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

[User]
When were sonic booms first discovered?

Were they discovered as the technology allowed aircrafts to travel faster than the speed of sound, thus creating the phenomena? Or were they theorized before technological capabilities allowed them fly at such speeds?

[Assistant]
The "sonic boom" is an example of a shock wave, an example of something close to a spatial discontinuity in nature, where the properties of the fluid (temperature, pressure, entropy, etc.) change across a very small region, with thickness on the order of only 100 nm (this is only the size of a few hundred atoms, or only about 2 times as far as a typical N2 or O2 molecule will travel before hitting another molecule in air at STP).

The phenomenon of a shock wave was certainly known long before humans developed heavier-than-air flight.   The equations describing the relationship between the properties on either side of a shock wave, the RankineHugoniot relations, were published in the third quarter of the 19th century. Schlieren photography, often used to photograph shock waves (though not exclusively), was invented by August Toepler in 1864.  The research of shock waves was triggered by the development of high explosives, which generate shock waves, in the mid 1800s.  The first, nitroglycerin, was invented in 1847, but of course as nitroglycerin is difficult to work with, the use of high explosives became much more widespread with the invention of dynamite ca. 1867.


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

[User] Why do all the planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction?

[Assistant] Conservation of angular momentum.  As has been noted by u_pcliv, the planets in our solar system were formed from our sun's accretion disk and since that disk happened to be rotating in a particular direction, so were the planets when they were formed.  Of course you will see exceptions like Venus and Uranus but those are thought to be caused by massive celestial collisions billions of years ago.  Most moons in the solar system orbit in the same direction as their parent planet's spin as well.  The exceptions are often captured objects such as Triton.  It should be noted that objects that have retrograde orbits tend to experience tidal drag which causes their orbits to degrade.


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

[User] ELI5: How can gambling be illegal in US States that run a lottery? Isn't the lotto just state-run gambling?

[Assistant]
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when you are the body that makes the rules, you can make exceptions for yourself in those rules. Lotteries were made illegal for a time and there is no national level lottery. However, many jurisdictions have made government lotteries legal again.

There's no requirement for the government to write an "all or nothing" gambling bill.


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

[User]
Timescale of Nebula formation?

Basically title; for instance were due to see the supernova of  Betelgeuse in around the next million years, and we will be able to see that happen and watch whatever happens afterwards. If thats a nebula forming , what sort of timescale does it happen over ? Like how long does it take for the supernova to end and the nebula to be fully formed ? Im unsure of the timescale of the end of a stars life and what happens afterwards if anyone could tell me that would be epic thanks.

[Assistant]
A supernova remnant is quite a short-lived type of nebula. What happens is that the gas from a supernova remnant quite rapidly dissipates into the *interstellar medium*, the general mix of turbulent gas that the stars of the Milky Way are swimming through. The gas is expanding very quickly, and its density drops downto the background within a pretty short time. A "short time" is less than a million years (maybe even less than 100,000?) - most of the supernova remnants we see are only thousands to tens of thousands of years old. There are also very young ones, like SN1987a, which we have seen evolving for about 34 years.

By comparison, a molecular cloud is quite a different type of nebula. Within the interstellar medium, gas sometimes gathers together and starts to cool down. Gas cools down by particle collisions, and if there's some part of the gas that has a higher density, there's slightly more collisions because there's more particles, which means the gas cools down slightly faster. Cooler gas has a lower pressure, which means that it has less resistance against gravity. Denser gas also has stronger gravity. So the gas will contract, making it denser. This means the particles can collide even more often, and cool down even faster. So you get a collapse all the way down into a *molecular cloud* - a turbulent cloud of gas that's cool enough to form molecules. This will continue to fragment and collapse and form a star cluster. The molecular cloud then gets blown away by the radiation, winds, and supernovae of the new stars that are formed. Typically a molecular cloud might last for 10s of millions of years. So the nebulae that form stars are very different from the nebulae that are formed by supernovae.

As for what you'll actually see after Betelgeuse explodes - the Crab Nebula is a good comparison here. This is a supernova that went off about 1000 years ago, and is expanding at 1500 km/s, which is fairly typical. It's over 10x further away than Betelgeuse, and after 1000 years it's maybe 1/3rd the size of a full moon on the sky. So, on a historical scale (rather than an astronomical scale), it's reached a reasonable size in a not ridiculous amount of time. Betelgeuse is much closer, and you might expect it to reach the size of the full moon after maybe a century, and 1/10th of the size of the full moon after maybe 10 years. So definitely quick enough and big enough that a human with binoculars could see it change significantly over their lifetime.

The bright "star" of the supernova itself will last for week or months, depending on where you set the cutoff for "too dim to count as a supernova"


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

[User]
ELI5: Doesn't it make more sense to spend than save, considering inflation is degrading the value of my savings year by year?

To a certain extent of course.

[Assistant]
This is precisely why the Federal Reserve has targeted inflation in the first place. It punishes people who keep their assets in cash. They want money to keep moving because that's better for the national economy.

However, if rather than saving in a bank you invest the money in something like mutual funds it insulates you from inflation concerns. Because your assets aren't in "dollars" anymore if the value of the dollar falls your assets aren't affected.


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

[User]
CMV: The diving/flopping that occurs in soccer is detrimental to the game and FIFA should do something about it.

I (and many other of my casual soccer fans) have watched a significant portion of the World Cup this year.  In my opinion, the flopping/diving/embellishing that occurs is detrimental to the game and should be punished.

The way I see it, the World Cup is a potential stage to attract millions of people as fans of the sport, and Im sure it does a relatively good job at it. HOWEVER, I feel (as I imagine do others) the flopping and acting that goes on is super frustrating especially compared to some other more physical sports.

On top of that Ive seen a number of near breakaway opportunities where, at the sniff of contact, the offensive player goes down instead of attempting to play through contact (as well as other similar situations). I think those two examples cheapen the product and FIFA should do something about it.

If players should be punished for embellishing/acting fines would likely be the best means of doing so. Now I understand some teams pay their players more than others so a universal fine number might not work. Im thinking maybe a small percentage of their compensation from their teams?

Do you see a benefit to flopping (I cant see any), or are there any better ways to de-incentivize it? CMV!

[Assistant]
Flopping is a natural consequence of a sport that assigns such dramatic power to referee decisions. A single ref has the power to grant a team a highly valuable free kick or penalty shot, or even to eject a player and disadvantage his team for the entire game.

In one of the Colombia games this World Cup, the ref awarded a penalty shot and red card within the first few minutes. With Colombia down a goal and a player, the game was all but decided before people had reached their seats.

So if FIFA wants to cut down on flopping, they have to remove the enormous incentive to do so, and they really don't have any reason to. Their sport is the most popular in the world by a wide margin and a license to print money. Why mess with it?


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

[User]
Would it be possible for humans to see new colors?

I read an article the other day on The Oatmeal, about mantis shrimp, and it got me curious. Mantis shrimp have sixteen types of color receptors, as opposed to our measly three, which allows them to see colors we are literally unable to imagine. I was wondering if it would even be possible to find a way for us to see new colors using those extra eleven receptors, either through recombinant DNA or something else.

[Assistant]
Assuming we had an extra color receptor, for example for yellow we might be able to see more colors:

Currently we have no way to distinguish between yellow (i.e. wavelength ~580nm) and red-green. To our eyes both look yellow and the response of the eye is the same.

With a yellow receptor we might have a different response (depends how narrow the "band-pass-filter" is). This means that the eye would react differently to yellow and red-green.

However, while in this hypothetical scenario the eye has the capability to distinguish yellow from red-green it is entirely possible that our brain would still tell us that both are yellow as there is a lot of processing (even before the signal reaches the brain) going on before we "see".


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

[User] [DC] Wouldn't Bruce Wayne's crime-fighting be better served if he left the Wayne company in someone responsible's hands (Fox, probably), then disappeared from public life entirely and dedicated 100% of his time to being Batman?

[Assistant]
This happened in the Dark Knight trilogy. Bruce was screwed out of his own company and was left penniless. Sure, Lucius Fox could help but if he gets voted off the board of directors then Batman is screwed.

And it isn't just about fighting crime; Bruce Wayne uses Wayne Industries to help with social reform and city development. Sure, he can put thugs in jail, but if they're denied an honest income then their only means of staying warm and fed would be crime; nothing would change.

For that reason, Bruce *has* to stay as head on W.I. since less-scrupulous board members would possibly stop the charity work, switch to zero-hour contracts that barely pay and possibly cause an *increase* in crime since their employees would possibly try and make a quick buck to handle the mounting debt and the company won't hire ex-cons anymore.


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

[User]
[The Purge] Is the UCMJ still in effect? If not, what happens with the military on Purge Night?

It's not technically a *law*, right? So do the military rules go out the window as well?

If they do, just how many officers get fragged every Purge?

And why hasn't anyone stolen air power or armor and gone on a big rampage?

Why haven't anarchists infiltrated the army and waited for Purge night to take over a nuclear sub or a launch site or something and bombed heads of State, writing it off as "yeeehaw, let's PURGE!"?

Why talk about all of these other small stories instead of the crew that decided they were going to steal a tank?

