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

[User]
As a hospital security dispatcher, I see a lot of elderly patients who come into the ER for rectal bleeding. Why is this so common in the elderly population?

To clarify. I work in the dispatch office which is directly across from the ED triage. I have access to a program which displays all ER patients info and their issues. I have no direct contact with the patients or staff and it would be distasteful to ask the staff in person. Any ideas?

[Assistant]
Elderly patients often have poor diets(no fiber), little fluid intake, and are usually immobile/static(no abd muscle flexion to help the intestines). They also have decreased smooth muscle tone in the intestines(just like any other muscle in the body), and are more prone to tears due to the age and fragility of the intestinal wall.

Even though we usually just say rectal bleeding, this is only half the case. 50% of the time, if they are actually bleeding, they are due to hemmorhoids which are caused by increased thoracic pressures due to pushing while pooping(Weight lifters get them too)--its called the vasalva maneuver and is the reason you're told to breath while you lift and poop. This increased pressure causes the internal and/or external rectal veins(or other veins) to abnormally expand and possibly rupture(you go to wipe), thus bleeding. If you have these, it will be bright red blood. This is probably what you are referring to and its mainly due to poor diet, immobility(obese get this as well), and as a result, excess straining while pooping.

The other 50% of the time, the patient actually has a GI(stomach, small intestine, etc) bleed but can present with signs of rectal bleeding. Upper GI bleeds are usually detected by the presence of dark colored stool, while lower colon and rectal bleeds are often characterized by gross blood or stool mixed with bright red blood. (darker color is due to the intestines breaking down the hemoglobin, thus allowing oxidation of the iron). We call dark stools with blood, "occult blood", and we perform a DRE/stool guiuac test(stick a finger up your butt) to confirm--the patient then goes for a EGD scope or colonoscopy if positive. Upper GI bleeds  can be caused by poor diet but is often due to some underlying malignancy(cancer--chemo drugs wreak havok on the GI system due to the fast turnover), disease(diabetes, htn), ulceration(peptic or duodenal ulcer), or trauma.


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

[User] If it was inside a vacuum, what exactly would happen to a tree and how long would it take for it to die?

[Assistant]
Plants exchange a lot of water with their environment. It is chemically consumed by photosynthesis and the constant upward flow from the roots to the crown helps transport nutrients.

The rate of evaporation is controlled by thousands of valved openings called stroma on the surface of each leaf. If the tree detects that it is losing water too fast, the valves close.

These valves were never designed for the vacuum of space though (low pressure will lead to evaporation and sublimation), and the underlying leaf is not equipped for extreme temperatures and unfiltered ultraviolet radiation. The leaves will probably wilt almost immediately.

Bark has the characteristics of a decent space suit. It is strong, mostly watertight, and has some insulating ability. The cambium (the living layer under the bark but above the wood) would be viable for a while until it either boils in the sun or freezes solid. Actually, some species don't mind being frozen for a while so chucking it into deep interstellar space where it is too cold for water to sublimate much might fail to kill it.

Radiation damage would accrue over days or months as your oak drifts among the stars.


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

[User] Are all plants and animals susceptible to cancer?

[Assistant]
There are very few animals that have a resistance to cancer.

Naked Mole Rats for instance appear to be immune to the disease. There has never been a recorded case of cancer among mole rats.

Plants do get cancer. It occurs in tumor like growths that form on the bark of trees and on the stems of plants.


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

[User]
If we ever make the switch to electric cars, wouldn't it make more sense to have battery exchange stations instead of battery charge stations?

The way I've heard it, these batteries take hours to charge up. Nobody wants to sit at a charging station for that long. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a bunch of fully charged batteries waiting for the next customer and have either a machine, or a few strapping young lads switch out the battery? Would there be any obstacles to a system like that? Would it cost more/less/the same? Good/bad for businesses/customers?

[Assistant]
There would have to be a standardisation of batteries regarding size, power, connections and probably capacity, maybe more stuff too. That's all doable, it just needs to be agreed on by the industry.

The biggest problem would be how to ensure that the batteries you were getting out were still in a good enough condition to be swapped out - they're expensive pieces of kit and swapping out a relatively new one for a really old one that is about to fail and has a tiny remaining capacity would suck!


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why does everyone say the killing curse is unblockable when it clearly is blockable?

Seriously.

1: You can just conjure a physical object to block it.

2: It can be blocked by sacrificial love magic. Which would indicate that there are other forms of magic that can block it, just no one has researched it.

3: It probably doesn't work against magical creatures like Dragons/ Chimera. Otherwise they wouldn't be considered such a threat if any wizard with the stomach to throw an AK would be able to one shot them.

So does "not blockable" mean "not blockable with a protego (along with lots of other nasty spells), but blockable by physical objects, obscure love magic and dangerous magical creatures"

Because that doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well.

[Assistant]
For one, the only people who really talk about *avada kedavra* being unblockable are those who would face it in combat: aurors, and the Order of the Phoenix. Members of these groups are trained at magical combat, but the Killing Curse can't be blocked *by the spells that they most commonly use to defend themselves*.

Wizards, on the whole, aren't that smart, nor are they particularly adaptable to new information. They've been trained to react to a flashing ball of light streaking toward their face in very particular ways. Most aurors or Phoenixen have a single spell as their go-to. But if they're fighting someone who uses *avada kedavra*, that spell *will not work*.

"You can't block *avada kedavra* is a simple, catchy phrase that will stick in their minds and hopefully prevent them from getting killed in the opening exchange.

As for the sacrificial love thing, there are what, two or three people in the entire world that understand the mechanics of that?

And dragons may or may not be susceptible to *avada kedavra*, but even if they are, most wizards *don't* have the stomach to use it, even in self defense, even against a non-human. Hermione and her class were appalled when Barty Crouch Jr (posing as Alastor Moody) used *crucio* on a *spider*.


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

[User]
ELI5:  How does law enforcement match a bullet to a specific gun?

I get matching it to a model, but how do they verify the specific gun?  Do guns leave some type of ballistic finger print on rounds, and if so, is that fingerprint made on purpose or a natural result of minor manufacturing inconsistency?

[Assistant]
All guns have a series of spiral grooves cut into the inside of the barrel. This groove pattern causes the bullet to spin which helps it fly straight.

This groove pattern is left on the bullet as it leaves the gun. Due to minor manufacturing inconsistencies the exact pattern is unique to every gun.

When running a ballistic test the police will test fire rounds from a given gun and compare the test bullets to bullets recovered at the crime scene. If the groove pattern matches up then there's a good chance it's the same gun.


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

[User]
ELI5: What causes the various types of acne?

I've always been told that acne is caused by dirt entering the pores. If this is true, why are there so many different types. There are white heads and black heads which look totally different. There are also those types that form below the surface of the skin that you are not able to pop. What is causing these? They certainly all can't be from the same source. Is the skin excreting some type of oils under the skin? Or is it at all tied into the blood stream?

EDIT: Also, hour does it relate to your diet?

[Assistant] All of them are caused by various bacterial infections blocking pores, followed by white blood cells trying to kill the infection piling up and natural oil getting stuck. Whiteheads are still covered by skin, while blackheads have broken the surface slightly and oxidized.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] What do the Reapers do with Salarians?

The Reapers convert and corrupt species into their servants, that much is common knowledge. Humans became Husks, Protheans became Collectors, Batarians Cannibals, Turians Marauders, Ardat Yakshi Banshees.

We only see these twisted species appear once the Reapers destroy that race's major settlements. Humans were the main ones targeted, causing the abundance of husks, then when the Reapers arrived in Batarian space we started to see Cannibals. Then they attack Palaven, and we get Marauders, etc etc.

My question is, what about Salarians? We've seen what becomes of most of the council races, except for Salarians. I cannot recall if their major planets were hit, but surely they would do something with them, right? Or would the Reapers see their fast metabolism as a weakness that makes them not worthy, and just dispose of them?

[Assistant]
Salarian territory was on the opposite side of the galaxy to where the Reapers arrived from and so most of their planets remained untouched. It was only in the closing days of the War that the Reapers finally pushed into Salarian space and by that time Shepard and co were in the middle of pushing to Earth for the final battle so there just wasn't any time for any huskified Salarians to make it there in any great numbers.

As for what happens to a Salarian when one is turned into a husk, Harbinger is quoted as saying that they have an insufficient lifespan and a fragile genetic structure. So its possible that they just couldn't 'survive' the process intact to the point of being useful. That said, the Reapers don't seem like the kind of entities that are needlessly wasteful so they probably have some use for them as test subjects or indoctrinated agents.


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

[User] eli5 - How can the human body be composed of 70% water when it feels and behaves like any other solid?

[Assistant]
Take the amount of water that's inside a human body and just pour it all into a big bag.  It sloshes around a lot and feels like a liquid, right?  Your question is asking why people *don't* feel like that.

Well, take all of that water, and split it up among several billion teeny tiny boxes.  Put all those boxes together in the shape of a human, and it'll contain the exact same amount of water as the big bag did, except now it'll feel solid because the water is all held within objects which have shape and structure.

