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

[User] [Unbreakable] Did Elijah have any actual evidence for his theory or was he just lucky to exist in the universe he did?

[Assistant] If you were wealthy, brilliant, eccentric and did nothing but trawl for evidence of super humans, you would probably hit upon second or third hand evidence in the form of the clover conspiracy, which couldn't possibly operate without leaving traces of what they are and what they exist to cover up. David Dunn was probably the first actual superhuman he got in contact with, but there would have been a network of super-shaped holes where the absence itself implied something.


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

[User]
How were ancient rope suspension bridges built across large gaps in terrain?

Specifically how were they built above large drops? Would they need an extra long rope so they could climb down and then up to secure it from the other side?

[Assistant]
There were a few ways to do it, but one common way was to get one or two long pieces of thin string or rope across, then use that to pull a larger rope across.

One method was to tie two pieces of light rope to an arrow and shoot the arrow over the river. One of the ropes would be tied taught at each end. Then, from the side opposite the archer a ring was put around the taught rope. Then the end of the other light rope was tied around the ring, and a thicker rope was also tied around the ring. Then the archer would pull on the light rope, and it would drag the thick rope back to the archers side of the river. From there, the archer could tie an even thicker rope and have it sent back over.

When they built the first bridge over Niagara Falls, a similar method was used. But instead of archers, a boy flew a kite over the falls.


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

[User]
[Portal] How sharp are the edges of a portal?

You gotta think the edges of a portal aren't blunt.  Both sides of a portal are made on the very edges of their respective surfaces.  Are they beyond being sharper than "atom-thick", or even "photon-thick"?

EDIT: The word I'm looking for is "infinitely sharp".

[Assistant]
It's actually impossible to cut yourself on the edges of an open portal. You'll feel a repulsive force the closer you get to the edge because of the spacetime watchamacallit. It's why fast-moving objects and test subjects are cleanly sucked through the portal without any issues with the edges of it. It's possible to bruise yourself if you directly try to strike it from the side, or break brittle materials on it like wood, but there's no actual cutting going on.

Now, when a portal *opens*, yeah, it's basically infinitely sharp and will shear absolutely anything off of the surface. Cameras, plumbing, light fixtures, etc. It's a major flaw, we've told marketing they're forbidden from mentioning it.


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

[User] Why do we use Relative Humidity in all the weather reports? Surely how dry it feels is related to the Absolute Humidity? Or if how dry we feel is because of Relative Humidity, why?

[Assistant]
Relative Humidity is a handy because it measures the ability of air to hold more water. Humidity (the moisture content of air) effects us because of its influence on the rate of evaporation. Absolute humidity measures the same thing but it is in practice a less useful scale because the saturation value changes so dramatically with temperature. The weather report could tell us the specific humidity is 1.7 grams water per kg of air, but unless they also tell us the saturation value for air at that temperature, it really isn't usually as informative as saying 25%, or 50% of 98% relative humidity.  If the weather reports did routinely report absolute specific humidity and saturation values, the first step you would want to take to make it into a useful number is calculate the ratio, e.g. relative humidity.

If air is 100% relative humidity it is incapable of holding any more moisture and thus is lousy for providing evaporative cooling. If you sweat in 100% relative humidity air, it won't cool you down, regardless of the temperature. But if the air were relatively dry (25% humidity) than the air is capable of holding much more water and will more quickly evaporate puddles or the sweat on our skin.


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

[User]
Do grad schools actually care where you went for undergrad or the rigor of your undergrad program or just simply your grades?

I get mixed answers lurking through these posts. From what I read, it just feels like they care about grades and ability to take exams and even if you have good experience, it won't matter because your grades aren't of that of some magna cum laude superstar.

That is just my impression anyway.

[Assistant] It probably depends on the field. Within economics for example, what grad schools care about is who your references are. Recommendation letters are a method to discover who is serious about research and who profs think will do well in grad school. For example, if you went to a state school but performed at the top of your class and impressed a prof who is known within a subfield or knew the right people at a top school to write you a recommendation letter that they would trust, that greatly boosts your chances with the admission committee at that school. On the other hand, if you went to a top school but worked on profs whose research interests did not align with yours or who you did not do as great of a job with, you won't get the same boost.


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

[User]
How much time did you spend with face-to-face collaboration in an office before the pandemic?

Just thinking about the long term effect of the pandemic. Can you work fully remotely or do you need physical meetings?

[Assistant]
The big thing you miss remote are the informal coffee break and lunch talks. Scheduled meetings over zoom are fine, but its more difficult to do the un-scheduled communication. The unscheduled communication is typically where Id learn more about what other teams are working on and how we might be able to work together or align goals and get peoples opinion on project direction and health. You also miss the ability to rapidly get or give help when working on a task as easily as you can irl.

Remote is also tough for some employees due to constraints around needing an office space at home, which not everyone has, plus many people have kids or other family members who were already at home, making it trickier to try to work in the same space. Requiring a commute is tough on other employees who dont live near the office, so you need to balance everything which is hard.


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

[User]
Why did/do East & South Asian nations have such higher population density?

 Is it that rice cultivation was that much more calorie producing per acre compared with the staples of other parts of the world of the time or...?

Just curious - rice is a staple = high population density, seems to be a correlation, and I'm thinking it's a causation. Not my field though.  Actually, I don't know exactly what field such a question belongs in.

[Assistant] Water is in general the answer. If you look at a population map for any human populations, they will be highly clustered around available water sources. Look at a density map of India, it will be concentrated in the front of the Himalayas. Why? Because the mountain range 'captures' the monsoons and funnels them down into the flood-lands bellow. That area has an absolutely ungodly amount of water available. The other areas of high density are in Bangladesh, which in many ways functions as essentially a delta for the Ganges. So, mostly water. Those places also have the advantage of being largely flat, which makes it easy for people to live and helps retain soil quality, and they tend to have very long growing seasons. Humans ain't that special, they live on the same restrictions as other organisms. The population maximum will largely be determined by how much food is available for the population. Modern technology may expand how much we can produce and where we can send it, but it does not essentially change the calculation.


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

[User] Could someone give a simplified explanation for why matter cannot go faster than the speed of light?

[Assistant] You basically only ever go at one speed through time and space, you can pick to move less through space and travel forward through time 'faster' or you can travel through space faster and have less time pass. Speed of light is the one speed and if you max out one you end up with zero left for the other.


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

[User] ELI5: How does a hostile takeover work? Why can't the company owners just not sell the company if they don't want to?

[Assistant]
You have a lemonade stand business with your buddies, you run two stand, and 3 of your buddies each run 1 , When come the time to make the decisions, the four of you sit at 1 vote per stand. Basically, every time you vote, you need only one of your buddies to agree to make it 3 votes( your 2 votes and him) against the other two.

One day, one of your friend buy one of your buddies stands at the price he wanted, there is now you(2) a friend(1) and the other friend(2) voting.

The friend with one vote ends up being fed-up from not having much power other than  agreeing with you or agreeing with the other guy( so he can't really get his ideas to pass vote). Your other friend with 2 votes buys his stand.

Now he has 3 stands and votes. Every votes he makes wins the majority. You now have no control on the decision of your lemonade stand. Even if he didn't buy your part of the business, he is in control because he has more than 50% of the votes.

This is a hostile takeover: buying enough controlling shares(50%+1) of a company that you now control every decisions after the owners refused your offer to  buy the whole company( the name the building, and every staff and chairman).


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

[User]
Boss at first dev job told me I'm not good enough

This post was previously deleted because I didn't' post it in the right place. I'm posting it again.

By the way, things got worse.

Hello. This is my first post ever.

I'm in my last semester of college. A month ago I was hired by a small x company. They told me they wanted someone with no previous experience. They wanted to mold a new engineer to their needs.

I told them I had no experience outside of college, knew mostly outdated stuff and they were ok with that.

At first everything was ok. I felt overwhelmed and couldn't begin to understand anything. I felt like shit and searched for people with similar experiences in reddit. I understood it was normal, so I dedicated the first week to study only. I learned modern JavaScript and React. The second week I was assigned to my first project. I needed a lot of help and by the end of the week front end was mostly done.

The third week I was introduced to .Net and C#. I made it work somehow, but still needed help. By the end of the week, the project was extended, and boss told me multiple times (4 o 5) that I had to "ponerme las pilas" (it's like get on the stick). He said they needed help in other projects and mine was too easy. I asked him what could I improve and he just said "they needed help". I was worried and asked my colleagues if I was doing something wrong. They said I was ok and just needed more time.

By the fourth week I was able to do most stuff on my own, still needing help when something new showed up. And then boss told me he didn't like some things about me. Like asking for too much help, and that the gap between me and my work mates was too big. He said he didn't know anymore if investing in me was worth it. And then hired me for another month.

Now I feel like shit most of the time. Was this normal? Is it to be expected?

Edit:

I'm about to complete my second month. I don't think they'll hire me again.

The project was extended and the codebase is now at least five times bigger. The database has changed as well. I've been on this project almost completely by myself this last month, both frontend and backend. Still, boss avoids talking to me or about me, and sometimes ignores me.

Now I'm trying to connect to a LDAP server and Active Directory stuff which I have to learn while being hurried. What the actual fuck.

