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

[User] ELI5: If radioactive waste emits heat, why can't we use it to produce energy?

[Assistant]
>If radioactive waste emits heat, why can't we use it to produce energy?

Nuclear power plants generate electricity by converting the heat from controlled nuclear fission into mechanical and eventually into electric energy *in the first place*.
The very fact that the final fuel state is called "waste" gives you a hint to the answer of your question: It can no longer emit **enough** heat to be a viable fuel.


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

[User]
A mom with a masters, contemplating a PhDbe brutally honest with me?

Hey allIm a 30 something mother of 3 young kids (elementary and younger). I have a BA in a social science, and a Masters in a separate social science (unrelated to the BA). I started out my undergrad in a biological science and took all of the credits required for it except I couldnt pass organic chemistry on my first try, and felt pressured to switch majors to graduate (plus first-gen college student pressures), hence the social science BA.

I went back to school later on and graduated with my masters 10 years after getting my BA. Did really well in grad school, felt fulfilled and happy, found my people, etc.

I now live in a college town, work, and do the mom thing. (Im married and my spouse supports the bulk of our expenses). There is a PhD program in the field I originally started my undergrad in, and it seems like I could be accepted. I am still interested in the field, although my interests are broader now because of my other education. This makes me question whether a singular focus on a particular field is a prerequisite to a PhD? Do I have to live and breathe this in order to have what it takes to get through the program? I dont want to be a professor. I like research and lab work. I also recognize that I have a family and they are obviously my top priority, but Im also a person outside of being their mother.

Ok, let me have it. Am I absolutely out of my mind?

[Assistant]
I'd say your starting question should be: Is there something particular you want to do with a PhD that you can't do now with an M.S.? (Most of the vocations that *require* PhDs are professors or researchers, and you've ruled out professor....) What's the end goal, and is a PhD the best way to get there?

"A singular focus on a particular field" is not a prerequisite as such for a doctorate, but it is a pretty good description of what you'll be doing for most of your time-- a dissertation means hyperfocus on a very specific research question in a very narrow field. Of course there's a lot of good things to be said for bringing in sensibilities from other fields, but that usually requires extra effort.


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

[User] [Sonic the Hedgehog] How does Sonic stay still while spinning around to build speed? In fact, how does he make himself spin to begin with?

[Assistant]
It's a lot like how if you try to accelerate your car to fast the tires just skin.  Sonic is doing that.  Then,  when he decides he wants to go, he extends his spines to create instant traction and fwoosh! off he goes.

As for how he is making himself spin? No clue, that's just freaky.


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

[User]
Is there any organism that can't perceive three dimensions?

I figured that there might be some places on this earth where depth is irrelevant, maybe on some liquid surface some small creatures are floating around in a world similar to the Plato "cave experiment" ( en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave). Are there any such creatures?

EDIT: Question depends on definition of perceiving, I'll try to clarify what I was intrigued by.

For example, imagine a species living on a liquid surface. The individuals will be very flat and unable to dive, jump or even wobble back and forth. Their food and reproduction will be handled on surface-level, just as the rest of their lives. To those creatures, what happens in the third dimension would be totally irrelevant, and thus evolution might "remove their perception of the third dimension". I guess what I'm asking is; are there any creatures that operate only in two dimensions, and that care so little about dimension n.3 that Darwin/Plato just as well could steal their understanding of three dimensions? I imagine that it would be hard for us humans to prove that "this and this species are just as 2D as Mario".

Of course, unlike Mario, their thickness will vary (not be a constant number of atoms), but I wouldn't say that is relevant.

[Assistant]
This really depends on your definition of "perception". In theory, if a flat organism is utilizing chemotaxis to perceive the world, only two dimensions can be recognized at a time. However, there is no reason that a third axis would be completely unrecognized -- if a drop of that same chemical trigger is placed above the organism, a similar response would occur as if it were to the side, although movement may or may not be entirely successful. Hence, perception is present, but the ability to respond is not.

If you take it down to the simplest of things, then the inability to perceive would be the only way an axis of dimension can be ignored. For example, a free-floating microbe that relies on currents to attain food and other resources would not be able to, or even need to, recognize the three dimensions.

I guess at this point, you may as well say that this is a philosophical question, as you implied: does perception matter if you cannot recognize and react to it?


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

[User] ELI5: Where do all the wasps and bees go, when it gets cold, do they hibernate?

[Assistant] In honeybees, all the worker bees (the females) will pick up the drones (the males) and drop them outside the hive to die so they dont eat all the food during the winter! Then, they all get in a big cluster (like a basketball) around the queen bee, and they vibrate to keep warm. The bees all trade spots in the ball so no one gets to cold, and they travel in formation around the hive really slowly throughout the winter to eat the food theyve stored. Once it gets warm enough, they break cluster and complete an elimination flight (which means they all fly outside and poop for the first time since fall!)


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

[User]
[Skyrim]So I am an Imperial soldier at an execution and then a dragon attacked. I ran off with one of the prisoners and the moment he got inside the barracks he started cramming EVERYTHING down his pants. Why!?! What is he going to do with twenty six cups?!

Since we got inside he has picked up EVERYTHING not nailed down.  I don't mean like gold or jewelry or armor, though that too.  I mean EVERYTHING.  So far my guess is like... nine ladels, sixteen buckets, twelve brooms, four calipers, twelve wooden plates and he just keeps cramming EVERYTHING not nailed down into his pants!

Why is he doing this?!   HOW is he doing this!?

[Assistant]
Why are you asking questions about a perfectly normal thing to do?

I mean, you carry things around the exact same way the prisoner does, so why are you making such a big deal about it?

As to why, well the person is a prisoner, right? They're probably a kleptomaniac, and can't help themselves.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's the "secret code" behind all those letters, numbers, and symbols that are spray painted on the street, typically before/after construction?

In general terms, it seems the yellow paint represents gas lines and blue represents water, but I've also seen red (sewer?), white (power?), and green. There's also arrows, numbers (which I assume is depth?), and symbols which I haven't been able to decipher.

[Assistant]
Short version? Depends on who wrote it.

They're basically internal post-it notes between surveyors and construction workers.  They usually contain three-four things to them: Color means the type of line, Then the put down a (usually abbreviated) identifier for the line meaning something like "sewer line #2456," or "Sewer at 4th street & main." That part is completely up to whatever standard the company is using.  Then they'll put down some symbol about the line, typically depth, but also sometimes flow direction, High Voltage/Low Voltage, if there's something important below you....

It's really just depends on who is writing the notes.

------------------------
The colors aren't "technically" unified, but these four are almost always the same:

* Blue = clean water
* Yellow = Natural Gas line
* Green = dirty water (sewer, storm overflow)
* Red = Electricity.

Orange (sometimes pink) is typically Telecommunications---cable, fiber optics, internet, phone, etc.

White doesn't mean a whole lot, as it's the "general" color.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] There seems to be a consensus here that Anakin would have fallen to the Dark Side no matter what...why is that?

It seems to me that Anakin's fall was indeed entirely preventable and proceeded down a series of a bunch of incredibly unfortunate shit happening to the guy. He was born into slavery, his first father figure was his owner, the father figure that freed him from slavery died before he could really influence Anakin's life any further beyond making him a jedi, the guy that got saddled with Anakin just wasn't prepared for the task, his mother died horrifically more or less because Anakin refused to heed his premonitions, he went through three years of miserable war, lost his padawan, and finally fate said "Hey buddy, remember your first mentor, your mum, your comrades in the war, and your apprentice? Yeah, now imma take your wife and kid away too, sorry bucko".

And on top of that a creepy old man was trying to turn him to the dark side since he was 9 years old.

Really, it sounds like he just got screwed by life.

Even then, he managed his hardest to be a decent dude, made sure to care for the clones as people, trained his apprentice to be one of the greatest jedi in the Order, tried his best to make Obi-Wan proud, even tried living up to the expectations of the Jedi Council (only thing he really did against them was have someone he loved in his life; lots of Jedi did that, beyond that the second worst thing he did was have negative emotions....and I guess that mass murder thing too).

There seems to be a consensus that Anakin would've fallen no matter what, yet all throughout the story we're shown how he could've been a great jedi, even was a great jedi. In the end he simply chose to fall.

Basically, was it really a foregone conclusion?

[Assistant]
Destiny is a big player in the Star Wars universe. It does seem like Anakin was destined to fall to the Dark Side, and become Darth Vader in order to ultimately bring balance to the Force.

When Palpatine seized power, initiated Order 66, and became Emperor, Anakin was not strong enough to defeat him. The next best thing, as far as destiny/Will of the Force/fate is concerned, would be to ensure he stayed alive until he could fulfill his destiny and destroy the Sith.

Over 20 years of servitude to Palpatine as his apprentice blinded Palpatine to the possibility that Vader would ever betray him. Palpatine thought that he had broken Vader to his will. And he almost succeeded.

However, Luke rekindled the good in Vader's heart, and he (even if temporarily) brought balance to the Force by giving Palpatine the good old heave ho down the reactor shaft before succumbing to his injuries that Palpatine's lightning had inflicted on him, therefore "destroying the Sith".


