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2wn417
how can video game developers have secrets/easter eggs in modern video games that remain undiscovered for long periods of time given that people can see the code used to make them?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wn417/eli5_how_can_video_game_developers_have/
{ "a_id": [ "cosd6ct", "cosd6ia", "cosdf7u" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 4 ], "text": [ "Because there are very few people (compared to the amount that plays videogames) that can read code and understand it, and even if they can it does not mean that they are willing to read every single line of code to find the one-among-all string that doesn't belong there.\n\nFor example, one achievement in The Stanley Parable is triggered by a series of random events that are hidden in the code. Even if it was very simple to find, and there even was an achievement that *somewhat* explicitly said that it was an easter egg, it still took months for someone to figure out how to find the easter egg in the code itself.", "Well this [site](_URL_1_) says there are 1.7 million lines of code in a game. This [site](_URL_0_) says over 1 million lines of code for Crisis. So, I would say that people aren't reading the code to find these. If they were, I doubt they would realize they were looking at an Easter egg. This is all assuming the person looking actually knows the coding language used which in of itself is a small number of people (ie they aren't the average gamer). ", "Your premise is wrong, because in general people can't see the code that is used to make games.\n\nWhat you get when you buy a game (or most other software) is what's called the \"binary\", which is simply the machine code to run the software. Although it's theoretically possible for humans to look at the machine code and understand what it does, it's an extremely difficult task and one that comparatively few people are skilled in.\n\nWhat the developers work with is what's called the \"source code\" which is in a human-readable programming language. This source code for the game will usually be a very tightly-controlled company secret.\n\nThere is a concept -- common in the Linux and BSD world, somewhat less so for other operating systems -- called \"open source\". This means that the source code is made available to anyone who wants it and in those cases the code is indeed readable by large numbers of people." ] }
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[ [], [ "http://www.quora.com/About-how-many-lines-of-code-is-a-typical-computer-game-such-as-Starcraft-or-Counter-Strike", "http://teachgamedesign.blogspot.com/2007/10/modern-video-games-are-incredibly-large.html" ], [] ]
2jh2lg
why can adjusting the phone connector for audio cables fix the issue of music only coming out of one side of the speakers/earphones?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2jh2lg/eli5_why_can_adjusting_the_phone_connector_for/
{ "a_id": [ "clbnybp" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "I think you're referring to the audio jack input on a phone. If you look at a stereo jack itself (almost always a 1/8\" one) you will see two dividing lines. This is because there are essentially two different contacts for two separate signals (left and right). These marry up with the contacts in the input and each signal is sent along a different wire to its speaker. Note that you will often be able to see the two entirely separate wires bound together along the whole length of the cable.\n\nIf one of the contacts on a jack is not making a proper connection to the input (possibly due to dirt, wear or a weakened internal spring mechanism), then adjusting or reconnecting the jack gives you another opportunity to make that connection (maybe it's only compromised on one side, etc.).\n\nOn a side note, there is sometimes an additional channel for data on devices that allows for remote control, or a channel for a 'hands free' microphone." ] }
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73sdv6
my microwave has little holes that allow me to see the food as it cooks. how are those little holes sufficient to block microwaves?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/73sdv6/eli5_my_microwave_has_little_holes_that_allow_me/
{ "a_id": [ "dnsp8it", "dnsshlp", "dnsxzpm", "dnt6pit" ], "score": [ 22, 3, 6, 2 ], "text": [ "The holes are small enough to let light through but not big enough for microwaves (which have a longer wavelength) to traverse.", "Because they are smaller than microwaves. Its really that simple, big enough for light to go through, but not microwaves.", "The holes on your microwave are ~1mm in diameter. An s-band microwave is 75-150mm in diameter. Because the wave of a microwave is larger than the diameter of the hole it is unable to exit through the hole and instead needs to try to exit through the material. Because that material blocks the microwave it's safe to stand near one. Specifically a 1cm wave can be reliably blocked by a 5mm hole.\n\nYou can see through the holes because visible light is between 390 and 700 nanometers, which is ~2000 times smaller than the holes.", "A microwave is about the size of a pencil. The holes are smaller than that so they are trapped inside the oven." ] }
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cpiznf
when online shopping (in north america), why does it take so long (1 month plus) to receive something coming from china?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cpiznf/eli5_when_online_shopping_in_north_america_why/
{ "a_id": [ "ewponcr", "ewpoqxq", "ewpor3x", "ewpq566" ], "score": [ 4, 3, 3, 3 ], "text": [ "Usually it comes on a boat that travels much slower than a plane . Then pass though customs which can take some time. Then to your house.", "Because you don't want to pay for it. So they don't ship each order out individually, they wait till they have enough to make it worth it.", "First inspection in China takes time. Then boats are slow. Then us customs takes awhile. There is your month.", "The super cheap stuff in China usually wait until they have an entire filled container to send (via a ship too). It's just not as cost effective otherwise. These are really really big and expensive containers, so it can take 1-4 weeks to get enough products to fill it up.\n\nThis isn't just China though, its not uncommon for shipments to from USA to Australia or USA to Europe/Africa to also do this when the person paying for shipping is trying to save money. What they will do is instead of ordering products every week or month, they'll stock up a full like 6-12 months of product into a shipping container, send it, and then not have to reorder for another 6-12 months." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [] ]
f4a7m1
do men actually 'start' as women in the womb?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f4a7m1/eli5_do_men_actually_start_as_women_in_the_womb/
{ "a_id": [ "fhozs8g", "fhp16bg", "fhp2l1o", "fhph6fy", "fhpif7u", "fhpqsyw", "fhpwpdt", "fhpwyad", "fhpzq1q", "fhpzybp", "fhq0fca", "fhq11is", "fhq4137" ], "score": [ 17, 48, 2424, 51, 115, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Genetically, no. There is however a decent bit of development that goes on embryologicly where both male and female sex have similar parts. So depending on what you mean by \"starting as a woman,\" kind of yes...\n\nThings like the mullerian ducts, which will eventually become internal female genitalia, are initially present in both male and female embryos but hormones present in males (mullerian inhibiting factor) help keep internal female genitalia from developing. This is a very quick and dirty rush through a very complicated topic. \n\nFor fun, look up things like mullerian agenesis and androgen insensitivity syndrome. You'd be surprised how different life can end up when one little tiny thing gets mixed up.", "Ok so every healthy child starts the same way, as a single fertilized cell in the womb. Is it a woman or a man? Bit early to tell right? That is what you are driving at here. Every healthy child goes through the same sets of stages up until the stage were sexual organ formation starts. Then they follow a different path to make them male or female.\n\nI like to think of it as folding origami or a paper plane. At first it's just a piece of paper. Bit much to call it a swan with only a fold or 2, but get 3 or 5 folds and clearly you'll know it's a plane versus something else.\n\nThat said, we know from genetic disorders where the fetus cannot process testosterone normally that without the hormonall \"you are this sex\" stage the default sex of humans is female. Still they don't really have a sex until the organs start forming so it is disingenuous IMO to call all fetuses female until the organs form. \n\nAlso this whole talk of picking female or male traits is completely separate from being a man or woman. Gender is not sex. Current science understands that gender is a psychological phenomenon that is correlated with sex not causated by sex.\n\nEdit a word or few. Proofreading is hard.", "Ok so in a sense, the sex determination of an animal is sort of a multi step process. Before I begin I just want to define terms I'm going to use throughout: female will mean an individual which has a uterus, ovaries, etc. ie a female reproductive system, and who is very likely to have XX chromosomes. Male will mean an individual which has a penis, prostate, etc. ie a male reproductive system, and who is very likely to have XY chromosomes. \n\nAnother term I'll throw around is 'gonads'- a gonad is a general term for the reproductive gland/organ of an individual- its important because mammalian embryos in the womb have gonads which are very plastic and can form either testes or ovaries- depending on the things I'm going to talk about in a second.\n\nAnywho... So in mammals you're right, the 'first' sex determination step is the chromosomes you get given. The egg provided by your mother will always have an X chromosome, while the sperm provided by your dad will have either an X or a Y chromosome. In this sense, the sperm is the 'sex determiner' in mammals. \n\nNow a common misconception is that the Y chromosome encodes the whole of male characteristic- this is not true. Crucially however, the Y chromosome contains the single-most important gene for male characteristic- the Testis Determining Factor / Sex Determining Region Y (SRY) gene.\n\nTo quickly get an image of the embryo right now. We are presently at ~6-8 weeks in the embryo, right now, regardless if you are XX or XY, you are almost entirely identical. You don't have testes or ovaries, you have a primed, ready-and-waiting precursor gonad organ near to where your stomach will be. These gonads are waiting for a signal telling them what to do.\n\nThis is where the concept of 'secondary' sex determination occurs. Individuals with the Y chromosome will turn on the SRY gene around now. The SRY gene triggers a cascade of hundreds of genes, which tell the gonad to become a testis and to not become an ovary. In this way, the SRY gene is almost completely seen as the sex determiner in mammals. \n\nInterestingly, if you were to fire an amazingly accurate laser to cut out the SRY gene from an XY embryo, it would not trigger the cascade of events needed to make the testis, and so the testis couldn't do it's job of producing testosterone and other 'male' hormones, making you become more male. Instead you would default into the normal female characteristic, and your gonad would become ovaries and you would physically appear female, despite being XY!\n\nSo to get back to your question. Technically speaking, men don't start as women, but nor do women start as men. Embryos up to 6-8 weeks are identical, but are primed with the necessary genes to become one or the other, XX or XY. After a few weeks these genes will then 'kick' the gonad into either becoming testes for males or ovaries for females, but in this way the 'default' sex is female. \n\nLet me rephrase that for simplicity. In order to become male, the SRY gene must be present to 'kick' the gonads into becoming testes. If for some reason you don't have a SRY gene (maybe you're XX- or maybe you're XY but your SRY gene is missing), this kick won't happen and your gonad will defaultly become ovaries.\n\nI hope this answers your question. If you want to read this up more terms to google include: \"mammalian sex determination\" \"SRY gene\" \"XY sex determination\" \n\nAlso before I finish, my mentions about having XY but SRY missing is important- a whole area of this is \"Disorders of Sex Development\", which may affect as many as 1:5000 births. These can have an array of genetic backgrounds like XXY etc.\n\nAnd finally here's some further reading links as well as sources:\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_2_\n\n_URL_1_", "The reason people say this is because the paramesonephric ducts which eventually become the fallopian tubes and other stuff are present in all developing fetuses but degenerate in males due to androgens. The reality is people start out more unisex because fetuses also have the mesonephric ducts which become the vas deferens and epididymis in males while degenerating in females due to androgens.\n\nBecause you have to have the sry gene active to turn on and maintain these structures while an inactivation of the sry gene will lead to a \"default\" state of the mesonephric ducts degenerating it is easy to say that everyone starts out female.", "More like we start as a sort of blank template with similar parts and pieces but those gonads and proto sex organs are not a penis or a vagina yet until later in development", "Does nobody in this sub actually know how to actually ELI5. Every comment has like 2-3 paragraphs", "Not exactly. Gene expression leading to morphological differences doesn't happen until later in fetal development (translation: you can't tell if the early-stage fetus is male or female because the genitalia have not formed into a vagina/penis yet). However, because the original area down there isn't developed, it looks more like female genitalia (which is not as external as a penis). There are diagrams of this too, but basically it looks like a cleft area. Thus, people just say that we are all \"females\" which is untrue, but just means that it takes awhile for your penis to form, and prior to that, the default looks more like a female (even though all the external female genitalia haven't formed either). Here's a photo: _URL_0_", "There is a really cool Radio Lab series called Gonads and they go through a lot of stuff. That some of the other answers mention. They get doctor's and scientists on to talk about all of it. Very fascinating\n\nThe first one is called \"Gonads: The Primordial Journey\" published on June 18 2018. There are 6 total:\n\nGonads: The Primordial Journey\n\nGonads: Fronads\n\nGonads: X & Y\n\nGonads: Dutee\n\nGonads: Dana\n\nGonads: Sex Ed", "Without any genetic abnormalities:\n\n\nFemale: XX\nMale: XY\n\nWhen male Sperm (XY) combines with Female Ovaries (XX) either:\nA) Female Ovary Receives the Male X chromosome\nB) Female Ovary Receives the Male Y chromosome\n\nIf A happens, it'll be a female. X will join X to form XX and ovaries will be formed.\n\nIf B happens, then it becomes a male. X will join Y (Y carries the Testis Determining Factor) , to form XY and Testis will be formed. \n\nIn essence, if an individual only has an X chromosome present, ovaries will form regardless, but cannot _URL_0_ what they mean by 'Men start as women', by default since X will be present regardless- the Ovary forming part of an individual is present in us all. \n\n_URL_1_", "It's more accurately that an embryo will by default develop as a female without significant exposure to testosterones. \n\nMale and female reproductive biology is actually composed of the same cells, at which point they develop either as male or female sex organs, and to varying degrees. The clitoris and the penis are a good example. The vaginal opening, in male sexual development closes and that's why there is a crease like seam when the tissues close. Internal sexual organs develop in this way as well.\n\nThe thing to understand is that without the presence of testosterone, we would all develop as female and what's occurring is he masculinization of the tissues themselves.\n\nI should also make it clear that sex hormones don't just affect the development of sex organs and tissues and to restrict any intelligent discussion about sexual development to the organs classically used to determine biological sex is myopic.", "I'll try my best to do ELI5: what makes mammals make or female is the owner of the Y chromosome. In Turner's syndrome there can be a risk or partial absence of one of the X chromosomes and with only one sex chromosome (an X) that person is a female. Some are XXY and they are male despite having more X chromosomes than Y chromosomes. So what makes a male is the expression of the Y chromosome. At the beginning the Y chromosome doesn't express itself and that's why they say we're are all female at the beginning. At least the first month and a half.", "You start out as neither. You are gender fluid until you choose which one you identify with. Some people never choose and remain gender fluid.\n\nSource: Sociology 101 college class.", "No. Children are born without gender and will grow into their identity as they age. \n\nThis patriarchal structure that applies a label and pronouns to a child when they're born is archaic and needs to go. \n\nChildren AREN'T anything until they're old enough to make that decision for themselves." ] }
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[ [], [], [ "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9967/", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279640/", "http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/13/7/755.long" ], [], [], [], [ "https://study.com/cimages/multimages/16/sexual-differentiation.jpg" ], [], [ "sustain.So", "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9967/" ], [], [], [], [] ]
2r566y
why don't they design airplane black boxes so they sit externally and release to float up in the event of a crash in water?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2r566y/eli5_why_dont_they_design_airplane_black_boxes_so/
{ "a_id": [ "cncken5", "cnckqei", "cnckwrc", "cncqik6" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Sitting externally could come with several consequences (just at the top of my head) ;\n1. Damage to the black box in the case of an impact.\n2. Deterioration of the black box from external factors e.g. temperature, pressure, U.V radiation etc.\nThough this is just my assumption.", "Black boxes do not float.\n\nBecause they must meet sturdiness requirements, they cannot be made lighter. You could ,in theory, make a bigger one with lots of air (or a vacuum) in it but that too would require more material (and hence be heavier). You'd then be playing a volume vs surface area game which I doubt you'd ever win.", "They do make deployable \"black\" boxes that are used in the military and are release upon impact or if the ejection seat is triggered. The problem with these is the battery life - see link - is only 72 hours @ 25 degrees. Remember that it took over two YEARS to locate the air France flight. As Ialvi said there are a number of consequences of having it mounted externally. There is also the question of how exactly the box would \"know\" when to release itself. You can't make it water dependent. Also where would you mount it? There is also the question of cost. You'd have to refit EVERY aircraft with one of these, which could take a considerable amount of time and man power. Though according to the article posted it maybe getting worked on.\n\nSources:\n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_", "I actually know all about \"black\" boxes (source: avionics systems craftsman!). First of all and most likely least known fact, they are not black at all. They are international orange same color as the golden gate bridge. Second little known fact there are at least two boxes but more commonly three on large aircraft. These are the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), the Digital Flight Data Recorder, and the Cockpit Voice Recorder. \n\nThe ELT is located in the empanage (sp? Sorry it just occurred ive never written that word down) of the aircraft (tail section) and it's mounted so it will be able to detect lateral G forces on the aircraft. A lateral force of 5Gs will set it off and it can withstand up to 100Gs of force. All it does is transmit on 121.5 and 243.00Mhz radio (VHF and UHF respectively) a rather annoying tone which alerts everyone listening to those emergency bands to know shits going down. (Unless its the first 5 minutes of the top of the hour, the FAA designated testing time window which must be coordinated with a controller but quite often isnt because YOLO or something like that.) This also shows up on radar screens as a flashing beacon letting controllers who are already able to see the aircrafts primary and secondary blips on radar ID exactly which plane is fuckered and where it is. The ELTs are serially registered in a national database to the aircraft. \n\nThe digital flight data recorder can sit almost anywhere. It records all flight control and surface inputs and movements of the aircraft. This is used in conjunction with the CVR to determine cause of incident. Once Im off mobile i can post youtube videos to help you see what this actually turns into once we download it. It's pretty badass. \n\nThe CVR cockpit voice recorder does exactly what it sounds like. It records conversation in the cockpit through an area microphone and also is connected to the interphone system (all communication goes through this system on the aircraft and despite engineering it will actually allow the CVR to hear everyone not just the primary recordings since its tapped into the junction box itself. Ive personally proved this on several large airframes to win bets with engineering.) This box is what gives us all the radio calls and in cockpit commands between crew to help us piece together what went wrong. Its standard procedure to read a step outloud on a checklist so we know when something was supposed to happen and can compare to the DFDR later. Its also excellent for double checking youre doing the right thing at the right time and everyone is on the same page.\n\nNow wtf happens if these things land in water? I mean shit happens. Well thats where our good friend the UAB or underwater acoustic beacon comes in. This badboy is attached to the outside of all three boxes and when it comes in contact with water the water completes a circuit that allows it to begin pinging on a sonar frequency. This can run for up to 30 days and Im sorry but I cant recall the distance it can be detected at but it's pretty far. Ill see if I can find a source to verify distance and depth. Point being we dont care if they float because we can use subs to find them anyway. \n\n/rant\n\nI hope i didnt bore you to death feel free to ask questions I love nerding out and talking about planes. Sorry if my grammar is sucky or spelling is off. Typing this all out on my phone.\n\n\nPs i almost forgot. We put all this in the tail because it's the most likely section to stay together in a crash or some other nonsense. Im not 100% sure how accurate that statement is but its the common answer when people ask. Ive never heard another reason. The ELT is mounted laterally so it detects Gs in that direction. Before you ask Ive already wondered myself about fighter jets and I think their boxes are attached to the ejector seats maybe? I never worked fighters but logically it stands a valid question if the same G limits exist since those aircraft can exceed 9Gs and survive. Perhaps it has to do with the direction they come across the jet. Lateral is most commonly felt when you smack into the ground so it probably doesnt happen on that axis on a fighter but Im just guessing. Ive always done large frame aircraft." ] }
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[ [], [], [ "http://www.drs.com/Products/c3a/DFIRS.aspx", "http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/military/Deployable-Flight-Incident-Recorders-Avoiding-Not-Just-Surviving-a-Crash_12735.html#.VKcjNl237tQ" ], [] ]
3b52r5
why people are so happy to get a tax refund? doesn't that mean the government has taken more money from you than they should have?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3b52r5/eli5_why_people_are_so_happy_to_get_a_tax_refund/
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They could get a little more money if they had the proper amount of withholding and put it into an interest-bearing account, but many people don't have the discipline to make that work, and enjoy the annual windfall of cash.", "It means you gave the government an interest free loan for 12 months.\n\nBut for people who don't keep rigorous track of the labyrinthine tax code (i.e. everyone) it's hard to estimate what you'll end up owing and deduct accordingly.\n\nSo it's nicer to learn that you've overdeducted and get a refund. The alternative is much worse for most people.", "Technically yes, but it's still a chunk of money that you're getting that wasn't available to you before. Generally speaking, many people are not good at managing their money; it's more or less the same as if they were putting $200 a month into a savings account, and withdrawing it all on a specific day of each year to spend, just.. government mandated.\n\nWe don't have the tools at our disposal to calculate our exact tax rate at the beginning of the year, and it's usually better to have a little less money each month and get a check at the beginning of the year, than to have a little more money each month and owe the government a few thousand dollars come April. Much easier to handle for folks who live paycheck to paycheck, or otherwise don't have much savings.", "Because most people do not budget their finances properly and do not have the funds on hand to pay any taxes owed. Learning of money back is a windfall when you don't plan.", "There are two things at play. People who don't realize that they're letting the government take out too much money, or people that are using the tax laws and programs to get more money than they otherwise would have. The US government tends to use tax law to push and reward certain behaviors, such as donating to charity, getting an education (or taking a loan out for an education), having a child, buying a home for the first time or making eco-friendly improvements to your home.\n\nPeople tend to get happy because it's a check and a credit. It may be used as a forced savings or a way to splurge due to having unexpected cash.", " > Doesn't that mean the government has taken more money from you than they should have?\n\nNot necessarily. What if the government changes it's stance on a tax or adds a tax incentive for a purchase. This has been happening lately for electric vehicles. Could mean the government paid you to buy electric.\n\nThe tax code is not for five year olds!", "Not always.\n\nIf your income is low enough relative to your credits, you can get back more than was withheld. Mostly this is seen with child tax credits and earned income credits.", "Yes. But people forget that for most of the year, and when a few thousand dollars show up out of the blue, it's usually a good day.", "If you have perfect knowledge ahead of time, it's better to owe the government money at tax time. You know how much you've earned, you know how much you owe and you know how much you've given them each month.\n\nIf you don't have perfect knowledge- like, let's say, you don't know how much in taxes you actually owe per year- you'd rather owe the government $500 instead of $1000, right?\n\nPeople are happy to get a tax refund because they're worried that they actually owed the government $20,000 in taxes this year instead of just $10,000, and are relieved the total is half of what they were worried about", "Why are people happy to get a paycheck? It's just money the employer owes them because they worked their hours, right? \nPeople are happy to get a tax refund because it's more money in their own pockets. ", "It's a way of hiding tax free money from myself. I claim no dependents which means they pull more from my check monthly but at the end of the year they give it back. Nice little end of the year bonus. ", "Here's the way I look at it... say I get a $1000 refund and I get paid every other week. That's about $38 too much per paycheck that they took.\n\nNow, if you were given the option... would you prefer $38 extra on each pay check, or a lump sum $1000 check dumped into your hands at the beginning of the summer? Personally, I look at it like a little savings account that I cash out once a year.. money put aside that I probably would've spent and not noticed otherwise.", "I think if someone is getting back more than $500-$1000 (depending on how important it is to you) then that should be cause for them to consider that the money could have been with them sooner. However, I have a lot of tax deductions that are quite variable and I don't know what they are going to get me until tax season. Some years I get a refund and some years I owe, adjusting my W4 every year would be a pain, I don't sweat a few hundred dollars coming to me late.\n\nBeing overly excited about a tax refund is silly, but so is optimizing to the point where you know exacly what your W4 should be to get you to $0 owed (unless your taxes are really that simple).", "It's a bit like finding $20 in an old jacket's pocket. Yeah you lost the money and were down $20, but if you didn't notice, finding that money a few months down the line might as well be a present.", "Yes, and I don't care. My current take home pay is enough to comfortably carry me through the month so I see no need fiddle around with my deductions. \n\nWhen tax times comes around I know I'm going to get a pleasant surprise and the penalty for filing your taxes late is based on how much you owe. If you owe nothing they are remarkably indifferent to you being a bit late.", "Calculating taxes is going to lead to just one of the following three things.\n\n1 - You owe more money to the federal government\n\n2 - It's a wash\n\n3 - The government owes you money\n\nOption 3 is similar to finding money. While people might feel remorse because having that money in their paychecks instead could've made their year better, that negative feeling is typically overshadowed by the excitement of \"finding money.\"\n\nI, like most everyone else, want to maximize my hard earned dollars. I also can't stand leaving money on the table. If I put away that money and got *any* positive return on it, that would've been awesome, definitely better than giving the government my money to hold onto. But really though, I'm so fucking happy I found money, I can't stop that positive feeling from dominating the overall picture.", "Don't workers in America have \"pay as you earn\" where the taxes are deducted automatically from your wages? ", "Because its like saving money you would've wasted on stupid shit instead you buy more expensive stupid shit", "An honest answer? A lot of people are like me and fucking SUCK at saving money. Extra cash!? I'm eating out tonight! \n\n(I will dead serious eat my whole paycheck if I can and I'm not even overweight.)\n\nMy tax return is my little \"bump\" and I can get a larger purchase.\n\nOr was.", "Because some folks think its better to get a $3000 refund once a year than to have an extra $130 per bi-weekly paycheck.", "Don't forget about the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits. This gives lower income families several thousand dollars right after Christmas just for having kids and making not very much money.", "Many of the explanations here assume the employee can control the withholding. In Australia this is not the case - calculated amounts are taken out of any payroll depending on the frequency of pay and the amount. Often people have deductions for work expenses that they can only claim at the end of the year, resulting in a lower income, and a refund of tax paid. ", "Many low-income families with children receive the earned income tax credit, which often amounts to thousands of dollars more than they have paid in taxes. The EITC is the reason some used-car dealers offer free tax services.", "With 3 kids and making under a low income threshold the government can pay out refundable credits over $9,000.\n\n* Earned Income Credit - $6,000.\n* (Additional) Child Tax Credit - $3,000\n* 1/3 of Child Care Expenses paid so you could work, phases out at $3,000 or $6,000.\n\nSome filers *optimize* their return to get the most back by using the magic numbers. Claiming to run their own cash business they make a small income at just the right amount to get the most credit, but not so much that they are no longer qualified. The credit fluctuates on a scale within a range. \n\nThey will also claim 3 dependents, hopefully no one else is using their social security number. Even with a valid social security number only certain relationship types are supposed to be used to qualify for these credits. \n\n7 Million children went missing in 1987 from tax returns when the IRS began to require their social security number to be reported.\n[_URL_0_](_URL_0_)\n\nEarned Income Tax Credit fraud costs Billions of dollars each year.\n[_URL_1_](_URL_1_)", "It is nice to get a big refund at the beginning of the year but I would prefer it at the end of the year personally. So what you loan the government money with no interest blah blah blah. Taxes, like death, are part of life. It is what it is. I would rather not end up owing taxes at tax time. I find it incredibly infuriating when it does (rarely) happen. Mostly on state taxes. ", "The government doesn't take that money. It's set aside until you file your taxes and then you are either refunded from that account or you have to pay in. That's why filing is so important to the IRS.", "Its like finding a 20 dollar bill in your laundry. You know it's yours already but it's a nice surprise. ", "A few of the guys I know are well aware that if they got their refund over the year (i.e. no refund) they would spend it not save it. these guys (my friends) use over-deducting as a forced savings plan.", "Have you ever put on a coat or a pair of pants that you haven't worn in a while and found 50 cents or a dollar or maybe a lollypop in the pocket? (For a not actually 5 year old, let's say $20).\n\nThat's exciting and makes you happy, right? It's just like that but with a lot more money usually.\n\nYes, it's your money and you didn't get to use it while it was \"lost\" in your \"pocket\" but it's money that you probably weren't expecting to have either. You hadn't thought about it in a while and then... boom, here's some money you misplaced/forgot about.\n\nIt's not really about rational thought so much as the emotion of getting money you \"counted out.\"", "I have my w4 set to 0 on purpose because the interest I would have gotten had I put that amount into savings would be negligible, but the annual windfall makes the dreary winter months far more enjoyable. Generally, I put a portion of my earnings into long term savings anyways (including CD's for better interest rate). The extra that gets shaved off every paycheck in taxes that will get returned just increases the amount i save every year & augments my savings. \nTLDR: it is a way to trick myself into saving more than I normally would.", "My wife, who is a CPA, explains this to me in the patient tones of a coddling mother every tax season:\n\nThe tax code is a convoluted mess. Fact. Not even the government is able to decipher how much in taxes you will owe, year to year. They make an estimation, based on averages and percentages, and deduct what they think is necessary from your paycheck. \n\nAt the end of the year, it turns out that they nearly always over estimate, and you get the difference in return. \n\nBefore I'm beat up for being inaccurate, allow me to offer my disclaimer: I am not a tax professional, nor do I work for the IRS. My wife, who is much smarter than I am, understands taxes and accounting on a level I could never match. Therefore, while I'm certain even her knowledge is lacking in areas, I trust her judgment and don't question it when she tries to explain a very, VERY messy financial arrangement in the simplest of terms. \n\nEdit: I should also add that this is based on the information you provide when you begin a new job, or change your tax info. If you claim a lot on your tax forms, the government withholds less, but you might be liable for a deficit at the end of the year. If you claim 0, they basically take the max amount, and this is what gives you that nice fat check come tax time. ", "Would you feel better if you didn't get it back?", "For some, yes. For others, it's the earned income tax credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, and/or part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit that can get them a refund even when they did not pay in any taxes.\n\nA LOT of people would just spend an extra 25 or so in their paychecks on nothing memorable, but 600 is enough to do something with that could make a difference (vacation, electronics, etc.).\n\nEdit: Changed \"entertainment\" to \"electronics\"\n", "You're free to go all year and not give the government a cent (in income taxes) but then you'll get the whole bill at once, so you'd better have the money. Or you can have your employer take approximately the right amount from every paycheck, but they might be over (and you get money back) or under (you get a bill). \n\nIt's easiest for most people to aim for a little over, and then you get some back and are free to spend it. It's not the best move financially, but apart from the 3 cents interest it would have made you in a checking account it's basically an effort-free piggy bank once a year.", "The tax refund check is a big deal for most middle to lower income people myself included because otherwise they would never see that large of a sum of \"extra\" money at one time. I put extra in quotes because I realize that it is actually our money in the first place, and if I wanted I could set my tax witholding up so that I get that money in my check over the course of the year. However speaking emotionally having a check handed to you that easily exceeds 2-5x your normal net paycheck just feels good. I love being able to pay off my car insurance or housing association fees etc. and not having to worry about it for a year.", "Another dumb question, but I thought the money was going to the IRS not the government?", "It's called intaxication. Euphoria from receiving a refund, which lasts until you realize the money was yours in the first place. ", "Very simple. People are happy to get a big chunk of money at once, whether it was theirs to begin with or not.", "They are not happy it was taken, they are happy to be getting it back. Why did this need an ELI5 to understand this?", "US here: The government doesn't take it directly. You can control it if you choose. Your employer uses IRS formulas to calculate how much to withhold, based on your completion of IRS form W-4 which you must fill out when hired for any legal job. On this form you claim a number of allowances. These reduce your taxes. You get an allowance for each dependent, you get an allowance if you are \"head of household\", etc. If you just claim 0 allowances on this form, then your employer will withhold the highest amount of estimated taxes. The more allowances you claim, the less your employer withholds from your check. On Page 2 of the form there is also a worksheet to allow manual adjustments, instead of relying only on the number of allowances.\n", "The government doesn't take money, you give it money. So in the case of a tax refund, it's the government returning the excess money you gave it." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/dependents.asp", "http://taxfoundation.org/blog/earned-income-tax-credit-still-plagued-high-error-rate" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
8w9nly
how can light diffuse in all directions from a single point?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8w9nly/eli5_how_can_light_diffuse_in_all_directions_from/
{ "a_id": [ "e1tr07j", "e1tr0si" ], "score": [ 2, 4 ], "text": [ " > If there is one point of light it seems like it would need to generate energy\n\nThings emit light when they cool down or as the result of chemical reactions, both of which do require an energy source. This has nothing to do with the fact that things tend to emit light in all directions when they do, though.", " > If there is one point of light it seems like it would need to generate energy or something to be able to make a sphere of light waves around it.\n\nLight **is** energy. It's always produced by something else releasing energy.\n\nSo you can't have \"a point of light\". Instead, you have \"a small object that's radiating light in all directions.\"" ] }
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[ [], [] ]
6v86k6
if credit unions serve members and banks serve shareholders, why aren't credit unions more popular than banks?
