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

[User]
How does a tetanus injection help once someone has injured themselves?

I know that Injections stop diseases by providing the body with a weakened/dead dose of the disease so the immune system can find out the best best way to deal with the disease if the body were to get infected by it without being damaged by it. So how would a tetanus jab help if the body has already been infected?

[Assistant]
Everyone should have had a primary course of tetanus immunisations as a child. All subsequent doses are *boosters* to prolong the immunity. When you have an injury, there is a risk of infection, but the infection takes time. The bug (*clostridium tetani*) needs to be introduced to the tissues, then it needs to multiply, and produce the tetanus toxin. The time between injury and illness (the incubation period) is 4-14 days. The vaccine is very effective and it seems that if someone has had a primary course of immunisations they are well protected. If they have a tetanus prone injury, and have a booster (if they haven't had a booster in the last 5 years), then that booster is usually sufficient to rapidly bump up their levels of anti-tetanus immunoglobulin. The immune system is already primed, it just needs a booster to improve the immunity.

Now if someone has not had a primary course of tetanus immunisations then a booster at the time of injury will not be effective. In this situation they will have no immunity and a booster will not make them immune fast enough to protect against tetanus from that injury. In this situation they can be given a shot of tetanus immune globulin to give them some immediate immunity.

**TL,DR; the shot is just a booster. You are protected by the primary course of shots you had as an child.**


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

[User] ELI5:Why, out of all places, is the Guantanamo Bay detainment center located in Cuba?

[Assistant]
It's a US military base that dates from before the communist revolution in Cuba. It's a US operation totally cut off from the rest of the world -- only way in or out is with US military transport, so no pesky protestors or reporters. Aren't too many places that close to the US and yet that remote.

So it was a convenient place to lock people up and throw away the key.


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

[User]
Why does it take computers a long time to switch to and from a full-screen game?

What's going on that makes it take so long to switch modes or color schemes or whatever?

[Assistant]
No, it is not swapping modes, color schemes or anything like that in modern computers  the screen generally stays at the same color depth and resolution.

The biggest reason is that the entire screen buffer and all window graphics contexts are purged and rebuilt from scratch. Fullscreen games like to "own" the graphics card (for performance reasons) so when you swap in and out, everything that was on screen is thrown away.

Every window on your computer uses a graphics context (all drawing is done into the context and the contexts are then composited into the screen buffer). Every single one of these may be purged and recreated when switching in and out of a game.

You're looking at potentially a gigabyte of data or so (depending on your graphics memory) that needs to be recreated and moved around the different data pathways on your computer.

Additionally, all of the code for programs not in the foreground may have been swapped to disk (if your RAM is low) or it may simply not be in any of the L2 or L3 caches  in any case, there's a lot of loading to do.


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

[User]
ELI5: If our brains have limited storage capacity, what happens when we max it out?

Do we start erasing old memories, or simply stop storing new information?

This is a hypotethical question, but if humans had longer lifetimes, would that mean that we would hit a plateu in the way we store information and we would stop being subsceptible to new information, in turn turning older people useless for scientific progression.

[Assistant]
You start forgetting the information you never use, for example a phone number from your second cousin that was used 12 years ago.
The probability of it ever happening in a lifetime is fairly low due as we have a large capacity to retain information.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why have TV networks such as Discovery, History, Animal Planet, etc. seem to have "dumbed down" their shows in recent years?

I feel like I'm in the movie "Idiocracy".

[Assistant]
Because these "dumbed down" shows attract more general TV-watchers, even if it scares away the people watching for interesting content. It's because the average person doesn't seem interested in science or facts, rather they enjoy a story and don't care for information.

Discovery, History and Animal planet simply try to attract more viewers, making more money. And sadly for those wishing to watch informative TV, this is the best way for them to do so.


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

[User]
[Doctor Who/ Torchwood] Some questions about Cybermen.

I'm half way through season 3 of Doctor Who, just finished 42, and have also starting watching season 1 of Torchwood, just finished Cyberwoman. Is it really impossible to change a Cyberman back into a human. In the Cyberwoman episode of Torchwood, even after putting her brain back into a human body Lisa still wants to be a Cyberman. Also to what extent to Cybermen retain their memories and can make their own decisions. It's seems like they do remember somethings and aren't as completely sapped of their humanity as say the Borg. For instance, towards the end of Doomsday during the Battle of Canry Wharf the head of Torchwood (now a Cyberman) kills a bunch of other Cybermen in order to help the Doctor finish his plan. How was this possible?

[Assistant]
The chronology of the Cybermen is one that spans not just planets and kilomillennia, but galaxies and alternate universes that occupy completely different 6th dimensional boundaries.

In their incarnation present at the Battle of Canary Wharf, they retained all human memories and even a degree of free-will. The chief mechanism by which the cyber-mind repressed the human-mind was the emotional inhibitor.

If the emotional inhibitor fails, the sheer psychological trauma of being converted will almost always literally kill you. Lisa's desire to return to the cyber legion is probably a human response more in line with cultural Stockholm Syndrome than something intentionally caused by the Cybermen. You have to remember the terrifying story their history tells; mankind converted itself to cyberkind intentionally, knowing full well what would happen because they genuinely believed it was a good decision. What we see as zombification they saw as the singularity.

In the case of the head of Torchwood, she was able to overcome the emotional inhibitor through force of will alone. The newly converted cybermen at Canary Wharf were converted there in the building in a single-level facility jerry-rigged in half a day. The inhibitor chip was probably poorly installed, making it very susceptible to overload from the raw passion that fueled her duty to Queen and Country.


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

[User]
ELI5: What happens if you give someone real medicine, but tell them it's a placebo?

Is it possible that real medicine could be ineffective if the patient believes it's a placebo?

Edit - The situation is an elderly relative(81 years) suffering from cancer, who believes his doctors are trying to "kill him"(some of the best doctors in the city). Could his cancer medication be rendered less effective by his belief that the medicine is harmful?

[Assistant]
It can be less effective, yes.

I've recently read a study that showed patients still received positive benefit from placebos even knowing it's a placebo.

So in other words, the placebo effect can be very potent.


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

[User] ELI5: The Controversy With the American Economic System, and Why "The Poor Stay Poor"?

[Assistant]
The question is a bit broad.  But broadly speaking there is a view, generally held by liberals, that the American economic system tends toward a concentration of wealth in the hands of the relatively few, while it becomes increasingly difficult for those of lesser means to get ahead.  In general, the solutions favored by liberals tend to involve some form of wealth redistribution, including, for example, increasing taxation of the wealthy to fund social programs that benefit the poor.

Conservatives tend to believe that this type of redistribution is counterproductive because it discourages investment while diverting funds to inefficient programs that in turn discourage productivity.  To put it simply (and somewhat crudely), they think that higher taxation sucks money out of the economy that would otherwise be invested in further economic grown and putting money into gratuitous social programs like welfare just makes people more complacent.


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

[User]
[One Punch Man] Why King doesn't just say he's weak?

Seriously, the benefits would be a lot more than keeping the lie. Sure people would make fun of him but in exchange he would have

-Less stressful life

-No monsters coming after him or sneak attacks.

-More time for his 2D waifus.

-The heroes wouldn't relie on a lie.

We even see that heroes like Flashy Flash are willing to attack people like Saitama just out of pride or for testing his power. Imagine if it were King instead of Saitama, he would've died there. And a lot of heroes are like that.

Does King really consider a better idea just keeping the lie?

[Assistant]
People just don't believe him.

He once held a sword for several minutes straight and didn't do anything cause he wasn't strong enough to pull the blade out, and Atomic Samurai, the greatest swordsman on the planet, thought he had cut an apple a) so fast he couldn't see it, and b) so skillfully that he didn't even damage the apple.

His reputation is just too big to be dispelled.


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

[User] [MARVEL] Why is it some mutants manifest similar powers to their ancestors (the Summer's family, Daken) while others seemingly have nothing to do with their paternal mutant's abilities (the Maximoff twins, Legion)?

[Assistant]
1. Mutations within the X-Gene.  Slight variations due to environmental factors such as exposure to radiation or certain chemicals can change the gene in the offspring so that it codes for other abilities.

2.  Interactions with other genes.  Variability in other areas of the genome could cause changes in the way the X-Gene expresses itself.

3.  Differences in the the womb.  It takes a living being to create a living being.  The mother's body provides a variety of chemical and hormonal signals to the developing fetus.  Changes in this environment can cause genes to be activated at different times or not at all.


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

[User]
[Aladin] Couldn't Aladin have used his third wish to become a prine and then immediately give the lamp to Jasmine who would have two free wishes and use her third to free Genie?

The third wish doesn't have to be a prince wish, but the two of them have potentially three more wishes they could have made.

[Assistant]
It wouldn't be Aladdin doing the freeing. Instead of repaying his friend Genie for everything he's done, Aladdin would be taking advantage of him one more time.

Sometimes you gotta make big gestures if you want to keep a friendship.


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

[User]
ELI5: How do modern smartphones vibrate?

Like then they're sounding alarms or restarting. How exactly do they vibrate?