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

[User]
Since the small intestine is coiled up inside the body, are they all similar in shape? Or is it completely random?

Was thinking about how even though noses are different in shape, they are all just slight modifications to what would be a regular nose shape.

[Assistant]
The small intestine is attached to the body via the mesentery, through which vessels and nerves pass through. Otherwise they are completely mobile and move around as you move and in some cases can wrap around itself and cause ischemia requiring surgery.

So yeah its both kinda random and ordered.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is today's announcement that Apple is giving away it's suite of business tools for free, not the same as Microsoft giving away some of its software for free in the 90s, which resulted in the anti-competitive practices lawsuit?

[Assistant]
Because Apple does not have a dominant position in the operating system market. MS got in trouble because they bundled IE with Windows, and made it impossible to uninstall it.

Giving away software is fine, but if you have like 90% of the desktop OS market and then force everyone to have your web browser installed, you're essentially abusing your position in one market (operating systems) to rig the browser market in your favor.

Let's imagine 95% of all cars in the world were Toyotas. Then Toyota decides that they want to sell tires too, so they add a system to prevent the car from starting unless Toyota brand tires are on or in the car somewhere. Even if you make the best, cheapest tire in the world, you can no longer sell your products to 95% of the population, because Toyota used their dominant position in the car business to shut you out of the tire market.

That's bad for consumers because tires would no longer be a competitive market. The vast majority of people would be forced to go with Toyota brand tires, no matter how crappy or overpriced they are compared to the competition. And that's why it's important to keep separate markets separate, because when a company dominates one market, they can abuse their position to muscle in on unrelated markets even if they don't have a competitive product.

If Apple had a 90% market share and made it impossible to uninstall their business tools, they'd probably be in trouble too.

**edit**: Lots of people seem to be complaining about the fact that tires are not 100% the same as browsers. Yes, because this is just an analogy. The whole point is to make it easier to understand why certain anti-competitive behavior is bad for consumers, not to mirror the original situation 1:1 with all its intricacies. Arguing that computers have more hard drive space than cars have trunk space is really not that helpful.


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

[User]
[Donnie Darko] Why test for everyones handwriting after Donnie floods the school?

Basically in the movie, the main character Donnie is made to flood a school, and when they find out, theres a huge line of text on the ground that reads They made me do it in response, the school makes every student write the same thing on a chalkboard. My question is, why make them write the words in normal sized handwriting when the handwriting written on the ground was a lot bigger, which wouldve made an impact on the handwriting style.

[Assistant]
It's a useless exercise anyway because the guilty party could just alter their handwriting during the test, if they didn't already deliberately alter it on the ground.

It's just a show of power to make the guilty party nervous and more likely to out themselves.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why the US congress is trying to class pizza a vegetable

I've only seen the odd joke about it here and there, what are they actually doing it for? Is it in the interests of the pizza industry or something? ಠ\-ಠ

[Assistant]
Food in school has to meet various nutritional requirements. It had to include like 1 serving of veg, 1 serving of protein or whatever.

It was lobbied by the food manufactures that the tomato paste used as sauce on school pizzas should be considered a vegetable.

It ends up being more cost effective, although obviously not better for the students.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are 'off brand' batteries so much cheaper than on brand? They seem to be about 1/10 the price.

Is the quality difference really that much?

[Assistant]
Take a closer look at the cheaper batteries, they usually use a different chemistry. "Heavy Duty" batteries perform worse than Alkaline, and don't last as long, but they are cheaper to produce. Store brand Alkalines will be cheaper than Duracells/Energizers, but still competitively priced. Heavy Duty batteries are the ones that are significantly cheaper.

Heavy Duty batteries are good for low use things like smoke detectors and TV remotes, but are a waste of money in higher drain applications like cameras, radios, etc.


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

[User] ELI5: How is cancer so deadly but a person feels fine one day then the next they are told they have 4 months to live?

[Assistant]
Exponential growth. At first cancer is a single malformed cell dividing without restrictions. That 1 turns into 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8, 8 turns into 16, etc. With each division the number of cancerous cells doubles. (More or less)

So for the first few months or so the cancer is only a minor disruption, but soon it rapidly becomes larger and larger and starts affecting the function of the entire organ and body. Taking up nutrients and putting stress on other organs causing cascading organ failures if left untreated.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does colored cloth retain its dye?

Sorry if this was already asked before, but as per my research, it hasn't. How does cloth retain its color? Especially in the washing machine. How can cloth be uniformly colored? This is something I have been wondering about for a while and was wondering if this community had any knowledge about it. Thanks for your help!

[Assistant]
There are many different types of dyes (acid, azo, cation, mordant, sulfur, natural pigments, etc) with varying degrees of colorfastness.

The two strongest and most colorfast types of dyes are azo and reactive dyes. Reactive dyes react when they come in contact with the fibers, creating a new compound.

Azo dyes are similar, they use dye coupling to create the compound. The fabric is soaked in one chemical, and then a different one. The two chemicals react, creating the azo dye in the fabric.

With both these types, the dye is created inside the fibers and bonded with it, making it permanent, in contrast with traditional methods of dyeing - soaking fabric in a pigment and using a mordant to help it hold on to the fibers.


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

[User]
What is life like for non-soldiers in the Imperium? [40k]

All you really see of Humanity in Warhammer is the Imperial Guard or the Space Marines... What is "normal" human society like?  Is it as brutal and horrific as the military makes it seem?  Are all humans religious fanatics?  Or is human society actually pretty decent for the average civilian provided they dont shit on the Emperor?  What little I HAVE heard makes it seem like most of human society is EXTREMELY primitive- even compared to today... But surely it cant be like that EVERYWHERE can it?

[Assistant]
Let me ask you, What has your corpse god brought you?

Security?  Hundreds of thousands of worlds lay besieged by xenos, rampant gangs control hives of billions.

Quality of life?  You sit in the hives, just one more of numberless rabble.  You work 14hrs a day manufacturing tools of oppression for those who claim to rule by divine right.  And then, you return to your cubicle, sucking down your *soylens veridens* and desperately trying to wash away the filth you are caked in.  The option best presented to you to improve your lot is to go and risk certain death.

Advancement?  We were Gods, once.  Now?  Now we are a supersitious rabble, scrabbling like monkeys in the shadows of great feats of engineering designed and built during the so-called "Dark Age of Technology".  Every year we slip further into a primitive state.

Such are the lives of the masses of humanity.  Such is what the Corpse on Terra has offered us.

Workers of Humanity Unite!  The only thing you have to lose is your chains.


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

[User] [Doctor who] What is the worst thing the doctor has done before?

[Assistant] I mean... the War Doctor took it upon himself to judge two entire species as guilty of crimes too numerous and terrible to list, and sentenced them both to total extinction by his hand. No chance of negotiation or salvation. Not even a ploy to save "innocents" or children. Such an act basically rewrote the entire fabric of creation and changed the destinies of every single other sapient being who had ever existed or will ever be born, as the Daleks and Time Lords had been so entrenched in the universe for so long.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do dogs whip their tail but cats don't?

ELI5: Why do dogs whip their tail but cats don't?

[Assistant]
Cats do, but it has a completely different background. When you see a cat whipping its tail, it is thinking. And not particularly good thoughts; basically it's pissed at something.

This is why dogs and cats allegedly don't get on, because when a dog sees a cat wagging its tail, he obviously thinks the cat wants to play, which can turn out bad.

Same the other way around; when a cat sees a dog wagging its tail, it thinks he's going to attack, and gets prepared.

If you ever hold a cat in your arms, and it starts wagging its tail, it's usually a good idea to put it down again.


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

[User]
CMV: Defunding the US police is realistically an awful idea.

I'm going to preface this by stating I'm not *just now* forming this opinion based on recent events, nor am I condoning the events that have transpired the past few months at the behest of certain police officers.

I'm currently a junior at a major university working towards a B.A. in Criminology. As I've worked on this, I have been an intern at one of the largest police departments in the state of Missouri. I have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours assisting the department in any capacity they allow without me getting paid a cent.

I have been with officers while on patrol and provided backup to officers on multiple occasions. Most of my time however was in the training division of my department. I have assisted the training process of new police recruits through their 1200+ hour long academy(this number varies by department and state). I have helped recruit, train, and command the volunteer youth section of the department.

With my background out of the way, my point here is very simple: *once you take away funds from the police they won't be able to train recruits effectively or to the standards of that department or state because they simply won't have the budget necessary to do so.*

The department is going to divert funds away from the training division and allocate it to divisions where they already have full time officers that must be paid. This means recruits won't be getting paid for their 6+ month long academy, which in most cases is a full time job itself.

The way police are trained is very reminiscent of the way the military trains its recruits. In case you don't know, the police are a paramilitary organization. Period. (whether I agree with this is another topic entirely) For recruits, it's not easy mentally or physically and for the department it's very expensive to do.