I'm aware that credit unions are somewhat restricted on who they can have as members, but a lot of them serve a huge base, and bypassing the rules is often trivial. The only objection I have is lack of branch availability - you can join BOA and go anywhere in the US and find a branch. But I doubt that keeps most people away. Is there a reason why credit unions can't designate their membership at "Residents of the state of Texas, Cali, Connecticut, etc". Is that considered too broad? Are there countries where credit unions are more popular than banks?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6v86k6/eli5_if_credit_unions_serve_members_and_banks/
{ "a_id": [ "dlyeklq", "dlzakmg" ], "score": [ 6, 2 ], "text": [ "Up until recently national banks had far greater perks to being a member than credit unions could ever hope for. You mention banks all over the country, but it goes beyond that. Bank of America has agreements with national banks in other countries. If you were in Germany in 1995, as Bank of America member you could pull cash out of ATM's inside Germany and be on your way. Credit Union members would have to bring cash, travelers checks, or attempt to get their credit union to try to wire money to Germany for a heafty fee. In other words they were basically cut off from their bank account anytime they left the country while Bank of America customers weren't. In modern times credit unions have mostly alleviated this problem with their collaboration in establishing the co-op network. Last decade banks again pulled ahead with the emergence of online bank features, and later cell phone applications. However credit unions have started to close the gap here as well.", "If a bank wanted to raise money, it has the same three choices as any other company, save, borrow, or sell shares to investors. \n\nCredit unions are non-profits, so they can't sell shares, which limits its abilities to expand or provide new services. Building new branchings, providing ATMs, and keeping up with the latest online features is harder when you are a credit union.\n\nThey can have leadership problem. Executives at a bank will usually be compensated with stocks, which can be more lucrative than salary. At a credit union, it is just salary. That makes it more difficult to attract top leadership talent, and even if they can, it is hard to keep those leaders for getting scooped up by banks if they do well." ] }
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[ [], [] ]
1qw9ch
how can tv shows have so many different main writers but still flow well and seem like there is only one?
Here are some examples from wikipedia of [How I Met Your Mother](_URL_1_) and [Doctor who](_URL_0_). If you look under writers for each it changes frequently. Writers often reoccur but there are still many different writers. How can shows flow so well if different people are writing each episode? And how do they make sure it stays on the correct story line? How do they make sure there are no mistakes or plot holes created?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qw9ch/eli5_how_can_tv_shows_have_so_many_different_main/
{ "a_id": [ "cdh4v46", "cdh5l2r", "cdh69zo", "cdh8mif" ], "score": [ 4, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "The writers plan out at least the season together before doing any individual writing. Not all the details, but things like the season's overarching plot and the continuity changes that happen. Ideally, potential plot holes and such are identified and dealt with at this stage. \n\nSome shows take this to great lengths, such as *Babylon 5* which had IIRC at least 4 seasons outlined before it first went to air. That enabled them to for instance do a time travel plot where [a first season episode](_URL_1_) interacts with [a third season one](_URL_0_).", "It's because they stick to a theme.\n\nLike for Regular Show which is a Cartoon Network show created by J.G. Quintel, the show has many different writers but they all follow a theme set by Quintel. The theme goes like the show starts out with some conflict such as one of the character wants something or something happens to someone. Then the characters go about at resolving the conflict. While they go about trying to do this crazy things happens but eventually they manage to resolve the conflict and the episode ends with everything coming back to the set equilibrium of the show. So as long as the writers follow this theme, the show remains the same. \n\nOther shows have an overarching plot/mythology that is usually set by the creator of the show. Then the writes can write episodes which follow this narrative. Like in X-files the whole narrative and mythology of the aliens was created by Chris Carter mainly and then the other writers would write episodes that wouldn't change the overarching plot of the show. Although for X-files Chris Carter did say they were pretty much making it up as they went along with the show and at many times it did feel like it too! ", "Because there is a team, but there are several people in charge of the team who's job it is to make sure that things are consistent. There's a head writer, a show-runner, executive producers, and the directors, as well as the actors- for the most part, these people have little writing duties, but they do have editorial control over plots, lines, and jokes. ", "They do what is called \"Room writing.\"\n\nYou take \"10\" writers and you layout the major story arc of a season. You now where you are and where you are going. Then each of the writers is assigned an episode. They go away for a couple weeks and come back to the \"room\" where the group will brainstrom for the final product. The episode may only be 25% of what that writer did, but the overall concept is still intact. And the overall season arc is still intact. \n\nEach writer does this in turn. Better writers get more turns at bat. They'll check in occasionally with the \"show runner\" to make sure taht it all matches up continuity wise. " ] }
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[ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Who_serials", "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_How_I_Met_Your_Mother_episodes" ]
[ [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Without_End_(Babylon_5\\)", "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_Squared" ], [], [], [] ]
4h7gxq
whats an algorithm?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4h7gxq/eli5whats_an_algorithm/
{ "a_id": [ "d2o21yb", "d2o2aam", "d2o4ubo", "d2ognkj" ], "score": [ 76, 31, 8, 2 ], "text": [ "An algorithm is basically the recipe, the step-by-step guide, to solving some problem in maths and programming. Algorithms can have names, like \"the Quicksort algorithm\" or \"the Bogosort algorithm\", and each one is a series of defined steps to solve a problem. A problem can have lots of different algorithms that reach a valid solution in different ways with different tradeoffs (eg one algorithm might use a lot of memory, one algorithm might be very slow).\n\nHere are two examples.\n\n# Problem: sort a list of numbers so that [3, 2, 5, 1, 8] becomes [1, 2, 3, 5, 8]\n\n## Bubble sort algorithm\n\n1. Compare the first item (A) and the second item (B) in the list.\n2. If A < B, they are in the right order, so move onto comparing the second item and third item in the list.\n3. If A > B, they are in the wrong order, so swap them.\n4. When we get to the end of the list, go back to the beginning and do the same thing again.\n5. If we get all the way from the beginning to the end never having to swap anything, that means everything is in the right order, and we're done.\n\n## Bozosort algorithm\n\n1. Check if the list is in order.\n2. If it is, we're done.\n3. If it's not, swap two random items.\n4. Repeat.", "In essence, an algorithm is just a set of steps or rules you follow to get to a result. \n\nA very simple example might be an algorithm to make ice:\n\n1. Pour water in ice tray \n\n2. Put ice tray in freezer. \n\nThey can get more complicated by adding logic. For example, an algorithm to choose a pair of shoes shoes \n\n1. If raining, put on rain boots. \n\n2. Else if going for a run, out on sneakers \n\n3. Else if going to work, put on dress shoes \n\n4. Else, put on loafers\n\nOr you can add loops. For example, how to grill a Steak \n\n1. Put Steak on BBQ. \n\n2. Wait 5 minutes \n\n3. Flip Steak over \n\n4. If Steak is not cooked, go to step 2\n\nSome algorithms are incredibly complex. For example, Google's search engine considers multiple factors like your browsing habits, whether other sites link to this result, etc in ordering search results. There are also algorithms that can improve themselves, like the recent Alpha Go project. On a very high level, if had an algorithm that said \"play a game and check the outcome. If it was good, play again with that style. Otherwise, find where the game started going bad and avoid moves like that.\"\n\nBut all it is, no matter how complicated, is a series of steps with logic to connect them ", "According to my algorithms professor : \"a algorithm is a precise, easy to follow list of steps. A recipe or turn by turn directions on a map.\" ", "I was always told that an algorithm was the manner of breaking down a problem into a formulaic format that would enable you to solve it.\n\nContrary to the opinions of some, it has nothing to do with a previous vice president's ability to dance." ] }
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3nd7hv
how exactly would terraforming mars with nukes make it more suitable for humans?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nd7hv/eli5_how_exactly_would_terraforming_mars_with/
{ "a_id": [ "cvmy4bf", "cvmys5f" ], "score": [ 4, 2 ], "text": [ "The idea is to melt its ice caps, which are made of both water ice and dry ice (=solid carbon dioxide). The water would melt and the CO2 would thicken the atmosphere.", "Many big booms above planet. Big booms are hot and smelt ice on planet. Most ice was made of frozen gas. Gas gets around planet and forms a blanket. Planet now gets warmer. Plants like warm and wet planets. Humans like to eat plants. Plants also make air we breathe." ] }
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36un7w
what is a friar and how do they differ from monks?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36un7w/eli5_what_is_a_friar_and_how_do_they_differ_from/
{ "a_id": [ "crh8d1k" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text": [ "_URL_0_\n\n > Friars are different from monks in that they are called to live the evangelical counsels (vows of poverty, chastity and obedience) in service to society, rather than through cloistered asceticism and devotion. Whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support. A monk or nun makes their vows and commits to a particular community in a particular place. Friars commit to a community spread across a wider geographical area known as a province, and so they will typically move around, spending time in different houses of the community within their province." ] }
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[ [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friar" ] ]
3x0428
if flying a fighter jet in another country's airspace is considered hostile, then how do landlocked countries send their fighters outside of their borders?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3x0428/eli5_if_flying_a_fighter_jet_in_another_countrys/
{ "a_id": [ "cy0binz", "cy0bjo6", "cy0bofz" ], "score": [ 3, 9, 3 ], "text": [ "They most likely have agreements with those countries, or announce in advance a movement, and the other sides approval. ", "They ask other countries' permission to fly over their territory. It's only considered hostile to fly fighter jets in another country's airspace **without** permission.", "Generally they don't. [Almost every landlocked country is very poor](_URL_0_), and those that aren't have professed neutrality in world affairs.\n\nBeing landlocked is a terrible curse for a nation, as it severely restricts trade and makes them totally dependent one one or more of their neighbours to allow imports. Usually, nations without access to the sea are unable to afford incursions beyond their borders, and certainly not far beyond those borders. The exceptions in Europe are either microstates, Switzerland, or Austria (both of which are officially neutral nations)." ] }
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[ [], [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country#List_of_landlocked_countries" ] ]
3jep4u
how much weight can a muscle lift proportional to its own weight?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jep4u/eli5_how_much_weight_can_a_muscle_lift/
{ "a_id": [ "cuoliwx", "cuolwht" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "It's [complicated](_URL_0_). Lots of different factors in the structure and function of your muscles can influence how much force they can put out/kg of muscle. I tried to look around for an \"average\" or something like that that would be satisfactory for this thread, but I think it varies too much depending on the conditions and structure of the muscle.", "What u/lollersauce914 said. \nThere's also leverage to take into account. Think pinky versus leg......" ] }
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[ [ "http://downloads.lww.com/wolterskluwer_vitalstream_com/sample-content/9780781774222_Oatis/samples/Oatis_CH04_045-068.pdf" ], [] ]
4ysmku
how do astronauts not go deaf from the sound of the launch?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ysmku/eli5_how_do_astronauts_not_go_deaf_from_the_sound/
{ "a_id": [ "d6q4tvo" ], "score": [ 22 ], "text": [ "The layers upon layers of protection built into the ship to protect them from other hazards also helps reduce the noise. As does all of the gear that they personally wear in case of a hull breach during launch. \n\nWe're still not talking \"silenced\" by any means, but it takes the deafening roar of a rocket launch and reduces it to more like \"I attended a Metallica concert in the 80's\". \n\nIt's still not as good as \"I didn't get launched into space/attend a Metallica concert\", but it's not a huge deal. Considering that most astronauts only rack up a few missions, your average college kid that spent a summer chasing the Grateful Dead has racked up more hearing loss than Buzz Aldrin. " ] }
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6f14iu
what is hdd or ssd cache, and why does it make the storage device faster?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6f14iu/eli5_what_is_hdd_or_ssd_cache_and_why_does_it/
{ "a_id": [ "diel8io", "dien7vt" ], "score": [ 4, 3 ], "text": [ "Caching is the concept of using a smaller faster storage medium to store the most accessed data so it is faster. For example when you access something on your hard drive the operating system will store that data in the main memory. But when you are done with it the operating system will not delete it from memory and the next time you access the same data it will just instantly give you access to the data in memory. However when you write data it can not use the main memory as it gets wiped when the power goes out so the changes would be lost. For a long time you could get RAID cards with built in memory and battery to work as write cache. However with big cheap SSDs it is more economical to use an SSD for both write and read cache. This also means that you can cache things even if the main memory is filled.\n\nIt should be noted that cache does not improve throughput that much. The data still needs to be read and written to the main disks. So it will only help on throughput for often accessed data like program files and does not help throughput for file transfers and similar operations. The main focus is latency. But even with latency there are limitations. For read the cache will not improve latency for data that is not in the cache, it may even hurt latency a bit. And for write it can only improve latency until you have filled the cache at which point it reverts back to the latency of your main hard drives. So the performance improvements of a cache will depend on your workload.", "Imagine you run a library, you have a service counter where an employee takes requests.\n\nThe employee gets a request for \"The Davinci Code\", he checks the location on the computer then runs down the aisles to fetch a copy of the book.\n\nAfter a few days he realises that 60% of requests are for the Davinci code so on his next trip he grabs up 50 copies and keeps them next to the counter.\n\nIn doing this he has a 'cache' of the most popular book so for 60% of the requests he can just hand the book straight over, this speeds up the overall operation of the library significantly." ] }
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61yqw5
why are tigers/jaguars/cheetahs/leopards etc all look very similar to each other yet are different animals?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/61yqw5/eli5_why_are_tigersjaguarscheetahsleopards_etc/
{ "a_id": [ "dficssr", "dfidnui" ], "score": [ 5, 2 ], "text": [ "Because they are related. And they haven't evolved much from common ancestors. They all pretty much have the same niche as apex predators. \n\nLike fish all have a similar design, because they all live in water and have to swim to get places. It worked for their common ancestor and it continues to work. \n\nLike dolphins and cetaceans. Blowhole on top, because it's the first thing that hits the air. Where should the blowhole move to that would benefit the animal better?", "They look similar for the same reason chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos are similar. They're all related animals doing similar things, so their appearance hasn't changed that much from whatever large cat lived several million years ago. It should be said that cheetahs are less closely related to the others by a fairly significant amount." ] }
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3y1gxc
why do artists play their song slightly slower live? are they actually playing them slower or are radio/album recordings just set faster?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3y1gxc/eli5_why_do_artists_play_their_song_slightly/
{ "a_id": [ "cy9oygr", "cy9qykp" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "I've always thought the opposite - playing live speeds it up. Was certainly the case when I saw The Darkness & INXS. Check some live performances from the Beatles on YouTube, they're much quicker than the album versions.", "Also radio stations tend to speed up songs just slightly so that they are able to air more commercials ." ] }
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qcdlo
disk encryption
Sorry, I just don't get it. A metaphor would be nice, or even draw a picture.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qcdlo/eli5_disk_encryption/
{ "a_id": [ "c3whuyp", "c3whvik", "c3wk9ts" ], "score": [ 2, 4, 3 ], "text": [ "You don't want other people reading your files. Encryption mixes up the information in your files, using a pattern determined by a secret password. Later, unless you type in the password, the computer doesn't know how to unmix the data, so your files are unreadable.", "Suppose you're keeping a diary where you write embarrassing personal stuff about the cute boy in your math class. You keep this diary hidden in your sock drawer, but you're worried that your bratty brother might find it one day and make fun of you mercilessly. So, you decide to write in a special code that only you can understand. You decide to take every letter of the alphabet and \"shift\" it by two places, so that instead of writing A, you'd write C, instead of writing B, you'd write D, and so on down to the end of the alphabet (with Y being written as A and Z being written as B). Now, instead of writing:\n\n I like pie.\n\nIt would end up in your diary like this:\n\n K nkmg rkg.\n\nSentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, and page after page, you fill your little diary with what looks like gibberish, except that you actually know how to read it while no one else does. Now, even if your brother finds your diary, he likely won't be able to figure out what it means.\n\nNow, replace \"diary\" with \"hard drive\", and \"writing\" with \"every piece of data stored on your computer\", and you get the general idea. Of course, modern disk encryption is a heck of a lot more sophisticated than a simple substitution cipher, but for eli5 purposes, the gist of it is that all data on your drive is encrypted in such a way that if someone steals your computer, it will just look like random garbage and the computer will be unbootable. Only the person who knows the password can decrypt the disk and use the system.", "Here's some info on crypto for you:\n\n_URL_0_" ] }
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[ [], [], [ "http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qbg6r/eli5_how_does_desaes_encryption_work/" ] ]
tyygq
if shaolin monks are so good, why aren't they #1 in all fighting sports?
I always (in all my five years) thought it was because their order was too holy to display their talents - but it turns out they show it off all the time, just not in real matches. Please explain!
