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What makes honey "non-spoilable"? | Pretty much the title.
Once my uncle found honey jar in the basement of his house which was stored there by my grand grandfather in early 1900's presumably, we ate it ( and didn't die). | Osmosis mostly.
Osmosis is what happens when two water solutions of different concentrations of solvents are separated by a water permeable membrane. The water moves through the membrane to equalize the concentrations in the two solutions.
Honey is a solution with a very high concentration of sugars in it.
Bacteria and other microbes are filled with water that contains a smaller concentration of dissolved substances.
Cell membranes surrounding microbes are water permeable.
so when a microbe contacts the honey, a water permeable membrane separates a high concentration solution(honey) from a lower concentration solution(microbe cytoplasm) and the water will move in such a way to equalize the difference. Out of the microbe, drying it out.
Honey is also slightly acidic and contains some hydrogen peroxide but those are small factors.
TL;DR: Honey is a desert for microbes that sucks them dry. | 655 | 477 |
[Steven Universe] How did Gems come to be? | Like seriously, when and how did they come into existence? | Their means of reproduction are wholly artificial, so at one point they must have been an organic humanoid species who kept making iterative alterations and improvements to their race as their technology kept advancing. At some point they made the jump to synthetic bodies and artificially created minds, which is why now they resemble nothing organic or living while still keeping the same outward form. | 12 | 23 |
ELI5: Why is it impossible to swallow rapidly over and over with nothing in your mouth, but chugging water is easy? | Swallowing solids and liquids works slightly differently.
Swallow with an empty mouth and pay attention to what you're doing: The tip of your tongue presses against the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth, then 'rolls' along the roof of your mouth backwards towards your throat.
Basically, it's two actions: You open your throat and your tongue forces your food towards it.
When you chug water, you don't do that. There's no need to force the liquid to the back of your mouth, because your head's tipped back and gravity takes care of that for you...basically all you're doing it rhythmically opening and closing your throat.
So, swallowing with an empty mouth is a complex action, and because you're not swallowing anything but saliva and air, you have to manually 'reset' your tongue between swallows. | 308 | 565 |
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ELI5: Why does software update with versions labeled as things like "Version 9.0.124.0" instead of just updating as complete numbers like "Version 4", "Version 2"? | I'm kind of confused as to why it carries on as .04.02.98.165..... instead of whole numbers. Why are decimals involved?
Edit: Thank you very much for all of your responses!! This helped explain it very well. Thank you for answers ! | It depends on the software developer, but for the most part:
version x.y.z
x = major changes to the software (like re-writing it)
y = major enhancements (adding new functions)
z = bug fixes
edited for formatting | 27 | 29 |
ELI5: What are all the different types of noises that an MRI makes when you’re getting a scan? And why is it different noises every few minutes? | An MRI machine collects data by delivering electromagnetic energy into the body to ‘flip’ the spins of nuclei in the body. When the nuclei flip back, they emit electromagnetic signals of the same frequency that are then detected by the system.
The machine is set to have as homogeneous a magnetic field as possible at the center of the tube when nothing is happening. When a scan is taking place, the system rapidly changes the magnetic field within the magnet, using gradient coils, to provide spatial information.
The sounds you hear have a variety of purposes. The slow knocking sounds that precede a scan are a pulse sequence designed to tune the cool to maximize the signal returned from the body. Then, the rapid knocking is from the rapid changes in the gradient coils during the scan itself. Different scanning sequences change the gradients at different rates, so the frequency of the sound you hear differs.
The gradient coils that sit on the outside of the magnet are long loops of wire that vibrate due to the current pulsing through them during the scan. What you hear is that vibration.
Source: spent 10 years working for MRI vendor. | 61 | 52 |
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CMV: There’s nothing wrong with being “ableist” when it comes to John Fetterman running for senate. | In general, frivolously using someone’s disability(s) as a reason to not vote for someone is shitty and should be frowned upon. In the specific case where someone’s disability(s) negatively impact their ability to perform their duties compared to a non-disabled person, it is absolutely acceptable, especially for a position as important as a US Senator.
This is largely in response to the Oz v Fetterman debate last night and the reactions I’ve seen on Twitter to it. I watched it live beginning to end and came away thinking “wow, how could the Fetterman campaign allow this to happen, they should’ve never accepted a debate, he’s clearly not fit for office.” I thought this of course would be the prevailing view. While I saw a lot of that, there was also a loud minority claiming that not supporting Fetterman because of his continued health issues after his stroke is “ableist”. I completely disagree with that framing.
For context, John Fetterman unfortunately suffered a stroke several months ago. During the debate he repeatedly stumbled, took very long pauses, would repeat himself, and generally looked like he wasn’t always aware of what was asked. This is even with closed captioning being provided for him upon his request.
In my view, someone who cannot properly process what they hear, nor properly debate and form clear coherent sentences is not fit for office. Especially as a senator, where debate is very important. Even if his actual brain function is fine and he’s just unable to properly process audio and speak, that still doesn’t make him competent to hold office. Our elected representatives should not have significant mental/oral impairments. Their mental acuity and ability to articulate themselves is of the utmost importance.
If his disability wouldn’t directly impact and negatively effect his ability to perform his duties as a senator, I would not support this so called “ableism”. If his disability was something like that of Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott (wheelchair) or former Democratic US Senator Max Cleland who was missing three limbs, I would stand against any “ableist” comments as these disabilities don’t negatively impact one’s ability to govern. Having a stroke victim with serious speech and auditory processing issues try to be in the senate would be akin to Abbott or Cleland wanting to work for a lawn care company to mow yards. They’re just not qualified based on their disabilities.
I think this is an improper use of the term “ableist” and that this man is unfit to represent the people of Pennsylvania. All the best to him in his continued recovery.
EDIT : Changed wording in paragraph one from “regular” to “non-disabled” as people were getting hung up on language and not substance.
EDIT 2 : Dang y’all, I came back to 80ish comments and in almost getting through all of them I now have 30 more. A lot of comments now are coming across as being very partisan (people who are anti-Oz/republicans) given that my original prompt had nothing to do with this and that I have no interest in bashing one side or the other nor talking about why you hate Oz, I will just be ignoring these to save time. My point is about Fetterman, ableism, and his speech issues, not about the benefits and downsides of Oz. Comments I don’t get to tonight, I’ll get to tomorrow afternoon.
EDIT 3 : Before I go to bed, I’d like to point out I’ve given 3 deltas. 2 on the subject of why it would still be reasonable for some people to vote for him based on partisanship and 1 that brought up that other congressmen are stroke survivors. Although these people made good points ancillary to the issues of Fetterman and disabled people, I’d like the conversation to stick more closely to the ableism point specifically, and so tomorrow when I come back I’ll only be awarding deltas to comments which specifically address the ableism issue.
EDIT 4 : Lol thanks to whoever had the Reddit Cares thing sent to me, I’m good though my guy
FINAL EDIT : Alright y’all I’ve probably responded well over a hundred times today and yesterday. Comments keep flooding in and I can’t keep up plus I have to get back to work. I’m done replying now, thanks for the explanations and conversations | The primary role of a representative is to, well, represent people. What processes and procedures they do to do that is really secondary to that primary function in a democracy.
If you disqualify people with disabilities from being in office, you are excluding those people from having equal representation. They can't have any representatives that truly and personally understands their issues, concerns and problems.
You can have a thousand of the best debaters and slickest public speakers in the world in the senate, but if they don't understand your issues, they're all next to useless to you. | 1,109 | 738 |
ELI5: How does ISIS still exist and stay so strong although many nations have sent so much armed forces to hunt them down? | Much of the action against ISIS has taken the form of air strikes, special forces actions, and more conventional actions. To be effective against a guerrilla force, you need to have a large number of troops constantly occupying their power base areas to prevent them from moving and resupplying, while building good will with the local populace to prevent the guerrillas from recruiting. | 29 | 29 |
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ELI5:What is the difference between cosmology, astrophysics and astronomy? | I've been watching too many Neil deGrasse Tyson videos that are making me feel stupid. I feel like I should definitely have a better understanding of these terms. Are there any other terms similar to these that I should have a better understanding of?
I'm interested in looking for a book that easily explains and covers all of these.
Thanks for any help! | Astronomy is about observations, what can we detect.
Astrophysics is abot the processes that might lead to what we see and explain why it changes in the way it appears to in our observations.
Cosmology is about why the Universe behaves as it does. Today, that often includes things like dark matter and dark energy that we don't yet have means to observe. | 15 | 16 |
Are there any economic papers that discuss the wealth(not income but wealth)gap between various white ethnic groups(ie russisn,french,Irish, etc)? Are there any economic papers that discuss the wealth gap between eastern and western European nations? | Wealth is extremely hard to measure, and would be much harder to link to nationality information (especially for ethnicity which is often a mix of things). The wid.world project has been investigating intranational wealth inequality—that is the right place to start if you’re interested although it won’t answer these specific questions. | 11 | 16 |
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ELI5: "What is the difference between Reason and Logic?" | The two concepts overlap somewhat in popular use. Reason usually refers to mental processes that evaluate affairs in an unemotional way, reason being preferable in many cases.
Logic is more specialized; it derives from the greek word 'logos' which means mind sometimes words - the naming and thinking process.
Today, it is almost a branch of maths, dealing with the abstract rules by which we reach true conclusions when we think, | 19 | 27 |
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ELI5: What exactly are astronauts doing on the ISS? How does data sent down yesterday differ from data sent down today? | I'm not insinuating the science aboard the ISS is pointless, but I don't understand the meaning. What are some of the massive breakthroughs that happened on the ISS? Are we expecting more breakthroughs? | during the course of science. 90% of the time, it's monotonus running an experiment, daily or hourly monitoring and collecting data points, rerunning the experiment many times for confirmation. hypothesis. create a new experiment, run a new experiment, repeat and repeat until budget is done and hopefully you've come up with a conclusion that's worthy of getting the next grant.
it's not the just astronauts on the ISS making new things. it's also the hundreds of thousands of scientists and engineers on Earth that contribute to the breakthrough's.
astronauts on ISS aren't the ones making the new solar panels. they're just using them and reporting the findings. astronauts on the ISS aren't the ones making fuel cells. | 17 | 43 |
In Virtue ethics how are the virtues themselves decided? | In Aristotle's Ethics he assumes from the start what his virtues are, and they seem quite relative to Athenian society. He denounces adultery, cowardice, and shame from the start but on what grounds is this the case? These virtues seem relative to what is acceptable in that society, rather than being canonical. For example, adultery was seen as somewhat normal in Sparta, and even shame/humility is an essential part of Christian ethics, so how are we to accept these virtues as real rather than relative? On what grounds does Virtue ethics assume that its virtues are good and conducive for happiness? Couldn't being intemperate make me happy in many situations? | > On what grounds does Virtue ethics assume that its virtues are good and conducive for happiness? Couldn't being intemperate make me happy in many situations?
This is a confusion about what is meant by happiness in virtue ethics - it seems like you are just imagining utilitarian happiness, but what the virtue ethicist means is something more like "flourishing" or, for Aristotle, 'a total and balanced actualization of your function.'
> so how are we to accept these virtues as real rather than relative?
Check out Martha Nussbaum's argument in "Non-Relative Virtues." Roughly, she argues, that some of this stuff presents itself through natural language. So, while we do find that some of Aristotle's *emphases* are cultural artifacts, we can still do analysis past that. | 30 | 26 |
What do economists expect the effects of Joe Biden's infrastructure plan to be? | Its called the American Jobs Plan. [https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/31/politics/infrastructure-proposal-biden-explainer/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/31/politics/infrastructure-proposal-biden-explainer/index.html)
What effects do economists expect it to have? Do they expect the benefits to exceed the opportunity costs? Where can I find a good analyses of the plan? | Most economists are heavily in favor of government investment in human capital and physical infrastructure. There might be some nuances here and there with each line item of the plan, but economists from I've read are quite supportive overall.
