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

[User] ELI5: How is being gay biologically possible?

[Assistant]
1) Evolution does not eliminate everything that is not beneficial for reproduction. There are plenty of things about us that could potentially function better, or have no use at all, but which persist because they are not unforgivably detrimental to the species as a whole.

2) A trait that evolves and appears to be non-useful for reproduction on its face, may simply be more subtly useful. I.e. non-parenting organisms can provide child-rearing assistance for parenting organisms, thus improving the level of care an offspring receives.

3) An apparently non-beneficial trait may simply be a side effect of a trait which actually is beneficial for reproduction. For example, some studies have suggested that female relatives of homosexuals have increased fecundity. The lack of reproduction from one party may be insufficient to offset the benefit of greater reproductive capacity in the other.

Basically, not everything is necessarily "progressive for evolution.' If an organism works enough of the time, it persists.


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

[User] ELI5: Why Teletubbies have such low rating and poor reviews despite being highly successful and popular in UK and other countries ?

[Assistant] It's aimed at toddlers/pre-schoolers. If they like it, it will be popular unless it's even worse than listening to a small child throwing a fit for not getting to watch it. Reviews, though, are written by adults, not the show's targets audience.


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

[User] Is the sweat produced by exercising different from the sweat produced by sedentary activities e.g. sweating after a shower or sweating in a hot car?

[Assistant]
Hello and welcome to AskScience.  Please don't guess the answer.

It would be useful to find a peer reviewed source that talks about the composition of sweat, and the variation in composition that is possible.


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

[User]
ELI5 - There are gases that destroy the ozone layer. Shouldn't there be a compound out there that had the opposite effect?

The title's the question. I've thought about it for some time now, but I can't find an answer.

[Assistant]
The fundamental issue is energy.  There's more energy stored in 2 O (ozone) molecules than in 3 O (oxygen gas) molecules.

So a chemical that can turn ozone into oxygen can do it over and over again, liberating energy as it goes.  Kind of like how you can burn down a house using just a single match: a single chlorine atom, for example, can destroy a hundred thousand ozone molecules.

On the other hand, turning oxygen into ozone requires *depositing* energy.  Lightning and sunlight can do this, which is why we have an ozone layer to begin with, but any chemical that did it would have to be supplying the energy by destroying itself, and so could only do it once--*not* a hundred thousand times.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do I think I look attractive in the mirror, but in pictures and videos I look like a freak?

[Assistant]
Well, one of the big reasons is that you're used to looking at your image reversed in a mirror. Mirrors reflect images and you see them reversed left to right. This is not the case with pictures and video. A lot of psychologists have studied this and found that people were generally far more comfortable with their reflected appearance than their photo appearance because its the one they wake up and see every morning.

It's basically the same reason we tend to not like the way we sound when we're recorded. When you speak normally, you're also hearing the sound echo in your own skull and you're not used to the absence of that effect when you hear your recorded voice.


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

[User]
[MCU] Did Thanos doom us all with the stones?

During Endgame the heroes go into the past to collect different infinity stones after Thanos had destroyed theirs. During this trip, Bruce talks to the ancient one when trying to get the time stone. She tells him the stones protect their universe from destruction and removing them would doom their timeline. By destroying the infinity stones after completing his goal, did Thanos doom the main universe in the same way as the warning given to Bruce?

[Assistant]
The stones weren't really destroyed - they were atomized, their essences spread. There's nothing saying they couldn't reform later - in fact, the comic stones have been destroyed and remade several times over.

This is different from what the Ancient One was warning about, complete removal of the stones from the universe. Had they not returned the Time Stone, for example, Stephen Strange would never have been able to stop Dormammu from bringing the Earth into the Dark Dimension.


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

[User]
[The Matrix] Don't people miss their families and friends?

There's a lot of people in Zion, and while many of them were natural born humans, a lot of them came from the Matrix. Did these people ever want to go back inside and visit friends or family they knew?

Neo seemed to be a bit of a loner, but he still knew some people like Choi well enough to go out partying with them. Was it frowned upon to maintain ties with your "previous life" or did people just not do it for some reason?

[Assistant]
It would be inhuman to think that the freed citizens of Zion didn't look back on their old lives and loved ones with some fondness. But the primary reason people are chosen to be freed is their deep, innate sense of separation from the world the machines created. People like Neo and Kid were always outsiders and loners, and had few real attachments. Deep in their minds, they knew the wrongness of everything around them, and easily severed their connections to such things once they were set free.

Others who freed themselves, like Dan Davis (from the Animatrix) probably never felt the same lonesome separation his entire life. But in his moment of self-realization, he mentally renounced all bonds and in a metaphorical sense, ascended past his old life and attachments. In that moment, they no longer mattered.

There's also the strong possibility that, once freed, the mind realizes that it had been artificially dreaming for many years. And like almost every dream, the memories and feelings from it fade over time. Memories from inside the Matrix never really go away, of course, but the feelings and images can become less important as the awakened mind forms connections in the real world.

And finally, it's probably strongly discouraged, if not outright illegal, for freed humans to contact their old loved ones. Far too great a security risk. The machines see literally everything inside the simulation, so they would know exactly when and how to use those moments of reconnection against the freed person, and potentially all of Zion.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is it that when multiple animators are making something, they all have the same style?

The clone wars for example, all the episodes have the same style, with the only change being effort/time spent going up.

[Assistant]
The same way classical musicians can play the same Beethoven piece in the same styletheyre pros who are good enough at their craft that they can form their art into whatever is necessary.

Computer animation is another step away, as there are literal computer animation algorithms that perform actions for characters.  The animators in this sense are quite literally programmers who are assigning commands to the animation software.

Even still, Style and form are constantly monitored during the animation process, and always double-checked to conform to creative standards.


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

[User]
[The Shawshank Redemption]Why didn't he just flush the rock he was carving from the wall down the toilet? Wouldn't that have been much quicker and easier?

He was not dropping huge amounts in the yard each time, I don't think he risked clogging the toilet?

[Assistant]
Have you ever flushed a pile of stones down a toilet? If there was poor pressure, there is a good chance the toilet gets plugged, and then prison maintenance has to come in and fix it and maybe discover your tunnel.

Taking out a pocket full of rocks and scattering it on a gravel yard is a far safer method.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is it so difficult for video game developers (even AAA developers) to create "smart" AI?

What specific problems associated with constructing a basic Artificial Intelligence is considered the biggest roadblock for game developers to overcome?

[Assistant]
Former game developer here.

AI doesn't sell in the US market. Plain and simple. Investors want a return on their investment, and so they will invest in projects that have done well in the past. What does sell? Render passes. No one will sacrifice visual quality for an elaborate AI. The focus is on multi player gaming. After all, why would you need an AI when you have an opponent who can oppose you? It's much easier and cheaper, and it basically gets the same thing: a brain behind your enemy. If you look at popular titles, the single player mode is... basic... simple... well... Shit. All the replay comes from multi-player.

EDIT: As far as the technical roadblocks, please... There is a lot published out there about how to build trivial AI that can learn and adapt, and can be good enough to kick your ass, not by being faster or more accurate, but by making better decisions. If you're curious as to what is possible, take a look at bot development in FPS style games.


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

[User]
[Avatar: The Legend of Korra] What kind of future implications does the creation of the Spirit Vine energy weapon mean for the world?

As we've seen, Kuvira's energy weapon was one of the most powerful things in the entire Avatar universe. What could its development mean for the Avatar universe?

[Assistant]
Well, it's doubtful that Baatar Jr., Kuvira, or anyone else involved in the construction of the original weapon would be willing to recreate it. It's also unlikely that any of the other nations would even attempt to build a Spirit cannon of their own, and even if they did, it'd be difficult for them to acquire enough vines to represent a significant threat without drawing Korra's attention.

It also seems unlikely that there would be any long term effects for using spirit energy for non-weapon applications, since harvesting spirits would be generally frowned upon.


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

[User]
CMV: Reading books is not superior to other forms of reading

There is a tendency that Ive noticed for self-proclaimed intellectuals to hail reading novels and non-fiction books as the mark of an intelligent person. There is a general notion that reading books in print is more enriching than reading articles on the internet or even reading a book in PDF form. When browsing on the internet, I often will read a source which provides hyperlinks to many other resources so that I have access to whichever details I want as I desire. This makes the reading process more efficient and honestly more effective. In general, I would argue that books are a really ineffective form to store lots of detailed information on subjects seeing as they are not searchable and not very portable. Often, the contents of a book would be better organized as a collection of articles or entries anyway.

[Assistant]
>There is a tendency that Ive noticed for self-proclaimed intellectuals to hail reading novels and non-fiction books as the mark of an intelligent person.

Reading books gives you experience, that is largely unique and you won't find them while quickly browsing web. By reading book, you basically explore a whole new world, which forces you to think about things in different way.

It shapes your imagination. It helps your creative skills. It gives you knowledge, that you retain better, because it comes in the form of stories. Those are the generalities of a book medium.

