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

[User] ELI5: Is there a real way to "fight for your life" or "don't give up" when you are deathly ill (coma, life support etc.)? I never understood this concept and wonder if it is science based or just us trying to will our sick loved ones to health. How would I do it if I were sick?

[Assistant]
There are several glands in your brain and other organs that produce hormones.  Hormones are control chemicals; when the cells in your body encounter these hormones in your blood, they change their operation.  For example, adrenaline makes your heart beat faster and makes you more alert.

Bottom line, there's a direct influence from your "mood" (happy, sad, etc.) to several body functions (heart rate, blood flow to certain organs, appetite, etc.).  Someone who is happy all their life has better health (as measured by actual medical procedures) than someone who is sad or stressed out all their life.  The immune system is a component that responds quite strongly to various hormones.

So yes, there are medical effects if you keep a positive outlook.  Your immune system is stronger, and in general you have a better chance to overcome a disease.  It's not just a trick.


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

[User]
Eli5 Why do some countries measure their currencies in large units?

For example in Vietnam, lunch can be bought for 50,000 VD and in South Korea, apartments can cost several MILLION Won. Why do some countries use such large denominations?

[Assistant]
Usually these very large denominations indicate a period of significant inflation in the past.  At some point an economic crisis made it necessary for the government to pump out currency to pay off debts or force investment, permanently devaluing the currency.

If you look back through South Koreas economic history, you can see multiple inflation spikes in the 60s, 70s, and 80s with rates hitting 30-70% - an already weak currency post-Korean War being further devalued.

Vietnam has a similar but more dramatic story: enormous triple digit inflation rates after the Vietnam War.

Sometimes nations do rebalance the devalued currency to reset the values.  A few years ago Venezuela scrapped the Bolivar currency and converted it to Bolivar *Fuerte* currency to knock some zeroes off.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] When Harry's bitten by the basilisk, why doesn't it destroy the horcrux inside of him?

[Assistant] Because the vessel containing the piece of soul was not destroyed beyond magical repair: it was healed by tears of phoenix. Destruction beyond magical repair is the requirement for destroying a horcrux.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are the 500 and 1000 notes being destroyed in India?

[Assistant]
The main stated reason is to target "black" or untaxed money.

What the government is really going after is the hard cash that circulates off the books. By making the current 500 and 1000 rupee denominations illegal tender, anybody who has large sums of money stored in these currencies will have to go to the bank with their PAN card as well as their national ID card, otherwise their money is worthless.

This lets the government record how much money is being exchanged by an individual, and also lets them look at that money with regards to their tax payments and income returns.

If they find a discrepancy, say, a person makes 100,000 a year, but comes to exchange 300,000 worth of money with no explanation as to where that income has come from, odds are it's not legal, because no Income Tax has been paid on that. It's an extreme example, but it's just to illustrate a point.

At the same time, the government plans to roll out new denominations of 500 and 2000, ~~which are supposed to have more effective tracking technology in order to know exactly where the money is going. These new notes are supposed to have chips in them that can be found by satellites. If they find a large number of these notes accumulating in one place, it's probably being laundered or kept off the books, which would help the IRS and police raid any black money sites.~~

Edit : The bit about the chips is really an unfounded rumor. Sorry about putting that in there. One thing that's for sure is the Reserve Bank of India will be issuing new redesigned notes, which they will be able to keep track of based on the number they've printed and the serials.


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

[User]
Why does chrome get so hot in the sun? Should it not reflect most light and stay cool?

I have found out the hard way that chrome gets hot in the sun. But it's super reflective, does it actually absorb that much light?

[Assistant] The chrome, due to reflectivity, could actually be cooler than the black plastic trim on the car, but it feels warmer. Your skin does not sense temperature, it senses the flow of heat into or out of the skin. Since chrome is a metal, it is an excellent conductor. Once the heat from the chrome directly in contact with your hand has moved to your hand, heat flows from the rest of the chrome object to the newly cooled section and then into your hand. The chrome therefore feels very hot. For the actually hotter black plastic, which is a poor conductor, after the heat from the plastic directly under your hand passed to your hand, it is difficult for the heat in the rest of the object to flow to the cooled area to get to your hand. So the plastic only feels warm, instead of hot.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do we grab our chest when we are startled?

"Oh my God you scared me"

[Assistant]
I just did a quick google a managed to find a little info that may help

The responses of people to a startling incident vary widely between the fight, fly, or freeze options. When startled, people may wildly flail their arms, or suddenly raise their limbs in protective poses, or duck to avoid an object. The shocked and surprised often back pedal, jump back, or run away from a frontal stimulus. They may clutch a rail, or furniture to prevent from falling. Their knees may buckle, causing them to fall down. They may drop the things they are holding.

They may freeze, or instantly follow orders. They may clutch their chests, faint or even suffer a temporary heart attack The aggressive ones may curse or throw things at the object, which startled them, or strike out at them.

So it sounds like it clutching your just is a response you hafe in order to protect your torso.


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

[User] If one calorie, when burned produces enough energy to raise the temp of a litre of water by one degree. If I burn 100 calories, could I boil that same litre?

[Assistant]
NOTE: A calorie is not a Calorie (aka, kilocalorie, food calorie). One Calorie (the measurement used for food) is equal to 1,000 calories. So, one calorie would heat one milliliter of water one degree, but one Calorie would heat one liter of water one degree. Having said that...

It depends on what you mean by boil. You could certainly increase the temperature of the water by 100 degrees. But to cause phase change (liquid -> gas) uses a great deal more energy than to increase the temperature of a substance by one degree.

IF:
heat of vaporization of water = 2257 J/g = 540 cal/g (which is true)

THEN:
It would take 100 Calories to heat a liter of water by 100 degrees (from 0 to 100 degrees celsius), but it would take 540 Calories to vaporize a liter of 100 degree water.

This is all assumed to take place in a vacuum, and so, ultimately, the answer to your question is no. 100 Calories are the amount that would be utilized to raise the temperature 100 degrees, but you'd have to use more than that much fuel, due to radiation and convection and conduction drawing the heat out of the water.


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

[User]
[matrix] if you learn Kung Fu in The Matrix, do you still know how to do it in the real world?

Neo learned how to do a bunch of martial arts in their simulation in a matter of seconds and he can do all of that stuff in The Matrix. does he still know how to do all of that stuff with his real body?

[Assistant] Yep, it's all uplinked into his mind through the same brain/electronics connections that the Matrix uses to get information from the Matrix into the brain.  The only difference is that in the real world, most people aren't in perfect physical shape and are somewhat poorly nourished, so they aren't capable of the flawless technique they can perform in the Matrix, where their "body" is healthy and fit, and their mind is able to break some rules.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does banging a jar's lid on your counter loosen the jar?

[Assistant] Banging is noise. Noise is sound. Sound is repeated vibrations. Vibrations loosen things. People driving their vehicles down the road with the bass booming are loosening their cars so there will be rattles and it will fall apart but not soon enough.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it so hard to fall asleep at night after being awake for hours but so easy to fall back asleep in the morning after just waking up and getting some hours of sleep?

[Assistant] One word: Melatonin.  It's a hormone released by your body which regulates your sleep cycle.  Your body produces it when it gets dark but it takes a while to build up in your system.  Then it slows/stops the release once it's light out.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are there almost no French cars in the United States?

When I went to Germany a couple years ago, I saw a lot of French cars that I had never seen before, especially Citrons and Renaults. Why are French cars not imported to the US?

[Assistant]
Basically, America not only has a very strong domestic car market, but also imports cars from Germany and Japan. Other countries have a difficult time trying to break into that market because there's a ton of competition.

In Europe, American cars aren't as common, so French cars can instead prosper.


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

[User]
ELI5: What happens during a fighter jet interception??

What actually happens during a fighter jet interception with a military plane which has strayed to far into the airspace of the interceptors nation?
Specifically, does a conversation start between the two pilots of the aircraft (interceptor and intruder) or does a conversation start with the airbase and the intruding pilot?

[Assistant]
Usually interceptions occur because of a lack of response from the intruding plane. Typically it goes like this:

* Unidentified or unauthorized airplane approaching airspace
* Radio/Control tower of airspace tries to make contact, aircraft does not respond and/or does not follow orders and continues coming towards the airspace
* Fighter jets are scrambled to approach the aircraft
* Fighter jets and control tower both continue to attempt to make radio contact with aircraft
* Fighter jets make visual contact with intruding aircraft and try to ascertain its purpose and why it is not responding.
* Assuming no radio contact, non-verbal communication between pilots is attempted (pointing, waggling wings, etc.). If successful the offending aircraft is rerouted (maybe its radio broke and it is trying to land, maybe it is a foreign aircraft who realizes they are caught and turns around, etc.).
* The fighter aircraft escort (like security guards) the intruder to its destination (back out of the airspace, to a landing strip, etc).

Generally if radio contact is established, there is no need to send interceptor aircraft unless their radio chatter does not match their actions.

Second, the most common news article with respect to this is interceptions of foreign nation bombers. Pretty much all countries do this to "test" the air defense capability of the opposing nation. You send a bomber near sovereign territory and see what they do; how long before they send fighters up? how long do the fighters take to arrive? how many? what model? what armament? etc.

