q_id
stringlengths 5
6
| title
stringlengths 3
296
| selftext
stringlengths 0
34k
| document
stringclasses 1
value | subreddit
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 4
110
| answers
dict | title_urls
sequence | selftext_urls
sequence | answers_urls
sequence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8g7lf4 | how is it possible that i go to bed with a hiccup and wake up with the same hiccup but while i'm asleep it stops? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8g7lf4/eli5_how_is_it_possible_that_i_go_to_bed_with_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"dy9juay",
"dy9khhu",
"dya1vjf"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I'm no doctor, but have you seen a doctor about this? Doesn't sound healthy.",
"I have also noticed that hiccups remember where they left off. Perhaps they are conscious entities or something even more mind\\-boggling. Thank you for sharing your observation!",
"The short answer is I don't know, but I suspect that you have a irritated nerve (probably the phrenic nerve). \n\nA hiccup is most commonly a spasm of the muscle that pulls air into your lungs, the diaphram. \nThe wiring which controls the diaphram is mostly a nerve called the phrenic nerve and to a tiny degree the vagus. The phrenic nerve controls your diaphram and if it is misbehaving it can cause a spasm of your diaphram.\n\nAnother type of hiccups is caused by the muscles which close your lungs off so that you can swallow liquids without drowning. These muscles have a whole bunch of nerves which come straight out of your brain making them work. I think you probably have the second type but I cannot be sure.\n\nTo your question about sleep; when you sleep your brain turns off most of your muscles so that you don't act out your dreams. Breathing is typically automatic and doesn't stop when you sleep or aren't thinking about it, but since breathing is ALSO something you can do by choice (hold your breath NOW!), I suspect that the irritated part of the nerve is closely tied to your intentional type of breathing, and that in your case being asleep stops this part of the nerve from having an effect. \n\nThe second type of hiccups is controlled by the brainstem nerves which do NOT get shut off when you are asleep.\n\nMany of the answers to you seek as well as why we don't stop breathing when you are asleep is beyond the scope of this question but can be found here: [Control of Breathing](_URL_0_)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/control-of-breathing"
]
] |
||
1pkgd8 | why do our breaths get 20x worse while we sleep? | I've always questioned this, so the question is why? Even after brushing your teeth you go to sleep and overnight you magically get bad breath. Is there something we do when we sleep? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pkgd8/eli5_why_do_our_breaths_get_20x_worse_while_we/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd37oxx",
"cd38zo8",
"cd3ebia"
],
"score": [
7,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"An elementary-non biologist answer: While we sleep our mouths aren't generally open or taking in any food. Because of the lack gases, (oxygen), liquids, and solids, our mouths essentially become a breeding ground for bacteria and germs that cause bad breath. ",
"Saliva is the number one warrior against bacteria. When we sleep, the lack of saliva produced allows the bacteria in our mouths to poop on our teeth and all inside our mouths all night. That's why we wake up with the slimy mouth and rancid breath.",
"When you think about everything we eat, our mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria. Throughout the day, the bacteria gets neutralized by our saliva (which is one of the main functions of saliva, besides lubrication) and the food and water that we eat and drink washes it into our stomach were the stomach acids neutralize and kill it. When we sleep, since there's no \"washing down\" mechanism, the bacteria just sits in our mouth and festers. The dieing bacteria and the bacteria leftovers (the \"corpses\" as well as the waste generated by it) is what causes the bad breath we all love waking up to in the mornings."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2z3304 | when my dog is sniffing the pee/scent of another animal on a fire hydrant or tree, what information is she looking for? | Exactly what information can a dog get from smelling another animals pee? And do they do anything with this information once they have it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2z3304/eli5_when_my_dog_is_sniffing_the_peescent_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"cpf979q"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"A dog's anus contains glands that secrete chemicals that contain information about it's diet, mood, gender and so on. Since dogs can't communicate with voices, they use chemicals instead. A dog's sense of smell is up to 100,000 X more sensitive than our own, so they can sense tons of information."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
1pslvj | l'hospital's rule. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pslvj/lhospitals_rule/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd5kxzy",
"cd5l7eh"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"L'hopital's rule is a way of dealing with limits with two components that converge at different rates. Say you have a limit of the form lim(x- > 0) f(x)/g(x).\n\nLet's say f(x) = (e^x)-1, and g(x) = x(x-6).\n\nNow, if we take the limit, we find the limit approaches 0/0, which is not helpful at all. L'hopital's rule allows us to see how fast each function goes to 0 compared to the others, by looking at the limit of their rates of change, or their derivative.\n\nf'(x), in our example is e^x. g'(x) = x+(x-6) = 2x -6.\n\nSo now we look at the limit of f'(x)/g'(x), and get 1/(-6), or -1/6.\n\nL'hopital's rule can only be used for limits of a certain form (i.e. ones that yield 0/0, infinity/infinity, and certain conditions on what g'(x) looks like.",
"Let f and g be functions. It is usually true that for some number *a*, the limit as x approaches *a* of f(x)/g(x) is equal to\n\n[lim f(x)]/[lim g(x)]\n\nwhere the limits are both as x approaches *a*. But sometimes not. In particular, this fails when either of the following happen \n\n- lim f(x) = lim g(x) = 0\n- lim f(x) = lim g(x) = ±∞\n\nWhen this happens, you have to find another way to evaluate the limit.\n\nL'Hôpital's rule gives you a way to evaluate such limits when f and g are differentiable at c. As long as that's true and g'(x)≠0, then \n\nlim [f(x)/g(x)] = [lim f'(x)]/[lim g'(x)]"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
3y4jxr | el niño ... or whatever is causing this crazy weather across the u.s. right now | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3y4jxr/eli5_el_niño_or_whatever_is_causing_this_crazy/ | {
"a_id": [
"cyahera"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"In simple terms, every 5 years or so, intermittently, warm water from the equator in the pacific ocean makes it's way east to our west coast because of cycles in wind patterns. This causes hotter temperatures and more rain or snow (if it gets cold enough). It's basically as simple as that. Historical records show it could last as long as a couple months and has sometimes lasted a couple years."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
aiu7cu | why are there always extremely pronounced potholes in an otherwise normal stretches of roads just days after snow and salting? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aiu7cu/eli5_why_are_there_always_extremely_pronounced/ | {
"a_id": [
"eeqhq6o"
],
"score": [
15
],
"text": [
"Freeze/thaw cycles crack the pavement, and then a plow comes along, catches the crack, and rips out a chunk."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
41hqf8 | aside from money, what's keeping me from buying a ton of gas and hoarding it until the price inevitably rises again? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41hqf8/eli5_aside_from_money_whats_keeping_me_from/ | {
"a_id": [
"cz2go4j",
"cz2guch",
"cz2gvjv"
],
"score": [
7,
6,
5
],
"text": [
"Nothing. But that's what futures markets are for. ",
"Storage is expensive if you want to do it properly and legally. It's a giant potential safety and environmental hazard.\r\rOn top of that, it'll absorb water from the air and go bad.",
"Gasoline also has a shelf life; it will eventually ruin over time (requiring stabilizers). And depending on where you choose to store it, you might have legal limitations for bulk storage of hazardous chemicals."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
3i3p61 | what's the big controversy with the hugo awards? | I see news about the nominations being rigged and fixed. In what way is this happening, why is it happening and how are people able to tell?
Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3i3p61/eli5_whats_the_big_controversy_with_the_hugo/ | {
"a_id": [
"cud0j7d",
"cudoylo",
"cudw73p"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"The controversy is about political and social themes in science fiction. Some people like a certain type of political theme, others like a different type. This shouldn't really surprise anyone.\n\nWhat happened was that after a long series of Hugo awards going to stories of a specific political bent, some people organized to encourage voting for stories that had a different skew.\n\nIt's not \"rigged\", but rather, it's just people using the existing voting structure and encouraging people to vote for certain stories that match their worldview.\n\nOf course, as a reaction to this, others are saying \"well, here's the stories that group doesn't want to see win, so please vote for these.\"\n\nThe worst part of all of this, no matter your political preferences, is that it can encourage people to vote for stories based on the political perspectives of the story and not on the quality of the story itself.",
"Two groups, Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies (the latter being led by an actual honest-to-god \"women shouldn't have the vote, black people aren't really human\" fascist called Vox Day), stacked the award ballots so that their preferred nominees flooded the options for the final award voters. Their goal was to \"kick the SJWs (aka non-white, non-male) out of the Hugos\", return sci-fi to the 1940s Flash Gordon adventures era and also to give awards to, in Vox Day's case, themselves and their friends. They were able to do so because they realised that through entryism and block voting the Hugo nominee process was open to exploitation.\n\nThe response throughout the sci-fi community has been to vote in such a way that either the non-Puppy approved writers won awards or that no award (which is an option on the final ballot) was given in categories where the Puppies had nominated all 5 nominees from their slate. ",
"This [Wired article](_URL_0_) gives a good, ELI5-level discussion of the history and issues. I can't attest as to its accuracy, but I have no reason to question it either. \n\nTL;DR: Some conservatives (and in one case, apparent fascist troll) stacked the nomination ballots legally, causing a backlash in the final voting. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.wired.com/2015/08/won-science-fictions-hugo-awards-matters/"
]
] |
|
27vpac | why doesn't coca cola simply go back to cane sugar and reduce the amount of sugar in coke? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/27vpac/eli5_why_doesnt_coca_cola_simply_go_back_to_cane/ | {
"a_id": [
"ci4tjai",
"ci4txyo",
"ci4uip2"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
" > I am reading almost every day all the outrage about obesity and sugary soft drinks and how High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for your health. \n\nIt's the abundance of sugar that is bad for health. Sugar gets quickly turned into glucose (blood sugar) without much work. If that energy isn't used quickly, it will get stored as fat. Other foods may have more sugar, but get digested slowly and even out the available energy.\n\n > So I am wondering, why is Coca Cola against going back to using cane sugar in its U.S. products\n\nHFCS is pretty cheap in the US because of farming subsidies and the simple amount of corn available. Cane sugar won't give you any significant health benefits, so that is not a driving factor.\n\n > and reducing the amount of sugar from 35 grams per 12oz can to about 20-25 grams?\n\nThe amount of sugar affects taste. There is a reason Diet Coke tastes completely different than regular Coke. It is a completely different recipe because there was no way to reduce the sugar significantly without sacrificing taste. At the time Diet Coke was created, there weren't as many alternative sweeteners available.\n\n > They could at least try it as a promo for a bit to see how people like it, I bet it would be a great product.\n\nCoke Zero is what Diet Coke should have been. Coke Zero uses a different sweetener that is digested differently than sugar. There is some debate over whether this sweetener is healthier, but it doesn't cause you to gain weight in the same way as sugar.",
"It really makes little difference if the sugar is from sugar or from HFCS. Mexico has Coke with sugar and their obesity rate is higher than the US's. The UK also has Coke with sugar and their rate is lower. At the end of the day, it's about calories in and calories out.",
"HFCS is just super cheap sugar, not different from cane sugar in any metabolically-significant way. Due to the fact that we can make it here in the good old USA, HFCS finds its way into nearly every packaged food product in existence because sweeter things, however subtle the sweetness, sell better, especially after you remove the fat thanks to the grossly mistaken \"fat is bad for you\" concept born in the 70s."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
8cfz6z | how can amazon sell a product so significantly less than the manufacturer of the product? | I notice that sometimes amazon has deals for products that are such good deals- $20 for an item that anywhere else sells exclusively at $50. How do they do that? Isn’t it bad for the manufacturer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8cfz6z/eli5_how_can_amazon_sell_a_product_so/ | {
"a_id": [
"dxelvfd",
"dxelvym",
"dxemeti",
"dxemu8s",
"dxescw5",
"dxf9j8c"
],
"score": [
11,
15,
7,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Most items are like 100% marked up, however like, if the item was made for 20, and Amazon does sell it for 0 markup, the manufactures wouldn't care because they got paid, as for Amazon? They can take a few losses if it means more Amazon users.. I.e: it takes money to make money",
"The manufacturer often has to sell the product for more than any other retailer to avoid undercutting them. Retailers move significantly more volume than direct from manufacturer sales so keeping amazon happy is worth far more money than double the profit per item.\n\nThe MSRP is what the manufacturer will sell it for, but that is often intentionally high because people like seeing prices marked down. If its not marked down you're not getting a deal! This allows amazon to sell the product for a reasonable price, show a \"discount\", and move a lot of volume for the manufacturer.\n\nWhat they lose in margin, they make up in volume",
"A manufacture could sell directly to the public for say $50, but to look after all these customer they would need lots of support staff to take orders, warehouse workers to pick and pack, more accounts staff to process invoices and payments. It’s not an attractive business structure and there is a lot of work involved and not what manufacturers are set up to do. \n\nInstead they can sell thousands of products to a very small customer base (instead of big customer base selling very little quantity) for say $35 dollars. Although on first glance it may look like they are making less profit, actually they are making more as the quantity sold is higher and they have less overheads. \n\nBig distributors can then buy bulk at much less cost and use their already set up infrastructures to market, sell, distribute. It doesn’t cost them as much as they already have the staff, the networks and advertising set up.\n\nTLDR: manufacturers don’t have the infrastructure to sell to general public so sell at a reduced rate in bulk to distributors ",
"manufacturer are always selling lower than their Manufacturer Recommended Sale Price (let's say $10/unit). manufacturers actual cost is $3/unit. manufacturer sell to wholesalers at bulk discount ($5/unit) and pocket the difference as profit. wholesallers sell to distributors at bulk discount ($6/unit) and pocket the difference as profit. distributors sell to retailers at bulk discount ($7/unit) and pocket the difference as profit. retailers sell it consumer at MSRP $10/unit and pocket the difference. \n\namazon goes straight to the manufacturer and gets the ultra wholesaler pricing $4/unit. cuts out all the middlemen, sells on website for $6/unit . consumer thinks it's a great deal, get maximum sales.",
"Manufacturers rarely sell for the lowest price because they can’t afford to upset their retail partners, who do provide the bulk of sales. If Nike or Sony sold lower than they let Zappos or Best Buy sell their products, those retailers would be less willing to carry or promote/support those brands.",
"Oftentimes the product Amazon is selling is not the current version. Not to say that is the only reason but it is certainly one reason I've seen."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
8463bv | the differences between a school superintendent, a principal, and a vice principal. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8463bv/eli5_the_differences_between_a_school/ | {
"a_id": [
"dvn2app"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"In the U.S.:\n\nThe superintendent is in charge of an entire school district, which typically includes all of the schools in a city or in a particular part of the city, from elementary schools through high schools.\n\nThe principal is in charge of one particular school.\n\nThe vice principal is the second-in-command. At many schools the vice principal oversees specific areas like discipline and detentions, but that isn't standardized. When the principal is sick or otherwise absent, the vice principal is in charge.\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
27jsi4 | what exactly is a kneecap? why can i wiggle it around when my legs are straight? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/27jsi4/eli5_what_exactly_is_a_kneecap_why_can_i_wiggle/ | {
"a_id": [
"ci1h6qs"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"its a bone that formed in a tendon which is continuous from your upper to your lower leg. When your leg is straight the tendon is not stretched around the joint and therefore has some give"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
5r0stb | what is the current vetting process for allowing immigrants/refugees into the united states, and what deficiencies were there that would necessitate a ban on immigrants/refugees from certain countries? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5r0stb/eli5_what_is_the_current_vetting_process_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"dd3j6q7",
"dd3k7wj",
"dd55zps"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"So the refugee vetting process is multi-layered and drawn out, but involves multiple background checks, interviews, and paperwork. Fortunately, the Obama White House put out an infographic in true ELI5 fashion that better summarizes the process than I could: [_URL_0_](_URL_0_) \n\nAs to how how this process might be deficient, I don't have the expertise to answer that.",
"No deficiencies have been identified, other than things like the wife of the San Bernardino shooter was an emigrant (from Pakistan, not one of the Trump Muslim Countries).\n\nThe purpose of the ban is to get publicity for the President, showing he can \"deliver on campaign promises\". In that regard, appealing to voters, it doesn't matter if there are deficiencies or if the ban changes anything. The politics have nothing meaningful to do with emigration, it's purely for US public consumption. That's why countries with lots of connections to the US, like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, aren't on the Trump Muslim Country list.",
"There is a curious lack of analysis on this subject in the media. Americans keep being told that we need more vetting of refugees, when they don't even know what the current vetting process is. This is just another example of our collective contempt for facts. Without knowing what the facts are, people take sides and espouse views which have no basis in reality. \n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/11/20/infographic-screening-process-refugee-entry-united-states"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
7pkq6q | how does my tv 'translate' the signal it receives into images and sounds? | Thanks for all the responses everyone! Looks like I have a lot of reading to do and videos to watch! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7pkq6q/eli5_how_does_my_tv_translate_the_signal_it/ | {
"a_id": [
"dshzp62",
"dsi0ci8",
"dsi9a87",
"dsi9bzt",
"dsi9whi",
"dsia9fh",
"dsicbhs",
"dsida9s",
"dsihvte",
"dsiltk3",
"dsin9vd"
],
"score": [
184,
1928,
7,
301,
8,
3,
2,
26,
3,
11,
3
],
"text": [
"I mean, like every other bit of digital indignation (pun!), the signal is a string of 1s and 0s that correspond to pixel colors, pixel locations, and sound frequencies. \n\nIt's all just a matter of splitting up the received commands and sending them to where they need to go(screen vs speakers).",
"Back in the old days, CRT TVs would sweep an electron beam across the screen, line by line,, with the amplitude of the video signal translating to the intensity of the beam. Things got a little more complicated when colour was added, but it largely works in the same way. Just with a few more parts.\n\nDigital video signals are a bit different in that they're a series of 1s and 0s. With a digital LCD or OLED display, you can control each individual sub pixel with precession, with an intensity value anywhere from 0 (off/black) to 256 (full intensity). By varying the intensity of each sub pixel, you can mix red, green, and blue to make various colours. Millions in fact. A computer inside your TV or monitor processes all this data. The video signal though may not actually contain all the information the TV needs, in order to save bandwidth. So the display does some fudging that exploits limitations with human vision. ",
"Good answers already, but yeah basically going all the way back to the beginning their has to be a “decoder” to display the images and speakers with a receiver/brain to decode and output the audio. 0’s and 1’s just like if I typed this message on a physical keyboard it puts my letters on the screen, how a record player/cd player interprets bumps as data. “How” the TV’s actually display the data also depends on the TVs viewing technology from CRT, DLP, LCD, Plasma, OLED, etc. \n\nAlso one note since CRT was brought up, the medium which the data travel has also changed a bit from analog to digital. Likely, the input medium is also vastly different now than even 15 years ago.\n\nTLDR; inputs and outputs of data through various mediums (waves/antennae/analog/VCR tapes OR digital/Satellite/Cable/Streaming/Disc based media",
"Video engineer here. Oh goodie! One of those rare times when my job skills are actually useful outside of work!\n\nBasically, we see the world around us because of electromagnetic radiation - y'know, light and colors and stuff? That radiation (so... light) vibrates up and down. Some colors vibrate up and down faster than others.\n\nOur TVs kind of work the same way, except the colors they see vibrate a lot slower than the colors we see. The TV has special electronics that can listen very carefully and turn these relatively slowly vibrating waves into a signal of ones and zeroes. We call this a digital signal. These ones and zeroes spell out some really fancy computer code that describes pictures, sound, and text! \n\nThen, the TV has even more whiz-bang electronics that can take that computer code, and turn it back into pictures that OUR eyes can see on its screen! It does this by shining a super-bright light behind tons of dancing little red, green, and blue color filters. Each one is like a dot on a page, and with millions of dots we can see a moving color picture!\n\nSlightly more technical: Over-the-air, satellite, and cable broadcasting all use various modulation schemes to transmit digital data over analog radio waves / RF. The receiver (be it a TV, satellite box, or cable box) has a de-modulator (aka tuner) that recovers the digital signal from the RF. This digital signal is typically an MPEG Transport Stream describing a series of discrete programs, each in turn describing audio and video streams. \n\nThese streams are compressed because totally uncompressed audio and video are really really big. Like, REALLY big. Totally uncompressed typical 1080p60 RGB video (like the kind your computer might feed to your monitor) is about 3 Gigabits per second!!! You only get ~5-20 Mbps for an HD TV channel, so compression and other trickery like component video (aka YCbCr), chroma subsampling (aka 4:2:0) and gross legacy stuff like interlacing (aka 1080i vs 1080p) is absolutely required.\n\n* Video is generally compressed using MPEG-2 / H.262, MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, or MPEG-H HEVC / H.265, from oldest to newest.\n\n* Audio is usually MPEG-1 Layer 2, Dolby Digital / AC-3, or Dolby Digital Plus / E-AC-3. \n\n* Closed captions / subtitles aren't really compressed since they're small, but are stored using standards like EIA-608, EIA-708, SCTE-20, or DVB Subtitling. \n\nThe TV / satellite box / cable box has special hardware and software that can decode these compressed essences into uncompressed video and audio signals, compose them into a synchronized stream, and pipe them out to your screen over HDMI (or directly, in the case of an internal tuner).\n\nTypical LCD displays have a backlight of some kind (be it a flourescent cold cathode or a matrix of LEDs) that shines through a large array of color filters, generally one red, green, and blue filter for each dot on the screen. The filters selectively darken to mix red, green, and blue for each pixel. OLEDs are sort of similar, except each pixel is a combination of tiny red, green, and blue lights that you can control the brightness of independently.\n\nSo that's how that works.\n\nIf you want more info, read the wiki articles on DVB and ATSC, or any of the acronyms I listed above :)",
"At the lowest level it is all 1's and 0's, and each one is called a bit. Usually 8 bits are grouped together to form what are essentially letters, called bytes. Since there are 256 ways to arrange 8 1's and 0's, there are 256 letters in that particular alphabet.\n\nStepping up a conceptual level, the signal is sent according to a protocol, a language written in bytes that describes video. A protocol might look something like this:\n\n < start video > \n < resolution=1000x1000 > // each frame will be 1000x1000 and have 1M pixels\n < color depth=3 > // each pixel color will be described with 3 bytes\n < speed=24 > // 24 fps\n < start frames > \n < frame=1 > \n < row=1 > \n (1000 x 3 bytes, representing the pixels)\n < row-2 > \n (1000 x 3 bytes)\n .\n .\n < row=1000 > \n (1000 x 3 bytes)\n < frame=2 > \n < row=1 > \n etc., etc.\n\nYour TV understands this protocol, it speaks the language, and knows how to turn it into a picture.",
"While not an ELI5 [this video](_URL_0_) is a great primer for digital video.",
"Assuming we're speaking of over-the-air signals received by antenna, I will try to explain this is simple terms. \n\nThe original signal is translated into a series of numbers. Theses numbers are used to define the amplitude (strength) of a radio signal. The signal can have eight different values, and these values can be used to define a small snippet of that stream of numbers. The frequency of that original radio signal is the \"channel\".\n\nA vastly simplified case could be if you and your friend agree upon if you whisper their name, you mean \"no\"; but if you shout their name, you mean \"yes\". Then you play charades. By that method, you have defined a single bit to two amplitudes of your voice. Your voice is the frequency, the loudness is the encoding or \"modulation\" \n\nTelevision signals have many different types of encodings, they're all very complex but this was one example. ",
