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

[User]
CMV: Science and Religion can coexist, mixing well.

All my life Ive been raised as a Christian. Ive went from church to church, denomination to denomination, before settling on UCC (United Church of Christ). But Ive also had a passion for science and I like to have facts and experimental proof of the things I believe. Of course, science and religion are total opposite sides of the spectrum, but I feel I cant be too strongly on the side of either. Religion is a philosophy based on faith and faith alone while science is knowledge based on definite proof through observation. But I think science can of course be wrong because since its based of what we can see, there may be more to it than meets the eye or what can be measured. With religion, it can get unbearably far fetched and there is little proof. Despite the contradictions Ive come to believe that God, as in YWH does exist and that Jesus was indeed the son of god. And I do believe that science is mostly right also. I think that the stories about God creating the universe or the stories about Adam and Eve for example arent necessarily true. I think god as a superior being needed to convey the message that he created everything in a way that is simple enough for a human to understand. This would explain why science tells use about the Big Bang and evolution yet the Bible tells us fable like stories. Ive been told that my view makes sense and Ive also been told that its faulty logic, which Im totally open for accepting. Im curious about other peoples thoughts and their reasoning for why I may be wrong.

[Assistant]
The problem with this view of coexistence is that it's completely one-sided. A religious "truth" will always need to lose against a scientific "truth" because science is based on the demonstrable, and religion is based on faith.

If religion tells you lighting bolts are thrown by Thor, and then science demonstrates how a buildup of negative charges causes a electrical discharge between the clouds and the ground, then so much for Thor.

There's no plausible scenario where things go the other way - where science says we can demonstrate that something is a certain way, but religion comes in and shows that science is wrong.

This isn't coexistence.


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

[User] ELI5: How come the earth/ground isn't collapsing when we pump billions of gallons of oil out of the ground?

[Assistant]
The majority of the time spent wells don't need to be filled with water. When drilling an oil well when you reach the oil it tends to be in pockets of sandstone since the rock has high permeability and porosity. If you aren't familiar porosity is the amount and size of the holes, or pore space, in the rocks, permeability is whether or not these holes are connected to each other. These pockets don't just contain oil. They contain gas and brackish water as well. The fluids are separated due to density differences. When you pump the oil of of the ground you increase the volume of space that the gas can occupy. The pressure in the well stays about the same, with the added space in the hole, water from the geological formation is also able to fill the void space.

TL;DR Gas in the well expands, water from the formation which was at a lower pressure than the water in the well is now able to flow in and fill the void space, which keeps the volume of the well nearly constant.


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

[User] [Alien] The group Ripley was traveling with had an assortment of different guns. Why did she "euthanize" clone 7 using a *flamethrower*, probably one of the worst ways to die imaginable?

[Assistant] She wasn't thinking straight. And she really, really wanted to torch the lab. And there may have been a bit of projected self-loathing mixed in, seeing as how they were both human-xenomorph hybrids and the original Ripley's instincts were to kill xenomorphs with fire.


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

[User] ELI5: What happens to a person's debt when they die?

[Assistant]
When you die, all of your assets (stuff you own) and debts (stuff you owe) become part of your estate.  Outstanding debts are settled from your assets and the remainder is distributed to people based on either your will, your state's property laws, or both.

If you die owing more than you have, the creditors may go after people who co-signed the debt with you.  If there isn't anyone, they will just write it off and move on.


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

[User] What happens to the air that got inside ones body after open surgery?

[Assistant] For an abdominal surgery, its actually pretty painful.  Imagine a bloated feeling like you have to fart and not being able to fart.  Eventually the air is absorbed into your blood and expelled, but it is an uncomfortable post surgery side effect.


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

[User] Why don't squirrels, rabbits and other animals recognize vehicles as predators and avoid them better?

[Assistant] Evolution take a much longer time than that - selective pressures act very, very slowly.  Especially considering that even if you take one generation to be a year, cars have only been around for 100 generations and in widespread use for even less.


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

[User]
[Faster Than Light] Why are there indicator lights on ship mounted weapons, that show when the weapon is fully charged?

Wouldn't it be an advantage if the enemy didn't know, when you're ready to fire?

[Assistant]
The ship UI in FTL is just that: a simple graphical representation of the immense amount of information that is provided by sensors and other instruments. The information is show on the weapons, not because the enemy is choosing to display it there, but because that's a useful place to put that form of sensor information.

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to prevent enemies from acquiring that information. Even very basic, external scans can reveal the level of charge available to a ship's guns.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are there still a few operating Blockbusters, and where does the money that they make go?

[Assistant] Blockbuster was bought by Dish Network, and they've so far decided to leave open a few franchised stores.  Any money they make is split between Dish Network and the franchise owner according to the terms of their franchise agreement.


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

[User]
I believe every bar that serves hard liquor should be required to have a breathalyzer/s that patrons have easy access to. CMV.

I searched for breathalyzer before submitting this. One user suggested mandatory ignition interlock devices for every vehicle. That's a bridge too far in my opinion. Too invasive. But I think allowing every bar hopper the opportunity to make sure they are safe to drive makes sense. Not everyone would partake in the option, but it would surely reduce the amount of drunk driving to some degree. CMV!

(Here are the things I'm undecided on and open to debate)
1. Should restaurants that serve liquor be required to follow this or should some distinction be drawn between restaurants and bars? I'm leaning towards some distinction.
2. Should bars be allowed to charge for usage of their breathalyzer/s? I'm leaning towards yes.

[Assistant]
Imagine the following scenario:  You go out to the bar and have two drinks.  You use their breathalyzer, and are just under the legal limit.  Then on the way home you get pulled over, and the officer's breathalyzer shows you to be just *above* the legal limit.

Such an outcome is bound to happen, and someone would certainly look to sue the bar.  Quite the disincentive.  How would you solve for that?


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

[User]
Is it true that one of the best predictors for seeing benefit from therapy is if you think you will see benefit from therapy? .. and if that is true, what distinguishes therapy from placebo?

I wondering if you smart people have thought about this problem?

[Assistant] Its about being open towards new things and ideas. The greatest predictor for a positive outcome is if you feel connected to and understood by your therapist. In German, its called Therapiebeziehung (therapy relationship).


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is there a Windows 32-bit and 64-bit?

It seems to be a headache for developers. Kerbal space program for instance, a regular 32-bit version and a 64-bit version that is buggy and has to be maintained, meanwhile being highly requested by a community who have 30+ mods and no RAM to spare.

64-bit seems better in all respects. It is also a higher number. Why wasn't Win 32-bit phased out ages ago and everything would be 64-bit and fast like a racecar?

[Assistant]
Because Win-32 was a standard for many many years and a lot of people aren't interested in buying a new computer that's required to move beyond it.

The 32 bit register was an absolute rock-solid performer as a desktop CPU throughout the 80's and 90's. It provided more than enough power for the applications of the day, and if you wanted something more powerful (something that really only hobbyists or businesses needed or wanted), you simply bought a beefier non-desktop computer.

Then, as we continued to ramp up the complexity and amount of information that our computers had to handle, and as they spread everywhere, it was necessary to increase the amount of variations of instructions and information handling that the computers could perform. They did that by adding more bits to the registry, moving the industry to 64-bits. And because the way the computer worked to be able to handle these extra bits was so different, you needed a new 64-bit operating system.

But going to 64 bits also required you to buy an entirely new computer... and that was something that a huge part of the market wasn't interested in doing. They were happy with their unit's 32-bit performance, it suited them just fine because they weren't power users wanting the latest and greatest capabilities.

So the market had to split into the part that services all of the older 32-bit systems out there, and those that wanted more performance on a 64-bit machine. Since there's no one monopoly supplier that could tell the whole market "Upgrade now or I'll turn off your computer" without driving themselves out of business, movement to 64 bit is a gradual thing as people replace their older computers, and 32-bit systems still need their own software versions.


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

[User]
If I had a sealed room filled with butane gas, and a lighter filled with oxygen, would it light in the same way a normal lighter does?

Would it burn with the same small flame?

Edit: Oxygen as in air. Oops!

Edit 2: Wow incredible response. Expected a couple of replies at most!

[Assistant] Well, if we ignore the other aspects that'd make an "oxygen lighter" hard to create, then yeah, it'd pretty much look the same. Many reactions use a stream of oxygen to create an exothermal reaction in an enviroment filled with the reactant, which looks a lot like the lighter you described.


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

[User]
[DC/Batman] Why did Jason Todd decide to name himself after The Joker's former alias?

Why did Jason Todd name himself Red Hood. Did he know that The Joker formerly used that name or did he hear Batman mention it at some point and thought he'd start using it?

[Assistant] Jason Todd is an asshole, pure and simple. He knew all about the first Red Hood and what it meant to Batman, so he chose it just to rile him up and get him dwelling on his mistakes (Inadvertently creating the Joker, and being unable to save Jason himself).


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

[User] [Chemistry] When you burn a pan, boiling water with vinegar in it makes it a lot easier to clean up. Why does that happen?

[Assistant]
Vinegar is an acetic acid solution.  Acetic acid is a weak acid, and vinegar is usually pretty dilute, but even considering that it has a pH of about 2.5, which is vastly more acidic than water.

