conversations
listlengths 3
3
|
|---|
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Are emotions really at odds with logic?\n\nThis is this popular media concept that emotions are inherently illogical but I disagree.\n\nI think a truly logical person can still have emotions. You don't need to be a Vulcan to be logical. Logic doesn't need to dictate every decision we make, only the ones that require logic. \n\n\nThere is a time and place for either and sometimes there's even a time for both. Deciding on what you want to eat for dinner? Logic isn't important here. \n\n\nA logical person should be capable of recognizing when emotions interferes in a job for example, and remove themselves in that event. If a doctor just lost a family member, the logical course of action is to take a leave of absence and take time to process. \n\n\nWhat are your thoughts? \n\n\nDo you think emotions are inherently illogical?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "If you look at this from a neuroscience perspective then you get a very interesting answer.\n\nBasically there are three areas of the brain, the brain stem which controls what your body does, the limbic system which does emotion, and the cortex which does logic.\n\nBUT, they're actually layered, cortex on top of limbic on top of brain stem. Meaning that any form of logic that a person can experience actually HAS to be at least partially processed by the limbic system and emotions before it becomes a response. So it's impossible as a human to experience only logic, and depending on how you think about it, this may redefine what logic means from a human perspective."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "It is estimated that there are between 1-10 quadrillion ants on Earth. How did we come to that number?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Count/ estimate the number of ants in individual colonies of particular species. \n\nCount/ estimate density of colonies of each species in different environments and ecosystems. \n\nMultiply everything out by the measured area of those different environments and ecosystems on the planet."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Can a human gain calories from eating common leaves?\n\nI assume it wouldn't taste good, but if I was in a survival scenario would eating leaves from trees help? Could I get calories from them in any meaningful way? If not, is there something special about spinach and other leaf vegetables that makes them particularly healthy?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The calories that are available to humans even in the leafy greens we eat like spinach aren't much. It would take like 10-15 pounds of spinach per day for you to get enough calories to survive and at that point the amount oxalate you'd be getting would be a serious problem.\n\nWhat makes leafy greens healthy to eat is not the calories, but the vitamins and minerals they contain. Particularly vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. All leaves will have these since they're indispensable parts of photosynthesis and cellular function for the plant.\n\nThe greens we eat have been bred for generations to have thinner cell walls, which means a higher nutrient-to-weight ratio, and also less of things like oxalates, tannins, and other metabolites that make them unpalatable, toxic, or even lock up the nutrients so that we can't digest them.\n\nThis would be the main problem, particularly with trees, which often have thickened leaves and a lot of secondary metabolites. They produce these things precisely to prevent animals from eating them. You'd be better off eating the leaves of herbaceous (non-woody) plants. In fact many like dandelion, lamb's quarters, lactuca (wild lettuce), plantago, etc. are perfectly edible and lots of people collect and eat them even outside of \"survival scenarios\".\n\ntl;dr : You can get nutrition from any leaf that doesn't make you sick, but it might not be much. Definitely not much calories. You should look for the most tender, green leaves without nasty flavors."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why the current president (assuming they still have eligibility) automatically gets the nomination from their associated party..."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "They don't. For example, in 1980, Jimmy Carter, the incumbent president, was challenged for the Democratic nomination by both Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown. He ended up winning the nomination, but it definitely wasn't automatic."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Why does water flow out in a twister when I drain the bathtub?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "You can visualize this with a thought experiment.\n\nImagine that the water in the tub is not 100.00000% still before you open the drain.\n\nNow sit atop a microscopic skin flake that is moving with this not-still water, in a random direction, not straight to the drain. Say you are moving to the right of the drain originally.\n\nNow you open the drain and at first there is no twister. It just starts sucking water towards it.\n\nYou were moving to the right of the drain, but now the drain is sucking water, so there's a force pulling you towards the drain.\n\nYou already had a velocity, to another direction, but now you start accelerating towards the drain. You won't immediately stop going where you were going, make a sharp turn, and start moving straight to the drain (only cartoons behave like this). Instead, there will be a gradually increasing velocity component vector towards the drain, which is added to your original velocity vector which was to the right of the drain.\n\nYour original velocity to the right is decreasing (unless you are rowing) naturally, and the velocity towards the drain is increasing. What's the result? You start curving towards the drain.\n\nIf you are imagining this right, you now see that you'll describe a gentle spiral towards the drain, right? And you can see that your speed will increase as you spiral to the center (like when you close your arms while spinning on an office chair).\n\nBut you're not alone in the bathtub. All \"particles\" of water will be subject to this sort of effect, and also interfere with other particles' movements (the magic of fluid dynamics). \n\nIf the overall average random movements were more clockwise, they will add up and the resulting twister will be clockwise and vice-versa (forget the folklore about south/north of the equator; that effect is too minuscule to make a difference; you can force the direction by stirring the water around the drain by hand before or after opening the drain).\n\nEven a small average direction tendency grows into a well defined twister, because once the rotation starts and it's accelerated ultimately fed by gravity, the rotating stream drags water around it to the same direction (positive feedback). \n\nYou can also picture this imagining you're driving a car in a straight line and suddently you see your arch-enemy you must run over already at your left. You yank the steering wheel to the left, but you can't make a sharp 90 degree turn in real life; you describe an arc, and drift around the guy, spiraling towards him."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why are bigger sizes of the same item of clothing the same price?\n\nSeems like you should pay more for more material?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The materials cost (especially the difference in materials cost between two sizes) is an insignificantly small portion of the cost to design, manufacture, transport, distribute, advertise, store and ultimately sell you the product."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Star Wars] My Padawan wants to wear black robes like a Sith, is this a problem?\n\nI'm a Jedi Knight who just got his first Padawan assign by the Council, the training progresses good. \n\nHe learns from me, I learn by teaching him, everything is nice in balance, but lately my Padawan has started to wear black robes. They are still in the traditional cut of our order, but they seem a bit too reminiscent of the Siths to me, when we talked about it he said that Master Anakin Skywalker wears his Jedi robes ether black or even black leather, so I don't feel in the position to directly forbid it but should I be worried?\n\nAnd since we are on the topic why IS a prominent Jedi wearing black robes like a Sith?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Why would it be a problem? This isn't some fantasy series where the good guys wear white and the bad guys wear black so the audience doesn't have to think too much. Black is just a colour, maybe he likes it for camouflage purposes or out of respect for a deceased relative. Or maybe he thinks he looks silly dressing in white robes that never stay clean. Black hides dust and dirt much better than \"traditional\" robes. Maybe he is a strict adherent to the no whites after galactic labour day rule. Quit acting like the fashion police, if he was turning to the dark side he's not likely to announce it by changing his wardrobe and growing an emo hair style."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why does a high speed fan appear as if it is rotating in some distinct frames to human eye?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "This is because almost all lights we use have some flicker. The lights are powered by 50 or 60 Hz mains, and so will often flash (or at least change brightness and olor) with each half-wave, so at 100 or 120 Hz. High quality LED or compact fluorescent use switch mode power supplies, which filter out the mains flicker, but they run at some thousands of hertz, and so flicker at that rate."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Why cant elements with atomic numbers above 94 be found in nature?\n\nI thought it had to do with the half life of those elements but Curium 248 has a relatively long half life. Longer than Neptunium isotopes which can be found in trace amounts so why?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "There's no law of physics that says they *can't* be found in nature. What is and isn't found in nature is set by two things:\n\n1. What natural processes are available to produce it?\n\n2. If it decays, what is its half-life?\n\nFor nuclides with half-lives significantly less than the Earth, even if they were produced in large amounts when the solar system formed, they will have mostly decayed away by now, and therefore won't be common in nature (some nuclides are continually produced by natural processes, and so they do exist in some amount naturally despite having short half-lives).\n\nIn the example you give of curium-248 (and actually curium-247 is a better example, because it's got a longer half-life), the half-life is \"long\" in human terms. But the Earth is a little under 5 billion years old, and the half-life in this case is on the order of 10^(5) years (or 10^(7) years for curium-247). That's still very small compared to the age of the Earth, which is on the order of 10^(9) years. So whatever amount of curium that was produced in the same astrophysical event(s) as the rest of our solar system will have decayed away by now. And there apparently aren't any ongoing natural processes which produce it in at least \"trace\" amounts (for whatever definition of \"trace\" you're assuming in the question)."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why does water sometimes make things slipperier (e.g. hydroplaning) and other times make things \"stickier\" (e.g. putting socks on wet feet)?\n\nHopefully the question is clear: basically, why is it that water on roads decreases friction, and water on a floor can make it easier to slip, but water droplets on feet make putting on socks harder?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's a battle between the properties of fluids.\n\nIf you have lots of water, then the more influential property is the friction reduction *(Such as rain on roads)*, however, if you only have a few droplets as you mentioned with the sock, then the more influential properties are the cohesion between the water molecules. This means that the droplets on your sock and skin are trying to stick together.\n\nFun fact: Water is the most cohesive non-metallic liquid!"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why do we swing our arms when we walk?\n\nDoes it keep balance or is it just a habit?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "it's a counterbalance.\n\nYour body in fact is constantly fine-tuning your gait for maximum caloric efficiency. Now, you can help it by walking properly with a straight back, but if there's one thing the human body does extremely well it's maximise our efficiency when moving.\n\nSwinging our arms means we can keep going without having to stop every so often to sort out our momentum. It means we're not burning valuable calories using our core muscles to stay upright against the momentum of our own legs.\n\nPretty neat, huh?"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Is advertising unethical or a necessary part of modern society?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "These two characteristics (being unethical and necessary to modern society) are not mutually exclusive. One could argue that advertising is both unethical *and* necessary to modern late-capitalist society. The conclusion would thus be that this society is *intrinsically* unethical, and should be restructured. Mark Fisher did some very interesting work on this topic, especially in his book *Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?*"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "eli5 why do we use \"s\" at the end of words with 0 quantity?\n\n0 elephants\n\n1 elephant\n\n2 elephants\n\n100 elephants\n\nI understand the \"s\" for quantities larger than 1 because it's plural (more than 1) -- but why for 0, which is less than 1? Why does it just \"feel more comfortable\" (including for me)? Is there a logical reason behind it?