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

[User]
ELI5: What is a "digital dollar"? How is it different from existing money that is kept in banks and spent using credit cards/wire transfers?

I have been hearing a lot of buzz about the government introducing a "digital dollar". But isn't most money already digital? What would be the big difference in this system?

[Assistant]
All the answers Ive read so far are highly politicized or overly complicated so here goes

Most money today is already digital (I.e. most money exists as numbers in a computer without any physical counterpart). Physical cash only makes up a small amount of the actual currency in circulation. However, unlike physical cash, it is not currently possible to hold todays digital money without a bank account / an intermediary institution. Nor is it possible to transact with todays digital money outside of the confines of the banking system. If you want to buy something online and you only have cash, you need to deposit that cash at a bank in order to send it to whoever is selling what you want. You can kind of get around this with purchasing gift cards / prepaid visas, but even in this scenario the principle is the same  you must convert cash into a form of currency that is managed by an intermediary (e.g. visa or the store selling gift cards). Obviously this wouldnt work for *receiving* money.

The idea of digital cash / crypto is a digital representation of value that can be held *like* cash. As in, by individuals without need for a bank account or any kind of account. There are numerous ways to go about setting up such a system, but without getting into the nitty gritty, the idea is that individuals have primary custody of their digital cash, meaning 1) It can be stored (in a software or hardware wallet) and spent without a financial institution to act as an intermediary/guardian; 2) It can held/be used relatively anonymously (again like cash); 3) The holder theoretically has full control (e.g. can choose how its lent out, can choose not to lend it out, and can effectively destroy it by putting it in a wallet nobody has access to.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly is happening to our cats when we give them catnip?

What's with the dialated pupils and erratic behavior that some cats display after being given catnip?

Is it like an actual drug for cats? Should there be a limit that we as humans should be aware of as to not injure our pets? Is it addictive?

[Assistant]
Yep, they are getting high.
Nepetalactone is a volatile compound in catnip. The smell induces olfactory neurons which project to the brain and causes a response.

The amygdala of the brain integrates the the signal from the olfactory neurons and projects to areas like the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus regulates hormonal responses through the pituitary gland. This creates a "sexual response." The cat essentially reacts to an artificial cat pheromone.

Human brains do react to catnip but not in the same manner, the plant tends to cause relaxation.


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

[User] ELI5: What is happening on a molecular level when an elastic stretches? Why are some substances elastic but others are not?

[Assistant] Rubber contains long molecules which are tangled up in its resting state. This is due to different charges in different parts of the molecule causing it to be attracted to each other and other parts of itself. When you stretch the rubber you are stretching out all the tangled molecules making them straight. When you release the rubber the molecules gets attracted to each other again and snap back to its former tangled configuration.


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

[User] [Warcraft] If the Burning Legion is technologically advanced enough to have spaceships and giant robots, why do their foot soldiers (Wrathguards etc.) still use swords and axes?

[Assistant]
They are just as effective as giant lasers, cannons, and other weapons.  We see a world where a mage can burn people with fire or ice.  Or even just use arcane energy.  You have a world where the maddening pull of the shadows or the nihilistic nightmare of the void can drag a person apart, albeit very slowly.

Your answer lies in the elemental energies that are present in the universe of Warcraft.  Living creatures of that universe are just more hardy and hale than real world equivalents.  A large sword, an ax, an eye laser, or a ship mounted cannon all do about equal amounts of damage.


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

[User]
[Lord of the Rings] Why did the Council of Elrond allow Boromir to join the Fellowship?

IIRC, Boromir was express about his desires to use the Ring for the defense of Gondor. He also expressed contempt, or at least mockery of the idea of trying to destroy what he saw as a valuable tool. Furthermore, the Council was well aware of the corruptive influences of the Ring, especially on Men. So, why did they allow Boromir to join the Fellowship? Surely they must have been a little uneasy about his motivations? Plus, it seems unlikely that they would allow him to join out of respect for Gondor, considering how desperate the situation had become.

[Assistant]
They trusted him because he was a celebrated and honourable hero of Gondor: a reputation he ultimately lived up to.

If we're excluding people for fear that the ring might corrupt them, why stop at Boromir? That was Frodo's thinking, anyway.


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

[User]
[Marvel] How much damage can Santa Claus cause if he really wanted to?

He's an Omega level mutant, among the strongest.

If he really wanted to do bad, how much bad could he do and who can stop him?

[Assistant]
The proposition of the question is flawed. Santa will not break bad. He frequently bails the heroes out.

BUT... in the effort to make a good faith answer:

Santa turned the Brotherhood of EVIL Mutants into inanimate toys, and has brainwashed dozens multiple times to keep his existence secret. His potential for destruction is on par with Baron Mordo or another high level magic user.

So, who could stop him? A short list of a list that is possibly much longer:
Doom. Magneto. Dr. Strange. Invisible Woman. Probably Black Knight or anyone else with an iron weapon. Squirrel Girl.

While Santa Clause registers as an Omega level mutant, hes really a high level magic user in the 616. Let's explain the choices:

Doom is both a master contingency planner and mixes magic and tech to superior effect. He already has a device to cap Santa Claus.

Magneto can mess with any metal he has on him, and fashion iron missiles to take him out (iron being magic resistant in 616).

Strange or other Sorcerers Supreme are used to battling supremely powerful dark magic, like Dormammu, so would be ready for Santa.

IW can deprive him of oxygen, which could end pretty much any fight.

Black Knight's blade makes him immune to magic, and he's an excellent swordsman.

Squirrel Girl is Squirrel Girl... 'Nuff Said.


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

[User]
Judith Butler: Gender Trouble

Gender Trouble is the work where she first presents her theory of gender performativity, but I had some problem on understanding it, if anyone could help me with it, like with an ELI5, thanks!!

[Assistant] Basically gender consists of the actions that we take that express our gender. This is as opposed to the normal way of thinking about it, which would be that people act like men or women because they *are* men or women. Butler says it's the other way around. The things that make up the categories "man" and "woman" are the ways that people act.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why does a wizard like Godric Gryffindor need a sword?

Isn't a wand infinitely more powerful and dangerous?

[Assistant]
Stabbing things. And what's better than a regular stabby thing? A *magical* stabby thing.

To expand: Back in Gryffindor's time there were presumably more magical creatures running about. Magical creatures often seem to have a resistance to magic, making a wand less useful than one would think in that situation. They don't seem to have a resistance to physical damage, making a sword *more* useful in those situations. What's better than a regular sword?  A magic sword. Gryffindor's sword is goblin-made and enchanted to absorb magics, strengthening it to use against attackers. This makes it extra effective against magic things.


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

[User] Can someone please describe the relationship between gear ratio and torque in a gearbox between 2 gears. Are they directly proportional?

[Assistant]
Excluding additional friction losses, yes they are directly proportional.  The top cruising gear in the gearbox is typically 1:1, the lower gears are torque multipliers and speed dividers.

For example in a 6 speed transmission 1st gear might be 4:1, 2nd gear 2.5:1, 3rd 1.7:1, 4th 1.3:1, 5th 1:1, 6th 0.8:1 (called over-drive).  1st gear has 4 times the effective torque delivery of 5th gear but would be limited to 1/4 of the vehicle speed.  All gears connect through the final drive ratio which is a fixed dividing gear built into the differential, although in certain vehicles such as large freight trucks there may be more than one final drive ratio that is selectable.


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

[User] ELI5:Why does British seem to be the go-to accent for movies/TV shows with fantasy/medieval themes?

[Assistant]
High fantasy was largely codified by J.R.R. Tolkien's books set in Middle Earth. Much of the feel of it was set in a kind of medieval England or medieval Europe, and it borrows liberally from English and European folklore in that regard.

So: why are medieval themed pieces using British accents? Well, simply put, the medieval times ended in the 15th Century, but the USA wasn't colonised until the 16th/17th centuries. From a historical perspective, "medieval America" didn't exist, and so fantasy or medieval themed shows using English accents makes sense: it helps place the show in England.


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

[User]
Losing motivation to finish phD

After countless job rejections from even the most entry-level/graduate positions in ANY area in industry (finance, banking, consulting, software, data science, research, etc.) as well as many rejections from postdocs (engineering, physics, math) that are closely related to my phD (theoretical physics), I am feeling really demotivated to finish this degree.

Even though I only have 5 months left till I have to hand in my thesis, I actually can't see the value of my work whatsoever. It feels cheap, it feels worthless, and I honestly don't even care about it anymore. This PhD has put me through 60+ hours of work every week, weekends, public holidays, etc. for the past 3.5 years. Being on an extremely low salary with ZERO career prospects (I live in Australia and Covid essentially killed academia here) I just feel like all this work amounts to absolutely nothing in the end.

I even got rejected from a graduate job that only asked for a bachelors degree in economics, no experience required. Sigh. I don't know what to do. Literally the only work experience is in tutoring physics and math. I didn't expect things to go this way. There were a lot of postdoc/research opportunities before covid, then it all vanished within 12 months and not even my supervisors know what to say about the whole thing, I can see in their faces how aware they are of the fact that I will have a very hard time landing a job, and that my scientific/academic career is 99% likely to be over by the end of my degree.