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/tyygq/eli5_if_shaolin_monks_are_so_good_why_arent_they/
{ "a_id": [ "c4r518b", "c4r5zm8", "c4r6o48" ], "score": [ 5, 2, 4 ], "text": [ "I found some articles [here](_URL_0_) and [here](_URL_1_) and [here](_URL_2_) and [here](_URL_3_). When I say \"Buddhists believe...\" it's important to understand that not all Buddhists believe the same things. And not all principles are always followed.\n\nBuddhists believe that hurting people is bad. They believe that using violence to hurt someone is bad. So they don't hurt people, that means they don't fight for sport.\n\nWhen a Shaolin Monk learns martial arts, they don't learn it so they can use it to hurt people. They learn it as a way of meditating to reach enlightenment.", "Why would a monk be in a prize fighting glamour sport?", "1. they aren't \"so good\".\n\n...that's basically it." ] }
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[ [ "http://www.shaolin.com/historycontent.aspx", "http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/war.shtml", "http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119758024054227513.html", "http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/january-30-2009/shaolin-fighting-monks/2083/" ], [], [] ]
38vitc
how is jurassic park's cgi able to hold up and even beat movies that are released in this century, even though their budget was $63 mil?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/38vitc/eli5_how_is_jurassic_parks_cgi_able_to_hold_up/
{ "a_id": [ "cry65t6", "cry66y8", "cry7ap9", "cry7ui5", "cry8f9d", "cry8go5", "cry92b9", "cry9f7w", "cry9jfw", "cry9q34", "cry9vm9", "cry9xqx", "crya63x", "cryat4a", "crybei8", "crybnz4", "crybwor", "cryc0aq", "crycji7", "crycz9k", "cryg5at", "cryhdg5", "cryhovi", "cryjiyf", "cryka0f", "crykay3", "crynr7u", "crynsnd", "cryqhen", "cryri2v", "crytx6z", "cryvscb" ], "score": [ 18, 608, 156, 28, 65, 3, 2, 6, 2, 7, 2, 2, 19, 20, 4, 2, 4, 6, 2, 2, 8, 2, 2, 4, 3, 6, 4, 2, 5, 5, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "The raptors in most scenes were actually costumes :) I believe the scene when the T Rex eats the goat is also a giant puppet rig.", "JP used a combination of CGI and \"practical\" effects, meaning real effects. A LOT of what you see is puppets. Most of its CGI is just the combination of the two shots or enhancements to them.\n\nModern CGI doesn't quite have the same effect. One of the major problems is lighting. Animators never seem to get it quite right and so you can more easily tell it's CGI. With a practical effect, they can better match lighting, etc.", "In the 2+ hours of Jurassic Park there is less than 6 total minutes of CGI effects. 2-3 minutes of which is taken up by the T-Rex chase which is in the dark and it is raining. The rain is very important as it allows your mind to dismiss the smoother, more plastic texturing that was common in CGI at the time because rain makes surfaces shinier anyway.", "This Cracked article gives lots of good reasons as to why modern CGI just doesn't look realistic. \n_URL_0_\n", "_URL_0_\n\nThis is the development of the Raptor suit. In addition to the comments prior to mine, I think this would be an excellent visual aid.", "Since the technical part has been answered, there's also some nostalgia behind it for the largest age group that is using the internet. There also aren't too many successful dinosaur films that are released these days that aren't cartoons.", "Acting and directing are a big part of it. If you care about the characters your brain will be too worried about if they're going to be okay or not to pick out every little flaw in the special effects. A good director knows how to use slight of hand to fool you as well, and jurassic park is full of little tricks meant to convince you that what you're seeing is real.", "Another thing to take into account is inflation. Jurassic park's budget might have been 63 million USD, but that was in 1993. Adjusting for inflation it becomes 100 million USD.\n\nWhich is about the same budget as Gravity.", "Adam Jones is awesome?", "Clever camera work was a huge part of it (keep in mind that CGI was only a part of the effects). Think about classic horror movies like Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Certain shots were cut to imply heinous acts when in reality everything shown was rather tame, similar techniques were used to make the hide the fake dino effects. Nostalgia also plays a huge part in your opinion. ", "Unmentioned elsewhere is that lizard skin is significantly easier to render than human. Not to say that the use of practical effects wasn't helpful, and that we detect fewer errors in dark/rainy environments, or even that the amount of CGI is less than in your modern blockbuster -- but the problem itself is just easier.", "$63M is a lot, and even though it had some famous actors, it didn't have the most expensive ones who easily cost $20+M and could spend more on effects", "A lot of misinformed and half-informed answers in this thread. It's been asked here a lot before, you should search for more if you're interested.\n\nThe main factor isn't puppets, or lighting (which is a separate department from animators, by the way). The main factor is attention. The reason Jurassic Park sells you on its effects so well is because it draws attention away from them before you get a chance to scrutinize. This is by design - they weren't even sure that CGI in a film was a workable idea at the time, plus it was used as part of the editing for building suspense and tension.\n\nThe reason big effects blockbusters now are less believable is because they put everything front and center, and encourage scrutiny. When it's something that's well done and believable, you usually don't even notice that it's an effect at all. But when it's something that is patently impossible, up in your face and shouting \"LOOK AT ME!!\" well, you will look. And you will notice that it isn't real.\n\nSource: work in the industry, done work on some films you've probably seen.", "Jurassic Park has better CGI than The Lost World (IMO), which is interesting seeing as both films are directed by Steven Spielberg, the sequel has a bigger budget, and it has a four year boost in technology. As another redditor stated, a lot of this has to do with lighting; CGI lives and dies on how well it's presented. In the original Jurassic Park, the dinosaurs are on screen something like 16 minutes out of the 120+ minute runtime. Out of those 16 minutes, a significant portion is animatronics. In other words, the CGI is used sparingly and, more importantly, in wide shots. For instance, pretty much any time there's only a portion of a dinosaur, a close up, it's animatronic -- something with real, physical details. CGI is almost exclusively used in the wide shots, the shots where entire dinosaurs are seen (a la the T-Rex escaping the fence and crossing between the Jeeps, which is at night and in the rain), where close up details like scales won't be rendered and, therefore, the scene is cheaper and faster.\n\nThe long and short of it is that a lot of smart people figured out one of the absolute best ways to make the scenes work -- by choosing CGI or animatronic, wide shots or close-ups, night or day, and rain or shine. In actuality, the CGI dinos are probably on screen for a total of something like 5 minutes, and they're cleverly disguised by editing and other techniques.", "It is also important to understand that in the case of Jurassic Park we are watching Dinosaurs, something that we will never see in real life, therefore we accepted as \"perfect\" in Jurassic Park as it was the first movie with high budget with them in it, and we will never have a comparison to real ones.\n\nAll the Dinosaurs in JP are historically incorrect : Sizes in some cases, colors in others, behaviour in pretty much all of them (T rex apparently was a scavenger, there are virtually no animal on the planet, sea creature excluded, that attack with the head first, and he got tiny arms:/ ).\n\nThat's why Jurassic World actually looks worst than JP, because the CGI flaws (light and contrast) are more apparent then mistakes about \"realism\", as we don't have real dinosaur to compare them with.", "It's not the tools (CGI or practical effects), it's the artists.\n\nSpielberg has high standards (and is a big name), if he doesn't like how something turned out, he will make the artist fix it.[1]\n\nThe people working on JP were also some of the best in the business - it's Spielberg, of course he could demand the best.\n\nHe was also smart enough to work within the limits of the technology of the time and not demand VFX (CGI or otherwise) do what it's not good at.\n\n[1] Seriously, watch the making of Jurassic Park, Spielberg takes no shit from anyone.", "I think your overselling Jurassic park in your head. Go back and really look. You can now tell its cgi.\nWatch a movie like chappie. I honestly thought it had to be a prop for most shots it was so real looking. 100% of the shots with chappie were cgi. ", "How come District 9 still crushes most multi-hundred million dollar budget movies?\n\nI'd say a large large part of it is about how much the CGI companies actually care about making the movie. Is it just a job, or are they actually physically invested in making it look good.", "Some have already mentioned that JP used a lot of practical effects, which is true, but I'd also like to point out that realistic-looking CGI has an upper limit---Reality. So, at a certain point (and we've already reached it with some some types of effects), CGI will *never* look better and will continue to hold up because the effects look real. ", "It's been a long time since I saw the original Jurassic Park so I wasn't sure if it was it was just a case of rose tinted glasses, but as soon as I saw the trailer to the new film I thought the effects looked way worse to the point it put me off the film a little.", "The less familiar we are with the subject, the more leeway we give to CGI regarding quality.\n\nDinosaurs- Never seen one in real life. I don't know how they move, I don't know their skin texture or color, or how light reflects from it. A CGI artist/animator can get away with a lot as compared to subjects we are familiar with.\n\nAnthropomorphic characters- Tougher to achieve realism. The human brain keys in instantly if something is off as far as movement is concerned. Best so far is Avatar. Mediocre movie, but the CGI motion capture did wonders for realism/immersion. This was also applied to facial movements as well. Creating a character (Na'Vi) with different skin color, and enough facial changes(compared to humans) made them visually different enough to be believable. We had no reference as to what they were supposed to look like.\n\nHuman CGI- Still tough to impossible. Any slight error gives it away. Any animation of a CGI human face is almost instantly recognizable as a fake. Motion cap has gotten lip/eye movements pretty close but things like skin texture/color/depth all break the illusion darned near instantly.\n\nCGI has gotten much better over the last 20 years, but the subjects being animated are a lot tougher to pass off as real.\n", "Let me start by saying that I LOVE Jurassic Park. I saw it in theaters as a kid several times. It overtook my love of ninja turtles and defined a good portion of my childhood. I'll probably get crucified for this, but the vast majority of the CGI in Jurassic Park has NOT aged well. At all. I think anyone who claims otherwise has not seen the movie recently and is letting both the nostalgia and the legacy of the film cloud their memory. There are only two, maybe three scenes in the film where the cgi still looks good, but even then, it's age still shows. \n\nThe problem is that people are comparing Jurassic Park's best (nostalgia influenced) cgi with the worst cgi in modern films. That is not only an unfair comparison but creates an extremely false story and undermines the hard work and certifiable evolution of cgi in the last twenty-odd years. \n\nYes, the cgi of Jurassic Park is a feat to be appreciated and respected, but if you were to compare the movies best cgi with the best cgi of today, there really is no conversation to be had, because it is plainly obvious that JP's cgi is no longer the holy grail of perfection we want it to be. \n\nLet the downvotes begin!", "Am I the only one who disagrees with the premise?", "You have never watched the original JP in HD. Lower resolution does wonders for making things look more believable.", "I'll go one further. The original JP monsters look better than what I've seen in the recent trailer.\n\nWhy do CGI animators always have to make everything look so wet? Things are rarely wet and shiny. Dinosaurs should look...dusty and rough. Not greased with bacon lard.", "$63M was a **HUGE** amount of money in 1993. Only one other film cost more that year, ***Cliffhanger*** which was $65M. \n\nRedditors under 35 really need to do the minimum research when it comes to what other budgets of an era were before they post another one of these, \"Hey, how come X only cost $$ in 1984 yet looks....\" ", "Almost every comment here accepts the premise, but not all of the CGI in Jurassic Park holds up. The Gallimimus stampede and the Brachiosaurus at the beginning are both lacking compared to current CGI.", "One thing that's worth remembering is that with Jurassic park, the only real CG stuff were the Dinosaurs, and lets face it, they're all just big lizards. Back then, computer generated stuff was only really good at producing things that looked like plastic (one of the reasons Pixar's first film was about a bunch of plastic toys) and lizards, with their rough scaly skin would have been easier to do than say, a bear (or a groundhog...) due to things like the fur (even today, fur itself isn't difficult, but it's the lighting that'll screw you).\n\nCouple all that with the fact that they had actual puppets they could use, not only instead of CG, but also as reference for things like lighting etc, and what you get is something with much more fidelity a looking a lot more real.", "1. Watch it again. Any scene with CG dinosaurs in broad daylight really don't hold up that well, compared to the creatures in, for example, Avatar. \n\n2. Dinosaurs are relatively easy, CG-wise. Their hides don't sub-surface scatter like human skin does, making it easier to model with a computer. \n\n3. Jurassic Park picked its shots very carefully. The CG dinosaurs are usually seen only briefly, in carefully controlled lighting conditions.\n\n4. Jurassic Park was aware of the limitations of the technology and made heavy use of robots, costumes, and puppets to fill in the gaps. This is less necessary today, because CG is good enough that the jerkiness of puppets and robots is often more distracting than the subtly incorrect rendering of CG. ", "Because they made such good puppets back then that us modern viewers think that they were using CGI a lot more than they really were.", "The simple answer is they were trusted to make it look awesome. And EVERYONE was a master on that film. Dennis Murren, the VFX supervisor on JP, has more oscars than anyone else, in any category. He's a god damned genius. He was working with the greatest VFX animator ever with Phil Tippett. The greatest practical special effects artist with Stan Winston. Some of the regular everyday artists on the film? John Knoll, creator of Photoshop. Joe Letteri, who would go on to do the Lord of the Rings. Steve Rosenbaum, who won oscars for Forest Gump and Avatar.\n\nSpielberg shot the film, edited the film, handed it to ILM and said please put dinosaurs in this, I'm going to go make Schiendler's List. They got 18 months to complete a handful of shots compromising only a few minutes of the finished film.\n\nThese days, studios edit and re edit and give notes on the 1800 shots that you're given 8 months or less to finish. There's never enough time to get it right.\n\nEvery shot in that film was a real place. Even if it was a soundstage, it was a full set. It was lit by the DP.\n\nNow, everything is greenscreen. The DP doesn't bother to light the talent to blend into the background because the director hasn't decided what the background is going to be. Then it goes into DI and the colorist ruins everything overpunching the contrast and saturation.\n\nBuilding things on set makes you do something they hate - make a decision. They put off decisions as long as possible now. They want to test it, focus group it, etc.\n\nThere's plenty of CGI out there in films that looks far better than the CG in Jurassic Park because the director cared. Golum. Davey Jones. Folding Paris in Inception. Avatar. Avatar, considering the scope of the work, is especially insane. You forget how good the CGI is until Neytiri jumps into the trailer to help put the gas mask on Worthington and you're like \"holy crap...\".\n\nGive ILM or Weta the time, budget they need with a definitive plan of action from a director that knows what he wants, and they can make JP look rudimentary. But here's the thing the studios realize - CG only needs to be good enough. They cost difference between \"good enough\" and \"holy fuck...\" Is vast. And isn't rewarded at the box office proportionally. So they don't pay for it.", "Back then, the producer's orders were *\"THIS is what I want it to look like. Invent a way to do it. I'll pay the bill.\"*\n\nToday, producer's orders are *\"It cost those people THIS MUCH to make it look like THIS. Make it look like they did... but find a way to do it cheaper.\"*" ] }
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[ [], [], [], [ "http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-expensive-films-end-up-with-crappy-special-effects" ], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAzQr3Ml0UI" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
o3r7o
why a fast food hamburger is bad for me.
Why is a Wendy's hamburger bad for me? It seems to be the perfect meal, a patty of meat, veggies, breads, dairy (cheese). Where is the unhealthyness coming from?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/o3r7o/eli5_why_a_fast_food_hamburger_is_bad_for_me/
{ "a_id": [ "c3e4fgc", "c3e82bp" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Too much fat, salt, and sugar, and not enough vegetables.", "A 1/4 lb. Wendy's burger is about 600 calories...if you are an adult male, that is less than a third of your daily intake.\n\nIn and of itself, not a terrible meal, although it is half your fat and sodium intake.\n\nThe problem is, you add fries, and suddenly you are at about half your daily calories, and most of your fat and sodium. You are still ok if that is your biggest meal of the day.\n\nNow compare that to a Baconator Double, 1000 calories on its own, and 100% of your fat and sodium. Add fries and a coke, and you are pretty much done eating for the day." ] }
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6xgbas
electric car heaters
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6xgbas/eli5_electric_car_heaters/
{ "a_id": [ "dmfo0bw", "dmfo0dw" ], "score": [ 2, 4 ], "text": [ "There is a heater coil in the vent system that generates heat from electricity and the air passes by it and heats up. Usually it's a bunch of bars together with spaces between them so that the air can pass through, at least those are the ones that I've seen", " > It might have coils but does that have a effect on the battery life?\n\nOf course using electricity for heating impacts battery life, but the impact is much smaller than actually moving the car. " ] }
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6lijnu
how do poppers or snaps work
Not sure what you call them but there like little paper covered firecrackers that you throw at the ground and pop
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6lijnu/eli5_how_do_poppers_or_snaps_work/
{ "a_id": [ "dju3l83" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text": [ "Snaps work by small pieces of gravel and impact sensitive explosive (usually silver fulminate which is like Mercury fulminate but not toxic.) When it is thrown the gravel provides enough impact for the silver fulminate to detonate and thus causes the iconic snap." ] }
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1pj89w
why can't i buy glasses or contacts without a prescription from my eye doctor?
I mean, sure, prescriptions make sense for most drugs (including not being able to buy pet medication). But why, if I already know what strength I need to correct my vision, do I need an eye doctor's okay? I'm not saying I don't want to go to the eye doctor, because there are other benefits to check up on the wellness of my eyes, but it just kind of seems silly to me to have the eye doctor as the middle man.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pj89w/eli5_why_cant_i_buy_glasses_or_contacts_without_a/
{ "a_id": [ "cd2ujpp", "cd2yr8n", "cd36f7v" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Having the wrong prescription can do long term damage to your eyesight. Hence it is for safety reasons and accordingly legal reasons.\n\nI have managed to buy glasses and contacts without a prescription in many countries including USA. Just go to the independents who use their discretion unlike the big companies, who for good reason, don't.", "The main reason you would need to see a doctor for contacts is because of the base curve and diameter of the contact lenses. The wrong base curve or diameter can either irritate or damage your eyes.", "you can\n\njust make up some numbers that match a prescription then send them in\n\nbut it makes no sense. a prescription for glasses is a precise measurement of what you need to accomplish the end result. \n\nyou don't need an eye doctor. an eyeglass place will do the test and make the glasses accordingly. frequently this is a doctor but doesn't have to be\n\n\n" ] }
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6xwwz8
how does the moon affect how well we sleep?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6xwwz8/eli5_how_does_the_moon_affect_how_well_we_sleep/
{ "a_id": [ "dmj1tvw" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Any affect the moon has on you is largely superstition, except maybe that it's brighter when the moon is full, and missing from the night sky when new. If this difference in light bothers you, it could affect your sleep. Really, the moon's only part of your night sky about half of the time, and then only near full strength for half of that time.\n\nI guess if you live in a tidal area, the timing of the tides could have some impact on the presence of water or some size of the waves. Living on a boat or near the surf is likely to have the most awareness of these timings, but should probably be part of the joy of such location more than a negative.\n\nYou'd need to be quite hypersensitive to have any direct affect because of the moon. That is to say that you're not likely to really be able to feel the tug of the moon's gravity, for example." ] }
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bwbyws
why do wifi routers need to have antennas visible when mobiles phone doesn't?
Why they can't just print the antenna's on PCB just as they do it with mobile phones?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bwbyws/eli5_why_do_wifi_routers_need_to_have_antennas/
{ "a_id": [ "epwhjc7", "epwj5u0" ], "score": [ 8, 2 ], "text": [ "They can. There are many routers available without external antenna. \n\nHowever, it's a use case thing. The external antenna is a bit better, and is adjustable to help you get the most out of your router, which is something you're going to set up in a corner somewhere and leave. It's not a big deal if it's got some extra limbs sticking off of it.\n\nYou're phone on the other hand, has to be small, compact, and able to fit into a pocket. No one would buy a phone with an external antenna, even if it did improve performance.", "External antennas almost always gives you better signal for the same power and production cost. However the external antennas may be an issue for aesthetics and usability. Especially for cell phones, tablets and laptops that needs to be carried around and put in bags. But a WiFi router is usually mounted out of reach and in a hard to spot place. So you have a much better way to get away with antennas. Some routers even make the antennas an important part of the look of the device. However you do also get WiFi routers with built inn antennas. These are usually a bit more expensive and suffers a bit from reduced performance and higher power consumption." ] }
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29op4v
who uses webmail and who uses things like pop and imap?
I know what they do (I think) But I don't understand who needs to use what.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29op4v/eli5_who_uses_webmail_and_who_uses_things_like/
{ "a_id": [ "cimzjk6", "cimzyie" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "I use webmail, as do the majority of people I've ever known. There's not really a call for a dedicated email application since internet access is now usually constant and good webapps exist.\n\nPOP and IMAP are still both used fairly often for people that still use email applications, though, and also between email accounts. My primary email, for example, uses POP3 to access my older email account and bring any messages there to my new email. ", "Web mail is great of you always have an internet connection and hence can access your mail providers servers. You get to take advantage of things like mail folders and smart anti-spam filters as part of this.\n\nIf you find yourself without internet access (for example, someone with a laptop and travelling) but needing to get into your (historical) mails, you will need to have a mail client installed, and it would have had to pull down a local copy of the mails in question (via pop3/IMAP). This then allows you to work on these mails and pen responses, ready to send when you have internet access.\n\nI won't go into the advantages of pop3 vs IMAP, but can if needed :)" ] }
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4f992x
how does nerve gas work
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4f992x/eli5_how_does_nerve_gas_work/
{ "a_id": [ "d26xnev" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text": [ "\"Nerve gases\" are most commonly referring to organophosphates, which block a specific enzyme in your body called Acetylcholinesterase found at neuromuscular junctions in the body and central nervous system. This enzyme breaks down the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine, which is present in two types of receptors: muscarinic and nicotinic. Nerve gases, by blocking the enzyme that destroys acetylcholine, leads to overstimulation of acetylcholine receptors both in the brain/spinal cord and peripheral body. \n\nOverstimulation of muscarinic receptors causes symptoms of the pro-cholinergic type that can be remembered by the pneumonic **SLUDGE** \n\n- Salivation (drooling)\n- Lacrimation (tearing up of eyes)\n- Urination\n- Diaphoresis (sweating)\n- GI upset (diarrhea)\n- Emesis (vomiting)\n\nTheir heart rate is usually very low as well. \n\nOverstimulation of the nicotinic receptors (located on muscle) causes muscle rigidity and fasciculations. \n\nIf you ever see a patient/victim poisoned with nerve gas you'll never forget it. These patients are so \"wet\" they can drown in their own secretions (ie, drown on their own spit) within minutes of exposure. Sarin gas, in particular, has an incredibly quick onset of symptoms. Death from dehydration or aspiration of secretions/vomit into the lungs would take longer.\n\nTreatment involves both an anti-cholinergic drug to stop the symptoms (called atropine) and another drug that prevents the nerve gas from permanently blocking the acetylcholinesterase enzyme in a chemical reaction called \"aging.\" Drugs like pralidoxime (2-PAM) prevent the permanent effects of nerve gas. Troops overseas will carry around IM injections of 2-PAM in the event they are attacked with nerve gas like sarin." ] }
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6j7x2w
how do missiles maintain their speed when fired over extremely long distances when they don't seem to have any type of engine?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6j7x2w/eli5_how_do_missiles_maintain_their_speed_when/
{ "a_id": [ "djc7bp5" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "They have engines. Some, like ICBMs, have rocket engines. Cruise missiles tend to use jet engines. But they all have an engine of some kind." ] }
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2m6wip
how the english football leagues work?
I'm kinda at a loss on this topic. I'm really enjoying watching football but I'm from the US so am watching it with no reference. Here for example you have our top leagues like the NHL and then there are leagues bellow them like the AHL which is affiliated with an NHL team and works as a farm or a place where younger players can grow and get experience and hopefully get pulled up to the NHL team. P.S. I hear the term loaning between teams what is that? Thanks!
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2m6wip/eli5_how_the_english_football_leagues_work/
{ "a_id": [ "cm1ghz6", "cm1gnt0", "cm1gu10", "cm1hrss", "cm1hzbl", "cm1i8i9", "cm1icup", "cm1ixvz", "cm1kf8u", "cm1krma", "cm1llum", "cm1mn4m", "cm1p5y9", "cm1pdlk", "cm1q3ub", "cm1qgz4", "cm1u079", "cm1wctr" ], "score": [ 11, 125, 2, 2, 37, 10, 8, 30, 31, 4, 12, 2, 7, 2, 2, 2, 3, 8 ], "text": [ "So English football has four leagues, in order from best to worst:\n\n* Barclays Premiere League\n* Sky Bet Championship\n* Sky Bet League One\n* Sky Bet League Two\n\nEach league has twenty teams (give or take). At the end of each season, the top three finishers in each league advance to the next higher league, and the bottom three finishers are demoted to the next lower league. All the leagues are overseen by the Football Association in England, but they are organized and run by separate entities.", "Well the 'top-flight' is the Premier League (Premiership), with all the teams you are likely to have heard of like Manchester United and City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton (Tim Howard's team). The division below this is called the Championship, and has a lot of teams that commonly move up to the Premiership. Every season you get 3 teams that are relegated (demoted) from the Premiership, and 3 move up from the Championship.\n\nThere are also multiple divisions below the championship, which have their sponsored status pushed a lot more.. [Here](_URL_0_) is a link to a more compact list of the unsponsored names.\n\nLoaning is when a team has a player that they want to keep, but they may not be needed at the current time or they are not good enough to break into the regular squad. Instead of being limited to just training, they get loaned to another team, usually in a lower division, which keeps them on form, as well as helping out the lower league teams.", "Loaning a player means giving the player to another team for an agreed period of time. During this time, the club who get the loan, usually pay that players wages for that loan period.", "So, what about leagues in America? Do teams face relegation and promotion?", "Another important difference between European football and major American sports (NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA) is that teams do not usually \"trade\" players. Football teams will buy players they want from other teams. These other teams can be in any division in any league, in any country in the entire world. Meaning Chelsea can buy a player from a third division Spanish team. This means that generally players will go to which ever team is willing to pay the most money for them. Of course the player still has to agree to a contract with the new team. The purchasing is called a \"transfer\" and there are only two times a year when they can do this. This would be the summer and winter \"transfer windows\". \n\nYou didn't ask this directly but I thought it would be interesting to know if you didn't already. ", "I'll explain the loaning aspect.\n\n\nImagine the AHL doesn't have any direct team ties to the NHL, and there is no farm system. \n\nLets say you are the Colorado Avalanche and you have just signed a new 19 year old goalie that has a lot of potential. You have 2 solid goalies ahead of him in the lineup, so he is not going to get any solid playing time or experience, and he won't get much focus in practice. In order to get him to improve you call up the Manitoba Moose and say \"Hey guys, we have this great new goalie, he is NHL quality and would never sign with an AHL team, but we can't use him right now. Do you guys want him for the year? All you have to do is pay his salary and give him back to us at the end of the year.\"\n\n\nIt lets the NHL team develop a player without having to use valuable time or resources, and allows the AHL team to get a player that they would never usually have a chance to have. ", "There are 4 levels of league football. And which team plays in which league is determined by a mechanism of Promotion and Relegation, i.e. best performing teams in lower league get promotion to higher league, and worst performing teams in higher level gets relegated to lower league.\n\n- Premier League: The highest, currently known as Barclays Premier League. Every year, 3 worst teams get kicked down and 3 are promoted from the lower league.\n\n- Football League Championship: Second highest, currently known as Skybet Championship due to sponsor (this and the next 2 actually). Gets promotion to Premier League, relegation to League one.\n\n- League one: Promotion to Football League Championship and relegation to League two.\n\n- League two: Promotion to league one, relegation to what is known as non-league football (Conference Premier).\n\n- Non league football: The hierarchy of English football doesn't really end at League two, or here. In fact there are several more levels comprising of hundreds if not thousands of teams all over England. [This chart will make further hierarchy clearer.](_URL_0_)", "An american called football, well football.