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

[User]
Was Europe the only Old World civilization to separate philosophy from religion? If so, why is that so?

I am ignorant in philosophy so the following surely contains a lot of misconceptions. Pls pardon and educate me. If I'm being Eurocentric, that's a subconscious bias, I don't mean here to say that Europe is superior and the sorts.

In my layman knowledge, both the philosophies of India and China are intertwined with religion - Buddhism and Confucionism doesn't even have gods, they're just the teachings of the Buddha and Confucius. Afaik the Near East also didn't have a tradition of philosophy until Islam, and Medieval philosophy there is dominated by Islam. Don't know about Persia but I assume philosophy there would also be dominated by Zoroastrian religious teachings.

Even in Europe the Middle Ages was dominated by Christian philosophy, it looks. Why is it that the Ancient Greeks and then EM Europeans (apparently picking up from where the Greeks left) separated their philosophy from religion?

[Assistant]
Actually within the classical Islamic period there was a distinction between rational theology Kalam and philosophy or falsafa. In the latter philosophy was viewed as a discipline unto itself, where philosophers put reason and philosophy independently and on some level above revelation.

Granted however they still believed in God and acknowledged the Islamic scriptures, but they never used philosophy to understand or develop their theology or religion. Rather they put philosophy as independent to revelation though they may be inspired by revelation. What this meant was that individuals like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) would have controversial and non-orthodox views. Ibn Rush for example was understood to have proposed a double truth theory in Europe where he seemed to separate philosophy from religion with his double truth theory (it was mistakenly assumed as such) where religion was for the masses and philosophy was for the intellectual
Elites. Ibn Rushd did inspire the western tradition to separate the two as well, in fact he might have even planted the early seeds. The proof of this is the philosophical school in Europe that existed in the late medieval time period known as the Latin Averroists.


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

[User]
ELI5How is water retained in various materials when soaked? What makes something retain water better (I.E. Sponge)?

^^^

[Assistant]
The chemical property of the surface determines how well water sticks to it. That is because water molecules are polar - they are slightly positively charged on one end, and negatively charge on the other. They prefer being in contact with materials that have a similar property (hydrophilic), and avoid being in contact with materials which are unpolar (hydrophobic) - like air and oil.

This effect is what causes surface tension between water and air: Because the water molecules would much rather be in contact with each other than with air, they form round drops with minimal surface area. But between water and a hydrophilic substance, there is no surface tension, and in some cases the water molecules stick so well to the surface that they spread out.

Sponges and other materials which soak water have a very high surface  area and are hydrophilic, so the water prefers sticking to it over having more contact with air. If you make a sponge from hydrophobic material, the water would simply run out.


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

[User]
[Star Wars/Any space themed scifi] How do shields identify friend or foe?

So in almost every space fiction ever, any spaceship is usually equipped with an energy shield of some sort that soaks up any damage and preventing the ship from receiving physical damage. This is usually depicted as some sort of energy barrier forming a bubble around the ship.

Now given our understanding of earth physics, a shield works both ways. You wouldnt be able to shoot through a ballistic shield that stops enemies shooting at you with the same type of weapon. However, as we see in scifi, shields absorb hits by the enemy, while allowing shots of its own ship to pass through. Also we often see smaller ships being able to pass through shields of bigger ships for various reasons regardless of friend or foe.

It obviously is not some sort of compatibility issue, otherwise it would not be hard to bypass the shield. The shield also isnt opening to let stuff pass through because most of the time we see stuff passing through and getting blocked at the same time.

Just doesnt make a lot of sense tbh, but probably isnt supposed to make sense? Or is there any plausible explanation?

[Assistant] In Star Trek, shields rosantes at a frequency know only to the crew of that ship. The weapons systems are calibrated so that they can pass through the shields and not be affected. If an enemy was able to learn your shield frequency, they would be able to calibrate their own weapons to be able to penetrate your shields. This is what happened to the Enterprise-D, leading to her destruction at the hands of an 80 year old, surplus Bird-of-Prey.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is Japan's currency so low compared to other first-world countries?

[Assistant] It really isn't.  It's low compared to the dollar, but it's on par with the cent.  They just don't have separate names for different levels of currency like the U.S. does.  The U.S. says that 100 cents is a dollar.  Japan says that 100 yen is 100 yen, and 1 yen is the smallest value that you can get in currency.


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

[User]
[Physics] There was a conceptual problem posed to my physics class, and I am not understanding their justification for their (what I believe to be) incorrect answer.

It was a situation of which multiple questions were posed:

**You are towing a car up a hill with constant velocity.  A gravitational force, a normal force and a tension force (from the tow rope)  act on the car.**

* As you drive up the hill: The work done on the car by the normal force is: [[zero]]
* The work done on the car by the gravitational force is: [[negative]]
* The work done on the car by the tow rope (tension force) is: [[positive]]

Now, here is the question that has an answer of which I disagree (as does my physicist boyfriend, and all of his coworkers), despite the professor going over it in class, and my emailing my TA about it as well:

* The total work done on the car by all forces is: [[zero - their answer]] [[positive - my answer]]

The supposed logic behind the instructors' answer choice is that because there is constant velocity, and thus 'no acceleration', then there is no work done. However, they (and the textbook) are defining work to require non-zero force and displacement in the direction of the force.

If the car ends at a higher position than it started at, then there is non-zero displacement. (This also means that the PE has been increased.)

If the car is being pulled up a hill, thus fighting gravity, to some extent, there is an acceleration due to gravity.

Explain, please?

[Assistant] Your answer is the answer to the question "how much work did you do" but not to the question "how much total work was done on the car", because you're ignoring the work done by gravity in preventing the car from accelerating under your applied force.


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

[User] Why do sheets of glass stick together?

[Assistant]
I assume you are talking about the following phenomenon. When two almost perfectly flat slabs of glass are placed, one on top of the other, separating them takes what seems like much more force than should be necessary. They seem to be stuck together.

When the top piece of glass is placed on the bottom piece, most of the air between them is expelled. This is because the glass is near flawless and almost perfectly flat. So you can think of the very tiny space between the two pieces of glass as an approximate vacuum. So now if the two pieces of glass are lying on a table, lifting the top piece of glass requires overcoming both its weight and the total force due to the difference in air pressure. (Pressure is force per unit area, so larger pieces of glass will require a larger force, independently of their mass.)

Once you make even a tiny separation, you suddenly feel that further separation is much easier. That's because once there is a small enough space between the glass, air rushes in to fill it. So you no longer have to overcome the force due to the difference in air pressure. If you listen carefully, you can actually hear the air rush in.

This effect is very similar to why a suction cup sticks to a wall, particularly if the wall is free or almost free of flaws (like bathroom ceramic tile).


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

[User] ELI5: Why do we hit things when they don't work?

[Assistant]
In a lot of older equipment frayed wiring and jammed components actually can be "fixed" by banging the frame hard enough.

It doesn't fix the main cause of the problem, but it's often enough to get stuck gears and corroded contacts working again for a while.

It's less useful for modern electronics, but we still do it out of habit.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does rhyming in poems and songs appeal to us?

[Assistant]
Repeating patterns are attractive to many forms of intelligent life, certainly most mammals.  See a thing, remember it, see it again and recall it.  This is done with all signals, sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing.  Think about the advantage of an animal that recognizes the rhythm of a predators charge - they can run away without needing to see it.  They survived and got to have kids, and some of their kids could do the same thing.  This is the basic mechanics of evolution.

Animal brains only have a few main drives, survival comes first but then there are things like hunger.  The animal that feels hungry will be driven to look harder for food, which may be an advantage.  Hunger and pain are closely related, but what about pleasure?  The opposite side, what if the animal is driven by something that makes them feel good.  This seems to be something that we see in very intelligent animals - they like playing.  They get positive signals that drive them towards survival traits.

Humans are smart communal creatures.  We love patterns deep down in our brains so much so that we learned to play with them.  We played with them so much we made music, art, and language to share what we thought and felt with other humans.

Rhyming appeals to us because its a game we play with patterns.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are airplane seat buckles different from car buckles?

Basically the title.

Im guessing seatbelts have the same purpose on both, but one goes only on your waist (plane) while the other is on the chest as well as the waist (car).

Is it a cost thing or a safety thing or something else entirely?

[Assistant]
The seatbelt in the car is trying to dissipate the energy of the crash.  If you're traveling down a highway and hit a wall that brings your car to an abrupt halt then your car may experience 100 Gs of deceleration.  If you were firmly attached to your car this would be bad for you as 100 Gs will break your neck.  The car seatbelt is designed to stretch and give your head/torso that half meter between the headrest and the dash to decelerate over to reduce the force applied to you in the crash.  It needs to run across your chest to control where your head goes and to let it dump energy into your strong ribcage

The plane seatbelt is to keep you roughly located in the seat.  There are no high acceleration events in a plane that you can survive, at most its trying to deal with extreme turbulence which might try to throw you a couple feet either way.  Its there to keep you from flying during turbulence and getting hurt or hurting other people.  There isn't much middle ground for a plane crash, either it skids down the runway on its belly in which case keeping you roughly located was good enough, or it hits something going way too fast and there's nothing a better seatbelt could do to help you.  Because a better seatbelt won't help you want it to be as simple and unobtrusive as possible so its used more often and helps when it can.


