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

[User]
Eli5: why is it that whenever I need to find something online, there is always a forum from 2001?

Do such forums still exist? Will people in 2040 trying to figure out why their computer screen is flickering find old forums from 2020?

[Assistant] 2001 was the time most websites started to grow, there are many websites, forums and chatrooms from back then, but they just got a different look these days. Some problems may exist way longer than modern websites which means every forum that discussed that problem way back then, has a higher click rate which means it has a higher priority in Google's algorithm.


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

[User] ELI5: If Hexagons are so efficient as a shape. Why are they not more commonly used?

[Assistant]
There are many reasons for using the shapes we do... but one of the big reasons is that hexagons only stack well with other hexagons of the exact same size. Contrast this with squares and rectangles, which a bunch of non-uniform sizes can still pack well.

Also the lines between hexagons aren't straight, while the lines between rectangles are.

Last, rectangles generalize to three dimensions and remain stackable, while hexagons do not.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does your neck get tense when youre stressed and how does a massage fix it?

[Assistant] When you are stressed, you experience fight-or-flight, even if the stressor is emotional/psychological in nature.  When this response occurs, it causes you to produce more adrenaline.  Adrenaline causes muscle tension (muscle tension being a sign of stress).  If you massage a muscle, you can cause that muscle to relax.  So stress increases adrenaline, causing muscle tension, massage relaxes muscles.


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

[User]
[General Superheroes] Why dont people with mind control powers take over the world?

It seems to me if I could control anyones mind and make them do my will, Id just try taking over all the public authorities and armies and control the world. Has anyone ever done that in superhero fiction?

[Assistant]
Why would you want to? That's a ton of work and most people don't want that headache. The only people that seek world domination have an actual plan, like Doctor Doom.

Most people with mind control do enough to live pretty freely. Steal enough money to get what they want, live wherever, get people to do minor things for them, etc.

Besides, mind control has limits. Can't control everyone at once, and you know some guy in tights will spoil your fun.


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

[User]
ELI5 why very hot water can feel very cold, and vice versa

For example, I'm at a friends house, and I'm gonna take a shower. I don't know how to work his shower, so I twist a knob until water comes out.  When I flick my hand under the water, it might feel like ice, but its actually very hot. Or, I might feel as though I've been scalded, when in reality the water is almost freezing. Why is this?

[Assistant]
We have tons of receptors in our skin, like pain receptors. We also have receptors for cold and receptors for hot.

When you put your hand in scalding hot water, that sends a really strong signal to your hand. It stimulates the hot receptors, but because the signal is so strong, it sometimes also stimulates the cold receptors.

Both cold and hot signals get sent to your brain, which gets confused for a brief over the contradictory signals before it picks out the right one and you feel your hand burning.


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

[User]
ELi5: Why is overwriting computer memory with all 0s or all 1s not enough to render the data entirely irretrievable?

 I heard on another post something about 0-ing out computer memory not being enough to stop a digital forensics expert with enough time and dedication from recovering the data. They said you needed to overwrite the data randomly at least 7 times to render it completely irretrievable. This seems completely unnecessary to me, unless computer memory has some sort of physical residual memory where you could identify the last change made to that bit. And even if that is the case, why wouldnt overwriting every bit to 0, then 1, then back to 0 work just as well?

[Assistant] When you write data the ones are magnetic in one direction and the zeros magnetic in the other. When you over write data, the length of the magnetic data block may not be the same size, resulting in residual original data on the edges. In addition, When you write a one on top of a one, the magnetic field is slightly stronger than if you write a zero on top of a one. With an extremely sensitive meter you can find these differences, The seven passes of all ones alternating with passes of all zeros ensure the residual magnetic differences and edge variations are removed.


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

[User] [Cars 2]When Mater supposedly leaks oil, the other cars react as though he wet himself. Considering how important oil is to an engine, shouldnt they be acting like hes bleeding out?

[Assistant]
Both gas and oil appear to be consumed as foodstuffs, as you can get both at "Flo's Gas and Go".  (Lightning refills there during his stay, and Sheriff grabs some oil when he's "feeling a quart low".)

As for the severity of oil loss, we regularly see junker cars being unable to run on their own, or even having their jaws completely rust off.  Neither of these cases appear to disturb the cars themselves or others.  It's unclear exactly what constitutes a car's death, like in the case of Doc Hudson, but breakdown and/or dismemberment don't appear to factor into it.


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

[User] We cook food so the heat kill bacteria - Does freezing to low temperatures work to kill bacteria too?

[Assistant] It does not.  Freezing food puts the bacteria into a state of hibernation if you will.  They go dormant until you decide to thaw the food.  This means that the food is essentially only as safe as it was at the time of freezing.  This is speaking only specifically about bacteria of course and as with anything else, not all bacteria are the same. Freezing does kill many types of parasites however as is the practice with sushi grade meats. Your home freezer probably can't get as cold as is required for the standard however.


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

[User]
[Gotham] How exactly is Crane jr. going to become any kind of psychologist and/or psychiatrist when he is tormented by unending hallucinations, so terrifying he needs to literally be tied down?

Just finished the Scarecrow episodes.  I don't know if that's how it was in the comics, but it seems incredibly unlikely that he'll ever amount to anything, much less become a professor of psychology.

[Assistant] He just keeps sedated at first. Soon he grows up and begins to admire his terror. He accepts it, embraces it, he wants to conquer it. So he soon begins to study his fear, uses his intimate knowledge of fear as a basis of his studies. Soon he becomes a master of fear in academic circles. That isn't enough, he takes it a step futher. Scarecrow is born at that moment.


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

[User]
Why is Bataille cited as a post-structuralist?

I've noticed that Bataille is often cited as a precursor to post-structuralismand while I understand that his work isn't even outwardly structuralist to begin withI was hoping to get some clarification over here. Thanks.

[Assistant] Well, during the rise and fall of both French phenomenology and structuralism, Bataille was an extremely marginal figure, perhaps even a black sheep of the academy. Sartre and Breton wanted little do with him and he spent much of his academic life as a librarian as opposed to a distinguished professor. It wouldn't be until after his death in the 1960s that his work would be rediscovered and exhort considerable influence over the "post-structuralists" like Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva, Deleuze, and Baudrillard. In this sense, he's referred to as a precursor because his work was mostly obscured prior to that generation of thinkers. His influence is particularly noticeable in his readings of Nietzsche and de Sade, for example.


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

[User]
[MCU] Had Steve Rogers never been frozen , would the Wakandans have tried to take the shield from him?

In Black Panther , it seemed that whatever piece of vibranium was out in the rest of the world , the Wakandans would send spies to retrieve it back.

During the bank robbery Erik "Killmonger" Stevens had told Klaue, who was planning to sell the vibranium , "Whatever you try, the Wakandans'll probably show up".

If Steve Rogers had still been around during his time, would the previous King of Wakanda have tried to take that piece of vibranium away from Steve?

[Assistant] Probably not as the vibranium the shield was made out of was a formal gift to the United States from the (at the time) King of Wakanda.  Plus, based on that same scene, it's clear the Wakandan intelligence apparatus isn't perfect as they were seemingly unaware of that tool until Kilmonger/Klaue got involved with it.


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

[User] ELI5: How can birth control methods still cause weight gain even if your healthy diet and exercise remains consistent?

[Assistant] So birth control works by using two hormones; progesterone and estrogen. The estrogen will make it so that your ovary will not release an egg. The progesterone works by making the natural fluids in your uterus thick so an egg cannot implant. The weight you gain is most likely just water weight. If it's a larger amount of weight, it may not be the birth control causing it. (I work in the medical field)


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How long do the effects from a Jedi Mind Trick last?

I heard about a Jedi during the Old Republic who used his Force powers to tell a guy to stop selling death sticks and go home to rethink his life. Would this guy actually turn away from selling these drugs for good or just until he realizes he doesn't have any other skill sets?

[Assistant] It varies widely, depending on the power of the Jedi, how subtle or obvious the mind trick is, how strong-willed the target is, and whether other people will confront the target with contrary evidence.  For example, there are lots of protocol and astromech droids in the galaxy, and they all look pretty similar.  It could easily be weeks or months before a stormtrooper facepalms and pisses his pants in fear of Vader finding out what happened.  The death stick guy is quite likely in the grip of a serious physical addiction himself, and his introspection will likely last until the withdrawal cravings hit.


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

[User]
ELI5: How Do You Fry Ice Cream.

Ive always wondered how ice cream is fried. Someone please help!

[Assistant]
You superchill the Cream first, coat it in a tempura batter and fry it at a very high temperature.

The outer tempura crust is what actually "fries" and it insullates the soft icecream inside a nice perfect crunchy shell.

in theory at least...


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

[User] [TF2] How does the dead ringer work?

[Assistant]
Greetings Mann Co. consumer!

It seems you have (**asked about**/stolen/eaten/blabbed about) one of the many products in our (**weapons catalog**/secret factory/sandwich/expensive lawsuit).