[Assistant] These devices are called haptic engines. Traditionally it was a regular electric motor but attached to an unbalanced weight. So when the motor spun up the weight caused it to vibrate. Not that different from how a washing machine vibrates during its spin cycle but on a much smaller scale. However these motors can be hard to fit into a modern cramped phone. So modern haptic engines are linear accurators. An iron slug is pushed back and forth by an electromagnet making the phone vibrate. In addition to taking less space it is also much easier to control the force and the frequency of the vibrations in these devices compared to the older ones.


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

[User]
CMV: Illegal Immigrants shouldnt be allowed in the United States

I dont understand why this is such a controversial topic, illegal immigrants are just that illegal. If I were to illegally go to a country, Ireland being a great example of this Id be thrown out of the country and banned for life so whats the difference here? I feel like since the U.S. is a top country and our news, is the worlds news anything we do is criticised even if it makes perfect sense. I just dont get why people defend illegal immigrants, and paint Americans to be racist because were upholding our laws. If illegal immigrants truly wanted to live in America they would go through proper channels and follow our laws to come here legally.

Also Ive spoken with a few legal immigrants who feel the same way, they feel like they went through all the hoops to become an American so why shouldnt illegal immigrants do the same? And I totally agree, but online especially everyone is defending illegal immigrants and saying they deserve to be here which they dont. Thats like me walking down the street and I see a big mansion and I decide since my house is shit Im going to break into that mansion and not expect any repercussions for my actions, thats how I view illegal immigrants, as entitled. And when I bring up these arguments in real life everyone gets angry at me and I just wonder why? Could it be that Im an asshole? Am I missing something? Because when I bring up these arguments I just rely on logic, and I dont understand why people think Im some monster.

Also I just think that if its illegal, its illegal. I dont go rob a bank and expect not to possibly go to prison even if the money is for a good cause. I think that its complete nonsense that people think we should open our borders and let every illegal into America like that doesnt fuck the economy. Idk Im conflicted Im only 19 and probably dont understand somethings fully. I love people, and immigrants but I just think illegal immigrants should try and come over here legally, instead of illegally. Also I apologize for any grammatical errors in advance, Im on mobile.

TL;DR: I just think illegal immigrants should come here legally instead of illegally.

[Assistant]
It's more like running for your life past the slumlord's mansion when he was the one that broke your locks and removed the structural support.

Refugees are fleeing terrible situations that America had a large part in creating.

Sometimes waiting ten years for the process to even start is a death sentence for someone who has already had family murdered by gangs and were in the target sights themselves.


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

[User] ELI5: Why are Mexican immigrants running from the cartel not considered refugees?

[Assistant] To call the Mexican immigrants "refugees" would be to acknowledge that the government of Mexico is a failed democracy. The US gov't, businesses and other agencies have way too much invested in Mexico and get too much political use out of Mexico, to acknowledge that Mexico, for most purposes, is a failure as a state.


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

[User]
[MCU]How does Vision fly?

Unlike Iron Man, Vision does not appear to have jet thrusters placed anywhere on his body. So how exactly does he fly?

[Assistant]
He can shift his density to phase through matter.

By varying his density in different parts of his body, he can then create waves of high and low density in his body to "suck" himself in a desired direction through a medium such as air, or even solid rock, in a similar way that a jet engine accelerates air through itself to generate propulsion.

It is similar to the method shadowcat (x-men) uses to "swim" through solid materials.


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

[User]
[LOTR] If Glorfindel accompanied the Fellowship, as was considered at the Council of Elrond, would Gandalf have let him help fight the Balrog?

Glorfindel has previously killed a Balrog at Gondolin and we don't know if Gandalf has ever even seen one so Glorfindel might be the most qualified at fighting the Balrog. He might even advise Gandalf to pay attention so not to get dragged down with the Balrog as that is how Glorfindel died the first time.

Would the quote from Gandalf have been "Fly except Glorfindel! This is a foe beyond any of you except Glorfindel. Glorfindel and I must hold the narrow way. Fly except Glorfindel!"?

[Assistant]
Unlikely.  Gandalf knew he had a good shot at killing the Balrog, and the way he tells it once they'd fallen beneath the earth, the Balrog was *running away from Gandalf*.

But killing the Balrog was never the point, protecting the ring bearer was the point, and the best way to do that was to get as many members of the fellowship away from the Balrog as possible.  However useful Glorfindel may have been in holding off the Balrog, he would be yet more useful remaining with the ring bearer and contributing to the fight against Sauron.


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

[User] ELI5: How can the entire world be in debt?

[Assistant] Most *governments* are in debt to their *people*. For example, the United States is primarily in debt to American bondholders, from individuals to for-profit corporations and retirement funds. Only a portion of government debt in each country is held by other countries.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why arent medication dosages based on weight?

Maybe some are. But Im thinking of simple things like aspirin or Tylenol. Also my blood pressure and cholesterol meds. It seems the only factor is child versus adult. But if I am a large person in pain, why isnt it appropriate to add an additional pill?

[Assistant]
They are, when a person's weight will make a medical significance.

Most common medication dosages, though, are just fine as is regardless of weight.  Because most people fall within a certain weight range.  If someone is outside of that range, or the medicine is that specific, then the dosage will be changed as needed.


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

[User]
How does air get to the bottom of a boiling pot of water?

Thanks for any help you give!

[Assistant] Air isn't in a pot of boiling water as such, instead the "air" in the water is water which has been transformed from a liquid state to a gas state the water in a gas state then being lighter than the surrounding water rises through the water and into the air above the water.


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

[User] [Star Trek] Instead of the various Alpha Quadrant powers always fighting over colony planets in far-off star systems, why don't they use their amazing technology to terraform new planets much closer to home for habitation?

[Assistant]
Terraforming is a lengthy process. We actually do see it going on a few times.

The Genesis device was intended to be a system for rapid terraforming, but between the death of David Marcus, the Genesis planet proving to be unstable, and the Klingon Empire declaring Genesis a weapon of mass destruction, the major Alpha Quadrant powers signed a treaty banning further experimentation with it.


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

[User]
[General Fantasy] What do Dwarves do with the leftover stone from building their cities?

Take Esgaroth for example, or Moria. These are *massive* Dwarven cities carved from the insides of a mountain. What happens with all of that raw stone material that's been cut and carved away? I'm sure some of it is re-purposed, but what about the rest? It is literally a *mountain's worth of rock*. Where does it go?

[Assistant] Where do you think humans get the stone to build their cities? Quarried stone is one of the biggest exports of Dwarven kingdoms. It's not as glamorous as Mithril or Gems, but it far more plentiful, and everyone needs it.


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

[User] ELI5: What does it mean when objects absorb light? What happens to the light and to the objects?

[Assistant]
Every object is made up of atoms and molecules. Those atoms and molecules have different electronic structures, meaning the electrons inside them sit at different energy levels, different amounts of energy apart. Electrons can absorb photons (light) and move up to a higher energy level with the energy of the photon.

So when an abject absorbs light, a photon is basically giving it's energy to one of the electrons inside the object, allowing it to move to a higher energy level and destroying that photon.

Objects can only absorb light that corresponds to an exact transition from one energy level to another. Because different materials have different levels, this is why different objects absorb different colours of light and appear to have different colours.


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

[User] ELI5: How do people create viruses without constantly fucking up their own computer?

[Assistant]
In the early days of hacking, viruses were created on test computers. A machine that has all the basic components of a computer, but doesn't have anything but an OS installed. It's just a dummy.

Later, we created virtual machines for that. Basically, a whole computer that is separated from the rest of your computer by an invisible wall. This is how most viruses are created nowadays.

However, certain particularly nasty viruses can get through even virtual machines. We're back to using dummy computers that aren't connected to anything else.


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

[User] When humans wanted to first fly to space how did we know that we needed space suits to survive?

[Assistant] Simple experience. First, humans have long known that, at very high altitudes, we have a harder time breathing; therefore, oxygen equipment would be needed. We also know that extremely low pressure can be damaging to unprotected flesh, as a result of experiments, especially during the World War II era. Again, it was obvious that suits would be needed. Therefore, when planning for Space, which would see people exposed to extreme conditions, it was obvious that special equipment, such as suits, would be needed.


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

[User]
How to approach an academic conference

Hi,

I will be attending my first academic conference in a month, being a masters student who aspires to get into a PhD program,How shall I approach this conference? Its one of the leading conferences in my field.

[Assistant] Just have fun. If you end up in a PhD program there will be plenty of time to get stressed out about networking and seeing just the right papers and meeting just the right people. Go to a bunch of sessions that sound interesting, hang out in the hotel bar and chat with people, do some sight-seeing.


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

[User]
Ethics reading recommendations for amateur philosophers and new ethical skeptics

**Question**: What articles, books, or philosophers would you recommend for moral nihilists or skeptics? Specifically to both challenge or strengthen the position.

**Background**: I have a degree in a philosophy that was heavy on analytic philosophy, but have done a fair amount of reading in continental philosophy. I also organize a discussion group with friends and friends of friends for discussing philosophical topics. The participants are mostly people with philosophical sensitivity, but not philosophy training.

**The situation**: A common path I've seen in this group is: first, people who haven't had skepticism about ethical topics will discover that it's appropriate and fun to analyze and reject some ethical arguments. Next, this ethical skepticism opens the door to subjectivism or towards moral nihilism. Then, either people remain stuck in subjectivism or in moral nihilism because those are very difficult projects, or slowly and surely find some moral arguments convincing.

