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

[User]
I believe that it is morally wrong to put lethal weapons on drones and any other future (or present) non-human soldiers. CMV

If we have the ability to remove our troops from the battlefield and have them be replaced by "robots", in whatever shape that takes, I fully support this idea. But, we should then limit the lethal capabilities they possess. Tranquilize; render unconscious; incapacitate in some manner, absolutely. Kill, no.

The reason I feel this way is two-fold: 1, we should look to limit the amount of civilian casualties (and even enemy combatants) to as close to zero as possible; and, 2, in a sci-fi kind of idea, I don't want a possible Terminator scenario on our hands.

And, to a further extent, I believe that if a soldier is sitting behind a computer controlling their drone, and is in a combat situation, it stops being real for them, and turns into a game, without the real-world consequences of needing to possibly kill someone really entering their minds, thus more indiscriminate murder.

So, attempt to CMV.

[Assistant]
If a robot meets another robot in battle, how would they fight? No weapon (even pepper spray) is entirely nonleathal to humans, and if a less lethal weapon is used then it's unlikely that the robot will be able to defend itself against armor or other robots.

1) Limiting casualties of opposing combatants make the decision of the battlefield less definitive. Remember, war is an attempt at problem solving where compromise has failed. War is intended to resolve that issue, but if the losing side is still generally alive and still unwilling to give up then the war has solved nothing and there will be another war.

2) It's incredibly unlikely that a Terminator scenario will play out. It's far more likely that some humans would be on the side of the robots and some robots will be on the side of the humans. People get emotionally attached to and will risk themselves to protect bomb disposal robots. That's actually become a pretty serious issue in Afghanistan. Robots are used as an easy "us vs them" situation in science fiction, but the reality will be use different compositions of "us" and "them".

It's not the individual soldier that need to be reminded of the real consequences of the war. It's the war leader and politician that decides to go to war in the first place that needs to be reminded and held accountable for the realities of war.


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

[User]
CMV: A lot of people's definition of cultural appropriation is just a more progressive-sounding cover-up for xenophobia, tribalism, and segregationism

Cultural appropriation only consists of the following: 1.Someone taking all of the credit (and perhaps profit) for inventing some idea which wasn't theirs to begin with and which is an especially common practice in a specific culture, or 2. Clearly using a costume to mock a certain culture, such as blackface or dressing up as an indigenous person as a Halloween costume.

Other than that, it promotes the kind of racial segregation so many have worked so hard to abolish. For example, saying a white person should not wear dreads, at the root of it, displays the same overall thinking pattern as when people wanted a pool drained because one black person swam in it. People try to act like they're all woke when they whine about most instances of things they think are cultural appropriation by saying that they're protecting marginalized communities by some rationale of righting past wrongs done by the ancestors of those in not so marginalized groups and somehow evening the playing field. The fact that white people are seen differently with dreads than black people, a common argument in favor of the modern paradigm of avoiding what some call cultural appropriation, is not going to be solved by saying white people should not have them. It's just going to promote that black and white people are more different than they really are.

It all really comes down to a thought process along the lines of:

"This thing belongs to my group. You're not in my group, so you can't participate in this thing that is for my people and my people alone. If you try, I feel threatened and scared, because you're different and foreign invaders into our traditions and property must be stopped."

Historically marginalized or not, left or right wing, most people have a tendency to try and think this way in some fashion or another, with the only difference a lot of the time being the way that thinking is packaged and worded, and it leads to a lot of unnecessary violence, stress, and strife.

[Assistant] I think most peoples issue with cultural appropriation boils down to the way the original group is looked at when they do those things versus how the other group is looked at. If you take the example of dreads (if people are accepting of white people with dreads) they might be seen as edgy or something with positive connotations whereas, if a Black person has dreads, theyre seen as dirty or as a thug.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does steroid cream for skin conditions work? And how is it different from the steroids people take to gain muscle?

Also why does steroid cream damage the skin? I use the cream for eczema but am told not to use too much of it or for too long.

[Assistant] Steroids regulate your body systems. There are steroids that work in your musculoskeletal system that essentially turn on a signal that says "grow." These are called anabolic steroids (anabolic roughly translates to "build up"). On the other hand, steroids used to treat skin conditions are known as corticosteroids. These steroids regulate, among other things, your immune system. Eczema is basically a reaction where your immune system goes a little bit haywire and attacks your own skin. By applying a steroid cream or ointment, you can signal to your immune system that this area isn't a threat and to stop attacking it (essentially an "off" button). The problem is that these steroids can also block new skin creation if you use it for too long. That means extended use can lead to skin thinning which has its own issues.


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

[User] [Psych] In the pilot episode, why couldn't Shawn just say he was trained throughout his childhood by his dad to basically become the ultimate cop/detective?

[Assistant] He actually did try to explain that he simply made deductions based on observations, but they rejected that.  Bringing up his dad's training would not have helped when they already assumed there was no way to know other than being part of it.  He just came up with a third option.  Also, Shawns a bit of a goofball to begin with, so it's not like he tries that hard.


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

[User]
How does chewing up a tablet compare to swallowing it whole?

When I was young, I used to have to chew up headache pills because I couldn't swallow them.

Is it as effective to chew them up than swallow them whole? Why/why not?

[Assistant]
Someone else posted that chewing them breaks the time release mechanism. This is only true if it has a time release mechanism, which the vast majority of tablets don't.

When you chew a tablet, it often increases the rate of absorption and can have a quicker onset. This is because partly because once you've chewed the tablet into smaller pieces there is more surface area on those pieces than the entire tablet in total, and as such it is easier for the body to process the drug. One drawback is that doing this may yield more than the intended amount into the body/brain/bloodstream at once and it may not last as long.

Another reason is that once you've chewed something up into a powder, it can coat the membranous parts of your mouth/throat/stomach lining and be much more quickly absorbed into your bloodstream.


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

[User]
ELI5: How the play by play announcing works on NBA video games like 2k12?

It sounds real and is very smooth with the gameplay,they never mess up the names! It sounds as if they recorded every single player doing every situation and now they just pick and choose what to use!

[Assistant] They break it up. They'll record the announcer saying the players name - say Dirk Nowitski - possibly with different inflections (beginning of a sentence, excited, end of a sentence, etc.). Then they'll record the different plays or announcements - say "shoots for 3!" - and combine them. The game knows which player is doing what action and can combine them to make a complete sentence. If Dirk Nowitski shoots for three they'll combine the "Dirk Nowitski" sound bit and the "shoots for 3" sound bit to make it one sentence. They might also use some sort of algorithm to smooth out the breaks in between each bit, but it is sometimes noticeable (especially in older games). You may also notice that some phrases may be repeated but with different player names, or they go with a generic phrase like, "And it's good!" which don't include a player name.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Would the empire have been more successful if they just hadn't bothered with the Death Stars?

Pretty much the title.

[Assistant]
Without a doubt.  They could have built and crewed thousands, if not millions, of Star Destroyers instead, which would have been much more effective at hunting down the Rebel fleet and bases.  Additionally, an enormous fleet of Imperial ships doesn't have a single weak point that destroys them all - you have to do it the hard way, and the Rebellion simply would not have been up to that challenge.

Politically, the Death Stars did inspire fear, but the fear had the opposite effect from what was intended.  It pushed worlds towards the Rebellion by proving how dangerous and evil the Empire actually was.


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

[User]
[DC] Was Doomsday once a Kryptonian human? Do we have any information on who his parents were? Can his condition be "reversed"?

I only know that he was experimented on as a baby to be the perfect organism to survive. So I'm guessing prior to all that he would've just been just like any other Kryptonian? Does he then have some kind of intelligence to speak or do things like a civilized being if taught to do so?

Lastly, can he be taken back to his form BEFORE he became the monstrosity? Has there been any attempts to uncover his past? Since he and Superman were from the same planet I'd have thought maybe Clark showed some interest in learning more about him. Doomsday always seemed pretty tragic character to me.

[Assistant]
Depends on the continuity.

But in the original comic, no. He was a genetically engineered monstrosity, a completely artificial life form created to be perfect, destroyed and cloned over and over again until he escaped and began the rampage that ended with Superman dead.

In the post-Flashpoint continuity, Doomsday was actually a sort of fungus/infection, capable of spreading. While there might have been a regular person there at some point, by the time that Superman finally defeated Doomsday, there was nothing left but the Doomsday virus itself. Superman got infected, but somehow a trip through a black hole separated the infection from him.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do they call the speed achieved through hyperdrive "lightspeed"?

In Star Wars, you often hear people say they (will) go at lightspeed (using the hyperdrive), but lightspeed is way too slow for the achieved effect. Why don't they call it "hyperspeed" or something?

[Assistant]
'Lightspeed' is the threshold they have to pass to get to FTL speeds.

A bad analogy would be a 21st century plane going down a runway.  Theoretically, a plane could travel from coast to coast without taking off, but once it gets in the air it can fly much faster.


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

[User]
tips for a young and early proggrammer

Hey im still in high school and i just started to program and I lovvvvveeee it. I started and couldnt stop i know where im learning is the best or most optimized place but its free and i like it and that is what matters. what are some tips i should know early on like important things to learn general advice and maybe what you wish you knew when you started thank you for anyone that helps i am also considering a degree in computer science the more i read the more i get interested.