In an actual human, those billions of teeny tiny boxes are all of the cells in the body.


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

[User]
[King Kong (1933)] Is Kong really the most interesting thing on Skull Island?

So in *King Kong* we have a team of explorers who reach an uncharted island, full of unknown wildlife and uncontacted people. So far so good. The creatures on the island are throwbacks to prehistoric times, including dinosaurs, pterodactyls, giant insects, and. . . a 30-foot gorilla that, for some reason, is the one thing they decide to take back with them to New York.

And that's what I don't get. Why are the explorers so interested in what's basically an oversized version of a normal, modern-day animal, when there are *living dinosaurs* on the island?

[Assistant]
Carl Denham was in charge, as show biz whiz but not scientifically inclined.

If he were smarter, he would have crammed the ship with as many seeds, eggs, smaller creatures as possible. Even a single unhatched Triceratops egg would have been worth millions and revolutionized the science of the day.

But, you know, Denham dreamed small dreams.

I want to know why, a year later before it sinks, Skull Island isn't swarming with scientists, authors, explorers for different countries, even a new religious sect. It must have been remarkably hard to find.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do German luxury automobile brands such as Audi/BMW/Mercedes recommend oil changes every 15K+ miles whereas American standard brands like Ford and Chevy still recommend oil changes every 3-5K miles?

I have always owned American car brands and regularly changed the oil at the recommended 5K mile mark as part of the routine maintenance. I recently got a BMW X3 and found out that the recommended mileage before getting an oil change is around 15K. This lead me to ask:

What is it about the design of the German vehicles that allow them to go longer without changing the oil? Does the engine run at a slightly temperature than American models? Does it have to do with the fact that I am combusting higher rated gasoline in it(requires premium)? Do they use a superior oil filter? If anyone could give some insight, I would greatly appreciate it because I was genuinely curious and don't know enough about cars to formulate my own hypothesis.

[Assistant]
Service contracts.

BMW used to recommend oil changes every 5000 miles or so, but then the marketing department got involved and offered free oil changes for the first X years, and once the dealers had to pay the cost of the service the interval magically tripled so you needed fewer of them.

The effect is that with the reduced servicing the car will still run fine for the duration of the warranty, but at the end of the warranty period it'll have more wear and tear and may need to be replaced sooner - another win for the marketing department.


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

[User] ELI5: Given its once immense popularity, how did Latin become a 'dead language'?

[Assistant]
Latin evolved into the other romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, etc).  So in that respect it had the same the fate of almost all human languages, which is that they evolve over time into new languages.

But second, Latin was also *kept alive* in its original form.  This is a lot more rare, and only happens to languages that are especially prominent for some reason (in Latin's case, as the language of learning and religion for much of Western Europe).

So you get this weird dichotomy where the language still exists (classical Latin), but nobody speaks it - instead they speak its children and derivatives.


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

[User]
What happens to the Cochlear fluid of the astronauts?

Thought about this last night, couldn't find an answer online. So what happens to Cochlear fluid in low-g environments? How do Astronauts not get violently sick all the time?

[Assistant] Actually astronauts do often get sick when they first get in orbit. It is called Space Adaptation Syndrome or "Space sickness", and it can last even a few days, during which they get used to the much different signals that are coming from their balance sensoring organs.


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

[User]
[Dungeons and Dragons] Is there any reason a group of average citizens can't pick up swords and spellbooks and train to be as skilled as the traveling adventurers?

I've always wondered, what exactly sets the adventurers aside from everyone else? Besides the gear and the skill. I understand it takes a bit of effort or sacrifice or being born into it to learn magic.

Are they special? Chosen by a higher power? Superheroes compared to everyone else that people can aspire to be like but it is physically impossible for a random civilian to achieve that level?

Does being an orphaned loner empower you with the ability to shoot arrows really well?

[Assistant]
Anybody can be an adventurer. Anyone can learn magic of some type. Anyone can give their faith to a god and reap power from it. And lots of *common* people do give it a shot.

The problem is, there is an extremely steep learning curve to adventuring, and when you're just starting out there's nobody around to bring you back if you die.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does the United States military have bases in other countries but other countries don't have bases in the United States? What are the odds of another country putting a base in the US?

Question is in the title!

[Assistant]
A lot of countries host bases for other countries. There are a few advantages to this.

First - Base leases usually come with money. Most countries like to have money come in.

Second - Base leases usually come with favors or otherwise improve relationships between the countries. Want to influence a powerful country? Hosting one of their bases is a good way to do it.

Third - Bases provide defense. Maybe the local warlords don't think much of podunksylvania. But they might take you more seriously if you host some major foreign forces.

The US doesn't host much in the way of foreign forces because none of those things are terribly important to them. The US pretty much exclusively plays the role of patron rather than client. The US does host some small numbers of foreign forces, but only for the purposes of training. The US would probably not be happy hosting any of the countries with global aspirations, because they are exactly the countries they would be the most concerned about attacking the US.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do Americans view soccer completely opposite to the rest of the world?

[Assistant] no one mentioned commercial rights.  the sport never became popular because corporations dont see it as a viable marketing tool that can eventually increase its popularity and therefore their own popularity.  soccer has two 45min halves that cannot be interrupted, meaning you cant fit commercials in a soccer game like you do in basketball, football, baseball etc., so no ones going to put money into it to make it seem cool. sponsorships are also few and far between.


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

[User] [TES] What is the upper limit of magic? Is Shilandor the strongest mage in history? Are there distinctions between witches, warlocks and mages? Are there any races that simply can't use magicka?

[Assistant]
Well the Dwarves used magic polished to such a degree they called it a science, Tonal Architecture, and used it to create metal frozen in time so it never decays, puzzles that could trick "gods" like Azura, and, y'know, the Numidium. That last one is probably tied for strongest thing on the physical world. While the original needed the Heart of Lorkhan to function, Zurin Arctus retrofitted it to use a soul gem with a reincarnation of Lorkhan trapped inside. It basically gives Akatosh the god of time a swirly every time it's turned on. This thing screwed up the time and the universe so badly that it's technically *still* fighting the war it was brought back for in other dimensions. It also forcibly ascended at least 2 gods, with one of those being a contender for capital-G God, since he is technically Lorkhan reborn, and Lork is the soul of half of the original Godhead who created the universe.

So that would make it seem like the upper limit of magic is that there is no limit, as long as you know what your doing. This tracks with what we know in lore. Magicka streams in from the Sun and stars, which are holes into Aetherius, a realm of infinite energy and possibility. Tonal magic isn't quite the same thing, since it doesn't use magicka. Skyrim shouts don't deplete your mana bar when used for example, but they are much much less complex than dwemer tonal architecture.

I vote the Numidium as the greatest extent of magic seen.


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

[User]
LPTs for faculty phone/skype/zoom interviews (please add to!)

Remember you can have notes available and refer to them, but do not read significantly from them or appear to have something memorized. I would avoid preparing slides to show unless they are asked for, they often come across as cumbersome.

1. **When scheduling the call, ask who will also be on the call.** Look them up and know who they are and what research they do.
2. **Speak clearly and at a pace that can be understood.** You can ask if they can hear you clearly and ask them to speak up if you have trouble hearing them, but make sure you do so politely.
3. **Do not shadow your accomplishments, but do not be boastful**. If you have a publication in a significant journal or received impressive funding, mention it, but do not repeatedly mention it again and again. Bring up accomplishments that have occurred since your application, which can be done when contacted for the interview via email and/or during the call.
4. **Be patient if technical difficulties occur.** Do not be afraid to make idol chit chat if there is a delay where people are just sitting and waiting. How is the weather there?
5. **Concisely and succinctly explain your research** ***past***, ***present***, and ***future***.  Be able to discuss the significance and innovation of your research, what you specifically did, and what were the highlights of your results in 3-5 sentences each (1-2 minute/each). If you have several research projects, try and elaborate on the most appropriate or significant. Avoid a monologue going on for several minutes, people lose interest after a couple minutes and you want to make the call interactive, not one way. If they want to know more about your research, they can always ask.
6. **Be able to discuss and/or ask smart questions on the area, university, school/college (e.g. College of Engineering), and department/division**.
   1. For the geographical area, if it has resources nearby have some knowledge of that if applicable. Or even in casual chat that might occur know what there is to do nearby or discuss sports if that is a significant aspect of the university.
   2. Visit the universitys webpage and know what resources (e.g. core facilities, centers) they have that may help you. See if they have a strategic plan or focus areas they are looking to grow (e.g. cluster hires).
   3. Know what resources the school/college has that can help. Maybe they also have a strategic plan and areas they want to grow.
   4. Study the department/division and know who is in that unit, who does related research, what the common research areas are and especially who you could collaborate with. It is okay to want to collaborate with people outside the department/division, but you should know some in the division that you can work with. Know what classes they teach and where you would fit in that curriculum. Perhaps a course you could teach to add to the curriculum.
7. **Know the ad.** If the ad is specific for a research area, focus on that area of research and not solely on other areas of research. If they request specific things in the ad, let them know you met those criteria.
8. **Be able to explain why you are interested in the position** and if you are leaving a current position why you are interested in leaving.
9. **Be prepared for a behavioral question.**
   1. Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation?
   2. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and how you handled it.
   3. Tell me about a time when you were in direct conflict with a peer and how was it resolved.
10. **Know what resources, generally, you would need to succeed.** An itemized list of the number of pipette boxes is not needed, but what big equipment or shared facilities would you need. Also, is there expertise that you would need in a certain area as a collaborator?
11. **Be able to answer questions showing the scope of your knowledge in your field.** For an applied field, what similar technology has been commercialized or is in start-ups? Know other individuals (maybe your advisor) who work in this area. How is this work unique from that? Where would you apply for funding?
12. If you are a coming out of your post doc, think about what **project your first student would do** and how you would help them to accomplish that project.
13. **Have questions prepared for the interviewers.**

* When you were looking at resources, was everything you need available? If not, ask about the ones you need. Or if they are there, ask for specifications (not too in depth unless the people on the phone use them).
* When will they get back to you? What is the schedule for on campus visits?
* For junior faculty, is there a formal mentoring program?

