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

[User] ELI5: Why do some of us enjoy spicy food?

[Assistant]
I don't think rarely_explain_jokes' first bit is right at all.  Spicy food, as in the sensation of heat via capsaicin, is independent of taste buds.  It activates the same pain signal channel as heat, called TRPV1 - a calcium-based nerve channel that is usually activated above 99 degrees F.  Capsaicin binds to the TRPV1 channel and causes it to activate below its usual activation temperature.  It has nothing to do with taste itself.

As for why people enjoy it: the body releases endorphins - natural opiates and pain killers - when pain signaling nerves are activated.  Thus, spicy food essentially helps flood your system with feel natural good chemicals!


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

[User] ELI5:Do puppies and other pets really regard us as their family/parents?

[Assistant]
Dogs and humans have coexisted and co-evolved over the past 10-15,000 years. Research has shown that dogs can read human emotions by interpreting facial expressions and body language. Their interactions with us are very similar to their interactions with other dogs with whom they have established relationships. We are almost certainly considered "family" to the extent that a dog can understand the concept.

Some cats, similarly, frequently interact with humans the way kittens interact with their mothers. The 'mewl' or 'meow' we hear is very rarely expressed between adult cats but is often heard from a kitten greeting its mother.

Source: years in the veterinary medical field with related reading and coninuing education.


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

[User] If two different viruses invade one cell, which virus wins?

[Assistant]
It depends! Very complicated question with many examples.

I actually do a pre molecular/immuno technique to see if a cell is infected by one virus by trying to infect it with another that has a much more pronounced effect.

If the second virus can't infect then you know that the cell was infected with the first.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] Does Buzz have knowledge about the life of the character Buzz Lightyear beyond those written in his lore?

Like does he remember having a childhood? Advance scientific knowledge that comes from living in a futuristic society? Friends beyond those in his show and movies? He seems to be around his late 20s to early 30s so that at least two decades worth of life that would definitely not be detailed in the lore?

[Assistant]
No, he doesn't. He's not got the mind of a space explorer, he's a toy under the delusion he's from a TV show.

His delusion stops him noticing all that information is missing, but all he knows is what the lore of "Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger" says about him.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do they clean up the lead at gun ranges?

How do they get rid of all the lead at outdoor (or indoor) gun ranges? Or do they at all? It must be an EPA nightmare.

[Assistant] Nowadays that lead is worth good money as scrap.  There are guys that come out with some attachment that fits on a tractor that kind of sifts the lead out of the dirt.  The gun range makes big money for letting them come take the lead.


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

[User]
[Skyrim] Where do the additional Stormcloaks in the first mission come from?

In the beginning of the game, you're scheduled to be executed alongside six stormcloaks (Ralof, Ulfric, four nameless ones). One of them gets executed, so that leaves three nameless ones for you to kill when you side with Havdar. You then meet around twelfe stormcloaks. Where did the additional nine come from?

[Assistant]
Thalmor agents alerted Stormcloaks of Ulfric's capture in order to see to it that he was rescued, and prolong the war.  If Alduin hadn't shown up, they were planning to directly intervene.

Seriously, there's actually a note you can find in the Thalmor embassy that mentions this.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are nuclear weapons so hard to develop if the technology for them has existed for 70 years?

[Assistant]
The hard part is getting enough weapons-grade uranium or plutonium, which is actually quite labor intensive and expensive to do, unless you have nuclear reactors - which many countries don't.

Japan could build a nuclear bomb within a month if they wanted, and possibly sooner. So could any other country with nuclear power.

This is why people are iffy about letting developing countries build nuclear reactors - they can be dual use into making materials for weapons.

The other issue is delivery systems, like rockets/missiles, technologies most countries lack, and which are, again, fairly difficult to design/build, and have to be produced to high precision.

There are instructions for how to build a nuclear bomb online, but good luck getting 10 kg of weapons material to build one with.


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

[User]
Why are so many philosophical texts difficult to read?

For example Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is notoriously difficult to read or grasp. Why do so many philosophers have such impenetrable prose in their writing? Do they not wish for laypeople to not read their books and only academics? I often think common people have to rely on predigested pop philosophy to come in contact with the philosophy the writers meant to communicate.

[Assistant]
> Why are so many philosophical texts difficult to read?

Because they're discussing the technical details of an academic discipline.

> For example Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is notoriously difficult to read or grasp. Why do so many philosophers have such impenetrable prose in their writing?

While it is quite likely that someone unprepared to tackle *The Critique of Pure Reason* will encounter a great deal of difficulty with it, it's no less likely that they would encounter as great a deal of difficulty with an advanced text in physics without having any preparation in *that* field.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are tablets comparatively big when the medicine they actually deliver is usually in milligram or microgram?

[Assistant]
There are several reasons:
1. You have to make sure your active ingredient reaches the point where it should be absorbed without being digested/destroyed first. If you want the active ingredient to reach the colon you have to put something around it that doesn't get resolved in the stomach.
2. Handability: Working with very small amounts of a substance because every little mistake produces a big error. It's easier to dilute the substance and use more of the diluted substance.
3. Dexterity: Most people have problems seeing and picking up small objects. So a tablet should be large enough that even a person with bad eye sight and some dexterity issues. Even the best medicine does nothing if you can't take it.
4. Marketing and the placebo effect: Everybody has a image in mind how medicine should look and taste like. Medicine that doesn't fits in the picture is harder to sell and is often times less effective than medicine that does. So pharma companies make sure everything looks and tastes familiar.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is ice cream always harder the second time you open it?

[Assistant]
When opened ice cream is kept in the freezer, a lot of water content starts turning to ice which makes it considerable harder.

If you were to put it in an air tight container and then store, it won't become harder :)


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

[User]
ELI5: Even before colonialism, why were European and Asian countries typically more advanced than African?

We hear all the time of European and Asian history with their technological advancements, is there any reason why these didn't happen on the African continent? I'm talking about pre 1800 Europe dividing up Africa and conquering and destroying everything.

[Assistant]
ELI5: Answer,  your question is incorrect. History didn't happen that way.

ELI20 Answer:

So lets go over a few things.

Pre-1500 West Africa was more advanced than Western Europe.  The reason we know the name of Timbuktu to this day is because of how wealthy it was. The great library at Djenne is still being excavated to this day. It was the wealthiest and most military powerful empire in the Muslim world.

That region experienced its own "Fall of Rome" level dark ages at just the wrong time.

1.) the famed Mansa Musa was the original scheming Vizier and convinced Abu Bakr II (I think it was the second) to take the massive Mali fleet and try to sail across the Atlantic in search of the new world.  Yes this is pre-columbus but this wasn't that crazy.  People knew there was land over there because there was a Bishopric in Greenland and they knew Markland (Labrador) existed and even had converted a handful of Native American's to Christianity in the thirteenth century (according to church records).

Trade winds don't work that way,  both waves (including the second one that Abu Bakr II personally lead were lost at sea.

Mansa Musa then cemented his newly found reign by going on a lavish pilgrimage to Mecca and spending so much money that gold was devalued in Egypt for 7 years after his passing.  Mali had more than half the western world's wealth but still needed a loan to get back. He figured no problem since they controlled all trans-sahara trade so he'd just raise prices on gold, slaves, and salt.

Problem: Lacking a fleet the portugese started poking around and offering competition, LOWERING prices.

Solution: Sell even more slaves.  Send your client state of the Sonhai to go raid deeper inland then use your forces to raid and sack the Songhai and sell their wives and children as slaves on bulk.

Problem: The sonhhai were the WARRIOR client state and ended up overthrowing Mali

New Problem: The songhai were not skilled administrators and didn't know how to run their new empire

Solution: Ask your friends in Morocco for help

New Problem: Seeing they were weakened from their war, Morocco invades and wins.

New New Problem: Morocco also has no idea how to govern a state this size and takes what isn't nailed down and retreats.

West Africa becomes a bunch of dark ages shattered mini-nations.  Still they have a tonne of wealth and make a new fortune selling slaves to Portugal which sets up shop (along with other Europeans).

They keep Europe at bay until Britain industrializes and wants materials that African states have.  This is one of the reasons Britain starts halting the Atlantic slave trade. Morals are nice, but money talks and crippling the Atlantic slave trade starves African states of funds and allows them to be conquered in the Scramble for Africa pretty much as soon as slavery is done with (the late 1800s).

This is all a narrative account and there is a LOT of deeper nuance and timelines and alternate reasons and new context that make this even more complex.

Think of this as the Bohr Atomic Model of African history,   wrong, but accurate enough to get a grasp on more or less what is going on.


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

[User] ELI5: What is the difference between a transgender person's brain compared to a regular person's brain?

[Assistant] The real answer is, we don't really know. There have been some MRI studies showing some differences in brain structure in transexual individuals, but there isn't anywhere near a definitive answer for what that means or how it comes about.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why is a 100 person choir singing the same song not 100 times louder than one person?

I suspect it's something to do with sounds waves so have flaired as physics, but not sure?

[Assistant]
Because the singers are not synchronized on a fine scale and not spaced out taking the wavelength into account. At a given moment in time some of their sound interferes destructively and cancels out. Doubling random, weakly correlated sounds adds 3 dB to the power. So you would get about 20 dB increase from 1 to 100.