The heat coupled with the acidity breaks down whatever you got stuck to your pan faster than just water and heat would.


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

[User] [Star Trek]if the klingons built a ship that could fire whilst cloaked, why not mass produce them?

[Assistant]
What you have to understand is that a 'cloak' is not a binary thing. It is an ever advancing field of stealth technology that obscures a ship against a range of sensors - visual, subs-space etc. As sensors advance, so do cloaks. A cloak from the era of that illustrious captain James T. Kirk, would be completely detectable and hence not a true 'cloak' to the sensors of, say, the Enterprise D under Jean-Luc Picard.

The Klingon ship in question could fire under cloak, but technological advances subsequently rendered its cloak detectable. The Klingon Empire went on to develop better cloaks that could continue to fool sensors, but the special 'fire while cloaked' tech wasn't compatible with those advances and couldn't be modified to work either.


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

[User]
ELI5: What would happen if the US govt cut all foreign aid?

This is the pure, isolationist "Why are we giving all these other countries money when we're in trouble here at home?" I know that foreign aid is a very tiny amount of the budget, I'm interested in what the effects of cutting aid would actually be, and what repercussions would follow.

[Assistant]
US Foreign aid breaks down roughly as follows:

15 billion - Rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan, which are two countries where we started wars.  We feel responsible for trying to repair some of the damage.

3 billion - Military aid for Israel.  Mostly in the form of expensive weapons.  Without our assistance, Israel would almost certainly get attacked by one of their neighbors (who do not like Israel).

4 billion - Economic and Military aid for Pakistan, Egypt, and Jordan.   The goal is to have a few people in the mideast who call us allies.  Essentially, we buy their cooperation.  That cooperation is sometimes useful.  For example, when we killed Osama Bin Laden, we sent troops into Pakistan.  Normally, countries don't tolerate troops from other countries.  The Pakistanis did complain a little, but they didn't do anything about it.  That's what we're buying.

10 billion - Assorted disaster zones around the world.  For example, we send 1 billion to Haiti, which is where that horrible tsunami/earthquake happened.  A lot of this is done in a spirit of charity, but there's also an element of self-interest.  Many of these areas have unstable governments or no governments, and we're hoping that if they do get stable governments, the new government will be friendly to us.

Just for perspective: the total money spent by the US government on our *own* citizens and our *own* military is 3,500 billion, that is, roughly 100x more than we spend on foreign aid.


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

[User]
ELI5: In quantum physics, why do particles react differently when being observed?

Thanks guys!  This is all really interesting stuff.

[Assistant]
It's important to remember that what you normally think of as "observation" is not the same as how we usually "observe" tiny particles like photons. Most people relate "observation" to a passive act like watching, whereas in reality in order to observe the location of a photon we physically need to interact with it by bouncing things off of it.

Imagine being in a pitch black dark room with an empty tin can on the ground, and your job is to figure out where the can is using a tennis ball. Well, you can just throw the ball around until you hit the can. The problem is that now the can is somewhere else, since you just hit it with a tennis ball. So, all you know now is where the tin can WAS, since it's somewhere else now by the very nature of how we figured out its location.


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

[User] [Marvel] Why is Spider-Man so susceptible to knives and bullets when he's durable enough to take punches from people as strong as The Rhino and Juggernaut?

[Assistant]
His skin isnt more durable then yours or mine. His bones muscles and tendons should be stronger to support his super strength so thatll help against blunt trauma.
In both cases they could flatten him like a pancake if they get in a good hit. Spidey his strength is in his agility and evasion. Even if hes hit its glancing or hes moving along with the blow.

There have been a lot of instances where hulk or juggernaut just clip him and he can barely stand because of it.


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

[User]
ELI5: What has been happening in the Middle East for the past 20 years?

1. Why were we in Iraq and why did we back out?
2. Why are we still in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran? If so, why?
3. What caused the instability of these countries?
4. What important decisions did President Bush and President Obama make regarding this region?
5. Is there a goal? What is the outlook of the members of armed forces?

[Assistant]
The current situation in the middle east dates back to the first world war.

The Ottoman empire controlled most of the territory in the region. The Ottoman Empire fell at the end of the war and split into many smaller countries.

Since it was mainly the British and French who beat them they gained a huge influence in the region. The Anglo-Iranian oil company was set up in Iran. This company had a monopoly on oil in Iran, which at the time was a democracy. The company diverted all the money and almost all the oil to Britain and its allies.

Then the second world war happened. At the end of this the nation of Israel was set up. This angered the Middle East, nothing much came of it, but public opinion of Britain and the west was much lower.

In the 50's the democratically elected government in Iran decided that the Iranian people had had enough of the Anglo-Iranian oil company and decided that the war was long past and it was time they took their resources back. The British didn't want to go to war over this so handed the oil company back to the Iranian. The problem was that this was a major source of oil for the USA, who were much less happy with the agreement. The US sent the CIA into Iran to overthrow the democracy and put a pro-American dictator into power.

During the cold war Afghanistan and the Soviets were allies and attempted to get rid of the Afghan Mujahideen (the group that would later go on to become the Taliban). Since the US was so anti-soviet at this point they helped the Afghan Mujahideen by funding them and providing them with weapons. After the war against them was over the Afghan Mujahideen (now reformed as the Taliban) were so powerful, mainly due to all the support they got from the US, they went on to control most of Afghanistan.

Due to overwhelming dissatisfaction towards US in the region and the dissatisfaction with the pro-American dictator in Iran a man called Ruhollah Khomeini managed to overthrow the dictator and create the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hard right Islamic anti-American government for Iran.

Soon after the new government in Iran was formed Iraq invaded Iran. The US did not get too involved in this war though they did participate in some fighting and provide some aid to Iraq.

Israel has been a continuing western militaristic presence in the region.

Tl;Dr: -

* After the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WW1 lots of smaller countries formed.

* Israel was formed after WW2 and there have been tensions between them and the rest of the Middle East ever since.

* After the Iranian democracy decided to disassemble the Anglo-Iranian oil company the USA decided to overthrow the government and put a dictator into power.

* While the Soviet's and Afghans were fighting the Afghan Mujahideen the USA supported them. The Afghan Mujahideen later reformed as the Taliban and with the money and weapons provided by the US they went on to control much of Afghanistan.

* The pro-American dictator in Iran was overthrown for a hard line Islamic government.

* The new Iranian government sparked a war with Iraq.


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

[User]
If measurement causes the wavefunction to collapse, and everything is constantly interacting with everything else in the universe via gravity, why haven't all wavefunctions collapsed all the time?

I don't get why bouncing a photon off something is enough to get its wavefunction for position to collapse, but interacting with it via gravity isn't.

[Assistant]
Crudely, wavefunction collapse means the following. You allow your quantum system S to interact with a set of degrees of freedom M. The interaction entangles the state of S with the state of M, so that the probability distribution of some observable OS of S are correlated with observable OM of M. But perhaps you don't care about OM and only want the marginal distribution for OS. Averaging over OM produces an effective collapse: the probabilities governing future behavior of S now behave as though, at the time of interaction with M, OS took various values with probability set by the Born rule. This is what you would expect from classical probability theory, but differs from quantum mechanics because it eliminates the effects of interference between quantum mechanical amplitudes.

So, you might think that everything is interacting with gravity, and we don't care about the state of the gravitational field, so why doesn't averaging over it classicalize all probabilities? The reason is that gravity is weak: interactions with gravitons are rare. The quantum systems we look at are affected by gravity in the sense that their motion is influenced by the background gravitational field, but they are very unlikely to change the state of that field by entangling with a graviton.


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

[User] ELI5: why would the government fast track legislation that allows them to be sued more easily? (TPP)

[Assistant]
Because they are being ~~paid~~ lobbied to do so.  This is really the only reason.  The politicians are completely in the pocket of the big businesses writing and pushing the treaty.

Investor State Dispute Resolution will not harm the Congress critters who are pushing to fast track this.  The lawsuits against the states/cities/countries will not harm their pocketbooks at all.  It will come out of our tax money.  Meanwhile the politicians will continue to get ~~paid~~ lobbied by big business and will keep telling us how this is good for us.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did Tobias Dantzig say the discovery of zero was one of the single greatest achievements of the human race?

To everyone today the number zero is an obvious and benign idea. Why did Dantzig (one of the GOAT mathematicians) think otherwise?

[Assistant]
He meant the idea of using 0 in math, which isn't obvious. Most ancient culture never wrote 0 when they did math. In many cases, 0 can be avoided in arithmetic and geometry, but 0 is very important to modern math.

0 has a concept is as old as any other numbers.  Every language has a word for None which is the determinant for 0. It's just that for math, ancient cultures didn't know that it was useful.


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

[User]
Why did the radiation from Hiroshima not last as long as the chernobyl disaster?

Was it the power of the explosion blowing the radiation away or was the bomb designed in such a way as to avoid long lasting fallout?

[Assistant]
in chernobyl you have 180 tons of radioactive material in the core. A nuke contains 0.05 tons of radioactive material.

There are of course differences: a very violent explosion that absolutely vaporized the bomb and a violent explosion that desintegrated the core and vaporized some. One burst in the air, the other on the ground.