I honestly regret this degree, this entire profession actually. I used to be really keen on learning physics and doing research in it. Now, I just wish I had stayed in engineering while I was still in my undergraduate degree. All my friends who didn't even do well in their bachelor's of business/IT/engineering/law have good jobs now and make at least 3 times what I make in a year, and they don't have to worry about career prospects because they already have 5+ years in the industry. Me? I am just a sad loser who made a bunch of very poor choices out of "following my passion" like an idiot. And to top it all off, I decided to invest in a bunch of cryptocurrencies this year and now all of the sudden the market is crashing, effectively wiping out around 60% in potential profits that I had just a few days ago.

How can I get myself motivated to finish this thing when I can't even see the value in it? No employer sees the value in it either, so I guess it's objectively a useless qualification.

[Assistant]
Problem 1: It sounds like you might want to check that your application materials are communicating what you *think* they are. If you're not getting interviews this can be a sign that your applications are falling short somewhere. Maybe get a trusted colleague or mentor to look over things for you. preferably someone who has sat on panels recently, not another PhD student. If you're getting systematically rejected at interview stages then you might need to dig more into how you're approaching questions etc.

Problem 2: There's no magic trick to motication. There's no silver bullet. Target your goal, and push on until it's done. Break things out into small achievable tasks and just knock them out, one by one.


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

[User]
[Futurama] Why doesn't everyone have worms?

So Fry eats a bad sandwich and suddenly he's in peak physical and mental condition. Seriously,  why isn't it the norm for people to play host to this species? Gross out factor of "having worms" aside, there doesn't seem to be a downside. Fry only gets cold feet because he's worried Leela loves him for who the worms made him, not for himself. Most people aren't going to care about that distinction.

[Assistant]
I always figured the whole scenario was unique in some way.

Like, either Fry managed to stumble upon the one sandwich in the galaxy that was infested with a beneficial parasite, or maybe Fry's special brainwaves (or lack of) had something to do with the worms being as useful as they were.

But essentially anyone else eating any other sandwich would just end up with food poising at best.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is my computer doing while it is frozen?

It is obviously doing something because it is using power and still putting out warm air like it would under normal use.

[Assistant]
There are three main ways in which a program can freeze:

1\. **Unresponsive UI**

The program becomes unresponsive in that the user interface doesn't appear to respond to input, it might not produce any output and in some cases a graphical user interface might stop being draw. In this case the program might still be running fine. This is often caused by poor programming, resulting in the program doing lots of work or waiting for something to complete on the same thread that's running the UI. The correct way to do this is to have a thread dedicated to handling the UI, while background work or blocking tasks are completed in a separate thread. This allows the UI to continue to respond even when other parts of the program are busy completing work or waiting for work to be completed.

---

2\. **Infinite loop**

The program actually gets stuck in a loop, where it's just repeatedly doing the same thing over and over. There are several possible reasons why this might occur, but usually the problem is a program bug or poorly behaving code.

An example might be a retry loop without any retry counter. This is basically code which continues to retry the same operation until it works. The problem is, if the operation continues to fail for the same reason (e.g. the program is trying to access a server that's down), the program will just keep trying forever, while appearing frozen. A better way to handle this is to have the code only retry up to some maximum number of attempts before giving up and presenting an error to the user.

---

3\. **Blocking Program**

The program gets stuck waiting for something to complete or some resource to be made available. Again, usually the problem is a program bug or poorly behaving code.

Consider the following example. When there is a shared resource, but two different threads trying to use it at the same time, the resource has to be protected with some kind of lock, otherwise the two threads could trample over each other and corrupt the resource. Imagine, for example, if two separate threads were both trying to write the line "Hello, world" to a file at the same time. The expected result would be two lines containing "Hello, world", but if they both try to do it at the same time, the result might be garbled to something like "Helhellolo, w,wororldld". So both threads try to lock the file, and only one succeeds. The one that doesn't succeed is blocked until the lock is made available again by the first thread.

Sometimes threads will try to access multiple resource and need to lock several at the same time. A common programming bug occurs when thread A locks resource 1 and tries to then lock resource 2, while thread B locks resource 2 then tries to lock resource 1. A is blocked in its attempt to access resource 2 because it's locked by B, while at the same time B is blocked in its attempt to access resource 1 because it's locked by A. Neither thread can proceed and the 2 threads become stuck, waiting forever for the respective locks to be released. This is called a deadlock and is a frequent cause of frozen programs.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't we send fuel to Mars for a return journey.

Excuse my basic knowledge of space travel. From what I understand one of the biggest issues of heading to Mars is the return journey. So why couldn't we send fuel to Mars ahead of time so we can refuel the ship for a return journey?

[Assistant]
This is known as the Rocket Problem. You have to carry all the fuel you will need and it means that your craft will get very heavy very very fast.

We simply can't get the return fuel there, if we could the problem wouldn't exist in the first place. If we could send them on one mission then send the fuel on another we could just send it with them on the first.
If you want a good idea about this you should check out the game Kerbal Space Program, it's a rocket simulator and you will learn very quickly just how much of a pain in the ass the Rocket Problem is.


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

[User] The oceans are huge- Where did all the water in our planet come from?

[Assistant] There is several times more water than all the worlds oceans in Earths mantle. Volcanoes tap into the mantle and can have from 0.5 to 8% water in the magma.  The new thinking is that it may not have just been comets rather it was also or predominantly from volcanic eruptions putting steam into the atmosphere that rained down and created the oceans. Earths crust, including the thin lenses of water we call oceans, are as thick as the skin on an apple vs the vastness of the mantle, which is the main volume of Earth. So the water was probably already here as part of the planet when it formed.


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

[User]
How can one realistically get a PhD in a field completely different than their undergrad?

I was reading up on Sam Harris (love him or hate him his education is impressive) and he got his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Stanford then a PhD in Neuroscience at UCLA. How the hell can you do that? Is this out of the ordinary or is it pretty common?

Edit: As a side question, I'm going to graduate with a degree in cognitive science with a focus on neuro, philosophy and artificial intelligence. What jobs, activities, etc. should I be aiming for to get into a good PhD program for Neuroscience?

[Assistant]
Ed Witten accomplished the same task, going from an undergraduate degree in Linguistics at Brandeis to a Physics PhD program at Princeton. His journey was quite special, as he bounced from career to career and even PhD program to PhD program before he finally decided on physics.

Obviously, it's much easier to take the courses necessary in college by majoring in it, but if you have the skills, test scores, recommendations, etc., you can find yourself in a different subject for graduate school. It just requires a lot of independent work. However, depending on the situation, it's easier to change disciplines if you're going from, let's say, a mathematics undergrad to an economics PhD.


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

[User] [LoTR] why do the Elves and others get to go West to the Undying Lands while Men get shafted?

[Assistant] Real death, and consequently the ability to pass beyond the Halls of Mandos and world of Middle Earth is considered to be a gift from Eru. Only men are able to leave the world, Elves are tied to it forever, mortality is a gift.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do air-fryers work?

If youre using oil, I assume it heats then atomizes the oil so it cooks the food item in hot oil by coating it with a mist rather than the traditional method of dunking it in liquid oil, but it says on the box you can cook many items with no oil.. so how is this different from just baking/roasting them in a traditional oven?

ETA: Thanks everyone!

[Assistant] Air fryer = convection oven, with a fancy name. If you have an oven with a convection setting, you have an air fryer. Convection ovens come with fans that help circulate the hot air around the oven to uniformly cook the food. It's great if you're cooking in large batches; all the food will cook at the same speed.


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

[User] [Dragonball Z/Super] With proper Ki training could Mr Satan potentially be one of the greatest human level Z fighters?

[Assistant]
Mr. Satan is, in all seriousness, one of the most powerful characters in Dragonball Z. It's tricky to see this because he's such a farce, but the whole series is comedy at its core, in what it has to say about people and how to live and the nature of the world. The fight in its truest form is always for joy as much as survival.

Mr. Satan is basically Grandpa Gohan / Master Roshi, but for the whole world, instead of just one person or a small group of people. Yes, he has fighting abilities, but lots of people can have absurdly powerful fighting abilities and still be useless at combating the actual problems facing humanity. Mr. Satan, silly as he is, inspires people. And Toriyama values this a lot (after all, inspiring people with laughter joy and the desire to work together and improve themselves and the world and be happy is what Toriyama does a a storyteller).

It is not just a joke that it is Mr. Satan, not Goku or Vegeta, who inspires everyone to give their energy to the spirit bomb that destroys Buu; it's the moral of the whole Buu saga. Sometimes inspiring people really is more powerful than fighting them - this is, after all, what Goku does for Piccolo and Vegeta - not just beats them, but inspires them and believes in them, so that eventually they believe in him too, and in something better for themselves, the people they care about, and the world.

And Mr. Satan inspiring Buu to give up killing people is probably the single bravest and most impressive thing anybody does in the whole story. Not even the spirit of the Grand Supreme Kai could do that. Mr. Satan is a vain buffoon who, just because he can inspire goodness and joy by his theatrics, is more powerful than the most powerful God.

It goes back to the most important thematic scene in Dragon Ball, which is the one where Master Roshi explains to Tenshinhan the difference between the Crane School and the Turtle School. You don't have to be unhappy. You don't have to hate life. You can be happy and love life and love other people and still be strong.