[Assistant]
When you're young/starting, we tend to think that good programming is memorizing syntax and being able to deal with lots of cryptic variables and what not.

And those skills matter, but ultimately good programming is like good cooking. Yeah the best chefs know how to crack an egg with one hand if they need to, but mostly they don't.

The thing that really makes good professional cooking is good discipline in all aspects

 * Cleaning as you go
 * using the right tools for the job
 * having everything prepared and set up beforehand rather than trying to get stuff together on the fly

Programming is the same way. The best code looks completely obvious in retrospect and looks dirt simple. But just like as the number and complexity of the dishes you cook goes up, it's easier to forget ingredients, leave things on the burner, or be late with something - as the complexity of your system goes up it's easier to end up with poorly structured code.

There are loads of principles that keep code clean and usable, none of them complicated or difficult to understand, but they require discipline to try to follow all the time. Asking questions like "Is this the right way to do this?", "Is there a standard way to do this?", "Is this easy to understand for future drunk me?" are good things to be asking yourself.

keep tidy, keep organised, and clean as you go.


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

[User]
[DCxAlien] If Superman were implanted with a Xenomorph embryo, what would happen?

Would the Xenomorph even be able to burst out of Supermans invulnerable body at all?

[Assistant] In Superman/Aliens, Superman managed to get himself face-hugged after an extended period away from a yellow sun sapped his strength, and faced the real and present danger of getting chestbursted... but once he made it back to Earth, he was able to crush the thing in his chest, tank the acid, puke out the chestburster, and then immediately turn around and catch a falling satellite. At full strength, he'd likely no-sell the implantation entirely, either biting off the facehuggers ovipositor or providing a completely unsuitable environment for the implanted chestburster.


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

[User]
[Starcraft] Why don't Terran tanks have machine gunners?

Why would the Terrans decide to take off a very necessary part of the tank? The top mounted machine gun has always been a staple in tank manufacturing and always been a necessity for close combat engagement. Why would they remove this very useful piece technology?

[Assistant]
1) It's more expensive - it's an extra gun, extra targeting systems, probably needs an extra gunner riding in the tank which means it needs to be a little roomier on the inside and have a more robust life-support system to keep another guy breathing when the tank is out on Fuck You Hell Moon, which is another couple factors that might compromise the tank's structure or armor if they're not bulked up... The units you commonly see fabricated and deployed are all in a delicate sweet spot between being as cheap as possible while still very effective.

2) The seige tank really shines as a heavy yet mobile artillery piece, as part of a combined-arms force. When it's deployed and fulfilling its role as long-ranged fire support as well as possible, the machine gun will not be a useful addition. COULD it come in useful in a pinch? Yes. But see point 1) - if it's not totally necessary, strip it out and make a cheaper tank.

3) Infantry isn't what it used to be. Back in the oldest days of warfare when soldiers ran around with just shirts or flimsy un-powered armor and would commonly go down in one shot, it was a huge benefit for an armored vehicle to have machine guns and be able to just roll up and unload on infantry. Now, with man-portable gauss rifles, an 'armored vehicle' doesn't offer the kind of protection against infantry that it used to. And, with man-portable powered armor that can withstand certain explosive tank shells, a tank is strongly incentivized to rely on its *longer*-ranged weaponry instead of trying to compete in close combat.

4) You show me a machine gun in a fixed position like you'd find on an old earth tank, I'll show you an eight-foot tall alien warrior in his own power armor who will run straight towards it at forty kph, catch every bullet in its energy shields, and cut through its armor with a fucking laser sword.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] Browsing this sub i came to know that the emperor is kept alive with sacrifices.

Are they volunteers who are sacrificed to keep the emperor alive or criminals. And how are able to sacrifice millions every day without a rebellions. And is it worth it to keep him alive?

[Assistant]
Thats... not exactly true.

First off, it's not millions every day. It's an average of 1000. The number's actually gone up as time has gone on, but it's actually pretty low for 40k.

Second, they aren't just regular people, but Psykers, collected from across the Imperium, by the Black Ships. While we aren't entirely sure, it's believed that these are still operated by the Sisters of Silence, a order of Psychic Nulls who have served as the Emperor's Psyker-hunters since the Great Crusade.

Third, they aren't actually sacrificed to keep the Emperor alive, but rather used as living batteries to power the Astronomican. Over a period of weeks or months, the individual Psykers wired into the beacons Psychic Choir have their souls burned away and need to be replaced.

The only Psykers that actually get brought before the Emperor are those of strong enough will to control their powers. They undergo the Soulbinding, which almost always blinds them, and serve as the Astropath's and Sanctioned Psykers of the Imperium.

As for whether or not it's worth the effort... Without the Astronomican, the Imperium literally loses it's primary means of navigating through the Warp. Warp travel will still be possible, but knowing where you're going will become far more difficult, and would probably lead to the total destruction of the Imperium.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does dinging the top of a glass bottle with another glass bottle make the drink inside explode?

You know, like in all those viral videos?

[Assistant]
When you throw a stone in a lake, it creates a wave that starts where the stone hits the water and expands away from that.  This is a pressure wave, where the amount of stuff is slightly higher at the wave.

When you knock a glass bottle against the another bottle, it creates a similar wave that expands up into the liquid of the bottle.

If that liquid happens to have as much air as it can hold dissolved inside, when the increased pressure from the wave passes through, it briefly has to much dissolved air in a tiny space so some of the air has to un-dissolve out of the liquid.  As air takes up more space when not dissolved, it puts even more pressure on the liquid next to it, causing more air to un-dissolve, this creates a chain reaction through the entire bottle and causes an explosion of air to escape!


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

[User] [Marvel Comics] I'm a mercenary and i've just been hired to kill Captain America. Is there anything stopping me from just shooting him with a high-powered sniper rifle?

[Assistant]
Not really. That's how he died at the end of the (comic version of) Civil War.

Of course, the guy who got him was, ahem, above average, and Steve Rogers was handcuffed and sans shield at the time.

But if you can get into position and manage to avoid being spotted by the greatest tactical mind in history, yes, you can just shoot him. Just hope he doesn't hear you working the bolt to chamber a round, doesn't see a shine reflect off the scope, doesn't notice the birds that take off when you settle into position ...


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

[User]
[CW's Flash] How does Barry make computers run faster?

He hasn't shown the ability to speed any other objects up, but somehow he can use his speed to search through computers crazy fast now.

[Assistant]
On a modern desktop computer for general daily use, the CPU is probably idle at least 90% of the time. Even if you're a reasonably fast typist, your computer is sitting around doing basically nothing for thousands of cycles in between every one of your keystrokes.

Given that Barry's computers at STAR Labs are exponentially faster than a typical modern desktop and run an operating system that seems to be at least partly AI, Barry's use of the computer isn't particularly profound. In fact, Barry is probably purposefully slowing himself down so that the *computer* can catch up to *him*.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why weren't the clone troopers killed by the radiation of starship engines they were standing behind?

Hey all,
Why weren't the clone troopers killed by the radiation output of the starship engines  they were standing behind as seen near the end of Episode II  Attack of The Clones? Given the exhaust from the ion drives used by starships  is radioactive.

[Assistant]
Snappy answer: nor is anyone ever burned by the hot exhaust... The *Falcon*'s main thruster doesn't even burn a cloth stuck into it.

Even snappier answer: unless they got hit with over 40 Grey, they wouldn't just drop dead; below 8 Gy, it would take 10 minutes or more for the neurological symptoms to manifest. It would take a while to feel the prickling on the skin and the metallic taste in the mouth in the heat of battle, and they can't see the "radiation suntan" through the helmets.

Explanation: energy shields on the ships.


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

[User] [Resident Evil 4] Why is it that the president only sent one secret service and one helicopter to rescue his daughter?

[Assistant]
He's genre savvy enough to know that the more guys you send, the less effective they will be. One person with limited resources is far more lethal as a strike force than a fully equipped team of Special Forces operators with satellite uplink and air support could ever hope to be.

It's called Conservation of Ninjitsu. It's how reality *works*.


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

[User]
ELI5 Data Warehouse vs Lake vs Lakehouse

I have a general understanding of warehouse vs lake, but how does lakehouse blend the two?

[Assistant]
A data warehouse is a highly structured environment where data is stored.  It has complex rules for indexing the data and a rigid metadata system for cataloging all of the data presented.  This makes it very easy to query data in the warehouse, but very time-consuming to set up and manage.  It also makes the warehouse unsuitable for data that doesn't fit those strict rules.

A data lake is the opposite - a very unstructured data retention system.  Data is just kind of "there" and it is up to the programs querying the data to figure out what it wants.  Easy to set up and maintain, but the heavy lifting has to be done by the programs or users requesting data.

A lakehouse is a middle ground.  It applies _some_ of the indexing and rules seen in a warehouse while still keeping the easy-to-scale and manage structures of a lake.


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

[User] [DC] What would Superman do if his son Jon was killed?