If contact cannot be established, it goes up the chain of command to determine what to do, based on what the pilots see and the current threat level. For example, you probably wouldn't shoot down a small GA aircraft that wasn't responding, probably you'd escort it and try to force it down, but on 9/11, any unresponding large commercial aircraft were to be brought down with any means necessary as they were assumed to be hijacked. Same thing with military aircraft, if a Russian bomber heads for New York City, they'd probably shoot it down, but if it is 2 miles within restricted airspace over the Aleutian Islands, it is unlikely that they wouldn't risk an international incident over shooting it down (instead we would call them out and shame them verbally for doing it).


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

[User]
CMV: having no burnt popcorn is more important than popping all kernels

I used to work at a cinema and they use pretty expensive machines that can do both, but even then, every once in a while someone would burn popcorn and you would literally have to put the burnt popcorn in a trash bag and walk it out of the building. It's not ridiculous either - burnt popcorn is not appetizing and adversely affected concession sales that a movie theater depends on.

All of this is to say, my wife will complain that I take the popcorn out too early (8 seconds left on the popcorn function on a microwave we tested for making popcorn) and she doesn't like sifting through kernels, but my opinion on this is:

1. You're probably not going to take the trash bag you throw the burnt popcorn into out of the house so the smell lingers.
2. The kernels filter to the bottom, so you don't really have a problem separating them while eating.
3. There's more butter for less popcorn which is better anyway.

The absolute worse outcome is that 98% of the popcorn is properly cooked and 2% is burnt and she'll eat around the burnt popcorn, so you can't escape the smell because it wasn't even thrown away. It's like playing Russian roulette with disgusting food that sometimes isn't disgusting.

For these reasons, I think the most important part of popping popcorn is not burning the popcorn while my wife disagrees. If there are some arguments I haven't thought of I'd love to hear them because I'm at a complete loss for this rationality. Please change my view.

[Assistant]
Unpopped kernels are a dental hazard. Every year many people break a tooth chomping down on one. Definitely worth keeping in mind as you get older and your teeth brittler.

A good solution is to replace the microwave with the stove. The one advantage the microwave has going for it is a small bit of extra convenience. But microwaves too easily cause burning because they indiscriminately shoot their energy into popped and unpopped corns alike. Whereas, on the stove, the popped corns rise to the top, above the uncooked kernels and away from the heat. Plus, you can open the popper midway through cookingwhether by lifting the lid if using an ordinary pot or opening the door if using a special popcorn-popping potand let out the steam that causes further overcooking of the popped corns.

Additional benefits of stove-top popcorn:

* Make the exact portion size you want.
* Use exactly the amount and type of oil you want.
* Add exactly the ingredients you want. Spicy popcorn, sugary popcorn, cheesy popcorn, etc.
* Burned corns aren't as offensive as with microwaving. Almost kinda taste good, like crispy bacon.
* Cheaper to operate long-term.


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

[User]
How do we quantify wind speeds on gas giant planets?

I recently read that Saturn has wind speeds up to 500m/s. On Earth we measure wind speeds relative to the solid ground, but since gas giants have no solid ground how do we distinguish the speed of their winds from the rotation of the planet itself?

[Assistant] Saturn's rotational period (day) was originally measured using radio wave emissions. Since you have an estimate of its angular velocity, you can then calculate how fast the "planet" would be at the radius of the outer clouds. Then you get an estimate for the angular velocity of the cloud you are interested in. The difference between those two angular velocities is the angular velocity relative to the "ground". Using the radius from the core to that point, you then can find the "wind speed" in terms of linear velocity.


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

[User]
ELI5: If heat rises, why are higher altitudes generally colder?

Hello, I figured this was a simple enough question, so I searched reddit- nothing. I tried a google search, and it went RIGHT over my head.

So why is it generally warmer at sea level than it is higher up?

As a bonus question, I was reading that the stratosphere is the opposite of us- it gets warmer the higher you go. Why is it different up there?

[Assistant]
Think of the air as like a blanket. Closer to earth the air is denser and is a thicker blanket. Higher up the blanket gets really thin.

Its not actually that it is insulating you, its just that at higher densities, there are more molecules in a given area, and the movement of those molecules is  heat.


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

[User]
ELI5: Isn't the Monty Hall Problem two separate games?

Game One:  You are given a choice of three doors.  You pick number one.  The host opens one of the other two doors, having been given instructions that, if you pick the car, the host is to open one of the other doors, and if you pick a goat, the host opens the other door with a goat.  Stalemate.  It is a predetermined outcome.

Game Two:  The prior game's outcome stands.  The new choice you have is do you keep door number one, or do you switch?

How do you have a 2/3 chance of winning if you switch?

[Assistant]
Because you had a 1/3 chance of picking the car on your first pick. Those odds do not change, and you don't gain new information when the host opens a goat door because you already knew one of the doors had a goat.

The second choice is not an independent event - the chances that you are standing in front of a goat door when the "second game" starts is twice as likely as that you start in front of a car door.

You can also just draw out all the possibilities.

Pick goat A -> Stick -> Goat A

pick goat A -> Swap -> Car

Pick goat B -> Stick -> Goat B

Pick goat B -> Swap -> Car

Pick Car -> Stick -> Car

Pick Car -> Swap -> Goat A

Two out of three times swapping will end you up with a car.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do batteries last shorter when cold? Doesnt resistivity fall with temperature?

[Assistant] The chemical reaction that is used occurs at a slower rate as the temperature drops. Thus less current is produced at the lower temperatures. This depends on the batteries design as that is a greater factor than temperature dependency.


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

[User] ELI5: Why dont fish get thirsty?

[Assistant]
Fish actually need to work to keep water OUT rather than in. Were the opposite which is why we have a thirst reflex and organs such as kidneys.

Life began in the ocean, so the only way creatures can live on land (in dry air) is due to adaptations like the aforementioned allowing us to store and preserve water well enough to stay wet.

TL-DR: land animals are weird, not fish.


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

[User]
ELI5: Dark matter, dark energy, and antimatter

What are they? What is their nature/ what do they do? Which are theoretical? Examples would help too.

[Assistant]
Antimatter is not theoretical at all. We've created it. It's made from anti-particles, which share the same properties as their "normal" counterparts, except with the opposite charge. So positrons are exactly like electrons, only positively charged, anti-protons are just like protons, only negatively charged, etc. As far as we can tell, an entire universe made of antimatter would be identical to one made of matter. In fact, the only reason we call ours matter and the other stuff antimatter is because matter happens to be what we're made out of. It's the same with positive and negative charges. There's nothing special about one or the other, they're just opposites, so the fact that we named one positive and one negative could have just as easily been the other way around. When matter and antimatter come in contact with each other, they annihilate, meaning they cease to exist as matter/antimatter and are converted to energy. There is no such thing as antienergy.

Dark matter and dark energy are theoretical. The concept of dark matter was created as an explanation to why galaxies are held together. Taking all the matter we can see in our galaxy and others, there doesn't seem to be enough stuff there to explain why gravity holds it all together. So the hypothesis is that there is something we can't detect that has gravity (and therefore by definition is some kind of matter), which we call it dark matter.

Dark energy is created to explain what is causing the rate of expansion of the universe to increase. Again, that behavior indicates that there must be some force that we can't detect which is causing it, so we call it dark energy.


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

[User] ELIF: Im watching a TV show and romans are wearing white robes. How did the Greeks and Romans keep clothes white?

[Assistant]
Aged urine and sulfur fumes were the laundry and bleaching methods of the Romans according to the wiki.

"Basic laundering and fulling techniques were simple, and labour-intensive. Garments were placed in large tubs containing aged urine, then well trodden by bare-footed workers. They were well-rinsed, manually or mechanically wrung, and spread over wicker frames to dry. Whites could be further brightened by bleaching with sulphur fumes. Some colours could be restored to brightness by "polishing" or "refinishing" with Cimolian earth. Others were less colour-fast, and would have required separate laundering. In the best-equipped establishments, garments were further smoothed under pressure, using screw-presses. Laundering and fulling were punishingly harsh to fabrics, but purity and cleanliness of clothing was in itself a mark of status."


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

[User] ELI5: 5 years ago in Australia I would buy a bottle of milk and it would last 3-4 days before going off. Now I buy a bottle and it doesn't go bad for over a month. What changed? And how does it work?

[Assistant]
It's likely to be ultra-pasteurization. This heats the milk to a higher temperature (135C or 275F) killing off more bacteria. This milk can last for up to 2 months. Improved packaging is also an important aspect.
Edit: People seem to be saying that this kind of milk is not UHT processed (same as ultra-pasteurization), but life of the product can also be drastically improved by changes in packaging (from clear to opaque, better sealing, and better sterilization of the packaging), a more sustained cold chain (the milk is always kept below a certain temperature) or that the milk is "newer" (fresher) when arriving to the store.


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

[User] [The Walking Dead] Why does nobody in the show ever discusses how walkers came to be and how they behave?

[Assistant] They have talked about how they behave, that happened at the start. Dr Jenner even explained, with pictures, how the virus controls the host, thus giving it a very minimal purpose of seeking flesh to eat. As for how the virus originated, the show writers deliberately avoided that side of the story, and as a result, the characters don't talk about it either.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Did the Jedi Council have legal authority to arrest Chancellor Palpatine?