[Assistant]
Government facilities are exceptions to the purge. Police, military, and politicians fortify such building and will obliterate anyone who tries dumb shit like that.

The Purge is designed so that the common folks kill each other and the government to take out risky members of society, not complete anarchy. If you try to steal government properly you get blown to peices.


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

[User] ELI5: When picking up a prescription at a pharmacy and you have to wait 20-30 minutes for it to ready, what are they doing during that time?

[Assistant]
Checking with your doctor that the prescription is valid. Checking the dosage instructions for sanity. Checking other medications you are taking for interactions that could hurt or kill you. Checking that your insurance will cover the medication. Counting the pills. Recounting the pills. Having a second tech triple-count the pills. Complying with state, federal, and company documentation rules. Passing it to the licensed pharmacist to sign off on everything. Then the packaging and such.

They aren't just slinging pills by your request back there.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does shampoo foam look white even if the shampoo was green, pink or whatever?

[Assistant] In the shampoos initial state, the little pieces that make the shampoo colored are so near together that only let light of the same color pass through. As you use the shampoo, tiny bubbles develop, that expand so much, that the colored pieces are seperated and every color of the light spectrum can pass through, which in the end join and make white light.


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

[User]
[HALO] Why even have SPARTANs? Why not use MJOLNIR suits as bodies for their AIs?

SPARTAN-II selection of brutal, picking from a pool of genetically superior humans, and then killing most of those humans in the augmentation process.

Why not cut the human component out? In the UNSC, smart AIs aren't that rare, as they seem to be on every major warship, and finding suitable brains to create one is less selective than finding humans suitable to become a SPARTAN.

Why doesn't the UNSC make androids based on the MJOLNIR suit, and have AIs run them? AIs are smart enough to learn and fight, as evidenced by Cortana.

[Assistant]
Lots of A.I., sure. Smart A.I.? Probably only a few dozen ever existed. They last less than ten years and they're largely expensive and experimental, despite their considerable potential.

So human-based SPARTANS are a lot easier and more available.


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

[User]
ELi5: Why are some scars purple, some white, some brown, some red, and some pink?

Pretty much what the title says. Why does scar tissue come in so many colours?

[Assistant] Mostly due to age of the scar. As time goes by the scar heals more and becomes less inflamed, and color changes as a result. Severity of the injury also matters, and if you develop an abnormal scar like a keloid that will also cause discoloration.


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

[User]
How do computers do math?

What actually goes on in a computer chip that allows it to understand what you're asking for when you request 2+3 of it, and spit out 5 as a result? How us that different from multiplication/division? (or exponents or logarithms or derivatives or integrals etc.)

[Assistant]
This is actually a REALLY complicated question.  Here it goes...

The computer "thinks" in binary.  To do addition, subtraction, multiplication etc...the numbers need to be converted into bits first.  Then the outcome can be calculated using relatively simple rules.

NOTE:  Binary is calculated from right to left (typically...called most significant bit 'MSB' on the left).  Going from left to right you have 8 bits:  128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 for a total of 256.  This is a 8 bit number or a BYTE.  If you go to 16 bits, you just keep adding 8 more bits and doubling the values as you go.
So: 32768 16384 8192 4096 2048 1024 512 256  and so on...

Addition uses the following bit rules:
    0+0 = 0,
    1+0 = 1,
    0+1 = 1,
    1+1 = 0 carry the 1

For instance:  add 10 + 23
(work from right to left...)

            1 11  (the carry is stored in a special register on the CPU...)
    10 = 0000 1010
    23 = 0001 0111
    ---------------
           0010 0001 = 33

That's how they do it.  Subtraction, multiplication and division have their own ruleset and can take more than one pass sometimes.  So they are more computationally expensive.

Edit:  wow...formatting is harder than doing bitwise math.


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

[User]
[Terminator 2]"he'll live" how does the terminator know the guard won't bleed out before help can get there it time, or die from complications even if it does?

how is it interpreting "living" and "killing"? does it just think it didn't "kill" a person if they don't die immediately there and the?

[Assistant]
"I have detailed files on human anatomy".

THe Terminators database makes it an expert on lethal and survivable wounds, since it needs to efficiently kill humans, and thus needs to know what a human will die from. THis means that it knows exactly what will happen to the guard from the exact place that it shot him, and whether there is a chance that wound will actually let the man bleed out, or if it will clot effectively and remain just a crippling injury. This, mixed with its scanning ability, means it knows exactly how effective its attacks would be on any human opponent.


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

[User]
ELI5: How did the Western US and the North Eastern US both become majority liberal despite being on opposite sides of the country?

I was reading a New York Times article on Gay marriage and realized that the two "sections" of the country that are farthest away from each other seem to be the most similar politically. Is it something to do with their proximity to the water and therefore trading and immigrants? Just a thought.

[Assistant]
Big coastal cities have more commerce and a stronger economy. More commerce means a higher population, and strong economies mean better education systems. Higher educated, more affluent people tend to lean more liberal statistically. They also tend to be less religious, and many American conservatives are deeply religious. Even in large cities in conservative states, they tend to be more liberal leaning than in rural towns. For example, a mostly religious and conservative city like Salt Lake City is considerably more liberal in overall attitudes than in small towns around the U.S.

Edited: for clarity, redundancy.


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

[User]
[Sliders] Why don't they just build a new sliding device on a safe planet?

It seems they constantly travel to random worlds, some particularly unsafe but the majority seem to possess the same level of technology and the Sliders can remain virtually anonymous.

Why do they continue to press on to potentially unsafe worlds? It makes a lot more sense to find a safe world, stay there and build a new device that is stable. Then using that world as a base, they can slide to random worlds and stay if they find the right one.

[Assistant]
The original timer is keyed (somewhat) to Earth Prime. If they miss the window, the original timer is useless for returning home; they'd be stuck for 29 years in the alternate dimension.

If they had months to build a new timer (and occasionally, they did), or built a new one after getting stuck somewhere, Quinn could have built one that was more reliable, but the new timer would not help them get home. At best, it would be linked to the alternate dimension in which it was built.


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

[User]
CMV: Schools shouldn't do anything to accommodate students who choose to protest or walk out for any reason

Let me start by saying that I fully support the right of students to protest.  I do not support schools instituting special policies that allow students to leave school for a period of time, say 30 minutes.  Neither do I support a school looking the other way and allowing such protest.  Schools should stand by the rules in place, whether it is to mark the students absent, tardy, suspension, etc.

For instance, the consequence of a group student walkout should be the same as the consequence for a single student who walks out for an unexcused reason.  The consequence of protesting on campus should be the same as the consequence for a single student disrupting classes for whatever reason.

Here's my rational.  Walkouts and on-campus protests are examples of civil disobedience.  The students are knowingly breaking the rules.  Our children should know that civil disobedience has consequences.  That doesn't mean they shouldn't engage in it, but protestors should always weigh the cost vs. the injustice and make individual decisions on whether they believe it is worth it or not.

The civil rights protestors in the past didn't get free passes.  They were beaten, jailed, and sometimes killed for protesting their cause, yet they did so because their cause was just.  College kids protesting to achieve their right to vote were arrested for trespass.  Women's suffrage protesters were often ostracized from their communities and/or beaten by their families.  I am not saying that most of these actions were justified, but they risk these folks faced to protest their cause helped to amplify the message.

I fear that the US has gotten to a place where people believe that they should have no consequences for protesting.  People block traffic, then get outraged when they are arrested.  People trespass, and then post videos of outrage that the landowners protected their land and/or the protesters were arrested.  We've come to a point where people think that they should protest at any turn without consequence.  I think this waters down the causes worth protesting and it reduces the chance that the protest will actually accomplish anything.

If the students walk out with their schools' permissions, it will be a small news event that changes no minds.  If the students decide that they will accept failure on whatever assignment/test they had that day and/or face suspension for their walkout and still walk out, then their message is heard a little stronger.  If they actually lock arms, sit in, and get arrested for their action, they are finally going to be heard.

[Assistant]
The right to protest is a constitutional right under the first amendment.   You should be able to exercise your constitutional liberties without fear of prosecution.

I see this as akin to saying "schools/workplaces should not allow their students/employees to vote.   This would add more weight to those few who actually decide to risk punishment to vote."

Furthermore, It is not unusual for schools to leave class for legitimate reasons, without suffering penalties for being absent.   If the chess club can be absent to go to a chess tournament, if the football team can be absent to attemd a football game, if the entire school can miss class for a pep rally, they why shouldn't students be able to miss classes for a peaceful protest?


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

[User]
[A:TLA] During Aang's fight with Firelord Ozai, after he unlocks the Avatar state, how fast is his "wind"?

Merry Christmas, all!  So I was re-watching Aang's fight with Firelord Ozai, and after he achieves the Avatar state, his gusts of wind easily crumbled a giant pillar of stone.  So I got to wondering, how fast would wind have to be moving to destroy solid stone that easily?

[Assistant]
It wasn't the speed but the density of the air. Ang was able to compress the air into a form "solid" enough to impart a huge amount of kinetic energy. Speed alone doesn't do much. It must be combined with air pressure/density and debris to do much damage.