[Assistant]
If at all possible, use a wired connection.

Before the call happens, use your 'check video settings' feature to examine the frame to see if you're visually presenting yourself well--lighting, background scenery, etc.


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

[User] ELI5 : How does a QR / Bar-code work?

[Assistant]
this is actually two different questions. bar codes work much different from QR codes.

bar code:

consider the number 12345, we represent each of those numbers "1" "2" "3" etc using arabic numerals, which work fine for us but confuse computers. so we made a representation that can be easily understood by a computer, a series of alternating black and white lines. each number has a set of black and white lines that make it up. that's it, really just another way to represent the numbers you see written below it (the UPC)

a QR code is a bit more complicated as it represents arbitrary data.

so imagine the letters "QR" in binary (using utf8) this would look like 0011001100110100

take each of those 1's and make them a black box and each 0 as a white box. that's the basic principal behind a QR. now you may think (but QR codes are so much more complicated than that) it's true. just putting those on the page would be very error prone, what if it's upside down, what if it's at an angle, what if there is an odd light, what if one of the boxes is damaged. so we need to be able to account for these things.

what QR does is it places boxes in the corner so the reader can get a sense of the scale and orientation, it places an alternating set of black and white boxes between them to get an idea of the size of the boxes and adjust for odd lighting, it creates redundant copies of the data in the data field to recover from scratches or other damage to the QR and a checksum to check that the data is correct.

most of the complexities of QR and of barcodes come from error checking and allowing for scanning at odd angles.


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

[User]
ELI5: Insomnia. What's really going on biologically and psychologically and why does it happen if sleep is so necessary for survival.

My mother has crippling insomnia and it makes her hate life. Suicidal, anxiety, depression and just all round amplified negative emotions. Unsurprisingly, she had a turbulent upbringing. Also, does the body just get to a point where it just crashes from excessive sleep deprivation? If so, wouldn't sufferers of insomnia benefit from comas as they finally get... sleep?

[Assistant]
Evolution doesn't weed out deficient or destructive behaviors.

All evolution "cares" about is whether something gets you killed before you can pass on your genes. When nobody is left to carry on a particular gene, that trait dies out.

Evolution doesn't work to make traits *better*, it's more of a "if the trait won't kill you, it's not going to change."


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

[User] [616 Marvel] Weapon X gave Wolverine an adamantium skeleton to make him a better super soldier. What else could they have feasibly added to improve Logans combat abilities?

[Assistant] Besides training, nothing. The adamantium doesn't improve Wolverine's fighting ability, it just makes it tougher to hurt/kill him. Originally, it was believed his claws were artificial, what made him a mutant was his accelerated healing factor. The main reason he wins fights is because he outlasts his opponents. A lot of his fights he would have lost if he didn't have a healing factor (Shingen, Mariko's *father*, in the Wolverine limited series would have beaten him in a sword fight if Wolverine didn't have a healing factor).


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

[User]
I just looked at the sun with my eclipse glasses, and there are two black dots on the sun. What are those?

If you have your eclipse glasses, go look. Are they solar flares visible to the naked eye? Or are they planets?

[Assistant] Those are called sunspots. They are areas of the sun's surface that are cooler than the rest of it. They're still very hot, just not hot enough for the light they're emitting to be enough to see through eclipse glasses. Basically, there are strong magnetic fields in those locations that are inhibiting the normal surface convection of those areas, thus keeping them somewhat cooler than the rest of the sun.


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

[User]
ELI5: if current computer graphics and processing are so much more powerful than the ps3/Xbox360, why can't the games be emulated perfectly on a PC?

Also, why does the ps3 have problems running ps2 games perfectly? This makes no sense to me.

[Assistant] Your standard PC speaks a different language than the consoles. The software (the game) needs to talk to the operating system and the underlying hardware. Imagine having to communicate with someone who speaks a different language, you would need an interpreter (emulator). This would slow down your conversation. This also applies to ps2/ps3 and the Xbox/Xbox 360.


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

[User]
[Terminator] How did Skynet get the ability to manipulate its environment well enough to take over the world?

I understand that Skynet caused the initial nuclear weapon strikes that caused the whole world to go to war but how did Skynet continue to take over the world thereafter? Machines at the time of Judgement Day do not have the ability to manipulate the environment designed for humans.

For example, a car may be reprogrammed to run over people but there is no way for the machines to connect the gas station fuel pump to the car's fuel tank when the car eventually runs out of fuel because that requires someone with hands to grab the fuel hose and connect it to the car. Most factories are heavily dependent on humans to assemble items. A computer that wants to kill me could turn off my utilities or give me false information that makes me make bad decisions (such as green light on all sides of an intersection causing traffic collisions) but it cannot walk into my house to actually kill me.

How did Skynet obtain the equipment necessary to wage war directly against the humans instead of tricking humans into killing each other? Who built the factories to make the machines that could do the tasks requiring hands and moving through non-ideal terrain?

[Assistant] Skynet was effectively plugged into the entire military system at every level. Crucially, it was plugged into the infrastructure itself. Humanity relied to heavily on Skynet to run its military, which meant when it gained self-awareness it was already in control of incredible military power. Skynet wasn't just an AI within the internet: it oversaw massive technological advancement in the pursuit of automated warfare. Cyberdyne had the arm and neural chip from the first Terminator: this wasn't just a basis to create the AI, but the machines it would control too.


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

[User] ELI5:If the Australian fauna is so dangerous and poisonous, how come that harmless species of rabbits and toads managed to invade, thrive and wreck the ecosystem so easily?

[Assistant]
This is a two part question.

**First you need to understand Australia as an ecosystem.**

We are an island, and we are very far away from anything else. Our ecosystem is incredibly delicate, and very unique. Our native animals aren't found in neighbouring countries and our whole ecosystem hangs in a delicate balance as it's unlike anything else in the world. This is due to millions of years of being unreachable by the rest of the world.

The fauna is "so dangerous and poisonous" because it's competing with itself in a harsh environment. The majority of Australia is harsh desolate desert, and a lot of the coastal area is bush, which will go up in flames every 12 or so months. As Australia is such a harsh place to live, the fauna has adapted and evolved over time.

If you were stuck on a gladiator island of death for a few million years, you'd evolve to be a bit fiercer too.

**Second, is the reason they're still a pest in spite of our native animals**

Cane toads (the "harmless species of toads" you referenced) were artificially introduced in an effort to reduce the number of bugs eating artificially introduced crops.

In Australia, cane toads have no natural enemies. Their toxin can kill most native animals that normally eat frogs, as they are not one of the animals that has evolved to be part of this gladiator island of death over time. They therefore pose a risk to both native fauna and pets such as cats and dogs. Cane toads can use a wide variety of habitats and thrive in urban and disturbed areas. They have a voracious appetite and can eat a lot of different foods. They also breed quickly, allowing them to rapidly colonise and dominate an area.

These abilities give cane toads a competitive advantage over native species. Native frogs control insects that may otherwise become pests and are in turn food for many native animals. Populations of many native frogs have declined severely in recent times and some species are threatened with extinction. Spread of the cane toad may increase these threats.


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

[User] Do spiders ever take up residence in abandoned webs?

[Assistant]
The webs themselves? Not so much but that super awesome bug catching spot with what looks like an abandoned web already in it? Absolutely!

They are much more likely to simply build over an existing web or just take the awesome spot instead of reusing a web.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why dont the members of Dumbledores Army have massive wand issues after learning Expelliarmus?

In the later books its explained that once disarmed a wizards wand loses its allegiance to its bearer. This point is huge in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, other than simple writing flaws why would this not be a problem earlier in the series?

[Assistant] Aside from the elder wand, a wand doesn't always change its allegiance after it's wizard is defeated/disarmed.   The elder wand is a special case in that it values strength above all and so will change allegiance whenever it's wielder is beaten.


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

[User]
[My Hero Academia] Does the world have a lack of quality hero candidates?

I mean, U.A. is supposed to be one of the most prestiguous hero schools in Japan, if not the whole world, and class 1-A the best of their students. And this is a world where 80% of people have a quirk. But some of their current students just seem pretty unimpressive, either in their abilities or mindset. Are these really the best applicants they had? Like, do most people just have really useless abilities, or most people with good ones don't want to be a hero, or what?

