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

[User]
[DC] Does The Flash (or any other speedster) age quicker?

If not do they age slower (explain).

[Assistant]
Not regularly but its possible for them to do some wonky speed force stuff to age quickly. There was a time when the justice league was teaming up with the evil justice league or something to do a thing and they need a speed force guy to do something. Bruce specifically said flash isnt fast enough because he knew it would cause rapid aging and death.

Edit: To clarify this meant evil flash had to do the task and then died.


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

[User]
If all of the atoms of heavier elements were formed in supernovae, why are they found all clumped together on earth?

One might expect a fairly uniform distribution of molecules under the conditions of a supernova, so then how do all the gold atoms find each other so as to form the veins that we ultimately find in mines?  Why are there separate "copper mines" and "gold mines" and not just "mines"?

[Assistant] Earth was once a larger planet (Theia)  that formed from the dust cloud surrounding the new Sun. Some of this dust was heavy elements from nearby supernovae. The heavy elements sank to the middle of Theia, and lighter silicates floated to the top. Earth would be very metal-poor at the surface ... except a body the size of Mars collided with Theia, blasting off a lot of the surface material and mixing heavier metals back into the crust. The impactor and freed silicates coalesced into the moon, what was left of Theia became Earth.


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

[User] [Star Wars] How long did it take for the Rebels to really organize(legends)?

[Assistant] In Legends? The Rebels were basically doing their thing right from the end of the Clone Wars, though there wasn't an actual Rebel Alliance ^TM, wherein the various leaders of some of the biggest Rebel factions officially joined together with the Treaty of Corellia, until about a year and a half or so before the Battle of Yavin.


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

[User]
ELI5: Where did all the last names come from?

Who made them all up? I know people used to be named according to their home, like Jesus of Nazareth, but where did all of the ones in existence today come from? How are new last names added over time?

[Assistant]
There are many naming traditions throughout the world.

Many English names reflect jobs. Remember that before public schools existed, boys (who spread the last name) would generally become apprentices of their father and learn his trade, take over after his death and teach their own sons, and so on. So it made sense for a person's last name to reflect their occupation, because the occupation was also hereditary.

This is where we get names like John *Carpenter*, Sue *Gardener*, Robert *Plant*, James *Cook*, Anna *Smith*, and so on. Some of these jobs no longer exist; a cooper was someone who made barrels, a fletcher was someone who made arrows, a thatcher was someone who made rooves, and those are all common surnames.

Some names still reflect places, like George Washington (where 'ton' is *town*, George from Washing-town).

Other names reflect the name of the father; Thomas *Jefferson* (Jeffery's-son), Jack *Williamson* (William's-son), and so on. In Iceland, this actually applies directly to the parent, rather than carrying one name perpetually; Bjork's last name is Guomundsdottir (Guomond's-daughter), and her child could be called Karen Bjorkdottir (Bjork's-daughter), and her grandson could be Bjorn Karenson (Karen's-son), etc.


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

[User] Eli5: Why do we only use aluminum foil? why not steel foil or copper foil?

[Assistant] If you look up specialty metal foils for sale, you can find other types of foil like Titanium foil, stainless steel foil, Nickel foil, and yes even Tin foil. You need to make your hats out of actual Tin foil, Tin is the only thing that stops the signals, aluminum foil amplifies them. The other foils are often used in aerospace applications, the reason that you don't see them sold in stores or commonly used is because of cost.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why, no matter how much I pee, does the toilet never fill up?

I just peed a bunch and the water line just stayed the same!

[Assistant] The drain has a "U" bend so that if water is added to one side (like urine) the other side rises just as much and drains down into the sewer. This has the benefit of making a water "plug" that prevents sewer smells from coming back up the line to bother you.


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

[User]
[Superheroes] Most Superheroes have to fight a villain in their origin stories before moving onto bigger and badder foes. Which established heroes would still struggle against that first bad guy?

Has the bad guy grown in skill right along with the hero?  Did the hero just get lucky in that first encounter and the villain is still formidable?

[Assistant]
Part of All Mights origin was that his nemesis, One for All, killed his master. They would continue their fight for years until All Might spends every last drop of his power to stay alive, defeat All for One and teach his successor. It is worth noting that his nemesis is still alive, but in custody. Who knows for how long more.

The Fantastic Four and Doom seem to tangle pretty evenly ever since their start. As does Charles Xavier and Magneto.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can my sleeping brain create a wildly imaginative dream with intricate detail, but my waking brain struggles to come up with a creative premise upon which to write a story?

[Assistant] The part of the brain that creates common sense is part of the brain that slows it's function when you sleep. Your brain is no longer trying to think rationally and is going through your memories. Occasionally, usually near the end of your sleep, these random senseless strolls through memory lane is remembered and the mind starts trying to make sense of it all and what you get is your standard dream. You dream at other times at night but your mind is too asleep to remember it or make sense of it.


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

[User]
ELI5 - Why does our body "twitch" as we are falling asleep sometimes?

Is it like a misfire or do we feel like our body is suddenly falling and overreact?

[Assistant]
It's called a hypnic jerk.

Why we do it as we fall asleep is a matter of speculation.  The current idea is that it's a holdover from primate days and it helped to ensure that we were secure where we were sleeping.  Basically is was your brain's way to tricking your body into thinking it was falling to make sure it reacted appropriately (and you didn't lose your balance and fall) before you went to sleep.


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

[User]
Does continental shift have any effect on man made structures like bridges and canals that connect them?

i.e. a bridge between Africa and Europe and Panama Canal?

[Assistant]
Oh yes, they wreak havoc on man made structures! Plate boundaries are shifting on average around 5cm per year, some are much slower but some are much faster (I think they clocked one in at 18cm / year) so there are *huge* engineering efforts combating these perpetual forces of nature.

The first thing they do is avoid these areas at all costs but if it's not avoidable (Think San Francisco, everywhere) then building things so they can either bend or have devices in the to let them either expand or contract is just the start. Now, overpasses and pipelines and sewers don't like to do these things so engineers either have to choose what the smaller cost is: to replace it after it is destroyed or to put in failsafes.

A highway or water infrastructure system failure isn't nearly as catastrophic as a hydro-electric dam failure so planning accordingly is the biggest factor in it all.


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

[User]
CMV: in soccer, when given the option, goal keepers should not take a goal kick

I've played soccer for a few years as well as watching it on tv.

And I still don't understood why goal keepers hoof the ball up the pitch after catching the ball in their hands.

IMO all they're hoping for is a potential 50/50. Also, when you kick a ball towards a defending team who are facing the ball, it seems much closer to 45/55.

While playing the ball from the back still has some risks, for professionals at least, they can and should be able to put a few passes together.

A much safer option is surely to pass the ball? Am I missing something?

[Assistant]
From a tactical perspective it's beneficial to hoof the ball for two reasons:

* it bypasses the first pressure line from the opposition, and if they're pushing high, they might be caught either with a high defensive line, which benefits fast strikers on your side on a possible lost ball / rebound, or a low defensive line that opens up a lot of space for your midfielders to create chances.
* the ball runs faster than any player, so it's the fastest way to launch a counter attack.

I also don't think it works in practice as it sounds on the paper, but it's a quick way to get the game back to where you want it to happen, the opposition's half, regardless of who is holding possession.


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

[User] Eli5 why do pregnancy testers not have a yes or no indication on the screen instead of the symbols and then matching them?

[Assistant]
One reason would be so they can easily manufacture and sell the same test in multiple international markets without having to do any localisation.

That said, some do come with written-language results (at least in the UK a lot of the 'digital' ones will show 'pregnant' as a result).


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

[User] How fast would you have to fly around the Earth for the Sun to stay 'up'?

[Assistant] At the equator, the Earth is rotating about 1000 mph (circumference is roughly 24,000 miles, 24 time zones). So you will need to go about 1000 mph opposite the direction of its rotation to keep position with a spot in the sky. If you go to different latitudes, the time it takes will decrease (smaller distance to travel). If you're close to the poles, however, you can just stand there for part of the year since the Sun will always be up in the sky during the summer months, but then in winter, the Sun is down and so there isn't a speed you can go without changing latitudes.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we associate mint with cold and pepper with hot?

What quantifies a food as being cold / hot? Mint and pepper are two examples that come to mind. They are two foods that do not objectively have a temperature, but are for some reason always classified as cold or hot, respectively. Anybody know the answer to this?

[Assistant]
Well, it's not that we "associate" these with hot or cold. The chemicals in that food actually trigger the *same* *nerve response* as actual hot or cold do.

From our brain's perspective, they are identical to "true" heat or "true" cold.

All of the sensations we ever have are just our brains reacting to some kind of stimulus, and there are countless ways to trick our brain into experiencing the "wrong" stimulus. Mint and spice are just two of the more safe, cheap, and common ways of doing so.


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

[User] ELI5 : Why is the Dutch oven Dutch ?

[Assistant]
Back in the old days, (early 1700s), everyone's cooking pots were made out of brass, which was kind of expensive. At that time an Englishman named Abraham Darby visited the Netherlands and saw them casting pots in molds of sand, instead of the usual English way, which used molds of clay. Darby realized that if he cast cooking pots with sand like the Dutch did he might be able to make them out of iron, which was way cheaper than brass.

