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

[User] [General Comics] Wha separates gods from really advanced aliens?

[Assistant]
Gods are generally able to perceive, benefit from, and be changed by worship.  Aliens in general cannot.  Thor ha shown to know when someone is praying to him.

Loki stated in his presidential campaign that yes, he is a GOd, he has worshipers and they're not perfect and a little misguided but lay off cause they are still, His worshipers and their freedom of religion  is not to e impinged upon.

One interesting example are the Skrulls, natives of the Andromeda galaxy.   In times long past they were a peaceful people.  Until they met the expanding Kree empire.  It is postulated that the Kree were, in their collective sub-conscious, seeking an enemy to challenge them.  The telepathically sensitive Skrulls, without even realizing it, became what the Kree wanted.  An Aggressive and military species.

Thor's comics make it clear each planet has its own population of gods and they all seem to share the same quality of being influenced by and in some manner responsible for their peoples.


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

[User]
[Lord of the Rings] Could you go "in" to Minas Tirith?

Due to its tower-like shape, one can wonder whether Minas Tirith only consisted of the surface layer seen from the outside, built directly on the mountain, or if there were some form of houses, halls or other storage spaces on the "inside" of the city as well.

What was the case for this city? Was there an interior as well?

[Assistant]
Minas Tirith wasn't always a city, it was originally built to be a Numenorian fortress. A VERY big and grand fortress, but a military installation nonetheless. So there are absolutely features carved into the mountain (Mount Mindolluin) it's built on, if nothing else but to increase security in the fort. Just like how Helm's Deep is built on top of a natural cavern.

As you said, storehouses, passageways, meeting areas, it's all there. A tunnel on the sixth level is the only way to reach some of the most important structures in the city.


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

[User]
I think that most people who complain about the super-rich perpetuating wealth inequality would do the exact same thing if they were extremely wealthy. CMV.

I have heard many people, both on reddit and in person, complain that most of those considered the "super rich" engage in practices that perpetuate and increase the huge wealth disparity in the United States and the world. These practices range from handling their taxes in ways that are questionably legal to using their money to support the "establishment" that keeps the rich rich and the poor poor. I've also heard arguments that, because money is speech, their wealth allows them to have a disproportionate influence on the culture of the United States, which causes people to worship wealth and believe that those without money simply didn't work hard enough to get it (and that those with money must have worked hard to earn it). It can also be as simple as "hoarding" one's wealth instead of giving most of it to charitable causes.

Please don't misunderstand me here. I don't disagree with any of the above sentiments; I merely think that most of the people who state them (myself included) would do the exact same things if they were a part of the super-rich. This thought is depressing because it indicates that the people who have the most ability to change the system never will. So please, change my view.

[Assistant]
Yes, exactly. That's the point. We couldn't solve the problem by replacing all the super-rich people, because the new ones would just go back to perpetuating inequality.

The problem is the *system*. Rich people have huge incentives to perpetuate wealth inequality, and everyone else has significant incentives to go along with it. Even the best human beings respond to social incentives; that doesn't mean we're all horrible, or that we can't change the system.


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

[User]
ELI5: What happens to fish and sea creatures when a large body of water is struck by lightning?

I have a feeling everything in the water isn't shocked and killed, but is it not incredibly dangerous to be in water that comes in contact with a large amount of electricity?

[Assistant] Energy from lightning strikes disperse radially and only penetrate 6~ inches down.  The radial dispersal causes the energy density to weaken exponentially.  Without being in the top six inches of water and within 3~ meters of the epicenter, nothing happens.  If you are within the top 6 inches and near the epicenter, burns, hearing loss, and electrocution will result.  Salt water vs. fresh water changes things slightly, too.


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

[User] ELI5: How do people can make a game console emulator and how they extract game files from physical cartridge to digital files ?

[Assistant]
First up: emulators

An emulator takes the machine code on a cartridge and either interprets it - that is, translates it piece by piece as it runs, or uses JIT compilation to translate it. The second one is much more complicated, but often more efficient.

They can translate like this as often the CPU is not custom, and the GPU is either simple (for older consoles) or is not too far from industry standards, as this makes it more likely for developers to make games for the console. The switch, for example, runs on almost the same processor as the nVidia shield tablet.

As it is being translated, it also runs on the computer. This is the main reason that emulators for new consoles need so much more power than the actual console - they need to translate the code as well as run it.

Second: Game files

This is usually done with an adapter, it will be detected as storage by a computer and copied across in its entirety. If necessary, it can then be adjusted slightly for use with an emulator.

Of course, nobody would *ever* distribute such a file, as that would be a breach of copyright law.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does combining heavy turning and braking cause a car to understeer and wipe out?

I've wondered this whenever I screw up my gameplay in Asseto Corsa, Forza Horizon 4, or Gran Turismo 4, causing me to spin into a wall.

[Assistant]
Tires only have so much grip  before they slip.
Let's say your tires have only TEN "grips" to give before they slip.
Speed, takes away some "grips', turning takes some away and braking too. They all take.
So if your speed into a corner takes 6 grips and your braking takes 3 grips But your steering takes away 4 more... thats 13 grips!
You've taken all your grip away and you will slide.
To make that corner you have to give away
less of your grip by steering less, braking less or slowing down.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does the loss of blood result in the 'pins and needles' sensation?

[Assistant]
It doesn't. A limb falling asleep isn't caused by a loss of blood flow. It's caused by pressure being applied to a nerve, causing it to stop working. So signals don't make it from that limb to your brain.

When the pressure is relieved, the nerve can start sending random signals as it gets back into equilibrium, which you perceive as the "pins and needles" sensation.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do humans feel the need to identify so strongly with groups?

It would appear that when looking around you find people who associate all of their ego and being into one to two(or more) categories. Things such as Astrology, MBTI categories, Professional sports teams(that they root for, but are no a part of), Religion, etc.
Using the example given, Ive seen people ask: My MBTI is XXXX  So what hobbies would be good for me?, We don't like 'sport team' fans here. , My Sign in 'x' what career should I have?

These seem to be very closed minded and ignore the more personal aspects that would be better off answering these questions. Is it due to misinformation or a tribal need to fit in somewhere?

[Assistant]
We are social creatures by nature, so we have a natural impulse to find commonality with other people. Then, as we associate with a group, we adopt the qualities and beliefs of the group as part of our identity.

Therefore, people defend and adhere to the ideals of the group because an attack on the group is perceived as an attack on the individual's identity itself. Even a carefully worded challenge to the idea itself will be perceived as an attack on the person, rather than an idea.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] In terms of power, what is an inquisitor similar to?

For example are they about the same skill level as a Jedi Knight, or maybe a Padawan, or a Jedi Temple Guard?

[Assistant]
New canon Inquisitors are recruited from ranks of subverted jedi and padawans, so their power can vary just as power of any jedi can vary. Grand Inquisitor for example used to be a Temple Guard, fully trained jedi, and he was confidently handling Kanan in most of their fights, until Kanan got his jedi mojo in order.

However it's pretty evident that Inquisitors are not trained fully in sith arts, since in many cases, like Fallen Order, Ahsoka novel and in Rebels series they can be confidently defeated either by people who are at least their equals or alternatively by competently trained former sith.

That said, they are still more powerful than old canon Inquisitors, who are basically just random force-sensitive dudes who get grabbed by Inquisitoris and put to work for the Empire. Not everyone even gets a lightsaber.


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

[User] [Star Wars] what is the closest equivalent of 1 Credit to Earth currency?

[Assistant]
"~~17,000~~ 10,000?!  We could almost buy our *own* ship for that!"

"Yeah, but who's gonna fly it, kid?  *You?*"

So ~~17-20k~~ 10k is deemed enough to buy a (low end, probably used) lightspeed-capable ~~mynock-infested deathtrap~~ starship.

Meanwhile, a fully-decked out, top of the line *Imperial II*-Class Star Destroyer will run you
145,670,000 credits.

Make of that what you will.


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

[User]
[MCU] Wakanda was the only nation to field an army against Thanos--and won. How will this likely affect their global political standing?

Surely the amount of rapport this gives Wakanda would make them not only a military but political superpower. Have they outright replaced the US as the go to "peacekeeper"?

Edit:
Comments so far are only taking about Infinity War, I'm thinking in the final battle at Endgame. Strange and Wong brought sorcerers but they're not really a recognized group and the Asgardians are more refugees than a nation as well.

[Assistant]
They didn't really "win" given the nature of how the battle ended, and they were the only one Thanos actually attacked directly.

Also they still don't really leave their borders except to trickle aid out so no one's going to be counting on them to solver international problems.  Strength doesn't matter if one doesn't use it.


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

[User]
[WH40k] Did the Emperor ever fell in love or had friends?

Wondering if the Emperor ever lived the human experience or is he just a basement dwelling god guy?

[Assistant]
He's behind the scenes in a lot of big history events, and has fathered plenty of kids. Look at great conquerors like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon. How do you think they amassed great armies? They had latent physic abilities, inherited from their father.