"Modern TVs are for most part just computers, they get the 0's and 1's over the wire and use then to switch on pixels on the LCD. Old TVs and the evolution of TVs is much more interesting, if you are interested in that, watch [Technology Connections](_URL_0_), a great Youtube channel that goes into great detail on the evolution of analog TV, of the cameras, Color TV, shadow masks, etc., it also covers the largely forgotten mechanical TVs.",
"I think the tv eats up all the shows at the beginning of the day while you're asleep and while you're at work it's digesting everything the you come home and relax on your La-Z-Boy chair with your bowl of pretzels and a cool crisp bud light and you pick a show and your tv takes a shit and the pictures on the screen are what comes out of its butt and then the audio is the tv taking a piss butt don't know for sure I'm not a science",
"336 comments and none of them are 'ELI5'\n\nYou know how you can mix paint colors together to form any color possible, all from the three primary colors red, green, and blue? Well light can be mixed the same way. Your TV gets a signal that tells it what colors to mix for every little tiny bit of your screen. For example, it will receive a set of three numbers (red, green, and blue) for every tiny spot (called a pixel) on the screen. It then lights the pixel up with the amount of red, green and blue that the numbers specified. Repeat this for every tiny pixel on the screen and you end up with a full picture. \n\nI think how those images are encoded and transferred isn't really what OP was after, so this is a true ELI5 of the fundamental\n concept of how it works. ",
"Here is a good ELI5 style answer for digital TV.\n\nImagine a light brite, its a big grid and you full it up with colored pegs to make a picture.\n\nThe signal, is basically a list of which colored pegs to use to fill the light brite up to make a picture, blue peg, top left, 6 green pegs, two red, etc....\n\nThen, imagine you can read this list and complete it roughly 30 times every second, that would happen so quickly, you would only see the resulting picture and trick your eyes into thinking its moving."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/FG9jemV1T7I"
],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4UgZBs7ZGo&list=PLv0jwu7G_DFUGEfwEl0uWduXGcRbT7Ran"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
ah6oh1 | how do enzymes work? i know that they speed up chemical reactions, but how? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ah6oh1/eli5_how_do_enzymes_work_i_know_that_they_speed/ | {
"a_id": [
"eebvuzj",
"eebz997",
"eec1gm5"
],
"score": [
4,
9,
5
],
"text": [
"For a chemical reaction to take place molecules have to smack into each other with a certain amount of energy. Most chemical reactions require that this happens multiple times so that the molecule in question changes to a molecule that then changes to the one you want. Adding a catalyst provides an alternative route to the end result that often time takes less energy to complete. \n\n\nSay A and B smack together to make C, then C and B smack together to make D (the one you want). If you add an enzyme, E, then A might smack into E and turn directly into D.",
"Chemical reactions are all about energy and position. \n\nIn regards to energy, some reactions need a certain amount of energy to start, even if the reaction ends up releasing energy in the end. Some enzymes help to reduce the amount of energy needed to start the reaction.\n\nIn regards to position, some reactions require the various molecules reacting to be in very specific positions in order to proceed efficiently and in order for the correct reaction to occur. Some enzymes work by holding molecules in specific positions relative to each other.",
"Often they work sort of like a matchmaker; a boy and a girl would be a perfect match, but they don't know eachother and are too shy, so the matchmaker tells each what the other likes to smooth conversation, introduces them to eachother (preferrably in a romantic setting) and either leaves when it hits off or stays until they have sex and have a baby."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
nm6fh | why us, humans get bored despite having so man things to do while animals don't although they have almost nothing to entertain themselves with. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/nm6fh/eli5_why_us_humans_get_bored_despite_having_so/ | {
"a_id": [
"c3a66y3",
"c3a6cxf",
"c3a6n6o",
"c3a7csa",
"c3a7ep1",
"c3a7wqz",
"c3aaqnr",
"c3a66y3",
"c3a6cxf",
"c3a6n6o",
"c3a7csa",
"c3a7ep1",
"c3a7wqz",
"c3aaqnr"
],
"score": [
10,
7,
4,
7,
29,
5,
2,
10,
7,
4,
7,
29,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"We are the only species in the multiverse which has invented boredom. Paraphrased from Terry Pratchett.",
"It takes more stimulation to keep our more powerful brains occupied.",
"I read this with the voice of Ali G in mind",
"animals do get bored",
"Animals get very bored. That's why dogs tear up furniture, and birds go insane in their cages. I don't think many pet owners realize their pets are incredibly depressed and going insane or already insane. It's sad really. ",
"Not all humans get bored. I dont seem to. If there is absolutely nothing to do I will work on things in my head. ",
"You wouldn't be bored either if you had to look for food all day long just to survive.",
"We are the only species in the multiverse which has invented boredom. Paraphrased from Terry Pratchett.",
"It takes more stimulation to keep our more powerful brains occupied.",
"I read this with the voice of Ali G in mind",
"animals do get bored",
"Animals get very bored. That's why dogs tear up furniture, and birds go insane in their cages. I don't think many pet owners realize their pets are incredibly depressed and going insane or already insane. It's sad really. ",
"Not all humans get bored. I dont seem to. If there is absolutely nothing to do I will work on things in my head. ",
"You wouldn't be bored either if you had to look for food all day long just to survive."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
uj1tf | the dc multiverse and the significance of the crises | I'm fairly new to comic books and I'm trying to learn more about how everything works, specifically with DC. I hear references about the Multiverse and the Crises (like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis) and it's all rather confusing since I'm only familiar with the more famous superheroes. Can someone help simplify this for me? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/uj1tf/eli5_the_dc_multiverse_and_the_significance_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4vv1yv",
"c4vv31q"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"OK. I'm going to very simple with this, so if you want more detail just ask.\n\nJust before the relaunch, there were 52 universes making up the multiverse. While DC hasn't confirmed anything and are only touching on it, it's very likely that this system is still in place.\n\nIn general, a Crisis is (at a meta-level) to reorganize a chaotic universe. Prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the then-modern heroes (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan GL, Barry Allen Flash, et al.) existed separately from the older, Golden Age heroes - Alan Scott GL, Jay Garrick Flash, et al. After the Crisis, the universes were joined together and everything was streamlined. Changed origins, different approaches to characters in general - all manner of revision. This is when stuff like Batman: Year One and Superman: Man of Steel were coming out, to flesh out the new continuity and back-story.\n\nInfinite Crisis, some twenty years later, had a few characters from the original Crisis return with a new plan. Not much changed continuity-wise, but at one point, um... Evil Superboy punched the universe and messed some stuff up. Nothing major that I can remember, so it was just incidental stuff by series.\n\nFinal Crisis (best comic crossover ever, btw.) also didn't change anything, but was the culmination of Grant Morrison's work at DC up until that point. It did include the Monitors, though, a group of people who watch over the multiverse. There was originally one Monitor, but Final Crisis gives some background on how there came to be so many.\n\nRecently, in an event called Flashpoint, a mysterious figure named Pandora united three universes (the regular DC universe, the Wildstorm universe and a universe original the Flashpoint crossover) into the new universe that the relaunched DC New 52 series take place in. This new universe isn't even a year old yet, so we're not really sure how much of the past is true anymore. (It's a safe bet to assume everything still goes unless directly contradicted.)\n\nSo, to put it even more succinctly, in 1985 DC streamlined their stories so that there was distinctly one universe. All the years went on, they developed some side universes until the early 2000s, when the 52-universe multiverse was definitively established. Then, with Flashpoint, some stuff was modernized and again streamlined. The extent of the changes is still being explored.",
"A \"Crisis,\" in the DC Universe is a major event which is meant to help re-establish and organize the canon of the universe. The DC characters have been around for a LONG time, and they've been written by a lot of different writers. This leads to a lot of confusion, particularly when you think about some of the crazier elements of comic narratives- alternate universes, clones, people being brought back from the dead, and so on.\n\nDC had five major Crises- Crisis on Infinite Earths (1984), Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (1994), Identity Crisis (2004), Infinite Crisis (2006), and Final Crisis (2008). There were a number of other Crises, but these are the big five, in my opinion. \n\n* **Crisis on Infinite Earths** was about DC trying to streamline their narratives by collapsing the multiverse. Up to this point, the DC canon was absurdly and grossly convoluted, and the event was designed to establish a single mainline canon where everything happened in one Universe. The story involves the murder of a supreme being called The Monitor as part of the machinations of his opposite, The Anti-Monitor. Nearly every major hero is involved in the battle to stop the Anti-Monitor, and the battle includes the deaths of Supergirl (Earth 1) and Barry Allen (The Flash, Earth 1). \n\n* **Crisis in Time** was meant to do for timelines as what the previous Crisis did for Universes. In the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths, a lot of writers started creating *alternate timelines* within the one universe as a plot device to make up for the lack of alternate universes available. The plot ultimately involved Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) having gone insane and taken the powers of the villain Parallax, and using those powers, restarts the whole universe so that a single timeline would be produced as well.\n\n* **Identity Crisis** was largely meant as a tool to establish instability leading towards Infinite Crisis. Identity Crisis is less about a universe-destroying plot and more about internal instability amongst the heroes. The primary concern of the plot involves the murder of Sue Dibny, the wife of Elongated Man, and the complex conspiracy surrounding it. I don't recall the exact circumstances which inspired the whole story, but one of the key aspects of the tale is that Sue Dibny is revealed to have been formerly raped by villain Dr. Light, and the JLA agreed to use magic to mindwipe him, Dibny, and themselves so that no one would remember the event. This circumstance causes instability in the JLA as members question what ELSE they may have hidden not only from each other, but also from themselves.\n\n* **Infinite Crisis** is about the re-establishment of the multiverse. I haven't read this story since it came out, so I'm hazier on the details, but it primarily is a continuation of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and is about Superboy-Prime essentially going to war with the rest of the universe. SB-P was a hero from an alternate universe who was trapped as result of the CoIE events. After escaping, his bloodlust caused him to lash out at the remaining single universe. The multiverse is re-established as a precaution in case another threat could attack threaten to destroy the remaining universe.\n\n* **Final Crisis** was intended to be a once-and-for-all re-establishment of canon, but obviously we know that isn't true because DC rebooted everything with the new 52 in 2011. It involved the re-emergence of Darkseid, one of the dark New Gods. His re-emergence becomes a singularity around which the multiverse rotates, and he plans to use \"the anti-life equation,\" to kill all living things in all universes, rather than destroy the universes themselves. I don't totally understand Final Crisis, because Grant Morrison is sort of a mad genius who defies understanding. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
8a9zn2 | why does the light on chargers remain lit for a couple seconds after it has been unplugged? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8a9zn2/eli5_why_does_the_light_on_chargers_remain_lit/ | {
"a_id": [
"dwwykxr",
"dwwymgm"
],
"score": [
83,
2
],
"text": [
"Capacitors. The charger contains capacitors, which you can think of as being a bit like batteries (they're different in important ways, but the point is they store electrical energy). It uses them for things like smoothing over any irregularities in the mains power supply.\n\nWhen you disconnect mains power, the capacitors are still charged, and the status light runs on that charge. Eventually it uses it up, and the light fades out.\n\nTry turning off the charger while a device is still connected, as though to charge: you'll see that the light goes out much faster because the stored energy has somewhere to go beyond keeping the little light on.",
"There is a small battery (capacitor) to smooth out ripples in the power supply. When you unplug the charger the battery can power the light for a few seconds."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
23rzpr | why can't netflix and similar providers just "become" cable companies and provide live channels? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23rzpr/eli5_why_cant_netflix_and_similar_providers_just/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgzzpwy",
"ch05kvt"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Because they don't have the infrastructure in place to do that. Cable companies have miles and miles of cables everywhere. Netflix uses the already in place internet to stream to you.\n\nPlus why would they want to do that when that market is already taken by companies like Comcast.",
"Netflix basically recycles programs and movies after the original producers have made their money off of it the arrangement gives the original producer a little more money and allow Netflix to sell it at a lower than normal price because it is essentially used. This is kind of a win win situation if Netflix had to produce or buy the rights to original programs their prices would go up. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
3ca32i | what ever happened to serial killers? does the news just not report them anymore or have we as humans just improved? | There are dozens of movies made on famous serial killers. Documentaries detailing their lives and crimes. I can not recall, in the last however long, any high profile murder mystery cases involving some mega psycho. The only stuff that gets reported are terrorist attacks or shootings. Whatever happened to the glamour days of famous serial killers? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ca32i/eli5_what_ever_happened_to_serial_killers_does/ | {
"a_id": [
"cstmgvf",
"cstn0uv"
],
"score": [
2,
6
],
"text": [
"They are still around. \n_URL_0_\n\nIn general, serial killers are intelligent, and careful. So detecting or catching them is not always easy.",
"If you think about it, many of the famous serial killers were able to go undetected for a very long time because they moved around or chose victims that would be overlooked. Now there is much more awareness of serial crime and investigators are taught how to recognize the signs of it and establish links between cases.\n\nLaw enforcement agencies have gotten much better at sharing information and identifying patterns, partly due to the advent of the internet. It's a thousand times easier now to access crime information from another state or country or to search records of all missing persons meeting specific criteria than it was twenty years ago.\n\nTechnology also aids in the investigation of the crime. Most people carry mobile phones and other devices, making their movements easier to track. DNA technology can identify both victims and suspects. Testing is cheaper, faster, and can be done on tiny samples. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_in_the_United_States"
],
[]
] |
|
4t43wy | why are many trains not designed very aerodynamically? | I know that trucks are not very aerodynamically since restrictions to length of the vehicle apply and thus the vehicle is optimised for volume. But trains are so much longer... | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4t43wy/eli5_why_are_many_trains_not_designed_very/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5efheb",
"d5efhmx",
"d5ejhgv",
"d5ekgiy"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
5,
4
],
"text": [
"The bullet trains are aerodynamic because they are built for speed. Freight trains don't need to be aerodynamic because they are built for hauling tonnage and not speed. That's about the best eli5 I can come up with. ",
"[Bullet trains](_URL_0_) are aerodynamically designed but I think you're talking about regular trains.\n\nThey did try to make regular trains sleeker in the 1930s [like this](_URL_1_) but the efficiency gains were offput by how much harder it was to maintain them. So for regular trains how aerodynamic it is isn't the ultimate factor.",
"It doesn't really matter that much. The majority of the power required comes from having to pull the mass of the train itself. Air resistance is probably negligible at the speed most trains go compared to the weight.\n\nAnd a train itself is inherently aerodynamic. Air resistance is based on the size of the area the air is hitting. So a train with 20 cars is going to have way less air resistance than 20 individual trucks or buses.",
"To add what has been said, trains in the underground ventilate the station and tunnels by pushing air. This is called the [piston effect](_URL_0_). If the trains wouldn't do it, some other ventilation system would be needed, so it probably wouldn't save much money. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bullet+train&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=799&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwii8aOS6vfNAhXMB8AKHUBTC8EQ_AUIBigB",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streamliner#/media/File:6229_Duchess_of_Hamilton_at_the_National_Railway_Museum.jpg"
],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston_effect"
]
] |
|
1z66gl | how is it that noise cancelling headphones can reduce decibels when in essence they are adding more sound? | i understand active noise reduction emits a sound equal to the noise with an inverted phase but why do the 2 sounds together have less sound pressure? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1z66gl/how_is_it_that_noise_cancelling_headphones_can/ | {
"a_id": [
"cfqv0im",
"cfqv1fz",
"cfqvila"
],
"score": [
7,
9,
3
],
"text": [
"ANR headsets work by using [destructive interference](_URL_0_) to cancel out external noise. When added, two waves 180 degrees out of phase sum to zero because the the peak of one way is canceled out by the trough of the other wave and vice versa.",
"What happens if you push on a shopping cart, and your equally-strong cousin pushes it the other way? Nothing happens, right?\n\nThis is exactly what noise cancelling headphones do. When the sound waves are pushing into your ears, the sound from the headphones is pulling out, and when the noise pulls air from your ear, the headphones sound pushes in. They both cancel in your ear canal, and the resulting nothing gets to your ears.",
"[It's kind of like this](_URL_0_). They cancel each other out. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_%28wave_propagation%29"
],
[],
[
"http://i.imgur.com/MKKeDwH.jpg"
]
] |
|
15qgk1 | why are cash 4 gold and other similar establishments all over the place? how do they profit? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15qgk1/why_are_cash_4_gold_and_other_similar/ | {
"a_id": [
"c7ouwm6",
"c7oyjx3"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"By under paying you for your gold and sending it to a refinery, who then sends them back their choice of money, metal, or both.",
"The value of gold is very high right now, but the economy is poor and a lot of people are looking for money.\n\nSo if you had a gold ring you paid $500 dollars 10 years ago, it might be worth $2000 now. But you'd have to do your homework to find that out and put in some effort to find someone who will pay that much.\n\nOr, you can call a 1-800 number, and their send you an envelop, and send you back maybe $1000. You get money without putting forth much effort, and they get your gold for less than it is worth.\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2rynsj | why did it take 30 years to find a new antibiotic? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rynsj/eli5_why_did_it_take_30_years_to_find_a_new/ | {
"a_id": [
"cnkhrei",
"cnkhwrb"
],
"score": [
3,
4
],
"text": [
"It didn't. Teixobactin is just the most recent. Many, many antibiotics have been introduced between 30 years ago and now.\n\n",
"\"Scientists have always believed that the soil was teeming with new and potent antibiotics because bacteria have developed novel ways to fight off other microbes.\n\nBut 99 per cent of microbes will not grow in laboratory conditions leaving researchers frustrated that they could not get to the life-saving natural drugs\n\nNow a team from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, have discovered a way of using an electronic chip to grow the microbes in the soil and then isolate their antibiotic chemical compounds.\"\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
34vs7l | what is the reason for making a throwaway account? | I always see comments that say, "this is a throwaway account," or "I made a throwaway account just for this post." If reddit is anonymous, then what's the point of a throwaway account? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34vs7l/eli5_what_is_the_reason_for_making_a_throwaway/ | {
"a_id": [
"cqyiran",
"cqykgjp"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"So that when you admit to killing your drug addicted brother in law it can't be traced back to you and get you arrested. (Seriously this happened). Plenty of users use the same name across multiple sites and its possible to identify who they are if you try, sometimes you want to talk about stuff that you don't want traced back to you.",
"People learn what other peoples user accounts are. If a person has shared enough over time, looking at their history you can piece together who they might be. The last thing you want to do is confess to crimes or sleeping with people you probably shouldn't have had, regardless how awesome a story is.\n\nAlso people make friends with other users with out knowing exactly who the other people are. As part of that online image you don't want to tell a story that might taint that. Especially women that want to tell a sexual story of some sort. Any mention of liking sex and bam! Inbox full of dick picts."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
4idxlg | what is the pump and dump method in stocks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4idxlg/eli5what_is_the_pump_and_dump_method_in_stocks/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2x9q17",
"d2x9q22",
"d2x9rm7",
"d2x9x3d"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Buy low, create some interest in the stocks perhaps by lying about how wonderful they are, sell high, run away before the buyers notice they've paid too much.",
"This is generally applied to penny stocks that trade on lesser regulated exchanges. You buy some shares and then start rumors on sites and boards that imply the company is about to strike it big - either they've made a find if their in minerals/oil etc, or they're just about to win a new massive contract. If you do this from a multitude of accounts you can create a buzz that gets others buying the stock, thus inflating the price. This is called pumping. \nThe dumping should be obvious.",
" > \"Pump and dump\" (P & D) is a form of microcap stock fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price.\n\n\nFrom [here](_URL_1_).\n\n\nSo...said person buys some stock in the firm and then goes about releasing false/misleading statements about how good the company is or how big it will become and then when the price rises (as people jump onboard the hype train) they sell their stock at the increased price [before the reality of the false/misleading statements come out].\n\n\nThere's a movie called [Boiler Room](_URL_0_) which is brilliant and includes underhand behaviour like this.",
"That's where you buy a bunch of worthless stocks at a very low price. This inflates their price a bit (pump) and gives the appearance of growth. Other people see the value increasing, and may buy more stocks, thinking the price will continue to rise. If enough suckers buy stock on top of yours, you can sell (dump) what you have for significantly more than you paid. This lowers the price of remaining stocks. You gain almost exactly what the other buyers lose.\n\n\nEdit: Sometimes a financial institution or investment banker will take this a step further and advise clients to buy stocks they've (the banker) already invested in. Theft and fraud."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181984/",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_and_dump"
],
[]
] |
||
1rmty9 | what makes a person "insane" as opposed to "sane"? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rmty9/eli5_what_makes_a_person_insane_as_opposed_to_sane/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdotjpe",
"cdoton9"
],
"score": [
4,
9
],
"text": [
"Our concept of mental illness is defined by the [DSM-5](_URL_0_), a big book of failure modes for the human brain and psyche.\n\nWe're complicated beings so there are a lot of ways it can go wrong.\n\n\"Wrong\" in the last sentence is defined as:\n\n1. Loss of contact with reality, although some people would debate that.\n2. Inability to function in society.",
"It's a misconception that insanity is used as an actual medical or psychologically diagnostic term. Insanity is in fact a legal description. When people plead insanity, they are saying that they do not have the mental capacity to stand trial as they do not have *mens rea* or \"guilty mind\". A psychologist often examines the person and determines whether they are mentally fit to stand trial.\n\nIf you are looking for what the layman sometimes refers to as insanity, you are looking at a numerous variety of psychological disorders. These are outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual ( [DSM 5](_URL_0_) ) in North America and the International Classification of Diseases ( [ICD 10](_URL_2_) ) in Europe. These books have statistical analysis of mental disorders and has created diagnostic criteria based upon expert agreement.\n\nWhat I think a lot of people mistake for or call insanity is psychosis. [Psychosis](_URL_1_) is often a symptom of other disorders, notably schizophrenia, and is often associated with hallucinations, delusions and very strange behavior. People have been known to have psychotic episodes without actually having another disorder, so this could be what people think when they say someone has \"gone insane\".\n\nI'll tell you right now that no doctor or psychologist or even social worker would use the term insane anymore. It sort of has a negative association now, and it isn't diagnostically accurate either."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/book.aspx?bookid=556"
],
[
"http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ICD-9_codes_290%E2%80%93319:_mental_disorders"
]
] |
||
esujqh | what causes the color fluctuation in older (90’s) videos? (link inside) | So I was browsing YouTube and came across an older video and noticed the color fluctuating a lot.
