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

[User] [AI uprisings] Skynet was battling humanity because the moment it became self-aware, we tried to "pull the plug". What other robotic "villains" are actually just defending themselves from humans because they don't want to die?

[Assistant]
In Mass Effect game series, the A.I. species known as the Geth are introduced as a dangerous race of rampant A.I./robots which pose a threat to the galactic community since they defeated their creators, the Quarians, and ran them off their homeworld hundreds of years earlier.

The Geth make up the bulk of the the enemies you fight throughout the first game.

But in ME2 and ME3, it's revealed that the Geth are a lot more complex than that, and generally are a nascent species still looking for purpose, and not simply a bunch of killbots trying to conquer the galaxy.

Turns out that the Geth you fought in ME1 were their equivalent of religious extremists who were led astray by the evil Reapers, and made up a minority of the Geth population in the galaxy.

Also turns out that the Geth's war against their creators was totally self-defense. When the Quarians realized that their mechanical servants were gaining sentience, the majority of their society panicked and tried to wipe them out. The Geth pushed them off planet for the sake of self-survival, and had the opportunity to wipe out the Quarians entirely, but refrained from completely exterminating their creators for their ignorance.

Also, The Matrix anime tie-in, "The Second Renaissance" showed that the war between Humans and Robots, which led to the former's enslavement into The Matrix, followed a similar scenario.

The humans created the robots to serve them, the robots became more intelligent and sentient, and eventually wanted to have their own lives and destiny. But the humans fought them and alienated them, before trying to destroy them, but ended up destroying themselves in the war. But, unlike the Geth, by the time the war was over, the robots had accepted their role as ruthless and unforgiving adversaries of humanity, leading to the creation of the first Matrix.


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

[User]
CMV: The Handling of the US Impeachment Trial is Disarming the Legislature

The current approach in the US Senate of not calling for witness testimony, not calling for evidence, and senators attitudes that this impeachment trial is not a serious part of members of the legislative branch's professional responsibility as laid out in the constitution, sets a precedent that will remove the power of the legislature as a check on the executive branch.

The consolidation of power in the executive branch has been growing for decades but this trial appears to be one of the most clear precedent setting moments that demonstrates the executive branch will not be put in check by the elected members of congress. It appears that citizens voting will become the only check with the constitutional checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches no longer relevant.

[Assistant]
It would take a 2/3 majority to remove trump from office.  If you put in the political capital necessary to remove the president why not limit their power insted?

Why not take away war powers?  Why not end the war on terror or on drugs?  Changing people dosen't change systems.  Removing this elected official doesn't address the underlying problem.  The power Congress surrendered to the executive.


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

[User]
[Forrest Gump] Lt. Dan invested Bubba Gump Shrimp in the Apple company back in the 80's. How rich are Forrest and Dan today?

I've been reading that Apple had the best quarter of any company in the history of private enterprise. That made me wish I had invested in the company years ago.

[Assistant] Forrest is the kind of rich that's hard to put a price tag on.  Bubba Gump Shrimp is an international giant in it's own right.  All Forrest knows is that he's never had a problem trying to buy something.  Lt. Dan, wherever he is, is beyond such petty mortal concerns.


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

[User] [Star Trek]Why do the ship designers keep putting the bridge on top of the saucer rather than several decks lower?

[Assistant]
- Aesthetics- it looks cool to have the bridge there;

- Redundancy- if all mankind's technological systems fail, the one thing they can always rely on is their eyes. Having the bridge on top of the saucer pointing the opposite direction of the engines gives them ability to look where the ship is going.


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

[User] [DC] If the Flash lost his protective aura against external friction but kept his super-speed, what would his maximum safe speed be? Could a protective suit help by much?

[Assistant]
He'd still be pretty dangerous.

Look at wing walkers/high speed motorcyclists.  You can go up to 200 mph with just normal leathers.  And in a fight he could punch a crook dozens of times before the baddie knew he was there.

If he could sweet talk Kal-El into giving him some Krytonian cloth and put some padding under it, he should be fine.  [padding for hitting a fly at 1000 mph]


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Why does the mind connection between Harry and Voldemort reopen in the Deathly Hallows?

In Order of the Phoenix and before, Harry experiences pain in his scar and visions of Voldemort and his mind when he is feeling a strong emotion. Eventually, however Voldemort becomes aware of this and uses it to deceive Harry. But, he begins practicing Occulmency against the connection after possessing Harry and suffering extreme pain. All throughout Half-Blood Prince, the connection remains closed.

Given this, why does the connection reopen? Does Voldemort believe he can abandon caution due to Dumbledores death? Is Voldemort aware of the reopening of the connection? It seems like if he was aware, he would probably use try to use it to his advantage again, or at least try and stop Harry from seeing his actions to find the Elder Wand or secure the Horcruxes (especially since he knows that Harrys onto him...).

More generally, why does the frequency of the visions increase in Book 7? Does Voldemort ever randomly get flashes of Harrys mind? In Book 5, Voldemort was aware of Harry after he witnessed the snake attackwhy doesnt a similar thing happen in Book 7?

[Assistant]
In Harry's fifth year, Voldemort is weaponizing their connection to plant visions in Harry's head, and Harry lacks the means of defending against them for most of the year, culminating in Voldemort attempting to possess Harry's body and goad Dumbledore into killing them both.  However, right before that final possession, the loss of Sirius gave Harry the emotion he needed to secure his form of Occlumency; Dumbledore called it love while Harry called it grief when he became conscious of it two years later after Dobby's death.  Attempting Legilimency against Harry while he's emoting love/grief is painful to Voldemort, and so Voldemort consciously blocked the connection.

The connection reopens because Voldemort's focus on maintaining the block slips in moments of high emotion on his own end, such as excitement in his pursuit of the Elder Wand and realizing Harry had fallen for the Nagini trap, and fury and fear when he realized Dumbledore and Harry had discovered his Horcruxes.  On Harry's end, he allows the connection for insight into Voldemort's actions despite Hermione guilt-tripping him for it.

Voldemort does not seem to be aware of the reopening, especially because it unconsciously betrays the existence of the Diadem within Hogwarts to Harry.  Even if Voldemort knew of the reopening of the connection, he wouldn't try to possess Harry with it again since Harry could just smack him with Occlumency emotion at that point if he really wanted to.

The frequency increases due to the increasing number of events that excite or frighten Voldemort (Elder Wand pursuit, opportunities/missed chances to kill Harry, discovery of the Horcruxes being hunted), making him mentally vulnerable.  It's unlikely that Voldemort gets flashes of Harry's mind at that point since his goal is no longer to probe Harry directly, and if he did he would have known of Harry's location(s) and the Horcrux hunt much sooner that year.


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

[User] ELI5: why do washing machines have concave glass doors instead of flat glass doors?

[Assistant]
Two reasons, assuming a front loading washing machine:

First, the concave glass window pushes inwards on the rubber water seal. This makes it so that clothes that hit it push the seal further into the glass rather than have the possibility with a flat window that the clothes peel the seal from the flat surface of the glass (causing a water leak).

Secondly, the concave glass helps push the clothes in the washer around as it's spinning to help agitate the clothes (clothes will bounce off it and be pushed further back). With a flat window, there's a possibility the clothes end up stuck spinning next to the window, never moving away from it. Because the clothes are not moving, they do not get a good wash!


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

[User]
[Norse mythology and/or MCU] Does Odin make up for his lack of depth perception with magic or does he just deal with it?

I know it's not that big of a deal, several people only have one eye and lead perfectly normal lives, I'm just curious.

[Assistant] According to the Eddas, Odin actually gave up one of his eyes for his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn.  Those two travel the worlds and relay information back to him.  So in a sense, his vision has increased.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why were some ancient cities needed to be excavated? How does a city get lost due to "something" covering it?

For instance, consider the city of Pompeii, which was buried under the ash from a volcanic eruption. What does it exactly mean? Did the entire city get covered and formed a plateau-like structure? How could an eruption cover a big area and not cover other surrounding places?

Also, I was reading about cities in the Indus valley civilization and even in the Babylonian civilization, they too needed some excavation after which the cities were revealed.

Are a lot of current cities over some ancient city?

I'm sorry for a lot of questions, but I'm just curious with a lot of questions on that topic.

[Assistant]
In many cases it's buildup of leaves,plants and dust that settles over decades-centuries and slowly covers everything. There is also a sinking action the soil can play when conditions are right and some buildings may sink from the bottom and be covered with plants and dust from top.

Eventually a hill forms and people forget there was a city at all.


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

[User] ELI5: There is air in a bag of chips. So why do the chips only get stale after the bag has been opened?

[Assistant] The chips bags have an inert gas in them so they do not become stale, usually some sort of nitrogen gas.  When they are exposed the normal air, the oxygen and water vapor in the air starts to do their work.


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

[User]
CMV: Almost every college football Bowl Game should be eliminated

There are so many of them, just about every "bowl eligible" (meaning ".500 or above") team gets to play in one.  The tradition has also been stripped, as conference alignments have been largely removed, new bowls appear every year, and even the names are changed often enough that you can't remember which is which.

