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

[User]
[X-Men: DoFPagain]: How/when is the future changed specifically? Does it require a catalyst?

It is obviously a bit more drastic in the movie but it got me thinking, does the future really change in that quick of a transition? Does it require a specific moment to occur or is there some kind of eventual threshold that needs to be reached? I ask this because it seems like the future doesn't change until Mystique completely leaves the scene at the White House altogether and I'm just curious about how the future is "decided."

[Assistant]
The future was being changed the moment Wolverine wakes up in the past. Of course it's just small changes at first but it gradually becomes bigger and bigger. As long as Wolverine is still in the past (with his future memories) the future is still being changed on not 'set' yet.
The reason that we still see the 'Dark Future' is because Kitty keeps the connection to Wolverine going and it only stops when the Sentinel is right in front of them. She could have stopped a bit earlier of course because the one factor that was influenced by her actions (Wolverine) was chucked in the Potomac by that time (but we can reasonably assume she does not know what's going on in the past and always just holds out as long as possible)


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

[User] ELI5: What exactly causes hallucinations during sleep paralysis and why are they always scary?

[Assistant]
I occasionally have sleep paralysis and from what I've read sleep paralysis is when you have a disturbance in your REM sleeping cycle. You're mind is active but your nodu is still asleep.

The hallucinations come from the fact that your mind is aware that your body is in a state of paralysis, which leaves us in a very vulnerable state. When we feel vulnerable our amygdala perceives threats that aren't there(hallucinations). When we perceive these threats our body goes into flight -or- fight mode and with our bodies being paralyzed it creates severe panic and fear and the hallucinations get worse.

TL:DR The state of being awake when your body is asleep makes your brain think your in danger and manifest dangers that aren't actually there.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Question about episode IV

After the commander briefs rogue squardon on the assualt on the Death Star, he ends by saying "May the force be with you". After episode 3 it seems Jedi were all but forgotten (as the guy who goads Vader in strangling him on the Death Star points out) they were slandered as traitors and the surviving Jedi went into hiding. As far as I know there were no Jedi in the alliance before Luke and Ben rescued Leia so it seems strange that they would use the phrase "may the force be with you", do ordinary citizens have an understanding of the force, do they believe in it? (Han Solo didn't). I welcome any insight into this slight inconsistency.

[Assistant]
>After the commander briefs rogue squardon on the assualt on the Death Star

Sorry for the nitpicking but you mean Red Squadron. Rogue Squadron doesn't exist until shortly after the Battle of Yavin when it's founded by Red Squadron's two survivors (Luke and Wedge).


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

[User] The difference between AC and DC and why people argue Tesla over Edison.

[Assistant]
Imagine that electricity is water, and wires are hoses. Positive voltage means the water is flowing away from you, negative voltage means the water is flowing towards you.

AC = Alternating Current. This means that the water flows away from you for a short time, then back towards you for a short time, never really going anywhere. How often the water changes direction is called the frequency, and is measured in hertz (1 cycle/second). The plug on your wall is (probably) at 60 hertz, meaning the electricity goes from positive to negative and back 60 times every second. This system is good for getting energy far away without a lot of loss. Because it's easier to vibrate water in a hose, than to actually send it somewhere.

DC = Direct Current. In this case, the water always flows away from you (or towards with a negative voltage), and never changes direction. All batteries are DC. This system is less efficient over long distances, but runs all of your electronics which means the AC in your wall must be converted.


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

[User] Why are humans so disproportionately weak compared to the rest of the great apes?

[Assistant] Our strengths are long distance running, tools, and very high level cooperation. To be effective these do not require the same physical strength as a gorilla. Since we split from our common ancestor we've relied on these things (obviously) to great effect so the cost of maintaining a gorilla's stature isn't a benefit.


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

[User]
Is the attractive force of gravity the same thing as the curvature of space due to gravity?

Is the gravitational effect which makes it difficult for me to lift 225 pounds at the gym the same effect which curves the light of distant stars as it passes through the curved space near the sun? I understand that mass curves space; but is it the curvature of space which accounts for weight? Does gravity have a direct effect on mass -- attraction -- and also an indirect effect on mass -- curving the space through which an object with mass passes, or are they both the same thing?

[Assistant]
They are both the same thing. The "force" of gravity is not really a force at all, but an effect from the curvature of space-time (not just space!).

You get taught gravity as a force because it's a *really* good approximation, but the curvature of space-time picture is more accurate.


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

[User] [Harry Potter/Star Wars] Are there creatures like Vornskr (which hunt using the Force) that hunt using magic, and Ysalimiri (which create an anti-Force bubble to hide from predators) that create an anti-magic bubble?

[Assistant]
Quite a few; the Dementors and the Lethifolds are amortal being that feed on memories and souls, with the Lethifold being a cloak-like entity that surrounds their prey and cause them to fade away when devoured.

On the other side, the demiguise is an ape-like creature that is capable of turning itself invisible to escape or evade predators; their fur is used to make invisibility cloaks.


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

[User]
[Interstellar] How come the crew doesn't consider that Miller has only been on the planet for a few hours (relative to them)?

Miller's planet is the planet that's just water.

[Assistant]
Those missions were the first time that humans have had to deal with the consequences of time-dilation due to the dual sources of both proximity of an unprecedented gravity well of a super-massive black hole, as well as the fact that spacetime itself was being dragged along by Gargantua's rapid rotation, resulting in even further time-dilation due to the speed of the orbit.

At the time the mission was planned, there was precious little hard data on what to expect on the other side of the wormhole, so they couldn't fully anticipate the challenges the crew was going to face. It was up to the crew to make the decisions on what thumbs-up signals to investigate, and in what order, once they got through to the other side of the wormhole.

They made a hasty decision without stopping to fully consider all the implications, being overexcited about the initial thumbs up signal that Miller had broadcast reporting the presence of water, which was vital for life, and on the closest of the three candidates to the exit from the wormhole, to boot.


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

[User] ELI5: the concept of a statute of limitations on violent crimes, why? Shouldnt they always be eligible for persecution?

[Assistant]
The main reason is to ensure the best evidence is presented in any case.
The longer a case goes on the more unreliable the evidence becomes, ie witness statements become warped with memory, digital data gets lost, files get misplaced.

It depends on the country as well, mostly minor and civil cases here in the UK have limitations to ensure defendants have an accurate case bought against them.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do food regulations require pork and chicken to be fully cooked to kill bacteria in the meat? Whereas beef can be consumed half-cooked. How do we know the same harmful bacteria in pork and chicken isn't also in beef?

ELI5: Why do food regulations require pork and chicken to be fully cooked to kill bacteria in the meat? Whereas beef can be consumed half-cooked. How do we know the same harmful bacteria in pork and chicken isn't also in beef?

[Assistant]
All meats can have e coli on them, but e coli can only live on the surfaces, it can't penetrate into the meat. Cooking on the outside kills e coli. You can also cut away surfaces to get a clean part, hence why people can eat raw beef like steak tartar.

Chicken can have salmonella, which can exists anywhere in the chicken. Similarly, pork can have trichinosis, which can be anywhere in the pork, that's why they have to be cooked all the way through. Neither trichinosis nor salmonella can live in beef.

Ground beef however, must be cooked all the way through because the external parts all get mixed around. That's why you can get a rare steak but not a rare hamburger.


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

[User]
[General Fantasy] I sent our towns adventuring party to their deaths...

I am a humble shopkeeper. Lately my supply wagons had been ransacked by kobolds, so I hired out our group of adventurers to take care of the problem. They had a cleric, paladin, fighter, and a ranger. I thought there was no way they could lose...
Boy was I wrong. I hear that they were absolutely butchered by the kobolds. People are calling it a *critical failure*.
Now the townspeople want to run me out of town for killing the party, what do I do?

[Assistant]
Simple. Argue your case that the adventuring party were the ones that accepted the contract under their own volition. Better yet, turn the argument into evidence for your notion that the Kobolds are an even bigger threat than you all thought, especially if they took down a versatile team of adventurers.

Then announce that you (or preferably your ealdorman) need to petition the king, local lord or Jarl (depending on your government) for aid against this threat. It becomes less about hindsight and blame, and more about you being rational and proactive in the face of a present threat.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are places such as dentists' offices and banks only open when most of their customers are at work?

[Assistant]
Dentists: Because they're in demand enough to make *you* come to *their* preferred hours. If the US for some reason suddenly got 100 million more dentists (that couldn't swap jobs), you can probably expect more flexible hours.

Banks: Joe Schmoe depositing and withdrawing his rent aren't how banks make money. Most of their income (from average citizens) is going to be home loans or other huge purchases with interest. They just put up with you until you decide to purchase a home, and at that point you've been with such-and-such bank for 20 years so the decision is to go with who you know. People applying for mortgages are willing to go during normal work hours.

(Their other source of income is using your money sitting around to make more money, but that's automated and doesn't need any employees at a branch.)


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

[User]
Is it possible to get research experience before grad school but after undergrad?