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Grammatically every numeral that is not 1 uses the plural. At least in english.\n\nYou would say there are 0.9 elephants instead of there is 0.9 elephant as well.\n\nThe reason it feels more comfortable to you is that learning the english language has trained you think that way. Other languages do it differently. And in casual english you could easily say something like there is no elephant at all. But if you use a numerical value it is just stuck in language and culture. Just a matter of being used to it."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Sunshine] According to Danny Boyle, the reason the sun is going out is that its being eaten by a Q-ball. What is a Q-Ball?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Physicist here. You know how a cup of water will freeze, but not all at once? It'll freeze at the top and the sides then the ice will work its way downward and inward.\n\nThat's effectively how a Q-ball works. The sun is 'freezing' into something like a solid, but a Q-ball doesn't care about the temperature of the object it's 'freezing'. It'll start at one side of the sun and slowly creep throughout the rest of it. When its finished the sun will look something like a crystal sphere, and it will not be very useful as an energy source.\n\n(It's fiction; there is zero chance this can happen in real life.)"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Halo] If the Jackal home-world's parent planet is known to us now, and is with in the forty light-year expanse of human colonies, does that mean that the UNSC would've of sent a colony ship to the planet, if so do we ever hear about such a ship?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The Jackal home system contains no planets which are near the Earth in size, only gas giants. The Jackal homeworld is a moon of one of these gas giants, which would make it much harder to detect by usual exoplanet detection methods than a lone planet of that size on its own. \n\nThe UNSC may not have known it was there, or may have been more interested in colonizing planets, and so not sent an expedition. Prior to the Human-Covenant war, slipspace travel was pretty slow and slispace-capable ships were very expensive. It would be unlikely for a ship to be sent on a multiple-week journey to a system that isn't thought to contain anything useful.\n\nEuropean nations didn't explore every landmass in the Atlantic before setting up colonies in the Americas, there were islands that weren't explored until centuries later. Similarly, although this system isn't too far from Earth, that doesn't mean it would be explored immediately."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[General] I have just gained the power to teleport. How do I test my abilities?\n\nI was thinking of teleporting just one centimetre to the side to see how my powers work and feel, but I'm afraid that the orbit of the Earth will cause me to be left a few million miles away from it, since I'll be teleporting to where the Earth once was. I was also thinking of doing the maths to compensate for this, so I'll calculate my teleport to be where the Earth will end up in the split second it takes to teleport. However, I haven't tested my teleportation (because of the above-mentioned fear) and as such do not know how long the teleportation takes, making such maths impossible. In addition to this, if I'm wrong and it turns out my teleportation is relative to the Earth after all, I've just done a lot of maths to teleport myself into deep space.\n\nWhat is a safe way to test my powers?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Fun fact: you are on Earth, you are moving at the same velocity it is. Theoretically speaking, even if your teleportation is not relative to the Earth, you should be safe. That is of course assuming your teleport doesn't mess with your momentum. You might have trouble if you teleport large distances, but a centimeter hop should be safe."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Can plants get cancer from the sun? \n\nCan plants get cancer from the sun?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Basically, plants don't really get cancer as we think of it. They can get uncontrolled growths, but they are more like our benign tumors, like warts. They don't kill the plant, generally. There are several big reasons for this:\n\n1. Every plant cell is basically glued to its neighbors. They have cell walls that provide structural integrity and hold the cell in place. What that means is that you don't get cells moving around in a circulatory system like humans have. So cancer can't really spread in plants. With a few exceptions (brain tumors, other inoperable locations), cancer in humans that doesn't spread to distant sites isn't really that dangerous. It's very rarely the primary tumor that kills people, it's the spread of the tumor to distant sites that kills.\n\n2. The cells that get hit by the sun in a plant are usually non-growing cells. Their dividing cells, meristem cells, are hidden away from the sun pretty well. So by the time plant cells are getting bombarded by UV, they have already stopped dividing and are glued in place. That makes it a lot harder for them to re-enter the cell cycle and start causing problems."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "What causes mosquitos to be super attracted to some people, and completely ignore others?\n\nMosquitos attack me with a vengeance, but they won't touch my sister.\n\nI am 25. My sister is 23. If we both go outdoors and play a sport for 2 hours and wait until dark, mosquitos still do not touch her. It doesn't matter what I've done, mosquitos are on me like hummingbirds to nectar. I can even wear bug repellant, doesn't help much.\n\nI've heard similar stories from friends and acquaintances."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "There are various physiological factors that determine your likelihood of getting bitten.\n\n\n* Blood type: Several studies have found that individuals with blood type O are at a greater risk, much more so than individuals with type A, B, or AB^1,2.\n\n\n* Higher production of carbon dioxide will also attract a higher number of mosquitoes. In fact, traps are often equipped with CO2 tanks to be more effective^3,5.\n\n\n* Production of certain acids on the skin such as lactic acid will contribute to one's attractiveness^4\n\n\n**Citations**\n\n\n1) Wood, Corrine Shear, and Dore, Caroline. 1972. “Selective Feeding of Anopheles gambiae according to ABO Blood Group Status.” Nature 239: 165.\n\n2) Yoshikazu Shiraia, et al. 2004. \"Landing Preference of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) on Human Skin Among ABO Blood Groups, Secretors or Nonsecretors, and ABH Antigens.\" Journal of Medical Entomology 41(4):796-799.\n\n3) Dekker , T. and Takken, W. 1998. \"Differential responses of mosquito sibling species Anopheles arabiensis and An. quadriannulatusto carbon dioxide, a man or a calf.\" Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 12: 136–140\n\n4) Steib, Birgit M., Geier, Martin, and Boeckh, Jurgen. 2001. \"The Effect of Lactic Acid on Odour-Related Host Preference of Yellow Fever Mosquitoes\" Chemical Senses 26: 523-538.\n\n5) Geier, Martin, et al. \"Odour-guided Host Finding of Mosquitoes: Identification of New Attractants on Human Skin.\" 4th International Conference on Urban pests. (Oral Presentation)."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "CMV: Money absolutely can buy happiness\n\nI often hear the phrase \"money can't buy happiness\". I think this is complete nonsense. \n\nLet's compare two people, person A and person B. Person A is a billionaire, person B works long hours for minimum wage. Person A, because of his riches, does not need to work. Because of this, he is free to pursue any manner of hobbies and interests. If person A has always wanted to be a painter, or a guitarist, or a pilot, he can afford to go to the best schools or hire the best tutors. He can spend as much time as he wants practicing and learning. Let's say person B has the same aspirations. He needs to pay for rent and food, how could he possibly find the time, let alone afford, the lessons? Whenever person A gets bored of something, he can just move on to something else. I suppose the argument against this is that he wouldn't be enjoying it as much because he takes it for granted, he wouldn't savor the small amount of time he gets to play the guitar or paint a picture. While this is true, don't you think person B would rather get an unlimited amount of time to pursue his interests? Between the two, person A must be happier.\n\nBut love must be the one thing that cannot be purchased. I have to disagree. There are a litany of dating sites and match-makers that cater to the wealthy. An episode of Morgan Spurlock's documentary series *Inside Man* explores this business, where people pay large amounts of money to someone who will attempt to set them up with a perfect match. This isn't a dating site where you simply create a profile and hope to meet someone you like. Person A is *considerably* more likely to find someone than person B, who can either hope to run into someone in person or can attempt to find someone on a free dating site. You could, I suppose, argue that person A would be in danger of attracting people who don't really love him, but are only with him because of his money. While this is a fair point, I think person A could easily defend against this by being wary of many of the people he is interested in. I suppose an argument is that person B wouldn't have to worry about this, and that's true, but person B is much more likely to settle for someone decent, but not ideal, than person A. Person A has a basically inexhaustible amount of time and money to find a good match. \n\nBut happiness is quite subjective. What makes me happy might make you miserable, and vice versa. The TL;DR of my argument is that, because of the society we live in and the way goods and services are acquired, the more money you have the more likely you are to be happy. A way to change my view would be to present me with some quality of life that is intrinsically outside of the bounds of capitalism, a quality that cannot be reached with money."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "There exists at least one depressed millionaire. That person is not able to buy happiness with money. There exists at least one poor person that is happy. They have a job that they love, like a games store clerk, they have a wife and kids, and they have cheap hobbies that they love.\n\nMoney does not buy happiness. You have identified correctly, though, that money can prevent many of the things that cause misery. Medical bills, shitty jobs, being driven out of your favorite hobbies, hunger - money might not be able to buy happiness, but poverty sure can buy misery.\n\nThe saying 'money can't buy happiness' isn't supposed to mean 'so throw away all your money and you'll be happy'. It's a warning for the depressed millionaire that they can't cure their depression with miserliness and greed. Some problems cannot be solved with money, and for those problems, you need to seek a cure from within - a new outlook."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How was the first software and compiler made?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The first program generators were assemblers, that translate assembly language into machine code. Those were written in machine code.\n\nThe first higher-level programming languages were written using assemblers.\n\nEdit: the first *software* was written in machine code. It took a while before assemblers were developed and became common, because an assembler is not an entirely trivial program.\nMachine code was entered via switches, or using things like punched paper tape."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "I've read and re-read why time slows down when traveling the speed of light, I still don't understand it.\n\nSo, I kind of get that when something speeds up-- the mass of that object increases. Is that why? Because the object is going so fast that the increased mass means more gravity, and then that increased gravitational pull bends space-time?\n\nOr am I completely off? Do I understand it at all?\n\nEdit: Thanks everyone. I've never really been to this subreddit before, wow! Everyone is so friggin smart."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Essentially, everything is moving at the same speed through four-dimensional spacetime (the speed of light, to be exact). When you are stationary, you are only moving through time. The faster you move through the three spacial dimensions, the more it borrows from your speed through time."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5:Why humans newborns/children seem so helpless when compared to other species?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Because we have a large brain and stand upright (on two limbs rather than four). Those two needs mean that women's hips need to be large enough to allow a baby's head to pass through, but narrow enough that she can walk. The only way to reach both limits is to birth babies that are very undeveloped compared with other mammals, and let them do relatively more of their development after birth."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why are clouds white?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Hello! Clouds are white because of something called MIE scattering. As you may know, light is both a particle and a wave. The color spectrum is basically different frequencies of waves, that give off a certain color. The light that comes from the sun is known as “white light” ( which is a combination of every color of the light spectrum) and when this “white light” goes through our atmosphere and scatters with the molecules of clouds, the clouds reflect every single color and turns out white.