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

[User] Where did all the salt in the oceans come from?

[Assistant]
Rocks. A mineral is only stable under the physical conditions where it was born. Take an igneous rock and expose it to the lower temperature and pressure on the earths surface and it wont remain the same thing indefinitely. Minerals like feldspars will slowly react with carbon dioxide and water to form clays, and this liberates some of the sodium and other alkali-metal ions they contain.

Sodium ions dissolve in water, and the water eventually carries them into the ocean. Once sodium is in the ocean, no ordinary process exists to efficiently take it back out. So it builds up and builds up.

The oceans have also built up other salts, too: magnesium sulfate, some potassium salts, calcium carbonate. These happen from the same cause.

Im not entirely sure what specifically produces the chloride. But chlorine, in its ionic form as chloride, does appear throughout planet-forming minerals. It, too, is readily soluble and susceptible to the action of water. Once out in the water, like sodium, theres no ordinary chemical and physical process to take it back out. (You can do things, like add ionic silver to produce solid silver chloride, but the earth isnt that full of silver). So it builds up.


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

[User] ELI5: The US is the worlds largest importer of steel, bringing in nearly four times as much as it exports - if they need to buy more than they produce, why do they export any?

[Assistant]
Imports versus exports is a terrible metric.

The US produces about 5% of the world's steel and consumes about 7.5%.

As for why they export any if they import, its about location.  If a Canadian company can get their steel from a close US company for less than they can get it from a far away Canadian company then they'll make the deal.  The US customers may be too far away, or not buy that kind of steel so the US steel maker wouldn't necessarily be able to sell it stateside even if they wanted to.

There are ton and tons of steel alloys, they're not interchangeable and most companies don't make even a fraction of the alloys.  If you need a specialty alloy you have to buy from specific companies even if they're abroad.


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

[User]
What are some aspects of being a professor that you speculate aspiring professors aren't fully considering?

I dreamed of being a professor. This community, and my professors, talked me out of pursuing a PhD. I teach high school English now. I'm about to start my second year, and though I do like a lot of its aspects, I'm still hanging onto that dream of being a professor. Much more mature kids, no parents, intelligent coworkers. All while doing what I love: teaching people how to be better readers and writers, showing them the beauty in books.

But maybe I have a fantasized image of what being a professor is like. Maybe I'm not considering some things.

[Assistant]
How immature college students are. Less than a year older than high school, but you have much less control over their behavior.

How lonely the profession ends up being. You have intelligent colleagues, but everyone is so busy you rarely end up interacting with them in a substantive way.

How little most students in your class want to be there. Most high enrollment classes are to fulfill general education requirements, which means they're full of students who think this class is unimportant and they shouldn't have to be here.


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

[User] ELI5: How do we know the different layers of the earth? (Mantle & Core) Their composition and general temperature range?

[Assistant]
If you post this in askscience you will get a better answer.  But in ELI5 you get dummies like me.  They developed sonar and seismic  meters.   But essentially they shot different types of rays into the earth and wrote down what came back.   Then they compared the different results.  Based on the data they developed a theory.

Thats it!


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

[User]
[John Carpenter's The Thing] If the Thing succeeded in assimilating the Earth, and the Borg showed up to assimilate those Earthlings, who assimilates whom?

By "Earth" I mean "all humanity." By "Earthlings" I mean "all humans assimilated by the Thing."

[Assistant]
The Borg arrive on Earth to find it's an empty, barren wreck. There's a few remote radio signals here and there but they find no life before the first ambushes. It starts quickly and insidiously - A few drones go dark, then a few more. The Borg begin to search for the culprit, already identifying it as a hostile wildlife, and they find borg cybernetics and Thing critters.

The Borg scour the surface with their Cubes after abandoning earth-side drones. Earth is glassed to prevent the Thing from spreading and assimilating races that would otherwise be assimilated by the Borg.

The Borg cannot be assimilated - A great deal of their organs are cybernetic, and they have advanced bionics integrated with their muscular and skeletal systems. The Thing can't copy these, it'll only copy the fleshy parts based. The Thing is fucked.


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

[User]
CMV: I fully plan on doing a lot of drugs when I'm really old.

So I've been mulling this idea in my head for about a year now. I really want to experience what drugs have to offer within my lifetime. This includes harder drugs like heroin and meth. But I don't want to fuck up my health or my societal standing at the moment.

Would there be anything wrong morally with me waiting until I'm about 75 or 80, assuming I live that long, and then trying out different hard drugs? I know that I could probably die from that plan; but that's why I'm trying them at such an old age. At that point, I don't think it would matter.

[Assistant]
I don't think you'll want to. If that thrill-seeking urge isn't strong enough for you to do it now, it will only be much, much weaker then.

Yes, the stakes will be lower, but despite what you might think, it won't feel that way. Even old people have objects, relationships, and responsibilities they want to take care of.

EDIT: Also, while you may feel existentially more comfortable with dying when you are old, the fear of death itself is still very much thereas well as the fear of any pain, disability, and/or long recovery that could come with complications from drug use (which are only more likely given your frail body).


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

[User]
An overachiever programmer is making our lives hell and we don't know what to do... how do you deal with people like this?

I want to get something out of the way from the start: I know this guy is good, and we all know it.

The problem is he's making things really hard for us (we are 20-people company). He's a coding dragon, a workaholic who has no problem working from home after regular hour or during weekends, a guy who steps up to every challenge and never stops. The kind of person who not only tells our boss that virtually everything's possible, but also makes it possible...

He's produced a lot for the company, and that's great. Lately, however, he's been offloading maintenance or updates on a lot of his stuff onto us because he's busy on new projects, and it's hell. Bugs come up, design choices are hard to understand, the code base is a mess, and sometimes, when we catch something wasn't done in a clean way, we get answers like "yeah, it's not the cleanest way to do it but there was no time to do it any other way".

For example:

- we got an email that a website he wrote was broken, so he forwarded it to us. A coworker of mine spent 2 hours trying to figure out what the issue was, and it was because of a bug on a function this guy wrote. He could have solved it in 15 mins likely. When my coworker pointed out that in the end it was his fault, he looked annoyed and ignored him.

- our boss asked him to estimate a job, which he did. The job was then assigned to another guy but the estimate was kept, and this guy is going crazy trying to  complete the assignment, saying that the first estimate (10 days) was clearly wrong.

- I was asked to estimate something two weeks ago, and I said 2 days. For some reason, the same person also asked him later on, and he said "I looked at the code and this task takes 1 day", and they went with 1 day. WTF? Maybe I need more time, maybe I need someone to explain it to me, or maybe I still need to look at the code, etc. If the point is to show it can be done fast, then why doesn't *he* do it in 15 mins at this point???

- When you ask him for help, most of the times his answers are "google it", or "I can't help you, you need to do it yourself", or "I can't do your job for you, sorry".

- 6 months ago we had some issues finishing customizing a wordpress website, so he stepped in and we shifted to other things. The job got done and the client was happy. Last week  a coworker of ours was asked to make some changes to the same website, and holly shit, he spent hours trying to navigate what this guy had done to make it work 6 months prior.

- Finally, a client complained recently that the product was extremely slow. The product was written by him 2 years ago and then he moved on to other things. A coworker and I (we were now both in charge of the project) were trying to figure out the reason and eventually asked him for help. He found out that the problem was a function *he* had written years ago, and when he realized this, he said "well, guys, this was written 2 years ago, I haven't worked on the project for a year, you should have maintained the codebase" Unbelievable...

Everything's like this. And because of his skills, management never tells him anything. How can handle a situation like this?

[Assistant]
Workaholic != expert. It sounds like his code base is a whirlwind of garbage. He's probably brilliant, but the wake of his maintenance needing artifacts is dragging everyone else done.

Remember: code quality is more important for team morale than delivery speed.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some cities have a distinguishable accent while others don't?

For example New York and Boston both have a unique accent, but LA has the same accent as Seattle, Chicago, DC etc...

[Assistant]
Well, you can still spot a Chicago accent, or Atlanta or New Orleans...etc.

However the Midwestern accent has been adopted by news, broadcast  and Hollywood., so those are alike by dissemination by the entertainment industry.

Used to be that Hollywood used the artificial, trained "Mid-Atlantic" accent (Hepburn, Gable, Bogart) to appear more sophisticated and blend better into the UK accent, but it was abandoned for the Midwestern accent that the next generation entertainers and newscasters such as Johnny Carson (Nebraska) and Walter Cronkite (Missouri) had.


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

[User]
ELI5:Why is is when I'm put on hold with customer support, the music sounds like it's being played through a damaged speaker?

The conversation with the person on the other side will be clear as day, but the music when I'm on hold sounds horrible.

[Assistant]
I would assume for the same reason that voices sound like damaged speakers as well: they cut the frequency range down to reduce the amount of energy required to transmit the signal.
It's something like 340-3000 or 3500Hz (which includes the very important mid-range frequencies for human speech) instead of the "full" range of 20-20000Hz for humans.
There's basically no bass, making it sound very lo-fi.

edit: furthermore, the songs are compressed and in mono, making them victims of phase issues, creating slight "disturbances" that can make a song sound a bit washy. Most professional mixes keep these to a minimum but it's impossible to eliminate them.


