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m4f6b
|
the banach–tarski paradox and the axiom of choice.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/m4f6b/elif_the_banachtarski_paradox_and_the_axiom_of/
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"There's an excellent description in the notes on [this](_URL_0_) Irregular Webcomic strip.\n\nTL;DR: (and that explanation is a TL;DR in itself) when you define an object in 3d-space as an infinite set of points rather than an \"object\" as we intuitively know it, weird shit happens.\n\nWikipedia puts the Axiom of Choice thus: \"Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection of bins, each containing at least one object, it is possible to make a selection of exactly one object from each bin.\" This of course includes *infinite* collections of bins, which is where the problem arises. It seems intuitive, but it can lead to a lot of supposedly impossible situations- such as the counterintuitive Banach-tarski paradox.",
"Question: Suppose I give you an infinite number of sets. Can you pick out an element from each of those sets and give me back all of your choices?\n\nTurns out you can't prove whether or not this is possible with the other axioms of set theory. You have to either accept or deny it on faith. (That's why they're called axioms.) This is the essence of the axiom of choice.\n\nNow, the AoC may seem intuitive, but it allows you to do many odd things. One of them is the Banach-Tarski paradox. You start with a ball, which is of course a collection of infinitely many infinitely small points. The axiom of choice says that there is a way to pick out subsets of these infinitely small points, dissassembling the ball. But we can then put these subsets back together in order to form two balls the exact same size as the original.\n\nThat's how I understand it, and I'm 5.",
"Banach-Tarski paradox: \nImagine you and an alien, lets call him Bob, are playing together. \nYou want to show him something fun. So, you take a balloon and fill it with 100 jelly beans. \nNow Bob, being an alien, does not see those jelly beans the same way you do. Instead of 100 jelly beans, Bob sees a balloon filled with sand. In fact, this sand is so strange that Bob cannot exactly explain to you what he sees. \nBob can show you a cool trick though. He says: \"Give me that other balloon you have there.\" You give him the balloon. \nYou are watching intently. What does Bob do? Well, he takes some of the jelly beans/sand out of the first balloon, puts it into the second balloon. \n\"What is this magic!?\" you think. Both balloons appear identical with each somehow having 100 jelly beans inside! \nThis magic is what adults call a 'paradox', because you cannot believe your eyes. \n \nAxiom of Choice: \nRemember the above magic? Well, some clever people (not aliens) playing with maths can prove that what Bob the alien did is real and that your eyes did not, in fact, deceive you. They can only do that by using maths which assumes we are not dealing with 100 jelly-beans, but with that strange sand which Bob the alien can only see.",
"Before you understand the explicit details of Banach-Tarski consider the simpler paradox (Hilbert's Paradox)\n\nSuppose we have a finite set of integers {a,b,c...,z}. If we multiply every number in that set by 2, we will not change the number of elements in the set. With this in mind, if we take an infinite set, e.g. the set of natural numbers N={1,2,3,...}, and multiply each element by 2 we get {2,4,6,...} - the even number set. These sets have the exact same size. \n\nBut wait, shouldn't there be exactly half as many even numbers as there are whole numbers? This is where intuition can mislead you. We have a one-to-one correspondence between the natural numbers and the even numbers. Remember, all we did was multiply every element in N by 2, we didn't change the number of elements. So in fact, there are exactly as many even numbers as there are natural numbers.\n\nBy the same token there are exactly as many odd numbers as there are natural numbers. If E is the set of even numbers and O is the set of odd numbers the (the size of E) = (the size of O) = (the size of E + O). A paradox? Not really.\n\nNow when we we deal with Banach-Tarski we are dealing with a similar situation. We can transform elements in the set (in this case the set is the points of a sphere), without changing its size, such that it appears as if we have twice as many elements.\n\nIt's important to remember that things are different when we deal with infinities. We cannot cut up an orange and reassemble it into two oranges of the same size, because oranges are made up on a finite number of atoms, not a continuum like R^3. \n\n",
"There's an excellent description in the notes on [this](_URL_0_) Irregular Webcomic strip.\n\nTL;DR: (and that explanation is a TL;DR in itself) when you define an object in 3d-space as an infinite set of points rather than an \"object\" as we intuitively know it, weird shit happens.\n\nWikipedia puts the Axiom of Choice thus: \"Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection of bins, each containing at least one object, it is possible to make a selection of exactly one object from each bin.\" This of course includes *infinite* collections of bins, which is where the problem arises. It seems intuitive, but it can lead to a lot of supposedly impossible situations- such as the counterintuitive Banach-tarski paradox.",
"Question: Suppose I give you an infinite number of sets. Can you pick out an element from each of those sets and give me back all of your choices?\n\nTurns out you can't prove whether or not this is possible with the other axioms of set theory. You have to either accept or deny it on faith. (That's why they're called axioms.) This is the essence of the axiom of choice.\n\nNow, the AoC may seem intuitive, but it allows you to do many odd things. One of them is the Banach-Tarski paradox. You start with a ball, which is of course a collection of infinitely many infinitely small points. The axiom of choice says that there is a way to pick out subsets of these infinitely small points, dissassembling the ball. But we can then put these subsets back together in order to form two balls the exact same size as the original.\n\nThat's how I understand it, and I'm 5.",
"Banach-Tarski paradox: \nImagine you and an alien, lets call him Bob, are playing together. \nYou want to show him something fun. So, you take a balloon and fill it with 100 jelly beans. \nNow Bob, being an alien, does not see those jelly beans the same way you do. Instead of 100 jelly beans, Bob sees a balloon filled with sand. In fact, this sand is so strange that Bob cannot exactly explain to you what he sees. \nBob can show you a cool trick though. He says: \"Give me that other balloon you have there.\" You give him the balloon. \nYou are watching intently. What does Bob do? Well, he takes some of the jelly beans/sand out of the first balloon, puts it into the second balloon. \n\"What is this magic!?\" you think. Both balloons appear identical with each somehow having 100 jelly beans inside! \nThis magic is what adults call a 'paradox', because you cannot believe your eyes. \n \nAxiom of Choice: \nRemember the above magic? Well, some clever people (not aliens) playing with maths can prove that what Bob the alien did is real and that your eyes did not, in fact, deceive you. They can only do that by using maths which assumes we are not dealing with 100 jelly-beans, but with that strange sand which Bob the alien can only see.",
"Before you understand the explicit details of Banach-Tarski consider the simpler paradox (Hilbert's Paradox)\n\nSuppose we have a finite set of integers {a,b,c...,z}. If we multiply every number in that set by 2, we will not change the number of elements in the set. With this in mind, if we take an infinite set, e.g. the set of natural numbers N={1,2,3,...}, and multiply each element by 2 we get {2,4,6,...} - the even number set. These sets have the exact same size. \n\nBut wait, shouldn't there be exactly half as many even numbers as there are whole numbers? This is where intuition can mislead you. We have a one-to-one correspondence between the natural numbers and the even numbers. Remember, all we did was multiply every element in N by 2, we didn't change the number of elements. So in fact, there are exactly as many even numbers as there are natural numbers.\n\nBy the same token there are exactly as many odd numbers as there are natural numbers. If E is the set of even numbers and O is the set of odd numbers the (the size of E) = (the size of O) = (the size of E + O). A paradox? Not really.\n\nNow when we we deal with Banach-Tarski we are dealing with a similar situation. We can transform elements in the set (in this case the set is the points of a sphere), without changing its size, such that it appears as if we have twice as many elements.\n\nIt's important to remember that things are different when we deal with infinities. We cannot cut up an orange and reassemble it into two oranges of the same size, because oranges are made up on a finite number of atoms, not a continuum like R^3. \n\n"
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2v35ul
|
how did vanilla come to be associated with white/yellow even though vanilla is black?
|
EDIT: Wow, I really did not expect this to blow up like that. Also, I feel kinda stupid because the answer is so obvious.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2v35ul/eli5how_did_vanilla_come_to_be_associated_with/
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"Isn't the flower white?",
"The association is probably due to the color of vanilla ice cream (and other dairy based desserts like creme brûlée). That white/yellow color is the color of the cream itself used to make these desserts. ",
"Yeah as other people have said I'd say it's because it's placed as a minority substance into other things that generally have a creamy color (because they contain flour and/or eggs).",
"Vanilla beans are black, but vanilla extract is not really. It's more of a dark amber. When you add a few drops of that to a huge bucket of ice cream made of milk and sugar, it turns a little yellowish like French Vanilla ice cream. Using artificial vanilla flavoring instead of extract makes white ice cream because vanillin is a pure white powder. ",
"Most people don't see vanilla beans or know what they look like. Their main experience with vanilla comes from vanilla extract or vanilla-flavored foods, especially vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is white or whitish yellow.",
"Vanilla flavored things tend to not have nearly enough vanilla in them to turn black/dark brown, it's a very powerful flavor that is used sparingly. ",
"Its yellowish because that's what color you get when you mix vanilla with cream. Its potent stuff. You you added it to your ice cream until it went black, you wouldn't be able to eat it.",
"Better question: why the fuck is raspberry always fucking blue?",
"Vanilla is overwhelmingly used to flavour custards and other dairy products. The black pigment of the seeds doesn't leech so most vanilla flavoured things are cream coloured. ",
"[NPR did an article about this](_URL_0_), titled \"When vanilla was brown and how we came to see it as white.\"\n\n[Slate did one that touches on it](_URL_1_). \n\nI think the biggest point out of the articles that answers your question is that vanilla came to the U.S. most likely as an ice cream flavoring. It was prized in ice cream and other foods for both its scent and flavor, and because it was considered a delicate and exotic flavor/scent, it was used in moderation. Even today, vanilla ice cream made with real vanilla will be white, because vanilla is incredibly strong and the amount that lends a good level of flavor/scent is not nearly enough to color the otherwise white ice cream significantly. \n\nThis is pretty much exactly what /u/vadergeek and other commenters have said; I thought the articles lent an interesting background from both practical and social perspectives. ",
"I think it is because of advertisement aspect of the product. The vanilla beans are black and the vanilla flowers are white. Putting a long, round, black thing on the label isn't the most attractive thing to that consumer. Putting a white flower, on the other hand will make the product looks a lot more attractive and appealing to the consumers. Therefore I think vanilla is associate with white/yellow instead of black. ",
"also, why do people consider vanilla to be plain? vanilla is a completely different flavor all it's own from other ice cream. they don't make ice cream flavors by making vanilla and adding stuff to it (usually).",
"Speaking of vanilla, you can make your own vanilla extract. There are a bunch of sites with recipes, even mini liquor bottles that look so cute. \n\n\nHow to make your own homemade vanilla extract, it's easy! All you need are vanilla beans, vodka and a glass jar.\n\nINGREDIENTS\n3 vanilla beans\n1 cup vodka\nglass jar with tight fitting lid\n\nMETHOD\n1 Use kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, leaving an inch at the end connected.\n\n2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (mason jars work well). Cover completely with the vodka. \n\n3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.\n\nLasts for years. You can keep topping it off with vodka once in a while as you use it, just remember to give it a good shake.\nYou can also make vanilla sugar by putting a split vanilla bean into a jar of white, granulated sugar. Great way to infuse the sugar with vanilla flavor for baking.\n\n \nSimply Recipes _URL_0_\n\n\nRead more: _URL_0_/recipes/how_to_make_vanilla_extract/#ixzz3R45ZUkMd",
"The bean and seeds are black, and although imparting a lot of flavor, not much color if any is imparted to the food. ",
"Likely because using vanilla as a flavoring does not alter the color of the food. Vanilla is so strog a flavor that not much is needed to flavor foods. Before vanilla extract was invented, a common way to flavor baked goods was through the use of vanilla sugar. To make vanilla sugar, a bean pod was stored in the barrel of sugar, and the sugar would take on the flavor of the vanilla pod. Even now, if real vanilla flavoring is being used, the extract is in such small quantities that at best it turns ice cream a pale yellow. Even if the bean itself is ground up and added, this just results in tiny black specs while not altering the color of the food itself. ",
"Anything black diluted will change color because in nature black is rarely truly black. Black berries will turn blue, black carrots turn purple dilute it more it will be pink. Vanilla will turn brown, then light brown which can look yellowish. Vanilla extract is colorless, and is usually mixed with cream, so its white. We grow up associating vanilla with white so people want to usually incorporate white into their vanilla flavored foods. Yellow is uncommon and is not yellow because of the vanilla, they probably have lots of eggs or sugar, or food coloring. Sugar and eggs add a yellow color to foods as suger is brown when cooked and eggs have yolk. ",
"I'm not too sure but:\nVanilla is commonly used in products like yoghurt, ice cream, cakes icing, etc. And since most of these pruducts are light colored, the vanilla gives them a slighty yellowish tint. We associate vanilla with the color we consume it in - light/yellowish, as we normally don't eat it raw(when it appears in its true color, black). ",
"Originally ice-cream was made with egg-yolks, giving it a yellow colour (if e.g. strawberries or chocolate was not added) so vanilla ice-cream was then light yellow with little black dots.\n\nIt is probably cheaper (and easier) just to add some food colouring than to find small black spots... ",
"There are some spices and beans which only require a slight ammount to flavour a dish or mixture, \n\nSaffron is red/orange but leaves dishes with a yellow taint, \n\nPeople get their impression from the final product, and since vanilla is mostly used in creams and confections like icecream and custards, people end up seeing white or yellow products with it. \n\nActually, if you see that a vanilla product (ice cream mostly) is white instead of a creamy yellow with little black dots, its most probable that its not vanilla but vanilline which is vanilla substitue made out of wood pulp, apparently 9 out of 10 people cant tell them apart. ",
"REAL vanilla ice cream has black flecks of ground vanilla pods in it. If I see that I know it's not artificially flavored. ",
"If you add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to milk, dough or butter, the color will change to a light but creamy beige.\n\nEDIT: Moderate amounts, A glass of milk, a pound of dough, half a pound of butter. ",
"I'm always annoyed when people say vanilla to connote \"boring.\" I think it was is one of the most delicious, complex flavors the world offers.",
"I'm assuming because the flower it comes from (orchids) are white. Also, as a chef, whatever form of it you use to cook with does not alter the color. Most items associated with vanilla flavor (ice cream, pudding, custard) end up being white/yellow. ",
"Creme brulee which is made of cream, egg and vanilla \"beans\". Is colored yellow probably due to the egg. Vanilla itself also only gives flavour.. It doesn't actually add color value to your food. Creme brulee is a very old receipe aswell. So maybe that's why?",
"Perhaps because fat is white / yellowish-offwhite ? I eat a lot of ice cream, and when I think of vanilla, I think of vanilla ice cream. Ice cream is mostly fat.",
"I would definitely associate that with how most people encounter the word \"vanilla\". You'll find that most foods flavored vanilla are white /light colored. We rarely see vanilla in its natural form.",
"vanilla ice cream? maybe",
"of all the ice cream flavors, plain vanilla is the most bland imo.\nand so is white. there you go.",
"I would assume ice cream. Ice cream, coming from cream, is naturally white. When you add vanilla to it it doesn't alter that pigment. Chocolate or strawberries or peaches etc. do make it a distinct color. ",
"You do not eat the bean. You extract the flavor from the bean using any one of the various methods. Once the flavor is imparted to whatever you have chosen to impart it in (assuming whatever you used is white, like cream) the substance takes on an off white color.",
"If you make real vanilla pudding from scratch (given you already invented the universe beforehand), you will find a yolk among the ingredients. It affects the taste, but also adds a yellow note to the otherwise white starch and sugar based pudding with tiny black vanilla dots. I think that's why. People thought of this pudding when making other vanilla products, like sauce or ice cream.",
"I assume the flavoring is older than artificial coloring. Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s\n\nLots of people are saying it was just used to flavor white foods and it's not a strong dye. Like most plants the bean starts is as green abs turns brown as it drys. \n\nI know it is from an orchid originally found in Mexico. Then exported all over the world via the spice trade.\n\nTIL: vanilla flowers are only open for about a day and are pollinated by hand. That's why it's the second most expensive spice. ",
"Vanilla ice cream is the most popular vanilla flavored food, and it's white. ",
"Because of the ice cream. When you are a kid there is basically two flavored. Chocolate and vanilla",
"Because it flavors icecream without altering its color or there being a specific other color associated with it.\n\nMost people most frequently encounter vanilla in vanilla icecream, which is white.",
"white people stole it. it was originally called \"blacknilla\".",
"I never thought I'd see so many fucking people arguing about vanilla. And why did I read so much of it? ",
"When I mix pure vanilla extract with a white base, it gives me a beige color. Which totally looks vanilla. ",
"Have you seen the ice cream?",
"Vanilla extract is very concentrated, so a very tiny amount is needed to add flavor though not enough to color food dark brown.",
"Can you think of many popular products with vanilla flavor that arent milk or cream based?\n\nYou are indeed right, it is black or brown. Hence why the \"vanilla\" color is not offwhite, but rather a few tones darker and browner. \n\nThe yellow tone comes from the egg plums in icecream. ",
"Probably because all of the best things are white.",
"The flower is white and yellow, and the pods/seeds leave a yellowish color in foods. Plus with it being an expensive ingredient, those that used it wouldn't want its flavor masked by something else. Thus breads, cakes and etc., would have little else for other colors: white flour/sugar and yellow butter/eggs. This would solidify the association of vanilla with yellow and white.",
"Icecream. \n\nNow even though that's really the only word you need to answer this question, I have to type all of this random useless bullshit so automoderator doesn't delete my answer, because \"short = bad\". ",
"I didn't see any comments about this, but [vanillin](_URL_0_) is the primary component of vanilla bean extract that gives that characteristic vanilla flavor. Synthetic vanillin is also available, but natural or synthetic, it is bright white with a slight yellow tint.\n\nThe chemical literally responsible for characteristic vanilla flavor is white/yellow.\n\nEdit: Not to say that this is how it came to be associated with white/yellow color. There are more plausible explanations and a lot of good comments in this thread about that already. I just thought this was an interesting coincidence.",
"While there are more logical responses, I like to think that because chocolate is dark colored, the contrasting vanilla taste would be associated with white.",
"I figure unflavored ice cream is a white color because of the milk in it. Even though vanilla beans are black in color, not enough of it is added to distort the color of the ice cream. Thus, people associate vanilla with the color white.",
"It only has in modern times due to its use in Dairy, and mainly ice cream. You have to use so little to flavor that the dairy stays white and is not tinted. ",
"TIL people don't cook and will spew any old opinion.\n\n\nTake a teaspoon of vanilla and mix it into a cake batter. What happens? the colour disappears and there is your answer.\n\nWe don't use enough of it to change the frigging colour.",
"Vanilla ice creams and custards come out yellow and white, and those are two main things made with vanilla.\n\nI'd imagine that's the reason.",
"It is pretty simple. \"pure ice cream\" is what color? it is made of milk so it is white.\n\nyou don't add huge chunks of vanilla you add a very tiny (relative) quantity to the ice cream (in the good stuff its the little black specs I believe???)\n\nso when you add vanilla to white ice cream it is still....white.\n\nso we associated that color with that flavor.",
"Please understand I am not an expert in the field and this is just based on the food network shows I've seen. \n\nThe base for ice cream consists of eggs, sugar, milk/cream. From what I understand, the flavor from a pod of vanilla is usually sliced opened and scraped out which results in just these little black seeds, mostly. That's why when you see some 'french vanilla' ice cream flavors it will be white/off white (the base of any Icd cream) with little black specks (the vanilla). \n\nEdit: really thought this said vanilla ice cream not just vanilla in general. Fuck my reading comprehension. ",
"See the black flecks. That's the vanilla. The rest is cream and cream colored fillers. ",
"Well, as someone who doesn't know a a huge amount about the history of the vanilla pod, but knows a good amount about baking, another possible explanation is that when you add vanilla bean to products that are typically flavored with vanilla, those products tend to have a very light base (in color and in flavor) to allow the flavor of vanilla to be detectable. The seeds/flavoring start out black or very dark brown, but then disperse throughout the batter or whatever it is that's being flavored and turn it a cream color. Again, not very historical or science-y, but just a possibility!",
"Because it was added to otherwise unflavoured ice cream, which is white.\n\nIn China I usually hear them call white ice cream \"milk flavour\" even though of course it isn't.",
"The real question is how did vanilla become associated with blandness in the metaphorical sense, when vanilla bean/extract is actually an extremely potent and unique flavor.",
"If youve ever used vanilla, a realistic amount adds a yellowish tint.",
"The vanilla in vanilla colour refers to the flower, not the flavour.",
"Vanilla extract when put in Ice Cream doesn't turn black but dissolves into that yellow color.",
"I always thought it was because in the past folks with little money baking cakes produced the easiest ones--which are yellow and white with vanilla. \n\nPrairie folk weren't baking red velvet or chocolate. So vanilla became synonymous with white/yellow cake. ",
"vanilla is associated with white/cream or plain color because the ice cream is this color. duh",
"Isn't the flower from the plant a yellowy cream color?",
"Because everything that has ever been good eventually ends up white",
"Vanilla icecream, pudding, creme brullee are 99.9% other ingredients, since vanilla is so intense. So when people see vanilla dairy products they associate it with white/yellow. ",
"vanilla ice cream is white. commonly seen/ said.\nmabe lead to this..",
"Because black, in the food industry isn't considered to be an appetizing colour. When most things spoil it turns dark. So they took the colour and image of the flower from the vanilla plant to use for vanilla related labelling. Been like that forever. ",
"Probably because cream is white and when making VANILLA flavored ice cream, the beans are so small that they don't really change the color of the cream....which is why vanilla bean Ice cream is white with black spots...\n\nAnd why vanilla flavor is associated with a white/cream color. ",
"Vanilla is considered Plain/Original... So white ",
"Probably because the flower itself is not black and most foods associated with it are not either. ",
"Fun fact on the opposite side: the inside of a cocoa pod is white.",
"Apart from the fact that the flower is off-white.. I am willing to bet the French had something to do with this as well. Custards are a French invention, and vanilla custard is yellow to yellow-ish white. As time went by most people probably associated vanilla with vanilla custard and later vanilla ice cream, and the connection to the light yellow color was made. Perhaps some reddit linguist with a double major in French food history can verify (or falsify) my hypothesis..",
"I always thought it was because vanilla was considered the plain flavour since its pretty weak (ie plain ice cream is vanilla ice cream) so it doesn't get a colour."
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[],
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[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanillin"
],
[],
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[],
[],
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[],
[],
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[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
d47io6
|
when is me and my friend acceptable to use instead of my friend and i?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d47io6/eli5_when_is_me_and_my_friend_acceptable_to_use/
|
{
"a_id": [
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],
"score": [
16,
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],
"text": [
"Take out the 'my friend'. If the sentence still makes sense, you're using the correct me/I. If it doesn't make sense, you're using the wrong one.\n\nAs an ELI8 or something, if you and your friend are the first nouns it will usually be 'I', if you're near the end of the sentence it'll be 'me'. But not always, so the first method is more accurate.",
"Do you want to come with me and my friend? \nMy friend and I are going soon.",
"\"my friend and I got an apple from the farmer\" vs \"the farmer gave me and my friend an apple.",
"Auto mod rule 10’d me so let me try again.\n\n-\t[person] + me = us\n-\t[person] + I = we\n-\t“my friend and I went to the movies” - > “we went to the movies”\n-\t“an Uber picked me and my friend from the movies” - > “an Uber picked us up from the movies”",
"\"I\" is *nominative* (the subject of the sentence) and \"me\" is *objective* (a direct or indirect object or the object of a preposition). So you would use \"my friend and I\" when the two of you are *the ones doing* whatever the verb of the sentence is, and \"me and my friend\" when the verb of the sentence is *being done to* you; you would also use \"me and my friend\" as part of a prepositional phrase such as \"between me and my friend\" or \"above me and my friend.\"",
"If you and your friend are *doing* something it’s “my friend and I”\n\nIf something is *being done* to you (being referred to, for instance) its “my friend and me”\n\nExample: \n\nMy friend and I went to clown school\n\nThose clowns schooled my friend and me",
"When you and your friend are in the nominative, you MUST use \"my friend and I\". The first person (\"I\") goes closer into the rest of the sentence.\n\nWhen you and your friend are in the objective, you MUST use \"me and my friend\". Again, \"me\" goes closer in to the rest of the sentence.\n\nMy friend and I like to shoot innocent bystanders.\n\nInnocent bystanders like to be shot at by me and my friends."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5i0jrx
|
why does filling a growler at a brewery cost almost 2x as much as buying a 6 pack of the same beer at the grocery store?
|
Math:
A growler is 64 ounces and you can fill it for about $14. That is about $0.23 per ounce.