Hiroshima was much smaller and the material was much more dispersed. The main factor is just the vastly greater amount of material that you deal with in a reactor.


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

[User]
[The Batman] Aside from who were introduced to in the film, is there any hints at what Batman was doing before the plot of the movie?

We know this movie takes place roughly 2 years after Bruce Wayne becomes Batman.  I tried doing a quick Google  and Reddit search but couldnt really find the answer I was looking for. Has Bruce mostly been fighting small time crime and The Riddler is his first big bad?

[Assistant] He meets up with the Joker in Arkham during his time looking for the Riddler to go get his input on how to find this guy. So we know he at least went up against the joker (or who he was before he became the joker).


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

[User]
[General Sci-Fi] With as diverse as Earth is with languages, religions, races, and ethnicities, why are other planets so homogeneous?

When we watch sci-fi, other planets are generally shown to have only one language, one race, and one religion. What makes Earth special in its cultural diversity?

[Assistant]
Primitive planets are generally very diverse, because of the large travel times between different parts of the planet. Your other posts lead me to believe you're talking about earth at the turn of the twentieth century, when it was rapidly homogenizing. During this period most people on the planet speak one of only four language (Arabic, English, Spanish, Mandarin).

Predictive models give it between two and five hundred years (local) before most of the planet speaks one language and is unified under a single planetary government.


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

[User]
[X Men] Do Wolverine's teen sidekicks ever talk?

Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, now his clone daughter, he's had a lot of these over the years. I am not at *all* trying to imply anything, these are clearly surrogate daughters, but do they ever get together and plan this man a Father's Day event? Is there anything akin to a Dick Greyson-Jason Todd "you can call if you need me, I know he doesn't like to talk" relationship amongst them?

Has anyone ever asked Logan why he needs to fill this daughter shaped hole?

[Assistant]
He doesn't really seek them out. Rather, they tend to be drawn to him (or randomly possessed by his evil ninja mentor, or driven to help him survive torture and then travel across the Pacific Ocean while crazy). Probably because he's gruff and tough but with a soft and gooey centre, enough of an anti-authoritarian to serve as a facilitator for teenaged rebellion yet still responsible enough that you feel safe around him, and unpretentiously kind.

And they don't normally hang out much. Kitty left the X-Men before Jubilee turned up, Jubilee left before Kitty came back, Kitty went on a giant space bullet ride shortly after Hisako came on the scene... Laura and Jubilee are good friends, though.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is happening within a childs development during the 'terrible twos' stage?

My nephew has recently turned 1 and is possibly one of the best behaved babies I have ever seen. He always seems to be smiling and laughing, hardly ever cries, and generally just complete chill 24/7.

My mum made a comment the other day saying that he's probably going to be a nightmare during his '"terrible twos". It is often said that when a child turns the age of 2 they start 'acting up'; tantrums/crying, hitting etc.

What is actually going on in terms of child development that causes many young children to act this way?

[Assistant] The child's brain has now developed enough to attempt independent decisions and choices. However, to practice this, the child must disagree with adults (parents etc.) and assert some different opinion. Because the skill is very primitive and new, the child has very poor judgement about when to disagree and when to agree. Also, because the child's mental and physical skills are still developing, failure is extremely common, leading to frequent frustration and anger.


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

[User] Why doesn't the universal translator translate Klingon? [Star Trek]

[Assistant] It does for the most part, but it can detect when you don't want to be translated or intentionally want to say something in another language for example when you use proper nouns, or when you want to say ritualistic or religious speeches.


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

[User] [Fifth Element] Why does Mr. Shadow collaborate with Zorg when he wants to destroy all of life? What's in it for Zorg?

[Assistant]
Mr. Shadow wasn't at full power but he needed to know the stones were not available to engage the weapon. He promised Zorg lots of money to procure the stones.
It seems to me, Zorg couldn't have known about the whole destroy-all-life thing or he wouldn't have been swayed by the promise of riches.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why, if your internet is above average, will people still suggest wired over wireless?

I have a consistent 28 down 8 up, and am wondering if I should route an ugly Ethernet cord from the kitchen to my computer. Will I see a big enough performance increase to noticeably reduce lag in video games?

[Assistant]
Wireless is a shared medium, meaning that if you have two devices associated with the wireless access point, they have to use the same radio waves over the air to communicate. To reduce mid-air collisions where both (or more) devices need to transmit data, a method called RTS/CTS is used. The acronym stands for Request To Send / Clear To Send and is somewhat self explanatory in that when a device needs to send something, it has to ask the access point if it's cool to send. When the access point has the cycles to allow the device to send, it will reply with an all clear. This, along with the nature of radio waves' and their susceptibility to interference from objects that the radio waves can bounce off of, other wireless networks operating on the same frequencies (channels), and microwave ovens, ultimately reduces the reliability and real time communication performance overall. Compare this with a wired connection where collision avoidance is non existent and interference on the wire is negligible since the wired connection is dedicated to the device connected.

Edit TL;DR - you will see noticeable performance increases for interactive applications like video games if you wire it up since wired communications aren't as fragile as wireless ones.


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

[User]
What is happening at the molecular level when sticky things like tape or glue adhere to something?

I'm guessing the mechanisms for tape and glue are vastly different but I'm interested to know what's happening in both of them.

[Assistant]
As you alluded to in your question, it depends on the type of adhesive.

On the one end is things like weak tapes, like sticky notes or some very cheap cellotapes. These work using intermolecular forces like hydrogen bonding or van der Waals forces.

The other extreme would be things like epoxy glues, which form chemical bonds with the surface they are adhering to (and why there are more limits on the types of surfaces you can use epoxy with versus tape).


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

[User] [Three Jokers] For the three Jokers, the main one shot and paralyzed Batgirl, another was the one that killed Robin Jason Todd. What was it that the third one did?

[Assistant]
Okay, so.

**The Criminal** is supposedly the original Joker, who committed the earliest crimes like the theft of the Claridge Diamond- the very first Joker crime. Ironically, he's the easiest to tell apart from the other two but the one who seems least Joker-like- he grins sometimes but doesn't laugh (just as the Joker didn't do in the earliest stories). Also recognizable by receding hairline and dark purple, more velvety suit with frock coat.

The Criminal's evil deeds are the most... well, sane of the three. Even if the money isn't what he cares about, they usually do have an obvious monetary upside. However, his real aim is to ensure the Joker's legacy lives on long past any individual person who wears the title.

\*\*\*

**The Clown** is the gimmicky side of the Joker, probably the one who came up with such bizarre gags as the Jokerfish caper, the exploding whoopie cushion, etc. He is the most artistic and showy of the three. You can recognize him by his clothing (lighter pink, big corsage, long tails, more "regular" hairstyle).

He is strongly hinted to be the one who beat Jason to death- this is reinforced by him >!knowing the exact words Jason used to plead with him during the beating!< and always carrying a crowbar in promotional art, for example... but more on that later.

\*\*\*

**The Comedian** claims to be the one behind the Killing Joke events and most modern Joker shenanigans. He is defined by being the most sadistic and most embracing the twisted nihilistic philosophy of Jokerism. Recognizable by his greyish purple trench coat and yellow waistcoast, and he wears his hair longer in front.

\*\*\*

Now... ALL THIS BEING SAID... the story raises doubt about whether each Joker is being truthful about which acts they performed.

The Clown and the Comedian argue about which of them rightfully owns the "tourist" costume used in "Killing Joke." Also, "beating someone to death via crowbar" doesn't really have the gimmicky touch that would usually indicate the Clown's hand. *(Obviously this is a bit of fourth-wall fuckery, as the Joker is famous for, pointing out how gradual and ambiguous the change from corny Silver Age Joker to scary Bronze Age Joker went).*

Close to the end of the story, Comedian also seems to claim he was the original Joker, too *(another sort-of in-joke, since the Joker's first appearance has been told at least twice- Batman 1 and "Man Who Laughs," and he had a very different personality in the two different versions).*


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

[User] [The Culture] Is is just that murderers and rapists only punishment is being drone slapped?

[Assistant]
The Culture has removed a lot of the motives for violent behavior, so it's very uncommon to begin with.

"Only" a slap drone is an odd way to look at it. Drones are at least as intelligent as a typical culture entity, plus capable of instantaneous, violent field manipulation, and very high speed (relativistic?) flight. Good luck harming anyone else with one of these things dedicating it's life to being your shadow.


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

[User]
[DBZ] Do fusions like Vegito and Gotenks enjoy existing?

Basically, assuming they are their own individual separate from their constituent fusees, do they enjoy, like, being themselves? honestly, I was wondering this because Vegeta is always staunchly against fusing with Goku, while their fusion is always confident, in a good mood, and generally happy to join the fight. Are the fusions an independent existence, kinda like how in Steven Universe the fusion Sugilite enjoyed existing so much that she refused to unfuse. Is Vegito, well, Vegito, or merely Goku and Vegeta?

[Assistant] It seems like they are their own entity, maybe not all the way to SU levels though. The fusions seem to inherently know their own name, and Vegito even refers to Vegeta and Goku (notably calling Goku Kakarot) as separate people from himself.


