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

[User]
Can a metal detector detect a higher amount of iron in our blood?

For example if I eat mussels, which contain high amounts of iron, am I more likely to set of a metal detector?

[Assistant]
The answer to your question is yes, but not from food intake.  There is a disorder called Hemochromatosis which results in a higher than normal iron content in the body.  A normal person has ~4 grams of iron in their body, while someone suffering from Hemochromatosis might have up to 50 grams in their body.  These extreme cases have been known to set off standard metal detectors, such as those found in airports.

For reference, a 3oz portion of mussels contains ~6mg of iron.  You would have to eat thousands of mussels in one sitting before the level of iron in your body would be high enough to set off a detector.


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

[User]
[DC] How is Lex Luthor a threat to Superman?

Superman is strong enough to fight Green Lanterns, wielders of what is literally the strongest weapon in existence. Yet somehow Lex has managed to build a suit that can take him in a fight. How was he able to do this while Earth remains so far behind the tech curve of the galaxy?

[Assistant] I'd say it comes down to 2 reasons. Firstly Supes knows that Lex is just a human under the suit so he's going to be pulling his punches making sure he doesn't actually hurt Lex. And secondly Lex's armor is powered by Kryptonite and fires Kryptonite energy blasts. Just by being in the fight he's weakening Superman.


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

[User]
[ATLA] What would Ba Sing Se have done to Iroh and Zuko if they believed Jet's story?

Given they're trying to cover up the war, would Iroh and Zuko have been executed? Or possibly brainwashed/hypnotized into forgetting who they were?

I guess same question for if that small band that captured Iroh in the first season somehow made it all the way to Ba Sing Se (knowing what we know; there was no way they were going to make it, but just what would Ba Sing Se have done with him IF he *somehow* made it?)

[Assistant]
They probably just torture and brainwash them to get any useful military information they might have which unfortunately wouldn't be much.

Maybe when they were done with them they might try releasing them to the Fire Nation as sleeper agents but they probably wouldn't expect much because Zuko and iroh being a wanted criminals is pretty common knowledge outside of ba sing se.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do processed foods that use "real fruit" keep their products tasting consistent when not all ripe real fruit have the exact same taste, some being more tart than sweet?

For example, I can buy a box of ripe strawberries and some will be absolutely delicious and juicy while some others would be much more tart. How do food companies keep their fruit snacks tasting consistent?

[Assistant]
1. Be extra picky with your quality control. A batch that might be perfectly fine on their own to sell might not meet a manufacturer's standards.
2.  Blend the fruit together. A million strawberries in a single blended paste will taste like the most average strawberry ever, and will make a lot of fruit snacks that taste the same.
3. Add other ingredients to alter the flavor after the fact, such as extra sugar.


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

[User] ELI5:How does a car scratch remover work?

[Assistant]
It's a very fine abrasive material, held in a liquid suspension.  Think of sandpaper...and the rough abrasive on it.  Now think of *extremely* fine abrasive...and mix it into a liquid.   The liquid lubricates the area as you polish it...it keeps the cutting action of the abrasive smooth and controlled.

A scratch basically a rough groove cut into the surface of the paint.  The outer layer of the paint is normally very smooth, and so reflects light well.  Scratch it, and you damage this surface...and you will see a whitish line.  Scratch remover basically allows you to polish the scratch down so that it's not so deep, and make the surface reflective again.  Modern car finishes have a clear coat layer over the colour layer.  If you are lucky, the scratch only is in the clear coat...where you can smooth and level this surface with the remover.    Put another way, you aren't  really filling the scratch in, so much as removing the material around it.  Some scratch removers have pigments in them...to help colour the damaged area.


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

[User]
If virtual reality was realistic and available for everyone (so you could live out any scenario possible), would there have to be made laws for what you could and couldn't do?

Sorry if this is too imaginative or if it's the wrong subreddit, by the way.

If a kind of virtual reality that was just like real life existed and was available for everyone (like the Internet is now), would there have to be made laws for things you could and couldn't do in your virtual reality?

Things like murder and child pornography come to mind, because obviously in real life they're huge offenses since they affect REAL people, but would the moral aspect of it make it necessary for the government to create laws against virtualizing these things? I hope it makes sense, otherwise feel free to ask me to elaborate.

[Assistant]
I am unsure whether you are asking based on our current framework of laws or what would be the ideal.

Regarding child pornography, even virtual cp is deemed illegal.  That's a debate people here tend to debate.


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

[User]
[Ringworld/general] Questions about gravity on a ring construct/Dyson sphere.

So I'm trying to wrap my head around this, maybe somebody could help.

A ring construct, like in Larry Niven's Ringworld series uses inertia/centrifugal force from it's spin to simulate gravity. Like God spun a coin on a table. So would it then have no gravity at it's (for lack of a better term) north and south poles? And would "gravity" taper off the further north/south you go? Why isn't everything on the surface drawn antispinward by the acceleration?

Second does the same centrifugal force apply inside a sphere as in a ring? Does the shape affect it somehow?

Lastly: How would you navigate the surface? Like normal north, south, east, west doesn't apply right?  How would you tell what direction is what and what would you call them? IIRC In the books he uses spinward and antispinward for east and west equivalents but how would you perceive which is which from on the surface?

[Assistant]
> A ring construct, like in Larry Niven's Ringworld series uses inertia/centrifugal force from it's spin to simulate gravity. Like God spun a coin on a table. So would it then have no gravity at it's (for lack of a better term) north and south poles? And would "gravity" taper off the further north/south you go? Why isn't everything on the surface drawn antispinward by the acceleration?

Incorrect, it spins like a car tire or bicycle wheel to avoid precisely the problem you are describing.

Once it is in motion, there is no horizontal acceleration. Just momentum, which is not noticeable in reference frames relative to the surface. (As a small note, you can throw objects in such a way as to observe Coriolis effects, though you probably won't notice on anything as large as Ringworld unless you're flying an aircraft, or starship, or launching artillery.)

> Second does the same centrifugal force apply inside a sphere as in a ring? Does the shape affect it somehow?

Yes, it's called a Dyson Sphere. That would give you less gravity towards the poles, but significantly more surface area to work with. Also, gravity angles outwards the further you are from the equator, so you'll want to build terraces into the design. Because there isn't much motion at the poles, they make for good docking ports.

> Lastly: How would you navigate the surface? Like normal north, south, east, west doesn't apply right? How would you tell what direction is what and what would you call them? IIRC In the books he uses spinward and antispinward for east and west equivalents but how would you perceive which is which from on the surface?

Yeah, spinward and antispinward make sense and are easy to observe. Then you just get to quibble about which of the other two directions you want to call north and whether you should invert it relative to what it would be on Earth because you're facing inwards instead of outwards.

Personally I'd use the right-hand rule. We spin counter-clockwise from one of the two possible reference frames *gestures with curled fingers*, so north is *points with thumb* that-a-way.


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

[User] ELI5 Why we can send emails from gmail to yahoo or outlook but cannot do the same with instant messaging apps like WhatsApp to Messenger or iMessage?

[Assistant]
Email was deliberately designed as an open format. It was created at a time when the ppl who controlled the internet cared more about making it work, than they cared about maintaining control over it.

Messenger apps were deliberately designed as closed formats, bc by the time it was a thing, the value that big companies saw in the internet was maintaining control over their user base, and selling that user base to advertisers.

TLDR: different end goals. Email was designed for you to use it, message apps were designed to use you.


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

[User]
ELI5 how can you cool atoms with lasers?

Give me your best analogies!

[Assistant]
Let's say you have a robot with an electric motor connected to an array of directional microphones, which will accelerate in the opposite direction whenever it hears a very specific note, say a C minor. The rest of the time it's just moving around randomly but at a constant speed.

Now you set up speakers all around this robot playing a C minor that's just a *tiny* bit out of tune. The sounds are a tiny bit too deep, less than 1% but that's still enough your robot won't react to it.

If the robot is moving towards a speaker, though, at the same less than 1% of the speed of sound, that causes it to "drive into" the soundwaves giving the same effect as when an ambulance drives past you, making it hear the off-key C minor as being exactly on key, which causes it to try to go in the opposite direction, slowing down.

Atoms only react to specific frequencies, colours, of light, same as how the robot only reacts to specific notes, and the frequency of light gets shifted by moving towards it or away from it same as sound.


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

[User] ELI5: How are documentaries about drugs where they interview drug dealers who wear masks to hide their identity made? How The National Geo or Vice, for example, get in contact with those people and why they agree to get on the camera and risk getting caught?

[Assistant]
They likely hired a "fixer."  The fixer is often a local journalist, maybe just someone that just knows a lot of people and has a lot of connections and can introduce the journalist to the people they want to interview and extend their own reputation to the journalist.  Fixers are crucial components of stories for foreign journalist.  They're often a mix between translator, facilitator, driver, bodyguard, etc.  Basically you'd have no chance at going and getting this story without first contacting a fixer who can make the right introductions for you and vouch for you.

In other words there's almost certainly a middle-man between the guys doing the interview, and the guys being interviewed.  They didn't just somehow cold-approach a big time drug dealer they had an introduction.