It took a few years of experimentation but eventually Darby and his workers figured out how to make cooking pots of iron. Because they used the Dutch method of casting in sand they were called "Dutch ovens" and the name has stuck ever since.


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

[User] [The Matrix] Why did the resistance never program lightsabers, phasers, spaceships etc. into the construct before loading into the matrix, wouldn't the presence of such technology help humanity question their reality?

[Assistant] First, humans questioning their reality isn't pretty. There's a reason they have a general rule of not telling adults about the Matrix. Second, they can only run scripts that only interact with avatars. They can do pills and stuff, but they can't make lightsabers. The reason guns work is because of the physics engine.


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

[User]
ELI5: how does drinking diet coke make me fat if it has zero calories and is a liquid like water?

If you drink lots of water, isn't coke the same?

[Assistant] Basically the artificial sweeteners in the diet coke simulate insulin and/or sugar in your body, making you crave more sugar. Thus you eat more of other kinds of sugar, like cookies, chips, all your favorite carbs and other "unhealthy" foods.


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

[User]
[Star wars] during the clone wars/rise of the empire who would've been considered to be true mandalorians?

You have the "true mandalorians" who followed the teachings of Jaster Mereel (e.g. Jango Fett), the deathwatch and the mandalorians of planet mandalore. Who out of these three factions would be considered true mandalorians? Or rather mandalorians who are closest to the mandalorians of the mandalorian wars?

[Assistant]
The people of Mandalore *are* the true Mandalorians. Cultures change over time.

Deathwatch are a bunch of throwback hicks with delusions of grandeur. They're the Mandalorian equivalent of the people waving Confederate flags and saying "the South shall rise again!"


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

[User]
[Marvel] If Magneto being their father is/becomes canon (again), how old are the Maximoff twins?

I know that Erik being their father has been retconned, but let's just ASSUME that he is actually their biological father. Erik was a teenage/pre-teen during the Holocaust.

If this is the case, shouldn't the twins be somewhere in their sixties or fifties at their youngest (comic-book time, be damned). Although, since they are mutants and due to the nature of their powers, they are far less likely to look their age.

[Assistant]
It's been established that Magneto was born in 1925 or 1926, but that doesn't matter; ordinary human men can remain fertile into their eighties, so they could be almost any age.

On the other hand, his wife Magda was a human woman - unlikely to be having twins past her 40s. Like him she was a holocaust survivor, so probably born no later than 1940. They courted, married, had a child (Anya), watched her grow up a bit - and then she died in a fire, by which time Magda was already pregnant with the Maximoffs. This probably happened no later than the 1980s.

It's also worth considering that in their early appearances the twins were implied to be about the same age as the original X-Men, and more recently it's been all but stated that Jean Grey and Wanda Maximoff were of an age. If Jean were alive today she'd be in her early to mid 30s, so Wanda and Pietro are probably the same.


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

[User]
Why does food, like pretzels and bread, go stale?

And does stale food have less nutrients than when it was fresh? Thank you.

[Assistant]
Bread goes stale because of a phenomenon known as *retrogradation*, where the starch molecules align and crystalize. This binds water and leads to the firm, dry texture that we associate with stale bread. It's the same process that makes leftover rice tooth-crackingly hard.

Hard pretzels are baked down to an extremely low moisture content to give them the crunch and crisp we expect. When exposed to a generally humid atmosphere, they will absorb enough water to begin retrogradation as mentioned above.


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

[User] ELI5 why do we hear "s" sounds so well when someone whispers, but other sounds are harder to hear?

[Assistant] In normal circumstances, the S sound is made in the mouth without vibrating the vocal cords in the throat. Contrast that to the Z sound which differs in that it is voiced. During whispering, the movement of the vocal cords is suppressed, which reduces the loudness of all voiced sound and makes them very similar to unvoiced. But unvoiced sounds remain at their previous level that we are accustomed to hearing.


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

[User] ELI5 What makes asbestos so toxic to humans and why was it commonly used in the past?

[Assistant]
It was commonly used because we did not realize how toxic it is. And it won't burn.

The asbestos fibers are extremely fine and they have sharp edges that will micro cut the lungs. The small size allows them to get deep into the lungs. and the multiple cuts lead to scar tissue etc. that eventually prevents the lungs from working.

We just did not know any better.


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

[User] [Marvel]Given what we know about his motivations, where would Dr Doom end up on the D&D alignment chart?

[Assistant] Probably Lawful Evil - but to expand a little on why, DnD exists in a universe where there is a non-subjective model of good and evil. The concept is defined on a level beyond what the individual thinks they are. It doesn't matter all that much what alignment Doom believes he is, if he truly believes his actions are the only salvation of mankind (as is referenced in the comics) or not, the nature of the actions themselves are evil and that dictates his alignment.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the difference between brown and white eggs?

At my home grocery store, the only difference is that the brown eggs tend to be runnier with smaller yolks when compared to white ones, even though they are both grade A. Is this common, or is there really no difference?

[Assistant]
The color of the shell. There's really no difference otherwise.

I'd be willing to wager the difference in yolks you're seeing is coincidental. Fresh eggs tend to have tighter yolks, and they loosen up as they sit.


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

[User]
ELI5: If wood is likely to rot rapidly in humid conditions, why was it the material of choice for most premodern ships/boats/floating vessels?

I understand that it's easy to work with and shape, but what were some of the methods used to preserve it from damage?

[Assistant] Water doesnt really rot wood, fungal growth does.  Wood that is constantly under water like a boat doesnt have fungal issues because fungus doesnt really grow under water.  Dry rotting can happen to wood above the water line because the wood is constantly becoming wet and drying out so it breaks down.  They also used sealants like oils and tar for wood below the water line.  Salt water also prevents fungal growth.


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

[User]
Do freeze-dried fruits have the same nutritional value as fresh fruits?

Are freeze-dried fruits less nutritious than fresh fruit? Is there any kind of damage that the freeze-drying process does?

I'm not talking dried, sugared fruits, I mean just pure fruit freeze-dried.

[Assistant]
This question depends heavily on how one defines *nutritional value*.  If you mean specifically the inorganic mineral content, then the answer is flatly yes, freeze-dried fruits have the same inorganic mineral content as fresh fruits.  On the other hand if you are more interested in the content of various organic compounds in the fruits, such as organic vitamins, antioxidants, or sugars, the answer becomes slightly more complex.

The freeze-drying process simply removes water from the tissue, so it should have no direct impact on the either the inorganic or organic components *at the moment of removal*.  The process sort of locks in what is there by removing the water, which may have otherwise fostered an environment in which degradation of the organic compounds would have been more favored.  However, it is also important to note that many nutritionally-relevant compounds continue to be synthesized in fruit throughout the ripening process, and freeze-drying would also put a halt to that.

I think most people probably do not know how freeze-drying actually works, so here is a quick overview:  Fruit samples are frozen to some temperature well below the freezing point of water, and are then placed under a high vacuum.  We are all familiar with the melting and boiling points of water, but what we often fail to appreciate is that these points are also dependent on pressure; 0C and 100C are the respective melting and boiling points for water only at 1 atm.  If we increase or decrease the pressure, those points change.  For example, this is why boiled foods often include "high altitude instructions", which will say something along the lines of "boil 4 minutes longer."  Why?  At higher altitudes there is lower atmospheric pressure, meaning the water boils at a lower temperature, which means you need to cook your food longer to compensate.  Back to freeze-drying: in a high enough vacuum (i.e. low enough pressure) solid frozen water will actually be unable to melt into the liquid phase, but will instead *sublimate* directly to the gas phase.  You have probably observed this phenomena in carbon dioxide, which exhibits this behavior at normal atmospheric pressures.  So-called *dry ice* goes directly from a solid to gas, and in the freeze-drying process the water is behaving as a dry ice.

In freeze-drying, the water is removed in a low energy system through the process of sublimation.  Because no additional energy is added, no additional reactions altering the nutritional contents of the fruit (or other food).  Compare that to heated drying (or even cooking!), where energy is added and water leaves through boiling, a system favoring additional chemical reactions.  These reactions may well destroy some of the desired nutritional components, though on the other hand they create other compounds with desired properties, such as flavor.


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

[User] Why does salt in an open wound hurt?

[Assistant] Neurons have proteins embedded in their membranes that allow ions to pass through such as calcium ( Ca^2+ ), potassium ( K^+ ), and chlorine ( Cl^- ). When table sat (NaCl) gets into a wound, it breaks into Na^+ and Cl^- ions. The sudden influx of Cl^- ions disrupts the balance between positive and negative ions that are located on either side of the membrane. The interior of the neuron will shift from a positive charge to a negative change (or vice versa) resulting in an action potential (signal) being sent down the neuron, which triggers the sensation of pain.


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

[User]
CMV: I am afraid that being politically active might harm my future

I live right near DC. It's only a 30 minute drive and I'm always free to go any weekend. For some reason, I have this pathetic fear that being politically active might bite me in the arse someday. Like I'll somehow distance myself from the people around me by going to marches. In an age with no privacy(and as a person who heavily values privacy and anonymity), a simple picture taken by a stranger might bite me back. My family, church community, workplace, they might all view me differently if I decide to participate in a certain marches. This fear is so absurd, but it's exactly what's stopping me from trying to be a part of anything.

