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22cxly
|
why does the phrase "all but [adjective]" mean what it means?
|
For example, the sentence "This fortress is all but impenetrable" is intended to mean "this fortress is impenetrable". Grammatically, shouldn't it mean "this fortress is everything except impenetrable"? Why is it used colloquially as the opposite?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22cxly/eli5_why_does_the_phrase_all_but_adjective_mean/
|
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"It is a fancy way of saying almost. As in:\n\n\"No fortress is completely impenetrable, but this one is pretty darn close.\"\n\nIt is used to give the impression of a quality, but prevent the speaker from being contradicted by later events. Someone describing the *Titanic* might use the term \"all but unsinkable\" to give the impression of its size and strength, to build contrast towards its tragic end.",
"It *does* mean what you grammatically say it means. If we say it's 'all but impenetrable', we mean it is exceptionally difficult - but possible - to penetrate it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
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|
3m6f3x
|
why is "dutch" used in a lot of insults / sexual positions in the english language?
|
Like for real though: _URL_0_
I'm dutch and have never understood this.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3m6f3x/eli5_why_is_dutch_used_in_a_lot_of_insults_sexual/
|
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"Depends of the idiom referenced:\n\n\n\nWelsh on a bet originated from people fleeing to Wales to avoid paying gambling debts.\n\n\n\nGoing Dutch is from the stereotype that the dutch are cheap that probably stemmed from lingering resentment from the dutch-anglo war. \n\n\n\nThe reason I hate the Dutch is because you weirdos put sprinkles on toast.",
"The English and Dutch were enemies and major rivals in the 17th century, during the Dutch East India company high days. This meant having to compete with and getting beaten by the Dutch in exploration, trade and such. This of course doesn't leave a favourable opinion of the Dutch and led to many negative stereotypes. There became a point where Dutch just meant \"opposite to the norm\", which has persisted.\n\nIf you really want to get the full extent of it, [here's](_URL_0_) something to read up on."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://imgur.com/xkwdIpQ"
] |
[
[],
[
"http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/files/2613/6700/9122/DISSING_THE_DUTCH.pdf"
]
] |
|
2cd7v6
|
why is it impossible to monitor both a particle's position and momentum at the same time?
|
I am trying to familiarize myself with basic physics and cannot get past this, don't want to move forward until I understand it.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2cd7v6/eli5why_is_it_impossible_to_monitor_both_a/
|
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"It's not that we cannot monitor them simultaneously, it's that they *cannot possibly* be simultaneously known. This stems from the basic postulates of quantum mechanics. The uncertainty of these two variables is fundamental in nature, not a measurement issue. The uncertainty is intrinsic to the particle, as it has wavelike properties.\n\nNow, it's not really possible to say *why* they're like this - it's just how the universe is. It's pretty simple to show how. By doing some maths you can arrive at the relationship between the uncertainties in position and momenta, given the five postulates and some experimental verification to work off.",
"Really good explaination [here](_URL_0_).\n",
"You've heard particles are like waves right? While it's not the full story, lets consider them as waves for now. Now, think of a particle with a momentum as a ripple in a pond. Is the wave in one place? No, in fact, it can spread out an incredibly large distance! \n\nSo then how do we ever get particles that look like they're in one place?\n\nWell, waves can interact with each other. More specifically, they can combine to become even bigger waves, or cancel each other out to become smaller or even nothing. You can try to picture this in your head, but remember the details don't matter for this explanation. Just wrap your head around the fact that they CAN do this for some combination of waves.\n\nSo you have your original wave. We can add a second wave to it that cancels it out, but only in some places. There are now two waves, but that combine to form wave takes up less space then either one. We can add more and more. Until we have all of these waves that happen to add up to just one tiny area being the only one that moves.\n\nThat is now a particle acting like a particle. It now has one position. But what are all these waves we're adding?\n\nEach wave corresponds to a momentum the particle can have!\n\nSo, you can have many waves (momenta) combine to make a single small area (one position), or you can have one wave (one momentum) and have it spread over a large area (many position). You can also have any combination in between. \n\nBut you CANNOT have both. Ever. For any reason. It's NOT because of the way we measure them. It is the fundamental structure of the particle. It is how the universe works regardless of whether we are looking at it or not!"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
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[],
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"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgoA_jmGIcA&index=6&list=UUvBqzzvUBLCs8Y7Axb-jZew"
],
[]
] |
|
bn9v2z
|
why does fruit start to stink so much when it becomes rotten?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bn9v2z/eli5_why_does_fruit_start_to_stink_so_much_when/
|
{
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"Because when fruit decomposes it grows bacteria that eat away at it and release different gases, stuff like CO2 methane and hydrogen sulfide",
"I think we have evolved to be disgusted by the smell of rotten food because eating it would make us sick. Just think about it, before modern medicine people who ate spoiled food would die, preventing them from passing down their genes.\n\nThis is why animals who can eat rotten food like houseflies or vultures are not revolted by those smells."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
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[],
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|
2gx7ds
|
why do we still vote for a representative when technology could allow everyone to vote themselves?
|
Having someone represent you in government when the majority of people were farmers made sense... but now almost everyone has access to a smart phone or at least a library with public computers.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gx7ds/eli5_why_do_we_still_vote_for_a_representative/
|
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"text": [
"Because not everyone has the time to sit down and deliberate over every choice. While we do have a library in our pocket, we certainly don't have time to read the entire thing.",
"Every year congress looks at *thousands* of piece of legislation. They require the full-time support of dozens of people to keep up with all the details. It wouldn't be reasonable to expect the general public to be able to keep up with & make informed decisions on all of them.\n\nBeyond that, congress routinely debates & revises laws in the process of passing them. There's no reasonable way to expand that to the whole population.",
"Using technology to vote would be a terrible, terrible idea. Security issues would ruin it and we'd end up electing Mickey Mouse.",
"Because the system is rigged to the benefit of those who currently run it. For example, how often have those in power voted to pay more taxes or to be more accountable. Not where I live.\n\nAllowing direct voting would mean that governments would have to hoard less information, share more power out and educate people more. None of this is in the interests of perpetuating the current system so don't expect it to happen without a revolution. Then again, is someone ran a successful revolution why would he share power with you"
]
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|
3slimr
|
why can bones snap so easily if they can support so much weight?
|
Why is it that if bones can support so much weight they snap so easily? You'd think something THAT strong wouldn't break as easily as they do sometimes.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3slimr/eli5why_can_bones_snap_so_easily_if_they_can/
|
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"Materials have multiple \"strength\" properties. One is compressive strength - how strong it is when mass is put on it. Ceramic is pretty good here and why we make toilets and bricks out of it.\n\nAnother property is tensile strength - this is how well the material deals with forces causing it come apart when it is deformed or \"pulled\" or how well it deals with force applied to one localized area. Metals are usually pretty good in this area. There's actually a few dozen materials properties relating to how a material deforms but tensile is good enough.\n\nYour bones have evolved to be really good at compressive strength (to hold you up) but less so at tensile strength. So when a bone is bent, the bone on the outside of the bend is pulled apart causing a break.\n\n",
"You'll almost never see a bone broken by applying force in the direction in which that bone is designed to be loaded. Think of it like Lego - if you stack the blocks up you can push down on them really hard and not pop them apart. Bend a stack in the middle and it falls apart readily - even more so if you pull!\n\nBone are good at what they're good at, but less so when abused."
]
}
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|
69ybhb
|
where is the pollution coming from?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69ybhb/eli5_where_is_the_pollution_coming_from/
|
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"The largest sources of pollution are fuel-burning electrical power plants, followed by the emissions from automobiles, planes, trains and ships. The other big things we're doing are massive deforestation (usually for farming) and putting dangerous products into local water tables (mining, agricultural chemicals), injuring the environment's ability to respond to the damage we're doing to it.\n\nThe first thing you can do is make a habit of avoiding driving where possible or use mass transit, and turn off the lights! Figure out ways to use less energy."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
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2ca3co
|
why can't i use wifi or data while taking off or landing on an airplane? does it really make that much of a difference?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ca3co/eli5_why_cant_i_use_wifi_or_data_while_taking_off/
|
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"text": [
"Probably not.\n\nJust a safety precaution.",
"From what I understand, you phone won't mess with the airplane. It's to ensure that you are paying attention to the safety briefing instead of being on your phone. And when they are in the air, if they have an emergency, they don't have to worry about people's phones flying around in the cabin.",
"They have the \"potential\" to interfere with the electronic systems. Mainly regarding the lights to let the pilots know about errors or malfunctions occuring on the plane.",
"I've been taught that the real actual reason is the period of time during takeoff and landing while the plane is below 10,000ft is the time when an accident is most likely to take place. Basically, they want you paying attention to what is happening rather than dicking around on your phone.\n\nSource: Studied aviation at Purdue, haven't worked a single job utilizing my actual degree, currently working with massive mobile cranes and loving it."
]
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1p2642
|
if marijuana were legalized, would employers no longer be able to discriminate against employees who chose to smoke? how would legalization affect things like government security clearance, or positions of high responsibility like an ambulance driver or pilot?
|
I am NOT talking about being high at work. I'm talking about whether or not an employment decision could be made based on legal activities someone does outside of work in a manner that for the purposes of this discussion can be assumed not to affect their work performance.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p2642/eli5_if_marijuana_were_legalized_would_employers/
|
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"text": [
"Marijuana users are not a protected class. It's perfectly legal to discriminate against them.",
"It would be the same as drinking.. employers don't tolerate that either.",
"Well I'll tell you this. I worked in public safety in Colorado when it was legalized there. They quickly released a memo stating that even if it was legal in the state, it was illegal federally, and their policy on it showing up in a drug test (pre-employment or post-employment/random) would not change. \n\nAlso, every public safety employer and health care employer I've worked for, and I'm sure employers like airlines etc, have policies that forbid employees to use any kind of drug or medication that could affect their job performance or mental status. This could be alcohol, marijuana, or certain cough medicines. So going to work high is not going to be okay. \n\nI imagine if there were widespread legalization, in theory it would be treated like alcohol. They can't really say you can't get drunk on your days off, but if you come in to work altered, you could be in big trouble. The problem with marijuana, though, is how much longer it shows up in tests. So if I'm driving an ambulance and get in an accident, almost every EMS agency in the country would automatically subject me to drug and alcohol testing. Now I could get wasted every night but as long as my blood alcohol level is 0 at that time, I should be good. However, with marijuana, if I smoked once two weeks ago, it's going to come back positive.... but for all they know, I could have been high that day. So I imagine it will always be a tricky issue with these kinds of jobs, unless they figure out a different way to test for marijuana. \n\nEdit: Also of note, many public safety jobs (and I bet a few other \"safety-sensitive\" jobs) have psychological testing and in some cases polygraphs pre-employment. In many cases they will ask you about recreational drug use... not just illegal but legal... they'll ask if you use alcohol, how much/often, etc... if you've ever abused Rx meds, etc. They're generally okay with \"social\" use of alcohol, but if they decide you have a history of drug/alcohol abuse you'll likely get booted from the hiring process. I imagine marijuana, even if legal, would be subject to the same scrutiny. "
]
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5eoefe
|
why are computers so inaccurate at estimating download/installation times?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5eoefe/eli5_why_are_computers_so_inaccurate_at/
|
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"Because internet download and upload speeds are constantly fluctuating due to different loads on the network, so there's no way to know for sure how long a download will take. If these speeds were constant then it would be easy.",
"Internet speed is not constant. It can be 100Mb/s, 5mb/s in each second, even stop for 1 or 2 seconds.\n\nImagine a car going a 100 mile road. if you always go at 100miles/hour you can say from the beggining \"I will take an hour doing this trip\".\n\nBut if theres traffic going at 10m/h for the first 5 minutes, then stops for 10 minutes, then restarts at 15m/h you cant tell for sure how long you will take.\n\nQuickly: Internet speed is not constant, it changes very rapidly and in a large range of speeds."
]
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9oshdj
|
what is the safest most effective way to clean your ears?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9oshdj/eli5_what_is_the_safest_most_effective_way_to/
|
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"text": [
"Use wipes with a bit of water on. Don't jam the wipes into your ear, just swipe around the entrance to your ear canal. \n\nIf you want to clean the inner ear because of too much wax, you can use some special liquid or salt water and use a syringe/rubber pump to gently clean out the inner ear. The special liquid will come with some instructions... \n\nEdit: You should only clean the inner ear if you know that you need it. Under normal circumstances you need the wax as it protects your ear. Better ask your doctor if you think you need this.",
"Order the elephant ear washer online, it's the same one doctors use on patients. Only use it once or twice per year. ",
"Generally just wiping the outside of your ear is enough. If you need to clean out some excessive wax you can flush it with water after using some earwax softening drops like Debrox. You really need to be sure that you don’t have a hole in your eardrum before you put any liquid in your ear because if anything got past your eardrum that would be bad (could lead to infection). Also, stay away from anything where you stick something in your ear (q-tips, other wax removal tools) and definitely don’t use ear candles. If you have chronic problems with wax you can get a physician, nurse, or audiologist to take the wax out for you. ",
"**Please read this entire message**\n\n---\n\nYour submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\n* Information about a specific or narrow issue (personal problems, private experiences, legal questions, medical inquiries, how-to, relationship advice, etc.) are not allowed on ELI5 (Rule 2). \n\n\n\n\n---\nIf you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](_URL_1_) first. If you still feel the removal should be reviewed, please [message the moderators.](_URL_0_?)"
]
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5etqd0
|
how do microwaves and tvs continue to hold lethal levels of electricity after they have been unplugged for a long time?
|
My over-the-range microwave crapped out on me several weeks ago. From my research it appears I need to replaced a high-voltage diode. All the literature on the net says the capacitor inside the microwave can retain a lethal charge even after having been unplugged for a week. In the past I remember being told not to mess with CRT monitors and TVs for the same reason, but never gave it much thought then.
So please explain to me how voltage can remain for such a long time. And also, wouldn't there be some practical applications this could be used for in a smaller scale?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5etqd0/eli5_how_do_microwaves_and_tvs_continue_to_hold/
|
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"text": [
"Capacitors.\n\nMost electronic devices have some capacitors in them that can hold and discharge electricity.\n\nYou can think of them as sort of like batteries.\n\nIn some devices the charge in the capacitors can hold lethal levels.\n\nIt is a good idea to be careful when dealing with electronic devices. electricity can lurk everywhere even when it is unplugged.",
"Like someone also said capacitors are like batteries they charge up and store it and just like batteries they can last for years. Unlike batteries they are designed to release their stored energy all at once. "
]
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[] |
[] |
[
[],
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5yr4iu
|
stereotyping, when is it experience vs when is it a psychological bias?
|
Can someone explain when something is prejudicial or when "statistical evidence of behavior" dictates evidence of said behavior?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5yr4iu/eli5_stereotyping_when_is_it_experience_vs_when/
|
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"When you are an *adult* who allows a stereotype to dominate your perception of a person because you believe it to be true then it's a problem.\n\n\n For example, I grew up thinking white kids could just curse and talk anyway with parents. As an adult, I know that isn't the case with every white family, however, I am not surprised when I hear shocking language between white children/parents. That is a bias, albeit a small and insignificant one, but it does muck up my perception of white people. But as an *adult* I don't allow it to effect my interactions with white people.",
"\"Prejudice\" would be assuming that someone is a particular way, probably based on social indoctrination or a personal experience, when \"statistical evidence of behavior\" means that there is a large body of evidence in multiple incidences and across a large amount of time that shows a pattern. Statistics, in its own right, has no \"opinion\" and will only show bias of the person collecting the data in what conclusion they draw from it or how they might choose what data to collect. \n\n"
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2wnlnd
|
how do tv networks and radio stations know that you're tuned in to their programs?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wnlnd/eli5_how_do_tv_networks_and_radio_stations_know/
|
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"They put a kind of set top box in select peoples homes which sends them the data.\n\nSource: worked for a market research firm.",
"A combination of surveys and equipment placed in a small percentage of homes that monitors your viewing habits. Google \"Nielsen ratings\" to learn more.",
"When I was younger my family got selected to survey radio. So for a month, we carried around a brochure and recorded or estimated the stations we listened to and at what time of day. After that, they go with the law of averages. ",
"I can tell you how they get audience rating for radio in Canada. It's by a company called Numeris (formerly Bureau of Broadcast Measurement or BBM) and they have two methods. \n\nOne is a diary that they send out, you fill it in, and send it back. It is terribly inaccurate. \n\nThe newer method is a Portable People Meter (PPM) which are pager-like devices that you clip in your belt, and they can detect hidden audio tones within a station or network's audio stream, logging each time it finds such a signal. Way more accurate. \n\nFor example, the first time they used PPMs in Vancouver, the soft rock station shot to #1, just because so many places play it in the background, and people would never think to include it in their diary. ",
"My uncle gets a check for about $200/month because he participates in the research. I believe all he has to do is select who is watching the tv with him every time he turns the tv on. ",
"Generally, they don't. Ratings often come from Nielson boxes, which are given to about 5000 households throughout the US.\n\nIf you have one of these boxes, you login when you watch TV and it tells the company (Nielson) who is watching what. The box sends info every fifteen minutes.\n\nAside from that there are periods called \"sweeps\" where Nielson sends out a lot of paper surveys to ask a broader range of people what they're watching. They ask households to record what they're watching and send the survey back.\n\n",
"There are a few different proxies and measurement companies, such as Nielsen, which is mentioned in another comment.\n\nThese companies maintain a population-representative sample of people who have special equipment in their homes that lets the company know what they are watching. The company layers this over data that they collect on the number of people in each household watching a program.\n\nThe number of people in the household watching on each TV is collected in various ways. Sometimes extra equipment (video or a self-reporting station) is installed for a short period (lets say 2-4 weeks) to collect the data and create averages. Other times, it is self-reported through surveys throughout their time as a measured house.\n\nProxies for getting this data from other sources include number of people watching online (and extrapolating), number of people watching on services that collect info from everyone (Google TV for example), self-reported data, etc.\n\nPossible sources of error include those that apply for any population representative set, as well as bias that can come from being paid to be measured, and from self-reported data.\n\nTV networks buy this data, most likely from a number of sources. They also indirectly estimate it themselves, by measuring things such as tv program awareness, affinity, advertising effectiveness, etc.",
"I work at a college radio station in Los Angeles. Short answer is, we can't. We can guestimate based on the number of phone calls we receive while on air (in the past, surveys have suggested that every phone call accounts for roughly 400 listeners.)\n\nMaybe three years ago, we had a neilsen-style survey rating that suggested we have between 7,500 and 45,000 concurrent listeners between 6am and midnight on weekdays, depending on the time of day. Alternatives to terrestrial radio have changes so much since then that it's probably no longer an accurate number.",
"99% of a population can watch a TV show but if the 1% that have people meters don't than the network thinks no one is watching. It sounds like it should be flawed but surprisingly it works.",
"About twenty years ago in Florida they used these satellite-dish-looking things on the side of the road. When an FM radio receives a signal, it adjusts the frequency upwards by ten point five or something and then amplifies it internally. This is to eliminate interference. You can actually pick this up on a small radio yourself, although you need to have one that can adjust to the even-tenth frequencies (101.2, instead of 101.3 or 101.1, for example). You tune a big powerful home receiver to a lowish station, like 92.7, and then add ten point five (or ten point seven or whatever the hell it is, it's right in there) and tune another radio to that and hold them together and you can hear the same station on the second radio. \n\nSo in rush hour, you've got all these little amplifiers driving down the road transmitting whatever station they're listening to, so you park a van or whatever on the side of the road and point this dish-shaped directional antenna at the road and you can just count as people go by on the Interstate. ",
"How have you lived long enough to discover Reddit without knowing about Nielsen ratings?"
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47n1p4
|
why is military service mandatory in some countries?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/47n1p4/eli5_why_is_military_service_mandatory_in_some/
|
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"d0e52cm",
"d0e5o33",
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],
"score": [
5,
9,
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"text": [
"A military is an important thing for a nation's defense and survival. For smaller countries it can be easier to make everyone do 2-4 years, than to try and maintain a full army composed on career long members. \n\nSince everyone has to do it, it doesn't really affect the playing field career wise. Sure, I lose 2 years of my late teens/early twenties, but so does everyone else, so no one had an advantage. \n\nI was born and raised in the U.S., and honestly think that such a system might not be terrible for us as well. Our Liberal party tends to be somewhat anti-military, but pro-social services. Meanwhile our Conservative party hates providing government services, unless it is for the veterans. God forbid we provide free college the citizens, but the G.I. bill makes it affordable for veterans to go to school. It stands to reason then, that if everyone had to serve, everyone would get their school paid for. ",
"Because, contrary to popular beliefs, the military is not just a warmachine.\n\nThe military usually help with healthcare, infrastructure, and most importantly, disaster relief.\n\nIn poor countries, like Brazil, they have an important social aspect of removing teens from the streets and trying to give them some skills, food and shelter, even if only for a year. Middle/upper class teens are usually let go for the most random excuses, because the military want the poor. I was let go because I wore glasses, but if I didnt, I would be let go because I was entering my university.\n\nAnd, of course, countries like South Korea are technically at war so they dont want to see their military reduce.",
"there are some factors such as willingness in spending large amount of money for hiring soldiers compared to low paid conscripts, the size and population of a nation, the history of that nation etc.\n\nin my country, all male aged 18 and above are to serve in national service, this include Civil defense, Police, military such as arm forces, navy, air force, regardless of your race. we live in a equality society.\n\neveryone are deem to be capable for monetary defense in this case. due to my country population and location, we are of a very small nation with nothing much of natural resources except humans, our neighbors aren't the most friendliest nations and they have threaten our existence time and time again, hence having a large army which is like at least 50% of the population in our country show them that we are not weak but actually very strong compared to their paid army. (they stop doing that for many years after we form a strong, high tech army)\n\ni do also believe that by doing national service, it build characters and maturity. you will do better in what you pursue in life after your conscript period.\n\nwhile serving as a conscript, i know that during war time, everyone is protecting our families and friends unlike our enemies, this contribute to higher moral and strong brotherhood believe. which is generally the reason how warfare is about.\n\nwith all these in place, i still feel that with that 2 years of career held back, it is still worth while. its not that i'm a nationalism person, its more of that i have benefits with serving the nations, the things i learnt, the people i protect, knowing my country man will fight together as one, we are standing strong for our families."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5md4zz
|
are pranks we see on tv/youtube a legal thing to do?
|
I have seen so many pranks on unsuspecting people and I would dread to be in their position. More specifically, is there any law against the main elements of pranks:
- real scaring of unsuspecting people
- police impersonation
- public showing of the whole altercation
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5md4zz/eli5_are_pranks_we_see_on_tvyoutube_a_legal_thing/
|
{
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"text": [
"As for tv a lot of times it takes place on a \"closed off\" area and depending on how elaborate it is, the establishment is aware and surrounding police are aware just like shooting a movie. As for the stuff on YouTube, a lot of it is fake but made to look real and other times, yes they are stupid and shouldn't be doing what they are doing. ",
" > real scaring of unsuspecting people\n\nUnlikely to be illegal just on its own if no physical or long-term emotional harm was caused. However, depending on the nature of the prank it could be interpreted as a breach of the peace, which would be illegal. \n\n > police impersonation\n\nImpersonating a police officer is a crime in almost every single country. \n\n > public showing of the whole altercation\n\nPeople have a right to film in a public place and there are no specific laws that prohibit the sharing of footage taken in a public place that includes members of the public. In general, you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy while in a public place unless there are obvious reasons, e.g. a public toilet. ",
"If a prank would be illegal to do without a camera present, it's still illegal to do with a camera present. \"I'm doing this for a funny video\" is not an excuse to commit a crime or a tort (hurting a person or their property).\n\nHowever, some of the more extreme pranks are fake -- the people being pranked are actors who agreed to it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
4e99gn
|
why does music effect us differently as we get older? where does the magic go?
