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RCSI-v2_ShareGPT

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[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Could someone live off a diet of pills containing the nutrients we need to live? Or does food have something \"more\" that we need to survive?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If we were sure we had all the nutrients (and enough calories to use for energy) then we could live off that. It would be too much to be compressed into pills probably, but some companies do sell powders and shakes that you're supposed to be able to live off of (for example soylent.com). The real question is whether food is providing some nutrients that we haven't discovered yet, that might be missing from this artificial diet." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What is actually happening when a computer/smartphone is booting? Why isn't it usuable immediately upon turning it on?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When you interact with a computer, you're interacting with software that lives in \"memory\". However, for the vast majority of computing devices, memory can only retain the software while it receives power. \n\nThere are other storage areas on computing devices that can retain software and data even while powered off. On most computers, that's a combination of BIOS (a special computer chip that contains the basic simple operating instructions) and the hard drive. On a smartphone, it's a special kind of memory that's considered \"non-volatile\" because it doesn't get erased when the power goes away. These storage places are much slower than normal memory. \n\nWhen a computer boots up, it copies or \"loads\" the software that it will use from whatever slower storage it uses into its fast storage, memory, so it can operate at the speed you expect." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A team from the WHO is currently in China looking for the origins of SARS-CoV-2. How do you look for the source of a virus?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Take a close look at all the slight variations in way the RNA mutates over time (note: usually they make artificial DNA from the RNA because it's more stable). If two different cases share almost all the same mutations then they're probably closely related. when you look at the small differences between four or five you can begin track backwards which was the oldest in the banching tree of similarities and differences - and which are \"cousins\" and which have closer \"parent/child\" relationships." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is it possible for a deaf person to have tinnitus? If so, how does it work?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes. The ringing is actually coming from your brain and not your ear.\n\nWhen hair cells in the inner ear get damaged, the brain creates an annoying \"eeee\" sound becausd it's missing that proper connection.\n\nThere have been people who had severe tinnitus and got their auditory nerve, from their hearing organ to their brain, cut hoping itll make the ringing go away. And they still had tinnitus, if not worse." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] Why did Yoda and Obi Wan have to split up to defeat Palpatine and Vader?\n\nWouldn't it have made more sense for both Yoda *and* Kenobi to gang up on both Sith lords? Obi Wan had to cross the galaxy to take on Vader. There was no rush to kill Vader. He was off starting his dark path, but nothing he did was time sensitive. \n\nIf Yoda had had a bit of help he could have taken down the emperor and stopped the whole mess from going any further." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoda knew that Obi-Wan had no chance against Sidious. Even if both of them attacked Sidious together, Obi-Wan would likely die. Among the Jedi still alive, Yoda was the only one who had any hope of standing against Sidious in battle and living to tell the tale, and Yoda knew it. However, while Obi-Wan would not be much help against Sidious, he would be uniquely suited to tracking down and taking out Anakin." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: Internet IS representative of the real world and it has done more than people usually give credit for\n\nI don't know how many times I have heard this both offline and online \"Internet is not real life. Meet people in real life\". My teachers, parents, friends, politicians, people from Quora, people from Reddit, etc have often said that internet is different from real life, that politicians use internet for propaganda and that offline life is different.. They always pretend that internet is something 'different'...a 'thing'.\n\nIt ISN'T.\n\nInternet is just connected computers. It is a network. And guess who is behind these computers? Yes, YOU. You, a guy from this world, a real person, not a bot, not a person from Mars. And the internet mainly consist of these very people. I come from a small city in India and I have witnessed both people offline and online, Indian and foreigners. I spend most of my time not interacting people, but watching them interact. And what did I learn from it? They aren't any different.\n\nThe same people who used to sit on street shops, cracking sexist and racist jokes are now on the internet, doing the same thing. The same guys who used to bully and insult others all day long are now in CSGO and other game servers. The same guys who used to engage in debates, used to see the world in terms of 'left and right' and used to write articles bitching the right/left wingers are now on the internet doing the same thing. The same pedophiles who used to hunt for little kids on the streets and kidnap them is now just using a different platform for doing the same. The same men and women who used to trap young women and men and marry them for their money or have a flick with them is now using the internet for doing so. People talk about how many people are addicted to games and social media and that it is harming studies. These people are the same people who had been addicted to gossiping and playing outdoor games and bunking school/college when there was no internet. These are the same people who fell to peer pressure and became addicted to alcohol or smoking before the internet.\n\nIf the internet has done anything, it has made people see the world more broadly. Before the internet, people were naive, living in their own cultural bubbles, thinking that their city/state/nation is the entire world. Now, with the internet, people are connecting, meeting many people, finding similar people from all over the world. My old relatives think Americans are a bunch of sexually immoral and hedonistic lunatics who have nothing to do except eat and sex. I, exposed to the internet, know that this is not necessarily the case...that there are parts of America, like Alabama, which is nothing but just like third-world countries. I bet many Americans think India consists mainly of people shitting on streets and living poor lives. But the internet has made us interact and we have come to learn so much about others. Imagine a gay guy in India or Pakistan or some other such countries. If he open his mouth, he will be socially shunned (in India its legal but still socially unacceptable). But internet is a hope for him. With that he can explore his sexuality, meet gay guys from all over the world and feel accepted in this 'virtual world' of the internet.\n\nTL;DR - Internet is not a 'bad' thing anymore than meeting friends is. Rather without the internet, people were extremely biased and naive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "# Internet IS NOT YET representative of the real world\n\n \n\n\nAs weird as it sounds, internet is still in its infancy, and had not penetrated society fully. MOST people on the planet never use the internet, or rarely so. Either because they are too old, or too young, or too poor, or live in a country where internet is hard to connect to. \n\n\nMost importantly however, the vast majority of moves and shakers of this world (politicians, leaders, generals, CEO's bank directors etc) rarely ever use the internet and do not participate in its culture. Hence why there is a dissonance between what people write on the internet, what they argue passionately about, and what their politicians end up doing anyway. Internet is the tool of the powerless, and will remain so until the curent 30 year olds grow up to become 50 year olds, and join the cohort of people who actually matter in shaping politics, culture, economy and society." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] How was a 14 year old Amidala elected Queen of Naboo? What did her political campaign look like? What campaign promises did she make, and why did the people of Naboo think that she was capable of accomplishing them?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The people of Naboo have the cultural notion that children are \"pure\" and unbiased, and therefore can make good decisions if presented all the information. That is why their Kings and Queens (which are just the terms for their head of state and is an elected position with strict term limits) are chosen from their young.\n\nNow that does not mean they are not without guidence. The children who are able to run for election have almost all universally have been trained from a young age in diplomatic schooling programs that teach them what is required of a politician, the minutiae of political dealings, diplomatic practices, and other vital information and training for a political life. \n\nThey also have a council of seasoned and experienced councilors and cabinet members who have spent years in the civil service, some who have may even have served as King or Queen in their youth. They are able to provide the needed experience and advice to the head of state an can guide them in the decision making policies." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Eli5: Why is it easier to darken white paint than it is to lighten dark paint?\n\nI remember in elementary school that I was mixing paints and to make grey, and I found that a small quantity of black darkens white super easily whereas even a 50-50 split of black and white leaves an almost black color. Is black paint more potent? Is there some kind of complicated color theory?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Paint color works by removing light, adding just a small amount of black pigment can darken white pigment a lot because it goes from absorbing \\~0 light to more . But to lighten dark pigment you can only dilute the pigment." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What data should I be looking at to know if my state's minimum wage increase is working?\n\nMy home state of Illinois is increasing their minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years. This is something I generally support, based on studies that I've seen, but all the media coverage I've seen thus far has just been interviewing random restaurant owners who say \"It's so bad, we're so broke, etc.\" without any actual data. \nI'm genuinely curious to see how this has effected the state's economy, so could anyone tell me what data I should be looking at to judge this and how I can desegregate things from just the general economic effects of the pandemic?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Getting data is a small step in seeing if it's working (assuming you have a clear definition of working).\n\nThis is an important question that very smart people have tried to answer for decades. There has been a fair amount of research done on minimum wages' effects and presumably meta-studies as well. I'd start with a lit review." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Treasure Island] Why didnt Billy Bones want to get the treasure?\n\nIts my favourite book and Ive read it probably 30 times, but I cant understand why he wouldnt want to get the treasure with Flints old crew. Did he plan to get it himself? That wouldnt make sense." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I think he and Silver had some kind of personal beef going on, and the old crew were loyal to Silver. For whatever reason, keeping Silver and his friends from having the treasure was more important to Billy than getting it for himself. He'd rather die poor than enrich his enemy.\n\nSo why not scrape together a new crew and go in secret? Well, Silver ran a pub on the docks, which means he had his ear to the ground. Going by Pew's part in the story, he was actively looking for Billy. If Billy started putting together a crew, especially on a limited budget, there was a risk that word would make its way back to Silver, and then Billy would be doomed." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: why are Americans so apathetic in demanding/enforcing the \"free market\" they supposedly value so highly? See - Anti-Tesla legislation, AT&T, Comcast, etc communication monopolies, lack of transparency in healthcare pricing, ad infinitum." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Invoking the free market is a rhetorical bludgeon, much like the terms 'socialism' or 'terrorist', designed to draw an emotional response and not an actual thing that people understand or even truly desire in most cases.\n\nI would be willing to wager that only maybe one in fifty Americans who bring up Adam Smith have actually read anything by the man." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Lord of the Rings] What's life like in the Undying Lands?\n\nIs it pretty much normal life or is there anything particularly special about it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Well, you can meet gods and stuff. That's neat. \n\nNo wars, either. Or any strife, really. Not for a long time. \n\nIf you're mortal, you won't last there very long, but you'll be at peace while you are." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Harry Potter] How effective would a gun be against wizards?\n\nIs the protego spell strong enough to block bullets or not?