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

[User]
Learning academic research skills by yourself? (not satisfied with skills I acquired in psychology)

I am nearly finished my degree in psychology. The skills I have acquired relate almost entirely to empirical research - competence in statistics, evaluating the strength of a study based on methodology, conducting my own scientific research. It's a good foundation to learn independently but I'm haunted by what I may have missed had I studied something without scientific dogma.

I am more  interested in subjects such as philosophy, sociology and political history - and I imagine the academic skills involved in researching these areas is very different from what I already know. I want to be competent in independently investigating questions across humanities, and fear I might be incompetent or fall through amateur pitfalls in areas outside of psychology. I notice how starkly misinformed people outside of psychology are of psychological approaches - and I'd like to take the right approach for whatever I look into.

I'm sick of formal education and, once I graduate, I want to go forward as an autodidact. But I'd love to be able to chase down answers to philosophical/political problems in the same way an academic does, if that doesn't too ridiculous of an undertaking. Maybe somebody here has insider-info on psychology AND a non-empirical discipline? Maybe its all just a matter of actively reading whatever is relevant to your scope of enquiry and if I have something worth adding then I just write it? (I got slammed by philosophy crowd for assuming this was the case)

[Assistant]
Academic research is in service of the academy and the organized principles of various disciplines. If youre just interest in being an autodidact for your own purposes then youre not interested in academic work and none of us can be any help.

Honestly Im not really sure what youre asking.


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

[User]
What is ping?

Not the sound but for computers, internet and whatnot.

[Assistant]
Sonar works by sending out a sound and seeing how long it takes to come back.  This was called a ping, because, well, that's what it sounded like.

There is a program called "ping" that does the same thing on a computer network.  It send a signal to a location on the network, and measures how long it takes for it to come back.  This is an indication of how fast the network is, and whether or not there are any problems.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is Japanese culture so popular in North America?

Video games, vehicles, anime, manga, karate, cuisine (teriyaki, sushi, etc.), toys, J-POP, etc.

[Assistant]
Japan has for decades been the only fully modernized country (by American standards) that is not based on Western European culture. So we respect it, and can identify with the country's modern, wealthy, educated, industrialized lifestyle and outlook; yet we find a great deal that is different and therefore interesting.

We enjoy French culture for similar, if less dramatic, reasons. They're so much like us, yet just different enough to offer something refreshing and compelling.


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

[User] ELI5 Why is it disrespectful to wear a hat inside?

[Assistant] I was told that a hat was a sign that someone was in transit. Wearing one inside shows that you don't plan on staying or don't really want to be there just like wearing a coat somewhere that you don't really want to be so you can get out of there faster.


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

[User]
CMV: Student Loans Should Not be Guaranteed by the Government

I was surprised to see that this topic has not been debated on this sub recently in light of current events. My view here is not related to proposed debt forgiveness plans, but rather specifically to the idea that the federal government should not guarantee student loans.

**Pros of student loan guarantees**

They make college more accessible by making it possible to extend affordable loans to people with little to no credit history.

**Cons of student loan guarantees**

They introduce a perverse incentive for colleges to raise tuition to the highest level that a prospective student is willing to take on in debt since there are no risk or credit controls.

They introduce a perverse incentive for colleges to admit as many students as possible even when it might not be in a prospective student's best interest.

They introduce a perverse incentive for colleges to direct unnecessary spending toward attracting students with amenities and create budget sinks to justify increased tuitions, entrenching them at their higher costs.

--

I strongly believe that the "pro" is important, but I don't think guaranteeing student loans is the only or best way to achieve it.

**Edit because this is a theme**: I wouldn't support getting rid of the guarantee without a good transition plan. The objective should not be to reduce enrollment, but to reduce the per student spending dependant on tuition.

[Assistant]
In the US, student loans are issues by the government typically and not dischargable in bankruptcy.

The primary reason is because the people getting the loans represent an incredibly poor credit risk. These are unsecured loans (no collateral).  Without those steps, the loans would be far more expensive for students with far less resources (money lent) available. Think credit cards for cost and limits. Student loans exist the way they do now because of these protections. They would be far worse without them.

I think the 'incentive' you mention for colleges is way overblown. The fact is colleges want a specific type of student who will succeed. Their reputation depends on it. They really don't care if people borrow to go there or pay cash. It is the same money to them.

If colleges really did maximize the number of people coming in for 'profit', you would see their quality and rankings go down which is a net negative for the college. Why would you go to an inferior school after all?


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

[User]
Do lobsters experience pain?

I was watching a cooking show where the ingredients included live lobsters, and the contestants started ripping them apart and boiling/cooking them alive and i couldn't help but wonder if its aware and feeling whats happening to it. :'(

[Assistant] They do experience pain, but the mechanism of action is considerably different from ours. Lobsters do have a sense of touch, but lack the outline of sensory nerves we do. They have been shown to display a reflex response to certain stimuli, like how when someone is pinched they'll move away from the stimulus. However, considering the vast difference in nervous system development (including the brain), it is plausible that the perception of pain and suffering isn't nearly as intense or daunting due to the enormous difference in brain development. However again, it's been shown that crustaceans display a memory of painful events in their behavior and can be conditioned to a degree. Really the answer is, we do know they have reflexes for stimuli, and they have a sense of touch, what we don't know is if the implications of pain and agony are perceived the same, especially with the huge rift in condition. It's best to just tell people they do experience pain though, because in the case that they do experience it similar, we cause them as little pain as possible, or none at all.


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

[User] ELI5: What happened that led to the downfall of Myspace and the quick transition to Facebook?

[Assistant]
Consistent clean design, the feeling of exclusivity (initially only Harvard students could use it, then other universities, finally everyone), and the expectation that people would use their real names.

Myspace permitted all kinds of awful design choices and aliases to the point where nobody took it seriously, with Facebook you didn't have to worry about XXx_Sn1p3M4Str_xXX's page to load and blast Jimmy Eat World at you.


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

[User]
Search committee conflict

I'm on a search committee and there is one candidate (internal) who the majority of the committee is in favor of for a TT position. I have a lot of reservations about this candidate because they didn't show a clear research agenda during their interview process and also, they displayed a lack of knowledge about what it means to be on the TT, what research is in their field, and what it takes to make tenure at an R1 (previously has been in a teaching line and is mostly focused on teaching aspects of the job). The other members are arguing that they (the candidate) can get up to speed after being hired into the TT position. They like the candidate's work and think the candidate can be molded to be research/tenurable material. I think their judgement is clouded because of internal friendships and politics. I am a newcomer and don't have the same long bonds. I prefer another candidate who has an objectively much stronger research profile (the other committee members admit it as well but still prefer their internal due to "better personality"). What do you think? What would you do? Go along with majority rules? Express my dissenting opinion and let the votes go where they go? Block and argue my point till the very end?

[Assistant] Dissent and take a vote. If your view doesnt gain a majority, be disappointed for a day or two and then be supportive of the new hire and help him/her be a successful TT faculty member insomuch as your busy schedule and other commitments will allow.


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

[User]
[Futurama]In Futurama robots are generally sentient, self aware and able to reproduce. However they are still sold and owned as property. How is this not slavery?

The Professor on several occasions mention he owns Bender and on several occasions Bender is mentioned as his property.

We also know that robots are able to reproduce, are sentients and to a certain extend (after an upgrade) have free will.

When looking at the definition of "Living" on Wikipedia we can see the following

Biology
Since there is no unequivocal definition of life, the current understanding is descriptive. Life is considered a characteristic of something that exhibits all or most of the following traits:

1. Homeostasis: Regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, electrolyte concentration or sweating to reduce temperature.
1. Organization: Being structurally composed of one or more cells  the basic units of life.
1. Metabolism: Transformation of energy by converting chemicals and energy into cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.
1. Growth: Maintenance of a higher rate of anabolism than catabolism. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter.
1. Adaptation: The ability to change over time in response to the environment. This ability is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity, diet, and external factors.
1. Response to stimuli: A response can take many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism to external chemicals, to complex reactions involving all the senses of multicellular organisms. A response is often expressed by motion; for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun (phototropism), and chemotaxis.
1. Reproduction: The ability to produce new individual organisms, either asexually from a single parent organism, or sexually from two parent organisms.

Most robots in Futurama meet all of these criteria.

So how is this not slavery?

[Assistant]
Zapp Brannigan sent a ship full of children into battle against the scammers. Humanity knowingly devoured Poplars by the billions even after discovering they were intelligent babies. Earth isn't exactly fond of any being, whether it has one or more souls or fewer.

Life all kinds is cheap in the future. You can xerox personalities out of immortal heads. People can be cloned from skin growths. And the universe is pretty much always about to end for some reason.

So who gives a shit about robots?

Basically we're going to pave over this question and get on with our lives.


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

[User] How does the cabin in an airplane pressurize and maintain that pressure? Where does the oxygen come from as well?