As to why they do it?  People love to tell their story to someone.  People like it when people are interested in them.


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

[User]
Where does the power come from that is needed to levitate a superconducting magnet against the constant pull of gravity?

In an aircraft in steady flight, lift exactly matches the pull of gravity. Generating that lift requires a continuous flow of power which is fed by the consumption of fuel. But a levitating supermagnet just sits there mid-air as long as it is kept cold enough. How?

(Yes, I know that a lot of a plane or helicopter's power is also used to overcome drag, thrown away as waste heat, accelerate, or to do other useful things. Let's set that aside for now.)

[Assistant] So far, everything said here has been wrong. There is no work done at all, no energy expended. A stone column holds up a statue against gravity mechanically without expending work. Here it's done magnetically. Both are static situation with no energy expenditure.


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

[User] [Fresh Prince of Bel-Air] If The Banks Family is so rich, why can't they afford a roof?

[Assistant]
Technically, they are missing a ceiling. There is a roof, you can see it every-time you see their house.

Actually, scratch that, they do have a ceiling, just a movie studio/warehouse style ceiling, instead of gypsum board that is commonly seen in residential properties. a style choice perhaps? Uncle Phil is so uptight, maybe having weird ceilings is his outlet.


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

[User] How many ISD would it take to take over earth?

[Assistant] One. We have no defenses that could reasonably stop an *Imperial*-class Star Destroyer from taking out major cities from orbit. We might be able to aim nukes at it, but odds are its countermeasure systems are so advanced that they'd have no issue dealing with them. That's really the only offensive capability we'd have. With enough patience, the Star Destroyer's commander could glass the entire surface without any noteworthy opposition.


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

[User] Eli5: why squid "meat" is so different from other animals?

[Assistant]
Most meat that we buy from the supermarket comes from vertebrate animals (ie animals with a spine and bones).

Squid however, are a type of invertebrate animals that don't have bones like vertebrates do (except a beak). This means that a squid's flesh has to function for movement and for structure, where a vertebrate animal's flesh only has to provide movement because bones provide structure. As such, a squid's flesh is different from a vertebrate animal's flesh and therefore can have a "chewier" and more "rubbery" feeling when we eat it.

Edit: spelling and phrasing. Thank you to all the culinary experts for pointing out that indeed, squid meat is only rubbery when overcooked.


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

[User] ELI5: Are our eyes and cameras similar in the way they focus and unfocus on things?

[Assistant] Not really. Out eyes have squishy jello lens, so they focus by physically stretching the lens to make them thinner or thicker, while cameras have two sets of (glass, hence unstretchable) lens that are put closer of further apart to change the focal distance.


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

[User] If a woman being 4 months prgnant with twins have one of them dead. Does the corpse of that twin keep growing? Is it possible to have the corpse out before term. Or if the corpse is there, does it affect the other fetus? Does it rotten?

[Assistant] An interuterine fetal demise will not grow much further. Depending on the gestation you can either have a selective reduction in which one is removed (so long as they have their own gestational sac, some twins share one) or have it delivered at the same time as the live fetus. The risk of rot or infection of the dead fetus is very small.


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

[User]
[Limitles/Zombies] What would happen if you gave a zombie NZT?

Edit: The zombies in question are the ones from The Walking Dead.

[Assistant]
Zombies don't metabolize food or drugs.  You would just be wasting the NZT.

Now the 28 Days Later zombies are still technically alive, just infected with the Rage virus.  They might gain full access to all of their memories and cognitive abilities... and then use them to slaughter everyone and everything.

Maybe that's what happened to the Reavers.


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

[User] ELI5: The Earth's magnetic field periodically reverses polarity. How does this happen and what are the effects felt on Earth?

[Assistant]
The effects are relatively unknown. We know a good number of species rely on magnetism to navigate, so there might be a critical moment that could lead to a kill off event where magnetically dependent species just get lost and die. Or they will just notice everything's been flipped. It's hard to test, I've seen experiments involving lobsters, it seemed to show that lobsters where totally loyal to direction of the magnetic North to find better grounds. Though unfortunately it had a serious observer effect that made it a bit unusable. There is no good way to say for sure.

It happens because our magnetic field is generated by the spinning ball of metal in the earth's core that is totally surrounded by liquid metal. There isn't really anything there keeping it facing one direction or the other. It will almost always be facing geographic North or south due to its spin.


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

[User] ELI5:Why is jury duty mandatory in the US?

[Assistant]
Because the US consitution (6th amendment) guarantees the right to a trial:

> by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed

The only way of creating an impartial jury is by getting a random pick from the population, and not just people who want to serve on a jury .  If they only took volunteers, they wouldn't have enough people to guarantee a jury, and the ones they would get would either have plenty of free time, or like judging people.  Both qualities wouldn't meet the standard of an "impartial jury".


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

[User]
If a massive asteroid hit earth, would it be more catastrophic if it hit land or open ocean?

Tsunamis seem incredibly dangerous, but so does an ice age.

[Assistant] Both can produce an ice age.  An ocean hit would threaten more human life directly due to the tsunamis and heavily populated coastal regions (it would depend a lot on exactly where it hit and the depth of the ocean at that point).


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

[User]
[Indiana Jones] When Indy saw that the Nazis were digging for the Ark in completely the wrong place, why didn't he just leave?

So Indy travels to the Nazi dig site in British controlled Egypt. He sees the Nazis aren't digging anywhere close to the where the Ark is and instead uses the staff/medallion to find the actual location of the Ark, then digs for it himself, and gets himself and the Ark captured by the Nazis.

Why didn't he just leave and inform the British colonial authorities? Egypt was technically independent but the British controlled their foreign policy and even internal policies including surrounding the King's palace with tanks to make him replace a coalition government the British didn't like with one more to their liking. Of course, the British and Nazi Germany were not on good terms in 1936 and they would not have been pleased to find out there are armed Nazi soldiers operating in their colony. Indy could have easily left, informed the British, the British would have cleared out the Nazis, and then Indy could have dug up the Ark unmolested.

[Assistant]
There are 2 main reasons

1) It wasn't a Nazi site, per se. The Germans did have various digs, expeditions, etc... throughout the world prior to the war, usually conducted by the Ahnenerbe, a German think tank. They had a Frenchman running the site, and the Nazi military was never "officially" there. All their paperwork and permits would be in order, and any military equipment would have been deemed military surplus, and have been gifted to the archeological group, any military personnel were off duty, and probably shouldn't have worn their uniforms, and they will be reprimanded accordingly. The British really would have no recourse to intervene, and they certainly were not going to start an international situation over it.

2) As for why not just let them keep digging, Indy knew that it would only be a matter of time before they realized they were in the wrong spot, Belloq was still a good archeologist. And when he realized they were digging in the wrong spot they might start looking again and may eventually stumble or figure out the right spot. Indy had one chance to get it before they figured it out, and he took it.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do athletes get drug tested for recreational/non-performance enhancing drugs (weed, etc.)?

[Assistant]
Because professional players have strict agreements in their contracts. One is to not break the the law, criminal prosecutions on a player undoubtably affect the team as a whole, through not being able to participate in the game, to public image (I.e. Merchandise sales).

Professional players being tested for drugs is just a part of that. Many contract go even further like not being able to own a motorcycle because it's more dangerous.

It's a lot of money at the top level, they don't want to invest that much in someone that is at risk of being sent to jail, or hurting themselves off field. If you accept millions of dollars to do anything, morality clauses and other such binding obligations are a part of that.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What was the land of Mordor like before Sauron, and what was it like after?

Was it a normal realm of men that was corrupted, similar to the effect Saruman and Isengaard had on the surrounding region?

Once Sauron was defeated, did it eventually return to a place of grass and trees and regular civilisation?

Or was Mordor always a dark and desolate place?

[Assistant] The part of Mordor Frodo, Sam, and Gollum traveled through was called the Plateau of Gorgoroth. It was always dry and unpleasant there. South and east of that, however, were fertile plains that were natural farmland (volcanic soil is great for plants!) There's some indication that men and elves may have lived there at one point, and that they were Shelob's prey until they became more scarce. These regions continued to be the breadbasket of Sauron's armies after he came to rule over Mordor.


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

[User]
ELI5: How spiral arms form in galaxies

Shouldn't it be like stirring hot chocolate powder in a cup?

[Assistant]
The speed of rotation of a galaxy is a bit weird to say the least.

The outermost edge rotates slowly, and as you make your way inwards, the rotation speed increases. The speed increases until the middle of the disc (im talking about the radius of the galaxy, not the diameter). From the middle of the radius to the centre of the galaxy, speed again decreases.

So what you have here is bits of matter (gas, dust, planetary systems etc) and stars which are held loosely together due to gravity. The matter bunched up into arms, due to the arrangement of the galactic magnetic fields.

Due to the uneven rotation speed, the middle of these structures gets "smeared" all over the place, as the faster middle overtakes the slow centre and the edge.

ps : Its a good thing we are living in a spiral galaxy, the other kinds of galaxies have virtually no heavy elements, hence, chances of intelligent life or even, higher forms of life is almost zero.