\nThis makes me happy, upvote for you, my friend.", "Let’s use a popular American Sport as an example, how about college basketball? So, in college baseketball, NCAA Division I is the best division. There are also several minor league tiers, Division II, Division III etc. They all play against other teams in their division throughout a season. Let’s say that Kansas University has a freshman player that they really want on their team, but he’s just not good enough to regularly get on the court. They want him to stay sharp for the future, however, but he can’t get playing time at the Division I level. So, they call up Emporia State University, a Division II University also located in Kansas but with otherwise no affiliation to KU and say “hey, we have this Freshman who’s REALLY good, but not quite good enough to play D1 ball just yet. If we send him down there, will you let him play there for awhile but stay a student at KU?” That is essentially a loan. \n\nUsing that same example, imagine if the worst three teams at the end of every NCAA basketball DivisionI season were forced to compete only against the Division II teams the following season. That is “relegation.” Conversely, they are replaced by the three best teams in Division II, who get to play against D1 teams the next season. That is “promotion.” And this happens at all levels in English Football. So the worst D2 teams would be reclassified as D3 and the best D3 teams would be reclassified as D2 every season. So, it would be conceivable that those Emporia State Hornets could play D1 ball against KU, North Carolina, Duke etc if they did well enough one season. Conversely if KU sucked they could end up being reclassified as D2. \n\nOk, last piece is how the champions are crowned. In England there are 20 teams in the top division. Everybody plays everybody twice, meaning there are a total of 38 games per team per season. When a team wins a game, they get 3 points in the standings. When they tie they get 1 point, and when they lose they get nothing. The team with the most points in the standings after everyone has played their 38 games is the EPL Champion. This is equivalent to being the Number 1 ranked team in the nation in the College Basketball example I gave above. They get a trophy and a guaranteed spot in what they call the UEFA Champions League Tournament along with the numbers 2, 3 and 4 teams in the Premiership. This is somewhat similar to the NCAA tournament, if you think of the different conferences in the NCAA as countries. So, think of the Big 12 as the English Premier League, the Big 10 as the German top division, the ACC as the Spanish top division Etc. In this Champions league tournament, the winners and runners-up of different countries’ regular season championships throughout Europe play each other to determine which team is the best team in Europe (and, arguably the rest of the world) for that season. It’s often considered the second most prestigious soccer tournament in the world behind only the World Cup. But talking about that opens up and ENTIRELY new can of worms that we won’t get into. \n\nThe regular season champion of the Premiership isn’t the only team that wins something, however. I mentioned that the top 4 teams go on to play in the Champions League Tournament. However the team that places 5th in the Premiership plays in another tournament called the Europa league. Think of this kind of like the College Basketball N.I.T. and the Champions League as the NCAA tourney. The 6th and 7th place teams can also qualify for Europa, but the rules around that can get confusing. So even if you’re sitting in 12th place with 5 games to go in the Premiership and no chance at all to win the championship you still have something to play for. If you play well enough, you get a chance to compete in the Europa tournament with some really good teams throughout Europe. This means media exposure, sponsorships, free marketing etc. If you play too poorly, however, you could end up relegated to the second division. So there is incentive to push hard all season for everyone.", "Thanks for all the great responses! I have learned so much and very glad I asked this question even if it is trivial to others. Not going to lie it open up other questions. Like do other European leagues operate the similarly? Or more on the (I hate to say this but dot know how else to ask) more US sports style?", "I think a lot of people are focusing too much on the specifics of certain leagues, how many teams go up and down etc. For me the key differences are: \n\n\nIn the US\n\n- Your major sports operate a franchise system and teams are effectively part of the league itself. \n- Teams form subdivisions (conferences) and tend to play their neighbouring teams frequently to qualify for a post season which determines the overall winner. \n- Leagues have salary caps and other restrictions aimed at balancing the strength of teams to prevent one or several teams dominating those with less resources. \n- Rookie players come through a draft system based on their performance as college athletes. \n- The teams which do the worst in any given season are able to start afresh the next season. \n\n\nIn English football (and many European team sports)\n\n- Teams are not franchises of the league but separate businesses. \n- Each team plays every other team in the league twice, once at home and once away. \n- The winner is the team who gained the most points throughout the season\n- Although there are some complex financial rules there is no salary cap, the richest clubs are able to buy the best players. \n- There is no draft system, players are typically discovered as teenagers and can be signed up and paid as 'youth team' players until they are old enough. \n- At the end of the season the worst performing teams in any given league are demoted to the league below for the following season and replaced by the best performing teams from said league below. \n\nRather than a 'Major League' and a 'Minor League' in England there are dozens of leagues one on top of the other from the highly paid professional stars in the number 1 league (The Premiership) all the way down to local, amateur games played purely for recreation. In theory given enough successful seasons you could move up from the very bottom right the way to the top or vice versa.", "I just wanted to add a little something to the many great explanations of English football that have been made here. \n\nI think the thing that strikes me most about English football relative to the popular American sports is that there is very little done to try and create any sort of parity. In the NFL, NBA and NHL there are salary caps in place to prevent one team from simply buying up all the top level talent. In Major League Baseball there is a luxury tax to discourage doing so and distributes that wealth among the lower payroll teams to give them more resources to compete. In English football there is no such attempt made at payroll parity. It's very much a league of the haves and the have nots. The big clubs with wealthy ownerships can afford to outspend their competition on talent and typically get better results every year with minimal shakeup at the top.\n\nIn American Sports much of the talent is distributed by the draft system. This system rewards previous failure by giving the best picks to the worst teams in the hopes that it will keep that fan base involved and give them something to be excited about. In the English football system finishing in the bottom 3 is a massive failure that can irreparably damage a club by moving them to a lower division. Their revenues drop from television and ticket sales as a result of being relegated and they have to fight their way back up. \n\nThis leads to my next point in that English football has levels of winning. In American sports they are very much all-or-nothing in terms of the season's result. Very little satisfaction comes to a fan of an american sports team for winning a division, conference, etc. It's all about winning the Stanley Cup, Lombardi Trophy, World Series or NBA Championship. Anything short of that is a failure. In English football there are many lesser victories that have a very real impact on the club and it often derives from the expectations of the club going into the season. For a club like Real Madrid the expectation is that they win the Champions League and La Liga and any other competitions they may be a part of. For Manchester City a worthwhile goal might be winning the Premier League if not the Champions League. For a club like Tottenham Hotspur simply making top 4 to qualify for the lucrative Champions League would be a victory for the club. For a club like Queen's Park Rangers simply avoiding relegation and remaining the Premier League would be considered a significant accomplishment and a boost for the club to get another year of Premier League revenues. Even breaking outside of that system there's an opportunity to win or go deep into one of the outside English cup competitions like the League Cup or the FA Cup.", "buy this game: football manager/championship manager", "Ok, so first off there is the Barclay's premier league, England's NHL. In it are the best of the best. This league contains the 20 best teams in England. Manchester United, Manchester city, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc. Throughout the season, these teams will compete for first place in the league. All teams play each other twice, once home once away. At the end of it all, the bottom three things get \"relegated\". What this means is that they are taken out of the barclays premier league and demoted to championship league (why the 2nd rate teams are in \" championship league\" is beyond me) Meanwhile, the top three teams from championship league are promoted to compete in Barclay's premier league next season. There is also a league below the championship league that teams get demoted to, and a league below that, and so on. You can think of this as sort of like AAA and AA teams in baseball, only instead of players being promoted and demoted its entire teams.\n\nNow, this system exists in all the major football playing countries in Europe. Italy has serie A where teams like Juventus and AC Milan hail, Germany has the Bundasliga where Bayern Munich reins supreme, Spain has La liga with world famous clubs like Barcalona and Real Madrid, and so on and so forth. Now every year, Europe has this thing called The Champions League (which is totally different from championship league) in which the top 2-4 teams (depending on the country) of each country's premier division enter a tournament that works much the same way the world cup does, with a group stage followed by a series of knockout rounds until only one team remains.\n\nHope this cleared things up a bit, I know it can be pretty confusing to an American who's used to leagues operating more like the NFL and MLB. I'd like to thank my old friends on the soccer team and FIFA 13, to them I owe everything I know.", "Americans aren't allowed to understand it. The europeans etc. need to hold at least one thing sacred from Americans.", "Anyone have suggestions/reddit posts/etc about how an american can keep up with watching games? I rarely see any football games on and even if I do it's not regular enough to be able to keep up with teams/leagues.", "[Here's a decent explanation by John Oliver that even a five year old can understand](_URL_0_)", "Ugh, all of these comments are super vague, so I'm going to try and improve on them:\n\nThere are four main leagues, which in order of descending importance are:\n\nThe Premiership (please don't call it EPL, you look like an asshat)\nThe Championship\nLeague 1\nLeague 2\n\nBelow that are a number of semi-pro leagues of diminishing importance, but all tiers of the league system - the top 4 pro divisions and the semi-pro divisions below are linked by a system of promotion and relegation: i.e. if you do well enough in one division you move up for the following season, but if you do badly you move down a division for the following season.\n\nAll of these leagues are run as true league systems - you play every other team in the league twice during the course of the season: once at home and once away. You get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. The league table organizes teams based on the number of points collected, with goal difference and then goals scored as tie-breakers if teams are level on points collected.\n\nAt the end of the season, when all the games have been played, and the final league table established, a certain number of teams at the bottom of the table are relegated to the division below, and a certain number are automatically promoted to the division above. In addition, the four teams who just missed out on automatic promotion enter into a playoff for the one final promotion place.\n\nThe number of teams relegated and automatically promoted varies between divisions, although the total number promoted from one division and the number relegated from the division above must match for the size of the divisions to remain constant.\n\nThere is no promotion from the Premiership since it's the top division, but instead the top teams earn qualification for the following season to the two European competitions, the Champions League (most prestigious) and the Europa Cup (less prestigious).\n\nSo let's illustrate this with an example.\n\nThe current league table for the Championship looks like this: _URL_0_\n\nIf this were the final league table for the season, Derby and Bournemouth would gain automatic promotion to the Premiership, and would play in the Premiership next season. Wigan, Birmingham and Blackpool would all be relegated to League 1 and would play in League 1 next season.\n\nMiddlesborough, Ipswich, Watford and Brentford would all enter the playoffs. In the \"semi-final\" of the playoffs, Middlesborough and Brentford (placed 3rd & 6th) would play each other twice, home and away, with the aggregate score deciding the winner (with extra time and, if needed, penalties if the aggregate scores are tied). Likewise Ipswich and Watford would play each other twice in the other \"semi-final\". The lower placed team in each semi-final plays at home first. So the fixtures would be Brentford v Middlesborough and Watford v Ipswich, then the reverse.\n\nThe winner from each semi-final then moves onto the final, played at Wembley, which is a single 90-minute fixture with extra time and penalties if needed to break a tie. The winner of this play-off final wins the final promotion place and plays the following season in the Premiership, along with Derby and Bournemouth who sidestepped all of this playoff malarky by gaining automatic promotion.\n\nThe net result is that teams are somewhat mobile, and with enough cash and luck can ascend through the ranks fairly quickly. AFC Wimbledon, for example, was formed after the original Wimbledon FC was relocated to Milton Keynes and renamed the MK Dons. Forced to start in the 9th tier of the English Football League, they've risen through 5 divisions in 12 years and now play in League 2 (the 4th tier).\n\nSimilarly, clubs can descend quickly. Portsmouth were in the Premiership for the 2009-10 season and are now in League 2. Womp-womp.\n\nThe FA Cup and the League Cup are entirely separate competitions and both are knockout cup formats - like the post-group stages of the World Cup. You are drawn against a team, winner moves on, loser goes home. So each round of the cup features half as many teams as the previous round, until you get down to two who contest the final. \n\nThe FA Cup is contested by all teams in every tier of English football, which can lead to very very tiny teams being pitted against - and sometimes beating - giant Premiership behemoths.\n\n\nAs to the other question:\nIn most footballing countries, players are signed to contracts of varying lengths, which dictate salary levels. The remaining duration of the contract, as well as the skill of the player determine the transfer value - how much another team would have to pay to buy out the contract in order to contract that player themselves.\n\nOften teams will loan out players to teams in lower divisions for short or long periods of time. This is of benefit as they don't have to pay the player's wages during the loan spell, yet they still keep the player under contract. Additionally the player will benefit developmentally from more match action than they might see at their contracted club (especially if they're young and not *yet* good enough for regular selection). And the club on the receiving end of the loan benefits from getting promising players without having to commit to a contract or pay a transfer fee - the flipside is that often the owning club can recall the loanee if injuries or sale of other players means the loanee is suddenly needed.\n\nPhew. Any questions?" ] }
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[ [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system#Promotion_and_relegation_rules_for_the_top_eight_levels" ], [], [], [], [], [ "http://i.imgur.com/biwyamS.jpg" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE8uAGRYBng" ], [ "http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/championship/table" ] ]
c1y4ga
what is it that makes it possible for us to swing higher on a swing set when we move our legs? what is happening?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c1y4ga/eli5_what_is_it_that_makes_it_possible_for_us_to/
{ "a_id": [ "ergdpa6", "erggyst" ], "score": [ 11, 6 ], "text": [ "When your legs are in front of you, your center of mass changes to be closer to the front of your body. When you swing them back, it changes to be closer to the back. The changing of your center of mass creates kinetic energy.", "It isn't your legs that are making the difference - it is your body. When you stick your legs out, you also lean back - and your body stretched out behind the swing moves your body weight behind the swing. Then, on the way back, you 'tuck' your feet in, but also lean your body forward, moving your weight in front of the swing.\n\nIf you could lean back and tuck your feet in, and lean forward and stick your feet out, you'd move more of your body weight and swing higher - but you would also probably slide off the swing, or be unable to keep your feet high enough to not strike the ground." ] }
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1xqo3s
what is the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion? why is the recent breakthrough in a fusion generating laser so important?
I saw the article on Front Page, and I'd like to better understand it.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xqo3s/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_nuclear/
{ "a_id": [ "cfdqvg2" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Fission is the splitting apart very heavy atoms into lighter ones. Fusion is the combining light atoms into heavier ones. Either way you get a release of lots of energy. \n\nFusion has more potential as an energy source because you get a lot more energy per pound of starting mass, and because the Earth has a much more abundant supply of lighter elements than it does of the heavy fission prone ones like uranium. " ] }
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3g27l1
why are we told that helmets (bike, moto, etc) are ruined if they've been dropped?
It seems like the compressed styrofoam is still reasonably intact after my helmet was dropped from waist-height. Will it really be less likely to protect my head in the event of a crash? Thanks in advance!
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3g27l1/eli5_why_are_we_told_that_helmets_bike_moto_etc/
{ "a_id": [ "ctu54x7" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Pretty sure it is the same basic principle as an arch. Because impact or weight distribution in the arch's case is dependent on being spread over the whole arch(or helmet), if there is even a small structural imperfection, the ability of the arch to support weight over time or the helmet to spread impact AROUND the head through the \"arch-like\" distriibution of impact is lost. Even imperfections that are hard to see with the naked eye, so basically: better safe than sorry." ] }
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393aox
how am i able to see the sun across the sky in the summer while living in a north facing house in florida?
It was to my understanding that the Sun can never cross the Tropic of Cancer, but I am able to see the sun (up and slightly in front of me) while facing directly North living in Florida. Can anyone explain this?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/393aox/eli5_how_am_i_able_to_see_the_sun_across_the_sky/
{ "a_id": [ "cs00o22" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "TL;DR **When the Earth turns, the sun can appear at different angles.**\n\nSee [this picture of a tilted Earth](_URL_0_) to help you visualize this. When the Sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer, it's directly above *the part of the ToC that is closest to the sun*. Other parts of the ToC—and areas north of it—find themselves at other angles with respect to the Sun. See, for example, the actual location of Florida in that image, and try to picture how the Sun could be appearing off to the side in a north-facing house.\n\nIn effect, what this should mean is that over the course of the day, the sun should trace an arc across the sky. The *peak* of the arc (at midday) should not be visible from Florida if you are north-facing, but the lower ends of the arc may be. (And since Florida is relatively close to the Tropic, it may be visible for a good bit of the day before disappearing.)" ] }
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[ [ "http://web.gccaz.edu/~lnewman/gph111/topic_units/Earth_Sun/earth%20w%20lines.jpg" ] ]
4lxgdh
why does ea sports release new football/racing/basketball/baseball etc. games every year?
It seems like EA is constantly renewing the 2K franchise every year; are these entirely new games? In terms of programming, wouldn't corners have to be cut to produce a new game annually? Background: I'm not really into US sports and have only tried a few games from EA's line up sans Battlefield.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4lxgdh/eli5_why_does_ea_sports_release_new/
{ "a_id": [ "d3rdqss", "d3rdwzi", "d3rerhe", "d3qvksm", "d3qvmx6", "d3qwki0", "d3qx2wt", "d3qy2vy", "d3qy4yd", "d3qy8od" ], "score": [ 2, 4, 2, 75, 8, 50, 8, 2, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "They keep making them because people keep buying them. Why stop the cash train? It's easy money for them.", "Why doe$ a game company relea$e a product that con$i$tantly make$ money every year.\n\n\nhmmmm I wonder.", "Yeah. Technically they can just release DLCs for years just updating stats and rosters.\n\n\n I buy 2K every 3 years... Waste of money buying one every year.", "It's an easy money maker. For the most part they base the games on the architecture of the previous version and make advancements here and there. ", "They've built the framework, so making a new game isn't really that complicated (I'm talking relative to creating a brand new game). They release a new game every year because the teams are constantly changing. One person plays for one team this year, maybe they play for another team next year. Sports are constantly shifting around, and they want to keep with the times. Also, money. They make a lot of money.", "Your question should be \"Why do people keep buying EA's games every single year?\"\n\nVideo game makers are exploiting the variabilities of sports leagues. \n\nNew players enter and exit the leagues each year, players move from team to team, franchises change, etc. Sports are very flexible in that way, and the video game makers exploit that. The game adjustments year-to-year are whatever they're able to get done within the year, but it generally isn't enough to warrant creating a whole new release. So they release the new features they've added, move the players around to the right places, and boom! $60+ per gamer. Every year.", "Fyi, it goes back further that the year 2000. For example, ea started their nhl game franchise in 1991.", "It's cookie cutter. Change the players for the new teams. Add or remove a feature. New game hooray! Low effort, low investment, high return.", "The 2K franchise and EA Sports are two entirely different companies FYI. 2K releases their own sports games and EA releases their own. EA holds more agreements with professional leagues than 2K does, and have a larger selection of titles as a result.", "Keeping anti-corporate rhetoric out of it, the answer is simply: because they can. It's a relatively cheap thing to repolish a game with a few different graphics, modify a few variables (player lineups and stats) and ship a new game. \nCorporations exist to make money, and selling an update as a full game does that." ] }
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4xocth
when you're drinking from a bottle, what stops more water from flowing down through your throat until you swallow?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4xocth/eli5_when_youre_drinking_from_a_bottle_what_stops/
{ "a_id": [ "d6h3tz1", "d6h8zjn", "d6haczp" ], "score": [ 14, 155, 8 ], "text": [ "Have you heard of chugging? That looks to the observer like drinking, except the person opens their throat to let liquid just flow down into them. This has to be learned as it's natural for the throat to close when drinking, then open when the drinker chooses to swallow.\n\nSo... what stops the water is your normal swallowing procedure.", "It's the back of the tongue. If you are taking consecutive swallows (fill mouth, swallow, fill mouth, swallow) it is the base of your tongue. See this swallow study link. The liquid shows up black, and the person drinking holds the liquid in their oral cavity with the back of the tongue. \n\n_URL_0_\n\nIt's not the epiglottis or anything else. The epiglottis helps close the airway and direct the food down where it's supposed to go. And chugging is a different kind of swallow where the person consciously closes their airway, opens up their upper esophageal sphincter, and lets the liquid slide down. People who chug are just pouring it down. \n\nSource: I'm a speech language pathologist who specializes in helping people swallow after a stroke or cancer, and I give those X-Ray swallow tests (modified barium swallow study) all the time. ", "Swallowing is a complex mix of voluntary and involuntary (reflex) actions, in a specific order. There are some adjustments depending of what and how you're eating or drinking (liquid or solid, dry or wet, small or big bite, etc.), but it more or less happen the same way. It's also the same for swallowing your spit (gross but true). There's differences on how babies and adults do it, so this applies to adult swallowing. Chugging is not normal swallowing (like sword-eating is not normal swallowing). \n\n \n\nIf you're drinking water from a glass (with or without a straw), you take a sip, and you keep most of the water in the front part of you mouth. If you flip up your head to drink from a bottle, water will naturally fall toward the back of your mouth. \n\nFortunately, the very back of your mouth will create a seal, so water will not fall into your throat. The soft palate (the very back of the roof of your mouth, where the dangly bit, the uvula, is) is stretched down, and the root (base) of your tongue is up, so they close up your mouth. The sides also contract a bit to help. You can still breath through your nose at that point. This means your epiglottis (the flappy thing that closes your airway) is up. \n\nThe seal can be imperfect, so some water can drip down. This is normally not a problem for healthy, young people, but can be a hazard for those with less control (the elderly, stroke or cancer patients, paresis patients, etc.). \n\n \n\nOnce you swallow, you don't have much control anymore over what happens, and can't stop it, it's mostly a series of reflexes. Lots of parts will move in a specific way to guide the water into your \"food-pipe\" (esophagus) and to close up your windpipe (trachea). Your epiglottis will close up your windpipe, and your voice box (larynx) will also be pulled up to better close the way. The esophagus passage will open up to let the water in. Some other parts will also move to close up your nasal cavity, so water doesn't come out of your nose.\n\n \n\nWhen you're done swallowing, everything resets, to let you breath easily (airways open, esophagus closed). \n\n \n\n\n^source:speech-language pathologist " ] }
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[ [], [ "http://youtu.be/6DdwhoWiPzE" ], [] ]
2ura77
if i have a kid in my twenties and a kid in my seventies, assuming we're using the same sperm cell would my age affect the phenotype of the kid?
In other words does my genetic template for offsprings stay the same no matter my age?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ura77/eli5_if_i_have_a_kid_in_my_twenties_and_a_kid_in/
{ "a_id": [ "coay94x" ], "score": [ 6 ], "text": [ "I'm not sure how you can do this, but let's play with the idea.\n\nIf it's the same sperm cell, then technically it should have the same DNA, so if your wife provides the same egg cell, then the phenotype shouldn't alter.\n\nHowever, recent studies on epigenetics have shown that things you do throughout your lifetime (smoking and diet as two examples) can \"methylate\" or mark/tag your DNA, activating/deactivating certain genes. This tag will pass on to your offspring. \n\nSo even if the same sperm cell contains (by chance) the same DNA (base-pairing), it may still produce children of different phenotype depending on what is expressed and what isn't." ] }
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3vjysw
why do snipers (in movies anyway) work with another guy with binoculars? do they do this in actual combat?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3vjysw/eli5_why_do_snipers_in_movies_anyway_work_with/
{ "a_id": [ "cxo50eh", "cxo53er", "cxo5dma", "cxo5x7u", "cxo76cz", "cxo90sa", "cxo9bzr", "cxobf02" ], "score": [ 127, 6, 22, 47, 2, 81, 2, 5 ], "text": [ "They're called a spotter and they identity targets for the sniper. And yes, many snipers work in pairs, with one spotting and one shooting.", "Yes, that second person is their spotter. They help find targets and they're deployed in teams of two usually. ", "Too add to what others are saying, the spotter also informs the Sniper of environmental concerns that could affect the shot. Using the binoculars they have a wider field of vision compared to the snipers scope. So if they can see the wind blowing a flag, they need to relay that information so the sniper can adjust. If another target might block shot (a car or something) needs to be relayed. Top snipers, even want to be alerted when the ground is too warm, and causes the air above it to blur objects behind it. ", "Typically the spotter is the more experienced one, having to follow vapor trails and relay info, watch multiple targets and the surrounding area. Also the spotter must sketch, take pictures, write notes, and do other tasks associated with spying on people to make sure you have the correct target from that far away. Snipers now are still trained in teams of two but deployed in teams of 5/6 to make infiltration and escape from hostile areas more applicable. Not everything can be solved by crawling for days on end in a ghillie suit. Source: Family friend was a USMC Recon Sniper. Works with my mom at the DoD.", "Josh and Chuck from Stuff You Should Know podcast do a great episode on this _URL_0_", "LI5:\n\n\nLook through a cardboard tube. You can see a little, but nothing else. Wouldn't it be cool if you had a friend who could see all the stuff around you while you focus on what is in the tube?", "That's a spotter. They help ID targets and determine factors affecting the shot - environmental, distance, etc.", "There's a reason why the roles are split up. A sniper's telescope is very good at seeing things close up from far away. The problem is that particular kind of scope has a very narrow field of view. So it's not very good for looking for things, it's very difficult to find something with it. Especially if the zoom function is in a fixed position they don't want to change because the rifle is set up to shoot a target from that particular setting. \n\nA pair of binoculars has a very wide field of view and can take in more information from a large area. Spotter with the binoculars can scan a large area, and he's free to change the zoom at will to zero in on targets. The spotter acts as a free-floating scanner of a target taking in information and relay it to the sniper. This leaves the sniper free to remain focused on a very small target area. \n\nLet's say the team is just getting started. If you're looking for a particular target it's much easier to find it with a pair of binoculars than a rifle scope. The spotter finds the target quickly and relays that information to the sniper who uses his scope to quickly find the target based on information given to him by the spotter. \n\nAfter the target is found the spotter scans the target the target area to relay critical information that could be outside the rifle scope's field of view. Like say if the situation is changing. Like there could be friendlies closing in on the target or something like that. Also after the sniper fires, let's say if he misses. If the bullet strikes outside the rifle scope's field of view, the sniper will have no idea by how much he missed or how much he has to correct. The spotter can pick up that information." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [], [ "http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/how-military-snipers-work/" ], [], [], [] ]
o7yho
penis sizes differences
There are obviously asians with huge penises, and africans with tiny micropenises. But generally, the trend is that people in Africa have way bigger reproductive organs than their counterparts in south east asia. Evolutionary wise, is there some kind of an explanation? Was it harder to breed in Africa, hence the need of huge penises?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/o7yho/eli5_penis_sizes_differences/
{ "a_id": [ "c3f3wpl", "c3f7g2f" ], "score": [ 10, 2 ], "text": [ "I've read that this stemmed from cultures living in more temperate regions covering their genitalia less allowing them to be visible and penis size to play a role in mate selection. Thats why you typically find the races with larger penis' to be closer to the equator. ", "The discrepancies aren't as large as we've all been led to believe, and are likely just random." ] }
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c0v8ms
why are some places called "new < another place > " after other places?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c0v8ms/eli5_why_are_some_places_called_new_another_place/
{ "a_id": [ "er7vsl7" ], "score": [ 6 ], "text": [ "Historical context, some examples below....\n\nBasically the name could be in honor of someone or something, or merely derived from specific events in history. \n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\nOr the place may be named New \"Place\" due to historical context. Example below for New Orleans: \n\n\n\" Founded in 1718 and named for the Duke of Orleans, from the start La Nouvelle-Orléans viewed itself as a city apart from, even superior to, other New World settlements.  Proud of its French pedigree even after France cut the ties and sold Louisiana to America, New Orleans maintains a slew of French-influenced cultural and gastronomic traditions.\"\n\nReference: [_URL_1_](_URL_1_) \n\n & #x200B;\n\nOr you might have something where people from the \"other place\" wished to make a create another city resemble the \"other place,\" or with similar characteristics. \n\nReference: \n\n [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)" ] }
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[ [ "http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/how-new-england-got-its-place-names/", "https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/multicultural/cultures/french/" ] ]
4cf1g9
why are weapons referred to as arms? we have sidearms, firearms, arms races, master at arms.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4cf1g9/eli5_why_are_weapons_referred_to_as_arms_we_have/
{ "a_id": [ "d1hjf0a", "d1hjqdi", "d1hju4x" ], "score": [ 21, 5, 3 ], "text": [ "Arms is short for armaments, which is a word traditionally used to describe weapons and equipment given to soldiers, ie armour, swords, bows etc. ", "English seems to have acquired the two meanings of \"arm\" from the same original word, but via different routes. That word meant \"joint\" or \"fitted together\". In Germanic languages, including Old English, it came to mean the upper limb (presumably because it has an elbow in). In Latin it came to mean weapons (which is bit less obvious, but perhaps through referring to a tool which is assembled, and then narrowed down to a tool for fighting), and English got that meaning of arm via French.", "'Arma' is Latin for the tools of war (arms/armour)\nWe took the Latin word from the Romans and French. It has customarily been considered more 'Formal' to use Latin/French words for government/academic use, since all the ruling class in England for the last 1000 years or so were either French, part-French or educated in France/Italy.\n(the word Weapon however comes from Old English wæpen)\n\n" ] }
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3b5jsr
why is it easier for small gears to turn bigger gears and harder vice versa?