[Assistant] *Other than Mineta*, who in class 1A is sub par? They're all ambitious, driven, and as competent as you can expect children to be. They *are* still kids, so you can't really expect them to be super amazing like pro heroes. Despite that, they often manage to keep up with the pros anyway.


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

[User]
Writing philosophy without a degree?

I've studied philosophy most of my life, and at one time I was being encouraged by a philosophy professor at my local college to persue a degree. It wasn't in the cards financially, but I haven't let that dissuade me from my studies over the years. You could say it's in my blood.

Anyway, my wife and I are now Kampgrounds of America workers. We live in our rv and travel the country. This job affords me the opportunity to devote more time to my studies and writing than ever before.

My greater question is this,

Is it feasible to write philosophy and get published as a layman if you show yourself to be a clear, clever and rigorous thinker/writer who is well read?

Clearly there have been others who have done so all throughout history, but I am ignorant of the current climate. I have a project in the proximity of theory of mind/information theory that so far from what I have read, appears to be unique.

[Assistant]
There is only one way to get a paper published - get it past peer review at a journal.  Doing this requires a combination of skills, and certainly those skills include being a clear, clever, and rigorous thinker/writer who is well read.

Yet, there is lots of clear, clever, and rigorous writing which wouldn't get published in any philosophy journal (or any journal at all) because it's just the wrong sort of stuff for any particular academic journal.

Journals are conversations, and if you've ever seen someone walk into even a casual conversation and try to change the subject then you know that conversations, even casual ones, have rules which are not easily communicated to people who hope to join in.  (To borrow from Walter Sobchak, new conversants often lack "a frame of reference.")  Students in graduate programs (ideally) learn how to think rigorously and how to read the history of philosophy, but they also learn (through doing) how to be conversants.

This is one way in which the autodidact is sometimes at a disadvantage, especially when the autodidact proposes something "unique."  Contributions need to be both unique to the field *and* in conversation with the field.  Yet, they are not in the field and so they may not be familiar with the conversation.  A person can, of course, get up to speed on the conversation (it's not a secret, it's in the journals and the conferences, etc.)

The conversation has a certain form and accepts certain kinds of content, so getting to know both of these is very important.  They can be learned outside of graduate programs (again, they are not secrets), but having guides in such a venture is pretty invaluable.


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

[User]
How do philosophers stretch an idea to write an ENTIRE book?

  I have a few philosophical thoughts that I wish to put into a book.  It is, essentially, about how to think.  Certain ideologies have almost plagued minds and people have forgotten how to do simple logic.  This book will explain what is a valid argument, who has the burden of proof, etc.  There remains a problem, however.  The ideas I wish to show could be explained in ten or so pages.  I'm wondering how philosophers manage to "stretch," so to speak, their ideas to make up an entire book without it becoming boring and redundant.  Could you please give me some tips on how to do such a thing?  In advance, thank you for your answers.

[Assistant]
It seems like you're not taking into consideration a couple of things.

The first is that philosophical problems are really complicated -- there's no way you can explain your view on those topics in ten pages and have anyone take it seriously because it would have to be so superficial.  It's not that philosophers who write books stretch an idea; rather, its that what you think is the idea is only the first layer of a vastly complicated structure.

Second, in order to be taken seriously, one has to engage with the literature on the topic--say how your view fits into the gigantic conversation that has been happening for the last several thousand years, which includes dealing with obvious objections, explaining why your view is superior to others, etc. On validity alone there are thousands of pages written each year. In sum, if you don't know what to say about your topic beyond a dozen pages, then go read what others have said about it.  You'll soon figure out how complicated it is and how to flesh it out by engaging with existing ideas.


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

[User] Eli5: Why do some things (e.g. Laptops) need massive power bricks, while other high power appliances (kettles, hairdryers) don't?

[Assistant]
Electricity comes in two flavors: spicy (AC) and bland (DC). There's also two other things that are important: how fast do you want it coming in (voltage) and how much do you need (amps).

When you plug into a wall outlet you're getting Spicy AC power at 120 volts in America or 230 volts in Europe and a standard house circuit can supply 20 amps (at least in America, not sure about other places). In either case that's the electrical equivalent of having your garden hose on full blast, it's coming out pretty good but it's still relatively safe and usable for the average person. For big dumb things like a hairdryer or a blender that just want to go fast or get hot this is great. Just take that full blast spicy power and go brrrrrr. Similarly you could hook that full blast hose up to your lawn sprinkler and it'll work fine.

If you want to run something a little more sophisticated though like a laptop or a Playstation you need that bland DC power. AC power is all wiggly, DC plods along in a nice straight line and if you want to do math with electricity it needs to move straight. You also probably don't want it coming in so full blast. Your sprinkler may be able to handle the hose on full, but if you stuck it in your mouth you'd probably have a problem pretty quickly. So you gotta turn the spicy AC into bland DC, that's what the power brick does. You also need to turn the hose down, it also does that and brings the voltage down from 120 or 230 to usually something like 5-12 depending on what you're running. Instead of your hose on full it's your faucet on at a trickle.

I also mentioned amps earlier, basically how much power do you need. Keeping with the hose analogy how big a hose do you need? Your house circuit can supply up to 20 but you've got to filter that through the transformer in the power brick.. If you're just charging your cell phone you don't need much at all so the dinky little block that fits in your hand is fine. If you want to run an Xbox though you'll need more. All that math requires a lot of power, so you gotta have that much larger brick to get the same bland 5 volts, but you need 2 or 3 amps worth and you need more space to accommodate the hardware for the additional capacity.


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

[User]
[Batman] What is the single most insane/crazy action the Joker has ever taken?

We all know Joker's bread and butter is murder and making jokes at the expense of the innocent but what would arguably be the most extreme example of his alleged insanity that any iteration of the character has undertaken?

[Assistant] Depends on who you ask and what continuity, but paralyzing Barbara Gordon, possibly raping her, photographing the whole thing, and then showing it to her dad is often considered the point where he established himself to be a true monster instead of a harmless prankster or thief.


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

[User] ELI5: how do we know how well other animals can see or smell?

[Assistant]
Two main ways:

1. Dissecting animals sensory organs to analyze their structure (For example, we can look at the structure of rods and cones in their eyes and theorize based on that).
2. Running tests like playing high or low pitched sounds, putting them in mazes with food, etc.


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

[User] You're programming an RPG that you want people to be able to play, extend, and compile for decades to come. What platform do you target? What language do you use?

[Assistant]
For *decades* to come? We've gone from green screens and teletype to somewhat-usable virtual reality headsets in less than 50 years.

Unless you want to target people who are into retro, you'd have to code on a platform that doesn't exist yet, and probably in a language that doesn't exist yet, or at least a framework that doesn't exist yet.

Take heart, though. Alan Turing was writing computer programs before electronic computers existed, so you could try to figure out what technology might exist in the future, what frameworks/languages might be created to support it and psuedo-code in that language.


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

[User]
[Kung Fu Panda] Was Tai lung really an evil villain?

I dont think he should really be considered that much more than an anti-hero or misleaded villain.

If he is a villain than he's the most tragic.  All his life he was trained Day and night, through blood, sweat, tears, bone breaking, heart wrenching, and ruthless training by Shifu, who told him daily that he would be the dragon warrior someday, but when the time came, he was instantly told he wasnt what he was told he was supposed to be, what he trained to be, what he thought he was destined to be since childhood. Everyone looks at him like he had no reason to be the monster he is, when if you thought about it in his eyes, his body, youd be pretty pissed off too. Tai Lung has every right to do all the things he did, his actions were incredibly justified.

Sure he raided the village but never really killed anyone. Plus its understandable for him to be in a rage. Imagine being told your entire life that you were meant to do something great and then when the time finally came you were denied it All the blood, sweat, tears and hard work, all those broken bones and aching muscles, all that **effort** Only to be told you were never good enough . Yeah, I'd be pissed off too

Also even after 20 years in prison he wasn't that willing to kill others as he only pressure point the Furious Five and Po instead of killing them. When he comes to face Shifu his intention seems to be for Shifu to accept him again and give him the scroll.  Before trying to kill Shifu he reasons with him and gives him a chance to make him the dragon warrior now that Oogways gone. Also the fact that he wants Shifu to be the one to give him the scroll shows that he wants him to be his father and master again.

Even his goals are not that evil. He never wanted to use the dragon scroll to take over the world or anything just to earned the title of Dragon Warrior that he worked his whole life for. And he said he wanted to do this to make Shifu proud.

What do you guys think?

[Assistant]
I think Oogway is the key to all of this, and it's really his failures that led to the situation.  The other important distinction in Tai Lung's case is that hurting innocents is never acceptable - and that was the line he crossed.  If he'd focused his anger on just his masters, he might have been redeemable.

Tai Lung was failed by everyone around him, and ultimately failed himself.

