sent a shudder wave from my head and down my whole body. What is actually happening/what causes it?

[Assistant]
Look up ASMR. Certain parts of the body are more sensitive due to the way nerves are bundled, and a light touch or brush is enough to trigger that sensation you experienced.

Edit: Tickling works more or less the same way, except it's usually unpleasant, whereas ASMR can be mildly pleasant for some.


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

[User] ELI5: if bees are going extinct how come i can so easily go down to the store and buy honey and it's not even very expensive?

[Assistant]
While the number of hives is still steadily declining, beekeepers are finding greater profit in honey than in pollination now. They have also learned to better manage collapsing colonies by more frequently splitting them into two colonies. Also, the clover crop is strong, which is where most of the honey comes from.

So, while the number of hives has declined on average 30% per year since 2006, the number of honey producing hives has risen at least 4% during those same years. Even though the bees are dying, there is actually record honey production.


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

[User] [F:NV] How does a military society modeled on an empire of antiquity gain so much success when things like formations, supply lines, trade, etc which were the core of roman dominance were unable to be replicated in the 23rd century?

[Assistant]
They *do* have a lot of those core aspects of Roman success, they're just adapted for the modern age.

- Rigid formations aren't as useful in an era of firearms, and (4th wall breaking) can't be modeled by the game engine in any case.  The organizational structure of the Army is based on Roman lines, and is in place, and very successful.

- Trade is booming in Legion lands.  You can meet a merchant in the Legion Camp who actually *prefers* to trade there.  Despite all the negatives, Legion lands are orderly.  There aren't any bandits, there's a common law and culture followed by every community, he makes up for all the expenses of trading with the legion by mere fact of not having to hire any guards to protect him.

- Supply Lines are actually pretty well stocked as well.  They're on the edge, and are starting to fall apart, but that's because the legion has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams.  A big part of the endgame speech to get Lanius to leave peacefully involves pointing out that the legion supply lines are going to get overextended if they go too much past the Colorado River.  There is ample disagreement among various NPC's over whether the Legion will implode or not after being stopped at the Colorado River.  Falling back to regroup and reorganize is very possible, especially of Caesar himself lives.


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

[User]
ELI5: In computer colors why is it RGB, and not ROB or RPB? What significance does green have that orange and purple do not?

The more that I read my own question the more I can see how RPB is out because there is no yellow. But why not ROB? Orange has yellow in it.

[Assistant] The three types of color receptor cones in the human eye are most sensitive to red, geen and blue spectum wave lengths respectively. If we had a different visible color spectum it would likely be different.


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

[User] ELI5: Lets pretend i killed every single mosquito and fly in the world. would i cause some sort of disaster?

[Assistant]
Mosquitos and flies are 'bottom of the food chain'.  Yes they bite us and annoy us.

But mosquito larvae are amazing fish-food.  They take tiny bits of algae, that are useless to most aquatic organisms, eat it, and convert it into a nice high protein snack for fish/fish-fry (Baby fish).

MANY frogs rely on fly larvae to survive.

There are also many species of flowers that rely on flies to survive.  Most famous is the Corpse Flower (It smells like death/decay and thus attracts flies for pollination)

Mosquitos and flies are just part of the food chain.  To make too big a dent in them would result in food shortages for many other organisms.
Perhaps it helps to think that "The best use for flies and mosquitos is their babies.  Their babies are excellent food for many organisms"


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do I, and a lot of people, still dream about going to school and forget about a test?

I graduated from school 18 years ago and still occasionally dream about going to school and forget about a super important test. Why is that?

[Assistant] It's a fear that was never resolved, as it presumably never happened. As a result, your subconscious is stuck with trying to work out what would happen, despite your conscious knowledge that the situation will never arise again.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't people smell their own bad breath?

Say, you brush your teeth, floss, gargle mouthwash but some pungent smell still resides that you can't smell. Other people cringe at the first whiff. What is it and why can't people smell it if it's coming out of their own mouth?