A six pack of 12 fl oz bottles of the same beer at the grocery store will run you about $9-$10, or roughly $0.12-$0.14 per fl oz.
So if I bring my own reusable growler to the brewery, I save the brewer the cost of bottling, shipping, storing, and paying the grocery store their cut.
How in the hell am I paying more for growlers?
Just to pre empt, I know. "ELI21"
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5i0jrx/eli5_why_does_filling_a_growler_at_a_brewery_cost/
|
{
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2,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"Here in Indianapolis I pay anywhere from $7 to $10 for a growler fill up and $10 to$12 for a six pack. So it is cheaper in some places ",
"It sounds like your brewer is capitalizing on the fill-it-yourself craze going on right now. Like charging extra to buy jeans that are pre-worn. They're charing you extra for the \"experience\" or the cool factor.",
"In addition to what other redditors have stated, you also need to think of the supply chain. It's a hell of a lot easier for a brewery to meet an order for 100 six packs if there is no demand on the product \"in the middle\" of production. The added price for \"fill your own growler\" could encompass a certain amount of production risk within it (i.e. like insurance in case a sudden large demand on fill-it-yourself causes production to shortfall an order). \n\nThe higher price helps to keep that demand low *and* safeguard from shortfall.",
"Because costs are somewhat based on what the market will pay. \n\nIf they charge 14 bucks for a refill and people are paying it then that's the price they can get away with charging. \n\nPrice is often determined based on what the customers will pay. \n\nThey do it because they can. ",
"It really depends on the brewery. Some microbrews don't distribute, meaning the only way to get their product is to go to the brewery. You're also paying for beer at its freshest. At a store, that beer has probably been sitting a few weeks to a month. At a brewery, they probably filled the keg that very day or a few days prior. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
473k4b
|
that weird "out of body" feeling
|
What exactly is that weird kind of feeling you sometimes have when you're standing or walking? It feels like being extremely lightweight or flying.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/473k4b/eli5_that_weird_out_of_body_feeling/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d09vv4y",
"d0a7qe6"
],
"score": [
20,
5
],
"text": [
"You might be referring to something called disassociation. It's quite common and can range anywhere from day dreaming to total amnesia. On the more severe side, it's usually caused by some sort of stress or trauma and is a coping mechanism by the brain. ",
"That feeling usually means you had a short drop in blood pressure, blood sugar or oxygen levels. Like DaisyLayz said that can be caused by many physical and psychological reasons, but it's usually just the body shifting gears."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
3tj0of
|
how do shows like breaking bad get so much money in the show?
|
As far as I know its illegal to print fake money under any circumstances. So how do they get stacks and stacks of paper bills to appear in the episodes?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tj0of/eli5_how_do_shows_like_breaking_bad_get_so_much/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cx6kkrf",
"cx6lmso"
],
"score": [
6,
3
],
"text": [
" > print fake money under any circumstance\n\nthis isnt totally true. Lots of movies print \"fake\" money, but it often has glaring problems that prevent it from actually being used, like being one sided or having no numbers etc",
"This link covers the source and issues with prop money: _URL_0_ "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://priceonomics.com/the-business-of-fake-hollywood-money/"
]
] |
|
2chb6g
|
why does windows have a refresh feature when mac os x and linux doesn't? what's different in the way they handle things that makes the refresh feature relevant in windows?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2chb6g/eli5_why_does_windows_have_a_refresh_feature_when/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cjfiaah"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"On Mac OS X, the difference is that Finder windows are always kept up-to-date within a few seconds. If you have a program that's saving a bunch of documents on a Mac, and you open the folder where it's saving those documents in the Finger, you'll see them appear as they're written.\n\nIn early versions of Windows, once you opened a folder in Windows Explorer it didn't automatically refresh unless you pressed the Refresh button.\n\nFor quite some time that was supposed to have changed - Explorer windows were supposed to refresh automatically. In practice, though, it's been buggy - there have been numerous circumstances that can cause the window to not refresh when it should.\n\nThere's no really good reason why it has to be that way. Windows certainly has the capability of monitoring its file system, but it's been buggy - so they left the Refresh button there.\n\nMac has always gotten this particular feature right so they've never had a Refresh.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2teexb
|
what is the frequency range which is transmissible/functional within the fiber optic cables that constitute the basic infrastructure of the internet, like the undersea cables.
|
How do these frequencies change, for example do they ever shift gradually, if quickly, or is the information always completely "digital"? Do these systems use binary transmission?
Edit: could you transmit an unencoded analog video signal on these lines?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2teexb/eli5_what_is_the_frequency_range_which_is/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cny9pg7"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"190,230,350 THz are typical, higher for plastic & lower for glass because of where in the spectrum these substances absorb more light. The frequencies don't change, it's a laser producing a very narrow spread. Always digital, usually directly modulating the laser."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
acmj6t
|
why is it that when having a sore throat, both very hot (f.ex hot tea) and very cold (f.ex ice cream) substances helps with pain relief?
|
Currently sick with the flu and this question popped into my head.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/acmj6t/eli5_why_is_it_that_when_having_a_sore_throat/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ed97j4c",
"ed9i690"
],
"score": [
78,
16
],
"text": [
"Cold things reduce inflammation and have a numbing effect. No surprises why that's a relief on your throat - it dulls the discomfort and lowers swelling in your nodes/tonsils/esophagus. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nWarm things help with areas that are overexerted, sore, and stiff/ knotty by dilating capillaries and increasing blood flow to the area. I think the relief part is somewhat due to dilation aiding the healing process... and somewhat because heat is reassuring and that comfort is by definition analgesic (relieving of pain)",
"Your pain nerves are small and transmitt quickly, the nerves that transmit heat/cold signals are big and slow so when heat or cold is applied, these signals overwhelm the pain signals. \n\nThat is why your mum put a hot water bottle on your tummy! \n\nYou can test the speed by having someone put a drop of hot or cold water on your toe, you will feel it land instantly but it will take a second to discover if it is hot or cold."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
1k2ag9
|
why my medicine costs 14k for every dose. how is it even possible for a chemical to cost that much?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1k2ag9/eli5_why_my_medicine_costs_14k_for_every_dose_how/
|
{
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"text": [
"You aren't paying for the actual chemical, you are paying for all the research that led to the creation of that medicine. It may take a company millions or billions of dollars to find, test, and build manufacturing to develop a new drug, and then it may cost nearly nothing to manufacture each dose.",
"Don't confuse *cost* with *price*.\n\nThe *cost* of any substance will be based on the sum of the processes required to produce it, and some biomedical substances can be staggeringly complex, and therefore expensive to make.\n\nThe *price* of that substance is what they are able to charge for it on the free market, which, hopefully, values it at more than its *cost*, so that the producer can make a profit.",
"It's not just the cost of the raw supplies, but the college educated scientists, chemists, and medical doctors who developed the drug; the equipment to make it; trial costs; patent costs; marketing, etc.",
"I'm on remicade and it costs 4k per dose. I am really glad I'm Canadian.",
"You're also paying for the many projects which didn't work. ",
"Let's say a pharmaceutical company spends a billion dollars researching a drug for a disease only 10,000 people have.\n\nThey need to earn $100,000 from each of those people to break even, before you even consider how much it actually costs to make each dose.",
"It takes an average of 10 years to take a pharmaceutical concept to market. \n \nI have a colleague that used to work at Eli Lilly as a chemical engineer. He told me that they built a whole new manufacturing building solely for a new drug before it was even approved by the FDA for market use - They do this because they only have so many years of profit before their patent runs out, so they want to be running on all cylinders on day 1. Anyway, the drug was never approved. They had this brand new building that sat empty for years afterwards. \n \nSo yeah, you are also paying for that.",
"I'm surprised no one has mentioned that it could also be the percentage yield of the reaction which makes the drug. \n\nDue to molar ratios and how the reactants become the product, you could have a percentage yield less than 1% for some reactions, that is to say, you could react 1000 lbs of X and 1000 lbs of Y and only get 20 pounds of Z, and depending on the costs of X and Y, Z could be very expensive.",
"Average cost to bring a drug to market hovers around $1.3 billion per drug, which includes conception, production, many stages of clinical trials, getting approval by the FDA or similar governing body, patents, the hundreds of people working on that drug, etc. If I create a drug that cost $1 billion in all of that and there are 100,000 people with the disease I'm treating, I'd have to charge minimum $10,000 per dose just to break even.\n\n But I can't just stop there. If along the line it appears that my drug causes horrendous side effects that weren't previously known, I'm liable to a massive lawsuit and if I broke even with that drug I'm gonna go bankrupt. \n\nAnother scenario: My patent expires after 20 years from filing. Now generic forms of my drug hit the market and they can undercut me by a couple orders of magnitude in price because they didn't have to pay for all of the shit listed above. If I'm not in the black at this point I'm basically screwed.\nI also have a duty to my shareholders, if any, to make as much money as possible.",
"I am not a doctor, but I just asked my friend who is, and his response was \"unadulterated greed\". ",
"Read the wikipedia info on it [here](_URL_0_).\n\nIt's not as simple as being \"made\" or mass produced, each batch is a combination of human and mouse antibodies from the looks of it. The process involved in making a batch must be insane. Sorry it costs so much. ",
"Simply put, it doesn't matter if the chemical costs $14,000 a dose or not to manufacture, as long as enough people are willing to pay it so that it's profitable, that's what they'll sell it at. More than likely insurance is spending a few grand per dose after 'negotiating' a pretty big fee. ",
"Cred: my wife is a medical professional and so is her mother and father.\n\nImagine this situation: You go to the hospital for and illness, say, pancreatits. You are in the hospital for a week and get morphine and IV fluids the whole time.\n\nAt the end of your stay, you see the bill: $4,000 for each shot of morphine!? $1,200 for each IV drip?! These prices are insane!\nBut wait, you have insurance! The insurance company is taking care of most of that cost. \n\n\nNow imagine this: Another guy also gets admitted to the hospital with pancreatits. He gets the same treatment as you do for the same amount of time, and of course, he gets the same bill. But this guy doesn't have insurance. He can't pay those bills. The bill causes him to go bankrupt (healthcare costs are the #1 cause of debt in this country) and the hospital never gets their money. It's a good thing they charged *your* insurance so much so it covered you *and* this guy.\n\n**TL;DR:** The hospital can charge almost whatever they want and the insurance company will pay them. They charge insane amounts to everyone, and the people with insurance cover the people without it.\n\n**EVEN MORE TL;DR:** A hospital is a business, too.\n",
"A 0.2mm by 80mm by 80mm metal plate that will not rust, corrode or react to human tissue and that does not poison mammals goes for around $3700.00 right now. Its called Tantalum and the way you get it is much the same way as you refine uranium for weapons. A tantalum plate will outlive you by thousands of years. Only heat and fluorine can harm it. This is just an example of what is involved in medicine.\n\nA LOT of these medicines take days from start of molecule to end of molecule, many have to be processed on hand made precision fabricated and computer controlled batch machines which then have to be broken down and cleaned. Some are made on hand assembled glassware and run day after day by a person with a doctorate degree in molecular biology - occasionally by the very person who invented the process.\n\nIf it takes a man with twelve years of schooling over one hundred hours to make and has to be medically pure and tested/monitored at every stage in its creation, you can be guaranteed it isn't gonna be cheap.\n\nLet alone research and development costs. The price of the equipment, maintaining the clean environment and the shipping and handling of the chemicals. Many of these chemicals have a limited shelf life because their decay forms can be poisonous to lethal. Usually they don't work and sometimes they can have disasterous effects on random people's health.\n\nSo research, development, approval, production, shipping, storage AND lawsuits resulting from injuries are all placed into the adjusted cost of the material.",
"For those who want an answer that is not \"your paying for the failed trials\"\n\nActually producing monoclonal antibodies, (anything with mab at the the end), is horrifying. These are easily the best and most specific new technology in the medical field.\n\nScaling up production to manufacture enough for clinical trials, and then enough to sell (all has to be made at once) is not only ridic expensive, but very very time consuming. Quality control is of the utmost, and most people in the field, even the best, cannot produce 200 thousand doses of a drug\n\n\nSource: Been there, done that",
"How much you have to pay has almost nothing to do with cost. THey have something you need, there are no good substitutes so they can charge you whatever they feel they can get away with to maximize profit. ",
"There are research and development costs that go into creating that pill. The pill itself might cost a few cents to produce, but $45 million was spent to make the first one. Typically they have a patent for 15 years so no generics can be made if it. The pharmaceutical companies therefor have a monopoly and will structure the pricing to maximize profits over that 15 years. ",
"It has nothing to do with research. Over the past 10 years the pharmaceutical industry made larger profits than the automotive, oil and airplane industries combined. The fact is since they make chemicals that keep you alive or save your life and they have no competition, people will pay anything to get them. Nobody has payed attention to these companies for decades and now they are getting away with financial murder. ",
"I don't know. But when I find the boss of the company who thinks its ok to charge me or anyone else 4k a week for chemotherapy, I'm gonna tell him/her to look me in the eyes and tell me that if I want to live, I have to pay you thousands of dollars to stay alive. Just wanna see the reactions. ",
"You are paying for research and testing. And then they add a few thousand because they can exploit insurance companies in the us.",
"Because you live in the United States.",
"Your medicine costs 14k per dose? How often do you have to take it?!",
"Wow. Some dumbass is going through downvoting everything that mentions \"living in the United States,\" as the reason for this problem.\n\nHere's another comment you can downvote, duder. That is absolutely, 100%, the problem.\n\nHere's a Wikipedia link, I'm using it because it isn't behind a paywall. Read the first fucking sentence.\n\n_URL_0_",
"If the name of your medicine ends in \"-mab\" it may just be very expensive to make. Drugs called \"monoclonal antibodies\" are very expensive because they are made by creating and growing special cells that produce the drug. Before people can take it it has to be purified from the many other chemicals that the cells produce.",
"[\"UK drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has reported pre-tax profits of £1.9bn during the three months to the end of December 2011\"](_URL_0_)\n\nThat's why.\n",
"It's money grubbing profit...the R & D costs are a smoke screen to legitimize their monopoly on a drug. \n\nTo put this in perspective...lets say I develop a drug at 1 BILLION dollars...1B. (A quick google puts that in the right order of magnitude). If I sell 200,000 DOSES of that drug I'd have to sell them at 5k a pop to break even. At 14k, I'm making 9,000$ a PILL. \n\nThat's insane. Let's go back through the numbers...even with a high failure rate, I hypothesize that the 1B number is complete bullshit and the drug companies are cooking the books (Hollywood style). They get an R & D credit on that as well, meaning they don't pay taxes on that 1B. \n\nI'd also argue that 200,000 doses for any drug is ridiculously low. That's only about 28,000 people taking the drug once a day for a week. (thinking something like antibiotics). Out of 7 billion people on the planet, that's a stupid low number.\n\nThe point is, when you do the math...@14k a pill...it's purely for huge astronomical fuck you profits, not to just 'make money.' ",
"Because the person who sells it likes to buy yachts for lunch.",
"Chemical synthesis can be tricky, low yield, require expensive reagents, etc. and biologicals are just super fucking expensive but, yeah, the research is a big part of the cost. It costs 6 billion to develop a drug. 99% of them fail at some point in testing...and those costs have to be recouped as well for the company to stay profitable.\n\nEveryone loves to knock Big Pharma, but drug development is so expensive that Little Pharma often can't succeed. We could have cheaper drugs...but nobody would manufacture them (because not profitable) OR make any new ones, so we just wouldn't have drugs. \n\nAnd, by the way, these countries with fixed drug prices...good for them, but guess who is footing the bill and having to pay more to make up for it? The good ol' US of A. \n\nWe could fix drug prices too...but the drug companies would all go under. \n\nBe glad you live in a country where you have access to these drugs. There are many places where, if you need any drug that's not a cheap antibiotic or quinine, you are just fucked. \n\nFeel free to not take any drugs if you're angry about it. Then you can experience what a world without the big, bad Big Pharma would be like.\n\nExpensive drugs are not a basic human right. \n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infliximab"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescription_drug_prices_in_the_United_States"
],
[],
[
"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16913816"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1m7gj1
|
what do djs listen to with headphones on during shows?
|
If the music is playing, why do they use headphones?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1m7gj1/eli5_what_do_djs_listen_to_with_headphones_on/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cc6h3l5",
"cc6hgsp"
],
"score": [
13,
3
],
"text": [
"They are listening to the next track that they are going to mix in, to get the beat synced.",
"Yep listening to the next track and finding where would be a good place to bring the next track in. They are looking for whats called \"the 1\" which is the first beat of a song. Usually when a kickdrum drops. Finding the 1 can and playing the song so that it starts exactly at the 1 can give the listener an illusion that the songs blend together to create one song."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
4lrtnw
|
if our body's age at roughly the same rate how comes romilly in the movie interstellar aged significantly compared to the others?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4lrtnw/eli5_if_our_bodys_age_at_roughly_the_same_rate/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d3pmrfo",
"d3pnv6t"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The aging rate is exactly the same. It's just that what took many years outside the the time danger zone was like a few minutes inside the zone. Rate is the same, the number of years was different.",
"it was only an hour or so for the crew on the lander, but Romilly was up on the ship alone for many years."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
3ahfy0
|
is the iss classified as sovereign territory? if someone was murdered on it, could they be found guilty?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ahfy0/eli5_is_the_iss_classified_as_sovereign_territory/
|
{
"a_id": [
"csco0mh",
"csco0rh"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"There isn't much of a legal precedent but [The outer space treaty](_URL_0_) (yes, actually a thing) puts space outside of ownership and sovereignty.\n\nIn space, no one must be found guilty by a jury of their peers",
"According to the European Space Agency's website:\n\n > The basic rule is that 'each partner shall retain jurisdiction and control over the elements it registers and over personnel in or on the Space Station who are its nationals' (Article 5 of the Intergovernmental Agreement).\n\nEssentially, America or Russia or Japan or Germany or ..... put you (and it) up there, so you're still responsible to the laws of their country while you're there."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outerspacetreaty.html"
],
[]
] |
||
bl1m24
|
what someone it means to "break up a knot" in a sore muscle? what gets "broken up"?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bl1m24/eli5_what_someone_it_means_to_break_up_a_knot_in/
|
{
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"emku93z",
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2,
2
],
"text": [
"Metabolic waste and the actual spasm that the muscle is in. Anytime you go for a professional massage, they always give you water afterwards, this is to help flush the metabolic waste as it can sometimes make you nauseated",
"It’s mostly an expression, the knot is really a section or whole muscle that is stuck in tension, either because of strain or spasm. Breaking up the knot is basically kneading or agitating the muscle enough to get it to loosen. Often this is done by just exhausting it, like if you go to a physical therapist or a proper chiropractor, they’ll use electro-stim machines to tweak the muscles until they are exhausted and pretty much just can’t be tense anymore, which is nice, but leaves you wiped out."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
3y0esy
|
how do photographers generally make money?
|
I've just started doing some photography obviously nothing professional and I have no intentions of trying to earn money from it as I just see it as a fun hobby but I was just wondering how professional photographers actually make a living??
Specifically the ones that photograph models that I see all over Instagram (which seems like the best job in the world tbh) but I just don't get how they actually make money because surely they would have to pay the model as well??
So I'm just wondering where they make the money for themselves?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3y0esy/eli5_how_do_photographers_generally_make_money/
|
{
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"cy9eoo7",
"cy9exci"
],
"score": [
2,
8
],
"text": [
"Full disclosure, I'm a photographer but I do not make any cash from it.\n\nMost guys I know are freelance, a company will supply them with the resources but models can be used and the photographer will simply budget them in. Example, company A says \"we want some amazing photos to promote our new product!\" So they find a photographer and ask \"take some photos to makes us look good!\" (Side note, this is where most companies will take the piss and say \"here's $100, go to Africa, find three models, take photos with your best equipment and make us look amazing\" ) so the photographer looks at the job and then comes up with a idea/proposal and submit this with an idea of cost with location and models etc. Easy money.\nOther ways to make cash involve taking images first then trying to sell them, storm chasers do this, take amazing video and photos and sell them to news teams. An even easier way to do this is upload your images to a website that sells them for you and they just take a commission. ",
"For a huge majority of professional photographers the answer is weddings.\n\nIts generally almost a seasonal job where you make 10-15k a summer doing wedding pictures, the rest of the time unfortunately unless you're blessed with being one of the best in the world, and lucky you're not making much. \n\nSo in short people pay a lot of money for wedding photographs. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
eivq59
|
pumpjacks, how do they pump oil
|
so i recently looked up how pump jacks worked, i just couldnt understand it, so how do pumpjacks pump up liquids like oil.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eivq59/eli5_pumpjacks_how_do_they_pump_oil/
|
{
"a_id": [
"fctsgk8"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"There is a rod with a valve in it that doesn’t move. This is called the standing valve. The valve consists a ring and a ball that sits on the ring thus sealing it off. (Think of a beach ball sitting on a basket ball hoop. It is too big to fit so it just sits on top of it and seals it off. If you push up from the bottom you can easily lift the ball and break the seal, however if you push from the top you only put more pressure on the seal. \n\nThere is also a rod There travels up and down with a identical valve. This is called the traveling valve. The traveling valve is beneath the standing valve. \n\nThe rod goes down and the pressure from the fluid pushes up from the bottom against the ball in the traveling valve. The seal breaks and the fluid enters the rod. When the rod goes back up the distance between the traveling valve and standing valve decreases therefore the fluid is forced to push up on the standing valve and then enters the rod string above it. This is continuous so eventually you have constant pumps of fluid to the surface\n\nNOTE: this may not be a perfect explanation and some things I said may have been wrong. I do not work in the oil field but am looking for a job as I am studying petroleum technology in school right now. However this is the general concept of how a pump jack works. There is a standing valve and a traveling valve and due to the reciprocating motion of the rod string the fluid is forced into each of these valves and due to the design of the ball and seat valve, once fluid has entered through the bottom of it, the fluid can not exit through the top. \n\nHope this helps you :)\n\nPS: there are many illustrative videos on YouTube you may find helpful"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2ufbjf
|
why do people bully?