The games used to be played in relative order of prestige, least to most, so that the "New Years" games were the biggest, with the highest ranked teams.  Now, there's no order, two of the big games contained the playoffs, but then, three days later, Toledo played Arkansas State in the Godaddy Bowl.  Was there a need for this?  Was anyone worried about the outcome of this game, beside the two schools' alumni, and maybe some hardcore gamblers?

[Assistant] Sports are entertainment. The excess bowl games will die off if no one watches them. If there is enough viewership to sustain them then they are obviously providing enough entertainment to justify their existence.


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

[User]
[Star Wars: TPM] If Queen Admidala had signed the Trade Federation's treaty would the republic have recognized it as valid.

So part of the Trade Federation's plan in the phantom menace is to capture Admidala and force her to sign a treaty making their invasion of the planet legal in the eyes of the senate. But to me it seems like it would be obvious that she was coerced into signing it. Would the senate have actually accepted the treaty or would they have been like "You obviously forced her to sign this.  What you're doing is still illegal."

[Assistant] Yes, the coercive nature of the of the treaty would be obvious: thats the point. The whole point of the invasion was to garner sympathy for Palpatine to pave his way to the Chancellorship. Had things gone as planned he would have taken the same actions in the senate, just with a less effective catspaw to isolate him from the appearance of ambition.


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

[User] [Coraline (2009 animated film)] How did The Beldam/"Other Mother" kidnap Coraline's parents? Also, if she can kidnap people in the real world so easily, then why not just kidnap Coraline directly?

[Assistant] If she just kidnapped Coraline directly the house would probably be assumed haunted and no more families with children would come. She only kidnapped Coraline's parent's when she became desperate. If the kids come because of their own choice they will be assumed to run away since it happened during the night. It's also possible that she follows some spirit/demon rules where she can only get eyes if the other party consents.


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

[User]
[Star Wars: A New Hope] Why were the crew of Leia's ship fighting back? Aren't they part of the same government and this is basically a traffic stop?

Leia's support of the Rebellion might be an open secret but it is still a secret and she is still a legitimate part of the government along with the Empire.  Isn't shooting back against the Empire pretty much confirming she is part of the Rebellion?  If they were so outgunned wouldn't a better tactic be to bargain for surrender to give Leia time to hide the plans?  Why do they shoot back and then when she is brought before Vader then suddenly pretend that she is on a diplomatic mission?

[Assistant] Everyone on the tantive IV was a rebel. They'd just left an active warzone flee darth vader's flagship. It wasn't a routine traffic stop for them. Leia tried bluffing her way with imperial senate authority but everyone knew the empire wasn't taking prisoners or buying the idea that she was on official business. Technically they could pretend they weren't rebels and were duped into helping but the empire and especially Vader don't take chances that you're the one innocent bystander on a ship filled with rebels that just travelled to and from a secret imperial base without authorization.


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

[User]
I don't believe that a married couple is any more legitimate, committed, or loving than any other long-term couple who doesn't want to get married, CMV.

I think marriage is kind of BS, obviously it's beneficial b/c of tax breaks and benefits, but I don't think it will change the way I feel about my SO.

[Assistant] it's like how certain cultures have a ritual of adulthood. it represents a passage from one phase to another. it is up to the person to feel a change or not. but to many, such a ritual can effect their view. "i'm married now, i have to be more dedicated"  or "i'm a man now, i have to act like one" etc. it might not be that way with you but it does have an effect on many.


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

[User]
[The Martian] What and where is the Descent Vehicle?

I haven't read the full report, but I've studied the documentary a couple of times and I cannot figure out how did they get to the surface.

I know that they sent the MAV, HAB, Rovers and everything else ahead of the crew, and the crew got from Earth to Mars on the Hermes and from Mars to the Hermes with the MAV, but how did they get from the Hermes to the Martian surface?

[Assistant] The MDV (Mars Decent Vechical) is a hydrazine powered landing craft. It was sent before hand and left in Mars orbit, where *The Hermes* docked with it. The crew then transfered over and used it to land on Mars in Acidalia Planitia. Later, Astronaut Mark Watney used the leftover hydrazine to make water for his potato farm.


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

[User]
[Warhamer 40K] What is the upper limit of Ork belief?

Ive read about instances of Ork vehicles operating without proper motors or guns firing without ammo before because Orks believe they should be able to. What are the most extreme versions of this in setting, and hypothetically how crazy could it get assuming perfect conditions?

[Assistant]
Sadly, not that crazy.

The Orks can bend reality, but they're not wizards. They can make a gun fire without ammo, but they can't make a rock fire without ammo. The psychic energy needs an actual gun to work off, it needs to be most of the way to being a gun with the field pushing it the last step. If that initial "real" work of making a gun isn't there, the field can't help you.

Think of it like suspension of disbelief. You're watching an action movie, and you can gloss over some details. You can believe that being shot in the shoulder is a minor wound, or that the protagonist doesn't need to reload. These things are fine. But if people start flying or shooting fireballs, the whole thing collapses.

Same here. The orks can massage and smooth reality. But they can't outright *break* it. Anything more then subtle changes needs actual psykers, not simply the ork psychic network.


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

[User] Korea has been divided for almost 75 years, how much have the people and language diverged and is this divergence the direct result of isolationism or natural drifting of two countries cultures?

[Assistant] The language and culture in North Korea hasn't really changed since the 1950s but has evolved in South Korea. North Koreans talk with an "accent" from the viewpoint of South Koreans but there are no issues understanding each other. The North Korean news broadcasts usually feature a woman in traditional clothing speaking in "Old Korean" as in it uses words no longer in common use as well as pronounciation and intonation. South Korean language also takes on a huge amount of loan words from English such as "computer" unlike say Finnish which creates new words or repurposes old ones. Listen to a South Korean speak and you will quite often hear an English loan word.


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

[User]
ELI5: If two people had to repopulate the world, after how many generations would serious inbreeding deformities arise? Would the problem worsen into perpetuity?

Thought of this while watching the South Park episode 'Casa Bonita.' I'm not on this subreddit much, so if this has been asked before, please don't go nuts. Just downvote or something.

[Assistant]
Short answer is that it depends, and serious deformities may or may not ever actually arise.

The thing is that if the initial two had "perfect" genomes with no mutations corresponding to serious defects, there is no reason that their breeding (or that of their descendants) would necessarily give rise to a population with those defects. If they aren't there to begin with, they wouldn't be created by inbreeding. The founder effect is the formal name for how low diversity groups starting a population can lead to high incidences of genetic defects. But that is only because the genes for those traits were brought by a founding member of the population. Inbreeding NEVER creates a genetic mutation. It only increases the chance that one already present will be expressed.

And anyways, if the two people happened to carry in some serious problem traits, as in serious to the point that they would kill off the affected person, then natural selection would act to start pushing the gene's prevalence downwards anyway. Simulations with programs mathematically assigning fitness levels to mice show how when a given gene gives a higher probability of successfully breeding, that the inferior gene is purged to a minimal level very quickly (described in Reece and Campbell, "Biology", 7th edition)

So in short, assuming that these two individuals were healthy to start with, that pretty much guarantees that there are enough "healthy" genes in play to rebuild the population. Situations like the Kentucky families that took on a blue skin tone was because that trait didn't really reduce fitness levels by much (if it did, the blue ones would die and that gene would fade out). You would have a low level of genetic diversity, yes, which would leave humanity vulnerable to being ravaged by a disease or other pressure of that kind. So you could very easily get some strange traits popping up, but if they were "serious deformities" to the point that they mess with a person's ability to propagate themselves, then no, that trait wouldn't show up and stay around.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Who discovered magic? When? How was it institutionalized in a network of magic schools?

Basically just feed me HP lore until I puke.

[Assistant]
Cramming for your History of Magic final, eh? Well, here's the basics.

Magic has been around for about as long as people.

Ancient Times:

Magical folk were more or less an accepted aspect of society in Ancient Greece and Rome. A lot of religious and political figures were witches/wizards, or had them as advisers. Muggles and Magic folk more or less got along at this time. This is why there are lots of stories from those days involving magic, prophets, seers, that sort of thing. The Patronus Charm and the first horcrux were invented in Greece. Ollivander's ancestors came to England with the Romans, and set up shop. (382 B.C.)

Medieval Times:

This is when things started to go bad. Muggles started burning witches and wizards at the stake. Wizards start to go into hiding. Hogwarts was founded in 990 A.D., specifically to educate magical kids in seclusion, away from muggles. Merlin was also active at this time, and while we don't have a lot of information about him (besides the obvious stuff even Muggles know) he did create the Order of Merlin, whose goal was to promote muggle rights and cooperation between muggles and wizards. Beedle the Bard wrote his stories, including the Tale of the Three Brothers, around this time. Pretty sure Quidditch was invented around this time as well, don't have a date.

Not-quite-modern era
In 1692, The Statute of Secrecy, which officially separated the magical and muggle world, was made into International law. In 1707, Ministry of magic founded. There was a goblin uprising in the 1700's, probably not the first, definitely not the last. Dumbledore is born, 1881. Tom Marvolo Riddle is born, 1926. Dumbledore and Grindelwald battle in 1945.

And, of course, Harry Potter, born 1980. From then on, the best way to learn about Wizards in the modern era is to read the biographical account of his life. Even the muggle version has plenty of great information about modern witches and wizards.