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We never see it but considering what other shit protego has stopped it could certainly stop bullets.\n\nBut that doesn't matter because a gun would take out a wizard much faster then almost any wizard could cast a spell to either defend or attack." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How is it possible that satellites last far longer than planned?\n\nFor example, the Meteosat-7 satellite was launched around 20 years ago and is still working fine without the need for maintenance. The satellite was supposed to stay in geostationary orbit for only 6 years." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Usually when engineers say something will last for X years, it means that the thing has 95% (for example) chance of still working after X years. It doesn't mean that as soon as the X years have passed the satellite will stop working. This is something people often don't understand when they are talking about planned obsolescence. \n\nFor satellites there are a couple of limitations on the lifespan on top of stuff just breaking up. First is the propulsion. In geostationary orbit you need a bit of propellant to correct for perturbations caused by the moon and the sun gravitational pull as well light pressure. When the propellant runs out the satellites are placed into a graveyard orbit so that they are out of the way of other satellites. Sometime thrusters perform better than expected, or the rocket is extra precise in its launch so you end up having spare propellant and you can extend the mission. \n\nAnother thing that happens as satellites age is the degradation of solar panels and batteries. The solar panels lose efficiency when they are struck by radiation and cosmic rays.\n\nLastly sometime the mission duration is tied to the money needed to operate a satellite. To extend a mission you need money to pay the people in charge of the mission. The ground equipment can be very expensive too." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: Some Video Games Should be Revered as Much as Classical Art Displayed at Museums.\n\nWe're talkin' about a painting of a lady who can't decide whether she is smiling or not holding a place at a distinguished museum that people travel to witness its tiny fragile frame and yet there are entire worlds with storylines hashed out for several characters, physics engines, incredible details in some cases, and all of it can be interacted with by the audience on varying levels of immersion. Not to mention that pretty soon VR has the potential to upend some of the limitations that current levels of immersion present." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Museums exist to protect _singular_ artifacts and allow people to experience them. A video game (or anything digital, really) doesn't require protection because it can be perfectly duplicated an infinite number of times. You can't do that with a Picasso.\n\nMoreover, what would the benefit be? You can't experience a video game in a museum setting - you have to play it to get the impact. Its the same reason that we don't have the original film reels of _Citizen Kane_ on display in a museum - you have to watch the movie to appreciate its importance." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Are we the only species to get headaches if so why?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No, many species are physiologically similar to people. The same imbalances that cause headaches in humans cause them in other species. \n\nBrain tumors give bears headaches. \n\nRats can get hangover headaches. \n\nCats have been disfigured by selective breeding and have sinus headaches." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[The Purge] How does the Purge affect other countries?\n\nAssuming it only happens in the US, how does the rest of the world prepare?\n\nI assume both Mexico and Canada would have already walled key border crossings.\n\nThe only safe way would be for full army and police mobilization, a curfew and a general state of readiness.\n\nWhat happens with border towns? Do they get evacuated or filled to the brim with soldiers and tanks?\n\nRegarding the rest of the world, do they hunker down for whatever crazy comes out of the US or do they take the chance to do some serious spionage?\n\nI mean, Putin would probably be angling to profit from the chaos any way he could.\n\n\nEdit 1: Canadians, how do you think your country would weather the Purge? I think it would be nothing short of a full wartime mobilization for at least 48 hours.\n\nEveryone, including children, are issued chip bracelets to identify them as citizens. Anyone not carrying one on Purge day is liable to be shot on sight.\n\nSchools and all businesses are closed, all civilian traffic is forbidden to keep the roads free for the Army and emergency services. All planes are grounded as well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I would assume that most countries deal with a ton of visa requests in the weeks and months leading up to the purge. Right after the purge they probably have a ton of request for information about emigration requirements." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does some thunder crack through the sky doing a csshhhkrr sound and other ones produce a deep bass-boosted BOOOM?\n\nYes, we've had a thunderstorm recently and I love them, but can't get my head round this." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It largely depends on how close you are to it. The closer you are, the better the sound. It should resemble a loud crackle. But as you move away from the thunder, the sound wave starts to disperse and the sound gets less clear. So you ear a *boom* type of sound. Picture the sound wave as a bunch of people pushing each other in evry direction. After a while there's less of a reason to push people so the *fuzz* in that crowed gets less obvious, less clear." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Spider-Man + MCU] Spider-Man can stick to surfaces with his feet and hands. Does he ever use this while fighting hand to hand? Make bad guys' fists stick to his palm?\n\nalso in Homecoming, why would he stick his backpack near street level? wouldn't he put it in a \"spidery\" spot just like momma spiders leave eggs? up high somewhere, outta sight in a nook?\n\nand why wouldn't aunt may know he snuck in the window the night Ned discovered him? its not a huge apartment. u cant really come or go without someone knowing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "AFAIK, Spider-Man himself hasn't used the sticking power in an offensive way as you are describing. But his dark and edgy clone, Kaine regularly did. He'd intentionally use the adhesive power of his hand to brand enemies by ripping a layer of skin off their face. The handprint scar left behind was referred to as the 'Mark of Kaine'." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Percy Jackson] Do demigods from Greece not have dyslexia?\n\nSo in the PJO universe, demigods tend to be dyslexic because their brains are hardwired for ancient Greek. I've looked up differences in the scripts of ancient and modern Greek, and apparently while there are differences in accents and stuff, the letters are mostly the same. So, does it mean that if you grew up in Greece, and have Greek as your first language, you would not be considered dyslexic?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes. Im fact, those for whom Greek is their first language would probably be even more proficient in it than they should be if they were normal kids. They would probably have increased language skills compared to their peers." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "3 completely identical human beings stop eating fats, carbohydrates and proteins respectively. In what order to they die, if at all, and what happens?\n\nLet's just say hypothetically that the human beings are cloned so that conditions are exactly the same. \n\nThey are a a completely average 30 year old male. \n\nSo, just to elaborate, subject A stops eating fats, subject B stops eating carbohydrates and subject C stops eating proteins. What would happen in each case?\n\nEdit: sorry about the title typo - should read *In what order do they die*" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "they die in this order, from first to last:\n\nC -> A -> B.\n\nyou need proteins because there are amino-acids that you can only get from proteins from food. you need fats because there are 2 fatty acids that you must have but can not synthesize. \n\nyour body can exclusively use fats and proteins for energy, and there aren't any carbohydrates that you critically need that you can't make yourself. those are the reasons for the order. in fact, i don't think subject B would die at all from a nutritional deficiency." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 - How can the concepts of mean reversion and independent events coexist?\n\nI flip a coin 4 times and they all landed on heads. I'm about to flip a coin for the 5th time.\n\nIndependent event theory would suggest that my probability of getting heads or tails is still 50 50 for this flip.\n\nHowever, according to mean reversion, the average number of heads should tend towards 0.5 and hence isn't the probability of tails higher?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mean reversion doesn't require the probability of tails on any individual flip to become higher. Instead, it's the number of flips that causes the average to tend towards 0.5.\n\nSuppose you've flipped your 4 heads. Rather than thinking about the next flip, think about the next 100 flips. You'd expect to get something very close to 50 heads and 50 tails, which makes your initial 4 extra heads much less significant. The overall average will be something close to 54/104, or about 52%." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: Trying to understand yourself through your ancestry is meaningless\n\nSome people take a DNA test, find that they have some high percentage of an ethnicity that they know nothing about or maybe didn't even know existed, then suddenly they identify with its culture. I think that it's meaningless and just another type of horoscopes.\n\nMy main point is that culture is lived and experienced, not inherited. If you find a high percentage of Italian ancestry in your DNA but have never been to Italy then you have absolutely nothing to do with the Italian culture. Your DNA test revealed absolutely nothing about who you are as a person.\n\nIn this sense, giving someone the citizenship of a country just because some of his ancestors belonged to it is meaningless and arbitrary. Italy does this. I think that if your grandparent's father was Italian then that doesn't make you entitled to the Italian citizenship in any way.\n\nI'm assuming that the citizenship means more than just a document. But it seems like most countries think the same, since many will require you to know their language and maybe do a history test before being eligible for it.\n\nI'm also not saying that understanding yourself is the only reason people take DNA tests or research their genealogy, but I think that it's the main reason (especially when it comes to DNA tests)." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For some people, it helps give them a sense of belonging, especially for people who dont know their ancestral roots, it can help give them a direction for a culture to explore and adopt.\n\nSure, its not the end all be all, but can give people some direction." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: What is it about electricity that kills you?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It can kill you in two ways.\n\nThe first way is burning you. In general, current generates heat. If there is enough current going through your body, your body will literally heat up and you will burn to death.\n\nThe second way - if there isn't enough current to burn you - is the electricity just interfering with your body signals. You brain uses electricity to tell your muscles what to do. Your nerves are basically just biological wires in your body; if you apply a current to muscle it will contract. \n\nSpecifically, the electricity can interfere with your heartbeat and trigger erratic spasms of your heart. This is called fibrillation, and can often be corrected with a defibrillator. If there isn't a defibrillator nearby, well, you're probably gonna die." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How do oil paints dry?\n\nAcrylic based paints dry by water evaporating, and oil paints dry by \"oxidation.\" What is being oxidized, why does it cause the paint to become less wet, and why does it take so long?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oil paint is a colloid; the pigment is suspended in a liquid-in this case, a hydrocarbon oil dissolved in a solvent that makes the paint more fluid and easier to move around and manipulate. \n\nAfter application, the solvent evaporates, leaving the pigment and oil. The oil gradually oxidises and hardens. As this involves absorbing oxygen (oxidising) rather than evaporating water, it can only happen at a certain rate, independent of environmental factors like temperature. (Other factors can be manipulated to increase the speed of oxidation, usually by mixing other chemicals like Liquin, a commercial product) Oxygen is also absorbed only through the top layer of the paint, meaning that it has to oxidise before lower layers can do so. This increases the time taken as well." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why are the 'Made In China' stickers and imprints necessary?\n\nThey can't be for crediting someone, because you can't give credit to a whole country. So why are they there?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "U.S. law requires the country of origin of a product to be clearly displayed on the product, or on the product's container if it is enclosed.\n\na lot of people also like to have this information available, especially in the US, because due to this law, countries build up a certain reputation for certain products." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Are we smarter than the first humans, or is it just collective knowledge?