He's had a hand in the formation of plenty of nations and armies. He presumably had a part in the formation of the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the U.S., etc. He had a backseat role in the formation of human civilization until it was mature enough for him to take the reins, and part of the way he did this was by covertly influencing humanity. Whispering ideas into people's minds, having children, etc.


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

[User] ELI5 why cant people with anemia (not enough iron in blood) get blood transfers from donors who have hemochromatosis (too much iron in blood)?

[Assistant]
Short answer - they can and do.

Longer answer - while blood transfusions take care of the acute problem, it's not a viable long-term solution; it is at best a temporary fix. Now, if the anemia is caused by sudden blood loss following an injury, that's fine and dandy, there shouldn't be a lasting issue at that point, but if you have some underlying condition causing the lack of blood iron, that will need to be treated, rather than merely topping up the red blood cells regularly. It can be likened with a serious oil leak in your car; pouring gallon after gallon of oil into it will keep it running, but it won't fix the problem, and it'll get ridiculously expensive in the long run for ultimately no benefit.


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

[User]
[Witcher] Where are all the guns at?

*Caveat: haven't yet played, keep it spoiler-free plox*

Upon superficial inspection, you've got a booming alchemy scene, an institute of higher learning that isn't run by wizards, fairly decent metalworking capacity, plenty of military incendiaries, and a whole lot of heavily-armoured targets killing each other.

If there's a fantasy franchise with more trends that should result in guns, I haven't heard of it.

[Assistant]
The Witcher series does have many of the same elements that lead to the adoption of cannons and firearms in our world  in the 12th-14th century: Knowledge of gunpowder/gunpowder-analogs (like we see in Grapeshot bombs), advanced metallurgy (we see the beginnings of full plate armour, especially in Toussaint), large armies being fielded in combat, and fortifications to overcome. Both technologically and politically, The Witcher is analogous to roughly 13th-century Europe.

However, the franchise has something our world didn't have: Magic. While it is the realm of very few, the power of these mages and sorceresses is great enough that it kind of forestalled the development of greater weaponry. Early cannons and firearms were only useful in massed fire, not for individuals or small groups. Why invest in new, unproven, dangerous technology that's only useful in groups of hundreds of people (and would potentially empower your vassals, should they choose to act against you), when you can call on a sorcerer who is ten times more effective just by themselves?

Now, public opinion and support of royal courts has been turning somewhat against magic users and how concentrated their power is. So the world of The Witcher may well end up adopting cannons and firearms at roughly they same analogous point that Europe adopted them in our world, during the 14th century.


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

[User] [Spider-Man] How can Doc Ock's Arms be supported by his body when he uses them to flip cars?

[Assistant]
He usually uses at least one of them to anchor himself to the ground.

When he doesn't - it's his robot duplicate.

And of course, now that he took habit of stealing spiderman's clone bodies, he can do that with his bare hands normally.


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

[User] ELI5: How does dust build up on moving fan blades like in a PC?

[Assistant] As the fan rotates, it creates friction with the air causing it to build up a charge. Dust particles will then want to stick to this. It works in the same way of rubbing a balloon onto your hair and having it stick.


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

[User]
How to be maximally impactful as a kinda-but-not-too-smart person

How would you respond to a student who says "I don't want to research \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ because there are way smarter people already working on it." ?

It has certainly been my experience in CS that I get viciously outpaced by the developers who are already smarter than me, AND they put in 60+ hour weeks. Like, I'm a good developer, but if I get /that/ person on my team, then my contributions are hardly noticeable. Does this feel true to you, whatever field you're in?

Side note, off the top of your head, what are some fields with too many scholars and some fields with not enough?

[Assistant]
Some researchers are recognized solely for their ability to perform comprehensive literature reviews. You dont always have to be the one coming up with new ideas. Merely setting the table gives you a seat sometimes.

Theres also a ton of value in interdisciplinary work: Drawing together two discrete conversations, or using theoretical frameworks uncommon to the field to offer new insights. This is a harder path, though, and you are likely to encounter resistance and need to present watertight justification... but it is a way to get yourself out there.


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

[User]
CMV: Our way of living is only gonna get worse before it gets better.

With inflation going through the roof and gas prices breaking record after record i cannot help but feel like were in a downwards spiral. Countries in the west are fundamentally not able to deal with the problems facing us. Fundamental change is needed but if we look at history fundamental change means revolution, and revolution usually means death and violence.

I heard a quote recently which stuck by me: We as humans have stone age instincts, medieval institutions, godlike technology and an uncertain future.

I believe with we as a human society are (presently) fundamentally incapable to deal with the issues coming our way. And i think a lot of us will need to die before things get better. And it has happened like that before.

Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.

That being said, im not depressed or anxious. Im just glad to be part of the human story.

[Assistant] You really overestimate what your modern human is willing to die for. Unless people are starving or have their human rights taken away, there will be no revolution. Government intervention will happen before things get to the point of civil unrest. People have said the world is going to shit every single generation, yet we live in the most peaceful era of humanity and have insanely high quality of life.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are popular iPhone/Android apps valued so highly when they are often free without built-in advertising?

Take, for example, the popular photo sharing app "SnapChat". As at October 2012, they had generated no revenue, the app is free to download, and there is no built-in advertising. Yet, the app is valued at approximately US$70m.

My understanding is that it's the **potential** for advertising revenue that makes it worth a lot of money, regardless of whether they actually employ advertisements within the app itself. However, I'm unsure on this.

Another example - Instagram - valued at over US$1b, no ads, free.

[Assistant]
You are correct.  The value is not in the current revenues (which are non-existant), but in the active userbase that can be then monetized via some mechanism.  Instagram attempted to move to a sponsored linked based ad model, but the users didn't like it (or didn't like what they thought it was going to be).  The could also potentially move to a youtube like model where they could sell users content (for stock photo usage) and kick back revenue to the users.

Now that they are owned by Facebook, they don't strictly need to generate revenue directly.  If Facebook thinks that instragram adds value to Facebook users, they may be content making money indirectly via this added value to the main platform.


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

[User]
If travelling in a train close to the speed of light, would you adjust to the speed or would you not be able to move?

I'm having a debate with some friends, they say that eventually you would adjust and basically be able to move freely, as if you were in a normal train that's moving at normal speed.
My hunch is that you would have too much inertia at that speed and would not even be able to move (if somehow you survive arriving at that speed in the first place).
So what is the actual answer to this question?

[Assistant]
Basic physics.  You feel acceleration, not velocity.

If your acceleration never exceeds 1G, say, in a space ship, you'll feel the same as you do in your living room.  Accelerate faster and you'll feel it more, but when you stop accelerating and stay at a constant velocity you'll feel nothing.

You can do this in your car. Do you really feel any different when you set the cruise control to 40MPH or 75MPH?    (once you actually reach the desired speed)

Yes, at higher speeds you'll have more inertia, but that inertia will only be noticed by you when you attempt to change the direction of the train/ship. (I strongly advise against attempting a 90 degree turn in a car at 75 MPH)


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

[User]
Are there seasons on other planets?

I was wondering, since the Earth has discernible seasons throughout the year, do other planets have seasons that scientists have observed? If there are, what changes happen in those planets? This question isn't limited to the solar system that Earth is in, I just want to know if other planets display signs of what we call seasons.

[Assistant]
Yes!

Planets (and many moons) have seasonal shifts and changes.

For example, as winter on Mars approaches, Carbon dioxide gas actually precipitates out of the atmosphere and falls as CO2 snow. When spring comes again it re-vaporizes.

Similar thing on Pluto: nitrogen precipitates out of the atmosphere and falls as nitrogen snow in the winter. Then re-vaporizes during Pluto's spring/summer.

Even minor-planets likely have seasons, including Ceres, which orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter.

Heck even, comets have seasons as well, in which summertime (closest approach to sun) triggers tremendous out-gassing forming an actual tail.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can I feel when someone is staring at me?

[Assistant]
You can't.

1. Confirmation bias causes you to remember the instances where you "felt someone staring at you" and then saw someone looking at you, and causes you to forget instances where the feeling didn't correlate to someone staring (and you'd be completely unaware of instances where staring did not result in the feeling of being looked at).

2. Suddenly looking around to catch the starer will catch people's attention, causing them to look at you.  You can then misinterpret their glance as meaning that they were staring at you before you looked up, when in reality they're staring *because* you looked up.

3. If someone walks up behind you, you can often hear a change in the acoustic properties of the room.


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

[User] ELI5: What occurs when I end an unresponsive program on a Task Manager. why does it take so long?

[Assistant]
Because you're doing it wrong.

You're clicking "End Task" which is a middle ground that lies somewhere in between gracefully closing the program, and actually forcing it to close immediately.

Instead, you want to Right-Click on the application that you want to end, then click 'Go To Process' and click the 'End Process' button.

You will notice this is what you were expecting; it immediately forces the process to close without making any attempt to wait for a response from the process.

You can also do this from the command line:   taskkill /f /im "chrome.exe" will immediately kill all instances of Google Chrome.


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

[User] ELI5: What does "3rd cousin, twice removed" means? What's a 3rd cousin? How was he removed twice?