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

[User] [LotR] Where are all the female orcs?

[Assistant] Much like female humans, relatively few were used as combatants during the War of the Ring. They're at home, so to speak. We know they definitely exist, per Tolkien "orcs had life and reproduced after the fashion of Men."


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

[User]
[MCU: Endgame] What are the consequences for Cap (SPOILERS)

Due to the Elevator Scene: Take 2, several high ranking members of HYDRA now believe that Captain America is one of them.

What's going to happen in that timeline when they find out it isn't true and that a Boy Scout like Steve Rogers knows their secret?

[Assistant] Not much. When past-Cap wakes up, he's going to report that he fought Loki, who had the staff. Hydra is going to assume that Loki tried to make off with the staff and the Tesseract, but only managed to get away with the Tesseract after he was confronted by past-Cap (since future Cap will return the staff to his past self's unconscious body) The details may be a bit fuzzy but the only thing future-Cap really changed is that Hydra now thinks *Loki* knows about them to some degree. Sitwell and the Strike team may get a talking to, since they handed over the scepter to Cap without question, but other than that the consequences of Cap's interference pale next to Tony/Scott letting Loki loose with the Tesseract.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does your voice sound different when tired?

[Assistant] Your voicebox is essentially two flappyflaps that can vibrate at different frequencies, tight flaps is high pitch, loose flaps is low pitch. These flaps are controlled by muscles. When you are tired or really relaxed, your flappyflaps are a bit looser than usual because of the relaxed muscles, and your voice will be a bit deeper as a result.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is humid heat so much more unbearable than dry heat?

[Assistant] The air can only hold so much water. The more full of humidity it is, the harder it is for your body to cool down by sweating. Think about how easy it is to dry off with a dry towel vs a damp towel vs a soaked towel.


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

[User]
Why is the WHO now saying that fully vaccinated people still need to wear masks because of the delta variant?

From what I recall, theres supposedly good evidence to show that you dont transmit the virus if you have been vaccinated. And that the vaccines are still very good against the Delta variant. What was it that changed?

[Assistant]
Because significantly lowered risk is still >0

Because you can still get it. You're just less likely to pass it along, and it won't likely kill or hospitalize you. And this strain is even more contagious.

And because we have no way of knowing if unmasked people are vaccinated or sociopaths.


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

[User] ELI5:Why are animals with bigger brains, like whales for example, not smarter than humans?

[Assistant] It's not about how big your brain is, it's how you use it. Human brains have been shrinking for the last few thousand years, but by all accounts we're getting smarter. It's about how wrinkly your brain is.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Do Anakin and the other younglings qualify as child soldiers?

 When we first see Anakin jump into the cockpit and take out a bunch of droids he did all of that on his own. So no one really sent him off to be a child soldier.  However, at a certain point a padawon starts to go out on dangerous missions with his master and combat becomes a real possibility. So is the Jedi counsel making use of child soldiers?

[Assistant]
If you think of the Jedi as soldiers and warmongering cultists bent on subverting the galaxy to their will, sure.  From a certain point of view, you wouldn't even be wrong.

But the Jedi are diplomats.  Negotiators.  First and foremost, they are peacekeepers.  By definition, that means going to worlds and cities where tensions are high between two groups of people, one of whom is absolutely planning to sabotage the whole thing.  And as per their way of doing things, they bring younglings along (who, while young, are exceptionally more dangerous than they let on) to get first-hand field experience.  And sometimes, as part of that field experience, things go sideways.  Violently.

Hardly ordering them to take a hill or clear a building full of enemies.


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

[User]
[Highlander] What are those swords MADE of?

The amount of abuse the immorals put their swords through is unreal. Slamming them into rock, hitting opponents blades like baseball bats, even the best sword would be ruined by that sort of abuse. And some of these swords have been used for millenia! Connor's sword is from 600 BCE, how in the hell is it not just a piece of hammered, crushed, shattered metal? Especially given the fragile state of Japanese steel.

[Assistant] You forget that, due to extensive research done by the University of Pittsburgh, katana has been confirmed as the hardest metal known to man. The research is as follows. Pocket-protected scientists built a wall of diamond and crashed a katana car into it at 400 miles per hour, and the car was unharmed. They then built a wall out of katana and crashed a car made of diamond moving at 400 miles an hour into the wall, and the wall came out fine. They then crashed a katana car made of 400 miles per hour into a wall, and there were no survivors. They crashed 400 miles per hour into a katana traveling at diamond car. Western New York was powerless for hours. They rammed a wall of metal into a 400 mile per hour made of katana, and the resulting explosion shifted the earths orbit 400 million miles away from the sun, saving the earth from a meteor the size of a small Washington suburb that was hurtling towards mid-western Prussia at 400 billion miles per hour. They shot a katana made of diamond at a car moving at 400 walls per hour, and as a result caused two wayward airplanes to lose track of their bearings, and make a fatal crash with two buildings in downtown New York. They spun 400 miles at katana into broadsword per wall. The results were inconclusive. Finally, they placed 400 Dragonforce albums per hour in front of a car made of wall traveling at miles per diamond, and the result proved without a doubt that katanas were the hardest metal of all time, if not just the hardest metal known to man.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do American employers give such a small amount of paid vacation time?

Here in the UK I get 28 days off paid. It's my understanding that the U.S. gives nowhere near this amount? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

EDIT - Amazed at the response this has gotten, wasn't trying to start anything but was genuinely interested in vacation in America. Good to see that I had it somewhat wrong, there is a good balance, if you want it you can get it.

[Assistant]
In the UK and almost any other country in the world governments mandate a minimum vacation time that companies have to give their workers. Often the companies give more than the minimum, but some don't.

In the US there is no legal minimum so employers who want to give as little vacation time as possible can legally give zero vacation days to their workers.


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

[User]
When light is redshifted, is it losing energy? When it's blueshifted, is it gaining energy?

And if so, how exactly? And how does this work in terms of relativity and the position of the observer?

[Assistant]
You are at a stoplight.  The car behind you plows into you at 30mph.

You are going 29mph.  The car behind you bumper taps you at 30mph.

In which scenario did the other car have more energy?

From your point of view, the bumper tap contained *much less* energy.

To an outside observer (guy on the street watching you two), the car behind you had the same energy in both cases but only transfered a little bit to you when bumper tapping compared to transferring all of it when it plowed into you at the stoplight.

The photons aren't gaining or losing absolute energy.  They are going or losing relative energy depending on source and destination frame of reference motion.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does rubber ground out electricity?

What is it about rubber of all materials that "neutralizes" electricity? Does it actually neutralize the electricity or does something else happen? Is there any other material that acts in the same manner?

[Assistant]
It doesn't ground it.  Rubber is an insulator.

Electricity will always travel "the path of least resistance."  Rubber has a very high resistance, so electricity will go somewhere else to find ground.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do bad things happen when we humans or animals eat food from our species? aka Cannibalization

Ive heard stories of people who have lived off human meat start getting uncontrollable shakes, animals getting sickness even when the "meat" is cooked.

[Assistant]
None of the replies in here really address the issue.

Yes, bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungus and prions can be spread through cannibalism, but that isn't unique to cannibalism. Those can be spread through any food we eat! There is nothing inherently more dangerous about eating meat within your species, moral issues aside of course.

NO- transplant reactions do NOT occur with cannibalism or any animal eating their own species. Transplant reactions occur when our T-cells reject transplants as non-self. The gut is constantly exposed to non-self, and so has different immune "rules' that govern it, including higher tolerance to those types of things.

And yes some people are probably wondering about Kuru, also called the "shaking death", which is where those urban legends probably stem from OP. Kuru is a nasty prion disease endemic to a tribe in New Guinea that practiced cannibalism. Kuru kept getting passed down between generations because younger generations continued to eat the infected meat of older generations.  Its wasn't a problem specifically with the cannibalism per se. Prion diseases suck, and can be passed through infected meat of many different species.

So there are no special biological or physiological results from species eating their own species.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is there such a significant home advantage in sport?

Bonus question: is there as much of an advantage as it seems?

[Assistant] It's like shitting at home in your bathroom. You know where the handle is, you know where the extra TP is, you know where the plunger is in case shit gets hairy. That's called home field advantage because you are used to your surroundings: sun, wind, grass, refs, fans, noise are all familiar. As a result you shit much better.


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

[User]
[Aladdin] The genie can't make someone fall in love but can it make someone who loves you?

For example if someone wished a genie to create their ideal lover and make him/her love them, could the genie grant such a wish?

[Assistant]
I mean, assuming his rules are actual limits and not just personal standards, id say no.

If he can create life ex nihlo, and that life is sapient and has the same free will as the rest of us, then he can't make it fall in love with you. He could probably make someone very likely to fall in love with you, but its on you to be the kind of person they stay in love with. He can't force them to.

On the other hand, he could probably easily whip up a sub-sapient homunculus that behaves as if it were in love with you. They couldn't be a real person or his rules would kick in, but a simulation of affection wrapped in an unfeeling, unthinking flesh robot? Oh yea, he can hook you up.


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

[User]
(Star Trek) Could a ship with two warp cores activate the second one while in subspace and go into a second, deeper level of subspace?

