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

[User]
[Star Wars] Can force push be lethal on it's own?

I've seen jedi throw people at some pretty harsh velocities, would it possible to just push someone so hard that it kills them almost like a force punch or something?

[Assistant]
(Legends)

Darth Bane once hit another Sith lord with a powerful "force push" that would have liquefied him if he hadn't shielded himself. Bane was an extremely powerful force user, but what you propose isn't completely outside of the realm of possibility.


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

[User]
How do Olympiads keep breaking world records? Won't there come a point where they can be broken no longer?

I understand that technology has improved training immensively, swimsuits, nutrition, and training regimes, but eventually the human potential physically has to be reached, doesn't it?

[Assistant]
Of course there *is* a limit, but the limit can be pushed further and further with the proper technology, diet and training. Maybe someone discovers a new technique for sprinting, or a better way to propel yourself at the start of the race. Or a new method of acceleration? Or perhaps someone discovers a diet that gives the sprinter a slight advantage. And then there's the occasional genetically exceptional athlete.

It's pretty difficult to truly know when we've hit the limit. Athletes have been steadily improving over the last 100 years. If we're still pretty much in the same place in 30 years with regards to world records, there's a pretty good chance we're nearing our limits.

But who says we can't host transhumanist Olympics?


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

[User]
[Batman v Superman] Why is the bat brand a death sentence for criminals?

If anything you'd think it'd be worth some prison clout. "Yeah, I got taken down by the bat himself. Even got a couple hits in on the fucker."

[Assistant]
Lex luthor has them killed, as part of his plan to push Batman to darker extremes by giving him a deniable, indirect way of killing people and ultimately turn him against superman.

This is only explained in the ultimate edition of the film, but it makes it make sense.


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

[User]
[Avengers: Infinity War] How does Stormbreaker heal Thor?

When Thor is dying after holding open the door to the star, Eitri says he needs the axe in order to be healed, and indeed, we see that once he has Stormbreaker, he is restored to full health. How does simply holding Stormbreaker heal him, especially since Thor says earlier that holding Stormbreaker requires immense strength (and thus likely causes a lot of strain to ones body)?

[Assistant] The king weapons that Odin (Gungnir) and later Thor (Stormbreaker) wield help them to summon and control the Odin Force. It flows from the Tree of Life and grants the king of Asgard incredible strength and powers, among which are increased durability, strength and accelerated healing beyond their already considerable attributes as royal Asgardians.


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

[User]
Why does "freezer burn" have a smell and taste to it?

Food items that have been in a freezer for a few weeks seem to smell and taste differently when the containers they're in are covered with frost. What would cause this ice to make the food smell or taste differently from an item that has only been in the freezer for a day or two? This seems to happen regardless of what freezer the food is in.

[Assistant]
"Freezer burn" is a problem where repeated slight thawing and freezing (opening/closing the door frequently, smaller freezers, et cetera) have leached the fluids out of food products and into the ice crystals.  The change in taste is due to the cells being ruptured in this process, and the change in liquid content.

This problem is less common in freezers that are kept at more static temperature for long periods of time - freezers that aren't opened and are large enough/well insulated enough to maintain temperature.


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

[User]
[General Fantasy] Are orcs and goblins inherently evil, or am I just racist?

I've seen a lot of historical documentaries where orcs, goblins, and the 'lesser' races are the villains, and side with the evil overlords.

Are they inherently evil, or is it more a cultural bias towards genocide?

[Assistant]
Assuming you're a human who lives in the following universes.

Lord of the Rings

> Orcs are about as evil as it gets. They're born of corruption and hate everything that's "good".

Elder Scrolls

> Orcs aren't exactly well-liked, but they're certainly not evil. And they're not as bad as those filthy Khajiit. You're probably a bit racist.

Warcraft

> Orcs are stupid, warmongering bastards who used to serve the Demons and have been trying to wipe us out ever since. Join the Alliance and go help take back Azeroth.

Warhammer Fantasy

> Orcs are a plague that only enjoy death and destruction. They're not as bad as the accursed Chaos, but they're certainly not much better.


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

[User] Why are there so few 3-legged animals, if any?

[Assistant]
Animals (Plants, Fungi) generally exhibit some type of symmetry. While there are some asymmetric animals (sponges) they're usually radial (symmetric about an axis) or bilateral (symmetric about a plane) although comb jellies (cousins of the jellyfish) are biradial, a combination of both.

As a result, the odd numbered designs are few and typically radial. Flowers with 5, 7, 9, etc. petals for instance. Radially symmetric animals are limited given that movement implies a direction and that usually requires a front. With the exception of those jellyfish, not many animals can afford to have a front (indicative of bilateral symmetry) as well as radiating outward from an axis orthogonal to the bilateral axes.

Ultimately, the answer to your question comes down to genetics, somehow. Natural selection decided that symmetry breeds the better [read: more specialized] animal, particularly bilateral symmetry. This may very well have to do with the stability of a genetic code for mirror images being useful redundancies for each other.

From more of an engineer's perspective: a three legged stool will never wobble. If this theoretical animal needs three legs to stand, when it lifts a foot to move it is now falling. Humans and other bipeds have an incredible amount of leverage built into our bodies to maintain our stance and a good deal of it does come down to controlled falling. But a quadruped can walk and always have three legs to stand on, making it far more stable, unless compared with an insect, which can move one tripod while standing on another.


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

[User] ELI5: What affects the price of gold?

[Assistant] What people are willing to pay for it. It is a commodity with reliable value that people generally use to park their money during economic downturns. If the market is not doing well, Gold tends to rise a bit, if the market is doing well it tends to fall a bit. That being said the price doesn't really yo-yo like other things in the market. It's very stable.


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

[User] ELI5: What is fuzzy logic and how is it that it's found in missiles and rice cookers?

[Assistant]
Traditional logic only knows two states: True or False. Is the rice cooker hot enough? If yes, turn off the heating element, and if not, turn it on.

Fuzzy logic can also express to what extent a statement is true on a sliding scale. Is the rice cooker hot enough? No, but it's close, so turn down the heating element a bit.

In a lot of control systems that extra information can be beneficial because it allows the control logic to make better decisions. In the rice cooker for example the heating element has a certain amount of thermal mass, and even if you turn it off, it will remain hot for a few moments and continue to heat the rice even without power going to it.

That means you will overshoot the desired temperature by a bit if you keep it powered at 100% until you reach the target temperature. And if you keep it at 0% until the temperature falls below the target, the heating element will need a few moments to heat up when you do turn it on, so there's going to be undershoot as well. So instead of maintaining a constant 60C to keep the rice warm, the actual temperature may oscillate between 57C and 63C. If the controller is smart enough to reduce the output of the heating element when it approaches the target temperature, there's not going to be as much overshoot.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can someone take a picture of a solar system 50 million light years away, but not a coin sized rock on the surface of the moon.

I recently saw a photo somebody posted of a galaxy 50 million light years away. I have always wondered, why doesnt he point it at the moon or even a planet 10 light years away and see the surface up close? We might see water or certain organisms. I have yet to see a picture like that in my lifetime. Thanks in advance for the answer.

[Assistant]
a) the star is actively sending out light, it is shining while the surface of a planet only reflects a tiny bit of light back out

b) the star is several million times larger than a rock on a planet, so even if the planet is something "close" like one in Alpha Centauri, the size/distance ratio still favors the star.

c) planets have atmospheres. hard to see through clouds from above (which is part of the reason we send those rovers to mars, to land there and take pics from there)


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

[User] ELI5: How do 'adult teeth' know when to erupt?

[Assistant] The adult crown forms in the bone, under the primary teeth from a tooth bud. As the root structure develops it pushes the adult crown upwards which puts pressure on the roots of the primary teeth causing the roots to resorb. Eventually there is no root structure left on the primary tooth and it falls out. The roots of the adult tooth continue to develop pushing it all the way into the mouth. Not everyone gets all of their adult teeth, some get extra adult teeth, it all depends on how many tooth buds you have, and that is determined by genetics.


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

[User]
What did Theodor W. Adorno mean by "There can be no poetry after Auschwitz."

Hi, I'm really interested in learning more about philosophy so I started with this quote I heard some time ago. I know Auschwitz was a brutality but what does it have to do with poetry?

[Assistant]
What Adorno argues is that after the Holocaust, a certain form of artistic expression became inadequate to connect with or describe the reality of the world. Poetry, an art of hinting at something, allusion through metaphor etc. cannot adequately express the reality of the industrialization of the murder of millions of people. For Adorno, a type of sparse, realistic prose, almost like a listing of facts, might however be able to be a testimony to the extremely horrible reality of Auschwitz.

That this is an argument very much concerned with aesthetics becomes clear when you look at Zizek's response to Adorno (not saying he is correct, but his argument highlights the focus): Adornos famous saying, it seems, need correction: it is not poetry that is impossible after Auschwitz, but rather prose. Realistic prose fails, where the poetic evocation of the unbearable atmosphere of a camp succeeds. That is to say, when Adorno declares poetry impossible (or, rather, barbaric) after Auschwitz, this is impossibility is an enabling impossibility: poetry is always, by definition, about something that cannot be addressed directly, only alluded to. (*Violence: Six sideways reflections*)


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

[User]
Is a country a ship of Theseus?