You guys have been very kind to me. I am grateful to all of you. You made me realize he is an idiot. Still, I cannot avoid feeling like shit most of the time because of this. I really tried my best.

[Assistant]
Sounds like a terrible boss.

When you're starting out, you really need to be guided by team members to help show you how they would like it done.

It takes a long time to become actually useful, maybe like 6 months.

On the plus side, you're probably picking up a lot of experience quickly, and that will be great when you look for your next job.


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

[User]
[MCU Age of Ultron] How can we be sure Ultron was wiped completely from the Internet?

They say Ultron had infiltrated virtually the entire internet, and then Vision scoured him from it, but, what if there was a computer, say, a supercomputer associated with a college or something, that had Ultron, but was temporarily disconnected from the Internet (weather, ISP outage, shut down for physicalmechanical maintenance up upgrade) that **was not online** during the timeframe when Vision did his scour.

Would it them be possible for that copy of Ultron to hide and bide his time once the Internet is reconnected and he learns that the Avengers defeated him?

Could he come back? Especially with Tony and Vision dead and unable to fight him?

[Assistant] I imagine Vision left part of himself in the net so he could overpower any Ultron programs that popped up, probably even "vaccinated" the major internet hubs to scrub any Ultron program that tried to pass through them.


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

[User]
[Marvel] If I ripped off Wolverine's arms and incinerated the flesh off of the bones, would be ever be able to reincorporate the adamantium coated bones back into his body?

As I understand, his regenerative abilities and adamantium skeleton don't make his joints impervious to being pulled apart. Suppose some super villain decided they wanted to at least diminish his offensive ability, so they somehow manage to subdue Logan and rip his arms off, then proceed to incinerate all the flesh off of them. I'm sure regenerating his arms would be no issue for Logan, but once he inevitably got free would his biology ever be able to accept the adamantium bones back into him?

[Assistant]
You can't rip off 616 Logan's limbs there have been a few post about it but long story short it's not going to happen.

To answer your actual question though at one point one of Laura Kinney's arms is cut off.  To prevent the Institute from gaining from her loss on her exams Laura inciderates her arm and keeps her claws.  Later when her arm regrows she is able to put the claws back in.


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

[User]
CMV: Automoderation is ruining this site.

Seriously, I know that a lot of spam or repeats can happen but goddamn I can't seem to post anything half the time because Mr. Automod saw some "key" word or some such that "flagged" my comment or thread.

This shit is ruining Reddit. Taking the work of ACTUAL mods and applying blanket judgments to a piece of code is fucked up.

I don't get why the voting system/reporting system somehow wasn't working well enough. Before the automods was Reddit somehow worse? I don't see how...now though? Good luck and hope your content isn't deleted because some bot thinks it should be.

[Assistant] Which subs are we talking about?  Also the automoderator is set up by the mods of a specific sub.  So it's the mods of that sub you've got the blame, not the dumb bot that's just doing what it's told to do.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does the game of Chess seem so prone to having incredibly young prodigies who can beat masters who have been playing for decades?

It seems like there have been numerous individuals who were recognized as savants at Chess at a young age, and were able to take down some of the greatest players in the world. What about Chess makes it possible where a young child could naturally see the best move possible, when going against the world's best?

[Assistant]
They study the technique of the master that they're going to be competing against, and learn how to counter that one guys strategies.  The chess master, on the other hand, has no idea who this kid is and so they will not be prepared for whatever moves they decide to make.

Also, strategy designed specifically to beat a single opponent was how the first computer won against that chess master.


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

[User]
What is the actual process in which base-cations increase the pH of a solution?

So pH is defined as the activity of hydrogen ions. I understand with an addition of OH- ions will increase pH, however, how exactly to dominant base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+) raise pH? I am assuming is has a lot to do with exchange capacity, however, an actual explanation of the process would help. Thank you.

[Assistant] The cation has little to no effect on the pH of hydroxide salt solutions.  In aqueous solution, the hydroxide creates an imbalance between free H^+ and free OH^(-), and due to the autoionization equilibrium constant of water ([H^(+)][OH^(-)]=1.0*10^(-14)), the concentration of H^+ naturally decreases.


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

[User]
[Ghostbusters] Before the Ghostbusters are formed, why do Ray & Egon consider Peter to be a part of their "group"?

He is apparently a con-artist who is only in academia to get into the panties of college girls, and also appears to be (before proven wrong) an ardent skeptic to the existence of the paranormal.

[Assistant]
He's their friend, they hang out with him because he can help them get girls and he acts as the face for their research. His skills as a con artist can help them talk the university into giving them funding.

And Peter hangs out with them because they put up with his bullshit and helps him maintain his academia cover. He also knows how smart they are and it's wise to stick with them to benefit from that.


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

[User] ELI5: What actually happens when you "build a tolerance" to something such as alcohol/cannabis?

[Assistant]
Well, the way alcohol and cannabis work is that they bind to the enzyme receptors in your neurons, and thus you get high.

When you consume too much of these intoxicants frequently, binding sites for these specific chemicals are reduced by our body in order to maintain equilibrium. So this means that there are less binding sites, thus you require more of the substance to get equally high/drunk.

Consider it as key-door analogy. Alcohol is the key while neuron binding sites are the door. If there are too many keys, this means that a lot more people than house can handle are entering. Since you can't take away the keys, you reduce the number of doors in order to reduce the throughput. Thus you need much more people with keys(alcohol) than before if you want same number of people to enter the house(get equally drunk)


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

[User]
ELI5 why people in third world countries starve when people used to be able to live off the land?

I am not trying to judge them in any way, just something I think about sometimes.  We hear all the time about people in Africa etc. dying of thirst and hunger.  People have lived there for a long time, and somehow survived off the land.  What changed?

[Assistant]
Partial explanation: Because they (who are starving) don't own any fertile land, or enough land or enough tools.

The original industrialism in England happened when people were forced off of their land by wealthy and powerful large-scale estate-owners. The people who were forced away became "cheap labour" who could be employed in the cities. Similar things are happening today. People are moving from their self-sufficient lives to work in sweatshops in big cities. Some people see this as a proof of how hard living off the land is. But others, including me, would say that it is because they are effectively forced. Governments make deals with big industries like mining, industrial agriculture etc. and let them buy land for cheap, land that people live on. If the land isn't sold away, they might be forced away by pollution or similar. Or, they are lured away by promises of wealth. Or, they have been specialized and dependent on others in their economy, so they don't have the skills to live off the land completely, and they can not compete with the low prices of large scale producers, so whatever they sold doesn't make them any money anymore.

There is a lot of bribing and corruption going on, but there is also the idea that this behaviour is good for "the economy" of the country. Forcing people from their land not only makes room for large scale production on the country side, it "liberates" people into being cheap labourers in factories, causing overall production to increase. These governments are imitating what happened in England, because they believe that it is "how industrialisation happens" and is the way you must do it.

In Africa, lots of old colonialism plays a big role too. The British, Belgians and others simply took the land, and when decolonisation happened, the land didn't end up back with "the people" but is controlled by wealthy landowners, warlords or corrupt governments.

**TL;DR Just because there is land to be farmed doesn't mean that those who own/control the land are ready to give it up just to be nice to starving people.**


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

[User]
Desire to study PhD abroad after masters - how can I maximise my masters experience to reach this goal?

I did my undergrad in journalism at an average UK university- finished with a 2:1. My MRes will be in international relations at a top 10 UK university with internationally recognised research.

I start in September and want to start applying for PhD places in Central Europe- Germany, Austria, Czech Republic etc - as soon as I can.

What can I do during my masters to maximise my chances of being accepted by foreign universities? Is there anything important that I should do/ know before applying for English speaking PhD places in these countries?

Thanks!

EDIT: Im a British citizen so am expecting to have to navigate visas wherever I go.

[Assistant]
Are you hoping to work on your own project (applying with a research proposal) or join an existing project (applying to studentships with CV and writing sample)? Because it changes what they will be looking for in your application. The latter is boring but easier, because then you don't have to worry about finding the right supervisor and about your research proposal fitting their research objectives there. It would also be fully funded.

Even if you can't churn out a publications quickly, seek fast options such as posting in famous blogs in your area (as guest contributor) if possible, or book reviews.


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

[User] [MCU] Did Bruce Banner ever reconnect with Betty Ross? If her dad is canon, isn't she as well?

[Assistant]
Apparently not.  Since becoming an Avenger he probably figures she's in even more danger if she's close to him.  He probably wants her to move on with her life, maybe get back together with that guy who looked like the dad from Modern Family, he seemed nice.

He still thinks about her, of course.  The Hulk-buster satellite was named "Veronica", after all.


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

[User] Eli5: How do VPNS work and why are they considered safe? Couldnt the network Im connecting to not just read out all my passwords etc.?

[Assistant]
They aren't more safe than your current browser. Tom Scott has a great video made on it.

The only thing VPN's are good for is to connect to region blocked content and to keep your data away from your ISP's. Although the government would probably still somehow pay the companies to extract data if you were high on the hit list.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do plastic bottles have pointed bottoms? Also, how come others like Gatorade completely ignore this and don't have it?

[Assistant] The pointed bottom helps provide structure to the bottle. If it didn't have this, the bottle would crumple a lot. Gatorade bottles are made of a harder plastic than most plastic bottles, so they don't need the shape to keep their form.