|
Why does our natural beheaviour include discrimination/bullying of others?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ufbjf/eli5_why_do_people_bully/
|
{
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"text": [
"Sometimes it's insecurity, the bully makes themselves feel better about themselves by bullying others.\n\nSome people are just cunts though.",
"It is a part of competition. Everyone wants to be the alpha because there are so many associated benefits. Displaying superiority is the most direct way to show you're the alpha (or closer to it than most people) and obtain the benefits. We as a society have supposedly risen above such animalistic competition, but it is still ingrained into our subconscious. I do not support bullying, but I'm not so blinded by faith in humanity as to say it isn't completely logical ",
"i'd say there are two types of bullies and both are at opposite ends of a spectrum. you have those who are extremely socially connected. they have some kind of socially valuable asset that you don't and they're going to let you know. then you have the ones who are socially disconnected. those who can't make normal social connections and so choose to get a rise out of people in some way as a form of compensation. testosterone driven assholes vs trolls basically",
"I say it's learned behavior from bad parenting. ",
"Because when they do, their friends laugh along with them."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
z73n1
|
what hitler's motives were
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/z73n1/eli5_what_hitlers_motives_were/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c621og7"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"Hitler's political ideals aren't particularly cut and dried, there has always been debate over them, and probably always will be.\n\nHowever, growing up he was very nationalist, and it is generally accepted that he genuinely believed that the Jews were responsible for Germany's post-WWI problems.\n\nHe was wildly anti-communist and thought it would be the downfall of Germany. He also thought Marxism was a Jewish plot to take over the world.\n\nHe was socially conservative, against gays, premarital sex, use of cosmetics and revealing clothing, prostitution and pornography. He strived for 'traditional' family and community roles.\n\nBasically he was hyper-nationalist, hyper-conservative and, as far as we can tell, really thought the Jews wanted to rule Germany and the world."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
71piz0
|
how do the likes of aldi get away with clearly copying branded products labelling?
|
You go to Aldi and the washing powder looks just like a leading brand. The cakes look like mr kiplings etc etc it's clearly meant to be misleading but they don't stop it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/71piz0/eli5_how_do_the_likes_of_aldi_get_away_with/
|
{
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4,
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3,
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"text": [
"Chances are they are actually from the same company but off branded, at least that's how ALDI operates in germany for some products.",
"Most \"generic\" products are produced in the same plants that make \"name brand\" products. They are the same product, owned by the same companies, just branded differently.",
"In at least some cases, products sold at Aldi are in fact made by the big brands, but under a different name. When you pay more for a big brand, you're really just paying for the name on it. In Germany you can actually buy books listing all of Aldi's \"generic\" brands and telling you which companies actually make them.",
"In a lot of cases, the actual brand does in fact produce them. Evidence _URL_0_",
"I’ve never seen a store brand that was actually meant to be misleading. They’re almost always merchandised immediately adjacent to the thing they’re a copy of. Similar packaging helps you know that it’s a copy of the thing to the left rather than the thing to the right. ",
"In the US, It's not illegal to copy or \"knock off\" packaging (which generally falls under the \"trade dress\" category of trademark law) as long as the reasonable consumer would not be mislead. And only distinctive design features are trademarkable at all. In other words you can put your detergent in an orange bottle with a blue cap, but as long as it's clearly called \"Waves\" in big letters, not \"Tide\" the reasonable consumer would not think they're buying Tide, you're only using nondistinctive features and you'de be fine. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3396662/we-reveal-which-big-name-firms-secretly-make-own-brand-products-for-big-supermarkets-and-what-you-could-save-by-switching/"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
413une
|
what is the point of the 1 and 2 gears on my automatic transmission minivan?
|
I never use them and have no idea when using them would even be appropriate.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/413une/eli5_what_is_the_point_of_the_1_and_2_gears_on_my/
|
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"text": [
"They're there if you need to be consistently in a low gear and you don't want the car upshifting automatically. For example if you're driving up a steep hill, and you need to stay in low gear for the extra power.",
"\"Automatic\" on your transmission shifts through the gears based upon your current gear, and RPM count (you're in 3rd gear, RPMs hit a certain high threshold, and so it advances to 4th). \n\nHigher gears spin the tires faster, lower gears are slower. In situations like snow/ice/mud higher gears will leave you stuck and spinning tires, while lower gears can help you \"crawl out\" of the situation. \n\nThe 1 and 2 options on your gear shift allow you to stick the transmission into a lower gear, and make it stay there, rather than auto-shifting to a higher gear. \n\nOn snowy days when the roads are terrible, but I still have to get to work (IT guy responsible for keeping my building running in all weather) I'll drop by car into one of these low gears and crawl my way to work. ",
"I'm going to assume you live in a temperate climate. If you drive in snow and ice you somtime's need low gear to get out of a jam or up a steep hill. If you somehow found your van stuck in the mud or hauling something heavy it would be helpful as well.",
"limits the gearbox to only 1st or 2nd gear. The gearbox will not shift to 3rd when you are set to 2. only the 1st two gears will be used. I assume they are good for pulling or going up hills..",
"it locks the automatic transmission into the 1 or the 1-2 gears. This is useful when you need more power like when towing something, going up a steep hill, etc.",
"There are a couple of times you might want to use it.\n\nSuppose you're going down a long, steep hill, and don't want to burn up your brakes. With manual transmission, you'd just put the car in second of third gear and engine-brake. Well, you can put your automatic in 2 and do the same thing.\n\nOr suppose you're carrying a heavy load, like when you're moving a bunch of furniture and/or books. Automatic transmissions don't like to downshift, so if you'll need low gear to go up a lot of hills, you might want to lock in a 1 or 2.\n\nOr maybe if you're driving through dirt or snow or sand, you don't want to unexpectedly shift up; you can lose traction that way."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5tjvsv
|
what did people use to make game sprites back in the 8 bit days?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5tjvsv/eli5what_did_people_use_to_make_game_sprites_back/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ddn26dz"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Sometimes they just used graph paper and wrote the data out by hand. Other times, they wrote custom drawing tools. None of it was super complicated."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
1ig22u
|
state machines
|
What are they, how are they useful, when are they used?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ig22u/eli5_state_machines/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cb43c0d"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"They are kind of like flow diagrams. Finite state machines are very useful in designing electronic circuits. Being in a particular \"state\" defines what happens next when certain inputs are received (which state(s) the circuit can go to next). And if the circuit is in a certain state, it is known what the possible previous states were. \n \nUsing a FSM you can design circuits to do things in a particular order, and to do different things depending on inputs that are provided. \n \nThey can also be used for a variety of other things, like software, or even mechanical systems. \n \nA great example of a simple state machine is a traffic stoplight. It has 3 primary states: Red; Amber; Green. \n \nRed = Red light turned on, all others turned off. \nAmber = Amber light turned on, all others off. \nGreen = Green light turned on, all others off. \nTime = the number of clock cycles counted \n \nIf in state Green and > =X time has elapsed, go to Amber and reset the clock to 0. If the elapsed time is < X, go to Green (stay in the same state). \n \nIf in state Amber and > =Y time has elapsed, go to Red and reset the clock to 0. If the elapsed time is < Y, go to Amber (stay in the same state). \n \nIf in State Red and > =Z time has elapsed, go to Green and reset the clock to 0. If the elapsed time is < Z, go to Red (stay in the same state). \n \nIf you are confused about what state you are in, go to Red and reset the clock to 0. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1sqbjf
|
why there are still gold bars and why they don't appear to be used for anything.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sqbjf/eli5_why_there_are_still_gold_bars_and_why_they/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ce04x1d"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Humans have a very weird obsession for shiny objects... But gold isn't useful for anything but electrical (because its super conductive more than copper) uses but its to expensive to use commonly. Also gold is a rare element if you put all the gold ever mined by humans in one place it would only add up to 3 Olympic sized swimming pools. Fun fact the only way to make gold is through intense heat and pressure (Nuclear Fusion) it has to be so hot that only super novas can make it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
ma9m3
|
why do we become addicted to substances that harm and eventually kill our body and/brain?
|
I'm thinking about all mind altering substances: tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, etc. I know that we get psychological feedback, but why has evolution not stepped in and stopped us from killing ourselves slowly?
Edit: I meant to put "body and/or brain" in my OP title
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ma9m3/why_do_we_become_addicted_to_substances_that_harm/
|
{
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12
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"text": [
"Because the same mechanism that gets you addicted to substances is very adaptive. We get addicted to things because they're good at activating the reward centres of our brain (dopamine being the most important part). Reward mechanisms are important because they generally encourage adaptive behaviours (sex, food, exercise, novelty etc.) ",
"Because the same mechanism that gets you addicted to substances is very adaptive. We get addicted to things because they're good at activating the reward centres of our brain (dopamine being the most important part). Reward mechanisms are important because they generally encourage adaptive behaviours (sex, food, exercise, novelty etc.) "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
3qdof4
|
how our parents became so unanimously convinced that their children should take out massive loans to pay for college?
|
ELI5: How did our parents become so unanimously convinced that their children should take out massive loans to pay for college?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3qdof4/eli5_how_our_parents_became_so_unanimously/
|
{
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10
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"text": [
"To them, or my parents.\n\n$100,000 loan, paid off over 10 years. According to my first results on Google a college grad will make $7,000 a year more on average. Plus a more well paying job and opportunity for advancement/health insurance means more confidence and happiness to offset the crushing feeling of debt. 15 years and it will have paid for itself and then some by this logic, so you'll be 40 and have 25 years of all profit on this investment until you retire at 65. \n That $7,000 is more than $7,000 really. Expanding over necessities into investment yearly is very big.\n\nStill a rather round about way, but it is what I'd call an \"individualized investment\" that distracts from the very necessary training and the real reason most people pursue a career, which is to do good and not only make money on an investment (which is admittedly nice)",
"It became a cultural thing. Go to college and be successful. That simple message trumped everything. People dreamed of fancy office jobs and forgot just how good life as a plumber could be. So much so that their is a shortage of qualified workers in trade jobs. \n\nHowever it's more than that. It evolved to be the 13th grade. Just the next logical step with no real plan. Liberal arts? That's horrible. Really. After high school you are supposed to have a plan. If college helps in that plan, you go, if not, you don't. \n\nThis is becoming culturally realized now as we have more grads in debt then we know what to do with. Like anything in society, it goes in cycles. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
62q9kd
|
at what point did humans come up with the concepts of first and last names? what was the purpose of last names, since many others shares the same last names as each other?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/62q9kd/eli5_at_what_point_did_humans_come_up_with_the/
|
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"A last name was originally more like a descriptive word. People attach a bit of information after your name when they talk about you, in order to better identify you. \n\nI was speaking to Tom yesterday\nTom?\nTom, Peter's son\n\nYou could sell that to Tom\nTom?\nTom, the Miller\n\nShe got married to Tom\nTom?\nTom, from Santos\n\nMy guess would be that written history and language is what started to establish this as more of a hereditary surname. But it's only a guess. \n\n",
"Last names as we know them now originated in the Middle Ages from people's occupations, where they lived, their father's first name, or even their appearance or disposition. \n\nIn the early years of the Middle Ages, most people in Europe lived in small farming villages. Everyone knew his neighbors, and there was little need for last names. But as the population expanded and the towns grew, a need arose to find ways to differentiate between two people who shared the same first name.",
"There are a lot of other reasons you were identified with a surname. There isn't really one answer, but this can help:\n\n_URL_0_\n",
"Last names were a method to distinguish between multiple people with the same name. They fall into several categories. \n\n1) Occupational. Smith, Wright, Cooper, Fletcher, etc were all professions. So John the blacksmith eventually was shortened to John Smith. \n\n2) Geographical. Names like Hill, Dale, etc are physical descriptions of locations. Hank from over on the Hill became Hank Hill. Some languages use the names of villages and cities as well. Any name in German that has \"van\" in it means someone from the city/village that follows. Similarly Spanish names with \"de\" in them mean the same thing. \n\n3) Descriptive. Red, Black, Green, White, etc were names given to people referring to a physical characteristic that they had. Hair color, eye color, skin color, etc. There are also slightly more obscure names like longfellow that refer to height, and other similar descriptions. \n\n4) Familial ties. Eric son of James became Eric Jameson. Irish names with \"Mc\" and Scottish names with \"Mac\" means \"son of\". Irish names with \"O'-\" like O'Riley means \"grandson\" or \"descendant of\".\n\n5) Bestowed names. You also have names that were bestowed on someone by a religious figure or by a Monarch when they entered the ranks of nobility. The names that Monarchs take when they take the throne would also fall into this category. ",
"In some cultures though, especially in several tribes in my country, last name/surname doesn't indicate any inheritance or family. Usually, surnames are inherited from the father's or mother's surname (in matriarchal cultures).\n\nFor example, in Javanese culture, there's no such thing as surname, so Javanese people usually are mononymous (one word name). If they have more than one name, usually they're unrelated from their parents' name, so both the first name and last name are given. Although, some Muslim Javanese adopted Malay conventions of name giving (derived from Arab), which is 'given name' + 'bin'/'binti' (son of/daughter of, respectively) + 'name of father', kinda like Scandinavian naming conventions with their -son and -dottir.",
"It's just a way of clarifying that became convention. \"You know John? Yeah, he's Peter's son... John Peter's son = John Peterson.\" \"If you want a really great cake, you should take to John the Baker.\" = \"John Baker.\" \"I know guy who can reshoe your horse, John the Smith.\" = \"John Smith\" or \"This is John from London\" becomes \"John London\" and so on.",
"You talkin bout Muhammad Muhammad Muhammad? \n\nYeah Muhammad's kid .. his uncle Muhammad was a good guy",
"I heard that for the English the surname thing got a push when the conquering Normans were compiling the Doomsday book. The Doomsday book was a census of England for taxation purposes. I also thought that Napoleon, much later of couse, also gave impetus to the custom of surnames. I hope someone knowledgeable writes to set the record straight.",
"It's also important to realise that there's a natural tendency for less common last names to disappear. So there may have been far more last names back when they became a thing.\n\nSee this: [TIL that last names have a natural tendency to go extinct over time](_URL_0_)",
"I imagine when someone was looking for a John and the 34 other John's asked yeah but which one.",
"I'm going to add to this. Blacksmiths were not the only smiths, and they didn't necessarily get the name 'Smith'. \nBlacksmiths also got the name 'black ', and Brownsmiths got the name ' brown '. Silversmiths and goldsmiths and a host of other smiths probably got the same naming."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"http://forebears.io/surnames"
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[],
[],
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"https://np.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/3s5p3d/til_that_last_names_have_a_natural_tendency_to_go/"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
1rf8u9
|
computers: how do you go from a bunch of 1's and 0's to everything we can do?
|
By "everything we can do" I mean like browse Reddit, play video games, watch movies, write papers etc.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rf8u9/eli5computers_how_do_you_go_from_a_bunch_of_1s/
|
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"text": [
"At the lowest level (almost), it runs due to the actions of transistors. Transistors in digital logic circuits are used mostly as switches. You want the transistors to be either all the way OFF (no current flow) or all the way ON (lots of current flow). And you can use the output of one transistor to control the input of other transistors, so you can construct a complicated circuit by wiring them up in certain ways. \n\nUsing just a few transistors, you can build very simple logic circuits to implement binary digital logic (called \"Boolean\" logic after the guy who invented it). \n \nFor example, imagine a light bulb hooked up to a battery through a switch. Switch on, light on; switch off, light off. Now imagine that there are two switches in a row, A and B. The light is only on if A and B are both in the on position. This is what a digital logic AND gate does! If you hook the switches up differently, you can just as easily make an OR gate (A OR B turns on the light). Label a switch backwards and you have a NOT gate. \n \nIt turns out that you can build any digital logic function with a combination of just a few simple circuit types, such as AND/OR/NOT (you can actually do everything with just one, but no one really does that). By combining those simple circuits, more complicated circuits can be made (such as an adder, a multiplexer, etc.). You can use those circuits to make even more complicated ones. Like a CPU. \n\nIt's like if you had a bunch of little Lego blocks, and you could use those to make larger Lego blocks, and you could then use those to make even larger Lego blocks, and so on. Today's integrated circuits use more than a billion transistors to make something that is very complex, but it is built up out of very simple things. Transistors are great for building these things because they are small, fast, reliable, cheap, and don't use a lot of power. These are all important properties when you are trying to make something that uses a billion or more devices. \n \nAfter you've built a bunch of different chips and put them into \"packages\", you solder those packages onto a Printed Circuit Board (such as a PC motherboard). The PCB has copper traces on it that act like flat wires to connect things together. (It is cheaper, simpler, better performance, and more reliable to use a PCB to do this rather than a bunch of individual wires.) It even has many layers, and connection vias going between layers or clear to the other side of the PCB. So now you can connect up different chips that do different functions, like CPU, memory, graphics, etc. \n\nThey \"talk\" to each other via the traces on the PCB according to certain pre-determined rules, called \"protocols\". Kind of like the circuits, these protocols are built up in layers, with the lowest level protocol defining what signals mean \"0\" and what signals mean \"1\". These protocols get pretty complicated, and allow the different components to pass very complex information back and forth. \n\nThe different parts of the PC have different functions, with the CPU acting kind of as the main brain and control center. It gets program instructions and data sent from the hard disc to the memory and then to it, manipulates the data as dictated by the stream of instructions, and sends data out to where it is needed. But the CPU does what it does according to the digital logic that has been built into it. \n \n \n \nNow that everything can pass binary information around and do things with it, what remains are ways to represent information, and describing how to do things to it. The latter is where programming comes into the picture...programs describe, eventually at the binary level, how to manipulate information that is in digital form. \n\nAnd pretty much everything can be digitized, more or less. A sound can be measured very very rapidly, turning its waveform into a series of numbers. An image can be represented as many rows and columns of tiny dots, each one having a color and intensity, and each of those colors and intensities represented by numbers. And numbers can be represented in binary so that digital logic can do things with it...transform it, transmit it, etc. ",
"There are 2 kinds of bits of 1s and 0s - Instructions and Data. Data is things like numbers, letters and pointers to other data. Instructions are logical things we want to do with the data.\n\nWhen people write in programming languages, they are writing the instructions of logic. \n\nSo for example to browse reddit the HTML is the data that is loaded into the browser. The browser renders that HTML. To do that the browser has instructions that effectively say: when I see X piece of data render Y on the screen.",
"/u/afcagroo has the best answer here, but I just wanted to add that to be clear, a computer has no concept of a zero or a one, this is just an analogy for the flow of current or the lack thereof.\n\nComputer programmers and computer scientists are less interested in talking about the flow of electricty or not, and it's too hard to be that pedantic.\n\nWe use the idea of zero and one for more than the flow of electricty or not, we use it to refer to a transistor emitting current or not, whether capicators (fundimental electrical components most often used to physically construct RAM) hold a charge or not, magnetic media (hard drives) being north or south pole, and more... All these things can be spoken of as either a zero or one, and what's physically going on is hardly the point when we discuss computation. The idea of numbers and counting is just an abstraction that represents the physical reality of how computers work. The computer itself has no real concept of numbers.",
"It's a lot, a lot, a lot of complicated steps.\n\nSo in Computer Science, there is this concept called 'abstraction', which is basically saying, 'you can ignore the details of how stuff under you works, and just know it works'.\n\nBy posting on Reddit, you are engaging in this because you don't really know how a computer goes from binary (1s and 0s) to a full, feature rich website. And that's OK. You don't have to know. You just need to know that typing stuff in a box and hitting 'post' makes text show up. That's abstraction.\n\nSo, it's well known that computers speak natively only in 1s and 0s, which would more accurately be described as a switch (on and off) instead of a 1 or a 0, but that's splitting hairs. Know that each 1 or 0 is a 'bit' of data\n\nSo if your entire number system included just 1 and 0, how would you represent 2? how about 20? 200? What about the letter 'a'? The long story really, really short is we ended up the byte system, and while bytes have historically been made up of 16, 14, 12 and 32 bits, today, they are almost universally always 8.\n\nSo a byte (8 bits of data) representing the value of '0' would look like this: 00000000. '1' would look like this: 00000001. '2' would look like so: 00000010. And 3': 00000011. And so on...\n\nSo, a byte being 8 bits gives us room to express 256 different *things*, and this is the foundation of basically everything. A really common system to represent different *things* is ASCII. In ASCII, each value represents a character and a complete table can be found here:\n\n_URL_0_\n\n----\n\nA small aside here. A lot of older games, especially NES games had a bunch of items that only every went up to 255. This because it was stored as single byte in memory (or an 8 bit variable. It's the same thing). 0 to 255 makes up the whole 256 values you can have, and going any higher is impossible. That's the significance of that number. \n\nIn more modern games, when numbers are really buggy, you might see a number like 4,294,967,295 or -4,294,967,295. That's the upper and lower bounds of a 32-bit variable, so when you see whacky numbers around that, it's usually a result of an overflow error of some kind.\n\n----\n\nASCII is about the 4th layer up from pure hardware in the really thick, onion that is computing. Eventually, you develop programs where we say, 'Hey, the first 2 bytes of this document are going to represent what color shit is going to be!' and then we can say, 'Hey! The first 6 bytes of this file is going to describe the font size, the color, and the distance between new lines!'.\n\nThis happens over and over again, adding new layers of complexity over the next 40 years, and we eventually end up with the shitstorm that is what we have today, and it's all possible because of abstraction.\n\nProgrammers generally don't know shit about computer hardware, because they don't need to. You generally only know as little as you need to about your domain because knowing about every layer of computing simply isn't possible. Hell, they generally don't know much about the specific layer they are working on. I'm a .NET developer and I can tell you fuckall about how memory is managed in a computer, outside of the very basics of it because I don't have to worry about it. Or if I want to generate a random number, I just say Random.Next(0, 100) and I know I'll get a number between 0 and 100. I have no idea what is actually happening to get that number though.\n\nAbstraction. It's fuckin great.\n\nEmbrace the MYSTERY BOX that is all of computing.\n\n\n",
"The ones and zeros are put together to form numbers.\n\nThose numbers are then used to encode everything the computer does.\n\nFor example, when saving a text file, \"a\" might be a 97, and \"b\" might be a 98.\n\nThe computer also saves computer programs as a list of numbers. Each number describes a very small command (such as adding two numbers together, or drawing a dot of color on the screen). When millions of commands are used in a certain pattern, the result is your web browser.",
"ELI5 has become \"just explain this thing to me\". A five year old would not understand the top comment on this post.\n\nAn answer a five year old would understand:\nYou can describe anything with a bunch of yes/no questions. Binary is a number version of a yes no question with 1 being yes and 0 being no. The computer just asks a ton of yes/no questions every second and uses some basic logic to get things to happen.",
"At very bottom, like others have mentioned, you have circuit board with transistors with \"0\" as OFF (low current) or \"1\" as ON (high current). Using this as a building block 0001 could represent numeric value of \"1\".\nThis is what CPU or machine understands, and hence machine language.\n\nAll CPU's come with set of instructions in the form of architect's machine code (machine language). For example, set of instructions might consist of: 0001 as \"1\", 0010 as \"2\", 0011 as \"3\" and 1100 as \"+\" (addition) then 1100 0001 0010 would translate to \"add\" \"1\" and \"2\". Which would output 0011, value of \"3\". \n\nHowever, this becomes unbelievably unreadable as you try to program more sophisticated programs. So, low-level languages came. Think, \"Assembly\" in early days of computer programming. It's close to machine language but it bridges machine language with human readability by using mnemonic codes. For example, instead of writing 1100 for addition you simply type \"add\". And when Assembly language \"assembles\" it translates the word \"add\" to 1100 for you. Now you have \"add 0001 0010\". Low-level languages have whole set of operations. I can explain more about different operations and symbols but I believe it would be beyond the scope of this. \n\nSo, using the assembly or other low-level languages to bridge between machine and human readability, Operating Systems are made. Microsoft Windows uses some assembly language for very low-level programming and C/C++ for higher level. Once you have OS running you can begin programming in higher-level programming, such as C/C++ or Java, for more sophisticated programs like web browser or microsoft word. \n\nSo basically, you have 0's and 1's = > Assembly/Low-level language = > OS's/Higher-level programming languages."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII#ASCII_printable_characters"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
4gi3gv
|
why do we call ph.d. grads doctors but don't call anyone master or bachelor
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4gi3gv/eli5_why_do_we_call_phd_grads_doctors_but_dont/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d2hqcbj"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"We used to, but this is no longer a world of titles like it once was. They are treated more like qualifications, like you would refer to as a fireman \"Fireman, level 2 flammable hazard containment certificate\" "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
5q0cnx
|
what do all of these executive orders actually mean for our system of checks and balances?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5q0cnx/eli5_what_do_all_of_these_executive_orders/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dcv9owt"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Nothing, really. Presidents have always been able to issue executive orders. And in short, these executive orders don't really do much. They're a publicity stunt, made to give the illusion of speed and efficiency in the administration. \n\nTechnically an executive order is simply a mandate to follow a law already established by congress. An executive order should be not be able to issue a new law, because its a direct violation of the separation of powers. \n\nLike most of what Trump does, this is all pomp and no teeth. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
74i362
|
why is it that some men can grow really long/thick beards but have receding hairlines?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/74i362/eli5_why_is_it_that_some_men_can_grow_really/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dnyfntk"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Bodies convert testosterone into a substance called DHT which damages the follicles on their scalp. However, facial hair grows because of testosterone. So people with a lot of testosterone will grow a beard, but they will also have a lot of DHT, resulting in baldness."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
350jzd
|
what is a xkcd link and why does everyone say "hold my ___, i'm going in"? i'm on mobile so i'm confused.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/350jzd/eli5_what_is_a_xkcd_link_and_why_does_everyone/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cqzt8vh",
"cqztaqz"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"[XKCD](_URL_1_) is an online Web comic that tends to frequently be relevant to stuff on reddit. \n\nThe \"hold my something, I'm going in\" is always a reply to \"ah, the old reddit blankaroo\" which is a comment reply (with a link) to an intentional mix up by the commentator who switched two things for comedic effect. The link is a link to a previous comment where the reddit switcheroo was implemented, which leads to more links to past switcheroos. \n\nEdit: format and [this]( \n_URL_0_)",
"XKCD is a webcomic that's popular with reddit users because its humor is pretty geeky. Hold my x refers to the \"reddit switcharoo\" in which a user purposefully confuses what was meant by the caption. I'll have an example in a few minutes Edit: here's an example _URL_0_"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-old-reddit-switch-a-roo",
"http://xkcd.com"
],
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/34s2cw/both_of_these_are_unhealthy_and_neither_should_be/cqyc9ny?context=3"
]
] |
||
2fko8n
|
how come when i haven't eaten (fasting) i still have bowel movements?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fko8n/eli5_how_come_when_i_havent_eaten_fasting_i_still/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cka4z09",
"cka6dqi"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Food does not simply travel through you a few minutes after you eat, it's in there for a while. Average transit time for food is upwards of 40-50 hours, front to back.",
"I do believe more then 50% of ur waste is dead red blood cells as well"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
lzre5
|
what exactly is "due process"?