\n\nAn easier example is an apple. When light hits an apple it absorbs the colors orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The only color that it doesn’t absorb, is red, that’s why we see that the apple is red. This is due to the size of the apple molecules, they are around the same size of the red wavelength and in effect, they reflect.\n\nHope this helps!"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Is it possible for an environment to be so cold, an existing fire would be extinguished?\n\nAssuming there was an infinite supply of oxygen and a fuel source."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Absolutely. The fire needs to be hot enough to be self-sustaining. Each reaction has to give off enough energy to trigger the next reaction. If the surrounding environment absorbs this energy then it is not available to trigger the next reaction.\n\nJust for a simple example, if you've ever tried to put out a fire in a fireplace, you know that the simplest way to do this is to move the burning logs away from each other. Once they are no longer absorbing heat from each other, the fire will dwindle and eventually die without consuming the logs."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How is searching the internet, infinitely faster than searching through computer files?\n\nHow is it that you can search the internet and get millions of results in seconds, but when searching for a specific file on a windows computer, it takes what feels like forever in comparison ?\n\nI understand a little bit of SEO, and how common searches get grouped together, but even with that, how is it still nearly impossible for my Windows computer to find a file when I give it the exact name, but google could find me millions of files with a search that is \\~related\\~ to the name of the website / file?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Because the internet is constantly being indexed all the time. That means, essentially, whenever you are searching for something, someone else has already found it before you, and so they just relay to you the results of their previous search rather than searching for it anew. Your hard drive, however, isn't indexed until you actually search for something meaning you actually have to go look for it."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[the Hulk] Progression from thor ragnarok to avengers movie\n\nWasn’t he supposed to be world breaker hulk after/during being in sakaar? He seems so underpowered for the avenger movies. Is there some event in between that I missed or did they not want to go to deep into his story line?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "No. The MCU didn't do the World Breaker Hulk storyline, it just used some elements from it. \n\nWhile it's possible he got stronger, or at least more developed as an identity having been transformed for so many years, none of WBH's defining events happened to him."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: What Are The Principles Of Chicago School Economics?\n\nWhat are the principles of Chicago School Economics? The Pros and Cons?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The core principles include favor of free markets and supply-side economics as opposed to Keynesian economics. It prefers monetary policy as opposed to fiscal policy. Probably the most influential scholar was Milton Friedman, who may be the most influential economist in modern day. It continues to have strong influence among a significant faction of the GOP in U.S politics. This faction would be best described as neoliberal, libertarian, or classical liberal. The demographics tend to be the most affluent and influential. \n\nI can't tell you its pros or cons because that is subjective and political."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Wanted] At what point did Sloan start fabricating his own targets? Where any of the targets in the film actually sent from the Loom of Fate? Towards the end when all the members of The Fraternity were targets, was that from Sloan or the Loom?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It happened when his name came out of the loom. He chose to ignore the loom rather than kill himself and in doing so perverted the brotherhood to his own selfish goals. Im sure a handful of targets were legitimate but by the time Wesley joins every assassin's name had come up. This means in at least a significant way each was killing people to make Sloan's agenda rather than fate's a reality. Without knowing every target's details it's safe to assume everyone killed not by Wesley was illegitimate otherwise Wesley's name would have turned up."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: what is Eid, the Muslim holiday?\n\nIs it like Christmas for Christians?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, observant Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink during daylight hours, and the celebration of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the month and is marked by both prayer and celebration to Allah."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "What is the difference between atomic, nuclear and hydrogen bombs?\n\nMost sites are giving me mixed answers. I know some of it does overlap, but I can't find a clear answer. Moreover, is hydrogen bomb more powerful and destructive than a nuclear bomb? I'd like to learn more clear distinctions between these weapons and how destructive they can be as a comparison in terms of, say, size/weight/amount of material in the bomb vs size/area covered/extent of explosion, if that makes sense. Thanks in advance!"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "\"Atomic bomb\" and \"hydrogen bomb\" are not really modern terminology, but they're both subsets of nuclear weapons.\n\nBut generally speaking, \"atomic bomb\" refers to nuclear weapon designs which are either fission-only, or boosted fission.\n\nAnd then \"hydrogen bomb\" (also known as *thermonuclear*) refers to weapons which derive a significant amount of their yield from fusion reactions, in addition to fission.\n\n>Moreover, is hydrogen bomb more powerful and destructive than a nuclear bomb?\n\n\"Hydrogen bombs\" *are* a type of nuclear weapon. And generally higher yields can be achieved with them than with \"atomic bombs\" (fission-only or boosted fission), for a given mass of fuel."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5:Are electric blankets bad for your health in any way?\n\nNot sure if this is the best subreddit to ask this question but fuck it. My roommates have an electric blanket that they turn on before they get into bed and back off when they get in bed because they say the electromagnetic field it emits is bad for your health in a number of ways and can lead to various side effects. Does this have any truth to it or are they just paranoid hippies?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "No, the electromagnetic field emitted by the current running through the blanket will not harm you in any way. With regards to overheating, you'd be unable to stand the heat before any damage occurs , unless you're an idiot and try to overheat yourself using one, you're going to get uncomfortable and take it off/turn it off long before the heat does any damage.\n\n\nThe only real risk for an electric blanket is electrocution and fire risk. Both can be mitigated if you're sensible."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Star Wars] Is number of midichloreans or density of midichloreans more important? In other words, did Vader lose force power due to the loss of the midichloreans in his arms and legs when they were chopped off?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Neither. Midichlorians are micro-organisms that are attracted to force users, not the source of force powers. There is a corelation between high midichlorian count and force prowess, but it's not an exact science. That said, Vader did become less powerful, partly because some of his power was devoted to keeping himself alive and partly because of the somatic components of some force powers that he was no longer able to do. For example, force lightning requires channeling the energy through your own body. Something he could no longer do due to being encased in sensitive medical equipment that conducts electricity."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5:How do people learn to hack? Serious-level hacking. Does it come from being around computers and learning how they operate as they read code from a site? Or do they use programs that they direct to a site?\n\nEDIT: Thanks for all the great responses guys. I didn't respond to all of them, but I definitely read them.\n\nEDIT2: Thanks for the massive response everyone! Looks like my Saturday is planned!"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Hacking is the second side of a coin.\n\nTo find exploits, you need to understand how something works.\n\nFor example, to do sql exploits, you need to know the syntax and all the common mistakes that developers make during development. Such as adding unsanitized user input to their queries."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Harry Potter] Why did Voldemort not just throw baby Harry out of a window?\n\nHarry was a baby with no way to defend himself, Voldemort could have just thrown him out the window and Harry would have fallen to his death."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "He had no reason to believe that the Arvada kedavra spell would backfire. At that time literally nobody had ever survived the killing curse and the magic through which Harry survived had long since been lost."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Citizen Kane] Would Charles Kane have ended up any happier and better of a person if he had gone into the sled-making business instead of the newspaper-making business?\n\nAfter all, >!His last words were the name of his childhood sled!<"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's not necessarily that Kane was happiest around sleds; it was that specific sled that was a symbol of the childhood that he lost. That childhood was replaced by his ambition and his desire to earn enough money, or power, or influence to fill the hole that was left behind. What he missed was a happy childhood with a loving mother. \n\nIf he was making sleds, he might have earned himself a bit of comfort providing that bit of fun to kids, but he'd still be chasing the one thing he couldn't have: one more day of innocence with a family that didn't send him away to chase dreams and aspirations that he was too young to care about."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Eli5: How do photo restoration artists know the supposed colors of greyscale images?\n\nAre the colors based purely on their assumptions/imagination, or do the greyscale images retain some sort of data that tells what color on what part?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "I often color old black-and-white photographs as a hobby and, most of the time, you just have to guess when you colorize an image. \n\nSometimes, for famous people, you can do historical research to find out the color of their hair and eyes or even their homes' furnishings (for instance, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna had reddish gold hair and blue eyes and her mauve boudoir was all lavender with pistachio green carpets). You can also do research to get a general idea of the kinds of colors that were popular, say, in the Victorian or Edwardian eras... but that's pretty much it."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5:water is h20 , hydrogen peroxide is h202, how can one extra oxygen molecule turn into something that can kill you\n\ntitle."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Short answer: because changing even one element in a compound will drastically change how it interacts with other chemicals.\n\nLong answer: H2O is remarkable stable and wants to stay that way. H2O2 is still stable, but it will give the extra oxygen atom to any compound that it can, so it can be more stable. Unlucky for living things, cell membranes will end up taking this extra oxygen and they will no longer be able to hold their form. Once the cell membrane falls apart the cell will die."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Culture Series] just how powerful are The Culture?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The Culture are on of the few Level 8 civilizations currently \"in Play\". Generally there are 4-9 Level 8 Optimae around at any given time. In general any level 8 will trounce a level 7 civilization, and so on down the line.\n\nTheir are more powerful forces than the Level 8 civs. The Sublimed for example are civilizations that have moved on from the physical realm and transcended to another plane. They are thought to be incredibly powerful, but also uncaring of what happens in the Real. \n\nElder Civilisations are ones that have moved on from normal galactic politics and want to be left alone, wherever that may be (home planet, other places, artifacts, whatever). Best not to trifle with them.\n\nAs to how powerful the Culture is, they are normal or above average for a level 8. Casual planet busting is a good description. Any old GCU (General Contact Unit, an exploration and scientific ship) can waste a solar system. Actual OU (offensive Units, or later called Picket Ships) are much more deadly. GSV (General Systems Vehicles) could take on millions of ships from less advanced civilizations, a war prepped GSV would be a match to fleets of equivitech opponents."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How hard is it to learn Dresdenverse magic without being taught?\n\nAssuming that you don't have any books or knowledge of magic in general. You just realize at some point that you can do inexplicable things."