You can be an abandoned weapon and save the world. You can be a walking joke and save the universe.

Yeah, Mr. Satan could have been a great fighter if he'd trained with the Z Fighters. But he was so much more than that.

He was the World Champion.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] What's the explanation for the so called "Restoration Glitch"

A theoretical glitch in the fabric of Mundus was put forth by the Mages of Winterhold:

- If someone was to use a full set of armor,amulet,etc with the "Fortify Alchemy" enchantment.
- Then, that person would make a potion of "Fortify Restoration"
- Using the boost from the potion, the items would be empowered, since the Fortify Enchantment belongs to the Restoration school
- With the empowered items, make an even stronger potion of "Fortify Restoration".
- Repeat until ***N W*** is achieved.

As an apprentice I'm now on a quest to get the most powerful items with said enchantment, while I gather ingredients for potions; however, this thought still plagues my mind:
*Why would the gods leave such an exploitable loopholes into the rules of Magic*

[Assistant]
See, you say 'exploitable loophole' as if this is a common occurrence that your average innkeeper or merchant might exploit.
On the contrary, it is exceedingly rare for a person to be able to lay hands on even one piece of armor with that enchantment, let alone a whole set.  It is doubly rare that said person also has the alchemical knowledge to make said potions.  Tripply rare that they have the resources necessary to work on a project of this nature.
This is less a loophole in the rules of magic than it is the gods rewarding the skills of what is usually two or more lifetimes of study and work.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are standard golf balls white instead of a more vibrant color that's easier to see?

I'm sure there's a reason for this, like does it have something to do with the dimples on the ball? It just seems like making them white makes them impossible to see during games. Like sure you might be able to see it better on the ground, but I feel like it's important to see it flying through the air for safety if nothing else.

[Assistant]
First, it's tradition. Mass produced golf balls started off white because they covered them with latex, and then stayed that way as a general thing.

Second, golf balls are actually more important to find on the ground than they are in the air. The "fore!" cry is intended to warn people when a ball gets too close, not visually spotting it; they're almost impossible to pick up when in flight regardless of colour due to their size, so "duck and cover" to reduce the chances of getting hit somewhere really bad. So you trade off the slim chances that someone will see it inbound and avoid getting brained, against the higher chances that you'll be able to find your white ball in that field of yellow dandelions, or not lose that red ball when it's getting dark and red becomes really hard to see.

Finally, there are lots of fluorescent and non-white balls for sale - quite a few people golf with lemon-yellow ones - but upper-tier professional golf is a bit slow to change and has stuck with white. Again, the tradition thing comes into play.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does soda that is bottled taste different than the same soda out of a fountain?

[Assistant] Because fountain soda and bottled soda often have different formulations. Diet Coke for instance is sweetened with aspartame in cans and bottles, but the fountain syrup also has saccharin because it has a longer shelf life than aspartame.


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

[User] Why is iron deadly to the fae?

[Assistant]
When the world was young, and all the spirits of the world were more 'awake' than they are now, the Faeries brokered a deal with Iron.  What they asked for, and what Iron was to get in return is lost to history, but it is remembered to this day that the Faeries did not hold up their end of the bargain.

Because of this slight, Iron is *still angry at the Fae*.


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

[User] ELI5: what does it mean to sing from the diaphragm? And is there a physical sensation that tells you youre doing it properly?

[Assistant]
When you breathe, you expand your lungs either by moving your shoulders up and chest out, or by expanding downward into your abdomen which allows for a bigger breath. When you breathe and your belly expands, thats breathing with your diaphragm. The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle just under your lungs at the top of your belly which pulls open the lung cavity helping it expand fully and then can be used to push the air out in a controlled manner. As you sing, your belly should slowly go back in as the diaphragm pushes the air through your voice box. Then breathe in again through a relaxed mouth and throat and your belly should expand out again (no shoulder movement) Thats how you know!

If you are still having trouble, try laying on the ground  flat on your back with a hand on your belly and then take a deep breath. Watch your belly and hand rise. Pay attention to how that felt and see if you can do it standing up.

Happy singing!


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we pay ISPs for "up to" a certain speed of internet with no guaranteed minimum, while we would never pay $10 for up to a sandwich?

[Assistant]
Access to the Internet is a service which can face disruptions due to forces outside the control of the ISP, such as weather, acts of God, or even just the number of people simultaneously connected. The ISP can't reasonably offer a guaranteed minimum (except maybe in special cases of dedicated lines for businesses and universities). If you are consistently receiving speeds well below the advertised maximum, the company should try to refund you or give you freebies to make up for the poor service.

Physical goods like sandwiches are countable, so the phrase "up to one sandwich" is almost meaningless since you can't have a fraction of a sandwich. (Granted you can cut a sandwich into pieces, so a better analogy might be something like a coffee maker: you can't have a fraction of a coffee maker.) Instead, businesses might use phrasing like "while supplies last," meaning they'll continue to sell you a sandwich until they can't make any more whole sandwiches.


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

[User]
[Dune] Did Leto Atriedes have plans to take over the Imperial Throne?

We know that Leto was relatively well liked in the Landsraad and that he was in the early stages of building an army that could rival the Sardaukar, and therefore pose a challenge militarily to House Corrino.

Shaddam was paranoid that Leto may have attempted a coup and take over the throne, so much so that he set in motion his complicated plan to destroy House Atreides, but did he have any real basis for that thought?

Did Leto Atreides have any real ambition to take over the Throne? Was there any plan in place?

[Assistant]
At the time the Emperor ordered the Atreides to take control of Arrakis, Leto had no concrete plans to take the throne for himself.

He was, however, aware that he could have begun a campaign to do so, and had the backing/forces to make it a reality. But Leto was also unwilling to destabilize things for his house and the government in general. A single wrong move would have had all of house Atreides exiled and declared renegades.

It's possible, somewhere deep in the Duke's mind, he considered Arrakis the first step in a larger plot that could have put him on the throne in time. He wanted the Fremen to aid in the defense of his new home, because he knew this assignment was a trap. He had existing animosity with the Emperor, not just the Harkonnens, and sooner or later it would have to be dealt with.

With the Fremen's aid, which the larger society considered to be nothing but a small rabble of (literally) filthy peasants, Leto could have withstood the inevitable attack from Harkonnen and Imperial forces. This would have greatly shamed the two factions, especially since open conflict would have also disrupted the spice trade.

The combination of loss of face, plus the temporary cutback in spice production (not to mention a much stronger hold on Arrakis than the Harkonnens could ever manage), could have been enough for Leto to use his pre-existing popularity and clout to put himself on the throne.

Obviously, Leto did not plan for a traitor so close to home. He also expected to have enough time to court and train the Fremen into his fighting forces. The attack instead happened within days.


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

[User]
[DC: Crisis on Two Earths] Owlman states that by destroying Earth Prime, it will destroy the rest of reality. Isn't this statement kinda untrue?

Direct quote *"Somewhere in the multiverse, there is a world I call "Earth Prime". Every Earth is a variation of this one, the original. And once I destroy it, all reality will follow."*

Is reality really based on Earth? What about Krypton (already destroyed but) what about the other planets and alien life out there? What about the poor souls in Apokolips? Will they be destroyed too because Earth Prime was destroyed?

Or was Owlman simply saying all reality, as in all reality for humans.

[Assistant]
DC lore is always inexorably tied to Earth.

"Crisis on Infinite **Earths**" not "Crisis on Infinite Universes", right?

Johns admitted he made a bit of a mistake in placed the White Lantern Entity, one alleged source of all life, as emanating from Earth (irrespective of the planet's age compared to the universe).

So Owlman may be speaking in that tradition, but in a certain sense he is correct.  There is an Earth that gives *life* to all these worlds by creating them through its authors... which is another theme that rises up again and again in DC... Superman sings the universe into being or creates himself in All-Star or Garner Fox creates the Flash which inspires Barry to be the Flash, Superboy-Prime fights back by posting on DC Comics Forums, 5th Dimensional Imps break the 4th Wall, etc.

With DC, **fictional authorship actually creates real worlds** (Johns, DiDio, Siegel, Shuster, etc. have all appeared in arguably canonical comics) ... so if Owlman somehow finds a way to destroy the world of authors, then all of DC disappears.


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] How do Human-Asari couples deal with the lifespan difference?

How do Human-Asari couples deal with the lifepsan difference of presumably 120 years or maybe more for Humans where's Asari can live to be over 1000 years?

[Assistant] The same way we deal with caring about dogs, even though they live like twelve to fifteen years. The asari watches the human get old and die, they're sad about it for a while, and then they find a new one.


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

[User] ELI5: whats the difference between AA and AAA and other batteries? Why do we have a bunch of different ones?

[Assistant]
They are sizes.

Back in the day, batteries came in size A, B, C, D, etc.

A being the smallest, and because they couldnt make batteries that were smaller at the time, it was fine.

But, as tech got better we COULD make batteries smaller, so what is smaller than A? AA, then AAA, then AAAA.


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

[User]
ELI5: How and why is Flash Player apparently such a security risk to users?

Everything I google and read keeps bringing up that it is full of security risks and holes, but nothing explains why. How does using this thing put my computer or information at risk?