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

[User] ELI5: Apart from the lack of oxygen, why birds can't fly higher than they do? Is there any physics behind?

[Assistant] Birds rely on being able to push air down to fly up. As you get higher, there is less air pressure, therefore less air to push down. At some point, they just can't push enough air down to keep them up there.


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

[User]
How different is C++ to C?

Hi, I'm a Maths and Physics student in the UK and I just got offered a summer job at CERN.

My project at CERN will require me to use their ROOT software which is mainly written in C++ with some Python and R mixed in. So anybody with experience with ROOT itself would be very helpful but I think general C/C++ knowledge will be helpful too.

So my question is: If I have experience using C and Python to solve computational physics problems (mainly differential equations and multiple particle systems and whatnot) with a few more general compsci problems like string/array manipulation etc. how quickly can I pick up C++ (ROOT)?

When learning C and Python I did pick them up fairly quickly (I got a First in the three modules I took) despite having no programming knowledge before uni. I also have some experience using Wolfram Mathematica if that's at all relevant.

Thanks for any help :)

[Assistant]
The syntax is superficially similar, and in many cases, C code is also valid C++. But there are a lot of smaller details, where behaviors that are standard in C have different, or even unspecified, behaviors according to the C++ standard (but *might* have specified C-like behavior in some specific compilers).

And it's hard to overemphasize the importance of the memory management features that C++ adds, along with all the standard data structures and algorithms that are part of the language. For example, smart pointers let you tie dynamically allocated memory to scope within the program, so that the memory is automatically deallocated when the pointer goes out of scope (instead of being leaked, like it might accidentally be in C).

And depending on the style of code, there may be heavy use of templates, exceptions, and object-oriented code built into complex hierarchies of classes.

C++ is overall a much larger, more complex language than C, for better or worse. How much C will help you partially depends on the style of the software you'd be working with.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Is every Clone Trooper trained in all areas of warfare?

So if a squad of Clone Troopers are cut off from their medics, could any of them administer sufficient treatment to wound allies? If the last two Clones on a botched mission to board a Separatist Cruiser were ordered to sabotage their systems and or rig their reactor to blow, could they do that?

Essentially my question is, what is included in the standard Clone training program, and what is reserved for specialised units?

[Assistant] Jango designed the training course himself for all the troopers. Ideally, they would all know the basics. That said, that isn't especially practical, so specialization may exist in one form or another. Not everyone needs to know how to disarm a thermal detonator that has been jury rigged to go off based off some unknown criteria, but everyone would be able to plant a breaching charge, for example.


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

[User] We have seen successful transplants of various organs, hands, even faces -- so why not transplants of legs or feet to lower-limb amputees? Why are these not a thing?

[Assistant] Prosthetics. The lower limbs are simple enough that you can use a fake one and still get around for the most part. They've even got those special legs for running that are banned in the Olympics for being too fast. It's just not worth the risks from transplants. With transplants, you have to take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of life and your body will still eventually reject the donated organs.


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

[User] ELI5: Why is it young children can have food all over their face and it doesn't seem to bother them in the slightest?

[Assistant]
Why should it?

One of the main reason older children and adults dislike having food on our faces is embarrassment.  We have learned we shouldn't have food on our faces, because society says so.  So when we get food on our faces, we feel embarrassed because we aren't fitting in with the rules we've learned.

Children haven't learned these 'rules' yet, so don't feel bound by them.

It's basically the same reason children feel perfectly comfortable saying "Look at that [unusual feature] man there," whilst pointing, but their parents cringe.


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

[User]
CMV: The "investing young" culture is a bait for the low&average income Joe

I am in my twenties and the amount of people online telling you to "Invest young" is huge. These people tell you to try to invest more that 20% of your sallary every month for more than 40 years so you can cash them out at 60 yo.

First of all, I do agree that in theory the math is correct and that on paper it sounds right, but why does nobody take in consideration the various fluctuations and events that could come up and destroy this entire plan.

We got absolutely no guarantee that the economy, especially WallStreet, is going to be stable in the next 5 years, yet we tell all these people to invest for 40 years. The pandemic & Ukraina vs Russia War & Financial Recesion all came in a span of 1 year ( might be a domino effect, but still ).

People who managed to invest for such a long time, have benefited from the most stable period of time in humanity's timeline. Everyone was sick of wars after 1945 and every state focused on developing themself and forming alliances. Now, 60 years later, there is conflict all over the globe and we saw that a single news article shared enough times can completly destroy a stock or put the entire market in a bear state.

Writing this article now I think that you could rephrase my view as : If the market needs to be in an evergrowing stable state, how can we tell people to bet on investing for the next 40 years with so many political and financial tension all over the world.

Bonus question : if a big conflict would arise, would the stock market survive ?

[Assistant]
There is no 40 year window in which it wouldn't have been a good idea. WWII, WWI, vietnam era, the civil war, etc.

Further, whats the alternative?  In the worse case scenario where the market is flat or goes down _ever year for the next 40_ you'll have more money than if you don't save it.  Cash isn't an option because inflation forces a loss in value of cash ever year.

Do you really think corporations are all about to fail?  Seems unlikely!  But...if you're worried about that _invest in a diverse set of things_ - they aren't all going to be negatively affected.  Defense in time of war does well, agriculture will do well if food prices soar, and so on.


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

[User]
struggling with moral relativisim

hello guys, i know very little about philosophy and i was really struggling with moral relativism. by that i mean it makes a lot of sense to me, but obviously it leads to things i am not willing to accept (like killing babies being ok in some cultures). but maybe the reason i am not willing to accept the killing of babies to be ok is because thats the belief of the culture i grew up in and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with killing babies ?

So my question is, are there reasons moral relativism doesn't work/is wrong other than the things it entails (maybe those things are not wrong and we've just never been exposed to them)?

Sorry if the question breaks the sub rules, i am new to all this. thanks in advance :)

[Assistant] Well, why do you think moral relativism is true in the first place? And what is your understanding of the position? Are you saying that there are moral facts but they are relative to a culture, or perhaps the individual? Or are you saying there are no moral facts? How would you define morality?


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

[User]
CMV: Floyd Mayweather fighting Logan Paul diminishes his legacy and minimizes the professional boxing scene

Mayweather, arguably the greatest boxer of all time agreeing to fight someone who not only does not have professional boxing skill, but is kind of known for being an online asshole and entitled YouTuber isn't really a good look.

As a boxer who went 50-0, and who only fought the best of the best of those who legitimately earned a shot at the top through winning their way to the top, getting in the ring with a random YouTuber (granted a great money play for Mayweather) makes Mayweather seem too accessible.

This sense of accessibility to someone who didn't "earn" it does more to remove the seriousness of his skillset and accomplishments than it does to showcase how great he was and is.

The combination of all of this has opened up a once previously closed conversation of celebrity boxing where individuals who have otherwise not earned the opportunity are now in the conversation of fighting some of our greatest fighters just simply based on popularity and not skill.

[Assistant] In 2012, Prince Harry beat Usain Bolt in the 100m dash. He only had the opportunity to race Bolt because he's a celebrity/royalty. He won because he had a fast start. It doesn't diminish either of their legacies because the whole thing was clearly just for fun. This "fight" between Mayweather and Paul was just a goof. It made a lot of money though sheer hype, but it obviously wasn't a real boxing match. Normally this type of thing is just a goof for charity, but in this case, both fighters kept the money. That part is tacky, but the rest of it is no big deal.


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

[User] ElI5: please, Whats the difference between crystal and glass?

[Assistant]
There are two different ordinary uses of the word crystal.

The first ordinary use of the word crystal is a orderly arrangement of molecules of a single molecule. Two common crystals found in almost every bodies homes are salt crystals or sugar crystals.

The other ordinary use of the word crystal is a special type of glass. This type of glass has a different recipe than window glass or glass used for drinking or bottles.  The crystal glass has a higher refractive index, so it is better at refracting sunlight into its constituent colors. Glass made with the crystal recipe (often made with lead compounds) is used for prisms, chandeliers, anything where you want the glass to be sparkly or colorful.  This recipe is also used for ornamental drinking ware and special bottles used to contain, for example, brandy. Crystal glassware does nothing to improve the flavor though it does enhance the visual presentation.


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

[User] [Signs] What was the Alien doing in Brazil? Why was it just walking around a neighborhood in broad daylight?

[Assistant]
It was scouting ahead of the main invasion, gathering whatever data the aliens thought necessary for their plans. It also assumed that its natural ability to camouflage itself would work in such a setting, yet it clearly did not.

There's something special about the perception of children, it was them who alerted the adult holding the camera to the alien's presence. Otherwise it would have gone completely unnoticed, and thus unreported by the news. Just like how Graham's daughter kept calling water in her cups "contaminated", which proved the doom of the alien that invaded their house.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Just what makes a 1.0 class hyperdrive faster than a 2.0 class hyperdrive? Are there trade-offs to having a faster hyperdrive?

I've noticed that the hyperdrive class rating system is kind of all over the place, the Imperial 1 Class Star Destroyer has a class of 2.0 but the Mon Calamari MC 90 has a class 1.0. Why?
Can smaller vessels be faster? The Nebulon-B, smaller than an MC 90, has a class of 2.0.