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

[User]
[Stargate] What are the powers of someone that has ascended?

What can they do?

[Assistant]
The power to sit around and do fucking nothing.

It's like being in the nuclear club, sure you got this cool toy, but all the other kids with the same toy will fucking end you if you use it.

So yeah, they most just watch people.

In the shower.

Mostly.


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

[User] How does the body keep our nerves, the tendons, veins and arteries from tangling into a mess?

[Assistant]
All of them are anchored in place in one way or another. They aren't flopping around like pasta.

For example, every tendon is attached to a muscle and a joint; every nerve is attached to the spine and then to some combination of muscles and organs (including skin); all arteries and veins are attached to muscles, organs, and other arteries and veins.

Finally, related structures are often wrapped in tubes of connective tissue. Most nerves going into your leg, for example, are part of one of a small number of nerve bundles, each of which is wrapped in its own protective sheath.


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

[User] I read recently that Jupiter itself is shrinking by 2cm per year. Does this mean it will eventually dissapear? How will this work?

[Assistant] Jupiter is just compressing because its getting colder. It cannot compress infinetly so it will never disappear. Infact, rigth now its only shriking at half the speed than what it did when it formed, and it will continue to slow down.


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

[User] [GENERAL] Lets say aliens exist and know about humble little earth, why not show themselves?

[Assistant] Earth is gorgeous. It's their national park. They like to observe the animals, and respect the fact that the animals occasionally destroy one another. They don't feed the wildlife. They don't pet it, trap it, hunt it, or even interact with it. They're evolved...


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

[User]
Are there any animals that humans evolved so significantly that they can't have offspring if they were to mate with their ancestor?

I have a lot of theist friends who argue about evolution with me and I always like to tell them that we pretty much made domestic dogs in their current form from their wolf ancestors. They always argue that they would still be able to produce offspring hence it counts as 'adaptation' and not 'evolution' (They seem convinced that these concepts are two separate things).

 So are there any animals that humans evolved so significantly that they can't have offspring if they were to mate with their ancestor?

[Assistant]
There are plenty of plants we have bred to be sterile to eliminate seeds (seedless grapes, watermelons, oranges, etc.). None of these can breed, period, so one can argue this is one answer to your question.

We are also very close to having vat-grown meat, which can obviously no longer reproduce with its source animal.

But evolution is evolution. The environment, or some genetic factor changes and some members of a species survive one way and some survive another. Eventually the differences grow to the point where the
two groups can no longer reproduce with each other.

It's all evolution, but it's more obvious when there's a dramatic change.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why do head/scalp massages feel so intensely good?

And why do they feel so much more euphoric compared to other kinds of massages?

[Assistant] IIRC: It triggers a dopamine response that has a calming de-stressing effect. Mothers gently touching an infants head while nursing, then later washing and brushing their child's hair calms them and makes them feel safe. Animals do this with grooming their babies as well. The licking and grooming is key to the young's ability to tolerate stress.


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

[User]
Are all muscles contracting? As in there are no "push" type muscles?

What about other species besides humans? And what are non-contracting (I'm assuming stationary) muscles generally used for?

[Assistant] Yes, muscles can only ever contract themselves. Muscles can only be stretched with another muscle, a "stretcher". You will always have muscles working either way on most of the body's joints. The fingers are a bit different.


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

[User]
[General/Superheroes]Are heroes judged "street class" because of their abilities or feats?

My friend and I were discussing what constitutes a street class superhero. My friend said it was based on their powers, I said it was based on their feats. Then he brought up a good point.....that if they were judged by their feats, then Squirrel Girl is a World/Cosmic class hero.....

Thoughts?

[Assistant] It is usually actually based on the scope of their operation. Many heros go from street to world class over the course of their story, few transition in or out of cosmic because of what being a cosmic hero entails. For example, Ben Grimm is a world class hero because he travels all over the world with his friends stopping bad guys. Even in the few cases that he has fought cosmic bad guys (Galactus) he did it to defend the earth. Powerman, who basically has the exact same power set, is street class because he spends his time trying to clean up Hell's Kitchen with Iron Fist and Daredevil. Both of those guys fought Galactus. Silver surfer mostly fights weird space wizards who are really not much more of a threat than your average super villain but they are space wizards who live in space so he is cosmic class.


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

[User] ELI5 why the number 1 is not a prime number?

[Assistant]
The real reason is that if you exclude 1, then you end up with a very useful property that all numbers are made up of a unique group of prime numbers that act like a finger print. This concept is so valuable that it is called the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic and it is the reason why we care about prime numbers. This property is also the basis for modern Cryptography.

So the number 60 is 2 \* 2 \* 3 \* 5, so the group of numbers 2, 2, 3, and 5 describe 60 uniquely. However, if 1 is a prime number, than 1 \* 2 \* 2 \* 3 \* 5 would also describe 60, as well as 1 \* 1 \* 2 \* 2 \* 3 \* 5 and so on.

By the way, everyone saying that it's because a prime number has exactly two divisors is wrong. We don't really care about the number of divisors, we care about what we can do with primes, which is break up any number into primes. Source: Degree in math.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What is outside the maps of Middle Earth?

What is beyond the maps Tolkien has in his books? What kind of societies exist there? How well known is this knowledge in Middle Earth?

Also, do people in Middle Earth ever go to outside those maps?

[Assistant] During the first age Arda, the planet, was flat with an ocean sitting between middle earth and the continent called Aman. After the sinking of Numenor, Aman was lifted away from Arda and the planet was made a sphere. So there isn't anything beyond middle earth anymore. For the unmapped portions of middle earth, it was filled with men. To the immediate south and East there were evil men through Sauron's influence. Whether there were men East of the Easterlings, or south of the Southrons is not said, if they were there we dont know if they were evil or good. The Blue Wizards allegedly went East. Aragorn does travel extensively and he went south to at least Harad and Umbar.


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

[User] [Nolanverse]So it's been a year or so since the Batman sacrificed himself to save Gotham from bane. How have things been?

[Assistant]
It was rough at first. All those criminals released by Bane's little marshall law stint, unaccounted for, seeped back into the underworld, ready to tear ass now that they knew the Batman was dead.

Gordon stayed on, realising just how bad the job was going to get. He was confident however, that this time, the city would be willing to do what was necessary to stem corruption and crime, having learned from its fallen hero.

Imagine everybody's surprise when, as criminals started harassing the citizens of Gotham, people started reporting strange sightings. Criminals being left beaten in the streets, people being mugged saved from the shadows. Everybody immediately knew what it was, yet how could that be? The bat was dead.

Gordon knew. From what little footage was caught of the new Bat, he was able to recognise the profile of his former colleague, Robin John Blake. Dressed in a batsuit, refining himself against the criminal underworld, Blake managed to keep the spirit of Batman alive, which in turn gave the people of Gotham and its cops the moral resolve to tackle and halt crime at every opportunity.

Gotham survived. Gotham prospered. The bat watched over them, and it gave them strength.


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

[User]
ELI5: What would be the effect of having one computer connected via LAN and the rest of the computers connected via WiFi?

So lately our router seems to be working rather slow and when we've contacted our supplier the support center told us it could happen due to someone on the network connected via LAN and "taking up all the bandwidth".

I've searched around the internet a bit and it seems like unless some 50MBps downloads are currently running on that computer, the effect should be the opposite.

Is having one computer plugged to the router via WiFi and another computer connected via WiFi work faster than one computer connected via LAN and another one connected with WiFi?

**edit:** you guys are too kind. Thanks for the help!
Personally, I don't experience these problems with my PC, but my roommate keeps complaining about slow connection (he's the one using WiFi), and our internet provider asked him whether or not we have any computers connected to the router using a LAN cable, and said it might be the cause. We're leaving the apartment in a month and it doesn't really matter that much to any of us, just kind of annoying. Asking more for general knowledge since I like gaming with LAN connected and was afraid it might have an effect on other people who are connected to the network.

[Assistant]
Depends on the router; they're not all equal, and it's not always about the bandwidth being used.

Figure a typical router's network ports operate at 1 Gigabit (1000 Mbps). A typical wireless connection is limited to approx 50 Mbps;   You could, in theory, connect 20x devices wireless before matching the bandwidth a single physical port allows for.  Now this never actually happens because wireless technologies, interference, processing speed, packet loss etc, never get you the full bandwidth.

What's often more often the case, is the router's ability to handle multiple wireless connections to different devices at the same time is limited.  You also have to consider that the "Wireless" connection on the router is a single interface being shared by multiple devices, and splits the wireless bandwidth between them; where the physical port is just the one device. However, not all wireless routers are 'rated' for the same wireless bandwidth.  A wireless router rated for, say, 300 Mbps has to split that between all wirelessly connected devices.

Now taking all that together, and assuming your actual internet connection isn't the limiting factor;  having a plugged-in computer should have no noticeable impact on your wireless performance by a longshot unless it's a pretty junky router.  Having a computer plugged in directly would theoretically IMPROVE wireless performance, as it's one less device to share the wireless interface.


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

[User] ELI5: How do we have automated robots that do extreme precision engineering, but there are still no cooking robots in restaurants?