\n\nWhen I asked this is class, it started a debate that led nowhere.\n\nWould like to see what fellow redditors have to say on this subject." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If you could raise a baby that was born 200,000 years ago with modern technology and methods, would they less capable that a modern baby? Would a 50,000 year old baby have the abilities of a modern human?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC] Who and how good are Lex Luthor's PR people? He seems to shift from known Supervillain, to Super Hero to President with ease. So what kind of Godlike PR does he have?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "History has shown that politicians who pander to certain segments of society can largely ignore their own criminality and moral shortcomings so long as they utter the right platitudes to pacify their base." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[General Superheroes] What are some good examples of seemingly low-level superpowers that can be extremely useful if taken to their full potential?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Useful? Many of them have physics bending powers that could be amazingly useful powers for legitimate noncriminal uses. \n\nTake a fairly unsuccessful villain like Pyro, who can control flames. Imagine his use to a major metropolitan fire department. Can he control anything else? The rate of chemical reactions, or nuclear ones? Imagine his use to industry!\n\nIts just a matter of thinking of all the use these amazing skills can have!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5, and then ELI20, both sides of the Amanda Knox trial. \n\nEdit: Thank you all for the explanations so far, they are very helpful! Can someone now please explain why it seems like the majority of Americans are happy she's released because the majority think she's innocent while the majority of Italians are upset and chanting 'shame' because the majority believes she's guilty? Is it just how our court system differs, is it the media, what causes this?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To make it short: Knox was living with Meredith. Both are from upper middle class families from US and UK respectively. Knox is naive and generally only book smart and not street smart. She has her 1st bf while in Italy on a study abroad program. One night she comes back home and finds blood in the house and toilet which isn't flushed. Seems weird enough. Runs back to her bf's house and they call the other Italian roommates. A bunch of low level cops (who are used to investigate petty crimes) show up and are generally incompetent as fuck. Crime scene is already contaminated. After breaking into the room, they find Meredith stabbed. The killer was extremely inexperienced (didn't even bother to cover up, left feet marks, tried to wipe blood with towels and just decided to leave it halfway through). The other roommates fly away to UK or lawyer up pretty quickly. Knox being fucking stupid decides to stay around until Meredith's parents come. Her family sort of agrees because at this point she's just so innocent that no one would think of her as a killer. Bring in a crazy prosecutor who fanatic over satanic rituals, an easy foreign target will easily be blamed. She ends up signing a confession because again, she's just so fucking stupid and doesn't really think of herself as a suspect. She also barely understands Italian so the whole case isn't exactly on her side. The prosecutor makes a weird story about how she killed her flatmate because of a weird satanic ritual and also accuses her bf of covering up. At this point the Italian media doesn't help either because, a foreigner killing for sexy satanic ritual would make any editor orgasm. \n\nAll this time, DNA evidence points to a common burglar who's conviction would be much easier (he was actually in jail after a separate trial on the same fucking case). The dude must have broken in. Got extra comfortable and takes a shit in the process. Meredith walk in mid-shit and the dude doesn't flush as a result. Tries to leave but realises Meredith has already seen him and will straight up identify him. Kills her." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[XMEN] How exactly does \"good luck\" work as a super power?\n\nWhat exactly is considered good luck in the context of the situation? If someone has a gun to your head does the gun jam or do you survive the shot?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Luck like domino's power is very difficult to explain. It's similar to spidey sense and temporal manipulations. On a subconscious level the mutation constantly views various alternate timelines and possibilities every moment of every day. Whenever it finds a variation of reality that is beneficial to the mutant in question it merges the mutant into that timeline or brings part of it into the current one. This can also change things seemingly at random as the mutant is unaware of the changes taking place and is unable to control them or how far out the possible changes take place. A gust of wind could be pulled in to shift a plastic bag causing a chain of events that takes a week to manifest itself or simply a defect in a guns loading mechanism can be brought in creating a more immediate effect." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] If the Clone Wars series is considered real primary cannon, then where is Asoka (Anakin's padawon) during AOTC and ROTS?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She left the order after losing trust in it after she was falsely accused during a terrorist attack. She went off the grid and didn't resurface until well after Order 66 and began to organize rebel groups." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do they shoot space movies to look like zero gravity?\n\nI'm talking older movies, too, like 2001 a Space Odyssey when superior editing technology was still a ways off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the case of 2001 it was actually really clever: They suspended the actors on wires just like a lot of movies used to do, but they built the set sideways and put the camera on the ground pointing upwards. \n\nThis accomplished two things: First, the actor's body hid the wires so you didn't have to try to remove them in post. Second, the actor's movements drifting horizontally (which, from the camera's perspective, appeared to be vertical) looked WAY more natural than having a stagehand jerk the wires up and down." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] Why was Jango Fett chosen to clone? Wouldn't there be much better soldiers fighting for the Galactic republic army?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The physical attributes and descent, his achievements and the fact that the Republic Army has always been a bit of a joke. Plus they didn't have to kill him afterward, allowing them to use him for other things. The candidate selection was not handled by Sifo Dyas, in fact.\n\nAfter the project was commissioned, Sifo-Dyas was secretly killed and Darth Tyranus took charge of the project. He was commissioned by his master to do two things in this time period: One, find someone who was an effective genetic template for an army that would eventually be gutting Jedi and playing in their intestines and two: Kill a particular rogue Jedi (who was not fallen).\n\nTyranus decided to do both at once and put an enormous credit reward on the head of the rogue Jedi. A public bounty, but a number of mercenaries and hunters got special invitations - among them, Fett. He tracked and defeated the Jedi (Not even killing him, just bringing him in alive). One million credits richer, Tyranus offered him the job of being Clone Daddy to the Grand Army of the Republic.\n\nJango Fett was vetted anyway, but let's stack up his physical attributes: He's a member of the Mandalorians, an ancient warrior culture/race with a reputation for balls-out insanity. He's human, fit, with no major genetic problems. He's just (edit: Embarassed a Jedi), even taking him in alive. Perfect for a thousand thousand thousand clones. Not only that, he's familiar with the training methods of his people, so he can 'consult for the Kaminoans when it comes to training methods." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] If Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan managed to capture Maul, how much information would the Jedi be able to learn?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not much. At least, not much more than they would have already known from history and could have guessed from Maul's presence alone. Even though the Jedi were already aware of the Rule of Two, they were also of the belief that the Sith had gone extinct long ago. So Maul's presence as an actual Sith apprentice would be very troubling, but perhaps not the worst thing they've ever encountered. Because while Maul is imprisoned, they'd assume that the Sith's strength had been cut in half. \n\nOn the other hand, while Maul was indeed a full-fledged Sith, he still only knew what Palpatine wanted him to know. Maul was more of a blunt object, a weapon to be used at critical times when Darth Sidious needed something taken care of. So he didn't need to know any intricate plans or long-term goals other than destroying the Jedi. Which is something the Jedi have known about the Sith for a longer time period than the Republic has even existed. It was Dooku who got many of the juicy details, and would have been a far more valuable catch a few years later. Hence all the efforts expended to try and capture him, though none succeeded.\n\nThere's also the fact that Maul would have resisted interrogation, and used his own skill with the force to block attempts to forcibly read his mind. So trying to extract information out of him would have been a long, frustrating, and complicated endeavor. Not impossible, because we know Maul has his limits, but it wouldn't have been worth the effort in the long run." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Harry Potter] what is the process of creating a spell?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At least for wand users:\n\nIt pairs a release of magic shaped by the magic users will with a specific focus word. This word then allows the user to use the shaped magic more easily in the future as the shaping of the magic becomes more of an unconscious action. It also seems to imprint this word upon the collective magical fabric of the universe and allows easier use for others (this is high conjecture but seems backed up by evidence).\n\nFor example: Snape invented Sectumsempra. He shaped his magic into a sword-like instrument and gave it an appropriate Latin-sounding name. This allows his brain to handle the shaping of the spell in the future without as much chance of backfiring as it. It also speeds up the spell-casting.\n\nHarry then reads about this spell and knows it is used for enemies. His brain, already schooled in quasi-Latin due to his use of spells and studying magical history, then connects the dots and shapes Harry's magic into a cutting edge to hurt Malfoy. However, it was perhaps not as effective as it could have been as Harry truly did not understand what the spell was and only grasped the edges of the spells use. This is echoed with the Unforgivable Curses. They are very simple to learn. Most wizards and witches know the spell incantations. But it requires a real intent behind the spell to use it to it's full effectiveness. Avada Kedavra without real murderous intent would just inflict general harm based upon the magical power of the wielder. Crucio would inflict temporary and moderate pain instead of excruciating and unending pain. And so on.\n\nTL;DR: It's kind of like writing a program, giving that program an executable shortcut, then freely sharing that executable shortcut with others, who, being schooled in the same style of programming, recognize the shortcut and the general shape of the program and execute it well enough for government work." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do I feel like Deleuze's \"rhizome\" is stating a very obvious observation?\n\nMaybe I'm just not understanding everything, but I can't help but feel that Deleuze's ideas are pretty simple, but dressed up in a forest of dense, arcane language. He objects to the dominant conception across the history of Western philosophy (\"arborescence\"), symbolized as a central tree trunk, sprouting leaves and twigs. This conception of knowledge is hierarchical, dualistic, ordered in a predictable pattern. In contrast to this, Deleuze talks of the idea of the \"rhizome\"-- a conception of multiplicity, decentralization, interconnection.\n\nBasically, in everyday language, Deleuze is saying the world is more complex than traditional, Western binary or hierarchical modes of representation. But what is so profound about this idea? Stripped of all the jargon, he's just saying \"shit is complex. Meaning is diverse, interlinked, overlapping, fluid.\" It just feels like Deleuze is using some very dense language to describe something that actually isn't that insightful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The \"rhizome\" seems obvious to you because you don't seem to get what exactly Deleuze is talking about. The rhizome isn't a \"conception of knowledge,\" it's a way in which things can be organized. Note how the first examples given of rhizomes in the introduction to *A Thousand Plateaus* are all material things: books, tubers, rat burrows, etc. Deleuze isn't just saying that shit is complex, he's arguing that traditional ways of thinking see arborescence as the only way of organizing things when in reality, there're also entirely different, decentralized, and multiplicitous ways of organizing things which can already be seen in the world around us. This may seem a little more obvious to us now since things like the internet are (arguably) rhizomatic, but imagining a completely interconnected organization of things without any beginning or central foundation was far more radical in the 70-80s when Deleuze was writing. Even so, the applications of the rhizome to war, biology, history, economics, etc. that D & G undertake in *A Thousand Plateaus* are still anything but common sense. Hope this helps!