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

[User]
[Mirror's Edge] If runners are such a problem, why don't they just have a city ordinance to enclose all rooftops or otherwise make them inaccessible?

The city appears to have the totalitarian level control to do it, judging by how much the city already conforms to a very specific theme.

[Assistant]
I can think of a few reasons. Firstly, that would be a massive and pricy undertaking, and even totalitarian states can't do massive construction work without incurring cost.

More likely though, is that taking such an action would acknowledge that they feel that the runners are a threat/beyond the control of the state, which could be seen as a sign of weakness and encourage more people to question and rebel against the establishment.

And finally, it's possible that the state is also using the rooftops for enough things, like surveillance, giving troops the high ground when civil problems like protests occur. This might make it less appealing to make the roofs harder to traverse and reposition on.


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

[User] How can we hear for example 50Hz sound waves when its wave length is several times the length of our ears?

[Assistant] The idea that the wave needs to be of size comparable to our ears isn't relevant. The wave oscillates back and forth 50 times a second. Your ear experiences this pressure wave and the drum and other components are driven by the wave.


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

[User]
[The Hobbit/LotR] What happened with Erebor after The Hobbit?

Did the some of the dwarves stay behind in Erebor or did everyone just leave it?

[Assistant]
* Dain becomes King Under the Mountain.
* Erebor becomes prosperous again.
* A few decades later, some dwarves decide they want to reclaim the much older Dwarf-realm of Moria. Balin leads an expedition there.
* It doesn't go well.
* Later still, a messenger from Sauron arrives at Erebor, asking for news about "a trifle that Sauron fancies". He promises all three surviving dwarf-rings in return for help retrieving "a little ring, the least of rings".
* Gloin leads an expedition to Rivendell to ask for advice on dealing with the messenger.
* They arrive (by chance, as Men call it) around the same time Frodo does, and the dwarves participate in the Council of Elrond. Gloin's son Gimli is sent off with the Fellowship.
* Shortly after the Battle of Pelennor Fields where the siege of Minas Tirith is broken, an army of Easterlings attack Dale and Erebor. King Dain and King Brand (Bard's grandson) die in battle, but after Sauron is defeated the Dwarves and Men of Dale are able to rout the attackers.
* Dain's son Thorin (named after Thorin Oakenshield) becomes King Under the Mountain and forms a close alliance with Aragorn's realm.


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

[User]
[Mario series] is Mario strong enough to throw fists with Bowser without power ups?

I think I have never seen Mario fight bowser without having to use the stage or a power up, leaving the world of Smash aside, there is that fight where you throw Bowser grabbing him by the tail but then there is Oddesy (spoilers) where you we him plowing through stone with his claws, makes me think that Mario uses more of his brain than raw strenght against Bowser most of the time, because otherwise he doesn't stand a chance, or maybe I am totally wrong?

[Assistant]
Ever play any of the Mario RPGs? There are no stage hazards, just Mario & whatever partners he may have at the time throwing hands with Bowser. If anything, Bowser is the one powered up in those fights.

If you're asking who's stronger, Bowser, easily. It's just Mario is that that much better of a fighter. The trick is to not get punched in the face. Any enemy that tries to brute force their way through Bowser almost always fail.


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

[User]
Any hope for commercial nuclear fusion of heavier elements?

So most efforts are focused on hydrogen fusion (deuterium+tritium) if I understand correctly.

What makes us not even consider Carbon+Carbon fusion for example? Is there any chance we might better control that process ?

[Assistant]
Carbon nuclei have a +6 positive charge.

Pushing two +6s together is much harder than pushing two +1s together. The +1s are even easier if they're a bit chonky, so D-T or D-D (deuterium and tritium). These +1s are still right at the very edge of our technology, though.

This difficulty is known as the Coulomb barrier, and it's conceptually identical to pushing two similar magnetic poles together against their repulsion. You're asking "What if we make the magnets stronger?"


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

[User]
Why does Hawking radiation not have an equal chance of increasing or decreasing the mass of a black hole, causing no net change?

As far as I understand, Hawking radiation is caused when a particle/antiparticle pair forms outside a black hole, and one of them is sucked in. However, shouldn't this have the opposite effect depending on whether the particle or the antiparticle falls in?

[Assistant]
Remember that **both** the particle and antiparticle have *positive mass* so the change in the black hole's mass is not because something with negative mass falls in.

The reason the black hole loses mass is because for the pair of particles, one has positive and the other has negative energy. The positive energy particle leaves and the negative energy particle falls into the black hole. It does not matter whether it is matte ror antimatter.

That it is the positive particle who escapes is obviously not a coincidence as you need positive energy to escape the gravitational influence of the black hole in the first place.


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

[User]
If one were to build a giant metal ring around the equator, supported by metal beams, and then remove the support beams, what would happen?

I highly doubt the ring would float, but would it just tilt over and fall onto the surface of the Earth?

[Assistant]
With a perfectly spherical, smooth earth, this would be a equilibrium position.  However, since there is no negative feedback as the ring moves around a bit it would be the same type of in-stability as a pencil standing on it's point.

Even in the perfect case of a spherical smooth earth, this would be no stability and the slightest movement (in any direction) would result in the ring collapsing down to earth at one point.


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

[User]
How much salt would I need to be able to float in my bathtub as if it were the Dead sea, would it work?

1. Can I use kitchen salt?

2. Why would it work?

3. Why wouldn't it work?

4. If the answer to #2 is no, why does it work in the Dead sea?

[Assistant] The general rule of thumb for salt water aquariums is 1/2 a cup of salt per gallon. The Dead Sea is 8 times saltier then that so 4 cups per gallon. The average bath tub holds 50 gallons so 200 cups of salt are need. 1 cup of salt weighs approx .6 pounds so you need about 120 pounds of salt. Mix well until all salt is dissolved. Lay back and enjoy your mini Dead Sea.


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

[User] [MCU/The Purge] what would Thanos think of the purge? What would the Avengers do during the Purge? Would the Avengers support the purge?

[Assistant] Not at all balanced. Its a way for the rich to get richer and consume more resources while the poor turn to bloodshed, with the cycle of violence perpetuating and growing itself. Soon the purge will grow out of control, and lead to full scale violence that wont just be contained by the Purge, thus wiping everyone out, exactly what he DIDNT want. The Purge isnt random, and its not balanced.


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

[User] [The Matrix] Why does the matrix even exist? If the goal is to harvest energy from humans, why bother immersing them into a realistic world instead of just making them braindead or something?

[Assistant]
This is addressed, very briefly, in *Resurrections*. **Spoilers below:**

The Analyst indicates that his version of the Matrix is the most productive ever, not because of the population size, but because of the existential angst he has managed to cause.

The reason Neo and Trinity are important is because having them close together but never united, living lives of quiet desperation, is altering the Matrix itself at a fundamental level. Their agitation is spreading to everyone else, and that agitations is making them better batteries.

A braindead human, for whatever reason, just isn't as productive as a miserable human.


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

[User]
Why does feminism have a problem with defining what a 'woman' is?

To my understanding, some feminist philosophy has difficulty in providing criteria for what it is to be a woman. These philosophers (I was reading Butler in particular) seem to take the large variation of women (stratified over different races, religions, ages, sexualities, and classes) as evidence for anti-essentialist views of women. Obviously in order to do this, philosophers would have to think that 'being female' or 'having a vagina' isn't enough to qualify one as a woman. My question is why are these statement inadequate for a criteria of women?

[Assistant] Even if we did accept 'being female' and 'having a vagina' as appropriate qualifiers for 'being a woman', that does absolutely nothing to address what it *means* to be a woman. Having a vagina says nothing about the social, cultural, political, economic, and historical relations that constitute the day to day realities of being a woman.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does water feel significantly colder than air?

I suppose this could work for hotter temperatures of water but I'm mainly focused on talking about room temperature air and water. Why is a 70 room much more comfortable than a 70 pool of water? I mean, that 70 pool literally feels like ice.

[Assistant]
Water is much denser and has a much higher heat capacity than air.  That means that water can quickly absorb a lot of heat and air can't.

Your body tries to maintain a constant 98.6 degree internal temperature and 70 degree air removes heat (you generate heat) at a nearly perfect rate to stay there.

70 degree water removes too much heat and you feel cold.


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

[User] Could I, as a speaker of early 21st century Modern English, be capable of communicating with a speaker of 14-15th century Middle English?

[Assistant]
You can test it yourself by reading this untranslated extract from 'The Knight's Tale' by Chaucer:

Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,

That whilom was ycleped Scithia,

And weddede the queene Ypolita,

And broghte hire hoom with hym in his contree

With muchel glorie and greet solempnytee,

And eek hir yonge suster Emelye.

Obviously reading it is not like speaking it, but it'll give you a better idea of what Middle English was like. A lot of words are the same, but you also have leftover traces from Old English like 'ycleped' (means 'called' in relation to a name) and 'eek' (means 'also') a modern English speaker wouldn't understand.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How can the gunners on the Millenium Falcon even hope to hit something?

I would have had some trouble pressing the trigger at the exact moment to hit a target moving at fighter jet speeds at a range of a few miles. Conversely, if the guns *are* firing automatically, why do they need a meatbag in the seat?