|
Remember the magic? I will never hear Sublime like I heard Sublime at sixteen. Windows down on the highway with hours and hours to kill.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4e99gn/eli5why_does_music_effect_us_differently_as_we/
|
{
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"d1y470g",
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4,
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"text": [
"Back then it was new, rebellious, and didn't seem too loud. I am kind of the opposite in how I feel about the songs I used to listen to. I can't stand any of the new music as I feel it is just garbage. Long live the grunge of my past! haha",
"The music we like to listen to are relevant to us in a personal way. That's why it is easy to think how music affects us. However, if you step back -- really far back -- and look at the bigger picture, the human collective actually affects music, its trends and its changes through the times. The truth is, it is more relevant than just being magical.\r\n\r\nRemember that for the makers, music is an outlet. Listeners take it in... and that's where the \"magic\" begins.\r\n\r\nHere's a good read to get you started: _URL_0_\r\n\r\nI'm sure there are also documentaries you can watch covering the same...",
"I believe there are a number of things at play with this. People are mentioning rebellious natures, maturity, etc, but I don't think that is universal. \n\nBeing more scientific about the approach:\n\n- For most, our music taste is shaped when we're in the beginning of our teen years, up through our early twenties. This coincides with the start and end of puberty--when our hormones are going crazy. We're more likely to feel emotional responses.\n\n- We typically are in transition between our Concrete Operational and Formal Operational stages of cognitive development. This may not be DIRECTLY tied, but it would allow us to view music more abstractly, and understand it more \"mathematically\" to find aesthetic value, and with this being a newer thought process, it would be more of a wonder to us.\n\n- Time relativity. You know how when you're 10, a year feels like forever, but they go faster the older you are? That's because any length of time becomes shorter and shorter the longer and longer you lived, because perception will begin to relate it to your entire existence. When I was 13, I LOVED Avenged Sevenfold. I was OBSESSED. This is a critical point of my life that seemed so character defining to me, but by the time I was 14 I could barely stand them, and by 15 I flat out hated them. But those 9 months of them being my favorite band seemed like eternity to me because it was such a high percentage of my life to that point. Now, if I've been listening to a band for 9 months, I consider myself a casual fan. \n\n - There are albums that came out 4 years ago that I still consider \"new\", where as, when I was 18, I'd have considered albums that came out 5 years prior to have been \"classics\". Soundgarden was one of my favorite bands in 2002-3, but was of an era gone past to me. Comparitively, Tool's 10,000 days seems recent and of a modern era to me, but it's older now than Soundgarden was then.\n\n- Actual time for leisure. When I was 13, I got home from school at 2:30p and went to bed around 1:00a. While I did have homework to do and maybe social things to do, most of the rest of my time was stress free and activity free. As such, music wasn't \"background noise\" to me much how it is now. I could sit down and listen to a song, maybe chatting online with friends, but I'd hear every second of that song due to there not being much else on my mind. Similarly, I listened to music with headphones on, paying nearly 100% attention on the 15 minute walk to and from school, and the 5-10 minute passing periods between class.\n\nCompare all of that to now at 27, and it's not that music is \"less important\" (I go to shows far more frequently now than then) or that I'm \"less rebellious\" (I never really WAS rebellious)--whether or not those things may be true, I don't see them as large factors in why it's hard to become as immersed in music. Scientifically and mathematically, there are reasons why I felt so immersed in music when I was 13-18 as opposed to now at 27."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-now/2012-06/from-editor"
],
[]
] |
|
obk1b
|
the current state/progress of sopa, protect-ip, or similar legislation, and the state/progress of the opposition
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/obk1b/eli5_the_current_stateprogress_of_sopa_protectip/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c3g0al3",
"c3g1pqt"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"wondering the same thing brother....",
"Both are in committee. The opposition consists of not allowing them to become law. I'm not sure what else to say to that."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
6a4vu2
|
how does working a certain muscle group burn fat specifically in that area of the body?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6a4vu2/eli5_how_does_working_a_certain_muscle_group_burn/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dhboz7o",
"dhbp0qu"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"It doesn't. Targeted fat burn is a myth. Studies have shown consistently that fat loss is generalized over the body.",
"Simple answer: \n\nIt doesn't. \n\nFat is burned over your whole body. Simply training e.g. abs won't make your fat around your stomach disappear. The thing is though that fat \"sticks longer\" in certain places than others. You will lose fat around your arms and legs faster than around your stomach. Obviously the more muscles you have the more you will see them which might cause the impression of you losing fat at specific parts of the body."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
3ko6o4
|
why do banks get to charge 20% for credit cards and i only get 0.01% for a savings account?
|
Seems pretty unfair to me.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ko6o4/eli5why_do_banks_get_to_charge_20_for_credit/
|
{
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"text": [
"how exactly is that unfair? it is *their* services that *they* are providing for *their* price. they are allowed to do it because they are a business and are allowed to make profit and charge their customers for their services",
"The credit card that I use has a much lower interest rate. Part of the interest rate is to cover losses from people who default. If you're a good risk, you might be offered a better rate.",
"What OP is questioning is the spread between paying a bank 20% for using their money (credit card), while only receiving .01% when they are using his money (savings account). Certainly there should be some spread -- that's the bank's operating revenue and profits -- but the extreme difference may seem excessive even factoring in those considerations and risk differences (credit card user isn't insured against non-payment, while savings accounts have FDIC backing).",
"They don't charge any percent if you pay the balance off, and now that credit reports show transacting versus revolving credit it helps your credit to be a transactor! ",
"Interest rates on loans are in large part a measure of the risk involved -- part of the point of an interest rate is to convince you to give someone your money when there's a risk you may not get it back. (the rest of this answer is somewhat US-specific, FYI)\n\nYour savings account is guaranteed. There is essentially no chance you will lose the money *even if the bank goes bankrupt*, because it is insured by the US government. In contrast, there's a decent chance a bank will lose money from a credit card loan. You are more likely to go bankrupt than the United States government, and so loans to you are more risky than loans to a bank. Even worse for the bank, if you go bankrupt they just lose the money they lent you for the credit card (with most loans, there's some collateral that they get to keep if you go bankrupt; with credit cards, there is none).\n\nThat doesn't explain all the disparity; some of it is due to the fact that people are willing to accept those rates, and banks need to make money (which is easier if savings accounts are virtually interest-free loans to the bank). But even in the absence of \"customers are willing to pay it,\" one would expect credit card rates to be much higher than savings accouint rates.",
"You're free to charge 20% interest too. Joining a p2p lending club and pick \"highest risk\" and you get about that. Ends up being closer to 12-13% generally due to defaults/bankruptcy.",
"It is unfair. It's also how banks make money. They're a for profit business, not a charity. \n\nAlso, \n\n > 20% interest for credit cards\n\nI pay 0% interest for credit cards. If you pay your bill on time, there is no interest. You get to borrow money for free, what could be better? ",
"You don't put money in a savings account to get high returns, you put it in a savings account because that is extremely safe. If you want higher returns, look at index/mutual funds. ",
"In a developed economy interest on credit is how economies grow by introducing new money into it aka interest. Banks are licensed to do this by the government. I believe the only other way is quantitative easing where the central bank introduces deep lines of credit to the banks.",
"Because of people like me who have paid 0 (zero) in interest and have made about $5,000 in rewards in 8 years or so. It's the only way they can make money",
"risk vs reward. higher risk = higher reward. your savings account is guaranteed by the federal government up to $250k. very little risk so the bank pays you very little to say \"thanks for letting us make some money with your money.\" on the other hand, the bank has no guarantee that you will pay back money owed from credit card debit you have incurred. if/when you prove yourself to be of little credit risk, you get a better credit score and better borrowing terms. \n\nultimately, its not unfair because you voluntarily entered into this situation",
"Because that's how they make their money. When you put money into your bank account, you're lending it to the bank. It doesn't just sit there, the bank immediately takes it and lends it to someone else. That someone else pays a bigger interest than you're getting, and the difference is the bank's profit.",
"Wait, what? Why are you paying any interest on a credit card? It's not the company's fault you're terrible with money. Why would you keep your money in a 0.01% savings account when it's just as easy to move it to one that gets at least 0.9%. So I guess the 'explain' here is that you're just not good with money?",
"Credit cards are a rip off designed to put you into debt. Live within your financial means instead of wasting your money on the race to the bottom. ",
"In both cases it's basically just a loan given by one person/organization to another. There is nothing stopping you from getting loan that you only have to pay 0.01% on, you just have to find someone willing to give you the loan. Likewise for a loan where you get 20% interest from the person you loan money to. The reason it seems like the bank is always getting the better end of the deal is because they are. They have far, far, more money than you and so they don't really *need* your business. You, on the other hand likely need to put your savings somewhere and you need to have access to the things a credit card provides. So they have the leverage and therefore can demand better terms. ",
"They set the rates.\n\nYou can ask them for your own savings rates if you want, and they will say no thanks, go away. Exactly the same as you can do to them.",
"As some other posters have said, you're unhappy with the \"spread\" between what they're charging on loans and what they're paying on deposits.\n\nCredit cards are an inherently risky form of lending for the lender since they are fraught with defaults and fraud. It's like asking why your car insurance costs you $3/day but when you rent a car and want to buy the damage waiver it's $20/day. Different risk levels/perception.\n\nIMHO mortgage rates are a better spread to look at. Banks are lending house money at what? 3-4%?\n\nEither way, you do have options. You can shop-around for better rates (I'm getting 0.15% on a savings account and pay 6% on my credit card), or you can protest by simply removing your money from the bank and holding it in cold hard cash. You can also spend it and, assuming no deflation will exist, stockpile commodities that you're going to need in the future at today's prices. Clear some shelves downstairs and buy a lifetime supply of toilet paper. \n\nI can empathize with the older Redditors here. I recall having money in a plain money market account which, though not federally insured, was reasonably safe, and getting like 7% returns. The interest rates have been so low for so long it's almost normalized to be nothing now, for saving or lending. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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[]
] |
|
21bxnw
|
how can companies legally sell the same exact product but market it differently and charge different prices? examples in text
|
I went to purchase some Zicam and there were 2 boxes that were identical except for the word "ultra" on the package. The active ingredients were exactly the same and both boxes were priced the same but the Ultra only contained 18 pills as opposed to 25 on the regular one. I checked with the pharmacist and I was told that the products were the same exact thing.
I have also noticed in the past where sunblock has been marketed differently (children's, sport, regular) and sold at different prices when the active ingredients are the same.
How is this legal? Isn't it basically false advertising?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/21bxnw/eli5_how_can_companies_legally_sell_the_same/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cgbjib6"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"In regards to Zicam vs Zicam Ultra, while the active ingredients are identical, it's the *concentration* of those ingredients that differs. Ultra has a higher concentration, which means that a single dose will have a stronger impact on your body than the regular version. Children's Zicam will contain a lower concentration of the active ingredients as their smaller bodies don't need as much as an adult."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
29f1gz
|
why does the hair on our head stop at a hair line instead of just growing onto our face?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29f1gz/eli5_why_does_the_hair_on_our_head_stop_at_a_hair/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cikaawu"
],
"score": [
13
],
"text": [
"The reason this may have developed is because humans are very social creatures, and we rely heavily on body language and facial expressions for communication. It's hard to read facial expressions when it's covered in hair. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2gc62y
|
how are bananas so cheap?
|
American. Easy coast. Seriously how can bananas be such a cheap crop?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gc62y/eli5_how_are_bananas_so_cheap/
|
{
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9,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"American Imperialism _URL_0_",
"They grow on trees.",
"Slave labor, they grow on trees, very little nutritional value.\n\nThe banana from which nutritional value AND \"banana flavor\" are both derived went extinct in the late 1950s.\n\nThe modern banana is little more than a \"field corn\" version of what we used to have.",
"Why shouldn't they be cheap? Shipping long distances by cargo ship is more efficient than most people believe. For example, the current market rate to ship a 40 foot refrigerated container from Brazil to New York is $3907. Such a container could carry approximately 57,579 pounds of bananas. $3907/57,579 = 7 cents/pound.",
"Essentially bananas are piss easy to grow, produce huge amounts of fruit, and barring disease are virtually impossible to kill, even on purpose. Add in the fact that the fruit is really easy to harvest and you're looking at something a lot cheaper to grow than must fruit."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5siqap
|
why are 'chip and pin' payment machines so rare in the usa compared to the uk? isn't it a much safer way to pay?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5siqap/eli5_why_are_chip_and_pin_payment_machines_so/
|
{
"a_id": [
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2,
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"text": [
"Assuming you mean the credit / debit card chips. \nIf you are, then you're misinformed. Where I am, they're in nearly every store ",
"Chip and pin came late to the USA. In Australia and Europe it has been established for years. For the USA it is relatively new, and many shops are only now catching up.",
"I've often wondered this myself. One theory I came up with is because the banking system is much different from anywhere else in. It's largely unregulated. And there are many many more banks with waaay stiffer competition in the US. Don't know too much about it but I know it's vastly different from Canada, where I live. Probably not the only reason, but I'm sure it pays a role. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
642848
|
why haven't the usa and russia ever gone to war?
|
For so much of the second half of the 20th century Russia and the US were on the brink. This tension has carried over like a rushing rapids into the 21st century. If there is so much tension and so much angst, why haven't these giants collided?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/642848/eli5_why_havent_the_usa_and_russia_ever_gone_to/
|
{
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"score": [
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4,
2,
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"text": [
"Generally, a country will only choose to go to war if they believe that the benefits of winning are worth the losses they will take getting that victory. The thing about the Cold War is that there were very few upsides to any potential conflict and a mountain of downsides.",
"Three words: mutually assured destruction.\n\nWhat that means is that these countries know that if they were to go to war, casualties to both of them will be too high to justify actually invading each other. This usually is used to describe why they haven't used nukes on each other but that's basically the same reason why. And russia knows it's going to lose anyway",
"Because leadership (not just the presidents/premiere but the rest of the government under them) of both nations know it would be hard to prevent either side from using nuclear weapons in the event the war looks unwinnable and if either side unleashes their nuclear weapons, there likely wouldn't be much left of either country to govern. \n\nSo they both talk a great game, and push for little things that don't go to war, but neither nation is willing to push a confrontation that goes all the way to war. ",
"We became enemies after the invention of nuclear weapons. Fighting directly with each other means we destroy the planet because the moment either is really threatened with losing they will launch nukes prompting the other to also launch nukes as per the MAD doctrine. While there is a lot of stupidity involved with war we are smart enough to know that much, so instead we had the \"Cold War\" where we spied on each other and fought proxy wars in smaller nations such as Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan (first time), and in modernity Syria. \n\nYes this current war in Syria is a proxy war with Russia. Russia sides with Assad, we side with the Rebels, and there is a third enemy with ISIS that we both fight. ",
"They have, kinda. The US invaded Russia right after WWI as part of an intervention against the Communist revolution. \n_URL_1_ \n_URL_0_",
"Nuclear weapons. \n\nThese are weapons capable of destroying the entire earth, as a result war between two powers that have nukes is taken very, very seriously.\n\n This means two things: The first is powers with nukes will be more more wary about provoking other countries with nukes, because of the high risk in a worst case situation. \nThe second is that countries will not respond to provocation in the same aggressive way they might to a non nuclear power. \n\nAs a result, the cold war stayed cold and India and Pakistan have not been in real conflict for very long time. \n\nEdit: fixed a typo",
"A concept called Mutually Assured Destruction. Both countries had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the planet many times over. And first strike capabilities and response capabilities were such that either side could launch on the other before getting hit themselves, thus killing everyone. So simply it was a standoff. \nThere is a case to be made that they did go to war - a proxy war - Russia became involved in Afghanistan and the united states fed weapons to the Taliban (those same weapons are being used against the US today). To keep up, the USSR spent their way into a loss by funding a war and a cold war against the US, and subsequently the fall of the USSR.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Bear_Expedition",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Expeditionary_Force_Siberia"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
7im628
|
why is it illegal to feed polar bears?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7im628/eli5_why_is_it_illegal_to_feed_polar_bears/
|
{
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"text": [
"They're dangerous and the species is vulnerable. You don't want them getting comfortable with humans, much less growing reliant on our aid",
"They can eat humans with minimal effort. You don't feed them because you don't want them associating humans with food. This is why you won't see them at your local petting zoo. ",
"Because if polar bears start associating humans with food, and loses its fear of them, it's very, very likely that they'll be a danger to the humans that feed them (\"mmm, this food sure is tasty...you seem tasty too and I know where to find you and that you're pretty slow\") and to humans who do not feed them (\"hey! You're supposed to have food for me!\"). Not to mention, if a polar bear is habituated to getting food from humans, it's not going to really bother hunting for its own food. So now you have a thousand-pound aggressive apex predator that doesn't want/know how to feed itself anymore, and no longer tries to stay away from humans. No choice but to kill it, which is bad since they're already endangered. ",
"Bears are smart. If they learn that *you* have food, then they'll show up in the houses of *other* people rooting through their pantries and loved ones."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
sauou
|
why aren't there any renewable energy methods that generate electricity, making use of radio waves from the sun?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/sauou/eli5_why_arent_there_any_renewable_energy_methods/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c4cj0wh"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The sun emits electromagnetic radiation (light) at many different frequencies. \n\nRadio waves are a type of light with a very low frequency. Because of their low frequency, radio waves have little energy compared to visible light. So a solar panel that only operates from radio waves would not be very efficient.\n\nThey do use solar panels which generate electricity from light, but they are designed to work with the higher energy visible light frequencies, not radio waves."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2pupgf
|
why was megaupload targeted in such a big way, when other sites (ie mediafire) operate similarly?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2pupgf/eli5_why_was_megaupload_targeted_in_such_a_big/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cn06xig"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Because they were doing other things such as racketeering, child pornography distribution, and a number of other very illicit things or so the report goes."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2ledtj
|
why does take more time to download something than to stream it, even if they both have the same size, resulotion..etc?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ledtj/eli5_why_does_take_more_time_to_download/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cltz3wp",
"cltz5ij"
],
"score": [
8,
3
],
"text": [
"Chances are is doesn't. You may be thinking you are streaming and downloading the exact same thing but there is a good chance there is a difference. Also depending on where you are downloading said file you could see major differences. For example, most days I can max out my line speed on a 4K YouTube video and it players quite well, but if I were to pull the video directly from YouTube's content server it downloads fairly slow(in some cases). In that case it is very likely YouTube is throttling that specific type of download or prioritizing their streaming traffic. Ultimately, YouTube wants you to be on their site viewing their ads and clicking on video after video. So it makes sense for them to do this. ",
"So when you download something, you don't start using it until it the data (whether it be a movie file or a music file) has been sent to your computer in it's entirety. That can take a while\n\nWhen you stream something, it starts allowing you to use parts of the content (eg start watching the beginning of the movie) as soon as it has enough data to start doing so, and knows that it isn't going to have to pause to try and catch up. Therefore you don't need the entire movie in order to start watching\n\nHere's a gif that I think sums it up\n\n_URL_0_"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://imgur.com/OBBFL6Y"
]
] |
||
d0u1ns
|
how do humans feel temperature differences and how precisely can we feel it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d0u1ns/eli5_how_do_humans_feel_temperature_differences/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ezdqw1w",
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"ezgv4we"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"We notice temperature changes because our nervous system instantly reacts to regulate the core temperature of our bodies. \nWe have an average baseline temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is caused by the basic functioning our bodies organs (contracting muscles, electrical properties of nerves, etc.) The optimal external temperature for humans is roughly 70F. When it’s 70+ the body cannot properly disperse heat, so it works harder to cool itself and therefor makes us feel even hotter. Then, the farther below 70 we go, the harder the body will work to keep itself warm because our tissues are being slowed down by the cold. \nTemperature changes could mean life or death in the wild so it’s very noticeable when these changes occur to help us jump into fight or flight mode. I don’t think I could notice a temp difference less than 3 degrees, but some people might be more sensitive.",
"Your body is like a combustion engine, constantly producing heat, and you need to dissipate that in order to keep it working properly. If you are losing too much heat you feel cold, lose too little and you feel hot.\n\nThe amount of heat you dissipate through your skin depends on 2 factors, the thermal conductivity and the temperature of the material you are touching. That's why air feels comfortable at around 21°C but water or a piece of metal at the same temperature will feel cold, as they will \"suck\" more heat from your body due to their higher thermal conductivity.\n\nSo what you are feeling is not exactly temperature, it's heat loss. And your body is very sensitive to it because your internal \"machinery\" needs to be at a very specific temperature to work.",
"Your cells express receptors from the TRP family. These receptors are proteins which sit on the outside of nerve cells, and when they're activated they start a signal which is relayed to your brain to cause a sensation. Lots of receptors work by recognising a very specific molecule. This will bind to them (through specific combinations of electrostatic charges on the molecule and on the receptor), causing the receptor to change its shape to the 'active' configuration, allowing ions to move through and cause the signal (think of a lock and key, where the lock is a receptor in your taste bud, the key is salt, and the door opening is you getting the salty flavour).\n\nSome of these TRPpy bois are a bit different from 'regular' receptors. Rather than recognising specific molecules, they are sensitive to temperatures. At 30 degrees they'll be closed, but maybe at 40 degree the temperature will be high enough to overcome some of the electrostatic attractions within the receptor itself, changing its shape to 'open' and causing a signal. Your body encodes tonnes of these receptors and they're all sensitive to slightly different temperatures. Some are linked to cells which let you detect temperature, and some are linked to nerves which make you go 'oh fuck that's hot ow', and some link straight into your reflex to withdraw your body from the heat because it's hot enough to damage you.\n\nAs for the why - evolution. Organisms which could tell dangerous and safe temperatures apart didn't die and reproduced, and then it got really complicated over time, then here we are.\n\nFun fact - chillies contain capsaicin. Rather than activating your 'ow fuck that's hot' receptors, they actually bind to them and slightly change the shape, not quite opening them but making them more susceptible to lower temperatures. That's actually why we feel the heat - it's not that the chillies are that temperature.\n\nI realise this ain't ELI5 very well but I'm a scientist not a teacher. Sorry all. For further reading this is the first thing I found on Google. Enjoy - _URL_0_\n\nAlso I realise I'm the only one not talking about thermodynamics and why different materials feel different. But I love this shit and wanted to feel included OKAY",
"You have special hot and cold receptors all over your body that react to the flow of heat into and out of your body. Unlike a thermometer, your receptors do not detect the actual absolute temperature, which is why metal and water at room temperature feel colder than the room temperature air.\n\n\nThe receptors can detect changes as small as .02 degrees Celsius on some parts of your body. Other parts are 100 times less sensitive.\n\n\n_URL_0_",
"One thing I haven't seen posted which should be mentioned is that men and women feel temperature differently.\n\ntl;dr, there are a bunch of reasons men both feel and run hotter, whereas women are typically colder.\n\n > Women are typically smaller and have a higher ratio of surface area to volume, which causes a rapid loss of heat.\n\n > Men tend to have a greater muscle mass than women which helps them to generate heat.\n\n > Even at rest, your muscles produce around 25% of your body's normal temperature, so more muscle mass means a greater heat production. Because of this, it is believed that women evolved a system to protect their core body temperature against freezing weather - in response to cold surroundings a woman's body reduces blood flow to the skin and extremities to maintain their core temperature at 37C. This means that women are better than men at conserving core body heat when the weather cools.\n\n > However, as most of our temperature sensors are located in the skin, women can feel cold even when their internal organs are cosy. So it's not all in your imagination. It seems that women really are genetically programmed to feel drops in temperature before their male counterparts. The ideal temperature appears to be around 2.5C warmer than men - between 24C and 25C.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nYou'll probably see this if you're ever in an office environment with many people. Women will be wearing sweaters or mention it's cold whereas men will feel it's comfortable.",
"Iirc: your skin has some receptors that are like a sponge, so when the wheater is hot, the pores in the sponge get wider so sodium can get through and travel to the brain, and vice versa when the surroundings are cool, the sponge contracts and theres no longer a stimulus so it feels cold",
"I work in Calibration and the room is tempersyure controlled to 20 +/- 0.6C. Sometimes it heats up and goes out of spec. We usually notice when it hits about 20.50C and check the temperature because we can feel it getting \"hot\".",
"Can anyone explain why I’ve always enjoyed washing my hands with cold water, and most people prefer warm water?",
"Here’s a related little fact I find interesting. We have cold receptors and warm receptors which respond respectively. But, you may be familiar with the sensation you feel when touching very hot water. It’s almost as if it’s cold and hot at the same time. This is because we have many more cold receptors than warm receptors and at 113 F/45 C, cold receptors may fire as well."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29135465/"
],
[
"http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Thermal_touch"
],
[
"https://www.simplysupplements.co.uk/healthylife/general-health/body-temperature-how-it-differs-for-men-and-women"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1adrly
|
how leds work
|
Im wondering how they work and where the different colours came from
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1adrly/eli5_how_leds_work/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c8wghb8"
],
"score": [
9
],
"text": [
"First of all you have to have an oversimplified explanation of how light is produced. Essentially there are little, really super tiny particles that orbit atoms, the building blocks if the world. These are called electrons. They can orbit at different levels based on the type of atom they orbit (among other things) \nWhen energy is added to electrons, they can become excited enough to \"jump up\" to higher orbital levels. Almost immediately after, they will fall back to their original level and release the energy. Light is the visual effect produced by this release of energy.\n\nNow in a typical filament light bulb, light is produced when Electrons flow through a wire that gets so hot it glows. \nHowever, in an LED bulb, the filament is made up of two different materials. The first is made of atoms with a lot of energy levels. The second is made of atoms with fewer energy levels. When electrons flow through this type of filament, they drop from the higher levels in the first material to lower ones in the second. Thus they release energy in the form of light. LED lights are much more energy and heat efficient because it works in this way rather than by heating a filament.\n(Sorry if my answer wasn't five-year-old level. Some of this stuff can only be simplified so much)"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3pmghp
|
if a candidate for president currently holds a position at the white house, how do they do both?