Hi there, the title is pretty self-explanatory. I have already graduated from undergrad and am working a field position this summer. I would like to go to grad school but I didn't do any research during my time as an undergrad. Would it be possible for me to get experience working on any research, even though I'm no longer a student anywhere?

[Assistant] Definitely. You can get paid doing it too if you get a position as a lab technician/research assistant. It's common for people to work for a year or two in a research lab before applying for grad school.


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

[User] eli5 Do plants get tired? As in, do they need to take a break from growing?

[Assistant] Yes, many plants sleep through the night as they cannot get more energy from the sun. To survive the night, they use their stored energy, ready to 'recharge' when the sun comes back up. They also continue to grow throughout the night.


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

[User]
What causes the surge in luteinizing hormone just prior to ovulation?

I have read a few physiology textbooks that were published a few years ago, and I have not gotten anything concrete.

I read from the 9th edition (latest) of Sherwood Physiology, which states that there are two sets of kiss1 neurons in the hypothalamus. According to the text, negative feedback involves **low** concentrations of estrogen **inhibiting** the kiss1 neurons in the arcuate nucleus whereas positive feedback involves **high** concentrations of estrogen **stimulating** the kiss1 neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus. Kiss1 neurons secrete kisspeptin, which act on GnRH-secreting cells in the hypothalamus.

However, the 13th edition (latest) of Guyton-Hall says that "the cause of this abrupt surge in LH secretion is not known". It states two possible explanations. The first one is the one that Sherwood gives - about how estrogen has a "peculiar positive feedback effect" of stimulating pituitary secretion of LH, which is in "sharp contrast to the normal negative feedback effect of estrogen that occurs during the remainder of the female monthly cycle." The second explanation Guyton-Hall suggests is that the granulosa cells begin to secrete a small but increasing amounts of progesterone a day or so before the LH surge, and it has been suggested that this secretion might be the factor that stimulates the excess Lh secretion.

My main question is: since the publication of these textbooks, have we learnt anything new or is this still something that we are not sure of?
\---

edit1: Added some info for clarification.

[Assistant] LH is released from the pituitary gland. In women, the LH surge causes the ovarian follicle to tear and release a mature egg (oocyte). Prior to ovulation the increase of estrogen causes the increase in LH which triggers ovulation.


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

[User] [Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight] Why did Jerec choose to follow the path of dark jedi, instead of the path of the sith? Could a sith not as well harvest the power from the Valley of the Jedi?

[Assistant]
The Sith are an organization that you have to be inducted into by another Sith Lord. Jerec became an Imperial Inquisitor to save his own life, it was either become a Dark Jedi with the Emperor's blessings or die and he did not want to die.

Why didn't he proclaim himself a Sith Lord after the Emperor died, well that's just because he didn't care.


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

[User] What is it about oak that makes it the choice for distillers to age their liquors in barrels made out of it?

[Assistant] It has a flavour that is not overbearing as well as contributing flavour compounds that can taste like cinnamon, clove, honey, vanilla .etc that other woods would otherwise have not enough of or would otherwise be too overbearing and would take away from the beverage being aged. The charring of oak in the cooperage of barrels also creates many more flavour compounds (the cinnamon and nutmeg notes especially) as well as caramelized sugars that are present in the wood. Oak is just the goldilocks of wood when it comes to aging spirits, wines, or beers. Cherry has too much flavour to it and maple would be too sweet and light. Oak has the right balance.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is that yellow foil around space probes and what is its function?

You know what I'm talking about. That yellow material that surrounds a probe and nearly covers the entire craft. Just what is it and what is it used for?

[Assistant]
The gold and silver colored sheets you see are often a single layer of aluminized polyimide with the silver aluminum side facing in.The yellowish-gold color of the polyimideon the outside gives the satellitetheappearance of being wrapped in gold.

Multi-layer insulation is used on satellitesprimarily for thermal controland protects the delicate on-board instruments from the extreme temperatures of space. Depending on its orbit, a satellite can experiencetemperatures from below -200F to well above 300F, sometimes at the same time! Not to mention the high temperatures the onboard instruments can produce.


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

[User]
ELI5: The hawker/street vendor system in popular tourist areas

I'm living in Italy for a semester, and I've noticed some weird things about the street vendors and hawkers that sell the selfie sticks, useless goo balls, etc. I may be making up a conspiracy theory, but it seems like a sort of pyramid scheme that these guys are trapped in.

1. They all have the same merchandise, from city to city, and they're quick to adapt to the weather (selfie sticks turn into umbrellas and ponchos as soon as a drop of water starts)

2. They all know each other and chat for a bit before going their separate ways

3. This applies to the trinket shops and newspaper stands, and maybe even the fake leather purse shops. Can you 'move up the ranks' and go from selfie stick vendor to high end fake leather vendor?

Basically, I'm wondering how money is distributed around the individual hawkers. No one ever buys the useless goo balls, how is it viable for them to stand out there all day and throw them on the ground? Are they all connected under a massive warehouse and a top-level administration, or are they their own individual business that buy a few things of merchandise at a time to resell?

[Assistant]
They are likely all buying the same products from China which is not uncommon because everyone sells the same thing. Browse alibaba for a specific product like "umbrella" and you will likely find the exact umbrella they sell.

They also probably know each other because they stand there all day next to each other and chit chat when theres no customers.


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

[User] Eli5 how a person can donate a kidney while alive and live the rest of their life with one kidney...does this mean everyone looking for a transplant has 0 kidneys? Do we all only need 1?

[Assistant]
Kind of! Typically the person who needs the new kidney has a type of kidney disease that affects both of the kidneys that they currently have.

So it might make sense to say that the recipient has no *working* kidneys. But anatomically, you generally wouldn't say that they have zero kidneys actually present in their body. typically the existing kidneys are not removed before the transplant.

(Edit - and yes! Most people can live normal, healthy lives with just one kidney!)


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

[User] ELI5: How can a medication cause such a specific side effect as thoughts of suicide?

[Assistant]
Depression comes with not being able to make decisions or having the emotional/physical energy to carry out plans or activities. Medications that treat this often improve your energy levels and ability to follow through with ideas before they start improving the things that make you suicidal.

Also anything that messes with brain chemistry can make you unbalanced and suicidal.


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

[User] [Doctor Who] Why are the vast majority of the Doctor's companions young beautiful women?

[Assistant]
At different points in his life he has different reasons. But all of them were grounded in loss.

Early on, he is trying to replace his granddaughter. For his first three versions, he often sees his companions as children to protect and share the wonders with.

After his third regeneration something changes. His new body is younger and more energetic - no longer trying to be the wise grandfather figure. This is because of his current companion: Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah changed the doctor by being much more of an adult friend - someone to confide in and who would actually take responsibility for herself in dangerous situations.

After this shift, he was more looking to replace Sarah. He had grown fond of her in more ways than he would like to admit, and tried to fill this new void in his life. This lasted until the Time War.

After the war, the Doctor was a broken man. Rose "fixed" that, and let him rediscover who he was. In her he found a person he could protect like the granddaughter he had almost forgotten about, but also a strong selfless person who reminded him of Sarah Jane. But more than filling the void in his heart, she added something new: compassion and a kind soul. Rose cared about the Doctor in ways he had not experienced since he lost his family, and he slowly started to return the feelings she were showing him.

Losing Rose devastated the Doctor. Now he had a new hole in his heart to fill, and he fell back into old habits. Donna Noble might have stopped him from going totally off kilter, but deep down he was still looking for the next "Susan", "Sarah" or "Rose".


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

[User]
Does the body constantly produce vitamin D when out in the sun, or does it get to a point where it's got enough and shuts down the process?

I was speaking to someone about whether or not you can take too much vitamin D in supplement form. Then that led to the observation that if your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun, wouldn't that mean you would OD on vitamin D from being in the sun too long? From what I've read you pretty much can't take too much vitamin D even in supplement form, but besides that I'm curious about how much your body will make for itself in a given time and whether or not it can turn the function on and off.

[Assistant]
You can't OD on sun derived vitamin D.

Sunlight, to be precise UVB rays in the range of 290-315nm, break a B ring bond in 7-dihydrocholesterol, also called pro-vitamin D3, the result is pre-vitamin D3.

According to your body's needs some of this pre-vitamin D will be turned to vitamin D3, the rest will be turned to inactive by-products lumisterol and tachysterol. The latter can be turned back to pre-D if needed.

In short, once pre-vit D is synthesized it turns either to D3 or inactive metabolites. This is the mechanism that protects from OD.

Further, D3 is also inactive, but when your calcium levels drop, parathyroid hormone stimulates the kidneys to produce the active form of vitamin D, 1,25 OH2D3. The active form increases the absorption of calcium in the intestines.

Good to know: vitamin D3 can be stored in adipose tissue for up to two months. D3 has a half-life of 72 hours while that of 1,25 OH2D3 is 4 hours.


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

[User] [consumer culture] Who is Victoria and what is her secret?

