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Nitral's Archive 21

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is it possible to imagine a universe where the fundamental laws of mathematics are different in the same way scientists can imagine a universe where the laws of physics are completely different than ours?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mathematics is already not limited by this universe - it's only limited by our imaginations and the rules of a given mathematical system. E.g. set theory has one set of rules, category theory has another, and something that's possible or true in one system may not be possible or true in another. \n\nAs such, the \"fundamental laws of mathematics\" really have nothing to do with physical universes, and shouldn't be affected by them.\n\nBut if the question is about whether we might have a universe where putting two balls into a box results in the box containing three balls, so 1+1=3, that's not actually a question about mathematics, it's just a question about which of the many possible mathematical systems we can imagine apply to the universe in question.\n\nOne example of this would be the structure of space, which in our universe appears geometrically flat: so the angles of a triangle, even one with sides that are light-years across, add up to 180 degrees. But in a universe where space has some other geometry, e.g. hyperbolic, then the angles of a triangle in that universe would add up to less than 180 degrees.\n\nThis is not a change in the fundamental laws of mathematics, though. It's just a universe with different mathematical properties." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 Why nutrient information like sugar and calories, isn't/doesn't have to be on alcohol?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The FDA requires all nutrition labels on food; however, alcohol used to fall under the jurisdiction of the ATF, who didn't require any labels; it however is now under the jurisdiction of the TTB, and they currently don't impose nutrition labels requirements unless the beverage claims \"lite/light\", \"table wine\", etc. In mid-2016, new laws were approved for nutrition labels on alcohol, such as the inclusion of sugar, manufactures have until mid-2018 to comply (mid-2019 is they are small companies)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What is particle spin? Im aware that it has nothing to do with the electron or whatever literally spinning, but that's about all I understand. What concept can it be compared to in classical mechanics?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Spin has no true comparison in classical mechanics.\n\nIt's simply a 'property' with that name. This happens a lot - Quarks for example will be red, green or blue - but they really have no color at all. It's just a notation for naming three different types. They may as well have called them 1, 2, or 3 quarks. Or apple, orange, banana quarks. Or square, circle, triangle quarks. Or chair, coconut, penguin quarks. The name of the property itself is *meaningless*.\n\nI recall a good analogy from Hawking's BHoT, involving playing cards for what you can sometimes think of spin as.\n\nIn the analogy, \"spin\" is a measure of symmetry, basically the number of times you need to rotate to return to the original state. Consider a normal picture. If you were to spin it around, it would need one full rotation to look \"normal\" again - so it has a spin of 1. Imagine a playing card - perhaps a four of diamonds. If you spin it around 180 degrees - only halfway - it now looks the same as when you started. So it has a spin of 1/2. Some unusual particles (like the predicted graviton) have a spin of 2 - imagine a picture that, if you rotated it around, still looked different - until you rotated it a second time. *weird*. \n\nBut particle physics is just plain *weird*. Don't worry too much about it. Classical mechanics don't apply, and analogies and comparison are always fundamentally flawed in some way." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars... The Prequels] During QuiGon's funeral Palps lets it slip that he is the dark lord (Wait, was that my inside voice?) and the Jedi all confront him. How differently do the rest of the movies play out?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Palpatine dies, Dooku continues the war and doesn't win. Chancellor Padme Amidala becomes the first woman to lead the Republic, Anakin confesses his love for her to Kenobi who talks with him about Satine and his regrets, Anakin leaves the order and that's it. The Sith are done for good.\n\nAt some point Kenobi meets with Ventress and takes her as apprentice.\n\nBill Organa adopts a lot of the kids stolen by Palpatine, some of them join the Jedi Order, others don't, but they all are carefully watched by the Order.\n\nSlowly dying some of the Clones find about the implanted chip, the Republic fixes it..\n\nDarth Maul is the last Lord of the Sith, and keeps plotting to bring down the Jedi Order and kill Kenobi.\n\nLuke and Leia join the Jedi order. Ventress becomes their Master.\n\nWhen Yoda dies, Kenobi becomes the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. He regularly visits his friend Anakin Skywalker in Naboo." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When does cancer become terminal?\n\nPeople with cancer survive with an operation or some sort of medical treatment but when the doctor says it's terminal, when exactly does that happen and what does it mean? Is it possible to survive after the cancer has been termed as terminal?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Quote: *Terminal illness or end-stage disease is an incurable disease that cannot be adequately treated and is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient.* \n\nCancers typically become terminal when the growth of malignant cells impedes major organ function or have reached a level of metastasis (widespread growth throughout the body) where surgical removal is no longer an option and chemotherapy or radiation are either unsuccessful or would only further weaken the patient's body, and the only option left is to make the patient comfortable as they die (how long this takes is entirely based on the particular type of cancer and case specifics).\n\nThere have been many cases where a prognosis of \"terminal\" has been reversed due to aggressive treatment via new techniques or simply by virtue of the tumor growth stopping or reversing on its own, but **this is not common**. Often the media makes major news out of people surviving Stage 4 cancer, but these should not be considered statistically relevant cases, rather as remarkable ones due to various special circumstances." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Is a carb a carb? How do different carbs effect blood sugar levels, insulin, glycogen and diabetes?\n\nI read that a carb is a carb and if it fits your macros then don’t worry. But then I also read that sugar is terrible for you and you should eat complex carbs because of blood sugar levels. Whats this all about? Blood sugar, glucose, insulin, and diabetes? Can someone ELI5?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As far as calories go its the same thing as far as your body is concerned. The difference is in how fast they are put into your bloodstream.\n\n100g carbs in a bowl of oatmeal is going to be released into your bloodstream over a few hrs. Giving you a constant blood sugar level.\n\n100g carbs in a soda will hit you bloodstream almost instantly, spiking your blood sugar, which will cause your body to produce a lot of insulin to deal with it. \n\nThe difference is how long it takes your body to get the carbs out of the food.\n\nAs well, if the goal is to eat less calories, drinking a soda will add calories without actually making you feel like you've eaten. As well it can make you crave more carbs when your blood sugar drops back down.\n\nSo carbs and calories that make you feel full and are released slowly are better in that sense.\n\nSo yes, if it fits your macros it's fine as far as calories are concerned, but if you get 1/3 of you calories from sugar in a day you'll probably be left feeling hungry and grumpy and craving food from having low blood sugar at some points throughout the day." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Philosophy of thermodynamics\n\nI'm starting my PhD in engineering in two months on the topic of 'sustainable and energy efficient building'. Because I am very into philosophy, I want to tackle this subject in a deeper way than the normal engineering approach. Specifically, I want to grasp the true concepts behind energy, entropy (and the related exergy).\n\nWhen thermodynamics came about (Carnot, Clausius etc.) there was way more attention (and appreciation in my mind) for the philosophical concepts of energy/entropy etc. Nowadays, the focus lies on the mathematical side of things, forgetting what it all effectively means.\n\n I would love to read all the classic authors myself, but, because the PhD is not in philosophy but engineering, I do not have the time. Do any of you have good references on the (philosophical) meaning of energy, entropy etc or some historical evolution of these concepts?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A readable but solid high-level introduction to these topics is Eric D. Schneider and Dorion Sagan's *Into The Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life.* It's more science than philosophy, but it deals with the concepts well, and has a very, very broad scope.\n\nI also really liked Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers' *Order out of Chaos* (written by a chemist and a philosopher respectively), but it's perhaps a tad dated now." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do people sing in tonal languages? If the melody is falling but the tone of the word is rising, how does that work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At least in Chinese the tone of the word is ignored. You just follow the melody. The context will take care of identifying the correct meaning of the word. Also, most of the time the text is displayed in subtitles (on TV, DVD etc.)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[GoT/ASoIaF] What exactly is Arya and Gendry's relationship?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They're fond of each other, but not to the point that they're willing to give up the possibilities of their lives.\n\nHaving grown up an impoverished nobody, Gendry can't bring himself to abandon a life of wealth and respect as the Lord of Storm's End for the sake of a boat, and an uncertain tomorrow.\n\nAnd having grown up as a noble lady, trained only to marry and breed, Arya can't bring herself to abandon a life of freedom and adventure for the sake of the castle she always had, and the opportunity to live out her days as Gendry's brood mare." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do engagement rings work?\n\nKind of never learned that part when I was young.\nSo how is this process work? after a man gives a woman the ring, she carries it with her and then takes it off on the wedding day? do the couple go for ring shopping after the proposal to find a ring for the man? I've seen people put their wedding ring on both left and right hand, does it matter?\n\nThanks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Short version: Do whatever makes the two of you happy.\n\nLong version: Emily Post documented the rules of polite society in the 1920s. It has been the standard of American tradition. For very formal couples or people with an eye to please their elders, this might be a useful read:\n\n \n \n\n>THE ENGAGEMENT RING\n\n >It is doubtful if he who carries a solitaire ring enclosed in a little square box and produces it from his pocket upon the instant that she says “Yes,” exists outside of the moving pictures! As a matter of fact, the accepted suitor usually consults his betrothed’s taste—which of course may be gratified or greatly modified, according to the length of his purse—or he may, without consulting her, buy what ring he chooses. A solitaire diamond is the conventional emblem of “the singleness and endurability of the one love in his life,” and the stone is supposed to be “pure and flawless” as the bride herself, and their future together—or sentiments equally beautiful. There is also sentiment for a sapphire’s “depth of true blue.” Pearls are supposed to mean tears; emeralds, jealousy; opals, the essence of bad luck; but the ruby stands for warmth and ardor: all of which it is needless to say is purest unfounded superstition. 10 \n> In the present day, precious stones having soared far out of reach of all but the really rich, fashion rather prefers a large semi-precious one to a microscopic diamond. “Fashion,” however, is merely momentary and local, and the great majority will probably always consider a diamond the only ring to have. 11 \n> It is not obligatory, or even customary, for the girl to give the man an engagement present, but there is no impropriety in her doing so if she wants to, and any of the following articles would be suitable: A pair of cuff links, or waist-coat buttons, or a watch chain, or a key chain, or a cigarette case. Probably because the giving of an engagement ring is his particular province, she very rarely gives him a ring or, in fact, any present at all. 12 \n> The engagement ring is worn for the first time “in public” on the day of the announcement. \n\n\n>BUYING THE WEDDING RING\n\n> It is quite usual for the bride to go with the groom when he buys the wedding ring, the reason being that as it stays for life on her finger, she should be allowed to choose the width and weight she likes and the size she finds comfortable." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do we use parsecs instead of 3.26 lightyears?\n\nI just learned this in school so I know near nothing about parsecs, so sorry if the answer is obvious. I just don't see the reason to say parsecs instead of using lightyears everywhere, you know, using one word and not multiple ones would be less confusing. Or are there certain things you can only do with parsecs?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Parsecs are definitely the convenient unit for astronomy. For some reason, light-years have become the standard unit used in communication with the public. Light-years are an easier concept to grasp (i.e. the distance travelled by light in one year), but parsecs really are more convenient to do maths with.