|
For example' If Hillary was serving as Secretary of State, how could she campaign at the same time? Does that give the candidate an advantage b/c they would already have news coverage?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pmghp/eli5_if_a_candidate_for_president_currently_holds/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cw7jqco",
"cw7js0x",
"cw7ocs8"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"House of Cards dealt with this topic recently.\n\nPresidents running for 2nd time still campaign on the road like other candidates.\n\nAs for news coverage, there are rules about any broadcasts related to candidates. They have to give the same amount of time to other candidates. At least, that's how it is in Turkey. I am sure USA also has similar laws for broadcast channels.",
"It can be an advantage. As you mentioned, the current office holder, let's go with Sec. Clinton, would get \"earned media\" (media attention they didn't pay for essentially). However, Sec. Clinton would have to do her normal job on top of running for office. It makes things difficult because they have to try and separate \"official\" and \"unofficial\" time. \n\n & nbsp;\n\nOfficial time is time spent doing the duties of office. Unofficial time is time spent campaigning. So what if Secretary Clinton traveled to LA to meet with representatives from Japan at 1:00 pm pst, but she holds a campaign rally at 8:00 pm pst? Who pays for the travel? Because you cannot use official office resources to campaign. Each campaign will hire election lawyers to ensure their candidate follows election law.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nIn reality it can also be a liability. Take for example Senator Cruz. He has missed a number of Senate Armed Services Committee meetings because he's been on the campaign trail. An opponent may bring up that poor attendance record in a debate or advertisement. \n\n & nbsp;\n\nTL:DR It's delicate, but can be done.",
"They don't punch a clock and complete a specific list of tasks like in a normal job.\n\n Truly honest and conscientious people will compromise the needs of their campaign in order to make sure the work gets done, and...other people will compromise the duties of their job to spend more time campaigning.\n\n Bear in mind that presidential candidates are usually people who both a.) won't get fired for not showing up at the office, and b.) wealthy enough that it really doesn't matter if they're employed or not. So their incentives and penalties are different than those of a typical worker."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
cbfl1n
|
when stuck in vehicles, do flies need to fly at the speed of the vehicle when travelling? if not, why?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cbfl1n/eli5_when_stuck_in_vehicles_do_flies_need_to_fly/
|
{
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70,
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"text": [
"No. When your riding in a car, are you walking/running the speed of the vehicle? Think of it like those walking/flat belts at the airports? You are walking at your normal speed, but are moving much faster.",
"When you are standing on a bus and a you spot a seat open do you have to walk 40 miles per hour to get to it?",
"Would a fish in a fishbowl have to swim to keep up with the car? No, because he’s contained within the water, which is moving at the same speed as the car. Flies are inside the space (in their case, air) that is contained within the car. Think of the interior of the car as one big fish bowl, filled with air instead of water.",
"You are on a planet travelling around the sun at 30km/sec, around the galaxy at 200km/sec and across the universe at 600km/sec. I bet you didn't know you could run that fast. \n\nAll that matters is how fast you are moving compared to the things you are moving against or in. You, compared to your chair or floor, the fly compared to the air it is in. The motion of the fly through the air is important, the motion of the air in the car with respect to the outside world or universe, unimportant."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2tej9d
|
how are there illiterate adults in the us?
|
Isn't school required? Or are they going to school but don't care to learn?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tej9d/eli5_how_are_there_illiterate_adults_in_the_us/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cnyac0b",
"cnyafu9",
"cnyfnqu",
"cnyg8l9"
],
"score": [
18,
6,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"First thing to note is that when we say illiterate in the US, we usually mean functionally illiterate. This doesn't mean those people can't write/read at all. It means they write and read at a level that is far lower than what is needed in our society.\n\nAnd it is not that they don't care to learn, it is the fact that schools are very huge and underfunded. Teachers are unpaid and overworked and simply don't have time to personally attend to every student. That means some students are going to fall through the cracks. Usually kids who are illiterate teach themselves other techniques to compensate for being unable to read properly like memorisation, for example. \n\nAdditionally, not all kids go to school. It is perfectly legal to homeschool your children in the US and while most homeschoolers offer their kids a reasonable standard of education, there is also always going to be a few of them that fuck up on it. And not every state requires homeschooled kids to be tested by the government to prove they are learning well. ",
"A mixture of home-schooling and a lack of funding for public schools.\n\nThere are a lot of people who \"fall though the cracks\" especially in rural areas.",
"Im gonna go with: diversity of populations depending on location. In some social groups, education isn't valued as much as social status within a group so it isn't seen as important (see: ghetto/gang culture) or education systems are seen as products of the \"liberal enemy\" and beliefs are so ingrained into a child's life by a parent that they never take their education seriously because that kid wants to work in the coal mine/paper mill/etc just like daddy and everyone else in the family because they should be ferociously proud of what they do because they do it and it makes them a living without having to read or write, and to hell with doing things differently or thinking outside the box (see also: West Virginia, Alabama, or Mississippi).\n\nEven with poor education systems, if you make up your mind to apply yourself and work hard you can find the resources to succeed as much as possible, with the very minimum of gaining literacy, but you have to want to do it and many cultures in the US perpetuate following their own agenda of opposing education because it's a social norm. \n\nI've seen plenty of foreign people teach themselves how to read and write with the same resources the rest of us have and often they are coming from a place with far fewer advantages in life as we have. ",
"My stepsons father can't spell. He makes an attempt but he literally sounds words out. Could = cud. Why = y. When = wen.\n\n\nHe is functionally illiterate. He completed high school like that. Best we can assume is that nobody, not even his parents, gave one single fuck about him. His 5 year old son can spell better, no exaggeration. It sounds funny but It's really sad."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5swo9d
|
why does water trailing down the side of the street always create a criss-cross effect?
|
_URL_0_
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5swo9d/eli5_why_does_water_trailing_down_the_side_of_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ddiefy3"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The street has lots of \"V\" forming rocks. This is a canoeing, kayaking thing, a way to look for objects in a stream. They are not lined up, so they form mutiple \"Vs\", thus criss-cross"
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/4d022a23cf1b4720a237b6492baa5ee7/water-ct5ejf.jpg"
] |
[
[]
] |
|
8toxmp
|
how do fuel rods work in a nuclear reactor and what happens to the uranium in the fuel rods?
|
I’m incredibly thick and was wondering how fuel rods work in a reactor, if you’re using steam to push the turbines to produce electricity why do they need uranium? Do they specifically need uranium to heat the water in the first place? Thankyou in advance. :)
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8toxmp/eli5_how_do_fuel_rods_work_in_a_nuclear_reactor/
|
{
"a_id": [
"e194fwi",
"e194zk8",
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],
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3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Each nuclear power plant has two parts. Nuclear part and classic part. Classic part is same in all thermo power plants - it works by introducing steam on turbines, to rotate them. Nuclear part is just a giant boiler to boil/heat water or generate steam, in this case it uses nuclear fuel to achive this.\n\nFuel rods and fuel composition is made that way so its secure and easier to manage/replace.",
"Disclaimer: not a nuclear engineer. Just watched too much Discovery Channel and History Channel before they became terrible reality TV channels.\n\nThe uranium in a nuclear reactor is the reactant fuel that creates heat, which is then transferred to a coolant (water) which boils off, and the resultant steam is used to spin turbines, which convert heat energy into electrical power through the magic of magnetism.\n\nThe uranium does this by nuclear decay: the release of neutrons from the atomic nuclei. If you get enough uranium decaying in the same place, the release of neutrons from one atom can cause a chain reaction where other atoms release neutrons, and that causes other atoms to release neutrons, and so on. Currently, all nuclear reactors use this process of nuclear fission which breaks large (unstable) elements down into smaller more stable elements. In an uncontrolled reaction with specific types of uranium or plutonium, you end up with Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That's where the control rods come in. These rods are neutron absorbent, so they control the speed, and thus the heat of the reaction. If the reaction runs too hot, the fuel rods of uranium literally melt, and you get a meltdown like Three Mile Island or Chernobyl. The control rods are intertwined between fuel rods, and can be pulled out or pushed in to allow or disallow more neutrons to bounce around.\n\nInterestingly, what happened at Chernobyl was the technicians at the plant were trying to harness as much energy as possible from spinning down a reactor, and lost control of the reaction. Conversely, Three Mile Island had an issue with a coolant pump, so the fuel melted. Melting fuel is incredibly hot (thousands of degrees), and causes containment breaches, which is the reason Fukushima was such a disaster. When you have a containment breach, you end up with very unstable, decaying elements roaming all over the place, assisted by a massive steam cloud from whatever coolant was in the reactor at the time, and that gives you nuclear fallout.",
"You done need uranium to heat up water you could burn coal or oil. What you need a source of heat to warm the water and convert it to steam so it can drive a turbine.\n\n\nWhat is happen is nuclear fission. A uranium-235 atom is hit by a neutron is that is become unstable and split into two smaller atom and 2 or 3 neutrons. The mass of those are a bit less then the original uranium-235 atom and the neutron. \n\nThe famous E=mc^2 equations says that energy is and mass is the same thing in a way so the difference in mass is released as energy and heat up the water in the reactor to produce steam.\n\nA important part is the 2 or 3 neutrons released. They can in turn hit another atom and split it so you get a continuous reaction. So the important part of the uranium-235 is when you split it there are released neutron so you can have a continuous chain reaction. It also have to be good at capturing neutrons. \n\nPlutonium-239 is a another fuel but is does not exist in nature and has to be produced in a reactor so is it only used in nuclear weapons\n\nFrom a industrial perspective is also have to be a relative long half-life and be available in large quantities. There is one other thorium-232 that is interesting and there ave some development of reactors with that. A primary reason it the amount of uranium in the world is quite limited and there are more thorium-232. The thorium-232 is converted to uranium-233 in the reactor and it is the uranium that you split apart.\n\nSo there are only a few isotopes that can be used in a fission reactor.\n\n\n\nDepending of how you control it and the amount and shape of the uranium isotopes you can either either have a relative slow production of heat in a reactor or a nuclear bomb."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
ds0cbx
|
why can’t we just dump a lot of ocean water into a desert or a volcano to make clouds, that should turn into potable water?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ds0cbx/eli5_why_cant_we_just_dump_a_lot_of_ocean_water/
|
{
"a_id": [
"f6m452a",
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],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"It'd be hard to transport big quantities of water and said clouds would only drop so much water on the surface, the rest would go right back to the ocean.",
"Well, I think 1) transporting large amounts water from the ocean to places far inland is expensive and 2) you can’t control where it rains down, so you can’tncollect it"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2hliv5
|
why do people spit?
|
I get grossed out when people spit on the sidewalk etc. I'm sure I'm not alone on this.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hliv5/eli5_why_do_people_spit/
|
{
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"cktrvpg",
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],
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3,
2,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"People spit because they want to spit. There are basically an infinite number of reasons why someone might want to.\n",
"I think most people agree with you. \n\nSome people spit because they want to gross out other people and they think that's funny. \n\nSome people do it when they get stuff stuck in their mouth (I'm guilty of this sometimes). \n\nSome people are addicted to Chaw tobacco, which requires you to build up fluid in your mouth again and again to get your fix. ",
"I usually only spit when I'm smoking cigarettes ",
"I usually do it to get the taste of weed and hookers outta my mouth. ",
"Maybe they have something in their mouth they don't want to swallow, or they're spitting up phlegm."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2ydcte
|
who do nearly all products/brochures read "all rights reserved"
|
IT seems to be on anything you pick up with a company name attached. What exactly does it mean, and what consequences could it have for the companies if they did not put it on there?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ydcte/eli5_who_do_nearly_all_productsbrochures_read_all/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cp8gvtr"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Who do? you do. voodoo. what? remind me of the babe \n\nIt means that are not waiving all their normal rights, and by explicitly stating that it makes their legal position stronger if it should ever go to court and someone were to try to pursue a case stating they waived some rights. (to win money)"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
7wybvv
|
how do doctors know that you have a mental illness and not because you believe that you have it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7wybvv/eli5_how_do_doctors_know_that_you_have_a_mental/
|
{
"a_id": [
"du447gj",
"du44mpd"
],
"score": [
5,
3
],
"text": [
"There are many, many symptoms of mental illness that can be observed or measured by outside observers.\n\nFor instance, delusions. Someone can believe they're perfectly sane, and in the course of conversation mention that the UN and the Coca Cola company are conspiring with local sheriffs and electricians to sabotage all the electronics in the person's home in order to prevent them from posting the real truth about international cola-based conspiracies to the internet. \n\nAlso, failure to attend to ADLs, or activities of daily living. The person hasn't showered in weeks, didn't put on pants before leaving the house, has lost twenty pounds in a month because they forget to eat, and has had their water and/or power shut off for non-payment of bills despite having the money to pay them. That's a significant sign of mental illness even if the person believes they're healthy. \n\nYou can also observe when people are \"reacting to internal stimuli,\" which is a clinical way of saying they're being startled by hallucinations. They talk to people not in the room, become very scared all of a sudden for no evident reason, get angry or ashamed suddenly without corresponding stimulus, start crying and praying, lots of different ways you can see that they heard or saw something you didn't see or hear. \n\nThere's recognizable patterns of self-medication, where based on what drugs or substances someone has been using or abusing you can tell what kind of feelings they're trying to alleviate, which are a sign into what mental illnesses they might have. \n\nSo, in sum, there are lots of different kinds of evidence doctors can put together into a picture of someone's mental health that do not rely on self-reporting.",
"Like a physical illness, there are symptoms that a patient must exhibit in order to be diagnosed with a mental illness. There are diagnostic criteria that psychiatrists follow when treating patient. This is especially important since it is easy for a patient to incorrectly self-diagnose. No doctor will take a patient's word that \"I have borderline personality disorder.\" They observe the patient's behavior and speak to them about the symptoms of mental illness that they express. If the patient meets certain criteria, they will be treated for the mental illness.\n\nAs an example, I've taken an exert from the DSM 5 on the diagnosis of Major Depression. \n\n > A. Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning; at least one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.\n\n > 1. Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, hopeless) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). (Note: In children and adolescents, can be irritable mood.) \n\n > 2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day (as indicated by either subjective account or observation.) \n\n > 3. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. (Note: In children, consider failure to make expected weight gain.) \n\n > 4. Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day. \n\n > 5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down). \n\n > 6. Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day. \n\n > 7. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick). \n\n > 8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or as observed by others). \n\n > 9. Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
e6jto8
|
what makes a room or space feel stuffy/suffocating?
|
I used to think that poor ventilation caused stuffiness, but I feel like it's definitely temperature related... Maybe event mental? If I sit in my car in the summer with the windows up, I almost immediately feel like I'm suffocating. However, I do the same exact thing in the winter, and I'm fine.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e6jto8/eli5_what_makes_a_room_or_space_feel/
|
{
"a_id": [
"f9qqujm",
"f9qvihv"
],
"score": [
7,
3
],
"text": [
"Generally air feels hard to breathe due to humidity and heat, at least in my experience. Going outside in the summer in Mississippi was much worse of an experience than going outside in the summer in Nevada. I suspect that in a car, in that relatively closed area, your sweat evaporating makes the air more humid than just the outside if you're in a dry climate.\n\nThe point about ventilation is also part of the equation, as moving air around generally helps cooler and/or less humid air get to you; your body's cooling mechanism (sweat) relies on the heat in the air evaporating the sweat on your skin, which takes with it some of the heat from your body (hence why swimming on a hot day feels good, the water works the same way), but if you're in a closed space with no air circulation, a pocket of air sticks around you that has already absorbed some of your sweat and can't do more to cool you off. If you ever go to a very hot swampy marshland, even moving air hardly helps because it's already at peak humidity in the area, and it's almost impossible to get any moisture off of your skin to help cool down.\n\n(also humidity and heat tend to go hand and hand, because the air can't hold as much humidity in the cold.)",
"Heat an humidity definitely play a part. They can make a room more uncomfortable. But the real killer is carbon dioxide build up. In poorly ventilated rooms with a lot of people breathing, CO2 will collect. There is a strong correlation between CO2 levels and mental state/capacity. People tend to be more grumpy, think slower, and be less comfortable in spaces with a lot of CO2"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
flphda
|
how do factories that have nothing to do with producing safety equipment (masks/faceshields/ventilators etc) retool so quickly to produce this in demand equipment? are there companies with "mask producing machinery" standing by?
|
Examples:
1. Gaming peripheral Razer [to make masks](_URL_0_).
2. Tesla offering [to make ventilators](_URL_1_).
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/flphda/eli5_how_do_factories_that_have_nothing_to_do/
|
{
"a_id": [
"fl10qte"
],
"score": [
11
],
"text": [
"Most plastic objects are made through injection moulding. Without getting into the technicalities, injection moulding machines basically consist of a large high-pressure nozzle that inject molten plastic into a mould.\n\nThese moulds are designed to be swapped out. The machine itself can pretty much produce any hard plastic part as long as you have the appropriate mould for it. So it really doesn't make any difference if it's injecting plastic in a mould for videogame controller casings or ventilator valves.\n\nA lot of mass production machines are designed like this. They specialize in a certain production method like injection moulding, stamping shapes out of sheet metal or frying foods. But what they make specifically is very easily swapped out between products that require the same production method.\n\nAnd some products are still made through mass manual labour. In that case, a company just buys up production capacity in a factory where workers make items by hand. If I bought 100.000 man-hours worth of production capacity in a factory in China, they'll happily make masks instead of soldering electronics if that's what I tell them to do."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"https://www.polygon.com/2020/3/19/21186632/razer-surgical-mask-production-coronavirus",
"https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/19/nyc-mayor-pleads-with-elon-musk-to-start-producing-ventilators/"
] |
[
[]
] |
|
5ikwd7
|
why do we see things more in black and white when it gets darker? where does the color go?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ikwd7/eli5_why_do_we_see_things_more_in_black_and_white/
|
{
"a_id": [
"db8y3d7",
"db8y521"
],
"score": [
7,
12
],
"text": [
"You have two types of light sensitive cells in your eye. Rods and cones. Rods are more sensitive so they are more effective and better at night vision, but cannot differentiate color. Cones are less sensitive, but are of three types. Each type is more sensitive to specific color red, green or blue so they allows color vision.",
"The human eye has two main sensors: rods, and cones. Cones can see in color, but require a lot of light to work properly. Rods are a lot better at seeing in the dark, but that comes at the cost of seeing color. As it gets darker, your eye relies more on the rods, which means that you can see far less color. \n\nBonus fun fact I learned while double-checking my answer: rods are so sensitive, they can pick up individual photons."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2omsda
|
how the iss was built and assembled and how it is governed
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2omsda/eli5how_the_iss_was_built_and_assembled_and_how/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cmost0c"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Launch sections at a time into space. Leave the parts in orbit. They won't be going anywhere. When you have enough parts, attach them together. It's kind of like space Lego if you think about it.\n\nThe ISS is governed by an agreement between the 16 nations that built it together. Each of the countries have official control over the part that they sent up themselves. But they are all space friends and let each other \"trespass\" into other countries aboard the ISS."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4tqcn5
|
what is asynchronous compute?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4tqcn5/eli5_what_is_asynchronous_compute/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d5jho9h"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Asynchronous compute is a product of AMD which allows tasks by the processor to be completed in something other than one order. This can allow some tasks to be sped up by discarding pointless tasks, and combine different types of calculations (so they could do graphics and traditional computations simultaneously)."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
3xeva0
|
why do companies trap the back button? how can making it very difficult to get off a page be good for their site?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xeva0/eli5_why_do_companies_trap_the_back_button_how/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cy41akc",
"cy42my8",
"cy43206",
"cy4h2sw"
],
"score": [
9,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"without running such a site, I assume that these overtly obtrusive sites are only in it to make a dime once. They dont expect you to return (atleast not intentionally) but they will get as many page loads as they can while you are there.",
"Has this happened to anyone else using Imgur + ipad?",
"One way would be to load a Web page after their home. So you go to _URL_1_ and it takes you to _URL_0_...you hit back and it goes to the first one and then it takes you back to the second.\n\nNot at all the only way but an easy and effective one.\n\nAnd after I posted this turns out reddit makes hyperlinks :\\ \n\n# don't go to them\n\nI doubt they're real anythings...but if they are they don't seem to be great sites to visit. ",
"Some shady sites probably do it intentionally to rack up page loads with new ads, but some may just be a byproduct of bad programming. Poorly implemented redirects could do this, for example if _URL_0_ sends you to _URL_1_ when you hit back you'd hit oldarticle which would just redirect you again."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"www.hahahafuckyouto.com",
"www.hahahafuckyou.com"
],
[
"site.com/oldarticle",
"site.com/newarticle"
]
] |
||
1qp5z4
|
as a student wanting to learn more about work life/is ignorant about work life: what are the differences between being fired and being forced to resign?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qp5z4/eli5_as_a_student_wanting_to_learn_more_about/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cdf0mfk"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Being forced to resign simply means that you are told, \"Resign now and get a decent severance package, or we'll go through the headache of filing all the paperwork to fire you, and you'll get nothing.\""
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
3s7j8w
|
the current race issues at the university of missouri
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3s7j8w/eli5_the_current_race_issues_at_the_university_of/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cwuseer",
"cwux7zi"
],
"score": [
11,
6
],
"text": [
"Some people did some dumb racist shit. Another group said its the administrations fault and wanted a head. Snowball. Administration says fuck it and quits. ",
"I live in Columbia.A while back the university took away healthcare for grad student TAs. These grad students are predominantly white. They walked out on classes and immediately got their healthcare back. \nRacism on campus has happened for many, many years (but most of Columbians are not like this). The administration has done nothing to stop this racism. People are calling black folk the n-word forever and the higher ups just didn't care. These protests are a long thing coming.\nThe *only* reason you are hearing about this is because our football team is threatening to walk out. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
1lcwox
|
why are some drugs like cocaine so addictive, while other ones like marijuana are not?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1lcwox/eli5why_are_some_drugs_like_cocaine_so_addictive/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cbxyto1",
"cbxznol"
],
"score": [
4,
5
],
"text": [
"Cocaine acts quite directly on the reward pathways associated with dopamine, while drugs like marijuana operate on cannabinoid receptors, which, while connected to the same reward pathway, are significantly less understood but are known to sit farther outside that system.\n\nAs a result, the levels of addiction are quite different.",
"Cocaine's a hell of a drug."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
219dv1
|
how we can be sure that evolution did in fact occur.