The economist and Bloomberg are decent enough sources for economics news, though they're paid. NPR is great too. | 85 | 73 |
Is food digested in the order it is consumed? Or digested like freeway traffic moves, with some food overtaking slower to digest food? | And how does the body decide, if it moves like traffic? Does everyone have the same 'speed limits' or does it vary per individual? | Different organs are responsible for digesting different types of foods. The pancreas, liver and stomach produce and distribute the vast majority of chemicals required to break down the foods, and they are all broken down and absorbed into the digestive tract where they will be sent to the cells in different parts of the body to be built back up into other molecules. It is a continuous process where certain things do digest faster but the physics side of things like the amount or concentrations of foods determines the order they are digested. Basically, if you consume a ton of sugar and a little bit of fat, the higher concentration of sugar will make the amount of energy needed to break down sugars less meaning the high concentrations tend to break down first since they require less activation energy. So, depending on how much you eat combined with what it is determines what breaks down first. | 58 | 130 |
Why do people cry when they're overwhelmed with emotion? | For example: http://www.wimp.com/puppysurprise/
Happiness, sadness, frustration, or any other strong emotion seems to elicit tears. It seems like it's often a strange, irrelevant reaction, so what's actually going on in the brain that causes this? | Tears created in response to these overwhelming situations are also different than tears created by a speck of dirt in your eye. They contain proteins and neurotransmitters that communicate distress to nearby humans. Researchers who examined women's distress tears found that the chemicals alone could induce a caring response in men. The chemicals also decreased sex drive in men, since it's an evolutionary advantage to not procreate in a stressful atmosphere. | 37 | 120 |
ELI5: Why does pushing our eye gently against a closed eye lid make us "see" things? | In order to process sensory information (light, sound, touch, taste, etc.), it must be input through a receptor. The sensory modality (type) a receptor is most sensitive to (made to interpret) is called the adequate stimulus.
Photoreceptors (what ultimately turn light into an electrical/neuronal signal which can be then interpreted by the brain) in the eye have light as their adequate stimulus. However, (as you have illustrated) they can be stimulated by things other than light (touch/pressure--mechanoreception, electric current, salt concentration, etc.).
But there is one problem: photoreceptors are adapted (built/"hooked up") to interpret their adequate stimulus only. This means that any stimulus provided to the photoreceptor will be interpreted *as if* it is light--your brain will interpret it (touch, etc.) as vision. | 26 | 69 |
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Can light come in anything other than a sine wave? | If not, can other waves be approximated? Such as a square wave... and if so... what would it look like to us? | Mathematically, any wave can be broken down into a linear combination of sine (and cosine) waves (Google Fourier Series to see some visualizations of this) . So all electromagnetic radiation (including e.g. a square wave) is a superposition of sine waves, because all em radiation satisfies a wave equation. | 28 | 17 |
ELI5:When people listen to the radio, do they all hear the song at the same time, or is there a delay when listening further away from the towers? | What is the speed of radio? | Radio waves are electromagnetic radiation just like light (just a different part of the spectrum); they move at the speed of light. To answer your question, yes, there's a very, very, very, very slight delay. | 187 | 288 |
CMV: Weed should be legally and socially treated in the same way as alcohol | I think that if you boil it down to what people receive from weed and alcohol, most of the feelings are similar. It can be used for social purposes, to relax, or abused as an antidepressant.
For legal reasons, if adults 21\+ are developed enough and responsible enough to drink, then they are responsible enough to smoke. There would still be laws that apply to both alcohol and weed equally. i.e. driving under the influence. If you've had one hit from a joint than you are capable of driving, and if you don't seem capable in a field test, it will be obvious, same as alcohol.
In addition, this would allow people to not have to worry about not getting a job even if they live in a legal state. If employees are allowed to drink on their free time, people who smoke should be able to as well. If it's affecting their work, than they should be punished as someone who would go drunk to work.
Only thing that won't change my view is anything that is too circumstantial. As in something that is too specific of an example that is more of a "what if" than a certainty. Change my view :\) | Both alcohol and marijuana are among the most studied and tested substances in the world. Time and time again it has become apparent that weed is far less dangerous when used on a regular basis than alcohol. It is less likely to be habit forming, less dangerous when consumed in binge fashion, and less likely to be dangerous when consumed regularly.
Treating weed as on the same level as alcohol down plays the very real dangers of alcohol and over exaggerated the less substantial dangers of marijuana. It would be more appropriate to treat marijuana similar to tobacco from a legal perspective. Specifically in letting anybody over the age of 18 purchase and consume the substance. | 36 | 66 |
CMV: The U.S. spends too much on foreign assistance; this may feel compassionate but could be better spent domestically or on defense | To get it out of the way, I understand that the foreign assistance budget is a small proportion of the total U.S. budget and is dwarfed by our military budget. At [$23 billion](https://www.usaid.gov/results-and-data/budget-spending) it's less than 4 percent the amount we [spend on defense](https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/652687/department-of-defense-dod-releases-fiscal-year-2017-presidents-budget-proposal) and well under 1 percent of the [total budget](https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/the-white-house-fiscal-2017-budget-proposal/1953/).
That said, it's still in the tens of billions of dollars. While I understand that it's important to be compassionate and that giving this money away allows us to conduct diplomacy and negotiate from a higher moral standing, I don't believe that we get limited tangible benefits from it.
In an age when we have veterans who require care and there are plenty of people outside the U.S. who wish to do us harm and who we have to defend against, I can think of many other, better functions for this money
Please change my view
**EDIT:** Thank you to everyone and to u/electronics12345 and u/McKoijion in particular. To me, the best arguments tied foreign assistance with a cost we wouldn't have to incur elsewhere.
For example, providing money to organizations in W. African nations to fight Ebola means they can contain it and we don't have to fight Ebola here. Providing money to middle eastern nations means they can effectively do what U.S. service members on U.S. bases in the region would do.
In each of these cases, because of many reasons including that we're assisting and not doing the whole thing ourselves, the cost can be much cheaper.
**EDIT2:** It's important to also mention u/fstd who suggested that the premise upon which my argument was based is flawed. A big chunk of foreign assistance goes to security -- not just humanitarian aid.
Thanks again and have a good evening.
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> *This is a footnote from the CMV moderators. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please* ***[read through our rules](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/rules)***. *If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which,* ***[downvotes don't change views](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/guidelines#wiki_upvoting.2Fdownvoting)****! Any questions or concerns? Feel free to* ***[message us](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/changemyview)***. *Happy CMVing!* | >In places of strategic national security importance, USAID works side-by-side with our counterparts in the U.S. Military and the Department of State’s diplomatic corps to confront emerging threats and other global security challenges. Our efforts to achieve development progress in countries facing conflict and crisis helps enhance global stability and fosters good will toward the United States. The President’s budget request supports this critical work, and specifically will:
Foreign policy spending allows the USA to more effectively influence other nations to not cause problems that require military intervention. Military intervention is expensive, and stabilizing regions so they don't interrupt into war is useful.
Also, regions sell goods and trade with the US. By engaging in foreign assistance the US can get better trade deals and ensure nations are stable enough to trade.
Also, the USA is a compassionante nation, and its people and policy makers like engaging in some degree of charity to help the poor. | 32 | 41 |
Applied maths in Economics | I am planning on applying to Cambridge for Economics and need to beef out my personal statement, especially on the maths end. My college offers us an opportunity to present a field of mathematics that is not on the specification to our further maths class. I think this is a good opportunity to explore an area of maths which can be applied to Economics. But what do I do?
I have been suggested Markoff chains and Monti Carlo methods, both of which I have never heard of before. Are these too complex for a first year A-level student and can they be directly applied to economical situations?
I have also heard game theory can be very mathematical and I may do some research into that however, I find many people talk about game theory and I’m intrigued in finding something more unorthodox.
Could anyone recommend and interesting side of maths that can be directly applied to economics. It would be much appreciated :) | Is constrained optimization with Lagrange multipliers on the A-level syllabus? If not, that's a foundation of a lot of economic theory - you'll use it all the time in any undergrad course, whenever you want to model an individual maximising their utility with a budget constraint or a firm maximising their profit subject to constraints - and it's not too complicated if you already know how to find unconstrained maxima and minima from calculus. | 24 | 30 |
Why is a philosopher's nationality denoted? | I've noticed in several videos, seminars, and discussions about philosophy that people who know about philosophers always seem to denote their nationality - "The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant" for example. Is it important to a philosophical discussion to understand that Immanuel Kant was from Germany or Jeremy Bentham was from England? | It's not always important, but it *can* sometimes serve as shorthand connecting the philosopher to a particular historical context, or indicating that primary sources will tend to be in a particular language. | 22 | 24 |
[Loki] Does the Varient’s plan make sense? | In episode 2, it seems that >!Sylvie’s!< plan is to >!bomb the sacred timeline!<, and although it isn’t explicitly stated why (unless I’m missing something), it seems like >!she!< is ultimately trying to >!distract the TVA so that she can reach the Time Keepers and kill them!<.
But this week, it showed us that >!she can restore the minute men’s memories by enchanting them!<, so that got me thinking. Instead of >!luring a bunch of minute men into traps to kill them and take their reset charges for some elaborate plot to bomb the timeline!<, wouldn’t it make more sense to just >!lure them into those same traps and restore their memories!< instead? That way, >!she could just raise up an army to overthrow the Time Keepers!<. | An army can be tracked a lot easier than one variant. You also saw the mental condition of the first agent we see her enchant; absolute shambles. Not everyone is ready to face that level of truth and then go on to fight back against the TVA. Sylvie's plan relies on no other factors besides Sylvie herself, which seems to fit her character.
Killing them is faster, has less variables, and as you saw she did not require an army to face the Time Keepers. If MCU Variant Loki hadn't interfered, she most likely would have succeeded. | 32 | 19 |
ELi5: Why did eggs become such a common breakfast food? | Most food choices were based on what was easy to raise and farm in an area. Chickens are easy to raise just about anywhere and provide an ample amount of eggs. They average 1 egg a day.
Eggs are good for you (except for a few years in the 1990s), are easy to cook, and can be cooked in a variety of ways quickly.
They specifically became breakfast food because eggs were typically laid in the mornings. It was better to eat them at their freshest.
Edit: updating due to correct comments on eggs and refrigeration.
Edit 2: there are several explanations about the 90s in the comments for those that don't know or didn't exist at the time. | 7,618 | 6,531 |
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ELI5: how can my smoke detector not be set off by my cigarette or fireplace smoke, yet goes off the moment my toast starts burning. | Not sure this has been asked yet. If it has link me to post? Reddits search function is weird... | Smoke detectors work by having a radioactive substance and a radiation detector inside. The detector keeps getting the emissions from the substance, and this keeps a circuit open.
Whenever enough particles that can block the radiation get between the emitter and the sensor, the circuit closes and the alarm goes off.
Fireplaces and cigarettes actually burn pretty cleanly, meaning that the smoke they create is made up of very fine particulate matter that the radiation can get through, unless you've got enough present to be difficult to see through.
Burned toast smoke, on the other hand, creates larger airborne creosote-like objects that can easily block the radiation. This is due to the oxidation reaction being much less efficient, resulting in larger particulate matter being released into the air as smoke. | 21 | 23 |
ELI5 They say if your stranded at sea not to drink the salt water because it will kill you faster, however dehydrated patients are given saline drips. Why? | Is it somehow different? Is it the concentrate? | On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. Sea water also has all sorts of other stuff in it.
Normal saline is the commonly used phrase for a solution of 0.90%. Saline contains water and salt. | 24 | 22 |
ELI5: What do those massive shoulder mounted TV cameras do that a nice handheld video camera cannot? | As an operator of one of those big cameras, here's what's going on.
**Enormous lenses and sensors designed to let in a lot of light, plus a mechanical aperture.** This gives the camera the ability to operate in a wide range of lighting conditions. That lens assembly usually extends back into the "body" of the camera quite a ways. Glass is heavy, too.
**Motor-driven and by-hand zoom, focus, aperture etc** - You can twist rings on the outside of the assembly to adjust all of the above by hand, which is sometimes preferable and looks "more natural." But they're also motorized, enabling you to adjust all of those settings by the controls near your hand on the back, by a remote control, or by the onboard computer.
**Onboard computing hardware to process uncompressed video, and to make smart decisions if set to auto**. Most consumer cameras take video and immediately compress it to something like MPEG-4 with very little flexibility in options for that. These bad boys store and process *uncompressed* video, which can hit like a gig a minute. They also have better capability for a wider "palette" of colors to work with than consumer cameras. This footage can hit like a gig a minute easy. And then if you want to leave some or all of the camera's decisions for aperture/color balance/etc up to the hardware itself, there's an enormous expectation that a camera that expensive will have a better auto than a sony HandyCam.