I just can't wrap my head around it, maybe an analogy would be good.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3b5jsr/eli5_why_is_it_easier_for_small_gears_to_turn/
{ "a_id": [ "csj2eot", "csj2et5" ], "score": [ 5, 2 ], "text": [ "I think the *vis versa* is the true statement here. It's easier for a large gear to turn a small gear. And more difficult for a small gear to turn a large gear. \n \nThis comes down to what is called 'work' in physics. Work is the product of force x distance. When a large gear moves against a small one it requires little force to turn the small gear a larger distance. When a small gear moves against a large gear, you must put in a lot more force to move the same distance. \n \nSo a small gear turning a larger gear will require more force. ", "The small cog turns more often than the large cog. It takes more energy to turn the large cog 1 rotation than it does the small cog. The energy expended turning the small cog enough times to make the large cog turn once is the same as the energy it takes to directly drive the large cog for one full rotation. The difference is torque. It takes less torque to turn the small cog one rotation. The reduction in torque require means that the same work can be done with less force .\n\nLess force is required because for every full rotation of the small cog you're only completing a fraction of a rotation for the large cog. There for only a fraction if the work is achieved and only a fraction of the energy is required. In the end the same amount of energy is expended but the force required with each turn is reduced. " ] }
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775ba8
why do almost all girls have this "girl smell" and why does it smell so good?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/775ba8/eli5why_do_almost_all_girls_have_this_girl_smell/
{ "a_id": [ "doj6bgy", "doj6fp3", "doj6myq", "doj6syg", "dojag57" ], "score": [ 13, 25, 15, 4, 2 ], "text": [ "I'm guessing it has something to do with pheromones. Most girls I know smell way different, and only one or two smell really attractive to me. iirc it's about your immune system, they smell good cos they have immunities you don't, and vice versa. Don't quote me on any of this, it's all half remembered from high school a million years ago", "I can't go into much depth, but one of the major reasons men and women smell different is hormone levels. \n\nSpeaking from personal experience, the same person with normal male levels of testosterone vs the same person with normal female levels of estrogen/testosterone will smell very different and will have that 'girl smell'.", "I was thinking it has to do with all the products we use. Everything is scented from the shampoo and body wash to deodorants and lotions. Even cosmetics and hair products have a scent. ", "Pheromones and genetics. Different hormones in different amounts mean different smells. A [study](_URL_0_) where women sniffed plain T shirts worn by men wearing no scented products of any kind and then ranked them showed that women prefer the smell of men who are genetically similar to their fathers. Also, people probably have positive associations between people they find physically attractive and the scents they choose to wear (if any). ", "It’s because girls don’t fart and fart smells accumulate in men’s skin particularly in the anus region. " ] }
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[ [], [], [], [ "https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.newscientist.com/article/dn1815-women-attracted-to-men-who-smell-like-dad/amp/" ], [] ]
33je1p
why are people so obsessed with boycotting israel when there are so many countries that violate indisputably more rights?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33je1p/eli5_why_are_people_so_obsessed_with_boycotting/
{ "a_id": [ "cqlg6i4", "cqlgf4r", "cqlnl8z" ], "score": [ 5, 6, 4 ], "text": [ "This has lot to do with government official support of Israel as a good guy.", "Because we support and treat Israel like a good baby that doesn't do any bad.", "Part of it is because the US government gives Israel $2-3 Billion per year, so people expect Israel to be held to a slightly higher standard.\n\nPart of it is because Israel isn't just violating the rights of their citizens, but attacking it's neighbors, which is what the UN was intended to stop. Attacking it's neighbors includes attacking Palestine -- where the borders were originally is up for some debate, but the 1947 UN partitioning of Palestine defined very different borders fr Israel than exist today.\n\nPart of it is because Israel depends on foreign trade so a boycott can be more effective than with many other countries." ] }
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3hakxs
who is writing trade agreements like the tpp, and how come such a level of secrecy is even legal in our westerns "democracies"?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3hakxs/eli5_who_is_writing_trade_agreements_like_the_tpp/
{ "a_id": [ "cu5pn62" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Negotiations are almost always done in secret. When negotiations become public, and under the spotlight of the media complications arise. \n\nMost trade agreements and other foreign treaties in the past are usually ignored by both political parties, and the media until it comes time for the senate to confirm the treaty. Then a few politicians will make a few speeches in favor or opposition, and then rubberstamp vote it.\n\nThe world of politics has changed, now congress has to perpetually fundraise and campaign, or risk getting [\"primary\"](_URL_0_)\n\nUsually top level bullet points are negotiated by the president via the secretary of state. The finer details are usually negotiated and written by both countries diplomatic staff.\n" ] }
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[ [ "http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2012-12-14/getting-primaried-the-dreaded-verb/" ] ]
5bi58p
how do native speakers of languages with many characters e.g. any of the chinese languages, enter data into a computer, or even search the internet?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5bi58p/eli5_how_do_native_speakers_of_languages_with/
{ "a_id": [ "d9onmpt", "d9p3ha5", "d9p625g", "d9p7qq3", "d9p9njn", "d9p9olt", "d9pa59z", "d9paixt", "d9paqmz", "d9pauys", "d9pawko", "d9pbbg1", "d9pbln9", "d9pdhbj", "d9pdidw", "d9pebcy", "d9pebga", "d9pfusx", "d9pfwhc", "d9pge2e", "d9pgjhy", "d9pha6c", "d9phfjb", "d9pifms", "d9piqfj", "d9pj3j5", "d9pkti3", "d9plf18", "d9po5ok", "d9psgq5", "d9pu3hf" ], "score": [ 4957, 73, 168, 8, 2, 2, 8, 3, 62, 3, 3, 2, 5, 7, 2, 8, 17, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 7, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "You use a piece of software called an \"input method editor,\" which allows conventional-looking keyboards to produce the thousands of characters used in written Chinese. There's no standard system, though, so two Chinese keyboards may not look exactly the same and they may not function in the same way.\n\nIn the Peoples' Republic of China, most computer users type out their Chinese in transliteration, using the standard Roman alphabet keys on a QWERTY keyboard. To generate a character, you type out its sound according to the same spelling system—called Pinyin—that represents the name of China's capital with the word \"Beijing.\" The computer automatically converts the Pinyin spelling to the correct Chinese characters on the screen.\n\nOr at least it's supposed to. There are lots of Chinese words that sound similar but look different on paper. If you're using the Pinyin input method, you'll have to put in some extra effort to make sure the right characters show up onscreen. First, you can follow a syllable with a digit, to indicate which of several intonations you want. If the computer still doesn't have enough information to pick a character, you'll have to choose from a pop-up list of possibilities.\n\nThe best Pinyin input methods can guess what you mean to say according to the context and by suggesting the most commonly used characters first. In this way they function a bit like the text-editing software on most cell phones. Some input methods let you set arbitrary shortcuts: If you found yourself typing out the Chinese word for blog—\"bu-luo-ge\"—over and over again, you could assign it to a simpler letter combination, like \"b-l-g.\" Even with the fancy software, though, typing in Pinyin can be a drag.\n\nSpeed-typists in mainland China use another input method called Wubi. To type a character in Wubi, you don't spell out how it sounds—you punch in a sequence of keys that corresponds to what it looks like and how it's drawn. A Wubi-configured keyboard looks just like the Western version but has additional labels on each key. The QWERTY keys are divided into five regions for different types of pen strokes: left-falling, right-falling, horizontal, vertical, and hook. You \"spell\" a character by typing out up to four strokes, in the order in which you'd draw them on paper. (For intricate characters made of many strokes, you'd type the first three and then the last one.) If he knows what he's doing, a Wubi typist can produce up to 160 characters per minute.\n\nOlder people who aren't comfortable with typing might be more inclined to use an electronic writing tablet instead. The precise strokes of Chinese characters make them relatively easy for a computer to distinguish. Many other methods exist as well. The stroke-count system, for example, lets you type in the number of strokes required for a given character and choose the right candidate from a long list. The four-corner system lets you draw out a character by entering numbers for the graphical element in each corner: A \"1\" makes a horizontal stroke, a \"2\" is vertical or diagonal, and so on.\n\nBonus Explainer: Bloggers in mainland China would likely use a different keyboard and input method than bloggers in Taiwan (or even bloggers in Hong Kong). A standard Taiwanese keyboard lets you use the Zhuyin input method, which is based on an alphabet for sounding out Chinese words that was designed in the early 20th century. The Taiwanese also use an input method called Cangjie, which works sort of like Wubi but lets you type out the full set of traditional Chinese characters (rather than the simplified set used in the PRC).\n\n_URL_0_", "Japan has 3 writing systems: one for ordinary words, one for foreign words and the chinese characters. We can type the syllable in roman letters 'kanji' and it comes up automatically in the first system like this: かんじ (this means chinese character) then if then hit space on a keyboard it converts to the chinese characters like this: 漢字. There will be multiple options if the word has another meaning eg kanji also means feeling, so it could be 感じ.\n\nOn a cell phone there are two keyboard layouts- the qwerty layout or [a number layout like this](_URL_0_)\n\nThe way you type certain syllables using roman letters is strange though, if I want to type Hello Kitty in Japanese it'd be typed 'haro-kitexi' where the - makes an elongated vowel and the x makes a small vowel change to the previous syllable. It's weird but you just get used to typing like that. Japanese are awful at spelling English words though and the keyboard system really doesn't help. ", "My wife sometimes types in Chinese and Korean and both of us sometimes type in Japanese. Others have addressed Chinese/Japanese input methods, however, so I'll go ahead and address the Korean side. \n\nAlthough Korean (Hangul/Hangeul) isn't technically character based in the same sense as Chinese or Japanese, it isn't really rendered using the familiar Latin/Greek/Cyrllic style alphabet system either. Rather, Korean \"letters\" combine into syllable blocks. For example, 한 (han) is a single \"character\" block that is made up of three \"letters\" h+a+n. On a normal keyboard or telephone you can't easily type 한, but you can type those composite parts. I know of two input methods that enable this.\n\nFirst, you can type the romanized equivalent of the sound and have it generate a Hangul \"letter.\" So you might type h, which will then show as ㅎ. Continuing in sequence, you'd type a forㅏ and n for ㄴ. At this point the computer recognizes a syllable block and combines them into 한. \n\nIn the alternative, you can actually type Hangul letters. Unlike Chinese characters, and similar to Kana, the total number of Hangul is relatively limited, which means keyboards and context sensitive menus can be directly mapped. So you could manually type ㅎㅏㄴ and then it'd become 한. \n\nIn a lot of ways, electronic Hangul production is like building different miniature puzzles with a shared set of pieces!\n\n\n", "Chinese uses systems of romanization such as pinyin and bopomofo to use normal keyboards to type. When they type the romanization of a character, software on the computer brings up a list of homophones and they select the one that they are trying to use. ", "For people in Hong Kong, Macau and some people in Taiwan, we use input methods that systematically break down characters into \"elements\". Type in the elements, then you will get a list of choices of words that matches the criteria. These input methods include Quick, Changjie (which happens to be the legendary figure who created Chinese characters), and JiuFang (9 squares, using the NumPad to do the input).", "In Chinese, they have some writing systems that break down main character. It's like Alphabet. Some of them are Pinyin and Zhuyin.", "Interesting to read other people's comments. \n\nI've been trying to find an easy way to type. English is my first language and I speak fluent Chinese but I can only read write very basic words because of limited vocabulary. I try to get characters I need by using Google translate from English, but google translate is terrible. So recently I found a handwriting keyboard. But that didn't help me find words I know but can't write. ", "you type in the sound, the software gives you the many symbols that sound can be used for and you pick the one you want.", "The others have explained using words, here's a picture of how it looks like for Japanese on an iPhone. Two ways to go about it (I messed up the upload so the order is reversed, sorry):\n\n_URL_0_\n\n2nd pic: Roman alphabet equivalents on a QWERTY keyboard. The IME converts it to hiragana by default as soon as it recognises a syllable. In the screenshot I ended the word in an 'n', which *can* be a syllable, or can be the beginning of a syllable. Since the software is undecided it still shows me the roman alphabet letter until it can be sure. \n\nThe iphone software shows you possible kanjis/katakana for what you've written based on word frequency. The word I spelled is a very common one that is usually written in kanji, so it was easy for the software to assume what I mean. The software also offers alternative readings (since many words can have the same pronounciation). In this case, there are no other common words with the same readings, so it is just suggesting the plain hiragana and katakana readings in case I want them. \n\nOn a computer it would be pretty much the same, but instead of an autocorrect layout you get the word automatically converted to the most common kanji reading, with a drop down menu in case you want an alternate reading. \n\n1st pic: This is what japanese people use for their phones. Rather than writing down roman alphabet letters, you just use a hiragana keyboard. Each block here is a group of syllables, you press the group you want and select the syllable you need. The autocorrect functions as with 1). Some laptops have hiragana keyboards, though I've not met anyone who actually uses them.\n\n(Eli5 level N.b.) Japanese has 3 writing systems used in different settings. Hiragana represents basic syllables and is used for grammar and some vocab, katakana are the syllables but mostly used for loanwords or for aesthetic effect, kanjis are ideograms which are used for vocabulary. In the screenshot I wrote in the word for simple, which is kantan in roman alphabet, かんたん in hiragana, 簡単 in kanji, カンタン in katakana. \n\nN.b. 2: since syllables start with a consonant (or lack of), they are grouped depending on the first letter (in the picture you can see the T group: ta te ti/chi to tsu)", "So due to the fact that terms (nouns/verbs/adjectives whatever) are usually grouped into words of two or three, both pinyin and zhuyin methods change the \"word\" according to the next few words.\n\nAs for the typing itself, pinyin uses english to sound out Chinese words and numbers to denote tone. So \"horse\" would be typed us ma3.\n\nUpon typing the number, the most probable word will show up on the screen. An underline will be on the word telling you that this word is not \"certain\" yet.\n\nIf you then write yi3, because you actually want to write \"ant\", then the previous word ma3 will turn from the character meaning horse to the character that along with \"yi3\" that means \"ant\". Any other word after that could modify all the underlined \"uncertain\" words due to context. \n\nIf one of the words is incorrect and you actually just want to write \"horse\", maybe as a name, then you move your text cursor back to the end of the word press down and a list of homonyms will show up. Finally you can lock the word in by pressing enter or space. The underline disappear.\n\nZhuyin is pretty much the same, except it uses a japanese-style alphabet to create the words instead of latin alphabet.\n", "Follow-up ELI5: how do the Chinese program? Like is there a Chinese translation of Java? Or do they have to learn what if, else, for, while, ect mean in English?", "Protip, search before posting: _URL_0_", "I speak and write Japanese.\n\nAlthough there are a lot of kanjis, there are only around 50 basic sounds. So what we do, is that we enter those basic sounds in hiragana with the alphabets on the keyboard (usually one to three alphabets per hiragana), and then hit the space key until it turns into the desired kanji. Also, we usually finish writing one or more words before converting it to kanji. The system predicts the kanji pretty well, so we don't need to smash the space button so many times, unless we want a rare kanji that isn't used much.", "Another cooler aspect that a lot of people don't think about, fonts. I work in printers and have had to learn about fonts over the last year. They are actually quite a nightmare. Especially when you're working in an asian language that has 20,000-30,000 characters. It's not working for google, but it's kind of a cool archeological thing considering most young software engineers have no clue as to how fonts work. Especially when you see how everyone tried different things back in the day, so you have Adobe Fonts, IBM fonts, Microsoft fonts, all of which are still supported after decades.", "With my cousin's vietnamese keyboard typing a vowel multiple times puts an accent over it. \nSo its hard searching up google, only to get gôgle", "[There is an episode of the Simpsons, where they explain this](_URL_0_)", "Native Hindi Speaker here. \n\nSimilar to the Chinese and Japanese language keyboards, Google also has Hindi keyboards which work through transliteration. If I want to type hello or namaste in Hindi, I'll use the Google Hindi Input keyboard and type in hello (हेल्लो) or namaste (नमस्ते) which it transliterates into Hindi. One gets a few options to choose the correct spelling though, for e.g., when we write N in English it may mean न or ण in Hindi (slight difference in pronunciation. There are quite a few such examples). This is one of the easiest methods and is also available for desktop PCs/laptops.\n\nHowever, many mobile companies in India are nowadays giving their own Hindi keyboards which have their own layout with Hindi alphabets and vowel sounds instead of the English alphabets.\n\nIt is upto the individual to choose which one they prefer.\n\nThe specific Hindi keyboard has been available for quite a few years as my mother used to type out Hindi/Sanskrit question papers for exams since at least the last 10 years. However, it was on a desktop and you had to use the English keyboard with a software that would allow Hindi typing on an English keyboard. That was quite laborious (though with regular use my mother did become quite fast) and did not work on all computers. So it would show Hindi on our computer but just garbled English characters on other PCs. \n\n", "Just to add to what everyone else has said, when I was in Hong Kong everyone had an option on their keyboard to switch between english and Canto/Mandarin alphabets. Just about all emails and written instructions were in english or sometimes both.", "This really demonstrates how inefficient some of these character-based languages really are when compared to alphabet-based languages.", "In Japan in the 1980s, the NEC-9800 personal computer supported Japanese and dominated until PC-DOS supported Japanese in 1990 and Windows 3.1 supported it in 1992. In the 1980s the U.S. computer industry assumed they'd always be a step ahead of Japan due to the challenges associated with representing the language on a computer.\n\nIn 1992 I developed software for IC manufacturers and the salespeople had to train users in Asia on how to use a mouse because they had never seen one before. This was eight years after the Macintosh.", "To really simplify this answer, Chinese learn pinyin in school which allows them to use the English alphabet to type words on a standard keyboard. Using the computer / mobile phone's keyboard, the pinyin word is translated into the possible Chinese characters and the user has to choose the one they meant. It's actually a very fast process and most people I know can type Chinese text as fast as I can type English text. ", "ELI5 version:\n\nBy sound via a system named pingyin. By using English letters to best represent the sound, one types out the sound of a character or string of characters they want and selects from a list.\n\nTaiwan uses zhuyin. Technically same as pingyin but each sound is represented by a character. These character are displayed on localized keyboards.\n\nBy strokes. Because Chinese writing has rather strict rules, one can describe what strokes is needed to make the word and a computer can pretty accurately get the correct character out. Important to note that because the rules of writing, you don't even need input where the strokes are, just what strokes the character contains. Input is simple because there are very few defined strokes, so cellphones have it displayed on the keypad, standard localized keyboards will have a few keys marked with the strokes.\n\nBy character construction. This is probably hardest to explain. Chinese characters, especially the more complicated ones, are made up of a few basic characters put together. Similar to how some English words have prefix, suffix or a combination of term to give it meaning, Chinese characters can do the same as well. So people have found a base set of character and one types these characters to form the ones they want. A localized keyboard would have the basic characters printed on the keys.\n\nBasically, typing Chinese either involves knowing how it sounds or how it is written.", "So it sounds like the computer helps out a lot. With respect, it sounds like you guys were screwed back when we all had typewriters.", "Another Queston: Do they have any phonetic text? If so, why is it not more common? Why is that not used instead on keyboards?", "How did Chinese pre-computer typewriter keyboards work?", "In Arabic most dialects have developed a \"text language\" of sorts that relies on phonetic similarities between Arabic and English/french pronunciations and sometimes numbers that look like the letter in Arabic. It's pretty cool ", "Does anybody know how programming works in China? Do they have C, C++, Python or something? I've never had to think about this, but all the programming languages I know seem to use the western alphabet. \n \nDo the Chinese have their own programming language?", "My wife is Thai, and uses an american QWERTY keyboard. She switches langugages on her Mac, and then can type in Thai using the same keyboard. She even has little thai character stickers on the keyboard to remind her where the keys are.\n\nEven for French, which I grew up speaking, there is a different keyboard, although we can easily adapt to QWERTY and learn the ASCII codes for accents. Depending on the software though, a French keyboard is likely to be laid out as AZERTY.\n\nI'm French Canadian, living in the US now, and the French Canadian keyboard is QWERTY but has some different buttons and functions than the American QWERTY", "Most Asians and Africans just type out their language in English like this\n\nEndade,ittiri budhipoorvam chindichoode?", "Our country use the latin letter, but a little different because he has a lot of tone. So we have a little software to help us translate it.\n\nFor example, we type tiền(money) by tying tieefn(telex code) or tie62n(VNI code). Telex is the most common here though, so maybe I misspell the VNi one.", "In China they had to come up with a slandered input and agree on it. So you have to learn the language to be able to use computers. Sucks for the poor. " ] }
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[ [ "http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2006/02/what_does_a_chinese_keyboard_look_like.html" ], [ "http://cdn-obs.line-apps.com/line/r/lineq/c/81c2ce13-b2a5-456d-ae3b-08f530599a5acc1a92t0497a833/200x200.rf" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://m.imgur.com/gallery/DJYpo" ], [], [], [ "https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/search?q=chinese+keyboard&amp;restrict_sr=on&amp;sort=relevance&amp;t=all" ], [], [], [], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5f0bMsm5Tw" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
2ki3ji
what makes one tire better than another?
Why does the tire on a Bugatti cost $5000 but the tire on my Cruze costs $150? What's the difference?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ki3ji/eli5_what_makes_one_tire_better_than_another/
{ "a_id": [ "cllidbw", "cllipen", "cllj0uy", "cllj2i4" ], "score": [ 5, 2, 2, 3 ], "text": [ "Suitability for purpose, where purpose has a number of dimensions.\n\nFor the Bugatti, one of the dimensions has to be \"can survive the 250MPH top speed of the car,\" and cost is going to be much less of a factor, given the market space the car is aimed at (the extremely wealthy). For a Cruze, budget pricing is going to be high on the list, and the top speed is maybe as high as 130MPH at a guess.\n\nOther dimensions include wet and dry grip, cold weather performance, rolling resistance (very helpful for high EPA fuel economy estimates), road noise, resistance to wear, special features like runflat capability, etc., etc.\n\nThe formulation of the rubber compounds that go into the tire, the design of the tread, the layout of the steel (and other materials?) belts that go into the casing, etc., are all informed by which criteria are emphasized in the tire's design.", "The Bugatti tire has to withstand speeds up to 250mph and extreme acceleration. Your cruze tires do not. They are also mass produced and used on multiple vehicles, not just the cruze. The Bugatti tires are likely specific to them or are used on very limited models.", "Economics of scale...Bugatti tires are not mass produced and therefore the cost of production can not be attributed to as many units. Therefore the costs of R & D, etc. must be recovered over fewer units leading to a higher price. Also, corporations are aware that the consumer purchasing these tires is less price sensitive than your average individual and therefore can extract a higher price without decreasing demand", "A number of factors determine the cost of a tyre:\n\n\n* Speed ratings define how fast the tire can safely be driven - bigger more powerful vehicles require a different tyre to small/slow cars and as a result the tyres cost more (see [speed rating table](_URL_1_)).\n\n\n* Load index - how much weight is the tyre expected to carry, this will have an impact on price\n\n\n* Width / Rim Size - the wider of tyre and size of the rim all adjust thevolume of rubber required and bigger tyres can require more complex tire designs. Your little car might take be R15 160/180 wide, a BMW Z4 (for example) will take R19s 225/255 tyres.\n\n\n* Profile - how 'fat' is the side-profile? Most sports cars have low-profile tyres which require different properties than tyres with higher profile (which are often more economical and a softer ride!).\n\n\nIn the UK tyres are rated for fuel efficiency, wet grip and external noise ([see here](_URL_0_)). Typically cars that score high (A-rated) in each of these categories are more expensive. Whether the costs are justifiable is hard to be certain (as in how much more it costs the manufacturers to make them is not something I know) but there's a lot more to tires than just simply all being the same but slightly different sizes." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [ "https://www.national.co.uk/complete-guide-to-tyre-labelling/", "http://www.blackcircles.com/general/speedrating" ] ]
3e0c56
why do we have "high voltage" warning signs?
Can high voltage on its own be fatal? I understand that a high current is truly what is dangerous, which is why tasers can hit you with a 50,000 Volt charge, but you will survive because it sends only a very small current through your body. Why don't we see a "Danger: High Current" warning ever?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3e0c56/eli5_why_do_we_have_high_voltage_warning_signs/
{ "a_id": [ "ctabjnz", "ctabn4g", "ctabof3", "ctanesd" ], "score": [ 2, 7, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "30V is about the lowest that could actually hurt you, but it's not the voltage that stops your heart, it's current.\n\nFollowing Ohm's Law (V=IR; where V=voltage, I=current, and R=resistance), we can see this. At 1 mA, you can feel current from a shock. At 10 mA, you will have muscle spasms. At 100 mA, your heart can stop. This is assuming a few things to establish your baseline resistance: you're fat, sweaty, and dehydrated. All of those things reduce your resistance to current flow to roughly 300 ohms.\n\nSo: V=(300o)(.1A)=30V.\n\nAll of this doesn't mean much unless you're touching a live wire, though. That's where the high voltage comes in. Air has a resistance of about 10^8 ohms/inch in conditions with no humidity. With voltage as high as 50kV or higher with some atmospheric humidity, that can go down considerably. The electricity going across air is called an arc. While it's not guaranteed that the current passed will kill you, it is very hot if nothing else, and will cause burns or plasmafication of the air in some cases, as well as explosions.\n\nSo why do we have high voltage signs? Because you can be killed by relatively low voltage, but higher voltages can kill, burn, or explode you.", "High voltage is the potential for high current. The current is what kills you but it's the ability of the source to maintain a voltage, which maintains that current, over a duration long enough to kill you. The voltage divided by the resistance provided by your body equals the current that will flow through you. So in essence sustained high voltage means sustained high current and increasing injury for the duration of contact.\n\n\nTasers don't actually use high voltage for any length of time and never 50kV:\n\n1) The 50000 V is the open circuit Voltage. The units drop to 1200V max as soon as a connection occurs.This works the same way as a static electricity shock which can also hit around 35000 volts but once the connection is made the Volatge averages out to something much lower.\n\n2) Short duration also causes the voltage to only cause about a 1.9mA max current. Tazers shock in very short pulses. The X26 which is a common model for police does 100 microsecond pulses at a rate of 19 per second. \n\n3) Physiology. The short answer is that the pulses are set up specifically to travel well through skeletal muscle which has different properties than organ muscle.\n\n\nIt's also important to note that a large number of people who die from getting electrocuted actually die from the burn injury not nervous failure. The high voltage over a large duration causes internal burns which are the actual injury the person dies from.\n\nHere is a link to a more complete explanation:\n[How Tasers Work](_URL_0_)", "High current signs exist but they are rare. I saw one on a large old piece of computer equipment that ran at 12V or less but had immense current capacity, and it warned service people to remove any metal jewelry to prevent burns.\n\nBut among *power lines* and *power distribution equipment,* most are capable of enough current to hurt or kill a person, so the voltage is the key difference you want to be warned about.", "It's like a cliff saying \"danger 100 meter height\" instead of saying \"danger will hit ground at 200km/hr\" or whatever velocity it might be.\n\nIt's warning of the potential, not of what results from the potential. Technically there is very little current until you make contact with the high voltage to a ground path, so high current warning isn't correct. But the potential for high current \"voltage\" is." ] }
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[ [], [ "http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/how-a-taser-works" ], [], [] ]
5idgub
from physics point of view, why and how do waves curl?
I mean how do they form and why do they curl up like that _URL_0_
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5idgub/eli5_from_physics_point_of_view_why_and_how_do/
{ "a_id": [ "db7b2iy", "db7iy2i", "db7l92y", "db7ypmb" ], "score": [ 4, 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Waves pull water in front of them up into themselves. This is why water recedes before a wave. The wave \"curls\", or breaks, when there isn't enough water to sustain itself. Which is why you really only see breaking waves around the shore or over sand bars.", "imagine you had a wall and you were pushing a load of sand against it- the sand will bunch up and push higher as you push it forward, until the sand gets so high it will spill over the wall.\n\nIn a wave, the front edge of the water is that wall- basically, yhe lower part of the water is pushing back to the sea as it tries to flow downhill from the beach, and the bulk of the wave is moving inward, towards shore. the wave curls as the pressure from the large wave causes it to bunch up and eventually spill over the back pressure from the water in front of it.\n\nBack to the sane analogy, if you removed the wall, the sand that is being pushed will fall down the front of itself, and the sand lower in the pile will tend to try and stay still, causing something like a wave- at a higher speed (not that you could really make a large pile of sand move at a high speed easily) you would probably start seeing a similar curl like effect where the sand coming up over the top from the pushing cascades down the front.", "Bassically the sand is causing friction with the water causing it to go slower below the surface but the water above is still moving fast. Eventually the speed difference between the top and bottom become too great and the top of the wave curls over and crashes down. ", "This is because of the shore line. The waves can't do that until the amount of space ahead is getting smaller and it is with the rising shore line at an angle. The \"curl\" is also from the rising water still having forward momentum and a few other factors since some waves won't curl, they'll break." ] }
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[ "http://i.imgur.com/ZaomdVd.gifv" ]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
laqvb
what liberal arts is and why so many people apparently fail at life after getting a degree in it.