[Assistant] We are led to believe that Victoria is a sophisticated and elegant upper class lady, whose secret is what is under her clothes, i.e. her sexy lingerie, that only close confidantes and one very lucky man will ever know about. But this is, of course, not a secret; it's branding. Her real secret is that it's all an act. "Victoria" is not some coy heiress, she is just Vicky from New Jersey, a high school drop out and former stripper, who discovered that what people *really* want is not sophistication but trashiness with the thinnest pretense of elegance.


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

[User] ELI5: How does an internet connection become slow?

[Assistant]
Lots of things can have an effect. If many people in your home are using the same WiFi network, the network may become bogged down. Interference can seriously degrade your signal, if there are any big sources of interference between you and the router. Walls, floors, etc can have an effect on wireless signal too.

A wired OR wireless connection may be throttled by your provider or slowed down if there is a lot of internet traffic in your area.

Outdated modems/routers or damaged equipment (modem, router, Ethernet cables, antennae, cable in the ground) will certainly not help.


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

[User] ELI5: Are all gems hoarded by companies like diamonds, or are there some which are genuinely valuable and rare?

[Assistant]
Jadeite, red diamond, blue garnets - there are some gemstones so rare that you can count the number that exist on one hand. These are super expensive and definitely not stockpiled.

But as a general rule, unless you're super rich, if you or anyone you know has ever owned a thing, that thing is incredibly common.


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

[User] Since GDP growth is generally around 2.5% per year, why does the S&P500 grow at around 10% a year?

[Assistant]
First, you're comparing *real* GDP with *nominal* S&P. Aligning the inflation difference will bring the two much closer together.

Second are a collection of little things:

* The S&P isn't the entire economy, as large corporations gain market share they are worth more, but smaller companies are then removed from the market (there are fewer total stocks listed today than 20 years ago, but the total real value of the market isn't lower). So a big company buying a small one makes the large company worth relatively more, but doesn't necessarily change the amount produced.

* Foreign investment: international investors buying stocks push prices up, without necessarily changing GDP.

* Change in currency exchange rates, US stocks versus other nations may look more (or less) attractive based on exchange rates and differences in inflation expectations between currencies.

* Change in interest rates, might make buying stocks on margin more attractive when interest rates are low (driving up prices).

* Changes in savings rates, if a larger portion of savings are going into the stock market the overall price is driven up.

* Companies in the S&P own foreign assets. Company price may go up if it expands successfully overseas and realizes profit there, but that won't add to GDP.

Other reasons too... But hopefully this answers your question well enough to understand why a stock index can diverge from GDP.


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

[User]
What is the earliest stage Carbon based life could arise in the Universe?

Considering the Earth is 4.54 billion years young and the Universe is 13.75 0.17 billion years old, how soon could you estimate the earliest life arising when you have to take into account the first formation of Carbon and the formation of planets after the distribution of this carbon?

[Assistant]
Pretty much when it did.

The synthesis of interesting elements requires conditions that were not present for very long during the Big Bang. So after the end of the Big Bang, around 400,000 years into the universe's history, there wasn't much around but hydrogen and helium. So the first stars that formed were probably *giants,* truly enormous stars of very low densities.

Inside those stars which are called "population III" for historical reasons  hydrogen and helium were fused to create heavier atoms. In time, those first supergiant stars grew old and died, exploding to scatter their contents into vast nebulae.

But even then, we were still looking at mostly hydrogen and helium, and just traces of more interesting things like carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. But new stars still formed out of the supernova remnants (and other remains) of population III stars, taking their turn at mashing lighter elements together to make heavier ones. These second-generation stars are called "population II," again for historical reasons.

Only once the population II stars had lived and died and scattered their contents into space was it possible for stars like our sun "population I" stars  to form, and the chemically interesting planets that surround it.

If you were God, and you wanted to create people by laying down the laws of physics and setting the universe into motion Big Bang, stars, nucleosynthesis and all that then you really couldn't have gotten from the beginning of everything to *Blue Peter* very much faster than what occurred.


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

[User] Eye glasses and contact lenses help bring things out of focus in focus. Would it be possible to develop some type of eyewear that allows the eyes to see the peripheral as clear as it does central vision? Would the brain be able to process the additional clear images at once?

[Assistant] No; the limitation on resolution is based on the packing and distribution of different kinds of photoreceptors on your retina (+ degree of signal pooling). Using a mirror, you can reflect light from the periphery to fall on the fovea which has the densest packing of cones which are used for detailed vision, but you're still limited by retinal area. Placing a lens or mirror in front of the eye can only focus or redirect light to a particular part of the retina; it doesn't help with processing of the signal.


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

[User]
[Marvel Comics - Inhumans]Maximus has frequently tried to take over the throne. In the War of Kings arc, why is he treated as a trusted member of the court rather than being imprisoned?

As he given up on his ambitions?  Or is it a case of keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?

[Assistant]
He's family, they know he's crazy.  But they know they'll need him sooner or later too.

As to why they don't kill hm:  A little known fact about Inhumans is that teregenisis has a precognitive aspect.  People going through it get the powers that Inhuman, as a people, are going to need for them to have.  No matter what Maximus doe, they can't be sure they're not going to REALLY NEED his power, like tomorrow.

Having him around has the bonus of keeping everyone sharp and alert for nefarious plotting from all source.  He's almost a nefarious plot detector.  A clear weak point suckers will try to exploit.


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

[User] ELI5: If red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors, and all colors can be made from them. Why do we use red, blue, and green on computers to make colors?

[Assistant]
Technically, the primary colours of paint are cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMYK). These colours are the exact opposite (complimentary) colours of red (opposite cyan), blue (opposite yellow), and green (opposite ~~green~~ magenta).

RGB are the real three colours of light that our cones can react to. Short, medium, and long cones react to blue, green, and red light respectively. Anything in between these three colours will activate the different cones to different degrees, and our brain will determine the colour we see based on the combination of reactions.

The idea behind CMY(K) is that you're absorbing the colours away from white light, hence reduction. Their combinations will result in the opposite effect of adding real colours of light. Combining cyan and magenta will provide a blue colour, because cyan absorbs all red, and magenta absorbs all green, leaving behind blue light being reflected. This only holds true if you're viewing the colours under white light however. If you looked at it under yellow light, then the colour you would see off a cyan/magenta ink mixture will be black, as there is no blue component reflected.

Of course, if you're trying this with acrylics, the colour might look muddled because of an aspect of paint called chroma. Generally, the more colours you mix, the more hue/colour you would lose, and it is a fundamental idea behind paint mixing.

Your idea of red, yellow, blue primary colours is really just an approximation of cyan (close to blue), magenta (close to red) and yellow, but they serve their purpose in reaching many hues on the colour scale.


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

[User] ELI5: why doesn't McDonald's serve breakfast all day?

[Assistant]
Both answers so far are wrong.

The grill has to be a different temperature for breakfast foods vs. lunch foods. So unless they got two grills, which for some reason they don't do, it wouldn't happen.


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

[User] [Pokemon] Are there ANY animal cruelty laws protecting Pokemon? And if so, where exactly is the line between training/battle and torture?

[Assistant]
Basically, the problem is that most Pokemon are inherently violent creatures who enjoy the thrill of battle. They push themselves and follow your orders because they think it's fun.

There's some protesters, Team Something Or Other, who think this is "immoral" and "abusive", but society as a whole has legalized it, because we believe that Pokemon just want to have fun. And as long as you get them to a Pokecenter afterwards, where's the harm?


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

[User]
ELI5: Why words like "invaluable" and "valuable" and synonyms but not "destructible" and "indestructible"?

Edit: I just realized there is "and" instead of "are" before the word synonyms.

[Assistant] invaluable means "cannot be valued" meaning just like indestructible means "cannot be destroyed." Colloquially, when we say something can't be valued we mean the thing is so important that you literally can't conceive of a finite value you could assign to it.


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

[User] ELI5: why does muscle grow slow considerably for someone who has been working out for years compared to a new comer / why is it so easy to gain muscle earlier into lifting?

[Assistant]
The human body has a limit to how much muscle you can build (whatever that limit is).

Everytime you hit the gym and gain some muscle, you're putting yourself a tiny little bit closer to that limit, which means you have less room for growing more muscle, which takes more time and effort and energy every day.


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

[User]
[LotR] Why do Ringwraiths burn so easily?

Aragorn swipes a Ringwraith with a torch and basically sets it aflame instantly. Why do Ringwraiths burn like they're made of hay?

[Assistant] Their cloaks were likely made of cotton, linen or silk, all of which are highly flammable. It is worth noting that their actual forms would have been perfectly fine (as evidenced by them showing up again less than a day later), but with their physical forms destroyed or damaged, they were basically out of the fight temporarily.


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

[User] [Marvel/DC] Would Ghost Rider's Penance Stare have any effect on The Joker?

[Assistant]
Its inconsistent.  In the Ghost Rider comics the penance stare is supposed to work regardless of the victims feelings on their crimes.  It *forces* you to feel the pain you've inflicted, even if you dont care at all in your daily life, or if you have a mental illness that prevents you from feeling things.  It goes being biochemical imbalances in your brain and strikes at your soul.