Human hearing is also non-linear, and adapts to louder noises by becoming less sensitive. In practice it is not that important to tell 99 and 100 sources of sound apart. You just need to know there is "a lot". An increase of 8 to 10 dB is perceived to be twice as loud.


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

[User]
Parade of low-earth-orbit satellites?

About an hour after sunset, my son and I just saw about 30 lights moving across the sky that looked exactly like LEO satellites (weve watched the ISS pass over before, so we know what to look for).  These were not airplanes.

What was notable was the sheer number  about 30 in groups of 3-5 over about 12 minutes  but even more so, *they were all traveling in the exact same line about 40 degrees above the northwestern horizon here at 37 degrees north latitude, in the same direction (~ ENE) at the same speed.*

What gives?

[Assistant]
You've most likely seen the Starlink satellites being deployed by SpaceX. Their goal is to deploy a large set of satellites (up to 12,000) to provide broadband internet access around the world.

These satellites are being deployed in batches by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 carries the satellites into a low orbit, after which the satellites boost themselves into their final orbital spot.

In the period following deployment, all satellites in a batch will be close together in a line, but as time passes the line will start to break up and the satellites become dimmer as they spread out and boost to higher orbits.

You and your son likely saw the batch that was launched 10 days ago, already separated into multiple groups. If you observe the satellites shortly after launch, you can see them in one single parade line. The next launch is scheduled 3 days from now (weather permitting), so consider doing some stargazing next week to see if you can spot the satellite parade before it breaks up.


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

[User]
ELI5 All the settings/number on cordless drills and its purpose

I was putting together some furniture the other day and was just wondering what the best setting for a job is. There is a switch labeled 1 and 2 (speed I'm assuming). Then there is the dial of numbers that can be adjusted. What effect do they have?

[Assistant]
The big 1/2 switch is speed. Generally softer materials get higher speeds, and harder materials get lower speeds.

The dial is for torque limiting. If you don't want to screw something too tight, you can turn the ring to a low value. This can help avoid overtightening or stripping out screws. The clutch will slip at a certain torque, make an awful sound, and stop driving. If the screw doesn't go in all the way, turn it one or two spots higher and try again.

The torque limiter usually also has a drill setting. That means no torque limiting, and you should use it for drilling. If you don't see one explicitly labeled, just twist the ring to the highest possible setting.


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

[User] ELI5: How is it that we never forget how to ride a bike?

[Assistant]
Riding a bike relies on something called implicit memory. It is a kind of learning that you are not consciously aware of. It is the same type of memory that you used to learn to walk, make the strokes when you brush your teeth, make all the movements required to drive a car, etc. Implicit learning is very simple and fundamental: if you get rewarded (the pleasure of staying on the bike) you tend to do whatever got you there more often, if you get punished (falling off) you tend not to do that movement as often. Although it takes a while, once you've learned it it lasts a long time. This is very old in terms of evolution, most animals can do it, and it is basically re-shaping your brain to run in a new way.

Technically you don't "forget" implicit memory the way you might forget a name, piece of information, or some other verbal code (this is called explicit memory, and you are consciously aware of it). However, it is possible to "un-learn" it. For example, if you trained yourself to ride some type of bike that only worked if you leaned way off to the right, after learning that it would be difficult to transition back to a normal bike. In fact, this is why it is annoying to type on someone else's keyboard, or super annoying to switch from pc to mac. You fingers have learned implicitly where to make the keystrokes (rewarded for correct keys, punished for incorrect ones) and it takes some time to unlearn that and learn the new setup.


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

[User] ELI5: What are the amino acids? And what do they do to the body? (Simple answers cause Im a noob)

[Assistant]
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Imagine amino acids like lego blocks, you can assemble them into any shape and size.

Amino acids are all identical, except for a single side group. This side group can be a single hydrogen, a complex carbon chain, some nitrogen groups, etc etc. These give the amino acids different properties, which gives the proteins a function.

Any protein you eat will be broken down into its base amino acid components. It doesnt matter if you eat chicken, peas, beef or mushrooms, you will still get the same amino acids, which your body can use to make any protein. The lego structure will be split into individual blocks, which your body will assemble into functional proteins.

Eating collagen protein for smooth skin doesnt work, Nor eating special proteins for some magic purpose. In fact, overeating one single source of protein will harm you. Some plants like wheat dont have the same ratio of proteins as humans, so if you only ate wheat you would be short of some amino acids. Its like disassembling a black lego boat and expecting to build a blue sphere - impossible.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do many heavy duty vehicles use manual transmission?

Why do many vehicles used for heavy work, like trucks, bulldozers etc. use manual transmission instead of auto?

[Assistant]
Manual transmission is a lot more robust and easier to repair if something goes wrong while also being a lot cheaper, and in the right hands will tend to outperform an automatic transmission in most metrics too.

The only benefit to automatic transmission is that it's a little easier to use, which just isn't that meaningful when you are talking about big expensive pieces of equipment that should only be operated by a professional in the first place.


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

[User]
Does eating artificial sweetener negatively affect your teeth just like sugar does?

For example, if I drink a can of Coke or diet Coke will my teeth be just as vulnerable to cavities either way?

[Assistant]
There's multiple aspects to it.  At a fundamental level, all tooth decay from 'sugar' is actually caused by acid.  Sugar is metabolized by bacteria in the mouth, and the resultant metabolites lower the pH in the mouth.  But tooth decay can also be caused by directly putting acid into your mouth, and sodas (diet and otherwise) are loaded with acid.

Depending on the artificial sweetener, the bacteria in your mouth may or may not be able to metabolize it.  But all sodas will damage your teeth to an extent simply by being acidic.

If you want to drink soda, definitely drink diet.  Sugary sodas give bacteria fuel to pump out acids for hours after you drink them.  If the artificial sweetener in the soda you pick can't be metabolized by the bacteria, you only have to worry about the acid in the soda.  That would best be dealt with by washing your mouth out with water after you finish the soda to neutralize the acid.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why did TV and computer screens used to flicker in videos, and now they don't?

I can't use a Handycam to shoot VHS video of an old CRT monitor, but I can use my smartphone to take video of my HDTV. Why?

[Assistant]
CRTs work by scanning a electron beam left to right 15 to 100 thousand times a second while scanning top to bottom at 50 to 120 (numbers are approximate) times per second. That fills the screen, but the beam only hits one spot at a time. The phosphors glow brightly at first but start to fade quickly. By the time a spot is scanned again its intensity had faded significantly. If the video camera and the monitor are running at the same frame rate, the result is pretty good, but if they are running at different rates you see flicker.

LCDs can also have flicker, but not as bad as CRTs. Plasmas have very little flicker on camera.

Source: am a broadcast TV engineer who has to deal with flicker.


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

[User]
ELI5: What's happening when you hear a noise while falling asleep and you see a flash of light even though you're eyes are closed?

This happens to me from time to time. I'll lay down to go to sleep at night. I don't keep a TV in my room so it's silent and completely dark. During that time where I'm in between being asleep and awake but still kind of aware of my surroundings I'll hear a sudden noise that's unfamiliar, maybe it's a creak in the house or something outside that startles me. When this happens I see a flash of white light even though my eyes are closed and there was no light that came on. What is happening here and why does it happen?

[Assistant]
Im not sure what the effect is called specifically, but its just a simple hallucination.

Your brain cant handle "no information" so if times are dire, it makes its own.

You need nothing more than static or complete darkness for this.
If you have ever experienced total darkness you know what im talking about, you see lights and colour everywhere after a certain amount of time.

After all, your brain is constantly calculating and manipulating the source data (what your eyes send) and its not even close to what you actually sense.
(You have two constant blind spots, you are seeing everything upside down etc) so its no big surprise that "no information" kind of confused the brain a bit.
(the sound could be a hallucination as well, i get those a lot when its silent and im about to sleep)


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

[User]
Eli5 what would happen if you had water in a completely sealed container and brought it past boiling temp

Would it just turn into a pressurized container full of steam? Would the water stay water but just like, really hot?

[Assistant] The pressure would raise the boiling point of the water. As the temperature continues to rise you'd have more water boil but this would in turn raise the pressure. At each temperature you'd find an equilibrium between steam and water. This will continue until you're left with an container full of steam, a container full of plasma, or a container that exploded.


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

[User]
[Star Trek: TNG] Are there any rules that would specifically prohibit a Q from joining Starfleet?

Suppose a far less mischievous Q (not the one constantly pestering Picard) approached Starfleet and wanted to join. He's willing to go through the application process, enroll in the academy, and to take orders from superior officers. Do any rules specifically prevent this?

Second question: If nothing, would Starfleet quickly craft some rules to impose on Q? It's obvious he'd be able to easily snap his fingers and gain instant acceptance into the academy, pass all his courses with perfect grades, and upon his first assignment, tell his captain that he can take the ship into any region of the galaxy (universe?) his captain wants with guaranteed safety. Would a Q in Starfleet be told he's not allowed to do any of that, and in fact, has to handicap himself?