The ship of Theseus asks, 'If Theseus' ship has every single part of it replaced over time so that nothing of the original material remains, is it still the same ship? If those old parts are reconstructed into a new ship based old design once they had been removed, would that be the Theseus' ship?'

My question is does that concept apply to a country. The people who founded the country over time perish or emigrate and are replaced by their children and new immigrants.  Can those people still claim to live in the country that their ancestors founded, simply because the structure of that country has not changed, even though the people who compose it have? Similarly if by some miracle, those people somehow came back to life or otherwise returned, and founded a country under the same name with the same rules and, (for arguments sake), the same geography, would that be the true country?

[Assistant] Yeah, the ship of Theseus thought experiment raises more broadly the question of what makes anything the same thing over time. It's about the very idea of identity, so you can ask that question about many things that we think of as having a continuing identity over time.


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

[User]
[Legend of Korra] The Equalists wanted to eliminate all bending. Do they not know how much of the infrastructure relies on bending?

Take the power plant, as example. All of Republic City is powered by firebenders directing lightning. If you wipe out the benders, there is no electricity.

[Assistant]
Yes and good riddance.

The equalits believed that bending was a facilitator of oppression of non-benders. The infrastructure brought about by bending, therefore, is designed in such a way as provide the most benefits to benders.

The equalists reckoned that after the established bender dominance hierarchy was abolished, new infrastructure would be set up and that this infrastructure would not only be more equal, but more efficient. But to the average equalist, theyll cross that bridge when they get there. Right now, a revolution must be fought and the old establishment, abolished before the utopia can be achieved. And it doesnt matter how far theyre willing to go in order to achieve that new state.


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

[User]
CMV: antagonizing/trolling/ostracizing racists does not help anything.

30 years ago, making racists look like fools (see Sacha Baron Cohen's recent stunt), firing them for racist remarks, and ostracizing them from society might have worked in forcing them to realize they are in the wrong. Today, however, I feel like the internet give these people an opportunity to sow more hatred.

A person fired for a racist tweet can go online and find 200 more just like him and echo-chamber away until they are full of (truly) dangerous venom.

These actions against racist/prejudice/ignorant racists push them to the edge, and a desparate racist is frightening.

I would like nothing more than to put these less-than humans in their place, but I have to think there are better (read: effective) ways of doing it.

[Assistant]
>A person fired for a racist tweet can go online and find 200 more just like him and echo-chamber away until they are full of (truly) dangerous venom.

This environment exists whether they experience consequences for their racism or not.

Our options are that either these people get to meet racist friends online and then get to be racist in public without consequence, OR they meet racist friends online but they can't be racist in public without fear of consequence.


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

[User]
How can people have long hair?

I'm in my "growing long hair and beard" phase (at 24) and this question popped up in my head. If you lose around 100 hair strands (as they say)  a day after a while your hair would be short again even without a hair cut right? How come people still can have long hair for a very long time without losing it? If you lose a strand the new one will never catch up with your already long strands. It might be a slow process but after 2-3 years you would lose almost all of your long strands.

[Assistant]
Yes, you lose hair.  Even if it's lost from the root, rather than broken off, the rest of your hair is still growing at this time.  This results in an equilibrium distribution of hair length, which will have some very long hairs, and some very short hairs, and a whole bunch in between, so no, your hair as a whole doesn't get short again, though individual hairs may.

Numbers: 100000 strands of hair per head.  100 lost per day.  Growth of 1.25 cm / month = 0.4 mm / day.

At equilibrium, hair lost = hair gained.  We can thus solve for the average size shed:  l * 100 = (100000 - 100) \* 0.4 mm => l = 999 \* 0.4 mm ~= 40 cm.

This isn't the limiting factor.  In reality, there are other complications.  For instance, hair also has "resting phases", which are about 10-15% of the time.   Longer hair is more likely to get snagged, increasing the hair lost.  Hair can be broken, rather than shed from the root.

> If you lose a strand the new one will never catch up with your already long strands.

Again, hair has "resting phases", so ones still growing can catch up.


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

[User] How Quickly Do Drugs 'Expire' After Their Listed Expiration Dates?

[Assistant] It depends on the molecule and how it's stored. Expiry dates are chosen based on an accelerated stability model, the pills are stressed, with heat, humidity, etc... and an Arrhenius model is used to estimate actual stability under label storage conditions. Then, a conservative date based on the predicted stability time is assigned. Most drugs don't become poison after they expire, they merely lose some potency.


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

[User]
[MCU] What is the next step for the Iron Man suit?

Two things I can think of are:

1. A mobile bank of more nanobots, to replenish his suits store, should he need to. This is a weakness of the Mk. 50, as we know. It can only stretch itself so thin before he becomes exposed and/or loses firepower. This new development could be anything from an orbital box that can send a stream down to him and follow him if he does interplanetary. To an Iron Legion V2.0 that just hangs around to feed into his suit. He might also just have a certain number of nanobot ppm of air hanging around for a few miles radius around him in every direction, ready to repair/augment the suit as if the matter came out of thin air.

2. Self-sustaining nanotech suit. He instructs some bots hunt around and harvest necessary elements for the suit out of the environment and deliver them to him as needed. as long as hes in a Earth or earth-like environment, he can never run out of bots.

[Assistant] OK, just putting it out there that a swarm of Tony's nanobots a few miles wide is an exceptionally powerful and frightening thing.  Controlling a swarm like that he wouldn't need any suit, he could just command his miniature army to disassemble his enemies from the inside.  It's a half step away from the 'grey goo' scenario where nanobots end us all by disassembling everything to make more nanobots.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How does Vader stay angry and hateful all the time without throwing occasional tantrums like Kylo Ren?

Does he meditate to achieve some kind of tantric anger state?

[Assistant]
Darth Vader isn't a bitch.

Darth Vader is the second most powerful person in the galaxy. There is almost nothing that isn't under his control, and those few situations that escape his grasp are usually fixed with a Force Choke or two. His anger is channeled not into impotent temper tantrums, but into despotic, iron-handed rule.

I think Vader also learned a lot from his battle with Obi Wan. Anakin *was* a bitch, and in the end he lost everything. It did him no good to whine or complain. Obi Wan doesn't respect me! The Jedi Counsel doesn't value me! Padme is taller than me!

All of that complaining gained Anakin precisely nothing, and that part of his personality burned away in the fires of Mustafar. In its place was nothing but cold calculation and quiet, seething, terrifying rage.


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

[User]
ELI5: The basic differences between the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs.

If you wouldn't mind sacrificing some of your time, I'd appreciate it.

[Assistant]
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to AD 250), according to the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state of development during the Classic period (c. AD 250 to 900), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish.

The Inca Empire or Inka Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century.

From the 13th century, the Valley of Mexico was the heart of Aztec civilization: here the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the city of Tenochtitlan, was built upon raised islets in Lake Texcoco. The Triple Alliance formed a tributary empire expanding its political hegemony far beyond the Valley of Mexico, conquering other city states throughout Mesoamerica.

TL;DR Differences: Different people, different places. Mayans came before the others.


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

[User] How does the internal body maintain a temp of 37 (98.6F) degrees Celsius without difficult yet any temperature over, say, ~26 (~80F) degrees Celsius is seemingly hot and causes a sweat (cooling) response in most, despite the internal temperature being much higher?

[Assistant] Basically, your body is an engine. Our bodily functions produce heat. If we kept all the heat, we'd cook ourselves and die. We need to get rid of the excess heat. In room temperature-ish conditions, enough heat leaves our body to the air without sweat. When the temperature is hotter, less heat is transferred from our skin to the environment (heat flow is proportional to temperature difference). We need a new method to shed the extra heat that's not flowing into the air. The body then sweats, with extra heat being taken away by evaporating water.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] When Mace Windu ended the party, why did he threaten Jango Fett instead of Dooku with his lightsaber?

Dooku should have been the bigger threat, being a Sith Lord and all.

[Assistant]
He knew Dooku would talk to him.

The sabre was his way to say to Jango "you just stand there and be quiet while the force users organise the fate of the galaxy".

Makes sense, since Jango is specifically hired for combat.


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

[User]
What is it like to study philosophy as an undergraduate?

So I want to know what the experience of studying philosophy is like for people. For some reason I feel "called" to study philosophy more deeply and I assume that studying in a university setting would be the best place to do this.

My inquiry isn't concerned with the practical aspects of getting a degree, going to graduate school, career, or employment. I'm more curious about the quality of the education, what topics would likely to be covered, what skills would be developed, as well as the the things people liked *and* disliked about studying philosophy in school.

How is it different from studying philosophy on your own? Is there something special to be gained from studying it academically that cannot be gained on ones own? And perhaps the most general question: what did you learn?

[Assistant]
It's pretty awesome. In terms of work load, even fairly rigorous philosophy programs won't be as straining as doing, say, engineering or computer science. Of course, you will have work to do and you will have to work very hard to get high grades, but the work itself isn't painful, mainly because there is virtually no brute repetition required. Philosophical learning does not require rote memorization, and neither does a lot of the grading (thank goodness)!