But if you want to REALLY know about some subject. You simply have to read the book. A book is specially designed piece of literature, that extracts all the relevant informations from various sources and presents you in digestable and often fun form.

By reading articles, reading wiki, following links, etc... You not only have to invest much more work in order to get a quality that is even remotely near that of a book. But you have all the fact checking, and clearing up missconceptions in front of you. And very few people are willing to do that (unless they are writing a book).


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

[User]
Writing while you read

Currently I am writing my master thesis and am struggling to make progress, I have been told its best to write while you read but I have never really understood exactly how you do that. I guess it means  plugging related info into the various chapters as you find them useful but to do that you really require some sort of outline for what it is  you are doing in those various chapters. It is here where I continually find myself in a dilemma, because how does one construct an outline when the sense of what it should entail is still unclear?

[Assistant] What has worked for me is to not think of the writing as having to go into your thesis. It's more about reflecting upon what you read and writing down the things about the text that you find important (ie a summary of relevant parts)  your own (critical) reflection of it, and any connections you can make to other texts you've been reading as well as your own topic. It helps you navigate the literature that exists and get some (critical) thoughts in line that make it easier to understand where your own work is going. A lot of that writing might never end up going into your thesis! But a lot more than you initially think probably will, because writing helps you process what you're reading and develop your thoughts/ideas, which in turn helps you understand where your thesis is going to go.


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

[User]
ELI5:What is the tingling sensation that I feel when the blood rushes back to a body part that has fallen asleep?

Edit:
TLDR: Alright! So from what I have gathered from the brilliant minds below is that this sensation can be caused by nerve disruption or lack of oxygen provided to the nerves because of insufficient blood flow. When the pressure is relieved or blood starts flowing again the nerves begin working as intended and begin sensing/ tingling all over as they reestablish equilibrium and unhindered contact with the brain!

If I fucked up the recap message me! Otherwise, thank you guys very much, the responses were great and I enjoyed reading through them. :)

[Assistant]
That's not blood rushing back, because limbs don't fall asleep by having their blood supply cut off.  It's caused by pressure on a nerve cutting off communication between that body part and your brain.

The tingling sensation is the nerve starting to re-establish equilibrium after the pressure is removed, which causes it to send lots of wonky signals to the brain for a bit until the electric potentials in the nerves settle down.


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

[User]
CMV: Policing speech, whether legally or socially, can never achieve the intended aims of doing so, and in the end ultimately backfires.

You can (maybe) stop (some) people from saying the things you don't want them to say.

But you can't stop them from thinking those things. And you can't stop them from acting on those thoughts.

And if anything, suppressing (whether through laws or shame) what people feel like saying can only lead them to more vehemently express whatever verboten sentiment they have in other ways. Like pressing on a balloon, if you push hard enough it will eventually pop.

And once you've ended the discussion by demanding silence on an issue, you've lost the opportunity to engage rationally.

"Yelling fire in a theatre" (and the like) being an exception of course.

[Assistant] The key weak point in your argument is about shame. Shame and social consequences has been historically the biggest determinant in the suppression of antisocial behaviour and the mobilisation of social change provided you can hit home and make people feel it. Shame has been linked to the collapse of the 2nd Klan, the ending of footbinding in China, duelling for honour in Europe and ending the slave trade in the British empire (see Honor Code by Kwame Appiah for references).


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

[User]
Atlanta is over half African-American, yet it is much wealthier than other cities with similar demographics.  What are they doing right, and how can it be exported?

Many large corporations have their headquarters there (Coke, CNN, Delta Air, etc), but surely there's more than just that at play.

[Assistant] It's also "a mecca for affluent African-Americans," according to The Real Housewives of Atlanta. It's possible that a disproportionately large amount wealthy black people move there, as opposed to rich whites which can find giant-sized populations of their peers in a multitude of cities.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do snowflakes form symmetrically?

[Assistant] They typically don't. Snowflakes are a crystalline formation, and they crystallise along hexagonal patterns. They are roughly symmetrical because at each point when more ice crystals are forming at the edges, they are experiencing approximately the same conditions as at corresponding points of rotational symmetry. Because of the hexagonal structure there are limited ways the ice can crystallise at the edges, this limitation forces the shapes into more regular patterns. The smaller snowflakes are the more uniform and closer to symmetrical they are.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people like Warren Buffet continue to try and make as much money as possible, when they have so much that they could never spend it all?

[Assistant]
When you control massive wealth you can do things nobody else can do.  You get called by Presidents and Potentates when they need help or want your opinion.  You get invited to the most interesting secret meetings where the strings that move the world are pulled.  You get a seat behind the curtain.

Being an active investor is what keeps you in that seat.  If you put your money into a passive investment vehicle and ignored it, people would ignore **you**.  Only if you're seen to be willing and able to move the kind of capital that changes markets do you get to be a real "insider".

Buffet loves being an insider (who wouldn't?)

He's also been doing it his entire life.  Clearly he loves it on some fundamental level.  He is probably really intrigued by what he sees happening over the very long term and wants to remain in a decision-making role as he watches to see if his theories about how the world works are validated or not.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why does my nose burn when I burp through it after drinking a carbonated beverage?

Is it the actual carbonation coming back up that makes it burn? If that is the case, then why doesn't it burn when we burp through our mouth?

[Assistant] When you drink the soda the CO2 that is released from it reacts with the water in your throat/belly/mouth and results in carbonic acid, which you burp out. Nasal lining is also sensitive so will feel a burning sensation because of carbonic acid when it comes up.


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

[User] ELI5: What causes you to go mute or be born mute?

[Assistant] Well if your vocal cords don't work then you can't physically talk. People can also become mute after a traumatic event for a period of time. Maya Angelou was mute for 5 years after she was sexually abused and her abuser was then murdered.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter]Would Harry, Ron or Hermione get arrested if people found out they used the Imperius Curse on one of the Gringotts Goblins?

it is supposed to be an "unforgivable curse"

[Assistant]
The curses weren't illegal at the time, since Voldemort had taken over the ministry.

Furthermore, the curses were only punished by a life sentence if used on a human being, so even under the Fudge administration Harry probably would've been in the clear. Using the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix at the ministry would have been illegal, but the trial would've been laughably short given the circumstances.


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

[User]
Why is there a tidal bulge on the side of the Earth facing away from the moon?

There are two high tides per day, but we face the moon only once. Even when there is a new moon and the sun and moon are aligned in the sky, there are still two tides per day. How?

[Assistant]
This problem is best thought of by looking at different reference frames. If we look at the moons reference frame, every piece of matter on earth (including water) is being attracted to the moon. The further away you are from the moon, the less gravitational effect there is.

So a piece of matter on the near side is being pulled the most, the center is being pulled a smaller amount, and the opposite side of the moon is being pulled the least.

Now lets put that into the frame of reference of the earth, which we reduced to the center above. We know the center of the earth is not moving with respect to itself, so it is stationary. The moon-side is being pulled more than the earth center, so the water is pulled slightly towards the moon. The non-moon side is not being pulled as much as the center, so in the frame of reference of the center of the earth, it is being pushed away!

Inertia does not really play a large role in terms of two rides per day, as the waters inertia cannot really be transmitted over landmass as the tides go around the earth.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression occur in humans? Are they considered mutations or are they genetically wired in our brains that will emerge when a significant event occurs?

[Assistant]
You can also ask how we think.

We know we can be happy or sad depending on recent events. for some those feeling can stretch for days. Almost anything which happens a little in all of us happens a lot in some of us.

There is a genetic component to many mental illnesses. That has been established by studies. There are also signs that mental illness develops at certain stages of life.

Most are not due to new mutations.

Exact cause and effect cannot be determined.

Those who have studied it can only tell us some of the traits and who is more susceptible. They cannot predict mental illness.


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

[User] [Matrix] Since people in Zion only had a first name were there any people who happened to have the same name?

[Assistant] It appears that they choose a new name. Thomas Anderson choosing Neo as his name was basically because the Zion people knew him from the internet.  So perhaps they use their username from the internet, and the new people in Zion chose a new name. Like Th0maz Anderzun.


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

[User] ELI5: How exactly are hybrid and electric cars better for the environment, when most electricity is generated through coal and nuclear energy, which are bad for the environment?

[Assistant]
1. A lot of electricity is generated by Combined Cycle Natural Gas turbines, which are much cleaner than oil/gasoline, thus the electricity generated at the grid level is overall less polutting than motor fuel.

2. The regenerative braking is a minuscule amount. Accounts for just a few percentage points, not much more.

3. The EV does not pollute while it is driving. It is better that we emit CO2 and other pollutants in large power plants which are far away from cities than having polluting cars in the cities.