[Assistant]
This can play out two ways in the future:

1. You keep the same political views. You are an early leader in that political movement and a hero. Bernie Sanders led all sorts of sit ins and marches when he was in college, and it has only helped his presidential run today.

2. You change your political views. You can always say you saw the light and will be a hero for admitting you were wrong. For example, the plaintiff in Roe V. Wade changed her mind about abortion, and is a hero in the pro-life movement today.


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

[User]
[MCU Thor: R] When Thor and.... [Spoilers]

Loki first encounter Hela and Loki calls upon the bridge (I forgot the name of the teleportation). What would have happened if they managed to escape without Hela? Would Earth be in danger?

[Assistant]
If Hela decided she wanted to cause problems, she would be the biggest threat ever faced by the Avengers. Even without visiting Asgard and drawing upon its power she was stronger than Thor, and Thor is the biggest hitter the Avengers have. Hulk was also out of the picture, which hurts their chances even more.

But.

The Vision still has an Infinity Gem, Hela's Magic Swords of Arcane Stabbery wouldn't do fuck all to him, and he has more raw destructive output than pretty much anybody.

And then there's the good Doctor. Stephen Strange was alerted to the presence of Thor and Loki within minutes of their arrival. He would know about Hela soon after. Strange also demonstrated the power to absolutely *clown* an Asgardian, and that appeared to require minimal effort. He's also smart enough to bring out the Eye of Agamotto when he thinks shit might be about to go down.

Strange might not be able to take Hela in a straight fight, but it wouldn't *be* a straight fight. He'd just trap her in the Realm of Infinite Falling until he could figure out whose problem she should be.

Stephen Strange is a game changer for the MCU.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Hogwarts uses the Sorting Hat to determine which house a child belongs to, do other wizarding schools have their own sorting hats or do they use some other methods?

[Assistant] Not every wizarding school is a boarding school, and not every boarding school divides their students into houses by their personality. Those that do have a house system may have a magical system, or it may divide them by something simpler, like year.


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

[User]
[Zootopia] How would a gloved trunk even work?

When in the ice cream parlour, it's mentioned that an ungloved trunk is a health code violation.

But, how would a gloved trunk work when the scooping of ice cream and sprinkling of peanuts involves at least some suction of air/peanuts into the trunk itself?

How would a glove even work, when the whole idea is for the glove to not allow air to escape? Also, wouldn't a gloved trunk also mean that the elephants have to breathe through their mouths at all times, or else they'd blow up the glove like a balloon?

[Assistant]
>But, how would a gloved trunk work when the scooping of ice cream and sprinkling of peanuts involves at least some suction of air/peanuts into the trunk itself?

You'd have to make do without, just on pure muscle power. And you'd have to breathe entirely through your mouth while doing it. So you can understand why elephants are typically reluctant to accede to this particular health department request that only makes their lives more difficult.


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

[User]
[MCU]Why is Thor the only asgardian to come after Loki?

Thor isn't the only powerful Asgardian, and it would be boring if he was. He's also the crown prince, so it can't just be "a family squabble." So what does that leave you with? A test to see if the humans can handle it? With a lot of collateral damage.

[Assistant] In Avengers? Asgard hadn't rebuilt the Bifrost yet, and so Odin needed to rely on other magical means to transport Thor to Midgard. Sending Thor in this manner took a lot of energy, and so no one else could be sent with him (at least in a reasonable time frame).


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do antidepressants have the opposite effect in young people?

I keep hearing the disclaimers at the ends of antidepressant commercials about how they can increase thoughts of suicide in teenagers. Why don't they work the same in everyone regardless of age? The mechanism is the same no matter what, right?

[Assistant]
Here is the problem with younger people who are taking anti-depressants for the first time.  Younger people are kind of impulsive. They will do things that older people would usually think through. Imagine being depressed for awhile and having low energy. Imagine feeling worthless and guilty most of the time.

Suddenly, you get this medication that gives you more energy and allows you to think more clearly. Some of the things you may think more clearly about is suicide. The feelings of guilt and worthlessness don't go away very quickly. There is finally energy to attempt suicide, and you are impulsive enough to not put a lot of thought into it.

Older people who have a bit of maturity will talk to their doctor if they have increased thoughts of suicide. A teen may decide that is the best thing to do.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] Can every race get biotic abilities, or just a few lucky ones?

Okay, so all asari having access to their space magic is pretty much common knowledge, and I know that the Alliance has their biotic camps for humans and all, but what about the others? I mean, I haven't really come across any other alien biotic that I know of, save for this one turian who I'm pretty sure knocked my drink off the table from the other side of the bar once.

[Assistant]
It seems that biotics are developed based on exposure to Element Zero. We know the first human Biotics arose from prenatal exposure due to an 'accidental' spill. We also know that the Vorlas and the Turians can develop Biotic abilities, though we've only seen (in game) an example of the former. Krogans also seem to have a relatively high manifestation of Biotics, and Rachnaii are capable of it.

It seems that any race can develop Biotic capabilities (which are further refined be neural implants designed to control and manipulate the resultant Mass Effect Fields generated by Biotics) so long as they are exposed to Element Zero at some early point in development. For some, like the Asari, the exposure is universal because of the trace Ezo in the water of Thessia. For others, like Humans, it's almost purely a product the interstellar age.


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

[User] [Star Wars] If I was a jedi and I stood on the side of a mountain with my lightsaber in the ground all day, churing it, could I make artificial lava pools?

[Assistant] Not very efficiently. Lightsabers are designed to contain as much heat as possible within the confines of the blade, as evidenced by the fact that you can cleanly vaporize the flesh and bone between someones hand and arm, without creating a horrific blood steam explosion (ooc: wonderful band name right there) and really stinking up the cantina. This means that heat can only be transferred from the blade into material by conduction and convection within the material itself. A certain Master Qui-Gon Jinn reportedly tried to slice through a durasteel bulkhead, and had much difficulty because the durasteel was re-solidifying nearly as fast as he could cut through. Durasteel is wonderful protection from blaster fire, because it is so good at conducting heat and spreading it evenly throughout its structure. Rock, of any variety, is far worse at conducting heat energy. Therefore, whatever amount of rock you manage to melt will probably just stay in one place without transferring much heat to the surrounding material, leaving you with a lightsaber-blade-shaped pool of lava. Worse still, if there are any gas pockets or hydrates in the rock youre melting, youd have a lightsaber-blade-shaped pool of lava spitting steam and bits of molten rock in your face at high velocities. Happy stirring!


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

[User] ELI5 if you hear the volume at the same level, what's more harmful to your ears: in ear or over ear headphones?

[Assistant]
If it's truly at the same level, it doesn't make a difference.

You ears can't directly tell if you're using in-ear or over-ear headphones. All they can feel is what actually hits your eardrums (not counting bone-conduction headphones). Harm is caused by too much energy going into your inner ear and damaging the very sensitive hairs inside. At equal volume, you've got equal energy going in and equal damage.

Typically you're not going to run in-ear and over-ear at the same volume though...over-ear does a \*much\* better job of blocking external sound, so you usually don't need the volume to be as high to enjoy the same fidelity. So, in practice, you usually have the effective volume lower on over-ears (and less energy from external sources), which should lead to lower hearing damage, but that's all because there's less energy going into your ears.


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

[User] [Starship Troopers] Is the film supposed to be an in-universe propaganda piece?

[Assistant]
It's an in-universe war movie made a few years after "victory" was declared in the Bug War. During the war itself they wouldn't have been nearly as honest about how f'd things got on Klendathu, but afterwards they can use it for drama, much like how post-WWII films can use Pearl Harbor or Normandy Beach in the same sense.

Like a lot of Hollywood war productions, the government provided assistance in the form of access to men and equipment as background extras, in exchange for certain 'influence' on overall plot, and especially the barely veiled recruitment ads inside; the "commercial break" mechanic was the director's attempt to keep the cheerleading segregated from the overall story, though they still got that ending rammed down their throat by the studio.


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

[User]
If I point a laser to a planet, does it reach its surface?

I've been reading an article about a laser that was pointed to a mirror on Moon's surface and reflected back, calculating the exact distance between the Earth and Moon.

That came with the question in my mind, if I take a laser pen, point it directly and correctly to a planet, it will reach its surface, or would it be disturbed by the atmosphere and/or other factor? What would be the effects suffered by the laser out of the atmosphere and outer space? The laser have light speed? How much time would it take to reach Mars, by example?

Sorry for any grammar errors.

[Assistant]
It depends on what you mean by "reach its surface."  If you're just asking if any photons from the laser beam reach the other planet, the answer is yes.  And they will go there at light speed.  But then, your question is no different from asking if light from a light bulb on Earth reaches another planet, or asking if light reflected from the other planet reaches us.

If you're asking whether or not the laser beam reaches the other planet's surface like a coherent beam of light, the question gets more interesting.