So yes, Palpatine was engaging in treason by aiding the Separatists, and orchestrating a civil war for his own personal profit. Thats a crime, and theyd have the right to arrest him for it.

However, they all seemed far more concerned with him being a Sith Lord.

Hypothetically speaking, if he hadnt been doing shady stuff, and the Jedi discovered that he was a Sith Lord, what would be the outcome?

Could they legally arrest someone solely on charges of Sith affiliation?

Can the Jedi get audited by the Galactic High Court if they overstep their authority or jurisdiction?

Is it a crime to be a Sith in the Republic?

[Assistant]
Yes, they have power of arrest, and yes, secretly being the Dark Lord of the Sith while operating in the Republic Government is a crime all on it's own.

The Sith were assumed extinct, but if they aren't, then they are still, legally speaking, at *war* with the Republic after their last invasion. Which makes Palpatine a spy - guilty of espionage and treason.


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

[User]
If a man has a vasectomy, where does the sperm go during an ejaculation?

 As understand it a **vasectomy involves cutting and somehow stopping vas deferens**.

I don't think the production of sperm cells is affected and they must be released when the man ejaculates. So **where do they go?**

[Assistant] In an open ended vasectomy the sperm leak out and reabsorbed into the body. In a closed off vasectomy (they cauterize the open tube or stitch it up) it gets blocked and can cause pressure in the testicles till it get reabsorbed. Either way, it's a very small ingredient to the semen. Sperm, in volume, is insignificant to the full ejaculate.


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

[User] Considering the massive amount of bacteria in feces, why don't people with bleeding hemorrhoids and fissures get serious infections?

[Assistant]
Fecal bacteria are generally not good at surviving outside of the intestine.  They can't survive well in the presence of oxygen (even room air concentrations), and they do not have many specialized mechanisms to escape from immune cells in the blood.  A small amount of rectal bleeding generally does not cause a problem.

However repeated rectal bleeding can lead to complications  Sometimes bowel cancer is detected when you find a certain type of fecal bacteria growing on a heart valve.


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

[User] Can extreme cold put out a fire?

[Assistant]
The heat from the flame vaporizes the fuel which then mixes with the oxidizer and burns.

For some fuels if the temperature is low enough, not enough will vaporize to sustain the fire and it will go out.


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

[User]
ELI5: If caffeine works by blocking the receptors that make you feel tired, why does too much caffeine cause you to feel "wired"?

Shouldn't you just max out at feeling perfectly alert/rested?

[Assistant] Because caffeine has multiple effects on multiple systems. Blocking tiredness is just one of them. It is also a central nervous system stimulant that raises heart rate etc. It's this effect that can take you to being "wired" above your baseline alertness level.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we use rubber belts for cars, driers, treadmills, vacuum cleaners etc. when used with motors instead of using chains like those on bikes and motorcycles. Wouldn't they last longer?

[Assistant]
Chains only last longer than belts when they are inside an enclosure where they can be kept clean and lubricated.
In an exposed application a belt will usually last longer and needs less maintenance.

 In all of the products mentioned a chain could be used, but would significantly increase the manufacturing costs.  Belts work well enough.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why is 23.976 fps the standard on film?

Thanks for all of the great responses. I later saw that this question has kind of allready been answered. But this was really helpfull, thanks!

[Assistant]
Film standard is actually 24.0 frames per second. The 23.976 is the framerate in digital cinema cameras. The reason it isn't pure 24 is pretty stupid. Basically, our video system in America is called NTSC. It set the standard for video signals back in the infancy of video. In black and white everything worked nicely at pure frame rates. However, when color was introduced to videoall of the broadcasters suddenly had to be transmitting color information in addition to greyscale information. Technology already in place couldn't handle this, so the engineers for NTSC devised a trick where video would now be at a slightly lower framerate, and the extra bandwidth in the signal freed up by this would be used for color information.

Today, this is no longer necessary as technology has grown beyond the need for such a gimmick. However, thousands of studios across the NTSC world still have some if not all equipment that can only handle the old NTSC standard. It would be too costly to update every piece of equipment, so we're stuck with this standard for at least another decade or two.


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

[User]
How good is it to tech switch?

So, here's the deal. My first job was in C++ where I worked with an app that handled RTP streaming. Funny stuff. Then I had to quit that job due to it not paying any money. Mostly because it was the only job in the area and they felt cocky .

Then I switched to a place that does PHP, and I'm doing web development for a while. I had to learn a lot of stuff while switching.

HTML/CSS, at least the basics. SQL(my job didn't involve interacting with database in any way, tho I knew it from college). Docker toolset, MVC, all of that. Though I am a quick learner when I need to.

I feel like I wasted almost two years doing something that wasn't exactly related to what I do now. And I don't think I'm gonna do PHP for the rest of my life. I think nobody wants to do it for the rest of their lives, let's be honest xD

How should I feel about tech switching? Does it 'enrich my portfolio', or does it show how unstable and good at nothing? Where's the line?

My friend told me that switching languages withing your field(backend) is okay and normal, but switching from backend to frontend or machine learning is another matter and should be a once in a lifetime change. What do you think?

[Assistant] Language switching happens all the time. People even get asked by their recruiter to learn a programming language in just a month. Programming languages are just tools and when you stick to one sector/area it will all be pretty much the same just with a different syntax. If you are backend you most likely even know a little front end and vice versa. As long as you stick with web dev i bet you will be just fine throughout your whole life.


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

[User]
[Coco] How did Miguel get the (living) world to believe the things he learned about Ernesto de la Cruz?

At the end of Coco, we see de la Cruzs tombstone with the words FORGET YOU over his picture. How did Miguel convince the world that de la Cruz killed Hector and stole his music?

Im sure it wasnt hard to convince the world (through Mama Cocos collection of letters and poems from her father) that he stole Hectors music, but murder is a whole different story, as he had no proof except for what he learned in the Land  of the Dead.

[Assistant]
I dont think they needed to prove murder, the letters were enough to show de la Cruzs biggest songs were all stolen so his legacy was trashed. This was an embarrassment to the town as he was their most famous citizen but now a black eye.

De la Cruz was likely never conclusively proven to have murdered Hector as too much time had passed, but if the media picked up on proof a previously unknown close associate of de la Cruz died suddenly, then de la Cruz had all these new songs that originated with Hector but werent credited, people could put it together. Also possible Hector was exhumed and poison traces found.


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

[User]
[DUNE] Who were the conspirators mentioned in Appendix III?

In the third appendix of the first book, theres an intelligence report that outlines the (many) failures of the Bene Gesserit regarding their loss of control over the Atreides bloodline and the Kwisatz Haderach

Here follows an excerpt from the Summa prepared by her own agents at the request of Lady Jessica immediately after the Arrakis affair. The candor of this report amplifies its value far beyond the ordinary.

The gist of the appendix is that the Bene Gesserit fucked up so many times, and missed so many blindingly obvious hints, that it almost certainly means they were being manipulated by some outside group for unknown purposes.

Regular secret societies and conspiracies bungle things all the time, but the Bene Gesserit are consistently portrayed as being super humanly disciplined and perceptive.

The report ends by concluding that

In the face of these facts, one is led to the inescapable conclusion that the inefficient Bene Gesserit behaviour in this affair was a product of an even higher plan of which they were completely unaware!

This sounds like an excellent sequel hook - the whole thing was a secret plot!

Except Dune Messiah skips ahead 12 years and its never again hinted that Pauls ascendancy was somehow orchestrated

Were Jessicas agents just unduly paranoid? Like, they simply couldnt believe the superhuman Bene Gesserit could have messed up so badly, so they started seeing malice where there was only incompetence?

Or were they right, and the Bene Gesserit really were being manipulated by some third party? And if so, by whom?

Cant be Shaddam IV and his Imperial agents. He had no idea about any of this Kwisatz Haderach stuff. Likewise for the Harkonnens, the Fremen, CHOAM, the Landsraad

The Guild could possibly have foreseen some prescient disturbance, but theyre consistently portrayed as rather useless parasites who squander their true power. Its unlikely theyre capable of subverting the Bene Gesserit

I think that just leaves two possibilities.

Count Fenring was part of the Kwisatz Haderach breeding programs but he was rejected because he ended up a eunuch. He looks like a joke, but he was apparently one of the deadliest fighters in the Empire, and was very adept at scheming with his Bene Gesserit wife. At the end of the first book, he could have easily killed Paul as Shaddam IV ordered, but chose not to, apparently feeling a certain sense of kinship with him as a fellow Kwisatz Haderach

Did Fenring (and maybe his rogue wife) interfere with Bene Gesserit decision making and intelligence regarding Arrakis and the Atreides? Did Fenring know Paul and Jessica were alive with the Fremen, and did everything in their power to shield them from the Bene Gesserit? Perhaps as part of some revenge plot against the Bene Gesserit, or solidarity with a fellow mad science project, or just disgust at the idea of a Bene Gesserit controlled Kwisatz Haderach superhuman oracle?

Or could it have been the Tleilaxu? Theyve apparently bred their own Kwisatz Haderach prescient extradimensional superhumans, though they used genetic engineering and clone vats (axlotl tanks) instead of using the selective breeding of space aristocrats like the Bene Gesserit did. However, all of them proved to be uncontrollable and quite mad, and had to be put down.