|
I've tried googling it, but it's just making me confused.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lzre5/eli5_what_exactly_is_due_process/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c2wwq82",
"c2wwt4e",
"c2wwq82",
"c2wwt4e"
],
"score": [
8,
2,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"Due Process makes sure that the government is being fair to you when they take something from you or refuse to give you something that you have a right to have. For example, they can't just come and take your house without following rules and giving you money for it. Or they can't fire you from a government job without following rules before telling you you can't work there anymore. You have a right to your house and a right to keep your job if you work for the government and you didn't really mess up (or surf Reddit all day).",
"Interesting you ask this. I'm working on a paper with some referencing to the amendments and have had a hard time grasping it myself. Someone knowledgeable on the subject would be very helpful!\n\n",
"Due Process makes sure that the government is being fair to you when they take something from you or refuse to give you something that you have a right to have. For example, they can't just come and take your house without following rules and giving you money for it. Or they can't fire you from a government job without following rules before telling you you can't work there anymore. You have a right to your house and a right to keep your job if you work for the government and you didn't really mess up (or surf Reddit all day).",
"Interesting you ask this. I'm working on a paper with some referencing to the amendments and have had a hard time grasping it myself. Someone knowledgeable on the subject would be very helpful!\n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
atpw5w
|
how do cars have cameras that broadcast the top of the car and the surrounding area?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/atpw5w/eli5_how_do_cars_have_cameras_that_broadcast_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"eh2pqzn",
"eh2pwco"
],
"score": [
6,
3
],
"text": [
"It's not the top of the car. It's most commonly 4 cameras. One in the front, one on each side and one on the back.\n\nThrough editing you attach them all together showing the different sides and put the car where there's a missing spot (I. E. In the middle) that's how you get a faux 360 camera - you should still actually look around as you back up though",
"The top of the car you see is just an image. There are cameras in front, back, and both sides that have wide angle views. The system is adjusted so that where one camera view stops, the other begins. This creates a view all around the car with a “car picture” placed in the middle so make it look like a top down view. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
wdvc5
|
evolution/speciation question- why do extinct species don't come back through evolution?
|
Okay, I was walking home and I thought about this randomly, but I was wondering; if the entire human race was wiped out (just humans, no other species), given enough time, wouldn't evolution take its course again and have the same mutations that produced humans at first to re-occur? And so wouldn't the same thing happen to other species that are extinct? So wouldn't currently extinct species, given the amount of time (understandably up to millions of years) come back?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wdvc5/eli5_evolutionspeciation_question_why_do_extinct/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c5cgvhb",
"c5ch0gn",
"c5ckfez"
],
"score": [
9,
6,
2
],
"text": [
" > wouldn't evolution take its course again and have the same mutations that produced humans at first to re-occur?\n\nNo. Evolution is not a guided process - it can't choose which mutations an organism has any more than than a rock and choose which way it falls off a mountain. \n\nEvolution occurs in all species even to this day (including humans) but since the mutations are random there is almost no likilhood of extinct species reforming.\n\nAlso, the conditions under which those species came about no longer exist (things like the amount of oxygen in the air being different, global temperature being different, etc), so they wouldn't have the same advantages they had back in the day. \n\nAlso also, speciation takes many generations - probably more than we will witness in our lifetime (unless you're talking about fruit flies).",
" > if the entire human race was wiped out (just humans, no other species), given enough time, wouldn't evolution take its course again and have the same mutations that produced humans at first to re-occur?\n\nNo, because the ancestral ape that humans evolved from no longer exists.",
"That's sort of like waiting for dead people to be reborn."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
8n2cwl
|
why do the headlights of cars turn yellow and opaque?
|
Also why does it happen to some cars more than others. And how come my headlights are perfectly clear but I’ve seen the same model car I have with yellow lights.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8n2cwl/eli5_why_do_the_headlights_of_cars_turn_yellow/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dzs9cpt"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It has to do with sun and UV exposure. If you kept your car in the garage the vast majority of its life, the UV rays won't beat down on the plastic casing on the headlights. Ever had a clear phone case? It eventually turns yellow. The way to fix this is sanding down the old material to expose new clear plastic"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1acvh0
|
is hiv actually "cured" or not?
|
There have been a lot of posts in News and Science and stuff like that about new cases of HIV being "functionally cured." What does this mean? Is it a solution, or just a first step towards a solution? Does the treatment work all the time, or occasionally? Do we know yet?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1acvh0/eli5_is_hiv_actually_cured_or_not/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c8w71la",
"c8w7ny7",
"c8w9rqb"
],
"score": [
25,
10,
5
],
"text": [
"Essentially, with modern treatments, doctors can make sure that if you catch it early and can afford the treatment, they can prevent it from turning into AIDS for a very long time. The \"functional cure\" stuff is typical media exaggeration, though it does hold some promise for future treatments. What a \"functional cure\" means is that the severity of the infection stays low even after the treatment is stopped, which is different how the current treatments we use work. What they've found only works for some people, though.\n\nBasically, what doctors can do is keep the amount of HIV in your system low enough that it's very unlikely to turn into AIDS, which is what kills you. HIV used to be a death sentence, but now people who are HIV+ can live long and relatively healthy lives as long as it's detected early and treated. However, the treatments do not get rid of the HIV, so it can still be transferred, and it will come back if you stop taking your medicine.\n\n",
"One man was, in fact, cured of HIV/Aids. The treatment required a bone marrow transplant from a person known to be immune to Aids. ",
"As far as I understand it, it's just that treatment has advanced to the point where if you catch it super early you can mitigate it's effects to the point where it's essentially negligible. So it's a 'functional cure' in that the people treated will most likely die of something else long before the HIV can do anything to them (and I believe in some cases it's been reduced to the point where the body's own immune system can keep it under control without the need for medication) but not a true cure. They still have HIV, but it's 'neutralized' to a certain extent."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
367lzk
|
why don't we get rid of cash and only deal with credit instead?
|
It would also eliminate the danger of bus/taxi drivers getting robbed
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/367lzk/eli5_why_dont_we_get_rid_of_cash_and_only_deal/
|
{
"a_id": [
"crbfwyl",
"crbg488"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"It might reduce physical fraud but then you are assuming and placing even greater pressure on computer networks to be secure which they rarely fully are. ",
"When you're making a person-person trade, it makes much more sense to use cash. Using PayPal will take a fee, as will any other form of electronic transfer. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
5nfdpp
|
tire pressure in the winter
|
So I've heard two different things about car tires in the winter and traction. I've heard first that tires should be set just a tad lower in the winter because more surface area touching the road equals more grip. But I've also heard that tires should be set just a tad higher because there is more pressure being applied to a smaller area. So, can anyone explain which is true, and why? Thanks!
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5nfdpp/eli5_tire_pressure_in_the_winter/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dcb2ie9"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"well, it depends. if you're driving on ice or packed snow, you'd want lower pressure, to let as much tread as possible grip the surface. if you're driving through loose snow, you'd want higher pressure, so the tire has an easier time 'cutting' through the snow to reach the pavement underneath.\n\nreal answer though, conditions change all the time. you can't account for every little thing. so stick with what your vehicle manufacturer says. they know a lot better than some internet stranger (me)."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3tdi2p
|
why are muslim women ok with being apart of a religion that treats them as second-class citizens?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tdi2p/eli5_why_are_muslim_women_ok_with_being_apart_of/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cx58gel",
"cx59f4v",
"cx5t6f0"
],
"score": [
6,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Every other woman on earth was \"ok with\" being part of a society that treated them as second class citizens less than 50 years ago and for the most part are still treated as such today. Its not like you can just change the entire fabric of your culture when you get upset. ",
"Being a part of a religion is sort of like being an alcoholic or a junkie. There are functioning alcoholics and there are alcoholics whose lives have been reduced to shit over alcohol, but the initial pain and difficulty of quitting are enough that many never consider it and most who do try, quit as soon as the short-term costs of the decision become obvious. And those who quit, and start to pull free of it... well, they can only *really* get free if they are smart enough to cut off all their alcoholic friends, because addicts pull recovering addicts back in. But imagine that *all* your friends were alcoholics. And your family. And your neighbors, and co-workers, and almost everyone you respect and look up to. How are you going to quit? How would you even begin to imagine quitting?",
"Many muslim women would be shunned by their families or no longer have a relationship with their parents if they rejected Islam. But remember Islam is not alone in treating women and homosexuals as second class. Even the ever loving Buddha did not want women to be monks, and in the Buddhist tradition we are taught he was born out of his mothers armpit because the vagina is a symbol of filth in that religion. I was raised Catholic and even though I was taught we're all loved, some really hurtful things were said to me by priests and catholic religion teachers about being a little girl."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5sb6q2
|
why is talking on your phone (not texting) while driving more dangerous than talking to a passenger?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5sb6q2/eli5_why_is_talking_on_your_phone_not_texting/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dddpsql",
"dddqha8"
],
"score": [
23,
6
],
"text": [
"You feel more pressure to prioritise the conversation over driving because the person on the call can't see the load you're under. By contrast, a passenger can see when traffic stuff is happening so you assume they'll cut you some slack.",
"A couple of reasons come to mind.\n\nFirst, holding a phone in your hand only leaves one hand to drive with. It should be apparent that is less safe than using two hands.\n\nSecond, the flow of a phone conversation is a two way thing. Most conversations require both parties to put roughly the same amount of concentration into the conversation. When a passenger sees heavy traffic or senses the driver is concentrating especially hard on driving, they will naturally slow the pace of the conversation or pause it entirely for a short time. Conversely, in a phone conversation, the other party has no idea what the traffic is like and will tend to pace the conversation at a constant rate, likely a constant rate for a person who has nothing else to engage them. This will generally be faster than a person driving would naturally pace the conversation and may cause them distraction as they try to keep up.\n\nBasically, even hands free phone conversations will tend to take too much of the driver's attention occasionally while conversing with a passenger who is also aware of what the driver is facing will tend to allow the driver to concentrate more on driving when necessary."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
5l5za8
|
for records like "most album sales of all time", how do we know it's not just because of the increasing population and globalization?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5l5za8/eli5_for_records_like_most_album_sales_of_all/
|
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"I'm not sure I understand your point.\n\n If a record is the \"Most Sold\" that is just a count of the number of sales. The population and the distribution network are irrelevant. You are just looking at the raw number of sales. If you asked, \"Most Sold Per Capita,\" then the population would be relevant.\n\nIf all you care about is the raw number of sales, outside of any context, then you are correct: Higher population and globalisation means a greater potential audience, so as long as the audience continues to grow it will be easier for new albums break the record... Even if those albums do not achieve a higher per capita saturation than earlier albums. Therefore, \"Most Sold\" and \"Most Popular\" are not the same thing. \n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1ptfrc
|
in a nuclear explosion why do things get vaporized?
|
I've visited a Nuclear test site and seen lots of video of before and after nuclear bomb tests. Structures and things at ground zero are inevitably destroyed but I've been curious what exact process causes the destruction.
Is it the heat burning things up or is it radiation breaking molecules apart?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ptfrc/eli5in_a_nuclear_explosion_why_do_things_get/
|
{
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"cd5u3b6"
],
"score": [
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"text": [
"The temperatures generated near an exploding nuclear weapon are in the several tens of millions of degrees. This is enough to vaporize pretty much any known substance. Once you start moving away from the explosion, however, the temperatures drop off dramatically. They are often still quite high enough to burn human beings or set things on fire, but are not enough to \"vaporize\" anything. The exact distances involved varies with the size of the explosion and atmospheric conditions. \n\nThe prompt radiation does not vaporize anything. It can ionize molecules (strip off their electrons) but it is really the heat that causes the molecules to break apart."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
fkqn17
|
what would be the technical hurdles to modifying a cpap into a makeshift ventilator?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fkqn17/eli5_what_would_be_the_technical_hurdles_to/
|
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"I understand some of the basics (CPAP is continuous air blowing in, not timed and measured inhale/exhale cycles) and some of the mechanics (the tubing is not the same kind), but what modifications could be done if the need arose to overcome those issues or is there no way at all? Could an OS update, pushed from the manufacturer spin fans up one way for inhale and down the other for exhale? Could cheap parts be produced and shipped for appropriate intubation? Could it be done in any way whatsoever or is it a total pipe dream."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
1x2fcp
|
how do we know how long light has been traveling from a star until it reaches earth?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x2fcp/eli5_how_do_we_know_how_long_light_has_been/
|
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"We know because we know the speed of light, and we can measure how far away the star is using a technique called [parallax](_URL_0_). Distance / Speed = Time",
"I think Ken Ham brushed on this last night, do you want me to find the link?",
"To answer your question, the only way to know how long light has been traveling is to know how far the source was. Since we already know how fast it travels (300 000 km/s), all we need is a method to evaluate the distance, which is then converted into the convenient \"light year\" units. \n\n[There is many techniques](_URL_3_) to determine how far objects are in the sky, but the preferred method will depend of many factors (types, range, etc). There is hundred of variants, special cases, or corrections, but it usually come down to the following methods:\n\n1. For \"close\" objects (the closest 1% of our galaxy), we use [Stellar Parallax](_URL_0_). This technique is a direct application of right triangle geometry where one side of the triangle is the distances between two points located on Earth's orbits and the angle between this line and the star is measured with rudimentary astronomical tools. If you want to imagine what's it's like, just stare at a fixed point on your wall, then move one meter to the right. Because you know how far you moved, and how many degree your head had to turn to continue staring at that point, you can easily use geometrical equations to find the distance that separate you from the wall. Now, repeat the same experiment with a star, except that instead of moving 1 meter to your right, you wait half a year to be carried millions of kilometers away from your point of origin. Obviously, we don't wait 6 months anymore and use satellite to help, but the concept always remain the same.\n\n\n2. The second method we use is the [apparent magnitude](_URL_4_). Because there is hundred of stars that can be studied and classified using the first method, we're able to come up with [a chart that compare the absolute brightness of a star to its type](_URL_5_). With this chart in our hand, it become child play to calculate the distance that separates us from a star by looking at its type (it's color to put it simply), while knowing that intensity goes down with distance at a rate of a 1/r². As long you can tell what kind of stars you're looking at, you should be able to tell its distance with a decent accuracy.\n\n3. Because it become very hard (if not impossible) to see a star in a distant galaxy, we have to resort to something much brighter. Thankfully, supernovae is exactly the kind of brightness we needed for that. It get a bit more complicate at this point since there is various type of supernovae, but essentially, one of them (Type I) generate a relatively constant luminosity that allow us to use the phenomenon as an accurate measurement. From that point, we can easily guess how far the explosion happened by looking at its apparent brightness and comparing it to its absolute brightness just like we did with the second method.\n\n\n4. But that alone is still not enough to determine the distance of every objects in our Universe. To go even further, we need to resort to our knowledge of the expanding universe, or more precisely, the [redshift](_URL_2_) . It become harder to visualize, but what is important to understand is that light become \"stretched\" ([or redder](_URL_1_) as it travels through expanding space. By using the light signature of various known objects (galaxy, super nova, common element like hydrogen) in a way that is analogous to the \"star catalogs\" from the 2nd method, you can determine by how much the light was redshifted and find out how long it traveled.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[edit]\n\nI've no idea who sent me that gold, and I don't feel like I deserve it, but this is much appreciate. Thank you! \n",
"A few people have mentioned parallax, but this method is only good for nearby stars. Imagine this: when we measure stars from the widest point we can (the orbit of the Earth), the vast vast majority of the stars in the sky will move less than 1/3600th of a degree in the sky, which as you can imagine is difficult to detect. \n\nRedshift gives a measure of how quickly objects are travelling away from us. It is called redshift because as space expands (which it has in between the light leaving the star and reaching us) it stretches the light. And as wavelengths get bigger, they get redder.\n\nRedshift is only really any good for telling us how far objects are from each other, rather than absolute distances. So we could measure the parallax of a nearby star, and measure the redshifts of all the stars near it, then the redshift of all the stars near those, etc. Or we could use Standard Candles. Type 1a Supernovae have a consistient maximum brightness so we can tell how far away they are (almost always much further away than stars we can measure by parallax). \n\nWe can tell how far something is away if we know its absolute brightness (not to be confused with how bright it looks to us, because bright, far away stars look the same as closer, dimmer stars.) Type 1a Supernovae all have specific life patterns, so we know their absolute brightnesses and therefore how far away they are.",
"I really like this explanation:\n_URL_0_",
"\"Well, there's this book....\"",
"Parallax error has been said, and that can be used, but its not reliable for great distances. \n\nFor galaxies that are far away we can use [Supernovae Type 1a](_URL_0_). When a supernovae type 1a \"explodes\" it is the same brightness anywhere in the universe. We measure the brightness of the supernovae and we can estimate how far away it is. \n\nIts like if you have 10 identical candles on a 100 field and space them every 10 yards. The brightness of each candle dims from your position on the goal line. You can estimate the distance by how much it dims. ",
"Anecdote time: I told my daughter to only take one 'hard' class per semester until she learns what her university course-load is like. One hard class, one or two normal classes, and one complete fluff class. Once she's familiar with the way the university works, feel free to add another hard class.\n\nSo, first semester, I ask her what her hard class is: Calculus I.\n\nAnd, what's your fluff class?: Astronomy. I'm pretty sure we get to look at stars.\n\nRewind 4 years. Co-worker of mine is an adjunct professor at one of the local universities. He's a physicist and he teaches Astronomy. He tells me that his favorite part of the course is the first day of class when he asks the students why they signed up for the course. Their answer is almost exclusively, \"I like looking at stars and figured that Astronomy would be that class.\"\n\nAnd, then he tells them, \"Yes! We *will* look at stars! Specifically, we're going to pay particular attention to two of them. One time early in the semester and another time late in the semester. We're going to perform some measurements on each. Then, we're going to use those measurements to calculate the distance based on the angular difference between the first night and the last night. We'll use that distance information combined with the brightness and color to make some estimates about the size of the star, then we'll use *that* information to estimate the distance to other stars that have the same color but different brightness! Hope you guys love math! I love math! Very exciting stuff!\"\n\nAfter the semester was over, I asked my daughter. Yup. Pretty-much the same class as what my co-worker teaches.",
"We know the speed of light, so that makes it very easy.\n\nput your finger in front of your nose and close one eye. Now, put your finger in front of your nose and close your other eye. It moves. since we know the distance between your eyes and how much the finger appeared to move, we can determine how far away it is using simple geometry. \n\nThe same works for stars. in February we can look at a star and plot its position in the sky. 6 months later (the opposite side of the sun) we can look at the same star and plot it's position in the sky again. \n\nSo now we know how far the earth has moved between both recordings (I believe its around 184 million miles give or take 10 million depending on the time of the year) and how far the star has moved in our plot. So the same geometry (that we used on our eyes and finger) can be applied to find the distance the star is from us. convert that distance into light years and you have the amount of light years away the star is!",
"There are ultimately many ways to tell.\n\nFor nearby objects we can use something like parallax. Hold your thumb out at arm's length close one eye and look at it. Then switch to the other eye. Notice how your thumb moves with respect to the background? That's an example of parallax. Because space is vast and the largest baseline (how far apart your eyes are) we could get is usually with the earth on one side of it's orbit 6 months apart, this method isn't very good for objects very very far away.\n\nGoing a bit further out we've observed that there are some types of stars that oscillate in their brightness over time. Careful study revealed these are essentially stars at a characteristic point near the end of their life, and that there's a very strong relationship between their luminosity and period of pulsation. These are called \"Cepheid variable stars\". Thus we can watch how often they pulsate, know how luminous they should be, compare to how bright it looks to us and figure out how far it must be to appear as dim as it does.\n\nCertain types of supernova are also used. A supernova is the end result of a massive star no longer being able to support itself. But there's actually some variation into what causes them. The type used here is formally called 'Type Ia'. These all come from the same type of source as far as we know: A white dwarf gains too much mass. A white dwarf is the end result of a less massive star, like our sun. It burns all it's hydrogen and helium and through fusion winds up with a dense core of carbon and some other elements nearby on the periodic table. \n\nStars are very heavy and so this object is very very dense. Now there's some quantum mechanics going on here that basically say the electrons in the core of this object can't all be forced to occupy the same energy state as other electrons so there's a type of 'electron-pressure' supporting the remnant at this point. A long time ago a guy named Chandrasekhar figured out the most mass that could be supported by this effect. \n\nIf a white dwarf is orbiting another star it can steal some material from it and gather it up onto it's surface. Eventually if it gains enough material to push it over this upper mass limit (about 1.4 times the mass of our sun) it will suddenly collapse further triggering a huge shockwave that is the Type Ia. Since they come from about the same mass sources they should have a very consistent brightness as a function of time which we can then use similar to the Cepheid variables to figure out how far away it is!\n\nUltimately for the very very far objects we use redshifts. One of the more accurate ways to figure this out is through spectroscopy. To quote from a reply of mine further down:\nLight coming from stars has a rough 'fingerprint' if you will, based on the various types of elements that are in the star. Basically every atom, or ion, has something called a spectroscopic signature (or fingerprint).\n\nDue to quantum mechanics they are only able to emit or absorb certain wavelengths of light, thus if you look at the light coming from a star and split it up into colors you will see bands at certain wavelengths.\n\nThere are two types..emission and absorption (for when light is emitted and when certain light is absorbed). The former can tell us about the source object and the later can tell us about what's between the source and us (for example pictures look here, and for a comparison of emission vs absorption here).\n\nNow there's a huge database for every element and as to what it's fingerprint should be. We also have a pretty good idea of what stars should be made out of so all we need to do is see how much these fingerprints are shifted from where they should be. If light gets red-shifted this means all the spectral lines are shifted to longer wavelengths and we can then using some complicated math, get a rough idea of what's going on (it's complex because we have to take into account not just the doppler shift from the stars' intrinsic motion relative to us, but also the redshift induced by space expanding between us depending on how far away it is).\n\nThe situation is actually a lot more complex than just that because there's tons of dust out there that absorbs light and blocks certain wavelengths of light too, so one has to try and account for that and model it, but typically 'dust' will be different than what you see in a star. Ultimately you need to collect enough light to also see this fingerprint so if an object is halfway across the universe it's tricky because the object is so faint and most likely you'll get an aggregate fingerprint of the host galaxy which is harder to interpret.\n\nThere's also lots of other methods using other variable stars and properties of observed ratios of mass and luminosity but the above are sort of standard explanations you'll hear.",