[Assistant]
Well, there's the targeting computers right there to assist you with your lead and such.  People shooting the guns also have at least some kind of skill at this sort of thing.
And finally, it's not really what you'd call a precision instrument. It's less, press the trigger at exactly the right moment, and more throw a lot of blaster fire in the right direction and hope for the best.


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

[User]
In a vast universe, is it possible that a solid gold planet exists?

Edit: What a great discussion! A lot to think about here, especially regarding the implications of infinity.

So it seems that the verdict is that yes, it is in reality POSSIBLE for this to happen, and though it would be incredibly unlikely that a planet consisting of only a single type of ANY element would exist, in a truly infinite universe, this scenario SHOULD occur at least once!

Now for extra credit, does that mean that a solid gold planet would exist an infinite number of times?!?!

Thanks again for all the great comments everyone!

[Assistant]
It's really really unlikely. Gold is produced in highly energetic events like supernovae that come with a lot of accompanying matter.

On a lower energy chemical scale, gold binds to iron really well (which is present in the same events) and makes it highly unlikely to get a planet made purely of gold.


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

[User] Would a person who can materialize weapons at will be considered having a concealed weapon in public?

[Assistant]
It would depend on the society. If it is a known thing that there are people who can do this, and you can prove someone is one of those people, most societies would put those people "on the list" as it were. Not unlike Mutant Registration in X-Men. Why? Because this person is probably the odd one out. If everyone in a society could do this, it'd just be normal. Nobody would care. You would never assume you were in a safe place as long as even one other person was around. Etc.

Would the person logically be considered to have a concealed weapon? No, because it doesn't exist yet. But practically? By a society? Yes. It would be an ability on par with having "Deadly Hands" or some such.


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

[User] ELI5: why don't the parts of our skin that are always touching, like our toes, get contact sores?

[Assistant] Go hiking for several miles. Blisters and hotspots are a common injury. Many native people who walk barefoot, and long distance walkers develop a thick layer of hard dead skin on their feet to protect themselves.


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

[User]
CMV: The TSA is a massive waste of money and should be abolished.

I've been traveling a lot recently and have come to the conclusion that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an gigantic waste of money.

First, the policies put in place by the TSA are designed to combat very specific instances of terrorism, most of which have never successfully carried out, or even realistically attempted. The biggest advancement in combating terrorism was the introduction of the door to the cockpit, not the creation of the TSA itself. Even more damning are the numerous studies that have shown that the TSA has actually led to *MORE* deaths than they have prevented. On flights of shorter distances (say from Boston to New York City), the increased wait times caused by the TSA have made many people turn to other means of transportation, mainly driving. Rather than wait for hours in security lines and then get on a plane for a 40 minute flight, people are instead driving these distances themselves. The total time spent traveling is roughly the same as it is to drive. Because of these passengers who are now driving instead of flying, analysts estimate that roughly 130 people die per quarter as a direct result of choosing to drive rather than fly. To put that into perspective, a terrorist would have to hijack and crash a fully-loaded 737 once every 3 months to reach the same death total over the course of a year.

Secondly, these policies have seemed to be implemented and followed at random. The policies that are in place are not carried out universally from airport to airport, and in some cases, not even from terminal to terminal at the same airport. In the past week alone, I went from having to remove my shoes, belt, jacket, and laptop, emptying my pockets, and walking through a body scanner, to simply emptying my pockets of any metal objects and walking through a metal detector.

Lastly, the TSA is wildly ineffective at doing it's job, despite having a budget of $7.55B last year. A recent audit conducted by the Department of Homeland Security in which planted passengers had contraband in their carry-on bags (such as firearms, fake bombs, and various other items expressly prohibited by the TSA regulations) resulted in what could only be described as a failing grade. Over 95% of the planted contraband went passed through the security checkpoints at various airports undetected. More importantly, only 14% of passengers are flagged by TSA, and of that 14%, a minuscule 0.6% of passengers who were flagged were actually arrested (mostly for drug possession, but absolutely zero related to terrorism).

While I understand the need for security at airports, the TSA is an absolute waste of money and should be abolished and replaced with privatized security firms, which have been shown time and time again to be more successful at recognizing and addressing security threats in the smaller airports where they have been implemented. The goal of the TSA was to help combat terrorism, but due to inconsistent policies, and unsuccessful and ineffective practices, the TSA has instead turned into a massive waste of money and time.

[Assistant]
The stated view breaks down as:

* "The TSA is a massive waste of money"
* "Therefore, the TSA should be abolished"

I think the most likely way to change this view is to attack the second half - instead of abolishing the TSA, perhaps the best solution is to reform/improve it.

You've asserted that privatized security firms are capable of doing the same job more effectively, ideally at the same or reduced cost.

Private sector organizations face competitive pressure to perform, and comparatively less bureaucratic overhead to change. This does mean that they're more likely to improve faster. But, crucially, there's nothing about being private-sector or public-sector that inherently affects efficiency.

The TSA *could* adopt the lessons, learnings, and policies of private-sector organizations, and become nearly as effective. This would possibly be easier than the massive political battle of abolishing an entire govt. organization, and rewriting legislation, to accomplish the same effect.

In summary - your view is correct in that the TSA (as-is) is a massive waste of money. But, there are solutions other than abolishing it.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly is Goodhart's law?

It states that 'when a measure becomes a target, it can no longer be used as a measure'. Any examples on that? How exactly is it used?

[Assistant]
The head of an airport decides he wants to be able to brag about how quick he can get bags from the plane to the carousel so he can attract more airlines and offer a better customer experience . He says "The first bag is going to land in the carousel from the plane in under 5 minutes".

That sounds great and a lot of people are interested so the baggage handlers are told that they have to make this happen otherwise they'll be fired the first crew to manage it 5 flights in a row get a bonus. For the first few days they struggle to meet this target. With the size of the airport, time to get the bags into the car to drive all the way across etc.

So one crew decide to get clever about it. They get their youngest fastest team member. His job is now to jump on the landing plane, grab a small suitcase and sprint to the carousel loader with it. The rest of the team will debag the rest of the plane while he does that. Boom! This crew easily reaches the target. Other crews start doing this and suddenly travellers are waiting just as long as before but the airport can still claim to get the first bag off the plane and on the carousel in 10 minutes.

The kpi is now useless since it drives a change in behaviour as opposed to improvements.


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

[User]
ELI5: If the free market works so well, why do corporations need $93 Billion in annual government subsidies?

Saw this on my FB feed and seemed like a good question for ELI5.

[Assistant] Ideally, subsidies exist to incentivize behavior which the market doesn't value enough, like development of solar technology or new medical treatments. However, in our country, the biggest recievers of subsidies are oil companies. This is due to corruption.


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

[User]
Do humans instinctively know how to have sex?

In other words, would we know how to have sex without being taught how to?

If sex is not purely instinctive in humans, when (on the evolutionary timeline) did this happen?

Yes, we all know about the movie "Blue Lagoon." Movies are allowed to use dramatic license though.

[Assistant] There are societies that don't know the connection between sex and procreation. Humans aren't meant to grow up in a vacuum so it seems that link needs to be taught but we all have instincts that makes us want to even if we don't instinctively know what it is for.


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

[User]
ELI5: Without the context of the English language/alphabet, is there any meaningful distinction between "short vowels" and "long vowels" phonologically?

If so, what is it? And if not, how did English vowel letters end up working the way they do now?

[Assistant]
There is a linguistic concept called vowel length, which refers to vowels as being long and short, that has to do with duration of the vowel sound (or, really, the perception of the duration), but that concept is entirely different from the English gradeschool concept of long and short vowels.

In English, long and short vowels are really just two distinct sounds that happen to be represented by the same letters. There are rules (often broken) that imply which sound a letter makes in that context, but the terms "long" and "short" themselves don't seem to have any particular basis.


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

[User]
[Sonic the Hedgehog] When Shadow the Hedgehog first started operating, why did everyone keep mistaking him for Sonic?

I mean, come on, they look and act nothing alike! In detail:

* Sonic has solid blue fur/quills, whereas Shadow has black and red fur and quills.
* Sonic has downswept quills on his head, but Shadow has upswept quills.
* Sonic sounds like a young man, while Shadow sounds like he's in his 40's.
* Sonic tries his hardest to avoid civilian casualties, whereas Shadow (at first) had a devil-may-care attitude towards civilian life, considering he *robbed a frakking bank in broad daylight*.
* Sonic is world-renowned as a superhero, (for lack of a better term) while Shadow had only *just* appeared out of nowhere.
* Sonic's only known powers at the time were to run really fast, while Shadow could teleport and shoot energy bolts.
* Sonic was known for repeatedly stopping Dr. Eggman, while Shadow was reported to be working *with Eggman*. (Who, as we all know, is a widely infamous supervillain/***borderline terrorist.***)

With all these differences in mind, I'd like to know just HOW these two got mixed up. I'll give the public  and MAYBE the G.U.N. the benefit of the doubt, but when you remember that Eggman himself (Sonic's sworn nemesis) made this mistake, as did Amy Rose (Sonic's *stalker*) and Tails, (Sonic's right hand man- er, fox) then it just starts getting ridiculous.