Did they know that the Atreides/Harkonnen bloodlines were on the verge of producing a Kwisatz Haderach? And if so, were they the ones responsible for sabotaging Bene Gesserit decision making regarding the Muaddib religious movement on Arrakis?

The Tleilaxu had Face Dancers - though trained Bene Gesserit could see through them, they might just be enough to infiltrate and subvert the Sisterhood, causing them to lose control of the Kwisatz Haderach on Arrakis.

This opened the possibility for the Tleilaxu to seize control of Paul and Alia years later, during the whole Hayt/Chani debacle in the next book

So this gives Fenring and the Tleilaxu the means and motive to be the conspirators behind the higher order plan mentioned in Appendix III. Was it either of them? Could it have been someone else entirely? (assuming original Dune canon only, no XD canon with Thinking Machines and Norma Cenva and whatnot)

[Assistant]
The report lends itself to another reading, in which the Bene Gesserit sister who wrote it refuses to acknowledge that the Kwisatz Haderach could have arrived off schedule and outside the Sisterhood's control due to something as mundane as Jessica giving her husband the son he wanted, instead of a daughter.

This saves face for the Sisterhood by casting them as victims of an attack, instead of micromanagers who fumbled on the 1 yard line and let a master plan generations in the making slip through their fingers.

It's worth noting that the report, which effectively clears Jessica of responsibility, comes at her behest after she had become the mother of the new Emperor.  That she has enough pull to influence the Sisterhood's written history of the affair speaks to just how far in status she eventually climbed from her days as a breeding program brood mare and then a widowed refugee.


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

[User] What is the maximum speed of a liquid running through a tube?

[Assistant] Engineering answer.. There is a practical speed limit called choked flow that occurs as the fastest streamlines approach the speed of sound. It basically says you can't increase the mass flow rate by decreasing the pressure downstream. If you increase the pressure upstream you are increasing the mass flow by increasing the density of the fluid. You can get to supersonic internal flow within a well configured nozzle (e.g. rocket throat/nozzle) but the pressure of the fluid is rapidly dropping in order to do so. Managing the shock waves and structural loads on tubing and valves gets nuts pretty fast, typically internal flows are kept subsonic for this reason.


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

[User]
Why does boiling water stop boiling immediately after removing from a heat source?

Wouldn't it take a while to cool down below boiling temp?

[Assistant] No.  The liquid water part never gets above boiling because water above boiling turns to steam and floats away.  So the water left in the pot is just at the boiling point and doesn't have any more energy input to push it any higher.


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

[User]
What exactly is a linear transformation?

This is a basic question I know but I cannot wrap my head around it. I understand the conditions under which a transformation is linear (although I could not tell you exactly what the significance of it is) given here. What I don't get it this. The transformation y = ax + b is non-linear but it is the equation of a line. It seems to me that if you took all of the x points and scaled them then shifted them that should be a linear transformation. Please help me.
I stumbled upon this question when looking into the relation between Celsius and Fahrenheit (F = (9/5)C+32). Both Fahrenheit and Celsius scales are linear correct? If they are, how can the transformation between them be non-linear?

[Assistant]
Linear transformations preserve addition and scalar multiplication (as you've said you already know).

Let's see what happens when we try the transformation f(x) = ax + b.

*Addition*

We need f(x1 + x2) = f(x1) + f(x2)

f(x1 + x2) = a(x1 + x2) + b

f(x1) + f(x2) = ax1 + b + ax2 + b = a(x1 + x2) + 2b

*Scalar multiplication*

We need f(kx) = k f(x)

f(kx) = a(kx) + b = kax + b

k f(x) = k(ax + b) = kax + kb

---

So f(x) = ax + b doesn't meet either of the criteria for a linear transformation. You are right, though, in saying that it describes a line. As you can see from the calculations above, the problem in both cases is the constant term (b). Without the constant, the transformation f(x) = ax would be a linear transformation.

f(x) = ax + b describes an *affine transformation*, which is not linear, but does still map lines to lines.


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

[User] From an evolutionary stand point is live birth more beneficial than laying eggs, if so why, if not why did live birth arise?

[Assistant]
Both have their advantages. Laying eggs saves the mother from needing to carry the fetuses for an extended period of time during gestation, and is 'cheaper' in a metabolic sense. Giving birth to live young is more expensive metabolically (meaning the mother will need more food) but the offspring are less vulnerable (and more mobile) than their shelled counterparts.

One of the major things that has affected the evolution of live birth is head size. One of the reasons human babies are so helpless when born while a deer can plop out and start walking around immediately is that the head size required to fit a human brain is way too big for a human female pelvis to birth. In contrast, however, a deer does not require such a complex brain and therefore it can develop to a higher degree *in utero*. This is also why babies' skulls are not completely developed at birth, because the skull literally needs to be able to squeeze through the birth canal.


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

[User]
[General Science Fiction] worst universe to be in a starship wreck?

Thinking about several scenes in the Expanse I wonder what universe would it suck the worse to be stranded in a wrecked ship, be it by accident or combat?

You can probadly break this down by things like tech level (both in terms of protection and incoming damage), ship design (does it have bulkheads and hatches), damage control capacity (are they even shown on screen), to the possibility of external rescue.

[Assistant]
WH40K, obviously.

Tech level for humans is duct tape and prayer. Literally, you likely crashed because someone didn't pray hard enough. Their enemies are mostly aliens designed only for killing. But some are demons designed for raping. Everything will try to kill you. Once magic is involved, the very laws of reality will melt around you revealing even worse threats. And if you're not a genetically engineered space marine wearing a tank for your Sunday best, then you're just an ordinary human armed with a flashlight.


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

[User]
[James Bond] Why do mundane items, like gym equipment, have a kill setting?

A number of times Bond is almost killed by something, like a back stretcher, simply by changing the setting to what is apparently "Kill".

Why is this even a thing?

[Assistant]
Nowadays it's all safety labels and child-proof products, but back in the heady days of the Cold War death was an ever-present possibility.  Government mostly kept its nose out of business and focused on the larger picture of making sure that the nukes didn't fly.

If you wanted to make a back stretching machine that could rip a man in half or a personal sauna that could broil an egg, no one was going to stop you. These were trivial concerns when nuclear apocalypse was one misstep away.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it so difficult to be fired from a job working for the state (in US)?

[Assistant]
There are 2 main reasons for the protections awarded to State Workers and public servants :
1) To protect them from political interference. Since they can't be fired, they do not have to obey unlawful orders. Political power can't put too much pressure on them because ultimately, they will outlast the political power.

2) To give an incentive against corruption. You got a lifelong-guaranteed job. You will not accept small amounts of money if getting caught means that you will loose that job if you're discovered. (That part did backfire a bit... It mostly lead to an increase of the money to corrupt public servants...)


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

[User]
ELI5: How do submarines go underwater and come back up?

I mean that how do they off set the buoyancy of the air inside the hull and how do they recreate that buoyancy to come back up?

[Assistant] They are designed to be buoyant (lighter than the weight of the water they displace, up to a certain depth), and they pump in seawater to internal ballast tanks to increase their weight until they start to sink.  To rise, they pump the ballast water back out again.


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

[User]
CMV: As a part of background checks, teachers at public institutions who soap box publicly and identifiably should be fined or fired.

Everyone should be allowed to have the ability to stand up for their rights and what they personally endorse, however teachers are a highly influential part of the way children develop and if a child or more likely a Teen is influenced by the soap boxing of their instructor/teacher professor it is to the detriment of that individual forming their own opinions at least publicly at the risk of scrutiny from their instructor.

I mentioned soap boxing and being publicly identifiable as the criteria because these types of people are more likely to let their political passions drive other aspects of their life. Furthermore, I don't just mean this in the capacity of public forum such as public space, but social media accessible to the curious  students of teachers. As it is, a lot of instructors do hide their personal musings and associated content that's on social media but for those that don't they should be   fined or fired, or punished in some capacity at least, that is meaningful enough to deter them from doing further damage to their young charges.

Lastly and to clarify, I don't think if a teacher has a stalker it should be the end of them. If they are hiding behind a distinct unique screen name like everyone else that is worth due consideration because as I have stated, they should be able to practice and endorse their political beliefs, just not at the expense of the kids.

CMV if you can.

[Assistant]
As long as the teacher is not attempting to brain wash or influence the children with negative or inaccurate views there should be no reason to fine or fire them. Teachers teach different ideologies, so why not give their own point of view? Sometimes it's helpful to here a professionals personal testament. Whether the student lets this opinion manipulate his/her mind is not the fault of the teacher at this point.

Also, teachers have social lives outside of school. They do not sign away their right to free speech when becoming a teacher. To expect an individual to sacrifice his/her integrity or voice on social media regarding important issues JUST because he/she is a teacher is asinine.


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

[User]
What would happen to matter at or below absolute zero?

Does it cease to exist, or does it do something cool and unexpected?

[Assistant] Absolute zero is the point where molecular movement is at its lowest energy. Different materials will react differently, but in general, absolute zero is distinguished because as little activity as possible is happening at the molecular level. It can't ever be zero energy, thanks to quantum mechanical effects.


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

[User]
[Fallout] How does RadAway help?

When you get irradiated, tiny particles that compose the radiation zip through your cells at high speeds causing damage. How does intravenous liquid help this problem of getting punched full of little holes?