[Assistant]
Air from the compressor stage of the engine is diverted through a heat exchanger and introduded into the cabin.  Outflow valves modulate to control the pressure according to a computer profile.  Its just regular air with the same concentration of oxygen/nitrogen, etc.  Its just too low of pressure to get absorbed by your blood.  Get it close to sea level pressure and your body can use it.

Im an airline pilot.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why dont concert tickets have the customers name on them like airplane tickets?

Artists and patrons seem to agree that scalpers are a huge problem in the music industry.  They instantly buy all the tickets and resell them at a markup.

There seems like theres an easy solution: sell the ticket directly to the customer. Associate the ticket with a name and require an ID to enter. Why hasnt this been implemented?

[Assistant]
There are legitimate reasons to transfer a ticket, and this would make that difficult.

Requiring an ID to enter a venue would be unpopular with fans.

Checking ID at time of entry would make an already-slow process much, much slower, which would be unpopular with fans and the venue.  It would likely require additional staff, which means higher cost of running a show, which could mean more expensive tickets.

But probably most importantly: ticket sellers (e.g. Ticketmaster) have zero reason to do this.  It makes their process more complex and likely more expensive, and it would make fewer scalpers buy tickets.  Ticket vendors just want as many tickets sold as possible, they don't care what happens after the sale.


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

[User]
What would be a good short activity that would impress people and get them excited about programming?

I'm trying to put together a short (couple of hours) activity for a group of novices that would impress them and get them excited about the idea of programming.

Right now I'm thinking about scaffolding out something like, "Build your own Reddit" where all the snippets are provided and the CSS is set up for them ahead of time so they get to go through the instructions, add in snippets and then boom, they've built Reddit.

I'm sure there's better ideas out there though.

[Assistant]
It depends on your audience I'd say.
If most of them play games you could show them how to build a basic savegame reader for an easy offline game. It's fairly easy to achieve and makes people feel like hackers when they figure stuff out :)


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

[User]
ELI5: The real powers of the President of the United States.

This election season seems to be getting a lot more attention than previous ones and more so because of Mitt Romney's views. He is against abortion, evolution, gay marriage, and other controversial social issues but it got me thinking. If he gets into public office, he doesn't have the authority to outright ban or change these issues does he? I feel Congress ultimately has the power to enact real change along with the Supreme Court and the President just signs the bills (or vetoes, but then it can be overturned by Congress). I may be way off base here but it seems the President doesn't have much power over the country at all even though they're in the highest appointed elected office.

[Assistant]
The President may not be as powerful as the entirety of congress, but he does have the single most influence on the country than any person in the government.

The President can order the military to do whatever he chooses, and is not required to go to congress unless it is going to take at least 100 days to do. And even then, he often doesn't.

The president also has a lot of influence over congress indirectly: As the unofficial leader of one of either the democrats or republicans, the president can convince and guide the  congress to pass bills he likes, and kill bills he doesn't. And if Congress decides not to cooperate with the president, he can veto the bills they pass. And unless congress is really sure they want to pass the bill, the veto will stop it from becoming law.

The president also appoints the heads of many committees like the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which set policies regarding everything from the handling of nuclear material to the preservation of the forests bambi plays in.

And finally, the president proposes who will be new members of the Supreme Court. And whoever he puts on the Supreme Court will probably be on it for a very long time, on average they serve for 16 years-- But some have served as long as almost 37 years! Depending on who the president picks, this can influence what our government does for a very long time.


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

[User] Over a 100 years ago people fought for the 8-hour workday. Not only do we not have, say, 6-hour workdays now, but we're working more on average. What the hell happened?

[Assistant] The people you're thinking of are the people who are no longer working long, difficult hours in factories. That's what happened. With office jobs, sales jobs, etc, the more you work the more you make money and since it isn't back breaking work that seems like a pretty good option to most people. Factory workers, and other manual laborers, have much better hours now. In the places that they don't they are working towards better hours.


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

[User]
[Marvel] What happens if you are hit and killed while reversing time with the Eye of Agamotto?

For example, Doctor Strange was almost hit by the back of a car that was traveling in reverse from his perspective but in forward from the car/driver's perspective.

[Assistant]
Strange gets knocked down and we see time stop. So if he died, then time would either keep going backwards forever until the beginning of the universe, or time would stop forever.

The stakes are big. That's why they're so hesitant to use it and that other guy freaks out over its use even when it was necessary.


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

[User]
[Marvel, Watchmen/DC, House M.D., One Punch Man] Captain America, Rorschach, House, and Saitama all enter the same roadside diner, sit together, and begin chatting. How does each person view the other three during their conversations? How do you think it plays out?

These are just some characters I was thinking of with wildly divergent world views, along with some topical interconnections via the mighty superheroes and the normal humans they each hang around, and thought a conversation between the hardened but hopeful Captain America, the pessimistic realist Rorschach, the cynical but caring House, and the simpleton juggernaut Saitama would be an interesting one.

[Assistant]
Captain America hopes he can provide a good example to Rorschach and influence him to be a better person. He respects House. He thinks Saitama should be using his powers better but does encourage him to be a hero for fun.

Rorschach loves Cap. He doesn't realize that Cap would stand against his beliefs and methods 90% of the time, and is really just seeing that he fights crime in an American flag. He's indifferent to anyone else.

House is amazed at Cap and Saitama, and diagnoses Rorschach's personality disorders(after it turns out to not be lupus)

Saitama is bored, though from listening to Cap and Rorschach he thinks it'd be fun to fight Galacticus and Dr. Manhattan.


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

[User] ELI5: how does salt melt ice?

[Assistant] Salt will be absorbed by the surface of the ice causing it to become salt water. Salt water have a lower freezing point then fresh water. So the ice will melt even if it does not heat up. In fact it will cool down by this but because of the lower freezing point it will still be liquid. The salt in the water will then be absorbed by the new ice surface and the process continues until all the ice have become salt water or until the salt concentration becomes so low that it will not melt the ice any longer.


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

[User]
[Daredevil Netflix] (possible spoilers) daredevil and co. realize that NYC consists of more than just Hell's Kitchen, right?

Both Fisk and DD are obsessed with fixing NYC. They repeatedly say "I want the best for **my city.**

Yet, they both only operate within an area of Manhattan that is less than a square mile total area.

Another thing, Hell's Kitchen is no where near as shitty as it's portrayed in the show. Is this just a difference between our universes or is there something im missing?

[Assistant]
Hell's Kitchen has a long history of being the grittiest neighborhood in NYC. It's where aspiring anybody goes while they try and become somebody and is populated by the unwanted thousands who never made anything of themselves.

While in recent years Hell's Kitchen has seen somewhat of a renaissance, its dark history and gritty underbelly never quite go away. A block from hip clubs and metro restaurants you'll find alleyways where people who stray away from the light were beaten to death the night before.

Wilson Fisk is not yet the Kingpin. Hell's Kitchen was a first step for him to gain control of the city. Matt Murdock, on the other hand, had no real plan from the outset, but figured it out along the way. While he resides in and focuses on Hell's Kitchen, he certainly doesn't stay within its boundaries.


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

[User] Do (fighter) airplanes really have an onboard system that warns if someone is target locking it, as computer games and movies make us believe? And if so, how does it work?

[Assistant] The RWR (radar warning receiver) basically can "see" all radar that is being pointed at the aircraft. When the radar "locks" (switches from scan mode to tracking a single target), the RWR can tell and alerts the pilot. This does not work if someone has fired a heat seeking missile at the aircraft, because this missile type is not reliant on radar. However, some modern aircraft have additional sensors that detect the heat from the missile's rocket engine and can notify the pilot if a missile is fired nearby.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's the chemical reaction that makes cream solid when whipping it?

And what are the requirements for making a liquid a solid by doing this motion?

[Assistant] Cream has a very high fat content. The process of mixing/whipping introduces air and also agitates the fat globules causing them to assemble into chains and aggregates that begin to form around the air bubbles. These aggregates can go on to interact with neighboring air/fat bubbles resulting in a connected fat network that traps the air and appears voluminous and fluffy.


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

[User] Eli5: What do people mean when they say "there is more water underground than in the oceans"? Don't thought the oceans hold 95% of Earth's water?

[Assistant] They're referring to drinkable water. There is a LOT of drinkable water underground. The largest supply of this currently in use would be in Libya, which is the home of the world's largest Aquifer (which was amusingly funded privately by the ruler of Libya who at the same time was also accepting massive amounts of money for aid from the UN). A laaaarge portion of that country is over a massive spring of water, which is why Libyans can have villages in places with no rivers, something many people found confusing until they discovered the reason why.


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

[User] How did the "different parts of the tongue sense different tastes" myth start? Did any actual scientists believe this?

[Assistant] The misconception started with the 1901 paper *Zur Psychophysik des Geschmackssinnes* by Edwin Boring. The data contained within the paper showed that certain areas of the tongue have small differences when it comes to detecting tastes. When this paper was translated into English.....it wasn't done well, and the data wasn't interpreted correctly, leading to the erroneous claim that the tongue is made of areas that detect one taste each. This is the origin of the tongue map, and this was more or less the only research available on the topic in English at the time, so it quickly made its way into all sorts of textbooks....and the rest is history.