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

[User] ELI5: As computers have both a microphone and speakers, how does it avoid triggering a feedback loop when both are in use?

[Assistant]
Firstly, they put the microphones a reasonable distance from the speakers. And, secondly, they use various techniques to reduce this feedback. Sometimes they design directional microphones, but they require space that phone and computer designs can't provide. But they can include two microphones, and sound coming from different locations will arrive at different times.

Often they assume that the microphone will pick up audio from the speakers, so they just subtract the signals sent from the speakers from the sound picked up by the microphones.


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

[User]
Who would win in this fight? Maximus (Gladiator) vs King Leonidas (300) vs Spartacus (Spartacus TV show)

Free for all. Sword and Shield. No reinforcements.

[Assistant]
Two gladiators trained just enough to provide a good show versus a male Spartan trained in the arts of both single and mass combat from birth.

It's pretty easy to figure out, but the only question is the order.

Spartacus puts in a spirited first effort, but since he is a pure gladiator, only trained in the arena, with no prior experience or conditioning other than as a slave, he falls first to the better trained and conditioned and more experienced former Roman legion general and the Spartan king. He is likely killed in passing, having erred in some not insignificant way, probably sliced with perfect form and left to finish his last seconds gurgling in the dust as the two remainders position to face each other.

Then remain Maximus and Leonidas, likely both mildly injured, but still in excellent fighting shape. Maximus is a wily general with an excellent battle record so his strategy is likely superior. If he is wise he avoids direct clashes with the likely stronger, better conditioned and more aggressive Spartan. It is a match of circle...feint...clash....retreat...and it goes on interminably. Maximus is hoping the Spartan will make a mistake due to his ferocity and let his rage direct him into the Roman's blade.

But Leonidas has the discipline of a Spartan pounded into him like steel made to blade, he left the ability to lose focus behind with his childhood innocence. Eventually, it just comes down to conditioning, as shields and swords get heavy after just minutes of extended combat, and Leonidas was almost born holding his weapons and has borne their weight from the day he could grasp them.

Maximus makes a mistake, a tiny, silly mistake birthed from exhaustion that 99 men could perhaps see but not capitalize on. Leonidas is that hundreth man. He gets Maximus, but not by much...but enough.

Both men know now. Maximus will bleed until he dies, and all the grunting and clanging after this is a delay of the inevitable. Leonidas has too much left in the tank, and Maximus has 15 or so less years in the game. The great and noble King will let the man fight it out, until he is brought to his knees, brought low by the ravages of blood loss.

This is no gladiatorial combat, no game. This man, this fine Roman warrior sought to come to terms with a Spartan, and has to pay the cost. Maximus is granted a quick and honorable death, and is not made to beg for it. Nor is there any histrionics of pleading for life or one lording victory over another.

Leonidas mounts him, locks eyes with him, is pleased to see naught but acceptance and thanks for a fight well fought, and drives his sword at an angle behind his collarbone, slicing through several arteries and cleaving the heart in one shot. Maximus is walking among the wheat before he hits the ground.

A full years wheat, the best meats and wines will arrive on Maximus's family's doorstep, a tribute to the worthiness of him as a warrior.

Spartacus's family will get his cloven body.


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

[User]
[MCU] Deadpool, instead f Dr. Strange, enters the Dark Dimension to confront Dormamu. Can he get him to bargain?

Just had a thought.

[Assistant] No.  Strange was resetting time.  This kept Dormammu in a time loop, forcing him to bargain or experience the same seconds over and over again forever.  Deadpool would have no such power.  Dormammu could just impale him on a spike, reduce him to ash, throw him in a black hole, etc. and go on with conquering earth.


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

[User]
[Farscape] Are there other forms of hyperspeed propulsion other than a leviathan's starburst?

I don't think Peacekeepers have anything like it, since they made Talyn to try to take advantage of the ability, but do any other races out there have a hyperspeed form of travel?

[Assistant]
They can all (pretty much) go faster-than-light, just as a normal aspect of general propulsion technology common to the whole area and the Unknown Regions, etc.

The major thing about the Starburst is that it can *instantly* traverse a huge distance, and cannot be tracked, unlike the FTL travel others are able to do.


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

[User]
ELI5: If I inhale a small insect, or swallow a drink the wrong way, and it goes in my lungs, does it stay there?

I was recently jogging through a some woods and definitely inhaled a small flying insect. It never got coughed up.

[Assistant]
There's a possibility that it didn't make it all the way into your lungs, or stay in your lungs, due to little hairs call cilia and the mucus they are coated in. It'll push the little guy out so you can either properly digest it, or cough it up.

There are some circumstances when something actually makes its way in to your lungs, in which case there's a small chance that the bacteria on the item can cause pneumonia.

If you get flu/cold symptoms or have trouble breathing, then see a doc ASAP. Otherwise, don't worry about it. More often than not the coughing process dislodges it from the lungs (just maybe not to the point of being able to spit it out).


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

[User]
[DBZ/DBS] Are there any practical/tactical/strategic difference between the beam attacks used by the different characters?

Beams seem to be pretty universal, and although they usually have their own name and hand movements to go along with it they all seem essentially the same. Are there any real differences between them? What differentiates a Final Flash from a Galick Gun from a Masenko from a Kamehameha other than the color and name?

Some characters like Gohan (Masenko, Kamehameha) and Vegeta(Big Bang/Galick Gun/Final Flash) know multiple beam attacks so how do they choose one over the other in a given situation?

[Assistant]
More than you think, but not always vastly different.

The Kamehameha for example is patient, powerful and effective, like a turtle coming out of its shell it's slower but it's a strong technique that is rivaled by few.

The masenko is similar but much quicker and easier to cast, good for beginners, Piccolo develops the special beam canon as a means to combat the masenkos weakness vs the Kamehameha, it's also more piercing like a sword than a lot of other ki attacks. But it takes longer to charge. Not to mention it seems to have electrical properties. It's channeled and charged differently.

Vegeta's galick gun is similar. It's a quick and powerful attack, the big bang attack however shoots a large ball that explodes and leaves a cloud in its wake. It's also slower. His final flash takes awhile to charge but is immensely powerful, to the point that there might be diminishing returns on its power.

Krillins signature the destruct disk values sharpness and can catch unexpecting opponents with its blade. As almost happened to nappa.

There are tons of ways ki can be applied. And they all play into the fighters strengths and personalities.


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

[User]
[Game of Thrones] How deep would the snow have to be...? SPOILERS S05E10

How deep would the snow have to be for Sansa and Theon to survive, relativity unhurt, their jump off the wall of Winterfell?

[Assistant]
*Going to have to go "Doylist" on this one, sorry.*

The Outer wall of Winterfell is about eighty feet high (at least in the books), and this is semi-confirmed with some rough back-of-the-tissue calculations about how long it took "M" to fall to the inner courtyard (~2 seconds, which puts the wall at 80-100 feet).

Landing in snow is one of the better options, but it's going to depend on a whole lot of factors.

First, the snowdrift needs to be at minimum 4 meters deep to provide adequate cushioning.  Snow is complex - it forms in layers, so top snow (aka 'powder') will have different compression than packed snow further down.  Also, your deceleration needs to be around or about 25g to avoid serious injury and less than 200g to avoid death.

If the snow at the landing point is 3m deep or a light dusting of snow over ice, then both jumpers will suffer horrific injuries, up to and including shattered legs, shattered pelvis and broken back.  This was ably demonstrated by Brandon Stark, falling from a lesser height.   This would be the result of applying over 200g's of deceleration - almost certainly fatal (but not automatically so).
Without immediate medical attention, the jumpers would likely die within hours, faster if we take exposure to elements into account.

If the snow is 4m deep or more, it has enough compressibility to it to provide adequate cushioning force.  To survive, the jumpers will also need to land in the correct manner - relaxed body, feet first, bending knees, and redirecting force instead of absorbing it.  This would apply *very roughly* between 20 and 50g of deceleration on impact - definitely survivable (but with some injuries)

So, if done right, this can mean the jump is survivable.  The jumpers may end up with minor bone breakage, sprains and strains, but are otherwise capable of 'walking away' from the drop.

A depth of 8m or more, plus proper landing technique would also provide adequate protection from the drop, but it would also serve to mire the jumpers in the snowdrift, making them easy targets for archers or soldiers.


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

[User] ELI5: When we say a food makes our body more alkaline, what does that mean exactly and why is it healthy?

[Assistant] It's pseudo-science. Your body very tightly regulates the pH of your blood in a narrow range through a variety of mechanisms. Your diet has little effect on your blood pH. Even if it did, the promoters of this fad diet make claims like lemons make your body more alkaline, despite being a very acidic fruit.


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

[User] If prions are so difficult to destroy and spread easily, why aren't the diseases they cause more widespread?

[Assistant]
Prions don't spread that easily. They typically have to be ingested or enter the bloodstream in some way and rarely spread person to person. In comparison to the average virus or bacteria that makes them many orders of magnitude less virulent. It also makes the standard protections that we use against viruses and bacteria, like glove wearing and protecting ourselves from blood and tissue, incredibly effective against prions.