* While a laser beam may look perfectly collimated at short distances, diffraction from the aperture of the laser actually causes the beam to spread out a bit as it travels.  When you shine a normal, handheld laser at the moon, for example, you illuminate a giant patch of the moon many square kilometers in size.  Also, since the power/number of photons is constant as you go along the beam, if the beam spreads out, the intensity will drop.  (The light would be too weak to see with the naked eye.  Moon laser ranging experiments use very high-powered laser pulses in order to get a signal, which is still very weak, back from the reflectors.)

* You also have to take into account the dispersive and refractive effects of our own atmosphere.  The molecules in the air will attenuate the beam, making it much weaker by the time it gets to space.

* You also have to take into account the dispersive and refractive effects of the other planet's atmosphere, if it has a significant one.

All in all, your beam will be extremely weak, extremely spread out, and pretty much useless (assuming our current level of technology).  But theoretically, some small fraction of light from your laser will reach the surface.


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

[User] [Marvel / Venom] A bunch of lower power characters have taken on the Symbiote, but can / would powerful beings? Thanos, Galactus, Silver Surfer, etc? If they would, why haven't they tried attempting to get one of these symbiotes to power them up even further?

[Assistant] These characters have hosted symbiotes. Carnage corrupted Silver Surfer, Venom bonded with Galactus, Venom bonded with all the Guardians of the Galaxy at one point or another, Venom bonded with Ghost Rider, Thanos has bonded with Carnage and Venom.


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

[User] ELI5: What is nerve gas, or a nerve agent? What does it do?

[Assistant]
The other two answers are pretty good on the 'what is it?' Question, but really gloss over the horror of the 'what does it do?' question.

Sarin, which is a fairly well known nerve agent, affects the nerves responsible for muscle contractions and causes every muscle to contract as hard as it can. The heart just flexes and stops pumping, the diaphragm contracts and pushes all the air out of the lungs, the skeletal muscles contract with so much force that bones breaking is common. The list of effects goes on.
There are a few medicines that counteract the effects, like Atropine, but they need to be given extremely quickly to be effective. Permanent damage starts between 1 and 10 minutes after exposure.


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

[User]
Is Computer Science A Good Career Choice?

Hello, I am a high school senior trying to decide on a career. I am considering computer science as a career, but I don't like Mathematics. Would I have to do a lot of difficult Math like Calculus 1 and 2 to get a computer science degree?

[Assistant]
"computer science" as a career is working at a university or research department somewhere and usually requires a masters or PhD. It usually requires good math skills.

The majority of people with a CS degree don't work as computer scientists, but instead go on to be software engineers somewhere.  If the question is "is software engineering a good career choice?" Then the answer is yes. It might not earn as much as a doctor, lawyer, finance, but it earns more than most other professions and is a *lot* less stressful than the doctor/lawyer/finance route.

The math load of the course is entirely dependent on the university and syllabus. Whilst you might have to pass a calculus course, you'll almost certainly have to do a lot of discrete math, e.g. graph theory/algorithms and things.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did early humans migrate out of their homelands to and across much more inhospitable environments?

To my understanding, the first recognizably human beings originated around Ethiopia, in a warm climate which they were well adapted to. At some point, across millions of years, early human migrations spread the species across nearly the entire planet. But why? What possessed them to leave warm and plentiful lands to, say, cross Siberia or the Bering Strait land bridge, where cold temperatures that they were not physically designed to inhabit could cause them to freeze to death? What possessed them to get on primitive rafts and cross oceans to land in Australia or South America?

[Assistant] It was a very slow process. Some theories state that humans actually followed the same habitat as it moved north following the end of an Ice Age. Also keep in mind that we're talking a really long time scale. It's not like a group just picked up from Africa and walked to Siberia. The groups gradually moved further into the colder regions over thousands of years, with their technology and physiology adapting to give them the ability to survive as they went.


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

[User]
How do we know the laws of physics don't change over time?

So much of what we know about the universe is based on our understanding of the laws of physics as we know them today. For example, the age of the universe and the rate of expansion are measured using this current understanding and application of the known laws since we cannot actually go back in time to do the measuring. Is it possible that throughout time, especially during periods of chaos like moments after the big bang, the equations and limits we know to be true and verifiable today could potentially be invalid? If so, what are some of the major implications, and how could we go about mitigating them?

[Assistant]
As far back as we are able to acquire data, the same laws of physics appear to hold.

When we look at distant galaxies and stars, we are looking at objects from long ago.  And we measure their spectra, for example, which tell us that the atoms and molecules a long time ago behave the same way as those on Earth do today.  These spectra depend on the mass and charge of the electron, the nuclear physics that allows atomic nuclei to form, the nature of the electric force, and so on.

We can also look at the abundance of nuclei today, and we see the universe is about 3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium, and a tiny bit everything else.  Then you take the laws we know, and you see nuclei would form in the first minutes after the Big Bang (5 to 20 minutes), and you calculate the amounts that would form, and you find that the nuclei formed would be 3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium.

Looking at things like supernovas or the cosmic microwave background radiation give us additional insights into the past.

Thus, there is concrete evidence that the laws of physics we see today here on Earth have applied throughout the history of the universe, as far back as we have been able to check.


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

[User]
ELI5: What actually happens to electronics that causes them to completely fail forever during/after an EMP?

I have seen Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) on movies and in the media as these devices that send out some form of energy or something which fries all electronics completely in its vicinity to a point where they cannot be repaired. What does an EMP do to fry them, what changes in the circuits, and why can they never be repaired?

[Assistant] It's like an electrical earthquake on the device.  A cell phone is made of tiny conducting pieces that are sensitive to changes in electric fields.  An EM pulse is basically a wave that makes electrons giggle and move really fast all over the place.  THis can cause pieces of the electronic machine to burn out when an outside electric field of huge power comes through and makes all the electrons move faster and in directions they were not designed to do.  It burns them.


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

[User]
[Full Metal Alchemist] How is Alchemy triggered?

In FMA, when the brothers try and resurrect their mother, their hands are already on the circle, and then they decide to begin the alchemical process like magic. Similarly, Alchemists who wear their transmutation circles/arrays on some sort of apparatus can trigger and control the alchemy at will.

Does it work like some sort of magic? Is one of the key components to utilising alchemy the human soul, maybe that's a hypothetical reason why human souls are so valuable in Alchemy? I'm not sure, I'm probably reading into it, but it really does seem like there's a magical element that's completely overlooked.

[Assistant]
Alchemy is triggered by touching the transmutation circle with intent to use it. Different symbols in the circles have different effects. However a single circle isn't limited by the quantity of stuff it can transmute (which is how Armstrong and Mustang are able to create walls and explosions of varying sizes). But the elemental ratio has to be there or else you get a rebound. But that's still not all of it.

Each person has within them a "Gate of Truth", it is that gate which allows for the performation of Alchemy. Not everyone knows of it, and only those who have performed human transmutation have seen it.

Circles are necessary for **all** transmutations. Even Edd's "clapping" counts as a circle. What happens when you see the Gate of Truth is you get all the knowledge of the world crammed into your skull at once (not that you'll remember any of it at more than a subconscious level, since the human brain can only hold so much). What happens when Edd claps is that his arms form a circle for an instant, as he visualises what he wants to transmute.


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

[User]
[The Santa Clause] How do the elves make the puppies?

On Scott Calvin's first trip as Santa, Charlie is seen in the back of the sleigh playing with a puppy that is wearing a bow. Are there puppy farms at the North Pole? Do the elves just straight up build the puppies?

[Assistant]
They rescue them. Countless puppies and dogs are abandoned every day by cruel or thoughtless owners. Some are taken to dog shelters, but most of the rest are spirited away by the elves and taken to Santa's farm, where the younger ones are given to children who will love them, while the older ones just live out their lives in comfort and happiness.

Of course, many of the puppies that are given as Christmas gifts are rapidly abandoned by their owners, requiring the elves to rescue them all over again.


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

[User]
What do academics in humanities and social sciences wish their colleagues in STEM knew?

Pretty much the title, I'm not sure if I used the right flair.

People in humanities and social sciences seem to find opportunities to work together/learn from each other more than with STEM, so I'm grouping them together despite their differences. What do you wish people in STEM knew about your discipline?

[Assistant] Im in physics (obviously STEM), and there is a funny thing that happens where established physicists get kind  of bored with their discipline and all of a sudden start becoming self-proclaimed experts in psychology / philosophy / history / linguistics. It seems that when people are really good at one thing, they often overestimate their abilities at everything else. PhD students do this too to some extent.


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

[User] How do finger prints grow back with the same pattern after a cut or scrape happens?

[Assistant] Fingerprints are as a result of dermal papillae, or small extensions of the dermis into the epidermis. Because the patterns are encoded below the surface of the skin superficial cuts and scrapes will not change them.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are Marvel comics based in real world locations and DC comics based in fictional ones based on real world locations?

[Assistant]
DC started the tradition in 1938 with Superman and Metropolis. Superman was originally going to be a newspaper strip, and there was concern that if they set it in a specific city (Cleveland was their first attempt), it wouldn't sell as well elsewhere. From there, the tradition that DC Superheroes had fictional cities arose, like Batman having Gotham. Superman set a standard, and everyone tried copying what his series established.

In 1961, Stan Lee made the idea that he'd do his own take on Superheroes, and having them be set in New York would not only allow all the heroes and villains to interact with each other, but would stand out in comparison to DC and make it seem more "real" because you have never seen the Daily Planet building, but you have seen the George Washington Bridge.