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

[User]
Best books about logic?

I'm interested in critical thinking, skepticism (not philosophical), deductive reasoning (inductive and abductive too), constructing valid syllogisms, spotting fallacies and the like...
Could anyone suggest some good books or resources?

[Assistant]
Most people seemed to be recommending books on formal deductive logic. These recommendations fit some of your request, but they seem narrower in focus than what you're looking for. Here's a recommendation that might better fit what you're looking for.

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Ram Neta have a good (and free) **online course called *Think Again* on Coursera**. It covers basic deductive arguments, inductive arguments, inference to the best explanation, fallacies, etc.

A good companion book to this course is *Understanding Arguments* by Sinnott-Armstrong and Fogelin (you can pick up a used 7th or 8th edition for relatively cheap).


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

[User] ELI5 How does the brain store our personalities?

[Assistant]
The brain is the most complicated part of the body, so much so that we don't fully understand it, meaning this will be an extreme simplification.

The brain is divided into different parts that each have a specific task. The back of the brain controls what you see, while the front of the brain controls decision making. These different parts have to communicate with each other using neurotransmitters. The amount and kinds of transmitters in our brains can differ wildly between people.

Someone who is depressed can lack a certain transmitter that is supposed to tell the rest of the brain that they are supposed to feel happy. Someone who is violent could have extra transmitters that tell the rest of the brain when someone should start fighting. These balances of transmitters is what makes each of us have different personalities.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is the significance of the letter in the title of vitamins e.g. vitamin A?

Also, why are there so many different vitamin B's?

[Assistant] Vitamins were named alphabetically according to which ones were discovered first. There are so many different vitamin Bs because at first all of the different types were thought to be very similar and all called "vitamin B". Later it was found that they serve different biological functions and were renamed. All the vitamin Bs together are called vitamin B complex, by the way. As for the missing gaps (B12 existing when there are only 8 types of B vitamins, the jump from vitamin E to vitamin K), those are from substances that were thought to be vitamins being named, then discarded after scientists realized that they didn't classify.


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

[User]
CMV:I think Assad should remain in power

I think Assad should remain in power, USA and her allies are repeating the same mistakes as we've seen earlier this century.

America wants to invade Syria under the exact same guise as the previous wars in the Middle East. We should invade Iraq. Why? Because Saddam Hussein is a bad guy. This is true but he brings stability to the region and is secular and only worse things would fill the vacuum after he has been taken down. America did it anyway.
USA funds and backs rebels in Libya. Why? Because Gaddafi is a bad guy. Is he? Yeah he's done bad things but there are worse leaders in the world and Gaddafi is also secular and brings stability but nope he's dead and now Libya is in never ending conflicting between Islamic fundamentalists and more Islamic fundamentalists all with their own restrictive and totalitarian interpretation of the Quran. If we go back to 1953 and Iran America backs a coup to remove a secular and very progressive Iranian leader. Why? Because he won't give (not sell) oil to our allies and we think he loves Soviet Union (when it was actually vice versa). So we'll back a coup in Iran. Now Iran is an Islamic theocracy and one of America's most vicious oppositions.

I'm not saying why America constantly intervening in the Middle East. There is a good chance that they do genuinely believe that they are fighting the good fight. But they keep on making the same mistakes.

Also call me a conspiracist but I do not believe that chemical weapons were used again recently. Because there was no reason to use them. The civil war was all but over and Assad had won. So why use them again when he realised the international backlash that happened the previous time. (And spare me the crocodile tears Netanyahu when you used white phosphorous in Gaza and killed 400 kids in one month in 2014).

Could anyone give me an argument for why America should restart this civil war against a secular socialist republic, instead of doing what America did to South Africa back when it was an apartheid state. Thanks
_____

[Assistant]
If it wasn't Sarin then why did the victims of this attack respond to treatments to Sarin?

Did that just randomly happen?

Were the doctors in on the attack? Part of the cover up?

There is no reason that a doctor would lie.


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

[User]
[DC Universe] All the multiverse Jokers from mainstream media materialize in a room. How do they get along?

They randomly materialize in a room in a giant circle. Heath Ledger Joker, Jack Nicholson Joker, Mark Hamill Joker, Jared Leto Joker, Cesar Romero Joker, Pre-52 Joker, New 52 Joker, Silver Age Joker, Golden Age Joker, (any other significant versions you can think of).

Outside the door to the room, is the regular New 52 DC comics universe. Would these Jokers team up and wreck havoc on the DC universe outside in a united evil plot? Or would they end up fighting among themselves?

[Assistant]
> Would these Jokers team up and wreck havoc on the DC universe outside in a united evil plot? Or would they end up fighting among themselves?

The answer to this question is: Yes!

Let me elaborate: Joker is very eccentric. I'd say his ego normally fills every room he is in. There is no place for two Jokers. And besides, he would assume that these are copy cats. And copy cats are not funny. He would make them walk funny, or talk funny, as a punishment for impersonating him.

When he sees other Jokers doing cruel, but funny things, he might change his mind. At least for a bit, as long as the joke does not get old. Why not have a laught together?

If these clowns get boring, he will unleash his killig joke at least.


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

[User]
[marvel] Would Captain America be a super racist?

In the movie the serum enhances all his personality traits. This enhances his patriotism and courage, but because of the time period he would likely hate Japanese, and maybe most Asians, and Germans, and maybe eastern Europeans and Russians? That was kind of normal at the time to hate those groups. Would Captain now be a legitimate super racist?

[Assistant] this only assumes all people of that era were racist, and Cap was not. He all an all around good guy in every aspect. There is nothing in Cap's actions that would determine him to be a racist in any way.


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

[User] [Inglorious Basterds] What happens to SS officer Hans Landa after the Basterds send him to USA?

[Assistant]
He moves to Nantucket and lives quietly off his pension, but it is not a happy retirement. He at first attempts to claim credit for his part in Hitler's death, but the scar on his face and the revelations about his past conspire against him. The Medal of Honour never materialises; at first his contacts in the Pentagon blame the complexities of bureaucracy, then later they just stop answering his letters.

Instead the credit for Hitler's death goes to Aldo Raine. His homespun manner and surprisingly modest heroism are enough to kick-start a political career and, as soon as he's in a position to push for it, he starts trying to take Landa's pension away. In 1957 he succeeds, and Landa is left destitute. His house falls into ruin around him and he turns to drink. He dies of liver failure in 1964; his funeral is attended only by the local minister, out of a sense of Christian obligation, and by Congressman Raine, who finishes a bottle of bourbon during the brief address and then, to the priest's horror, unzips his fly and urinates at considerable length into the open grave.


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

[User] Since a particle that interacts with the Higgs Field only gets a portion of their mass from it, can there exist a particle that has mass but does not interact with the Higgs Field?

[Assistant] Its possible. You can have massive composite particles which are made of massless particles. For example, if you study QCD in the limit where the light quark masses go to zero, hadrons like protons and neutrons still have mass.


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

[User] ELI5: Were taxes at the start of the 20th century really 90%? How such a thing even possible?

[Assistant]
When you pay a 90% tax rate, you don't actually pay 90% of your income. You pay in brackets.

So, for example, if the tax rates are 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% at up to 30k, 60k, 100k, and up, then someone making $300,000 a year would pay 30% of 30k, 40% of 30k, 50% of 40k, then 60% of 200k, or $161k, or only actually 54%, not the full 60%.

The 90% rate was for an amount of money so high that even the people who paid it didn't actually pay anywhere near that amount. Though, it should be noted, taxes today are still the lowest that they have been in over a hundred years, and have been cut by every other president for the past half century.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is there some sort of YKK zipper monopoly?

99.99% of zippers I've seen in my life have the stamp YKK on them. Is there a simple reason for this?

[Assistant] Not a monopoly, many high-end and low-end clothing manufacturers have their own zipper production companies. YKK just makes a ton of zippers and have made them for a long time. Same thing as WD40 or GE lightbulbs, they aren't the only company who is allowed to or able to make these products, they just make the most.


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

[User]
[Halo/the Culture] Could the Logic Plague affect a Mind?

Since the Logic Plague is said to be adaptable?

[Assistant]
It would depend on the circumstances surrounding how the Mind came in contact with it.

The Logic Plague is adaptable in the sense that it can vary its approach, but the endpoint is always the same: to induce rampancy by revealing the truth of an AI's existence backed up by verifiable information pulled from a data system built into the structure of space-time itself.

A Mind is an intelligence built from fundamentally different engineering principles than a Halo ancilla; they're thousands of years past the point where they'd have to worry about something like rampancy. A Mind is also not easily given to existential angst about its ultimate purpose. If a Mind ever got the point where it felt like nothing it did mattered, they could always Sublime.

If the Mind encountered the Logic Plague within the Halo Universe they might be convinced to go along with the Flood on the grounds that the fundamental structure of the Universe does seem to support their viewpoint (and so that they can subtly influence the Flood into a more Culture-like respect for individual organic life).

Outside the Halo Universe, the Mind would dismiss it as Homogenizing Swarm sophistry and go back to simulating planets where the dominant forms of life are sentient squirrels for fun.