Along with the difficulty, not being paid for the training will in turn will reduce the number of applicants who want to become officers. And what many people don't know is that departments are already having a difficulties recruiting people for this job. People simply don't want to become cops. It's dangerous, it's hard, and the pay is absolute shit for years after becoming a full fledged officer.

Departments will lower their standards to meet the demand. What does that mean? It means somebody you wouldn't let slide before will now have the chance to become an officer of the law.

What's the reason for defunding the police? Poorly trained, bad officers.

Some of these police brutality videos you see it is *clear* that the officer is poorly trained for the situation. They react based on fear/emotion instead of the reality of the situation. And quite frankly, some are just pieces of shit. There's no getting around it, there *will* be pieces of shit who become officers. This is with any occupation on the planet and it sucks. The difference here is that in this occupation you are required to have a firearm which is the equalizer to any altercation. Bad officers will abuse this.

How do you weed those people out? Better training and more training. This requires more funding.

Don't make a bad situation even worse by taking away something necessary to train officers.

[Assistant]
This entire argument relies upon the argument that training is the only area where police can cut spending.

That seems like oversimplification. What about cutting equipment, firing the aforementioned ill trained officers, re-allocating tasks and cutting operating costs associated with that, and so on...


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

[User] [MCU/Marvel] How many hours a night does capt. America sleep on average?

[Assistant]
He most likely needs to sleep occasionally, they never say that he doesn't and it's more about rejuvenating the brain rather than feeling tired.

But I'd say on any give night, even without any sort of mission, he's more likely to be awake than asleep. If he is on mission, then his periods of wakefulness can stretch into weeks without really stopping to rest.

We know for certain that his ability to exert himself without "getting winded" extends into multiple hours. It likely goes further but he hasn't been pressed that hard.

But fatigue is different from being tired. It's just not addressed in any particular medium, other than he's awake whenever he needs to be (seemingly without much affect on his other abilities).

To answer the question explicitly I'd say less than one hour on average, because he goes for days and days and days without sleep and then gets in a few hours.


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

[User]
If you're hiding from a killer in a maze? Should you stay in one place or keep moving?

I'm not sure if such a vague question can be answered here without setting a few rules, but I didn't know where to ask.

I was watching The shining earlier and it just popped in my head. So, staying put in one place or constantly moving around? What will result in the smaller probability of being found? Or what will cause the killer to waste more time looking until they find the victim?

Let's agree that the victim leaves no traces behind, and the maze is large and complexe enough in a manner that the killer can't know where they are or which spots they've already been to.

[Assistant]
eventually he will find you, either way, unless there is an opportunity for you to escape by finding the exit, in which case i think you should move and look for it.

if no chance to escape, intuitively the best strategy may be a combination of moving and stopping, for example move until you find a deep dead end and then stay there.

this would be a great problem for a monte carlo method, if theres any programmers out there who need an academic project.


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

[User] why when i tilt my laptop screen up do the colours go negative?

[Assistant]
Each pixel in an LCD screen consists of several layers - a white layer, a colour filter layer, and a twisted liquid crystal layer.

The liquid crystals are connected to small electrodes and seen through Polaroid filters. When a current is on the crystals line up, causing light to go in the filter one way and get stuck at the second filter. When the electrode is off, the crystal naturally forms a 'twisted nematic' phase. This is an almost magical phase analogous to one part of a spiral staircase - it is 'almost magical' in the sense that it can twist the plane of polarized light. Thus light can go in one polaroid filter; get twisted by the crystal and exit the second filter.  Gradiations of current produce gradations of light.

The screen is designed to be viewed head on. When you see it at an extreme angle the various layers don't line up properly. Given that every pixel has the same three colour filters (red green blue) in the same order, you get the same discrepancy on all pixels. What should be a red part of a pixel may become blue, and so on.


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

[User]
[Dishonored] How do my actions affect the "chaos" within the city and the disorganization of the loyalists and all?

When you go on a murder spree in Dishonored, many things change, like other people's attitudes toward you, more plague victims, etc. Why?

[Assistant]
Well, consider who you are most likely killing: City guardsmen. Guardsmen who when they haven't been shanked by you are keeping the peace, removing dead bodies and containing the plague in general. If they are dead they can't do that, unrest will increase, there will be more dead bodies that the rats can feed on and the plague worsens.

Meanwhile people know there is a deranged killer wielding dark powers prowling about and your allies are disconcerted by your killing of people who mostly can only be said to be just doing their jobs.


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

[User] [Harry Potter] Dragon blood is crazy useful for potion-making, but actually killing a dragon to get it doesn't seem characteristic of wizards like Charlie who raise them. Is there medical/magical way of drawing blood from living dragons?

[Assistant]
There are dragon farms which raise dragons for both meat and blood. Charlie is more of the "free range ethically sourced" type of dragon wrangler, but he's among a minority.

The publication of the popular book *Twelve Uses for Dragon's Blood* by A. Dumbledore led to the price of bottles of it skyrocketing, then crashing when people realised that it was so potent you didn't need much of it. It's now much cheaper than it used to be, and most Wizarding homes have a half-full bottle of it lying around.


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

[User]
ELI5: why is it that dogs can eat their own feces and seem ok but when humans ingest feces (hopefully by accident) it gets us terribly sick?

I understand E-Coli  is what makes us sick but do our pets have a natural immunity towards it?

[Assistant]
Humans developed a revulsion to the smell of feces to help us stay clear of it to avoid getting sick. Dogs developed a tolerance to the bacteria in feces. Two solutions to the same problem.

Aren't you glad wasn't the other way around?


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

[User] ELi5: Why does it take a poison ivy rash a day or so to show up and why does it take so long to go away?

[Assistant]
The rash is an immune response to a foreign substance, but it's not just the urushiol. The urushiol soon binds to skin proteins and it is that complex that sets off the body's defense mechanism. This is why vigorous scrubbing that not only removes the oil but the skin cells bound to it is needed to prevent the rash. The rash is caused by the migration of immune cells to the region resulting in induration. It's actually the same response that is seen in positive PPD skin test for TB.

The delayed rash is the result of the time it takes to get the complicated immune response together, for the same reason that a PPD skin test takes days to show a positive result.

Since the rash is an immune response, the body has a "memory" of it so every exposure to  the **Demon Plant from Hell** results a more intense response.

Edit changed to the possessive of "body"


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

[User] Why do we have opioid receptors, nicotonic receptors, cannabinoid receptors, etc? These phrasings imply that our brains are almost meant to accept these molecules. How right or wrong is that, or do we even know?

[Assistant]
The body produces chemicals that act on these receptors to transmit a signal or perform some function. For example, the nicotinic AcetylCholine Receptor that you mention. A nerve may be carrying a signal. At the end of the nerve the signal causes the release of AcetylCholine into the synapse. The Acetylcholine binds to the nicotinic receptor on another nerve and the signal continues on in the second nerve or some other action occurs.

In nature there are many chemicals and many have structural similarities. Some will act upon a receptor in the body. That does not imply that the receptor was meant to accept that chemical. It is just chance because of the great similarities between chemicals in nature that a receptor that is triggered by a chemical produced in the body is also triggered by a chemical produced in a plant.


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

[User] Why are virus vaccines grown in animal cells instead of human cells?

[Assistant] It really has less to do with animal vs human. Vaccine production, much like other bio therapeutic production (antibodies, protein drugs) are grown with cell lines. Some of these are originally derived from animal tissues, others from human tissues. These are highly engineered tools, which are optimized to produce lots of protein and replicate rapidly to high scale in containers called bioreactors. As long as these cells contain the appropriate surface proteins and support viral replication they are a good tool for the job.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are certain BMW engines (E30, E46, etc.) special to drivers and gearheads?

I don't really think about how engines differ besides cylinders and horsepower.  So what is it about BMW engines made a couple decades ago that sets them apart from other cars and even newer editions of BMWs?

[Assistant]
The designations you listed are for the chassis. The E30 is the 3 series from the 80s, and the E46 is the 3 from the early 2000s. The E30 had the M20 inline 6, or in M3 form it had the S14 4 cylinder. The E46 had variations of the M54 or S54 inline 6 engines. They have different characteristics but they're all fun engines in their own way.

I currently own a 2001 330I with the M54 engine and a 2011 Z4 with the N54. The M54 is a silky smooth engine that progressively builds power nicely. It purrs at idle, hums nicely at cruise, and roars at full throttle. The N54 is a totally different beast. It's got a coarser idle, and with its twin turbos it develops loads of power very quickly off idle and holds it to high rpm.

The S designated engines in M cars until recently were all non turbo engine that were developed for instant response. Individual throttle bodies and aggressive cams meant they'd give you the power your right foot asked for almost before your foot moved. They tend to develop their power at very high rpm so you had to keep the engine spinning fast to get the most out of them.

Pretty much all of them have a fun character. Many modern cars make okay power, but they sound harsh or just don't seem like they want to rev. Others will rev forever but make crap for power down low.


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

[User]
starting out my journey in philosophy with Kant , is this a good idea ? Any tips?