**Large properly shaped microphones and connectors for pro level external mics**. Consumer cameras usually have little mics, and they're often omnidirectional and pick up *everything*, which is often a bad thing. Larger "shotgun" style mics pick up in a conical pattern (think about what a shotgun blast would hit, to paint a dark metaphor) which is preferable to get just your subject. Additionally, the camera has XLR hookups and onboard 48v power for pro-level external mics so you can use both built-in and external. XLR plugs are like the size of your thumb and there's no mini version.
edit: **oh, and the battery is often enormous and goddamn heavy** - with so much more stuff onboard than your average camera, If this thing had a relatively light battery you'd get like an hour tops. So the battery is usually pretty beefy so you can film all day. Sitting it on your shoulder is the most comfortable way to hold that weight. Oh, and **metal frame**, consumer cameras are plastic but these guys are usually significantly metal for durability. Not that you should be throwing a 10k camera, but just in case. | 153 | 75 |
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[General Fantasy] Why are werewolves most allergic to silver? | Alchemists used to associate different metals to different planetary bodies. Gold for the sun, iron for mars, copper for Venus. Guess what metal is associated with the moon? So if the full moon makes a werewolf transforms, it's possible that direct contact with the 'moon metal' breaks that connection. Then you're just a dude that's been shot and you die. | 107 | 60 |
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[Harry Potter] What kind of magic is the the forbidden section books at Hogwarts? | Furthermore, does the section contain books/spells only for adults and experienced wizards that students may not borrow or are these kept in Dumbledore's private library. Are there any adult only spell book stores | Recipes for difficult and illegal potions. Information on the Dark Arts. Particularly difficult charms and transfigurations. It's less a "forbidden" section as it is the "upperclassmen" section. You need information in the forbidden section for NEWT classes and for deeper research into various darker areas of magic.
The really "forbidden" magic is kept in the Headmaster's office. And what is considered forbidden can change from Headmaster to Headmaster. | 72 | 68 |
Why is bioluminescence so common at the bottom of the ocean? | It seems like bioluminescence is common at the bottom of the ocean, where there is no sunlight. But if there's no sunlight, then why would anything evolve eyes to see visible light? Maybe infrared would be useful, but visible light just doesn't make sense to me. | Bioluminescence has four main advantages to organisms in the deep ocean. Camouflage (which applies to intermediate depths where lights still filters down from above) allowing organisms to eliminate their own shadows, attraction of mates, repulsion of predators (or attraction of larger predators), and communication between members of the same species. | 820 | 1,940 |
[Star Wars] What are the limits to interspecies mating? | In the Clone Wars cartoon, one of the Clones and a Twi'lek had children. Can all sentient races mix? Can there be a Rodian/Aqualish? A Wookie/Mon Calamari? | Well, from a biological point of view, we can already produce cross species hybrids-- ligers, mules, etc. we're kinda not doing as much as we theoretically could in this field because there's no point (and "morals" and "ethics")
Now, with Star Wars's much more advanced biotech and just technology in general I'd think just about anything is possible. Since everyone seems to eat a lot of the same food, they probably share a lot of proteins, which makes reproduction easier. Throwing sufficient amounts of engineering and/or Force at it could make it work
As for a pleasure view, well... The sky's the limit. | 22 | 34 |
[Mass Effect] So how did scale-itch get on the Normandy? | When many species approach sexual maturity.... experimentation is often common. Grunt has been exhibiting signs common among Krogan adolescents. Hypothesis: Grunt is the most likely carrier unless... Zaeed? | 18 | 15 |
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Why does hot water taste different than cold water? | So cells in our taste buds express receptors that recognize different types of compounds - one receptor type per cell seems to be how it works. However, in addition to these receptors, gustatory cells also contain channels that are sensitive to heat, and they sensitize the cell to other inputs. What this means is that most flavors seem to be more intense when they're warmer (unless of course they reach the threshold of pain, in which case our brain is more preoccupied with that than communicating the taste). This is why warm coke tastes sweeter than cold coke, etc. | 13 | 28 |
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[Ben10]What does the omnitrix require in a species? | Would it accept lower life forms like a dog or a cat or a threasher maw(mass effect) or does ot need to be intelligent life | The Omnitrix was designed as an ark of sorts to preserve sapient species against extinction as well as a diplomatic tool to help one species understand another. Everything in it is an intelligent life form without exception.
There is, however, a similar device introduced at one point that works with dogs and dog-equivilants instead. Specifically, it transfroms the non-sapient alien dog who uses it into a non-sapient predator for whatever species Ben is using, so the technology works with any species at all, but the Omnitrix is designed specifically for sapients. | 16 | 15 |
ELI5: The process of getting a book published | First, the author writes some or all of a book. The author submits the work to various publishing companies looking for one that likes it and will buy it.
If a publisher likes the book, they will make an offer to the author to buy the book and pay royalties on sales of the book. Once an agreement is reached, the author must finish writing and editing the book if it's not done yet. Then, an editor who usually works for the publisher will also read through the book and suggest corrections and changes.
Once the book is completely edited and finished, the publishing company will begin preparing the book to be printed and sold. This includes typesetting (arranging words, pictures, page numbers etc. on the pages), deciding on a catchy title, hiring someone to design a cover, writing the summary that goes on the back, and getting the book reviewed by critics so they can have quotes about what a great book it is.
At some point, the publisher starts contacting bookstores to let them know about the new book and ask how many copies the bookstore will buy. If the book has been marketed and hyped up, or is by a famous author, bookstores might buy a LOT of copies, assuming that they'll be able to sell them all. It's possible this way for a book to be a "best seller" in the newspaper the same day it comes out, because that's based on how many copies the bookstore buys, not the customers.
Finally, the books are printed and shipped to the bookstores. Sometimes this is handled by a separate printing and distribution company or multiple such companies. Now it's up to readers to notice the book and purchase it! | 13 | 17 |
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How exactly does a random function work ? | As far as I know it randomly picks any member present in a list but the how does the machine decide up which memeory address to pick ? I mean how does a programmer describe the random algorithm ? | Generally, there are two types of randomness: true (cryptographic) randomness and pseudorandomness (sometimes these are used in conjunction to generate large amounts of mostly cryptographically secure randomness).
Most programs (where cryptographically secure randomness isn't needed) use pseudorandom algorithms, which generally take a seed and generate a seemingly random pattern using it. One of the more commonly used implementations is the mersenne twister algorithm.
In these algorithms, there is usually a hidden state, which is mutated after getting every value (the value is derived from the state, but usually isn't the state itself).
Cryptographically secure randomness is usually influenced by some non-easily-derivable / -influenceable source, such as electric noise. | 28 | 29 |
[Super strength] Do characters with enhanced strength have trouble telling apart the weight of smaller items? | I was thinking of Superman. He can lift boulders, cars, ect and toss them with ease, but does that huge strength make it difficult to tell the difference between 5 and 10 pounds? How about weaker, but still strong people, like Spider Man? | The general rule of perception is that humans can notice a 2% difference in quantities (TIL...). If you can press 100 lbs you should be able to notice the addition or subtraction of 2. So a superhuman who can press 100 tons would theoretically have difficulty distinguishing those same two pounds.
In practice that doesn't seem to be the case though. Superman has equally fine control over a baseball and a tank. This may be due to a lifetime of practice. Those with newly acquired powers typically go through a phase where they "don't know their own strength". In time, however, they usually adjust. | 14 | 15 |
CMV: We should not have to alter history when a transgender person comes out. | I support a transgender person’s right to transition and live as the other gender and be called by their preferred pronouns and all of that. The problem is in the idea that the person’s whole past life and works must now be amended and everyone can no longer reference their previous name or gender when referencing past events. I find the insistence on this to be offensive and, quite frankly, ridiculous.
Take Elliot Page for example. I distinctly remember watching a film several years ago with a female actress, playing a female character, being feminine, identifying as female, being identified by the other actors as female, and (presumably) having female sex organs to prove it. When talking about this film, being filmed in the past, I should go by the name of the actress listed in the credits, Ellen Page. I cannot honestly say I saw a man playing that role in that film. That would be lying.
If Elliot decides to make films in the future, I will refer to him by his new name. It’s the same as an author using a pseudonym for many years then switching to their real name, like James Tiptree switching to her real name of Alice Sheldon. I refer to her Tiptree books as written by her pseudonym.
Insisting that other people lie en-masse about the reality they experienced is no different from insisting transgender people lie and cover up their own experience. It’s backward and narcissistic in the extreme. | It’s common practice to refer to someone in the past using their current identity. For example, you’d say, “Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago” even though that wasn’t her last name at the time.
It’s not lying. For Elliot you could phrase it something like “Elliot Page played the character of a pregnant girl before he transitioned.” | 74 | 51 |
Why do some materials like iron, gold and other bend, while other like coal or rocks break? | It all depends on what kind of bond and structures the atoms form. when talking about metals and rocks, crystal structures become very important. The crystal structure of a compound it decides by its composition and its preparation. Some crystal structures are very rigid and won't bend easily, other materials are actually a lot of tiny crystals that can move rather easily making the material bendy.
This is a very complicated topic and it is hard to not go into too much detail here. The short answer is that it depends on the way the atoms are arranged in the material.
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[Marvel] How does Magneto's helmet block telepathy? | What sort of properties does Magneto's helmet have that blocks out telepathy? Does it have something have something to do with the material, the exact construction, both, or something else? | Human brain works by producing very small currents. That is what EEG detects when used to monitor brain activity. With most telepaths the current is strong enough that it can reach someone and effect them from a distance. Also their brain is able to detect the signal generated by people from some distance. faraday's cage can block em waves so Magneto's helmet works the same by blocking the signal produced by telepaths and keeps his brain signal from reaching telepaths. That is how juggernaut's helmet works too (don't know why the same thing doesn't happen with wolverine, he should be immune too) and that is the reason behind the conspiracy theoriest putting on a tin foil hat to avoid government's brain control and reading. | 14 | 19 |
Is it possible to teach ethics to an AI? If so, will philosophers become society’s biggest assets? | Sure, there's plenty of AI ethics going on right now to determine which ethical rules AIs should follow, and conversely there's quite some work going on to implement it. Regarding weak AI (the AI we already have), this is important e.g. for self-driving cars | 63 | 139 |
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Do you know of any philosophers who grew to regret or disagree with their early work? | I find it interesting that people can feel so certain in their beliefs earlier in life, even to the point of writing in-depth books about it, while at the same time continuing, themselves, to grow and learn with more and more experience and wisdom as they age. Surely, at some point, some of these wise men must have grown to change their beliefs? Do you know of any such people? | Wittgenstein's philosophy is generally discussed in terms of 'early Wittgenstein' or 'late Wittgenstein' to distinguish between his views in the *Tractatus Logic-Philosophicus* and *Philosophical Investigations*, respectively. Wittgenstein abandons some significant aspects of his view from the *Tractatus* but doesn't quite regret it as it's a valuable contrast to his later view of language. | 113 | 98 |
How do Astronomers figure out what the interior of planetary bodies are made of without sending probes there? (Neptune, Uranus, Ceres, etc) | 1. A general idea of the composition of our solar system
2. Specific measurements of the objects gravitational effects
3. Spectrographic analysis of the surface or surface clouds
Taking 1 + 2 + 3 what "mix" best results in that density at that size as best we understand the physics. | 37 | 95 |
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ELI5: We have invented materials that don't rust, so why do bicycles still use chains that turn rusty after a little rain? | Materials selection is often balancing a set of trade-offs. A chain needs to be both durable and relatively easy to make.
Using a hard material and adding lubricant helps it last a very long time, and that lubricant can also prevent rusting if properly cared for.
Very few materials are as hard and durable as steel, and those materials tend to be super expensive. | 164 | 122 |
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ELI5: How can water filters remove 99.9% of impurities but not turn salt water to fresh water? | The impurities referred to are larger particles and very large molecules. Unfortunately for us in this case, salt is an extremely tiny molecule -- not much bigger than a water molecule, and far smaller than normal filters. Only a very special filter, requiring very high water pressure, can filter out salt molecules. | 52 | 61 |
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ELI5: Why can you sit 2 hours trying to solve a programming/math problem, give up, go to bed & then when you wake up, solve the problem in 10 minutes? | When you keep trying to solve a problem for a long time you often get stuck in some dead-end area of thought which doesn’t lead to any solutions. After you’ve rested you often can take a different approach which leads to victory. And it might be fast, because really many such problems have rather simple solutions once you know them. | 252 | 465 |
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ELI5 Wine pairings. How do chefs and restaurants know how to pair wines with certain foods? | And, more importantly, how can I learn to appreciate good wine/food combinations? What do professionals look for? | A lot of really good restaurants have a sommelier, which is a fancy name for an adult who knows everything about wines. To do this they have to go to school, earn good grades and pass aallllll their tests regarding wine. They taste thousands of wine through a special routine, trying to find out what they taste like.
Wines get their flavors from the grapes they are made of, the length they sit in the bottle and where they are grown. Wine professionals have to find out what they taste like. With all this tasting, they then can suggest to their customers in the restaurant which wines they think the adults should enjoy. Some taste sweet and are good for dessert, some are bitter and gross which adults like with steak and some are light like water and are good with fish!