[Assistant]
Rad-Away's primary purpose isn't to reverse the affects of radiation poisoning. Rather it is designed to purge the body of persistent radioactive particles before they overwhelm it with constant damage. It's a stopgap measure designed by pre-war scientists for treating sudden exposure in emergencies, not a preventative measure for gradual exposure.

The true defense against radiation for wastelanders lies in how well their bodies have adapted to passive radiation in the generations since the Great War. After only a few generations of exposure many wastelanders are much more resilient to radiation than their pre-war ancestors. Because of these adaptations, the only real risk from radiation to the hardy wastelander is the kind of ingested particles that Rad-Away is designed to treat.


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

[User]
[Waterworld] Flooding the World

So I re-watched Waterworld last night, horrible movie but a massive guilty pleasure of mine, and of course the idea of how the earth flooded bugged me. Realistically, how could such an event occur. Melting icecaps would make a *fresh* water ocean, so that would cause issues. I was thinking it was less flooding and more continents sinking.

So, I leave the question open, what are possible ways to flood the earth and have it result in the world we see in "Waterworld"?

[Assistant]
didnt they state at the beginning that it was due to industrialization? i thought that was the point of the movie...i mean, the bad guys were on an oil tanker...that's not very subtle (and its the Valdez, no less). also, Deacon makes it clear that when they find dry land they are going to industrialize it completely, futher villainizing the idea.

the bigger issue with me and this movie is the time line. the evil oil tanker is still floating, the jet skis and plane are still operational, the cigarettes are still smokable, and the ammunition still fires. all of this leads me to believe that the earth had only been flooded for several hundred years, *at most,* during the time the movie took place. that's hardly enough time for humans to develop gills and webbed feet, and surely not enough time for that other huge ocean creature to evolve.

and lastly, i think life on an all water world would be much more treacherous. the storms would be outrageous without land to break them apart.

i love the movie though.


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

[User] ELI5: How did North Korea become the dictatorship it is today?

[Assistant]
After the fall of Nazi Germany the USSR began a military campaign against Japan (the last remaining Axis power).

Soviet military forces seized Pyongyang and Kim Il-sung was installed as the leader of the Communist party.

North Korea declared itself a sovereign entity in 1948 and has been a dictatorship ever since.


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

[User]
ELI5: The Difference Between Dow Jones, Nasdaq, S&P 500, etc.

i'm five remember!

[Assistant]
NYSE is New York Stock Exchange: a stock market in which stocks are bought and sold the old fashioned way by human traders. Makes a good place for news cameras to capture footage of actual traders face palming at their monitors.

DJIA is the Dow Jones Industrial Average: a market index that is sort of like a sum of the stock prices of 30 major American companies. This serves as an indicator of trader's confidence in owning stock in large American companies.

NASDAQ is a stock exchange which is entirely electronic. No exciting backdrops of human traders scurrying around a trading floor, just boring computers with blinking lights pushing trillions of dollars around.

The Nasdaq Composite index is sort of a combined sum of the prices of all 3000+ stocks traded on the NASDAQ, some of which are not American companies. This serves as an indicator of traders overall confidence in owning stocks in general.

The S&P 500 is yet another market index that tracks the price trends of  the 500 biggest stocks traded on NYSE and NASDAQ, where "biggest" = biggest market cap = stock price * number of shares

It is important to know that stock market indexes are not "the economy" any more so than today's baseball scores sums up all of "sports", but these indexes can reflect how stock traders feel about the economy, or at least how they feel about owning stocks.


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

[User] Eli5 - why does emotional hurt cause chest pain?

[Assistant]
Any type of stress whether it is caused by a physical (large predator chasing you), emotional (relationship breakup), or abstract (worrying if your paycheck can last to the next one) threats trigger our body's fight or flight reaction.

This reaction evolved to help us run away or fight off physical threats so the body tries to redirect blood flow and energy away from organs that do not help with that. The blood and energy get concentrated into your muscles and brain to help deal with the threat.

As a consequence, the muscles in your chest and ribs get more blood flow and may contract, causing the tightening feeling. Blood leaving the digestive system can make it feel like there are butterflies in your stomach or your stomach feels like it's dropping.

The problem is that modern stress can't be solved by fighting (you'll end up breaking laws) or running away (may make things worse) but our body is wired to apply the stress response to these situations.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are honey and lemon such common household remedies for so many different problems? What makes them so versatile?

EDIT: thanks for all the insight. I was skeptical of the so called far reaching properties of the two, and knew reddit could sort it out.

[Assistant]
Lemon has a low pH (it's acidic). This helps break up mucus and random proteins.

Honey tastes good. It also seems to help coughs, although the data is still pretty sketchy and the sample sizes are small. Sweet tastes also lessen discomfort. In hospitals, we give babies little drops of sugar water in their mouth when they are in pain sometimes. It's very soothing.

Also, don't forget the warmth. Warmth increases blood flow to an area.

So in total, we break up mucus, provide comfort and relief, and then help blood flow to the area.

Edit: Since everyone is on the "Honey is antimicrobial" bandwagon, that is not true when it is diluted in water. Honey has two primary mechanisms against microbial growth: 1) Enzymatically produced super-oxides (hydrogen peroxide), and 2) osmotic pressure. Both of these cease to function once you dilute it.


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

[User]
[Godfather] How did Michael know the story of Johnny Fontaine?

It seemed like Vito worked very hard to keep him in the dark of the family business especially the very gritty details like that story. How did Michael know it?

[Assistant] I suspect that the story was explicitly told to him so that hed be averse to joining the family. His father later in the movie says he never wanted this (the mob life) for him, and maybe telling him the unsavory parts is a way of ensuring that.


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

[User] Ive heard that nuclear fission and/or fusion only convert not even 1% of all the energy stored in an atom. How much energy is actually stored in an atom and is it technically possible to extract all of it?

[Assistant]
The energy stored in an atom would be the mass-energy of the atom, found by E=mc^(2).

If you annihilate the atom with an antimatter atom, you could convert it all into energy in the form of EM radiation. It's technically possible, but you're more likely to get a whole bunch of other particles too.


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

[User]
[MCU] How strong is the average Kree?

I've been watching Agents of Shield and they've been getting in a lot of fist fights with Kree warriors. I can accept that the agents are some of the most highly trained individuals on the planet and can overcome a stronger opponent. What bothers me is that they're taking direct hits. If the Kree are supposed to be stronger on average than a human, a solid punch should be a crippling injury. Yet here are humans of (mostly) normal physiology tanking hits to their face. So how much stronger is an average Kree compared to a human? Are we talking like heavyweight boxing champion strength? Much more than that and it seems like the difference would be insurmountable.

[Assistant] Yes you're about right. Note that it's actually not that easy to repeatedly hit with your full strength, especially in the heat of battle where you have to worry about parries and counter attacks.  If a human was tied to a wall and a strong Kree full force punched them in the face, the human's head would be crushed but in general, the strength difference is not insurmountable.


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

[User] ELI5: Why would the blackbird fly so high? I looked it up and it says they can fly up to 90,000ft.

[Assistant] It was a spy plane used for very, very, *very* sensitive operations and the government could not afford to lose them by being shot down or intercepted. So they were designed to fly really fast and really high to help keep them safe.


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

[User] ELI5 Where are all the modern philosophers? We still reference Socrates and Aristotle because?

[Assistant]
> Where are all the modern philosophers

At universities, mostly.

You may not have heard of them for several reasons.

Name recognition is like a ripple on a pond: it starts out small within its own circle and gradually becomes larger as it spreads to a wider and wider audience. Unless you're a philosopher, the ripple may not have reached you yet.

Another reason is that philosophy is like a series of memes. Socrates started the meme, Plato modified it, Aristotle commented on Plato, and so on. Finally, after hundreds of years, the memes are so meta that they're hard to "get" without starting from the beginning. Contemporary philosophy tends to be very meta because it's building on hundreds or thousands of years of discussion. This can sometimes make contemporary philosophy seem harder or less interesting (which in turn makes it harder to reach a wide audience).

Also, in Socrates' time, most subjects were considered philosophy. Math, logic, biology, physics, psychology, linguistics (the study of language), rhetoric (public speaking), and politics were all part of philosophy. Eventually, these subjects became big enough that they split off from philosophy and formed their own subject. Whenever this happened, philosophy's piece of the pie got a little bit smaller. This meant that philosophers were making fewer discoveries and other subjects were making more. If these subjects hadn't split off, incredibly famous people like Einstein, Chomsky, and Hawking would be philosophers.

Here's an (incomplete) list of influential "modern" philosophers:

Kripke, Peter Singer, Rawls, Nozick, Derrida, Foucault, Habermaus, Daniel Dennett, Chalmers, Hilary Putnam, Timothy Williamson, Alvin Plantinga, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn.

Go back a little farther and you have Bertrand Russell, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus.


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

[User]
CMV: The world would be a much better place without alcohol

Disclaimer - I'm not saying prohibition would work. Clearly it didn't and won't work. I'm just talking purely hypothetically.

EDIT - I'm talking purely alcohol consumption, meaning drinking beer, wine, etc.  Yes, it has many benefits like cleaning and baking cookies.  :-)

Pros of alcohol - tastes good; social lubricant; takes the edge off and can relax you; fun

Cons - leads to tens of thousands of deaths and countless more injuries every year of consumers of alcohol and also innocent bystanders; many people abuse it, become addicted, and ruin their lives, marriages, and careers; unwanted pregnancies; etc.