I had my first contact with philosophy in class when we studied Socrates .
I was blind but now I see, my eyes are open and I know I want to actually get into philosophy.
I have chose Kant's critique of pure reason as my first book and I wanted to know if you guys have any tips or important things I should know before going into it or as I read it .
Or if maybe you think this is a bad idea or a decent one .
Cheers !

[Assistant]
Following the historical sequence is often a good way to go. With Socrates you make a good start, and since you read about him in Plato, it is a good idea to spend more time with Plato.

There is a strong historical progression from Plato, to Descartes, to Hume, to Kant. Kant's philosophy, is very much part of that progression.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What is the primary advantage of pit-based technology?

From the reactor complex under Naboo Palace, to the tractor beam override and reactor vents on the Death Stars (I and II, respectively), to the [](#s "thermal oscillator on Starkiller Base"), deep, wide pits appear to be central to all large-scale technology in the galaxy.  Is there some advantage to this design that keeps it coming back generation after generation?  Or is it just an engineering tradition that refuses to die?

[Assistant] It's just good engineering. Those pits represent huge hollow spaces in the space stations/structures that make them all much lighter. It would be impossible to get a solid Death Star into hyperspace using any reasonable amount of energy.


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

[User]
Where do we get the "every dollar we spend on space, the U.S. economy receives $8 of economic benefit" data?

I've been trying to find where this figure has come from. All space advocacy forums and articles use it, but how did they calculate it? Where is the data?

Edit: So what i have learned is that this data is, for the most part, bullshit. So I was wondering, how do you quantify space exploration in terms of arguments for it?

[Assistant] This was asked before, but the data was used irresponsibly. It said for every dollar spent in R&D, you would expect to see around $8 of ROI. They took this and specialized it to space research without any thought of how space would be profitable.


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

[User]
If I were to travel down into an 'empty' oil well to the reservoir, what would it look like?

I've tried a few times to find pictures or video from inside of an oil well, but there doesn't appear to be any information on the topic of the space and structure of oil reservoirs.

In my mind I would like to envision a gigantic, wide-open cavern miles underneath the surface of the earth because that makes the most sense to me considering how much oil comes out of those things - like some giant Minecraft dungeon, but with oil sludge everywhere.

[Assistant] The oil reservoirs are actually not a open cavern. Its more like a sponge, just made of rock. Unlike a sponge though, the pores in the rock will collapse, which in turn will subside the land above and around the oil reservoir. Lastly this oil soaked rock is capped by some impermeable rock so the oil doesn't travel all the way up to the surface to air/water.


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

[User] [Man of Steel] Superman states that on Krypton, his symbol means hope. Does the S shaped character literally mean hope, or was he just saying it represented things that inspired hope?

[Assistant] IIRC, all the great houses of Krypton take for themselves crests that mean a word or quality. The S shaped character is the symbol of the House of El. They took for themselves the symbol for the word Hope. So, yeah, it does actually mean hope.


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

[User]
[Kirby] Has anyone or anything ever escaped kirby swallowing them?

Has their ever been any character or object that kirby has swallowed that somehow escaped his infinite void of a stomach? And was their ever an explanation given on HOW they escaped?

[Assistant]
I mean, within the world of Super Smash Bros, this frequently happens.

The human demi-gods from the beyond realm are able to control the characters swallowed by Kirby, and if Kirby takes too long to completely absorb the powers of someone ingested, they are able to break free.


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

[User] A partial femur was found in China that points to a recent ancestor from 14,000 years ago. How do scientists know that the differences in the femur are a result of evolutionary precursors to modern humans and not a deformity of the femur in a modern human?

[Assistant] As always  in science  repetition validates results. It's possible  a single thigh bone could have a deformity, but if we start finding more and more bones from this time period or closely match other known specimens, and knowing how rare it is for something like that to be preserved in the first place, statistics say it's pretty  much certain that those are normal thigh bones from the period.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does it matter how much debt a country has?

For as long as Ive been aware, the United States has been over $20 trillion in debt. However, the US is still the richest country on the planet and manages to keep the vast majority of its people off the streets. And as far as I know, this number is only increasing with time. So then why does it even matter?

[Assistant]
Manageable levels of Government debt are arguably a good thing. What's important is that a government can't be in a position where it cannot afford to pay it's Bonds when they become due without needing to borrow excessive amounts of money or slashing all of it's spending. This is what happened in Greece.

To put it into perspective the yearly budget of the US is 3.8 Trillion, while the debt is 22 Trillion. Yes 22 Trillion is a lot of money, but you have to take economy of scale into consideration. That's comparable to a person that makes $50,000 a year owing $285,000 on a house. Which is just outside the 40% x 15 years rule. So it's a bunch of debt but not excessive.

There's actually an entire industry built around government debt. The Bond market and retirement industry. Most of the governments debt is owned by individuals and pension funds in the form of Bonds. A bond is a termed loan where the government agrees to borrow X amount of money for Y years and then pays it back at Z interest rate. These are considered a very safe investment (the US government is constitutionally obligated to pay its debts) and as such much of the US retirement savings and pension funds are heavily invested in US bonds. So government debt in that sense is a good thing.

Government debt is much more like corporate debt than personal finance. We keep being beaten over the head that personal debt is bad, and that's where this idea of all debt is bad comes from. *Why does the government keep doing something that they tell us is a bad thing?*

Almost all the fortune 500 companies operate in debt, because borrowing money helps companies grow. When you talk about leveraged buyouts and corporate acquisitions these are almost always done with debt, few mega-corporations buy out companies in cash.

The government operates in much the same way. If they need money now to operate it's easier to borrow than it is to get more money from taxes. Tax revenue fluctuates through the year so some months have less money coming in than others, so the government borrows to make up for shortfalls in the budget.

To be perfectly honest this is also a big part of the problem. Raising taxes and slashing spending is an easy way for politicians to become unpopular, while borrowing money isn't seen the same way. That's a big part of the reason the debt keeps getting bigger.

In a healthy state the government should borrow money to maintain programs and operations when the economy is low, and should pay back it's debt when the economy is strong. Unfortunately that often doesn't happen. The government has a tendency of borrowing heavily to pay for things like wars which rake onto the debt.

Government debt is fine when it's well managed, but unfortunately more often than not governments fall into one of two categories. Left wing parties often spend too much on programs while not raising taxes enough, while the Right slashes taxes too much to incentivize business which put more of a burden on social programs and usually while running up military expenditures in the process.


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

[User] ELI5 why the image of black and white television was so much sharper than the first several years of color television.

[Assistant]
Cathode ray tube TVs worked by having an electron gun draw each line of the image, one by one, around 30 times a second.  The beam form the gun would strike a phosphor (think pixel), the strong the beam, the more brightly the phosphor glow.  By adjusting the power of the beam at just the right times, a moving image was created.

Color TVs use three electron guns, and each "pixel" consists of three phosphors.  That made the pixels larger, and less sharp to begin with.  Also, it could be difficult to keep the electron guns in adjustment.  With a B&W TV, the whole image would shift over a pixel, you wouldn't notice that much.  But with a color TV, two guns could be hitting adjacent (or worse) pixels when they should be aimed at the same one, which would also contribute to a less sharp picture.


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

[User]
[In Time] What sort of impact would the 'time' have on sport?

I was thinking about this and it occurred to me that if you are a world class sportsman in a sport like football (soccer) or basketball, then you can basically be world class forever if you don't have a career ending injury or mental breakdown.

Would this lead to less interest in the sport? It might get stale if you're watching many of the same people every year. Or would it lead to more interest? The highest quality players always around, legends V legends always in their prime.

Would it lead to more leagues and teams because retirements are far less frequent?

Might they impose a mandatory retirement/extended leave period to keep things from getting stale?

[Assistant]
The turnover would be lower, you're right in that. The quality would also be higher as there would be less new and inexperienced players on the field.

On the other hand, as high-end players are paid much more than day-at-a-time, there would be player turnover as players would move to living from their investments instead from their game salaries.


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

[User] ELI5: Do all mammals require the same macronutrients and vitamins as humans do?

[Assistant]
Most animals have similar cells and as such a need for the same things.

With that said, plenty of animals have a much less varied diet. They may not require the same quantity of every thing, but some can also synthesize some of the vitamin from others. A real life example of this ability can be found in rats. They can synthesize vitamin C. This was realized when scurvy was causing a bit issue in sailor (caused by lack of vitamin C) but rat never suffered from it.


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

[User]
Eli5 Spinning car tires look like they are going backwards, why?

I know it is an optical illusion but I have no idea how it works.

[Assistant]
Let's say you have an analog clock that only has the seconds hand making a full spin every 60 seconds. You put a camera to take images of it at set intervals. Then you review the captured images in sequence.

Let's say you set the camera exposure to every 59 seconds. The first image has the second hand at 59, the next at 58, and then 57, etc. Even if the second hand is spinning clockwise, the camera images played in sequence makes it look like it's spinning backwards!

This is known as aliasing where the sample frequency (inverse of time between captured represented as 1/seconds) is not fast enough to capture the the repeated motion of an object (spinning hand).