Does having a lower hyperdrive class have any cons when it comes to ship design?

[Assistant]
At least in Legends, military ships generally had the fastest Hyperdrives, followed by industrial freighters and transports, and then civilian ships typically had the slowest classes of hyperdrives.

So at the very least, that seems to indicate that cost is the main drawback of fast hyperdrives. Military powers fork out for it, because being able to rapidly redeploy your capital ships is essential for maintaining control over the galaxy. Industrial and commercial ships generate the profit to make it worthwhile to have a fast hyperdrive. Civilians have to be extremely wealthy or have a great need for speed (for example, a smuggler) to have a high-end hyperdrive - a good civilian hyperdrive may be worth as much as the entire rest of the ship.

Between the Imperial-I and MC90 - the MC90 is a newer design, and effectively took over the role of the Star Destroyer for the New Republic. Since the Imperial-II was also equipped with Class 1.0 hyperdrives (at least in some cases), it's likely that newer military-grade hyperdrives were becoming available around the time of the Galactic Civil War that newer ships were built around, which simply weren't available previously (at least at a reasonable price for outfitting a fleet).


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

[User] ELI5: I'm watching The Oscars - can someone can tell me the difference between sound mixing and sound editing?

[Assistant]
As far as the Oscars are concerned:

- best sound editing: any act, usually the "sound effects" related to making/inventing/recording/tweaking sounds that are used.

- best sound mixing: actually making sure the sounds created/recorded by the sound editors .... sound ok and at the right volumes in relation to dialogue, music.

Making sure the hero's big line doesn't get drowned out by the thumping soundtrack or a machine noise? Sound mixer.

Making that cool robot sound using a xylophone run through backwards filters and incorporating the sound of a rabid squirrel? Sound editor.


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

[User]
[Toy Story] So is Buzz Lightyear a toy based on a cartoon, or a toy based on cartoon, based on a man? And if it's the latter, does that actually make the cartoon a biography?

Just to be clear, when I say based on a man, I'm referring to the upcoming "Lightyear" movie. Is Buzz real within the context of the Toy Story universe is what I'm asking.

[Assistant] IIRC Buzz Lightyear was the same model as He-Man. A Toy Company made a cartoon show in order to sell the toys depicted as characters in the show. We can see very clearly that Buzz Lightyear is NOT autobiographical because we can see that Andy lives in the 90's and 00's, all of Andy's surroundings proclaim that level of technology. But all of Buzz's technological surroundings are far future tech. So he has to be an entirely fictional character because he exists in a fundamentally different setting than can exist in the life of his owner.  If the toy's owner / show's viewer has 0 possibility of encountering the time, space, setting, and technology, it's safe to assume that the owner/viewer also has 0 possibility of encountering the person. He could meet Buzz's voice actor but that's as close as it gets.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do I get sleepy after reading 2 hours or studying but my scumbag brain can play Skyrim all night without getting tired?

Why do I get tired after I have been reading for a while and my eyelids get heavy while I can pull an all nighter playing videogames and not be slightly tired until I stop playing? Neuropsychologists of Reddit, help!

[Assistant] dopamine / Adrenaline stuff doesn't sit well with me, it doesn't really play a role in WHY you feel sleepy. 2 Hours of studying requires extensive use of the brain centers which releases a host of different kinds of neurotransmitters that stimulate long term potentiation. Skyrim on the otherhand, does not really utilize the brain at all that much. All you are doing in skyrim is the same old practiced routines over and over again. Probably the first couple times of playing skyrim, you had trouble playing for 5 hours a day, until you practiced it enough to be easy. It's kind of like a baby walking. First couple of times, only 2 minutes a day. Now, you can walk for hours. Same stuff, just practiced until you aren't really thinking anymore.


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

[User]
Are there any elements in the earths crust which are anomalously abundant?

Speaking of the types of planets which are similar to earth, is there more or less gold, for example than there should be according to our current models of how a planet forms?

****Could there be a planet out there with abnormally high deposits of a certain mineral or element? I know theres asteroids out there that contain a lot of a certain element and weve been considering(?) harvesting them.

[Assistant] The planet is not homogeneous in terms of element distribution now even though we believe that it was, mostly, at the time of formation, so in a sense, a lot of elements are "anomalously abundant" in the earth crust.  We even have a term for one class of scuh elements, the Large Ion Lithophile elements, which basically says "the atom is huge so the element has trouble fitting into crystals under high pressure, because high pressure favors small spaces for elements, so small elements tend to stay and large ones go into the liquid and migrate to low pressure zones (the lithosphere)".  Potassium and Uranium are classic examples of LILEs.


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

[User]
Is it possible that Mars once had significant life on it?

We're literally only scratching the surface of Mars at the moment, is it possible that full civilisations were once on Mars, got wiped out by an asteroid or something, and slowly over a million years the buildings and evidence disappeared under dust?

PS I hope the answer is yes.

[Assistant] What would be the best way to show an onlooking intelligent life form that life once existed a billion years ago on our planet. For example, say earth was slowly dying (technically it is), what would be the longest lasting beacon of life we could build for onlooking intelligent lifeforms?


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

[User] ELIF: why does it take upwards of a year to make a single movie, but around a year and a half for a 20 episode, 45 minute an episode TV season?

[Assistant]
There are a few reasons.

* A lot of the work done for a series is only needed once - hiring crew members (including actors), finding locations, making props. You don't need to do all that for every episode.

* You can also shoot multiple episodes at the same time - usually, a movie will have just one or two directors and a handful of writers, while TV shows have a multiple directors and plenty of writers who can share writing and directing responsibilities.

* Movies have a much higher risk and gain the TV shows. A lot more money is invested in the movie and in marketing, in expectation of a lot more revenue. Therefore a lot more time and work are dedicated to the movie, for example the amount of post production and CGI in a typical film is far greater than in a TV series.


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

[User]
[Tiberium Wars] Why did Kane start Tib War 3 before his liquid T weapon was ready?

There's a solid four missions during which Kane is clearly stressed and agitated about the creation and delivery of his weapon to Temple Prime; which all could have been avoided if he had waited to start the war until the weapon was ready and shipped, and it also could have been possibly shipped from the North Africa lab instead of the Amazonian lab which would have presumably been much safer.

[Assistant] It was all an act. Kane never intended to finish the weapon. He wanted the Ion Cannon to fire on Temple Prime and set off the liquid tiberium being stored there. That is why he arranged it that Boyle never made it to the Philadelphia before it was destroyed. He knew that Boyle would go for the big flashy propaganda win and use the Ion Cannon against the Temple even though Granger told him it wasn't a good idea.


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

[User]
[General Fantasy] What are the defining characteristics of humans in comparison to other races?

Elves are wise and stuffy, dwarves are skilled and extroverted, orcs are strong and combative.

What are humans?

[Assistant]
In most traditional fantasy, humans have wider areas of expertise, and are more prone to adventure.

Dwarves, for example, are great at stonework and forging, while Elves are great at arts and arcana. Humans aren't the *best* in any of those areas, but you have humans that are excellent stone cutters, excellent smiths, excellent artists, and excellent mages.

D&D represents this by giving humans a +1 to every skill, while the other races get a +2, but only to certain skills.

Humans are more prone to adventuring, as well. Tolkien's Hobbits like to live quiet, content lives in their Shire, Elves will fight to protect their lands, and Dwarves will fight to protect their mines, but adventuring for the sake of adventure is rare in all three races. Humans, on the other hand, founded the Rangers.

This is also true in *Star Trek*. The Federation is comprised of thousands of species on hundreds of worlds, but humans make up the bulk of Starfleet's exploratory missions.

Humans are typically short lived compared to other species. Elves will live for a millenia, dwarves for centuries, and humans for eighty years, give or take. In fantasy, this often manifests as an urgency to wring as much as possible out of the short lives they've been given.

It also makes humans more reactionary. If a Big Bad Evil Guy sets up shop in the town next door, an Elf might shrug and wander off for a decade or two until the whole thing blows over. Humans don't have that luxury.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do most countries limit work/travel visas to 30 years age or less?

[Assistant]
I think the type of working holiday visas that allow people to stay for a year and work a while doing so, is usually restricted to age 18-30, because it is primarily intended for students who take a year abroad.

There tend to be plenty of other visa types that don't limit the age of the applicant like this.


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

[User] What happens to veins after they are injected with a needle?

[Assistant]
Not sure what you mean... so hopefully the following helps;

First, IDK if you can say they're injected with a needle; they're punctured/pierced by the needle - you then inject the contents of the syringe into the vein.

Second, the needle breaks the wall of the vessel, but since it's sharp and small it does fairly little damage... and when removed the body's response quickly closes the hole. Any leakage turns into a small bruise/blood under the skin, which then gets re-absorbed over the next few days.


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

[User]
[Care Bears] How powerful is a Care Bear Stare?

From what I've seen, a CBS is basically an automatic win if you get enough Care Bears to use it at the same time, but what is it's strength if only one Bear used it? Follow up question, how many Bears would need to use the state at once to take down, say, Jackie Chan and Abe Lincoln?

