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Nitral's Archive 20

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are satellites sending data back to earth affected by the Doppler effect?\n\nAre the data signals satellites send back to earth affected at all by the Doppler effect, since the data is in a wave form, and if so, does the satellite have to change the signal slightly to prevent data loss or corruption?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, it's not small enough to interfere with communications, but it's large enough to be able to measure the speed of the spacecraft. If Rosetta is traveling at 15 km/s relative to Earth, then the change in wavelength will be 0.005%, from the formula:\n\nlambda^obs = lambda^emit \\* (1 + v/c)\n\n(sucks that markdown can't do subscripts)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] What happened to the Lars homestead and moisture farm following their death and Luke's disappearance?\n\nDid anyone inherit it? Would the Bank of Tatooine have taken over if they missed some payments? Did Jawas just strip the place clean?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the EU, Luke originally grants the homestead to an alien named Throgg. He in turn ran afoul of the local influential land baron Huff Darklighter - father of Biggs Darklighter, Luke's deceased friend - who proceeded to attempt to run Throgg out. Huff's more reasonable brother Jula intervened, taking the title but allowing Throgg to remain on the property. The two would maintain the property for some time after that; the next time we see it, over 130 years after the battle of Yavin, it's apparently fallen into disuse and partial ruin." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Marvel] How serious does a mutation have to be to count as a mutant? Would someone with something like Heterochromia be allowed in the Brotherhood or X-men, or get harassed by Sentinels?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Conveniently all mutations that \"count\" in this world are tied to the very specifically identified X-gene (and considering how many different ways it manifests I'd argue it has to be more than one single gene but nobody asked me) \n\nYou won't see albinos or people with syndactyly at Xavier's school... at least not ones without other powers. We do occasionally meet mutants with purely cosmetic mutations and maybe a handful of accompanying adaptations (Squidboy, this gargoyle named Alistair... etc.)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why can certain muscles in human bodies (like in our arms, legs, etc.) be built-up through workouts while others (like our fingers, jaw, etc.) remain the same size despite working out almost constantly?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A lot of misinformation in here. Fast twitch / slow twitch has nothing to do with this these particular examples. Every muscle can be worked out and every muscle will grow if worked out more.\n\nYou say those muscles stay the same despite being used a lot. Your muscles are the size they need to be for their usage.\n\nThe muscles which are moving your fingers are in your forearm. If you do grip exercises they will definitely grow in size and you will get bigger forearms. (The muscles that are actually in your hand are mostly for moving your fingers laterally and are very small in size but even they can be worked out)\n\nIf you use or exercise your jaw beyond normal eating then those muscles will definitely grow larger as well." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Avatar] Did Earth colonize other star systems in the immediate area besides Centauri?\n\nHow far did the human race extend and/or explore by the time Avatar takes place? Was the Centauri system where it takes place the only other star system that we reached to that point?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The documentary and its associated materials don't provide a conclusive answer. What we do know is that there are 20 billion people on Earth, which has been ecologically ruined to the point that there are no big cats outside captivity (the Bengal tiger recently having been resurrected through cloning), and half of today's fish species are extinct along with all whales. \n\nThere are small human and automated outposts throughout the Sol system, providing minerals and other raw materials - but not nearly enough to keep up with human demands, let alone restore a functioning ecology. \n\nSo why launch an interplanetary expedition in the first place? RDA evolved out of the early asteroid mining startups of the 21st century. Its institutional DNA came out of that period of reckless optimism. Even so, RDA's first 5-kilometer starship prototype consumed years of profits. Influential world leaders pressured the Interplanetary Commerce Administration to grant RDA's most important condition: that it be granted monopoly rights to any resources discovered in the Alpha Centauri trinary system. This gamble paid off beyond anyone's wildest dreams when Polyphemus was found to harbor life - *intelligent, charismatic* life - as well as unobtainium. \n\nUnobtainium mining is controversial, but its impact on Earth cannot be understated. It made possible the construction of world-spanning maglev lines, each train capable of hauling thousands of tons of cargo at a minimal cost. Those lines double as power transmission conduits. Without unobtainium, fossil fuel use would begin to rise again, and the cost of transmitting energy from large fusion reactors would no longer be competitive with a network of coal- or gas-fired plants. \n\nWithout unobtainium, we lose all the progress we've made. To keep 20 billion people alive in a ruined world takes constant effort and vigilance. Most of us have grown up on nothing but bars of vat-grown algae and bug powder. We've got greenhouse emissions down. We've relocated people from the ruined coasts. We've cleaned up a lot of the old messes and we're working hard to re-establish viable ecologies. We've adapted. Many of us have even managed to thrive. But without unobtainium, we lose all that. We start the downward cycle all over again. \n\nUnobtainium is the last hope for Earth. It's the last hope for humanity.\n\nThat is why RDA's shareholders have never approved an expedition to another system. Every ship pissing about in the unknown is one not hauling back unobtainium. \n\nAs for the Na'vi? Terrible loss if they all died. But not as terrible as all of us dying." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: what makes stainless steel stainless\n\nJust that. Why is some steel stainless and some is not, what’s the difference actually?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Stainless steel is an alloy of iron with a lot of chromium and nickel added in.\n\nThe chromium corrodes quickly in air, to form a layer of chromium oxide. The chromium oxide is very tough and a thin, invisible layer seals the surface of the metal off, so no more air can get in.\n\nRegular iron corrodes to form iron oxide, which is rust. However, rust doesn't seal the surface, so air and water can get penetrate the rust and get to the metal underneath causing further corrosion and more rusting." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How does a compass on your phone work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A pretty common method is to use magnetoresistance. Some materials change their electrical resistance depending on the direction of the magnetic field they're exposed to. So they put little slivers of those materials on a chip, at specific angles, along with circuitry to put a specific amount of current or voltage through the materials, and measure the how well electricity flows through them. Once they know that, the chip does the math to determine the precise 3D angle the magnetic field is pointing. The phone's CPU asks the chip for the compass data several times a second and averages it out to give you a smooth reading." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why is that when you touch an open wound (or the “white meat”) under your skin with your finger, it burns?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because the nerves that bring sensations like pressure, heat and cold to your brain get the info from special structures around nerve endings that are deep in your skin. If you touch an open wound you stimulate directly your nerves and give them a much greater stress. The other case where this happens is when your skin is removed by fire and the nerve endings are exposed to the air so the sensation is similar. \nThink of it like a short circuit." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do modern dishwashers take way longer to run and clean better yet use less energy and water?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The vast majority of the energy that a dishwasher uses goes towards heating the water. The sprayer pumps use very little power in comparison.\n\nSo the best way to reduce the overall energy consumption is to lower the water temperature, which makes the cleaning cycle take longer, but that's fine because only the low power pumps are running during that time.\n\nedit: The same idea applies to washing machines, by the way." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If two countries go to war, how can the opposing army know which army is theirs without accidently shooting their own teammates?\n\nDoes every army in every country have a different uniform? Or do they all wear camouflaged suits or something." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Different uniforms, identifying colors in helmets/on person, passwords/codewords and just generally if you're being shot at it's likely it's the enemy firing. Also officers are briefed which direction enemy is at and they brief their people. \n\nComms, comms, comms. Very important." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If 128 people pick a number between 1 and 64, what's the probability each number gets picked at least once?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The # of ways to pick should be equal to the # of onto functions from the set of people to the set of integers 1 to 64. This requires applying inclusion-exclusion.\n\nThe prob. is then that # divided by the total # of functions 64^128.\n\n---\n\nIt seems that the # of onto functions can be calculated with the help of the Stirling numbers of the second kind: 64! * S(128,64)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[LoTR] If Gandalf had not been restricted in the usage of his powers, could he have seriously messed up Saurons plans? What could he have done if the Powers that Be just said \"f*ck shit up?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, he could have. But it wouldn't just fuck up Sauron, it would destroy Middle-Earth.\n\nWhen Gandalf keeps a door closed, he's not casting a magical door-locking spell. He's bending reality using divine power taken from God. And anything that bends, can break.\n\nMagic is inherently an attempt to subjugate reality. When the Valar fought Morgoth way back in the First Age, they ended up destroying a continent. Not because of mere collateral damage, but because using magic damages the fundamental structure of the world. \n\nThe same thing would happen if Gandalf fought Sauron using his full power." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do mosquito bites itch?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When a mosquito bites you, it releases an anti coagulant. Your immune system releases histamines to combat the foreign substance. The histamines are what is responsible for the itching. You can stop the itching by either a cream, or taking an antihistamine tablet, such as benadryl." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How can the Greek government have spent so much that they are still broke? What was all this money spent on?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In a single word: corruption. Not only the politicians (almost all of them), also the population. Since the Ottoman times, the Greek culture holds the idea that the government is an enemy and everything should be done to avoid giving money to it. So tax evasion is rampant and socially acceptable, in all layers of the society. It's helped by corrupt officials who cover others who cover others etc.\n\nFamily member wanted to get documents and permits in order for a house (actual house didn't match the permit). Nobody there (including the mayor) understood that he would do something that cost money just to be legal.\n\nThere's a society problem and it will take at least one generation to get fixed." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would electronics last longer if left on all the time, or switched on/off as needed?\n\nI've heard it both ways:\n\nSome claim that as long as all components are well below thermal limits, electronics left on 24/7 will last longer because they're not subject to the stresses caused by the components expanding and contracting due to warming up/cooling down.\n\nBut a lot of people think that electronics last longer the less they're on because they spend less time in the \"stresses of being on\"... but these people never elaborate on what, exactly those stresses are.\n\nSo, who's right? And why? What are the most significant forces at work here?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Product Development Engineer here - it varies by product. It's a very interesting question, because thermal cycling (on/off) is a very stressful condition for electronics that causes a lot of catastrophic failures. On the other hand most devices are rated in hours useful life, so leaving a device on is generally not the best choice if it will spend a lot of hours without anyone using it. \n\nFor lifetime rating, products are generally subjected to three main categories of abuse (others if it will be an outdoor or waterproof product): Elevated temp. operating tests, thermal cycling tests, and vibration testing. Generally the weak point of any given product is due to a particular design choice, and thus could be any one of those tests. If you're trying to decide about how best to use a particular device, you probably need to look up how it tests. I've been looking for test standards for you to read, but none are free. In LED lighting, we adhere to IES LM-80, which describes mostly elevated temperature testing. For UL compliance we'll need to pass some ASTM vibration testing (maybe D3580), and for customer certification we'll need to have data on storage life and cycling. \n\nI know it seems like a cop out, but the best way to ensure long life of your device is to operate it in a cool environment where it won't get any extra thermal stress, and to use it as infrequently as possible. The maximum stress from cycling would be if you turned it on just long enough to get hot, then left it off just long enough to get cool before turning it back on, so if you're turning on a TV 20 times a day, you're probably doing it wrong." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: The FAA needs to impose harsher penalties for passengers who act up on planes.\n\nThe Federal Aviation Administration said in 2021 they had over 6000 reported incidents of unruly passengers due to mask mandates up to and including assaulting flight attendants. Note this is after all previous years had so few incidents that they didn't even bother keeping track.\n\nThese \"Adults\" need to learn the difference between a right and privilege. They need to lay down the law and start making examples of these clowns.\n\nThis is my proposal.\n\n1. Use the security cameras already on planes to record the whole flights, and make it known to people they are on camera and that this footage can and will be used against them for both civil and criminal penalties including to put them on a list that will expel them banning them for life from American Airports.\n\n2. Have 3 levels of punishments for passengers who misbehave and let flight attendants and pilots submit filing for punishment that will be looked over by a specific part of the FAA to get the identity of the individual.\n\n3. Level 3 penalties- Fines up to $1000 before being able to board another plane, this would be for refusing to follow instructions nonviolently. Basically an adult acting like a child and holding up oppertations. Failure to follow the mask mandate nonviolently would be under this. Becoming unruly drunk.\n\n4. Level 2- Suspension for up to a year but starting at like a month, such action would include being removed from an airplane but refraining from being violent towards the flight attendants/cabin crew. Fight other passengers, (this was an actual incident reported by the NYT) Throwing a used fucking diaper into the drink bin ewww. Basically any physical, health, or having to be removed action that doesn't rise to the level of attacking crew. Also being removed from a store/restaurant in the airport.\n\n5. Level 1- Expulsion/Life Time Ban nationally- Assault or Battery against any airplane or airport employees as in employed by the airport or airline. Attempting to or successfully bringing a weapon into the airport or plane. If the police have to be called in because they refuse to leave the plane after being told.\n\n6. People who enter an airport after being informed they are not allowed to face arrest. Simple.\n\nI know the FAA and Congress are thinking about doing more, this is the simplest way, stop pretending people acting out is okay, 75% of FA are women as someone why is trying to become a flight attendant, I know these cowards wouldn't mess with my since I'm 6fT 200 pounds male, but yeah when 75% of your cabin crew nation wide is physically vulnerable to attack you should act.\n\nEdit- The footage would be reviewed to see who hit first.\n\nDelta Edit- Verbal assault would fall under suspension.\n\nEdit 2- Deleted a part that came off wrong and offensive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You had me until the last paragraph. Flight attendants being women or homosexual men has nothing to do with it. And the assumption that all homosexual men are effeminate weaklings... woah dude.\n\nPenalties should be laid out and enforced because disruptions cost the airline and passengers time and money. And violent disruptions are dangerous for everyone nearby, whatever their gender or sexuality. Even as a 6ft, 200 lb straight dude, you can still get hurt by a drunken asshole." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are household appliances perfectly efficient in winter (because all waste heat just heats the house anyway)?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In a lot of places, heating with gas (by furnace) is cheaper than heating electrically, so it might not be perfectly efficient from a cost perspective.\n\nAlso, a lot of work goes into designing a heating system for a home so that heat is distributed somewhat evenly. Heat coming from appliances probably isn't going to be as evenly dissipated. To give an extreme example, having one source of heat in a corner of your home will require more energy to maintain your home's climate than having a whole system of ducts which aim to evenly heat your home, because an uneven climate loses more heat to the outside environment." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Pokemon] Explain every type weakness/resistance\n\nSome are obvious, like water putting out fire. But how is Bug strong against Dark?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Normal is mundane animal life- easy prey to trained humans and stone tools, and with no ability to interact with the spiritual world.\n\nFire is straightforwardly extinguished by water, sand and stone. Meanwhile, dragons are the masters of fire and have no fear of burning themselves\n\nWater conducts electricity- a bad idea for a watery being with organs- and are drunk by plants. Dragons are as associated with water as fire, and seem to hold dominion here too.\n\nFighting is purely physical. They've got no counter for the esoteric powers of faeries, psychics or ghosts and on a simpler level, birds and bugs are too fast to hit. Meanwhile, their dependence on physical perfection makes anything that ruined their health a devastating blow.\n\nFlying creatures have thin bones, easily broken by rocks and metal. Also being in the sky among the clouds, things that can influence icy winds or lightning find them easy targets.\n\nGrass is plant matter- it burns and is eaten by bugs or birds all the time, and easily dies in the cold. The same thirst that makes it so potent against water betrays it here, hungrily absorbing poison.\n\nPoison depends on poisoning its enemies, obviously. Psychics and ghosts have transcended their physical bodies while dirt, rocks and metal simply have no biological functions to disrupt\n\nElectricity is grounded easily- the charge simply dissipates too far, which also protects plants. Meanwhile, electrical enemies constantly have strong current running through them- a few hundred volts more is barely noticeable.\n\nPsychics require focus to use their powers- primal fears like insects, ghosts and the dark shatter that concentration. While their mind powers are potent a fellow psychic can resist them, and a machine's mind cannot be swayed.\n\nGround is hard to change on a large scale but water, icecaps and forests alike can reshape it on even the scales it works on. Bugs are the opposite- simply too small for the ground to notice meaningfully. Birds are move obvious- they're in the air and it can't reach them.\n\nRock is not as tough as it seems. Breaking rocks with their bare hands is a party trick for fighters, and ice, grass and water break them down quickly. Meanwhile, metal is simply stronger- in a brute force contest, steel wins.\n\nIce melts, but is also more fragile then rock or steel and easy enough to break with brute strength. Meanwhile, all it can do to water is freeze it, and that's not really harming it, is it?\n\nDragon is slain by another dragon, or a knights steel, or a fairyland enchantment. More mundanely, magical or not, they're reptiles, and cold-blooded beings do poorly in the cold.\n\nDark is the \"villain\" type- it's lies, backstabbing and manipulation, dirty tricks and clever plans. Insects are too stupid to fool while warriors are too blunt to care. Meanwhile, faeries have plenty of experience with lies and manipulation themselves- can't con a con.\n\nGhost is a type of victims and tragedy, giving it an inherent weakness to those dark of heart- they already lost to them once. Meanwhile, their intangibility is no protection to those equally spectral.\n\nSteel is hard to destroy with brute force. But fire can soften it, a skilled fighter can see the weak points, and the sheer size of the earth dwarfs it. It also conducts electricity, and how do you hurt an enemy that can hide in your arms?\n\nFairies weakness to iron is well known, as is their weakness to drink and hedonism making it easy to get them to consume something deadly. Meanwhile, as things of whim and chaos, fire's nature as a representation of order and civilization drives them away." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is it even hypothetically possible to accelerate something to the speed of light? Or is it an asymptote?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A massive object with a constant acceleration you will only asymptotically approach the speed of light. \n\nLet me give you an analogy:\n\nImagine we're trying to cross a troll bridge. The troll says that we're allowed to cross half the distance between where we are standing and the other side, but every time we do, we owe the troll a dollar. Getting halfway across the bridge is cheap, as it only costs us a dollar. Getting 75% of the way across is still pretty cheap, and only cost us $2 to get there. And so forth and so forth. Eventually, no matter how close we get to the other side, we'll eventually run out of dollars before we cross the bridge.\n\nAccelerating a particle is sort of like that. At first, you can increase the particle's velocity a lot by dumping energy into it. But eventually, once you're going 99% the speed of light, it starts getting really hard. If you triple the kinetic energy of a particle already going 99% the speed of light, you'll only get it going 99.9% the speed of light. You can keep increasing the energy of this particle, but you'll only succeed in tacking on more 9s to the end of that number.\n\nIt's simply impossible. You can accelerate forever, and as you pump more energy into the particle, you'll inch closer and closer to the speed of light, but you'll never actually hit it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Final Fantasy 6] Where did Kefka get the power to single-handedly kill 20 espers in one blow?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kefka had two main advantages:\n\n1. Immediately before that happens, Kefka and the Emperor had *just* figured out that the full power of Espers can be transferred by using Magicite when an Esper dies. Kefka has the full support of the Empire and all its mad magitech science, so they gathered up all of the Espers they still had access to, turned them into magicite, and sucked all the power out of them. If game mechanics are to be believed, this would require Kefka killing a shit-ton of things for exp, but he would hardly have an ethical problem with running around murdering things for power. Hell, they'd probably assembly line that shit, capturing monsters, battering them down to one hp, and then delivering them to Kefka to give the final blow. \n\n2. Kefka has a unique power to nullify Espers magic, making them essentially powerless against him. This appears to be a more developed version of Celes' Runic ability, and it makes sense that the Empire would keep working on developing a better version after Celes betrayed them." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If a black hole is comprised of ferromagnetic material, would it be attracted to magnets?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A material being ferromagnetic depends on how the individual magnetic domains arrange themselves. A black hole exists at densities where it isn't possible for an atom to exist, so it can't really be ferromagnetic." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Marvel] In-universe, is the Punisher classified as a serial killer?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not really. In universe, the cops and feds recognize he's a whole different animal than a serial killer, and The Punisher (plus his accomplices/apprentices/imitators) is a category onto himself. In terms of objective measurements, his addiction to war isn't really targeted the same way as a serial killer; SKs are compelled to a fairly narrow target list for the most part (sickos killing women who remind them of mom, nurses playing \"angel of mercy\" to those they decide are too far gone to save, etc.), while Castle was just as at home fighting the NVA in the jungle as he is fighting the Maggia in the city streets. He also doesn't suffer a hardcore compulsion to kill; be can (and does) choose to let valid targets slip away if doing so would lead him to a bigger fish. Finally, a lot of killers experience a \"cooling off period\" after a kill where they have a diminished urge to kill, wheras Frank Castle will kill all day, every day, non-stop, stacking the bodies up like sandbags *and never cool off*." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do forklifts use propane as fuel as oppose to another fuel?\n\nAt work, we have multiple forklifts that use propane as the fuel. They run out of fuel quite often and I have only heard of propane being used for cooking. What properties make it ideal for forklifts? Does is burn differently that other fuels?\n\nThank you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most forklifts are dual fuel(gas or propane) others are diesel & others electric/battery powered, as well.\nUsing propane allows for the machine to go indoors, and with the low Emissions of gas will not cause people to get sick or carbon monoxide poisoning when using indoors." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does Congo have a near monopoly in Cobalt extraction? Is all the Cobalt in the world really only in Congo? Or is it something else? Congo produces 80% of the global cobalt supply. Why only Congo? Is the entirety of cobalt located ONLY in Congo?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cobalt is mostly a by-product of copper and nickel mining. There are massive copper and nickel deposits in the Congo. However, another major factor is the lack of much mining and environmental regulation in the Congo. They can mine a lot of cobalt, cheap, because they pay the workers low wages, to work in dangerous conditions, with little regard to the effects to the local environment. So, it's simply cheaper for companies to buy Cobalt from the Congo than from many other places.\n\nThus, it's much like two farms in your town growing apples. If Farm A can sell its apples for much less than Farm B, then Farm A is going to sell far more apples, even if Farm B can produce just as many apples as Farm A." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What is the difference between Chaos Theory and The Butterfly Effect?\n\nI thought I knew what The Butterfly Effect was, then someone (well, Life is Strange did) explained Chaos Theory, and they sound like pretty much the same thing? What is the difference?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chaos Theory describes the circumstances in which something like the Butterfly Effect can take place. Chaos Theory is (among other things) a set of highly sensitive conditions which allow the Butterfly Effect (the precipitating dramatic effect of a small change on a sensitive system) to occur. \n\nChaos Theory is the line of dominoes. Butterfly Effect is you tipping over the first one." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Batman] How come nobody suspects the guy funding Batman just might be Batman himself?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If you had bat-themed-assault-plane money do you think you'd go out to fight yourself? No, you'd wire some crazy ex Navy SEAL with cameras and send him out. Watch him doing it from the comfort of a big armchair in some ritzy basement.\n\nI tell you, he's got a big old bank of flatscreens and he watches them all. The one with arrows, the Bat, the little bat in Bludhaven, the bird-kid... He's just playing around with them all.\n\nI reckon it's Lex Luthor behind it all. Only guy rich enough and smart enough to go outside the law to get the job done." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Pokemon] Why does everything in the Pokemon world revolve so heavily around Pokemon?\n\nSeriously, it seems there is no aspect of human society, from culture to commerce to crime that is not centered around Pokemon in some way. Does anyone have hobbies or careers that don't involve Pokemon? Can I go see a movie that isn't about Pokemon? Do criminals ever mug people for their money rather than their Pokemon? Is there a city somewhere with a damn walmart that sells stuff other than pokeballs and revives?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The games are from the viewpoint of individuals *deep* into the Pokemon lifestyle. People who take it from a hobby/pet situation to a full on professional career/semi-philosophical quest. \n\nPokemon are a massive part of the world (and most people with outdoorsy hobbies need a Pokemon for self-defence purposes), but there's presumably other facets of life we're not seeing from our perspective as people who are journeying to become Pokemon Masters. Dave the Artisanal Baker probably has a Pokemon or two he keeps for companionship/to help him out around the bakery, but he probably goes to a pottery class on his weekends, and plays Dungeons and Dragon-types every Wednesday, rather than going to train at the Fire Gym.\n\nIt's kinda like how if you followed the life story of say, a professional athlete or expert rock climber, you'd get a very different worldview than following an investment banker. We even get the occasional hint of other hobby subcultures, like the cyclists or swimmers; presumably, these people are getting their hobby-gear at some speciality stores that the Player Characters never need to hit up, because we play as hardcore Pokemon trainers." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If fish in an aquarium will eat until they die, how do fish in the ocean, or those same aquarium fish in the wild ever survive?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Overeating is not the real problem. The real problem is tha aquariums are small closed systems.\n\nFish poop, contains ammonia and ammonium both of which are poisonous.\n\nThe aquarium has filters and and bacteria that remove the ammonia and ammonium or convert them to nitrate and nitrite and then eventually to nitrogen which escapes as a gas. These systems can only handle so much.\n\nWhen we increase food in the aquarium, there is more pooping, but there is also food left over to rot. Rotting food releases nitrates and nitrites.\n\nBecause aquariums are small, it doesn't take much extra ammonia, ammonium, nitrate or nitrite to overwhelm the system and cause the environment to become poisonous.\n\nThis doesn't happen in the ocean as readily because the ocean is a huge system. If you want to know how the system works, you could Google \"the nitrogen cycle\"." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "(Star Wars) Bringing balance to the force. Why?\n\nI just saw all the star wars movies again one to six, and one thing from the three first movies bothers me a lot. The Jedi are constantly talking about this profecy that Anakin Skywalker is the chosen one to bring balance to the force. Now that is fine and all, but why would they allow balancing the force? The Jedi, and the good side, are as far as i can understand clearly overbalanced. They even say that the sith have been extinct for over a thousand years or something like that. So bringing balance to the force is probably the worst thing the Jedi could do! What am i missing here?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's a common misconception that \"balance\" equates to equality between good and evil. It does not. Balance, in the Force, is represented by the light side, emphasizing peace, neutrality, order. The Sith represent chaos, disorder, and violence. When there is imbalance in the Force (i.e. the Sith are running amok), the galaxy is at war, people are dying, bad things are happening. Remember, the Force isnt a philosophy, its an actual fact of nature that runs through all things. When people are purposefully perverting it and corrupting it by drawing from the dark side, it is felt by everything on some level.\n\nThat's why Anakin's prophecy was so important. He wasn't just going to beat the Sith, or save the Republic, he was supposed to bring peace to the galaxy on a fundamental level. That's why his fall and betrayal was so crushing. It would be like if Jesus came down from heaven and started shooting up orphanages. Of course, Anakin did fulfill his destiny in the end, by both siring Luke and killing the Emperor and himself, the \"last\" (movie Canon) Sith Lords." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Terminator] How is the rest of the world other than America, after the nuclear war?\n\nI mean, some countries have to have been spared from nuclear strikes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Have you ever watched War Games? The fact that any humans *whatsoever* were spared from nuclear strikes is sort of a miracle. The major world powers still have far more weapons than they need to blanket the Earth's surface in nuclear fire." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If we live in a capitalistic country, how come the President intervened to save Apple?\n\nerr capitalist..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We live in a Keynesian system, in which the government intervenes in instances of market failure.\n\nAlso, under what libertarians would probably consider pure capitalism, the president would not be able to do this." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: When a card is passed around an office, signing fifth is ideal.\n\nWe've been there- someone gets a card and it gets shipped around the office (or class or get-together or whatever) for everyone to sign. Maybe it's a \"get well soon\" card. Maybe it's a \"sorry for your loss\" card. Maybe it's a congratulatory card. Maybe it's a...you know what, it really doesn't matter.\n\nIn this example and for the purposes of discussion, I'm assuming an office setting of 20ish people and that I am not the purchaser of the card. Once the card is being swapped around, you should try to sign it fifth. Fifth is the ideal place in the card signing order.\n\nFirst is too stressful. You really have to nail it if you're first. Too much room for error and literally nothing to go off of.\n\nSecond has all of the downsides of signing first, assuming the second signer is the first person signing who didn't actually buy the card.\n\nThird doesn't have enough data to establish a signing trend and is left potentially vulnerable if a trend emerges later on.\n\nFourth is in the similar position as the third signer. Not enough context to recognize signing trends and too much empty space left on the card. White space. So much white space and not enough to guide a comment that doesn't stick out. You're caught in between writing something meaningful but if you take up too much space, you're an asshole.\n\nFifth. The wonderful fifth position. You have enough information to understand trends that might have emerges, but still have cover to take a new direction within reason that doesn't go too wild. There's plenty of precedent with regard to size of don't, spacing, detail of comments, and amount of genuineness. You maximize your card-writing safety AND amount of viable creativity. \n\nEverything after fifth has the same benefits as fifth with less white space on the card to actually do anything. Diminishing returns after fifth.\n\nChange my mind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": ">First is too stressful. You really have to nail it if you're first.\n\nwhen you sign cards like this don't people sign in random locations. Nobody, expect the second person to sign, would know that you signed first.\n\nWhere is the stress in that?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Blade] Why don't vampires who need a daywalker for their sacrifices and experiments just make their own instead of trying to catch Blade?\n\nBlade tells pretty much everyone within earshot about his mother being attacked when he was in the womb. It's probably common knowledge within the vampire community by now.\n\nSo why not just capture a bunch of pregnant women, turn them into vampires, and then reap their daywalker progeny for your twisted blood rituals? Seems easier than going up against a superpowered guy with swords whose sole mission in his immortal life is to kill you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I always assumed that Blade was just an aberration. Like a one in a million chance. Maybe in the past or repeated attempts after Blade was born, they found that the human fetus and/or pregnant woman was never strong and capable enough to carry to term." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Marvel/MCU] How strong are Earth's own heroes and villains compared to the vastness of outer space's collective of heroes and villains?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On Earth-616? The Avengers are strong enough to the point that the Kree, Skrull, Spartoi, & Shi'ar Empires declared Earth a quarantine zone to prevent the Humans, Mutants, and Inhumans from leaving the Sector." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do frogs, toads and other amphibians know how and where to find new bodies of water?\n\nWe’ve got a new pond which must be half a mile away from the nearest lake/river yet frogs and toads have populated it almost immediately. How do they know where to find these new habitats?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Amphibians explore and migrate during cool moist weather. They can cover a lot of distance that way, especially if they can find damp places to take shelter in between stages of their journey.\n\nMost animals (including us) are also perfectly capable of smelling water from a good distance. Wind blowing across a body of water will have more moisture in its air than the surrounding air. An exploring frog that smells water on the wind will likely come to check it out." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What makes bitcoin so valuable if anyone can create a cryptocurrency (Dogecoin for example)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's valuable for the same reason anything is valuable. And any random cyrptocurrency isn't valuable because of that same reason.\n\nThings have value because people are willing to exchange it for other things of value.\n\nIf no one anywhere is willing to exchange stuff for your new cryptocurrency then it has no value.\n\nIf people are willing to give you dollars for your cryptocurrency or stuff for it, then it has value.\n\nBitcoin can be exchanged for dollars easily enough, your brand new cryptocurrency can't be exchanged for dollars, so it doesn't have value." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Half-life ] why was the combine trying to prevent citizens from leaving doomed city 17?\n\nThe combine knew the citadel was going to blow, any citizens that stayed would be killed and probably turned into a zombie that would cause the combine issues later. I can't see any reason for them to dedicate valuable troops to stopping them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Combine is a multi-universe empire with vast quantities of disposable assets. At the same time, they KNEW that someone inside the Citadel was responsible for sabotage and its destruction. \n\nTheir troops were expendable, containing the threat and the individual who destroyed the Citadel was of far greater priority than a few hundred troops, or a thousand civilians." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What type of energy is released during matter/antimatter interactions?\n\nWould it just be light and heat? What particles would be created in this process?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matter/antimatter collisions can produce all sorts of particles, but the likelihood depends on which quantum numbers need to be conserved and what sort of momentums the particles bring to the table during annihilation. The simplest annihilation event, say for an electron/positron pair would be two gamma photons." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] What was Snoke doing during the galactic civil war? Did Palpatine not sense his presence as a powerful darkside force-user?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We simply don't know enough about Snoke to actually give an answer other than he was around during the Civil War. It could be that he wasn't a powerful force user at the time, potential perhaps but not necessarily strong." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Attack on Titan] How frequent does the Survey Corps conduct expeditions beyond the Wall?\n\nI’m currently rewatching some of the AoT OVAs and when Erwin gave the order for the 48th Expedition beyond the Wall to commence, I just realized; \n\n**In the entire show as a whole, exactly how frequent are Survey Corps expeditions beyond the Walls to garner only (as of Season 1 of AoT) only 57 expeditions?**\n\nI mean, *57* expeditions by the time of Trost within a period of 105 years? Really? This isn’t exactly the Apollo space program. How was it that only 57 expeditions outside of the Wall has been conducted? I get that the Survey Corps isn’t exactly well liked by senior government officials, but I don’t buy that *only* 57 expeditions have been conducted. I’d imagine at least 100." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That's a survey every 1.8 years. That's pretty reasonable for all it entails. \n\nThat 2 year period between the expeditions gives them time to train new recruits, smooth out plans for once they're outside the wall, and time to get all the supplies they need. \n\nThis seems like a fairly decent turn around for the tech level that they're at." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If cat's and dog's hearing is so much more sensitive than human hearing, why are they not bothered by things such as traffic noise or TV noise?