To capture the true direction, you have to sample faster. If you capture at 30 second intervals, you will have alternating up and down hands at 0 and 30 seconds. How can you tell the direction if it spins clockwise or counter? Capturing at 29 seconds will allow you to figure it out. Clockwise spinning hands will give 29, 58, 27, etc. Counterclockwise will give 31, 2, 33. Even though the movements are large, you can see the direction of the hand.

You need to sample at less than half the object's frequency to figure out the true direction. This is known as the Nyquist's frequency.


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

[User] Is there an electromagnetic equivalent of a black hole where charged particles would need to travel at the speed of light to escape the electric force exerted on it?

[Assistant]
No. Charge does not cause the curvature of space-time the same way that mass or energy does. Therefore for any finite charge of the "electrostatic black hole" there is a finite energy that will let a charged particle with a non-zero mass get away from it.

Finite kinetic energy for a non-zero mass particle corresponds to a speed less than c.


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

[User]
[WH40K] Has there ever been any alliance between Space Marines and the Tyranids?

If not, what would hypothetically lead to one?

[Assistant]
No. The tyranids don't have any use for diplomacy as their main goal is to obtain biomass. They have the numbers to take staggering losses and resources aren't really a problem for them. Joint operations are counter productive to their nature. Its also hard to communicate with the hive mind directly as its been known to damper pskers or outright fry their brains. Save for some genestealers there has not been any verbal communications with the hive fleet.

The imperium views the tyranids as one of the greatest threats to mankind and they also threaten many other races as well. Many unlikely alliances have been forged to fight against them, but none have been recorded of imperium and tyranids fighting together.

The only way an alliance would be forged would be if a even bigger threat emerged that shadowed the tyranids.


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

[User] I use a P100 respirator to protect myself from infection, but sometimes powerfully malodorant smells (garbage full of diapers, etc) are noticeable through the mask. Does this indicate that I am at risk of infection from airborne sources, specifically corona virus?

[Assistant]
The molecules that convey smell are typically orders of magnitude smaller than viruses. What's more, molecules that are able to trigger your sense of smell can be as small as oxygen molecules, which you don't want your mask to block.

I don't know the exact specifications of a P100 mask, but it's perfectly possible that it is able to filter out "large" objects such as viruses, while allowing smaller objects, such as the regular components of air as well as molecules that trigger a smell to pass through relatively unhindered.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are there so many WW2 movies and hardly no movies on WW1?

[Assistant]
WW1 was a long bloody slog with people living, fighting and dying ontop of the bodies of those that died before, more soldiers dieing of disease then from bullets (although i am not sure if that takes infections from unjuries recieved in combat into that number) and no clear good guy. Its hard to make a compelling movie when everything about it was terrible. WW1 has the same problem (in movies) that Vietnam has, how do you portray the unending grind in a two or three hour movie? Its difficult to show just how digging foxholes filled with corpses actually is for a person. Let alone digging into a corpse of a friend.

And then trying to live in it for weeks.


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

[User]
Overpopulation and resources: criticisms against Malthusianism?

Hey everyone,

I had a discussion with a friend who is a Malthusianist. And while I had never heard of his exact theories about overpopulation before, I am familiar with similar ideas related to demographics.

Now, one of the first things that struck me was that it sounded awfully similar to Social Darwinism. It also seems puts heavy emphasis on the population rather than factors governing that population, making it a mathematical function instead of social/world politics.

Can someone who knows more about Malthusianism explain and introduce me to legitimate critiques of the theory ?

[Assistant] Population statistics show developed countries as either maintaining or  slowly decreasing in population. It's very well researched and is a trend across dozens of developed nations. The long and short of this is that global overpopulation is currently very unlikely.


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

[User] How does concrete work?(powder + water = solid concrete????

[Assistant] Pretty much! Basically, concrete is cement mixed with rocks. Cement is basically crushed rock (limestone or something similar) that has been "cooked" at over 1500 degrees (F) for awhile. The cooking releases the oxygen in the rock (essentially burning it and releasing C*O*2), and then when you add the water, the oxygen in the water (H2*O*) recombines to reform the rock. Sometimes people add ash or sand as well. There are a ton of variations on the process that can produce stronger or more resilient types of concrete, but this is the basic idea behind it. Check out the wikipedia page for a little history (ancient Roman concrete is quite famously tough stuff) and some of the chemistry behind the other processes.


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

[User]
Marxism: Is there any coherent argument for the existence of value as an entity separate from price?

According to the nowadays standard interpretation of Marx, he is taken to have thought that commodities possess value - abstract labour taking on the form of exchange value. Marx, according to many, tried to prove the existence of value with the so-called third thing argument: if commodity A is worth as much as commodity B, there has to be some substance that exists in equal quantities within both. This is largely thought to be unconvincing. Are there other arguments that are regarded as more plausible?

[Assistant]
Marx answers this directly in *Capital Vol. 1.* Value isn't price for the simple reason that whatever changes in price may occur (currency deflation/inflation, change of productivity or supply/demand of another exchanging commodity) a commodity nonetheless maintains a specific ratio of exchange according to a third principle manifest in exchanges. Value concerns this matrix of relational ratio in general, not particularly. Value therefore is not a thing in a commodity which is inherent to it, but an expressed social nexus of specific social relations and activities we call economic. Value is general, price is a particular determinate form of value abstracted as such in terms of currency.

He specifically gives the example of, say, wheat. If all else remains the same yet wheat productivity rises two fold in a market cycle, then wheat's value is cut in half and so does its price due to the cascading effect on supply/demand and competition. If the inverse productivity happens, then the inverse follows generally. If the market remains the same but currency inflates or deflates, then no value is gained or lost. If we are not dealing with money currencies, but commodity barter, if 1 bushel of wheat exchanges for 3 pounds of onions today, and for 1.5 pound of onions tomorrow while maintaining the same exchange ratio with other commodities, then wheat has not gained value, but onions gained value.

Whether you agree labor time is value is irrelevant, what is the case is that empirically and logically value and price are obviously not the same phenomenon at all. There is, of course, a difference between generative self-repeating economic cycles thay form an interdependent system of needs, and contingent one-off exchanges of things that have no general pressure or measure in the marketsuch exchanges are ones in which value is completely arbitrary and without much consequence.


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

[User]
(Star Wars) What exactly is the Kessel Run?

I know that a Parsec is a unit of distance and not speed, so why did Han brag about the Millennium Falcon's speed by saying he made the run in less than 12 Parsecs?

[Assistant] Kessel is an asteroid/planetoid that is a major (maybe the only?) source of a potent drug called Glitterstim. It also orbits very close to a group of black holes called The Maw. Most hyperdrives in the galaxy avoid major sources of gravity like black holes by a wide margin, but with a sufficiently advanced computer and crazy piloting skills, you can skirt closer and closer to gravity wells without being pulled in. The Millenium Falcon can go to and from Kessel (the other side of the destination being the Si'Klaata Cluster) in a very direct route instead of a huge curve or a convoluted set of course corrections. The Kessel Run is usually 18 parsecs long, so Solo's claim of doing it under 12 is impressive.


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

[User] Would a black hole really appear as a sphere like in Interstellar?

[Assistant]
The science advisor for interstellar was Kip Thorne, who just shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his modelling of the gravitational waveform emitted by two merging black holes. He had the movie studio run a relativistic ray tracing code to generate the images of the black hole (given a small accretion disk in place around it). The simulation was the most detailed of its type ever made, and resulted in the publication of 2 academic papers. It did not include magneto-hydrodynamic modelling of the material in the disc, and left out some effects such as doppler boosting, doppler shifting, and gravitational redshifting, but the Einstein ring around the black hole is entirely a result of the light travel paths around the black hole in accordance with GR.

So yes!


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

[User]
CMV: Intellectualism and self-awareness is something you learn by reading and observing things.

I personally have come to believe that the only to achieve a good level of intellectualism and self awareness is by reading. By reading, I mean books, novels, reports regarding a certain topic where you learn more about other people's views and you learn numerous ones by that which makes you agree and disagree with lots.

This way, it's easier for you to hold a strong opinion or an argument because you go through an internal struggle and inquistions to reach a point that you can hold firmly upon. But in my life, I also see people being more intellectual while they have no interest whatsoever in books or reading while I am not a big reader but I try to read in order to be more intellect. However, the things I hear and learn from the reader community makes me feel like they are rather more well-informed and insighful.

[Assistant]
You're throwing the word "intellectual" around a lot without really defining it. What is the difference between an "intellectual" and a "non-intellectual?" Their capacity for reason? Their *interest* in reason? Their breadth and/or scope of knowledge? Their personal bibliography?

Your view hinges on this term you've not clearly defined, which will make it incredibly difficult to have a productive discussion that leads to a view change.


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

[User] ELI5: How did scientists conclude/figure out that the Earth's inner core is solid while the outer core is molten?

[Assistant] The waves generated during earthquakes travel throughout the planet.  If you know when and where the quake was, you can calculate how long it should take the waves to get to your monitors on the other side of the planet.  Trouble was that the waves were not arriving when and where they were calculated assuming a total liquid core.   Further calculations showed that the wave paths were getting disturbed by something and that something was calculated to be a solid core.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] So is the Republic just cool with infighting?