This seems like a common path, and a desirable path toward ethical and philosophical maturity.

**The problem**: How can I assist my fellow philosophers in exploring, challenging, and supporting moral nihilism or subjectivism? To be clear, I don't mind if nihilism is a lasting position, I simply don't have the resources to help with this exploration. I'm not remotely equipped to answer the question, "Why be ethical" for those who are caught up in the gravity of that question. I have answers that are convincing to me, but problems of is-ought, objective morality, and moral intuitions are challenging and I don't want to shortcut or cover up those issues. What I need is recommendations of philosophers smarter than me to become interlocutors for folks in my discussion groups.

**Conclusion**: Developing philosophical skills is as much about becoming comfortable with hard, seemingly intractable problems as it is about discovering and discarding bad arguments. I want to equip my friends with the best moves and ideas available.

[Assistant] *The Elements of Moral Philosophy* by Rachels has a few chapters on relativism, as does *Morality: An Introduction to Ethics* by Williams. If you want to "equip your friends with the best moves and ideas available," though, you're going to have to read stuff that's probably way more advanced than amateurs are typically going to want to engage with, like Brink's *Moral Realism and The Foundation of Ethics*, Cuneo's *The Normative Web*, Enoch's *Taking Morality Seriously*, and so on.


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

[User]
Why is a cats first response to danger leaping high into the air?

How does this help at all?

[Assistant] The thing most likely to attack a cat is another cat.  Given that cats rely on pouncing to attack then leaping high in the air is the most effective way to avoid being pounced on.  You can't be pounced on if you're in the air.


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

[User]
[Iron Giant] Hypothetically, I found a giant robot. What's the safest way to introduce him to people without, say, the military blowing him up?

I maybe live in a small town, and I know it's pretty politically volatile right now. But hypothetically he's essentially harmless and he's a good guy. How would I introduce him without a major incident?

[Assistant]
1955: Hide him, the military is currently consumed with finding any iohta of a military advantage against the perceived threat of the Reds. It is very doubtful anything you say or do will prevent his abduction/disassembly/misuse.

2017: Just say you built him as a novelty. Go to as many media outlets as possible (kid builds giant robot? That shit is ratings gold!). Military will still come knocking but lack a lot of the broad extrajudicial powers they once held over citizens...well ones in the public eye at least ;)


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

[User]
What is the furthest traveling organism in proportion to their size?

How far do they go in respect to humans and does anything come close to lunar or even mars travel? If so what are their adaptations?

[Assistant]
The monarch butterfly is probably the most relevant especially when comparing lifespan to distance. They have multigenerational migations.

Generation 1 monarchs are the offspring of the monarchs who overwintered in Mexico. Each successive generation travels farther north. It takes 3-4 generations to reach the northern United States and Canada.


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

[User]
cmv: I am terrified of getting the Covid vaccine because I do not trust the government, the media, or the scientific community. Could you please convince me that it is safe, or at least worth getting.

I believe that the 3 mentioned institutions will lie to the public in order to further their agenda, and it scares me that no one distrusts the media anymore. All the people telling me to get vaccinated are literally the type to watch mainstream media all day every day, whereas I like to live a life where I try to stay 'unplugged' from the news.

At this point, I am willing to miss out on my cousins wedding, lose my job (which to me is like my purpose in life), and have said the police will have to hold me down and force it on me if they want me to take it, but in reality, I'll probably just end myself when things get too bad.

I realise it's probably irrational, there's no way so many people can be wrong while I'm right, but at the same time everything surrounding this is so fishy that I really really don't like it. So please convince me I'm wrong

Edit: Thank you to everyone that helped me change my mind. I'm going to get vaccinated. Thank you so much for reassuring me, it really really means a lot!

[Assistant]
Do you think that every world government is working together with every on else?

And they share the same goal as every media outlet on the planet?

And that every reputable scientist is in this lie together?

It's hard enough to get 10 people to agree on something and almost impossible to make them keep a secret but having tens of thousands of people having the same agenda and not tell anyone. How the hell does China, Russia and US all agree on this and nobody have managed to figure this conspiracy out?


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

[User] [Star Wars] If the Rebel forces walked (flew) into a trap at the second Death Star, wouldn't the rest of the Star Destroyers been able to clean up even after the destruction of the Death Star? What happened to all of the rest of The Empire's ships?

[Assistant]
After the destruction of the DS2 many officers and admirals fled to their worlds and took control of them. The Empire quickly fell to feudal-like infighting while the New Republic began to mop them up.

The thing about massive Empires founded by a single man is that they don't tend to last long, especially when that creator assumed he would never die and didn't have a proper heir.


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

[User]
Eli5: Why do dancers start with a 5, 6, 7, 8 count?

Why is this and whats the point? Why not just start at 1, 2, 3, 4?

P.S. Im a ballerina

Update: Thank you so much everyone for participating in this post. Your replies have my wheels turning and I feel like Ive learned alot. Everything from music theory, to dance technique, and more. Now time for me to enter stage left for my big performance in the Nutcracker Ballet. Wish me luck, or shall I say.break a leg.

[Assistant]
Music tends to be grouped into sets of beats--often 3 or 4 beats to a set (known as a measure).

That winds up being too few for dancing "phrases," so dancers tend to group a couple of measures together.  They'll often count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3..., looping back to 1 every time they get to 8.

The first step of the dance will be on a count of "1," and the four numbers that precede 1 are 5, 6, 7, and 8.


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

[User]
[Star Wars] Why do the rebels fly towards the AT-AT's in the Battle of Hoth?

Why not flank them? Most of them were shot down by flying right towards the barrage of laser fire in the assault.

[Assistant]
AT-ATs are almost in range when they start their fighters. If they try to "flank" they lose precious minutes. im which they could fight the AT-ATs. In these minutes, the walkers just advance unhindered - and then, when the fighters "flank", the AT-ATs just make a 90-120 degree turn, and start firing on the fighters, from the same distance as before. They have sensors to "see" how the fighters try to flank.

Also flanking is not really effective due to the heavy armor of the AT-ATs. And the cable technique is vulnerable to fire from other AT-ATs, which are further behind.

If you stop the last AT-ATs first, the first arrive without resistance. If you stop the first AT-ATs, the last can fire upon the fighters, which is seen in the movie.

tl;dr: They have no time to flank the AT-ATs, they have to fight them asap. Also the pros are not worth the lost time.


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

[User]
[Halo 2]How did the Gravemind acquire the Prophet of Regret when his body was vaporized by the Covenant cruiser?

Chief gets grabbed by Gravemind while sinking to the bottom of the lake long after the temple was destroyed. In the Gravemind cutscene, how does he have control of Regret?

[Assistant]
In Halo 2, Master Chief is teleported directly into the middle of his next mission after his chat with Gravemind. Same goes for the Arbiter.

I assume that Gravemind could teleport Regret's body back into his grasp.


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

[User] How plausible is utilitarianism from a meta-ethical perspective?

[Assistant]
On the face of it, metaethics has nothing positive or negative to say about utilitarianism, since utilitarianism is not a metaethical theory, but a first-order theory of normative ethics. You could have a dozen utilitarians who entirely agree on first-order issues, but who hold completely different views on metaethical issues.

Hell, even an error-theorist could be a utilitarian. Mackie's first-order views were at least in the neighborhood of utilitarianism.


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

[User]
Verbal offer but still waiting

*UPDATE*

Hello AskAcademia,

3 weeks ago I was verbally offered my first assistant professor position. They said the process of getting me my contract should take about 2-4 weeks. My concern is that after 3ish weeks I have not heard a peep. Given the state of the US and World, should I be more worried about not having a job next fall? I have reached out one time a couple days ago but heard nothing in response.

I have heard horror stories of people with signed contracts being rescinded so I am becoming quite nervous. Any prior experience with these contract situations would be beneficial. I understand the magnitude of our current affairs is the underlying issue but if anyone else is in this same boat Id love to hear from you.

Thank you.

4/16 Update/Edit: Thank you all so much for the advice and kind words! I should give a little more background that may help paint a clearer picture/answer some questions.

1. The university already created my email and submitted my initial paperwork (tax stuff etc.) - so that makes me feel hopeful.

2. I do have an email correspondence with the department chair accepting the offer (just no formal contract).

3. To add a layer to this, another school has essentially given me a backup offer but I have been unable to visit due to the university being in a Covid hotspot which makes me feel rushed to sign a contract as I do not want to be jobless come the fall.

4. The last issue  this job will move me across country so the process of selling a home/finding one, especially during these times makes this extra difficult with the status being up in the air. BUT, I will wait til the 4 weeks are up to reach out and ask for an update.

I appreciate this community immensely and will be sure to update this as I go :)

[Assistant]
They did say 2-4 weeks and it's only been three. Most admin people are working from home, which means productivity is \~0.5x right now.

I'd wait until the first day of week five to check in. But, given the current circumstances, I'd also be OK as a chair/dean having a slightly nervous verbal contract hire contacting me for an update.

It's not like they'd rescind the offer just because you inquired, right?


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

[User] [Blade Runner] Why did Bryant want a VK test on Rachel when he already knew she was a replicant? Was it to baseline VK on a Nexus 6?