[Assistant] It spread by word of mouth, and camera imaging wasn't capturing actual footage of Shadow for the most part. The word running up the command chain was that a supersonic Hedgehog was ripping shit up; Sonic was they only hedgehog they knew who could fit the bill.


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

[User]
[Dragon Ball] Is there any incentive for regular human fighters to enter the Tenkaichi Budokai tournament anymore?

I mean, I can't imagine a lot of fighters really stand a chance anymore with how strong some of these contestants are.

[Assistant]
Regular contestants don't know the power difference they have compared to the Z Fighters. Yet Hercule became champ during the tournament where the Z Fighters didn't join. Without them around, someone could potentially win but now that Buu is always hanging out with Hercule, the possibility has basically become zero.

The only regular people that really know that no one stands a chance are Hercule & the announcer, & the Z Fighters are more than willing to let Hercule stay the champ. 18 even has monetary incentive to let him win.


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

[User]
How does the sun provide vitamin D?

I read a little about what uv rays do to cholesterol, but I don't understand why we'd need the sun to "produce" vitamin D. If someone could explain the whole phenomenon a little bit more I'd appreciate.

[Assistant]
Very briefly, a precursor molecule called dehydrocholesterol, which is present in our skin, undergoes a chemical reaction under UV light (the UV causes the reaction to occur) to make a second molecule, which then undergoes its own spontaneous reaction to form Vitamin D.

The Wikipedia page about Vitamin D has more detail.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] I really, really want to make sure someone gets into a particular House at Hogwarts. Will the Confundus charm work on the Sorting Hat?

[Assistant]
Probably not. The sorting hat was created by Godric Griffindor (one of the most powerful and knowledgeable wizards ever) to take on the role of sorting people in to houses.

Since then it has resideded in the Headmaster's office, all powerful and wise wizards in their own right.

I think somewhere along the line, *someone* must have thought to protect the hat from interference.


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

[User]
CMV: There's no 'ethical' way to kill a healthy animal

I see a lot of people who are opposed to factory farming or disagree with factory farming say that they want 'ethical' farming practices where animals are given better conditions and then killed in a better way than they are currently, ideally without causing undue stress to the animal. This is a noble cause but simply is not realistic for a few reasons.

a) animals would still have to be killed in their prime in order to produce the best quality meat. They wouldn't have 'long and fulfilling' lives as one might imagine

and

b) even if you guarantee they have a fulfilling life, no healthy animal wants to die. They all have a survival instinct and even if you slaughter them in a 'humane' way per HMSA (by either electrocuting them, gassing them, or shooting them in the head before slaughter) they still feel pain and fear before these moments of being incapacitated. If we are going to argue 'ethics', any killing of an animal that otherwise would live a full life is unethical.

This excludes extremely old and/or injured beyond healing animals. Putting an animal with a poor quality of life out of it's misery is different than slaughtering an otherwise healthy animal for it's meat. Especially if an injection is used rather than 'taking it out back'.

I'm by no means arguing that we should all be vegan, I just think it's weird to argue that there is an ethical way of killing something that otherwise wants to live. I believe it's an argument borne to justify cognitive dissonance.

CMV

Edit: taking a little break, but I'll be back later to respond to the rest. Thank you so much for having this discussion with me :)

[Assistant] When a bear eats and kills an elk, in that order, it that ethical? Is it more or less ethical if a human gets to that elk first? There is a very short list of possible fates for an elk. Either get hunted, eaten, and killed by a predator, or they get injured fighting other elks and THEN get hunted, eaten, and killed by a predator, or they live to old age, when they are too tired to escape being hunted, eaten, and killed by a predator. Might get lucky and no predators are around, and simply starve to death or succumb to disease/infection, but as deaths go, the most merciful death possible is to be hunted by a human, whose goal is to kill you as instantly as possible. To me, that's far more ethical than the way a bear or wolf pack does it, which usually involves being eaten ass first while still struggling.


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

[User] {Star Trek}What happened to the rank of Commodore?

[Assistant]
The rank of Commodore, in Starfleet, is given to an officer who runs a task force of ships.  Unlike Admiral, the Commodore is the captain of his own ship, but he is the flag officer for the rest of the ships in his task force.

In the 23rd century, task force deployments were common.  The Constitution class was relatively unique in that she could travel solo, something the Federation liked for deep exploration ships, but much less so for everything else.  Federation task forces usually had a number of ships in a group, usually grouping one kind of cruiser with several smaller operations ships and some escorts.

Starfleet's 24th century paradigm is different.  The success of Enterprise (NCC-1701, not NX-01) at long, sustained exploration, combining heavy weaponry and yet a full suite of science stations, meant the idea of a single ship rose again.  The general success of replicator technology meant that Starships could more easily go on lone deployment, even in deep space.

With the decline of the task force, the rank of Commodore ended up less and less meaningful.  With ship groups formed dynamically and on an ad-hoc basis, captains would be given short term flag status when need be, but none of this necessitated a new rank.

Admiral James T Kirk was one of the first to be promoted directly from Captain to Admiral.  Making him a Commodore would make no sense -- NCC-1701 needed no escort nor was it designed to be part of a task force.  Moving him to an older ship would be a demotion.  Thus he was promoted directly to Admiral once it was determined he was ready for a fleet command role.  (This was a terrible mistake, of course, but that's another story.)  Anyway, before long, this was standard convention.  Did you captain a starship?  Straight to admiral.

The rank of commodore officially exists, but until Starfleet starts making ships to work in task forces again, it's unlikely we'll see it in use.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are things like BET and BlackPeopleMeet.com OK but if there was "white only" versions, it'd be a problem?

[Assistant] The vast majority of American culture is white-centric.  It is much easier for a white person to get matches on dating sites than it is for a black person or any other minority.  Because of this, most dating sites might as well be called WhitePeopleMeet.com.  BlackPeopleMeet.com exists because people enjoy dating people they can relate to.  People tend to relate to their own race more than others.  Black people often want to date black people, just like white people often want to date white people.  Different sites make it easier for people to find matches.


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

[User] ELI5: I just bought a thermos that claims it keeps things hot 7 hours and cold 18 hours. Why aren't these numbers equal?

[Assistant]
Hot drinks are hotter than cold drinks are cold.

Cold drinks are rarely colder than freezing, and are still refreshing in the 40^o - 50^o range.  Also, if something is frozen solid, it takes extra energy to thaw it, which means extra time.

You drink coffee at between 120^o and 140^(o), below that it starts getting lukewarm and bitter.

That means a cold drink is ~20-35^o below room temperature, while a hot drink is ~50-70^o above.  Roughly twice the difference, roughly twice the time.


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

[User]
ELI5: Does the action of flying in birds tire them out the same way that running tires us out?

 Is there a function in humans analogous to flying in birds?

[Assistant]
It does. However, unlike a human running, a bird doesn't have to constantly flap its wings to fly.

Although the usual way people think of birds flying is constantly flapping their wings, that's really not the case. Over very short distances, especially if trying to get to a higher spot, birds will flap their wings furiously, creating the image that they must do that all the time. However, when it comes to going a long distance, nearly all birds "coast" a great deal of the time. The pattern varies from species to species, but it generally involves a few wingbeats, then the bird tucks its wings in against its body and flies without flapping, much like a thrown football. For a human, it would be like running four or five paces, then sailing over the next several meters. Birds can get away with this because their physiology is all geared toward making them lighter - hollow bones, lower density tissues - making them more football-like than human-like.

Really long-distance flying birds use a process called soaring. These birds have larger wingspans, enabling them to glide long distances. In order to save energy, soaring birds catch a ride on thermal updrafts that naturally occur during the day. These updrafts, which are really nothing more than rising warm air, carry the birds higher into the sky so they can gain altitude and keep gliding even longer without having to flap their wings once.

The exception is hummingbirds. Hummingbirds only stay in the air because their wings are beating constantly, and beating fast. Hummingbirds flap their wings an average of 10-15 times per second, allowing them to hover and be extremely agile. Don't they get tired? You bet they do, which is why unless they're feeding or moving to a new feeding ground, they're usually perched. All birds tend to conserve energy, but hummingbirds have more of a need than the average.


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

[User] Would indexing corporate taxes to state poverty rate persuade companies to take actions towards lowering poverty?

[Assistant]
Why would companies start up in states that have high poverty rates?

Why would companies that already are in poor states stay there?

Seems like it would be easier to move than reform your community, so the incentive would backfire.


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

[User]
ELI5: The Tribal sovreignty/Indian reservation system in the US

Hi everyone. As a Brit this has always confused me somewhat. How does the Tribal sovreignty system work in the US.

Adding to that, how does one prove that they're Native American to be able to claim such rights. Is there a certain % DNA that needs to be Native American?

Thanks, genuinely curious and interested in finding out more.

[Assistant]
Okay first of all it's important to mention that it differs from state to state and tribe to tribe. The reservation system is more or less an effect of the conflict early setters had with the local residents.