[Assistant]
Riker was invited into the continuum so there is precedent for this.

There is also the matter of Amanda's parents.  They lived out a mortal life.

So, as long as the Q obeyed the rules, it would be allowed.

Also, looking at Data and Bashere shows what happens when objectively better people join.  Bashere is more or less Khan level intellect but it never went to his head.


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

[User]
When to give a thank you letter to a professor/advisor?

I'm in a somewhat unusual circumstance where I am going into a master's program at my current university, and have already built a good relationship with my future (current?) advisor. I am finishing up my undergrad right now. I have had several classes with them, and they have asked to collaborate on a small project over the summer. I'm very happy!

But, I want to thank them somehow. They have been very influential in me choosing my field of study and future, and I want to communicate that. Of course, a thank you note is obvious, but I thought it might be weird to send one right now, at the end of undergrad, when I am going to be in contact with them over the summer, and will have plenty of contact with them in the coming years. I'm looking for validation on whether or not it would be weird to give one at this time.

I'm probably overthinking this, but I wanted to hear other opinions. My friends all said it would be weird, but damnit, I want my prof to know how much they influenced me! It wouldn't be anything extreme.

[Assistant] You can write a letter to the administration telling them what an exceptional Professor this individual is and all that they've done for you. Sometimes people submit them to the department head sometimes they submitted directly to the dean. These sorts of letters do get noticed and recognized.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What were the contributing factors for the Empire to do away with virtually all of the Republic's war machines and create entirely new ones?

An example would be the AT-TE. You have an extremely versatile vehicle with more uses than just combat or artillery, that can provide secure transport and act as a Mobile Operations Base. Why would they scrap these formidable tanks when they could still be put to use outside of warfare?

A conversation with a co-worker a few years back introduced me to the idea that the Empire simply didn't have any need for heavy duty combat vehicles, especially while fighting the fairly outgunned Rebel Alliance. He said that the Empire would focus more on anti-guerrilla warfare with vehicles like the AT-ST which were highly mobile and heavily armed. He also said that battles like Both show that the Empire only needed a fractional force to crush a Rebel base, and that high mobility and visibility was the key to snuffing out insurgent emplacements and fortifications.

I feel that while the development for these kinds of vehicles were certainly a well thought out plan, the abandonment of certain vehicles that performed well even outside of combat was unnecessary.

[Assistant]
There's a handful of reasons that crop up over the lifetime of the empire. 0bby to around 14bby when the largest changes occur is because of the clone army being removed. The grand army of the republic was restructured rapidly into the imperial navy and imperial armed forces. These needed a vastly larger industrial base and long term viability in their technology. They weren't needed to wage wars but police planets and space lanes and project order and stability. The clone wars were an excellent testing grounds of future imperial designs but ultimately too narrow and expensive for long term results. Cheaper star fighters that could out maneuver nearly every fighter and small vessel became more important than heavy bombers and multi-crew multi-role fighters. Star destroyers improved on previous designs to act as mobile fighter bases and force projection over smaller more niche frigates and destroyers.
Palpatine also was rebranding his empire. Anything associated with the republic from the iconography on buildings to the names of bases and the tools were thrown away and made new to distance the empire from it's origin.

4bby to 5aby it falls under the tarkin doctrine. Fear and power become design features as well as cost effective designs. Everything was both cheaply mass produced and designed to crush both physically and spiritually. Weapons were built to demoralize the enemies of the empire through just how devastating they were when deployed and how numerous they were. A single star destroyer brought an army a fleet of fighters and bombers and enough firepower to level any resistance. And the empire rarely sent a single star destroyer to a problem that could be solved by one alone because they could afford the excessive force. Enemies of the empire were drowned in blood and metal and blasters if they didn't surrender immediately seeing the forces that carried the Empire's banner once they arrived.


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

[User]
[The Expanse] how does geopolitics work when everything keeps moving around?

(Disclaimer: I have seen the tv show but have not read the books. I plan to read them as soon as work and kids stop interfering.)

So Earth and Mars is locked in a cold war, where they both try to maintain influence in The Belt and deny the other acces to the ressources there. How much force each power can project with their navies matter a great deal, but everything moves around so theres no way to maintain a sphere of influence. At one point Ceres station is 2.5 AUs from Earth, and 3 from Mars. A year later Mars is 0.5 AU from Ceres, and Earth is 3 AU from Ceres. Suddenly Mars is in a great position to blocade Ceres, and a year later again the position is reversed.

Is there also a threat of mutually assured destruction when missiles (even equiped with the Epstein drive) have to travel for several weeks to reach the heartland of your opponent? Wouldnt there be plenty of time to shoot down the missiles and deploy a fleet? If Earth still have the largest navy, and Mars have no way to  guarantee retribution, why havent Mars already been destroyed?

[Assistant]
So yea, your 'sphere of influence' isn't going to be a literal geographical sphere as it sometimes is with land-based strategy.  How fast you can project power to where is going to be in constant flux, but that flux is highly predictable.  It can be planned for and accomodated in your overall strategy.
If Earth knows their supply line is about to get longer, they adjust by stockpiling and beefing up defenses around transfer orbits from Mars.


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

[User]
[Marvel] How does Falcon not pass out?

Doing extremely dangerous aerobatics pulling insane g forces and all of that at cruising altitude without a breathing aid.

[Assistant] His suit provides resistance to the worse effects of high g maneuvers. Things like constricting around his body to keep blood from rushing around with a turn. Then he does have a breathing aid that deploys when he reaches extreme speeds or high altitude. His training allows him to breathe without the aid constantly but he has the option should he need it.


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

[User]
[Home Improvement] How much were Tim and Al paid for being on Tool Time?

Tim owns a big house and cares for three kids and a wife and buys countless amounts of tools and other stuff. Tim and Jill can afford to go to shows, sporting events, go to fancy restaurants and they dont care when they lose an expensive reservation somewhere. Al lives in an apartment, owns nothing cool and never goes any where. Either Al makes a whole a lot less or has a HUGE savings account.

[Assistant]
Tim Taylor and his family live in Detroit during the 90s. Detroit is shit cheap and they could buy a nice house for less than 50k. A mortgage on that is like $300/mo including insurance and tax.

If Tim made ~100k/year hed have a ton of extra money leftover. This is a fairly reasonable amount for a midwestern tv personality from the 90s.

If he lived in an expensive place like SF or NYC the. Hed be making 200k or more and have a much smaller place and fewer toys.


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

[User] ELI5 How a cellular network handles IP addresses? Does it just act like a massive router? What is different between internet use via router or via LTE?

[Assistant] The whole point of TCP/IP is that *it doesn't care what you run it over*.  Wifi, Ethernet, LTE, DSL, Cable, ATM, etc...  You just encapsulate IP to run over that network and connect it to a router one way or another.  That router is connected to other routers over some *other* physical network but, as long as they both have the same network & speak TCP/IP, packets get routed.


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

[User]
[DBZ/DC/Marvel] Would Krillin's destructo-disk be able to cut Superman? Cap's shield? Wolverine's bones?

It has been shown to cut through pretty much everything.

[Assistant]
The tricky thing about Krillin's Destructo-disk is that, for a seeingly little cost on the wielder, it is an extremely potent ki attack. It has the inherent property of cutting through static ki fields such as Vegito's Saiyan Shield or the passive durability enhancement afforded by mastery of one's ki. This is why everyone is afraid of it and how Krillin is still regarded as a legitamate Z fighter. He's weak, slow, and has the durability of tissue paper compared to heavy hitters such as Goku, but he is the sole master of a ki attack equivalent of a thermobaric fusion bomb.

So yeah, it probably can cut through Supes, Cap's vibranium shield, Wolverine's adamantium bones, and SSJ4 Gogeta's True Magic Adamantium balls.


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

[User] ELI5: Why, when translating many languages to English do sentences seem to be almost backwards?

[Assistant]
One way of thinking about the way languages are constructed is by saying that all statements in every language have a subject (the person or thing doing an action), the object (the thing being acted upon) and the verb (the action being taken).

English has what's called an "SVO" sentence order, for subject-verb-object. So in the sentence **The cat eats the mouse**, "The cat" is the subject, "the mouse" is the object, and "eats" is the verb.

 If we change that order around, we either have a totally different sentence like **The mouse eats the cat** (where "the mouse" is now assumed to be the subject because it comes first), or we have something that doesn't make any sense, like **Eat the mouse the cat.**

However, there's no particular reason why languages have to be organized this way. In fact, this isn't even the most common worldwide. Languages like Japanese and Hindi are "SOV" order, so directly translated their sentences are something like **The cat the mouse eats.**

It's actually a bit more complex than this--a lot of languages have flexible sentence order, because you can use different endings or small words to mark which parts of the sentence are which, and then you can arrange them any way you want. For example, in latin, you could write **Fls murem cnsmit** or **Murem fls cnsmit**, and both mean "The cat eats the mouse," since the way you end the words for "mouse" and "cat" tell you whether it's supposed to be the subject or the object.

Fun side fact: the rarest of all possible sentence orders is OSV, where you put the object before the subject and the verb at the end. There are very, very few languages on earth that use it, and most are isolated tribal languages in the amazon. However, when you hear it, it sounds familiar and pretty understandable. Why? Well, because with this sentence order Yoda speaks!