"You can also tell by analyzing the color it gives off. As light travels over long distances the wave lengths become longer and longer. Different wave lengths means different colour.",
"There are lots of good answers here, but I think the easiest way to explain it is to take a look at what we called the [distance ladder](_URL_5_).\n\nYou'll see that, depending on how far away an object is, we use different methods for determining its distance. \n\nStarting from the bottom up, or from the closest objects to the furthest:\n\n**Radar ranging:**\n\nThis only works for very close objects. It basically involves bouncing a signal off of the object and measuring the total travel time. Given that we know the speed of the signal we can then determine the distance. \n\n**Stellar parallax:**\n\nThis was already explained pretty well in [this comment.] (_URL_4_) Simply put, it's the use of trigonometry to determine distances.\n\n\n**Spectroscopic parallax**\n\nDespite its name this method does not involve angular measurements. Most stars fall along what we call the ['main sequence'](_URL_7_). We can use the main sequence to get a fairly accurate idea of the star's spectral type, or simply what kind of star it is. This will give us the absolute magnitude, or the inherent brightness of the star.\n\nWe can then measure it's apparent magnitude, which is just how bright it appears to us. Since we now know how bright it really is, and how bright it appears, we can use what's called the [distance modulus](_URL_1_) to find approximately how far it is. \n\n\n**Variable stars:**\n\nSome stars change brightness in a very regular way. The most frequently used ones are called [Cepheid variables](_URL_0_). There is a mathematical relation between the period of the star's variability, or how frequently it changes luminosity, and the actual luminosity--or absolute magnitude--of the star itself.\n\nOnce we have the absolute magnitude we can then just measure the apparent magnitude of the star and find the distance with the distance modulus. \n\n\n**Standard Candles / Tully-Fisher Relation**\n\nStandard candles are just stars, or stellar objects, that have a known intrinsic brightness and that don't typically vary much at all. For example Type 1a Supernova are the most popular standard candles, because they all tend to collapse under the same conditions and the same mass, creating a very similar nova in each case. Again, since we know how bright it is intrinsically, we can use apparent magnitude to measure it's distance.\n\n[The Tully-Fisher relation](_URL_6_) is a bit more complicated; to try and put it in a succient way, there is a known relation between a galaxy's luminosity and its rotational curve. We can measure how fast it is rotating using Doppler shift (one edge is moving away from us, the other is moving towards us, for example) and thus get the luminosity. \n\nSomeone feel free to expand on this.\n\n\n**Redshift**\n\nLastly we use [Hubble's Law](_URL_3_) and Hubble's Constant to measure the distance of a galaxy by measuring it's redshift. Since everything is moving away from us, and the rate of acceleration is related to the distance of the object (the further away the object the faster it appears to be receding) we can measure how redshifted the light is and then get an idea of how far away the object is. \n\nThis is used for the most distant objects. \n\n\n\n\n\nIn summary, most methods involve identifying the absolute magnitude of the object and then comparing that to how bright the object is. Given that [The intensity of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source](_URL_2_) knowing how bright the star is and knowing how bright the star appears gives us a good method for finding how distant it is. ",
"Well you need to figure out is the light's Wavelength. The longer it's been waving, the longer it's been trying to get our attention. We can calculate exactly the amount of time only if we know the eccentricity and period of the star, as these affect the star's attitude and thus it's need for attention.",
"Here is the man himself:\n[Bill Nye](_URL_0_)",
"well, First, to find the distance, we have to measure how many degrees the star moves in the sky over a set period of time (usually 6 months). We call this the 'Parallax Angle' from the Parallax we can compare its movement to other stars who's distance we already know. Basically imagine looking at a tree -about 50 yards away- and another tree -about 200 yards away- if you move 20 yards to the right, the closer tree moves more than the one further away. the speed of light is a set speed but varies slightly depending on what its traveling through but with such huge distances (measured in 'parsecs') the differences in speed are insignificant enough to be ignored when doing rough calculations so now we know the distance we just apply the speed. for example, if the planets 1,000,000 miles away and light travels at 10 miles per year (obviously it doesn't) then it would take 100,000 years for the light to reach us.",
"Ask for ID.",
"Is there any possible mechanism, other than parallax movement / universe expansion, that would create the redshift observed from extremely far objects? I, as well as everyone else, have a bit of a problem visualizing space expansion, but it seems to me that there's some circular reasoning going on. I.e. we know that the object is very far because it's redshifted and we know that redshifted objects are very far.",
"There's a book all about this. Ask Mr. Ham."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_parallax",
"http://www.pro-lite.uk.com/Image/LVN%20Electromagnetic%20Spectrum%20558.jpg",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apparent_magnitude_",
"http://www.elfwood.com/farp/thewriting/liljenbergworlds/images/hertz.png"
],
[],
[
"http://vimeo.com/m/41434123"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Ia_supernova"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cepheid_variable",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_modulus",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-square_law#Light_and_other_electromagnetic_radiation",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble's_law",
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x2fcp/eli5_how_do_we_know_how_long_light_has_been/cf7iql0",
"http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~afrank/A105/LectureXV/images/FG24_010.JPG",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tully–Fisher_relation",
"http://www.oswego.edu/~kanbur/a100/images/temperatureluminosity.jpg"
],
[],
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI#t=5175"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
ecjmu9
|
why does it take some time for our eyes to see normally again after closing the lights?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ecjmu9/eli5_why_does_it_take_some_time_for_our_eyes_to/
|
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"When you look at eyes there are two things that pop out immediately. One is a ring like shape with different colors: blue, brown, green and the like called (iris) .The other one is what's inside that ring or rather isn't... It's basically a hole(called pupil/s) , a hole that allows light that bounces off objects to get inside our eyes now when that light comes in contact with the base of eye our brain starts to build the picture from all the sources of light. Now remember those rings I mentioned? They are responsible for how much light is allowed to go inside our eyes, they can widen thus allowing more light to pass through or close to restrict the amount of light coming through, if you stend in front of a mirror and shine some light on your eyes you can see how they get smaller when light is shiend or get wider when you stop shining. When you suddenly close of the light it take some time for then to widen up to allow more light to shine through which then allows your brain to build a picture. \n\nAs en extra when you are in a dark room and someone turn the lights on you get blinded for a moment. That's because thoes rings (irises) were wide open to allow more light to go through and suddenly we are hit with a large amount of light which causes us to receive more light then we can handle. \n\n(English is second language so I'm sorry if some grammar mistakes were made)\n\nEdit: wording"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
l2rkw
|
why do dogs that know me still bark at me?
|
Whenever I come home, my land lords dogs bark at me. The gate to the backyard faces the walkway that I use to enter the guest house where I live. They are nice when I pet them and I've bought them doggy treats and what not but they still bark at me when I come home. Why?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/l2rkw/why_do_dogs_that_know_me_still_bark_at_me/
|
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"For canines, most everything is about dominance and territory. Just because a dog is acquainted with you, doesn't mean he likes/respects/submits to you. They are nice when you pet them or give treats because in their mind, since you have not asserted any real dominance, you are catering to them. They have ultimate authority to yell at you for encroaching on their claimed space.\n\nUnless you assert dominance (which, if it's your neighbor's dog, you probably don't) Just start announcing yourself. Let them get accustomed to your voice and once they have your voice memorized and know you're no threat to them or their territory, announcing yourself will let the dog know you're coming in.\n\nMy neighbor had two dogs that did this as well. It worked for me.",
"They're not barking at you. They're warning your landlord that you're coming home.\n\n He's trained them to do this because he likes to sift through your underwear drawer and try a few on while you're out. He closes his eyes and sways dreamily in front of your mirror, often while listening to light rock on his old walkman.\n\n Sometimes he loses himself in the pure bliss of the moment and needs the dogs' barking to snap him out of it so he can quickly scurry out a window before you walk inside. \n\nDude, your landlord's weird.",
"Establish dominance. Pee on them.",
"Perhaps it is happy barks?",
"For canines, most everything is about dominance and territory. Just because a dog is acquainted with you, doesn't mean he likes/respects/submits to you. They are nice when you pet them or give treats because in their mind, since you have not asserted any real dominance, you are catering to them. They have ultimate authority to yell at you for encroaching on their claimed space.\n\nUnless you assert dominance (which, if it's your neighbor's dog, you probably don't) Just start announcing yourself. Let them get accustomed to your voice and once they have your voice memorized and know you're no threat to them or their territory, announcing yourself will let the dog know you're coming in.\n\nMy neighbor had two dogs that did this as well. It worked for me.",
"They're not barking at you. They're warning your landlord that you're coming home.\n\n He's trained them to do this because he likes to sift through your underwear drawer and try a few on while you're out. He closes his eyes and sways dreamily in front of your mirror, often while listening to light rock on his old walkman.\n\n Sometimes he loses himself in the pure bliss of the moment and needs the dogs' barking to snap him out of it so he can quickly scurry out a window before you walk inside. \n\nDude, your landlord's weird.",
"Establish dominance. Pee on them.",
"Perhaps it is happy barks?"
]
}
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|
8tecth
|
why does getting whipped with a wet towel hurt so much?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8tecth/eli5_why_does_getting_whipped_with_a_wet_towel/
|
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],
"text": [
"Mythbusters’ Jamie actually did a little [video ](_URL_0_) on this. It’s similar to how a real whip works. The speed that the tip strikes the target is 3-4x the speed your hand is moving (Jamie clocked it at over 100 mph!). 100+mph anything will hurt."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/wet-towel"
]
] |
||
5eum4e
|
why are carlights in the distance still very blinding even if they have no visible impact on the surroundings.
|
Its dark here and a carlight just blinded me from a Mile away even if nowhere near myself could any illumination be witnessed.
Same goes for flashlights.
is there any explanation for this?
thank you in advance.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5eum4e/eli5_why_are_carlights_in_the_distance_still_very/
|
{
"a_id": [
"daf9n7k"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"They produce a narrow cone of light using focusing optics, since most people only want to see what they're pointing at/where their car is driving towards. It would take *a lot* more power to illuminate a wider cone equally well.\n\nNow, I'm going to hazard a wild generalization, and inform you that American cars suck badly in that particular regard. Most cars have their lights angled downwards precisely not to blind other drivers; American ones, not so much."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
4b4sa8
|
if the earth is rotating and also orbiting around the sun. why do long exposure pictures of distant stars/galaxies work?
|
Wouldn't the movement of the planet distort the final image?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4b4sa8/eli5_if_the_earth_is_rotating_and_also_orbiting/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d161fc0"
],
"score": [
13
],
"text": [
"Yes, after about a 30 second exposure or longer it becomes a \"star trail\", [sometimes used purposely for effect.](_URL_0_). If a photographer wants a picture without a star trail but needs to expose that long, or if it's for scientific or astronomical purposes like with the Hubble telescope, it uses a computerized system to track the movement and counteract the movement of the Earth. [Astrophotographers use these kinds of tripods](_URL_1_). Check out /r/astrophotography for more deets!"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0911/AnnapurnaStartrails_hao.jpg",
"http://orion.scene7.com/is/image/Orion/24336_mm?$mm_placeholder$"
]
] |
|
azhud2
|
how come inhaling steam doesn't flood your lungs or make you drown?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/azhud2/eli5_how_come_inhaling_steam_doesnt_flood_your/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ei7u2kz",
"ei7w9sy",
"ei7wn2e",
"ei86ydg"
],
"score": [
2,
17,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Same applies for vaping I guess, but I was thinking more like hot steam from hot water, like in the shower.",
"When water turns from liquid to steam, it takes up about 1600× more volume. So when you inhale a lot of steam, you're only getting a drop or so of water in your lungs. _URL_0_",
"Air and water vapor have almost the same density and it it is 1.2 kg/m\\^3 Water have the density of 1000kg/m\\^3 so water is 833 times as dense.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nThe total lung volume of a human is 6 liter so to fill them you need 6kg of water. That is 6/1.2=5 m\\^3 of water vapor or 5000 liter\n\n & #x200B;\n\nA normal breath move 0.5 liter of air and adult breath less the 20 times a minute so you move 10 l per minute. So you need to breath only water vapor for 5000/10= 500 minutes or 8.3 hours to breath in enough water to fill the lunges. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nThis calculation if of breathing pure water vapor and that would kill you because you would not get any oxygen. Humid warm at 30°C/86°F have 30g/m\\^3 of water vapor or 30/1200 = 2.5% of the mass of the air. So even if all water in air would stay in your lunge for some magical reason it would take a bit less then two weeks to fill the lunges\n\n & #x200B;\n\nWhat you call steam that is the white stuff you can see in the air is not steam but water droppes ie small drops of liquid water suspended in the air. What you call dense fog is only 0.5g/m\\^3 of water in the air but lets say you breath something that have 200x time amount of water droplets the mass is still only 10g/ m\\^3 or \\~10% of the mass of the air. The result is that it take 10x longer then the initial calculation of fill the lunge if all water stayed there so we talk about 80 hours.\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\nSo the simple explanation is that the amount of water in air is extremely low so any normal condition will not be a problem. The water transfer to the lunge is in general the other way and we breath out 0.7 L per day that is approximate half the amount of urine we produce.\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;",
"First of all because you have never inhaled steam. You have inhaled water vapour. When you boil a pot of water what you see coming off the pot is 99% water vapour and 1% steam (water vapour is basically tiny droplets of liquid water or mist). Steam is perfectly clear and is horrifically, horrifically, dangerous. A lungful of steam would burn the inside of your lungs so severely there would be no saving you. Also as a gas you would simply be able to exhale the majority of it - though some would turn to liquid in your lungs but you were dead well before you had to worry about having some water go down the wrong pipe. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1734"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
1wmcfg
|
hot/cold water piping. what made it so flushing the toilet while somebody was in the shower got hit with either really hot or really cold water, and how that is fixed in modern places.
|
Diagrams might be helpful if you have them too :)
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wmcfg/eli5_hotcold_water_piping_what_made_it_so/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cf3cg0a"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"One of the most common plumbing configurations is a trunk and branch system. This is where a larger diameter pipe runs from one end of the building to the other, and smaller diameter pipes branch off to supply rooms or individual fixtures. If any of the branches demand water (you flush the toilet), there is less water available to all the other branches. Since the toilet only uses cold water, there is less cold water available to your shower when the toilet is filling. This causes the water in the shower to be warmer, because there is less cold water mixing with the hot water. There are a few ways to reduce or eliminate this burning feeling. Probably the cheapest is to reduce the amount of water going to the toilet.\n\nYou can reduce how quickly the toilet uses water by simply closing the supply valve slightly. This means the toilet will take longer to fill, but will reduce the temperature fluctuation in the shower."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2h8smn
|
why is it that when i put my finger in front of my eye in a horizontal position, the light just above the surface of my finger gets distorted?
|
Its very slight but I defiantly see the picture getting bent. Any explanations?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2h8smn/eli5_why_is_it_that_when_i_put_my_finger_in_front/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ckqfexr"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Optical illusion created by binocular vision, a lightly shaking finger, a non-smooth surface, and the angle of the light getting through."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
6rd7qy
|
how come the usa ranks among the lowest countries for deaths by air pollution when it is among the highest co2 emitters in the world?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6rd7qy/eli5_how_come_the_usa_ranks_among_the_lowest/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dl448rl"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"People don't die from CO2 emissions typically, the problem is other junk emitted at the same time. The US might release large amounts of CO2 but it is done in processes which are much cleaner otherwise, or well isolated from those who might otherwise encounter it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4i3d0j
|
how do directors like joe/ anthony russo (directors of the two most recent captain america films) get such big name action movies to direct with no previous action movies in their résumé?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4i3d0j/eli5how_do_directors_like_joe_anthony_russo/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d2uq0bl",
"d2ur3fd",
"d2ut78w"
],
"score": [
11,
42,
3
],
"text": [
"It's true that they had literally no experience with action films. They were mostly known for their TV work in Arrested Development and Community. But Marvel Studios have always taken risks. Iron Man 1 was a risk, Jon Favreau as director was a risk. Robert Downey Jr was a risk. A movie about an Asgardian God and a ridiculously patriotic superhero? Risks. The Russo brothers were simply another one that Marvel took - they were chosen based on a leap of faith. And seeing how the films turned out, it wasn't such a bad decision after all :) ",
"Established directors have established styles. If you got Tim Burton to direct a movie it would be a Tim Burton movie first and a marvel movie second. They are shooting for a marvel house style that is consistent across the whole cinematic universe , and they can't get that from directors that have already found their own groove. Even if there was a director they liked, he wouldn't have time to direct every marvel movie , and if he did he would wield an outrageous and dangerous amount of power with the studio.\n\nEstablished directors also have more bargaining power. If a famous director can negotiate a percentage of the box office take, that's a lot of money for a movie that grosses a billion dollars.\n\nTldr: New directors are willing to do what they're told and take a paycheck. Established directors want creative input and a much much bigger paycheck.",
"How about the director of Braindead and Bad Taste doing the Lord of the Rings?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
29mmkb
|
by only looking at the movie, how do people recognize that a movie has a good director?
|
How do people say that a director has done a good job, when it could be attributed to the screen play writer, or the guy in charge of the camera, etc?
Most specifically in movies that the director only directs, not write or anything
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29mmkb/eli5_by_only_looking_at_the_movie_how_do_people/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cimey7v",
"cimfdin",
"cimhafg"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The director has the final word in everything, so his/her job is to let the best content from all those other people get through. If the screen play writer writes a bad scene, then the director has the power to make them redo it. If the camera crew does a bad take, then it is up to the director to make them do it again.\n\nThe director is also the person who has the largest part in getting the feel of a movie. A script can only be written in so much detail, so it's up to the director to add in all the nuance that really ties the film together.",
"In addition to what TheHarpyEagle said, you can think of the director as the captain of a boat. The helmsman might be the one actually steering the boat, but he does it according to the captain's vision of where the voyage is supposed to go and what it's supposed to do. The director decides how a scene should feel and how it should affect an audience, and the other members of the film crew collaborate toward making that happen. \n\nIf you've ever seen a film that felt disjointed or like you weren't sure what they were trying to do, it could have been the result of bad directing. When a film feels like a cohesive, well thought out piece that doesn't leave parts of the narrative unaccounted for, that is, in part, good directing at work.",
"Thin about it this way: imagine all the different ways a bad director can make a terrible movie out of a great script. He might fail to explain to the actors what they're supposed to be doing. He might put the cameras, lights or microphones in the wrong places. He might not notice mistakes or continuity errors.\n\nI once got to interview a director -- a stage director, not a movie director, but a director. He gave as an example of his job a scene in which all the townsfolk were gathered and were in a bad mood. A bad director, he said, might say to one actor, \"Okay, I want you to make this face,\" and to the next actor, \"I want you to strike this pose\". The actors would do what they were told, but it would look completely lifeless. Instead, a director should say something like, \"Okay, everyone, you've been ordered onto the streets to greet the new Grand Duke, but you really hate him, and he wants to build a whacking great palace in your town.\" That's much more likely to get a natural-looking result.\n\nSo, signs of bad direction might include lots of noticeable goofs, wooden or over-the-top acting by even well-respected actors, bad lighting, uninspired or plain stupid camera angles, and so on."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1yzkv1
|
why would legalizing drugs in the u.s. would defund the mexican cartels?
|
I know that the legalization of would cripple the Cartels funding. Although allowing drugs such as Meth and heroin in to the country cause more problems than solve.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1yzkv1/eli5_why_would_legalizing_drugs_in_the_us_would/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cfp5hxi",
"cfp70um"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Not necessarily defund, just lessen the amount they make, therefore lessoning the amount of violence across the border. Every time drugs change hands moving to America from Columbia, Peru, Mexico (wherever) it goes up in price. *Coke prices can triple the second they cross into America*. Legalization of all drugs hasn't been proven to lessen use, although in Portugal it is legal to use all drugs and OD's and overall usage went down. Its all a matter of lessoning the violence due to the amount of money they make. Lots of people anywhere in the world would do ANYTHING for a billion dollars...ANYTHING ",
"I'm a corn farmer in Mexico. When my crop is ready for market, I call guys with trucks, and they take it away to sell it in the US. It isn't worth enough to make it a target for theft, and even if it is stolen or lost, I can insure it, and I can call the cops to go after who stole it. This means a low mark up to the end user.\n\nYou're a pot farmer. Not of those options are available to you, you have to call a smuggler. He has to sneak a little bit of it at a time from place to place, paying off gov't officials and other criminals, and risking that it will be confiscated or stolen. He then sells it to a dealer, who it risking arrest to get it to the end users. The mark up is sky high, and this is where cartels make their money. Without that, they are just corn farmers.\n\n > Although allowing drugs such as Meth and heroin in to the country cause more problems than solve.\n\nThe drugs are already getting to the US, there is no \"allowing\" about it. The question is whether legalization would lessen the damage their are already doing."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2r26vh
|
how come when i breathe out all the air i can from my nose, i can still breathe out through my mouth?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2r26vh/eli5_how_come_when_i_breathe_out_all_the_air_i/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cnbqxne",
"cnbrna1",
"cnbtmbc"
],
"score": [
13,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Never knew this was possible until I just did it. Wow. ",
"Try it the other way around, I think it works both ways. It might have to do with air in the channels of your nose, or mouth that keeps air in until you force it out. So basically some air will only come out when you breathe out your mouth, and some air will only come out when your breathe out of your nose. \"stagnant\" air trapped inside you?",
"This is respiratory physiology. \n\nThe easiest way I can think of is to imagine a person owning a car. You can keep the fuel level between quarter and a half and have a fully functioning car. That's your lungs normally. It breathes in and out just the necessary amount of air, this is called tidal volume. When you breathe out through your mouth (forcefully) after you finished with your nose, what you're clearing is called the expiratory reserve volume. Now like a gas tank you've now emptied the tank but cars have a reserve amount as well. And in the same way you STILL have a tiny amount in your lungs left which you can't get rid of and this is the residual volume. The same goes for breathing in too. You have an inspiratory reserve volume which is when you take a deeper breath in after you've breathed in normally. This is filling up your tank to the brim. The entire volume of the lung is called the total lung capacity. There's another thing called vital capacity and that's the entire volume excluding the tiny untouchable residual volume. \n\nTl;dr your lungs are like a functioning car's gas tank. \n\nEdit: added a little detail. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1ddii9
|
why games are so expensive compare to movies?