In undergrad, you basically learn about the landscape of philosophy. You learn about the history of philosophy, who said what, and your course syllabuses give you an idea of what is relevant in the field. That's why learning philosophy on your own informally is quite difficult; you don't know what to focus on.

You get to read primary texts and understand them. Reading primary texts in philosophy without professional guidance is remarkably difficult. Doing an undergrad in philosophy gives you the necessary context to even begin seeing the point of the texts, and to begin seeing how all the ideas connect up in one bigger picture.

The skills you'll develop are serious reading comprehension skills (this is huge) and writing skills. You'll learn how to extract arguments from texts and *not miss the point* or say something irrelevant in response. (In everyday life, you'll likely be shocked at how frequently people miss the point of something, and how much misery, suffering and anger is caused due only to basic misunderstandings among people.) Ideally, you learn to *be intellectually charitable* (huge), and learn to be very open-minded. The open-mindedness, really, comes from being repeatedly humbled by ideas you've never thought of and analyses that go over your head because you really aren't as smart as you think you are!


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

[User]
I really messed up...Second Bachelors or pursue Grad School?

I messed it all up....my undergrad that is. I had a fucked up family situation, nothing tragic, just toxic and damaging and destructive to my time, energy, and commitment. I graduated from a big 10 school with a BS in Animal Science and a GPA of about 2.5. I don't want to work in AnSci, I regret my college decisions and I want to start over in a new field, I'm considering engineering (yes I know how hard it is, my husband is a ChemE and in his PhD now). I don't believe there is ANY possible way for me to get into a grad program, as my GPA and references are bleak. I'm 25 now, older, wiser, more committed, but most importantly, my toxic family is no longer a part of my life. I know I can do better.

Is a second BS a valid way to make amends? If I wanted to go to grad school after a second BS would this be an appropriate step?

[Assistant]
1) Determine interests
2) Determine goal position/job
3) Without thinking about your current position and age, determine shortest possible route to attain objectives

4) Talk with your SO about the financial repercussions and assure yourself of their commitment to support you through previously designated shortest route to your self-defined success

5) Engage.

Good luck

Always remind yourself that what we perceive as "lost time" is a purely financial standpoint that resides in intrinsically social constructions that are devoid of real value. The money you will make working in a field you are passionnate about will radically outvalue the net financial loss implied by longer education; that is without even talking about the unquantifiable enhancement of your quality of life.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does squinting help your vision?

[Assistant] Works like a pinhole camera. Basically, blur happens to things based on distance, if you're looking at something close, far things will be blurred, if you're looking at something far, close things will get blurred. By reducing the area of where light enters your eye, you are squeezing together the light, meaning all the distance info gets smushed, allowing you to see things further away more clearly, this effect is greatly amplified for those that wear glasses (like me).


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

[User]
CMV: If America really wants illegal immigrants out in order to preserve American jobs and save American tax dollars, America should take measures to reduce demand for illegal workers, rather than fight against the incentives by trying to keep them out.

Here is an exchange between a friend of mine and myself, which he abandoned :(, in which I outline what I think would be a reasonable alternative strategy to wallbuilding and fix for some of the employment/economic problems of US immigration enforcement. I would like to continue the conversation with you all and invite commentary about the potential pitfalls of my design (as I do not believe it is at all the overall best solution to the immigration/employment problem, merely a system that could potentially work given the aims outlined in my title, in a vacuum), as well as direct opposition on the basis of a wall or different priorities being somehow better than this approach.  My assumption is that a physical barrier isn't effective at keeping people out, if there is sufficient incentive for them to get in. I realize my friend's argument isn't the most cohesive so I am really only including it for context on the premise. Thanks for reading.

Friend:

Have you ever worked with anyone that shouldnt be in America? Ill tell you a story about a guy named Luis. He can claim tax exempt. Has free healthcare. Gets EBT, I know because this is how he bought lunch one day. \[Il\]legitimately taking a job of an unemployed legal American. Working in the construction field for over 10 years has opened my eyes to the fact that no ones cares they are here they just want everything to be fair. Same healthcare opportunities, same taxes, same pay. But what I have seen is that contractors get what they pay for. Sloppy work and constant call backs. But in reference to the wall. Why does one build a fence? Is it to keep the nonsense out or keep the dog in? I say get rid of the what ifs about the wall. Build it first to keep the President's promise. I believe he was asking for a little more than 2 billion for it out of a budget in the trillions. Best case scenario is we just put people to work. Essentially giving the money back to the people. Build it. Kill the argument.

My response:

My counter-proposal to your anti-immigrant sentiment is to hold the unpatriotic employers of illegal workers accountable for their illegal employment practices. If there is genuinely an American ready and willing to take a job currently being held by someone without documents, the employer of that illegal worker is culpable for cutting his fellow American out of the workforce. The employer should pay the taxes, and the benefits, and the healthcare for every illegal employee that can be proven on their payroll- as they would typically with any other employee- and pay the equivalent of a median unemployment salary for the American he has disenfranchised, and pay fines on top of it to fund enforcement of the law. That would fix every complaint \^ you have about Luis except his shoddy workmanship...  It would remove the incentive for employers to utilize illegal labor through strict penalties. It would shift the tax burden from everyone to just the law breakers. If employers stopped employing illegal labor, it would reduce demand and not as many people would come here. Once all that deterrent is in place, we just need to enforce everything better. Perhaps you are asking why I would prefer to punish the American businesses and not punish the immigrants? The answer to that is that the immigrants mostly have no power and nothing to take away. If an immigrant comes here and works illegally, they only have their wages. If we take the job away from them, they can't pay fines, or taxes. Jailing and deporting them costs us money, not them. It's better to remove the incentive for them to be here, and have them go away on their own, or follow the proper channels (revise the VISA program, but maintain the onus of tracking on employers?) and get in legally. If you really want to solve this problem, that's the way you do it. As long as there is demand, and incentive for people to come here illegally, and for employers to employ them illegally without sufficient deterrent, people are going to find a way.

[Assistant]
You have the right idea, but you are missing the big reason why it hasn't worked so far, and is unlikely to work anytime soon.  Also why the government won't go for it.

The problem is as always money.  Companies must be profitable or investors will refuse to give them the money they need to expand and grow.  And with the power that Wall Street now has, this is actually magnified to a huge degree.  (I know everyone likes to blame 'big business' for many of the ills of society, but its actually 'big money' that drives the decisions since upset Wall Street investors can destroy a CEO's career.)  So companies find that due to the massive amount of competition from overseas factories, they need to drive their own costs down if they are to stay profitable.

But the US and State governments, in an attempt to protect workers have put in so many laws that many low level jobs are actually a detriment to the company.  These are positions they need to fill, but that cost them far more than any benefit they receive.  Yes, you could say the fact that they don't get fined for having unsanitary bathrooms is a huge benefit, but the reality is that unless someone complains, they are unlikely to get fined.  still a clean bathroom means happier and hopefully more productive employees, so you pay for janitors.  There are many other jobs like this, where the immediate benefit is very low, but there is a financial reason to employ people.  Its just the cost of complying with government regulations makes the price for filling these roles very expensive.

So companies look for ways around the problem.  They figured out long ago that illegal immigrants are far more likely to accept low pay, poor working conditions and unreasonable demands, since the illegal immigrant isn't able to complain to the government.  (they'd be deported even if the company does get fined.)  So many companies are quite happy to ignore the law.

And government doesn't enforce it.  Which falls into 2 categories.  The Rethugican side doesn't because they love business and want to make big business happy, and big business wants to have cheap labor.  The Demonrats don't enforce it because they see these immigrants as exploited people who will merrily vote for them in all future elections, giving the D party near permanent control over the government.

The people lose.

So while I'd love to agree with you on punishing the businesses.  The problem is first you have to break Wall Street's power so that CEOs and other executives are willing to look for a long term solution to their labor needs and not just looking for the quickest way to save money.  But to do that you'll need to break the back of big government and remove a lot of regulations that manage to drive the cost of hiring a person up so high that having someone who is desperate and scared working for your company is a benefit, even if it is illegal.

then you can enforce the labor laws without having a mutiny that would get to Wall Street and immediately work to crash the government.

Its a vicious cycle and yes, the wall isn't the best way to fix it.  But all the better ways are politically impossible at the moment.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is the amount of wealth which exists in the world a constant? If I gain more wealth, is someone else somewhere loosing money?

I just want to know like if above is not the case if it is increasing or decreasing, is it possible that everyone will be rich or poor someday?

[Assistant]
Wealth is generally increasing because value is increasing, primarily because people use their labor to turn natural resources into valuable things. Suppose you went out into the woods and built yourself a cabin. By making a place to live, you've improved your life and your wealth (if you decided to sell the cabin, it would be worth a lot more than selling the plot of land before the cabin was erected). But you didn't have to take away anyone's home to make your own. Even if you had to pay the person who originally owned the trees you cut down, the value of the cabin would still be greater than the value of the trees. There ARE absolutely ways to enrich yourself by depriving someone else, but most economic activity is productive rather than redistributive.

