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j3p0s | why can't the federal budget be treated like a household budget? | I am not an expert, nor novice, in macro economics, so I don't understand why some people think it is a bad idea to not spend money we don't have.
For those of us who frequent r/politics, or listen to any news source really, it is not uncommon to hear some people be advocates for the ability to acquire more debt. What are the advantages to this? Clearly, both parties are in favor of raising the debt ceiling, and I'm not really sure why. It would be a bad idea to max out my credit cards, and then get more credit cards to pay off my credit cards, but why does this not apply to the government?
Thanks. As bias as this question may seem to some, I promise that it is an honest inquiry.
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j3p0s/why_cant_the_federal_budget_be_treated_like_a/ | {
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"Sometimes it's good to have debt. For example, if you owe me money, do I want you to succeed? Yes, or course, if you go bankrupt you can't pay me. This was integral in the formation of the US, Hamilton came up with a plan that the federal government would assume all state debts. Because of this, the states had to want for the government to succeed, otherwise their debts would be worthless.",
"In some ways, you still can treat it like a household budget. Acquiring some debt, some of the time, is not always a bad idea, especially if there's the expectation that you'll be able to pay it off relatively soon. You don't really want to start cutting programs and services immediately if the nation hits a rough economic patch and tax revenue dips - we'll eventually get out of it, and assuming good fiscal policy during the good years, it's not a big deal.\n\nThe problem is, we don't necessarily have good policy during the good years. I hope I don't sound biased saying this, but the Bush tax cuts didn't boost tax revenue (or even keep it at the same level) as promised, and we also didn't raise taxes enough to cover our recent military expenses. So, there's not really an expectation, if the budget stays the same, that we'll ever not be running a deficit, which *is* a terrible idea, for a country or for a household.",
"\n\nTrying to compare the two gets misleading. But for the moment, imagine your family household is like a country. It'll have to be a *big* family, say 100 people, and 2 new babies born every year. Everyone with a job chips in to pay the bills, keep up repairs on the house, help raise the kids, take care of Grandpa and so on. \n\nMoney's always tight, and everyone would like to find ways to spend less, earn more, live better, and improve life for the family. Bobby's a math whiz, so the family covers most of his college tuition, hoping that will help him get a high-paying job. Laurie notices the windows are loose, figures out it'll cost $100 to insulate them, and it'll save $10 every month on heating bills. Ralph notices vandals are breaking into neighborhood garages and stealing stuff, and volunteers to install locks and watch out for bad guys. All these ideas sound great, the family tries lots of them, some work well, some don't. Sometimes there's a big family success story, sometimes Uncle Bob takes the money and no one ever hears from him again.\n\nBobby, being a math whiz, notices the family's putting a lot of these expenses on the Visa card, and the bill's growing. It's an ultra-low-rate Visa, only a percent or two - but still, that doesn't look good. He finds some of the stuff charged to the Visa card were worth it - that $100 at Home Depot for weatherstripping paid off, but the thousand bucks we gave Uncle Bob didn't. And there was that time a lot of the family lost their jobs and we took out a huge cash advance on the Visa... that was rough, but the family doesn't toss you out on the street, they try to take care of you until you can get another job and start chipping in again.\n\nOne thing Bobby notices is, because the family keeps having more babies every year, it's growing steadily. So are the paychecks - and so is the Visa bill. If the paychecks are growing faster than the bill, that's OK - paying Visa becomes less of a nuisance over time. If the Visa skyrockets because of that time a lot of the family lost their jobs... that's pretty rough, but let's ride it out until jobs open up again. \n\nBut if it's been growing faster than everyone's paychecks for years and years, the family's headed for a big problem. Pretty soon everyone's going to have to buckle down, work harder and enjoy fewer luxuries to pay it down. Even taking care of Grandpa and Grandma is getting tougher, and the family may not be able to pay all their bills - it seems more of the family are getting old than getting jobs lately. But it doesn't make sense to try and pay off the whole Visa balance, or even to stop it from growing... only to tighten up enough so the paychecks are growing faster than the Visa bill again.\n"
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1si544 | what is that grainy stuff around resized low resolution pictures? | Example: _URL_0_ and _URL_1_
I keep seeing it on Instagram and shitty clip art I tried to make larger in Microsoft Word. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1si544/eli5_what_is_that_grainy_stuff_around_resized_low/ | {
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"It's impossible to truly scale up an image. You can't just stretch things; the computer needs to know what pixels are going where. There's typically an interpolation algorithm that tries to guess where the pixels should be when scaling, but there are limits to how accurate it is. Mistakes are made and you can get an end result like that.\n\nYou need an interpolation algorithm or the pixel ratio just increases. Without the algorithm, if you were to scale up a picture by a factor of three in height and width, every pixel just becomes 9 pixel square and everything would look blocky.\n\ntl;dr: the computer can't just stretch an image. It has to guess where it thinks everything should go and it makes mistakes if the scaling is too big.\n\nIt wasn't very ELI5, but there's your answer."
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2k1e38 | why is it not illegal to belong to a gang? | If law enforcement and the different levels of the government know that gangs engage in criminal activity, why is someone not charged simply for belonging to a criminal organization? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2k1e38/eli5_why_is_it_not_illegal_to_belong_to_a_gang/ | {
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"Without membership papers, it can't be proven. You cant be arrested for a bandana of a specific colour.",
"Because the First Amendment (in the US) means you can't be arrested for your associations. Just being part of a gang doesn't mean you've done anything illegal in the eyes of the law.",
"The constitutional right to assemble, and the fact that there is no documentation and therefore no proof of your membership. They can only get you if they catch you involved with a crime directly. ",
"It sort of is in San Francisco. There are gang injunctions that prevent certain known gang members from congregating in groups. ",
"Check your state laws .\nIn Iowa a group of 4 or more people wearing similar colors can be considered a gang .\nIt is a felony to make some \none a member of your gang .\nIt is also illegal to participate in gang related activities. \nThere are also federal RICO laws that deal with the finances of gangs their members and activities "
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8i0loe | how can drinks be dry? for example dry vermouth | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8i0loe/eli5_how_can_drinks_be_dry_for_example_dry/ | {
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"When used in the context of beverages, dry is usually contrasted with sweet. Dry vermouth is called \"dry\" because it has less sugar in it than sweet vermouth.",
"As mentioned, the term dry is almost exclusively used in alcoholic descriptions, and only in beverages.\n\nI believe it's due to the fact that the less sweet an alcohol is the more it gives your mouth a feeling of dryness due to the enzymes reacting on your palette.\n\nOf course, specific to martinis, manhattans, and other drinks that use vermouth, dry or sweet refers to the type of vermouth used (perfect would be equal parts of both) and extra dry would be a smaller amount of vermouth because the base spirit (usually gin or vodka) is going to be \"dryer\" if it has less vermouth in it."
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8hq67r | how will they "clean up" after the hawaii volcano? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8hq67r/eli5_how_will_they_clean_up_after_the_hawaii/ | {
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"It depends on what you mean by clean up. It could be similar to the recovery after any other natural disaster, or it may not be possible. \n\nFor example, when a substantial amount of lava flows onto a road and solidifies, the road will remain covered. When a housing development or neighborhood is destroyed by fire, the buildings could be rebuilt if they're not engulfed in lava that solidifies. \n\nA case in point is the eruption of Kilauea and the destruction of Kalapana _URL_0_ ",
"With dynamite and jackhammers. \n\nFor roads that have been destroyed by lava, it's now rock underneath. It's easier to just change the road so that it is now on top of the cooled lava rock, rather than excavating back to the original roadbed. \n\nFor the houses...they will mostly have all burnt up. They won't allow rebuilding in that area for awhile, just in case the lava comes out again. "
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2cx3y3 | do bugs create body heat like humans? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2cx3y3/eli5_do_bugs_create_body_heat_like_humans/ | {
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"All insects, including bugs, are \"cold blooded\". I used quotations because generally speaking species are *mostly* cold blooded, or *mostly* warm blooded, but very few (if any) are entirely one or the other. For example, last night I was drinking a beer on my balcony and I moved from the shade in to the sun to warm myself a little. And it worked. And contrary to David Icke's claim, I am not a space reptile, I'm a warm blooded human."
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2iql2m | sometimes i get an electric shock, by accident, from another person. what would happen if we don't move the contact point from each other? would electricity flow through us? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2iql2m/eli5_sometimes_i_get_an_electric_shock_by/ | {
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"The electric shock *is* electricity flowing through you. It's over in a fraction of a second. ",
"When you get a shock like that, it's because of static electricity. Static electricity can build up to quite high voltages, but it can't hold much charge (energy). When you touch another person and get shocked, you're getting shocked by **all** the energy accumulated in the static electricity field.\nSo no, if you didn't let go, the shock still wouldn't last longer, the shock is over in a fraction of a second, after that it takes a considerable amount of time to recharge the static electric field. "
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1iu0pf | the royal family (titles, heirs, etc) and a hypothetical question in the text. | How do titles work? Why is the Queens husband not the King?
What is a duke? Why not prince?
Is Harry just out of luck when it comes to being king someday?
Do they have ANY real power?
If Kate would have delivered a child with a disability (downs, etc), would that child still be the third in line to the throne? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1iu0pf/eli5_the_royal_family_titles_heirs_etc_and_a/ | {
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" > How do titles work? Why is the Queens husband not the King?\n\nA woman takes her husband's title, but a man doesn't take his wife's title. This is a similar thing to how women take their husband's names, it's just traditional. So Kate becomes a duchess, because William is a duke, but Princess Ann (The Queen's daughter) has a husband who isn't a prince. The Queen's husband is a Prince in his own right (Prince of Greece and Denmark), and also a Duke (Duke of Edinburgh). It's also important to point out that a King outranks a Queen.\n\n > What is a duke? Why not prince?\n\nA duke is the ruler of a duchy. There isn't really that much difference between Duke, Baron, Marquis, Lord etc. they're just different titles meaning the same thing. A duke isn't a prince... because he just isn't. If you mean, why is William the Duke of Cambridge, it's just his title. He's a prince because he's an heir if the throne, he chooses to be called Duke because he was actually awarded that title in his own right (Similar to how his grandfather prefers to be known as Duke of Edinburgh), and he's actually a Duke of somewhere, rather than a generic prince. Similar to how a Doctor can go by Mr/Ms. but they prefer the title they actually won.\n\n > Is Harry just out of luck when it comes to being king someday?\n\nHe's been bumped down a place. It now goes:\n\n* Elizabeth II\n\n* Prince Charles\n\n* Prince William\n\n* Prince ?\n\n* Prince Harry\n\nAny of Prince ? or Prince William's other children will come before Harry. But he still has a chance. If a bomb went off in the hospital, and William and his son died, then Harry would be up to 2nd place, and there would be no way he wouldn't become King, unless Charles denounced Harry and exiled him, stripping him of Rank and Title. In that case, the succession would pick up with Princess Ann (Charles' sister) and her children, due to the new law that males and females rank equally, and only age matters with succession.\n\n > Do they have ANY real power?\n\nThey are the top of the Government, and you need their approval to pass a law or declare war etc. In reality, if they refused, they would be removed from office. They have no power, and act only as an impartial mascot/symbol for the UK. Effectively a living breathing Uncle Sam/Lady Liberty. To prove how little power they have, every year Parliament enacts the Black Rod ceremony. The Queen sends someone to bang on the door's of Parliament with a Black Rod, and demand that in the name of the Monarch, the MP's let him in. The MP's slam the door in his face, as they originally did for King Charles when he attempted to enter. This symbolises how the Monarch has no place in government any more.\n\n > If Kate would have delivered a child with a disability (downs, etc), would that child still be the third in line to the throne?\n\nYes. There have been disabled Monarchs before, King Richard had a hunchback for example. It would be unfortunate, but by law they would be monarch. However, cruel as it sounds, someone with a serious disability likely wouldn't live to have children/assume the throne. In which case it would pass to their next child, or failing that Harry.",
"1. The Queen's husband is not King because in the UK, the head of state has to be part of the House of Windsor. Since Prince Phillip married into the royal family, he cannot be King because that title is higher than Queen.\n\n2. The title of Duke of Cambridge was given to William the day before his wedding because a dukedom is a \"higher rank\" that Prince of Wales. Essentially, it was a wedding gift from the Queen.\n\n3. Unless William and the new son both die, yes. There is a chance that Prince Charles could change the line of succession, but it's almost impossible.\n\n4. The Queen has to give Royal Assent to all laws passed in the UK, but that's just a formality. So no, they don't have any real power that they can use, in a legal sense. They do have a huge amount of influence because they are closer than normal citizens to the people in charge (the Prime Minister and the Pariliament), they are very wealthy, and they are extremely well known.\n\n5. Unless the line of succession was changed, yes. Luckily for the baby and the family, the baby boy is healthy and (so far as we know) without disabilities."
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2c8per | legally, how can websites use images without the rights to them? | I see websites using images from reddit, tumblr, and other sites just listing "Credit: Source" underneath. Is that legal? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2c8per/eli5_legally_how_can_websites_use_images_without/ | {
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" > Is that legal?\n\nMaybe, maybe not. Some usage may be covered by fair use. Other usage may be technically illegal but functionally permissible because the copyright holder can't be bothered to do anything about it.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n > Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship.",
"Because of the cost of legal action. Lawyers are expensive, and the amount you're suing for has to be enough to make paying for the lawyers and your time worth it.\n\nLet's say a huge company steals one of my photos and makes an ad with it. So I decide to sue them. I have to pay a lawyer to even stand a chance of winning. I have to pay the court fees for filing, etc. And then there's my time, making phone calls to the lawyer, the court, filling out forms, meetings, etc. All of this incurs an expense on me. Now, I could sue for court costs and lawyer fees as well, but I still have to front the money because I don't just automatically win by default.\n\nSo after a few months of turning my life upside-down, I get a judgement for $5,000 to cover my lawyers' fees, court costs, and the few hundred bucks the company made off my photo. So yes, I \"won\", but when you take someone to court, it is VERY possible for a win to be a loss in terms of time and expense wasted on your end for very little reward.\n\nPeople do illegal things all the time. But what really matters is enforcement. I bet you don't always stick to or below the speed limit, do you? And I bet there is more than one instance where you were going 5 or so over in front of a cop and he/she didn't do anything about it. You got away with it because the cop did a quick ROI evaluation and decided it'd be easier not to pull you over. Cops don't want to chase almost everybody down, spend 20 minutes on a traffic stop, and another hour or two doing paperwork if the fine isn't going to be big enough to justify it. That's why the general rule of \"9 you're fine, 10 you're mine\" works like clockwork. A 10+ over fine is a LOT higher than a 5-10 over fine, and it's the same amount of work for them, so it is in their best interest to pull over the worst speeders and leave the minor speeders alone most of the time. They could be pulling your ass over for doing 5 over and because of that miss a 20 over ticket."
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4im0tz | how do eyeballs move without tugging their optic nerves? | Wouldn't the optic nerve need to have some slack to allow the eyeball the pivot around? If so, is part of it 'coiled' up to allow for movement? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4im0tz/eli5_how_do_eyeballs_move_without_tugging_their/ | {
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"Most things in our bodies are at least somewhat flexible and stretchy. Whether it's your eye rolling around, or your leg kicking, or your back stretching, the distance between the ends of various nerves are constantly shifting with no harm done.",
"Yes it would need some slack and/ or elasticity. Not very much, however, and certainly not enough to require anything to be coiled up. As someone who deals with cables daily, coiling only happens when you have *too much* slack. When something has been built to fit a specific purpose- like your eye and the things attached to it- it has exactly the length it needs, no more no less. Certainly the nerve isn't pulling on the eye or anything like that.",
"I can rotate my neck much further than eyes, which in turn tugs on 30+ nerves in the spinal column. All the nerves in your body need to be able to move as the body moves."
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2edg2u | why do people use 4 small tv screens hooked together instead of one big screen on computers? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2edg2u/eli5why_do_people_use_4_small_tv_screens_hooked/ | {
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"Two reasons\n\n1) Because each screen can display something different. Kind of cool/useful if you need to have multiple streams of information active at the same time.\n\n2) They don't make screens that big for computers. But if you hook up a group of them you can have a bigger screen.",
"You can manage different tasks on each screen. Bigger screens also tend to get exponentially more expensive after a certain size."
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1prwe5 | when people request that alternate explanations to evolution be presented in schools, why is only the christian story of creation presented? | Theoretically, shouldn't schools be required to give all religions equal opportunity? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1prwe5/eli5_when_people_request_that_alternate/ | {
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"Because they're Christians that just want their kids to hear the christian dogma. ",
"This actually has been a heated debate, typically only in the south USA though. There have been a few isolated cases that have tried to go through and been reversed because of this. Since the U.S. is so Christian heavy that's why you mostly see this kind of thing coming from Christians, and your \"give all religions equal opportunity\" this has been used to turn this sort of thing away.\n\nIf you are trying to specify a law to make only Christian teachings allowed in public schools then for that to even have a chance to go through you can't discriminate religion and have to let all religion teachings go through. Once that gets made clear the bill normally goes away. There was a case where someone wanted to give additional funding to \"religious\" schools (thinking that would only mean Catholic/Christian schools) but when they were also required to include Muslim schools and the like they stopped pursuing the bill. "
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2yskjx | when a new island forms, who does it belong to and how is that decided? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2yskjx/eli5when_a_new_island_forms_who_does_it_belong_to/ | {
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"It's called an \"Exclusive Economic Zone\", and was established by the UN. Specifically, the \"United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea\", as modified and approved in 1982.\n\nBasically, it extends about 200 nautical miles from from the coast of countries. Borders are established when two country's zones intersect.\n\nCountries have the right to the seabed in this zone, which means any new land that develops (like a volcanic island) is instantly under their control (and the EEZ extends based on this new coastline as well).\n\nFor land that develops outside of territorial or EEZ coverage (out in the middle of the ocean, for instance), it's essentially up for grabs. Whoever finds it can begin the process of claiming the land and having ownership recognized by other nations."
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ehbiyo | mlm/pyramid scheme | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ehbiyo/eli5_mlmpyramid_scheme/ | {
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"The scam comes from not being able to sell the items that they promise you can sell. Companies promise that you will be able to sell all of your product and recruit more people but it rarely happens at the scale that the companies convince you of.\n\nYes you CAN make sizeable profits, but odds are you'll be stuck with a bunch of metabolism pills that smell like fish oil."
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wu1dl | how come you can only smell food after you heat it up? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wu1dl/eli5_how_come_you_can_only_smell_food_after_you/ | {
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"When something's hot, all the molecules it's made of get really excited and move around more. This includes moving into and through the air. When it's cold, there's not enough molecular excitement (heat) for the stuff to get airborne and into your nose."
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m9kip | why does high blood glucose hurt your body so much? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/m9kip/eli5why_does_high_blood_glucose_hurt_your_body_so/ | {
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"High glucose has many negative effects on the body:\n\n* It attaches itself to places it shouldn't. For example, it links proteins together like glue, which is why diabetic's have stiff, old looking skin\n\n* In order to digest the glucose, your body makes a lot of insulin. Making this insulin in excess causes proteins to aggregate and destroy the organ that makes the insulin. Therefore, the more times you have high-blood sugar, the more you destroy your ability to digest it. (This is a fairly new theory. It shares a lot with the theory of how Alzheimer occurs)\n\n* In order to remove the glucose from the blood-stream, the body tries to excrete as much of it from the urine. This causes the frequent urination common in most diabetics. It also causes dry skin and worse nutrient uptake. ",
"High glucose has many negative effects on the body:\n\n* It attaches itself to places it shouldn't. For example, it links proteins together like glue, which is why diabetic's have stiff, old looking skin\n\n* In order to digest the glucose, your body makes a lot of insulin. Making this insulin in excess causes proteins to aggregate and destroy the organ that makes the insulin. Therefore, the more times you have high-blood sugar, the more you destroy your ability to digest it. (This is a fairly new theory. It shares a lot with the theory of how Alzheimer occurs)\n\n* In order to remove the glucose from the blood-stream, the body tries to excrete as much of it from the urine. This causes the frequent urination common in most diabetics. It also causes dry skin and worse nutrient uptake. "
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225l4f | how do i balance a checkbook? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/225l4f/eli5_how_do_i_balance_a_checkbook/ | {
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"1) Start of the month - Figure out how much money is currently in your bank account\n\n2) Through out the month - Keep track of every expense you use your bank account for (including withdrawals) \n\n3) End of the Month - Figure out what your ending balance is and return to step 1.\n\nYour checkbook is now balanced."