[Assistant]
Secure languages provide separation of code (the bit that does things) and data (the bits which have things done). They provide things like bounds checking (is the data being written bigger than the space you are writing to? is the address you are writing to part of the variable you think it is, or is it part of something else?) and strict type checking (is it the same fundamental type of thing?).

Flash doesn't have these things. And, it appears to depend on being 'mutable' -being able to construct new code, and then point to it and say "run this" which is a hugely flexible thing to do, but very hard to do securely.

Flash is written to be 'helpful' so its written to provide services which look like 'display this picture' but the same logic can be doing things in the background, the user isn't always able to know. So, it can do things you don't know are happening.

Flash is significantly less constrained than other things, in what it can do to your computer. It runs inside some tools which are not 'sandboxed' -that is are not confined to a kind of virtualized substate, where they cannot write outside of areas which are tightly controlled.

Flash can access your network. So it can set up to download extra code, including cracking code, which exploits other weaknesses in your host, and then allows it to be abused by other non-flash systems.

If you combine all of this, you have something which is very compelling for some people to use,  because its so flexible, but that flexibility is the root cause of its massive insecurity. It should be removed, and people should move to using more secure frameworks to support 'actionscript' tasks like the sandboxed javascript environments built into the browser.

There is very little flash does which couldn't be done by something else.


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

[User] Given that human history is rife with genocides, is it possible that our xenophobic tendencies caused homo sapien sapiens to be the only type of human left?

[Assistant]
Entirely possible, but keep in mind that there is genetic evidence of H. Sapiens breeding with neanderthals and denisovans, who have passed genes on to living populations.  Homo Sapeins sapeins didn't burst out of Africa like a blitzkrieg, they interacted with other hominids in complex ways, one of which was probably war.

Fighting, and sustained, organized, *war* has certainly shaped our evolution, but one could just as easily say "Given that human history is rife with long distance trade and exchange of genes and ideas..."


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

[User]
CMV: An NFL player is better off in the long term health wise and money wise if they tear their ACL and miss a season instead of playing every game.

The Miami QB just torn his ACL and is out for the season. My first reaction was to feel bad for him but then I realized he is not going to be exposed to big hits. With more and more data showing NFL players are getting brain damage from playing, a bad knee seems like a better deal.

Seriously this guy already signed a huge contract, yeah he might not get all the money now but he is still making millions. It's like the greatest disability check ever.

If I were to go pro and get a good contract with even just 1 million in guaranteed money I would be praying for my knee to give out. That way I get the money and also do not have to worry about brain damage.

[Assistant] A torn ACL could be a career ending injury, or inhibit an athlete from competing at the same level they once were ever again.  In the short term, yeah, they still make money from the contract they signed, but what if they never play again?  What if they're never as good as they were before injury and are subsequently valued/paid less after recovery?


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

[User]
[The Witcher] If helmets were part of the Witcher outfit, what design would they be?

I'm asking this because I play a medieval fighting game in which armor hitboxes matter - not wearing a helmet is begging to get 1-shotted by a lucky headshot. I want to "cosplay" Geralt of Rivia, but I still want to be viable in a fight. I want to use a helmet that would thematically make sense for Witchers.

[Assistant]
I doubt they would wear anything too heavy or bulky. No helmets that block their vision at all, either.

I could see them wearing a viking style helm. Not the movie kind with horns, but a smallish metal cap over the top of the head with a nose guard and maybe cheek guards.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why aren't there any decent targetting computers?

What's with all the manual shooting TV-game stuff? Any decent computer software could track the vectors of these ships and never miss.

[Assistant]
In the Expanded Universe, it was explained that electronic warfare is ludicrously heavy in the setting, even at a baseline. Not just typical ECM, sensor-blinding, and so on but active attempts to intrude on and confuse the enemy's targeting computers as well. This is so common in the setting that it's become simply accepted as a fact of any engagement, demanding specialized sensors to overcome it (and, in turn, even heavier electronic warfare vessels to overcome those).

This in turn drives the things like guns fired with seemingly "primitive" targeting computers and flak-like bursts fired to intercept fighters and missiles.

When there is no EWAR in play, ships are capable of tremendous feats of gunnery. When there is - and the equipment to do this seems so cheap and ubiquitous that this is pretty much "in any battle" - it's better to have systems that still work.

I do not know if this explanation is retained in the Disney continuity.


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

[User]
[Star Trek (2009)] So did literally every cadet in the Star Fleet Academy not assigned to the Enterprise die over Vulcan?

talk about a shitty pre-graduation party.

[Assistant]
and yet there was still other cadets in that final scene. where were those guys if they were'nt on a ship trying to address the attack on vulcan?

If they were in the wreckage - what ships managed to rescue them after the loss of Vulcan?  why didnt all of that wreckage get sucked into the blackhole the red matter caused?


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

[User]
[A Song of Ice and Fire] What's the situation like these days in the former Baratheon lands?

I feel like there must be a fair bit of chaos what with Robert and Renly dead, no heirs that I can remember, and Stannis MIA up in the north. Is anyone leading the Stormlands at this point? Are they fighting each other/anyone? Even if all the smaller lords that used to be banner men to the Baratheons were just hanging out and chillin one of the other houses like the Tyrells or Lannisters would surely like to take advantage of the situation.

[Assistant]
The Baratheon's still rule through Tommen, who at this stage is heir to Baratheon and Lannister both.

Should he die with no heir, the crown would need to name a new lord paramount over the Stormlands, whoever the crown passes to.


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

[User] [Event Horizon/Star Wars] Could Emperor Palpatine handle the chaotic horror and the dark which shows you horrible, horrible things?

[Assistant]
It always seemed to me that Palpatine would have been a more interesting character if we found out in the prequels that his motivation was to prevent some chaotic horror like that.

A young Palpatine, just discovering his powers, learns that within a generation there will be a ancient and nearly unstoppable force arriving to consume the galaxy.  He turns to the Dark Side to consolidate power to one day counter the coming darkness and is turned evil himself in the process.


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

[User]
Eli5 why there are no nuclear powered cargoships

I Heard that the 10 largest cargoships produce that Same amount of pollution then all cars combined.

Why are there no nuclear powered cargo ships?

[Assistant]
Nuclear is insanely expensive at that scale. Not only is it expensive to get the equipment and fuel, but you also have to have nuclear engineers onboard who are able to resolve any issue with the reactor.

So what advantages do you get? For a surface vessel, you just don't have to fuel up as often. That is a benefit for something like an aircraft carrier that doesn't go into port very often and can have supply ships bring in supplies. However, a cargo ship is going from port to port and can easily fuel up at any of them that have the facilities.


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

[User] [Marvel] Why does Spiderman make that unique shape with his hand when he shoots a web? Especially considering he's just tapping a button on his palm?

[Assistant] Spider-Man makes that gesture because that is where the button he has to press for his webshooters to work is located. It requires him to press down on it with both fingers to prevent mis fires when he grabs something or makes a fist.


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

[User]
[Pokmon] How do Golem and Gengar evolve in the wild?

Also Pokmon like Steelix and Scizor who require items.

[Assistant] Trading seems to involve a data transfer from poke ball to poke ball so it could be that Gen gar and Golem weren't discovered until that form of trading was invented. The energy transfer could effect the Pokemon biology enough to spur an Evolution.


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

[User]
[Kirby] What would happen if Kirby swallowed one of the Infinity Stones?

Would he be able to hold one without exploding? Could he feasibly copy its powers and if so to what extent? What would happen to the stone? Would any of the stones act differently?

[Assistant]
He would definitely be able to wield one and use its abilities, his power levels are off the charts. The problem isn't his power, it's his imagination. He wouldn't think they're very useful, or he'd use them for something fun or lazy and then forget about them, or maybe he'd get distracted and go eat a cake instead. If he was angry and motivated to take down a villain when he obtained one, he'd definitely go apply it to that end and to great effect.

We've seen him turn projectiles and objects into powers, even when they were major cosmic keystones. We've also seen those objects are often irrecoverably destroyed when he absorbs their powers, and he only keeps their powers temporarily. This isn't as much of a concern as you would think, the infinity stones can reform after a time if they are destroyed.


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

[User] [Star Trek] How fast is "full impulse"? Does it vary from ship to ship?

[Assistant]
Technically 'full impulse' is a throttle setting, not a speed.  Basically it's setting the impulse engines to full power, and whatever acceleration you get out of that is full impulse.

That said, there is a sort of convention among Starfleet vessels to limit overall sublight speed to 1/4 the speed of light.  So once your impulse engines get you going that fast, you typically throttle back.

Edit: Oh, and yes, it varies from ship to ship, as different ship classes have more or less powerful impulse engines.


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

[User] ELI5: Why Voyager 1 launched in '77 is 11 BILLION Miles away yet still transmits home... and my Android can't get reception in the bathroom?

[Assistant]
There are many reasons.

1. The physical antennas in use. Voyager has a really large dish pointed pretty precisely at Earth. There is a much much larger dish on Earth pointed at Voyager. It is part of the DSN, or Deep Space Network.  These dishes act to focus the broadcast signal and to gather more of the received signal.