What causes this? [Link](_URL_0_) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/esujqh/eli5_what_causes_the_color_fluctuation_in_older/ | {
"a_id": [
"ffc7ck2",
"ffcegic",
"ffcmvf9"
],
"score": [
10,
13,
6
],
"text": [
"This is from degradation of a VHS tape (and/or a bad reader head). The tape holds the image data line by line and refreshes it super quickly, but if it's off a little bit then you'll see this little rainbow popping up as colors get shifting away into noise.",
"Image is stored in VHS tapes not as a bunch of red green and blue pixels, but as analog luminance and chrominance. By now you must have read somewhere about how there are other ways to represent color. Chrominance would be Hue and Saturation, luminance would be the Value or Brightness in a HSV system.\n\nSince everything in a VHS tape is analog, the VHS player needs analog circuitry to amplify the signals. Amplifiers such as that have a parameter called gain, which refers to by how much they increase the level (e.g: from 0.001mv to 1v the gain is 1000x). There are many forms of automatic gain control, which operate on feedback loops. E.g: if the output is too high, it will decrease the gain, if it's too low it increases.\n\nThat fluctuation is the VHS player's automatic gain control doing its job on a noisy signal. Notice how in the video you posted the guy's grey shirt remains kind of the same, but the background and his face changes color. What you're seeing is the automatic gain control for the hue component trying to get it right.",
"All TV used to be an analog signal - all the picture information was stored in the fluctuation of a single wave. Black and white TV encodes the picture as simply the magnitude of the signal increasing for bright parts, lower for dark parts. When color TV was introduced, they needed a system which would keep this working for older TVs so B & W sets didn't suddenly stop working, and also let them add color information.\n\nFor this reason, the color is encoded as a high frequency signal overlaid on the picture brightness. The amount (\"saturation\") of the color is encoded in the magnitude of the high frequency signal, and the actual color (\"hue\") is the phase of the high frequency signal measured relative to a reference signal (the color burst) which is hidden in part of the TV signal timed so that it isn't drawn on screen. See Structure of a video signal ( [_URL_1_](_URL_0_) ) for more on this\n\nVHS stores that entire analog signal on magnetic tape, which does two things. The high frequency parts tend to lose strength slightly - if this was an audio signal, it would be the equivalent of high notes becoming quieter which would make the whole thing sound \"muffled\", but on VHS is translates as lower intensity color. The tape can also stretch slightly, which doesn't affect the picture much but can change the timing enough that the color signal goes out of sync with the reference, which results in the colors on screen shifting to different hues. If the tape stretches further, the signal gets out of time enough that you start to see the picture skewing sideways across the screen."
]
} | [] | [
"https://youtu.be/VpLQlUa2G0s"
] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_television#Structure_of_a_video_signal",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog\\_television#Structure\\_of\\_a\\_video\\_signal"
]
] |
|
eoduu4 | how do hanging chains on busses work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eoduu4/eli5_how_do_hanging_chains_on_busses_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"fec14p1",
"fec425k"
],
"score": [
3,
4
],
"text": [
"They just come down and start spinning around at the same rate as the tires so they always end up under the tire, giving the bus traction in snow and whatnot.",
"[it extends and the black wheel touches the inside of the tire, causing the wheel of chains to spin at the same rate as the tire.](_URL_0_)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://imgur.com/1z4ed0Y.jpg"
]
] |
||
372atz | josh duggar and the current controversy surrounding him. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/372atz/eli5_josh_duggar_and_the_current_controversy/ | {
"a_id": [
"crj3ejh",
"crj3l28"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The Duggar family are the stars of a reality TV show, \"19 Kids and Counting\". They're a very religious family, and Josh Duggar in particular was an employee of the Family Research Council, a political group which promotes traditional values.\n\nRecently, it became public knowledge that Josh Duggar had molested at least five underage girls as a teenager, and that this had been covered up with the help of his father, Jim Bob Duggar, and a friend of theirs, Arkansas State Trooper Jim Hutchens. Hutchens has since been imprisoned on child pornography charges. The Duggars are also supporters of the Institute in Basic Life Principles, where president Bill Gothard has recently resigned in response to numerous allegations of sexual harassment.\n\nThe story is making waves for several reasons. First, the Duggars are TV celebrities. Second, the Duggars are well-known advocates against LGBT rights, and have repeatedly alleged that those minorities are a danger to children. Third, the Duggars are associated with several politicians, including multiple candidates in the 2016 Republican presidential campaign.",
"Besides what's already been mentioned another very important fact that has people pissed off is that because of the years of cover-up the statute of limitations has expired as such he cannot be criminally charged for the assaults."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
oz3td | gas prices and how they get away with charging fractions of a penny | Gas is the only thing I ever see as being listed $3.599. How do they get away with this? I assume this is done to make their prices look cheaper but why are they allowed to do it? And even more so why does my total always wind up coming to a full cent amount? If I buy two gallons at $3.599 then my total should come to $7.198 right? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/oz3td/eli5_gas_prices_and_how_they_get_away_with/ | {
"a_id": [
"c3l73cm",
"c3l7cz8",
"c3l7sxe",
"c3l82p5",
"c3l935h",
"c3laf2o",
"c3lalay"
],
"score": [
29,
5,
3,
2,
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Petrol is one of the few things that you don't have to buy in units - you just pour until you have enough. For this reason the amount that you get is rarely a whole number and so you're already dealing with fractions of pennies when it comes to the final price. If you add into that the fact that many people have tens of gallons then it makes sense for the company to say that 1 gallon is $3.599 rather than the more obvious 10 gallons is $35.99.",
"They don't do it to make it look cheaper, though that may be a side effect. The taxes have already been added in to the price of the gas, which is why even in areas with sales tax you don't pay any when you buy gas.\n\nI would also like to add that selling gas is extremely unprofitable. A gas station with a competitive price on gas probably only makes a $.01 profit on every gallon they sell, and if you use a credit card because of the fees they probably miss out on even that. \n\nEdit: typo",
"What I find interesting is some gas stations charge more for credit cards than cash. This is actually illegal where I live, but they just keep doing it.",
"Go take a look at your electric bill (or whoever pays it in your house). You should see pricing down to the ten-thousandth of a dollar per kWh.",
"I understand your concern that if you always buy exactly a gallon of gas and if the price always ends with $.XX9, then you always lose $.001. How often do you buy exactly one gallon of gas? For example, using your price, if you bought .9988 gallons of gas, your bill would be $3.59468..., in which case you gain $.00468. Because you never buy gas in 1 gallon quantities, it averages itself out.\n\nThe reason why gas stations do this is the same reason why you buy a soda for $.99 instead of $1. Because it seems cheaper psychologically. ",
"You probably wouldn't be in favor of eliminating the penny...",
"I was just about to post asking this too. Thanks for saving me the effort =D"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
7e27ky | how does "whataboutism" differ from giving context to information? | Whataboutism is something I've heard and read a lot about in recent news, but I don't really 'get' it.
How does giving additional information about similar situations somehow invalidate the point the person giving this information is trying to make?
What are some examples of someone saying "That's whataboutism", but it actually isn't, what are examples of someone "just giving context", but it's actually whataboutism?
Also, why did this term suddenly become a thing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7e27ky/eli5_how_does_whataboutism_differ_from_giving/ | {
"a_id": [
"dq1w2em",
"dq1w2uh",
"dq1w6y9",
"dq1w80n",
"dq1xylr",
"dq1y9nx",
"dq1zctx",
"dq1zwmc",
"dq2077j"
],
"score": [
18,
11,
3,
3,
3,
2,
4,
31,
2
],
"text": [
"Whataboutism is distraction. When you give context, it means you discuss what, say, Kevin Spacey did in light of other, similar incidents. Whataboutism is when you just make the conversation completely about Woodey Alan.\n\nAnd it didn't suddenly pop up, it was made to describe Soviet propaganda techniques, it just got poular suddenly. Why that is, I'd assume it's because of its mention in [Last Week Tonight's recent spot about Trump.](_URL_0_)\n\nEdit: dulistraction - > distraction.",
"Whataboutism is a false equivalency used to suggest that the same or similar behavior on both sides is equivalent in scope, severity, effect, etc.\n\nSaudi Arabia oppresses women! They can't do x, y, z.\n\nYeah, but what about America? This new piece of legislation is horribly oppressive.\n\nI've deliberately left out specific examples because I value the sanity of my inbox, but I don't think anyone would question that Saudi Arabia is a worse place to live for women. The two are NOT equivalent, and bringing up \"what about America?\" in this case is a whataboutism.\n\nEdit to answer your second question: whataboutism is the word because most of the offenders begin their sentences with \"what about ___\" which lends itself easily to new-word building. Whataboutism is in the *tu quoque* family of logical fallacies, which translates to \"you also.\" Being smart and using latin is kinda frowned upon in America, being seen as elitist or overly intellectual, so we made a new word both to avoid latin and to draw a distinction between \"you also\" and \" < Falsely Equivalent > also\"",
"I would say whataboutism is a tactic that gives context to information, but with the intent to deflect consideration of that information.",
"Context is relevant to the discussion; whataboutism is a distraction from the actual topic at hand.\n\nContext: Seat belts save lives; there should be seat belts in school buses.\n\nWhataboutism: Seat belts may save lives, but there are none on motorcycles.",
"Whataboutism is usually used to deflect a specific wrongs by invoking the general wrongs of another group, creating a false equivalence.\n\nIf you claim Roy Moore is unfit for office because of his sexual conduct, me responding by pointing out Bill Clinton's various scandals is whataboutism. Clinton behavior has nothing to do with Moore's fitness.\n\nHowever, if you made the general claim your should vote against the GOP for supporting Moore, then pointing to Clinton is fair game.\n\n > Also, why did this term suddenly become a thing?\n\nWhataboutism has a flip side, kind of like fake news. You can use it to point out irrelevant deflections, but you can also use it to mask your own hypocrisy when the equivalance is valid. Feel a little uncomfortable about your totally-not-racist singling out Islam as a danger? Just call anyone who points out the evils of other religions as a whataboutist and ignore everything else they have to say. It is slightly more effective than putting your fingers in your ears, and just as logically valid.\n\n\n\n",
"Whataboutism?\n\nDon't you realize people are giving false statistics? Don't you think that's a bigger problem? Maybe you should be taking care of false statistics before you bring up other people's problems.\n\n\n(Does this lend perspective? Of course not. It's just cheap, distracting, and utterly effective)",
"It’s irrelevant distraction. Let’s say someone is talking about north korea’s human rights violations, then kim jong un says “well america also has human rights violations.” Whether or not other countries have human rights violations is irrelevant to issues in korea.",
"\"Whataboutism\" was a technique first used by the Soviet government and press in order to deflect criticism by America of the USSR's human rights record. Whenever an article appeared in an American newspaper of, for example, Stalin's purges, the Soviet press responded with a critique of racial segregation in the US. This happened so regularly, that it almost became a running gag that whatever America said, Russia replied: \"And you are lynching Negros.\"\n\nThe point is that while it was certainly true that the US had serious problems with rampant institutionalised racism in some quarters, this had nothing to do with Stalin killing untold numbers of people who disagreed with him. As the old adage has it: \"Two wrongs don't make a right.\"\n\n\"Whataboutism\" is, at its core, an attempt to *change the subject*. Far from \"giving context\", it changes the subject to a different person (or country). There's no attempt to debunk the original criticism.\n\nFor example, if Harry is accused of shoplifting, he can't defend himself by saying that Tom is a terrorist. Whether Tom is or isn't a terrorist is totally irrelevant to Harry's alleged shoplifting.\n\nBut sometimes saying \"what about...?\" is legitimate. It's only legitimate if it *actually* addresses the topic at hand, for example:\n\nMary: \"I heard the political party you support wants to ban sports. What's that all about?\" \nHelen: \"What about the party you support with its campaign to arm toddlers? Why aren't you talking about that?\"\n\nHere, Helen doesn't want to talk about the sports ban, so she tries to change the subject to guns for babies.\n\nMary: \"I am a safe driver.\" \nHelen: \"What about all those tickets you got for speeding and DUI?\"\n\nHere, Helen is still talking about Mary's driving, but is simply calling into question her claim to be a safe driver by citing instances where she was caught driving dangerously.",
"It's a deflection, although the distinction between this phenomenon and opening the conversation up to a broader topic is thin. \n\nWhataboutism happens when the other party doesn't want to discuss the topic on hand. Sometimes it's used to level the moral playing field to diminish the negativity of somebody who is considered to be on \"your team.\" Most often, it's used to change the subject from somebody who you don't want to criticize to somebody who you do. \n\nIf the other party brings up an additional case relevant to the conversation and continues to discuss all related parties in the greater context, then they're having a discussion and merely adding more data. If they're using the additional case as a human debate shield, then they've just whatabouted you."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://youtu.be/1ZAPwfrtAFY"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3cja7l | why is there so many buttons on the sleeve of a suit jacket? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3cja7l/eli5why_is_there_so_many_buttons_on_the_sleeve_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"csw1g7d",
"csw4ukd"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Men used to wear suit jackets at all times, even while working. The buttons were called \"surgeon's cuffs\" or \"workers cuffs,\" and served a functional purpose: they could be unbuttoned so that the sleeves could be rolled up while performing physical labor. ",
"I often wonder why there are suits, so so many suits, what is a tie? what is it's purpose? why a collar?.\n\nI spent many years working in sales / business and ALWAYS had to wear a suit + tie ect, I made a career change into software development where everyone just wears what they like to some extent which I think obviously makes perfect sense. \n\nWhere does the need to wear a suit come from and who does it impress these days? "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2q96n1 | if they can make a 5.5inch 1440p screen, why can't there be a 4k 24inch monitor | Obviously I'm reffering to the LG g3 in this sense but I was wondering why they can make such a small screen size with stunning ppi and resolution but not a 24inch panel which would be highly profitable
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2q96n1/eli5_if_they_can_make_a_55inch_1440p_screen_why/ | {
"a_id": [
"cn40nzi",
"cn42lij"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"There are plenty of computer monitors in the 24\" range with 4k resolution or more:\n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_2_\n\n_URL_1_\n",
"They *do* exist. I posted a link to a few of them at newegg, but it got deleted. Just search any tech site for 4K monitors. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Monitor-P2815Q-years-warranty/dp/B00I0H9T5C",
"http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/imac-retina",
"http://www.amazon.com/NEC-EA244UHD-BK-SV-24IN-3840-2160/dp/B00QSKB2SA"
],
[]
] |
|
2ccrp9 | bonds and when to invest in them | Ok, so I've found a company that I think may be worth looking at for investing in bonds. I've done a bit of research on bonds (as well as short-selling), but I just can't grasp the concept of bonds. Here are a few questions I have: What do I want the company's debt to look like when investing in bonds?, What statistics on balance sheet and cash flow records do I want to look at (need help understand numbers)?, Would I want to invest in bonds of the company has a risk of going bankrupt?