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

[User] [Christmas] Why does Santa give rich kids more presents than poor kids?

[Assistant]
He doesn't. Santa mostly functions as a delivery service for presents picked out by the parents (with his help), for which they are billed (though at a very flexible rate, because Santa's a charitable guy and knows which strings to pull to get those gifts very affordably.)

If Santa actually gives you a present on his own initiative, it'll be something really spectacular, and it's because you've really and truly earned it.


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

[User]
ELI5: What causes the trail behind jets at high altitude?

Physics teacher today said it was to do with the pressure difference around the wing creating a disturbance which creates a 'cloud' behind the plane. I always thought it was water vapour (or something similar) coming from the engines and freezing since it experiences such low temperatures so high up.

[Assistant]
It is water vapor and ice. They are produced from the hot engine exhaust in the cold atmosphere. Water vapor from the engine exhaust mixed with unburnt particulate in the jet fuel gives the surrounding moist air something to latch onto and ice crystals form. Depending on the hight of the aircraft, they can last seconds to hours.

If you have seen a running car on a brisk morning, that is a similar effect. The car is too close to the relatively warmer ground that trails do not last for more than a second.


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

[User]
Books about existentialist absurdism besides Camus?

Im looking for more in depth sources about existentialist absurdism outside Camus, preferably something relatively recent but anything will do. Thank you for your help.

[Assistant] Absurdism is really a philosophical label I've only ever heard applied to Camus, almost by definition. There are streaks of it in Kierkegaard, but it seems you are interested in stuff post-Camus, not pre-. Perhaps you just want works written by philosophers primarily influenced by Camus?


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

[User] [Dark Souls] How do I trade souls in a transaction? What process takes place?

[Assistant]
You can take souls non-violently in the same way you can take them normally. The difference is the person you are taking them from has to agree to give them up. In Pyromancy, for example, your flame is an extension of your soul and its fully possible to split it up and give it to others.

A person only has 1 soul. What you are measuring is the STRENGTH of your soul, which is empowered by taking the souls of others. When you complete a soul transaction you are letting them siphon some of your strength. Since Souls are malleable in the Dark Souls world (as evidenced by your ability to literally pick them up off the ground) and can thus be manipulated and handled like anything else it's fully possible the process involves literally pinching off a piece of your soul and handing it over.


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

[User]
CMV: Abolish the penny!

The penny (as in the US currency) is practically useless. From both an economic, and patriotic standpoint, it would be in America's best interest to abolish the penny.

Economic:

Each penny costs 1.7 cents to make, putting the government (further) into debt.

Inflation had caused the penny to drop in value, and it will only continue to do so.

Many studies have shown that abolishing the penny would not decrease the amount of change donated to charity.

Patriotic:

Abraham Lincoln would probably not want want the government going into debt for the sole purpose of remembering him, also, he is on the five dollar bill.

[Assistant] Abolishing the penny would make people who hold any significant amount angry. Also its legal tender so making it randomly valueless makes US currency seem less stable and reliable. Simply stopping the production and circulation of pennies may be a better way to stop the use. Eventually businesses would not be able to have enough pennies to make change so they would just raise their prices to make them unnecessary, bypassing the government.


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

[User] ELI5: If I am submerged in a bath and I drink some of the water does the water level go up, down or stay the same?

[Assistant]
In abstract theory, the water level stays the same.

In messy actual practice, it would go down a little, at least at first, as some of the internal parts of your body expanded without expanding the outside. Other than your lungs and any intestinal gas, there's not much "empty" space inside your body, but some of it is somewhat compressible, like a sponge.

At some point, however, that would stop and the water level would stay the same as you kept drinking and your body expanded accordingly.


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

[User] ELI5: The difference between bees, hornets, yellow jackets, and wasps.

[Assistant]
Insects in order Apocrita have a special body structure. They consist of ants, bees, and wasps. Ants are the ones that don't fly, bees are the ones that fly around and pollinate flowers, and wasps are everything else. (There's more to it, of course, but this is ELI5 -- bees are generally pollinators and wasps are generally not.) Wasps also don't produce wax/honey, and are predators/parasites. Bees just feed on nectar (and pollen).

Yellowjackets are a specific kind of common wasp. Hornets are any of a family of fairly large wasps.


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

[User]
[Marvel & DC] With all of these super geniuses around, why are there still problems like disease and drought and famine?

And if you say that solving those problems will lead to problems involving resources or overpopulation on earth, what's to stop humans from building colonies in space or on other planets/moons (or terraforming other planets/moons)?

[Assistant]
They do work on those problems. Progress is just really slow, because they tend to be busy 1) fighting supervillains threatening to destroy Earth, or 2) fighting supervillains who have stolen their technology and are using it to conquer Earth.

Do you think they should change their priorities?


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

[User] [WH40K] Is there any hope at all for peace in the galaxy? Or will it continue to be an incomprehensibly hellish war until the universe dies of heat death?

[Assistant] It's quite possible that the war will end one way or another if one side gets their "endgame" working: the Necrons fully wake up, the full Tyranid fleets arrive, the Emperor is reborn, the Orks join up into a single giant Waaagh, etc. It's likely that the best chance for peace is the Tyranids eating everything and everyone and then moving on to somewhere else. And then there will be eternal peace in the galaxy.


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

[User]
ELI5 how antivenom works.

I was reading about terrifyingly poisonous spiders and got curious.

[Assistant] Venom is a molecule synthesized in the body of the animal (spider in your case).  When it is injected into an animal, their body generates antibodies that are specific to that venom which flag the venom molecules for destruction by the animals immune system.  Sometimes, if the venom is too strong, they will have irreparable damage done before their body can generate antibodies.  In order to prevent death or serious injury in these cases, antibodies from another source are needed to help their immune system out/speed up the process.  To get these additional antibodies (antivenoms), scientists inject venom into an animal (sheep or horse typically) in small amounts (non-dangerous) to get that animal to create antibodies.  Then their blood is drawn and the antibodies are purified out.


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

[User]
[Avengers] How did Loki know to use Stark Tower as his power source base for the tesseract's portal creation? How could even set it up once he's there?

How did Loki know of Stark Tower in the first place? He's from another planet.  It's not all over the news, and even if it was, when does Loki have time to sit down and watch TV or read newspapers? Not too many people would've cared about Stark's new renovations of his building, which just so happened to promote the new renewable energy source.

Now I know the tesseract needed a power source to sustain the portal opening.  Maybe he had intel from the men he had working for him? But Hawkeye isn't in close contact with Stark, he was just a pawn, albeit a slightly higher level pawn, amongst the many SHIELD personnel. Loki also had Selvig and numerous SHIELD operatives, and with that I can throw in a few HYDRA people.  Now I can't see why any of these people would have any preference towards Stark Tower as a power source, as its just another building in down town New York (i think?), and unless you were full on up to date with the newest windmills, water turbines and renewable green energy sources, most high rise buildings in a densely populated region where unless you have a solo power source, energy will be shared amongst many, would not sit high in the priority list.  I'm not too sure but I'm sure things like the CERN Hadron Collider, or some nuclear fusion plant would have access to excuberant levels of power, and I'd go those places first....

But let's say one of them does enough research and finds out Stark Tower has the greatest new thing, some new self sustainable power source that some guy called Tony Stark derived for a whole building from a little smaller version in his chest built in a cave that can power entire arsenals of weaponry just in a human sized suit.  Once they're at the tower, rises the question of how they tapped into the energy source and just took it.  Jarvis said "Sir, I've shut down the Arc Reactor, but the device is already self-sustaining."  Which means, Jarvis has full control of the Arc Reactor, can shut it down, somehow didn't detect someone tapping into his source, and let someone build an inter-universe portal with it, OR it/he knew about it but didn't bother telling Stark straight away or shut it down straight away.  I'm not sure if this can be attributed to simply poor planning/security on Stark's behalf, and if not, how is this possible?

[Assistant] Loki didn't have to know.....Erik Selvig knew.  Once Loki had taken him over he would know that there needs to be a strong outside source of power to keep the portal open.  A power source that would of been talked about in PR releases when Stark Tower was taken off NYC's power grid and became a self sustaining building using Stark's new Arc Reactor.


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

[User] ELI5:Is there a reason/story behind why we drive on different sides of the road in different countries?

[Assistant]
Actually it's interesting. Back when most travel was on foot, and traveling was a dangerous venture, and most people were right handed, people traveled on the left side of the roads so that their "sword hand" would be on the right.

Now Napoleon changed things up a little bit. He was left-handed so he insisted on marching on the right, forcing all his troops to do the same. At the time, nearly ALL of Europe was under Napoleon's control so the change was made across the entire continent (except Britain of course)

America definitely wanted to get rid of whatever British traditions it could, so they were all for using the right side of the road. (Additionally there was a practical purpose of drivers of carriages being to whip all horses from the rear-left position of the vehicle) So when America led the world in developing and producing the automobile and developed it for right-side driving, and the rest of the world bought American cars, well we have the modern roadway system.