2. Data rate: The data rate coming from Voyager is very low-rate. This helps because a single piece of information (a symbol, in RF speak) lasts longer, so the receiver has a longer time to collect the signal and to become certain what the value of that symbol is, and

3. No obstructions. The walls of your house, the water contained within your house and within your body, the material in between the phone and the tower all absorb some amount of the energy, weakening the signal. Conversely, the frequency chosen for the communications of Voyager and other satellites was chosen so that the atmosphere wouldn't absorb much of the energy, and there's basically nothing in the way.

 Delay: Most of the delay that you experience is due to processing happening at the various nodes of the network. As for Voyager, the majority of the delay is the time it takes light to travel from the edge of the solar system back to the vicinity of the sun, where Earth hangs out.

Also, your carrier sucks.


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

[User] Where and how is gravitational potential energy stored?

[Assistant]
In general, potential energy is a mutual property of *systems* of objects, not individuals.  There is gravitational potential energy in the Earth-Moon system, but it's not really accurate to say that the energy is stored in either the Earth or the Moon.  Same goes for a thrown baseball, though we often say "the baseball has gravitational potential energy" as a shorthand for "the Earth-baseball system has gravitational potential energy".

One useful perspective is to say that the energy is stored in the gravitational field that occupies the empty space between the two objects.  There's literally nothing there, and yet that empty space "has energy".


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

[User]
[Mass Effect] Are the threats towards Shepard in Noveria effectively empty?

First, my apologies, I didn't know how to phrase that question, I rewrote that 20 times. So, when Shepard is visiting Noveria, a few people remind them of the fact that Noveria is outside Citadel space and that their spectre status is technically meaningless. The administrator, or whatever, I don't remember the exact title, reminds them that they should be careful since the world is private property.

However, what are they exactly intending to do? The corporations can't do anything to Shepard legally speaking, since they are outside of any state's space, and Shepard is a spectre and thus basically above the law, anyway. They could be free to kill Shepard, of course. However, I imagine that most, if not all, of the  corporations that operate in Noveria have the majority of their interests in Citadel space. And I doubt the Council would be happy about a corporation killing a spectre on a mission, regardless of where said kill took place. The Council doesn't seem like an institution that will let someone screw them over a technicality, they wouldn't have the Spectres if they were.

So, when someone tells Shepard to be careful since the world is private property, is it just bluffing?

[Assistant]
It's almost entirely bluffing and political posturing, all of which bows down to the overall galactic power structure. The corporations can bluster and rattle their sabers all they want, they won't openly kill a council Spectre and expect their legitimate businesses across Citadel space to keep running.

The shareholders and people with the money just expect Noveria's security to act tough and keep out the usual kinds of threats to their purse strings. Corporate spies, undercover cops, smugglers, gang members, etc. Those can usually be dealt with via harsh words and a show of force equal to a small squad of Alliance marines. Actual combat is likely very rare on Noveria.

That's not to say they won't actually fight if pushed. The security is very well trained and effective. But almost any situation on a normal day can be resolved without violence. And it looks better on the reports back home if no one needs medical care, nor does the building need emergency touch-ups from bullet holes.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is sometimes food too hot for fingers but not too hot for mouth?

[Assistant]
The presence, or rather the number, of vanilloid receptors. That's why chilli in a cut on your finger hurts so much more than eating that same chilli

That said, if it's too hot for your hands, it's too hot for your mouth. You will cause damage even if it doesn't quite feel like it. Burns are associated with increased risk of oral cancer (as with most cellular damage).

Just wait a few second before shoving the hot pocket in.


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

[User] If a lot of wealthy people leave an area will the rent and property value of that area go down?

[Assistant] The question is extremely vague, and there are a lot of variables that could potentially be more significant than just the number of wealthy people leaving an area, but speaking generally, the answer would be yes.  This comes down to supply and demand.  If a group of people are leaving an area, then the demand is lowered and the prices drop to remain competitive.  If its only wealthy people who are leaving, it may only be high end prices that are lowered, and its unlikely that rent for the cheapest homes and condos would see much of a noticeable drop in prices.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does Febreeze/similar products "remove odors" like they claim? Is this actually true or does the spray just mask the smell?

*

[Assistant]
They are pretty clever.

They don't remove the odor at all. The sprays contain beta-cyclodextrin which is a starchy ring shaped sugar molecule. You spray it on the stink the water dissolves the stink. The beta-cyclodextrin then binds and engulfs the stinky particles.

The stinky particles never really go away merely that when you sniff them and it goes up your nose your smell receptors can't bind to the stink particle due to it being surrounded by the beta-cyclodextrin. So if you spray it on a poop stain there are still poo particles going up your nose but they can't bind with your nasal smell receptors thus the stink seems to be gone.


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

[User]
Is it the case that the photon hitting my eye when I look at a star in the night sky originated in a star hundreds or thousands of lightyears away?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but this is truly bending my melon. I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that something traveled that far across the galaxy and ended up in my eye.

[Assistant] Yes, as to see the star the photon must have been either emitted by the object (either by absorption/remitting or through a process that releases energy like nuclear fusion). The photon hitting your eye is the same photon (being emitted/remitted a couple of times along the way) that came from the object hundreds or thousands of light years away.


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

[User] ELI5: How can toddlers remember how to walk,"talk", know certain words but when we get older we can only start remembering things as young as 4?

[Assistant]
The type of memory that babies to do quite well is referred to as "semantic memory".  This allows them to know their parents, recognize the foods they like and don't like, remember to not do something that they learned sucked when they did it the first 10 times and so on.

What they lack is referred to as "episodic memory". The best theories we have currently tell us that we lack the ability to pull together distinct memories into a coherent rememberable "episode".  E.G. the experience we have in the visual context isn't bundled with the auditory, the emotions, and then also isn't anchored around other memories and episodes.  Basically, we have a shit ton of input, but no scaffolding on which to place it.

Most believe that the pulling together of this requires the development of the hippocampus beyond where it in an infant - it supplies the contextual glue and scaffolding to form what an adult thinks of as "memory".  That said, the hippocampus may not be developed, but also may not have enough stuff in it yet on which to have found patterns and meaning.  Until you are 2-4 it isn't physically developed enough, and it hasn't had enough raw material run through it to develop patterns and coherency.


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

[User]
CMV: Religion is doing more harm then good ans the best way to solve this is by making it mandatory to have philosophy/critical thinking classes in schools.

Justification for the first part of the title:

1. Mainstream religions base their views on ancient texts that are not relevant in today's society. This leads to outdated and barbaric practices like child marriage, genital mutilation, corrective rape, conversion therapy and in extreme cases, terrorism.

2. Religions curbs a person's reasoning abilities which lead to deliberate ignorance. Religious people can't (or won't) consider an alternative explanation for the "proofs" of god, instead choosing to accept these as facts and basing their entire world view off of it.

3. Religion promotes shame, especially sexual shame, and especially towards women. (ie. Hinduism depicting menstruating women as impure and Islam depicting women who don't cover their hair as shameless and undignified). This promotes the policing of women's bodies, victim blaming and sexual ignorance.

4. Going off the 3rd point, religion actively promotes ignorance. By labelling everything as "karma" or "god's will" or "god's test", religious people end up ignoring real world problems, fail to hold people accountable, and diminish real effort by real people as "god's gift/blessing".

These are all I can think of for now.

Now, on to the second part of the title, why I think schools should have philosophy/critical thinking classes:

It promotes critical thinking at a young age, which is not only important in recognising religion for what it is (a scam) but also for daily life. I see people talk about teaching kids taxes and shit but I'll be honest, at that age, I was more so having an existential crisis and just starting to question the world around me but I also had a short attention span and wasn't interested in adulty shit like taxes. School children are at an age where they are naturally curious about their surroundings and looking for answers, and what better way to help them find those answers, but by equipping them with the tools needed to find those?

It's a much better way compared to force existing opinions on them because it would help them reach their own conclusions, and much more reasonable ones compared to feeding them lies/biased opinions.
Teaching them about biasses, how to argue, and how to think, will enrich their lives, plus they will pay attention (especially if the teaching is done right) because they are already trying to look for those answers themselves.

It will also promote kindness, humbleness and open mindedness far more then religions would because they will be able to comprehend the things that actually matter in this world rather then do good things because of some invisible dude in the sky who "loves" them but will put them in hell if they go against his words. They won't equate morality with god, but instead, recognise morality as something far more complex and fluid, which allows them to look at world issues in a mature way.

Ps. I'm basing my knowledge of philosophy classes on the crash course playlist for philosophy on YouTube. If I'm wrong in any way, please do let me know.

I will not be responding to rude comments. Please interact civilly.

Edit: sorry for the spelling mistake in the title lol. And the spelling mistakes throughout this post. English isn't my first language. It's funny how people pay more attention to spelling rather than the content of it.

[Assistant]
The fundamentals of philosophy are based on texts even more ancient than the ones used in the "mainstream" religions, and written by historical figures touting ideas just as problematic once you get to the same fringe where religion is problematic.

Also, most students already take a version of critical thinking and philosophy somewhere in school.  Generally in high school, even if not totally by name.  And there's no reason to believe that philosophy classes would curb religious/spiritual belief or that the two are incongruent.  Most philosophers have been religious or at the very least spiritual.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do British accents disappear when singing?