Edit: Here is an example for you. Lets say the Avatar or any other Air Bender is placed inside an Air Tunnel/Funnel with a giant stone column. If they increase the speed of the air gradually they will not damage the stone. They may erode it over time but it wont destroy it or cause it to crumble.

However if they cause a sudden gust of wind that will cause the air in front of it to compress first. The air between the stone and the gust compresses which increases the pressure on the stone. We must also consider that air benders can make the air they control feel almost solid, so it's not flowing around the column, but passing all of its energy directly into it, shattering it.


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

[User]
Why is Modern Professional Academic Philosophy So Seldomly Utilized To Buttress Political Argument?

For instance, it seems to me, that Martha Nussbaum's arguments against using "disgust" and "shame" as the basis of public policy, legislation, and constitutional law, is devastatingly critical of pretty much of the Republican party agenda, and even more so of President Trump's.

[Assistant] That's a rather sociological problem that a philosophical one, but one answer is that pretty much nobody has the time, energy or willingness to care about and understand what academics, especially if they're from humanities departments, say. Just look at the cases with evolution, climate change, flat earth thing, etc.


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

[User] [General] In the event of the Rapture, and the Biblical Apocalypse following, what steps should be taken for the survival of humanity?

[Assistant]
1. Become Christian. This way if you are killed, you have a chance of being saved by God. Otherwise, when you die at the hands of some horrendous, multi-faced demon with six barbed penis, your soul is going straight to Hell.

2. Gather together in a highly defensible position. Be prepared to fight all manner of demons from Satans Army; they can attack from above, from the shadows, from underground, even possess the man next to you and burst out of his chest to kill you all before you know what is happening. Form a chain of command with an established hierarchy; the last thing you as a new resistance movement needs is internal power struggles.

3. Procure holy relics on Earth. It's ill advised to attempt to go for the big ones (The Ark of the Covenant, wherever it is; the Spear of Destiney, etc) because they'll likely be crawling with demons trying to corrupt them and kill anyone attempting to take them. Start small; a metatarsal bone of a minor saint, when placed into the pommel of a sword or the stock of a rifle, should be adequate at banishing demons of Class III and lower. Larger demons (Class IV and above) are to be avoided at all costs: let the Armies of the Host handle those while they war with Satan for Earth.

4. Though this may at first sound like a bad idea, do not attempt to enter the camp of the Army of the Host. This is not because they are the bad guys; they're the Angels of the Lord incarnate. However, you, a Doubting Thomas who only converted at the last minute to weasel out of your well-earned Apocalypse, will likely be told to leave the settlements, and be forced to camp outside them. This is a very dangerous place to be; Host Camps are literal demon magnets, drawing them like moths to the flame as they attempt to extinguish their enemies. According to the Bible, which you should have at least memorized by now in an attempt to get gud with God, they (The Armies of the Host) will eventually win, but the Bible says nothing about your tiny fortified camp outside them. You will be destroyed without mercy and used to adorn a demonic trophy rack. Stick to the isolated regions of the world, such as the Rocky Mountains, Kansas, Appalachia, and the Texas Panhandle, and you have a better chance at avoiding undue attention.

5. DO NOT READ DEMONIC TEXT AT ALL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, AND NEVER **EVER** READ IT ALOUD. Words and names have power, and to read what a demon has written can drive a man insane, trap your soul in a black hole, summon a demon itself, or give you bad directions to you next objective, all of which are things you as a new soldier of the Demonic Resistance should avoid if at all possible.

6. Weapons maintenance is one of your top priorities. In addition to your daily devotionals to God and memorizing scripture, you should clean your primary weapon once a day and your sidearm once every three days, making sure to keep out the nuclear ash that will descend from the skies and accrue in the workings of the weapon. You should also bathe your weapons and bullets in Holy Water before every mission.

There are plenty of other tips and tricks that you can and will learn over the course of survival (How to remove poisons from meat, how to properly stab a demon in the heart(s), how to distinguish Class IIIA demons from the far more dangerous Class IIIB demons (the most telling feature is the plethora of toothed vaginas on the Class IIIB, which is where the deadly acid comes from), but these are the absolute essentials that YOU, as a Heathen-turned-Survivor, need to know in order to have even the slightest hope of making through the seven years of war between Satan and God for control of Earth.


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

[User] [Fight Club] Why would people flock to an obviously mentally ill man having some kind of episode and beating himself up in a parking lot?

[Assistant]
They didn't join him because he was a guy beating himself up, they just watched because of the spectacle of a guy fighting himself.

They stayed because after he spoke, and when he spoke he was charismatic and appealed to something inside them that they felt was missing.


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

[User]
ELI5: Dropbox's new Lepton compression algorithm

Hearing a lot about it, especially the "middle-out" compression bit a la Silicon Valley. Would love to understand how it works. Reading their blog post doesn't elucidate much for me.

[Assistant]
In the new algorithm the 'middle-out' compression accounts for about 5% of the 22% reduction in JPGs that it can achieve. They accomplish this by using the predictable way in which JPGs store brightness to remove pieces of data were the brightness of the pixel is predictable based on the pixels around it. The other 17% comes from TONS of other methods of compression many of which are well known but only work for JPGs.

middle-out is still a made up for hollywood concept that just happened to be explained on the show in a way that lined up with what Dropbox accomplished.


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

[User] ELI5: why it's acceptable to eat animals like cows and pigs and fish, but it's unacceptable to eat animals like cats and dogs?

[Assistant] It's a cultural thing - in a lot of places, people tend to classify pets and food differently, regardless of what actual animal they are. People allow themselves to get attached to pets, consider them family, etc, so killing them, let alone eating them feels as barbaric as eating a member of the family.


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

[User]
Why can't you get prosecuted for posting videos/picture of yourself doing drugs while you can for posting a murder you've committed?

I know murder is far worse than smoking a joint but I've always wondered what stops law enforcement, for example, from prosecuting people showing their illegal grows and smoking on camera.

[Assistant]
Typically the picture is a starting point for an investigation.

If you post a picture of you doing drugs, they interview you and you say "fifth amendment" or "it wasn't drugs. It was something that looks like but isn't drugs," that's where the investigation ends.

If you post a picture/video of you killing someone, they open an investigation and comb the scene for evidence corroborating what you've said, look for a body, etc.


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

[User]
Why do wind turbines only have 3 blades?

It seems to me that if they had 4 or maybe more, then they could harness more energy from the wind and thus generate more electricity. Clearly not though, so I wonder why?

[Assistant] As a blade moves, it creates a wake, like a boats wake, that disturbs the air around it. That wake can interfere with the efficiency of the next blade as it passes. So, it's a tradeoff situation for efficiency that factors in  number of blades, blade speed, wind speed, and RPM to maximize the efficiency of energy conversion. This is also why how close the towers are to each other and how they are oriented overall on the landscape. Watch a sailing race and see how they try to steal each other's wind.


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

[User]
If certain animals can regenerate limbs (geckos tails, octopus tentacles, starfish, etc.), why isn't there focus on how these animals do this to try and figure out human organ/limb regeneration?

Why hasn't research been done on trying to figure out how to regenerate a human body part (not cloning)? Wouldn't this prevent rejection of that part since it stems from that individual's body? If research has been done on this, why wasn't it successful?

[Assistant] Actually it is being worked on presently, maybe you've heard of stem cell research?  Same principle, but usually grown outside the body (currently), however there is a lot of talk about using straight injections for some issues, with spinal paralysis being a big one.


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

[User]
[Most Human Futures] Why in almost every conflict in almost every future universe is there a guy with a shotgun?

Shotguns and their equivalents are seen in almost every future conflict.  From Halo to Aliens to Warhammer 40K.  In almost all of them there is someone with a shotgun blasting their foes into quivering bits.

Why?  What makes the humble shotgun into an omniversal weapon?

[Assistant]
Its a design that works and is easy to maintain/understand.

If you need a door breached? Shotgun.

If you want to frag an alien that is closer than twenty feet? Shotgun.

If you want to provide for your family, so you go out hunting fowl, and run across some mutants trying to steal your shoes while quoting heretical obscenities?!

I think you know the answer.

The humble shotgun. Why improve perfection?


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

[User] ELI5: I understand the North and South pole flips every few million years, but is it possible for them to become the same for example NN or SS or even demagnetise entirely? If possible what would the effects of this happening be on our planet?

[Assistant]
It's not possible for both of the poles to be in the same direction, ie "NN" or "SS." The Earth's magnetic field is a dipole, meaning that it always has a north and south magnetic pole at opposite ends. Straight bar magnets are also dipoles.

It is possible for the Earth's magnetic field to stop, though it wouldn't be sudden. The magnetic field is produced by the motion of molten metal in the mantle, and eventually the Earth will cool down enough geologically that the mantle will gradually solidify. Once the flow of fluid in the mantle stops, no more magnetic field. This is what happened to Mars.


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

[User] ELI5 - why do animated shows turn movies (simpsons, spongebob, rugrats, bobs burgers, etc.) have a distinct look compared to their tv show? why not keep the same look the tv show is known for?