The Dead Ringer is a marvel of modern engineering that works by first assessing a Spy's well being and establishing a ballistic net of ultra-thin nanomolecule mesh. Once the Spy flips out his Dead Ringer, the mesh activates. The next time the Dead Ringer detects any potential harm to the mesh and thus the spy underneath, the mesh tightens up enormously, essentially acting as a full-body bulletproof vest. Though it can't always prevent the entire hit, the Dead Ringer will almost always absorb enough kinetic energy to allow the spy to survive to stab another day.

The Dead Ringer then cloaks the spy and deposits the expended nanomesh, conveniently the same shape and size as a dead body and carefully modified by the Dead Ringer for maximum simulation of gruesome death, leaving your enemies confused and you able to get away to viciously stab them another day.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did the Secret Service become bodyguards?

How do you go from checking for counterfeit currency to protecting the president?

[Assistant] It's actually hilarious. There's a book called Stealing Lincoln's Body that lays the whole story out. Basically, some counterfeiters had this idea to bust their friend out of prison, they would steal Abraham Lincoln's body from his grave and hold it for ransom. The plan went off worse than a three stooges skit on both sides. One of the secret service guys had a shootout with a different secret service guy without realizing it, and half of the graverobbers were undercover agents. It was pretty hectic, but that event caused the secret service to start presidential protection details too.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does fog seem to move around me, without me ever going "into" it?

[Assistant]
Fog is mostly transparent.  No matter where you are, there's only a little bit of fog inbetween you and something right in front of you, so you can see it just fine.  If you're looking at something a hundred feet away, then you're looking at it through a hundred feet of fog - even if it's mostly transparent, lots and lots of it still adds up, so it's tougher to see the object.

It's the difference between looking through a single piece of plastic wrap (which looks clear even though it's only "mostly" clear) vs. looking at a roll of plastic wrap (which looks opaque since it's hundreds of layers deep).


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

[User] ELI5: Why can I take a precautionary pre-movie pee that has a volume of 5 liters, but then have to race to the bathroom for fear of peeing my pants for  a thimble of urine?

[Assistant]
You body is able to feel when your bladder (where your pee is held inside of you) is full, however that sense of how full it is, is not perfect. And just that feeling of having a full bladder is not enough to make you want to pee, really it all goes on inside of your head. From your past experiences you know certain situations that make you want to pee and you have a rough idea of how much you have drank and how much you probably need to pee. Have you ever heard running water and suddenly had to pee? Sometimes just thinking that you have to pee is enough to trigger that switch in your brain that says "its pee time!" So you can see that your brain controls the urge to pee, and certain things can make you want to pee more, if you have a lot of associations in your mind between watching movies and having to pee really bad, your brain will start thinking about peeing when you see a movie and then you'll have to go. Sometimes, you can just sit there for a second and focus on your body and how full your bladder actually is, this way you can counter the mental forces telling you that you have to pee, your body can actually hold it pretty long, it just gets uncomfortable (and it does get dangerous if you hold it too long, so don't force yourself to wait if you are feeling physical discomfort).

One thing that makes it hard for your body to actually predict when you have to go pee is that your body holds a lot of fluids that aren't in the bladder as well and those fluids might make their way to the bladder at any time. Sometimes you will get the feeling that you really have to go, but not have much in your bladder, your body is just anticipating putting more in your bladder and wants to make sure there is room.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] What happens if the Emperor dies, or alternatively comes back alive?

By comes back alive I don't mean that golden-throne pseudo-alive they got him stuck in.

[Assistant]
His death most likely will also be his resurrection. He is born as a chaos god of good. It is argued that the throne is actually holding him back.

Also, it is the astronomican which is attracting the tyranid, they are all slowly headed for holy Terra. It might even be that a hive fleet is the thing that finally frees him: Nids make their way to the throne, gobble up what's left of the emperors physical shell, thus freeing his spirit.


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

[User]
ELI5: How come when nail grow, the flesh under them doesn't come forward along with the nail as it grows?

Nails have a fleshy bottom layer attached to them that somehow doesn't come forward with the nail as it grows, why is that?

[Assistant]
The 'fleshy bottom layer' (or nail groove) contains the dividing cells. The way you can see it is that when the cells here divide, one daughter cell will remain and will keep dividing. The other one will migrate up towards the nail, start to produce a lot of keratin (the stuff that makes our nails so strong) and will eventually die and become part of the nail itself. So the nail groove doesn't move, but continuously pushes new keratin into the nail, this pushes the already existing keratin further up, thus our nail grows.

Edit: just to make sure this isn't misunderstood: the nail groove is at the base of the nail, not the whole skin UNDER the nail, that's the nail bed (the nail groove is it's most proximal part, so there where the nail bed and nail itself meet (this needs a picture...)).


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

[User] How does heat propagate in a vacuum if there are no particles for it to move through?

[Assistant]
Mostly by radiation. There are some particles but the density is so low that conduction is extremely, extremely ineffective.

The reason the Earth is warm is because the Sun is shining on it. The Sun is particularly hot but it is no special case, anything with a temperature above absolute 0 radiates, and that radiation can travel freely through a vacuum. When that radiation is absorbed by something else then it heats up and that is how heat is transferred through space.


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

[User]
[Avengers Endgame] Any idea what happened to old man Rogers?

Is there any information or speculation as to what Cap did after he handed off the shield to Sam? I'm sure he had kids. Did he say his goodbyes and come back to the main MCU timeline permanently?
Did he come to pass on the shield and say his goodbyes? Going back to his family in the altered timeline? CAN he get back?

[Assistant]
I always assumed he had enough Pym particles to go back to the alternate timeline. This of course raises about a billion problems like:

Did he just sit and watch all of the worlds bad stuff happen in real time or did he do things differently and create a different timeline all together?

What happened to that timeline's Steve Rodgers? Did he get un-iced? Did Steve just accept that or let it go?

Time travel fucks everything up, no matter what series you are in.


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

[User] [Witcher/The Lord of the Rings] What would the One Ring promise to Geralt? To Yen? To Triss?

[Assistant]
The Ring doesn't work that way.

It doesn't whisper in your ear that it will grant your wishes, it just gives you power to fulfil your desires, and slowly along the way it warps those desires in to a need of power.

Which eventually will lead you to fight other powers, one of them in Middle Earth being Sauron, and that is when the Ring betrays you, takes away all the support it was giving you so that Sauron can reclaim it while taking it off your dead finger.

* So it will brainwash Geralt in to thinking that he has to conquer all nations so that Ciri will be safe, because otherwise someone will always try to hurt her and steel her form him, how about we start with that waist land people call Mordor? Should be easy enough to conquer, right?

* It will make Yennefer think that the only way to be mother is to become a Maiar, a Queen-mother of all, you know what? Defeating Sauron will be a good way to start that process, lets go!

* It will make Triss think that Geralt will love her once she becomes a truly powerful sorceresses, stronger then Yen, stronger even then a Maiar, oh look at that, that's Sauron over there a Maiar go try to defeat him and prove your beauty and strength to Geralt.


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

[User]
[Futurama]would anyone really care if they found out Slurm was made from the secretions of a giant alien worm/slug thing?

Milk comes from cow tits, Mushrooms are grown in manure and chicken nuggets are made from chicken necks and feet.

We consume a lot of food and drink that are produced in gross ways and people don't stop buying them because of that. why would Slurm be any different?

[Assistant]
Honestly not really. Slurm is so addictive that people can't stop drinking it. Fry knew exactly what it was, and he went back to chugging it literally moments after.

If the general population found out, they would "care" for a bit, then just go back to consuming while completely actively forgetting/ignoring its origins.


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

[User] [Mass Effect] Most genetic diseases are said to be eradicated via genetic therapy, and medicine has advanced to the point where the novels say one can smoke without taking damage. Does this extend to genetic conditions such as dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyslexia or dyscalculia?

[Assistant]
Possibly.  Maybe.

The disorders youve listed, while certainly genetic, also have a strong neurological component to them.  Gene therapy alone might not do the trick.  But then, gene therapy isnt necessarily widely available or the be-all-end-all; the best pilot in the Alliance fleet still deals with Vroliks Syndrome, after all (and based on that alone, Im leaning towards no).


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

[User]
[WH40K] I'm a pacifist toymaker, can I find a job in the Imperium?

More generally, how do normal citizens contribute to the economy of the Imperium?  Is everyone just making shells or is there a robust non-warfare economy?

[Assistant] Yes. There is a place for everything and everyone. There are whole worlds dedicated to vacationing and entertaiment. War and religion are enormous part of Imperial economy but they aren't all that there is.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does the auto industry hate that Tesla sells directly to the customer instead of going through a dealer?

[Assistant]
That should be pretty obvious...

The dealers want their cut of the profit.

--------------

This is a point I've tried to make for many, many years.

A car is a Toaster.  It's a product that can be sold at a Wal-Mart, at a cash register.  Traditional car dealers don't want you to think like that.