As a side note, prion diseases may be much more common than we know. There are some theories that diseases like Parkinson's might be caused by prions and are actually spread among people.


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

[User] ELI5: How does banking works interest-free islamic economy? How does a bank earn if there is no interest?

[Assistant]
If everyone is being honest about it, it's just a set of technicalities.

- You don't buy the car for $20,000, we buy the car and you buy it from us for $24,000 in equal $500 monthly payments over the next 4 years.

- We're not giving you a loan, we're buy a piece of your business that you will buy back from us over time.

- We don't give you interest on your savings account, we use your deposits to buy asset and give you a profit share.

In reality, these countries all deal in interest anyway. Islamic countries issue sovereign debt all the time, and those bonds pay interest.


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

[User]
[Warhammer 40k] An Inquiry into the effects of a Nova Cannon on a planetary target.

So, as a Captain of the Imperial Navy, I have a certain obligation to uphold my reputation. Thus, the comments made by a Certain Water Caste degenerate at a negotiation with the Tau xenos cannot be allowed to stand. While the reprobate in question has been redistributed across her continent of origin in accordance with Tau principles, her remarks have been spread across the Tau empire, and thus something more dramatic seems required to balance the scales.

As I am the commander of an Invincible-Class Fast Battleship modified to carry a Nova Cannon, I believe use of this weapon may represent my best course of action. What effects could I expect to see if a shell impact the surface of a Tau Sept World?

Also, I have contemplated moving my vessel to some distance well outside the stellar system in question, plot out the entirely predicable location of the planet, and begin firing the Nova Cannon to intersect with the planet. Then, as even an Imperial battleship is some seven times faster than a Tau Interstellar craft, I would proceed to make good my escape.

Is this course of action likely to be successful?

[Assistant]
Nova cannons are one of Humanity's greatest weapons against the xeno-hordes. The impact of a single warhead of a Nova cannon is the equivalent of a K-T extinction event on ancient Earth.

As for your plan to bombard the Tau Sept World, our current level of tech leaves the accuracy of the Nova Cannon much to be desired. Therefore, you'll need to be relatively much closer to your target.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some areas allow you to use an Engine Break, while others do not?

Brake. My bad guys.

[Assistant]
*brake*

Simply: because engine brakes are **LOUD**.

People who own homes or businesses have a right, in common law jurisdictions, to the *quiet enjoyment of their property*. That means noise nuisances, such as loud stereos, bands playing, and trucks using engine brakes, are violating that right.


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

[User]
How does the immune system work outside the bloodstream?

I know we have white blood cells and other immune cells floating around in our bloodstream that attack pathogens, but how do our bodies fight infections that occur outside the blood vessels?

[Assistant]
Cells from the immune system inhabit every single tissue in your body, not just the blood stream. They can move around as well.

In addition to this, the local blood vessels can open up to allow liquid and immune cells (and supporting proteins) to invade the infected tissue, to help with the immune response.

This mostly happens in response to cells giving off chemical signals when they detect an infection.


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

[User]
ELI5: How, when looking for an item that is right in front of us, does our brain skip over the item while scanning for it?

I was looking for something that was right in front of me. My eyes passed over the spot as I scanned the room a couple times. Not until I did a full turn and came back to my original position did I see the object I was looking for - directly in front of me...

[Assistant]
We are almost never actually focused on the item we're looking for.  We're usually extremely distracted by all the thoughts about where the item was last, what will happen if we don't find it, all the havok and frustration of not having the item...

It's 100% just because of distraction.


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

[User]
If we lived on a planet orbiting a sun (with similar characteristics of our Earth and solar system) closer to the center of our galaxy, could the light coming from the gas cloud surrounding a black hole outshine the sun?

By a black hole I meant the black hole at the center of The Milky Way.

[Assistant]
In our galaxy, the SMBH at the center isn't accretiing, so it is completely dark. In active galaxies the accretion disk (and surrounding associated gas) is incredibly bright. The luminosity of  the sun  is ~4x10^33 erg/s. A typical AGN might have a luminosity of ~10^44 erg/s. That is 11 orders of magnitude brighter!

However, the question was whether the light would outshine our sun. So let's plonk our solar system in the center of an actve galaxy. Luminosity falls off as 1/r^2, so for the AGN to have the same brightness, it would have to be 158000 times further away. That works out to just 2.5 light years, which is ridiculously close on galactic scales!

So the answer is no on two counts. Firstly our galaxy's SMBH doesn't have an accretion disk. And if it did then you would have to be very, very close indeed to outshine the sun.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it more comfortable to sleep in a cool room under warm blankets than just to sleep in a warm room?

[Assistant]
Blankets offer physical contact where an empty room does not, and that can be comforting. The ancient technique of "swaddling" babies (wrapping them in blankets) to calm them and keep them quiet is an example of this.

They also prevent wafts of air from moving across your body and cooling it, and they can be hiked up to cut off light. And on top of these reasons, they're also highly adjustable - you can take them off to immediately cool down, but a room's temperature isn't so easily warmed or cooled in some cases, and particularly not without having to get out of bed to do it.


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

[User]
Does an electric car consume the same amount of energy as a petrol equivalent?

One problem we have in implementing electric vehicles as a central mode of transportation, is the source of energy: if the energy comes from fossil fuel plants, it defeats the purpose of buying an electric car . . . or does it?

Even if the electricity comes from a coal-burning plant, does an electric use the same amount of energy as a petrol equivalent, or more because of the extra battery weight, and for having a less potent energy source?

[Assistant] No, they consume much less. The Nissan Leaf goes ~160km of a 24kWh (86.4MJ) charge while the similar Nissan Versa requires 12.6L of gasoline (441MJ of energy) to travel the same distance. This is because electric cars recover a portion of the energy lost during braking, this is very significant in city driving where most energy is lost to braking rather than air and rolling resistance. Electric powertrains are also inherently much more efficient (~90%) than conventional engines (~35%).


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

[User] ELI5: Why do high high court government positions (President, Supreme Court Justices, and etc) get sworn in on a bible when we have separation of church and state?

[Assistant]
There is no requirement that any elected office be sworn in using a Bible. The only requirement is that the official entering office take the oath.

Many people for personal or political reasons will use a Bible, placing their left hand on it, which is supposed to mean that they are swearing not only by the laws of the country but by their own religious convictions.

However, it's not a requirement and people have been sworn in using the Muslim Koran, the Jewish Torah, or nothing at all, although not at the highest levels of US elected office which historically has been dominated by white Christian males.

Also, it should be noted that officials elected to Congress do not take their oath on *any* holy book, but do so *en masse* in a group. The swearing-in photographs you sometimes see are just photo-ops, not the actual swearing in ceremony, and are purely symbolic.


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

[User] ELI5: When companies call themselves "carbon neutral", what does this mean - presumably every industrial process involves electricity and consuming energy?

[Assistant]
*In theory*, it means that they remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as they put into it. So yes, they consume energy, some of which is produced by coal, but they also put money into initiatives to remove carbon, for example by planting trees.

In practice, it generally means very little, and these claims are based on some very creative accounting. For example, you might plant a tree and then say that "over the next 50 years of its life, it will remove 5 tons of carbon from the atmosphere. So let's just say that we've removed 5 tons *here and now*"


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

[User]
CMV: Anti-trans bathroom rhetoric is either political theatre or outright insane.

Regardless of whether you think trans people should use a bathroom conforming to their gender identity, the enforcement of any kind of bathroom laws in this matter would be a complete catastrophe.

Lets say you have a law that states people should only use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex. Whos going to check a bathroom goers birth sex and how are they going to do it?

Lets say this law envisions a bathroom custodian whos going to guess what biological sex someone belongs to and assign them a bathroom accordingly.

Well, cis women can have varying degrees of masculine physical characteristics and look more masculine than trans women, so almost certainly a lot of cis women will be turned away from female bathrooms.

Now, lets say, to better equip the bathroom custodian to perform their duty, such a law lets them ask to physically examine a potential bathroom go-er to clarify whatever doubts they have about their birth sex. This would be the very picture of disaster. A lot of them will 100% use this as a tool to commit sexual assault against someone who desperately needs to use the bathroom, definitely not the intended consequence of a law trying to reduce sexual assault in bathrooms. Even if used properly, this would generally be extremely intrusive for practically everyone, since theyll have to live with the perpetual risk of being asked to present their genitalia if they want to use a public toilet. Also, if such a law envisages penalties for violators, trans people who attempt to use the toilet conforming to their birth sex in accordance with the law will almost always be physically examined since theyll be presenting as the gender other than the one whose toilet theyre trying to use.

Any enforcement of this kind of a rule would be extremely inconvenient for literally everyone involved, which leads me to believe that most of the moral panic behind this issue is just political posturing, and those people who arent politically posturing and genuinely support this are advocating for a solution a thousand times more problematic than what theyre trying to solve.

[Assistant]
Would "intentionally terroristic"  fall outside of your definition?

The point of bathroom bills is to inspire popular revulsion at gender nonconforming people (not only trans people), create the narrative that they are sexual predators, disrupt their daily lives, and rile up unfounded fears in the general public that favor a particular political ideology but which, if they were real (and they are not) would be completely unsolvable as you have pointed out.