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does the sun make me sneeze?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Its called a photic sneeze reflex, or Autosomal dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst - ACHOO syndrome for short. It is estimated that 17-35% of the population have it.\n\nBut no one knows why it happens. The best guess at the moment is that its because the nerve cells that carry information from the eye and those that carry information from the nose run so close together. As the nerves from the eye are stimulated by bright light, usually to constrict the pupil, electrical signals spillover and activate the nerves coming from the nose. This causes the brain to confuse a bright light with a nose irritation, and ACHOO! In fact, the area of the brain responsible for processing visual information is overstimulated in photic sneezers compared with non-sneezers, which may underlie the spillover effect." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If we were to build a radio transmitter capable of transmitting at the frequency of visible light, what, if anything, would we see coming off the antenna?\n\nAnd if it would emit light, would it be of any use as a light source? And if it is possible to build, how long do you think until we'll be able to?\n\nEdit: I think my use of the word radio is leading to some confusion. By radio transmitter, I mean the type of transmitter, not what part of the electromagnetic spectrum it operates in. For example, if I were to walk into a radio station and retune the transmitter up the frequencies of visible light, what would we see coming off said radio station's main antenna? From what little wondering around on the internet I've done on this subject, the highest frequency transmitters we've built reach up into the single digit THz range." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We already have lots of radio transmitters that emit visible light. Your computer screen is one, a light bulb is another...They're emitting electromagnetic waves in the frequency of visible light (along with some others). We simply do not use this light for communication in most cases, because other wavelengths are more useful over long distances, etc." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC/Marvel] If an old person were to suddenly gain the power of Regeneration, would their body become young again?\n\nWould it also heal any mental illness?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There's different kinds of regeneration in fiction. In some cases, the body simply has a base state that it tries to return itself to, which might allow someone to remain a certain age, but there's also regeneration that's simply extremely accelerated healing. So, maybe, depending on the canon/source of regeneration." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Geology (and some astronomy) question: Why do we find elements and compounds in veins and generally clumped together in the earth?\n\nMost heavier elements are formed in supernova explosions and float through space as dust until they are coalesced into planets. Does dust of the same element just generally form together and stays close together and so eventually it ends up either clumped up in a single deposit? Or do elements of the same variety have a method of attracting each other in space? Or does the earth have a method of refining these materials where plate tectonics and such make materials of similar masses clump up? \n\nEssentially I am asking how do heavy elements go from dust in space surrounded by tons of different types of dust to a lump of platinum or uranium in the ground?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There are mechanisms that essentially sort them. You see this process on a normal time scale with something like Italian dressing. :)\n\nThe primary mechanisms are density, and melting points.\n\nYou have a big pool of mixed elements and compounds just swirling around. In general the denser liquids will settle to the bottom unless disturbed and stirred up. So if you get a pool somewhere that isn't disturbed much, you'll get layers of different liquids.\n\nAs time goes on it cools. The elements with lowest melting point \"freeze\" and turn solid, and drift to the bottom as well (solid they are even denser than when liquid). This forms a layer on the bottom of the deposit, a sheet or \"vein\" if seen from the side.\n\nAs the pool cools further, the next element freezes out, forming it's layer and so on.\n\nThe slower the pool of compounds cools, the more time for the different materials to settle out, and more distinct the seperation and layering. If the area cools quickly you'll get grains rather than layers. The faster it cools, the smaller the grains.\n\nThis is why veins tend to be underground, as the layers of rock help insulate and slow the cooling process, allowing the density sorting to occur." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Portal] How much (if anything) did Black Mesa steal from Aperture?\n\nFrom what I know Black Mesa is highly sophisticated, while Aperture seems to be slightly more **un**predictable mad science. Now that doesn't mean that Mesa is better than Aperture. Odds are that Aperture does have better results, at higher costs. But Black Mesa *is* more organized. \n \nIn short: did Black Mesa ever steal from Aperture?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They simultaneously raced to develop the same technology, quantum tunneling, and developed it in two different ways. That's pretty much the extent of it that we know of.\n\nEDIT: Aperture's actually the one who canonically stole things, including the Gravity Gun, wall-based medkit things, and HEV Suit chargers from Black Mesa, as seen in \"Lab Rat.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Why do Large Planes Require Horizontal and Vertical Separation to Avoid Vortices, But Military Planes Fly Closely Together With No Issue?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Military pilots are securely attached to the plane and willing to tolerate much more extreme maneuvers than commercial passengers. To reduce the \"fear of flying\" and avoid spilling drinks, commercial aircraft desire a much more stable ride." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Do trees create less oxygen in the winter after their leaves fall off?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Generally, yes. Photosynthesis, of which oxygen is a byproduct, happens in the chloroplasts. \n\nThe vast majority of the chloroplasts are in the leaves, so a deciduous trees ability to produce oxygen is drastically reduced after shedding its leaves." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Trek] Why is Klingon opera so often maligned by non-Klingons even though it is very similar to human opera?\n\nDo people who dislike Klingon opera generally dislike human opera? Did human and Klingon opera styles develop independently or did they influence each other?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Klingon Opera revolves around a very small number of similar plot-lines and tropes, and is heavily focused on combat. Klingon singing is.... disharmonious to most non-klingon listeners, and the harsh tongue doesn't lead itself to some of the more intricate or delicate movements possible in the \"opera\" equivalents from other cultures. \n\nThe fact that a Klingon Opera performance may feature staged battles between actors, unstaged battles between the actors, and out-and-out brawls with the audience.... well... this fact leaves many more \"civilized\" races unwilling to give the art form the time it would take to develop appreciation. \n\nUnnoficially, Canadian Humans are known to LOVE Klingon opera. One Ensign Bukowski, of the USS Ottawa, commented that Klingon opera is \"Like a musical got in a fight with a hockey game.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 what is happening when you get random muscle twitches?\n\nFor example, the muscle running up the outside of my left hand has been twitching causing my left finger to move. What's going on in my body (chemically, etc) that causes this to happen?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The motor neurons that mediate movement aren't perfect, nor are any neurons. In order for a muscle to contract, the motor neuron that is attached to it must fire numerous action potentials (an electrochemical signal). If a motor neuron \"misfires\" only once or twice, the result is a twitch instead of a full contraction. It's totally normal.\n\nEdit: this is usually normal. It's not inconceivable for an illness of some sort to manifest as muscle twitches, but it is vastly more common to be a simple errant firing of a motor neuron." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Marvel][XMen] What really is Apocalypse's thing?\n\nI'm not a real Marvel Fan, I haven't read the comics. So what I can see from the X-Men: Apocalypse Movie, he can amplify a mutant's existing powers and he can steal powers via the Pyramid device (which he acquired regeneration). Things he has that other has is telekinesis, matter manipulation, Professor X like powers and super strength.\n\nAside from the last items, the two first ones seem to be the only things that are unique to him. Am I correct?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the comics, Apocalypse's main power is high-level shapeshifting/control over his own body, which grants him near-immortality, superhuman strength, invulnerability, etc. He enhances these powers with vast amounts of Celestial technology (the ancient space-gods glimpsed briefly in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies), which gives him basically any other power he might need, and the ability to enhance other mutants.\n\nIt also upgrades his natural near-immortality into effective actual immortality, although he does need to spend prolonged periods in hibernation in order to get the full effects - although unlike in the movie, he's been awake at numerous points in history between ancient Egypt and the modern age, recruiting servants during the Roman era and the US Civil War, and having a vicious feud with Dracula in the late 19th century.\n\nHe likes to claim to be the First Mutant, but this is hyperbole; there's at least one mutant (Selene) who is older than him, and given the odds of the first two mutants being effectively immortal, the chances are there were numerous others who lived and died long before Egypt was a thing." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Math people, explain Monte Carlo integration like I'm 5.\n\nIf you could also explain importance sampling that would be awesome." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You have a rectangular back yard that is 10 by 15 feet. There is a pond in the middle of irregular shape. You want to know the area of the pond. You start throwing small stones toward the yard randomly, and record the frequency of stone landing on water versus dry land. The portion of stones landing on water multiplied by the entire area of the backyard is the answer to the original question. For example, if you threw 100 stones and 43 lands on water then your estimation would be 10 times 15 times 0.43. This is essentially the essence of Monte Carlo: evaluating and averaging randomly drawn samples." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If you wrapped a human in a theoretical blanket that was able to insulate 100% of heat produced by the person, would that persons body temperature eventually reach equilibrium, or would their metabolism cause them to keep getting hotter and hotter until they perish?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Metabolic activity continuously produces heat as a byproduct. Without a method of dissipating that heat, a person would quickly overheat and die. \n\nNormal responses to hyperthermia include vasodilation and sweating as methods to facilitate heat transfer out of the body, but if the surrounding environment is already too hot to allow dissipation the heat is trapped in the body and core temperature rises." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Halo] Why can't the Halos target the Flood directly?\n\nIf the Forerunners from the Halo series could create the Halo array to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy to starve the flood, why couldn't they use the halos to target the flood directly and not any other life forms?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Killing pretty much all life in a Galaxy in and of itself was a major undertaking. Tuning the process to effect just the flood may not have been possible while under direct invasion from the Flood. Further more the flood infect their \"food\" to make more flood. Even if they could kill the parasites, they may not have been able to kill the infected \"food.\"\n\nThe flood are an Extra-Galactic threat. The Forerunner decisions to wipe out all life, including the bulk of their civilization, was one not just one last FU to the gravemind, but as of saving other Galaxies from the fate of our own." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: When someone is choked until unconscious, what separates them from waking up (like in UFC fights) and dying?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A choke cuts off the blood supply to the brain causing unconsciousness. You would have to maintain the choke for a much longer period to starve the brain of oxygen to kill a person. Just think of how long strangulation takes to kill a person." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:Five dimensional hard drive\n\nHow does it work? We live in only a 3D space." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"5d\" is a misnomer. The storage medium is still 3D, of course, but instead of just using one method of encoding, the \"5d\" medium uses multiple encoding methods for a single storage location, meaning that a single location can contain more than one bit.