|
Hey Reddit! So all of my life I've grown up in a young earth creationalist Christian house hold, In a predominately YEC town. So even at school in our science classes evolution, while taught, it's really never been explained to me how we can be so sure that evolution did happen. Growing up in such sheltered Christian home I never realized how small the amount of people that still believe in YEC are. Obviously I'm coming to the understanding that my childhood belief is the wrong one, I just would really like to know how science has become so sure of evolution.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/219dv1/eli5_how_we_can_be_sure_that_evolution_did_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cgautuv",
"cgaxjtp"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"We can be sure that evolution did in fact occur because we've observed it both in nature and in the lab. Dogs are an example of \"guided evolution\", we bred them to change their characteristics. We've also seen bacteria evolve generation to generation within a lab.\n\nThe fossil record is paramount for studying the long-term evolution that we can't personally observe. The fossil record is pretty clear in terms of watching features appear (or disappear). For example, we can trace whales back to when they lived on land by watching their rear legs (currently little bony stubs that are invisible from the outside) get longer and grow as you go further back in time.",
"Because there is tons of evidence for it. Here are a few of my favorite examples:\n\n**Laryngeal nerve**\n\nThere is a nerve that connects your brain with your larynx, that runs all the way down to your aorta and back up. This is true for all mammals, even giraffes, and represents a very inefficient, poorly designed biological structure. It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, because in fish, this pathway is direct, and as animals evolved necks, and their hearts moved further from their brains, only then did the pathway become more and more roundabout.\n\n**Chromosome 2**\n\nHumans have 23 chromosome pairs, most great apes have 24. However, the 2nd pair in humans looks almost exactly like two of the pairs in the apes had fused together. They have the same genes in the same places, and even still have inactive codes for the old telomeres (chromosome ends) exactly where they fused together.\n\nThere is no reason for this to be true unless humans and apes both came from the same ancestor."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
1mv6gk
|
why can't we put street cameras in bad neighborhoods to deter crime?
|
I understand there are privacy concerns, but if I lived in a dangerous neighborhood, I would welcome street cameras to feel safe on my local streets. Also, I have to think cameras have come down in price enough to make it cost effective.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mv6gk/eli5_why_cant_we_put_street_cameras_in_bad/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cccw3dl",
"cccw4ak",
"cccwix1",
"cccz7kb",
"ccczhdi",
"ccd1sq7"
],
"score": [
3,
9,
6,
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Besides being used for deterrence by being placed in parking lots and on public transport, it remains to be seen how effective mass monitoring of public areas is.\n\nLondon England is doing it now and they are basically the first large scale experiment. In 2008 1/1,000 cameras was involved in solving a crime and this contributed to 3% of total crimes solved.\n\nThe privacy concern stance is more of a slippery slope argument. If cameras are allowed on all streets what next?",
"Bad areas also ten to be low income areas, the kind where a thousand camera monitor system would not be fiscally possible. ",
"We have them in Baltimore. They don't work for shit. ",
"Because cameras are expensive police dont go to real bad areas at night. So they get stolen.",
"Not to mention people in low income areas have traditionally been given very little reason to trust that \"the powers that be\" have their best interests at heart.",
"It won't stop anything. And I don't want to encourage the surveillance state."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
9v3nh6
|
why dont we like all vegetables?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9v3nh6/eli5_why_dont_we_like_all_vegetables/
|
{
"a_id": [
"e993pmw"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Because you didn't need incentive to seek out plant matter previously. It was easily obtainable and a staple so you ate it even if it was icky because it's better than starving\n\nCalorie rich food was rare so you should prioritize eating as much of that as possible. The vegetables will be fine tomorrow, but the delicious fat on the mammoth will be gone and that may result in you starving to death during the winter"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
5ea0ud
|
when a city loses power (like in a lot of movies), why aren't all the lights going off at the same time?
|
Is it a thing that just happens in movies?
example: _URL_0_
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ea0ud/eli5_when_a_city_loses_power_like_in_a_lot_of/
|
{
"a_id": [
"daatb7c",
"daau74r"
],
"score": [
8,
7
],
"text": [
"They call it a power grid for a reason, it is an actual grid. The main power lines come in from the power plant, which are then routed to different areas, then routed to smaller areas in each area, and so on and so forth until it reaches the end user. Think of it as an upside down tree. Trunk is the main line, branches are the end. Depending on what systems and safety protocols are in place, each grid may be on a little longer or shorter than others. Movies may exaggerate this somewhat but yes, it can happen like that.",
"That's called a cascading power failure.\n\nThe power coming to your home isn't just a single wire running to the local power plant. Rather, it's hooked into a master 'grid' that draws dynamically from multiple power plant - often spanning entire nations (in the continental U.S., there are three grids - East, West and Texas). When one part of the grid goes down, the other parts compensate by boosting their power.\n\nHowever, the actual transmission of power has limits. So what can happen is that a sudden surge of power demand can spike the power over that limit and cause additional shutdowns in otherwise unrelated areas. Those additional shutdowns can then cause the same problem in areas adjacent to them.\n\nOne way to think about this in 'real world' terms would be to consider traffic. If you close one of the bridges to New York City, then traffic on all the remaining bridges increases - the need for people to enter/leave New York City remains constant, but the available paths have shrunk. However, that increased traffic can effectively shut down a *second* bridge by clogging it with too much traffic to manage - which then increases the traffic on the remaining bridges. Unchecked, this process can potentially lead to a situation where all the routes on and off the island are impassable because traffic isn't moving on any."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"https://youtu.be/7VgIayOpjEc?t=1m9s"
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2ob7ts
|
are these $15/hr minimum pay for mcdonalds employees protests justified?
|
I am no economist, is paying McDonalds employees $15 an hour economically viable? Does this pressure employers to layoff employees? does the extra pay promote more consumer spending?
I would consider myself socially liberal while also being economically conservative so I am split right down the middle on this topic.
Could somebody please factually breakdown the implications of this matter.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ob7ts/eli5are_these_15hr_minimum_pay_for_mcdonalds/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cmlgl4e",
"cmlgrbr",
"cmlhjdk"
],
"score": [
9,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Well the fact of the matter is for a lot of people, even people with no kids, the current McDonald's wages aren't even enough to survive, so in effect, McDonald's is subsidized by taxpayers who must pay for welfare, Medicaid, and SNAP benefits to make up the difference for those workers whose wages are so low they can't even afford the essentials. If McDonald's can't afford to pay their workers even the minimum to survive (which I doubt), then they should rightly go out of business, because they're just stealing from their workers and the taxpayers. If they can afford it, then it's unconscionable that they wouldn't. ",
"If a company is forced to raise employee wages, they will raise the prices of their products to recoup that lost profit. Also, one could easily (and in my opinion successfully) argue that shit jobs like that do not deserve that good of pay, as literally anyone can do it. We generally reserve higher pay for either more dangerous or more skill-orientated work\n\n\nYou want $15 an hour? Go to a trade school or college and make yourself worth that much. If the literal lowest rung of jobs gets that much, then what would stop higher paying jobs from going \"Well now *they* are worth more, so we should be worth more too!\" and then everyone is asking for more money and more products and services cost more and the value of the dollar goes to shit.\n\n\nYes minimum wage is shit to live on, but the solution is not making it 15 an hour.",
"Maybe not as high as $15 but at $7.25 they are quite a bit below the poverty line. So there's some merit in the argument "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5d42p0
|
what is the difference between devops and a software engineer?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5d42p0/eli5what_is_the_difference_between_devops_and_a/
|
{
"a_id": [
"da1o7en",
"da1qgns"
],
"score": [
2,
9
],
"text": [
"DevOps Engineer here - I write _a lot_ of code, but its related to the underlying infrastructure, not the platform itself.\n\nI use my knowledge of networks, capacity planning, software configurations, etc. to provide a stable platform for our software engineers to develop on. Ansible/Chef/Salt/Puppet/Terraform/Vagrant/Virtualbox.. the list is quite long.\n\nThey don't care _how_ the backup/replication/whatever works - they only care about being presented with a connection endpoint (and a stable one!)\n\nInterestingly, I went to a Meetup and the person giving a talk said \"I don't care if you call yourself a DBA, sysadmin, developer, hacker, rockstar or ninja - if you write any code in a text editor, you're a software engineer\". I agree to a point, as my shell scripts still need to have logic, input, output, etc - i.e. it's a piece software.\n\nMy code still goes through pull requests/code reviews, and I do the same for others. Our Engineers are educated enough in Ansible to _extend_ the skeleton project I have created for them, and I dip my toe in the water of their languages when required (mostly all-hands-on-deck production troubleshooting).",
"Suppose you've got a small software company with a popular web app. The company comes up with an idea for a feature.\n\nBoth the software engineer and the DevOps engineer have similar education - maybe a degree in C.S. or E.E. - but they have different specialties.\n\nThe software engineer is the one who writes the code for the feature and creates a new version of the server software. She tests it carefully to make sure it does what it's supposed to do, but she can't be sure if it will work perfectly until it's deployed to millions of users.\n\nThe DevOps engineer maintains the servers. She takes the new server software and installs it on just one server first, so only about 5% of the customers get the new software. She monitors the logs and system load for a few hours and everything seems fine, so she slowly ramps up to 95%, but leaving one server running the old software just in case.\n\nThe next day two servers run out of memory and restart. Luckily the DevOps engineer designed a really fault-tolerant system, so everything keeps running, but she notices that other servers are also leaking memory too, while the one holdout running the old software is using much less memory and seems stable.\n\nNow that she's confirmed there's a memory leak, the DevOps engineer carefully rolls back all of the servers to the previous working version and files a ticket with the software engineer to fix the memory leak. The software engineer fixes the bug, writes a new test to prevent future regressions, and then releases a new version of the server software to try again the next day.\n\nMeanwhile, the DevOps engineer writes some scripts to automatically detect memory leaks and trigger an auto-rollback script, so that if something similar were to happen over the weekend, she wouldn't even have to necessarily do anything.\n\nSo they're both programmers - but one is focused on writing the software, one is focused on deploying it and keeping it running.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
98useg
|
is there a maximum speed a bubble of air can achieve when moving towards the water surface? what does it depend on?
|
I know about the "terminal velocity" of a falling mass. And i guess it could happen something similar with air bubbles... at the end it's just water falling...
If there is a terminal velocity for bubbles... what does it depend on? Just pressure? The volume of air?
Thank you so much.
English is not my mother tongue; please excuse any errors.
EDIT: Thank you very much to all of you for your kind answers. I'm learning a lot. And i'm very pleased to see that so many people considers this an interesting question.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/98useg/eli5_is_there_a_maximum_speed_a_bubble_of_air_can/
|
{
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"Bubbles speed up as they go up because they expand. Terminal velocity is dependant on air pressure, which is pretty uniform in the atmosphere for a really long distance. While water doubles pressure roughly at 10 meters, then adds a bar/atm every subsequent 10.\n\nSo at any given depth there is a terminal velocity dependant on the boyant forces of the bubble and the Archimedes principle, but that speed increases as you lower the water pressure (which happens as it rises in an open system).\n\nEDIT: only doubles pressure for the first 10, then adds every 10 meters.",
"The viscosity, density, and surface tension of the water will effect it as well and this will vary quite a bit depending on what type of water you’re working with ",
"As with terminal velocity in air, this only applies to natural bubbles. They can be made to move faster with more energy (and less efficiency):\n\n_URL_0_",
"What effect would bubbles in liquid helium with its zero viscosity have on the shape, size, and speed of the bubbles?",
"Would there not be a certain depth where the pressure would be great enough that the bubble would just “dissolve” into the water instead of rising?",
"Larger bubbles move much faster than small bubbles thanks to the delta of the pressure between the top and the bottom of the bubble, as well as the several other answers people have given, so this is a very complicated question\n\n",
"The answer is the speed of sound at that pressure of the liquid surface. Choked flow (maybe this only applies to flow through restricted orifices) limits ideal gas velocities to the speed of sound at the gas conditions.\n\nThis occurs when the pressure ratio from either side is roughly 2. The speed of the gas through the orifice becomes fixed at the speed of sound, a higher pressure ratio cuases mass flow to increase by increasing the density of the gas through the orifice but the velocity stays the same.\n\nThis makes one hell of a noise, the higher the pressure ratio the higher the noise.",
"For teeny tiny bubbles of gas and single, very large bubbles of gas, people have worked out 'exact' theoretical relationships between the physical properties of the gas and the liquid, and the terminal rise velocity, and have confirmed them with experiments.\n\nFor teeny tiny bubbles, the terminal rise velocity is related to the densities of the liquid and the gas, the viscosity of the liquid, as well as the size of the bubble, and gravity.\n\nFor the really large, single bubbles, the terminal rise velocity is related to just gravity and the size of the bubble (a surprising result - it doesn't seem to depend on the properties of either the gas or the liquid).\n\nFor in-between sized bubbles it gets a bit more difficult and people have only managed to work out the relationships from doing lots and lots of experiments (rather than getting a theoretical result and confirming it with experiments).\n\n(You also run into problems when you have lots of bubbles near each other - they make each other rise faster)\n\n[Source](_URL_0_)",
"Yes, An air bubble is basically you in a crowd at a concert, right by the stage, trying to get away. All the other people around you (water molecules) can only be pushed out of the way so quickly, but as you get farther from the stage, and there are less people in front of you, you can move faster as you get farther away until you finally pop out of the crowd completely.",
"So what is the maximum velocity? Lots of explanations of factors, but no numbers.",
"Well, when there is a bubble inside fluid it has its shape from being all squished together. Fluid can be “heavy” and it puts a lot of force that keeps all the little air molecules in one space.\n\nBut sometimes the water pushes less on one side. If there’s an opening that the fluid is going towards or through it stops pushing on the bubble so it can flow to where it has room to spread out. When that happens, the bubble can stretch out in the same direction, and then the heavy fluid behind it helps push the bubble forward because it wants to flow out too! \n\nWhen a bubble is farther down under the fluid, it gets really squished and can be tiny. But air is lighter than fluid, so it tries to float. And fluid is usually heavier than air, so gravity is pulling it down. That effort to float pushes it up, against the fluid. The gravity pulls the fluid on top of the bubble down. \n\nHow quickly the bubble moves depends on how many air molecules are working together to push up against the fluid, how much fluid is on top of it pushing it down, and how heavy/strong the fluid is (the thicker and denser it is, the harder gravity will be pulling on it, and the more the bubble will have to fight it to get through)\n\nIf there is a big bubble of air inside of a glass of water it might be able to move pretty quickly. Water isn’t too heavy, and a lot of air molecules pushing up means it can move super fast. \n\nBut if you have a medium sized bubble of air inside a cup of syrup it will only be able to move slowly. The gravity will be pulling pretty hard on the heavy syrup. The syrup is heavy and tough, so it makes it harder for the molecules to stretch out and work together, and harder for it to push through to go up. \n\nBubbles have a speed that is the fastest they can move, but it depends on lots of things, and those things are almost always different. To figure out how fast a bubble could move you would need to know: \n\n1. How big the bubble is (how many air molecules are working together to stretch out and push up) and what kinds of air molecules are there (some can stretch and pull up a lot, while others can be heavier or stay closer to their friends. Molecules can’t push as hard when they are hanging on to each other- they have to spread out and all push up. Kind of like when Dory in the fishing net had to make the other fish all work together to swim down. They were stronger when they all did the same thing and each tried to move in the same direction.)\n2. How heavy the fluid on top was (is there a lot or a little on top, holding the bubble down. Is it a heavy fluid that gravity will pull on hard? Or a lighter one that won’t be pulled down as much or as hard?) and how “strong” (dense) it is. Is it going to move out of the way to let the bubble pass? Or will it be tough and the bubble will have to fight it’s way out?\n3. Is there anything helping the bubble move up? Maybe something behind it is pushing it up too... like a fish, or a fan, or a current.\n4. Is anything helping move the fluid on top out of the way? Sometimes lots of other bubbles can do the hard work of moving the fluid, and other bubbles can sneak in behind them quickly, before the fluid comes back in to block their way. This helps the other bubbles make it through more quickly, because they don’t have to work as hard! \n\nSome people want to know the answers, so they do special math problems to figure out the answer. \n\nOn one side you put how much the air bubble wants to get up, and how hard it can push to find out how quickly it could go if everything were perfect. \n\nThen you add the helpers to that side- because they help make the bubble even faster. \n\n Then, on the other side you put how heavy the fluid is, and how hard it will fight back to keep the bubble down. \n\nIf the bubble has a “10” in “up” points every minute, but the fluid has “7” points every minute to stop it than you know the bubble can only move 3 points in each minute. \n\nIf the bubbles 3 points also have 2 helper points from something pushing it up, and another 1 point from other bubbles taking away part of the fluid then the bubble now has 6 points it can move in a minute. \n\nA bubble that only has 10 up points, and no helpers can’t magically move up 20 points in a minute. But, if it had 10 points helping it it might be able to. \n\nThe fastest the bubble can move will always depend on all the conditions and forces pushing and pulling around it. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercavitation"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.192.9665&rep=rep1&type=pdf"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
qnx9x
|
why pakistan won't sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty
|
What in the treaty is stopping them? Or is it just because they won't sign it unless India does?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qnx9x/eli5_why_pakistan_wont_sign_the_nuclear/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c3z1y17",
"c3z30pm"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"They are in their own cold war with India and they don't want to tie their hands.",
"What the hell is that treaty supposed to mean if Israel won't sign it?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2dvc45
|
what makes me get attached to other people so quickly when it seems like others take longer?
|
ELI5
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2dvc45/eli5_what_makes_me_get_attached_to_other_people/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cjtfvlk",
"cjtg97u"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"You are likely more open emotionally than these other people. Attachment is an emotional process, so if youre shut down emotionally, it can take a little bit of time. Or you fear being alone so much you just attach to anyone that is a human and you have a modicum of interest in.",
"It probably doesn't. I mean, I get close to people quite quickly, but I feel like if somebody else were listening on our conversations, it would take at least a few months to think I'm even somewhat close to someone. It's just that you know what you're feeling, and you know what they're doing. There's a huge discrepancy between thought and actions. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
1rmg62
|
why have main stream computers stopped at 3 ghz? what stops us from making 100ghz or even 500ghz
|
What would the implications be of a 100ghz computer? What could it do that a 3ghz couldn't?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rmg62/eli5_why_have_main_stream_computers_stopped_at_3/
|
{
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"cdopg5l",
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8,
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"text": [
"CPU speed has way outclassed the other bottlenecks - memory speed and I/O speed. Until those are solved there isn't much reason in increasing CPU speed. Plus, we are hitting limits due to the speed of light. Until even smaller processors can be made, we're at a plateau.",
"Heat is a big limiting factor. Think of clock cycles like the revs in an engine, once you start hitting *that* many revs you can't dissipate the heat quick enough to prevent the whole thing from melting down.\n\nThen you hit bottlenecks like /u/pobody talks about.",
"Computers have stopped at 3ghz mostly for practical engineering reasons. A computer than runs at 100ghz would melt because of issues with heat and power. There are overclocking competitions where people can get computers up to double or triple their natural speeds, but it pretty much always involves cooling with something like liquid nitrogen.\n\nAlso, there would not be as much benefit as you would think from having a processor so fast. A 10ghz processor is not 10x as fast as a 1ghz processor with an equivalent architecture. The reason is that while the faster processor may be capable of performing 10x as many actions per second, the processor has to spend a much larger portion of its time waiting for the rest of the computer. It takes time for data to travel between a computer's memory or hard drive or network connection and the processor, and the processor might have to sit there for anywhere from nanoseconds to milliseconds waiting for information to get to it.\n\nMost modern advances in processor design (at least since ghz stopped increasing after the Pentium 4 era) have to do with the processor being able to handle more tasks simultaneously (more cores, hyperthreading), being smarter about reordering the things it is being asked to do so it can still work while waiting for information to come in, storing more information close to the processor (bigger caches), and things like that."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
56eosf
|
what's special about postage stamps? how are they different from any other square sticker? are there safeguards against counterfeits like printed currency?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/56eosf/eli5_whats_special_about_postage_stamps_how_are/
|
{
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"d8io9e7",
"d8iq00p",
"d8isvt7"
],
"score": [
22,
8,
11
],
"text": [
"Postage stamps are not that difficult to counterfeit, but can be detected by automated equipment in the postal centers. More importantly perhaps counterfeiting them is a federal crime punishable by fines and up to five years imprisonment. Considering how much they cost the worth of such a scam is questionable.",
"There used to be a variety of ways of getting around stamps, such as putting your address as the recipient and the target's address as the sender, then dropping it in a post box without a stamp. It would then be \"returned\" to them for insufficient postage. Things have likely changed on this also, but you could, for simple letters, use any denomination of stamp, since it just scanned to make sure there was postage on it. It couldn't judge the denomination since there are so many varieties of stamp, so a penny stamp would do. Seriously though, it's just a stamp, and knowing how Uncle Sam likes getting his money, it is a lot less stressful for me to just drop some cash on a new cool-looking stamp booklet. \n\nAlso, as a slightly related note, I change tires and do mechanical work on the side of the interstate. Anything I can do to get money and business away from those lunatic drivers for UPS and FedEx is alright in my book. I get that they're under unrealistic time constraints and high levels of stress, but it's pretty stressful to have them blow by me doing about 85 and knock the trailer I'm working on off the jack before I can get stands under it also.",
"It is perfectly legal to print your own stamps--provided you pay for them. This is what postage machines do, or you can use your own computer and printer. More info at the USPS website at _URL_0_. Certainly it would be trivial to counterfeit this, but the penalties for doing so are not so trivial."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://www.usps.com/business/postage-options.htm"
]
] |
||
1t9cv3
|
why does my tongue feel like sandpaper after i burn it by drinking coffee thats too hot?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1t9cv3/eli5_why_does_my_tongue_feel_like_sandpaper_after/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ce5w21n"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Not an expert, but most likely because the nerves on your tongue are numb from the \"extreme\" heat for a period of time"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
3a4m05
|
how do some people end up owing the irs enormous sums of money that they can't pay for many years?
|
Just saw one of those commercials from a company that helps negotiate large debts owed to the IRS.