Both companies have used the other tactic on occasion. Wonder Woman is traditionally based in real world cities, usually Washington DC or New York. Marvel invents locations like Genosha or Latveria or Wakanda. But in short, it's because Stan Lee wanted Marvel to make something different than how DC did. And it seemed to work.


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

[User]
Does the Transit method limit our ability to detect planets further out from their star?

I understand that the Transit method is the best current way to find exoplanets, but I was just thinking about how a planet like Jupiter takes 12 earth years for one Jupiter year, would that mean that we'd probably be completely unaware of the largest planet in the solar system (and gas giant with the shortest year) even if we've been examining it's star closely for a whole decade?

Following on from that, could that mean that we've got an extremely skewed perception of the makeup extra-solar systems? Maybe systems more like the solar system are common with large planets on the outskirts but we can't really see that with the transit method?

[Assistant]
Yes! And this bias is something that we do have to take into account. Different methods for detecting planets have different biases, so we always have to account for that if we're trying to make statements about the population of planets as a whole.

The transit method works best when the planet is big enough to create a noticeable drop in the star's brightness, and when the planet's orbit is rapid enough that you can see lots of transits happen. You also need the planet's orbit to be lined up with our line of sight - i.e. the orbit is edge-on. So we're biased towards large planets that are close to the star. However, this method is quite sensitive, and we can actually see more than just the hugest and closest planets, but it definitely is easier to see the huge close ones.

Radial velocity measurements are even worse for this. For these, you look at how the star moves towards and away from you. We can see this with the redshift and blueshift of specific lines of radiation from the star. But again, this is easiest if the planet is huge and close to the star, so that it has a significant effect on the star. This method isn't quite as sensitive, so what you end up finding is a lot of "hot Jupiters" - i.e. massive planets really close to the star.

Another method is *direct imaging*, where you try to actually see the light of the planet directly. Here, it's easiest if the planet is *far away* from the star so that you can separate the images and not get blown away by the star's light. It's still easiest to see big planets, especially if they're hot and bright, but in terms of distance we get the opposite bias - it's easier to see distant rather than close planets. It's also easiest when the planet's orbit is *face-on*, because then we can see the planet go in a nice ellipse in the sky.

There's also microlensing which can be used to detect planets, but it relies on star systems just happening to line up at the right time, and while it's quite sensitive, it doesn't detect very many planets per year.

So yes, the various methods do create a skewed view of planets, and we really need to be careful what information we take from what we see. But bias is a universal problem in astrophysics. For example, the easiest stars to see at a large distance are the brightest stars, so we have to remember that the further away you look, the more dim stars you're missing etc. But in terms of planets, it means that we would still have difficulty finding a lot of the planets in our solar system, and instead find large planets that are really close to their stars.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why didn't Hogwarts just send Hagrid/a teacher in the first place?

We know Hogwarts usually sends a faculty member for muggle-born students. Isn't Harry in a similar situation, in that he doesn't know about magic? Especially since McGonnagal knows how terrible the Dursleys are.

[Assistant] The school wasn't fully aware of Harry's situation: Petunia was aware of magic since childhood, and somehow she found the courage to tell her husband. Despite their...distaste for the art, it was ludicrous to think they would try to keep it all hidden. Hagrid displays absolute shock when he learns that Harry doesn't know magic is real, even though he admits he expected some ignorance as to the broader aspects of the magical world.


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

[User] ELI5: How do zippers work?

[Assistant] The zip is made from two lengths of plastic teeth and an interlocker which is the bit you slide up and down. Thats the zip. Th zip itself is shaped sort of like a Y on the inside. This means that when you pull the zip up, the Y tapering into a single point causes the interlocking teeth of the zip to do just that, interlock. When you pull the zip down, the Y is backwards, causing the interlocked teeth to split and open the zip.


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

[User]
[Alien] How come humans didn't have contact with Alien life before the first movie?

The way the first movies go, we're lead to think it's the first time humanity is dealing with alien life, but in a Universe where the Yautja  hunt Aliens for sport, enough to rank some as worthy and unworthy kills, we're lead to think that the Universe isn't as empty as we first thought, are humans just bad at finding life? Or do we just chuck it off to bad luck?

UPDATE: It was pointed that in Aliens one of the marines talks about fucking and alien, but then, in the same movie, one of them says something around the lines of "She's (Ripley) supposed to be some kind of a consultant, apparently she saw an alien once." as if it's something looney, which strikes me as odd.

[Assistant] It's more accurately like finding a needle in a haystack built out of needle like hay from a mile away with a jeweler's eye piece.  Human exploration is in it's infancy still and requires a massive investment of resources and time to discover and visit new worlds and stars.  It's profit vs cost really.  Why throw trillions into finding potentially habitable worlds and life when you can exploit resources on dead planets and see a return on investment sooner.  It's implied the predator and engineer ships travel much faster than any human vessel and have near limitless energy to do so.  A predator clan can find a new hunting ground in a few months a human colony ship will take potentially decades to do the same feat.


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

[User] ELI5: What would happen if you took a powerful drug such as ecstasy, but passed out before it had a chance to kick in because of excessive alcohol consumption?

[Assistant]
Depends on how it's taken. You said MDMA, but I'll lump Cocaine and Meth in there as well, never know what that white stuff is that random strangers give you. Of course, 5 year olds (and anyone for that matter) shouldn't be doing this.

If it was snorted, you wouldn't be going to sleep. All 3 will kick in very quickly, faster than you could find a place to sleep. All 3 are well known to overpower alcohol/exhaustion and keep people awake.

If it was smoked (cocaine/meth, not the MDMA) same thing-it kicks in very quickly, wouldn't ever get to sleep.

If it was eaten (more common for MDMA, especially pill form, pretty uncommon for Meth/Cocaine) you might be able to sleep before it kicked in. We're now in the murky spot. It can overpower alcohol, or even sleep, and wake you up when it kicks in. Then again, with enough alcohol or exhaustion, nothing can really help. Chances are, you'll just sleep like crap.

I guess the best way to put it is, will the Patriots beat the Giants? They could, but it really depends on more factors than when they start the game.


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

[User] [Marvel] Wakanda, a nation otherwise filled with wisdom and focused on hiding and defense let their monarch be decided by ritual combat?

[Assistant]
Wakanda has advanced technology, but socially it's thousands of years behind the rest of the world, because it has never had need nor desire to change.

It has a hereditary monarchy with ritual combat as a secondary element for the same reason that their people still use spears as their primary weapons - because it can.

And, well, it's a nation of xenophobic isolationists who believe (with some evidence) that they are innately superior to the rest of humanity. So there's that.


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

[User]
I think people who view their overt sexuality as powerful are full of BS, CMV.

I understand that I am currently in a generation where people are very, very sexual. Experimentation and exploration and all that. That's what comes with being college-aged.

There are some people I know and see online who are extremely proud of their sexual nature. They brag about their sex life, speak against slut-shaming and all those things. I get it, I mean I can be in that boat for a few stops I suppose. However, sometimes people take serious, deep, and very very loud PRIDE in their sexuality. And they speak about it as though they've been so oppressed from showing their sexuality. Which, relatively speaking, we're pretty okay here in the US when it comes to sexuality. We have a pretty powerful spot in the porn industry.

To me, I think people who take significant pride in their sexuality like this are being frivolous at best. I'm not saying "keep it in the bedroom", I'm just saying, why do you have to act like it's a civil rights movement? People have been fucking each other in thousands of different ways since the dawn of time. Sex is literally life.

I don't think being highly sexual is empowering. Personally, I feel like having tons of sex is somewhat reckless and dangerous. There's diseases out there, feelings can get involved, stuff like that. *I don't understand how having a lot of sex is empowerment.* ALSO, I want to point out, I do not believe that being COMFORTABLE with your sexuality means that you -have- to be super fucking sexual all the time.

CMV. I feel bitchy about this and I wanna be better towards it.

EDIT- for the record, I'm not high-strung when it comes to sexuality. I'm just as sexual as those who like to announce it, the only difference is, I don't want to celebrate my sexuality in front of people in every day life-- that's why I felt this way.

But now I understand, consider my views changed. :)

[Assistant] Historically, sexuality has been repressed. Even 50 years ago if you talked about how many partners you've had, it would be a negative thing, regardless of how you felt about it. So while people who are college aged now have never been repressed, it's still breaking out of the model our parents had to fill.


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

[User]
What happens to all of the microorganisms which we are constantly inhaling?

There are millions of bacteria, fungal spores, and other microscopic organisms that are in the air we inhale constantly. So what happens to them and us when we inhale them?

[Assistant] Depends on their size. Some are trapped in the nasopharyngeal (nose and mouth) region where they are then swallowed and the stomach acid takes care of them. Then some are deposited in the upper airways where the mucociliary escalator sweeps them out of the lung and again they are swallowed, and the ones that bypass this are usually engulfed by macrophages, or absorbed via pinocytosis and again, swept out of the lung and swallowed for excretion, or taken in the blood to the liver where it becomes mixed in bile and is then swept out in the poop. The body is quite an amazing filter actually.