[Assistant] Rage. Grieve. Move on, eventually-- despite more emotionally-fragile multiversal counterparts, Clark can deal with loss without going insane. Probably spend some time in Sanctuary, if it was operating at the time.


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

[User] eli5 - if photons have no mass, how can they be used to push hypothetical "solar sails"?

[Assistant]
Solar sails are not hypothetical. IKAROS launched in 2010 used solar sales and practically demonstrated they work.

The answer is that photons have momentum.

The momentum is what is preserved in collisions. That is what Newton's laws of motion are about.

In our everyday life momentum is mass \* velocity. Mass in this context is the rest mass or invariant mass and it is the only thing we need to care about at a speed low compared to the speed of light.

At high-speed what is called relativistic mass is also relevant. A photon does have a  relativistic mass.

The idea of massenergy equivalence from relativity is to some degree known to most people that is what the E =mc^2 equation stands for.

That equation is for an object at rest for a moving object the formula i

E ^2 = ( m \* c^2 )^2  + (p \* c)^2

p is the momentum. So even if the rest mass m is zero the energy of the photons results in momentum this is called the Energymomentum relation.

So rest mass is not required for momentum, mass is just what results in the momentum at the speed we are used to on earth.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do most planets rotate anti-clockwise? Why is Venus an exception to this?

[Assistant]
Astrophysics major here,

When the solar system just started forming the ball of gas was massive, on the order of 1 or 2 light years in diameter. This ball slowly collapsed under its own gravity until it formed a star at the center (the sun) and a disk of leftover bits that would condense to form everything else (planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc.).

The giant ball of gas had some net spin to it, albeit very slow because of how large it was. As the gas condensed, the law of angular momentum sped up the rotation. The direction of the net spin eventually dominated everything else, aligning all of the planet's orbits and the sun and planet's rotation together.

The current hypothesis for why Venus (and Uranus) rotate differently from the other planets describes an era in solar history called the Late Heavy Bombardment. During this time, there weren't eight planets, but many many proto-planets that were all smashing into each other (more or less). Two of these proto-planets collided and formed Earth's moon, one was ripped apart and formed the asteroid belt (currently in dispute), and what would eventually become Venus was hit by a large mass that impacted at an appropriate angle to reverse the direction of its rotation.


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

[User]
[DC/marvel] Which superheroes/Villains could get obese? Which ones can't?

And would being obese restrict what they can do?

[Assistant]
Only aliens who don't really need to eat (superman) or people with an overactive metabolism (quicksilver, the flash) could keep from getting fat. Most other super-powered people could indeed get fat, but running around all night fighting keeps them in good shape.

I imagine super-powered fat people would have the same limitations as regular fat people. Shortness of breath, sleep apnea, diabetius, and keeping the air conditioning way too low. Also, people like archangel and the wasp might have trouble flying depending on the lifting power of their wings.


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

[User]
[The Walking Dead] Without outside interference like the governor, Negan, or the Flu, how long could Rick and so on held the prison?

This is in regard to both the TV show and the comic.

[Assistant]
Honestly it never made sense to me how walkers kept getting into a friggin prison.  They're specifically designed to prevent that very thing.  They should've been able to protect everyone by closing a single door.

The supply issue is more of a problem.  They needed the fence to hold so they could utilize the land and get water.   But carting soil to the courtyard or roof could've been a solution.


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

[User]
CMV: The Left is now the guardian of traditional values in our society, not the Right.

The Republican party's idea of "traditional values" is built around Christianity and a golden age that never existed. The true values our society is based on are the Renaissance, anti-monarchist revolution, a capitalist sense of fairness, and tolerance for individual liberties.

The Renaissance was a movement away from dogma. It taught that all ideas can and should be questioned. It led to the downfall of the monarchies and great rebirths like in America and France (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness/Fraternity). Equal citizens in a democracy.

Capitalism promoted a sense of fairplay and hard work being rewarded. Wages, individual property, and rule of law all developed out of this democracy/capitalism alliance. At the foundation of this is individual liberty.

People may act as they please, while not hurting others. All of these values are values of the Left. When a conservative says "men cannot marry men, because that is not traditional" I would counter that letting grown men do what they wish is a foundation of our society.

If someone says that Christianity has long opposed abortion, I would counter that the right to an individual and a medical professional to make their own decisions is more important.

Drug legalization? Liberty and personal choice.

Religious iconography and language in politics? Archaic like the trappings of monarchy. (I'm not trying to insult religion, but rather enforce the separation of church and state which was a key feature of both the US and French revolutions).

Creationism and other dogma in school? Only if they can be freely criticized.

So it is the Left that is trying to protect the foundations of our society and morality, Western in general and American in particular. The Right is seeking to change society, to "reform" it into something fitting their ideal.

But which is counter to our shared values and heritage.

TL:DR Liberal values have been our guiding light for 300 years, and reactionary attempts to change that are continuously failing.

[Assistant]
On the flip side, a goodly fraction of the Left does seem to currently be going down a dark path of (a least socially) censoring non-politically-correct speech, restricting religious liberty, and banning weapons of self-defense.

All of which are classical Liberal values of the most paramount importance.


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

[User]
If the Oxford vaccine targets Covid-19's protein spike and the Moderna vaccine targets its RNA, theoretically could we get more protection by getting both vaccines?

If they target different aspects of the virus, does that mean that getting a one shot after the other wouldn't be redundant?

[Assistant]
They both target spike. Moderna works differently. Moderna uses mRNA as the delivery mechanism of the vaccine. Our body then turns that mRNA into a protein that the immune system recognizes and creates antibodies to.

So essentially the end product our immune system sees is similar, its just how the vaccine creates that product thats different.


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

[User]
How do Parallel SEM Avoid Interference Between Parallel Electron Beams?

Today I learned that companies like Zeiss have electron microscopes that have parallel electron beams, to increase scanning rate.

However, given that electrons are negatively charged, how/why do the parallel electrons path's not become distorted? Do computers do the math to correct for distortion caused by electrostatic repulsion?

[Assistant] You could look up beam currents, typical separation of the beams and calculate the effect size based on that, but there is a much simpler approach: Compare it to the effect of the beam on itself. The electrons in a beam repel each other. They are *much* closer together so their repulsion is much stronger. That is something to keep in mind with larger beam currents, but it doesn't stop electron microscopes from working. Beams separated by far larger than the beam width will have a much smaller influence.


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

[User] ELI5:What is the mathematical/caloric difference between running 1 mile and walking 1 mile. You finish one earlier and spend less time buring calories, the other burns slower but lasts longer. I it more energy efficient to walk 1 mile or run then rest?

[Assistant]
Running is less *efficient* than walking.

Walking is relatively level. Your body, although it has some vertical movement, is basically pathing horizontally - parallel to the ground.

With running, there is a significant bounce - your whole body is lifting up and dropping down. This takes energy.

You're basically trading efficiency for speed. Spend more power and energy, you get there faster.

So, even though you go the same distance, walking or running, you end up spending significantly more energy running the same distance.


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

[User]
Do animals besides humans have eyes that become nearsighted/farsighted or have astigmatism?

I assume they do because they develop other eye ailments like cataracts, but how do you tell if your dog is near sighted and needs glasses?

The glasses part is a joke.

[Assistant] There's actually animals for whom it's completely normal and healthy to be nearsighted. Example: mice. As you may know, they can climb and jump extremely well. But because their eyes are arranged towards the sides of their heads (typical for prey animals), their depth perception isn't great. So how do they judge whether they can jump to a particular point? They're nearsighted, and if they can still see the point clearly, they know they will be able to reach it. They won't normally jump from great heights because they can't see the floor, for instance.


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

[User]
ELI5: if there's a garbage island the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, why can't I find it on google maps?

I started looking at the satellite images from google maps looking at small uninhabited islands and I realized that there wasn't a giant trash island like I had heard so much about.  So where is it?

[Assistant]
It's not an island in the typical sense of a chunk of land you can walk on.

It's a region of the ocean with a larger than expected concentration of microscopic plastic particles.

The existence of this "island" is a problem because of it's size and it's risk to ocean life, but you could only realize you were even floating in it if you sampled the water around you and examined it closely.

Edit: It appears it isn't **always** microscopic pieces, according to some of the videos shown below.


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

[User] [General] I just acquired a large amount of gold from a giant's castle and or dragon's lair, how do I declare this on my taxes?

[Assistant] The **Loot** subheading should cover that, along with an estimated value of any magical items you found. Luckily, most such things are barely taxed at all, as the act of looting requires the destruction of monsters, and is thus a service to the kingdom.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Does Spidey's spider sense go off if he's about to inhale a lethal disease pathogen?

What if it's non-lethal, just really unpleasant?

[Assistant]
His spider-senses is clairvoyant and a form of psychic future-telling. It really depends on how harmful it is since we reliably know it goes off
"More" in two circumstances:

* The more dangerous it is to him or sometimes people around him.
* How close it is to happening, chronologically.

We've seen people cleverly overwhelm his spider-sense by specifically taking advantage of these two things. Like being non-lethal and really liking him so like. His Spider-Sense just didn't go off. Black Cat non-lethally S&M hornied him unconscious once.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are cats obsessed with boxes?