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6316am | how activated charcoal is for detoxing while charcoal can increase the risk of cancer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6316am/eli5how_activated_charcoal_is_for_detoxing_while/ | {
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"Activated charcoal tends to absorb unwanted reactive stuff floating around, which is why it's used in filters. It's like a sponge.\n\nDestroying the charcoal by burning it *makes* fumes and reactive stuff. That's like grinding the sponge into dust.",
"Anyone that uses the word \"detox\" is lying to you, first off. No amount of charcoal will help you, and in fact you're only making things harder for the parts of your body that do the *real* detox work - your kidneys and liver. \n\nYou can't magically expel toxins by eating a certain food or whatever people tell you. There are foods that help your liver and kidneys function a little better, yeah, but it all comes down to those parts of your body that are cleaning toxins from your system. Anything else is a sham.",
"Activated charcoal is very, very absorbent. Can't speak to its use as holistic medicine, but in ERs it's often used as a first-line treatment to overdoses on orally invested medicine and other things you definitely shouldn't swallow. Its purpose is to absorb the harmful chemicals before your body does to keep it from actually poisoning you. \n\nI'd imagine the holistic use is similar in that it's supposed to absorb harmful things you eat before you body can do it won't suffer from it. \n\nActivated charcoal is different because it usually comes in pastes or tablets, unlike the fumes you get cancer from via burning charcoal."
]
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3ia1h7 | why do we use ceramic plates and bowls when they break so easily? | I've never really understood why most plates and bowls are made from ceramic materials when they break so easily. Aren't there better alternatives out there? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ia1h7/eli5_why_do_we_use_ceramic_plates_and_bowls_when/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuelyus",
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"text": [
"Because they're cheap to make, always in style and don't leave the taste of steel or polish in your mouth.",
"Alternatives are paper, wood, metal, or plastic. Ceramic maybe the most breakable, however it is easy to make, easily cleaned (to inhibit bacterial growth) cheap to replace, but not need constant replacement like paper plates, and doesn't require much in the way of special care like wood or metal would. Plastic works, but melts at high temperatures and can be cut easily with a knife (so you don't really want to eat a steak on one) Metal isn't so easily cut but is expensive and will require upkeep.They would also have the downside of quickly becoming heavy when any substantial size. \n\nIn short ceramic is easy to care for, cheap to replace as needed, easily sanitized to prevent food borne illness, and not single use items."
]
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[],
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4e2zq4 | why does the same commercial play twice in a row? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4e2zq4/eli5_why_does_the_same_commercial_play_twice_in_a/ | {
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"text": [
"Like with informercials, the people who make these go by the theory that repetition is key for people to remember something, meaning they are more likely to buy it in future",
"Sometimes there is a mess up in the control room and the next item isn't ready yet so the easiest thing to do is just replay the last item. \n\nSome times the automation isn't setup correctly and an item is set to repeat when it wasn't supposed to, or it was added to playlist twice by mistake. ",
"Usually the thing that schedules exactly what commercial goes when is a computer, not a human. It has a pool of commercials it needs to play in a given time period and it knows how many times each needs to be played. Each commercial break, it selects what's being played at random so sometimes, it figures a time period is almost over and it hasn't played a certain commercial enough times so it plays it twice. \nSurely, you can imagine an algorithm which schedules commercials better so that can be considered a bug."
]
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| []
| [
[],
[],
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4qwtyw | how come some people can be sitting at a computer with someone right next to them talking but they don't hear or take in what they say? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4qwtyw/eli5_how_come_some_people_can_be_sitting_at_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4whlaz"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"They are concentrating on something else and blocking out other inputs. There is a fun study where people tasked with watching the number of passes in a basketball game completely missed a guy in a girilla suit walking across the court. \n_URL_0_"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10694957"
]
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|
||
1xnb65 | how does jet fuel differ from regular car fuel? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xnb65/eli5_how_does_jet_fuel_differ_from_regular_car/ | {
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"Crude oil is refined by boiling it at increasingly higher temperatures.\n\nGasoline is what boils off at a lower temperature. Jet fuel boils off at a higher temperature.",
"Aviation Turbine Fuel (AVTUR) is basically just Kerosene with a few additives thrown in for good measure, additives like an antifreeze-type substance to enable the fuel to retain it's liquid properties (viscosity) at very low temperatures. AVTUR is a higher octane than regualr car fuel which means it's ability to reduce engine knock/detonation. You couldn't run a normal petrol car on AVTUR due to it's charectaristics, you can run older/cruder diesel engines on it because in the past I've run a 110 Land Rover on AVTUR, it didn't like it much but it ran all the same!",
"I actually work in the Fuel industry and I can answer (a bit).\n\nRegular car fuel is very combustible, it ignites easily. Most of this is because of a car's spark ignition (your spark plugs). You want the gas/fuel in your car's engine to start burning at a very certain time (morally 1-7 (depending) degree's before the peak of the up stroke) to get optimal pressure on the piston during the down stroke.\n\nJets don't have pistons. \n\nThey're jets. They use flowing air that is constantly in motion at normally very high pressure, and have to maintain a constant burning flame. Literally keeping a candle burning in a hurricane. For this you need a lot of energy. Gas (car gas) isn't as energy rich (its doesn't explode as much as) Jet Fuel.\n\nBut for Jet Fuel to burn (let alone explode) it needs more 'special' conditions, higher pressure, higher temperatures. Jet Fuel is more a primadonna then gas, very amazing when used correctly, but it'll give a meh performance if you don't wait on it hand and foot. \n\n:.:.:\n\nSide note, Jet Fuel is fun stuff you can put out matches/cigarettes in Higher Grade JP fuels which is weird. It looks like gas, smells like gas (feels like gas, don't ever feel gas your skin will thank you), but to a degree you can spray it on fire like water and it'll put it out."
]
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qvgp2 | spacedicks? | What's the purpose?
Why?
Am I missing a joke or are there some really sick f*cks out there? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qvgp2/eli5_spacedicks/ | {
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"Oh ... hey searchbar.\n\n_URL_0_",
"I went there once...that was a huge mistake!",
"[\"...are there really sick f*cks out there?\"](_URL_0_)",
"Did you even try to figure this out for yourself? It's shock porn.",
"It's like /b/, we don't go there, grasshopper. ",
"I would never try to explain that to a five-year-old.\n\nOr a thirty-five-year-old for that matter.",
"Spacedicks is for a community of people that get their jollies from making \"normal\" people uncomfortable. I'd liken it to a power struggle - no matter what normal societey might say to them, they can always have the last laugh by (easily) offending normal societey. Also, by being able to use shocking/repulsing image macros or language, they can create a club that polices it's own membership. Noone that a /b/tard would disagree with will ever be on /b/ becacause it is an unpleasant experience if you aren't already one of the community and understand the inside jokes and subscribe to the idea of the counter-culture.\n\n\nAn excellent example of this, in my opinion, is the language that a /b/tard or FAGET (from space dicks) uses- especially nigger and faggot. Nigger and faggot are used with extreme frequency by many /b/tards and it is done specifically to offend and push away anyone that allows themselves to be offended by it. They are used to such an extent that they transcend their original meaning and lose all offensiveness. Nigger and faggot are more-or-less a term of endearment, or better yet, a substitute for \"dude.\"\n\n\nAny worthless faggot cunt that disagrees with me should rot in prison with the niggers.",
"[/r/gonewilder](/r/gonewilder) \n\nThat is all.",
"You're five. Turn off the computer and your grounded.",
" > sick f*cks\n\nThis is the internet, you can swear if you want to.",
"[This is my reaction to it..](_URL_0_)"
]
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| []
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[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/search?q=spacedicks&restrict_sr=on"
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[],
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"http://nickroshon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/welcome-to-the-internet-follow-me-500x472.png"
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e7w2tk | what is going to happen when flash becomes obsolete? | Since Adobe is making flash obsolete. I'm confused with what is going to happen to all of the flash media that is online. Are all of the flash games/movies just going to be erased from existence? Or would you still be able to play them? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e7w2tk/eli5_what_is_going_to_happen_when_flash_becomes/ | {
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"text": [
"You will still be able to use it, Adobe will no longer be working on it. DOS is obsolete but I can still boot up DOS 6.0 on an old computer my Dad keeps for some odd reason, and then spend all day playing Sopwith.",
"You wouldn't be able to view them normally in a browser... probably.. But if you were to download the files and play them through a flash program on your computer it would work. Flash will continue to work as a program on your computer just not on the web.\n\nEdit: I'm no expert. I don't really know.",
"It's exactly the same as how some computers still run Windows XP, software going obsolete doesn't mean it just stops working."
]
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[],
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jknqe | version control systems like git. | Whats the point of them?
When would I need one? (assuming i get into software dev or something)
Why is the documentation so cluster-fucked and hard to understand? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jknqe/eli5_version_control_systems_like_git/ | {
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"text": [
"[explained like you're five](_URL_0_)\n\neta as to why you would need one...\n\nlike you're five: if everyone in your class is colouring in the same picture billy might do a really awesome piece of colouring, but alice (who is really bad at colouring - probably because she's a smelly girl) could just come and scribble all over it, and her scribbles might make it into the final picture rather than billy's awesome colouring\n\nlike you're someone who could \"get into software dev\":\nhaving worked in an office where large teams of people are working on a massive piece of software, people are updating, bug fixing, rewriting, reworking segments of code all the time. They might be in different parts of the department, not communicating with each other all too well, doing completely different things etc etc. Without some sort of decent version control and management, half of these changes would be completely lost, half of them would break without some of the lost ones, and all sorts of changes and bugs could sneak into the code everywhere.",
"**Whats the point of them?**\n\nThere are a great many reasons to use version control. A system like Git can tell you who changed what and when, right now to a specific line. This is great for accountability. If you work on Widget XYZ and check-in the source code via Git, and then a few days later Widget XYZ allows a hacker to compromise the system, you could be in a lot of trouble. However, you [use Git to see that Bob, your evil coworker, checked in an update after you](_URL_2_) which was the cause of the intrusion. \n\nIn the example above, you want to undo the changes Bob did so that the widget is safe again. Version control lets you [restore a file to any previous revision](_URL_0_), in this case, the revision you last checked in. \n\nThis is good if you're working alone too, because everybody makes mistakes. If a client wants you to change XYZ, and then changes their mind, you'll still have the code from before and can easily restore it.\n\n**When would I need one?**\n\nWhenever you're working on a project (Excluding anything you may be doing for fun/learning). It's an invaluable tool, and it's better to spend the extra time using it then to have to reprogram a bunch of functionality down the road because of a miscommunication.\n\nIt's also *essential* if you are working on a project with anybody else or a team. The accountability thing, as well as making it easy to see what others have changed so you can keep up-to-date with the project.\n\n**Why is the documentation so cluster-fucked and hard to understand?**\n\nBecause it's documentation? Read a book, like the freely available [Pro Git](_URL_4_), or read [this in-depth post on Stack Exchange](_URL_1_), or [this tutorial](_URL_3_).",
"[explained like you're five](_URL_0_)\n\neta as to why you would need one...\n\nlike you're five: if everyone in your class is colouring in the same picture billy might do a really awesome piece of colouring, but alice (who is really bad at colouring - probably because she's a smelly girl) could just come and scribble all over it, and her scribbles might make it into the final picture rather than billy's awesome colouring\n\nlike you're someone who could \"get into software dev\":\nhaving worked in an office where large teams of people are working on a massive piece of software, people are updating, bug fixing, rewriting, reworking segments of code all the time. They might be in different parts of the department, not communicating with each other all too well, doing completely different things etc etc. Without some sort of decent version control and management, half of these changes would be completely lost, half of them would break without some of the lost ones, and all sorts of changes and bugs could sneak into the code everywhere.",
"**Whats the point of them?**\n\nThere are a great many reasons to use version control. A system like Git can tell you who changed what and when, right now to a specific line. This is great for accountability. If you work on Widget XYZ and check-in the source code via Git, and then a few days later Widget XYZ allows a hacker to compromise the system, you could be in a lot of trouble. However, you [use Git to see that Bob, your evil coworker, checked in an update after you](_URL_2_) which was the cause of the intrusion. \n\nIn the example above, you want to undo the changes Bob did so that the widget is safe again. Version control lets you [restore a file to any previous revision](_URL_0_), in this case, the revision you last checked in. \n\nThis is good if you're working alone too, because everybody makes mistakes. If a client wants you to change XYZ, and then changes their mind, you'll still have the code from before and can easily restore it.\n\n**When would I need one?**\n\nWhenever you're working on a project (Excluding anything you may be doing for fun/learning). It's an invaluable tool, and it's better to spend the extra time using it then to have to reprogram a bunch of functionality down the road because of a miscommunication.\n\nIt's also *essential* if you are working on a project with anybody else or a team. The accountability thing, as well as making it easy to see what others have changed so you can keep up-to-date with the project.\n\n**Why is the documentation so cluster-fucked and hard to understand?**\n\nBecause it's documentation? Read a book, like the freely available [Pro Git](_URL_4_), or read [this in-depth post on Stack Exchange](_URL_1_), or [this tutorial](_URL_3_)."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jgoxv/eli5_how_do_you_use_git_and_github/c2byl8j"
],
[
"http://stackoverflow.com/questions/315911/git-for-beginners-the-definitive-practical-guide/323898#323898",
"http://stackoverflow.com/questions/315911/git-for-beginners-the-definitive-practical-guide",
"http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-blame.html",
"http://maketecheasier.com/beginners-guide-to-git/2010/03/11",
"http://progit.org/book/"
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[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jgoxv/eli5_how_do_you_use_git_and_github/c2byl8j"
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[
"http://stackoverflow.com/questions/315911/git-for-beginners-the-definitive-practical-guide/323898#323898",
"http://stackoverflow.com/questions/315911/git-for-beginners-the-definitive-practical-guide",
"http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-blame.html",
"http://maketecheasier.com/beginners-guide-to-git/2010/03/11",
"http://progit.org/book/"
]
]
|
|
5nwimr | what physically is current, and what is charge - why do they move in opposite directions in an electrical circuit. | ?
I've searched ELI5 and can't find an explanation | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5nwimr/eli5_what_physically_is_current_and_what_is/ | {
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"Current is in the opposite direction of how the charges are actually \"moving\" due to historical reasons. When Franklin and others were first formalizing an organized set of laws for circuits, they assumed that the positive charge (arbitrarily named so) moved.\n\nWell, they were wrong. Electrons are the particles that \"move\", so to say, not the positive protons. So the current is in one direction, but the negative electrons actually move in the other.",
"The \"current\" people most often talk about in electricity is called conventional current. When the properties of electricity were being investigated there were some arbitrary decisions made. One was to name them positive and negative, and another was to assume that positive charge was stored and moved round the circuit, powering the components. This movement of positive charge was named the \"current\" and today people still think of it as a movement from the positive end of a cell to the negative end.\n\n\nIn reality, what powers a circuit is the movement of electrons. In a battery, one side (the negative end) has an over-abundance of electrons, while the other side is lacking electrons (the electrons are no longer cancelling out the positive charge of the protons, so this end is positively charged). This is a slight simplification, but the electrons in conductive metals are free to move around within the metal. When a wire provides a path from the negative end to the positive end, the electrons flow through the wire to balance out the difference in charges.\nThe physical movement of charge is a flow of negative towards positive, but the convention is still to talk about it in terms of positive to negative. That's why things sometimes contradict each other."
]
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[],
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a5xb1t | why are game updates so big when the code is probably just a few hundered mb? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a5xb1t/eli5_why_are_game_updates_so_big_when_the_code_is/ | {
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" > Why is Fallout 76's day one update 51GB?\n\nBecause Bethesda screwed up, same reason their beta had people clicking the play button in the launcher and the whole game deleted itself. Fallout 76 is a bad reference\n\nNormally large patches come with new models and textures, these are the largest parts of a game. If you want to add a new character who looks different you need to add new art and models which are far larger than the code for their actions.",
"The initial patches for Fallout 76 were so big because they were rushing them out, so basically redeployed the entire game. Subsequent patches have been dramatically smaller, although it does leave an interesting discrepancy still, where the console version of the patch before last was 3GB and the PC version of the patch was 32MB or so. So your thinking on how big patches can be, is pretty spot on.\n\nI'm not entirely clear why there is such a discrepancy between patch sizes on differing platforms now they're being delivered more compactly.",
"There are some game engines where modifications to the game world completely change the whole asset. In these situations modifying the world a bit to add like an item or something would require redownloading the entire thing."
]
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159sbt | plank time and plank distance - how do they work? | A friend and I are having a debate about whether or not it is possible to travel a finite distance for an infinite amount of time. During the course of this discussion we realized it's important if time/space are infinitely divisible or not, which led us to wonder how anyone ever came up with the plank distance or plank time and what they mean (and what they mean for our question). I thought maybe there should be someone out there who love this topic of discussion, so here I try. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/159sbt/eli5_plank_time_and_plank_distance_how_do_they/ | {
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"They're just combinations of various constants that happen to have dimensions of length and of time. They don't mean anything.",
"May I direct you to the search function? These topics have been discussed several times:\n\n[Planckity-Planck](_URL_0_)"
]
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3x9vwx | why does space shuttles fly kind of "backwards" when they are starting? | Is this just that they can use the roation of the earth for their advantage and reach the first cosmic speed with lower energy output?
Here is a video of what i mean (mobile version):
_URL_0_
The relevant scene of the video starts at 2:20
Thank you. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3x9vwx/eli5_why_does_space_shuttles_fly_kind_of/ | {
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"text": [
"To get into orbit you need to go up, but also sideways. Turns out the most efficient way to get that done involves taking a very slanted trip up, not just burning straight up then burning directly sideways.\n\nYou also, with the STS, need to account for the fact the launch vehicle is off-balance because the shuttle sort of holds on to the two SRBs and the orange tank, and you also need to make sure you have the best safety margins possible when separating the SRBs and orange tank from the shuttle.\n\nBest way to make it all work out is to have the shuttle be underhanging. "
]
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uagvb | difference between university system schools, state system schools and universities that only mention a city | I go to a university system school, and I have always been curious as to the differences between schools in those systems and schools in the "state system." I have always heard about the stigma of "state schools" and wonder what the BFD is?