|
Multimillion movies cost us about $22-$25 for a ticket or about $30 on bluray but a brand new game can go up to $100. Why is that?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ddii9/eli5_why_games_are_so_expensive_compare_to_movies/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c9pad8p",
"c9pbzmx"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"A game has a really really narrow shelf life. Maybe a month. A movie is in theatres for as long as it sells tickets, and then after awhile sells forever in th form of blue ray and DVD sales. ",
"Video games have a much smaller audience than films.\n\nMost American-made films make much of their sales overseas; video games, by comparison, make most of their sales domestically.\n\nAlso, games have a hard time selling to older audiences and women."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2zmg4g
|
what are proteins, and why is "folding" them is important for future of medicine?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zmg4g/eli5_what_are_proteins_and_why_is_folding_them_is/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cpk9o3e",
"cpkf0pc"
],
"score": [
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Proteins are the functional units of cells. DNA contains the information to make specific proteins. These proteins then accomplish tasks critical for cellular function (transporting molecules around, providing structure and mobility for the cell, enhancing the rates of certain reactions, etc.). In order for them to function properly, they must be in a proper \"fold\". \n\nSince proteins are made of up amino acids attached to each other, there is some flexibility to the structure of the protein. There are a lot of orientations allowed for the protein but there is typically only one functional fold which is called the \"native\" structure. The protein must have a specific fold in order to carry out its specific function which is why it's crucial that it is maintained.\n\nCertain factors may affect how a protein folds. Heat is the easiest factor to explain. The heat causes the molecules to fluctuate more and the protein loses its proper fold. Think of cooking an egg, where the once transparent yolk surrounding becomes the classic egg white. This is effectively proteins being folded differently. Other factors include whatever other molecules may be around, or charges.\n\nAs far as medicinal application, proteins are essential for studying so we know how and what it does for the body. Many drug and medicine studies target proteins. A lot of times it may be something regulatory such as effecting the way it folds so that the function is modulated.",
"We are, for the most part, made up of very complex chemical origami. How the chemical 'paper' is folded decides what that component of the body looks like and does. Understanding how the origami is made helps us understand when and where bad folds were made that cause disease."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
36i1b6
|
why is 2^-1=1/2?
|
I learned this in math class but I dont know why?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36i1b6/eli5why_is_2112/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cre4bsp"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"2^2 =4\n\n2^1 =2\n\n2^0 =1\n\n2^-1 =1/2\n\n2^-2 =1/4\n\nDo you see the pattern? As we have powers of 2, each step is either double the last if you go up or half if we go down.\n\nMaybe it's more clear if we use powers of 10 as we are more used to it\n\n10^2 =100\n\n10^1 =10\n\n10^0 =1\n\n10^-1 0.1\n\n10^-2 0.01\n\nNow each step is 10 times greater for each step as we are using powers of 10."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
40dbze
|
why do some bubbles in bubble wrap 'pop' and others 'mush'
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/40dbze/eli5why_do_some_bubbles_in_bubble_wrap_pop_and/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cytaehk",
"cytag2r"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"It has to do with the integrity of the bubble. If the bubble is well sealed on all sides, then the bubble itself is the weakest point, and will \"pop\". If the seal integrity of the walls separating your bubble from its neighbors is weaker than the bubble itself, then your air will seep out into neighboring chambers rather than \"pop\". ",
"Some bubbles don't have a tight enough seal on the base sheet of plastic and the air wooshes out instead of building up pressure to burst the plastic."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2j3uw2
|
why hasn't sega made a new console in the past 10 years?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2j3uw2/eli5_why_hasnt_sega_made_a_new_console_in_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cl84sh0"
],
"score": [
12
],
"text": [
"They lost money on the Saturn and the Dreamcast. Probably the Megadrive add ons too. \n\nSo instead of risk going under, they bailed and focused on the profitable side of their business, software.\n\nAnd for them to re-enter the market they'd have to take on several behemoths - Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo. Not too mention Steam, Google, Amazon, Facebook and whomever else. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
10qhqu
|
why is clapping our hands the universal sign of group approval. it's a little weird.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/10qhqu/eli5_why_is_clapping_our_hands_the_universal_sign/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c6frp8z",
"c6fs109",
"c6fs84t",
"c6fsnso",
"c6fswll",
"c6fv5mk",
"c6fvz69",
"c6fwsrh",
"c6fx2od",
"c6fy8cn"
],
"score": [
59,
7,
4,
4,
30,
2,
3,
5,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Fuck you mario",
"Because clapping is louder/ more efficient/ less tiring than yelling. That's my theory.",
"i suspect it comes from the custom of making loud noises like roaring and banging as a form of cheering them on",
"Agreed. A much more appropriate response would be the showing of breasts, right?",
"It's something called a \"memetic\" (Or \"meme\").\n\nThat's when an idea or something appeals to one person, and is either talked about, show cased, displayed, so on to another person, and that person follows along and continues the path of talking, showing, etc.\nThis applies with the cloths we wear, the language we speak, the way we act, what we know is right and wrong, cats on the internet, and so on.\nMemetics is what culture is made out of. Without it, humans would just rely on instinct like other animals.\nI do not know what the story behind the clapping part is, but there's probably a few answers to that. My guess is; let's say one man decided to think \"Hey, I like what this guy has done to entertain me. I need to show a way to show my appreciation for a job well done.\" So he decides to clap his hands to make noise. It's less rude than yelling, but serves the same purpose.",
"The [Ligonians](_URL_0_) smack sticks together. I assume they're handed out before any event where applause may be expected, like 3D movie glasses.",
"I dont think it is universal, I dont know that many jungle tribes clap in approval.",
"Except, it isn't universal.",
"Because it sounds like bacon frying on a pan when everyone does it.",
"You high five yourself because someone else did something awesome."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Ligonian"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
3t5wt0
|
if jesus was all about jerusalem and nazareth, why is the vatican in rome?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3t5wt0/eli5_if_jesus_was_all_about_jerusalem_and/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cx3botm",
"cx3byrt"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"[Peter](_URL_0_), one of Jesus' apostles and basically the leader of the Christian community after Jesus' death (also considered to be the first pope) was buried at Vatican. After this, his successors, the bishops of Rome, claimed his authority and that they were \"above\" other bishops, that is to say they were popes. This idea of the Bishop of Rome being special because they were Peter's successors is basically what popes are all about.",
"Adding onto what /u/lollersauce914 said, for some part of history, Christianity was outlawed in the Roman empire. This ended with Emperor Constantine issuing the Edict of Milan, basically saying Christianity is legally, and then the Council of Nicea decided how the Catholic Church should be run. Point is, Rome was considered the political capital of the world, so it kind of started off near there. Then Rome fell, was taken by the church as the papal states and the Muslims took over Jerusalem and it was out of the church's reach. Long story short, Italy invaded the papal states, with the pope taking refuge on a hill with a wall known as Vatican, Vatican City didn't come into being until the early 20th century, when Mussolini granted the land to the Catholic Church. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter"
],
[]
] |
||
2y20jq
|
why is it legal for our food and drinks to be wrapped/packaged with bpa?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2y20jq/eli5_why_is_it_legal_for_our_food_and_drinks_to/
|
{
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"text": [
"Because while BPA is harmful to health, the amount that would come into contact with food is negligible and found to be safe by many, many, many studies. \n\nSo, it's still allowed, and still studied. If more studies found significant problems from the very low amounts of BPA transferred from container to food, the the FDA will change the laws regarding its use. ",
"As best I can tell, there has never been any serious scientific study, ever, that has found any health risk of any kind from the amount of BPA consumed as a result of consuming food and beverages stored in BPA-containing packaging.\n\nSo why should it be illegal?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
1u31vy
|
why do we need to re-type our password?
|
What is the significance of doing so?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1u31vy/eli5_why_do_we_need_to_retype_our_password/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cee0dzw",
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],
"score": [
9,
5
],
"text": [
"Just to make sure you didn't make a typo the first time.",
"It helps you avoid mistakes. If you meant to type \"googlefan\" and typed \"gogglefan\" instead, you would want to recognize this mistake before submitting the password for the first time."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6co5wn
|
what makes a great conductor great? and conversely what sets them apart from a random high school band teacher?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6co5wn/eli5_what_makes_a_great_conductor_great_and/
|
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"A great conductor can make their movements' intentions so painfully obvious that it's almost impossible for someone to get off time or something during a performance. Also, a good conductor can pay attention to the entire band at once and be able to point out if any single player is doing something wrong and correct it efficiently. (Not super experienced with large band/orchestra performance but this is what i understand)",
"The conductor of a musical ensemble is an artist. A good conductor is absolute control of the orchestra and inspires the musicians to perform her interpretation of the composition. She knows the capabilities of her musicians. Also a complete understanding of the material being performed. While a lesser skilled conductor may be more of just a timekeeper, a truly great conductor intuitively is aware of every subtlety that is happening during the performance. They control tempo, dynamics, tone, balance of the sections, entrances, articulations, and many other aspects of the music.",
"It's important to keep in mind that a conductor is nearly always the leader of the orchestra, too. So for weeks and months before you see him/her waving a baton around, they were in charge of auditioning band members, selecting the music, organizing rehearsals, making artistic changes or interpretations to the piece as it goes, and directing each section and musician. So there was a hell of a lot of behind-the-scenes work that we don't always think of.\n\nAs far as actual performance, a good conductor is giving a dozen instructions at once. Speed, volume, and style are all communicated by single movements. Are his beats large, waving motions, full of drama? I'll bet there'll be horns blaring long, sonorous notes. Are they short, tight, precise movements, close to his chest? You're almost definitely going to be hearing soft, short staccato notes. Is he facing the trombones, pushing one hand down while conducting with his other hand? He's asking them to play softer - maybe the acoustics in this room aren't what they're used to, and they're overpowering the rest of the band more than expected. There are a million little adjustments that will go on in any given performance, and a good conductor can make them on the fly in very clear ways.\n\nAnd of course, all of that body language goes to the audience too. When you see that person swinging their arms in big, wide arcs, you'll get excited, even as the music begins to swell. And when you see them sweep their arms in, you'll lean in, straining to hear the soft parts of the music. The conductor is a visual cue to you to tell you what your ears can expect.",
"A great conductor does all things mentioned in the thread so far, but what sets one above all others for me is of they can bring musicians out of their own heads and make them CONNECT to the music. Technical skill is only means to an end, and in the end what really matters is if you made the audience feel something. \nMy choir conductor will regularly have these incredibly deep speeches about the music we're performing, and he always gives us so much to think about right before we begin (these speeches are often within the hour before we go on). He understands what is really important to the audience and people in general, and is really willing to be as vulnerable as we need to be. \nI remember once we were performing Eriks Esenvalds' \"Rivers of Light\", and what he said to us was actually so incredibly vulnerable and heartbreaking that it made it hard for us to focus on the technical aspects of the piece; but we had one of our most incredible performances of that year, and the audience responded extremely well. ",
"a great conductor will keep the train on the tracks and get you to where you want in a timely manor. A random high school band teacher may lack train conducting skills and may not be able to get you to your destination at all",
"If you can simultaneously inform and inspire everyone, you are a good conductor. You can think of your arms and hands as dancers. They need to clearly adhere to the tempo, but also show artful distinction between each measure in a way that helps visualize the music. The most important part is that you regulate the tempo of the ensemble. Your style of conducting should also portray accidentals and phrasing, to help the musicians stay tightly toghether in both tempo, timber, and articulation.\n\nYou can't learn how to conduct without practice, but don't waste too much time practicing alone to a metronome. That is a beginner's mistake, and it won't improve much but your ability to keep time. ",
"A good conductor synthesizes and provides an immense amount of information at any given moment. Clear cutoffs, attention to musical expression, balance...the list goes on in other posts.\n\nA GREAT conductor not only provides the mechanics that the ensemble needs to function, but provides leadership. A great conductor empowers their ensemble emotionally and musically. They need to be a total technician in regards to their conducting, but it has to serve an artisitic end.\n\nOtherwise...it's just noise!",
"I went to hear the Cleveland Orchestra for nine straight years, 26 concerts per season. I heard dozens of conductors leading one of the best ensembles in the country. \n\nConductors set the tempo and indicate with hand gestures parts they would like to hear louder or quite. During rehearsals they will start and stop the orchestra to refine how certain parts are presented. He has in his mind a trajectory for the program to follow.\n\nI can tell you that some of them have a more compelling interpretation of how a piece should be expressed. It is clear when you hear them perform. Average conductors rarely make recordings, so it may be hard to judge what falls flat.\n\nI heard George Solti palpably shape the silence before the orchestra played Beethoven's 3rd and then make every note of the endless final coda relevant. \n\nThey are like sculptors.",
"Good answers below, but I've found a lot of people (not the people answering below, just in general) don't really know what a conductor does. Hint: He's not just waving a stick in time to the music.\n\nHere's the thing about playing in an orchestra: You can't actually hear all the other instruments. If you're in the middle of the brass section, chances are you can't hear the flutes. So you don't know if you're playing in time, playing too softly or loudly or if you need to slow down or speed up.\n\nThat's what the conductor is for. He's front and center and can hear everyone. So his job is basically to signal each section when to come in, indicate the tempo, when to play louder or softer...and this is really *really* difficult to do well. \n\n",
"(Note: it is possible for a high school band teacher to be a great conductor.)\n\nIMO a conductor is great who feels the music inside her. As opposed to someone rigidly trying to control the musicians. One who feels the music can inspire musicians to feel it as well, and the whole group becomes like a single organism. Like a string quartet that doesn't require a conductor, the conductor facilitates this on a larger scale, if someone sitting in front of the trumpets can't hear the cellos, for example, the conductor can be the glue that holds them together.",
"Great conductors are there for students on and off the stage. I knew one once, we called him the Mad scientist because he was so loved by the students and had that rapport. He's a great man and taught me a lot!",
"This isn't very exact, but it was the first way that I really grasped what a conductor dose. \n\nMusicians play their instruments; conductors play their orchestra. ",
"I would say it's more important to have a good director than a good conductor. Usually they are the same person, but what separates a director from a simple conductor is the cultivation of a good musical program. A director has a vision for how the piece should be performed, how to accentuate the ensemble's strengths while masking it's weaknesses, and provides leadership and direction for the collective. Having these core features greatly improves conducting style, because it helps forge a bond between the conductor, ensemble, and the music.",
"I manage to get to the symphony on occasion. The one that stands out for me was a program of four very complex pieces of music, conducted by guest maestro Mark Wigglesworth. Of the four, he conducted two of them *entirely from memory* -- that is, no music in front of him at all -- one of them being the extremely complex \"Unfinished\" Symphony of Schubert's (8th Symphony).",
"Basically the same thing that separates a great pianist from a high school pianist: vastly greater technical skill, deep knowledge of the music, and finely tuned aesthetics. A great conductor brings their own sense of taste to interpreting the music, then uses their technical skill (including many conversations with all the musicians, and adjusting their approach as needed) to make it happen.\n\nWhat you see on the night is often a small part of the job - it's all the working with the orchestra beforehand that matters.",
"There are a few factors that make a conductor great. Eye contact, ictus dictation (the ictus is just the name for the conducting pattern), and knowledge of the piece they are conducting.\n\nEye contact is HUGE. When cueing, or dictating parts of a song, maintaining eye contact subliminally makes the music better. I actually don't know why, but it's totally true.\n\nIctus dictation is important to convert style, timing, and dynamics. For higher level conductors, its more fore style, since professional musicians don't really need a conductor for timing or dynamics. The conductor essentially hypes the piece for the musicians and the audience.\n\nLastly, knowledge of the music. This ties in with eye contact, but a good conductor who does his homework doesn't need to stare down at his paper. This allows him to convey emotion more, and maintain better eye contact.\n\n",
"A random high school band teacher may be a great conductor, and a great (world class) conductor may make a terrible high school band conductor. (Though in my experience, most conductors who rise to the top of their field are prodigiously inspiring communicators and could probably coax beautiful music out of an elementary school recorder ensemble -- but this is not to say that they would excel at the day-to-day grind of teaching young musicians). \n\n**IN PERFORMANCE** \n\nIn very, very, general terms, a high school band conductor has to put more emphasis on the mechanical elements of a performance -- keeping the beat, adjusting balance, cueing entrances and cutoffs, etc. Depending on the level of the ensemble (which varies IMMENSELY at the high school level), the director may have to spend all of his/her energy just ensuring a mostly-accurate rendition of the music, OR with more proficient students he/she may have more room to focus on artistic/expressive interpretation. \n\nA conductor of a world-class orchestra rarely has to work to keep the ensemble together (though it depends on the complexity and familiarity of the music), and rarely has to worry about preventing trainwrecks in terms of intonation, accuracy of rhythm/pitch, blend/balance, etc. The conductor *does* make adjustments to these elements, but on a much more subtle level that the average person would barely notice. A professional orchestra could perform most repertoire without a conductor and it would sound fine. But a great conductor can take it to the next level and beyond -- first of all, the conductor can hear the 'bigger picture' of the whole orchestra better than any individual musician, and second, the conductor has a vision (audiation?) of the music as he/she imagines it, and can sculpt the orchestra's performance through body language and (what sometimes feels like) sheer psychic force of will. \n\n**IN REHEARSAL / PREPARATION** \n\nSo far I'm only discussing what the conductor does *in performance.* In reality, the conductor's main job is what happens in rehearsal. A high school band director is, first and foremost, a teacher. Depending on the level of the students, the teacher spends a lot of time crafting lessons to teach technical skills and concepts, as well as fixing wrong notes, developing music reading skills, working on exercises and warm-ups to improve tone and intonation, giving instrument-specific technique instructions for solving problems that the students may be too inexperienced to figure out for themselves, etc. (Not to mention managing behavior, maintaining records, communicating with parents, and all of the clerical/leadership duties involved in classroom teaching and managing a performing organization). \n\nA world-class conductor doesn't have to micro-manage the fingers and lips of an orchestra full of technically-superior musicians--the conductor will express what kind of sound he/she wants and the musicians will know how to make that sound. (In some cases the conductor will give specific instructions, for example telling the violins to play with the tips of their bows, or to use a specific hand position or fingering -- but this is a matter of establishing a consistent section sound and matching the conductor's interpretation, not a matter of teaching the musician something they didn't know). \n\nTo be fair, a high school conductor typically does all of the things that a world-class conductor does, but often has to focus a lot more on the educational/technical/mechanical aspects of rehearsing/performing. The artistic/expressive/interpretive aspects of music are an essential part of this, but they're not particularly effective until the kids are playing accurately and together. Further, the level of artistry a high school conductor can coax from an ensemble tends to be less nuanced due to the relative inexperience of the students and the presence of 'weak links.' (That said, a strong high school ensemble can play quite maturely). \n\nA world-class conductor can take most of the educational/technical/mechanical aspects for granted (at least on a macro level) and focus almost entirely on artistic expression and very subtle shading/sculpting of the technical aspects. \n\n**GENERAL TRAITS** \n\nUltimately, conducting is a matter of leadership and professionalism. World-class conductors, by and large, are RIDICULOUSLY accomplished musicians with incredible ears and insanely deep and intimate understanding of the repertoire. Every day they have to stand in front of 60-80 of the world's best musicians and earn/maintain their respect and awe. They have to inspire and lead and communicate their interpretations of the music to 60-80 individual musicians who all have their own ideas and interpretations. \n\nHigh school conductors have to do the same but the leadership tends to be more about teaching and classroom management skills, similar to the leadership required of any academic teacher. It typically goes without saying that the band director is a much more accomplished musician than his/her students (though not necessarily a *better* musician -- there is the occasional hotshot student who could compete with the teacher in certain areas of proficiency, but probably not in terms of experience and breadth of musical understanding). But in a high school ensemble, simply being a strong musician is rarely enough to lead and inspire a group of kids, many of whom are only there for fun and don't really care much about developing into professional musicians. A world-class conductor may get good results guest-conducting a high school band due to the awe factor and his/her fresh approaches and inspiring demeanor, but wouldn't necessarily be up to the task of the daily pedagogy and management required to prepare the student musicians. ",
" The answers in this thread are frustrating to me. Being a great conductor is not just about how you wave the stick, it's about how you shape the music. That isn't some on-the-fly response to a specific motion of the conductor's hands; it's the culmination of years and years of practice and performance on the individual musician's part that allows them to interpret the musical shaping and phrasing in a given work. A conductor puts the polish on and holds the group together. A great conductor finds the details and refines them to their most musical potential. A great conductor can express with their body language, face, and hands what a less skilled conductor might have to verbally explain. It all works together, it's not just one thing or the other.",
"Honestly, these ELI5 explanations that are super long are really getting out of hand.\n\nThere are three things; knowledge/experience, charisma, and an ability to connect with your players on some level.\n\nSome conductors have an annoying habit of treating players as sounds in a group instead of a living breathing human.\n\nOthers may lack that ability to inspire their players to bring out their maximum potential, even if everyone in the ensemble is amazing.\n\nUsually these two abilities and their counterparts are acquired via the first point: knowledge/experience. \n\nThese are the results of their personal life experience with music and their music education, formal or not.\n\nEdit: Learning to press enter twice.",
"A great conductor is one who can collect all his tickets in a minimum of time, well before the train gets to it’s destination."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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] |
||
a8v6e3
|
why do the notes go down as you stir powder into a liquid?
|
Stirring hot chocolate mix into a cup of hot water with a spoon, allowing the spoon to hit the inside of the cup, makes a noise that goes lower the longer you stir and make more of a miniature tornado. why do the notes go down?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a8v6e3/eli5_why_do_the_notes_go_down_as_you_stir_powder/
|
{
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"ece1efq"
],
"score": [
2
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"text": [
"Sound is all just vibration, faster vibration means higher pitch sound, slower is lower pitch. Ok, so I'm going to speculate here: the extra material thickens the liquid as it gets mixed in which would slow down any vibrations in the fluid from the spoon striking the mug, and maybe cause the effect you describe? "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
d9bhgv
|
why does a blood pressure readout have two numbers?
|
I've always wondered why it's a fraction, and what number I should pay attention to.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d9bhgv/eli5_why_does_a_blood_pressure_readout_have_two/
|
{
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"text": [
"The two measurements are for the two extremes, so the highest and lowest pressures. So it's not a fraction, just two separate but related numbers.\n\nDiastolic pressure is the low number and is the pressure between heart beats. Systolic pressure is the high number and is the pressure as the heart contracts.",
"They both represent a separate pressure. The top is your systolic pressure, and that represents the amount of pressure in your arteries when your heart contracts. The bottom is your diastolic pressure, and that's the pressure in your arteries between heart beats. The combination of those numbers give an overall impression of how hard your heart is working to circulate your blood.",
"Systolic-pressure when the heart beats. This is the pressure of blood being pushed. Diastolic-pressure at rest. This is the pressure of the blood when waiting to be pushed. We need to know both for a lot of reasons. The real number to see is the one in parenthesis called the mean arterial pressure (MAP). This represents the overall tissue perfusion and how well your body is getting blood sent out and how well that tissue is exchanging oxygen and CO2 with that resting blood.",
"If you push a swing goes at a certain speed. Once you stop pushing its still moving at a slower speed until it eventually stops or you push it again.\n\nThe top number is the pressure of your blood when the heart beats (i.e pushes your blood) and the lower one is the number when its not \"pushing\" or beating. If the heart didnt beat again, the lower number would eventually drop to 0 just like how the swing will stop."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2bapz5
|
random bad radio signal spots. why?
|
We've all been there: Driving along, jamming to a crystal clear radio signal, when all of a sudden you stop at a red light, and your radio signal gets all sorts of static. However, you have room to pull up a few inches, and so you do, and the radio signal is crystal clear again! What causes this? I've driven by an 18-wheeler before and lost signal and just figured it was radio interference, but in the situation i'm talking about, I can be the only one on the road and it still happens!