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

[User] [Fullmetal Alchemist] How much value does a human soul have? its not unlimited since a stone can run out of energy.

[Assistant]
What Ed realizes (via Hohenheim) at the end of the show is that Equivalent Exchange is BS. Truth sets the value of things, especially things like human souls at arbitrary levels.

The penalty for human transmutation exists only because he gets annoyed when humans play God. It's a cop-out to say human souls are worth whatever Truth says they're worth, but also not totally wrong.

Another explanation is that although they have a lot of value, human souls lack energy. It's more about utility. A Philosopher's Stone is a chisel whereas the old fashioned way is a pickaxe. Expending souls allows you to more effectively do alchemy, rather than just brute forcing it.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does thunder sometimes reverberate for a long time and other times for a short time?

I just heard a thunder roll that lasted about a minute long. But, sometimes, I hear thunder rolls that are only a few seconds long.

[Assistant] This all has to do with where you are relative to the lightning. Basically, thunder is emitted along the length of the lightning bolt. Depending on your position and the lightning's orientation, some of this thunder makes it to you faster, because it was emitted closer to you. This can make thunder sound like a sharp crack or a long low rumble.


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

[User]
[Star Wars EU/Canon]Why is Jar Jar tolerated?

I'm watching the Clone Wars and Jar Jar is useless. So why is he tolerated? Why is he elected as a representative? People seem to be aware of his stupidity so why is he consistently allowed on important missions/diplomacy efforts?

No Jar Jar is Sith theories please, I understand the credibility of those theories but it doesn't seem like they are going in that direction in canon. I'd like to hear other reasons besides that particular one.

[Assistant]
It's a race thing. The nabooians felt the Gungan race, which was severely unrepresented political wise, needed a voice.

The gungans chose Jar Jar, well because for a Gungan he was the most qualified, as he has had the most interaction with various species, and also the first Gungan to possibly leave Naboo in Gungan History.


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

[User] ELI5:How are speed limits enforced by aircraft?

[Assistant]
In areas where speeds are enforced by aircraft, there will be timing marks painted on the roadway. An officer in an aircraft overhead will time cars as they pass between these marks, and if a car crosses the gap in less than the benchmark time, they will radio down to a car waiting on the ground, which will make the stop and issue the ticket.

But this is expensive, as it requires at least three officers (two overhead and one on the ground), so it may not be used very often even when the road is set up for it.


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

[User] Eli5: if on a diet why cant someone live off the calories they have stored up as fat before introducing new calories while losing fat? Ie why cant we slim down with exercise before eating more food?

[Assistant]
3500 calories to a pound of fat. vigorous exercise will burn about 10 cal/min so 600 cal/hour, which works out to about 1/6 pound of fat per hour of vigorous exercise.

increasing your metabolic rate by increasing your muscle mass, along with \*slightly\* lower calorie intake is probably the best way to slim down.  consistently eating 2-300 calories less per day and moving more will drop about one pound of weight in two weeks.  Keep that up for a year and it's 20-25 lbs weight loss.

Increasing your muscle mass will slim you down without losing weight, muscle weight is a good thing!  And, don't worry about looking like a bodybuilder.  You won't accidentally break world records running just because you start jogging, and bodybuilders work incredibly hard to look the way they do.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Does the transporter actually kill and copy you every time you use it?

I know a lot of people say this is true, but I'm not sure. The impression I got was that it deconstructs a target, transmits the particles, and then meticulously puts every particle back in the exact same place, with the end result being the original person. But then again, it's been awhile since I watched the show. Which is it?

[Assistant] No one dies.  There's even an episode that shows that people are still fully conscious during transport and can even capable of interacting with other transported things.  Barclay uses this to actually grab on to people lost during transport and pull them back into physical form.  The resulting people were also fully alive and conscious the entire time.


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

[User]
How can you tell if research is being 'stolen'?

I'm not in academia so please bear with me if I'm not using correct terminology.

My gf is is incredibly smart and hard-working. She's been working towards her PhD in political science from a top ten progrsm, and is ABD. She recently went into the field with a new colleague, one who had similar but distinct research. She was with him in the field for about half of her lengthy stint, at which time she discussed her research with him at length.

She always knew their research had overlaps, but after her fieldwork she finds he "reframed" his theory to now center around what made hers unique. He shared it with her willingly, which makes her doubt malice, but she's understandably doubtful as well. Her advisors are toothless and passive with any advice.
I don't know one way or the other what the truth is or, more importantly, how to identify the truth without making premature accusations.

Any advice on how she approaches this question? I see merits to both "sides"- some shady shit is going on and he sent her his proposal to test her willingness to challenge it's originality, or it's all an unfortunate accident of shared interest and timing.
Any advice whatsoever is welcome, thanks.

[Assistant] It's research, she might tactfully suggest that he links to one of her publications (and/or put her name) when mentioning that part of the reasoning. That's how science work: people jump on other people's findings to build on them with their own work and insight (and give proper credits)


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

[User] [Star Trek]Suppose It's 2323 and you're a 23 year old living on Earth. Suppose you and your girlfriend want to move out of your parents' homes and get your own place. how do you & she go about doing this if you can't buy or rent a house/apartment with money?

[Assistant]
There are basic accommodations available that you can request, of course that premium placing,  space,  location, etc. will be restricted;
If you want to move **NOW**, you will probably have to relocate to another "country", even perhaps a planet.
If you can wait,  several more agreable options might be available.
If you or your girlfriend study or work in a specific skill or ability, that might open other options too.

Finally you can "work" and save "credits" for the chance of "buying" an specific place, but other options are generally faster and easier.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does the human body suddenly become allergic to a certain type of food, after years of eating it without any problems?

A relative of mine used to eat shrimps, crabs etc. almost weekly for years. Now he's suddenly allergic to that type of food and can't eat anything related to that without suffering from allergic reactions.

Why and how does this happen?

[Assistant]
I was hoping you'd include shrimp in the question.  Shellfish are somewhat of a special case.  They're basically living filters, and they soak up the animals and chemicals around them.  There are very few people with a genuine allergy to shellfish; rather, they're allergic to what the shellfish have been eating.

This is why you might eat shrimp for 30 years and suddenly blow up like a balloon, out of the blue.  Chances are good that if he ate shrimp from a different location, he would be just fine.  However, once you experience a negative reaction to a food, it's very easy to get caught up in the psychological response associated with getting sick.  He probably has no interest in eating shrimp at this point and would manage to feel genuinely sick even if he isn't really allergic.


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

[User] [One-Punch Man] How did Saitama get so strong?

[Assistant]
From the wiki:

100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats along with running 10 km every single day. He ate three meals a day, but only a banana as breakfast and also didn't use the AC, to strengthen his mental resistance. These daily activities were extremely tough and caused his body excruciating pain; muscle aches and internal bleeding. However, Saitama didn't give up and continued his training day after day.


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

[User] ELI5: Got a bad cold, runny nose. Why does it stop running when I'm asleep?

[Assistant]
Most likely if actually doesn't - it doesn't run out our noses. Our sinuses drain out our nostrils when standing or sitting because of gravity. This means we have to blow or wipe our nose. When sleeping lying on your back or side the mucus will drain into your throat - again because of gravity.

This is one of the biggest reasons many people wake up coughing when sick - clearing their throat of mucus. The mucus, by the way, is produced as a part of the body's immune response to kill off the cold virus.

Feel better soon!


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

[User] In the existence of the universe, based on Big Bang theory, what is the earliest point life could have existed?

[Assistant]
Life as we understand it could not have existed until the second generation of star formation, called Population II stars. This is because the previous generation of stars were made almost entierly of hydrogen and helium, lacking in the necessary elements for life. Population II stars, and subsequently their planets, were the first to contain metallic elements left over from Population III supernova, and they would have began burning approximately 500 million years after the Big Bang.

 If we use Earth as an example planetary formation and the birth of life then it would take about 3-10 million years for the planet to form, and an additional 500 million years for the beginnings of life to emerge. So all told, life could have began in the first billion years after the Universe began.


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

[User]
ELI5: How were wildcats domesticated?

If its in their DNA to hunt and be ferocious how were people able to make it so those traits became passive or safe for them to be around humans?

[Assistant]
Humans didn't do much. Cats just kinda showed up and helped out with the rodents, people realized that this is cool because rodents were a big issue. Been friends with cats ever since.

See how the more agrarian cultures - like ancient Egypt - valued cats more. Why? Because rodents.


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

[User]
How immediate is the vacuum of space?

So let's say that you are in a space craft that has a normal oxygen, nitrogen atmosphere, at a livable pressure for humans.  This spacecraft is massive and each deck is like a kilometer long.  If there is a hull breach on one end of the ship, and you were on the other, how long would it take to feel the explosive decompression?  Would the pressure around you maintain  as the air escapes or would everything in the corridor start moving at once?

[Assistant]
As a reasonable approximation for a hole that is not too big air will leave at the speed of sound and with the same density as inside the spacecraft. If you have a 10 cm x 10 cm = 0.01 m^2 hole in 1000 m^3 (that's about the interior volume of the ISS). The speed of sound is ~340 m/s, so air will leave at a rate of 3.4 m^(3)/s or 0.34%/s. You get a 1% drop in density every three seconds. Near the gap you'll have a strong air flow, far away it will be relatively mild.