So basically the only people who drive on the left still are Britain and some of its non-European (previous) crown colonies.  (as some have pointed out Japan is a notable exception but also tied to British reasons)


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

[User]
[DC] How does magic effect Bizarro?

Does Bizarro still have the lack of defense against magic like superman or is he even more resilient to it than his man of steel counter part?

[Assistant]
All of Bizarro's powers are either Superman's powers or their inversions. Magic's totally outside the rulebook of Superman's powers, so no inversion applies at all.

As a similar example, Superman doesn't have the power to make energy constructs from his willpower like a Lantern Corps member can, but that doesn't mean that Bizarro *can* create them.


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

[User]
[MCU] How powerful can Hela become while in Asgard?

How much time was she in Asgard from the time Odin died until she was killed by Surtur? If she would have gone back to Asgard and taken it easy or stayed under the radar, would she have been able to defeat Surtur after a while?

[Assistant]
Ultimately no,

Between the two of them hela and Odin were only able to imprison Surtur, and hela has to have an upper limit.

The asgardians powers are very bound up in prophecy, up untill Ragnarok (the end of prophecy about asguard).

Surtur is going to destroy asguard, he has as much power as is required for him to do that while he is on asguard.


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

[User] Not a philosophical question per se, but are there any articles that deal with the question of why wisdom in the Classical world is feminine? Why is it Lady Philosophy? Why Athena goddess of wisdom?

[Assistant] You can do all sorts of etymologizizing metaphysics, but the only truly philological explanation is going to be the fact that the word  (*sophia*, wisdom) or sapientia (same) are feminine. The same sort of matter-of-fact explanation holds in other contexts. Why is it the god*dess '*Roma'? The word *Roma* is feminine. Etc.


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

[User] ELI5: If infinity is considered as an abstract concept rather than a number, why is zero a number?

[Assistant]
Might sound silly but it's a good question. In fact there was a time when 0 was an 'abstract concept' in the sense that it didn't really exist in it's own right as a number (a couple of millenia ago).

To answer this question, it's best to understand that maths is axiomatic, in other words it's based on a few fundamental rules on which all the other rules are built upon. For example one of the rules for addition is that a + b = b + a. This might seem trivial but this along with a few other basic rules entirely define the rules of arithmetic and allow us to build theorems and understand numbers at a deeper level.

The very first of Peano's axioms (which are still mostly used today) is that 0 is the first natural number. This might not be a satisfying answer, but it's this definition which has allowed the many fields of mathematics to be consistent.

The definition of infinity on the other hand, while still rigorous is a lot less clear because it can take nuanced differences depending on which field of maths you are talking about. Furthermore not all infinities are the same size! As we can't put any number value on it, it remains a more 'abstract concept'.


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

[User] How is food measured in calories?

[Assistant]
A calorie is a measurement of energy. Technically, Calories (as we use them in food) are kilocalories. One calorie is the amount of energy that it takes to heat one milliliter of water one degree Centigrade.

So, calories in food aren't so much about how much food there is, but about how much energy can be made available to the human body by consuming it.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we get sudden itches in random places on the skin?

[Assistant] The top layer of skin dries out and dies. This is sensed by pain receptors in the skin which send a very weak signal to the brain. The brain interprets this as itchiness so that you'll scratch off the dead skin.


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

[User] Is there any situation we know of where the second law of thermodynamics doesn't apply?

[Assistant] The second law of thermodynamics is to some degree not a true law of nature but a probabilistic law. It is possible that the entropy of a system can spontaneously decrease; if you have some particles in a box, it is most probable that you will find them randomly distributed throughout the volume but it is possible, though highly unlikely, that you will sometimes find them all resting quietly in a corner.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can there be any HD videos of WW2, when there wasn't any HD cameras back then?

The other day I noticed a program on t.v called "WW2 in HD" or something along those lines. Now my question is, how can they make HD videos from way back then, if they didn't have HD cameras? Has editing really come that far nowadays?

[Assistant] "HD", today refers to a digital image that is 1920 pixel wide x 1080 pixels high - this is about a 2MP image. Video from WWII is shot on real analog film - silver halide crystals on film. Analog film does have a "theoretical max resolution" that it can be scanned at, and compared to today's HD picture it's very high. 35mm film is estimated to contain about the equivalent of 25MP of information - or about 6000x4000 pixels. So, a 1080 HD scan of a good 35mm analog film print is still losing about 12x the resolution of the original image (converting a 25MP image to a 2MP image).


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

[User] What's so special about beef that humans can basically eat it raw and not get sick?

[Assistant]
Most harmful bacteria that will contaminate beef requires oxygen so it's only alive on the outside of your steak. Searing the outside and leaving the inside raw kills the baddies on the outside while the inside was already fine.

Also that's why you're supposed to cook hamburger more because once ground up the bacteria is spread throughout the patty not just the outside like a steak.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] When a ightsaber is thrown where is the axis of rotation?

Since the blade is weightless it should be somewhere on the hilt yet I often see a thrown saber spinning with its axis of rotation near the middle of the blade/hilt ensemble.

[Assistant] A saber throw is generally being controlled by the force. Force users probably spin the blade at the middle to give it a smaller spin radius, which would make it easier to hit their target without anything getting in the way.


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

[User]
Okay, I just watched Battle Royale for the first time. I just don't understand WHY those kids had to kill each other. Can someone please explain it to me?

For example, in The Hunger Games the point was obvious. The districts had rebelled, and the games was a big kick in the teeth. It was also to keep them in line, etc. Maybe it's just because I haven't read the book.. but I don't understand the motive for using military resources to kill off students. (This is irrelevant, but I was thinking "At least in The Hunger Games, the victors get a butt load of money and such")

:3 Thank you

edit: Thank you everyone who commented. Sorry I was late responding! I fell asleep...

[Assistant] I believe the premise behind Battle Royale was that the teenagers of the nation had gone wild, stealing, fighting and other misbehaving so the government decided to teach them a lesson they would send one classroom of kids to fight to the death, similar to the Hunger Games in that they hoped to keep the kids under control by doing this.


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

[User]
ELI5 why water evaporates at room temperature

I thought the boiling point was around 200 degrees, so why does it evaporate off of my counter, or kitchen table?
EDIT spelling also, thanks for the answers everyone! (For clarification my estimate was in Fahrenheit, I know the boiling point of water is 373K, didn't know about that boiling was really that different than evaporation though, thanks DrRockter!

[Assistant] 100 degrees celcius is the boiling point of water, not its evaporation point. Water can evaporate at any temperature given the right humidity. If there is less water in the surrounding air than the puddle of water on your counter, then the water will evaporate.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does adblock work for YouTube but not for twitch? and what prevents YouTube from doing the same as twitch?

[Assistant]
Many ads on twitch still get blocked.

But twitch just shows the ads as part of the stream from their own servers, an adblocker can not know if its the regular stream or an ad.

Youtube serves ads from other servers(mostly or only the doublleclick servers from googles advertising platform)

So an adblocker just blocks every request to these known ad platforms.


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

[User]
Why do moles/birthmarks stick around if skin replaces itself every so often?

Also, how does increased exposure to the sun over a long period of time raise skin cancer rates if skin regenerates anyway?

[Assistant]
Your skin contains several different types of cells.  The skin cells you're thinking of that regenerate and slough off every so often are called keratinocytes.  The cells that make up moles/birthmarks are a different cell type called melanocytes.  Melanocytes do not get replaced by keratinocytes.

As far as cancer goes, the skin regeneration is the problem!  UV light causes damage to cells by forming abnormal linkages in the DNA.  Often this damage can be corrected, but the more UV exposure, the more damage that occurs.  If it cannot be corrected, then it is possible that certain regions in the DNA are not read correctly during replication.  Some mutations can cause this new cell to become immortal, and it will keep on replicating.  This abnormal growth is cancer.


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

[User]
If you give a preserved brain all the necessities, could it think?

I was listening to the news this morning and t was about brains in jars or something along those lines, and I started thinking, if you gave a preserved brain all the necessities (oxygen, blood, etc.), could it think? Or does it need sensory details to do that?

Edit: interesting stuff! Learned more Than I thought I would.

[Assistant]
The sensory inputs *are* a necessity. Whether they are artificial or not, the brain is designed to process input and generate behavioral output. Without sensation to guide functioning, the bodiless person you are describing would quickly deteriorate. It could possibly be one of the most miserable existences imaginable.

On the other hand, if you could create some matrix-style sensory input that gave rise to an intelligible reality for the person, it could be one of the most incredible existences imaginable.


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

[User] ELI5: why do people put their hand in front of their mouth when something horrible happens?

[Assistant]
There are a couple theories.

1) it's a polite habit. Shock or horror makes your mouth drop open and we are (almost) all conditioned to cover our open mouths.

2) it's protective; our mouths are pretty vulnerable and we cover them bc in that moment we can't keep them closed.

3) it's protective; we are trying to hide our expression from others and we can't school our expression so we physically cover them. Also to smother gasps or shouts that expose us.

4) we are subconsciously trying to contain emotions or reactions that feel too big - trying to physically hold them in.