Ex: University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and University of Denver | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/uagvb/eli5_difference_between_university_system_schools/ | {
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"There are private and public schools. Public schools are (generally) known as \"state\" schools, because they are funded by the state and carry the name \"University of [State]\" or \"[State] University.\"\n\nA state *system* of schools is a collection of schools within a state which share an overarching administration, and which (generally) provide for easier transfers within the system. Generally they share the same name. An example is the University of California system. They're UCLA, UC Berkley, UC Davis, UC [City the University Is In].\n\nHowever, not every school that is a state school *even within a state* are necessarily in the same system.\n\nFor instance, Metropolitan State College of Denver is a public school, as is Colorado State University and the University of Colorado, but they are not in the same system. University of Colorado (Boulder), UC (Denver), and UC (Colorado Springs) are in the same system.\n\nThe University of Denver, is **not** a public school. And, interestingly, has been fighting MSCD to stop them from changing their name to something closer to Denver University.",
"Well, University of Denver is private, so that's something different.\n\nUC and CSU are both state systems (they're public), and UC has UC Boulder, UC Denver, etc., and CSU has the main campus and some extension programs. Ultimately, all of them are run by the state government, but all the UC schools are run by the same people, and all the CSU schools are run by the same people.",
"One reason for the stigma is that a lot of what people call \"state schools\" were created as \"land grant colleges.\"\n\nThis was a program in the latter half of the 19th century in which the federal government gave land to the states in order to establish institutions of higher learning. Because of this, the land tended to be in rural areas. Because of that, and because of the overwhelmingly rural nature of so many of the states during the period, many of the colleges were designed to teach middle and working class students practical engineering and agricultural skills, rather than those snooty liberal arts that the children of the elite learned at private colleges. This being the reconstruction era, many were specifically built to educate black students.\n\nSince they were designed to serve students who would not otherwise go to college, and to teach those students the skills they would need to lead professional and engineering careers rather than become lawyers and statesmen, they were looked down on by the upper classes as \"lesser\" schools, and some of that has stuck.\n\nQuite inappropriately, actually, as some of these schools now rank among the most prestigious colleges in the country."
]
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b0u40v | why is paying a chartable organization money to pay staff/people to allow your child into a college a crime, but donating directly to that college to allow your child to attend not? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b0u40v/eli5_why_is_paying_a_chartable_organization_money/ | {
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"If you're talking about the recent scandal, they didn't donate to a charitable organization to get their children in. What happened in the current scandal is various bribes were paid to people at the college, as well as others who helped manipulate or fabricate test results and false academic credentials. That's fraud.",
"So if I want my average child to get into Harvard I can’t direct donations to the staff I have to donate to the college and let them distribute the funds?",
"Quid pro quo. There's a difference between being a golddigger and asking a man for money in exchange for sex.\n\nThis guy Sanger was taking money and bribing college staff while claiming he was running a nonprofit foundation, which means there was also a lot of tax fraud. \n\nGeorge Lucas legally donated hundreds of millions to his alma mater USC. Guess which school his kids got into."
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4bxk63 | what's happening when you get the feeling like when you get to the bottom of an elevator? | Like your body sinks for a second. It seems like it happens randomly.
Edit: Sorry for bad wording. I'm not talking about actually being on an elevator. It happens to me randomly sometimes. It lasts for a second and the best way I can describe it is the feeling of getting to the bottom of an elevator. I also thought this was more common. Thanks | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4bxk63/eli5_whats_happening_when_you_get_the_feeling/ | {
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"No, it is not a special thing for you.\n\nPhysics says force equals mass times acceleration. When the elevator is getting to the bottom, it obviously slows down. Slowing down means acceleraring, and this means you feel a force acting on you.\n\nIt is the same thing that you feel when you brake with a car, and you feel a pull.",
"It's called inertia. Your organs are floating somewhat freely in your body, so when you are \"falling\" (going down in an elevator) your organs, primarily your stomach and digestive system, slightly raises up. When you reach the bottom and the elevator stops, your organs will settle back into their normal place, which causes a sinking feeling. The same thing happens on roller coasters to a much greater extent, which is a big reason it causes nausea in so many people."
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2kc365 | how is putting an out facing open-palm in front of your face while giving a nod became "thank you/parden me"? | While driving, if you let someone pass through, they usually do the geusture I described in title, and it just feels like "thanks". Then the other driver usually just slightly palms without nodding for "no worries". But out facing open-palm usually mean "stop!". Is there some psychology behind this? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2kc365/eli5_how_is_putting_an_out_facing_openpalm_in/ | {
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"It's a wave. It's short enough so that it's not too distracting, but still noticeable."
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g1xxl9 | during the time where the light bulb was invented, how did they have accessible electricity? did they have power plants like they do now? did they use some sort of battery? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/g1xxl9/eli5_during_the_time_where_the_light_bulb_was/ | {
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"The answer is, \"the same way they do now.\" That is, electricity was generated by a generator, which could be powered by a water turbine, a windmill, a gas engine, etc.\n\nThe generation of electricity came before the invention of the lightbulb, in other words.",
"IIRC Edison had to build a plant along the east river to power only a small part of Manhattan (DC). First hydroelectric plant in US was built in Ames Colorado to power a gold mine in Ophir (AC). Nearby Telluride was the first electrified town (maybe first with now standard AC)\n\nAmes plant still runs today and hydroelectric plant above Telluride was decommissioned in the 50’s I believe, but has been updated and is running again"
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5ean02 | how do broken gifs work ... or don't work... ? | [Example (warning: creepy)](_URL_0_)
[another example from my frontpage](_URL_1_)
Theres also a subreddit about it /r/brokengifs | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ean02/eli5_how_do_broken_gifs_work_or_dont_work/ | {
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"do you have any example of what you mean?",
"[There's a link in the sidebar](_URL_0_) of the subreddit you linked to.\n\nTL;DR videos are compressed by storing only the difference between subsequent frames, instead of storing the whole frame. These frames are called \"P-frames\". However, when there's a significant change between two frames (like when the shot or scene changes), the entire frame is stored instead of just the difference from the last one. These frames are called \"I-frames\". Datamoshing (the technique used to create these \"broken gifs\") is done by messing with these, for example by removing I-frames or repeating P-frames."
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5kouoc | why are people obsessed with collecting antique things? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5kouoc/eli5why_are_people_obsessed_with_collecting/ | {
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"the quest for something authentic and unique in a world that has mastered mass manufacturing to the point that handmade has become a derogatory term.\n\nantiques have a providence that cannot be reproduced, even better if it needs to be restored so you can inject yourself into the story.",
"For me, it's about the story behind things. Whether it's a trinket that was handmade or is no longer in production, or a book with a name or a note scrawled in the front, antiques always have a history. "
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66mmas | why is enforcing illegal immigration in the usa so controversial? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/66mmas/eli5why_is_enforcing_illegal_immigration_in_the/ | {
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"why is enforcing pot laws so controversial? its enforcing the law.\n\nthe issue is that many dont like the law and how difficult it is to immigrate legally. \n\nThere is a practical economic arguement as well, immigrants are the only reason our population is not declining (which is a dangerous thing for growth and things like social security).\n\nThey also work jobs that citizens seem to shun. Our farming industry is fairly dependent on immigrant labor, americans are less willing."
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87zamd | why do symptoms of a cold sometimes go away overnight and sometimes take several days to fade away? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/87zamd/eli5_why_do_symptoms_of_a_cold_sometimes_go_away/ | {
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"[Not a doctor, shhhhh!]\nI'm guessing you didn't have a cold then. Common cold is a virus and takes several days (up to a week), to flush out. Other fatigues/illnesses can develop cold-like symptoms. From my experience, temporary allergic reactions are often mistook for cold (runny nose, sometimes with thick brown mucus, tiredness, cough...). I'm currently having an allergic reaction and I didn't know up until yesterday whether it was cold or allergies. Sucker gave himself away when for the first time this week, my eyes started to water and itch - > antihistamine - > problem solved.\n\nAgain, this is just a guess. Maybe a cold infection could disperse in a day, although that would be the first time I've heard about it (annoying little f***er)\nA real doctor/bioligist could give you the definite answer.",
"Because what is defined as the common cold isn't actually common in the sense that its the same thing. Your body is basically fighting a different virus each time sometimes it takes a while and sometimes it just takes a bit of rest. Pharmaceuticals like paracetamol or something similar can also help speed up the process to relieve of symptoms!",
"Medical Lab Tech in Microbiology here: you PROBABLY didn't have a \"cold\". 1) Many non-viral ailments have symptoms indistinguishable from a cold; allergies are a good example. 3) If you start antibiotics and that takes care of it in a couple days, then it was a bacterial infection, not a cold(viral). 2) There are a handful of viruses that also have the same symptoms, but are known to only last up to a week (\"Coronavirus and Respiratory Syncicial Virus\"). An actual cold, or \"Human Rhinovirus/Enterovirus\" lasts 7-21 days. \nIf your symptoms go away in 2-3 days (without a zinc zupplement), my best assumption is it was just allergies.",
"[Actual doctor] However not a general practitioner/family physician - hence not the expert.\n\nRemember that \"symptoms of flu\" doesn't actually mean you have the flu. \n\nIn the traditional sense - a true flu - caused by an infection isn't recoverable in 1 day. Or at least I'm not aware of any strains that the human body can fight with resolution of symptoms within 24 hours. But are definitely other potential causes of these \"symptoms\":\n\n1. Sore throat first thing in the morning - one common cause is a post nasal drip.\n2. Productive cough and wheeze first thing the morning - asthma tends to behave in a diurnal fashion. Hence you may get these symptoms if it's a particularly cold morning\n3. I'm sure there are others, can't think of any right now...",
"[Just a guy] There are lots of different things that make you sick, and your body is better at fighting some of them than it is at fighting others. The most common symptoms of \"colds\" such as runny noses and coughing are pretty common symptoms of all sorts of things that make you sick.\n\nA doctor could tell you for sure whether you have this virus or that bacteria in your system, but if you don't have a fever or severe symptoms, you probably just need lots of fluids and rest. Here, have some chicken broth...",
"There are over 200 viruses responsible for giving you a cold, so there is a lot of variability between these that your body will deal with over different time lengths, the usual length is 7-10 days if you get a cold but it can be less or up to three weeks. Sometimes your immune system can react quickly to the virus and snuff it out (especially if you have been infected with it before or a virus that's very similar - this is called adaptive immunity and is how vaccines work). Also as others have said there are many other viral and bacterial infections or allergic reactions (e.g. a particularly bad day of hayfever) that will present similar symptoms.",
"Family doctor here. Probably different virus strains and/or different immune system strength level at particular infectious occurrence.\n\nTL;DR: nobody can say for sure",
"Doctor but irrelevant to my thoughts on this (I can't remember having a single lecture on the common cold in med school, and haven't read any literature on it since, other than a vague recollection of a meta analysis saying zinc was crap and didn't work). This is based on my own observations more than anything else.\n\nFirst of all all colds have subtly different symptoms, and these seem to be quite consistent when I compare them to what other family members who had it or received it from me. Some have a really quite severe sore throat, with only 2 days of runny nose after. Others have brief prickly throat sensation, then progress to thick, coloured mucus that has a high chance of leading to sinus issues. They vary over how likely they are to affect the middle ears. I'm sure if you had the money and inclination you could study the many different viral types and look into why some have different features to others.\n\nMy second broad observation is that those that I've had that have had more severe symptoms at the start and have really knocked me out tend to burn out quite quickly. Whereas ones where the symptoms were milder, to the point I've confidently woken up after 2 days thinking it's on the way out, often ended up grumbling on at a lower level well past 10 days.\n\nI've just had one that had the most severe sore throat I can remember, followed by extremely irritating coryzal symptoms, like tiny knife like pains coming in waves in my nose every 15 minutes prompting sneezing and eye watering, but without much in the way if actual congestion interestingly). It's the first time a cold has actually caused minor nose bleeding, so was obviously associated with a fairly brisk inflammatory response in my nasal mucosa. But it passed relatively quickly, and I was back up to 90% functioning in 4 days. \n\nTL DR, all cold viruses are different, and possibly intensity of immune response also plays a role, with more intense response causing worse symptoms but shorter overall durarion. However not a priority for medical research and so all poorly understood.",
"Ear, nose and throat doctor, here. Why does it rain for 5 minutes, sometimes, and other times rain for 3 days? The bigger issue here is why one would assume any illness would be predictable or nailed down to last a certain duration? There is a lot going on, biologically.\n\nSome replies are stating \"different viruses, different durations.\" Sure, but, there is some significant variation in th e same household. Each person has a certain tuning or calibration ton their immune system. Lots of factors affect how the immune system functions, including the patient's other medical problems, state of nutrition, fitness, emotional stress, sleep deprivation.",
"I feel your question has been explained well by /u/Captain_Bromine, I just want to add based on some other comments I saw Vitamin C does not actually have a direct effect on preventing or getting over a cold, while on the other hand there have been studies that showed Zinc if taken at the first sign of symptoms can greatly reduce the time you're infected or prevent a cold. It has a lot of health benefits, but it a successful immune system booster, I believe the last paper I read was taken 80mg/day.\n\nThat being said **always take Zinc with food** that stuff will mess you up if you don't. I once took way too much on an empty stomach as I felt myself getting sick, and I threw up and dry heaved for an hour and a half, along with have really bad shits. Treat it like a prescription that says to take with food.",
"A good night's rest can stop a lot of colds. If you push through the initial period of infection by studying for an exam, doing a night shift or travelling long distances, you can get hit much harder by the virus.",
"Immunologist here. Most of the symptoms of respiratory viruses are due to the actions of the innate immune system in attempted clearance of the virus.\nIf you catch a virus, the innate immune system kicks in to clear what it can and to facilitate the development of an acquired (antigen-specific) immune response. Then the acquired immune system mops up, usually by targeting extracellular virons for disposal, and infected cells for killing and disposal.\n\nIf it's a new virus, this takes around 3-7 days, but if you already have the antigen-specific acquired response from a previous infection, you can clear it much faster. The innate immune system will always be quicker than the acquired one though. ",
"It's kind of already been answered but immunology is complex and there could be a lot of different reasons. As someone mentioned, cold symptoms are similar to a lot of different things (ex. Allergies).\n\nHowever if you are certain it's a cold then differential clearance times are due to 1) exposure - if you've had the virus before you will clear it A LOT faster than the first time. And 2) Genetics. Bare with me here: your adaptive immune responses (T cell, B cell and antibody production) are largely governed by a set of genes called HLA alleles which includes code for MHC I and MHC II (major histocompatability complex). MHC molecules exist on almost every cell in your body and dictate which molecules you can initiate an immune response against by helping your immune system differentiate between self molecules and nonself molecules. Everyone has different MHC alleles. If you have MHC alleles that bind a specific viral protein you will likely clear the infection faster than someone who has less MHC molecules that bind the same viral protein. ",
"The cold symptoms are caused by many different viruses, not to mention similar symptoms from other hints like allergies. Your mileage may vary, also how depends on how good your immune system is. ",
"Hmmm so the immune system cant detect supremely minute antigens?\n\nA quick google search shows scholarly articles that promote both sides of that argument. Here’s one for:\n\nHomeopathic vs conventional treatment of vertigo: a randomized double-blind controlled clinical study\n\nMichael Weiser, Wolfgang Strösser, Peter Klein\nArchives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery 124 (8), 879-885, 1998\n",
"Inflammation and ESR rates are highest at night while you sleep. During the day the immune system suppresses inflammation, thus suppressing your ability to fight infection/tissue damage and heal. That is why sometimes pain is worse at night while you try to sleep...just something a Dr told me recently, havent done any fact checking yet. ",
"I think it's very individually. While one person needs just one day to recover, the other person may need 3, 4 or even 5 days to recover. I think that the answer lies in the immune system of individual.",
"The answers I've read here don't discuss the underlying mechanism. A \"cold\" is really just your immune response. The body recognizes something foreign, virus, bacteria, fungus, parasite, pollen, etc., and it starts a series of reactions known as an immune cascade. How long that lasts and how severe it is depend on many variables. To really grasp why symptoms last a short or long time would require plumbing the depths of those variables which is too long a discussion for here. But one fun fact, the body can react so violently to a pathogen that your immune response alone can make you extremely ill or kill you. The 1918 \"Spanish\" flu epidemic revealed that many victims died very quickly, some within as little as 24 hours, from a phenomenon called cytokine storm. This was a flood of immune mediators that simply overwhelmed the patient's systems and killed them. Infections are the bane of a health care providers existence because they really can't be properly identified without extensive and expensive testing. We do have a few rapid tests for the worst players, like flu and strep but most of the time we are treating blind. What I was taught is that the best general test is length of time. If an infection persists beyond 10 days the likelihood that it is bacterial increases dramatically. Severity of symptoms, color of mucus, fever, or any other specific presentation isn't as reliable as time. That's why good clinicians won't give antibiotics immediately.",
"The long and short is that the cold is the symptom, not the illness. Some illnesses last longer so your symptoms do. \n\nThink of it like food. One mars bar or snickers will cure the symptoms of hunger for an hour or so. Man Vs Food style dinner dining will hold them off longer. ",
"I think an equally good ELI5 would be how your bodies immune system is able to store all the information from past viruses and is able to make anti bodies for them so quickly",
"Sometimes virus bad. Sometimes virus not so bad. Sometimes immune system good. Sometimes not so good. ",
"Primary and secondary immune responses. Your bodies memory-antibodies remember the type of infection [regardless if it's similar or the same] and enact an immune defense much faster the second/third/fourth/etc... time around. The first time takes longer because your body has to use its MHC 1/2 to recognize and label the infection, and then stimulate Humoral & Cell-mediated immunity to fight against the infection via Helper T-Cells & Plasma Cells"
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25c2nw | pharmacuticals are too expensive. why can't a motivated individual synthesize thier own? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25c2nw/eli5_pharmacuticals_are_too_expensive_why_cant_a/ | {
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"They could, but the problem is also that the components for making any drugs are hard to come by (evident when they need to either work with Smurfs or find more methylene).\n\nThrow in that making the meds wouldn't be as profitable, and yeah a motivated person with the skills and equipment could do it, but it's just not economic.",
"Two reasons: First, legally, many drugs are patented. In order to incentivize people to research drugs we allow them to hold a monopoly on making them for a time. This raises the price. \n\nSecond, it's hard. It's just chemisty, but making effective, safe, drugs requires a lot of equipment. Companies that make generic drugs are exactly the \"motivated individuals\" you're talking about, but with current technology it still requires scientists and factories and specialized machines. ",
"This is the motivation behind using 3D printers to create the process equipment necessary to synthesize what you need from basic starting ingredients: _URL_0_\n\nNo knowledge of chemistry required, just click print. Still extremely early days. They're starting with a common pain and anti-inflammatory which is relatively straightforward to make, however, most medicinal compounds are frighteningly complex."
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2ntv99 | does drinking chocolate milk give the same benefits as drinking regular milk? | I love chocolate milk, and was wondering if it's the same as regular milk. Like does it make your bones stronger and all that good stuff. Also, are there some downside to chocolate being part of the milk? (Excess chocolate consumption?)
Bonus: what about milk with chocolate cereal turned into chocolate milk? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ntv99/eli5_does_drinking_chocolate_milk_give_the_same/ | {
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"compare nutrition facts. I'm not relly sure what benefits you are referring to. I'm pretty sure \"making your bones stronger\" is a selling gimmick. A lot of adults eventually become lactose intolerant as they age.",
"Chocolate milk starts off as regular milk. They don't have chocolate cows.",
"The normal positive aspects of milk (Vitamin D, calcium, protein) will all be in chocolate milk.\nThe downside is that chocolate milk usually has quite a bit of sugar added to it.\n\nEdit: and as for milk with chocolate cereal, it depends entirely on the cereal. You'd just get bits of the cereal leaking into the milk, and I can't see that being any different from eating the cereal anyway."
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24snq3 | what happens to a roach when you spray raid on it? | How does it kill it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24snq3/eli5_what_happens_to_a_roach_when_you_spray_raid/ | {
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"It's basically the equivalent of nerve gas on a human or other mammal. The reason it doesn't hurt us like that is because we are physiologically different enough that it doesn't react the same way (although note they can be much more toxic to cats)\n\nIt basically keeps their nerves from being able to fire (which is the opposite of human nerve gases which keep your nerves constantly firing), paralyzing them and killing them.",
"It is a nerve agent like everyone else here has said. Now I wouldn't recommend it, and I have probably damaged myself in some bad way, but if you use it in a closed area you can get a dose of it yourself. I know that your nose feels kinda numb, like you have to blow it but nothing comes out. It also has that same smell/taste as canned air, but a little sweeter."