I went to school for culinary arts and had a few wine tastings and pairings with cheese! Not a professional wine person, but those who do know what they are talking about! | 14 | 15 |
[Game of Thrones][ASOIAF] How are Kingsguard men chosen? (Minor GOT S6E3 Tower of Joy spoilers) | The problem I see is trying to find the best fighters in the realm, and yet *also* managing to find the most loyal men who would defend the king to their last breath.
Ideally whichever House was in power would only enlist the best of their own men, perhaps looking to historically allied houses for additional good fighters. But the chances of rolling out a Kingsguard line-up with men who have long worked for your House (and or in a well trusted allied House), *and* who are so skilled that the majority of Westeros's top fighters are in their ranks... Well, it's leaning towards extremely unlikely.
During times of relative peace and comradery between the main Houses, you can have a team of Kingsguard made up of the best fighters in the realm from a variety of Houses with little to no issue. But surely someone (from the House in power or perhaps a potential usurper) would realise the problem of having so many skilled fighters from other Houses given top notch equipment and access to the home of the Royal family. Heck there are two examples of this flaw in (what I understand to be) the Kingsguard hiring checklist that I can think of off the top of my head.
Firstly, Jaime Lannister, the Kingslayer. He had a valid reason, sure. But still, from the side of House Targaryen he was obviously a weakness in their Kingsguard due to his lack of loyalty to the Targaryen rule, ending with him stabbing the king in the back instead of following his orders. Of course to anyone with common sense, he did the right thing. But all it takes is for one member of the Kingsguard from a powerful House to decide they don't agree with the King's decisions before plotting (and carrying out) a take-over. Jaime was one of the top fighters in Westeros, but definitely lacked loyalty to House Targaryen or any house besides House Lannister (although it could just as easily be explained as preventing a massacre).
On the other hand we have the ever-loyal Kingsguard accompanying Sir Arthur Dayne in defence of the Tower of Joy against Ned Stark, Howland Reed and their allies. This may be Sir Gerold Hightower (and or Sir Oswell Whent), but as the show leaves many of the combatants unnamed I shall be calling Dayne's fellow Kingsguard "Bob of House TBA". Now Bob TBA was certainly loyal, to the extent of accompanying Sir Arthur to the Tower of Joy and standing to fight numerous fighters (all pretty good fighters in their own right). He lacked skill though. He clearly isn't one of Westeros's legendary knights or we would have heard more about Ned facing off against Arthur Dayne *and* Sir Bob TBA. He's not mentioned in the show, and from what I understand is not expanded upon much in the books either. During the fight scene he survives for a while against Ned's band of fighters, but is dispatched rather easily and without pomp or glory once Team Ned gets back into formation. Of course, then they get deftly defeated by Dayne on his own (if not for Reed's backstab and Ned finishing him off), but my point stands. Bob was a paragon of loyalty, but clearly wasn't one of the realm's top fighters.
So what gives? What is the process? If you were in charge of Kingsguard HR and Personnel, how would you change the system? | The official process is very simple. The king offers people the job, and they take a standardised oath that involves not marrying, not inheriting, serving the king, and not retreating. How does a king choose? It depends on the king.
Some kings want mighty warriors. Arthur Dayne, Barristan Selmy, Jaime Lannister, all could eventually compete to be the greatest swordsman in the realm.
Some kings want good advisors. Barristan Selmy's honour was impeachable. He would always have a proper course of action to suggest.
Some kings want loyal men, willing to do whatever they want. Jorah Mormont had been with Daenerys from her wedding to Drogo. Meryn Trant had no code of honour beyond doing what his master needed.
Some kings want to use appointment politically. They appoint someone as a favour, or as a curse. Jaime was the firstborn son of Tywin, appointing him deliberately slighted the man. But to appoint a third son, or someone else seeking for glory, would be a great sign of prestige and a real chance for them to influence the king.
Most kings realise that you can do all of these things. You don't need every kingsguard to be a great warrior so long as some of them are: they defend a throne, not a city or even a palace. You don't want everyone to be political, since that's a valuable carrot to offer to nobles. Loyalty is admirable, but appointing on loyalty alone can make kingsguards weak. Advising's only really necessary for a couple of kingsguards: the lord commander and his heir apparent. The rest can follow good ideas. So the king thinks about who's available, listens to what his small council says, takes under consideration the advice of other noblemen, and eventually comes to a decision. They normally start with a kingsguard mostly intact, but if they don't, they pick up a few as they go along, waiting for the right men rather than doing things too rapidly.
Daenerys is an excellent example of a ruler who has had to set up a kingsguard (queensguard, whatever, it's the same concept) from scratch. She starts with Jorah Mormont, a decently capable warrior who she thinks is loyal and who seems to give good advice. She adds three bloodriders, and this is mostly political: she wants some of the Dothraki Drogo led to stay with her, but they're decent fighters as well. Barristan Selmy is, if anything, overqualified (he can do everything but sway politics), so he's an obvious pick. Daario is a good example of a good non-loyal choice: it's political (she wants his mercenary company), he's an exceptional fighter (he kills the champion of mereen and the guardsmen at Yunkai), he can advise (he knows the local culture better than anyone she knows), but she knows he's not loyal (he gave her the heads of his previous commanders). | 23 | 16 |
How is mental illness treated in the third world? | Now when I say treated, I mean just that--treated. How is it taken care of? If we're to assume less resources are available to societies not of the developed world, how do they go about treating things like autism? Do these people just "cope," for lack of a better term? I started thinking about this the other day because I wondered if a hoarder can only exist when there's an abundance of goods. Then I wondered if hoarding is just a symptom and would display differently in a culture that doesn't have an emphasis on collecting stuff. Hopefully I didn't ramble too much. | Mental illness is treated much more at the family and community level than at the institutional level. In Europe and the US, families are quick to hospitalize, institutionalize, and provide drug-based treatments to the mentally ill. In Africa, India, and other rural regions with large populations the responsibility for care of the mentally ill lies with the family, or potentially the larger town or village that person lives in. Violent or really bad cases are referred to hospitals, where they get care (which might be drugs, confinement, or therapy in rarer cases). | 17 | 54 |
ELI5:Why are asian language scripts much more complex than european scripts? | different culture, different way of doing things. All cultures have their quirks. English for example is an odd language in that it's grammar rules are complex and have a lot of exceptions.
East Asian languages (Japanese, Vietmanese, Chinese, etc) all have roots in the Chinese script (Except Korea, they're weird). This stems from China at some point owning pretty much everything around them at various points in history. They were also the cultural dominator in the region for a very long time - Think ancient times US level of cultural dominance. Written Chinese was the universal language, the English of today, back then. Everyone knew how to read and write it, even if when they spoke different languages.
That said, written Chinese is pictographic. It's just how the cultures chose to write and that evolved. To those unfamiliar with it it's incredibly complex and makes no sense. To those that are familiar with it there's a system behind it. It's not as simple as an alphabet, but it has advantages.
Since they are pictures, the characters represent what they actually are. For example, the character for person looks like a torso and 2 legs. Fire and water are stylized fire and water. The character for door looks like a door. One of the symbols used in the characters for student looks like a person wearing a hat.
Built on this, more complex characters are usually made up of other characters. A word describing a type of person may contain a modified person character in it. Basically, the parts of the character conveys meaning about what the character is. As a result, you can often figure out what a character is based off of the parts of the character and the context of the sentence around it. There are a number of these common elements and they are used in Chinese dictionaries to look up the meaning of characters. | 10 | 47 |
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In a work environment, is it always ok to use libraries? | I'm just beginning my first software job. In academia, there was CONSTANTLY a focus on not stealing code. If you need to look for help online, look for inspiration or ideas on how to approach a problem, but don't copy their code completely. I always found this to be silly, because using libraries is quite literally just using other people's code. The entire bedrock of software development is re-using code and not doing everything from scratch.
So now that I'm a few days into my first software job as an entry level novice programmer, I'm wondering if there's any universal "rules for the workplace" regarding when to use libraries and which ones to use. Do I need to ask my employer before using a library? Does it depend on the library? Do i need to "cite" the library somewhere? I assume the "include" or "from" or "import" statements at the top of my program were citation enough.
Is it a case of "if that library is included with your programming language then you're fine but if its something you have to download or install, then you need to ask first"?
I ask because I spent at least an hour yesterday trying to do something complicated before finding that there's a library you can install for python with a single pip command that did EXACTLY what I wanted in a single line of code. Should I assume its ok to do?
Before the obvious "just ask your boss" response, I'm basically just asking about industry standards at this point. I've been asking my boss stupid questions all day and I'm just trying to make it one fewer dumb questions I have to ask.
Thanks a bunch | As a senior software developer, I've learned a few "rule of thumb" kind of rules. One of the most important ones is this one:
The best code is the one you don't write.
Every line of code written, will be a line of code that will be read 1000 times, that will have to be maintained, that will end up costing a lot of resources.
So yeah, it's almost always the best to just use existing solutions.
When not to do that?
* When licensing doesn't permit it.
* When it's not maintained regularly enough or by a big enough team to match your project's estimated lifetime. Or when there is a suspicion that maintenance might halt due to a change in licensing due to a recent corporate acquisition or something. This plays a role mostly when choosing to depend on certain big complex software.
* When it's too big for what you really need (for example installing pandas in order to get the header of a CSV file)
* When you intend a very very specific usage scenario, where the library might cause more problems than it solves (ex. you need to make a huge and complicated Web API with a ton of very specific requirements, and using an existing web framework might limit you in how exact you can fulfill those requirements) | 48 | 48 |
ELI5: If a disease needs a host to live, then potentially kills the host will it eventually become extinct once everyone is either immune or dead? What is the benefit of killing the host? | Most diseases keep the host alive long enough to multiply and spread. You’ll often hear of diseases that are communicable for several days before the host shows any symptoms.
Continuation of the genetic material is the only pressure or driver, diseases don’t “plan” to kill or sustain the host.
You’re right that if a disease kills the host very quickly, then the outbreak will “flame out” on its own.
At the other end, if you think of colds, they don’t kill very many people at all and can keep cycling through a population, pretty much indefinitely.
So, there is no “benefit” because earlier generations of disease are not sentient. They either spread well due to delayed host death or they spread poorly because they kill the host early. | 25 | 19 |
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[MCU] How does everyone understand each other. | So how do asgardians, genetically modified rodents, human-alien abductees with 4th grade educations, tree people, frost giants, kree, thanks, humans and whoever else all manage to speak english perfectly? Not only that, but there have been cases of language barrier in the MCU (the russian guy in iron man 2) so this couldn't be an alternate reality with only one language. | Asgardians speak the language All-speak which allows every thing with sentience to understand them and likewise. Basically they are so advanced they figured out the root of all language. Probably that magic vs science thing Thor mentioned.
Most cosmic beings like Silver Surfer/Galactus are mentally so far beyond us that all they need are a few words spoken and they can become fluent in a language.
I believe Quill just uses a universal translator. | 31 | 16 |
If I don't have any morning meetings and I stay at work later than others, I shouldn't be judged in the corporate world for preferring to stay up late and wake up late. CMV. | I know some companies have "flex time", but they are decidedly and probably permanently in the minority. Most of the business world would judge me pretty harshly for this behavior and many places would fire me for tardiness.
I think this is a holdover from the work schedules of farms, factories and the military. It has no bearing whatsoever on my job or my performance, yet most corporate types would righteously call me lazy.
In trying to adapt to their schedule, I sit like a zombie through the morning hours and then feel groggy during what used to be my most productive time - late at night.
I am not a corporate malcontent. I like wearing suits and working in an office. I can totally accept that office politics are inevitable. I know why I have to have 3 bosses. I went to business school. I am good at this. But this one thing just kills me.
This is obviously a significant source of friction in my life and I would love it if someone could clear it up for me. CMV. | It depends on what exactly your job is. There are places where working the hours you describe is totally fine and accepted. But just because you have no morning meetings doesn't mean you aren't expected to be available to interact with coworkers, managers or customers. If you're part of a team, its important that your working hours at least mostly overlap with those of your teammates. | 326 | 541 |
CMV: if they can't afford to pay them that, they don't deserve to be in business anyways" isn't a good argument. |
This is an argument that I see a lot around the minimum wage topic but to me it seems like more of an emotional argument that doesn't consider real economic implications.
I personally am the type to assume large minimum wage increases don't actually help people and have potential to do a lot of harm. If your argument is that companies that can afford to pay their employees more should I can at least understand that.
I don't understand the argument that companies deserve to go out of business anyways if that's what a minimum wage increase causes.
I don't understand the idea that going out of business and not paying anything is a better alternative to not paying what is seen as enough.
You could also just as easily say "if your skills aren't capable of creating value over $15 you don't deserve to have a job."
obviously that's a very different argument but it seems like the outcomes from the arguments are identical.