\n\nI was thinking about this the other day when I was watching TV the other night and my dog was happily dozing next to me even though the TV was a bit too loud for me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cats and dogs can hear a wider range of sound frequencies. That does not necessarily mean that they will experience noice to be any louder then what we experience it to be. Also, dogs tend to not give a f*ck." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why isn’t Braille just raised letters? Wouldn’t it make more sense if it was?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not for reading it quickly. It's designed so that each letter is distinctive by touch - Braille readers don't have to feel each letter individually, they can just run their fingers over a row and read it all at once.\n\nAnother thing is, for someone who's born blind, they might never have learned what \"normal\" letters looked like - and would not need to.\n\nAlso, Braille is easy and cheap to produce. You just have a grid of 3x3 or whatever punches, and for each letter, you only activate part of the needles - actually a lot easier to \"type\" than a regular typewriter where you need dozens of buttons and individual arms." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What is dialectics?\n\nIve had trouble pinpointing a definition for Dialectics, from what I grasp (which could be totally off base) is that it deals with how things change and half an effect om each other. But im still unsure of what it is.\n\nIs it a mode of thinking? Is it an analytical method? Is it a form of logic? Is it a form of argument or rhetoric? \nIs it something one could put into practice?\n\nAre there any easy to grasp resources that give a good explanation?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The word \"dialectic\" comes from the Ancient Greek *dialektikos*. Originally, a dialectic was a conversation between two people. In Plato's dialogues, one person (usually Socrates) would question another person. The answerer would try to provide a definition of some concept (eg, justice, piety, knowledge, moderation, etc). The questioner would try to show that some of the answers contradicted each other. In this way, dialectic became a method of inquiry directed by a question-and-answer process. In his logical works, Aristotle refers to the dialectic as a standardized method that students at the Academy would use to practice their skills in logic. \n\nPlato's and Aristotle's dialectic inspired Hegel's dialectics. However, Hegel thought that that dialectic couldn't provide substantive knowledge. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates may show that some of his interlocutor's propositions are false, but his question-and-answer process doesn't prove that something is true. Hegel wants his dialectic to lead to positive, substantive determinations. \n\nTo put it very simply, Hegel maintained that things pass through three moments:\n\n(1) A moment of understanding. In this moment, the determination seems stable.\n\n(2) The \"dialectical\" moment. A one-sidedness or restrictedness in the determination comes to the fore, and the determination passes into its opposite. The determination is both cancelled and preserved; the determination \"sublates\" itself. \n\n(3) The \"speculative\" moment. This is the positive result from the unity of the opposite determinations.\n\nMost people probably know about dialectics through Marx. Marx was a Young Hegelian who applied a version of Hegel's dialectic to his investigations. However, there is controversy over how Hegelian Marx was during different points in his career. Georgi Plekhanov coined the term \"dialectical materialism\" to refer to the philosophy that Engels drew the outlines of in the *Anti-Duehring*." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At what point can a mass of cells be considered a living being?\n\nSome time ago I was talking to my brother about abortion, and one thing he said is: at what point can we consider a mass of cells a human and living being? Is there an exact point at an exact time where some cells become a living thing? How can we decide whether or not abortion is moral? Is a living being _living_ if it is conscious? And what about people in coma or vegetative state?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Single cell organisms are a thing. A better question might be: When are these cells considered protected life?\n\nWhen does consciousness actually occur is another great question. What is consciousness, exactly? Is it a will? Or a lens? Or a complex illusion that looks like one of the aforementioned? Does a sphex have consciousness? A dog? An amoeba?\n\nIs unconsciousness \"dead brain\", or \"sleep state brain\"? Hard to tell if you don't have a definitive answer for what is consciousness. \n\nEverything is a moral issue if you frame it as such. How you frame it is pro and con, by definition of morality. \n\nIs abortion right or wrong? Probably depends highly on the circumstances. Beliefs about which life is worth protecting and the definition of, or weight given to consciousness, are also major considerations when examining the morality of abortion." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hypercharismatic people\n\nHas there been any research/writing done on \"hypercharismatic\" people? The likes of Adolf Hitler and Charles Manson who seemingly had a special kind of charismatic ability to possess and manipulate people, to lead a personality cult even in their personal lives and hence without propaganda tools -- is this a very rare personality trait or merely a combination of narcissism and high intelligence? Or possibly both?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You can't really go wrong starting with Max Weber's *On Charisma and Institution Building* for a sociological perspective on the phenomenon, especially his observation that the 'charisma' of an individual derives from the symbolic needs of a society (or social (sub)grouping thereof), especially when it is threatened. For example, Hitler and Manson were charismatic, sure, but only *for certain 'kinds of people'*, under particular sociohistorical circumstances. According to Weber, a group's need for a charismatic figure precedes his or her appearance and rise to power as such.\n\nTo put it bluntly, in this sense charisma is highly contextual. Charles Manson may have been charismatic to runaway teens in Southern California of the 1960's, but he was definitely *not* charismatic to lawyers, judges, and juries in subsequent courtroom proceedings." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: The Watergate Scandal to a Non-American." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "President of the United States found out that people working for his re-election, including highly placed members of the White House Staff, were involved in a break-in of the opposition political HQ. After learning about this break-in, the President authorized an attempt to cover it up.\n\nWider issues: President abused the power of his office by directing the CIA to interfere with the FBI, secretly taped conversations in the Oval Office then asserted that he could not be compelled to turn those recordings over to a judicial proceeding, and was responsible for a political operation that broke many laws while engaged in winning an election." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are all ants in a colony genetically same?\n\nSince all the ants in a colony come from eggs laid by the queen ant, are all of the ants genetically similar? Also who fertilises the queen ant?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Similar, but not the same. Precisely how similar depends on a whole bunch of details.\n\nIf an ant colony has only one queen, the workers are all sisters. During her youth, before the queen founded the nest, she mated with one or more males. (The ant mating season is when you see winged ants flying around; those are males and fertile females looking for mates. The males die after mating, while mated females shed their wings and become queens.) The queen stores the sperm from these matings, and will use it to fertilize all the eggs she will ever lay.\n\nHow closely related the workers of a single queen are to one another depends on how many mates the queen had during her mating period. If she only mated with a single male, the workers are all full sisters; if she mated with several, they'll range from full to half sisters depending on whose sperm was used to fertilize a given egg.\n\nMany ant species may also form nests with multiple queens, either because the nest was founded by multiple mated females or because additional mated females joined as queens during later mating seasons. If a nest has multiple queens, the queens are often relatives, so in that case one queen's workers are something like cousins to another queen's workers.\n\nHowever, ant relatedness is also complicated by the weirdness of ant genetics. Male ants are born from unfertilized eggs, so they have no fathers, and therefore only one set of genes instead of two. This also means that if two workers share a father, they inherited the exact same DNA from him (unlike the usual situation, where two full-siblings inherit a random 50% from each parent). This increases the amount of genetic variation shared between two sibling workers: two full-sibling worker ants share 75% of their genetic variation, whereas two human full-siblings (for example) share 50%." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Since the ISS is moving so fast, does NASA need to account for doppler shift in the radio signal? How do they account for this considering the ISS uses FM?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "NASA (and all communications with fast moving satellites) use Dynamic Doppler Compensation, where the frequency of the broadcasts are adjusted progressively through the broadcast to ensure that the receiver maintains a solid signal on the correct frequency." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are we prepared to handle a direct hit from a CME?\n\nAre there procedures in place for when the Earth is hit by a coronal mass ejection? What are they? What would be the short term effects? Long term? This is coming from a guy who just learned what a CME is an hour ago." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A CME occurs when an explosion on the Sun sends a ball of plasma (and magnetic field) off the surface of the Sun in some direction. If the CME is aimed at Earth it could cause problems when it collides with the Earth's magnetic field, sending showers of high-energy particles through the Earth's atmosphere.\n\nThe effect depends very strongly on the strength of the CME. An ordinary CME that hits Earth might cause problems for satellites, but would have no really bad effects. But really powerful CMEs like the Carrington Event in 1859 are different. They would be capable of frying all of our satellites (disrupting the Internet), and the giant transformers that are used in our power plants would be ruined. Because these transformers can't be bought off the shelf they would have to be built, and the power outages would last for months. The silver lining would be \"Northern lights\" visible from the equator.\n\n\nThese problems can be avoided by shutting down vulnerable electronics or hardening them against CMEs, but doing either would be enormously costly. Shutting down electronics would require reliable forecasts of dangerous CMEs like those we have today for hurricanes to justify the cost. Right now scientists are working on these forecasts." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could the force count as a type of magic?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Depending on how you classify magic, then yes. Most of the aspects that we would normally associate with magic are there. Individuals pulling power seemingly out of thin air, techniques which require access to hidden knowledge and arcane writings (i.e. Sith holocrons,) and obfuscation to the point of where force users are the basis of galactic superstition, are all common to the force .\n\n\n There are few limitations to what the force can do. You can talk to the dead, shoot lightning from your hands, make someone see an illusion, absorb a blaster bolt (or a lightsaber strike) with your body. With the proper amount of preparation, the force can even create and extend life through parallels to necromancy (Palaptine is essentially a Lich.) \n\nOf course, if you were to sufficiently restrict your definition of magic, then it's easy to disqualify the Force." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 If cold is the absence of heat, how does our bodies perceive cold?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Our body feels cold as the rate at which you lose heat.\r \n\r \nThat's why materials with high thermal conductivity (like metal) will feel colder than stuff like wood, even if they're at the same temperature." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How did we figure out how cold absolute zero is?\n\nFrom what I understand, it can’t be reached - so how do we know exactly how cold it is?\n\nEDIT: people seem to be misunderstanding, I am NOT asking how cold it is. A quick google search reveals it is about -273.15 C, what I am asking is how we know this for a fact, given it is not reachable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Plot the volume of a gas (constant mass) against it's temperature. As you decrease the temperature the volume will start approaching zero. The temperature where you would expect an ideal gas to have zero volume is very close to -273C.\n\n​\n\nAnd of course, the more complicated the gas, the more it will deviate from this trend, hence why helium, the most ideal of all real gasses, is the gas we can get closest to absolute zero." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: I don't think the universe has to have a beginning or an end\n\nIt's hard to understand the concept of infinity since all that we know has had a beginning and likely will have an end. I understand the pursuit to know what started it all, but why does there have to be a beginning to everything. What if everything always has existed? I guess I'm conflicted. I know that scientific evidence points towards some cataclysmic event in the past that lead to an expanding universe, but I never hear any talk of an infinitesimal existence. Why is this not considered more as a possibility?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "> why does there have to be a beginning to everything\n\nThe Big Bang is the problem. We've got this thing that happened billions of years ago with no explanation to what caused it. All we know is that the universe was some point mass and suddenly decided it wanted to be bigger. \n\nSo this begs the question, what was before this? Was the universe always just a point mass until something happened? If so, what was that something? What's going to happen in trillions of years if we keep expanding at this rate? Is the universe in a cyclical expansion, contraction, bang, expansion series? If so, what's causing that cycle? And so on.