[Assistant]
Robots are expensive, so unless they are going to save a significant amount of money for the restaurant, it doesn't offer any advantage over just hiring a chef.

Also, some restaurants do use robots - there's a noodle cutting robot that some Chinese restaurants use.

Also if you have a flexible definition of "Robot," things like sous vide circulators are technically robots, and restaurants definitely use those.


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

[User]
[MCU] Why didnt Ultron save himself onto a physical External hard drive?

surely he coulda.  he had days!!!!

[Assistant]
He probably did.  It would be almost suicidal to not have offline backups located *somewhere*.

In other media, this sort of thing is *exactly* why Ultron keeps coming back despite being "defeated" several times already.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Could a lightsaber, if braced, positioned, and powered sufficiently, deflect a shot from the Death Star?

Some considerations:

- How much force from the blast is transferred kinetically to whatever is holding the lightsaber?
- Would a larger diameter blade be necessary?
- Does the power going into the blade have to be proportional to the energy it is diverting?

[Assistant] No.  The blade of a lightsaber can be 'broken', as in the energy of another blade or weapon blast being so powerful as to pass through the defending blade.  This is seen with Sith lightsabers, which possess artificial red crystals which make them slightly more powerful than a natural green or blue crystal.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is it possible for someone to hold their breath for a very long time?

The world record is 24 min 37.36 sec

How can they stay conscious for so long on a single breath? Doesn't the body need a constant supply of oxygen?

[Assistant]
Two main things. The first is the *mammalian dive reflex*. Whenever your nose is submerged, your body automatically does a lot of tricks to reduce your need for oxygen. Your heart beat slows down and organs that aren't immediately necessary for your survival get less oxygen - enough to keep them alive, but not enough for them to be fully "on". Even your brain gets a reduced supply, and parts that you don't immediately need get less and work much more slowly.

The other thing is saturating their blood through hyperventilation before diving. Hyperventilating - breathing very quickly - can be bad for you and make you dizzy. If you train for it and do it properly, though, you don't give your blood much time to use up the oxygen it already has. The rapid breathing causes more oxygen to dissolve into your blood until it's completely saturated with way more than you need. Right before diving under, these divers hyperventilate so that they are carrying "extra" oxygen in their blood.

And, of course, there's just good old fashioned training. Training their lungs to expand and hold as much as possible, training their body to deal with lactic acid buildup a bit better, training their moments to be as efficient as possible to use very little oxygen...


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

[User] ELI5: Why does the US have a high gun ownership rate and a high gun violence rate and the Swiss have a high gun ownership rate and a low gun violence rate?

[Assistant] The Swiss also have mandatory military service and a relatively low income gap, with universal health care and a more robust welfare state. So less of the desperation that leads to violent crime combined with knowing everybody has a gun and knows how to use it would logically result in in a low violent crime rate.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Can I immigrate to Latveria?

So I currently live in New York City and I am getting tired of superhero battles disrupting my daily life. Battles have destroyed my car, damaged multiple apartments and the infrastructure is constantly getting repaired which makes getting to work a nightmare. I know Latveria is ruled by Doom, but all the news I have seen show him caring deeply for his people and doing everything he can to keep them safe. Would I be aloud to immigrate? I'm a single guy in his mid 20's with a degree in economics, would that help or hurt my chances of getting in? Would the U.S. state department try to talk me out of it? If all else fails could I just show up at the border and ask for sanctuary?

[Assistant]
Latveria welcomes people with the right skills, but a degree in economics probably doesn't count for much.

What you want to do is build a revolutionary new doomsday device - basically, anything that can destroy a city or larger - and then beg Doom for sanctuary. If he does not scorn your petty efforts as the pathetic tinkering of a small-minded fool, he may be willing to give you citizenship.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does electricity create information?

In computers, information is in binary, which represents energy being on and off. However, I don't understand how the energy creates the information. What about energy being turned on and off allows computers to do what they do?

[Assistant] Electricity doesn't actually create the information - it's more of a carrier of information.  The switches are tiny transistors that use electric voltages to activate or deactivate specific parts of the circuit to take a bunch of input voltage values (ons or offs) and generate a set of output voltages.  When you turn a computer on, it starts in a null state, except for one little chip that uses the new on voltage to begin executing stored computer code that checks the hardware and boots the computer by pointing to where the magnetic or electrical patterns that represent the operating system's kernel are stored.  Once the kernel is loaded into memory, it loads even more stored patterns - the rest of the operating system and programs.  These take electrical patterns as input by keyboards, touch screens, mice, and wired or wireless connections, and evaluate the input against each itself, other input, or against standard operations using the prearranged patterns in the computer's processor.  So the electricity itself isn't the information, it's just what lets the transistors perform operations on the information.


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

[User]
If I was an organism in a 2D world, would there be any experiment I could conduct, in order to prove whether there is a third dimension or not?

I was just watching a documentary about space time and the fourth dimension. They said, that we cannot sense the 4th dimension, but it still exists. That's where i started to reason and came up with my question.

[Assistant] You could detect higher spatial dimensions by measuring the distance dependence of forces like electromagnetism and gravity. These, in our Universe, obey an inverse square law because as they propagate in one direction, they spread out in the other two. If they propagated in one direction and only had one other dimension to spread in (a 2D universe) they would obey a simple inverse law.


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

[User]
Could anything man-made trigger the Yellowstone super volcano?

If a nuke were to be buried very deep into the ground at Yellowstone and then detonated, would it have any effect on the volcano?  Is there anything else man-made that could trigger it?  Or would it be impossible to "manually" trigger the eruption?

Sorry if it's a silly question.

[Assistant] All these answers assume there is eruptable magma down there currently anyway.  While there is certainly magma, we don't know what the connectivity of it is like, the viscosity, or the internal pressure.


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

[User]
[28 weeks later] How they should have managed the UK's repopulation?

In the movie, they totally scewed this up. I think, for starters they should have moved the population away from Central London.

Maybe a small commuter town which would be way easier to secure than a massive city. Pick one near a RAF base for plane movements and possible evacuations.

Also, establish a no man's land all around the town, with automated machine guns and minefields for safety.

Finally, residents get their own apartments with secure prison.-like doors. The emergency protocol means that everyone runs back to their apartment and locks inside.

Anyone caught still running outside gets shot.

[Assistant]
Hindsight is 20/20. They had no reason to suspect the whole carrier aspect of the virus and got completely blindsided. It's easy to look back and critique it when you happen to know the threat was still present.

That being said, it was the British government. Screw ups are second nature to them.


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

[User] If mankind were to become roaming galactic nomads forced to live aboard giant spaceships, as Hawking believes, how would the structure of civilisation change?

[Assistant] It depends on the scope of the universe. If there is enough competition for resources, certain vessels may even attempt to attack others, in order to salvage from the wreck. If that is the case, those in the highest position of power may take their power from some sort of defensive presence, like the classic tribal hierarchy.


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

[User] Can we say that the molecular formula of a compound shows that exact ratio of atoms of elements in it?

[Assistant] Well, that's pretty much the defining characteristic of a formula, so yes.  At the minimum, what we call the empirical formula tells you the ratio of atoms in a material.  A molecular formula tells you exactly how many atoms of each element are present in individual molecular units, so you get a little more information than just an empirical formula.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we feel so much better when we hit the "perfect" temperature in a shower even though it is such a small change in temperature?

[Assistant]
Some points about showering and temperature:

Water is quite conductive of heat. It will absorb heat from you quickly if it's cold, and warm you up quickly if it's warm.

Water in the shower is moving which makes it even better at changing your body temperature. When you are swimming and not moving around much, for instance, there will be a layer of warmer water near your skin which means heat is getting pulled out of you slower than it might otherwise. In the shower, that layer is constantly getting washed away, so you are in constant contact with the water close to the temperature that's coming out of the shower head.

Water has a huge heat capacity compared to anything else with very few exceptions.

Add this all together, and you have a very good way of changing your body temperature in a hurry. I'll make no comment on why it feels so much better, but these are some of the reasons why a small change in water temperature makes it feel like a large change.


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

[User]
How do mRNA vaccines avoid being chopped up by the human body's cell enzymes?

I read this passage in a NYT article:

> The mRNA molecules our cells make can only survive a matter of minutes. **The mRNA in vaccines is engineered to withstand the cell's enzymes a bit longer,** so that the cells can make extra virus proteins and prompt a stronger immune response. But the mRNA can only last for a few days at most before they are destroyed.

How does this work? What is it about particular strands of mRNA that makes them accessible for protein production but also prevents them from being destroyed for a while?

[Assistant]
Naked RNA would be rapidly degraded by exonucleases before it entered the cell.  To prevent this, the mRNA is enclosed in lipid nanoparticles that protect it from extracellular RNAses and also helps it transfect (get into) the cells it needs to enter.  mRNA is supposed to come from the nucleus - any mRNA that comes from outside the cell is a hallmark of a virus and is going to trigger some anti-viral responses.  The lipid nanoparticles also help protect the RNA from some of the receptors (like TLR 7 and 8) that would otherwise trigger antiviral responses that could shut down translation and speed up degradation of the mRNA.