[Assistant]
Rachel didnt know she was synthetic. It would have been the ultimate test of that particular model.

But even deeper if Deckard was an android himself with no knowledge of that fact what we see is two unknowing synthetic creatures trying to give and take a test on whether or not they are "real".


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

[User] [Star Wars] Which independent star systems/realms goverments still existed during the reign of the Empire and which one could have an officially recognized embassy on Coruscant?

[Assistant] The Outer Rim had loads of small independent regions. While no embassy existed the Hutt cartels were strong enough that even Palpatine had to negotiate with them if he wanted to mess around in their systems, especially when it came to Jabba the Hutt.


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

[User] How do orange farmers grow seedless orange trees if their fruit has no seeds?

[Assistant]
Grafting. Every Valencia and Navel or any Citrus that has a name each came from a single plant that had some type of mutation(sport).  Every Valencia tree is the same as the original Valencia tree.

What is interesting the tree that brought us the Navel orange has died but every Navel orange tree is a copy of the first.


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

[User] ELI5 why cooking oil changes the color of your clothes permanently darker.

[Assistant] Oil makes things darker the same way wet things are darker. It adds a layer of gloss and since oils dry via oxidation instead of evaporation it is difficult to remove once cured. It's also why it's used commonly in painting for those properties.


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

[User]
[Toy Story 2] Whatever happened to the Woody puppets?

There was a marathon of Toy Story in the last few days on tv, and I noticed something. While the cast of Woody's show was minimalistic (only 4 characters), and Al had all the merchandise that came from said show, I noticed one thing missing: the puppets.

You know, the four puppets (3?) with the mouths that allowed the characters to speak in the show. They are not in Al's apartment,  and if Toy Story 4 is any sign, they should be able to speak like any regular toy. So, what gives? What happened to them?

[Assistant] I'd reckon someone on the show's production crew has them. Or they sold to a high bidder that wasn't Al. Or they're in a different museum. Ir possibly same museum and the toys were to enhance an already existing exhibit.


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

[User] [Avatar] Is the Avatar always the same person reincarnated, or is it a different person every time who is simply born with the powers of the Avatar.

[Assistant]
It's a different person, with an intrinsic spiritual connection to the previous Avatars through being merged with Raava.

Avatar reincarnation is more of a chain that keeps adding new links to itself rather than a piece of clay being reshaped.


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

[User] ELI5: Why won't human body repair it's own teeth?

[Assistant]
Teeth actually do work to heal themselves.  In the center of the tooth there are cells that try to protect the pulp, live tissue, from the material that cause cavities.

The teeth are fromed in two directions at the same time.  From the middle to the outside, which is the enamel, and from the middle to the inside, which is the dentin.  Once the outside is formed the tooth begins to erupt. Once it erupts there are no longer any cells to form the crystaline structure of enamel.

The saliva does have healing properties, and can help with minor repairs, or remineralization.

Cavities occur because our mouths are hosts to millions of bacteria. Since bacteria are alive, and everything that lives eats, they have to eat something.  But what? The bacteria eat whatever we eat; the remnants of food left on the teeth.  And since everything that eats poops, the bacteria eliminate their waste, poop, on our teeth.  The bacterial waste is an acid.  Since acids desolve things, the acids desolve the enamel and dentin of the teeth.

The chemical nature of the enamel's crystaline structure makes it susseptible to the acids.  Interestingly enough, the fluoride in tooth paste, and drinking water replaces a chemical group of the enamel and make the teeth more resistant to the bacterial acids.

And that is why, once a tooth has erupted, it cannot fix itself, and how a cavity is made.


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

[User]
ELI5 How is it that birds can swim in freezing cold water and expose their feet to sub zero temperatures without suffering from frostbite?

It's something that's always baffled me, birds are everywhere in the winter with their exposed feet perched on branches, in water, or on top of ice, and they rarely seem to be affected by the cold in the same way that human skin is. How do birds not get frostbite?

[Assistant] Basically birds thermoregulate differently than mammals like humans do. Mammals use hair or fur to keep warm because they can't change their base metabolic rate easily. Birds usually just change their base metabolic rate to create more heat. Also their feathers are a better insulator than most hair, and they have a different blood circulation system to prevent extremely cold blood from the extremities from going straight back to the heart.


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

[User]
CMV: $10k declarations do more harm to John Smith than it does to stop Pablo Escobar

It doesnt make sense to me that in a capitalist society, it is suspicious to have money. Its like the expectation is for the average person to be poor and if they arent then they must be doing something illegal. If you get stopped by police and are deemed to have too much cash on you they can confiscate it until they verify its legitimate...I get the reasoning is to combat organized crime and money laundering but it does more to hurt the every day Joe than it does to deter some drug lord. If I already pay my taxes, have no criminal record or suspicious connections theres absolutely no reason that I should need to go through the extra hassle and declare over $10k for any reason. If I mess up a form or you decide my answers arent good enough now Im out of that money. $10k isnt at all a lot of money and this amount hasnt been adjusted for inflations. This is maybe 3-4 months of expenses for a family of 4. Meanwhile El Chapo is sending money on submarines, trading Bitcoin and buying and selling art and high end fashion

The IRS has not adjusted with the times and its impacting the everyday person in a negative way. At the very least the $10k limit should be raised, otherwise in 5 years taking a months worth of living expenses out the bank is going to be major hassle

Edit: The best way to change my view would be to give a good reason on why the limit shouldnt increase. $10000 in 2000 is not the same as $10000 in 2022.

[Assistant]
Pablo Escobar was literally losing about $2.1 billion USD to rodents, rotting, and forgetting where it was because he could not deposit that kind of cash without raising suspicion. Your everyday person at most has to fill out a form. So the premise of it doing more harm to John Smith than to Pablo Escobar is wrong.

If an agency/police suspect the money on you is suspicious the amount doesn't matter. Civil forfeiture can happen with any amount. Even now if the police stop you and find just $100 on you and consider it suspicious, they can seize it and you will have to fight them back. So raising the limit when you have to report wouldn't change much in that regard.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why does my internet go so much faster when downloading from Steam or a torrent?

Compared to normal downloading, watching videos and browsing, the download speed increases by about 8 times when downloading from steam, and up to 12 times when downloading a torrent. Why is this?

[Assistant]
Your download speeds depend both on your connection to the server and the server's capacity.  If you're connecting to a server on the other side of the world, you'll probably get a crappy download speed, even if both you and the server have a super fast connection to your ISP. Because of this, large networks like Steam have data centres all over the world that replicate the same content. This is called a Content Delivery Network or CDN. This means that you'll always connect to a Steam server that's close to you and that you'll have a good connection.

Regarding BitTorrent, you are always downloading from multiple other users simultaneously. So even if your connection is slow to one peer, you can make parallel connections to other peers. Together a lot of slower speeds can add up to quite a lot. Also you might get someone who is on the same network as you. The speed would be super fast in that case, since there is only minimal routing involved.


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

[User] ELI5: Instead of paying unemployment to peopley who aren't working, why doesn't the government hire people to work for them and pay them the same amount? This way some work would be done (increasing GDP), and the unemployed people still get their money.

[Assistant]
Unemployment is paid for by employment taxes and fees paid by employers, not by the government.  The government operates the program.

Further, your suggestion would not increase GDP - GDP is finished goods and services, not the sum of payroll.


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

[User]
How come only wet hair can stick to the shower wall? And when it dries up, it doesn't fall off?

I can't make dry hair stick to the wall like I can wet hair. How come wet hair sticks to the wall? And how come when that wet hair turns to dry hair, it doesn't fall off?

[Assistant]
I'll answer this question in two parts:
Firstly water has high surface tension, when something is forcing to it spread out (the hair in this case) it will want to bind to a surface, in this instance the wall.
To answer your second question; your hair has grease and dirt in it (no offence), this mixes in with the water. As the water evaporates the grease will be forced to move closer and closer together until the water dries up and the grease is acting like a glue holding the hair to the wall.


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

[User] ELI5 Why do pubic hairs get curly as it grows longer?

[Assistant] To put it very simply, hair grows of 2 kinds of pores. Circular and oval. When hair grow out of circular pores, they come out straight. When hair grows out of oval pores, it gets curly (cos it's less directed, imagine it).


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

[User] [WH40k] As a Space Marine that has recently found the salvation of the Chaos Gods, whats the most effective way to convert my chapter into righteous rebellion against the Imperium?

[Assistant]
Strip yourself of all weapons and armor, and stand in an open field loudly broadcasting your identity, location and intent to everybody within vox range.

Dont worry, its all part of the ritual. Ignore those things in the distance that look like Inquisitorial snipers, theyre part of the ritual too.


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

[User]
How does the terran compete with the zerg and protoss[SC2]

on a battle by battle and grand war?

[Assistant]
(Gonna go more with lore seen in novels and cinematics than in-game)

For the most part, Terran firepower is MUCH longer ranged than either Zerg or Protoss. When the Protoss aren't glassing planets with huge capital ships, they tend to fight with Zealots, young warriors looking to gain glory and only a small handful of support units with advanced ranged weapons. But even that is a rarity for them. For the vast majority of the Protoss military forces (which may as well be their entire society, thanks to their near self-destruction during the aeon of strife and the ritualization of every aspect of their lives) they tend to sit and fight defensive battles rather than strike out. This often leads to them being overwhelmed by Zerg numbers or out-maneuvered by superior Terran tactics and range.