EDIT: Great explanations, props to ChiSleepyEyes. If people dont take the "lick your wrist" test, then I'll just have to make some uglier faces so they get the hint.

[Assistant] Mostly because of your brains ability to drown out the sensory noise going on around you. Like when you put on cologne/perfume, chances are you smell it for all of about 15 minutes maybe, then the only people who notice are those you encounter. If you spent all day with the same person then even they might not notice your bad breath. Your mouth and throat are connected to your nasal passage through the nasopharaynx(tube that lets you spew fluids out of your nose when something funny happens) and therefore your olfactory nerves are constantly being bombarded with those smells and your body just tunes them out. Hope this helps!


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

[User]
ELI5: The meaning behind Lupe Fiasco's album, "The Cool" and symbolism behind the album art/ cover

My brother told me a general description of it; its about "The game, the streets, and the Cool"  and that's represented in the album art/cover. He said that it is a lot more detailed than that and I'm curious.

[Assistant]
Basically, the story is an expansion of the character "The Cool" from the song of the same name on his first album. The full name of this character is "Michael Young History", read aloud to be "My-Cool Young History".
The album introduces two new characters, The Streets (a female) meant to be the personification of the street life. Also, The Game (a male) meant to represent the "game", basically life as a hustler/drug dealer/pimp.

The album art is meant to represent these three people. The top is a skeletal right hand, which represents how The Cool has rotted away the only thing "right" about him, his right hand. The skull with smoke is supposed to be the Game, and the locket is meant to represent the Streets.

The story follows "Michael Young History" and his eventually downfall into street life and death. And the song "The Cool" from F&L picks up after his death. It's not a full concept album really, it's only covered in 6-7 songs on the album but it's still an interesting listen, and Lupe is a fantastic lyricist (here's hoping to F&L II).


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Are any of the major races primary star visible from Earth?

When I look up at the stars at night, I wonder if Star Trek universe version of me would be looking at the Klingon/Romulan/Cardassian star system, albeit from tens/hundreds of years ago.

[Assistant]
The respective homeworlds of the Vulcans and Andorians are about 16 light years from Earth, and so are likely visible. The Tellarite homeworld is around 11 light years away. Even if they might not be visible with the unaided eye, a telescope could easily pick them up.

The Klingon homeworld is only about a week's travel from Earth at relatively low warp, so it might also be visible.


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

[User] [marvel] Why does J Johan Jameson hate Spider-Man so much?

[Assistant]
There has been many reasons, because he thinks he's a bad influence, because he's a "clown".

In Lee's books It's because he feels jealous of the power Spidey has and Jonah will never have.

Another big thing is that Jonah doesn't trust someone who hides behind a mask. He thinks someone behind a mask is a coward who won't take responsability for their actions, after all, the love of his life died because of someone with a mask.


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

[User]
[Fables] Why is hiding the existence of fables so important?

It's mentioned several times that hiding from Mundies is the most important law of fabletown. It's taken as granted that even the most rebellious and depraved Fables won't break it. Every earth-based fable community- European, Arabic and Japanese, as well as assorted scattered fables- all agree that it's of vital importance, above all other considerations, to hide from mundy society at any cost. They imprison non-human fables, an act that causes significant trouble for them throughout the series.

But *why*?

With few exceptions, fables look like either attractive humans or adorable fairytale creatures, and there's maybe a few thousand of them at most, with mostly limited magic barring a few one-off superitems. They're not scary, they're too rare and elusive (with various pocket dimensions and suchlike) to exploit and they're more then able to defend themselves if needs be.

Hell, at the end, they *are* revealed...and it's fine. It's all fine. Nothing happens. Everyone's cool with it, from what we can tell.

So what's the big deal? What were they so scared of that they'd go to such lengths rather then just explaining the situation and going back into their magic apartment block to live the rest of their lives without hiding from everyone?

[Assistant]
Because they're refugees from a war in their home world from forces that will capture, torture or kill them. That's why.