Once it is inside the cell, the mRNA will be translated into spike protein by ribosomes and the proteins will then be processed and presented on MHC-I and II molecules so that T-cells can be activated (just as happens with natural viral proteins).

The mRNA will eventually be degraded by endonucleases.  This is *normal*: it limits potential adverse effects, you don't want the mRNA hanging around and being translated forever!  But you also want to be sure that it isn't degraded *so* rapidly that barely any spike protein gets made and the adaptive immune response isn't sufficiently activated.

There are a number of methods that can be used to increase the stability and half-life of the mRNA by making it harder for certain RNA-degradation processes to work and/or increasing the efficiency of translation prior to degradation.  For example, you can elongate the poly-A tail, or modify the 5' cap, or make nucleotide modifications.

The Pfizer vaccine makes a few nucleotide modifications (with single incorporations of 1-CH3-pseudouridine) which helps prevent innate immune responses from destroying the mRNA before it can be translated, and also increases its translation.  It's believed that the increased translation is because it decreases the hydrolysis of the mRNA by phosphodiesterases.

Both vaccines also use similar consecutive proline substitutions to force the relevant spike protein chains into more stable pre-fusion conformations.  By stabilizing the protein product in this way, mRNA can be active for a shorter time because the protein product is more likely to stimulate the correct immune responses.


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

[User]
CMV: If God is responsible for all the good things that happen in life then he is also responsible for the bad.

After almost ever natural disaster (ex.hurricanes, tornadoes, floods) people are quick to praise God for saving them. The simultaneously ignore the fact that God chose not to save all the other people that died.

If God can be credited for saving life then he should also be held responsible for ending life. If God is all powerful and all knowing then he watches our suffering (ex. Coronavirus) and ignores our pleas for help on a massive scale. If anything God is the only person who could prevent our suffering, but chooses to watch us die

[Assistant]
If God made people with some amount of free will.

And people can exercise that free will to do something bad without God intervening.

Arent those people at least partially responsible for the bad?


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

[User] ELI5: Why are males and females separated in non-physical competitions such as chess?

[Assistant]
While there is physically nothing that keeps men and women from competing on the same level in chess, there are several societal factors in play that mean women do not play chess as frequently as men do. The chess organisation made a decision to instate a separate woman's only chess division (the regular chess division welcomes both men and women) to give female chess players more publicity. That publicity is important because that is one of the things that will eventually get more young girls interested in the sport and potentially get to a level where they can compete. If you never ever see a female chess player, you might quickly assume that this is not a sport for you and drop it.

Hopefully, eventually, when the pressures that keep young girls from being as interested in chess no longer exist and the numbers of men and women competing are more even, a separate woman's division won't be needed any longer, but for now, it is.


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

[User]
[Iron Man/Batman] What are the major differences between Tony Starks and Bruce Waynes stances on crime?

This question has been on my mind for some time now, I think it's well known that they have a noticeably different view on fighting crime.

Tony Stark has no qualms with killing criminals to achieve his goals and in the movies he states that he has "Successfully privatized world peace." I'm not aware of whether this was true in the movie but he did seem to have a huge technological advantage over the rest of the world.

Bruce Wayne and his belief that killing makes you the same as the criminals you're fighting seems to make his fight to end crime vastly different. It seems very restricted in his efficiency because he can't outright take a life which in most cases is the quickest way to end a threat. I'd probably say that in the Iron Man universe he was much closer to the true aspect of world peace due to his companies much larger military technology presence in the world.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Tony's and Bruce's stances on crime?

[Assistant] Tony's major advantage, IMO, is that everybody knows he's Iron Man. He doesn't need a public image, he can put 100% of himself into being Iron Man. Bruce might be able to use his Bruce persona to affect social change and provide jobs to Gotham, but he'll never be running Cadmus or in charge of Earth's planetary defenses. Tony will though, he's gonna use all the power Iron Man and Tony Stark can provide him to be in charge of everything. There is no advantage to not killing your rogues. The game might be escalated, but that doesn't matter if there's no players left to game you.


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

[User]
In Harry's misuse of magic trial, why don't they provide his memories from a Pensieve as evidence?

Or even his memories of Voldemort's return, for that matter? Or something like Veritaserum? It seems like the manipulation of a memory is difficult problem and can be detected. I don't see why they wouldn't use this as evidence for their crazy claims.

[Assistant] Because the Dark Lord effectively owned the ministry at this point, and the whole trial was a kangaroo court exercise - it was never meant to be 'fair'. Without Dumbledore's interference Harry would have gone down regardless of evidence, especially as the ministry itself knew he was innocent yet still attempted to convict him. They were hardly going to allow irrefutable evidence to prove his innocence when it went against their objectives, we're they? It would defeat the purpose of trying to get him removed from blocking Voldemorts path.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some people get white hairs while they're still fairly young?

I understand a little about melanin production slowing down as we get older, but does that also explain why I just found a white hair while I'm still in my 20's? What about people who get white hairs in their teens?

[Assistant] Hair gets it's color from melanin, like what gives your skin pigment. As people age, there is less pigment cells, or melanin in the hair follicle. When the follicle stops producing the pigment for your hair, it can become white or a gray color. This can be genetically determined so make sure to thank your parents for your white hair.


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

[User]
CMV: As a U.S. citizen living and working abroad, I shouldn't have to pay U.S. income tax

I hold valid, legal long-term residence in Europe, and have begun making an income in my host country working for a local company.   As such, I pay all local taxes and am happy to do so.  I enjoy living in Europe, and I enjoy that there is a social safety net of which, at times, I have also been a beneficiary.

That being said, there is a bizarre legal requirement as a U.S. citizen: I must file this income as well in the United States, and if I am making a certain amount I will need to pay U.S. federal income taxes.

This feels, well, incredibly inappropriate on so many levels.

1. I do not live in the U.S.
2. The U.S. is the only country outside of I believe Eritrea where this is a reality.
3. I do not receive any direct benefits from my taxes living in Europe. (I get it, there are security alliances etc, though this is also sponsored by...my European taxes)
4. The U.S. prides itself on its "freedom" and "free market" and blah blah and I am bound to the country permanently, ironically, through taxation. Edit:  For clarity, I meant more that the US tends to frown upon excessive taxation and social safety nets compared to other countries.
5. Nobody. Else. In the world. Has to do this.
6. I could keep going on and on.

I just do not understand on any level what the legal argument is as to why I must file US income taxes on my foreign income, especially as I have no intention of returning to the U.S.  I get it, I could become a citizen of my host country, though still.  Is permanent U.S. taxation what makes me a U.S. citizen?

Edit:  This post isn't any political statement for or against the U.S. and its policies, I just enjoy living in Europe and don't want to be double-taxed for seemingly no reason.

[Assistant]
One reason for this is that it can prevent abuses about people claiming residency in tax havens.  Within the EU this is a persistent issue. *Stares at Monaco.*

The way the US tax on expatriates work is that there is a foreign tax credit, meaning any taxes paid to the country where you reside are counted 1:1 against your US taxes.  Plus there's a large exemption for your first 100k+ of income.

So you only owe extra tax if:

1.  Your income is objectively very high; and

2.  Your income was taxed at a lower rate by your country of residence.

On top of this, US federal taxes are relatively smaller than most countries' total tax because US states do a lot of the work of government.  And so the place where you live has to have lower tax than the US federal rate, but you can count both your foreign national and subnational taxes for the foreign tax credit.

So for example, if you're in Canada, you pay both Federal and Provincial taxes. Both of them count against the US tax under the foreign tax credit, even though you don't have to pay US state taxes.


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

[User] ELI5: If the exoplanet HD 100-546 is larger than some stars, how come it hasnt collapsed into a low-mass star?

[Assistant] We have just started to research the HD 100546 star system. It is a fairly young system and still have its acreation disk which planets form from. So it is very hard to see things in it. Adding to this there are not may star systems of this type so we do not know these very well. Whe do have some indications of one planet or maybe even two planets in the star system. And one of these is large enough that it could be a brown dwarf but it could also be a regular planet. There is some overlap in masses between brown dwarfs and gas giants because they can have different densities, composition, temperature, core material, etc. which does affect its ability to burn deuterium or not. We do not know if HD 100546 b does burn deuterium which would make it into a brown dwarf but from what we can tell now it does not look like this process have started making it a gas giant.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why do different types of preparation of the same food can result in different nutritional values?

For example:
Frying vs boiling an egg
Eating fruits straight up vs drinking a smoothie made by blending just fruits

Provided nothing is added (like oil, sugar, salt etc etc)

[Assistant]
If nothing is added, most of the content remains the same generally, unless cooked.

Cooking changes the molecular structure of the food, mainly breaking down complex chains of compounds into simpler and easy to digest forms. It also changes the molecular structure of the compounds and makes some things like vitamins lose their structure.

The method of coction dictates how much heat and therefore change a molecule will receive. In general terms the more heat is received by the food the easier will be for us to digest its base molecules like aminoacids, carbohidrates, etc., but it will make things like vitamins not consumable.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do jewelers decide what shape, angle, # of facets, etc. is going to work best with a particular gemstone?