[Assistant]
Your first cousin has the same grandparents as you, but not the same parents, right? Go back another generation, with your great-grandparents. Someone who also has the same great-grandparents, but not the same grandparents, is your second cousin. Go back another step to your great-great-grandparents, and you get your third cousins.

Your parents also have first cousins, these are your first cousins once removed (once removed = one generation up). They also have second cousins, they're your second cousins once removed. Your grandparents also have first, second, and third cousins - they're your first, second and third cousins twice removed (again, two generations up = twice removed).


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

[User]
[Animorphs] Why did the Yeerks refuse to utilize their dracon beams properly?

The. Animorphs always fight in morph, meaning they're only dangerous in close quarters as many, many Hork-Bajir controllers discovered. But it seems that a dracon beam is fairly standard issue for the Yeerks, why did they never just shoot the Animorphs? It seems that their soldiers are practically never armed even if they're guarding the cities kandrona generator, just relying on the Hork-Bajirs physical abilities to safeguard them. Why do they not just shoot their enemy they know is completely disadvantaged at long range?

[Assistant]
In the early period of the invasion, Yeerk Dracon beams were designed to be used by Hork Bajir and thus were very unwieldy for human controllers to use. The advantage at range is a fact, however the Animorphs tried to use tactics that never left them exposed to that range, instead trying to close distance as quickly as possible and get in the middle of Yeerk forces to discourage friendly fire or standing near delicate machinery the Yeerks would not want to shoot. Also there were high bounties for capturing a morph capable body which would discourage using incinerator rays.

For pure speculation, Hork Bajir being herbivores who never evolved for striking prey with projectiles at a distance might be worse at such a task than humans. Even three years later most Yeerks in security posts seem to be given Hork Bajir bodies.

Also the high ranking Yeerks may not want their underlings heavily armed with weapons that could result in "friendly fire" promotions. It is clearly established that there is very low job satisfaction in the invasion forces.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is Pope Francis' position on Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden in light of his recent statement regarding evolution?

Google is just returning the same sound bites and Wikipedia is entirely lacking so I'm hoping a Catholic may best explain the story here on the Pope's official position.  Please don't turn this into a debate about whether he is right or wrong, create a new thread somewhere else please for that.

I am finding it quite difficult to understand how you could merge these different statements into one reality (totally ignoring whether I agree with it), which leads to me believe the Pope has abandoned the Garden of Eden story as being true.  The other explanation could be that by evolution he does not simply mean the agreed definition in scientific circles and his postulation is a lot more complicated than the soundbites would indicate.

[Assistant]
Basically, god planned out the evolutionary process and was responsible for the original "spark" of life. And then God sat back and watched as evolution progressed until we got to great apes, then, he took one of these apes, uplifted him, endowed him with a soul and set him up in the Garden of Eden as the first man (Eve came later).

The Catholics are not particularly concerned about nailing down *precisely* how God created humanity. Just that it's *God* who created humanity.


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

[User]
[DC Comics] Does the world know what Superman really is?

To explain more, I'm wondering if the people in the comics know that superman isn't human? For example, the flash is still human (despite becoming a metahuman) but Superman is a different species entirely. Does the world know that Superman is Kryptonian or do they just think he's just a super-powered human? If they think he's an alien, do you feel the same about batman?

[Assistant]
Yes, and that's why know one even thinks that Superman has a secret identity.

They know that his birth name is Kal-El, that his planet was destroyed, they even know about the Fortress of Solitude.

So when almost everything about his extra-terrestial origin is public knowledge, nobody even considers that this Alien lives among common man, working 9-5.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are the Chinese taking over Africa?

In South Africa they want build a whole new town the New York of Africa. In Mozambique they build highways, airports.. Do they get resources like diamonds and oil from the government or do they hope to expand their habitat and expand en masse?

[Assistant]
Africa has lot of natural resources and needs lots of money.

China has lots of money and a growing need for natural resources.

Its nothing new, the US and Europe have been doing the same things for a very long time.  China is just the newest player in the "let's fuck Africa" game.


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

[User]
[Austin Powers] Why did the Agency employ Vanessa (much less assign her to work with Austin Powers) if they knew she was a Fembot?

Was her mother also a Fembot?

[Assistant]
The original Vanessa was not a fembot, but she was tragically killed in a prior mission.  The agency had captured some previous fembots and attempted to reprogram them similiar to how John Connor did to the Terminator. She functioned extremely well in the field (obviously, she was a Fembot) and was programmed to be the perfect agent.

Unfortunately, there was something that the Agency didn't count on...Austin's Mojo.  His Mojo was so powerful that it shorted some of Vanessa's circuits which caused her system to reject the newer program and revert to it's "Kill" programming.


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

[User] ELI5: How do telescopes work so well? How can the placement of a few lenses in a particular order help us see celestial objects light years away?

[Assistant]
You can see objects light years away with the naked eye. Every star in the sky (except the Sun) is light years away. Light travels forever until it hits something, so there is no range limit.

All a telescope does is magnify an image that is already there. Basically, it takes the light that hits it from a very very narrow angle, and bends the light to spread it out to create an image you can see more clearly. Since all you are doing is bending light, lenses and/or mirrors are all that is needed to accomplish this.


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

[User]
eli5 Why do camera lenses need to focus on something? Why can't they just render an image in which everything is clear?

Or maybe only some types of lenses work like that?

[Assistant]
Every type of lens works like that, including your eyes.

Lenses take light rays entering them and force them to converge at a single point. Exactly how far this point is from the lens depends on the angle of the light rays entering the lens, and so it depends on how far away the source of the light is from the lens.

The image sensor in a camera is a single flat plane, and so only light sources from a single plane are ever in focus, if the light source is further away then the light gets focused in front of the sensor, if it the light source is closer than the focus distance then it gets focussed behind the sensor.

There is a caveat to this in that while only one distance away is perfectly in focus, there is a range of distances which are close enough that they are indistinguishable from if they were in focus. The size of this range is the Depth of Field (DoF). Lenses with very narrow openings have a very deep DoF, lenses with very wide openings will have a very shallow DoF. The reason for this comes from the idea of a pinhole camera, if you force light through a small opening it will naturally become focused due to the restriction of possible angles.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why was Anakin never reported or seriously reprimanded by the Jedi council?

In just Episode II he kills an entire village of sand people and confesses to Padme, but nothing ever comes from it. She either never reported it to anyone or she did and no one cared enough to do anything about it.

And he shows significant concern for Padme, almost giving up pursuit of Dooku to save her even after Obi Wan tells him that such an action will see him expelled from the Jedi order. He doesn't, but this event alone should make it obvious to Obi Wan how easily controlled Anakin is by his emotions which would be a serious consideration how far along he is in training.

And these aren't the only examples. He constantly shows that he isn't in control of his emotions and no one really addresses it other than as something he would eventually need to get under control even when it results in the murder of dozens of beings or risks the failure of a mission.

Was the Jedi council inept, ignorant, giving special treatment to the supposed Chosen One, or something else entirely?

[Assistant]
I dont think Anakin ever tells anybody about the sand people besides Padme and Palpatine. Padme clearly never told anybody, if she can get past that sand analogy she can get past a little massacre.

In general, however, the council's ability to sense the dark side had diminished due to Sideous's sith powers. this means that although they can still see some of the symptoms, they are unable to see the actual poison within him. The Jedi train kids, stuff like emotional outbursts are commonplace.

If they did sense that there was something more amiss, then keeping him in the order lets them more effectively keep an eye on him, and prevent any other school of force users from gaining a powerful new recruit.


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

[User] Why does hair growth stop at a certain point on your arms, legs etc., but not your head?

[Assistant] Hair follicles never stop growing, they just die, fall off, and start growing again. The faster they die, the less time they have to grow, which makes the length of the hair shorter on average. The only difference between the hair on your body and the hair on your head is how long it can grow before it dies.


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

[User]
ELI5 What prevents poisoning the Quabbin (Large reservoir) like in the movie "Dreamcatcher?"

In the movie dreamcatcher an alien tries to poison the Quabbin reservoir (A man made reservoir used to supply Bostons drinking supply) I live 5 minutes away from said Reservoir and was just wondering, out of all the times I've been there I see no security or anything. Is it just too large of a pool of water where poison of some sort would become too diluted? Or are there too strong chemicals dumped in the water? (Which I can't imagine is the case due to a lot of fishing going on there)

So yeah just curious if anyone knows how it is prevented. Used chemistry flair since it seemed most appropriate.

[Assistant]
There isn't really a substance that exists which could be practically used to render such a large volume of water toxic, and have it remain so long enough to poison someone.

There's plenty of poisonous substances easily available, but you'd need truckload quantities of them to achieve a toxic level in something like a reservoir.

That's ignoring the fact that any toxins would then need to withstand degradation in the aquatic environment and whatever water purification process is used before it goes into the municipal water system.


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

[User]
Why is 80% of amber from the Baltic?

What are the factors that make Baltic amber so much more prevalent than other types of amber?

