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

[User]
[Star Wars] Blaster, lasers, and sound suppressors.

With all the sneaking around inside enemy bases, why arent there any sound suppressors on blasters?

Like you dont want to shoot anybody in a stealth mission, but as a last resort kill you would want to minimize sound to attempt to not alert more enemies.

[Assistant]
Blasters shoot charged plasma. There's no way to silence them as the sound is the air around the bolt being super heated and popping. Unless you put it to a low power setting it's going to always make noise.

And small aside even real world suppressors aren't quiet. The best ones make a small pistol sound like a rock hitting metal and would be heard from a distance. The main purpose of a suppressor is just to limit the noise from everyone in the area heard where you're at to they heard a bang but don't know exactly where it was.


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

[User]
Is it worth it reading "old" computer science-related books?

Maybe some types of topics (eg. digital logic) are pretty much ageless but what about topics related to information security, artificial intelligence etc? I get the impression that knowledge in this field is always progressing and changing so quickly that reading a book from 10 years ago or something would only present outdated (and useless?) information.

Does it ever matter? And if so, when should/shouldn't it matter?

Ps. I'm still pretty new to this field so apologies if this is a noob question.

[Assistant]
The more mathematical and theoretical it is, the more relevant it remains. The more application-oriented it is, the less relevant.  Discrete math, computability and complexity theory, information theory, mathematics of cryptography, numerical methods, etc haven't aged so much.

Application and implementation-related books age quickly. Even modern books need to be supplemented with current papers and survey articles.


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

[User]
Could an Earth sized object orbit Jupiter?

Some moons of Jupiter are quite large. Is there a limit to how big of a moon could naturally form around a planet? Could Jupiter have an Earth sized moon in a stable orbit?

I know our moon is quite high ratio wise compared to us, leading to the preferred theory it was the result of an already existing large body colliding with a pre-Earth body.

[Assistant]
Regarding orbital mechanics, nothing prevents a large moon from orbiting a planet. It could even be equal in mass and size to the planet itself and the orbit could still be stable. Double planets have been theorized but are yet to be discovered.

Regarding co-accretion, it happens with double stars, so nothing prevents it from being possible with planets.

The giant impact hypothesis about the origin of the Moon is not only due to the size, but also to the similarity in composition and to the lack of an iron core. That suggests the Moon was formed from material ejected from the proto-Earth's surface during the impact.


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

[User]
Is there a reason for Spinoza to define God as an infinite substance?

I've read through the first part of Spinoza's Ethics, where he presents his ontological argument and his ideas about the nature of God, and understood the gust of it. However, I noticed that Spinoza takes that definition of God kind of for granted and doesn't provide much arguments for it. So, does he give any arguments for that definition of God elsewhere or does he just takes it for granted and goes on from there?

[Assistant] The identification of God as substance, absolutely infinite, etc., so as to satisfy the demands of the ontological and cosmological arguments, is the typical way of identifying God in the tradition of natural theology. So in that regard, Spinoza presumably doesn't see that there's anything noteworthy on this point that needs defense.


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

[User]
[IT Stephen King] Pennywise lived and slept in the what would become to sewers of Derry Maine. So how over the years did none of the city/sewer workers ever come across evidence of IT?

Like for example bodies/remains, its eggs, or well itself even? I understand it had glamour and other powers but did that extend to while it was hibernating also? It just seems like at some point maintenance or upkeep would attract people to even the deepest part of a sewer sooner or later.

[Assistant]
It's true nest was hidden deep within parts of the sewer that no one ever vists.

Second, even during its hibernation, the creature had a long-term subliminal effect on the town that basically resulted in everyone ignoring any evidence or clues that anything was wrong about the town.

Anyone that risked stumbling upon it would probably find themselves subconsciously going somewhere else. If they did stumble upon it, would dismiss it or forget about it.


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

[User]
Why does buoyancy equal the density of the fluid multiplied by the submerged volume times the gravitational acceleration, g and not the density of the object submerged?

When we talk about the Arquimedes principle and buoyancy, why does buoyancy have to do with the weight of displaced fluid rather than the weight of the object submerged? I ask this since the sum of the vertical forces that are applied in an object, in equilibrium, by the fluid in which he's submerged equals the weight of that object which,on another hand, also gives buoyancy...

Sorry, my mother tongue is not english and it makes it rather difficult to explain my doubt, even more since it's about physics.

[Assistant]
>why does buoyancy have to do with the weight of displaced fluid rather than the weight of the object submerged?

The weight of the object is the irrelevant to the buoyant force. The water doesn't "know" what the weight of the object is, it just exerts a pressure on it. The total force (which is a sum of all the pressure on the object) is the same for any objects of equal size. A ball of lead will experience the same force on it as a balloon of the same size.

> since the sum of the vertical forces that are applied in an object, in equilibrium, submerged in a fluid equals the weight of that object. Which also gives buoyancy...

No. The *buoyant force* is *only* the force by the fluid on the submerged object. The *net* sum of the forces (buoyant force pushing up + the weight of the object pointing down) tells you the *motion* of the object -- a lead sphere in water will sink because it is heavier than the water, but an air bubble of the same size will rise because it is lighter than the water, but *they both have the same buoyant force on them.*


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

[User]
[DC] Did the Kryptonians, as a culture, know exactly how their powers work? Does Superman know exactly how his powers work?

I've seen a lot of speculation on this sub, usually very well supported by canon sources, about how Superman's powers work. But often even the in-universe source is, itself, just speculation - like that one DC book with the segment containing Batman's ideas on how Kryptonian flight might work (I think I saw it linked in a comment here once, but I can't remember what it was called). Superman, and the source of his powers, seems to be a significant target of speculation within the DC universe.

Another thing I've gathered from this sub is how Krypton was a super advanced culture that was fully aware of how yellow sunlight gave them superpowers. So my question is this - did the Kryptonians of old fully understand the physics behind their superpowers, or was it a mystery to them to? Does Superman fully understand the physics behind what he does? And, if yes, was this something he worked out on his own, or was it something he learned from some lost relic of Kryptonian technology?

[Assistant]
Yes. Keep in mind that there are many different canons (even if you just count comics alone) and even one canon may contradict itself depending on the author or story.

Kryptonians travelled throughout the universe to multiple galaxies and found themselves super-powered by Yellow sunlight. They were conquerors on these worlds without even trying, and eventually they realized that they needed to retreat to their homeworld in order to keep themselves from subjugating the entire universe.

How do their powers work? It's two-fold. One is that Krypton was originally one of the harshest, most inhospitable places for life to form. This means (in comic logic) that the humanoids who DO evolve are going to be super strong, super durable and super capable. In addition to that, their unique biology is a bit like plants and uses a type of photosynthesis, making them solar batteries. It just so happens that yellow sunlight is far far far better for them and overcharges them, granting them Superman-like powers.

* It increases their natural strength, durability, and reflexes to obscene levels.
* They can store this solar energy and release it through bursts from their eyes.
* They can use a form of self-telekinesis to fly around.
* They can compress air in their super-strong lungs making it super-cold
* Their eyes become ultra-sensitive to more wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, giving them what we'd call "X-Ray Vision."
* Their ears become hyper-sensitive and they can hear even the quietest sounds

But, this comes at a cost. If they're exposed to enough Red Sunlight, their physiology instantly shuts off these enhancements and brings them back down to base-level. When Krypton's sun went supernova, it irradiated the planet with red sunlight before it exploded, destroying it. Some of the Krypton-chunks made their way to Earth (likely via the same route that Superman's pod took) and they actually irradiate a metric TON of redsunlight. We call this Kryptonite, and it has the effect of Depowering Superman. Now like we already said, Superman has evolved on a planet much different from earth: higher gravity, denser atmosphere with a different composition. If you suddenly remove his super powers, he finds himself on an inhospitable alien world. It would be like pulling the space suit off a human on Mars. He finds himself weakened, gasping for breath, unable to function.

These continuities establish that Superman was actually a *sickly* child, weak and unable to cope with this world, until he absorbed enough Yellow Sunlight and suddenly became an all-star athlete around High School.


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

[User]
Are diamonds bulletproof?

I know that diamonds are the hardest natural substance, and that they're made purely of carbon, like others bulletproof substances like graphene. Does this in anyway related to its strength against a strong, concentrated force, like a bullet?

[Assistant]
Oh heavens no.

The important thing to remember is that 'hardness' generally only refers to the materials' resistance to compressive forces. Basically - a 'harder' material can scratch a 'softer' material. It tells you very little about that material's other properties.

Diamond, while incredibly hard, is not particularly tough - which is resistance to fracturing. In fact, it's commonly repeated that diamonds can be shattered with a well placed whack of a hammer.


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

[User]
CMV: I don't understand how anyone can accept their mortality.

The sheer thought of not existing is the one of the few things with the power to make me anxious and sick to my stomach. I don't believe in god or the tooth fairy, and all evidence seems to point to the fact that once our brain is gone, we're gone. I'm really jealous of people who firmly believe they're going to heaven and will live happily ever after, but at the same time I find that kind of comfort to be...wrong, and dangerously so.