Are these cons worth it? I say no. CMV.

[Assistant]
Most of the cons you speak of are only relevant in an environment where we have "prohibition light:" we focus on keeping it out of the hands of children, thereby making it more exciting when they finally get a chance to have it. If we treated it more like some other countries -- introducing it early, making it just another part of socializing / meals -- it wouldn't be abused as much.

Regarding the addictive qualities, if alcohol wasn't there there would be something else. Individuals have addictive personalities, and if it isn't alcohol it is drugs, if it isn't drugs it's gambling, if it isn't gambling... you get the picture.

Alcohol isn't the problem. The puritanical way specific countries deal with it is. Treated properly, it becomes just another recreational drink.


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

[User]
Why were the tricerotops in Jurrasic Park getting sick?

I mean, before that storm came through and mucked the whole place up, those tricerotops were all falling ill. I heard that paleontologist lady was onto something, but dif she ever find out what it is? I mean, now that the whole place is overrun with raptors and t-rexes and the like, I'd just like to know thericerotops have a fighting chance.

[Assistant] The problem was with the plants. They were not native to the "triceratops" (whose name has since been changed to torotops) and were poisoning them and probably other herbivores as well. With haste, the plants could be removed and replaced with ones that would not hurt the gentle giants.


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

[User] [TheRoadNotTaken] the aliens in the short story have FTL but there technology is late medieval otherwise. when they discover Earth they assume city lights must be forest fires. why do they want the conquer world that's constantly half covered in fire?

[Assistant]
Well, firstly, they didn't really have a choice but to try - their air was in danger of getting too unbreathable before they made a round trip to their origin point.

Secondly, much like navies from the 17th century their spyglasses would just give them a starting overview of what things looked like, and they'd need to actually land and look around to get a true image of what was going on - exploration with primitive (to us) technology was not for the faint-hearted whether it be via sea or space.

They also had multiple theories on what the lights were - maybe it was fires, maybe it was volcanoes, and one did wonder if it was cities. No-one was certain, so they had to check.

And if it was fire, it wasn't necessarily bad. Controlled burns were not uncommon in some tree/bush-faring civilizations (the Australian Aboriginals definitely did it, there's evidence in South East Asia as well), as some plants and trees useful to them required fire to crack open seeds. So you had a short-term razing to promote a new forest in a few years. They may have encountered civilizations that did it before.

Either way, they probably encountered worlds that were only partly-habitable before, either due to volcanoes or low land mass or whatever. Even in those cases, if a world is only 1/3rd habitable, it's still a vast area to mine and use for your empire.


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

[User] ELI5 How come snake do not form into a knot by accident?

[Assistant]
For the same reason your tongue doesn't end up accidentally folded up underneath itself: it's a muscle that you have control over, and you have sensory input about where it is and what it's touching. So you can choose where it goes and what it does.

It's the same for a snake. It controls its body, and can keep itself from being in a knot. It's also aware what parts of its body are overlapping other parts, as when it's coiled up, for instance. Moreover, the snake's spine has a degree of rigidity that probably prevents any sort of tight knot from forming.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does computer duster (such as Dust-Off) become an anti-freeze spray when you flip it over?

Please actually ELI5. There were way too many explanations online that were very scientific, and unfortunately I'm not exactly versed in that stuff. Thanks!

[Assistant]
Trying to put the 5 in ELI5 at the necessary expense of technical accuracy:

1. The can has fizzy liquid inside it, and the fizz is what usually pushes out the air out the top. Sort of like when you open a can of soda and it makes a noise.
2. It's so incredibly fizzy that--unlike soda--it wants to *entirely* turn into bubbles and disappear into the air. The only reason it is a liquid is because the metal can keeps it trapped and squeezed together.
3. When you turn it upside-down, it shoots out the fizzy stuff instead. (Please don't do that, it can hurt you and your toys.)
4. Have you ever gotten out of the pool, and then felt even colder when the wind blows and the water on your skin disappears into the air? It's sort of like that, but much stronger because it bubbles into the air much faster, pulling warmth along with it.

Alternately, you're released swarms of frost spirits from the metal trap forged by the gods, loosing wintery doom upon the land. Stop at once, and tell your parents so that they might send for a hero who will take the cursed relic to a safer place.


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

[User] ELI5:Why time travel is impossible? Are there any laws of physics that prevent us from it?

[Assistant]
Traveling forwards has already been done. All you need is sufficient speed.

Traveling backwards is the tough one. It violates the law of causality, which is the basis of our understanding of physics.


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

[User]
[Resident Evil] As an Ubrella corperation executive, why should I authorize the building of an elaborate mansion full of traps and puzzles on top of our secret research facility?

couldn't we just plant trees on top of the damn thing?

[Assistant]
Listen man. You work for the most weird company ever conceived. They thought that making a highly contagious virus that turns people into unstoppable killing machines was a good idea on more than one occasion. They pumped a girl full of god-knows-what for several decades until she was immune to nearly every weapon and then got surprised when she went on a rampage. And above all else Umbrella is run by a man in a victorian dress who think's he's his sister.

You really shouldn't question things. That's how you get noticed and getting noticed in Umbrella is really bad.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Did Voldemort have any aspirations to spread his influence to other magical governments?

[Assistant] Hermione, when disguised as Belatrix, introduced Ron (also disguised, albeit through means other than polyjuice) to another Death Eater as a foreign collaborator who was going to help them expand their influence to other parts of Europe. This isnt regarded as suspicious, so it seems likely that moving against other wizarding governments was on the agenda.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are many humans scared of small bugs like roaches?

[Assistant] A lot of people are not scared of small bugs like roaches. For example, in Japan it is completely common for small children to play with bugs like these, and even collect them (this is what lead to the idea behind the Pokemon phenomena). It can therefore be concluded that whether you are scared of bugs or not is related to culture and surroundings. If you grow up in an environment where you're used to being around these things, you won't grow up to think they are scary, but if you grow up in an environment where the bugs appear to be unfamiliar, you will be scared of them.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do choreographers say '5, 6, 7, 8' instead of '1, 2, 3, 4'?

[Assistant] It's a full 8 count. When teaching the routine the choreographer will likely say the whole 8 count while slowly teaching the routine. When practicing they will only verbalize the 5678 as a lead in so everyone knows when to start in the music. It's assumed that everyone is counting the 1234 in their heads.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What, if anything, does Vader eat? If Han didn't ruin it, did he plan to just sit there during his Bespin dinner party?

[Assistant]
Vader's suit had the ability to give him intravenous nutrition via the countless needles that pierce into his body. Also on the neck of the armor, tubes that reached his mouth could be connected to containers of vitapaste that he could slowly consume. However, Vader often refused it because of the terrible taste.

When in his meditation chambers or bacta tanks outside of his armor, Vader often had a more robust feeding tube that allowed him to consume the very same foul paste or other forms of liquid nutrition.

And yes, on Bespin, Vader would have simply sat at the table and intimidated everyone until he made his move.


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

[User]
[Halo] Was Chief the only SPARTAN known as 'Demon' by the Covenant? Were there other SPARTANs that held such titles within the Covenant military?

Specifically speaking, the Arbiter refers to Chief as 'Demon' throughout the events that led up to the discovery of the Ark, and the rest of the Covenant refers to him as such every time he faces them in combat. How widespread was this, and exactly what led to the title?

[Assistant]
Demon was a title for all Spartans, but eventually it came to refer specifically to the Chief due to his higher proficiency in the war effort and the fact that, during the course of the Halo events and the end of the Human Covenant War, the Chief was the only truly operational Spartan taking an active role in the war.

As for why the term demon became used, it's not really surprising.  The Covenant's war was founded on the belief that humans were Heratics, and opposed to the gods.  So when a special breed of human emerges from the fog, in armor superior to that of the Sangheili and turned the tides of battle, utterly out classing the Covenant in ground engagements, it wasn't hard for them to imagine them as such.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do all government-negotiated contracts with businesses in the UK seem to be ridiculously bad value for money?

Every government contract that makes the news seems to involve giving some companies inordinate amounts of money to do a shitty job, and recently with clauses preventing future governments from ending or changing the contracts. Is the government truly the worst negotiator in the business world, or is it just media hype?

[Assistant]
1 -  not all of them are, you hear about the overspends and failures disproportionately to the successes that come in on time and/or under budget.

2 -  change requests. A bud is received and accepted for X work. When it comes time to produce X the users are involved and note a few things they will need that are not in the original bid, perhaps not designed correctly or a change on regulations or a new law that has been implemented between bid time and production time. Capita /Serco et al know how the government works, so they bid low, beating out other bidders. But they know they will make it back on change requests, these costs are much higher than they need to be but are usually not a major consideration in bid assessment.


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

[User]
[CMV] I don't see what the problem is with surveillance cameras in public areas

If it wasn't for surveillance cameras in public areas, we probably never would have caught the Boston bombers.

If you're not doing anything wrong, you won't register on anyone's radar.  Given enough cameras, its unlikely you'll ever be noticed unless you HAPPEN to be in the area when a crime happens.

As for claims of privacy, if you're in a public area, how can you expect privacy?