It just seems like it's possible to still at least make a case that min wage increases are better overall, but it makes no sense to say it's totally better even in cases like this. | I like to use the robot metaphor:
If you have a machine performing a valuable talk for your company, the upkeep of that machine is part of your operating cost. You have to pay to power it, to upgrade it, to fix it when it breaks. And if you can’t afford the machine, the manufacturer doesn’t have to do business with you. They’re free to take their service somewhere else where they think the price is fair and where people who can afford to pay for their services live.
For humans, a living wage is the operating cost. If you can’t afford to pay your worker enough to live nearby, feed themselves, and get basic health care - all of which are things they need in order to be able to work for you - you’re failing to pay for the cost of their service.
The difference is that humans have to eat, like, all the time, so they often don’t have the option of taking their business somewhere else if the price isn’t fair - even insufficient food and shelter is better then starving on the street. But that means those people are not really able to act as agents in a free market, and it’s easy to exploit them under the guise of “the market setting the price.” People can’t act like reasonable economic agents when they’re desperate. The whole point of a minimum wage, as explicitly stated by FDR, was to eliminate "starvation wages" and force employers to pay their employees a "prevailing" wage, because the majority of businesses will pay their workers as little as they can legally get away with.
**Alternatively:** Asking people to work for less than a living wage so you can own a business is entitlement at its finest. You are asking human beings to use their lives to subsidize your desire to own a business. A living wage for your employees should be required and expected of all business-owners whether paying your employees a living wage would put you out of business or not. The argument that "practically and economically" businesses will shut down if they have to pay their workers speaks to a broader point that if businesses are using this argument, they are admitting to consciously exploiting human beings to turn a profit...in which case no, they do not deserve to be in business. If a full-time job is worth being done, it is worth being paid enough to live. | 54 | 34 |
ELI5: Why is diplomatic immunity a thing and how did it come about? | Diplomats are people who travel to other countries and act as representatives of those countries interests. This was very important before the days of telephone or the internet where communication over great distances took a very long time. Messages were slow to exchange and relationships hard to build. Instead of trying to do it from afar a special professional was chosen to build that relationship and look after foreign interests under the direction of their home country.
In order for that to happen there needs to be an agreement that the diplomat won't be legally hassled by the host country. Tossing the diplomat into prison or torturing them until they agree with whatever you want isn't acceptable to the country they represent. This means that minor transgressions are generally overlooked in the interest of diplomacy; if the diplomat parks in the wrong place and would otherwise get a ticket it is just ignored.
Basically the diplomat is "immune" to the normal course of legal process. If the diplomat does something the host country finds unacceptable then the host country will simply kick them out of the country, and potentially the relationship with the country they represent could be damaged. Or the immunity can be revoked with the agreement of the diplomat's home country and the diplomat prosecuted as normal. Broadly though it is a protection against trumped up charges being used as a tool of diplomatic leverage. | 165 | 105 |
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ELI5: Why are Jews treated more like a race than other religions? | Thanks Everyone!!! I really learned a lot today and have a new deeper appreciation for Jewish heritage.
edit: we got locked, probably for the best as there was not much more that could be added. Thanks to the mods for moderating. | Jews were treated like a race because, for centuries, they behaved like a race and were treated like a race. Let me explain. The answer is genetic and has to do with the fact that most Jews originated from one and the same relatively small number of Jews who lived in Israel two-thousand years ago.
For a long time this was mere conjecture but genetic testing now demonstrates this beyond a doubt: an American Jew shares a greater genetic pool with an Ethiopian Jew than they do with their non-Jewish countrymen and this common genetic pool is about two millennia old. Now, obviously, everyone on earth traces their ancestry to some group that lived somewhere 2000 years ago. The difference is that Jews, for religious reasons, remained relatively strict about intermarriage. A variety of rules (such as kosher diet or sabbath observance) kept them together as a closely-knit community, even when they were dispersed from Israel (in what Jews call "the Diaspora"). So unlike, say, Goths or Huns, who shared the same group of origin but were "mixed in" thoroughly with the surrounding population in the centuries that followed their dispersal, Jews even in exile maintained a relatively "closed" genetic circle that is still detectable. Some outsiders have joined this group (hence, blonde Jews here and dark skinned Jews there) but that number is very small and intermarriage was, until recently, very small, in part due to exclusiveness (by Jews towards outsiders) and racism (by outsiders towards Jews).
Hence: Jews are treated like a race because, for centuries, they were treated like a race. | 2,325 | 2,544 |
Can someone explain how brain waves work? Do all living things with brains have the same types of waves as humans? | Also, is there any truth to gamma waves having a large role in consciousness?
Edit: WOW. I went to bed, and woke up with all of these great answers. Thanks, r/askscience! | "Brain waves" are also known as the electrical activity of the brain. This is caused by the millions of neurons interacting with each other and is measured by electroencephalography (EEG). The EEG measures the voltages caused by the ionic current flows in the neurons in the brain.
The EEG is post-processed after acquisition and divided in to various bands or frequency ranges as certain frequency ranges have been associated to certain activities. For example, the alpha range is associated with relaxing and is visible clearly on the EEG when the subject is closing his/her eyes and relaxing.
All living things have EEG and the bands are also the same. They may have a different kind of response to different stimuli as opposed to human beings.
Beta waves are observed during intense concentration. Which means that when the subject is concentrating, higher percentage of brain activity is observed in the beta range.
Gamma waves are observed more in cross-modal sensory perception and short term memory matching. | 10 | 25 |
What happens to the material that's eaten away by acid? | It depends on what the material is and what the acid is.
Most metals that get "eaten away" by acid turn into a salt form. For example, zinc reacts with hydrochloric acid to form a solution of zinc chloride.
Organic materials (carbon-based) that get "eaten away" by acid might become completely oxidized to CO2. Others get converted into a carbon-rich charcoal-like substance. Again, it depends on the acid.
There are some very specific reactions of some materials with some acids. Glass is attacked by hydrofluoric acid to produce silicon tetrafluoride, but no other acid reacts with glass in this manner. Aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid) reacts with gold and platinum to form complex metal salts, but these metals are completely unreactive toward less potent acids. | 27 | 16 |
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Can someone please explain the theory of multiple dimensions? | Recently in my Astronomy class my professor talked about having more than 3 dimensions. I personally find this inconceivable, so could someone be kind enough to explain having more than three dimensions. My professor talked about there being 9, although there could maybe be a seemingly infinite number? | It's been well known since Einstein published his papers on special relativity in 1905 that there are at least 4 dimensions, with time being the fourth (in addition to the standard 3 spatial dimensions). All this means is that time needs to be treated on equal footing with the spatial components rather than as it's own thing, and that, in the laws of physics, time needs to be inseparable from the spatial dimensions. The big repercussion of this of this is that you can move, rotate, and boost objects between the spatial dimensions and time as naturally as you can move, rotate, and boost things in the 3 familiar dimensions.
Theories such as string theory and M-theory contain more than 4 dimensions (9 and 10, respectively) in an attempt to make the mathematics work probably. The simple picture is this -
When trying to do calculations in quantum field theory (which explains electromagnetism, the strong nuclear and weak nuclear forces), you often times end up with infinities in your answer. These are non-physical, so physicists have to use a mathematical trick called *renormalization*, which turns the infinities in sensible answers. This generally works fine. However, when trying to incorporate general relativity into quantum field theories to create a quantum theory of gravity, physicists have to do these same calculations on a curved manifold - and it turns out that it's impossible to renormalize to get rid of infinities in the standard 4-dimensions. However, it turns out it *may* be possible to do this if treated as a 9- or 10-dimensional space, and then using a process called "compactification" to reduce back to the 4-dimensions we're used to. | 16 | 24 |
If there was a colony on Mars, wouldn't there be relativistic effects when the two planets communicated each other? | I was looking up the different speeds of orbits and was going to plug them into the time dilation equation, then I remembered I wasn't that smart and that we already have to account slightly for the effect that relativity has with GPS satellites.
So screw the numbers, someone else can do that. Wouldn't it be something that both planets would have to deal with? Especially if we are talking about a permanent colony on Mars that lasts 10, 50, 100+ years? | There would be relativistic effects just like for GPS satellites, but they would be so small that you would need a very good clock (like the ones in GPS satellites) to notice. Earth orbits the sun at ~35 km/s, while Mars orbits at ~28 km/s depending on its time of year (its orbit is more elliptical than Earth's). At most, the difference in velocities between the two is ~60 km/s, which is about 2% of 1% of the speed of light. The difference in the passage of time from special relativistic effects would only be by ~2 parts in 100 million. And most of the time the relative speed of the two planets would be much less.
The effect from general relativity of being at different depths in a gravitational potential well is larger. The stretching factor for that is just sqrt(1-(v_esc/c)^2 ). For Earth, that's about 7e-10 and for Mars it's about 1e-10. That's just for the surface of the planets themselves though, and ignores the sun's gravitational potential. Again, the Earth is lower than Mars, and here we have time running slower by a factor of 1e-8 for Earth (about 30 times the effect from just being on Earth alone!) and 6e-9 for Mars.
Overall, you'd need to keep clocks on Earth and Mars running for 3 and a half years to drift apart by a single second. Earth would be the one running slow. | 33 | 53 |
[Pokemon] Are Gym leaders not allowed to level their pokemon above a certain number? | If Gyms are supposed to increase in difficulty, would that mean that Brock and Misty's gyms are not allowed to be super powerful? | Gym leaders have several teams. The team they use to fight a first-time challenger with less than 2 badges isn’t the same team they use to fight on the weekends with their friends and/or seriously train. | 234 | 139 |
[Star Wars] How can a Jedi padawan have a different lightsaber dueling style than his master? | Since the master trains him and all. | Generally, the master's role is more akin to that of a moral adviser, nanny, or thought-police, training the padawan in how to be a better slave to the Order's whims. Training in lightsaber forms is done in a more formal setting in daily communal practices both with other masters and with holocrons.
That is, the master trains the padawan in how to be a Jedi in mind and spirit. Teaching more mundane things like how to tie your robe or lightsaber forms is generally not specific to one master. | 45 | 26 |
Does logic exist independent of minds? | In one sense, a 'logic' is a language. It's a set of rules for manipulating formulas. If you have a certain formula on one line, then you can write another formula on a new line, etc. In the standard logic you learn in college, for example, something like this will be permitted:
1 (1) p & q (assumption)
1 (2) p (from 1, &-elimination)
But of course we could perfectly permissibly create a language in which
p & q
*doesn't* allow you to write
p
on a new line.
Why didn't we create *that* language instead? Because we think that that inference is special: it actually corresponds to a *real-life property of the world*. That is, metaphysically necessarily, *in real life*, whenever a conjunction is true, each of its conjuncts is true. What we say is that the language we created doesn't just have a *syntax* (rules for manipulating symbols); it has a *semantics*. We define the vocabulary of the language and we say that the symbol '&' corresponds to the real-life phenomenon of conjunction: something *and* something else being true.
In real life, if you have a conjunction, both of its conjuncts will be true. (This fact seems to be mind-independent: before humans, when Mercury and Venus were closer to the Sun than Earth, it was also true that Mercury was closer to the Sun than Earth.) Our language of logic captures that. That's a good thing; it helps our language be *complete*. In addition, our language of logic doesn't allow us, from 'p or q,' to "infer" (scare-quotes because languages of logic, syntactically, don't really claim anyone infers anything) p. We didn't decide to do that because *in real life*, a disjunction doesn't entail each of its disjuncts. If our language had allowed us to do that, then the language would have been *unsound*.
**In sum**: Languages of logic are mind-*dependent*, but standard, sound-and-complete languages of logic correspond to *real, metaphysical rules* that (apparently, arguably) *do* exist independently of minds.
(Edit: Typos.) | 42 | 31 |
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ELI5: Why, when translating many languages to English do sentences seem to be almost backwards? | One way of thinking about the way languages are constructed is by saying that all statements in every language have a subject (the person or thing doing an action), the object (the thing being acted upon) and the verb (the action being taken).
English has what's called an "SVO" sentence order, for subject-verb-object. So in the sentence **The cat eats the mouse**, "The cat" is the subject, "the mouse" is the object, and "eats" is the verb.
If we change that order around, we either have a totally different sentence like **The mouse eats the cat** (where "the mouse" is now assumed to be the subject because it comes first), or we have something that doesn't make any sense, like **Eat the mouse the cat.**
However, there's no particular reason why languages have to be organized this way. In fact, this isn't even the most common worldwide. Languages like Japanese and Hindi are "SOV" order, so directly translated their sentences are something like **The cat the mouse eats.**
It's actually a bit more complex than this--a lot of languages have flexible sentence order, because you can use different endings or small words to mark which parts of the sentence are which, and then you can arrange them any way you want. For example, in latin, you could write **Fēlēs murem cōnsūmit** or **Murem fēlēs cōnsūmit**, and both mean "The cat eats the mouse," since the way you end the words for "mouse" and "cat" tell you whether it's supposed to be the subject or the object.