5) a careful combination of some or all of the above.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why will spicy food burn my mouth, lips, eyes, or genitals (if touched) but not my hands or other body parts?

I just ate some really spicy ramen and clearly my mouth and lips were burning. Now, if I were to have touched my eyes or genitals with the sauce on my hands, then that would have burned like hell too.

However, if the sauce got on my hands, arms, legs, or anywhere else really, there is no sensation of burning.

I am assuming this has to do with increased nerve endings in the former places, but I'm not sure.

[Assistant]
If you dice hot peppers with your bare hands and don't wash them immediately, you will eventually feel a tingling burning sensation that might take a few days to go away. The difference is the thickness and type of skin tissue being exposed to the capsaicin (spicy chemical).

Your eyes and mouth are mucus membranes which quickly absorb some of the capsaicin which burns. The rest of your skin has a layer of dead skin cells on top of it, and is not mucus membrane so it absorbs the capsaicin much more slowly, giving you time to wash it off or requiring much more exposure to produce a reaction.


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

[User]
I think personal material heritage is evil for society, CMV

If we want a perfect society where if I work hard I will get where I want, why material (usually money) heritage is not evil, killing the meritocracy system? Rich people will finance and give so much more opportunities (education, experiences, contacts, influence) to many generations of their offspring, how young people can compete equally so their merit will decide who deserves what and gives the best individuals of a society the top positions!?. Only moral heritage should be valid.

[Assistant] You don't seem to take into account that parents and grandparents often work their asses off, and thus help to better society, because they want to allow their descendants to have a better life. Thus, by outlawing personal material heritage, you may actually harm the prosperity of the entire population.


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

[User]
If not even light can escape form a blackhole, how does radiation and energy leak out?

So, I know that radiation, gamma rays and other things leak out of blackholes and Steven Hawkings said things about how blackholes slowly dissolve overtime, how does this happen if not even light can escape because the gravitational forces are too strong?

[Assistant]
There are two things you might be thinking of... Neither of them is really radiation the way you might expect.

Radiation can be emitted when things slam into each other on their way around or into the black hole... That's what we often see as a jet of particles or radiation streaming outwards from the hole... But it doesn't come from inside.

The other mechanism is a bit harder to grapple with. Particles sometimes just pop into existence. These are usually paired with an anti-particle to keep all the conservation rules happy... and normally the pair will destroy itself again pretty quickly... But if one falls into the black hole and the other doesn't, you end up with a spare particle on the outside that looks like radiation coming out of the black hole (hawking radiation is what it's called).


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

[User] ELI5: There is a type of antidepressant called SSRIs, which stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. In what way are they selective?

[Assistant] They're selective in that they only inhibit the reuptake of serotonin and not other monoamine neurotransmitters like dopamine or norepinephrine. Earlier classes of antidepressants affected all of these neurotransmitters.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why incest is bad

Ok, I'm not into incest, I'm just curious. What makes incest bad? I know that inbreeding can cause birth defects, mutation, etc... but why?

If birth control is used, what's wrong with incest? (Other than being really gross.)

[Assistant]
Picture this:

You and your sister have 4 lego blocks each, their colors are red-green-blue-yellow.

Mary, a friend you like, has 4 lego blocks too, their colors are purple-orange-pink-teal.

Suzy, another friend, has 4 blocks, but they are **red**-brown-purple-teal. So Suzy has a block that is the same color as one of yours.

You like diversity, so 2 red blocks stacked together along with a blue one and a green one are not your cup of tea.

You want to create a new lego stack of 4 blocks, and for this, you can use two of yours, and two of someone else. But you can't choose which blocks you use, so you just have to blindly grab some.

If you and Mary both put 2 blocks at random on the new stack, you'll have 4 differently colored blocks, and you both are happy.

If you and your sister both put 2 blocks at random on the stack, chances are very high that 2 blocks of the same color go on there. It doesn't always happen, because you could have grabbed red and green, and your sister blue and yellow, but since you both can't choose which ones you take, you *could* end up with same color blocks.

Now, Suzy has a red block too. If you and she both take 2 blocks, the chance of both grabbing the same color is smaller than it was with your sister, but it still exists. This is why there are still genetic defects, even with people who aren't related.


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

[User]
[MCU] Thor keeps ruining my lawn when he "beams" in. What can I do?

It's driving me mad. He always apologises and laughs, but I don't think he actually cares.

It hadn't happened for a while, so I thought he was beaming in elsewhere. But no, literally get some treatment for my lawn - was beautiful and green!

And he beams in!

[Assistant]
This ultimately isnt about Thor. Thor is just an instrument of the universe trying to teach you a lesson. This is about you and your unhealthy obsession with conformist lawn care.

Thor has helped save the city, the Earth and the universe. Multiple times. If hes showing up on Earth, even if its just to go to lunch with Jane, he is most likely doing more to contribute to the well-being of human civilization in that afternoon than everything youll ever do in your life. Yet youre still bent out of shape about your over-manicured, hyper-conformist, grass.

Consider: Thor is beaming onto *your* lawn, nobody elses, and leaving a cool pattern on it. Youve got the only Bifrost-branded lawn in the neighborhood, possibly in the state, and instead of taking pride in that, youre whining that your lawn doesnt look exactly like everybody elses.

Go to therapy.


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

[User] ELI5: Despite how often a person can adjust their necklace so the locking part could be in the back, why does it always move up front to be with the pendant?

[Assistant]
Becasue the clasp is typically heavier than other links. As someone moves, eventually the clasp will move from the centre of the next to the left or right. Sooner or later the lock will get to a point where its easier to slide down, gravity will come into play and it moves down to its optimal resting place which is at the bottom near the pendant.

Meanwhile, the pendant will stay where it is as its not locked in place, its usually freely suspended on the chain.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does picture quality on Netflix appear to be of much higher quality than Cable TV even when both sources are outputting 1080p?

Both Netflix and Cable output 1080p, but the quality on Netflix is much clearer than that of cable which looks a bit more grainy. I've even rewatched shows that used to air on cable and it's not even close. Will cable TV quality ever actually catch up?

[Assistant] It depends entirely on how much *compression* the sender is using to save on data capacity. Your cable TV provider is probably compressing the picture transmission so they can carry more channels on the same wires.


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

[User]
ELI5:If the pressure at the depths of the ocean can get up to 1,000kg, how can creautres survive without being crushed? (Or am I thinking about "pressure" incorrectly?)

Edit: Creatures* Sorry about that.

[Assistant] The pressure inside the animals is the same pressure as outside. They are breathing water that is at the same pressure, inside and outside are in equilibrium. Things get crushed when the pressure inside is less than the pressure outside.


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

[User]
CMV: Corporations should be forced to pay higher minimum wage than small businesses

1. They can afford to do so as they benefit from economies of scale, automation and even lobbying.

2. This would give more money to the people while preventing bankruptcy of small businesses.

3. Inflation would be controlled as corps still have to compete with small businesses. Walmart isn't going to hike prices, they would just eat the cost as reduced earnings.

4. This is going to be the easiest political sell ever. Who can possibly oppose this? And if they do they will be labeled as corp shills.

[Assistant]
The most likely outcome of this is that the lawyers and accountants would make individual stores small businesses, allowing them to circumvent the policy.

In Nova Scotia they said businesses over a certain size couldnt open on Sunday so grocery stores just divided their store into smaller stores and were compliant.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is there a queue when purchasing concert tickets online?

You would think the benefit of buying online is skipping the line. Can anyone explain why this happens and how the ticket websites benefit from making customers wait?

[Assistant] Let's say there are 100 seats for a small concert, but there are 10,000 people interested in attending. If it were just a free-for-all with no queue, you would have a hard time buying tickets because every time you chose your seat to purchase a ticket, by the time you got to checkout and pay, there is the possibility that 9,999 other people tried to buy that same seat. If those other people moved through the process even 1/100 of a second faster than you then you would never find a seat. The web site sets up a queue to give people who started the process first a chance to finish and pay. That way they can take that seat out of selection.


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

[User] ELI5: why doesnt Earth get hit with meteors like the moon?

[Assistant]
1. The moon intercepts a lot of meteors and takes one for the team.
2. Earth has an atmosphere that causes many meteors to burn up before they reach land, or at least shrink to an insignificant size.
3. Meteorites still hit earth all the time.
4. Because there's no atmosphere on the moon, there's nothing to cover up meteorite strikes unless another one hits near it and knocks the dirt around. As a result, you can see impact craters that are *very* old. On earth, our surface is constantly changing erasing most old craters (and, of course, many meteorites land in the ocean or lakes leaving no crater to begin with).


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

[User]
[Star Wars] why did the Jedi counsel not do anything with the information Dooku gave them about the most powerful Sith Lord being the Chancellor?

Seems like information Jedi would do something with. From the movies at least it seems like they did absolutely nothing with that information.

[Assistant] They did. There was a covert Jedi operation to root out the Sith Lord. Mace Windu makes mention of it in the ROTS novel. However, in a brilliant piece of irony, they decided Chancellor Palpatine couldnt be him because Palpatine pretty much already rules the galaxy.