[Assistant]
In the marketplace, its mostly because it is comparatively cheap and easy to get to. Baltic amber, particularly that from the Sambia Peninsula, is acquired via open-pit mining or simply erodes out and is picked up along beaches. The source is easy to get to and has been exploited for centuries.

Compare that to Dominican amber which, though the actual mining is done via inexpensive (and very dangerous) bell pits, is usually found in the mountains, has only been exploited commercially occasionally since the 1940s, and today is exploited predominantly by poor villagers just trying to get enough to feed their families.


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

[User]
CMV: You shouldn't be able to see how many upvotes/down votes a comment has until after you have upvoted/downvoted.

One of the most annoying things about Reddit is how often comment sections turn into circlejerks. Echo chambers are harmful to rational discussion, and should therefore be avoided

All it takes is five people to disagree with you for a comment to be hidden and buried, which makes any comment that isn't in line with the prevailing orthodoxy effectively invisible. Having comments be hidden isn't necessarily a problem, but what is a problem is how often comments get mass downvoted just because they're being downvoted. Humans like to feel like they're on the "right" side, so they are extremely susceptible to group think and letting their opinions be influenced by popular trends, so when someone sees a discussion where one commenter has 20 upvotes and the other has 10 downvotes, they will be naturally predisposed to favour the upvoted comments. The problem is, of course, that you don't know how many of those upvotes/downvotes were themselves people just following the trend, so the issue just snowballs. I've seen plenty of fairly reasonable comments get downvoted into oblivion one day, and then the next day on the same sub a comment echoing the same sentiment might have hundreds of upvotes.

Psychologically, this is often a subconscious process since, while we like to feel as though we are right, we also like to imagine that we are rational free-thinkers. Therefore, I think a solution would be to have a comment's score be hidden until you vote on it, with a short time limit on altering your vote. This way, people would have to judge it independently and for its own merits, and following the crowd would have to be an active and conscious effort rather than a passive, subconscious bias. I don't think many self-respecting people would be willing to change their vote after the fact to be in line with the majority, and people are more likely to stand by their own independent thoughts when they have to actively think about whether they're letting others influence how they think.

[Assistant]
Upvotes and downvotes generally determine where comments are displayed in a thread. Top-rated comments are displayed first. Low-rated comments are displayed later. How do you propose we display comments with your system?

Ideally, upvotes should be used for things that are deemed to add value to the discussion, while downvotes are a way to eliminate trolls, jerks, and low-effort posters. The bigger problem is that people disagreement downvote.


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

[User] ELI5 Why is it when im exhausted and collapse on my bed my heart races wildly for a few seconds?

[Assistant] When you're standing, your heart has to do more than just pump blood to your feet; it has to pump with enough pressure to bring the blood BACK UP the legs too, and also pump blood up to the brain (both fighting gravity). The heart has a few functional things it can change, but here we'll just talk about how fast it beats, and how much blood it pumps per heartbeat. Obviously, both of those factors are working pretty hard when standing (which also makes giraffes pretty amazing animals), and when switching suddenly to lying down that gravity is instantly not forcing the heart to work as hard. Since it takes a few seconds to adjust how the heart is working, it will still be pumping a LOT of blood with suddenly almost zero resistance. In order to continue pumping correctly (until the heart adjusts), the heart has to pump faster to keep up.


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

[User] Will endangered animals, if saved from extinction through Human Intervention, face the threat of inbreeding and recessive genes?

[Assistant]
They already do. Tiger populations in Asia, for instance, are extremely fractured because their territories are separated by human development. As a consequence, problems resulting from inbreeding are very common.

There's a lot of species that are still doing fine in terms of numbers but are threatened because their population is spread apart and isolated to the detriment of the gene pool.


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

[User]
[DC] If Batman were to decide that he'd abolish his one rule, would Alfred approve?

It's been shown multiple times that Alfred is willing to kill, but would he be alright with it if Bruce/Batman started having the same mindset?

[Assistant]
Alfred wants what's best for Bruce, to the extent that he sometimes outright disapproves of him being Batman. He wouldn't want his adopted son to become a killer, particularly given Bruce's mindset.

When Alfred kills it is distanced from himself, distasteful but necessary. If Bruce starts killing people it will definitely be extremely personal and it will definitely escalate into something horrific.


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

[User]
[Marvel/MCU]Has Banner ever tried marijuana use as a way to manage his condition?

*Tony Stark: [to Bruce Banner] You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?* -From The Avengers

Stark's joking, but I don't think it's isn't the worst idea in the world.

[Assistant] Marijuana would help soothe his on-the-surface anxieties and emotions, but Banner's problems are far deeper. It's easiest for him to Hulk out when faced with extreme emotions, but other things can also make him transform. In many universes, he has dissociative identity disorder, which is something a little weed would do very little to help treat.


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

[User]
Is it more efficient to leave heating on all day to maintain a temperature than just heat when required?

I quite often hear that it is more efficient to have heating (hot water cylinders, heat pumps, etc) always on because it uses less energy to maintain a temperature than to heat from cold. This doesn't make a lot of sense to me because surely the same amount of energy is required to stop the temperature falling back to room temperature is the same as is required to heat it up from room temperature.

I assume it's just a simple equation to work out the energy expenditure? Or am I missing out some fundamental efficiency differences of different technologies operating at different temperatures?

[Assistant]
It will always be more efficient to turn the heat off.

The reason is that the rate of heat exchange from your house to the outside scales linearly with temperature. For instance if you double the temperature inside you house, you will double the rate of heat lost to the outside.


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

[User]
[Marvel comics] What is K'un Lun and who are the people who live there?

I'm only on episode 4 of Defenders so I'm asking about the comics to avoid spoilers. But at least in the MCU, it seems to imply that K'un Lun is just a regular place that is only accessible every 15 years and the people there are just well-trained humans. Are they actually something more than that in the comics?

[Assistant]
That's the basic gist of it. K'un-Lun is kind of a separate dimension only partially attached to the real world, only accessible at certain times in certain places. It's one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, each with their own champion like the Iron Fist.

Not everyone in each city is highly trained, though - for the most part it's just a regular city, just unattached to the Earthly plane.


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

[User] [Star Trek IV TVH] Why was the alien probe so keen to talk to whales, why didn't it know the destruction it was causing, why didn't it know that not all species survive on a planet for all time? why couldn't it be communicated with? Why was no attempt made to destroy it with conventional methods?

[Assistant] According to the novels, the probe belonged to a species that was whale-like and it was created to keep in contact with whale-like species, which its builders considered the only sentient life forms. When it came into contact with other intelligent species, because of its programming, it considered them things like viruses, threats instead of other civilizations. And because whale-like species used a fundamentally different communication structure, the probe's AI couldn't be convinced otherwise. Partially this was due to numerous attempts by humanoid-like aliens attempting to destroy it and not 100% failing, resulting over eons in degradation of its capabilities. And while it is aware that not all species survive, it is capable of detecting the interference of humanoid species, which, again, it thinks of as non-sentient destructive enemies. So it doesn't care about destroying them, they're the enemy.


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

[User]
Does artificial gravity require lots of energy to maintain rotation?

If there is a donut shaped room rotating at constant speed (along the axis through the center of donut), and two people standing at the opposite side of the room (heads facing center of donut of course), can the system theoretically spin at this rate without major loss in kinetic energy, just like how the earth is spinning?
If so, would the two people be able to feel constant gravity for a very long time, making artificial gravity an extremely maintainable phenomenon? Yet it seems very hard and energy-consuming to implement in practice.

[Assistant]
There is no energy required to keep the torus rotating in vacuum/space. Thats conservation of angular momentum. In fact it you only need energy to accelerate or slow down the rotation.

You can even increase rotational speed by using the sun wind. Like a mill.

The amount of friction in interstallar space so so ridiculusly small just neglect it.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can insects fall more then 100 times their own height while we, humans, would simply break every single bone in our body?

[Assistant]
force equals mass times acceleration

A worker ant may be around 3mg. An adult may be 81kg. Therefore to experience the same forces that a human would when impacting a surface after falling, the ant would need to be traveling 27,000,000 times faster.


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

[User]
ELI5: If church attendence is declining so fast why are there still churches everywhere?

I was thinking about this recently. We keep hearing about how church attendence plummets in the US. Based on that you'd expect churches to be closing, after all look at all the retail stores closing in face of onlime competition that probably didn't have as sharp of a drop in sales. But even in my hyper liberal neighborhood churches are still more prevelant than fast food restaurants and a single one closing is often a local news story. How are they holding up when their "consumer" base is so much smaller than decades ago?

[Assistant] Most churches own their buildings outright. Most retail stores pay rent.  When you own a building that was paid for by previous congregations, cost to operate it are largely independent of attendance.  When you rent retail space, the rent doesn't go down because you have fewer customers, so you fold and a new store takes over.


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

[User]
Whats the difference between white ice and clear ice?

I realized I left my water bottle in the freezer too long, and all of it came out frozen. However, the ice in the middle of the cup was completely white and very opaque, while it was surrounded by clear ice like Im used to. Is there a reason for this?

[Assistant]
Ice sculptors and upscale bars boil their water before use so it always freezes crystal clear.