Basically the American Indians are sort of duel citizens, one of their tribal nations and the United States. Under U.S. laws this is referred to as domestic dependent nations. (But not all the time)

This allows the Tribe to have different laws then the state that they are in. This allows them to have local courts or Tribal courts that may maintain criminal jurisdiction over the member of the tribe. But the Indian Civil Rights Act placed limits on the level of punishment to a year in jail or $5,000 and has no jurisdiction over non Indians (Again depending on state.) Major crimes may bypass the Tribal court systems and go with the federal court.

The main advantages to this system come from the ability to bypass state regulation involving hunting, fishing and gaming. This allows some Indians to have Casino's on their land, but not in all states. And it allows them to hunt with out a license as they are beholden to the tribal government and not the federal government.

Again this all depends on state, and tribe. Some states have extremely different cultures, and some are basically just a normal USA town with a different form of town council. Almost half of Indian are married to white people for instance.

DNA wise it's an extremely small amount and assuming you keep up the paper work, there are people that are 1/64 who still claim to be Indian and their 1/128 children will be Indian as well.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does Microsoft want me to update to windows 10 so bad?

Seems like they want us to update real bad.

[Assistant]
Microsoft is pushing hard into the SAAS field (software as a service) and windows 10 is a big push into laying the groundwork for an ecosystem that is geared around this concept.

Software as a service will generate monthly/yearly revenue for the vendor, as opposed to just a one time purchase.

Adobe has gone this route with the CS applications, and Microsoft has already gone this way with Office 365.

Everything else in this thread about testing or whatever is bullshit.


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

[User] ELI5: How do your eyebrows and eyelashes know when to stop growing?

[Assistant] They dont.  All hair on your body has a lifespan where it continually grows hair at a set rate (with minor seasonal variation) and then dies and falls out.  The set lifespan of the follicle determines how long the hair can get.  The ones on the top of your head have the longest lifespans, but it varies among individuals.  Not everyone could grow waist-length hair if they even tried, for example.  You are constantly losing eyebrow hairs  theyre just so short that you never really notice them lying around.  People tend to notice eyelashes more when they fall out, because they sometimes end up in your eye instead.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do train cars always have so much graffiti on them?

Im sure everyone notices the crazy amount of graffiti on train cars when stuck behind traffic waiting on a million car train. Is there not enough security at rail yards to keep this from happening? Why dont rail companies protect their assets better or paint over them more often?

[Assistant]
In the late 60s/early 70s in new york and philly kids were painting and writing their names on the streets of their neighborhoods. It didn't take long for the new york kids to realize their names would travel all around the city if they wrote it on the train cars. Back then train security was almost non existent, so the train yards became a playground for graffiti writers.

Fast forward to the mid 80s where a fictional film about hip hop, beat street, the book subway art, and a documentary primarily on subway graffiti in nyc, style wars, took graffiti worldwide. It hasn't slowed down since and you'd have trouble finding a city that doesn't have graffiti these days.

Nowadays you won't see a lot of subway graffiti in traffic outside of a small number of cities. Subway graffiti basically died in the US in the late 80s and moved to the freight trains where it still thrives. Subway graffiti is still popular in europe and australia, but the A line in rome is one of the few places still running trains coated with layers of graffiti like it was in the 80s (i believe budapest and a couple other places are the same, i'm a little out of touch these days) and many others where you'll regularly see a painted train here and there (such as copenhagen where you may see a handful of pieces running at the same time). It's rare you'll see graffiti on the new york subway today, and if you do it's mostly done by graffiti tourists from outside the US.

Hope this explains it a little.

Source: i've been writing graffiti since 1989.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does the body make neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, etc. Is it from fatty acids or proteins in our blood, etc?

  For example, adipose tissue is created by the amount of fat in our blood (I believe) which is a direct result of the calories we eat (again Im going off assumption.) In the same way, are neurotransmitters dependent on how much or what types of foods we eat? Or does our body just make them from stuff thats already there?

[Assistant]
Most neurotransmitters are either straight-up amino acids or made from amino acids, either from your diet or synthesized in the body. Glutamate is the most common neurotransmitter, and is just the ion of glutamic acid; it's also only one enzyme step from being turned into GABA, the second most common neurotransmitter. Serotonin is a few steps from tryptophan, while dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine are all made from tyrosine. Acetylcholine is an exception, made from choline (also a dietary nutrient.)

Unless you're at a meaningful level of malnutrition/starvation, your body has the precursors to make all the neurotransmitters it needs. Diet may certainly affect brain function in more complex ways, though.

Aside: One interesting approach in psychiatric research has been to give an amino acid shake containing all the amino acids except tryptophan, on the assumption this will stimulate synthesis of protein and deplete the body's stores of tryptophan, thus fairly rapidly preventing serotonin synthesis. (It doesn't seem to do much in healthy controls but may have an effect in some people with a history of depression, depending on the study.)


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

[User] [DC] If Harley Quinn died, would it have any lasting effects on Joker?

[Assistant]
I mean this is the Joker we're talking about.

 He might not even notice

 He might grieve for her as honestly as Joker can

 He might just make another one.

Currently it's more likely that he'll just get another pretty henchwench to follow him around, like Punchline.


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

[User] [Star Trek] Why aren't all the ships (human, borg, Klinger, etc.) and other technologies (weapons, transport vehicles, etc.) all borrowing the best features from all the different species, why must each species stick to their own design no matter how inefficient?

[Assistant]
How do you define "Best"? Depending on the capabilities of certain species, their ethics, available resources, and other factors, they may see no reason to borrow tech from other species.

That being said, that is basically the explicitly stated purpose of the Borg already, though what the consider worth assimilating is not always clear. And the Klingons once allied with the Romulans re: ship design and cloaking tech, so its not as if each faction is trying to isolate its own technological progression. The Pakleds and Ferengi also seem to use this as a strategy, the former constantly looking for things "that make them go" and the latter basically having bought their way into interstellar technology. The Federation seems to be given the most context here with multiple technologies and weapons systems considered either too dangerous or unethical to be used or owned by its citizens (or in the specific case of cloaking, banned by Treaty).


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

[User]
ELI5:  Why do I hear an annoying high- pitchedbeep/buzz in my ear?

This only happens occasionally and when it does, I usually feel some sort of change in the pressure in my ears and then a fairly high pitched and steady frequency that drones on for maybe a minute.  Then it goes away.

[Assistant] Your ear has thousands of little hairs which vibrate and send signals to your brain. Your brain then interprets those signals as sound.  Sometimes the little hairs can go a temporarily "haywire" and send a jumble of signals that your brain interprets as the buzz or whine.  While a constant noise is cause for a concern, a short little burst can be caused by a cold, ear wax, stress, or a bit of dirt or hair bumping against your ear drum.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the white stuff (I assume it's ice) that I always see falling off of space shuttles at take off and what does it do?

[Assistant]
It's ice.  It forms on the fuel tanks becauce the fuel is very cold.  What does it do?  It falls off.

Edit:  Our benevolent overlords have required more details about the fuel and tank.  Very well, but no peeking in this section if you are under five.  The fuel consists of liquid hydrogen, along with a liquid oxygen oxidiser, both of which have very low boiling points at pressures typically encountered on earth.  In order to be liquid at the pressures inside the fuel tank, the fuel and oxidiser are kept at an extremely low temperature.  This, combined with relatively thin fuel tank walls (gotta save weight on rockets), means the outer surface of the fuel tank will be very cold, bringing the temperature of the water vapor in the air around it low enough that ice forms on the tank and then falls off as the whole contraption shakes mightily as it takes off.  There's no purpose to the ice, it's just a byproduct of the fuel used.


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

[User]
if wavelength of light emitted by a heated metal is supposed to keep on going down as temperature goes up then why does a metal never glow purple?

Also why doe it glow white?

[Assistant]
The spectrum of thermal radiation is a continuous function over all frequencies. When the peak of the distribution first goes into the visible range, you see it as red because red is the only visible color where the distribution is relatively high.

When you get hotter than that, the peak of the distribution eventually reaches blue and violet, but the distribution is relatively high across the entire visible range.

So its not *just* blue, its *every* color. So when you look at it, its just looks like a saturated white glow because its the sum of all visible frequencies (some a little more than others).


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

[User]
[Morrowind] What is the political structure of Vvardenfell actually like?

I know that the empire is in charge, and that local authority is high because Morrowind was gained through armistice and not conquest, and that there are some important houses in charge, but I'm not sure how it all lines up. Are the great houses all equally sovereign, or is one of them in charge? Do they meet in a council to rule together, or is the Empire the only mediating force between them?

[Assistant]
Assuming around the time of the Nerevarine returning, 3E 427.

Broadly speaking, Imperial Law is followed and enforced by the Imperial Legion, which is permitted to operate out of forts which oversee themselves.

Beyond that, Morrowind has a hereditary monarchy, which went from Barenziah, to Athyn Llethan, to Helseth.

The monarchy oversees the Grand Council, which holds in its membership the Great Houses, themselves derived from ancient Dunmer clans and tribes, and garner their power and support from the districts in Morrowind that they oversee.