I've even seen large cats (tigers, lions) enthralled by them.

[Assistant]
A lot of 'solitary predator' animals (as opposed to *group/pack* predators, like dogs) feel safe in more confined spaces, like boxes and small caves. It's part of their survival instinct -- if you're surrounded on three sides, then you know you're safe there, and you only have to pay attention to what's in front of you, because it's impossible for anything to sneak up on you from behind. If your body is taking up the entire cave/box/etc, then there's nothing else in there with you, so it's even safer.

Housecats don't have the sharpest survival instincts, but they've retained that sense of feeling safe and comfortable in boxes and little nooks and crannies.

It doesn't usually happen with dogs, because dogs are pack animals -- they get their safety from hanging around in their pack, and aren't as careful about being hidden.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What is the day to day like in Sauron's tower?

Is there an administrative and bureaucratic structure? Is it just orcs or are there other species? Are there living quarters, luxuries, elite members of mordorian society? What exactly are all those orcs doing in the tower all day? I'm trying to understand if it's a 'real' society with all the normal roles being filled some way or it's a supernatural simulacrum propped up by dark power alone.

[Assistant]
Sauron sits atop the tower and gives orders to the Steward of Barad Dur, the Mouth of Sauron. The Mouth and other Black Numenorians keep to the top of the political hierarchy along with Orcs and other fell creatures who are impressive enough to gain Sauron's favor.

The castle is then full of thousands of Orcs ranging from fighting Uruks to the lowly Snaga slave caste. Armies are trained, orders given, and prisoners tortured in the deep dungeons.


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

[User]
[X-Men] In the X1 movie, how did Magneto know of Rogue and her abilities?

Rogue runs away from home and meets Wolverine and then the two of them are attacked presumably because Magneto can use her ability to power his machine.

But how did Magneto know who she was or what she could do?

Furthermore, how did the X-men know Sabretooth was attacking them at that time and place and save them?

[Assistant]
Short answer, Mystique. She infiltrated the mansion and learned of Rouge's powers.

Long answer: Magneto and Xavier may have had a falling out after the events of X-Men First Classes, but they've tried to rebuild their relationship. This is apparent during a flashback in X3 when they visited Jean Grey together.

While their relationship never fully rekindled, they kept in-touch but also kept tabs, being frenemies and all. Max knew the academy would attract mutants with different powers and backgrounds, including those he could exploit. This would also explain why Mystique was at the academy in secret despite having close personal history with Charles.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What was Obi-Wans plan if Anakin had stopped fighting after he got the high ground?

Obi-Wan gets the high ground and Anakin thinks about it and decides its best to disengage. What wouldve likely happened next? Would they have gone their separate ways or would Obi-Wan have tried to kill Anakin?

[Assistant]
Stopping the fight is always the goal. If Anakin actually took time to think, to reason, then he's not truly lost. If he's willing to stop, then it means that he can be turned back from the dark side.

They're not going to go their separate ways. Obi-Wan is going to have to report to Yoda, and all three of them are going to have to come up with some kind of plan to stop Palpatine. Since they stop fighting a few minutes early, maybe Padme actually makes it off of Mustafar alive, with twins to boot, further pulling Anakin from the edge.


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

[User]
Does probability still exist if the results are already determined?

Im sorry this is a slightly confusing title, but i will try to explain with an example:

There are 2 boxes, one of them contains a prize, the other one is empty. You have to guess which one has a prize in it, this means you have a 50% chance of guessing it right every time.

After you say "the box on the left", from an observer's point of view (who can see what's in the box), you either have chose right and have a 100% chance of guessing correctly, or you chose wrong, and have 0% choosing correctly. But from the player's point of view, you dont know if you got it right or not, do you still have a 50% chance to get it correct, even if the answer if already determined?

[Assistant]
One way to consider this is that probability is a measure of the uncertainty that a person has in the outcome. From your point of view, you have no information and the chance is 50%, but from the point of view of someone who knows where the price is, there's no uncertainty.

Or rather, the entropy of the results you expect is related to your uncertainty. You have 1 bit of uncertainty and the person who knows the answer has 0 bits.


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

[User]
Are there any "living clades" (2 or more species whose last common ancestor is not extinct)?

I can't think of any... it could happen, right?

Oh and "living clade" is apparently a meaninglyes term that I've just made up, which is probably why I can't google it! And maybe I'm using it wrong anyway, unless I'm also going to insist that ALL the descendents of the last common ancestor are still with us. I would settle for any pair of distinct species who share a common ancestor that is not extinct.

[Assistant]
This can get a little tricky with definitions: what you want is two separate populations, which are different species, both of whom have a common ancestor which was a member of a third species, which is still extant, right?

The problem may be in how much you variation you'll accept in that ancestral species, compared to its modern populations. The African bush elephant and the African forest elephant are both still around, of course, and they diverged about 2 million years ago. That last common ancestor, though, was probably a bush elephant.


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

[User]
How can I go about revealing bad news...

Hello all,

I will try and make this short.
I got accepted to a Ph.D program a few months ago. I worked hard for it and it is what my heart desired. However when I got to the actual program, enrolled, started getting situated, etc. I realized the program (possibly the school) was not for me. I did not see myself being happy there for four years. It was very disappointing and saddening to come to this realization. All in all I came to the logical decision that it was not worth pursuing and decide to resign.

I have not given up on my desire to pursue further education. Yes, this is a set back but I am working my way up once again.
Anyways.. after all this mess, the thing that is stressing me out the most is contacting my undergraduate advisors/mentors and telling them the disappointing news. I had a great professional relationship with both my advisors. Therefore, I know for a fact that they will be disappointed to hear this news. They were extremely excited and happy when I got accepted. But most importantly they helped me in so many ways that I will never forget. They obviously had a huge impact on my professional development and I just can't find it in me to disappoint them. I don't want them to feel as if they wasted their time, because they did not.

 Any words of wisdom? Advice?
Anything will be appreciated.

[Assistant] If you still need letters from your undergrad advisors to get into another school at a later time, then Id suggest letting them know with a phone call if possible, but have something more concrete than it wasnt for me. Im sure there are real reasons you had to leave, but the way its written in this post is very vague and could be interpreted as it was too hard which is the one message you do not want to send. Theyll be fine with it if you have a good, concrete, reason for dropping out and will continue to write letters for you. But if there is the slightest chance they could interpret it as you arent cut out for a PhD then they wont continue to write letters for you in the future.


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

[User]
CMV: Men would get more ahead if they simply stopped caring about what women want.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a college student who is 21 years old, so my wisdom is definitely going to be limited. However, when looking around at my peers, and even people who are decades older than me, I begin to see a troubling trend.

 I have so many friends who worry to death about the clothes that they wear, the way they style their hair, getting their money right, getting fit, not for themselves, but to impress chicks. So many situations would never happen if they just stopped worrying about these girls. I know a dude who chose a major SIMPLY to be around more women. A guy who refuses to follow dudes on IG(because he wants to see naked chicks). A guy who spends hundreds of dollars on clothes every week to take selfies and put them on IG for the satisfaction of having girls like his pictures. I met a guy who invited a girl to dinner knowing he had no money, bought her dinner, and over-drafted his account (AMEN for poor people fees) in the process, just for her to never call him again. I even once met a guy who sold weed to women at a discount, literally sacrificing money for what? I don't want to be preachy so I never tell them how asinine they sound.

Then when they don't get the desired responses, they end up frustrated. Their lack of power eats at them until they lash out. All these men's rights circles wouldn't have a need if men just stopped giving a shit. If you're a girl, you wouldn't have to worry about being human trafficked, raped, or assaulted if men simply stopped living their lives to impress you. If you're a man, you could literally WALK into success if you just stopped being a tryhard.

[Assistant] The thing is, the people you are talking about generally _don't_ care about what women want. They care _so little_ about what women want that they never even bothered to figure out what women want. Their problem actually has nothing to do with what women want: their problem is that they are acting in bad faith by externalizing their own free decisions onto some imagined platonic ideal of a woman. That's a problem regardless of how accurately their idealized woman matches the real thing.


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

[User] ELI5: If enzymes are catalysts and catalysts don't get used up, how do people become lactose intolerant?

[Assistant]
Lactose intolerance people don't produce enough of the enzyme they need to digest the lactose.

Think of the lactose as an invading army, and the enzyme as an adamantium spear. The spear never gets used up, but if there's one spear, and 100,000 people in the invading army, that doesn't really matter.  Most of the lactose still gets past the solitary, spear-wielding defender, ravaging the countryside (of your digestive tract).


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

[User]
I don't think anyone should get extra time in an exam. CMV.

This may not exist in some exams, but in the high school exams that I took (the IB), some students were allowed extra time for things such as: dyslexia, ADD, etc. Now before you think I'm a complete ass for essentially harming people with those conditions' future by not allowing them to perform to the "best" of their abilities (quotations will be explained later), here are my reasons for thinking as such:

In my view, an exam should assess a person's ability to absorb and process information in a manner suitable for the exam (for example: in math or physics exam, to be able to solve problems quickly and correctly). I think the exam should be used to distinguish between candidates for university, or a career. As such, I think that the time allocated is a rather large factor: if you have more time to absorb or process the information, you may eventually get it. But the point is to distinguish between person A and person B for a position.

