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

[User] ELI5: Why were older game discs able to be put into the system and instantly played, when now you have to download the entire game first?

[Assistant] Because the older games had the entire game stored on the disc, and now there is only a part of it on the disc and the rest has to be downloaded. It allows them to make games bigger, more complex AI, better graphics, and the backbone of the games more complex than a single disc could hold, but also allows for updates to bugs in the code.


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

[User] ELI5: If a person was raised without any comprehension of language, what would the voice inside their head sound like when thinking about something? Could any advanced thought processes even take place?

[Assistant] Language seems to be necessary for complex thought. Children raised in such a way as to not be exposed to a language during critical early years display significant cognitive deficits, in particular a difficulty in learning language when given the opportunity. Many children raised in confinement or "feral children" often never learn to speak a real language and generally have difficulty with a wide range of mental tasks.


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

[User]
[LoTR] If Sauron became Dark Lord of Middle Earth, with some heroes surviving his scourge in secret, might Middle Earth rise again?

Illuvitar helped at the end. Might Illuvitar usurp Sauron entirely? Could Gandalf work the shadows for ages, rallying support? Would more Maia be sent to Middle Earth? Or would the land be forsaken for all eternity?

[Assistant]
Gandalf thinks that Sauron's rule would be quite long: "If he regains it  [the One Ring] your valour is in vain, and his victory will be swift and complete: so complete that none can see the end of it while this world lasts."

Last Debate

Of course some of this might be exaggeration, and this is what Gandalf speculates, but he speculates with much information and insight. When it comes to Ilvatar acting... well... Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth implies that some day Eru himself will enter Arda to heal it...


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

[User]
ELI5: why did people think beanie babies were going to be worth thousands?

Who did the beanie baby speculators think were going to pay the thousands of dollars for a beanie baby?

[Assistant]
Collectors.

It was an item specifically made to be collected, each one having varying degrees of limited production. This was an era where toys from the previous generations were becoming major collectors items naturally and the makers of beanie babies wanted to cash in on that trend by having a toy purpose built for collecting. It like most things intended for collecting failed miserably as collectors come to their loves organically and it cannot really be forced.


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

[User]
ELI5: How did Argos UK shopping center become so popular/famous?

Many British comedians make fun of buying stuff in Argos. If they're ridiculing this place, why is it still so huge? As far as I can work out, its like buying stuff online....but in an offline way. Is it?

[Assistant]
In the days before the Internet, Argos revolutionised shopping.

Before Argos, if you wanted something, you had to go to the shops and browse the shelves until you found what you wanted.

With Argos, you kept a catalogue at home (literally everyone had a catalogue). You looked through the catalogue to find what you wanted. Then it took nothing more than a quick trip to the shop where you gave them your item numbers which you got from the catalogue, and your goods arrived within a few minutes.

And you could buy everything at Argos. Toys, electronics, furniture, jewellery and lots, lots more. All in one shop, where you didn't even need to find your way around the shop to find what you wanted.

Now, of course, every shop allows you to do that with online catalogues. But Argos's business model translated very well to online shopping. No one keeps a catalogue at home because you can browse online. And you can arrange delivery just like every other shop, but you can also collect immediately from their high street shops. The brand was established long before the Internet existed, and because it transitioned to online shopping so well it is still a strong brand.

As for making fun of it, a lot of stuff they sell (toys, electronics, etc) are branded goods which are no different to any other store. But some of their own stuff like flat-packed furniture can be, well, a little poor on the quality side of things. Not so poor that it's unusable, but certainly cheap-and-cheerful.


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

[User]
[Dune] Why were the Harkonnen allowed to have thiefdom of two planets, while the Atreides had to give up Caladan to become stewards of Arrakis?

Both were Major Houses, both were getting Arrakis as a siridar fief so they should have a homeworld so to speak as well.

[Assistant]
There are no set of rules how many or how few fiefdoms a house can have, it's all dependent on the Emperor's good will.

And as you might recall the Emperor wanted to destroy House Atreides to remove a potential rival, so he had to make sure that there were no loose ends like an orphaned homeworld.

And really you could justify it rather easily:

A home world for the most important planet in the Universe?

A small price to pay.


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

[User]
Because of COVID-19 student loans have been in forbearance for nearly a year now, why not just continue forbearance indefinitely?

I'm not an economist by any means, so maybe someone here can help me understand this. Myself and many others haven't paid student loans since March of last  year with zero interest accruing, and as far as I can tell the sky hasn't fallen yet. So why not just extend the forbearance indefinitely?

1. Who would be worse off if student loan forbearance was extended indefinitely?
2. Do unpaid student loans count as part  of the US national debt or is it counted separately?
3. I assume there would be inflation, but ~2%/yr inflation is targeted anyway so would that be a problem?

[Assistant]
1. The government would have less money. At some point taxes would have to be raised or spending cut to make up for the lost revenue.

2. Unpaid loans do not currently count for the national debt but would if forgiven.

3. Inflation would not be affected unless the debt got so bad that it had to be monetized which would be the last resort.


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

[User]
[Berserk] So I just found out that my boss is an Apostle, and according to legend all who associate with demonkind go to the Well of Souls for eternity after death. Am I now set for eternal damnation just because I got a job at Ye Ol' Wendy's that just so happens to be run by an eldritch horror?

He looks like a relatively normal guy, maybe a bit beast-like in appearance but I just thought he had an unfortunate face.

[Assistant]
Do you have a brand that bleeds when you're near the boss? No? Maybe a weird stone that seems to find its way back to you no matter what you do? No? Then you're cool.

Other than working for someone with a taste for manflesh.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What do Imperial atheists think about Palatine and Vader?

One guy said that the leadership had a "sad religion," but what about the rest?

Also - is their relationship anything like that between the Wehrmacht and Hitler?

[Assistant]
These guys lived in a totalitarian state swimming in propaganda; in those conditions, it's hard to believe anything you hear.

The legends of Vader's power were so outlandish, and so useful to the regime, that they almost certainly assumed they were generated by the Empire.


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

[User]
ELI5: How is it legal for Congress to sneak CISA into the budget bill from last night?

Last night Congress passed a bill to avoid a government shutdown, but they snuck in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA).
How is this legal? Isn't this cheating the system set in place to pass certain laws/bills?

[Assistant]
Every congressman had the opportunity to read the bill that was being voted on, and vote against it if they didn't like it.

If you don't like CISA, make sure to let your congressman know you won't be voting for them.


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

[User]
Why does entropy have to increase?

I don't understand the second law of thermodynamics. I mean I think I understand what it says, but I don't understand why it's true. Is there a way to (mathematically) prove that net entropy necessarily increases in a closed system or is this just something we've observed and therefore assume to be true in all cases?

Also, if we assume that systems are on a linear path from order to chaos, wouldn't that have to mean that in the beginning, the universe was in a state of perfect order? The commonly accepted theories on how the universe came into being seem to contradict this, because (as far as I know) right after the big bang the universe was filled with gluon plasma which then developed into orderly systems like galaxies. Or is a universe filled with gluon plasma considered to be more orderly than a universe of galaxies? If so, why?

I think my core problem is the definition of "order".

[Assistant]
Let's talk about microstates and macrostates. Macrostates are the outward appearance of a system, and microstates are the internal arrangement (someone post better definitions if you want). So if our system is two dice, the macrostate is the sum of the roll, and the microstates are the individual numbers. If our macrostate is 7, our microstates are 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 2-5, and 6-1. If we roll an 11, there are only 5-6 and 6-5. Six microstates for the 7 macrostate, but two for the 11.

If all microstates are equally likely, then statistically the system will be found in the macrostate that has the most microstates. If there are a large number of particles, then the system reaches that state quickly and is unlikely to leave.

Keep in mind that this is a statistical effect; there can be local temporary violations.


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

[User]
[LotR movies] What was Saruman doing?!?!?! Why didn't he help?!?

I was one of the few bleedin' orcs that escaped Isengard. I was high up on one of the cliffs as watchorc and watched in horror as bloody Fangorn came alive. The trees marched in and just wrecked the place. I fired a few arrows sure, but there was no way I was going to go down there!! It was madness! As I watched the whole place get drowned, I look up and all I see is Saruman running around his bloody balcony like an orcwife wrangling her brood. No fireballs or lightning bolts to help my fellow orcs. Just running around while the whole bleedin' birth pits and forges flood and the trees stomp, kick, and toss around any orc they can get their limbs on. Doesn't try to stop the water or the death.

Just a little while before, I watched Gandalf walk in and, the next thing I know, Saruman has him beaten, bloodied, and trapped on the roof! BLOODY GANDALF! A few times on watch, I saw Saruman spinning him around on the roof like a tornado and hanging him off the edge like he was a toy yet no a single spell for my orc brethren! Gandalf gets a tornado for fun but a whole bleedin' tree army doesn't see as much as a puff of wind!!! What was he doing when the forest attacked?!?!

[Assistant]
Clearly you didn't read your contract.

"Supervisor, in this case saruman the white, shall not be held responsible for incidents at the workplace be it magical or otherwise." Its all right there in black and white.

He couldn't do anything against the ents as it was ancient magic so his powers would have no effect.