That said, it's unlikely we'll reach a state where everyone is considered "rich". Rich and poor are relative concepts, and many people who are considered poor today have more resources than people who would have been considered rich long ago.


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

[User]
We know human body is quite full of water (~2/3) but is that ratio above average among other animals? And which animals have the most and least amount of water in their body compared to their size?

The title.

[Assistant]
The least amount of water is probably in clams and other bivalves, whose shells constitute about 70% of their body mass. The shells are calcium carbonate on an organic matrix and have no water.

Jellyfish are probably the most watery creatures, at 95% water.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does water fry electronics?

[Assistant] Electronics have defined paths through which electricity has to flow. These paths are designed such that there is always a regulated flow of electrons from low potential to high potential. This flow also generates heat due to resistance and electrons colliding into each other. Water is usually not pure and conducts electricity. When it is spilled over these paths, it creates short cuts for electrons to flow unregulated. This creates a lot of heat and causes the components to melt. This damages the electronics and "fries" them.


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

[User] [WH40k] I want to open a animal fighting pit. Is this legal and does it break any heresy laws?

[Assistant]
Not only is it legal, it's very popular.

In one of the Ravenor novels (I think), they infiltrate a giant gladiator arena/circus/animal fighting pit called the Carnivora, where all sorts of exotic creatures from across the galaxy are displayed/fought/eaten

Now, in order to procure all sorts of exotic predators, you'll likely have to deal with Rogue Traders and all sorts of other unsavory characters who dwell on the fringes of the Imperium, even Xenos. That is where it gets complicated.


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

[User]
Do veins grow in the same configuration in most/all people? That is, will my neighbor's veins branch in the same places/same way as mine?

Obviously human bodies have variation, but most people are born with two eyes, two hands, ten fingers, etc. which are all in the same places. Does this apply to veins, too, or do they vary in the number of places they branch/particular places they branch? I guess this question can apply to other parts of the body, too, like the nervous system...

[Assistant] The major vessels have a pretty much identical branching pattern in terms of where and how often, which is a pain in the arse to learn in anatomy courses, believe me. Same holds for nerves. If you look at the small vessels supplying the tissue directly, things get more random, again for innervation.


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

[User]
[Marvel] If vibranium can absorb all energy that it comes into contact with, how can it be used to make things?

Assumably if you put it in the forge, it absorbs the heat energy with no problem. Hit it with a hammer, same thing happens. How could anything be done with a material which can absorb any energy like a sponge?

[Assistant]
Vibranium *can* absorb all incoming energy, but it won't do so unless it's been manufactured correctly. It can also do a lot of other weird stuff, like explode, or generate magnetic fields that levitate things.

Also, there's a form of vibranium known as "anti-metal" that cuts through other metals on contact, even other Vibranium (it's not doing so by physical force, it dissolves the molecular bonds on contact. Black Panther's claws are made of this stuff, and it's able to damage Captain America's shield. Tools made of this could obviously be used to work even the toughest forms of Vibranium.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does liquid at room temperature taste warm but food at room temperature tastes cold?

[Assistant]
Well, it's a matter of expectations. And it's not a matter of liquid vs solid.

If you drink a room temperature Pepsi, it will seem warm, because you're used to it being served cold. If you have a coffee at room temperature it will seem cold because you're used to it being served hot.

I am sure you've eaten potato chips at room temperature. Did they seem cold to you? Probably not, because you're used to eating them at that temperature. If you are used to eating cheese straight out of the fridge, room temperature cheese will seem quite warm.


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

[User] [Tron] Did the ISOs exist in the original film or was that fabricated for Tron Legacy? And how did Quorra go to the real world?

[Assistant] It's stated in Legacy that the ISOs appeared after the original movie. They might have existed prior be they were not known to Flinn. Quorra got to the real world the same way a human would. The machine that Derezzes basically built her a body in the real world.


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

[User]
[Predator] How did a species with such poor senses become obsessed with hunting?

It's been a long time since I visited the lore, so maybe their history explains this.

But from all movie appearances,  Yautja appear to have very poor eyesight, and their senses of smell and hearing don't seem impressive. These senses are absolutely vital for becoming a good hunter. Regardless of the evolutionary pressures that encouraged these traits, it seems clear they'd make poor hunters in the ancient days.

So how did their culture shift towards aggression and hunting? Was the basis for the shift purely technological? Or has their species always been highly aggressive, despite these handicaps? Do they have other senses that makeup for the lack of acuity of their vision? Like the lateral lines of a shark?

[Assistant]
I think the comic lore of the Yautja is that they were a slave race before overthrowing their slavers and stealing their technology. Before they were free and had the tech, there wasn't an opportunity for them to hunt. Once they violently overthrew their captors and potentially genocide the whole other race, they had the technology to assist them in hunts.

I don't think that their hunting culture evolved until after they already had the technology to make up for their biological weaknesses. Their current society was born from a violent revolution, so it makes sense that they would maintain a warrior/hunter mentality.


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

[User]
Does anyone think universities are going to divide into a North v South* type response to coronavirus in the fall?

*let me preface that its not strictly north v south, conservative v liberal, I think its way more complicated than this I just need to fit it in the question!

So with enrollment kicking off Ive seen college marketing kick off and there seems to be a distinct divide. Many community colleges seem mostly virtual, many northern colleges seem to be emphasizing still maintaining Covid protocols in the fall (emphasize safety) whereas many southern universities (including mine) are advertising back to normal, no masks or distancing required.

Now....a whole lot can happen between now and then. The pandemic could die out, the pandemic to could rage up again, vaccines could be as easy as to get as just walking into a CVS. With multi-million dollar music festivals announcing September dates, I feel rather optimistic for a rather complete return to normal.

For the record, my university is a major vaccine distribution site, so I have zero doubt that any student who wants one wont be able to get a shot come summer orientation time even.

But does anyone think we are heading towards an odd divide between less cautious and more cautious schools..and whatever political/social divide that may cause.

[Assistant] Nope. Blue state here. We are losing massive amounts of money as it is. We will 100% be open for business in the fall (key word in the sentence: b u s i n e s s). Unis cannot afford another year like this.


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

[User] ELI5: How does your body know when to wake you up?

[Assistant]
Medical doctor here.

Our body is controlled by a circadian rhythm, which is like a clock we have it in our brains to control when it's time to wake up and when it's time to sleep.

Our eyes can capture how illuminated the environment around us is and send signals to our brain. The brain, with this information, not only "calculates" how long the day lasts, but also tries to organize your activities (bodily functions, sleep time, awaken time etc) accordingly to the time of the day. This "time organizer" is called the pineal gland.

The pineal gland secretes melatonin, which is the hormone that makes us fall asleep. Eyes see it's dark outside, the brain notices that and the pineal gland releases melatonin. Its secretion peaks at night, when it's time for us to rest. You feel sleepy and your body temperature falls.

In the morning, when the sun goes up, the brain sends to your body a message to raise your temperature and your adrenal glands start to produce another hormone called cortisol. It's when your body realizes it's time to wake up.

That's why using your computer at night makes you stay awake all night long, for example. The blue spectrum of light that comes from your computer screen deceives your brain, making it think it's still sunny outside. That way, your pineal gland doesn't release melatonin and you stay awake.

ETA - If you find it difficult to wake up, try to leave the window curtains open before you go to bed. That way, when the sun goes up it will illuminate your bedroom, making it easier for you to wake up and feel awaken. Another good tip is, right after waking up, opening the window and looking at the sunshine, to give your brain the message that it's daytime.

**TL;DR: When it's sunny outside, your brain releases cortisol, that keeps you awake. When it's dark outside, your brain releases melatonin, that makes you feel sleepy.**


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

[User]
How does mimicry in plants work, how can a plant "tell" what an insect looks and feels like?

Are those plants somehow able to recognize colors? Do they have some kind of sense analogous to sight?

[Assistant]
The plants can't tell. The insects, however, can tell what the plants look like. So if a plant looks like a female bee, or whatever this is just a hypothetical example, then a male bee is more likely to try to mate with it and pick up pollen.

Because those tricky plants who look the most like the bee are more likely to have pollen taken/given from them, they are more likely to reproduce. In the next generation, then, there will be some plants who look more and some who look less appealing to the bee. The ones who are more appealing are obviously more likely to reproduce than the ones who look less appealing. Therefore plants that look more like the bee are selected for and, very gradually over many generations, the mimicry will get more and more accurate.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why emergency room visits are so expensive?

Bonus points if you can tell me why everyone casually does their job with no real hustle. I feel like they take their time and just gossip while you wait in the room.

[Assistant] As a doctor in other countries you make a risk assessment and only use the expensive diagnostics where needed. In the USA if you miss something the hospital will be sued for silly amounts. To stop the people from suing the are very protective and rule nearly everything out. If people stopped suing healthcare in the USA would be MUCH cheaper.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc all open via the browser first, then the client?

So using Zoom for work meetings and whatnot nowadays. When I click "Join Meeting" it opens a web browser first, which then asks me if it's ok to open Zoom. Why doesn't it just open Zoom directly?