Do certain types of gems have standard cuts, which work because of the internal reflection / refraction of that substance? How are new cuts invented?

[Assistant]
Well. Which cut a gemcutter selects depends on the clarity and impurities of the gem as well as the shape of the raw gem (ideally a gemcutter wants to retain as much weight as possible while still enhancing the attractive features). And also fashion. For example when it comes to diamonds the emerald cut (creating a rectangular step cut stone) was popular in the 1930s, while in the 80s the brilliant cut was the most favored because it enhances the glittery aspect of the stone. Today the brilliant is still one of the more favoured cuts, but the rose cut is making a comeback because it gives a rock a more old-timey feel.

Generally if a stone has a high clarity the gemcutter will want to pick a cut that maximizes the brilliance and a fairly shallow cut (because that creates the maximum light interplay) while a with a "fancy" (a rock with a lot of colour impurities) the gemcutter will want to enhance the colouration and will pick a shape suited to the nature of each gem.

With a rock that's lower quality the gemcutter will probably favor a deep cut to retain the maximum weight, since even with a shallower cut the light brilliance won't be all that spectacular.


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

[User]
When a antigen-presenting cell activates a Th-cell, does the Th-cell take the antigen? Or does the antigen-presenting cell keep it?

Just really really curious what people know about this detail. I've seen 1 video where the MHC II gives the antigen to the TCR, but I cannot find a verification anywhere on the internet. Thought I'd give it a shot in here, maybe there are some experts? :D

Title of the video: 'The Adaptive Immune System'
By 'Vaccine Makers Project'. It happens at 30 seconds.

[Assistant]
No, the T cell receptor doesn't have a proper pocket to bind a peptide antigen. That pocket is in the MHC molecule, and the peptide antigen stays in there.

The binding affinity for just the peptide alone would be low, the T cell receptor really recognizes a particular combination of MHC and peptide.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why soap operas look... "different" than other TV shows/movies

Is it the way it's lit (more dramatic lighting)? Different camera (digital/film)?

[Assistant] Soap operas are most of the time very low budget. They can't use actual 'film'(expensive) which records at 24 frames per second(most hollywood movies), so they use videotape(yes, vhs), which records at 60(?) frames per second.


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

[User]
Why do objects make a sound when they are broken? What is causing the emission of the sound?

Say I break a carrot and you hear that "snap". What is causing that sound? Why is it making that sound?

[Assistant]
You hear sound when *rigid*\* objects are *suddenly* broken. Cut butter or rubber and you don't hear any sound, even if you cut quickly. Similarly, cut glass very slowly with a knife and you don't hear anything (cut, not scrape). When you suddenly break an object, right before breaking, the molecules close to the fracture lines are stretched away from their equilibrium points. In a rigid object, when the break happens these molecules very quickly snap back to their equilibrium points because they are pulled back by their regular chemical bonds to neighboring molecules. The more rigid and less dense the object, the more quickly the molecules snap back once the fracture happens. But when a molecule reaches its equilibrium point, it now has momentum and overshoots the equilibrium point, smashing into neighboring molecules. These neighboring molecules are then pushed into their neighboring molecules before snapping  back to their equilibrium points. A wave of molecules pushing and snapping back therefore traverses through the object. We call this systematic waving of molecules a "mechanical vibration" or "sound". When the vibrations traveling through the material reach the surface of the object, the vibrating molecules smash into the molecules of air and get the air itself vibrating. The vibration (i.e. the sound) travels through the air into your ear and you perceive the sound.

In order for the sound in the material to be audible to a human, it has to be high enough frequency and high enough amplitude. This will only happen for the sound created by breaking an object if the object is rigid enough and you break it fast enough.

\* Note that even a non-rigid object such as a rubber band can make a sound if you stretch it enough so that it is pseudo-rigid. Cut a limp rubber band with scissors and you don't hear a sound. But stretch a rubber band as much as possible and then cut it, and you will hear a snap. All of the above concepts still apply because a non-rigid object that is stretched enough acts in some ways like a rigid object.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] If Millennium Falcon evaded Imperial tracking after leaving the Death Star?

Say the Falcon made several hyperspace jumps to Yavin and ditched the tracking beacon at an intermediate site. The Rebels would have more time to formulate a strategy against the Death Star. What kind of plan would they come up with so that they have a better chance of success but not worry the Imperials enough to launch all fighters or call in reinforcements?

[Assistant] Their best bet would have been commando team.  The flaw is with the reactor not specifically the exhaust port, the port is just how they exploited the flaw.  With the number of Storm Troopers and other personnel that serve on the Death Star infiltration is probably its biggest weakness.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does Down syndrome appear more prevalent in the Western World?

I hope this question doesn't come across ignorant, but whenever I have visited countries outside of the West I haven't seen as many people with Down syndrome; friends I have in England who have emigrated from non-Western countries have also commented on Down syndrome seeming more common here.

Another question I had, if you read this far, is: is down syndrome exclusive to the Caucasian race, as I don't think I've ever seen people of different races with Down syndrome?

Thanks!

[Assistant]
Any race can have Down Syndrome, and its prevalent all over the world, occurring in somewhere between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 700 babies or so. It is more likely to occur with older parents, however.

So the explanations for your observations?

1) Mental and physical disability is often a lot more stigmatized in the developing world, causing families to hide their children or even abandon/kill them at birth.

2) Developed countries have much better healthcare and education surrounding disability, ensuring persons with these conditions are able to survive longer and be better absorbed into and therefore visible in society. Disabled persons in the developing world do not often survive as long as they could with adequate care, or receive substandard care solely because they are disabled.

3) Depending on where you live, it is likely that Caucasians are in the majority. As Down Syndrome is pretty rare, you are loads more likely to encounter Caucasian persons with the Syndrome, solely because there are more Caucasians.

4) This one is speculation, but parents in developed countries are often older. Given the known positive association between age at parent hood and likelihood for chromosomal/genetic disorders there may be some slight increase in prevalence in the developed world. This would be nowhere near the extent to which you seem to have observed though, so the first three explanations are likely the best.

Edit: added reason no. 3

Edit: Formatting (I hope)


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

[User] ELI5 Why does there seem to be a stylistic difference between the handwriting of men and woman?

[Assistant] Part of it might have to do with the differences in the genders when the children are first learning handwriting.  These are generalizations, but at ages 6-8, boys are a bit more hyperactive and focused on bulk motor skills while girls have an easier time sitting still and have more developed fine motor skills.  These things even out by age 12 or so, but by that time your handwriting has been imprinted and you're focused on using your skills for other things.


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

[User] What is that feeling we get when we want to sneeze but can't. What exactly is going on in our noses at that time?

[Assistant]
Usually, a person sneezes due to irritation in the nose, mucus, hair or any irritants that the body (or the nose) wants to expel explosively (hence the sneeze).

But as the body is preparing to sneeze, you are inhaling air, inflating your lungs and, in general, doing the "aah..aaaaahhh..." part. If the irritant is moved or is dislodged from its place - the need and the urge to sneeze vanishes. Hence no sneeze.

TL;DR: the preparation to fight the enemy causes the enemy to go away.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't plastics be more efficiently recycled?

I know glass and aluminum can be recycled pretty efficiently, but if plastics have lower melting temperatures I would assume they'd denature less therefore offering better methods of recycling.

[Assistant]
Glass and Aluminum are quite different from plastic.

Aluminum is made of matching atoms, its pretty much pure.  Melt it down, cook off any impurities and you've got yourself fresh aluminum which is indistinguishable from the original.  Making fresh aluminum is also ludicrously energy intensive so there's a lot of incentive to collect and recycle previously used aluminum

Plastic is tricky because not all plastics are created equal.  In general, plastics are long spaghetti strands that all stick together to give you the nice plastic you want, they're polymers which means they're made from long strings of monomers that are connected together.  When you recycle your plastics you break your spaghetti strands, after a couple rounds of recycling you have couscous instead of spaghetti which doesn't work at  all.

Making it even harder, "plastic" encompasses a broad variety of materials and if you don't separate your #1 plastic from your #2 or #6 you don't get plastic you can reuse at the end, you just get mush with uncertain properties, and since there isn't a great way to separate plastics by material quickly it greatly adds to the cost of plastic recycling because you need a manual sorting stage early on.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do fans operate in the order: off>high>medium>low instead of off>low>medium>high?

It's incredibly trivial, but it really never made sense to me.

[Assistant]
Some fans don't have enough power in the low setting to get themselves going from a standstill (AC motors can be weird). By putting High as the first setting, the fan is guaranteed to be spinning and have momentum before it gets switched to Low.

You can try it out with a power strip to turn the fan on and off while the switch on the fan is set to Low. Some fans will start up fine, but some will just wiggle a bit without spinning.


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

[User]
ELI5 What exactly is a record label and why is it important for musicians.

So many artists are signed to different labels, but they are extremely popular. How does a label work and why would an artist even want to sign to one since labels typically get a percent of money. Also, I thought independent or indie artists were not signed to a label but if you go to Spotify and look up indie music half of them are signed to a label.