If they made so much money that they were taxed that much, why wouldn't they have enough set aside to pay the taxes each year?
I'm assuming most debtors are self employed or small business. Is it just poor planning or are there other factors I'm not seeing?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3a4m05/eli5_how_do_some_people_end_up_owing_the_irs/
|
{
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"cs9b9qw",
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"text": [
"My first desk job was working for a company that did offsite bookkeeping and tax preparation. In the three or so years I worked there, I ended up doing accounting work for 13 different small businesses each month, and helping my boss with tax preparation for dozens of clients. We even had an IRS auditor spend an extended (think several weeks) amount of time in our office, going through records for one of our clients. \n\nIn my admittedly limited experience, you REALLY have to work at it to be in deep trouble with the IRS. I wrote more than one letter to the IRS on behalf of a client explaining that their tax irregularities were inadvertent and not the result of an intentional attempt to evade paying the appropriate taxes, and in every case that was enough to derail the train of IRS aggression. \n\nEven in the case of the client that got audited in detail, the agent was actually pretty nice on a personal level, and totally professional when it came to the accounting. In the end, the client got their business taxes reassessed for three previous years, paid a few thousand dollars that they legitimately owed, and that was it. \n\nIf you ask me, anyone who ends up in serious trouble with the IRS has worked very, very hard to earn it, because it's relatively easy to work out compromise payments, come up with an \"offer in compromise,\" or otherwise sort out the problem short of a disaster.",
"Not everybody gets a paycheck where their taxes are withheld by the employer. Poor planning and accounting, or intentional negligence, can cause people to not properly file their taxes. The problem gets worst if it happens over multiple years. If/when the IRS comes around to check you, if they find that you've underpaid for the past five years, they will not only want the unpaid taxes but also a bunch of fines and interests.\n\nSome people don't bother to properly handle their finances, when they don't hear anything for the first few years from the IRS, they may assume that everything is okay. Then get blind sided when the IRS finally does come around.\n\nAnd of course, some people intentionally lie about their income so that they pay less. ",
"Let's say, hypothetically, that someone were to let their significant other handle the taxes one year, say after the s.o. insisting that they were leaving money on the table by doing it themselves when a professional could get them so much more back.\n\n\nLet's say that this tax \"professional\" was known for getting large refunds for the s.o.'s family, and although you were skeptical, you couldn't endure both the work of doing the taxes and the disappointment that followed, so you washed your hands of the whole thing, let s.o. handle it.\n\n\nAnd handle it they do: you get back 2× the usual. You sign. Guess you were fucking up the whole time.\n\n\nAnd 2 years later, the irs mails you a letter: \"dear sir and madam, you claimed to be a handicapped veteran and full time student in the last 2 years . You are being audited.\"\n\n\nOf course, you're not both handicapped veteran full time students.\n\n\nAt the audit, you're found to owe a sum the equivalent to 60% of your yearly salary. \n\n\nIt'll take years to pay it back.\n\n\nS.O. takes no accountability, acts like it was an act of God, Not an act of fraud.\n\n\nTax professionals are unlicensed, not accountable for this---after all, you signed.\n\n\nYou pay interest starting from when the taxes were filed, and penalties, and continue to accrue interest.\n\nAnd you're still paying today.\n\n\nThat's what happened to this one idiot i know.\n",
"Most jobs with a payroll offer the option to withhold your tax from your income. This means a certain amount is set aside each paycheck. At the end of the year you tally up your taxes and will usually get a small return, as the withholding over estimates the taxation.\n\nSome people don't like doing this, because it means smaller paycheck and an \"interest free\" loan to the government. They choose to save money all year and pay in a lump sum.\n\nThe downside to that is that is require good long term financial planning and stable income. If you're bad with money, lose your job, or are hit with unexpected expenses you may not be able to pay your taxes. \nConsidering your taxes can be around 25% of your income, this adds up quickly and can be hard to get out of if you have to use this years income to pay last years taxes."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2n9yhv
|
uber and all the controversy surrounding it
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2n9yhv/eli5_uber_and_all_the_controversy_surrounding_it/
|
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"It's a modern day taxi service that's great. \n\nThe controversy is that it's a lot better than the taxi companies that have a cabal in most cities, and they are losing tons of business so they end up trying to lobby uber away, instead of updating their business model for a modern world. \n\nIn Miami, for example, the taxi companies are trying to get uber banned. They are losing business because the taxis here don't take credit cards and are notoriously unreliable (calling them and they'll tell you a cab will be there in twenty minutes and no one shows up). Über is reliable and more convenient. ",
"Uber is not subject to the same regulations as traditional taxi companies. The taxi companies feel that they are being given an unfair advantage legally.",
"A taxi driver might say something like this:\n\n\"I have to buy a license from the city/county/state and these can be very expensive. I am often only allowed to operate a big sedan, which costs me much more than if I was allowed to use any car I wanted. I often have to operate a certain number of wheelchair accessible vans, and these costs $100,000 and I'll probably never recoup that investment. I can't legally refuse a passenger, so I have to modify my cars with safety screens for my own protection. I have to do safety inspections monthly/yearly, and that's time I could be out on the road. Uber doesn't have to do any of that. How is that fair?\"\n\nAn Uber rep might say something like:\n\n\"All of those rules are outdated and unnessary. People deserve choice, and we're giving them what they prefer.\"\n\nSomewhere in the middle is the right answer - I just dont know where.",
"As said above, Uber is a taxi like service. Uber is drawing a lot of flak lately compared to similar competitors due to it's blatantly awful PR. The company has been known to sabotage rival services and the VP ~~has hired~~ has allegedly been in favor of hiring private investigators to dig into the lives of journalists that write articles critical of Uber. There is a lot of he said - (s)he said allegations floating around and none are painting a great picture of the company\n\n_URL_1_\n\n_URL_0_\n\nedit: flak for Mekebra",
"Taxis are a part of a highly regulated industry. There are rules regarding things such as: type of car, age of car, how a taxi is to be painted, the cost of a ride on the meter, how many cabs are allowed to operate within a certain area, the boundaries of area the cabs are allowed to pick up from, the ability for customers to hail down a cab, who can become a cab driver, licensing requirements, the cost that is owed to the city each year in order to operate a cab, etc, etc, etc. These rules are set in place. There is a cap on the number of cabs that is allowed to operate that is determined by many factors, but is designed to be in order for driving a cab to be profitable. Cabs also operate out of airports. They have a designated area in which screened drivers work from and wait for customers. They pay a fee in order to operate out of the airport. Any new cabs companies or additional cabs that increase the capped number must go through a formal regulator process.\n\nThe controversy surrounding Uber is that when they enter a city, they begin to operate without going through any of the approval process or having to follow any of the regulations above. They call themselves a \"rideshare\" and claim to not be a taxi service, even though they operate just like a taxi. Uber does not have a cap on the number of drivers. Thus, the competitive advantage it has in being able to show up faster than a cab. When they set up shop in cities, they also pick up from airports. The controversy is that any transportation service that operate out of airports, such as rental cars, taxis, shuttles, etc, have a designated where they operate from, pay fees to the airport in order to operate, and operate under various rules. Uber feels that they are exempt from following any of the rules. \n\nThe controversy surrounds the fact that Uber feels that it should be exempt from having to follow any of the established rules and regulations that taxis have to follow in order to operate.\n\n\n\n",
"Uber is a taxi service, its main benefit is that it operates without the normal taxi service regulations, this means they can often operate cheaper than normal taxi services.\n\nThe controversy comes from the fact that Uber doesn't have to follow all the normal regulations. Safety regulations/tests, license systems, handicap accessibility standards, etc are all completely unenforced/applicable to Uber. This means normal taxi companies are placed with an unfair burden that they used to shoulder since they basically had no competition that wasn't also shouldered with the same burden. \nNow Uber can have cheaper rates because they don't have to have safety regulations or pay zillions of dollars for licensing/medallions/whatever. \n\nMost of these taxi regulations exist for a reason, and once Uber gets involved with more \"bad incidents\" of things that would have been prevented or reduced by having normal taxi safety regulations enforced on them you will likely see a shift making Uber just another cab company that follows the laws like everyone else. ",
"Besides what has been posted already, additional controversy is about UBER having access to your real time location via GPS. Since there is a record of who the passengers are in the vehicles, there is also a record of where you are, where you're going, etc..\n\nWhile they have claimed that they never use that information, reporters have documented that their real time location was accessed by someone at UBER HQ. This obviously doesn't happen in a taxi (since they don't know who the hell you are when they pick you up).\n\nAlso an executive at UBER was recently exposed for wanting to \"dig up dirt\" on a critic of the service, further leading to controversy around their business practices.\n\n(There was also another smaller controversy between UBER drivers and UBER corporate regarding a deal UBER made with Spotify, which would allow for riders to have control over the music in the car. Basically UBER drivers are mad that they now have to be \"DJ's\" while they drive.)",
"There are a lot of really good posts in here, but basically the crux of the issue is this: In the interest of consumer protection, regulations were created at a local level regarding privately contracted pay transportation. Taxi companies have state and local regulations that they have to abide by that lay out the requirements in order to operate in their jurisdiction. The barriers for entry into the market are generally quite high (as mentioned by /u/tarynevelyn they are around $100,000 in Miami) and in some places the volume of taxis allowed are limited. Drivers are required to have their vehicles inspected, provide commercial level insurance as well as pass more stringent background checks among other things.\n\nThe Uber \"ride share\" model has turned this on its head. It says that pretty much anyone who passes a background check and has a car that is less than X years old (5, 10?) with 4 doors can sign up to be a driver. The barrier to entry is very low and thus carries less risk. No money physically changes hands and everything is done via a rating system and a phone application. \n\nThe issue is that both systems are living concurrently. Traditional taxi drivers are living under a stringent and expensive system and Uber is able to set up shop in a few weeks with little investment. In my opinion and that of many others I have seen, a middle ground needs to be found. People appreciate the ease of use, straightforward pickup/payment, clean vehicles and rating systems of Uber, but also appreciate the need for safety, (affordable) inspections and some regulation on the market. ",
"Uber driver here. I see most of the comments here are focused on how the taxi companies are getting hurt by Uber and Lyft, but that's only part of the controversy with Uber specifically. Unlike Lyft, Uber is guilty of some unethical business practices. Uber has organized ground teams to submit lots of fake requests to their competitors like Lyft, only to cancel these requests for the sake of sabotaging their competitors' business. Pretty shitty, right? On top of that, Uber uses a surge pricing system to calculate fares, and this system is 100% based on supply and demand. If there are more requests for rides than there are available drivers, Uber jacks up the fare rates to entice more drivers to get on the road to meet the demand. Normally the surge rates are reasonable, where the fare is only 2 times the normal price or so. But they don't cap the multiplier, so if there's a ton if requests and almost no drivers on the road, the fare can become extremely expensive. For example, there was a woman in Denver a few months ago who took an Uber home after a concert when the surge was 9x the normal price. She didn't notice the surge pricing was in effect so she ended up laying $400 for an 18 mile ride. Lyft is not guilty of this. They use surge pricing as well, but they cap the multiplier so you don't pay 400 fucking bucks for a ride. ",
"Is Uber different in the states? In Toronto I can use the Uber app to send me a regular taxi. So I get most of the Uber benefits (ETA, driver ranking, and direct payment from my credit card) while also being in a car that has to follow the standard taxi regulations in the city.",
"**The Uber Donut Hole** is also something to keep in mind. Anyone thinking of driving for Uber that doesn't have commercial driver's insurance should be made aware of this. \n\nYour normal everyday insurance policy won't cover you (and may even terminate coverage) if you're driving people around for a fee (which is exactly what Uber, Lyft et al do). Uber claims a million dollar policy but it's only active during the trip i.e. when the driver is on his way to pick up the fare or driving the fare to his/her destination. In other words, there is a gap in coverage between the Uber driver turning on the app and driving around, looking to pick up a fare that is not covered by anyone but the Uber driver. This is exactly what happened to Syed Muzzafar when he took a turn at a stop light and tragically, plowed over a whole family and killed a 6 year old.\n\nThis [article](_URL_0_) explains more.",
"The taxi industry is refusing to evolve and adapt to changing times. Companies like Uber are destroying traditional cab companies because they are simply a *much* better service. As a result of this the taxi industry is trying to screw with Uber through means other than competition.\n\nRegulators and cab companies are equally to blame for this not companies like Uber who found a new(and better) way to do something.",
"Cab companies hold a monopoly on passengers in many cities. Because it is a monopoly, they can charge as much as they want before the politicians get mad. Uber provides a competitive service at a lesser cost, and threatens the monopoly cab companies have had. For this reason, cab companies seek to elevate fear levels about Uber drivers and call for its regulation, which would drive up their price and eliminate the cab company competition. Many equate regulation of cab companies with improved consumer protection, but all I see is a corrupt relationship between the cab companies and politicians that has very little to do with the consumer.",
"It boils down to this - Uber is a technology platform that enables 'independent drivers' to essentially skirt a lot of what taxis have to go through. Because the company is a 'technology platform', it exists in a legal grey area, because the drivers are the ones who are the transporters. Some cities, like Seattle, saw that and came up with a compromise, requiring Uber drivers to get business licenses in order to operate with Uber. Others, like Eugene, shut them down wholesale. But every city's ordinances make sure that every time Uber expands to another city, there's another fight about how Uber can be legally operating there, and it's not exactly quick for the company to adapt to a new city's demands. So they tend to get themselves in trouble a lot by expanding faster than they adapt to the demands of their new place of operations.\n\nThere's also mention of shady business practices and execs making really foolish comments, but from just an operations standpoint, that's why they keep causing kerfuffles.",
"Uber has received a lot of negative PR as of late. One of the main things they get called out for is this practice they call \"surge pricing\". Essentially, when demand is high for Uber rides, the price of the ride is also increased. Media outlets have claimed that this is essentially price fixing. Uber has navigated around accountability because surge pricing is an algorithm that automatically responds when demand goes up. So, technically it isn't price fixing because it's based on application traffic— which just so happens to correspond with major events and natural disasters.\n\nThe most recent controversy with Uber has to do with a high-level executive allegedly making threats against the media. Apparently this executive made a one off remark about digging up dirty laundry about reporters who say negative things about Uber.\n\nThere was also a scandal about Uber employees calling for rides on other ride sharing services and canceling at the last to limit the availability of drivers working for other ride-sharing services.\n\nBasically, they play dirty and have some questionable business practices.",
"Black cab drivers in London have been protesting a lot at uber.... But i cant help thinking, considering the outrageous amount they charge, how on earth are they surprised that their customers are going elsewhere ?",
"Uber drivers aren't required to carry commercial insurance. If there's an accident and people are hurt and the insurance company finds out the vehicle was \"for hire\" they will deny coverage. It's only a matter of time imo until this whole uber bubble pops under the weight of a massive liability suit. I would assume that Uber knows this and has built up as good of a liability shield as they can. Problem is the driver will likely be on the hook and the victims will be shit out of luck.",
"I see a lot of hate on cab drivers here. I just wanted to say that I imagine most cab drivers are not making very much money. Refusing passengers and stuff like that isn't because they don't like you or that they have some secret agenda, they are still people like you and me. It is most likely that if they don't try to maximize profits they wouldn't make ends meat.",
"1) Uber often avoids regulations other taxi companies have to abide by. Insurance, driver licensing, method of charging for a ride (flat rate, quote, distance or waiting time vs. distance and waiting time). These regulations often increase the cost of operating a private hire vehicle, and Uber drivers often don't have to absorb such costs, allowing for lower rates, causing consumers to choose one over the other.\n\n2) Uber practices elastic pricing / surge pricing / price fixing where during periods of high demand, the price of a ride goes up, sometimes as much as 6.5x-7.5x. This is controversial because no one else bills this way, is likely illegal in many markets, and from a more basic standpoint, is harmful to the transportation market despite claims of making it better. Uber only allows for on-demand ordering, yet often end up playing such a big role that its presence modifies the entire transportation market of a local area. For example, in NYC when it rains, traditional livery services now lose available inventory to Uber because the drivers know they can make more money driving for Uber than for a traditional company. This causes a shortage for people who want to plan ahead, and makes Uber's spot market approach inefficient for consumers; it exposes people to transportation cost risk. Additionally, their pricing models and algorithms don't appear to be interested in creating an efficient market as they claim, and appear more interested in maximizing revenue for the company, particularly in areas where individuals may be expensing rides and therefore not care what the ride costs; ie misalignment of interests. This is complicated and i can go into it more if people want, but in essence, at certain hours in NYC, demand will always outweigh supply as a feature of the roads, not a feature of the geographic availability of vehicles. Often, areas will surge where there is both significant demand and significant supply, while nearby residential areas will not be in surge, despite vehicles being slightly further away and requiring time to get there. IE Uber appears to be directing cars to where it has users which will pay the surge prices and will make the most money, not in a way that pairs customers and drivers efficiently. Now, many free marketers have no problem with elastic pricing ie price fixing / gouging, because they claim to be about maximizing utility. The problem is that price is only an indicator of utility when people have the same amount of money. A hedge-funder who does not care about $50 may be getting a lot less utility out of an asset than a mother of three at $20. This is in essence why in NYC where cabs and liveries serve as an extension of the public transportation system, the rates are the same and its first come first serve, as opposed to he-who-has-the-most-money-in-his-pocket-gets-to-skip-the-line.\n\n3) Taxes. Uber may or may not pay appropriate transportation taxes, sales taxes, and other fees, such as airport fees. This can have a detrimental affect on local communities over time as in essence, money that should be going to them, goes out of town.\n\n4) Employment Laws. By operating their drivers as independent contractors, they avoid many employment laws, including minimum wage laws.\n\n5) Uber has been accused of submitting fake requests to competitors apps in new markets in order to irritate drivers and in essence poison the well of newer competing apps.\n\n6) Uber's CEO and business culture appear to be pretty much libertarian and highly critical of regulation if not outright flouting it. This is bad for two reasons. First, the above, that a free market approach to transportation costs doesn't make sense in cities to anyone but a wealthy anarcho-capitalist, but second because the regulations which have been installed were not protectionist but were created for legitimate purposes and needs, like safety and to mitigate price risk; the two specific reasons the NYC medallion system was created. Sometimes in some markets they have evolved into protectionism, but usually those can be stripped out by understanding the actual market; like in NYC understanding the difference between medallion and livery services, and how there is no barrier to entry in the livery market, and then understanding why medallion prices exploded; hint, every asset class price in NYC exploded at the same time.\n\n7) An Uber executive recently discussed the idea of doing opposition research on journalists giving them negative press in the hope of silencing dissenters; ie company sponsored ad hominem attacks.\n\n8) Uber does not necessarily care about its drivers. In some markets it has forced drivers to buy new cars, but then slashed prices making the vehicles unaffordable to operate, or modified the service, or withdrawn from the market entirely. The CEO is disdainful of the drivers, and has essentially stated he wants to get rid of them within 10 years or so.\n\n9) There are occasionally highly publicized safety incidents where a driver attacks a passenger, or is reckless in some other way.\n\n10) Uber has used user data in highly unethical ways, such as displaying high profile users locations in real time in Uber's at parties. While not that destructive in and of itself, it indicates a corporate culture and approach to their users which is at the least worrisome.\n\n*Opinion: Uber is largely beneficial to markets without significantly developed private transportation systems, providing a convenient method for dispatching private hire vehicles in the absence of significant pre-existing inventory and a pre-existing regulatory framework. However, in highly developed transportation markets like NYC, it is essentially predatory and a form of rent-seeking (why should consumer or driver pay a percentage; as much as 25% to a digital platform whose \"features\" could be pretty easily duplicated), but because the app is slick, convenient, the difficulty of getting pre-existing stakeholders and competitors to work together, and its massive marketshare/network effects, its seeing a lot of success.*",
"Hi, commercial insurance carrier here. I write commercial business auto coverage and recently took my CIC class on personal auto.\n\nA word to the wise about insurance with Huber: don't believe anything written in this thread. There are so many inconsistencies and outright lies being perpetuated here that its scary.\n\nLong and short of it is if you use your car for business purposes ESPECIALLY as a mode of livery, your personal policy will not cover you. Cut and dry. There are exceptions for people like general contractors (think landscapers) who use a personalcar to do simple tasks like deliver paperwork but those are starkly different than using your personal auto as a cab.",
"The way I see it, there are two controversies:\n\n1. Uber and other rideshare services do not have to follow the same regulations as taxi services. By not having such strict requirements, Uber and their drivers save money, and can therefore charge less for rides.\n\n2. The other issue people have with rideshare are what they call \"peak hours.\" These usually occur during special events or holidays, and allow the driver to charge the customer ludicrously high amounts for a ride. For example: I took an Uber with a coworker from the bar back to my house on Halloween night. About 4 miles. We were charged 88 dollars at the end of the ride because it was during \"peak hours.\"",
"Not exactly relevant, but here is my frustration with Taxi's: Even when scheduled they are rarely on time (in my experience).\n\nIn one instance, I scheduled a taxi to take me to the train station, they were to pick me up right after work and I would be dropped off with just enough time to make my train into the city for my new job (transitional period where I had both jobs was hell -.-)\n\nThe driver wasn't there at 7am, I gave him 5 minutes and when he wasn't there at 7:05am I had to leave if I didn't want to be late (I had a car, this was just the first time using the metra system on a weekday morning and I had no idea how parking etc worked and was trying to use the taxi to take one headache out of an already stressful day).\n\nAt about 7:15 (as I was boarding the train) I get a call from the taxi driver stating he is there, I of course told him I had already left as he was late and I couldn't wait, he got very upset about this and was like \"I really wish you hadn't done that sir\" and I was just like.... Well I really wish you had been on time for a pick up scheduled a week ago....\n\nI did feel bad that I wasn't able to call him to tell him I left already, but I didn't have a direct number to him and I was in a rush, still being 15 minutes late kind of squashed most of my sympathy.",
"I work for a large insurance company, and Noneof these comments really point out the main question. The controversy really lies in the insurance side of owners vehicle. Any type of ride share service or program is not accepted by any standard auto insurance or covered. If you use uber or sidecar etc.. And get in an accident as a passenger their auto insurance will not cover you for injury. On the other hand if you are the driver and get in an accident you can fully be denied for anything related to the accident, as in an auto policy there is a business or government use clause. If you don't have an auto policy written to account for the fact it's a business use you are more liable, miles driven, chance of accident and damaging someone elses property. Your auto insurance needs to be written for a business use vehicle with more liability coverages. And the insurance for whatever programs as well don't cover your own vehicle, so you are paying out of pocket for any damage.\nSo in short, any ride share program controversy lies with the insurance company's and what would and would not be covered by them, since almost all user vehicles do not cover ride share program use.",
"In some parts of the world, it's completely accepted that to get a ride somewhere, you just hail down any passing car. If the driver wants to give you a ride, they will pull over and negotiate a price. In some areas, most cars will stop for you.\n\nThe downside is when you at a place without traffic passing by, but I'd guess that they do have taxi cabs that you can call, we just never needed to. ",
"German here. Uber is desperately trying to enter the market here, but so far it was again and again ruled illegal to apply their business model here.\n\nTaxi drivers here are regulated by the government. Most of that is covered in the \"Personenbeförderungsgesetz\", especially §2 and §46. Those paragraphs regulate who is allowed to drive people for money, and what vehicles may be used.\n\nUber's drivers, however, more often than not drive a vehicle which is illegal by §46 (e.g. not a taxi, their private car in a city with more than 50.000 citizens, and so on) and who don't have a license as in §2.\n\nThe benefits of a regulated taxi market is, that security concerns, social concerns etc. can be directly controlled by the state.\n\nAnother interesting law is §51, which, under German federal law, allows the German states to regulate fares. I don't know how Uber's price surging is implemented here, but I can imagine that it breaks the law in at least a handful of states.\n\nI personally don't think that Uber will remain much longer in Germany - changing the law just to commodate a business is not too sexy for politicians. And if Uber adapted to the German law, that'd make them.. well, regular taxis.\n\n[Edit] Source (German language): [Personenbeförderungsgesetz](_URL_0_)",
"Some of it is a smear campaign by non other than Gawker ",
"Uber embraces the idea of capitalism - people have a need and uber is filling it. Taxi drivers are angry at this, but don't have an argument otherwise.",
"Even if a cab driver doesn't pull any outright scams like \"My credit card reader is broken\", they're still bad people. They will always drive slower than they need to, take the longest route, stop at lights that they easily could have made, etc. Anything to make sure I'm in the car for longer so the fee can be as high as possible. It's sickening sitting in the back of a cab not being able to do anything while you just watch that number grow higher and higher. ",
"To be fair, i feel like part of the burden is on you when you get in the can to check if they take credit or debit cards. I always ask now so i don't have to deal with not having cash. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/11/18/uber-spying-sarah-lacy-underscores-bro-culture-in-silicon-valley/19234569/",
"http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/uber-fake-ride-requests-lyft/index.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.policygenius.com/blog/insurance-secret-uber-doesnt-want-know/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pbefg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
7yyact
|
animal mating habits
|
When animals are mating, I understand that they have unusual ways of choosing mates. They sing, dance, prepare nests, etc. Is this the absolutely the most efficient way to ensure the best genes are passed down? For example, if two male birds are competing for a female by trying to see who has the superior call, does the winning bird necessarily have better genes overall? Or does it just have a better call? Is it possible for a genetically superior bird to JUST have a weak call? Do animals have ways of comparing the genes of mates outside of mating rituals?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7yyact/eli5_animal_mating_habits/
|
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" > Is this the absolutely the most efficient way to ensure the best genes are passed down? \n\nEvolution doesn't guarantee that only the most efficient traits are passed down, or the best genes.\n\n > For example, if two male birds are competing for a female by trying to see who has the superior call, does the winning bird necessarily have better genes overall? \n\nIf a genetic mutation happens which allows a bird to have a stronger mating call, this greatly increases this bird's chance of mating and thus passing down its genes to a future generation. Any offspring that share this trait will also benefit and so on and soforth and thus it's possible that eventually, all members of this species will carry this gene.\n\nIt does NOT have anything to do with overall genetic superiority, which isn't really a thing anyways. It doesn't mean the bird will fly faster or have a more efficient metabolism or have better eyesight. Simply that it's found a way to reproduce at a notably higher rate than its competitors.",
" > Do animals have ways of comparing the genes of mates outside of mating rituals?\n\nNo, that's the point behind mating rituals.\n\n > Is this the absolutely the most efficient way to ensure the best genes are passed down?\n\nYes, or something else would be used. You can't have birds doing DNA sequencing, because they don't have scientific tools, or thumbs. Other systems have to be no worse, and still achievable. Mating calls it is, after 200M years of testing."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
9si8hi
|
how do the economics of all-you-can-eat restaurants versus pay-per-plate work?