[Assistant]
The link you clicked on is an HTTP (hypertext) link...your computer is programmed to open those with a browser. All computers, basically, know how to handle an HTTP link. The browser then looks at your machine and says "Oh, you've got Zoom, let's open that." If you don't have Zoom (or whatever) it prompts you to download it. This means that the link will basically work for everyone, regardless of whether you've got the software installed or not.

It's possible to write a link that opens things other than a browser; the "mailto:" link is also very common and opens your email program. But nobody, so far, has standardized on a link type specifically for telecommuting apps and, even if they did, it would be a while before you could count on everybody's computer supporting them, and they'd be different for every app (we haven't standardized a videoconference protocol that's in wide use...yet). You'd message a link like that to a friend and your computer wouldn't know what to do with it...most computers will ask you how to open things they don't recognize, but if you don't already have the app installed you may not know what to pick or where to get it.

Basically, doing it via HTTP link makes it really user friendly for basically everyone, albeit at the cost of an extra click.


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

[User] ELI5: what kind of math, if any, is behind traffic lights especially in major cities? Is it a difficult process to time them in sync with surrounding lights to make sure there are no huge back ups?

[Assistant]
Traffic engineers have models that incorporate any new lights into the existing network of traffic lights. Traffic light timing is done both to synchronize the lights with the surrounding network, but also to ensure that people don't have to wait too long at the lights.

So there's lots of math behind it, but it's mostly done with computer programs.


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

[User]
The human hearing range goes from 20 Hz to 200 kHz, but it's wider when we are young. Is it a case of degradation or does the extra ability serve a purpose for infant and children?

I can assume that we see at our best when we are young and over time, our sight gets worse as our eyes wear out. Is it the same for hearing? Or is there a purposeful reason as to why our hearing is better when we are young (maybe something to do with language acquisition), and then we shed that ability when it is no longer necessary + casual wear out?

[Assistant]
Human hearing sits in the range between 20Hz and 20kHz. You detect frequencies through the stimulation of microscopic hair cells in the cochlea. As you age, these cells deteriorate and die, and can not be repaired or replaced.

The cells that detect higher frequencies deteriorate first. For males, the drop off begins in their early 20s and continues throughout their lives. Females retain their high frequency hearing for much longer.

On top of this, noise-induced hearing loss can occur from sustained exposure to noisy environments or loud music.

Source: am a sound engineer and acoustic technician.


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

[User]
Why aren't space-based radio telescopes really a thing?

So searching for radio telescopes I found that there are almost none currently operating in space and historically very few as well. Most of the big radio dishes in space are turned Earthwards for spying purposes.

As a layperson this strikes me as strange because it seems like a radio telescope would be significantly easier to build and launch than an optical telescope.

A few possible guesses come to mind based on my small amount of astronomy knowledge:

Fewer advantages over land-based observation, relative to an optical scope?

Interferometry using huge numbers of smaller ground based dishes simply more useful?

Some engineering challenge I'm not considering?

[Assistant]
There are a couple of good reasons to have space based observatories but all of them vanish when considering radio.

You often put detectors in space to detect wavelengths that are absorbed by the atmosphere. The atmosphere is mostly transparent to radio wavelengths so we don't need to do that.

The motion of the atmosphere causes scintillation of light sources. The long wavelengths of radio are not susceptible to this.

In addition radio telescopes are massive. A 1m mirror for optical or IR is fairly effective both in space and on the ground. A 1 m radio dish is pretty small fry in radio astronomy. To be fair, you don't have to have quite the structural integrity for a radio dish versus a mirror but they still are bigger which means very expensive to launch.

So they aren't any better and are a lot more expensive.


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

[User]
[The Mandalorian] How much force (no pun intended) would it take to even so much as dent beskar?

During Mando's/Din Djarin's fight with a Dark Trooper, it punches his Beskar helmet at least seven times without denting anything but durasteel wall *behind the helmet.* How many punches would it take to actually dent the beskar, and how much force would that amount to in real-world measurements?

[Assistant] As far as i know, you can't dent or damage it in any meaningful way. Even when mando's ship was destroyed by a starship blast, the beskar spear was perfectly fine. Maybe a direct blast from a starship would do something, but the only way to really damage it would be to melt it down in a forge.


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

[User]
[Buffy] Why are the adults in Sunnydale oblivious? Why do they continue to live in Sunnydale?

It seems like the teenagers are aware that something is strange about Sunnydale compared to other cities, given that they award Buffy for protecting the class during the prom and how the award is presented.

There are also some fairly serious and widespread events that happen in the town that aren't easily attributable to another accident, isolated illness, robbery, or attack. Some events are even shown on national news as being unusual.

Why do the adults ignore the strange and serious issues of the town and continue to make a living there?  I understand not everyone can just pick up and move, but I'd imagine over time those who are able would begin to leave.

[Assistant]
The housing prices are ridiculously low. Did you see the size of the house that Buffy lived in? A home like that, in California, paid for with a single income. Buffy was even able to keep it after Joyce died.

Sure, there are vampires. Just be home before dark, and don't invite strangers in. And there's a small chance of an Apocalypse every Spring, but that's what the Slayer is for.  It would take more than a few monsters to drive me out of a housing market like that!


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

[User] ELI5: If Tesla is being prevented from selling their cars directly to consumers, why don't they establish a shell company or pay a stooge to open a series of "dealerships" of their own?

[Assistant] They may end up doing this eventually if they get struck down, but it seems like their first course of action is to fight. They've already won in North Carolina, setting a precedent. They aren't in immediate need of money, so they probably view the coming fight as in their long-term best interest, and whether they believe it or not, they can spin it as the long-term best interest of consumers also.


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

[User]
Why b2b companies rarely put prices on their website?

Sometimes just out of curiosity I look into the web sites of companies that sell products to business and they rarely show prices. Normally they present the product and then direct you to talk to a salesperson, is there an economic reasoning behind this business model? Why is it so common?

[Assistant]
This is called price discrimination. The idea behind it is to sell each product at such a price as to maximize the producer surplus.

For example, consider a machine tool and two companies A and B. Company A is more profitable and is willing to pay at most $500k for the machine tool. Company B is less profitable and is will to pay at most $400k for the machine tool.

If you set the price at $500k youll lose the company B market and make only $500k. If you set the price at $400k, youll make $800k. However, if you set the price at $500k for company A and $400k for company B, youll make $900k.

It is important to note that the above strategy only works if one has enough market power to set prices. A patent, which is a monopoly right, is one such situation. Otherwise the producer will be a price taker due to competition.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] What is Magic exactly in each universe, and who are its top users?

Is it divine (Gods and stuff), is it some sort of natural energy, is it something beyond comprehension?

Who are the big names in each universe who use magic, what type of magic do they use? Can anyone use magic in these universes or is it a natural-born gift?

[Assistant]
Magic in the Marvel multiverse is a discrete type of energy. It's the energy that is generated by the will of sentient creatures, and is empowered to alter the fabric of reality.

Magic in and of itself is natural, as in it is a regular and normal part of the structure of the multiverse. There are lots of subtypes and specializations of magic, as well.

An important but powerful subtype of magic is divine magic, which is manifested in and passed down by divine entities, or gods. It's hallmark is that it is generated primarily by belief- the will of sentient creatures dedicated primarily to the edification and service of the deity. Much of Earth's history has been influenced by divine magic.

In the Marvel Universe, there's different levels of reality, and magic has sway over almost all of them. Very few humans can access much more than the very lowest levels and are unaware or unable to interact with any of the higher realities and possibilities without assistance.

For the most part, the true nature of magic is beyond comprehension though. This is why most systems of using magic are concerned with distilling it into spells or locking it into artifacts or objects, and finding other ways of codifying and limiting access to it so that normal minds can unlock its potential.

Of those that can, the greatest is the Sorcerer Supreme, primary guardian and wielder of magic in the 616 universe, Stephen Strange.

Even he mostly uses spells and artifacts to access magic, so his power lies not so much in his pure ability, but in his breadth of knowledge of such spells and his proficiency in use of the artifacts he has access to, and the staggering number of artifacts he possesses.

There are some entities who are even more proficient in using pure magic, or are even composed of pure magic.

For example, Dormammu is an entity who hails from an entire magical dimension, one of several creatures of that type called the Faltine- composed completely of magical power. He has access to all kinds and types of magic, but mostly simply uses pure magical energy to accomplish his goals.

The Vishanti and the Octessence are groups of extra-dimensional magical beings as well, and also use the entire spectrum of magic. They also are the primary sources of the power the Sorcerer Supreme uses to protect the 616 main Marvel universe.

The gods and deities that use divine magic have some of the most powerful realms in existence. Odin, for example, has power sufficient to stand with some of the most powerful forces in the Marvel multiverse.

There are many entities who are powered by the emotional energy of sentient beings other than belief, as well. Those are called devils and demons, and they reside in realms that consist of that negative magical energy. There you will find Mephisto, Belasco, and such.

Hyper-dimensional creatures like 'the Old Ones' wield a sort of magic that is literally incomprehensible- it does not match with the ability of creatures in the 616 reality to perceive. Shuma-Gorath is a power in that fold.