Some of the first breaking news stories years back when bathroom bills first got fashionable was of a masculine lesbian (cis) woman getting detained and carded for using the womens bathroom.  The people responsible for these bills wholly intend for this kind of harassment to happen.

Furthermore, compliance with the law would make trans people, especially trans men who have completed their initial transitional hormone therapy, drastically more visible and disruptive in public.

The point is to create a legal environment where it is not possible for trans or other gender nonconforming people to live their lives in peace - to raise stigmas against them and by extension expose them to more policing (resulting in more personal danger) and more public conflict (resulting in more personal danger).


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

[User]
ELI5: If something is absolutely frictionless, could you touch/hold it?

Yes, out of the Nvidia physics demo video!

[Assistant] Sure. You wouldn't really be able to grip it (it would slip out), but you could encase it in your hands, or you could hold it using variations in its shape. For instance, if it was a cross shape, you could wrap your fingers around the center portion and it wouldn't be able to slip out, since it would have to pass through your fingers to do so.


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

[User]
ELI5: How are ammunition sizes chosen?

I have always wondered why ammo sizes are all over the place. 5.56mm 7.62mm .338 caliber, 30-60, 30caliber etc.

Why not do something in even increments like 5mm, 6mm, 7.5mm or 30, 35, 40 etc calibers? Is this just for companies to get extra money making an odd proprietary size? What gives?

[Assistant]
They're just different scales measuring the bore of your weapon (imperial vs metric). To explain; 7.62 mm *is* 30 calibre. The calibre of a weapon is the diameter of the barrel, and 30 calibre is .30 of an inch across. 0.30 of an inch is 7.62mm.

The different calibers are about range and power. A bigger bullet will go further, faster and harder, but will need more powder to do so. They were standardised when inches were the normal unit. Now, we make new weapons with mm rounds, but the legacy of the old inch based rounds remains.


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

[User]
ELI5: Vatican Secret Archives

Why does it exist ?? Are the protecting something?? Are they hiding something ?? What could that possibly be ?

[Assistant]
It's an umbrella term for "Vatican important stuff that's not open to the general public."

Lots of people have access to different parts of the secret archives, you just need a reason. The Vatican (or at least the last few popes) have been remarkably good about letting researchers have access to these documents, as much or more so than most secular governments.

These archives contain everything from papal diaries to political correspondence, in fact there was a letter penned by one of Abraham Lincoln's assistants, signed by Lincoln himself, addressed to the then-pope, found in the archives recently (for example).

The secret archives are, for the papacy, like the attic is for your aunt, sure, there's probably some cool stuff in there (maybe a hidden gem here or there), but for the most part it's your cousins science projects and English homework from 1st grade on.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does peanut butter never mold just sitting at room temperature?

I've had an opened jar in the pantry for over two years, still tastes good too. Just curious.

[Assistant]
Peanut butter is high in oil and low moisture which is not microorganism friendly. In addition there are both stabilizers and preservatives which help extend shelf life and also help prevent microbial growth.

This is why natural peanut butter doesnt last as long as the big name store bought stuff.

Peanut butter can go rancid given enough time so dont ignore the expiration date.


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

[User]
[LOTR] Had Sauron regained the One Ring and conquered Middle-Earth, would, at some point, the Valar have intervened like they did with Morgoth?

I have my own ideas on this but I'm curious to see what others think about it.

[Assistant] It's possible, but there were quite a few reasons why they didn't want to do this. They don't interfere unless shits already hit the fan, and they would've likely waited a LONG time before they personally stepped in. If Sauron would've recovered the Ring they would've likely waited for Aragorn trying to rally the remaining kingdoms with Gandalfs help. They would've probably let Aragorns army lose and the entirety of Middle Earth being under darkness before they had a say, which after they wiped away the dark would reset middle earth and all the progress any kingdom had made would be undone. It would've been a huge setback and strenuous work to rebuild what evil can do in MidE. The only reason they don't step in sooner is, like most gods or demi-gods in fiction, they let the current occupants get as far as they can as them intervening doesn't necessarily help anything. Become too helpful and the population becomes dependent on God or Gods. Wait until the end and everything is ruined. It's really not a win for them in either of these scenarios, more of a reset. So yes, they probably would've stepped in, but now you see why they were putting all their cards on Gandalf helping Man make their own decisions, having him help indirectly at first, then when he died send him back with a buff on as they saw they needed to even the odds and allowed him to help more directly. Remember in the books however while Gandalf did fight directly it was still Man (led by Aragorn) calling the shots.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] What would happen if a strong telepath like Jean Grey or Emma Frost tried to read/control the Joker's mind?

The Joker is a "normal" human being without superpowers which would present no problem to a skilled telepath like Jean or Emma, but he is also so deranged and mad it might be much more difficult than usual. Would it still work or would his insanity make it impossible to mind control him? Sorry if this has been posted before btw =)

[Assistant]
Martian Manhunter has tried a few times. Once, he was able to force Joker into very brief sanity (to make him give up a powerful artifact). He said it was hard to do because his mind was so chaotic.

One other time, Manhunter had reached his final form, the Burning Martian. This time, he turned ALL of Arkham Asylum sane and didn't even mean to. Joker immediately tried to kill himself out of guilt and had to be restrained.


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

[User]
If neutron stars are simply made only from neutrons, where do they get fuel to still support their glow? If normal stars fuse atoms to create energy then what is the energy-producing process of neutron stars?

Where is the Astrophysics flair, by the way?

[Assistant]
A neutron star is the remnant of a super hot core of a massive star. It doesn't have any source of fuel. It glows for a long time because it's super hot. It will cool over time exactly because it has no fuel.

The same goes for white dwarfs.


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

[User]
Why doesn't the market 'fix' the chip shortage?

Considering the chip shortage has been going on for a year or so now, I'd expect some company to step in and start producing them. Is the barrier to entry too high? Trade secrets / patents? Something else?

[Assistant] The supply is relatively inelastic. Fabrication plans are expensive and take years to bring into full operation. They require highly specialized equipment that is also highly inelastic in supply. Basically, high fixed costs coupled with highly specialized equipment create highly inelastic supply.


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

[User]
CMV: Kids that behave should be rewarded more than kids that misbehave

In middle school and even in highschool, there were always times where the students that were generally the rowdy or misbehaving type were rewarded for times when they would be on good behavior for a while. Often it would be candy or free homework passes, but it always bothered me because the students that never acted up and were always super polite and whatnot were never rewarded for their consistent good behavior.

I don't think the issue lies in the fact that the misbehaving kids would get rewarded, but I remember often being aggrevated because I would see other students getting rewarded while I wouldn't get anything for having consistently good behavior.

I understand this gives an incentive for the rowdy to become more behaved, but I think it just leaves out and frustrates the kids who never act up.

At the core, i think we need a better system for good behavior in middle and high school where the polite and respectful are rewarded just as much or more than the misbehaving who have a day of good behavior.

Edit: Thank you all for the contributions! Definitely have left with a changed view on things.

[Assistant]
The point of the reward in this situation is not to reward good behavior by itself but to acknowledge a conscious change in behavior for the better. For a lot of those kids who were badly behaved, the change came because they were working hard at controlling their emotions, physical energy, giving attention, or doing other things that is outside of their normal range of behavior. It took conscious effort, it maybe made them feel uncomfortable, they had to use emotional control that for kids is very difficult to understand and implement.

Rewarding that behavior is *necessary* to help them develop those skills and deepen their emotional control. A kid who is very prone to just ditching things when they're too hard or lacks the will to dedicate themselves to a task has to push through a lot to finish reading a chapter or finishing a worksheet that tests them on a subject they don't enjoy. We want to encourage that behavior so we have to acknowledge that effort and make them feel good so they will want to do it again or feel capable of doing so without the reward.

Good kids already have those skills. They can already push through that pain/discomfort/emotional instability without assistance. It's a compliment to them but that equally means they don't need help to get over that bar. It's the same like if you're teaching two kids piano, you will necessarily have to praise every attempt and mangled effort at Twinkle Twinkle Little Star from the beginner but you will expect far more from a kid who has been playing 2 years and won't praise them for the same result.

They should be rewarded for doing similar tasks that stretch their abilities but the fact that the bar is low for one kid and high for another necessitates different responses and they shouldn't be rewarded in the same way for the same things.


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

[User]
Why is there a vaccine for FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus), but not HIV?

These answers seem to be very good, but I'm finding a hard time understanding them. Any chance of a TL;DR?

[Assistant]
You are assuming the FIV vaccine is efficacious.

The following is from Alice Wolf, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP:

"[The FIV vaccine] has never been evaluated in a situation of natural exposure. Once you vaccinate, our antibody tests will be falsely positive. PCR tests are not sufficiently accurate to make this determination.

If it so easy to protect against the millions of strains of lentivirus such as FIV and HIV, why don't we have a safe and efficacious vaccine against HIV yet? Answer: It's not so simple."