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "no really that hard, sadly. The magic in the dresdenuniverse is basically changing and effecting your surrounding with energy provided by your emotions. So if you will it hard enough and your emotions are strong enough it will just happen. But here lies the risk of doing magic untrained if teached correctly a wizard chooses a dead language to trigger his spells, why? Because it gives an isolating barrier between your mind and the forces of live and universe you are manipulating at that moment so an untrained natural is at heavy risk to trigger a spell by excitement and to fry his brain out in the process. Secondly a professionally trained wizard has one attitude drilled in to him- discipline of mind to control the forces you conjure and steer. Imagine you are a teenager who because he just thought it is cold started a fire out of nothing in his room. You are scared you don't know what is happening - that is strong emotions and a lack of strong will also known as magic going wacko. \n*So short yes you can \"learn\" magic but the training is more for the sake of your survival and protection of others because without 90% of young wizard and up burning down a house before the forces of magic fry out there brain changing them in to vegetables for the rest of there life."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How does Nair hair removal work?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It eats away at the keratin in the hair (the chemical that does this is potassium thioglycolate). That makes the hair really weak and not able to stand up or hold its structure. Then another chemical (calcium hydroxide) destroys the hair at the root. This makes the hair easy to simply wipe away as it is no longer connected inside your skin as it was. \nThink of it like stripping the bark away from a young tree then allowing for the roots to die. This will make the tree easy to pull up if it doesn't simply fall over first on its own. Then it's just a matter of cleaning away what has fallen. In this example the tree, but on our skin, the hair."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Star Wars] Why is Palpatine so strong with the dark side?\n\nThe dark side typically entices those going through emotional turmoil, twisting their intentions into something they would normally never hope for, eventually infecting their psyche, overwhelming them with thoughts of loss, attachment, and fear. These sorts of emotions also fuel one's dark side power, resulting in something of a feedback loop. Vader over his loss and self-hatred of losing Padme, Maul with his rage and obsession over killing Obi Wan, Dooku with his distrust of the Jedi Order; all had their fixations.\n\nGiven all this, why is Palpatine so damn strong with the dark side? We really don't see him go through any emotional turmoil; in fact, he doesn't seem to take anything seriously and almost seems to be having fun being evil. This is in such a stark contrast to the self-loathing nature of the other Sith. Did something happen in his past to set him off? Was he just always a selfish sociopath? Is he just so good that he doesn't even need the emotional connection anymore?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Arguably, Palpatine’s “pure” sith motives might be why he’s such a powerful dark side user. He is like greed incarnate, craving power over all things and stopping at nothing to gain it. His greed is virtually bottomless, and the more power he gets the more he craves. \n\nHe also may be privy to ancient Sith teachings that enhance his power, that he never intended on passing down to his apprentices so as to avoid the fate of Plagueis."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Man of Steel] Why did Zod want to terraform Earth?\n\nEarth's natural environment is clearly better for Kryptonians, giving them god like powers. The movie also makes it clear that with enough concentration, they'd be able to overcome the side effects of its atmosphere in a couple of days at most. What was the point of committing mass genocide? They probably would have been successful in taking over Earth if they hadn't tried to terraform. There's no way Superman could have stopped all of them on his own if it came down to a pure fight."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Zod wants to recreate Krypton exactly as it was - minus a few 'troublesome' bloodlines that ended up endangering it to begin with - or as close as he can manage. A world where everyone are basically physical gods that can punch through mountains, fly into space at supersonic speeds, shoot lasers from their eyes, etc. is not going to be the Krypton he wants and, as a society, may very well be inherently self-destructive. To do anything less than his utmost to bring back Krypton as close to its original state as he can manage is anathema to Zod. It's literally part of his DNA.\n\nOn top of that, Zod and Faora were able to adjust so quickly because they were bred soldiers, trained over their entire lifetimes to have total control of themselves. The average Kryptonian is probably going to have a much tougher time. Clark is mentioned as having severe breathing difficulties as a baby. It's not unreasonable to assume that it's a very real possibility that he, and by extension other Kryptonian children, could have died in Earth's atmosphere."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Reading Marx and Hegel has turned me off of Analytic Philosophy. What's the best defense of the worth of that tradition?\n\nA little about me, for context: I've always been broadly interested in philosophy, but only when I started reading Marx and Hegel did it totally transform my thinking.\n\nWith the exception of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems (which I think count as Analytic, and were also transformative for me), it seems like all the interesting philosophical questions are out of reach of the analytic method. Consider Marx's take on utilitarianism:\n\n>The apparent absurdity of merging all the manifold relationships of people in the one relation of usefulness, this apparently metaphysical abstraction arises from the fact that in modern bourgeois society all relations are subordinate in practice to the one abstract monetary commercial relation.\n\nI mean, I consider this critique to be quite scathing, once fully unpacked. It's not even, strictly speaking, just philosophical - it merges philosophy, history, psychology, etc. And the analytic method, it seems, doesn't even have a way to respond!\n\nIn spite of this, I obviously don't want to be dismissive of philosophy, and I want to be fair and open. Therefore I ask for readings that will (hopefully) restore my respect for the analytic style.\n\nThank all of you beautiful people!\n\n​\n\nEDIT: it seems I really don't know what analytic philosophy is so the post is moot. Thanks for responses."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "That utilitarianism doesn’t adequately acknowledge the separateness of persons is actually a central criticism within analytic philosophy.\n\nAnyways, is the problem that you don’t think there are any interesting ideas in analytic philosophy, or that you happen not to like the writing style typical of analytic philosophy?"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: If it's illegal to deface US currency, what's with those penny squashers?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "This is covered in 18 USC 331. It says that whoever *fraudulently* alters coins is guilty of a crime. The key word there is \"fraudulently.\" If you alter a coin with the intent of defrauding somebody, you're guilty of a crime. If you alter or destroy a coin you own for reasons other than committing fraud, then you're just wasting money.\n\nThe origin of this statute goes back to the days when coins were made of precious metals, and their value was proportional to their metal content. In those days, you could shave some of the metal off a bunch of coins and melt it down to get an ingot that you could sell, while still passing the coins off as legal tender. The law exists to deter people from doing that. Today, coins have no intrinsic value so the practice of shaving them for their metal is extinct."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Just got my PhD offer! What advice can you give to a new student?\n\nHello everyone,\n\nI'm so happy I finally got a PhD offer in my field of interest! The University is in the neighbouring state to my current home (I live with my family), only a 1.5hr plane ride away so I don't think it has fully hit me that I'm going to be moving soon. \n\nWhat advice can you give to a new student? It can be as specific or general as you like. I would love to have some things at the back of my mind before starting my course. \n\nShort context on the course: it is based in cell biology and I'll be working with drosophila models to characterise a particular signalling pathway. I have been granted a 3-4 year scholarship to fund my stay. \n\nGeneral context: I've done a 3-year bachelor degree and 1-year honours research degree. My previous supervisors said I had a real drive and motivation for research which they haven't seen in many students they've mentored. I do tend to be very hard on myself and hate failing. I love writing and going deep into background research to substantiate my experiments, I loved writing my thesis last year and I love presenting at conferences. \n\nThank you so much in advance for your time and advice :)"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "This is not supposed to sound rude or offensive, but you need to get used to failing. A lot.\n\nYou'll fail when the data you've collected is full of artifacts. You'll fail when your two dream journals reject your paper. You'll fail when the superstar PI of another lab doesn't reply to your email.\n\nFailing is a part of academia. Don't get used to chasing the high of earlier days of getting everything right the first time."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "What experiment shows that gravity travels at the speed of light?\n\nI've seen it mentioned on this forum that gravity travels at c, but I'm not sure how anyone could set up an experiment to confirm that. Do we have experimental evidence, or is it more of a \"well, according to our theories, it should behave this way\" kind of thing?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Gravitational waves have yet to be experimentally observed, but the purpose of experiments that are attempting to do so (such as LIGO) is to use these waves as telescopes, not as confirmations of General Relativity. General Relativity has been confirmed in many other ways by many other experiments, and also happens to predict gravitational waves propagating at speed c. Given its extraordinary previous predictive success, there is not reason to believe that it is wrong in this instance."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Cats] What does Jellicle mean?\n\nI'm a cat, and I just moved to a new neighborhood. It seems like a fun place. Everyone is constantly singing and dancing. But, there's something I don't understand. The other cats keep using the word \"Jellicle\". \n\nI have never heard this word, and I have no idea what it means. I don't want to look dumb in front of the other cats. Can someone please explain this word to me?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's the name of their gang. They are the Jellicle cats. They organize the Jellicle ball each year, on the night of the Jellicle moon, which is when the full moon lines up with the sky light in their base, the Russell Hotel."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Why haven't species developed more eyes?\n\nIt may sound like a stupid question but it seems odd to me that so many animals have only two eyes. I know a lot of herbivores have developed eyes on the side of their head to allow them to see predators from behind them, why haven't they just developed eyes on the back of their heads, so as not to have decreased visibility in front of them?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Species don't develop new traits specifically to accommodate some need. Mutations are entirely random and only \"stick\" if it increases survivability long enough to become homogeneous among the population."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: how does the NES light gun Zapper work?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "When you press the trigger, the whole screen goes black for 1 frame. Then in the next frame, the target area lights up white. The Zapper has a detector that tells the NES whether it has detected a black to white transition. The NES then knows that the Zapper was pointed at a target."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Harry Potter] Why do wizard paintings talk but wizard photos don't?\n\nYou can interact with both (like when Moody made people in a photo move), but only the paintings can have a conversation with you? What kind of magic goes on in the actual painting of a person to make their image talk?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "I suspect the paintings don't have the memories of the persons they are of; they are more like eternal actors. \n\nPhotos may be similar to a pensieve. They capture the emotion of the subjects, preserving it in one perfect moment. However, they aren't nearly as powerful of magic as the pensieve, and can't have genuine interactions with the viewer."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How different would the Earth be today if the Permian-Triassic extinction event did not occur?\n\nI know this is an oddly specific question, and I couldn't find anything using the search bar. I'm just curious how this would have effected Earth and biodiversity as a whole."