But, in crossover comics with famous sociopaths, it tends to not affect them because they dont feel bad about committing their crimes.  This is, imho, some bullshit.


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

[User]
[Rick and Morty] What were the Gear Wars fought over?

The one thing people never understand is that the Gear Wars were never really about the gears. If not gears, then what were motivations behind these wars?

[Assistant] Some people like to say it wasn't about gears, but that's just them trying to divert the issue and make themselves look better. "You were taught in school it was about gears, but it wasn't really about gears, that was just the superficial reason. The reason to make the other side look like they were justified." It was about gears. They can add any other arguments they want, but those are all just justifications about it being about gears. But they have pride for where they're from, and they want to fly the flags of traitors, so they keep telling themselves those lies.


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

[User]
[Wonder Woman Movie] I don't understand Diana's moral choices *spoilers*

What was her motivation for killing Aires?

It couldn't be because of what the Amazonians told her, they lied to her over her entire life and she had no reason to believe them. *Especially* after Aires was the first person to tell her what she really is.

Aires, truthfully, told Diana that he never killed anyone. All he did was share knowledge with the humans and allow them to use. In fact, he was key in *ending* the war by organizing the armistice.

It couldn't be to benefit humans somehow, if anything, without Aires' supernatural help technology slowed down.

So Diana killed him because a bunch of liars told her to, even though she knows he was actively working to end the war?

[Assistant]
1. Ares destroyed the entire Pantheon of Gods who were trying to stop him from destroying humanity and making a paradise in his own image.

2. He didn't want peace, he wanted to destroy the peace talks by playing both sides. He only wanted to cause more suffering.

3. Ares also messed with Hercules in Greek Myth and resulted in Hyppolyta being raped and her people enslaved until they fled to the island.

Ares has caused nothing but suffering.


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

[User] [Marvel] Does Deadpool actually know he's in a comic, or does he just believe it because of his insanity, and his belief coincidentally happens to be true?

[Assistant] In *Deadpool Team-Up #885*, he definitely cut through the pages of the book to contact himself earlier in the story (no it wasn't a hallucination, he definitely changed time), so I'd assume he has a pretty good reason to believe that he's in a comic.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What does it feel like to be a solider under the effects of battle meditation?

[Assistant]
Calming effect. You move with precision and focus. There's no shaking from adrenaline or nerves. No fear or trepidation. And everything feels slower like you're under the effects of an adrenaline rush but in control of it. More time to react to the situation around you because it feels like it's moving slower than you are. And a minor sixth sense like you can see your enemies moves before they happen to some degree.

Or the opposite where you can't focus on anything. Your constantly fighting the nerves and shakes. Battle plans just seem to crumble instead of work. Your opponent always seems one step ahead of you. Your vision is off like you just opened your eyes after having them closed for awhile. And an overwhelming sense of defeat at the back of your mind nagging at you constantly.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly is happening behind the scenes when an Antivirus puts something under quarantine?

How does it lock it down, how does it contain the virus ?

[Assistant]
A computer virus isn't dangerous unless executed. For most viruses, having dozens of them in your desktop would be completely fine *unless you click on them* or something else executes it. So a virus has to somehow trick you or your computer into executing it, and then it has to keep getting executed each time the computer reboots, e.g. because they're in the autorun folder.

So just moving them to a separate folder where no one will accidentally click on them is usually all it takes.

However, for some files, things trying to automatically look at them may accidentally execute them. To prevent that, antivirus software often encrypts the files (in a weak way) when moving them to the quarantine folder. That keeps other things from looking at them.


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

[User]
Are people with latex allergies allergic to latex house paint?

Do they need to avoid touching walls, for example?

[Assistant] Typically, no.  Latex paint is usually made with a synthetic latex that tends to not cause an allergic reaction like natural latex does.  There can be other chemicals in latex paint that may cause a reaction though.  Consult your physician for more information.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] If I repaint/customize a figure to become a different character, would it change its personality?

Also, do BAF figures control their entire body when their not yet assembled?

[Assistant] Sid's toys is where the answer lies. They were all surgically changed into chimeras of their former selves, and they become able to move about their new parts and bodies. Where's consciousness lie? Perhaps it's both, perhaps it's whichever one makes up the majority. It leaves more questions than answers, but we have seen what happens.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does tap water feels colder when touching it than when drinking it ?

[Assistant] The temperature of water relative to your body temperature vs the temperature of water relative to what you perceive as cold drinking water. Another example would be getting into a pool of "cold" water. The water may only be 60 degrees, which is cold when you submerge yourself into it, but you would not think it is cold if you drank water the same temperature.


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

[User]
ELI5: When I look at my screen from an extreme angle, why do some colors reverse?

For example, white appears blue when I tilt my laptop screen forward (almost flat) and look at it.

[Assistant]
It's because the screen is polarized.

Put simply, the display is essentially filtering the light so that it comes out right towards you. Some of the light inevitably gets scattered, though, so when you tilt your screen, what you're seeing is the light that got scattered.

When white light gets scattered, blue scatters the most (same reason the sky is blue). So, the white light appears blue when you look at your monitor at an angle.

The reason this happens less when you're tilting the screen to the side instead of forwards/backwards is that the designers of the display tune the light so it goes out at a wider horizontal angle, which comes at the expense of letting it go out at a wider vertical angle.


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

[User]
ELI5: Weave. What is it? How is it made? How is it attached to a person's head? and How does it look so real?

As a white male, this topic has always been a bit mystery to me. Would someone care to explain?

[Assistant]
It's hair. Usually human hair, but you can also get horsehair or synthetic hair. It's typically sold in packs in various colors; you can purchase as many packs as you need to blend it in with your hair.

They can be attached several ways. They can be bonded to the natural hair with keratin, glued in, sewn in, attached using little round beads that you press flat with pliers, or clip-ins, which you can take out whenever you wish.

A lot of extensions don't look real. If you get quality hair and have it blended by a hairstylist, it can look incredibly natural. If it's the same color, follows a similar cut to a person's natural hair, and is good in quality, it will just look like it's their own hair.


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

[User] What causes hair to "get used to" being combed or done a certain way after awhile?

[Assistant] Oils will slowly accumulate and solidify on your scalp. This preserves the general position of your hair at its base, forming a kind of grain that the rest of your hair follows. If you have longer hair, you'll notice that when you wash your hair with shampoo, it falls in random directions. This is because you've freshly cleaned this layer of solidified oil off.


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

[User]
Besides what its effects are do we know exactly what gravity is?

If not what are some leading theories today?

edit 1: The reason I was asking was because I remember reading somewhere that physicists still did not know if gravity was a particle yet to be discovered.
Some were writing that gravity was actually particles leaking into our universe from another starting off strong and becoming weak.

[Assistant] The leading theory is called general relativity and tells us that gravity is the curvature of spacetime, and objects in free fall (i.e. objects upon which no forces besides gravity act) move on generalized "straight lines" through the curved spacetime.


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

[User]
Are tumors edible?

If you were to remove a tumor, either from some farm animal like a cow or from a human, and cook it safely like you would with normal meat, would you be able to eat it without any harmful short-term or long-term effects? If not, why?

[Assistant]
Proper cooking kills all living cells.

But even without cooking, gastric acid in our stomachs and enzymes break down cells into simpler organic components. And even if some cells survived, they would just be passed out through defecation, we don't absorb live cells from our stomach into our sistem.(well, except maybe for pathogens)

There could however be a harmfull effect from various substances the tumor contained and were not broken down by our digestive sistem.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the brain divided in two parts?

[Assistant] This is due to something called "bilateral symmetry", a basic body plan that developed extremely early in our evolutionary history. It probably comes down to the benefits of having a spare organ in case of injury, such as a extra arm to feed oneself or an extra eye. Greater levels of symmetry have developed as well but having two seems to avoid an injury being invariably fatal while not spending too many resources on redundant features.


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

[User]
[Star Wars ROTS] So Palpatine's plan was to get himself captured, hope they sent Anakin to rescue him, get his loyal servant killed, try not to get killed himself either by Grievous or on a out of control ship crashing in to a planet and...... wait what?

As plans go this doesn't sound like one of the best. Risk everything for absolutely nothing, what!!??!!

[Assistant]
I believe that the plan does make sense when you take a few things into account.

Palpatine can sense the future using the Force, so he is most likely aware of what course his plans will take.

Palpatine has multiple good outcomes to this course of action. You have to remember that Palpatine is playing both sides of this war, even when the Republic is losing or suffering he is winning. Gaining more emergency power in the Senate, increasing the military capabilities of both the droid army and the Clone Army all come about the more turbulent the war is.

However by the start of Episode III the war is drawing to a close, the Clones are winning which means that there are already whispers of dissent, talk of Palpatine giving up his emergency power. Palpatine needs to show that the closing hours of the war are the most desperate in order to maintain the momentum he's built up. And what better way to show this than a desperate attack on the Capatil of The Republic and an attempt at his own wellbeing. And the attack is desperate, it results in the loss of nearly an entire Droid fleet including a flagship for an incredibly risky gain. What's more their was luckily a Republic fleet close enough to engage them. This of course puts the Republic in an even better position to win the war than before. Coincidence? No. Timing. Palpatine knows the exact locations of all of the fleets and troops, since he plays both sides of the war. He knows that the attack is doomed when he tells Grievous to do it, and this is also how he forces a confrontation between Dooku and Anakin, he knows that Anakin and Obi will be the closest Jedi when he picks the date for the attack.