4.  More importantly, the EV cars do indeed pollute less for one more reason: motor efficiency.  Modern gasoline engines have a maximum efficiency of about 25%, which means that most of the time they are operating at 15-20%. They are also even less efficient during the first 10minutes of the journey before the engine heats up. So, they only transform c. 20% of the fuel into motion. On the other hand, large CCGT power plants have an efficiency of c. 60%. As the EV's motor train has a very high efficiency of transforming electricity to motion, it is more efficient to burn natural gas in a large power plant than burning gasoline in a car. Further, high efficiency means more complete burning, which leads to less pollutants.


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

[User]
[LOTR] [MCU] What would happen if The One Ring was sacrificed for the soul stone.

Imagine Gollum decided he wanted the soul stone over the ring. Ignoring the temptation of the ring that would prevent him from throwing it off the cliff, what would happen to the ring?

[Assistant]
Nothing would happen for a few reasons: One, the ring wouldn't be destroyed so Gollom could toss it off, and still go down and get it back, his lust for it wouldn't have gone away after he threw it off.

Secondly, the red skull says it has to be a soul for a soul. The ring isn't a soul, nor does it contain the soul of Sauron. Sauron is actually still "alive" after the ring is destoryed, it's just that his spirit is all that remains and it was blown away with the wind.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is computer keyboard "qwerty" and not "abcdef"?

Or qwertz (e.g. Europe).

I hope you know what I mean. Why they put the letters in this order?

[Assistant]
In the days of typewriters, the keys were alphabetically ordered.  However this caused some keys to get jammed up, or more frequent typos (remember,  typewriter, you cant just hit backspace), due to frequently used letters being too close together.

So they rearranged the letters into the qwerty board to space the well used letters apart more.  This cut back on jams and typos and was carried over to computer keyboards.


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

[User]
[Marvel] With the incursions going on, where are all the heavy hitters?

Earths mightiest heros, the avengers and illuminati and xmen and even Thanos are fighting the beyonders for earth survival. But where are all the other heavy hitters? People like Galactus, Odin and other skyfathers, Sentry, abstracts like Eternity and Lady death, Franklin Richards and other really high tier people? I know that the beyonders killed both the living triburnal and all the celestials, but what about the rest?

Also, how powerful is the beyonders? They can kill the living triburnal and celestials, but the avengers can still fight them. Also, have Thanos dropped in power or have the avengers caught up?

Im not a comicreader, this is just what i have picked up about the end times.

[Assistant]
Basically they are all either not remotely strong enough or out of commission for some reason.

* Galactus and Sentry are not on the same tier as the Beyonders, which are a multiversal threat.

* Odin has been significantly depowered ever since that thing with the Serpent.

* young!Franklin is too inexperienced to help, but at the end of Hickman's FF run it's implied old!Franklin is waiting off screen to step in when he can help.

The Beyonders are basically omnipotent, or thereabouts. Not even the Living Tribunal could defeat them, but it seems they have a weakness in that they're linear. They can't time travel and change their own past.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does my car need the aircon regassing every so often but my fridge/freezer never does?

As title really, I recently had my aircon regassed in my car but have had my freezer running constantly for 8 years, how come that never needs refilling?

[Assistant]
A fridge refrigeration system is hermetically sealed, a car system isn't.

In a fridge, the compressor is attached to an electric motor, and then combined compressor/motor assembly is installed into a metal container, and the container is welded shut. There are special seals for the electrical wires to go in, but these are very strong and there is no movement on them.

In a fridge, all the pipes are welded (actually brazed, but for the sake of simplicity let's ignore the difference) together and are welded to the compressor unit.

In a car, the compressor has to be attached to a pulley connected by a belt to the engine. This means that there has to be a moving seal where the pulley connects to the compressor. You'll never get a perfect seal where one part has to move, so a tiny amount of gas will leak out through this seal. As the seal ages, it will shrink and crack, so the leak will get faster with time. The compressor does have a bit of oil in it, and when you run the compressor the oil will splash on the seal and keep it moist. If you never use the air conditioning, then the compressor never runs, and the seal dries out and shrinks.

Also in a car, the system is designed for easy maintenance - so there are pipes and fittings that bolt together, instead of being welded/brazed. When these get vibrated on roads, then tiny amounts of gas can leak out when the vibration causes them to move slightly.

Some new models of car (especially hybrids) use a welded-shut electrical compressor for the AC, instead of a pulley driven one, specifically to try to reduce leaks.


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

[User] ELI5 - Why does internet speed show 50 MPBS but when something is downloading of 200 MBs, it takes significantly more time as to the 5 seconds it should take?

[Assistant]
Usually internet speeds are advertised as mega bits where as file storage is mega bytes.

There are 8 bits in a byte.

So it would take 8 times longer then expected.

As an added nugget of information lookout for 50Mb compared to 50MB upper case B tends to be bytes where as lower case b tends to be bits.


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

[User]
CMV: The right to protest against the government in the US is a facade that makes citizens think they have way more power than they actually do, and most modern-day protests are a waste of time and resources

First, I think history has shown what great achievements and civil liberties can be obtained through peaceful protests and demonstrations. The right to peacefully assemble was written into the first amendment and is always regarded as one of our most sacred freedoms and one of the most powerful tools for democracy. However, while I definitely appreciate having the right to protest, nowadays the US is a \~*relatively*\~ equal and fair society in terms of the law and protests have become less and less effective and/or meaningful. Maybe it's just from personal experience, but I believe that a majority of protests today are ultimately a poor use of time and largely inefficient, and that time spent protesting could be used in much more beneficial ways to advance a view.

To this, I see two main types of protests in my life; local protests that are typically focused on more specific issues smaller in size; and national protests that typically occur from a certain mass publicized event or national issue.

**Examples of** **Local Protests:**

I Lived in DC for 3 years and worked right by the white house, so I have had a lot of personal experience with local protests. Every day that I walked to work there would be a new group on the street corner protesting some weirdly specific cause. After a while it honestly just becomes commonplace and you don't even notice them. I saw hundreds of them over the years and honestly can't remember the specific cause for any of them. DC is seemingly the best place you want to go to protest if you want to be seen/feel heard, but honestly, protests are so oversaturated no one is listening to you.

Now in my new city, the issues I have with local protests are a bit different. Currently, I live in a much smaller blue city (really town) in a blue state. A few weeks after SCOTUS revealed their ruling on Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a protest marched down my street demanding women's rights be restored. Look I am all for a women's right to choose, but what exactly do they expect to accomplish from having a protest over a right they still have. As I said, I live in a pretty-blue town in a very-blue state. Our state has built-in abortion protections and an amendment in the state constitution granting women the right to choose. These types of protests are just a waste of time for the participants.

**Examples of** **National Protests:**

According to organizers, the goal of the women's march the day after Trump's election was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights". What is this really supposed to accomplish though? Trump wasn't going to be removed from office for being sexist, and I doubt he saw the protests and suddenly realized he should treat women with respect.

Same with the BLM protests in 2020 following George Floyd, I support the movement and also wish to see change, however marching on the street ain't going to do all that much. Think about how many people joined in protesting, and how many total manhours were used when protesting. If you want to better racial equality in America it would be way more effective for people to instead spend time doing things like mentoring underprivileged youth, raising money for local community centers, working in homeless shelters or soup kitchens, etc.

**Final Point:**

I can go on and on about all the dumb protests I have seen or areas where they are ineffective, but ultimately the only "useful" or "successful" protests I have seen against the government are those that are just online. If you want to use a protest to spread awareness then a hashtag is just as effective and less burdensome. Ironically I used to hate political activists on social media, now I see them personally as dumb still, however a much better use of time and efficient at spreading a message. Internet campaigns that include the phone numbers of local congressmen make it much easier for people to voice their displeasure, etc.

In-person protests though are only good at harming other citizens, and practically never bring about government change. I guess really just "Cancel Culture." Companies will pander to protesters, and universities have canceled speaker's events due to outcry. These are all areas where protests work, whether you agree with what they are protesting or not.

TL;DR: My CMV is that protesting against the government is rather inefficient today and any protest against government action or laws are almost always a less effective means at achieving a group's goal.

EDIT: After reading through some opposing viewpoints, I now believe local protests centered around local laws can be useful. However I don't think physical, national protests are that important anymore and don't bring about any real change that other efforts might.

[Assistant]
Do you think there would have been justice for George Floyd without the protests?

Would no knock warrants still be allowed if it weren't for protests?

What about Ahmaud Arbery? Would the cover up have succeeded without demonstrations?


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

[User]
[LotR] There's this odd grey dust that comes up from time to time. It's flammable, it's explosive, it's destructive. As I've heard, it's already used in fireworks and taking down fortifications. Why don't we try to make compact weapons out of it?

Say, a machine that could use the combustion to fire deadly balls of steel for leagues? It could take down those pesky castles and armies from quite a long distance.

[Assistant]
It's a problem of metallurgy. Short of Mithril, which is extremely scarce and no longer being manufactured, finding metal of suitable strength to produce cannons that will not crack or explode when fired is a difficult proposition.

Additionally the secret of its manufacture is known only to two of the Istari, one of whom met his end at the tip of his servant's knife and the other of whom retreated to the West not too long ago.