Fun side fact: the rarest of all possible sentence orders is OSV, where you put the object before the subject and the verb at the end. There are very, very few languages on earth that use it, and most are isolated tribal languages in the amazon. However, when you hear it, it sounds familiar and pretty understandable. Why? Well, because with this sentence order Yoda speaks! | 1,375 | 1,625 |
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ELI5: Why do all pictures of Jesus depict him as a white man, even though he was from Israel? | I've always wondered this. I know it might sound like something George Carlin would say to support his claim that religion is bullshit, but I legit want to know. If you're in some way offended by this question, and just want to blow off steam, please don't comment.
Thanks in advance =) | Because what cultures were/are the most supportive of Christianity? White ones. Much of the artwork done (such as in the dark ages/Renaissance ) was done by Europeans. In addition, later on many philosophies like eugenics became prevalent, and led many to assume he was white (as it was seen as the "master race") | 40 | 28 |
ELI5: How are we able to know what the core of the Earth is made of if when we haven't even drilled past the crust? | We get information on the interior from a few different places.
One basic source is from volcanic material--eruptions can bring material from the mantle up to the surface, and examining that is one way we learn about the planet.
For the core itself, we can learn from analyzing the waves sent through the earth when an earthquake happens.
The more dense a material is, the faster waves travel through it. So if an earthquake happens in Japan, stations around the world might notice the waves from that earthquake. But they all record them at different times--measuring the time it took the waves from the earthquake to reach different recording stations can tell us how fast the waves were traveling, and therefore how dense the material is.
Knowing this helps us determine what kind of material is in the core, by comparing its density to what materials we know, and what materials are likely to be found in the earth. | 16 | 25 |
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When starting to read philosophical works, it is better to read the work, think about it, and turn to secondary sources, or it is better to start with secondary sources first? | As in the topic, I think. I'm quite new to philosophy and I want to read Descartes works. While I know the basic things about his philosophy, I wonder what is better in order to understand it better. Should I first go into secondary sources - primers about him, or just read the works and then turn to them for further explanation? | In most cases, primary first. You get better at philosophy by first forcing yourself to think about and try to understand the text in your own terms. Then, when you do come to the secondary text, you can also actually lay it beside what you thought in your head and see how it matches up. | 21 | 20 |
CMV: Israel is under no obligation, morally or legally, to withdraw from it's 'occupied' states | Hello! First off, I should specify that I'm a white atheist who lives in the hills of Kentucky. I don't have a personal stake in the matter, other than a slight prejudice of affection towards the Jews, for instance how I feel really bad about what happened to them in 1945. (Don't bother trying to absolve me of guilt, that's not the CMV)
Secondly, I doubt anyone on Earth is fully educated about all the stuff that goes down over there, let alone some bum in Kentucky, so I could be wrong or over generalizing.
Anyway, it's my understanding that when Israel was created, it was MUCH smaller than today. However, a GROUP (3 I believe) of nations attacked Israel very shortly after creation and when Israel won the ensuing war "with one arm tied behind it's back" they acquired the land around them and nearly doubled their size.
On top of this, the nation itself was created from land 'acquired' through wars we (the allies in WWI and WWII) didn't start. First it came from the defeated Ottomans, then Palestine allied with the axis powers and subsequently lost again.
This seems to me like a clear case of "screwed around too much and got burned". An occupation, to me, is when an aggressor invading army takes control of a country through force but doesn't exactly annex it into the larger nation. (Not a defender) For example, the Nazi occupation of France. (AFAIK the nations conquered by Germany were not absorbed into a larger Germany but instead kept their names as opposed to the Roman empire, the Sengoku period, or the U.S. civil war)
Instead it seems to me like Israel 'won' this land fair and square. And we are using school yard rules otherwise the whole area would get along. This is like someone getting jumped on the playground by three people, fighting them off, then being held liable for hospital bills, or taking their wallets. If someone comes into my house and I fight him off, I'm taking his wallet.
So why, then, do people exclaim that Israel is 'occupying' those lands and should forfeit them? Why do the surrounding people have such hostilities?
I understand that Israel should probably just give it up to ease tension, but I do not think they are obligated to anymore than we were obligated to free Japan (Though of course we did) or allow Germany to remain intact, albeit in two halves, as opposed to that country being annexed into the U.K., U.S., or surrounding countries like Poland. | What you're proposing is called the "one state solution" where the peoples of the West Bank and Gaza are fully integrated into the Israeli state and have an equal basis in citizenship with all other Israeli citizens. Though most people involved don't like that solution for a variety of reasons, it would certainly comply with the legal and moral imperatives of equality and sovereignty.
It is not however the reality of how Israel treats those territories today. The residents of the West Bank and Gaza are not considered Israeli citizens, nor are they citizens of any other country. They are subject to the control of the Israeli government, but do not have a vote in how that government operates. It is widely considered immoral and unacceptable in modern societies for people to lack any democratic means to influence their government.
> An occupation, to me, is when an invading army takes control of a country through force but doesn't exactly annex it into the larger nation.
This is exactly what is going on in the territories. Israel purposely does not consider all of their land to be fully "Israel" where people born there would be entitled to citizenship. They treat it as effectively a colony where the people are stateless and subject to Israeli control, but not Israeli rights. | 43 | 33 |
ELI5: How does flash memory work? | The actual science is pretty complex, but the concept is easy to understand.
Data is stored on a PC as a series of 1's and 0's. Lots of 1's and 0's, literally billions on a common flash drive. 1 gigabyte is about 8 billion bits (a bit is a 1 or 0).
1's and 0's are stored on the flash drive by opening or closing "gates". A signal can be used to open or close the gate to "write" the data onto the drive. When reading, a current is passed through, and it knows which gates are opened or closed by whether the current can get through the circuit or not. It translates these open and closed gates into 1's and 0's, and when put together, you have a complete file.
There is a gate for each bit (a 1 or 0) stored. They are very small, and there are millions to billions of them in a chip. Multiple chips are used to make higher capacity storage. Making single chips with as many gates, without defects, is hard to do. Many small ones is much easier. | 37 | 100 |
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Professors, what qualities do you like and dislike in a student who's doing a research project under you? | I always happen to annoy certain professors even if I don't mean to. And they seem to like me for my dedication at the same time (maybe).
This time I am going to do a research project under a Senior professor. However, I'm planning on asking him for a letter of recommendation once it's over. Therefore I really don't want to make any mistake regarding his relationship with me.
He already worded his liking towards me for my prior experience and motivation. Please help me in not spoiling this up. | Do not be afraid to look stupid. Ask questions if you have a problem. Do a little work in trying to solve the problem. Then ask before it turns into a big problem. There have many research project utterly ruined that could have been solved in minutes by the PI if those doing the work came forward sooner.
Although, from your statement it seems like you might have the exact opposite problem. The researcher might be very pleased if you show that you did due-diligence before distracting them with a problem that could have been solved with a couple Google searches or asking questions on a forum. | 70 | 100 |
Are states obligated to protect only their own citizens? | Hello, I have a debate tournament coming up(about democracy promotion in the Middle East if that's relevant) and I've been looking for literature on this topic.
After a quick search on the SEP, IEP, google scholar, and this sub, I didn't come up with anything.
If you can just point me to some works related to the question for further reading I can go from there. | The name of the idea that states have a duty to protect more than just their citizens is known as the "responsibility to protect." A good place to start is Gareth Evans's book *The Responsibility to Protect* and *Responsibility to Protect*, edited by Cooper and Kohler. | 10 | 15 |
ELI5 What is log and natural log?? | I just don’t get it. From high school til now post college graduate, I still don’t know what logarithms are. | Suppose we have two numbers, X=2 and Y=8.
Log simply asks: how many Xs we need to multiply together to get Y?
Or in this case, how many 2s do we need to multiply together to get 8?
Since 2 x 2 x 2 = 8, the answer is 3. We need to multiply 2 by itself 3 times to get to 8.
In math notation, we write this as logₓ(Y) or in our case: log₂(8) = 3.
Sometimes we call X (2 in our case) the "base". It's just the number we want to multiply several times to get to Y.
Turns out, for various calculations we are interested in multiples of the *natural constant* "*e*" (2.71828...).
Rather than writing logₑ(Y) or log₂.₇₁₈₂₈(Y) every time, we just abbreviate it as *ln*(Y) where *ln* stands for "natural log".
So "natural log" is just log with base = *e*. | 153 | 54 |
ELI5: How were the domes of historical structures, such as the Taj Mahal, constructed using heavy materials such as stone/bricks and without modern techniques of reinforcement using steel bars ? | How were stable structures made using stone/bricks for the construction of the domes of historical structures such as the Taj Mahal without using modern techniques of reinforcement using steel bars ? | Steel reinforcement bars are used to improve the strength of concrete and other materials in *tension* (pulling, rather than pushing or squeezing). The main reason that domes and arches are so popular in structures built from stone or brick is that all the forces in those shapes are in compression, which stone has a much easier time withstanding even without steel reinforcement. | 17 | 23 |
Can a Statistician using only R get a DS job not having a strong CS background? | Hello, I’m majoring in applied statistics in a Ph.D. program and mainly using R and SAS. I want to get a DS job after graduation, but when I saw the job qualifications, it felt the world wants a CS programmer with a bit of Statistics like Python+SQL+Hadoop+TensorFlow..etc. However, I believe that I can do something with my Statistics background, especially for ML (I just skimmed some textbooks about ML, and I don’t think it is far from what I’m studying), but not sure I can get a decent DS job dealing with ML. I tried to do Python, but every time I realized that I didn’t like it and wanted to hone my R skills. Sorry for the not clear question, but the point is I’m curious whether the statistician only using R can get a DS job dealing with ML or it is not the most cases. | Most data-related job descriptions in this area are written to look for the *most* qualified candidate conceivable. Sometimes you'll even see descriptions that ask for more experience with a particular tool than the developers of that tool (e.g. 10 years experience with a thing that has only been around for 5 years). Apply to the things that interest you.
But R is basically computer science, and don't let any gatekeeper tell you otherwise. You code in R, just like any other programmer. So, if you're good at R, you're probably pretty good at CS. So, yes.
Having said that, knowing other CS stuff will help you. Python is not as stats-focused as R, but it is much more flexible. And knowing more than one programming language makes you more versatile, and able to take advantage of more opportunities. | 12 | 21 |
CMV: Stereotyping is often logical and a perfectly normal application of human reasoning | Stereotypes are perpetuated because there is some truth to them. Bad or absolutely false stereotypes are rarely common, because failure is like natural selection. People use stereotypes as a short cut to knowledge, because we almost never have all the facts to make an informed choice. So people fill in the gaps, sometimes that will prove to be incorrect, but if it is more often correct than incorrect it is providing potentially valuable data.
Example, if you are walking down a dark alley and some guys are following you, there are a wide variety of valid stereotypes to approximate how much danger you may be in. It is not required for them to be always right to be useful. A guy covered in tattoos may be completely safe, but is he as safe as someone without any? No, of course not. And if you think so, you're simply misinformed or willfully ignorant due to social avoidability bias. If they're a bunch of young black guys, same thing, it's just more socially unacceptable to think such a thing. Are they women laughing together? No reasonable danger.
So people and society should not be made to feel bad about applying simple logic. Until crime metrics change, stereotyping is here to stay. There is no way to effectively eliminate it without solving why the stereotype is applied. I understand it is demeaning and insulting to be stereotyped, but your feelings don't really change the facts. In the case of covering your body in tattoos, it was actually a choice you made, which removes all moral authority to be offended in the least.
Studies have been done which indicate that there is a positive correlation between intelligence and stereotyping, however intelligent people are quicker at reversing a stereotype that they find unhelpful or invalid. | There is a subtle semantic distinction here that may explain the issue.
Most of the things you mention are not stereotypes. Most of you the things you mention are *expectations* about certain groups. A stereotype is an *expression* of an expectation about a group, not the expectation itself. Acting on these expectations by treating people of different groups differently would be called *profiling*.
So for instance, by your example: a guy with tattoos mugging you would be falling into a stereotype about guys with tattoos, and someone writing a character of a mugger with tattoos into a book or TV show would be *stereotyping* people with tattoos. Being scared of being alone in an alleyway with someone with tattoos would just be an expectation you have about that group, and acting on that expectation by staying away would be profiling.