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

[User]
ELI5: Are modern humans pure homo-sapiens?

Or are we a mix of Homo-sapiens, Denisovans, and other pre modern humans? And can you explain the differences of them and when they went their separate ways to the different continent?

[Assistant] If you can trace your ancestry to somewhere other than Africa, you have trace Neanderthal DNA, up to 4% by conservative estimates and 10% by more extreme ones. We interbred with them after we left Africa, so therefore people who can trace themselves back to that continent would lack this admixture. You also mentioned Denisovans. Traces of their DNA have been found in some human populations as well.


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

[User]
[Middle Earth] Is there any advantage to being human or hobbit?

Elves, Dunedain, and Dwarves all have notable advantages. Are there any advantages to being a Hobbit or a normal Human?

[Assistant]
Hobbits live slightly longer than humans, they also have benefits that help them as rogues.  Bilbo was selected as the burglar for the dwarves because hobbits can go unnoticed very easily and they can move incredibly quietly.

Humans are good all around. The elves consider them blessed because they can die and therefore place more value on their time and their lives.  The other races are sort of min-maxers, but humans aren't particularly great at anything but they don't have any notable weaknesses either.


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

[User]
The Ruble lost 30% of its value basically overnight. How is that reflected in prices?

Do prices for everyday people buying groceries jump?

Or is this 30% drop primarily felt in terms of import prices?

[Assistant]
>The Ruble lost 30% of its value basically overnight.

The Ruble lost 30% of its value against the dollar. It doesn't mean inflation in Russia is 30%, it's mainly about trade in USD, although of course imports will be more expensive and drive prices up as well.


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

[User]
CMV: Using "racism/racist" as a blanket term for all race related bigotry is fine and people who correct a majority person describing a time in which someone was racist to them are just being pedantic and contribute nothing to the conversation

I know this is very spicey topic adjacent. This CMV isn't about any of the spicey stuff surrounding the topic of racism like "is racism real" or "xyz isn't racist" or "who gets screwed by racism the most". This is entirely just about how the word "racism" is commonly "misused" as a blanket term for all race related bigotry and at this point I think it should be accepted as such. It's a pet peeve of mine on par with someone correcting another person on their usage of they're/there/their in the middle of a discussion.

The academic definition of "racism" is bias/oppression against some group of people *in a lower level of power* by people *in a higher level of power*. This gets brought up frequently when a white person relays a story about how someone was racist to them for being white. People are quick to point out that AKSHULLY that's technically not racism since they are in the more powerful group. That strikes me as extremely pedantic and I do not believe that the person correcting them was in any way confused about what the white person meant. The person was clearly just complaining that someone was being unfair to them due to their race. All correcting them does is derail the conversation and should be considered trolling.

Imagine if someone used an ice pick to scratch up your car. You then go complain to some people about how shitty your day is because someone key scratched your car. Imagine they turn around and tell you "Well, since they used an ICE PICK, nobody key scratched your car. You shouldn't use the term key scratched when it wasn't specifically done with a key." That's what this feels like to me.

Outside of people who are frequently paying attention to race discussions or have been specifically corrected on it, most people would define racism as "bias against someone based on their race". Language is a medium of information exchange and if a lot of people are using a word in a certain way, regardless of what some dictionary or academic says, that's one of the definitions of the word now. It is an acceptable usage of the term alongside its original meaning.

I don't think that allowing for "racism" to be used in this way in any way detracts from discussions about systemic racism or could lead to any confusion about what someone is talking about in the same way that "literally" meaning both "the actual truth of the situation" and as an intensifier to something that is not actual truth might. "Is this person talking about a system of oppression against a disadvantaged race of people or are they talking about someone being a dick to them because of their race?" I think it's almost always clear from the context what that person is talking about. If all else fails specify which meaning you're using.

Is there some downside to letting "racism" be used in this way that I'm not seeing? I feel like every time I've seen it misused in this way everyone understood what they meant, so anyone coming in to correct their usage of the word is being obnoxious and actively lowering the quality of the conversation.

[Assistant]
>The academic definition of "racism" is bias/oppression against some group of people in a lower level of power by people in a higher level of power.

Is it? Do you have a source for that? I've seen it defined that way, but what authority made it "the academic definition" and not just something some morons who read that "racism=prejudice+power" say because it's simple and it suits their needs?


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

[User] [Pokmon] Did Voltorb evolve (in the Darwinian sense) to look like a pokball? Or did Silph Co. decide to make their pokballs look like a Voltorb?

[Assistant]
> Voltorb is extremely sensitive - it explodes at the slightest of shocks. It is rumored that it was first created when a Pok Ball was exposed to a powerful pulse of energy.

Source: Sapphire Pokdex entry.


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

[User]
Could light ever conceivably give you a lethal dose of radiation?

I don't mean microwaves or xrays, I mean just enough visible light to radiate you.

[Assistant]
It wouldn't radiate you per se because it's non-ionizing, but a powerful enough laser can cause serious burns. These burns could be fatal.

In an extreme case, a laser could cause the electrons in your body to accelerate enough to release x-rays, which could radiate you. However, it would definitely be the laser killing you and not the x-rays.


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

[User]
ELI5 How the Royal Family Works - Who becomes what (king, queen, prince, etc) when people die?

My friends an I are arguing and can't find the information to help us understand. We're from NY and very confused.

Help us British redditors, you are our only hope.

[Assistant]
You're question is incredibly vague :L But I'll try to answer, based on the assumptions that:

- You mean the British Royal family
- You just want an overview of the laws of succession

**The Current Order of Succession is:**

- Queen Elizabeth II
- Prince Charles (Elizabeth's eldest child)
- Prince William (Charles' eldest child)
- Prince X (William's eldest child)
- Prince Harry (Charles' second child)

When the ruling King/Queen dies, the throne passes to their eldest child. It used to be that it would always pass to a son before a daughter (So if a King had a 20 year old daughter and a 1 year old son, the throne would go to the son first). This was recently changed, due to society becoming more equal than when the laws were first written.
After them, the throne goes to their oldest child etc. If they have no children, it goes to their eldest sibling, then the sibling's children.

The title of Prince/Princess goes to the children of the King/Queen, and any children in the MALE line. So the children of a Prince are Prince/Princesses, but the children of a Princess aren't. This may change due to the new laws.

Princes prefer to use other titles if they have them. The reason that Prince William is the Duke of Cambridge is because he was awarded that title. An awarded title is more impressive than one you automatically get. The Queen's husband is called Prince Phillip, because although women get their husband's titles, men don't get their wife's (Similar to surname). Phillip is already a Prince, as he's a member of a different Royal Family (Prince of Greece and Denmark).

If you have any more specific question's, I'd be happy to answer!


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Does the light side of the force affect a Jedi's personality the same way the dark side affects a Sith?

When someone becomes a sith, from what understand of it they basically become a whole new person.

"He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened the good man who was your father was destroyed."

So does the same thing happen when someone becomes a Jedi? Is there any evidence of someone's personality being affected when they started using the light side of the force?

[Assistant]
It's not so much that the force effects the personality, but the personality is what determines how the force is used.

The Jedi are mainly a neutral force that strive for balance, so Jedi are comparitively, pretty well adjusted.

I've always seen that quote as a sort of "once you go black, you never go back" but for the force. The things Anakin done to "make" him into Darth Vader were unforgivable and there is no coming back from it...unless you count the whole...chucking your evil boss to his death.


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

[User]
ELI5: How come music live records sound worse the better technology gets?

When listening to live recording from 70's and 80's, even early 90's, they usually sound great, while current live recordings usually sound awful. Especially when it comes to rock/metal music.

[Assistant]
Because "live" albums are not always recorded live.

Take the album "Stop Making Sense". Talking Heads assembled a touring band, rearranged their songs for that band, and performed in front of live audiences with that band. Then, they went into a studio and recorded the touring arrangements, adding just a little audio from the live performances. You get the feel of a live performance, but the quality of a studio recording.

As a counter example, take the album "Joe Jackson Live 1980/86". This album was actually recorded at live shows, and frankly it shows - the sound quality is much worse than Joe Jackson's studio albums from the same period. It's not bad - he knew he was recording and made an effort - but not as good as his studio efforts.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does marijuana give you dry mouth, even when its taken in an edible form?

[Assistant] When THC binds to the endocannabinoid receptors on your salivary glands, it reduces the amount and increases the viscosity of the saliva they secrete  hence the dry, sticky feeling inside your mouth.


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

[User]
I seriously think that we are definitely head to, if not already to a police state. CMV

I currently live in New York City, and even before the whole Boston unfortunate event, security overall has already been getting tighter and tighter. I saw on the news not too long ago about a bill being considered of installing cameras in a great majority of our street and also its inevitable the introduction of non-armed drones flying around the streets of this city where it can easily peek through your windows, no matter how high your apartment is. The mayor even made a rough and insensitive replay to the people who were concern about this, that its going to happen whether you like it or not.
Also, there was a proposal to censor the internet to an extent within the a closed door meeting by some branch of the UN.
I dont know if its because of so many movies and books I've read about our changing times and the near future. but I feel that all these events are clear signs that this is where we are going. and its not going to be pretty, at least for our generation.
what do you think? maybe change my view.