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

[User] [ELI5:] How do we know that Jonathan the tortoise is 188 year old?

[Assistant] If he's anything like George the tortoise who loves through the Crimean war then i his birth year is documented somewhere, from the BBC article he lives at the official residence of the governor of St. Helena and it seems he's lived there ever since he arrived on the island as a very young tortoise so his birth year can be estimated to a fine degree.


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

[User]
CMV: Jazz isn't distinctive enough - all the songs lack melody that and structure needed to make songs stand out

I feel like when people say that they listen to all types of music there actually lying, I very much like a song in at least one of every common genre and even some of the crazy outliers, but something as simple as Jazz just never got to me.

The majority of the the songs seem to run together, there's nothing that ever gets stuck in my head, there's nothing that I'm anticipating, there's no particular emotion that I'm feeling. To me it feels like somebody and created an entire genre specifically meant to be background music.

CMV find me a song that's Jazz and has a distinctive enough either Melody, composition, or structure that makes it stand out and makes me want to listen to that song specifically. I'm a professional musician and audio engineer too so please don't give me any songs that I need to understand some underlying music theory knowledge, just because some thing is complex doesn't mean it's good, I feel like that's a cop out with some songs in jazz.

[Assistant]
Imagine saying something like; "of all the subjects, math is the least distinctive. All the equations look the same to me. It's just numbers and letters."

You clearly don't understand jazz. The right conclusion would be to assume there is something going on that you can't hear. If anything, merely on a technical level, jazz is the most complex musical genre. Rap, pop, and hip-hop all exist in 1 or 2 time signatures. It's almost all 4/4. Jazz has songs across most time signatures.


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

[User]
If surface area doesn't effect friction, why do racing cars have fatter tires?

"Although a larger area of contact between two surfaces would create a larger source of frictional forces, it also reduces the pressure between the two surfaces for a given force holding them together. Since pressure equals force divided by the area of contact, it works out that the increase in friction generating area is exactly offset by the reduction in pressure; the resulting frictional forces, then, are dependent only on the frictional coefficient of the materials and the FORCE holding them together. "

Affect*

[Assistant] Friction is approximately independent of surface area for two hard, smooth surfaces. However, this is not the case for the interface between rubber and asphalt, where a fat tire will indeed give you greater friction.


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

[User]
Questions about the technical details of transfering files between 2 devices (http, https, mdns, bluetooth, etc.)

Last weekend I wanted to send a few pictures from my iPhone to my friend's Android phone and it wasn't as straight-forward as it could have been. I also realized that I know surprisingly little about the technical background of sending a file from one device to another. I'd like to make a quick example to show what I (think to) know. Feel free to correct things I got wrong/add anything I missed to undersand

Let's assume we have two smartphones. One iPhone and one Android phone.

Case 1 - both smartphones are in the same Wifi:

I assume that file sending happens over http(/https?). So one smartphone opens an http server and the other phone acts as the client and file transfer is handled via http. Not that hard. I think I could code that in Python fairly quickly. But what I don't understand is how does one smartphone know that the other smarpthone "exists" and has a running http server? I obviously googled and it seems like mDNS is what makes this happen? Is that correct or is there anything else I'm missing?

Case 2 - both smartphone are out in the field and only have Bluetooth:

This is much more complicated it seems. AFAIK I cannot just add another smartphone as a bluetooth device. Also my iPhone's "Share menu" doesn't have anything like "send file via bluetooth". Why does that not exist? Is there anything wrong with Bluetooth that this is not an option? (And yes I know it is not as fast as wifi, but let's ignore that for now). Is this a technical limitation of Bluetooth? Is there really no way to do this? It just seems very odd that in 2021 I still can't just send a file from an iPhone to an Android phone or vice versa and I'd like to understand what's so complicated about this.

Thanks in advance for any input!!

[Assistant]
The only problem preventing you from easily transferring a file from iPhone to Android is Apple's refusal to allow anyone else to implement their file sharing protocol, while also refusing to release an implementation for any device not built by Apple.

TL;DR: Apple doesn't allow you to share to Android devices because fuck you.


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

[User] ELI5: In an explosion, what exactly is the concussive force you feel?

[Assistant] A pressure wave. Typically, an explosive releases a lot of really hot gas, which wants to expand outwards. This pushes on the air around it, which in turn pushes on the air around it, and so on. This propagating 'push' travels outwards and can scoop up things (like dangerous objects or, if big enough, people) not to mention do damage itself by transmitting the pressure wave to the tissues of the body.


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

[User]
How many layers are there in a modern integrated circuit?

I'm getting how the raster dictates density of elements in IC in the horizontal plane over the wafer. But as I understand, there's the third dimension - so far mostly untapped because of heat dissipation necessity; the bit of wafer in a CPU is a rather flat square, not a cube. Still, if my understanding is correct, there's more than a single layer of the components on the wafer, they are stacked to a degree. How many layers though? And how thick such a layer is?

[Assistant]
Depends on the process, of course. The current state of the art is somewhere around a 14nm process with 13 layers.

Also, flash memory makers do "die stacking" where they take flash chips and physically stack them on top of each other, adding tiny wire interconnects later. They might do 16, 32, or more dies stacked on top of each other. That's one way the been able to achieve the ssd densities we have today.


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

[User]
ELI5 why Vaseline doesn't give me face acne but simply resting my head on my pillow does?

 I wash my pillow once it gets greasy and dirty.

[Assistant]
Vaseline doesnt clog pores. So it wont cause pimples.

You need to wash your pillowcase more often than just when it gets greasy and dirty. And you need to wash your face every with a real face wash. You also sound like a teenager, which means your face is naturally producing a helluva lot more oil so you need to practice even better hygiene.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] what makes a wizard powerful?... scientifically speaking, of course.

okay. So the magic in the *Harry Potter* series is probably pretty unintelligibly subjective, right? To the extent that (I'd imagine at least) it's difficult to talk about clearly, since magic includes weird abilities, like:

\-the ability to change your shape

\-the ability to read the minds of others

\-the ability to force your will upon others, using telepathy

\-other things which, if taken in all of their implications as the series gives us, probably lead us to some contradictions (i.e. is it possible for *any* spellcaster to be a powerful opponent against one in a duel, if one can read the other's mind and the one whose mind is being read, must speak their spells out loud.)

So I understand that in a duel, it will be a most useful trait to be able to do things like send spells without saying them, read your opponent's thoughts, and cast powerful spells. But what else is being measured between two fighters in a duel?

Take, for instance, the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore, at the end of *Order of the Phoenix*. Theoretically during this fight, each of the duelists has one person they could have assist them (Harry for Dumbledore, and Bellatrix Lestrange for Voldemort) which, iirc, doesn't actually happen. But is either wizard (Voldy and Dumble) so powerful that the other two are just useless during this encounter?

If Dumbledore sends out a spell and says to Harry, "Now for the rebound!" and Harry casts a complementary spell, they're only going to help each other out so that they win, right?

That's what I'm finding confusing, I guess. I mean throughout the series "powerful magic" is shown, and hinted at as existing far beyond the experiences of one human or another; however, what is the actual nature of some of the more powerful spells shown? Are Dumbledore and Voldemort just throwing big elementals at each other during this duel (in particular, because I feel that it showcases some pretty powerful magic between two dueling wizards where otherwise duels tend to forward more dramatic issues of the plot); or are they using magic that is just so far advanced beyond an average wizard's understanding of magic  (or, potentially, Harry's or Bellatrix's), that a novice wizard is going to be completely impossibly outmatched (or not be able to be helpful)? Or is there more nuance to it than that, like a novice could've stood up and helped but Dumbledore was exclusively trying to protect Harry (because Harry was important to Dumbledore's political endgoals); and Bellatrix either isn't that powerful (and she knows it), *or* she was afraid of Dumbledore because Dumbledore is a very wise, and very old, and very powerful, character?

Thanks. This has been confusing me and it's difficult to articulate the nature of this kind of question imo.

[Assistant]
If i'm understanding your question corrextly, Imagine it as working in the same way as raw strength and training. Different people have different innate magic "strength", and different levels of training.

Imagine Hermione as someone who's really buff, and is training to be better. Someone like Ron is pretty strong, but isn't putting in the effort to use that. Someone like Neville is naturally weak, but is training really hard to be decent at fighting anyway. And Dumbledore and Voldemort are people who are both naturally ripped and heavily trained

They're the magic equivalent of, say, Muhammad Ali- not *technically* unbeatable, but might as well be for a normal person, or even for a normal boxer. They both know a lot of magic and are able to put a lot of power behind that magic meaning, yes, most other wizards are completely outmatched. They're simply top of the game, and only need to worry about the few others who've reached their level.


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

[User]
[Pokemon] Team Rocket Goon here. Why can't we just beat up these kids who keep ruining our plans?

So, I'm guarding our headwaters, and this 12 year old walks up and challenges me to a duel to enter. I send out my pokemon. His beat them. My pal sends out her pokemon. His beat them. So that's it, he's allowed in.