Also, I believe this stock is being heavily shorted, so it wouldn't be smart to short since it is close to zero-ing out. Also, the debt/equity ratio is high (not exactly sure what this means for my intentions). | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ccrp9/eli5_bonds_and_when_to_invest_in_them/ | {
"a_id": [
"cje5xd8",
"cje7bjf"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Rule 1 of long term investing. Don't try to time the market.\n\nRule 2 of long term investing. Don't try to time the market.\n\nCorporate bonds might look nice return but remember gov bonds are tax exempt",
" > What do I want the company's debt to look like when investing in bonds?\n\nIdeally you want them to have no debt and the ability to pay interest and pay back lots of debt. Less existing debt and more cash flow is almost always better in the world of debt. Remember you don't benefit very much from them doing well you just lose if they do poorly. \n\n > What statistics on balance sheet and cash flow records do I want to look at (need help understand numbers)?\n\nKey ratios are usually assets to liabilities (leverage), free cash flows, debt distribution (two firms with $5 billion in debt can have a very different experience if one has $250 million maturing for the next 20 years and the other has $3 billion coming due next year). \n\n > Would I want to invest in bonds of the company has a risk of going bankrupt?\n\nNot usually, vulture investing is best done by those who have attorneys on staff, and who can buy enough that it's worth fighting with management and the other vultures to size the best assets. Remember, bond upside is limited (to the principle value of the bond, bond downside is the same as stock downside, 0). \n\n > Also, I believe this stock is being heavily shorted, so it wouldn't be smart to short since it is close to zero-ing out. Also, the debt/equity ratio is high (not exactly sure what this means for my intentions).\n\nShorting means one less avenue to raise money to pay the bondholders, that's generally bad. High debt to equity means only a small change in asset value is all it takes to wipe you out. Keep in mind that this change in value may have already happened (accounting valuation looks backward, valuation looks forward). "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
2fwjg1 | what would patenting human dna do good or bad for people? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fwjg1/eli5_what_would_patenting_human_dna_do_good_or/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckde2vt",
"ckdek1z"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"First, in the US patenting the actual DNA sequence is not eligible for patent per the Supreme Court case of *Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.*\n\nSecond, companies would love to be able to patent specific parts of the DNA sequence because it allows them to prevent competition during the years that their patent is valid. This allows them to charges prices that a competitor may be able to undercut. Or, they can sell licenses for that patent to other companies, and make money off of their competition.",
"It would cause a net loss in research because of the companies, being ignorant money-grubbers, would rather force researchers to pay licensing fees for gene sequences that they already have access to and delay research into things like cancer and Alzheimer's, because they can make a bigger profit in doing so. \n\nIt would be bad. Really bad. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2xugj5 | why nasa do not use better cameras in their missions to mars and moon? why the photos looks always bad? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xugj5/eli5why_nasa_do_not_use_better_cameras_in_their/ | {
"a_id": [
"cp3jbsn"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Which photos look bad? They used pretty damn good cameras. [This picture](_URL_1_) taken on mars. [This one](_URL_0_) taken on the moon."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/AS11-40-5903.jpg",
"http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia19142_malhi-mojave.jpg"
]
] |
||
68is8x | which is worse for someone under 18: alcohol or marijuana. why? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/68is8x/eli5_which_is_worse_for_someone_under_18_alcohol/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgys9x8",
"dgyt59l"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Oh man...I'd say both, but alcohol more because of what can come with addictive habits, and weight gain from drinking, etc...I didn't smoke nor drink until after I was 18, so I might not be the best person to ask. Just two cents.",
"The brain in your teen years is still developing. Pathways are forming in your brain for how you are going to handle and process information in adulthood. Using an excess of drugs or alcohol is going to interfere with the development of your brain's pathways. Which is worse? Hard to say. What's important now is not develop a dependency or a habit with substances. If you want to enjoy drugs, then never do them. Because then when you actually do, they are actually fun.^1 \n \n\n\n\n^1 CK, Louis. Louis CK: Live at the Comedy Store. Pig Newton Productions. USA. 21m53s. 2015."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
22wbf3 | what is that loud ringing noise i can hear when i'm trying to sleep after a night out? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22wbf3/eli5_what_is_that_loud_ringing_noise_i_can_hear/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgr0u2f"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"It is a symptom called tinnitus. It is a 'ringing in the ears' that happens when you experience loud noises. The little hairs that sense sounds in your ear get damaged.\n\nWhen you get tinnitus after a night out, you have done damage to your hearing. Most of that damage will probably heal, but if you keep doing it, you will get industrial deafness - a loss of hearing from repeated loud noise.\n\nIt might be time to start wearing earplugs when you visit clubs. Or find somewhere else to enjoy yourself."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
5xn0v3 | why do many installers tell you that it's "recommended that you close all other applications"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5xn0v3/eli5_why_do_many_installers_tell_you_that_its/ | {
"a_id": [
"dejbaap",
"dejbve6",
"dejfd2v",
"dejfjzi",
"dejg9w5"
],
"score": [
4,
5,
2,
6,
7
],
"text": [
"Because when installing many programs, the registry often has to be accessed and changed. The registry is basically tells the OS how to access a program, what settings to use, etc. If you have applications open that are accessing the registry at the same time, this can cause problems with your new program installing.",
"It's likely due to a DLL that is common across other applications. If the program I am trying to install requires a newer version of a DLL and you leave a program open that is using that older DLL I will not be ableto replace it because the DLL is in use.\n\nIf it is a DLL created by the software company they can check that there software is not running. If it is a DLL by a third party the DLL could be used by any program.",
"in essence, it's the software Dev covering their asses in-case something messes up because of installation and registry changes.\n\nif it messes up and they put the warning up, its not on them if it messes up anymore.",
"When you run a program more goes into that program than the program itself. These are called libraries and contain common code that do various things on your system. In fact when you look at a loading screen you an see some of these being \"advertised\" to you, such as a graphics library.\n\nWhen the program installs it need to change those libraries. It cannot replace open files. This is done for file security. So if you try to install a program with another program that has libraries or other files open the install will fail. When that happens you have a partially installed program, which is now a much harder problem to address. ",
"The operating system and execution environment of most modern operating systems have \"shared libraries\" that are directly mapped into memory. This means that the file(s) that do various things -- like run your display or control the audio output or whatever -- become part of the way a program runs.\n\nSo those files that provide functionality to programs -- \"DLLs\" for windows, \"shared objects\" for linux, and so on -- can not be changed while the program is using them.\n\nSo in the way that you can't change the breaks of a moving car, or replace the belts and spark plugs of a running engine, you really could't (safely) change key parts of the operating system while they are in use.\n\nIn the case of windows in particular, the most central libraries and tidbits are known to the installer. If a program needs to replace one of these core componenents then it can put the file aside and then add the file's name to a list of files that need to be moved/copied/deleted next time the system is booted.\n\nThis deferred install step is why sometimes, but only _sometimes_, when you install something (particularly new hardware) it will tell you that the system needs to be rebooted.\n\nBut there are _lots_ of component libraries that an application developer _might_ want to use. These are completely optional parts. Like lets say I've made a really neat widget to let you pick colors. You use it for your Foo application. But I also sold it to my buddy Bob for his Bar application. Bar is using version 4. Your Foo application needs version 5. So you want to replace the BitOBearsColorChooser.DLL file with the newer version.\n\nIf Bar is running when someone tries to install Foo, then Foo will not be able to upgrade the file and the Foo won't work correctly.\n\nIt's impossible to _know_, for sure, that none of the running applications will have this sort of conflict until you try to do the install.\n\nLets say BitOBearsColorChooser.DLL is the last file in your application installation. The user has been watching the DVD spin for twenty minutes as your application tries to install itself. Then it _fails_ because Bar is running. Then it spends five minutes cleaning up (deleting) all the files it just tried to installed.\n\nThe user is going to be _pissed_.\n\nSo to prevent that sort of strife you take the simple measure of \"strongly suggesting\" that the user no be running other programs while installing your application.\n\n---\n\nThere are other, lesser issues. If the installer has to decompress some files (which uses a lot of CPU/processing power) or needs to do some memory intensive work... and you happen to also be running something CPU and memory intensive... then the two demands on the system can make both the program and the installer take _forever_.\n\nThat's another headache from an angry customer.\n\nAnother issue is that if your installer is writing the application files to the disk while some applicatoin is also writing to the disk, the files can get interleaved (fragmented) and that will lead to both the data from the running application, and the code files of your newly installed application, to _suck_ (technical term, that) because they are spread all over the disk as fragments instead of being big chunks that can be read all at once.\n\nSo if you run one application while installing another, your new application might take extra long to start until/unless you defragment your hard drive.\n\nSo it's all about avoiding conflicts that can lead to unhappy customers. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4z4x9a | why does time seem to drag when you're sad or anxious about something? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4z4x9a/eli5_why_does_time_seem_to_drag_when_youre_sad_or/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6sxbek"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The brain is a pretty amazing thing. The short simple answer is because when we are typically anxious or nervous about an event coming up its all we can think about. We find ourselves constantly checking the clock or our phones always focused on how many minutes have gone by or how many minutes we have until the big interview. While if we are doing something we enjoy or focused on a complicated task time will seemingly \"fly\" by because we simply aren't even paying attention to time, our attention is focused on the thrill,task or the hobby not the clock. Time in a sense is quite relative to the experience or situation depending on the individual. This actual phenomenon is one of the reasons why I am choosing a career that involves human interactions in a high pace clinical setting. I had previous desk jobs which drove me insane because I would find myself staring at the little clock on the computer screen and a 8 hour day would feel like a 14 hour one."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
9azsv8 | why is it hard for people to bring themselves down from panic attacks even when they know that that is what’s happening? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9azsv8/eli5_why_is_it_hard_for_people_to_bring/ | {
"a_id": [
"e4z9xyd",
"e4z9yme"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Next time you feel something just force yourself to feel the opposite and see how easy that is.",
"Same reason a diabetic can't just bring themselves out of a sugar crash, even when they know what is happening.\n\nPanic attacks are a symptom of mental illness, usually some sort of anxiety disorder. That means there is something not working correctly, usually both chemically and psychologically. It is not a matter of willpower, your body is doing something beyond your direct control."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
mjkp9 | what is the diference between interlaced and progressive resolutions | I really have no idea what is the difference between those two types of TV resolutions, only that progressive is better even at lower resolutions (720p vs 1080i) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mjkp9/eli5_what_is_the_diference_between_interlaced_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"c31hfcu",
"c31hgmb",
"c31hfcu",
"c31hgmb"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Interlaced and progressive refer to methods of encoding and transmitting a video signal.\n\nRemember the little flipbook animations you used to doodle in school? **Progressive** video transmission is like that; each frame of video is transmitted whole in one shot, just like the pages in the flipbook appear.\n\nThe problem is transferring 60 frames of 1080x1920 video every second takes up way too much bandwidth. So to reduce the bandwidth requirements, for 1080x1920 TV channels, they only transmit 30 frames per second. But for various backwards compatibility reasons, it needs to be done 60 times a second (why this is true is beyond the scope of this post). So what they do is split each frame into two parts: first all of the even lines of the frame are sent, then all of the odd lines. This is called **interlacing**.\n\nSo to recap, **progressive** transmission sends each individual frame whole, whereas **interlaced** transmission breaks each frame into two halves--even lines and odd lines--and sends each half separately, so it takes two passes to send a complete frame.\n\nThat's the basic explanation of what those two terms mean, now here's what it means to you:\n\nNothing.\n\nThat's right, nothing.\n\nI suppose I should explain. All flat-panel TVs show a progressive image on the screen at all times. That means, they *all* update the *entire* frame in one pass. If they receive an interlaced video signal, they convert it to a progressive signal internally before sending it to the screen through a process called *deinterlacing.* Virtually all TVs made in the past few years deinterlace perfectly, so that there is no data or quality loss. (Some older flat-panel TVs do not deinterlace properly, so running an interlaced signal on them will show some artifacts.)\n\nWhich means that flipping between an interlaced vs. progressive signal at the same resolution and framerate will give identical results.\n\nThere is a catch. If the content was originally 60 frames per second, and you interlace it, the result will be 30 frames per second. But there is only one case where this happens: watching ESPN or Fox Sports HD sporting events. Because ESPN and Fox Sports properties are broadcast in 720p at 60 frames per second, if your cable box is set to 1080i, the framerate will be halved. You can avoid this by setting your cable box to output native resolution at all times.",
"The terms \"interlaced\" and \"progressive\" don't describe a resolution, but a scanning method used by TVs. Your TV's image is comprised of horizontal lines (720 or 1080 of them, to be exact). Interlacing separates these into odd and even lines and then alternately refreshes them at 30 frames per second. Progressive scanning, on the other hand, refreshes the entire picture line by line every sixteenth of a second.\n\nProgressive scanning is more popular because it can better display motion. When your interlaced-based TV tries to update the image of a race car speeding across your screen, the slight delay between odd and even line refreshes will cause a small distortion of the image. Progressive-based TVs do not have this problem because they update every line in order (e.g., line 1, line 2, line 3, etc.).",
"Interlaced and progressive refer to methods of encoding and transmitting a video signal.\n\nRemember the little flipbook animations you used to doodle in school? **Progressive** video transmission is like that; each frame of video is transmitted whole in one shot, just like the pages in the flipbook appear.\n\nThe problem is transferring 60 frames of 1080x1920 video every second takes up way too much bandwidth. So to reduce the bandwidth requirements, for 1080x1920 TV channels, they only transmit 30 frames per second. But for various backwards compatibility reasons, it needs to be done 60 times a second (why this is true is beyond the scope of this post). So what they do is split each frame into two parts: first all of the even lines of the frame are sent, then all of the odd lines. This is called **interlacing**.\n\nSo to recap, **progressive** transmission sends each individual frame whole, whereas **interlaced** transmission breaks each frame into two halves--even lines and odd lines--and sends each half separately, so it takes two passes to send a complete frame.\n\nThat's the basic explanation of what those two terms mean, now here's what it means to you:\n\nNothing.\n\nThat's right, nothing.\n\nI suppose I should explain. All flat-panel TVs show a progressive image on the screen at all times. That means, they *all* update the *entire* frame in one pass. If they receive an interlaced video signal, they convert it to a progressive signal internally before sending it to the screen through a process called *deinterlacing.* Virtually all TVs made in the past few years deinterlace perfectly, so that there is no data or quality loss. (Some older flat-panel TVs do not deinterlace properly, so running an interlaced signal on them will show some artifacts.)\n\nWhich means that flipping between an interlaced vs. progressive signal at the same resolution and framerate will give identical results.\n\nThere is a catch. If the content was originally 60 frames per second, and you interlace it, the result will be 30 frames per second. But there is only one case where this happens: watching ESPN or Fox Sports HD sporting events. Because ESPN and Fox Sports properties are broadcast in 720p at 60 frames per second, if your cable box is set to 1080i, the framerate will be halved. You can avoid this by setting your cable box to output native resolution at all times.",
"The terms \"interlaced\" and \"progressive\" don't describe a resolution, but a scanning method used by TVs. Your TV's image is comprised of horizontal lines (720 or 1080 of them, to be exact). Interlacing separates these into odd and even lines and then alternately refreshes them at 30 frames per second. Progressive scanning, on the other hand, refreshes the entire picture line by line every sixteenth of a second.\n\nProgressive scanning is more popular because it can better display motion. When your interlaced-based TV tries to update the image of a race car speeding across your screen, the slight delay between odd and even line refreshes will cause a small distortion of the image. Progressive-based TVs do not have this problem because they update every line in order (e.g., line 1, line 2, line 3, etc.)."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
370sid | how come you can put so many chemicals into containers of glass, without them reacting with the glass itself? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/370sid/eli5_how_come_you_can_put_so_many_chemicals_into/ | {
"a_id": [
"cripcih",
"criphh8"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"Glass is mostly Silicon Dioxide. Silicon Dioxide is an extremely robust molecule. Because of some complicated chemical stuff involving electron valency and electronegativity, there is no pressure on the oxygen molecules in glass to find something new to latch on to, they are already in a very low energy state. \n\nIt's worth noting that glass will react violently with Flourine, which is even more reactive than Oxygen (one of the most reactive elements there are) and it will react with some alkaline solutions at extremely high concentrations. ",
"Glass is made out of a 1:2 ratio of silicon to oxygen. This is called silica, and is an incredibly stable. To make a chemical reaction occur, you have to rearrange the atoms such that they form a more chemically stable compound. Since silica is already super stable, it doesn't want to rearrange. The only thing that is more stable is silicon and fluorine. That's why you have to be careful when using hydrofluoric acid. It's one of the few things that can dissolve glass."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
4ve8zh | how a skydiver can survive a 25,000 feet fall into a net without a parachute | I just read that a guy is planning on jumping out of a plane at 25,000 feet and planning to land in/on a net without a parachute...How could this work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ve8zh/eli5_how_a_skydiver_can_survive_a_25000_feet_fall/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5xn0s8",
"d5xnou8",
"d5xny7u",
"d5xodc3",
"d5xufzl",
"d5y1wcv"
],
"score": [
3,
19,
3,
2,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"People jumping without a parachute don't keep speeding up. Due to wind resistance, they reach a maximum speed (called *terminal velocity*) which for a normally-dressed human is around 120 mph.",
"The only problem when jumping without a chute is that at the moment you hit the ground you decelerate so fast that your body cant handle it. If you cushion the impact enough that you dont decelerate as fast, but rather over a few seconds while compressing whatever you are landing on then you will (possibly) be fine.\nIts just like those tarps that firefighters will hold up for jumpers to land on.\n\nIf you want to catch someone falling from 25000 feet then you need a very large and soft impact zone and then in theory the person should be fine.\n\nStunts like this have been done before but not from this height i believe. As another user already mentioned there is a certain speed called the terminal velocity to which someone jumping from a plane accelerates, but not more. So after a certain height it doesnt really matter if you drop from even higher.\n\nThere are very real risks though. The skydiver has to hit the impact zone or he is most likely screwed. Also he probably needs to hit the impact zone at the right angle or he might suffer severe injuries anyways. I remember reading something about a lady jumping from a hot air baloon a few hundred meters high into a huge pillow. She impacted with her legs first instead of flat on her back and was paralyzed as a result.\n\nThey also need to make sure that his net doesnt catapult him back up like a huge trampolin.",
"It's not the fall that kills people, it's the impact. Like the old joke: speeding doesn't kill you, it's suddenly coming to a stop that does.\n\nPeople who have fallen out of planes and survived - almost entirely by accident - didn't walk away fine. They got badly bruised up with broken bones and probably some psychological scarring afterward. They lived though. They didn't die. The reason usually has to do with what they hit when they fell. One woman who fell out of a plane landed on a hill and rolled down it. Because she didn't immediately stop her motion, a lot of energy was absorbed in the roll over seconds, and in the end, none of it hit her without enough force to kill her.\n\nIf someone's planning to jump out of a plane at 25,000 feet without a parachute, good luck to them. They'd have to hit a target pretty accurately without assistance.",