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

[User]
I believe that guns increase violence - CMV

EDIT:  SEE MY COMMENT FOR NEW CMV

There is no easier way to hurt, maim, or kill another human being than with a gun.  When I have brought up "Assault Weapons" bans as a good thing, (not as they are currently written, however, as they have many loopholes and are sometimes written by people who know very little about guns) I have heard the argument made that a knife, bat, or even a ballpoint pen can be an "assault weapon" because they increase the ease of harming another person.  I believe this is a flawed argument because while a bat can smash the skull of someone right next to you, the deadliness of that bat is dependant upon many variables like the strength and skill of the attacker and the attacked.  Unlike a bat, a gun can kill from a mile away, be wielded by a child, and can murder dozens of people in seconds.  I believe that the wide availability of the gun, the most efficient tool ever designed for inflicting violence, has resulted in violence of greater frequency and magnitude among the general population of the United States.

[Assistant]
I think the problem is with your thought process.  The ability to kill with a gun is just as dependent on the skill of the person.  I'd like to see you shoot someone from a mile away.  It takes snipers years of training to pull off that feat (let alone a child).  The people most injured by guns are the idiots weilding it without proper practice.

China just had some stabbing rampage.  More people were stabbed to death on the street than in the past few US "mass shootings".  There are just as many violent crimes/deaths in countries with no gun availability.

edit:  to kill with a gun*


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

[User]
ELI5: When surgeons perform a "36 hour operation" what exactly are they doing?

What exactly are they doing the entirety of those hours? Are they literally just cutting and stitching and suctioning the entire time?  Do they have breaks?

[Assistant]
different doctors and different teams takes turns working on the patient, while others rest.

Much like in construction, it takes different specialties to do different things. Neurosurgeons stitch together the nerves or separate brain tissue, vascular surgeons cut or reconnect the blood vessels, GI surgeons deal with intenstines, orthopedists deal with bones and joints, oncologist might check things for cancer tumors if that's a concern, etc.

36 hours is not a routine procedure, they might find something unexpected, and then take the time to consult another specialist, or bring in imaging machine to get a better idea of what's going on.

They might restore blood flow to one part of the body, then wait a bit to see if all works as intended, then proceed to the next part.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] So, what's up with the general lack of new superheroes?? I swear I've been seeing and hearing the same bunch for years and years. Why aren't newer heroes emerging?

It's always the spiderman, batman, superman, the X-men bunch, those Justice League, Avengers, hunk ironman blah blah blah.

How come for years and years those are the superheroes? I mean, where are others? What if the ones we have today retire? I mean, they ARE gonna die off or something right?

I just find it a bit weird that Batman has been patrolling Gotham for what....10 years now? And Spiderman's still around I guess.

Why don't we see more superheroes? I'm kinda tired of the regular household names we've been seeing on TV. Maybe the current heroes don't want the next generation to take over their duty? Or is there simply a lack of newer heroes being made/born?

When will a new face show up?

[Assistant]
It's a hard job market to break into.

And it's not for the lack of trying, mind you - anyone can go to the gym, work out and make a flashy costume to fight crime, but thing is, for the last years costumed crime cut their teeth on likes of Spider-Man and Avengers, so unless you have some sort of mutant/inhuman/alien/etc superpower that make you a force to be reckoned with, you are likely not going to last long in this business. Broken bones and gunshots tend to add up.

And sad truth is, that most coverage of capes is centered on New York anyway. If you just move out to the west or south, you'll SUDDENLY find yourself the only costumed hero around. Just ask Scarlet Spider.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does the current self-driving cars know to do the more 'complicated' things like starting up at a green light or yielding at a 2 way stop.

Perhaps they don't and they can only go on highways now?

[Assistant]
Those things aren't much more complicated than staying inside the lane by not drifting over the white/yellow lines.

When the camera detects a stop sign it should also identify the start of the intersection and hold the car stationary there for a second or so before decided to advance or wait on another vehicle. Car on the road to the right? Wait until it has passed.

When a street light is seen hanging over an intersection advance through only if the green light is active. If it's not pull to halt before the start of the intersection and wait until it is.

These are fairly simple ideas to program, the real difficulty is writing the software that lets you identify stop signs, traffic lights and the like from your camera feeds.


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

[User]
If time slows down near the event horizon, how is light production maintained?

So, if the gravity near the event horizon of a black hole is so great that being there would slow you down so much you could watch the life of the universe zip by, wouldnt a star being consumed *not* give off that much light, from our perspective away from the black hole? That is, the rate of light production from the Star in our frame of reference should be so low as to not give off that much light at all?

[Assistant]
So yeah, if you have a light source right on the event horizon, it would dimmer and redder. The light is getting stretched out in both time and space, so you get photons at a lower rate, and each photon has less energy.

However, to get something like "one hour is seven years" or whatever, you're really like right on top of the event horizon - that's an extreme level of time dilation. Even a factor of two means you're very close. Stars get ripped apart at much greater distances, and join the accretion disc. The inner part of the accretion disc drips onto the event horizon slowly, as plasma loses energy through turbulence and viscosity and stuff falls "inwards". But most of the brightness comes from stuff that's at enough of a distance that it orbits in an almost classical way, and where time dilation is more of a secondary effect.


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

[User] What happens to the body when your cortisol levels are constantly too high?

[Assistant]
This is a really broad question, since excessive cortisol in the human body can have a lot of implications. I'll just talk about one of them.

One area of your brain that has a lot of cortisol receptors is the hippocampus. There is some evidence that excess cortisol can cause the hippocampus to be damaged in various ways. Individuals with excess cortisol have been show to have smaller hippocampi, suggesting that certain cells called pyramidal cells in the hippocampus likely atrophy due to cortisol activity. Another idea is that cortisol in the hippocampus suppresses neurogenesis, or the formation of new neurons. Both of these are likely causes of depression, and SSRIs both work to reverse these effects of excess cortisol in the hippocampus.

Extremely high cortisol in a short time can also impair memory. This is why individuals often can't remember times where they're extremely emotional.


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

[User] ELI5: How do human bodies keep from losing air and crumbling on an airplane unlike a half empty water bottle on an airplane?

[Assistant]
Human bodies aren't balloons. We're mostly liquid on the inside, with some solid. The areas that are gas-filled have systems to equalize pressure with our surroundings. Our lungs should be obvious, but then those little tubes in our ears (the name escapes me) require movement in order to maintain pressure. This is why your ears can hurt when swimming deep underwater or flying in a plane.

The normal solution to this is chewing on gum, as the movement of the jaw helps speed up the pressure equalizing process.


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

[User]
Why do molecules move away from each other in diffusion?

They move from high concentration to low concentration, but why do they move away from each other till equally distributed?

[Assistant] They move in every direction. However, if they are in an area of high concentration, then there are more available to move away from this area than toward it. As a result, gradients are evened out and concentrations tend to equalize. Try simulating this with paper clips (one pile and two adjacent empty spots) and random shifts of every paper clip for every timestep. Why did the paper clips move away from the pile?


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

[User] Can a person be moral but not ethical? if yes, how?

[Assistant] Theres no consensus among philosophers as to the relation between ethics and morality. A lot of philosophers treat them as the same. Those who treat them as different, distinguish them in different ways.


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

[User]
CMV: Videogames are as real as many other meaningful activities in "real life"

Hello!

I feel joy and sense of accomplishment playing videogames.

Many mental health specialists and a big part of society in general say that people often refuge in videogames when they can't feel those emotions I mentioned in real life.

But my question - what's real life?

I will take one example about life fulfillment in real life - Travelling.

Many people get extreme joy and sense of accomplishment when they travel - they visit new cities, new monuments and learn different cultures.

But are those cities, monuments and cultures real? They aren't natural, that's for sure... They are human creations...

Same as videogames! You can also visit new cites, monuments and cultures created by humans but in this case they are virtual. That's the only difference.

We are moving into a virtual era so is it really wrong to get joy and sense of accomplishment playing videogames? So many psychologists say it is unhealthy... I don't understand why

Even the human connection factor nowadays you can have virtually and many videogames are huge online communities.

Travelling is just one example, many other things in "real life" are human creations as well...

Even the most basic things that most people live for... Like marriage!!!

What makes it real? It's a human invention. No more than than... And so many people take it so seriously...

Many people live for it... Go trough a lot of stress palnning it... Mental distress thinking about the "commitment" they will make... Spend all the money they have on a party... Then 50% of them end up divorcing

I understand that love is a more deep and real thing...  Family too... But the "contract" called marriage and the "party" are no more real than a videogame.

Even worst - this contract or obligation that marriage should be forever. This human creation is useless, stupid and only exist to bring suffering to people... Specialy to the kids!!

Sure is great when love lasts forever but the obligation ruins it all.

Attention, I am not saying that videogames are good and the other things in life are bad... I love to travel and I feel extreme joy doing it. Also maybe I will get married someday. Nothing wrong with that!

I just dont understand why videogames are considered a refuge from real life by mental health specialists (and others) when many other real life events are as real as videogames

[Assistant]
Video games in moderation are fine and are an economical source of entertainment when you consider hours played / dollars paid.