\n\nThe parsec comes directly from how distances to stars are measured. As the Earth goes around the Sun, we are constantly seeing stars from different angles. This causes stars to move in little ellipses in the sky. This is called \"parallax\". The size of this effect tells us how far away the star is. You can see a similar effect when driving in the country. The fenceposts by the road appear to be moving really fast while the distant mountains appear to the be totally stationary.\n\nA star is one parsec away if it moves in a little circle with a radius of one arc-second (1/60th of 1/60th of one degree) over a year. If its little circle is half an arc-second, it's two parsecs away. If it's 1/10th of an arc-second, it's 10 parsecs away. So, given that astronomers like using arc-seconds to measure angles in the sky, using parsecs makes the mathematics really simple. It's a geometric unit that we can measure directly. Light-years are less direct, because we can't directly time how long it takes light to reach us from a distant star - we have to calculate it from the speed of light and the distance.\n\nThere's also a convenient trick that 1 km/s is extremely close to 1 parsec per million years. Alpha Centauri is a bit over a parsec away. So if you know your speed in km/s, you can very easily calculate how many years it would take to reach Alpha Centauri or whatever.\n\nSo the real question is: if we actually use parsecs all the time, and they're more convenient units, why do we teach kids about light-years? It's probably because they're just a little bit easier to teach, but that's very much a social question rather than an astronomy one." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: Bail bonds are unjust and stupid.\n\nI don't understand why bail bonds are a thing. Bail in general is definitely good, locking people up before their trials unneccesarily is something we should want to minimise. but why on earth is it that you typically need to post up money for bail? either someone is a flight risk/danger to the community, or they arent, whatever money they put up for bail doesn't change that. breaking bail conditions is already a crime that youll recieve extra punishment for, that should be enough, right? To me, all it seems to do is punish poor people who can't afford bail." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "World is not black and white. We cannot say that this person will break their bail and this won't. If we knew that before hand we would lock up the dangerous people and let others walk.\n\nInstead we ask \"How likely is it that this person will run?\" and \"How much extra punishment we should place on them to discourage that running?\". That is bail money. You give some money as carentee that you will return to your court hearing. After that you get your money back no matter how the hearing goes. If you don't come back that money is extra punishment in top of not showing up.\n\nTo run away you also need money. Money you might not have because you just paid bail." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why does fallen fruit begin to grow mold while fruit still attached to the tree does not?\n\nMy guess is that the tree as some form of defense against fungi but I am at a loss to what mechanisms make up that defense." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the fruit falls, it gets squashed, bugs and ants start biting into it creating a nice entry for mold.\n\nSometimes fruit also gets moldy while still on the tree, typically when birds peck on it or wasps start biting it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: When soap breaks down the cellular membranes of cells why/how is it safe to use on our skin?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Our skin has a layer of dead cells on the top, as well as natural oils that form a somewhat protective barrier against certain things like soap. When your hands dry out after washing them a lot, that is your oil barrier being removed. Individual cells and viral particles pretty much don't have as thick of a lipid (lipids are fats/oils) layer as our entire skin surface does, so the soap degrades them more quickly. Our bodies are also able to produce much more oil to keep our skin healthy than each little particle can, so after our hands dry out some we still have living cells beneath the dried out dead ones that can generate more oil.\n\n \nHowever, not all pathogens are extremely susceptible to the killing effects of soap, which is why scrubbing and washing off vigorously for \\~20 seconds is so important: good soap in the right concentration actually forms small little bubbles called micelles which surround dirt, pathogens and other debris, and allow them to become much more water soluble. That slippery feeling is the soap working, so make sure you feel that before you finish scrubbing, and continue to scrub as you wash away with warm water!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[X-Files & MIB] Would Fox Mulder from X-Files be able to discover the Men in Black agency in Men in Black?\n\nAlso, would it change anything if Dana Scully we’re helping Mulder?\n\nEdit: I forgot about their memory wipe, would Mulder be able to convince them to let him join their ranks instead of getting wiped?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, multiple times. And every time he did, they'd neuralize him, pour some bourbon on his shirt, and dump him on his couch. He'd find out the hard way if it really was possible to get brain cancer from chronic neuralization." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why are some animals born with the ability to walk, while others take years to learn?\n\nI've seen birthing videos of different animals (chameleons, horses, giraffes), and they all start walking almost immediately, while humans and other primates take months, if not years to develop. Why is this? Is there a benefit to humans being immobile at birth?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An article from Scientific American from 2009: \n\n\n\nCompared with other animals, human babies take much longer to learn to walk. Does this have something to do with our big brains?\n—Mahmoud Dhaouadi, via e-mail\n\nJohn Bock, an anthropologist at California State University, Fullerton, provides a reply:\n\nA HORSE can walk within an hour after birth. A newborn baboon baby can cling to its mother’s hair while she jumps through the trees. Even among our closest evolutionary relatives—chimpanzees and bonobos—babies are far more agile than their human counterparts. That’s because humans are born with brains that are largely immature, leaving babies with little control over their movements. This uniquely human attribute is the result of a lengthy evolutionary battle between big brains and narrow pelvises.\n\nOne of the first traits that differentiated humans from our ancestors was upright gait. There are several hypotheses about the emergence of this trait, but it seems to have offered a way to move more efficiently in open environments such as the savanna. Although our earliest human ancestors were very apelike in terms of their brains, their upright gait had changed their pelvis to look much like our modern one. This reshaped pelvis came with a narrower birth canal, making childbirth more difficult.\n\nMeanwhile the new roaming grounds afforded advantages in acquiring resources and negotiating social relationships to those with flexible, problem-solving behavior. Over time, natural selection increased brain size in these early humans. But at some point, the selection for bigger and bigger brains collided head-on, so to speak, with the narrow pelvis. If babies’ heads got any bigger, they would get stuck in the birth canal and kill both mother and child. Although natural selection worked to maximize what could be done—for instance, babies’ heads compress as they twist their way around the bones in the pelvis—there simply is not enough room for a big, mature brain to pass through.\n\nAs it turned out, the evolutionary answer was to let the brain keep growing outside the womb before it matures. So in contrast to other mammals, humans have a good bit of development to do after birth. The result is a relatively undeveloped infant who needs lots of care and can do much less for itself than other newborn primates.\n\nPhysiologically, why is the sound of fingernails on a blackboard so unnerving? Is this effect particular to human beings, or are other creatures similarly affected?\n—Rowan Snyder, via e-mail\n\nNeuroscientist Josh McDermott of New York University explains:\n\nPROBABLY A COUPLE of factors combine to make such sounds unpleasant. The first, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the presence of high frequencies. The range between two\nand four kilohertz—approximately that covered by the highest octave of a standard\npiano—seems to contribute the most to the nastiness of the sound. It is unclear why people tend to fi nd these frequencies unpleasant, but we know that noise-induced hearing loss most commonly occurs in roughly this region, so it is conceivable that the aversive reaction partly reflects the ear’s vulnerability.\n\nThe spectrum of screeching sounds is also much noisier than that of an instrument; that is, there is a strong random component to the sound. The noisiness probably results from the fingernails repeatedly catching on part of the chalkboard surface before sliding forward.\n\nThis catching and sliding also causes rapid fluctuations in intensity, giving the sound a “rough” character.\n\nRoughness is known to be unpleasant—car manufacturers, who aim to produce minimally unpleasant engine noise, for instance, find that smooth sounds with minimal variation in intensity are preferred by listeners over those that are rough. It’s a bit harder to say why sound roughness is considered unpleasant—as far as we know it is not harmful to the ears.\n\nSome scientists have proposed that screeching sounds are acoustically similar to screams, a sound to which we might plausibly have evolved an aversion. If this hypothesis were true, one might expect to find similar reactions in nonhuman primates, which also produce screams. Thus far only one species of monkey has been tested, and it did not\ndisplay the same aversive response to screeches that humans have. It may therefore be more appropriate to simply regard screeching sounds as a “perfect storm”—combining two properties that we know to be unpleasant, resulting in a single sound that is awful to listen to.\n\nNote: This article was originally printed with the title, \"Ask The Brains.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:What happens in your body at concerts when it feels like your heart is about to vibrate out of your chest when they hit super low bass notes?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sound is effectively just waves of air moving at different speeds and sizes. While most of them are so small you can really only sense them with your ears, as you start to get really low, the waves start to get a lot bigger, to the point you can actually feel them. That feeling is the air physically vibrating your body, usually with what's called a ground sub. Some Front of House Engineers do this on purpose to get that \"concert feel\", and the wavelengths that do it best are actually below your threshold of hearing, in terms of pitch, but can be powerful enough to knock even a grown person over." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How was the speed of sound initially measured?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A clever trick is to beat a drum exactly once a second, then walk away, looking back. As you recede, the sound will get more and more behind the sight of the drum being beaten, until eventually it's in synch with the *next* beat. Then you know you're exactly one sound-second away. Do this in several directions to average out errors, and you have the speed of sound.\n\nDoing this with a group of 11 year olds we got to within 5% of the correct value." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How do relativistic effects affect planetary orbits?\n\nI imagine its just some tiny little correction, but I'm curious about order of magnitude how large that correction is and qualitatively what its effects are." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only planet whose orbit is noticeably affected by relativistic effects is Mercury. Mercury's orbit precesses around the sun, to a degree slightly larger than predicted by classical Newtonian gravitation. I've seen qualitative explanations of how relativity causes the extra precession, but most of them are misleading imo and what it comes down to is the relativistic equations predict the observed precession." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could a cosmic ray set off ammunition or explosives?\n\nI've read about how cosmic rays can cause errors in computers. \nI've also read about how they can damage genetic information. \n\nThis got me to thinking. \n\nCould a cosmic ray set off the primer in a cartridge, resulting in a bullet firing unintentionally?\n\nOr could a cosmic ray unexpectedly cause explosives to detonate?\n\nI'm guessing it would come down to the amount of energy a cosmic ray could potentially deposit and how it interacts with something it passes through. But I don't know much about either of those things." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You may have read that cosmic rays have very high energies. That's true, but incomplete: they have very high energies *for such a small particle*.\n\nThey can cause errors in computers because transistors have been scaled down to microscopic levels, so the ionization caused by cosmic rays is meaningful at that scale. They can damage genetic information because the DNA molecule is storing information at scale of a few atoms, so if ionization breaks the molecular bonds then atoms may recombine in weird ways.\n\nBut at a macroscopic level their energy is negligible.\n\nOk, there's an exception to that. There are some *ultra high energy* cosmic rays where a subatomic particle may have an energy equivalent to a fast baseball. That's really a lot, but at the same time, higher energy particles traverse matter almost unaffected, depositing only a very small part of their energy.\n\nSo no, they can't cause a bullet to fire and they can't detonate an explosive.\n\n> the amount of energy a cosmic ray could potentially deposit\n\nLower energy cosmic rays are the ones that deposit more energy in matter proportionally to the distance they travel, and it is negligible at a human scale.\n\n> how it interacts with something it passes through.