I've also read online about a 'loose antenna' causing static, but that doesn't explain these random 'bad signal bubbles,' does it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bapz5/eli5_random_bad_radio_signal_spots_why/
|
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"text": [
"As radio waves propagate from their source, they end up taking many different paths and bouncing off different surfaces. Sometimes these waves will collide with each other in a way that leads to destructive interference, which will lead to this kind of fading dip.",
"Imagine radiowaves as just light bouncing around, which is what they really are.\n\nThe radio mast (where the radio is transmitted) is like a lighthouse spewing light everywhere in all directions, anywhere within line of sight of the mast will be illuminated and you'll see it no problem, but then how does your radio's antenna pick up this signal if the radio mast is clearly over the horizon or blocked by buildings?\n\nThe light from the radio mast bounces off buildings, mountains and even the atmosphere in the sky to get into every nook and cranny in the area, but blind spots are inevitable, a well placed car or plane can block the signal, just like a well placed cloud can block your view of the sun, moon, stars, plane or whatever. ",
"As others have said, it's probably the result of line of sight obstructing the radio signal. However, it's possible you're encountering sources of radio frequency interference as well. For example power lines, poles, and stations can create a lot of static/interference as you drive near or underneath them.",
"RF can travel through small things like your body and your vehicle, even most buildings. But not as well when mountains are in the way of the source. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5fk2ro
|
where do electrons get their energy to spin from, and how does such continuous motion not violate the law first law of thermodynamics?
|
On a related note, how can a magnet break an object out of a state of inertia without violating that law?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5fk2ro/eli5_where_do_electrons_get_their_energy_to_spin/
|
{
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"Electron spin isn't actual, physical spinning. It's just a quantum property that behaves in a way that can be mathematically modeled as spinning.\n\nFurther, things that are spinning don't need energy to continue spinning as long as there's no friction slowing them down. That's why planets and stars just keep on spinning.",
"At the quantum physical level a lot of things does not make sense in classical physics. It is called spin because some of the properties could be explained if you modeled it as spinning but other properties of the spin does not. The first law of thermodynamics say that energy in a closed system is constant. If there is energy in an electron spin (which there may not be) then the first law of thermodynamics tells us that it have to keep spinning or release that energy out of the system. There is no way for an electron to release the energy that we know of so it will keep spinning forever.\n\nYour second question was how a magnet can change the spin of an electron without breaking the first law of thermodynamics. Again you are just changing the direction of the spin so the energy is still contained in the electron. No energy is needed to change the spin of a gyroscope either, just the speed. You also have another law about the conservation of angular momentum. However you need to observe the entire system and not just an electron. Note that a magnet have symmetrical field lines and just as many field lines going in each direction. Some of the field lines may be internal to the magnet. So when it change the spin of one electron it will also change the spin of another electron the opposite way. So the total angular momentum in the entire system is conserved.\n\nThis is all assuming that the electron is actually spinning and can be explained with the classical theories of physics at all. There are in fact aspects of it that we can not explain like how it can have a spin and not an extent and why every electron spins at the same rate. ",
"If you loosely consider the first law of thermodynamics to mean that energy is conserved, a very similar concept keeps the electron 'spinning' and that's conservation of angular momentum. If nothing is acting to slow the electron, the electron will keep going as it was.\n\nMind you, the electron is not literally spinning because the electron is not a billiard ball. But the way it interacts with other objects suggests that electrons have some amount of intrinsic angular momentum. More or less, it cannot be depleted because the various ways an electron can interact that uses that momentum either results in an equal reversal, or the electron changes into another particle, with a different angular momentum. There is no form of friction that can act upon it.\n\nMagnets can pull things because that's what they do. The thermodynamics laws are all about closed systems. If you wanted to model the closed system of a magnet pulling a piece of iron, then you have to consider how are they separated. Someone pulled them apart, and that is the energy you get back when the magnet accelerates it. The same way a ball at the top of a hill has gravitational potential energy, an iron ball near a magnet has magnetic potential energy. And neither ball gets in that position without some work being done to it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
eis1se
|
why do fine cuts not cause as much pain as duller cuts?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eis1se/eli5_why_do_fine_cuts_not_cause_as_much_pain_as/
|
{
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"fct64z5"
],
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10
],
"text": [
"A fine cut damages fewer nerve endings, so there are fewer pain signals going to your central nervous system."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2wa4t4
|
how does wool get converted into long fibers to weave into sweaters? alpacas get shaved, but the material isn't all connected, is it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wa4t4/eli5how_does_wool_get_converted_into_long_fibers/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cooyowh"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The fibers are not all connected but wool has a crazy high amount of surface area. When the fibers are spun and twisted together, the high amount of surface area translates to a high amount of friction to hold the fibers together."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2ui8hv
|
why arent there dead insects all over my house?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ui8hv/eli5why_arent_there_dead_insects_all_over_my_house/
|
{
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"co8mew7",
"co8mvb7",
"co8mxas",
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18,
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75,
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"text": [
"There's a food chain and those spiders in your laundry are at the top of it.",
"You don't see the live ones. They're hiding. But they're there. Waiting. ",
"The living ones eat the dead ones and then hide. They only come out at night to crawl on your face and in your ears while you're sleeping.",
"There are, but they don't last long. Organic things have evolved to digest other organic things. Be it scavengers or bacteria, something is eating all those dead insects. As for the live ones, predators may get them, though they generally don't stay dead an uneaten for too long or some scavenger might make a meal of it instead."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4g6ugz
|
why is paris known as the most romantic city of the world?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4g6ugz/eli5_why_is_paris_known_as_the_most_romantic_city/
|
{
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"text": [
"It's how the French market themselves and people just absorb it over time.\n\nThe French market themselves as masters of food and wine too and people lap that up despite it being bollocks. Their wines are generally inferior to new world alternatives (California, Australia, etc) and if Europe has a champion of food then the title must belong to Italy."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
dl7mx3
|
how does international law work? who is holding countries accountable and what real punishments can be enforced on a nation's government/people?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dl7mx3/eli5_how_does_international_law_work_who_is/
|
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"Each country is considered sovereign within its borders. International courts bring up people on charges of crimes against humanity. But on topics of how a country governs itself, there is no international law.\n\nSeveral leaders have been convicted and sentenced to jail for life",
"International laws fall into two rough categories: Self-imposed and foreign-imposed. Self-imposed international laws cover things like the EU, where several countries got together and agreed to share certain laws and a semi-governing body. In this case, the law is enforced by countries on themselves, and if a major problem arises then other countries in the agreement may step in. The Geneva Convention falls into this category, for the most part. Foreign-imposed laws are generally rules that big countries force onto smaller countries. Things like war crimes might be a violation of such laws. Enforcing of the Geneva convention on countries that have not signed it would count as this. Depending on how you want to look at it, *most* foreign economic and military interventions could be put in this category.",
"There isn't any enforcing body in international law, it's just all the countries keeping each other responsible for aggrements. If a country don't want to follow on their treaties and what is view as international law, other countries might put sanction or refuse to deal with them in the future. In the global economy of today, not carring about international law might cripple the economy of your country, isolate you diplomatically, anger your own population, prevent you acces to important ressources, etc Basically it like the kid that don't play by the rule and end up playing by himself. \n\nIn worst case scenario the international community or a powerful group of countries could make war to you to enforce international law.",
"This is actually a really huge topic of global politics.\n\nLet's look at a few ways international law works, and how international law can be made and enforced. But before we do that, there is something important to keep in mind: There isn't a single organisation or government that can force other governments to stay in line.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nThe closest thing we have to a global government is the United Nations. The UN is a huge organisation with just under 200 countries involved. This allows leaders from all over the world to talk with other leaders, and hopefully promote more peace and cooperation between countries. The UN was basically created to stop World War 3 from happening by giving countries an opportunity to solve problems peacefully. \n\nThe UN's members can vote on various things happening in the world, and give recommendations on how countries should act. These \"resolutions\" are not legally binding, though. This means that there would be no concrete consequence if a country were to ignore the UN's opinion other than getting bad publicity.\n\nIn extreme cases, the UN can issue sanctions against states, which can (arguably) be a serious punishment for a country. The UN can also authorise military interventions if it believes that all other paths have failed, and that this is the only way human rights can be protected. It is obviously not required of a country to ask the UN before they invade another (if it were, the world would be a very different place), but the UN condemning a government can give them a lot of negative attention and pressures the government into changing their act.\n\nYou may be asking yourself why even bother with the UN if they can't keep governments in line, but a good standing with the UN is good for the governments themselves. This shows that they are trustworthy, gives smaller countries a bigger voice in the world, and it also gives the governments some legitimacy (but that's a story for another time).\n\n & #x200B;\n\nInternational law also exists on a smaller, more regional scale. A good example of this is the European Union. The EU is a complex geo-political union between most European countries. The EU has a democratically elected parliament that can pass laws that are effective across the whole EU. It also has various courts, where members can be legally brought to trial. Since the EU's decisions are legally binding to its member states, they can apply a lot of force to get them to comply. If a country completely refuses to accept the EU's decision, they can also be thrown out entirely, which is virtually always against a country's best interest.\n\nThere is a good reason why countries allow themselves to be governed by a super-government, though, and that is because EU membership is excellent for the economy and promoting cooperation. The EU also allows small, insignificant countries to band together and be a global superpower together. Countries gain more than they lose through an EU membership, so the compromises they make are usually justifiable that way.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nInternational courts for various purposes exist too. The International Criminal Court is a good example of one. The ICC can try people accused of very serious human rights abuses (war crimes, etc.) if their own government (and ICC member) finds itself unwilling or incapable of executing a fair trial. If it finds the person on trial guilty, it can then carry out the sentences (i.e. a prison sentence) in other member countries.\n\nOne of the first international tribunals was the Nuremberg Trials after World War 2. Once the allies won the war, they had a problem on their hands: lots of people in Nazi Germany had committed serious crimes against humanity, and it wasn't clear what they would do with them. In the end, they decided to give every person who stood accused of even the most serious crimes a fair trial. The problem was, however, that most of the people who were on trial did not commit any crimes under the Nazi regime's laws. The allies argued, however, that there are some crimes are so universally reprehensible that even those acts being legal does not justify having committed them. In the end, the Nuremberg Trials sentenced several people to death and prison sentences, and some were found innocent and let go. The allies were able to put these people on trial, since they had successfully invaded Nazi Germany and taken control, giving them the ability to enforce these judicial decisions. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nAt the end of the day, however, the answer to your question is basically nobody, and there isn't that much you can do to hold someone accountable, either.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nI would like to point out now that I skipped an incredible amount of detail and nuance, since it is not possible to cover everything. I am not an expert in this field, but I took politics in high school. I also skipped all the criticism of any point or example I presented, so don't be lulled into a false sense of security about any of this being simple. If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them!",
"Generally, states have to consent to being subject to a binding decision. Sounds paradoxical, but they are often insentivised to do so to gain certain advantages. For example, to gain access to favourable tariffs under the WTO regime, states have to agree to be binded by decisions of WTO tribunal. The consent is usually given by signing a treaty or becoming a part of international organization, like EU or other trade blocks.\n\nIn some cases states can even consent to being \"sued\" by individuals. For example, European Convention on Human Rights allows individuals to petition European Court of Justice to review their case.\n\nAs for actually enforcement... Well, there isn't any, as other comments said. At least not centralized one. States can respond with acts of their own, such as sanctions (which are sometimes argued to be illegal outside the scope of UN Security Council) or refuse to perform their own obligations towards offending state.",
"International law isn't really law, and should probably be called \"international commonly agreed standards of behaviour\", although that's a bit of a mouthful.\n\nOnly states can authorise jurisdiction and so only states can hold countries to account. So if you break international law other states may take action against you, or may simply think less of you for it. But there is no international police or international court who will send you to jail.\n\nThere are some international judicial bodies though:\n\n- when you sign a treaty you make that treaty into a binding part of your own domestic law, and so if you then break the treaty your own courts can prosecute you for doing it. But if you live in a country that doesn't have an independent judiciary then they probably won't, but there might be penalty clauses in the treaty itself, and so the other parties to the treaty might take actions against you on that basis, and of course you lose the benefits of having signed the treaty. Some treaties have \"treaty bodies\" attached, like the OPCW attached to the Chemical Weapons Treaty, who monitor compliance and blow the whistle when the treaty is being violated. \n- the international court of justice, ICJ, is a court set up to resolve disputes between states through legal proceedings. States who have a dispute and want to resolve it legally can bring their dispute to the ICJ and both agree to an undertaking to be bound by its outcome. There's no enforcement for that undertaking but since going to the ICJ is voluntary to begin with and there's no real point in going to the ICJ at all unless you're willing to respect it, if you go to the ICJ at all then you tend to respect its outcome. The ICJ can also issue advisory opinions even when it doesn't have these undertakings, although these are not then binding - they're just a respected legal opinion into what the law is\n- the international criminal court, ICC, is a treaty body (the treaty is called the Rome Statute) specifically designed to prosecute atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes) and the crime of waging aggressive war. Countries that agree to be bound by the Rome Statute agree that that means the ICC can prosecute them if they commit those crimes. But they have no police or army, so it is up to the states, or to other states who are part of the system, to hand perpetrators over. The ICC can also act without permission if the UN Security Council tells them to (more on that next)\n- the UN Security Council is a body of France, Russia, China, the USA and the UK and ten elected countries on rotating two year terms. It is not a legal body, it is a purely political body that makes political decisions. However it is allowed to order \"coercive measures\" against other states (sanctions, taking military action against them, or ordering the ICC to prosecute them) and one of the reasons it might order coercive measures against a state was because they broke international law. But they might not, particularly as all five of those first five countries have to agree on a course of action before it can happen, and so they protect themselves and their friends. Even if they do order coercive measures, they have no means themselves of making sure those coercive measures are carried out, that's up to states to go and do it for them (although the idea by having those 5 states have to agree to everything is that those five at least should be committed to the action and between the 5 of them they should be able to hold most people to account).\n- there are various bodies like the WTO and PCA which basically offer different kinds of mediation and arbitration processes between states.",
"A key concept in international law and relations is that nation-states are *sovereign*. That means they're completely independent and you can't really force a nation-state to do something it doesn't want to do. Therefore, one of a nation-state's primary goals is maintaining its *sovereignty*. \n\nThat said, there's still an agreement that there should be norms and standards for conduct even among nation-states. That's where you get international law. But it differs from the laws you and I are bound to follow in that following international law requires consensus. You and I are bound by the laws of where we are even if we don't agree with the laws. \n\nWith nation-states who can ignore the laws at any time its important to figure out something to agree on first. Even then it doesn't work all that often. \n\nThen you have what's left. You can't put a whole country in jail. But you can try other things to try a nation-state to get back to normal. That might include sanctions on the nation as a whole, or sanctions on individuals in the government who can make the changes. At the extreme end you can use international courts to put people on trial in a venue that has jurisdiction (i.e. the right to hear cases) over people who committed 'international' crimes. \n\nThat's what happened with someone like Slobodan Milosevic. The issue was the extent he was personally responsible for the acts of genocice performed by serbian forces during the Yugoslav wars in the 90s. Though he was being tried by a court specifically set up by the UN focused on former Yugoslavia."
]
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[],
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||
fya9kt
|
. why is male sperm sticky.
|
I've been curious to know, what is that factor which makes sperm so sticky.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fya9kt/eli5_why_is_male_sperm_sticky/
|
{
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"text": [
"It stops it leaking back out, basically. It's sticky because of mucous content and as soon as it gets ejaculated into the vaginal canal, it forms a mass that gets slowly dissolved by enzymes which allow the sperm to travel up towards the uterus and fallopian tubes.\n\nIf you leave sperm out, it should gets more liquid",
"Sperm is not sticky. Sperm are the cells inside semen. *Semen* is sticky. Semen made mostly of water, some proteins, sugars, and other stuff that are secreted by a few different glands. It's sticky like mucus because it's more-or-less made out of the same stuff."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
535gc0
|
why do images lose their quality from being reposted multiple times?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/535gc0/eli5_why_do_images_lose_their_quality_from_being/
|
{
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"d7q4cib"
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"text": [
"Most image hosting sites will automatically compress any image that the users upload. It does this in order to have enough space for everyone's photos. \n\nThe problem is when they compress the image it loses just a little bit of data and thus loses a little bit of sharpness. If the same image gets downloaded and then uploaded to another image host, or even the same image host, then it gets compressed again losing a little more data each time.\n\nRepost the same image enough times and you end up losing a lot of the original data. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
m4aor
|
statute of limitations (a different question from the archives)
|
So I understand in general why statute of limitations is good. But regarding the Texas judge who abused his daughter - given that there is video evidence, why can't statute of limitations be overturned? Regardless of whatever else was going on at that point in their lives, there is physical and undeniable evidence that he beat his daughter - so why is he not allowed to be tried?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/m4aor/eli5_statute_of_limitations_a_different_question/
|
{
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"Your question is basically the same as asking more generically \"Hey, there's this law. I know it's a good law, but I think this one thing should be an exception. Why can't the government make an exception?\"\n\nThe courts and government in general do not have the power to just make exceptions to laws. If the law wasn't written with an exception for cases with extremely clear evidence, then there's not a lot they can do about it.\n\nAnd besides, who can judge if there's enough evidence for the trial to go forward? That, in itself, would require another court case just to determine if the guy can be tried or not.\n\nFinally, video evidence isn't as foolproof as you might think. Often, if there's even a *decent chance* someone had opportunity and motivation to modify or falsify the video, the evidence will just get thrown out of court. Then, too, you still have to prove that everyone in the video is who you say they are, that it wasn't an act, that it happened when and where you say, etc. etc.",
"Your question is basically the same as asking more generically \"Hey, there's this law. I know it's a good law, but I think this one thing should be an exception. Why can't the government make an exception?\"\n\nThe courts and government in general do not have the power to just make exceptions to laws. If the law wasn't written with an exception for cases with extremely clear evidence, then there's not a lot they can do about it.\n\nAnd besides, who can judge if there's enough evidence for the trial to go forward? That, in itself, would require another court case just to determine if the guy can be tried or not.\n\nFinally, video evidence isn't as foolproof as you might think. Often, if there's even a *decent chance* someone had opportunity and motivation to modify or falsify the video, the evidence will just get thrown out of court. Then, too, you still have to prove that everyone in the video is who you say they are, that it wasn't an act, that it happened when and where you say, etc. etc."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
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|
59etmw
|
who's buying our personal data, and why is it so valuable?
|
I know the basics, of how they use it to target marketing, etc - but I don't understand the deeper implications of how they're using our info.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/59etmw/eli5whos_buying_our_personal_data_and_why_is_it/
|
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"Not really much deeper implications. They use your location, your search history, your purchase history, etc. to find adds that appeal to you and to see what target demographic you belong to. If you're a business whose main customers are hispanic 20-25 years old females that love surfing, being able to advertise to them is worth a lot of money. ",
"Actuary here. I buy your data to do things like price insurance policies and build fraud detection models. That includes things like your credit score, level of education, homeowner status, location attributes, and so on, and so forth. I am one of just many parties who are interested in your data, and I'm just providing an example.\n\nIn short, I use your data with some statistical tools to see if any of it is predictive of loss (car accidents, for example), or fradulent activity. The outcome of these predictive models drives the decisions behind your policy, such as the price we charge or whether to investigate claims for fraud.\n\nBuying the data is straightforward. A rating agency might charge say, 70 cents per credit score, less if you buy more, or more if you buy less. Buying other types of data works the same way.",
"Like /u/homeboi808 said, it's used for advertising mostly.\n\nMore in depth, the trade off is cost vs. reward, or ROI (return on investment). Say Company ABC has a target demographic of males, 18-25, white, middle class, interested in sports. Company ABC can pay, say Google, $5 million for any personal data, Company ABC sifts through the information and can then target people with their ads that may fit into the target demographic. After airing the ads for their product/service ABC realizes a $10 million uptick in sales. Company ABC sees that they received a $5 million ROI from not only purchasing personal data, but running the ad as well. Buying bulk (on anything) is incredibly cheap, they can then target exactly who they think will buy their product, providing more capital for buying bulk, business expenses, and advertising, etc.\n\n\nYour personal data, buying habits, interests, and privacy are really valuable and can help companies bring to your attention what they are selling, and why you should buy it."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
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[]
] |
|
1j7kez
|
why can't we crush microbes and bacteria?
|
Cockroaches can be crushed. Flies can be crushed. Mosquitoes can be crushed. At what point does something become uncrushable and why?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1j7kez/eli5_why_cant_we_crush_microbes_and_bacteria/
|
{
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"Sure you can crush cockroaches and flies... but what if you tried crushing them with giant, bumpy boulders? Imaging lots of flies hanging out on the ground and you drop a giant rough bumpy boulder on them. You'd kill a few, but most of them would be okay.\n\nBacteria are so tiny that anything you might use to crush things in regular day to day life, would be even less effective on them than dropping that rock on flies. Far too many big spaces for bacteria in between the objects you want to crush them with. You don't have anything that's close to \"smooth\" enough at that tiny scale.",
"_URL_0_\n\nthere are actually natural structures small enough to rupture bacteria"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://earthsky.org/earth/cicada-wings-inspire-new-ideas-for-antibacterial-products"
]
] |
|
1p4rmd
|
why do computer applications open faster the second time you open them?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p4rmd/eli5_why_do_computer_applications_open_faster_the/
|
{
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"It gets cached (saved) in memory (RAM) so it loads faster because RAM is much faster than the hard drive.",
"Imagine it like this:\n\nYour computer hard drive is like a book shelf. On that shelf are all the books (programs and files) you have access to. Before you can actually read or use a book for whatever, you need to find out where it is on the shelf, take it off the shelf, and then go sit down and read it. Now imagine you’re doing a bunch of readings at the same time (running multiple programs, accessing pictures, music etc), so you get up and take books off the shelf as you need them and put them in a pile on the table beside you (your cache, or RAM). The only issue with this table is that you can only fit a certain number of books on it at the same time. Once it fills up, you do the most logical thing and put back the one you haven’t used the longest. (really you’re not putting anything ‘back’ in terms of memory, you’re just deleting it from the temporary memory) Once you do this, if you need to access that particular book again later on, it takes a bit longer because you need to go back to shelf, find the book again, and put it back on the table so you can read. However, the neat thing about this system is that, if I’m using a book over and over again in a short period of time, I don’t need to go back to the book shelf as often. I can just sit in my chair and pick it up off the table beside me. This saves a lot of time. This is the basic way your cache works on your processor, and the way RAM is used. (in the most simple way possible)\n\nEdit: Also, it's important to note that there are all sorts of ways the computer decides what to remove from the cache, it's not always what hasn't been used in a while. Additionally, you need to realize that most programs cannot load themselves entirely into the cache or RAM, so this leads to necessary portions of the program or 'book' being loaded at a time. Just want to point that out. There is a lot of complexity that goes into the process.\n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
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||
5cidy5
|
how is bass in songs differed from normal sound and sent to the subwoofer?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5cidy5/eli5_how_is_bass_in_songs_differed_from_normal/
|
{
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"Music consists of different pitches with different frequencies. Bass sounds are low pitches with low frequencies, below about 200 Hertz. \n\nIt is possible to construct circuits that resonate at different frequencies, which then act as bandpass (aka low pass or high-pass) filters to allow only certain frequency ranges to pass through. These are commonly referred to as crossovers in audio design terminology. \n\n_URL_0_\n\nA subwoofer crossover routes frequencies below about 100-200 Hz to the subwoofer, and higher frequencies to other speakers.\n\n\n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_crossover"
]
] |
||
1p2obc
|
how do they do the censored for tv dubs for curse words (i.e. motherclucker instead of motherfucker)? do actors go into a studio and record audio for explitives?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p2obc/eli5_how_do_they_do_the_censored_for_tv_dubs_for/
|
{
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"text": [
"It depends -- sometimes, the clips are taken from other places in the same film that fit the space. Other times, they have a soundalike, sometimes horribly not-sounding-alike, to overdub. Sometimes they shoot a 'r-rated' and a 'g-rated' version, expecting the censorship, or when the actors come in to do their ADR they do a swear-version and a non-swear-version, so they do get the original actors to do the censored version. It really depends on the amount of advance planning and how much effort the \"censors\" put into their work."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4jg26u
|
why do multivitamins have 5% daily value for some vitamins/nutrients and 1500% for others?