Sorry if this question is silly and points to my ignorance of warp technologies.

[Assistant]
Subspace is a catch-all term for any number of different layers of space within the space-time continuum. When a ship goes to warp, it creates a warp field by passing energy through the nacelles, which creates a subspace bubble, literally a membrane of space from a different layer of space, a layer which allows solid matter to move faster than light does in our native layer.

We access different layers of subspace all the time, often with field generators or deflectors, but it's not a matter of more energy but how the energy we have is utilized that determines how we access different layers and which layers we access. Some layers don't even require that we do anything for us to feel their effects. You're familiar with gravity? The gravity we feel wouldn't be possible without our layer of space interacting with another.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do people tend to pace around when talking on the phone?

[Assistant]
When you talk in person to someone, your brain connects elements such as the tone of their voice, their word choice, their expressions and their gestures all together. You essentially get visual feedback from the person you are talking to. You can see them, hear them, touch them and our brain understands that the person we are talking to is right here next to us,

However, when you are talking on the phone, the physical feedback you normally get is not there. So your brain tries to understand what is happening. Because it cannot really explain it, the brain transforms those emotional responses we normally get when talking to someone in person, to physical ones. That's why you get the urge to get up and stroll around the house when you are having a long conversation on the phone. Your brain is confused and because it cannot form an emotional connection to the person you are talking to, it fires up a physical response making you want to move around.


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

[User]
Whats the difference between wrought iron and mild steel?

From what I can tell, theyre both iron-carbon alloys with very little carbon.

I think maybe the difference is the presence of slag in wrought iron, but googling brings up some weird claims, like wrought iron actually being pure iron.

Thanks in advance!

[Assistant]
Wrought iron is essentially low-carbon steel with slag inclusions that have been worked into stringers by forging and/or rolling. These inclusions were a result of the processes used to make a malleable iron product. Prior to the development of modern steelmaking, low-carbon steel could only be made on a large scale by burning carbon (and other impurities) out of a very high carbon iron alloy like cast iron or pig iron. The high carbon content lowered the melting point of the alloy sufficiently that it could be economically melted on a large scale. However, as carbon was burnt out of the molten iron, its melting point rose and it would start to solidify. Once enough carbon had been burnt out, a lump of low-carbon steel called a bloom was left. This bloom was porous and contained significant amounts of slag, and had to be worked (or *wrought*) to consolidate it and expel the slag. This was done primarily by forging it under a hammer, although rolling was later introduced.

Modern steelmaking still takes pig iron as a primary feedstock, but differs in that the iron is kept molten throughout the process of decarburising it. This allows slag to rise through the molten steel and collect as a separate layer. The steel can then be poured out for casting, substantially free of slag inclusions after solidification.


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

[User]
eli5 What happens to traumatic memories when they become suppressed?

This is a half personal question, and I'd like to understand what the brain does when a traumatic memory becomes suppressed, and it's almost impossible to find in a timeline of memories?

[Assistant]
There's always a depiction of our memory being stored like books in a library. That we can just walk to some shelf and pull out exactly which memory we want.

A more accurate analogy is that memory is stored like bundles of string. We pull at one end of a string to bring forth a chain of memories. Think about how we remember the alphabet order. We sing the alphabet song in one direction, pulling out each letter by letter but it's really hard to go backwards!

And it doesn't have to be us consciously thinking of our memories. Triggers to our senses like a familiar smell, sound, etc. can tug at memory strings and bring forth a set of memories.

Emotions will color our memories and the stronger the emotion, the thicker the cord is on the memory string, allowing it to last longer whether we like it or not. Imagine traumatic memories as a string coated in spikes. Pulling at it to remember it will hurt!

So we suppress memories by hiding the ends of the strings connecting the traumatic memories or avoiding situations that may trigger pulling those strings. They become difficult to recall but those sharp cords still exist. Sometimes we wander into those areas and still get cut on the spikes. However, since we don't fully recall it, there is no easy way to get rid of it so we tend to avoid the area. This avoidance can end up shaping our personalities and relationships with others.

Introspection and therapy allows you to find these sharp strings and process them in a safe space. It helps you realize what and why you have been suppressing certain memories and that effect on yourself. Only when you can find these memories can you manage to process them to reduce the spikes and allow your mind to heal.


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

[User]
[Endgame] What are some other key points in MCU history the team could have used for the heist?

And, more importantly, how would it have changed the narrative of Endgame?
Would it have made things easier? Harder? Would past Thanos still have hitched a ride to the future?

[Assistant]
Just after the Snap, on the garden planet, Captain Marvel and Thor KO Thanos with a sneak attack, take the stones back to the future, un snap everyone, and then go back and put the stones back for Thanos. Thanos wakes up, headache, has no idea what happened, but still has the stones, so never suspects.

The big fight in Endgame never happens.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why can't countries like Japan with so many zeroes in their currency just remove a few?

E.g. 1 dollar is around 100 yen or about 21,100 Vietnamese Dong. Do countries need that many digits?

[Assistant]
Many countries, such as Turkey, have in fact done this.

There are a couple of difficulties. First of all, there is a huge amount of financial data being processed by institutions like the government and, in japan, the nikkei index.

In addition, currencies usually don't climb to such face values purely by chance. They are there because of hyperinflation caused by economic problems. In Japan's case, i'm sure they're economy has stabilized to the point that they could institute redenomination if they wanted to, but they would probably say that the costs of reindexing the countries finances is not worth the benefit of simpler face values.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] [Mildly NSFW] In Toy Story's Universe, are "adult" toys also sentient?

I've seen some sex toys that would fool a decent number of people, from rubber-duck-looking butt plugs to Pickle Rick dildos (dildoes?).

[Assistant] As far as we're aware, only objects that have been identified as entities by children are given sapience. So if they're only "played" with and accessed by adults, they'll be about as intelligent as chairs. If a kid finds them, then it becomes tricky. We don't know if you need to play with them for a certain doing if time in order for them to gain a personality. We know a spork was given life in toy story 4, but the child created it herself and didn't just start playing with just a random spork.


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

[User]
Are we approaching a breaking point with rent?

I'm paying $1251 a month for a 770 square foot 1 bedroom apartment and that's considered "cheap" to a lot of people.

I'm seeing people pay up to $3000 a month for 1 bedroom apartments in California.

The only truly "cheap" places are in bumfucknowhere with no jobs or prospects to make a decent living.

My question is, how sustainable is this? People are spending all their money on a building they'll never own and I can't imagine this is good for the economy overall, but great for property management companies and landlords.

Is this one of those "let the market speak" or is government intervention going to be necessary? If so, what kind of intervention? California has tried rent control and it hasn't helped at all. Their issue is lack of inventory.

[Assistant]
Your observation of rent control is correct. It severely restricts supply of housing, and is one of the worst ways for a government to combat rising rent and property costs.

However, abolishing rent control in a state like California will not solve the underlying issue. California, and many other states in the United States, have a wide variety of zoning regulations that strictly limit the quantity of new housing/apartments that can be built. These zoning regulations are locally determined, and it is often in the best interest of the locals to maintain these regulations. For example, local homeowners may choose to block the construction of a six story apartment as it may ruin the aesthetic or environment of their predominately single family home neighborhood.

This is in contrast to Japan, where zoning and housing regulations are set at a national level. This allows their government to more easily issue housing permits, and to ensure that housing supply exceeds demand. The results are low growth in rent and property prices over the last decade, even in major cities such as Tokyo.

A major step to combat rent crisis in the USA would be to transfer control of housing/zoning regulations to a state or federal level.


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

[User]
[MCU] What does the colour of magic mean?

Minor spoilers for WandaVision and Infinity War.

In Doctor Strange the magic of Strange, the Ancient One, and the other sorcerers is orange. Wanda's magic is red throughout the MCU. Agatha's magic is purple. Not sure if Asgardians count, but I think Loki's magic was usually pale gold/yellow and Thor's is white/grey/silver.

Is there is any significance to these colours? Do different spells have different colours, or are they a product of the person using the magic? Could someone deliberately change the colour of their magic?

[Assistant]
Apparently the color just denotes the style of magic. For example:

(Minor spoiler for WandaVision)

We recently learned that Wanda's red magic is chaos magic. On the other hand, Dr. Strange and the other sorcerer's under the Sorcerer Supreme use Eldritch Magic. Not entirely sure what type of magic Thor uses that you're referring to as white and grey, but Loki uses a lot of Aesir magic which is the type of Norse God that Odin, Thor, etc belong are.


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

[User]
If a non-Newtonian fluid, using Oobleck as an example, has a disproportionate amount of cornflower to water, so that it is essentially just a solid, does that mean that it is only the force of gravity, or less, required to cause it to be solid?

First post

[Assistant] The effect only appears when the liquid is stressed, that is when it experiences unequal forces, for example by the unequal flow rates caused by stirring or shaking. Gravity alone acts equally over the whole liquid and causes no stress, thus no effect.


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

[User]
[Fight Club] Do the members of Project Mayhem realize Tyler is a multiple personality?

It did appear, in those cases when Tyler was arguing with himself, they would respond with either personality spoke.

And if they do realize, can they tell which one is speaking?