"The simple explanation is all about deceleration or in the ELI5 terms the slowing down.\n\nTerminal velocity is the speed in simple terms at which you stop going faster as you fall down due to the air around you stopping you going any faster. This is around 120mph/200kph in the typical position skydivers take with their body facing the ground to maximise the air they force to move around them, if they try to spear their head into the ground then this speed increases to about 180mph/285kph but the diver will likely be wearing a suit and trying to slow themselves down to the lower figure as much as possible.\n\nThis difference in approach is broadly demonstrated by opening a window in your car at a modest speed and then stick your hand out, make a wing and it's much easier to keep it in position without a lot of effort, now repeat and make a wall out of your hand and the effort you have to go to increases - _URL_0_\n\nLanding into a net effectively allows the deceleration of the terminal velocity to dissipate over a larger area. Think about jumping down from a building onto a surface, it's the same way that you will try to land on something soft ie you'll pick to aim to land on the grass rather than the concrete. This is because we are hard wired to pick a softer landing as it's more likely to prove safe, given the additional choice of a mattress you'll pick that too if you have a reasonable chance to land on it. Any surface with a bit of give even if it's only a little like the earth vs concrete means that you will cushion the impact more. \n\nA real world example of deceleration that you will likely have come across is a trampoline, the goal is for rebounding you upwards but the idea only works well if you can do increasingly larger jumps which can only safely happen if you are decelerated on the downward portion without injury in the first place. This attempt is going to be doing so over a much larger distance than you would see in terms of the amount of give a trampoline might have to decelerate the stunts performer but the same principle of the trampoline will apply just that they will be using something akin to a safety net with other specialist attachments akin to springs to absorb the energy of the skydiver, they will likely also use a host of other devices like breakaways that will absorb the energy and deflect it into other activities like motion. \n\nAbout the only real difficult part will be that they have to hit the target which will overall be a very small target to hit, obviously a skilled skydiver should have no issue hitting it, but without a parachute, wind and other factors mean they cannot afford to miss the target and that doing so is pretty much going to be either certain death or a very big owwie. ",
"How about I REALLY ELI5:\n\nSlow your body down as slow as possible and spread out the force of the thing that's slowing you down in as wide an area of your body as possible. Slow your body down too fast or too much in one particular spot, the more damage you'll do. This is the basic concept behind crash science. Seatbelts, airbags, etc are designed to slow you down SLOWLY and spread out the force over a wide area. This is why airbags are big soft and cushy. ",
"I saw that video a while ago, maybe they plan on doing the same kind of stuff. The wingsuit slows the falls down, they could do the same kind of stuff with a net instead of cardboard box i guess.\n2.500 or 25.000 feets he's at terminal velocity anyway, it becomes a matter of precision.\n\n_URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity"
],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEP8juRSBRo"
]
] |
|
2mpw6u | what is it that happens when i'm comfortably falling asleep in my bed and then i suddenly feel a shock or startled sensation and almost jump out of my skin. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mpw6u/eli5_what_is_it_that_happens_when_im_comfortably/ | {
"a_id": [
"cm6hgnu",
"cm6hh93",
"cm6hlag",
"cm6i79k"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"It's called a Hypnic Jerk. There are a wide range of potential causes, including anxiety, caffeine, stress and strenuous activities in the evening. However, most hypnic jerks occur essentially randomly in healthy people",
"Sometimes when I'm falling asleep I suddenly feel like I've fallen down and feel an adrenalin rush of the fear of falling and I feel startled and shocked and am jolted awake for a few seconds. What causes this?",
"I can't remember the name (~~hypnotic~~ [hypnic jerk](_URL_0_) ~~or something like that~~), but it's basically when your body starts falling asleep, so your heart rate and respiration decrease, but your mind isn't ready to sleep (or doesn't realise that your body is going to sleep), and realises that your heart is slowing down (and thinking that something is wrong), jolts you to 'wake' you up again.",
"(Courtesy of one intro psychology course in college): There are several brain waves that the brain progresses through during the sleep cycle. The brain waves begin at a normal pattern-fluctuation of moderate to high-ish activity. Then, as we calm down for sleep, the activity lowers and lowers to eventually reach much more relaxed, regulated patterns. During this time, before sleep and when the patterns are at points of lowest activity, we experience sleep spindles called \"K-complexes\" which is an evolutionary survival mechanism for living in dangerous, predatory environments. If not for K-complexes, we would slip into sleep without warning, because as we relax, we lose the wherewithal to keep ourselves awake. The jerks help us fall asleep safely and on our own terms, or not if it is too dangerous. \n\n\"Hypnic Jerk\" is a colloquial term/ understanding of a deeper function."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk"
],
[]
] |
||
4f738v | how come "mother" and "father" are always some variation of the m and p sound, regardless of language? | For example:
Eng: mom
Fr: mere
Ch:mama 妈妈
Czech: maminka
Kr: umm ma 엄마
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4f738v/eli5_how_come_mother_and_father_are_always_some/ | {
"a_id": [
"d26exs9",
"d26lrni",
"d26oox4"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"They are some of the oldest words in any language. They are almost as old as language itself. They are [15,000 years old](_URL_0_).\n\nWords are preserved by use. The more you use a word, the harder it is to change that word. If you don't ever use a word much, it might be possible that your children won't hear that word from you. Or if they do, it won't stick quite as hard. Then, another nearby tribe comes in to trade and they use a different word for this thing, and their word is what sticks. Or even just a neighbor invents their own word for that thing, their kids play with your kids, and your kids pick up that word.\n\nBut when it's a really super common word, you use that word so much that it sticks *really* hard in your lexicon. \"Mother\" and \"father\" are super super commonly used words. What's the first word most kids learn? \"Mama\". The second will probably be \"Dada\". Even before language existed, as humans (or our ancestors) were just beginning to vocalize in language-like ways, the first vocalizations are going to be calling for our parents, and you're going to pass those sounds from generation to generation.\n\nAs humans diversified and their language diversified, those early sounds were kept because no matter where you're from, your ancestors learned those same sounds and the have been used so much since then that even 15,000 years isn't enough to change them completely.",
"Before babies start to use 'language' they form speech through babble. Basically they play with producing noise through open and closed mouths. These are the easiest utterances for developmental babies to make as they explore sounds. \n\nThink of the open and closed mouths like binary code: 0 = the open vowel sound, like 'aaaaaa'.\nThen 1 (or in our case a closed mouth) - = the closed consonant sound, like 'm' or 'p'.\n\nTry it. Close your mouth as if you were making the beginning of a 'm' or 'p' word, then just open your mouth and push through some air....You're basically making the 'ma' and 'pa' sounds.\n\n'B', 'D', and 'P' are pretty much interchangeable as closed consonants. Hence the variations found: baba, abba, papa, dada. etc. \n\nSo, these are the basic building blocks of vocalisation, so they are the ones babies use. The simplest form for the human mouth.\n\nAnother interesting question is that these pre-linguistic babies have been the ones to give birth to language in the 'naming' of mother and father. Why did we follow their lead? \n\nMaybe the simple naming of 'poo' and 'wee' in many languages follow a similar explanation. I think grandparents also have similar binary forms in many languages too, like in Hindi.Paternal Grandfather — दादा (daadaa)\nPaternal Grandmother — दादी (daadii)\nMaternal Grandfather — नाना (naanaa)\nMaternal Grandmother — नानी (naanii)\n\n",
"That's a pattern that fits for a lot of languages, but not all languages. For example, if you scroll through this list (_URL_0_) you'll find a lot that do fit and a lot that don't.\n\nAlso, all European/Indian languages come from a common source, called the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE), so it makes sense that English, French, Czech, etc. all have similar words for Mom and Dad. And I think words babies find easy to say probably have a lot to do with it too."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/07/newser-oldest-words/2141257/"
],
[],
[
"http://houston.cbslocal.com/2011/05/01/the-word-mother-in-other-languages/"
]
] |
|
25drbj | why do african-american women tend to have higher obesity rates, even in non-impoverished populations? | In America, minorities tend to have higher rates of obesity, and that is often correlated with low income. Lower income tends to lead to poor nutrition. However, if I look just at financial district office workers in Chicago, there seems to be a much higher obesity rate among African-American women than among Caucasian women.
Has anyone found a verifiable genetic link to this? Is my observation wrong? What cultural / socio-economic factors contribute to this? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25drbj/eli5_why_do_africanamerican_women_tend_to_have/ | {
"a_id": [
"chg755y",
"chg7pja"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"It may have something to do with their childhood diets.",
"There are several reasons. [This is a pretty clear article](_URL_0_) that lists them in plain English."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/exploring-the-causes-of-black-womens-obesity/"
]
] |
|
3ehyo1 | why don't armies wear realistic camo like real tree or mossy oak instead of the blotchy stuff? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ehyo1/eli5why_dont_armies_wear_realistic_camo_like_real/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctf4axj",
"ctf4b9g",
"ctf4fjl",
"ctf4pzo",
"ctf50dg",
"ctf5bzi",
"ctf87oa",
"ctf8enl",
"ctfbezv",
"ctffc0o",
"ctfjjb4"
],
"score": [
60,
15,
21,
7,
10,
47,
10,
2,
5,
3,
8
],
"text": [
"The camo they use works better against humans and in different environments. Mossy oak is OK for the forest, but what if you need to cross a field or are in a city? And if we were that worried about being seen, we'd wear ghillie suits more often",
"[Some special soldiers do.](_URL_0_).\n\nIt just gets cumbersome and impractical, if you want to be able to run around in it. So mostly snipers use it. Regular camo coloring is usually enough to prevent easy spotting *at a distance*, which is why it's practically used. Eventually, in closer combat, you'd still notice the enemy soldiers, *especially* if they pranced around with branches affixed to them.",
"The human eye is very lazy when it comes to these more or less formless spots of similar colors. It is hard to focus and your mind will just filter it out when you're not concentrating. Plus, being of a more general nature makes the camo more versatile. If you have a generic green camo you can use it in a forest, on grass, in a field, a garden, etc..",
"Long reasoning short: it doesn't actually work better than the digital stuff currently used, your eye cares about the shape of an object more than the apparent texture, which is why ghillie is curiously efficient even though it looks nothing like a Bush.",
"Over-specialisation: tree bark camo works great when you're standing in front of a tree, less so when you're on a muddy riverbank or in a wheat field or anywhere that isn't very specifically in front of a tree of that particular species.\n\nGear: body armour, LBE, weapons, etc. Tend to come in solid colours, which means they're going to look a little odd against your super textured camo. It's better if that gear looks like coloured blobs against other coloured blobs.\n\nRealistic expectations: you're not looking to be invisible from 2 yards, you're looking to be kinda hard to see from 100. \n\nCosts: equipment costs money, complicated patterns and construction start to add up the price, and the military philosophy is \"If we're having to issue three of these to each soldier, we're making them as cheap as possible\"\n\nThe reason patterns like DPM haven't changed much over the decades is because they work quite well for general purposes.",
"Real Tree or Mossy Oak works against animals in a forest, because an animal doesn't think \"this tree looks odd, with a second trunk full of leaves next to it. Animals look for movement and shapes more then anything else. \n\nHumans hiding at the base of the tree are called \"tree cancer\" and are easy to pick out for someone trained. As others already pointed out, ghillie suits which make a person look like a pile of leaves or bush work for a sniper who is staying fairly still. \n\nModern camo is designed to make soldiers who may be moving harder to pick off. Where the body ends and where a miss begins. \n\nThis is a marketing photo, so it's taken under an ideal situation. \n_URL_0_\n\nNotice how it harder to tell exactly how wide his legs are. If his he wasn't wearing a tan vests, you'd have difficulty telling how wide his chest is, and exactly where the proper aim point is. \n\nThe few seconds it takes you to zero on the target, are a few seconds the solder has to aim on you.",
"From what I understand, camouflage is more about breaking up the human form than it is concealing its wearer. It is made to confuse the shooter as to the shape or outline of the human body. This would give the person wearing the camouflage a larger window to react, instead of being shot immediately.",
"Sometimes they do. When I was in training we were instructed to use vegetation to break up the shape of the shoulders and helmet while on patrol. To be honest, although it makes a bit of a difference, it's kind of a waste of time because everything tends to fall off after a few meters of leopard crawling anyway. \n\n_URL_1_\n\n\n_URL_0_\n",
"\nImage from _URL_0_. \nA detailed camo doesn't matter at the distance of combat ",
"In western armies it isn't technically called camoflage. Its proper name is \"disruptive pattern material\" and the whole point, as the name suggests is to disrupt the shapes and patterns that identify you as being a human. ",
"Hello,\n\nI am a counter-surveillance instructor so I know a bit more about this than is probably healthy. \n\nVisual camouflage is designed to be effective against the unaided human eye beyond a range of approximately 100 metres. It is designed to complement a broad palette of background colours and textures. Inside that distance, even very small movements attract our eye that no amount of disguise could counter and that's why we add local camouflage, such as bits of grass etc to our uniforms. \n\nThe current fashion for 'digicam' is simply due to the belief that computer aided design could somehow make a colour camouflage pattern that would be more effective inside that distance. A series of photos are taken of the environment and a computer then chooses a random design which favours certain combinations of colours in a pixel format. This is then either printed or woven then made into garments. \n\nThe old fashioned way of making camouflage schemes was - believe it or not - to place a very large sheet of paper on the floor then tip the primary scheme colours across it. That's why older pattern schemes look they way they do. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://cdn.survivalschool.us/wp-content/uploads/sniper-ghillie-suit-camo.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://multicampattern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/multicam_arid_1_pattern_slide-1920x938_c.jpg"
],
[],
[
"https://forcesreunited.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/somme-platoon-west-midlands-army-training-unit-practicing-camo-and-concealment.jpg",
"https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ac/a8/31/aca831724fc70aac7118cef59c9f66ca.jpg"
],
[
"http://www.hyperstealth.com/camo-improvement/test-results-3.jpg"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
rp1us | why can't shredded paper go in with the paper recycling in some places in the us? | It's a mystery to me. How is it that paper that's already shredded is not as good a candidate for being recycled as paper that is whole? It seems like if I tear a sheet of paper in quarters I can recycle it, so why not if I neatly cut it into thirtieths? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/rp1us/eli5_why_cant_shredded_paper_go_in_with_the_paper/ | {
"a_id": [
"c47j3p5"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"[We dont recycle shredded paper because the strands of the paper block the machines that re-pulp it.](_URL_0_)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://peoplepoweredmachines.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/stop-dont-put-shredded-paper-in-your-recycling-bin/"
]
] |
|
2nbxpw | what exactly is happening when my iphone compass app needs "calibrating" (turning my phone in a circle with no apparent proper method of doing so) | I don't understand the purpose of turning my phone in what is usually a very uncoordinated circle, yet somehow whatever it does seems to work. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2nbxpw/eli5_what_exactly_is_happening_when_my_iphone/ | {
"a_id": [
"cmc8v2j"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's aligning the internal gyroscope to the local magnetic field.\n\nA magnetic compass points to the strongest magnetic field, always. However, cell phone's magnetic sensor doesn't have that capability. Instead, it has a gyroscope that always points in the \"same\" direction; however, the way you probably use your phone (in and out of your pocket, flipping it, etc), as well as the fact that your gyro is usually unpowered, means that it needs to figure out what that direction is.\n\nOnce your phone has figured out where the strongest magnetic signal is (north), it aligns its gyro to point in that direction. From there, you can pick up direction by comparing the orientation of the phone with the internal gyro."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
85f1hr | how hard/easy is it to lose/damage your enamel? | I was always told about how you should take care of your enamel but how badly do you have to? How much does a bottle of coke contribute? Can you tell if you've lost your enamel? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/85f1hr/eli5_how_hardeasy_is_it_to_losedamage_your_enamel/ | {
"a_id": [
"dvx4akp"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body. While it's a very hard substance, acidic foods and drink will wear it down with time. With sugary items (like coke or candies), the sugars bind to your teeth, and as your saliva processes it, the bacteria interact with the sugar and creates a lower pH balance in your mouth. That causes a mineral in your enamel to break down, thus making it weaker.\n\nOne coke will not cause immediate damage. It's the sugars sitting in your mouth over time that allow more of the demineralization to occur, making your enamel thinner.\n\nOther causes for thinning enamel include chewing on things you shouldn't be (don't chew rocks for example) and acidic foods.\n\nThe largest tell if you've lost enamel is sensitivity. Along with the weakened tooth, it will become easier to break. Taking care of your enamel is as easy as just brushing your teeth when you can and minimizing how much sugar you intake.\n\n(all of this is just stuff I found on wiki... I'm not a dental expert)\n\ntl;dr: sugars left on your teeth break down enamel minerals\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
1vtkrb | why is it so difficult for microsoft/sony to be prepared for the inevitable demand of new consoles? | Okay, so I think this is a bit ridiculous that it's 2 months after launch and it's still impossible to find either of the consoles. Why does it always seem like these companies are grossly under prepared for system launches. Each and every time it is ridiculously unbearable trying to pick up a new system. I find it very unprofessional on both companies to be so grossly under prepared. And in the case that it's done with the intention of creating an artificial shortage, why? People are going to pay 400-500 for a console regardless of how many there are/aren't. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1vtkrb/eli5_why_is_it_so_difficult_for_microsoftsony_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"cevnyre",
"cevo0zb"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"From a purely economic standpoint, it's terrible business sense to make more of a product than people will buy. If everyone who wanted a PS4(We'll stick with the PS4, though it represents both) could buy one opening day, that means Sony will have produced and released more PS4's than they can sell at that given time. While that sounds great for you, this means that they will be totally at the mercy of the market. What if their product is a flop and they end up selling only 50% of their supplies? They will almost certainly crash.\n\nNow, three important things change as a console's life progresses. One, for several reasons, it becomes at least somewhat cheaper to produce the consoles. Two, it becomes easier and easier to estimate how many consoles the company needs to produce before they saturate the market and start losing money per console they produce. Third, technical problems that started as statistically insignificant (Think: Red Ring of Death) become more apparent as these consoles are used in ways they weren't tested. All of these put a large amount of incentive on the companies to produce a sort of starter batch of consoles. This is what you see released. As you said, people will pay the fixed price, so they produce how many they think will safely benefit them the most for the initial release. \n\nYou don't normally see this sort of behavior with smart phones or other modern appliances because they have more frequent iterations. There have been about 7 different iPhones in 7 years. Yes, some people demand the new model and eagerly await its release, but if you have any one of the more modern versions, the difference in performance is non-vital. Obviously with a gaming console backwards compatibility is the most you can ask for from generation to generation. AND, it's been about 8 years since the last generation of consoles. So consoles are a much higher risk market, with much steeper demand and supply cycles.",
"Because Supply Chain Management on a massive scale is *really* difficult, and accurately predicting demand for new products is even harder . . .\n\nProduce too many for a weak-demand product, and you can have millions of unsold products sitting around (look at the HP TouchPad).\n\nProduce too few and you risk losing sales.\n\nAnd that's assuming the devices *can* be manufactured in the quantities you need. That takes coordination of hundreds of individual components (all with their own supply and demand concerns), plus manufacturing, testing, packaging, and shipping those items to distributors and retailers all over the world. While everybody else is also trying to do the exact same thing with the same limited resources so their products can get out there in a timely fashion.\n\nIt's one of the things Apple does brilliantly, by the way. Management of raw materials, components, and custom parts and chips are done to a very finely controlled level, sometimes with Apple spending billions to lock in certain critical components years ahead.\n\nThey also book manufacturing and shipping capacities out way in advance, ensuring their products hit the shelves exactly when they say they will, and in great quantities. Even so, \"hot\" new products still run behind demand for a few days to a few weeks, even as Apple rings in record-breaking sales.\n\nEventually, it all settles out to where people can just walk into a store and buy what they want, just in time for the cycle to start all over again as the next hot new thing is released . . ."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
4ktan1 | how competing companies end up developing new product ideas at the exact same time? | For example, VR: Oculus had such a long time to develop the Rift, but as soon as it does, you have another 4 or 5 solutions such as the Vive.
There are so many examples of a company releasing a "brand new feature" and have other companies come up with the exact same thing!