In general, we are against *stereotyping* (as in, creating representations of groups that fall heavily into the stereotypes about that group) because it tends to lead to the stereotypes being over-represented and giving people inaccurate probability assessment. For instance, yes, the average person with tattoos may be more likely to be a mugger than the average person without tattoos; however, the *vast, vast majority* of people with tattoos are not muggers, yet stereotyping may cause 80% of media representations of fictional people with tattoos to be written as muggers, giving people inaccurate expectations about their relative peril. The same s true for stereotypes about minorities, women, men, white people, poor people, rich people, etc.
To the extent that your *expectations* are actually accurate, there's nothing wrong with holding them and using them to inform your actions. However, the reason many people are against *profiling* is because very many of the expectations people hold are provably inaccurate due to stereotyping in the media causing them to overestimate the prevalence of the stereotyped traits.
So, basically: most of what you speak in favor of is either expectations or profiling. In theory there *is* nothing wrong with those things if you do them accurately, but most people do them inaccurately *because* of widespread stereotyping. Widespread stereotyping is bad*because* it gives people inaccurate expectations which leads to improper use of profiling, thus screwing up the entire system. | 13 | 46 |
what is Transcendentalism? | I'm especially curious as to how it's different from individualism. | Transcendentalism is a moral and spiritual philosophy, most strongly associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and other writers of the 1830s and 1840s in the United States. For transcendentalists, truth comes not from physical evidence but from a sense of Truth that comes from communion with, for instance, nature.
Think of it like the force. There's a connection that links all living things—a divine soul (but not necessarily a Godly thing). It's inherently good but has become corrupted by civilization, which splits man away from the oversoul. Humanity lives a dismembered existence as a result of the corrupting influence of civilization.
Individualism is part of the philosophy. Only if men are truly self-reliant—that is, only if they don't bend to the popular will or fashions of the time, or established authority—can they regain the connection with nature and the transcendental oversoul. | 21 | 28 |
ELI5: Why are cartoon movies colored differently than their TV counterparts? | When comparing episodes of a cartoon TV show (ex. Spongebob or Hey Arnold) to their respective movies, the coloring (and sometimes even the art style) doesn't look quite the same. What is different about creating the artwork for movies? | 1. The medium: they are going to be viewed on is different. A movie screen is substantially different than a tv screen and a different aspect ratio. This requires higher quality picture
2. time: they have more time and funding to complete their task. Cartoons made weekly or biweekly have a tight schedule, a lot of corners are cut to expedite production to meet deadlines.
3. Funding: the source of income for a movie is ticket sales, the source of funding for a show is however much a studio appropriates depending on how much they can get for commercial time. Films in theaters tend to make money best when quality is high and quality cost money. Shows require new content, people want to ‘tune in’ to the newest episode that’s good for selling commercials. So cranking out new episodes is more important than quality. | 197 | 321 |
ELI5:If DNA copying errors are random occurences, why do some diseases that are known to be caused by gene mutations can reoccur in their offsprings at a random point in their life? | There are two types of mutations: germline and somatic.
> **Germline:** passed to the offspring at birth.
> **Somatic:** occurs *de novo* in the organism through mutation.
Only somatic mutations are "random". Diseases arising from somatic mutations are almost exclusively cancers. Germline mutations are inherited. The manifestation of heritable disease from germline mutations is called the disease's **penetrance**. Penetrance basically refers to the total fraction of people with the disease relative to the fraction with the mutation.
Many diseases are penetrant at birth (i.e. effects of the mutation are seen at birth). Examples of diseases penetrant at birth include sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, congenital dwarfism, etc. Other diseases' penetrance is **age dependent**. Age-dependent penetrance means effects are only seen at a specific age. The poster child of age-dependent penetrance is Huntington's disease.
So, to answer in brief, most mutations that cause disease are not copy errors they are inherited. Despite this, just because a known detrimental mutation is present doesn't mean it is phenotypically expressed at birth, it may require a certain age or condition to appear.
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ELI5: How do they know what chemicals your brain is producing in response to certain stimuli when it should involve opening your head to watch it? | They say that the brain releases dopamine when X happens, or releases oxytocin when X happens, etc. How do we know that's happening inside somebody's head without cracking their skull open? | Mostly indirect evidence, eg. we know that X is swirling around your brain because we took a blood sample and its high in Y which corresponds to X in scenario Z. Alternatively, we injected you with X which makes Y light up on your brain scan while we show you pictures of your parents getting handsy.
Sometimes semi-direct evidence, like having brain cells in a petri dish and observing them respond to stimuli or chemicals.
Sometimes also direct evidence like actually having a rats skull open and continuously probed as scientists(hopefully) feed the rat sugar or something.
All of it builds a knowledge base which is used to make accurate observations via indirect evidence. | 11 | 23 |
What is the value in publications prior to entering a PhD? Is it worth it? | I am studying within the Australian university system and am currently completing an honours project within a health field with the goal of first class and publication. My supervisors have approached me regarding one of my assignments and want to progress it into a publishable systematic review or meta-analysis.
If I go down this route I would have 2, potentially 3 publications before entering into a PhD and experience on conducting a published systematic review or meta-analysis. However I am a little concerned about the potential detriment to my honours grade (First class is the most realistic chance for PhD scholarship), and my financial wellbeing where I am currently working 25 hours and doing honours full time. I questioned waiting until I am a PhD student so that I can actually be paid for the work but they did not want to wait that long.
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My question is what the potential career gain and benefit from contributing to this type of paper compared to the potential negatives, given I would like to pursue a career in academia and at the very least, research. | The value is that you are more likely to get a PhD place with funding. This can vary with country and field but many PhD programmes are incredibly competitive so the more evidence you have of research experience the more chance you have of being accepted. | 29 | 15 |
Why is medicine dosage linked so closely with weight? | I work in a pharmacy and specifically in children the pharmacists will constantly check the patients weight for dosage. I found myself wondering why the dosage is linked so closely with weight, instead of some other factor. When I asked the pharmacist I was working with he didn't seem to know exactly why. All he told me was that if the patients weight is higher they can take a higher dosage of the medicine. I did a google search but all I got were links on calculating dosages based on weight.
I apologize if this is too broad a question. I just want to understand why weight is the highest determining factor in dosage for children.
Edit: thanks so much for all the answers. I think I understand a little better. Much appreciated. | More weight means more cells and more blood/vascular structure to feed all of those cells (regardless of whether this is weight from muscle, fat, or bone). Thus, with a heavier person with more cells and more blood would need a higher dosage to achieve the same blood concentration of the medication. | 16 | 21 |
ELI5 how you can measure that Ventablack or Black 2.0 are the blackest paints in the world | How is the blackness measured? How does one invent a paint that is blacker than black, and then someone goes and invents *another* paint that is blacker than the blacker than black paint?
https://www.format.com/magazine/features/art/anish-kapoor-stuart-semple-vantablack-blackest-black | Have a light of known intensity. Shine it at something that's "black". Measure how much light is reflected off it, calculate how much of the source light was absorbed.
Now shine same light against many different things that are different "blacks" from different paints/coatings/materials.
Compare calculations and find that Vantablack or Black 2.0 absorbs the most light as compared to all other sources.
Tout it as the darkest black in the world and challenge others to come up with something blacker (i.e. that absorbs more light than it does). | 178 | 192 |
Doctoral Student: Should I purchase my own supplies? | Hey AskAcademia,
My adviser and I have had an extremely rocky relationship, including some sexual harassment shit in the lab that didn't go over well... I was harassed, he sided with the guy, later apologized for not handing it well, but then started to give me an extremely cold shoulder. I successfully completed my comps and had my proposal approved by my committee (and him), but now he is ignoring my emails and will not purchase the supplies I need to do my research. I have about $3,000 worth of supplies needed to complete the analyses on the samples I collected (which was extremely difficult to do). I'm toying with the idea of taking out a loan or putting it on credit just to get the supplies I need. I know it isn't a cost issue for him since he has been spending loads of money on frivolous stuff that the lab doesn't really need. My other committee members seem very supportive. I'm determined to get this degree. Should I do it? What ethical issues may make this a bad/good decision? I can use all the advice I can get. | One of the main purposes of the supervisor is to provide you with working conditions. If the groups has money and it's something needed for your thesis, don't stop until you get him to buy it. Save every instance of communication in case there's shit after, and see if you can get some of the supportive committee members to help.
Don't let the cheap bastard have his way, PhD salaries are low as is, it's really not your obligation to buy lab supplies. Depends on the University, but here in Europe we have quite a lot of mechanisms to report the unproffesional behaviour in superiors... | 67 | 25 |
ELI5: How does my clothes dryer’s lint catcher get so full, yet my clothes don’t fall apart? Where does all this lint come from? | As you wash items, they lose particles (lint) which is collected in your lint trap. If you weigh the lint you’ll see that it is a small percentage of the (dry) washed items.
As an interesting aside - laundry and linen companies (e.g., Aramark) often have a weight cut off for when they inject new linen. For example, if Aramark provides uniforms and the dry uniform loses 25% of its weight or more, it is retired from circulation.
Edit: Injection is a term used in laundry & linen to mean a new item is put in (“injected”) to circulation. When an item is retired - which can be due to weight, but could be caused by any other number of issues like rips, tares, stains - they are no longer in circulation, which means they won’t be cleaned and supplies back to the client. Syringes and other injection devices are not involved in laundry injection. | 862 | 1,591 |
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ELI5: Why we have only 118 elements in periodic table? | I've read somewhere, that we're currently limited by technology. But is it teoretically possible to create element with 119 or more protons? If yes, could you please ELI5 what would it take to make such atoms? | All of the naturally occurring elements have been discovered, the newer ones with high atomic numbers were created for very brief fragments of time in large colliders by firing small packets of protons and neutrons at atoms of larger naturally occurring elements. They then use special instruments to detect and record the creation of these new elements. However, the atoms of the newly synthesized elements are very unstable and breakdown to elements with smaller atomic numbers within fractions of a second.
It is theoretically possible to one day synthesize other, larger elements, but that would likely require a whole new technology. | 190 | 69 |
Eli5: How do we know how many colors other animals can see? | Color perception is defined by the anatomy of the eye, specifically, photosensitive cells on the retina with specific pigments. If there are more types of these cells and they are sensitive to a wider range of electromagnetic waves, it means the animal can see more colors. If there are less colored cells or none at all, color perception is worse. | 14 | 18 |
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ELI5: Can life we haven't yet found, perhaps extraterrestrial, be made up of something other than DNA and cells? | Or does life in any form require DNA? Or is it not possible to know yet? | Life as we know it requires several things, including the ability to use energy, replicate, grow, etc.
DNA (and RNA) are the only information encoding molecules known to us, but some proteins can perform self replication directly without needing DNA/RNA and hypothetical cell *ancestors* could have existed long before DNA (replicating lipid bubbles are one such theory). Complex life will likely need something to act as information storage and replication but it doesn't have to be DNA. RNA itself is interestign because given sufficient peptides RNA can replicate all by itself without all the extra baggage of a "cell"
Non-DNA based life is only theoretical at this point, but there is no reason all of the requirements for life "as we know it" could not be met with some sort of crystaline, sulphorous, ammonia, or who knows what else. | 174 | 480 |
ELI5: Why do big banks refuse to raise their interest rates for savings accounts? Is there no incentive to at least coming close to the 2-3% online banks offer? | Banks offer interest on savings accounts to attract customers to deposit money, because then the bank can loan that money out to someone else for a higher rate.
Banks are flush with cash right now, and fewer people are looking for loans. They don't need more cash.
Before the pandemic excess cash reserves of US banks hovered around $1.5 trillion. At the start of 2022 excess reserves were more like $4 trillion. WAY more cash than they need. Right now that number has dropped closer to $3 trillion as the result of the Federal Reserve's efforts to combat inflation. That's better, but still higher than it should be. | 25 | 24 |
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ELI5 How do experts go about translating ancient languages? (For example Sumerian/Akkadian) | So I've been learning more about ancient civilizations from a podcast during my commute to work. Sometimes they talk about texts from during those times and read them. It's poetry, letters to people, etc.
I'm curious how did/do experts interpret and translate these texts so we can understand them now. | Archeologists find something like the Rosetta Stone (which had Ancient Greek next to Egyptian Hieroglyphics) which has a known language side by side with the language in question. Historians use finds like that to build a rudimentary dictionary to assist with translation. | 14 | 19 |
ELI5:Why does garbage always seem to have a common smell regardless of what's in it? | ?? | The smell is composed of small Nitrogen and Sulfur based molecules, produced when microbes break down organic matter. So as long as it's organic material. Because these molecules are small, they are easily blown into the air and up your nose. It does not really matter what you start out with, it all ends up as the same sets of small molecules once the bacteria are through with it. | 75 | 117 |
AskScience AMA Series: We are Jeff Galvin and Dr. David Pauza (long time lurkers, first time posters) here to talk about “treating the untreatable, curing the incurable” -- the future of genetic medicine. How it works. What it can do. Ask us ANYTHING! | Who are we?