Given an infinite amount of time, I would say more people would be able to get 100% on an exam, which then defeats the purpose of taking one unless your aim was just to have a confidence booster.

Now, I also think that when applying (let's take the example of applying to university), these conditions should be considered: the admissions officer should know that your exam result may not be completely reflective of what you could do given a lot more time. But in the context of an exam, I don't think its about measuring your best abilities when given infinite time. The rate at which a student can absorb and process the information should be compared. This is why I put quotations around ""best" of their abilities". Of course they could do better with more time, but so can everyone (a generalization, I know: I recognize that I cannot say that all can answer every question correctly in an exam).

Now the reason I care is that the exams are graded on a curve. If you compensate for a student's difficulty in reading by providing them extra time to raise their grade, it will (if enough are given more time) affect everyone's grade. It also doesn't tell the admissions officer what you can do in the time given normally in an exam, compared to another student. It defeats the purpose (in my opinion) of a standardized exam.

As well as this, I am a little skeptical as to the ability of the examiner to determine exactly how much more time would make the exam "fair".

Yes, it sucks that a person has this condition. Yes, I think it should be compensated for, or at least considered. No, I do not think that giving extra time in a standardized exam graded on a curve is the way to do so. I think it's like having a race between Pistorius and Bolt on the 100m, and giving Pistorius extra time. Then, taking that result into account as an average to determine who is the fastest runner. Again, I'm sorry for Pistorius to have a natural disadvantage (although I do not claim to be an expert in whether this provides disadvantages but I just compared best running times), but I don't think he should be given extra time due to his condition.

TL;DR: I think extra time in an exam is like giving a legless man a head start in a race with Usain bolt until he almost beats him, then considering this a good comparison.

PS: Let me know if my explanation isn't that good, or is missing some logical connectors. I'll try and clear it up to show exactly what I think.

Edit 1: Wow this has become bigger than I expected! Thanks so much for all the contributions: it's fascinating to read these comments. A common theme I'm seeing among the answers is now the disagreement on what exams test (which I should have clarified earlier): Some, like Sabazius, Dr_Wreck, and sarcasmandsocialism, seem to say that exams usually should not include how fast you can answer, or rather, as Sabazius said "the quality being tested was a student's ability to perform in a given amount of time". I actually do think so. In this case, as many explained better than me: the condition does affect a part of the aptitude being tested. So giving extra time does not level the playing field, but rather distorts results (which was what I tried to explain earlier). In this case, how does my opinion hold up?

Edit 1.5 (super quick added edit): Another thing I've noticed is people pointing out that I seem to be not thinking outside of the school world, and not taking into account the fact that exams aren't perfect for demonstrating how good someone would be in the real world. This is partly true (I do sometimes get a little stuck in the school world) but I also think that exams both do a fairly good job at emulating the real world in a period of time, and at the moment seems to be the only viable way to compare aptitude(and realistic: ideally one would interview each person for a long time to figure out how apt they are but that's a bit time consuming/expensive). Yes, they aren't perfect, but I don't think that extra time improves the system.

[Assistant]
The primary purpose of testing is to see if a student understands something, *not* to see which student can answer fastest. If a student has dyslexia and takes a long time to understand the questions, limiting them on time means that the test is no longer measuring their subject comprehension, it is measuring their reading speed.

The reality is that subject comprehension is far more valuable for most jobs than the ability to provide written answers to standardized, written questions while sitting still for a specific amount of time.  In real life, there are many ways students with ADHD or dyslexia can adjust their environment to increase their productivity, but those are impossible in the artificially controlled testing environment.

tl;dr Tests should primarily measure subject comprehension, not the ability to take a written test.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do bad words exist?

Seriously explain like im 5.

[Assistant]
Some people don't like to be reminded gross or bad things exist. Some people don't like you making fun of them, their family, their religion etc. So they don't use the words that do that.

We end up using the words because words are used to explain to other people things like how we feel. If we feel *really* strongly about something, we may use a bad word so the other person is shocked and pays attention. They mean you feel so strongly you're willing to use words most people don't want to use.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does compass work in smartphones?

They reside in a microchip? Is there a mini-mini-mini-mini needle? And wondered about the gyroscopes - is there a very tiny gyroscope spinning?

[Assistant]
So have you ever played with a magnet? If so, you know that if you put metal near it, they'll stick together! This is because the magnet creates a "field" in the space around it. The closer a piece of metal is to the magnet, the stronger they stick together, because it is more inside the Magnetic Field. The field actually has a specific direction that it points in, like a bunch of signs that all point one way.

Now, the Earth is actually a giant magnet! The Earth's field is fairly weak, so you may not notice it, but it's there. It's field points from the South Pole up to the North Pole.

Inside your smartphone is a small device called a Magnetometer. This is a really complicated device that measures how strong a magnetic field it is. The phone uses the data from this. When you wave your phone around, it measures the magnetic field a bunch of times, and mathematically calculates the direction of the field. Since we know the Earth's magnetic field points north, then as long as there isn't any major interference, the field will be pointing toward north, and we have our compass!


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

[User] [General] Who is the biggest human traitor in all of Fiction?

[Assistant] Count Baltar (the original BSG, not the new one) willingly sold out the entirety of the human race in exchange for being installed as dictator over what tiny dregs of his own species remained after the Cylons destroyed the colonies.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do public toilet seats have an opening at the front, but home toilet seats are completely round?

[Assistant] International Plumbing Code and Uniform Plumbing Code in the US dictate that open front seats must be used for facilities that are made for Accessible Design.  The Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't require it but plumbing code does.  Nobody really likes open front seats so you usually only see them in commercial applications in the US.  Home use toilet seats are closed front because that is much more comfortable for non disabled users.


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

[User]
ELI5: What happens if 1 engine fails on a 2 or 4 engine plane during flight? What happens if all engines fail?

ELI5: What happens if 1 engine fails on a 2 or 4 engine plane during flight? What happens if all engines fail?

[Assistant]
Two engine commercial aircraft have a rating that allows them to fly for a certain amount of time safely on a single engine. These planes fly routes so that a safe landing spot is always within their rated time. So when an engine fails the pilot will divert to the nearest airport and land.

If all engines fail (very, very unlikely) the pilot will need to look for somewhere safe (a field, for example) and land asap.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do multiple similar sounds put together become louder? Example: An audience clapping.

Do the sound waves build up with each other somehow? Thank you!

[Assistant]
You can look at sound like water for this case, if you wave your hand at the surface the displacement from your hand will make a wave that gets smaller as it travels, now if you wave your other hand right underneath it in the same manner it will build it up again, if you do another wave at the opposite direction of the first, the turbulence will be destructive and both waves will cancel each other.

In the case of people cheering they are all doing the same sound more or less so they are building it up.

Noise canceling headphones use the opposite thing, they will make destructive turbulence that cancels the ambient noise.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do dogs love their bellies being rubbed?

[Assistant] A dog rolling on its back for you while you're petting it is usually a submissive gesture. The dog has complete trust in you and is relaxed while you are probably scratching an itch that he/she can't get at. Like the top of your head, there are nerve endings that make being scratched/pet feel good. This is why cats love to be pet and scratched as well.


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

[User] [Bioshock] Would Rapture's society still collapse if ADAM was never discovered?

[Assistant]
Almost certainly, ADAM just added fuel to the fire. The root problem was their totally unsustainable political philosophy, and the hypocrisy required to make it even halfway tenable

If it wasnt ADAM, it would have been something else. Even before the genetic engineering boom, there was skyrocketing inequality, poverty, totalitarianism, political violence etc.


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

[User]
[LotR/South Park] What would happen if Eric Cartman found the one ring?

The ring corrupts the user to evil from their desire to do good and gives them power, Cartman's already evil as shit, although not that smart sometimes.

[Assistant] The ring appeals to one's desires. It attacks the will of good people by twisting their good desires to evil. Cartman desires one thing: authoritay. Picture a chubby 4th grader, in a dark spiky tower, on a golden throne, overlooking Casa Bonita, making everyone kiss his ass.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What would happen if a Jedi tried to use his lightsaber to block a physical round from a gun.

[Assistant]
Assuming lightsabers work on the priciple of a tight superheated-plasma arc doubling over to create a physical 'sword' blade capable of reflecting other plasma expulsions and objects telekennetically launched at it as 'thrown' speed, as well as slice *slowly* through a metal door, it is most likely that a lead bullet, travelling at anything between 800-3000fps, *would pass through the blade so fast it would barely be lukewarm before it killed the unarmoured Jedi behind*.

Force or no-Force, a lightsaber would suck against solid metal high-velocity bullets, even if the Jedi was fast enough to precict where the bullet would hit them. At the very best they'd cut the bullet in half and just be hit by fragments instead.


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

[User]
Are there organisms with multiple brains?

I am excluding symbiotic units for this question. And I'm also specifying only brains grown through cell differentiation, not through the assimilation of a foreign organism.

And, if they exist, what are they?