However, many people who experience hardships and lack the tools or motivation to deal with them will invest their time and energy into the virtual world as it easily provides the serotonin and sense of accomplishment which is otherwise lacking. Things like trophy/achievement hunting take advantage of this phenomenon.

Preferring games to experiences is fine, but when it becomes the primary source of achievement in life it becomes a problem as it stunts personal growth and accomplishment.


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

[User]
How did species survive in the days just after the K-Pg Extinction event?

The K-Pg Extinction event (aka the Chicxulub impact, widely known as being the impact that killed the dinosaurs)  "devastated the global environment, mainly through a lingering impact winter which halted photosynthesis in plants and plankton" (Wikipedia). And yet numerous different species, the ancestors of all organisms today, somehow pulled through.

How, exactly, could anything survive this? How did plants survive without sunlight, or animals survive without anything to eat? I can understand scavenging for days and weeks on dead plant matter and decaying cadavers, but how was this sustainable for months and years? I just don't get what the means of survival were for long enough for the dust clouds to subside and photosynthesis to resume.

Thanks for any insight.

[Assistant]
Here like with all things, that description is a vast oversimplification meant to make it easy to understand.

It wasn't that photosynthesis stopped altogether. The dust made sunlight very dim like a very cloudy day for years. Which made it hard for larger plants and things with high energy demands to survive, but smaller plants whom had evolved to live in the shadow of the larger plants could survive; especially after the larger plants died and stopped shading them and taking up the ground nutrients.

But because all the large plants died, so did the animals that needed the large plants for large quantities of food. As did the large carnivores that needed the large herbivores. However the small animals (some of the first mammals) were able to subsist even thrive on the smaller plants.


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

[User]
[General apocalypse] What are some likely forms of currency to use in a "picking up the pieces" phase of the apocalypse?

I don't know exactly how to phrase that but the world is over, and starting again, this isn't the Mad Max world where brutal raiders fight each other over the rights to pick at the scraps of the old world; in a world where people are organizing back into villages, people are farming and living semi-normal lives again, what might people use to trade with each other? What might a farm owner offer to people coming and going offering to pick corn and help ranch cattle? I'd look at a world like Fallout 1 as a good example but I don't know how likely bottle caps would work as a currency without some water merchants trying to make it happen.

[Assistant]
I think you'd just be like Europe before coinage became popular.

Need harvest help?  A measure of milled grain per man per day. Cattle herders get similar.

There'd be 'market days' where folks would come and trade face to face.

Creating a stable currency that isn't backed by gold or silver is tough.


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

[User] I have a closed room with a source of light inside. Then I open a door. Assuming that the other side is darker, will the amount of light inside decrease? (because of the photons that were bouncing in the room "escaping"). That is, does light flow to darker areas like gasses do, to some extent?

[Assistant] In this situation (and most) it would be better to think of the light radiating directly out from the source rather than flowing around, since it will not be interacting with the air very much as it travels. So with the door closed, light is hitting the walls and the door and bouncing back into the room and eventually being absorbed by some surface. When you open the door, the light that would have been reflected by the door back into the room escapes outside instead, so the room will be slightly darker.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] How could the Death Eaters destroy the Millennium Bridge in 1996 when it was built in 2000?

[Assistant] Because it was also built before that. After the Death Eaters destroyed it (And after the wizarding war was over), the Ministry of Magic's Obliviators had to spend a few weeks removing any instances of that bridge from all of the muggles' memories. But because you can't just have an excavated spot for a bridge with no bridge, the MoM had to slip the building plans to the architects to get the bridge going again. This was probably one of the most mundane, yet difficult, tasks the obliviators have had in a long time.


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

[User]
What would it be like to swim, in space?

Imagine NASA decided that the astronauts on the ISS needed more recreation options and decided to add a swimming pool (forget the logistics of how this is done). The new swimming pool pod would be a large open space with a giant "bubble" of water floating in the middle of it. If an astronaut were to swim in to it, would they be able to escape it? Or, would the surface tension of the water and lack of gravity make drowning extremely likely?

[Assistant]
The bubble of water would not stay as a single bubble, especially once people started trying to swim in it.  You'd end up with a compartment full of floating blobs of water of varying sizes.  You'd have to be careful to avoid inhaling water, or you could drown.

A more practical swimming experience in space would be to fill a compartment entirely with water, and use breathing apparatus when inside.  Now, you'd be able to actually swim, because there'd always be water to push against.


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

[User] Do black holes interact with dark matter?

[Assistant]
They do, and dark matter that passes through the event horizon is stuck in the black hole forever (as with any other type of matter). However, black holes aren't very good at sucking up dark matter. They aren't actually very good at sucking up matter in general. Black holes are quite small for their size, so they're a small target. If you don't hit the black hole directly, you just end up slingshotting around it. The main way that black holes accrete matter is that there are so many atoms slingshotting around them that they bump into each other and lose energy. What you get is an *accretion disc* of super hot gas where particles very slowly lose energy through viscosity and drop onto the black hole. This gives you a bigger "target" - gas that hits the accretion disc will *eventually* fall into the black hole, you don't have to hit the black hole directly.

This only works for gas, because dark matter particles don't "bump into" each other. So you don't get a "dark accretion disc", and dark matter will have to hit the black hole directly to get stuck inside it. So you'll end up with a lot more "regular" matter in the black hole than dark matter.


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

[User] ELI5: what happens to your body when you get an electric shock - is the electricity just passing through you?

[Assistant]
Yes. Yes it is.

Electricity passing through you is just electrons moving. When they move in conductive (but not superconductive) objects, they pretty much interact with nearby atoms/molecules as they travel through.

Think of having a bunch of marbles on the floor, and rolling one small marble through them really hard. That small marble will hit the other marbles, right? Well, electrons behave similarly. This is what "impedance" is like.

Every time the electron hits a point of impedance, it releases energy. Picture being one of the marbles that you just hit with the small one. It would make a sound, right? The sound is the release of energy. Well, electricity works the same way, except at a much smaller (atomic) scale and the result is what is called "joule heating".

With enough current running through your body, the amount of joule heating that occurs can be fatal, and you'll burn up.

Edit : Fixing semantics and technicalities.


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

[User]
[Superman] Why were there no kryptonians on other planets?

So the Kryptonians are a super advanced race capable of deep space travel. I know they started to regress and abandon space exploration, but why is every single member of the species on the home world when it was destroyed? Why are there no colonies, or even odd dudes who landed on a planet with a yellow sun and were like 'guys, this is awesome, we can fly and shit, let's desert and stay here'.

[Assistant]
Depending on the universe, there is.

Most have the big two - Kal-El and Kara Zor-El. There's also Kristen Wells (kryptonian name Karasta Wor-Ul) who was in space when the planet was destroyed.

There's an entire Kryptonian city miniaturized by Brainiac. They exist, but at microscopic size, and have no powers.

Doomsday is technically Kryptonian, but predates their modern race.

In the Lois and Clark universe, New Krypton exists, and several of them show up on Earth - which is where you learn Kryptonians under a yellow sun can communicate with each other telepathically.

There's a few survivors in the Smallville universe.

In JLU, Kara In-Zee is the only survivor of Krypton's sister planet Argos.

The inhabitants of planet Daxam are all descended from Kryptonians, and share their abilities under a yellow sun.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How would combat droids get "promoted"?

In particular the armies of the CIS. If a B1 managed to survive long enough to build a decent kill-count, could he be rewarded? Would he get upgrades? A new chassis? Have his mind transferred to a more powerful model like a commando or B2? Or is each droid made for their own purpose without any chance of progression?

[Assistant] The battle droids used by the CIS have no self-awareness. They can't learn. The only reason to promote a sentient being is because they have learned from their experiences. That is impossible for droids. They are purpose built to follow instructions with no ability to improvise beyond the most basic of tactical replacements. i.e. the officer droids can decide whether to flank right or left when given the order to flank, but can't come up with the idea to flank in the first place unless built or ordered to.


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

[User] ELI5: What makes ones head spin when they are drunk?

[Assistant]
Inside your ear is a canal filled with a liquid and lined with tiny hairs. When you move your head the liquid moves about and pushes the hairs around, like tree branches in the wind. Your brain can sense the movement of the hairs and this is a large part of how you sense "movement" of your body, it's also how you balance yourself.

Your brain also takes input from your eyes and compares it to the movement. When these inputs disagree, like when you're sitting a car (eyes say not moving) and getting carsick (ears are feeling the bumps and twists and turns) the outcome is often nausea. This is because your brain assumes this disagreement is causes by poisoning and it's trying to eliminate the poison.

In the case of when you're drunk, the alcohol changes the way the fluid in your ears behaves (it becomes "thinner" like water vs maple syrup) which basically makes the hairs much more sensitive. To basically even the slightest movement if your head sends a HUGE MOVEMENT signal to the brain. So your brain is desperately trying to balance your body as if you're flying about the room, although you obviously aren't. And both efforts are in disagreement with what your eyes are seeing. So, basically, you're a spinny, off-balance mess.


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

[User] [Teen Titans] How did the Titans get to Starfire's home planet so fast?