[Assistant] It only took 8 of them to completely melt the snow from an entire forest which requires enough energy to blow up a town. Even if the whole is greater than the sum of their parts, that would mean at the very least they're each building level. Only one bear would be necessary to take down both Jackie Chan and Abraham Lincoln together and they can't even outspeed a carebear because they're faster than lightning.


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

[User]
[Marvel]/DC] Is it possible to be a LeVayan Satanist?

In most DC/Marvel universes, it becomes clear demons/hell/heaven/angels/gods/etc exist.  Does that mess with  many religions?  And even if someone can justify being  Christian by going 'Sure, Thor calls himself the god of thunder, but he's no Jesus', do satanists go 'Well, he not MY Satan' when demons or monsters show up?  Does Superheroes check up on people they see wearing Satanic symbols or jokes on necklaces or clothes?

[Assistant] Generally that sort of thing is ignored. In the Marvel Universe, there's a high-ranking demon named Mephisto who basically does everything you'd expect Satan to do, but they occasionally make a point of saying "this is not the devil. The devil is someone else." In DC, they don't even really give you a Devil figure. There are just a lot of demons. Both companies also shy away from showing and depiction of heaven, and even when heaven is shown, it's only the very edge of it. Satanism usually isn't addressed by either company, except for the occasional dark, cultish, not-accurately-portrayed-satanism-but-still-a-cultural-trope demon/devil worship.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Since Alderaan was destroyed does Princess Leia still retain the title of Princess?

Since Alderaan was destroyed just wondering if she is still considered a Princess.  If she does keep her title does she get promoted to Queen?

[Assistant]
Yes. Assuming there's enough people alive to acknowledge it.

The legitimacy of nobility strictly depends on who and how many people are willing to support it. After all, princess is just a title. If her family had enough living supporters, especially those with political power and influence, then she'd still be a princess.

EDIT: Empirically speaking, following the Russian Revolution that overthrew the Tsarists, Nicholas II and his family were still considered nobility because multiple powerful foreign leaders supported their claim to Russia. When the world acknowledge the USSR as a legitimate country, he and his family lost their support and their legitimacy as nobility.


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

[User]
How does the processor transmit video to the monitor?

 When I open a video, it's basically a bunch of 0's and 1's that are converted to colors. But at what stage of the process does this happen? Does the processor simply send the binary code to the monitor to convert to colors, or does the monitor also do some sort of code processing? Does the monitor also have something like its own cpu better suited for video calculations? I haven't found any sites directly answering this question, and it frustrates me.

[Assistant]
Roughly speaking:

* The CPU puts each frame of video into a *framebuffer*, which is just an area of memory that stores a big array of pixel data. Usually, the framebuffer is stored in your video card's memory, and the CPU can also send drawing commands to the GPU instead of generating the pixels itself.
* At intervals depending on your monitor's refresh rate, a hardware component in the video card reads the data from the framebuffer, and sends it to the monitor as a series of scan lines. (This used to be in the form of separate analog signals for red, green and blue, but nowadays it's all digital.)
* On older CRT monitors, the analog signal would control the intensity of electron beams that physically scanned across the screen, exactly in sync with the video signal.
* Nowadays, the data is instead sent to a controller inside your LCD or LED monitor, which controls a grid of row and column signals that turn the individual pixels on or off.

Modern monitors are pretty sophisticated, and may do their own buffering/processing as well, which is why LCD monitors have a bit more latency than CRTs.


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

[User]
Does your body become less "skilled" with rarely used autonomous functions in the same way as conscious skills?

It's pretty clear that if you don't use a physical skill regularly (say golf swings, hand-eye coordination, the perfect goal kick, etc.) it'll degrade over time.

Does something similar apply to autonomous functions like, say, throwing up, conscious urination (as opposed to a catheter), ocular response (for people who are blind), etc.?

[Assistant]
Not.... really. These functions are not controlled by higher processing centers that have "memory" in the sense you're thinking about it, and many of them operate entirely autonomously from the brain (often the brainstem).

Certain neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, do eventually degrade the nervous system to the point where the stimulus required to (for example) breathe no longer reaches the functional unit. This is less the "skill" being "forgotten" and more the nervous connections being broken, though.


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

[User]
ELI5: What does Big Data really do with our data?

I want honest, true answers please. No fear-mongering or anti-corporate propaganda.

[Assistant] "Big Data" isn't an entity so it does nothing with our data. "Big Data" refers to the concept of using large amounts of data to draw conclusions or direct action. Some company might collect "Big Data" about their customers and then try to draw conclusions about their customer base, such as what products to carry or advertise. Similarly selling that data to other companies would be profitable, and buying such data could in turn help grow a business.


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

[User]
Does our brain process the image our eyes see all at once, or does it start at one point and move from there (like starting in the centre and moving outwards, or from one side to the other)?

Idk if this is something that we have the technology to test, but I just wonder if this is a known thing or are there some working theories or something?

Also, knowing this could be used for things like marketing and creating illusions, right?

[Assistant] Primary processing of different areas of a visual field will happen simultaneously, as the cells doing the processing are actually topographically organized. However, because there is greater detail in the fovea (dead center) of your visual field, there's simply going to be more raw information to speed up downstream feature extraction.  This is pretty intuitive, as if we see a big brown fuzzy object somewhere in our visual field, we will recognize we are looking at a bear much quicker if we are staring at it than we would if it were on the periphery of our vision.


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

[User]
Would a field that reduces your inertia violate any important laws of physics?

I was thinking about some sort of energy field that reduces the inertia of a body or area. I was wondering if this would violate any laws of physics. Specifically it wouldn't change gravity, so you couldn't violate the conservation of energy by building an overbalanced wheel.

The part I have questions about is conserving kinetic energy. It would also have to speed you up and slow you down as you turned it on and off to conserve kinetic energy. But does this fly in the face of relativity? Since as far as I know, you have different amounts of kinetic energy depending on the location of the observer, right?

You wouldn't be able to exceed lightspeed as that would either require a field that reduced your inertia to 0, or still require infinite energy.

So I suppose my question is would a field that reduced your inertia conserve kinetic energy if you sped up and slowed down as it increased and decreased in strength, or would that still break conservation of energy?

[Assistant] Reducing inertia is the same as reducing mass. So in order to conserve energy, you want KE = 1/2 mv^2 to be held constant, which means that when you reduce the mass, you have to correspondingly increase v. However you also have to conserve momentum, so you also want p = mv held constant. This is a problem. You can't have both be true at once. So yes, it would violate either conservation of energy or momentum. You can, however, fix things up, if you allow your new field to itself carry energy and momentum, and which point you are describing a process whereby some of your mass decays into vibrations in the field, just as a muon can for example decay into a less massive electron plus neutrinos.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why didn't they clone a jedi instead of Jango Fett?

As stated above, why didn't they choose to clone a jedi when they were making the empires army, instead of cloning Jango Fett? I know that the ordering of the army was made on the DL but still?

[Assistant]
>"Yes, and what are they without the Force? Take the greatest Jedi Knight, strip away the Force, and what remains? They rely on it, depend on it, more than they know. Watch as one tries to hold a blaster, as they try to hold a lightsaber, and you will see nothing more than a woman  or a man. A child."

    KotOR 2- Kreia

The whole reason they were using clones was because it was the fastest way to raise an army, the clones grew so quickly that they could have a ton of soldiers in under a year. What they didn't have time for was to train thousands of Jedi- that would, in fact, be the opposite of what they need. Training in the force requires time, individual attention,  expanded awareness, and  introspection. None of these are things that anybody wants when they are trying to quickly put together an army. There is nothing special about Jedi other than the Force, so no reason to use a Jedi, they just needed someone as close to physical perfection as could be found.


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

[User]
Anti-Cheat software? Red Dead Online

Long preamble, TLDR at bottom:

\-----------

For those who don't know, cheating/hacking is a HUGE problem in GTA Online and Red Dead Online.

**In RDO it is so bad** that cheaters can follow you from session to session, harassing you 24/7. ALL they need is your in-game screenname (which is shown everywhere).

They have incredible amounts of power, including:

* \-Spoofing their name (many use "R\*ADMINISTRATOR" in a different color to pose as Rockstar support)
* \-Changing time of day, weather
* \-Killing you anywhere on the map
* \-Teleporting anyone, anywhere.
* \-BLOCKING the in-game cheat report, and seeing WHO filed it. **This means if you use the game to report a cheater (Rockstar's official advice), they can see you filed the report and are guaranteed to harass you from that point on.**
* \-And hiding most evidence of all their activity.

Ok, so I would like an explanation from the technical side.

**Even if there isn't** a "catch-all" anti-cheat system they could implement, I refuse to believe that Rockstar couldn't just hire a small team of people to keep track of the cheating programs, and reverse engineer them to provide protection or something.

The only explanation I can see, is that the company doesn't care. I can't believe it would be that hard, especially for a huge company, to combat these cheating software.

\-----------

**TLDR** *What are some of the common programming methods used in preventing cheating online, and is it really that hard to implement or does Rockstar not care?*

Thank you so much! I have had several "hackers" ruin a ton of my progress, and would at least like to gain some understanding, out of all this frustration.

Thank you!

[Assistant]
Sounds like they're doing something like peer to peer multiplayer rather than actually running any sort of validation server side.