But can't we just, like...punch him?

We're two hardened criminals and grown adults. He's twelve. He's put his pokemon away after the fight. I feel we could knock him the fuck out before he can get out a garydos.

At the very least, could we not send out all our pokemon at once? Have out pokemon attack him? Shoot his pokemon? What's the Pokemon League gonna do, dock us points?

I dunno, boss, I feel we'd stop blasting off again if we were more willing to attack children.  We're all evil here, after all. Why are we so committed to fair play and not hurting children?

[Assistant]
Pokemon battles are sacred and carry a lot of weight.

You make eye contact and agree to the terms. If you lose, that's it. You give'em some money and follow through with the agreement.

They may be criminals but they're not *monsters.*


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

[User]
ELI5: What do potentiometers, capacitors and resistors do, and why do we need them?

I know how to look for them online, but i have no idea what the values mean, and why we need them on circuits and stuff like that.

[Assistant]
Think of the flow of electricity like the flow of water:

Voltage (Volts):Water pressure
Current (Amps):Water flow rate

Using that analogy,
Resistance (Ohms):Resistance to water flow from small diameter pipes. Small pipe, large resistance. Large pipe, small resistance.

The key thing to understand about a resistor is Ohm's Law: V/R = I. That is, the current in a circuit (I) is determined by the Voltage applied and the Resistance in the circuit. Or using the water analogy, the water flow rate depends on the water pressure and the pipe resistance. Makes sense, huh?

A potentiometer is just a variable resistor. Turn the knob and the resistance changes.

A resistor is used mostly to adjust the voltage or current in a particular part of the circuit to adjust them to be within a useful range or to make the various components all work together in the way we want.

Capacitance (Farads):Water tank with rubber sheet in the middle. (This is one of the weaker parts of the water analogy, though. It may not be that helpful.)

A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the form of an electric field. The simplest version is just two parallel metal plates that are separated by an insulator, such as air.  If you put a voltage on the capacitor, one plate will end up positively charged with respect to the other. Since you have charges separated by space, there's an electric field between them. If you remove the voltage source, the separated charges (and the E-field) remain, at least until the charges "bleed off" or are discharged somehow.

All other things being equal, a capacitor has a larger value if the plate area is larger, if the plates are closer together, or if the material between them has a higher "dielectric constant".

In a circuit, capacitors "like" changes in current, but "dislike" changes in voltage. That is, an empty capacitor will readily take on charge, and a full capacitor will readily push charge out. But the capacitor will tend to oppose rapid voltage changes across it. (Inductors store magnetic energy, and have the opposite responses to charge and voltage as a capacitor.)

One of the common ways to use a capacitor in a circuit is to help filter "noise". Small fluctuations in voltage applied across the capacitor will tend to get evened out. If the voltage applied dips a little, the capacitor supplies charge to help keep things the same (until it runs out). If the voltage goes up a little, charge will be put onto the capacitor (until it is full).

Another common use is in a "tank" circuit, along with an inductor. Because those two components respond to changing signals differently, it is possible to make a circuit with them that will tend to oscillate back and forth at some frequency. This can be used to generate signals, or to help filter them out.

Another form of tank circuit uses a capacitor and some switching device such as a transistor. The capacitor's desire to oppose sudden voltage changes can be used to help time signals, as the capacitor charges up or discharges down.

You can also do some really cool stuff with capacitors. If you charge a bunch of capacitors up in parallel, they'll all charge up to the same voltage. But if you then re-wire them (usually by using transistors as wiring switches) so that they are in series, + to -, the voltages add up. So by doing this rapidly over and over you can create a "charge pump" that can take a small voltage and multiply it to a much larger value.

Modern "supercapacitors" can store very large amounts of charge in a small area by using novel techniques to separate charge. One use of a supercapacitor is to provide a very short term power supply for an electronic device that has lost its normal power source and needs just a bit of time to do something before it runs out of juice.  There is hope that someday we will be able to make superdupercapacitors that can store so much charge that they could be used for things like portable computing devices or even cars.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does micro dosing LSD work? What are the benefits? Do you actually trip?

I've heard there can be great benefits found in taking micro doses of LSD every 4 days or so. Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

[Assistant] No you don't trip. It's taking like 15 micrograms instead of a full dose ~100 micrograms. Like medications, you don't feel anything if you just take the amount the doctor says but it still works as medicine.


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

[User] [Star Wars]Why is Raxus Prime used as a junkyard by the galaxy? What was there beforehand?

[Assistant] Raxus Prime used to be one of three capitals of the Kingdom of Cron. Used to be a beautiful place, supposedly. Then, they started a lot of factories there. About a millennium or so before the Clone Wars, it essentially became a planet covered in factories, and the companies running said factories didn't care about what their work was doing to the environment, just dumping all the slag and junk wherever it wouldn't directly interfere with their work. Eventually it became a galactic junkyard, with basically no traces of its illustrious past being visible.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why do you start to feel less hungry after not eating for longer?

If you haven't had breakfast, and it's 11:00, your starving. However, at least for me, it gets to a point where I start to feel less hungry. If I haven't eaten for 20 hours or more, I feel almost not hungry at all, compared to how starving I was a matter of a few hours ago. Of course, when I see food, I'll eat it, but I still don't feel that total ravenous hunger that I did at peak hunger, and now, despite going longer without food, I feel only mildly peckish. What's going on?

[Assistant]
Your body releases a hormone called ghrelin that makes you want to eat. This can be triggered by several things, including the time of day , or when your stomach is emptying. If you don't give in to its hunger urges, it will work its way out of your system.

After not eating for a while your body will start taking energy from glycogen reserves in your liver and muscles. After that, it moves from stored fat in your body instead, which will give you some energy and cause you to feel less hungry as well.

[EDIT: Added the step with glycogen reserves]


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

[User] Eli5 why do cloned animals die faster?

[Assistant]
The donor animal for cloning purpose already has aged so the telomeres are shorter than a new born in the donor cell.

You can imagine this by the analogy that when the cloned animal is born it is already as old as the donor animal.


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

[User] ELI5: what actually happens when you overdose? Why are some overdoses fatal while some arent?

[Assistant] In the case of opiates, the drug depresses your breathing and heart rate.  If you take too much, one or both of these things may stop altogether.  Which of course will quickly lead to death without medical attention.


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

[User] ELI5: Why doesnt alcohol separate from the rest of the beer?

[Assistant]
Alcohol and water are mutually soluble.  Like salt or sugar, alcohol (specifically ethanol here) molecules will stay in the liquid solution indefinitely.

Contrast that to most oils, which are *not* water soluble and will separate into distinct layers based on density.


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

[User] [Pokemon] So there's a guy that lives 2 houses down from me and he's a real jerk. He regularly abuses his Raichu physically attacking it constantly and it won't fight back. What kind of anti-abuse measures are there for pokemon?

[Assistant] Well, Nurse Joy runs a pokemon sanctuary. But because pokemon can generally defend themselves, there isn't much law on the books about the abuse of them. Most people don't try. In this case, I'd suggest you call the authorities to come look into the situation and explain that the raichu won't defend himself and then let them handle it from there.


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

[User]
What are raw ingredients used in artificial flavors?

FDA defines artificial flavors as;
"any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, which is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof."

Are these all really never used in artificial flavors? I am curious to know what natural ingredients are that make up the 'strawberry', or 'orange' flavoring.

[Assistant] Some artificial flavors are the same chemicals as those found naturally. For example, octyl acetate provides the main flavor for citrus fruits. This can be found naturally or produced by the reaction of 1-octanol (can be made via the Ziegler alcohol synthesis) and acetic acid (vinegar). This alternative may be cheaper and more industrially feasible than smushing oranges. You don't get the nuances of the many other molecules that contribute to the flavor of oranges, but you get the gist of the flavor for cheap.


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

[User]
How are antibodies transferred by breastfeeding?

According to quite reputable sources, antibodies can be passed on from mother to infant by breastfeeding. The problem I'm having is that it seems to contradict my knowledge of digestion and absorption.

Antibodies are proteins. Proteins are large molecules that are too big to move through cell membranes on their own (i.e. without a vesicle). So, proteins are broken down into amino acids in the stomach by proteases, which can then be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Considering this, how is it that antibodies are able to move through the infant's digestive system without destruction, and then pass through into the blood, thus transferring immunity? Does the infant's digestive system operate differently? Is there something in the colostrum that aids this?

[Assistant]
The antibodies that are secreted in milk have special modifications which cause them to resist proteolytic activity and low pH.  Once they get through the stomach, they are reabsorbed by special receptors in the intestinal epithelium.  Because they are recognized by receptors, they enter the cell though endocytosis and travel through the cell by transcytosis - thereby avoiding degradation in the absorbing cell.  After that, they are trafficked to the bloodstream.

Edit:  Duh low pH, not high pH.


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

[User]
[DOOM 2016] Why is it necessary to destroy Vega?