[Assistant] Cyborg's body is powered by a Mother Box, or has components/design from a Mother Box, and Mother Boxes can open and close boom tubes. Boom tubes allow for interstellar travel, but are impractical for local travel, which is why they don't use them on Earth.


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

[User] [Back to the Future] Why doesn't the DeLorean ice up like it does in its very first use in every subsequent jump?

[Assistant] It jumped in the ~~Twin~~ Lone ~~Pine~~ Apricot mall parking lot, back to 1955 and back to 1985. Iced up each time. Then Doc Brown took it to ***THE FUTURE***. the hover conversion tech and Mr. fusion keeps it warm enough not to freeze.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does caffeine stop working on the brain/not make people feel awake anymore after adaption but still trigger physical side effects like shaky hands?

[Assistant] Caffeine works by blocking the detectors that your brain uses to figure out if you are tired.  If they get block too often, your brain decides the detectors are not working and simply grows more until their are more detectors than the caffeine can block.  This means you can still feel tired now, but that doesn't stop anything else the chemical may do.


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

[User]
[The Lion King] How many bugs would Simba have had to eat a day to survive and grow into a healthy adult lion?

Given that he has a full mane, a muscular body, and non-rachitic bones, he must have been getting enough nutrients from a diet consisting solely of bugs. How many (slimy and/or crunchy) would he have had to eaten a day to survive on this diet?

[Assistant] What most likely occurred is whenever Timon and Pumbaa weren't paying attention, Simba would sneak off to hunt more substantial food. When he was a cub, this would have been smaller animals (rodents, etc), gradually working up to larger animals as he got older. He kept this a secret from Timon and Pumbaa, who continued to believe he only ate bugs.


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

[User]
ELI5: In response to the reddit gif post of a spider chasing a red laser dot, how and why did the spider pursue the laser like a cat would?

Honestly, I've always thought spiders only moved sensing movement to external stimuli.

[Assistant]
The spider in that particular gif is a hunting spider, which hunts by sight. Because it's a predator (as cats are), the movement of the red laser draws its attention. Now, it doesn't know what that red dot is but it knows it's smaller than the spider so it could, quite possibly, be lunch.

Hoping for a meal, it stalks the red dot in a cute, cat-like manner.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do so many celebrities believe in scientology?

[Assistant]
More than anything, Scientology is a social club where people with lots of money can have anything they want, and where the general public is not allowed.

Celebrities get hounded *everywhere* they go.  You can't go to a movie without a media shitstorm, without your 3 huge bodyguards, a million fans asking for pics, paparazzi flashing in your face, and "TOM CRUISE WENT TO A MOVIE" ending up on the cover of all the tabloids.  Pick your nose?  There's a photo and now it's at every checkstand in America.  Cough?  "IS TOM CRUISE DYING OF EMPHYSEMA?" is the #1 trending Twitter.  Don't dare scratch your ass.  Just fucking walk in a straight line to your car with tinted windows and for the love of God GTFO out public.  As you can imagine, it is very often not that fun.

Scientology provides a private building, or neighborhood, or even a huge gated compound full of servants that do whatever the hell you want, full of other celebs that are your bros, activities like you can do in public like play Racquetball or something without all the OTHER BULLSHIT.  Or some celebs just dive into extreme drug use.  So take your pick.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are robotics in Star Wars so mature that they have become simplistic?

Sometimes I look at how droids are built in Star Wars, and can't help but wonder. Is it so easy to create a robotic brain with basic materials and still have it generate artificial intelligence? Droids are made from bolts and wires. They aren't the super-complex things you'd expect robots to be in the future. Is it because they have become so easy to construct that they seem so basic? You could flip a switch and turn off C-3PO. Leia did it in Empire.

[Assistant] Yes. It is worth noting that in the Star Wars universe, even 25,000 years ago, in times considered prehistory, people had spaceships and lightsabers, so the galaxy in Star Wars is just so advanced at the moment that virtually any intelligent engineer with the right tools can create a cheap droid in his garage.


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

[User]
CMV: Kids father dies, whole grade goes to funeral. I think it's inappropriate and that we should just let him have his space and stop pretending like we all care.

Basically a dude in my grade's father died of a heart attack.  Obviously it's sad and all but a huge chunk of my grade has decided to go to the funeral tomorrow morning (and also to sit "shiva".  This is in Israel.) IMO they are all going mostly to miss school but they'll never admit it. Anyway,  i just think it's inappropriate for a bunch of kids who only know this dude by name and have certainly never met,  seen or even know the name of the Father to go to the funeral.  Honestly,  I think it's just fake as hell to go to the funeral, say something like "I'm sorry for your loss.  Your father was a great man" when I've never even met the guy.

[Assistant]
Funerals aren't about the deceased, they are about the survivors.

I suspect most of your classmates have imagined how they would feel if it were *their* father who had died and felt empathy.

Assuming that as an Israeli you are at least familiar with Judaism, it's really the spirt of the Mourners Kaddish, where the grieving stand up to say their part, while the congregation chants along with them.  Even though they might not know the person who is grieving, death touches all of us, and feeling the support of the community can help.

No, you don't need to go there and lie about how much you loved his father.  But you can say that you're 'sorry for his loss' - which is what most of your classmates will do.  Even if they didn't know him, you're part of the same community, and it's good to know you have the community support when the same thing happens to you.


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

[User] [Doctor Who] When the Doctor regenerates, he tends to excitedly announce that he has fingers, legs, et cetera. Is this just post-regeneration loopiness, or is there actually a possibility for him to regenerate into something non-humanoid?

[Assistant]
So, while it is possible for the Doctor to regenerate into something non-humanoid, the real issue here is that the Doctor is just not very good at regenerating, and knows it. Other Time Lords, like his sometimes partner Romana or his sometimes rival the Master, actually paid attention when the Time Lord Academy taught the skills to control your regenerations, and thus can decide exactly what they will regenerate as with proper effort.

The Doctor... more or less is just going off instinct, and knows that the possibility exists to regenerate into just about anything, and is always glad when the process leaves them with humanoid features.


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

[User] [star wars] what language does Darth Nihilis(spelling on that) speak?

[Assistant] The only other things that the Exile encountered that spoke the same language are the Sith holocrons, so it stands to reason that he spoke Sith. That would also explain why Visas could sorta understand him.


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

[User]
Should I read into the fact that the department I'm interviewing at deleted their job listing from all the various job boards?

I already appreciate the fact that this question is a little ridiculous, but humor me, please? :)

I have an interview for an academic job that I really, really want. This is also my first-ever interview. The department deleted the job listing from all the various job boards after they scheduled my interview. Should I read into this at all? Is it a good sign? Or is it just standard procedure?

[Assistant] You're reading into it too much. There's a recruiting period that the university has a deadline for. After picking various candidates to interview from their applications, they would stop advertising. Otherwise they'd just pick you without interviewing. Don't get cocky. Prepare, and you can crush it. It's likely they have interviews scheduled for either before or after yours. It's tough for busy academics to find time to interview candidates, so they usually just set aside a day to go through the lot. Good luck!


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

[User] [Mario Bros] Out of all of Peach's kidnappings, which one was the most traumatic for her?

[Assistant]
Likely Super Paper Mario. She was forced to marry Bowser against her will & created the Chaos Heart which led to the entire plot of the game where it would be used to erase all worlds from existence.

Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is also pretty bad. Kidnapped by some new menace & used as a vessel for the Demon Queen.

After that, perhaps Mario & Luigi Partners in Time where she time traveled into the middle of the Shroob invasion & used the Cobalt Star to seal the Elder Shroob Princess only for her to be freed anyway & then find her horrific enough that Peach faints during the boss fight.


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

[User]
If a 50 year old person receives a 20 year old heart in a transplant does the heart "remain" younger than the rest of the patient's own cells?

If so is it theoretically possibly to live longer by simply replacing your organs as they get "worn" out?

[Assistant] Not really a meaningful question considering most foreign organs get rejected after about 10-15 years because despite our best efforts of immunosuppression the human immune system really does not like having non-self tissue around. The cell material is in theory more fresh and could survive longer in situ, but practically that's not a thing that will happen. In a nonexisting hypothetical world where complications in surgeries of people in old age don't exist you could maybe replace all organs every 10 years, but the limiting factor in this equation is the age of your brain, the quality of your cardiovascular system and the quality of your immune system over a lifetime.


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

[User] How effective is Snoozing our alarms in the morning? Does it make us more awake?

[Assistant]
I think that's the wrong question to be asking. The proper question is "how effective is sleeping"? The goal is to wake up in between sleep cycles, rather than to interrupt a sleep cycle--which is what snoozing does.

Snoozing your alarm is allowing yourself to enter the first portion of a sleep cycle and then abruptly be pulled out of it, so while it may not be detrimental to your awakeness, it doesn't add as much as it would if you slept straight through an additional cycle (talking to the guy who says he snoozes for two hours). If you only snooze for 30 minutes or so, it's just wasting your time, essentially.


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

[User] [ASOIAF] How do the people of Westros store food stuff during particularly long winters?