You asked who can use magic in the Marvel universe. For humans and most humanoid aliens, the ability to use pure undistilled magic in the Marvel universe is usually an in-born trait. It can be manifested in humans through the Celestial gene that gives creatures superpowers, through the X-gene that powers mutants, or can be a hereditary gift passed down through the descendants of magical entities who bred with mundane creatures.

Manifesting the spontaneous ability to use magic was much more common on Earth in earlier eons when magic was much more prolific and unhampered by the logical belief of science. In the modern age, it's almost unheard of for a human to be able to wield magic unprompted by outside forces.

The three most common ways that humans do get access to magical abilities is to have them given to them by a high-level benefactor, to somehow get access to a magical artifact, or to be educated in the craft of using magic by a mentor.


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

[User] What is going on when you submerge a ball deep into a pool and then it jumps back in a random direction? Is there any way to predict the trajectory?

[Assistant] It's a chaotic, undulating, dynamically changing system on the way up, that's going to be very difficult to predict. Furthermore, when it reaches the surface, the angle it gets ejected is going to depend on minute differences at the very end of this process.  Basically, it's probably easier to put a man on the moon than predict which way it's going to eject.


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

[User]
A question to STEM PIs and Professors: Would you hire a postdoc who has published a lot in Frontiers journals?

Considering that a lot of people view Frontiers as "predatory" (I myself do not fall into this category), would you be skeptical about hiring someone who has published a lot in these journals?

[Assistant]
I would just look at the papers.

Frontiers isn't predatory in the same way as the No-Name journals that spam me all day. There are lots of good papers in Frontiers journals. Lots of bad papers too.


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

[User] [Marvel] why did the kree ever start hating skrulls in the first place?

[Assistant]
The Skrulls came to the planet Hala, which had two sapient races. The Cotati, a race of intelligent, pacifist tree people, and the Kree, a race of primitive, violent primates. The Skrulls were a peaceful race at the time, wanting just to trade, but needed to figure out which of the races on this planet they should deal with.

They picked 17 Kree and 17 Cotati, and gave them a competition. Each group would have a year on an alien world to build something amazing, and then the Skrulls would use that to decide which one was the actual dominant species on Hala.

The Kree were dropped on Earth's moon, where they built a city, with its own atmosphere and higher gravity. The "Blue Area of the Moon" that would later become home to Uatu, the Watcher.

The Cotati were dropped on a distant planet, and turned a desolate wasteland of a barren world into a thriving lush garden. The Skrulls acknowledged that terraforming an entire planet was more impressive than making a city, and decided that they would trade resources with the Cotati.

The Kree got upset at the whole thing, killed off the Cotati, and then with the Skrull technology they'd gotten ahold of, decided to kill off the Skrulls as well for shaming them in such a way. The Skrulls responded with military force, which over the centuries changed their society from the peaceful traders they had been, to another military power in this galaxy.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does microfiber clean glasses so well but other fabrics dont?

[Assistant] Basically, microfiber cloth is like regular cloths, but very tightly wound compared to regular cloth. This allows it to pick up extremely small particles, like the tiny bits of dust and dirt off of glass, and it's soft, so it doesn't scratch. Meanwhile other cloths would probably just spread it around, or scratch the glass.


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

[User] Does Jupiter have a solid core of anything or is it truly just a large ball of gas?

[Assistant]
So first off...

> is it truly just a large ball of gas?

We know for sure that this is not true. At the pressures and temperature in the interior of Jupiter, hydrogen turns into a liquid metal. In fact, by mass, Jupiter is *mostly* liquid metallic hydrogen. It's also the only thing that can explain Jupiter's incredibly strong magnetic field.

Now, to address your original question...

> Does Jupiter have a solid core of anything

This is a major question in the field right now, and one of the primary mission goals of the Juno spacecraft. There's still a lot of questions whether the liquid metallic hydrogen forms a mantle surrounding a solid core. Based on what we think we know about how giant planets form, though, we're pretty sure there's needs to be a core...or at least there used to be one.

Jupiter formed out past the "snow line" - the distance from the Sun where it's cold enough that water is stable as ice. This is important, because if you're a growing proto-planet, you can grow a lot faster out past the snow line using both ice and rock, rather than the planets that formed inside the snow line which formed from just rock alone. You need to hit a mass of about 5 to 10 Earth-masses before you have sufficient gravity to start holding on to hydrogen gas.

Our current hypothesis is that Jupiter's core is somewhere around 10 - 30 Earth-masses (compared to a total mass of 318 Earth-masses), and it's made of rock and exotic ices. Note that even though the temperatures are very high at the center of Jupiter, the pressure is so extreme that water will be solid, forming unusual crystal arrangements of ice.

Now there is a vocal minority of scientists who believe that Jupiter has no core at all. Some think it's because it formed from gas collapse instead of the more commonly-accepted core accretion theory outlined above. In the gas collapse scenario, the collective self-gravity of an extra-dense clump of hydrogen gas in the protoplanetary disk collapsed in on itself to form the planet. However, most of our models indicate there just wasn't enough time for that collapse to happen before the Sun ignited and blew all the gas away.

A few others think Jupiter used to have a core, but no longer. Again, surrounding this hypothesized rocky icy core is a massive mantle of liquid metallic hydrogen. Thing is, most of our models indicate that liquid metallic hydrogen is a very good solvent (we've only been able to produce metallic hydrogen in the lab pretty recently and only for a split-second, so most of our assumptions about the stuff come from computer simulations). If it turns out to be a good enough solvent, then it could actually have dissolved a 20 Earth-mass rocky icy core over the lifetime of the Solar System.

**TL;DR**: Probably. It's definitely *not* just a ball of gas, though, as it's mostly liquid metal.


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

[User]
[Marvel] Where does the World Security Council get the authority to nuke the United States? Do people even know what the World Security Council planned to do?

How was the World Security Council able to authorize the use of nuclear weapons on the United States? Does SHEILD have its own nuclear arsenal that it can deploy on command? Did the President okay this? If the missile had not been re-directed into space by Iron Man then what would the fallout have been? How would the American government explain the fact that the UN basically ordered a nuclear strike and we were powerless to stop them? After Iron Man successfully diverted the missile are people aware that the plan was actually just to nuke the city? I could see an argument being made that they would simply lie and say that the plan was always to fire the missile and then have Iron Man guide it into space at the last minute so as to increase the chances that it would not be intercepted or prematurely detonated. But would Fury and the Avengers go along with a story like this? I guess you could make the argument that "for the greater good" its best to go along with the lie as opposed to creating even more fear and division in the aftermath of an alien invasion. But nevertheless, I can't see Capt. America going along with that level of deceit.

[Assistant]
It was a clandestine organization.  Those leaders didn't answer to any one country.  And in the end they could have placed the blame on anyone or anything they wanted.
However, it makes more sense after Civil War, they would have wiped out the alien invasion and the Avengers in one shot.


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

[User]
[Castlevania] How human are the Belmonts (Trevor specifically) and the "human" necromancers?

I've only really seen the Netflix show and read up on some of the lore, but not much. Humans like Trevor Belmont, Isaac and Hector seem to be able to put up great fights against vampires who we know have increased stats. Not to mention, these humans usually win fairly easily. How is that?

[Assistant]
Just being trained fairly well. Trevor was raised specifically to be a warrior against the night creatures until his family was branded as witches by the Church, he knows extreme amounts of information on killing night creatures and his whip is an alchemical weapon which is specifically created to kill night creatures (hence why they explode when they're hit with it); and Isaac and Hector were the private pupils of Dracula himself.

I do need to point out that the lore of the Netflix series is *vastly* different from the games. In the games, the Belmonts were directly supported/sponsored by the Church for example. In the games, Devilforgers like Hector and Isaac are also specifically stated to draw on Dracula's powers as well, hence why they are so powerful.

And spoilers for the game Curse of Darkness, but >!Isaac spends the entire game possessed by the spirit of Dracula in a plan to resurrect himself, hence why he's so strong.!<


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

[User]
How long do I have to keep a calendar until I can reuse it again?

I have a 2016 Taylor Swift calendar that is still hanging on my wall, it just occurred to me that if I leave it up long enough then eventually I'll be able to use it again.

I love math, but I'm not fluent in date calculations. (base 7? base 365?) I'm very curious about patterns. I'd love to hear more about the how and why of this question. (don't forget about leap years!)

[Assistant]
Because a normal year is 52 weeks plus one day (365 mod 7 = 1), weekdays normally skip forward by one day every year. So 2017 started on Sunday and 2018 will start on Monday. If all years had the same length, it would then take seven years for the calendar of any given year to "roll around".

However, leap years make the matter more complicated. They have 366 days and thus the calendar skips forward by two weekdays on a leap year. Plus, of course, you cannot reuse a leap year calendar on a non-leap year even if they start on the same weekday.