It isn't formally written what powers the monarchy has, or by what accords the Grand Council works or its member houses obey, but Helseth was able to enact a ban on slavery in Morrowind, though in doing so he weakened his own rule and that of his house (Hlaalu).

So at any given moment, you are subject to Imperial rule (if the imperial legion is looking), Council rule (if the House that oversees the region you're in gives a shit) and local rule (don't throw scrib jelly at Vivec while in town).


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people swing their arms when they're walking?

[Assistant] Moving your arm opposite your stepping foot partially offsets the imbalance the step causes. This sort of balancing with your arms is a very natural instinct as you can tell when you see videos of people on unsteady ground.


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

[User]
ELI5 how weed goes from a leaf that looks like a star into a bud that looks like craggy fried chicken?

I just can't seem to wrap my head around how both things are the same plant. Do they dry the leaf out?

[Assistant] You smoke the flower, not the leaf. The flower looks roughly like a hop cone, which it's related to. It's not brightly colored like the flowers that come easiest to mind, because cannabis is wind-pollenated, so it doesn't need to attract insects, the way [normal] flowers do.


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

[User] [Ben 10] Is Ultimate Alien X a possibility or is that form already as evolved as it can be? If not, what would ultimate Alien X be like?

[Assistant]
I imagine Ultimate Alien X would be a unified mind with the same reality warping abilities.

With X, the limit isn't its power, but the fact that that the strength is locked behind the dual personalities that prevent any actions from taking place. If that barrier was removed, then Alien X would reach its Ultimate state, and thus become literally unstoppable.


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

[User]
[Calvin & Hobbes] Why does no one seem to care how intelligent Calvin is?

Calvin is very stupid when it comes to math (struggling with such quandaries as "2+2") and biology ("BATS AREN'T BUGS!"), although I posit that this is only because he doesn't like to study.

However, he seems to have an amazingly adult vocabulary, a great grasp of philosophy, politics, history and other such things (even if he is nave and simplistic in his views). When a subject interests him (like dinosaurs), he seems willing to learn.

This expands even further if you consider Hobbes an imaginary friend rather than a truly separate entity.

We've seen this from his parents'/teacher's POV, too, so this hasn't gone unnoticed.

Why do none of the adults seem to care?

[Assistant]
You see it all the time.

A smart child won't\can't engage in a school environment and there's nothing in particular that justifies a specialist education. On top of that the parents can't home school\ afford tutors or want their child to have a normal childhood or can't face the social stigma of having a child in specialist education.

The child falls behind at first simply out of boredom or because they are doing they're own thing and at the point they needed to be ahead to be noticed as needing that extra push.  Normally they're smart enough to catch up later without even really trying. They go on to pass school easily but never really learn to apply themselves as school was never challenging.

In calvins case he's so far behind in some subjects, like maths, that he'd sink if put in a school for gifted children that he needs to push all his other abilities.

It just one of those sad facts of life, some people drop between cracks.  Everyone does what they can to help or gives up in despair along the way, some children are hard to push in the right direction.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are African Americans one of the most religious groups considering Christianity was essentially forced on their ancestors and used as a justification for slavery?

[Assistant]
The message of the bible is a lot easier for the poor and downtrodden to swallow than it is the rich and wealthy.

It puts the heaviest responsibility on those with the ability to help, the rich, and tells them to share their wealth to the point of not being wealthy anymore.
If you don't care for your fellow man, you will end up like the goats in the parable of the goats and the sheep.

Whereas for a poor suffering person, "the meek shall inherit the earth".
The bible promises that the suffering of the world will be put right in heaven, and the evil of the world will be justly judged.

So basically, it's because people made African Americans slaves and used Christianity to justify it that the message of Christianity became so popular with them.


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

[User]
Why do arctic climates often have days where night is warmer than day?

I just looked at the weather for McMurdo Station in Antarctica and Longyearbyen in Svalbard, and this upcoming week has many consecutive days where it is 3C warmer at night. How is this possible?

My guess is that the sun loses much of its influence on the daily weather cycles, and that wind and sea currents become more influential.

[Assistant] As close to the poles as these places are, day and night are rather meaningless - at McMurdo Sound its currently perpetual daylight and at Svalbard the sun doesnt rise for a few months.  Basically its weather and local topography which matter.


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

[User] ELI5: How, and why do operating systems, and software become outdated?

[Assistant]
Software becomes outdated when:

* it lacks features that have become commonplace
* it relies on features in hardware or other software that are no longer being provided

For example, an application might run in 32 bit mode only.  A new OS might decide they are no longer supporting 32 bit mode, and require all software to run in 64 bit mode.  That software is now outdated.

Or can be more subtle.  A website written in raw HTML without frames or style sheets or javascript might work just fine, but it will look old fashioned and outdated.

Often when software becomes too outdated, the vendor will stop supporting it.  If you find a bug, they will no longer fix it or help you work around it, instead they will tell you to upgrade.


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

[User] What is the downside for the US of having the US dollar as the world's reserve currency?

[Assistant]
It means that the US is effectively in charge of a global monetary union in some sense. This is called the "monetary super power hypothesis".

You may have heard the whole "savings glut" explanation of 2008. Well the MSPH says that the savings glut was caused by the Fed recycling it's own monetary policy decisions. The Fed doesn't seems to be taking this effect into account when it's making decisions.

It should be noted that this isn't necessarily bad for the US as long as it conducts monetary policy with this effect in mind. It is bad in that the "dollarzone" is not an optimal currency area and therefore its causing global economic instability.


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

[User]
[It Novel] If It can be beaten by will-power/imagination, why did It still manage to kill Eddie Corcoran?

Even in eddies last moments he was feeling for a zipper on It's back. Considering that the other Eddie burns It by claiming his inhaler is battery acid, shouldn't there actually have been a zipper that Eddie C. could have grabbed?

[Assistant] The book is partly about how you lose some sort of magic when you grow up; adults are too grounded in (what they think is) reality. Eddie was too convinced that what he was seeing was real and didn't have the "magic" anymore.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do most female athletes wear revealing clothes compared to male athletes of the same sport.

[Assistant]
Which sport are you talking about? Women have weights on their chest that need to be controlled, and sports bras often provide the support they need whilst also covering their bits and pieces.
In the case of soccer, basketball, softball/baseball, they wear nearly equivalent gear. In the case of American football, they wear similar gear, as well, but there was also a lingerie league that was developed specifically to watch nubile women get dirty.
Ironically, the lingerie league ended up creating the actual football league for women.


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

[User]
ELI5, Why are spiders unable to crawl on another spider's web?

I noticed this while cleaning my windows. A spider fell in another spiders web and had a bad time crawling......

[Assistant]
We're not *entirely* sure. There is some evidence that spiders make special sticky proteins with a particular anti-stick protein that only they know how to make, which they coat their feet and legs with. That way, they won't stick to their own web. There's also a lot of evidence that spiders build mental maps, or otherwise can tell which parts of the web are sticky and which aren't. Most of the web isn't, actually. They have a lot of support lines that only hold the web up, and even the sticky strings usually have little globs of goo placed along the line, so if you step carefully and know where to step, you can avoid getting stuck. A spider in a strange web would not know where to step, and frankly would probably be too panicked to step carefully enough. In any case, falling into a web doesn't give you a lot of opportunity to carefully avoid getting stuck: a spider would likely get stuck even in their own web if they fell into it.

Unless they can make the anti-stick protein, in which case they would quickly unstick themselves.

Also keep in mind that not all spiders create web traps like that. Some go out hunting, and although they still use sticky silk to hold onto prey and to descend from high places and such, they don't build the big webs you're used to seeing. Those spiders would be poorly equipped to deal with falling into a web.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does fixing a dent in a bumper require the removal and repainting of the entire bumper?

[Assistant] The main reason is that when the paint is damaged its not recommended to paint only one area. The paint work will be extremely obvious. Typically when painting anywhere on a car, you need to paint surrounding panels as well. Its called blending and there is no really good way to do it in just one area. Bumpers however are the exception as they are typically plastic versus the other areas on the car which are painted metal. The bumpers on colored cars are almost always a shade or two different from the rest of the car.


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

[User] ELi5: Why does my iPhone shoot photos at 3264  2448 but only shoots video at 1920  1080? Is this just a restriction that Apple has placed on the camera to make it shoot in a common resolution or is there a technical reason?

[Assistant]
There are a few technical reasons which can explain that.
Either the camera sensor can not sustain 24 fps at 4k (because it takes to much time to move the data from the sensor to memory), or the CPU can not handle a 4k video stream (can not compress it fast enough or doesn't have enough memory).


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

[User]
[Sponsored Content] How does my body gain energy from eating a fast food burger with special sauce?

Also please explain why HFCS is especially good for the mind body and soul.

[Assistant]
The special sauce acts as a blood buffer and carries the calories 1 by 1, down a calorific gradient into the gallbladder via the krebs cycle.
The calories then vibrate with each other really fast to create thermal potential energy which in turn causes the body to heat up.