Change my view.  Tell me why its wrong to be constantly recorded while in public areas.

[Assistant]
>If you're not doing anything wrong, you won't register on anyone's radar.

Yes, you do. Exactly that. Everyone is filmed, everything is saved. Facial recognition is incredibly advanced even in private sector.

It's a slippery slope. The next step will be identifying if you really live at the place you're registered at (of course *only* to combat tax avoidance). Then it will be checked if you really put all of your effort into paying back that loan or if you choose to go shopping instead.

Imagine the government would suddenly decide that certain opinions you hold or actions you like suddenly are dangerous. Or indicators of terrorism. Bam - a profile of all people who have done this, this and this is created and you happen to be one of them. Off to Guantanamo you go (of course only for temporary investigation, after all the USA is humane!)

That's a bit stretched, but as far as we're concerned, it may happen really quickly. Just look at the progression of personal rights infringements over the course of the last 15 years.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How does hyperdrive space travel work?

Is it going across the galaxy in a straight line? Han says how the computer needs to navigate so it avoids collision with a star, but the switch to go into hyperdrive seems to be manual not automated. In some cases the travel seems instantaneous, but in others it looks like the travel takes days. To go from one side of the galaxy to the other in that time, it must be THOUSANDS of times the speed of light.

[Assistant]
They still need to set a course from point A to point B. The navicomputer calculates the best path for the ship to take, based on current navigational data. While hyperspace is not realspace, it is still affected by some realspace events like a supernova, and a large enough gravity well will pull them out of hyperspace (which is how an interdiction cruiser works).

Because there are different ratings for hyperdrives, some ships do inn fact move faster than others. A general average estimate of speed, based on known distances and travel times, is about 600x the speed of light.


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

[User]
[Marvel] So there are these Omega level mutants like Bobby Frost and Legion. But could other Omega level mutants do what they do if they wanted? Is Franklin Richards powerful enough to just copy Bobby's power?

I'm sure not all Omega level mutants are created equal, so how easy would it be for them to copy other mutants powers?

[Assistant]
You mean Bobby Drake?

Some mutants, like Franklin Richards, have a very undefined upper-limit on their power. His power is by nature wide-open to interpretation as well. It's most described as *reality-warping,* so it's conceivable he could change reality so he had someone else's power. Another mutant who could do this was Phoenix, another mutant whose upper-bound is ill-defined. It's interesting to note that Professor X identified the potential problems that could arise from their respective powers, and placed a "mental check" on them so they couldn't realize their full potential until they were ready for it. This didn't end well with Phoenix.

Bobby Drake's power manifests itself as the manipulation of cold. However, "cold" isn't something that exists--rather, it describes the absence of heat. Since heat is energy, one of the fundamental forces of the universe, Bobby has been described as an Omega Mutant for the very reason that his power revolves around the manipulation of energy at a very fundamental level. It just so happens that the easiest way (for him) to manifest that power is doing what physicists call *work,* in this case moving heat energy from one place to another. In this context, it may be accurate to describe Bobby's power as *reversing entropy* which is an incredibly badass power.


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

[User]
ELI5: No Child Left Behind

Why is it necessary? What are the pros and cons of it? Why not have kids that understand you can fail and succeed in life?

[Assistant]
You dislike it for the wrong reasons.
No Child Left Behind means that teachers' salaries depend on how their students preform on standardized tests. Obviously, this means that all good teachers migrate away from poor schools where their pay will be docked.


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

[User] ELI5: Is it illegal to live off the grid in the U.S.?

[Assistant] You can certainly live off the grid in the US.  Though, you generally can't just disappear leaving debts unpaid, or use your off the grid status as a way to commit fraud/avoid taxes or building codes without expecting repercussions.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do mosquitoes 'attack' certain people more than others?

[Assistant] They are purportedly attracted to things like heat, CO2, scents, and what you eat (e.g. bananas, beer). Attraction is likely a result of these factors, in addition to the fact that people will react differently to the same number of bites.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are solid state drives so much faster than regular hard drives?

and how exactly do they work?

[Assistant] Imagine you are cooking a pizza and you need the dough, some sauce, and some cheese and they are all located at in different places in a very big kitchen. You could either have Usain Bolt run to each of the places and grab them for you (spinning disk drive) or you could have Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers standing next to each of them and they throw them to you at the same time (solid state).  Usain Bolt is fast but not that fast.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do I feel grimy after a brief nap, but not after a full night's sleep?

[Assistant]
Sleep happens in cycles and phases, a phase consisting from light restorative sleep to REM or rapid eye movement phases. When you take a nap for longer then 10-20 minutes, it goes into the REM cycle. The REM phase reacts badly when stopped abruptly much like a drop on a roller coaster. That's why the best amount of time to nap is 10-20 minutes, before the onset of the REM phase. Sleep on the other hand is best in multiples of 3 hours, which is how long one cycle lasts.

*TL;DR:* Naps make you feel better if 10-20 minutes, but any more makes you feel horrible. Sleep if in 3 hour cycles also makes you feel better.


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

[User] ELI5: How can we be confident about universal properties, or anything for that matter, in astrophysics when we cant actually do experiments on stars, distant planets, etc. ?

[Assistant]
We can *see* them though, and this can tell you a tremendous amount about how physics works there.

The sun has hydrogen gas absorption lines in its spectrum because the hydrogen gas absorbs very specific wavelengths of light.

We see these same lines in every galaxy in the observable universe.  This is very telling - all the chemistry and quantum physics and electron behavior and blackbody radiation required to produce this very specific property is exactly the same everywhere in the universe.

The way they orbit eachother, the light they generate and absorb, speeds, spectrums, everything.  Weve yet to see any distant objects that *dont* follow the exact same physics rules our own planets follow.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Why is it "Han shot first" when Greedo never shot at all?

[Assistant]
1977 release: Han shot Greedo before Greedo ever fired.

1997 release: Greedo shot at Han, missed, and Han fired back, killing Greedo

2004 release: They fire nearly simultaneously, Greedo misses, Han doesn't

The whole "Han shot first" thing came about after the 1997 edits. George Lucas was trying to make Han less of a "cold blooded killer" so as to make him more heroic, but that's not the Han that the fans love, so they kinda compromised with a "Well they both shot and Han won it." kinda deal.

I think they made the shots closer together even more for the Blu-Ray release.

Either way, real fans know that true canon is that Han made the first (and only) shot.


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

[User] [Lovecraft] Is it possible for a mortal to be or become completely immune to the mind warping effects of viewing elder gods and remain sane? What would that imply of such a person if such a thing was possible?

[Assistant]
Lovecraftian horrors don't have any kind of psychic field that causes everyone who views them to go insane (with a couple of notable exceptions). What drives you insane is the realization that 1) humans are not alone in the universe, 2) humans are nothing special, and so physically and mentally inferior compared to those beings that we may as well be insects, and 3) we will be lucky if they don't notice us.

Lots of people can interact with them and retain some semblance of sanity. Lovecraft documents many such people who study the occult, organizations that pass down knowledge and teach their children twisted values, and ruins that show human societies once interacted with inhuman creatures (and likely still do). Most of those people use their knowledge as justification to behave like sociopaths, or possibly they had a dim view of humanity before they came into that knowledge.


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

[User] ELI5: How do "hive" applications get startup users? Apps like tinder, meetup, and other social apps?

[Assistant]
The heart of your question is really 'How are social networks formed?" The textbook answer is that you need a **critical mass** of users, so that when someone new signs up, there are other people to interact with. Otherwise no matter how many people download your app, the newcomers will just leave if people are just trickling in, which means the app will be perpetually unpopular. The key then is to get a large number of users *at once*, so that the network becomes sustainable.

However, this answer only leads to more questions because it creates a paradox that many people refer to as "the chicken and the egg problem." How can you convince the first users to sign up when no one else is around? Unfortunately, there's no easy answer, which is why businesses are willing to pay an incredible amount of money just to buy an existing social network. If you've ever wondered why Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are worth so much even though they have no clear business model, this is exactly why (social networks are valuable because they are very difficult to create).

Nevertheless, here are a few guidelines that can help create a network. They don't always work (e.g. Google+ have tried and failed), but these are characteristics that successful social networks share:

1) Start with a small but concentrated population. For example, Facebook was initially only available to Harvard students. Once it reached a critical mass of users there, it then expanded to other ivies, and then to all colleges, and finally to everyone. The same can be seen for dating apps like Coffee Meets Bagel, which first started off in NYC, and then gradually expanded to other cities before opening up to everyone.

When you start off with a localized population, you lower your marketing costs and you get more mileage out of word of mouth. It's much easier to simultaneously sign up 1000 users in one city than it is to simultaneously sign up 1000 users in a thousand cities.

2) Rely on users to recruit other users. Social apps become more useful when more people sign up, which means the users themselves are interested in helping advertise the app. For example, Venmo isn't very useful if your friends don't use it, so there's already an incentive for you to get your friends to install it. This growth will happen slowly over time, but because a critical mass requires a lot of simultaneous new users, you can speed up the process by rewarding existing users who help you expand your network. Venmo did this with a $20 referral bonus to both the new user and the friend who referred them. Other apps reward in-app currencies or features, such as letting you message more people on dating apps.