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It is impossible to answer precisely what current biodiversity and faunal composition would look like in that hypothetical never-never land of \"what ifs\".\n\nThe most we can say is that natural selection would have continued to operate, but with a greater number of lineages to choose fromthan those who were cut off by the Great Dying. And the relative importance of surviving lineages would (probably) not have been the same either, but life is a lottery and a hypothetical outcome is quasi-impossible to predict.\n\nBut lets have a look at some of the lineages which might have survived in later times, some to die out, but later (perhaps cut-off by the K-T event?), others perhaps making it to our days:\n\n* Trilobites;\n\n* Eurypterids;\n\n* Orthid and productid brachiopods;\n\n* Several orders of insects (caloneurodeans, monurans, paleodictyopteroids, protelytropterans, and protodonates);\n\nAnd that's just by focussing on a very coarse taxonomic level, the survival of individual genera and species within lineages has the potential to completely upset future faunal assemblages. Ninety-something (depending on source) of marine species are believed to have croaked in the Great Dying. Had the dice fallen differently, a quasi-infinite number of potentially differently populated worlds could have emerged on the other side.\n\nSo who can say?"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Tolkien][The Lord of the Rings]How long did Frodo carry the ring?\n\nI know Hobbits age slower than humans. It always seemed to me that the journey took years, if not decades. How close am i?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "He inherits the Ring on his thirty-third birthday 23rd of September TA 3001, but he then just stashes it away with Bilbo's other belongings.\n\nHe then starts actively carrying it once Gandalf returns and warns him that it is in fact the One Ring once he decides to transport it to Rivendell.\n\n23rd of September TA 3018 on his fiftieth birthday he starts the journey. Now actively being a ring bearer.\n\nThe One Ring was destroyed on the 25th of March TA 3019. So this gives us a time window of **26 weeks to the day.** \n\nAs for the entire journey, Frodo returns to the Shire where in The Scouring of the Shire they finally defeat Saruman on the 3rd of November 3019 ending their adventure. So the entire journey took 1 year and 9 days."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "CMV: Acts of God should not be legally allowed as an excuse to not pay out insurance claims.\n\nActs of God events are exactly the moments people need their insurance pay outs the most, thats the whole point of spreading the financial risk across large chunks of population.All of those acts are predictable events that we just happen to not have a good model for yet. Even things like global pandemics actually already have yearly projection models ( they were telling us one is imminent for years). Insurance companies have good enough actuaries to do a pretty good estimation on what the premium should be to account for them, they just choose not to because it is more profitable for them to be able to deny people's claims.Additionally is there is an industry out there that can afford to invest billions into better seismic, weather and other other models - its Insurance industry.\n\nInsurance industry should not be able to be risks free for itself where they always make money regardless of what happens, because with big enough events they claim Act of God and government has to bail people out. Classic privatize the gains, socialize the losses.\n\n​\n\nEdit: Due to this conversation i realized that my issue is not Acts of God, but unethical behavior by insurance industry."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "You can find an insurance company that'll insure you for basically anything, including the acts (of God or otherwise) that you mention. And if you can't find a company that will, what's your suggestion? They're forced to, somehow? \n\nIt's not like insurance companies get out of paying for hurricane damage if the policy includes hurricane damage. \"Acts of God\" is simply a term (that's not really used much any more) to describe a bunch of things that aren't covered by a policy. The resulting lack of pay-out is because you bought an insurance policy that didn't cover you for the thing that caused your loss - that's all there is to it."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: what is the crust in your eyes when you wake up? Do some people get more or less? Why?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's mostly salt and other parts of the tear liquid. Your body constantly covers your eyes with tears to keep them moist. Normally we blink to disperse that liquid. When you sleep you might produce more tears than you need to keep the eyes moist and some leaks out from underneath your eyelids. What is called sleep is what remains on your skin after the leaked tears dry out."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Marvel/DC] What DC heroes would J. Jonah Jameson be okay with? Which heroes would he have a problem with?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Jameson hates masks and vigilantes. He would like Superman, Shazam and maybe Wonder Woman as both are basically themselves when they fight.\n\nHeroes like Batman, Green Arrow, Hawkman and Flash are no good because of the masks and vigilantism. The Green Lanterns and Aquaman have outside allegiances, Martian Manhunter is a Martian and so on.\n\nIf Jameson existed in the DC Universe, Batman would likely be his obsession instead of Spider-Man. He's everything Jameson hates about superheroes."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Rick and Morty] Why is Rick so adamantly against Beth and Jerry's relationship, when his survival depends on a person produced by that relationship?\n\nIt's clearly not just a new thing, either. Like, he doesn't just not want them to be together. It seems as if he regrets them ever being together, and doesn't want them to have anything to do with each other.\n\n​\n\nHowever, it's well established that he's dependent on Morty for camouflaging himself from his enemies. So, shouldn't he support the relationship that produces Morty in the first place?\n\n​\n\nRelated side-question: In Rixty Minutes, we're introduced to many timelines in which Beth and Jerry never met, and they have much happier lives. Where is Rick in those? Did he ever return to Beth? Was he killed? Shouldn't Beth be in deep shit with aliens after they find her and Rick with no Jerry or Morty waves to hide them (given that we know she's smart like him with similar tendencies), or at the very least involved in his space adventures?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Mainly he regrets them being together because of the fact that Jerry ruined Beth who,as Rick’s daughter,had a lot of potential for greatness.Add on the fact that Jerry sabotages himself and you have a relationship Rick does not support.\n\n\nAs for Morty being essential for his survival you are right.However deep down he doesn’t want to survive as Rick believes and knows that his life is not special and is meaningless.And he technically doesn’t need Morty as he can easily kill anyone who comes after him.\n\n\nAs for Alternate Beth and Rick,it’s likely that he developed some alternative type of defense from trackers or they just simply kill whoever comes after them etc…"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How to actually learn philosophy?\n\nI believe this is an underrated question: When trying to learn about new topics within philosophy, how do self-taught learners and graduate students go about finding resources on the subject they want to learn? I am tired of just typing “x subject books” into the google search bar because the books that google recommend are not at all what my philosophy professors recommend. Is there a method you follow if you want to learn a new subject? I am already aware of the SEP but that can not be all that graduate students or self-taught learners use.\n\nAlso do most people choose to read books or papers? I was told books is common for intro level or beginners but papers are key as you get upper level."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "I would search for syllabi, which can often be easily found online. If you want to know more about metaphysics, google “metaphysics class syllabus” and they usually have the university listed so you know its reputable."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[General Time Travel] Why does nobody ever suggest preventing WWII and the Holocaust by saving Archduke Franz Ferdinand?\n\nThe most common suggestion is to kill Adolf Hitler. Some people prefer the somewhat more ethical approach of encouraging him to be a painter or kidnapping him as a child and raising him differently. Why does nobody think of preventing WWII by preventing WWI by preventing an assassination? There's nothing unethical about that and you can prevent two world wars for the price of one. It's also less likely to end up with Germany declaring war anyway but with a more competent leader."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Most people believe WWI was inevitable. The combination of militarism, interlocking alliances, imperialism, and nationalism was a powder keg, and the assassination the spark. A huge world war was *going* to happen; you save the archduke, and the next day another cause prompts it."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "What makes kosher dill pickles sour if they explicitly do not have added vinegar?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Traditional pickles are made by bacterial fermentation of natural sugars to produce organic acids such as the acetic acid of vinegar. The low pH of the resulting pickles acts as a preservative to prevent further spoilage. Many modern 'pickles' are simply fruit or vegetables soaked in vinegar and as such are not authentically pickled."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How do a bunch of small noises combine to make a very loud noise?\n\nSo I was watching Game of Thrones last night. The soldiers started to slam their spears into the ground. One spear doesn't make much noise, but a lot of spears makes a lot of noise. Why is it that when a bunch of people do the same thing at the same time it suddenly seems like all of their noises are added to each other?\n\nI guess in my head I have the thought that it would just be the same level of noise but coming from all around, this is obviously not true. \n\nWhat's the science behind this?\n\nI'm not exactly sure what to tag this as but I'll put physics because it seems to be the closest."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Read up on constructive/destructive interference in waves. Basically when sounds are the same frequency and phase the peaks lines up and the troughs line up and then add making the amplitude (volume) bigger."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Do galaxies die? How many years would that take? Could some of the most distant galaxies we've observed be long gone today?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Well, it depends on how you define \"death\". Galaxies collide and merge with each other, so lots of the galaxies we see that are billion of years old may not be there anymore, because they have merged with nearby galaxies, and thus today they would look totally different. Their constituent stars would still be there, however, more or less, (minus any that have died since), since galactic collisions are usually pretty harmless to the stars within the galaxies, since the chances of stars colliding during such an event is extremely low due to the sheer amount of empty space in between stars in galaxies.\n\nAll things being equal galaxies will eventually \"burn out\" though, as all their stars run out of fuel and die, and slowly all the lights will eventually dim for every galaxy in the Universe. But that process takes trillions of years because even after a star runs out of fuel, it turns into a white dwarf which still glows fairly brightly for a VERY long time."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "If someone jumped off of a building, and were tackled at full speed right before they hit the ground, would either party survive?\n\nI was arguing with my friends recently about this; I will attampt to explain.\n\nSomeone jumps off of a building and is travelling at a speed that if they hit the ground they would die no matter what. \n\nIf someone came from the side and tackled the falling person at the last second (maybe 2-5 feet above the ground), would either of them survive?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It would be hard to tackle them in any meaningful way without exerting an upward force. A person falling 100m will only take about 0.03 seconds to travel that last meter. If no upward force occurs, that tackle will be little more than a nudge, which will be of no benefit to them, and little harm to our would be linebacker.\n\nIf upward force occurs, the person's deceleration will be spread out over a greater distance (1 m vs. a few mm) which would improve survivability. That will come at the expense of the linebacker, who would be absorbing the blow.\n\nThe most likely outcome? Even if the linebacker did everything he could to reduce the fall, the person will likely die if falling from a signficant height. The linebacker faces a lesser, but still pretty serious risk."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why don't humans have a mating season?\n\nHumans seem to be sexually ready to reproduce at all times. Why don't we have a \"mating season\" like most other animals?