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44tsgl | airplanes flying against the earths rotation | Ok, so, if an airplane is flying the opposite direction of the earths rotation (flying east to west while the earth rotates west to east), would it arrive at the destination faster than if it was flying in the same direction the earths rotation? If not, what altitude would you have to be flying for the earths rotation to have any effect on the airplane (or spaceship I guess)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44tsgl/eli5airplanes_flying_against_the_earths_rotation/ | {
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"Well, the whole atmosphere rotates with the earth, so the bigger concern would be flying with/against the wind.",
"No, the atmosphere is encompassed in the earth's rotation. \n\nSame as if you throw a ball straight up while inside a moving car. It will land on your lap rather than hit the rear window."
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1nm50t | if economics is a science, then how can there be such opposing theories within the field itself? | Economics is a science with formulas, data, laws, calculations, models, theories, etc. These ideas have been tested by various economists, and a lot of economists seem to be in agreement over the veracity of these economic laws and concepts. So why then are there so many different theories and ideas that often contradict each other?
The only explanation I can possibly think of is that economics is a social science that deals with how people act in transactions, markets, etc. The way we predict that people will act within an economy changes between theories, leading to different outcomes and policies that each theory supports.
TL;DR: Why is there no magic computer that we can plug all of our economics knowledge into that spits out the best economic policy?
Edit: And as a followup question: Where did all of these different theories come from, and why do they support different ideals? Did a theorist (Smith, Marx, Keynes) have a certain bias, fudge a little data to fit his preference, come up with a few new explanations, and *poof!* a new theory? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nm50t/eli5_if_economics_is_a_science_then_how_can_there/ | {
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"Just because economics is a science doesn't mean there isn't more than one way to look at it. You find opposing theories in other sciences as well. Physics is also a science, yet nobody knows exactly why our universe works the way it does, and there are lots of opposing theories. Also, we don't know all there is to know about anything, so proven knowledge in a particular field is always changing (I would think this is especially true about a subject like economics). It seems silly to us now, but at one point in time, for example, we couldn't decide whether the Earth was flat or round. \n\n"
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b1icsf | why do some young kids have potbellies and others have flat adult bellies? | Some kids that are say 4/5 years old (myself included) have/had protruding, beer belly, kid bellies. But I always remembered there would be other kids with flat non protruding bellies. I thought is was an organs too big for the torso kind of thing but does that mean kids with flat bellies have organs that are too small? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b1icsf/eli5_why_do_some_young_kids_have_potbellies_and/ | {
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"I was one of the flat tummied littles. I always chalked it up to my country upbringing full of activities that developed my abdominal muscles, therefore holding my innards in. I think that that is perhaps the reason? Maintaining a strong core has a huge effect on the shape of a pregnant woman’s ‘bump’ and I suspect it is not different for children. ",
"My daughter is 8 and short for her age. She has the pot belly you speak of, but her back is also kind of concave. I've researched it, and it can be a form of scoliosis, so soon we will see the doctor about that. Hopefully that's not it, and I'm just worried for nothing. ",
"Can't wait for a better answer on here.\n\nThere are definitely reasons besides spinal problems and the abdominal muscle tone of 4 year olds.\n\n",
"It's normal for toddlers and preschool aged children (up to about 4 years old) to have \"potbellies\" (their abdomen is bigger than their chest) There are a few things that contribute to this. Toddlers are just beginning to develop abdominal muscles that hold everything upright, together and flat. Young children (up to 7) are also \"belly breathers\" this makes their little tums look extra round as well. Their livers are relatively big for their small human size. They are also still developing the muscles to stand up straight! Young children need lots of fat in their diet for healthy brain development. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nAround school age (4/5) most children have growth spurts and their bellies flatten, but everyone is different! \n\n & #x200B;\n\nOne super common reason for an extra distended belly includes constipation. Some kids just hold their poop and their tummy grows each day, if this is the case their abdomen would feel harder than usual. Bloating from food intolerance\n\n & #x200B;\n\nA soft chubby belly is perfectly normal in a healthy developing child! "
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6na7nv | if telomeres prolong life, why can't we create more for our body, eventually achieving immortality? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6na7nv/eli5_if_telomeres_prolong_life_why_cant_we_create/ | {
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"There's a massive catch with that plan: there's a telomere limit for a reason.\n\nBy setting the maximum number of divisions back to \"infinite,\" there's nothing to stop damaged or mutated cells from replicating uncontrollably. The hard stop telomere limit is an important biological deense against tumor formation, removing it is a key mutation that occurs in cancerous cells.\n\nThere have been a lot of studies into \"repairing\" the telomeres in adult cells, and some of them resulted in high rates of tumor formation.",
"Telomeres aren't just a thing floating around in your body that prolong life. They are the ends of chromosomes which protect it from degradation. While there does appear to be a link between telomeres shrinking and aging, there's no clear way how to mitigate or stop them from shrinking.",
"Telomeres are long strings of non-coding DNA at the end of our chromosomes that have no other function than to act as a buffer because the way DNA is replicated a little chunk at the end is always cut off. Ingesting random strings of DNA in pill or injection form would do nothing, because they wouldn't get integrated into our chromosomes. To make more telomeres you'd want to activate an enzyme called telomerase, which adds on DNA onto the end of chromosomes. Currently we can make telomerase, which is used for fetal cells so that they can grow indefinitely. However, it's shut off after birth.\n\nThere's a pretty important question that needs to be answered first, which is, why is telomerase deactivated? A possible answer is as a cancer control mechanism. The more cells divide the greater the chance of mutations building up. Enough mutations in the wrong places, and you get cancer (this is obviously oversimplified but you get the point). If we give our cells the ability to replicate indefinitely, we've gotten rid of a hurdle that cancer cells need to overcome to divide indefinitely (cancer cells will activate telomerase themselves to overcome this hurdle). By activating telomerase you could very well magnify your risk of cancer, which would lead to all sorts of dangerous complications."
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2wdvh8 | why does honey, and some jams, tickle the back of my throat the more i eat it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wdvh8/eli5_why_does_honey_and_some_jams_tickle_the_back/ | {
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"text": [
"If it's a pineapple, [its enzymes are digesting your mouth](_URL_0_). If it's another fruit, I'd go with allergies."
]
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"http://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2012/10/07/the-flesh-eating-pineapple/"
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2spgpr | why don't they just land the spacex rocket into the water? | _URL_0_
So there's the landing from spaceX that exploded. I'm just wondering why they don't land it in the water, and have a net cast between two ships to hoist it up? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2spgpr/eli5why_dont_they_just_land_the_spacex_rocket/ | {
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"First... \"having a net cast between two ships\" is extraordinarily dangerous. For various reasons having to do with fluid mechanics and naval engineering, ships traveling in very close proximity have a tendency to be drawn toward each other and crash into each other. Ships tend to avoid being too close, and when they have to be for some reason (like a resupply), they follow strict (and technically challenging) protocols to avoid collisions and then try to finish as soon as possible so they can go their separate ways.\n\nSecond... SpaceX could have landed the rocket into the water. They were running a test to develop the technology to land their booster rockets on a ship. So, that was the entire point of the exercise.",
"The SRB's from the shuttle landed in the water. The recovery and refurbishment of the rockets cost quite a bit of money. Recovering the SRB's was a fairly lengthy process. [Here](_URL_0_) is a video of the recovery process. Certain parts would have to go back to the manufacturer for refurbishment.\n\nSpaceX is banking on the idea that landing a rocket on a barge you can avoid the costs of recovering, refurbishing, and rebuilding the rocket.",
"* Landing on a barge is a temporary situation for the Falcon 9 first stage. The plan is to eventually return to land on solid ground near the launch site but before they can do that they have to show they can reliably land on a solid surface and the drone ship is a safe place to prove that.\n\n* Saltwater is highly corrosive. The tanks are a relatively small part of the cost of the rocket stage. The engines and electronics are much more valuable and wouldn't respond well to being soaked in saltwater.\n\n* Those engines are hot and the center engine is firing just before it touches down. Even if coming into contact with the water didn't destroy the engines, which it would, rapidly quenching them in water would compromise the materials.\n\n* If you scaled up a beer can to the same diameter as the first stage, the walls of the can would be thicker than the shell of the first stage. Before trying to land on the barge they did soft touchdowns into water on previous flights to prove they could perform the burns needed to land. The stages successfully landed vertically but were unrecoverable because they were destroyed when they toppled over into the ocean."
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"http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/2sn6a6/footage_of_the_almost_successful_spacex_barge/"
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6ep77m | if an ambulance is already en route to an emergency, and an event such as a traffic accident happens in front of them, which emergency does the ambulance go to? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ep77m/eli5_if_an_ambulance_is_already_en_route_to_an/ | {
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"UK: Assuming the incident directly in front of them is significant, you stop and attend that. We call it a \"running call\", and in fact a registered paramedic is legally obliged to treat the patient in front of them. A new ambulance is despatched to the original incident. \n\nObviously if the incident seems minor, the ambulance will continue on its way. "
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jhsrh | rise of the planet of the apes through planet of the apes(2001) story line. including all of them? | Not sure if the story line makes perfect sense and I couldn't find an easy answer online. Go! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jhsrh/eli5_rise_of_the_planet_of_the_apes_through/ | {
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"If you mean all of the movies, there are some conflicts - Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (the fourth movie) is also about how the apes finally took over the world, but it's a little more convoluted than the Rise of the Planet of the Apes story line. The second movie (Beneath the PotA) ends with the world being destroyed with a nuclear bomb. Since that makes it hard for a sequel, the third movie (Escape from the PotA) says that a few apes fixed the spaceship of the human main character from the first two movies, and the nuclear shockwave sent them back in time, to our current time. They get discovered by scientists and the government as being super intelligent, and all end up dying, except for the baby ape two of them had - he gets traded out for a circus ape baby so that he can escape.\n\nSo the fourth movie has the smart baby ape grown up, and he can talk like his parents did. In that world (1991, a couple decades into the future when it was released), apes have become something between pets and servants, but are still relatively dumb. The smart ape gets taken from his master, gets put through the harsh re-education the servant apes go through, and is sold to someone else. After he finds out his original master has died (who he liked and saw as a father), he starts to hate humanity, and starts training apes to revolt, and at the end, they're successful enough to not be servants any more, and others start to be able to talk. The fifth movie is sort of a continuation of that - the smart ape becomes a leader who wants humans and apes to coexist peacefully, and he ultimately defeats a military leader ape who wants humans to be servants.",
"If you mean all of the movies, there are some conflicts - Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (the fourth movie) is also about how the apes finally took over the world, but it's a little more convoluted than the Rise of the Planet of the Apes story line. The second movie (Beneath the PotA) ends with the world being destroyed with a nuclear bomb. Since that makes it hard for a sequel, the third movie (Escape from the PotA) says that a few apes fixed the spaceship of the human main character from the first two movies, and the nuclear shockwave sent them back in time, to our current time. They get discovered by scientists and the government as being super intelligent, and all end up dying, except for the baby ape two of them had - he gets traded out for a circus ape baby so that he can escape.\n\nSo the fourth movie has the smart baby ape grown up, and he can talk like his parents did. In that world (1991, a couple decades into the future when it was released), apes have become something between pets and servants, but are still relatively dumb. The smart ape gets taken from his master, gets put through the harsh re-education the servant apes go through, and is sold to someone else. After he finds out his original master has died (who he liked and saw as a father), he starts to hate humanity, and starts training apes to revolt, and at the end, they're successful enough to not be servants any more, and others start to be able to talk. The fifth movie is sort of a continuation of that - the smart ape becomes a leader who wants humans and apes to coexist peacefully, and he ultimately defeats a military leader ape who wants humans to be servants."
]
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6cqnsm | why does your car move sometimes after you put it into park? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6cqnsm/eli5_why_does_your_car_move_sometimes_after_you/ | {
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"When you bring the car to a stop with the brakes you've stopped it at the wheels\n\nWhen you shift into park a lever puts a pin into the transmission to keep it from turning anymore, but this pin goes into a good sized slot with a bit of slop. When you let off the brakes the car rolls a little bit until the weight is on this pin and it can't move anymore. If the pin were perfectly sized for its opening then the car wouldn't roll at all, but you'd also never get it in the slot.\n\nThis pin is also why on older transmissions it could be difficult to shift out of park when the car is on a hill because there is a lot of force on this pin so there is a lot of friction when you try to pull it out"
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1nmvbn | why are there no conservative hosts on npr? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nmvbn/eli5_why_are_there_no_conservative_hosts_on_npr/ | {
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"If you listen to NPR you find that politics is a very small portion of their programming.\n\nThey play news morning noon and night for about an hour, but in between are shows about all sorts of things. Science, art, literature, entomology, cooking, car problems. \n\nWhen they do talk politics, they bring in pundits from both sides for a civilized chat. ",
"I listened to a lot of talk radio for years. Ive lived in WA state my whole life but currently live in UT because of work. Ive been here for about a year now. It seems like shows like NPR, while more liberal, seem to stick to facts and meaningful debate and discussion more so than more conservative talk shows. Utahs radio talk shows, for the most part, are a joke. They are usually extremely conservative and like to keep it that way. If you call in with a differing opinion looking to present the other side of a debate, even if youre trying to be friendly about it, you will be hung up on immediately. They don't care for debate or differing opinion, generally. And I think that's why you don't get very many conservative-leaning people on shows like NPR. There are some exceptions. But for the most part it seems like these guys only want to listen to people who have the same opinion as they do.\n\nEdit: This is all very generalized but I think it is relatively accurate just based on my experiences. I'm not bashing any particular group. Just commenting on the tendencies I've seen in talk radio over the years.",
"I don't quite know how to ELI5 this question. My thought is that NPR selects its hosts based on the preferences of its listeners. While lots of conservatives listen to NPR, the demographics must be such that NPR does not feel a need to hire conservative hosts (or for the need to publicize that fact, if any exist). \n\nConservative talk radio might have some bearing on this, too. The \"talk\" parts of NPR are largely during the morning and evening commutes. There are many conservative talk radio shows on non-NPR stations during those times. NPR may have determined that adding conservative hosts wouldn't be enough to draw an audience away from, say, Hannity's evening program. If they can't pull additional listeners (who would be additional prospective donors), what's the point?",
"There are no liberals, either. They produce absolute ideology- and controversy-free observation for fear of offending their Congressional purse holders. They just recite the day's events.",
"NPR's hosts keep themselves out of the political discussion for the most part. Some of the hosts that do \"op ed\" type pieces seem conservative in their values. Do you really mean \"conservative\" or do you mean \"people that espouse the views of the current republican party\"? The two aren't necessarily the same. What you will hear on NPR are stories about potential shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act. What you won't hear on NPR are birthers, illuminati theories, links between natural disasters and gay marriage, etc. ",
"There are conservative commentators on NPR, but as for hosts, the hosts are meant to be neutral arbitors. However, keep in mind that NPR is all about meaningful and polite discussion, not Fox News-esque screaming and grandstanding, so you get conservative commentators like David Brooks rather than Bill O'Reilly. \n\nThere are some commentators who do both (Juan Williams used to be on NPR and Fox, and his work was quite different between the two media), but it's simply a different format with different expectations. You quite simply will not see shows in the vein of Hannity, Limbaugh, or Chris Matthews (from the liberal side) on NPR, because that's not in keeping with NPR's news mission."
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blwd9j | specificity vs sensitivity in medical testing. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/blwd9j/eli5_specificity_vs_sensitivity_in_medical_testing/ | {
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"Specificity is to identify that there is no disease when there is no disease, while sensitivity is to identify that there is a disease when there is a disease. When we talk about specificity and sensitivity, let's throw in Accuracy in the mix. Accuracy tells is how many of the identifications we got right. It might be the existence of the disease we identified correctly or the non-existence of the disease that we again identified correctly.\n\nFor example, say we are screening a 100 patients for cancer. Let's assume there are only 2 people out of those 100 people that actually have cancer, which makes the rest of the 98 patients cancer-free.\n\nIf we went ahead and said, all of the patients are cancer free, then we are still 98% accurate, coz we only got 2 of them wrong. But but but, yeah, thats how it works. Now that we see how accuracy can be extremely misleading, we need different measures to get an idea of how good our test actually is."
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6b4231 | how are we able to determine things such as wind speeds and temperatures on planets outside of our solar system? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6b4231/eli5_how_are_we_able_to_determine_things_such_as/ | {
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"It's actually not determinations, but rather predictions based on environment. \n\n\nEverything on a planetary scale is very hard to judge. Since the objects are so small and doesn't have the aspects of stars. For example, we can easily predict a stats temperature based on luminosity and how it falls on the heat spectrum. Although, this isn't anything you can do over a night. But rather daily observations.\n\n\nSo now back to your question. Planets have different perks based on their conditions. Which can help to predict the climate. Also if you observe the host star you can also estimate distance and size based on passages. Because planetary passages block some of the sunlight, making the frequency unnatural. Larger planets have a larger passage when they pass in front of their stars compared to smaller ones. Not only that but the frequency of passages makes estimates for size and distance.\n\n\nNow we let's touch on the atmosphere. Which works like a konvex lens and have properties for estimations. Which indicates what the planet can contain in terms of materia. And could show wind speed.\n\n\nIn concussion. It's estimations based on raw data and analysis. Some of the predictions are based on concussions drawn from the findings of coincidental factors based on our own solar system. But at the end of the day that's the best you can do with out current technology. ",
"You might be interested in asking this on /r/askscience for a slightly more detailed explanation.\n\nTo elaborate a bit on what was mentioned by /u/III_Cloud_III;\n\nWe can take a guess as a planet's temperature based on its distance from its host star and the star's temperature. This would have to be augmented by knowledge of what the planet's atmosphere is like, if it exists. For instance, without an atmosphere Venus should be colder than Mercury because it's further from the Sun. However, because of its atmosphere its surface temperature is ~740 Kelvin (~460°C), which is more than twice as hot as Mercury's ~340K surface temperature.\n\nDetermining wind speed is an interesting thing to do. If you've ever had an object such as a car quickly pass by you, you probably noticed the pitch of the sound it made increase as it approached you and decrease as it went away. This is known as the Doppler effect, and it can be observed in the light passing through the atmosphere of a planet (as the planet passes in front of its host star). We can use that to determine how fast the winds are going on the surface: as the atmosphere on the planet moves about the planet, on one side it will be moving toward us and on the other it will be moving away. A cool thing similar to this is that we can use the same technique to measure how quickly stars rotate."
]
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g2wh39 | what is allowing us to fit more information into smaller spaces as technology advances? how can a microchip achieve what a room full of computers couldn’t 30 years ago? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/g2wh39/eli5_what_is_allowing_us_to_fit_more_information/ | {
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"At the lowest level, a computers memory is made up of bits, which are little things that can represent either 1 or 0-on or off. The very simple answer is that we’ve been able to gradually find new ways to make those representations smaller and smaller.",
"The basic component of a computer is the logic circuit.\n\nMany years ago, computers' logic circuits were created using vacuum tubes, which are about the size of a lightbulb and can get almost as hot (because they use a lot of power).\n\nThen, someone invented logic circuits using transistors. transistors use much less power (and don't get as hot) and can also be made much much smaller.\n\nThen, someone invented a way to make really really small transistors that can be made by carefully smooshing layers of metal and silicon together.\n\nThen, people got really into this \"getting smaller\" thing, and created really smart and crazy ways to make logic circuits that are so small you can't see them without an electron microscope.\n\nSo, the basic component of the computer went from the size of a lightbulb to something that is so microscopic that you can't even see it. Before we were limited by how many components we could fit in a room. Now, we are (mostly) limited by how cleverly we use them.",
"To design and manufacture complex chips, you need complex chips. Each generation of computers helps in the design and manufacture of the next. \n\nMost things work this way - a screw, for instance, can be used with a simple series of gears, to make a smaller and more precise screw, enabling the manufacture of more precise machines - which can be used to turn the screws to make more precise machines. Science works this way also - learn a new thing, use that new knowledge to learn more new things."