3) Minimize sign up costs for users. If you've ever wondered why many computer games (e.g. League of Legends) and mobile games are free to play, it's because the very presence of a user is valuable. A multiplayer game would be unplayable if no one else is there. Thus, companies will literally pay new users (e.g. Venmo example above) to sign up. Of course, this is very costly, so the next best thing is to offer the app for free.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does overstressing your back muscles (bad posture) make them weaker?

Normally, if you overstress a muscle, it gets stronger. But if you have bad posture, causing you to overstress certain back muscle groups, you get back pain. Then the physio gives you exercises to "strengthen" those muscles. How does that work?

[Assistant]
Over stressing a muscle means that muscle is engaged. If you're not keeping your back straight, the muscles responsible for that action will not be engaged, making them weaker.

Your muscles get stronger by using them.


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

[User] [Fallout] What was the final fate of the Vault Dweller, hero of Vault 13, destroyer of the Master, and founder of Arroyo?

[Assistant]
*Ahem*

[Ron Perlman voice]

The Vault Dweller spent years laboring on the village of Arroyo and teaching its inhabitants how to thrive in their new home. Over time, they were blessed with a daughter who would go on to lead their people.

Yet after decades of hard work, the Vault Dweller felt unfulfilled and, under cover of night, left to wander the wasteland once again.

The true tale of what happened to the Vault Dweller, however, is lost to history.

Many would write stories and songs about the Vault Dwellers exploits with each new addition becoming more outlandish than the last. Though few, if any, of these tales were ever verified, people went on believing them because of the comfort and excitement they brought.

Although war never changes, stories do- through tellings and trials of the people who make them.

And this story has come to an end.


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

[User] ELI5:when resetting electronics such as a wireless router, why does the amount of time matter with regards to unplugging the device?

[Assistant]
Most electronic devices have circuits built into them that "level out" the electrical current coming into it, to prevent the device from malfunctioning if there is a power surge or a sudden drop in mains voltage.

That circuit has some electrical elements called capacitors in it. (capacitors are basically tiny batteries) Those capacitors can keep a device running for a few seconds (or more), even if the power is unplugged. This is where the wait time comes in when unplugging: You have to wait for the capacitors to discharge, or you haven't really done anything by unplugging.

Very low power devices (or devices which can enter a "low power" state) can run for significant periods of time (several minutes) on leftover capacitor charge.


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

[User]
Was Yang's UBI policy ever possible?

Listen, I love Yang's ideas and I even support the idea of a UBI, but I don't see the possibility of it happening even though it seems independent sources claim it would work. I have two big reasons which I'd love corrected if I'm wrong as well as a question:

Each month, we'd have to raise 253 billion each month, but I don't think that's unreasonable on its own. However, I do think it's unreasonable to raise that much in usable money. There's only 1.5 trillion dollars in circulation, and yearly we'd be raising double that to redistribute in the form of 1000 dollars. Now, I have a couple questions which might help come to my own conclusion here. First, how would this redistribution work? Even with a "value added tax" like I hear thrown around, you can't raise more money to give to the people than exists, can you? This also brings me to another question which is only partially related: how does the government spend 3.8 trillion dollars? What is backing those spendings?

Would really appreciate some answers. Thanks!

[Assistant]
The stock of money does not matter in as much as it is not collected and then sat on. You collect the money X billion. Then after the UBI happens, in the next period, that same X billion has been disbursed into the economy to be recollected. Economists call this money velocity.

The government can raise money. The government has the capacity to raise the funds necessary to implement the policy. It also has no legal constraints on being able to do so (eg wealth tax being a direct tax). The specific tax etc are contingent on the policy maker. Similarly contingent is how much would be raised by tax and how much by borrowing.

It can in fact also spend money. When the government purchases things or transfers money, it takes money from tax, moves it into a bank account, and then diverts it to acquire other things the same way that people normally do. Usually, the government cuts a cheque. Some transactions are wires (eg FDIC failed bank purchase and assumption agreements).

Most of the debate about UBI is not whether the government could do it (it can) but rather about whether the government ought to do it.


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

[User]
[Dungeons and Dragons] Conservation of momentum through wildshaping.

Say I have my barbarian friend throws me in my Elven form, and I wild shape into an Earth Elemental as a reaction to that throw, how will conservation of momentum work :P

Would I, as a projectile, gain mass and thus slow down? or would I keep the same velocity and gain a brick house worth of Kinetic energy?

[Assistant]
I might be contradicted by someone more expert, but usually shapeshifting that changes mass has some sort of ectoplasm that is summoned from another plane and is bound by magic to the user.

Not to mention that an increase in surface area and weight will mean that in your new shape you will have a different trajectory than had you not shifted.


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

[User] Why do computers and game consoles need to restart in order to install software updates?

[Assistant]
A CPU can only work on stuff in its cache and the RAM of the device (be it PC / Mac / console / mobile / etc). However, such memory is volatile, and loses all its data if it is not powered. To solve this problem, secondary storage exists: hard disk drives, DVD drives, USB disks, flash memory, etc. They hold persistent data that is then transferred to the RAM as and when needed, to be worked on by the CPU.

Now, when a computer boots up, a lot of its core processes and functions are pre loaded into RAM and kept there permanently, for regular usage. (The first of this stuff that loads is known as the *kernel*.) They are also heavily dependent on each other; eg, the input manager talks to the process scheduler and the graphics and memory controllers when you press a button. Because these are so interconnected, shutting one down to update it is not usually possible without breaking the rest of the OS' functionality*.

So how do we update them? By replacing the files *on disk*, not touching anything already in memory, and then rebooting, so that the computer uses the new, updated files from the start.

*In fact, Linux's OS architecture and process handling tackles this modularity so well that it can largely update without a restart.


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

[User]
Why does the aroma of ground coffee permeate a plastic bag but not say, orange slices for example?

Nearly every workday I grind up freshly roasted coffee at home, and dump the contents into a zip loc baggie to take with me to the office. I frequently also do the same for other very aromatic things, like a fresh cut orange, or grapefruit, or a warm muffin. None of those other things radiate their own aroma from within that zip loc baggie. The coffee however, might as well leave the bag open it smells so strongly. I have been very careful about constraining the contents to the inside of the bag, going so far as to rinse the outside of the baggie just in case the smell is coming from the exterior. It is not. What gives? What else does this? Making me crazy!

[Assistant]
Plastic is a wonderful material for containers; lightweight, easy to form, reasonably inexpensive.

What it is not is unreactive. You can get chemically inert plastics but they are more expensive and heavier, neatly removing the benefits to the packaging industry. Since most plastics are organic polymers instead of inorganic solids like metal and glass containers, they can and will react with many other substances. Small volatile molecules are capable of (slowly) migrating through common plastic films, and long-chain organic molecules (oils) will cheerfully bind to the plastic directly. This is why tomato sauce will stain your plasticwear red; lycopene is a long hydrocarbon.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is a blister, and where does all the clear liquid in them come from? Why does friction cause them?

As above. Just started trying to play violin and now have a good old blister the size of a pencil eraser on my thumb. I'm curious as to how blisters actually work.

Thanks reddit!

[Assistant]
A blister is like a watery airbag that pops out of your skin when something hurts it.

That clear liquid is plasma, or blood without the red blood cells and stuff that causes blood to clot. The reason they form is actually a really brilliant feature of the skin.

Assuming it is not a blister resulting from an infection, a blister is essentially your skin creating a cushion to prevent damage. When the skin senses a potentially damaging amount of friction/heat, it reacts by creating a pocket of plasma to protect the area.

This pocket of plasma does two things. First, it cushions the area by adding an additional, soft layer of protection and insulation. This helps prevent damage to deeper layers of skin. Second, it can be painful, which encourages you to stop doing the thing that's causing it, which helps prevent damage.

The reason you don't get a blister from something blunt, like getting punched, is because the force of that impact goes *through* the skin. The potential damage that triggers a blister is something happening *to* the skin.


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

[User]
[WH40K] How are different types of training in WH40k comparable to American military training.

I'm aware of how elite the Space Marines are, but how elite? Could it be compared to SF selection? What about an Ecclesiarchal Confessor? An Adeptus Arbite? An Imperial Guardsman? Are they on par with a modern infantryman, beyond, etc.

[Assistant]
Standard military would be the PDF regiments, whose quality vary wildly depending on the world, or even part of world, that they hail from. Whatever immediately comes to mind when you think of "The Army", that is the PDF.

Imperial Guardsman are fairly elite, despite what you'd think regarding their numbers and casualty statistics. What actually constitutes their training depends on the world they come from and the regiment they are part of but generally it's pretty difficult and it's a lot more standardized than the PDF. Easily the equivalent of joining the American Marine Corps, or some other Earth equivalent. Special Forces would be more akin to something like the Karskin, or some of the other elite scout and shock units that regiments employ.

The Arbites are basically cops from hell; they receive more or less the same training as a Guardsman but most have a considerable amount of prior experience in law enforcement or military prior to becoming an Arbite.


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

[User] ELI5: Why people catch colds when the seasons change?

[Assistant]
Allergies happen in Spring and Fall due to plants blooming.

Actual colds usually occur in the Winter because people choose to stay inside because it's cold outside.  When people are inside, they're closer to each other.  When people are closer to each other, it's easier for them to share germs, which is why "colds" spread more rapidly in the Winter.