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Jared Diamond discusses this in The Third Chimpanzee. In brief, sex is a means by which a woman bonds with her mate. Since human babies take years to raise this bond is critical and therefore it's beneficial to any offspring if their parents get it on a lot. This makes year-round sex a good thing so male partners don't run off. Also the woman's body hides her own fertile time from her so she doesn't just try to have sex when she isn't fertile. The selective pressure of that adaptation should be pretty obvious. This implies lots of our ancestral women were using the rhythm method at some point, and evolution selected for those who were bad at it. Because babies."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why do humans like to watch other humans dance?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "One theory is that dancing is a way to demonstrate bodily symmetry. Symmetry is one of the main criteria we use in determining beauty, as it can be a decent indicator of good genes and good nutrition, both desirable in a mate. \n\nSo it taps into primal mating urges far older than civilization."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Courage the Cowardly Dog] How are the Bagge family able to afford to go to many different places all over the world?\n\nI mean know they have a farm and all, but the problem is that they always seem to be struggling. I mean they are unable to grow any produce, Eustace is a cheapskate, there are not that many animals except for Courage & a bunch of chickens, and so on."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "They are most likely living off of retirement and social security, possibly some kind of farm subsidies. And if we're being real here, does Eustace really seem like the type to file his taxes and government assistance paperwork honestly?\n\nI would attribute any world travel to either a sudden windfall, successful grift, or new line of credit. All spent irresponsibly, because Eustace.\n\nPoor Muriel likely has no clue about their finances."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: What determines whether liquid being poured out of a glass is going to pour out and down the side of the glass rather than straight out?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's all to do with the speed of the water as it passes over the lip. If the water is moving slowly then it will not overcome the force holding it to the glass (adhesion). However if it moves quickly, the water has more momentum and it can break free and pour away from the glass.\n\nIf the water cannot \"break free\" of the surface then it will simply roll over the lip of the glass and trickle down the outside.\n\nThe spout on a jug, you'll notice, curves downward slightly when the jug is held at a pouring angle. Obviously the more vertical the water stream the faster it flows, so jugs pour nice clean streams if water."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Doctor Strange 2 Spoilers] What happened to Wanda?\n\nIs she dead or what?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Vague uncertainty. As the rocks fell her magic fired off.\n\nThat could have been her magic disapating on death or her using her magic to escape death. \n\nStrange and Wong didn’t seem to care enough to confirm either way as far as we know. Probably out of a Hobson’s Choice, in the end she had a heel face turn as she realized what was happening to her:\n\n\n* If she died, let her body stay buried. No reason to disturb her rest.\n* If she lives, what she needs now is self reflection and healing. Not the people she tried to kill and in turn tried to kill her tracking her down. Best to give her that space."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5, how can we in America be charged with crimes if we are intoxicated, but not be able to give consent if intoxicated?\n\nJust seems conflicting."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "You can give consent all you want when you're drunk. What you can't do is accept the consent of a drunk person. We often say \"a drunk person can't given consent\", but this is really a way of informing the person who consent is being offered to that it's illegal to regard that as consent when the individual giving it is intoxicated."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Out of the tons of radio signals that are constantly around us all the time, how does my cell phone know exactly which one(s) to \"listen\" to when I'm calling someone?\n\nBasically, how is the phone able to filter out all of the other \"noise\" that must come from the hundreds, or even thousands, of other radio signals around us to give me EXACTLY what I want to hear, with zero interference?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "There are electronic devices that are called \"filters\" that block out certain radio frequencies. It's like how an FM radio works; only the station you want is allowed through.\n\nThe cell phone companies basically buy the right to exclusively use certain frequencies. (Different frequencies are like different colors.) One company might be allowed to use one frequency, and another company uses another frequency.\n\nYour cell phone is programmed by your cell phone company to only look at the frequencies they've purchased.\n\nNow, you have to share that frequency with every other customer of that cell phone company. One way they do this is called TDMA which basically means everyone who is on a call for a particular cell phone tower gets a small amount of time to send/receive, and they all take turns. The amount of time is so small, and the turns change so quickly that you don't even notice. It's like how a cartoon might have something like 60 frames per second, and they flip so fast that you can't tell that it's not a continuous image.\n\nAnother method is called CDMA, but that uses complex math and these things called orthogonal codes."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Is there a limit to how high a person can fly a kite?\n\nAs the string gets longer, the weight of the kite increases. But also there tends to be more wind higher up. A larger kite would lift more string, but at some point a single person wouldn't be able to hold a very large kite in high winds. So, is there a limit to how high a person can fly a kite?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "This is really a question about the limits of materials science. In some ways it's similar to the problem posed by a theoretical space elevator. How thin and light can you get the string without it breaking? How high can you get the surface area of the kite while keeping the weight down?"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: For conjoined twins, how do the two brains control one body?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Conjoined twins aren't a regular phenomena, so there isn't really a set of rules as to how it'll work out. It's pretty much a case-by-case thing. \n\nI will point out, though, that it's not really \"one body\". It's two distinct bodies that are fused together. Each brain controls it's own body, even if those parts are fused to another body."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Underworld] So William and Marcus were bitten by wolves and bats that made them the first vamp/werewolf ,but in their era were they never bitten by any other animal like a dog? a cat? horse ? rabbit?\n\n Their farther was never bitten by anything???? if they had would they be weredogs and were rabbits? and why didn't Marcus turn into a werebat creature instead of a vampire ?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Their bloodline is rather magical. Being bitten by animals may have been a metaphor rather than actual fact. But assuming it's fact it's likely the animals that bit them were also magical to some extent. Or at least aligned magically in some way. Bats beings of the night and wolves beings of the hunt. As for Marcus he did turn into a werebat rather than a vampire. It's just centuries of repression and evolution have created the lycans and vampires. Marcus rejected his bestial nature and retained his human appearance after some time. William embraced the beast and became it. But both were considerably more monstrous in appearance and ability than their later descendants."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Why does Tim Burton's Batman seem so cavalier about killing?\n\nIn Batman Returns, he kills at least two badies with the Batmobile flame jet and a bomb. He also backhands Catwoman off a roof.\n\nWhy is this Batman so unconcerned with taking life?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "His world was much more violent and cynical than any other universe that has a Batman. \n\nHis genesis was not from a random mugging by a desperate Joe Chill, but a cold, brutal murder by Jack Napier. Jack clearly took pleasure in shooting the Wayne adults and even took time to torment him with a chilling question, just to prolong his fear. (And he likes the way it sounds.) \n\nA Bruce that is traumatized by Joe Chill sees crime as an awful thing, but also a faceless, complex problem that requires a complex solution. He recognizes sometimes people have real problems and need help, not punishment. At his core, he simply doesn't want anyone else to feel what he did that night. \n\nWhen Jack Napier tortured him and killed his parents, Bruce realized this was a personal struggle with a personified incarnation of crime. This Bruce saw Jack everywhere. Criminals were not just superstitious cowards, but monsters that needed to be punished. This Batman was much less of a detective and more of a brutal avenger, doing whatever it took to end crime right then and there. He had no patience for people that might provide a valid story behind their actions and zero tolerance for people that violently broke the law."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How does time dilate? Why does time slow down at higher speeds?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "You have a limited amount of \"motion\". We are spending 99.9999% of our motion \"moving thru time\", the rest is spent on \"moving thru space\". Light spends 99.9999% of its motion \"moving thru space\" and the rest \"moving thru time\". The faster you travel thru space, the less you travel thru time. At light speed, you're not time traveling, at all. But that's relative.\n\nEdit: Travel through time or travel through space, you can't do both at 100%. They add up to 100% though.\n\nEdit: Just realized, this analogy does not work for *gravitational* time dilation. Don't ask me how to explain that."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Eli5: why do space rockets have all the cables still connected during the first seconds of lift off?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "In the event of an engine failure or other type of abort at liftoff they still want the cables and hoses attached so that they can safely shut it down and pump out the fuel rendering it safe for people to enter the launch ramp. Thes aborts can happen right at liftoff so the cables needs to be attached during the liftoff and then disconnect right after this.\n\nA funny accident was with the Redstone-Mercury 1 launch where there was actually a fault with the length of the cables and the sequence they were disconnected from the rocket which falsely triggerd an abort when the rocket was only inches off the pad. The rocket did land again without damage. But since the cables were disconnected there was no way to control the rocket from a distance. It was therefore sitting on the launch pad full of fuel pressurized in its tanks and nobody could do anything about it. To make matters worse the capsule, sensing the engine shutdown and the short freefall ran through the rest of the launch and landing sequency including disconnecting from the rocket and deploying its parachute, and senisng a problem with the main parachute it deployed the spare parachute as well. So now there was a space rocket full of fuel on the launch pad and two dangling parachutes from its top that could catch the wind at any time, and the weather forecasts predicted winds."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How is the original amount of C14 in a fossil determined?\n\nWhen it comes to carbon dating, I understand how the age of a fossil can be determined with the necessary information, being how much C14 is in the current fossil, how fast that C14 deteriorates, and the original amount of C14 in the animal. My question is how the original amount of C14 is determined? Looked everywhere I could and couldn't find an answer, so thank you for any replies."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's not the absolute amount of C^14 that matters, but the ratio of C^14 to C^12 in the sample. The atmospheric ratio is held more or less constant by the creation of C^14 from Nitrogen, but once stored inside a body, it will decay to ~~C^(12)~~ N^(14). The longer it has been since the body breathed or ingested, the more C^14 will have turned into ~~C^(12)~~ N^(14)."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why does a weak am/fm radio signal result in a consistent static/fuzzy sound while a weak satellite radio signal results in intermittent high quality sound?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The simple answer is that AM/FM is an analog signal, which you can \"kind of\" pick up. Think of analog as a scale of 100-0 with the quality increasing or decreasing as you move from the transmitter.\n\nSatellite radio is a digital signal. Think 1 or 0. It's either there, or it's not. The same holds true for satellite TV, where in a severe storm your picture will be perfect right up until it cuts out into nothingness."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How are so many books voted no.1 best sellers?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "They aren't voted. Somebody simply compiles the data of all books are sold each week and then makes a list of the books that sold the most (best).\n\nThere is not much too it.