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

[User]
ELI5: The political situation of the galaxy in the Star Trek movies

So I'm looking forward to the new Star Trek movie coming out this week, but rewatching the first one yesterday I realized that I didn't really know much about the background of the setting. I know we have humans, Vulcans, Romulans, and Klingons, but I don't really know which races are part of the Federation, which ones are at war, any of the history, etc. I heard reference to a "neutral zone" in the movie yesterday, but I don't know the context. Somebody want to give me an overview?

[Assistant]
In the J J Abrams movies the three major factions are the Federation (Humans, Vulcans, other friendly aliens), the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire.

Klingons are combat-oriented aggressive aliens.  Romulans are sneaky clever spy aliens.  Klingons and Romulans are sometime allied with each other, but more often not.

The neutral zone is a "border" between the three government's districts in space.  When a ship from any side enters the neutral zone, it is seen as a provocation so a lot of stories deal with these border squabbles.


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

[User]
ELI5:How was South Korea able to become an economic superpower and in a seemingly short amount of time?

Absolutely no natural resources to speak of, a victim of a war, the result of which split an already small country to 2 smaller ones, on paper to me this looks like every odds are against them. To me at least, their odds are worse than Japan. So how did they come this far? And what does it say about the unification of the Koreas?

[Assistant] After the Korean War, South Korea was left an extremely poor and war torn country. And you are right, the odds were stacked against any sort of economic miracle. The country was heavily agricultural based and had a GDP per capita lower then most sub saharan African countries. However during the 1960's, a new military dictatorship government took power through a coup and put economic development as its top priority. It received financial aid from the US by sending Korean troops to Vietnam and received many soft loans from Japan by establishing diplomatic links. The government oversaw the creation of heavy industrial complexes by using this initial influx of capital. Heavy investments in steel building industries, ship building industries, etc were made and the Korean people were mobilized to build these giant new industrial complexes day and night. At the same time, the military government implemented many new domestic policies aimed at improving living standards and education amongst the entirety of the Korean population. For example, schools were made mandatory and rural villages were given access to raw materials to replace straw roofing and lessons in clean hygiene were frequently given. Slowly but surely, the South Korean GDP began to rise as the investments in heavy industries began to pay off and the money was continually reinvested into economic development under the government's hand. By the 1970's, the economic growth in South Korea was in full swing as the entire nation was now transitioning from an agricultural society to a manufacturing society. The government's efforts at modernization now began to pay off as Korea now for the first time had a generation of an educated work force to contributed to its growing economy. By the 1980's, Korea had transformed into a modern society and the repressive military government was over thrown and a transition to a democratic government was made. The free market thrived as South Korea now invested heavily in information technologies and we get to the post manufacturing society that is South Korea today where it is now a knowledge based economy. Within the short span of three decades, the average Korean worker saw his value rise over 100 fold from living in absolute poverty to joining the ranks of economic powerhouses around the world. The relative homogenous nature of the Korean society made economic development policies extremely effective. The economic miracle we see today in South Korea is the result of a generation of Koreans who worked their fingers to the bone building a modern nation within a decade from nothing.


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

[User]
Do other elementary particles besides photons travel at fixed velocities in a vacuum?

I've been wondering this for a while. I haven't heard anything about it either way. If so, at what velocities do they travel?

[Assistant]
Particles (for this discussion) come in two groups, massless and massive. Photons are massless. If the graviton exists, it too would be massless. There are other possible massless particles. All massless particles must travel at 'c' always. This is a rule of relativity.

The other particles, massive particles, can travel at any speed less than 'c.' This is also a requirement of relativity. Because any particle can either be at rest in its own frame or be moving really quickly in a frame which is boosted in with respect to the particle. Relativity says that all of these inertial frames are equal.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] How would legos behave?

Would they act as a hivemind swarm? Would they only gain consciousness once assembled? Im not sure if the concept of building blocks/customizable toys has ever been addressed in the series.

[Assistant] Not *that* different from the Potato Heads. They would require assembly to have consciousness but can also mix parts with other Lego characters. I'd imagine even a Votron-type combined character would be possible.


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

[User]
How to not feel stupid when talking to Professors and other grad students

I'm a current undergrad who is involved with lots of research with the faculty, so I often find myself discussing material with my peers and professors/PHD students. Man it's intimidating! Even in class, I feel like I often ask the stupid questions. It's a confidence issue, but wondering if this feeling of intimidation ever goes away once in grad school?

[Assistant]
There will be a point where you will be talking about your work with your advisor and he will say something that will sound so unbelievably *stupid* that it will shake you.

Because at that moment and from then on, you will know more about your research than your PI.

And then you graduate.


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

[User]
[DC universe] Why are the green lanterns ring creations sometimes so intricate? Are they actually intricate or just shaped to look cool?

So, Kyle Rainer does this often but all of the GL's i've seen do this.

They make Planes, Bats, Swords with handles and hilts, Kyle Rainer builds gian mechanized warriors, Huge teddy bears firing missles.

So, I believe the power ring is solidifying will?

If so, does the GL just imagine a plane and then bam a fully functioning actual plane (with like an engine?)  or just will shaped to look like a plane/teddy.mech-creature whatever?

Is the GL willing a specific Plane?  or just thinking "i need to hit those baddeis with something" and the ring is conjurign up a plane shaped force?

the GL's often just use force-blasts, so why isn't it always just force blats/force shields? why the intricacy, is it their choice? Is the ring somehow taping into their subconsciouse or reading their minds or....

I dunno, can someone explain this ring thing for me?

[Assistant] As far as the planes, mechs, guns, etc. it is just shapes that the imagine to focus their will.  Giant hollow constructs with rare exception, if a GL can imagine more detail there is more detail.  In Green Lantern: Rebirth it goes into detail about how John Stewart's constructs are built from the inside out with every detail in place.  If he were to imagine a sniper rifle which he often does, he builds one from memory of stripping them down and rebuilding them when he was a Marine.


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

[User]
ELI5: If 1 calorie is the amount of energy required to heat up 1ml of water 1 degree, why cant I drink 1 liter of 0c water and burn off 36,000 calories when my body warms it back to 36c?

Sorry for the very long title!

I've read over and over that 1 calorie is the required amount of energy to heat 1 gram/ml of water 1 degree. So surely our body must burn off calories, just by heating chilled water... except it doesn't. Why?

[Assistant]
You're confusing small-c calories with big-C Calories, also called kilocalories.

A calorie will indeed warm 1 cc of water by 1 degree Celsius. A Calorie will warm 1 *liter* of water by 1 degree Celsius. So your plan would work, but you need 1000 liters of ice water, not one.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why America never switched to the metric system (or SI), whereas most other countries did.

As an American engineering student, wtf?

[Assistant]
In Europe in the 18th century, every little state had their own little measurement systems. What would become the metric system was under development since the 1500s. Some European states saw the logic in adopting a continent-wide standard of measurements, but others didn't. Thomas Jefferson argued in favor of a base-10 system of measurement, but Congress didn't adopt it.

France formally adopted a system very similar to the metric system in 1799. Napoleon then proceeded to conquer most of Europe, bequeathing the French system to those territories. Post-war, most states maintained the system.

In the mid 1800s, Britain saw the need for a standardized system and organized an international conference to firmly establish and already-mostly-established metric system. Most of Europe signed the resulting treaty, and then gave the standard to all of their colonies (pretty much the whole world, minus the US). Congress even authorized the use of the metric system in 1866. But for whatever reason, "customary" units kept their dominance outside of professional applications. This is somewhat true in the UK as well.


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

[User] ELI5: What exactly is the blood-brain barrier?

[Assistant]
As a concept, it's the idea that your body seriously restricts what can get from your bloodstream to your brain and spinal cord (which are bathed in cerebrospinal fluid.) The brain is delicate and needs to be protected from stuff that will mess with its function, and in particular from infection. Infection in the brain is very bad news, as both the infection and your immune response can damage things.

Practically, the blood-brain barrier is mostly made up of tight junctions between cells that limit what gets through, plus pumps that get rid of many things that do get in.

(As you may have gathered from the existence of medications and street drugs that do affect the brain, it's still not 100%.)


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

[User]
ELI5 why do humans and some animals often rub their cheeks on stuff they "like" or see as "cute"

Or simply things they "love"

Edit : thx for Nice answers! The five year old was able to learn something!

[Assistant]
We're marking our territory!

This behavior is from way way back when our animal ancestors had scent glands on their cheeks.  Rubbing your cheek against something put your scent on it, so other animals would know this was YOUR thing.  Animals like cats still have these glands, which is why if your cat loves you, it will probably rub its face all over you every once in a while, to tell all the other cats in the neighborhood that you're its human and nobody else better come ask you for pettings.


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

[User]
Why does it seem like battery technology is not keeping up with the rest of our technology advancements.

I feel like a pretty omnipresent problem with technology these days is short battery life. It feels as if the more advanced our computers and phones get, the shorter the battery life. Why isn't battery tech keeping up? Is there something about the nature of batteries that make it difficult to improve upon them? Or is it just that they arent being researched? Or am I missing on something entirely?

[Assistant]
Batteries have advanced just as fast as other technologies.

The issues is that consumers would rather have their devices do *more* than do it longer.  If you took a modern battery and put it into a late 90's Nokia, it could probably go weeks on a charge.