Part of the conflict in the comics is that the Fables living in our world are being drawn back into the war against their wishes, with Cinderella even killing a Fable that worked for the conqueror of their world in self-defense. If humans found out that Fables were real and they lived among them, then the people the Fables are actually trying to run from will find out, figure out their location and come down on them hard.


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

[User] ELI5: If the last few police were aquitted for crimes clearly caught on tape, how will police cams change anything?

[Assistant]
I believe this is the theory.

Up until a few years ago, the statements were "This didn't happen."

The current statements are "These are isolated incidents. There is no pattern of behavior."

Massive use of body cameras will either prove or disprove a pattern of abuse.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is Scientific Materialism?

Doing a philosophy class and I have no idea what this means even after searching it on Google.

[Assistant]
Basically, reject anything that cannot be scientifically proven/observed. However, it appears to really only be used by creationists to refer to the opposing side in the context of discussing moral relativism

i.e. someone may make the claim that since morality cannot be scientifically proven, materialists (aka atheists) have no obligation to behave according to any particular moral system.


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

[User] ELI5 why people blur cover their license plates when posting on the Internet since anyone can see their plates in real life anyways?

[Assistant] Helps prevent criminals from finding you as well as preventing someone from somehow making a copy of your plate and putting it on another car of the same make and model and color and preforming illegal acts with it. A lot easier to find something like that online than in person.


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

[User]
[ROTJ] Why did Jabba describe the sarlacc as almighty and all-powerful?

Did the hutts worship sarlaccs?

[Assistant] The Hutts, and Jabba specifically pride the idea of spectical. Jabba took over a Monastery to make his palace, and built a giant pit capable of holding a Rancor under his throne room to execute people for his pleasure. He routinely brought the best musicians in the Galaxy to play for him. He would even put exhorbitant bounties on people over fairly minor debts to make a point. His dragging out his entire cadre of followers out to the middle of the Dune Sea to execute some prisoners and calling the Sarlacc almighty is just another example of the "show".


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

[User] Can someone explain the difference between entropy and chaos.

[Assistant] Entropy is basically the number of ways a system can be rearranged and have the same energy. Chaos implies an exponential dependence on initial conditions. Colloquially they can both mean "disorder" but in physics they have different meanings.


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

[User] [D&D: Forgotten Realms] What's the highest level of nonmagical technology that's widely used Toril?

[Assistant] Some early guns and artillery,  depending on which source material you draw from. Potentially some explosives? At least that's the farthest with purely destructive technology. Some buildings might suggest advanced conceptions of engineering, though constructed through magical means.


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

[User]
How dangerous is smoking at a gas station?

I know that gas is volatile, but it seems like it would be diffused enough that there wouldn't be a high risk. Just wondering if any of you folks can clear this up for me! Thanks.

[Assistant] Gasoline vapors will ignite at concentrations between 1.4 and 7.6% in air. This concentration is guaranteed to exist *somewhere* near fueling operations, if you light your cigarette in the same location, you are going to have a very bad day. The odds of this are probably very slim, but if you're unlucky you'll probably be on fire for the rest of your life.


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

[User] ELI5: When doctors take womens vitals and basic info at the beginning of an appointment, why do they always ask date of last period? Whats so significant about that specific data?

[Assistant]
Because some medications can kill or cause gross deformities and disabilities in pregnant women's babies that the doctor will be paying for by court order for the rest of his life.

It's an *enormous* risk not to and it's such an easy question to ask that most women are used to being asked so there's little to no reason not to.

Go look up the court awards for Accutane sometime. Look at those babies head's - watermelon sized, and completely nonfunctional. You want to avoid that.

That said, in most hospitals they are going to go ahead and give you a pregnancy test as a matter of course before they give you a script or treatment, asking about the period is more an easy way to make sure their hormones are functioning normally.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does a country downstream from a dam suffer a hit to its water supply? Doesn't the net water flow stay the same?

Take Egypt and Ehtiopia. Wouldn't the water volume coming out of the renaissance dam be the same as the water volume going in and the net flow to Egypt remain constant?