Ok, but what if something goes wrong? Well it's still good for Palpatine.

What if the kidnapping is successful? Well now the Republic goes into an even bigger panic mode and he can still manipulate events. Awesome.

What if Count Dooku wins the duel? Well Palpatine is in the room, he can use the force to ensure Anakin doesn't die/gets the upper hand. It also means that he can manipulate Anakin more. Awesome.

TLDR: Palpatine has thought this through, he controls nearly every aspect of the kidnapping and he comes out ahead politically no matter the outcome.


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

[User]
CMV: There is not a substantial amount of flat-earthers. Genuine believers are practically nonexistent.

Im not here to debate whether the earth is flat, Im saying that practically no one believes it is. Im defining substantial amount as being any amount of people that is indicative of our culture or worth worrying about. Its hard to put a number on though. Basically I believe no one is raising their kids to believe in a flat earth as some popularly circulated facebook posts claim, that no one is doing serious research, that there are no legitimate organizations not flooded 95%+ with trolls, and that some people even think the earth is flat is not a legitimate example of peoples modern gullibility.

Anyone who seriously considers a flat earth is either 13, clinically delusional, living without education, flexing their debate skills for the sake of debate, or 90% joking 10% playing devils advocate. 99.999% of flat earth memes are trolls. Some are elaborate, but trolls nonetheless. The only I cant believe they think that here is @ the people who believe the crazy posts. I actually have seen people worry this marks a new dark age.

People believe crazy things all the time, yes, but those things usually have legitimate benefit to them. Believing the earth is 10,000 years old discredits evolution, shames the atheist academics, upholds biblical literalism, ect. Believing one race/sex is biologically superior to another upholds a hierarchy. Believing vaccines are dangerous gives an illusion of control over the genetic lottery.

You can believe practically anything and still think the earth is a sphere.

[Assistant]
I think you need to add a small percentage are those that are desparate. One flat-earther put it best, "If the earth isn't flat, it means it isn't special, and our existence is a fluke and essentially meaningless."

That small section just denies the truth because a round earth makes them feel incredibly small.


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

[User] [The Boys comic] Did Homelander never once take a look at Black Noir's face with his x-ray vision? Or was his mask made of something that was x-ray proof?

[Assistant] There never was any reason to. He just assumes black noir is a quiet mentally disabled lab reject or someone wholly committed to his super persona. All he would see under the mask is a skeleton since x-rays don't stop one layer deep. And it's not like homelander knows his own skull enough to recognize an identical one.


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

[User]
[Alien/Warhammer 40K] If a chestburster somehow managed to survive inside a space marine and grow into a full xenomorph, how fucked would that particular planet be?

Assume for this question that the Xeno somehow manages to get out, killing the space marine as unlikely as that is. How powerful would the resulting Xeno be with space marine DNA?

[Assistant]
Actually, with all of the redundant organs, it's unlikely the hatching xenomorph even would kill the space marine. At the very least, it's unlikely the space marine would die before he killed the larval stage of the xenomorph. But even assuming it happened?

Space Marines face their own brand of "xenomorph" all the time - genestealers. And they've absorbed Space Marine DNA in the past. The result are the Tyrant Guard - big, strong, immune-to-pain, almost-unkillable versions of normal genestealers.

So, the planet might be fucked. But on the other hand - which planet? Remember, the Empire is not our universe, it's much more capable and hardened in many respects, and, importantly, the Empire has lots of experience dealing with foothold invasions of rapidly-reproducing aliens. So yeah, if it's an agri-planet or a barbarian "lost" world? Sure, probably bad. Some half-forgotten burned-out hive world? Yeah, that's going to get ugly, quick. But some world like Mars, or Macragge? Nah, probably not, they have ample resources to draw on to fight it. Fenris? Pity the *xenomorph*, not the planet's population.


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

[User] Today in a safety training I got told that arc flashes are as hot as the sun. Is this true?

[Assistant] The temperature of the Sun's surface is 5800K. The temperature of electrical arcs, including arc flashes, can get up to 20000K or more. Temperature alone doesn't tell you how dangerous it is without knowing the total energy of the discharge, but the high temperature means it will cause the air/plasma to expand very rapidly producing a short, intense pulse (aka an explosion, if it's energetic enough), and the peak in the spectrum of the radiation emitted will be hard UV that penetrates common welding masks.


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

[User]
[ELI5]: Why do we have to pay companies for data? Isn't there an unlimited amount of "data" out there to use? Can it run out?

Edit: Thanks for the answers everyone. Seems its mostly just greed that answers the question. But there are also good points towards it. :) Stay safe and healthy.

[Assistant]
Maintenance on the infrastructure used to deliver data costs something. Constructing new wires and cell towers costs something.

It's not entirely unlike paying your water bill. We're reusing the actual water and it won't run out in any way that matters, but the delivery system doesn't just happen.


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

[User]
ELI5: When you play a game like chess against a computer on "easy," does it simply look at less possible moves/scenarios or does it actually try to lose?

Edit: Well thank you all for your responses! I did not expect this to reach the front page while I slept, and I will not be responding to several dozen similar explanations. Thank you all, I definitely understand the concept behind this better now.

[Assistant]
>does it simply look at less possible moves/scenarios

Usually this one.

Most chess programs work by calculating the "value" of various pieces and positions. Each piece is worth some points by itself, with bonuses or multipliers for useful board positions. A position will be worth more points if it threatens your pieces or defends the computer's pieces. The computer looks at all possible moves, usually looking several moves into the future, and makes a tactical decision based on the highest point value.

As the computer checks more and more moves, the number of possibilities increases exponentially. There may be 10 possible moves in one turn, then 100 possible moves in the next, then a thousand, then 10 thousand. Because of this, computers are very good at estimating the next several moves, but have a harder time beyond that. Some chess players who specialize in playing against computers have learned to capitalize on this weakness.

By limiting the computer's ability think ahead, you can vastly change the difficulty of playing against it.


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

[User]
ELi5: Why can't trains such as subways and light rails use systems found on roller coasters?

I was a roller coaster nerd as a child and I remember reading about the use of block brakes and electromagnetic launch systems. Why can't light rail trains/subways use EMs to propel/stop their trains and use block brake sections as safety mechanisms such as in the event of an accidental decoupling or imminent collision?

[Assistant]
Many subway systems already use a signal/block design to maintain spacing, with trains that will automatically apply brakes or at least only proceed at a slow speed if they pass a signal they are not permitted to pass.

But given the weight of transit vehicles, its usually far more cost efficient for vehicles to have their own propulsion and braking systems since having drive tires along the entire track would be massively expensive (and unlike a coaster, a transit vehicle is expected to be able to stop and resume in intermediate positions  along the track during normal operations.)


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

[User]
[Interstellar]Why weren't unmanned AI surveyor probes sent out into the wormhole before manned missions? Wouldn't that have made much more sense?

Especially considering the human-level AI that was clearly displayed thruout the movie.  If TARS was sentient, why not just send versions of that AI on several probes on different trajectories to map all planets in the new solar system without risking human life?  It would be better to map planets from orbit without having to land on a planet with an AI companion, only to find out that it's either an inhospitable water or ice planet [apparently, based on limited human exploration].

And if signals couldn't be sent back thru the wormhole, these probes would still be much better to use than human craft, right?  When a human mission finally came, it could simply ping the craft that came thru the wormhole to collect their data.  We've been doing that much from Earth for decades without the advanced AI of the movie.

[Assistant] The AI that powers TARS isn't readily adaptable to new circumstances on its own. It can follow orders and even extrapolate to a limited degree but true creativity is beyond them. If they encounter anything they weren't programmed for they could very easily get stuck in either a software or literal sense. Coop said as much at one point in the logs.


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

[User]
CMV: The removal of financial incentives/lobbying for politicians would result in many more positive outcomes than negatives ones

I believe politicians should act/legislate in a way that benefits the citizens of their country/state. They should work for the people not for themselves. I also believe that many politicians do not do this. I think a main reason for this is the financial incentives that they receive from whatever source. Most people I talk to agree that money in politics is bad but, Ive heard whispers that these financial incentives are actually a good thing. If they have positives, I want to know what they are and how these good outcomes could outweigh the negative outcomes we see today.

EDIT: I have been shown that lobbying is not actually what I thought it was. I guess what I meant was the specific use of large sums of money to influence decision making in politics.

[Assistant]
You're essentially saying we'd be better off if corruption didn't exist, but you can't just legislate away corruption and conflict of interests.