[Assistant]
The same way food has always been stored for the long term. Drying and/or heavily salting meat. Or just keeping large herds around for regular slaughter. Fishing through the ice is also a possibility. Since animals in westeros aren't extinct even through extreme winters, humans can still hunt now and then as well. (It's likely that they spend more time than in the real world drying/packaging foods and have much bigger storehouses than we do. There's probably a gigantic agricultural industry we just don't see because it's boring and has little to do with politics or wars.)

For crops and plants, drying is still a possibility. As well as growing foods that take a very long time to spoil, like root vegetables and grains. Some plants can also be grown in primitive greenhouses or in manmade shelters to keep people fed some meager amounts for a very long time.

And on top of it all, we know the more southern areas of Westeros are more temparate, so they probably are able to grow food even in the middle of winter. It's likely not as healthy or nutritious as summer-grown crops, but they can still grow it and transport huge quantities up north for a good profit.


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

[User]
[Dune] Why don't the Fremen import water from off-world?

Paul comes from a planet covered in vast oceans. It seems odd to me that such a planet can co-exist in the same economy as a brutally dry desert planet. Maybe creating sustained bodies of water on Arrakis is a few thousand years away, but certainly they could import enough to satisfy their needs, right?

Is there a reason this doesn't seem to happen?

[Assistant] Other then the reasons already mentioned, the Fremen don't control Arrakis and are not economically powerful enough to import water for themselves. The Imperial house that controls the planet do import water for their consumption, and provide (or sell) the water to the Fremen that live in the city (cities?) that they control.


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

[User] [Ready Player One] IOI, one of the biggest companies in the world, essentially just committed an act of terrorism by attacking the stacks. Where the hell are the police and the FBI?

[Assistant] The bomb hit was interpreted as an exploding meth lab, which was seen as the most plausible answer, especially with the one guy in a real position to assert IOI was involved (Wade) running like hell instead of going to the cops. The Stacks are, to be blunt, a high-crime cesspool, and the number of people who A) care and B) have the resources to do anything about it are few and far between. While an investigation would likely turn up a fair number of bomb parts, no one is inclined to check.


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

[User]
Why are there so many salt deposits in the Great Lakes? Wouldn't this be counterintuitive since they are freshwater lakes?

Furthermore, is it more common for salt deposits to be under land or underwater?

[Assistant]
The salt deposits are remnants of ancient seas. Much of the great lakes region is underlain by sedimentary rock deposits that originated from these seas as well.

A common linkage between the salt deposits and lakes may be due to topography: lakes form in low basins on the landscape. Seas form similarly. Since the catchment basins that feed water to these areas are now above sea level they fill only with fresh water.


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

[User] ELI5: Why Are You Allowed To Sell Plasma But Only Donate Blood?

[Assistant] It's because donated blood is used directly on patients and therefore the kind of people you attract when you pay for blood are more likely to be ones that engage in at risk behaviors. Plasma on the other hand is often not used whole and more often used for research, not human application, so the risk of contamination by blood borne pathogens is worth it.


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

[User]
What is the actual difference between scattering and absorption at the atomic level, if both are exciting molecules, albeit at different magnitude?

I understand absorption and scattering is what gives things color, like why Chlorophyll is green (because it absorbs more in the red/blue levels), and water is bluish (since it absorbs more in the red region).

BUT I don't understand why this difference occurs; Why is resonant frequencies absorbed by molecules, if all it's doing is vibrating the molecules more than other wavelength of light. For example, if red light is more closer to the resonant OH bond stretching vibrations, it get absorbed, but blue light is not, so it gets scattered. Don't both wavelengths wiggle the molecules, therefore transmitting energy to the molecule, albeit at different magnitudes? What makes water molecules "give back" the blue light, but "keep" the red light ?

[Assistant]
Raleigh scattering is a non-resonant phenomena and its intensity is proportional to the 4th power of the incident frequency of light. From a classical perspective, the incident light generates an oscillating dipole of the same frequency as the source and this oscillating dipole produces an EM wave that is the "scattered" light. This is the common explanation for explaining why the sky is blue.

 Using a quantum mechanical perspective, the incident light promotes the atomic electron to a virtual state, one of a continuum of such states that are non-resonant, and short lived (10^-14s -ish). The virtual state, relaxes to the ground state radiating a photon of the same energy as the incident photon. The strength of this interaction increases with the polarizability of the atom/molecule and the 4th power of the frequency of incident light.

Electronic absorption is a different phenomena. In this case the photon is resonant with one of the excited states of the atom/molecule.  These are different than the continuum of virtual states mentioned above. These states are long lived, and represent stable, arrangements of the electron (atomic/molecular) orbitals deduced by solving the time-independent Schoedinger equation for the atom/molecule considered. The excited state lifetime is on the order of 10^-9s. Although this can vary over a wide range.

 The attenuation in intensity of incident light due to absorption is maximum at the resonant frequency corresponding to the energy difference between the ground and excited states.  The excited state can relax back to the ground state via a variety of pathways that depend on the atom/molecule and the local environment. Electronic absorption is the phenomena responsible for colors in dyes, paints, components etc and is one the basis for how lasers work.


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

[User]
CMV: We need all money out of politics

Why do we have corporate influence in government in the first place? I think the government and the free market is like a parent watching over a bunch of kids. There has to be rules to follow, like no bullying, don't pee on the floor, and don't lick frogs. If you were the parent would you let the kids influence you on whether or not they should be able to fight and lick frogs? No, because kids cannot see the bigger picture, and do stupid shit not seeing the consequences of their actions. Companies are the same way, caring about nothing else except profits, which makes them near-sighted and possibly dangerous.

For the people who believe that corporate or private donations are a form of free speech, consider this. If there were 20 homeless people in a bar who had little money with someone like Warren Buffet, are all their voices not equal? The answer is yes, but according to the lobbyist world view, Warren Buffet has many times as much money as everyone else, and therefore his "freedom" is greater than everyone else's freedom. This is a clear violation of our values, and no-one should stand for it, democrat or republican.

[Assistant]
So you'd ban Warren Buffett from giving to Politician X.

Would you ban him from running a TV ad suggesting people to vote for Politician X?

Would you ban him from writing a book in support of the political views espoused by Politician X?

Would you ban the New York Times from endorsing Politician X?

The idea of "getting money out of politics" doesn't have a coherent definition. There will always be a way for big-money donors to get their ideas out.


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

[User] Does String Theory deny the Standard Model?

[Assistant] It doesn't "deny" the standard model, it has to explain all observations consistent with the standard model at the appropriate energy levels. It does however, deviate from the standard model at high enough energies. Superstring theory predicts particles that aren't in the standard model, which haven't been observed yet.


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

[User] As sea levels rise due to climate change and flood coastal areas, will there be a similar rise in freshwater waterways? Will rivers, streams and creeks located far away from the coast also rise and flood adjacent lands?

[Assistant]
The water level in rivers streams and creeks depends on the amount of precipitation in their watershed. If there is a lot of precipitation the levels will rise as they drain the excess water from the surrounding land. If there is a period of no precipitation, the levels will fall as the land around them dries out and they are fed less water.

Climate change could cause the amount of local precipitation in an area to change. Some areas may get drier and some areas may get wetter, and those changes might be seasonal. The rise in sea level is not going to be seasonal or local. It is largely a result of the ice in Greenland and Antarctica melting and flowing to the ocean and staying there. It will be global and permanent (at least for several millennia).


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

[User]
ELI5: How can the universe be infinite in size and still ever expanding?

I have heard all the matter in the universe once occupied a single point and was thrown everywhere with the big bang

does that mean the space this matter didnt occupy is infinite? or do we only count the space the matter occupies as part of the universe?

[Assistant]
We don't know if the universe is infinite. Thats just one of the possible options.

And it would work like this:

Imagine the universe was as wide as the natural numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ... (Go on to infinity)

Now the universe expands to twice the size so there is an additional step of space between each previous step 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, ... (Go on to infinity)

Both are infinite, but the other has double the amount of "space" between two points on the previous.


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

[User]
[DC] How did Harley Quinn get so acrobatic and skilled at fighting?

She starts out as a physically unimpressive bookish psychiatrist. I can accept the mental changes she went through, but she quickly became a skilled a fighter and acrobat. How?

[Assistant]
she used to be a gymnast

>Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum. A model student, in addition to receiving high grades in college, she was also a dedicated gymnast, winning a scholarship to Gotham City University.


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

[User] ELI5:Regarding cities, streets and other places, how are outlandish names such as "Slapout, OK" and "Hell, MI" chosen, and why are they accepted?

[Assistant]
Usually, they are not outlandish to the people who named them, who were often non-English speakers.  Fishkill, NY isn't about aquatic murder, kill means stream in Dutch.

Other times they are just tiny, unincorporated places that got their named as a joke and no one has bothered to change it.  Laws varies from state to state, but in general a place like Slapout is only slightly more official than "the old waterin' hole".  The sort of place that might elect a mule mayor.


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

[User] ELI5: Are four leaf clovers just a genetic mutation of a three leaf clover? Why are they so hard to find?