Study:
 Limited efficacy of an inactivated feline immunodeficiency virus vaccine
Vet Rec. April 2006;158(16):561-2.
S P Dunham1; J Bruce; S Mackay; M Golder; O Jarrett; J C Neil
1Institute of Comparative Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH.
Companion Notes

Report on the efficacy (limited) of an inactivated feline immunodeficiency virus vaccine against experimental challenge:

Study design

- introduction on vaccination against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV):

- inactivated vaccine available (FelOVaX FIV; Fort Dodge Animal Health)

- vaccine is licensed in the USA, Canada and Australia and has 2 isolates

- FIV Petaluma (subtype A)

- FIV Shizuoka (subtype D)

- reported to provide protection versus several isolates (subtypes A, B and C)

- challenge viruses usedwere poorly characterized

- or may not have been representative of isolates in the field

- authors use UK subtype A isolate, FIV Glasgow8 for assessing vaccine efficacy

- causes viral loads in experimentally infected cats similar to those in field cats

- experimental vaccines tested did not prevent infection after challenge

- vaccines did reduce viral loads post-challenge

- study population: 11, 13weekold, specific pathogenfree domestic cats

- procedure:

- cats were randomized into 2 groups

- group 1 of 6 cats

- immunized sc 3 times every 3 weeks (manufacturers recommendations)

- group 2 of 5 cats

- immunized sc 3 times every 3 weeks with buffered saline

- blood samples taken before vaccination and at 2nd and 3rd vaccination

- also on day of challenge and at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks post-challenge

- all cats were challenged 4 weeks after the 3rd vaccination

- infectious doses of FIV Glasgow8 IM (imitating a cat bite)

Results:

- all 11 cats became infected post-challenge

- confirmed by viral isolation and plasma viral RNA (realtime PCR)

- vaccinates had markedly higher viral loads 2 weeks post-challenge
(as compared to unvaccinated kittens)

- authors caution vaccine may enhance infection

- vaccinates and controls had similar viral loads by 4 weeks post-challenge

- vaccinates and controls had similar proviral loads in spleen and lymph nodes

The lack of protection afforded by the vaccine against a viral challenge relevant to that likely to be encountered in the UK underlies the need for caution when using FIV vaccines in domestic cats.


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

[User] [Minecraft] Explain to me the evolutionary path of a creeper - Under what possible circumstance does the self-detonation become a viable tactic for propogating your genetic line?

[Assistant] The creeper is a form of mobile fungus. The "explosion" is actually just it releasing its load of spores into the wind. Often, a creeper will spore dump near a live creature to ensure that some of its spores have a plentiful food source to nourish them, much like insects that lay their eggs in their prey.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can people have fires inside igloos without them melting through the ice?

Edit: Thanks for the awards! First time i've ever received any at all!

[Assistant]
What happens is the rough inside later of the igloo melts a little bit at first but the super cold ice behind it which is being kept cold by the outside temperatures freezes it again in to a smooth crust. Because there's now less surface area the warm inside air is less effective at melting the surrounding ice.

So basically it's a constant battle between the fire inside warming up the air and the ice and cold air keeping the structure frozen, and the achieve a balance at some point.


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

[User]
[Predator] How the hell do Yautja's eat?

Their Mandibles confuses me. Also despite having superior technology to us humans most of their weapons are "Primitive" if you exclude the Plasma Canon. if Humans ever managed to capture a Yautja and confiscate it's technology and managed to reverse engineer it , I feel like we would be able to develop much more Lethal Weapons and devices based on said technology.

[Assistant]
The Yautja are hunters, not necessarily warriors. Large scale battle, or the concept of "total war", isn't really a thing in their culture, and small scale inter-tribal warfare really only requires simplistic weaponry to do the job. You don't need a very sophisticated gun to kill one person. And besides that, honor plays a huge part in their culture. Overkill, or applying more force to kill something than is necessary, is a sign of weakness and dishonor, and can even lead to the Predator being hunted by his own kind.

If humans did acquire Yautja technology, we probably would heavily militarize it, but that's because large scale warfare has been something we've participated in for thousands of years.

The eating is simple: the exterior mandibles rip and tear meat and push it towards the interior jaws, which do the actual chewing and swallowing.


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

[User]
I believe there would be much more racism against African Americans if it were not for their contributions to music and sports. CMV

I think African Americans have made many great contributions to sports and music. Black people invented the great artforms of jazz, blues, r&b, rap/hip hop, and have really made their mark on American culture. Black athletes have also been some of the very best athletes ever. Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali are more than just athletes and have become icons.

I think that if African Americans had not made such an impact on sports and music, most people's impression of them would be the high poverty and crime rates among the black population. Young people now think that black musicians and athletes are cool and idolize them. But if they didn't, most non-black young people would not think black culture is cool and would not sympathize with them. I think most people would focus on the negative aspects in the black population and many more people would be racist against them. Change my view.

[Assistant]
Multiple African American leader and role models have stated that the media glorification of Black Athlete's and Musician is in part responsible for the decline of interest in education among young Blacks, especially when compared to Asian American which lack both a sports and western music culture.

This lack of interest in education and focus on getting out of poverty through Athleticism and Music is the causes of much of the income equality experience by African Americans and thus the racism associated with them in the United States.

Immigrant African Americans who do not have this association with sport or music (Basketball, Football, Jazz, R&B and Rap are far less popular in Sub Saharan Africa) are among the most upwardly mobile immigrant in the United States. With the son of one being the current sitting President.


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

[User]
Dividing by Zero, what is it really?

As far as I understand, when you divide anything by Zero, the answer is infinity. However, I don't know why it's infinity, it's just something I've sort of accepted as fact. Can anyone explain why?

Edit: Further clarification, are not negative infinity and positive infinity equal?

[Assistant]
Division by zero is not infinity. It is undefined.
If 1/0 = A then 1 = Ax0
but there is no number A which when multiplied by 0 gives an answer of anything BUT 0

Therefore division by 0 is undefined.


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

[User] ELI5: Why can some businesses swipe my card without any verification(PIN/signature) from me?

[Assistant] There is usually a threshold set by the card companies above which a signature is required. Small purchases are less likely to be fraudulent since people with a stolen card are going to run the card up as fast as possible before it gets reported. Now that cards are more common than cash, not requiring a signature for every purchase adds convenience for the consumer and efficiency for the retailer. Security is great, but it adds more work and people are always looking for that balance.


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

[User]
[DCU] Does the Joker love Harley?

He certainly puts up with way more from her than he would anyone else.  And, if he does love her, do they...relations?  Could there one day be a Joker Jr.?

[Assistant]
No, he almost certainly does not-- Harley Quinn is nothing but a cheerleader, sycophant and enabler to the Joker's narccistic, sociopathic personality. Her usefulness as a follower and worshiper outweighs any annoyance her presence might bring him. Even then, he's still shown to be psychologically and physically abusive.

The closest the Joker has to loving someone is his relationship with Batman.


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

[User] ELI5: 5 Hour Energy drinks have 8333% of your daily value of vitamin B12. What affect does this have on your body?

[Assistant] Not much. B12 is useful to your body when you exert a lot of energy and if your body has issues absorbing B12 you'll tend to sleep a lot. However it's not fat soluble so you actually just urinate out the excess that your body doesn't need. Your urine maybe a darker yellow due to the excess B12 even if you are well hydrated.


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

[User]
Why is the air that you exhale warm when your mouth is open wide while it's cooler when you blow the air through pursed lips?

I feel like it may have to do with the tongue because I can feel a slight difference if I change my tongue placement in my mouth, but I'm not completely sure.

Or is it due to speed of exhalation?

[Assistant]
Contrary to what people in this thread are saying, this has nothing to do with the speed of the air, improved convection or wind chill. When you exhale onto your hand with your mouth open, most of the air that hits your hand came from your lungs. Conversely, blowing through pursed lips forms a narrow stream of air from your lungs which drags cool air from the surrounding atmosphere with it.

Edit: this effect is called entrainment.


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

[User]
[Marvel Cinematic Universe] Are the Asgardians we see the same as the Asgardians worshiped by ancient Vikings?

Are the Thor, Loki, Odin, and so on that we see the same beings worshiped centuries ago by Vikings? If so, does time pass at the same rate in Valhalla as on Earth, making Thor and company centuries old? Or is there some kind of time slip effect, and Thor is perhaps only several decades old, rather than centuries?

Conversely, is it possible that Asgard has actually passed through Ragnarok one or more times since the time of Vikings, and the Asgardians we see are simply retracing the cycle of creation and destruction laid out in their own mythology?

[Assistant]
The oldest plausible evidence of Loki-worship, a rock with a depiction carved into it, dates to about 1000 AD. We know the Casket of Ancient Winters was captured in 965 AD, that Loki was a baby at that time, and he appeared to be an adult by the time the rock was made.

Evidence of Thor-worship, though, goes back to the 7th century, and Thor appears to be roughly as old as Loki. Odin-worship arguably goes to the 6th century.

Keep in mind, Asgardians have mastered wormhole technology. Wormholes are bridges in space-time, not just space. It's possible that time travel is used in certain circumstances.


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

[User]
[ATLA/LOK] Could a powerful bloodbender end the Avatar cycle?

Powerful bloodbenders like Amon can control multiple people, even the Avatar. Could a powerful enough bloodbender make the Avatar enter the Avatar state as they were dying to permanently end the cycle? I understand Yakone was unable to control Aang once he entered the Avatar State, but if the Avatar is already dying, could one quickly make them enter the Avatar State?