For one, if this life is all we have, the rational response is to extend it, ideally forever. If you don't believe that, then you don't do that, and you don't advocate for that. You might even actually advocate against that. If you're wrong, and if immortality is possible, advocating against it is akin to advocating the genocide of the human race.

Tbh, I don't particularly understand why some people are so religious and have such faith in this happily ever after, with no evidence whatsoever. To me this life is more than enough, simple pleasures, the ability to think, I could do it forever. I don't understand why there isn't more uproar about it.

[Assistant] What's the point in refusing to accept something you can not change? People have been looking for immortality for the entirety of human existence and we are as far as ever. Why spend your life looking for something that you can't find?


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

[User] ELI5: Why does sleep deprivation cause extreme tiredness instead of burning more calories to support the energy usage throughout the day?

[Assistant] After being deprived of sleep for long enough the body will begin to "replace" sleep with calories. Your body still needs the sleep of course but it begins to do what it needs to do to continue working. If you ever want to see this in action, it is common among the crab fishing crews in the Bering Sea. I've seen it explained a couple few times on there by both the crew and on board medical staff. Those men consume ridiculous amounts of calories, both to stay mentally alert, with the lack of sleep, and because the insane amount of physical labor they perform.


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

[User]
[Dragon Ball]How Do Capsules Work?

They seem to be able to store anything from swords to motorcycles to small houses. Is there a size limit? What happens to what's inside? What would a person experience if they were in something that got capsulized? How well do living things deal with them, such as a plant in Kame house?

[Assistant]
In the Dragon Ball universe, access to other dimensions is fairly trivial technology. The hyperbolic time chamber, for example, is a particular example of transdimentional travel.

All Capsule Corp vehicles and structures are stored in temporary pocket dimensions, which are accessible through the capsule. Placing something inside a pocket dimension is very energy intensive - requirements increase proportional to the cube of their mass. While there is no hard cap on how much mass can be capsulized, it becomes prohibitively expensive quite quickly.

These dimensions can be created with variable properties. All universal constants need to be defined. It would be possible, for example, to create a universe where the strong force did not exist. Anything sent there would immediately unravel at the subatomic level. Assuming the pocket universe has properties identical to our own, and assuming a person could transport their own atmosphere (ie space suit), they a human can be capsulized.


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

[User] ELI5: Why has the politically correct term for black people changed so many times in the last ~50 years?

[Assistant] Its called the "euphemism treadmill" and it isnt exclusive to racial or ethnic groups. It also applies to the mentally and physically disabled and people with psychiatric disorders. Basically a word like "retard" was once considered an unoffensive medical term. Then people start using it not as a medical term but as an insult. Once this goes on for a while people need to come up with a new politically correct term to make it clear when no offense is intended. Then eventually that new word becomes widespread and people begin to use it as an insult also, thus necessitating a new unoffensive term.


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

[User]
[Pacific Rim] What are the logistics behind sending Jaegers into battle?

Logistics is an extremely underrated aspect of warfare and many see it as the most important part about going to war. When the Nazis were making their way into the USSR and were forced to fight in the brutal Russian winter, many soldiers on both sides died due to a lack of rations and in the case of the Nazis, theyd have trouble fueling both their trucks and the Luftwaffe since fuel would freeze and many Heer soldiers didnt have adequate clothing or protection from the elements.

Today, the US military is hailed as the greatest or one of the greatest masters of logistics for a while now due to the fact that we can do everything from moving thousands of troops and military assets to fight a war an entire ocean/continent away while also sending goddamn McDonalds and ice cream over to an active war zone w/o much trouble or negative impact. IIRC during WWII there was even a ship dedicated to making ice cream for soldiers, sailors, and Marines in the Pacific.

So this leads me to ask: what are the logistics behind sending the Jaegers into battle against the Kaiju? Theres obviously a lot of coordination between LOCCENT, J-Tech, service and support personnel who are on the ground, the air wing that has to physically send the Jaegers off to wherever, etc. But what else is there?

[Assistant]
During the height of the war there was remote monitoring stations around the breach and near the coastal shelves. They would detect when and how big a kaiju was and roughly where it was headed. Once detected all shatterdomes across the pacific would be put on alert. Once a probably destination was confirmed all jeagers at the nearest shatterdome are deployed either by air or simply walking/running to an intercept point. Sonar and radar stations would track the kaiju on approach. Further away shatterdomes would mobilize their jaegers to lend aid but most wouldn't arrive in time to help the first Jaegers. Jaegers never deployed past the coastal shelf has kaiju had an advantage in deep water that Jaegers can't match. Tactical nuclear weapons are activated for worst case scenario and an army of ground technicians are deployed to evacuation efforts and prepping clean up materials. Should a kaiju kill or incapacitate the first jeagers a nuclear strike is used when possible to weaken the kaiju for secondary jaegers to finish off. Should they fail a second or even third nuclear strike can be deployed.

Edit. For non combat needs every pacific military asset falls under the PPDC. This includes shipping supplies to various shatterdomes and the ppdc taking direct control of any land based military supply lines for themselves as priority.


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

[User]
[Captain America: The Winter Soldier] Not here! NOT HERE! How would things have been different if the world watched S.H.I.E.L.D. agents execute Captain America in cold blood?

Hopefully you remember the part Im talking about. After a fight in the streets, HYDRA agents masquerading as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had Cap on his knees with guns pointed at the back of his head. Then, Im pretty sure it was Lumlow, sees a civilian news chopper flying over head and orders his men to stand down. Instead of executing a beloved hero on live television, they just capture him and his allies instead.

What do you think would have happened if they actually shot him, and presumably Black Widow and Falcon as well, with the whole world as witness? Would their whole Project Insight thing be discovered? How would average people around the world feel about it? How would the other Avengers react?

[Assistant]
This is too easy to spin.

Rogue agent with a personal vendetta against cap shoots him in the head. He is currently awaiting trial in a max security prison while on suicide watch so he can stand justice.

Oh? Sorry he just killed himself.

See guy who killed cap is dead, justice served! Moving on.


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

[User]
CMV: There are no swing voters and policy doesn't matter. Last 4 presidents were only determined by excited/bored Democrats.

There exists a spectrum of political beliefs from far left to far right. A candidate crafts a message to appeal to a continuous range somewhere on this line. If hes too far right, hell miss the middle. If shes too centrist, shell miss the far left. You must choose each public position very carefully, because it will gain votes from one side of your targeted range and lose votes from the other side. Its important to be exceptionally careful with which direction you migrate, since the loss and gain will probably not be equal.

This has been the accepted wisdom for as long as I can remember. I didnt know it was possible to even question it. Based solely on the numbers, however, I believe something very different is going on. The same rules dont even apply to the different parties. Heres what Im proposing, and Im especially looking for hard data to refute this. Specifically, the last three elections.

There are a lot of Democrats, and how many turn out to vote depends on how excited they are about their candidate. Gore was pretty boring, so he got 50m. Kerry made it to 60m because they really wanted to defeat Bush in a rematch. They were very excited about Obama the first time, so 70m turned out, and a less excited 65m the second time. People werent too excited about Hillary, so she only got 60m. The variation between 50m and 70m is enormous.

Republicans, however, consistently turn out to vote for their candidate. Their last four candidates got 60m votes. Whether its Bush the second time around after he started the Iraq war, McCain the friendly war veteran who ran on being mavricky, level-headed Romney the consummate businessman, or Trump the blowhard lying racist, sexist, tax-dodging real estate mogul, it doesnt matter. Sixty million Republicans will consistently come out and vote for them all. They may wring their hands when the media asks and claim to weigh his personal life against Hillarys e-mails, but its all for show. They never really considered doing anything but punching the chad next to whoevers name is next to the R.

If these analyses are correct, then the strategy each party should pursue is wildly different, and neither has anything to do with whether to capture centrists at the cost of the base or vice versa.

Republicans can field whatever candidate they want. A black Christian doctor, a racist grandpa whos never held any office, or probably even a wrestler. The same people will vote for him. Maybe not the same people, I dont know, but for every centrist lost, it appears exactly one extremist is gained. The Republicans discovered this with Trump. (Are they the same people or is it +5m extremists and -5m moderates? Do we have that kind of data?)

The relevant takeaway for Democrats is that only enthusiasm matters. Centrist or far left isnt particularly important. Obama is a centrist but killed it with enthusiasm while Hillary has almost exactly the same policy and did not. Bernie is far left and, perhaps, wouldve done so, too, I dont claim to know but suspect so. The Democrats must field candidates that awaken people who may not vote if theyre not sufficiently excited. There are apparently tons out there, enough for a permanent Democratic majority, if only they were sufficiently excited by a candidate.

This is a pretty outlandish view, since it implies that there arent a meaningful number of swing voters that usually vote Republican and occasionally pick a Democrat (or vice versa) when they see a someone they like. We often see maps showing Trump winning precincts that Obama handily won and it gives us the impression that the same people are changing their votes from one election to the next. Looking at the raw numbers, whats really happening is the same number of Republicans are voting for whoever the Republican is, and the excitement-sensitive Democrats are either turning out or staying home, solely determining every one of the past four elections.

[Assistant]
Obviously turnout is a huge factor and it's been established for quite a while that Republican voters turnout more reliably across all elections, mostly because they are older.