[Assistant] One big factor is evaporation.  A reservoir generally creates a greater water temperature in the upper layer and a larger surface area, which increases evaporation and reduces downstream water availability.  Also infiltration can be a problem, with water becoming groundwater due to the fact that it's sitting in the reservoir for so long.


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

[User]
Why am I allowed to pour acids into water but I'm not allowed to pour water into acids?

This is a rule in our chemistry laboratory.

[Assistant]
Two reasons:

1. Pouring water into acid can cause some of the acid to splash out of the container and possibly onto you. Doing the reverse is FAR less likely do cause this.

2. Some acids undergo an exothermic reaction when diluted. If this happens, a larger volume of water is needed to help distribute that generated heat as soon as possible.

Does that help?


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

[User]
Does the 'Many-worlds interpretation' have much support? To someone uneducated like me it sounds like Sci-Fi.

The idea that there is an alternative version of me where I accepted the job offer in America I got this year seems crazy to me. The universe duplicates with every decision I make? Sounds like Sci-Fi to me.

Do scientist consider this theory likely?

EDIT: Thanks for your responses everyone.

[Assistant]
That's not what the "Many worlds interpretation" suggests. What you said is, yes, science fiction. And particularly bad science fiction at that.

Here's an absolute fact: When you measure things, you get specific results. If you measure the spin orientation of an electron, you'll find it's either parallel to or antiparallel to your chosen axis. You will never get any result other than one of these two.

But the mathematics of quantum mechanics which exists to *describe* the world around us, remember says that *before* you measure the electron, it exists in neither of those two states, but rather in an indeterminate state that is a combination of the two.

There are basically three ways to accept this fact of mathematics.

One: The math is literally true, and interacting with a particle causes it to change from its indeterminate state to a determinate state. The interaction, in other words, *actually changes* the particle.

Two: The math is literally true, but in a non-obvious way. The particle is in fact in an indeterminate state, but interacting with it causes the particle and the measuring apparatus to become a single system, and constructive and destructive interference makes it *look* like the particle is in a definite state, when it's really not.

Three: Who cares, just do the math and then go out to the bar.

The second thing is what people are really talking about when they talk about the "Many worlds interpretation." There are not, in fact, many worlds. There's just the one world. The key to the "many worlds interpretation" is the idea that the measurement of a system that finds it in a definite state is a function of the interference between that system and the system that does the measuring. The mathematical representation of the system in its indeterminate state  called the *wavefunction*  remains valid even after the measurement is made. It's just that you need a *bigger equation* that includes the contributions of the measuring apparatus itself to fully describe the situation.

The logical extension of this idea is that the *entire universe* could be described, in principle, by a single (incomprehensibly complex) equation with infinite terms. This is called the *universal wavefunction,* and it's important to remember that it's an abstract idea, not a real equation that you could write down. Among other things, the universal wavefunction would have to include terms representing the atoms that make up the ink you're using to write the universal wavefunction down.

The key idea here is that the *classical limit*  that is, the idea that quantum mechanics works at small scales but gives way to classical mechanics at bigger scales is essentially an illusion created by incomplete mathematics. We have equations that accurately describe the behavior of *coherent* systems that is, ones that are not interacting with their environment but when those systems *decohere*  that is, interact with their environment our equations cease to work because they're not taking everything into account any more. So things stop behaving like they're in superposition and start behaving like classical systems.

But ultimately, not very much of this is *science.* Science is about doing equations, making predictions and then testing them with experiments. If the experiments match the predictions, then the equations are good ones. If not, change the equations and try again.

Everything else is philosophy. If you happen to think it's fun to talk about it over a beer, great. But leave it at the bar, because it doesn't really belong in the laboratory.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How would a Jedi or Sith do against something moving faster than a blaster bolt... say ballistic missiles?