Shifu failed Tai Lung, and that was a defining moment in his life. He didn't understand what it meant to be someone's Master. Tai Lung suffered because of it, and Shifu should be held accountable for his actions; but he should also be understood as a sympathetic person who *also* needed guidance at this critical juncture.

His training of the Furious Five is an example of how he careened back in the opposite direction in his training (hurting more students). It wasn't until Po that he finally understood, and came to terms with his past mistakes. Shifu wasn't really a *Master* until after the events of the first movie.

Tai Lung is on the opposite end of the spectrum. He was a failed student. Not just because of his reaction to Oogway's assessment, but also in his failure to help his Master(s) improve themselves. This gets fuzzy quickly, because it's a chicken and egg scenario: Should Tai Lung have helped his Masters through their own growth; or was he a victim of circumstance, being trained improperly and being unable to cope with the problem.

Someone with true Kung Fu in their heart would have taken that rejection and meditated on it, understood it, then returned to challenge his Masters on their failure. That Tai Lung couldn't do this is both his own fault, and the fault of his Masters. Ideally, a student should look at Tai Lung as an example to avoid; but also understand that the Masters had a part to play in it.

Where Tai Lung ultimately failed was when he turned his internal anger, and anger at this Masters, towards innocents in the village. That failure was his alone.

Oogway though is the ultimate cautionary tale: Those that can create, and those that can master a skill, aren't always qualified to be Masters. He creates problems where he goes because people look up to him unquestioningly. He is not a good person, but he created something worth studying. Again, both the Master and the Student should be aware of Oogway's failings and help him through.

Perhaps he should have set down his mantle of Master, or perhaps he should have more carefully picked students. But it's a lesson to beware of symbols we hold up of perfection, and recognize that they need our help as well.


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

[User]
Simplest way to work from multiple machines?

Hello everyone! Absolute programming beginner here looking for a simple solution to the following problem:

I have a private laptop, and a work laptop. I usually take the work laptop along to class because it's way lighter. What ends up happening is that I have to use good ol' USB sticks to transfer the source files from my work laptop to my private one every time because I need to keep working from home.

I'd like to find a simple way to basically sync the *entire current workspace folder* from both machines, since I usually create a new project for every new exercise paper at class.

*editing this in*: Basically the way I imagine it working best is: a. create new project on work laptop and write some code. b. save and maybe click sync/open a program/do something c. go to my laptop -> new project magically appears and I can continue working d. save and maybe click sync/open a program/do something e. work laptop -> new changes are now there as well.

I currently use Eclipse for Java and VSCode with GCC for c++ (I'm open for other editors tbh)

Now I asked around a bit and people suggested git. And I don't know whether it's just my lazyness or my beginner-ness but I thought git is way overkill for something that should be as simple as this.

Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks a lot in advance :)

[Assistant]
Git.

Because, yes, it is way overkill for what you're doing, but this is the best moment to start developing good habits. Version control is a very good habit, and carrying data on a USB stick, syncing it into the cloud or duplicating folders are eventually going to bite you in the ass.


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

[User] Eli5 Why do military units carry the same formation through history such as the 450 year old 2nd dragoon regiment in France.

[Assistant] History and tradition is a big thing in the military of many nations. It generates a sense of "belonging" that the current personnel are the inheritors of a line of battle honours dating back through the years. Maintaining that tradition is a big motivating factor for new recruits.


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

[User]
As a linux kernel developer

Well, I need a genuine advice on what are the benefit of being linux kernel developer. What type of job opportunities will come along the way if I contributed to linux kernel. To say, I want to contribute to linux kernel but also want to use that skill to earn money in means of job, contract or freelance. Is it possible?

[Assistant]
One benefit of being a linux kernel developer is that your code will be used by many people. There is personal satisfaction in such having contributed in such a way.

On a more direct level, being a linux kernel developer will mean you most likely understand how the linux programming interface works and that you will be able to create a driver. Hardware companies may want to hire you to build drivers for their hardware.


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

[User]
If all the rivers leading to oceans slowly wash dirt into the sea, will there eventually be no dry land?

Water evaporates, forms clouds, and then rains. Some of that rain evaporates again, but some of it will go into tributaries, streams, and rivers. Some of those will go into the sea. The water going into the sea washes dirt away with it. Will this process on a large enough time scale level out all the dry mass till the entire planet is encased in unbroken water?

[Assistant] Erosion is only half of the equation.  Mountains are also being slowly formed by the action of plate tectonics, driven by the heat of the earth's core.  Today's earth is in a near steady-state balance between erosion washing the continents away and plate tectonics pushing up new ground.  In the long term, when earth's core cools and plate tectonics cease, than it would be possible for erosion to gradually remove all the land masses.


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

[User] ELI5: How does neuroplasticity work in relation to cognitive feedback - in other words does negative thinking actually cause physical changes in the brain ?

[Assistant]
Everything causes changes to our brain. You just reading this comment causes chemical changes in your brain.
100 billion brain cells...and the neural connections in the brain may be between 100 trillion to 1000 trillion..so yeah everything we experience changes our brain that little bit.
Honestly this is still a relatively little understood topic even with the advances made so far.


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

[User] [Lucky Charms] Does Lucky live in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland? Or as a fair folk does he not concern himself with human government?

[Assistant]
The eldrich abomination known as Lucky in your dimension owes his allegiance to the queen of the fae and is not concerned about your arbitrary line in the sand.

All will become lucky, all will become charmed.


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

[User]
[Fallout, no spoilers] what are the brotherhood of steel's manufacturing capabilities?

if they have any at all. it seems unlikely that the brotherhood could support an army the size it is using only scavenged weapons and ammo, particularly since microfusion cells and plasma charges are so scarce. can they make laser rifles and fusion cells? follow up question, what are the manufacturing capabilities/centers of the rest of the wasteland? both east and west coast? it seems 200 years give or take of using shit tons of ammo just to not die is not gonna be possible even with the stockpiles of ammo that were made pre-war.

[Assistant]
Brotherhood has been manufacturing arms, armor, and ammo since at least Fallout 1, when that was the job description for the Knights (and in fact that was the source of Power Armor in Fallout 1, a suit not considered satisfactory because the eye shield wasn't attached cleanly enough).

As far as other factions, we have at the very least the Gun Runners manufacturing conventional arms, armor and ammo (again, since Fallout 1), and likely similar groups in different regions.


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

[User]
CMV: The Prequels are good

I will surface my post by explaining that as a whole I have no nostalgic biased influencing my enjoyment of the Prequels. I first watched the trilogy a few years back in 2016 and as one who's not the sentimental type have not formed a nostalgic bias. The Prequels in my OPINION are good movies that contain overall good story lines, (be it with a few plotholes much like the OT)  good acting, (done in a specific style) good action scenes, and suprisingly depth characters like Anakin Skywalker. (I'll explain why in the comments) They have a few course spots like a some clunky lines once in a while. However I believe this is over played and highly up to what you like in a script. To finish my explanation off I'll warn you that I strongly dislike the Plinkett reviews. To me they boil down to nothing but a strawman, nitpicking, ramblings of a bias critic. Much of his supposed "killer points" like the character personalies of characters in I or the politics of Episode III are simply wrong. (I'll explain more in the comments)  and anything having to do with a camera angle really doesn't affect the quality for me at all.

Now I'll tell you why I want a good opposing argument. It's not that I want my view changed it's that I want a logical opposition to my opinion. Without further Ado fire away...

[Assistant]
What movies would you consider "bad" and why?  (A complete list isn't necessary but a few examples would be useful)

Because if we don't know what you would consider a "bad" movie  it is hard to make a proper argument that the prequels might fall into that particular category....


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

[User] ELI5 Why does metal make a ringing sound when hit. How do the vibrations translate into sound?

[Assistant]
Metal bends when you hit it, then jiggles as it straightens out - imagine slapping a ruler, or flicking a small spring.  A more solid piece of metal does it much more quickly, several hundreds or thousand times per second.

As it bends and jiggles, its movement moves the air around it.  In a ruler, these ripples in the air are far too weak and too slow to form audible sound; but in a piece of metal, they're much sharper and faster, producing a wave of air pressure which we experience as sound.


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

[User]
CMW: Television shows, films, music, books and games should go into public domain after twenty years.

I hold this view because I believe that in an ideal world, all media would be free and easily accessible, however I also think that content creators should be rewarded for their work. The perfect compromise seems to be giving them twenty years to sell their product, and then it is made free for those who want it. This would be a way to work towards a world with free information. This would also create an incentive for creators to continue making new products to get an income. Another benefit would be that record companies could not exploit an artist's music decades after they died, instead, its public.

[Assistant]
The biggest change this would make to the status quo is that is would change the timeline. Is there any particular reason you think 20 years is best? Why that instead of 30 years?

It seems to make more sense for a piece to belong to the artist until either the artist makes it public or dies. If you build a house with your bare hands, it remains yours until you sell it or die. Why shouldn't it be the same for something else you create?


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

[User] ELI5: Why are the number of hours I am asleep related to the elasticity of the skin underneath my eyes?

[Assistant]
There are blood vessels under your eyes and lack of sleep makes them to dilate to get more blood to your eyeholes which makes them darker. Then it can appear puffy for similar reasons as well as muscle fatigue.