]
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4jxnck | why is music written as letters instead of numbers? | Just seems like it would be simpler and more geographically universal for other alphabets. Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4jxnck/eli5_why_is_music_written_as_letters_instead_of/ | {
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"So it doesn't confuse the number of beats with the note. As a 4 beat 2 sharp note would be confusing",
"Have you ever seen guitar tabs? Many people who play the guitar learn to read tabulature, which uses numbers to indicate finger positioning on the fret board."
]
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8lfqco | what would happen to the world if all the water (read: salt, fresh, bottled, etc) on earth disappeared for one day and came back the next? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8lfqco/eli5_what_would_happen_to_the_world_if_all_the/ | {
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"Well, the first thing that happened, would be about 7 billion people freaking the fuck out that some supernatural event occurred beyond any reality humankind can conceive of in our 10,000 years of educated civilization about how the universe works.\n\nSo that would happen.",
"To begin with, all marine life and plants would die. If you count intracellular water, all life would end, with the possible exception of some spores."
]
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2frrd5 | why is it highly illegal to destroy currency but perfectly legal to hoard it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2frrd5/eli5_why_is_it_highly_illegal_to_destroy_currency/ | {
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"It's not illegal to destroy money, it's illegal to destroy it for fraudulent purposes. Like, when pennies were still made of copper people would melt them down and sell them for scrap, or bleach $1 bills and reprint them as $20s."
]
} | []
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||
86ch7f | how do laser guided missiles work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86ch7f/eli5_how_do_laser_guided_missiles_work/ | {
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"The laser illuminates the target with a frequency of light not typically abundant in ambient light. The missile has sensors to detect this frequency and thus can look for the bright spot, adjusting its fins to aim for it.",
"The missile has a camera in the front and a computer inside. The computers instruction is: Land on the red dot.\nOn the ground or from an airplane, someone makes the red dot with a laser. (Edit: The dot is not actually red though. It's invisible to human eyes but visible to the missiles camera.)"
]
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988vls | how can some airlines be consistently late or delayed? what contributes to these delays? i've noticed especially towards end of day flights, they're always running late on spirit or sun country. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/988vls/eli5_how_can_some_airlines_be_consistently_late/ | {
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"Workers and equipment cost money to operate. \n\nFor example United might have 10 sets of baggage handling crews and tractors plus carts to load and unload baggage off a plane. So at any given time 10 planes are being loaded or unloaded. Plus crew to clean, refuel, ground handlers, and all the other people that help an aircraft arrive or depart. \n\nA budget airline might have only 3 baggage handling crews, maybe 2 tractors and 4 sets of carts. So there might be times where people are waiting for carts to load/offload, waiting for a crew to do their stuff, or waiting for a tractor to take the carts where they need to go. \n\n\nThe plane might need the ground crew to help the pilot properly arrive at the gate, but the ground crew is helping a different plane. By having fewer employees the airline saves money, but that might come at the expense of delays during peak times, or when the crew runs into an operational issue."
]
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3rs3re | if smoking/nicotine directly increases your blood pressure, why is it such a relief to have a cigarette when you're stressed out or tense? | Can't quite figure this out | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3rs3re/eli5_if_smokingnicotine_directly_increases_your/ | {
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"text": [
"Because nicotine directly effects the pleasure center in your brain, making you feel better despite the negative things it might do to your blood pressure. Your brain is chemically induced to think \"ahh, things are good\". ",
"It's a symptom of being addicted, it's a relief when you get your fix, even though in reality, nicotine is a stimulant."
]
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31knfw | what involvement/role did south africa have in the cold war? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/31knfw/eli5what_involvementrole_did_south_africa_have_in/ | {
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"[The Border War](_URL_3_), mainly.\n\nAngola had a communist government at the time, and a communist (at the time) rebel group called SWAPO [was trying to take Namibia (South-West Africa)](_URL_0_). The ANC was also seen as communist terrorists by the government of the Republic of South Africa, which also controlled South-West Africa for a long time. The ANC got support from Russia before they got it from the West. [Cuban soldiers were involved in the Angolan border and civil wars](_URL_1_) - Cuba being allied to the Soviets as well.\n\nThe ANC is the party in control of South Africa now and since 1994 (when Black people and other groups could vote for the first time), but they are not communist. Presumably right as the Soviet Union fell, they lost their will to stick to the communist ideals (if they were doing it in the first place). \n\nSouth Africa received negligible support during the time of the Border War. Sanctions by the West in the 70s and 80s for Apartheid merely forced it to develop its own weapons.\n\nSource: My Dad was in the army of South Africa at the time of the Border War, and later in the government-sponsored militia (called the '[Commandos](_URL_2_)' but were not special forces nor elite).\n\nedit: South African actions in Angola could also be seen as an attempt to fight Soviet influence there aggressively, not as self defence. To the people in South Africa, it was seen/portrayed as a defensive action, because SWAPO was being given bases inside Angola by the MPLA.\n\nedti2: SWAPO is also in control of Namibia (and has been since 1990) but is, similar to the ANC, not communist. (edited again for more links)"
]
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[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibian_War_of_Independence",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_intervention_in_Angola",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Commando_System",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War"
]
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||
28s3vr | - what made the first atom? | So I am having this conversation with one of my religious friend and this came up, he thinks there is a god because he thinks "someone" made the first atom... Is there logic behind this? Or is it a mystery? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28s3vr/eli5_what_made_the_first_atom/ | {
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"No matter who you ask or how they word it, the most accurate answer to this question is 'they don't know' ",
"A few electrons, protons, and neutrons got all mixed up together.",
"Then who made God? ",
"You are allowed to convert energy to matter.\n\nEach particle represents a certain amount of energy, and a collision with that amount of energy or more can produce that particle. For hydrogen, we need to make protons and electrons.\n\nThis is something particle accelerators can do without much trouble, and the same process occurred during the big bang. See [big bang nucleosynthesis](_URL_0_). \n\nIf your friend needs something to be religious about, we aren't sure why the universe favored matter over antimatter (probably a hidden asymmetry in physics we've yet to find) and the details of how energy was created (probably the decay of something called an inflationary false vacuum state) are still being worked out.",
"God made the first Adam."
]
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2nf4kl | what do muslim do for ramadan in places where the sun doesn't set for months on end ? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2nf4kl/eli5_what_do_muslim_do_for_ramadan_in_places/ | {
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"I've asked my Moslem friends the same question. Best answer I got was they go by the sunrise and sunset time in Mecca. What did they do before the ability to google? That's the better question"
]
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| []
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[]
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|
||
4elpa3 | how does the water we drink become sweat even though we 'expel' the liquid through our pee? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4elpa3/eli5_how_does_the_water_we_drink_become_sweat/ | {
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"text": [
"Your body is mostly water. Not all fluids go straight to your kidneys and gets urinated out. The water passes through your vessels along the way where it flows into your muscles and skin. "
]
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| []
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[]
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|
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32bxgn | does abstaining from masturbation actually increase a person's energy? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32bxgn/eli5does_abstaining_from_masturbation_actually/ | {
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"No, though it may cause a slight change in personality.\n\nPhysically your body will take care of everything else. \n\nFor men, they may experience nightfall or nocturnal emissions. Semen die off while in the testicles and this is your bodies way of... rotating inventory as it may be.\n\nFor women, nightfalls and nocturnal emissions are also possible, though less common than in men.\n\nRemember, masturbation is healthy and normal. And while self control is advised, men are recommended to masturbate a minimum of once every 21 days and women are advised to masturbate a minimum of once every 15. This can reduce the risk of testicular cancer in men and blood clots in women.\n\n**EDIT:** I did not ELI:5 this... I'm sorry.\n\n**EDIT 2:** Clarification. A *minimum* of once every 'x' days.",
"No, It would probably just lead to a little less self-motion.\n"
]
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3fd707 | outdoor temperature changes in shade | Riding my Road Glide today I noticed again that the temperature drops about 15-20 degrees at certain portions of the road that are shady. With air circulation, how can this be? There are many areas around here that I can predict are going to be cool when I drive through them. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fd707/eli5_outdoor_temperature_changes_in_shade/ | {
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"Because direct sunlight heats things up, it heats the ground the trees and you. Each of thes things radiates heat back inti the air around it. In the shade it is not heating the ground, and that heat is not be radiated back up at you. The cooler ground attracts moisture to condense and then evaporate again when it comes into contact with warmer air, this cycle also helps keep the spot cooler. On hot days on places with enough moisture, the shade can be much cooler."
]
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1qxqqz | process of making an app | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qxqqz/eli5_process_of_making_an_app/ | {
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"1. Decide what you want to make.\n\n2. Create the backend. Example: the wire frame of a building. \n\n3. You create the frontend, which is what we see and interact with.\n\n4. Put it together.\n\n5. ???\n\n5. Profit.\n\nI'll use the two main popular mobile platforms as an example.\n\n**Android:** You use a programming language called Java to create the apps. You use another program to create those apps. In the case of Java it's a program called Eclipse with a plugin provided by Google called Android SDK.\n\n**iOS:** You use a programming language called Objective-C to create the apps. You use another program called Xcode to create the apps.",
"App development cycles through stages. As apps get bigger, you would be wise to add the important step of testing. Code, build, test, find bugs, and back to code to fix the bugs. Repeat the cycle until bugs are scarce or very hard to find. This would include testing on all your supported OS versions and hardware, which is challenging on iOS and really, really hard on Android.",
"Let's talk about apps on smartphones. An App uses a given hardware platform - like an iPhone) to do something specific (a currency converter) and useful or entertaining (a racing game). There are a few important things here - firstly, we need to know what the App needs in order to function. For example, a currency converter might need access to the internet to determine current exchange rates. A game might need access to sensors on the phone to determine how tilted the phone is to make the car go faster. Both apps need access to the screen to display images, and they will both probably need to be able to read the touch screen to understand what the user is doing. \n\nApple, Google, etc, etc, expose what is called an API - Application Programming Interface - to developers. This give apps access to the things they need. There are APIs everywhere: each phone has its own API. Twitter as a service has an API. Reddit has an API! APIs are just instructions that the service or device understands. \n\nIt's sort of like a contract: \"If you say 'beepboop' to me, I will tell you the current temperature in New York\". That's a silly example, but because it's a contact, a computer program an rely on it to always be available. Every time your computer program asks the phone 'beepboop', the phone will faithfully retrieve the current temperature in New York.\n\nSo, for example, you might have an API call that checks a current conversion rate using the internet. Simplified,\n\"rate = _API_getInternetResult(\"_URL_0_\");\"\n\nThe assumption here is that the website I provided will spit back a number in the form of an 'internet result'. Actually, there are two APIs here. One of the is the _API_getInternetResult which tells the phone to relay an internet message, and the other is the website itself, which understands that URL format (?from=USD & to=EUR) and knows what to do with it (respond with a rate converting US dollars to Euros).\n\nAnother example, this time for the game:\n\"angle = _API_getCurrentTiltAngle();\"\nCould tell you how tilted the phone is. The thingies I prefaced with _API_ are hypothetial examples of typical calls. Maybe you can imagine some other api calls that might be useful.\n\n_API_putThisPictureOnTheScreen(\"picture.jpg\")\n_API_playThisSoundReallyLoud(\"hello.mp3\")\n\nOnce you have access to tools like this, there's many options. You just have to build an algorithm that is in charge of your application's 'internal' logic (e.g. for currency, this would simply do the multiplication of conversion rate and amount of money. For the racing app, this would be keeping track of the car's position on the race track). Now all you need to do is to plug in the inputs and outputs to the algorithm using the various APIs available to you. So use the phone API to draw an interface on the screen, and to get a currency amount and currency selections from the screen. Use the phone API to access a currency conversion web API to get the current rate between the currencies. After the algorithm is run, we need to display the result on the screen, so again use the phone API to display text to the screen. \n\nDone!",
"Just tagging /u/regoapps since he may comment with something interesting/relevant."
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||
1isiji | sha256 hashing. | Hello ELI5,
I'm trying to wrap my head around the following math & pseudocode: _URL_0_
Can someone take "Hello World" and turn it into a SHA256 hash step by step as shown in the above wiki please?
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1isiji/eli5_sha256_hashing/ | {
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"It's not SHA2 and still above ELI5 level, but here's a [step by step breakdown of MD5 encoding \"Hello World\"](_URL_1_).\n\nIf you'd like to learn the basics about how hashing works then reading up on a very basic hash type like [CRC](_URL_0_) is probably a better place to start.\n\nIf you're an advanced user who wants to learn specifically about SHA-2 then one of the programming related subreddits can probably point you to better material about it.",
"You won't see anything useful from a step by step example, unless you want to verify your own implementation. If you truly want intermediate steps, here you go: _URL_0_\n\nSHA256 works by splitting the input into 512bit sized blocks (if the input is not a multiple of it, the input will be padded), resulting in `n` 512bit blocks with 64bytes each, called `M1` to `Mn`. Then a value `X0` is initialized to a default 256bit value defined by the standard, which are the first 32bits of the decimal place of the square root of the first 8 prime numbers.\n\nThen, the algorithm will process each block in sequence, calculating `Xi` as `Xi = f(Mi, Xi-1)`, and after the last round the final hash value is in `Xn`.\n\nThe true magic of SHA256 happens in the function `f`, which takes a 512bit block and a 256bit block (`Mi` and `Xi-1` respectively), and compresses them down to a 256bit block. Each round works the following:\n \n1. Expand the 512bit block to a 64word array `W`\n2. Copy the 16 words of the input into `W0` to `W16`\n3. For the remaining 48words, apply the following method: `W[t] = MIX(W[t - 2], W[t - 7], W[t - 15], W[t - 16])`\nThis is the block with the \"Extend the first 16 words into the remaining 48 words of message schedule array\" comment on Wikipedia, the operation goes over the remaining 48words and applies a series of binary operations on them.\n4. Then, go over all 64words and compress them down to 256bit, using more binary operations (it's straight forward to figure out from the wikipedia article)\n\nI know this isn't truly ELI5, but I'm afraid it's not that easy to dumb down (I tried as much as possible). Hope it helps you to get at least the gist of SHA256 so that you can make sense out of the pseudo code.\n\nEdit: Changed the indices for the expansion step from `i` to `t` to avoid confusion.",
"Since OP [wants to understand hash functions in general, not SHA2](_URL_0_):\n\n* Take a sentence\n* Replace each letter with the next one in the alphabet - Hello World turns into Gdkkn Vnqkc\n\nSee, gibberish is easy (this is a very early and obviously very insecure form of encryption).\n\nNow, this can be decrypted quite easily, and it has the same length as what you put in. A hash is defined as a mathematical function that takes stuff of arbitrary length and turns it into output with a fixed length. Let's build one.\n\n* Take the number 123\n* Now take the letters of your text, and assign numbers to them (just like a computer naturally does), lets go with the simple A=1, B=2, ... scheme, with 27 for space. This translates \"Hello\" to 8 5 12 12 15. Now multiply the numer you currently have (123) with the first letter's number. If the result is longer than 3 digits, only remember the last three. Repeat for the other letters:\n* 123 * 8 = 984\n* 984 * 12 = ~~11~~808\n* 808 * 12 = ~~9~~696\n* 696 * 15 = ~~10~~440\n\nCongratulations, you turned \"Hello\" into 440. This is a horrible scheme (for starters, it reacts really really badly to the letter J), but it should explain the principle.\n\nA real hash function that is often used is DJBX33A: Start with 5381, take the current number, multiply it by 33, and add the number of the letter. However, that is not a *cryptographic* hash like SHA2.\n\nFor that, the art is to make sure certain additional properties are met, e.g. an attacker cannot find two sentences that result in the same number. This is the art of modern cryptography, and learning that is really advanced and crazy maths that makes mathematicians cry and run away. If you want to learn that, [this](_URL_1_) provides a good start.\n\nAnd just to be sure, especially if someone else stumbles across it and gets dumb ideas: **DO NOT EVER ATTEMPT TO ACTUALLY USE A HASH FUNCTION YOU BUILT YOURSELF FOR ANYTHING PRACTICAL. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.** You **will** fail to make it secure."
]
} | []
| [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-2#Pseudocode"
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[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check",
"http://www.scribd.com/doc/35954574/MD5-With-Example"
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[
"http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/ST/toolkit/documents/Examples/SHA256.pdf"
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"http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2911313/how-are-cryptographic-hash-functions-designed"
]
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5src7t | when people that got caught in the travel ban got sent back to their country of origin, who paid for the flight? | What happens if they didn't have any money? The airline isn't going to give them a seat for free. Also, I imagine that most of the flights were already fully booked. I can't imagine the airline would bump travelers just to accommodate the government. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5src7t/eli5when_people_that_got_caught_in_the_travel_ban/ | {
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"Standard Disclaimer: The answer will be as politically neutral as possible.\n\nThe short answer is, it's a mess. If you've ever travelled internationally, you've noticed that the airline--but not necessarily the government of the nation that you're leaving from--triple checks your passport and related documents, because when you arrive at the destination nation's entry point, if everything isn't in order, you don't enter. Period, end of story. It doesn't matter if you're a non-native, or someone who is returning and has lived there their entire life. \n\nFrequently, with flights to the US, there will be preliminary checks before someone even boards a plane. This is done because flights can be 8 hours or longer, and discovering after an 8 hour (or more) flight that something is missing causes...tempers to rise a bit, regardless of the circumstances. When the travel ban was enacted, many people had not begun the final leg of the journey to the US. For these people, some were in an unfamiliar country catching a connecting flight, and others hadn't left their country of origin yet, but the result was the same: they were immediately halted from boarding the plane, and forbidden from leaving the airport (more on this in a moment). Others had already arrived in the United States, and were stopped *after* departing the plane. They were stuck in limbo, similar to the situation Tom Hank's character found himself in during the movie [*Terminal*](_URL_1_), except here their passport was fine, it was their entry visa that had been revoked. \n\nThe reason that airlines triple check passports is because more often than not, they are [responsible](_URL_2_) for you until you enter your destination country, however you still may be charged if the airline has to fly you back. If you are stuck in a connecting airport, a similar situation applies; the airport usually will simply return you to your initial destination, but this does not account for the significant upheaval to the lives that it causes. In some instances, such as this last one, a few airlines transported stranded passengers to an alternative destination gratis, or [refunded](_URL_0_) their tickets but this is obviously costly to the airline, so it is a case-by-case basis."