In this way, the costs of hosting multiplayer servers is probably a thousandth what it would be otherwise, but they can't really do anything about the cheating because the cheat commands aren't being processed by a server, only the cheater's (compromised) client and your client.

To fix this, they'd need to

(1) completely rewrite the networking code

(2) invest in creating a completely new server side program

(3) charge people a substantial subscription fee to cover the much increased server costs.


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

[User]
Are there any bacteria that use the body's inflammatory response against it?

I'm curious as to whether there are any specific kinds of bacteria or other infectious species that can trigger an inflammatory response and then benefit from it.  Furthermore, what are the disadvantages of the human body's inherent inflammatory response?

[Assistant]
Let's start off by saying that in general the body's inflammatory response is a very, very good thing. Sometimes it can be problematic as you see with people with severe allergies to peanuts, some autoimmune diseases etc. But for the most part it's good and the inflammatory response usually mops up some infectious stuff pretty quickly keeping you alive and kickin'.

There is, however, a few bacteria out there that use this to their advantage. Take tuberculosis for an example. *Mycobacterium tuberculusis* (TB) infects (most commonly) the lungs and is classically defined by a chronic cough laced with blood and fever. What researchers have learned about TB is that it can use the host's own immune system to further replicate and hide from destruction and it does this from WITHIN the very cells which were called to the site of infection and intended to kill it. A macrophage is part of the immune system and functions to vacuum up and sample bad things, good things, debris etc, including whole bacteria like TB. Once the macrophage takes up the foreign object it digests and destroys it for further presentation to the body's immune system (for a larger response later, macrophages are generally the first on the scene of infections). Well, TB found a way to prevent being digested inside macrophages and instead hides and multiplies within the macrophage until they burst it open and spread the infection. If this wasn't enough to make TB a serious very infection it has also slowly acquired antibiotic resistance over the years and is now considered a superbug. You do not want TB.

To just give you a viral example to your question. A good one is the HIV virus. Now it doesn't use an inflammatory response per se against the host, but it infects and multiples within the cells which are designed to normally combat this infection. This is why individuals who are infected with HIV develop AIDS. The virus infects the CD4+ T cells, replicates to large numbers, then bursts out the these cells and spreads to other CD4+ T cells. This happens until the host's CD4+ T cells are almost non-existent rendering the patient with AIDS. Because HIV replicates only in CD4+ T cells, it effectively uses itself against itself. Without CD4+ T cells a person could not get a HIV infection and would not develop AIDS, but without CD4+ T cells a person doesn't have a complete immune system and is immune-compromised. Viral infections are some of diseases T cells are suppose to protect us against and here is this nasty HIV virus which targets our protectors to the point where something relatively non-life threatening to an individual with a normal immune systems infects the person and does them in. Crazy stuff right there.

Hope this helps!


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

[User]
[DragonBall] Are the human Z Warriors just irrelevant?

Saiyans -> Oozaru form,Zenkai boosts,unrivaled fighting spirit,Saiyan Human offspring are said to have more potential than full blooded ones,anything else I'm missing???

Namekians -> Regeneration,stretchy limbs,can sustain themselves with only water,asexual reproduction,certain ones can create Dragon Balls,and can fuse with each other without the need of the dance or earrings.

Androids -> Unlimited stamina,that's all I know that is special to this group.

Frost Demons -> With a few of them being prodigies,I'm not sure what is special to them other than they're probably really hard to kill considering Freeza was sliced up by his own attack,and was still clinging on after the explosion of Namek.

Sooo...what do Humans bring to the table?

[Assistant]
Humans have technique.  Humans came up with:

- Kamehameha, which seems to be consistently more powerful than equivalent energy blasts in the series

- Solar Flare, which consistently wins fights

- Sensing Energy, something that was thought to be impossible without a scouter by the Freeza organization.

- Kienzan, which allowed someone like Krillin to actually injure Freeza.

- Mafuba, which came up again in the DB Super.

- Shin Kikoho: which allowed Tien to briefly match Imperfect Cell

The list goes on.  Earthicans are consistently some of the most creative fighters in the universe.  They lack the raw power to compete with Saiyans, but human creativity combined with Saiyan brute force has made Goku, Vegeta and the rest *far* more powerful than they would have been without their time on earth.

The only species with better technique are the Yardrat with their instant transmission, and the Kais with techniques like Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb.


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

[User] [(LOTR)] could an orc become a ring wraith/Nazgul?

[Assistant]
The Nazgul are a specific set created by the nine rings of power given as gifts to nine human Kings. The rings gave then power to rule, and made them immortal, and corrupted them. So, no, an orc can't be Nazgul, because the ingredients are a human wizard corrupted by one of nine rings already spoken for.

Could an orc be converted into a Nazgul level power? Probably, if that is what sauron wants to do, but there are probably good reasons he sticks with his Nazgul process.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are chemical formulas in the order they are? Why is it H2O and not OH2? Why is it C6H12O6 and not O6H12C6?

[Assistant] There are multiple ways of listing chemical formulas. The most commonly used notation is the "Hill system". It is carbon first, then hydrogen, then alphabetically.  It is done that way to make it consistant and easier to read.


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

[User] [general] Can a vampire drink from a priest/holy man?

[Assistant]
Yes.  The blood of such a person isn't sanctified in the same way that holy water is, so it is not harmful to the vampire in that way.
Of course, such a person probably has several holy symbols around, so they might be hard for the vampire to actually get to, but once it did, it could feed safely.


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

[User] ELI5: What about Shakespeare has made it almost universally taught in high schools?

[Assistant]
It's basically the first good example of "modern" English literature.  While some translation is usually done to replace obsolete or obscure wording, they're largely legible in their original form.

There are older texts of course, but much of it is drab religious or political material.  Once you're out before the 1500s and widespread priting press usage, texts like the Canterbury Tales are written in illegible Middle English.


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

[User] [Mass Effect] What would the Reapers have done if the Milky Way started being colonised by an extra-galactic species?

[Assistant] If they arrived during a cycle, attempt to harvest them, as they would probably be the most 'succesful' race. If the species had enough time to actually colonize, the Reapers would have a hard time killing them. A big reason they left the relays and Citadel was so we would evolve along a calculated path that best suits the Reapers plan. This extra galactic species would likely be entirely foreign and complicate the Reapers plans.


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

[User] [Pokemon] Why does losing a pokemon match cause a criminal to stop committing a crime and then pay you for it?

[Assistant] Because if they continue to resist, it's a regular person vs a giant fire breathing dragon, a ressurected predator from the Jurassic age, or an animal that can control all of space and time. I'd surrender too.


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

[User]
ELI5: DRM in HTML5

The post that has been on the front page.

[Assistant]
**First a little background.** Cue wibbly, wobbly, flashback scene.

For almost as long as the web has been around, people have wanted to playback video in webpages.  There were several attempts to achieve this: RealPlayer, Windows Media, but the ultimate king of them all is Adobe Flash.  Flash can playback video in many formats on virtually all web-enabled devices.  However, it requires you to have installed the Flash plugin for your browser but this isn't much of an obstacle since about 97% of PC users have done so.  So Flash became the de facto standard for video on the web.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, a bunch of people saw that Flash was the web video king and said, 'Hey, the web is supposed to be about open standards but *that* is proprietary and controlled only by Adobe'.  The irony is that one of the loudest to whine about the lack of openness was Apple, but that's a story for another ELI.  And so the HTML5 <video> tag was born.  This would build video support directly into the browsers and negate the need for any of this nasty plugin nonsense.  The world met the arrival of HTML5 with absolute silence, except for a few web developers who said, 'Hooray!' and slowly began updating their websites with the new technology.

Except there was a problem.  You see, although the HTML5 standard tells you how to embed a video in a webpage nobody could agree on the format of the video file itself.  Some people, like Apple and Microsoft, said it should be H.264 - which is a good format but it requires the payment of a royalty to the patent owners.   Who include Apple and Microsoft.  Hey, at least they declared their conflict of interest.  As a result, both Safari and Internet Explorer only support video in H.264 format.  But Firefox and Opera, who were part of a group advocating a more open standard, are (sort of) boycotting it.  This means that a webpage has to include at least two video files (probably three) in order to be viewable on those browsers.  Chrome supports everything at the moment but the whole thing is a complete mess that, far from eradicating the problem it was supposed to have solved, has meant many content providers have decided to simply stick with Flash.

**So, back to the present.**

Microsoft, Google and Netflix have devised a plan to 'enhance' the current support for video in HTML5 by adding what they playfully refer to as 'encrypted media extensions'.  One of the reasons content providers are reluctant to move away from Flash player is that HTML5 video does not give them 'sufficient control' over their content - i.e. DRM.  The EME, though they aren't strictly DRM in themselves, will give them the tools to add proprietary DRM into certain web browsers and/or devices.  Of course, this means there will be other web browsers and/or devices that aren't supported.

**So why are people talking about it?**

The problem with DRM is that it requires software to function in ways that harm the users, for instance by deliberately disabling certain functionality.  This means that the software has to be written in a such a way as to only allow the user to do exactly what the content provider wants.  The free software movement is opposed to this on the grounds that it restricts the user's freedom and the open source community is against this because it is unworkable in practice (at least in open source software).  Power users are upset that they find themselves having less and less control over the computers and devices that they own and web developers are cheesed off that the thing that was supposed to put an end to the use of proprietary plugins is being turned against them.  However, the big corporations and content owners are really excited about it and, since money talks on the web, we can expect to see it rolled into the standard in the near future.