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

[User]
Do Animals have Blood Groups like humans?

If so, can their blood be transfused into humans or the other way around?

[Assistant]
human blood types (ABO) are present in other primates. The other great Apes have very similar blood to ours. not much research has been done on this for a lot of reasons (for one human blood is much easier to get than gorilla blood). It is probably possible to transfuse ape blood to an acceptable donor (accounting for blood type). There may be some issues with other blood products or other markers (antigens like ABO) on ape red blood cells.

most other animals have different shaped or sized blood cells, or have different chemical properties like hemoglobin concentration that make them incompatible with human bodily functions.

some research has been done into pigs since they have similar blood cell size and composition as humans. The pigs would probably have to be genetically modified to produce viable blood for humans though, and again, its easy enough to get human blood nowadays anyway.


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

[User]
CMV: The effort spent protesting against all of the major individual issues would be better spent searching for and campaigning for better elected officials who will correct the issues, instead of expecting the sitting representatives to do the right thing.

So america has a large host of problems which people seem to be united in, but the parties and representatives are divided on. Rather than campaigning for the representatives to make the right choice when they have already shown they believe differently, that same effort would be better put into new individuals running for office, and passionate people supporting those individuals.

The US senate and other elected offices are full of long sitting members, who have served multiple terms, going in and out of office, who continue to show they don't belong, but gain seats based on a lack of competition. These same senators and governors would have much more incentive to represent the people who vote for them, if they had competition who would.

Protests and bringing the conversation up will solve individual problems one at a time, but increasing the quality of elected officials will solve a lot more, a lot quicker. With proper representation, protests would serve to steer the officials to the changes you want and need, whereas currently they only show what we are displeased with. The problems in the American political system are widespread and rampant, but they are solvable by the same reasons they are corrupt.These politicians want to get in office so they can get paid and better their own lives. If they have to think about staying in office, they will focus less on their own agenda, and more on the peoples.

[Assistant]
>but gain seats based on a lack of competition

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of how rigged the American two-party system is. You need to understand that most of the politicians currently in office stay there because they have the political sway and, more importantly, funds, to challenge any opposition whether within or outside their party.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] So, if Jedi are not supposed to have relationships...

Does that means they are all virgins?

Where applicable, of course.

[Assistant]
Depends on when they're found and if they follow the rules.

Generally, the Jedi like training recruits as younglings, individuals who have yet to reach whatever version of puberty their species has. This allows for a far higher success rate of their indoctrination program, not to mention younger individuals tend to be extremely efficient learners from the academic to the acrobatic. There are times, however, when an older recruit is brought before the Council and they choose to go ahead with training for whatever reason has merited their attention. If a 17 year old human, for example, starts training (something quite rare), he or she may not be a virgin.

And, of course, there's Anakin. During the Clone Wars, General Anakin Skywalker married then-Senator Amedala, and they conceived twins. This is all covered in the epic poem *Star Wars*, which is required reading at most schools. While it's not known if this calamity was typical of Jedi breaking their vow, it certainly doesn't speak well of it... but it does happen now and again, and the results can be more than a little problematic.

There is, of course, retirement, too. Jedi do take an oath and serve, but it's not always a lifetime of service. If a Jedi can demonstrate that they have the emotional stability and maturity, they can leave the order and marry and have kids. There's likely a test of some kind they have to pass, as the Jedi love tests.


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

[User]
[Shadowrun] How much does the "man on the street" know about shadowrunning and shadowrunners?

Once you get over a certain level in the corporate world, deniable operations are a fact of life, but how much does the average person know about what their bosses are up to? Are they aware that one of their managers is "Mr. Johnson"? Do they know that the "hot new forecast intel" was acquired by a decker, or that one of the new R&D guys was 'recruited' at gunpoint? When they show up on Monday to find the janitors patching bullet holes, what do they think?

[Assistant]
Depends on who we're talking. As you've identified, anybody upper-middle-class or higher is likely to have skin in the game somehow.

The working class? Demagoguery, mostly. Scary silvered-up orks with guns in the shadows, coming to take you away because you technically work for the people they murderously hate (this is why having street cred is important). Likely quite a few are unable to make the distinction between Shadowrunner and Neo-Anarchist, let alone where and how they intersect. If a community *has* a neo-anarchist presence, they might be better informed and not listen to corp media.

Gangs and policlubs are in the know for how often they get targeted, of course. The smart ones, anyway. Humanis probably has meetings over it and shit. Same deal with ghouls, same reason.

Dregs are probably the group with the highest knowledge-to-numbers of shadowrunning. Always good for some nuyen if you get a reputation for real tips. Occasionally bleeding hearts who'll get you a serious score. Plus, runners are always in their areas hiding out from cops and response teams anyway.


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

[User]
Being verbally accused of cheating. I don't know how to defend myself.

Throwaway account...Just in case.

As a background, I am majoring in physics and am on track to graduate early and being able to get into an Ivy League level grad program (PhD).  I've taken my schooling very seriously throughout my life, mainly because that was the only thing I was ever good at.  Getting good grades is my proof to myself that I am pushing myself to my personal goals.  Also, I have never cheated on an assignment, ever.

Our department is fairly small, so I have daily interaction with all of my professors.  I considered all of my professors my personal friends and mentors.  They all encourage group work, which we have been trained to do since our first semester, and most genuinely care about our education.  However, the lines have started to blur a little in one of our physics courses.

It all started a few weeks ago, when my friend and I went to the library to work on an assignment.  A couple of our classmates found us as we were working and joined us.  My friend and I had already worked out 3/4 questions by the time they arrived, and still had them on the marker board because we had not written them down yet.  We started working on our 4th problem and help our classmates where we could (the material was very confusing because we weren't explained the theory behind the method).  We finished our homework, answered any last questions and left to go turn our homework in.

Fast forward to next week, it was implied to the class that we had cheated.  Naturally curious, I asked why.  We got a round-about answer that didn't make much sense.  I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue, because I take this seriously.  I went to the professor's office and asked for an explanation.  According to him, I cheated because my classmates copied my work with my permission.  My argument against this was that his syllabus encourages us to work together.  Not only that, but my classmates invited themselves into our study area, copied our work, then submitted it verbatim as it was written on the board.  I continued saying that it isn't my concern what they submit, so I shouldn't be held responsible.  I made sure to make the point that I told my classmates not to copy our work, but to make sure they understood the general "flow" of what we were doing.

The advice he gave seems to conflict with everything we had learned up to now: he wants us to stop working as a group.  My classmates are my friends.  I've known most of them for almost 2 years.  We've had all the same classes, worked together through any troubles.  Now I'm being told to turn a cold shoulder to them.

Here's where I have my problem. I'm now labelled as a cheater by him.  Almost every chance he gets, he reminds me that I am a "suspect".

An example of above: Today I was working on another physics class homework.  The teacher of this class (call him X) provides excellent lecture notes that we use as a guide during his lecture (he posts them online before class).  Then, when we do the homework, they act as concise notes for quick references.  Yesterday (during class) I was having some difficulty following my professor.  The class has low math requirements, so general assumptions have to be made to skip around the math.  Unfortunately, the homework required that I understand the assumption, which I didn't.  So I look the problem up after attempting to solve the problem.  I find the question posted in another professor's online exam, so I look at that.  Professor Y (the one accusing me of cheating), comes over and without understanding the situation, accuses me of copying the answer.  Had he looked, he would have noticed that the exam's solution, and my solution, were two entirely different things.

This is what annoys me.  He walked into Professor X's office and told him that I was cheating by copying the answers. I was in disbelief that he would do that right in front of me.  I ignored it, thinking he was trying to elicit a response, and continued to try to understand the material.  5 minutes later, he comes back (while I was still trying to understand everything).  He sees that I am still trying to figure everything out, then walks back into Professor X's office and says: "You know [thegrieved] is out there copying the answers, and you aren't going to do anything about it?".  Professor X: "No, it's fine." Professor Y: "Well, if I were you, I would give him a 0 (zero) for cheating. That's what I would do."  Professor Y walks back into his office, and that's the last I saw of him that day.

Maybe I'm overthinking things, but it's like he has it out for me.  Professor X has taken time to understand my learning style.  I attempt the problem, then go looking for more information before attempting again.  I genuinely try to learn the material, but try to correct myself before I get it stuck in my head.  I've never copied someone else's answer.  I always make sure I understand it.

This is more of a rant than anything.  Feels nice to blow off some steam.  Any suggestions on the situation would be appreciated.

TL;DR: Professor accused me of cheating by allowing classmates to copy my work with my permission (I didn't).  Get labeled as a cheater (I am not).  Now he won't drop the issue.

[Assistant]
Go directly to the department head (chair.) Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Explain yourself completely and quickly. Don't let it become a bigger issue than it is already. Accusation of academic dishonesty (no matter how trivial) must be dealt with quickly, or they WILL bite you in the ass.

If that gets you nowhere, look for an ombudsman or similar. Don't be shy.