The computer running Vega consumes a lot of energy, and Hayden needs that energy to send the Slayer back to Hell. That makes sense.

Why can't Vega simply be switched off? Why go through the process of destroying his cooling systems and core processor?

(I only recently picked up Eternal and haven't yet finished it, so apologies if it's answered there.)

[Assistant]
Eternal answers why you can't just "switch him off".

But it's not just a question of shutting the machinery down and redirecting the power into a portal. The previous events with Olivia Pierce made it almost impossible to open a "safe" portal with what was on hand in a reasonable amount of time. So in order to punch a hole in reality, Vega's reactor had to be melted down in a specific way so the argent energy could rip (and tear) a new portal to hell. It was the only way to get there in time.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do we sometimes feel more awake if we slept very little (less than 5 hours) than if we slept a normal amount (7 - 8 hours)?

Today I woke up at 5 am, hours before my alarm. Yet I felt more rested than I did yesterday when I woke up on time and slept for about 8 hours. Why are our brains so weird?

[Assistant] If you wake up betweem REM sleeps, you feel fine. Interupting a REM sleep makes you feel exhausted. If im not mistaken we get like up to 6 REM sleeps per night. After reaching 3 you could feel fine. But waking up halfway in REM sleep could make you feel exhausted.


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

[User]
[DC] Why isn't the phantom zone used more often?

It seems like a really convenient solution to dangerous villains, why isn't Luthor or the Joker in there?

[Assistant] The phantom zone is really, really unpleasant. Partially because it's like spending eternity in the mist of the One Ring, and partially because it is full of extremely evil Kryptonians who would probably violently attack anyone who isn't also Kryptonian.


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

[User]
[Lord of the Rings] Are the inhabitants of Middle Earth aware of the existence of their god, Eru, and the things that go along with that?

Just reading through some lore, and I havent read the books in ten years. But I dont seem to recall the race of Men ever referencing the higher powers.

The elves I would assume know of their existance as many of them were THERE at the beginning?

But in general how aware are people of things like Eru, Manwe, the Dagor Dagorath, the creation of the world?

Are they aware that beings like Gandalf exist beyond just being wizards, even if they dont know he is just more than that?

Feel free to rattle of anything you know!

[Assistant]
The worship of Eru-Illuvitar was common among the Edain, who dwelled among the Elves in Beleriand, and also among the Numenorians. Sauron, in his time in Numenor corrupted some of the Men of Numenor to Melkor worship, as opposed to those who worshipped Eru-Illuvitar. The worshipers of Eru fled Numenor, lead by Elendil and formed the Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. So the Men of Gondor and the Dunedain would carry this on as the descendents of Numenor.

It wasn't as common among the Middle Men, who were related to the Edain, but didn't dwell in Belereiand, and didn't live closely among the Elves, such as the Men of Rohan and Dale.

The Elves of course knew the Istari for what they were. Some Elves even being old enough to have lived with them in Valinor before they came to Middle Earth. Men took the Istari for Wizards, because they didn't know their true nature.


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

[User] ELI5:Why are most lids not recyclable, but their containers are?

[Assistant]
The lids usually are as well. Unfortunately, although it is standard practice to mark the container, it is not as common  to mark the lid with what plastic it is made from. Mostly the lids are made out of the same material as the container, but this is not always the case. For example: yogurt containers are usually made from polypropylene (PP), while the lids are usually made from polyethyleneteraphthalate (PET).

Plastics may not be compatible with each other when they are reprocessed. So if the plastic is unknown, it must be avoided to stop contamination to other known plastics.

This means that although the lids could be perfectly recyclable, they will often have to be discarded to landfill. Yes, this is a stupid system. It could easily be avoided by requiring all lids to be marked as well as the container.


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

[User] ELI5:What is "Hardware Acceleration" and how does it work?

[Assistant]
Your CPU is a general purpose processor. What that means is that the circuits and low level code for it are designed to be adaptable to perform a wide variety of calculations easily. This comes at a cost, speed and efficiency. It is possible to build circuits that do only one thing, and do it very well.

For instance, if your computer didn't have to do deal with integers, it is possible to construct a specialized processor that processes only floating point numbers at much higher speeds. A Graphics processor or GPU is a very good example of this. A GPU is a specialized chip that can perform graphics operations several times faster than your CPU can. So if you had to process graphics, your CPU will hand them off to the GPU and wait for the result. In such a system the graphics are said to be "hardware accelerated", which means that you have specialized hardware to do certain types of processing very fast.

Other examples of common uses for hardware acceleration include movie processing, physics calculation in games and simulations and math processing.


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

[User]
ELI5: why does skin become dry after repeatedly washing it? why does it not get hydrated?

I work in a restaraunt and wash my hands often. Due to that, my hands are very dry and crack easily

Why does washing your hands dehydrate skin rather than hydrating it?

[Assistant] Your skin has natural oils on it to protect it from drying, like a sheet of wax paper. The moisture stays in your body, but washing repeatedly with soap gets rid of the oils and essentially opens your pores to the air, allowing them to lose the moisture. This is why it's a good idea to use lotion when possible (I work FOH and use an unscented brand) because it recreates that barrier on your skin.


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

[User] What caused the spanish flu outbreak in 1918 to be one of the deadliest outbreaks ever? What made this version of the flu so deadly vs other flus?

[Assistant]
There were multiple factors at work. Here are two that come to mind.
1) WWI - many thousands of soldiers living in close proximity to each other. Sick soldiers get packed into infirmaries like sardines and the virus is spread by either direct contact or by medical staff.
2) Immune reaction - usually, you would expect to see deaths occurring in populations with a below average immune response (ie, the old and the very young). Not this virus! Healthy people DROWNED in the detritus left by their own immune system. Also the young and old died in the usual numbers.


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

[User]
AskScience AMA Series: Let's talk ticks! We are experts from WebMD and Johns Hopkins Medicine here to answer your questions about preventing tick bites and Lyme disease - Ask Us Anything!

Hello, Reddit. I am Dr. Michael Smith, WebMD's chief medical director. Have a question about ticks? We'll cover everything from ways to protect from tick bites to first aid steps to take if one bites you. AMA!

Hi Reddit, we are John Aucott, and Mark Soloski and we are researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine studying ticks and Lyme disease. Ever wonder why Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections have become so common? What makes some people get sicker than others? And how can we prevent and diagnose Lyme disease - that the classic bull's eye target is not as common as people think? We cover everything from fundamental research to clinical treatments - AUA!

We will begin answering questions at 12pET (17 UT). Ask us anything!

[Assistant] I've read a few times that there is a perfectly good vaccine for Lyme's that is essentially held back because of anti-vax hysteria. Is this true, and if so, what are the prospects for getting it to happen?


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

[User]
[Walking Dead] So how long does a nice wooden Bo staff hold up getting smashed against zombie skulls?

Do they need to be cured or can someone walking the land just pick up fresh saplings or whatever?

[Assistant] 3ish years of slow rot has made most walker skulls into little more than soggy melons. Daryl was able to kill a bunch just by swinging a chain at them. So really any sturdy stick with a good heft to it should be able to last a good while. Especially if you know exactly how to use it like the new and improved monk version of Morgan does.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do people treat Chewbacca like that?

They act like he's an animal or refer to him as a "thing."  With the vast amount of unique looking alien species in the galaxy why do people treat Chewbacca in such a specifically degrading manner?

[Assistant] The only ones who do so are Imperials, who are notably... less than enthusiastic about Wookiees considering they enslaved them, and Leia, who gives literally everyone attitude as a way to cope with, you know, just being tortured.


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

[User]
CMV: The emergence of "have it your way" rhetoric in advertising is fueling anti-intellectualism and anti-expert ideology

Hi CMV,

This is an idea I've been exploring for a while. Not in any formal way just something I've come to believe over time.

Recently, there have been a lot of advertisements on tv, etc. where the rhetoric they use is very against the typical one size fits all approach to offering products and services. Whether it's something as insignificant as Burger King, or as important as a life insurance policy, there's been a rise in "have it your way" advertising.

I think this is wrong and fuels public distrust of experts. Most people have no idea what life insurance policy they need. Part of buying a policy is a consultation, no matter how brief or in what form (i.e. in person, phone, or a brochure) with someone who knows more information than you do. That system isn't perfect, but it's better than a bunch of people who don't know what they're talking about making decisions that they're not qualified to make. A great example of this is the anti-vax movement. Despite the near consensus of experts and doctors saying vaccines are safe and effective (not just for Covid), people still "do their own research" and come to the wrong conclusion because of bad information. But the rhetoric all of these people speak with uses the language of choice, preference, and risk tolerance, all distinct features of a customization-focused society.

I might be coining this, but I'm going to call this the "Custom Burger Fallacy".