While the zerg are EXTREMELY adaptable and are even more aggressive than the most bloodthirsty Terran general, they still tend to stick with hack-and-slash animal-like combat forms and only a tiny handful of support organisms capable of spitting acid or throwing spines. Neither of those biological weapons have any great range, either, so it's often child's play for a skilled Ghost or tank crew to destroy legions of zerg scuttling through a canyon or empty city before they can bring their claws to bear.

To add to these points, while the zerg come close to human ingenuity and strategy, thanks to Sarah Kerrigan leading them, they still tend to fall back on ancient and proven tactics "swarm them with huge numbers". Very few human armies throughout history have employed the exact same tactics, or fell to them, more than once. Or they subtly changed their warfare strategies with every enemy they faced. That's humanity's greatest strength. We can change how we fight based on circumstances and necessity. Zerg and Protoss are too ingrained with their old and ritualistic methods of combat to see how often it fails them.

But sadly, even these strengths don't always leave Terrans the victor. Even with perfect scouting, positioning, range and knowledge, bases will still run out of ammo and be overwhelmed. Or crafty Protoss will figure out gaps in security and slip in unnoticed, leaving everyone vulnerable to lightning strikes and eventually crushing force.


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

[User]
ELI5: How does Alzheimer's kill?

A family friend's mother just passed away last night from it. Here's the thing, I don't understand how it actually kills? (i.e heart attack, low immune, stroke?)
I always thought it was like HIV/AIDS where it isn't the disease that kills, but the sicknesses that the patient catches because of a bad immune system. HELP!

[Assistant]
Paraphrased from Wikipedia:

The cause and progression of Alzheimer's disease is not well understood but it's associated with abnormal build-up of 'plaques' in the brain.

As well as the emotional and thought deterioration, in moderate to advanced Alzheimer's, speech and other motor skills are effected, making patients less coordinated and unable to perform most activities of daily living.

During the final stage of AD, symptoms include extreme apathy and exhaustion.

People with AD will ultimately not be able to perform even the simplest tasks without assistance (because of the motor deterioration)

Because of this, muscle mass and mobility deteriorate to the point where they are bedridden and they lose the ability to feed themselves.

The cause of death is usually infection of pressure ulcers or pneumonia (made much more likely by being bed-bound and malnourished)


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

[User] Why is ice 'slippery' yet it adheres to surfaces, such as glass, as it freezes? Why does ice not slip off these surfaces?

[Assistant]
It does, if those surfaces are warmer than freezing.

The "slipperiness" of ice is actually a variation on hydroplaning. Essentially, you melt the outermost layer of ice, and your shoe/skate slides around on that now-fluid water.


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

[User]
CMV: An increase in the minimum wage would hurt only the lower and middle classes

Over the last few years, and especially now with the popularity of Bernie Sanders, a heavily debated subject is the raising of the minimum wage to $15/hour. While many would expect this to strengthen the lower class and only decreasing the wealth of the upper class, I feel as if it would end up hurting those it is meant to help.

These company's would now have to spend much more of their budget on paying employees, and it's not as if they're going to magically have more money. I understand that the increase of wealth in the lower class would eventually circulate back to the business's, but I highly doubt it would be enough to make up for the increased wages of their employees, and it definitely wouldn't happen right away. Since I highly doubt the CEO or other upper management would take cuts from their pay to make up for this, that leaves two possible solutions that I can see:

The first would be to decrease the amount of employees. If approximately an equal percentage of employees are let go to the increase in pay the company will be able to function without upper management having to take a pay cut. While those who are able to keep there jobs would be greatly helped by this, for the most part it would just increase the unemployment rate; with these lay offs happening in a large portion of minimum wag paying company's there would be no demand for jobs while the supply would be sky rocketing.

The other solution would be for the company to increase prices (for retail/restaurants). With increasing prices nobody would have to loose their job, however it would still end up hurting the lower class. Practically all people get there basic necessities and luxuries from retail and grocery stores- the lower and middle classes especially rely heavily on major stores such as Walmart or Target. Even if your paycheck is increasing you'd still end up paying more the things you already buy, taking a large chunk of your paycheck.

While ideally an increased minimum wage seems perfect, it would in reality end up creating a combination of these two things. I'm sure I didn't hit on some points, so please try to change my view on this, I, as a minimum wage employee myself, would love to have a good reason to support raising it.

EDIT:  Okay, my views been changed. I still don't think something as drastic as upping it to $15/hour right away would be a good idea, but I think a gradual increase could be really good. The biggest things that helped my view change were the historical instances of MW rising, the average proportion of price increase vs. wage increase, as well as the fact that businesses are already operating with the minimum number of employees and that jobs wouldn't just become expendable. I really wish I could reply to more comments but I can't at the moment, thanks to everybody who replied!

[Assistant]
Cost of living does go up when you raise the minimum wage. But that increase has been less than the amount that the wages are raised every single time they have raised the minimum wage. They have always netted more buying power for the lower and middle classes.

Also, historically raising the minimum wage has never prompted massive job cuts as opponents always claim it will. The employers are already operating at minimum number of employees if they are doing their jobs correctly, and the increased buying power of the lower class has statistically shown an increase in net gains for companies, not a loss. The rich when they get money lock it away in the stock market or long term investments, the poor actively spend it in the economy to buy food and goods.


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

[User]
[Star Trek] Sonic-shower thought: How can phasers miss in space combat?

* The Enterprise-E's astrometrics lab can track, predict, and simulate/experiment with trajectories of pretty much any stellar body, even if it's just comet sized. From lightyears away.
* The ship's computer is smart/fast enough to simultaneously: replicate food, create life-like holograms from particles, control warp reactions, control environmentals, route power, and still be used by Wesley Crusher to lookup sweaters.
* Phasers fire near the speed of light (I heard the Voyager could even fire *in* warp!).

I'd expect the ship's computer should be able to accurately hit even the best ship pilots in the quadrant, near 100% of the time. And with the Federation's finest scanning technology, voice commands and engineering knowledge, I'd bet the ship's computer would be incredibly effective at targeting exactly what you want.

So why is it even necessary for Lieutenant Worf to fire phasers, and how is he missing?? At the battle of Sector 001 even the BORG missed! Is this a conspiracy by weapons officers (and drones) to keep their positions relevant?

[Assistant]
They miss in combat because every ship they fight has some sort of anti-lock technology, making target lock a lot harder.

They never miss when they are shooting an asteroid or the surface of a planet.


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

[User]
[Harry Potter] Hey I just graduated from Hogwarts, I now need to find a job.

I was part of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I graduated recently, and although I wasn't top of my class or a prefect, I wanted to to get a decent job.

I was good at Charms and Transfiguration for my core classes. I had Divination as my first elective, but I wasn't too good at it. For my second, I had Care of Magical Creatures. During, my last year I was able to take Apparition, so I guess I was lucky?

However, now I need to find a job...what do you guys recommend? I'm sorta thinking about doing something in security, but I want to hear my best options.

[Assistant]
The ministry is your best bet, if not that then finding some way to get into another government related job (education is big, or law enforcement). If you'd rather opt for private employment, then look to the creative arts (book writing, performance, design, etc) or selling a specific magical skill.

You can advertise your business in most magical media.


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

[User] Is growing up in a two parent household still beneficial if the parents are only staying together for the kid's sake?

[Assistant]
It would depend on the level of conflict in the household.  A distressed household (parents fighting, abuse, drug or alcohol problems- things that are some of the major causes of divorce) with two parents is not better for children.  A house where people get along as friends but don't passionately love each other, but can coparent, is probably better for children than growing up in a divorced family.

Since top level things are supposed to have a cite, the most recent version of Families in Transition edited by Skolnick has a chapter on divorce and why it can be a good thing sometimes.


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

[User] ELI5: Why does water in a kettle go quieter just as it's about to boil?

[Assistant] The noise is caused by bubbles of steam forming at the bottom of the water and rising to the surface, but because they're moving through cooler water they condense and pop before they reach it, making noise as the water collapses into the space (this is a process called "cavitation"). When the kettle is about to boil properly all of the water in it is at or near boiling point, so a lot more of the bubbles make it through to the surface to get released as steam rather than popping inside the water.


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

[User] Eli5: why do materials like glass and metal feel cold, but materials like wood and plastic don't, even in the same temperature environment?

[Assistant]
Technically they both are room temp, but the key here is you feel them differently. This is because wood and plastic are insulators and the metal is a conductor.

Now the importance of this is because when you rest your hand on an insulator (wood for example) the heat from your hand has no where to go so you feel it in the spot you touch.

Metal on the other hand is a conductor so when you touch it the heat evenly travels through the medium and it doesnt feel as hot because the warmth from your hand isnt just in the spot you touch and is easily dissipated into the air via the radiator effects.

TLDR: the difference between them is ones an insulator and the others a conductor. And they are the same temp, but feel different based on how energy travels through them.


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

[User] ELI5: Whenget a headache, what is actually hurting? Is it my skull, my brain, tissue? What??