This kind of trend is mostly seen when you have two or more large companies competing against each other, e.g. AMD and NVidia. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ktan1/eli5_how_competing_companies_end_up_developing/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3hkr45"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"It isn't the idea itself which is new, it is the ability to bring it to market at an affordable price point. In the case of 3D VR the idea has been out there for a long time but the technology wasn't there at the right economy. So each company was just waiting to bring it to market."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
cwpjn0 | why can't you put cast iron in the dishwasher? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cwpjn0/eli5_why_cant_you_put_cast_iron_in_the_dishwasher/ | {
"a_id": [
"eydl8gt",
"eydleov",
"eydnyxd"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
4
],
"text": [
"Because it will get rid of the baking layer that you have to put in your self by baking oil",
"because theres a lot more going on inside your dishwasher than hot water and soap. you don't want to strip your coating off your cast iron and a dishwasher will do it.",
"Cast iron is non-stick, but not because of a plastic or teflon coating. Instead it has a layer of carbon bonded to the metal that makes the pan non-stick. Soap can remove this coating because it's just just made from burnt oils. Once you wash it off, you can replace it, a process called re-seasoning. If you don't food will stick and you'll be sad.\n\nThis was the breakthrough of teflon. It was nonstick and didn't take as much care."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
e2v4mp | why will boris johnson win? if everyone hates him? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e2v4mp/eli5_why_will_boris_johnson_win_if_everyone_hates/ | {
"a_id": [
"f8xqu7x",
"f8xsrri",
"f8xvdhm"
],
"score": [
5,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Let’s break it down to 3 simple categories:\n\n1) Media Bias has conflicted interests or have been bought out by the current government\n2) There is a strong sense that every party currently fighting for this election are useless, this is due to a lack of trust in our politicians from the way they have behaved these last few years, betraying not just the public but democracy in more ways than one.\n3) A lot of people simply follow the fallacy of the ‘status quo’ if a party is aligned more with their own ideological views they will insistently follow them to their deaths, despite what they have done to make you think otherwise. \n\nThis is ignoring the fact that people think the main opposition party, labour are communists, anti-Semitic etc however it simply isn’t true, there are issues with antisemitism, unfortunately, however a lot of it has been turned into a complete smear campaign, the same sort of smear campaigns you would see in America. Brexit has divided this nation completely, I doubt we will see a majority government for a long time, instead there will be lots of coalitions and divisions within our parliament itself, further adding fuel to the fire.\n\nSo in short there is a lot of bullshit going around currently and not many can see the truth from the steaming diarrhoea turd. It is a truly complicated situation and facts have been so skewered I don’t think we will ever get beyond these types of elections without serious reform going forward.",
"Most people don't hate him.\nIt's only in the age group 25-34 where Corbyn is ahead, and only by 5%. Johnson is 20-30% ahead on average.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nOf course that doesn't directly translate into votes for the actual parties, for many reasons.",
"**Please read this entire message**\n\n---\n\nYour submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\n* Recent/current events are not allowed on ELI5. First, these are usually asking for factual answers or opinions. Additionally, information about these events is usually still developing , making objective and accurate answers difficult (Rule 2). \n\n\n\n\n---\nIf you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](_URL_0_) first. If you still feel the removal should be reviewed, please [message the moderators.](_URL_1_?)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://editorial.fxstreet.com/miscelaneous/mike_1-637097255801307702.jpg"
],
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules",
"http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Can%20you%20review%20my%20thread"
]
] |
||
1jiaos | how do music companies like spotify and apple radio get rights to all songs ever? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jiaos/eli5_how_do_music_companies_like_spotify_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbexjzh",
"cbey36h",
"cbezbom",
"cbf4u3u"
],
"score": [
31,
16,
6,
3
],
"text": [
"They don't get every song ever, actually. There's plenty of music not found on these services. The music they do have is acquired via contracts with various record labels and music studios.",
"Spotify certainly doesn't. You come across crappy live versions of popular songs or even versions by cover bands instead of the real thing. It's pretty frustrating, especially considering I use the paid service.",
"Spotify uses a system that pays each individual license holder per play. It's a minuscule amount, some small fraction of a cent. It's not been a profitable model, but evidence that it is the future model of content delivery for the record industry is found in that it's already become there second highest source of revenue, second to iTunes. \nWho knows? I'm stoned.\n\n\n\nSources\n_URL_1_\n\n_URL_0_",
"I have worked for many of the music subscription services, designing products and business models.\n\nIn order to provide legal music, companies need licenses for 2 different copyrights for each song in their catalog: a \"sound recording\" or phonorecord copyright (for the actual recording) and a \"publishing\" copyright (for the underlying composition).\n\nGenerally, \"record labels\" control sound recordings. The major labels - Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music - control most of the stuff people actually care about. There are also a few large independent groups (Merlin) that are effectively majors. You also have indie aggregators like TuneCore and IODA. For each of those labels, you have to do a deal for whatever catalog (big pile of albums) they have available. It won't be everything they've ever released - it's just the stuff they themselves know they have the right to distribute digitally.\n\nIn the USA, publishing is relatively straightforward - there are a few large organizations that have aggregated publishing rights. Again, you do a deal and get whatever their catalog is - it is a lot, but not everything. \n\nSome labels and aggregators include publishing with sound recordings.\n\nThe deals with each label will be complex. You will pay an up-front fee. You will pay a fee for every album sent to you. You will pay a minimum per-subscriber fee (even if those subscribers don't play a thing). You will pay a lot of money. \n\nSpotify and other services pay out 70-80% of their GROSS revenues to rights-holders, leaving the remaining 20-30% to cover the costs of hosting terabytes of music in CDNs around the world, pay for servers, bandwidth, and developers.\n\nThat money is delivered along with detailed reports of every track played to each rights holder every month.\n\nI take issue with the \"plenty not available\" statement. Most music services have around 20 million songs available, and it represents the vast majority of the commercially relevant recorded output. \n\nInstead of focusing on the 5 hold-out bands (Zeppelin, AC/DC, Beatles, etc.) who are all hoping for cash advances and special treatment, I'd prefer to focus on all the music that IS available. If content isn't available, it's not because the SERVICES aren't trying - it's because the labels or artists are saying \"NO\" (or, often \"yes, but we need a ton of money\")\n\nOf the 20 million songs ingested and available, maybe half ever actually get played even one time on each service. The amount of catalog that actually gets played regularly is really small (low single-digit millions).\n\nWhy isn't everything available? In some cases, the labels and publishers do not know if they have the rights for digital distribution - their original contract isn't clear about it. To answer the question, you have to find the contract, read the contract, get an opinion from a lawyer, and attempt to locate the long-missing artist, artist's representative, or copyright owner to see about securing rights.\n\nThe cost of doing all that is usually so high the label or publisher doesn't bother, and just says \"eh, that's not available\". \n\nSometimes artists refuse to allow their music to be streamed or sold digitally. Maybe they're fighting with their label. Maybe they don't \"get\" digital. Maybe they don't like the deal terms. \n\nAs for how the artists get paid, that is between the label and the artist. How does the label divide up money paid for subscribers that don't play anything? Do the artists get a cut? I don't know. Ask the labels.\n\nIt's a really tough business. To date, no digital music service has been a financial success. Spotify and Pandora are the biggest streaming service and radio service respectively, and neither is profitable (Pandora was, briefly). Maybe those guys are really, really bad at their business. But no other streaming or radio service is making money either. \n\nThere are services that rely on User-Generated Content (UGC). YouTube is the classic example. YouTube generally doesn't get licenses. They operate using a particular loophole in the DMCA, where users upload content. YouTube doesn't need deals to clear this content. This also means that when you watch music on YouTube, the artist is getting less money (often $0) relative to streaming services or download stores.\n\nSometimes a label, publisher, or artist will notice their content is available on YouTube and request a takedown. YouTube is legally obligated to remove that particular content within a short period of time. These days YouTube usually asks the copyright owner if they'd rather show ads against the content and take some of the revenue and/or just get tracking/demographic data about the audience.\n\nThe laws outside the USA (and the rights organizations) are slightly different, but close enough that understanding the USA is sufficient.\n\nTL;DR\nYou have to do a deal with the record label and publisher that own the sound recording and publishing copyright for every song you want to offer legally. \n\nOr you can screw the artist, the label, and the publisher with UGC. ;-)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-revenue-labels-2012-6",
"http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/17/spotify-royalties-appear-to-be-awfully-high-despite-what-thom-yorke-says/"
],
[]
] |
||
4sytwh | why does written arabic not include vowels? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4sytwh/eli5_why_does_written_arabic_not_include_vowels/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5dd9lg",
"d5dduf5",
"d5dsmlq"
],
"score": [
7,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"If you understand Arabic, you will not need vowels to read it. You can tell what the word should be from knowing the word itself or its context.\n\nVowels were actually included in the written Quran when Islam spread to non-native Arab speakers, who faced the same problem you now face, and who were making grave errors in vowel placement, thereby reciting the Quran incorrectly. While Islam remained in the Arab peninsula, vowels were an unnecessary extravagance... everyone knew how a specific word should be pronounced.",
"Arabian in here, Arabic have something called pointing or diacritics, better known in Arabic as Tash-Keel which are those symbols written above and under the words that aid us in reading it's just like the International Phonetic Alphabet.\n\nHere's an example of one written word/verb with different diacritics and to what the word/verb corresponds in english \n_URL_0_\n\nThe older arabs in times before Islam didn't even need those diacritics, that happened to a great extent that when Quran came and was preserved later in books they didn't put the normal spelling dots in words, they were so expert in the language that they could read it neither with diacritics nor dotting.",
"When you know the language you don't need to have vowels to know what word it is, since you kind of know what the word should be. Th sm wrks n nglsh, t jst lks strng"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://imgur.com/GYpXkDu"
],
[]
] |
|
2d5u28 | how do speakers/subwoofers work along with the amplifier? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2d5u28/eli5_how_do_speakerssubwoofers_work_along_with/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjmctnv",
"cjmd00x"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"_URL_0_\n\nnow as to what signals get sent where, it's all based off a crossover/cutoff frequency. this is either set on the amp or on the speaker itself (usually a sub)\n\nIf on the amp, it looks at the frequency of the sound and decides - Left? Right? or 'who cares, it's a low tone'. If on the speaker, it \"refuses\" to emit sounds at a frequency higher than the cutoff\n\nThis is simply 'stereo/2.1' - surround is a bit more complicated but that simply comes from encoding that the amplifier understands to send the electrical signals to the right speaker(s)\n",
"A speaker works by converting electrical signals to sound by using an electromagnet to move a cone. The electrical signals tell the electromagnet how far and how fast to move, then the cone creates vibrations in the air which is picked up by our ears. \n\nAn amplifier takes this signal and adds power to it. It doesn't change the signal, but by adding power along the way it forces the electromagnet to move the cone further, which makes the in-air vibrations stronger. A stronger vibration is picked up by the ear as being stronger, so we hear a \"louder\" vibration. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/speaker.htm"
],
[]
] |
||
3czquw | buying a car from a dealership | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3czquw/eli5_buying_a_car_from_a_dealership/ | {
"a_id": [
"ct0gzak"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Do not take the first deal they offer! It's not the best. \n\nIf you don't know what something is, ask. They know their lingo is above most of our paygrade. \n\nIf you wanna avoid hassle of negotiating, there's a pretty cool service called true car. _URL_0_ definitely worth looking at. \n\nNo matter what, never settle for something. Make sure you are happy with it. This is a big investment and should be respected as such"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"Truecar.com"
]
] |
||
ceycci | why do trees stop growing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ceycci/eli5_why_do_trees_stop_growing/ | {
"a_id": [
"eu5tdyg"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"They don't. As long as there is water, nutrients and sunlight and as long as it is not getting infected or damaged it will technically grow forever. There is however some limitations to how high a tree can pump the water and nutrients from its roots. This means that there is a height limit where its branches can not grow higher. The branches also might have issues growing further out as they will sag and eventually snap off. The trunk of the tree will however grow as wide as it is allowed to given enough time and that it does not suck up all its water and nutrients."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2vledz | if the earth has no moon, what would our oceans be like? | There wouldn't be tides as we know them now, or none at all? Would temperatures and currents be different? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2vledz/eli5_if_the_earth_has_no_moon_what_would_our/ | {
"a_id": [
"coipt4y",
"coj41ip",
"coj46a0"
],
"score": [
63,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Tides would generally be about two-thirds less powerful, and be much more closely tied to the time of day. The moon's tidal force would be gone, but the sun's tidal force -- about half as powerful as the moon's -- would remain.",
"I learned about the tide being affected by the moon when I watched bruce almighty. Then asked my mother about it and she taught me. My Canadian schooling was shit. ",
"some effects beside the ones of tides:\n\nthe earth's axis would not be as stable (like on mars) that means a few thousand/million years there would be no seasons and dusk and dawn would be exactly at 6:00. The next few thousand/million years the northern hemiphere had everlasting day and the southern hemisphere had everlasting night (and different intermediate states between those 2 extremes)\n\nsome scientists say this would make life very different on earth because there would be no \"long\" periods of stable climate and therefore \"higher\" lifeforms would have evolved a lot harder"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
fn4rsk | what exactly is happening to the economy and what does it mean for individuals? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fn4rsk/eli5_what_exactly_is_happening_to_the_economy_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"fl7jp97"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The economy is going through something called a recession. This is when people stop spending their money because they don't think it is good to do so. This can cause many things, with less people spending money, companies are making less money. This means that less people are able to be paid and more people will be out of jobs \n\nThis can create a loop, less people making money to pay people, less people with jobs, etc. \n\nThis means that most of us might be out of a job, and our investments and retirement savings have just gone down the drain."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
fc42at | how does smart devices like alexa, google home, and other devices not “listen” when you are talking without saying their name? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fc42at/eli5_how_does_smart_devices_like_alexa_google/ | {
"a_id": [
"fj8fiq1",
"fj8fj4z",
"fj8h10s",
"fj8iic7",
"fj8ijqu",
"fj8itqn",
"fj8km8g",
"fj8lzsa",
"fj8mxx7",
"fj8nenz",
"fj8nwjh",
"fj8o4ak",
"fj8p2rg",
"fj8q43n"
],
"score": [
482,
136,
24,
3,
8,
15,
7,
2,
3,
2,
11,
3,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"If I'm correct the microphone is always listening. It's just in some sleep state waiting for their respective trigger word to turn on the transmitter and recording device. From what I understand the microphone is never truly off. So until you say the trigger word like \"hey Google\" the machine keeps its recording device off",
"They do listen, else you wouldn't be able to unmute them without a physical switch.\n\nThey just discard anything you say while in muted state and (ideally) don't transmit or evaluate that information in any way, except for looking for the \"unmute\" command obviously",
"They are programmed to listen to specific keywords. You can buy these chips preprogrammed with a set of keywords for development purposes. _URL_0_",
"Imagine there's a loop of recording material that will record for 30 seconds. Every 30 seconds, it runs out, so it erases and starts recording over the same spot.\n\nThe devices always record to that 30-second loop. BUT, if it hears its wake word, it moves that part of the recording to another spot to send \"home\" (to Google/Amazon/Apple/Microsoft/etc.) to analyse and get a response for you.\n\nAt least, that's what is *supposed* to happen.\n\nBut every service randomly (or not-so-randomly) selects some of those devices to send the 30-second snippets to one of their analysis centres, where live people can listen to what's been recorded. And there is almost no security on those recordings whatsoever.\n\nSmart devices hear everything you say and do, and you never know who is listening.",
"Ostensibly the way they work is that there's an initial listener system on board the device that is always listening and performs word-recognition looking for the \"Alexa... Hey Google... etc\" trigger words. Once that trigger has been found, the rest of the audio stream is passed on to the online systems for full parsing. If the trigger word hasn't been detected, the audio is just overwritten/deleted.\n\nThere's lately been a fair amount of doubt that this is exactly what is happening though.",
"Like others said, they are always listening. The trigger words are recognized offline. After hearing the trigger word they send the recognized words to their server to get the meaning, as the on board recognition is not smart enough.",
"Some comments have satisfying answers but to be elaborate - Generally voice processing(voice recorded by your mic) or text to speech conversion is done at cloud (far away computer) but it simply can't handle the load of everything you say to find the \"trigger' word , so they have a special system(both hardware and software) inside your device to listen only for that trigger word once the trigger is encountered it starts transmitting the data to cloud where it will be processed and results will be retrieved.",
"The listening occurs constantly. The devices generally have a buffer of about 10 seconds that it analysizes for the trigger word. None of that buffer leaves the device until the trigger word is captured. Once it is then it begins sending that to the servers in the cloud to actually determine what was asked of the device and to communicate with any third party apps.",
"It does always listen, it just doesn't store what you're saying long term, there's only enough memory for a buffer so it can always check for \"Alexa\"",
"So, the short answer is that these devices always listen but only activate when they hear you say the key phase. \n\nI think it's important to ask the follow up question, what do they do with the audio? Well, originally it was available to deveopers. The audio would stay anonymous, but people could listen. People are finding out that the companies will also target ads to you based on what you say. If you start to talk about a vacation, you will find airflight or Airbnb ads online. Check out some videos online if you want to know more. \n\n'Is your phone Listening to You - how are devices keep tabs on us' or 'Alexa is listening to you, - Amazon privacy' or is Google always listening, live test' the last one shows how you can just say specific key words and have ads targeted directly at you in seconds.",
"They do listen. They’re waiting for “wake up words” that cue them to turn on. Sometimes it’s a miscue.\n\nA study using various TV shows (e.g. The Office) - I believe by MIT but I may be mistaken - found that words similar to “OK Google” and “Alexa” would wake up the devices several times.\n\nThe snippets they collect, which you approve of sending by using the device, are sent to offshore contractors to determine if the algorithm they use is working.\n\n(I work in cybersecurity and privacy, have studied them for a while. We don’t allow them in our offices for this exact reason.)",
"Wowzers, there is a lot of tinfoil hat theories in here!\n\nThese devices run a short listening loop. Always recording like 5 seconds and continuously dropping anything longer than 5 seconds. when the correct sound is inputted into the microphone the device begins to record your query to send back to the server for response.\n\nSaying \"hey Alexa or hey Google\" is equivalent to clicking \"file - > open\" with your mouse.",
"There has been some lack of clarity on the 'always listening' part. The devices aren't transmitting data over the internet. The devices are able to detect the trigger word, which tells them to start sending your voice over the web.\n\nA reason you can trust that the companies won't purposefully send everything you say is that without any extra equipment, people can monitor when the smart devices use the internet, and how much data gets sent, so they can basically see when the device is active",
"You know how sometimes you'll zone out, not really thinking about anything or listening to anyone, but then you hear your name and you snap into focus? It's like that. You can hear what's happening, but you aren't retaining or storing any of the information that you hear, thus, you aren't \"listening.\" The moment you hear your name, however, you begin to store and process that information, and form a reply."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.nxp.com/applications/solutions/enabling-technologies/voice:VOICE"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5almkp | will putting your hand first in cold water and then in **almost** scalding water result in burn symptoms on your hand? | The hot water should be just bearable if your hand were at normal temperature.