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

[User] [Warhammer 40K] How much does an Adeptus Astartes need to eat to maintain a body that size, not to mention pay for the amount of exertion imposed just by wearing their armour and performing drill?

[Assistant]
Concentrated nutritional paste generally.  They're capable of digesting normal food but like you'd mentioned, they burn alot of calories just maintaining homeostasis.

The power armor is..... Power.... Armor..... So it supports itself and only adds to the Marines already impressive physical abilities.  It enhances endurance, strength, and survivability as well as taking care of the Marines more mundane physical requirements such as food, water, and water evacuation during extended engagements.

As for the paste, its only really edible to astartes.  Their bodies require much more varied nutrition than the typical person due to the redundant systems and Bone sheathes under their skin as well as hormone and neurotransmitter differences.  Their conscious control of autonomic functions allow them to push their body past normal human limits at the cost of depleting minerals, hormone constituents, and basic nutrition at an accelerated rate.  Astartes nutritional paste replaces these exhausted reserves.

All that said, their bodies are built to survive any environment or challenge and have the ability to manufacture all these substances 'in-house' as it were given enough material.  Which is why it's impractical for them to eat human-standard acceptable food.


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

[User]
[Batman] Where is SWAT and the military when a super-villain attacks?

Why doesn't the military get involved when the Joker or any other main villain becomes a threat to all of Gotham City?

If they have other priorities, then why hasn't Gotham developed a specialized SWAT team to combat threats of this level, with the consistency of dangerous attacks? Are they honestly comfortable leaving the situation to an illegal vigilante who may very well have his own agendas?

[Assistant]
Posse Comitatus is the short answer.  Basically, the military (with the exceptions of the National Guard and Coast Guard) *cannot* be used to enforce domestic policy within the United States.  There are exceptions, of course, but the Joker - with rare exception, given which part of the multiverse we're in - often doesn't reach the level where Congress decides to act.

As for SWAT, often times they're on a perimeter and have every swinging dick with a rifle pointed at the threat in some capacity.  And assuming these are guys that are competent and not on the take (a rarity in Gotham), you've got to keep in mind that they're a city police force with city-level resources in a city that the rest of the country was all too happy to abandon after a big enough earthquake hit.


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

[User]
ELI5: When you boil a pot of water until it all boils off, what is the whitish, dusty residue that remains on the bottom of the pan?

Is it just minerals/other impurities in the water?

[Assistant]
The technical term for this is "Total Dissolved solids" (this assumes the water went through a filter at some point to strain out any sediment or fish or whatever, but in tap water it  you _should_ be just getting dissolved stuff).

Exactly what makes up TDS in your water varies from region to region, but it's usually  calcium and magnesium and carbonates.  Calcium/magnesium carbonate is the most common source of "white stuff".  It also makes for "hard water".  There may be more sodium and chloride if you are close to the ocean and getting a teeny bit of seawater inflow.  Sulfides are common in well water in some areas...you will usually smell them if they are present.

All in all, this stuff isn't harmful unless there's a huge amount of it...honestly it's probably a net benefit to get a bit of calcium and magnesium from your water.  Straight up totally pure water also tends not to taste great.


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

[User] [Death Note] Is there a time limit for deaths? Can I write as a cause of death that "so-and-so dies peacefully in his sleep at the age of 93"?

[Assistant] No, you cannot do that (unless the victim is already 93 or very close to it).  The maximum amount of time you can specify is 23 days (assuming that the victims lifespan is longer than that, of course).  Attempting to go longer than that or exceed the victims remaining lifespan will just cause the victim to die of a heart attack 6 minutes and 40 seconds after writing their name down.  And if they only have 12 minutes or less left on the clock, the Death Note simply wont work at all on them.


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

[User]
Why is it hard to reverse engineer proprietary software ?

I think I understand that code is typically transformed from "human-readable" to "machine-readable" when it is compiled. Can't we write programs that "guess" what human-readable code generated the machine-readable code ?

[Assistant]
Such programs exist and they're called, not very surprisingly, decompilers. But simply pulling a piece of software through a decompiler does not directly yield easily readable code for several reasons.

First of all, names of variables and functions are not kept through the compilation process, so the decompiler will assign generic names. It is much harder to read code that looks like "f8s6ex2(i37zc, sk1eo)" than it is to read "CalculatePrice(articleId, amount)".

Secondly, a compiler has a variety of optimization tricks that it will use during compilation to make the code more efficient. A decompiler will return this "optimized" code, which will look a lot less readable than the original.


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

[User]
I believe that a properly regulated market provides a superior benefit to society than a free unregulated market. CMV

I believe that free capitalist markets are a natural phenomenon that is more or less inevitable in any human society (or collection of societies). I also believe it to be a generally positive thing that should be cultivated and encouraged because of its massive potential to improve the quality of life for all participants. However, just like any other natural phenomenon or animal of nature, we as humanity cannot maximize its benefits without "harnessing" it. In the context of our current modern world, I view this harnessing process manifesting itself as regulation by an impartial party (typically a government).

The nutshell of my view: I believe that a society cannot reap the maximum benefits from a capitalistic marketplace without impartial governmental regulation. Just as bridling a horse transforms a grazing animal into an efficient form of transportation, managing the growth and behavior of the marketplace allows a society to draw the most benefit.

**Update:** I think there may be some misunderstanding of the view I hold. My position is that capitalist markets, left to their own devices, can exist just fine. However, I believe that intervention is generally required in order to shape that market into something that benefits society. It may even be that a completely unregulated market provides some kind of benefit already. I only contend that said benefit can only reach its maximum potential when steered to do so.

[Assistant] Let me know the day impartial government regulation becomes possible. The way it works in every actual government now existing is a hodgepodge of conflicting interests builds a largely nonsensical regulatory environment that costs gobs of money and is largely unhelpful to anyone. And to the extent it helps anyone, it is usually catastrophically cost-ineffective.


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

[User]
What would Immanuel Kant say about homosexual sex?

Kant denounced masturbation and non-procreative sex as immoral. Would homosexual sex, which has no potential for procreation whatsoever, be similarly denounced by Kant?

[Assistant]
Refer to the *Metaphysics of Morals* (not the Groundwork!):

"Sexual union is the reciprocal use one human makes of the sexual organs and capacities of another. This is either a natural use...or an unnatural use, and unnatural use takes place either with a person of the same sex or with an animal of a nonhuman species. Since such transgressions of principle...do wrong to humanity in our own person, there are no limitations or exceptions whatsoever that can save them from being repudiated completely" (p.96 ; tr. Mary Gregor [the Cambridge Texts in German Philosophy edition])

So he's pretty clearly unilaterally against it. Metaphysics of Morals is actually a pretty helpful and unduly ignored text because Kant lays out basically all of his specific ethical beliefs in it (showing us just how inhumane his ethical theories are, according to many later commentators)


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

[User]
Are animals' facial expressions representative of their mood or do humans just interpret them that way?

If an animal appears to be smiling, is it actually happy or is it's face just doing that?

For some types of expression, I imagine the answer is obviously yes. If a tiger is bearing it's teeth at you and hissing, it is pretty clear that it is demonstrating that it is aggressive.

But for expressions like happiness, worry, fear, relaxedness and the like, is that actually how the animal is feeling or do humans just assign human emotions to vaguely similar expressions on animals?

[Assistant] Most animals do actually show facial expressions to indicate their mood however theyre often different than that of humans, for example smiling is not shared by a large group of creatures as the facial structures for animals vary widely so most need to develop different ways since their faces are so different, a cat cant move its face like an elephant for example and vice versa.


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

[User] ELI5: What factors contribute to whether you need to have a/some limbs amputated? Is it damage to bones? Muscles? Nerves?

[Assistant]
Med student here. Most of it has to do with the viability of the limb which is determined by the quality of the blood flow to the limb/extremity.

Muscle, bone and nerve damage are like cutting leaves and flowers off a plant. Blood flow is like removing water. Without consistent flow the thing dies and/or cannot repair.


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

[User] ELI5: Lifeguard here, why does 80 degree weather feel hot but 80 degree water feel cold?

[Assistant] Physics. You body generates a certain amount of heat, and tries to keep your temperature constant at 98.6 F. Air is not very dense, and thus is not all that efficient at taking away your extra heat. Your body is generating heat faster than it is being lost to the air, so your compensatory mechanisms (sweat, lowering energy level, etc.) kick in. Water is extremely dense and has an extremely high heat capacity, so it is extremely efficient at taking away extra heat. That's why we use it in things like radiators and other cooling systems.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is projective identification?

I've read the wikipedia article on projective identification, but it still doesn't really make sense to me. I'm wondering if someone here could explain it in a more simplistic manner.

Thanks.

[Assistant]
Melanie Klein's definition of projective identification is as such:

*"An unconscious phantasy in which aspects of the self or an internal object are split off and attributed to an external object."*

I think it's important to understand what projection is first:

* Projection is simply attributing one's issues to someone else (a defense mechanism to feel better about ourselves).

* Projective identification is when we are the victim of projection from someone else and start to identify with the projection.

Example:

* Bob has low-self esteem, Bob goes to David and says, "Hey, it looks like you've gained weight."