\n\nIn a CD or DVD, for example, it's strictly bump or no-bump, 0 or 1. But what if those bumps could also be red or blue? And what if they could also be oriented like | or like -? We're already up to 3 possible bits per location, or eight possible values." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: At certain speeds, why do wheels (on cars, bikes, etc.) look like they're going backwards?\n\nEDIT: Thanks for all the replies!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Say you have a film camera running at 30 frames per second. Point it at a wheel with a big bright pink line on it. Then start turning the wheel slowly (let's say 1 rotation per second). Every time the wheel turns slightly, that bright pink line will move slightly more forwards around the wheel. In each successive frame you can see that pink line moving slightly more and more forward.\n\nNow, increase the speed of the wheel (to say 5 rotations per second). You will see that pink line moving even more and more quickly around the wheel. Everything up this point makes sense, right?\n\nNow let's say you make that wheel rotate so fast it's rotating at 30 rotations per second. If you film this with that camera and play it back, the wheel looks like it's not moving! Why? Because every time the wheel completes a rotation, the camera captures that pink line in exactly the same place as it was before! The wheel will look like it's standing still!\n\nDecrease the speed of the wheel to 29 rotations per second. If you film this with that camera and play it back, the wheel looks like it's going backwards! This is because just before the wheel completes a full rotation the camera will take a picture. Then just before it can complete the next rotation, the camera will take another picture. Every time the camera takes a picture the wheel completes most of a rotation, but not an entire one. The wheel then looks like it's turning backwards!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELi5: Is it possible to suffer a heart attack from a nightmare?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Heart attacks happen when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen and the muscle cells die.\n\nSo healthy heart muscle cells are dependent on getting\n\n(1) enough oxygen (oxygen supply)\n\n(2) for their needs (oxygen demand)-\n\n(1) Which means getting enough oxygen (normal breathing, normal gas exchange from the lungs into the blood) through wide enough blood vessels to the cell.\n\n(2) Which also means that the demand for oxygen of the cells can't exceed oxygen supply.\n\nNightmares could in theory induce a kind of fight-or-flight response: heart beats faster and more forcefully. This increases oxygen demand of heart muscle cells, which could exceed the supply.\n\nIn practice this would probably not happen in nightmares, except in pre-existing conditions of badly damaged coronary arteries (blood vessels supplying the heart), or other conditions which decrease supply (breathing problems such as smoker's lung, sleep apnea, pre-existing heart failure, heart rhythm disturbances, heart valve disease, anemia...) or increase demand (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, intense exercise, sex, drug use such as cocaine or methamphetamines, hyperactive thyroid, ...).\n\nSo a nightmare possible could increase the work your heart has to do, but would realistically only lead to heart attack with significant pre-existing risk factors." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[DC] Can Shazams feats also be used for the characters hes named after?\n\nIts pretty common knowledge that Shazam is named after characters that he has the powers of. Wisdom of Solomon, Strength of Hercules, Stamina of Atlas, etc. Does this mean any feat Shazam does with those powers can also be attributed to their owners? For example, if Shazam is able to move at 5 million miles per hour, does that mean Mercury (who Shazam gets his speed from) can also be said to be able to move that fast?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If Im taking it as a literal translation. If Shazam has the speed of Mercury, it means he can go as fast as Mercury can. If Shazam can move at 5,000,000 per hour, so can Mercury.\n\n\nIf Shazam has the strength to move a billion tons, Hercules has the same strength level" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How does clearing browser cache fix a lot of website issues?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the case of a web browser, sometimes temp files and cookies are not current, or even become corrupted. Either way, if changes were made in the browser when trying to load, if the browser is attempting to use what is cached and it is conflicting with what the website currently has, then it can load screwy or not load at all. So clearing it forces the the browser to load it as if it were visiting the page for the first time.\n\nAlso to note, sites that use a page count, such as newspapers who allow a limited number of articles to be read without a subscription, use cookies and temp files to show that this browser/pc has read x-number of articles, which would cause it to load that annoying screen prompting you to log in or subscribe. Clearing the cookies removes that reference point." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do people who speak Asian languages such as Chinese or Japanese explain how to spell words?\n\nIn Western languages we have letters that build into words, however in most Asian dialects there doesn't seem to be letters. So if someone from China didn't know how to spell a word, how would his friend explain how to spell that word or symbol?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Aside from kanji, the the japanese written language (hiragana & katakana) is phonetic just like the western alphabet. In fact, it's even more phonetic then English, considering that many English words aren't pronounced via their letters, but historical roots of the word." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Mass Effect] What to Omni-tools actually look like?\n\nStandard Omni-tools project a holographic interface on the user's arm which can be used for hundreds of different things. What I don't understand is where the actual tool is kept. I assumed it was part of the armor characters wear but Shepherd can be seen using his with bare arms. Is the omni tool some kind of chip implanted into someone's arms?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not sure, but in the Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3, a character can be seen activating their omni tool via a disc embedded in the palm of their glove. I'd imagine that simpler omni tools could be implanted." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Rick and Morty] How does detective Rick have intel on evil Morty, and why does he choose to specifically give it to campaign manager Morty?\n\nIt seems kind of confusing, out of all the people detective Rick could have given the intel to, he chooses to give it to Campaign Manager Morty? Why not assassin Morty? Or an assassin like Krombompulus Michael?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because he's more interested in playing out his bit than taking the most efficient route. This is a common recurring flaw of the Ricks and Mortys of the Citadel, who find themselves rewarded for finding a niche and filling it, which is one of the few ways you can stand out in a society made out of your doppelgangers and avoid being stuck as some poor interchangeable bastard on an assembly line. By the time Detective Rick has met Manager Morty, he's in too deep to back down from his gimmick as a noir private dick, take a sober look at things, and do what's right for the Citadel (like giving that shit to the press) instead of what's right for his bit." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5 Why is Earth's core hotter than the surface? What's causing the heat?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A couple of reasons.\n\nOne is that the Earth is rather, well, big and the core has heat left over from the formation of the Earth. It takes a long time to get rid of all that heat. This brings us to the second reason which is that when the Earth was molten the denser material sank into the core. This included most of the Earth's radioactive materials. The decay of these materials keeps the core hotter than it otherwise would be.\n\nAs to why the core is hot and not the surface. This is because the core transfers heat away from the core to the surface where the energy can then radiate into space." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why do we need a quadrupole \"oscillation\" to get gravitational waves, but a dipole for electromagnetic waves?\n\nI was told that this is the case and I don't know where to start to untangle why." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gravity is a rank-2 tensor field while E&M is rank-1. This is why the photon has spin-1 and the hypothetical graviton has spin-2. So EM radiation can carry no less than one unit of angular momentum, while gravitational radiation can carry no less than two." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How come theres just 1 line of continuous bubbles coming from the bottom of the glass if youre drinking something like champagne?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When you see a line of bubbles coming from a single point, that point is called a 'nucleation site'.\n\nWhat is happening is that there is probably a small imperfection in the glass there where a tiny bubble of air can be trapped. \n\nIt is much easier for an existing bubble to get bigger than it is for a new bubble to form out of nothing. So, what happens its that this tiny trapped bubble grows until it gets too large for the imperfection and it then breaks off and rises to the top of the glass. When the bubble breaks off it leaves behind another tiny bubble trapped in that imperfection in the glass. The cycle then repeats.\n\nYou can reproduce the experiment by putting a large grain of sand in the bottom of the glass. This grain of sand is likely a lot rougher than the glass and will contain small trapped bubbles. After filling the glass with a carbonated drink, the rough grain of sand will likely be one of the locations from which lines of bubbles rise." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why did Nietzsche live a life opposite of what he preached?\n\nFrom what I gather, Nietzsche philosophy is all about life\\-affirmation, and, generally speaking, he seems pretty opposed to Plato and successors with their ideas on conventional morality, emphasis on some other ideal world instead of our imperfect material world, emphasis on the rational faculties and suppression of the carnal, the idea of nobility in asceticism; condemning these concepts to be life\\-denying.\n\nHowever, he seemed to live a rather ascetic and quiet, and dare I say it, textbook Apollonian life himself. Why is that, why didn't Nietzsche live a Dionysian life, or at least a good mix of Apollonian and Dionysian? Did he not believe in what he preached? Are there more obscure and wild aspects of Nietzsche's life that don't get touched in most summarized biographies, perhaps?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Life affirmation to Nietzsche doesnt mean going out there and living life through all sorts of wild experiences. It means saying yes to life in its entirety. Even if its filled with pain and suffering. And Nietzsche lived this. He suffered a lot: he went through intense and debilitating pain and headaches. His health was so crap he had to retire young. He failed to woo the woman he loved. But he found it in himself to be joyful, and to say yes to life. \n\nNietzsche is the chap who took the concept of eternal recurrence from the stoics and turned it into a test: if you were told you had to relive every moment of your life, in its entirety, over and over into eternity, would you feel yourself to be blessed or damned by it? Despite all his suffering, he wanted to be a yes-sayer. To say yes to life, even if it was utter shit. And he lived up to what he preached." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "CMV: EV's (for personal use) are one of the worst things to happen to climate policy because they offer a faux solution to the car problem and eat up a ton of resources.\n\n \n\nEV's at the moment are objectively unsustainable and impossible to implement at a large scale. There's not enough lithium and our grid isn't developped enough.\n\nThey're a gadget upper middle class people buy for themselves to virtue signal and political parties that build policy aruond them are being disingenuous. They take away from real policies that could combat car use like investing in public transport and bike lanes. \n\nI do think they can have a use in the transport sector but i don't think we should be wasting lithium on toys for rich people that are only barely less destructive to the climate then normal cars are.\n\nA lot of European countries are banning the sale of non-electronic vehicles in 2030. This seems to me a \"poor people can't have a car\" rule. I have a feeling a lot of the batteries that could have been used for electronic bicycles are gonna be used for electric cars which will make the price of those skyrocket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": ">A lot of European countries are banning the sale of non-electronic vehicles in 2030. This seems to me a \"poor people can't have a car\" rule.\n\nIs that not what you want? Your alternative proposals are all about eliminating car useage, so if requiring electric cars eliminates them, it will force the implementation of those policies." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As an applicant, what would be some good questions to ask during a PhD interview?\n\nI have a PhD interview coming up and I can't seem to think of an impactful question that I may ask at the end of the interview. As an applicant, I think that I would need to ask something that may showcase my readiness and motivation for the PhD position. The questions I have in mind feel a little too basic. I would really appreciate some suggestions.