Heat drives off dissolved gasses so the ice is not full of thousands of tiny bubbles making it look white.

But why just the center? Anything that's not water will have a hard time incorporating into the crystal structure of the ice. Water bottles also freeze from the outside. Incidentally this will concentrate more than just dissolved air including things you probably want like alcohol. Search for freeze fractional distillation and the northerner beverage known as applejack for practical applications.


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

[User] ELI5: how does sleep cure bloodshot eyes?

[Assistant] Optician here. Your eyes have a tear film on the surface that keeps them hydrated and oxidized. Throughout the day, your eyes get dry and bloodshot from heat, cold, wind, smoke, pollution, allergies, etc. When you sleep, your closed eyelids allow your tear film to rehydrate your cornea for several hours and provide plenty of oxygen to your tired blood vessels. Your entire body goes through restorative processes in your sleep, and your eyes do too.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do house builders avoid weather damage while the buildings are under construction?

Whenever I see unfinished houses in a downpour all I can think about is all the places water is seeping in to cause damage. How does the potential damage get mitigated by the time a roof and siding gets added? Does the wood really just dry out enough in the sun that it is not an issue?

[Assistant]
Depends on what phase of construction they are in.  In new construction, there is rarely any need to keep things dry during the framing phase.  By the time you need to have things kept dry you'll generally see a house-wrap and windows installed as well as a roof (either the final roof, or an underlayment that will stay there for the long run, but is temporarily serving as a water barrier.

The crudest rule is that if you're gonna put up insulation and sheetrock the house should be dry and be able to stay dry.  Anything prior to that and you'd be ok with some moisture as long as it has a chance to dry out.


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

[User] How do foreign parasites (like tape worms) block the body's immune system from registering it as a foreign object and why can't we mimic it for medical purposes?

[Assistant]
There are as many ways to block the host immune response as there are parasites.  Actually, there are more.  Every successful parasite has developed their own successful strategies of immune evasion which vary depending on their life cycle.

They can hide in places the immune system doesn't pay much attention to (immune-privileged sites).  They can shield their surfaces with substances that are not immunogenic.  They can change their antigens to escape adaptive immune responses - either by mutation, by encoding multiple variants of the antigen (like trypanosomes are famous for doing with their VSGs), or by having multiple morphological forms with different protein expressions (like malaria).  They can infect cells that don't express MHC-I (malaria and RBCs), prevent MHC-I from getting to the cell surface, or enter a quiescent phase where they downregulate the production of their own proteins that would be expressed on MHC-I.  They can produce compounds that directly dampen immune responses (for example, analogues of our own immunosuppressive cytokines).  They can express Fc receptors to capture antibodies (so the antibodies will bind to them in the wrong direction) and render them harmless.  They can block infected cells from producing interferons or other cytokines that would help kill them.  They can be too big or too numerous in ways that induce T-cell anergy or exhaustion.

I have barely started to scratch the surface of these mechanisms.

Many mechanisms of pathogens *have been* used for medical purposes.

But what specific response do you have in mind and how would it be utilized?


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

[User]
How do slugs defend themselves?

Slugs have no shell and soft bodies. They would surely make a substantial meal for a lot of different creatures. What methods do slugs employ to stop themselves from becoming something's lunch?

[Assistant]
If they're attacked, they tend to contract and harden slightly and grip whatever they are on very tightly. And they have a thick slime. These mean they can't be gripped as easily.

That said, loads of creatures do eat slugs, so those defence mechanisms clearly aren't the best.


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

[User]
CMV: Corruption is just as bad and harmful as treason and should be treated as such

I believe that corruption is just as harmful of not more so than treason. I would say that if this were to become law a more strict definition of corruption would need to be in place. I feel like corruption is rampant in our government and continues to be so because there aren't really any consequences for it. Politicians get away with lining their own pockets, bribing, favors for friends. This erodes the trust in our government and causes civil unrest. I think this should apply to everyone in the government top down. I thinking this erosion and unrest is significantly more harmful than most treasonous acts. By way of example, I would say that if Edward Snowden were to return to the US he would most likely be charged with treason for what he has done ( I would disagree with this charge, I think he is a patriot). I think the corruption in Washington, and not just this administration and not just one political party has done more harm to this country than anything that came from the Snowden leaks. I think if there was real true punishment then corruption would cease.

Edit:

I want to add some clarification that there would still need to be trials and people being found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt would face the consequences. I also want to add that the death penalty in general is such a decisive punishment that I would be willing to change the capital punishment to life without parole, but I would expect the same for treason. If the new standard for capital punishment was life without parole then that should be the maximum punishment.

[Assistant] Treason is corruption but a step up I'd suppose. Corruption is using your office for personal gain, but treason specifically consists of "levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort", which could also consist of you personally benefiting from such a war. Corruption on the other hand is pretty vague to define, since why else would you want to become a politician if not for your own personal gain in some way? Plus lobbying makes that definition a lot muddier.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do people say US citizens votes do not count when they vote for the president?

It's confusing.
Why do they still vote??

[Assistant]
US presidents are voted in by the electoral college. Each state has a number of electors equal to their number of Senators + Representatives. So, highly populous states like California have a lot of votes (55) while sparsely populated states have few (minimum 3).

The issue is that in most states, the **winner takes all**. So, no matter *how many* New Yorkers voted for Mitt Romney, more voted for Barack Obama, so all 31 of New York's electoral votes went to Obama.

Most states in the union have a clear majority of Democrats or a clear majority of Republicans, so year in and year out, you can usually tell early on which states are going to vote which way. So, the election comes down to a few key **swing states**. States whose populations are large enough that they have a worthwhile number of electoral votes and are even enough that they might be persuaded into voting one way or another.

So, if you don't live in a swing state, your vote doesn't matter because it is already being cast for a candidate of your state's choosing.

Why do people still vote? Well, the president isn't the only thing voted on. In a federal election, you also have representatives and (sometimes) senators to vote on. States also have their own issues and government positions to vote on.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What does the title of "Darth" mean?

Is it a rank? A word in another language? Whats the significance of Sith taking it as their names?

[Assistant]
>"I see you won't be satisfied with the easy answer," Kas'im said with a sigh, pulling on his own robe. "Very well. To understand why the title is no longer used, you must understand what it truly represents. The Darth title was more than just a symbol of power; it was a claim of supremacy. It was used by those Dark Lords who have sought to enforce their will on the other Masters. It was a challenge - a warning to bow down or be destroyed."

Excerpt from *Path of Destruction*.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is the combustion moment timed in a diesel engine?

In a gasoline/propane/ethanol (let's call it ND for short non-diesel) engine, the combustion timing is controlled by the spark plug firing and igniting the air-fuel mixture that has been compressed.

How is this precise timing accomplished in a diesel engine?

[Assistant]
It's not explicitly controlled, but it's anticipated based off of injection timing and boatloads of engine testing. We know that for a given engine, at such and such a speed and load, if we inject at timing A, we'll get combustion at timing B.

Fortunately, these timings are pretty repeatable, particularly with modern high-pressure electronically-controlled injection systems.


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

[User]
[General] How effective are planetary blockades really?

I mean you would need to have ships positioned in orbit around the ENTIRE planet. If there are only ships around the equator for example, people can still theoretically take off and land from the poles or high latitudes. If you do completely surround the planet that is a lot of ships that aren't on the front lines or doing much else.

[Assistant]
You can just sit in high orbit, someone taking off is going to do so in a predictable path to reach orbit. With lasers or solid munitions/rockets you can just shoot them down before they break out of the gravity well.

One ship can cover a massive area. The ISS is in fairly low orbit and it has a pretty wide view. On the subject of orbits, ships won't be stationary in orbit. They will be orbiting, so 2 or 3 ships, with sufficient sensors and weapons range can keep a lock-down on a whole planet as each ships completes an orbit in a few minutes. Some could be over the polls and some over the equator or anywhere in between. You could also have faster response ships that can be deployed from larger ships to engage enemies picked up by orbiting vessels who can't engage them immediately if they have a blind spot.

TL;DR Orbits mean that a few ships can cover a large area in a very small amount of time. Taking off is also not a rapid or particularly stealthy process that gives blockaders plenty of time to detect engage them.


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

[User]
CMV: There was no good reason for Louis XVI of France to be guillotined

I've recently been reading several histories of the French Revolution, and I can't help but feel some sympathy for Louis XVI. Given the millions of less fortune people who have since met much more unjust fates, it's hard to justify spending too much time thinking about this...But, given that Louis had never explicitly opposed the revolution, had already abdicated the throne in August 1793, and that he hadn't ever really done anything (that I can tell) illegal under the constitution of 1791, it seems strange that the constitutional convention voted so unanimously to execute him, especially when prominent revolutionaries like Robespierre were adamantly opposed to capital punishment. Wouldn't it have granted more legitimacy to the revolution with the other European powers, and to the republic in general, if they instead punished him with exile or imprisonment, or by making him purely a figurehead? I'm just not seeing what the upside was of executing him, other than perhaps setting an example for future monarchs to relinquish power more quickly when pressured.