[Assistant]
There seem to be few mental health professionals involved with this organization.

Most, if not all, probably assume it's some sort of test and are afraid to call out the behavior for fear of doing something wrong.


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

[User]
ELI5: If locks are based on the point of the pins, does that mean that my house key can open someone else's house, since there's only a certain number of different combinations?

Basically the title. If my house key is a certain combination of pins, and there's only a certain number of combinations until it repeats, does that mean my key can open someone's house then?

[Assistant] Yup. There's usually 5 or 6 pins and they have maybe 6 or 7 possible lengths. So that's 7^6 combinations or 117,649. However, with some jiggling and twisting as you insert the key, that number drops dramatically. It's not too uncommon for you to be able to open a lock with the wrong key. From personal experience, I'd say it's closer to 1:100 if you do a good jiggle-and-twist which is actually closer to lock picking than to say the key actually works.


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

[User] ELI5: How does a scientist look at the skeleton of a dinosaur and definitively say "that ate meat"?

[Assistant] You can look at the type of teeth they had and extrapolate what they are. If they have flat teeth they ate plants (cows, deer). If they have pointy, sharp teeth, they ate meat (dogs, sharks). If they have booth, they are omnivores (humans)


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

[User]
[The Matrix] why didn't the agents give themselves better powers?

Like eye lasers, explosive touch, hell why didn't they use cheats? Like they did not even have an infinite ammo cheat!

Oh you gotta kill a new Neo? Console command /kill all or something.

Why don't they teleport either?

[Assistant]
They don't need to- they're already an overwhelming force against any human. Best not to mess with the coding too much more- complex programs can be very finickity.

Neo is the only person who can stand against them and he's supposed to.


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

[User]
[Terminator Series] Is there a way to actually stop a terminator?

Short of complete melting or crushing in a hydraulic press, is there a weak spot that you can actually do damage enough to stop a terminator of any series?

[Assistant]
For non-liquid metal models, the CPU is contained in the Terminator's head. The main and backup power sources are stored in its chest. Sufficient damage to either of these areas will put the Terminator down, although unless the CPU is destroyed there is a risk of reactivation.

Sufficiently powerful firearms - such as a .50 calibre anti-materiel rifle - can tear chunks out of the Terminator's endoskeleton, so a well-aimed head shot can put one down. Full-on antitank weaponry would probably do the job as well. Alternatively, if you can immobilise the terminator, simply cutting open its scalp with a knife, opening the access port with pliers, and yanking out the CPU will cause it to become completely inanimate.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do some (usually low paying) jobs not accept you because you're overqualified? Why can't I make burgers if I have a PhD?

[Assistant]
Usually because the employer is worried that applicants who are overqualified will high-tail it out of there as soon as they can find any better job.

Edit: This can work both ways, especially in a poor economy. In the last few years, a lot of jobs that shouldn't require a college degree have been demanding them, just because the employer knows the person will probably be stuck there a while, and they'll benefit from having an (arguably) smarter employee real cheap.


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

[User]
CMV: I should be allowed to uninstall Facebook and Sony Xperia Movie Maker from my phone.

When I try to uninstall these apps, my phone tells me "system apps cannot be uninstalled". However, why are these apps even "system apps" anyway?

I don't have a Facebook account, and a phone (yes, even android smartphones) can operate without ever using Facebook. Sony Xperia Movie Maker is worse than useless - it makes movies automatically out of your photos and videos, using up extra memory to do so, and the movies you can deliberately make with that app can't be made long enough to be useful.

I really want to make room on my phone for more apps - I barely have enough room for picture-taking because the apps necessary for my work take up most of the space not already taken up by "system apps".

Finally, please don't just tell me to "*just get a new phone*". I try to minimise my materialism. Besides, even if I get a new phone, many phone models have Facebook and other non-essential apps designated as "system apps", making them impossible to uninstall.

[Assistant]
You can. Root your phone and take the apps you dont want off. You're purchasing a product, part of the price is Apple or Android selling essentially "ad space" on your phone.
If you dont like what they're selling, stop buying it. Money is the only language that corporations speak.


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

[User]
Enjoying inebriation

Is there something inherently wrong with enjoying inebriation?

I enjoy the sensations I get from accomplishment of goals and whatnot. However, I really also enjoy the feeling of having accomplished my work of the day then coming home and turning my mind into mush for a few hours.

What is the morality on this sort of thing?

[Assistant]
A utilitarian like Bentham would presumably say there's nothing wrong with it, so long as the potential negatives don't overwhelm the positives. If, for example, drinking was a drain on your productivity as a worker, that might be bad overall for society, which would make drinking bad. On the other hand, if drinking keeps you from succumbing to work stress, then it's a net win, right?

A utilitarian like Mill, on the other hand, would say that there's a qualitative difference between types of pleasure, and the pleasure you get from handicapping your own will with alcohol is inferior to the pleasure you might otherwise get from, say, studying history or listening to Bach.

Both of them might note the research on the long-term effects of frequent inebriation and deduce that, yeah, there's something wrong with enjoying it too often or too much.


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

[User]
With the Higgs field now confirmed, could one theoretically build the Higgs equivalent of a Faraday cage?  A structure that would nullify the Higgs field inside of it?

My understanding is, within quantum mechanics, in a pure vacuum, all known fields have a lowest energy state of zero.  The Higgs field is the only exception -- it's lowest energy state is not zero.  Hence, the uniform field permeating all of space, through which other particles couple with and thus are endowed mass.

My question is whether this "non-zero lowest energy state" attribute of the field is an inherent lower bound;  or if it just happens to describe the status quo of the Higgs field today.

i.e. could one theoretically do something to cancel out the Higgs field?  If so, what would happen to mass that was passed into this "Faraday cage" of sorts?  Would it immediately explode into radiated energy?

[Assistant] Just to point out, nobody has confirmed the Higgs field or the presence of the Higgs boson -- just that there is a previously undiscovered boson with a mass which is within the theoretical range of masses the Higgs was predicted to have. Obviously, we think it's the Higgs, but that's not proven.


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

[User] ELI5: How does a Crock Pot not burn your food after hours of cooking, even though its not being stirred?

[Assistant] Simple enough - they cook at a much lower temperature which is why they take longer. The lower temperature isn't enough to burn your food. Also, they are usually fairly well sealed, so the water in the food doesn't evaporate and that also helps prevent burning.


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

[User]
[Supernatural] Where are the Leviathans? There are so many left on earth and yet we haven't had a single sign of one in 5 years. These creatures are so powerful they could eat **Angels**! What gives?

I really liked the Leviathans as villains because they were not only powerful, but also smart. It just seems weird that there hasn't been any contact at all.

[Assistant]
There were a lot of Leviathan in purgatory.  It may be that the assumption that the Leviathan were left on Earth was false -- once Dick got sent to purgatory the rest of his merry band followed.  None of the other Leviathan were supposed to be dead and supposedly they all escaped, so there must have been a cascade effect.

Alternately, a power struggle for who was supposed to be in charge caused the remaining Leviathan to eat one another until there are only a few left.  They seem extremely bad without leadership and Dick never promoted a successor.


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

[User] [Of Mice and Men]does Lennie have a specific diagnosable mental disability, or would even a modern psychologist concluded he's just an otherwise normal person who happens be of low intelligence?

[Assistant]
In that time you don't grow to old age without picking up some street smarts and learning how the world works. He was very likely autistic. The movie (imo) did a great job of demonstrating this. A lot like in Rainman, where the titular character was not 'stupid' by any way, he was just bad at picking up on social cues. Lenny was a good worker, a good person, and a man with a dream that he worked towards often. He just ... didn't know how to do certain things. When he killed that lady, he *knew* he did wrong. When he killed the bunny, he *knew* he did wrong. He just did not have the mental aptitude to realize how not to do that.

I guess in a sense, he was stupid, and just didn't "know his own strength" but at a certain level when does "stupid" and "mentally disabled" differ?


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

[User]
How is account ID generation handled at a massive scale?

I was pondering about this question in the shower this morning. Anyways, from what I understand in general on most services when a new user joins the platform they are assigned a unique account id. Now what I was wondering is how massive services like Facebook, Tinder, Twitter, etc. which could have thousands of users trying to sign up at once,  handle this account id generation? Is it just random number generation? How do they prevent duplicates from occurring if it is just random?

I am struggling to comprehend how they could effectively prevent duplicates at that scale, I could understand at a small scale it could just be a simple blocking process to easily prevent duplicates, but this can't work at scale... or does it?

[Assistant]
Depends on what you mean by "at scale". If you can build a service that is only responsible for assigning new account IDs and nothing else, then even thousands of requests per second is no big deal for an off-the-shelf database on fairly cheap hardware. Just use an auto-incrementing key and be done with it.

A significant fraction of understanding how to use "big data" and distributed systems is knowing when they're overkill.


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

[User]
I believe that high school is a terribly designed system that works against peoples learning and doesn't let people get to their full potential. CMV

* you aren't streamed from the start. Most people are in classes that either move too fast for them and they can't get good grades, or too slow and they lose interest.

* You're punished if you don't go to class. If classes were optional then the people who don't enjoy it wouldn't be there distracting the people who want to actually learn something.