\n\nI think infinite existence is still considered in some circles, but the problem is that with the data we have it seems to suggest that there had to be some beginning and will eventually be some end." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why do muscles stiffen and lose flexibility? And why does stretching sometimes feel good and sometimes hurt?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lots and lots of reasons. But ELI5. Muscles get stiff because they get used to being short and all the fibres get tighter and closer together. It can also be because of literal knots in the muscle. Imagine you cut a piece of string in half, to make it whole you have to tie a knot in it. The string is shorter but it’s whole. These are knots and there can be thousands. Thanks to healing and massage those cuts can be healed to normal. \n\nPain when stretching is normally due to excessive tearing. It’s your body screaming at you to stop. It feels good because of other reasons that I’m not clear on." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Disney: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs] Who spread the rumors of Snow White's demise and burial?\n\nNear the end of the movie, the storybook framing device says that Prince Charming heard rumors of the beautiful princess in a glass coffin in the forest. He searches, and this is how he finds and wakes Snow White. \n\n\nBut...the Wicked Queen was dead, the animals don't talk, the Huntsman only knew that she had fled to the forest (not that she had died or been interred), and the Dwarfs appear to spend most of their time mourning at her side.\n\nSo where did the rumors come from? Who knew and spread them?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "People who were for whatever reason walking through the forest- travelers, woodcutters, hunters, etc- who stumbled onto it.\n\nIndeed, that's why it was rumors. The people who knew enough to give detailed information weren't talking, so everything was coming from \"Hey, steve said he saw a dead lady in a glass coffin in the middle of the woods while hunting. Fucked up if true, right?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does wrapping a plastic bag around your credit card help it scan?\n\nSometimes when my credit card begins to go bad the cashier will wrap a plastic bag around it and magically it will begin scanning properly. Why does this help?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Well its not magic, all it does is create an air space between the magnetic strip and the reader. There's an air gap (actually just inert plastic) coated over the magnetic strip in credit cards. With extended use that plastic coating wears away and the strip gets closer to the card reader. Im not 100% on the reason that air gap is important but it has something to do with the reader picking up the right data from the strip." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is O(1) really constant? Or just theoretically?\n\nTake a database operation where you are looking something up by an index. The lookup is O(1). But doesn't the computer technically have to scan for that index key...which would, practically, take a variable amount of time? What if the entire index grows? Doesn't that make that variable time to find the key longer on aggregate?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An example of a real O(1) operation with no assumptions. Given an an integer N, is N even? \n\nYou only need to check 1 bit. \n\nThis however does assume that our model of computation is a random access model. \n\nLots of O(1) operations rely on assuming constant time math operations on arbitrary numbers which is clearly false, but is true if we bound our numbers. \n\nSo for instance Hash lookups are *amortized* constant time if we assuming hashing keys is constant time." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Was Nietzsche A Liberal On Criminal Justice?\n\nI mean, take passages like this:\n\n>66.\nPUNISHABLE, BUT NEVER PUNISHED.—Our crime against criminals lies in the fact that we treat them like rascals.\n\n\n>70.\nEXECUTION.—How is it that every execution offends us more than does a murder ? It is the coldness of the judges, the painful preparations, the conviction that a human being is here being used as a warning to scare others. For the guilt is not punished, even if it existed—it lies with educators, parents, surroundings, in ourselves, not in the murderer—I mean the determining circumstances.\n\n-F. Nietzsche, *Human All-Too Human*\n\n\n\n\nThese, and similar statements expressing sympathy with criminals and those who are condemned as \"evil\" by society, can be found throughout Nietzsche's works. Was Nietzsche an early advocate of rehabilitation? I specifically remember him remarking (perhaps in *The Dawn*) that it would be better for society if criminals were put to work instead of being allowed to rot in prison. Can we safely account this as part of Nietzsche's transvaluation of values?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There's not much to account for, really. This seems to follow from Nietzsche's general skepticism about moral responsibility and free will. Nietzsche argues that it is impossible to be responsible for yourself in any ultimate way, so it seems natural that he would object to the ways in which the justice system pretends like it can hold people responsible for themselves while not holding everyone else to blame." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would rubbing 2 ice cubes together in a sub-zero temperature environment cause enough friction to melt the ice cubes?\n\nI realize that the ice cubes would be less likely to melt the colder the environment became, so as a setting: rubbing the ice cubes together with your hands in -5°C (but other scenarios and all that are welcome!). A question that came to mind since winter and icy conditions have set in (at least where I am...) :(.\n\nI would also add: since water seems to lower the coefficient of friction on ice, would the thin layer of water created on the ice cubes from the friction in turn lower friction to a point that the ice cube would no longer melt?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ice cubes melt because they absorb enough energy to break the inter molecular forces that make them solid. Cold environments make water freeze because heat flows from higher energy areas (warmer, the water) to lower energy areas (colder, the environment) in an attempt to become equal (2nd law of thermodynamics). Rubbing the ice cubes together, putting your hands on them, or increasing the pressure on them will all cause them to absorb energy, or melt. It's really a battle of how fast you can melt the cubes to how fast the environment absorbs their energy." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just how specific should my research interests be by the time I apply to grad school?\n\nI've been working in labs with the goal of going to grad school since my freshmen year and since then I have also worked on several independent research projects in psychology. I am applying to social psych programs in the fall and I am just a little concerned that my interests are a little too broad. I have narrowed down my interests to a hand full of topic areas within social psychology and I know generally what I want to be researching. However, if someone asked me point blank \"What study would you run if you could do it tomorrow?\" I wouldn't know what to tell them. \n\nTL;DR Applying to social psych programs in the fall. I've narrowed my interests down to a small set of topic areas but I still don't have a running list of specific project ideas, specific research questions, and study ideas. Is this too broad?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's good to have a fairly specific idea of what you'd like to do, and even to be able to propose studies you might consider working on, but it's not necessary and in fact it can hurt you in the long run to be too inflexible about that. The reason is that your research will not be solely dictated by your own interests, but by the interests of your advisor, other collaborators, current research questions in the field you work in (which you won't have a good handle on until you read a couple hundred papers, probably), and what you can get funding for.\n\nAs others have said, focus on finding a professor who works on things that you find interesting, and apply there. Your interests are going to change anyways, you almost certainly will not end up doing your PhD on what you thought you would when applying (although it will probably be related to that to a decent extent)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Harry Potter] Why is there no Scottish students in Hogwarts when the school is located in Scotland?\n\n I was looking up the locations of the various magical schools in Harry Potter and I realized that Hogwarts is apparently in Scotland, not England like I had thought. I was thinking about it and realized that I couldn't remember a single student with an Scottish accent in the movies, so I looked it up and found out that there was exactly 4 people in Hogwarts that were actually Scottish; Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moony, Rowena Ravenclaw and Oliver Wood.\n\nHow is it that there is only 4 people in the entirety of this school from Scotland, when that is where the school is apparently located??" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There are Scottish students but the series never made a point of pointing them out unless they had a major focus. For example, Oliver Wood is Scottish and is either a Half- or Pureblood, Cho Chang is Scottish as well...\n\nThe McGonagall family are also strongly Scottish, they hail from Caithness. The Quintin family are Scottish and they produce the Wizarding Scotch known as Quintin Black...\n\nThe Ravenclaws were also Scottish as evident that the Sorting Hat described her beauty as \"fair Ravenclaw, from glen,\" glen being a word for a valley in Scotland. There' also Modesty Rabnott and her sister Prudence as an implied example; Modesty was famously appalled by the treatment of the magical bird known as the golden snidget which was released during a Quidditch match so she snatched it out of the air and fled to release it elsewhere; she lost her house after being fined so went to staywith her sister in Aberdeen.\n\nTyere is a national Scottish Quidditch team, but they aren't known to be very good compared to other national teams. There' also the team known as the Banchory Bangers who were both known for their poor skill and excessive post-match parties, but who were also permanently banned from play and dissolved in 1814 after they allowed the bludgers they wrre using to fly off into the night and into Muggle residential areas and for trying to capture a Hebridian Black dragon to use as their mascot, enraging it enough that it flew into a Muggle town.\n\nEdit: Damn autocorrect." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What's up with the Normal/Gaussian Distibution? What properties does it have that make it special? Does does one arrive at its probability density function?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The fundamental reason the normal distribution is so important lies in the *central limit theorem*. Suppose we have many random variables X*_1_*, X*_2_*, ..., X*_n_* that are independent and all drawn from the same distribution. For instance, we could be measuring the heights of a certain population and X*_j_* is the height of the *j*th sample who has been randomly drawn from the population. \n\nIf we want to estimate the average height of our population, we can use the sample average as an estimate:\n\n> S*_n_* = (X*_1_* + X*_2_* + ... + X*_n_*)/n\n\nAs n --> infinity, S*_n_* --> µ, the true mean of the population (this is the law of large numbers). The central limit theorem says that the sequence of random variables\n\n> T*_n_* = √(n)(S*_n_* - µ)\n\n\"converges in distribution\" to a normal variable with mean 0 and variance σ^(2), the true variance of the population. This means roughly that for large enough *n*, T*_n_* is approximately normally distributed. This is remarkable because it does not matter what the distribution of the heights were. The variables X*_j_* can have any distribution whatsoever (as long as it has finite variance).\n\nA rough way of understanding the central limit theorem is that, for sufficiently large *n*, the sample averages S*_n_* satisfy\n\n> S*_n_* ~ µ + σZ/√[n]\n\nwhere Z is a standard normal variable (mean 0, variance 1). That is, the sample averages are equal to the true population average plus some normally distributed error whose variance gets smaller as the number of samples increases. So we can write roughly\n\n> S*_n_* ~ µ + N(0, σ^(2)/n)\n\nThe sample averages are about equal to the mean plus some normally distributed error with mean 0 and variance σ^(2)/n. It does not matter what distribution the samples follow, as long as the variance is finite.\n\n---\n\nOther important properties of the Gaussian function or normal distribution:\n\n\n* The normal distribution has several other properties that make it \"nice\".\n\n * For instance, if two random variables *X* and *Y* are independent, then they are also uncorrelated. The converse, however, does not hold. Uncorrelated random variables need not be independent. However, if you know that *X* and *Y* are jointly normally distributed, then you *can* conclude they are independent given they are uncorrelated.\n * The normal distribution is stable. Linear combinations of normal variables are also normal. (This is part of the reason why they appear in the central limit theorem to begin with.)\n\n* The Gaussian function is also an eigenvector of the Fourier transform (in general, the Hermite polynomials multiplied by a Gaussian are eigenvectors). This makes many calculations involving Gaussian functions and Fourier transforms very easy.\n\n* You can also show that this eigenvector property means that the Fourier uncertainty principle (called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics) is satisfied precisely for Gaussians.\n\n* The velocities of an ideal gas are distributed according to the Maxwell distribution, which is a multivariable Gaussian function." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: why do human teeth grow so differently and badly? Why are braces almost mandatory for so many?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They're not really mandatory or even almost mandatory. Braces are primarily a cosmetic preference that the U.S. engages in *far* more than just about any other country. Most people could easily live just fine with crooked teeth. Barring severe cases of malocclusion or impacted teeth, crookedness only really makes flossing more difficult but has no significant impacts on health." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star trek II: The Wrath of Khan] how does the Mutara Nebula disrupt the view screens on both the Reliant and the Enterprise?\n\nThe Mutara Nebulas effects the shields and sensors of both the Enterprise and Reliant. But why is the view screen disrupted? Isn't it just getting a live feed from an external camera on the ships hull? Why would a simple visual feed be disrupted?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They're not just external cameras, they can zoom well beyond anything visual from a camera. \n\nThe nebula contains high levels of static discharge and is comprised largely of ionized gases. It's basically interfering with the what can be detected - the sensors are receiving an overflow of electronic data, and can't process it to filter out the crap. Similar to ECM jamming radar on modern Earth aircraft." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Avatar: The Last Airbender] How does each nation identify the Avatar?\n\nWe know that Air Nomads use the toys of old Avatars, and from Rise of Kyoshi we know that the Earth Kingdom uses a geomancy technique where they narrow the earth kingdom down by a half each time. \n\nWhat are your best guesses for the Water Tribe and Fire Nation techniques?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the Rise of Kyoshi it explains the Fire Nation method, sort of. All children are tested for bending ability near birth. To avoid firebender children from surprising their parents and burning houses down. Some how they are able to detect the Avatar amongst them. The Fire Sages then notify the Avatar on their 16th Birthday, like we saw with Roku, having known all the while." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If gravity propagates at the speed of light, how does this work on a galactic scale? Since the distances are so vast between galaxies wouldn't the \"gravity lag\" be quite noticeable?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You wouldn't be able to tell *because* they travel at the same speed. If something happened in another galaxy to cause a change in its gravitational effect on us, the light and gravity from the event would get here at the same time, so you wouldn't know about it either way until both sets of information got here." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If you have a small leak from a container full of sand (could be a few tons even) you can shut it by spraying a bit of water on the hole,how does this work? why is the huge mass of sand doesn't push out the wet sand on the hole?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So first thing to mention is that sand isn't a liquid, it's a particulate solid. If it were water in that container, and you tried to plug it with sand, then it would absolutely be forced out. That's because water is far more fluid than sand.\n\nSand will naturally compress down to form what almost resembles a solid, even when completely dry. Sand particles aren't perfectly smooth, and have friction, which means the particles don't easily move past each other when compressed. The particles need space around them to move. If you take some sand and \"pour\" it from one container to another, there's a lot of air in there that allows the particles to move around each other and \"flow\" as though it's a liquid.\n\nIn your example, the tons of sand in the container are compressed under their own weight. The hole at the bottom is not under great pressure, because the sand has, for all intents and purposes, \"solidified\" and won't flow easily, so there's very little pressure at the hole." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: We should have a land value tax which would replace as much of other forms of taxation as possible\n\nToday, most developed countries derive a majority of their revenue from the income tax (and payroll tax) which is a tax on labor. There's also sales tax and VAT which tax consumption, capital gains tax which taxes interest (gains from capital), and the wealth and estate taxes which tax idle wealth. \n\n\nI tend to be a centrist on the issue of taxation. According to republicans, taxes are evil. According to democrats, taxes are necessary. Both are correct. Just about every tax incurs a deadweight loss upon the economy (not including pigovian taxes). This is because of opportunity cost. Money handed over to the government isn't spent on consumption or investment. \n\n\nBut what if it didn't have to be that way?\n\n​\n\nThere are three factors of production: land, labor, and capital. Labor refers to effort by man to create. Land is anything made by mother nature like natural resources and land itself. Capital is anything manmade, especially to create goods and services. Profit is also split into three categories: wages (labor), interest (capital), and rent (land). \n\n\nOf the three factors of production, land appears to be the odd one out. This is because while labor and capital have a potentially unlimited capacity, land is in fixed supply. Although land specifically refers to natural resources, the namesake is fitting because the primary use for nature in most developed countries is real estate. Land has a fixed supply, meaning that any increase in demand will increase land prices. Furthermore, increases in the value of land benefit no one except the landowners, unlike increases in capital and labor. This is because, as mentioned before, land has a fixed supply. If the price is up, that means there's more economic demand for that land. The saying goes that there is no such thing as a free lunch. This isn't necessarily true, there is a way to get a free lunch. Typical investment involves putting money into something in the hopes of getting more out. When you put money into a business, you are feeding it capital. At some point in the future, assuming the business grows, you will eventually get more out than you put in. Speculation is a form of investing which does not contribute to the investment itself. An example would be buying something for $10 and selling it for $2000 as a rare collectible. This isn't to say that all forms of speculation are bad. In a volatile commodity market, speculation can help serve to stabilize the price. But it's in the real estate market that we see the pernicious effects of speculation because land retained by speculators is not contributing to the economy, at least not as much as it could. This is why an economist by the name of Henry George proposed a land value tax (LVT). The LVT differs from a property tax in that it only taxes the land itself rather than anything on it. This means that decay and improvements won't affect the amount taxed. This is important because more efficiently used land tends to be taxed more. What may affect it is everything happening around it. \n\n\nAnother problem that the LVT may solve (at least if it's implemented at the state or federal level) is the inefficient use of land encouraged by governments. I'm mainly referring to byzantine zoning codes and subsidies to roads. Bad zoning is often the result of local nimbys opposed to new development. What the LVT would do is tax homeowners on very valuable land. Of course, land zoned for single-family housing is worth less than land where highrises can get built but if there's a shortage of housing, land values will go up. An LVT would make the same people who push against projects reconsider, lest they pay significant taxes. Furthermore, an LVT would tax roads subsidized by lower levels of government. \n\n\nOne concern is that it will hit rural america like a trainwreck, devastating agriculture. My response to this is that this tax would actually be a tax on suburbia, let me explain. Landowners in downtown areas will be paying the highest taxes but property there, after enough time, will derive a very high percentage of their value from the improvements rather than just land (Is the land in Manhattan worth more or are the skyscrapers worth more). Rural property will derive a minimal percent of value from improvements but land value will likewise be low. It will be suburbia which gets hit the hardest. This is because suburban land is used the least efficiently. Property taxes encourage suburban sprawl because property encouraging a higher density is typically taxed more. An LVT would encourage efficient use of the urban core, decreasing demand for suburban housing. This would actually be good for farmers because it would slow down suburban sprawl. It would also be good for small farmers because big farms tend to be more land-intensive (small farms have more buildings per unit of land, subjecting them to property taxes).\n\nThe LVT would also curb gentrification, or at the very least slow it down. This is because of the way that development would go. Currently, development is incentivized to push toward low income areas because going there means lower property taxes and land is easier to purchase. To illustrate how this would change, take Chicago as an example. You have the north side and south side, the former is home to affluent white communities while the latter is home to poverty stricken black communities with high crime rates. The LVT would incentivize more development in the north side because land values there are higher." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There's a homeowner tax, and its derived from the area and location your property is located in.\n\nBut there's a huge flaw if the tax is derived from the land value.\nIf you buy a property, invest in it, and the property value rises significantly. You may end up having to sell it because you cant afford to pay that much.\n\nThis means, you could drive out people by driving prices up, and make them face the government when they cant pay their taxes." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does the bullet go where the sight of the gun is even tho the barrel is lower than the sight?\n\nI don’t understand how on a rifle or any gun the sight of the gun is often above the barrel yet the bullet goes where the sight is. \nDoes the bullet always go where the sight is or is there always going to be some inaccuracy?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You set the sights up so they “zero” at a certain distance.\n\nThe barrel will be angled very slightly up compared to the sights. Imagine you draw a line straight down the sights and another straight down the barrel - they’ll intersect at some distance away. You set up the sights so the bullet lands on the bullseye at a known distance (eg 100 yards). (The actual process also compensates for “bullet drop” as the bullet is continually being pulled down by gravity just as one you drop out of your hand would be.\n\nThen if you want to shoot further - say 200 yards you adjust the sights by a configured amount (“clicks”) on the adjustment wheel to compensate for the bullet falling over the second 100 yards of the shot.\n\nThe “misalignment” is actually essential to being able to shoot any significant distance. If the sights somehow were completely aligned with the barrel then you couldn’t make the required adjustments to compensate for the bullet falling during its flight." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Is there a limit on how many different metals can be mixed into an alloy, and what would the results of alloying many different metals together be?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Well there’s a hard limit on the periodic table - there’s only so many different metallic elements.\n\nMore practically, you’ll want some chemical/structural synergy between the elements you’re alloying to produce a final product that has superior properties than the components.\n\nThis means you’re looking specifically for another metal that is soluble in the major component and will modify or gap fill the crystal structure just right.\n\nNot all metals are soluble or stable in eachother, and some will separate out like oil and water or corrode if you try to blend them.\n\nBut if you just wanted a messy and useless slag of all the stable metallic elements cooled into a crispy oxidized lump of jumbled phases and crystals, sure you could do that." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] R2D2: Why doesn't he fly from ANH onward (would have been useful in RotJ instead of falling head-first into the sand), and why doesn't he remember Yoda in ESB?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The blaster shot from Vader's TIE fighter fried most of his relevant memories and third party software. The post battle of Yavin R2 was basically the old droid's personality grafted onto a new brain." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Can our brain know what time it is while we're asleep?\n\nIs our biological clock aware of the solar clock?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes! Each cell has a set of specific genes which are transcribed and/or translated rhythmically. For most people, each cycle takes about ~24.3 hours. This coincides with day length and is known as your body's circadian period. As it's slightly longer than 24 hours your body needs to keep re-adjusting to changing day length (if you kept cycling at 24.3 hours you would eventually be waking up naturally later and later until you are out of sync with everything around you).\n\n To keep in sync with the external environment your body clocks entrain to the solar clock as you said. To prevent too much information, you have a master circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (the SCN) which is a structure in your hypothalamus coordinating all of your peripheral body clocks in each cell. The action of the SCN is directly controlled by light. \n\nThus, for a quick answer, your body cells are an orchestra and the SCN is a conductor keeping them in check. Each cell knows what time they think it is and runs accordingly, but the solar clock is used to keep re-adjusting the actions of each cell to match the changing external environment." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: how does a blender, with fixed blades, perform different types of mixing by just varying the blade speed?\n\nThe only difference between frappe, mix, etc is just how fast the blades spin? Is there any other physics going on here?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As well as the speed of the blades, the machine can also pulse - a quick burst of high speed, followed by a pause to allow the mix to rest and to settle. This requires a small computer to run it, but micros are cheap these days - much cheaper than the triac required to change the motor speed.\n\nMore expensive blenders have higher speed motors. A cheap blender might have a motor similar to that used in an old-style multi-speed fan - which has 3 or 5 different speeds depending on how the coils are connected via a multi-way switch. Or it might have a motor like a modern fan, which is speed controlled using a circuit like a light dimmer. A better blender will be controlled with a synchronous motor, driven by an inverter circuit as used by modern air conditioners. This allows the motor to be driven at any speed, even backwards, or to stop dead. This allows the makers to design all sorts of drive patterns to do anything. It's all bells and whistles, made possible by a slightly more complex circuit, with a few more expensive components, and a more expensive motor." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why do people who have college loans seem shocked by or unable to pay their loan amounts?\n\nI understand that the cost of a college education these days is egregious, the textbook racket should be brought under control, and that sometimes people's circumstances in life change. That notwithstanding, it seems like students who have their loans coming due are asking in various forums how they can pay for it, get out of it, or find some other way to reduce their financial burden.\n\nIs this a case of kids not reading the fine print when they agree to a loan? Surely the interest rate, how much they will owe in the end, and the due date are no surprise. I'm not trying to surreptitiously promote my own feelings on the matter. I genuinely don't understand why I see so many instances of this and would like a better understanding.\n\nEdit: Thank you all for such great answers!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because people have been told their entire life \"Go get your degree and you'll be guaranteed a good job\" or \"If you don't get a degree, you'll never get a good job.\" Many students are exiting from university to find, even with their degree, they can't find a job. Many accept jobs paying minimum wage and part time, jobs they could have acquired with their high school degree.\n\nDuring college, they were told \"Just take out loans, you'll be able to pay for them with that nice job we told you about\" or \"your employer will help you pay them back.\" Well, when they take the job at a supermarket that barely supports them, they find themselves unable to pay because they kind not find the quality of job they were promised when they signed up for college." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If the northern white rhinoceros is on the verge of extinction (~5 still alive), why isn't in vitro fertilization used to facilitate breeding? Could the southern white rhinocerous be used as a host? Are the two subspecies compatible enough for this plan to work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because the population is so low that inbreeding would be a problem almost instantly, secondly large mammals normally don't breed more than a few times in their lives. The ability for the species to recover is pretty much lost at this point." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star wars] What would have happened if Darth Maul had died in the original encounter in the dessert?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The largest change would be Qui-Gon staying around around to train Anakin.\n\nA more relaxed morally grey Jedi may have been able to temper Anakin's frustration with the Jedi Council. Hearing less \" you must trust in the councils wisdom!\" and more \"well, that's just like their opinion man\" may have kept him off the deep end." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Honest thought when analyzing fed funds rate cycles: Why doesn’t the Fed just become an algorithm and they fuck off??" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This isn't as flippant as you think. Central banks have been debating discretionary vs rules-based monetary policy since the 70s. There are many problems with rules based policy such as credibility and stabilisation bias, but most Central Banks today can be located somewhere on the spectrum of how rules-based their policy is.\n\nUnder a classic Taylor rule, the Central Bank sets a fixed target inflation rate, and then raises the interest rate by x amount everytime the inflation rate differs from the target. This can be calibrated for just about any number of variables or sensitivity, but reduces the Central Bank to a data gathering function.\n\nThe benefit of this is predictability and expectations formation. If people know that the Central Bank would always act to minimise inflation, then they will not change prices, and so inflation would be stable. This occurs because changing prices comes with costs and rigidities - which we call menu costs - part of it is you have to reprint menus, but it's mostly the cost involved in changing contractual terms. This is beneficial because it means we can keep inflation low even with an adverse economic shock without any adjustment periods.\n\nA large problem is credibility. Namely that since the Central Bank knows people would always keep their price stable regardless of any positive or negative economic shock, the optimal policy it should do is different from the rule it has just committed to following. Imagine a one off demand shock threatens to create inflation and growth at the same time - people expect the CB to raise rate according to the rule, and so they don't change prices. The optimal action that the CB should do at that point is to not raise rates, allowing the higher growth without the inflation - and so there is a time inconsistency between what it should do and what it has committed to doing." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why don't I get an infection when I shit so hard that I bleed? Serious question." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Your body has natural protection against bacteria called White Blood Cells, these help protect your body from harmful buildup of bacteria in the body. The veins and arteries in your rectum are small, not like the large ones in your gut or in your legs/arms. This means it is not an open freeway so much as a dirt road that the bacteria must travel through. This helps the White Blood Cells target and destroy that bacteria before it becomes too harmful. Lastly, recently expelled feces does not have as many harmful bacteria as feces that has been out in the open for long periods, this reduces the chance of infection." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How do deer survive the winter in New England?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When it's really cold they will herd up in areas with thick undergrowth, especially evergreens with low branches which shelter as a tent might. They also move to areas with better foraging opportunities or less snow." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why do we still use X-Rays when ultrasound machines exist?\n\nMy wife is pregnant, so I've been seeing a lot of ultrasounds lately. These things are amazing; I know what my daughter looks like before she's born. I also know what her kidneys look like, which is weird.\n\nX-rays are relatively safe in small doses, but why bother with even a small risk if we can use an ultrasound machine, which is safe enough for a baby in the womb? I'm sure an ultrasound machine is expensive, but X-ray machines probably are, too. And you don't have to line the walls of your office with lead.\n\nIs there something X-rays can do that ultrasounds can't?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes. X-rays provide higher resolution than ultrasound can. And X-rays are better at imaging things like bones, which ultrasound has trouble penetrating. \n \nBoth types of imaging are valuable. There are other imaging tools (MRI etc.) that can do other things that X-ray and ultrasound can't. Doctors try to use the best tool for the job, minimizing risk to the patient while maximizing their ability to see what they need." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[The Santa Clause] Why didn't Santa give Laura and Neil the specific gifts that they wanted when they were little?\n\nLaura wanted a Mystery Date game, and Neil wanted an Oscar Meyer Weenie Whistle. Laura said that she at least got many other gifts, so it's safe to say she was nice, but they didn't get what they wanted the most. So...why not?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maybe that Santa wasn’t as great. In The Santa Clause 2, the Elf Bernard says that Scott is the best Santa they’ve ever had and productivity and satisfaction had never been higher. \n\nIt stands to reason that not all Santas were good at the job and seeing how there are so many ways to lose the Santa gig (fall off a roof, not get married, and evil Jack Frosts) I’d imagine that there is a new santa in training fairly often." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 why people in older pictures/movies (black and white) look \"different\" than modern day people?\n\nAs in: Why can't picture what they would look like in real life, whereas if if you showed me a 5 year old picture made black and white in photoshop I could definitely do that. I don't know if anyone else can relate or if this makes sense, but I hope so!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "**15 year old version:**\nOldschool photos are in that style as it maximises the technology they had at the time. Technology advanced, the style of posed photography changed, and we got really good at capturing more detail and greater light intensity. Digital cameras do not resemble old-school film cameras in the slightest - they compensate for light, colour balance, levels, contrast etc. \n\nIf you're to take a 2011 photo in Photoshop, you'd easily be able to make it look old if you reduced levels, added a sepia filter, added 'noise' or film grain, added a vignette, added dust & scratches, darkened the midtones and blurred the whole thing. There are a number of Photoshop actions which automate this - search for 'vintage photoshop actions'.\n\nBut...the way we pose for photos and the way action photos are shot has changed. Because we don't have to stand stock still for 2 minutes waiting for the film to be exposed, pics are often more candid or less formal, which effects the 'mood' of the photo. \n\n**True LI5: **\nA long time ago, taking photographs cost a lot of money and needed very special cameras. These cameras were not very good, so the photographer had to play around with the photos and the camera to make the photos look good. \n\nOver time, we learn how to do things better. We learnt how to make better cameras, and the cameras took better pictures. The cameras were able to take photos using less light and much clearer photos. \n\nToday, digital cameras are very good and take good photos. In order to make them look the same as old photos, we have to mess them up a bit." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars:TPM] What is the cannon reason for the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo?\n\n\nWhy is the trade federation blockading the Naboo planet?\n\n\n2.What is the Trade Federation gaining for helping the Sith Lords blockade Naboo?\n\n\n3.Why dose the Trade Federation have such a large army?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Space taxes on space trade routes. The Trade Federation handled the movement of goods all across the Republic so those taxes would cut into their bottom line. The Trade Federation has a large army to protect their ships and planetary interests." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is the \"observable universe\" limited by our current telescopic technology, or can we see that far and there's nothing behind it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When we look farther away, we're looking farther back in time. If we look far enough, we're looking at a time when the universe was much hotter and denser. Beyond a certain point, the universe was so hot and dense that it was full of ionized plasma, and light couldn't propagate. The plasma cooled and formed hyrogen about 400,000 years after the big bang, and that is the farthest we can see (which appears as the cosmic microwave background). If we can drastically improve our neutrino detection capabilities we could see farther back, because neutrinos travel unimpeded through basically everything." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Where does wind come from?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "pressure differences caused by temperature differences. \nthe best eli5 answer would be to just open your freezer about 4 inches and put your hand over the gap. You will feel the cold air come out of the freezer pretty quickly because the difference in room temperature and the freezer temperature cause the air to 'even out', moving the cold air in to the warmer air and thus, wind (on a very small scale :) )" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Could someone tell me why inflation happens? I've been told inflation happens when oil prices go up. Oil has gone down recently, no? Why don't the prices of goods go down if oil goes down?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inflation is related to the amount of currency in circulation. The more money that is in circulation, the less value an individual unit (1 dollar, etc) of that money has. The effect is that prices go up. What once cost you $10 might now cost you $12 because the value of your money has gone down.\n\nIt has absolutely nothing to do with the price of oil." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: why do soap operas all have the same ‘look’ to them?\n\nYou can tell something is a soap opera by just looking at a scene. What causes this?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The nature of their rapid and cheap production forces them to have a very homogenous style.\n\nThe game of soap operas is to produce as much content as possible as what you are really doing is making the bare minimum that justifies the ad-breaks (hence being called soap operas, because their early radio-play form were dominated by soap commercials). So they are produced cheaply and quickly, meaning there isn't time or budget to do much more than write the script then stick the actor in an existing set to deliver them.\n\nThose sets need to be made ready for production very quickly so the lighting setups for them are just left in place. You rock up, hit the switch and the set is lit. That lighting is done so that the actors can stand anywhere inside them and still be well lit for the multiple cameras pointing at them. You want multiple cameras because doing multiple takes for different angles takes time and time is money.\n\nSo everyone is just homogenously lit in the scene and every scene is lit like every other scene." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: If Blood Plasma is 95% water, why is it so precious?\n\nI donate blood plasma bi-monthly. and one of the things that has bugged me is the high water content. around 19/20's of it is just plain water.