1. So, suppose you were to outlaw giving money to campaigns.  Then only rich people could run an expensive campaign.
2. Suppose you outlaw people spending their own independent money on advocating for a candidate (citizens united).  Then you give disproportionate power to people that already have a microphone.  Celebrities, podcasters, cable TV hosts all have audiences of millions which they can tell people how awesome their favorite candidate is, and that is all you'd get.  The campaigns themselves would be a relatively silent player in all of this because of their lack of money.  Now the only special interest that republicans care about pandering to is Fox News. Is that really an improvement?
3. Under the current system, campaign donations are legal, but reported in publicly available ways with many websites available where you can look up who gave what to which candidate.  Making it illegal wouldn't stop it, it'd just reduce it and make sure all of it happens in secret.


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

[User]
[Legend of Zelda] Why are chickens immortal and so damn vicious!?

So I saw this boy in green clothing attack a chicken with a sword. I assumed he was just helping his family with dinner, but the most astonishing thing happened! The chicken wasn't hurt! He tried attacking it multiple times before he was assaulted by a swarm of murderous chickens!

What the hell is up with these chickens?!

[Assistant] Cuccoes are tough. While that may seem suprising, plenty of other animals are near as tough.  He could not possibly have just been trying to help his family with dinner.  Hitting a cucco doesn't speed up it's egg laying in anyway, and people don't eat the animal itself.  He attacked an innocent animal, and got what he deserved.


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

[User]
Cmv: If Covid-19 was a dry run to see how we act in a crisis, we're all doomed

I don't want to start a whole argument over whether Covid exists/is man made/has been used as a tool for administering new world order nanobots etc. I think we've all seen and heard enough "anti mask-freedom fighter" v "scared upstanding citizen" bs and are pretty much fed up with it by now (generally speaking)

I myself have complied with all restrictions enforced by my government as I believe they were;

a) scientifically sound in their justification for preventing the spread. And/or,

b) unimportant to me but seem to help genuinely scared people feel safer

I work in a supermarket which has given me an interesting insight into how my community has dealt with this whole thing. I've seen genuine fear on people's faces having to come out of their home convinced they could die at any minute, Staff having to quickly learn and enforce rules that they didn't fully understand (often unsurprisingly badly), sometimes situations turned nasty as customers argue with staff and each other because they don't like to be told what to do, people turn on complete strangers and assume they are absolute scum and feel entitled to openly say so in front of everyone (even though they may have a genuinely fine reason for not wearing a mask or actually need that extra person with them to help shop)

Then I got to thinking, all this social upheaval is going to be nothing compared to the changes needed due to the impact of climate change. More than ever before, we all need to clearly understand what needs doing and why. We all need to understand that we are in it together and it is unavoidable. We need to, as a society, support those who will suffer the most, and make some drastic, uncomfortable changes to our way of life.

Whilst I have seen some amazing acts of humanity, I have also witnessed enough to believe that this just isn't going to happen any time soon and we're going to be the architects of our own downfall. Sorry for the pessimism it's been a long year! Hope I'm wrong I really do, but can anyone give me something to make me feel optimistic about the world my children will grow up in?

[Assistant] It depends on your lens. In the big picture: we raced toward a preventative vaccine, managed to convince the vast majority of people to change their habits, and prevented a lot the resulting economic damage through centralized action.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does our voice sound different when we wake up from sleep?

[Assistant]
your vocal cords are muscles. after sleep all of your muscles are more relaxed. so your vocal chords act like a "floppy" rubber band and produce a deeper sound.

during the day your vocal cords get more tension from talking breathing and gerenal activity so your voice changes slightly over daytime.


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

[User]
ELI5: Are food cravings random or does my body know that it needs something that is contained within the food that I crave?

Effectively, what I am asking is whether or not my body knows to any extent what sort of nutrition each food will provide. For example could a craving for spinach be my bodies way of telling me I need iron?

[Assistant]
For the most part your body craves based on it's needs.

It makes you thirsty when you are dehydrated. It makes you crave chips and soup and such when you don't have enough salt. It makes you crave candy and chocolate when your blood sugar is low.

It's all part of evolution. The body that could effectively convey it's needs was more likely to survive.


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

[User]
CMV: If we lived forever, trying to justify death would be unthinkable.

Maybe some desperate or fanatical people would try to kill themselves, but none of this "It was time" and "They are resting now" and "Life has meaning because of death" and "I really don't want to live that long".

Of course, we are generally not a fan of murder, unless done for the "right" reasons, but all death is messed up along with getting sick. Now, obviously we can only do so much currently, but I don't want to hear how okay it is.

People lie to themselves to feel better, but it's such a sad lie.

[Assistant]
The problem with immortality is that our minds aren't fundamentally made for it. Say we could cure biological immortality, be it with some regenerative treatment or upload of our consciousness into a computer. The problem you will still face is how will our minds deal with eternity.

 It's perfectly possible that there simply is a set expiration date on our psyche and past the year 150, the mind has to deal with so many stored memories that it just shuts down and we become raving lunatics. Or we become increasingly more depressive.

Or perhaps a more mundane but nevertheless problematic concept of older people harboring ideas that are centuries out of date with modern society. Imagine a slave restitution movement led by Abraham Lincoln. By not having the outdated ideas die off the society could face stagnation and perhaps perpetual civil wars and instability.


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

[User] ELI5: so the moon has no atmosphere, which means the suns rays are no filtered when they hit the moons surface. Does this mean that when it's day time on the moon, the moons dusty surface is really hot? Like enough to melt your space boots? Or does the deep freeze of space make things cold?

[Assistant]
> Does this mean that when it's day time on the moon, the moons dusty surface is really hot?

The peak temperature of the Moon's surface is about 106 degrees Celsius and it drops to -183 Celsius at night.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do live football field graphics appear beneath the players?

You know when it shows the scrimmage lines or whatever right on the field? I assume the graphics are already using pan/tilt/zoom data from the cameras, since it looks a lot stabler than simply motion tracking (please correct me if I'm wrong on that), but what really baffles me is how the graphics appear "beneath" the players. Chroma key? Nope. I see teams with green colours that still pass over it. Extracting a matte from thermal imaging? Wouldn't the helmets be cooler than their bodies? What then? How?

[Assistant] You had the right idea already. It is indeed chroma key. The cameras are simply good enough that they can distinguish between the green of the grass and the green in uniforms. They actually need to continually reset the chroma key as the color of the grass changes as the sun moves or when shadows show up on the field.


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

[User]
[GoT] What role did the religion of the Old Gods play in the Nights Watch? Is the Watchs decline tied to the decline of the faith of the Old Gods?

So the Nights Watch is based off the Monastic Military Orders of Europe, I see a parallel especially with the Teutonic Order who governed their own state on the Baltic and warred against tribal Pagans. They specialized in winter campaigns.

Anywho, while these Monastic Military Orders loyalties were primarily for the organizations welfare, the ideological foundation was in the western Christian faith in general.

When we look at the Nights Watch, we see 98% the Monastic Military Orders except its missing a philosophical foundation, besides a vague idea of Honor.

Has the Watchs turn to a secular/multi-faith organization been detrimental to the integrity of the Watch?

[Assistant]
If the Night Watch was in any way similar to Teutonics they'd already have set up their own petty kingdom and would be attacking Winterfell.

I think the "monastic holy order" comparison is superficial only. Its more akin to something like Hadrians Wall in Britain created by the Romans to keep out the Celts.

However as the empire descended into civil conflict and playing the game of thrones such borderlands and commitments become less and less important.

The Nights Watch is more a representation of the continents former unity and just regular decline of everything.


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

[User] ELI5 why are some metal objects cast while other are forged?

[Assistant]
Depends on the application.

If the part is made in large quantities, then casting is probably more efficient and cheaper.if the part is very complex, then casting is also easier.

However, cast metal can be 'short' - meaning it has a crumb texture inside, like a shortbread. This can affect its strength.
Forged metal is usually tougher, so better suited for parts that carry a lot of stress.

Any industry that manufactures a metal part will weigh up the needs of the application versus cost, and figure out the best process.
It tends to be the case that cost cutting will result in parts being cast when they should have been forged. Cheap lever corkscrews...the handles always break because they have been cast and aren't tough enough for the physics of leverage.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do art museums only ever display a tiny fraction of the items they own?

As I understand it, a typical big-city museum has at most 5 or 10% of it's total collection on display at any given time. Some items will be rotated in and out but lots are permanent fixtures, meaning many (if not most) of the items in their possession will never be seen by even a single museum visitor, including works by acknowledged masters.

Couldn't a museum sell a substantial number of items to other museums (or to private collectors) and reap a substantial windfall? And wouldn't smaller museums benefit tremendously from acquiring lesser-known undisplayed works by major artists that are currently gathering dust in the basements of the biggest museums?

[Assistant]
1) Light can be damaging to many things. This can be limited with special displays but it is expensive.

2) Air can be damaging to many things. Like the light issues special displays can be used but they are expensive.

3) Space. Most museums do not have the space to display everything.

4) Quality. Not everything is of display quality, but is still of historic or scientific importance.

And museums do sell/share with each other a lot. But how, when, and to whom a museum is allowed to sell things is fairly highly regulated. They are not generally allowed to sell to private citizens.