[Assistant]
The brain itself does not have pain receptors. It's the tissues surrounding the brain that are hurting. There are pain receptors in the periosteum (which surrounds the bones in the skull), the muscles, arteries, veins, and subcutaneous tissues.

There are several different types of headaches as well. Sinus headaches are brought on by inflammation of the mucous membranes in the sinuses, and the resultant pressure against the nerves surrounding them. Migraines have a speculative cause, the most popular being that they're brought on by constriction of the blood vessels in the brain followed by rapid expansion of the same vessels. Tension headaches are caused by constriction of the muscles that attach to the skull and as well as muscles in the neck.


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

[User]
ELI5: The difference between DVD-R and DVD+R, CD-R and CD+R?

I've buy them randomly and have never had any problems.  Is there really a difference between them?

[Assistant]
DVD-R and DVD+R are two DVD formats. This means that the way the data is stored on the discs themselves is slightly different. From a user's perspective they both function the same and have almost the same capacity (-R has 7MB more).

DVD-R came first and is the "old" format. DVD+R is newer and has some advantages. For example its format is more resilient to errors (can handle more scratches).

DVD-R can be read by any DVD player, new or old. However DVD+R can only be read by more recent DVD players.

CDs come in only one format.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are most or even all toilets made of ceramic material?

Is their any benefit or its just a common style?

[Assistant]
Mainly it is a better material for sanitation and durability versus the cost of production and ease of manufacture.

The alternative of say stainless steel like airplanes or prisons use would be overkill for but make sense when you don't want the weight of ceramic or don't want easily broken parts.

Plastics could work but using ones that don't scratch if cleaned would drive up the costs too.

Glass would be costly to mold and not provide a benefit versus ceramic.

Then possibly a artificial stone like solid surface countertops and sinks might work, but molding the shapes of the bend so it flushes and fills might be more expensive too and not provide a benefit either.

Having a material that doesn't rust or corrode and is easy to clean works pretty well in a bathroom.


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

[User]
[Civ] Why does no one question the immortal people leading massive civilizations?

Like, the USA in this world has a president who never dies and has been around since the stone age and Britain...britain has an equally seeming immortal queen as they do IRL. Whats going on here?

[Assistant]
Even if that was canon in-universe, why would anyone question it? The entirety of humanity has had that since at least 4000 B.C.E., it's normal for them.
Your great-great-great-great-grandparents lived under that leader, as did their own great-great-great-great-grandparents, and as will your great-great-great-great-grandchildren.

They wouldn't have a basis of comparison. They've never been to or seen our world with its mortal rulers.


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

[User] ELI5: What triggers or causes labor? Like how does the fetus decide when its time to come out?

[Assistant]
Simply, chemicals.

There are a few hypotheses:

* Hormones from the mother - oxytocin production increases towards the end of pregnancy and triggers contractions (this is actually what the hospital gives you when they induce labour and want contractions to begin).
* A protein produced by the baby's lungs has been postulated to trigger labour when the lungs have sufficiently developed to survive outside. This may make sense as the lungs are near the last organs to develop.
* Cortisol production in the baby near the end causes a hormonal imbalance of progesterone and estrogen, which has been hypothesised to induce labour.


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

[User]
[Batman] I wanted to keep this question away from WWW, but what are the official canon feats of Batman's "prep time"?

No circlejerking of either spectrum (Anti-bats or God-bats CJ's). I want to know Comic Batman's official "Prep time" feats. Whether some could consider it PIS or not, I want official feats of Batman using Prep time to defeat an opponent.

[Assistant]
JLA Tower of Babel arc, which JL:Doom was loosely based off of.  Ra's al Ghul co-ops Batman "prep time" plans for the JLA them and puts them into use.

* Martian Manhunter - J'onn is attacked by nanites composed of magnesium that ignite  when in contact with air.
* Aquaman - Incapacitated by a derivative of Scarecrow's fear toxin to make him hydrophobic.
* Green Lantern - Kyle is incapacitated by a post-hypnotic suggestion. His ring renders him blind, and and that severely cripples his ability to use it.
* Wonder Woman - A specially designed nanite in her ear causes Diana to experience virtual combat with an opponent who can't be beat. Diana's inability to even consider surrender causes her body to physically give out eventually.
* Flash - Specially designed bullet is shot at Wally, reflexively he vibrates it through him. The bullet matches his vibration, attaches to his spine and causes gran mal seizures at near light speed. Eventually his body or mind would give out.
* Plastic Man - Frozen solid through and shattered.
* Superman - Batman had created a synthetic form of kryptonite that caused his skin to turn transparent. This caused him extreme pain as his internal organs to be exposed to sunlight, greatly overpowering him causing his powers to go haywire.


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

[User]
ELI5 Why does diarrhea come so quickly when food takes hours for the stomach to digest and days to pass through the intestines?

I had Mexican tonight and had to rush to the toilet after a hour. Did I expell the burrito? What about the pasta I had for lunch, or the omelette I had for breakfast? Did they all came out without my body absorbing their nutrients?

Edit: Front page? Whoa. I guess diarrhea is more than meets the (butt) eye.

There seems to be two school of thoughts here: (1) the diarrhea is caused by the burrito, and (2) it is caused by something I ate the day before.

[Assistant]
So your bowels are like a long train track and your food is like a set of cars on the track. Transit time between Point A, your mouth, and Point B, the chute, is a bit flexible but normally operates on a regularly scheduled basis.

When you eat, you put cars on the track and send them to Point B. As these cars go to Point B, they lose passengers (nutrients) at various points in the thin tunnel portion (small intestine). The journey isnt complete and the journey has already altered the shape of the car pretty significantly giving a rusty color. Once in the larger portion of the tunnel, the cars are checked for stray passengers and are hosed down a bit so that transition out of Point B isn't so bad. Sometimes, the train cars park juuust outside the gates of Point B so they can exit at the best time for the operator (toilet).

Now, all of this goes fucking nuts when you load a bad set of train cars at Point A. The track sensors located everywhere along the track, detect this alien set of cars and sends a distress call to the Supervisor (your brain). The Supervisor wants to handle the situation without having to phone the Manager (your consciousness) about the craziness on the tracks and also wants to make sure you never know it was on the tracks. It has to make a choice now: send it back to Point A violently and somewhat painfully risking tearing the tracks, or send it to Point B as fast as fuck? Depending on where it's located on the track, it'll choose the best route.

Let's use the destination Point B. The Supervisor hits the panic button and puts all the train cars that are on the track (in your body) on overdrive. The tunnels are flooded with water and lubricant to speed all the cars up and get them the hell out of there as quickly as possible. Cars collide with each other, and previously well formed cars are just flooded with water and lubricant that they are just a soggy, shadowy reminder of their former glory state.

The Media (pain) hears about the car collisions immediately begins filming live the high speed, flooded train cars out of control. They want to knos how an alien set of train cars were put on the tracks and they want someone to pay for such carelessness. The Manager is just watching the horror unfold on Live TV but cannot do anything to stop it, because the Supervisor was deaf and he had not installed a means of communicating with him after hours in the office.

I hope this answers your question.

TL;DR when you get diarrhea, everything gets pushed out, one way or another. There are no passing lanes.

Source: medical student

Edit: Wow, thanks for the gold!!


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

[User]
ELI5: Why do some animals, like sea turtles and salmon, lay eggs away from their natural habitat?

This might be a strange question, but why do sea turtles lay eggs on land and not for example dig up holes inside the ocean? They live their whole lives in the ocean, so why do they lay eggs on land? Why travel so far just to lay eggs?

Same goes for some salmon, why do they leave the oceans and lakes, and go upstream on rivers and not lay their eggs where they live?

It is probably something to do with protecting their offspring, but it seems to me that they still have predators that hunt their offspring fairly easily where they hatch/lay their eggs, so maybe there is another reason as well?

[Assistant]
Turtles breath air, and the embryos in the eggs must get their air through the membrane of the egg which they wouldn't be able to under water. Also, the right temperatures for the eggs don't exist in the water.

Salmon are incapable of living in salt water when they are first born, so the eggs must be laid in fresh water. Going back to the same place they spawned makes sense: it's a known quantity capable of supporting salmon eggs.

So the general reason behind both is that these are creatures that have adapted to live in environments as adults that they could not survive in as newborns, so it is necessary to return to the place (or a similar place) to that in which they themselves were born.


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

[User]
I believe high schools should use a multi-tier system to stream teenagers into appropriate programs based on intelligence, regardless of the stigma this may cause. CMV

Myself and a few of my friends have recently been discussing the merits of our current educational system in Canada (and possibly North America, I dont know how the US public school system works) and I am an avid supporter of a tiered system, similar to the on used in the UK and other European countries. Schools are abandoning their most promising students by forcing them to spend four years in classes far below the level they should be on with students who are not peers. Our nations brightest are left to coast because of the prevailing mentality that everyone is "good" and failure isnt possible. How much potential is lost..? Can you change my view?

Edit: To clarify, I should have used the word capability  or style of learning rather than intelligence in the title, as many of you have pointed out that intelligence is very difficult to measure and not strongly indicative of future performance.

[Assistant] Success is more often based on hard work, not some innate natural talent.  Those so called 'brightest' students who coast along not working hard are not worth more investment than a person with less natural talent but works their ass off.