I've seen this everywhere lately.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/laqvb/eli5_what_liberal_arts_is_and_why_so_many_people/
{ "a_id": [ "c2r525e", "c2r52jd", "c2r5vx6", "c2r5wsv", "c2r7t64", "c2r97mj", "c2rbma8", "c2r525e", "c2r52jd", "c2r5vx6", "c2r5wsv", "c2r7t64", "c2r97mj", "c2rbma8" ], "score": [ 5, 23, 9, 6, 2, 5, 2, 5, 23, 9, 6, 2, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "There is no subject of specialization, you learn a broad range of things like foreign language, philosophy, literature, history, some science. I am not sure people who do it fail at life, I would like so see your source on that.", "Liberal arts is the study of many fields instead of focusing on a single field. \n\nIn order to earn a degree at most four year universities a student must take 40 classes total. For students earning a liberal arts degree, all 40 of those classes could be various classes - literature, art history, math, science, etc. Students earning a technical degree such as engineering must take 20 classes of liberal arts, then 20 dedicated to engineering. \n\nLiberal arts graduates don't necessarily fail at life as there are many jobs where a liberal arts degree is helpful (civil service, non-profits), but often students who choose to study liberal arts have no life/career direction in college and that carries over to their professional life. \n \nSomeone with a liberal arts degree should ideally have a more well rounded education (they know a little about a lot of things), whereas someone with a specialized or technical degree knows a lot about one thing.\n", "My liberal arts degree was in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, with a minor in LGBT Studies, and I currently work full time for a Domestic Violence non-profit. It is possible to get a completely impractical degree and succeed in your career. ", "Stop listening to what the hivemind has to say about liberal arts. The other comments here have mentioned what it is already, so I will just point out that the people I know who cared about their future and majored in a liberal arts degree have had great careers. The mentality that they have trouble finding jobs comes from the fact that they are fresh out of college in a bad economy without a focused degree of study. So a lot of them work in undesirable jobs in the short term. However things change overtime, and more often than not they get a career they enjoy.", "I would contest that so many people fail. I went to a liberal arts college and have a very good job in a global marketing capacity. In my little circle of friends I can run down a list: one is a VP for communications company in Charlotte, one own his own photography studio in Manhattan, one is a lawyer, one is a VP at Wells Fargo, one is a physician, one is a pilot. Those are just some of the people I hung out with.", "ELI5 what narrow-mindedness is and why so many people without a liberal arts education are prone to it.", "Isn't liberal arts just anything that isn't science or a technical field? I have a liberal arts degree (econ) and I'm doing fine. If you're doing a liberal arts degree and want to have a good job after you graduate, be sure to get lots of impressive internships and you'll be fine. \n\nBelieve me, if you're doing a liberal arts degree, you easily will have time to work/intern 20 hours a week during college. 40 hours + school is a fucking grind though I don't recommend that if you can avoid it. 20 hours is nothing. That's 8 AM to 6 PM saturday and sunday, or ~2:30 to 9 MWF. You don't miss shit, just plan your school schedule so your classes come in big blocks. Make fucking coffee for some people for 20 hours a week at a place that is half relevant to what you want to do when you graduate, then lie through your teeth about your actual responsibilities on your resume when it comes time to apply for a real job/career.", "There is no subject of specialization, you learn a broad range of things like foreign language, philosophy, literature, history, some science. I am not sure people who do it fail at life, I would like so see your source on that.", "Liberal arts is the study of many fields instead of focusing on a single field. \n\nIn order to earn a degree at most four year universities a student must take 40 classes total. For students earning a liberal arts degree, all 40 of those classes could be various classes - literature, art history, math, science, etc. Students earning a technical degree such as engineering must take 20 classes of liberal arts, then 20 dedicated to engineering. \n\nLiberal arts graduates don't necessarily fail at life as there are many jobs where a liberal arts degree is helpful (civil service, non-profits), but often students who choose to study liberal arts have no life/career direction in college and that carries over to their professional life. \n \nSomeone with a liberal arts degree should ideally have a more well rounded education (they know a little about a lot of things), whereas someone with a specialized or technical degree knows a lot about one thing.\n", "My liberal arts degree was in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, with a minor in LGBT Studies, and I currently work full time for a Domestic Violence non-profit. It is possible to get a completely impractical degree and succeed in your career. ", "Stop listening to what the hivemind has to say about liberal arts. The other comments here have mentioned what it is already, so I will just point out that the people I know who cared about their future and majored in a liberal arts degree have had great careers. The mentality that they have trouble finding jobs comes from the fact that they are fresh out of college in a bad economy without a focused degree of study. So a lot of them work in undesirable jobs in the short term. However things change overtime, and more often than not they get a career they enjoy.", "I would contest that so many people fail. I went to a liberal arts college and have a very good job in a global marketing capacity. In my little circle of friends I can run down a list: one is a VP for communications company in Charlotte, one own his own photography studio in Manhattan, one is a lawyer, one is a VP at Wells Fargo, one is a physician, one is a pilot. Those are just some of the people I hung out with.", "ELI5 what narrow-mindedness is and why so many people without a liberal arts education are prone to it.", "Isn't liberal arts just anything that isn't science or a technical field? I have a liberal arts degree (econ) and I'm doing fine. If you're doing a liberal arts degree and want to have a good job after you graduate, be sure to get lots of impressive internships and you'll be fine. \n\nBelieve me, if you're doing a liberal arts degree, you easily will have time to work/intern 20 hours a week during college. 40 hours + school is a fucking grind though I don't recommend that if you can avoid it. 20 hours is nothing. That's 8 AM to 6 PM saturday and sunday, or ~2:30 to 9 MWF. You don't miss shit, just plan your school schedule so your classes come in big blocks. Make fucking coffee for some people for 20 hours a week at a place that is half relevant to what you want to do when you graduate, then lie through your teeth about your actual responsibilities on your resume when it comes time to apply for a real job/career." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
464kp0
why do they cotton swab the guy's arm with rubbing alcohol before a lethal injection?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/464kp0/eli5why_do_they_cotton_swab_the_guys_arm_with/
{ "a_id": [ "d02cvgk", "d02cvoi", "d02cvtr", "d02cydt", "d02cz5w" ], "score": [ 7, 13, 2, 5, 8 ], "text": [ "The arm of the condemned is swabbed with alcohol before the needle is inserted. along with its antiseptic use, the alcohol also causes the blood vessels to rise to the skin's surface, making it easier to insert the needle. the needles and equipment used are also sterilized. one reason for this is because the needles are standard medical products that are sterilized during manufacturing. also, there is a chance that the prisoner could receive a stay of execution after the needles have been inserted as happened in the case of james autry in october 1983 (he was executed eventually on 14 march 1984). finally, it would also be a hazard for those handling unsterile equipment.", "Standard operating procedure, what if he survives, basic respect for human life etc.\n\nThe logic is \"he's gonna die anyway\" but if that's the case why not just hit him in the head with a hammer?", "In theory, he could get a pardon or commuted sentence just before the injection process begins. Once the process begins, probably not very important if the injection site was sanitized or not.", "If the execution fails or is cancelled at the last moment, the prisoner can sue for damages if it gets an infection from skin bacteria.\n\nThat aside, there is also a moral code that when you perform a procedure you do it *well*, regardless of the reason or the outcome. ", "It's good medical practice for any injection, preventing infection of the wound as well as contamination of the equipment. You might ask whether it has a use during an execution, but executions are in many ways designed to be as humane as possible--in part because the law requires it, and in part because many advocates of the death penalty don't actually want the convict to suffer. So there's no reason to deviate from the medical standard; a death sentence is not a license to mistreat the prisoner." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
1zma6m
how do those who make short films and animated short film earn a living?
For example, the winners of the oscar for best animated short Mr. Hublot. They invest a lot of money into this film which is 11 minutes long. How do they make their money. (If it was a feature film then ok i get it, they can make money), but short films is where i am confused.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zma6m/eli5_how_do_those_who_make_short_films_and/
{ "a_id": [ "cfuw7wz", "cfuwm12" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Rich benefactors, family money, grants for the arts...\n\n...employing students", "In the case if Mr. Hublot, it was funded by [Film Fund Luxembourg](_URL_1_). In many cases, there are organizations who will support the creative minds with equipment and/or money. \n\nI can't speak for all cases since it probably varies a lot, but I know that in Sweden you can also get this kind of help from the [SFI](_URL_0_). Winning an award at something like the Oscars is sure to give recognition the both the country of origin and the creative minds behind it. Mr. Hublot was Luxembourgs first win, so it's kind of a big deal." ] }
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[ [], [ "http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/", "http://en.filmfund.lu/" ] ]
3e1tig
why do cables have to be different?
Why for example can't a Micro USB transmit audio the same way an AUX can? Do they conform to certain protocols or is it a we don't have a standard yet thing? Any answer is appreciated thanks!
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3e1tig/eli5_why_do_cables_have_to_be_different/
{ "a_id": [ "ctap5z2" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Cables are generally *dumb devices* - that is, they don't know or care what signal you put on them. They're just strips of copper that transmit a signal.\n\nWhat makes a cable format suitable for transmitting a certain kind of data is in the devices it plugs into. USB is a digital format, so USB devices are built to understand digital signals, and you would have to make audio into a digital file to transfer it that way. AUX, on the other hand, is analog, and you can send audio over it directly because audio data is analog.\n\nDifferent cable types are designed for different things - USB, for instance, carries power, and is designed to allow *daisy chaining*; so that you can plug in a device over usb, then plug another USB device into that, and so on. Ethernet (network cables) are designed to transfer data over medium distances while shielding from interference and to be permanently installed, so they contain 4 pairs of wires that are specially braided together to reduce interference. Depending on the application, most of those pairs of wires don't do anything - which is why they're good for permanent installations. If your etheret cable breaks, you can use a cable tester to find out which wire isn't working, cut off the ends of the cable, and rewire it to use one of the unused pairs. It's generally very useful stuff, and you'll often see it used as telephone cable or speaker cable as well for those reasons." ] }
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u3d8h
federal prison (minimum security)
Well as soon as the secret service finishes up with their investigation, I'm likely going to be sentenced to federal prison. Depending on how much they can or can't prove, my federally mandated sentences based on my past history will either be 0-6 months on up to 18-24 months. What is it going to be like? If I fall into a sentencing bracket where the judge is required to sentence prison time, is he allowed to 'suspend' or 'trade' that time for probation or something else?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/u3d8h/eli5_federal_prison_minimum_security/
{ "a_id": [ "c4s17xh" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "To quote an actor playing a lawyer in a movie I once watched, \"Conjugal visits? Not that I know of. Y'know, minimum-security prison is no picnic.\" That's the extent of my knowledge. " ] }
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mepye
why can we copy arnold schwarzenegger's accent so easily, but he can't copy an american accent?
Obviously, this goes for all accents from different languages.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mepye/why_can_we_copy_arnold_schwarzeneggers_accent_so/
{ "a_id": [ "c30ayy7", "c30b55b", "c30bh81", "c30bix2", "c30cegg", "c30ayy7", "c30b55b", "c30bh81", "c30bix2", "c30cegg" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 13, 11, 2, 2, 2, 13, 11, 2 ], "text": [ "I'm sure he can. Why would you think otherwise?", "It's hard for any non-native speaker to pronounce things correctly (and without accent) in another language.\n\nEach language has its own unique phonetics. While there will probably be approximations, you'll inevitably get differences. One common example is the common L-R phonetic in asian languages. When you grow up with pronunciation like that, it's not easy to drop it when that's what you've been saying your whole life. \n", "There is a huge difference from an exaggerated \"I'll be back\" and capturing the full nuances of an Austrian accent.\n\nIf you did your best Arnie for a German speaker not familiar with his voice and catch phrases, he'd probably have no idea what language, much the less accent you were going for.\n\nFurthermore, his voice is part of a highly marketable image, a huge asset for an actor or a politician. So long has he can be understood, why would he want to change it?", "You know how he sounds when he tries to speak with an american accent? That's how most Americans sound when they try to do his accent. Many people think they do an Austrian accent well, but are wrong.", "Reportedly he can speak with a perfect American accent and has been able to for years. \n\nHe doesn't because the accent is so identifiable. ", "I'm sure he can. Why would you think otherwise?", "It's hard for any non-native speaker to pronounce things correctly (and without accent) in another language.\n\nEach language has its own unique phonetics. While there will probably be approximations, you'll inevitably get differences. One common example is the common L-R phonetic in asian languages. When you grow up with pronunciation like that, it's not easy to drop it when that's what you've been saying your whole life. \n", "There is a huge difference from an exaggerated \"I'll be back\" and capturing the full nuances of an Austrian accent.\n\nIf you did your best Arnie for a German speaker not familiar with his voice and catch phrases, he'd probably have no idea what language, much the less accent you were going for.\n\nFurthermore, his voice is part of a highly marketable image, a huge asset for an actor or a politician. So long has he can be understood, why would he want to change it?", "You know how he sounds when he tries to speak with an american accent? That's how most Americans sound when they try to do his accent. Many people think they do an Austrian accent well, but are wrong.", "Reportedly he can speak with a perfect American accent and has been able to for years. \n\nHe doesn't because the accent is so identifiable. " ] }
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5vdjcy
when talking about africa as a place to visit, place of origin, etc. why do people still refer to the entire continent instead of specific countries?
[deleted]
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5vdjcy/eli5_when_talking_about_africa_as_a_place_to/
{ "a_id": [ "de16q9c", "de172ag" ], "score": [ 3, 11 ], "text": [ "Those going to Africa on trips that are for medical relief or christian missionary trips they tend to go to multiple countries not a single one.", "I hear people saying (and have said myself) they are taking a trip to Europe or Asia or South America, it is not particularly unusual.\n\nAs for a place of origin, you generally try to match your answer to your audience's perceived knowledge of the local geography. Saying you were from Cheethan Hill will probably get you a blank stare. People *might* have heard of Manchester, but \"I'm from England\" likely would be the best answer.\n\nSimilarly, most people don't know Togo from Benin from Senegal. Saying you are from Africa instead answers the question without having to provide a geography lesson.\n\n" ] }
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50j4ti
what can i do as a single individual to get gary johnson in the debates?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/50j4ti/eli5_what_can_i_do_as_a_single_individual_to_get/
{ "a_id": [ "d74g0sb", "d74g2b1" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "You could phone bank, donate to his campaign, that sort of thing.\n\nThe question you should be asking yourself is why you want Gary Johnson in the debates. His economic policies are frankly terrible. He thinks that socialized medicine is a bad thing, when it's been proven to be the superior system in every measure except 5 year cancer survival rate. He's courted anti-vaxxers, a movement I would like to point out quite literally kills children.\n\nSure, it would be nice to have alternate voices on the campaign trail. But I would prefer to have sane ones rather than crazy ones.", "If you are polled on who you would vote for in the presidential election, say \"Gary Johnson.\"\n\nOnce he has 15% or more of polled people giving his name, he can be included in the debates." ] }
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22e2e6
why do kids have fun playing with toys but adults don't?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22e2e6/eli5_why_do_kids_have_fun_playing_with_toys_but/
{ "a_id": [ "cglw7yj", "cglw89i", "cglwdlq", "cglxh3o", "cgly71t", "cglypex" ], "score": [ 19, 8, 2, 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Speak for yourself. The best part of being an adult is affording the coolest Nerf guns, remote controlled things, and Legos.", "Look at the gonewild section, lots of adult females like playing with toys", "Adults by real boats and real cars, not plastic models.\n\n", "I think that depends on what your definition of \"toy\" is.\n\n;)", "If you're asking about playing with traditional kids' toys, then your answer has the most to do with what you're getting out of the toy.\n\nFor children, everything in their world is very new to them, so each new toy represents an area of new learning and exploration of their world.\n\nAs we get older, we don't lose interest in \"play\" as a concept, we simply move on to more complex toys to entertain us. We've basically mastered the stuff kids are still learning.", "Your premise is false." ] }
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6t44ux
if length contraction is observed then how can light be observed in the first place?
To my understanding the faster something gets closer to light to more is contracts in length from its vector line. So if light is contracting infinitely because it's fastest, wouldn't it be invisible or having only 2 dimensions; only height and width? What am I getting wrong?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6t44ux/eli5_if_length_contraction_is_observed_then_how/
{ "a_id": [ "dlhslgi", "dlhsmrr" ], "score": [ 4, 3 ], "text": [ "Length contraction occurs in reference frames where an object is moving close to the speed of light, but not in stationary reference frames. Light itself does not have a valid reference frame though, because all reference frames must agree on the speed of light. Since light doesn't have a reference frame, it doesn't make sense to talk about length contraction from the point of view of light because that point of view doesn't and cannot exist.", "The contraction is from the reference frame of the moving object. Light, at c, doesn't have a reference frame, but regardless of that fact, to an outside observer it appears to move normally. " ] }
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7zem62
how does your lifestyle in your 20s affects your health in 80s, assuming that you start taking care of it in your 40s?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7zem62/eli5how_does_your_lifestyle_in_your_20s_affects/
{ "a_id": [ "dunf0xd", "dup15t0" ], "score": [ 4, 2 ], "text": [ "One of the biggest ways is osteoporosis. Regardless of how healthy you are both early on and later, as you age you will begin to lose bone mass. Males it doesn’t become noticeable until fairly late in life, females it often happens post-menopause most noticeably. One of the biggest factors that you can actually control is your peak bone mass. Even if you lose ~1% of bone mass every year, if you have a higher starting mass when it begins to go then you won’t have as many observable effects. Diet (calcium and vitamin D) and exercise definitely improve peak bone mass, and you generally peak around age 30 and go downhill from there, so you have to exercise plenty when younger to get the best chance ", "Big things that affect people from their 20s are risk taking and traumas. Some ideas:\n\n- Don't drink and drive, don't let anyone drive you when they're drinking. Seriously it's better to a) plan ahead, b) get a cab or an uber, or c) walk.\n\n- wear seatbelts in cars, helmets on bikes\n\n- slow down on wet roads, leave at least a 3 second gap from the car in front\n\n- Always avoid fights. Try to: 1) talk to the person, calm the situation down 2) run away, or 3) hide or stall until help arrives. Fighting is a last resort. Also, spend a few years doing martial arts - it's great for social, fitness, strength, flexibility, and learning more about how to avoid fights, or avoid injury if you are attacked.\n\n- Be careful at work: respect heavy machinery (keep those fingers attached), lift with your knees (chronic back pain SUCKS), wear goggles/protective gear where appropriate, and don't disable safety guards (I've seen some things. people are stupid)\n\n- Invest in positive relationships. Work out who is healthy to be around and who is unhealthy, and adjust the amount of time and energy you invest accordingly. Sure, help people who are in trouble or struggling, but don't let a drowning person drag you under, there are professionals for dealing with that.\n\n- Work out how your productivity can contribute to society - whether that's your day job, or something else. If you feel your contribution is worthwhile, you'll be happier and stick with it for longer. People who keep working as they get older (paid or volunteering, just some form of productivity) tend to be healthier and live longer.\n\n- Work on forming good life habits in your 20s, your 40s are way too late if you're an alcoholic, or obese with diabetes - you may only have 10 years left by then. You don't have to be a vegan who works out 6 times a week, but remember you only get one body, and enjoy everything in moderation. " ] }
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2g6re1
what's the difference between a deluxe edition of an album and the original one?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2g6re1/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_a_deluxe/
{ "a_id": [ "ckg5q03" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text": [ "Deluxe editions generally contain additional material. Usually things like unreleased tracks, live versions of the main album's songs, cover versions of the main album's songs, remixes or other modifications to the album's main songs, commentary by the artist, etc.\n\nIf the deluxe edition is a re-release of an old album, it often has been remastered, meaning the sound levels have been tinkered with in order to enhance them." ] }
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1x2zud
what exactly is so bad about "hating" islam?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x2zud/eli5what_exactly_is_so_bad_about_hating_islam/
{ "a_id": [ "cf7mt1a" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Religions can be interpreted in thousand different ways. It is up to you how you define it. Someone can define it as \"reactionary, violent, narrow, backwards, evil, bigoted, sexist, and homophobic dark age ideology and a primitive superstitious irrational way of life that has murdered, raped, stolen, and destroyed more human beings than any other ideology save Nazism,\" and someone else can define it as peaceful and relaxing. I really wonder how you define other things, you seem to be full of hate.\n\n\n\n\nPS: I am an atheist." ] }
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2ydth7
how come if i use a small sample of a song in a youtube video i am violating terms of service, yet other users have entire full albums by many artists and they are permitted to stay up?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ydth7/eli5_how_come_if_i_use_a_small_sample_of_a_song/
{ "a_id": [ "cp8kqlf", "cp8lamp" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "They are also in violation of the service. Just nobody bothered to report them yet.\n\n(unless, of course, it is the artist's own channel)", "Depends on whose music you're using. Some labels/artists force YouTube to remove videos that use their music, others allow it but have YouTube attach an ad to it and they get that money, and others either are just fine with YouTubers using their music or don't care enough to enforce their copyright." ] }
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9r8a69
in movies we see rain quickly putting a fire out. why doesn’t this happen irl? i realize it’s movie magic and timing due to movie length but is it bc the water evaporates too quickly or is a legit downpour needed to aid in a substantial way in a fire?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9r8a69/eli5_in_movies_we_see_rain_quickly_putting_a_fire/
{ "a_id": [ "e8exifo", "e8extsp", "e8ey14y", "e8ezthi", "e8f2vfl", "e8fahmh" ], "score": [ 6, 5, 16, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "I think the heat from the fire evaporates the rain before it can hit the ground or something. There just isn't enough water in a rainstorm to put out large fires", "For a fire to exist you need 3 things: Fuel, Air and Heat.\n\nGeneralization: By spraying water the fire department tries to bring the temperature down And reduce the available air by creating a water mist. But to do that you need a Lot of water. More than a mere raincloud can provide.", "In real life, rain typically falls quite slowly. \n\nIf this is not the case, and you have either the monsoon blowing in or just a really heavy cold front (of the type that floods streets in minutes) that'll absolutely put out a fire - as long as there isn't a roof above it. \n\nMost of the time, though, gentle rain stops fires from spreading which will cause them to burn out as soon as whatever they've already set fire to runs out of fuel, and it *does* make them burn less hot precisely because evaporation both requires a tremendous amount of energy (which the fire provides) and pushes away oxygen (which the fire needs). ", "When I was young in Tahoe we had a campfire going midday. It started to rain, and although it wasn't a downpour, I got fairly wet pretty fast. I had noticed that the fire wasn't going out, not even wavering, and the logs had never gotten wet, so I asked, essentially, the same question.\n\nTurns out the fire evaporates the rain before it can get to the wood to start to put it out, and I'm sure that the bigger the fire the more rain it can handle", "Something not yet mentioned is that the weather conditions that support wildfires or bushfires, especially catastrophic ones, rarely support rain as well. My own experience of bushfires in Australia are that they come during long, hot and dry periods which promote high winds and low humidity.", "Rain does not put out a large wildfire. What happens is the rain makes the rest of the forest wet preventing the fire from spreading to the wet wood. Thus the fire burns itself out. " ] }
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4ch6ha
what is the relationship between language and thought?
When I think about things I use language, but I don't use it in the same way that I speak. Sentences may be fragmented—sometimes overlapping or rephrased. Some thoughts seem complete and coherent, but when I try to express them I find myself struggling for some of the words. It feels incredibly difficult to think about something without language, and yet it is clear that language is only part of the process. I'm not sure how much of this is personal and how much of it is general to most humans (or how much of it varies by native tongue). Can anyone ELI5 what my brain is doing with and without language when I'm thinking about something? Visualisation is a bit different—I can do that without language, but then it doesn't really feel like thought. Is it a form of thought? and what is the relationship to other thoughts?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ch6ha/eli5_what_is_the_relationship_between_language/
{ "a_id": [ "d1i62da", "d1i7nkq", "d1ig5ot" ], "score": [ 3, 4, 2 ], "text": [ "Your brain has it's own personal language, so when you are expressing something you are sort of translating the brains language to your expression mode. (spoken thought in this instance) So if you don't have the connections connected you stumble, but your brain language still works so you know what you want to express. This is why practice is important, it keeps the connections fresh and you can easily fetch them. \n\nThink about it this way, when you forget something, and you can't remember what it was, then suddenly and completely randomly you remember it later. That is your brain language connecting to the expression or item you need to remember. (in this case its spoken name) \n\nYour brain works a lot when you are not aware of it. ", "We don't have many examples of people who didn't have language then did so they can talk about it. \n\nHellen Keller who went deaf/blind at 19 months until she began to comprehend language again at age 7, wrote that her thoughts were formless and emotional before she developed language. Essentially, she said, she couldn't think but only experience sensations or emotions such as happiness, or anger, or frustration. Her understanding/perception of time was also limited. -- She called her time before language a \"silent, dayless life.\" \n\nYou can read her autobiography online. ", "Stephen Pinker calls the way we think without language \"mentalese\". The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language determines thought might have a small amount of truth but ultimately just because we don't have a word for something, doesn't mean we are completely ignorant of it. I suppose having a word for a concept helps a lot though in communication. I can't explain what's happening neurologically though, sorry." ] }
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4speaw
the un security council's functions, members, and the arguments for and against including more permanent members.