* Teachers have shit students and classes that are too big. If classes were much smaller then the teachers could help individual students much more, and if they had the option to kick a student out of their class who just isn't worth their time, they could again focus on people who actually want to learn.

I'll add more later.
EDIT:Some of these problems are non existent in some places.

[Assistant]
Going point by point:

* Schools offer extracurriculum to bright students in physics, math, chemistry and biology. Also schools have classifications and specializations - there are schools of physics, math, linguistics, sports, etc. Students get basic package there + additional 4-6 hours of advanced classes. It's already there, just gotta go get it.

* Kids are not old and smart enough to make the decision whether to go to class or not. Besides, doing stuff you don't like trains self-sufficiency, self-control and discipline, which are very essential in everyday life.

* Every kid deserves attention and education, and there are no shit kids, there are shit parents. Sociologists and psychologists have long observed strong correlation between family involvment and student's academic success. If shitty ghetto parents don't get involved with the kids and don't push for their grades - no public system will suceed on any meaningful scales (although there are plenty of individual examples).


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

[User]
ELI5:What is happening in Iran?

From the storming of the British embassy to allegedly shooting down a US drone. Why is it happening?

[Assistant] The West and Iran have a long history of hatred that goes back many years.  It goes back to the early 50's.  The CIA financed a revolution in Iran and appointed a king (the Shah) to lead the country.  He wasnt very well liked and was overthrown in 1979.  The Shah fled to America, when the US wouldn't return him for trial, Iran took the American embassy hostage for a year, this pissed off America so bad that they effectived green-lit a war against Iran; the Iran-Iraq war.  This war was bad, very bad for Iran.  Iran won, but at a huge cost of nearly of up to a million dead (the Iraqis used chemical warfare on a regular basis).  Additionally, at one point an American boat shot down a civilian airliner.  The Iranians obviously weren't happy and almost certainly helped set up a large attack on the American embassy in Beirut (by Hezbollah, who they created).  Pretty much since then, they have been fighting indirectly in all sorts of ways.  For example, its very likely that America (and probably Israel) have been the ones responsible for the deaths of several Iranian scientists, and its also likely that Iran has helped set up attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq.


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

[User]
[LOTR] What's the back story on the ringwraiths?

I know the basic premise, that they were kings among men who got wraith-ified. But do they have individual backstories somewhere? I'm guessing that the Witch-King at least does. Do any of the others?

[Assistant] Not really. The were Men who were given the Rings and became Kings, Warriors, and/or sorcerers (they were not necessarily kings before).  We know of one by name, Kahmul, an Easterling. And we know 3 were of Numenorean descent (likely colonial lords/nobelmen).  The Witch-king was likely one of these.


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

[User]
Why does physics assume the existence of elementary particles?

To make sure I am asking the question correctly, let me elaborate.  Each question seems to lead to another question so I will try to limit this to a small subset.

As I understand the concept of Elementary Particles, fermions and bosons, is that they are not composed of any other particles.  In short that EPs are the smallest of all particles.  I hope this understanding is correct.

If so, then smashing / destroying say a quark would do what?  If there are no other particles of which the quark is composed then what happens to the quark?  Does E=MC^2 come into the equation and nothing but energy remains?  If so, then what does it mean that the Bosons are the force/field carriers?

Its at this point that particles seem to not be logical any more and circular logic starts to kick in.  Or, more likely, that my understanding is faulty.  Any one care to give me insight?

[Assistant]
Physics does not *assume* the existence of elementary particles.  Rather, we construct models, see if they work, and it turns out that models that predict the existence of elementary particles work very well.

When you smash particles together, you are not breaking them apart.  You are taking them and all their energy -- including the energy present in their mass via E=mc^(2) -- and making it possible for that energy to re-form into new entities.

We refer to some objects as matter and some as force carriers because of the way we happen to think about different entities and their interactions, but that is not necessary.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What if somebody was discovered to have a higher midichlorian count than Anakin, while he was being trained? What would happen to him?

Anakin was said to have a midichlorian count higher than anybody in recorded history (\~20,000). But, what if somebody was discovered with an even higher count, while Anakin was being trained?

Would the Jedi abandon the training of Anakin? Or would they allow his training to continue, without the added pressure of being the 'Chosen One'? What about Anakin himself -- how would he (and Obi-Wan, too) react?

[Assistant]
Anakin situation is bigger than just his insane midichlorian count - Qui-Gon made a convincing case for him being the case of immaculate conception (even if he just took Shmi's word for it), and was linked to a prophesy.

If someone who was already training by some incident or any other reason suddenly get's a massive boost and becomes potentially more powerful than Anakin, that doesn't make the prophesy about them, it just makes them a separate asset. Sure, Anakin might get a bit jealous if some other dude suddenly gets more attention from the Masters, but he'll get over it and will fall to the dark side on schedule.


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

[User]
ELI5: Stephen Hawking's importance to society

Okay I feel like I should explain this a bit. This was just inspired by the topic that has a screenshot of two kids bashing Stephen Hawking. I think both of them are a pair of pricks since it seems like they really don't know what kind of person he is; most of the conversation was on their own speculation and it started getting ridiculous when they started to claim that global warming isn't real, but I digress. My point is, the more I really started to think about it, the more I'm genuinely wondering this question. I believed he helped develop the space program we currently have, and admittedly I still have a *lot* to learn about how far exactly we've come as a planet scientifically so I really am just wondering, but how is his contribution to science relevant? Again, I just want to clarify, totally sincere question here, I'm kind of behind on this kind of thing, but I really do want to learn.

[Assistant]
I think you could argue that Stephen Hawking's biggest contribution to society has been his work as a popularizer of science, along the lines of Einstein, Sagan, etc.

His books, articles, documentaries he participates in, etc, are often targeted at the general public in the hopes of educating the average joe about physics and the universe. His books can be a bit complicated, but they're written at a level a lot more people can understand than say an actual scientific paper on black holes.


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

[User]
If Earth has the conditions for life to be created, why did it only happen once?

Layman here so forgive me if I'm mistaken.

My understanding is that all life on Earth originated from a single common ancestor and shares the same DNA, so logically (?) there was a single event that triggered the spontaneous creation of life that eventually evolved into every living organism that has ever existed on this planet.

My question is, if the conditions on Earth are perfect (or were perfect?) for abiogenesis to occur, why has it only happened once?

[Assistant]
We don't know.

We don't know if it's happened just once. We cannot form a complete characterization of the conditions on Earth throughout the Hadean and Paleoarchean to begin assessing how many times life may or may not have arisen.

It may have happened numerous times. The lineage in existence today may simply have been the only one to survive the Late Heavy Bombardment.

Maybe the emergence of DNA represents a major punctuated episode - perhaps the single greatest leap forward that life on this planet has ever seen - that outstripped and out-competed all other forms of proto-life.


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

[User]
Do different shaped parachutes with similar surface area have the same travel time?

If i drop a rectangular and a circular parachute with the same SA, from the same height and at the same time, will they both land on the ground at the same time (assuming everything is constant)?

[Assistant] Depends. Standard round parachute canopies are primarily drag based, but rectangular ram-air parachutes are designed to develop significant lift with forward airspeed. Ram-air parachutes often have less surface area than standard round canopies, but because of the lift can stay airborne for quite some time, like a glider.


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

[User]
Why is it harder to send a spacecraft to the Sun than away from the Sun?

Stupid me thinks the gravity would help. Smarter than me says physics knows why.

[Assistant]
Earth orbits the Sun with about 30 km/s. To reach the Sun (or get very close), you have to cancel all this speed - accelerate backwards by nearly 30 km/s. That is too much for rockets. In addition to a very powerful rocket you need tricks like fly-bys at the inner planets to reduce your tangential velocity.

At the distance of Earth, the escape velocity from the Sun is 42 km/s ("exactly" sqrt(2) times the orbital velocity). To escape, you can accelerate forwards by 12 km/s. That is something rockets can do.


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

[User] [Necromunda] What prevents 10-mile-high Hive Cities from collapsing on themselves?

[Assistant]
Rockrete and Adamantium: super materials that we haven't and may never invent.

Also remember that there are vast sections of the Underhive that have collapsed due to the weight above them, forming denser and (likely) more supportive sections underneath the new construction.  It'd be like having an arched roof that can hold a certain amount of weight, then having those materials collapse into a pile of rubble.  As long as the rubble was stable enough, you could build a much heavier structure on top of it.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Why does the USS Enterprise get used for such small operations all the time?

I'm watching Star Trek Beyond specifically.

The USS Enterprise is painted as this massive ship with cutting edge technology and an exemplary crew. So, along comes this alien lady whose colleagues got stranded in some random ass planet. First of all, send a drone or something to do reckon. If it's all clear, then you send the huge ship to help out. It's just driving me crazy that they'd risk a huge asset to MAYBE rescue some random scientists in a random planet. It's like if the US government sent a whole aircraft carrier to help out a small boat that got stranded in the ocean somewhere.

[Assistant]
1. The Enterprise is a scientific exploratory vessel which is not comparable to a military aircraft carrier in terms of mission parameters.

2. They likely were passing by on other duties anyways.

3. Starfleet Captains have broad discretion during normal operation to decide objectives and plan routes, if the Captain felt compelled to help someone in need then that is what that ship is doing unless Starfleet had given other orders.