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

[User] If you get a blister on your fingertip, how does your skin grow back with the same fingerprint as before?

[Assistant]
Your skin has multiple layers. If you blister, you are just damaging the epidermis. Just for fun, and to show off, they are from outtermost to innermost--> the Stratum Corneum, Stratum Lucidum, Stratum Granulosum, Stratum Spinosum, and Stratum Basalis. The cells that are dividing to make the new skin start from the bottom at the basalis, and move up to the corneum. The ridges that make up the fingerprint follow the same pattern all the way down to the basalis. If you damage the skin all the way down to the basalis, you are going to destroy the architecture that makes up the fingerprint.
A first degree burn will not penetrate the epidermis, and you will regain your fingerprint. A second degree burn will penetrate the epidermis, and can be damaging enough to destroy the finger print. A 3rd degree burn will penetrate both the epidermis, and the dermis and will definitely destroy the fingerprint.

TL:DR Stem cells are at the bottom of the epidermis, and are the foundation for the ridges. As long as the burn doesn't destroy those cells, you will maintain your fingerprint.


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

[User]
[HARRY POTTER] why does the ministry care so much about animaguses?

I havent read the books in a while but one thing i remember is that an animagus has to register with the ministry or theyll be sent to azkaban for either a really long time or life (i dont remember)

Why does the ministry care so much if some kids can turn into a rat, dog, or stag? Or a teacher into a cat?

Also can an animagus choose to become a magical creature like a giant spider or a basilisk or a dragon? What are the rules there?

[Assistant] They're harder to catch when they master their abilities, Sirius escaped Azkaban, traveled the country, and evaded both the Death Eaters and the Ministry by moving in his dog form, Pettigrew faked his death and managed to find Voldemort in his rat form by talking with the other rats and Rita managed to sneak onto Hogwarts grounds repeatedly and spy on students even after Dumbledore himself banned her. It's a really useful ability to have in secret because most people don't make safeguards against such a rare ability.


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

[User] [The Matrix] What would happen to someone if they took both the red and blue pills at the same time?

[Assistant]
The blue pill puts you to sleep. The red pill wakes up your physical body and causes your brain to emit a signal that human ships can detect.

If you took both, you would fall asleep in the matrix and wake up in the real world, likely very confused.


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

[User]
why hasnt C-PTSD been added to the DSM? are there future plans?

its obviously a distinct and valuable disorder that is separate from PTSD. i dont understand the reluctance.

[Assistant] I don't wanna link it because it's a pdf but search "finalizing ptsd in the dsm-5". There's a pdf published on the VA's website (va.gov).  It goes briefly into why cptsd wasn't included in the dsm-5. (short: cptsd continues to be viewed as a more extreme form of ptsd).


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

[User]
[Home Alone] How Much Damage did Harry and Marv do to the Houses they Flooded?

How much of the house would be effectively ruined?

Is the house itself a constructive loss (more expensive to repair than to buy a new house) or is the place salvageable?

Presuming the Wet Bandits cop to flooding the houses as part of a criminal plea bargain, how much could they be sued for in civil court?

[Assistant] Water running in those houses for days? They're fucked. And if it gets below freezing and the water turns to ice? Double fucked. The whole foundation of the house would need to be inspected. Nothing kills a house faster than uncontrolled water.


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

[User]
[Nightmare Before Christmas] Who rules Thanksgiving Town?

In the "holiday worlds of old," we see three of the leaders: Jack, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny. But what character runs Thanksgiving Town?

[Assistant]
Thanksgiving Town is not as active- everyone's in food comas or watching football games, for the most part.

Presumably Macy's would have some important role in town if there were people organizing parades. :)


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

[User]
Is there a job I can travel with?

Hey Economists

I'm a 20 yo second-year student studying economics Bsc at a Russell Group (Top 10) uni in the UK. Most of my friends here are looking into investment banking as a career, with many of them securing internships at big investment banks. I don't really want to punch numbers and examine companies bottom lines, and the whole large corporate feel feels a little too uncanny for me.

Are there any economics graduate jobs out there that allow you to travel, meet new people, have different interesting days, while allowing you to earn an above-average salary? Or is that too good to be true?

Thank you! Am a bit lost as to what to do with my degree.

[Assistant] You could manage micro lending programs to support potential entrepreneurs and farmers in developing African nations. If youre about making a difference youd change lives profoundly, and even if youre selfish, chicks would dig it.


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

[User]
Genetically Speaking, how many possible people are there? (or how many possible combinations of genes are still "human")

Presumably there would be a lot, but I was wondering what the likelihood of someone having identical DNA to someone who isn't their identical twin. (For example, is it possible for somebody to be born today who is a genetic duplicate of Ghengis Khan or Che Guevara?)

[Assistant] The human genome has about 4 billion base pairs, of which about 2% are coding. With 80 million things each taking four possible values, the number of combinations is about 10^10^53 possibilities. That's about the square root of googolplex. Obviously this answer is an approximation and ignore other aspects of genetics.


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

[User] Why does it look like there is water on the road when it's really bright?

[Assistant]
It's a mirage. It's not because it's bright, it's because it's hot (but bright and hot do tend to occur together).

As the ground heats up, it starts to heat up the air close to the ground.

As light travels through different bits of air which have different temperatures, it changes speed, and this causes it to bend. The bending light results in light from the sky reaching your eyes from a direction which makes it appear to have come from the ground.

When your brain sees this, it assumes that the image of the sky it's seeing has to have been reflected in a pool of water. So it appears to you that there's water when there isn't.


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

[User] Do all trees have a common 'tree' ancestor? Or did multiple plant species evolve separately toward what we know as trees?

[Assistant]
Forestry student here. There are two main groups that of plants which have trees: the gymnosperms ("naked seeds" mostly conifers) and the angiosperms (flowering plants). The gymnosperms are the older group. There were already recognizable coniferous trees in the Mesozoic era. The angiosperms arose in the late Jurassic/ early Cretaceous period.

As far as we know, the tree form arose separately in both groups. Note that the angiosperm family also contains plants such as water lilies, orchids, carrots, etc. Since we know from the fossil record that the angiosperms are a recent evolution it makes more sense for a smaller plant to have evolved into the angiosperms than it does for a plant with tree form to found such a diverse group.

TL;DR All trees have a common plant ancestor but that ancestor was not a tree.


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

[User]
[MCU] [Spoilers] Endgame/Infinity Stones Question

The Ancient One says to Bruce, "The Infinity Stones are responsible for what you perceive as the flow of time," then goes on to explain why her universe is screwed if a stone is missing. However, Thanos destroyed the stones and time/the universe seems fine. How?

[Assistant]
The Infinity Stones cannot be destroyed.  They are an integral part of the machinery of the Universe.

It *is* possible to reduce them to atoms, but their power is still there amongst the scattered particles and they'll eventually reform.


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

[User]
[Avatar LAB/LOK] Why did more advanced types of bending seem to come about much later. Or at least become more common. Why didnt Wan or other Avatars have all the subsets of bending. Or did they and it was never explained.

I know we see Roku do Lava Bending. But these rare mutations in bending seemed to become a norm.

[Assistant]
From Wan's time and Aang's time, the four nations lived apart from each other. Following the war the nations started to intergrate with each other; they would have been influenced by each other's bending which in turn lead to people looking at bending differently and it's possibilities.

Roku came to understand lava bending because as the avatar he had to grow and learn from all four nations which opened him up to the possibility.


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

[User]
ELI5: If calories in/out is a law, then how does insulin resistance cause weight gain?

How does insulin resistance cause fat storage if those calories consumed need to be burned in some way anyway, according to the law of thermodynamics?

[Assistant]
Imagine a creature that burns two apples worth of energy a day to survive. If it eats less than two apples, it'll feel hungry.

Without any insulin resistance, all the calories from the apples it eats will transfer fully to the cells in the body that require energy so when the creature eats two apples, it is content.

Now, imagine that the creature has insulin resistance. This makes it difficult for the creature to make use of the apple's energy. Imagine that it has a 50% insulin resistance so that only half of the energy from the apples goes to the cells that need the energy. It eats 2 apples but only 1 apple's worth of energy goes to the body.

The creature still feels hungry so it eats two more apples. Only then can the body feel satisfied because the energy of half of the 4 apples goes to power the cells in the body due to the insulin resistance.

But what about the two apple's worth of energy that was not processed by the cells due to the insulin resistance? The body does not like to let go of nutrients so much of the energy from the apples will be processed into sugar in the blood. The excess sugar that is not being pushed into the cells due to the insulin resistance will circulate through the blood and causes damage throughout the body. The increased blood sugar is is one of the major symptoms of diabetes. Since the body did consume more calories than was normal, some of the excess blood sugar will be converted to fat. As the days go on, that excess fat will cause weight gain.

EDIT: Added some more information about diabetes in the last paragraph.


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

[User] The latitude of the northernmost point in Antarctica (63S) is comparable to substantial settlements in the northern hemisphere such as Anchorage (61N) or Fairbanks (64N), but the conditions for habitation appear to be much worse. What is the reason for this?

[Assistant]
Definitely geography.