Thanks.

[Assistant]
You don't have multiple brains, but you do have spinal cord ganglia - clusters of nerves - able to process simple information and take independent action such as moving limbs away from pain without the delay of sending the message up and down your spinal cord.

Biologists say humans have a high degree of cephalization. Information processing and sensory equipment is concentrated in one region - a "head," and you have a centralized mass of fused ganglia crammed close enough to rapidly trade information called a brain.

Evolving a brain allows for more sophisticated and faster processing. Many creatures such as flatworms are less cephalized than humans and are less bothered by losing their heads. They say two heads are better than one but evolution has never gone in that direction.


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

[User]
CMV: We should tax the "externalization" of a cost, and the tax should be high enough to make it NOT worth it in the first place.

For example, it's cheaper to transport chicken from the USA to China, where it will be processed (it's cheaper due to lower wages and other reasons) and shipped back to the USA. This is a monstrous practice, that creates a lot more pollution due to trans-oceanic transportation and takes capital out of a nation.

The end product is cheaper to manufacture so the corporation can increase its profits, and the costs are externalized: someone else will have to clean the oceans in the future, and someone else misses out on a job that's outsourced to another nation. Net gain for the corporation, net loss for everyone else.

We need taxes in place so that this practice is a net loss for the corporation. It's ruining the country and the world.

Edit: no, I don't think selective protectionism would harm the poor. I think it would increase prices but it would also increase job availability, for a net benefit for workers.

[Assistant] The taxes should be high enough to offset whatever harm is done. If that means high enough to make it not worth it in the first place, fine, but if the harm can be adequately offset for a certain amount of money why would you need to charge substantially more than that?


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

[User] ELI5: Why does Siri require internet access to perform a task like playing a song that's already on my phone? Also, why does it need to know my location, simply to tell me the distance between 2 cities?

[Assistant]
Voice recognition and the associated language processing isn't something your phone and its little battery can handle very well. Instead your voice commands are sent off to a central server to be processed and the results sent back to your phone. This means Siri will require internet access to work because, despite how it seems, "Siri" isn't resident in your phone.

When asking about the distance between two cities you are likely invoking a map program which is anticipating providing information useful to you in particular. Knowing your location will allow it to tell how far away you are from cities, plan routes, and even disambiguate between locations (if you are in Texas and type "Paris" you probably mean Paris, TX and not France).

Now you might not actually be wanting any of that, you might just want to know the distance between two cities and your location is irrelevant. But the app can't know that, it wants to access data it was programmed to anticipate is useful. Also it needs to ask at launch because you don't want that question popping up suddenly in the middle of using the app when it becomes absolutely necessary.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why does every civilization, ancient and newer, have legends of dragons?

They even look similar in most if not all cases.. why is that?

[Assistant]
Because they didn't. *But* most every civilization encountered mammals and lizards and spiders and etc etc etc. and they made legends that reflected things from their world. And when Europeans found a legend that talked about a big lizard or slightly lizard like thing, they said "oh that's a dragon!" Even when the similarities were meager at best. The same as big hairy men legends and spider entities and bird monsters that are popular.

Tldr not everyone had legends about dragons, but lots of people have legends about lizard things, because they all saw lizards. And we just call them all dragons because we're lazy.


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

[User] ELI5:Why/How is there a flu "season"?

[Assistant]
Nobody is sure why, but it has to do with the weather and not the month.
Australia has a different flu season than North America, for example.

It could be that people spend more time in  closed environments when it's cold, or it could be that the flu survives better in cold and dry weather.


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

[User]
Why didn't Obi-Wan and Yoda make more of an effort to train Luke/Leia in the Force sooner?

It has been repeatedly stressed that being trained from an young age is important to helping a padawan reach his full potential. Even if not, it probably still helps.
Why did they put both children (who obviously could have stayed completely anonymous) into hiding with families who couldn't nurture their latent abilities at all?
I get the hiding bit, but Obi-Wan lived practically next door and did just fine. Hell, Leia was a galactic senator and no one picked up on it. If they were raised with secrecy and stealth as a top priority with their abilities, I don't see why it wasn't done. By ROTJ Luke and Leia could both have been fully-realized Jedi capable of roflstomping Vader and taking on Palpatine, especially with backup from ObiWan and Yoda.

[Assistant]
Yoda never wants to train anyone, everyone is "to old to start the training".

Also Yoda and Obi-Wan were waiting for the Force to make it's move. The older and wiser they became the more they understood they could not force the force. Eventually they trained Luke in this philosophy. At one point he says he can not hear the force when he is using it. There is a reason he could defeat Vader: he listened to the force instead of using it for his own goals.


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

[User] ELI5 What is the difference between regular and premium gas?

[Assistant]
The octane number describes how high pressure the fuel will self ignite at. Engines which produce higher compression require fuel with higher octane number to combust without knock ( harmful sporadic ignition before the carefully timed spark from the spark plug).

Also, fuel has additives designed to clean your engine from soot and provide some lubrication an protection for the surfaces inside the combustion chamber and exhaust.

Premium gas has more and better additives usually combined with higher octane number.


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

[User]
[Portal] So it's take your daughter to work day at Aperture science, and I was just wondering what facilities exist to help me take care of (and educate) my daughter?

Also the timetable just seems to stop after lunch? Do I get to go home early?

[Assistant]
*Hello,* \[u/moreorlesser!\]

*Thank you for your* \[APPRECIATION/CONCERN/HORRIFIED CONCERN/WARNING FROM A POST-APOCALYPTIC FUTURE\] *in relation to Aperture Science's Bring Your Daughter To Work Day!*

*Though you may be skeptical of the ability of a subterranean science facility to take legal responsibility of a small child, rest assured. Upon your arrival, an Aperture Science Entertainment Associate robot will be happy to escort your loved one of choice to one of our many Edutainment Opportunities!*

*Why not consider:*

* *Our Potato-Battery Competition (with real potatoes!)*
* *Our "Arsenic: Nature's Sweetener" Experimental Chocolate Tasting Panel (with real arsenic!)*
* *"Flammable or Inflammable", a party game for children aged five and up!*
* *Child-friendly screenings of secret surveillance footage from the Black Mesa R&D Department (maybe they'll spot something we didn't!)*
* *Thanks to our practical experimentation on the "cat-in-the-box" hypothesis, you can now visit our Erwin Schrdinger Cat Graveyard!*

*Finally, if all else fails, your child can contribute to both Science and your work-life balance by burning off some of your Mandatory Test-Track Hours! (Should your child be injured or lost during the testing process, let us know: the Robotics Department will compensate you with a child of equal or greater value, upon request).*

*After lunch, the work-day will end with the inaugural activation of our* ***G****enetic* ***L****ifeform* ***a****nd* ***D****isc-****O****perating* ***S****ystem! Those of you who are worried about missing out on this momentous occasion can breathe easy: space has been cleared in the Central Chamber for all to attend. If you get there early, why not encourage your child's interest in chemical nerve agents by taking a look at our newly-installed neurotoxin emitters?*

*If you do not wish to attend, Aperture Science reminds you of your rights; all of which were removed upon your signing of the Aperture Science Standard Employee Contract. Enjoy the day! And remember:*

*Testing is the future! And the future starts with* ***you!***

*Yours sincerely,*

*The Aperture Science Complaints Department (Floor 576, Building A)*


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

[User]
CMV: Women should be required to sign up for selective service

All men from 18-26 are required to sign up for selective service and, potentially, be drafted, or they must provide a reason for exemption. If they do not, they cannot vote, acquire gov. loans, and may have to pay fines, etc. All for being a male, whereas women do not have to do this. However, women may serve in the military voluntarily, be a firefighter, or a police officer, so, in theory, they should be just as capable as men in combat. Further, if women and men are both able get these jobs, shouldn't they have the same responsibility as men to sign up for selective service? I believe womens' current exemption from selective service is discrimination towards both men AND women. If we are pushing for equal rights (feminism) shouldn't this policy be changed? Also, shouldn't feminists be advocating for this change as fiercely as they do with other inequalities? I do not believe a male should lose civil liberties for failing to sign up for something in which they have zero control over (gender), whereas women never have the fear of being sent to war or losing civil liberties.

Edit: I believe we can't have it one way and not the other. If women can be firefighters, entrusted with lifting grown men out of buildings, then they should also be fit for combat. However, if the gov is insinuating they are not fit for combat, then that is insinuating they are most likely not fit for other high stress, highly physical jobs.

Clarification: I do not seek opposing views for the existence selective service. My title was originally misworded, I meant to ask "CMV: Men and women should be held to the same standard in regards to registering for selective service"

[Assistant]
Why should anyone have the fear of being sent to war involuntary? Why not advocate for nobody being forced to sign up for the selective service?

This argument has always been strange to me. The selective service is always portrayed as some sort of horrible thing men are forced into in order to receive their civil liberties, but the presented solution to the gender inequality is to force women into a system that's just been decried. It paints the men who make this argument as spiteful rather than wanting any sort of equality.

Like a little brother whining because their sibling gets to drive the family car, except instead of saying that they should be allowed to drive it they demand that nobody be allowed to drive it. Why advocate for everyone to be a part of a bad system?