[Assistant]
Animated shows, especially non-seasonal ones like The Simpsons and Family Guy, are produced very quickly and efficiently relative to other animated media. Animation is a time-consuming, tedious, and expensive task, so animators on more "cheap" shows will prioritize quantity over quality: more and longer static/looping shots so that less of each frame needs to be redrawn to show movement, less background detail, lower usage of more advanced animation techniques like smear frames, etc. An ongoing show needs to come out regularly, so without more money and more people, corners need to be cut.

A movie is generally given a larger budget and slightly more reasonable deadlines (one every few years instead of one a week). Now that they have the resources to put out a quality product, animators can pull out all the stops. Famous and/or expensive key animators can be brought in to add their own style and creativity, all animation principles can be applied, scenes and characters can look more dynamic and animated. Even in the same style, time and money can go a long way to changing the way an animated piece looks.


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

[User]
If shorter waves have more energy than longer waves and 5g is actually the same as light but with *longer* wavelengths: How can 5g be harmfull?

Light, 5g are both actually electromagnetic radiation. 5G should contain less energy (its mmwave instead of nmwave). So why could it be harmfull?

[Assistant]
Low frequency radiation can still be harmful if the intensity is sufficiently high. High frequency radiation is like a series of bullets that smash the electrons off your atoms, causing them to have undesired chemical reactions. Low frequency radiation is like a gentle sloshing wave that tries to pull charges back and forth. If it intensity is strong enough, it will pull polar molecules or ions back and forth quite dramatically, which heats up the material. This is how a microwave oven works, and can in principle be dangerous.

So from a pure theoretical basis alone, you can't argue that low-frequency radiation is inherently safe in all situations (although this isn't true for water either). It's a question of quantity, not the fundamental nature of the wave. The relevant question is whether the real 5G systems have anything close to the intensity required to cook a human form the inside - and they don't.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is listening to a song in my head not as satisfying as actually listening to it?

[Assistant] Humans have great potential... not perfect. Mind mimics some sounds, not all. Can recall melodies... maybe not harmonies... not all at once. Actual recordings clearer, more precise. Can better produce fuller, more intricate, complex sounds. Pleasing to the ear, like a complex dish. Memory of food not as satisfying as eating, is it? Sensory processing preferable to limited, sometimes fallible, memory.


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

[User]
Quick SQL/python test for interns

I have to hire a Master of Data Science student as a research assistant at our work. Their job will use SQL and python. I know nothing about these things, and I have 10 min to interview each applicant. What are some quick-and-dirty questions I can ask to roughly rank their abilities? Answers too, please! :)

[Assistant]
Can you get someone to help you do those interviews? It's difficult when you're recruiting outside of your experience.

Imagine you were trying to recruit a pastry chef -- getting a list of questions off the internet isn't going to be enough for you to rank their abilities. Telling two junior data scientists apart is going to be, if anything, harder.


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

[User]
How in love do I have to be with my dissertation topic?

Coursework is complete. Working on the first draft of my dissertation proposal. Finally admitting to myself that I am not crazy about the topic. But I have support from my advisor, who I trust and who wants me to succeed.

I feel like I need to just think of this as an assignment and get it done so that I can get to the next stage of academia. Is that what most people do?

[Assistant]
You don't have to be head over heels, but the subject should interest you enough to keep you digging deeply over the course of several years so that you produce original research that makes a contribution to your field. This is not so much an assignment as a topic that is intended by your advisor to give you room to flourish, and if you don't foresee that happening, you should definitely talk to her/him before the proposal goes any further. Keep in mind that your dissertation will be the area in which you become the expert, and on which you will build in the following stages.
Also, if you don't love the topic now, you may end up hating it in the coming years. Writing a dissertation is a long slog that requires persistence, and it's best if you find the topic inspiring so that the low moments are few rather than frequent.


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

[User] ELI5 - If helium is one of the most common elements in the universe, how are we "running out of helium" on earth?

[Assistant]
Helium is not evenly distributed in the universe. What we have on earth is mostly produced by radioactive decay in earth's crust, which we can get out in gas wells. It's produced at a fixed and low rate that way exceeds how fast we use it.

Helium is so light that, when it's released it tends to drift away and escape pretty easily so we don't currently do a good job reclaiming what we have.


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

[User]
How feasible is it to put a floating colony high in the Venusian atmosphere?

at about 50km above the Venusian surface, the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere closely approximates that of earth's. ignoring the economic hurdle, do we have the technology to withstand the acidic clouds, decompose the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into breathable oxygen, and keep such a colony in orbit?

edit: could such a colony float on the clouds or would it need some sort of upward propulsion?

[Assistant]
There are plenty of plastics that can withstand the sulfuric acid you'd encounter in the atmosphere.

Bioregenerative life support systems need more work but are plausible with current technology. They'd probably involve an algae such as spirulina that could provide both oxygen and a food source.

And you used the word orbit which they technically don't do.


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

[User] When doctors determine a drug dose for their patient it is often based on body weight. Is this because heavier people have more space that the medicine needs to travel, or do they have more efficient liver/kidneys?

[Assistant]
It depends on the pharmacokinetics of the drug. In short, this is the sum of the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME). Some drugs are distributed to what is called the total body water (TBW) and others are concentrated in/restricted to other compartments such as fat or blood plasma. Generally speaking, larger individuals would have larger compartments for drugs to be distributed and thus would require a larger dose to achieve the desired concentration of drug. Drugs are usually based on weight, but in some cases they are dosed by lean body mass or titrated to a desired effect and tolerance (e.g. blood pressure or cholesterol goals). The metabolism component is also a factor as there are variations in drug metabolizing enzymes expressed across populations and these enzymes can also be altered by other medications. Kidney and liver dysfunction are also considered, usually resulting in a reduced dose. But that is determined by clinical trials on each individual drug.

So, generally speaking, larger people do have more space for the drug to ~~travel~~ fill. They do not necessarily have more efficient drug metabolism than a smaller person, but individual metabolism can vary quite a bit due to other factors.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can boat owners and captains leave a crashed or sunken boat and walk away forever with no civil or criminal penalties?

If I crash my car I can't just leave it there and walk away forever. Why, if a boat crashes or sinks in shallow water, can the captain and owner just leave it there? I see this all the time on shows like Deadliest Catch.

[Assistant] It's also REALLY hard to retrieve boats when they sink in open water. Depending on tides and current patterns it may not be anywhere near where it went down the next day. Sometimes the equipment on your vessel will still be transmitting and you can ping your gps or sat-nav to find them in open water, but usually not. However If you sink your boat in a harbor or at the dock (trust me, it happens a LOT!) you're expected to get it the fuck outta there.


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

[User]
What's going on when I push my belly out?

I'm not inflating my lungs at all, nothing is coming in or out of my chest cavity etc, and there are clearly no bones against which muscles are contracting (at least in any obvious way to me). So when I stick my big fat belly out (without arching my back) , what am I doing on the inside?

[Assistant] Biologist here. Basically, you have a lot of organs and pressure in your belly at all times. Your ab muscles are usually holding everything in, making you look thinner. When you let your belly push out, **you're just relaxing your abdominal muscles.**


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

[User]
Questions to ask when I visit a potential grad school

I'm visiting my first grad school in a couple weeks. At this point it looks like it's probably my top choice.  What should I make sure to find out before I make a final decision?

[Assistant]
Its important to remember that if you've already been accepted, that the department is trying to impress YOU to join their department.  Grad students are cheap teaching labor, and they do research that brings in grant money.  If you've already been accepted, it means that they want you.

Ask other grad students what they like and dislike about the department.  Ask them what every day life is like, the culture in the department, what kind of prelims exams they make you take, how many classes you have to take, how many semesters you are required to teach, what the yearly stipend is, what the average graduation time is for PhD students, how many people leave with their masters, how much rent is for an apartment around town.


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

[User]
How do you calculate load distribution on an uneven beam?

If a beam is supported at either end, but one end is higher, is it correct that the lower end will bear more weight? How would the load difference at the two points be calculated?

[Assistant] You have three things that all have to equal zero for the beam to stay put: horizontal forces, vertical forces, and moment/torque (with respect to any convenient axis of your choice).  Horizontal forces are just reaction forces at the supports; vertical forces are reaction forces plus weight at the centre of gravity; moments result from every force (including weight) not acting directly through the axis you choose.


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

[User]
Is it possible to blind a fly with a laser pointer?

If I aim a 5mw red laser pointer at a fly every time it lands will it damage the fly's vision?  Does the color of  laser matter?

[Assistant]
I believe so.

House flies, as you may know, have compound eyes; eyes composed of smaller units called ommatidia.  Each unit works very much like vertebrate eyes, focusing light onto the retina, only there are many of them forming a single image.  As lasers are a concentrated beam of ~~excited~~ photons, the lens of the eye (or eyes in this case) will focus the light onto a very small area on the retina, causing localized burning and tissue damage.

Hopefully this helped.


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

[User]
Do bent space-time and gravitons both cause objects in space to attract one another?

I'm having a hard time understanding why there seem to be two different explanations for how objects attract one another.

[Assistant] They are different descriptions of the same thing. Changes in the gravitational field propagate as gravitational radiation, and quanta of gravitational radiation are called gravitons. The classical limit of a spin-2 massless (graviton) quantum field theory is general relativity.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How are taun-tauns able to live on Hoth?