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

[User] [Batman] Will Batman die of old age one day, or does he have a mystical/technological contingency plan?

[Assistant]
Arguably, this is the reason why Bruce keeps trying to train Robins.  Nightwing is the only one that turned out unambiguously heroic though.

Project Cadmus has at least one clone of Bruce Wayne who takes on the mantle of batman in the far future, as is eventually revealed in Batman Beyond.


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

[User]
[DBZ Anime/manga] If Frieza never destroyed Vegeta, would a Saiyan have killed him?

IIRC, Frieza destroyed Vegeta because he was a afraid a Saiyan would one  day kill him; but the circumstances the action lead to eventually ended in Frieza getting killed by one of those very Saiyans.

If he never destroyed Planet Vegeta, would he have fared any better?

[Assistant] yes he would have been eventually killed by a saiyan. even before the destruction of vegeta bardok (who had become so powerful  was able to take on friezas elite goons by himself while severely weakened) was already on his way to kill frieza. with all of the constant fighting the saiyans were doing it would only be a matter of time before one or a group of saiyans would be more powerful than frieza, even without becoming super saiyans. if frieza hadn't destroyed vegeta then he would have had to later because he is not stupid enough to allow a species to become more powerful then him and potentially over through him.


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

[User] How do we know the second law of thermodynamics is a law and not merely something we've never seen broken?

[Assistant]
Keep in mind that the second law is an inherently statistical statement. There's always a non-zero probability that some process won't obey the second law. It's just that when you have macroscopic numbers of particles (on the order of Avogadro's number, say, 10^23) the probability that heat flows backwards is effectively zero (like, 10^-100 or less). We'd have to wait a very very long time (several times the age of the universe) to be able to observe such a thing happen spontaneously.

(Then, right after it happened, the system would go back to thermal equilibrium and no one would ever believe you.)


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

[User]
PI told me to find a new job or commit to 2 more years in the lab

I'm currently a postdoc in the US and am also a US citizen. I joined my current lab in the summer of 2020 and was hired to complete a long-term project (a collaboration that started while doing my PhD at another institution) and to work on a different, newly funded project.

The long-term project ended up taking a lot longer to complete due to some unexpected results, but is now nearing completion. As a result, I have not been able to work as much on the project I am actually paid off of. During this time, my interest in an academic career has pretty much gone to zero and I have decided that industry aligns better with my goals.

I wasn't planning on applying for jobs right now, but an industry job was posted in January that aligns extremely well with my scientific skills and personal career interests, so I applied for it. I initially did not tell my PI, but later told him because he eventually would find out I applied because he is close with all of my references.

He was happy for me at first, but then told me that I need to either find a new job within the next 5 months (so he can hire a replacement), or commit to staying on the project until the funding is complete (2 more years). I have heard all sorts of academic horror stories, but I have never heard of a PI essentially forcing someone to stay in a lab. I know he cannot legally force me to stay for 2 years, but the possibility of being unemployed if I don't find a new job is really unsettling to me.

We had a meeting last week where he demanded a decision from me, but I couldn't give him one (I also have not received a final decision about the job I applied for). He then threatened to not renew my contract in June if I don't decide within the next few days.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or have any advice? I am now considering leaving the lab. I had thought about staying for 2 more years, but this whole situation has made me feel like I am being taken advantage of.

[Assistant]
Have you decided to leave academia? In that case 5 months should be ample time to find an industry job, no?

Your PI isn't wrong, imho. He too needs to think long term and hire someone who is likely to stay the entire duration of the project.


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

[User] If 2 objects are traveling at 0.5 the speed of light relative to some 3rd object but in opposite directions, would each perceive the other as going the speed of light? What about 0.6 times to speed of light?

[Assistant]
In the first case (both objects at 0.5 c), the outcome would be 0.8 c. In the second case (both objects at 0.6 c) the outcome would be 0.882 c.

The way we add up velocities for everyday objects (v = v1 + v2) is just an approximation. It is an incredibly good approximation when the velocities are very small compared to the speed of light, but the closer you get to c, the more it will deviate from what we call "relativistic addition of velocities". A result that directly follows from the special theory of relativity is that two velocities, in the scenario you described, should be added up as follows:

v = (v1 + v2) / (1 + v1 * v2 / c^(2))

If v1 and v2 are extremely small compared to c (so in everyday conditions on Earth), the denominator of this expression is very close to 1 and can be effectively ignored, which reduces the expression to the one we're familiar with: v = v1 + v2.


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

[User] Are all the stars we can see with naked eyes part of the Milky way galaxy?

[Assistant]
Yes.

You can see things like the Andromeda galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds with the naked eye, but not individual stars in those objects.

Supernova SN 1987a in the Large Magellanic Cloud was naked-eye visible, but a supernova is, of course, a special case.  There was a supernova in Andromeda in 1885 (SN 1885a) that was just bright enough that it might have been visible to the naked eye, but there is no record that anyone actually saw it that way.

Edit: Typo fixed (thinkgs --> things)


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

[User]
[Final Fantasy VII] How did someone like Cloud manage to kill Sephiroth at Nibelheim?

I mean, he washed out of SOLDIER training for being too weak, and didn't have any Mako or Jenova infusions yet, so how could he overpower Sephiroth, the best SOLDIER in existence?

[Assistant] As Mark Twain put it, "There are some things that can beat smartness and foresight? Awkwardness and stupidity can. The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot."  The washout did something unexpected and got lucky.


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

[User]
[Miyagi-verse] Why DOESN'T anyone call the cops?

Okay, so Daniel and his wife tried to get a restraining order one time, but there's like 40 years of problems here that I think a judge and jury would like to know about. Kreese encouraging his students to kill, steal, vandalize, rob, and disregard any moral system is a serious problem. He even strangled one of his own students after the first All-Valley tournament, with several witnesses standing around doing nothing until Miyagi himself shows up. This whole world seems like it would have a lot less problems if they just tipped legal enforcement off about what is basically a cult leader radicalizing teens.

[Assistant]
Until the fight at >!the school, much of what transpires between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai can be chalked up to teenagers being teenagers.  Teenagers do dumb things.  Teenagers fight.  Unless there's major property damage or grievous bodily injury, the cops aren't likely to get involved as thoroughly as we might perhaps want them to be.  Even the cult-ing could be described as hearsay, and this is addressed at even the meta-level; nowhere is it shown that Kreese is directly telling Cobra Kai students to steal snakes or break into mansions, so for all even we know - let alone the police - the kids are doing this all of their own accord.  And dealing with juvenile suspects compared to adult suspects - even at the felony level - is an absolute motherfucker in terms of legal process.!<

>!But note that after the school incident, the police are involved; one Cobra Kai student is put in juvenile detention and released only because she's her mother's sole caretaker, a Miyagi-Do student is explicitly on the lam and later arrested after kicking a Cobra Kai over a second floor railing, and a protective order is taken out against Mrs. LaRusso (which, AFAIK, is a two-way street; she can't do anything to Kreese, but Kreese violating the terms himself could render it null and void).!<

>!As for why it took as long as it did to reach this point, there's a bevy of reasons.  Much of what happens could easily be handled without law enforcement intervention until the aforementioned school fight.  Much is made of Johnny and Daniel's egos and pride; maybe it's just as important that they solve the problems facing their students as solving the problem at all.!<


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

[User] Eli5: If location determines the IP address, can users that are connected to the same network have the same IP address?

[Assistant]
Can users share the same up address? Yes and no.

Each device needs its own local IP address.

However there are local IP addresses on the inside of the network, and external (public) IP addresses which is what the outside world sees. So users while having their own local IP address, can share the same external public IP address.

This is because usually the device facing the outside world (router or firewall) will have one or few IP address showing to the outside world.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is feeling in your face/legs diminished when you shave them?

[Assistant]
Hairs are part of your sensory system. When a hair is moved, you can feel it, due to nerves in the follicle.  For proof, just try running your hand through your hair. Although hair itself is just nonliving protein and has no nervous system of its own, you can still feel a sensation on your head. This is because the movement of the hair pulls at the underlying skin slightly, and you do have nerves there that can detect that slight pulling.

When hair is removed, that whole process isn't possible. You can still feel pressure and friction on the skin, but that sensitive pulling sensation from the hair is lost.


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

[User]
Suppose we (were) visit(ed) (by) an intelligent race of aliens. How could we possibly communicate with them?

I think this is comparable to explorers encountering an indegioness people,  but it couldn't be that simple, could it?

[Assistant]
Richard Feynman covers this in a book.  Basically, start with math, because math should be universal.

Say 'tick one', 'tick tick two', 'tick tick tick three', etc.  They'll probably figure out the pattern if they're intelligent and sense sound.

From there you have building blocks to map mathematical constructs between your language and the aliens' language (one plus two equals three).

Once you have that common ground in place it should be easy to extend it in every direction with a little cleverness.  It may seem trivial but you could teach a lot by extending math into other subjects, like physics and logic, and with those you could turn around and teach things that abstract those concepts, like chemistry and philosophy and so on and so forth up the ladders of abstraction.