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

[User]
Why is the value of US dollars in international exchange increasing when there is an inflation in the USA?

How is the value of US dollars higher right now with a higher inflation rate than last year with a sizeably lower inflation rate? Shouldn't the higher inflation rate make USD a lot cheaper?

[Assistant]
There's more to exchange rates than reletive inflation rates.

The US could have 50% inflation more than another country but if they have 200% growth more the dollar would probably appreciate.

The US could have higher inflation but another country might have capital controls leading foreigners to convert their currency to dollars.

The US might have strong trust in its inflation measure but other countries might have less trustworthy inflation measures.

Exchange rates are simply a reflection of the demand a supply of a pair of currencies.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] What would happen if the Death Star was fired into a star/sun?

Would the star explode shooting balls of plasma everywhere? Would the star just absorb the laser? If the Imperials really wanted to devastate a system, could they actually disrupt a star with their "Death Star?"

[Assistant]
The Death Star would have done fuck-all to a star. Not nearly enough energy available to damage something of that size.

Now, gas giants are another matter. Even the Death Star scientists weren't sure *what* would happen if the superlaser was used on, say, Yavin... which is precisely why the station had to orbit the planet to come into range of the much-smaller, terrestrial fourth moon.

If the Death Star had been around longer, its effect on a gas giant surely would have been tested.


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

[User] Is there a practical upper limit on the voltage increase I can get from a transformer before a significant loss in efficiency? What is the relationship between the efficiency and turns ratio of a transformer?

[Assistant]
The only practical upper limit of voltage is dielectric breakdown.

The relationship between turns and efficiency should really just be driven by the resistance of the wire, the air or other core doesn't 'care' if a field is created by a higher current or more turns, it's behavior remains the same all the way through saturation.  (Neglecting edge effects)


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

[User]
[Mario Universe] Given the kinds of tracks in Mario Kart, what does it say about the state of technology in the Mushroom Kingdom?

For example, Neo Bowser City is a fairly high tech place. Hell, the Karts themselves are fairly high tech--why do we never see examples of such technology outside of the Karting games?

[Assistant] The mushroom kingdom is constantly being devastated in the war between the Princess and Bowser. There is no time to build much of anything outside of the Princess's castle. Sometimes we get to see a toad village, but it never seems to stick around for long. The only time the fighting ever stops is when all the opposing forces unite to go play go carts. The bits and pieces of mushroom society that contain these tracks are the only parts that Bowser's troops leave alone during attacks. There is *nothing* more important than winning the gold cup. Thus, we see the tech contained inside of the tracks advancing and getting better, while everything else gets devastated. Simple, really.


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

[User]
[Bioshock] The difference between vigors and plasmids.

It is documented that a man named Fink shared knowledge of this liquid drink said to give you super powers with Suchong and Suchong created plasmids with this knowledge. Now don't ask me how I obtained such a secret recording, but I would like to know what the difference if there are any between to two drugs and why vigors can be ingested while plasmids needs to be injected.

[Assistant]
Early versions of plasmids were also ingested. The only problem was that ingesting a plasmid was an inefficient delivery mechanism so they were re-engineered to be injected in order to compensate for the Adam shortage.

The technology wasn't as widely used in Columbia, so they never saw the need to switch to the less pleasant method.


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

[User]
[Phineas and Ferb] Who is the smartest?

Whos the smartest person shown in the series?

Phineas and Ferb seem to be equal, with Ferb etching it out solely because of his high social intelligence.

Baljeet is shown as the smart person of the group, becoming a professor as young as 17-18, but at the same time needed help from Phineas and Ferb to build a portal. Also he just doesnt feel as smart as them aside from what the show wants us to believe.

Doof is another contender building -inators that casually break the laws of physics, although that does also apply to Phineas and Ferb.

Isabella and the Fireside (and Buford too) girls while not serious contenders also are shown to know how to help build, repair, and use the devices that Phineas and Ferb build. Isabella especially, in the recent movie she was coming up with ways to increase the speed of the Spaceship.

Who seems to be the smartest out of all of them?

[Assistant]
They're all intelligent in different ways, which is hard to measure.

Phineas and Ferb are Renaissance Men; genius engineers with an instinctive and intuitive talent at almost everything they attempt. It helps that they're such a close-knit duo, since they're essentially putting the minds of two prodigies to work at everything they do. It's hard to guess what they'd accomplish when alone, since they're almost always a package deal. Their sheer range of skills and disciplines probably edges them out as the most impressive of the group.

Baljeet is likewise a genius, but it comes to him a little less naturally (hence his constant studying), and he probably excels more at academia than at physical engineering; Phineas and Ferb are like flashy trailblazers, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Baljeet is the one who does the legwork to make sure other people can later understand and replicate it. Building a space elevator is cool, but writing a paper on the engineering used to create said space elevator so that all scientists can later replicate that feat of engineering is even cooler.

It doesn't come up often for Buford, but he's actually a *creative* genius. He'd trump the others if it came to writing poetry, or directing a film, with only Phineas and Ferb really being able to come close.

Isabella and the Firesides girls are the best within their niche; they're mostly not genius-tier engineers like the others, but have brilliant minds for problem solving within the constraints of a situation, as well as a lot of knowledge about survival and various useful skills. Plus, they're the most likely to be able to kick your ass.

Doof is a brilliant scientist capable of breaking the laws of physics, and is also a complete idiot. Where Phineas and Ferb are very well-rounded, he's good at only one thing. Even basic common sense tends to elude him. He'll create a machine that's an engineering marvel to solve a problem that could be fixed by parking his car five feet to the left.


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

[User]
What is energy?

I've heard that matter and energy are convertable. But I find my understanding of what energy is to be lacking. In my understanding, it's vibrating matter.

What happens to matter when it converts to energy? Do sub-atomic particles "evaporate", if you will, into a burst of photons, absorbed into whatever they collide with, imparting energy?

So to illustrate, when fission occurs, as in a nuclear weapon, is matter permenantly lost because it's been converted to energy? If you could go around and collect all the matter that was the core of that bomb, now nuclear fallout and lighter elements, would there be less mass?

I imagine I'm close, but I could really stand a clarification.

[Assistant]
No, it's not vibrating matter.

Energy is a property of a physical system. Just like an object can have a speed, or a mass, or a height, it can also have an energy. But it cannot _be_ energy, just like an object cannot _be_ speed.

There are different types of energy. Each type is related to some other physical property. For example, an object has an amount of kinetic energy that depends on how fast it's moving. It has an amount of gravitational potential energy that depends on how far away it is from the Earth (and other objects). It has an amount of mass energy that depends on its mass (which is a "built-in" property of some fundamental particles).

It's inaccurate to say that matter converts to energy. You wouldn't say that matter converts to speed, after all. For nuclear fission, for example, all that happens is that some particles break apart. In some other types of interactions, one type of particle turns into another. Either way, you can have changes in how the energy is distributed - for example, a system (like an atom plus a neutron) might start out with a certain amount of energy, mostly mass energy but a little bit of kinetic energy, and end up with less mass energy but more kinetic energy. The total amount of energy stays the same, though. (Except in some very exotic scenarios.)


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

[User]
How is a virus like chicken pox able to remain dormant in your body and manifest itself again later in life as Shingles (sometimes even decades later)?

I apologise if my understanding is incorrect, but I've watched a few videos on the Immune system and the really basic takeaway I got on how it works is something like:

Virus detected > Immune system battles virus > Recovery

From my understanding there is also something involving Memory cells and Helper T cells to help protect you against the same virus/bacteria once you've recovered. So why then is something like Chicken pox simply able to recede into our nerves and not be bothered by our Immune system instead of being fully eradicated in the first place?

[Assistant]
The chicken pox virus can also infect peripheral nerve cells.
The immune system can only react to things that are "visible" to it, that means structures that are on the surface of cells, released by damaged cells or present in the the blood, or intercellular fliluid. It recognises "foreign" structures and has "brakes" against reacting to "self" structures.

An inactive virus does not ( or barely) replicate, that means that there are no "virus" structures visible to immune cells. Nerve cells are "good" hiding places as they are long lived.


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

[User] [Witcher Series] How many true higher vampires are there?

[Assistant] probably about a dozen to fifteen, we know of 5. the thing is that they are all beholden to the Unseen Elder meaning that he's the absolute oldest. but He's not the only unseen elder as the unseen elders have a council. there are probably 2 other unseen elders, whom collectively rule all vampires, higher and lower.


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

[User]
How do fish and whales regulate their body heat? They have some mechanism analogous to sweating or panting?

If so, could they die if they're in too warm waters? For example, would an orca with a lot of blubber for colder waters die of something like a heat stroke if it started swimming rapidly in tropical waters?

[Assistant]
Most all fishes are ectotherms (cold blooded) so their body temperatures are regulated by their surroundings. Some fishes like billfish and tuna, are poikilotherms, which is somewhere in the middle of cold and warm blooded.

Whales most often have to work to retain heat, since water removes heat much more efficiently than the air will. When in warmer waters they move blood into the fins and fluke, which act like radiators to dissipate heat. When they want to retain heat they restrict blood flow into the fins.


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

[User]
Sexual Reproduction and Race?