]
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| []
| [
[
"http://fortune.com/2017/01/28/westjet-muslim-travel-ban/",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminal",
"http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/35998/what-happens-when-you-book-a-flight-to-a-country-you-dont-have-a-visa-for"
]
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|
2147bu | if the us dollar is most used currency in international transactions and the worlds most dominant currency reserve, why are other currencies such as the euro and the pound, worth more in the exchange rate? | Shouldn't the US dollar be the most valuable currency? Why is 1 dollar 0.73 Euros, or 0.61 Pounds? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2147bu/eli5_if_the_us_dollar_is_most_used_currency_in/ | {
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"probably because there are more us dollars?..",
"So people mean the USD to be \"most valued\" in the sense that people around the world trust the US to not fall into anarchy and the government dissolved. Currency nowadays is not worth any physical object (the USD used to be tied to the value of gold, but the gold standard is no longer used). Thus a currency is worth something only as long as there is an entity willing to recognized it. Thus the USD is trusted to exist in the future because of the power of the US.\n\nThe USD is oddly enough \"worth less\" than the euro because the US prints so much of it compared to the output of euros.",
"The dollar has its status due to much of the world trusting the U.S. government's stability (since it issues the money) which makes U.S. currency seem like a safe bet to have. The preferred status depends not on how much a dollar is worth, but on how reliable, safe, trustworthy, and desired that currency is. Generally, dollars are more sought after because, generally, more people trust the U.S. economy, U.S. government, and so on, to be around tomorrow and therefore its currency will continue to be a stable and valuable currency. \n\nOnce a currency like the dollar becomes widely acceptable, it's awfully hard for people to switch. Once it's the generally preferred currency, you can't very well keep changing the most popular or dominant currency throughout the world very easily. That would required millions of people, shop owners for example, to become knowledgeable about international currency exchange rates as the \"preferred\" currency changed from time to time with the ups and downs of the world's economy. Not very likely. \n\nSo, you can use dollars to pay for things in many out of the way places. You can't often use Pounds or Euros. That's partly because there is little tradition, in the modern world anyway, for those currencies being acceptable.\n\nAlso, your question asks about the value of \"a\" dollar compared to \"a\" Euro. But this is a basic mistake in equating \"the\" dollar -- which actually means U.S. currency in general -- with \"a\" dollar which means a one dollar bill. When we say that \"the\" dollar is the world's preferred currency, we don't mean \"a\" dollar is worth more than \"a\" Euro. We mean dollars, in general, are more sought after. \n\nHope that helps. If you don't believe me, take a world tour with lots of dollars, Euros, and Pounds in your wallet and see which ones you can actually use. No matter how much \"a\" dollar is worth compared to one of the other currencies, you're going to be able to get people to take dollars more often compared to the others. It's kind of a \"that's just the way it is\" situation, if you prefer it that way. \n",
"Let's say you have a small pizza cut in to 4 slices, and large pizza cut into 16.\n\nJust because the small pizza has bigger pieces, that doesn't mean it has more pizza.\n\nThe same is true with currency, you have to compare the whole pizza (economy) not just the slices (exchange rate)."
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1nhi9b | why do dogs bury stuff? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nhi9b/eli5_why_do_dogs_bury_stuff/ | {
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"So they can find it later. "
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2cp3x4 | why is ireland not in nato? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2cp3x4/eli5_why_is_ireland_not_in_nato/ | {
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"Ireland initially refused to join NATO because Northern Ireland was still being held by the United Kingdom. They also tend towards a policy of neutrality, and did not align with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. However, more recently they have supported some NATO-led operations. ",
"Ireland is an \"associate member\" of NATO, but has a tradition of neutrality. Joining NATO as a full member would be contrary to that neutrality. \n\nAt least, that's what I've been told, I'm far from an expert and could be wrong."
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68j2ae | is love a chemical reaction in the human brain? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/68j2ae/eli5_is_love_a_chemical_reaction_in_the_human/ | {
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"Everything you feel is chemical reactions in the brain and across the nervous system. From terror to love. ",
"Yes, we are chemical reactions, birth to death, everything we do. But don't take that the wrong way. It's such an understatement. It's like saying 'the internet is just electricity' and the universe is 'just hydrogen and time.'"
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1y25zb | why are some people "ticklish" and others not? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1y25zb/eli5_why_are_some_people_ticklish_and_others_not/ | {
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"One current theory is that tickling is combat training for children. The parts of your body which are must ticklish are your most vulnerable parts (neck, armpit, belly).\n\nTickling evolved as a safe way to teach children to defend themselves from attack or accident. \n\nPeople tend to get much less ticklish with age, which strengthen the theory it is about training children. So probably the main reason some people are less ticklish is that they are older, genetically they start with a smaller tickle response, and/or they are losing the tickle response faster with age than most people.\n\nEdit: since people asked here are some articles _URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_",
"Someone known to be ticklish tenses up when another goes to tickle them, making them easy to tickle.\n\nYou can learn to be not ticklish by relaxing your muscles and 'giving permission' to be tickled and stay relaxed. Won't take long to get immune to being tickled.\n\n",
"I didn't realize the bottom of your feet were considered vital organs ",
"This doesn't necessarily answer your question, but I've noticed postings of some of the hypotheses behind someone being ticklish. I thought I'd also contribute my understanding on the subject. Anyway! As we know, laughing is a \"universal language\" and it forms bonds between people. Basically, think about how laughing helps you relate to others if they have the same humor. Also, its a bit contagious and it makes you feel good. Following this logic, it is then possible that the laughing reaction you get when you're being tickled is to form/strengthen bonds, especially between a mother and its young offspring. \n\n\nCtrl+F in [wikipedia](_URL_0_) has similar information here too, under \"Social Aspects.\" Here, it says that \" tickling establishes at an early age the pleasure associated with being touched by a parent with a trust-bond developed.\" This also answers the question on why people grow out of it.\n\n\nNow seeing how tickling leads to an reaction that can be hard to control, it is likely genetic. Now if it is genetic, then there is variation within the population, especially since its a behavioral response. \n\n\nAlso, thanks for distracting me while I was making breakfast! My crepes turned out burnt and terrible!\n\n",
"I remember reading that ticklishness is a fear response. ",
"In my experience everybody can be ticklish, but some people like myself learn to control it. The trick is based on the fact that people can't tickle themselves. The tickle response depends heavily on a lack of predictability. In my case, those few people who figured out I really am ticklish can tickle me with extreme ease, when before they figured it out they were barely able induce any tickle response at all. Certain people find it too much fun to ever let them learn it's possible to tickle me, as once they figure it out how to break my control the tickle response is multiplied greatly even for a simple touch.\n\nTo learn this trick try tickling yourself. The fact that you can predict the sensations makes it next to impossible. So when being tickled you have to concentrate and predict what is coming next. Once you get good at it then the tickle sensation will be essentially non-existent. Unless they figure out how to break your control. Once they know they can do this you lose control for even the simplest touch.\n\n",
"Did anyone else lose a significant portion of their ticklishness after losing their virginity? ",
"To show submission. The same reason dog, when playing, will roll over and expose their neck to the other dog. Esentially, \"You win. I give up.\"\n\n_URL_0_",
"I find it interesting that some people that are ticklish, hate it. I am very ticklish and I love to get tickled and tickle others.",
"Sorry to hijack, but my question is why do some people find being tickled funny, and others have a more adverse reaction? My SO laughs when tickled, I just get a murderous rage...",
"Not an answer, but a story.\n\nWhen I little, my three sisters would pin me down and tickle me relentlessly. This happened often and to the point where I would start to cough, and sometimes I would even vomit.\n\nTime goes on, I stop being tickled in a such a way. Friends occasionally poke my sides, but we all do that to each other anyway. Cue meeting my current girlfriend. She loves to tickle. It bothers her how much I hate it, but I've been trying to get better and not writhing around furiously whenever she does it to me. She's been walloped on the head a good many time from my thrashing (which I always profusely apologize for every time)",
"The way I was explained was when we are born its to develop a sense of combative instinct. When our parents \"attack\" us its an instinct to defend our body. The body remembers these as sensitive spots and react in such ways as flexing or bracing the body, but this is also just a theory. ",
"Some lose their ticklishness when their older siblings hold them down and tickle them until they cry.",
"From an evolutionary point of view, the theory was that it was a non-lethal way to help train people to react to sensory threats. It was passed on as a trait, since those who were better-trained to respond to these threats were able to survive by being better-equipped to avoid being eaten, compared to those who don't have such a survival response.\n\nIn today's relatively safe world, this trait is no longer necessary for survival, and the theory is that those who don't have the tickle response are able to survive to procreation and pass the \"non-ticklish\" trait along.",
"I read about halfway through the comments and had to stop. I was super tenses up. I have gotten more sensitive to it as I have gotten older. And I try to turn it off. Hubs know I can't... It's bad! He knows when he has to stop though.",
"I hate being tickled. Call me crazy but when I get tickled I get stressed out. Like work stress. I hate it.",
"Personal anecdote: I was once tickled to the point of no return (I pissed myself). Haven't been ticklish since. ",
"I believe it has to do with faster and more sensitive nerve endings",
"I can decide to be ticklish or not, i can turn it on or off like a switch.\nBy default I am not ticklish, I have to allow someone to be able to tickle me.",
"Interesting fact: some people suffering from schizophrenia can tickle themselves due to the dissociation of their sense of touch and bodily movement. ",
"I have a theory that people with more anxiety are more ticklish - which is why that tensing up thing really makes sense to me. I have bad anxiety and most of the time if you touch me anywhere it'll tickle.",
"I'm actually pretty damn ticklish but I'm also pretty good at keeping a straight face long enough for people to think I'm not ticklish and to leave me alone.",
"Tickling is a nervousness response to something touching you. Try tickling yourself, it's very hard if not impossible to do so. With practice and comfortability with others ticklishness can be overcome.",
"Another question on top of this one. My wife can't stand to be tickled. So much so that she says it kind of hurts. Is it just a matter of sensitivity or something else?",
"I am by no means an expert, but I have an inclination that it is (at least somewhat) linked to the context in which your parents touched you as a child. I am very ticklish and my mother used to play with me as a kid being a tickle-monster. My girlfirend on the other hand is not ticklish at all and her mom never played with her that way.",
"In a useless post I pretend not to be ticklish so people don't tickle me.",
"Ticklishness is a fear or surprise response. The feeling of being tickled is wholly produced in the brain. For example, when someone touches the bottom of your foot the nerve response is the same as if they touched any other part of your body but your brain interprets touch on a ticklish area as a novel, and therefore dangerous, attack. This is why your ticklish areas are places you normally wouldn't be touched, armpits, soles, ect. It's not that these places are particularly prone to attack or vulnerable, it's just that these places are not used to being touched so when something touches you there your body overreacts. You can test this if you focus on the fact that you are safe when someone tickles you. The tickling feeling will go away. The opposite can also be true and anxious people or people in particularly anxious times in their lives can be more ticklish. My cousin has always been super ticklish and can be tickled through the bottoms of her shoes. She can't even feel the touch but her brain reacts with the same fear response. There are also people that can be tickled by the thought of being tickled. You can tell them that you are tickling them and they will start to squirm.",
"the real question is why does some ass-_ole think it is funny to poke and tickle someone? It is a aggressive behavior and if my boyfriend ever does it again to me... I will cut his penis off in his sleep.",
"The tickle response is to protect our mushy parts. If you view your tickler as a potential threat to the integrity of said mushy parts, you're going to tense up. However, if you tell yourself the tickler is dipoles not pose a threat and really feel that in your body, you will be a lot less sensitive to tickling.",
"A ticklish reaction is due to a conflict in the brain/body/nervous system over an event that one \"feels\" as invasive, though they can intellectualize as being safe. Think a baby in a bassinet giggling with the mother leaning over in a mock attack with the wiggling fingers at her baby's sides. The baby feels safe with its mother, while the more primitive part of its brain feels attacked, leading to a need to vent the conflicted emotion which will most likely result in laughter (exhausting of emotional/chemical energy). For this reason different individuals at differing moments will feel both safe and attacked/invaded by varying stimulus and find a primitive need to vent that emotion based on too many variables to enumerate. \n(edited for grammar and clarity)",
"When I was a little kid I asked my parents to tickle me so that I could sleep. They thought it was weird at first, but I begged them and told them it's a way to help me sleep faster. Before that I would lay in bed for hours, with my mind racing, and I was so bored. I thought that if I was tickled to exhaustion I could sleep sooner. The experiment worked and I could sleep quickly. I'm sure my parents thought is was weird, but I'm glad they complied with my request. Because of this I learned how to control my ticklishness. My brothers didn't learn. At a certain point I became a super-tickler to my younger brothers. They hated it because I could tickle them without even touching them, just wiggling my finger in their direction made them shiver, cringe and yelp. It got to a point where I could tickle them with just a glance, and it freaked them out. That was many years ago, and I stopped doing that after I turned 12. I vowed to stop being mean to people when I was 12.",
"So we can figure out has a soul and who doesn't ",
"Tickling invokes the fight-or-flight response. This is why people who are ticklish will either frantically squirm away or fight back instinctively. Perhaps the reason that some people aren't as ticklish is because their FOF responses are dulled through inactivity and comfort within their environments. Vsauce has a great episode on YouTube about this",
"I wish I were ticklish, I hate seeing how happy you ticklish people are when they are being tickled. ",
"I'm so ticklish that just reading these comments made me tense up",
"I cannot stand to be tickled. I can't have someone touch me without jumping or being startled. I can't turn it off and I can't stand it when people tell me to ' just turn it off ' like it's the easiest thing on the planet. Being tickled is painful for me and very uncomfortable. I can tickle myself, too. No, I do not have schizophrenia and I believe that the commonly heard belief that only schizophrenics can tickle themselves is absurd. I've only gotten more ticklish and whenever people do it to me I get really angry and want to hit them. It's disrespectful. You make the person vulnerable, you cause them discomfort, and disregard their feelings. I have no idea how to make this stop and none of the 'methods' work."
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"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2331500/Researchers-discover-laugh-tickled--answer-funny.html",
"http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/03/science/anatomy-of-a-tickle-is-serious-business-at-the-research-lab.html"
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5kjz3p | how do well known animals go extinct? | I just saw the post about cheetahs heading toward extinction. It seems like they are so well known, respected, cared for and protected. How is this possible? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5kjz3p/eli5_how_do_well_known_animals_go_extinct/ | {
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"Because sometimes that protection is too little, too late. Relatively speaking we have only been concerned about the conservation of animals for a few decades but have been hunting and exploiting animals for millennia.\n\nFor whatever reason, Cheetahs look cool so were hunted for sport, their coats, and probably lots of superstitious reasons as well (eating their gall bladder gives you super speed or something stupid like that). Cheetahs in Africa in particular only became the focus of significant conservation measures in *2007*. That's less than a decade.\n\nBut, with Cheetahs in particular, they have the deck stacked against them. They aren't \"endangered\", just \"vulnerable.\" However, Cheetahs seem to be particularly sensitive to human encroachment (compared to other large cat species) and - for whatever reason - they have low genetic variability, meaning genetic anomalies and mutations hurt them more than other species with greater genetic variability. It may be that they have been doomed to extinction from a genetic bottleneck tens of thousands of years ago."
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101po5 | how do websites like _url_0_ "sell" web domains? | Do they actually own them, or are they more like middlemen? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/101po5/eli5_how_do_websites_like_godaddycom_sell_web/ | {
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"I asked my friend this and he said, \"a domain seller pre makes a shit ton of websites, so if some one wanted to make one with the same name would see a site that says \"domain for sale at _URL_0_\" and then would have to buy the name from them. Also some sites dont actually own the site name but instead have one similar that has the websites name on the site for sponsorship to show your site is professional.\" Hope that helps, im not sure if 100% right but i trust him."
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e6rx5v | the wigner effect | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e6rx5v/eli5_the_wigner_effect/ | {
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"The Wigner effect is seen in materials that are exposed to sources of high energy neutrons. Usually in reactors. The neutrons are of course smaller than individual atoms, but in a typical reactor there are literally billions of them shooting out in all directions. These neutrons are moving very fast, so when they hit something head on, things go kablooey. Think of throwing a bare engine block at a car at twice the speed of sound.\n\n Few collisions are as head on as the engine block example, striking only glancing blows to the atoms along the way. In a liquid, that atom gets kicked aside and then is allowed to flow back into position. But in a crystalline substance (like steel) an atom kicked aside can't easily go back to where it started. So it ends up out of position, causing a defect. The strength of many solids depends on the crystalline structure which spreads out loads. If too many defects occur, the solid can lose a significant amount of strength. This is an obvious problem when dealing with something like a special high strength steel reactor vessel that needs to contain high pressures. \n\nAnother issue is that the displaced atoms \"want\" to go back to their starting point. This means they have a potential energy, just not enough energy individually to manage the relocation. But if enough displaced atoms accumulate, they can collectively have enough energy to move back. When they do this, they release a lot of wasted potential energy as heat. Whether this occurs in steel pressure vessels, carbon moderator rods or whatever, sudden very massive spikes in heat are a Bad Thing. It's quite possible for the carbon moderators to almost explode with the suddenness of combustion that can occur during these temperature excursions. For carbon rods, the accumulated energy can be safely released by annealing, which is deliberately heating up the carbon fairly high so that it is easier for the displaced atoms to get back into their proper place. Many working reactors use an annealing cycle as part of routine operations. However, not all materials can be annealed. Annealing steel removes a lot of its strength, requiring proper heat treatments to regain it."
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2y0k3e | why can insurance companies blatantly rip off their customers by not paying out for what they're covered for? | I'm not the most educated in this field but I've heard countless tales of people being left stranded and without money after their insurer refused to compensate them for damages, why can they do this? Why hasn't a law been set up to counteract this?