* David really hasn't gained weight, but he starts to question if he has or not and spends the rest of the day worrying about how he looks and if his clothes fit right.

So, in essence:

* Bob projected his weight issues onto David, who doesn't have any, but David *identified* with the projection and now questions his perception of self.


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

[User]
ELI5: What are the duties of military personnel stationed in peaceful countries.

For example American military personnel stationed in South Korea or Japan. What are their responsibilities and duties.

[Assistant]
There are lots of things to do around the base like maintaining equipment and routine training. There are hospitals to run, jeeps to clean, and paperwork to fill out.

However their main duties, i.e. the reason they are there is first place, is to be ready in case something happens.  Something may happen that at least a few of them need to be mobilized at an hours notice. Most of the time it is to help with some sort of disaster but in theory they could be the front line for a war with North Korea.

That might seem very unlikely but the fact that they are there and that they are ready is a large part of the reason that such a war is unlikely.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Did Jedi/Sith training entail any physical conditioning?

[Assistant] Absolutely. We don't even have to look any further than Empire Strikes Back to see that. Consider Luke's training with Yoda, and the amount of physical conditioning Luke was put through. Even that was a super short version of the training a padawan would get if they were trained by the order.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do many top female tennis players make long squealing noises during play?

OK I will get this out of the way. The noises they make in many cases sound very sexual. I don't mean enticing or arousing, but a little unsettling as if I am hearing something I shouldn't.

If this the female equivalent of the grunt of effort male players sometimes makes that seems weirdly gendered.

[Assistant]
It can be a release of energy. They hold their breathe, tense up to get more power into the shot then all of the stored energy is released (exhaled). Sometimes with a grunt or a squeal.

A lot of the time it's just habit and annoying though.


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

[User] Eli5 why scientists say that no water could be found on other planets despite claiming that ice is present on certain places. Isn't ice and water are the same?

[Assistant]
>why scientists say that no water could be found on other planets

They dont. We have found water on many planets and other bodies within our own solar system (moons, asteroids, comets). Its a lot more challenging to identify compounds which exist on planets outside of our solar system, but there are many such candidates which we think look like they may have water.

Within our own solar system, water ice is pretty common in the bodies further away from the sun than us. Liquid water has been confirmed on Mars (not a lot of it at all, but its definitely there), beneath the water-ice crust of Saturns moon Enceladus, and is almost certainly beneath the water-ice crust of Jupiters moon Europa. Earth is the only place in the solar system we know to have large bodies of liquid water at the surface.


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

[User] ELI5: What causes you to vomit when you overexert yourself with exercise?

[Assistant] Your body equates this exertion as a sign of "flight" in the fight or flight response and thus what's to empty its contents. Plus the blood flow is diverted from the abdomen and to the extremities, which causes the gastric sphincters to relax, making it easy to vomit.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are emotions like anger, sadness, excitement or boredom so immediately apparent while happiness is not?

If you're angry, sad, or even bored, it's something you can recognize fairly easily. Why isn't happiness as apparent? Rather, why is it so similar to a feeling of "not bad" as opposed to its own unique thing? Is a happy emotion closer to our 'resting state' than most others?

[Assistant]
Depends on how you define happiness.

If you define happiness as "not bad" or just "relaxed and content" then it is just a nice comfortable state of being to aim for, it is sustainable and comforting. But that is a state, rather than the emotion itself. The emotion characteristic of happiness is joy, and joy is very noticeable. You'll smile, laugh, maybe even move about when excited with joy. It is very noticeable, it just isnt sustainable.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are scissors "left-handed" or "right-handed," and why don't they work when you use them on the "wrong" hand?

This has baffled me, well, since I was literally 5.  Why is it that scissors only work in one hand?  Is it something with the blades?  I just remember picking up my left-handed friend's scissors and being so damn confused.

[Assistant] Because the way you grip scissors puts pressure on the blades forcing them against each other.  Using the wrong handed scissor causes you to force the blades apart, creating a gap in the blades that ruins the ability to cut.


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

[User]
[What if...? Episode 4] Could Doctor Strange have resurrected Christine instead of trying to erase her death?

Could Doctor Strange have collected the infinity stones and snapped Christine back to life, thereby resurrecting her after her death without erasing it from the timeline, thereby not creating a paradox?
Or even just have obtained the Soul-, Reality- and Power stones to do it? I can't think of a reason why he wouldn't be able to do this, given his knowledge of the stones and what they are capable of, his immense power and teleportation ability (allowing him to take it from anyone, anywhere) and him already possessing the Time Stone, which would make getting the rest easier. Does some law prohibit this?

[Assistant]
Probably, but he was letting his ego steer the boat on this one; he went full commit on his plan, developed a severe case of tunnel vision, and crashed the universe.

If he admitted defeat in using the Time Stone to make the action happen, he might have regrouped, cooked up a new plan (like snatching Christine's body/soul out of the past and bringing it into the future, so she'd be effectively dead for the time in question and not trigger a paradox), and then tried a new angle. But that would first require admitting defeat, and the guy who says "Dormammu, I've come to bargain" a half-trillion times isn't the sort to throw in the towel.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What is physically happening at the point of contact when two light sabers hit each other? Energy or heat release? Does something different happen if they hit harder or softer?

[Assistant]
IIRC the most common expanation is, they're tubes of plasma. And charge repels charge. So you're hitting a magnet, pretend dipole, against another magnet with a pretend dipole in the same direction. Quite likely they never touch, but mechanical work is still exerted. One can guess that the howling and crackling sounds are the stresses on the containment field.

Compared to something solid and uncharged, that's exposed to a huge flow of ions, that reacts and ignites it.


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

[User]
[Frozen] Is there some effective check to Queen Elsa's powers that other nations can put into use if necessary?

I represent a think-tank approached by several nations concerned over the abilities of Queen Elsa of Arendelle. After observing her magical control over the elemental forces of cold itself, many sovereign states are fearful of her using this power offensively against them and not having an effective way to fight back. We are aware that she claims benevolence and wants peace with her neighbouring countries, however it would be irresponsible to not have some contingency in place in case she goes rogue or becomes involved in a war. The crisis of the events of her coronation dramatically underscore the necessity of such planing. Her first act as queen involved an emotional outbursts that preternaturally froze her kingdom in a magically induced winter, and would have condemned her citizens to starvation or fleeing as refugees. Fortunately she reversed the effects before it was too late, but many question her capacity to rule, as it seemingly appears she did not receive proper diplomatic and political training by her parents.

What methods can we put in place to ensure our ability to fight back should a war erupt between our nations? How can we effectively check or remover her powers should the need arise?

[Assistant]
Elsa's functionally an ice goddess, but that goddess lives in a body made out of the same meat as the rest of us. There's no indication that poison or a sharp knife won't get the job, if properly used.

Maintain full diplomatic relations with Arendelle, and keep someone on the staff who has a background in such work. Someone with a posting that will get them in the palace on a regular basis, so they can get a feel for the staff, procedures and security. Some matter of trade representative, or a military/cultural attache would justify their presence, without burdening them with too many fake duties. In event of war, have them slip in and sort things out.

As far as removing her powers, dispatch agents to the northern areas of Arendelle on the pretense of making deals with the local ice cutters, and seek contact with the trolls. They are pretty much the experts in the field.


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

[User] [Star Wars] What would happen if Obi-Wan and Anakin were smarter than that?

[Assistant]
Anakin accepts that, though he may be talented, he lacks the kind of wisdom that only comes from experience. He accepts the council's decision to refuse him the title of master, and agrees with them that Palpatine forcing the Council to accept him is suspicious. After the Darth Plagueis scene, Anakin realizes that Palpatine is clearly a Sith and decides to play along to gather information. Once he has concrete evidence that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, he brings it to Mace Windu. They give the evidence to the senators they trust the most (Padme, Bail Organa, Jar Jar) and set out to arrest Palpatine. This time Windu is comfortable bringing Anakin, because he knows the chancellor the best and has shown a lot of maturity lately. Anakin's combat skills come and handy and he manages to stop Palpatine from killing Kit Fisto. Working together the three of them are able to apprehend Palpatine. Mace Windu still tries to execute him but Smart Anakin manages to talk him down. The trial is long and harrowing, but ultimately Palpatine is found guilty when those who knew his secret identity agree to testify in exchange for immunity. The Republic is saved and Anakin is made a Jedi Master. Obi-Wan is proud. There's lots of manly tears. Qui Gon's ghost is there nodding in approval.

Unfortunately though there is one teeny tiny problem. The prophecy was never fulfilled, and the Force has not been balanced. They only delayed the fall of the Jedi. The Force is prone to the butterfly effect. Preventing one great evil from rising usually leads to an even greater evil emerging.


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

[User] [Fallout] Understanding that extreme radiation turns human into Ghouls, hypothesize how Evolution will change humans due to the apocalyptic environment.

[Assistant] Humans will experience a heavy selection pressure towards radiation tolerance, like what is seen in the Children of Atom, to resist that sort of mutation. Ghouls are sterile, so even if long lived, represent a developmental dead end that offers no evolutionary future.


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

[User]
[Percy Jackson] Wouldn't it be a good thing to be stuck in the Lotus Casino forever?