Basically the custom burger fallacy goes like this. Someone goes to a restaurant, looks at the menu, and sees, among the chef-created options, is a list of free and premium toppings that you can add to a custom burger, with a choice of ground meats as well. The customer thinks to themselves "I like these ingredients, so I'm going to make a burger with them". But when the sandwich gets to their table, it's too salty, too greasy, and there's clearly way too many toppings on the burger and they're all falling out. The flavors of the individual toppings do not compliment each other, and the customer is left disappointed with their choices.

This scenario might seem niche and ridiculous, but it begs the question: Does the customer know better than the chef what toppings will be good on their burger?

That question applies to so many things we all care about. The barriers to technical knowledge of certain subjects are immense. Certain jobs exist solely for the purpose of ensuring that people get what they actually want despite not having all of the information they need to make informed decisions. This isn't a case against democracy either in politics or in general life, but rather a call for people to humble themselves and admit that some people know more than they do about certain topics.

So, am I reading too deeply into something mundane and unimportant?

[Assistant] Is anyone really under the impression that Burger King burgers are made by a chef who is some sort of expert on burgers? This sort of fast food job is often used as the archetypal example of an unskilled worker.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why is Asgard so backward in terms of technology??

They still use swords, shields and spears. Their aircrafts are weak and (i think) not capable of space travel. Their air defense couldn't take out 5000 year old ships. They rely on the the bifrost as the primary source of transportation.

What's weird is that the Dark elves who reigned during the the time of Thor's grandfather were advanced enough to use guns and various other technologies and are better than modern day Asgardians.

I feel like Yondu and his Ravagers could easily invade Asgard if it weren't for the main characters.

They probably won't stand a chance against Ronan The Accuser as well.

How could the protector of nine realms be so backward in technology.

[Assistant]
They're bored.

Asgardians *have* interstellar travel technology, and their guards use (energy-based) projectile weapons, but the leaders of the Asgardians are nigh-immortal and can level cities without much trouble.

Their warrior culture is so ingrained in them, though, that destroying an army from afar just doesn't seem honorable to them. Because of that, those techniques have been (mostly) lost to time.

And while they do throw themselves into the thick of things, it's not like they've greatly reduced their offensive capabilities. Mjolnir looks like a hammer, but it acts like a nuclear weapon ... if Thor wants it to. Similarly, the bifrost was a much more efficient means of travel than any spaceship, at least until Loki messed everything up.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do football players (soccer) need to rest for at least three days between games when hockey players can play four games in a week?

Well, the title says it all. I really don't understand this.

[Assistant]
In hockey the players aren't playing the full 60 minutes through 3 periods. There are generally 3 lines of players that rotate every few minutes.
Doing fantasy hockey, high play times are in the 26-28 min range. Generally its about 14-16 minutes.

Soccer on the other hand has players on the field for 90 minutes through 2 half's. The teams only get 2 sub's so players are expected to be out there the entire game. That's A LOT more playing time than most other sports. Therefore those players need more of a break.


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

[User]
I don't believe anything is being done to thwart global warming, CMV.

Preface : Upon searching CMV topics on global warming, it returned a lot of results relating to debates of whether or not global warming is actually happening. That's not my argument. Frankly, given the scientific evidence that's out there today, I believe you're an ignorant fool if you deny climate change, and the fact humans are speeding up the process.

As for my CMV, I don't think there's enough being done to stop or slow climate change beyond the point of catastrophic point of no return. Perhaps I only see sensationalist or negative news sources, but I'm quite prepared to CMV if someone can present to me, that there is in fact, a lot of positive change being conducted, and it's working.

Until then, I think we're all fucked.

[Assistant]
Long term, battery technology will slowly continue to improve, solar power will get cheaper, and if we continue to rely on them, fossil fuels will get more expensive. New nuclear power plants would also be a good way to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

I expect more direct action will be taken when insurance companies start taking the threat seriously.


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

[User]
How do we know Uranus's atmosphere is made of ammonia?

I've often read about how Uranus's atmosphere is composed primarily of ammonia. This has puzzled me, since we have  never ever been to Uranus and probably never will be able to go, and it's also hard to wrap my head around the fact that the same substance used in household cleaning solutions is also the main component of the atmosphere of a remote planet in the outer reaches of our solar system. Can we tell just by looking at the color of Uranus's atmosphere? I'd imagine it's impossible to determine what a distant planet's atmosphere is made up of considering we've never actually gone there.

[Assistant]
So first off, this is incorrect.

About 80% of Uranus' atmosphere is hydrogen. Follow that with another 16% or so of helium, and then a few percent left over for methane, ammonia, water, and hydrogen sulfide, in that order.

Now, how do we know this? It's a combination of...

- Spectroscopy. By analyzing the sunlight reflected by the planet, we can tell that various compounds that various compounds in the atmosphere absorb certain colors of light. This provides a molecular fingerprint for these substances...though some are actually really difficult to detect this way.

- Density analysis. We know how big Uranus is and we know how massive it is (Voyager 2 flew past in 1986 and determined both of these very accurately), which means we also know its density. We also have some knowledge of how density varies throughout the interior based on gravitational anomalies that were picked up by Voyager 2. We can build computer models and see how large a planet of 1 Uranus-mass of various composition ends up being, and what its density at each layer would be, and how closely that matches our observations.

- Some chemistry. We know from the above that Uranus is mostly hydrogen-dominated, which means that any other atoms will likely be hydrogen-saturated. Oxygen? Surround it with two hydrogens and you get water. Nitrogen? Surround it with three hydrogens and you get ammonia. Carbon? Surround it with 4 hydrogens and you get methane. Sulfur? Surround it with two hydrogens and get hydrogen sulfide.


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[User] ELI5 why does water get louder as it gets hotter and then quieter once it's actually boiling?

[Assistant]
When water boils, it's getting so hot that parts of it are becoming a gas, pushing the rest of the water away and rising up in bubbles to escape as steam.

As you heat a pot of water from the bottom, the bottom layers get hot enough to boil first. Bubbles of steam form and rise into the relatively cooler water. Here the steam cools and loses energy until it can no longer hold the water apart anymore to form a bubble. Suddenly the bubble collapses as the water slams down around it.

This is the loud sound you hear, and it goes away once the water is heated throughout and the bubbles can pass through it to escape by popping more quietly at the surface.

If you stir a pot of boiling water vigorously as it heats up, you can get rid of this loud phase of boiling.


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

[User]
[Zombies] Could we mass compost live zombies as a tactic?

Say I dig a massive hole in the ground and cover with veggies, food scraps all that stuff then lure zombies in and when they are packed tight put another layer on top. would the heat from the composting be enough to eventually destroy their brains and break down their bodies?

[Assistant]
Given the slow rate of decay that many zombie scenarios show - once the initial post-death phase has passed - with Zs still being around and looking much the same years later, it is often suggested that the Zombie pathogen actually inhibits further decay once it takes over the corpse.

Composting clearly depends on a continuing decay of the material, and it is the decay that generates the heat, so in these cases, it would depend on whether the decay inhibition would spread to the surrounding material and stop it from decaying, and whether one could pack enough decaying material around a significnat number of Zs - and keep it there for long enough, without the Zs getting back out - to do the job.

Overall, even if it would work, it seems like an awful lot of hard work to a) dig the hole b) gather enough suitable material c) get everything in place (and keep it all there) for the possible end result.


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

[User] ELI5: How do transgender sexual organs function?

[Assistant]
Both men and women have a urethra, which is a tube that connects to the bladder. Male to female reassignment surgery snips and reroutes the tube to a urethral opening like what a woman has, and creates a separate orifice for the vaginal canal. Female to male reassignment surgery extends/stretches the urinal canal with a tube which ends at the tip of the penis. There isn't much need to reroute a second tube into the urethra like how a cisgendered male's urethra is connected both to the bladder and testes, because a FtM man cannot produce ejaculate so the second "tube" connecting is pointless.

Vaginas of MtF women work pretty much the same way as natural vaginas from an intercourse perspective. Reproductively speaking there's no uterus or ovaries so MtF women are universally infertile, but in terms of the mechanics of how intercourse is performed it's the same basic idea, there's an orifice which is stimulated by penetration and external stimulation.

FtM men's penises are generally non-functional sexually, which is part of why FtM genital reassignment is less common. Surgeons can construct a reasonable facsimile for a penis, and it can be sexually sensitive to the point that orgasm is possible, but we don't have the ability to surgically create a penis which can achieve natural erections upon arousal. The only existing solution is to insert a prosthetic device which can go limp or stiff depending on user control, so, the patient essentially has a "boner button" that they can turn on and off as needed.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do meteors burn when they enter Earth's atmosphere?

[Assistant] The answers here mentioning friction are incorrect. While friction plays a small role it's not responsible for the main heating. When a fast moving object enters the atmosphere the air in front of it is compressed rapidly and can't get out of the way quick enough. When gases are compressed they heat up, this massive pressure wave in front of the object is responsible for the vast majority of heating especially at higher points in the atmosphere.


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[User] Where did the Earth's atmosphere come from? Did it just somehow already have one when it formed, or pass through a gas cloud in space, or create its own gas somehow?