When a mom or dad of two different races have sex (lets say white and black). Why is the product a "mixed" skin color, and not just black or white?

[Assistant] In order to have something like "black" or "white" only, it would mean that the genes for skin color, hair color, or other features you associate with "white" and "black" are specific to that race. They're not. Genes for skin color are more complicated, and they represent a whole range of possible tones and completions. Lets put it this way: genes aren't like on/off switches. Many are more like a volume knob, with many possible settings. Actually, more than one knob that all combine their settings to make up each person's unique genes. People from a specific part of the world might all have their "skin color gene knobs" turned towards the darker side or the lighter side. You mix the genes from someone with different settings and the kids will end up with something in between. There are also "dominant" genes. That is, genes that overpower other genes almost always. Brown eyes win over blue, usually, for example.


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

[User]
Why does blue light travel slower in glass than red light?

I understand that blue light slows by more and therefore refracts by more, but I'm not entirely sure why blue light travels slower in, say glass, than red.

[Assistant]
The two parameters that govern the speed of light are the electric permittivity (epsilon) and magnetic permeability (mu) of the medium the light is traveling through.  You can loosely think of these two parameters as describing how much the medium resists changes in the EM field.  The vacuum permittivity and vacuum permeability are not dependent on wavelength, and so the speed of light *in vacuum* is also not dependent on wavelength.

**However**, when light travels through a material, the speed of light *does* depend on wavelength (though we should really be thinking in terms of frequency, with the understanding that wavelength and frequency describe loosely the same attribute of the optical wave).  Materials are made up of charged particles which can interact with the optical wave that is traveling through the medium.  Remember, electrically charged particles have their own electric field and will be pushed around by the electric field of the optical wave, this impacts the electric permittivity and magnetic permeability of the material, so the speed of light in a material will be different than the speed of light in vacuum (since there are charges that the EM wave can push around as it travels through the material).  You can think of each electron as being attached to springs - the incoming EM field can then interact with the electrons, pushing them back and forth.  Continuing with this analogy, the speed of the EM wave depends on how 'stiff' the 'springs' are.  In reality, the 'stiffness' is simply the electric permittivity and permeably of the material.  These two parameters depend on the material, as well as the frequency of light - that is, a low frequency wave will drive the electrons back and slowly while a high frequency wave will try to drive the electrons back and forth faster (sometimes so fast the electron's don't follow the EM field very well).

The index of refraction of a material is related to the permittivity and permeability of that particular material.  More commonly, we use the index of refraction to describe how fast light travels in a material.  The phenomenon you describe in your question is called *dispersion*, which is essentially wavelength dependent index of refraction.  All materials have a dispersion curve which shows the index of refraction as a function of wavelength for a particular material.


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

[User] ELI5: Swiss negative interest rates and the reason for it.

[Assistant]
The swiss franc is traditionally a so called "safe-haven-currency" during turbulent times. It has a reputation for being very stable, well behaved, etc. This makes it highly sought after, in turn causing it's value to increase further. Apart from not wanting a highly valued franc (because this hurts tourism, the export industry and the international service economy, which together make up the vast majority of businesses in Switzerland), the swiss government has no interest is seeing large sums of money "parked" on accounts instead of circulating.

In order to dissuade foreign investors from doing just that, the swiss national bank places negative interest rates on all accounts above a certain amount. This means that if you buy swiss francs with your millions of dollars and leave them on an account in Zrich until you feel that the markets have stabilized, you will be losing money all the time. As you can imagine this makes the currency less attractive and is consequently hoped to lower its value. If it'll work remains to be seen.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why isn't one's appendix removed at birth when all it can do is burst open and kill the person?

Is it the cost or safety issues?

[Assistant]
1) Surgery on a baby or child is much more risky, as its much easier for them to die on the operating table.

2) Cost is a factor. Birth is already a pretty expensive process, and major surgery would just complicate that.

3) There is actually some new research that shows that the appendix might be back up storage for gut bacteria. Not critical, but not useless either.


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

[User] ELI5: What is different with the plastic on knock off products that makes it feel 'cheap' I. E. 3rd party game controllers? Is it lighter? Thinner? A worse quality type of plastic? Less smooth? How difficult is it to make 'good' plastic?

[Assistant] First parties do actually put in a LOT of work in feel. Source - work on a game platform, brought up a new controller right from the proto phase. Our industrial design team spent a significant amount of time just on plastic finish. Even more on rumbler weight distribution at movement and rest. Our early protos felt significantly worse. With most 1p products, there's probably a lot more time and people working on it than you might think. Even for really small, seemingly insignificant details.


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

[User]
[Pacific Rim] Why didn't the Precursors devise a more "implicit" kind of weapon, like advanced virus or mind control?

Did it have something to do with their culture?
Yes, at some point of the war they tried to infiltrate the mind of an important figure, yet they still use their beloved kaiju just to blow up Mount Fuji.

[Assistant]
The Precursors' plan was thus: Get a Kaiju through the Breach and onto Earth, make the Kaiju jump into Mount Fuji, and the subsequent reaction between the Kaiju blood and the volcano would spew toxic poisons into the atmosphere, killing all of humanity and terraforming the planet to make it suitable for the Precursors.

*(This does raise the question of why Kaiju starting out in the middle of the Pacific and heading to Japan would end up attacking places like Sydney, Anchorage, and Hong Kong, but let's just assume the Kaiju didn't know where Mount Fuji was and never stopped to ask for directions.)*

Thus, from the perspective of the Precursors, there's no need to implement complicated plans like a special virus or mind control.  They just need to keep sending Kaiju until one makes it far enough to jump into the volcano.  They had plenty of "spare parts" to make Kaiju, and they could keep sending Kaiju through the Breach at increasingly higher frequencies.  It was just a matter of time before one of their Kaiju found its target.

Granted, Gipsy Danger managed to make it through and then blow up the Breach, so that sort of threw a Jaeger-sized wrench into their plans.  Fortunately, though, they had a connection into Newt's head thanks to his injudicious decision to drift with a Kaiju brain, so that's what they decided to use for their second attempt at Earth.


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

[User] What makes rubber bands "dry out" (become brittle)? Is there a way to make them last longer?

[Assistant]
Ozone.

Natural rubber is attacked by the trace amounts of ozone in ground-level air, and this turns them brittle.  If the rubber band manufacturers included anti-ozonants in their rubber recipe, the bands would last a lot longer.  However, rubber bands are made to be cheap, and so no anti-ozonants are added.  Anti-ozonants **are** used where rubber lifetime is critical.  Tires always contain anti-ozonants.


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

[User]
[Age of Ultron] Spoilers The size and complexity of Ultron

So we know Ultron is a sophisticated AI not the bodies he was contained in, how big and complex is he though?  Do the iron legion drones have the memory storage and CPU speed/complexity to fully realize Ultron or does a full Ultron only reside on the Net and in the main more sophisticated body?  If a single Ultron drone escaped does it contain enough of the Ultron code to just begin copying itself or is it going to be a lesser Ultron?

[Assistant] As for the size in byte, we have no clue. He infected and absorb the entire internet in a matter of seconds. It seems that the drones could store the entire AI, and yes, if that last drone had escaped, it could have begun replication itself. But i doubt that he could get access to the internet again, since he never could after Vision deleted him from it. Vision probably protects the internet now. His main body was just a body, it was nothing other special about it.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is it actually possible to stop the world cup from happening in Qatar and, what would the consequences of this be?

Would a boycott be successful and how would it impact the infrastructure and economy of Qatar to have the World Cup taken away from them?

[Assistant]
A boycott is still possible but more than likely it would be the FiFA sponsors that would end up forcing a venue change.

Qatar would probably be better off now than if the games were actually not held there. They lack the infrastructure to deal with the number of people expected to attend in person, and have essentially relied on slave labor to keep the stadium construction costs down.


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

[User] ELI5: How do lava lamps work?

[Assistant] Wax has a relatively low melting point, enough that when it gets near the light at the bottom, it melts. The melted wax is less dense than the liquid around it, so it rises. As it gets away from the light, it cools, condensing back  into a solid. The solid is now denser than the liquid around it, so it sinks. Rinse and repeat.


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

[User] What is the grey "flesh" between the salmon's skin and the pink flesh? Is it the same/edible as the pink flesh?

[Assistant]
The grey flesh is slow twitch muscle and the pink fast twitch. Salmon move through a much denser medium (water compared to air) so it takes a lot more muscle to move quickly, say from a predator. This means that the ratio between slow and fast twitch muscles is very different in fish compared to humans.

One might assume that the fast twitch muscles are used more often because they make up most of the muscle. Most of the time salmon use the slow twitch muscles as they steadily and slowly move through the water. Only on those comparatively rarer occasions do they ever tap the fast twitch muscles.

This was all taken from the wonderful book "The Story Of Sushi" by Trevor Corson.


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

[User]
[Avatar TLA] When exactly is the new avatar born in relation to the previous avatars death?

For clarification, are they born at the exact moment the previous avatar passes or are they born within a specific time limit either side of the death?

[Assistant]
It's hard to say when you consider how the death of an avatar comes about less than once in the average person's lifetime (Avatar Kyoshi lived to be over 300 years old). But there isn't anything that keeps me from believing that the Avatar Spirit doesn't immediately seek out a new Avatar when it becomes necessary.