Given a non-leap year, say, 2017, you can just count years, summing the "remainder" days until you hit a number divisible by seven. So:

2017|2018|2019|*2020*|2021|2022|2023
-|-|-|-|-|-|-
0|1|2|3|*5*|6|7

And indeed by checking the calendar you see that 2023 looks like 2017. But for some years, your counting will skip from 6 to 8 due to a leap year, and you have to keep on going:

2015|*2016*|2017|2018|2019|*2020*|2021|2022|2023|*2024*|2025|2026
-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-
0|1|*3*|4|5|6|*8*|9|10|11|*13*|14

With leap years, such as 2016, the year of reuse has to be a leap year as well, and you'll have to wait longer. 28 years, to be exact! In 2044 your Taylor Swift calendar will be pretty vintage.

Final disclaimer: Years divisible by 100 are not leap years unless they're also divisible by 400. So for example around 2100 you have to take that into account. Also, these calculations only concern days of week. Lunar cycle markings, date of Easter etc. will take much longer to get in sync.


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

[User]
What is time? How is it a non-arbitrary "thing"/dimension? If everything stood still, wouldn't time as well?

I understand theories reguarding time, and it being considered a 4th dimension. I get Einstein and perception of time in relation to velocity approaching *C*.

But from a practical standpoint, isn't time an arbitrary attribute used to describe matter in relation to other matter? Logically, time seems like just a unit of measurement; without any characteristics or physical existance apart from that which it measures. Time is only definable (as far as i know) by the measurement of the physical state and/or orientation of matter.

I don't understand how time travel could be possible(in any hypothetical sense). Wouldn't it require physically reverting all matter to the state and location it previously was in? If all matter was reduced to 0 kelvin, and became absolutely still, would time not effectively cease to exist?

[Assistant]
I encourage you to read David Deutsch's book *The Fabric of Reality*.  The chapter on what time is (and isn't) will likely help you think about these things. It's worth the effort to read the book. (It is written for non-specialists who are willing to think.)

Deutsch, by the way, is a theoretical physicist who has played a seminal role in quantum computing.


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

[User] [The Protomen] How long does it take for the sniper to kill Emily, Wily to take over the city, Protoman to e killed and for Megaman to come to confront Protoman?

[Assistant]
At least two generations, maybe three.  Long enough for the City to abandon all memories of freedom and for Dr. Light to be nearing the end of his life as a refugee from Wily's hunters.

The theme of the album goes from rugged acoustics to heavy synths during 'How the World Fell Into Darkness', outlining the City's transition from an agrarian, pre-tech society to a futuristic dystopia run by Robot Masters.  The process was accelerated by the automated workers, but it still would've taken time to prepare everything, time for Wily to solidify control in his Tower, time for Joe to be born and grow up under the regime.

After Joe's death, Dr. Light spends many years building Protoman in secret, going very slowly so as not to arouse suspicion.  When Protoman falls, Dr. Light spends more years in despondency before building Mega Man, who fulfills Protoman's original purpose.  At his victory, the people of the City cry out to Mega Man, not as a savior, but as a new leader.  Years under Wily's rule has atrophied their will to freedom, and they look to Mega Man only as another iron fist to rule them.


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

[User]
CMV: anti-zionism and antisemitism should not be conflated.

I often hear that to be anti-zionist is to be antisemitic, not least from President Macron. I feel like this is just a way to pussyfoot around a difficult topic, and avoid any accusations.

Zionism is a political movement. Judaism is a religion. In the same way that it's ridiculous to suggest that anyone who condemns FGM or the abuse of women in saudi arabia is Islamophobic.

I should also add that I don't think Israel should be abolished, or that Isrealis should "just go back to poland" or whatever other crazy shit some people say. But there is a clear cognitive dissonance going on with Zionists , saying that a people who lived there literally in the ancient world have the right to settle more so than those who did less than 100.

I also understand the history and the context, and lord knows that if I was part of a group of people who have more or less non-stop been persecuted for literally no reason I would want my own state. But I don't think the end justifies the means, and I think its just kind of hilarious the way that history is written and framed.

It's a complex issue, and regardless of your opinion I can't see how you wouldn't be able to see the fucked up elements in both sides of the argument. And labelling one side as  antisemitic just shuts down the dialogue.

EDIT: Thanks for the generally friendly discussion. Though my view has not changed it's nice to grapple with other sides of the argument. I have an exam tomorrow so I have to dip. Shout out to my Jewish brothers and sisters, peace.

[Assistant] The reasons they might be conflated is because there have been clearly anti semitic protests that have operated under  the guise of being anti zionist. Ideally they would not be conflated but the reality is generally an anti semite will also be anti zionist and will use anti-zionist as a dog whistle or a shield to legitimize their hate.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do things like impact (getting slapped on bare skin) or cracking your knuckles hurt a lot more when you're really cold? Why is it not the opposite way round since freezing can cause numbness?

For example catching a ball or getting hit by a ball or paintball on bare skin hurts way more when it's cold outside rather than warm.

[Assistant] Basically, you are getting a double dose from your nerves. Your nerves have receptors for pain and for things like extreme temperatures. So effectively youre getting the feeling of both of those at once.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are certain foods considered breakfast foods?

Is there anything particular about eggs/pancakes/cereal/oatmeal that make them considered breakfast foods? Is it because they are simple to prepare and high in protein or calories to keep you fueled?

[Assistant] Every culture has foods that they start to eat for breakfast. After a while they become the traditional breakfast option for that culture. American breakfast evolved from our Agrarian lifestyle where farmers and ranchers needed high caloric intake but had little free time. They had large breakfasts, little to no lunch, and medium to large suppers.


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

[User] Are any of Karl Marx's insights accepted by modern mainstream economists?

[Assistant] In terms of his economic predictions, no, he was not on the money in a lot of ways. See Habermas's work for an explanation of why things didn't pan out the way Marx anticipated. Marx is commonly taught in sociology, history, and and anthropology to convey a way thinking of the world. Historical materialism, class conflict, alienation, false consciousness- all *extremely* relevant even today.


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

[User] ELI5: The saying "if it's free you're the product"

[Assistant]
This is usually said about advertising supported services that are free of cost to the end user, such as network television or radio (and since expanded to cover online services too).  When that happens, it is indeed the viewer that is the product.  The television networks produce shows to attract an audience which they then essentially "sell" to their real customers, the advertising sponsors.  Those sponsors want to target specific demographics of people, and the networks do their best to collect that data - which age ranges watch a given show, etc.

So that's the basic idea.  The customer is the advertiser paying to put commercials on the air.  The product is the audience watching those commercials.


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

[User]
ELI5:What actually happens when you "pull" a muscle?

Fitness consultant said i'd probably pulled a muscle, got me thinking I had no idea what that really meant.

[Assistant]
A "muscle pull" refers to a strain.

This is damage to a tissue caused by stress/loading (too much at one time, not prepared for the stress, or repetitive use).  This stress can either be to the muscle itself (the red part in anatomical figures) or the tendons that attach muscle to bone (the white part in anatomical figures).

Depending on the extent of the damage, you could have actual tearing of muscle fibers.  A mild strain (grade I) would be stretching of the tissue with possible small tears to fibers.  There will be pain, but there will be minimal weakness.  A more severe (grade II) strain would involved tearing of fibers.  Weakness would accompany the pain.  The most severe form (grade IIII) is where most or all of the fibers are damaged.  There could be a complete rupture of the muscle.  There will be a loss of muscular function.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are common viral infections so difficult to treat?

Influenza, Common Cold, etc. With modern medicine, why are they so difficult to cure and/or treat?

[Assistant]
Bacteria are alive, you can kill them.

Viruses are not alive - they're little more than floating strands of DNA.  Anything you do to destroy them will negatively affect all the other DNA in your body.


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

[User]
The smartphone is not the social interaction killer everyone makes it out to be. CMV

A popular media topic as of late is the assertion that people are interacting less because people are too obsessed with their smartphones. Eating establishments are offering discounts to parties who set their phones aside, to help maintain their atmosphere and people often cite that college students are interacting with their phones instead of their classmates. I personally find that people aren't socializing less they are merely socializing with people more relevant to them within their social circle. Anecdotally when im out eating i use my smart phone to carry the conversation, because the internet has plenty of topics to actually discuss. Also its a good way to end disputes at the bar via fact checking. I think this whole sentiment is blown out of proportion and just a popular controversial topic not really impacting anyone significantly CMV.

[Assistant] There are people who use their phones to fact check, and than put them away after use. And there are also people who are constantly playing with there phones instead of conversing and making eye contact with the people in front of them. Its the latter that gives the idea that phones are killing are ability to interact with people face to face.


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

[User]
If a black hole's singularity is infinitely dense, how can a black hole grow in size leagues bigger than it's singularity?

Doesn't the additional mass go to the singularity? It's infinitely dense to begin with so why the growth?

[Assistant] When people talk about the "size" of the black hole, they don't mean the distribution of matter, which as you correctly point out is at the singularity anyway in General Relativity. What they are referring to is generally the radius of the event horizon - there's no surface or material there, but it's the point you can't get any information beyond. Nothing special happens there to someone falling in, they just can't get back anymore.


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

[User] ELI5: How does a telephone plug work with both a phone and a modem? Is it the same data being transferred or is there multiple types of data being passed and the device decides which one it needs?