In the same vein, younger voters tend to vote strongly Democrat but also have a much lower turnout.

So yeah, what you say is true but it's not the only deciding factor.

The message and policy behind the candidates do have an effect on swinging votes, however this happens more on a macro level.

To wit, it's not that long ago that a rich Wall-Street banker would have been the stereotypical Republican voter whereas a Rust Belt Unionist would be a guaranteed Democrat vote.

This has almost switched by now, as the partys have changed their focus a bit.

People aren't just aligned on a left-right axis, even in a absolutely simplified view most voters tend to have an ideology along at least two axes, economic and social.

Some voter groups are economically left and socially conservative (e.g. majority of Unionists, older Black and Hispanic voters,etc.) while some voters are economically right to centrist and socially liberal (e.g. Silicon Valley and Wall-Street types).

Depending on where a candidate puts their focus they can expect to get other types of votes.

E.g. Romney or Kasich can speak to the Wall-Street type whereas Trump could not.

A lot of voters do tend to vote strictly along party lines and here is where turnout matters the most. However a lot of people vote according to their pet issues (LGBT rights, trade policy, immigration policy, etc.) and depending on the ideas offered by the candidates can and do switch their vote.

Also agreeing with policies is relevant to turnout the same way charisma is.


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

[User]
Does the speed at which you pass through a metal detector effect its sensitivity?

*affect

Say I have a 20g iron nail in my pocket, and this is right around the threshold of a metal detector in a security line. Would it matter if I ran through the detector at top speed or walked through the detector slowly?

In my mind there are two considerations. One, running through may give the detector a short enough signal that the software filters it out as an anomaly (here I'm talking about speeds attainable by humans, I'm not trying to say that the piece of metal is going so fast that it exceeds the sampling rate of the detector, just that there are software controls to exclude false positives but in this case they would be filtering out a true positive.)

Second, going through faster actually will generate a larger signal (like a magnet passing through a coil more quickly generates a larger current), so it's the person who walks through very slowly that is not detected.

I am asking these questions with little understanding of the engineering or physics behind metal detectors, and was hoping you all could provide some insight.

[Assistant]
If the magnetic field of the metal detector were constant, then moving slow enough would not set it off. However, most, if not all metal detectors use oscillating magnetic fields, which you can basically think of as a magnet moving back and forth. In this case, it doesn't matter how you moved.

Addendum: A metal detector works by using an oscillating magnetic field to set up electric currents in a metal. It only works on metals because metals have electrons that can move around freely (that's why they conduct electricity). The electric currents, then in turn set up their own magnetic field. Since the whole thing is driven by the first magnetic field, you look for a second magnetic field that oscillate at the same frequency as that first field to determine if there's metal around.


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

[User]
[AVP] How would the Predators have Aliens to hunt of the expedition team wasn't there?

It always bothered me that the Predators had no idea going in that the humans would be there. That being said, if there were no humans to make Aliens, what were the Predators expecting to hunt?

[Assistant] The humans got there before the predators did. Given their future tech, the predators probably did know that humans were there. If there hadn't been, the predators would have abducted some humans to put in the pyramid to make aliens. You know, like they abducted people in the predators movie.


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

[User]
CMV: I really don't see a problem with making a real life Jurassic Park.

So I know that the point of the original film is that, like, you should not make Jurassic Park in the first place. These are dangerous animals, life is unpredictable and chaotic, and it breaks through barriers, sometimes violently.

But think about this realistically: What would happen if a T-rex broke loose? We'd kill it. Very easily. Dinosaurs and apex predators are terrifying to humans when we're on a level playing field with them, but our weaponry is so absurdly good that it would be very easy to kill a T-rex if you just had some guns. I mean, regular civilians in the US have personal armories powerful enough to take down a T-rex, I think that any sophisticated security detail backed with the kind of finances IGN had access to would easily be able to contain any animals that got loose.

T-rex has a powerful bite. We have armor shredding ammunition-hollow point rounds/explosive shells and LOTS of them.

Like sure, raptors can get the jump on one security guard if they're clever girls. But they're not going to do that to a hundred well trained/well armed guys. (This is also why I find the whole premise of Jurassic World stupid. Like, we would easily hunt down and kill all the dangerous dinos if they escaped to the mainland).

The only argument I can see is that it's wrong to bring these animals back and exploit them just because it's morally wrong to do that to living creatures. But we do that to cows, chickens, and pigs by the billions every year. So unless you are advocating for vegetarianism/dismantling the meat industry I don't think you're being consistent.

So yeah, build that park. Life sucks and I wanna see a T-rex.

[Assistant]
"would easily be able to contain any animal that gets loose"

Counterpoint: some invasive species are reaaaally hard to get rid of. What if it turns out that some dinosaurs end up escaping and they're REALLY tough invasive species that fuck up an ecosystem?


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

[User] ELI5: Why do researchers who do tests on mice have to comply with strict ethical regulations, and yet it is legal for me to use mousetraps and very painful poisons to remove them from my house?

[Assistant]
Research is just highly regulated in that any research animal must be treated with the utmost respect and dignity because its life provides us with valuable information that helps either their species or ours.

Pest animals are slightly different in that they have the potential to carry disease, so they must be removed from the home or else you/your family is at risk.

Poisons aren't the most humane things, but the snap traps are actually very humane and cause instant death through severing the spinal cord. They actually use snap traps in field research.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are there still thousands of people dying from lack of food and water in third world countries despite decades and decades of aid and fund raising?

There are always ads on TV asking for aid and charity events every year raising millions and millions yet things don't ever seem to improve much.

[Assistant] Hunger and poverty cannot be eliminated by simply feeding people. One must build a productive infrastructure and a healthy economy in those places where poverty reigns. People need to be able to sustain themselves by their own means for the long term in order eliminate poverty. It is a slow process that takes years. Politics, "Nation Building" and differences in religious ideology get in the way and the shifting power dynamics breed distrust and contempt. Conflict and war is often the result. The poor and dependent remain poor and dependent. Pawns in an ugly game without end.


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

[User]
If we could create perfectly realistic virtual reality, would it be ethical for an individual to live in it and shun the real world? What about an entire society?

I've discussed this with a variety of people. Those above ~30 generally say that it would not be ok to give up on reality, but many of those 20-30 I've spoken to didn't really have a huge issue with it.

I'm curious what all of you think about it.

It seems like perfect VR could alleviate so much suffering in the world, from all people. Or is happiness only made valuable when compared to negative experiences?

[Assistant]
This is almost exactly the thought experiment that Robert Nozick gave, the experience machine, in *Anarchy, State, and Utopia.* Nozick argues that we have reason not to plug into the experience machine, that experiencing as much pleasure as possible is not all that matters for us.

I agree with his conclusion.


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

[User] ELI5: Is there a difference between green screens and blue screens?

[Assistant]
* If you're talking about Chroma Keying (like weather person in front of the animated weather map behind them) then the answer is "No".
* Remember that the video hardware will replace ***anything*** that is the chosen color.
* So if you use a blue-screen, you'll also be replacing anything on the person's clothing or body that is blue....like their eyes.
* Green is used because it's been determined that it causes the least amount of these issues where things on the person disappear.
* In fact any color can be used.
* Also there is a version called "luma key" which works based not on the color,  but on how bright something is versus how dark the background is.


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

[User]
[Community] Assuming that he didn't burn the place to the ground how long could Chang have ruled Greendale?

Let's assume that the Greendale seven didn't get involved and by some miracle he didn't burn the school to the ground during his guitar solo.

How long could his reign have lasted before he did burn the place to the ground in another way, the dean breaks loose, or the board gets mad that he's hemorrhaging money?

[Assistant]
Well Chang didn't really bother with the HVAC program that was the school's main money making. His own psychoses were the problem. The dean was locked away for months without anyone coming looking for him. Chang would have probably pulled a heavens gate and either involved outside authorities in his inevitable suicide cult or simply maintained an aura of fear and paranoia that would have turned all his tween enforcers into sugar fueled maniacs that burn down the school or murder him for his throne.

Id say 6 months tops or as abed would put it only until sweeps week when audiences would look for something better and more engaging.


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

[User] Why can't stars fuse Iron?

[Assistant]
Well, stars, if they are large enough, CAN fuse iron, as long as it's an iron isotope of 55 or lower. Our star can't fuse iron at all, because it's not big enough either.

The reason is that fusion up until nuclei of 55 protons/neutrons or less will release energy. At nickel and Iron 56 and higher, it TAKES energy to create fusion to higher isotopes.

This is why Andreas Rossi's claim about the E-cat is wrong because he claims energy release from fusing nickel to copper. That's contrary to the laws of physics as most all supernovae have shown.

This is essentially why giant stars SuperNova. Soon as they've fused up to Iron 56, the nuclear fusion energy processes quickly shut down. The star begins to contract because fusion was keeping it large, it compresses to a very tight size, and then it supernovas!! Spewing out much of its mass in neutrinos, light, & mass ejections to spread newly formed metallic elements upwards of well beyond uranium and Pu to seed the local interstellar region. This will eventually create some metal containing stars (& planets) as children many megayears down the line.