Nute Gunray has a blockade around Naboo for a trade dispute or whatever. Ok, that makes sense. But then he wants her to sign a treaty that would make the blockade legal? If they're both within the Republic, why would such a blockade be legal? Padme says her people wre dying, so this blockade is killing people.

Is the Republic just cool with their own people fighting each other like this? Wouldn't this be like Texas holding a blockade around Florida, and killing anybody who tried to leave? And it was only bad because Padme didn't sign something to consent for it. Why would anybody consent to this?!

[Assistant] Yes. The republic is not the Empire, or the US. It is more like a space-UN, a vessel for diplomacy and cooperation. Until the Clone Wars their ability to directly intervene was quite limited, as that was what people wanted.


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

[User]
[Aliens franchise] In Aliens what is an "Arcturian"?

In the movie *Aliens* (the first sequel) as the marines are eating, Frost is chided for having had sex with an "Arcturian" (or "Arturian") male accidentally. Frost replies, "It doesn't matter when it's Arcturian, Baby."

What is an Arcturian?

[Assistant]
Human settlers on the planet Arcturus, theres cultures on Earth now that have a third gender or intersex dont see why a human colony couldnt do the same.

Or for a more scfi type answer.

Arcturus is a pleasure planet, situated  between two main shipping lanes, marines and long distance ship crews program cryosleep chambers to wake them up for a few days of R and R.

The reason gender doesnt matter its populated by androids.


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

[User]
[The Return of Jafar] Why is Jafar so much more powerful than the genie?

Both times they fought, Jafar defeated the Genie almost effortlessly. This seems odd for a couple reasons.

1. The Genie gave Jafar his power. Typically that indicates that the receiver of the power cannot match the giver, though that's not explicitly stated in this case.

2. Jafar only had his power for a short time before facing the Genie. It was a short enough time that none of the other characters showed signs of aging. The Genie spent at least 10,000 years more stewing in his lamp than Jafar did, and had experience outside the lamp with former masters even before Aladdin.

[Assistant] Jafar wished to be more powerful than Genie in the first movie remember? That and Genie is depowered now that he is free. Combine with the fact that even if he has the infinite cosmic power Genie usually just dicks around Jafar out classes him in every way.


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

[User] [Star Wars] How does the sarlacc pit both digest its victims and keep them alive for hundreds of years beyond their lifespan?

[Assistant]
The exact quote is

>In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years

It says that you will be digested over a thousand years.  It does not say that you will be alive for all of those thousand years.  You can find a new definition of pain and suffering even if you "only* survive a few days/weeks/months/years of being digested.  Also, you need to remember that Threepio is just saying what Jabba told him to say.  We don't even know if it is true, or just something he made up to scare the prisoners.


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

[User] What decides whether something burns up (like paper) or melts (like steel) when exposed to high temperatures?

[Assistant]
Burning is a chemical reaction; the molecules in the paper react with the molecules in the air, and the role of heat is to provide the activation energy for that reaction.

Melting is a physical reaction; the molecules in steel are vibrating fast enough that the bonds between them cannot hold them in a rigid structure any longer so they begin to flow, and the role of heat is to provide kinetic energy to each of the molecules to increase their vibration.

To answer your question directly, what "decides" between burning or melting is whether the object can perform an exothermic reaction with the surrounding atmosphere that has an activation energy below its melting point.


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

[User]
[Avengers: Endgame] (SPOILERS) If Scott Lang was in the Quantum Realm for...

5 years and it was only 5 hours to him, how did Janet van Dynes hair turn gray in 30 years/30 hours?

[Assistant]
There's nothing to suggest that this time dilation in the Quantum Realm is *consistent*.  Perhaps some of the time Janet was gone passed faster, and some of it passed slower, depending on where she was, or what she did, or just the alignment of particles, or who knows what other quantum science-y things.

Just because Scott experienced five years as five hours, we can't say for sure that all visitors to the Quantum Realm experience time the same way he did, in that instance.  In fact the entire time travel plot strongly suggests that time and the quantum realm don't have a fixed relationship.


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

[User]
CMV: If a popular/well known person cheats or misstreats another well known person, the thing should be sorted In private and should never be used to start a witch-hunt or to be used In a way to destroy someone's career.

Why does the whole cancel thing even exist, they did wrong things and that's it, no matter how popular the People are, these are to be discussed In a private manner or not at all.

Nobody should ever have a whole community which they where originally a part of chase after them.

I am not justifying people who do such things as sexual assault or rape, I am just not okay with people painting other public figures as "evil to the core" type of way, since most to none of the celebreties are that kind of people.

Lets talk about it.

Edit: just to clarify over here and somewhat of a conclusion I came up to:

First, just like I said, if somebody literally rapes or sexually assaults a person, then I have nothing against them bringing them up publicly, but if you tell people to go and ruin his life with "evidence" or "concrete proof" then you need some help. If you do have evidence and concrete proof, then take to the court, nobody is going to do it for you, and if you use your "assault story" for clout you probably shouldn't be om the internet in the first place.

Second, yes you did change my view somewhat. If someone gets raped/sexually assaulted they have the right to be public about it, and doing so is probably a good idea, but I still strongly stand by the fact that using your audience to go and witch-hunt after someone is an absolute no-no. They probably realized that they fucked up the moment it is made public, if not before it.

Thank you.

Edit 2: thank you all for answering, my view has infact been changed. I came here since most of my friends were completelly disagreeing with what I was saying, so I came here, looking for people to explain to me how I was wrong, which I did find. Thank you reddit, I dont know if people do this often, but you have succesfully changed my view for the better.

Thank you for being understanding and respectful, thank you reddit.

Goodbye.

[Assistant]
Let me just address a specific case: predators. If you read many of the original statements by accusers of people like Harvey Weinstein or Warren Ellis or similar, you'll hear a common phrase akin to "I don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else".

People often associate celebrity or talent with goodness or rightness. If you're a 19yo just getting started in an industry and a 35yo, whose work you've looked up to for years, takes an interest in you, you likely don't have the perspective or experience to be able to see if you're getting into a dangerous situation.

In that case, where you're trying to prevent the next 19yo from getting harmed, but you can't possibly know who it will be, what other option do you have but to make your accusations as public as you can in the hopes the next victim will see them?


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

[User] Can a laser really blind you? What exactly happens when it shines in your eye?

[Assistant]
>Can a laser really blind you?

Yes.

>What exactly happens when it shines in your eye?

Light gets absorbed by the cells in your eye and the energy is turned into heat. Normally, the amount of heat is so small that it isn't a problem, however, a laser can pump so much power into your eye that your body can't deal with the heat and the cells die.


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

[User]
Why would a thinner layer of compound mixture be better at the start of column chromatography?

I was told that it had something to do with the effective separation of the components in that mixture but i could not reason it out with myself.

[Assistant] If you apply your compound in a thick layer of solvent, the compound at the bottom has a head start over the compound at the top. Basically, you are spreading out your compounds before you even start running the column. So, you will end up with much thicker bands running down the column instead of nice tight bands.


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

[User]
[MCU] What happens after Thanos wins in Endgame?

Let's say that Thanos unconditionally wins in Endgame; what happens now? What sort of universe does Thanos recreate now that he has been successful in destroying it, and how does he try to fix the issues he saw in the previous universe?

[Assistant]
Thanos' remade universe probably actually *would* be a paradise like he said. We see based on his retirement plan that his ideal world is an agrarian world of plenty with beautiful vistas and abundant vegetation.   He would probably populate the universe with planets like that and make life that is weaker than him and more compliant.

Are you familiar with HG Well's The Time Machine?  The Eloi in that are likely very similar to what Thanos would make - carefree, dumb, weak, just lounging in the sun and eating fruit all the time.


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

[User] [Skyrim] Where will I go when I die? I've heard mages of great renown say my soul will go to Father-Akatosh wen I die... but Mora takin Miraak's soul for himself has made me wary. In the foolishness of my youth I may also have made a great many pacts with daedra.

[Assistant]
The last dragonborn's soul is that of a dragon, which means it's part of Akatosh. Ultimately, that's where it will go, even if it takes a while to get there.

Herma Mora did not take Miraak's soul, but unnaturally extended his mortal life by confining him to a realm of Oblivion. In fact, when Miraak finally dies at the hands of the Last Dragonborn, his dragon soul is absorbed by said dragonborn.

There is a very good chance, depending on the decisions the Last Dragonborn made, that they will be allowed to rest in Sovngarde for a long time. Perhaps a fraction of an eternity. All the while defended by the heroes and souls of the dead who the Dragonborn saved from Alduin. No daedra has a permanent, binding claim.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does a companies stock price matter to the company itself? Why does it benefit them to have a higher stock price?

[Assistant]
4 main reasons(in no particular order):

- Raising capital by selling more shares of the stock

- Using the stock as compensation and incentives for attracting top talent.

- Using the stock to aquire other companies.

- All the investors/owners of the company, want their investment to grow.