[Assistant]
Recording, printing, distributing, and marketing albums is a very expensive endeavor. Far more costly than an unknown artist can likely afford.

Historically record labels would find talent, promote them, and loan them money to record, print, and market their albums. Labels would have distribution channels in place to sell records and get songs on the radio.

All of this in exchange for a significant share of the profits.

By the 00's big record labels started going out of fashion. Labels had become predatory organizations and stories about how even big name stars like Destiny's Child were broke because of 1-sided contracts became big news.

Contracts would be written to take a percentage of gross profits rather than net, and record labels were asking for a percentage of concert sales and merch which they had never done before. Bands would sign, get a large cash grant up front and they find themselves in debt they couldn't pay themselves out of.

Record labels would also try to own publishing rights, meaning that artists would effectively lose control over their own work.

Bands stopped wanting to sign with big labels, and labels started signing larger numbers of bumble gum pop acts, rap stars, and boy bands that they could easily milk for money.

The record industry would blame Napster and internet piracy for an industry wide drop in sales while that was only a part of the problem. Albums had been going down in quality while consumers were turning to new media formats on the internet to get their new artists. People stopped listening to Radio, and MTV started playing nothing but reality TV.

New talented and interesting groups are being overlooked in favor of the next viral boyband or rap star.

The internet allows for small no-name acts to market themselves and sell albums on newer platforms giving them an alternative than dealing with big record labels. While streaming platforms don't necessarily offer good rates, dealing with them gives artists far more control over their own music, merch, and tours.

Smaller Independant labels meanwhile try to attract musicians by offering more control over their work to compensate for the lack of major financial backing.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are there so many more marsupial species in Australia compared to other continents?

[Assistant] Because Australia was geographically isolated from the rest of the world since before placental mammals outcompeted marsupials in other parts of the world (like in the Americas). So it's not a case of "there's so many", because they were the only mammals present there in the first place and just filled all the normal niches, but rather "they survived so long".


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

[User]
CMV: The size of America's military is something to be ashamed of, not something to be proud of.

We all know how ridiculous US defense spending is, I dont need to quote you any statistics for you to know it's *insanely* excessive.

It really grinds my gears that people feel like it's something to brag about or be proud of. You're funding death instead of life, destruction instead of creation.

It's not even about the fact that you have no serious geopolitical threats, it's just sad that a country with so much power uses that power to create doomsday devices or whatever it is that DARPA is creating with those hundreds of billions behind closed doors.

It's a massive misallocation of resources, science should be better funded than defense.

[Assistant]
>You're funding death instead of life, destruction instead of creation.

The military's purpose is not to attack, it's to defend. When's the last time anyone invaded America? Due to the size of our military we have a significant advantage when it comes to foreign affairs and we can't be intimidated by any other superpower.

>it's just sad that a country with so much power uses that power to create doomsday devices

>It's a massive misallocation of resources, science should be better funded than defense.

Like radios, microwaves, computers, GPS, duct tape, and Jeeps? The military isn't 100% responsible for those inventions but they played a key part in the funding, research, and development of dozens of things that you use. Militaries are not all about shooting people, they need a strong infrastructure. So when the military designs efficient gadgets they can sometimes be applied to the civilian sector as well.

I think we can all agree that America spends **too much** on our military but you seem to be against the idea of a standing army at all.


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

[User] Eli5 How do sundials keep accurate time, if the seasons change, wouldn't you have to reposition it each season?

[Assistant]
They didnt keep accurate time compared to how time today works.

They kept accurate time relative to sunlight, which for most of history, was more than good enough. Knowing roughly how much daylight you had left was more important than an arbitrary number describing the hour.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Is there any tactical advantage to a walker that cannot be fulfilled by a regular tank?

So, walkers look cool and all, but why use them? They seem like an engineering nightmare, they have the most obvious weak point ever, and what specific advantage do they offer that cannot be achieved by just using a big tank?

[Assistant]
I wondered about this before, and a kind person explained it to me. It's mines.

You can't roll over a mine and expect your tank tracks to survive it. Sure, you and the tank's hull might actually be fine, but you're stuck in place until the engineers can get over and repair them, which they aren't going to do until the battle has ended or at least moved away from you.

On the other hand if you have big dumb feet which are basically a solid two metre block of \[Star Wars armour\], you can stomp right down on one and keep on strolling.

Thus, when you are attacking an entrenched enemy position like Hoth and don't have time to wait for mine-clearing, you send in walkers.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do ships always have the same orientation?

In almost every star wars scene in space, ships are always in the same orientation with each other. Even if a ship is just coming out of hyperspace, they just end up in the same orientation as other ships even without prior course correction. The only exception that I know is in the 2D clone wars show at the battle of Coruscant. So why does this happen? Why do all ships end up having the same perception of "up" and "down"? Also, why doesn't anyone exploit the 3 dimensional nature of space in battles? When fleets meet they always tend to fight head to head and act as if there's an up or down in space.

[Assistant] I assume it's *because* of hyperspace. That is, because of Hyperspace lanes. It's possible they have a set orientation that your astrocomputer moves you to when you follow them, and that generally leads to most ships ending up with the same orientation even when outside of hyperspace.


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

[User]
In theory, would it be possible to find gravitational lenses at the correct angles to one another that would allow us to resolve the ancient Milky Way, and perhaps study an ancient Earth?

With all of the celestial objects out there and large centres of mass, I would assume that *some* combination would redirect some extremely miniscule (but still existent) amount of photons back to Earth after a long voyage away from, and back to, the Milky Way.

So I guess my question is:

Statistically, how likely is it that we may find something like this? Are we talking "never" or "with enough resolution of the sky and enough computational power, we could find a phenomenon like this"? Heck, could we even find this in our own galaxy with the right objects?

[Assistant]
Unfortunately, the answer is never.

We can approach this question in two ways: gravitational lensing, and object resolution.

A distant black hole, or even the one at the center of the galaxy, may in fact have the perfectly perfect angle where the photons from millions of years ago  (other galaxy), or thousands of years ago (milky way) would loop back and come back to us.  Unfortunately, black holes aren't just hanging out.  They are surrounded by disks of gas and matter moving at up to relativistic speeds and emitting tons of radiation in all wavelengths of the spectrum.  Any photons lucky enough to make the round trip (not quite round trip as everything is in motion) will be lost among all the other energy.  Our galaxy is a better candidate because of the angular perfection required, but it would just be noise.

Now, lets say we find that perfect local black hole that happens to have swallowed up everything nearby and is just "hanging out" in our solar neighborhood and curving spacetime. Physics dictates the minimum resolution of an object based on the aperture and sensor size.  The amount of light coming back from the black hole from our ancient past would be coming from such a minute point in space that even if it weren't lensed beyond obscurity, our only bet would be to pray for a faint atmospheric signature if we happened to eclipse the sun.  Even with a futuristic atom-grid sensor, we still wouldn't have the power to resolve any details of the planet.

There are just too many factors working against this.


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

[User] What does the body do with excess skin in the event of weight loss?

[Assistant] Skin is one of the most elastic tissues in the body in great part because of collagen. So it can stretch when weight gain occurs and recede up to a limit when weight is lost. If this limit is passed either because the difference is too great or the skin is not so elastic any more (the older you get the less collagen your skin produces and less elastic it becomes) then the result can be excess skin that hangs and would need to be removed surgically.


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

[User]
Does a dead person benefit from no longer being able to suffer?

Is it good to be dead due to such an absence?

[Assistant] Insofar as we might say that it's good to be dead because of such an absence, you might think that it's equivalently bad to have lost the grounds for the possibility of pleasure, having your preferences satisfied, and being able to pursue your ground projects, etc.


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

[User]
[Avengers] How did HYDRA get a Chitauri Leviathan to Sokovia?

You'd think they would have all been accounted for and someone would notice if one went missing.  Not to mention *how* did they even transport it and then place under a castle?

[Assistant] Well, it would have been transported during the height of SHIELD's power. Between the Battle of New York, and the Fall of SHIELD, SHIELD had a huge boost in power and funding. The HYDRA members embedded within all aspects of SHIELD probably were able to cover up the misplacement of a Leviathan.


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

[User]
CMV: American cuisine is so underrated. Its not all about burgers and hot dogs.

People tend to immediately gravitate towards burgers, hot dogs, fries, greasy/fatty foods when they think of American cuisine. I dont understand that stereotype. Sure we love our burgers and hot dogs, but theres so much more to it that I think many people dont know of. First of all, were a melting pot, which is beautiful. Cultures from all over the world have left their mark on this country and because of this we have plenty of dishes that deserve the light of day when American cuisine is brought up.

Heres a few Id like to list:

1. Jambalaya
2. Gumbo
3. Tex-Mex
4. American BBQ
5. Cajun dishes
6. Creole dishes
7. Philly Cheesesteak
8. Chicagos deep dish pizza
9. NYC-style Pizza
10. NYC Chopped cheese
11. Bostons Lobster rolls
12. Sloppy Joe Sandwich
13. Pulled pork BBQ sandwich
14. Soul food (Dont tell me this is just a mix of foods put together. Its still a popular combination dish that originated in the south. The same argument can be made for many dishes around the world that combine multiple foods together)
15. Spaghetti and meatballs (Yes its American. Italians from Italy do not eat spaghetti with meatballs; they may have meat mixed in their sauce but not with meatballs; this combination originated here)
16. American alfredo
17. American tacos
18. American Chinese
19. Southern chicken-fried Steak
20. Shrimp and grits
21. Funeral potatoes
22. Peach cobbler
23. Pizookie

Ill leave it at that in order to spare this post from becoming any longer.