As we see when Han goes out searching for Luke, the taun-taun dies when it gets too cold.

However, we also see that there are few refuges from the cold, aside from the abodes of the wampas, which happily feast on taun-tauns.

So where do the taun-tauns go to escape from the perpetual cold?

[Assistant]
Per wookieepedia:

>Despite these adaptations, tauntauns sought shelter at night to avoid the extreme nighttime temperatures of Hoth. When shelter was unavailable, they used their evolved ability to hibernate during low nighttime temperatures, maintaining a lukewarm internal temperature. Some tauntaun breeds actually froze to death if awakened after sundown.


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

[User] ELI5: The security council has 5 permanent members (the winners or WWII) - US, UK, China, Russia, and France. How come other Allied countries that won don't have permanent seats? (Canada, India, Poland)

[Assistant] Because those permanent seats (along with veto rights) were given out to countries that were world powers at the time, not just winners of WWII. Basically, the security council realised that unless they got these five world powers involved, a security council was going to be useless. So they were willing to offer these particular countries a few concessions to get them to sign up. While other countries, such as Canada and India contributed greatly to WWII, they also didn't have the same sort of influence on world politics as Russia or the US did, so it was not that critical to get them on board.


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

[User] How common were various forms of cancer before the 20th century?

[Assistant]
Very hard to assess, because of one really big problem: Diagnosis sucked.  If you have someone come in coughing up blood and losing weight in the early 1800s, what's your diagnosis? Hint: It ain't lung cancer.  Tuberculosis was so rampant, any lung disease with related symptoms was classified as consumption (which was killing something like one in four people in Europe at the time).  Post mortem autopsies weren't routine, and common cancer types like leukemia weren't even discovered until the mid 1800s.  X-rays are a recent invention, so you couldn't see most tumors without invasive surgery.

All that said, cancer rates go up with age.  The rate in of death by cancer for a 20 year old is .06 people per thousand per year.  For an 85+ year old, it's 26 people per year per thousand (43 times higher risk). So it's probably safe to say that people in the past almost certainly got less cancer than we get today, because they weren't living as long.


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

[User]
How do Prions transfer their shape to other proteins?

All I could find is the are ABLE to do this, but how do they do this? Aren't prions just a misfolded protein? How could they reshape a protein?

[Assistant]
Generically speaking, when proteins misfold, it can expose regions which are normally buried within the protein. These regions can bind to the surface of other proteins, destabilising their normal shape and stabilising the misfolded shape. These exposed regions are often hydrophobic, meaning they hate water and its energetically unfavourable for them to be exposed to it, so the misfolded proteins then aggregate, clumping together, and the cycle repeats.

Looking at a 2019 review, it looks like the best current models point to a seeding/nuclear ion process where prion fragments can act as a seed/template, catalysing incorporation of previously healthy protein into a polymer aggregate; eventually the polymer fragments and each of the new fragments in turn can act as a seed.


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

[User]
Can long molecules split because of motion/torque?

Say you have a very long molecule and somewhere in the middle there is a weak bond or there is significantly more mass on the ends of the molecular string. Can motion cause the molecule to break into two pieces?

[Assistant] Absolutely. The molecular weight of polymers is typically reduced by industrial processes that have a lot of shear, such as injection molding. I.e the size of the molecule is reduced due to the amount of pull exerted by the equipment.


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

[User]
How can a virus reside in a host,but not trigger symptoms?

We all are aware of asymptomatic spread of COVID, but what I'm trying to understand is how a virus can reside in a host, not trigger the normal symptoms , and ultimately still spread the virus.

Is the virus kept under control by the immune system? Is it hidden by the immune system and undetected? Is it hidden in other cells?

[Assistant]
Remember that infections are always an arms race between the host and the pathogen. As evolution occurs, each side tends to develop shinier and newer arms against the other. So for hosts, this is in the form of better immune systems and mucosal defense barriers. For pathogens, this is better means of evading the host immune systems and defense barriers. There are several viruses known to lay dormant inside a host without causing overt symptoms because it's either dormant or the host immune system keeps it in check. One example is shingles, caused by the zoster virus. You get infected with zoster as a kid if you get chickenpox. It lies dormant in your dorsal root ganglia where it's kept in check by your immune system. When you age, your immune system wanes and at some point, it can re-emerge as shingles. That's why we vaccinate older people above a certain age with Shingrix - to boost their immune systems against zoster reactivation.

Herpes simplex is another example (same family as zoster). Herpes infections don't go away - you can treat outbreaks but the virus is still dormant inside of you when an outbreak isn't occurring.

And then there's the case of all the "junk" DNA that we all have inside our genomes. One theory is that they're the result of integration by symbiotic viruses. The DNA doesn't do anything that we can tell but remember that the purpose of any living (or close to living, in the case of a virus) thing is to replicate. If junk DNA is just remnants of ancient viral genetic material, then those viruses have done a great job of replication - each time the human genome is reproduced, the virus is also recapitulated.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why did Obi-Wan give Luke up for adoption instead of keeping him and training him from childhood?

The Empire has risen, the Jedi are defeated and now Obi-Wan and Yoda are planning on going into hiding. But first they have to deal with hiding two Skywalker children. One is sent to Alderaan under the protection of Bail Organa, but Luke is to be brought to Tatooine, the very place that Obi-Wan is planning on going into hiding.

Why didn't Obi-Wan adopt Luke and raise him from infancy in the Jedi ways? The Jedi Order's downfall was accepting a child for training that was too old, and now they have the opportunity to train a child with huge Force potential the 'correct' way. Why did Obi-Wan give up Luke instead of keeping him for training while living in the wastes of Tatooine?

[Assistant] He may have doubted himself; after all, the last child he raised turned into Darth Vader.  Possibly it was because he was worried he would be found and slain, like many Jedi in the period, and didn't want to risk Luke so directly, so he just lived nearby.


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

[User] ELI5: why are semi truck engines diesel, while passenger cars' are gasoline? Why are there no gasoline big rigs?

[Assistant] Diesel engines are also a lot more tolerant of extreme conditions such as running non-stop and idling for extended amounts of time. Gasoline engines tend to overheat when idling for a longer-than-reasonable amount of time, and a constant duty-cycle causes them to wear faster. A diesel engine can last 500,000 - 1,000,000 miles if properly cared for. Most gasoline engines are lucky to achieve half that.


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

[User] ELI5 why adobe flash is no longer being used? For that matter what does it even do ??

[Assistant]
TLDR: Flash is full of security holes and there are better ways to do what Flash does these days.

Flash was invented in 1996 during an earlier era of the internet when browsers were much more limited.

Adobe Flash allowed for video playback, interactive components of websites, and flash based animations that were revolutionary at the time.

Flash resulted in a renaissance of sorts with flash based video games (newgrounds.com) and flash cartoons (Homestar Runner) becoming popular ways to waste time just as the internet was becoming common place.

So why are we killing it?

Because Flash is a dinosaur. The flash plugin is full of security holes and despite Adobe's hard work over the past few years to patch it the industry has moved on.

Newer technologies like HTML5 have taken it' place and are honestly better at doing what Flash used to do.

Continuing to use flash on your website today merely puts your website and your users at risk.

Adobe meanwhile is happy to be rid of it because they have been effectively handing it out for free for years now. They made their money selling tools that made flash based websites and games, but that well has long since dried up so to them spending money to patch an obsolete protocol is nothing more than an unnecessary cost. So they have willingly killed off their own product.

Basically we don't need it anymore and keeping it around is causing more problems than it's worth.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do cats follow their owners into the bathroom?

Every time I go to the bathroom, whether its to use the toilet or take a shower, my cat decides to join me. She won't leave until I'm done and often waits for me in the sink. Why do they do this? Bathroom camaraderie? worried about me?

[Assistant]
Note: these answers are based on the information provided, and are speculative of other behavioral cues.

It could indicate that you are considered the alpha.  Public (to a pet, like leaving the bathroom door open) display of your defecatory and urinary odors is a signal of dominance among cats.  Also, in the wild, a cat defecating is at one of it's most vulnerable times, so having other cats around to observe is good for protection.


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

[User]
ELI5: how are unpaid internships still legal?

I know universal just got sued because of this.

But how, even for credit (which most people have to pay for), is this practice still legal.

[Assistant]
Basically the same reason why volunteer work is still legal.

Companies that offer unpaid internships almost always have you sign a document that essentially boils down to you agreeing to do your work on  a volunteer basis.


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

[User]
[Edge of tomorrow] how long do you think tom Cruise was living that same day over again?

Was it only like a few months or year or decades?

[Assistant]
Definitely longer than months. IIRC, we *see* at least a month's worth of iterations in various montages. Just finding the way off the beach must've taken months, and then after that, the time lengthens because he can travel farther.

I don't know about decades. Once he learned the path, he could utilize it each time, successfully, until he reached a new decision point. And he was highly motivated to memorize the correct path, after he figured out that was what he had to do. So I'd say after training, he and Rita were pretty efficient about finding the path. I'd guess a year or two all together.


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

[User]
CMV: I think that men not wearing short skirts and short shorts are argument against women also wearing such revealing clothes

Edit: Please assume "or vice versa" to the end of the title.