\n\nIt seems like it that would leave a relatively minor part of it to synthesize.. so why is blood plasma so precious that encouraging people to sign up for having needles stuck in them is the most efficient way of obtaining it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The minority component of plasma that is so precious is the variety of proteins in it. Proteins are very long, complex molecules that your body makes to take care of all sorts of things, including carrying different types of nutrients, mediating cell reproduction, and making other molecules your body needs. Proteins are extremely difficult to synthesize in a lab, so it's more than worth it to ask people to donate blood plasma." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Looney Tunes] What happened to Lola Bunny that changed her personality so drastically before the events of the 2011 \"The Looney Tunes Show\" TV show?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Much like the Muppets, the Looney Tunes are a company of actors whose main roles are usually more-or-less based on themselves. Lola was playing a different character in Space Jam than she was in TLTS." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What power does the UK have over its overseas territories that are being used as tax havens (British Virgin Islands, Bermuda)?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ordinarily, the overseas territories are self-governing and the UK government is only responsible for their defence and international relations. However, the UK does have sovereignty over the overseas territories and could overrule the local government or remove it entirely and impose direct rule. They did this in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2008 in response to serious corruption in the local government, so it's not a hypothetical \"technically they have that power but it's a historical oddity that they could never really use\", but it would still be a last resort." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could the \"big bang\" have been a result of the universe being ejected from a black hole?\n\nSorry if that's a common theory/explanation. I just thought of it and, rather than Google it, I figured I'd ask on here because the discussion it provokes inevitably leads to me learning something I probably wouldn't elsewhere.\n\nI feel like this theory would also explain the universe eventually collapsing back in on itself and going through cycles." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The big bang's cause, if such a description can ever be deduced, is unknown. While the idea \"the universe came from a black hole's formation\" sounds poetic, as it stands, it is just vague speculation. \n\n>the universe eventually collapsing back in on itself and going through cycles \n\nUnfortunately the universe has been measured to be accelerating which essentially rules out any simple collapse prediction. According to the current model, the universe will simply expand forever and never collapse back on itself, we have no idea why this acceleration is occurring so we call it dark energy." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Why do some people vomit when they see a corpse and/or witness a homicide?\n\nIs it simply because it's gross? Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We essentially vomit at the sight of gory or bloody death as a defense mechanism. In the face of corpses or death, we are often at risk ourselves, and therefore vomit to remove possible biohazards from our system that may have been spread by the dead, as blood and gore are often good at transmitting biohazards. It also prevents us from possibly ingesting any biohazards by forcing everything out of the mouth that may have been headed for the stomach (i.e. blood)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 Why do factories require such high chimneys?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Factory chimneys are tall so that the pollution they generate can rise higher in the atmosphere and, more importantly, various volatile compounds can have adequate space to break down. \n\nIf the chimney was shorter, the exhaust from the factory would spread faster over a smaller area around the factory itself and \"smoke out\" the workers and adjacent businesses. \n\nMaking the chimney, or smoke stack, really tall doesn't eliminate the pollution or render all the released compounds inert (or even broken down completely) but it does help dilute the compounds in the atmosphere and minimize the immediate localized damage. \n\nNot only does making the chimney tall help get those gases up high to begin with (because the structure itself is tall) but the hot exhaust in a tall chimney flue uses physics to your advantage to eject the gases higher into the air. It's literally called the \"chimney effect\" or \"stack effect\" --- the bigger the chimney and the hotter the air exhausted into it, the higher and further the gas will be ejected away from the top of the stack." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I don't think \"slut shaming\" is a big deal or is worth putting much effort into stopping. CMV\n\nI think people should be able to sleep with who ever they want as long as both partners are of age and consent to said sexual activity. However, if you choose to participate in these activity you need to be an adult about it and accept whatever consequence comes with it.\n\nContinuing in that vein, the recent movement about \"anti-slut shaming\" and subsequent \"slut walks\" just cause me to sigh and roll my eyes. Yes, there are double standards regarding women and their sexuality , but there are double standards for male sexuality as well. No one talks or cares about \"virgin shaming\" for men (which exists, would the movie \"The 40 year old virgin\" have existed if it was a female protagonist?). I realize it's anecdotal, but I am a male who lost my virginity as soon as I could to the first girl who would take it because I was told my whole life if i was a virgin past 18 I was a worthless failure. Many other young men I know feel the same.\n\nI acknowledge the double standard is unfair but I just can't bring myself to care on any level that would cause me to take action against it. I am all on board for women's rights- reproductive rights, equal pay, equal treatment and safety. This just seems like first world feminism to me.\n\nI consider myself a liberal, open minded person. So please, CMV and open my eyes to why you think this is an important issue." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Using your logic it seems like \"slut shaming\" could be substituted for anything that people get bullied for. \n\nWhy do you believe that harassing other common bully targets (homosexuals, transgender, obese, etc.) is unacceptable while harassing people with a larger than average number of sexual partners is OK? \n\nCouldn't we use your logic to say that homosexuals should realize that their orientation may cause people to harass them and they should \"be an adult about it\"? \n\nWouldn't \"being an adult\" mean not harassing someone for their life choices?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: Rappers Shouldn’t Be Obsessed With Diamonds Considering Where Most Diamonds Come From\n\nFirst, I’d like to say I am a huge rap fan so I’m not coming at this idea as an outsider. I like flashy chains and designer clothes as well and I don’t think that materialism is the issue here, just the fact that most diamonds are mined by enslaved Africans. \n\nHowever, I think it’s interesting how rappers seem to be obsessed with diamonds and those same diamonds potentially come from their distant enslaved African relatives. Everyone knows how disgusting the diamond trade is in African and unless rappers like the Migos (who have, no exaggeration, probably 10 millions worth of diamonds between them) specifically source non slave trade diamonds, I don’t get how this doesn’t impact them morally. If I can afford them one day, I’ll probably have a nice classy diamond necklace or something because I like jewelry too but I’m going to ensure those diamonds didn’t come from African slaves. \n\nI hope nothing I said was offensive and I’m interested in what you guys have to say about it. I feel like this is something that has’t been posted on here before.\n\nEdit: I don’t mean to make it seem like all rappers are African American. More so, Rap was originated by very conscious African Americans and I would expect any race rapper to respect African and African American culture and not want to partake in anything negatively contributing to Africa, or anywhere a historically oppressed people come from.\n\nConclusion: I thank everyone who responded with thought out and educated responses. I did learn a bunch and awarded deltas to those with good comments. However, to the PC easily triggered white people, the racist accusations are pathetic. This was simply a post to discuss a thought, I’m not a racist, I don’t think Africans and American Black people are the same, I feel like anyone with a brain would have realized that. Just had to give a big FU to PC wannabe racist reddit vigilantes. Thanks again to those with good comments. My view on this has been changed. Peace!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You're assuming a lot here. One, not everyone truly knows or understands the diamond industry or its atrocities. And two, African doesn't equal African American. In fact, there's a history of contention between the two groups as they don't necessarily see themselves as the same thing. Sure, they may look similar to non blacks, but the two groups have significantly different cultures, history, and at this point different phenotypic make ups that become quite glaring when discussing societal issues. Hell, the diamond business doesn't even affect all Africans the same. Remember that Africa is a continent with 54 different countries, roughly 2000 known languages and an infinite number of ethnic groups. What affects the Nigerian might not bother the Ethiopian." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Sleeping Beauty] If Maleficent HAD been invited to the christening, would she have just attended as a proper guest and not caused any trouble?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Generally, being unpredictable is kinda a main feature of the fey. Usually, not associating with them at all is the safest course of action - if that's not possible, then treating them with the utmost politeness while still being permanently on your guard is the next best option.\n\nIf Maleficent had been invited, she probably wouldn't have used such crass methods as directly cursing the princess. She might have very well caused trouble in a more removed fashion - giving a valueable, but dangerous gift, for example, or baiting people into breaking the rules of hospitality first so they don't bind her anymore." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is there a connection between the age of newborns mother and the life expectancy of the baby?\n\nFor example will a baby born to a mother who is 20 have a longer life expectancy of a baby born to a mother who is 50 or vice versa?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I looked into this about 3 years ago, and could find no scientific study on the topic in humans. In some species of birds, there is an inverse u shaped longevity curve, where offspring of young mothers die early due to inexperience and offspring of very old mothers die early due to a physically less capable provider." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Avengers Infinity Wars]Did Dr. Strange know this all along?\n\nThroughout the film, there were multiple events that could have prevented the snap like: like Star Lord not losing his mind, Thor going for the head, Wanda destroying the mind stone before Thanos gets the Time stone; yet Doctor Strange didn't prevent any of it. What if Doctor Strange thought Thanos's plan made sense after all and he intended half the universe to stay dead for five years so that the remaining half learnt the value of conserving the finite resources in the universe? What if he ONLY intended the snap to be undone after humanity [and other sentient life in general] had learnt it's lesson? In the 14,000,605 outcomes he saw, could it be possible that he saw the Avengers winning several times but leading to a future where all resources are consumed and life slowly and painfully ceases to exist?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Strange had no way of telling Thor to go for the head. He also had no way of telling Wanda to destroy the Mind Stone faster. If he had delayed Thanos getting the Time Stone Thanos would have probably killed Iron Man. Then Thanos can just go to Earth and reverse the Mind Stone’s destruction.\n\nNot to mention Strange had to plan out the events to make sure Scott Lang was in the Quantum Realm when Thanos snapped. A couple minutes too early or late and Scott would have been outside and unable to help the Avengers discover time travel in the future.\n\nAs for Star Lord, we never see the future that would have come from Star Lord staying calm. But I’m guessing it’s worse than the current MCU (things seem to nearly have returned to normal by the time of Far From Home)" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[LOTR] How does the plumbing work in an underground Dwarven Kingdom?\n\nFollowing on from thinkaboutfun's relatively sensible question regarding smells: \n\nRegards the renouned underground caverns in which Dwarves live, it seems that they'd be skilled at creating vehtinilation, but not everything can be carried away on the wind. \n\nWhere does Dwarven excrement go? \n\nIs there just a massive cesspit at the bottom of their home, and as they go deeper, do they have to dig another, or do they - urgh - extend the original by digging beneath and letting the previous accumulations drain through? \n\nDo they make use of these chambers? Are they like ants, and use their waste as an agricultural based recycling? After a hundred years are the upper levels then renovated into living spaces?\n\nOr do they have a disgusting pulley system of dwarven shit and piss to be deposited outside of their homes in some sort of sloppy fecal volcano? \n\nHave these fecal volcano holes, these orifices of dwarven cities, these oozing shitholes of the collective Dwarven residents, ever been used as an entry point for goblin infiltrators? \n\nDID BILBO ENTER EREBOR THROUGH THE SHITTER?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Have you ever noticed that, whenever dwarves \"delve too deep\", the creatures that emerge from the black caverns beneath the world are always in a seriously grumpy mood?\n\nYeah, this is pretty much why." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How does touching the glass of a headlight bulb make it burn out faster?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You leave oils behind on the surface of the bulb, which causes the surface of the bulb to heat unevenly as those oils/contaminants are heated up. \n\nCertain bulb types, like halogens, output enormous amounts of heat while they're operating. At these high temperatures, that uneven heating can compromise the structure of the bulb and eventually destroy it." } ]