EDIT: Ok, I understand I was wrong about them ripping you off, I just wanted to know why people had said that. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2y0k3e/eli5_why_can_insurance_companies_blatantly_rip/ | {
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"I work in the insurance claims industry (homeowners insurance), your premise is incorrect but I understand why people think this is the case. Insurance companies *must* follow their the wording in the policies they write. Period, no exceptions.\n\nHowever, what many people do not realize is how complicated a policy is. Let's look at an example:\n\nThere is a storm with heavy rain and that rain water enters your house. Are you covered? \n\nIf the storm blew out a window and the rain came in through the window it is considered storm damage. If the rain falls to the ground and comes up through the basement sump pump well (for those that have them) that is a sump pump failure. If the drainage tile of your house is connected with your sewer drain and the rain water backs up through the floor drain of your basement, that is considered drain backup. If the rain water comes through the foundation wall into the basement that is considered flood damage.\n\nEach of these different types of losses (drain backup, sump pump failure, ect) requires its own rider on the policy and if a homeowner does not have that rider they are not covered. Most people think they are either covered from rain damaging or they are not, and that is incorrect. It depends entirely on *how* that rain entered their house and most people are covered for some but not all of the ways they could be damaged. ",
"Hey OP, former insurance claims officer and fraud investigation officer from Australia here. \n\nThis is a bit of a bubble burster for your ELI5 but a lot of these stories tend to omit a lot of fine details. Don't get me wrong, Insurance companies, be it car and home, life, health, they can be assholes for sure- but none of them would have gotten very far without paying out legitimate claims based on policy coverage. \n\nWhen you hear these stories about people being screwed over by the big bad insurance company 98% of the time it's because they haven't had the correct type of insurance, normally through ignorance, which hasn't provided the cover they thought they had. 1% of the time it's a case where they've tried to defraud the insurer, have been knocked back, but tell it like the insurer is the asshole. \n\n.5% of the time, it's a policy exclusion (like something being determined to be pre-existing damage on a vehicle that existed prior to coverage, or a pre-existing medical condition that was not disclosed at policy commencement for health cover). These people might feel like they have a genuine axe to grind, however this is often not the case, and the other .5% of the time it's just bullshit. \n\nSo how does the big bad insurer get away with stomping on all these little people who haven't either ensured their coverage was correct or disclosed what they needed to disclose- it's normally because we've either found something out that violates the condition of their coverage (i.e. driving while intoxicated causing an accident), or they've failed to meet a reasonable standard of disclosure when setting up the policy which later voids coverage (i.e being a smoker for health insurance, or pre-existing hail damage on a car, pre existing water damage in the home that the owner has a reasonable knowledge of and failed to rectify.) \n\nYou can start to see here that a lot of the onus comes back onto the person taking out the policy- and this is very much the case. It is up to you (the insured) to make sure that the policy you're taking out is the right level of coverage you require, and that you've disclosed all pertinent information to the insurer. \n\nIn the second case there are laws in place to make sure that the insurer asks all reasonable questions to cover that duty of disclosure- so if you lie and you're found out- don't expect your claim to be paid out when you need it \n\nThe majority of this exclusion work isn't done by lawyers either. Claims officers like what I was, assessors, and fraud investigators, all front line people will be the first people to deny your claim, and are usually right the first time because we're required to know our policies back to front, and every single nook and cranny of coverage. The lawyers come in if it does come to court, at which time people like myself are required to provide statements, as well as all documentation of the claim itself- which any good claims operator will have meticulously filled out- it's often used as a KPI. We may also be summonsed to testify in any legal action, and because this is our job, we can be used as expert witnesses to coverage and why a claim could be denied. \n\nNow there is one siltation in motor vehicle insurance that is a bit of a clusterfuck- but it's a term called **an inevitable accident**. It essentially states that a claim cannot be made against a party if there was no one at fault. This is a tough one so stay with me while I try and explain this. I'm not trying to patronise here but it took me 4 years to get my head around this. \n\nNow imagine you're driving down the road, You might have 3rd Party Property insurance on your vehicle, or just Third Party Injury insurance mandated by law. \nDriving towards you is a 83 year old woman. No previous medical history, goes to bingo twice a week, participates in church bake sales. She has comprehensive insurance on her car (covering her vehicle, and others vehicles in a case of an at fault accident)\n\nNow as this lady is driving along she has a massive heart attack and dies at the wheel, which causes the car to lose control and hit your car, damaging it and writing it off. \n\nBecause that lady is dead- there is no longer anyone in charge of that vehicle- she wasn't negligent in her driving because of health issues, and she's not responsible for suddenly dropping dead. In this case, because there is no at fault party, this claim can be called what's called 'an inevitable accident' which is something that her insurer doesn't have to cover, their driver or their estate in this instance isn't responsible for the accident. So if you've got no coverage on your car, or no provision in your policy that would provide for this situation, you're shit out of luck. \n\nIt's a fubar rule, but at the same time the driver couldn't be legally held responsible for the accident either criminally or civilly. \n\nMy suggestion OP is that when it comes time to get insurance- check your coverage, read your product disclosure statement (which you agree to do when signing up for the policy) and if you have any questions about coverage CALL YOUR INSURER, the onus is on you to make sure you have the right tools for the job, and that you've answered ALL questions accurately. As long as you do that then you'll never be one of those people at the bar bitching about their insurer shafting them. \n\nAt the company I worked for (which was one of Australia's biggest mass market motor and home insurers) our department motto was \"We're here to pay out claims.\" if we could find a way to pay it, within guidelines we would. It's a goodwill thing and it's the service you pay for. The people we don't pay out- well we do that to keep your premiums lower, because if everyone filed a claim when they weren't entitled to and we'd paid them out, we'd be broke and have no money for the claims we're actually meant to pay. \n\n\nIf you have questions feel free to ask- this is a tough one to understand, and I can only generalise so much without getting into very specific things, but I am happy to answer\n\nedit: Fixed typos, sorry breaking in a new keyboard",
"People don't usually bother to check what they're covered for.",
"They can't.\n\nInsurance contracts are contracts of adhesion, so any ambiguity is automatically interpreted in favor of the insured.\n\nHowever, homeowners contracts are not maintenance contracts. If you have a 40 year old roof that is falling apart, the fact that a hailstorm comes in and damages it more does not mean that the insurer owes you a brand new roof. They have to make you whole -- so they give you the value of your 40 year old roof, and you have to pay the difference in cost to get a brand new roof, since that is the homeowner's responsibility. \n\nYou can buy 'replacement cost coverage' but it (a) costs more and (b) requires you to properly maintain your home, or your insurer will cancel that coverage.",
"They don't. You're just not fully aware of what goes on.",
"Generally they cannot. They can be sued for a lot more if they don't make a reasonable offer. It's called \"bad faith\".\n\nBut they tend to stall, make somewhat low offers, and try to get people to settle for less to save money.",
"They rip you off in other ways.\n\nLike jacking up the price when you actually need to use your coverage. \n\nFor ex, water damage happens and they pay out $5k. Then they jack your yearly cost up $500, which is a huge rip off especially if you've been with them for years and never once had a claim - you total paid to them, never using it, would be over $5k. So there's nothing for them to \"recover\", but they do anyway.\n\nInsurance as a whole is a gigantic scam in that sense. You are required to have it, but if you use it you are grossly penalized for it."
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4abpo9 | what is apr, interest, compound interest, principal interest? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4abpo9/eli5what_is_apr_interest_compound_interest/ | {
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"APR is the effective interest rate that includes every standard fee (it was intended to become a simple way for consumers to shop pricing with everything included, but isn't very well understood). I believe in some loans regulators are beginning to prefer a newer concept called *Total Interest* as the preferred single number to compare the cost of loans. \n\nInterest at its most basic is like rent paid for money. Just like rent, the longer you use an amount of money the more interest accumulates. Also like rent you typically pay interest as part of a contract with lots of terms set up to minimize disputes about when to pay, how to use, etc. \n\nCompound interest means the period that interest is computed or compounded. For reasonably large amounts of money, the interest earned per day becomes meaningful enough to generate additional interest, so it's in the lender's interest to calculate the interest earned between payments as frequently as possible. As a simple example if a $100,000 mortgage earned $8-$10 on the first day then on the second day the new $100,010 balance (including the first day's income) will earn $100,010.001 (that fraction of a penny at the end is the second day's extra interest). Over time those fractions of a penny can become additional pennies, dollars and more. \n\nPrincipal is the banking term for the money borrowed as opposed to a term like balance which would include both principal and interest. \n\nSimple interest means the interest is only calculated once over the loan's term, if you make a loan to a friend for $10 and he pays you back $11, there's a 10% simple interest rate. "
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qb8rl | how our brain produces "pictures" such as when we are dreaming or remembering a past event | Just as the title says. I don't know if I worded it correctly though, but, when we imagine or dream, we see with our brains, not our eyes. How does this happen? Our mind creating the even again, or along those lines. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qb8rl/eli5_how_our_brain_produces_pictures_such_as_when/ | {
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"When you see things with your eyes, certain sets of neurons (or brain cells) are activated in response to certain inputs from your eyes. For example, a particular set of cells activates when you see horizontal lines, another set activates when you see vertical lines, and other sets respond to color, depth, and texture. There are also whole brain areas dedicated to the recognition and classification of the things you see. Basically: one part of the brain tells you what you are seeing (lines, colors) while another part interprets this input and informs you that you're looking at a pencil or computer or whatever. \n\nWhen you dream, your brain self-activates the same sets of cells/regions that your eyes would normally activate when you look at something. This creates an illusion of actually looking at something and causes you to \"see\" images in your dream. Dreams are further complicated by input from the emotional centers of the brain, which can control activation of the visual centers, but that's a little more complicated and we don't have to go into it. \n\nThis is a pretty basic explanation, but hopefully it will give you a rudimentary understanding of what's going on. Let me know if you're interested in reading scientific literature on this topic and I can provide some papers. ",
"We always see with our brain. Our eyes are just a whole bunch of cells going \"it's bright and green\", \"it's dark and red\", \"it's brown\". Your brain assembles all these statements into \"I'm looking at a tree in Autumn\". \nWhen you sleep and dream, your brain is rewiring and moving data around. You \"experience\" a dream but it's just random input from things in your life."
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l6no8 | - the impact and benefits, if any, of the dream act | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/l6no8/eli5_the_impact_and_benefits_if_any_of_the_dream/ | {
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"Having a bunch of ambitious, young and educated citizens would likely be of great benefit to our country. So would the opportunity to boost military roles and give a path to citizenship to those who are least at fault for their residency status.",
"Having a bunch of ambitious, young and educated citizens would likely be of great benefit to our country. So would the opportunity to boost military roles and give a path to citizenship to those who are least at fault for their residency status."
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1mo1u2 | why is piracy bad but borrowing stuff from libraries ok? | I mean, I guess authors/movie studios get one sale, but they seem like the same thing to me. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mo1u2/eli5_why_is_piracy_bad_but_borrowing_stuff_from/ | {
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"When you borrow stuff from libraries, there exists still solely one copy, and one use at a time. So, if an item is in high demand, more copies must be acquired, with attendant license and possible payments to the copyright holder.\n\nWith piracy, there are a potentially infinite number of copies, without any payment to the copyright holder.",
"Libraries actually pay a levy to publishers. It's not as simple as \"buy a book for $20, lend it out a million times\". \n\nThis leads to the weird situation when libraries lend e-books to people's iPads and other devices. Despite the fact that they could lend it an infinite number of times, they only have twenty \"copies\" and when they're all \"out\" you have to wait for one to be \"returned\". "
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51fghu | is it naturally possible to increase or decrease your metabolism? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/51fghu/eli5_is_it_naturally_possible_to_increase_or/ | {
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"Totally possible. \n\nMuscle cells, even when completely at rest, require more calories to maintain themselves than do fat cells. Therefore, if you increase the ratio of muscle cells to fat cells (ie: workout regularly), you will have to consume more food to maintain current weight. ",
"Weight training (or lack therof). Want a higher metabolism? Start working out. Decreasing is even easier. Just start eating junk and stop being active. Your body tends to adjust to its needs. "
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1sia5l | how would a state go about seceding from the united states? | I know about the Civil War and the outcomes for the South. I'm curious about the process itself. Just declare war and wait for the federal government to intervene? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sia5l/eli5_how_would_a_state_go_about_seceding_from_the/ | {
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"Declare war and win. :3\n/s",
"Convince enough states to join them to defeat the Federal government in a civil war. The US has no clause allowing secession. States who tried to prove otherwise lost a war over it back in the 1860s. ",
"There is not a procedure to do so. A state could try to do so by force, and forcefully remove federal representatives from their state, the last time that happened millions of americans were killed and the southern states failed to secede, so it probably isn't a good idea.",
"They can't. Its illegal.\n\nI mean... they could vote as a state to secede from the Union. At which point (assuming their vote passed) the Federal government would promptly step in and say \"nope\".",
"They can't do it. The US had a big war about it. The supreme court has also declared that states can't secede. \n\nBut just for the sake of argument. There's no constitutional precedent for it so they would either have to fight for an amendment or physically fight for their secession.",
"States can't secede from the Union. There is no legal framework for doing so because it is illegal. The last time a state tried to, there was an extremely destructive war with 600,000+ military casualties with millions of civilians dead. \n\n",
"States cannot legally secede from the United States under the Constitution. That means there are only two ways available to secede: win a war or pass an amendment to the constitution (that either specifically removes the state, or dissolves the union as a whole.) Even the former is debatable. Although winning a war would allow for a secession in practice, there'd still be no real way for the United States to legally recognize the state seceding without a Constitutional amendment of some kind. (unless the war led to the destruction of the United States entirely)",
"Secession is illegal. An amendment to the Constitution would need to be ratified to allow it. An amendment requires 3/4th of the states to approve. \n\nSo, really piss off 37 other states.",
"Legally, without war? They would have to successfully call a Constitutional Convention, propose and pass an amendment that set forth a manner for a state to succeed and then do so.",
"The only possible way to do it legally would be through an Amendment of the Constitution, which also means you need 3/4 of the States to allow it.\n\nConsequently, that also means you could technically dissolve the United States if you had 3/4 of the States to get on board.",
"This does bring up an interesting question though, doesn't it?\n\nThe big assumption here is that you can't secede because it isn't legal. If you were about to leave the US, would you really care about the laws of a country you are no longer a part of? So does legality of secession really matter?"
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1q4e65 | celibacy syndrome in japan? (if it is really happening, if not; eli5: japanese sexuality) | I've received a lot of mixed opinions on this subject and I'd really like to have it explained to me in a little more detail and with some more reading. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1q4e65/eli5_celibacy_syndrome_in_japan_if_it_is_really/ | {
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"Here's a good article about it: _URL_0_\n\nIn short, yes Japan has a low birth rate, but there's been a lot of sensationalist reporting that has focused on specific weird or exotic subcultures, such as the extremes of *otaku*, while ignoring the broader (and less bizarre) social and economic factors.",
"Its not really because of anything weird like \"celibacy syndrome\". Read the article posted in the comments here. Its mostly just because of the culture and economy/job market. \n\nJapanese culture in general is very formal and reserved, and school and career prospects supersede relationships for many young people. This phenomena on a large scale is largely responsible for the low birth rate.",
"Saw a commercial on TV while in japan (~6 years ago?) that the government was handing out \"Incentives\" for having a child. Something like 50\" TV's or something, my memory is a bit rusty. I guess that isn't too odd considering we (The U.S.) give out tax breaks for kids. \n\nWhen I asked the locals about it, I was told it was because of a cultural thing like zootam said, a very different ideal of just being too busy to have kids, not averse to having sex or dating. So they were trying to combat it with: Don't be a burden on society by being single! Get married and procreate for the country and betterment of the population! It's good for everyone, otherwise so many people DO become career oriented that they lose sight of relationships and creating families. \n\nOne person even told me that it is a common but not often discussed practice when hiring for large companies that if there is one office/floor full of all single workaholic guys then the company will, given two similar candidates, slip in a few females even if they are slightly less qualified. Not for equal opportunity employment but to better the odds of sparking an office romance and eventual marriage. Not in a play cupid kind of way but again more in a patriotic, betterment of all in the long term mentality. But for all I know that's an urban legend or made up.",
"I guess I always assumed that porn had a lot to do with the equation. The culture has produced a massive quantity of high-quality porn in any variety imaginable--it provides an outlet for introverted or busy people to satisfy their sexual drives, and can in some cases substitute the need for a relationship or dating. I would argue that it's not exactly a healthy trend for the sustainability of the culture.",
"Modern Japanese society is not conducive to meeting a lot of singles IMO, at least not in any way you can actually ask them on dates",
"It's not the otaku... they definitely don't represent a majority of men here. Not by a long shot. Hostess clubs and the like, while I imagine they can have some impact, also don't represent the majority.\n\nThough I don't know all the factors for the decline in birth rate, I'd definitely say that the logistics of having sex in Japan are a little bit more difficult to overcome. Sure, there are love hotels here, and they seem to do very well... but imagine paying $30-$100 every day that you want to have sex, not to mention you have to go out of your way to get to the love hotel. Of course, you can always have sex at either you or your partner's place, but lots of younger people in their 20s live with their families (to my knowledge). Actually, most young professionals I meet live with their families. It's not quite like America, where we try to get out of the house to live on our own after getting a job. We generally crave independence and freedom more than Japanese people do, in my opinion. In America, we're more ready to take on roommates and the like in order to be independent. In Japan, I don't think it happens nearly as much. Lots of university students commute from their parents' houses.\n\nBut that's just sex, not the birth rate. To help answer the original question, I'd like to ask the question -- how are the marriage rates? What could be affecting them? What's the average income of a young professional (including those ridiculously huge bonuses they get)? Honestly, I'd probably lean more towards that... women are getting more work now, and I don't think young professionals make nearly as much on average as they might in America. Most often, salary increases come from tenure, not necessarily from contribution, ability, etc. Japanese companies like to cultivate their new employees from a young age. The young get paid horribly, they're worked really hard, and they can't change jobs without having to start the whole process over. Compare that to America, where you generally try to change jobs to improve your situation.",
"When I was in secondary school (or high school for American redditors) I went to Japan for 6 weeks as an exchange student. I can vouch that Japanese men have very high sex drives and there are brothels that cater to all sorts of fetishes. There was one with an actual train coach where pervs can pretend they're in a train and shag a woman in office clothes.\n\nIt's difficult for young adults to have casual relationships in Japan. If they're not married they have to live with their parents because they believe in the Confucian principle of filial piety. Besides it's very expensive for singles to have their own pad. One of my Japanese foster fathers was a well-to-do chiropractor and yet his house is tiny.\n\nI think the celibacy syndrome was made popular by this article in The Guardian _URL_0_\n\nThe surveys quoted have to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. The Japanese have 2 sides to them. Most of the time they're very conservative and they wouldn't reveal their sexual preferences in a survey.",
"This kind of sensationalist journalism about freaky/weird Japan is getting so old.\n\"Ohh...there is a new fetish in Japan, licking doorknobs! Ohh! Now they have a new fetish...licking each other's eyeballs! Ohhh...wait...now they aren't having sex. WHAT A FASCINATING COUNTRY!\"\n\nIt is all bullshit.\n\nThat is not to say that Japan isn't different to other developed countries, it is, but in ways that aren't nearly as extreme.\n\nLet me first address the issue of population.\nJapan, like the rest of the developed world, is experiencing a population decline. This is in no way correlated to the amount of sex going on. It is due to couples choosing to have 1-2 children, or in some cases no children at all. This is due to financial/career constraints, ridiculous working hours and the cost of living. It is also because, as you may or may not know, Japan is quite an ethnocentric and racist (especially towards other Asian nations) country. Don't misconstrue this statement, I am just saying in general. Not everybody is racist of course, and most of the younger generation are very open to other countries and cultures. Japan is approximately 98.5% ethnically Japanese...so obviously there is not a lot of immigration allowed.\nAdd these factors together, and you have a falling population. I am not quite sure but I think it is a comparable rate to other developed countries. So, is it true that people in Germany and Australia aren't having sex either?! No...it isn't.\n\nSecondly, sex and sexuality.\nJapanese people have sex. Probably at a comparable rate to other developed countries. There are some groups, namely otaku (nerds, neck beards) who are generally disinterested in sex or feign disinterest in sex because they can't get it. They are the type of people who the foreign journalists target so that they can get statements like \"I prefer my virtual girlfriend\" \"A girlfriend is too troublesome\" etc etc. If a Japanese reporter went to America and targeted, let's say, tabletop gamers, and asked the same questions, they would probably get comparable answers.\n\nNow...just some general information you might find useful.\nThere are a whole heap of young (20-25) single child couples. I see them everywhere.\nThere are a lot of loveless marriages. More or less married for convenience OR married and then fell out of love but it is too shameful to divorce.\nI find that homosexuality is not really talked about in daily life. But homosexuals don't seem to face much aggressive discrimination (by that I mean being openly shamed, bullied, targeted for violence etc).\nJapan is still lacking in the gender equality department, but the younger generations are definitely up to speed. I would even go so far as to say that Japanese women in their 20s are more driven and outspoken than their male counterparts in daily life and studies, but still suppressed in their jobs because cranky, crusty old men are still in charge.\n\nFrom reading your other comments, it seems as though you are doing a research project. For the love of god if you want to produce actual research, learn the language and come to Japan and do actual research. That is the only way you are going to get reliable results. If it is just armchair research for your own curiosity, then by all means, ask me anymore questions.\n\nSource: part Japanese expat living in Japan for 3 years.",
"Living in Japan, I hear a lot about within Japanese marriages, they only have sex for children, and stay together for the kids. They married just to meet cultural pressure of marrying under 30 from parents and family and friends. Then either or both of the husband or wife go out and have sex with other people to meet their needs which they can't get from their marriage."
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eqk5z0 | when you eat something and you get diarrhea immediately after, do you digest the calories in the food or is it pooped out? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eqk5z0/eli5_when_you_eat_something_and_you_get_diarrhea/ | {
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"If you get diarrhoea immediately after, it’s probably from the previous meal.\n\nThe body doesn’t want you getting poisoned, and the first line of defence is throwing up what you just ate.\n\nIf the bacteria or amoeba have gotten into your intestines then the body tries to expel the food asap with a lot of water to help it on its way out; this is your diarrhoea. Since some of the food is partially digested already, you do get some calories from it.",
"What about popcorn?\nMy stomach reacts to it and I am certain that a lot of it comes out about 40 minuters after consuming it.",
"It is common to assume that the urge to defecate just after you've eaten is the same food. It isn't. It's not physically possible. It is a reflex called the gastro-colic reflex. Food in stomach = lower colon starts thinking about evacuating. Can be more pronounced in some situations than others, and in some people. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nDiarrhoea is a different process. Normally, when food residue goes through the gut, fluid in it is absorbed into the gut wall so it firms up. Diarrhoea occurs when the gut is damaged and can't do this, or if there is 'intestinal hurry', ie the food is moving through faster so there's not enough time to absorb the fluid. This can happen because of infection, or an irritating type of food, for example."