But you wouldn't have texting or data or GPS or MP3's or a high res camera.  Manufactures figure you are going to charge your phone every day, and try to put what a day's worth of charge can handle into that phone.  All of those extra features come from better batteries.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are solar panels made of blue coloured materials, not black, even though Black materials tend to absorb more heat?

[Assistant]
Basically because of the materials.  There are both blue and black solar panels, but blue ones are cheaper to make and easier (with lower carbon footprint) because they are whats called polycrystalline silicon where the silicon is heated and poured, but the molecules arent perfectly aligned and refract light a certain way (making it blue)

The black is mono-crystalline where the molecules are aligned a specific way, but this is hugely energy intensive to produce, and more expensive.


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

[User]
Why are the psychological prime colors (red, blue, yellow) different from the mixing primary colors(magenta, cyan, yellow)?

Cobalt blue looks pure, niether greenish, nor purpleish, but the real primary color, cyan, looks like its just some random mix of green and blue.  Cadmium red looks pure red, but the real primary color magenta is violetish color. If I mix pthalo blue and scarlet lake, I don't get purple. I get a near black.  Is it training from childhood, or the way the brain works, or the color sensitivity of the cones on the retina, or some trait of light itself that causes this discrepancy?

[Assistant]
Primary colors are defined relative to their application. The main gist is making the distinction of different ways wavelengths of light can be manipulated to absorb and reflect different colors. When a certain wavelength is reflected from a surface, it enters our eyes and we see the color. When a wavelength becomes absorbed by a surface, that color never reaches our eyes.

For the mixing of light like in old TVs and monitors, the primary colors used are red, blue and green and they are based on the premise that black is a complete lack of any wavelengths being reflected. The RGB color scheme is "additive", in that you start with black -- and mixing more colors increases the number of wavelengths that are reflected back to our retinas.

While for printing and pigment mixing purposes, cyan, magenta and yellow are used on the premise that white is the summation of all wavelengths of visible light. The CMY color scheme is "subtractive", in that you start with white -- and mixing more colors will *subtract* from the number of wavelengths being reflected into our retinas. After all, there is no such thing as a magenta wavelength... it is the result of green wavelengths being subtracted from white light.

So, the RGB colors are based on the premise of *adding* wavelengths to black to convey certain colors. By adding a whole buttload of wavelengths together (until they become pretty much a continuous spectrum), eventually *every* color becomes reflected and so what we see is white.

On the other hand, the CMY colors are based on the *subtraction* of wavelengths from white to convey certain colors by controlling which wavelengths are *not* reflected. So, eventually subtracting tons and tons of wavelengths means you will essentially absorb *all* colors, leaving you with black.


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

[User]
[The Martian]if future missions find evidence of microbial life on Mars, will there be any way to know its actually native & not just contamination from the hab?

Its understandable in his situation, but Mark made absolutely no attempt to avoid cross contamination. I mean he literally just piled his food outside to refrigerate it.

[Assistant]
An easy way to determine if it's contaminated is to compare it to known earth samples and its proximity to the habitat. Everything on earth shares similar genetic markers even plants and humans only have a small percentage difference. Mars should be distinctly different. And samples found hundreds of miles away from the hab site will likely not be contaminated as it's unlikely for earth based materials to survive that far blown by the winds of mars or it's thin atmosphere.

Still microbial life living and possibly thriving after being transplated on mars without special care would be a huge discovery on it's own and possibly inform future terraforming endeavors.


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

[User]
Has the cost of living gotten higher or do people just live higher?

Usually cost of living is measured with a "basket of goods and services" which changes from year to year. If we applied an old basket to today, what would the cost of living look like?

E.g. the 1950 basket probably has more cigarettes, and less broccoli, than the 2022 basket.

What if people in 2022 bought the same things as people in 1950?

[Assistant]
It would be very difficult for a 1950 basket to include computers, radio telephones, electric cars, MRI scans, internet services, or even birth control pills.

A 1950's era car would be illegal to sell in the US: leaded gasoline, no passive restraint, no pollution controls. The nearest equivalent would be a gasoline-powered golf cart.

Houses in the 1950s were not (for the most part) very well insulated, so they wasted a lot of energy for heating. However, air conditioning was relatively rare and was often confined to certain rooms. As building codes have gotten stricter, houses use energy more efficiently, but cost more for the same reason.

If one looks at the kind of living arrangements in Brazil or the Philippines, it's possible to get some idea of what live in the US might have been like in the 1950's. Costs in these countries are 1/5th to 1/10th those in the US in dollar terms.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why aren't robotics and cybernetic implants more common in criminal and military settings?

Luke's hand is at least as good as the real thing, and the technology is obviously there to make it way better. Look at General Grievous.

Now Vader's huge cybernetic transformation could affect his force powers (maybe), but why don't regular folks and those who fight other humanoids make more use of this technology?

[Assistant]
1. Cost. Vader had the benefit of being saved by the goddamned Emperor of the galaxy, for whom cost is barely a concern. Most folks do not.

2. Religion. Even those who don't believe the Jedi had the magical powers they claim often believe in the Force, and that it flows through *living* things, not droids or cybernetics. Many people consider willingly taking on cybernetics to be like excising chunks of their own souls.

3. Pain. We...do not have fantastic anesthesia, here. This operation will hurt.

4. Widespread interference. Many smugglers and bounty hunters and the like do business in places where electrical interference would disrupts the control circuits of cybernetics. This is by design, as those same conditions make tracking more difficult.

5. Discretion. Since cybernetics aren't common, wearing cybernetics makes you stand out. For all their loud and brash style, most smugglers and other criminals have nondescript civilian clothes stored in case they need to blend in. A giant glowing robot eye will make that harder to do.


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

[User]
What languages do you hate and why?

I've had a lot of discussions with my peers about certain languages they hate (like Typescript and Python), and I was wondering what feelings a larger community has about those and other languages out there.

[Assistant]
i'm a software engineer and not a computer scientist, so this all comes from the view of writing and delivering working software.

i dislike interpreted languages for the most part. so python, javascript, groovy, perl, shell scripts, etc...

they're useful for quick and dirty things, but always come up short when trying to write easily maintainable code. you lose so much when you don't get compiler errors/warnings. it really only takes that first time your python script takes down prod because you forgot to write that one test case and that's something that would've been caught by a compiler in a compiled language.

the above is why i actually like typescript. it's nice to have actual classes and more logical scoping of variables in addition to getting trans-compilation errors/warnings.

i dislike java quite a bit because i've used c# and c# is just way more convenient to write.

i dislike php because old php allowed you to write such ugly code, new php is backwards compatible and i've also never really liked the way the syntax looked.

i dislike c++ because the people that write it constantly talk about performance and still write code that performs worse than it would in a managed language. not to mention all of the template and macro meta-programming that can make debugging a nightmare.

ehh, i can go on and on with dislikes. there are also likes to many of the languages i've listed.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why don't US veterans have fantastic health insurance/healthcare?

A lot of posts talk about how terrible the VA are at taking care of veterans, especially relating to medical and psychological care. For a country with such a well funded military I would have thought the funding for this would be a slam dunk. Who gives a shit if somebody pays for your coffee. Why can't they show up at a hospital and receive treatment payed for by the federal government? Shouldn't that be the least they could do?

[Assistant]
These things don't come free - somebody needs to pay for it.  You can't just pull money out of thin air and magically give veterans healthcare.  For the last few decades, suggesting tax increases is pretty much political suicide for any legislator who brings it up.

Part of the reason that we have VA hospitals to treat veterans is that it's cheaper to provide services when you don't have to worry about all the overhead of for-profit insurance companies, doctors & hospitals.  Ideally, we'd reach a point where we have a single-payer system for everyone & most of this problem would go away but there's a **lot** of resistance.


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

[User] ELI5: Why has the price of college tuition skyrocketed?

[Assistant]
Schools have no incentive to keep costs low, because students keep paying the ridiculous costs. Students keep paying the ridiculous costs, because they're not using "real" money up frontthey don't understand the real costs until after they graduate and start paying the bills. A nation full of 18-year-olds takes this risk, though, because they've been fed the lie you *need* a college degree or you'll never have a fulfilling career.

Schools also have no reason to keep costs low, because loans are federally insured. This means they'll get their money one way or another. They can price as high as they want, and people will continue to pay  for the reasons previously stated. Throw in a bunch of overpaid, do-nothing administrators to increase the overhead even more, and you have the next economic bubble.

**Edit:** Formatting.


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

[User]
[WH40K] Why aren't the Space Marines more vocal about the outright lies of the Ecclesiarchy?

The Emperor loathed all religion, and insisted on spreading the teachings of skepticism, science, and reason throughout the Imperium of Man.

Though for most this truth has been lost to time and the efforts of religious zealots, almost all of the Space Marines hold to the Imperial Truth.

The Space Marines know that the Ecclesiarchy are pushing lies that go against the Emperor's will. Why don't they make a fuss about it?

[Assistant]
Many chapters have faith in the emperor that exceeds that of mortal men.

The founding chapters would be aware of the Emperors Opinion on the matter. However, that was before the time of chaos gods tearing into the Imperium. Erebus was proof that men need faith, and faith in the Emperor is the best defense against Chaos.