Usually the answer to why women wear short shorts, or short skirts are given as, 'they choose what they wear' + it is hot in summer, therefore shorter == good, therefore it is justified.

If this is so, why are men's clothing lengthier + less tight ?

I would take the position for either men are being disadvantageous for not being able to wear such clothing or, common women's preferred choice of tighter+reveling-er clothing is over the line and is bad for provoking men's sexual tendencies or therefore taking advantage of them(and a we all know, sometimes the opposite).

I personally hate butt naked short skirt people sweating on subway seats and find it somehow offensive when someone in front of me walk up the stairs while holding her short skirt to her butt with both hands, so not to let the air reveal the secret...

I am a male, immigrant, heterosexual and a non-religious person who lives in NYC.

[Assistant] Men's clothes are currently longer because that happens to be a more popular style at the moment.  This hasn't always been the case- see men's shorts in the 70s for an example.  Same thing with women, styles have swung between both short and long at several points in the last century.


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

[User]
ELI5:How did Galileo observe that Earth revolves around the Sun? Can an average person today convince themselves of that fact with some basic observations and math?

i.e. without any equipment that is super fancy.

[Assistant] He didn't. He observed that Jupiter's moons revolved around Jupiter. The previous position supported by the Church was that the Earth was the center of the Universe, and that everything outside it revolved around us. The demonstration that, at least, the four moons he could observe did _not_ revolve around Earth was the final blow to that model. It had already been suggested, long before Galileo, that the planets went around the sun.


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

[User]
[Batman] Why did Dick Greyson leave to become Nightwing?

Is there a definitive version?  Thought I read that he tried to take on Two Face without Batman and almost got killed and Bruce fired him.

[Assistant] When Robin was 17, he was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this scared Batman into ending his career for good. Dick realized at that point that he had grown up: he no longer relied on Batman and, in fact, he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime-fighting methodology. His new-found independence and Titans' duties in New York left less time for his former commitments in Gotham City. He also dropped out of Hudson after only one semester. Batman, however, was less than pleased. He informed Dick that if he no longer wanted to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin.


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

[User] ELI5: Why isn't there a simple web-based database where we can see which companies and special interest groups have met/funded specific politicians?

[Assistant]
They've actually tried to pass legislation similar to this in the recent past, twice during Obama's tenure actually. However, it was struck down. It was proposed but by a Democrat both times, but it was struck down ubiquitously across the aisle both times.

Politics has become a career for politicians now as compared to it being a sort of *side-job* during the George Washington era. In today's politics, their **livelihoods** are at risk. Thus, their priorities, which should include the wishes of the American public, are now their 401k, Jr's college fund, etc.


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

[User] Do animals have wars, like humans do?

[Assistant]
Gorilla's do sometimes, they use sticks as weapons and kill the children of opposing groups.

Meercats are about the same.

The kings are army ants though.
They form groups to charge opposing ant hills and have huge battles.


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

[User] How do complex structures (like eyes) evolve where the individual components seemingly only offer increased fitness as a completed system?

[Assistant]
The starting premise is wrong.

The eye, though you wouldnt necessarily recognize it as such, began hundreds of millions of years ago with unicellular life forms like green algae, that have a structure known as an eye spot. While quite primitive compared to the complex eye, it performs the crucial task of using photosensitive pigments to detect light and transduce it into a signal the organism can react to. This gives a tremendous advantage, for example, by guiding photosynthetic cells towards light so they can grow and reproduce.

Eventually this spot became a pit as tissue surrounding it grew outwards around it, perhaps as a form of protection, and also giving greater directional sensitivity.

Fast forward a bit, and the pit is now at the back of a nearly enclosed spherical cavity, which courtesy of basic physics, acts like a primitive pinhole camera, so it can now detect low-resolution images.

Fast forward some more, and now there is a basic transparent membrane filling the entry hole, separating the contents of this proto-eye from the surrounding environment. Now it is possible to customize the internal contents to aid further refinement of the chemicals and structures, incrementally improving function. Maybe the light-sensitive area expands, and/or other light-reactive molecules emerge and add detection of additional colors of light.

This transparent membrane eventually thickens, changing the focus of light, and now the eye can see objects over a wider range of distances. This thickened outer layer has become a cornea, which is responsible for the majority of refraction (ability to bend light).

Moving ahead, the multiple layers begin to differentiate into the fixed-focus outer cornea, and an internal optical layer that adds even more refractive power. This lens becomes controllably flexible, and now we have the ability to see near, intermediate and far objects clearly.

So in just a handful of traceable steps we have evolved from primitive light sensitivity to detailed vision. Of course these steps took millions of years, billions of generations, untold zillions of experiments (most probably failures that dropped out of the running). In fact, it also appears that this process has been repeated independently multiple times throughout history, leading to different successes, which we distinguish by the variety of photoreceptors seen across the animal kingdom.


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

[User] [PotC] Could someone please explain the rules to the liar's dice game Will and Bootstrap were playing against Davy Jones?

[Assistant]
Each player rolls 5 dice.  The players take turns announcing how many dice there are with a certain number showing between the two of them for example dice showing 5.  If you think there are not as many 5s  between the two people as the other person announced you can call their bluff and you both reveal your dice and show what they rolled.  If there aren't enough 5s showing the person that announced that number loses a life, if there are enough the person that called the bluff loses a life.

Bill bid 3 twos so he's saying between the three of them there are 3 twos at least

Davy Jones bids 4 fours so he's saying there are at least 4 fours between them

Will bids 4 fives so  he's saying there are at least 4 fives between them (usually you can't do this you need to go to a higher number of dice but it's a movie)

Bill bids 6 threes

Davy Jones bids 7 fives as he has 4 fives and Will should probably havve quite a few fivves as he bid 4 fives

Will bids 8 fives for the same reason Davy Jones did they are both claiming a lot of fives (if he was called here he would have lost as there are only 7 fives in total

Bill then bids 12 fives to intentionally lose as he knows Davy Jones is going to call Will's bluff.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Why doesn't anyone ever weaponize transporters?

As far as I can tell, the military applications for transporter technology are limitless. It's well documented that transporters don't work through shields, but once I've disabled those through traditional means what's to stop me from disabling your ship by stealing components from key systems? Or using it as a delivery system for precisely placed explosives? Or simply deconstructing your hull, or your crew?

[Assistant]
They do occasionally...Voyager particularly had a few incidents during her journey home.

The Equinox stole a specialized shield generator off Voyager with their transporter.

Voyager also beamed a torpedo aboard a Borg scout ship on another occasion.

And in The Void, they are used to steal supplies and ship components...

Editing in an hour later:

Also such tactics are probably frowned upon by the Federation, probably breaks their rules of engagement to just  Code 14 a bunch of people, just like they would never use bio-weapons...just not ethical in their mindset.

I would bet on the other side, the Terran Empire would probably use these tactics readily, both the transporter and bio-weapons for that matter.


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

[User] Was the cause of the multi-state dead bird epidemic (shortly after New Years 2011) ever determined?

[Assistant] Selective reporting. Flocks of birds sometimes die off in large numbers due to trauma (most birds are pretty much one loud noise away from death at all times). Once the Arkansas death was picked up by the news-- forgetting to mention that it happens all the time-- a whole bunch of flock deaths started to get reported, whereas usually they'd be ignored.


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

[User] ELI5: The process of video game development and why kickstarters need so much money for them.

[Assistant]
Expensive workers using expensive tools.

Suppose you have five workers earning $20/hour? That's over $5,000 for every week of development!

Suppose you have some really passionate developers willing to work poverty wages? Paying two people $5/hour for two years is still $20,000.

This is before we even cover other costs. Hardware and tools may cost over $3,000 per employee, and there are taxes and legal fees. Don't forget that Kickstarter takes a cut, and that many projects lose a huge chunk of funding, maybe as high as 30-50%, to backer rewards.

And *marketing*. Do you really think it's reasonable to spend forty grand making a game, and market it without spending a dime? Looking at major publishers, marketing is sometimes just as much of a cash drop as the development, itself.

If anything, the question isn't why their budgets are so high, but why they are so low.


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

[User] ELI5:What does it feel like to become addicted to cigarettes?