|
Some places (such as Golden Corral) are able to offer a low flat rate, but still serve all-you-can-eat foods such as steak, shrimp, et cetera, but other pay-per-plate restaurants charge $15-$20 for a fixed amount for the same foods. Why are the buffets able to charge less and still make a profit?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9si8hi/eli5_how_do_the_economics_of_allyoucaneat/
|
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"Must be buying bulk. Good relationships with suppliers? Maybe serving horse/dog meat as beef? Lol ",
"As a former manager of an all-you-can-eat buffet I can say it has to do with volume. When you're preparing food in bulk the price per serving is lower than having to do it individually. \n\nAlso next time you are at a buffet, look at the layout. Usually you'll see large amounts of vegetables with lots of different colors and a good assortment of desserts. All of these things are there to take up space on your plate so you don't get a plate full of meat. Another trick when it comes to all you can eat buffets is that they make the higher price items harder to get. This is why you have a Carving Station instead of Self Serve. That way most people will only get one piece from The Carving Station as opposed to multiples or making multiple trips because they don't want to stand in line.\n\nAt the end of the day it comes down to averages. For every person who's going to eat six or seven plates at the buffet there are 10 people who are just going to get one or two so the cost per person averages out to make it profitable.\n\nI have no idea why my voice to text capitalizes The Carving Station but I'm too lazy to fix it....",
"Not everyone eats their value. Unless you go to a buffet and specifically eat several plates full of only the most expensive offerings you probably aren't either.\n\nA lot of ppl start with some salad or soup (cheaper food). Then eat 1 or 2 servings of regular food, but mix it up between more expensive meat/seafood offerings and much cheaper things like mashed potatoes, Mac & Cheese or other side dishes. Then they go for desserts that are made/bought in bulk and also not high in cost. \n\nThe Golden Corral nearest me charges around $13 for an adult. I know the exact quantities of the food I eat doesn't cost anywhere near that much even at the local grocery store. When you break down what you really eat the prices aren't really a mystery considering that they have connections and contracts that keep their prices super low to start with. "
]
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|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
kqb64
|
how do psychoactive drugs get you high, and why are some more harmful than others?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kqb64/eli5_how_do_psychoactive_drugs_get_you_high_and/
|
{
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"c2mbrbl",
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"text": [
"[This should help you out](_URL_0_).",
"[This should help you out](_URL_0_)."
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[] |
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[
[
"http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html"
],
[
"http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html"
]
] |
||
2zbryn
|
organic chemistry and what makes it so difficult
|
I'm a biology undergraduate who took an alternative course route that did not require me to take organic chemistry. However, the subject matter still sounds fascinating to me yet the overarching hatred of the class made me avoid it. This question has already kind of been asked, but none of the answers sufficiently explained what organic chemistry really IS in a scientific light or what makes it so universally challenging. Assume I have an undergraduate level of scientific literacy.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zbryn/eli5_organic_chemistry_and_what_makes_it_so/
|
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"A lot of the reason Ochem is hard is simply because of rote memorization. You have to know all the [functional groups](_URL_0_) and the associated nomenclature with each, which is... just absolutely brutal. It's not something that can be broken down with deductive reasoning, you just have to straight-up memorize all of that.\n\nOnce you have the functional groups memorized - a monumental task in and of itself - you have to worry about what structures they're attached to. Hydrocarbons can make straight chains, like in a lipid, or they can make rings, like in sugar (glucose is a hexagonal ring structure).\n\nLet's do an example, picking [ethanol](_URL_3_) as our chemical du jour. When we look at the [molecular layout](_URL_2_), we see two carbons, surrounded mostly by hydrogens. This is to be expected: the hydrogens are totally uninteresting.\n\nWhat is interesting is that one of the bonds is with an oxygen, which is then linked with hydrogen. This is an OH group, or \"hydroxyl group.\" Checking my [handy dandy table](_URL_4_), I see, that the suffix for compounds containing a hydroxyl (OH) group is \"-ol.\"\n\nI also have noticed that the carbons make a straight chain, as opposed to a ring. That means that it's an alkane, so I'll check another [handy dandy table](_URL_1_) for alkanes. There are two carbons in the chain, so the prefix is \"eth.\"\n\nCombining the suffix and prefix, we get \"ethanol.\" Yay!\n\nThis is frankly not hard to do while I can use Wikipedia, but this is really hard to do when someone asks me to just do it off the top of my head. It's a stagering amount of information to keep track of."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_group#Table_of_common_functional_groups",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUPAC_nomenclature_of_organic_chemistry#Alkanes",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol#/media/File:Ethanol-2D-flat.png",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_group#Groups_containing_oxygen"
]
] |
|
71q2m7
|
how exactly does coding and programming work, and what is the simplest way to self-teach?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/71q2m7/eli5_how_exactly_does_coding_and_programming_work/
|
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"Essentially, you give the computer/browser instructions on what it should do. Generally speaking, the computer has no idea what to do unless you explicitly state it. There are many different languages suited to different machines/devices. For example, a web server can run any number of backend (server side) languages, like Ruby/Python/PHP/JavaScript. These instructions on the server let peoples browsers know what to display for certain users. \n\nAs far as learning goes, there are a pretty wide array of choices online, and a lot of them are free (and some are quite good). Examples are Codecademy, Free Code Camp, etc. once you learn the basics, the best way to get better is just to build stuff. And build more stuff. And keep iterating on that. ",
"There are online courses available. Some of them are Free. [There are books you can buy](_URL_0_)\n\nAll of these have chapters which explain how coding and programming works. There are programs specifically written for children. The children learn how to put characters on a screen and make them respond to input which is programming.",
"You already have two great ELI5s so I'm gonna answer a little bit different, I'm currently writing lots of different programming languages and designing a tool to do this faster.\n\nProgramming languages are like a dictionary of commands, Imagine you have a dog, If you could \"speak\" his language, by barking, you could tell it to do all sorts of things, but you don't bark the same language as your dog, so you train him with commands, like sit or fetch, that he then associates with the actions he has to do.\n\nThe commands you train your dog with are like a programming language, an intermediary vocabulary that both you and the dog, or the computer can understand, so that you can tell it what to do.\n\nAs for learning to program (there are in my opinion a difference in learning a programming language and learning to program, but I think this is another holy war) start by trying to comprehend the logic of programming, either by using a pseudocode or by using something like scratch that is a \"programming language\" in which you connect blocks, after that pick a language you want to use, Google programming languages and you'll see lots ( personal recommendation go for a scripting language like JavaScript or Lua) and start learning it's vocabulary, If you follow these steps and really learn the first part, You'll find yourself mastering new programming languages very easily.",
"Programming language is the syntax you use to write programs - what words or characters are permitted and what they mean. Once you write the program, it needs to be translated to the instructins that CPU understands and can execute. This is done by compiler into an executable file, or by interpreter directly to the CPU.\n\nI recommend practicing debugging right from the start. People usualy don't think of debugging when they start learning how to program, but it is very helpful, and can help you undersand some deeper concepts more easily. Every proffesional programmer spends at least as much time debugging as he does programming.\n\nThe answer to your second question is most often to try and make something, some small app. A simple calculator, or guess the number game, or any small program you want. With the clear goal in mind, you will start to fromulate all the requirements needed to complete it, and you will have a much better idea what to look for.",
"Computers are dumb little robots following a list of instructions, usually things like 'go over there and look at that thing, then come back here and draw what you saw' and sometimes decisions like 'go over there and look around, if you see something that looks like this picture, go way over there and tell that robot about it, if you dont, come back to me and sit down'\n\nSome of the boxes that the little robots carry around contain pictures or sounds or bits of a film, but the robots have no idea. To them all the boxes just have big numbers in them, and they have no idea what the numbers mean either. A TV or a speaker or a printer have their own special way of turning numbers into Stuff, and if the robots throws one of those boxes down a cable into the TV or speaker, the numbers should hopefully turn into the right Stuff.\n\n\nThere are lots of ways that we can create these lists of instructions for these little robots, but since they are very obedient and really really stupid they will happily follow an instruction that says 'keep walking that way' and never ever come back, which is sometimes called a Leak.\n\n\nSome programs can help with this, you can make a list of instructions in that program's language, and it will create a 'real' list of instructions for the robot with some added nice-ness, like \"dont walk out of the building\" or \"call me every few steps and let me know you're ok\" or \"if you get confused, stay calm and come back to me\"\n\n\nIf you want to make windowsy looking programs like Notepad or Paintbrush, you can use something called \".Net\" to make programs that you can see and poke at very easily, with lots of little safety features and invisible butlers making sure the computer doesn't get confused. If you don't care about seeing the program, and just want the computer to *imagine* doing something and tell you the answer afterwards, \"Python\" is a very nice language for beginners.\n\n\nComputers are smarter than us, and also dumber than us. Try learning the Python or Javascript language to do some basic things, like add a few numbers together and draw the answer on the screen. Once you get used to how obedient and stupid the little robots are, you can start teaching the computer how bits of your imagination work, and when you and the computer 'think the same answer' you will smile uncontrollably :)\n\nComputer languages are made by people, and we are all forgetful animals. If you are using a computer language and can't figure out how to do something, imagine the problem being done by an army of factory robots who have no idea what you are trying to achieve, then type the question into google. You will probably find a website called StackOverflow, where many fellows who like talking to computers will have asked the same question before."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"https://learnpythonthehardway.org/"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5zzz7d
|
how is it safe to touch lightning charger terminals?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5zzz7d/eli5_how_is_it_safe_to_touch_lightning_charger/
|
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"You mean the end where you plug it into the phone? Safe - apple lightning chargers are 5V at 1-2.1A max. \n\nThe prongs where you stick the charger into the wall? yeah don't touch those as you plug it in. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
jjcbn
|
what do scientologists believe and why does it seem populated by the rich/famous?
|
I just read that Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez separated because of he commitment to the Church of Scientology. I just want to understand the appeal.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jjcbn/eli5_what_do_scientologists_believe_and_why_does/
|
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"Scientologists believe that a few million years ago, an alien dumped people on earth. He equiped everyone with a special thing that makes people powerful and need thousands of dollars of \"therapy\" to make it come to life. This is why Scientology appeals to money-seekers. Famous people are used for publicity, so they can make more.",
"At the most basic level, Scientologists believe that bad feelings are caused by something called Thetans, which are dark forces that surround your body and make you sad, or angry, or unsatisfied. Scientologists measure how many Thetans surround you through a process called Auditing, which is basically checking out how strictly you adhere to the tenants of Scientology.\n\nThat's what people find out if they're involved in Scientology for just a couple years. But keep in mind that although Scientology promises unending happiness, it costs a LOT of money to get there. Each audit costs money, each lesson, and each \"upgrade\" to higher levels of scientology where you find out more and more and more about the history of the Thetans and how they came to be bothering you. While poor people can be Scientologists, by exchanging labor and skills for lessons instead of a few grand, Scientologist leaders do specifically target people with a great deal of wealth and influence to try to fund more Scientology churches and activities. They have special celebrity getaways/spas, special VIP churches, etc. that give the rich an amazing and fulfilling experience. These celebrities aren't necessarily very \"high\" in the church hierarchy, but they are treated like kings because they fund so many church activites. These kinds of tortured artist types are also more likely than your average person to feel unhappy enough to be willing to pay $5,000 to find out why.\n\nFor more information about what people find out at the upper levels, because if I ELI5 you'll laugh, go to [Operation Clambake](_URL_0_) and do some research into Lord Xenu and OT3.",
"I would field a guess that the celebrity portion is nothing but a modern day version of the Masons. Or rather... \"jobs for the boys\".\n\nIf you look at films or shows made/run by member of scientology they tend to get other members jobs on the same show.\n\nI have serious doubts that they are in it for Xenu, rather i think they are in it as a positive career step because they will be more likely to be picked for parts.\n\nHence why to my knowledge you do not get many Sports stars into it, seeing as how they rely on their physical skills for money and not landing cushy roles because they are friends with people.\n\nI may be very wrong, its just my casual theory about it all.",
"Answer to what they believe:\n\n_URL_0_",
"Only rich people can afford to hang out with a group that keeps asking for your money.",
"Celebrities are also drawn to Scientology becuase of the special benefits the church gives them. I do believe Tom Cruise has a whole mansion and huge plot of land from Scientologist. All a stint to keep them from leaving, and it gives the chruch a better image if everyone's \"favourite\" celebrities are joining.",
"I would also suggest someone explain why it is considered dangerous by so many. Their beliefs are odd and strange, but people can say the same about other religions. People should be allowed to believe in whatever they will, but how that certain group conducts themselves in the name of said religion should also be looked at. \n\nRich and famous people can be full of pride and will take to flatering comments. I know of certain things that scientology has done (fair game policy), but I lack the ablility to explain it properly. Can someone explain it?",
"Early on, back when Hubbard was still alive, the church made the decision to specifically pursue celebrities for membership to both increase the visibility (hence membership) and the perceived legitimacy of the church. The plan to go after celebs had a \"Operation _______\" name but I don't recall what it was, specifically. ",
"Scientologists believe that a few million years ago, an alien dumped people on earth. He equiped everyone with a special thing that makes people powerful and need thousands of dollars of \"therapy\" to make it come to life. This is why Scientology appeals to money-seekers. Famous people are used for publicity, so they can make more.",
"At the most basic level, Scientologists believe that bad feelings are caused by something called Thetans, which are dark forces that surround your body and make you sad, or angry, or unsatisfied. Scientologists measure how many Thetans surround you through a process called Auditing, which is basically checking out how strictly you adhere to the tenants of Scientology.\n\nThat's what people find out if they're involved in Scientology for just a couple years. But keep in mind that although Scientology promises unending happiness, it costs a LOT of money to get there. Each audit costs money, each lesson, and each \"upgrade\" to higher levels of scientology where you find out more and more and more about the history of the Thetans and how they came to be bothering you. While poor people can be Scientologists, by exchanging labor and skills for lessons instead of a few grand, Scientologist leaders do specifically target people with a great deal of wealth and influence to try to fund more Scientology churches and activities. They have special celebrity getaways/spas, special VIP churches, etc. that give the rich an amazing and fulfilling experience. These celebrities aren't necessarily very \"high\" in the church hierarchy, but they are treated like kings because they fund so many church activites. These kinds of tortured artist types are also more likely than your average person to feel unhappy enough to be willing to pay $5,000 to find out why.\n\nFor more information about what people find out at the upper levels, because if I ELI5 you'll laugh, go to [Operation Clambake](_URL_0_) and do some research into Lord Xenu and OT3.",
"I would field a guess that the celebrity portion is nothing but a modern day version of the Masons. Or rather... \"jobs for the boys\".\n\nIf you look at films or shows made/run by member of scientology they tend to get other members jobs on the same show.\n\nI have serious doubts that they are in it for Xenu, rather i think they are in it as a positive career step because they will be more likely to be picked for parts.\n\nHence why to my knowledge you do not get many Sports stars into it, seeing as how they rely on their physical skills for money and not landing cushy roles because they are friends with people.\n\nI may be very wrong, its just my casual theory about it all.",
"Answer to what they believe:\n\n_URL_0_",
"Only rich people can afford to hang out with a group that keeps asking for your money.",
"Celebrities are also drawn to Scientology becuase of the special benefits the church gives them. I do believe Tom Cruise has a whole mansion and huge plot of land from Scientologist. All a stint to keep them from leaving, and it gives the chruch a better image if everyone's \"favourite\" celebrities are joining.",
"I would also suggest someone explain why it is considered dangerous by so many. Their beliefs are odd and strange, but people can say the same about other religions. People should be allowed to believe in whatever they will, but how that certain group conducts themselves in the name of said religion should also be looked at. \n\nRich and famous people can be full of pride and will take to flatering comments. I know of certain things that scientology has done (fair game policy), but I lack the ablility to explain it properly. Can someone explain it?",
"Early on, back when Hubbard was still alive, the church made the decision to specifically pursue celebrities for membership to both increase the visibility (hence membership) and the perceived legitimacy of the church. The plan to go after celebs had a \"Operation _______\" name but I don't recall what it was, specifically. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://www.xenu.net"
],
[],
[
"http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104274/what-scientologist-actually-believe"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.xenu.net"
],
[],
[
"http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104274/what-scientologist-actually-believe"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
616ojv
|
what do movie directors actually do that makes them garners them more recognition than other crew?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/616ojv/eli5_what_do_movie_directors_actually_do_that/
|
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"Think of the Director of a movie as a super hands on, micro manger CEO of a company, and in this situation, the company is a movie. They are in charge of everything. They work on everything, they have a say on everything, nothing gets past them, they are in charge. They reap the benefits of being in charge of a great movie, and are saddled with the burdens of a failure. All signs point to the guy (or gal) in charge.",
"Many film directors get involved with script writing and various or even *all* aspects of pre-production. Many directors get involved with editing and other post-production. All of this at varying levels of authority, from advisor to absolute (Hitchcock, for example, for most of his movies).\n\nBut to take directing at its bare minimum involvement during actual shooting, the director *at least* signs off on the lighting and camera placement and planned camera movement for each shot. He coaches and gives instructions to the actors. He decides whether re-takes are needed of a specific shot and makes adjustments, decides (more in the old days) which takes of a shot will be printed or essentially discarded and not even become available during editing.\n\nExcept for the continuity (\"script girl\" in the old days) the director is the only guiding force behind every shot. The writer, producer, production designer *may* be present for some or even all of the shooting but even at a minimal involvement the director's impact on the final film is almost impossible to not see, if he has any personality and style at all. If he happens to be an artist, his impact is unmistakable. ",
"The director makes nearly all of the creative decisions. The crew just executes those decisions. \n\nIf you took two different directors and each gave them the same script and the same crew, you would still get two very different movies.\n\nHowever if you took that same script and gave it to one director and told that director to make the exact same movie twice, each time with a different crew, you'd get an almost identical movie. \n\nDon't get me wrong I think movie crews deserve a lot of credit. They do very good work, but the director has creative input and that's why they get more recognition especially for well received movies. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5bew1i
|
why does mixing blue and red paint turn into purple paint? how does it happen?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5bew1i/eli5_why_does_mixing_blue_and_red_paint_turn_into/
|
{
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"text": [
"This is a process called subtractive color. If you've ever looked at a prism, you know that white light is a combination of all colors.\nBlue paint is blue because the pigments in the paint absorb every other color and only reflect blue back to our eyes. Red paint is red because the pigments absorb every other color and only reflect red back to your eyes. When you mix red and blue paint together, the pigments mix, and reflect back to your eyes a combination of red and blue light, which is purple.\n\nAs a side note, red and blue don't actually make purple in subtractive color, which is the color model used when dealing with things like paints, inks, and dyes. Mixing red and blue would give you a sort of purple-ish brown. When using subractive color. we use cyan, magenta, and yellow, known as CMYK color. In this color model, mixing cyan and magenta would give you a true purple.\n\n_URL_0_"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/SubtractiveColor.svg/400px-SubtractiveColor.svg.png"
]
] |
||
d53k40
|
if shampoo strips away oils and conditioner replaces them, why are there shampoo + conditioner in one products?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d53k40/eli5_if_shampoo_strips_away_oils_and_conditioner/
|
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"text": [
"[Here](_URL_0_)is an old thread from a similar question.",
"Simple answer: they shouldn’t be in the same product, and any product that claims to do both probably does neither particularly well",
"The conditioner part is a silicon product that sticks to the hair more strongly than normal hair oils so it is not washed away by the detergent part. It makes your hair feel silky, but can build up on your hair (as it is not washed away) and hair salons dont reccomend them.",
"i take one or two showers every day. haven't used shampoo in years. all i do is rinse my hair and then use conditioner\n\ni mentioned it to the lady who cuts my hair (who also teaches hair styling and hair care) and she says absolutely no problem, my hair is doing great",
"Billy Madison explained it best:\n\nShampoo is better. I go on first and clean the hair. Conditioner is better. I leave the hair silky and smooth. Oh, really, fool? Really. \n\nTherefore, you cannot combine them, as one needs to go on before the other.",
"/r/NoPoo would tell you to get shampoo without sulfates. That is the worst offender for stripping out those necessary oils.",
"They don't work as well, but here's how it works:\n\n2-in-1 shampoo/conditioners have silicone (in the form of dimethicone) suspended in a solution that cleans your hair. Also, silicone likes to cling to hair. When you add water, the silicone and the solution separate. The oil in your hair is bound to the shampoo solution (surfactant), whereas the silicone can now cling to the hair. The silicone takes the place of the oil (literally and figuratively), whereas the oil molecules are bound to the surfactant and are now water soluble, meaning they can be washed away.",
"Been using Head and Shoulders 2 in 1 for 7 years straight with no issue. Used to have gnarly dry scalp when I was younger, no flakes as of yet.",
"I have abandoned shampoo and conditioner entirely (except in specific situations where I get something in my hair) since 1996. I love how my hair feels, and I only ever get compliments about it. You may imagine it is greasy as hell, but it’s not, and after a rinse it feels soft and amazing."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2pkro0/elif_how_do_products_like_3inone/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
cd6uq9
|
how are kids so dang durable?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cd6uq9/eli5_how_are_kids_so_dang_durable/
|
{
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"text": [
"Mostly kids are small and light, they are closer to the ground and can't run as fast as adults. Their bones are still developing so they are more cartlidge and less calcified. This means they are lighter and more flexible but also break easier(the bones).\n\nBecause F=MA and kids weigh so little, they tend to bounce off things and be relatively unharmed while if you do the same thing as an adult with four times the mass, you hit the ground alot harder. Also when you fall over your a good 70-100cms taller than a child so you fall a lot further before hitting the ground."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
fbz8m5
|
how scopes work and aren't innacurate due to being higher than iron sights
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fbz8m5/eli5_how_scopes_work_and_arent_innacurate_due_to/
|
{
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"text": [
"You sight in a scope. So the crosshairs sit at the point you want to hit at whatever range. No matter the sight the gun won’t always shoot straight forever. There’s drop off, wind, etc. \n\nBut you can’t just put a scope on. You need to adjust the sight to the gun."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
44qk0e
|
brute force attacks on passwords
|
Why can I lock myself out of an online account knowing the password but doing it wrong three times but a hacker can brute force possibly millions of attempts?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44qk0e/eli5_brute_force_attacks_on_passwords/
|
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"text": [
"Brute force attacks aren't done against the actual login website, that would be impossibly slow. Instead, they're performed against a stolen copy of the site's passwords file, which has a hashed version of your password in it. That way they can attempt passwords as quickly as their local machine will allow.",