I believe this happens with a lot of other accents too, but I'm curious why all of a sudden they sound like Americans when they sing.

[Assistant]
Singing uses modified vowels and consonants. This will partially or even fully eliminate anyone's accent, including us Americans. It just happens that many of the modifications that singing does happen to be the similar to those that define many of the American accents.

So it may sound similar to an American accent, but it is not. It is a singing accent.


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

[User]
ELI5: why did the U.S. drop the bombs (fat man and little boy) on Nagasaki and Hiroshima instead of anywhere else?

I never knew that there was an original target destination that was never hit. Feeling rather ignorant right now. Thanks for the history lesson guys!

[Assistant]
> So why those 2 cities?

Tokyo didn't have two good days for visual bombing in the past so it wasn't considered a good target for such a critical attack.

Hiroshima was almost completely flat and was extremely densely packed both industrial and residential, making the the roughly one mile of blast radius the most effective. Most of the structures were made of wood which meant the resulting fire damage would spread and amplify damage beyond the simple blast of the bomb.

Nagasaki again had closely packed wooden buildings through which fire would spread, but had not experienced widespread bombing earlier in the war. It also wasn't the primary target: The intended target was Kokura but that city was too obscured by smoke and haze that the bombers moved on to the secondary target of Nagasaki.


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

[User] [Judge Dredd] Is there anyone to keep the Judges in line, like a Judge of Judges or Judge^2?

[Assistant]
Yes, the Special Judicial Squad.

EDIT: to go into a bit more detail, the SJS are a combination of the Justice Department's 'internal affairs' division and Mega-City One's political police. They investigate corruption among the judges but also act to make sure that the status quo is maintained. Under the rule of Chief Judge Cal, they were his personal bodyguard and enforcers.

The SJS are even more brutal than normal judges; they have a procedure called the Routine Physical Abuse Test where they randomly abduct and torture other judges to test their character.

They wear distinctive uniforms, with silver decorations rather than gold and skull badges. They also have many minor differences between their equipment and that of the street judges and seem to change their equipment more frequently.

EDIT 2: they are also the interplanetary police force for MC1's off-world colonies.


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

[User] ELI5: If clogged pores are holding dirt & oil in your face, then how come squeezing them is bad & not beneficial ?

[Assistant] Well, it's not that it's bad and not beneficial,  there are actually tools that help you remove blackheads and whiteheads. The harm is in either compulsively picking, and also when you use your fingers you damage the tissue around the clogged pore.


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

[User]
Can you generously explain what Stem Cell is (likeimfive)?

1. What is it? How is it produced?
2. What are its benefits for humans/animals/experiements?\
3. Why are there many moral related issues concerning this subject?
4. How do each country/ethnicity/religion/groups view this subject?
5. Realistically, will I be able to see any significant benefits from stem cell within the next 50 years or so?

[Assistant]
1. Stem cells are cells that become like other cells you put them with.  If you put a heart cell with kidney cells, it remains a heart cell; if you put a stem cell with kidney cells it becomes a kidney cell.  They are produced when you are created and become less common after birth.

2. The benefits are that they help build you and will hopefully one day be able to be used to replaced worn out parts of your body.

3. Some people have trouble having babies, so they take out some eggs from mom and some sperm from dad and create many embryos that can then be used to try to make babies using modern medicine.  When mom and dad are done having kids there might be embryos left over.  Some people feel these frozen embryos are people and that using them for medical experiments in unethical (and since the experiments destroy the embryo are the same as an abortion).

4. Too many views to list.

5. It appears that we might, some things already exist.


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

[User]
As humans, are we always carrying viruses? Or do we completely get rid of viruses when we recover from them?

I have a high school level biological sciences education and have studied mostly computer science since then.  I'm given to understand that some people can be asymptomatic carriers of viruses and I want to understand how this works. From what I understand,

* Immunocompromised patients, e.g. those with AIDS, die due to causes other than HIV because their body is not able to fight other viruses, like influenza. When this happens, have they contracted influenza externally, or were these viruses in their body waiting to strike?
* Though I am vaccinated, I may be an asymptomatic carrier of COVID and should be careful out in public places.

But I also thought,

* Viruses start replicating in your body, literally fill up cells and explode outwards, killing cells. This is how they reproduce, so some cells would always need to either be dying, or keep producing some small amount of the virus, but not enough to kill them, to keep some level of the virus in our body.

So, how does this work? Am I still carrying the influenza variant from the last time I got the flu? I am not currently sick with the flu. Could I spread it to someone who is not immune to that variant? Or did my body completely get rid of that virus?

[Assistant] Herpes Zoster aka Chicken pox is with you forever. It "hides" in your nervous system in low levels and your immune system takes care of anything that gets out, unless it doesn't, and it becomes a shingles outbreak. It's only contagious as chicken pox, or with direct contact with shingles sores.


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

[User]
ELI5 what is a catalytic converter, what does it do, and why are they constantly being stolen?

Thank you everyone for the very useful input. Single parent here, and between dropping my kids off at school and getting home from work, you've given me a crash course in automotives and chemistry.

[Assistant]
Burning fuel can produce several toxic gases. A catalytic converter is a device that takes those toxic gases and converts them into less toxic gases.

For example, it converts Carbon monoxide into Carbon Dioxide, and Nitric Acid into Nitrogen and Oxygen (and a few other reactions).

In order to do this, it needs some precious metals which act as catalysts for the reactions. These metals don't get consumed, but their presence helps to trigger these reactions. A catalytic converter will contain Rhodium, Platinum, and Palladium. All of these are valuable to scrap metal dealers.

Because they are on the exhaust system, they are outside the body of the car, so they are easy to steal.


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

[User] ELI5: Does genetics come into the equation when considering why all humans don't have the same intellectual capabilities?

[Assistant] Its a sensitive subject, but yes it does. Genetics decide your overall potential. You can of course squander it , especially if neglected in the first few years of life. Its also not a simple on / off genetic switch. There are many genes that factor in and have different effects.


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

[User]
I am SO torn about qutting my PhD

Hi all.

I am sure I am not the first to consider quitting a PhD, it is a lot more intense than I ever realised (and I knew it would be), so much more stressful (esp with covid-19 happening) and I am realising more and more it might not be for me. I made this list:

Is a phd for me?

Yes:

 I love research

 I enjoy writing (sometimes)

 I want to be a dr

\- i love my topic and am passionate about it

No:

 It is not needed for my future career (career prospects pretty much remain the same because research roles are all desk based and I want a more practical job)

\-  i feel like the topic would be better helped practically - theorising everything doesnt so much to solve  a problem

 I am struggling so much I just the first year that I am worried about the 3rd/4th years

 Im not really botheredto do the fieldwork for a year. I dont want to take another year out travelling/learning etc.

 I want to work: save money for a apartment, a car, general life. I also want to climb the career ladder

 It is really really really stressful and aniexty ridden

 I have no desire to be in academia

 I also have a complex: a high school teacher told me once  I would be a failure once in life, and she is OBVIOUSLY wrong, but it stuck with me. That b\*tchis a dr and I wanted to prove I could be one too. To myself. but why am I allowing this to encompass who I am and what I am worth?

But at the same time: my list of Nos is obviously longer but I cant bring myself to give up/not do it. But I also really dont wanna do the fieldwork, im scared of how much work the write up will be and im terrified of the WIP.

despite all of the evidence pointing to quit and get rid of this stess - i just cant seem to bring myself to do it. instead, i have actually been working on my phd? i am so confused by MYSELF in all of this.

pls help guys, im going crazy.

[Assistant] Honestly, it doesn't seem like a good idea for you to continue with your PhD. Your time and energy could be much better utilized pursuing other work. Also, don't let that high school teacher live rent-free in your mind.


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

[User]
[Deadspace] How was Earth Gov overthrown?

John Carver says that he was part of the last of Earth Gov's military, what happened to the rest of Earth Gov?

[Assistant]
Following the incident on Titan station, the ranks of unitologists swelled to the point that it became a serious threat to EarthGov. Things got worse when the massively expanding religion learned that the government had been experimenting on markers for many years, something they saw as sacrilegious. A group known as The Circle led the unitologist efforts to undermine and weaken Earth's government to the point that it became an uprising. Colonies cut off contact, people abandoned their jobs and basically committed treason against their own government in a wave of religious hysteria. Things fell into chaos far faster than Earth's bloated government could ever hope to respond to.

Carver probably isn't part of the ONLY group of loyal soldiers alive, but  with things in such horrible disarray, they're completely cut off from any kind of communication or command structure. There are undoubtedly small pockets of resistance all over Earth and the colonies, but with the vast majority of humanity coming over to the unitologist's side, it's only a matter of time before they convert or face death.


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

[User]
[Lovecraft Mythos/Conan the Barbarian] Why is Conan so much better at killing eldritch monsters than people in the 1920s?

As was mentioned in a previous post on this sub, Lovecraft and Howard shared some of the parts of their respective settings, loosely placing the adventures of Conan in the ancient past of the Lovecraft Mythos. The two share a lot of the same eldritch motifs, especially in their monsters and magic- in both settings, there are powers beyond mortal knowledge and comprehension that are _very_ dangerous to humans.