[Assistant]
If all the tyrannical governments are local ones, do you live in a police state, or a nation that contains a large number of police sub-states?

Because I'd like to note that most police are city or country government, not what people associate with authoritarian tyranny even when they do go around kicking down doors and throwing people in prison for a zillion years for growing pot.

That said, you could argue that a good deal of American tyranny in the past has been straight from local government - Jim Crow being a fine example.

But that brings us to "What is a police state?"


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it a sports team's responsibility to punish players for their actions off-field?

This was prompted by Ray Rice's disgusting actions - beating his fiancee (now wife) unconscious, etc. Many people are upset that the NFL only suspended him for 2 games. In light of other infractions by other players (like marijuana possession) resulting in full season suspensions, I totally understand the outrage. But why is it the NFL's responsibility in the first place? Isn't this purely a police matter?

I guess I understand that he represents the league, and they don't want to be represented by a criminal. Still, what makes Goodell (or Bud Selig, or whoever else) the moral police?

[Assistant]
The NFL, as an organization, has chosen to hold its players to a certain standard, and the players association has agreed to this.  They feel that incidents like this harm the leagues image, and wealthy players often aren't motivated by strictly legal consequences.

That said, the punishments are often arbitrary, and are not as severe for star players.  Also, drug penalties are often harsher, because there is a lot of crossover between recreation and performance enhancing drugs, and because for every time a player gets caught, you have to assume there were ten more times he got away with it.


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

[User] [ELI5] Why can we gain resistances to medicine, alcohol, poison, etc. but not so much for allergies or pollutants?

[Assistant]
We can gain resistance to allergies. Many people are allergic to cats but they own a cat which they become less allergic to.

Allergy shots work in a similar way by helping your body get used to the allergen. Since it is not a harmful foreign body your immune system learns that it's not dangerous over time.


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

[User] ELI5: does male baldness really derive from his mother's father or are there other factors involved? Is there any way to slow or stop the balding process?

[Assistant]
Answer to first question: from your father and your mother. The 'bald' gene is dominant for males and recessive for women. Everybody has a gene pair, for example aB (the dominant gene is capitalized).

If you are male, you will be bald if you have one of the following gene combinations (the 'bald' gene is the letter B in this case): aB, Ba and BB. For woman, only one combination is causing baldness: bb.

If your father is not bald, that means he has the gene pair aa and will give you the a-gene.

But in the case your father is bald, he will either have Ba, aB or BB and you can get either an a-gene or a B-gene from your father and you'll have (without research to the actual gene-pair) a 66% chance of becoming bald without even looking at your mother's genes. (Ba + aB + BB = 4 B's, 2 a's). If your father should have BB, you'll always get a B from him and you will always become bald.

This is the same for your mother: if her father was bald, she got a 66% chance to be the carrier of the b(bald)-gene.

On your second question: Nope.


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

[User]
[Superman] Supermans X-Ray vision.

We see in a multitude of ways that Superman has X-Ray vision, but does it have the same radiation as normal X-Rays, and if so, does that mean use of it can have the same radioactive affect on the recipients body as an X-Ray would hold?

Like surely long exposure to the Man of Steel after hes flown to the sun to regenerate would hold some side effects to the normal people in his lives.

Hes basically a walking Chernobyl is what Im saying.

[Assistant]
It's the same type of rays like x-Rays, so as long as you aren't exposed to it regularly you'll be fine.

>Hes basically a walking Chernobyl is what Im saying.

He's more like a solar battery, he's not going to explode anytime soon.


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

[User]
[MCU] How would the events of the rest of the movies would have changed if Ultron had worked as intended and protected the world?

Edit: I see that some people misunderstood the question. I meant if Ultron had worked as Tony intended (as a peace keeping program), not what would have happened if he succeeded nuking the Earth.

[Assistant]
Well if Ultron hadnt been based on an alien AI with unknown utility functions (core values), it would be like the end of IM3, but the suits would never mis-identify a hostile target (like how they mistakenly targeted Pepper as she presented as an Extremis terrorist).

So what would change if there were thousands of Iron Man armous policing the world?

So AoU never occurs - so Sokovia stays an unknown country, there are no accords, Helen Cho still has a tissue printing machine which can mend 90% of the worlds medical issues, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver remain Hydra assets, Zemo has no reason to attack the Avengers, Stark never learns of the Winter Soldiers involvement with his parents death.

Basically *all* the relationships change, *all* the following films change.

Would the Ultron weapon project be enough to prevent Thanos?

Hard to say - on the one hand it would provide a huge bonus to the weapon systems defending the world, but on the other hand it would just take *one* alien with the ability to hack the system to go all hydra project insight on Earth, turning our weapon systems against ourselves.


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

[User] [Marvel] How are Omega level mutants viewed by Gods like Odin and the rest of Earth's pantheon? could Omegas challenge them ? be viewed as a threat?

[Assistant]
Im not knowledgeable about Earths Pantheon, but Franklin Richards who is sometimes viewed as above Omega when hes not locking away most of his powers, was recognised for his immense power set by pretty much everyone including Galactus, Eternity and Infinity and who the Celestials regarded as someone who was on par with them.

So i can someone such as Odin would recognise some of the Omega level mutants for their powers, but at the end of the day, even though Magneto is classed as Omega level, id imagine to a God hed be a nuisance and is still only mortal.


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

[User] [Dragonball Z/Super] If a Saiyan got their wish for immortality granted, does this prevent them from triggering Zenkai?

[Assistant]
In Super:

- Trunks and Vegeta theorize that there's an upper limit to how effective the Zenkai can be, and that Vegeta has already passed this limit.  This serves to explain why Vegeta didn't seem all that much more powerful after being defeated by Goku Black the first time, and coming back for a rematch.  If this is true, then losing the Zenkai to immortality would be meaningless, since they've already effectively lost it.  This does seem to be contradicted by Goku receiving what appears to be a Zenkai boost after being defeated by Jiren the first time.

- Goku black specifically says that he refused to wish for immortality because it would interfere with his ability to become stronger.  Whether this means the Zenkai wouldn't work, or *all* his efforts at becoming stronger would be less effective is unclear.  Zamasu certainly seems to have been able to grow in strength despite being immortal.


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

[User] ELI5: Obama's nuclear policy. What is it, why are Republicans so against it (besides simply partisanship), and what impact does it have on me, the average person?

[Assistant]
The initial interim agreement involved the West decreasing economic sanctions in exchange for Iran suspending its nuclear program.  However, there was a fair amount of suspicion that Iran wasn't actually sacrificing anything because it needed to rebuild the infrastructure needed to continue.  Couple that with the lack of verifiability and it appeared to many that Obama was trading away real concessions for nothing.

The current deal appears to be even more lessening of sanctions without any significant hindrances to Iran's development of nuclear weapons.  Effectively, Obama's critics are arguing that he has accepted Iranian nuclear weapons as fait accompli and wants to normalize relations in attempt to give himself a 'legacy' while possibly gaining cooperation on ISIS.


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

[User]
[TES] What creatures from other regions of Tamriel are as powerful as dragons

Not including the fact that dragons can fly so it wouldn't bea fair fight but in yerm of power.

[Assistant]
Dremora lords/valkynaz, Dwemer Centurion masters, Dragon Priests, Draugr deathlords, Ice giants, nightlord vampires, vampire lords, archmages/warlocks, storm atronachs, lurkers, falmer warmongers/shadowmasters

Those are some of the most powerful creatures in Tamriel that aren't dragons. Most of them either in-game or inlore could probably put up a good fight or even beat a dragon

Outside of Tamriel, there is the Tsaesci. They live on the continent of Akavir which is where the dragons were originally from. The Tsaesci grew fond for the taste of the dragons, so they hunted them to near extinction. The few surviving dragons fled to Tamriel and that's how they came to be there.


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

[User]
[DC] How good is Vandal Savage's memory?

How much does he remember about his life and how much has he forgotten over the last thousands of years?

[Assistant]
He has forgotten a lot of things, including (he once lamented) a lot of scientific and medical knowledge not accessible to modern researchers. Also he doesn't bother remembering all the heroes he's fought over the centuries.

However, he still remembers many of the historical figures he's met, his origins, and so on.


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

[User] [Scream] What are the rules to survive a horror movie in 2019?

[Assistant]
* Have a young daughter you need to save on the other side of the building/city/country.

* Never abandon the group in a panic.

* Be the only one who *really* knows what's going on.

* Be attractive.

* Never talk about what you're going to do when it's all over.


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

[User]
[MCU] What would have happened if Odin had made Thor king before he passed away and Hela was released?

Would Hela have just killed everyone?

[Assistant]
She would have started by trying to kill Thor. She'd still be free, and she'd still want to rule Asgard, and King Thor would be in her way.

She might be satisfied tossing him out of the rainbow bridge like she does in the movie, or she might want to make sure he was dead so he could never return to challenge her claim.

However, it's possible that when Thor became king Odin would have told Thor about Hela, so he would be prepared to face her. Plus, Hela would have to face Thor in a full fight before she got her army of zombies. So there's a better chance of Thor shutting her down before she can take power.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] How do the Chaos Space Marine Legions replenish their numbers?