When you consider how many people are born each day in a particular nation, however, it probably isn't very long of a wait.


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

[User]
ELI5: What (if any) difference is gained from shaking an alcoholic drink vs stirring it?

You know the classic James Bond line "Martini, shaken, not stirred" is there an actual difference in the taste of the drink from shaking it vs stirring it?

[Assistant]
Shaking cools and mixes the drink faster, but also chips the ice and creates bubbles, which changes the texture and makes it cloudier.

Stirring takes longer, but is also gentler and results in a clearer result.


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

[User]
Could anybody please explain what "internalism" and "externalism" are in epistemology in simple terms?

I've read a few articles in various encyclopedias, but they seem to be confusing. Could anyone please explain in Layman's terms what "internalism" and "externalism" are in epistemology?

[Assistant]
Internalism is the position that whatever makes the difference between a merely true belief on the one hand, and knowledge on the other has to be accessible though introspective reflection. In other words, in order for your justified belief to count as knowledge you have to be able to determine what makes your belief justified using reflection alone.

Externalism is the position that at least some beliefs that count as knowledge need not be such that their justification is accessible through reflection.

Does this help?


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

[User]
Since the gram is a unit of mass and the pound is a unit of weight, how would one determine the mass of an object (in grams) independent of gravity?

In other words, why do you have to *weigh* an object on a scale on Earth in order to determine its *mass* (in grams) given that grams are a unit of mass and not a unit of weight?

[Assistant]
Force = Mass*Acceleration

The only way to measure an unknown mass is either to measure the acceleration that is produced when you apply a known force, or to measure the force exerted by that object under a known acceleration (this is essentially what you are doing when you weigh yourself on a scale).

Weight is by definition the force of an object under gravitational acceleration.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are big ships colored differently on the bottom of the hull?

[Assistant]
It is paint to help prevent the build up of algae and barnacles on the ship. If those build up, the ship no longer glides through the water as effectively.

There's no point in painting the top part because it doesn't contact the water that much.


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

[User]
CMV: Palestine should cut its losses and give up on East Jerusalem

While it would be ideal for Jerusalem to be an international city or East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine, we all know Israel will never let it happen.

Look up all the previous offers by Israel for an independent Palestine. The current land of Palestine is just a FRACTION of what Israel offered back in 1947.

**The main reason Palestine refused these offers (and rightfully so) was that theyd lose East Jerusalem.**

While its ridiculously unfair that Israel demands East Jerusalem, we have to acknowledge that the Palestinians are outgunned. The land offered by Israel continued to shrink as the conflict is prolonged and Jews settle further into Palestine. I know East Jerusalem is religiously significant to the Palestinians and its not fair they dont get to keep it, they will never overcome a US-backed Israel.

Palestine should cut their losses and take whatever land they have left before Israel takes it all. Theyve already lost so much land they could have kept if they gave up and accepted the 1947 proposal.

Israel will likely finally agree to formally recognized Palestine if Palestine agrees that they only get whatevers left of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. It sucks that Palestine wont get back the stolen land, but at least its better than the current trajectory of Palestine eventually being fully annexed.

[Assistant]
>Israel will likely finally agree to formally recognized Palestine if Palestine agrees that they only get whatevers left of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

1.  No, Israel won't agree to that.  They're much happier with the status quo.

2.  The non-Israeli controlled areas of the west bank absolutely are nonviable as a country.  The areas under PA control in the west bank are a bunch of discontiguous islands separated by Israeli-controlled highways and settlements.

At this point, the two state solution is dead as a doornail.  The only viable plan is a *one* state solution where Palestinians are integrated into Israel as full and equal citizens.  And tossing a ton of your people under the bus makes that harder to agitate for and execute.


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

[User]
ELI5: If mirrors are surfaces that don't absorb any color on the spectrum, what color are they ?

I have very little memories from my High School physics class but I remember that the color we see on an object is the light that reflects off its surface. All other colors on the spectrum being aborbed by the object.

Since a mirror reflects everything, then what can we say about it's color ?

[Assistant] Objects that are white also reflect everything, but they look white because the surface is rough and they scatter the light. Mirrors on the other hand (and things like smooth polished metal) maintain the angles of the incoming light, so you can see things reflected. So, mirrors don't really have a colour, but if you were to blend all the light together, they would probably look white/grey.


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

[User]
[Dracula] What was Dracula doing between the 15th century and 1897?

Okay we don't know exactly when he was born/turned but he's clearly very old. My question is why did wait so long to decide to go to the most powerful country in the world? Has he tried before? Was he just playing the usual game the nobility plays?

[Assistant]
Dracula is described as a military genius, fierce warrior, cunning diplomat, and accomplished scholar. In particular, he studied black magic and alchemy, the "highest science" of his day.

In the early years of his vampirism, he probably continued this tradition, studying dark magics, the newest sciences, and any other subjects that crossed his fancy. He also continued to build great wealth, and cement his political control of his region of the Carpathians.

When we first met Dracula in the novel, however, he is in decline. He is still wealthy, but his influence is limited to essentially a single village, and his physical appearance is that of an old, withered man. He has apparently spent his long years living as a parasite off the people of Transylvania and engaging in petty cruelties.

We don't know the specific details, but something must have stirred Dracula, made him remember his former glory and the power he wielded. He realizes that Great Britain now occupies the position of power he once imagined as his, and sets out to restore himself, and most likely take over the world.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do people in very hot countrys, i.e. nomads in deserts drink hot tea instead of cold beverages?

[Assistant]
There are two reasons:

* Drinking warm fluids causes the body to react by cooling itself and lowering your overall temperature via various methods.

* Safe drinking water! Think about it. There aren't exactly a ton of good sources of clean water for nomads in very hot places! Boiling water, aside for providing a good medium for delicious tea, also purifies questionable sources of water.


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

[User] [Archie Comics] Why does Reggie Mantle hang out with Archie, Jughead and other people he so clearly dislikes?

[Assistant]
He's lonely. Reggie is one of those people that, on paper, has everything going for him. However, for a variety of reasons, there's an empty hole inside of him. He *knows* that he shouldn't feel the way he does, he *knows* that he's smarter/richer/handsomer than Archie, and yet Archie's *happy* and he isn't.

Reggie doesn't understand this internal dynamic, so he hides this emotional wound by cloaking it in a sense of self-superiority and constantly redirecting attention away from it. In other words, he's sad and doesn't understand why, so he acts like dick while studying the people he's envious of.


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

[User]
ELI5: when repaving roads, why do they never repave the pavement on top or under a bridge?

Our roads are always under construction in Michigan. But when they repave them, both asphalt and concrete, above and sometimes below bridges are never done. Does this have to do with weight limits on the bridge?

[Assistant]
Overhead clearance is a concern. If they simply pave over the old surface, the clearance between the new surface and the structure above it is reduced.

I once shipped a boat (50) to California. The driver took an approved route, but the road under an overpass in Chicago was recently paved and no one took the reduced clearance into consideration. About 10 of roof was peeled off.


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

[User]
ELI5 why do we have dominate hands?

Or dominant sides in general.

[Assistant]
Your brain is constantly telling how your limbs should move. Because it takes a lot of energy to do the maths for your hands and feet, it gives more detailed instructions to one side than the other side.

If both sides were equally good at movement, you'd need to eat more to power the calculations.


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

[User]
[ Harry Potter ] Did Petunia hate Aunt Marge?

I've always wondered this question for a long time. Think about it, Aunt Marge starts talking smack about Petunia's own sister, you have to wonder if Petunia hated the woman for it.

[Assistant] I think she had so much repressed anger towards Lily by that point to care about it. Its more likely that Petunia felt happy at having someone that supported her views and didn't like her sister as well.


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

[User] How come the human body can store months worth of food, a few days worth of water, but barely a few minutes worth of oxygen?

[Assistant] It is evolutionary.  There has been and would be little advantage in humans having to go long without oxygen since it is always around us.  In contrast there have been times when we have to go without much food for long periods of time during famine.  Water is similar to food with respect to droughts, but there is usually some relatively close and it is more vital to our body proccesses and more difficult to store.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are deer extremely sensitive to even the quietest sounds (rustling leaves), but run out in front of cars like they don't hear them?

Please excuse me or let me know if this has been posted before. I did both a reddit search and a google search and found nothing. If this has already been addressed, let me know and I'll just delete this post.

So, deer are notoriously sensitive to even the slightest sounds, right. But cars are loud. Cars traveling at higher speeds on highways are loud. Still deer run out in front of them despite how much louder cars are than, you know, light footsteps on leaves, for example.

But why? Is their hearing more sensitive to a certain kind of sound than others or something?

**EDIT** I'm not asking about the deer in the headlights thing, or deer's vision, I'm asking about hearing. It has been established repeatedly that deer don't see well. Examine the title of this post and the text above this edit. Hearing. Not sight.

[Assistant] Maybe they hear the car but think it's farther away so they don't care. Like they hear it, 100 feet away and think the car can't possibly travel at 70 mph to hit me in time, so I'll just run across this road.