The iron in our hemoglobin and cytochromes, and the Cobalt in our B12 vitamins mostly came from supernovae. We are composed of star stuff, of at least one supernova's matter. & We are here, living right now, reading this because of the fact that Fe-56 can't fuse thus releasing energy. Cool, huh?!!


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

[User]
Cmv: Building the wall will worsen economic conditions in Mexico leading to an influx of illegal immigrants, not a reduction of them.

Fleeing one's homeland is not a decision made lightly. Most people immigrate out of necessity. Building a wall on the southern border of the US and making Mexico pay for it via sanctions and tariffs will weaken an already bad Mexican economy. Which in turn will lead to an increase in illegal immigration as more people than before are now looking for better ways to provide for themselves and their families. Instead of building a wall to keep increasingly desperate people out of our country, we should lend our support in helping them rebuild their economy instead of having a nationalistic "us and only us" view. CMV.

[Assistant]
Not necessarily

I don't have fact to help out but the wall impacts maybe half a million to 1 million people. These folks are already in desperate situation in Mexico or Central America for one reason or another. It's not your 1990s immigration wave.  These people will then settle back in Mexico or try by other means: currently most of them are deported back, so not a very different scenario.

On the other hand - not part of your CMV-Nafta would have a larger economic impact than the wall.

Breaking up Nafta or a border adjustment would easily impact 40-50% of the Mexican population negatively: more 50 million people could be looking at a drastic decrease of income within 2-3 years. That would be a crisis and drive people down the fences.


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

[User] Eli5: Why is light affected by gravity if photons are massless?

[Assistant] Gravity doesn't pull on mass. Gravity is a distortion in spacetime. Inertial matter (matter with no force acting on it), including matter in a gravity well, will follow straight lines through spacetime. However, a straight line through spacetime will 'curve' towards the massive object. Light is an extreme of this, moving at c, but it follows the curve just as well.


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

[User]
[Dragonball] Is there any interplanetary culture?

There's definitely some sort of interplanetary contact happening.  Frieza and Buu both appear to be well known on many planets.  But is there any cultural exchange?  Or do people only go to other planets to murder each other?

[Assistant] There's a Galactic Patrol that works to protect people from interplanetary criminals, but most worlds are comparatively self-contained. While it was around, the Frieza Force was the largest organized military power in the galaxy, and there were never any notable alliances formed that were powerful enough to challenge it.


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

[User]
Do grad school admissions committees google the names of applicants?

I was once wrongly arrested for a crime that I didn't commit which was dropped once I went to court, but our small-town sensationalist newspaper printed the description of the crime with my full name on their website, and now it's one of the first things to appear when you google my name.
I've considered changing my name. I've tried to create enough of an internet presence so that it would get pushed down to the next page, but to no avail.

[Assistant]
You should contact that newspaper and have them include a disclaimer on that article that the charges were dropped.

I would assume that if the school asked you to sign off saying that you haven't been convicted of any crimes and you said you haven't that they would believe you, but if you're really worried about it, you could always give the admission committee a call and tell them what's up.


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

[User] [Dark Souls] So, I work in Lothric as a stonemason. Last week I caught the undead curse, and now I have a darksign branded on me. How is my life going to change? Will I still keep all my human urges and drives, like needing to eat and sleep?

[Assistant] Undead do not need to eat, though they may waste away if left alone too long; the power of the bonfire and the consumption of souls may stave this off. They CAN eat if they wish, as some Undead cook soups with Estus, but its not a requirement of their bodies. They dont need to sleep either, though again they can if they wish; some Hollows also seem to go dormant, capable of sitting around for ages until something attracts their attention. In general the Undead are basically, well, dead. Aside from breathing since toxic gas can affect them they dont have any requirements for rest or sustenance.


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

[User]
[Guardians of the Galaxy] Why does Nova not have any planatary defense?

Wondering. Even our earth could send a few nukes to oblitarate that ship and Nova, who just came out of a war, has no planetary defense and only a few shitty small ships to stop invaders?

[Assistant] At the time of the attack, the entire Xandar Navy was away, presumably defending worlds closer to the Kree/Xandar border. They didn't expect that a rogue zealot would attempt to raze the planet, and so what if he did? It's not like he'd be able to do much damage by himself without some kind of extraordinary deus ex machina superpower artifact, right?


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

[User]
ELI5: why is the stock market necessary?

It seems like the stock market is a place where rich people go to make more money without doing any actual work. Maybe it used to be necessary for companies to get a start, but for already established company, what's the point? It seems to me like it just fuels greed.

EDIT: okay so it looks like I need to clarify a bit. So I understand the need for companies to have funding for more expensive projects. But realistically, don't these huge companies have enough money to afford this risk without relying on shareholders money? Essentially what I'm saying is maybe if there were some point where a company could be deemed as self sustaining it would no longer need to rely on shareholders.

And as for retirement, maybe if people were more responsible with their money and were paid more reasonable wages, they would be able to manage their finances without essentially gambling for their future.

[Assistant]
The stock market is a way of selling small pieces of your company in order to get more money for whatever you need.

As a company, you want to be big and successful (typically). If you want to expand your company and you need to make a GIANT profit, or it takes forever. So instead, you put your company on the stock market. You "buy"/keep 51% of all ownership to yourself, this way no one can do a "hostile takeover". This means 49% of your company can be "sold" to others willing to buy.

Rough example;

So what happens is that you put you 1 billion dollar market worth company on the stock market. You create 100 million shares, you keep 51 million and sell the other 49 million shares for 10 dollars each. After 2 months, 10 million shares have been bought at the 10 dollar price. This means your company has made 100 million dollars. They use this money to invest in the company, making it worth more. So after 6 months, your company is worth 2 billion. So each share is actually worth 20 dollars now. People will notice your massive growth and expect it to continue; more people buy stock = more money for your company = more expansion etc.

TL:DR;

If you're a company making 1 million profit a year and want to expand, it takes years. Where as on the stock market, the company can make millions in a few weeks.


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

[User]
[Justice League Snyder Cut] Spoiler Question.

Why did Darkseid not cross the Boomtube when he saw the Justice League kicking the shit out of Steppenwolf?
In fact, why didnt he just make a beeline for Earth when he knew the Anti-Life equation actually was there?

[Assistant]
There's a few reasons.

First, Darkseid is powerful- maybe even powerful enough to kill the entire league- but this version of him isn't unkillable. Zeus and Ares came *damn close* to putting him in the ground during the initial invasion 5000 years ago, and he doesn't value Steppenwolf enough to jump in to help him without first trying to get a sense of whether the new heroes pose as much of a threat to him as the old ones did.

Second, to expand on the point above, Darkseid doesn't actually like or value Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf fucked up wildly at some point in the past; Darkseid is happy to use him as a blunt force instrument to conquer planets, but at least part of the insanely high bar he set for Steppenwolf's "redemption" was probably to try and get him killed in action. Part of the point of the exercise was that it was a deeply fucked up performance review; if Steppenwolf can terraform the planet and secure the equation, fantastic, but if he can't hold his own against six puny mortals, he doesn't deserve to live. Note how he stomps on Steppenwolf's head with contempt after it comes through the portal.

Third, Darkseid's a patient guy. He doesn't *need* to jump through the portal immediately to accomplish his goals; He's a god. He's got forever to amass his forces and point them at what he wants. Use of the motherboxes would have been a handy shortcut, but it's ultimately immaterial to him how the world is conquered; he views himself and his victory as an inevitability.


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

[User]
Why do dart guns require less precision than a medical syringe?

Whenever I go to the doctor for blood samples or vaccines, they always insert the syringe in an arterie. But I never see hunters aiming for arteries on animals, yet the tranquilizing effect stil happens. The doctor also needs to feel my arm to find the arteries, something I imagine would be impossible for hunters.

I know the blood circulatory system is the body's way of transporting hormones and important nutrients around the body. Do tranquilizing darts:

1. Affect the nervous system? The body's other method of transporting, used for electrical signals.
2. Have so strong dose that they affect blood stream even when fired into tissue?
3. Actually hit arteries? Who knows, maybe I'm underestimating the skills of hunters?

[Assistant]
First off, the doctors are looking for veins not your arteries.
Secondly, besides movie magic, the anesthetics on the darts take a while to set in as they are typically intramuscular shots.
Third, when you are put under anesthetics for surgery it is all done intravenously to allow for better flow and control of the medications that render you into the desired state of consciousness.
Fourth, you could be knocked out with an intramuscular injection too, its just less controlled and leaves a bigger headache afterwards.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is there more (aparrent) variance between the faces of humans (to the point where the human face is instantly recognizable) than those of other species?

For example, I can easily tell apart my dad's face from my friend's face, but all of the squirrels that run around in our backyard look the same. Does it have to do with our brains, or is it a matter of practice (so that to an infant, all faces *do* look the same)? Or is it that human faces are inherantly more variable than the faces of other animals?

I've wondered this for a long time...

(I think this falls under biology but may as well be culture or another tag.)

[Assistant]
There is literally a part of the human brain (right fusiform gyrus, in the lumpy gray section) dedicated to facial recognition, separate from the other parts that recognize color and shade patterns. We need to see faces for many reasons: communication, response, survival etc. You could say we're just built for it. Prosopagnosia is a disease that disables that part, so everybody looks like a Picasso painting.