I see Luke and every other force user deflect blaster fire like it's no tomorrow. While that's impressive and everything, I think I once read they're only moving about the speed of a fast ball. So how would they fare against the speed of something like a Gatling Gun that fires a few thousand rounds a minute?

[Assistant]
Deflecting blaster bolts is a matter of precognition, not reflexes. That's why Obi-Wan had Luke practice blinded; he needed to learn not to watch and react but to open himself to the Force's guidance. If you can do that, deflecting a blaster bolt comes naturally. The individual's dexterity and agility does come into play, because they still need to get their lightsaber between themselves and the projectile. Of course, their window to do so is several times greater than someone who isn't Force Sensitive.

As for the matter of ballistic missiles; they obviously have far greater destructive capabilities than blaster bolts and attempting to deflect one with your lightsaber is a fool's errand. But as a small, green, wise man once said, size matters not. A Jedi strong enough in the Force would feel the missile coming long before it posed any danger to them. It is not entirely implausible to imagine someone as strong as Master Yoda simply guiding it off-target.


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

[User]
Why is cancer so hard to cure?

Cancer research seems to get a ton of fundraising and support, but there is still no cure. And, how does one actually cure cancer? What would we need to discover?

[Assistant]
1. There are many different kinds of cancer.
2. There are many different causes of cancer.
3. Current treatments require killing the cancer cells. You can't "fix" a tumor.
4. Cancer is mutated human cells. Your body doesn't know they're harmful.
5. The cancer cells don't commit suicide like normal cells.
6. It grows uncontrollably.
7. It can break apart and grow more cancer elsewhere.
8. It can grow inside organs, causing them to malfunction.

Think of the human body like a beautiful garden. There's a few weeds growing in the middle, though.(cancer cells) Your actions:

A. Prevent more weed seeds from getting into the garden (Reducing cancer causes)

B. Mulch the ground (Increase resistance to cell mutations)

C. Prevent the weeds from spreading.

D. Remove the weeds. (Cut out cancer cells)

Saying "we have no cure" isn't exactly right. We have a cure for many of them, and prevention for others.


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

[User]
[The Flash/Flarrowverse] What would Barry's speedster battles look like if we could view them in real time?

What would Barry's battles with his various speedster adversaries such as Zoom, or the Reverse Flash look like if we could view them in real time? And by real time, I mean if they weren't speedsters.

None of the speedsters in the show look like they would be very athletic runners if we could see them at a regular rate. So would the battles just look like a bunch of nonathletic men in skin tight leather suits chasing and pinching each other?

[Assistant]
So what would it look like if they fought without their super speed?

Basically what you said. Guys in costumes jogging around the city and punching each other. They're still all in pretty good shape, so it wouldn't be a bad fight to watch, but it would be kind of weird.


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

[User]
[SCU foundation] why do SCP 76 (Able) and SCP 73 (Cain) behave so differently than one would expect?

(yes, i totally hit U when i meant to hit P.  My bad)

Able, the humble brother, is a murderous, rampaging and thoughtless monster, while Cain, the murderer, is often described as genial and in fact is given freedom to wander the facility and dine in the cafeteria- and later, *put in command* of an SCP task force.  Are these SCPs truly the biblical brothers, or are they clever frauds?  if they're frauds, what are they, really?

[Assistant]
Able was the victim of the first betrayal, murdered at the hands of his brother despite being a generous, compassionate, pious man. The trauma flipped him completely, turning him into a murder machine eternally seeking to slake his thirst for retributive slaughter on the entire human race who, in his brother, had failed him completely.

Cain had committed the worst imaginable sin and was sentenced to life eternal to ruminate on it. He would be forever apart from humanity, his very presence inimical to the plant life that had been his pride in it. Through millennia of isolation and reflection, he understood the error and horror of his old ways, preferring a much more peaceful lifestyle.


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

[User]
[The Matrix] Do the Machines have measures set up to prevent war or terrorist attacks from occurring in the Matrix simulation, or do they let those kinds of things run its course?