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

[User] ELI5: Why places like Hiroshima and Nagasaki are inhabitable after being nuked while places like Pripyat, outside of Chernobyl, will be uninhabitable for centuries?

[Assistant]
The bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated at 500 m above the surface.  This allows the energy of the explosion to be spread out more evenly across a wider area - maximizing the blast radius, essentially.  It also limits how much radioactive material actually ends up on the ground.

The US couldn't be sure that their nuclear bombs would force Japan into surrender, and they wanted to be able to invade if necessary.  So making sure that it would be safe to invade Hiroshima with ground troops was a design priority.


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

[User] [Batman] You're a criminal and a skilled fighter. Batman shows up. It's about to get real. Do you have better odds as a defensive fighter or do you have to go on the attack to have a chance?

[Assistant] your absolute best odds are if you a fighter experienced at throwing fights.  You wanna get in there, and then just do your very best pro-soccer player impression, joker must have left a banana peel there cause you've been flung to the ground "unconscious" already and the fight just started.  Bonus points if you can convincingly stay "asleep" while your coworker is having their bones broken in a zealous bat-terrogation.


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

[User]
Do non-anglophone countries have an analytic/continental split in philosophy?

I googled "Philosophie Leseliste" and the first few I looked at seemed to be weighted a bit more to classical, medieval, and early modern philosophy, but when they reached modern it was not uncommon to find weird combinations like Foucault, Rawls, and Chalmers.

So I'm curious to what extent the analytic/continental split persists outside of the anglophone world. Is it strong in Germany, France, Turkey, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, etc. or are there different splits?

EDIT: My interest is primarily in European countries, but I'd also be glad to hear about Asia, South America, Africa, or the Middle East, etc.

[Assistant] I do philosophy in Colombia. The distinction is recognized. Everyone sort of knows what tells an analytic from a continental apart, but at the same time virtually nobody believes the distinction is a meaningful one, it merely puts you in context for discussion, what points can you take for granted, which authors can you discuss at length. At congresses even the Logic panels welcome continental philosophers and the Phenomenology panels welcome analytic philosophers.


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

[User]
Publish or Perish: PhD candidate level

Hey everyone.

I'm a PhD Student/Candidate in Europe. Kinda burned out, by the end of my 2nd year, but will probably carry over until my 4th. I won't reveal much more about me for privacy reasons, as I work with stuff related to internet/digital tech and wouldn't be hard to narrow down who I am if anyone gor curious lol (ThrowAway account for the same reason).

\-------

I have always seen the PhD as an opportunity to become a better researcher and better in my field (Psychology) theoretically, to eventually apply said knowledge outside academia. Despite not enjoying the PhD overall, this goal has been made possible here and there, with some companies/organizations with projects close to my PhD Project being interested and inviting me to share said knowledge with them.

However, recently, I was faced with something I found conflicting. My supervisors said until the end of my PhD, I should publish at least 3 papers, ideally 4. This was kinda stressful, and conflicting with something else they said, which was "Your PhD years are the best to learn and develop.". And I found this conflicting for a very specific reason: while I'm focused on "publishing", often, I feel like the scientific process matters less, than the results. For example, I don't remember seeing any article on my field of research in Psychology without results, i.e., everyone has very interesting results. However, I personally have some "non-results", which I find interesting but people above me (my supervisors or some other professors that sometimes work alongside us) always make some pressure into "finding them results".

And this was it. The more I deal with situations like this, the more I focus on being productive and "getting this done", do eventually go back to applying said knowledge to a field that is not Academia. And no, I don't exactly intend to give up my PhD, even though I'm very critical about the whole evaluation process. I still find value in it, still want to pursue it and keep trying to learn. Actually, I may have to brind this take on "learning" vs. "publishing" on the next meeting with my supervisors. Even though they are somewhat young researchers (finished their PhDs around 10 years ago) I seem them becoming exactly what they criticized.

Well, sorry for the rant. Was just feeling like sharing this with someone on the field.

This being said: have any of you ever felt similar pressure? I honestly thought this wasn't as prevalent during the PhD, specially since I know many people who hardly published anything during theirs.

[Assistant] Surprised by this! In BioMedSci in Germany only 1 first author publication is required if you want to go for summa cum laude (top grade). Heard this standard is similar in other countries. Getting a paper published (getting accepted into a journal, reviews, adding data, adjustments etc.) can take a year or so in and of itself.


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

[User]
[DC/Marvel] What villain would create the most damage in the other universe?

So a DC villain goes to the 616 or vice versa.  Who is the hardest for that universe to bring down?

[Assistant]
Mister Mxyzptlk. He's going to cause mischief and mayhem and it'll be forever before Spider-man can figure out a way to trick him into saying his name backwards.

Everyone will try brute force, which will just annoy him, and cause Mxy to do more ludicrous stunts.


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

[User] ELI5 How does a double bounce on a trampoline work?

[Assistant]
Simple: it transfers one persons energy to anothers via the springs.

Somewhat complicated: a person on a trampoline is converting energy all the time. Off the mat, youre trading kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. On the mat, youre also trading in the potential energy of the spring. At the lowest point, you have no kinetic energy, minimal gravitational potential energy and the spring has its maximum potential energy.
At the point where you leave the mat, the spring has given you all its potential energy, primarily in the form of kinetic energy.

A double bounce is best performed when two people land concurrently, but one (at the lowest point) collapses their legs. The spring still has all the potential energy, and it goes into one persons kinetic energy, throwing them much higher than before.


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

[User]
[X-Men films/First Class] We see Magneto couldn't even move a satellite dish until Xavier opened up suppressed memories inside him, enabling Magneto to do....so much more in later films. Did Xavier ever regret doing that? He created his own enemy.

As we saw in First Class, Erik couldn't even focus to move the satellite dish, but then Charles opens up the "brightest corner" of his memory. We know this physically affected Erik because he even asks Charles what did he just do.

So that begs the question, is that the point that Charles really unleashed the "Magneto" that he'd later come to know? Charles even says Erik would possess a power no one could match.

Erik then goes on to lift a sub, a stadium, and even start ripping the earth apart in subsequent films. Makes me wonder if Charles didn't do what he did, the X Men would've.....saved themselves a lot of trouble dealing with Magneto and his brotherhood in the future.

So does Charles regret making Magneto stronger?

[Assistant]
The only regret Xavier has is that he can't help Eric be happy and peaceful.

Magneto would have been able to get there eventually, on his own. But Xavier tought him about inner peace. He's actually less dangerous like this.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do birds and squirrels hop short distances instead of walk?

I know they _can_ walk, why do they choose to do those little hops instead?

[Assistant]
Not all birds can walk. The smaller they are, the less capable their legs. Humming birds can only open and close their feet, they can't even hop.

Typically when an animal chooses one gait over another, they're doing so because it's easier.

If you're only trying to move the length of your body, and you have short legs, it may be faster to basically fall over and pull your back legs up, than to take a bunch of tiny steps.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are there so many medieval paintings of nonchalant looking people with grievous injuries?

I'm sure a lot of us have seen them in meme format; the paintings of casual looking people with swords through their necks, an ax in their head, a knife in their stomach. But why? Was it cultural commentary about the difficulty of the times? Were they just boring paintings of casual moments that were painted over with violence to spice it up? When I search for explanations, I only find collections of the strange art instead of contextual perspective or information.

Thanks in advance!

[Assistant]
A lot of European art during this period was based on Christian (Catholic) art, which included  depictions of various Saints. Many of the saints were martyrs - people who had been tortured and killed instead of renouncing their faith. Martyrs were depicted as being at peace to reflect the presence of God (specifically the Holy Spirit) who provided the strength to endure. In addition, the martyr was focused on their eternal life in heaven, perhaps even seeing Jesus in heaven during the torture.

Since many people were illiterate, the artwork would also give information on who the martyr was or the reason for their martyrdom. This explains why the are depicted doing normal things.

The religious art of this era has survived better than secular art because the churches, abbys,  and monasteries preserved them. As Europe moved into the Renaissance Era, the Medieval art was not seen as beautiful or skilled,so secular art, which didn't tell an important story, wasn't preserved as often.


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

[User]
Marxism, Socialism, and Communism

I want to stop using these words interchangeably. Can someone tell me once and for all what each of these really means? What differentiates them from each other?

Is it a matter of degree or type?

Lastly, would you say this question belongs more in economics or philosophy?

Thank you.

[Assistant]
Marxism would be all the theoretical applications of Marx as a discoursive author. Many different theories and projects, many times at odds with Marx's own work.

Socialism has many meanings- Marx/Engels don't make difference between communism and socialism as a next socio-historical stage that comes after abolishing capital relations. Socialism is in marxist-leninist circles theoreticized as a transitive phase for communism. But it is also used to refer to existing socialism in Soviet countries. And nowadays, social democracy is also sometimes called that. Which is of course nonsensical.

To really understand that there can't be theoretical difference between socialism and communism, one must understand what capital is and that there really can't be two versions of it's non/existing.

It is a question of critique of political economy. Which is not economics and is not a philosophy either. It is a way of making theory called critical theory which is kind of critical assesment of existing scientific knowledge and philosophy that has it roots in Kant.


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

[User]
[Fallout 3] Why did the Enclave have so much trouble over a three digit code?