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

[User]
[ATLA] Could someone prevent their face from getting stolen by Koh the Face Stealer by simply wearing a mask when talking to him?

* If Koh the Face Stealer will only steal someone's face if he can get a visible facial reaction out of them, couldn't someone just wear a mask in order to prevent him from being able to see their potential facial reactions?

[Assistant]
Remember, he's under no *obligation* to talk to you. You can go faster then any professional runner by showing up to the marathon on a motorbike, but you won't win, you'll cancel the race.

He can only steal your face if he sees you express emotions, yes, but he's not stupid. If you show up wearing a mask or something similar, he might just leave.

If you're lucky.

If you're unlucky, he can't attack *you*, but given you're already bending the rules then there's nothing saying he can't say something shocking and then quickly take off your mask.


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

[User]
[Superhero media] Why do criminals never give up information until theyve gotten beaten up badly?

It never makes sense to me lol. Being on the bad side of a hero with actual powers would make most people shit themselves. Why are these criminals so dumb and refuse to answer until theyve gotten their asses kicked all around?

[Assistant]
With a few exceptions, superheroes scare, beat up or, at worst, hospitalize you

Mob bosses and super villains kill you, and your whole family, horribly

And even then, heroes with a reputation for *enhanced interrogation* often have criminals just squeal without a beating (Batman, Punisher, etc).


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

[User]
Before every major crisis, there are always one or a few Economists who "predict" the crisis and are hyped up after everything has gone down. If Economics is an actual science deserving to be on par with other sciences, why are these predictions never mainstream and Economists can never agree on it?

In other words, is Economics only a collection of descriptive methods that should not be assumed to have significant and reliable predictive value, thus not deserving to enter into normative matters?

I am not here to attack anyone, however, this question bugs me and I wanted to hear from actual economists, since you most likely possess information that I don't for not being an academic in the field.

[Assistant]
Many of these "economists" (I put that in quotes because many of these people aren't economists) predict things the same way Nostradamus did, be very vague, and eventually something might happen where you can retroactively say you predicted it because what you said was maybe close enough to what actually happened to fool some people. These people typically have vastly more predictions that never came true,

A broken clock is right twice a day. There are recessions every now and then, and when you constantly cry wolf and say the economy is going to shit eventually you're going to be right if you keep saying it long enough.

Economists can't predict recessions because they are by their nature unpredictable. They only happen when expectations regarding future economic conditions change and economic actors suddenly alter their behavior in response to the change in expectations:

>***Level two chaos is chaos that reacts to predictions about it, and therefore can never be predicted accurately.*** *Markets, for example, are a level two chaotic system. What will happen if we develop a computer program that forecasts with 100 per cent accuracy the price of oil tomorrow? The price of oil will immediately react to the forecast, which would subsequently fail to materialize. If the current price of oil is $90 a barrel, and the infallible computer program predicts that tomorrow it will be $100, traders will rush to buy oil so that they can profit from the predicted price rise. As a result, the price will shoot up to $100 a barrel today rather than tomorrow. Then what will happen tomorrow? Nobody knows.*


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

[User]
[Star Wars] In Revenge of the Sith; during Anakins and Obi Wans battle, theres a momentary pause and some monologue about the chancellor being evil and points of view. Is this where Obi Wan actually failed Anakin?

If Kenobi had been less condemning and preachy and more sympathetic to the upset and fear that Anakin was feeling... maybe saying something to the effect of; let me help you, could Anakin possibly have been saved, or was he too far gone at this point?

It feels like the next moment of that scene is Obi taking the high ground, Anakin losing his limbs and being burned...  and screaming about hate.

[Assistant]
No, but it is the moment where Obi-wan realized he had failed.

It would be pretty difficult to pin down one thing that Obi-wan did wrong. While Obi-wan was a competent Jedi and a good teacher, Anakin needed a different kind of guidance than what Obi-wan could provide. Their personal relationship ended up overshadowing Obi-wan's role as a teacher, and Palpatine eagerly stepped in to fill the position.

By the time they reached Mustafar, there wasn't a whole lot that anyone could do for Anakin. Even if you concocted a scenario where Padme and the children are safe, Anakin had already started tumbling into the Dark Side.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it better to sleep in one big chunk, rather than taking a couple of naps throughout the day?

Ive done a small amount of very basic research into why people dont take a couple of naps throughout the day as opposed to sleeping in one big eight-ish hour chunk. Most of the stuff Ive read talks most prominently about sleep cycles and how those affect your sleep, and that naps might not be suitable because you cant predict sleep cycles to align with naps, and that sleeping in one big chunk allows you to go through multiple sleep cycles. What Im wondering is what happens neurologically that makes this true? Why does sleep not add up to the sum of its parts, and what, if any are the pros of each compared to each other?

[Assistant] You can adapt your body to take multiple naps throughout the day, it has more to do with how society functions. A lot of the alternative sleep cycles call for a nap every other hour or so, and you can't really do that if you are working an 8 hour shift. If you have not obligations and work from home then you could do those cycles. However they are more demanding in that you can't miss a single nap without fucking your shit up, with the big chunk even if you pull an all nighter you can recover in about two days.


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

[User]
[DC] Why doesn't Batman arrest Catwoman?

Catwoman is a thief. She's not nearly as bad as Batman's other foes. But still, the fact remains that she steals from people. Is Batman just cool with that? Does he only bother with killers, not thieves?

Or, does Batman make her his one exception to the rules? Does he look the other way because he basically considers her his wife?

Or, do they have a different kind of relationship entirely?

[Assistant]
Catwoman steals, yes, but she also helps out. If she's robbing some jerk's penthous and discovers he's selling arms to drug dealers in Belize, she'll drop a note to Batman.

Plus, a portion of her thefts go to charities, like orphanages and animal hospitals.

And when things get REALLY nasty, Catwoman is right there next to Batman, punching jerks in their stupid faces.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does Disney make so many direct-to-DVD sequels to their classic movies?

I always wondered why movies like The Lion King 2 and Cinderella 2 just went straight to DVD. They're full fledged movies and they have well known licenses, so how come Disney never released them to theaters?

[Assistant] Because they are usually dreck that only small children will really love, and those lil guys wanna watch those movies at home with their juice and cookies and what have you. And boy do they wanna watch them. Over and over and over again. And want every sequel.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Although Count Dooku had turned to the dark side, did he actually want to kill Yoda?

It seems to me neither man wanted to kill the other in their fight.

[Assistant] Dooku still had great respect for Yoda, but ultimately he is a Sith Lord, and he would have killed Yoda in a heartbeat had he had the chance. However above all else, Dooku was practical, he knew he couldn't beat him in a lightsaber duel at that time, and though he tried to use Force powers to fight him, Yoda was able to counter him. He knew time was running out, especially with more troops coming, and he needed to make his escape, so he did something to distract him. But given the chance, he would have killed him.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are labor unions viewed negatively and what are their biggest problems?

Everyone I've asked has always had a very negative opinion on labor unions but they have never really been able to give me a good reason why.

[Assistant]
Unions often suffer from the same problem that most large organizations tend to have. After a while, the organization efforts drift from whatever their original goals were, and instead start to focus on justifying and prolonging their own existence.

Say a bunch of workers have valid demands about workplace safety, or salaries, or whatever, and so they start a union. After a few years, a small strike or two, and a lot of negotiation, the union helps win some raises as well as significant changes that make the workplace much safer. So what happens next? The union probably isn't going to disband. The union heads probably aren't going to just give up their jobs. So the union has to find new things to fight for to make itself seem relevant enough that the employees will keep paying union dues.

But there's not really any strong, valid worker complaints left. So the union starts raising a stink about things that aren't that important or valid. They might demand continued salary increases beyond what the company can realistically provide. They start defending anyone who gets fired, even if they honestly deserve to lose their job. They start to reflexively oppose any sort of change within the business, even if those changes are in response to real and significant changes in the marketplace. They can sometimes destroy a company's ability to effectively compete.

It's a lot like politicians, in that union leadership can often end up doing things because they think it will help them keep their position, rather than doing things because they're the best thing to do for the employees. And of course, especially in bigger unions, there's a lot of money involved in the system, so it's often ripe for corruption.


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

[User] ELI5 Why do most books start with at leat one or two blank pages?

[Assistant] When books are made they are printed on large sheets, which are then folded, bound together, and trimmed. In a normal sized book there will be 16 pages on one sheet (8 on each side). Unless your book has an exact multiple of 16 as the number of pages, there have to be some blanks - and they will usually be arranged so that there are some at the start and some at the end. Sometimes, rather than leaving them blank, they will be used to advertise other books by the same publisher, or by the same author.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do female lions do the hunting if male lions are larger and stronger?

[Assistant]
There's 2 main reasons.

*1)* Their manes - They are actually really good defence, that protects their neck and head in fights with other male lions, but they are terrible when it comes to camouflage, so on a normal hunt, they stand out like sore thumb!

*2)* They have a job, they protect the pride! They often aren't even with the pride. They will walk around the area of their land, and defend it from other lions, whilst the female lions hunt the land! Female lions are strong enough, especially in a group to take down most animals. The only thing that poses a threat to lions, is other lions, so you have your biggest strongest lion defend the pride.