[Assistant]
Earth has had several atmospheres, all wildly different from each other.

The first one consisted of the lightest elements from the accretion disc that formed Earth in the first place.  So it consisted mainly of hydrogen and helium.  But they are so lightweight that they escaped high into the atmosphere, to be carried off by the solar wind.

The second one was a product of Earth itself, from volcanic outgassing and the like.  Mostly nitrogen and CO2, plus whatever happened to be dumped here by cometary impacts.

The third and current one was created by life, which consumed the atmospheric CO2 and liberated the oxygen contained therein.  The carbon got sequestered as coal and whatnot.


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

[User] ELI5: why is it that some metals like zinc and iron are essential for our bodies while other metals like lead and Mercury are toxic?

[Assistant]
We have enzymes in our body called metalloenzymes that contain metals to catalyze chemical reactions or maintain the enzyme's structure. These essential metals include iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, copper, cobalt and a few others.

Most metalloenzymes work only with their original metal in it. For instance if you replace the zinc atom in the enzyme *Carbonic anhydrase* with another metal, it can't function anymore. Some of the toxic metals you mentioned are similar in e.g. size or charge to these native metals, which means they 'fit' in the same spaces. So when lead or mercury enters a cell, it can replace the 'natural' metals inside the enzyme. (In many cases it even binds more strongly to the enzym than the original metal, making it harder to get out of there as well.)


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

[User]
Have the amount of Dark Matter changed with the age of the universe?

As in, if we look back in time at galaxies far away, do they seem to have as much dark matter as closer galaxies do? Shouldn't dark matter be more "clumped up" in the early days of the universe, since it hadn't expanded as much?

[Assistant]
All you said is correct. Basically, the number of dark matter particles in a comoving region of the Universe is conserved (in the simplest models and after derelativistisation). However the volume of the region is increasing due to cosmological expansion. Therefore the number density (which is proportional to the mass/energy density) decreases as a^-3 , where a(t) is the scale factor describing the "size" of the Universe at time t.

So dark matter decreases in density on average.


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[User] [Dishonored] What do we know of the world outside the Empire?

[Assistant]
It's mostly ocean. Endless, extremely dangerous oceans.

There's at least one other continent, the Pandyssian continent. The terrain is mostly jungle and mountainous. It is the largest known landmass in the world and, so far, there is no evidence that there is any kind of advanced civilisation in any of the admittedly few areas that have been explored. There are a number of primitive tribes, though contact with them has been limited and often bloody on both sides.

The Pandyssian continent also has a very alien ecosystem, with creatures far different than most of what is found on the Isles. There are reports of massive 'land whales' and fish that leap out of the water to skewer prey with posion spines. The rat-plague is also theorised to have come from here, imported with the bull-rates on some ships returning from one of the many ill-fated expeditions.

There's also another landmass somewhere to the north west but it's true size, nature, and even location have yet to be properly discovered.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does warm air blow down on you when you exit some buildings through automatic doors in the winter?

[Assistant] They are air curtains. The concept is that they are using airflow to prevent the warm inside air from escaping out and the cold outside air from coming inn. And just in case some outside air does get inn they make sure the air that forms the inside part of the air curtain is kept at a higher temperature then the rest of the store so that it will heat up any of the cold outside air coming inn to room temperature.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why cant smartphones play multiple audio sources at the same time but computers can?

I have not seen a single smart phone device that is able to play multiple audio sources at once. Though I have seen it happen as a glitch so it seems like its not an intended feature. Is this due to limitations on the hardware or lack of demand? Why is it that on my computer I can have 10 different YouTube videos running but when I try to listen to a podcast and play a game on a phone I cant?

[Assistant] it's entirely capable of doing so, but the os and software generally prevent this because a phone is designed to be easily usable by the common non-tech person. if there were suddenly 8 different things playing at the same time, there's no nice way to selectively turn them off or stop them on a phone's ui and form factor.


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

[User]
Which medical procedures have a different application when treating a woman or a man?

In a post about a woman complaining in the Scottish Parliment about trans people beeing able to change their birth certificate many comments pointed out that this would bring a lot of problems becouse many emergencies are treated different when the pacient is a woman or a man, but there where no examples given (that I could find). So what better place to settle this doubt!

[Assistant]
Urinary catheterization.

Abdominal pain origin can be misinterpreted.

Teratogenic medications could be accidentally used.

Eclamptic seizure could be misdiagnosed as a normal seizure and treated with a benzodiazipines instead of magnesium sulfate.

Checking for recent history of use of phosphodiesterase inhibitors before administration of nitrates could be missed.


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

[User]
Why do we talk & act like we're drunk when we become exhausted?

As someone who's had plenty of nights *that* drunk & also had work days that seemed to never end (not at the same time)... I've always wondered this.

Can anyone explain this to me?

EDIT: thank you kindly to those that replied with intent to truly answer my question.  Best response (& scariest) so far, by cough_e:

>When you are sleep deprived your body still produces GABA. Caffeine or other energy stimulants typically work to increase excitatory neurotransmitters, but the effects of GABA will ultimately outwork these supplements, especially in the brain.

O_o...

[Assistant]
Although this thread seems to be a downvote magnet, no one has really answered the question.

Although there are other factors at play, the main reason your body feels tired is because an increase in the neurotransmitter gamma-Aminobutyric acid, or GABA. This is an inhibitor that blocks the normal excitability of neurons throughout the body.

When you are sleep deprived your body still produces GABA. Caffeine or other energy stimulants typically work to increase excitatory neurotransmitters, but the effects of GABA will ultimately outwork these supplements, especially in the brain. As your body attempts to fall asleep (despite your paper being due tomorrow morning) GABA begins to shut down your brain's control of the physical functions it uses when awake.

The cerebellum is a major brain segment that controls really basic tasks, such as walking and talking. Since these are only useful when awake and the cerebellum is at the bottom of the brain, it gets targeted first by GABA. It's clear to see why when someone gets overly tired, their abilities to walk and talk would become a bit impaired. If they became even more sleep deprived, their abilities to think and reason would also begin to shut down.

Not surprisingly, alcohol also increases the production of GABA, which is why it is a depressant. All the same consequences of sleep deprivation are equal to and amplified by the intake of alcohol. From losing "inhibitions" to losing balance and slurring speech, GABA increase leads to the shutdown of basic brain functions.


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

[User]
[DC Comics] How well known is Catwoman's identity?

I would assume that the court systems would be aware that Selina Kyle is Catwoman, unless new canon is that she's never ever been caught by the police/Batman. As such, how would Selina's marriage with Bruce be seen? Especially if she is still seen moonlighting as Catwoman in the arms of Batman? Or would there marriage be completely in the shadows and never mentioned in the public eye?

[Assistant] Catwoman isnt really in the public eye much at all, really. Shes not a prime-time news worthy super villain, shes hardly ever caught by the actual authorities, and shes pretty good at living off the grid. Shes a lot better at what she does than most costumed Gothamites.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can infinity be used in mathematical equations?

I did a quick search for ELI5 questions on infinity and didn't find exactly what I was looking for.

I understand that infinity is "important to physics", and frequently used in a lot of advanced mathematics, but I can't wrap my head around that. For instance, when a calculator uses **** in a calculation, it obviously can't use an infinite version of **** - at some point it just has to round it off (which is probably good enough for most uses of ****). Otherwise, it would require an infinite amount of time to "realize" the number before it could do anything with it.

How is ****, or any form of infinite number, actually used in any equation or calculation by mathematicians or physicists without some form of rounding or treating it merely as an abstraction/variable? (Abstraction/variable like, if I make up a symbol "&&&", I could say "(&&&+9)-(&&&+7)=(&&&+2)" but that ignores whatever "&&&" might mean. I don't actually "calculate" the symbol "&&&")

[Assistant]
I think you're combining a couple of related concepts, which might be leading to the confusion.

Pi isn't infinite, but it does have an infinite number of digits, which are two different things. Like you guessed, your calculator will have a rounded-off version of it, and that's good enough. In actual math work with it, though, they treat pi sort of like you would a variable. Pi divided by 2 is just dealt with as pi/2, and 3 added to pi is just dealt with as pi + 3. If at the end of everything they need some decimal version of it, that's when they do a rounded off calculation, but in a lot of cases, that's not important.

 isn't a number (except in some obscure types of math), so an operation like  + 3 is meaningless and isn't done. It'll come up in things like limits, where the idea is that a mathematician wants to know what happens to an equation when a variable gets bigger and bigger, but they're not actually doing any operations on  itself.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40K] Can the Emperor be seduced? Why didn't he try to make the Primarchs the old fashioned way? Does he have sexual urges?

Bonus Question: Is he sexually attractive to us humans or would he come off too most as too intimidating?

[Assistant] To take a page from a far away galaxy, there's legends of anarchistic offspring called sensei, but the Inquisition hunts them down in their grimdark. They can shape shift, are resistant to possession, and hate authority.