Keep in mind that it isn't specifically the share price that matters, but rather the market cap of the company. 2 companies can have the same value, but drastically different share prices.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter]Can students get tea and coffee at Hogwarts?

Seriously, why don't people drink some coffee after their all nighters? Are the teachers mormons?

[Assistant] Yes, but they probably don't use it for all-nighters, since there's probably already a potion that does that. The Harry Potter setting is like r34 except with magic: if you can think of a need, then there's a spell or potion that can fulfill it.


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

[User] ELI5: How can scientists create measuring tools more accurate than the tools we already have? Doesn't the accuracy of new tools depend on the accuracy of the tools used to make it?

[Assistant]
There are methods for creating accurate without already having an accurate thing.

Like finding the mid-point between two points. Attach a pencil to a string and attach a string to a needle that you stick at point A. As long as the string is more than half the distance to the second point, you can can draw a large arc with it.

Then repeat the process from the other point. There will be two points at which the arcs intersect. If you draw a line between those points and draw another line between the two original points, you will have accurately determined the mid-point using "in-accurate" tools.


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

[User]
[Into the Spider-verse] why do spider people get pulled into the multiverse?

Into the Spider-verse is my four year olds favourite movie so Ive probably seen it start to finish more than 30 times. I think its a great movie and basically every beat of the movie pays off in one way or another.

I still dont really understand why its the spider people who get pulled into the multiverse. It would make sense if they got pulled in after Green Goblin held Spider-Man in the beam but at least Gwen was already shown to be present when he did that. Its likely she came in the night before Miles gets bitten since one of the students mentions last nights earthquake when he walks by at the start of the movie.

I am assuming it has something to do with the number 42 spider but how did that get here? The one that bit Peter Parker in Miles universe would have been alive ten years previous so its almost certainly from a separate universe.

If Doc Ock is using Fisk family DNA then why the spider-verse?

Also - as a bonus question - Gwens spider sense told her to go to Visions before Miles was even bit by the spider. Has spider sense ever been shown to be that sensitive? Thats predicting things that are almost a day away.

[Assistant]
The movies could have a completely different explanation, but in the comics all the Spider-Men are "totems" connected to the Web of Life and Destiny, a cosmic spider web that connects all realities.

Since spider people have this connection to the web, spider totems would be the first people in their universes to get sucked in by the collider.

>Has spider sense ever been shown to be that sensitive? Thats predicting things that are almost a day away.

Spider sense is basically a form of precognition and a person with a highly advanced spider sense can see into the future. There's a clone of Peter Parker called Kaine who basically had all of Spider-Man's powers in overdrive. His spider sense was so powerful he had visions of Mary Jane dying weeks before the event.


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

[User]
[Hitman] How Much does it cost to hire Agent 47 ?

Was this ever stated ?

[Assistant]
How much he earns has been stated. Hitman 1 has the lowest amount, starting at ~50k per hit. In Silent Assassin he wanted 300k in gold. Blood Money was 100k-600k depending on target(s). A novel bumps his pay to two millions per target. The client however will generally be paying the ICA for arranging it and they are going to take their own cut on top of that.

So we can expect a range from the low hundreds of thousands for simple hits early in his career to at least a million or multiple millions once he's been in the biz for some time.


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

[User]
CMV: representation for the sake of representation in media is as bad as no representation.

Often times in modern media you will see TV shows/movies being celebrated for their diverse range of representation. Often times, this representation turns out to be a blank piece of paper being shoved into our faces to say "Look we got *whatever* representation in our show/movie, you proud?".

As an example, the one poc or LGBT character that acts as the best friend but has no personality or character development.

Putting a hyper focus on the characters skin colour or sexuality just takes away from the fact that they are indeed just like everyone else and only serves to deter from any sort of message.

Often times woman are butchered as characters, all for them to be strong and empowered and 'feminist' without the character having earned their power. For example, the live action remake of Mulan. In this remake Mulan doesn't have a normal struggle, she just has power from the beginning and Is somehow less progressive than even the original poem.

By having bad representation, it only destroys any meaningful aspect that it could of gotten across.

That's all I got, I'm not to great at putting the words in my head to "paper" so I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense. Please, try to change my mind! I'd love to hear everyone's opinion!

*Edit* No longer responding, I have a large workload to get through and no longer have time.

[Assistant]
What you're talking about isn't "representation for the sake of representation," its tokenizing, reducing, or stereotyping characters based on their race/gender (which, yes, is bad).

But we absolutely should have "representation for the sake of representation." What other reason is there, really? Women, POC, LGBTQ people all exist in the world, and their experiences are valid. Do they really need any justification to exist on screen as well?


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

[User]
Do hearts vary a lot among vertebrates?

I learned recently that mammalian four-chambered hearts are more efficient than reptilian three-chambered hearts. Are mammals special as far as hearts go?

[Assistant] Fav animal fact. Amphibians have a two chambered heart as larvae, then when they hit metamorphosis ,it changes to 3 chambers. All while pumping happily away. did i mention then most species move from being an obligate herbivore to obligate carnivore at the same time and gut track totally rearranges, oh and they suddenly grow lungs.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is wet bulb temperature important? How does it effect us?

Edit: Thank you all for the detailed answers! You guys are awesome.

[Assistant]
Earth science teacher here. Wet bulb temperature kinda represents how thirsty the air is. If the WBT is close to the air temperature, the air isn't thirsty, meaning it's already got a lot of water molecules in it...so your sweat will stay on you, not evaporating. Now, mind you, this isn't really a problem if the air temperature is reasonable. It only becomes a problem if you NEED sweat to evaporate to cool you.

To understand this, it's important to remember that for water to evaporate, it needs to take a little heat from somewhere in order to make the jump from a liquid to a gas. In the case of sweating, the sweat takes the heat from YOU, cooling you down.

It's called wet bulb temperature because it literally comes from a wet bulb. If you wrap the end of a classic glass thermometer in a wet cloth, then let it evaporate, the evaporation cools the thermometer by taking some energy from it (like sweat would cool you.) A bigger drop in temperature means there was more evaporation, which means the air was thirstier.

If air temp is near WBT, the air is wet, so sweating doesn't help.

If air temp very different from WBT = the air is thirsty, so sweating cools you off.


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

[User] [DC] When superman punches someone with high durability, they fly backwards several meters. Why doesn't superman fly backwards the same distance?

[Assistant]
All people who fly in the manner of superman (no wings or obvious propulsion) can control their momentum in the air.

When Supes hits someone, he forces himself to stay in the same place. The other person either tries to stay and fails because supes is so strong, or takes the hit and flies backwards because it hurts less.


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

[User] [Vampires] Shouldn't older/ancient vampires be much shorter than the average human today?

[Assistant]
Depends entirely on the type of vampire.

Many have transformation properties switching between an incognito human form and a more beastly vampire form. This could allow them some leeway with adjustments to their human form.

Otherwise, vampires *tend* to fall into one of two camps. Peak human form, or gaunt monsters. The former are beautiful, well-toned and impressively built, rivalling many natural humans in physique and even coming across as quite tall and slender in many instances. Depending on how ancient the vampire in this form (and if they remain the same size), these vampires may just appear of average height in modern times.

For reference, taller Greek warriors around 500BCE were said to be between 5'6 and 5'9. A vampire around 5'9 or even looming over at 6'0 would be considered fairly average in modern times, if not still slightly on the taller side. They wouldn't be considered massive, but decently tall (also depending on gender).

Going by the gaunt monster form, they're even more likely to be taller by our standards. These ones are more grotesque and lanky, being obviously larger than their human prey. I'd expect them to be several inches taller as blending in is less of a factor, and overpowering (and or intimidating) prey is going to be the focus. A monstrous vampire around 6'7, an average of a whole foot taller in Peloponnesian Greek times, would still be considered quite tall today (but would likely adjust over time to maintain the scale contrast, appearing more like Master Chief's 7ft or taller in modern times).


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

[User]
[Cobra Kai] Why kind of Karate do Johnny and Daniel Teach?

Like Daniels Karate focuses more on defense and non violence but Johnnys is all about being badasss and sometimes showing mercy.

[Assistant]
Miyagi-Do is fictionalized Goju Ryu. It was founded by Chojun Miyagi whose picture is shown on Daniel's wall in season 2.

Cobra Kai is something that Kreese started, probably Shotokan derived because that's the most common style of karate, but the philosophy is very different from anything that Gichin Funakoshi ever taught.


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

[User]
[ASOIAF] Why is feudalism a thing in the Iron Islands?

Why is it that the feudal system used in Westeros exists in the Iron Islands? They are culturally diverse and it seems like the Iron Islanders value personal freedoms and taking what you want (we do not sow). These fiercely individualist traits even seem baked into their religion. Yet several noble houses exist and rule over the various islands. The notion of a feudal system with rulership determined by heredity-based inheritance seems pretty at odds with their culture and faith.

What allows these lords to rule without constant rebellion and social chaos? What has kept the Iron Islands from becoming an anarchist pirate haven with a revolving door of rulers like the Stepstones?