\n\nThank you :)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I would ask how things were going for people who got their PhD's at their department. It's a potential huge investment by both parties, and if they are worth their salt they should be able to present actual employability numbers." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How come our eyes don't feel cold when it's frigid temperatures outside?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only portion of the eye that has thermoreceptors is the cornea, which is a terribly small surface area. That being said, I've spent a good deal of time outside in -15 to -45 windchill. At a certain temperature, your eyes start to feel gummy upon blinking-which isn't temp but texture sensations- and they start to sting and water quite a bit. I'd say you haven't been cold enough." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Will the antibodies from a blood donor attach to the antigens of the donation recipient?\n\nI know that O- is the universal donor and that AB+ is the universal recipient because O- lacks major antigen groups while AB+ has the 3 major antigen groups.\n\nHowever, what still confuses me is why the antibodies received from the donor don't attach to the recipient's own blood cells. For example, if an O- person donates blood to an AB+ person, won't the antibodies from the O- donor attach to the RBCs of the AB+ recipient?\n\nIs this just a volume issue? Are there just not a large amount of antibodies present to attach to the recipient's cells?\n\nThanks for any and all responses!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood group O is an universal blood donor, because as you point out, neither A,B or AB have antibodies towards O (because O is the base glycoprotein).\n\nBut as you've pointed out, those who have blood group O have antibodies against A,B and AB.\n\nWhat you've missed is the fact that when you receive blood from a donor it's \"only\" the erytrocytes that you receive, the erytrocytes have been separated from the plasma and thus separated from antibodies. \nThis also means that AB is the universal plasma donor!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why is it an accretion disc and not a spheroid or cloud?\n\nI'd imagine it's the same thing that gives galaxies their shape? I didn't get the opportunity to ask during my intro geology class but it's something I've been wondering for a bit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's all about angular momentum. When you have a cloud of particles, either freestanding or around a stellar body, all the particles are orbiting the center of mass of either the cloud itself or the body. Either way, they're all moving on their own orbits, mostly at random. And when you compound all these movements and orbits, you can calculate the movement of the whole cloud, and it's angular momentum, which is a measure of how much it's spinning.\n\nThe cool part about angular momentum is that, unless acted upon by an outside force, it never changes. So what happens is, over time, particles that are moving not on the plane of rotation (the eventual \"disc\", if you will) will collide with each other and cancel out their perpendicular momentums, but not their rotational ones, and will tend to drift towards the disc plane. Eventually, enough mass accumulates on the disc to start attracting any stray particles and the disc is formed.\n\nI should note that the particles in the disc don't perfectly orbit the center of mass like Earth does around the Sun. Their movement is akin to what the Solar System does around the galactic core, bobbing up and down the disc while rotating around the center." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why do spreadsheet programs like excel and google sheets have the default text wrapping set to 'overflow'? It seems like everyone switches it to \"wrap\".\n\nIs there some use for excel that's extremely common that I don't know about that uses overflow frequently?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Spreadsheets are made mostly for numbers. Numbers are usually not as long as text so wrapping isn't as likely to happen. Another reason is that reading down a list with uneven row heights isn't as easy and doesn't look as good." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: With variables such as tides and waves, how do scientists measure sea level changes of just millimeters in height?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hundreds of measurements taken at hundreds of locations, averaged out over time and compensating for seasonal shifts. With all of that taken together, you can get a pretty good estimate of average increases." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Mass Effect] Are Krogan Biologically Mortal?\n\nI can't think of a single historical record of a Krogan dying of natural causes. Even Krogan history points out that before the invention of gunpowder, the main source of mortality was being eaten by predators, and afterwards it became death by gunshot wounds. I've heard of Krogan warlords who were headbutting enemies back when us humans were still headbutting each other over which one of us was more worthy of fighting by Thor's side, and well, most Krogan leave this earthly realm in states decidedly unsuitable for an open-casket funeral.\n\nSo, do they ever kick the bucket naturally? Or does their redundant biology and naturally accelerated healing mean that they could technically live forever if they managed not to be eaten, stabbed, shot, lit on fire, used as a living anti-ship torpedo, or in the worst case get in Shepard's way and get eaten by Wrex?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yes, they can die naturally. But it almost never happens due to their society and biological predisposition to violence. (A handy survival feature when born on a planet actively trying to kill you, even before nukes turned it into a pule of dusty rubble.) There are most likely records of many millions of Krogan who have lain down and let time take them out, but they rarely share their records with aliens, so you'll never see them. And they're probably not proud of those who do choose to die in such a way, either, which makes them double unwilling to share. \n\nKrogan are estimated to have an average lifespan of about 1500 years, give or take a century or two. Nakmor Drack explains that, at his very advanced age of 1400, he's due to keel over at any time. But unlike humans, who tend toward growing frail and weak, Krogan remain just as strong and hearty as their physical prime right to the end. So it's difficult to really tell exactly *when* a Krogan will actually pass away peacefully." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Given that currents can throw a boat off course, how did submarine navigators know precisely where they were while submerged pre-GPS?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Compass bearings, knowledge of the currents, and dead reckoning. Prior to nuclear power submarines spent most of their time on the surface because their batteries had very limited endurance. So they could regularly take star sightings and utilize radio navigation beacons.\n\nModern submarines have very advanced inertial navigation systems, since GPS doesn't work underwater." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Digimon] What makes Veemon have so many potential digievolutions?\n\nWhere most Digimon have a rookie, champion, ultimate and mega forms, digi armour and a dna evolution. Veemon doesn't, he has numerous potential evolutions. \n\nVeemon's evolutions include: Veedramon (and his evolutions) and ExVeemon, DigiArmour evolutions including Magnamon. As well as DNA Digivolving into Paildramon and then Impeildramon, why does he have so many potential final forms?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The code that was in charge of making the Royal Knights ran through many generations and settled with having two off shoots of Veemon becoming final members of the Royal Knights. Not all other generations were deleted in the end though allowing the multiple branches of evolution." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking for honest advice on recovering from a huge mess up\n\nI graduated with a double-major BA in Linguistics and German from a large T30 state school just before turning 24. I was burning out at the time and dealing with a number of mental health issues + family issues + relationship issues, but I ignored all of that and went on to a MA in Linguistics at a somewhat smaller school.\n\nUnfortunately these issues really caught up with me, and after attending the MA program part-time for 3 semesters, I left with a couple Ws and a couple Fs, just before turning 26. I took a number of graduate level courses during my undergrad, and had done graduate level research during my undergrad. The work of the MA program was not at all a challenge for me, it was just terrible timing in my life and I completely fell apart. In retrospect I should've taken a year or 2 off before attempting the MA, but oh well.\n\nI then spent about 2 years underemployed at a restaurant, seeking much needed treatment for anxiety, depression and ADHD. I left the restaurant halfway into 2020 and went on unemployment voluntarily, because although i did enjoy working in a kitchen, I was only there to stay busy and support myself while I worked out these issues. I did not see it as my career and it wasn't worth it for me to stay during COVID.\n\nI took a bit of a downturn mentally at the beginning of unemployment, but I'm doing much, much better now than I was when I dropped out of the MA program.\n\nNow I have moved across the country to live with my parents (who have finally started to settle down a little), and I am starting a BS in Computer Science in a week or so at a state school. This program should take me about 1.5-2 years because of my previous BA. I'm turning 30 the day before this program starts. My goal is to pursue a MS in either Computer Science or Computational Linguistics, and I still have hopes of following that into a relevant PhD.\n\nMy question is, is my previously failed attempt at an MA insurmountable? If I do well in this 2nd BS, will admissions overlook that screwed up MA attempt? I'm also very nervous about my age now, given that I probably wouldn't be able to finish a PhD until I'm 38 or 40 at least. I feel like I'm in a very difficult situation with all of this. I'd really appreciate any general advice or outlooks as well. I know that at the very least, a BS in computer science would help me land a much better job, but my brain still won't stop pushing me towards an academic career." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Don't take life too seriously. Pursue what you feel love for and screw everything else. Don't do stuff to get \"a better job\", do it to have fun, meet people and make memories. A failed rocket scientist is closer to becoming a successful one than someone just thinking of becoming one. You have academic experience under your belt, leverage that to accomplish your goals. Failure points you in the direction of success. Experiment, fail, repeat while taking into consideration the data you've gathered in the previous attempt!" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Spider-Man] Spider-Man's radioactive blood was able to cure him of vampirism in mere hours - but at the same time he's had colds and flus that have lasted for days. Does this mean the colds and flus are stronger?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What it likely means is that the biological base for vampirism is much more complex than a virus. Viruses are very resistant to radiation because they are small and very simple.\n\nSee, radiation damages cells when a particle of radiation happens to impact part of the genetic code. Viruses are small and simple enough, and have little redundant bits of code, that they don't get hit often, and when they do it often doesn't destroy them. \n\nLarge, complex cells, like bacteria, or whatever transmits vampirism, will get hit much more often, and an error in their code can be much worse because of all the processes that interact and depend on each other." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] What are the benefits for working for the Empire?\n\nI am just an orphan who wants to work but no one will hire me so I want to work for the Empire as a stormtrooper. I am 20 and in good health but before I do what do I get out of it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They feed you, house you, and pay you. \n\nIf you're more ambitious, a military career is an essential element to advancing through Imperial politics. The odds might be against you, but theoretically anyone could rise through the ranks. You may very well have your own star-system some day." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When it rains on the ocean, does the fresh rainwater harm the marine plankton? If not, why not?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There is so much salt water in the ocean that rain doesnt even begin to dilute it to harmful levels. In estuaries where rivers meet the ocean there is whole environment that is a different biome from the rivers and oceans with brackish plants and fish and everything." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Government Spending is Being Blamed for Inflation - How Exactly has Recent Government Spending Contributed to Inflation?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most of the analyses Ive seen put government stimulus at around 10% to 50% of the peak inflation weve seen. This is balanced with similar analyses that credit government stimulus with a very quick recovery and millions of jobs created/poverty avoided. This is referring to the US at least." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How is low rep strength training different from higher rep size training? How do the muscle fiber grow differently to accomplish this?