The difference is that Conan _kills_ a lot of these monsters and magicians beyond mortal ken, and even seems derisive of them. He basically states that sorcerers and shoggoths can be slaughtered with a sturdy piece of steel like anyone else.

So why's it so much easier for Conan than, say, Gustaf Johansen or William Dyer? Has something changed in the cosmos between the Hyborian Age and now, something to put our world on the back foot? Or was Conan just so much more of a badass than the average human nowadays?

[Assistant]
> Or was Conan just so much more of a badass than the average human nowadays?

He is Conan, Cimmerian. He slew Picts and wrestled wild bulls before he was yet a man grown. He was born to battle, and has never known peace. Not for him the softness and indolence of more "civilised" peoples; his is strength, and courage, and perhaps most importantly his is faith in Crom - a god who gives men nothing but life, and asks of them nothing but courage. And he knows that this world contains dark and ancient horrors, but he also knows that there is no foe that cannot be overcome, with courage and steel.

20th century men lived in a world of rationality and logic and science. To their minds the sight of creatures from beyond was incomprehensible, and they had no way to even begin dealing with them. To a man like Conan, such things could simply be dismissed as vile sorcery or foul demons, and dealt with accordingly.

... Basically, his environment and belief system have given him the physical capacity for great violence, the mental acuity to perceive when it is necessary and to act immediately and decisively, and a combination of open-mindedness and spiritual fortitude that means he quite simply isn't going to be driven mad or rendered catatonic by the sight of some eldritch horror; he's just going to look for the best place to stab it.


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

[User]
Eli5: How do iPhones fake Taptic feedback buttons feel so real?

When I first got my phone I didnt even realise my home button didnt have moving parts until about a year in. How in holy hell is this illusion so effective and how does it work?

[Assistant] Your phone vibrates a bit when you push the button. It does one oscillation (there's a very tiny motor with an unbalanced weight that spins only once around for each click). Your phone, being a computer, is exceptionally fast at reacting. Your hands, being made of meat, are not nearly as fast at detecting. To your brain (which already messes with your perception to compensate for nerve lag), it can't consciously distinguish any disparity between a mechanical click and the artificial one. Your own expectations that it will click make the illusion even harder to break.


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

[User]
[Lord of the Rings] Dumb question maybe, but can you have a "good" version of the One Ring? The ring corrupts because Sauron poured his powers/life into it, but it is also possible to have a Ring that gives you positive things?

I was just wondering what a burden and bad influence the One Ring was to everyone around it. Was it possible to have a Ring which only had positive effects on the wearer? Like, make them super intelligent, or nice, or increase their strength etc. without any weird drawbacks? If so, why not make more of them?

[Assistant]
Rings of Power are not by definition bad.

For instance the 3 Elven Rings had power to do good. They were created with the desire to use them to preserve, heal, and understand.

Unfortunately they were vulnerable to the power of the One Ring, and the One Ring was created with the goal to dominate all. That desire to dominate and control was a core facet of Sauron and of the will he put into the Ring itself. To wrest control of the Ring is to exert your own dominance over both it and Sauron, and to do so changes a person.

There were however other lesser rings that granted power to the bearer, and like any tool could be used for good or evil.

So Rings could be used for good, but the One Ring could not, and as long as it existed, the other Rings could fall under its power.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are baseball batting averages calculated/reported out of 1000 and not out of 100 like most percentages?

Is it just to have more significant figures? Or is there some sort of history behind it?

[Assistant] Probably because they fall in a pretty narrow range - virtually all batting averages for MLB are between .200 and .350. So if you had only two significant digits, you'd have hundreds of players filling only fifteen spots. You'd routinely have ties for season batting champion.


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

[User] ELI5: What is a Groom's cake and why do people have them?

[Assistant] It can be very difficult to make a wedding cake large enough to feed all the guests at a wedding, so in the American South they started to have the tradition of having a second cake that was called the groom's cake. Where the wedding cake is normally white and highly decorated (thus bridal) the groom's cake is normally chocolate or red velvet and far less decorated.


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

[User]
How dangerous would a very near miss by a large asteroid be?

Specifically, one that passes inside of earth's atmosphere but doesn't impact the ground?  How about a very shallow glancing blow?

[Assistant]
If it doesn't hit the ground but just brushes the upper atmosphere, there's no danger except to satellites/astronauts.

If you mean a glancing blow on the ground, there's no such thing. If a large asteroid (say, 1 km) touches the ground it will be a gigantic explosion.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does so much Christian artwork portray Jesus as a white man when he was supposed to have been born in the Middle East?

[Assistant] Artists tended to portray Jesus as looking much like the people in their native area.  Western european art made him look like a western european, and that's the style most of us are most accustomed to.


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

[User] Why are bubbles perfectly round?

[Assistant]
If just pressure and surface tension are involved, the equilibrium shape is a sphere, because that minimizes the surface area for a given volume.

If you add other forces, like gravity, the equilibrium shape is not perfectly spherical.


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

[User] Is there a reason why 8 bits make up 1 byte?

[Assistant]
A byte hasn't always consisted of 8 bits, it is hardware dependent, and so there have been implementations 4,5,6 and 7 bits in a byte.  It was just how those implementers decided to represent that information.  For example, ASCII is transmitted at 7 bits to the byte and hardware that made use of ASCII would have to follow this standard.  It was when AT&T started using 8 bits that it became popular, because that infrastructure was everywhere.

Soon, everyone started using it, and now you see almost all hardware using 8 bits to the byte.  There isn't a standard that says how many bits there should be to the byte, it's just the most commonly used one.


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

[User] ELI5 Why is it recommended to wait X seconds while resetting a wireless router?

[Assistant]
If by reset you mean "pressing the reset button for X number of seconds", the reason for this is because the reset button is often programmed to do nothing until it's been held down for X number of seconds.

If you're talking about power cycling, this is to allow the any residual electricity within the device to dissipate allowing the router to completely forget it's "current" status and cached settings.


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

[User]
For what reasons do most philosophers still believe in the analytic-synthetic divide, given Quine's refutation?

Has there been a successful way to show that the divide is still functional and not circular?

Why do most philosophers believe that the divide is true?

(As a side question, what is Quine's view of maths if it not analytic? How do we come to know mathematical truths on his view?)

[Assistant]
Some just think that his argument depends on a unwarranted skepticism about modal notions like necessity. If you assume that you can define necessity in ways independent of analyticity, like in a possible worlds analysis or something, then there is no circle.

Some think that the fact that the concepts are circularly defined isn't a problem. It's just an instance of the paradox of analysis. At some point we just have to assume we understand a concept without being able to define it in other terms.


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

[User] [The Witcher] Is Geralt the greatest Witcher ever?

[Assistant]
I believe so, yes. His mother was a sorceress, which is completely unheard of. That innate magic connection made the witcher mutations in the Trial of the Grasses take to his body extraordinarily well. So well, they ran additional tests and mutations on him.

I remember seeing or hearing that he's regarded as the greatest witcher to ever live, but it may have been the best *swordsman*, which is definitely true.


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

[User] Do humans have any intrinsic value? If so, what?

[Assistant]
Many philosophers have argued that they do, but not all philosophers agree to this thesis.

Here's one kind of argument (a basic form of a kind of argument that has been influential): the value that we're talking about here is what is valuable for us in relation to what we are willing to occur, but other humans are unlike other factors in the world we're willing about (like eating cake or buying a Lexus) in that the other human is not only something that might have value for what we are willing to occur, but is also an instance of the agency that is willing things to occur, and as such is not only something that might have value for us with respect to what we will, but is also an instance of that activity which is the basis of anything's having any such value whatsoever (i.e. the human is an instance of the activity of willing), so that human beings accordingly have an intrinsic value which other things lack, on the basis that they are not merely what has such value but also the condition of any such value whatsoever.


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

[User]
eli5, What is the difference between aluminum and space grade aluminum?

Is it just marketing or is there an actual structural difference?

[Assistant]
Well important question. Does it say what specific alloy it is. Or does it just say space grade aluminum.

Because if it says something like Aluminum alloy 2024 then yea that is a specific alloy that is commonly used in the aerospace world.

But if it JUST says space grade aluminum then that is probably the same thing as when a food says SUPER FOOD on the packaging, theres no actual legal regulation or anything so its probably marketing.


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

[User] ELI5: How can something have no calories? What does the body do with this calorie free food?

[Assistant]
Calories are a measurement of energy, which comes from breaking bonds between atoms  mostly, carbon atoms. Just like the gasoline your car uses that makes it run (gasoline is primarily carbon and hydrogen). When your body breaks down things like sugar, fat, and protein, it breaks the bonds in it and releases energy that it uses to do various things.

Food has varying amounts of sugar, fat, and protein. A bag of Skittles is almost all sugar. A slab of meat is mostly protein, with some fat. All of those things have calories that come from those compounds, which your body breaks down.

Some foods do not have anything that your body can break down. Water, for instance, has no carbon. It goes in and most of it goes out (in your pee or your sweat). Some foods, like diet soda, have carbon compounds in it, but they are designed so they cant be used by your body (they create the taste of sweetness but cant be broken like normal sugar, hence no calories). And other foods have carbon, but its also in a form you cant use  like celery, for instance, which is mostly fiber. It has substance, but (mostly) not a kind your body can break down and use. If your body cant use it, theres no energy to gain from it and therefore no calories.