It seems like a three number password wouldn't hold the most powerful and advanced faction in the Capitol wasteland for very long. Why did they bother interrogating TLW so much about it, why didn't they just crack it immediately?

[Assistant]
Because it's easier.

They don't know how many security codes can be placed into the pad before something happens, if there are lockout measures in place, if it activates a self destruct, if it causes a mass dose of radiation on anything within 300km if it gets a wrong code without a certain seperate code being entered by James to keep it valid. They might be able to splice it open and crack it carefully over time, but when you've got someone who probably knows the code in the cage inside your secret bunker?

Might as well ask.


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

[User]
Are there any terrestrial lifeforms that could survive on mars?

Are there any lifeforms on earth that could reproduce and hold a poplulation on mars?

[Assistant]
Well, answering literally to your question:

Homo Sapiens can..

One of the most endemic characteristic of this specie is the ability to manipulate their enviroment in order to grant its survival.

Thanks to their technology, they would be able to survive and reproduce on Mars.


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

[User]
[Portal] what would be the actual advantage of the portal gun?

I mean, you need a specific surface for it to work propertly, and you need to have a clear shot for it to work, besides the fact that its not a cheap thing, the gun itself and the surface for it to work, its freaking moon dust.  so.. Besides the free travels to the moon with all his complications and the fact that you can save yourself from walking a few meters, why would anybody want a portal gun? , its not monetary advantageous and neither practical, who would want that thing?

[Assistant]
Moon dust happens to be good at holding a portal, but it's not the only surface that can hold a portal. Now open a matched pair of portals in, oh, Atlanta and Paris. Boom, Transatlantic flights are now unnecessary. Beijing - Atlanta, now transpacific flights aren't needed.Take a panel that can hold a portal with you on an expedition to the amazon, or, the Himalayas, or the arctic and put the other other end of the portal in your lab in at MIT. Field research all day long, back to the lab by evening, sleep at home in your bed with your wife.

Position a waterwheel above a swimming pool, put a portal at the bottom of the pool and one an a panel above the wheel, that water will now power that wheel forever.

Put one portal in a pressure controlled chamber, launch a panel in a probe at Mars with a portal gun ready to trigger when it lands. Now you have easy access to The surface of Mars. Similar chamber, put a panel in high orbit, the cost of putting satellite/space station material into orbit just dropped to zero. Launch a panel at a mineral rich asteroid, you just got easy access to 400 million tons of 80% Iron. If only there was a massive space habitat under construction we needed a massive amount of material for... oh wait! Pity it'll take a load of energy to smelt and refine it. Wait a minute, we have a series of portals generating unlimited free energy.

Phobos, Io, Europa, Titan, Pluto, Ganymede, Callisto, Triton, Eris, Ceres, Tethys, we could have human habitat modules on all of them within the decade. We could be mining Jupiter for Hydrogen to power interstellar probes armed with portal ready panels and portal guns and slowly spread humanity across the face of the galaxy, finally removing the terrible truth that a single stellar catastrophe wiping out all ~~life~~ humans on Earth would be the end of our entire species.

Short answer: It could save mankind. Forever.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why does a marshmallow, when burned completely, leave hard black charred material behind? Is that made up of carbon?

Is the process incomplete combustion or just caramelization gone too far?

[Assistant]
Marshmellows are essentially pure sugar. Sugar is made of of three elements:

Carbom

Hydrogen

Oxygen

The products of said reaction, given perfect quantities of all elements, are CO2 and H2O.

That said, the reactions are not perfect, and there is more carbon left over at the end. It remains in an elemental state, being solid Carbon (black char) that you see.


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

[User]
CMV: I think college classes with very strict attendance policies are ridiculous.

I can understand having some sort of a policy in place. But I find some professors to be extreme.

I attended a very large University where most of my classes were large lectures, so it didnt matter if you had to miss class. But now, Im at a community college with small classes & some of the profs are super strict.

For example, in an English class I took, if you missed more than 3 classes in the semester, you automatically failed. No exceptions. Im retaking that class next semester because I failed. $1000 down the drain. I ran into severe health issues & had no choice but to miss 4 classes.

In the humanities class Im currently in, every class is worth 20 points. If you miss one, thats 20 points off your total grade. Also no exceptions. On your death bed? Loved one passed away? Sorry. Thats 20 points off.

These arent high school teenagers. These are adult students. Some of us have kids, jobs to pay the bills, etc. College is expensive & its hard enough. Why make it harder?

[Assistant]
To clarify - did you have the option of withdrawing under medical grounds?  did you provide medical certificate?

I agree generally speaking allowances should be made for different circumstances, but if colleges claim to be preparing people for the workforce, as they often are, attendance is certainly a factor.

With the humanities course, how many "points" do you get overall? If missing one class (without good reason) means you cant get an A, that's a bit harsh, but if ylu have to miss say 3 classes in a semester (without good reason) before you can't get an A that seems more reasonable.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we use a different letter "a" when typing as opposed to when writing?

[Assistant]
Cursive was invented because back in the day, people used ink quills. Cursive's function was to minimize the amount of times you had to raise your quill (so you could write in continuous strokes) because of ink dropping on paper.

Actual fonts on typewriters were designed so they would be more legible at quick glances.


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

[User] If there is little to no friction or gravity in outer space to slow an object down, how come a space shuttle has a maximum speed? (Apparently around 28,000 kilometers per hour). Why cant a spaceship continue to build momentum to reach up to light-speed?

[Assistant]
They run out of fuel.

You can bring more fuel, but that increases the mass of the shuttle, which means that you get lower acceleration until you've burned that fuel up. If you ignore gravity and the atmosphere and just think about a single rocket with fuel, then it follows the "Tsiolkovsky rocket equation", which is

change of velocity = (speed of stuff ejected out of engine) x ln (1+(mass of fuel/mass of rest of rocket) )

where ln is the natural log.

What this means is that you get diminishing returns as you increase the fuel mass, because the natural log function only increases very slowly. If you increase the fuel mass from 1x of the "dry mass" of the rocket up to 100x (i.e the rocket mass is over 99% fuel), then you've only made the rocket about 6-7 times faster.

At some point, it becomes far too expensive to add more fuel to just add a bit more speed, so we end up trying for a good compromise between making a rocket go fast, and having a rocket affordable enough that you can do other missions.

Of course, you can partially get around this with multi-stage rockets, where you decrease the rocket mass as you go. But you can't do this forever, because you need to have an engine powerful enough to eject gas at a high speed without breaking, and you also need to have some mass for your cargo and passengers and equipment.

You can also try to refuel the rocket, but this also has diminishing returns. This fuel is now cargo for another rocket, and this new rocket has to carry this fuel up to a speed that matches the first rocket so it can catch up and hand over the fuel. So you end up spending a huge amount on fuel anyway.

So yeah, it's not  a situation where a space shuttle can't go beyond a certain speed because it'll break or something. It's just the limit of how efficiently you can accelerate it until you run out of fuel.


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

[User]
ELI5: How the basic components of a PC (RAM, CPU, etc) work together and function

I know the CPU executes bits of 1's and 0's, binary, as it processes info but how it all actually breaks down and works together with the other components is beyond me.

[Assistant]
Think of the computer as an office you're working in.

You're the CPU. You're the one doing the thinking and getting stuff done.

When you're working, it's a lot faster to get stuff done with whatever you can hold in your head, but your short-term memory only stretches so far, so you need somewhere to keep your notes, and whatever books you're using, which is why you have a desk. The bigger your desk, the more books you can keep open and near you. Likewise, CPUs have really  really fast, but small, caches built-in, and then you have RAM where the computer keeps the data it's working with. The more RAM, the more stuff you can have open.

You probably own a lot more books than you're likely to be using at any one time, which is why you have bookshelves. You'll just go to the bookshelves and get whatever books you need for whatever piece of work you're doing right now, and plop them on your desk. Your computer's hard drive fulfils the same task as your bookshelves. When you open a file, it copies stuff from hdd to ram, just the same as you'd get a book onto your desk when you're working with it. Ever noticed how your computer gets slow if you have tons of programs open? Just imagine having your desk overflowing with stuff, and you making constant trips between your desk and your bookshelf because you don't have enough space for all the stuff you need, so you keep having to switch.

Your graphics card is sort of like having a smaller desk in the office, with another guy sitting there who's a brilliant artist, but does absolutely nothing else. Any time you need a drawing, you can just grab your sketches and drop them on his desk, and he'll turn that into some nice artwork. The sound card is like having your own private musician at the office.

The motherboard is kind of like the office itself, if a somewhat special kind of office. For one,the chairs are welded to the floor and can't be moved. For another, the chairs are a bit... specific. Only specific-shaped arses fit in, and you'll need to match the office to the person who'll be sitting at the desk. This is to say, each CPU family only fits a certain socket type, and your motherboard needs to have that sort of socket. Also, the motherboard has a chipset that handles much of the actual hardware interaction. Think of it as the office giving you an assistant that'll get books and documents for you, or have them delivered to the right people in the office.

USB and display ports are kind of like the doors and windows of your office. They're the way people deliver you the documents you're supposed to work on, or how you get new books delivered, etc.

Hope that helps.