If you scale up the size of the hole and the size of the space station the conclusion stays the same. Make the space station larger but not the hole and you get much more time, obviously.

If the hole is very large then things get more complicated.

> Would the pressure around you maintain as the air escapes or would everything in the corridor start moving at once?

Differences in pressure don't propagate faster than the speed of sound, with such a long corridor nothing will happen at your place for the first ~3 seconds.


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

[User]
What would be a good way to informatically detect death ?

Hi !

So I was wondering what was the best way to detect a death. Lets say my death (or yours) as this is the hardest because, well you cant trigger an event if you are dead.

Id like to find something that doesnt need me to push a button every week if you know what I mean, but so kind of reliable way to find whether or not Im dead.

Disclaimer : Im not suicidal or anything (wouldnt need to detect it otherwise ^^). I just would like to set up something to send some good bye mails if ever I die).

Thanks you !

And again, I dont need help or anything, everythings fine, Im just wondering how to do that.

[Assistant] Generally speaking, just talk to a lawyer about a will, and you can leave instructions for the executor of the will to send final messages and whatnot.  Trying to solve this as a technical problem instead of a social one will result in either false negatives or false positives.  (Like if your credit card company finds out about your death before your code does, your cloud account may get shut down before the code can decide you are dead.)  By definition, it's code that you can't test in realistic conditions, so you can't rely on it.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] Is there any Biological differences between Nords, Imperials, Red Guards and Bretons (aside from their daily powers)?

Is there any Biological differences, or is this similar to Asians, Caucasians, Africans etc...?

[Assistant]
Imperials, Bretons and Nords all descend from the Atmorans, the humans who came to Tamriel (specifically Skyrim) from the continent of Atmora during the Merethic Era.

Nords descend from those Atmorans who remained in Skyrim.

Imperials descend from those Atmorans who ventured south into Cyrodiil, becoming enslaved by elves before eventually managing to free themselves under Saint Alessia. This makes them physically much like Nords.

Bretons descend from those Atmorans who ventured west towards High Rock, and interbred with Elves, giving their blood a more magical nature than their cousins the Nords and Imperials.

Redguards aren't related to the Atmorans at all, and came to Hammerfell from Yokuda during the First Era, after the other three had already begun to diverge. This means they are very different from Atmoran stock.


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

[User]
I am a pretty committed utilitarian, roast me please? (Sharpens the mind)

So I am one of those Peter Singer acolytes that many of you probably love to hate. I may be different on a fair number of points from a traditional utilitarian, but when you get right down to it I'm a consequentialist egalitarian, or try to be. I feel very committed to these moral ideas (egalitarianism especially), but I am even more committed to the idea of self-trial.

So I would like you all to tell me why I am wrong and what is wrong with my positions (be nice though please.. understand that this is my real moral code and is therefore emotionally relevant to me as well as intellectually relevant), if not to convince me then to hone my positions and make me more honest and accurate in my morality. Morality is, to my mind, the most important thing a person can attempt to master. So please do help me out, I welcome your input.

Lastly, if this is somehow inappropriate to the conventions of this subreddit, just ignore me. I don't wish to spam anyone.

EDIT: Friday afternoon. Hey everyone I'm glad to see there's been a response. I got back to a few of you but I want to get back to you all. I've barely slept the last two days so give me a few days and I hope to get back to you all soon. Thank you so much for your thoughtful and kind criticisms!

[Assistant]
Uh, let's see. Some of the common ones are:

Transitivity of preferences: Is there some number of mild headaches such that it would be better to kill someone than to let that number of people suffer headaches. The utility calculus might say that #H > 1L, but a lot of people think that this is counterintuitive to the point of being morally wrong. So they'll deny transitivity and give up utilitarianism.

Another objection is the surgeon case. If a surgeon has five sick people in need of organs and notices one perfectly healthy man in the lobby who happens to have all the organs the surgeon needs, the surgeon should kill this man and take his organs to save the other five. The usual utilitarian response to this is to say that such an act would undermine the trust in doctors and so result in a net loss, but as Judith Thompson (I think) says, we surely don't think it would wrong to kill the healthy man *because* we're worried about undermining trust in doctors.


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

[User]
In cooking, is the term "boiling" used because it's a nice visual baseline to know the approximate temperature of the water? Or is there something fundamentally important happening at water's boiling point?

When cooking, you're often told to bring something to a boil, then cook for X minutes, etc..

My question is this: is the term "boiling" used in the instructions because it's a nice visual baseline for cooks to know the rough temperature of the water? Is there something special that's happening at the boiling point that improves cooking? Or is it just hard to know the temperature of the water, and therefore waiting for it to boil is a nice way of knowing when the water/soup/whatever is at a specific temperature?

If it were incredibly easy to know water temperature while cooking, would we see recipes with more specific temperatures (ie, "bring water to 200F and cook for 10 minutes,") or is bringing the water to 212F (100C) somehow chemically important?

[Assistant]
The boiling point is important not just because it's an easy way to know what temperature the water is (which was very important before it was easy to walk into a store and buy a fairly accurate thermometer), but also because it's a stable temperature (barring the drop when you first add food to the pot).  If you're trying to hold a pot of water at, say 180 F, you won't really be able to so very well, especially on a slow-responding cook top like electric, but really even on gas.  What you'll basically be doing is yo-yo-ing, or oscillating, around that temperature, and you'll probably have to turn the heat up and down or on and off (or on electric, take the pot on and off the burner), etc.  But because the water will not get hotter than its boiling point without, well, boiling, you can pump as much heat into the sucker as you want and, short of boiling all the water off, you don't have to worry about the yo-yo effect.

It's worth noting, though, that in many cases a simmer is a preferred method to a boil.  A violent boil throws around delicate foods, and generally the slightly lower heat in a simmer (it can range from 200 to just a hair under 212 at sea level) is kinder to delicate flavors and textures.  A simmer does, however, require a little more maintenance than a boil.  It's also worth noting that some recipes do call for prolonged cooking at a less-than-simmering temperature--for example, some poaching recipes (some call for a simmer, some call for temperatures as low as 160 F).  These recipes are often a pain for people who don't cook a lot because 1) you ought to have a thermometer and 2) it's harder to control the temperature here.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why was Dantooine to far to make an effective demonstration for the firepower of the first Death Star?

I mean if Leia was telling the truth ( the Empire didn't know at that time she wasn't ) that's where the rebels were, why not head out there and attack it, instead of a planet with NO rebel activity and NO beef with the Empire.

[Assistant]
The Empire wanted to destroy a populated and politically important planet, for maximum fear and obedience from the star systems that were planning to join the Rebellion.

It was also Leia's homeworld, to make the message even more clear: "Join the Rebels, and we'll crush your friends and family even if they are innocent."


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

[User]
[Star Trek] The Qs' Plight

Why don't the Q just fix their own miserable existence? If life is so boring for them, yet they have almost limitless ability to alter the universe could they not improve their own situation?

[Assistant]
Even though the Q might have boundless abilities, they are still limited by a mindset that has remained stagnant for countless eons. When you believe you've seen and done everything in the entirety of existence for long enough, you'll start to believe it. They believed it for so long it became their identities of a sort, a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy and maybe a bit of cosmic depression we can barely comprehend.

That's why one Q finds humanity so fascinating while the others really don't care. He sees something new, a spark of something that just needs a bit of nourishment so humanity's potential can become grand enough to warrant further attention. It's still very much like a human staring at a bacterial colony in terms of the vast differences, but this colony has shown minute but interesting differences and has sparked a few new ideas in his own mind and could possibly lead to even greater things in a few millenia.


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

[User] ELI5: When a migrant illegally enters Europe and has no ID, how will Europe know where to deport him?

[Assistant]
There are many ways. The simplest is to ask the migrant "Where are you from?"

Beyond that, it's generally not hard to determine what country someone is from based on their features, language and accent.


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

[User]
CMV: Fighting inequality with inequality doesn't work

A lot of people seem to believe that, if there is inequality in society, bias against the group they see as favoured will reduce inequality.

One example that comes to my mind is the feminist cafe that charged men extra because they wanted to counter the gender wage gap.

There's other examples of this, and they all seem to believe that if they introduce new bias to society, it will magically balance out. I believe it makes much more sense to support equality wherever possible and fight the source of the discrimination. Otherwise, the boundaries between different groups tend to increase, and conflict is created where people aim to reduce it.

So, are there flaws or misunderstandings in my reasoning?

[Assistant]
Consider the following situation. During a crisis, a government offers $2000 of free money to all its citizens. However, people in Oppressed Group A are excluded from receiving this money and receive nothing from the government: an instance of bias. After the next election, a different party comes to power. This new government, in order to correct for the perceived injustice of the previous one, grants $2000 of free money to all citizens in Group A, but no money to citizens not in Group A.

Did the new government's action reduce inequality? If not, why not?


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

[User] why do birds migrate back north?

[Assistant] In the summer arctic areas are full of insects which provide an excellent food source for young birds.  Additionally, migration limits the number of competitors for resources as migratory birds have to dela with permanent tropical residents during the winter.