Some are well known, others arent. But that is the same case for every cuisine. Just because some dishes arent popular, it doesnt change the fact that the USA has its own cuisine inspired by cultures worldwide.

Another point Id like to make clear, some of these originated in America while other dishes (ex: jambalaya) are twists; that still doesnt disqualify them. A lot of countries  have their own twists of a dish that you see everywhere in other cultures (ex: paella).

Some cultures even have dishes that theyre not aware of their origin (ex: the Dominican kipes, which was introduced by the Lebanese [kibbeh). At the end of the day, kipes are still Dominican regardless. So the point Im trying to make is that we all have dishes that are inspired by others in some ways; The USA is no different and deserves more recognition when it comes to its cuisine.

Edit: Updated the list.

Also, some of these dishes are fatty, but thats not the point Im trying to make. American cuisine is usually ONLY regarded as fatty foods, which is NOT always the case at all. It has some greasy/fattiness to some dishes (as do other cultures btw, its called comfort food), but not all the time. Please focus on changing my view that America has a proper cuisine which is underrated, not that "all" foods are fatty.

[Assistant]
1) Countries' foods are judged by the foods that they take to other countries. American chain restaurants have almost exclusively produced burgers in other countries, so that is what we are judged by.

2) The dishes that you mention are generally regional dishes. This is because America is a big place, and it's really tough to characterize the entire population as a single culture. You have Southern Food, Tex-Mex, Cajun, Italian-American...the list goes on. These cuisines are more recognized as their own things in other parts of the world, and are not lumped in with the burgers and hot dogs that people generally call American food. They also *shouldn't* be considered American food because they are really regional dishes that are becoming popular in other parts of the world, including other parts of America.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do wind electricity generators have three propeller blades?

If they had - say - six blades, wouldn't that mean that there would be twice as much torque and thus generating twice the power, while saving on other expenses (two times less stands, two times less land occupied etc)?

[Assistant]
Six blades would mean more disturbance of the air so you'd lose efficiency. Ideally, the fewer blades the better really, but as with everything there are always compromises. One blade would put out-of-balance loading on the turbine gear so it would wear quickly, so you'd need two to make things balanced. But fewer blades means less power being extracted, so how to extract more power with fewer blades? Make them longer of course. But then that means the tower has to be taller so the blades clear the ground, and to ensure that the whole swept area of the blades is out in the higher winds higher up.

But that introduces a third problem. Long blades mean that at the tips the blades will be going very fast indeed. Large wind turbines nowadays will have tip speeds approaching 200mph, so if you make them longer still that speed will increase, and as the speed increases the drag increases too so there's another loss of energy.

TL;DR: Three blades are a good agreed compromise between efficiency and power output, taking all the factors into consideration.


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

[User]
[X-Men: Days of Future Past] Kitty Pryde question/mild movie spoiler

How was Kitty able to send Wolverine's consciousness back in time? Aren't her powers pretty much limited to phasing through solid objects and disrupting electronic devices?

[Assistant]
If you look at her power as "being able to move through the three spatial dimensions barriers unhindered," and consider that time is the fourth dimension, it is not extremely unlikely that she can also move through the fourth dimensional barrier (aka the arrow of time), unhindered.

EDIT: And just as she can take people with her while phasing in space, she can probably do the same while phasing in time.


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

[User]
ELI5 What is the chemical process that allows a sinus node in a heart able to produce electricity?

it baffles me that humans can produce electricity, even in such small amounts. i cant seem to find information online that tells me exactly HOW the electricity is produced in the first place.

[Assistant]
The key to recognize is that we dont produce electricity the way we do in our power plantsyou dont have conductive wires in your body carrying electrons around.

Your body used ionscharged atoms. Lots of common materials, e.g. salt, split into a positive and negative ions when they dissolve in water. Special biological structures called ion pumps can selectively push one kind of ion through a membrane and leave the other behind.

Now youve got a concentration of positively charged ions on one side of a barrier and negatively charged one on the other sidewe have an electrical potential (a voltage difference). They want to recombine. If we let the ions come back together the voltage difference goes away and we have an electrical pulse, then the ion pumps can restore the potential. Its creating and releasing these ion potentials that humans (and most other critters) use for electrical signaling.


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

[User]
[Superheroes] In your opinion, what are the 3 most top tier superpowers?

Anything that any superhero can have, but when mastered is only absolutely top tier. Things such as reality warping, matter manipulation, telekinesis, etc.

What are the top 3 most powerful superpowers superheroes can have, in your opinion?

[Assistant] Telekinesis. Provided you have sufficiently fine control, you can mimic almost anything. Flight and strength and invulnerability, sure. Force fields, even. But think about superheating the air by just rubbing  individual molecules together, creating a heat ray without having to have glowing red eyes or the like. Mind control by manipulation of the synapses of the target's brain. Teleportation by bending space itself. That sorta thing.


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

[User]
[Assassin's Creed] How does Abstergo keep seeing themselves as the "good guys" when they themselves are the ones who have seen and are forced to put their own spin in every assassin's memory for entertainment?

Like if I worked at a company and I'm a templar who has to peruse all these Assassin memories, wouldn't I question why every major Assassin in history has had good intentions?

I don't really see Shay as an exception. His reason for betrayal seems to be miscommunication on his dumbass self.

[Assistant] The ends justifies the means can convince some people that just about anything bad is acceptable it if the outcome is important enough and IIRC they believe they are saving the world. Not to mention the idea of Groupthink (the continued stability of the group is paramount), Tribalism (its either them or us) and maybe a light dash of good old fashioned brainwashing.


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

[User]
ELI5: How exactly is type 1 diabetes different from type 2 diabetes?

I was diagnosed with type 1 a few weeks ago, and my specialist tried explaining it to me but I still don't really understand the difference.

[Assistant]
With Type-1, your pancreas doesn't produce any insulin. Frequently this occurs when your immune system overreacts to an illness & attacks your pancreas.

With Type-2, your pancreas produces an insufficient amount of insulin and/or the insulin it produces is ineffective. Frequently caused by diet and/or a sedentary lifestyle.


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

[User] [Final Fantasy 9] Monsters are born from the mist - but how? What would the exact process/evolution be like?

[Assistant]
Mist is actually the residual element of the souls of the residents of Gaia, the part that's supposed to return to the planet on death. However, thanks to the Iifa tree, its being redistributed into the atmosphere and allowed to settle. These lost and tormented souls then retake physical form as monsters. Its very similar to the "unsent souls collect as pyreflies and turn into fiends" phenomenon in Spira. There is no evolutionary process, the souls convert directly into monsters after an unspecified period of time.

We actually do get to see what the effect of creating a creature more or less wholesale out of Mist gets you. Black Mages are born completely from the stuff. Also, many creatures seem to have an adverse reaction to Mist. It outright poisons and kills Humans and Demi-humans who spend too much time in the stuff, and creatures seem to grow more agitated and feral when exposed to it, like Gizamaluke.


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

[User]
I don't think Western liberal democracies should legalize addictive substances. CMV.

I want to be clear: I understand why the drug war is evil, and I don't think drug use should be *criminalized*, but we don't have to legalize something just because we don't criminalize it. We could regulate it and instead of imprisoning people, courts could mandate rehabilitation. So please don't make arguments based on the drug war because I already agree the drug war is bad and still think addictive substances should be illegal.

Anyway, here's the basis of my reasoning. Western liberal democracies require individual autonomy for active political participation. Non-autonomous individuals cannot fully participate in self-governing. Addictive substances erode individual autonomy by subordinating the full person to the desire for the substance. By definition, addicts can no longer choose against the substance they are addicted to.

The usual response I hear is that individuals should have the choice whether or not to use addictive substances as long as they know the risk that they could become addicted. In other words, they are free to choose the possibility of addiction.

The counter-argument is that addiction removes future choice; it becomes a non-nullifiable contract (i.e., voluntary slavery). Since Western liberal democracies have an interest in maintaining the autonomy of their citizens, they should not allow those citizens to enter into contracts from which they cannot renege.

CMV please.

[Assistant]
Glucose is one of the most addictive substances. Deliciously Legal. Alcohol - legal. Cigarettes - legal. Either western democracies don't want autonomy for their citizents or making things illegal isn't always the best way to eradicate an addiction problem. It adds to the insecurity and misery of certain users who will not seek help (if there is any offered) fearing they would be jailed. Why should an alcoholic or a type 2 diabete patient be treated with compasion and understanding whereas a heroin user should be criminalized and austraciezed? In the end all of them have the same problem which is addiction.

To answer to your first point. Actually we have to legalize something if we don't want to criminalize it. If not it leads to a juridic "gap" which can lead to numerous legal problems and abuse.