Edit: not exactly like a Picasso, clarified in the comment below.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] How exposed is the wizarding world today?

The core story of Harry Potter took place during the 90s, when the internet was in its infancy and the only cameras we all had readily available, were actual cameras. Since then; there are ultra high-def CCTVs on every corner of every city, and with everyone now having cameras readily available and personal drones flying around recording absolutely everything, what advances have the wizarding world taken to continue to protect its secrets from muggle eyes?

[Assistant]
In 1996 the Ministry of Magic determined that modern CCTV usage in most larger cities in the UK was going to be a problem, and obliviators were already starting to be overworked.  After hearing about the issue, Auror Harry Potter came up with a rather radical solution.

The Ministry commissioned a work of "fiction" based on real events, and arranged to have it published as a series of seven books.  It was released in mid-1997, and each book carried a charm which made it into a best-selling series among muggles worldwide.  It was made into a series of movies, and they've even built theme parks around it.

Today, any time a wizard is caught on CCTV, the muggles simply attribute it to Harry Potter fans.  It doesn't even make the news.  This frees the obliviators to deal with more difficult situations, such as last year's...  well, never mind.

Some members of the wizarding community, particularly the Malfoy family, criticize Auror Potter for choosing to have the books released using his real name, but the majority support his decision.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is marriage important or is it still relevant? Why does the state give lots of "perks" to married people?

[Assistant]
The state has an interest in raising the next generation of well adjusted children, and believes that occurs best in the context of marriage.

Also, many homes still have the breadwinner/homemaker structure, with one spouse focused on work, and the other focused on caring for the family.  The homemaker takes on a serious financial risk, as they are sacrificing their ability to make a living to  support someone who could leave at any time.  Marriage enforces this commitment, and provides for the homemaker should the marriage dissolve.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do batteries sometimes work a little while longer when you take them out and put them back in?

[Assistant] Batteries in something like a remote control only make Contact is two places.  Corrosion tends to build up in tiny amounts where the charge jumps, halting the flow of electricity. By pulling out the battery and putting it back in you clean the contacts. Battery is most likely near death anyway because there would be time to corrode otherwise.


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

[User] [Star Trek] Starfleet has one of the weirdest ship designs with a saucer/engine setup. Even a battleship like the USS Vengeance uses this mold - they simply don't look sturdy. Is this an aesthetic choice humans made long ago?

[Assistant]
The main advantage to the split-hull design is one of safety, by separating the primary crewed section from the engine areas, it improves the survivability of the crew in catastrophic scenarios (such as a warp core breach). The engineering section is shaped as a cylinder as a space-efficient way to wrap all the bits that need to go there, while minimizing exposed surface area and "blind spot" it causes to the saucer section.

The saucer section is a tapered disk as a way to maximize the visible arc of any sensor (or weapon) placed on its surface, and increase available surface area, without needlessly adding the volume/mass that a spherical crewed section would have (also minimizes the exposed cross section from the front/side, at the cost of increased exposed area at the top/bottom). Also having wider levels may be more desirable for some purposes than having more levels stacked on top of each other.

The nacelles are then located the way they are as a way to maximize the efficiency of warp travel - ideally you want ~two nacelles placed outboard of your ship that have line of sight with each other; though many other ships accept some sort of inefficiency in favour of other design considerations. Other ships also forgo the split-hull design in favour of designs with different tradeoffs (it's only really practical to do on larger ships, it's cost-inefficient, it necessitates a larger overall ship design, increases travel time for crew between positions, etc).

Ships like the USS Vengeance keep the same design, largely because it's a familiar design to Starfleet shipbuilders - they know its tradeoffs and limitations, so they know how to work around them. Trying to build a ship around unfamiliar design principles is asking for trouble, especially when you're trying to do it in secret and thus can't spend years on R&D and dozens of test vehicles. Also some parts/designs may have being created by people not privy to the secret of what the USS Vengeance actually was, so making it look like a traditional Starfleet ship helps prevent suspicion.


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

[User] How does listening to music while studying affect the human brain? Is it beneficial or harmful to the studying?

[Assistant] Music can often interfere with studying because of the scope of your working memory.  Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing. It is necessary for the information to be manipulated in the working memory to be stored in the longterm memory. Since music and studying do involve some of the same canals one can interfere with the other. However, if you do study while listening to music, recall of the information will be more successful when the same music is played! This is because context plays an important role in our memory:  greater congruence between situations of studying and recall will result in better recall of the information.


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

[User]
Why is the Boomerang Nebula the Coldest (naturally occurring) place in the Universe?

Here is a quote from Wikipedia:
"In February 2003, the Boomerang Nebula was observed to have been releasing gases at a speed of 500,000 km/h (over 300,000 mph) for the last 1,500 years. This has cooled it down to approximately 1 K, as deduced by astronomical observation, which is the lowest natural temperature ever recorded."

Why would this lead to such a cold temperature? I understand that as energy and matter become more distant, the temperature falls as well, but shouldn't the massive amount of energy involved and the friction between particles result in an enormously hot temperature?

As you may have seen, a popular TIL brought this to my attention, and I must give credit where it is due.

[Assistant]
That's because the gases expand as they are released. The dying star at the heart of the Boomerang Nebula squirts out a lot of gas, and these gases expand into a region of lower pressure (basically everywhere around them). It's been doing so for so long that it has reached the freezing (okay, well below freezing) temperatures we've recorded.

Why does an expanding gas cool? Simply put, gas molecules need energy to move away from each other. And this energy comes from the motion of the molecules themselves (i.e. heat), and so temperature goes down. More accurately, the gases lose energy (i.e. temperature) when they provide work (i.e. expansion).


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

[User] ELI5: When tech-support asks you to unplug your device and wait 30 seconds, what exactly is happening within that 30 seconds? Is 1 second really any different than 30?

[Assistant]
It's mostly to make sure the capacitors discharge, though it's also partially to make sure all disks and fans are stationary.

Capacitors, by the way, are electronic components that store electricity. Think of them like buckets that hold electricity.


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

[User]
[Gamera] Is there an in-canon explanation as to why the Kaiju are so fucking light? Showa Gyaos is 20-60 tons and Gamera is 120 tons even through there building-sized.

Seriously, how in the living fuck are they this light without being blown the fuck away by a light breeze. This bothers me ***greatly***.

Daiei what the hell?!

[Assistant] Hollow bones and internal gas filled organs.  Fill the organs with lighter than air gasses and you alleviate a massive amount of weight that would otherwise snap the Kaiju bones like kindling under normal circumstances.  Could possibly also be a conversion error translating metric weight to standard.


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

[User] Why doesn't the immune system kill incoming sperm?

[Assistant] Semen is in fact recognized as foreign not only to the female but to the male immune system. Yes, your own body would attack and destroy your own sperm cells if it were not rigorously kept out of harms way by other specialized cells in the testes. As to why sperm is 'safe' in the vagina, it isn't. Technically outside the body, the vaginal vault would not immediately recognize foreign proteins present in the ejaculate fluid, but there is an immune presence. Seminal fluid which makes up most of the volume of the ejaculate helps buffer the pH of the vagina to be more suitable for the spermatozoa. Also, the fluid helps insulate the sperm (to a degree) from the female immune system. Finally, the sperm don't wait around to be found, but rather work their way toward the ovum with the intent of fertilizing it. Sperm can live in these conditions for days.  Following fertilization, the placenta is formed which provides a sort of 'biological airlock' between the mother and embryo to help prevent the mother's immune system from recognizing and destroying the developing fetus. There is a complication in some pregnancies where a previously sensitized Rh negative mother has an Rh positive baby, but that is a specialized case.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Are Jedi capable of Force choking someone and choose not or they simply can't because the Light Side won't work that way?

[Assistant] Jedi can Force choke people if they want to, except it turns out the people who try to be peacekeepers and resolve conflict nonviolently dont enjoy strangling others. There isnt a light side of the Force, its just the Force in its natural state of tranquility and balance, and then theres the Dark Side, when people give into their negative emotions and selfish desires to use the Force to their own ends, harm others, and subvert the natural order of the universe. Its why not every Jedi or Force-sensitive who isnt on the DS doesnt have to be the most selfless, pure, moral person to ever exist, they justyou know, shouldnt be evil. Think like how people can get sick and shit, but cancer is a separate thing entirely.


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

[User]
Why is so much of the American West dominated by coniferous forests?

It seems like the West has a much higher proportion of conifers than deciduous forests east of the Great Plains do. Is this only because of generally higher levels of elevation and aridity?

[Assistant] It's all about water. conifers grow slowly but year-round (different sap), even in winter but very slow. deciduous trees need water during the warm months, and out west it does not rain during the warm months. So  deciduous can't compete very well. You are noticing the difference in rainfall seasonality. In the rainy east, deciduous outgrow the conifers because they use cheap, disposable leaves.


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

[User]
How does Google Fiber significantly increase download speed?

With only parts of Kansas city currently using google fiber, how can their speeds be as they are when so much of the world still uses slower mediums?  Wouldn't the information still be passing through an entire "network of slow" before it hits the google-fiber neighborhood and can speed up?