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

[User] ELI5: how does the transitions process between presidents work?

[Assistant]
Do you mean the political transition process where a lame-duck President works with his successor to ensure a smooth hand over of power?  Because that's a pretty boring bureaucratic stuff.

As soon as a new President is elected, they and their campaign staff begin working to set up an administration, choosing who they are going to appoint to various positions, and generally getting an effective staff together.

At the same time, the new and old Presidents are meeting about important policies and ongoing issues so that the new President understands a) what is going on and b) what the current administration is doing about it.  This is so that they can either continue these policies when they take over, or they can at least have some sort of plan for any changes they want to make.

I think the more fun transition is the actual hand over of the White House itself.  There's a good documentary about it called "Flipping the White House", you might find it interesting.

It all starts when the outgoing President leaves to go to the inauguration of his successor.  As soon as the door closes behind him, there are teams of movers and White House staff who immediately start taking down pictures, packing up furniture, and personal belongings.  Another group follows behind putting in the pictures, furniture and belongings of the new first family.

By the way, most of the furniture and paintings belong to the White House, not any particular President, but they do get to choose how they would like the White House to be set up, and they can bring their own things as well.

By the time the new President arrives in a few hours, the White House has been physically transformed.  Everything down to the socks in the drawers and the books on the shelves have been changed.

Imagine your last move, but all done in a few hours, and in a mansion.


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

[User]
Do multiple wounds heal slower than just a single one?

So lets say someone has a single wound like a simple cut or something, would this wound heal in the same amount of time as if the person had like 3 or more wounds yet identical and in other regions of the body?

[Assistant]
not necessarily. If one had three paper cuts of small size on different parts of their body they'd all heal at the same rate.
When learning about tissue healing, we are generally taught that there are three phases: Inflammatory response, Proliferation, Maturation/remodeling.
In the inflammatory response phase, your immune system activates to fight off infection, when the wound is sufficiently "sterilized" the Proliferation phase begins. In this, the granulocytes start collecting near the wound area and new tissue is laid down in a messy "spaghetti-like" structure.
In the maturation remodeling phase, the tissue is stretched and aligned along the lines of pull of the tissue and the tissue normalizes.
That's a brief overview.
The type of damage also plays a role. Incisions (straight edged cuts in skin) heal faster than lacerations (jagged edged cuts in skin, like tears). also the deeper the cut is, the longer it takes to heal cause tissues heal from deep to superficial layers. thats it in a sort of nutshell. If you have more questions feel free to ask!


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

[User]
ELI5:The whole conspiracy behind Illuminati and celebrities

I don't understand what the big conspiracy is behind the Illuminati being associated with celebrities like Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Justin Timberlake.

[Assistant] TL;DR: all famous people are part of the illuminati and they use their fame to secretly push the agenda (whatever the hell it actually is) on everyone else. The artists you mentioned apparently have references to the illuminati in their song lyrics. Or they have sported a triangular accessory at one point in their lives so it means they must be part of it.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Is it reasonable to think that there is air in space in the SW galaxy?

Weve seen giant creatures who resemble large versions of planetbound ones.

When Han, Chewie, and Leia exited the Falcon in the mouth of the space worm in the Hoth asteroid field they didnt dress for vacuum.

The Jedi didnt wear flight suits.

There is frequently visible combustion in space.

Fighters execute maneuvers as though theyre in an atmosphere vs vacuum.

[Assistant]
> When Han, Chewie, and Leia exited the Falcon in the mouth of the space worm in the Hoth asteroid field they didnt dress for vacuum.

Exogorths happen to exhale gases that build up over a very long period of time in their mouths, and can create enough pressure for living beings to survive in. It's not particularly breathable by humans, nor is it pleasant.

> The Jedi didnt wear flight suits.

When we see Jedi piloting starfighters, they're in a fully sealed and pressurized environment. Particularly by the end of the war, the Jedi that had survived countless battles knew droid pilot programing by heart, and could use the force to predict and react to threats before they happened. So they didn't fear sudden explosive decompression. The clones we see piloting fighters DO wear pressure suits.

> There is frequently visible combustion in space.

Warships are full of combustible materials, from ammunition to fuel tanks. And they're not only pressurized themselves, but they're also surrounded by shields meant to protect them from space debris and enemy weapons and also hold an atmosphere inside in the case of a hull breach. (you can see them in action whenever you look at a shuttle bay) This can contain an atmosphere for a fraction of a second as the ship disintegrates and let things burn that might otherwise not combust if in vacuum. A side effect is when a ship is destroyed, this combination can create spectacular but short-lived explosions.

> Fighters execute maneuvers as though theyre in an atmosphere vs vacuum.

Many space fighters that use organic pilots are designed to be used both in atmosphere and in space, so they tend to use the same maneuvers for consistency's sake. Some are more than capable of performing feats in space that they cannot in atmosphere, but pilots tend to not use them often.


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

[User]
ELI5: If a metal like iron were to be superheated to a gaseous state what would happen if a magnet was held up to it?

I know it's not realistic. But what would happen? Would it all be attracted, would there be some polarization that screws it up?

[Assistant]
Ferromagnetic materials like steel or whatever lose their magnetism at its curie point or curie temperature. They all have a different temperature at which you wouldn't be able to magnetize the metal anymore.

Its also worth noting that we currently don't know how magnetism works. We can see its effects, we can manipulate it and we have theories on how it functions but officially "fucking magnets, how do they work?"


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

[User] ELI5: Why airplane windows have a small hole in it?

[Assistant]
Airplane windows are composed of multiple layers, and the small hole allows the air pressure to equalize between some of the inner layers. It also prevents moisture buildup that could result in condensation that fogs up the view.

Air pressure within airliners varies quite a bit, they are pressurized above ambient pressure during flight but below ground level pressure. Without a hole the layers of the windows would have significant pressure one way or another, imposing undue material stresses.


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

[User] ELI5 Why is 12 hour time even taught? Wouldnt it just be easier to remember 13:00 instead of 1:00pm?

[Assistant]
12 hour time is a *very* ancient system that traces back to the Mesopotamian empires.

They had a cultural fixation on the number 12, used a base-12 numerical system, and divided up most things into 12ths whenever possible - including day and night.

The 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night system spread throughout Europe and the Middle East and has defied multiple attempts to change it over the centuries.


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

[User] Where does the energy for capillary lift come from?

[Assistant] Several reasons: the energy of gravity is overcome by the change in chemical action in breaking surface tension; surface tension is energetically expensive, so breaking surface tension releases energy; wetting is endothermic.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Why does Vader close his fingers together to choke someone if he doesnt actually have hands? Does the force still flow through his cybernetic limbs?

[Assistant] Many of the Force techniques (at least how they're taught) seem to require gestures of one sort or another. I'll theorize that this is sort of a mnemonic to whatever mental processes are required to activate the ability more quickly or with less mental overhead involved.


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

[User]
ELI5: How can companies say their energy saving light bulbs will last 20 years?

How do they test them as i imagine they haven't been left on for 20 years as that would be impractical and they weren't invented that long ago. e.g. LED bulbs.

[Assistant]
LED's have been around since the 1960's.   they've been used in all kinds of industrial and commercial applications as instrument signal lights.   using LED's as lighting instead of signaling has been around for a decade already in industrial and commercial.   it's only recently in past few years that it's reached consumer.

as for testing, it's not needed to leave them on for 20 years.   you run thru an accelerated test for 30 days, then project the component wear results.   if the projected time of failure is beyond 20 something years,   that's good enough to say it'll be guaranteed for 20 years.


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

[User] Is the surface of the sun (disregarding flares) mostly smooth, mostly in flux, or are there consistent peaks and valleys, similar to Earth?

[Assistant]
The sun isn't a rigid body like the Earth, it's just a huge ball of gas. So there is no solid surface that would hold persistent features like valleys. Similar to how the Earth's atmosphere never really stops, just keeps getting thinner and thinner as you go higher, the Sun doesn't even really have a well-defined surface.

This might be surprising if you've seen pictures of the Sun that appear to have a sharp "edge", but really what you're seeing there is that the gas transitions from transparent to opaque suddenly. This transition is governed by the optical depth, which is an exponential function of the amount of gas your line of sight is passing through. So even though the "column density" of gas increases smoothly, its opacity goes from 0 to 1 very suddenly, giving the appearance of a solid surface.


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

[User]
How does fasting affect cognitive functioning over time?

I'm curious about fasting and it's affect on normal cognitive functioning? Evolutionarily wouldn't it be a disadvantage if fasting negatively affecting cognitive functioning significantly? Historically people didn't have as much access to food during winter months and I'm curious about how this affected their day to day lives.

[Assistant]
Read up on intermittent fasting. It seems to actually improve cognition.

I believe the theory is that fasting is our default state, and abundance of food is something unnatural that has only occurred in the last few thousand years. Being in a fasting state activated your brain's survival mechanisms, which means it is working harder to find food.

Another reason why fasting can increase cognition is that digestion and metabolism of food takes energy away from the brain.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Obama visiting Saudi Arabia to give condolences when it is widely known Saudi Arabia is barbaric in its practices of torture, arbitrary judicial murders, street beheadings and flogging?