You wouldn't so much be teaching each other these concepts so much as teaching words for them, and with that comes a lot of cultural and biological framing for how the other experiences reality.

Some stuff could be hopelessly tricky.  You could explain color with wavelengths but something as simple as 'left' vs 'right' is pretty hard to explain without presence and a common celestial reference, for example.


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

[User]
Why can't I put metal in the microwave?

I know it'll spark and go nuts, but what do the micro waves do that make this happen??

[Assistant] They bombard their interior with a form of electromagnetic radiation (before you get scared by that word, visible light is a form electromagnetic radiation as well) called microwaves.  Metal, especially metal with sharp edges and points, will end up refocusing and concentrating those waves which is what creates the sparks.


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

[User]
CMV: Marriage is not "just a piece of paper"

A couple weeks back I was reading a post on a different sub, where a woman's boyfriend had a change of heart regarding marriage, something she 100% wanted for her relationship and she was looking for advice on how to proceed. Many, many people in the comments lambasted this girl for wanting to be married, said that it was "just a piece of paper", and one person claimed that if she left her boyfriend over this she "didn't really love him".

Marriage is absolutely not for everyone, and that is totally fine.  But it's definitely not "nothing" and significantly changes the circumstances of a relationship in legal, economic, and social ways. It's healthcare access, power of attorney, parental rights, etc. It's one of the biggest things couples can do to build wealth for themselves and any children. Not to mention the huge spiritual connotation if you are a religious person. Also I do  believe it's helpful for the government to able to distinguish between a casual relationship and a life partner who can make decisions in your steed.

I have no idea where this idea came from, and now it's getting to the point that people (mostly women) get shamed for even wanting to get married. I don't get it, and I'm genuinely looking for an alternative understanding about this.

Note: I don't believe that marriage changes the "love" part of a relationship, that should stay the same. But love is like 1/5 of what makes a marriage to me.

Edit: this is obviously not applicable to areas where common law marriage is applicable. If you get the status  of marriage, then getting married is obviously not that important.

[Assistant]
Often what is meant by marriage is a piece of paper is that marriage is a legal or social process that doesnt fundamentally alter the seriousness or the dynamics of the relationship.

It is possible to have a serious committed relationship without being married. It is possible to be married and have a terrible, insubstantial connection to each other. Marriage doesnt influence this; its just a contract you enter into.

All laws are on pieces of paper. Saying its just a piece of paper doesnt mean it has no effect. But it specifies the kinds of effects that are possible; contractual ones. Legal, financial, social - like you point out.


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

[User] ELI5: how do hot springs exist in cold mountain ranges? That always got me confused.

[Assistant] There is active volcanism below the ground, meaning that there is some hot magma not too deep down in those places. This hot magma heats the ground waters, and they rise to the surface to make hot springs.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do Japanese side-scrollers move from left to right when Japanese text is read right to left?

I assume it may have something to do with western predecessors?

[Assistant]
It has nothing to do with western games at all.

Vertical Japanese is read top-down from columns on the right side of the page to the left.

However, horizontal Japanese is read left to right from top to bottom, akin to most western writing.

Vertical movement in games is harder than horizontal (in terms of gameplay), so horizontal was used and left-right became the norm.


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

[User]
[Terminator] The films show Arnold terminators (T-800/850s) to be some of the best and resilient ones. How can the humans fight armies of them if just one is so damn powerful?

So the first few films cement the fact that arnold's model are powerful and in many cases, BETTER than some of the more later models developed by Skynet, due to its ability to learn.

How come we're supposed to believe the resistance is mowing down armies of these terminators if just one (Arnold) was a one-man army in the films?

I'm just finding it a bit hard to believe that in the future, hundreds of T-850s are disposed like foot soldiers when in the films just one of them is the damn protagonist.

[Assistant]
Two main reasons, technology and knowing your enemy.

In the future, we have the future guns. You can clearly see in the flashbacks of the war the humans aren't using regular assault rifle. The terminators are known enemies so every soldier knows Armour piercing and explosive rounds must be used, that is the norm, not some regular shotguns you find in the back of police car.

Also in the past (present), we never see the T-800/850s to go up against the super hard hitting stuff the military has. It's always some pistol, shotgun, and some kind of police force. Remember a regular pipebomb in the first movie was enough to split one in half; imagine what an automatic grenade launcher can do.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does North Korea's economy work?

I just finished watching *The Propaganda Game*, a documentary on North Korea, and found myself a little confused to how a country without ties to western civilization and its economy can afford to continue growing.
Although much of the country is very poor, the capital and surrounding areas were flourishing. New housing, amazing amusement parks, and enormous government facilities were being built everywhere.
For a country that offers free "healthcare", "education", and housing, and also doesn't charge it's citizens taxes, how can their economy stay afloat? It also seemed as though only government officials receive any kind of salary. What the hell keeps an economy such as this one alive?

[Assistant] a state controlled economy that is not shy about about the use of forced labor. The state owns basically all the assets in the country and uses them to the benefit of the state. There are mines, farms, factories, businesses, etc. all run by the state which "employs" the NK citizenry.


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

[User]
Functional programming

Can you give me some examples in which problems or areas functional programming solve better than OOP or/and Procedural Programming?

[Assistant]
I just want to add that learning functional programming isnt only useful for doing functional programming.  You can take concepts from it and apply them in other language paradigms as well.

You can make side-effect-free or pure functions in C, do recursion in Java, and use lambdas and closures in Python, for example.


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

[User]
[Witcher] I started watching the Witcher Netflix series and I'm confused about one thing...

If Witchers are seen as bad why does Geralt get laid like all the time? Are the women he's banging just really progressive?

[Assistant]
Witchers aren't really seen as bad, that's an over-simplification. They have a reputation for being dangerous mutants, which, ya know, they actually are. Some people are prejudiced against mutants, others are less bothered. In Geralt's case, he's a nice enough dude and he also has a personal reputation (Thanks to Jaskier) that (sometimes) overshadows the general prejudice against Witchers. And finally, he's generally sleeping with other outcasts or extraordinary individuals, or paying for it.

Plus, he's really hot. I'd hit that.


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

[User]
ELI5:why do lithium-ion batteries wear out over time (and so quickly)?

I did a quick search and couldn't find a sufficiently similar, "explained" ELI5.

[Assistant] In a lithium ion battery, the cathode and the anode (where electrons are collected/deposited) are made of layered materials that can accept lithium between the layers. Traditionally, these have been Cobalt oxide (CoO2) and graphite). On charge or discharge, you move lithium in and out of the interlayer space. The layers have to move closer together when lithium is taken out or further apart when lithium goes in. This causes wear and tear leading to chemical changes in the electrodes so they can't store as much energy.


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

[User]
Do any of you feel like cogs in the capitalist machine?

I know devs and engineers typically get paid handsomely and usually don't complain about their job as much as other employees might.

However, regardless you're still doing pretty difficult work to make others richer. Sure you may be making a good salary yourself, but not as much as the ceo. Does that make any of you feel like you're giving into capitalism?

I'm not asking for political reasons, simply so I know whether this field is one that would be good for me. Thanks!

[Assistant]
> However, regardless you're still doing pretty difficult work to make others richer

A big part of modern society is that this is true basically no matter what you do. This is something a lot of criticism, discussion, and philosophy goes into like, say, Capitalist Realism. Artists have described it as suffocating, and so on.

So, it doesn't really matter the job, a developer job is no different than others. Just go where it seems the most appealing to you. If compsci interests you, look more into it. At the end of the day, you need money to survive, and so have to do something. Might as well be something you enjoy.


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

[User] [Teen Titans Animated Series] Who is Red X?

[Assistant] That wasn't even confirmed in the original series. Though a short did hint that Beast Boy thinks he is Jason Todd, the 2nd Robin who would die and go on to be Red Hood when resurrected. Red Hood=Red X is a bit of a stretch though.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do they find out the information that goes on Nutrition Facts labels?

Like number of calories, fat content, vitamin content, etc. etc.

[Assistant]
There's a database of ingredients that has nutritional info for a variety of foods. When you make up a recipe you figure out the amount of nutrients and calories based on how much of each ingredient was used.

For each ingredient in the database, they dried out the food and burned it and measured how much energy was produced by the burning. The tool is called a calorimeter, and it's more or less an insulated box where you burn stuff in the bottom and have a bowl of water on top and measure how much the water temperature goes up (1 degree per cubic centimeter is a calorie).

For everything else, like vitamins, etc., they've worked out chemical procedures for separating out the materials in the food (generally by mashing and pouring a solvent over it and the pouring through a tube filled with special sand calleda "column"). They use special instruments that can identify the molecules and how much there is (the exact technique varies depending on the material).

The important part is that they don't run these tests on every food, just the basic ingredients. You can work out the nutritional content based on the recipe. Mind you, some of the cooking or processing might affect the nutritional content, so, in some cases they've tested foods cooked different ways. It's always an educated guess because foods vary in their nutritional value based on all sorts of things (like when it was harvested, how well it was watered, etc).