I should add that tiredness isn't the only reason you can get bags under your eyes.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does the government know how much money to print?

So I understand that the government can't just keep printing money, but when they do, how do they know when to stop?
Thanks!

[Assistant]
The following is for the US. Other countries are different...

Not all money in the economy is printed. How much money do you have? Is it all in twenties at the bank, or is it just a number the bank keeps track of for you? Banks decide how much currency they need to have on hand to service their customers' *currency* needs; they don't have exactly the amount of cash on hand that they have money on their books. Think about it, how much actual currency do you require? If you have $10K in your savings account, that's real money, whether it's in cash or not. A check for $10K is worth as much as one hundred $100 bills. The point is, money doesn't require currency; currency is just a super-convenient way of transferring money. People don't want to write a check to buy a candy bar.

The Federal Reserve (despite it's name, not a government agency) handles the management of the currency - replacing old currency and lending currency to banks. If you're a bank, you have a currency account with The Fed. The Fed gets the cash from The Treasury which actually prints it. The Fed figures out how much currency is required based on replacing old currency and the currency demand from the banks. So, ultimately the banks' customers decide how much currency is required.

TL;DR: the government doesn't actually decide how much money to print.


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

[User] [Judge Dredd] What's the shortest sentence a civilian can be subjected to by a Judge? Similarly, what's the most minor offence?

[Assistant] Judges have a lot of discretion; the SJS will be on them if they're chronically lax or harsh, but otherwise the judge rules. For instance, Dredd once caught some kids smoking outside (smoking anywhere outside a designated area is a jailable offense) and instead of sending them off to juvie for a few months he ordered them to do 5 minutes in a smoking area. And in MC-1 the smoking areas are special lounges where everyone is has to wear a protective helmet so they only breath their own smoke, and these kids didn't get helmets; essentially a dystopian version of the "we caught you smoking, now smoke this whole carton until you puke" punishment.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why was/is pizza the most popular delivery food in the west?

Is there a reason that pizza in particular became a popular delivery food as opposed to sandwiches or hamburgers?

[Assistant]
Pretty much every ingredient in pizza is low cost and shelf stable.

Pizza can be customized many different ways but still made quickly.

The nature of pizza cooking is fast but holds for a significant period.

This all makes delivery possible with low overhead and lots of options with a product that is still fresh when delivered.

Burgers require perishables, take too long to cook and aren't peak after 10 minutes of sitting.


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

[User]
Can someone, say aged 30+, have a complete personality change?

How malleable is a personality after developmental years? How possible is it, per se, for a 45 year old incel living with his mother and having never had sex before to become a world famous pick up artist?  Is it possible, even with the worlds greatest coaches and unlimited money? Is that even what it would take?

How about bitter old racist woman to sweetest most loving person on earth?

I could keep listing off examples but I feel you get the idea of what I am getting at.

Curious to see when the brain is too far gone or too engrained for real change. 10% I can see happening with hard work, but a 55 year old lazy man who never worked a day in his life to suddenly becoming the next Gary V level of hard work and hustle?

My thoughts were always after 30, youre maybe at most 25% adjustable, which is attainable by either a major religious or near death experience or sudden access to wealth.

Anecdotes would be nice (we all know David Goggins story) but for most people, what would you say?

[Assistant]
I feel that you get "personality" a little wrong. Youre talking about specific behavior connected to specific beliefs and perceptions about the world and the people in it. That does usually origin in the personality but its not the personality.

That said - personality itself usually does not change a ton anymore after the mid-twenties. But the way it expresses can change massively.

Imagine someone being racist because they believe that all POC are out there to get them. Then one day they end up in a car crash and a POC ends up saving their life. This could change their believes about POC which then results in them not being racist anymore when at the same time - because theres a personality thing going on tending to "need" someone to be the bad guy - they develop a personal crusade on people drinking because the person that crashed into their car was drunk whilst driving.

Personality is more like the core base of what a human is likely to do or feel or experience or rather how theyd perceive that. How they act based on that is a whole different ballgame and extremely complex.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do the majority of automatic guns have 30 bullets in their magazines?

[Assistant]
Military clips come with 10 rounds a piece. A magazine using them is best off loading in multiples of 10 rounds. So you're looking at choosing between 20, 30, or 40 rounds.

40 is just too much for standard use. It makes the magazine stick down too far to shoot from prone (a 30 round AR-15 mag sits almost even with the bottom of the pistol grip), and it makes the rifle too heavy (especially something like the steel magazines in a 7.62x39 AK). 30 rounds is as many rounds as you can put in while not sacrificing pointability and the ability to carry it. Additionally, it is harder to actually put larger mags into loadbearing equipment- especially something like a large curved 7.62x39 magazine. Look at the large RPK mags and imagine trying to carry a lot of them on your chest as a rifleman.

As an aside, notice that larger full power rifles like the FAL more commonly used 20 round magazines because for them, a 30 round magazine was too heavy and large for standard issue.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we, as English-speaking countries, call some countries by their national names and some countries by names we've made up for them?

Why don't we call Japan "Nippon" or Germany "Deutschland" for instance, when we call Colombia "Colombia?"

[Assistant]
Many names for countries aren't "made up" as you might think, but instead come from the various other names for those countries, names that actually go back many thousands of years.

For example, Germania is the name for the countries ~~west~~ east of the Rhine, as used by the Romans (particularly Julius Caesar).  Even as late as the Middle Ages, that region called itself the *Imperium Romanum Sacrum Nationis Germanic* ("Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic People").

On the other hand, "Japan" actually comes via several different names as used by the countries that traded with them (China, Malaysia, etc), though probably most influenced by the Chinese description.  The name "Nihon" is most likely a relatively recent local pronunciation of the Chinese characters used.

Colombia, as a country, is very recent name as the country was founded in 1819, so there is no long history of previous names from other sources.

Of course, we could change the name in English to match the current local usage, but that still wouldn't negate the history.


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

[User]
Physics question:  Photon wavelength is longer for lower energy photons.  Is there a limit on how low the energy of a photon can be?

Radio waves and microwaves are typically what people talk about with "low energy" photons.  As the energy gets lower, the wavelength gets longer - can it be a mile, a thousand miles, a light year?  At some point longer and longer wavelengths don't make sense, the photons effectively no longer oscillate.  So is there a limit, a wavelength too long to get photons?

[Assistant]
There's no theoretical limit. There are obviously practical limits. Once the energy of a photon gets so small that it's no longer definitely contained within the observable universe, it becomes a philosophical question as to whether the photon exists at all.

Different military applications use radio frequencies in the ELF band, which correspond to wavelengths several times larger than the Earth.


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

[User]
What advancements could quantum computing provide for future videogames?

Would CPUs and GPUs be more powerful, resulting in realistic game physics and unlimited AI? What other effects could we potentially see? I'm new to the ideas and potential of quantum computing.

[Assistant]
Quantum computers produce probabilistic results. That is, if you ask it to add 2+2 you might get something close to 4 with error bars. Software written for a normal Turing machine (e.g. Crysis) probably won't ever transition well to a machine that is technically bad at basic math.

Quantum computers are not even currently particularly fast and do not threaten encryption through raw power. They also can't really check every possible outcome at once, although Grover's algorithm can do something sort of conceptually similar where it checks O(N) possible encryption keys in O(N)^1/2 operations.

Unless you are doing specialized math or cryptography and you're okay with a small chance that your computer will give you the wrong answer, then you probably don't ever want a quantum computer.


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

[User] What did Nitzche mean when he said "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back"?

[Assistant]
It's much easier to understand in a more full context-

"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster.

And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee."

From 'Beyond good and Evil'

As other comments suggest, it's basically commentary on becoming what you obsess over. You become what you hate if you spend enough time dwelling on it.


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

[User]
Why don't microwave ovens heat up air?

When I open a regular oven, a wave of hot air rushes out because the entire interior of the oven has been heated up. Yet, when I open a microwave oven, the only thing that's hot inside is my food. Why is this? Do microwaves only heat certain substances?

[Assistant] Because water molecules are polar (have positively and negatively charged ends) so the oscillating EM field affects those molecules, but molecules that comprise air (O2, N2, etc) are non-polar, so the oscillating EM field doesn't affect them.


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

[User] What is the next major evolutionary change the human race is most likely to undergo?

[Assistant]
In evolution there is nothing "major". There is no intention, direction and purpose. There are random changes that are confirmed or rejected by the natural selection mechanism.

What humans can add to this is their ability to intervene in the natural selection process - by keeping alive and allowing humans to reproduce who otherwise would not survive. So if there is anything "major" it is because of the medical development. Still, nobody can predict at this point what mutations would be confirmed by the aid of the medicine...


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

[User]
[Marvel] Exactly how powerful is Ghost Rider when Johnny Blaze loses control?

I remember in the "Ghost Rider World War Hulk" comics, Dr. Strange saying he could have beat Hulk but there was nothing to avenge, so he didn't. So what I'm wondering is just how strong can he get?