[Assistant]
i'm 30 and started smoking when i was 12.  by the time i was 15 i was a full fledged pack a day smoker.  over the years i have witnessed many people fall prey to the habit.

you start by smoking here and there, maybe you don't inhale at first, maybe you just like to blow it out your nose or smoke it like a cigar.  it's only on certain occasions.

if you are fiddling with cigarettes, you likely have friends that are smoking, also.  so you are hanging out, maybe having a few beers, and you see them smoking and decide to be social with them, and also have a cig, but alas, you have none.  so you bum a few off a friend for the night.  you kind of like it.  it just feels good to have one with some drinks or just when you're talking and laughing.  soon you do this every time you get together for a drink/movie/whatever.  it's not a big deal, it's just once in a blue moon.

after a while, your friends start complaining that you are always asking for cigarettes but you never seem to have your own, you cheap son of a bitch.  those shits are expensive.  maybe next time you could come prepared and let *other* people bum them.  so you buy a pack prior to the next gathering.  it feels weird to order them at the counter, but whatever.  it's only for the night and you feel like an asshole smoking everyone's cigarettes all night.  you see how they act when they run low.  you don't want to be that guy.

so now you have your own pack of cigarettes.  it's just for the socialness of it.  but at the end of the night you have leftovers.  you leave them for a friend because what the hell do you need them for?  the night is over.  it's not like you're going to smoke them tomorrow.

eventually there comes a time where you decide you may as well keep the cigarettes you bought.  they *are* expensive and you're sick of having to buy them every time you go out, so you'll just save them for next time.

now, a weird thing happens when you have your own pack of cigarettes.  maybe you'll get the idea to just smoke one after a shitty day, maybe you won't.  maybe you'll have your own 6 pack while you watch the game.  if you have a few beers, you will notice a strange urge to have one of those cigarettes.  for the past few months, every time you've had drinks with friends you've had a few cigarettes.  it's like they go together.  it's just what you do.  but there's no one else there, it's just you.

so you have a little debate with yourself.  you don't *need* the cig, but you sure would like to have it.  it's not going to ruin your night either way.

if you decide to have that cigarette, you have fucking failed.  you are doomed.  *doomed*.  what you have done is solidified an association with having drinks and smoking cigarettes.  it is no longer a social thing.  you love the little buzz you get.  you love playing with it as you sip your drink.  you love trying to make smoke rings or whatever other cutesy shit you do to amuse yourself while you smoke it.  you don't realize it, but you now have a habit.  an itsy bitsy manageable habit, but a habit nonetheless.

you may now find yourself looking forward to outings with friends because you can't wait to have an occasion to smoke a cig or two.  you might notice a feeling of "nakedness" if you have beer or two with dinner but no cigarette.  you might hang out with your smoker friends on non drinking occasions and feel that same sense of something missing.  then you see someone light a cig and it hits you.  you *want* that fucking thing.  shit.  you have another internal debate with yourself about whether or not to have a cigarette without the drinks.  you don't even have cigs on you.  if you decide to bum one now, you are officially screwed.  you gave in.  now you've solidified an association between social occasions and smoking.  you will come to expect this at gatherings.  going out to dinner?  let me join you for a cigarette.  cookout?  you don't mind if i have one of those, do you?  i didn't bring any because i'm not drinking.

so now you smoke at social drinking occasions, you might smoke when drinking at home, and you also smoke when just hanging out.  your friends again chastise you for bumming their cigarettes.  buy your fucking own if you want one that bad, they say.  you promise to bring your own next time...

now you smoke often enough to expect a cigarette after certain occasions.  after dinner? smoke.  movie's over?  smoke.  drinks at bob's?  smoke.  you dun goofed, and it's all downhill from here.  you've accidentally built cigarettes into your life.

**tl:dr** a chain of events will lead to your expecting cigarettes on certain occasions, and if you buy them to fulfill this expectation, you're screwed.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why don't more Jedi carry more then one lightsaber?

We see multiple times that they will purposefully go out of their way to grab another lightsaber in a dire fight, such as when another Jedi falls. So it is reasonable to assume that it gives them an advantage. There are also Jedi that do carry more lightsabers, so it isn't necessarily against their code or philosphy. So why not? It seems super useful, even if only for a emergency powerboost or as a back up when the lightsaber inevitably leaves their hands.

[Assistant]
A) A lightsaber is an incredibly personal thing to a Jedi.  It's not something they (generally) just go to the store and buy off the shelf.  They build it themselves.
B) Most aren't ambidextrous, or just not that good at fighting with two sabers so the advantage is minimal.
C) "Leaving their hands" is not an issue most of the time as they can use the force to get it back.
D) A lightsaber is not that difficult to activate with the force.  What happens if you are fighting a force user with your "emergency lighsaber" swinging from your hip?


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

[User] Does driving towards a radio transmitter make the song play faster?

[Assistant]
If it is amplitude modulated, yes it does! The effect is minuscule, but it's there. It's a phase modulation as part of the Doppler Effect.

If it is frequency modulated, no it will not. All that happens there is that the central frequency, as it does with the AM broadcast, will become slightly higher.


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

[User] ELI5: How are "albums sold" determined in this era of music streaming?

[Assistant]
The music industry has a specific unit for that: the "Album-equivalent unit". A single physical album sale is defined to be equivalent to ten song downloads, or 1500 song streams.

So, if you as an artist sells 5000 albums, people download your song 10.000 times, and your music was streamed 1.300.000 times, you are credited with 'selling' 6800 albums.


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

[User] [Fury Road] How did the Buzzard gang - a bunch of Russians - end up in the Outback?

[Assistant]
They drove.

They were a family of Russian expats.

They were working on something when they became isolated. Imagine a Russian cruise ship being stranded in Australia or oil rig etc. Possibly even a Russian passenger jet going down in the desert...

They only sounded Russian and it was a part of their schtick.


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

[User] Why is it so difficult to find a unifying theory in physics and why is it necessary? Can't it all work separately?

[Assistant]
> Why is it so difficult

I could go into details of examples of current difficulties but that would just lead us astray from the real answer, which is: why should it be easy?

>Can't it all work separately?

Often it can in practice. For example you could have a theory that works well for slow speeds but badly at high speeds, and another theory that works well at high speeds but badly at low speeds. So if you are working with slow speeds you can use theory 1 and if you are working with high speeds you can use theory 2. But the problem is that in neither case is the theory *exactly* true. So while each might work OK in practice, we *know* that neither theory is the "right" one. This is partly just a point of intellectual curiosity; there is some correct description of nature out there, and we would like to find it. But it also can have practical consequences. For example maybe the right theory predicts other things besides simply being slightly more accurate. Maybe it presents a totally new perspective on the world.


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

[User] In contrast to our ability to fabricate complex and effective synthetic drugs to combat illness, artificial sweeteners and flavorings still taste a little "off", is it really that difficult to perfect?

[Assistant]
Those complex and synthetic drugs are also a little off (see side effects).  There are a couple chemical reasons side effects can happen, but the relavent one to this particular situation is very simple.  The same molecules can have trigger multiple different interactions in different areas.

In the case of artificial sweeteners, the one of the reasons for the odd aftertaste is that the sweetener molecules can trigger several different taste responses besides "sweetness".  As an example, saccharin triggers the taste buds for sweetness and the ones for bitterness, creating that strange flavor.

Further, artificial sweeteners, even ones that aren't bitter, don't behave quite like sugar.  The are usually far sweeter than sugar, and linger longer than sugar.  Since your body doesn't expect that level of sweetness and persistance in natural products, your brain says "this isn't quite right".

Ultimately, the reason they taste different because they ARE different.  Every molecule is unique, and has a range of unique interactions based on it's properties.  When you try and replace one molecule for another, especially an organic molecule, it's very difficult to account for all the unknown / unexpected interactions.  This is a persistant challenge in synthetic organic chemistry.


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

[User]
I believe it is a waste of time for me to vote in a genral/national election as it will have virtually no effect on the outcome. CMV

I'm talking here about national/general elections e.g a new Prime Minister or President. Not smaller ones where it could potentially make a difference.

The first thing people say when I mention this is 'well if everyone thought that we'd be screwed'. This is irrelevant, my actions have no effect on anyone else. Therefore, my single vote will still make no difference and it is a complete waste of time going to vote. As it is for any other individual.

[Assistant]
OP - I've often wondered about this too and am curious how you feel about the following hypothetical situations. Let's pretend we're talking about a presidential election:

1. If only three people were allowed to vote for the president (you being one of them), would you feel as though your vote could make a difference? If so, would you feel it strongly enough to actually vote?

2. If you voted in such an election and the other 2 voters voted the same way as you, would you feel as though your vote was wasted?

3. If you voted in such an election and the other 2 voters voted for a different candidate (so yours lost), would you feel as though your vote was wasted?

4. If it were 10 voters total instead of 3, would you feel as though your vote could make a difference? If so, would you feel it strongly enough to actually vote?

5. 100 voters? 1000 voters? 10000 voters?

6. At what approximate point would you feel as though your vote no longer mattered?


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

[User] ELI5: If birth control is only ~99% effective, are my wife and I statistically likely to get pregnant after having sex 100 times?

[Assistant]
The 99% effectiveness is measured as the chance to get pregnant over an entire year, not per individual encounter. As in, using the pill, perfectly, over an entire year, 1% of couples will get pregnant.

Additionally, the chances of a particular outcome remain the same (unless the circumstances change). Meaning if you have 100 bags with 10 marbles, five black and five white, the chance of drawing a white marble per bag will always be 50%. That is the same whether you just drew a black marble in the last bag, or whether you just drew 99 white marbles in a row.


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

[User]
Camera moving away from earth?

If a space ship had a live stream camera, as it goes away from earth how would the time delay work.

[Assistant] I assume you mean the speed of light delay.  For every 300,000 km (186,000 miles) distance further away from the Earth, the transmission from the ship would reach us one more second later.  For example, if the ship is as far away as the moon, the delay would be just over 1 second, and when it reaches a distance from the Earth of 3 million km the delay would be about 10 seconds.  And so forth.