If humans who are still plugged in start fighting in a war, or there is a massive terrorist attack or some other kind of disaster, do the Machines/Agents step in to fix things, thereby preventing a loss of potential energy from people dying? It seems like if there was a WW3, for example, the Machines would step in to try to fix things, no?

[Assistant]
Killing the mind kills the body. Entire crops would be lost if they allowed wars to occur. They need to carefully guide the world to ensure optimum crops. This isn't to say that they're unwilling to kill or have someone humans die, but they maintain status quos as best as possible to ensure that the least killing occurs. This means creating a world which is *like* the original real world, but not quite like it.

Denizens of the Matrix will not likely notice, for example, the Mega City in which they live. Prior to the Matrix, humans lived in many hundreds of cities all around the world. Millions of towns and villages as well. The Matrix, however, tries to be far more organizes so that monitoring humans is easier. The majority of humans in the Matrix live in one enormous city, Mega City, also known as Capital City. Time never really passes in the Mega City. It is always, more or less, the late 20th century.

This sort of status quo is mostly ignored by humans, as is the lack of war.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why do most animals have two testicles?

I mean just one would work fine. Why does nature go through the effort of making another one?

[Assistant]
Redundancy.

Having two of a thing makes it less likely that you'll die if one breaks. Two lungs, two kidneys, two eyes, two limbs (or each kind), two ears, etc. Some organs are so central or complicated that having two isn't practical (stomach, brain, heart, uterus's), at least in humans.

Evolution is going to be \*really\* concerned with anything related to reproduction. So testicles are going to be really high on the evolutionary selection list to make sure they work. Redundancy is a good way to help with that. We also have a \*very\* extreme pain response to any damage in that general area to condition us to not get into situations where we might damage one, let alone both.


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

[User] ELI5: When I drop multiple ice cubes into a glass of coke at the same time, why does it fizz up?

[Assistant] The surface of the ice, when dry, is quite porous.  This provides millions of encapsulation points for bubbles to form. You'll note that ice used in fountain soft drinks is wet. This smooths the surface and reduces foaming.


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

[User]
Why does my voice sound way different on a recording than how I think it sounds?

I've always noticed that my voice sounds different on a recording and to other people than the way I think it sounds. Why is that?

[Assistant] mostly because you hear yourself through your head and this changes the sound dramatically for yourself. for the recording, its the technology used to record it. chances are its not the most up to date recording technology(like what is used to record music, or the news) which makes it sounds less than normal.


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

[User]
ELI5: What stops humans from fully studying the bottom of the ocean? Why does it seem like there is still much to be discovered? What prevents us?

Appreciate the knowledge!

[Assistant]
Pressure, temperature and light makes it a very tough zone to study. We can get a human in a tin can down there but not for long and it can be really dangerous. It means we cant get out and collect samples by hand.
Any organisms we drag up tend to die and change shape since their bodies are built for high pressure systems, not low.
Organisms are extremely well spread out down there so even finding them can be purely luck.

Sometimes we drop laboratories which are basically robots we control from above. Down there they can record video and using arms can collect samples of plants and tiny organisms which might survive the journey back up.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are criminal cases in the military processed in military courts instead of public courts despite the military being funded by taxes?

[Assistant]
It's ultimately because the military has many laws that are specific to the military; sedition, mutiny, and failure to obey a lawful order being just a few of them. These aren't civilian crimes, so the military needs legal authority to prosecute these charges.

In the event that a servicemember commits a typical crime, let's say getting drunk and assaulting someone, the civilian legal system will get together with the military legal system and determine in which court to prosecute (typically it will end up in the civilian court if the crime was not committed on a military installation). When the crime is committed off-base, the city/county has jurisdiction. They can then choose to hand over jurisdiction to the military, or they can maintain jurisdiction and prosecute normally.


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

[User]
[Pokemon] Why do all my opponents in the wilderness always have full health when I have to slog it out with a million potions and berries?