\n\nGiven that there are 52 weeks in a year and that the New York Times breaks their list down into multiple categories and that books actually don't sell that much, it can take surprisingly few copies sold to become a \"best seller\". You just need to sell more copies than anyone else in that week in that category.\n\nIn terms of music. A Best Seller is not an album going gold or platinum (which would mean a certain absolute number of albums sold), but charting at the top of the billboard charts (simply more albums sold than anyone else in your category in that week)."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Batman] Considering his biology/metabolism, how does the staff of Arkham Asylum feed Mr. Freeze?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "This is part of why the Asylum constantly struggles to keep their inmates locked up. Freeze is just one of many freaks in that place that demand weird and expensive accommodations. Their budget for security is constantly being redirected to pay for new weird requirements. Freeze needs everything frozen and powdered (so he doesn't break his teeth), Ivy demands an all meat diet, Penguin stages a hunger strike if he doesn't get fish, and don't get me started on Killer Krok's absurd food budget."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "How can an educated amateur in philosophy get something proportionally akin to peer review?\n\n(I hope this kind of question is allowed under the \"the state of the field\" clause in the rules. The lead-in to my question, and the thing prompting me to ask it, is a personal anecdote, but I imagine the answer to the actual question could be very useful to anyone else like me out there.)\n\nI have a BA in philosophy from almost a decade and a half ago. I once dreamed of getting a PhD in the subject, but I can't afford the time, money, or opportunity cost of doing so -- too busy surviving by other means. Despite that, in my free time I've continued studying to the extent I can, and writing a book on the subject as a hobby, with no particular intent to sell it or try to get professional journals to publish it or anything like that. I more or less finished it in 2019, though I've continued polishing it up since then.\n\nUsually, when I do a hobby project of some kind, I share it with other hobbyists with similar interests, usually some of whom have at least similar if not superior skill levels. I've tried doing that with this project as well, but it seems like I fall into some weird limbo space between lay philosophy enthusiasts and actual professionals in the field that makes that not work out so well.\n\nMost of my attempts to get any feedback from amateur places on the internet have gotten very little response at all, and the little feedback I have gotten has mostly been either people saying they don't understand it or it's over their heads, or else people who seem to think they understand it but clearly don't because their counter-arguments usually aren't attacking my actual positions.\n\nA few people have given very positive responses, some even asking where they can buy it / suggesting I should publish it. But I would feel very uncomfortable trying to sell something the quality of which I am very unsure of because I haven't been able to run it past anyone who seems like a good sounding board.\n\nOn the other hand, I'm fairly sure that no professional journal would even consider \\*actual\\* peer review, by real professionals, of something written by a nobody on the internet like me, who is not really their peer.\n\nSo I'm left wondering, what's an educated amateur to do to get some kind of sanity check on his work by people of at least a similar competency, without having to become an actual professional with a PhD first?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Anyone can submit a paper to any journal. The review process is blind and no one will know if you are employed as an academic or not, have a PhD or not, etc.\n\nFor the entire book open an account on academic.edu and upload it there. Worth trying researchgate as well but they tend to accept only published papers/books from independent researchers."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: What did Edward Snowden actually reveal abot the U.S Government?\n\nI just keep hearing \"they have all your data\" and I don't know what that's supposed to mean.\n\n​\n\nEdit: thanks to everyone whos contributed, although I still remain confused and in disbelief over some of the things in the comments, I feel like I have a better grasp on everything and I hope some more people were able to learn from this post as well."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "In a nutshell he revealed data that showed that the US government, and multiple allied governments had the ability to do things like listen to everyone's phone calls, read their texts, their emails, follow their internet searches, track their locations (via GPS in phones) and also remotely activate people's cell phone cameras and microphones to listen and see what people are doing in real time.\n\nIn short, it was estimated that the data revealed that the US and it's allies had transparency into roughly 80% of all digital communications in the US. \n\nIt's less that this was \"Bad\" honestly, more that these agencies shouldn't have been doing A. to US Citizens, and B. on US soil and C. that the major data providers, the Verizons, AT&Ts, etc, were providing the \"keys\" to their networks for the government to provide this access."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Does Marx justify colonialism as necessary for modernity?\n\nI understand that Marx has this idea of stages of development.\n\nNamely this idea that there's feudalism/pre-capitalism-> capitalism-> Socialism.\n\nIndeed he talks alot about the great service which he considers colonialism to have rendered in the Communist manifesto:\n\n*\" The bourgeoisie has subjected the country to the rule of the towns. It has created enormous cities, has greatly increased the urban population as compared with the rural, and has thus rescued a considerable part of the population from the idiocy of rural life. Just as it has made the country dependent on the towns, so it has made barbarian and semi-barbarian countries dependent on the civilised ones, nations of peasants on nations of bourgeois, the East on the West. \"*\n\nThis sort of talks present in some of Marxs other writings. Does he then see capitalism as being a way of modernizing the world and bringing about modernity? As such then is he not justifying the colonialism and bondage that early capitalism is built on? Does Marx only believe in decolonisation because he first believes in colonisation? If a part of the world is untouched by colonisation with just indigenous people? Is Marx not hinting that he wants to see them suffer colonialism, because this will draw them into world markets which will deliver the productive forces for socialism?\n\nOr have I completely misread the man? \n\nLet me know what you think?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "I think talking of 'wants' will just confuse you understanding of Marx's project. Clearly Marx did want various things, but his wants are not what he's trying to get across in his works. In Capital you easily hear his trembling fury aa his dispassionately describes the horrifying conditions of workers in england, and its clear he sees the emergence of capitalism as something that has declined the condition of the working class.\n\nDoea he say that this decline is justified because it will eventually lead to communism? No, because that's not the point of his project. He is rather trying to prove that capitalism is something that inevitably emerges out of Feudalism, and that communism is something that inevitably emerges out of capitalism. Colonialism too is part of capitalisms advance across the globe, is it good that this happens? What Marx thinks about it morally is not the point of his writings, its just an inevitability."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Are all liquids incompressible and all gasses compressable?\n\nI've always heard about water specifically being incompressible, eg water hammer. Are all liquids incompressible or is there something specific about water? Are there any compressible liquids? Or is it that liquid is an state of matter that is incompressible and if it is compressible then it's a gas? I could imagine there is a point that you can't compress a gas any further, does that correspond with a phase change to liquid?\n\nEdit: thank you all for the wonderful answers and input. Nothing is ever cut and dry (no pun intended) :)"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Liquids are ‘incompressible’ in that they are only slightly compressible.\n\nIf we set ‘z’=1 where a fluid density doubles for a doubling of absolute pressure at constant temperature, liquids have a ‘z’ between about 0.001 and 0.05.\n\nGasses/vapors typically range from 0.4-1.6.\n\nZ is compressibility."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Matrix] How fast does Neo fly to save Morpheos and the Keymaker in the Matrix Reloaded?\n\nMaybe there's two answers here, one is how fast would he have to travel to physically cover the distance, and the other is how fast he was going when he formed the car hurricane tsunami behind him?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Well, when Neo calls Link he informs him that Morpheus and Trinity (and the Keymaker) are **\"500 miles, due south.\"**\nIt takes Neo about **13 minutes** to get to them.\n\nSO... math:\n\n13 minutes / 60 = **0.2167 hours** (we need this for the mph calculation)\n\n*We know that speed = distance / time...*\n\n500 miles / 0.2167 hrs = **2307mph** \n\nThe speed of sound is ~761mph. So Neo could theoretically be clocked going about **3.031 times the speed of sound**.\n\nThe One is fast yo'."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why are Cinematic movies shot in only 24fps?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's for historical reasons. In the very early days, over 100 years ago now, a range of frame rates were tried before a standard emerged. Film was expensive and not very light sensitive so they basically went with the lowest acceptable rate. Even so, projectors display each frame twice, fudging a 48fps rate, to reduce the flicker effect. This is very similar to the way TV uses interlacing to display 60 \"fields\" per second with only 30 full frames."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "CMV: The costs of restricting or banning guns far outweigh it's benefits\n\nThe intent of the 2nd Amendment was to provide civilians power to challenge the government if it were to become tyrannical. Having a tyrannical government without citizens having guns would result in a far scarier and deadly outcome than the consequences we have today of civilians owning guns. \n\nWithout a doubt, gun violence, especially mass shootings, are tragic events that happen as a result of civilians owning guns. Tougher background checks and the process to obtain a gun should certainly be improved upon, but to put a ban on all guns but handguns, or to ban guns altogether is not the way to proceed. A government in full ownership and control of guns would prove to be much more devastating.\n\nThere are also cases where there are mass killings of people in countries that have bans on all guns. There are cases of mass stabbings in public places where about the same amount of people die before the attacker is caught. As such, banning guns will not put an end to mass killings, though it might make it more difficult for the attacker to commit the crime. But the fact remains that it is necessary for civilians to own guns so that they can keep the government in check and may have a fighting chance against them if they were to ever arise as tyrants."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "> The intent of the 2nd Amendment was to provide civilians power to challenge the government if it were to become tyrannical.\n\nIt's well on its way right now. The people with guns are largely standing *with* the government. Can you elaborate on how and by whom you imagine this playing out in reality? \n\n> Tougher background checks and the process to obtain a gun should certainly be improved upon \n\nThis is a restriction on guns, which you seem to be arguing against? \n\n> A government in full ownership and control of guns would prove to be much more devastating. \n\nAny precedent or place where we've seen this happen before? \n\n> There are cases of mass stabbings in public places where about the same amount of people die before the attacker is caught. \n\nYeah? Like what? \n\n> As such, banning guns will not put an end to mass killings, \n\nIt will sure put an end to mass *shootings*"