I know that many of the original warriors from the Horus Heresy still reside within the Eye of Terror. However over 10,000 years many factors such as the numerous failed crusades against the Imperium, Chaotic infighting, the extreme physical conditions and the murderous nature of the climb upward through the ranks would whittle down this core of ancient warriors. How do the different legions go about recruiting and training new warriors?

Some legions like the World Eaters seem to be in permanent decline and the remaining warriors who do not ascend to demonhood will likely eventually be wiped out over the next few millennia of warfare. For those legions where some vestige of organisation remains from where and how do they recruit and train new warriors?

[Assistant]
From Lexicanum:

"The Chaos Marines still maintain the process of gene-seeding - the transformation of humans into superhumans through organ implantation and associated psychological and chemical conditioning - in order to create new Chaos Marines. The children that are turned into new Chaos Marines are bred from slave stock and captives acquired from raids on Imperial worlds. The process is a brutal ordeal, differing from the carefully measured program of development used by Imperial Space Marines.

In every Legion, Apothecaries, or their Chaos Marine equivalents, are still charged with the important task of retrieving the gene-seed organs from their fallen brethren. "

In addition, it was mentioned in fluff somewhere that the thousand sons rubric marines (the golem like ones) can be re-summoned into their repaired armor, but obviously that doesn't apply to your standard marine.

It's also worth pointing out that Fabius Bile has claimed to have uncovered the secrets to the primarchs, and astartes.  His continued existence could be because the Chaos Legions need him to keep reproducing themselves.


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

[User]
Game of Thrones Question (Spoilers)

Honestly, if they had just flooded and froze the entrances, wouldn't they have basically effortlessly won the battle? I don't see the Wildlings capable of breaking down the wall, and I definitely don't see how 100,000 men are supposed to get across it any other way.

[Assistant]
Sealing up the gate is pretty much a last resort to the Night's Watch, since is not only a way for Wildlings to get in, but also a way for the rangers etc. to go beyond the Wall.

Also, there are murder holes and other defense mechanisms in the tunnel(although they weren't shown in the show), so there are methods of defending the tunnel without actually sealing it up methods that the commander of the Night's Watch preferred to sealing it completely.

But to come back to your question: Nobody(except Jon and maybe Sam) actually believed in Giants being real, which is why they thought the normal defense mechanisms should suffice against the wildlings(and they probably also underestimated their numbers). Which is why Jon, knowing the real scale of the wildling army, advocated for the gate to be shut.
So yes, sealing the gate would have served for better protection against the attack of the wildlings, but at the same time the Night's Watch would have been sealed in as well - so(ironically) Jon wouldn't have been able to go beyond the wall and try talking to/killing Mance.


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

[User]
[superhero general] Hey can I be a superhero for a living? Like can I get a sponsor that pays me for using my powers to fight crime?

Hey Im 19 and Im a metahuman with super powers. My power is to create ice that freezes things then explode after 10 seconds. I have the dream of being a hero but I dont want to get a regular job. So is it possible for me to get payed for being a hero? Is it possible to be sponsored as a hero by companies so I can make a profit? Will I have to give up my secret identity? I just want to be able to afford food, a house, and having my costume fixed up when it gets torn up so I can focus on being a hero.

[Assistant]
Depends on the universe
Some of them are under the table government employees (MCU gives this implication)
Some can't receive sponsorship because signing contracts would open them up to litigation
Some depend on private wealth or private benefactors
Some work regular jobs

As far getting paid to be a hero... that's doesn't sound very heroic.  It sounds a lot more like setting yourself up to be an unknowing bad guy.  Endorsements are a nice idea but the money trail would ruin your anonymity and you would likely fight off law suits for the rest of your life.


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

[User]
[ELI5] Why do we feel better after throwing up?

Title, like I usually feel so much better as soon as its done. Why is that?

[Assistant] If you for example have a splinter, taking it out  relieves the area and you stop having this annoying feeling of having something stuck in your skin. The same for throwing up. Getting it out relaxes you since your body signals you by feeling sick that something is wrong and therefore has to get out.


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

[User]
Is there adverse selection in health insurance markets?

If so, then that would imply that health insurers cannot differentiate their customers by risk. if that is the case, then why did the U.S. government make it illegal for them to charge different rates based on risk in the PPACA? If not, then why does no rich country opt to have actuarially fair health insurance rather than social insurance?

[Assistant]
The ACA prevented insurers from charging different rates based on risk because the people who are often the sickest are also the poorest, so those who are in greatest need of health insurance coverage would not be able to afford it (no point in a healthcare system that isn't accessible to those who need it most).

However, the lack of differentiation based on risk opens health insurance markets to the adverse selection market failure, where healthy people forego insurance because it's not worth it, leading to a gradual increase in premiums until the market dies. In order to prevent this, the individual mandate was passed. The mandate forces everyone to have health insurance, which leads to a system where the healthy partly subsidize the sick (because they pay in more than they use).

This is the model used by pretty much every multi-payer universal healthcare system, so it's proven to work.


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

[User]
[Spongebob Squarepants] Could Patrick get into the Salty Spitoon?

How tough is he?

[Assistant] Patrick would be asked how tough he was, and he'd make a comment that would anger everyone nearby. Someone would throw a punch, and they'd either miss and knock out someone else, or Patrick would display completely unprecedented combat skills. The end result would be the patrons of the Salty Spitoon either cowering in fear or acknowledging Patrick as the toughest star around, and he'd leave, commenting on how he prefers the Weenie hut anyway.


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

[User]
How do we know galaxies in the ultra-deep field aren't just the same galaxies over and over but from different points in time?

If the images are like "looking back in time", then is it possible some are the same, or even the Milky Way? And why aren't the very very old ones just red blurs across the whole field?

[Assistant] The reason they call it looking back in time is purely because of the time it takes that light to reach us. Nothing in physics suggests there is any kind of loop to the universe to allow a repetition, and we can only see what is called the "observable universe" anyway. It's believed there is likely more to the universe but the light from the further out galaxys, etc. either hasn't had time to reach us, or because of the universes expansion, potentially never will reach us.


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

[User] [The Flintstones] The people don't have electricity, so they have to use animals instead of appliances. How do they have tvs?

[Assistant]
In the intro, the Flintstone family goes to a drive-in theater. The fact that their society has developed this technology tells us three things about them: 1. They've discovered lenses, 2. They've invented motion pictures, and 3. They've developed ways to manipulate simple candle light in such a way that it's strong and focused enough to project said motion pictures.
As you said they haven't discovered electricity yet, which means they can't have developed CRT technology yet, which leads me to conclude that their TVs are probably some sort of miniaturized projection setup.


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

[User] Why do animals have a fixed body plan? Why don't plants?

[Assistant] Maybe because animals can move, and plants can't. Meaning, a plant must adjust it's shape to maximize sunlight. It can't take five steps to the left or right, to step out of the shade of an older larger plant. Variable shape is a way of "moving".


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

[User]
Why don't computers use glassfiber cables in stead of the old electric cables?

We all know that glassfiber transports data way quicker than the electric cables. Computer need to transport a lot of information from one component to the other. Why do computers still use the old electric cables in stead of glassfiber cables? Or is the transport of data from one component to the other not the bottleneck?

[Assistant]
Okay, point of order: the data transfer speed is the same.  Both electric signal and light travel at c.

The difference is that large-scale fiberoptical connections allow much greater bandwidth and loose less power over distribution, so the possible length of an FO cable is significantly larger than copper wires.  In a computer, both of these can be overcome quite easily by running more tiny wires, and the fact that a desktop/laptop computer is generally no more than 18" from point to point.

There's also the problem that processing components, e.g. ALU, CPU, GPU, memory, cannot function with light - just electric charge.  So to use "glassfiber", as you put it, inside a computer, you'd have to transform every signal from electrical to light and back at every single stage, requiring even more electronics - this bottlenecks the system and severely increases power draw, complexity, and necessary components.

This is why you see Fiber Optics *between* nodes of a high-performance cluster - they need to perform *as* a single computer and it's easier to run one fiber line than eight ethernet lines, both from a networking and implementation standpoint, and they run a reasonably long distance.  There are competing copper standards, e.g. InfiniBand, that carries similar bandwidth and speed to fiber in the context of server/performance clusters, but are less useful for international or transcontinental lines due to cost and signal loss.

Edit: Also, the copper-fiber difference disappears even further, as internal communications of a computer don't occur over any sort of standard (ethernet, infiniband, token-ring, whatever) - they carry straight charge point to point, very similar to dark fiber.  When you take out the processing time for the standard, there's even less speedup.


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

[User] [Star Trek] What are the Borg like in the Mirror Universe?

[Assistant] In the mirror universe, the Borg are a freewheeling society of transcendental hyperanarchocapitalists. They don't assimilate, they trade with everyone they meet, but their culture is so virulently strong that all of their trading partners inevitably convert to their societal model, and thus represent a real threat to the Terran Federation, especially due to their policy of freely allowing both immigration and emigration. No single part of the Borg Individuum is the "heart" because everything is handled through mutual agreement, meaning that there's no top of the hierarchy for someone to assassinate. (Their initial broadcast message is usually some variant of "We subscribe to the ideals of the Borg Individuum. Would you like to trade? If not that's okay.")