I'm just trying to walk from my mom's house to the store, and everyone on the road wants to duel me. I have to scrounge for berries, run away, and stockpile potions, and I'm *still* limping into duels with half my Pokemon fainted.  But everyone else always has a team of fully healed Pokemon with no status effects and full PP.

How is it that I'm rationing out my Cut PPs against every Zubat, while little Lisa has five untouched Magnemites after wandering the same cave for a week?

[Assistant] Why do you think they're standing around? They're resting their Pokmon. These people are (usually) locals, so while you might be scrounging for berries they already know the best spots that are just off route. Wild Pokmon are much less likely to challenge a stationary target, so after training for a bit they'll settle in on one of the more traveled areas for a picnic and to enjoy the scenery and wait for a challenger to wander by. They're also way more likely to use repels.


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

[User]
CMV: Alcohol would never be made legal if it were new in society

I think that we only accept alcohol in society because it is easy to produce and has existed for a long time. It seems almost certain that if it were a new drug, no rational arguments could support the introduction of alcoholic drinks.

As far as I can see the arguments against it would be:

1. It will lead to unnecessarily dangerous driving resulting in deaths and the destruction of many lives

2. It will fuel aggressive and violent behaviour

3. Some people will become completely dependent on it and it will consume their lives and ultimately may give them a terminal illness

4. It will lead to unwanted pregnancies and other regrettable sexual encounters

The arguments for would go:

1. It will make socially awkward people feel more relaxed

2. It will lead to some interesting new drinks albeit almost all of these will be acquired tastes

I don't see that I've missed anything major here and stacking up the pros and cons leads trivially to the conclusion that alcohol is a bad idea.

[Assistant]
There was a very successful movement with widespread support of banning alcohol in spite of it having existed for a long timeso successful that there was a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol in 1919 that passed by a 2/3 majority.

If alcohol were harder to produce, you're right, banning it would be a no-brainer. But if it were simply new, and just as easy to make as it is now? Banning it would lead to vast amounts of organized crime and tie up law enforcement and judicial resources so badly that you'd be better off legalizing, taxing, and regulating it instead of trying to enforce total prohibition. (Same as we're going through now with Marijuana, come to think of it.)


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] What is the Wizarding World like outside Britain?

Do most magic-folk live in similar conditions as those in Britain? Do all muggle countries have a parallel magical government? I understand that the government of muggle Britain has existed pretty much without interruption for more than a thousand years, but what about other countries like Germany where it only became a cohesive nation-state until the 19th Centuries? Were there multiple magical governments that merged around the same time, or whatever magical government exists there still believes the Holy Roman Emperor rules their Muggles?

What about America? Did the wizarding community there split off from the British one?

[Assistant]
**Magical Russia** is recovering from the revolution and deposing of Baba Yaga. It is quite probable that either a new Dark Tsar/Tsarissa will take over soon, or the country will be overrun with out-of-control werewolves again.

**Magical Scandinavia** is suffering from yet another burst of troll population. Despite the countermeasures, thousands of troll had breached containment, and are now roaming Northern Europe. Some even managed to migrate to Canada, Northern Britain and Greenland. Of course, the Wizarding World is outraged and blames the Scald Council of Scandinavia of not taking enough preventive measures and dropping the ball on the issue. SCS blames it on the Muggles and their tampering with the enviroment.

**Magical America** is knees deep in solving the Shamans' vs Salemists conflict. The increased immigration of brujas from South America nad Mexico had tipped the balance of power away from the WASPy magical families of the Salem Confederacy. As of today, the tensions already caused several instances of magical violence, some of them with enough collateral to violate the SofS.

Most of **Magical Europe** is currently at war with **The Most Miraculous Caliphate** and its djinni terrorists. The agents of the Saif al-D'jinn had successfully assassinated several key members of the European Council of Mystical Arts. The power vacuum allowed borderline blood-pursits to take over. Some say Magical Europe is on the brink of producing the next Grindelwald.

**Magical China** is isolationist, and besides, the Jade Court formally legalized all Dark Arts, so from their perspective Death Eaters and Voldemort are a legitimate faction. They stay away from foreign politics. It is specualted that the Jade Court is currently conducting mass genocide of yetis, but nothing had been proven.