\n\nMatter is made of atoms, and atoms are full of electrons. When it passes through it kicks electrons off their atoms. This may cause weird recombination and modify molecules such as DNA. It can also collide with an atomic nucleus moving it out of its place - it implies something for highly sensitive electronics but not much for humans.\n\nAlso note that these things about errors in computers and damage to DNA are mostly a concern in outer space, but fortunately on Earth we're protected by the atmosphere. The radiation level we receive on the surface is low enough to say we don't have to worry about it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Mortal Kombat] How do seemingly “normal” Kombatants sustain such horrific injuries without getting killed?\n\nSo I was invited to partake in a tournament called Mortal Kombat and while I haven’t had my first fight I’ve managed to watch a few. I saw this lady in blue with fans stab someone in both of their eyes and they managed to get back up and keep fighting. I saw another dude who looked like he was covered in electricity stab another guy in the gut and throw him with his spear and again the guy just got up like nothing happened. What the hell? How are these people not dead? More importantly am I going to be able to just walk away if someone just impales me on a spear?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A Mortal Kombat tournament is two things. First, of course, its a sport.\n\nSecondly, it's backed by very powerful supernatural forces.\n\nA blood sport where one guy gets his neck snapped 30 seconds in isn't very entertaining, nor is one where its a literal god vs a bunch of normal humans.\n\nThe powers behind it likely balance things out a bit, and this includes making normal humans tough enough to meaningfully take part rather then being vaporized instantly." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Twin Peaks] What IS Bob?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bob is an extradimensional entity that feeds on the fear of others. He does so by possessing the bodies of people and committing crimes for the specific reason to hurt others. Some may call him a demon but he is something more than that. The fact is we don't know a lot about the Black Lodge so it is hard to pin down what he is." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is there a difference in the energy required to freeze water, and the energy required to melt ice?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, except that the values are exactly opposite. Freezing water releases energy, melting ice absorbs energy. For the same mass these values and equal and opposite. (This is all, of course, allowing for no change in the temperature)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Generic Urban Fantasy]How much force is required to put a stake through a vampires heart and,realistically, what are the best ways to do it?\n\nLet's assume that vampires have no form of supernatural endurance, and that we are operating in a universe where staking does kill(or at least paralyze) the vampire.\n\nEDIT: this thread concerns the method of staking, not killing vampires in general." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You're welcome to do the accompanying scientific research if you're of a macabre bent, but quite honestly it's a pretty simple question with a pretty simple answer:\n\nMen have been stabbing each other in the chest with pointy sticks for a very long time, very effectively. If they can do it, you likely can.\n\nAs to how, any way you can direct a sharp piece of wood at the enemy's chest with equivalent power to an angry male human will do the trick. The more complicated your scheme, however, the more points of failure.\n\nThat being the case, the simplest ways tend to be best and most effective. If you don't fear melee combat, approach from a position of ambush, aim well and with good form, and push through the target.\n\nIf you fear your skills are not up to the task, take up archery, and find someone to make footed arrows, or make them yourself." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why is liposuction limited to a certain amount? Why can't doctors suck out 100 pounds of fat from a person that needs to lose 100 pounds?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You can't take out a lot of adipose tissue, as a big cavity will result, and then a seroma will form (fluid pocket). You'd also wind up detaching the skin from the body in a way - a sort of Morel-Lavallee type lesion, and might wind up with skin necrosis." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How has FloJo's 100m world record remained unbroken for so long compared to men's 100m sprint?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wind gauge was incorrect during her world record time, which should have disqualified that specific run. She was still the fastest of the bunch on each other heat. The IAAF decided not to penalize her for the illegal tailwind, so her record stood.\n\nIt's also speculated that she was using HGH, and her retiring the year before mandatory drug testing was instituted. One person came forward and claimed to sell her some, but it was dismissed at the time. The Olympic committee at the time claimed they singled her out and did rigorous drug testing, and failed to find anything, though the doctor who did the examination was accused of covering up failed drug tests on other occasions." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The difference between Gold and Mercury on the Periodic Table is one Proton. If I add one proton, solid Gold turns into a silvery liquid metal that's extremely toxic to humans. How can the addition of a single proton have such a profound effect on an element's properties?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "if you add one protons, an electron will be added too (captured from the environment) and also the organisation of energy levels of electrons will be different. From this, it will change the properties of the atom." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Toy Story 2] In the final episode of Woody's Roundup, Woody has just jumped the ravine when the episode ends. Would he have made it to the other side?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It’s the ultimate unknown because the show was cancelled before that episode aired.\n\nAt least it was until 2013, when a group of nostalgic sixty-somethings and a bunch of hipsters who admired the retro-kitsch of the original series, backed a Kickstarter campaign for something called “Woody’s Roundup Returns”. Having successfully secured the rights to the show and obtained a broadcasting partnership with Netflix, the show’s producers started a heavy publicity campaign. The first episode of the new series aired in early 2014. Aside from a few minor changes – Bullseye was now a talking character voiced by Dave Chapelle and Stinky Pete the Prospector was now just called Pete the Prospector to avoid alienating the stinky demographic – the premise of the show was exactly the same, picking up exactly where the last episode had left off. And yes, Woody successfully jumped the ravine.\n\nThe show was universally reviled by both fans and critics alike. In order to make it relevant to today’s youth, certain new story elements had been introduced. Woody would routinely bust meth dealers and in the second episode a new character was introduced, a chronic crack addict and police informant called Whizz, evidently inspired by the Bubbles character from *The Wire*. This didn’t gel well with the old-timey Wild West theme of the show. Additionally, the writers introduced a will-they-won’t-they love story between Jesse and Woody, as she struggled to overcome the demons of her past and learn to love again. The writers also had a quota of at least one large-scale explosion per episode. The actors performances were leaden and tired and the humour often laboured, so much so that a laugh track was introduced in episode 8 “Woody in the Rootin’ Tootin’ Projects”. Amid declining viewing figures and a lawsuit from Netflix, Woody’s Roundup Returns was quietly canned in May 2014." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] Why didn’t Obi Wan take a Padawan during the Clone Wars?\n\nHe though Ahsoka was going to be his Padawan at first, but she was assigned to Anakin. But he was still more than prepared to take another Padawan of his own, so why didn’t he?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obi Wan was one of the High Jedi Generals. He was too busy dealing with the war to have a Padawan. Neither Mace Windu nor Shaak Ti the other High Jedi Generals listed on Wookieepedia had Padawan during the clone wars either." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If friction causes particles to heat up, why do we use fans to blow air against ourselves to cool down, and how does that work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When you sweat in still air you form a layer of saturated vapor above the skin, which eventually reaches a vapor-liquid equilibrium, meaning you can not evaporate more sweat because the air around you can no longer absorb any more vapor. The fan blows this layer away replacing it with air that more sweat can evaporate into. The heat needed for the evaporation (turning liquid into a gas requires energy, which is provided by your body) then cools the body. \n\nOf course friction takes place, but the amount of energy exchanged via friction is neglegible against this mechanism." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC] I've heard it mentioned that Superman's weaknesses are kryptonite and magic. Is he any more vulnerable to magic than humans are? The way he's more vulnerable to kryptonite?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's not that he's more vulnerable to magic, but that it even works on it. So the right spell can turn Superman into a frog, just like it'd turn any other human into a frog. Magic can do things to Superman that his superpowers can't do anything about." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "why are you responsible for you decision to drive drunk, but not your decision to have sex drunk?\n\nI know this is somewhat of a legal question, and law doesn't have to be philosophically consistent. but ignoring the law, how would you make a consistent rule about intoxicated consent and drunk driving?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Actually, just a little caveat to your question, under certain laws, like Ontario Law, you aren't always *fully* culpable for damage caused by drunk driving. Anyone who's ever done bartender training, for example, will be thoroughly made aware that establishments that serve alcohol can be held in part responsible for the damaged caused by a drunk driver that became drunk on their premises. Bars, taverns, whatever have been deemed obliged to ensure their patrons are not served too much and if they are served too much that they do not operate a vehicle. To the extent that a drunk driver can even sue a bar for the damage he/she caused." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Infinity War] What would happen if you used the Infinity Gauntlet twice?\n\nSpoilers ahead I guess.\n\nIf Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet twice, would everyone die or just three quarters?\nAs in, would it kill half the population first, and then the other half, OR would it kill half the population, and then half of the remaining population?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Funny answer is \\- the other half dies. \n\nReal answer \\- happens whatever the Gauntlet wielder wishes to happen, since Infinity Gauntlet bestows nigh\\-omnipotence, and it's not locked into \"Kill Half of the Universe\" mode on snap. It did precisely what Thanos wanted it to do, and if he were to use it again, it would do whatever he wished for again. Or it might melt off his arm, depending on how exactly it works in MCU." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I fucked up a conference talk. I love what I'm doing at the lab but I hate presenting my work. Can I avoid it?\n\nTitle. \n\nThis isn't the first talk I've messed up, even my bachelor's​ thesis defense presentation was pretty awful. I have my master's thesis coming up soon. \n\nMy boss (ScD, about 12 years older than me) says to think of it like theater, with only one actor - me. And, well, rehearse a lot. \n\nI know I can't avoid stuff like the defenses, but can I avoid everything else? If not, what can I do?\n\nPreferably not involving mind-altering substances. But I'm open to any suggestions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I think that the first thing to remember is that there are many (beginning and well-renowned) academics who quite literary read their paper as a way of presenting it. So while conferences are great for getting feedback on your work and networking, it's definitely not necessary that you must be a great public speaker in order to get these things out of them. So while it may not be the best thing for your career to avoid conferences completely, simply try not to be so hard on yourself or to take the actual presentation too seriously. In the end it's about the content.\r\r\rHowever, if you want to be better at presenting, there are public speaking courses available at many universities, and acting lessons indeed can't hurt. It's better to try and not hate the thing you hate (by being less hard on yourself or becoming better at it) than to just avoid what many perceive as a crucial aspect of academia." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Batman] What does the Joker really want exactly?\n\nWe are pretty aware that the Joker is the opposite of Batman in every way.\n\nBatman is dark and broody and black. The Joker is colourful and jolly and loves to laugh. \n\nThe Batman is dangerous and intimidating but holds back and vows to never kill and has some other rules. The Joker is menacing, cruel and terrifying and has basically no limits on how cruel his actions can be *(he once became the Emperor of the Universe with supernatural powers and he killed Batman repeatedly on a loop)*\n\nBatman is the embodiment of justice, control and order. The Joker is the embodiment of anarchy and chaos.\n\nThere are arch-enemies for a reason after all and the Joker is one the most mysterious characters.