In the Lotus Casino, you're incredibly happy, but it's at the cost of time going by much, much faster. There's unlimited food, games, etc. but just spending an afternoon there couldn't be the equivelant of a few days to the outside world. But with the afterlife in the Percy Jackson series, wouldn't it be better to be stuck in the Lotus Casino? Most of the people who die would just go to the fields of Asphodel, where you slowly forget who you are. IMO it sounds a lot like how CS Lewis describes the Christian Hell, except you'll completely forget who you are. So unless you go to Elysium, wouldn't it just be better to live forever in the Lotus Casino than to risk going to Asphodel?

[Assistant] No, it wouldn't be a good thing to be stuck in the Lotus Eater Casino. The reason you stay there isn't because you're happy or really enjoying the games and such things, it's because you're so drugged that you don't care anymore, you're not happy, you're apathetic. It's really similar to the fields of Asphodel in that regard. The main difference here is that the real life may end in the fields of Asphodel for you, but you could also end in any of the other options, whilst there are no other options when sticking with the Lotus Casino. Staying in the hotel is the same as a guaranteed trip to the Fields of Asphodel.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are people told to take the brace position when a plane crashes? Is there any truth in it helping you survive?

[Assistant] The brace position won't help you survive the kind of catastrophic crash you're imagining, but there's a very wide spectrum of crash severity before you get to that point. It will help you avoid injuries like whiplash, slamming your head, breaking your neck, being slammed down onto your spine after a brief freefall, and the like during hard landings, sudden jolts, sudden stops of a landing plane, or those kind of less-severe crashes.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does China have such undervalued currency and Qatar have the most overvalued currency while both being highly export dependent economy?

[Assistant]
When the United States went off the gold standard, the dollar basically replaced gold as the main asset in which foreign governments could hold their assets.

Dollar inflows from export sales are being converted into your currency, increasing its exchange rate. But by buying U.S. bonds or stocks, bid the price of dollars back up against your own currency. Lets say youre Germany, China or whoever. If you dont recycle your dollar receipts back to the U.S. economy, your currency is going to go up. Dollar inflows from export sales are being converted into your currency, increasing its exchange rate. But by buying U.S. bonds or stocks, bid the price of dollars back up against your own currency.

So, when the United States runs a balance-of-payments deficit under conditions where other countries keep their foreign reserves in dollars, the effect is for other countries to keep their currencies exchange rates stable  mainly by lending to the U.S. government. That gives the United States a free ride. It can encircle the world with military bases, and the dollars that this costs are returned to the United States.

The U.S. position is, in effect, that we are not going to repay any foreign country the dollar debt we owe them. As Treasury Secretary John Connolly said, Its our dollars, but your problem. Other countries have to pay us or else well bomb them. The military dimension to this arrangement is the U.S. position that it would be an act of war if other countries dont keep spending their export earnings on loans or U.S. stocks and bonds.

Thats what makes the United States the exceptional country. The value of our currency is based on other countries savings. The money they save has to be held in the form of dollars or securities that were never going to repay, even if we could.

This is a huge free ride. Youd think that Donald Trump would want to keep it going. But he claims that China is manipulating its currency by recycling its dollars into loans to the U.S. Treasury. What does he mean by that? China is earning a lot of dollars by exports its goods to the United States. What does it do with these dollars? It tried to do what America did with Europe and South America: It tried to buy American companies. But the United States blocked it from doing this, on specious national security grounds. The government claims that our national security would be threatened if China would buy a chain of filling stations, as it wanted to do in California. The United States thus has a double standard, claiming that it is threatened if China buys any company, but insisting on its right to buy out the commanding heights of foreign economies with its electronic dollar credit.

That leaves China with only one option: It can buy U.S. Treasury bonds, lending its export earnings to the U.S. Treasury.

China now realizes that the U.S. Treasury isnt going to repay. Even if it wanted to recycle its export earnings into Treasury bonds or U.S. stocks and bonds or real estate, Donald Trump now is saying that he doesnt want China to support the dollars exchange rate (and keep its own exchange rate down) by buying U.S. assets. Were telling China not to do what weve told other countries to do for the past forty years: to buy U.S. securities. Trump accuses countries of artificial currency manipulation if they keep their foreign reserves in dollars. So hes telling them, and specifically China, to get rid of their dollar holdings, not to buy dollars with their export earnings anymore.

So China is buying gold. Russia also is buying gold and much of the world is now in the process of reverting to the gold-exchange standard (meaning that gold is used to settle international payments imbalances, but is not connected to domestic money creation). Countries realize that theres a great advantage of the gold-exchange standard: Theres only a limited amount of gold in the worlds central banks. This means that any country that wages war is going to run such a large balance-of-payments deficit that its going to lose its gold reserves. So reviving the role of gold may prevent any country, including the United States, from going to war and suffering a military deficit.

The irony is that Trump is breaking up Americas financial free ride  its policy of monetary imperialism  by telling counties to stop recycling their dollar inflows. Theyve got to de-dollarize their economies.

The effect is to make these economies independent of the United States. Trump already has announced that we wont hire Chinese in our IT sectors or let Chinese study subjects at university that might enable them to rival us. So our economies are going to separate.

In effect, Trump has said that if we cant win in a trade deal, if we cant make other countries lose and become more dependent on U.S. suppliers and monopoly pricing, then were not going to sign an agreement. This stance is driving not only China but Russia and even Europe and other countries all out of the U.S. orbit. The end result is going to be that the United States is going to be isolated, without being able to manufacture like it used to do. Its dismantled its manufacturing. So how will it get by?

Some population figures were released a week ago showing the middle of America is emptying out. The population is moving from the Midwestern and mountain states to the East and the West coasts and the Gulf Coast. So Trumps policies are accelerating the de-industrialization of the United States without doing anything to put new productive powers in place, and not even wanting other countries to invest here. The German car companies see Trump putting tariffs on the imported steel they need to build cars in the United States. It built them here to get around Americas tariff barriers against German and other automobiles. But now Trump is not even letting them import the parts that they need to assemble these cars in the non-unionized plants theyve built in the South.

What can they do? Perhaps theyll propose a trade with General Motors and Chrysler. The Europeans will get the factories that American companies own in Europe, and give them their American factories in exchange.

This kind of split is occurring without any attempt to make American labor more competitive by lowering its cost of housing, or the price of its health insurance and medical care, or its transportation costs or the infrastructure costs. So America is being left high and dry as a high-priced economy in a nationalistic world, while running a huge balance-of-payments deficit to support its military spending all over the globe.


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

[User] ELI5: In the northern hemisphere, the shortest day of the year is in December. Why are January and February traditionally colder?

[Assistant]
The atmosphere is a pretty big volume. It takes a while to cool down from summer. It's not going to get the coldest on the day of the shortest day, it's gonna take time.

Then, as you approach spring, it lags behind in warming up, coming out of winter.


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

[User]
CMV: If the purge was real, the population of the US would significantly drop for the purge.

I saw the first Purge movie and hated it. Horrible movie, the characters were annoyingly stupid and I think the idea as a whole was pretty moronic.

If the purge was to actually happen, I believe that a good amount (meaning millions) of Americans would leave the country for the purge, wait it out and then come back.

Regardless of the type of behavior that is displayed on social media and on the news, a vast majority of people are decent and civil.

Most people do not need the most heinous crimes to be illegal for them to not commit it.

I think plenty of people would steal and rob from stores. But most people would not go out to beat, torture, rape and kill just because they can.

On the days leading up to the Purge, I think millions would be driving across the border to Canada. Others would probably take their chance in Mexico or Caribbean islands. Those with the means would undoubtedly be leaving fro Asia or Europe during that time.

[Assistant]
The point of the movie was that the wealthy have privledges to avoid The Purge that the poor dont have. Poor people dont have the luxury to just leave the country. And in the most recent purge movie Canada and Mexico open their borders for the first time to let innocent people in, suggesting that they closed their borders to Americans in the lead up to prior purges.
And also one of the points is that homeless and poor people are killed, hence why they said that homelessness was solvedbecause theyre all killed during the purge.
Finally its a dystopian movie where society has become more brutal, so the idea of most people are civil doesnt pertain to the movie because the point is that civilized people have a dark side that is allowed to come out once a year.
And one more thing, even if most of the people in society within the movie are good and dont kill, the movie is not going to fixate on that. If your dream is to rob Best Buy and snort cocaine in Central Square, its not as exciting on screen as people getting killed. Most of the people in this fictional America arent killing, theyre just not worth watching. Would you be excited to watch a slasher movie that showed characters sitting around eating food by themselves? No, you pay to watch people die and such.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is cache?

I want to clear my Spotify cache so the app works smoother, but I dont know what will happen if I do. Any explanations I try to find for cache dont provide enough information.

(edit) thanks yall! Glad to be graced by the tech gods.

[Assistant]
Pulling data from somewhere else into where the computer needs it can take a long time. If it's over the internet, it can also cost money. If that information isn't likely to change, or doesn't have to be up to date, you can keep it somewhere more convenient. After a while, or if you get some signal that the information has changed, you can update it, but you only have to go back to the inconvenient "source of truth" infrequently. This convenient store is called a "cache."