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3ikjzw | how come when a police department is accused of wrong doing in a case they investigate it? shouldn't some other department do it? | Shouldn't a nearby police department investigate or something? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ikjzw/eli5_how_come_when_a_police_department_is_accused/ | {
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"They probably should, but the logistics behind having a division devoted solely to policing nearby police departments just don't work out. Having to have your cops go elsewhere and investigate another department's affairs is difficult, and takes time and money that most police departments lack. Instead, they keep a (theoretically) separate Internal Affairs division that is supposed to police their own. \n"
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42q1kk | how do red light cameras know not to snap a picture when you can make a right turn on a red light? | I recently noticed a red light camera sign at an intersection I travel through daily. I make a right turn on a red 50% of the time all legal but how does the camera know? Or is it simply not angled at the right hand turn. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/42q1kk/eli5_how_do_red_light_cameras_know_not_to_snap_a/ | {
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"They give you \"clearance\" to make that turn without a ticket once they detect your speed has dropped to zero within an assigned zone. If you just rolled through without stopping you'd get a ticket."
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2ynifu | what does the letter from 47 u.s. senators to iran mean, and why are some saying it's treason? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ynifu/eli5_what_does_the_letter_from_47_us_senators_to/ | {
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"The 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to Iran basically saying that any deal they make with Obama (with respect to Iran's nuclear program) will basically be ignored by congress and that those Senators will ensure any such agreement has no effect once Obama finishes his presidential term and leaves office.\n\nSome people claim it's treason because the Senate has no right to interfere with diplomatic negotiations like that. Their job simply involves writing and passing legislation (i.e. laws). Their job does not involve making diplomatic negotiations on behalf of the President / government administration and it's definitely out of line for them to be interfering with diplomatic negotiations like this (especially when they are effectively trying to sabotage those negotiations and roadblock the President's attempts to reach an agreement). \n\nIt's a clear attempt to try and undermine the power of the government administration and the consequences (in terms of damage to diplomatic relations) could potentially be serious. In an international context, it frankly makes the US Senate (specifically the Republican Senators) look immature, ignorant, out of control, politically unstable and disrespectful to international law and foreign policy.\n\n",
"The Republicans have, for some time, refused to acknowledge Obama as their leader. They've done what they can to isolate him.\n\nTheir latest move is to try to co-opt the role of foreign policy control. Constitutionally, the President and Secretary of State have complete authority to negotiate with foreign powers, as the President is the commander in chief of the army. Congress must vote to go to war, but they cannot vote against peace.\n\nThe letter itself is a very troubling concern, because it indicates that the Republicans and their supporters have reached a point where they are attempting to create a shadow government - a separate government from the US government that does not respond to the President's authority. Typically, such moves are precursors to declarations of independence, as was the case of the Continental Congress forming to defy the British Parliament.\n\nIt's extremely unlikely that the Republicans are really trying to declare independence, but the fact that attempting to totally eliminate the President's voice is a vote-getter to them is a serious red flag. It indicates that US politics are at the absolute breaking point.",
"What does the letter mean? The letter points out that there are two types of agreements: treaties and executive agreements . \n\nTreaties are harder to get because the Senate has to ratify them by at least 2/3s. But treaties have the force of law and presidents have to follow and enforce them whether they want to or not.\n\nExecutive agreements typically deal with smaller issues. These are the instructions that the president issues to his State Department and ambassadors, telling them how to interact with the other heads of state. The other country simultaneously tells its cabinet & c how to interact with American government officials.\n\nThey are far less formal, and very easy to change; the President just signs a new set of instructions which he sends to his State Dep't. They are subject-to and must comply with any treaties that have been ratified by the Senate.\n\nThis letter summarizes the difference between executive agreements and treaties, and warns Iran that if it doesn't ask Obama to submit his agreement to the Senate for ratification as a treaty, then Obama's successor can ignore whatever agreements Obama makes.\n\nWhy are some saying it's treason?\n\nNegotiating with other countries is historically the President's job. This letter interferes with the current negotiation process, and is clearly trying to subvert Obama's authority. If Obama doesn't submit the agreement to the Senate for ratification, then he can't promise Iran that his successor will honor whatever promises the administration makes.\n\nThat said, the letter is not incorrect. And being rude doesn't equal treason. Members of congress try to interfere and shape the President's foreign policy all the time. Rarely with any success, it might be observed. The other side always gets all hot and bothered about this interference until something new appears on the papers."
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5emleq | why, when presented with information contrary to their belief, do people tend to become more steadfast in their belief? | *_trump supporters_* /s | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5emleq/eli5_why_when_presented_with_information_contrary/ | {
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"Identity formation. Your beliefs and opinions are part of that. Challenging your beliefs is challenging the you which you recognize yourself as.\n\nIt is changing you. And that is difficult to handle.",
"What you believe is a major part of what makes you who you are. When certain core beliefs are threatened your identity is threatened and that is a terrifying thing that has destroyed many people throughout history. As such, when you are presented with highly contrary information, rather than finding it on your own by seeking it out your mind sees that as an attack on who you are and will often go into a defensive mode and \"double down\" on the belief rather than changing it. \n\nAnd despite what your \"joke\" says it is not something limited to conservatives and Trump supporters. Liberals are just as likely to do the same thing, and most assuredly did so during this election in almost equal numbers to conservatives. ",
"Several factors here. Sometimes the 'information' is not accurate, or pertains to something for which there is a large grey area that allows a large range of equally valid opinions. Other times it's the way the information is presented. Some people have an unfortunate habit of using information as a weapon. Doing that will naturally put people on the defensive. Other times it's the people delivering the message. You know the old saw 'don't shoot the messenger' ? Well again sadly, some messengers as such sanctimonious berks that they could say the sun will rise in the east and a normal person would immediately begin hoping the sun would rise in the west. These are the people who use the morpheus meme. Finally, sometimes people are simply pig headed and refuse to believe what's in front of them. This however, is truly rare. You can generally attribute failure to the conveyor of the information. Few people know how to engage and persuade.",
"One reason is that all information is based on how you know that information to be true.\n\nTo give a very simple but important example of this, compare how science \"knows\" something to how Christianity (Generalized: this isn't all of Christianity; but rather the conservative, \"Bible-thumpers\" seen in a lot of US media) \"knows\" something:\n\n- Science starts from the assumption that human perception is all we have, and so tests ideas by setting up things so humans can observe a difference in outcomes based on which of two ideas is right. An idea is \"true\" if it can reliably predict the outcomes of such observations.\n- Christianity starts from the assumption that human perception is imperfect; and that only God is perfect, and so tests ideas by comparing them to what people wrote about what God said to them, to see what most closely matches God's Word. An idea is \"true\" if it perfectly matches God's Word.\n\nWhat this leads to is that \"conflicting information\" often isn't: God's Word means nothing to a scientist, and the ability to predict human observations means nothing to someone who follows this brand of Christianity.\n\nThe larger issue is that there are multiple (many more than just the two here) bases for answering the question \"how do you know what you know?\"; and any information based in one model for understanding the world may or may not be of any value in another model.\n\nWhich means that \"information contrary to my belief\" is really just evidence that the people presenting the information *clearly* have no idea what is really true; which reinforces my beliefs.\n\nP.S.\n\nJust a list of different major \"ways of knowing\" seen frequently in the US news:\n\n- Hard science. I know what I know because I can reliably predict how an experiment will turn out based on what I know\n- Social science. I know what I know because I can somewhat reliably guess how people will act and react based on what I know\n- Math. I know what I know because my logic is internally consistent, and does not contradict other people who make the same assumptions I do.\n- Religion. I know what I know because a Divine Being said it.\n- Spirituality. I know what I know because it feels right to me.\n- Politics. I know what I know because people agree with me.\n- Conspiracy theorist. I know what I know because people with power disagree with me."
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cn1ye2 | why does styrofoam squeaking give me the chills? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cn1ye2/eli5_why_does_styrofoam_squeaking_give_me_the/ | {
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"My girlfriend has something similar. She says it's sensory processing disorder, where you hear, see, or taste something and your brain over processes it and can be uncomfortable.",
"The styrofoam sound, nails on chalkboard, etc, all by chance make sounds in a frequency range similar to what baby make when crying. \nIt's possible humans evolved to hate that frequency range so we would pay attention to crying babies and try to make them stop crying. \nIt's also possible that humans used to have some kind of alarm call we no longer use that we evolved to respond to, baby just started crying in that range so we would pay attention to them. \n \nEither way, it's the frequency range we really hate."
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1xyo5y | why do people put "an" before words beginning with h? | I understand that in America certain H words aren't pronounced the same (Herbs) but I see "an history" or "an historical" often and other words, is this the explanation or is there more to it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xyo5y/eli5_why_do_people_put_an_before_words_beginning/ | {
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"It is an artifact of language related to the soft h -- it is common to all the words that receive the treatment normally reserved for vowels.\n\nUnfortunately, there's no good answer. It sounds right and when I try to avoid it, I get tripped up.\n\n\"An honest man takes an hour to eat an herb.\"\n\nversus\n\n\"A honest man takes a hour to eat a herb.\"\n\nTry it. Doesn't feel right. Just one of those little things about English that drives foreigners nuts.",
"Not everyone does, but it is because H is followed by a vowel. H has a very soft sound, in some languages it isn't even used, such as french. \n\nAccents come into it as well. One person might say \"a house\" whilst another says \"an 'ouse.\" What is incorrect is saying \"a 'ouse.\" The 'n' is used to highlight a new syllable. ",
"\"An\" precedes a vowel sound, not the starting letter, hence, a half an hour would be correct. Half has a \"h\" sound where hour has an \"o\" sound.",
"\"an history\" and \"an historical\" are wrong; you don't pronounce them with a vowel sound."
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14harw | how harmful are x-rays, and if harmful, why do dentists x-ray annually? thank you. | ELI5, kindly | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/14harw/how_harmful_are_xrays_and_if_harmful_why_do/ | {
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"Mod from r/Dentistry, here. Please refer to the xkcd radiation chart posted by x2mike2x. A full-mouth series of dental radiographs is about equivalent to the background radiation you are exposed to standing outside for maybe 2 hours.\n\nWe take x-rays to identify cavities or other problems that cannot be seen in the mouth directly. For example, we can find a cavity on an xray while it is still small, then restore. Alternately, we would be waiting for the cavity to grow to the point when it can be seen on examination, which would require the removal of more tooth structure to restore the tooth.\n\nAlso, most modern dental practices now use digital x-ray sensors, which require about 1/6th of the traditional radiation required to expose an image of the teeth.",
"Radiation absorbed into your body is measured though a unit called REM (Radiation Exposed Man). The maximum allowable dose for a nuclear worker is 5REM/1year. The amount of radiation that you are absorbing through a dental x-ray is 0.5mREM.\n1REM=1000mREM\nWith that said, you would need about 10,000 dental x-rays to be at your maximum allowable dose. You receive more radiation being on an airplane for 20 hours as you do in during 1 x-ray annually."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
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|
56vjp7 | why does google market pixel phone as verizon exclusive when it's not? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/56vjp7/eli5_why_does_google_market_pixel_phone_as/ | {
"a_id": [
"d8mpn8r"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"Verizon probably paid them for the privilege of it being the only US carrier to directly carry or market the phone. This is pretty common to give very good deals for types of exclusivity of a product."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
az0zdp | why is it nearly impossibly to revive a person after their heart stops beating? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/az0zdp/eli5_why_is_it_nearly_impossibly_to_revive_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"ei4l7r9",
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"text": [
"It's not nearly impossible if revival procedures are initiated *very* shortly after the heart has stopped. But every second that goes by decreases the person's chances of being revived. While the heart isn't beating, oxygen isn't being delivered to your body's organs, including the brain and the heart itself. Brain cells will start to die as soon as a minute or so after they're not getting oxygen. Heart cells not shortly after. At this point, revival may be impossible, or at the minimum the person will probably be dealing with some degree of brain damage.",
"it's not so much that the heart has stopped beating per se; it's that a heartbeat stoppage indicates some sort of major trauma, organ failure or prolonged asphyxiation, and recovering from one of *those* is generally pretty difficult.\n\nhearts are stopped and restarted pretty routinely under controlled circumstances for surgery; it's rather harder to restart one that's suffered some sort of trauma out who knows where in the world"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1x7dpu | why am i sometimes exhausted in a dream? | Sometimes I find myself (of course unaware) in a dream and the simplest tasks are nearly impossible to do because I'm so exhausted. ie: walking, or picking up something small. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x7dpu/eli5why_am_i_sometimes_exhausted_in_a_dream/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf8s9a1",
"cf8sr24"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
" It happens to me too... I like to think that, in reality, I'm actually trying to perform those actions, but I'm blocked by the sheets/ my body position.",
"hm. i used to have this happen when fighting in a dream, id feel like no matter how hard i swung or whatever, my attacks just did nothing to the enemy. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
284bco | what do those "work from home" spams actually get people to do? | I'm curious, I see those ads and get the spam all the time, just not curious enough to actually click one.
Work from home and get blah blah money for blah blah time.
What actually happens if you click on them?
does it install malware? Do they employ people to launder money? Write fake Amazon reviews?
Did a search, couldn't find this question already asked, apologies if I'm wrong. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/284bco/eli5what_do_those_work_from_home_spams_actually/ | {
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"text": [
"Some are money order scams, others want you to buy the thing that will help you make money.",
"Some of them get people to pay money to buy in, before providing very little or no work. Others have people acting as 'money mules', taking payments that are the proceeds of frauds, keeping a 'commission', and forwarding most of it to the criminals using money orders or other irreversible methods. ",
"Many of them are scams to attempt to steal personal information. \nMany are multi-level marketing scams, aka pyramid schemes. In such a scheme, a person pays money to have a chance to join the business and sell products... which they also pay for. You should never, ever, ever take any job that requires YOU to pay money. \nMany are not pyramid schemes and just trying to take the money and run. \nMany are just trying to get information to sell to advertising companies. \nYou may look at them and think hey, **I WOULD NEVER FALL FOR THAT!** but they prey upon the hopes, dreams and desperation of the poorly educated and/or desperate and/or greedy. It is pretty despicable.",
"I can tell you exactly what it is since I know everyone in that industry. Typically you buy a rehashed course of content. They'll present a series of upsells to cover their adcost(CPA).\n\nThey make money off YOU from selling your leads to boiler rooms in Utah. The value of the lead is determined by the price of the product. A $47 purchase goes for $40 a lead in Utah/Florida/AZ Floors. The boiler rooms will sell coaching & tax offers to you - varying upwards to $25,000. Usually average ticket prices are around $2000 to $8000.\n\nSo if you're pushing 300 sales a day which some decent \"bizopps\" do, you can do the math for yourself.\n\ntl;dr: Nothing of value behind the ads. Sorry!",
"Here in Australia, at least a few of them are money laundering schemes. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
4vgn06 | if the world is improving in almost all aspects of daily life in general, then why is mental illness, or specifically depression on rise and higher than ever? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4vgn06/eli5_if_the_world_is_improving_in_almost_all/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5y7d1k",
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"text": [
"Well, first of, though the world is improving in general, that doesn't mean it has to be improving for everybody (for example, if new technology becomes available that improves the lives of nearly everybody, it can still be a bad thing for people whose lives were strongly dependent on the old technology) nor does it mean people actually have to realise it is improving (crime-wise, we are all much safer than we were in the past, but because of how global and connected the media is now, people can still feel unsafer as all the bad news is now at your fingertips instead of just a fraction of it as it was in the past). What actual statistics tell us and what many people experience can be very different.\n\nSecondly, metal illnesses used to be very badly understood and stigmatised. 100 years ago, you also had people with depression, except it was just called being lazy or hysterical then. It is only recently that we've really started to broaden our understanding of mental illnesses (though we still need a lot more work there) and started to lessen the stigma so people can more easily admit that they do have these mental illnesses. \n\nThirdly, because we have grown to understand mental illnesses more, we are also able to diagnose them more easily. 50 years ago, you might only be diagnosed if you had the extremest form of a mental illness, but nowadays, you also get diagnosed if you have a less extreme form. That doesn't mean people 50 years ago didn't also have that milder form, it just wasn't recognised as being an illness. ",
"I just listened to a very good episode of the 'Cracked' podcast that was on \"skin hunger\". Basically, we're starving ourselves of contact, and not just in a sexual manner, but in a general way.",
"Because life is only improving in certain areas. Other, equally important, areas are sorely neglected.\n\nWe might not have polio or scurvy any more, but we don't look after ourselves in the non-mechanical sense as well as we once did.",
"one theory is that the rise of depression was caused by the invention of electricity that fucked up a normal schedule for a larger number of persons than before. \nadd to this that now we have more means to record the subjects.\n\n [this] (_URL_1_) is also a contributing factor.\n\n[some statistic facts about depression] (_URL_0_)",
"There was a freakonomics episode on this, but one of the theories about this is that people who live in terrible situations know why their situation is terrible. \n\nPeople in places where their situation is 'good' don't know why they're necessarily unhappy so they assume that THEY are the problem. \n\nThis is one of the reasons why people in generally better situations usually have higher suicide/depression rates. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/statistics-infographic",
"http://www.science20.com/florilegium/too_many_people_misdiagnosed_depression_blame_criteria_or_doctors"
],
[]
]
|
||
64jk0h | why is a telecom/isp selling your usage information any worse than reddit doing so? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/64jk0h/eli5_why_is_a_telecomisp_selling_your_usage/ | {
"a_id": [
"dg2l0pu",
"dg2leb9"
],
"score": [
7,
3
],
"text": [
"I don't have to go to reddit. If I want internet, I have to buy it from someone who is then going to sell my information",
"Instead of the internet pretend you're sending information via the post office. You agree to correspond with Reddit and mail them some of your information, the ISP selling your information would be akin to the post office looking at every piece of mail you send and selling that info to people. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
3xqk2x | why would companies prefer to hire multiple 20hr employees over 1 40hr employee? | EX I have seen posts for openings for a position that traditionally has 40 hrs/week available but only have (multiple) 20hr positions for the same job.
**Edit**
Wow thanks for the quick replies. That really makes a lot of sense now that you all mention it. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xqk2x/eli5_why_would_companies_prefer_to_hire_multiple/ | {
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"text": [
"Part time vs full time \n\nAvoid benefits and other taxes/ such?",
"No need to pay insurance and benefits, and also scheduling flexibility. Most places that do that are customer service related and have pretty well known busy and slow times. With nothing but 40 hour staff you'll have to have more people than you need working during slow times if you want to have enough available for the busy ones.",
"Bonuses, commission, vacation days, health insurance, retirement plans, stock options, and many other benefits are often tied to full-time status, while part-timers are ineligible. \n\nDon't forget that part-timers get a lower wage to begin with, and typically work more effectively because they have less time to slack off.\n\nAny business would be happy to reduce costs, liabilities, and long-term risk/cost, while getting the same or more work done.",
"Aside from the benefit issues, this can also be an issue of coverage. A 20 hour associate can be scheduled 5 four hour shifts that can be specifically for a rush or busy period or to cover breaks. As opposed to 40 hour associate who is probably scheduled 5 eight hour shifts.\n\nFor example, I managed an office supply store and back to school was just as big, if not bigger, than the holidays. I would always be slammed Monday through Friday between 5-8 when parents got off work and went shopping. But we wouldn't be busy earlier in the afternoon or the last two hours we were open.\n\nSo my options were to either overschedule staff in parts of the day I didn't need them (before 5 or after 8), run light as to not waste payroll and potentially miss out on business, or break up my part timers to run shorter 4 hour shifts.\n\nAside from that rather specific example, one 40 hour associate is more likely to go into overtime than two 20 hour associates which is practically sacrilege in the retail game. \n\nAlso consider how many payroll hours they have been allocated. 190 weekly hours = 4 full time and 2 part time (15 hours a week) employees OR 10 employees at 19 hours a week.\n\nTL;DR Scheduling and payroll is a juggling act between coverage, budget, and overtime issues.\n\n"
]
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| [
[],
[],
[],
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