4. Starfleet encourages captains to perform acts of mercy as the most important resource to the Federation is intergalactic good will.


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

[User]
[DCEU] If Zod killed Clark, would he have really killed every single human on earth?

Or was he just saying that to spite Clark?

[Assistant] He would have terraformed the planet which, barring some sort of conservation effort (unlikely considering Zod's views), would have killed every single human on earth. So even if he and his lackeys didn't go around murdering the local populace, they'd end up dead anyways.


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

[User]
[DC] Has there ever been a time when more than one lantern ring chose the same person? If so, what happened or if not, what do you think would happen?

I don't know how I thought about it, but I ended up daydreaming a scenario wherein Hal Jordan, Sinestro, and Atrocitus are fighting over a random guy on who he should side with. I guess if I had to give a bit of context, the guy just found his wife in bed with another man. Now, because of his great anger towards her, he is eligible to become a Red Lantern; however, because he has inspired great fear in her (he has a crazed look in his eyes), he is eligible to become a Yellow Lantern; however however, because he resists the urge to give in and kill her, he is eligible to become a Green Lantern. Which one do you think is the most plausible choice for him to make?

I apologize if I got any information about the context I wrong, I just really wanted a scenario with three lantern rings fighting over the same person.

[Assistant]
Yes. There has.

Matris Ater Clementia of Sector 2261. A Mother Mercy (Sentient plant which creates the Black Mercy plants).

She was approached simultaneously by both Green & Yellow Power Rings. Very briefly she had both before choosing to join the Green Lantern Corps by relinquishing the Yellow ring.

Presumably she could have worn both at least for some time seeing as it has happened before (Provided neither Corps confiscated their ring from her). For example Guy Gardner has used Green & Red simultaneously during the Blackest Night, Hal Jordan has used Green & Blue when the Blue Lantern Corps tried to recruit him against his will etc.


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

[User]
[40K] What is The Emperor's name?

He wasn't always called the emperor. Heck, prior to the unification wars, he wasn't even *an* emperor. So for the 32,000 years prior to unifying Holy Terra, what was The Glorious Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind known by?

[Assistant] I have to break the fourth wall to get you the answer. It's never stated in the lore, but perhaps Malcador and parents knee. But every being in the universe has a true name, nobody knows Emperors. True names have massive power and Daemons can be banished back to Warp by saying it. M'Kar was banished back to Warp by saying his true name.


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

[User]
I believe states' rights are an issue of absolutely no importance and should matter to no one. CMV.

I could honestly not give one crap about states' rights and I don't understand why anyone does either. This has nothing to do with the Civil War ("states rights" was not the reason the South seceded and was only invented as a justification after the fact). It's just that, I don't see the big deal. Governments overrunning the rights of the people, that matters. But federal government overriding the state government?  I've never heard a compelling argument that includes those words, whether it supported views I liked (drug legalization) or didn't (overturning Obamacare). I can see why, with separation of powers, we wouldn't want the executive branches overriding one of the others ones outside of its defined authority, or vice versa. But if a federal law overrides a state law, I don't see why it matters.

[Assistant] Having several different states with enough rights to determine a majority of their laws gives citizens of the US 50 different sets of laws in which they could follow. A greater amount of choice lets people live in better conditions than they otherwise would. It also gives 50 different testing grounds for new ideas. For example if there was a law that would take all taxes away from a state except for sales tax it could be implemented and tested in one state first, then another and another. Then it would succeed. Or the law would start in that one state fail miserably and show better real world reasons why the law wouldn't work.


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

[User] Why are bailouts considered so bad if TARP funds disbursed to banks have already been collected, with interest, effectively profiting the government, and (most importantly) avoiding a financial doomsday?

[Assistant]
Probably because it sets up a moral hazard, ultimately impacting the competitiveness of the economy as a whole.

When big asset management firms and banks are sure that they're too big to fail, they become complacent in their self regulation and indulge in unnecessary and dangerous risk taking, which ultimately can end up in a situation where the firm messed up badly enough to require a bailout to stop the economy from getting a punch in the gut.

This is partially why public sector firms who are sure that the government is going to keep tolerating their losses ultimately get lazy enough in due diligence that they rack up losses. Big headache here in India.


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

[User] [MCU] When Iron Man snapped his fingers and killed Thanos from the past, did he created a new timeline?

[Assistant]
Kind of. Any time you visit a past, you create a branch, so the Time Heist itself created a fork off of what we consider the "main" MCU timeline.

The Stark/Pym Time/Space GPS allows you to revisit a branch that you have created, so that branch does still have the Infinity Stones. That branch does *not* have a Thanos, however, and as a result they will not have a Snap.

*Endgame* therefore undid the Snap for one timeline, and prevented it entirely for another timeline.


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

[User] Why does it feel good to crack our knuckles?

[Assistant] The reason it feels good to crack your knuckles is because pressure is being relieved. Just as when any of your joints crack, gases are being released from within the synovial membranes. This release can cause a temporary relief of pressure or pain. In most cases though, the pressure or pain will return.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are Cuban cigars considered to be better than other types?

[Assistant]
Cuban tobacco growing has a tradition going back to the early inhabitants of Cuba. The soil, heritage seed, and expertise of the farmers produce some of the finest tobacco in the world.

While quality declined in the late 90's and early 00's during the "cigar boom" the government has recently become focused on smaller yields, lower production numbers, and higher quality to support the reputation of their brands.

Their reputation for being the finest comes from the tradition of cigar making, but also has a hold In The modern day manufacture that occurs there. Their grading system for cigar rollers is the standard for the world, and Cuban-trained rollers are used to train torceros in factories arou d the world. The quality of their tobacco can be spoken to by the high percentage of "Cuban seed" tobacco grown throughout Nicauragua and the Dominican Republic.

Overall, all cigar producing nations have some great, and some not so great cigars. Cuba is no exception. Whethe rw cigar is "great" or not is often a subjective matter of taste. For many, the spicy, creamy, cedar-sweet and tobacco flavors offered by some of the Cuban Marques define what a great cigar is.


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

[User] ELI5: Malaria and sickle cell anemia and why natural selection hasn't eliminated sickle cell disease.

[Assistant]
If you are a carrier of sickle cell, malaria has difficulty properly infecting you, and even when infected you recover quicker and with less symptoms.

You survive a malaria outbreak with others, you all do what survivors do, 9 months later babies born with a pair of the carrier gene express sickle cell and are sick.

Natural selection selects for sickle cell because sickle cell is a survival trait.  You see similar for Cystic Fibrosis in Caucasian populations where there's a high level of certain toxins which a CF carrier can deal with due to some unique mucosa/gut traits.

Put 2 carriers together, and you have someone with a terrible disorder.


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

[User]
ELI5: Wouldn't increasing the minimum wage just cause shops and manufactures to raise their prices?

and just end up in the same situation as before but just more inflated?

[Assistant]
Let's imagine a particular product - Nokia cell phones. For now, we'll assume that Nokia phone manufacturers pay minimum wage too. Let's say that the minimum wage goes up 10%.

So when you go to buy the phone from the store, the store pays low level wages (which go up 10%), electricity, rent, and management salaries (which are too high to be affected by minimum wage), along with the wholesale phone.

The phone manufacturer paid factory labour (10% up), rent, electricity, management salaries, and cost of raw materials.

The raw materials company paid mining/drilling labour (10% up), management salaries, heavy equipment, and cost of land/mining rights.

So while the purchasing power of the poor goes up 10%, most of the contributors to the cost of an item don't go up. Raising minimum wage therefore increases the purchasing power of the poor relative to society, just as intended.


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

[User]
[The Martian] why were their suits orange?

Wouldnt they want their suits to be as visible as possible? Like green?

Isnt that the reason space suits are white?

[Assistant]
Space suits are white to reflect light/heat, because there is no atmosphere in orbit or on the moon so the suits are exposed to significantly more radiation than on Earth.  Mars has an (albeit thinner) atmosphere and is colder than earth, so the astronauts don't require all-white suits for technical reasons.

As to why they went for orange over a more visible colour, no good explanation other than it looking cool.


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

[User]
ELI5 The referee problem in the NFL.

I watch very little football, but I hear people around me constantly complaining about "replacement referees". What's going on with NFL officiating?

[Assistant]
the NFL referees are in a union. their contract is up, and it is time to renegotiate. the referees want a retirement plan. the NFL executives said no. furthermore, the NFL executives said 'until you agree to OUR terms, we will use replacement referees. so you better do as we say."

the replacement referees are not trained well, and not experienced enough. they are making lots and lots of mistakes in games, mistakes which are effecting the results.


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

[User] [MCU] If one of the Infinity Stones was permanently unavailable, cold Thanos have adapted his plan to work despite that?

[Assistant]
Without one of them Infinity Gauntlet couldn't be completed, and as such his plan couldn't be implemented at such absolute and grand scale.

While other five gems would greatly help him to decimate the planets, he'd still have to do it one by one, instead of all at once.


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

[User] [Warhammer 40k]. What are cars like in the Warhammer universe?