I've read most, if not all of the other ELI5 posts on the UNSC, but I'm still a bit confused about what kind of specific issues the UNSC deals with, what their overarching purpose is, what the 'non-permanent members' do and how they're chosen, and the arguments for and against more permanent members.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4speaw/eli5the_un_security_councils_functions_members/
{ "a_id": [ "d5b3gqb" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "The UN Security Council has 15 members, each with 1 vote on issues. It has 5 permanent members, China, France, Russia, The UK, and the USA, each having veto power, meaning that even if the 14 other members vote for something they can veto it and cause the vote to fail. \n\nThe other 10 members are Non-permanent members, and are elected by the General Assembly for 2-year terms, with 5 replaced each year. To be approved, the candidate must receive a 2/3rds vote. Ties have happened before. The number of countries up for a specific seat depends on the group that seat is from, the African group holds 3 seats, the Asia-Pacific Group holds 3, the Eastern European group holds 2, Latin America holds 2, and Western Europe holds 5. \n\nOne of the main rolls of the UN Security Council is the authorization of sending UN Peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently ceased or paused to enforce the terms of peace agreements. They can also investigate any situation threatening international peace and recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute, call upon member nations to place sanctions on a country, and recommend the new Secretary General to the General Assembly. They do a few more things, but that's a general idea.\n\nMore permanent members would be highly debated, as obviously having more also increases the chance that 1 nation will veto a resolution supported by the rest of the Security Council, as China, Russia, and the US have done before. However, adding more permanent members could be said to increase inclusion and would promote the interests of groups outside of just the major world powers. " ] }
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5ydv7b
the difference between clinical depression and circumstantial depression, and the effects on the brain.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ydv7b/eli5_the_difference_between_clinical_depression/
{ "a_id": [ "depbpzb" ], "score": [ 9 ], "text": [ "The short version: \n\nCircumstantial depression - you are sad, because something happened that made you sad. If you told anyone else about it, they would understand why you feel sad.\n\nClinical depression - your entire emotional system is depressed, in the sense that it is functioning at a lower level than normal. You are not sad, necessarily. Instead, you are unable to feel. You don't feel sad, or happy, or angry, or thankful, or *anything*. Initially the complete lack of feeling can be liberating, but it quickly develops into apathy, because nothing you do changes the way you feel.\n\nSee also: Hyperbole and a Half [Part 1](_URL_0_) [Part 2](_URL_1_)" ] }
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[ [ "http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html", "http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/depression-part-two.html" ] ]
52fu4u
if we do not need our appendix, why do we not have it removed early on in our lives to prevent the possibility of appendicitis?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/52fu4u/eli5_if_we_do_not_need_our_appendix_why_do_we_not/
{ "a_id": [ "d7jvib0", "d7jvlav", "d7jvq87", "d7k0cez", "d7k1iee", "d7k20o7", "d7k4ctn" ], "score": [ 11, 81, 4, 2, 4, 2, 5 ], "text": [ "For most people it isn't a problem ever, and the risks and burden of large numbers of significant surgery outweighs the risk of leaving it in.", "first off, there is the theory that our appendix does serve the useful function of repopulating our intestines with good bacteria in the event of a major food-poisoning event. so the appendix may not be useless. useless things tend to be disposed of by natural selection, after all.\n\nbut even if it serves no purpose other than taking up calories from more useful tissue, abdominal surgery is no joke. knocking someone out and cutting them open involves certain risks, and those risks aren't worth it unless they're actually sick.", "I've always wondered this myself\n\nonly one in 2,000 people ever need their appendix out, so it is an unnecessary and non-cosmetic surgery if the little vestigial chunk of flesh minds its own business\n\nmaybe in 500,000 years we'll have evolved out of having them and wisdom teeth", "Another reason is probably the same reason people don't get tonsils out. Money and insurance. I imagine appendix is much worse and invasive. But most people's tonsils get smaller as they get older. Mine got bigger. It makes me breathe through my mouth and I get out of breath super easy. My parent never saw that coming I guess but they never had any money or insurance anyway. And I sure don't have any either.", "There's a difference between unnecessary and not useful. You don't need your legs to live but you'd hardly say they're useless. \n\nThere is scientific evidence that the apendix is extremely useful in the 'gut' or digestive 'micro-biome'", "Cost/benefit analysis shows that if they removed everybody's appendix, it would cause more death and health problems than would happen by waiting until appendicitis symptoms present themselves.", "FYI - there are some remote jobs where removal of the appendix is required:\n\n_URL_0_\n\n" ] }
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[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-antarctica/health" ] ]
220v18
if heat is just atoms moving quickly, why does it hurt us?
For example: I put my hand in hot water (water with fast moving molecules) and I become burned and experience pain. Why?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/220v18/eli5_if_heat_is_just_atoms_moving_quickly_why/
{ "a_id": [ "cgi8i0e", "cgi8i3j", "cgifjt3", "cgighzf", "cgiklr2", "cgilt39" ], "score": [ 73, 15, 6, 10, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "Because those fast moving molecules bump into your slow moving molecules, causing chaos at the molecular level, which is interpreted by your nerves as pain. If the skin is allowed to heat up enough, the molecules might get moving so fast that cells shake themselves apart, and your body has to send the immune system to clean up the mess (a blister)", "Heat has the capacity to destroy the molecules your body is made of. Effectively, the hot atoms that are vibrating quickly, transfer some of their energy to the atoms in your hand. This allows them to break free of the molecules they're contained in, damaging your hand.", "Imagine the molecules are cars. Cars moving quickly hurt more than cars moving slowly.", "A hammer thrown at your head is just atoms moving quickly, too.", "Thank you for this question, OP. I've learned something today. Reddit is useful, *sometimes*. ", "Also, don't forget our body is made up of cells, that are mostly water. These cells have walls that are only so flexible. Water expands and contracts when heated and cooled. So when you freeze or heat tissue like that, you're essentially popping the cells you are made up of like balloons." ] }
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wa3l0
why are those coins being sold on tv so 'popular'?
I just don't get it. My entire life I've seen ads on TV (I'm in the US) for those .9999% gold coins that are not endorsed by the US Mint or Treasury, that just keep cropping up. Are there some kind of collectors out there who think that these would actually be worth something? Why do they keep stating "THESE ARE WORTH $50! WE'RE GIVING IT TO YOU FOR $10!" Example for those who may not know: _URL_0_ (I know the comments in that video say it's just a scam and to move on, but HOW are these commercials still around?!)
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wa3l0/eli5_why_are_those_coins_being_sold_on_tv_so/
{ "a_id": [ "c5bkol1", "c5bndxn" ], "score": [ 5, 3 ], "text": [ "The commercial is VERY deceptive but they aren't lying. They are selling a coin plated in 31 mg of gold. That is why they can advertise. \n\nI think they actually sell them b/c people don't do their research into gold. They are taking advantage of all the news reports of the increased price of gold. The face value of a gold coin did matter at one point but not since we went off the gold standard. It is the same as saying a magic bullet has a value of $3000!! OMG you are saving $2900 when you buy it now!!!!. \n\n\nThe [real](_URL_0_) version of that coin is $2,200. It is over the spot price of gold b/c of it's coin collector value. Their crap version is worth $1.60 of gold but of course they would say it's worth more b/c of the \"famous\" design. I think it's worth just as much as someone is willing to pay for it....which is zero for me. ", "It's not a scam, because they tell you in the fine print what you're buying.\n\nHowever, it is really shitty. It's a gold PLATED, or \"clad\", coin; so yes, it is a coin, and yes it has some gold in it. The problem is that it's not very much, and you're probably buying it at a very inflated price.\n\n" ] }
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[ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFQVFwT-tpw" ]
[ [ "http://www.apmex.com/Category/1555/Proof_Gold_Buffalo_Coins_2012__Prior.aspx" ], [] ]
69ujj8
why are work-hour restrictions controversial in the medical field?
It seems pretty reasonable for them to be implemented if the motivation is to reduce mistakes caused by fatigue. Yet, many people seem to speak out against it and say that it lowers the quality of doctors.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69ujj8/eli5_why_are_workhour_restrictions_controversial/
{ "a_id": [ "dh9gsp6", "dh9j0aa" ], "score": [ 2, 6 ], "text": [ "One of the most prevalent reasons for areas such as an emergency room is that a single doctor will be available for the entire treatment of a patient, as opposed to multiple doctors cycling through and having to perform treatments based on word of mouth and the charts as opposed to having been the provider for the previous treatments of that day. It also allows them to make quicker decisions when needed in emergencies due to having knowledge of the patients symptoms and treatments.", "There are good reasons and bad reasons.\n\nA good reason is that some operation take a really long time, and there can be some advantages to having the same people perform the whole thing.\n\nThere are also bad reasons. One is that \"we've always done it that way.\" It's almost like hazing at a fraternity. The older folks say, \"I survived the hazing just fine. There's no reason the young people today can't do the same.\" Another bad reason is that hospitals can save money overworking young docs.\n\nI get the sense that the bad reasons are more common among people objecting to work limits than the good reasons. You could certainly restrict hours except for those very specific cases, but you rarely hear the objectors propose that." ] }
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d0y1qb
how you record on cassette tapes, and how there are cassette tape that are converted to be an aux cord.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d0y1qb/eli5_how_you_record_on_cassette_tapes_and_how/
{ "a_id": [ "ezf94jn", "ezf97ro" ], "score": [ 5, 4 ], "text": [ "Cassette tapes work as a medium of magnetic particles. The arrangement of the particles can be read by the head of the player (which is just an electromagnet)\n\nSimilar to the binary dots burned into a CD or the raised grooves of a record. This is how the information is stored. \n\nOn an aux-tape, there is an electromagnet like the read head on the player. It get’s it’s signal from the aux cord and arranges the electromagnetic head as dictated by the voltage of the signal the same way that voltage goes to earbuds and drives the speakers.", "Tape is an analogue technology, which means that it records information (sound in this case) by replicating the signal with different levels of magnetic charge on the tape. The tape can be written to by applying a strong magnetic field to the tape to magnetize it, and can be read by applying a weak magnetic field to the tape, and measuring the response.\n\nA tape recorder / player is essentially a device that converts a magnetic analogue signal to an electrical analogue signal, and vice versa.\n\nAn aux cord is just an ordinary electrical cable that caries an electric analogue signal. Most cables can carry two signals at once, for stereo sound, but some cables can carry three signals, two for sound and one for a microphone. Nothing special needs to happen for a cassette player to send audio over an aux cable, except that the signal from the tape might need to be amplified to be audible. The aux cable just needs to be connected to the players analogue output, and the other devices analogue input." ] }
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[ [], [] ]
7y9deu
what is a thread in programming?
As a second-semester computer science student and 5-year programmer, I'm ashamed to say I don't have a firm idea of what a thread is. I understand certain ideas, like if a method has an event listener, that "thread" will stay open until the listener is deleted. But I don't really understand what a thread *is*. Can somebody please enlighten me?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7y9deu/eli5_what_is_a_thread_in_programming/
{ "a_id": [ "duekte5", "duepbzc" ], "score": [ 13, 2 ], "text": [ "Imagine every thread being a worker under you, that has an individual timetable. A normal program gives you one worker by default, doing the stuff the source code wants it to. Each thread you open \"hires\" another one, where you can assign work to it, splitting some calculations you need basically at the same time, for better work efficiency (for large projects you might even want to hire and fire multiple workers over the course of the project).", "A thread is a separate, concurrent line of execution. So picture this code:\n\n a = 1\n b = 2\n result = a + b \n\nNow try executing this in your head, line by line. You can picture that there's a little arrow pointing to the current line, and moving on to the next once it's executed.\n\n a = 1\n b = 2 < --- we're on this line now\n result = a + b\n\n\nWhat threads do is to make it so that there's more than one arrow. You have multiple CPUs, or cores, operating on the same code and same memory, but in different locations at the same time.\n\nThreads have their own stack but share the heap, so whenever you affect any global data, this affects all threads. This means you have to either ensure each thread only works on its own thing, or that it is coordinated with the use of things like locks to make sure everything is done in its proper order.\n" ] }
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222rt5
how do songs in different languages rhyme?
I was recently watching a foreign film when there was a part where they start to sing in Cantonese and I noticed that it rhymed. This made me question why or how these words rhyme even in different languages. Edit: meant Cantonese. Sorry for the confusion.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/222rt5/eli5_how_do_songs_in_different_languages_rhyme/
{ "a_id": [ "cgisrwg", "cgissea", "cgit81q", "cgiut9w", "cgivso0", "cgixlsk", "cgizdm1", "cgizh7c" ], "score": [ 39, 8, 14, 5, 14, 3, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Usually songs are translated quite liberally into other languages in order to allow them to rhyme or flow the best they can. The translation was probably very loose.", "Liberal use of translation usually retaining the original message yet using slightly different words to express it. ", "Sometimes when translating from one language to another, they'll change the wording quite a lot so that it fits the same rhythmic style of the original. \n\nFor example. it could be in English:\n > Life is great when I'm with my mate \n\nbut in their language it could be\n > Life is awesome when I'm with my friend \n\nand let's pretend in there language, their words for awesome and friend rhyme. ", "Like others have said, the translations are just pretty loose. \n\nFor example take a look at the [literal translation of the German song \"99 Luftballons\"](_URL_1_) and compare it to [the popular English cover \"99 red balloons\"](_URL_0_)", "Because other words in other languages rhyme. ", "Probably slightly off-topic. \nRhymes in Slavic languages are particularly interesting mainly because of the complex grammar they use. For instance in Polish, words conjugate based on gender, tense, grammatical case etc.\n\nAs an example, in Polish expression \"he did\" can be written as: \"zrobił\", she did: \"zrobiła\", 'it' did: \"zrobiło\".\n\nWhat it means, is that words rhyming with expression \"he did\" are completely different to the words rhyming with expression \"she did\", because you no longer use singular grammatical form as you would in English.\n\nThis sounds similar to the rules you could find in Spanish or other latin languages, but the real clusterfuck begins when you start using grammatical cases (_URL_0_):\n\nSay we use word 'lion', a noun, which in Polish is 'lew'. This word has to switch cases depending on it's context in the sentence. For simplicity, I will only write conjugated word and then example English sentence that would cause it to change its form (polish - /phonetically in English/ - sentence):\n\nlew - /lev/ - this is a lion\n\nlwa - /lva/ - there is no lion\n\nlwu - /lvoo/- I'm looking at a lion\n\nlwem - /lvaem/ - with lion\n\nlwie - /lvea/- about lion\n\nSo, what that means, is that you're really left with 5 completely differently sounding words even though it is the same word. In English \"lion\" will always rhyme with \"zion\" regardless of the role of the word in the sentence. In Polish, \"lew\" only rhymes with \"zlew\" (sink) when \"lion\" is in it's nominal form. The moment you switch to different case, you can get a new rhyme: \"lwu\" rhymes with \"psu\" (interestingly, \"psu\" is a dative case of word \"pies\", which in Polish means \"dog\").\n\nThis is why I love Polish language because it gives you so much variety and infinite possibilities in terms of rhyming. I wish Polish poetry, literature and music was known abroad and somehow translatable.\n\nAnways, if you want to hear bit of Polish rhymes check out this great piece of Polish rap _URL_1_, text and translation over here: _URL_2_.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "Can I ask what is the name of the film? I'm Croatian :)", "[I'll just leave this here](_URL_0_)" ] }
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[ [], [], [], [ "http://german.about.com/library/blmus_nena99redb.htm", "http://german.about.com/library/blmus_nena99luftbE.htm" ], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_case", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auqVcKcU3Kw", "http://www.tekstowo.pl/piosenka,o_s_t_r_,kochana_polsko.html" ], [], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6YahW1jHmM" ] ]
3qpliw
how can businesses get away with offers such as "ladies free entry" & or "free drinks for ladies", wouldn't that be considered discrimination?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3qpliw/eli5_how_can_businesses_get_away_with_offers_such/
{ "a_id": [ "cwh78y5", "cwh7qga", "cwh7w45", "cwh8ewd", "cwh9bzq", "cwh9fr9", "cwh9jh9", "cwh9nq2", "cwh9qb0", "cwh9wfm", "cwha7ts" ], "score": [ 42, 13, 23, 8, 5, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "There's actually a ton of dispute over this.\n\nIn the United States, state courts in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have ruled that ladies' night discounts are unlawful gender discrimination under state or local statutes. However, courts in Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington have rejected a variety of challenges to such discounts.\n\nSource and tons more info: _URL_0_", "Under the law there are things called \"places of public accommodation.\" Basically, that just means most businesses open to the public. Under federal law it's illegal to discriminate against people in places of public accommodation on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. That law is codified at [42 U.S.C. § 2000a](_URL_0_). Notice that it doesn't say anything about gender. Since there's no law against discriminating against people on the basis of gender in places of public accommodation, it's allowed.\n\nSome states have laws that prohibit that gender discrimination in places of public accommodation, but you would have to check each state to see how that applies. \n\nThere's also protection for discrimination against people with disabilities under the ADA, but that similarly doesn't include gender. And federal law *does* prohibit gender discrimination in employment, education, and housing, but not for places of public accommodation. ", "This question gets asked every few months or so. Basically, setting the legal issues aside for a moment, people tend to look the other way because it's a win for everyone. Bars get business, women get free drinks, men get women.", "Is there any place on earth, that has something free for men only?", "There was a lawsuit in Iowa on this exact topic. The complainant either won, or the business felt enough pressure, that they did indeed change their \"ladies night\" to \"lipstick night\". If you were wearing lipstick (I'm pretty sure it was lipstick), you would receive free entrance whether you were a man or a woman. I am going to try and find the link for it.\n\nEdit: Here is a link on the case _URL_0_", "It actually is illegal, it's just not enforced. It's like how everyone that works in a Chinese restaurant is Asian\n", "Politically it matters who is the group that is discriminated against. Women have higher medical insurance rates due to higher medical care needs, esp due to child birth, politicians need to fix this. Men have higher car insurance rates, of course that's fine since they cause more accidents than women so its cool. Ladies nights, not a big deal. If they did mens nights it would get sued. \n\nthe main point of Ladies nights is to bring the women tot eh establishment. If there are women there, then more men will want to go. ", "I worked at a bar that offered ''Ladies Night''. Total disaster. Big hit with the lesbian community, though. ", "Law student here.\n\nYour right to be free from discrimination, as a Constitutional matter, only applies against the government. The government cannot treat women or minorities differently.\n\nFor private businesses, there must be an actual law on the books preventing the discrimination. Some states have laws banning \"ladies night\" but not all do. \n\nAnd even if there is a general anti-discrimination law, someone has to enforce it. Often anti-discrimination laws do not make it a crime to discriminate, but only open the door for people to file a lawsuit. So, the police would not shut down ladies night; rather a man would have to sue to get damages from the discrimination. And since a man is unlikely to have a lot of damages from this, these lawsuits are going to be uncommon.", "When I was in college in Gainesville, the city made a lot of places stop putting on \"ladies' night\". Instead, the bars starting having \" little black dress\" night, which technically meant guys could get the same deal as ladies, if they were willing to wear little black dresses to the venues", "A common question, try search." ] }
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[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies%27_night" ], [ "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000a" ], [], [], [ "http://wcfcourier.com/news/breaking_news/state-warns-bars-ladies-nights-are-illegal/article_efe8be4e-7957-5122-b913-e77018f25681.html" ], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
baplgw
you have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and so on. go back 24 generations and one person today has 16.8 million direct relatives alive at the same time. at some point in history, one person alive today has enough ancestors that would exceed the population at that time. how?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/baplgw/eli5_you_have_2_parents_4_grandparents_8/
{ "a_id": [ "ekda6xp", "ekdakzb" ], "score": [ 6, 6 ], "text": [ "You can have ancestors show up multiple times in a tree. While it’s taboo to have sex with close relations, everyone is related to some degree, which means that any children would have the common ancestor show up at least twice in their tree, meaning fewer unique people are needed to reach the 2^x ancestors at that level.", "Those 2^n people are not all unique - one person can take up many \"slots\". Let's say your parents were third cousins. That would mean they share 2 of their great-great grandparents. Those 2 people are 4 of your great-great-great grandparents, appearing once on your mother's side and once on your father's side. \nThe general term for it is [pedigree collapse](_URL_0_). " ] }
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[ [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedigree_collapse" ] ]
6pv9cf
is it possible to dropout of boot camp
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6pv9cf/eli5_is_it_possible_to_dropout_of_boot_camp/
{ "a_id": [ "dkseksa" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "If you don't want to be there, you can leave. If you show promise they may try to persuade you to tough it out, but if your mind's made up it's a waste of their time and yours for you to stay." ] }
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5k8jtz
why or how is kanye west simultaneously so widely despised and successful?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5k8jtz/eli5_why_or_how_is_kanye_west_simultaneously_so/
{ "a_id": [ "dbm3vdi" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Controversial behaviour gets people talking about you, so more people know about you. That leads to more people liking you for your talents, and more people despising you for your controversial behaviour " ] }
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zrbx3
fiat currency; what it is and how it's regulated.
Hi guys, I tried having my brother in law (who works int he financial sector) explain it to me, but when I heard "China selling debt" I realized that I was long ago lost in the conversation. I understand that it isn't really tied to anything, and that the Federal Reserve regulates the dollar by changing interest rates, but I don't get how that regulation works among other things.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zrbx3/eli5_fiat_currency_what_it_is_and_how_its/
{ "a_id": [ "c672qu4" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Fiat currency essentially just means any currency that is the official money of a country and can be exchanged for goods and services. Fiat money isn't backed by any promises. For instance, you money is not valued against gold like it used to be. i.e. You paper money is actually really worthless if not for the faith value you have for it.\n\nIt's regulated in a number of ways since just printing more would make the dollar worth less since there would be more in circulation. If people get skeptical about the worth of their money, an economy can collapse like in the Great Depression. \n\nI'm not sure what you want to know about China, though. Maybe you mean floating currency? The worth of the RMB just has very little if not nothing to do with the rest of the world. \n\nI'm also not sure if I've answered your question.... but hopefully that helps a little.\n" ] }
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7qznfe
why after any repairing surgery, people lose so much mobility? (hip replacement, bankart lesion)
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7qznfe/eli5_why_after_any_repairing_surgery_people_lose/
{ "a_id": [ "dst3tmk", "dst3v6x" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Hi, Because the body takes time to recover,hence recovery period may differ for each individual base on how fast you as an individual can recover. \n\nYour body swells at the operated area, thus creating discomfort and also causing it harder for you to move especially when the operated area is for example your joints or knee which actually provides you fluidity and direction in your movements.\n\nAlso, after operation one cannot accurately gauge the amount of weight they apply on the operated area. Too much weight on the area can mean more stress is applied on the \"injured/operated area' thus causing recovery period to slow down as it can damage or bruise the area.\n\nAs a person that went through medial meniscus tear removal surgery (Minor) although a minor one but it still took me about a month to be able to walk without crutches. Basically every step you take is painful until the swelling goes down. The swelling subsides faster if less weight or stress is applied on the area. ", "Speaking from experience (multiple Achilles surgeries)\n\nIn the short term, inflammation causes a lot of problems. Swelling not only impedes motion directly, but the pain makes it not worth it\n\nScar tissue is nowhere NEAR as flexible as healthy tissue. Especially if you have a tendon injury, it feels like you have an exercise band painfully tightening inside you \n\nThe pain from both of these cause further tightening from lack of use. Physical therapy is a sucky necessity " ] }
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1emrfs
how do i get money for college?
I made the terrible choice of letting my mom take the reigns on my FAFSA so i have no idea how that's working. And what about loans in general, how do I actually get them?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1emrfs/how_do_i_get_money_for_college/
{ "a_id": [ "ca1qi3h" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "My only advice is to make sure you go through the extra steps to be able to receive your loans.\n\nAFTER I received my fafsa, I still had to complete 2 other things (one was a master promissory note) before I could actually use the loan portion of it.\n\nMy first semester I didn't know, and had to apply for temorary funding while the paper wok cleared" ] }
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6yh4is
how do investigators always seem to find the people responsible for starting huge forest fires?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6yh4is/eli5_how_do_investigators_always_seem_to_find_the/
{ "a_id": [ "dmnbqn4", "dmndafq" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "They don't, for one thing. Many wildfires they believe are arson don't get solved. \n\nInvestigating the start of a wildfire is mostly about searching for patterns and evidence. Fires burn in patterns, and arson investigators believe they can determine the area where a fire started by looking at burn marks and terrain (which theories have been contested successfully in court many times, but I digress). \n\nOnce they have the spot, they search for physical evidence like cigarette butts, tire or shoe tracks, even fingerprints. From there, it's standard detective work. ", "You just hear about when they do catch them- it's not a perfect process, and they don't always find the culprits. This is what is known as confirmation bias- you only hear about when they are caught, so it's easy to assume they are always caught.\n\nThe methods they use are standard investigative techniques used to investigate most crimes. \n\nIt starts with a forensic analysis of the fire- using a combination of eye witness accounts and burn patterns, they can trace the origin of the fire and how it started- maybe an out of control camp fire, or a downed electrical tower, or a puddle of gasoline and a match. \n\nOnce they have the origin and cause of the fire, and have determined that its cause was criminal in nature, they can narrow the search to look for people known to be in the area, interview witnesses, look at traffic camera footage, etc., as well as look for more concrete evidence, such as possible tire tracks or other traces of the arsonist who started the fire. There are a lot of tools available to the police to investigate this sort of thing, the major problems are that an investigation for a forest fire is often delayed by several days as the fire must first be fought, and any evidence in the area may be destroyed by the fire, witnesses scattered, etc." ] }
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fot8aj
what is a checksum and how does it work?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fot8aj/eli5_what_is_a_checksum_and_how_does_it_work/
{ "a_id": [ "flh13et", "flhih9o" ], "score": [ 2, 6 ], "text": [ "add the shit and check the sum.\n\n\nall data in a computer can be digested as a series of numbers. therefore, you can sum them. you sum them, possibly do something with the sum (e.g run it through a hash algorithm, which returns a fixed length piece of data from which it is supposed to be impossible to find the original data) and compare. simple pimple.\n\n\nwhy? to check integrity. you post a file and the checksum. if the checksum of the file you downloaded and the checksum they posted are not the same, a different file was downloaded. the point of a hash algorithm is such that if you add one or subtract one from the entire set of data, you get atleast a 50% difference in the end result.", "You can try checksums yourself with a credit card number:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nDouble every other number starting with the 2nd then add all of the resulting digits (so 12 would be 1+2). The result will be a multiple of 10. Always. If you miss or swap a digit, the checksum is off (not a multiple of 10). That allows web pages to detect typos immediately, rather than spend time (and money) looking it up in the credit card network." ] }
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[ [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luhn_algorithm" ] ]
ypirj
what about tilt-shift photography gives it the illusion of looking like toys.