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Muscles work by snapping some muscle fibers under whatever stress you are putting them to, then replacing them with more fibers. This allows them to match whatever your needs are using only simple rules, a common theme across all of biology. While strength training, you're focused on the healing part more: you want more muscle fibers in exactly the places you need to strengthen the muscles you are training. Therefore, you do some reps to break a few fibers and then them heal up, making sure your body's systems can keep up with the healing.\n\nIn mass training, you're trying to make your body massively overcompensate by breaking tons of fibers with long strings of reps, leaving little time for the healing process to begin. By breaking everything at once, the body rushes in to repair the damage, going overboard in the process so less damage is done the next time you do that. In addition, that many reps quickly runs your muscles out of oxygen, forcing those cells to begin building up lactic acid and burn through their sugar supplies very quickly. The lactic acid also damages cells and sends signals to the surrounding tissue which encourage vascularization, the growing of new blood vessels and widening of existing ones. The increased blood flow also helps bulk up a bit just due to there being a lot more fluid in the area now, and also creates the huge, prominent veins you see in bodybuilders." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Samurai Jack] Why did none of the aliens Jack helped come back to liberate earth from Aku?\n\nIn the old videologs and records of the time, it is clear that Jack helped at least one powerful alien species (the wasp people), and possibly several others with advanced technology. Why did none of them return to earth to liberate us from Aku?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because their conventional weapons don't really work against Aku. For example, when Jack visits Atlantis and those creatures try to fight back against Aku, their weapons are basically powerless; their arrows go straight through him. Only Jack's magic sword works." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Whenever you look at any light source, lines or streaks protrude from them. Why is that?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone else already answered why this happens with camera and telescope lenses. If youre using just your eyes, its not supposed to happen (but often does). \n\nIts caused by small imperfections in the cornea and/or lens in your eyes. If its bad (ex. it makes driving at night difficult), see your eye doctor. Its likely a sign of astigmatism." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How long is the Vagus nerve?\n\nHow long is the vagus nerve, end to end? Not counting branches (or is someone actually approximated that, awesome.)\n\nI tried finding an answer and failed!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Vagus' nuclei are in the medulla oblongata, which is inside your skull, towards its base. The lower-most fibers innervate the small intestine, which runs below your belly button. If you touch the base of your skull with one hand and your pubic symphysis (the bony bump below your belly and above your genitals) with the other hand, that's close to the length of the vagus nerve." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If transcription and translation are coupled in prokaryotes, how do mRNA quantification methods provide meaningful results?\n\nWouldn't it be more of a measure of the brief latency between transcription and translation than an indicator of transcript or protein level?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Huh? It's not like the mRNA gets destroyed during translation. It's just a measure of how much RNA is present. It's true that it may not give you a good idea of how much protein is there, but that's the nature of the method." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5:The American civil war\n\nAs a European, this war is something I've never understood but I feel like I probably should by now.. Can someone help me out please?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "American politics from the late 1820s until 1860 were focused primarily on slavery. The \"free states\" in the North jockeyed politically with the \"slave states\" in the South for power. There were a number of crises and a number of compromises. In the 1850s tensions rose as the USA expanded westward across the continent: would the new territories allow slavery, or not? Blood was spilled.\n\nIn 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the USA as a member of the newly-formed Republican Party, an explicitly anti-slavery party. Lincoln had not even been on the ballot in some Southern states, but because of the greater population of the North and the way the election worked out, he won without getting a single electoral vote from the South.\n\nIn 1860 and early 1861, fearing that the new President would take their slaves away, Southern states began seceding from the USA. They formed themselves into the Confederate States of America. Lincoln refused to recognize them as a sovereign nation. In April 1861 they attacked a US Army fort, Fort Sumter, in the southern state of South Carolina. Thus began the war.\n\nThe North's strategy was devised early in the war, and never much changed. It was a four-point plan: \n1) Use the North's navy to blockade all Southern ports (the South had no Navy to speak of) \n2) Capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, which was only 100 miles from Washington DC \n3) Use combined land and naval forces to take control of the Mississippi River, cutting the CSA into two \n4) Invade the CSA's heartland\n\nThe South's strategy was to defend themselves until the North decided that fighting them was not worth it anymore. They also hoped for foreign intervention from Britain, France, or Russia.\n\nIn 1861 the war was mostly minor and stalemated. The naval blockade (Union point 1) went into effect. But in the East an attempt to take Richmond (point 2) was repulsed. In the West, the North succesfully persuaded the states of Missouri and Kentucky to not secede. Confederate displays of strength dissuaded them from moving farther South.\n\nIn 1862 the conflict really erupted. The naval blockade continued. In the East, Southern forces repelled two more attempts to take Richmond, invaded the Northern state of Maryland themselves but were defeated, then repelled another assault. In the West, Union forces pushed south through Tennessee and into Mississippi, and repelled a Southern invasion of Kentucky. On the Mississippi, Northern forces pushed southward. A combined-arms force from the Gulf of Mexico captured New Orleans at the mouth of the river and began pushing northward. By the end of the year the North controlled nearly all of the river. Only the fortress town of Vicksburg, Mississippi held a bend in the river, preventing total Union control.\n\n1862 saw the first *real* Civil War battles, and all pretense of a quick or bloodless war was gone. Modern technology and outdated battlefield tactics meant that these battles were slaughters. Each battle saw losses comparable to England's at Waterloo. But where Waterloo had been a decisive battle, these battles happened again and again. The dead began to pile up.\n\nIn 1863, the tide truly turned against the South. The naval blockade continued. In the East, Southern forces repelled another assault on Richmond, then tried invading the North again. They were decisively defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg, and they started to no longer be able to replace their losses. On the Mississippi, Vicksburg fell. This put the entire river in Union hands, accomplishing Point 3 of the Union strategic plan. The CSA was cut in two, and Union river traffic could proceed down to the Gulf of Mexico. The army that took Vicksburg was free to turn to the Western Front, combining with the armies there and forcing the Southern forces back into Georgia.\n\nAfter 1863's prominent victories, people thought the end of the war was near. It was not. 1864 was a bloody mess as Union forces marched onward. The naval blockade continued. In the East, Southern forces fought off another assault on Richmond. But instead of retreating as they had after previous defeats, the Northern army simply repositioned and struck again. Stalled again, they repositioned and struck again. And again. And again. Each time, they pushed a little closer to Richmond, until finally they had the Southern army caught in a siege. The two armies would remain there, bleeding each other dry in proto-WWI trench warfare, for nine months.\n\nIn the West, Union forces maneuvered their way into Georgia, forcing the Southern army constantly backwards. They took Atlanta, but allowed the army to escape. Attempting to pull the Northern army back north out of Georgia, the Southern forces drove northward back into Tennessee. The Union forces split in two. Half pursued the Southern troops, and decisively defeated them by year's end, destroying the last serious Southern fighting force (that wasn't holed up in the siege in the East). The other half of the Union army headed eastward from Atlanta. With no army to oppose them, they burned their way across the land, destroying farms and railroads. By year's end they had reached the Atlantic Ocean, a trail of scorched earth behind them. Point 4 of the Union strategy had been accomplished.\n\nBy 1865 the war's outcome was clear to all. But that didn't stop the South from fighting on. The naval blockade continued. In the East, the siege continued. Confederate troop replacements and supplies were running dry. On the \"Western\" Front (now more South than West), the Union forces turned northward, and began burning their way through South Carolina as they had done to Georgia. Their goal was to meet up with the forces besieging the last remaining Confederate army, and crush them with overwhelming force. But that wouldn't be needed. The Union forces finally broke through the fraying Southern lines after nine months of siege. The Southern army was forced to retreat into the Virginia countryside, abandoning Richmond. Union troops took the city, finally accomplishing point 2 of the Union strategy. They pursued the retreating Southerners and surrounded them. The last Confederate forces surrendered, in April 1865, after four years of terrible, bloody war.\n\nPresident Lincoln lived just long enough to see the first of the major surrenders on April 9, 1865. Five days later, he was shot and killed by an assassin." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Scheduled C-section - how does the body know its no longer pregnant?\n\n Pretty straightforward question - how does the body know it's not pregnant after a scheduled C-section?\n\nI'm guessing when it goes through labor for a vaginal delivery the body is preparing to not be pregnant any longer, but how does it know when there is no labor involved? After the C-section is it just like \"oh, no baby here, guess we're done.\"?\n\nThanks!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The placenta secretes a ton of hormones. One of the critically important steps in a C-section is for the surgeon to go over the uterus and make sure that every bit of the placenta is removed, and scrape off anything that isn't. Even small bits of placenta can cause serious complications, like heavy bleeding. As a medical condition this is called \"retained placenta\" and can happen after C-sections, vaginal delivery, miscarriages, or abortions. In some cases a complete hysterectomy may be required to treat." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Zombieland] where the Hell did Columbus get a rifle?\n\nIn Zombieland, Columbus tells us his backstory about how he is a reclusive, somewhat cowardly, college student. 2 months into the apocalypse, he has a rifle and he is a pretty good shot. Like a really good shot. I know the answer could be simple- he got one after the inevitable riots occurred and the gun stores were left abandoned. But in that time, it seems unlikely he could survive even a week without that sort of protection. Seeing as he was on college, which is doubtful to let students carry rifles on campus, he was a cowardly recluse, and he couldn't have known about the apocalypse occurring, how did he get a rifle and where the hell did he learn to shoot?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Making some broad assumptions about his capabilities and location. He probably holed up in his dorm as long as possible during the beginning of the outbreak. Surving the initial hordes subsisting off of ramen and frozen dinners from the other dorms or apartments around. Using stairwells and simple barricades to keep the slow clumsy rotters out. He then used his skills as an avid gamer using lightguns and wii remotes with a target shooting rifle collected from the campus locker room. It's not a powerful gun but enough to kill a zed with an accurate shot. He then ventured out for food and supplies finding a better rifle and ammunition among the dead or in an abandoned big box store like Walmart. \n\nOr alternatively he had an upbringing that included training with firearms as many American children from rural areas often do. He collected the rifle from somewhere else but already had skills prior to the apocalypse. \n\nAnd the third more worrisome option is he was prepared for the apocalypse. Either through LAARP or simple fantasy play he imagined an apocalypse and wrote up the rules for zombie survival beforehand. He is reasonable in shape and knowledgeable despite his unassuming nature. He could have simply been someone that trains for the apocalypse as a joke or for fun and suddenly found himself in a real apocalypse where it came in hand. Sort of like those doomsday preppers but actually effective instead of just planning different murder devices and thinking MREs have an unlimited shelf life." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why does clear phone cases turn yellowish over time?