[Assistant] One of the big reasons existing rulers tend to be killed when effecting a regime change is to remove a figurehead for rebellion to rally around.  Nicholas II and his entire family were executed for a similar reason - to prevent external or internal forces mounting rebellion in the name of a live member of the previous regime with a right to power.


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

[User] ELI5: What is economies of scale?

[Assistant]
When you are producing a product there are fixed costs (something you pay once regardless of how many units you produce) and variable costs (costs per unit).  Since fixed costs are fixed then their cost is divided across the total number of units produced, which means the total cost (fixed+variable) for a unit decreases with the number of units.  So the more of something you make, the cheaper it is to make it (usually).

For example, doing R&D to make a widget is something you have to pay whether you want to make 1 widget or 1 million widgets.  If it costs you $100,000 to design a widget, and $5 to produce the widget, if you make 10,000 of them then your cost per widget is $15 ( (10,000 * $5 + $100,000) / 10,000), but if you make 100,000 widgets your cost per unit drops to $6.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] Looking to become a henchman, which supervilliain will be my best bet?

They have to be judged on the bosses attitude, pay, and likeliness to die.

[Assistant]
DC:  Lex Luthor.  Your henchman pay is most likely going to come in the form of a paycheck from a legitimate corporation, and come with health benefits and a 401k. There's a slight risk you'll get tossed into some experimental reactor in an attempt to give you superpowers, but overall Lex treats his employees well.  He almost never kills people just for failing him.
Marvel: The Big Man.  He's like a nicer version of Kingpin.


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

[User]
[Prometheus] How could the Engineers have created humanity while the fossil record of humans and their ancestors is well-documented and shows a clear line of human speciation from other primates?

Basically, when the Engineer sacrifices himself to create humanity, wtf is going on in that sequence? Was it an Earth prior to microbial life? Couldn't have been considering the abundance of liquid water, a thick atmosphere, and enough oxygen for the Engineers to breathe. Was it the Mesozoic? Mammals already existed by then. Was it the cenozoic? *Primates* already existed by then. By the way, would Engineers count as some sort of primate at any rate? Are all Earth primates actually descendants of Engineers? How tf does any of this make sense?

[Assistant] The engineers seen in the beginning are at a very early stage of Earth's development. Iirc it's hundreds of millions of years ago. They seeded their own genetics into the muck of earth and created a series of evolutionary events that would end in humanity. A near identical species to themselves but with several cultural and biological differences to make it an experiment rather than a cloning practice.


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

[User] If everything is constant would I jump higher when the sun is above me or at night when the sun is below me but farther away?

[Assistant]
Think to the tidal pattern and the location of the moon.  You'd jump higher at noon and at midnight than at dawn/dusk.  In theory the gradient of the gravity is larger when you're closer to the sun, so noon would be ever so slightly higher than midnight, but this would be negligible compared to noon/midnight vs dawn/dusk.

Note that the moon has roughly twice the tidal effect of the sun however.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does being hot make some people so hostile?

Why would temperature change make people act aggressive?

[Assistant] Being hot stimulates your fight or flight system (opposite of relaxing) in your body. Your blood vessels dilate, more blood is pumping to your brain, and you tend to think less rationally. Additionally, hormonal changes cause you to be more sensitive to stimulus. Result is an individual who would punch a kitten.


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

[User] ELI5: If Neanderthals became extinct by breeding with humans, how were they a different species in the first place?

[Assistant] A lot of people classify both Neanderthals and modern humans as subspecies of the same species: *Homo sapiens neanderthalensis* and *Homo sapiens sapiens*. Thats still up for debate, but the interbreeding is a strong signal in its favor. Theres still a lot we dont understand about the disappearance of the Neanderthals (and the Denisovans with whom we also interbred) but it likely came down to modern humans out-competing them.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is animal milk healthy for adults? Or is it harmful?

Looking information about milk being healthy on internet is an absolute chaos, every article is different to each other, and while some will tell you about how good it is other will consider it absolutely pernicious.
So, without join in ethical debates, could someone explain to me like if I'm five about the benefits or disadvantages about drinking animal milk?

[Assistant]
If you think a particular diet works for you, great, follow it.  But science doesn't really support any of that crap...

Mind the calories, get your vitamins, have a bunch of fiber and you're good to go.  If you ate a bunch of fresh veges and got some protein, doesn't really matter where the rest of you calories come from.

With milk there is an agenda either way, so googling is probs a nightmare... neither good nor bad, but is calorie heavy.


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

[User]
[Adams family] there isn't a decent sub for "ask horror"

Wtf is the actual deal with this family? Are they undead? Ghosts? Uncle fester is immortal, morticia is an lovecraftian horror yet Wednesday and pugsly are normal kids....

[Assistant]
This sub is fine, it's Ask Science: Fiction, not Ask: Science Fiction.
As for what the deal is, there's canonical reason to think they aren't even all biologically related.  Like, Wednesday and Pugsly are *probably* Gomez and Morticia's biological children, but the rest of the family?  No one knows.  Grandmama is explicitly neither of parents' mothers, she just showed up one day and they accepted her.  Uncle Fester and Cousin IT?  Who knows.  Lurch is also explicitly not actual family and shows they have a habit for picking up strays.  Once the kids grow up and have kids of their own, those kids will probably refer to him as Uncle Lurch and the distinction of biological family or not will be lost again.  As for what each of them are, well that varies as this is a fantasy kitchen sink universe but since they aren't all biologically related, it's just a matter of weirdness magnets sticking together.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How was Force sensitivity first discovered if Luke didn't know he had any powers by the age of 18 and he was the most powerful of any Force user?

If Luke didn't realize he had something special, how did the original Jedi first know that they had something that required investigation? Did they accidentally Force push something and then realize it existed?

[Assistant]
For most Force-sensitives without training, it basically just manifests as greater skill or aptitude at something. Like Anakin and Luke being good pilots and mechanics. Without meditation and training, that's all that their abilities will ever manifest.

But Force traditions are ancient. Tens of thousands of years old for the earliest recognizable ones, and that's not even counting the "tribal shaman" types. An ordered of cloistered monks start meditating, and one feels that they can reach out and connect with something, even other times. The monks repeat that, learn what works, train with it, and use their abilities to find and guide others like them.


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

[User] ELI5: How are bubble chocolates like Aero made? What gives the inside that bubble texture?

[Assistant]
They pump gas through liquid chocolate until it's basically a foam so when the chocolate sets it's full of bubbles.

Wikipedia says they use Nitrogen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide or Nitrous Oxide but not Oxygen as it will make the chocolate rancid.


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

[User]
[Half Life 2] What lunatic decided a crossbow shooting RED-HOT METAL BARS was a good use of valuable resources?

I cannot overemphasize the insanity of this weapon. I thought it was some sort of industrial tool when it was handed out, but no I was informed it was actually meant to be used in *combat* against an enemy with *guns.* Asides from being heavy, clumsy, and delicate with the stupid battery, the rebar 'ammo' is heavy itself and need I remind people is heated up red-hot. Because there's no way that a glowing-hot bar of metal just sitting there could possibly be a hazard to a user, right?

Seriously, why does this exist? Did rifles cease to be overnight?

[Assistant]
its a weapon slapped together by users who did not have access to acutal guns. and it proved to be incredibly effective, being able to pierce Overwatch easily, the penetrating power of that weapon is way greater than any gun you can get your hands on.

its a weapon for the desperate, and it proved to be so powerful that people kept using it.


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

[User] How do bacterial species that naturally produce antibiotics (like penicillin or doxorubicin) avoid killing themselves?

[Assistant]
It's due to resistance. Different antibiotics have different mechanisms of action. Because of this, most bacteria are inherently 'resistant' to some antibiotics (even ignoring developed resistances) because they simply lack the target of the antibiotic. That is to say, the antibiotic simply will not affect them because it doesn't have it's target to act on. Acquired resistances such as alternate pathway, exporters, mechanisms to break down the antibiotic can prevent a bacterium being susceptible.

The bacteria which produce antibiotics are either inherently resistant by way of design, or have an acquired resistance mechanism to the antibiotic they produce.

As an aside, penicillin comes from a fungus.


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

[User]
[DC] What is the relationship between Lex Luthor and the Joker?

In theory, there should be no relationship whatsoever between a megalomaniac multi-billionaire genius from Metropolis and a crazed multi-murderous criminal from Gotham.

But of course in the comics the community of villains is a big community where everybody knows everybody, hangs out in the same bars, plays poker in the evenings and gives each other birthday wishes. And the nemeses of the world's finest heroes are bound to have crossed paths several times.

So, what is the relationship between the Joker and Luthor? Do they respect each other? Do they detest each other? Does the clown find it funny to tease the serious criminal mastermind? Does the billionaire find it necessary to include the Arkham Hotel's most loyal client in his plans?

[Assistant]
Neither Lex nor Joker could ever have a real friend. But they do see each other as colleagues and theyve teamed up a bunch of times (I dunno, probably like half a dozen at least in the Silver Age).

Lex knows enough about the Joker to always involve him in big plans (because hell get offended to learn he was skipped over), and they even tag teamed Lexs awful son this one time.