[Assistant]
Google owns the backbone infrastructure for their fibre network. Generally broadband connections slow down at a much more local network, and in improving the connectivity at this level they improve end user speed.

Imagine a water pipe that has to supply a whole neighbourhood, and everyone trying to use that. Google effectively hugely increased the size of the water pipe to that area. Further up the chain, the pipes have been big for a while now.


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

[User] If a plant grows from a cutting from another one, are they genetically identical?

[Assistant]
Yes they are. Farmers take advantage of this for crops that are extremely heterozygous, like apples. If you plant apple seeds you are almost guaranteed to end up with an apple that tastes terrible. You can still make hard cider from them, but they aren't good for much else. Over generations of seedlings, farmers have found a few cultivars that produce tasty apples, and these are kept going through cloning (i.e. grafting) rather than planting seeds so we don't lose that specific combination of genes.

A drawback of this approach is that the cloned crop is more vulnerable to disease or pests - anything that can attack one tree is equally good at attacking all the others. This is a big problem for bananas in particular. Up until the 1950's, the Gros Michel cultivar was overwhelmingly planted. Panama disease wiped out the crop world wide, forcing farmers to find a new cultivar. Now almost all bananas are part of the Cavendish group of cultivars, with a distinctly different taste from the older bananas. There is a risk that disease will wipe out the Cavendish some day, and we currently don't have a "backup" cultivar that can replace it.


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

[User]
[Superman] Lead paint.

Lead blocks the effect of kryptonite. Why doesn't he every use lead paint to cover krytonite and then throw it out of the galaxy? He could even look into getting a cape with some sort of lead shielding that he could use to defend against it.

[Assistant] As with every type of radiation shielding it's not only a question of what substance is used in the shielding but also how thick the shielding is. A simple coat of led paint might not be enough to protect superman.


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

[User]
[40K] The Lost Primarchs

On a little known planet a group of Space Marines discover the two stasis pods containing the unborn missing Primarchs. What happens now?

Edit: the primarchs never woke up, and thus never would have rebelled during or before the Horus Heresy. The oath Horus and Fulgrim undertook to never mention their missing brothers was because the Emperor was ashamed at being unable to locate his last sons until now.

Extra question: Why didn't the Emperor make more Primarchs?

[Assistant]
They would be obliterated without waking. The Missing Primarchs most likely turned before the Heresy and rebelled against the Emperor, and were put down by their brothers. What few loyalists remained within their ranks seem to have been absorbed by the other Legions, particularly the Ultramarines. The Emperor went so far as to forbid the remaining Primarchs from so much as speaking about them, some legacy of that edict would exist in the deepest commands of the Imperium, activated at such a discovery.

As for why the Emperor didn't make more... Limited resources, extreme difficulty, and he had a deal with the Chaos Gods.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is it cheaper to build your own computer than buying it pre-built, but more expensive to build your own car than buying it pre-built?

Aside from the difficulty of building the car, car parts are super expensive. I always wondered why buying the parts separately are more expensive than just buying it from a dealership.

[Assistant]
Car parts aren't mass produced for outside retail. Computer parts are. Thats really why.

Intel makes a ton of processors. It doesnt make a difference if you buy one or dell buys thousands. The processors the same. In This way you can get a similar deal to what they can and not have to deal with their markup for profit.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are things that are hot to the touch, not so hot to the mouth i.e. Coffee?

I've always wondered why I can drink a really hot cup of coffee and the cup is really hot to the touch, to the point where I have to put it down if I'm not holding by the handle, but when I sip it, it doesn't burn my mouth.

[Assistant]
Two reasons mostly.  The first is that your mouth is actually built to handle somewhat warmer temperatures than your skin.  So something that is just a little too hot to stick a finger into is probably okay to drink.

The second is that you usually aren't taking big gulps of really hot coffee - you're taking sips.  And when you sip, you're mixing the fluid with air and spattering it across your mouth - this spreads out the heat and minimizes the amount of coffee that's actually in contact with your mouth.  If you took a straw and swept a few drops of coffee across the back of your hand, it'd burn much less than that same amount all in one spot - that's what's happening inside of your mouth.


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

[User]
I add flaxseed powder to things I bake. Does this actually add protein and omega-3s or is it denatured in the process of baking?

I've added it to pizza sauce. The pizza sauce is put on top of the dough, along with other toppings, and everything is baked for 17 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If it does denature, does it "re-nature"? Is this actually beneficial or a waste of time and money? The goal is to add protein and omega-3s to dishes that normally wouldn't have such nutrients.

[Assistant] Denaturation of protein is the point of cooking.  You destroy the proteins of bacteria or parasites living in the food you're eating and begin breaking down the bio-polymers (proteins, DNA, starches, etc).  The protein would be broken down during the course of digestion anyway.  The omega-3s are  lipids, so they shouldn't be broken down appreciably by the heat, as long as it's not burnt, and then they can do their thing when you eat them.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why didn't The Hand ever infiltrate SHIELD or HYDRA?

Considering their whole plan was to find the skeletal remains of a Dragon hidden underneath NYC, one would guess that they'd use SHIELD or HYDRA resources to retrieve what they needed much faster than going through anyone else.

[Assistant]
The Hand are more like thugs than sophisticated espionage agents.  Most of their rank and file spend a lot of time practicing martial arts, packing opioids, and draining blood from vagrants - not skills particularly suited to infiltration.  SHIELD/HYDRA would sniff them out easily.  The top members, the Hand themselves, run things from the shadows and have no need to be part of a large, international organization.

Prior to WW2, HYDRA was mostly  an elite secret society focused on returning Hive to Earth, so there probably wouldn't be any overlap in interests for the Hand.


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

[User] ELI5: When we talk to ourselves inside our head, what's happening? Why do we "hear" a voice even though no sound is being produced?

[Assistant] Okay,  so your brain has never experienced sound directly. Your ear receives sound and converts it into electrical impulses which gets sent to and interpreted by the brain as sound. In fact all your sensory organs do this. Your eyes receive light and convert it into electrical impulses,  your tongue and nose receives chemicals and converts it to electrical impulses and your skin does the same thing with touch. Your brain takes all this input and generates a "reality" with it but has never experienced "reality" directly. When you "hear" your voice in your head your brain is doing the exact same thing it would be doing if it were interpreting sound externally. It's generating a "reality" of sound. This is also what is happening when you are dreaming.  Your brain is generating a "reality" of your dream in precisely the same way it would if you where awake minus the electrical impulse stimulus.


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

[User]
ELI5 - How do gas giants not have a surface? Where do asteroids and comets go when they get sucked in? Whats at the center of a gas giant?

This has always baffled me. I cant really understand how they could just not have a surface no matter how far down you go. Obviously gravity has to pull the gasses together into some more dense form eventually right?

[Assistant] It's still solid in the core. There just is no surface because there's no point you can point to and say "yeah that's where it gets solid". It gradually gets denser and denser as you get closer to the core. Asteroid and whatnot burn and slow down till they stop as it gets too thick for them to move.


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

[User] ELI5:If dolphins and whales are mammals who don't have gills and need to frequently come to the water surface then why can't they survive in land?

[Assistant]
Imagine an astronaut having spent one year in space. Despite all the exercise to maintain his strength in a zero-G environment, his heart will have shrunk by two third, his bone mass will have reduced dramatically and its muscles will have followed the same path. Back on Earth, the astronaut will be carried out of the capsule straight onto a wheelchair, and it will take weeks before he can get back on his feet.

Life in the sea is like living in zero-g. But now, consider these mammals having spent their WHOLE LIFE in that environment, following millions of years of evolution inside that environment, without having trained their body to support their weight on land... You can now picture the disaster their body will face once on land.


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

[User]
Can an action be obligatory if it is impossible NOT to perform?

So, there's the principle "ought implies can" which says that an action cannot be obligatory if it is impossible to perform. But what about when an action is impossible *not* to perform?
I was thinking about this, and it seems kind of weird. When an action is impossible not to perform, doesn't that sort of undermine the force of the obligation? You have no choice *but* to perform that action - doesn't it seem less forceful now to say that you *have* to perform it? Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I was wondering if anyone else thought similarly. What do you all think?

[Assistant] Kant thinks similarly, if that's company you're interested in. He argues that while we have an obligation to make the happiness of others our end, we do not have the corresponding obligation with regards to our own happiness. That is not because we have to put others ahead of ourselves but because Kant thinks that human beings already necessarily take their own happiness as an end, and we cannot have an obligation to do something we already necessarily do.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do most birds bob their head back and forth when they walk?

[Assistant] Its either a product of the birds visual fixation or depth perception. A lot of birds eyes have non overlapping fields of view which makes them hard to tell how far away things are. They use motion parallax to solve this by bobbing or turning their heads.


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

[User] Where does stuff go after it gets sucked by a black hole ?

[Assistant] For the rest of the universe, it appears to get frozen on the surface of the black hole. The black hole eventually evaporates, and the particles that made up that "stuff" contribute to process that creates the new particles that are radiated away from the black hole.


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

[User] why is ok to call a swedish person a swede, a finnish person a fin, a brittish person a brit, but not ok to call a japanese person a jap?

[Assistant]
During and after WWII, the word "Jap" was used in a very derogatory manner.