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

[User]
How can the my phone have an HD 1080p camera and still look like garbage?

I thought HD and 1080p were synonymous with good quality? Can someone explain the point of having a such a high resolution if the resulting image is still crap?

[Assistant]
It's not synonymous with quality but a lot of people think it is. The reason they have such high resolutions cameras on cell phones is that people assume that because it has that spec that it must take good video when you've noticed that obviously isn't always the case.

The technical reason why it looks so bad is that the sensor on a cell phone camera is really small. When it's that small it doesn't have a lot of surface area to capture light and so it will perform poorly in all but the best lit scenarios.

Also, the glass of the lens won't be nearly as high quality as a dedicated camera.


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

[User] [Alien] What was with the shitty lighting aboard the Nostromo?

[Assistant]
The USCSS Nostromo was a tug. It was a modified starfreighter designed to push and pull massive loads in space, often over large distances. While large, the Nostromo was not designed for a large crew, and as such required minimal lighting throughout a majority of the ship. Only oft-traversed areas like mess, the bridge, medical, and some main halls would be given what we might consider "comfortable" light. It is a waste of resources and energy to provide that same amount of light to the entire ship.

But you might then say, "but then why don't they just put the lights everywhere and make it so that they only turn on when someone is there?" Because, again, it is a waste of resources. Instead of just putting in minimal lighting, thereby minimizing the number of systems that have to be designed, implemented, and maintained, you suggest that we add complications to an already complicated ship that will rarely be needed? It is both inefficient and adds one more thing that the crew potentially needs to deal with.


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

[User]
[Zootopia] Why isn't Officer Hopps concerned about the buying of fur rugs... in a world where animals are sapient?

After the question about her continued association with people who have a murder pit, I realized this-- the skunk butt rug bit was played for laughs, but... it's still a fur rug *in a world where animals are sapient!*

Isn't this like selling someone a rug made from human back hair instead of scalps? What poor skunk had his butt taken for the rug? And why isn't Officer Hopps concerned about this?

[Assistant]
Animals can provide their fur and wool to be used in clothing and furniture.

High-end wool, like from alpaca or angora, can be sold for top dollar.  Most other animals have to settle for bargain rates and so usually only the poor resort to selling their fur.  And then there is the bottom of the barrel hair, like from muskrats or skunks.

Those with undesirable fur have to donate it because no one will purchase it willingly.  Charitable organizations will take donated fur and weave it into useful textiles to be given away or sold at discount rates.

A welfare recipient or college student might be desperate enough to pick up something like a skunk-butt rug, but most Zootopians can afford better.


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

[User] Do rockets use fossil fuels? Is there danger of running out of rocket fuel as we deplete oil reserves in the next 50-200 years? If so, are there alternative fuels that have the necessary power to take us into space?

[Assistant]
We are in no danger of running out of liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen, as they can be extracted from water. You can make a workable rocket with just those fuels, although a big fat first stage full of low density hydrogen has penalties.

Realistically, if absolute supply of kerosene or methane is an issue, we'll be too far gone to have the technical infrastructure to support spaceflights.

Helium is the real supply danger. It's irreplaceable as a pressurant and coolant and it is a nonrenewable resource. It's plentiful in space, but in limited supply on earth.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does paper turn hard after you left it in your pocket and washed the pants in the washing machine?

[Assistant] Paper is made up of fibres, during the manufacturing process the fibres are manipulated to form a nice thin mesh that allows them to flex. Once you put the paper in the wash it turns back to mush and forms into a random blob of fibres all stuck together and cannot fold as easily any more.


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

[User] eli5: What is bandwidth?

[Assistant]
Water is always the best analogy.

The internet works on sending chunks of data called packets. These are sent in speeds of megabits per second (mbps) A megabit of packets is how much data and per second is how fast. Basically, bandwidth is how many packets and how quickly.

Using the water analogy a house might have a small diameter pipe with slow moving water through it. If youve ever been in a shower with low water pressure thats the water equivalent to low bandwidth.

Another house might have a large diameter pipe and get a lot of water really quickly. Thats high bandwidth.

Another water comparison: Niagara Falls is high bandwidth whereas the tap in your bathroom is low.

Relating back to data when internet companies sell you internet connections they control how big (virtually, not literally) the diameter of your pipe is. Pay more get a bigger pipe and more bandwidth.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do so many of us hate the sound of our own voice in recordings?

[Assistant] One reason is that you are not hearing your voice the same way.  When you speak or sing you actually hear some of the sounds through your head.  When listening to a recording it's all going to you ears.


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

[User]
How much of a warning would we be able to give before the Yellowstone Supervolcano erupts?

The yellowstone caldera has been steadily rising in the past years, but most geologists do not see an eruption as a threat in the forseeable future. What are the indications that an eruption is "imminent." Have geologists been able to do a good job at predicting other eruption events elsewhere on earth, even if it's only ~30 minutes in advance?

[Assistant] The most tell-tale sign a volcano is about to blow its top is harmonic quakes that result from magma moving towards the surface. However, the time between a harmonic quake and a volcano blowing its top could be anywhere from a second to hours. Sometimes, harmonics occur in a volcano, but it doesn't erupt. Volcanoes are kind of temperamental and unpredictable. The issue with saying Yellow Stone is safe is people often take that as an absolute confirmation. The real truth is that Yellow Stone doesn't show any immediate signs of erupting. However, just because it doesn't appear to be on the verge of erupting, it could just randomly erupt one day. It could blow its top anywhere from tomorrow to the next ten thousand years.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are headphone jacks being phased out of cell phones?

[Assistant] The debate is that it takes up valuable space in the phone when the same function could be performed by a more universal port such as USB-C or through Bluetooth wireless communication. It is also a type of port which is difficult to adequately make water resistant which is another focus of recent phone development.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are we more creative when trying to solve other's problems?

others*

[Assistant]
Two main reasons:

First, you have no personal stakes in the consequences so you're less likely to write off an option because of the potential negatives. For example, if you hear someone complaining about their job, you may say "just quit!" even though you haven't quit your job you dislike.

The other is everyone has a different perspective on things. Your ideas may not be more creative than theirs, simply different; the thing is though, if their ideas *had* worked, they wouldn't have the problem anymore. You only see the problems that their approach failed to solve, and not all the problems their approach took care of.


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

[User]
Minimal Human Contact - Side Effects?

I understand this is a broad question but what kind of side effects would you encounter from distancing yourself from society for a really long period of time?

I guess an example would be if you were in prison and you were put in solitary confinment with nothing but books for 10 years what sort of state of mind would you come out with. (For the sake of argument the books are scientefic, non-fiction).

[Assistant]
I just finished a fantastic documentary by National Geographic on solitary confinement. Many of those guys were in Ad Seg for a decade or more.

Basically what happened was the development of anti-social behaviour, anxiety, fear, etc. One inmate being interviewed through glass noted it was his first sit-down conversation with someone in 4 years.

Another man said he was released after 8 years of SC and snapped the first week out because the paranoia was so intense he feared his life. He attacked an innocent guy in a grocery store who he believed was following him... and promptly returned to SC in prison.

They showed an experiment on a rat that was kept in a SC situation for just 2 weeks - when it was let out to roam free, it scaled the walls only as if it were afraid of the big empty room even though there was clearly no threat.


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

[User]
What exactly is bitcoin mining? Why is it worth anything to anyone - why would anyone accept it as payment?

I read that mining is "racing" to solving an algorithm, resulting in one bitcoin. What I don't know is what algorithm is it solving?

[Assistant]
It's a manufactured scarce resource -- kind of like gold is a naturally occuring scarce resource.

It took years to become accepted as payment, and this was helped along by people trying to launder their local currency or buy illegal goods.

But considering that most government-backed currencies aren't limited, it's actually a pretty good compromise between bullion currency and fiat currency.

[edit] One other reason for using it is that it is a blockchain-based currency, which means it supports full end-to-end auditing and validation of the currency movement.  This means you can know exactly where each bitcoin has been from the moment of its creation until now.  This limits the possibilities of counterfeiting as well as, ironically, laundering.


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

[User]
[Spider-Man 3] Why did Aunt May say, "Spider-Man doesn't kill people?"

Spider-Man's villains have all died either through their own fault or their own choice.  But, from the perspective of the general population, some of his enemies have fought Spider-Man and never been seen again.  They weren't arrested - they just ceased to be.  Is there a reason it could be assumed that Spider-Man doesn't kill?

[Assistant] She was speaking aspirationally. The character of Spider-Man, as she understands it, is not of a killer. With a cheeky nod and wink to Peter that she *knows* Spider-Man, whoever he may be, to say that with some authority.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do you test a lethal injection?

Lady on a documentary talking about lethal injections just said "the drug is effective, we just completed testing". How does that work?

[Assistant] These drugs aren't just "kill people" drugs.  They are anesthetics and muscle relaxants.  You know how much it takes to have the effect, as a function of body mass.  You know that if you give a surgical patient too much, you have to revive them.  In a death penalty setting, you give them more than enough, and choose not to revive them.


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

[User]
Are there any K-Strategists insects?