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

[User] [DC Universe] How do the Kents raise a child who, if he has a temper tantrum, could tear them limb from limb?

[Assistant] His powers grew over time, there was never a four tear old running around with the strength of Superman theatening to rip their arms off if he did not get candy.  They also raised him right, so as his powers started coming in he knew not to abuse them.


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

[User] If I dropped a lamp into a black hole and a photon left the lamp travelling *exactly* away from the singularity, after the lamp had passed the event horizon, would the photon slow down or leave the black hole?

[Assistant] If the lamp has crossed the event horizon, there is no direction leaving away from the singularity. The singularity is not a point in space but more of an instant in time in the future. All photon trajectories starting from the lamp end up in the singularity.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] Why does Bullseye not talk?

All the other toys that are animals talk, why cant Bullseye?

[Assistant]
Because the horse from Woody's Roundup, which he is based on also can't talk.

When toys are first brought to life, they believe they are the character they are based on. That's why Buzz thought he was an actual Space Ranger at first.

The belief and imagination of the children who play with the toy has some bearing on how they come to life. So we can assume that whoever first played with Bullseye always played with him as a horse that kind of acts like a big puppy, but also NEVER talks. Throughout the years everyone who interacted with him has held that belief, even Andy when he gets him plays with Bullseye as a horse, and never has him "speak" to others in his playing. Over the years that has just cemented into his personality. It is much like how RC, a car also can't talk, no one played with him as something that could.

Now if he was played with as a horse that COULD talk, that may be a different situation, but from his inception as a character in the show, to his being played with by kids, he never was.

[Interesting side point, in the early drafts of Toy Story 2 he was going to be voiced, and they had planed Martin Short to voice him, but ultimately thought that a mute, puppy like horse would be better for the story.]


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

[User] ELI5: In Hawking radiation, how does one of the particles getting sucked in let the other one get away?

[Assistant]
The problem you are having is that this idea is a simplistic explanation that hawking came up with to try to communicate this idea.

You will need to dive a little deeper to resolve the issues this visual gives you. Short answer to your question is, it doesnt, there isnt really particle pairs being created *in the way you are thinking* .

We say that for every particle there is a field associated with it, when there is no particle that field hovers around 0. Never exactly zero due to uncertainties. There is no reason in this instance to favour either the particle or anti particle and so you can think of each empty bit of space as having equal chances or equal amounts  of each as if they cancel out. even though the field is hovering around 0.  This is still a bad picture if you start asking more technical questions but is a little better. Im not sure how to explain this without knowing what you know or dont know because quantum field theory is not the most normal language friendly field.

Now what about the actual Hawking radiation? Well when the black hole comes into being, you can think of it as disrupting this hovering above zero for the fields in empty space, so they dont perfectly cancel out anymore. This leads to what an observer would see as a particle being emitted from outside the event horizon. Never at the event horizon always outside it.

Its important to remember that only the distant observer looking at the black hole would see radiation. If you free fall into the hole you will find the radiation is essentially undetectable (not zero as some popular science claims).

If someone again sees the issues with this explanation,  of which there are many, and wants to get more technical, im happy to answer.


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

[User]
[Guitar Hero/Rock Band] ELI5: What's happened to music?

I went to see AAAAAA yesterday and I'm really confused. They were only playing covers and only hit about 90% of the notes, but the rest of the crowd were acting as if that was impressive. Am I missing something? Is a band that misses 10% of the notes in a song now considered good?

[Assistant]
They're marketable.

Do you think every top billboard artist is there because of talent? No, many of them they simply have *star power*.

AAAAA's journey was always about getting more fans and playing bigger venues. They know they don't need to write their own music, they can just pull a power stance and the crowd eats it up.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does the hair on our head stop at a hair line instead of just growing onto our face?

[Assistant] The reason this may have developed is because humans are very social creatures, and we rely heavily on body language and facial expressions for communication. It's hard to read facial expressions when it's covered in hair.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do wall chargers for electronics almost always have bulky, awkward bases that make it difficult to plug them in next to other plugs and chargers?

Can't they just use the standard plug shape that outlets were actually designed for?

[Assistant]
The electricity coming out of your wall is AC, or alternating current. Most electronic devices use DC, or direct current. The electricity from your wall is also (probably) around 120 volts which is too much for many electronics.

The big bulky device often includes a rectifier (converts AC to DC), a capacitor (stores energy to help reduce noise), and a transformer or resistors (reduces the voltage to an appropriate level for your device). Those things take up room. Some devices separate this into a separate unit halfway or so down the cable like you will find on many laptop chargers, but this can also increase the cost.


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

[User] ELI5: On a cellular level, how does exercise make us healthy or improve our health?

[Assistant]
There's also a theory that a lot of cellular damage is caused by slightly malfunctioning mitochondria producing more free radicals (hungry molecules that want to bind with other stuff, damaging it in the process...like your DNA or other cellular machinery) as they generate energy.

Exercise may force these damaged mitochondria to work harder than they would normally and "kill" themselves in the effort, removing them from the cell, letting healthy mitochondria reproduce to take their place and reducing the number of free radicals floating around.


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

[User]
ELI5:What is the incentive for real-estate agent fight for the lowest price for a buyer?

I understand that the buyer's agent gets a part of the seller's agent's commission, most of the time.

A lower price, no matter who pays the commission means lower income. I do not trust the notion that "honor" would make them seek the *best, lowest price*. Reputation is unlikely to be a concern. A buyer will rarely find out, they could have gotten a house for much lower. I am a jaded five years old.

*What is the incentive for the buyer's agent to seek a lowest (not lower) price?*

Thank you.

[Assistant] Look at it this way... saving a client $10,000 cuts into the agent's take home pay about $150 (6% commission is $600, half to each agent who then pay half to their brokerage). Saving a client an additional $10k is MUCH more likely to result in referrals to friends/family and repeat clients, earning them well more than the $150 they gave up on the transaction.


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

[User]
Does a photon travel more than 1 billion light years in 1 billion years due to the expansion of space?

Assuming we shoot a photon out into space, it would go 1 light year after 1 year, and 1 million light years after 1 million years.

Because after that the expansion of space is noticeable, would photon be farther than 1 billion light years after 1 billion years?

Does the expansion of space (Hubble flow) carry the photon forward?

[Assistant] The photon would travel 1 billion light years in 1 billion years. But, due to expansion of space both ahead and behind it, if you took two points in space that were 1 billion light years apart at the beginning of the photon's journey, and start the photon at one of them heading toward the other, then the photon would not have reached the other object, and would also be more than 1 billion light years away from the initial object.


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

[User] [MCU] Do the songs Iron Man by Black Sabbath or Spider-Man by the Ramones exist in the MCU?

[Assistant] Iron Man by Black Sabbath has nothing to do with the character and is coincidentally named, so presumably it's still around. The Ramones song is just a cover of the theme music from the old Spider-Man cartoon and couldn't exist in a world where Spider-Man first appears in 2016.


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

[User]
CMV: Video game age ratings are often far too strict on violence and language and lower ratings would be completely acceptable for many games

I'm going to use the US ESRB system for this CMV as there are probably more people who are familiar with it, but the same logic applies to other rating systems such as PEGI.

Video games are given age ratings according to the levels of violence, sexual content, language and drug/alcohol use that they contain. The reason for this is to give an idea of what age they are appropriate for and to reduce the chances of young children being exposed to inappropriate content.

For example, the ESRB's "Mature 17+" age rating covers games that contain "intense violence". Some M-rated games do contain torture scenes and graphic sexual content that would be likely to affect younger people; in this case, I would consider the 17+ rating to be justified.

However, more often than not, games are given the M rating just for containing shooting at human characters with some blood. (This is true of many online first person shooters, which rarely contain "inappropriate" content besides violence.) While this sounds inappropriate for individuals younger than 17 on paper, most people who have played these games can tell you that the violence isn't really as serious as it's made out to be, and blood is often unrealistic and not very noticeable in a fast-paced situation.

A mature 12-14 year old would easily be able to distinguish a video game from reality. Furthermore, common sense should dictate that as long as a person of any age can tell the difference between fantasy and reality, there is no reason to worry that a video game might cause real world violence.

Similarly, language is also taken very seriously in game ratings. I recently played a platformer that was rated M17+ for repeated use of the F word, but the same word is often used in PG-13 movies and I don't see why repeating the same word several times is any more inappropriate than just using it once, especially considering that most teenagers will already hear swear words in school all the time.

As a result, there are many (not all) M-rated games that could have a lower age rating, since it is often just violence and language that gives them that rating. Whilst the content descriptor of "intense violence" sounds serious, there are still many games whose violence is not as strong as it is made out to be, and that could easily be handled by most teenagers.

I'm not saying that every M rated game deserves a lower rating, but many can be handled by people under 17.

The existence of unnecessarily high age ratings would be restrictive and unneeded, as well as potentially giving an exaggerated false impression of the content in a game.