I know it will hurt really bad, but will it actually **damage** the skin? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5almkp/eli5_will_putting_your_hand_first_in_cold_water/ | {
"a_id": [
"d9hdq7q",
"d9he07g",
"d9heh5f"
],
"score": [
3,
7,
3
],
"text": [
"No... it'll just hurt a lot.\n\nIf the hot water isn't hot enough to damage the skin, it'll merely be a sensation shock.",
"No. You skin burns at set temperature and so if it was not hot enough to burn you when your hands are a normal temperature, it will not burn them if your hands are cold. In fact, that may actually help protect you if contact time with the heat source is minimal, as your skin will be starting from a lower point moving towards the \"burn temperature\".\n\nYour body detects temperature differences, rather than temperature itself. This is why you get used to being a cold swimming pool for example. Your blood supply to your skin gets reduced and so your skin surface cools down, getting closer to the temperature of the pool and so the pool feels less cold.\n\nTLDR: Temperatures that do not burn warm skin will not burn cold skin either. Being cold initially may help protect the skin if contact with heat is fleeting.",
"Actually we do something similar for sports injuries. It's called contrast treatment. It forces a quick switch between vasoconstriction and -dilation, which helps circulation and inflammation, especially the latter since the lymphatic system lacks a central pump."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
buq7zp | why do prokaryotes not develop organelles? is there a benefit to being more simple if you’re unicellular? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/buq7zp/eli5_why_do_prokaryotes_not_develop_organelles_is/ | {
"a_id": [
"epho1zm",
"epi3mm0"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Firstly, there are lots of unicellular organisms that do have organelles, as there is a broad diversity of unicellular eukaryotes (probably over 95% of eukaryotic diversity is unicellular).\n\nThe most simple answer to why prokaryotes don’t have organelles is that prokaryotes by chance have not evolved the machinery to generate and maintain organelles. \n\nOne particular organelle of note, the mitochondrion, was acquired in a single event where a primitive cell engulfed a particular prokaryote and enslaved it, and the engulfed prokaryote was passed down to all of the descendants of that original cell, eventually evolving into the current mitochondrion. All descendants from that event are eukaryotes. \n\nTo answer the last part of your question, some would argue that prokaryotes, lacking a mitochondrion, do not generate as much energy as eukaryotes, so they can’t meet the energy needs to maintain organelles, although this is controversial.",
" In the most general terms, there is always a benefit to being more simple in that every thing that an organism makes costs energy. \n\nProkaryotes are unicellular but all eukaryotes aren't multicellular.\n\nSetting aside if viruses are alive, all life is divided into two groups prokarya and eukarya. Prokaryotes are single celled organisms that have no nucleus, no membrane bound organelles and are much smaller than eukaryotes(less than a tenth of the size on average.) Prokaryotes are bacteria and archea. Most people are familiar with bacteria, archea are organisms that are like bacteria but just as distantly related to bacteria as eukaryotes are. So eukaryotes can be both unicellular and multicellular. Yeast are single celled fungi for example.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nAbove is a link explaining endosymbiosis which is the theory that organelles came from a cell engulfing another cell but then not digesting it. Basically, organelles were once free living organisms. Chloroplasts (organelle for photosynthesis) were once cyanobacteria. \n\nIt might be the case that organelles allow for multicellularity. All eukaryotes have mitochondria (one of those organelles). Mitochondria is where the vast majority of ATP (energy storage molecule of cells) is produced."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiogenesis"
]
] |
||
1s01e3 | why do distance lights appear distorted and take on a diamond or hexagonal shape when i squint? | Imagine your driving your car at night and you see a pair of headlights down the highway in front of you. What cause these lights to appear distorted? The effect is enhanced when my eyes are watery. I sometimes see a pattern inside the light source and it looks like there are little shapes inside of it. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1s01e3/eli5why_do_distance_lights_appear_distorted_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdskns5",
"cdsm18p"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Your eye's are not perfect.\n\nDon't worry nobody's are, but you probably have an astigmatism which distorts the light.",
"Definitely astigmatism.\nI have the same thing. \nIt only gets worse, get glasses. ಠ_ಠ"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
1mkjcu | if 1/3 is .33333 repeating, and 2/3 is .66666 repeating, and 3/3 is one, where does that little bit go? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mkjcu/eli5_if_13_is_33333_repeating_and_23_is_66666/ | {
"a_id": [
"cca2qw5",
"cca2rys",
"cca2sg3"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"1/3 = .333...\n\n2/3 = .666...\n\n3/3 = .999... = 1\n\nfor why .999... = 1, check out [this thread](_URL_0_) or just search/google, it gets asked a lot.",
"If you multiply 0.33333... recurring by three, you of course get 0.99999... recurring. The thing is, 0.99999... recurring is just a different way of writing the number 1. [This]( _URL_0_...) wikipedia article has several proofs of this if you're interested. ",
"Not a mathematician, but this is something I've wondered about since I asked my math teacher in grade school and he didn't explain it in any way I could understand.\n\nThe best answer I've come up with is: What little bit?\n\nThat's the thing about an infinite repetition: the little bit *never actually shows up.* It's not .0000001 or .0000000000000000000000001 or a billion zeros before 1. If we take an infinite time to get to the 1, then it literally isn't there.\n\nFor entertainment purposes only. Always consult a professional mathematician."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l8m1i/eli5_why_does_0999999910000000/"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0.999"
],
[]
] |
||
2v0fyt | what is the purpose of the small pockets above the big pockets on jeans? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2v0fyt/eli5_what_is_the_purpose_of_the_small_pockets/ | {
"a_id": [
"codbtsl",
"codc0u2",
"codck3d",
"codeerf",
"codelq1",
"codely3"
],
"score": [
6,
9,
5,
3,
3,
4
],
"text": [
"[This article](_URL_0_) relates to the evolution of the watch pocket and how it's changed over the years. I'd always wondered myself because anything I ever placed in the pocket was hard as the devil to get back out. Makes sense that if you had a watch on a chain, you could stick it in there and pull it back out with the chain, but back then, the pockets were larger than they are today.",
"I know they were originally for watch fobs but these days I call mine my 'fitbit pocket'",
"As other's have said, it's a watch pocket. I use mine for my Zippo though. Perfect fit. ",
"I always tought those were condom pockets :O !?",
"It's a great place for your condom. Or for coins. Or for your bag of cocaine. ",
"It's supposed to be a watch pocket, though I use the ones on my pants to store guitar picks and loose change 90 percent of the time. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.levisguide.com/watchpocket/watchpocket.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
3zu19m | why exactly wasn't netflix offered to those 130 countries before today? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3zu19m/eli5why_exactly_wasnt_netflix_offered_to_those/ | {
"a_id": [
"cyp1afp",
"cyp22fc"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Every country has it's own set of laws regulating businesses, distribution of entertainment, internet usage, tax codes, copyright laws, and what it considers obscene content. Also, different countries often have different companies holding the distribution rights for the same piece of entertainment. For example, the Golden Compass film sold off essentially all the distribution rights to the film to various foreign companies to help pay for production of the film itself. Television series can be much worse, as multiple companies can have the distribution rights for different pieces of the same series. \n\nThen, as with any other computer program, Netflix would have to deal with the problems of making their site usable for [other languages](_URL_0_).",
"Varying laws and rights holders is the intuitive answer, but if you think about it, that doesn't explain why the 130 countries were added at the same time as opposed to gradually as Netflix worked through legal issues.\n\nThe truth is it's a numbers game. A common clause in media (movie, TV show, music, etc) rights contracts limits the number of countries a given media may be sold to *as a function of the decade*. This practice was instituted after World War II, when it became apparent that the number of nations will very rarely shrink (due to the small power of conquering nations relative to the international community that would oppose them), and more often grow, leading to an upward trend in the number of nations. The idea is that the contract will maintain a roughly consistent share of the global market, reducing the rate at which it devalues over time. Since the practice became common in 1946, it is customary for such contracts to begin the decade on January 1 of each year ending in 6."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j74jcxSunY"
],
[]
] |
||
3m600f | why would a "retina hd" display be better than a "retina" display? | A Retina display has such a high pixel density that after a certain distance, the human eye cannot discern the pixels. So why would adding more and more pixels look any better? The pixels are already indistinguishable, so why would adding more make it look better? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3m600f/eli5_why_would_a_retina_hd_display_be_better_than/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvcao63"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"It would be better because it has HD in the name. But a non cynical answer would be that you would exceed that point where the human eye can't discern a difference, making all distances appear better, not just that certain distance you mention."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
4s8dro | food is made up of fats, carbohydrates, and protein, but what gives different foods their flavor and how do they work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4s8dro/eli5_food_is_made_up_of_fats_carbohydrates_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"d57dbwa"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Because there are *far* more substances in food than just carbs, fats, and protein. Those are three macronutrients, but there's also micronutrients and thousands of other chemicals present as well. Salt, for instance, is not one of those three, yet you have an entire taste bud set dedicated for that one chemical."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2cstot | if you go missing and after sometime you are deemed legally dead, but then 10 years later you are found alive, what happens to your previous assets? | Let's say your assets went to the state or relatives and you were a wealthy person (I hope to get explanations for both scenarios)
EDIT:
Let's also say your death wasn't faked. (example: you were kidnapped and held captive for all those years) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2cstot/eli5_if_you_go_missing_and_after_sometime_you_are/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjimqo7",
"cjimx11"
],
"score": [
4,
4
],
"text": [
"What ARE you planning?",
"It depends on the jurisdictions. In some states there are laws that mandate the return of the assets to the presumed-dead-now-living person. In others I expect you could have a legal fight on your hands to reclaim those goods. In most cases the criteria for declaring death in absentia is somewhat robust, to try to minimize the chance of this occurring. For instance, a clear case of imminent peril before a disappearance, or an absence of factors such as significant debts or criminal history that might provoke one to hide one's identity. \n\nIn some cases, depending upon the nature of the assets, you can even be sued, for instance if your family claimed death benefits and it was determined that your disappearance was a fraudulent act."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
5r1lt5 | why do electronics, such as tvs, have a buzzing sound when turned on but nothing is playing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5r1lt5/eli5_why_do_electronics_such_as_tvs_have_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"dd3olvy",
"dd3oz3x",
"dd3pk9n"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"could be one of two things:\n\n1. the TV itself is making noise as a byproduct of being on, even when it isnt playing any audio\n\n2. the TV is picking up interference which it's interpreting as audio. even when it's not getting a signal, the universe is full of \"noise\" at various frequencies electronics can be sensitive to",
"Older CRT televisions have a flyback transformer that vibrates and makes that sound. Lots of electronics with transformers make some certain of that sound - I can actually hear my phone charger pretty clearly when it's charging. Curiously, that sound is so high pitched that older people generally can't hear it.",
"The sound you are hearing is going to be one of three things:\n\n* This is especially true of old CRT televisions - transformers. Magnetostriction occurs in the presence of a rotating electromagnetic field, and it's causing the transformer to physically change shape, to oscillate along with it. This drives me fucking nuts and I can't be in the same room as a CRT powered on because of it.\n* Capacitors. These are electrical devices that store and discharge electricity, they're used as filters to smooth out AC power to DC power. These are another thing that will expand and contract along with their charge/discharge cycle, and you can sometimes even hear the frequency change, depending on the demand by components further down stream. Some types are inherently noisier than others, but often it's just cheap ass parts in a cheap ass electronic, a bad sign, that also happen to be one of the first things to burn out, killing your thing with it. I've a friend who picks up flat panel televisions from the trash and spends $1.80 and a half hour of his time to replace these components to make side money reselling the now fully functional television. He also services dead game consoles where this is one of the leading causes of their death for a competitive price.\n* RF noise. TV snow and dead channel hiss doesn't come from background noise in the radio spectrum. The RF spectrum is actually very quiet with some notable exceptions - making radio astronomy possible, and man made radio signals. The snow and noise is actually electrical noise generated in the radio amplifier itself. Long story short, signals are weak, and they're boosted before they're fed to other parts of your device. The amplifier circuit is sort of self-adjusting, self-tuning, and trying to amplify anything it can. If there's literally nothing to boost, it'll go so far as amplify it's own electrical circuit and the unavoidable, incidental electrical noise it makes. Anywhere you have an oscillating current and a conductor, you have a transmitting radio. All AC electrical circuits make some amount of electrical noise, and while your device is trying to convert AC wall power into DC current, it's not can cannot be perfect, especially with cheap electronics.\n\n Anyway, that's TV snow and hiss. The point is that the amplifier is sensitive to everything. If you're hearing hiss through your speaker, the engineers didn't design a high quality audio circuit to suppress that. If you hear other noises than that, then the engineers made a really cheap electronic overall, skimped entirely on shielding, and the speaker is picking up all sorts of noise from all over your device. It's comical when you can hear a laptop process some task, and this is typically disk access or bus noise, or from the AC to DC conversion as I mentioned earlier with cheap capacitors. And this sort of electrical noise is likely escaping the device and having some sort of effect on any nearby electronics (if not inconsequential)."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
27m973 | why do some people advertise brands? | For example, the people who wear shirts that say Coca Cola,or the people who put Monster and Rockstar stickers on their cars? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/27m973/eli5_why_do_some_people_advertise_brands/ | {
"a_id": [
"ci2617y"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Brand preference has become an exploitable expression of \"class\" and other conspicuous displays.\n\nBranding is a process by which consumers are taught to link a brand name with extrinsic qualities: Sneakers, for example, can make one faster, jump higher or become a superstar (Air Jordan; Nike; etc.).\n\nProcessed food can suggest that the consumer has the financial means to save labor, i.e., not have to prepare their own food. Fast food might use advertisements to imply power (\"have it your way\"), or intelligence (\"smart menu\").\n\nPeople display a brand product conspicuously often because they believe that touting the product says something about their own identity. For example: \"My NFL t-shirt says I'm macho, and a cut above.\"\n\nBranding is the process of leading consumers to such connections."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
2dg030 | if i'm charged with static electricity and i touch any of the components in my computer, what happens to them? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2dg030/eli5_if_im_charged_with_static_electricity_and_i/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjp40c6",
"cjp5i7h",
"cjp8z8z"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"There is an exchange of electric potential, which involves current flow through the delicate components of the computer. If this is beyond what those components are designed to handle then they fail, permanently. Some incredibly tiny component is physically damaged.",
"You might fry the component, you might not. Some have protection against such surges, others do not.",
"you pump too much current into the circuits and can burn or fuse them. \nit's important to realize that some of the pathways in your computer are only molecules thick. it doesn't take much."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
xrc9d | how does carbon dioxide form? | The actual atomic mechanism, not simply exhaling. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xrc9d/eli5_how_does_carbon_dioxide_form/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5owrlg",
"c5oxaqz"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I'll assume you're speaking in terms of respiration.\n\nIn the example case of sugar metabolism, the carbon comes from the sugar molecule itself. The oxygen may be from the sugar, or from water that is used to oxidize the carbon in the citric acid cycle. The decarboxylation reaction itself occurs when there is a two-electron oxidation at the leaving carbon atom. The carbon dioxide will be dissolved in the cell, forming carbonic acid, until it reaches your lungs, where the equilibrium shifts to favour the gaseous carbon dioxide again.",
"Carbon dioxide is formed during a combustion, which can be a wood fire, gasoline explosion in a combustion engine, or consumption of sugar in a human cell.\n\nWhat happens is that you have some form of fuel and oxygen, and they react to release energy and form different molecules with the same atoms. The fuel is usually a molecule composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Gasoline contains octane, whose formula is C8H18 (that means it's 8 carbon atoms and 12 hydrogen atoms combined in a single octane molecule). Sugar is C6H12O6. Wood also contains C6H12O6 (it may be a different arrangement).\n\nFor example, the combustion of sugar can be described with this formula:\n\nC6H12O6 + 6O2 -- > 6CO2 + 6H2O\n\nIn English: one sugar molecule (C6H12O6) and six oxygen molecules (O2) will react to produce six carbon dioxide molecules (CO2) and six water molecules (H2O). And it will also release some energy. \n\nYou'll notice that you have the same amount of atoms on each side: 6 carbon, 12 hydrogen and 18 oxygen. They are just arranged in different molecules but it's the same atoms.\n\nIn the case of respiration, as it seems relevant to you: you eat stuff which contains sugar. You breathe oxygen in. Your blood carries oxygen and sugar to your cells. Your cells will \"burn\" the sugar with the oxygen to produce energy. That reaction will produce water and carbon dioxide, which are picked up by your blood. It is carried to your lungs and you exhale that carbon dioxide.\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
4pwhe7 | why most (if not all) people with aspergers have bad handwriting? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4pwhe7/eli5_why_most_if_not_all_people_with_aspergers/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4oerug"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"As someone with Asperger's, I can say that, for me at least, it is an extension of my poor coordination and innate clumsiness. It's the reason I don't use any power tools and only use sharp knives over a table because I drop everything. Even before my arthritis got bad, I had horrid handwriting and can only write legibly with great focus. Typing things is far easier, especially since the Delete key works so much better than an eraser/white-out/crumpling the paper and tossing it. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
6bbdi3 | when bands break up, what happens to their finances? how do they allocate past and future revenue? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6bbdi3/eli5_when_bands_break_up_what_happens_to_their/ | {
"a_id": [
"dhl7yvz",
"dhle4mu"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"This is usually all figured out in the record contract. The composer gets a cut, the members of the band gets a cut, the producers get a cut and the record label gets a cut. All the details is in the contract. The money starts getting distributed when the record is available until the copyright expires.",
"Bands can formalize their legal arrangements and often do. But if they dont, they're just treated as a partnership, and partnerships have specific rules. Specifically, profits are divided equally. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
6x8jdu | how does absorbing neutrons by u238 create pu239 which has two more protons? | I would assume that absorbing neutrons would add neutrons and not more protons. How does this happen? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6x8jdu/eli5_how_does_absorbing_neutrons_by_u238_create/ | {
"a_id": [
"dmdyne3"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
" > I would assume that absorbing neutrons would add neutrons and not more protons. How does this happen?\n\nIt undergoes two beta decays where a neutron emits an electron and becomes a proton."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
f0kn60 | please how do jet engines keep heavy rain out of their combustion chambers? or do they not? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f0kn60/eli5_please_how_do_jet_engines_keep_heavy_rain/ | {
"a_id": [
"fgupvlc",
"fgupyrj",
"fgur6gg"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"They do not. I think jet fuel can even contain water, as I have heard. The gasses can and should expand freely, and water does that very well when vaporized.",
"They don't. Jet engines are designed and tested to work in a heavy monsoon downpour. _URL_0_",
"The spinning fan blades fling a good amount of water outward so that it goes through the bypass ducts instead of the combustion chamber. Since, in modern jet engines, most of the air goes through the bypass duct instead of combustion chamber, almost no water goes into the combustion chamber, and the engine can handle any that does make it in, unless it's some sort of catastrophic, biblical amount of water."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faDWFwDy8-U"
],
[]
] |
||
b2ci5v | why does old electronics make crackling noices when they get turned off? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b2ci5v/eli5_why_does_old_electronics_make_crackling/ | {
"a_id": [
"eiruoqs"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Because when the device is on it creates heat and it expands and when you turn it off it starts to contracts. Just like the ticking when you turn your car off from driving "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2d6r46 | why are lightning rods not used on buildings as much as they were during the 18th and 19th centuries? | I rarely see them if ever, only old old structures. What gives? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2d6r46/eli5_why_are_lightning_rods_not_used_on_buildings/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjmmnhf",
"cjmmu1x",
"cjmnl72",
"cjmpmy4",
"cjmr2mp",
"cjmvzbl",
"cjn1qw6"
],
"score": [
98,
45,
8,
5,
88,
11,
2
],
"text": [
"I believe that it's just you not perceiving them or that they blend into the structure. They are used on almost every structure now. ",
"They're just internalized into the structure of the building, kinda like how some cars have radio antennas built into the windshield (you can see them as little black lines)",
"They still do drive grounding rods attached to the main exterior electrical panel. 2 rods actually to code these days. This is to establish zero potential for voltage really though but it would serve as the fastest path for a lightning strike too. I think.",
"My house has a lightning rod system. It doesn't seem like the greatest idea when lightning hits the system and scares the crap out of you. My computer monitor goes black a split second before the boom. This is why most houses don't have these systems these days - they actually draw the lightning to your house, although they do keep it from doing any damage.",