"A hacker does not try to log in millions of times rather they first hack in to the servers where the hashed passwords are stored. Then produce a million hashes until they have a match.\n\nA hash is a process that only works one way. For example maybe a code transforms the word \"password\" into \"a5-h9cv\" or something. In the database the website store \"a5-h9cv\" and do not know the password (and there is no way to find the password from this hash). But if you hash every possible password and see what comes out you will see that \"password\" becomes \"a5-h9cv\".\n\nMost websites nowadays use something called hash and salt which is more secure were you have a salt (some random string of characters) that is big enough that it takes more time to perform a hash, it still takes less than a second to log in, but if your going to do a million hashes to break every password it would take forever.",
"The 3 wrong passwords=lockout function is a protection against brute-force attacks, and it's been a long time since hackers have been doing those attacks on login forms. Instead, they are sometimes able to steal a list of *unsalted password hashes* from sites with poor security practices. They are then able to run a brute force attack against that entire list, entirely on their own computer, and determine what passwords produce hashes that match the list.\n\n > **hash**: For security, companies do not (well, should not) store your actual password. Instead, they use a mathematical algorithm to mutilate your password in such a way that it can't be reversed. The resulting value is the hash. Then, when you log in, they mutilate the password in the same way and see if it matches.\n\n > **salt**: For additional security, when you set the password, the system generates an additional random value and adds it to your password before it is hashed. This value is saved and used whenever you input your password. This makes it so that if someone steals a list of hashes, he has to re-hash each password for each account, instead of checking each password against the whole list at once.",
"And there's the missing piece of the puzzle! Didn't think that they would have a copy of the password database. Thanks guys! "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
6miuns
|
why can usb-c be the same plug on both ends, but regular usb-a always had to go from a to a different form factor?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6miuns/eli5_why_can_usbc_be_the_same_plug_on_both_ends/
|
{
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"text": [
"Well USB-C is symmetrical, where as A wasn't.\n\nA stayed around a long time for compatibility, but as technology progressed the driving factor for an update were greater speeds and ease of use, and now with better manufacturing methods driving down the cost of these more complicated form factors, they can become widely used.",
"The names are a bit misleading.\nUSB was designed to be super cheap so instead of having expensive chips that could automatically determine which is the device and which is the controller they made two plugs, type A and type B.\n\nIt would always be type A in the controller and type B in the device.\n\nThen came smartphones and some manufacturer wanted to be able to connect USB devices to the smartphone device that also could charge and use data via the same port, and USB OtG (on the go) came to be. The phone could then act as both a controller and a device, if you plug in the right converter (usually a short cable that has a type B micro plug and a full-sized type A socket) it would automatically detect it and talk to the device as if it were a computer.\n\nAnd finally we have the new USB connector type that is symmetrical both in the connector itself (it doesn't matter which way you turn it, hooray!) and the cables, they can have the same connector on each end and automatically negotiate who is to act as the controller.\n\nSince this connector wasn't a type A or a type B, they named it type C and thus we have USB-C."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
9i8u17
|
why does swimming in chlorinated swimming pool make you feel tired after?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9i8u17/eli5_why_does_swimming_in_chlorinated_swimming/
|
{
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"text": [
"Never noticed this. I've been tired after swimming, but usually because I don't use every muscle in my body everyday.",
"Because you were swimming. Swimming is exercise and exercise makes you tired. Doing the same amount of swimming in fresh or salt water would also make you feel tired after.",
"If you don't often get exposed to large amounts of sun at once you may be noticing the effect that that has on you rather than the pool. Sunlight will make you tired as well."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
34ww5b
|
what would happen if there was a 9+ magnitude earthquake at all tectonic plates at once?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34ww5b/eli5_what_would_happen_if_there_was_a_9_magnitude/
|
{
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"text": [
"Massive destruction everywhere. A lot of massive tsunamis around the world causing massive flooding. A lot of deaths, a lot of places with poor infrastructure would be in rumbles. \n\nIt would be a time of great chaos and mourning for those who died. There would also be a lot of aftershocks. Travel would most likely be halted for a while. There would be a great amount of confusion. Perhaps people would work together and pool resources because almost every area in the world would in some way be affected. So it would be a global event. \n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
5gzhw9
|
where did that preppy, girly, blocky handwriting come from that seems exclusive to the recent generation?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5gzhw9/eli5_where_did_that_preppy_girly_blocky/
|
{
"a_id": [
"daw9k9j",
"dawezzd",
"dawfok2"
],
"score": [
9,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Original comment is from u/educationspace360\n\n\"There is an accurate perception that boys develop the fine motor skills necessary to hold a pen or pencil as much as six years later than girls. And then for boys to make correctly shaped symbols in specific horizontal alignment is even more difficult. It seems that boys develop the larger muscle mass for upper body strength before their brains can precisely control the movements of the smaller muscles in the wrists and fingers. There is also scientific analysis demonstrating that a boy’s brain develops many of the abilities for handwriting much later than a girl’s brain. A group that promotes separate schools for boys and girls, National Assoc. for Single Sex Public Education cites research by Harriet Hanlon, Robert Thatcher and Marvin Cline that details the differences in boy and girl brain development. Clearly, then, there are some measurable differences in muscle growth and brain development that result in the broad, general perception that a large percentage of boys are not capable of even average handwriting skills until a few years later than the early grades at school.\"\n",
"Everyone has a different handwriting style and there were definitely people who were writing like this before it was everywhere. We girls are big copy-cats which is why the fashion industry and its trends get so much popularity and hype; everyone is doing it. It's cool and unique and in the strive to be different and to stand out, we end up copying other people (makes no sense). I know I have some handwriting tendencies that were influenced by my friends' handwriting. \n\nAlso, the incorporating cursive into print might explain some of the loopy girliness.",
"I've always wondered this too! I'm 20 and I'm not exaggerating when I say every other girl I've seen write does this. Somehow I missed out on it though and I really don't understand how! My writing style isn't cute at all and looks like a sad attempt at comic sans. I always used to get remarks on how I had \"boy\" handwriting! Did other girls practice getting their handwriting like this and I just missed the memo?!\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
3hcv2e
|
why are people so averse to giving dc statehood?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3hcv2e/eli5_why_are_people_so_averse_to_giving_dc/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cu69iu9"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's all politics. The main thing is the balance of power in the Congress -- DC is very, very heavily Democrat, and so statehood would mean one safe Dem seat in the House and, far more importantly, two eternally safe Democrat seats in the Senate.\n\nRepublicans would be happy to consider the residents of DC as residents of Maryland for purposes of congressional representation. Democrats don't want to give up on the dream of two safe Senate seats for a tiny piece of real estate, so they won't settle for anything less than statehood.\n\nCaught in the middle of these two corrupt parties are the residents of DC."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
dhz8xx
|
how does a computer remember things? what’s the physical link between metal and memory?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dhz8xx/eli5_how_does_a_computer_remember_things_whats/
|
{
"a_id": [
"f3s4ggq",
"f3s55f3"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Are you asking how does the computer physically save data or memory? Or are you asking how does it remember something in reference to context, something like \"hey last time you asked me about the weather so maybe you will ask me about the weather again?\"",
"Since you mentioned metal I assume you're thinking of mechanical hard drives with platters.\n\nEach platter is a thin film of ferromagnetic material divided up into tracks and sectors. The drive head is a little arm with a magnet on the end. It will scan over the disc and check if that bit is magnetised. If it is we can say it's a 1, and 0 if it isn't. From there it's just binary encoding.\n\nWhen you save data, it writes the binary to the disc by magnetising to demagnetising the right areas. Some of the disc is reserved for a file table, which is just instructions as to where on the disc the arm needs to go in order to find the right file/data."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
7efzk9
|
what is defamation and how can you be sued for it in a country like the us where there is free speech?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7efzk9/eli5_what_is_defamation_and_how_can_you_be_sued/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dq4qgvy"
],
"score": [
10
],
"text": [
"American free speech rights aren't unlimited. We've established that you can't threaten to murder people, shout fire in a movie theater or engage in false advertisting. Defamation falls under the same umbrella. While the bar is set quite high, you can sue somebody for slander/libel if you can prove that...\n\n* the statements are untrue\n* the person speaking knew they were untrue\n* but they said them anyways\n* ...and they caused you actual, quantifiable harm\n\nYou can say \"Donald Trump is a doo-doo head\" all you want & there's not much that can come of it. If Burger King starts placing ads saying \"McDonald's burgers are made with rat meat\", OTOH, that's a cause for action."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4ya1at
|
where does our idea of "pretty" and "ugly" come from?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ya1at/eli5_where_does_our_idea_of_pretty_and_ugly_come/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d6m6njd",
"d6mkjn7"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Many, many sources. \n\nOne of the main sources of \"attractiveness\" appears to be derived purely from symmetry of features. Basically whether the left hand side of a face/body identically mirrors the right hand side. \n\nOther aspects are likely to be purely cultural, where certain traits are valued higher than others, like skin tone, eye color, or other traits that are largely non-functional in daily life. \n\nA third category is traits that indicate general health. Things like presence of acne, bloodshot eyes, bruises, and so on. \n\nBut, generally speaking, \"pretty\" is an abstract enough concept that it's essentially impossible to give any hard definitions on it. People on the internet will let you know that world class super models have sharp knees, and that the rando sitting across from them on the bus was impossibly beautiful. ",
"I would say beauty standards come down to these things, which all interact with each other and with our biology: *class, culture and gender norms.*\n\n\nOur first conceptions of \"pretty\" and \"ugly\" are based on a more biological desire to find a mate that will produce the fittest possible offspring or provide security for a mate. When we see someone we perceive as attractive, a chemical and hormonal cocktail is set off in our brain which can be described as \"attraction.\" Shortness of breath, butterflies in your stomach and a yearning to be with that person are all caused by the brain's reaction to sensory stimuli. But because the brain is so dam complex and beautiful even that can mean many things, especially in a society where the *physically* fittest person isn't necessarily the one who can provide security or status for yourself and/or your offspring.\n\n\n*Class*) Today's beauty standards are based largely on our economic status. While its not fair to try and find generalizations, a lot of historical beauty standards have been based on social and economic class. If you looked like you worked in the fields, you were less attractive. \n\n\nA lot of fashions and symbols of social class had more to do with looking like you've never had to lift a finger in your life. In some east Asian cultures women had their feet bound to show they didn't have to work in the fields. In *many* cultures being fair-skinned is considered beautiful. That's based on many cultural perceptions which associated dark skin with the peasant class who had to work in the hot sun (look at India, Korea, Japan, China, and renaissance Europe). Back in the day, being somewhat overweight meant a woman had access to food, a sign of health, wealth and -therefore - attractiveness. Today, being overweight is generally associated with poverty.\n\n\n*Culture*) We live in a globalized world where mass media most often celebrates more European \"white\" features. Having blue or green eyes, or blonde straight hair, for instance, is considered attractive. In black communities across the West women wear weaves rather than grow out their natural curly hair, and in many Asian cultures there are products emant to \"widen\" naturally almond-shaped eyes. Being white is privileged, so traditionally \"white\" features are privileged as well.\n\n\n*Gender*) There are also gender politics in play. For instance, living in a society where masculinity might be questioned if a man is shorter than a woman means that - in general - heterosexual couples are attracted to someone who fits in that little box. What's more, traditional notions of masculinity mean that a man should be a \"provider.\" That might explain why the most attractive age for men is often in their 40s and higher, as they're understood to be more mature and able to provide for their woman. Gender norms are far from static, however. What might be considered \"feminine\" in one culture or time period can be considered very masculine not long after, and vice versa.\n\n\nAll of those factors work alongside one another to affect our perceptions of attractiveness. When it comes down to it, though, its all highly subjective. Our brains are the most complex things in the observable universe, and the experiences all of us have which weigh into our perceptions of attractiveness varies. For instance, you might have had a very cruel teacher with red hair and freckles. There's a chance now that your brain (which is very good at coming up with patterns even when they don't exist) associates red hair and freckles with the unpleasant traits of that teacher, so you find them unattractive. Studies have shown we are more likely to trust faces that resemble those we saw as children, which might explain why magazines owned and created by white people would privilege white beauty standards. See how cyclical that is/\n\n\nOverall, what a culture - or a person - finds attractive in other people can say a lot about who they are. Chalking it up purely to \"who looks healthiest\" doesn't acknowledge how amazingly complex our brains are, especially when those brains come together to form societies and cultures. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
8beryt
|
why doesn’t stereo volume stop at a point before distortion occurs in stock speakers? conversely, why don’t stock speakers hold up to the capability of their stereo counterparts?
|
I was fudging with my stereo today and increased the volume from 66.6% (30/45) to 80% (40/45) and the music started to distort. Now, 30/45 is already overkill in my car, but theoretically, shouldn’t you be able to turn the volume to 100% without any negative effects? These speakers were designed for this stereo by default. Why wouldn’t the max out the volume before losing audio quality?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8beryt/eli5_why_doesnt_stereo_volume_stop_at_a_point/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dx66j20",
"dx671to",
"dx6ktqn"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Manufacturers often make more variety of speaker than head unit, so low quality speakers are often paired with more powerful head units. They want to keep the overall system inexpensive, but they're not able to get a cheaper head unit. ",
"It can also come down to the input, ie. if you connect your phone, this will have a much more balanced volume level. So, in which case your radio etc. has a badly balanced volume level according to the capabilities of the speakers.",
"Another thing to add to the great explanations so far is that most receivers have an \"overdrive\" mode, where the amplifiers are above the peak efficiency point, and are sacrificing quality for volume. If the receiver shows volume in Db, this will be the positive numbers (and if you blow your transformer in this range, your manufacturer may not honor your warranty!)"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1eey43
|
what's going on in my fingers when i snap?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1eey43/eli5_whats_going_on_in_my_fingers_when_i_snap/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c9zjs3w",
"c9zlimc",
"c9zu09m"
],
"score": [
29,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"The snapping noise comes from your middle finger hitting your palm at a high rate of speed.",
"By putting pressure on your thumb until your middle finger slips off suddenly gives a very strong and fast launch of your finger into your palm. It's very close to how a slingshot works. The best snaps happen when your middle finger (the one \"snapping\") hits the crevasse formed between your palm and your ring finger. You are pressurizing the air in that little groove, making it shoot out really fast. This pushes a wave of air (a sound wave) into the room that our ears pick up as a loud snap. ",
"Clap your hands, snapping is that with only one finger."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4t26hm
|
when was it decided that wwi and wwii were world wars, and who determined when they were deemed over?
|
I've always wondered this.
World War I and World War II involved most of the countries in the world, but at what point were they referred to as such? Does such a name like "World War" come after it is over, or during? I've never seen any propaganda or other such media from the time period refer to either war as a "World" war, but at some point in time it was deemed so. Secondly, with the United States bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively forcing Japan to surrender, was it deemed then and there that the war was over? Were there other conflicts that were overshadowed?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4t26hm/eli5_when_was_it_decided_that_wwi_and_wwii_were/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d5e0g6d",
"d5e1esa"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Well Germany used a word, Weltkrieg, which basically means World War. When they used the term, they were referring to a sort of apocalyptic struggle that would determine what country would dominate the entire world. \n\n\nWhen WWI broke out, most countries did not call it World War. Britain, France, and Russia referred to it as the \"Great\" War (great as in big). The US called it the \"European War\" at first, but when they later joined in the war they couldn't call it European anymore, and that's when the American media starting using the term World War. I doubt they called it \"World War 1\" at the time, because that name sort of suggests there will be another, and why would anyone suggest such a thing, even if they thought it were true?\n\n\n\nBoth wars were considered over when Germany formally surrendered.",
"During the time between the wars the first one was called \"The Great War\". It ended shortly after the US entered the war in support of Britain and her allies. All the major parties signed a treaty. \n\nCuriously, they agreed to end the war in late October but set the treaty date a couple weeks later--November 11th. The battles continued until the pre-announced time (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month as it was written). This is why armistice day (veteran's day in the US) is on November 11th.\n\n_URL_2_\n\nWorld War II was actually several wars all happening simultaneously. In Europe, Hitler was spearheading efforts to conquer-notconquer the continent and the immediately adjacent areas. He and Italy most notably did the most \"pushing\". Parts of Africa were fought over. Most of the European continent was fought over. England was pressured, though it never fell. Eastern Europe was dragged in, the Serb/Croat/Czech regions too. There was a major land war, but Hitler also pushed into the sea with a navy (UBoats too) and an air force as well as the first use of rockets in war.\n\nThe US tried to remain neutral, but eventually joined the anti-Hitler camp as Germany was going after US ships and Uboats were trying to approach the US coast and so on and so forth. The official declaration was in 1941, Germany was irritated at the US supporting their enemies (Britian, Russia, etc) and declared war on the US and started going after items of US interest.\n\nJapan, meanwhile, had an empire minded ruler who thought it was a good idea to go after US interests in the Pacific. The US had been looking into the Phillipines and other Pacific Islands as areas of strategic military and/or business interest and that was not sitting well with the Japanese rulership. In order to go after those interests, it was necessary to take out the US Navy in the Pacific. The Navy was then stationed out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then only a territory, the same way Guam/Am Samoa/Puerto Rico/etc are today). The thinking went something like \"with the US Navy unable to defend its interests in the Pacific, we can take over\".\n\nThe initial raid went well for Japan, and for a while things were on balance in the Pacific, so much so that most of the rail lines and roads going from coastal California to the interior (Central Valley) were rigged to be imploded at a few hours notice should an invasion occur. SF Bay had two forts built (one at each end of the bridge) with anti-ship guns, and a few other tactical things *in the event that the Japanese managed to secure a foothold*. You can still see some of those efforts today, though the explosion parts have since been removed. Like the German declaration, the Japanese/Pearl Harbor/war thing also happened in 1941 and while the raid was not a written declaration it was enough of an Act of War to convince the US to take the fight up in a serious way (and not just a \"let's see what happens\" way).\n\nGermany surrendered in April 1945, almost a year after D-Day. The Allies were closing in on Berlin from the west, and Russia from the East. Hitler committed suicide and that pretty much sealed the deal except for signing the papers. Italy and the other Axis powers recognized the inevitable about the same time and pulled out of the war in quick succession (I don't have an exact timeline, sorry, but they all backed out within a few weeks/days of the Allies approaching Berlin). Italy officially backed out of the war earlier (1943) but the military and politics within Italy were a mess and it's hard to say when the actual fighting ended for them. \n\nJapan surrendered only after the use of nuclear weapons in August 1945; the US and Japan both had military plans in the event that the US made landfall on the major Japanese islands. If you think the small island battles were bloody, imagine trying to take huge, heavily populated islands :(. The Army Air Corps (no Air Force at that time) spent quite a lot of time over that summer bombing the main Japanese cities with more traditional bombs, so many planes and so many bombs that survivors said sometimes it was enough to reduce the sunniness to something like a stormy/cloudy day. The smoke and fires from the bombs probably helped that impression along as well.\n\nThe Japanese Emperor formally surrendered in a ceremony aboard a ship off the Japanese coast shortly after the second nuclear weapon was detonated. Papers were signed, Japan soon formed a new government that was not antagonistic to its neighbors, and the rest is history. Germany did too, once Hitler was out of the picture. The rest is history there, too.\n\n[Japanese surrender](_URL_1_)\n[German surrender](_URL_3_)\n[Italy's mess](_URL_0_)"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_of_Cassibile",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan",
"http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/nov-11-1918-world-war-i-ends/?_r=0",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_of_World_War_II_in_Europe"
]
] |
|
8d6y86
|
how does muscle contraction and the sliding and calcium thing work?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8d6y86/eli5_how_does_muscle_contraction_and_the_sliding/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dxl4pbq"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Thats not eli 5 material I think but anyway.\n\nMuscles are bound od something like 2 kinds in planks laid in rows: row of planks a, row of planks b, row of planks a etc etc.\n\nPlanks b have one head at a 90 degrees angle at each ens, towards either the row above or below.\n\nWhen muscles contract those heads bind to planks a, while also turning slightly, moving planks b. That causes them to slide slightly, shortening the muscle, aka making it contract.\n\nI believe calcium just works in passing the transmitters even before that, but I had those classes like 7 years ago so that might not be accurate.\n\nPlease respond to this so I'll find the post, I'll draw a schematic."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4f9rmb
|
why are there no 'b' batteries?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4f9rmb/eli5_why_are_there_no_b_batteries/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d2726tm",
"d2746vt"
],
"score": [
16,
9
],
"text": [
"there were. and A batteries (as opposed to AA or AAA)\n\nAA and AAA came along later as devices shrunk, and before long, no one needed the middle of the road batteries anymore, you either wanted them small, or big. So A and B fell out of favor.\n\nThey DO exist though... ",
"[Here](_URL_0_) is a picture of a B battery next to a AA for comparison"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes#/media/File:B-AA-battery.jpg"
]
] |
||
7h36a6
|
how exactly do our eyes get "bad"?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7h36a6/eli5_how_exactly_do_our_eyes_get_bad/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dqnpxs1",
"dqnryap"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"As is my case, when one ages, part of the eye stiffens and don't work properly anymore to bring near objects in focus. Basically, it's a mechanical issue.",
"Your eye is a biological camera. A camera has 3 main components. There are the lenses that focus light, the light sensor that collects light, and the circuits/software to turn the collected light into the image we see.\n\nAs people get older, the lenses part is generally what goes bad first. Our auto-focus ability slowly gets worse because the muscles controlling it in the eye weaken. This is why older people have trouble seeing things up close. Our lenses can also become cloudy and prevent light from entering due to a lifetime of accumulated exposure. This is known as cataracts and is solved by replacing the cloudy lens with an artificial one. This operation is the most commonly performed surgery in the world.\n\nThe light sensor can also have issues. Genetically, you can be born with color blindness so you don't have the proper color sensors. Your light sensors can also degenerate due to disease. This mostly happens after you are 60 years old, also due to the accumulation of a lifetime of light exposure. Other issues like diabetes can also affect your light sensor.\n\nLastly, the hardware/software to generate images is the nerves to the brain and the brain itself. Some diseases like glaucoma damage these nerves. Certain types of brain injury also can affect how you process information from your eye.\n\nSight is very complicated so many things can go wrong! Take care of your vision while you can by making sure you wear sunglasses when it is bright and make sure to relax your eyes by looking at distant things during your breaks."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2i2kzn
|
why are some subway stations' platforms on opposite of the tracks?