[Assistant]
The Ghost Rider also known as Johnny Blaze is a human soul melded with Zarathos, a third tier demon. This means in the ranks of demonic beings he is three steps removed from the Adversary himself, opposition to the christian God and possibly the enemy of the One-Above-All, two steps removed from malevolent Elder Gods, and one step beneath Hell-Lords. He is above lesser demons, minions, and summoned evil souls and such.

When free of Johnny Blaze's control, the Ghost Rider has all the powers and abilities of a malevolent quasi-mystical spirit which can survive and thrive in the deepest of Hell dimensions, empowered with fire that can burn the very soul of a victim, and a special ability unique to Zarathos, the ability to stare into any sentient being with a soul's eyes and show them all the misery they've ever inflicted on any other sentient being.

This 'Penance Stare' can be quite effective- imagine if you're a being such as Galactus who has inflicted misery on uncounted billions of souls, what would you experience when Zarathos stares into you?

The stare aside, very few creatures can stand up to the hellfire he emits as a matter of course, as even the strongest of invulnerability doesn't extend to one's soul.

Demons are powered by direct worship, consumed souls of other sentient creatures, or humans' sense of negative emotions (in Zarathos's case, remorse and guilt), and most demons have a domain in which they wield power. In that domain they have the accumulated spiritual energy inside them of every human that sincerely believes that demons exist and suffer from whatever affliction they represent, and can convert that energy into physical strength and toughness at will.

Outside their domains their power is significantly limited, usually to the pool of beings that actually directly worship them and willingly grant them power, or to souls that they have stolen somehow and converted into spiritual energy. This means they can find themselves easily defeated by beings with enough raw personal power.

In Zarathos' case, His domain is vengeance- if someone is guilty of purposefully hurting other living sentient beings, Johnny Blaze as Ghost Rider will defeat them and show them the stare- if the person is good enough to feel remorse they will likely live and repent their evil ways.

Some souls are so bereft of any good traits that the stare kills them. Their soul can't take the weight of guilt and their body gives out- they die screaming,and since Johnny will not let Zarathos eat souls, the victim's spirit will go to whatever fate awaits them- usually an unpleasant one.

Zarathos unleashed, however, will likely burn the victim's soul until his wrath is satisfied and then consume it greedily. He has no concern for his level of cruelty, as he is only giving back to the victim what the victim has already handed out to others.

If the issue isn't about vengeance? It will be no picnic, but if you are on the level of the Green Scar Hulk and such you can defeat him. Lesser beings will learn their folly rather quickly, as combating demons in straight-up combat is not a thing even experienced powerful entities do lightly.


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

[User] ELI5: Why aren't our pupils always dilated so that we see more all the time?

[Assistant]
Stare into a bright light. How much can you see?

When your pupils dilate it is to allow more light into your eyes. Letting in more light in dark situations helps you see better, but letting in more light in a bright situation makes it harder to see and can damage your eyes.


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

[User] Since stars have vastly variable distance from us, and the time for light to reach us varies per star, the position of the stars relative to each other we see must be wrong? Does this matter for astronomy? Do we calculate the real position between stars?

[Assistant]
The Milky Way is small enough are stars move slow enough that this isn't too big a deal, and it's not too hard to correct for.

Stars orbit the Milky Way at about 250 km/s, less than 0.1% of the speed of light. We're orbiting at a similar speed to nearby stars, 20 km/s or so. Stars on the other side of the Milky Way are moving sideways relative to us at about 500 km/s or so.

The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across. 500 km/s \* 100,000 years is less than 200 light years. So, for a star on the very far side of the galaxy, moving at the maximum speed relative to us, our error in its position is like 0.2% of the distance to the star. That's much smaller than the precision of our measurements.

Stars take hundreds of million years to orbit the Milky Way, so on a human scale, we can only detect movement in the nearest stars, and on that scale they're basically moving in straight lines.  Most of the stars you see in the night sky are within a few thousand light years, and many are within a hundred, so they're all pretty close and haven't moved much since they emitted their light. So it's pretty easy to do the maths to correct for the small error due to light travel time.


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

[User] How come my phone charges so much quicker when plugged into the wall, opposed to when it's plugged into a computer via usb?

[Assistant]
Your phone wants 1 amp of power to charge ( often written as one-thousand milliamps aka 1000 mA). A USB port only provides 500mA, half of what it wants. It charges, but slower

Your wall charger can provide the full 1000mA, so it will charge faster.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are buying droids a big investment for a low/medium income family in the galaxy?

Closest real-world example I can think of is buying a computer, as in you buy once and then replace them in 4-5 years. Then again Anakin, a slave, basically built one in his house.

So yeah, are they expensive investments?

[Assistant] The Lars's aren't exactly rich, and they semi-routinely buy multiple secondhand droids and tech without much trouble. Droids are probably a bit cheaper than a PC in our world, and can last much longer.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Can the replicators make decaf tea that actually tastes good?

In TNG episode Lessons, the grad of stellar cartography gets on Captain Picard for drinking Earl Grey at 3 am and said that he shouldn't have stimulants so late. She then replicates "Daren herbal tea number 3," since it is caffeine free but Picard doesn't like it. Why can't they just make a caffeine free Earl Grey?

I understand the decaffeination process of real tea destroys any flavor, but why not do a synthetic caffeine that imparts the flavor but not the energy, similar to synthahol that gives a slight buzz that goes away with a surge of adrenaline?

[Assistant]
Replicated food most likely work by scanning an already existing food item, and depending on the amount of data stored and complexity of the food, some subtle flavors may also be lost in the digitization process.

So if Federation, with its 24th century technology cannot decaffeinate real tea without destroying the flavor, replicator can't do it either.

Or they can perfectly mimic the flavor, but without the kick of the caffeine, psychologically it just doesn't taste the same.


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

[User] ELI5: After having my blood taken from a vein in my arm, I am told to put pressure on the withdrawal site to prevent 'bruising' of that area. How does it 'bruise', and how does putting pressure on it prevent that?

[Assistant] When they take the needle out, sometimes blood will leak out of the vein and pool up under the skin leaving you with a "bruise" in the area.  Not all bruises are from being hit, a bruise is just when blood gets in places it shouldn't normally be and if it's close enough to the surface you can see the discoloration through the skin.


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

[User]
ELI5: What makes a dialect a dialect and not a new language?

Sometimes dialect sounds so different that it sounds like a language on its own? How do linguists classify a dialect as dialect?

[Assistant]
Politics mostly.

Basically don't look for any kind of hard, logical rule as to when something is a dialect and when it is a language. Because you won't find any hard rules without a ton of exceptions.

Languages aren't neat and discrete and human attempts to categorise them are messy and flawed.

That's how you get Serbian, Croatian and Montenegrin being considered "languages" while being essentially identical while Arabic is considered a "language" despite its many "dialects" being unintelligible to each other.

"A language is a dialect with an army and a navy" is a well-known quote.


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

[User]
[Supernatural] Since the Angels and all the other fundamental beings (like Reapers) existed since the beginning of time, doesn't the entire series feel like a split second to them?

The reason I ask is because angels are killing each other like gangs over small feuds. They call each other brothers and sisters, and have existed side by side for billions of years. For a little dispute they end the life of an immortal that they consider their own blood, a dispute that, for them, has lasted for a split second?

[Assistant]
Time as it relates to(at least Angels and Demons) is fairly poorly understood. Hell most hunters didn't believe in Angels until recently.

We do know that Angels can at least traverse time to some extent. For a being that can traverse time, durations don't really make sense any longer. We also know that time flow/perception is significantly different in at least Hell, and probably Heaven.

More importantly when trying to understand the actions of Angels don't think of them like humans. Both Castiel and Anna are very unique, most Angels are unthinking Heaven slaves. Remember THE important distinction between Angels and humans is "Free Will."


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

[User]
Would fireworks look the same on mars?

Would the color be different, the way they look or would they look the same?

[Assistant]
They would look the same, the colors you see are the result of a chemical reaction occurring in the materials of the firework itself.  Fireworks include their own oxidant, so they would burn the same on Mars as they would on Earth or even in space.

When they explode, they would probably spread out farther due to the decreased gravity on Mars.  As far as looks go, that is likely the only difference you would notice.  The report however, would sound different due to the much thinner atmosphere.


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

[User]
Are the better educated more likely to be left wing or right wing?

I have often heard that their is a positive correlation between education and left wing believes.

At the same time, however, I know education level also correlates with wealth, and the wealthier are more likely to be conservative.

So how does it work out?

[Assistant]
The quick summary of patterns in the General Social Survey:

- At any point in time, slightly more Americans identify as conservative than liberal.

- Both the least educated (< HS) and the highest educated (grad. degree) self identify more liberal on average. The middle leans conservative.

- Partisans in either direction are better educated than moderates on average.

- The overall correlation is that liberals are slightly better educated on average. This gap is widened when looking at white Americans only.

- More educated people generally have preferences that don't fit tidily into a left right spectrum. To summarize, controlling for race, income, sex, and party affiliation, more educated people lean right on economic issues and left on social issues. Social issues seem to carry more weight in defining one's self identification as liberal or conservative.