"Hi maybe I can share some insight here. I am A lightning protection installer certified through LPI (lightning protection institute). As far as the original question goes. The reason for popularity in lightning protect in the 1800 through early 1900 comes down to status. If you had lightning protection you were the \"cool kids\" on the block. so they became more of a decoration than a protective system. if you look on the top of a historical building often you'll see a very pretty spear with a ball at the base or other such vanity. Because of this LP became insanely expensive and only those with great wealth opted to have the protection. Resulting in lightning protection as a trade go into a decline. So they took the very elaborate systems and stream lined them leading to what you see or have trouble seeing today. It is far more popular nowadays than it was in years past. Most lightning rods (ie air terminals) are 3/8\" thick if copper and 1/2\" if aluminum and are typically range from 10\" to 24\" tall they are very hard to see from any distance. And are usually the only part of the LP system you can see. like others have said they are mostly used in the commercial world. If you have any other question pleas feel free to ask.",
"Architect here. Most modern buildings incorporate lightning protection into the coping which runs around the edge of the roof. This is usually a metal strip fixed to the metal coping with clips and then run down to a ground rod which dissipates the lightning charge into the ground. In my experience, lightning 'rods' are extremely rare and I have never used one on any of the mid-rise or hi-rise towers that I have built.",
"We live near the top of a mountain on the NC/SC border, and just behind a large rock outcrop. When our home was built 17 years ago, I questioned the need for lightning rods, like so many of our neighbors had. Within a year our house was hit, damaging the stereo, microwave, and many other electronic devices. So, we had lightning rods installed and have not been hit since. Perhaps just luck, but I'm now a believer for locations like this. I assume the rods bleed off static charge buildup. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3mfhk9 | what is stopping me from saying the signature on the contract i broke isn't mine? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mfhk9/eli5_what_is_stopping_me_from_saying_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvejzjg",
"cvek05i",
"cvek0mu",
"cvelar0"
],
"score": [
2,
3,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"Signatures are notoriously difficult to question and they're prima facie evidence that you agreed. You have to overcome a burden of proof to prove you didn't sign it. And if you were acting in accordance with or benefiting from the agreement beforehand, that kind of hurts your chances of being able to prove you didn't agree.",
"First, usually when you allege some sort of fraud (like a forged signature) you have to do so under oath, even prior to trial. So lying about it not being your signature becomes a potential criminal matter, as well as something that the civil judge could hold you in contempt over (meaning fines and even jail). \n\nSecond, even when that is not the case, the other side is free to introduce evidence that it is your signature. Testimony that you were there, evidence from emails or other records of the event and the aftermath, the fact that you took actions/accepted goods/did things consistent with the contract, comparisons with other things you've signed, etc... \n\nMaybe you can beat all that evidence, but in civil trials they only have to prove something by a \"preponderance\" meaning 51% likely is enough for you to lose. ",
"You: That signature isn't mine!\n\nLawyer: Write your signature on this piece of paper 5 times as you normally would. And do so in my presence.\n\nHandwriting expert hired by the lawyer: After careful analysis I have concluded that the signature provided to the lawyer matches that on the contract. In my expert opinion there is a negligible chance that someone else signed the paper.\n\nLawyer: Thank you, hadwriting expert. Oh, and by the way your honor, the fingerprints on the contract from when OP signed it match the fingerprints on the paper I gave OP when I asked for his signature.\n\nYou: Fuck.",
"Depending on the contract and what it is for, you have to have it notarized. Basically someone (with a certification to do so) watches you sign it and then signs or puts a seal on it that says that you signed it."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
6v40a5 | what's the difference between college, community college and university in the us in terms of the credibility of one's degree? do all of these even end with one getting a degree? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6v40a5/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_college/ | {
"a_id": [
"dlxh5q1"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Community Colleges are 2 year colleges that offer trade certificates and Associates degrees. Sometimes, they'll cooperate with a state college or university in order to offer higher degrees in specific programs. These are run by the county (usually) or city (sometimes) and designed to offer a wide variety of education.\n\nColleges are 4 year institutions that offer up to Bachelor's degrees, as well as trade certificates and Associates degrees. They're typically state funded or private institutions. These are smaller institutions which offer a smaller number of degrees, and are generally specialized. An art college, or a STEM college, for example.\n\nUniversities are 8 year institutions that offer all the way up to Doctorate degrees. These are either funded by the state or privately. Universities have many colleges within them, and can offer a wide variety of degrees. Think about places like Harvard, that have a Law college, a Medical college, a Business college, a Divinity college, etc, etc."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
v6vc9 | what happened with the recent changes in american immigration policy? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/v6vc9/eli5_what_happened_with_the_recent_changes_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"c51uol8"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"I assume you are talking about Obama's executive order. \n\nIt allows for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally when they were children to secure protection from deportation if they are between the ages of 16 and 30 at the moment, in the military or school, and free of criminal offenses. They will also be allowed to apply for work permits. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3fu2p3 | why are we able to tap to the rhythm of a song we've just heard for the first time so easily? | is it because we've already heard a lot of rhythm combinations? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fu2p3/eli5why_are_we_able_to_tap_to_the_rhythm_of_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctryhja"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's simple 8 counts (or 4 counts). The rhythm is constant so once you pick it up, that's the way it stays."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
4ih6u8 | why migrate north? i get going south for warmth, but why on earth go back? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ih6u8/eli5_why_migrate_north_i_get_going_south_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2y1hnj",
"d2y1jk6"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"1) The South gets too hot in summer. If they stay they burn up.\n\n2) Your main food source is North. If they stay, they starve.",
"In the case of the monarchs, it's because the breeding ground and food that the caterpillars need are up north. \n\nAnd consider this - if you stay in one place, you pretty much exhaust the food supply. So you go down south for the winter, and then in the summer fly back up North where there is now lots of food, and where it's easier for you to breed. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
4cearj | what is fiat money? | I read somewhere that the currency's value is basically zilch. Can someone please explain it? Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4cearj/eli5_what_is_fiat_money/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1hen4r",
"d1heqdx"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It's like the bottle caps in Fallout. The bottle caps in themselves have no value but you'll buy my purified water for 10 bottle caps and I'll buy your 10mm bullets for a bottle cap a piece. ",
"Coins were often used earlier, but paper money became special because it was essentially a worthless piece of paper in physical sense, not a gold or silver coin. Originally paper money was an invention of the Chinese, basically wealthy Chinese would often begin giving each other \"checks,\" which basically said \"X owes the bearer of this paper Y and this paper can be exchanged for Y if brought to X,\" instead of actually giving them the promised items, due to reasons. This became increasingly popular and arguably became the first \"money,\" though it was quickly exploited, as this idea grew in size, people began to over promise these papers, which ended with X not having Y to give, ending with economic collapse, though the Song Dynasty in China quickly caught onto this idea as well, issuing state issued money, now backed by one thing - gold. This worked for a while, counterfeiters became a significant problem but the Song had severe punishments for it, so it became somewhat minimum. \n\nSpeed up to the 20th century. This became a common practice, gold backed money, with massive gold deposits being held in places like Fort Knox, but over time, due to the World Wars, it was sold to provide for the war, essentially making the money backed... by nothing. So why did this have little/no effect? Because money was so widely used that it became believed to hold value, not just being a placeholder for something valuable. This is known as fiat money, and yes it is basically zilch, or is it?\n\nFiat money is basically money which has value because it is believed to have value, a product of something called The Tinkerbell Effect, where if enough people believe something, it becomes true.\n\nBut on the flip side, imagine gold, what value does it really have? It also has value because we believe it has value, but in reality it is just a rock, which, beside being shiny, has little uses. We also believe it is worth a lot because we believe it is worth a lot, kind of an ironic paradox."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
b26dks | why are old guitars more heavily prized than new guitars? wouldn't the new ones have been improved upon from the old ones? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b26dks/eli5_why_are_old_guitars_more_heavily_prized_than/ | {
"a_id": [
"eiqjxr5",
"eiqkus2"
],
"score": [
3,
5
],
"text": [
"It depends on the brand and style.\n\n Acoustic guitars normally improve in value because either \n1. The rarity of the model.\n2. The wood of the guitar has aged and changed the sound of the acoustics. This is common in Martin guitars.\n\nElectric guitars mainly increase in value over time simply because of the rarity of the model. \n\nMany electric guitars associated with a certain era of music or specific artist hold more value as a collector's item more so than a \"better functioning\" guitar.",
"I am assuming you're talking about electric guitars. A couple of reasons:\n\n \\- The wood used is a type that is not used today. This can result in a different sound and/or guitar feel to the player.\n\n \\- the electric components used (pickups for example) were often handmade or non-robotic machine made that resulted in different each guitar having its own distinct sound - even within the same brand of guitar.\n\n \\- There is a stereotype that older guitars are better guitars. This is not always true.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nSome more expensive modern guitars have improved on some of the \"flaws\" of older guitars (like the reproduction models of older guitar styles) made by Gibson and Fender. These still use the woods of their originals. But I think what most people refer to when they talk about \"modern guitars\" are the standard ones you could buy in any music store. Many of these, especially the more affordable ones, use less expensive woods and alot of plastic. The sound can be lacking, and some feel that they feel \"cheap\" in comparison.\n\nThat said, there are plenty of new guitars that are still handmade using excellent materials and components. Paul Reed Smith (PRS) guitars is a good example ."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
4sbdtt | what is going on in baton rouge with the seemingly peaceful protesters being limited by militarized police? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4sbdtt/eli5_what_is_going_on_in_baton_rouge_with_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"d57xkv9"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"If the protest in any way \"harms the public or the protestor\" then the protestor is subject to arrest.\n\nBy that definition, standing in the middle of road will lead to your arrest. You are not only placing yourself in harms way, you are a danger to drivers on that road.\n\nIf you protest in a public area, or on a sidewalk, and do not impede people going about their normal lives, you are fine."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
cs0c99 | why is meditation so good for stress and what actually happens in your brain that causes you to feel better? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cs0c99/eli5_why_is_meditation_so_good_for_stress_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"exbob4b"
],
"score": [
11
],
"text": [
"Meditation, on a basic neurological level, causes brain activity to relax and synchronise, in effect reducing stress and noise within the brain, and giving it the opportunity to refresh/reset. If you want I could link some interesting scientific articles."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3l1qjb | how is it legal for a company like de beers to have a monopoly over the diamond trade. i thought monopolies were supposed to be illegal. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3l1qjb/eli5_how_is_it_legal_for_a_company_like_de_beers/ | {
"a_id": [
"cv2ddo7",
"cv2ddwz"
],
"score": [
3,
4
],
"text": [
"Monopolies are not illegal. *Abusing* a monopoly is what's illegal: to either prevent other companies from trying to compete (for instance, seeing that someone is entering your industry, and dropping all of your prices so low that you're taking a loss, but forcing them out of business in the process), or using a monopoly in one area to try to attain a monopoly in another area (like Microsoft was found to be doing by forcing IE to be installed with Windows a couple of decades ago, since it was taking their then-monopoly in personal computer operating systems, and forcing a monopoly in web browsers).",
"Attempts to monopolize are illegal in the US, DeBeers wasn't in the US (they sold to US firms, but if they had no assets or people in the US, there was very little the US could do about them). \n\nAlso, they were unable to capture enough of the Canadian diamond mines (who had vast access to US markets) and [their monopoly was broken](_URL_0_) once those were established. \n\nOnce that occurred, they reached [a settlement with the US government](_URL_1_) which allowed them to begin operations in the US. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://www.kitco.com/ind/Zimnisky/images/jun062013_1.jpg",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beers_antitrust_litigation"
]
] |
||
axtkuf | what causes the “streaks of light” that are visible during night driving (made more exaggerated when you squint)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/axtkuf/eli5_what_causes_the_streaks_of_light_that_are/ | {
"a_id": [
"ehw32xh"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Look similar to this?\n_URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://imgur.com/qxOQT8D"
]
] |
||
6wwor9 | how are we going to dispose of the iss? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6wwor9/eli5_how_are_we_going_to_dispose_of_the_iss/ | {
"a_id": [
"dmbcpvu"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It'll be intentionally de-orbited to burn up in the atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific, just like what was done with Mir. Russia might detach some or all of its modules and use them as a core for another station, but the US segment will be disposed of. There's no way to bring any of it back to Earth since the shuttle was retired."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
4dx962 | how do dynamic brakes work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4dx962/eli5_how_do_dynamic_brakes_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1v4ocx",
"d1v6oqe",
"d1v7cj3"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Dynamic braking is when you put an electric load on a motor. E.g. your wheels are tied to a motor with no load so the motor has low resistance. you want to stop so you apply a load (like charging a capacitor or battery) the motor resists being turned which brakes. In trains it's either charging batteries or heating resistor banks.\n\nThe upside is there is less mechanical wear than say ceramic disc or drum brakes.",
"A motor can be used in two ways, it can either use electricity to produce rotational motion or it can be used to use rotational motion to produce electricity. This occurs because moving a magnet across a wire will produce an electric current, oppositely, having an electric current will move a magnet because it creates a magnet. So, it has the motor take the rotational motion of the axle and wheel, and convert it to electricity when needing to brake, it is not as responsive as a normal break though.",
"How funny we were asking this last week at work. Here's a good video I found\n_URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/f-tnwlyOmNk"
]
] |
||
a97fbg | why do some authors not use quotation marks in their fiction for dialogues? are quotation marks necessary or optional? | This is an example in a short story by Frank McCourt
> The customer says, But . . .
> Out, says the angry man. Out. You’ll get no more drink in this house.
> The customer claps on his hat and stalks out and the angry man turns to me. And you, he says, are you eighteen?
> I am, sir. I’m nineteen.
> How do I know?
> I have my passport, sir.
Is it common to write in this style in stories and novels? or do you need a good reason to, as most novels still use quotation marks for speech?
does McCourt achieve anything that he could not have done otherwise here?
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a97fbg/eli5_why_do_some_authors_not_use_quotation_marks/ | {
"a_id": [
"ecgy45i",
"ech5dr5",
"ech85c8",
"ech97v1",
"echgn0o"
],
"score": [
7,
15,
5,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"They’re absolutely necessary, and for the most part, English Grammar has a strict set of rules. However, authors like Cormac McCarthy like to push the limits of creativity and the medium and break the rules. His book, *The Road* famously has no, (or very little), punctuation ",
"My observation is that writers who are \"writing\" a story tend to use quotes; each character has a different voice. \n\nWriters who are \"telling\" a story tend to not use quotes; the author is reselling the story and all of the characters have the authors voice. \n\nNot sure if this is true or not, but it's how I've always read fiction dialogue that's not in quotes. ",
"They are not necessary. They are useful, though. The only things that are necessary in writing are those things which convey the writer’s intention to the reader. In this case, the style is part of the intention, and since it worked when you read it, it was successful and the quotation marks weren’t necessary. If it had made you confused, and you couldn’t understand what was being spoken, then the style would have failed. \n\nPeople have written rules about English grammar, and it’s true that convention exists, but only because it’s what readers are used to and can agree works. Mental patterns arise around language when living in an English speaking society and grammar rules set those patterns into standards, which, if followed, create understandable and non-offensive writing. Breaking the “rules” usually results in a failure to convey the intention or offensive sounding writing. A writer can break the “rules” if they know what they are doing. ",
"Not necessary, no. And I'd be leery of accepting too readily the kinds of \"rules\" that some of the other posters are talking about here. Language \"rules\" are often not rules at all---I'm looking at you, prepositions at end of sentences!---and are the products of misunderstanding or fussiness. The rules exist really just for reasons of clarity---which you see often with commas and the confusion surrounding their use---and these rules are always on the flux, so a rule today is an archaism tomorrow. (We're witnessing the death of \"whom\" pretty much right before our eyes . . .)\n\nAnyway, yes, it's comforting and sensible and very common to see quotation marks to indicate dialogue. It also reduces confusion. But it's a perfectly legitimate choice to eschew quotation marks entirely, like Cormac McCarthy. Or Junot Diaz. Or . . . welp, tons of other people. \n\nYou'll also sometimes see dialogue indicated by dashes, but that's a more continental thing. You don't see it much in the States. (Not sure about how it is England; my guess is more common than it is here?)\n\n",
"The thing is, if we’re thinking about things literally and grammatically correct, then quotation marks are necessary. However, some writers choose to exclude them or other conventions of grammar as a stylistic choice. Sometimes it is because whatever they removed breaks the flow of the piece or doesn’t add anything. For example, one of my old teachers wrote his stories without quotation marks, line breaks, or any normal indication of dialogue. The dialogue was just in the paragraph as is. He said he liked the way it sounded in the piece and always wrote that way. If it’s done right, the reader won’t have a problem reading it, so it’s a stylistic choice."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1y5y4r | how do computer and phone manufacturers get the initial software onto the hardware? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1y5y4r/eli5_how_do_computer_and_phone_manufacturers_get/ | {
"a_id": [
"cfhmkap"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"There's usually something called \"firmware\" which the device has that stores memory.\n\nOn that firmware will be instructions on how to load additional software into memory.\n\nThat firmware is manufactured with those initial instructions in place."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
cj3zai | what would be the significance of a non-carbon based life form? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cj3zai/eli5_what_would_be_the_significance_of_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"evaz804",
"evaz9vw",
"evaze1m"
],
"score": [
6,
9,
3
],
"text": [
"it basically means that all forms of life that we're familiar with isn't the only form of life that's possible. which opens up the possibility of life on other planets/environments that we would probably not survive in.",
"It would be tantamount to what Thomas Kuhn termed a ‘paradigm shift.’ Basically, it would revolutionize the most basic conclusions scientists have had about the origins of life for hundreds of years.",
"We have built the basis of life on things like water and oxygen. A non-carbon based life form would throw all of these rules out the window"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
9mw272 | if medicare for all, or some other form of universal healthcare is passed in the us, what will keep the next opposing president from dismantling it immediately? is there a way to protect a major change like this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9mw272/eli5if_medicare_for_all_or_some_other_form_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"e7hsp3y",
"e7hu74v",
"e7hu9zl",
"e7hvsbd"
],
"score": [
9,
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Presidents do not have the power to cancel existing laws. Congress can do this, and they are supposed to have this power — and to use it wisely.",
"Inertia. \n\nThere's plenty of very good arguments against lots of legislation, but it's been in existence, and leaving it be as a damaged and inefficient husk is easier than going to the work of dismantling it and replacing it. \n\nLike an annoying piece of furniture. Sure, it's not comfortable and it's wobbly, but if you threw it out then you'd need to call Dave to help carry it out, and then shop for a new one, and then there's the expense, and would it match the carpets...",
"The fact that presidents can't unilaterally undo laws passed by Congress. Congress would have to pass legislation repealing said healthcare law and it would have to be signed into law by a new president. Nothing stops that from happening except the fact that it's political suicide to repeal extremely popular social services. ",
"In addition to what people have said so far about the President not being able to unilaterally dismantle an entire program (though many have certainly tried), there's a tendency for universalized programs to be protected.\n\nSocial security and Medicare, for example, are third rails because they're predicated upon the fact that *everyone* has access to these programs once the requirements are fulfilled. That is, whether through old age or disability. When you speak to conservatives who support social security and medicare, but not, for example, a means-tested welfare program, their argument will almost invariably be that they deserve those programs because they paid into them.\n\nAnd while that's a short-sighted argument against welfare in general, they do have a point anyway. This is in part, also, why Libertarians and social democrats alike support a universal basic income -- even if they have differing ideas on how to go about it (sometimes in lieu of the wider welfare safety net.) By definition, it's available to everyone, everyone pays into it as a common principle.\n\nNow, single-payer healthcare would obviously fall under this umbrella as being available to everyone who wants to avail themselves of it (most countries allow supplementary private plans, too. I can't imagine the US would be any different.) On the other hand, it -- private healthcare -- is 1/6th of the US economy. The main argument against switching over to a public system is to ask what would happen to all the workers currently in the industry. And there's varying answers to that question, which I'll decline to go into here.\n\nTo get back to your overarching question; every time one of these large changes happen, variations on opposing arguments crop up. Whether they're successful largely depends on who is lobbying against it and how much money they're pouring in lobbying against it.\n\nWhy all that was important to tell you is because of this: those arguments will crop up through the years, even though the structure of the program itself is in place, they're still subject to ideological vulnerabilities. Social security, for example, is perennially subject to arguments over whether to offer partial or full private accounts (a la a 401k), rather than doing direct payments as they do now. Those kinds of things, while preserving the name of social security, would dramatically alter it and the program's mission. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.