[Assistant]
Yes, they are a mutation of the 3-leaf variety. Most species of plants and animals have a number of mutations that come up on a regular basis, humans being born with extra fingers and toes, for example.
They're hard to find because they aren't particularly common. I've seen areas where they seemed more common, but explaining that bit would likely take a geneticist.


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

[User]
Have transuranic elements EVER existed in nature?

I hear it thrown around frequently that Uranium (also sometimes Plutonium) is the heaviest element which occurs naturally. I have recently learned, however, that the Oklo natural fission reactor is known to have at one time produced elements as heavy as Fermium. When the phrase "heaviest natural element" is used, how exact is that statement? Is there an atomic weight where it is theoretically impossible for a single atom to have once existed? For example, is there no possible scenario in which a single atom of Rutherfordium once existed without human intervention? If this is the case, what is the limiting factor? If not, is it simply the fact that increasing weights after uranium are EXTREMELY unlikely to form, but it is possible that trace amounts have come into existence in the last 14 billion years?

[Assistant] It's likely that these unstable heavy elements are naturally created in small amounts during super energetic events like neutron star collisions. But since they're so unstable, a short time later they've pretty much all decayed into lighter elements. This is why we don't see them around us.


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

[User]
CMV: Giving people in prison the right to vote is an ethical policy, largely adopted in the developed world, that should be implemented in the United States.

Taking away the right of prisoners to vote cannot be said to be a punishment which is reflective of or addresses the nature of their crimes and unduly encourages the continued disengagement from the welfare of society that rehabilitation should combat. In the country that imprisons a larger percentage of its population than any other, prisoners have been denied the ability to participate on the most fundamental level in the policies, many of which are themselves highly controversial, that have created the sizable prison population that currently exists.

This is made even more problematic by the financial incentive of both private and government prisons to contract prisoners as laborers who make substantially less than minimum wage and in doing so create a prison industrial complex that fundamentally economically deincentivizes reducing the prison population or preventing recidivism.

[Assistant]
In a small prison town, its possible for inmates to outnumber the local population.  In fact, it's not uncommon.

What happens when all the prisoners vote to cut the school board and all the municipal services that don't support the prison?


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

[User] [Street Fighters] Who are Ryu's parents? Is he related to Akuma?

[Assistant] Ryu is not related to Akuma, no. Akuma is another student who trained under the same master as Ryu's master did, but he went insane after messing with the satsui no hadou and using its power to fuel his lust for strength and domination.


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

[User]
[Stranger Things] Why did the Mindflayer... (Spoilers)

...keep Billy around?

It consumed the rest of its hosts to build up its body. Only Billy remained uneaten, which ultimately led to its defeat. Why not eat him with the rest?

[Assistant]
Tactically, it is useful to have another pawn who can flank the party, and do things like blend into human society, drive cars, and lock doors. He also serve as a fallback plan, just incase the main body doesn't work out, Billy can just kidnap more people and try again.

The versatility offered far offsets the few extra kg of biomass. The whole Billy rebelling thing was never really expected by the Mindflayer.

The real question is why didn't the Mindflayer keep a few more flayed ones like Billy around. Maybe it is a limit due to the fact only small part of its body hitched a ride with Will.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why is Vision's body less durable that Captain America's shield?

In Age of Ultron, Vision's body is composed of vibranium.

In Infinity War, Captain America has two shields, presumably also composed of vibranium from Wakanda.

Corvus Glaive pierces Vision'a body like butter, but Cap's shield is able to turn the same blade aside: why?

[Assistant]
IIRC, Vision is an organic vibranium weave, while Cap's shield is pure vibranium.

The weave that makes up the Vision is less durable, but it is more pliable and flexible. This tradeoff was necessary to create Vision's human-like movements. He doesn't have articulated joints like an action figure, his "skin" and "muscles" move and contract and expand like actual flesh.


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

[User] ELI5: What are monads in programming?

[Assistant]
That's easy. Imagine that you have a large pizza delivery organization. There are many people who are trained to pack pizza boxes, transport them, etc,etc, there are many stages of delivery. And all this works perfectly. Imagine also that all this happens in a strange world where people can only pay in cash. They leave their money on the counter in the morning and get their orders delivered in the evening to their houses. And there are no phones.

Suddenly you encounter a problem: sometimes there is no pizza available. In this case you need to return the money. You can build an alternative structure with people transporting money back to customers, but it can be expensive and troublesome. Eventually you find a brilliant solution. You just put money into an empty pizza box along with the note explaining the problem. Your delivery system continues to operate as usual but now it has an additional functionality packed into the same boxes.

Of course it comes at additional cost for you. At least you are sending empty boxes every time you need to return the money.  Also some people in your delivery network may need to be retrained, for example there could be some additional weighting station that checks the weight of each box. You need to tell them that there could be unusually light boxes.


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

[User] ELI5: How do heat indexes work, and why? If it's 91 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but "it feels like 98 degrees", why isn't it just 98 degrees then?

[Assistant]
If you held a thermometer up it would read 91.

However, because of the high ambient humidity, your body's heat removal system (which relies heavily on evaporative cooling, that works best in dry air) has to work harder.  Effectively, you're sweating like it's a dry 98, not a dry 91.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it okay to eat steak when its pink in the middle, but not hamburger patties?

[Assistant] The germs that make you sick are on the surface of the meat.  Ground beef is a surface area bonanza so you cook it all the way or face the risk.  Searing the steak is all you need to do because the center has no germs.


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

[User]
How is CPU hyperthreading different than typical OS multi-tasking with a scheduler?

Both seem to be technologies that allow multi tasking on a single core.

One perceived difference is that hyper-threading is the same API as multi-threading through having similar cores. The application may as well not be aware of the difference between cores and threads.

Another difference I can think of is that one is OS level, the other is... Well, I presume firmware or hardware level.

[Assistant]
Let's consider a processor with one core, then multiple cores, then hyperthreading.

### Single-Core CPU, No Hyperthreading

The operating system's scheduler alternates between tasks rapidly. From the user's perspective the CPU appears to be doing multiple things at once, but it's really a serial process, you're just switching between tasks so quickly that they appear to be concurrent. The only way to _truly_ run two tasks concurrently is with multiple processors, but motherboards with multiple processors are exceedingly rare and expensive.

### Multiple Cores

Dual-core processors are invented! Much cheaper and simpler than having two dedicated CPUs on the motherboard, instead we duplicate most of the guts of the CPU, so a single processor can now act like two, and run two tasks at once! We can get 2x performance, right? Well, _almost_, but the two cores share a few things like access to memory, so if two threads both try to access RAM at the exact same time then they need to take turns. Still, much cheaper, lower power, and simpler motherboard than a dual-CPU system, with almost the same performance.

### Hyperthreading

Hyperthreading is kind of like dual-core-cores. We can get a CPU core to run two tasks at once, as long as those tasks don't need access to the same parts of the CPU core at the same time, and can work off of a shared cache. We've duplicated a _few_ of the guts of each CPU core to make this possible, so each physical core now presents two "logical cores" to the operating system. This compounds the limitations of multi-core CPUs: in theory, a dual-core hyper-threaded CPU can run four tasks at once, but in practice these tasks sometimes conflict, and we get a bit less than 4x speed. Very careful scheduling by the operating system can limit how often we have conflicts by running concurrent threads that are performing different tasks.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it considered rude to fill a wine glass more than half way?

I was watching Come Dine With Me and everyone freaked out when the guy purposely filled her wine glass completely. Why is that rude?

[Assistant]
There is a social stigma associated with implying that someone is a "Drunk" by filling their wine glass.

But, actually, the wine glass is designed to hold about 1/3 to 1/2 of a fill to properly release the aromas in the wine, for maximum enjoyment.

Wine bottles and glasses are designed the way that they are because there is a lot of OCD, Geeky, weird Science shit involved with storing, pouring, and drinking wine.

Also, you can almost always instantly tell who knows their wine at any gathering.  They are the people that are holding the glass by the Stem, instead of the Bowl.

Any wine aficionado will tell you, "There's a reason why it's called 'Stemware' and why the glass has a Stem.  If we wanted you to hold the glass by the bowl, we would have just made a Tumbler.  It's easier.  You hold the wine glass by the stem so that you don't affect the temperature of the wine with the body heat from your hand."


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

[User] ELI5: how do suction cups leave an imprint on glass that shows up again when it gets steamy, even after cleaning?

[Assistant]
Soap joins together with minerals like calcium and magnesium in the water and sticks in the tiny pits on the glass surface that are too small to see with your eye (glass isnt perfectly smooth).

The suction cup is there, so the shape mimics that.

If you scrub the area with something designed to remove soap scum, like a brush with an abrasive solution, itll go away, because the brush and the abrasives can get in those little pits to physically remove the soap/minerals.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the belly the first part of our body to get fat?

[Assistant] It isn't, it is the first noticeable part of the body to get fat, fat deposits occur around the body, visceral fat is body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity and is therefore stored around a number of important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. Due to there location depositing fat here is easy for the body, in the early stages it doesn't impair movement or balance so make a good place to store extra fat.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the impact of browsers no longer accepting 3rd party cookies and Apples Intelligent Tracking Prevention?