To add to the difficulties Japanese Americans experienced as a result of the war with Japan, American internment camps were put up, especially on the West Coast, and the freedoms most Americans take for granted were stripped from Japanese Americans who were sequestered there for the duration of the war, some of whom had been here for multiple generations. Many of them had their land confiscated as well.

The word "Jap" represents and reflects a very bad time that we'd all like to put behind us, so it is now considered a very rude word.


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

[User] ELI5: What is stochastic terrorism?

[Assistant]
Sean really doesn't like Maxine. He wants to throw a rock at her, but he knows he will go in time out if he does. So he doesn't throw a rock at Maxine.

But he really wants Maxine to get a rock thrown at her. So Sean starts telling all his friends some awful rumors about Maxine. He tells them that Maxine kills and eats puppies! Sean is lying.

Eventually, the rumor gets passed around, and reaches Timmy. Sean doesn't know Timmy, and Timmy doesn't know Maxine. But Timmy is mentally retarded, and he doesn't know that Sean is lying. And Timmy loves puppies. Timmy wants to protect the puppies. So Timmy throws a rock at Maxine, because he wants to protect the puppies.

Sean used Stochastic Terrorism to incite violence. He knew someone who loved puppies would eventually attack Maxine, but he wasn't sure when it would happen or who would do it. But he knew if he kept repeating the lie, a puppy-lover would eventually attack Maxine.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it that for many people their behavior completely changes when they are in a car or on the internet?

[Assistant]
It's about anonymity and vulnerability.

On the internet, you're anonymous and well outside the reach of the person you're talking to, so when people disagree, they tend to be a lot more confrontational and aggressive... because it's easy to be aggressive and confrontational when there's no chance of being punched in the face.

In the real world if you're 5" tall and weigh 90lbs soaking wet, you're probably not going to tell a 6"5 250lb guy that he's full of shit, even if that's what you think. Online, who cares? What's he going to do?

The flip side is it's also much easier to be abusive or aggressive (or honest) when the person you're communicating with is just words on a screen. The internet dehumanizes the person you're speaking to

Basically,It's really easy to watch a bad youtube video and tell xXUsernameXx that they're a talentless piece of shit. It's a different thing to watch that same video and then walk up to Jenny, the 14 year old girl who makes Minecraft videos to take her mind off her parent's divorce...and look her in the eye and say "You're a talentless piece of shit."

As for cars? Well, the same applies. You're in a big, locked metal box that's basically half suit of armor, half escape pod. Lean on your horn, give the middle finger, because you're at your turning and will never see whoever's driving that car again.. and fuck that fucking stupid fucking Ford that cut you off in traffic, because it's a stupid fucking Ford...not Jenny's Mom who's had a really bad day and distracted because she doesn't know how she's going to make rent that week.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why some liquid medicines state a dosage such as 10mg/5ml rather than just 2mg/ml?

Am I just being overly pedantic?

[Assistant] If the typical dosage is 10 mg (or multiples of that) then you have to do a lot less calculation to arrive at the correct amount. And if you have simpler or no calculation there is less risk of getting the dosage wrong.


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

[User]
Why dont we use metal cubes instead of ice cubes?

Since metal can get a lot colder than ice can wouldnt it made more sense if we would use metal cubes?
Also you could use metal cubes multiple times.

[Assistant] Metal and ice can get equally cold. They get as cold as the freezer they're in. Ice has a greater heat capacity than most metals, meaning it stays cold for longer, and there is a large latent heat when it melts, which means it absorbs a lot of heat from the ambient water without changing its own temperature as it melts. This allows it to cool down water by warming and melting more than the same size cube of metal could.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are cable and internet company options in the US so limited?

[Assistant]
In short: monopolies.

Major telecom companies took advantage of the fact that internet/cable access had not had specific legislation made concerning them (or that they had not been classified in a manner that existing legislation applied to them).

This allowed said companies to section off service areas into controlled monopolies, and to lobby politically to protect their monopolies. They do not compete, so they are able to maintain high rates and not invest in improving/expanding services.


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

[User]
Why do remote controls still rely mostly on infrared technology, not radio?

Subquestion: is IR technology really cheaper than radio wave technology? It would seem so. But it also seems that radio transmitting/receiving technology costs next to nothing. One can buy FM transmitters for about 1 Euro in a thrift store. Cheap portable FM receivers cost about the same.

I know that Sony uses it in some of their more expensive devices. Why is it not used universally by some cheap brands?

[Assistant]
While yes it is better because the signal from a radio can go through things, this can also be an issue. Imagine if you had two rooms side by side with the same make of TV, the remove would control both TVs at a time instead of just doing the single one.

Yes you could remove this by pairing the TV with the remote, but why not just keep using infared if it works, and doesn't have any serious limitations?


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

[User]
CMV: It's okay for women/girls to initiate a romantic relationship

Disclaimer: I need this for a debate ; our side being assigned that its not okay for girls to initiate a romantic relationship, unfortunately, as a man born in this generation, I'm okay with girls initiating a relationship and I need to change my views to the old traditional way that its always a man who should initiate it.

I know questions like these existed already and I've seen A LOT but its always the reverse (changing their views that we should normalize women making the first move, which is the exact reverse of our side; its not okay for women to make the first move.)

Here's my views:

1. Women empowerment. Men making the first move sometimes abuses this and uses their advantage to dominate their partner; controlling them.

2. It doesn't matter who makes the first move anymore, as long as they  both can make it work. Its an old accustomed tradition that men always makes the first move anyways.

3. People in the LGBT+ Community, specially ones with girl to girl relationships. Many of them succeeded fought their rights to it. This proves that women are capable of making the first move.

Basically, I'm putting myself on the shoes of the opposition and you as the commenter, on our side so I can somehow visualize how our debate would go; I guess its like flipping the chessboard around so I can think of ways to counter them.

There are more but I can't put them into words properly. Change my view!

[Assistant]
For whatever it's worth this a weird and inappropriate assignment but just to think outside of the box a little:

Not every culture shares the united states comfort with women initiating romantic partnerships. There are several areas where a woman initiating a romantic partnership may be considered too forward and could  lead to consequences ranging from social/societal strife to physical harm.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do animals who live underground appear always clean and not full of dirt? (e.g. worms, mice, rabbit)

[Assistant]
Well, mice and rabbit both share 2 things in common. Constant grooming and they live in dens. Dens aren't full of loose dirt. But all the same they spend half of their day grooming. Not because they care how they look, but because a clean coat works better as insulation in the winter and to keep you cool in the summer, and whiskers are SUPER sensitive and work best clean.

Worms have a slimy coating between them and what they burrow through. It lubricates them to help them move and prevents drying out as fast since the goop they make doesn't evaporate as readily as water.


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

[User]
What is the difference between running my bank card as a credit vs. a debit?

For the consumer, the business, as well as the bank.

[Assistant]
in the US, many "debit" cards have the functionality to be run over the credit card's networks.  This allows for usage in situations where a merchant does not take [traditional] debit cards

To the consumer, there is little difference.  Press credit, and you will probably have to sign for it. end of story.  Press debit, enter your pin, ask for a "cashout/cashback" if you want to, and thats it.  Either way, your money gets deducted from your account.

On the other hand, any "rewards programs" usually require being run as "credit".   Some banks charge a large fee to the cardholder if a card is run as "debit"

For the merchant, its a story of fees.  When a customer charges as credit, the credit card networks (visa/mc/etc) will charge their normal fees for credit cards, which is usually percentage-based.   Debit transactions are usually a flat, but rather large (often in the $0.20ish range) fee  (this is one reason why cashbacks are allowed over debit)


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

[User] Why do we receive ultraviolet radiation instead of gamma rays from the Sun?

[Assistant]
The Sun is thick and opaque, and the extreme radiation of the interior is absorbed before it makes its way out. The radiation we get from the Sun is mostly from the thin surface layer, which is heated by the radiation from beneath it. So we don't "see" the million degrees reactor core of the Sun - we see the 6000 K yellow-white surface, and that's the light that hits us. We get this cooler spectrum of light, which includes some UV radiation in there.

Though we do get *some* gamma rays from the Sun, just not a huge amount.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Assuming Palpatine succeeded in mastering Force-Immortality and killed off the Skywalkers, what was he gonna do with the Galaxy?

[Assistant]
Build up more control until his New Empire controlled the entire Galaxy, build up his own Sith Alchemy and Force Powers to levels exceeding those of the Mortis Gods, find a new apprentice to handle the enforcement of his will, and expand past the borders of the Galaxy to conquer worlds yet undiscovered.

There wasn't much else Palpatine wanted. He'd definitely look for another way into The World Between Worlds so he could time travel and fuck with the timeline, notably killing or capturing Jedi rivals of his like Windu or Yoda so as to take sadistic pleasure in torturing and or killing them.