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[CatDog] How did CatDog happen?\n\nI've been wondering about this for some time now, but how did that happened and why is Dog ditzy and Cat is maniacally smart?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a dog and a rainicorn had a litter of pups. Due to the father's constantly feuding with magic, wizards and extradimensional beings, his sperm was altered and had interesting effects with the magic of a rainicorn womb, leading to them mistakenly believing they had 5 pups-- when in actually, they had six, with one teleporting to another dimension at birth. Unfortunately, the only half of that pup that can teleport back is too dumb to figure out how-- if he even knew he could in the first place.\n\nIt was Jake Jr's twin, if you were curious."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Why doesn't the intensity of the urge to urinate directly corralate with the amount of urine?\n\nThere have been times when I felt my bladder was about to explode and only a squirt came out."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Think of a bag which is being filled with water. The amount of water in it directly determines the amount of pressure on the walls of the bag. This is what you expect from your bladder as well, right?\n\nWell, you are far more complex than just a bag. For example, psychological stress is also directly correlated to the \"urge to pee\" regardless of how much pee their actually is in your bladder. \n\nThis means: Besides the amount of pee in your bladder, there are many factors influencing your urge to pee, nearly all of them are of a psychological nature."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: What are the most likely effects of this super powerful El Nino season?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "I remember in the 90's being in California and having a powerful El Niño taking us from a 10 year drought to \"normal\" in a month (it was referred to as March Miracle). \n\nThere's a lot that could happen or could not happen.While we know it will generate more precipitation, where that lands is going to vary. Also in states like California that are so parched, a large amount of rain will cause a lot of mudslides (less vegetation on the ground to hold things together).\n\nAs to if it will make a dent in the drought, that's also unknown. This is where the \"where\" matters. For example, rain falling in Southern California isn't as important as rain/snow in northern california as far as Los Angeles and the agricultural central valley is concerned (they get a lot of their water from Northern California). \n\nLake Mead in Nevada is 60 feet below normal, but rain in Las Vegas isn't really important compared to rain and snow in western Colorado (i.e. upriver) as far as Lake Mead is concerned."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How does tax evasion by large multinationals work?\n\nI hear a lot about large multinationals (Apple, Google, but also Panasonic etc) setting up their 'headquarters' in a country that has relatively low tax rates. How precisely does this work though and how come they don't have to pay tax in other countries if they've also 'set up shop' there?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Take a coffee company who buys coffee in country A then it is placed into a small bags in country B and then sold in country C. Now any profits the company makes can be taxed in country A, B or C, now for most companies this would normally be country C, however if the company sets up sub divisions of its company in country A B and C and if country B has a very low tax rate it may do some sneaky accounting. Division A buys coffee and sells it on to division B without making a profit, division B then sells the newly packaged coffee to division C at a huge profit, division C sells the coffee to the public without making a profit.\n\nThe company then pays minimal tax in country B and no tax in countries A and C and has successfully evaded tax."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5:Is there truly such a thing as a \"fat gene\"? If so, does that mean people can become obese if they eat a normal amount of calories?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "There are some indications that some genetics, and/or medical conditions, may contribute to some amount of increased weight gain. However, the amount is often dramatically overstated, and minor relative to diet."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "CMV: It should be illegal to ask job / school / housing applicants for race\n\nRace is a protected class. It is illegal to discriminate on hiring, school, and housing based on race. So I don't understand why the race question is legally allowed on these types of applications. They certainly don't ask for religion. Having a race question on the application officially unblinds the process. Receivers of the applications might be be able to figure out the race anyway based on the name, but at a minimum, it increases the cost of doing of doing so. We should not make it easier for institutions to be racist.\n\nPosting from the USA.\n\nEDIT - my OP is about making it illegal to put on all applications, not specifically about job applications.\n\nEDIT - adding my personal experience. I was recently asked to put down my race for a mortgage application. Since it was covid and done over the phone, the banker (apologetically) read the disclaimer that if I choose not to answer, a selection would be picked for me based on other information on my application, or physical apperance. This was at Citibank. I was shocked."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The hiring manager doesn't get to see race gender or ethnicity info.\n\nIt's used by HR to see who the applicants are so they know if they're hiring process eliminate non white candidates or if they're only getting white candidates."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "CMV: The hatred of ketchup among self-professed \"foodies\" is arbitrary and irrational.\n\nThere is no condiment in America more broadly loved and widely detested than Ketchup. Regardless of whether or not you enjoy ketchup, there are people who will criticize others just for putting it on literally any food. There are restaurants which refuse to provide ketchup for their customers specifically because they don't feel it belongs on their food, or that it reflects poorly on the personal tastes of the person asking for it. No other condiment invites that kind of behavior, and the justifications that I have heard for Ketchup's denouncement seem arbitrary at best. I think mustard is vile, but I don't feel the need to try to make people who do like mustard feel bad about it.\n\nEdit: For the sake of clarity, and so people stop sending the same responses, I am referring specifically to instances where ketchup is singled out for criticism. I am well aware that it is bad form to go to a fancy restaurant and ask for additional condiments because it is rude to the chef. It would be rude to ask for any additional condiments in that case though, not *just* ketchup."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The restaurant is well aware that it could lose the patronage of people such as yourself when they implement such a rule. A restaurant is a business, and a business' biggest concern should be generating revenue via selling a product or service so theoretically this business should try to appease its costumers in whatever way possible if cost efficient. However, a restaurant with a chef who thinks highly of himself and his food is also akin to an art gallery. The chef the artist, and the meal his art, exhibited to you via your mouth hole. This analogy will surely lose me points, but you wouldn't paint over the Mona Lisa, simply out of respect for it's artistic value. \n\n\nThat addresses the body of your argument. The title is a different story almost completely.\n\n\"Foodies\" are (I'll assume) amateur food critics. These \"foodies\" have just as much say in what you put on your hot dog as Rotten Tomatoes has in your film preferences. \nCriticism does not prevent you from doing as you please. To an extent criticism is arbitrary, but there is almost always some type of rationale to it. In this case, the reasoning behind a hatred of ketchup could be health-related or related to preserving the purity of the \"art\" you're preparing to consume."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Fantasy]In many fictional Works being a member of the clergy gives someone certain Supernatural powers, protection or abilities. The Queen of England is the head of the Church of England. Does she gain any such abilities? If she blesses a cup of water can she melt a vampire with it?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Followers of Yahweh don't gain any specific special abilities, however they do get access to pretty much all of His power (provided they have enough faith). This means that any devout believer has a potentially limitless power level (Jesus tells us that someone with enough faith can easily perform the miracles he does, and could even \"move a mountain\"), but this comes with the caveat that any action must be completely dedicated to God's plan, and motivated out of complete love of (and trust in) God. \n\nThis is shown when Satan encourages Jesus to throw himself from the top of the temple, and he doesn't, because he shouldn't. The limits of His power are whether one ought to, not can."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[MCU] How does Surtur and the rest of the fire demons fit in a scientifically explainable universe?\n\nWhat is their physiology?How do they come to life?Can all fire demon manipulate fire?Is the Fire Dragon a hybrid of a fire demon and an other race?As we see Surtur is not a normal fire demon because his whole being is connected to a crown.So is he a magically created being and If yes by who? Also is the eternal flame part of Surtur's being or it is just a relic?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "It's simple. The universe (MCU) is not scientifically explainable across the board. Things might have that way years ago, but now there are numerous examples of magic in the universe: Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange being the primary examples."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: Where do my antibodies get stored when I’m not using them?\n\nLike if I’m vaccinated for a bunch of diseases and I’ve built up antibodies for the diseases I’ve had... where do those antibodies go when they’re not active? Or is it more like a software update in that it’s more my body knows how to create those antibodies when needed not that they’re physically kept in some subdermal bat cave waiting to fight crime when called upon?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Some are stored in the spleen (that's why after the spleen is removed because of accidents or so, vaccinations might have to be repeated), but yeah, your body also learns how to produce them.\n\nMaking an antibody that fits is a trial-and-error thing, they body will produce some and test if they work.\nSo if you are vaccinated your body had the chance to try them out with the harmless version and knows what will fit when the real thing comes- time is saved, reaction is faster."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "ELI5: How are outdoor extension cords safe?\n\nI just plugged in my Christmas lights. It's been raining today, so I made sure to thoroughly dry off the prongs first. But it got me wondering, what is it that makes an outdoor extension cord (and outdoor Christmas lights) safe to use in the rain and snow? Or is it actually not as safe as people tend to assume?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "The cord itself is generally fine; it is well insulated with a thick, tough layer of rubber that prevents any problem. As long as the cord is in good shape (no cracks or tears) and isn't abused (excessive flexing, tight bends, strong pressure, etc.) it is moisture-proof.\n \nThe problems come at the ends of the cords. If those connections aren't well sealed against the weather, moisture can get in and cause a short circuit. This will typically cause a breaker to trip before anything really bad can happen."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "Eli5: why can’t we fill deserts with human waste to make it dirt?\n\nOk this might sound a bit silly but, if cow manure is soil, and deserts can't support much plantlife because they don't have the proper soil, wouldn't relocating all human waste to deserts make them into normal dirt that can grow stuff? I figure at least moss or mushrooms or whatever grows in that stuff would form making it better suited for life and less deserty, right?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Cow manure is not the same thing as soil. Soil is dirt and cow manure is feces. People spread manure ON soil because as it breaks down it releases nutrients into the soil.\n\nDeserts are made up of sand, not soil. Soil has an entire biome of bacteria, insects, and other microscopic creatures that are a part of it other than just the dirt itself.\n\nSoil also has a fairly high moisture content compared to sand. Soil also has the roots of plants to help hold it in place.\n\nSand in a desert has no such structure of roots holding it in one place so it tends to blow around. \n\nSo if you put a ton of shit in the desert, it would just be shit in the desert. It wouldn’t transform into soil and would instead probably just dry out and stay there for a very long time since the micro biome that breaks down shit doesn’t exist in the desert."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[Marvel] Does Thanos wear socks?\n\nI mean those boots look like they would chafe like crazy and get super hot and sweaty super quick, does he wear socks or does he just go in raw like a heathen or something?"
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Titan morphology is similar to human but their biology and physiology are very different. IE chafing isn't a concern for thanos and his boots have interior padding and fabric that aids in comfort as well as providing additional protection."
}
] |
[
{
"from": "system",
"value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:"
},
{
"from": "human",
"value": "[ALIEN] Question about its circulatory system\n\nIf the alien/xenomorph has acid for blood, how is it able to circulate oxygen in its body? \nI know the movies never explained or explored the biology of the xenomorphs in-depth, but I'd like to have some sort of theory concerning its blood."
},
{
"from": "gpt",
"value": "Xenomorphs don't need to breath and can survive in a vacuum. They do need to eat though. Because they don't need to take in air much of the function of a circulatory system is unnecessary. The literature does explore the xenomorphs biology a bit, but doesn't give any solid answers other then they are very different from any other life form known by man. It is also worth noting that xenomorphs are silicon based."
}
] |
Subsets and Splits