|
Are there reasons to have subway/train platforms for 2 different directions built on different side of the tracks? People have to walk around a lot to get to different side if they enter from the wrong entrance, it seems more logical to have all platforms in the middle, and tracks on 2 different sides instead.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i2kzn/eli5_why_are_some_subway_stations_platforms_on/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cky8ct5",
"cky95aq"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"All the platforms in the middle may seem logical to a passenger but for the engineers its far more logical to build two tracks right next to each other as in some instances they can take advantage of economies of scale. Two separated tracks require 2 distinct areas of track rather than just one. I. E. Its easier to build two separate platforms than 2 separate areas of track",
"Also, sometimes a station is added after the tracks have already been in use for years. Digging out two outside platforms is no big deal, but rerouting the tracks (and doing all the additional digging that would be needed on both ends of the station) would make it prohibitively expensive to put the platform in the middle.\n\nAnd I believe it's sometimes done to manage congestion, as well, for stations with certain types of traffic patterns. But I'm not certain of that."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6jk2vd
|
how do smoke detectors in smoking rooms in hotels not get set off all the time?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6jk2vd/eli5_how_do_smoke_detectors_in_smoking_rooms_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"djet9gw"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's not meant to detect smoke from one cigarette. It's meant to detect *a lot* more smoke. They are basically meant to wake you up so that you don't die of CO poisoning peacefully in your sleep. \n\nIf you were to smoke right below the smoke detector and very close to it so that all of the smoke goes in, yes, you will set it off."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
38xkgi
|
why do fast spinning things often appear to be rotating slowly, stationary, or even spinning in the opposite direction?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/38xkgi/eli5_why_do_fast_spinning_things_often_appear_to/
|
{
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"text": [
"**Under sun light (or other continuous lights):** There are 3 theories.\n\nThe first says that the brain samples the visual information periodically like a camera (see bellow) and then merges the moments into a continuous motion. This theory is less credited.\n\nThe second one says that visual detectors in the visual system that initially respond to the movement of the wheel in the right direction get overstimulated and stop responding. As the rotating object also stimulates a bit the visual detectors of the opposite movement, after a time, this second group is making the strongest signal and the brain perceives the reversed movement. Than those also get overstimulated and so it reverses again.\n\nThis explains why, in daylight it takes more time to get the illusion (around 30s)\n\nThe third one says the brain creates the 3 possible interpretations (right, stopped or reversed) and then they compete with each other, like in the [spinning dancer illusion](_URL_0_). The difference between this and the 2nd theory is whether the illusion happens at an earlier or later stage of perception. This one isn't mentioned on the recent scientific articles I read.\n\n & nbsp;\n\n**In videos:** those things spin faster than a camera can record. A video is just a series of photos. Imagine you are taking photos to a wheel rim (where the illusion tends to happen), for example [a 5 point rim](_URL_1_). You take one photo and focus on a point of the rim that is in the nearest position to the floor.\n \nThen you take a second photo and you try to find where this point is now. Because, you couldn't see the movement between the photos, you are in an ambiguous situation. Your brain used to see continuous movement will resolve this ambiguity by guessing it is the one closest to the previous point. In this photo the closest one appears slighly before (and up) that point, which is actually the next point of the rim. But your brain now thinks it is the one he was looking for and he concludes wrongly that the wheel is rotating backwards. \n\nNow if the second photo looked like the first, because the second point of the rim arrived to the position of the first one, your brain would think it's the same and so guess that the wheel didn't rotate.\n\nFinally, the asynchronity between the wheel speed and the framerate of the camera, can make it appear to be changing direction multiple times.\n\nPS: If the points where distinguishable, like each had a different color the illusion would still happen. For example, if in the second photo the wheel had almost rotated one full circle.\n\n & nbsp;\n\n**At night:** a similar thing to videos happens, because lights are always turning on and off (even if you don't perceive it). In this case, the eyes have to wait more than normal untill receiving new information, so you have to guess what happened when it was dark.\n\nPS: think what happens with strobe lights in discos.\n\n & nbsp;\n\n**TL;DR:** \n\nSunlight theories:1) brain works like a camera; **2) correct brain motion detectors get tired and the opposite detectors become temporarily stronger**; 3) brain creates all 3 possibilities and then chooses one.\n\nVideo: Cameras/ screens have low frame rate.\n\nNight: Lights flicker at a low frame rate so you are blind a lot of time.\n\n & nbsp;\n\n\n*Edit1: The explanation only worked for video and night time...*\n\n*Edit2:Research on the effect under daylight.*\n\n*Edit3:Revised explanation of the illusion under daylight and added a third theory after some [article reading](_URL_2_)*\n\n*Edit4:TL;DR*",
"Let's say you can blink 5 times per second. If you look at a pinwheel that is spinning 5 times a second, you would think that the pinwheel is stationary. If you can blink faster/slower and he pinwheel can spin slower/faster, you get the slow spinning, reverse spinning and all those cool effects. ",
"It's called 'aliasing'\nYour brain can't process the number of revolutions, but it idetifies a pattern that also matches that of a slower revolution",
"Those who say this doesn't happen in sunlight have clearly never seen a helicopter in real life. The blade goes faster and faster until it appears to slow then appears to go in reverse. Why is this?",
"Mr. Wizard [explained](_URL_0_) this in the 50's perfectly. ",
"I believe what you're talking about is [the wagon-wheel effect.](_URL_0_)\n\nIf you have something spinning at, say, 60 times a second, and you have a camera filming it at 60 frames per second, the thing spinning is going to be in the same position every frame. \n\nIf it were moving at 59 rps a second, it would be a little behind where it was last frame, and appear to be going backwards. At 61, it would be a little ahead, and appear to be going slowly forwards.\n\nOur eyes don't have infinite frames per second, either. Sure, the FPS varies, and we get a lot of movement information from the blur in between, but when something's moving that fast, it's easy to fool the brain and get it into that ballpark of it landing on a similar spot every frame, especially since it still works when it's going doubly fast, triply fast, or any other multiple of our eyes' frame rate.",
"This actually only happens if you're watching a *video* of something spinning (at least as far as I know). It's because of the frame rate of the camera. Say your camera runs at 40 frames per second, and it is filming helicopter blades that are spinning at exactly 40 rotations per second: every time the camera takes a picture for a frame, the propeller has made a full rotation already and is right back in the same stage in it's rotation that it was when the last frame was taken. when the rotations per second match the fps of the camera, a spinning object looks to be stationary.\n\nNow say the helicopter blades are just a liiiitle bit *faster* than the frame rate of the camera. like 40.01 rotations per second. When the camera takes the frame, the blades have made one rotation *plus* an extra one percent of the next rotation. In the next frame, the blades made a full rotation plus *two* percent of the next rotation. Each frame then sequentially shows the blades in stages of making it a little bit farther in each rotation. This is what makes rapid spinning objects look like they are spinning slowly.\nRapid objects appearing to turn backwards is caused by a similar phenomenon. that just happens when the object is moving barely *slower* than the frame rate of the camera. say, helicopter blades rotating at 39.99 rotations per second, being film by a 40fps camera.\n\nKeep in mind also that these principles apply multiplicatively. If the heli blades were spinning at 80 rotations per second, the camera would still be capturing the blades in the exact same position in each frame. The blades would have just made two whole rotations between frames instead of one. That goes for the objects going slowly (imagine blades spinning at 80.005 rps), and backwards too (blades spinning at 79.985 rps). All cases would appear stationary, slow, and reversed in the exact same way as their previously mentioned counterpart. \n\nAnd it all looks really cool.",
"You could look up \"Nyquist Frequency \" to understand this at a deeper level \n_URL_0_\n\nOr you could read my ELI5 explanation as follows... \n\nThe gist is that if you think of the parts of the wheel that visibility stand out, like the spokes for example, then as they go around they pass by your focus point at a certain frequency. \nYou are also observing them with your eyes (or cameras) that are sampling what they see at their own frequency. \n\nYes, your eyes effectively do sampling, but it's rate is faster in the fovea in the middle of your vision than at the edges, so these effects may be a bit different in your peripheral vision. \n\nIf your sampling frequency is less than half of the frequency of the changing thing you are looking at, then you can detect it's real motion. \n\nIf your sampling frequency is the same, then the changing thing looks like it's not changing at all because you keep sampling it in the same position. \n\nIf your sampling frequency is a little bit slower, then the changing thing may seem to go backwards because you keeping sampling it when it's a little bit back from the last sample. \n",
"Followup question: In video games, particularly in racing games, is this effect \"programmed\" or are the wheels actually rotating fast enough to where the effect is perceived? (Hopefully that makes some sense)",
"I saw this before. \n\nThink of it this way. Always moves forward six spaces\n\n....l..\n\n...l...\n\n..l....\n\n.l.....\n\nl......\n\nYet still moving backwards relative to where it was. But since it's a circle a dot in a wheel can rotate the whole way around and move the car forward yet when you see it next it's behind where it was. Make sense?",
"If you're someone like me with the talent of being able to vigorously shake your eyeballs backk and forth, it \"pauses\" the spinning motion enough that you can make out the details of the spinning object. I can look at a spinning rim on a car going down the road while shaking my eyes and describe the detail of the rim...how many spokes etc.",
"Picture a car wheel in a movie-\n\nIn one frame of footage it does a full 360 degree revolution perfectly, meaning every frame the wheel looks like its in the exact same position. We see a totally static wheel.\n\n\nNow picture the same wheel makes a slightly slower 350 degree revolution in one frame, meaning its just behind where it started on the previous frame. To our eye it has drifted backwards 10 degrees, *not* forwards 350 degrees. This revolution of 350 degrees happens for many frames in a row and thus our eye sees it as sliding backwards.\n\n\nThis is our brain seeing the limitations of 24/25/30 fps footage.\n\n\nFollowing this, our brain sees a similarly limited number of 'frames' per second and this effect kicks in.\n\n",
"I now would love to see a video of a fast tire, then it slowly progressively slowing down.\n\nDoes this exist?",
"It's how your brain interprets the nerve signals arriving along your optic nerve. We don't \"see\" with our eyes -- they are just organs that send nerve signals stimulated by photon input from the world around us. What we \"see\" is what sense our brain makes of the signals.\n\nWhen a person blind from birth gains vision, it takes weeks to months before their brain learns to interpret optic signals accurately.",
"Alternating current drives most man-made light sources. It typically runs at 60Hz (at least in the USA). That's fast enough that your eyes can't see the flicker, but a bike wheel spinning at, say, 3600rpm, would appear to be holding still to the human mind.",
"In laymans terms, your eyes jave a refresh rate. Basically you take a snapshot, process it and take another snapshot. Your brain infers what happened between.\n\nIf the the wheel is spinning at such a speed that the next image your brain processes shows the spoke slightly behind where it last saw it your brain will infer that the wheel must be spinning in that direction. \n\nThis phenomenon is known as aliasing. Basically the amount of samples you are taking of a periodic function is insufficient to capture its behaviour accurately. ",
"Think of it in fps\n\nI'm pulling these numbers out of my ass but...\n\nSuppose a helicopter spins at 30 rotations per second, but you only pick up 28fps\n\nYou are loosing 1/15th revolution as your brain processes the spinning \"picture\" so it looks like it's moving backwards very slowly",
"Assumptions:\n\n1) You're talking about watching a video or film of something spinning.\n\n2) The lighting is bright enough so that the exposure time for each frame can be 1/RPM so there's no more than 1 degree of image blur, so it's crisp enough.\n\n3) The thing that spins has spokes or some other clear feature that is repeated around the circle. For instance, I'd say the typical helicopter has \"4 spokes\", one for each rotor blade.\n\n4) The video is being captured at a frame rate of \"FPS\" frames per second.\n\nIn order for the camera to capture each frame with the spokes in the same position, the \"Spokes Per Frame\" number has to be a whole number. It doesn't matter if it's 2 or 9000 but when it's a whole number it means the spokes appear to be in exactly the same position for each frame. If it's just slightly below a whole number the spokes would appear to be rotating slowly backward, and if slightly higher than a whole number it would appear to be rotating slowly forwards.\n\nSpokes Per Frame = (Spokes * RPM) / (60 * FPS)\n\nSo if you had 4 spokes rotating at 375 revolutions per minute captured at 25 frames per second, you have a Spokes Per Frame of exactly 1. If you rotate at 376 RPM you get SPF of 1.002667 which is an extra 0.002667 spokes per frame.\n\nThe speed at which the thing now appears to be rotating forward is:\n\nDegrees Per Second = (Spokes Per Frame - Round(Spokes Per Frame,0)) * (360 / Spokes) * (Frames Per Second)\n\nIn the case presented at 376 RPM, the helecopter blade looks like it's rotating forward at 6 degrees per second.\n\n0.002667 * (360 / 4) * 25 = 6 degrees per second\n\nIf 374 FPS, it looks like it's rotating backward at 6 degrees per second.",
"To illustrate this imagine your eyes as a camera which records at 60fps. If some object spins 5 times a second it's easy for you to see it rotating. However as it speeds up to (let's say) 75, then every frame in your eyes is the ball rotated 1.25 times. Since you cannot see inbetween position 0 and 1.25, you just perceive it as 0.25. But when it reaches a speed of 60 times some Natural number (e.g. 60, 120, 180, etc.), every in frame you perceive the object is at the exactly same position it was in the previous frame, so in your eyes it is just standing still. ",
"tl:dr Stroboscope effect AKA wagon wheel effect\n\n_URL_0_\n\n The most memorable application of this that I know of involves circular saws (table saws) in educational establishments. There was (in the UK) some requirement to provide electric lighting with some feature to counter the stroboscope effect so that the saw blade did not appear to be stationary whilst it was still spinning. I forget the exact details, ISTR it required two different lighting circuits supplied from two separate phases.\n\n You can also get [calibrations discs](_URL_1_) that are used in artificial light to check the rotation speed of your record turntable.\n\n PS Is it just me that likes watching stagecoach & wagon wheels in old westerns rotating 'backwards'?",
"It's because of aliasing. Basically, the frequency in which you measure a certain phenomenon is too slow. So when you try to \"build the image\" of the phenomenon you build a different image that still matches your measuring (or sampling in this case).\n\nThere is a critical value of measurement frequency-phenomenon frequency that after which you create an opposite value. Be it a graph, matrix or even the direction you see the object spinning to.\n\nThis problem is a major factor in engineering and science in general. It makes you need to select your sensors or measuring tools very carefully, following the guideline:\n\nMeasurement frequency must be **at least** twice as big as the highest characteristic frequency (lowest characteristic time) in the phenomenon.\n\n\nI hope this helped to understand further the subject!",
"It's a shutter/framing synchronization thing. You first used to see this in westerns, when wagon wheels would seem to go in the reverse direction. What happens, is the particular speed of the wagon wheel is just not quite fast enough for it to be in the same place when the camera takes the next frame, but a little behind, so the cumulative effect is that it appears to be rotating backwards. Film ANYTHING with spokes spinning, and as it slows down, you'll see this effect.",
"its sample aliasing, which pretty much means that you can only see objects less then 2 times a full rotation. [this picture shows it quite well](_URL_0_) by using a sine wave to represent a rotation. ",
"I'd advise you play with a strobe light and a fan in the dark. By adjusting the speed of the strobe light, you can make the blade stand still, go faster and slower, as well as reverse direction.\n\nThough the blade is always going in the same direction at the same speed, when you use the strobe light you are essentially seeing frames of movement and your brain is making sense of them according to various cues.\n\nWithout the strobe light, it is very difficult for the brain to interpret direction because the sense data looks about the same. We know consciously which way the blades are spinning, but when our brains try to interpret the data, it is on the fence about how it is spinning. So it uses cues to determine the direction, which is subject to change upon closer inspection, more cues, or your expectations. \n\nIt is an illusion in many respects."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_Dancer",
"http://onnovanbraam.com/modules/tutorials/images/polygon_modeling_8_car_rims/mod-car-rim-001.gif",
"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2856842/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/Yo4sqjcGUYo?t=25m15s"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon-wheel_effect"
],
[],
[
"http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyquist_frequency"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon-wheel_effect",
"http://www.vinylengine.com/strobe-discs.shtml"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://svi.nl/wikiimg/Aliasing-plot.png"
],
[]
] |
||
1x92m2
|
why snow melts when the temperature is below freezing
|
I was just wondering why snow melts when the temperature is below or way below freezing.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x92m2/why_snow_melts_when_the_temperature_is_below/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cf97b1h",
"cf97b6j"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"In what context? Normally, it wouldn't, but there are lots of ways to get it to melt while the *air* temperature is below freezing.",
"Snow doesn't melt if the temperature is below freezing. However, there are several ways in which snow can disappear at temperatures below freezing. Parts of a snowbank which are above freezing will melt while the rest of the snow does not. A layer of dirt can absorb heat and melt the snow beneath it while the air temperature remains below freezing. Low humidity can cause snow to sublimate (pass directly from solid to vapor without melting into liquid) like dry ice at subfreezing temperatures.\n\nHope this helped!"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
8b6vdm
|
is it at all possible for wifi signals to influence human physiology?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8b6vdm/eli5_is_it_at_all_possible_for_wifi_signals_to/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dx4dr4f"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Is it possible? Yes. WiFi signals are microwave radiation which interacts with the matter in our body.\n\nIs it probable that it influences us in a distinctly measurable way? Unlikely. The signal strength for WiFi is incredibly weak, and there's nothing special about WiFi that would affect us more than any of the other radiation sources humanity creates all the time."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
cig0xb
|
how is community college different from normal college? like... did the community pool money together to build that college or something? sorry, i am not american.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cig0xb/eli5how_is_community_college_different_from/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ev4yif7",
"ev56s6x"
],
"score": [
11,
2
],
"text": [
"They're 2 yr colleges and you either get an Associates degree and transfer or stop after that or skip that degree and transfer to a state college or university. You can also go for certain certificates. \n\n\nThey get more government funding than other schools so tuition is a fraction of what it can be vs. a 4 yr college. No, the community does gather money, the state does that with our taxes.",
"Community colleges are inexpensive local schools which generally admit anyone. They're also considerably less prestigious and don't offer a full range of degree options. But you can take most of your classes and then transfer to a bigger school for your final year."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
a3n0md
|
why is hungarian a finno-ugric language?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a3n0md/eli5_why_is_hungarian_a_finnougric_language/
|
{
"a_id": [
"eb7g8qn",
"eb7gaqi"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Due to migration.\n\nComing from the Caucasus mountains, Finnish people went north, Hungarians went through Ukraine-ish lands and settled on the Carpathian Basin. Then went viking on rest of Europe until Europe got too hard to raid. Then they became christians and settled down and used christianity as protection from vengeance-raiding.",
"Finno-ugric languages are developed in nothern central asia and used by what we called Huns. Near the end of the Roman Empire, the Huns, led by Attila the Great moved west and eventually settled in the area now named Hungary."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
43i6ap
|
the wild west
|
Is it like it was portrayed in Deadwood? Lawless towns not wanting to be annexed and taxed? Or was it government funded towns?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43i6ap/eli5_the_wild_west/
|
{
"a_id": [
"czidtyo",
"czieg9c"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Deadwood kind of post-wild west? ",
"No. Just about everything people believe about the wild west is a myth. In particular, the notion that it was a violent, lawless place with nearly nonstop gun battles was purely a creation of the dime novels of the time. Actually, wild west towns tended to be generally peaceful, boring places. The big cities of the east had *much* higher rates of violence. Most western towns forbade the carrying of weapons in town.\n\nIn particular, the iconic image of the Wild West:\n\nTwo steely-eyed gunslingers face each other on Main Street at high noon (to keep the sun out of their eyes, doncha know). There's a tense pause, then at some ineffable signal, they both slap leather and come up shooting, and it's the man who is quickest on the draw who is left standing a moment later. And he walks away free because it was a \"fair fight.\"\n\nNever happened. Not even once. It is entirely a creation of the pulp novels of the time, later cemented into the public consciousness by the movies.\n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6eb9k2
|
is it possible for forces other than gravity to create a singularity?
|
My understanding is that gravity is much weaker than the other fundamental forces, but you can pack enough matter to cause a singularity. Can the other fundamental forces cause a singilarity?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6eb9k2/eli5_is_it_possible_for_forces_other_than_gravity/
|
{
"a_id": [
"di92s4r"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"My gut tells me that this is impossible in part because of charge separation and electromagnetic repulsion and probably other reasons. You can't create a positive charge of infinite strength in one spot because positive charge is carried by protons that repel each other and the things that it would attract would only be negatively charged electrons so there's no mechanism for positive charge to attract positive charge and snowball and when positive charge attracts negative charge, the outcome is neutral charge which is not attractive. The only naturally occurring force that can overcome the repulsive forces keeping nucleons apart is gravity, in the case of stellar fusion. The strong and weak nuclear forces don't operate over large enough distances to trap other particles and snowball, either. I think the thing that makes gravity unique is that there is no negative gravity or gravitational repulsion. If you want a better explanation of this, I would try r/askphysics."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3h7c2v
|
when i'm streaming a video and suddenly the quality is enhanced, why does the color of the video change too?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3h7c2v/eli5_when_im_streaming_a_video_and_suddenly_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cu50g0j"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Higher qualities have more pixels. When a high quality image is displayed at low quality, you have to either drop or combine pixels.\n\nDropping pixels is very noticable, for example color gradients turn into color stairs, small details are just gone...\n\nCombining pixels sort of preserves those details (altough they get blurry and harder to see), but messes up areas with different colors. If a black pixel and a white pixel get combined, the result is gray."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
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