Beyond that, capturing all the Jedi Temples and Holocrons would be a side quest for him. Enslaving and corrupting Force Sensitives as well (broom boy would be snatched up). Anything supernaturally unique would also pique Palps' interest (like Mortis, the source of the Cosmic Force, etc)


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

[User]
ELI5: Law enforcement hierarchy in the states

I'm from the UK and here it's pretty simple, the country (England) is divided into counties, and there is a police force for each county, that all enforce the same laws nationwide. Within the police forces there are specialized divisions such as drugs squads and firearms units, but I know there are many different types of law enforcement in the US Such as: Police, Sheriffs, State Troopers, FBI, DEA, Marshals and so on...
But what are the differences between all these organizations, Who has more power and where? Do sheriffs have more power/jurisdiction over police? Do state troopers have jurisdiction over sheriffs? Do they all have different jobs and what are their purposes?

Thanks in advance.

[Assistant]
There are two main important sources of law: the federal government and the states. The federal government and each state separately have criminal laws, for example, with some overlap. (For the most part, federal crimes are quite serious.) Federal law is enforced only be federal agencies; they are the only ones with jurisdiction. The main federal law enforcement agency is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but other law enforcement agencies like the DEA, ATF, ICE, National Park Service rangers, and so on are tasked with enforcing law in a particular place (e.g. CBP at the border) or on a particular topic (e.g. the DEA on drugs). The U.S. Marshals mainly go after fugitives and ensure operation of the judiciary, such as by enforcing writs.

The states are divided into counties, and each county usually has its own police department. These have jurisdiction only within their own county, but enforce state law. The state troopers have jurisdiction across the state, and mainly act as a highway patrol in most places. The title of "sheriff" varies--in some towns he is the head of local police, but in others he is more like the U.S. Marshals, enforcing court orders; in some places he does both.

City and county governments also make laws, but they are normally minor, such as prohibiting loitering or smoking in public. Local police departments enforce this provisions.

In a nutshell: federal and state law enforcement are quite separate, and enforce different laws. The state laws are mostly enforced by local police departments, restricted to one county in jurisdiction, as well as by state troopers who can go everywhere. A slew of different agencies exist for enforcing particular aspects of law, but usually their legal jurisdiction extends beyond that subject.


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

[User]
[TV Commercials] What horrible thing happened in the DiGiorno universe to render delivery pizza indistinguishable from DiGiorno?

Apparently in that universe, DiGiorno pizza is so similar to delivery pizza that the the former often gets mistaken for the latter. Why? What horrible thing could have made that the norm, and why does society accept it so casually?

[Assistant] The DiGiorno universe is the same as *Snow Crash*, where all pizza delivery is controlled by the mob (Cosa Nostra). Actually, their pizza is invariably excellent and delivered piping hot and within thirty minutes. But this is not without cost for both the Deliverator, the customer, and those hapless victims who get between the Deliverator and the customer, so some just use frozen to avoid the hassle.


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

[User]
[Mickey Mouse Clubhouse] What is going on with Mickey's ears, anatomically speaking?

They appear to move about his head rather freely, and you never see them edge on, or overlapping each other, and they appear to be 2 dimensional.  They also present to the camera the same way at all times.  Does this imply an instinctive 4th wall awareness?

[Assistant] It's not two-dimensional.  Rather the opposite.  The entity known as Mickey is merely a projection of a higher-dimensional being. The eldritch geometry of that being's true form is such that certain ratios and proportions remain unchanged no matter what angle that form is viewed from.  You know how, in those recent images of a black hole, you can see parts of the accretion disc that are physically behind the event horizon, because light is bent around the black hole?  Something like that.  No matter what angle you look at Mickey from, you'll always see both "ears" in profile.


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

[User] [ATLA] I get that the Avatar is the only one that can master all four elements, but is there a reason nobody tries to do more than one?

[Assistant]
Is there a reason nobody tries to fly by jumping off a roof and flapping their arms?

The closest you get is people like Iroh and presumably the rest of the White Lotus that saw the value of studying the different styles' approaches to elemental bending and applying them to his own. It's how he developed that breath of fire technique Zuko used to survive the wilderness at the north pole and to endure the cooler on the Boiling Rock, and where he started developing his lightning redirection. Basically, "bending fire like an airbender or waterbender."


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

[User] ELI5: Why in suburban areas are all houses exactly the same. Who decided this was the best model for a house, and when did everyone get on board to build their houses all the same.

[Assistant] Suburban building works like this: 1) Developer buys a big block and subdivides it into lots; 2) Builder builds 3-5 model homes and offers to build whatever model people pick on whatever empty lots in the development remain; 3) Buyers decide which home to build and where to put it.  When (3) most Buyers like one model, you get a lot of copies of that in the development.  Building houses all different is much more expensive.  In recent eras, local governments have pushed harder to make the building front exteriors look different, but the houses are made with the same cookie-cutter mentality.


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

[User]
[Green Lantern] How was it decided that the rings would be assigned the specific emotions?

Why couldn't there be a ring for happy or sadness?

[Assistant]
The beings that represent each emotion were the first to harness that emotions power. For example Ion was the first fish with the willpower to walk on land. Parallex was a wasp, the first thing to be so scary that it harnessed power from it.

All of the emotions harness a power, that's what the rings are tapping into. Sadness was never harnessed a power. Those who turned their sadness into rage on the other hand.


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

[User]
[The Fly 1986] Is it possible that Seth Brundle died the second he used the telepod and the person throughought the rest of the film is just a clone?

Like, he mentions that the things in th telepod are disintegrated or something. Is it possible that the original Seth Brundle simply died, and the Seth that goes through the horrific transformation through the rest of the film is simply a (nearly) perfect clone? If anything, the integration of fly DNA almost makes it seem as if it is a different organism, merely with Brundle's memories.

[Assistant] That kind of teleporter is the sort that leaves a body (or at least all the elements the body was made from) on the launch pad and requires a feed of elements at the other end.  He doesn't seem to be using that kind of teleporter.


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

[User] ELI5: What makes AMD graphics cards so popular for cryptocurrency mining, and why does it matter?

[Assistant] They are generally a good deal cheaper than Nvidia cards and for a good while now the architecture That AMD has been using (GCN aka graphics core next) turns out is really good for mining operations and better than Nvidia. So it makes sense for miners to use AMD since the cards are cheaper and they get better mining performance with AMD cards. So they make more money and cover their investment faster.


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

[User]
CMV: in the US at least, we have pushed the importance and value of a college degree too far

Dont get me wrong, education is fantastic and something everyone needs. However the vastly dominant narrative Ive heard at least is that the only viable and successful path after high school is to go to college and this is very short sighted and biased and neglects a large population of happy and successful people who have only high school or less education.

A bachelors degree used to hold more meaning than it does now. While the requirement for masters or higher is indicative of growth in our collective knowledge base, technology, etc, there are also lots of people getting degrees that are frankly not worth the exorbitant tuitions at many colleges (which is its own whole issue). This results in parents paying for essentially a resort experience for their kids at certain schools, and thankless kids getting degrees that they will not find a job in the sector of. Meanwhile services and trades are sorely lacking people who want to work in these fields (which often pay better than many entry level jobs for educated and over educated graduates)

Trades, basic services, and the myriad other jobs out there not requiring a bachelor degree that make the world run are incredibly important and should be considered just as honorable as going to college and this is a disconnect between parenthood, k-12 schooling, and colleges and how they talk to students about their futures.

[Assistant] The fact that tuition is expensive is a separate problem from whether a degree is good or not. In a democracy a more educated populace is good thing because they can make more intelligent decisions about the future of our society. The fact that a guy with a bachelors works at a coffee shop isn't a problem - it's great! The problem is that the bachelors cost too much and the coffee shop doesn't pay enough. But that is separate from "college bad"


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

[User]
CMV: Hunting is the best and most ethically responsible way to feed yourself.

If we view humans as a species among many specie, where the natural machinations of the world operate within a predator-prey paradigm, then hunting naturally follows that ethic. In fact, it should be considered more ethical to hunt than not to hunt - by not hunting, homo sapiens break away from both our evolutionary, biological impulse and the natural ethic of the world we live in. Our human notion of the ethical has blurred the line of the natural ethic from which we evolved and the species around us still maintain. Not hunting is a modern invention that presupposes 100 years of social change overrides millions of years of a natural ethic.

Note: This is not to say that the vegan lifestyle is NOT ethical. In fact, it is a lifestyle that I find fascinating and hold in great esteem. However, the overriding sentiment is that hunting is wholly unethical - a paradigm that I am attempting to interrogate with this post. There is, unequivocally, a natural ethic to hunting.

EDIT: I had to step away...this is my first time here and it is hard to keep up with so many different conversations! I will try to look at all of the new responses.

[Assistant] If every human went out and hunted wild game in today's world, we would eradicate the last of the wild herds (and then promptly starve).  The only way to support our numbers is by using meat that is a product of directed breeding.


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

[User]
Can spiders get stuck in other spiders' webs? Can they get stuck in their own webs? Why/why not?

I've never heard of a spider getting stuck in its own webs, but i'm sure they can get stuck in another's web, right? and how do they avoid getting stuck in their own webs in the first place?

[Assistant]
The short answer is yes, the can get stuck in their webs and other spider's webs.

Not every strand of web is sticky, and in order to avoid becoming stuck in their own webs, they have to step carefully and stay on only the strains of web that aren't sticky when they're moving. Even if they step wrongly, it's fairly easy to get unstuck--in fact, many of the bugs that hit a spider's web and get stuck will free themselves.