\n\nNot only he is only human, meaning he has no superpowers but he is able to fool or even scare superbeings **WAY** powerful than him *(which makes him even more terrifying)* but he don't know his origin story, we are not sure how he thinks becuase he is very random and unpredicatable *(unless there are things involving clowns, jokers and so on)* and we cannot be sure how he strikes or when which makes his psyche and motivations more mysterious. \n\nOf course, why and how he acts differs from character to character. \n\nIn the Killing Joke, we get to see a more human side of the Joker. He wants to prove to Batman that one day can make a person insane *(like Batman did when he was going but he chose to avenge his parents instead of succumbing into an even darker life than he already is)* but in the final few panels of the comic, when Batman offers him help, the Joker says that it's too late. It gives us the impression that there must be something that motivates him, like a trauma.\n\nBut in many occassions like the Injustice story or the Dark Knight Returns or even in the Nolan trilogy, he just wants chaos becuase he thinks that it is the only way. He wants Batman to kill him or he wants to the world in flames becuase he sees it that way.\n\nBut we never see why he continues to do these horrible things or wants his acts to carry on even when he is dead *(like in the Arkham storyline, he is dead but donated his blood to make the people of Gotham, including Batman, into Jokers)* or he wants Superman to get pissed off in Injustice and he became a dictator who is fanatic about order.\n\nIs there any motivation behind Joker's actions or is he just like that becuase like Alfred once said \"Some men just want to watch the world burn\"\n\n*(Note: I cannot say that he is insane becuase the legal definition of insanity says that the person was not sane or consciously in control of their actions during the moment of the crime but it seems that the Joker is pretty self-aware of his actions and intentionally so)*" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The joker only has one goal, expose hypocrisy. Specifically the hypocrisy of humanity's treatment of... *everything*.\n\nWe claim we value life, yet we don't act like it. Batman claims he values life, yet *all he has to do is kill the joker to preserve it*, and he can't.\n\nBatman isn't *better* than Joker, he just wants something different. They're the same, they're equal.\n\nBatman doesn't want to save lives, he wants to be *the batman*. If he wanted to save lives, he would kill the joker. \n\nJoker doesn't want to do that bullshit, he wants to be the joker. Batman wants to pretend to do bullshit, but still the batman.\n\n\nThat's not how it works. You are what you are, and you're a hypocrite for pretending otherwise." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Trek] Is the policy of allowing families to serve with Starfleet personnel on board starships seen as a general success? or do you think the policy will be abandoned?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Allowing for a family life aboard a research starship is important for boosting morale and allows for some of our brightest minds to research and explore for years at a time. After all, these are not warships." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:How does alcohol disinfect a wound or a given object?\n\nI'm intrested in the actual process that microorganisms suffer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Great question actually! Alchohol has a denaturalising effect on cell proteins. Bacterial cells are made differerent from ours, so with the right concentration in water (70% is considered ideal), the alcohol penetrates into the bacteria and only attacks our outer layers which turn hard and prevent further damage." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do most Mandarins have 11 segments?\n\nI've been counting them for a while, and some have twelve, some have 10, but the majority have 11. Why such a strange number?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The segments of the fruit are derived from carpels which are a part of the flower, so they will usually come in multiples of 3, 4, or 5. The carpel is part of the female reproductive organs and contains the ovules. So each segment will have seeds and the number of different segments will help with seed dispersal, etc. \n\nBut it's important to note some things. First is that developmental errors happen and can produce carpels in strange numbers. The second is that citrus fruit is almost never grown from seed. It's propagated by cutting a stem from a tree and grafting it onto a new plant. And they decide which stems to use based on the fruit. \n \nSo with your mandarins, what would have happened is that there was some mistake that caused a strange number of segments, and there was also some change that made a more desirable fruit. That could be thinner skin, more sugars, any number of things really. The important thing is that for some reason it co-occurred with the strange number of segments. \n \nSo when that fruit was propagated it was propagated for the positive changes, but it brought along the weird number of segments. And every mandarin has been propagated from that fruit, so the mandarins have the strange segment configuration." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: The STEM acronym should not change to STEAM to include the arts. Change my view.\n\nRecently I have begun seeing a trend of people saying “STEAM” major or “STEAM” field, meaning Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. \n\nArt fundamentally does not belong in this group. I am not saying that art majors are not important and that they should be discounted by any means, however these are just opposing fields. \n\nThe individual STEM fields are all different from each other in their own ways, however they incorporate similar basic principles (scientific method, problem solving, quantitative reasoning, mathematics, etc) that allow them to be grouped together that the arts simply do not have. This allows STEM to give a clear and concise idea of the types of disciplines being discussed. This re-branding devalues and convolutes what it means when we are telling kids to go into STEM fields. I find it hard to see a justification for how an art background qualifies someone to be in a group with the rest of the STEM disciplines. Change my view.\n\nEdit: I don’t believe that saying “creativity is important in STEM” is a justification for adding the art to STEM. Of course creativity is important, as it is in almost every field, but I do not believe that art is the only place that creativity can be derived. \n\nEdit 2: Really surprised and excited by all of the good feedback I got on this one! Here's what I have learned so far from reading your comments:\n\n- It seems that the fundamental question that needs to answered is what is the definition of \"Art\" in this context? Throughout the comments it seems like there was a lack of a consensus on what is truly meant by \"Art\" in this scenario. Clearly a tough question to answer, but is it more specific to humanities like history, literature, languages, and philosophy...or literally all forms of Art?\n\n- The movement to add the \"A\" to STEM seems to primarily be a push from educators who feel that STEM is being much higher valued at schools and that the Arts are being left behind in this movement. STEAM is not necessarily saying that Art is the same as the rest of STEM but it is saying that it deserves an equal place in education at the rest of the STEM disciplines do, a point which I would agree with.\n\n- Art and the traits that it enhances through learning it are vital to the STEM fields and people in general to have a well-rounded education. Without the Arts many of the great innovations in STEM would not be possible.\n\nWith all of that being said, I have learned a lot today but still hold to my original opinion that the change from \"STEM\" to \"STEAM\" is unnecessary. Until there is a clear definition of what courses, disciplines, and careers are being referred to with \"Art\", I feel as though the addition of the very broad term \"Art\" waters down the original intent of the STEM movement. If we are unable to define what is considered \"in\" and \"out\" for STEAM, then how can we expect the young students to understand it? \n\nI still fully understand the necessity and the power that the arts have in society, and by no means do I think that should be negated. However if the main reasoning behind the creation of \"STEAM\" is to help Arts not get left behind in schools, then that is not a valid justification for adding it to a group of disciplines where it just does not have much in common. Overall, the addition of the \"A\" simply does not make sense in this context, and it draws away from the original intent behind the STEM acronym." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I think you're missing out on the history of the use of these terms. First of all, STEM and STEM are terms in *education*. They're not \"fields.\" \n\nSTEM was prioritized in education because students (especially marginalized ones) find them intimidating... it's very easy to feel frozen out and isolated in them. People weren't choosing to major in them despite their benefit to society. So it makes sense educators might focus on them in a particular way, encouraging students to go into them.\n\nBut then, the pendulum swung too far the other way: people encoded the message \"STEM is all that matters.\" This is a problem, because arts education facilitates creative and problem-solving thinking in ways STEM courses can't: we were churning out people who smugly thought their majors were all that was important in the world, but their critical and creative thinking was, in some ways, weak and undeveloped.\n\nThis is a practical education issue." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Addams Family] what accounts for the Addams' enhanced durability?\n\nIn the 1960s series you see members of the Addams family use torture devices recreationally, and very cavalierly do rather dangerous things like use crossbows aimed at one another.\n\nIn the 1990s films they survive various things which would kill a normal human such as drops from great height, electrocution, being exploded, or drinking poison.\n\nIs there an explanation for their increased durability?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Selective breeding with abnormal and unusual partners. The branches of the family tree have at various points been linked to sasquatch, the loch ness monster, the elephant man, and count Dracula. While most will dismiss it aa flights of fancy the family's long history of enjoying less than traditional forms of beauty and regular exposure to dangerous and toxic environments has led to several abnormal adaptations. The family has by design or by chance created themselves as physical superior albeit aesthetically unattractive specimens. They are like our ancient neanderthals ancestors that had blood more resistant to infection and bodies built for colder climates and rougher living. They're still human just with adaptation and genetic predispositions that allow for faster recovery from and greater resistance to harm and toxins than your average person." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:What is the current state of Afghanistan? What has the U.S accomplished/not accomplished?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That's a really complex question, but I'll try and answer it for you.\n\nThe US has removed the Taliban from power, although they're still a very dangerous threat for the nation, with an estimated 20000+ members. Since 2001, over 5 million Afghanis who fled the country due to the dangers of living under the Taliban have returned. In 2011, over 8 million Afghani children were attending school (including over 3 million girls) when in 2000, there was barely 1 million attending school (with less than 500k being girls). Health care in the country has improved drastically, with the amounts of lives saved by improved healthcare estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands. US is currently training the Afghani Army to be able to handle it's own domestic and foreign security, so that US/ISAF forces aren't responsible for their protection.\n\n**However**, the Taliban are still a very real threat for the Afghani people, and that's evident by the Taliban being responsible for 75% of the 3000 civilian deaths in 2013. There's still over 2 million refugees in various parts of the world, majority being within Pakistan. Because opium grows so well in Afghanistan, a large number of farmers grow it. US hasn't found a way to convert these farmers to other crops, and doesn't want to just destroy the crops, out of fear the farmers will turn to the Taliban to protect their fields. So as a result, opium production in Afghanistan has increased to the point it now produces some 90% of the world's opium. \n\nSo the people's daily lives have been improved greatly, but there's still **a lot** to be done, and plenty of dangers for the people." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If all foetuses start as female before being changed by male sex hormones, what purpose do female sex hormones serve? [biology]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The fallacy that all foetuses are female has been around for quite a while. Every foetus is genetically either male or female while being anatomically bi-potential. Bi-potential genetalia, nervous, and endocrine systems await hormonal influence in order to differentiate towards the target sex. Without hormonal influence at the right times in foetal physical development the result is incomplete sexual development and differentiation." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do the different types of anesthesia work? How can you be knocked out through intense pain and woken back up at the anaesthesiologist's will?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "General anesthesia uses a variety of drugs to cause unconscious. They all take advantage of receptors already in your brain (primarily GABA receptor) to achieve this. When GABA is activated it inhibits and slows brain transmission eventually resulting in unconciousness. Even with unconscious your body will still have a response to pain( increased hr, bp and reflex movement) so to controller these we give opioids such as fentanyl to block pain transmission, and muscle relaxants to prevent movement. \n\n\nSpinal anesthesia uses the injection of local anesthetic ( think novacaine for your teeth) near the spine to block transmission of pain signals. So even though your body is reporting pain the brain never receives it.\n\n\nLocal anesthesia is the same type of numbing medicine as the spinal, but is injected directly into the area that they are working on." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Nutritional Value\n\nHow do companies and chefs determine the fat, carbs, fiber, ect. of their products and dishes?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You can burn things to determine calorie content, and you can also separate things by weight with a centrifuge (after blending) which can separate, for example, protein from fat. \n\nAfter this has been done once (or a few times) however, you can use already-known information about your ingredients to calculate how much of each nutrient ends up in the finished product. For example, 1/4 pound of ground beef (from a certain part of the cow, or certain combination of different parts) cooked a certain way would have a known nutritional value. McDonalds wouldn't need to test each product individually, and could instead use that known value to figure out nutritional content of a double burger, for example." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Marvel]Did NASA, or any space program, know that Titan had life on it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thanos' homeworld of Titan is not the moon of Saturn with the same name, but rather a planet orbiting another star. As such it is almost certainly far too far away for any space agency to have even detected the fact that it exists, let alone whether it has an atmosphere indicative of life." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why is ibogaine, a substance known to aid fantastically in treating/curing drug addiction, illegal for medical use in the USA?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From Wikipedia:\n\n>Ibogaine is classified as a Schedule I-controlled substance in the United States, and is not approved there for addiction treatment (or any other therapeutic use) because of its hallucinogenic, neurotoxic, and cardiovascular side effects, as well as the scarcity of safety and efficacy data in human subjects.\n\nSo basically, it has some pretty serious side effects, and there ~~are~~ aren't enough human studies to demonstrate that it's safe, or actually useful at treating specific illnesses/symptoms." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Can temperature decrease in a closed system while entropy increases?\n\nFor example if I have a bowl of water at room temperature, it will slowly evaporate, will that increase entropy while decreasing temperature, or will the pressure increase keep the temperature the same? Is there some other way to do it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A sufficiently interesting example: if you have an isolated vessel, with a wall separating it into two chambers, and you have a real (ideal doesn't work) gas in one of them and vacuum in the other, when you remove the wall the gas expands to fill all the chamber. This is called free or Joule expansion.\n\nEntropy increases because this process is obviously irreversible. Temperature changes; for almost all gases in most conditions this is a decrease (though there are a few exceptions), in that case here's your example.\n\nNote this cannot work with an ideal gas, as these have U = 3/2 NkT, so that since U is constant (as the vessel is thermally isolated and no work is ever performed on the gas) then also T must remain constant." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:If things like Google Now and Siri are so good at voice recognition, how come youtube automatic annotations are so terrible?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Siri and Google only have to understand a few things, but if you want to translate general speech like in a youtube video you must understand everything. If Siri doesn't quite understand what you've said, she can assume that what you were saying was a question, as that was the purpose of Siri. The youtube annotation translator can't make nearly as many assumptions, which means it has to rely much more on its actually translation ability, which is not great." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why aren't corporations subject to a \"means\" test while the general public is?\n\nA $1200 a month check is limited to people making under a certain amount( congress is still voting on the deal so details could change). Why arent corporations that make much more than the average person subject to limitations? Arent corporations people too or not?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I assume you're talking about the \"bailout\" part of the bill. There isn't a specific \"means test\" because the candidate companies are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The Amazon's and Apple's of the country will not be receiving aid because they don't need it.\n\nFurthermore, the goal of the business aid is very different than the aid provided to citizens. The business aid is intended to help otherwise good, profitable businesses survive this temporary shock without resorting to drastic measures such as laying off employees. It is not intended to prop up failing businesses that will lose a lot of money no matter what. The citizen aid is intended to help out anyone struggling to get through these times and allowing them to afford their very basic needs." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Horror] Could a tar pit stop Michael Myers for good?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Current canon: yes.\n\nMichael is just a man. An extremely evil man, but he still requires oxygen to breath and food to eat and falling into a large tar pit is a death sentence if no one tries to rescue him.\n\nThe problem is people underestimate Michael and that gives him a chance to keep going. He is not a supernatural force, just an extremely evil person who keeps getting lucky when avoiding capture or escaping." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Harry Potter] Why do wizards even have house elves? From what we've seen magic can easily be used to do most household chores, so why bother with an elf? Is there anything wizards actually need or want that only house elves can do?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There's really not a lot a elf can do that a wizard can't do themselves. But that could be said for most domestic servants. The family of the house *could* cook their own meals, change their own sheets, drive their own car, or restock their own pantry, but they'd rather have someone else do it for them. It's the same with elves.\n\nAlso, a big one is food prep. Hogwarts for instance has a small army of elves preparing the food for the meals, which is then teleported up to the Great Hall. Certain parts of the process can be automated, but you still need someone at or near the stove to keep things in order; there's no going \"poof, it's a ham\". If a wizard wants a quality meal at home and doesn't have the time to cook it themselves, an elf or elves need to get involved." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Do the pupils of heterochromic people contract and retract at different rates? Does eye color affect the speed at which your pupils contract/retract?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not at all. Eye color is just basically the pigment present in the iris. \n\nAlso some clarification on ophthalmologic terminology, pupils don’t “contract” - they “constrict”. They don’t “retract” either. You probably mean “constrict” and “dilate” as you’re referring to the pupils.\n\n“Contract” is a generic term for a muscle’s action, while “retract” is term used for the eyelid (e.g. Lid retraction, or pulling up your eyelids - the action of your levator palpebrae superioris muscle).\n\nNow going back to your question, do the pigments in the iris change pupillary dilatation/constriction? Nope. Not at all. Dilatation/constriction are regulated by reflex arcs, controlled by the ANS (autonomic nervous system). Your oculomotor nerve is responsible for constriction, while sympathetic nerves control dilation. The iris’ pigment has absolutely no relevance with the reflex arcs/nerves. \n\nHope this helped!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Eli5: Why does a head cold slow you down so much both mentally and physically?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Am not a doctor and have no physiological or medical background but at a guess I'd say the body is directing as much energy and resources to the core site of viral or bacterial infection. This can leave the rest of the body a little...logey." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Since we are supposed to be consumers, what would happen to the economy if everyone drastically reduced the amount of money they spend on a regular basis?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Less consumerism means fewer sales. Fewer sales mean fewer profits. Fewer profits mean downsizing, lost efficiency, lost jobs, businesses closing down, markets shrinking.\n\nIt's really quite problematic because from an environmental perspective we should be massively downsizing our consumerism. But it also results in significant socio-economic problems if we did." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[ELI5] When women are ovulating, how does their body decide which egg goes next? Is there a specific order or do they just randomly fall out?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There is an element of randomness.\n\nThe group of cells that produce a single \"egg\" is called a follicle. They respond to a hormone known as Follicle Stimulating Hormone (or FSH for short), released by a part of the brain. When more FSH is released in the early part of the menstrual cycle several follicles, around 15 to 20, will start to respond by becoming more mature.\n\nAs the follicles mature they start to produce other hormones of their own. These hormones do two things (well, more than two, but two that matter for this topic) at the same time - they start to reduce the amount of FSH that is released, and they start to make that particular follicle more sensitive to whatever FSH does still get released.\n\nIt might then be easiest to think of this as a competitive process. The follicle that has the quickest and strongest response both matures faster and prevents the other follicles from responding to the signal. Eventually this dominant follicle matures to the point of ovulation which results in another set of hormone changes that allow the rest of the cycle to proceed. Some of the follicles that matured to a certain point but didn't become the dominant follicle will \"die\" at this point, and a new set will start to mature in the next cycle." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Canada is raising interest again to prevent a recession. How does this work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "First you have to realize it’s all related to inflation. Inflation simply means that goods and services cost more now than they used to. Next you have to understand the law of supply and demand and how they relate to pricing. If supply is high and demand is low, prices go down. If demand is high and supply is low, prices go up. Combining these two, we can understand that prices are going up, because demand for those good and services is going up. \n\nSo how does changing interest rates affect this? Well when interest rates are low, companies and people tend to take on more loans, since they are able to get that money cheaply. With more money to spend, they want to make use of that money, so they buy goods and services. But as already discussed, that means more demand, which means prices go up even more. But we don’t want prices to go up now, we want prices to go down. The only way to make prices go down is to either increase the supply more than the demand (something that a government can’t do in a capitalist society) or decrease demand. How can they decrease demand? Raise interest rates. With higher interest rates, companies and individuals do not borrow as much. As interest rates get higher, not only are they not borrowing as much, they are instead saving more and more of the money they do have. \n\nSo raising interest rates lowers the amount of money being spent on goods and services, which lowers demand, which lowers prices." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] Starkiller Base insanity.\n\nOk, questions I searched but couldn't find good answers:\n\n1) They say it's an FTL weapon, why does the beam visibly crawl through space?\n\n2) Since planets are like millionth the size of a star, how does it eat a star? And just gets 1 shot per star?\n\n3) Shouldn't striking multiple planets require multiple beams, rather than 1 beam that splits for no apparent reason halfway there?\n\n4) What are the odds of all 5 target planets being so close they can all be seen form a 6th planet? How small is that galaxy anyway?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The official explanation for the oddities surrounding the actual blast from Starkiller base is that it creates a rip in hyperspace, hence why a planet that's halfway across the galaxy from the target system can see the shot.\n\nAs for how it eats a star, it seems it doesn't eat the whole thing - only enough to destabilize the star to the point where it falls apart - not into a nova, but simply dissipates the rest of the starstuff." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: if a lightyear is the distance light travels in one year, how do we know something is 1000 light years away? Would we not have to wait 1000 years before we know, or do we use something other than light to measure objects in space?\n\nI know VERY little on the subject so would appreciate a basic explanation please!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For distant stars and galaxies, there's some highly educated guesswork based on apparent speed and brightness, but for closer ones, there's actually a really intuitive method called **parallax**!\n\nIt works like this: suppose there's some distant object like a mountain that you want to know the distance to. Notice that as you walk sideways, closer objects like trees appear to pass you much faster than the mountain. This is the parallax effect.\n\nTo use it mathematically, simply measure how far you walked, and how far you had to rotate your head to keep the mountain in view. Now the start point, end point, and the mountain itself form a triangle, of which you know the measure of one side and two angles. Using trigonometry, this is enough information to determine the remaining sides, which are the distance between you and the mountain! \n\nIt would be difficult to walk far enough on earth to see a measurable change in the location of a star, but we can \"walk\" the entire earth just by waiting 6 months for it to be on the opposite side of its orbit. This enables us to calculate the position of nearby stars, without actually going to them." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Highlander] An Immortal in Afghanistan is decapitated by shrapnel in a drone strike piloted remotely from Nevada. Who gets the Quickening?\n\nAs far as I'm aware, the Quickening goes to the one who kills the Immortal. Would that still happen here, despite it not being a duel, and the killer not being present? Would it go to the nearest survivor? Dissipate back to the Source?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the tv show, if an immortal is beheaded outside the presence of another immortal the quickening is lost and just disappears.\n\n\nIf the guy piloting the drone is an immortal then it’s kind of iffy. I’m the show there was a plot line about a guy who would use a crew of guys with machine guns to incapacitate other immortals and then behead them while they were recovering. He still went through the effort of cutting their head off with a sword though so it’s probably a necessary component in getting the quickening. Is guess the quickening would still be lost." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why do people sleep with pillows? Is this just social conditioning, or are there physiological reasons to use them? Are there cultures that get by just fine without them?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "People have been sleeping with something to support their heads in almost every culture since at least the ancient Mesopotamians. For a long, long time, the gold standard for everyday people was a carved wooden stand that held your head at a comfortable angle while you slept on your side, or a shorter one that went under the nape of your neck if you liked to sleep on your back. A well made one could last for years or decades if you were careful with it. The wealthy used down pillows that were a lot more expensive and had a tendency to wear out after a couple years, requiring more frequent, costly replacement. \n\nSlightly more recent, Eurocentric history shows pillows stuffed with hay, wool, or rags (or some mix of the three) being used by commoners. Down pillows were still the height of comfort and sophistication for the wealthy though. \n\nModern polystuff pillows mimic the comfort of down at a fraction of the cost." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Mythology] What are possible uses for a fragment of adamantine, a mythical metal that cannot be shaped or damaged by mortal means?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Assuming it's got a sharp point, you could use it to make a scribing tool that will mark anything.\n\nConsidering it's supernatural properties, and assuming magic exists too, then it might be able work as a kind of focus or battery for magical power." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What makes mirrors reflective?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For this, it’s important to understand what light is, an electric and magnetic field that changes in strength as it travels as a wave.\n\nWhen it hits a conductor, like a metal, the electrons in the metal move freely, riding the wave up and down like a beach ball on the ocean. But when those electrons move, that motion causes another electromagnetic field to form. The one from the electron ends up canceling the one that is the light going forward, and you’re left with only the one from the electron going backward. Hence, reflection.\n\nWhat’s weirder is that the electrons have a limit on how fast they can move, and if the light is too high a frequency, the electrons are getting pushed from both directions rather than riding the wave, so stay still. So they stop reflecting. The properties of the metal in question change their upper limit on how fast they can move, which causes certain metals to stop reflecting certain colors at different parts of the spectrum. Copper stops reflecting in the red, gold in the greenish-yellow, and silver or aluminum in the UV. This is why metals have different colors." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[ELI5] What actually makes security hacking work?\n\nI just don't get it. Is it some glorified way of installing viruses? What really is it, how do people get access to stuff like that?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The most common form of hacking secure networks is by social engineering ways into legitimate accounts. As long as *someone* has access to the data, it will always be possible to get access to it without permission. Direct hacking is also possible, but often unnecessary, and much more complicated to explain." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How can casinos tell if you're counting cards playing blackjack?\n\nUnless you were actively illegally cheating aren't they just banning players based on a hunch?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There are certain red flags that can alert them, including:\n\n- Players watching the cards more intently than others; \n\n- Players sitting at \"third base\" (the last hand to be dealt to - a preferred spot because you can see more of the cards before making a decision);\n\n- Players watching what other cards come out before putting out a split or double wager; \n\n- Bets varying up and down dramatically (this is the most significant thing); and \n\n- Deviations from basic strategy.\n\nSome pit bosses also have a rudimentary knowledge of card counting, so if they start counting a shoe themselves, and see a player raise and lower their bets at the \"right\" times, this too will be a red flag (admittedly they won't know what exact system you're using, but all systems generally have you increase your bets when the conditions are to the player's advantage).\n\nCasinos also have cameras pointing at *everything*, so someone, somewhere can be remotely watching even *more* closely to determine if the player is probably counting. \n\nHaving said all that, it's not like they have to establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt; it's a private company so they can just tell you they don't want your business if they believe you're counting cards.\n\nEDIT: You referred to \"cheating\" in your post (perhaps inadvertently); for anyone wondering, card counting isn't cheating by any reasonable definition. You're accessing the same information all the other players have, and you're making betting and playing decisions that you're allowed to make. The only thing you're doing differently is mentally keeping track of that publicly available information, and using it to make certain decisions. It all happens inside your head. That's not cheating. It's thinking." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What would happen if Elon Musk decided to transfer his net worth to liquid cash, then spend it?\n\nWould it destroy the economy, or would it fix all our problems?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wouldn’t do really anything.\n\nHe is worth $200 billion. Say he sells it all in a fire sale and nets $150 billion. He just exchanged $150 of assets for cash. If he uses the cash it ripples as that is income for someone else who can spend and so on. If he doesn’t spend the bank will lend it out over time for whatever the needs of the lenders are. If he kept it in physical cash that may make a small dent in the economy but nothing notable (there is $22.3 trillion of cash in the USA. .15 trillion probably won’t change the world)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC] Why dosent lex Luthor cure cancer or something?\n\nThis has legitimately been bugging me. Lex Luthor is the most intelligent man on Earth in the DC Universe. He bulit is Fortune from scratch all by himself. But he waste all of his time and effort fighting Superman and the Justice League. Im being dead serious he is a genius with tech like that he could cure cancer or something solve world hunger or the energy crisis. Why doesn't fix all the worlds problems when he is more than capable?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He doesn't want to cure cancer. He wants to ~~turn people into dinosaurs~~ beat Superman.\n\nWhile he hides it a lot better than those guys who dress up like clowns, or wear their furry suits to commit crimes, or dress up like clowns in furry suits, but Lex Luthor is still an irrational person with mental health issues." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC] do superheroes routinely check up on the suburbs surrounding cities, or have villains learned to move crime out of urban areas?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's been seen on occasion. Spider-Man once had a very difficult time tracking down a criminal who commuted into NYC from the suburbs. (ASM 267, \"The Commuter Cometh!\", which was paid tribute to in Spider-Man Homecoming)\n\nSupervillains are likely easier to spot and track in suburbs and unless they're in particularly wealthy areas then there isn't enough payoff to make it worth the risk." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 Why do laptops (almost) always get their expectation of remaining battery life wrong?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "if you boot up your laptop and then let it idle for half an hour, the app that calculates battery life assumes that with THIS processor load you'll have hours-and-hours of standby-time\n\nnow you start playing a game, processor works 66% capacity, graphics card kicks in, heat rises, fans pop to active...\n\nand therefore, now the app assumes: **29 minutes** (and starts planning to dim your display)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat] Why did the other soldiers not like Rita?\n\nIt seems that the other soldiers aren't fond of Rita, giving her a rather unflattering nickname in 'Full Metal Bitch' and one soldier even going as far as to say that to her face. Why is this the case though? Didn't she basically win the battle of Verdun for them? Seems like she should be venerated as an angel, like the public seems to think." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her actions at Verdun, without the context of the time powers, may have looked coldly pragmatic to witnesses (ignoring pleas of soldiers she'd already attempted to save in previous resets, as a possible example.)\n\nHer personality was also fairly callous. This, too, may have been a result of her experience with the time loop. Cruise' character goes through a change of personality to match his perspective. Rita probably had a similar experience that left her jaded." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] What do you actually have to do to achieve the Rank of Jedi Master? Why can you be on the council but not a Master?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anakin was a special case, normally people are not allowed on the council without being masters. \n\nBecause Anakin was so integral to their plan to investigate Palpatine, he was given permission to serve on the council - likely as an advisory position but without actual power to command the Jedi Order (most likely because he was too young an inexperienced, and not emotionally stable enough to trust with that much authority)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: When you pass out after they give you general anesthesia for surgery, why does it feel like you've only been passed out for a few seconds when it's been way longer?\n\nThis has happened to me also when I used to use heroin, didn't even know you OD'd until you wake up with the paramedics, it's like instant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most anethesia doesn't cause \"sleep\" it causes uncouciousness. This why too much will kill you. It would take more to OD on melatonin (which doesn't even cause sleepiness, just enables sleepiness, if everything else aligns). Anesthesia interrupts concious thought and stops it, interrupting your ability to keep track of time/logic/what-have-you." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5- Do nuclear weapons expire?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not just do the cores themselves degrade over time, the actual machinery in a nuclear missile will degrade rather quickly over time.\n\nThe missiles also use particular types of fuel that is highly corrosive, so they can't be kept fueled all the time. \n\nBasically, the whole process around a single nuclear missile, its silo and all the support equipment is very sensitive to degradation over time. It's extremely expensive to keep these missiles in a ready-to-launch situation." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:why is cold water so much colder after eating a mint?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "**Menthol is the chemical in peppermint that stimulates the cold-sensitive nerve receptors in the tongue and skin. It does not cause a drop in temperature, just the sensation of that. Other chemicals that trigger temperature sensations are capsaicin (chili peppers) and zingerone (ginger) which both cause a sensation of heat (but don't change the temperature).**" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why is it more comforting to have even the thinnest blanket covering when sleeping?\n\nIt is just about being covered, really. I asked around a bit and most agreed they would even cover themselves in the hottest nights of the year.\n\nBut why?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It blocks convection cooling (aka. wind draft cooling).\n\nIf your bedroom temperature is above your skin temperature ~35°C (or 95°F), then you will feel more comfortable without the blanket. But anything below that will feel uncomfortable because convection cooling is x10 more efficient than other cooling and is triggered by your body being hotter than the room.\n\nWhat happen is a part of your body feel slightly too cold, and your body will heat it up a little bit. But that area is now slightly hotter than the air in the room, this causes a tiny draft of air to raise out of that area to be replaced by slightly colder air. This is efficient at cooling and your body need to work extra hard on that area that it didn't want to be that cool in the first place. If you have a blanket (no matter how thin) that gets in the way of that draft, it's much more comfortable.\n\nHairy people tend to not mind that draft, as the body hair is sufficient to get in the way." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Fallout] Hypothetically, what would Canada be like in the Fallout world with the culture being 50s inspired?