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

[User] [Lotr] If the Ents had attacked Isengard before Saruman's army had left would they have still won?

[Assistant]
The Ents would have paid a higher price, but they would have won. Look at how the huorns mopped up the Uruks who escaped Helm's Deep. Look at how they tore down the dam and flooded the whole compound. It wouldn't be close.

With their siege equipment, the main Uruk army would still have inflicted losses. A bomb that can toss the solid stone of Helm's Deep in the air could take out even the biggest tree. And those launchers that fire the big hooks would probably grab and topple a few Ents long enough for fatal chopping. So there would have been many more Ents killed and wounded.

But the final outcome would have been the same.


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

[User]
ELI5: How come everything in our universe is all on the same plane/axis along with clockwise orbits. Shouldn't there be planets that orbit our sun perpendicular to the earth's orbit?

The milky way,  other galaxy's.  They are all planar.... why?

[Assistant]
As for the reason that the solar system is flat:

The solar system formed from a big cloud of dust and gas, which was rotating.  As gravity pulled that cloud together, and a nice, not burning lump formed at the middle, pieces started colliding, and coalescing, but they never lost the angular momentum they had from when it was just a big spinning cloud.  The vertical momentum is negated by collisions, but the angular momentum is conserved.


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

[User]
ELI5: When you freeze something, does it's shelf life remain the same after you defrost it?

For example:

I purchase a loaf of bread. It expires in 7 days. I get home and realize I already have bread so I put the new loaf in the freezer. A month later I take it out and defrost it. Do I still have 7 days until it goes bad?

EDIT: conditions are exactly the same when you take it out of the freezer, as the manufacturer of the product intended.

If bread is a tough one, then use meat. You freeze a pound of ground beef for a month and then take it out and put it in the fridge. Will it still have the same shelf life as when you froze it?

edit: The simple answer is: No, the shelf life is shorter after being defrosted.

[Assistant]
The short answer is no, freezing tends to damage foods a little. This damage breaks the food down slightly allowing it to spoil faster. However, you can keep food frozen for a long time, and just take it out when you are ready to use it.

That being said, I'd still use the thawed-out bread past the 'shelf life' until it started showing signs of mold. Just because the shelf life is a set number of days, doesn't mean it instantly goes bad on that day. If you're not sure though it's better to throw it away.


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

[User]
[Batman] Hey i have a garish costume and untreated mental health issues, how do i become a supervillian?

Hi!

So, I've just arrived in Gotham City. I don't have a lot of legitimate job prospects, but what i do have is a large inheritance, a terrible looking costume, a tragic backstory and a near-overwhelming obsession with board games that means i would happily, say, make a giant version of snakes and ladders with actual snakes and ladders. I'm thinking of becoming "The Gamemaster" and starting a new life as a costumed supervillian.

Any advice on how to get started/avoid getting beaten up by weird dudes in a variety of halloween costumes?

[Assistant]
Look into hiring Jenna "The Carpenter" Duffy.  She's *the* expert on building villainous lairs and deathtraps in Gotham, so she's your best bet at getting your deadly game of Snakes and Ladders up and running.  Just make sure you don't stiff her or try to kill her afterward (or press-gang her into your service in the first place), because she *also* does legitimate work in *dismantling* said lairs and deathtraps (including those not made by her).

As for handling the Bat, well, at first you're going to lose.  *Badly.*  Just make a swift recovery after the curb-stomping and learn from your mistakes afterward.  You'll get better at dealing with him in time.  And if you *can't* take a brutal beatdown from the Dark Knight every month or so, supervillainy isn't your calling in life.  Go be an accountant for Wayne Enterprises or something.

Beyond that, just go out and do what comes naturally to you.  Even Condiment King can be a threat sometimes (read: *mustard gas*, and hot sauce so spicy that it ranks *100,000* on the Scoville scale and which once induced anaphylactic shock in Robin and Black Canary), and you can't possibly be as bad at being a costumed bad guy as *he* is.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are the reasons for scrum penalties in the Rugby World Cup?

It seems Iike the majority of scrums result in a penalty.  I can't see to identify what team has done what incorrectly.  It looks like a lottery to me,  with a penalty blown to either team for no logical reason.

What should I look out for when watching scrums,  and what are the most frequently broken rules?

[Assistant]
Watch for players standing up early, mainly second row. Or guys in the front row dropping their shoulders towards the ground. This is a sign they are about to collapse.

If one team is stronger, they will push their oppenents backwards and either win the ball or cause the other teams scrum to collapse. If you are the team who does not have the ball at the start of the scrum, winning a penalty is just as good as winning the scrum.

Another thing to look as is the binds between players, particularly numbers 6 & 7 on the edges of the scrum, they are meant to have their whole arm bound to their teammate, not just their hand.

There are also rules around wheeling (rotating) the scrum, if the ref thinks you are trying to do this intentionally, he will give a penalty.


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

[User]
CMV: I don't value the lives of children more than the lives of adults.

I see appeals to sympathy all the time using the lives of children. Somehow, something is worse or more worthy of caring if it primarily affects the lives of children.

I see no reason to value the lives of children over an adult. Logically I think it makes sense to value *adults over children*. Adults are much more likely to have accomplished something in their lives, they're more likely to be skilled in a particular field and more likely to be able to benefit society *right now*. They have had more time to build meaningful relationships with a larger number of people, and their relationships will be much more than just "they're a child/family, so I automatically care about them"

I know this is an extremely unpopular opinion. I get extremely strange looks IRL anytime I even suggest that I hold this view. So... CMV!

***Edit:*** Thanks for all the replies everyone. I can't get around to answering everyone, but I see a lot of common ideas so I want to address them here.

First of all, for clarification, the whole part about adults logically being "worth" more was more of a counter to people valuing children more. Personally, I think that all lives are equal regardless of any other factors.

The main arguments I see in this post are economic, utilitarian and biological.

Let's get biological out of the way right now. I think nature, in general, sucks. Nothing is as heartless as nature as a whole. It gets the job done, and that's about it. The argument that "we evolved to irrationally care for our young because it was/is needed to survive", while true, does not resonate with me at all. It may explain why so many people care about children more than adults, but it does not change ***MY*** view on the matter.

The utilitarian argument makes a bit more sense to me. From a strictly utilitarian perspective, people who are past their prime and are no longer "contributing" to society directly don't serve a strict purpose anymore. Likewise, a child/teenager/young person has all sorts of time ahead of them to accomplish tasks. The utilitarian argument also states that a child has more life ahead of them, so more value is being lost. I can see where this argument is coming from, but for whatever reason it doesn't seem to compel me to change my view. Something about utilitarianism being applied to human lives seems... wrong.

The economic argument was the most moving for me. We as a society spend all this time and money raising children, feeding them, educating them. If they die before they get to "repay" that investment back to society, it seems like a huge waste. Now, it still feels wrong to view people in this lens, but I deal with training employees on various topics IRL. This economic argument resonates with me quite a bit. When we spend time and money training an employee only to have them quit or get themselves fired, it's a huge bummer.

Thanks for all the new perspectives. I'm not sure that the core of my view has changed, but I certainly understand and respect the opposing argument now. It's definitely possible that upon further introspection, I'll come to change my view completely. I'll still be here replying to as many as I can if y'all still want to have a conversation.

[Assistant]
> Adults are much more likely to have accomplished something in their lives, they're more likely to be skilled in a particular field and more likely to be able to benefit society right now. They have had more time to build meaningful relationships with a larger number of people

I think that this is *why* so much emphasis is placed on the lives of children compared to adults. Adults have already had the chance to become accomplished and to build relationships, but children that die prematurely are getting that opportunity taken away from them, which is why they garner that sympathy. They're missing out on all of life's biggest milestones. Also, we've come to expect that adults die fairly commonly but deaths of children are still relatively rare, which is why they receive extra attention.


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

[User] ELI5: is there a reason I like how I look in a mirror but hate pictures and videos of myself?

[Assistant] humans exhibit flawed symmetry. You are accustomed to seeing yourself mirrored. When you see yourself as others do there is a degree of cognitive dissonance which can lead one to have such a sentiment. It would be interesting to do a study to see if the younger generations who frequently view themselves in their phones and selfies have a similar issue with mirrored images of themselves.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are there no 'helpful' diseases that, instead of damaging your organism, would make you feel OK or even better ?

[Assistant] There are, they're just not referred to as diseases. Your intestines are home to lots and lots of bacteria that help you digest food, train your immune system, and prevent the growth of other more harmful bacteria. It's perfectly possible to live without your gut flora, but they're beneficial.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does milk, even if heated up, go bad if left out, but baking with milk such as to make cookies or cake not go bad quickly?

What happens to the milk that causes it to react so differently in these two scenarios even though both involve heating up milk?

[Assistant]
Low temperature slows down bacteria growth which is why we refrigerate foods to begin with. Milk has an extremely short shelf life otherwise, so if you leave it out the bacteria in the milk very quickly multiplies until eventually there's enough of it to make you sick.

When you're cooking food that contains milk, you're both rapidly heating it (which doesn't really give the bacteria time to go crazy) and generally heating it to the point that you're killing bacteria.