Pictures like [these](_URL_0_), called tilt-shift photography, I know they use special lenses and what not. I'm not curious about how they're taken, but what exactly about the output, the finished product, makes us perceive them as miniature models? How is a tilt-shift photograph different from a normal that gives it that illusion?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ypirj/eli5_what_about_tiltshift_photography_gives_it/
{ "a_id": [ "c5xo5mp", "c5xogdi", "c5xw9v8", "c5xxwan", "c5xy9un", "c5y1mod" ], "score": [ 17, 347, 2, 4, 8, 2 ], "text": [ "Because there is a very small depth of field. In other words, very little is in focus in the image. \n\nI'm simplifying here, but optically this occurs when you're shooting really really small things (i.e. miniatures or toys), and is just about impossible to do when you're shooting landscapes and your lens is focused at infinity. By using a tilt shift lens, you can achieve a really shallow depth of field which isn't normally possible, thus creating the illusion that what you are shooting is a miniature.", "It has to do with *depth of field*, and they way your eye works. When you are looking at something close, your eye has a very shallow depth of field. When you are looking at something far away, your eye has a much wider depth of field.\n\nPretend you are looking at a long row of dominoes (or if you have some dominoes, set them up in a long straight row and put your eye level with the first one).\n\nIf you put your eye close to the first domino and focus on it, the second domino will appear out of focus. However, if you focus your eye on the second last domino in the line, the last domino will still appear to be in focus.\n\nYour brain knows this instinctively. So when it sees a picture of something and everything around it is out of focus, it assumes that your eye must be very close to the thing that is in focus, and thus that thing must be very small.\n\nWhen everything in the picture is in focus, it assumes that your eye is far away and thus it must rely on other evidence to try to figure out how big everything in the picture is.\n", "because it blurs things in a way that makes it look like you're looking at a miniature model up close. you can actually achieve the same effect with photoshop.", "aside from the depth of field illusions caused by a very narrow focus plane, and high angle perspectives (utilized so the composition looks like a toy set would on a table if you were standing over it), they also saturate the colours eg. turn up the vibrancy of the primary colours (red, yellow and blue) to add to the surreal sense and make it look like painted or plastic toys. \n\n[this photoshop guide]\n(_URL_0_) explains it well, you can apply the same filters to video footage.", "This isn't an explanation, but I wanted to share my favourite use of tilt shift: _URL_0_", "Dude, this question is literally asked about twice a month. People need to use the search." ] }
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[ "http://i.imgur.com/KANFA.jpg" ]
[ [], [], [], [ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrg-7zMThmA&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL7FA7512C479AD90F&amp;feature=results_main" ], [ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6wrgSKYwc" ], [] ]
3om6an
the difference betweens the forms of classical music, like fugue, minuet, canon, opera, prelude, sonata, etc.
Title, and thanks.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3om6an/eli5_the_difference_betweens_the_forms_of/
{ "a_id": [ "cvyfpl2" ], "score": [ 11 ], "text": [ "To some extent, this is like asking what's the difference between rap, gangsta rap, DJ, country, Electric Slide, drum solo. Some of the terms can be compared, but some cannot.\n\nAn opera is a dramatic work that features mostly singing Like a musical or a play, but the performers sing through most, or all, of it. It also means the name of the group that performs that kind of work. This is a big-picture term. Some comparables might be \"ballet\" (classical work performed while folks dance) or \"symphony\" (classical work performed by a larger ensemble... it sometimes has a regular form, but doesn't have to) or even \"string quartet.\" (classical work performed by four string musicians)\n\n\"Sontata\" is a type of work or a type of form, usually characterized by an A-B-A form, meaning there's a statement of a theme, there's a contrasting part, and then there's a \"recapitulation\" of the theme. It could be a \"sonata for strings,\" or a \"piano sonata,\" or it could be a smaller part of a larger work (many movements of a symphony are written in sonata form). Comparables to this are things like a Rondo/Rondo form (ABACABA).\n\nA minuet was a dance -- like the Electric Slide -- popular in the 1700s, in 3/4 time. It's a little bit slower and often more formal than some of the later fast 3/4 dances. Comparables might be things like a gigue (jig-- in a fast 6/8) or a march (2/4 or 2/2), or polonaise (another 3/4 dance but from a different time and different place than the minuet), waltz (a faster 3/4 dance, popularized later).\n\nA \"canon\" is a round, like \"three blind mice,\" where mutiple people sing or play the same notes, but at offset times. There are variations on this, and you can have an \"accompanied canon\" where not all performers play a part in the canon. (The famous \"Pachelbel Canon in D\" isn't really a canon.) Similarly a \"Fugue\" employs the same device, but each part usually starts on a different pitch. While there can be entire pieces written as fugues (bach liked to do this) or canons, most often this is a type of compositional strategy-- a section in a piece--to add contrast or interest." ] }
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463tfq
why is it acceptable for oil producers to collude and stop producing product in order to artificially raise prices, but not okay for other manufacturers to do the same thing?
Isn't it unacceptable for everyone else to do the same thing? Like, all farmers couldn't suddenly stop producing wheat, or metal workers stop producing aluminum in order to artifically raise the prices right?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/463tfq/eli5_why_is_it_acceptable_for_oil_producers_to/
{ "a_id": [ "d025z3e", "d02611p", "d0269xy", "d02b9tb" ], "score": [ 3, 8, 3, 3 ], "text": [ "It is not that it is acceptable in the case of OPEC. The problem is that because it is governments working together in this way with such a desirable product, they have so much power, we *cannot* do anything about it. ", "There isn't a global world police. It's easy for a single country to say \"hey, factories, cut that out\" if they collude, but no one really has the power to go a bunch of unrelated countries and then force laws onto them. \n\nI mean the US already goes pretty far into openly starting wars to influence the way oil is produced but they aren't going to go to the point of taking over every oil producer on earth directly to enforce something like anti-trust regulations. ", "I don't know who thinks it is okay. It's more that it's hard to stop them.\n\nOil is a lot harder to find than wheat or aluminum. If a wheat farmer wants to stop growing wheat and drive up the price, other people can undercut them by growing their own wheat and selling it. But when oil becomes scarce it's not so easy for someone else to ramp up production.\n\nWhen the price of oil from the middle east goes up, other countries start pulling oil from harder-to-reach places, like oil sands and deep sea wells. This is effective but requires lots of money and time.", "This isn't Chevron and Exxon and BP colluding - this is the **sovereign nation** of Russia making an agreement with the **Kingdom** of Saudi Arabia" ] }
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[ [], [], [], [] ]
rtkwo
can someone give me a simple explanation for what exactly is "boolean logic"?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/rtkwo/can_someone_give_me_a_simple_explanation_for_what/
{ "a_id": [ "c48jzb6", "c48m251", "c48mj1m", "c48nz8g" ], "score": [ 35, 2, 2, 4 ], "text": [ "So basically Boolean Algebra (logic) is more or less a way of determining if something is \"true\" or not given some inputs. \n\nNot quite LY5 yet, but we'll get there in a sec.\n\nSo imagine you want to get a dog -- but wait! Not just any dog! You tell your dad, \"I want a dog that is: brown or white, and male, and neutered.\"\n\nSo now you have a set of requirements. For simplicity's sake you can say that a condition is either true (1) or false (0). For example, if you see an American Eskimo (white dog), you can say that the white requirement is satisfied, or that it's true (1). We can use the number 1 as \"true\" and the number 0 as \"false\" to simplify it.\n\nSo now we can take a look at boolean algebra operations. We can start with \"OR.\" So OR means that given two inputs, if either one is true, the result is true. \n\nExample: So you go to the shelter. First up, you see a Chocolate Lab (a brown dog). So the two acceptable conditions for the dog's color are brown OR white. So brown is \"true\" (1). Now white is also acceptable, but white is \"false\" (0). However, since at least one of the two inputs for brown and white is true (the dog is brown), the OR condition is satisfied. In other words, for the OR operation, the only way it's false is if both inputs are false. \n\nbrown OR white possibilities:\n\n* brown is true (1), white is true (1). result: OR is true (1) (both are true)\n* brown is true (1), white is false (0). result: OR is true (1) (at least one is true)\n* brown is false (0), white is true (1). result: OR is true (1) (at least one is true)\n* brown is false (0), white is false (0). result: OR is false (0) (both are false) \n\nCool! So your color requirement is satisfied. The result of brown OR white is true. Lets look at your next requirement: the dog must be male. So now we have a new boolean operation: AND. What AND means is that given two inputs, **both** must be true (1) for the operation to be true. \n\nSo lets say the Chocolate Lab is female. The color input is true (1), but the \"is male\" input is false (0) since the dog is female. However your requirement is that the dog has to be both -- right color AND male.\n\nright color AND male possibilities:\n\n* right color is true (1), male is true (1). result: AND is true (1) (both are true)\n* right color is true (1), male is false (0). result: AND is false (0) (only one is true)\n* right color is false (0), male is true (1). result: AND is false (0) (only one is true)\n* right color is false (0), male is false (0). result: AND is false (0) (both are false)\n\nSo you can see that the Lab falls under option 2: right color, not male, so she doesn't fit your requirements.\n\nSo lets say you find another Chocolate Lab that's brown AND male. However, it's just a puppy, and he hasn't been neutered yet. So now you have two more inputs: right color/right sex (rc/rs) is true (1), neutered is false (0). Since you need the dog to be rc/rs AND neutered, that puppy is out since neutered is false (0).\n\nFinally you come across a white, male, neutered border collie. So it's -- brown OR white (white = true), AND male (male = true), AND neutered (neutered = true). The perfect dog!\n\nSo what's this all mean? Boolean algebra is a way of determining true/false, given a set of rules and binary (true/false, 1/0) inputs. If you think about it, you can break just about anything into true/false.\n\nHowever, where it really comes into play and shines is with *computers*. Computers are made up of circuits that can only really recognize two states: on or off... true or false... 1 or 0. In other words, while circuitry can be super complex, what it ultimately boils down to can be represented with boolean algebra.\n\nBoolean algebra has more operations than AND and OR but those two are easy to introduce boolean logic with. There's also a whole system of symbols that represent these operations, and even circuitry symbols that represent them as well. \n\nHopefully this is a decent primer to Boolean Algebra (logic).", "Another way to think of boolean logic is that it is just arithmetic, but with some differences:\n\n* There are only two possible numbers, 0 and 1.\n* Any result greater than 1 gets counted as 1.\n\nAND is like multiplication: 1 × 1 = 1, but anything times zero is zero.\n\nOR is like addition: 0 + 0 = 0, but anything plus one is one.", "Well, the first thing to say is that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as \"Boolean logic.\" There's **Boolean algebra** and **propositional logic** (also called **sentential logic**).\n\nThere is a branch of mathematics and philosophy called **logic**, which studies something called **valid arguments**. An argument is a set of reasons given to believe a sentence called the **conclusion**. An argument is structured this way:\n\n* A set of sentences called **premises**, which we assume to be true.\n* A sequence of reasoning steps called the **derivation**. Each of these steps is justified by appealing to certain rules.\n* A final sentence called the **conclusion**.\n\nAn argument is **valid** if (and only if) the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conditions; that is, if it's impossible for any situation exist where the premises are true but the conclusion is not.\n\nNow, **algebra** is a different thing; [to quote the Wikipedia article](_URL_0_), is \"the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures.\"\n\n**Boolean algebra** is a specific kind of algebra that has a lot of similarities with a type of logic called **classical propositional logic**. The symbols in Boolean algebra can be interpreted to mean many of the same concepts of propositional logic. But:\n\n* The set of axioms and rules for Boolean algebra is not the same as the set of rules for classical propositional logic. They are *equivalent*, meaning that if you use one you get the same results as the other, but this is effectively like reaching the same destination from two different starting points.\n* Boolean algebra *corresponds* to classical propositional logic, but also to other things that are not logic. For example, you can interpret the boolean 1 as the universal set, 0 as the empty set, \"or\" as set union and \"and\" as set intersection, and the Boolean algebra works out. \n* When mathematicians study Boolean algebra, they will compare it and contrast it to other kinds of algebra that don't have a lot to do with logic. When logicians study classical propositional logic, they will compare it to other types of logic that don't have a lot to do with algebra.\n", "big kid : give me that chocolate.\n\nlittle kid : no, its mine.\n\nbig kid : alright, i'll let you have chocolate NAND teeth.\n\nthat's bullyean logic." ] }
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[ [], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra" ], [] ]
n7wdd
haskell programming language
I hear about it from time to time. Just reading [this](_URL_0_) post and its comments about how elegant(?) it is. People seem to like the language a lot (or felt pleased when they used it), but for every proponent of the language there seemed to be someone to counter the point being made. The way I understand it is that it doesn't use a lot of libraries so you have to be creative in how you program your goal. I'm a mechanical engineering college student so I don't know very much about programming.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/n7wdd/eli5_haskell_programming_language/
{ "a_id": [ "c36ysc9", "c36ywqv", "c36ysc9", "c36ywqv" ], "score": [ 2, 4, 2, 4 ], "text": [ "So here's the difference between functional programming and imperative programming. If you're writing an imperative program to make waffles, it's like saying \"take out waffle mix; put it in the pan; turn the stove on; let cook; apply butter\". If you wrote that using a functional language like Haskell, it would be more like saying \"apply butter to what you'd get if you let cook what you'd have if you put in a pan what you'd have if you had taken out waffle mix.\"\n\nOkay, that analogy may have made no sense. Basically, a functional language maintains no information about \"state\", where state is like your current memory snapshot. Like in a loop, for (i=1 to 0) sum + a[i], you know at a certain point \"i is 3\" and then later it changes i to 4. You don't have this information in Haskell or OCaml. This makes it impossible to use loop constructs, so instead you have to use recursive definitions. You can't have arrays (meaningfully) so you have stacks built on linked lists. Things of that nature.\n\nFunctional languages are similar to math. You would write a function to compute factorial as something like \"let fact(n) = if n = 1 then n else n*fact(n-1)\" which is like a definition someone would write in math, as opposed to \"let x = n; let prod = 1; while (x > 1) { prod := prod * x; x := x - 1 } return prod\", which is more like an explicit \"recipe.\"", "Computers were originally theorized as machines for 'running' mathematical algorithms. The mathematical theories have developed a language and methods that are not part of the common notions for doing things. Mathematics says \"type theory, recursion, lambda calculus, monads, arrows!\", while common languages says \"loops, boxes, factories, messages, processes!\"\n\nHaskell takes advantage of the mathematical language of computing. If you really want to learn about what computers can do and what the theories behind algorithms are, Haskell is good for you. If you want to get something *done*, it's much easier to 'just do it', rather than thinking about it first. Haskell requires you to think first. You *have* to know what you are doing, and you can't really just play around and see what it does.\n", "So here's the difference between functional programming and imperative programming. If you're writing an imperative program to make waffles, it's like saying \"take out waffle mix; put it in the pan; turn the stove on; let cook; apply butter\". If you wrote that using a functional language like Haskell, it would be more like saying \"apply butter to what you'd get if you let cook what you'd have if you put in a pan what you'd have if you had taken out waffle mix.\"\n\nOkay, that analogy may have made no sense. Basically, a functional language maintains no information about \"state\", where state is like your current memory snapshot. Like in a loop, for (i=1 to 0) sum + a[i], you know at a certain point \"i is 3\" and then later it changes i to 4. You don't have this information in Haskell or OCaml. This makes it impossible to use loop constructs, so instead you have to use recursive definitions. You can't have arrays (meaningfully) so you have stacks built on linked lists. Things of that nature.\n\nFunctional languages are similar to math. You would write a function to compute factorial as something like \"let fact(n) = if n = 1 then n else n*fact(n-1)\" which is like a definition someone would write in math, as opposed to \"let x = n; let prod = 1; while (x > 1) { prod := prod * x; x := x - 1 } return prod\", which is more like an explicit \"recipe.\"", "Computers were originally theorized as machines for 'running' mathematical algorithms. The mathematical theories have developed a language and methods that are not part of the common notions for doing things. Mathematics says \"type theory, recursion, lambda calculus, monads, arrows!\", while common languages says \"loops, boxes, factories, messages, processes!\"\n\nHaskell takes advantage of the mathematical language of computing. If you really want to learn about what computers can do and what the theories behind algorithms are, Haskell is good for you. If you want to get something *done*, it's much easier to 'just do it', rather than thinking about it first. Haskell requires you to think first. You *have* to know what you are doing, and you can't really just play around and see what it does.\n" ] }
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[ "http://www.reddit.com/r/coding/duplicates/lfv4k/why_not_haskell/" ]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
28y3pk
how can adware companies run business operations that are based on such ideas as reinstalling malware?
My SO is suffering heavily from a malware called " costmin" that seems to have snuck onto her laptop. Tried deleting it, registry wipe and all. The software will always reinstall it and it's friends on reboot. So could someone please explain to me how these companies can legally stay in business or build and run these sort of software? This question seems especially interesting when they are directly promoting a paid for subscription with customer support etc.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28y3pk/eli5_how_can_adware_companies_run_business/
{ "a_id": [ "cifkoge" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Legally, they can't. But when you're operating out of a small Eastern European country that won't extradite you and you make sure not to attract any attention in your own country, there really isn't anything anyone can do." ] }
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431mfs
since the cold is a very common viral infection of the upper respiratory tract, why does it seem like it is most common during cold winter months?
I understand that correlation doesn't indicate causation, but it seems like during colder winter months more people get colds. Since the common cold is a viral infection, why do more people become infected with the virus during colder weather?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/431mfs/eli5_since_the_cold_is_a_very_common_viral/
{ "a_id": [ "czerga5", "czes06z", "czezj5e" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Although there is not quite a scientific consensus on this topic, various plausible reasons have been suggested--from the immune system being weakened by cold conditions to people spending more time indoors and thus spreading the virus more quickly.", "The immune system being weakened by cold weather is a very common misconception. The real reason is that we stay indoors longer - therefore we are around germs and other possible stuff that could infect us more. CNN actually did a really good piece about the myth that cold weather causes our immune system to be weaker or CAUSES the cold. here it is: _URL_0_", "The epithelia and mucous membranes in the respiratory tract need to be moisturized to provide protection. Cold dry air lowers this protection and the viruses can enter more easily. Your immune system might catch up and clean your system of the virus after sime time, but the first and most important defense against the cold virus are the epithelia. " ] }
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[ [], [ "http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/health/upwave-colds/" ], [] ]
7m6x21
how does the scottish central banking system work and how is it connected to the british central bank?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7m6x21/eli5_how_does_the_scottish_central_banking_system/
{ "a_id": [ "drrtene", "drrthth", "drrtjuk" ], "score": [ 2, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "There is no separate Scottish central bank, the Bank of England is the central bank for the whole UK. Three Scottish banks do retain the right to print banknotes, but those notes are (almost all) backed by Bank of England notes.", "There is no Scottish central bank. Its central bank is the Bank of England, which despite the name is the central bank of the entire UK.\n\nSome commercial banks have the right to issue banknotes in Scotland, but these are still British pounds, the same currency used in the rest of the UK.", "Edit: \n\nNever mind, I found it. (_URL_0_)\n\nThe ELI5 is that three Scottish banks issue notes but need to have British pounds in their safe corresponding to the Scottish pounds in circulation. The British pounds in their safes have denominations as high as 1 million pound notes. " ] }
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[ [], [], [ "https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/banknotes/scottish-northern-ireland/scottish-and-northern-ireland-regime-approach.pdf?la=en&amp;hash=A9ECA989464087576AB67BAF6EA10344F5B56696" ] ]
5hf74s
does it take the same amount of gas to keep my home (or commercial building) heated to 65 degrees as it would at 45 degrees?
Obviously if both scenarios start off at zero degrees, it takes more gas to get the temperature to 65° than it does to get to 45°. But once the two temperatures have stabilized (one at 45° and one at 65° degrees in this scenario), does it take the same amount of gas to maintain the 45° temperature as it does to maintain a temperature of 65°, or would it take more gas to maintain the higher temperature?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hf74s/eli5_does_it_take_the_same_amount_of_gas_to_keep/
{ "a_id": [ "dazp9v8", "dazpdh4" ], "score": [ 3, 5 ], "text": [ "[The rate at which heat is lost from one mass to another is proportional to the difference in temperature between them](_URL_0_). The warmer your house, the faster it loses heat to the outdoors, and your furnace will have to work harder to keep up.", "Even if you have the best insulation possible, there is always going to be some heat loss. The greater the difference between the heated inside and the cold outside, the faster the heat will leave. So it takes more energy to maintain the higher temperature.\n\nThe key thing here is the difference between the inside and outside. It would take about the same amount of energy to keep the house at 65 degrees if it's 25 degrees outside as it would to keep it at 45 degrees if it was 5 degrees outside. The only reason it isn't exact is because there are other variables at play here (climate patterns, the insulating effect of snow, etc.)" ] }
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[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton's_law_of_cooling" ], [] ]
2mqwvw
how are fonts made on a computer?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mqwvw/eli5_how_are_fonts_made_on_a_computer/
{ "a_id": [ "cm6rxtd" ], "score": [ 6 ], "text": [ "There are two ways.\n\nTraditionally, each character was given a grid of pixels - maybe 8x8 pixels. A designer would then decide, for each character, which pixels are \"on\" and which are \"off\".\n\nThat worked really well in the early days of computing. The problem is that it's not very good when you want to change the size of the font. Because of that, modern fonts don't work that way. Instead, the designer creates a series of instructions - draw a line here, make the line a bit thicker here, draw a curve here. These types of fonts can be scaled up or down easily, and pretty much all modern fonts use this technique." ] }
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43dalc
why do males seem to care so much about the size of their genitals?
What does having a large, throbbing dick do for anyone except for make the use of pants and shorts more painful?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43dalc/eli5_why_do_males_seem_to_care_so_much_about_the/
{ "a_id": [ "czhefr6", "czhem0h", "czhepk3" ], "score": [ 12, 4, 6 ], "text": [ "Because genitalia have been likened to masculinity. The more penis you have the more of a man you are thus more likely to attract a partner.\n\nWe can thank porn and low self esteem for this", "Because women supposedly care so much, and telling a man that they basically can't satisfy a woman would be pretty painful for any guy. \n\nImagine how a woman would feel if a guy said their vagina was too loose to enjoy the sex. The girl would be mortified.", "Why do females seem to care so much about the size of their breasts?" ] }
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[ [], [], [] ]
3bswug
why do suspension bridges have curved/loose main cables rather than straight/taut?
For example the Golden Gate Bridge has two main cables which smaller suspension cables hang off from. The two main cables are curved rather than straight. Like a parabola.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3bswug/eli5_why_do_suspension_bridges_have_curvedloose/
{ "a_id": [ "csp77kj", "csp8onk", "cspaeus" ], "score": [ 7, 3, 5 ], "text": [ "If you made the top cable straight then the extra tension would just be adding more force trying to pull the towers inwards, and you'd have to build stronger towers. It doesn't really make any difference to the roadway whether it's hanging from a straight cable or one which is allowed to form a parabola.", "It's not just like a parabola - it *is* a parabola (assuming the weight of the cables is negligible compared to the weight of the deck). This is because the load supported by the cable is constant along it's length - suspension bridges have lots of smaller cables running from the main cable to the deck. The tension in each of these smaller cables is the same.\n\n\nIf the main cables were connected to the bridge at only one point, then they would be straight - but then the rest of the deck would be unsupported, and you might as well just build an extra support column and not bother with a suspension bridge. If you add more connections, the main cables will be bent, and if you add enough of the bends will combine to form a continuous curve.\n\nIf the cables aren't connected to the deck anywhere, i.e. they are only supporting their own weight (or the weight of the deck is negligible), then the shape formed is a [cantenary](_URL_0_), which looks like a parabola but isn't. You see this shape in simple rope bridges.\n", "Take about 20 feet or more of rope, tie one end off, and pull it taut. Get your eye close to it and sight along it. You will note that it is *NOT* a straight line. Pull the rope as taut as you like, it will *NEVER* be a straight line. Gravity causes the rope to sag. And, the heavier the rope, the longer the length, the more it will sag, at any tautness. The main cables of a suspension bridge sag even more due to the weight of the road deck they must support." ] }
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[ [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary#Suspension_bridge_curve" ], [] ]
26oksq
after a man gets a vasectomy, why don't his testicles rot or turn to mush inside of him?
I'm pretty sure they stay alive, but how?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/26oksq/eli5_after_a_man_gets_a_vasectomy_why_dont_his/
{ "a_id": [ "chszje8", "chszjlr" ], "score": [ 6, 2 ], "text": [ "The only thing that gets cut is the tube that carries the sperm to the penis - the vas-deferens. The testicles still have a blood-supply", "Well, the procedure of a vasectomy is cutting off the lines through which the semen travels to the prostate, or from the prostate to the urethra. What it basically does is preventing the actual semen from coming out. There is still a form of ejaculation because the prostate produces liquid that is normally used to help the semen travel through the urethra and on it's way to find the egg. The ejaculation simply doesn't contain any spermcells. \nFor the answer to your question: The reason why your balls don't \"rot\" or \"die\" or whatever is because they're still conected to your bloodflow and nerves. The vasectomy prevents the sperm cells from coming out. It doesn't mean your balls have been cut of complete from your body.\n\nTL;DR : vasectomy sabotages the supply line, it doesn't disconnect your balls completely from your body.\n\nEDIT: Spelling" ] }
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3ywumr
why we perceive a ringing sound in complete silence
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ywumr/eli5_why_we_perceive_a_ringing_sound_in_complete/
{ "a_id": [ "cyhaf9r" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "It's called \"tinnitus\". It's pretty common. About 10-15% of people have it in some form.\n\nBasically, for one reason or another, your ears make up noise when there is nothing present. May be from damage due to loud noises, infection, brain tumors, disease, head injury, or even just earwax buildup. (Personally, I have some loud noise damage, but the ringing has gotten quieter over the years as I've stayed away from loud noise.)\n\nIf it's just something you notice in complete silence that doesn't bother you otherwise, and it doesn't get any worse over time, there isn't much to worry about. If it distracts you, keeps you from sleeping, worsens, or in other ways effects your quality of life, consult a doctor/audiologist. " ] }
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1l3xog
if a black hole's gravity is infinite, why hasn't everything been consumed by one?
Full question that makes a bit more sense: If a black hole's density is infinite, and therefore it's gravitational pull is infinite, how come everything in the universe hasn't been consumed by one yet? I can't find a good answer online. My theory is that a black hole millions of light years away *is* affecting us, but it's pull has become so weak from the distance that it barely does anything. Although, mathematically speaking, an infinite pull wouldn't explain that. **Edit:** Guys, just because the subreddit is called "Explain Like I'm Five" doesn't mean I'm actually five. You won't scare me away with terms like "event horizon" or "singularity".
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l3xog/eli5_if_a_black_holes_gravity_is_infinite_why/
{ "a_id": [ "cbvj5oa", "cbvkbli", "cbvl16o", "cbvl2we" ], "score": [ 8, 4, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Neither a black hole's mass nor gravitational pull are infinite. Both are impossible to be infinite. It's DENSITY, however, is NEARLY infinite.", "Things don't \"have gravity\". They have mass, which creates a certain amount of gravitational pull.\n\nBlack holes don't have infinite mass, so they don't have an infinitely strong pull. If they did then everything in the universe would instantly be pulled into them.", "I'm no professional theoretical physicist, by as I understand it, black holes all have an event horizon which is basically the border where if you or anything including lihht passes, it gets sucked in. Past that, the gravitational pull is not so \"infinite\". Also what the other responses say about being effectively infinite past the event horizon and whatnot seems to make more sense as nothing (??) can actually be infinite. ", "Its gravity is strong enough that it requires speed greater than light to escape so nothing can escape it. Gravity decreases at the rate of the square of the distance from it. So other galaxies and stuff are not effected by ours, and most things orbit around the block hole, the same reason we don't fall into our sun." ] }
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[ [], [], [], [] ]