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If Canada survived, they're going to hate America's guts. And Canada may not have survived.\n\nCanada basically got hijacked at gunpoint by the US in the years before the nukes flew. Having twisted Canada's arm into letting them place military units on the Canadian west coast to protect the Anchorage -> Lower 48 oil pipeline, those forces adopted a policy that can be described as \"whatever we want, whenever we want, and fuck the locals\". And after several years of acting like they owned a place, pissing off the locals and provoking resistance, the Americans stepped it up to actually annexing Canada and brutally smacking down any military or civilian forces. By all indications, the action was brutal. Shit was so rough that when it was time to show film reel to the U.S. public, they chose a *gunshot execution of an unarmed, kneeling Canadian citizen* as the face of the annexation, and narratives by participants (like Randall Clark >!aka the Father in the Cave!< from the Honest Hearts DLC) suggest that it was pretty much a big pile of war crimes against Canada's population.\n\nHandicapped by that invasion taking down their military and civilian command and control structures, and (to our best knowledge) lacking a parallel to Vaultec to build large underground shelters, any Canadians who survived the nukes would have a long row to hoe in terms of rebuilding. Fewer groups would be able to hold out long enough to establish tribal-level communities, and as far as we can tell no NCR-tier nation-states have emerged in the generations following the war and the emergence from the American vaults. There may be nothing left up there worth describing... or there could be some descendants of the old Canadian partisans, who remember the sins of the past, and are waiting for the right moment for revenge." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why can't all pills be chewable and fruit flavored?\n\nI have to take a pill twice a day for my abnormal cholesterol and it tastes awful, I have to drink it very quickly with orange juice, and if it touches my tongue it tastes like rotten lemons, Why can't all pills be like flinstones vitamins?\n\nEDIT: Thanks for all the answers, I understand why they can't all be chewable, but still a little sugar coating wouldn't hurt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Probably several reasons, but here's what occurs to me first:\n\nChewing a tablet releases the medicine much more quickly, and can allow it to be absorbed much quicker, too. For some medicines that's a good thing. But other medicines simply *aren't supposed* to be absorbed quickly, and need a delayed release for maximum effect.\n\nMaking it taste like delicious raspberries would just *encourage* people to chew it quickly, defeating the point of the pill in the first place. If it tastes like rotten lemons, you're going to get it down with as little interference as possible." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[StarWars] Why did Yoda need to tell Obi-Wan that there is another?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was more of a reassuring gesture than a need. Obi-Wan hand delivered Leia and Luke to their new families, and since Anikan was The Chosen One there was little doubt his children would be force sensitive. But as Luke leaves Obi-Wan is worried because he sees Luke as their last hope, Yoda is too old and they don't have much time. Yoda saying there is another is just a gentle reminder that if the worst comes to pass there is still hope in Leia." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Why did doctors used to recommend heavy drinkers switch from vodka or gin to whiskey under the guise that whiskey was healthier?\n\nI've read that Ian Fleming's doctor recommended that he switch from a fifth of gin a day to bourbon. Dean Martin's apocryphal last words were \"I never should've switched from bourbon to martinis.\" Why was whiskey regarded as healthier?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I can't speak for doctors in the early 1900s, but Vodka and Gin go down much too easy and provide far less of a hangover due to their makeup (they are distilled, often, 3-5 times, removing a greater portion of the impurities that cause hangovers). This is why the greater portion of alcoholics are Gin or vodka drinkers.\n \nBourbon, however, punishes you if you drink it too much, making you realize the damage you've done. \n \nSource: career bartender." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do moral realists hold that only one ethical system is true when math seems to accept multiple systems?\n\nFor example, mathematicians seem to treat both Euclidean and non Euclidean systems as \"true\" or equally valid, same for sets like integers, reals, complex etc. Do I misunderstand moral realism in thinking that this is not analogously the case in their ethical systems? A tangential question, does mathematical realism help clarify this?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "> For example, mathematicians seem to treat both Euclidean and non Euclidean systems as \"true\" or equally valid, same for sets like integers, reals, complex etc.\n\nActual space is either Euclidean or non-Euclidean, but certainly not both." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How do birds mimic human speech without lips?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not sure this is what you are looking for, but you know of course that your electronic devices pretty accurately replicate your voice without lips? At its root, sound is varying air pressure. Any thing that can do that within the spectral limitations of human hearing can replicate anything humans can hear, including biological forms of a loudspeaker. Your means of doing that is learned and uses lips and other stuff. A loudspeaker is a membrane, a coil, a magnet. Birds have other stuff to do the same thing." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Silmarillion]How much of Turin's shitty life was caused by himself? Would Morgoth not cursing his family change it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A lot of it was on him. Morgoth caused most of the strife and unfortunate circumstances that followed him, but he made the situation (much) worse through his selfishness and pride. \n\nUsually when people close to him are explicity warning him of the mistake he's making, no less. Leaving Doriath when Mablung suggested he not, ignoring Ulmo of all people and telling Nargothrond to fight out in the open, screwing over the Folk of Haleth. It's not like he didn't know." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What's an obnoxiously difficult to understand paragraph from a philosophy text?\n\nMy friends don't study philosophy, but keep hearing from me about how difficult the language used is. I'm giving them a 'one paragraph challenge', where they have to figure out what a single paragraph of extremely precise language means.\n\nPlease be as obtuse as possible. Annoyingly hard to understand words would be ideal. It can't be something that makes no sense outside of the context of other surrrounding paragraphs; it has to stand on its own. Has to be from a textbook philosopher, like Kant or Hegel or Locke or whatever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From Søren Kierkegaard's Sickness unto Death:\n“The self is a relation which relates itself to its own self, or it is that in the relation that the relation relates itself to its own self; the self is not the relation but that the relation relates itself to its own self.”" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: If you don't believe a person can be racist or sexist unless there is a system which helps to actualize such a prejudiced orientation in life, then to be logically consistent you need to apply the same reasoning to other beliefs and values, as with, e.g., communism or freedom of speech.\n\nIn the last 10-15 years a certain belief has become popular among the left, viz., that people of certain races and genders and so forth cannot be racist or sexist if they lack power and privilege in their societies. They can be prejudiced, according to this theory, but they lack the means to actually be racist or sexist because they cannot actualize their prejudice in a systemic way that oppresses others.\n\nConversely, it is only those in power (as with whites and males) who can be racist and sexist, because their prejudices are systematically reinforced and actualized by institutional and historical forces.\n\nIf this reasoning is valid---and I am not sure it is---then it should be applied to other beliefs, biases, prejudices, and values. For example, somebody who believes this line of reasoning should also believe you cannot be a communist if you live in a capitalist society. Why? Because that person lacks the systemic support to implement their beliefs. Hence, they are not actually a communist since they lack the power to implement their ideas.\n\nAnd this goes for all other values and beliefs. Again, for example, you can't be a Muslim in a Christian nation since you can't actualize your Muslim values in a systemic manner.\n\nI just came up with this line of reasoning in the last few days, so I'm sure there are holes in my logic and I look forward to my view being changed----at least partially!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": ">you cannot be a communist if you live in a capitalist society.\n\nI'd agree with this. You can have communist opinions, but without a way to make it reality you can't really be a communist. \n\n>you can't be a Muslim in a Christian nation\n\nBut not this, because religion is not dependent on external circumstances." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Trek] How is it possible for alien species to cross breed with humans?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In short: The Galaxy was 'seeded' by an alien race, which resulted in many races having evolutionary paths that lead to near-similar results.\n\nThis can work with Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development, which postulates that \"similar planets with similar environments and similar populations tend to gravitate toward similar biological developments over time.\" Somehow, this also spreads sociologically, such as the Kohms and the Yangs, the Yangs even possessing a Declaration of Independence and Constitution nearly identical to 18th Century America's." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the same way that we \"presume innocence\" in a court of law, should we \"presume false\" for any proposition?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I do think there is an analogue to presumption of innocence in court with what our attitudes towards claims to be, but it actually goes the other way around. That is, when someone makes some claim (asserts some proposition), unless we have some reason to doubt that claim, we generally presume that it is true. If we didn't, communication would be impossible.\n\nSuppose your friend says to you \"I saw Black Panther yesterday.\" An appropriate response might be something like \"Cool, how was it?\" This presumes that what they say is true. It would be quite odd for you to presume that what they are saying is false, or even to remain agnostic on whether or not what they say is true. So, there's a general attitude of \"innocence till proven guilty\" at play here; you presume that what your friend is saying is true, unless there's some particular reason to doubt him.\n\nRobert Brandom calls this sort of innocent till proven guilty principle that is at play in discourse the \"default and challenge structure of entitlement.\" So the default stance is to take people to be entitled to their assertions, and only if we have some grounds to challenge these assertions do we." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV:Religion should not be a protected class in anti-discrimination laws\n\n(Talking about America and the west in general) Currently, if an employer is, beyond a reasonable doubt, proven to have fired/not hired someone for their sex, ethnicity or religion, that's deemed illegal.\n\nLet's ignore the fact that sexual orientation isn't on that list and focus on this. All of these traits share a common characteristic : They're innate and cannot be changed. A man cannot become a biological woman, a white person cannot become a black person, and (afaik) a gay person cannot become straight. Except for religion.\n\nI see no reason for religion to be treated similarly. I know a lot of people are born into religious beliefs, but there's no legal barrier preventing you from choosing not to believe in or practise a religion. I think an employer should have the right to fire someone for being Christian, like they would if they just didn't like their attitude.\n\nYou wouldn't call someone bigoted for saying they generally are more likely to dislike republicans/democrats because they disagree with them, so why make that distinction for religion, when in the end it's all more or less an opinion?\n\nThat being said, my research is shallow, this is mostly just mental gymnastics I thought up randomly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": ">All of these traits share a common characteristic : They're innate and cannot be changed. \n\nWell because of the inclusion of religion, which is one of the first protected classes recognized by the United States government, this is not the common characteristic between them. The common characteristic is that these are all social classes that have been historically used to justify discrimination. Discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, disability, and of course religion is well-rooted in American history and society. To ignore religion on the basis of \"you can change it\" (which is not always the case since religion isn't simply tied to belief but is often tied to ethnic heritage and cultural traditions i.e. Judaism) is to overlook one of the greatest sources of discrimination in American culture." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are plants biologically immortal?\n\nUnlike most animals, I've never heard of plants actually dying from old age." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No. Though some of them may be (some animals as well). Annuals (as the name suggest) live only for one year. The leaves on shrubs die every year, but the stem and roots remain alive. Something similar happens in perennial grasses. Plants are structured around tissues, and have few organs so it is hard to define \"ageing\". To add problems is the fact that no one really dies of \"old age\"; creatures die of age related stuffs; and for plants that have RELATIVELY simple organs and internal structures i have problem imagining what age-related problems they could have." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: social media is ruining political debates/conversations\n\nSocial media is an outlet for a lot of people to talk, tell stories, share experiences and news, etc. \nThe problem I have with social media and politics is the rumoring and free reign for many to twist details and frame stories to fit their viewpoints. I see some examples of this and will link to some when i find more. \nI am young (younger teen), so are my friends/people I follow. And for my age there are some really strong views on recent events that lean heavily one way or the other, and therefore i see only what this person feels is the absolute. \nThe reason I say that debates are ruined by social media is because these stories that I see heavily lean in either direction and people become extremely biased to one side or another and it makes it hard for people to open up to the other side of the debate\nThe experiences I have on social could be much different than others and I would love to hear some opinions that change my mind on this matter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I dont think it's ruined political conversation because political conversations have mostly been trash from before the internet was conceived. It's why spouses have warned eachother not to discuss politics at the dinner table at Thanksgiving. Because it always dissolves into a bunch of ill informed nonsense screaming matches. Social media just makes it more visible." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 What would happen if the USA pulled all troops from around the globe and stopped involvement in foreign affairs?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Day 1: Taiwan falls to china. Japan announces a plan for a nuclear weapons program in a last ditch effort to deter chinese aggression. North Korea invades South Korea. China denies bankrolling and supplying NK but everyone knows better. \n\nDay 4: Israel announces an easing of restrictions on Palestinian citizens. They offer a legitimate plan for a Palestinian state in an attempt to hold off Arab aggression. It fails.\n\nDay 7: Russia retakes portions of Eastern Europe. Economic sanctions be damned. EU nations begin considering development of nukes and a return to conscription. \n\nDay 10: Republicans take credit for huge budget surplus.\n\nDay 11: unemployment spikes after soldiers become unemployed, democrats announce a return if FDR style make work projects for young men.\n\nDay 30: China continues to expand into SE Asia.\n\nDay 45: Putin is assassinated.\n\nDay 1009: Two hairdressers crawl out of a destroyed subway station. They admire a 6 eyes cat before clubbing it to death and eating it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Why does the human body eat muscle before fat when it's in starvation mode?\n\nI would think (but could be totally wrong) that your body would want to eat the fat first in order to preserve the muscles, which would help with survival odds. What happened biologically/evolutionarily that made it this way instead, and why?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While your premise isn't entirely correct that protein metabolism and fat metabolism happen sequentially, one right after the other, you are on to something here.\n\nAn important issue is that glucose is the preferred form of energy especially for your brain, and your body will attempt to keep the level of glucose in your bloodstream stable. Your reserves of glucose are in the liver. Once those are depleted, protein is essentially carbohydrate with added nitrogen. So, in order to maintain your blood sugar, your body will metabolize amino acids into carbohydrate by stripping the nitrogen (and throwing it away in your urine), and converting into glucose.\n\nYour brain's second most favorite food, after glucose, is ketone bodies, which are created from fat. The metabolism of ketone bodies is the goal of the Atkins diet." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What happens that makes beer taste terrible after warming up and then re-chilling? What makes beer 'skunky'?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Skunking occurs when beer is exposed to certain wavelengths of light. This is why beer is typically bottled in brown bottles. Clear and green bottles protect the beer less, which is why popular brands in those color bottles often have the distinctive flavor. \n\nThe chemical responsible for the distinctive flavor is called MBT, and is produced when the energy in light causes the riboflavin (produced by yeast during fermentation) in beer to chemically react with the alpha acids from the hops." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why is eating fiber (which goes through my digestive system) good for my heart?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Your body uses cholesterol to make bile, which is what allows you to break down fats in the small intestines. Fiber binds cholesterol in your food and the bile you secrete. That bile would otherwise be reabsorbed into your body. So the fiber gets the bile out through feces, and your body is forced to make more bile from the cholesterol you have in your body. Without getting into too much detail, high levels of some types of cholesterol can cause blood vessel damage, which is why its bad for your 'heart.'" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why is Nvidia buying ARM? Why is ARM so important, and why aren't other companies interested?\n\nLike the title, I've heard a lot about Nvidia's purchase of ARM. Why is ARM so important and what does it do? Why aren't other, larger companies trying to buy ARM?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "ARM licenses the intellectual property for a line of small, low power microprocessor cores. They are used in most cell phones and tablets today. They are also starting to be used in server farms, because heat is a big deal in that application and their processing power/watt is good. \n \nA lot of companies wouldn't want ARM because they are incredibly expensive. Some companies wouldn't want it because if they owned ARM then other ARM users would bail and look for other solutions, making it much less valuable. \n \nNvidia has great processors for graphics and artificial intelligence, but no general purpose processor. Until now. They can't really get into the x86 market, but unless you want to play in the PC space that isn't necessary. Having ARM gives them a full IP set for a lot of applications that are going to be big. They will also not only get the licensing revenue from other people using ARM, but they can also fuck over potential competitors." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How can the sum of infinite rational numbers be an irrational number?\n\nThere are convergent series where every term is a rational number, and the sum (the limit of the sequence of partial sums) is an irrational number. An example is the serie formed by the sequence 1/n!, whose sum is e, an irrational number. \n\nOn the other hand, the sum of two rational numers is always a rational number.\n\nHow is this possible?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This is actually how the reals are defined: the reals are defined by a collection of values such that for each value v some series of rationals that \"Cauchy converges\" (roughly, a series where all partial sums sufficiently far into the it are all arbitrarily closer to each other) cannot be separated from v.\n\nFor example, let's consider the series 3 + .1 + .04 + .001 + ... = 3.141... If we were to write out more digits, we'd get more digits of π. While for every rational r we can say that this number is some positive distance from r, we construct the reals so that there is now some value π we can associate with this series which we cannot say it is separated from. Of course, any real number (rational or irrational) can be written in as a series using its decimal expansion, so the same works for any other rational/irrational number.\n\nUnderlying all of this is the philosophical question of why we need the real numbers. Why aren't the rationals enough? As the Greeks found out long ago, even simple right triangles with length-1 legs cannot have the length of their hypotenuse expressed as a rational. Any rational number you pick is either too small or too big. We thus fill in the gap with real numbers: those values that can only be reached by taking smaller and smaller increments of the rationals infinite times. Now there are no more such holes where some value is somehow either too big or too small compared to all numbers. The reals are, in both a formal and intuitive sense, the completion of the rationals.\n\n\nTL;DR: It's defined that way, because we want infinite sequences in the rationals that seem to approach a value (in the sense that the terms all bunch up in the end) to actually have a number to converge to. Those values they converge to are called the reals, which includes rationals and irrationals alike." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are any species of animals other than humans affected by Down's Syndrome / extra chromosome?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Trisomy in animals is relatively common but usually fatal. Downs syndrome is notable for being one of the few survivable trisomy disorders that (sometimes) doesn't cause the mother's body to auto-abort. \n\nBotany is a rare exception where extra chromosomes can be desirable (to humans, not to plant survival). People must then care for and propagate the otherwise-sterile plants; plants with three(or more) sets of chromosomes are how we get seedless watermelons, grapes, and bananas." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is the phrase \"Guns don't kill people, people do\" fallacious?\n\nIn discussions about guns and gun restriction, the following statement is often made:\n\n\"Guns don't kill people, people kill people\"\n\nCan you identify any fallacy in this sentence? If so, what is a generalized form of the fallacy? What is it called?\nIf there is no fallacy, can the usual arguments that are made with this sentence be validated by it? Do good arguments arise from it?\n\nPlease don't start a debate about guns, I am interested in the logic of the statement and any argument that can be made with it (or, as I suspect, cannot be made with it)." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Half Truths\" (suppressed evidence): A statement usually intended to deceive that omits some of the facts necessary for an accurate description.\n\n#Guns do not *make conscious decisions to* kill people, people *make conscious decision to* kill people.\n\n\"Equivocation\": using a word to mean one thing, and then later using it to mean something different.\n\n#Guns do not kill (\"decide *consciously* to kill\") people, people kill (\"partake in the *act* of killing\") people. A mental, conscious decision to kill ≠ physical act of killing." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How does upscaling work?\n\nHow does it compensate for lack of pixels?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If you're doubling the number of pixels, for example, you take the adjacent pixels and take a guess at what the one in the middle will look like. You can't necessarily take a simple average, because that might look wrong on edges and stuff, so IIRC there's edge-detection and stuff which copes with that." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Do foreign languages have different speech impediments?\n\nSince different languages require different sounds do they have different speech impediments? Are there speech impediments that exist in English that don't exist in say Japanese or Icelandic?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, that is true. For eg. in Hindi the letter t has different sounds. \"ट\" (retro flex and unaspirated) and \"त\t\"like (but dental and unaspirated). Some people cannot pronounce the letter \"ट\" and end up saying \"त\t\". the difference in their pronunciation is quiet a lot. It would be like calling a toy, \"doy\" (though the pronunciation is completely different)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If a mirror reflects all light and the color white reflects all wavelengths of light then why is there a difference between a mirror and a white sheet of paper?\n\nAlso what is the difference?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If you drop a bouncy ball on a smooth floor like wood or even most cement, it will bounce straight back up. If you throw it at an angle, you can pretty easily figure out where it's going to bounce based on that. \n\nNow drop or throw the same ball outside on some rocky or uneven ground and the direction the ball will go is much harder to predict. Even a small change in where the ball hits the ground could send it off in a totally different direction. \n\nNow imagine we have a lot of balls and drop them at the same time making sure they aren't touching so they don't interfere with each other. On the smooth floor they will all stay in roughly the same positions relative to each other. On the rocky ground they will scatter everywhere. \n\nA mirror is very smooth while a piece of paper is much more uneven on the small scale that light interacts with it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] Why do Padawans pick different styles than their masters?\n\nObi-Wan uses the most defensive form of lightsaber combat styles. Yet, Anakin takes a different form from him, and Ahsoka uses a different style from him. Why the difference? If you were to be trained since you were a child until adulthood by one person, you would probably be very similar to them, including fighting styles (Anakin is an outlier, of course). Why does it seem that Padawans take different styles from their masters?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because of experiences.\n\nObi-Wan originally studied the Ataru form, but switched his focus to Soresu after Qui-Gon was killed, in Obi-Wan's opinion, due to the lack of defensive focus in Ataru. In actuality, Obi-Wan was one of the most prolific swordsmen of the order in his lifetime, and he studied and utilized components of almost every form at one point or another.\n\nAnakin studied under a variety of masters, not just Obi-Wan, and settled on Shien as his primary form because the style matched his personality and strengths." } ]