[Assistant] All sorts of sharp trauma, physical or mental, have shown the potential to trigger the Avatar states reflexive defense mode. So yes, a bloodbender could trigger the Avatar state by inflicting pain and distress, but that is because it is torture not because of anything special about blood-bending itself. It would create a stress analogous to when Avatar Korra was poisoned with mercury injections. Crushing with rocks, suffocating with airbending, or any other such torments would have the same chance as working.


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

[User] [Marvel] Would superheros like Captain America and The Hulk also be hunted by the sentinels seen in X-Men days of future past and if not did they support what the sentinels were doing?

[Assistant]
Of course it's hard to answer definitively for the MCU, but for Earth-616 (the main comics canon)...

The Sentinels scan for the presence of the X-gene. Usually they won't attack someone without it unless provoked.

The Avengers have a long history of being pro-mutant, what with Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Beast all being long-established members of the team. In the comic version of Days of Future Past other heroes and villains were eventually hunted down and killed by the sentinels as well.


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

[User] [Star Wars legends] After the Galactic War was won, when did the Jedi Order leave Tython to go back to Coruscant?

[Assistant]
We don't know for sure, but by Darth Bane's time, Tython is empty due to changing hyperspace routes. The Jedi had moved out long before then.

A bunch of these questions are in post-SWTOR, which we don't know much about.


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

[User]
How much is the gravity of the Sun decreasing because of the mass converted to energy through nuclear fusion?

Is it enough to be measured by changes in the earth's trajectory with our current instruments? Is it negligible because of the low rate at which its happening? Thanks!

[Assistant]
Every second in the Sun's core, 570 million tons of hydrogen are converted to 566 million tons of helium, so the mass loss is 4 million tons per second. This is equivalent to the energy released by the Sun each second in the form of light. (Edit: mostly light; see ignatiusloyola's comment below)

This sounds like a lot, but compared to the mass of the Sun it's negligible. It would take nearly 200 billion years at this rate for the Sun to lose 1% of its mass.

It also loses mass through the solar wind. Currently that mass loss is negligible too, but when it expands into a red giant it will lose a large fraction of its mass that way and Earth's orbit will move outward. Whether it will move out far enough to avoid being swallowed by the Sun is still uncertain.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do astromechs communicate the way they do?

Why do they speak in beeps and boops as opposed to whatever the common tongue in the Galaxy is? Surely it would be easier than deciphering whatever form of communication they currently use.

[Assistant] Astromechs are not made to communicate with humans, so they don't need to speak Basic. Being able to communicate with each other is enough for them. Starfighters incorporate speech to text translators because the astromech may need to communicate with the pilot more often.


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

[User]
What exactly causes the pain from a static spark?

Is it due to direct electrical stimulation of the nerve endings? Is it due to a change in temperature? Or is it something else?

[Assistant] The pain is actually a heat response. Static sparks are hot, that little zap you hear is from the air being super heated (like a lightning bolt). That heat will affect the tiny point of contact, giving a pain sensation.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do car commercials contain license plates painted to match the vehicle's body color?

[Assistant] Companies do it because they want people looking at their car not the license plates, plus they can't show a real license plates in a commercial and have to put something there. Companies pay millions for their ads and if people are reading the license plate instead of looking at their car their losing money.


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

[User]
ELI5 what magnet, charter, and choice schools are in the USA

These terms occasionally come up in comments about education.

[Assistant]
Standard public schools in the US take any student that lives in their assigned region and educates them.  However, let's say you are a really talented musician, there is really not reason to think that the other talented musicians in your state live near you.  So, the state (or county) might open a Magnet school for Music.  Any student in the state/county can go there, but the school can select the best musicians.  This is a very different system, but it's still apublic school run by the government.

Let's say some parents want to have a school that adopts a non-standard teaching philosophy, for example boys-only and girls-only rather than co-ed.  They can find some educational studies that show this works better for some students.  With this justification they can apply to the state/county for a Charter to open a Charter School that adopts this educational paradigm.  It's a controlled experiment, and usually they use the same books and tests as usual schools.  Attendance at the charter school is voluntary, sometimes with a lottery if more kids want to go than there is space.

Other times parents want a school choice that's not educationally based, the long-standing example is Catholic School.  These schools teach the same content, but in addition they teach certain religious things.  In most of the US, these are private schools, where the parents pay.  However, in some areas with below average public schools there have been experiments with voucher programs where some of the tuition is paid with public money (because the student isn't taking up space in a public school).  This is the most controversial aspect of the system.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does Wal-Marts "Great Value" brand ice cream not melt?

And is this something I should be concerned about eating?

Edit: mobile is giving me issues marking this as solved. Thank you for your answers!

Edit 2: got it!

[Assistant] The milk and the cream part does melt but it's held in suspension by the various gum bases that they use, the same gums used in yogurt and shakes to give body and to act as a stabilizer. The gums act as a mesh. No sense getting upset that Wal-Mart uses a stabilizer in its product that in fact stabilizes the product.


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

[User]
[Game of Thrones] Do the Starks have a special bond with wolves and direwolves like the Targaryens have with dragons? Or are the direwolves the Stark children have loyal because they were raised from pups?

Could the Baratheons have tame deer companions?

[Assistant]
The current Stark generation, in ASOIAF canon, are confirmed to all have warging capabilities, although Bran is the only greenseer/presumably the most powerful. So these Starks are unique in that regard.

Someone more well-versed in the histories may know of other examples. A Baratheon would likely not be able to have a deer pet as they don't have warg blood. Targaryens are also a special case.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why do sons get named after their dads, grandpas etc. and become "Jrs" or "The Thirds" but daughters/women don't??

You just never meet a Merideth Jr or Casey the third, why? Its so common for men to be named after other male family members and take on the role of a junior but its so less common for women.

[Assistant] Comes from inheritance, you named your son after the master of the house to clearly show the line of succession. Women could not originally inherit/own land so there was no need to name them after their mothers who also did not own land.


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

[User] [MCU] Why would Hydra allow agents such as Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Phill Coulson, Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton to rise so high within S.H.I.E.L.D and create the Avengers initiative?

[Assistant]
Like Alexander pierce said to nick, it's because they're good at their job.

They probably figured they'd never figure things out, and would be able to use their skills to do what they wanted. They've gotten away with it for so long, they had no reason that these specific skilled agents would be able to stop them.


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

[User] ELI5: How is that Earth has an atmosphere? What is fighting with the vacuum? Why is some gas able to create pressure out of nothing?

[Assistant]
In a word, Gravity

The Earth's gravity pulls on the atmosphere the same way that it keeps the oceans glued to the earth.

At some point during the Earth's formation much of the Earth was liquid due to it's high temperature so the lighter gaseous elements like Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrogen bubbled to the surface.

Much of this gas was lost to space but what remained formed our atmosphere.

Gravity is also what makes the atmosphere denser as you get closer to Earth's surface.


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

[User]
Why are dark matter halos spherical while most of the other matter in galaxies is on a plane?

Does it have to do with dark matter being weakly interacting?

[Assistant]
It has everything to do with the fact that, unlike ordinary baryonic matter, dark matter doesn't interact via the electromagnetic force.

The run-of-the-mill gas, plasma, and dust that galaxies form out of can collide with itself. As a result, if you have a big cloud of gas (like a protogalaxy), the different bits will run into each other and exchange their angular momentum, and eventually the whole mass will have fairly evenly distributed angular momentum, and will all rotate together in a disk.

Since dark matter doesn't collide (or at least doesn't collide very strongly), it can't trade angular momentum as easily. As a result, it can keep orbiting in all directions, resulting in a more spheroidal distribution. Dark matter halos appear to generally be in the shape of triaxial ellipsoids.


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

[User] ELI5: Is it called a womb if you're not pregnant?

[Assistant]
Yes, the womb is the name of the organ inside a woman's body that the egg/embryo/fetus sits in.  It's there from birth.

Generally, the term "uterus" is used when talking about it in a medical context but the two terms are interchangeable.


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

[User]
ELI5: why is it possible to see something break through the sound barrier?

Ive seen videos of jets creating this convo cloud effect when they go faster than the speed of sound. Since sound is not visible and its not matter, why can we see this effect?

[Assistant]
That cloud is water vapour coming out of the air and it isnt directly related to the sound barrier at all, that cone can form when youre not breaking the sound barrier or it might not form at all even if you are.

They key to these vapour cones is flying very fast through moist air, this causes part of the air around the aircraft to decrease in pressure till its below the dew point and water held in the air comes out as a vapour which is the visible cloud, then the shockwave from different parts of the aircraft hits this air and forces all the water back creating the cone shape.


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

[User]
What happens to electrons in an AC circuit after we use them for power?

DC, I understand. Free electrons travel from the negatively charged side of the cell to the positively charged side, and when the charge evens out the flow of electrons peter out.

AC, though, according to what I've been told has "hot", "neutral", and "ground". I know ground is for safety, in case there is a short it will take the current literally to the ground. Hot is "where the electricity is", and it gets the name alternating current because it travels back and forth on that line?

So what's neutral for?

And what happens to the electrons that are being used for power? Why do we constantly need to generate more of them?

I feel really dumb asking questions about something as elementary as electricity, but no matter how hard I try to understand it, all I ever hear is "blah blah blah, magic".