The polar front (air currents) effectively isolate Antarctica from outside climate influences. However, the ocean moderates the temperatures near the coast; this is why Fairbanks gets colder and has wilder temperature swings than the Antarctic Peninsula.


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

[User] ELI5: If a limb gets medically amputated, do you feel soreness around the area of the limb, or do you feel nothing at all?

[Assistant]
You obviously feel soreness in the days following the operation at the site of the amputation, but many patients also experience "phantom limb." Sometimes this is simply the sensation that the limb is still there, but often times it is an extremely painful sensation. It may be sharp pangs of pain or the sensation that the limb is contorted in an odd position and you're unable to get it out of that position. It is usually at its worst soon after the operation and may improve with time.

Medications have not been particularly successful in treating the pain. One method of treatment that is sometimes effective is called the Mirror Box. Patients place their normal limb into one side of the box and then what's left of the amputated limb in the other side of the box. When looking into the box, you see your intact limb and then a mirror reflection of that same limb in the area where you expect the amputated limb to be. It's thought that this experience may help rewire patient's somatosensory cortex (part of the brain that is important in movement and sensation) and therefore relieve pain.


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

[User] If something was on fire in a fridge that could go to extremely low temperatures and it kept getting colder. Is there a lower temperature limit where the fire can no longer exist?

[Assistant] Yes. Because combustion reactions are temperature dependant. If T gets too low, the reaction will no longer move in the forward direction. This is even more obvious if the fridge were to approach absolute zero (0K). At this point all atoms would be at rest relative to one another. No reaction can occur at this temperature.


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

[User]
Why did evolution through natural selection favour putting testicles in a scrotum rather developing more heat resistant sperm.

I understand that as things are currently sperm production and storage is optimal at below body temperature, but am wondering what evolutionary pressures would have favoured the current system over developing tetes which worked best at body temperature.

What forces triggered the development of external testes in the first place?

[Assistant] Probably just the testes were slightly external by some mutation, and this  gave slightly higher sperm survival rates and it snowballed from there. However your phrasing of the question suggests that you are thinking of evolution as making concious choices. The only real reason that evolution 'picks' one solution over another is if it happened first, by chance. It is pretty much impossible for it then to go back and pick a better solution, since going back would be less favourable (or the change would never have happened in the first place).


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

[User]
Let's say I've have been walking through the desert for days and I'm completely dehydrated. "Holy shit! I find WATER!" But it is only ~4 ounces of water. Where does my body send that water? Is there a hierarchy of organs that receive it, or is it evenly distributed?

Edit: So this unexpectedly blew up... I'm going to need a couple days to sort through all this. Thanks to everyone who took time to answer! :)

[Assistant]
I don't think the body can actively distribute it, unless it tightens bloodvessels (like it does when you have hypothermia.

Either way, water is distributed by osmosis. Osmosis works by trying to even the concentration of salts and other disolved substances (like proteins)

Image you have a special balloon which only allows water to pass through its skin, nothing else. Now in that balloon you put a bit of very salty water. If you then put the balloon in a container with extremely pure water the water from the container will go in the balloon in an attempt to even the concentration of salt in and out of the balloon. Since the balloon only alllows water to pass through it'll absorb more and more water because there'll always be that bit of salt disolved in the water in the balloon while there's none outside.

Ofcourse the same works the other way around. Having the same balloon filled with extremely pure water and putting it in a very salty solution will drain all the water out, leaving the balloon practically empty.

Your cells work in the same way but with one difference. Water can migrate in and out freely, but they can actively pump substances like salt, proteins etc in and out of the cell. That way they can prevent themselfs from exploding (from absorbing too much water), or dehydration.

Now if you're very dehydrated and you drink that bit of water the cells that are 'hit by it' first will absorb a lot initially. However due osmosis most of the water will migrate out of the cells again, into the blood and will hydrate other cells a bit. The hydrating and dehydration will go on and on till all your cells (and blood) have the same concentration of salt and proteins again.


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

[User]
[Galaxy Quest] A group of actors from a cancelled science fiction show have killed an intergalactic warlord and established first contact and all they get is their show renewed?

I don't get it! Sure, I guess they're actors and aren't exactly qualified for the true blue nitty gritty of interstellar war and exploration, but all they get is renewed! It'd be like if Firefly was renewed because Nathan Fillion rescued the Alpha Centaurian slugs from the Praxian toads!

And another thing, if they just killed the eponymous Saris of the Saris Dominion, have they not allied themselves with the nave octopi aliens and started an interstellar war with their shenanigans?

Not to mention the implications of the Thermians building a fully functional replica of the ship from the TV series just by watching the series! Are they reality warpers? What the hell is going on?!

[Assistant]
They got their show renewed because that's what they wanted. They don't actually want to risk their lives running around space fighting the bug-headed flesheaters of Procyon VI. They want to get adored at conventions.

The Saris Dominion fell just like most Earth empires fell after the leader in a cult of personality died. It helped that their flagship was destroyed at the same time.

As for the Thermians, well, they are the very definition of "book-smart vs street-smart"


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

[User] [Marvel] Why does the Punisher wear white gloves & boots?

[Assistant] It makes him look more intimidating. Since his body is covered in black, you can't tell if he's bleeding or not. But you can see blood on his hands and feet, which would indicate that you and your buddies are bleeding.


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

[User]
[Alien vs Predator] What's an ideal hunt suppose to look like for the Predators?

So Predators set up a hunt, or at the very least the conditions right? So what are the musts, minimums, and stuff completely forbidden when preparing a hunting ground?

Because it seems like things very quickly got away from what the Predators were expecting. Are predators suppose to prepare to fight 2 to 1000 xenomorphs for example? Or does a Queen getting free something they need to prepare for? Are they suppose to only hunt mature Xenomorphs? Or do they just have to bag one with certain restrictions then it becomes a no holds barred purge or something?

[Assistant]
Get on planet, hunt prey, succeed, collect trophies, get off world without (sentient, advanced) prey species knowing you were there or leaving evidence (predator weapons, tech, ships, bodies of fallen fellow yautja warriors) that show there is life among the stars.

When the hunt goes sideways (human interference, more Xenomorphs than normal etc) its still considered a hunt until all threats are eliminated and trophies collected. Its just a hunt with extra steps that could go badly.


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

[User]
ELI5: Why are employers the ones providing insurance under Obamacare?

In the wake of all of craziness following the Hobby Lobby ruling earlier this week, I'm very confused as to why employers are involved in this at all. Are all employers supposed to provide healthcare? Why is this even an issue in the first place?

Also, I'd like everyone to stay as politically neutral as possible, please!

[Assistant] The story for the current system in the U.S. has its roots in WWII. There were so many people needed for the war effort and it was difficult for companies to compete with the government's hiring. Companies increased wages to try to entice workers but the government then put a temporary ban on wage increases. The companies' work-around for this was to offer health insurance (non-wage benefits), which are tax deductible for companies, in addition to wages in order to entice workers. The employer-based system stuck and at this point it would be a monumental undertaking to switch to another system.


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

[User] ELI5: How do news organizations report natural disaster death counts so specifically and so quickly (i.e. "88 people dead as a result of ...")?

[Assistant] When there are major incidents, local emergency workers generally establish a command post-type place where things like fatalities are reported as soon as they're located.  When they give the death toll, they give it based off the numbers that have been reported thus far.


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

[User]
What is stopping scientists from adding more and more neutrons to an atom to create an infinite amount of isotopes?

I understand that at a point, more neutrons do not 'stick' to the nucleus, but why? What is stopping them from doing so? Why is it not possible to get an infinite amount of isotopes?

[Assistant]
What youre talking about is referred to as the neutron drip line, which is the upper bound on the number of neutrons a stable isotope can have before it starts dripping particles.

In an atom, there are several forces at play. The balance of these forces on an individual nucleon is the amount of energy that it would take to rip that particle out of the nucleus. Its called separation energy.

After a certain size, the forces cant be balanced and the isotope becomes unstable. In other words, the separation energy becomes negative and the particles fall off.

Look up the table of nuclides and you can see the specific ratios between neutrons and protons where stable isotopes exist. In elements up to calcium, the ideal ratio is 1:1. The ratio gets larger as the number of protons increase because the forces inside an atom scale differently across distance. For the heaviest stable isotopes, the ratio is about 1.5:1. After this point, neutrons start dripping off and adding protons wont help to balance because theyll drip off too.

The specific behavior of the forces makes certain combinations more stable than others. Check out the island of stability and magic numbers for more details on that. This is an area of active research and not well understood; weve found neutron drip lines for elements only up to neon.


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

[User]
Regarding transplanted organs, does the body eventually replace all the cells of the organ with "native cells" or are they still cells of the donor?

As I understand it, all cells in the human body are replaced by in roughly 7 years time frame, and organ transplant recipients have to take medication to help the body not reject the organ. Do they have to continue taking the medication the rest of their life, or only for several years?

[Assistant] The crux of the question is by what mechanism are the donated cells replaced. So the new cells that replace the old ones are exact duplicates of the old ones. The process of mitosis, or cell division and replication, replaces the donated organ's cells with exact copies, including the foreign antigens that the recipient's body recognise and produce antibodies against, which is why the recipient needs to continue to take anti-rejection medication. Although the recipient's body has provided the building blocks for the new cells, they are exact copies of the donated cells.