I’m Jeff Galvin, son of an MIT Electrical Engineer and inventor who pioneered advanced portable radar and analog signal processing. I’m an entrepreneur, Silicon Valley startup guy and former Apple International Product Marketing Manager in the 80’s; where I traveled the world introducing the original Macintosh (and LISA if you ever heard of that). Computer nerd from the 7th grade (early 1970’s), I taught basic computer programming on weekends at MIT and later became the youngest-ever Head Teaching Fellow for Natural Sciences 110 (the second largest undergraduate class on campus) at Harvard as a Sophomore. After a successful career in computers, software and the Internet, I retired to become a “Silicon Valley Angel Investor”. Retirement didn’t last long… I met Dr. Roscoe Brady at the National Institutes of Health and he showed me something that I immediately realized would be bigger than computers or the Internet ever became. In 2006, Dr. Brady opened my eyes to viral vectors and genetic technologies that I realized could let me reprogram the fundamental computers of life itself: the human cell. That “ah-ha moment” back in 2006 began my quest to solve intractable human disease by repairing the underlying genetic roots of cancers, inherited disorders and infectious disease. Now, I head a leading genetic technologies company that is going to help send chemotherapy and radiation for cancer the way of leeches and bloodletting, and provide treatments and cures for scores of formally un-addressable disorders and diseases.
TL;DR - Silicon Valley sweetheart turned genetic drug developer
The Activator - My name is David Pauza, an OG (original gene cloner) since the 1970s. My areas of expertise are human virology and cancer. For the last 30 years or so, I have been studying HIV / AIDS, publishing scientific papers and educating the public about viral diseases. Before joining AGT, I had started an HIV research program at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, then built a strong HIV program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and finally moved to the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. During those years my lab group focused on understanding the most basic steps in HIV disease and designing new treatments or vaccines. We first talked openly of curing HIV disease in 1992 and have kept that flame burning ever since. The path to a cure depended on studying fundamental aspects of human virology and immunology. Many of the lessons learned in our study of AIDS apply directly to human cancer, which continues to be a major threat to HIV+ people even with current therapy. I brought these perspectives, skills and some team members to American Gene Technologies where we are working with Jeff to chart innovative cures for major human diseases.
TL;DR - A scientist with deep knowledge and a big bag of tricks.
As we see it, the new frontier of drug development is genetic science, where rifle-shot treatments deal with the specific, underlying causes of disease, eventually leading to cures rather than lifetime treatments. We take a creative approach, believing that many diseases can be treated with genetic therapy if you mix the right technology with a solid understanding of disease and add advice from talented clinicians to guide treatment delivery.
We are currently focusing on HIV / AIDS, Liver Cancer, Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Breast Cancer. Ask us anything about our mission, gene therapy basics, new technology, research, development portfolio or the future!
If you would like more information about our company, team, research collaborators or scientific advisors, visit www.americangene.com
We encourage you to follow us and ask additional questions on our social channels!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amerigene/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/americangene
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-gene-technologies-international-inc
**Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and questions today! We are grateful for the level of engagement and thought put into each and every question posed. American Gene Technologies (AGT) out...**
| Do you regard ageing as a disease? Any indications whether genetics will help us break the 120 years 'lifespan limit' in large numbers?
Will genetic work help us achieve older humans who feel good and are mentally sound through a larger percentage of their lives? | 68 | 1,655 |
Does every piece of matter in the universe really affect every other piece (even negligibly)? (Physics of Douglas Adams's Total Perspective Vortex) | Chapter 11 of *The Restaurant at the End of the Universe* by Douglas Adams starts with a blurb on the inspiration behind the Total Perspective Vortex--a fictional machine that gives the user a "sense of proportion" re their place in the universe.
> "...since every piece of matter in the Universe is in some way affected by every other piece of matter in the Universe, it is in theory possible to extrapolate the whole of creation-every sun, every planet, their orbits, their composition and their economic and social history from, say, one small piece of fairy cake."
I'm sure--pretty sure--that the latter sort of extrapolation is ludicrous. But I wondered about the first part.
I've always assumed that the sum of forces on one body due to the presence of another body drop to ***effectively*** zero at a large enough distance. But is there some distance at which it is zero **in exact arithmetic**?
(Sorry if this is too broad or poorly phrased). | An important consideration here is the finite speed of the propagation of information (the speed of light), which means that an event can only influence other events in its future light-cone; therefore it has no effect on anything which is occurring simultaneously with it.
A piece of cake on earth would eventually influence events on the other side of the galaxy in a negligible way, but it would take 100,000 years for the signal to propagate. | 19 | 63 |
How does the body build a tolerance against substances? | It can be a very complex process and is different for every chemical, but we can describe the general trend of whats going on when a body develops tolerance.
Firstly, the body developing tolerance is different from the brain developing tolerance, but they are still closely dependent on each other. The body being tolerant is physical tolerance. This happens because your body can metabolize the chemical more quickly. A body might be able to drink lots of alcohol because it has alcohol tolerance. It has more liver enzymes to metabolize the alcohol before it can even get in the blood stream, so less alcohol can go to the brain. The body can develop some degree of physical tolerance to most drugs, psychoactive or not.
Then there's psychological tolerance. Once the chemical passes into the blood stream, and only if it is the correct size/shape, it can pass the blood brain barrier. In the brain it causes psychoactive effects by bumping into and activating a variety of different neurotransmitter receptors, or by binding to allosteric modulation sites, or by preventing reuptake of a neurotransmitter, or by causing the nerve to dump all of its neurotransmitters into the synapse, etc... Very complex chemical cascades ensue. Repeated exposure will cause the brain to adapt by producing more/less neurotransmitters, producing more/less receptors, pulling receptors in/out of the cell membrane, turning receptors on/off, and of course growing new (and possibly unwanted if the drug is addictive) interconnections between neurons. This makes the brain "better" at doing brain things while its surrounded by the drug, which makes its worse at doing brain things when no drug is present. Only psychoactive drugs produce psychological tolerance because only they can pass the blood-brain barrier and act on the nervous system.
Both of these tolerance processes are really specific cases of the body maintaining homeostasis. Anytime a body takes in any exogenous substance, it responds by trying to 1.) metabolize the chemical, absorbing whatever it can in quantities that are favorable to 2.) restore normal functioning business-as-usual as soon as is necessary. This is homeostasis. It happens when you take in any chemical. Not just drugs, even food, and (to a much smaller degree) water and oxygen/CO2. Our bodies develop tolerance because they are always trying to restore business-as-usual. If business-as-usual involves a foreign chemical in your blood stream, the body needs to adapt to tolerate this chemical imbalance. Tolerance is proof of your body maintaining homeostasis as best it can. | 120 | 344 |
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ELI5: Why does water fry electronics? | Electronics have defined paths through which electricity has to flow. These paths are designed such that there is always a regulated flow of electrons from low potential to high potential. This flow also generates heat due to resistance and electrons colliding into each other. Water is usually not pure and conducts electricity. When it is spilled over these paths, it creates short cuts for electrons to flow unregulated. This creates a lot of heat and causes the components to melt. This damages the electronics and "fries" them. | 23 | 16 |
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Why are people so willing to commit to compassionate euthanasia when death is imminent for their pets but not for their fellow human beings? | Here's one principled philosophical reason: it isn't wrong to kill an animal, but it is wrong to kill a human, because the wrongness of killing comes from interrupting life-goals (which animals don't have) or violating implicit social contracts (which animals can't make), or something like that. So with a suffering animal, there's no good reason not to commit to euthanasia, but with a suffering human, we've got to weigh the suffering prevented by euthanasia against the wrongness of killing a human (even with their permission).
I don't think this kind of argument works, but it's probably defensible. | 35 | 70 |
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CMV: Traveling to an impoverished country to help build schools or whatever is self-serving and inefficient | If you travel to Africa or something to help build a village or a school or a water well or something, you are doing good. But you are essentially doing little more than manual labor, which is actually probably easy to come by and pretty cheap in impoverished parts of Africa. The labor you are doing could probably be bought for less than $5 an hour. If you work 12 hours a day for 7 days, you've essentially donated less than $420 worth of labor. Given that you probably spent over $500 on the plane ticket to get you there, you've wasted a lot of time and money. It made you feel awesome to do a good thing, and you got to post selfies with poor people, but what you should have done is just donate an equivalent amount of money to that village. It would have done more good.
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> *Hello, users of CMV! This is a footnote from your moderators. We'd just like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please remember to* ***[read through our rules](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/rules)***. *If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which,* ***[downvotes don't change views](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/guidelines#wiki_upvoting.2Fdownvoting)****! If you are thinking about submitting a CMV yourself, please have a look through our* ***[popular topics wiki](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/populartopics)*** *first. Any questions or concerns? Feel free to* ***[message us](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/changemyview)***. *Happy CMVing!* | Note that when the person comes back from Africa he is also going to be doing things--from talking to other people about the benefits of education in Africa (and encouraging them to do things), to financially contributing to charities... | 18 | 15 |
Dissertation without primary research? (curious how this works) | Hey gang,
I've been talking to a friend a lot about her dissertation (psychology). She's spent years creating research, gathering data, etc. and is putting it all together as you do.
This has led me to wonder how other disciplines deal with dissertations. I studied English and Theater for Undergrad and Business for Grad. I've never been exposed to research the way my psych friend has.
Do PhD candidates in these disciplines do primary research for their dissertations? How would this research differ/compare to the kinds of studies social scientists do?
If I were to ever decide to pursue a PhD, how could I build the necessary research skills to be effective? For example, I'm aware of IRB's, but have never done one...or designed a study. I've plenty of experience hitting the [digital] stacks to find research and write papers, but it's not the same.
Thanks! | The dissertation is always original research or original theorizing. The nature of research obviously differs from one field to the next--in psychology, gathering original data is pretty much universal. In sociology and political science, it's not uncommon for dissertations to report secondary analyses of existing data sets. For something like English or theater, the research may be focused on applying theories about text or audience to a body of work, extending an existing theory in light of such an application, or something along those lines. In addition, there is an emerging field called the "digital humanities" in which data analytic tools are applied to understand how audiences respond to media texts. It's kind of a sexy research area right now--lots of universities are hiring one or two digital humanities people, and they are in somewhat short supply.
If you entered a PhD program, you would take classes that exposed you to relevant theories and research methods in whatever discipline you choose. As for the details of IRBs, study design, and data collection--you would tend to learn these things by working with your advisor on her or his research, then collaborating on your research ideas. | 26 | 16 |
ELI5: How exactly does the feeling of your heart "fluttering" in your chest happen when you think about someone you like or love? | To put it in very simple terms: the things that you think of and emotions that you feel can have physical effects on your body. Its just like how your hands might shake when you get scared or angry and how your cheeks may turn red when you’re embarrassed. When you think of somebody you’re fond of you may get anxious or excited. When you have these different emotions your brain will release chemicals that are related to these emotions which will cause other parts of your brain to respond, like the area that’s responsible for heart rate. The part of your brain that control your heart rate and other basic functions isn’t able to reason out WHY you’re feeling excited or anxious because it’s one the most basic parts of your brain and it doesn’t do very much “thinking” at all. It just receives the message that you are excited and so your heart rate will rapidly increase. In fact, your body’s “built in” control mechanisms are constantly adjusting things like heart rate and breathing for a large variety of things you may not even be conscious of. The reason your body reacts the way it does to these certain emotions can be instinctual or learned. Another example: Your heart races when you’re scared because your brain is basically telling your body “get ready to run or fight!!!” Even though you may just be sitting on the couch watching a horror movie. It’s just the same. The heart rate part of the brain doesn’t know you’re watching a movie. All it knows is that you’re scared so it adjusts accordingly.
Source: Degree in BioMedical Sciences | 118 | 240 |
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Why is ‘only’ 4.5% GDP growth bad for China? | Per Howard Marks of OakTree, it would be the equivalent of negative growth in the US. Other than compared to expectations and history, it’s still ‘good’ or at least not disastrous, yes? | If you refer to Solow growth model, you will see that developing countries grow much faster than than the developed ones up until a certain point where they start catching up.
This is mainly due to the cost of technical progress (developing countries don't have to use own resources to innovate) and the capital accumulation (poor countries have low capital per worker).
China has been averaging around 7% GDP growth pa, therefore 4.5% is really critical. | 30 | 46 |
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