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

[User]
[LOTR] In the Two Towers film (extended), Gimli says an Uruk-hai he killed is twitching because his axe is stuck in its nervous system. Are the inner workings of the nervous system and the rest of human/elf/dwarf anatomy known in Middle Earth?

Or was this just a fun little line thrown in by Peter Jackson and company?

[Assistant]
Everything that the characters say is translated into English for our benefit - the language that they're actually speaking is Westron.

That comes with its handful of quirks in the translation.  Like when the Uruk-Has and the Mordor orcs are fighting over whether to eat Merry and Pippin and one yells out "Looks like meat's back on the menu!"  Orcs don't know what a menu is, because orcs don't have restaurants.  At least not restaurants with any decent options.  But instead of translating it directly as "Looks like meat's back on the grub-slab" a little bit of liberty was taken with the translation.

Likewise, Gimli may not have said "nervous system," though it's not impossible that the Elves and Dwarves know a fair amount about  anatomy.   He may have just been saying something similar that got translated a little more colorfully.


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

[User] ELI5: What's the difference between an alternator, a stator, and a generator?

[Assistant] A stator is the part of an electric generator that doesnt move, it is stationary. Both an alternator and generator have a stator inside. A generator is a device that turns rotational motion into electricity. An alternator is a type of generator that outputs alternating current.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does light need to consist of particles to explain the photo effect?

[Assistant]
We know from the wave picture of light that there are two ways you can increase the energy you are delivering to a system if you shine light on it.  You can either:

* Increase the amplitude of the light wave i.e. the height of the wave, making it brighter.

* Increase the frequency, i.e. the number of wave peaks packed into a certain time period, shifting the colour.

Now, when you shine light on the surfaces of certain metals, you can liberate electrons.  What you find is that you will only see a photocurrent (current of electrons liberated by light) above a certain frequency of light, unique to each metal.  As you turn up the frequency, the number of electrons reaching your collector will increase.  But, importantly, the same effect is not observed if you increase the intensity of the light.

So what are our observations?

* There is a minimum frequency of light required for electrons to be liberated, and therefore a minimum energy.

* Turning up the frequency increases the number of electrons we detect.

* Changing the intensity has no effect on the observation of electrons.  This means the energy has to be delivered to the electrons all in one go.

The only logical conclusion is that the light must be delivering energy to the electrons in discrete packets, or quanta, to push them out of the metal, and that the energy of each packet is proportional to the frequency.  When one of these packets, which we call a photon, hits the electron, it delivers it its energy, which will free it from the metal if it's enough.  Any excess will be given as kinetic energy, meaning faster moving electrons that can travel further and hence more will reach our collector.

The photoelectric effect is fundamentally inexplicable by the wave nature of light, and the particle nature is the simplest explanation which turns out to also give us views into a whole world of other phenomena related to quantum mechanics.  Indeed, QM gets its name from quanta, which refers to discreteness.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is card counting considered cheating by casinos?

Poker players are praised for their skill yet someone who uses logic and maths to gain an advantage in a random game gets vilified, and from the little I've read on card counting it's not exactly easy to do anyway.

[Assistant]
Poker works fundamentally differently from other casino games.  In poker, you're playing against the other players, not the house.  The house takes a portion of your winnings.

In Blackjack, you're playing against the house.  Counting cards is a foolproof way to defeat them.  Obviously this hurts their profits, so they don't allow it.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does metal change different colors when it's heated and allowed to cool?

[Assistant]
if you are talking about heating metal up to like 1500 C or more, it turns metal > brownish > reddish > white and back the same way because of something known as blackbody radiation.

basically everything, coloured or not, transparent or not, will go through the same colour changes as it is heated, and begin to give off light at certain colours at certain temperatures. Basically brown (really just dull red) going to red / orange then white. Which is where 'glowing from the heat' comes from.

if you're talking about certain metals (say, iron) turning bluish at times, it's because of the thickness of iron oxide (or any other metal oxide) forming at very precise thicknesses, causing something known as thin-film diffraction.

Pre-requisite: you know that light is made of different colours, which means different wavelengths - wavelengths literally is a measure of distance. very small ones when we're talking about colours that we can see.

back to metal: as iron (or other metals) are heated, they form the corresponding metal oxide (the metal is being burned!) and the thickness of the layer that grows on the surface, will be similar to wavelengths of certain colours, which causes light that shines on the metal to be bent a certain amount, depending on the thickness of the oxide (metal ash!) and when the bent light reaches our eyes, we see it as colour.

Disclaimer: There's alot more science left out.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some websites require credit card CVC and some do not at checkout?

Seems if someone could charge without it, why is it needed some places? What's more, why is it needed a'tall?

[Assistant] Fraud prevention. Asking for the CVC is a much stronger proof that the purchaser actually has the card in question. The three digits of the CVC you are talking about are not stored electronically on the card so it can't be skimmed.  Far from a bullet proof security measure, but does add security for remote transactions such as online and avoids situations such as telephone operators asking for your PIN, which is the security measure for the card being present at the transaction.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Say I'm visiting a Muggle-friend's house and I have my wand in my pocket. I use it to trim my beard in the bathroom and forget it on the counter. Next thing I know, my Muggle friend comes out holding the wand and accidentally pointing it at everybody.

How possible is it for a Muggle in this situation to accidentally do some magic? Further: what's going to happen to the Wizarding World if all of the Muggle-scientists engineer things like "wands," etc., that give them "magic," and make Wizards basically like everybody else?

[Assistant]
Not at all. The wand is just a focus for the magic in the wizard.

Sure, it has some minor properties because it contains bits of magical creatures, but nothing overt. For all intents and purposes that muggle just has a stick.


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

[User]
What are the ways to make a program faster and "lighter"

During my high school years I have been taught how to write good looking code, sorting it and using indentations, using comments when necessary...
But how do you optimize your code? ELI5?

[Assistant]
Use efficient algorithms. Don't do work more than once. Weigh the trade-offs between keeping stuff in memory and keeping stuff in a database/file system, doing the work once and stashing it to save CPU or doing the work multiple times and never storing it to save memory. Learn to use your profiling tools.

Practice this for 30 years and you'll still be learning optimization tricks.


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

[User]
ELI5: If I throw a rock straight up into the air, for how long exactly does it stay at 0 mph before it falls down again?

Is it the same for any mass?

This is a bit of a weird one, but somehow I **really** want to know this.

[Assistant]
In practice it depends on how accurate your measurement of speed is.  That is, how many digits you are willing to consider.

Mathematically you can work it out pretty easily.  The answer is zero seconds.  The top of a parabola is one point only, it has no extent.


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

[User] ELI5 What will happen if you get the wrong bloodtype in you?

[Assistant]
Basically, your immune system sees the new blood cells that youre being given as invaders and they immediately begin attacking. Your own white blood cells begin destroying the new red blood cells - this is called hemolysis.

Doesnt sound too bad, right? Youre no worse off, the transfusion just didnt help because the new red cells got destroyed.

Wrong. Its very bad.

The new red cells are destroyed and all the stuff they carried around in their guts is immediately released into your body. Now, your body can handle some destroyed red blood cells, it does this all the time. But your body cant handle the enormous amount of destroyed cell guts that are released all at once.

Your liver and kidneys are left to pick up and filter out all these destroyed red cells, which is bad enough. But worse yet, those destroyed cells can cause platelets to start going all wacky as other complicated parts of your immune system are triggered by this entire fiasco, and those triggered platelets start sticking together and your blood clots rapidly and inappropriately. That clotting could end up killing you.

Even creepier is that its been said that you have a sense of impending doom before shit gets real wild. So you know youre going to die even before your body starts dying.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Did Palpatine ever learn the secret to immortality from Darth Plagueis, or did he plan to die naturally one day?

I've always wondered if Palpatine planned on dying eventually and, as far as the current canon is concerned, destroying his own Empire once he wasn't around to have his fun anymore. It's never mentioned if he learned the secrets to biologically eternal life from his master, and Palpatine is an older gentleman (88 by the time of the Battle of Endor) so it seems like he's destined to croak one day. The average human lifespan in Star Wars used to be in the low 100s, even 200s or higher if you were Force-sensitive, but that still puts a relatively limited timescale on the longevity of an entire Galactic Empire which replaced the several-thousand year run of a Galactic Republic.

[Assistant] There is quite alot of literature on this topic, especially comic books.  The very short answer is the reason Palpatine was so interested in clones is he figured out how to take over a body after his death. So he clones himself and pretty much lives forever.  The hero's win the day and kill off all the clones but yeah there is a whole comic book series devoted to what happened to Palpatine after his death.


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

[User]
[Dragon Ball Z] Can I shoot energy blasts from anywhere on my body?

I am a saiyan on the planet Vegeta. Yesterday I saw a saiyan shoot an energy beam from his feet. I have a party to go to and it would be really funny if I could shoot my signature Cesa Sala energy blast out of my butt. Is that possible?