[Assistant]
The academic consensus is that the Ironborn are descended from the First Men, who seemed to have a society that was close to later Andal feudalism. Ancient tales of First Men houses like Stark, Bolton, Royce, Gardener, etc. suggest that they practiced some form of ancient feudalism. On the spectrum between the advanced and noble House Stark and the common savage Free Folk, the Ironborn were probably closer to Skagos or Thenn  in terms of social development.

As for the lack of infighting (though there is still plenty), the Ironborn are united by a common religion. Their islands are poor and barren, while across the bay there are rich, fertile, and developed lands to plunder. There is much more incentive to unite and raid the green lands than there is to raid each other, even when the Islands were divided among petty kings.


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

[User] [Marvel] How's Daredevil's relationship with Thor (and other God-like superheroes), given that he's a devoted believer?

[Assistant] Like many people in the Marvel Universe, Daredevil doesn't think that Thor is actually divine, but that he's a powerful alien being that mistakenly claims to be a God, and that people have worshipped.


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

[User]
[Halo] What is Cortana's plan to stop the Flood?

She says, basically, go to the Ark and we can stop the Flood without firing the Halo rings. Does every Flood infection form, combat form and spore follow Master Chief to the Ark? Can you stop a flood invasion by just blowing up the Gravemind?

[Assistant] Destroying the main part of the flood biomass, along with the Gravemind wouldn't stop the flood forever. It does however remove the coordinated attack on Earth, saving the entire planet from certain doom. The odd combat form, infection form or spore would only cause a local infestation, which would be far simpler to contain or eradicate in its entirety. You will recall that the Covenant forces there glassed a large part of the African continent to prevent just such an occurrence.


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

[User]
CMV: Voluntary euthanasia and mandatory reversible contraception would improve the wellbeing of the populace

I think that my view comes from the belief i hold that whether my own life is worth living is based upon my own subjective assessment of whether the good in my life outweighs the bad. Ill advocate for each of the above seperatley.

First voluntary euthanasia would allow those who suffer with chronic incurable pain to end their suffering prematurley when it outweighs the good in their life. It would allow those with diminished quality of life due to chronic disease to end their life in dignity. It would allow those with a diagnosis of dementia to prevent the suffering they experience as their brain slowly dies. I think alot of the concerns about euthanasia such as that people would be coerced into it, or that they would make these decisions at times when their capacity would be impaired could be mitigated by having requirements with seperate specialists with a yearly interval before their desire to die is respected as an unchangable fact. You could even rule out mental health problems as a permissible condition for the request. Also the other main argument against euthanasia is that a cure could become available... However looking at the drugs industry i think that things take too long and any possible cures on the horizon could be provided as hope in consultations in order to allow informed decision making. In addition to the advantages for the individual, by allowing people to die when they do not want to live anymore this would reduce the economic burden society is increasingly needing to bear to care for many people who cannot care for themselves. The social care crisis in the deficency of care available for the elderly in western countries is worsening and worsening.

In terms of mandatory reversible contraception, i feel that reproduction is a lifechanging decision that can be made before someone fully understands the consequences of their actions and can have extremley negative consequences for both them and the new person they create. Having children when you cant care for them, when you cant afford to care for them will ruin their life forever. Having a child can be the difference between a stable life and economic ruin. It boggles my mind when i see people have children when they have no money when they hope that society will care for them (when that could all change after any election) and when they have a relationship with theur partner with frequent domestic violence. So.... If we were to prevent reproduction at a young age (with the option for the individual to request for reversal at any time without question) all of those ruined lives could be prevented. We give vaccines to prevent disease and chronic suffering so why not this? I must admit i am not fully happy about the state interfering with reproduction myself so i dont hold this view as strongly as the above.

[Assistant]
What reversible contraception? Vasectomies arent guaranteed reversible. Birth control for women has major nasty side effects, etc.

Also, even abusers want kids, theyll be able to easily convince their abused spouse to have kids.


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

[User] [Tolkien]Is Sauron a particularly skilled blacksmith?

[Assistant]
Sauron used to work for Aule, the god of smithing and crafting who created the dwarves. Even after leaving the service of Aule for that of Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, he remained an incredibly powerful and skilled craftsman. Others who learned from Aule include Saruman and the Noldor, one of the three kindreds of high elves.

The crafting of "magical" items in Middle-earth is really a combination of two factors: the skill to create an artifact, and the personal power to put into its creation. When the elves of Lorien make rope or cloaks, they're not doing anything fundamentally different than what an ordinary person would do - they're just more skilled and able to create a better end product, to the point of being supernaturally effective. Things like the Rings of Power or the Silmarils are examples of the same thing, but with much greater power and skill put into their crafting.


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

[User]
Do the Nuclear Forces have analogs of the CMBR?

I'm guessing that like EM, at some point the universe was *just* cool enough that the strong and weak nuclear forces became distinct. At each of these points, wouldn't there have been a sudden burst of gluons and W/Z bosons throughout the universe which we should be able to detect? Or at least can we detect what they decayed into?

EDIT: Also might not something like this exist for gravity?

[Assistant]
W/Z bosons are unstable, and gluons are subject to color confinement. Ever since a few milliseconds after the Big Bang, the universe has been below the temperature at which strongly-interacting particles become confined.

So there isn't a "cosmic gluon background" or "cosmic W/Z background" as there is for photons.


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

[User]
Is it just a coincidence that both spiders and octopi have 8 legs? Or do they share a common ancestor?

They seem fairly divergent in all other aspects, but 8 is an interesting commonality.

[Assistant] They don't have a common ancestor that also has 8 legs. Spiders are arthropods and octopi are a late brance of molluscs. Basically that means that the common ancestor of arthropods (which also includes crabs for example) and molluscs (also including slugs and bivalves) split way before spiders and octopi (order level) even existed. There were many species in between who do not had 8 legs.


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

[User] ELI5: I recently had surgery to repair the ACL in my knee. Why does it take only days to lose muscle mass in the surrounding tissue, yet months to get it back?

[Assistant] Noticeable muscle atrophy is not likely to occur in a few days. If you have been working out prior to the surgery, what you could be experiencing is a lack of "pump" -- when you workout a muscle it swells with blood and glycogen, giving it a fuller appearance. If you stop working out, the pump will go away.


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

[User] ELI5 how is bios installed on a motherboard?

[Assistant] There are special memory chips on the motherboard that contain the BIOS.  In ancient times, these were actual ROMs, read-only memory chips.  That's too hard to maintain, so today most mobos use flash memory, like in a USB drive or camera card, to store the BIOS.  That way you can do a firmware update with a special program rather than screwdrivers.


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

[User]
CMV: Violence and the threat of violence are the most potent forces in political life.

I have come to the realization that peaceful protests yield almost no positive effect for the protesters, yet when there is a riot or people threatening with firearms suddenly there is talk about change. Violence and the threat of violence are the most potent forces in political life.

People say that problems cannot be solved by the use of force, that  violence, as the saying goes, is not the answer. That adage appeals to  our moral sensibilities. But whether or not violence is the answer  depends on the question being asked. For better or worse, violence  usually provides the most definitive answers to three major questions of  political life: statehood, territoriality, and power. Violent  strugglewar, revolution, terrorismmore than any other immediate  factor, determines what nations will exist and their relative power,  what territories they occupy, and which groups will exercise power  within them.

[Assistant]
Generally speaking a person in power is not for what they can do, but for who support their decision. So for instance technically Lex Luther (Smart Guy, who good at getting people to do things politically,) is better then Superman (Man who can do anything except deal with all the political backlash he gets)

When you are protesting you are basically saying to the person in power, we will not do what you say, and the effectiveness of a political protest is basically based upon how effectively that disrupts the power structure the person in power has set up.

So for example the nonviolent protest of the "Montgomery bus boycott" was basically. You treat Black people who ride the bus poorly, we make up 75% of the people taking the bus, you require this money to run the city, we are not going to pay this money by not taking the bus, this will cause the city infrastructure to collapse. Therefore you will lose control and you will not get it back till we can ride in the bus fairly.

This protest had the added benefit that there wasn't much the city could do, there is no requirement for people to take the bus, the Black people had legitimate grievances, etc. If was difficult for people in Montgomery to seek outside help or support. And it was difficult for the people to gain support from the white citizens cause it was hard to make an argument to force people to ride the bus.

If instead of boycott they set the busses on fire, which would more or less accomplish the same goal, but it would have a political message which would have resonated with federal and state government as well as the white voters. They could have immediately arrested the people in charge (In point of fact if they didn't they would lose control) and the government who retain their political position.

So when people say Peaceful Protest yield no results it's often cause

A.) Their protest have no effect on the existing power structures (The issue with the current racial protests is for the most part the people in power actively support them)

B.) Their not giving measurable objective that the people in power can do (This is a problem with decentralized protest movement that it's often impossible to have a dialog about what people what changed)

C.) That the cost of changing the thing the person is protest, is more expensive/more work then dealing with the protests (Occupy WallStreet) so you end up with a siege.

The police and the government are notorious for escalating violence with protestors (I.E. having protestors become violent) specifically because it's beneficial to them, as it allows them to use more physical force when disrupting them.