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

[User]
Death of God, redemption through Art - Wagner, Nietzsche

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone would know any resources, books, articles, on the idea of Human redemption through Art, I heard was a bond Nietzsche had with Wagner.

The outline of what I think it is is as follows:

Religion is no more -> Humans need some spiritual or transcendent (?) meaning -> Art can provide it

Thank you in advance for your help.

[Assistant]
Careful with "redemption."  That implies a fall to be compensated for.

It's more like once you figure out the cake is a lie what are your reasons for still playing the game.  Motivation.  Inspiration.  But not redemption -- we've done nothing wrong.


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

[User] ELI5: What are all the different types of noises that an MRI makes when youre getting a scan? And why is it different noises every few minutes?

[Assistant]
An MRI machine collects data by delivering electromagnetic energy into the body to flip the spins of nuclei in the body. When the nuclei flip back, they emit electromagnetic signals of the same frequency that are then detected by the system.

The machine is set to have as homogeneous a magnetic field as possible at the center of the tube when nothing is happening. When a scan is taking place, the system rapidly changes the magnetic field within the magnet, using gradient coils, to provide spatial information.

The sounds you hear have a variety of purposes. The slow knocking sounds that precede a scan are a pulse sequence designed to tune the cool to maximize the signal returned from the body. Then, the rapid knocking is from the rapid changes in the gradient coils during the scan itself. Different scanning sequences change the gradients at different rates, so the frequency of the sound you hear differs.

The gradient coils that sit on the outside of the magnet are long loops of wire that vibrate due to the current pulsing through them during the scan. What you hear is that vibration.

Source: spent 10 years working for MRI vendor.


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

[User] [Star Wars] The Jedi sent Qui-Gon Jinn to negoiate on their behalf in Ep. 1 and that re-started 80+ years of war across the galaxy. Could the war have been avoided if someone else was sent.

[Assistant] To start with, the Clone Wars only lasted about ~~6~~ 3 years.  (the time between the first battle of Geonosis and the execution of Order 66.)  The entirely of the war was orchestrated by Sheev Palpatine, with every major event being planned well in advance.  If someone else had been on that trade federation ship they would've been stonewalled or killed and the invasion of Naboo would've gone on as planned. Negotiations were never in the cards.  Avoiding war is only possible if the leadership of both sides doesn't *want* war.  Since Palpatine was controlling both sides and he very much wanted the war, no, nothing could've changed the outcome.


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

[User] If we shed layers of skin cells all the time, how come moles/skin tags dont shed as well?

[Assistant]
You're not shedding alive skin cells, you're shedding keratinized skin cells - they are no longer alive and are filled with protein called keratin (What makes up your hair, nails and skin. Moles are essentially concentrated melanin pigment produced by melanocytes. Skin tags are called fibroepithelial polyp. They don't undergo the same continuous cell growth as skin cells do.
As the bottom layer of skin grows and divides it gets pushed up, eventually flattening out and producing large amounts of protein acting as a protective barrier - this is what gets shed. If you look at dead skin cells under a microscope, there are no nuclei.

Hope that answers your question \^\_\_\^


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

[User]
How do you "make" color?

Sorry if this question is kind of stupid, I've just always wondered. If you get blue paint, what makes it blue? I know color has to do with light and all, but what do you do/mix to get that blue color? And if its maybe a blue mineral, where does that color blue come from?

[Assistant]
Paint gets its color from pigments, i.e. colored stuff. When you say something has a certain color it means it's absorbing light of some color and turning it to heat, or re-emitting it but with a different color. The light absorbed is the 'complementary' color to the color you see, since ordinary light is white and has all wavelengths of light (colors) in it. For instance, if something appears yellow, it's because it absorbs blue light, since blue is the complementary color to yellow.

The reason why stuff appears colored, then, is because things don't absorb or reflect light equally at all wavelengths. The reasons for that, in turn, are pretty complicated. It depends on the chemical composition (what elements and molecules make up the stuff) but also how the molecules are organized in the material, and how the material is composed at the larger scale. E.g. a single salt crystal is translucent, but granular salt is white - because it's broken up into many crystals with many surfaces, each of which reflects some light.

Corundum is a mineral made of aluminum oxide - a translucent substance that covers just about all the aluminum you've ever seen (aluminum forms a thin oxide layer instantly on contact with air). But just the slightest impurities in the corundum of various metal atoms will change its color. If it has traces of chromium, it'll be red and that's what you call a ruby. If it has some titanium as well, it's a sapphire. The fact that these are small (less than 1%) impurities tells you something about how subtle these things can be.

Single molecules can have a color as well, at least if you have a well-defined set of surroundings (now that I've established the surroundings are important). So for instance you can say that various compounds have various colors when dissolved in water. But you can't _quite_ say that the molecule _itself_ has that color. It may very well have a different color as a gas or solid, for instance.

Even isotopes - atomic nuclei of the same element but different mass, can have an effect on color. Which is rather impressive, since it has almost no measurable effects on chemistry in general. For instance, pure water is (very weakly) blue in color. But heavy water (where hydrogen atoms are changed for heavier deuterium ones) is colorless.

So in short, many many things can cause color.


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

[User]
[General comics] How do heroes who travel around via grappling hook detach it midswing to grapple onto something else?

Daredevil is often depicted as being able to move around New York about as fast as Spider-Man, but the latter can just cut his web and fire a new one. How does Daredevil, or Batman etc, ungrapple his grappling hook mid-swing and throw it onto something new?

[Assistant] Depends on the grappling hook, but generally they have a gimmick or trick they lets them detach it. Batman's grapnel, for instance, is usually depicted as having a function that pulls in the hooks and retracts the cable so that it comes loose. Other heroes with less sophisticated tech will either use disposable grapples like Spider-Man, or have a level of finesse and control that lets them hook a specially shaped grapple temporarily, loosing at exactly the right point either through a special hook shape or a careful shake of the rope, as someone skilled with a whip might be able to manage. A borderline precognitive individual might be able to plant the hook on surfaces that hold their weight only for the requisite amount of time before failing and breaking the hook loose.


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

[User]
Cmv: Fireworks is horrible and should be banned everywhere

I get it, it looks pretty few seconds to a few minutes, but from small consumer fireworks to professional fireworks, it's all bad.

It's super dangerous, it's super loud and can cause tinnitus, it's literally fire so it can burn you pretty bad, there's a lot of powerbehind it. Even in a controlled manner it's still dangerous.

Literally hundreds if not thousands of birds get killed by fireworks, by burns, by the explosion itself, by the tocix gasses, even by heart attacks from the loud bang.

It's horrible for the environment aswell, as stated before, it creates toxic gasses of all kinds, all kinds of air pollution.

Even for all the pets that are scared to death because of, again, the super loud bangs.

[Assistant]
Banning things doesn't really solve problems. Drugs are a good example. You ban them, but people still do them. But now you have no idea who is doing them, where the drugs are coming from, and how they're being produced. You control none of the financial flow.

Here in Peru fireworks for consumer use are illegal, but every holiday they pop off by the thousands as clandestine fireworks are bought and sold in markets. These lead to far more injuries than there would be with properly produced and regulated gear.

Also, most birds are assholes. If they were bigger than us they'd almost certainly bring about a reign of terror on a daily basis.


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

[User] ELI5: How does computer storage work, and how do files "take up space"?

[Assistant]
Computer storage consists of millions of switches. Each switch can either be on (which represents a 1) or off (to represent a 0).

The space a file takes up is basically (but a little over-simplified) the number of switches it takes to represent the information in the file.


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

[User]
[DC] What does the world at large know about Kal Els past?

I dont mean his secret identity Clark Kent. The world knows Superman as Kal El from the lost planet Krypton but do they know he was raised on earth in middle America? If so has anyone tried to track down his earth parents?

[Assistant]
They don't, no. As far as the general public knows, he's an alien who landed on earth at some point and now lives in a giant arctic castle thing, occasionally coming out to save people.

One of the reasons that Clark Kent stays secret despite taking minimal effort to hide is that only a handful of people know superman has a secret identity *at all*, never mind any idea who it might be.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are there no more diving boards? Were they really that dangerous?

[Assistant]
The main reason is that insurance companies double or triple your premiums if you have a diving board.

Were the insurance companies really losing that much?   Who knows?

Maybe it was just a way to make more money on their end.

But regardless of the reasoning, almost every public swimming pool has decided to remove their diving boards rather than pay the higher rates.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Does Kraven the Hunter go after other animal themed heroes like Wolverine, Black Panther, and so on?

For that matter, does Kraven have a desire to hunt Spider-Man's other animal themed enemies like Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, Scorpion, the Rhino and so on?

[Assistant]
Im pretty sure Kraven fell into the classic villain trap where he intended to do that, but as Spider-Man beat him more and more all he could do was obsess over defeating the wallcrawler and never managed to get him off his brain.

Now that Kraven has since ventilated his brain and recovered though, Im pretty sure there was an arc where he started going after others. He did end up making friends with Squirrel Girl, so they probably fought a little beforehand.