[Assistant] Probably as a Saiyan has been shown to shoot energy out in a sphere around thier body.  The hands just make a convenient focus point.  We've seen the eyes and mouth also used as a focus point.  You'd just have to train using your butt as a focus.


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

[User]
Is Allan Watts a respectable philosopher?

I recently stumbled across him in a lofi playlist where a soft beat was playing on top of him in some sort of lecture discussing (dreams??).

Looked him up and saw that he is very popular around lofi playlist and I'd like to know if he is a respected philosopher, are the arguments justified and in general should one consider him philosophically? Or just his actully incredible way to talk made his famous?

[Assistant] Alan Watts described himself as a philosophical entertainer. He's not an uncommon reference in how people get introduced to philosophy in general but he's not really a philosopher in the sense of engaging with and contributing to philosophy in the way that would entail. Watts' value is more in sharing insights he found in eastern philosophy with western popular audiences.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't my $199 laptop play stutter-free 1080p if my $30 Chromecast can play the same media just fine?

I'm on my second Celeron laptop (this week - returned the last one) and I am wondering if this is specific to Intel.  Are they purposefully creating a need for their high-end processors by neutering their low-end processors?

EDIT: I had to go to Staples of all places but I found an ultracheap AMD E1 series notebook and connected it to my phone's wifi hotspot (because the store had nothing available) and discovered that the AMD plays things just fine.  So you don't need to pay extra in order to play HD.

[Assistant] Your Chromecast is designed to do one thing- decode video. So it has dedicated silicon to decode videos. Your laptop is designed as a general purpose computer. Its processor is way better at pretty much anything that isn't decoding videos. Also, your $199 laptop has a hard drive, a screen, and a battery which all add considerably to the cost, so it's not quite fair to compare a laptop to a Chromecast on price.


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

[User]
ELI5 Bostonians and "Sweet Caroline"

What's so special to Bostonians about this song?  I heard of them singing it after the capture of suspect #2.

[Assistant] If memory serves, sometime in the late 90's it was played at Fenway as a kind of inside-joke congratulations for an important family member who had recently had a baby girl that they named Caroline.  It got used more often but still not consistently.  Over time it simply got used more often as the fans reacted positively to it.  It became ingrained into the Red Sox personality and obviously permeated throughout Boston in general.


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

[User] ELI5: When I'm falling asleep I hear voices and music. What is happening in my brain?

[Assistant] Dreams are essentially elaborate hallucinations. As you're falling asleep you pass through a sleep stage that can include dreaming before you actually go into deeper sleep and are fully unconscious. So the things you're describing are probably related to dreaming.


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

[User]
[Ready Player One] *spoiler about end of the book*

Is there any hope for the Earth at the end of the book?

We never get a particularly clear idea of just how bad it is - is it possible the gunters are being overly negative?

[Assistant]
Nope, they're fucked.  Like unless there was a mass political revolution, which no one is particularly interested in doing, things are just going to get shittier. Its essentially the irreparably corpratized world of *Snow Crash*, just with a populace kept happy with even more Runescape instead of mind-virus flavoured cocaine(and Runescape).

Its almost worse, since the environment seems to be fucked to a degree that commodity(food) prices have jumped, which essentially enforces a shitty economy.

But at least they have their bread and circuses to themselves!


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

[User]
[John Wick] Is anybody in NYC *not* a fucking assassin?

Mild maybe-spoilers for *Parabellum*.

It seems like every ranting hobo, tourist, and cabbie is an undercover assassin. A contract goes out, and every cell phone in Times Square lights up. Library book overdue? Sorry, the librarian just put a hit out on your dumb ass. Need a root canal? You better be prepared to pay in blood. Fuck, the kid working the fry cooker at McDonalds is probably leading an entire clan of spatula ninjas.

A friend of mine works at the Apple store in Manhattan. If a dude in a bloodied suit showed up, handed her a weird gold coin, and asked for a burner phone, would she know what to do? Is that included in the employee handbook? Is she gonna get shanked because she fixed Facetime for a guy that was excommunacado?

[Assistant]
> Is anybody in NYC \*not\* a fucking assassin?

No. Such is the world of John Wick. If you're not an assassin, your boss probably works for them, and you just not high enough on the food chain to be in the know.


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

[User] ELI5: What are the people on the floor of the NYSE actually doing?

[Assistant]
Most of the people on the floor are tech support and management. They're around to keep everything running smoothly, handle issues, etc...

There is still some physical (non electronic) trading being done on the floor, but not much. A small number of companies get traded this way.

There's also a fair num of people there just to look around. It's not unusual to see people there for IPO's, press events, etc...


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

[User]
Does a series always either converge or diverge, or is there a middle ground?

And what would that mean?

[Assistant]
A divergent series is one that does not converge, so there is technically no middle ground. Divergence doesn't necessarily mean it goes to infinity or -infinity, though, if that's what you're asking - for example, (-1)^n is a divergent series:

-1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, ...


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

[User]
ELI5: What on earth is the speed of causality?

Saw this as an answer to another ELI5 question and can't wrap my head around the logic. What? How? Why??

[Assistant]
It's the speed of light. Nothing travels faster than it. So nothing can effect something in a shorter time frame than it would take for light to traverse the distance.

So lets say you want to destroy an asteroid with your new death star. The asteroid is 1 light second away. You fire the laser. A person on the asteroid won't have any idea that the laser was fired until 1 second later when the first photons reach it. It is impossible for anything from your death star to effect or "cause" anything on the asteroid until that period of time passes. Because that is the least amount of time an action performed on your death star can interact with anything on the asteroid.

So the speed of causality is just that concept taken as a whole. There is even an causal horizon. Basically there is a distance from you, that due to the accelerating expansion of the universe, means that anything beyond that point you will never interact with. Even if you were somehow able to travel at the speed of light, the object would always be traveling away from you and accelerating to a faster and faster speed.


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

[User]
[Saw] How did John find out about all these peoples lives.

How does he know that someone cheats on someone with their best friend or that they are a junkie?

[Assistant] He poses as a sick homeless man when out in the world. Nobody "sees" him and he overhears all sorts of things and has contacts everywhere. Also, given the intricacy of his traps and safehouses its not unreasonable that he can set up surveillance to spy on potential marks and learn their secrets.


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

[User] [LOTR] Where would be the best place to hide the One Ring?

[Assistant]
Deep in the fires of Mt Doom.

The fact is there is no place where the Ring could be hidden that means it couldn't be found.

There is a mistaken belief that Sauron needed the Ring to take over the world, but its actually the other way around. Sauron was taking over the world so he could find the ring. He was going to win regardless, and all the rest could do was delay him.

With that said, the ring could not go to Valinor as Elrond said...
>And they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.

And throwing it into the sea has its own problem as seen in this exchange

>Then, said Glorfindel, let us cast it into the deeps, and
so make the lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now
that even at the Council his feet were already on a crooked
path. He knew that the Ring was not lost for ever, but wished
us to think so; for he began to lust for it for himself. Yet oft
in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.
Not safe for ever, said Gandalf. There are many things
in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is
not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a
few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We shouldseek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.

While it is true that the ring was hidden in the river for a long long time, and doing that again would probably be the easiest way to hide it for a long time, with Sauron poised to take over, it would no longer be feasible to hide the ring anywhere for any meaningful length of time any longer.


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

[User]
[Marvel/DC] Are there any heroes that struggle with addiction?

Specifically ones that actually address it, rather than, like, "You could make the argument that Punisher is addicted to murder," or something like that.

[Assistant]
Tony Stark was a raging alcoholic for a while, got so bad War Machine was created when they needed someone to replace Tony.

Hank Pym went on alcoholic rampages where he beat his wife, which lead to him retiring and letting Scott Lang replace him.

Speedy, green arrow's sidekick, was a fucking disaster for a while with drugs.

Wolverine is an alcoholic.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why does bleach make so many different materials of different chemical compositions lighter even though it presumably interacts with them in distinct ways?

I don't understand how the chemical bleach has the same effect on my navy blue t-shirt as it does on tree bark as it does on red vinyl. Are some chemical properties so simply universal?

[Assistant] No, it interacts with them all in the same way, depending on the bleach. What bleach generally does is to oxidize (for chlorine based bleaches) or reduce (sulphur dioxide) the chemical bonds of the pigments in whatever you put it on, which has the effect of removing the colour from them. This is the same thing that high-energy photons in sunlight does, but it obviously happens much faster.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it common in the USA to buy houses even at a young age?

I'm german and I recognized that there seem to be lower barriers in the US to buy houses even at a young age. In Germany buying a house is rather considered as a "lifegoal", something you can think of after a long work life and/or when you have a well-paid job. Why is it more common in the US to buy houses instead of living in a flat/live in rented accomodation?

EDIT: Thanks for all the good and interesting answers so far!

[Assistant]
The US has a lot more space relative to its population than Germany, so it's cheaper to buy land and residential neighborhoods tend to be more spread out and more likely to consist of separate houses.