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

[User]
[Dune] If the Imperial conditioning of Suk doctors was really that good, how was Yueh broken with what essentially amounted to simple blackmail?

It boggles the mind that for thousands of years of inter-familial warfare in the galaxy, the myth of Suk conditioning was never broken with just one known incident of a doctor's family being kidnapped. I mean, even a non-Mentat like me could have thought of that...

[Assistant] Suk doctors are supposed to be impartial, like Mentats.  Yueh was broken by love, which allowed him to be blackmailed.  As someone else mentioned, the Bene Gesserit achieved this using an early version of the kind sexual imprinting the Honored Matres would later hone to perfection.


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

[User]
Is there anywhere that models predict will get nicer to live because of climate change?

Every time I read about the impacts of climate change, it's stories of ecological collapse, droughts, hurricanes, and so on. Is there anywhere that models predict the climate will get more moderate, the land more arable, and with more abundant fresh water?

To put another way, what's the best place to move to minimize the negative impact on my family?

[Assistant]
First off, "nicer to live" requires individual value judgements because not everyone is the same in what they like. By conventional metrics, most places are going to be losers in climate change but if the mean temperature was a bit warmer there will be some places which will generally be considered more pleasant places to live. Canada and Russian will be warmer but they will still have long dark winters. New York will get more like Miami and some people love Miami. It's known we are altering the climate but exact predictions of regional details are not as certain. It's not yet time to be homesteading new places based on predictions of climate 100 years in the future.

Rainfall and precipitation are also important factors in quality-of-life. While rain is inconvenient for picnics it essential for agriculture. Climate change is going to alter rainfall patterns but it's not as predictable which places will get hotter and drier and which get hotter and wetter. Storminess is also expected to increase for most places in the mid-latitudes. Timing of rainfall is also important - does it all come in winter or is it spread out through the year? It is unfortunately those places which are already struggling (Africa, Southeast Asia) which are forecast to have some of the worst negative effects on agriculture.


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

[User]
[DC] Could someone actually survive flying with Superman that high up while he's breaking sound barriers?

Thinking back to all the times you see Superman pick people up and take off then you hear the boom of him breaking the barrier. My thought is wouldn't the g forces from the initial take off alone make most people pass out which would likely lead to them dying?

[Assistant]
In reality, yes they'd die.

It's assumed that supes also has secondary powers to accent his main powers, so as to make them actually viable and not useless. It's commonly theorized that's supes has some sort of telekinetic barrier that he unconsciously uses on himself and whatever he's holding.

Similar to how the flash has a plethora of small super powers that allow his super speed to be fully effective instead of dramatically dangerous.


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

[User] ELI5: What is deadly about cancer ?

[Assistant]
Three big things:

* Cancer grows really, really fast and uses up a lot of nutrients in doing so
* Cancer abandons all the established rules of cell growth and may grow to a size that physically interferes with the function of other organs (half your lung being cancerous isn't good for your ability to breathe)
* Even if a cancer isn't in the worst imaginable location, the potential for metastasis hovers over your head constantly - that it might spread to a more vulnerable region of the body like the brain.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Prophecy or not, it is confirmed a few times. Anakin has more raw potential in the force than anyone ever. So why was his upbringing in the council so mundane? why didn't he have a multitude of teachers? special resources, etc. The council effectively had a force Nuke.

we know this was the sentiment by Qui-Gon, Yoda, Palps, Plagueis, and many others. you think the council would have treated him differently.

[Assistant]
I don't think his upbringing was mundane. They knew Anakin was exceptional and took advantage know of it. He was one of the tools they could count on when things got tough or some other Jedi was in over their heads. And he was just a relatively new Jedi Knight. All their over 'fixers' were veteran Jedi Masters.

Part of the problem was that the Jedi Order that despite Anakin's abilities, Anakin was still just a young man who grew up on a harsh planet as a slave, lost his mother who he was actually raised by unlike other Jedis, then spent the rest of his teenage years fighting a war he hardly believed in. Anakin would swoop in to say the day, they would cheer, he would say/do something crazy because of his shattered mental state, they'd give him an empty pat on the back and GTFO of his presence as soon as possible to avoid hearing about Anakin's problems.

Anakin the war hero was great. They loved that guy. Anakin the guy who needed to be in therapy, not so much. They avoided that Anakin. Also some were actually jealous or intimidated by Anakin.


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

[User] ELI5 Why Spinal Injuries (Even Minor Ones) Are Next To Impossible To Completely Fix.

[Assistant]
Take one strand of overcooked spaghetti noodle. Break it. Now put it back together. Not so bad. Thats a nerve in your arm.

Now take a whole fistful of overcooked spaghetti noodles. Rip those in half. Now reconnect them to the correct noodles without mushing any other noodle up. And do it while still holding them in your fist. Thats your spine.


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

[User]
[Dune] Why are Houses Atreides and Harkonnen so small?

It's not like they're modest families controlling a small castle, they're ruling planets roughly the size of Earth. So in the beginning of the original Dune, why is House Atreides only Leto, Jessica, and Paul? Was it fighting with the Harkonnens that diminished their numbers, or was there some sort of stupid policy stating that the duke could only have one son?

[Assistant] In part due to the Bene Gesserit's breeding program, particularly because House Atreides and Harkonnen being an important part of the last stage of the program, they intentionally limit these two Houses so that no accidental Kwisatz Haderach would be born early. The one time Jessica ignored orders and had a child, look what happened.


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

[User] [MARVEL] Why is Kraven obssessed with Spider-Man specifically?

[Assistant] Kraven was initially hired by his half-brother, the Chameleon, to hunt Spidey down. However, in defeating him, Spider-Man proved a compelling enough prey that Kraven was only barely interested in hunting anyone else until he'd proven that even the wily web-head was no match for him.


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

[User]
How can a dimension be 'small'?

When I was trying to get a clear view on string theory, I noticed a lot of explanations presenting the 'additional' dimensions as small. I do not understand how can a dimension be small, large or whatever. Dimension is an abstract mathematical model, not something measurable.

Isn't it the width in that dimension that can be small, not the dimension itself? After all, a dimension is usually visualized as an axis, which is by definition infinite in both directions.

[Assistant]
Think of the surface of a garden hose, which is two dimensional.  You can go around it or along it.

Now imagine viewing that hose from very far away.  It looks more one dimensional.  The second circular dimension is compact.  This is just an analogy; in reality a garden hose is a three dimensional object in a three dimensional world.

The smaller dimensions in string theory aren't curled up into loops exactly, they are curled up into things called Calabi-Yau shapes.


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

[User]
ELI5:How do they catch people torrenting?

Can they catch people streaming copyrighted content?

[Assistant]
Let's start with how the torrenting works.

By seeding a torrent, you let a tracker or more than a tracker know that you are sharing the contents of that torrent. Then, you can upload the link to that torrent on tracker sites such as thepiratebay (Which is basically just a massive list) so that people can download FROM you and share it themselves.

This is basically peer to peer sharing and there is one receiving side and one sending side. The magic is there are tracking sites that let people know people are sharing some content and clients that prevent people from doing bad things like lying about what they upload. There is no third side and that's where the problem begins.

The company who is persuaded that piracy is bad can upload its own files to see if people will download them. If people do so without a VPN, that's bad news for them because the uploading side knows that someone with their IP is downloading their leally protected content from them. Which means they can bust you.

So, use a VPN if you want to be safe or don't download "hot" torrents like EA's games. Stuff with fewer seeders usually turn out to be safer (music, movies etc.)


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

[User] [Star Trek]did Janeway violate Sevens right to self determination when she denied her desire to return to the Borg?

[Assistant]
Yes, but sometimes you have to fight poison with poison. Annika Hansen had her right to self determination taken away when she was assimilated by the Borg. It's like brainwashing. When Seven of Nine was separated from the collective she still suffered from that brainwashing. Her desires were not her own, but those of the Borg collective.

You could even argue that the answer is no. The Borg took that right from her, Janeway returned it to her. She just couldn't do so right away.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is happening when something gets "sun bleached"?

For example, they say the flag the US planted on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission should be all white now due to "sun bleaching" what physics is happening here?

[Assistant] Ultraviolet rays cause damage over time, leading to breaking down the actual molecules of ink/dye/paint/etc that give something it's colour. Eventually all of the colour molecules are broken into smaller pieces and all colour is lost.


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

[User]
Using freezing point depression how does adding salt to ice (0 C) reduce the temp (to <0 C)? or does it?

I understand how freezing point depression works with the salt ions disrupting ice crystal lattice formation. However, when I'm looking at pages for homemade ice cream they say that adding salt allows for the mixture to be below the freezing point of water.
While I can see that adding salt to the ice will melt some of the ice and water will allow for more heat transfer from the cream to the brine (than just ice alone), I don't see how the temperature can be reduced below 0 C. There is nothing colder around it to remove heat from the mixture and everything around it is warmer and will be adding heat to the brine.
How does the brine become colder than 0 C?

[Assistant] When you add salt and lower the freezing temperature of the solution, ice will begin to melt because it's then above the freezing temperature. However, ice requires a lot of energy when it melts, which it will take from it's surroundings and therefor decrease the overall temperature.