[Assistant]
Because Saudi Arabia is an important ally, has a lot of oil and has a lot of influence in the region. Those are all very important reasons for the US to keep the political relationship with SA good and visiting at times like this keeps that political relationship good.

Secondly, if you want to chance all of those things, the way to go about it is not to fly in there and force freedom on those people, it's to have politics there change from the inside. The previous king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was about as much of a progressive as you can get in a very conservative land like SA. No, women still can't drive. But they can vote now in municipal elections and be a part of the Shura. Is that enough? Of course not, but it is already a huge progressive step forward. The current king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is hoped to continue that sort of progress. He was hand-picked by his brother to be his successor, so that is a good indication. By supporting any steps towards becoming a more progressive nation with closer political ties etc, those changes are more likely to occur.


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

[User]
ELI5: Is it just a coincidence that the color spectrum "loops" around?

May have worded this poorly, but when you look at the color spectrum, it appears (to me, my thinking may be flawed) to be the primary colors red, yellow, and blue and their intermediates. Red to yellow with orange in the middle, yellow to blue with green in the middle, and blue to what would be red, with purple in the middle. Except there is no red at the end of the natural spectrum, just at the beginning. So is it just a nice coincidence that it wraps around perfectly?

[Assistant] Actually it doesn't loop around, but due to some clever hardware exploiting our visual sensory organs, it can be made to seem that way. In our eyes we have 3 types of sensors, reacting to (grossly) simplified red, green and blue. The bands of the sensors overlap slightly giving us the ability perceive 'colors" of the spectrum as ratios of stimulation in each band. By having 3 light sources corresponding to the center frequency of each sensor, we can generate the perception of any color simply by varying the intensity of those three light sources. By modulating them with 3 sine waves 120 degrees out of phase, you can get the effect of a color wheel that perfectly loops around.


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

[User]
CMV: I am a tax paying Indian and I feel that is all the charity I need to do.

This argument is coming after a heated argument I had (after a rather long day) with a person who was collecting funds for a charitable organisation outside my office.

My perspective is this :
1. I pay a huge amount of direct and indirect taxes (Income Tax, Surcharge tax, GST, Road Tax, Capital Gain Tax etc..) for which I get almost no benefits, no free good health care, no free education, have to pay additional maintenance in my society, not even free vaccination. Isn't this equivalent to charity?
2. These charitable organisations are putting efforts solving the wrong problem. Instead of asking money from folks who are already paying heavy taxes, they should lobby to get legislation whic prevents tax evasion. Only 1% of Indians pay income tax.

I am a person who generally like to help people in need, have supported my domestic help during Covid crisis, have even sponsored on of their kids college fees, but I feel I have done  more than enough of my share and do not feel any guilt in snubbing these charitable organisations.

I have had some priviledge growing up, parents paid for college education, had a decent schooling etc. Would like to hear discordant views.

[Assistant] Improving the lives of others is improving your own life. More people who have access to education and healthcare services will in turn, lead more productive lives and will be more likely to invent new objects or services that further improve your quality of life.


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

[User]
[LOTR] Do the elves have a military rank structure?

I know they have clear leaders or generals but each soldier is so heavily outfitted that I wonder if they are more like a host o knights with a one or 2 leaders.

[Assistant]
Probably not a formal ranking system.  That type of protocol is necessary when you have large-scale conscription and there's regular turnover of the soldiers.  With ranks, people are interchangeable.  You don't need to spend a lot of time learning who is the best leader, you just plug-n-play the new sergeant and let him go.

Elves are extremely long lived and probably don't travel around much.  They don't need an anonymous, depersonalized ranking system because they've know all of their companions for decades or centuries.  Each elf knows his or her place and how everyone contributes.


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

[User]
Appropriate virtual gifts for professors?

This semester has been pretty rough because of COVID, I'm sure for many people.

I'm especially grateful towards a couple of my professors for being so kind and accommodating towards me, and I feel like a nice email isn't enough to express my gratitude. Would a virtual $10-15 gift card or something be appropriate? Not sure how that works, maybe Amazon or something?

Any other ideas for free/"handmade" gifts also welcome! I just want to do something a little "extra" to show my gratitude.

[Assistant]
No, these gifts would not be appropriate.  The optics would be bad.  Many professors (esp. at public universities, but also at many private universities) are specifically prohibited from accepting gifts from students and from students' families.

Just send an email expressing your appreciation.  That is so much more valuable than a tchotchke.


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

[User] [Song of Ice and Fire] Could Ned Stark have gotten a writ of legitimacy for Jon, just to be nice to him?

[Assistant]
Catelyn Stark specifically forbade it. Jon Snow posed a risk to the integrity of House Stark and as an extension the integrity of House Tully as she was the oldest member of the house after Blackfish(who never married) and her younger brother in succession.

If Jon was made legitimate and Robb Stark died as could happen easily in the world they live in Jon would inherit House Stark and her legitimate children wouldn't.

Eddard who had almost no political mind didn't understand that and asked Catelyn anyways.


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

[User] ELI5:Why do car batteries die after 1 night with the lights on, but can last for years otherwise?

[Assistant]
They do not die in the sense that they are broken. They are just empty.

Usually, the battery is recharged while you are driving the car, thereby converting chemical energy from your fuel into electrical energy to recharge the battery.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] How did no one on the budget committee not notice the massive cost of a clone army during it's first few years?

I mean, that's gotta be trillions of credits. You'd think someone in the galactic senate would say "Hey, our tax credits shouldn't be focused on this massive increase in spending! What the hell is this line item!?!?"

I can only imagine there must be committees for everything. Right? And bills that are put forth? Is there no major minority that looks for possible waste?

[Assistant]
While Darth Sidious was the sith who most benifited from the "Great Plan", its groundwork had been laid for generations before, mostly by his master Darth Plagius.

While the details we do have about Plagius' life could be considered legend at best, it is believed that Plagius hailed from Munn and was a high ranking member of that planets banker guild. It's quite possible Plagius was recruited exactly for those contacts and connections and was brought into the sith religion by a master who wanted access to them.
It's just that Plagius turned out to be more of a player than a pawn and eventually overcame his teacher as sith are known to do.

**TL:DR  Darth Plagius helped bankroll it through massive banking influence/contacts.**


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

[User] How does a remote island get grass and vegetation when it first forms? Or soil for that matter?

[Assistant]
Currents in wind and water as well as birds carry all kinds of seeds over 100s and 1000s of km. Remote islands might be way stations on further flights of birds. What they carry in their feathers or stomaches can seed. This is no different from land based vegetation, that often also has its seeds carried by animals to further away places.

Soil is also carried with wind and water and as soon as any vegetation can hold root (means stuff starts to grow and die), for examble in fertile volcanic ash, you can have more diverse soil form over a longer time.


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

[User]
CMV: Crabs are one evolution away from the ultimate lifeform.

Crabs have developed at least six separate times on earth. That's six *separate* lineages all settling on armored shells, molting, regeneration, pincers, etc.

You could say that crabs are like living tanks, except tanks have guns. If crabs were ever to obtain a biological ranged feature, they would be poised to become the ultimate life form. Consider a crab that could forcibly eject something akin to a stingray stinger. Or many smaller spines. Or perhaps an ink spray / vemon spray.

Normally, crabs are defeated in three ways:

1) A specialized predator obtains a hold on the crab and defeats it's armor. Such as a starfish or snail. A ranged defense can engage these foes before they get close enough to hold on.

2) A large predator such as a ray or shark just bodies the crab and eats it. Large predators are easy to hit. Engaging the predator before it gets it eating distance would really help.

3) A small mobile predator out maneuvers the crab. Similar to the large predator, a ranged defense at least gives an ability to threaten the maneuverable predator.

There would need to be corresponding improvements to eyesight and such to support development of ranged abilities. Just to nip the easiest counterpoint in the bud.

[Assistant]
> Normally, crabs are defeated in three ways:

Pretty sure you're missing a critical fourth way crabs are defeated...by humans. There's no animal on Earth that's capable of outsmarting us as a group and right now we murder crabs by the millions by easily tricking them into boiling pots.

> There would need to be corresponding improvements to eyesight and such to support development of ranged abilities. Just to nip the easiest counterpoint in the bud.

No, what they would need is abstract thought. Their ranged attacks are meaningless when they move in to start eating their "kill" and it's just a chicken wing some yokel is holding with a string.

It doesn't matter how powerful you are without sentience.


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

[User]
Is max stirner left wing?

I've seen someone here categorize him as left wing. But most of the quotes I've seen of him seem to be implying that he sees the world as a nihilistic field of everyone for themself, where any mutual benefit is done for the sake of personal advancement, and you can and should focus on yourself when not necessary for mutual benefit between people. Not particularly caring about what happens to other people in the process. Did he think that ultimately everyone would have to get along anyways, and so this collapses into a left wing idea? Or are these quotes not reflective of his larger ideas? Or is that kind of everyone for themself idea somehow defined as left wing? Or is he not left wing after all.

[Assistant] It is nearly impossible to talk usefully about left/right as an all encompassing distinction.  However Stirner was an egoist individualist anarchist who believed more or less in quasi-socialist autonomous communities so by most standards he's probably closer to left wing stereotypes than right wing.