**TL;DR** - video on the web is a big mess that isn't getting any (much) better.  Embedding DRM into open source applications is practically impossible, which has led to this being interpreted as an attempt to lock certain browsers out of video streaming websites.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] In First Contact how could Cochrane understand the Vulcan captain saying "Live long and prosper."?

When the Vulcans touch down on Earth after the first warp flight the captain salutes Zefram Cochrane and wishes him "live Long and prosper", Cochrain fails the return the salute, says "thanks." and shakes the captains hand.

The problem here is that Universal translators hadn't been invented yet. Were the translators in the Enterprise-E crew's combadges kicking in for him, or were the Vulcans speaking English?

[Assistant] The Vulcans had studied Earth significantly as far back as the Terran 19th century. English is a primitive language by comparison to the Vulcan dialects. Any Vulcan captain worth his salt would be certain to learn the primary native languages of the star systems his survey craft were passing through. It is only logical to ensure that one can communicate with the locals in the event of an emergency landing, or first contact situation.


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

[User]
CMV: Following celebrities and gossip is a very vain activity.

Before starting:

* English is not my first language, so I may seem more formal unintentionally. I really want this to be light-hearted.
* This may be a bit in conflict with rule number 2, so I hope mods can have a bit of leeway with me.

In my life I haven't understood how or why people become obsessed with celebrities. Like the Kardashians or maybe Ryan Gosling to the point of following their every move. And tho I find gossip magazines and shows annoying, I've recently met some people that follow some personalities like Steve-o from jackass and some form where I'm from, in a more light hearted manner. And it seems pretty fun, but I can't find myself googling them done day.

So yeah, what's your point of view?

[Assistant]
Every hobby can be made to sound trite if you phrase it in the right way.

"What's interesting about 11 behemoths running into one another over a ball?"

"You spend all day just controlling someone on a screen?"

"Why are you spending so much money firing at the range? Worried about the zombie apocalypse?"

In all these cases, people tend to not understand or identify with what makes those hobbies rewarding.

As silly as it may strike you, humans have gossiped basically since forever. People like it. Given that, is it that surprising that the most beautiful/talented/successful/well known people in the world make good targets?

Few people care if Janet in HR is banging Ross from Accounts...because only a small social group knows them. Furthermore, gossiping about ones own social group can come with repercussions. However, everyone knows Brad Pitt, so celebrities can serve as an outlet for those urges to gossip.


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

[User]
When was the idea of "free will" born ?

I do research on freedom, and to do this I therefore sought the birth of the notion of free will, which is therefore I think a dualism with everything that has to do with vassalization.  The first sources that I find are texts written by Saint Augustine in the 350s. Do any of you have sources, any, that are older?

[Assistant] I think Eva Branns book *Un-Willing*, which is basically a history of the concept of will, is a good overview. She agrees with the thesis that the first time we find the fully-formed concept of will is in Augustine, but she also goes into the precursors where we find indications of what will grow into the concept (and parts that are totally absent)Aristotle, the Stoics, etc.


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

[User]
What is responsible for some people being lonely or socially isolated despite humans being social animals?

What are differences from normal humans that make someone vulnerable to be socially isolated or left alone?

[Assistant] Not an expert, but asking a clarifying question:  Do you mean what leads some people to be excluded from the groups in which they might otherwise participate, or do you mean why do some people prefer to not be a member of groups?


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

[User] ELI5: How do I weigh 5 pounds less in the morning than I did the previous night?

[Assistant]
That is a little extreme, but can happen.

You breathe out moisture and CO2 all night long.  You also probably went to the bathroom before weighing yourself this morning.  These add up to 5 lbs for you this morning!


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

[User] ELI5: how can a tv remote sit around all day not wasting its batteries and immediately be picked up and used (without having to be turned on), while something like a game controller must be turned on first before use, and if you left it on all day it would drain the batteries even while not in use?

[Assistant]
a tv remote is a usually one way communication and uses IR.  the remote emits a signal when a button is pushed and the tv receives it.  it's like using smoke signals.

a game controller communicates through bluetooth which is active two way communication.  just by keeping it on and idle, it'll consume power.  and controllers can also do other things, such as transmit audio, rumble, etc.


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

[User] [Paw Patrol] How is the Paw Patrol funded?

[Assistant] From the tears of every parent forced to turn it on when they are emotionally beat to death.  The water is evaporated and the remaining salt is made into large cubes and fed to horses.  Once the horses finally perish, they are processed into glue that you will eventually purchase for your kids to end up just eating.  20% of all glue proceeds go to the show to maintain the racket.


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

[User] [Star wars] Why did Yoda's mind get blown by a flashlight in esb?

[Assistant]
That was just a facade he was putting on, because he wanted to test what kind of person Luke was.

Yoda's actually always been rather mischievous and prankful. It's just that his responsibilities as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order weighed him down, resulting in the grim-faced, dour Jedi Master we think of him as.  On Dagobah, he no longer had to deal with the issues that came with being Grand Master, so he was free to be himself.  Thus, he went back to his more carefree personality, one where he could knock Artoo around with his cane and prank Luke Skywalker.


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

[User]
[Last Man on Earth] Why was Mike on the ISS completely alone (not including the worms)?

It's been a few years since I watched the show, and wanted to rewatch, but this question always bugged me. Why was Mike the only person on the ISS? Wouldn't NASA either: A. Keep all of the scientists on the ISS as a precaution, or B. Bring them back as an emergency abort mission? And if the answer is A, did each individual astronaught leave via a descent module over time due to worry and craziness, and one by one die from the virus? And in that case, how the hell many descent modules would the ISS have to contain?

[Assistant] IIRC they tell that story, the other astronauts used the other return vehicles to return home, desperate to see if their families were ok, even if it cost them their lives. Leaving Mile alone on the station with the last return vehicle and the worms.


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

[User]
ELI5 How do we know the fundamental rules of mathematics are true?

Who decided what would be the basic axioms/postulates of math (assuming of course they are axioms/postulates to begin with)?

I'm talking about rules like ".9999999999999999999999999999999 = 1" and "anything divided by 0" is undefined and "an nth root of a number is defined as this operation being done to it"

I know there must be some upper division math courses where this stuff is more thoroughly discussed, but would anyone care to give an ELI5 version?

**Edit:** the ".999999 = 1" question has been answered. Turns out, it's not so much a fundamental axiom as much as it is something determined by proofs. Thanks for the replies, please keep them coming,  they are very insightful!

**Edit 2:** Several people have already given their responses on the matter. However, if you have something to say, please add to the discussion! I read a lot of very helpful and concise replies way down at the bottom of the thread. I hope people get a chance to see those as well, and maybe add some more insightful thoughts/answers :-)

[Assistant]
The basic rules of math aren't "true" as such. They have been _decided_. Math is not about "rules" it's about consequences.

Math is nothing but working on the mantra: "If these things are correct, then what?"

An interesting example of this is the Euclidean geometry that evolved into non-Euclidean geometry when some folks (Lobachevsky/Riemann/Bolyai) wanted to see what happened if the rules were slightly different. This, however, is beyond the scope of an ELI5, and readily available on the interwebz.


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

[User]
ELI5: In America, why are swear words bleeped, blurred, or given a euphemism on television when everyone already knows what they are saying anyways?

Why are we so sensitive to words on television? I hear arguments that we are doing it to shield children from "bad behavior", but with parental control settings now widely available I don't really see why parents can't decide for themselves what programs they want their children to be exposed to. Besides, I know as a kid in school I would hear much worse things during the school day than in the evening on tv.

Perhaps maybe in the future there will be an on/off switch for bleeps and silly euphemisms so that as an adult, I can enjoy a movie like Pineapple Express on FX without listening to badly edited childish replacements in every other sentence.

[Assistant] Because people dont trust other people enough to make sure that their kids dont hear any bad words, and are too stupid to realize that kids will hear them anyway. Same reason why some places are trying to ban internet porn.


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

[User]
[The Flash] How do the speedster and the team communicate via voicechat? Do they slow the voice down?

Edit: sorry for bad English.

[Assistant]
Speedforce. This is the answer to everything.

Flash can consciously turn the speedforce on or off or modulate it to fit his needs.

So he can be moving at mach 125 and communicate by speaking through simply wanting to be able to talk.


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

[User] ELI5: When and how did banks switch from actual paper money to the computerized system they use today?

[Assistant]
Banks have never really dealt with actual money.  They take your paper cash, write down in a book that they have $100 of your dollars... then loan $100 to someone else.

The bank now has 0 dollars on hand.  It owes you $100.  Some other guy owes them $100.

They make money because the bank told you it would give you $5 if it could have your $100 for a month.  It told the other guy it could have $100 if the guy paid them back $110 in a month.

At the end of the month, if the guy pays it back and you want all of your money, the bank has $5 more than it did before all this started.


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

[User]
CMV: There should absolutely be a cap on how much money one can make.