*Side note)* They do hunt sometimes when the prey they are hunting is very large and they are needed, but the hunting style is a little different, and is more of a head on charge over and over until they catch one out!


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

[User]
[40k] What would happen if the Imperium found Voyager 1 and 2?

Assuming that it didn't get destroyed, and the golden record is still intact.

[Assistant]
The technology on the Voyager probes are so antiquated by the standards of the 41st Millenium, they may not recognize it for what it is. Many could likely not conceive of space travel without the warp. If the record is intact, they may see that it is clearly a reference to the Holy Human Form and, because of how space travel without the warp is impossible, conclude there is an uncontacted world in the vicinity. Technologically repugnant, perhaps, but rich in raw materials given how darn big and gold the circuits are. Prime for colonization.

If they ever conclude it was from Holy Terra, they may call it a holy relic if for no other reason than to save face and exhalt The Emperor for his ambitious guidance of early humanity.


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

[User]
[MCU]Could Tony recreate JARVIS?

Or if he can't/won't, could FRIDAY reach the same or a similar level of recognition and 'personality'?

[Assistant]
Yes/Yes

Tony Stark is a genius in neural computing and has done incredible things with it. Ultron and FRIDAY are just attempts at running different base patterns through a simulation of the JARVIS matrix, which is why JARVIS and Ultron look so similar in AoU.

The difference being, though, that Ultron was created with the Mind Gem and therefore developed a very human sapience and attitude.

JARVIS was an electronic device designed to assist Tony Stark, which is why when he interfaces with the Mind Gem he becomes a very intelligent puppet of Tony Stark in Vision (Seriously every single Avenger by homecoming has deserted Tony excepting Rhodes (in the military/Tony's friend and therefore subject to the accords no matter what) and Vision (Tony's former AI companion))

I think it's erroneous to think that JARVIS isn't still 95% alive in Vision. FRIDAY no doubt has the same capabilities.


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

[User] [Batman] If Gotham City is truly rotten to the core how come people aren't moving out?

[Assistant]
Exactly the same reason people still live in high-crime, war-torn or socially collapsed cities in our world.

For many people, upping and leaving the city isn't possible, and the worse-off the city is, the more of those people are.


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

[User]
[Civ] Why are leaders immune to culture?

In many of the Civilization games, you can convert opponent cities to your civilization through cultural influence. As your culture increases, expanding your boundaries, opponent cities near your border can eventually decide to join your civilization.

In-game this represents the swaying of the opinion of the population. They literally just like you more.

But why doesn't this effect the civilization leaders? In fact, the opposite happens. As your culture increases (and you get closer to a victory condition) they will like you less, becoming increasingly angry at you. What is it about leaders that makes them immune to your cultural influence?

[Assistant] Leaders have their own cultural and political agenda separate from their populace and don't enjoy having their populace subverted away from that agenda by another culture's Coca Cola and blue jeans.  Since leaders never change the song remains the same.


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

[User]
Do the effects of gravitational pull scale down?

Are small lifeforms such as mites and bacteria that exist on the surface of our skin subject to the gravitational pull of our bodies? Or are there other forces at work?

[Assistant] Yes, they are, just as you're subject to the gravitational pull of the person next to you. But in both cases, the gravitational pull of the Earth is far stronger, enough that you can usually neglect all sources of gravity other than the Earth.


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

[User] [TF2] Why doesn't the Pyro attack his own team?

[Assistant] He does. Did you think "spy-sweeping" was actually meant to sweep for spies? No, he's definitely just giving them a once-over to check if the dark sorcery keeping his rainbows off them is still there.


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

[User]
ELI5: What does the mayor of a town/city actually do?

If I was to become the mayor of a small town with like 2000 residents what would my actual 'job' be?

[Assistant]
Much like the job of any CEO. You're not going to get bogged down doing jobs yourself. You're in charge of overall direction, planning, and decisions like hiring high level personnel, and delegating to various departments.

Most of your days will be spent in meetings, staying informed of projects, budget, etc. and listening to proposals for future projects.

The only real difference is a CEO wants to maximize returns for shareholders, while for a Mayor, shareholders are residents, and "returns" tend to be quality of life and other similar measurements.


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

[User]
[Children's cereal commercials]Who is eating 3 stacks of waffles, 5 pieces of fruit, 3 muffins, 5 eggs, toast, links of sausage and 6 strips of bacon AND a big bowl of cereal for breakfast? Do mother's not work as they must spend 3+ hours each morning preparing enough food to feed 7 or 8 people?

Are they preparing food for their ten other children who don't appear on screen and if so, why does the family breakfast table, always circular, only have enough room for five people?  Does birth control not exist in the world of children's cereal commercials?

Edit:  Also, I forgot the glass of orange juice to wash that all down.

Double Edit:  And a minimum of 4 pancakes in a stack with a big piece of butter on top and probably a few blue berries as well.

[Assistant] People in cereal commercials need to eat *way* more than real humans do, so they've figured out how to prepare food *faster* than real humans do.  If they don't eat ten complete breakfasts (by our standards) every single morning, they *will* starve to death.


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

[User] Why is tungsten at room temperature so brittle? Since super cooled metals are more brittle, is this the same phenomenon but just at a much lower temperature because tungstens melting point is so high? Or is it something entirely different?

[Assistant]
Basic answer is that tungsten is Body Centered Cubic (BCC) and therefore will go through a ductile to brittle transformation at certain temperatures.  DBTT (Ductile to Brittle Transition Temperature) of tungsten is quite high, around 400K.  Room temperature, or 273K, is way below this transition temperature, so the tungsten will be brittle.

The basic mechanics here is that below this temperature there isn't enough vibrational energy in the lattice to allow for slip.  So the atoms are almost locked in place and are unable to slide past each other, therefore they will separate and the material will fracture.


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

[User] Why is your urine clear after you drink large amounts of alcohol if it actually dehydrates you, when the color of your urine is an indication of hydration?

[Assistant]
When you are well hydrated, your body expels the excess water, which dilutes your urine so that it becomes clearer. It eventually stops this when your hydration levels are within the regulated limits. The colour of your urine in an indication of hydration only under normal conditions.

When you drink alcohol, it causes your kidneys to expel more water regardless of how well hydrated you may or may not be. As a result, your urine becomes more clear as it becomes diluted. However, you will continue expelling excess water in your urine until the effects of the alcohol wear off.


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

[User]
CMV: A martian colony is all but guaranteed to rebel to attempt to become its own civilization.

If a human organization ever colonizes mars, over time this colony is all but guaranteed to rebel. The vast distances and time involved with travelling to Mars and the material conditions that the people who live there will face will lead, inevitably, to martian culture diverging from its source culture. As this group becomes increasingly alienated from the culture that rules it, there will be some sort of rebellion, whether it is violent or not, that will result in the colony trying to gain autonomy.

I think this is the most likely consequence of the physical realities of a martian colonization because of the history of colonization on earth. When "The New World" was colonized it didn't take long before the gap of the Atlantic Ocean began to alienate colonial powers from their colony. History will repeat itself with a martian colony.

Caveats:

1. This view is about a human colony.
2. This view is not reliant on the rebellion succeeding, just that a rebellion happens at all.

To change my view, you'll need to convince me that it more likely that a martian colony will stay true to its founding civilization despite what I wrote above. Providing an edge case where they wouldn't rebel wouldn't be enough.

[Assistant]
So, this really hinges on what you mean by "over time."  If the colony is ever able to get to the point of true self-sufficiency, then that might be an option, but for the foreseeable future, the rebellion would mean certain death.  Comparisons to Earth colonization don't necessarily apply, as the New World didn't have anywhere near the colonization struggles that Mars will:

- The colony would be fully dependent on Earth for basic resources.  It won't have the ability to manufacture its own atmosphere all that effectively, nor its own food, nor its own equipment to manage basic life support operations.  It will require periodic resupplies from Earth - get uppity and those resupplies will stop.

- Even when those problems are solved, there is no guarantee that the colony will be able to self-populate.  We've done experiments in zero gravity and it turns out that fetal gestation _needs_ gravity to work properly.  Now, does Mars have enough gravity for this to work?  We honestly don't know yet, but there is every possibility that it doesn't (or doesn't have enough for healthy fetal development).  Rebel and everyone is dead in a generation.

- Even if we solve the reproduction problem, it will be generations before it has the population necessary to build a suitable defense force required to fight off forces from Earth.  It takes a ton of extra people and resources to build defensive forces and structures, and the colony will be far too focused on survival to do that.  A few ships full of space marines will get the colony back in line quickly.

So, for the first few hundred years, rebellion is not in the cards. After that, who knows - society may look so different at that point that rebellion isn't even necessary.


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

[User] Are springs dependent on molecular bonds for their potential energy?

[Assistant] Molecular and atomic bonds, yes. Fundamentally, the energy stored in a spring is elastic strain energy, which is stored in the distortion of the spring's crystal lattice as a result of the applied stress. The atoms of the spring are slightly out of the bottom of their potential wells.