Sometimes, the information in the cache will be out of date, or partially out of date, in a way that the app needs to compensate for. "Clearing" the cache means telling it "forget all this, and when you need information, go look it up from the source of truth, and then write down that new value in the cache." So, "clearing" it isn't a permanent thing, it just means it starts building it from scratch again.


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

[User]
If an electron has a non-zero chance to be a very long distance from the atom, then doesn't the amount of atoms in the universe makes a certainity that there is at least one electron out there orbiting meters away from it's atoms?

Also, does this even matter, or the whole concept of the electron as a point particle that "is" somewhere is stupid?

[Assistant]
> the whole concept of the electron as a point particle that "is" somewhere is stupid?

I think that a better way of imagining the electron is as a localized wave. It does, after all, behave according to a modification of the wave equation.

Although people tend to talk in terms of the probability of finding an electron over here or over there, most actual physical processes do not resolve the position of the electron a volume much smaller than an atom. If you want to force the electron to collapse into a state where the entire wave is effectively localized into a very small volume, you have to hit it with something of very high energy, such as an x-ray or gamma ray.

Getting to your main question, if you did shoot an x-ray at an atom but 'missed' by a few bohr radii, you would still have a small chance of the x-ray scattering off of the electron. This probability decreases exponentially as one moves away from the center of the atom.

When people talk of the electron as a point particle, what is meant is that there does not appear to be any internal structure, or if there is, it must be contained in a small volume with a radius under 10^-18 m. So far there are no major indications of internal structure.


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

[User] ELI5: How does the pedometer know that I am walking and not just shaking my phone?

[Assistant]
If you looked at a graph of what the phone was recording as it moves you would quickly see patterns that were unique to walking.

The phone records how it's moving (accelerating) in 3 different directions. It also records the magnetic force in 3 directions like a 3 dimensional compass. A graph of this would look like 6 lines all waving around.

When you're walking you have a very rhythmic movement and it only happens in certain directions relative to the direction your phone is orientated in your pocket or bag. The same for climbing stairs and a load of other actions. The graphs of these actions will all have unique things about them that the phone can pick out to tell what you're doing. It's like recognising your voice - it's not perfect but it's getting very good.


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

[User]
Do different objects/substances feel colder based on their ability to transfer and absorb heat?

For example, a when I grab two objects after being left alone overnight one may feel colder, but they would be at the same temperature right? Like aluminum versus cloth, is it because the aluminum just absorbs my body heat faster and appears colder or how else would this work?

[Assistant] Basically yes, you have the right of it. You skin doesn't measure the temperature of substances you touch, but only whether you are losing heat or gaining heat and how quickly. The metal asborbs your heat quickly so you feel it more than the cotton which does not absorb heat as quickly (it may be so slow you don't feel it the change at all). You'll notice that the aluminum only feels cold for a few seconds before it reaches thermal equilibrium with your skin and then it doesn't feel cool anymore.


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

[User] ELI5: What are "second winds," really?; or, why do I go from exhausted to wired without sleeping or caffeinating?

[Assistant]
I am not a cell biologist, so this really will be "ELI5" and not "ELI a college student".

Your body has more than one source of energy. Some types are "easy to use, around all the time" that we use in day to day life. Some types are "harder to use, around only when you need it", that we use only when doing strenuous exercise. So when you start exercising, you start using the easy to use energy. After that's run out, you start using the hard to use energy. However, the switch over is not immediate, so you get quite tired between the two, but when the second type kicks in, you feel the "second wind".


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

[User]
[Halo] If the forerunners had at least class 12 combat armour, how could they lose to the flood?

Master Chief's armour (MJOLNIR) is only ranked at class 2. He could easily dispatch the flood. Forerunner civilians were required to wear class 8 at all times and the military had to wear class 12. How come, with technology so advanced, they were wiped out.

[Assistant]
The thing that makes the Flood dangerous is that they gain all knowledge of whoever they infect, which means they can use their technology. You know how you start running into Flood wielding human and Covenant weapons? Well the Flood back then would be wielding Forerunner weapons, which are powerful enough to breach Forerunner armor. Once they had a Gravemind, they would be directed to start putting on captured Forerunner armor as well.

Because they use your own tech against you, the Flood are dangerous no matter how advanced you are, because they're brought up to your own level. They can also corrupt AI, and a Gravemind is incredibly intelligent and a brilliant commander and strategist, meaning they can usually defeat you once you're on even footing tech-wise.

Also, the restrictions you mentioned only came into effect once the war was in full force. When the Flood first appeared, civilians walked around unarmored. This let the Flood infect the first planets with ease, and gave them the resources they needed to fight the Forerunner military.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can't they/won't they extinguish the "door to hell" in Derweze, Turkmenistan?

[Assistant] They could extinguish it for example with some explosion that would momentarily consume all the oxygen. But it's in the middle of nowhere and Turkmenistan already is very rich in natural gas, so they really haven't had strong incentive to do anything about it.


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

[User]
Why doesn't our heart get tired even after beating for our entire lifetime?

It essentially is a muscle, and exercising it continuously should get it tired, right?

[Assistant]
The heart is made of a different type of muscle cell: Cardiac muscle.

Unlike smooth and rough muscle (that makes up every other muscle in your body), cardiac muscle evolved to be tireless.

They have a lot more mitochondria than normal muscle, allowing them to produce more ATP. This prevents muscle fatigue.


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

[User] ELI5: Why aren't stainless steel countertops, like in restaurant kitchens, magnetic, but stainless steel knives are?

[Assistant]
Mechanical engineer here (some material engineer might come around and give a better explanation):

It all has to do with the crystalline composition of your Stainless Steel. Most of the Stainless steel is made of Ferritic SS, which is cheap to fabricate and can be transform quite easily. Austenitic SS is the most corrosion resistant steel and is mostly used for specific application. The 304 series are usually used for Food grade purpose for example. Both of them are non magnetic.

Mastensitic SS is highly durable, very hard and easy to machine. Those 3 properties makes it very good for kitchen knives. It is also (almost?) the only type of SS that is magnetic.

Hope that helps.


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

[User]
Can you actually make a plastic gun? [X-men]

A common human tactic to counter Magneto's powers seems to usually involve plastic guns that shoot plastic bullets or darts. Is this possible? Would it even do any significant damage?

[Assistant]
There are plenty of modern day polymers that are as hard as metal, so yes, a plastic gun is both possible, and can even be printed on a 3D printer.

Non metallic rounds are a bit or of a challenge, but if the only purpose is short range non-armor defeating anti-personnel rounds, in other words, they only have to penetrate flesh and do damage, then there are lots of non-metal materials that will do just fine.


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

[User] [Game of Thrones TV] Stannis and Cerci both died massively in debt to the Iron Bank. How much trouble are Bram and Gentry in?

[Assistant] Probably none. When you back one side of a war, part of the risk is losing your investment if that side loses. You can hardly go to the winning side and ask back the money you gave the person they just defeated who you supported.


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

[User]
[MCU] Given the sorry state of the world, who handles superhuman response now?

I was in an accident at the lab I worked at and I can 'change' things with a metal wand now. Well, their molecules.

The world's a rotten place and I'm trying to figure things out, so if a bank door gets turned into hydrogen and I leave with money to help with my needs, who's eventually going to stop me?

Should I stop while I'm ahead?

[Assistant]
>who's eventually going to stop me?

Regular cops, unless that lab accident gave you jedi bullet blocking powers as well. Turning stuff into other stuff is great and all but it's not going to stop some cop or security guard with an itchy trigger finger, or if the situation warrants it, a sniper from the building across the street from putting a bullet in you.

The ATCU and SHIELD still exist in the US to handle dangerous super threats that regular law enforcement can't handle, presumably other countries have developed similar agencies to respond to their own domestic threats.


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

[User]
[Interstellar] (This is a spoiler, so i'm just going to ask half the question here:) How did Cooper encode so much data...

...into that watch?  Was it playing out a loop?  What are the mechanics of the watch that it could be manipulated by gravity and still readable by the time Murph transforms into Jessica Chastain?

[Assistant] It wasnt that much data, evnidently small enough to transphere it by morse. And yes, it was playing in a loop. And the mechanics he manipulated, well, he created a local gravity disturbance that shifted so the arm moved back and forth. How long the disturbance or anomaly will continue is unknown, maybe only untill the clock breaks.


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

[User] ELI5:Why doesn't a bleeding hemorrhoid get infected when its exposed to feces?

[Assistant]
They can and sometimes do. But the lining of the intestines is very rich in lymphoid tissue. White blood cells can quickly access the area and contain the infection. Additionally, any infections arising from this area are likely to be not aggressive as we have lived with those bacteria our whole lives. In a manner of speaking, over time our gut essentially selects fauna that are 'good' and do stuff that helps our body like absorbs vitamins that we cant naturally do. At some level, the bad bacteria are outcompeted by the good ones. So the likelihood of an aggressive infection due to feces is less compared to a wound getting infected due to outside exposure.

EDIT: There are parasites and bacteria transmitted via feces, im sure these conditions would be aggravated by having hemorrhoids.