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Think of the material as being made of long strings. Something like a bug screen on a window, in fact a whole bunch of those screens stacked up so the holes match up perfectly and light can keep passing through. \n\nOver time the environment (mostly UV light) breaks some of those strings down. As they break into smaller units, the various twists and snags start to block some of the grid of openings, so instead of all the light passing straight through some of it is blocked and reflected back as that yellowish color. \n\nWe're talking about polymers breaking down, here, but maybe that visual makes sense? Polymers are long strings of molecules arranged just so into a material. As they break down into smaller, more randomly arranged strings their appearance changes and they can go through physical property changes like becoming brittle, depending on the exact material on question. As the structure breaks down, other additives can also leak into bits of the structure it wasn't meant to be in and colors it, too." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Pokmon] Isn't Brock a little weak to be a Gym Leader?\n\nWhat happens when a kid who grew up in Fuchsia comes along, who had to train to beat Sabrina first? Do the gym leaders have teams of strength appropriate pokmon for different challengers? Or does the Gym challenge HAVE to be done in a specific order?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Per the Pokemon Trainers Handbook:\n\nRegulation 10.5.9 Gym Leaders and their teams. \n\nEach gym leader is to possess a number and variety of Pokemon for use in duels against opposing trainers. Any gym leader not possessing at least six Pokemon of varying skills will face expulsion of forfeiture of their gyms and gym leader status. It is the duty of the gym leader to properly train any and all Pokemon in order to be a challenge to trainers of varying levels and abilities. \n\nEach Pokemon must be of varying levels and abilities, from beginning Pokemon to experienced battlers per Regulation 6.8.2 \"Gym Leader Certification\" in order to best challenge the hopeful trainer. Any gym leader found to abuse or neglect this rule will be sent before the Pokemon World Training Authority and will face sanctions not limited to expulsion and forfeiture of his gym leader status and gym.\n\nIt is the duty of the trainer to notify all gym leaders of how many badges they have received, and how many Pokemon they possess. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of any and all badges per the gym leaders discretion. Any failure to do so may also result in the gym leader utilizing his or her strongest Pokemon for use in the duel. Failure of notification will result in a \"Duel Regiment\", and allows the gym leader to determine any and all regulations to the battle." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Beauty and the Beast] Which war did Gaston fight in?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Potentially the War of Austrian Succession, a global conflict that lasted 8 years, from 1740 to 1748, and involved nearly all major powers in Europe as well as their colonies. A subset of the fighting between the British and the Spanish in the Caribbean was known as the War of Jenkins's Ear." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Wars] How are trade routes taxed/tracked? Everyone just seems to jump into hyperspace without regulation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Id assume like they are now. Goods are marked from point of origin amd taxed by the planet you land on.\n\nHyperspace routes are likely taken from the nav computer and a tax for use is likely given to the discoveror for the first 20 years or so." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: why can't we just take the carcinogens out of cigarettes to make them safe?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some of the things that are bad/dangerous about cigarettes come from combustion (burning) that is part of smoking. Even if you removed any kind of chemical additives and just smoked tobacco, youd still be inhaling the products of combustion, which are not good for your lungs." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Do spiders scout out multiple places before deciding to spin their web and if so, are environmental conditions taken into account (wind speed, temperature, humidity, etc.)?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A lot of spiders spin test webs, just a few strings in several locations and check on them later to see which one roughed it out better. \n\nNow, spiders have several sensory organs that determine a location's appropriateness based on humidity, heat, cold, wind, light, etc., but sometimes a spot is just not good for non-environmental reasons. So many spiders set up individual strings here and there, and the one that lasts the longest or remains intact the most will later be used." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: How do the results differ between a workout of 100 pushups straight vs. 100 pushups throughout the day?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "100 pushups straight (or however many your body can handle) rips your muscles up. This way your body knows to repair itself stronger than before so it doesnt rip itself up again. \n\n100 pushups throughout the day gives your body enough time to recover between the sets and thus not ripping up as much (or at all if your body can handle it)." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Free Fallin'] Why are all the vampires in Los Angeles traveling west on Ventura Boulevard?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west; Ventura Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare. As the sun is setting, the eastern side of the street gets darker first, with deeper shadows to hide in. Thus, \"the vampires traveling west\" on Ventura Boulevard suggests that the sun is setting, and they are able to move more freely as the shadows move westward. The many shopping locations along Ventura Blvd., such as Studio City, make this a prime feeding ground for younger vampires that require nightly hunting to maintain their undead existence, but cannot afford to live south of Ventura, and so have to make the trek every night." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why can we talk in our heads?\n\nHey guys, I've always wondered how we are able to talk in our heads. I can say a whole sentence in my head and when I think about that it seems crazy that we can do that. So how are we able to speak in our head without saying it?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Language related information in the brain is represented at different levels of abstraction. At one end of the spectrum you have the basic visual and/or auditory input coming in from our sensory organs. This information must be preprocessed and analyzed by sensory cortex to reach the point at which we represent it as an actual word form. At the next level, word forms are represented amodally (i.e. equivalently across sensory modalities) and are linked to their grammatical properties. Finally you reach the other end of the spectrum of abstraction where words are linked to their semantic content.\n\nIn language production this process is essentially reversed, the primary difference being the fact that the lowest level of abstraction is motor programming of the mouth and throat rather than input from the eyes and ears. Inner speech essentially just stops short of this lowest level - auditory word forms and their grammar are represented, but we don't actually send the necessary information to enunciate them.\n\nIt's worth pointing out that not all of our thoughts - even complex, abstract ones - are \"spoken\" to ourselves in this way. Mental imagery is a good counterexample.\n\nAs to why, in an ultimate sense, we have/make use of this ability: from an evolutionary perspective it may simply be a spillover benefit from language (which of course is hugely adaptive for us). However, given the role of language in enhancing working memory via the phonological loop, it may also give us the capacity to think about more at the same time." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Which is better, a 90% chance that you get $1, or a 50% chance that you get $2? (This chance is occuring every second)\n\nIm just curious for the game Im playing, this has no real scholarly or practical application.\n\n\nAlso assume no inflation or anything like that, its just a game lol." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To solve this question, you have to solve for the EV (Expected Value).\n\nEV = (Value of prize \\* probability of winning) - cost of entry\n\nAssuming you don't have to pay to play this game, cost of entry is 0.\n\nEV = $1 \\* .9 = 90 cents\n\nEV = $2 \\* .5 = $1\n\nClearly, the second choice is better, because you earn an expected value of $1 per trial." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "ELI5: Why can't they make CPUs bigger if heat dissipation is a problem?\n\nIf heat is distributed through larger area/volume it will be easier to dissipate, no?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It's a bit unintuitive, but that's not exactly how it ends up working.\n\nA more densely packed, smaller CPU design made out of smaller individual transistors is actually more power efficient. It suffers less electrical losses, and so it generates less heat. The performance and efficiency benefits to going smaller generally far outweigh any consequent heat dissipation issues that might be caused by the increased density. Removing heat from the die isn't that big a problem anyway." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What inspiration did early christianity have from greek philosophy?\n\nI heard they took some ideas from stoicism and platonism. And apparently aristotle's metaphysics?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was an important social and cultural shift that occurred in the Roman empire during the third century. Prior to this shift, Stoicism was more or less dominant in the philosophical culture of the empire, whereas after this shift, neo-Platonism became dominant. Christian writings from this period often show significant debts to the dominant philosophical culture of their time, so that the earlier Christian writings often show the influence of Stoicism, while those after the third century often show the influence of neo-Platonism.\n\nAristotelian metaphysics was a significant influence on neo-Platonism, which was not just a return to Plato but also to a considerable extent a syncretic reflection on the Greek philosophical tradition broadly, so that the early Christians received their Aristotle through the broad tradition of late antique Platonism, which included Aristotle as the second great thinker of the Greek classical period. But often when people speak about Aristotle's influence on Latin Christianity, they have in mind the particular influence that becomes prominent in the 13th century, much later than the period of early Christianity, following the Latin reception of Islamic Peripateticism." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How do people find time to work on multiple research projects and publish multiple papers? I can barely find the mental capacity for one.\n\nI'm an MSCS student who does research in machine learning. I've noticed that many people work on several projects at once (usually their own project and as a participant in another) and often have multiple papers published in venues.\n\nRight now I'm trying to get my own research project going as I'm graduating next semester and need to write my thesis anyway, and am also involved in another project with a PhD student at my lab.\n\nI find myself usually spending 100% of my time on this project, and my colleague seems to expect that as well. I spend the entire day at the lab working on that project, and at night I'm also constantly wondering what kind of ideas I could try out.\n\nI've tried doing the \"alternate days\" thing, but I find that it often takes me more than a day to work on some ideas, and when I'm done with that there are more things to do for one project.\n\nMaybe my predicament is the result of me being relatively junior and not trained enough, but if there are any tips that you guys could give me that'd be great. The most advice I get from my lab mates and advisor is along the lines of \"everyone goes through it.\"\n\nThanks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It just comes with experience. Time management is critical, too. Once your own project is up and running, youll hit points where theres nothing to do but sit and wait for data, IRBs, reviewers, finding, etc. Those are the gaps you fill with other projects. Plus youll gain enough expertise to serve in more of a consulting role which doesnt take as much time as running a project by yourself." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[Star Trek] Can The Borg adapt to high speed projectiles such as a bullet?\n\nIn the movie First Contact, Picard uses a Tommy Gun to kill some Borg saying that even a holographic bullet can kill. Can the Borg adapt to a high speed projectile? If not, why don't they just replicate some AR-15s and clean them up pretty quick. Also could that be effective again their ships?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Borg are certainly capable of adapting their shielding to project a standard force field, which is all that would be necessary to stop a simple kinetic energy-based projectile weapon. While Capt. Picard was able to use an ancient-model weapon effectively, the Borg were unprepared for it, and he did only use it on two drones. No doubt after those drones were killed, the others adapted their shielding to be prepared for that kind of an attack.\n\nThe basic point is this: the Borg adapt, and are incredibly versatile. An unconventional attack can damage them, but they will adapt their defenses quickly to account for any new tactic. Especially when the tactic could be as easily neutralized as a bullet." } ]