[Assistant]
The current ESRB rating is good for the games industry. The main reason it exists is because of media backlash about games like Mortal Kombat (yes, the original). There was a big hubbub about kids being exposed to this graphic and offensive material (laughable by today's standards), and to cover its butt, the game industry created the system we have now. Every now and again, we'll still see backlash against video game violence in the news, but at least now the game industry can say, "Well, kids aren't even supposed to have it."

It may be true that younger folks can handle it (I definitely could), but that restriction is protecting our games from actual government censorship and regulation, and we don't want that, do we?


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

[User]
[DC] How potentially dangerous would a person from our world with encyclopedic knowledge about DC comics be in the DC universe?

Let's say that a hardcore DC fan suddenly find himself in the DC universe. He has the same "life" he had while on our earth, living in the same place (if he was a librarian in New York he'd still be a librarian in New York) but he has all his memories from living in our world where DC is just a comic. Oh, and he knows pretty much everything from the comics. Every superhero's idendity, every secret showed during the comic, etc.

Since knowledge is power and this guy is pretty much a guru of DC lore, how potentially dangerous could he be, both as a force of good and as a force of evil?

[Assistant]
Think it depends what he tries to do with it. He could be a giant boon to the justice league or the bad guys. Convince black mask or someone that Bruce Wayne is Batman, or go to the league and offer to help out with your knowledge. To prove you know what youre talking about, spout out all their secret identities to them. Shit just whisper them all to yourself in an alley want wait for superman to show up. Then tell him whats up and how you want to help or want a bribe from Bruce Wayne to shut up about it.

Or if hes a massive DC nerd, maybe he just wants to hangout in the watchtower and meet everyone before they help get him home. Thats what Id do personally.


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

[User]
[Half Life] If the G-Man is against the Combine, why did he give them Xen?

Xen, from my understanding, is a kind of dimensional intersection making it easier to travel between other dimensions. If G-Man and his employers want the Combine defeated, why would he give them their greatest asset?

[Assistant]
Eh?  The Combine don't have Xen.

After Gordon Freeman killed the Nihilanth, the G-Man claimed that he and his employers would be able to take over the border world (ie Xen) now.  As far as we know, this is still the case, and Xen is still in the hands of the G-Man's employers.

Furthermore, as you've noted, Xen works as a dimensional slingshot that enables Kleiner and Vance's teleporter to work.  The Combine do not have access to this dimensional slingshot technology, which is why their teleportation technology is much more ponderous than Kleiner and Vance's.  This further shows that the Combine do not have access to Xen.


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

[User]
[MCU] I'm an engineer working on some pretty advanced armor and weaponry. How far can I push things before bumping up against the Sokovia Accords?

None of my stuff is alien or mystical in nature, but you'd be surprised what's possible at the cutting edge of materials science. Is there a line somewhere between "guy in Kevlar vest and utility belt" and "guy in Black Panther/Iron Man suit"?

[Assistant] There's this underlying implication about the accords in AntMan and the Wasp that the US government uses the accords as pretext to take powerful technologies for themselves. This means that the authorities wont really step in unless your tech is valuable and useful to them or unless you use it to wreck havoc. Otherwise it's just a nifty arts and craft project to them.


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

[User]
[LotR FILMS] Who would have been the one to carry the ring if Frodo hadn't been wearing the mithril shirt when he was stabbed by the troll?

Frodo's dead. Who gets the ring and what happens next?

[Assistant]
Most likely one of the hobbits (and probably Sam at that), as they'd be most likely to be close to him when he fell and seem rather resistant to the Ring's pull.

In fact, this is essentially what happens in The Two Towers when Sam believes Frodo has been slain by Shelob. He takes the ring planning on completing the quest before realizing Frodo was still alive and rescuing him from tower of Cirith Ungol.


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

[User] What is the difference between an aeroplanes 'air speed' and its 'ground speed'?

[Assistant]
The wind.

The airspeed measures how fast the aircraft is moving with respect to the air. This is an important piece of information since the dynamics of flight depend on the speed of the aircraft with respect to the air. For example, the amount of lift generated by the wings depends on the airspeed.

The groundspeed is the speed of the aircraft with respect to the ground. This determines how fast the aircraft makes it to its destination and for passengers, the groundspeed will be the only relevant speed measurement.

If there is no wind, the airspeed and groundspeed are equal. If the airplane is experiencing a headwind, it's airspeed will be higher than the groundspeed and vice versa for tailwind.

To make life more complicated, there are multiple versions of the "airspeed", because what the pilot reads on his instruments is not necessarily the true airspeed. Corrections have to be made for calibration error of the instrument, compressibility of the air, etc...


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

[User] [Naruto] Would Naruto run faster if he used Usain Bolt's technique rather than running like a nerd?

[Assistant]
Probably, the reason for the "Naruto run" is less for speed and more for being evasive and hidden. Shinobi have other techniques they use for speed. Such as being able to instantly teleport or even swap positions with inanimate objects.

While "Naruto running" toward an enemy, their vision of your hands is obscured. Giving you the ability to hide kunai, paper bombs, etc. Even hiding what hand signs you may be weaving. A core attribute of a Shinobi is being able to out deceive your opponent. If they don't know what you're going to do they wont have any counter measures for it.


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

[User]
What are the better arguments against eating meat?

I've seen quite a few comments say eating meat is *probably* morally wrong, but I don't really know the arguments.

googling appears to give me mainly emotional appeals or "unnecessary harm to sentient creatures," but I don't know the justification for "unnecessary harm to sentient creatures is morally wrong."

[Assistant]
>I don't know the justification for "unnecessary harm to sentient creatures is morally wrong."

This isn't merely an appeal to emotion.  It's a logical argument.  Basically:

1. Undeserved (or unnecessary) suffering is intrinsically bad.
2. We ought to alleviate or eliminate suffering the best we can.
3. Eating meat causes animals to suffer.
4. It is not necessary that we eat meat.

Therefore, eating meat is morally wrong because it causes unnecessary suffering.

That's hardly an appeal to emotion.


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

[User]
[Thor ragnarok] [Spoiler]

Alright, so after Hela finishes murdering Asgard she goes to the vault. When she looks through, she doesn't seem to care about most of it. Altough she does say the tesseract is ok. But once she finds out the Bifrost key sword thing is gone, why doesn't she just use the tesseract to travel. It seems easy. Not to mention the fact that it can be used for weapons as well. So my question is. Is there any reason for her not using it or picking it up?

[Assistant]
She's a warrior caste, not an engineer/smith caste.  Even Loki needed human scientists to set up the portal.

Could the Tesseract do it? Yeah.
Could Hela make the Tesseract do it? Probably not, at least without some of the asguardian smiths doing the legwork for her.


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

[User]
[Doctor Who] Could a Cyberman be converted into a Dalek Puppet via nanogenes?

And what would be the worst-case-scenario if such a thing were to work?

[Assistant]
Depends on how advanced the cyberman is. Future incarnations have shown to be able to adapt to almost any form of combat and be extremely clever. Those might be able to adapt to the nanogenes before they took effect and possibly even weaponize the counter-measure.

The older models wouldn't be able to counter them fast enough. The daleks are more than a match for older cybermen though, so really the daleks would just get some cannon fodder for their universal genocide.


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

[User]
I think stereotypes are funny and people should lighten up, CMV

.

[Assistant] what special insight do you think that you have that gives you better authority than someone else as to what is and isn't offensive? if a black person says, "hey, that joke about black people being lazy hurt me a little. i know that you were just trying to be funny, but try to understand that those sort of comments mean something different to someone like me", what life-experience do you have to meaningfully tell that man that his feelings are wrong?


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

[User] [Avatar: TLA] If the moon and ocean spirits are so important, why did they choose to live in the mortal world? And why did they choose to become fish of all things?

[Assistant] spirits have always had an interest in the physical world for some reason. even back in wan's day when spirits were all over the place it wasn't because they belonged there but because they all decided it would be cool to visit.


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

[User]
City Planners: Can someone explain exactly how traffic lights interact with traffic and each other?

Between pressure sensors, light sensors, one light turning green with the next one immediately turning red, I'm very lost.  How do these things respond to differing traffic situations and how widespread is the technology?

[Assistant]
At almost every intersection there is a small box located near one of the corners. This controls the traffic lights.

It has both manual controls, for workers, and the automated timing ones. (I have a friend who works electrical, and spends time inside them. You can even make both directions display green simultaneously.)

For many intersections, there is a dominant street that contains higher traffic. This light is set to be green constantly, unless another car is detected at the cross street.

Most light systems use an embedded ring of wire in the ground to detect vehicles. When you drive over one, it let's that box know a car is there, changing the lights.

Same thing happens for left hand turn lanes. Sometimes there's is one ring, or two. When both rings are occupied, it will engage the left hand filter for the next green. Or, not at all if no car is there.

There are even some lights that will keep an entire direction red if no cars are detected, just to prevent people from speeding up to a short changing green light.

It all depends on the traffic calming patterns and situation for the particular light location. Most are designed to work with special lighting characteristics found through traffic simulations.

There is also data about traffic numbers and times collected by those two black ropes laid across the street. All of these factors go into programming the lights to calm traffic.