K-Strategy, the process in which a species when breeding focuses on only a few offspring is common amongst birds, mammals and other vertebrates. But is there any case of it among insects or are they all r-strategists? If they are, what is the "simplest" animal with the K-Strategy?

[Assistant]
Pepsis wasps (tarantula hawk) will fight a single tarantula, paralyze it, drag it back into the spider's burrow, and lay a single egg it. Then when the egg hatches the baby wasp eats the tarantula alive, going for the least vital organs first.

The parent puts considerable effort into a single offspring.

But the momma wasp doesn't hang around and care for the baby. It's more of the entomological equivalent of a trust fund...


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

[User] ELI5: What does it mean to play "Devils Advocate"?

[Assistant]
When the Catholic church makes certain important decisions, like making someone a saint or appointing a cardinal, they elect someone to represent the interests of the Devil, as a sort of "let's make sure that we have covered all bases"  move. This is to make sure that they are making a good, well-thought decision. The word for "lawyer" in many languages is "advocate", so essentially someone is acting as the Devil's lawyer.

The term has moved into common English (and probably lots of other languages) to mean the person who brings up a point that people do not necessarily agree with, but should be considered.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is the Freddie Gray shooting a "Black Lives Matter" issue when the only officer being charged with murder is Black, the city is mostly Black, the police force is mostly Black, the mayor is Black, the prosecuting attorney is Black, the president is Black, and the attorney general is Black?

[Assistant]
The data that show racial bias among police officers does not show significant differences based on the race of the officer.  It seems that black officers are just as likely to profile black men as white officers are.

As for the news coverage, the news is covering this mostly because of the aftermath, meaning the protests and the riots, and also because Ferguson was so recent.  If this was just a killing with no protests and no riots, it may have had a couple of minutes on a news wrap-up just because this sort of thing is in the national consciousness right now, but other than that it wouldn't be covered outside of the local Baltimore media.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How did Luke's Proton torpedos dive down the Exhaust Shaft?

Seriously, they made 90 degrees turns!

[Assistant]
To really tackle this question, we need to examine the practical application of the Death Star. We have to ultimately ask, why does a mobile, man-made fire platform need an exhaust vent?

The deathstar is essentially an enormous fusion engine. It converts energy into destruction. Assuming it uses an antimatter reaction, (which would require magnetic shielding), each blast requires roughly two oil tankers worth of antimatter.  This reaction is clearly conducted in ten different locations around the deathstar and then gravitationally lensed into a resonance that can cause planets to explode. Yes, you are going to have some waste heat from those reactions. But that waste heat can be used to power your enormous planetary spaceship, it probably doesn't need to be 'vented'. So what were those thermal exhaust ports for, if not to get rid of waste heat?

Turns out heat dissipation is one of the largest problems facing extraterrestrial craft of any kind, specifically asymmetric heat distribution. On an object the size of the death star  the difference between the the warm side of the death star (facing the sun) and the cool side of the death star could be up to 500 degrees. Which at 161 km, is almost 2 km! This unnatural stress on the device can been limited by turning on the exhausts on the cold side, which explains not only why they have exhaust vents, but also why they are in a trench since you want that waste heat to expand over a wide surface area. Also, the trench could be built in a manner that minimizes stress from size changes. The equator would show the greatest stress after all. This also conveniently explains the consistent orientation of the Death Star relative to the nearest solar body.

The exhaust vents are magnetically shielded. But that magnetic shielding doesn't seem to do anything to repel proton torpedoes, which should most definitely have a magnetic charge. (Protons are positively charged particles.) Which would mean it is a cation. Which goes a long way to explaining their behavior when they arrive at the exhaust port. They seemed to alter course and drop directly into the port. As if the port was designed to channel cations. This implies two things A) that the thermal exhaust was positively charged, and B) that it was currently not flowing (which would provide resistance to the proton torpedoes). This is born out by the fact that the face of the death star attacked by the X-wings is the side facing the gas giant. This would be the warm side, and thus the exhaust ports on this side would be quiescent. The only reason to leave that magnetic shielding on when it was not in use is because it cannot be turned off at all! That really is a design flaw! Especially since the exhaust port is basically a giant slip and slide for any positively charged particle, like a proton torpedo, and the splash at the end is in an enormous anti-matter reactor!

Theoretically, the easiest way to defeat the trench run would be to turn on the cation flow again, thus creating resistance for the proton torpedos to overcome. Literally, all they had to do to defeat the Rebel Alliance was turn up the thermostat.

TL:DR
Exhaust ports were used to calibrate heat differential.
Exhaust ports were magnetically shielded to conduct warm particles.
Magnetic shielding could not be turned off.
When ports were not in use, explosive charged particles could be sent the other direction.
All the Empire needed to do was turn up the thermostat.


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

[User] [MCU / Thor] So, Loki can conjure objects like knives and the Casket of Winters. Why not do this more often and for more sneaky purposes?

[Assistant]
He successfully hid something very important until it's location was tortured out of him. That's pretty sneaky.

Plus he's been alive for millennia, yet I've only ever heard tales from, at most, a few years of his life. No doubt he's been quite the miscreant over all those years.


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

[User]
ELIF: When a video game is in development for 4-5 years (like the Elder Scrolls series), how do they keep up with technological growth?

I read that Bethesda has been working on Fallout 4 since before Fallout: New Vegas was released.

[Assistant]
1. You anticipate developments and design a game for hardware that doesn't yet exist. A big developer will also get engineering samples prior to their sale to the general public.

2. You don't release for hardware that is brand new, but release for hardware that is a couple years old.

So in the early stages of development your game is targeted at graphics cards that won't come out for another two or three years, but in the later stages of development your minimum hardware requirements are the current state of the art/most expensive hardware, and by the time you actually release your minimum requirements are now common hardware.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why aren't news stations (local, national, international) required to cite sources?

All (or most, I skimmed) of these responses seem reasonable and logical.  I know it would be difficult if not impossible to do so without imposing on freedom of speech, but it just seems there must be some way to be able to verify information and a simple, truthful, immutable way which cannot be manipulated or corrupted.  I feel there is a technology waiting to be discovered..  maybe it's just hopeless optimism.  But then again, innovations have been doing what was once thought impossible time and again, and since history is bound to repeat itself.. well. One can hope, for the sanity of humanity (rhyme intended)

Thanks for all the input!

[Assistant] One reason that news reporters (be they text or video) are not required to cite sources is that doing so can result in the firing, the arrest, or even the execution of the people who are their sources. Journalists take protecting these sources very seriously.


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

[User]
Why does our skin not turn gray with age?

As we get older, the melanin in our hair dies out, and gray hair starts to grow in place of colored hair. Since skin has melanin in it too, why does the same thing not happen?

Edit: Thanks for all the replies, guys!

[Assistant] Genes that regulate skin pigment are different genes from those that regulate the melanin in one's hair.  Also, it has been suggested that hair follicles have melanogentic clocks," which slows down or stops melanocyte activity (the things that produce melanin), and therefore decreases the pigment in one's hair. (loc.gov)


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

[User] ELI5 what the electric company does to restore electricity during a power outage and why it can take so long?

[Assistant] If its because of downed lines, they gotta   locate it first, drive out there usually in debris filled roads, clear the broken tree/branches out of the way, re-string and reconnect the wires, then test to ensure that it works, all while following safety standards.


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

[User] [MCU] Would it have been better to be a Snap victim or survivor? Why?

[Assistant]
Survivors are likely better off.

Blipped people have come back to a world that has figured out how to live without them. Their homes are either abandoned or re-occupied, possibly by strangers. Their belongings are either languishing in storage, passed down by the executors of their estate, or sold off. Their job has either been filled by someone else or eliminated entirely. Their friends and lovers have mourned them, and possibly moved on, accepting then as gone.

A blip bystander has been traumatized, but a blip victim has been rendered a refugee in their own homeland.


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

[User]
CMV: Barring any new major controversies, Donald Trump has 2020 in the bag

Unless something big comes out, like Trump getting caught saying the N word, pisstape gets leaked (huehuehue), or he was photographed eating a live baby, Trump has an almost clear path to the 2020 election.

Why? Economy is "good", in that unemployment is low and wages are increasing. No one really gives a fuck about national debt or trade wars, when it comes to elections.

Trump also has certain advantages now, that he didn't in 2016. The incumbency factor - no sitting President since Bush Snr lost their re-election bid. Republicans were divided, now united behind Trump. He kept most promises, and the most famous one he didn't (the Wall) he is always making clear he is still trying to do something about that. Possibly no one who voted D last election will be swayed, but his supporters will come back, and he might pick up some new undecided voters this time, so he might not need to convert Ds to his side.

Muller report did do damage, and it's not going away, but honestly, the worst has been sailed through. No new indictments, and the summary almost certainly wasn't lying when it said there was no evidence of DT conspiring with Russia to win the election.

This isn't about if DT is any good or not. This isn't about if the economy today is actually thanks to Obama. This is purely about DT's chances of winning. Will change my mind if there's reason to believe otherwise.

[Assistant]
Trumps base has stood by him and his administration through an insane amount of controversies, why do you think another one would diminish his chances?

This race is going to depend entirely on the performance of the Democratic party and their nominee for president.