Some people work harder than others. Some people are more intelligent. I believe you should be fairly compensated for your work.

The average American makes 40k a year.

If you are educated and have a masters degree, you might make 100k a year!

If you are a scientist and find a cure for world problems like clean water or a crippling disease, you might earn 10 million dollars!

But what about people that earn 50 million a year? 100 million? How about people that make 500 million - a billion a year?

Like I said earlier, if you work hard and contribute to society, you should be rewarded appropriately. But if there was a cap on income at say, 50 million, that person would be indulgently set for life and there would be a lot more money to help problems in the world.

[Assistant]
A person who makes 100 million dollars does not keep that money in a vault like Scrooge McDuck.

He or she is actively investing that money and funding all kinds of endeavors.  So that money is still available to help with problems in the world.


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

[User] [Star Wars] Can the force be used to fly?

[Assistant] Sort of depends on what you mean by flying. Hovering feet above the ground is something weve seen particularly powerful force users accomplish on multiple occasions. But sustained, high altitude levitation while moving in a horizontal direction at high speed would be an incredible feat. Maybe not theoretically impossible but, in practice


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

[User]
[Marvel] Why doesn't Galactus work to create life bearing planets?

And he doesn't have to do it directly, he could empower a herald with no moral qualms to go out into the vast universe and collect whatever extra cosmic power, technology and resources he/she can, and then use those things to not only create planets but seed already existing planets with as much life as possible.

It'd be like making investments that pay off down the line.

[Assistant] His all consuming hunger ravages his mind in ways no mortal could ever understand.  There is no time for Galactus to create life, simple though it may be for one with such phenomenal power cosmic, for Galactus must feed constantly lest he be driven mad and feral by the ferocious hunger which gnaws at mighty Galactus.


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

[User]
ELI5: What is SMTP?

I am currently doing a research for my boss re: email campaigns and has come across the term called SMTP. I tried to understand what Wikipedia is trying to explain, but I just can't quite grasp it. Help?

[Assistant]
STMP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is the common language (protocol) used by both email clients and servers to understand each other and be able to send emails. Imagine that you were building a new Outlook application. You would need to "speak" SMTP if you were to communicate with the email exchange server. Otherwise, it would not understand you. Pretty much like when you go to a foreign country where no one speaks English and you have to learn their language.

Please note that SMTP is only used for sending emails. There are other protocols for receiving emails, such as POP.


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

[User]
[Saw] The Jigsaw killer put me into a trap. I survived. Jigsaw offers to let me become his apprentice and assist him with his work, like Amanda. I politely and respectfully decline, and I'd prefer just to go back to my family, if that's okay. Is that how it works? Am I allowed to just go home?

As said in the title. This hypothetical character has followed all of Jigsaw's rules and hasn't been at all rude, but is probably a little traumatised, and very scared indeed of our titular killer.

[Assistant] The original Jigsaw does truly believe in second chances and if it was one of his traps you feel in you'll be fine just so long as you clean up your act.  Its obvious that you went caught by one of the other Jigsaws because they do not give second chances you will die in their traps.


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

[User]
[MTG] What is the difference between a creature and a token creature?

So i'm fighting a fellow plainswalker and i bring out my trusty bear (2/2). My opponent brings out what he calls a bear token(2/2). I'm curious what are the differences between them to me, your average plainswalker.

[Assistant]
A true creature summon is a detailed copy of a living thing.  In your case, it might even be a copy of a specific bear.
A token is more like raw mana mashed into shape.
When your bear dies, it will leave behind a body.  You can take the pelt off of it and wear it for decades.  When a bear token dies, the mana simply dissipates and doesn't leave anything behind.   It only has slightly more substance than an illusion.  Don't ask me how the hell illusion creature tokens work, that's beyond me.


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

[User] ELI5: Why do (in most cases) our eyes need to be closed for us to be able to sleep? And what happens to people who can sleep with their eyes open?

[Assistant] The physical reason animals sleep with their eyes closed is moisture. Just have a good old staring contest with someone and you will see after only a few minutes your eyes will start to dry out and the urge to blink really kicks in. Now imagine leaving them open for hours straight. As for sleeping with your eyes open, there are risks. If your eyes become too dry "dry spots" can form on the cornea, causing inflammation and over time could lead to a number of eye problems.


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

[User]
[Iron Man] ELI5, how Stark's chest reactor kept him alive

Where was it placed exactly? How did it keep out shrapnel? What was the nature of the shrapnel in him? What happens if no reactor was there?

[Assistant]
Tony Stark's chest reactor does two things: powers the Iron Man suit, and replaces an existing car battery which had been used by Yinsen in order to power an implanted electromagnet. Stark has been pierced by shrapnel from a Stark Industries rocket, which was slowly moving into his heart muscle. The reactor is implanted in a metal housing which is mounted through the sternum, directly above a plate to which the electromagnet is attached.

The nature of the fragments is unknown, but due to the fact that Stark did not develop further symptoms from the shrapnel (he developed heavy metal poisoning from the reactor, instead) it can be presumed that the fragments were not of a toxic metal such as depleted uranium.

The fragments were burrowing into his heart muscle by the natural muscular contractions, the sharp leading edges incrementally moving towards disrupting the organ's natural function, and thus killing Stark. The way the arc reactor kept him alive was fairly simple: the electromagnet which the reactor powers offsets the motion of the shrapnel, preventing them from progressing further and thus killing him.

While Stark has been fully active since his escape from the Ten Rings and the initial creation of the arc reactor, it was necessary for preserving his life until 2013, when the shrapnel fragments were removed in a groundbreaking surgical procedure. In 2008, the arc reactor was removed by Obadiah Stane, which caused Tony's heart to fail due to the 'rebound' effect of the absence of the magnetic field, causing the fragments of metal from his earlier injury to burrow deeper into his heart and impair it from beating. Without prompt restoration of the magnetic field, Stark would have died within minutes.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are movies shot in 24 fps rather than 30?

[Assistant] Back in the day, the film was an actual significant cost. They wanted to keep the amount of film use to a minimum. 24 FPS is the lowest you can go before you start to see single images instead of rolling frames.


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

[User]
ELI5:If you got in a plane and started flying flat along with Earth then maintained that direction, would you eventually begin flying out of the atmosphere?

Or would the plane follow the curvature of the Earth?

[Assistant]
tl;dr: The plane would need to follow the curvature of the earth.

As an airplane gets higher in the atmosphere a few things happen. First, as the plane encounters less air resistance, it can move faster, generating more lift. Counteracting this, however, is the fact that the air gets thinner, so less of it is displaced by the airfoil, so overall less lift is created.

At a certain point, even if you have a plane that can somehow generate enough lift to get to the very top of the atmosphere, the oxygen content is not high enough to fuel the combustion of the fuel inside the jet engines, so the engines will flame out.

There are certain ways to get around this problem by using different air compression designs. Ramjets and scramjets are for ultra high altitude planes that travel many times the speed of sound. These engines do not have traditional fans to compress the air, relying instead on the shockwave of the air hitting the engine intake to compress the air for it. Because of this, you have to already be flying at very high speeds to use these types of engines, making them a logistical challenge on commercial aircraft (along with many other reasons this is completely infeasible.)

However, even these engines fail at high enough altitudes, so you would need to carry your own oxygen supply for combustion, like traditional rockets. You may notice now that we are no longer talking about the original subject, so the short answer is that the plane would follow the curvature of the Earth unless you had very special engines to get it to the upper atmosphere. Even then, it would eventually need to follow the earth's curvature unless you are flying a rocket ship.


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

[User] [Sonic The Hedgehog] Why are Sonic and his friends anthromorphic while the animals they break out of Eggmans robots are completely normal?

[Assistant] So the original lore was that certain animal species evolved to a more human state after the humans on Sonics home world went extinct. Robotnik isnt from his home world which is why hes the only human in the original games. The series has been retconned and changed so much that its just kind of become humans are sometimes part of this world, but not always.


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

[User] ELI5: How do we know what names mean? E.g. Hercules wife was called deinara, which means husband destroyer. In ancient greece was this woman literally called husband-destroyer?

[Assistant] We do have lots of ancient texts which uses these words and some even explain the words directly. And "husband destroyer" is not any more unusual name then a lot of modern names like Patience, Faith, August, Angel, etc. However most modern names are traditional and even in other languages and the meaning is lost to us. But in the ancient world it was more common to have names that would be a word of phrase in the language as they did not have the big pool of names to draw from.


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

[User]
ELI5: How come nuclear radiation from the countless nuclear weapons tests in the past hasn't (for the most part) caused widespread damage?

I know there are some examples of coral reefs and stuff, but what about all the other tests? Do nuclear weapons only send their radiation a certain distance? How do we avoid radiation from tests in Nevada from reaching one of the cities?

[Assistant] Yeah for the most part Radiation only travels so far before it becomes negligible. For the most part nuclear test sites are in the middle of no where. Russia tested in the middle of siberia which is thousands of miles from civilization. The U.S tested in the Nevada desert fairly far from any civilization. After a while above ground nuclear testing was banned though and now nuclear tests are done underground, making it even harder for radiation reaching the outside world. The effects of nuclear tests can be seen globally if you look hard enough, but its severity is less than that of our own sun.