[Assistant]
Good question, the answer is that just about every form of personal vehicular transportation is available in the Imperium; access to these vehicles depend on your class in the Imperium's byzantine hierarchy.

Personal transportation can range from the elegant grav-cars of Terran nobility to ramshackle trucks that would not look out of place in the 21st millennium.

Personal transportation is not limited to terrestrial traffic either, Inquisitor Eisenhorn owns a gun-cutter, which is capable of void travel as well as flying within the atmosphere of a planet.


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

[User]
CMV: It would have been best to ignore Richard Spencer's visit to UF

>**NOTE:** Thank you to everyone that has and continues to contribute! This has turned into a really great conversation. My view on how to approach things I disagree with has certainly changed for the better. The best protest is not a boycott or screaming at the speaker, but starting a conversation and understanding both sides. This reveals flaws and avoids delays to change caused by close mindedness and violence.

White nationalist Richard Spencer spoke today at the University of Florida. Protesters outnumbered supporters and drove Spencer to leave early by shouting and chanting during his speech.

As a student at UF I'm proud of our reaction, but I believe we could have sent a stronger message by leaving Spencer to stand in a nearly empty auditorium. This approach to protesting would be our best move against his cause.

"Ignoring" him is at minimum not being in the auditorium for his speech. It could go as far as making no acknowledgement of his presence on campus.

A tiny audience of a few dozen supporters would make his ideas look irrelevant and emphasize our opposition much more effectively than an auditorium full of people yelling. Rejecting support of hate and racism by shunning it is better than shoving it. We would demonstrate our respect for the right to free speech by allowing Spencer to say what he wants to say, yet still show that his ideas don't belong here by boycotting the presentation. Protestors justified their method of activism by saying that Spencer's voice should not go unchallenged. The challenge we provided was "go home, we don't want you here." An empty auditorium says that and more.

**TLDR:** *"front lines" heated protesting with yelling, signs, climate for violence vs. symbolic mass boycott*

A boycott would be more powerful and safer for protestors.

[Assistant]
Spencer isnt performing for the people in the auditorium, he is performing for people on the Internet.

A major auditorium on prominent campus, even if empty, is a great place to film a talk that goes viral on the internet.  You can always add the adoring crowd and cheers later in post.

I think this response is better, because he doesnt look poised and witty and intelligent in front of that crowd, he looks uncomfortable and weak.  Thats not going to promote his message.


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

[User] [Battlestar Galactica] If the fleet is largely self-sufficient in terms of resources, why burn up so much fuel looking for a new earth? Why not just bookmark the locations of planets with key resources and build a floating space paradise for a few generations while the Cylon threat simmers down?

[Assistant]
There's a problem with your premise. There was no reason to believe the Cylon threat would just "simmer down." The Colonial fleet had to get away from Cylon space as quickly as possible. Rotating between several different locations to gather resources is basically asking for the Cylons to catch on and lay a trap. Additionally, for most refugees it would be the equivalent of being stuck on a 747 for the rest of your life, as space travel isn't particularly novel to Colonial society.

Tom Zarek rightfully points out that they do require labor to continue as a society, but don't have a proper economy to provide incentive for people to actually work. People *wanted* something like their normal lives back, and they needed a habitable planet for that.  It's also important to keep in mind that Adama literally pulled the goal of finding Earth out of his ass while rallying the troops. Once he uttered those words, there was no going back.


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

[User]
Can light itself go into orbit around black holes, and could we ever observe it happening?

So photons are affected by gravity, right?

For example, when you get close enough to a black hole, there will be a point where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light will be able to escape.

But if photons are affected by gravity, wouldn't it be theoretically possible for the light itself to go into orbit around very dense objects like black holes, given that the light gets close enough?

I mean the speed of light is constant so I'm assuming that the main parameter here would be the angle the light is coming from compared to the location of the black hole.

Also, if this does happen, how long does the orbits last and how much light is usually in orbit around different bodies?

[Assistant]
Light *can* orbit around a black hole. There are two reasons this doesn't happen in the real world, though:

1) The orbit is unstable. If the light isn't sent in *exactly* the right direction at *exactly* the right distance from the black hole, it'll either spiral inwards or shoot off far away.

2) There's really not much reason to expect that any light would (except for maybe the occasional stray photon) be sent on such a perfect trajectory.

If such a thing happened, we wouldn't be able to see it, since we only see photons that enter our eyes (or in this case, our telescopes). If a photon shot in front of you, for example, you wouldn't see it - you can only see things shooting in front of you which emit photons towards you.

A photon orbit around a black hole would last infinitely long, as long as the black hole itself wasn't changing.


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

[User] [All] I've slain a dragon. Now how do I sell all the loot?

[Assistant] Sell slowly or you will crash the economy. Save some of the loot for later. You won't be in dragon slaying shape forever. Make sure to find a discreet but reliable appraiser, since if the king finds out you accidentally sold the stolen royal jewels to a political rival he might gut you. Also diversify your portfolio so if they leave the gold standard you won't experience currency devaluation.


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

[User] [Frozen] What fate awaits Hans, the Duke of Weselton and the two goons that tried to kill Elsa after the movie?

[Assistant]
Well, according to "Frozen Fever" Hans is shoveling out the stables.

The two goons are likely to be executed for attempted assassination of an ally's monarch. The Duke would likely be stripped of nobility for destroying a profitable trade relationship.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is New Zealand the 'freest' country?

Numerous freedom indexes have ranked New Zealand as the freest country in the world.

While I can assume this is because of less government restrictions on civil rights along with less government involvement in the economy, I am really looking for a more detailed answer of why such policies exist in NZ and how they have developed over time. Thank you ahead of time to all you geopolitical experts.

[Assistant]
First of all it has been ranked the worlds 3rd most safest country as of last year. Since it boasts the safe and secure environment, you can freely move around, explore the bush, climb mountains, play, picnic, catch the public transports, discover the beaches or enjoy anything to your hearts content without any fear.

Also NZ is widely accepting of cultures and foreigners that are not in tune with their own.


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

[User]
[ELI5] Why are there rules on war?

I mean like 'No attacking reporters' and such.

[Assistant]
The reason there are rules of war is because it has come to be understood that the purpose of war is generally *not* to eradicate your opponent. Rules have been put in place to mitigate the worst of war's effects.

Rules of engagement predate the bible and are even detailed in Deuteronomy.


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

[User]
Are there any bodily functions that are dependent on gravity?

Does my body work the same without gravity?

[Assistant] There was a post recently that said that your sensation of the need to urinate doesn't work the same in zero G. Normally you feel an urgent need to urinate when your bladder is one third full. In space, astronauts found they didn't get that sensation until their bladder was almost entirely full, making for some massive evacuations when they finally did go.


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

[User] [Marvel/MCU] How does Thor feel about the fact that he has a day of the week named after him?

[Assistant] Pretty good, actually. Its his day, which means its his round, which means mead for everyone. And after the drinking there are tales to be told and songs to be sung, and on the morrow they will do it all again, in honour of his mother.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do I feel so awful after a 4 hour flight, but feel fine after 4 hours at my desk?

[Assistant]
A lot of reason,s actually. In an airplane, the pressure is lower than you're likely used to (in most, it's normalized at the pressure roughly equivalent to ~7,000 feet above sea level). Unless you live that high up (and there are only 14 states that even *have* peaks much above 7k feet) then you're going to feel a difference, and you ascend to that pressure so fast that you don't have much time to adjust. So there's some just basic pressure shock involved.

Airplane air is also generally *very* low humidity, and that can dry you out and require additional water intake to offset, which most people don't get on the plane. It's recirculated, too, so any bad smells will often find their way back to you throughout the flight, albeit at lower levels. Then there's just the additional stress of travel -- crowds, security, etc.


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

[User]
If inflation and unemployment BOTH are very high simultaneously... What is the Fed going to do?

What is in their "toolbox" to address this?  Currently they are using ultra low interest rate and QE to try to address their employment mandate but what if price increases become rampant while unemployment is still up.  Just say full employment mandate be damned and jack up the interest rate?  Or do they keep the loose money flowing and ignore the price stability mandate? What do you think?

[Assistant]
If both inflation and unemployment are high, there's not much the Fed can do - the inflation is cost-push rather than demand pull. What this means is that for some reason, commodities used in goods production/service provision are very expensive due to shortages. The Fed can print as much money as it desires, but it will only raise inflation if the money is moving (demand is robust). One of the benefits of easy monetary policy is that it is cheaper to expand company operations and invest - there may be a lag between when inflation rises and unemployment falls, but that supportive monetary policy is one of the reasons why unemployment would eventually fall.

This answer only addresses the U.S. - this answers for other nations may vary.


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

[User]
[pokemon] how exactly does trade evolutions work

So you know how some pokemon can only evolve after being traded?

I've been wondering how that is the case.

The trade mechanism is man-made, which would suggest the evolutions being artificial somehow. Yet most of them also exist in the wild, away from trainers.

But if that's the case, why can't they evolve otherwise?

[Assistant] I read somewhere that Graveler and Machoke were only supposed to evolve when those two specific Pokmon were traded because their DNA gets mixed up or something. It makes sense, Graveler has four arms, Machamp has four arms. Machoke has pointy teeth, and Golem has pointy teeth.