I know it impacts advertisers ability to target, but would love a clearer explanation of how it works and the impact.

[Assistant]
An analogy:

Every time you go anywhere in public, the shops you use, the buildings you enter, and the people you interact with put a coloured sticker with a number on you.  It's just a sticker, it contains only a number, it's not "private".  Say the baker always uses a green sticker, and he numbers based on the order you walked into his shop.  And the butcher uses a purple sticker and he numbers based on a random number that he makes up.  And the grocer uses a green sticker and he numbers based on how much you buy from him.

Whatever.  It doesn't matter.  The butcher, the baker and grocer don't know what the other people's numbers mean, it's just a number.

And when you get home, your arm is full of coloured stickers with numbers on.  But it means that when you go out tomorrow, the butcher knows that you're #27, that you buy beef from him regularly and that yesterday you were interested in how to best cook steak.

Not a problem.  The grocer knows nothing about what the butcher's number means or what the butcher knows about you.

The problem comes when the butcher, the baker and the grocer all employ a company to put those stickers on you, because they don't want to do it themselves.  The company does it "for free" to them, and labels you with a pink sticker with a unique number.  When the butcher asks and says that you have a pink number #35 on you, the company can tell him everything he'd normally store about you (because the company have recorded it for him).  When you go to the grocer, he can also talk to the same company and ask them for everything he wanted to remember about pink #35.  Still not a problem.

But now that one company runs all the data collection for lots of people.  So they can tell the butcher that you went to a rival butcher's last week because your pink #35 was spotted there.  The butcher can ask for other information about pink #35, so he knows that you bought turkey gravy yesterday and maybe he can try to sell you a turkey today.

And the company then sells that data about pink #35 to completely unrelated companies that you've never dealt with, say a clothing store, so they can suggest that if you're eating that much meat, maybe you should try a bigger size of jeans, and so on.

The stickers are cookies.  The company are data aggregators like Google ads, many tracking cookie and analytics firms, and the average website has something like 35 companies that put stickers on you where those stickers are shared with EVERYWHERE you go which uses that same company.

Apple's (not new, unique or innovative) idea is to keep your arms covered so you only show the stickers you want to the companies that need them and when you go to the butchers they have to give you a new sticker from the company because you refuse to show them your previous ones, so they have no idea who you are.  So they can't tie in that information about you from across the net, sell it, and use it in potentially nefarious ways.

And occasionally, they'll take the stickers off you entirely because you haven't needed them in a while.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the sky yellow during severe weather, like a tornado?

[Assistant] It's a combination of the fact that most severe thunderstorms happen later in the day, when the sun is beginning to set, and involve very thick clouds. The combination of how the sun's rays are entering the atmosphere at a specific angle, and how thick and dark clouds absorb and reflect certain rays over others, shifts the color of the sky from blue to green-yellow.


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

[User]
[Death Note] Why wouldn't Light just choose to not engage with the investigation?

Realistically speaking, that's all he had to do to get away with it, right? In a setting where he's the only guy with a magic death book and nobody else believes in the supernatural, he can get away with it indefinitely. All he had to do was not engage with the investigation or interact with L at all when they were at the same university.

[Assistant] Because he wants to kill L too. Joining the Investigation Team was to confirm if "Ryuzaki" is the real L or not, so he just can't not interact and wait for Misa to kill Ryuzaki since in Light's mind, there might be a chance that Ryuzaki is another fake like Lind L Taylor.


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

[User] What does it mean when we say a virus is non-living?

[Assistant] If you don't consider it living, you can consider it simply a self-replicating structure. Prions are malformed proteins which are capable of converting other proteins into more prions; they replicate, but don't satisfy any other commonly-used criteria for life.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What's daily life like at the Sith Academy?

What might my daily schedule look like at the Sith Academy? Is it all uncompromisingly cruel tests of skill and endurance, or is there a strong academic focus there too? Would I be likely to have anything like friends, or learn any concept of how to work together with others? What would I do for fun?

[Assistant]
6: 00 AM - Backstabbing

7:00 AM - Breakfast and Backstabbing

8:00 AM - Backstabbing

9:00 AM - Backstabbing

10:00 AM - Backstabbing

11:00 AM - Backstabbing

12:00 PM - Light lunch with Backstabbing

13:00 PM - Backstabbing

14:00 PM - Backstabbing

15:00 PM - Spin Class

16:00 PM - Backstabbing

17:00 PM - Backstabbing

18:00 PM - Backstabbing

19:00 PM - Dinner with a side of Backstabbing

20 :00 PM - Backstabbing

21:00 PM - Backstabbing

22:00 AM - Lights out (Backstabbing in the dark)


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

[User]
existence of a triple point?

given that water needs to boil to vapourise and needs to freeze to solidify, how is there a certain set of Pressure and Absolute Temperature at which water (or any other substance) exist as solid, liquid and gas?

[Assistant] So there is a misconception in your detailed question. Water does not need to boil to vaporize. Non-boiling water vaporizes quite easily. You can demonstrate this by spilling a small quantity of water on your kitchen counter and leaving it there. It will disappear, or "evaporate" as the liquid phase molecules escape into the air as vapor.


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

[User]
My grad school is really bad, is this normal?

I'm not really enjoying my MS in computer science program. The class sizes are huge! We do not get a lot of mentoring from professors on research opportunities and there is no thesis requirement. I would say the professors overall do not care about talking to us about research or industry interests.  Also, most of our courses are taught by full time adjunct lecturers, instead of tenured professors or adjuncts from industry.

I was wondering if this is normal?

[Assistant] Generally professional programs are treated as cash grabs by departments, hence the lack of interest.  Some schools are worse offenders than others, and yours might be worse than average, but most professors care more about training researchers than professionals unless you are in a traditionally professional field like medicine or law.


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

[User]
ELI5 How does printing more money put more into circulation? i.e. How does it get into consumer's hands?

How does money go from the printing press to the public's hands.

Bonus question: ELI5: how this translates I to inflation.

[Assistant]
Think of the Federal Reserve literally as the economy's heart.  The Fed controls the circulation of the money supply - eventually it all passes through the Fed.  When times are tough the Fed increases blood pressure by printing more money (more blood) and circulating it around.  If the economy starts hyperventilating and overheating from too much growth the Fed will reduce blood pressure by taking money out of circulation.

The Fed introduces money by buying bonds, reducing interest rates, and reducing the reserve ratio banks are required to have on hand in cash.  The Fed can also "print" money by making new loans, sometimes for huge amounts, to institutions either for free or extremely cheaply.  It reduces the money supply by selling bonds, increasing interest rates, and increasing the reserve ratio.

This is a delicate process and can lead to inflation if too much money is introduced too quickly or when it is not needed.  If too much money is taken OUT of the economy, or if it is taken out too quickly, it could backfire and cause recession and deflation.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do contests and giveaways always say "No Purchase Necessary"? Wouldn't it make more sense to rewards customers or incentives more sales?

[Assistant]
It changes the category of the contest so it doesn't count as gambling.

They will often make the 'no purchase' option too troublesome to bother with, such as requiring a self-addressed stamped envelope (so you have to pay the postage for them to end you a contest entry) which just isn't worth the cost of one entry if they come attached to say, a cup of Coke at Mcdonalds.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why after being awake for a long period of time, do I get a sort of second wind and don't feel tired for another half a day or so?

While in college I've put myself in several situations where I've been up for 48+ consecutive hours and go through awake and tired states with out actually falling asleep or feeling tired. I was just wondering why these stages happen?

[Assistant]
Biologist here! There are many things that are happening to your body as you keep it from sleeping. The "awake" states are sort of a delirium from being overtired. Sleep deprivation has been used to treat depression, oddly enough. A comprehensive evaluation of the human metabolome in sleep deprivation in 2014 found that 27 metabolites are increased after 24 waking hours and suggested serotonin, tryptophan, and taurine may contribute to the antidepressive effect. This increase in metabolites after 24 hours are probably what is causing your brief energy boosts. That won't last though as your body and cognitive function decline.

Here's what's going on with your body:

* 24 hours

24 hours is comparable to the cognitive impairment of someone with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent (International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 2010). You'll experience affected judgment, memory is impaired, deterioration in decision making, and a decline in eye-hand coordination. You're also more likely to get emotional, have a decrease in hearing ability and and attention.

* 36 hours

High levels of inflammatory markers are in the bloodstream which can lead to high blood pressure and heart attack. Hormone production is affected, leading to an even stronger emotional response to stimuli. You may start to getting a buzzing in your head, dizziness and lack of motivation as energy levels wain.

* At 48 hours

Your body actually starts "microsleeping" at this time. It takes over whether you want to sleep or not and you will fall asleep doing tasks. They're similar to blackouts.

* 72 hours

Significant deficits on cognitive ability; concentration, motivation, coordination. At 72 hours expect hallucinations. All the issues from the other categories also continue to get worse the longer you are awake.