[Assistant] Well, think of the electrons like a clothes line rope and you want to make the pulley at the far end move. With DC, you are constantly pulling on one side of the clothes line causing the pulley at the far end to spin. With AC, you pull on one side of the clothes line, then on the other back and forth. The rope (electrons) are never used up, so there is no 'after'.


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

[User]
Rubbing alcohol is often use to sanitize skin (after an injury/before an injection), but I have never seen someone use it to clean their counters or other non-porous surfaces  is there a reason rubbing alcohol is not used on such surfaces but non-alcohol-based spray cleaners are?

Edit: Whoa! This is now my most highly upvoted post and it was humbly inspired by the fact that I cleaned a toilet seat with rubbing alcohol in a pinch. Haha.

I am so grateful for all of your thoughtful answers. So many things you all have taught me that I had not considered before (and so much about the different environments you work in). Thank you so much for all of your contributions.

[Assistant] Alcohol used to be the antiseptic of choice for instruments and surfaces in healthcare settings. It remains so in some countries and settings. Alcohol was only replaced because it was ineffective against spores and some viruses.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Are the doors always open for a Sith to turn to the light side?

I know that Jedi can fall into the dark side, but never really heard about the opposite. Can you return to the light side? Or if you were born into the dark side, can you join the light side?

Is there a threshold that is considered "too far gone" for a Sith to return?

[Assistant] Redemption is always possible, but it has requirements. The Dark Side just requires giving in, and viewing your mental weakness as strength. It is easier to fall down a pit than climb back out. And the deeper the pit, the harder it is. And part of the nature of the Dark Side is making you think the pit is good, and the deeper it is the better. So the longer you walk that path, the more atrocities you commit, the harder it will be to turn away, because it means accepting what you did for what it was.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is there any science behind behind "hot" in a sport?

Examples: hitting streaks in baseball, consecutive shots in basketball, winning streaks, etc.

[Assistant] No, none at all.  Google "hot hand fallacy."  Applied to basketball, people often believe that if you make one basket (or a streak of baskets) your chances of making the next one are greater.  There have actually been a lot of statistical studies on this and they all come to the same conclusion - there is no correlation between making one shot and then making the next shot.


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

[User]
What does it mean when someone is mentally a certain age?

Like sometimes people with mental disabilities are said to have a mental age, e.g "He has a mental age of around 6 years old." what does this actually mean?

also, is it possible to be stuck at an older age mentally, like, could you be 70 with a mental age of like 12, or 30 your whole life?

[Assistant]
Those often refers to achievement and functional abilities/ adaptive behavior.

>e.g "He has a mental age of around 6 years old." what does this actually mean?

That would probably means the person has the functional abilities of a 6 year old and may read and do math at a first grade level. For example,  they may need the same assistance with hygiene,  counting money, preparing food, and crossing the street as a 6 year old.

>also, is it possible to be stuck at an older age mentally, like, could you be 70 with a mental age of like 12, or 30 your whole life?

12, yes. 30 is less likely,  because we expect someone at 30 to function higher than at 70. Decline with age is typical.


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

[User]
[DC] What is Batman's ultimate Fail-Safe plan for Fighting Superman?

Say Superman has gone evil all the justice league but him Kryptonite batsuit has failed and he has no allies left what is an ultimate contingency if there are no other options left?

[Assistant]
Canonically, Wonder Woman is the Bat's last-ditch option for taking down Kal El; she's fast and strong enough to survive a Kryptonian blitz, and her weapons are magical, which makes Kal El vulnerable.

It's not a sure thing, but if *everything* else has failed - the Bat is dead, the rest of the League is out of action, and Luthor is all out of Kryptonite - Diana has a better chance at soloing Superman than anyone on the planet.


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

[User]
To Camus scholars: why should Sisyphus be happy?

The first philosophical text that I ever read (its been nearly 10 years now) has always inspired mixed feelings in me. Camuss assertion that Sisyphuss acceptance of his absurd fate constitutes a meaningful rebellion against it is beautifully expressed, but I have difficulty understanding why it has been so well-regarded.

On the one hand, as the original Greek myth tells us, Sisyphuss fate is intended as a punishment by the gods. Refusing to treat it as such is indeed therefore one way of rising above his situation and assuming ownership of his destiny.

On the other hand, the Absurd as Camus and later authors like Thomas Nagel describe it is non-agential in nature; at bottom, it is not the result of the intentional malice of any conscious being. In reality, then, there is no one who can be meaningfully scorned or defied; and so, the redeeming quality which Camus ascribes to Sisyphuss acceptance would seem to be non-existent where it matters most. Sisyphus, in my reading, simply embraces an objectionable and even oppressive status quo, without any visible silver linings.

To those of you who study Camuss writings in-depth: do you regard Camuss reasoning in this essay as compelling? If so, why? And why has this conclusion, which strikes me as remarkably unsound, drawn so much philosophical interest in the years since?

[Assistant]
Camus concludes that Sisyphus is happy because of Sisyphus' undying rebellious nature.  In life and in death, Sisyphus did whatever he wanted, whatever the consequences.  Zeus' hope was to punish Sisyphus by taking away his freedom to do whatever he wanted.  Yet, on Camus' account, Zeus set himself into a dilemma:

1. He could take away Sisyphus' awareness that his task was impossible, thus making it impossible for Sisyphus to know he was being punished.
2. He could let Sisyphus preserve his awareness, thus making it possible for Sisyphus to rebel and dissolve the punishment by being happy.

So, as Camus sees it, Sisyphus remains in control and Zeus remains powerless over him.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does embarrassment manifest in such strong physical responses such as blushing, sweating, loss of breath, etc?

Interested in understanding how the feelings of embarrassment can activate such noticeable physical responses when other emotions have little to no identifiable physical responses.

[Assistant] shame/embarrassment activate the same sympathetic nervous system pathways as danger, so the physiological response is the fight/flight (or freeze, fawn, etc) one. that activation releases hormones like adrenaline & cortisol that create those physiological effects.


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

[User] [Batman: TAS] Does Gordon know Bruce Wayne is Batman?

[Assistant]
He *suspects*, especially in later storylines. But he doesn't 100% know.

I would argue Gordon doesn't *want* to know. He needs plausible deniability, because Batman is much more *useful* to Gordon as a vigilante.

If Gordon knew who Batman really was (or let himself know), his conscience might have required him to do something about Bruce's vigilantism. Worse, if *other people* found out that Gordon knew Batman's secret identity, Gordon would *really* be on the hook to do something about Bruce Wayne.

So Gordon -- even if he suspected -- would never admit that to himself, never mind anyone else.


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

[User] Are HIV patients high risk for COVID19? Or do antiretrovirals have a protective effect?

[Assistant]
HIV antiretrovirals only destroy retroviruses. COVID19 is a coronavirus therefore antiretroviral medications do NOT have a protective effect on COVID19.

HIV patients do not have an increased risk for COVID19 if they are currently undetectable and have an acceptable/normal amount of CD4 cells.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do DJs get the individual song component tracks (synths, beats, melody, etc) to make unofficial remixes that modify all of these?

I searched before posting and either the question isn't answered well, or people say the DJs get the track components from the studio with a contract -- but I'm asking new or aspiring DJs, not those that already have a contract. Is there a DAW or software setup that can extract the individual tracts from a song for he purposes of remixing?

[ edit / update ]

Somebody corrected my terminology below, and now I'm thinking the phrasing in my title and question might be confusing people. Sounds like I'm talking more about producers, not DJs? Do producers remix songs as well? or remake songs all together?  Now I'm getting confused about how this all works...

[Assistant]
Most of the time, DJs get access to the original tracks. Keep in mind most studios *want* remixes - it ultimately makes their song more popular and they get more money.

No, there isn't any software that can split music into all of its separate tracks.

There are some special cases that sometimes work. Sometimes vocals are mixed perfectly in the center channel, so you can subtract the left channel from the right channel and remove the lead vocals. That works maybe 25% of the time. There are also some plug-ins that can isolate the bass and drums. The end result sounds odd since most of the energy from middle frequencies has been removed, but it's one starting point. If you hear a remix that mostly seems to pull from the original song and occasionally just isolates some parts like that, it could have been done this way.

But yeah, if you hear a piece that seems to take all of the different tracks (guitar, synth, drums, vocals, etc.) and rearranges them in totally different ways, there's no way it was done automatically - it means the DJ got access to the original tracks.


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

[User]
How do computers interperet infinity?

In Java, there is a field: Double.POSITIVE_INFINITY (and NEGATIVE_INFINITY). How is infinity represented in the most essential form to computers?

[Assistant] It's just a special bit pattern. The designers of IEEE 754 (the floating point math standard) just picked two patterns to represent + and - infinity. When you do any calculations with floating point numbers, the CPU will check if one of the numbers matches one of these special patterns and act according to the rules of IEEE 754 (so that it knows not to just blindly add the two numbers together, for example).


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

[User]
Do we know "xy is named "xy"" a priori?

If I am understanding Kripke correctly, this sentence would be synthetic and contingent.

[Assistant]
We know xy is named "xy" a priori (although it is contingent -- it might have been named differently).

Kripke takes a distance from analytic and synthetic notions in *Naming and Necessity*. His arguements are mostly about 'contingent a priori' or 'necessary a posteriori.'