**Magical Australia, Canada and New Zealand** had sent some symbolic help against the Death Eaters.
Magical Australia is currently the place where most magical R&D happens, and many "bleeding edge" spells and potions come from there.

**The Unselie Court of Ireland** is actually still at (cold) war with Magical Britain, so no help had come from there against Voldemort. Some suggest that Queen Maab actually secretly supported the Death Eaters, but thats probably heresay.

**The Carribean Confederacy of Witchdoctors**, and **The Miraclemen of Bhrat (India)** offered humanitarian help, but no military assistance during the War on Death Eaters. Indian Miraclemen are also at war with The Most Miraculous Caliphate.

As for powerful individuals, we know that the Prester John, Jan "Moonwalker" Twardowsky and Maman Brigite sided with the Aurors, while Kostiei the Deathless, Rasputin and Abel Griswold and his Great Werewolf Brotherhood sided with Death Eaters.

Most surprisingly, both Vampire Monarchs: Vlad Dracula and Elisabeth Bathory rejected Voldemort's offer of an alliance.

And then there is the "Three Poles Problem"

**Pole problem nr 1: Pole on the Moon**. In 1692, one of the most powerful Apparition Masters, Polish Wizard Jan Twardovsky managed to Apparate to the Moon and claim it in the name of the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom. According the international wizarding law, this means that all magical resources and energies of the Moon belong to Magical Poland now. This is extremely politically and economically inconvenient to other magical countries, creates much political tension, and had made Magical Poland a disproportionately influential economic juggernaut.

**Pole problem nr 2: The North Pole**. The Regent Mage of the North Pole (known to Muggles as the Santa Claus) is a known violator of the Statute of Secrecy, as well as a problematic meddler in the magical economy. There is even a talk of Britain-backed elf uprizing brewing against him.

**Pole problem nr 3: The South Pole**. For centuries, the South Pole was a forbidden zone for wizards, and not without reason. There are...*things* slumbering deep under the ice. Old things, nameless, nasty things that should not be disturbed. And of course, once in a while some especially idiotic and suicidal Dark Lord Wannabee travels there to poke them with a stick. The fallout usually requires the cooperation of most of the Wizarding WOrld to clean up.


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

[User]
[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen] How did Bumblebee not detect Alice?

I've heard theories that Bumblebee knew Alice was a Decepticon, but I find that absurd. In the same movie, he went Psycho mode on kitchen appliances because he's Sam's guardian. His actions against her in the car was because Sam was taken and didn't want to cheat on her or whatever.

But wasn't it established Autobots can smell Decepticons? Iron Hide smelled Demolisher, but are we to assume only he has this ability? Not to mention the energon detectors that must've came from their technology.

And what about her weight? Did he not notice how heavy she was?

What do you think?

[Assistant] She's an infiltrator decepticon. Weaker than regular ones but still stronger than a human. She probably weighs more than her body would appear but not so much as to be inhuman. And everything else about her being detected by energon or smell is masked by her "skin" and some form of electronic countermeasures. And also bumblebee isn't exactly the best autobot when it comes to counter intelligence or anything outside of direct combat.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does it always feel like people in rural areas are more conservative while people in urban areas are more progressive?

[Assistant]
This is a fairly big question. It's a stable pattern that shows up in various countries and across time periods, though with a lot of exceptions. Possible answers:

* Government intervention is more helpful in cities (which require active management to function, and collapse without rules) than in the country (where systems are set up to run independently, and regulations cause only headaches.)

* People self-select. Those who believe in collective action and change tend to move to the city, those that believe in self-reliance and tradition move to the country. Marginalized minority groups that would never form a large community in the country can form neighborhoods in a city. It's hard to say whether this is cause or effect sometimes, but it strengthens existing patterns.

* Churches often play a much stronger social role in small towns than in cities, with religion supporting social conservatism.