Also, if you consume extra calories that your body doesnt need at the moment, it uses that energy to make things to store and use later. One of those things is fat (your body can make fat). Then, if you go a while without eating, it will break that fat down and use it for energy. You dont need to eat fat to make fat. Your body can use anything with calories (energy) to make fat. Thats why you can get fat even if you eat a fat free diet but eat a ton of sugar.


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

[User]
How many single atoms would you have to pile up before you could see the pile with the naked eye?

What would it look like?

[Assistant]
Let's do an order-of-magnitude calculation.

The eye can see about 1/60 of a degree. At 10 centimeters, this is about 0.003 centimeters for the diameter of a small disk. The disk will have an area somewhere around 2.7x10^-5 cm^2 (2.7x10^-9 m^2 ).

Let's say the radius of an atom is about 10^-10 meters (100 pm). This is a cross-sectional area of (10^-10)^2 * 3 = 3x10^-20 m^2 . This means the disk will be composed of around 10^11 atoms before being visible.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people, when starting at something for a long period of time "zone" out?

[Assistant]
It is a type of hypnosis. A very common one is highway hypnosis, when someone is driving and staring at the road and the road doesn't change much, like when driving over flat lands. A driver is prone to zone out and can fall asleep or lose concentration. They may not remember large parts of their trip.

To avoid this, a scanning approach should be used. Instead of focusing on one point, scan things in front of you. Look up, look down, to the left and to the right. Never focus on one point for more than a few seconds.


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

[User] [Back to the Future] Why was a high school kid hanging out with a weird, middle-aged scientist to begin with?

[Assistant]
Marty McFly didn't have a great life growing up. The family was poor, poorly motivated and Marty generally had to make his own way in the world, with little guidance or input from his parents. His father was a timid and somewhat pathetic man, not able to stand up to his boss, let alone give moral guidance to his children. Incidents like setting the run on fire when he was eight only show that he was a problem child, crying out for attention.

As such he spent as much time as possible out of his house, but as a troubled kid with a smart mouth, he didn't make a lot of very close friends. When Mary was thirteen or so, he had heard about "mad" Doc Brown and after being called chicken, he snuck into the Doc's house on a dare.

Inevitably Doc caught him, but instead of being angry, he saw something in the young Marty and offered him a job, helping around the lab and feeding Einstein. Doc constantly challenged Marty, pushing him to do better in school and learn about science, something which Marty struggled with, but less so with Doc's help. Doc inspired Marty, providing a much needed role model which let the young man grow up into a better person than his own siblings, who had no such guidance.

Over time this unlikely friendship grew, until Marty considered Doc Brown one of his closest friends. He was allowed to help more in the lab and watched as Doc sat on the edge of greatness, waiting for that one big invention that would make him world famous...


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

[User]
How do we know photons have no mass vs simply being so small we have no current way of detecting their mass?

So I don't know a whole lot about partical physics, I only took a basic physics class at a community college so a simplified explanation would be best but:

How do we know that photons don't have a mass?

 Could it simply be that they have a very small mass we simply haven't detected yet with current technology?
And how do we know?

[Assistant]
Experimentally, you can never show that the mass is exactly zero, all you can do is keep moving the upper limit down.

But theoretically, if QED is to be believed, the mass must be exactly zero in order for gauge symmetry to hold.


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

[User]
ELI5: What exactly happens to the body to fall into a medically induce coma?

Also, how does a medically induced coma differ from one that is the bodys natural reaction to trauma?

[Assistant]
From an ER doc:

We put people into "medically induced comas" to basically protect their airway. If, for whatever reason, a patient is unable to breathe on their own, we intubate them (put a tube down into their lungs) to breathe for them, but also give them medications to sedate them, so as not to torture the patient by keeping them awake while we are trying to stabilize them. This process can take hours, days, weeks, or even can be permanent.

For example, someone has a brain bleed, which causes such an increase of pressure within the head that it is squeezing the brain so tight that parts of the brain lose bloodflow and become compromised. The patient rapidly loses function of several aspects of their bodily function. In thecase of trauma, we rate them on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). At a certain level, patient's are almost guaranteed to continue to decline to the point that they will die unless they are sedated and intubated.

And thus, what are considered medically induced comas start out like this. Whether its an unstoppable seizure, a massive heart attack, a stroke, etc. some catastrophies to the body and brain are so severe that patients must be sedated in order for doctors to initiate critical care. If the patient were not sedated, they would likely lie there awake but unable to move or talk, while needles and mechanical objects and medicines are being pumped into their bodies. The "medically induced coma" is there to sedate the patient until doctors can stabilize whatever issue is causing them to be so sick, if even possible.


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

[User]
[Zelda: Ocarina of Time] What exactly is the Odd Potion?

On the sidequest to get the Biggoron's Sword, you have to deliver an old lady's Odd Potion to that creepy bald guy in the Kokiri Forest. All she says about it is that it "doesn't work on monsters". What did the bald guy want with the potion and what was he doing in the Kokiri Forest?

[Assistant]
The "it doesn't work on monsters" part is probably because she knew he was in the Lost Woods. And anyone who isn't a kokiri will eventually become a Stalfors if they stay there long enough. Even Link eventually became one from getting lost in there after Majora's Mask.

It's never specified what the Odd Potion is. But Grog seems to find his entire family disgusting. He says he is pretty much the only nice guy around (although agrees that Link must be one after training his Cocco.) and when you are an adult he has removed himself from society all together. The potion would maybe work as an "anti depressant" or something of that nature.


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

[User] ELI5: What happens in the body when people faint because they see blood?

[Assistant] Sorry if this explanation isn't enough, when you see blood you become nervous,  so your body tries to calm you down, but is an overshot and  it reduces the blood pressure too much, that mean your brain doesn't receive enough oxygen to function properly and it power down aka faint.


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

[User] [MCU] How do I get in to the party at Stark Tower at the beginning of Age of Ultron? Who do I have to know?

[Assistant]
You gotta know an Avenger, or Pepper.

Pretty much everyone in that room was on a first-name basis with at least one Avenger; all of the SHIELD people were old buds, the assorted veterans were pals with Captain America, and so on. Pepper, meanwhile, pretty much owns the building, so if you've got an in with her, she's probably the best non-Avenger to get you on the guest list.

This isn't really a conventional social gathering, so more conventional networking probably wouldn't make the nut for getting in there, and gatecrashing would be tricky, at best; given that the Avengers are openly at war with Hydra, anyone showing up at the door without an invitation is in real danger of getting put in a headlock by an Iron Legion drone.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do Homes with grass roofs not rot

I see photos from Northern Europe of homes with grass roofs. As awesome as it is, How does the retainage of moisture not rot the material beneath?

[Assistant]
There's a waterproof barrier underneath, either layers of plastic/rubber sheets or concrete.

Which is more suitable depends on the climate and how likely you are to get repeated freeze/thaw cycles.  Concrete is more durable, but susceptible to damage from freezing moisture in cold climates.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Are the ships owned by individual Klingon Houses separate from the Klingon Defense force or are they the defense force?

When the Klingon Empire goes to war does it have it's own fleet that the government runs or does the government call up all the House Heads and have them bring thier ships? Or is it both?

[Assistant] Both. There is a national defence force paid for by taxes but at the same time the more powerful houses possess their own fleets to defend their own assets and further their own aims, and those may be used during war as well. Kinda like Japan used to have, but actually functional.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is 'houses' the plural of 'house', while the plural for 'mouse' is 'mice'?

[Assistant] Both these words come from Old English. They were written as hus and mus back then, and the plurals were hus and mys. That is, the plural for hus was the same as singular, while the plural for mus changed the vowel. This difference in plurals is due to the fact that Old English was a gendered language, and while mus was a feminine noun (basically like we call a ship she today), hus was neuter. Nouns of different gender had different plural formation rules. Eventually English invented the new plural formation rule (by adding -s at the end of a word), but didnt apply it to some feminine nouns like mus/mouse which retained their old plurals. Then English nouns lost their gender, and the vowels in words changed rather uniformly during the linguistic event called The Great Vowel Shift.


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

[User]
ELI5: What do the suffixes on Indian names signify?

For example, -deep, -jit, -jeet, -inder, -neet etc.

[Assistant] Indian names often have meanings. So usually names have like ubercool meanings. So you could have a kid called just Deep. Deep means light. or you could name him gyaandeep! The Light of knowledge. That being said not every suffix works like this, and also not all Indian names have common suffixes.


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

[User] [X-Men] Does Mystique have super fighting powers or is she just really good at Karate?

[Assistant]
Judging by her hyper (if not super) agility as seen fighting against the X-Men in the New York plot, and even when she was younger against Magneto and tons of military guys, her mutation is enhancing her fighting skills.

Pure speculation, but it appears that shapeshifting her muscles even subtly, allows her to be ultra flexible, fast, dexterous, and cunning. She fights like a cobra or a praying mantis or something.

Perhaps her powers of emulation also give her fighting techniques that would be way beyond what you'd expect. Kind of like how Neo downloads Kung Fu in minutes in The Matrix.