Another factor is that the layouts of major German cities tend to date back to way earlier than American cities; many American cities were built up after mass transit (trains, trolleys, cars, etc.) allowed residential neighborhoods to be spread out much more than the case in earlier years, when people had to walk everywhere. This allowed the US to take advantage of its landmass and build sprawling suburbs. It's difficult to make major changes to a city's basic layout once it's set in place because doing so would be extremely disruptive. You can see other differences between the US and Europe related to the age of cities as well, e.g. the widespread use of street grids in the US and the large number of cities in the Western US that could only be built after technology allowed massive quantities of water to be routed there.

Finally, there are historical factors related to race. White Americans fled the cities for the suburbs in large numbers in the middle of the last century to avoid integration. This process has reversed somewhat in recent years, but from the 1960s through the 1990s, urban areas were associated with ethnic minorities, crime, poverty, and decay while suburbs were associated with white affluence.


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

[User] [Dark Souls]How does the Crestfallen Warrior know that there are two Bells of Awakening?

[Assistant] The Crestfallen Warrior has been sitting around in Firelink for a long time, and the Chosen Undead is far from the first to ring both of the bells. People have gotten into Sen's fortress and Anor Londo before. Tarkus, for example, was already in Anor Londo before you get there.


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

[User]
I sat in disbelief as my physics professor told the class that cell phones emit EM waved that will fry your brain because they are the same thing as microwaves and UV waves. Was he BS'ing or am I just terribly misinformed?

Radio waves (and microwaves for that matter) are non ionizing right? And any microwaves being emitted by a cell phone are insignificant, right?

EDIT: There are way more comments than I have time to reply to, so heres some general info.

1. This professor is actually incredibly smart, and one of the best teachers Ive had. So hes not an idiot.

2. I am sure this is what he said. There is a reason I had a look of disbelief, and its not because I was shocked to hear what he said was true. I was appalled that he would make this up. I just wanted to ask some experts to be sure.

3. The general consensus seems to be, surprise surprise, he was wrong.

4. I will ask him about it tomorrow. He likes to joke around a lot, so it may have been a poor attempt at humor. Everyone in the class believed him except for me.

[Assistant]
You're correct; (Edit: The poster, _not_ the professor's assertion, since some people apparently don't read more than the title) Cell phones emit in the microwave region, which is non-ionizing.

UV is also non-ionizing, but have far more energy. Enough to excite electrons in many organic compounds, which causes chemical reactions. (Most notably, DNA damage through neighboring thymine bases reacting with each other)

There are some plausible but unlikely ways microwaves _might_ cause damage, but little reason to think that it'd be significant at those low intensities. (And no solid empirical evidence that cell phone radiation is harmful at all) Fundamentally though, microwaves can't really do any damage that heat in general doesn't do.


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

[User] ELI5: why is it that when running or exercising you are supposed to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth? Why does it hurt to breathe through the mouth only?

[Assistant]
Former sprinter and long distance runner here.

I was taught this as a breathing technique to help keep and/or get your breathing under control while you are exerting yourself. What can happen is you could be breathing too quickly that you aren't able to get enough oxygen to parts of your body due to shallow breathes you are taking in. This technique helps slow down your breathing so you can get back to a proper breathing pace.

Also focusing on this technique can help take your mind off of thinking about what you are doing, allowing you to last longer endurance wise.

Now as others have noted it isn't something you typically should be doing all the time when exercising since it won't allow you get as much oxygen as you can and possibly need. Mainly it is a technique to teach breathing and how to take in more air with each breath.


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

[User]
CMV: Social Security (FICA) tax is the worst tax in existence and should be completely restructured or eliminated entirely

**TLDR:** If you aren't wealthy you pay more in effective social security tax  i.e. FICA than someone who is wealthy

The social security tax (FICA) is the worst tax in existence and should either be completely eliminated and changed to a true flat/progressive tax. There are 3 main types of income tax (progressive, flat, and regressive) - listed in their order of terribleness.

Here is an example of each:

Person A is wealthier they make 400k

Person B is not quite as wealthy they make 150k

**Progressive Tax (i.e. richer people pay more effective tax)**

Under a progressive tax with brackets 10% (0-100k), 20% (100-200k), and 30%  (200k+)

Person A who is in the 30% tax bracket pays 100k \* 0.1 + 100k \* 0.2 + 200k \* 0.3 = 90k or **22,5% in tax**

Person B who is in the 20% tax bracket pays 100k \* 0.1 + 50 \* 0.2 = 20k or **13.3% in tax**

Govt collects 110k in taxes

As you see Person A who makes more money pays more in taxes. This makes sense and as they continue to make more taxes their tax rate will either asymptotically approach 30% (if that's the highest tax bracket) or get moved into an even higher bracket.

**Flat Tax (i.e. everyone pays the same effective tax)**

This one is very simple whatever the tax rate is everyone pays the same regardless of their income (sales tax is an example of a flat tax, also most state taxes tend to be - some pretend to be progressive but the highest tax bracket is like 7k+ so everyone is in it e.g. Georgia

With a 20% flat tax

Person A  pays 400k \* 0.2 = 80k  or **20% in tax**

Person B pays 150k \* 0.2 = 30k or **20% in tax**

Govt collects 110k in taxes

Ok this may seem more "fair" but as we know it isn't since most of us agree people who make more should pay more in tax so it really isn't as fair. But it's not the end of the world right? Just wait for a regressive tax

**Regressive Tax (i.e. poorer people pay more effective tax)**

Suppose there is tax of 37% but it only applies to your first 150k of income

Person A pays 150k \* 0.37 = 55.5k or **13.9% in tax**

Person B pays 150k \* 0.37 = 55.5k or **37% in tax**

Govt collects 111k in taxes

Ok we can all agree this is unfair. Even flat tax advocates have to see this is incredibly unfair. This is effectively how social security (but wait it's even worse)...

So FICA which includes both Social Security and Medicare is a **7.65%** tax paid to the federal government which everyone pays. It works exactly how the regressive tax outlined works. For example a single filer pays FICA tax on their first 142k in income.

Using the federal tax brackets and including FICA someone who makes 142k a year and is a single filer is in the 24% tax bracket. However since in the US the federal tax is a progressive system they effectively only pay **17.7%** in taxes but with FICA that brings it to **25.35%.** In fact the income they earned between 40-140k was taxed at **\~30%**. However as stated above FICA is maxed out at 142k so income earned after that is not subject to FICA. The next 100k in income they earn they will have a lower effective tax rate than the effective tax rate they had from 40-140k.

But it gets even worse. We are assuming this person isn't self employed. The 7.65% you pay is only *half* of FICA generally your employer pays the other half but some aren't that lucky. For those who are self employed FICA is a whopping 15.3%. If this sad sap is self employed they will be paying more tax than those in the *highest* federal income tax bracket. Simply unbelievable. A self employed worker make 60k a year has a **26%** effective tax rate. Not to point fingers but that's more than the Biden's paid this year in federal taxes on 600k in jointly filed income (and likely more than Donald Trump and most other presidents for that matter).

In summary, FICA is absolutely shit and they should either completely restructure it to a flat or progressive tax, or get rid of it entirely. Being a young person in my 20s I doubt I will see a single penny paid into FICA given the direction things are going in this country - it's a complete travesty.

[Assistant]
This is not the worst tax in existence, because it pays for a valuable service to society.

Could it be better?  Sure.  Could we structure it differently?  Sure.

But the worst tax in existence would be a tax that provided no tangible societal benefit, for example poll taxes that were solely designed to disenfranchise voters in Jim Crow South.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] The Reapers come every 50 thousand years and purge all advanced life in the galaxy. What if a rising species discovered the Citadel just years after the Reapers went into hibernation?

Say it's been roughly a decade since the Reapers left and a new species discovered the Citadel. Initial signs show that mass destruction has happened very recently, but due to the Reapers skill at loose ends there's no surefire way to know what happened or if it would happen again.

How does this new species live seeing as they have 50 thousand years before the Reapers come again?

[Assistant]
The 50 thousand year cycle is just a rough average. Some cycles are longer and some are shorter. That's why they leave the Vanguard behind to watch over things while the rest of the Reaper fleet hibernates.

If a species did reach the Citadel so soon after the end of the last Harvest then the next one would just happen much sooner. Once the Vanguard decides that the situation in the galaxy has reached a point where a new Harvest has to happen, regardless of how long its been since the last one, it would send out the call to the rest of the Reapers.


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

[User] ELI5: How do social websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter know to suggest people that I haven't spoken with in 10 years or only had very brief dealings with a long time ago?

[Assistant]
Friends of friends. Someone on your friend list may have recently spoken or friended one of those people.

School association. Some of those people may have reported as being in the same high school or college as you.


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

[User] ELI5 Why are silica packets used in product packaging for things like shoes and even bacon bits but not in produce packaging? The packets say they are non-toxic and seem like they would help lettuce and spinach containers have a longer shelf life.

[Assistant] Silica packets are made and used to absorb moisture.  So in items like shoes or bacon bits you dont want moisture there because it might cause mold. Whereas produce like lettuce and spinach are made of moisture. You would end up drying it out very quickly.