[Assistant] A modem converts the analog signal coming over the phone line to a digital signal usable by for example, a computer. The same concept applies to all modems for example, a cable modem. It's an analog signal converted to digital.


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

[User]
ELI5: why can't we just extract THC from marijuana and sell that, instead of marijuana as a whole

I would just imagine THC would be easier for the public and politicians to get behind rather than continue to try to legalize marijuana as a whole. Couldn't THC be processed into a pill just like ibuprofen or advice and then sold as such? Wouldn't that take away the "smoker" stigma behind the use of marijuana?

[Assistant]
We can & do.  Have you ever heard of BHO, shatter, wax, honey oil or "doing dabs"?  Those are all extracted & concentrated THC.  Normal weed is usually 15-20% THC by weight.  Extracts are generally at least 60% & commonly over 80% (the rest is made up of other cannabinoids & terpenes).

These extracts can be "smoked" (technically, vaporized), used to produce edibles or even put into disposable e-cig cartridges.

The problem with eating THC instead of smoking it is that it can take 1-2 hours to kick in, it's hard to gauge your doses and lasts much longer.  When you smoke it hits you in a minute or two so it's easy to take "just enough" & it starts wearing off in an hour or two.


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

[User]
[The Culture] What types of weaponry did the Idirans use against Culture ships/habitats and how effective were they?

Haven't read Consider Phlebas in half a year. What types of weapons were used by the Idirans? I'm thinking of rereading the Culture books soon.

[Assistant] The Idrians were only just barely behind The Culture in tech. They were able to and did use Gridfire. Aside from that, it'd be the standard variety of exotic lasers, kinetic energy weapons, collapsed antimatter, effectors and displacers.


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

[User]
Did all people in medieval times have fetal alcohol syndrome to some extent?

In the last 50 years, science discovered that alcohol consumed by pregnant women, sometimes as little as one glass of wine, can alter the development of the brain and body of an embryo and lead to a fetal alcohol syndrome.
However, in medieval times in Europe, the water was so dirty that the people often had to drink (diluted) beer and other alcoholic beverages, including pregnant women in lack of better knowledge (and better water!). Even though the beer was much less potent than nowadays, i believe a constant consumption of alcohol must lead to the FAS, at least to some extent. However, Ive found nothing about this topic.
So my question is: did a large portion of the population in this time have FAS? If so, how might the cognitive problems that come with this syndrome have influenced the society as a whole, when such a large portion of the population had it (this second question is purely speculative)?

[Assistant]
...FAS has specific facial deformation that's detectable by skeletal remains. There are enough "medieval times" skeletons unearthed that show little FAS deformation to make "all people" a quantifiable "no".

But your question is problematic for other reasons.

Not everyone in "medieval times" drank alcohol instead of water. In European regions where the water supply and the sewer system was one and the same, it was SAFER to drink alcohol, yes. But alcohol wasn't consumed at the same rate or in the same quantities even to the same level as American alcohol consumption in the 18th and 19th centuries, and beer was nowhere near the 5% alcohol rate. Small beer, drunk by children, was usually less than 1-2% and most ales were 3-4% at best.

Medieval Western Europe was not North or South America, nor was it Africa, or Asia, or Australia. The Chinese boiled almost every drink they consumed, as did the Japanese. The countries and regions we think of as the Middle East had a much lower percentage of alcohol use than Western Europe, and North America had nearly none (while South American traditions of fermenting drinks were not everyday consumption).

So your question is ver Western European-centric in origin and excludes almost the entire world outside of Western Europe, without asking about the various cultures of non-Western European people (This includes pretty much everything east and south of Rome, and everything west of Ireland).

Hell, even European countries and cities had safe drinking water that were not London, because not all cities decided to turn their water supplies into open sewers.

And the answer is also relatively simple from an infant morbidity perspective. FAS babies tend to have weaker immune systems, worse overall health, and higher mental health / disabilities.

From the 12th century to the time of "modern medicine" in Western Europe, infant mortality was around 27% for the first year of life and then increased to nearly 65% by the age of six.

When 7 out of 10 kids die within the first six years of life, the likelihood that a FAS baby would make it to adulthood is super, SUPER low.

Please also note that the studies regarding alcohol use by pregnant women were done in America where a long traditional of teetotalerism and prohibition still infects a great many studies and government programs due in part to the fabled American inability to do self-destructive and short-sighted half-assed.

Those American-based studies are challenged semi-annually and almost always ignore imperical evidence from around the world, including very clear evidence from France, Germany, Ireland, the UK and other nations with a long tradition of drinking wine and beer, and the acceptable risk involved.

In short, limited and restricted alcohol consumption by pregnant women is as likely to cause FAS or other birth defects as walking outside in Houston on a hot day while pregnant.

And alcohol consumption by pregnant women during the Middle Ages was less of a concern than the mother surviving the pregnancy in the first place, not to mention the less than 1 in 5 chance the baby would make it to their own age of fertility.

So, combined with:

- Lack of historical and fossil record evidence of FAS bone deformation
- high infant mortality rate
- fact that other cultures without high alcohol consumption experienced the "middle ages" at the same time Western Europe did

I think it's safe to say that no, we are not all descendants of FAS kids.

Edit: FAS is not passed on genetically, and pregnant women were not generally the primary consumer of high potency alcohol in any given household in Western Europe anyway. Distilled alcohols didn't come into popular usage among the common classes until well into the 1600s, at which point we are out of "medieval times" and into the Renaissance Era of Western Europe. And since distilled alcohols are the primary vector for what we consider FAS defects, it's unlikely that it was as common as you suggest.

I mean, unless your geneology tracks back almost exclusively to a specific family that remained in a low safety zone for water quality for the past 40 generations and only intermarried with local clans and families while still consuming high amounts of alcohol throughout their lifetimes, you're not descended from FAS babies. You'd know. You'd look like the tail end of the Hapsburg family.


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

[User]
ELI5: why do laptop batteries have a shorter life after a while, and how can you best use a laptop battery so it has a longer life?

Edit: thank you so much for all the info, this helped me understand a lot.

[Assistant]
It has to do with the chemical structure of a Lithium battery.  The way a lithium battery works is that during operation Lithium ions are removed from a lithium bearing compound from one contact, transferred across an electrolyte, and deposited on the other contact.  When recharging, the process is reversed.

The degradation comes from the fact that each time the cycle is performed, impurities are introduced into the structure of contacts, reducing their effectiveness.


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

[User] ELI5: How is the Church of Scientology legally allowed to have a heavily guarded base and prison?

[Assistant]
It's based on consent. The people who are there ostensibly consent to the treatment as part of their "rehabilitation" or therapy or whatever. Think of it like S&M: that stuff is assault on the street, but if grown-ups are ok with it, it's not criminal.

I suspect Scientology has paperwork for all the people in those facilities where they signed (perhaps under duress, perhaps not) acknowledging their consent. Doesn't mean those involved can't later change their mind, but it probably establishes reasonable doubt to preclude prosecution and protect the church from civil suit.


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

[User] If there was an explosion in space, would there be a shockwave?

[Assistant] Simply put yes. But for non-obvious reasons, there would be no traditional shockwave as thought of in Earth's atmosphere i.e. a concussive force that creates a pressure wave through the air, but there would be a shockwave in the material that is being exploded. The particles in the material would create a slightly higher positive pressure wave in the vacuum, then quickly disappate.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What would of Palpatine's plan be if Anakin was killed during the Clone Wars?

Anakin and Obi-wan are sent to assist a group of clone troopers on taking down a droid factory, en route their ships are ambushed by a fleet a droid ships, a droid gets a lucky shot on Anakin's starfighter and he looses control and crashes into a asteroid.

What is Papa Palpatine's plan now that the Jedi he was grooming for decades to become his apprentice is killed?

[Assistant]
Nothing changes, really. Anakin never was a crucial part of his plans. In fact, most of the plan was already set in motion even before Anakin was born, by Plaguis and other sith.

Skywalker was always just a cherry on top of galactic domination and destruction of the jedi. If he was taken out, well sucks sure, but the clones still would have killed the jedi, and Palpatine still gets to be the Emperor. It's just now maybe Dooku gets to survive or something.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it seemingly easier to converse with someone face-to-face than it is with someone you can't physically see (for instance, over the phone)?

[Assistant] We are very visually oriented and facial recognition is important in bonding and socializing.  We also tend to relate to things that look similar to us more easily and without something to look at and remind us of our similarities, socialization becomes more difficult.  Besides that, phones slightly distort the sound compared to face-to-face conversing, so you feel even less bonded and less like socializing.  Body language also contributes as it allows us to read between the lines, as it were.  We can figure out where we stand socially with others by their mannerisms and movement.  Without these cues, socialization is further impeded as you become less sure of yourself and your standing with the person.


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

[User] ELI5: How do apps like Instagram and Vine make money without ads?

[Assistant]
Some apps aren't paid or display adds because their objective is to create a vast pool of users. Note that with no advertisement or fee, users have less inertia to adopt the service. When the number of users is vast and accepted as a "must have" app, the producer starts to study ways to generate income or intends to sell it.

Is a comum business model for app makers: make it, growth it, sell it.