|
Why is there such a wide range of daily values? I can understand calcium being 5% for flavor or pill size reasons, but why even bother to have 1500% of something like thiamin? Would it be possible to engineer a pill that is 100% for everything?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4jg26u/eli5_why_do_multivitamins_have_5_daily_value_for/
|
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"text": [
"This is generally divided by 'fat soluble' and 'water soluble' vitamins. Most water soluble vitamins are really hard to overdose on...like vitamin C. You can eat grams of the stuff and any extra just gets washed out in your urine. But, fat soluble vitamins like vitamin E can get stored in your fat cells and liver and reach a toxic level that will hurt you.\n\n",
"Each vitamin and mineral has recommended levels of intake. For some, toxicity (and deficiency, for that matter) is a very serious problem. For others, the excess vitamin/mineral doesn't have a significant effect or simply won't absorb. It also depends on how much you're expected to get from the diet without the multivitamin.\n\nIf you have a well-balanced diet rich in these micronutrients, multivitamins are a waste of money. Most will not absorb and will be excreted in your urine.\n\nSource: dietetics student",
"I work in manufacturing making vitamins. Yes, it is possible to make one with 100% DV of vitamins, but not one with 100% DV of minerals\n\nLabel claims for vitamins have a lot to do with what's on the market. If your multi has 1500% for thiamin, it's because the marketing department looked at other multis on the market and thought that a multi with 1500% thiamin would be more competitive.\n\nMinerals like calcium require much more material to get to 100% DV. For example, the 100% DV amount for thiamin is only 1.5 mg, but 100% DV for calcium is 1000 mg",
"Other answers are good but there are other interesting factors in play for specific nutrients. \n\nPotassium recommended daily intake in the United States is 4700mg. Besides the fact that few people could swallow a pill that large, and that you're better off taking in potassium throughout the day rather than all at once, there's another factor that not many people know about. The FDA only allows supplements to contain a maximum of 99mg of potassium per pill. This is because a large, solid block of potassium slowly dissolving in your stomach could cause tissue damage. The larger a pill is, the more time it takes to dissolve, and a large potassium pill could potentially eat a hole in your stomach. Besides limiting pills to 99mg of potassium, supplement makers are also forbidden from recommending that you take more than one pill at a time, since pills taken together could settle in the same spot in your stomach and cause damage.\n\nSo to get all your potassium from pills, not only would you need 47 of them, you'd need to space them out throughout the day.\n\nLarger extended-release potassium pills are available by prescription.",
"With certain vitamins, it's okay to take more than necessary because you piss it out fairly quickly. With others (ADEK) it remains in the body and you can die if you have too much. ",
"Nutrients like calcium, sodium, and magnesium are needed in relatively large amounts, 400mg-1000mg and up. That's up to 500x more than what you need of B vitamins and others. So practically it's much easier to cram in a ton of B12 and only put in a little magnesium to keep the pill size small. In the case of calcium, most people who want to supplement that nutrient will either buy fortified foods like orange juice or soy milk or will buy standalone calcium supplements so that's another reason they won't waste too much money putting it in a multi. \n\nHowever I have no idea why some brands only put in 15% of the RDA for biotin (a B vitamin) and 100-1000% of the RDA for the other b vitamins. ",
"Something I haven't seen yet is density of vitamins. \n\nTo take a shit load of B-12 all you need is .5 mg where something like calcium or even vitamin C to get your daily value you need a lot more in terms of sheer volume. It's already hard for most people to take multi vitamins when they're one a day, try getting 1000's of percent of all vitamins would lead to dozens of pills being taken. ",
"What vitamin pills I should be taking daily? Any suggestions? Got my blood test done and everything came out about average. I've heard of vitamin C, B12 and Fish Oils. As you can see I am not very familiar of this topic.\n\nEdit: I see Dr.Tobias well rated on Amazon, anybody have experience with them? Or suggest any other?",
"It is worth noting that there is no FDA requirements for vitamin supplements. There are no rules for clean manufacturing, and there are no regulations requiring what is printed on the label to actually be in the vitamin. ",
"I would like to say none of this matters. Supplements do nothing. But don't trust me ; go ask any doctor or pharmacist.\n\nOne of the biggest scams of our time.",
"There are a number of factors at play. The three biggest factors are regulation, cost and volume.\n\nRegulation plays a part in, e.g. preventing potassium supplements from exceeding 99mg when the RDA is around 5,000mg. That's not because it's dangerous to take larger amounts, but because the FDA has taken it upon itself to engage in some misguided attempt to prevent a small minority of the population with a stomach disorder from injuring themselves when they take potassium outside of a food product. Even these people will not typically experience problems with potassium when it's included in a pill with other minerals but that hasn't stopped them from passing their rule.\n\nNext, cost is a huge factor. If the pill is trying to market itself as containing \"more bio-available\" calcium in a form such as calcium citrate instead of the cheaper calcium carbonate, they may make their product more price-competitive with other vitamins by reducing the amount of calcium provided to 500mg or only 250mg. Various vitamins and minerals all have different costs associated with them and if cutting back on one or more of them will have a significant effect on the final price, economic considerations will weigh on the final decisionmaking process.\n\nLast: volume. Most vitamins and minerals are only needed in trace amounts. However, some are required in larger quantities. Leaving aside the macronutrients and fiber, the human body needs large quantities of some minerals, such as:\n\n calcium 1g\n sodium 2g\n potassium 5g\n\nPills that are also attempting to provide essential amino acids, fatty acids, choline or other nutrients needed in larger quantities may make for a larger volume of matter than many consumers can swallow comfortably. That causes manufacturers to frequently limit their content of these nutrients as it is not possible to put everything the human body needs for a day into a single pill.",
"Potassium for example, it cannot exceed 100mg in supplement form under FDA regulation.\n\nRecommended daily intake of potassium is about 3500mg. Most people do not reach this intake.",
"As others have mentioned, there is the fat soluble/water soluble thing. Which is very important.\n\nThe other *major* one is sodium/potassium balance.\n\nGo buy a bottle of potassium supplements, the strongest you can find in terms of RDA %.\n\nYou will notice it is extremely small, probably around 2%.\n\nThis is one of those elements that needs to be carefully balanced with sodium to keep your electrolytes in balance.\n\nIf you took a pill that was 100% RDA when you first woke up, dehydrated, with a sip of water, there is a very good chance it could turn out bad.\n\nRegarding Thiamin (B1) this is a critical element in brain function. Taking more then you need is not bad, your body will \"ignore\" it (fat/water soluble thing again).\n\nTaking less than you need is **very** bad.\n\nIf you've ever heard of alcoholics getting \"wet brain\", it's because they did not have adequate B1 in their system before it could be infused. And there is no cure after that.\n\nThat is where you have people even in their 20s or 30s shuffling around in nursing homes (if they are not dead), and the brain damage can not be reversed.\n\nA simple B1 pill (or, obviously, proper nutrition) would prevent it.\n\nThe gory details are here ... take your vitamins! Or, don't drink so much that you forget to (or can't) eat food!\n\n > Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is the combined presence of Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) and Korsakoff's syndrome. It is due to thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, which can cause a range of disorders including beriberi, Wernicke's encephalopathy, and Korsakoff's psychosis.\n\n > Wernicke's encephalopathy and WKS is most commonly seen in people who are alcoholic, and only **20% of cases are identified before death**. \n\nBad stats, here's a link ...\n\n[Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome](_URL_0_)",
"Pro tip: Unless you have chronic deficiencies, don't take any. Seriously. In that case, they do more harm than good.",
"1. They have to take the standard diet into account. For example if the typical person has 90% of the RDA for Manganese in their diet, they wouldn't need to much Manganesse.\n\n2. RDA or Recommended Daily Allowances are not the same as optimal rates but are considered the bare minimum before people start experiencing health issues.\n\n3. As for 1500%, that could be due to the lack of bioavailbility, but it is also built on the idea that \"more is better\" or \"necessary because of poor absorption\" however there are studies that show tat their is forms of mega dosing. Today scientists developed improved technologies that help with bio availability and absorption of nutrients. However, on the business side, it is still profitable to utilize old technologies which cost less if people are willing to buy the end product.",
"Many vitamins do not get absorbed well because of interference of other vitamins or minerals. For example, calcium interferes with zinc absorption. If you are taking a zinc supplement, it is not wise to take it in the presence of calcium if you intend to get a good result. Calcium also interferes with manganese and iron.\n\nThere are others as well but many (almost all) companies will give you a multivitamin without taking this into regard or just playing you as dumb. I would do some research into vitamins, talk to a nutritionist or doctor before beginning a regimen. If you are going to spend a good amount of money on your supplements, you should know the proper times to take them, with what foods, and in what amounts.",
"Why do my B12 gummies have 8,333% of my daily recommended value and the bottle says to take two of them ",
"The body can't absorb vitamins as easy as you think. Thus, multivitamins crank som of their values up so your body can absorb as much as it needs to function. Say, if you take a multivitamin that holds 5 g of vitamin C, your body will only absorb 1 g and the rest will go to waste. But, what if you need that 5 g for your body to function well? One solution is to crank it up to 25 g so your body absorbs that 5 g. Obviously this is a toy example but it visualize my point. This of course applies to vitamins that you can not overdose on, e.g. water soluble. "
]
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|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%E2%80%93Korsakoff_syndrome"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1j8ihp
|
how and why did evolution not kill off giant pandas a while ago?
|
_URL_0_
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1j8ihp/eli5_how_and_why_did_evolution_not_kill_off_giant/
|
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"text": [
"Evolution only \"kills off\" species when there are limited resources (food/place to live) and when the species is unable to be \"biologically successful\" (reproduce). Since pandas have access to ample source of nourishment, live to reproductive age and successfully reproduce, the species lives on.\n\nEvolution doesn't mean only the fittest survive, but rather that the fittest in a given environment are more likely to survive when there is competition for limited resources. \n\nEDIT: more stuff",
"\"Evolution\" doesn't kill anything, natural selection does. Evolution is the long term development of new species due to a number of pressures and chance occurrences. \n\n",
"The article you linked to does a good job discussing this.",
"Pandas have only existed for about three million years, which is really really short for a species - they have plenty of time to become extinct and have been nothing more than an evolutionary curiosity. Crocodiles have existed for some 200 million years, though that's an unusually long time for a species to remain largely unchanged. \n\nAlso, humans have only been around for about the same time as pandas."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://discovermagazine.com/2008/aug/05-could-pandas-be-an-evolutionary-mistake2014or-proof-of-an-intelligent-designer#.UfWMbGS9Kc0"
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
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|
322sel
|
why does america arm its police forces when other similar countries such as england, new zealand and norway have all proven that its not necessary to do so?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/322sel/eli5_why_does_america_arm_its_police_forces_when/
|
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"The simple reason is that firearms are ubiquitous in the US...far more so than in other countries. They're everywhere and are among the easiest things a criminal can get.",
"The other countries you mentioned have an extremely different cultural approach to firearms. The Second Amendment grants Americans the right to own firearms and this cultural acceptance has lead to widespread use. Thus, a cop needs to be armed for their own protection and the protection of the community. They never know if the person they are interacting with is preparing to meet them with deadly force or is using a gun as part of a crime that they need to respond to.",
"Just a heads up (as a Norwegian): Our police has been armed since November 2014 (and yesterday got the go ahead for another 8 weeks) because of vague terrorist threats. It might be permanent, but as of right now, it's a still technically/legally a 'temporary' thing.",
"It might not be necessary in certain countries, but with the number of firearms and violence in the U.S., it would be pure anarchy if our police forces did not have firearms. Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.",
"I think its because most Americans own guns and the cops feel they need to have superior firepower in order to keep order(read: tyrannize and beat us at will)\nThat and maybe they play too many video fps. \n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
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||
2tp7ss
|
why does it seem the eurozone is hated?
|
Please also indicate if it is advisable for African Union countries to go the Euro route. Thank you
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tp7ss/eli5_why_does_it_seem_the_eurozone_is_hated/
|
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"text": [
"The eurozone is group of countries that use the euro. The EU is a political union of those countries, plus Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, which still use their own currencies.\n\nIn some countries, like Greece, a lot of people are unhappy with using the euro because it mean their country can't control its own money. Greece's economy is struggling, if it had its own currency, the currency would lose a lot of value and this would make Greek exports cheaper. More people would buy Greek stuff, and this would help the Greek economy. Instead it has the euro, which is driven more by the economies of bigger, richer nations like Germany.\n\nAlso, Greece has borrowed large amount of money from other EU countries. Those countries want Greece to cut back on spending and do a better job of collecting taxes if they are going to keep giving it money. Some people in Greece don't like this idea because they think it would make their already terrible economy even worse.\n\nUsing a common currency in Africa could have similar issues. Some big countries like South Africa and Nigeria are much richer than other, smaller countries, so those countries could wind up like Greece. On the flip side, I guess it would improve trade between African countries.",
"[warning:a random french guy on the internet's opinion]\n\nThe euro arrived in the late 90s/early 2000s.\n\nThis is a rather terrible period for most rich (and even less rich) countries of europe: globalization killing our industries, oil prices going higher each day (except right now), and lots of other bad things. As well as in the US, the economic situation has grown more and more depressing. The symptoms are showing stronger and stronger (particularly since 2005/2006, but there was some shit going on earlier, in the 80s/90s too).\n\nHence, there is a strong correlation between the arrival of the euro and the arrival of the troubles in economy, which leads many people to feel like the euro is responsible for it. (which, in some cases, may be true, too, but the euro has done nothing for a against world-scale social and politics issues)\n\nMoreover, at least in France, the switch from francs (the french currency before the euro) and the euro kind of froze the prices in francs in the minds of people. They still remember: before the switch, a baguette cost 3 francs, a journal 3 francs, etc. (and tend to idealize those prices sometimes)\n\nIn the meanwhile, the prices of common goods in euro have risen up due to the normal inflation. And it has been 15 years since then, so a 30-40% rise in prices should be normal due to inflation. And it should be progressive, too, people mostly don't notice inflation. But this \"freezing\" of the prices in francs in the mind of people makes them realize that the prices have risen, and they don't get that it's normal inflation. Then they go on and whine about the higher inflation the euro has caused while it has indeed toned down inflation in comparison to the situation at the time of the francs. \n\nSomething that may worsen this is the fact that many not-so-common goods have appeared and are growing cheaper and cheaper. Everything electronic does generally not really follow inflation, computers, smartphones, PMPs, do cost lesser and lesser money, so people are more used to the prices going down where this is just an anomaly. \n\nAnother factor (quite ironically) is the feeling of the loss of control over your money. Before, if France wanted, France could just print some more francs and devaluate its currency to fight economical shocks. Even though people know it, they mostly don't instinctively relate it to a rise of the prices, so they regret we cannot just do that and get past the crisis. They rage about the state not being able to devaluate the currency, while they whine about the euro making prices go up. \n\nWhile there may be some legitimate debates about a negative influence of the Euro on the Euro-zone economy, I feel that the hate for the euro (and therefore the Eurozone as it's its main consequence on everyday life) is mostly a sheer coincidence: times are hard and people need to blame this on someone, since many do not fully understand the real consequences of the birth of the Euro, they blame everything (and more!) on it. \n\nAbout Africa, I have no freaking idea. I don't think much can be inferred from the situation in Europe since economically and politically, Africa and Europe have very little in common.",
"When countries all had their own currencies, they could print it whenever they wanted. So if a country was in debt, it could just print more money. But then the value of the money fell, so the people who'd lent it to the country were getting ripped off. So they charged higher interest rates to compensate.\n\nThen the Euro came alone. Countries cannot print more Euros the way they used to. That was good because people would lend them money more cheaply. But then a whole set of countries over borrowed. So when tax receipts fell and expenses rose (the recession from 2008-), they could not afford their repayments and all their expenses. But they also could not just print more money like they used to.",
"\nImagine you have a bunch of siblings. All of you have jobs, but some of you have bad credit, so you all decide to apply for one credit card together. Then your little brother who's always been bad with money decides to retire early and do nothing all day living off the family credit card. One day the credit card is maxed and the bills are due, you decide to pay your brother's bills to save your own credit rating, but you have a \"discussion\" with him where you make it clear that in the future, you'll be telling the credit card company that he's only allowed to borrow what he would realistically be able to repay.\n\nSince it looks like your brother will have to go work, he's unhappy with you for being mean to him and cutting the funding to his retirement, while you're unhappy with him for using your money to fund retiring at an earlier age than you do.\n\nYou = Germany, brother = Greece. This video is more in-depth but still in ELI5 terms: _URL_0_\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8xAXJx9WJ8"
]
] |
|
24ry85
|
as someone born in 1972, and a non-american, explain the 'war draft'.
|
I guess I was lucky enough to be born after the major conflicts that precipitated the draft. Exactly how did it work, what made you eligible, what would keep a person out of it, how long were you 'available/eligible', commitment length if drafted etc, and what was the anxiety like waiting to hear if you/family were going to be drafted?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24ry85/eli5as_someone_born_in_1972_and_a_nonamerican/
|
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"text": [
"I was drafted in 1968. The \"commitment\" at that time was 2 years active duty, 2 years active reserves, and 2 years inactive reserves. In my case, after being released from active duty, I was not contacted. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2v12an
|
why do people walk with their shoulders shrugged when it rains?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2v12an/eli5why_do_people_walk_with_their_shoulders/
|
{
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"codi2je",
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"text": [
"Not only in rain, but people tend to contract shoulders and other body parts inward in uncomfortable climates, like cold rain for example.\n\nThe contraction of limbs and other body parts that aren't directly on the torso are a natural response, as the body feels unfamiliar or fearful of the situation. In most cases, said person would feel that it would help them, which in this case, it does, by keeping the body warm, as it helps to keep heat in, and keep the rain off of your body. This is similar to shivering, in which your body tries to generate heat.\n\nTL;DR: Your body thinks it helps, and sometimes it actually does",
"May or may not be relevant - (and perhaps cross post to Life Pro Tips) but the large surface area of your back will always feel the greatest degree of temperature which is why when you get out of bath or shower in cold bathroom you should always vigorously rub and dry your back first as it will noticeably decrease the unpleasantness.\nWhilst contra wise the idea of having 'the sun on your back' is such a pleasent experience.\n\nHuddling and shrugging decreases the surface area - it may be only by a fraction but you gotta work with what you got "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
5ifd8k
|
why can't tech companies like yahoo protect their data from hackers?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ifd8k/eli5_why_cant_tech_companies_like_yahoo_protect/
|
{
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"text": [
"I guess long story short, you can't protect anything from hackers. The same way you can't build an un breakable safe. ",
"Attack is always easoer.\n\nYou just need to find a single in, one lazy employee to socially engineer.\n\nOne missed command that pushes a password in plaintxt.\n\nOn defense you have to cover everything, and that's effectively impossible"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
7twl8w
|
how is light a longitudinal wave?
|
What property of photons is it that allows them to oscillate perpendicular to the direction of their wave? For most substances it's a result of the motion vector through the medium that carries the wave, but a photon seems to just *move* in a wave pattern for what seems like no particular reason. Why does it do that?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7twl8w/eli5_how_is_light_a_longitudinal_wave/
|
{
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"dtftl18"
],
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3
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"text": [
"First, you've got your terminology backward: an oscillation perpendicular to the direction of travel is a *transverse* wave. Light is in fact transverse, not longitudinal.\n\nBut second, don't think about photons: remember that light behaves as both a particle and a wave, and the transverse vs longitudinal thing only makes sense from the wave perspective. As a wave, light is an oscillation in the electric and magnetic fields. These fields point perpendicular to the direction of travel, which is why we say light is transverse. But unlike other kinds of waves, nothing's actually *moving* perpendicular to the direction of travel...\n\nLight's weird."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3pg9eb
|
what does justin trudeau's election as prime minister mean for the future of canada? is the liberal/conservative distinction the same as the one in the us?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pg9eb/eli5what_does_justin_trudeaus_election_as_prime/
|
{
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"What it means depends on who you ask. Certainly the legalization of marijuana has been promised, and electoral reform was a soft promise from the Liberals.\n\nIs the Liberal/Conservative distinction the same? Not really? In some ways, but honestly The Conservative party is arguably closer to the Democrats than the GOP in many respects. Many people would call the Canadian Liberal party centre-left or just centrist.\n\nThe New Democratic Party is much more left. The Greens too. (If we're counting the Greens. They always get Elizabeth May's riding, but that's it. 1 seat out of 338.)\n\nConsider for a moment though that Stephen Harper leads (well, led. He resigned after losing this election it's being reported) the most right-wing party in Canada. (That actually gets more than a dozen votes, anyway.) Even so he didn't fight against our socialized medicine or lack of abortion law.",
"As has been said elsewhere, you can simplify the positions of the 3 major parties as Harper's conservatives: right, the Liberals: center, and the NDP: left.\n\nIn terms of political spectrum, the shift is not all that great. But this time the liberals got a majority which means we may see sweeping changes depending on how the Liberals decide to use their power.\n\nIt's also worth mentioning that the Harper govt was widely criticized by non-conservative voters for many of his policies and actions while in office e.g. muzzling of scientists, bigotry, changing the official govt letterhead from \"Government of Canada\" to \"The Harper Government\"... etc. Opinions will vary wildly as to what his worst qualities were ut I think it's safe to say the electors expect to see this kind of crap turned around.",
"Justin Trudeau is an idealist, stephen harper was an opportunist....Canada under harper took sides, Canada under Trudeau will be impartial... harper used fear of terrorism, fear of unemployment and fear of foreign people to maintain his hold on power, Trudeau would not even run negative election ads against harper(which would have been so easy) but instead focussed on the the strength of the Canadian people of all creeds to build a better place for all.... The Canadian People overwhelming support Mr. Trudeau's vision for Canada..... This is the best day Canada has seen in ten years"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
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||
45w2c9
|
how does astronomical triangulation work?
|
EDIT: I am (as well as everybody) very excited about GW discovery. But because of the fact that LIGO had only to labs it is impossible to get precise location of those black holes. So my question is more about how would third lab help to get the location more precisely?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/45w2c9/eli5_how_does_astronomical_triangulation_work/
|
{
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"text": [
"I assume you mean measuring the distance to a star via parallax? If that's the case, then there is an easy demonstration you can do (assuming you have two eyes). First look at a distant object (say 20 meters/yards), hold up your thumb, close one eye and cover the object with your thumb. Now, switch eyes and notice how your thumb changes position relative to the object in the background -- we can use this relative change together with the distance between the points of observation (different eyes) to measure the distance to your thumb.\n\nThe way we measure the distance to stars is similar -- except the distant object is (perhaps) a distant galaxy, the thumb is the star and your right and left eyes are replaced by a telescope at different times of the year (about 6 months apart would make the difference in observation points as large as possible -- on opposite sides of the sun).\n\nThe calculations involve trigonometry (as your question indicates) that I won't attempt without diagrams.",
"The source of the gravitational wave can be considered to be a point in space. We know this point lies on the surface of a sphere surrounding detector 1. It is of course also on the surface of a sphere surrounding detector 2. \n \nThus, we can conclude that the location of the source lies somewhere on the intersection of those two spheres. The intersection of 2 spheres is a circle (except the special case where the spheres are just barely touching at a single point). \n \nNow, if you had a third detector, you could add a third sphere into the calculations. The intersection of 3 spheres will produce only 2 possible points for the source. This is essentially how GPS works, with satellites taking the place of the detectors. Only 1 of the 2 possible points is on Earth; the other is way out in space. The system knows which is which and selects the one on Earth. \n \nA fourth detector would reduce the possible locations to one. \n \nThat’s triangulation in a nutshell. How they determine the distances (the radii of the spheres) is another matter that I don’t fully understand myself. I believe it has something to do with knowing the distance between the detectors and having very precise and synchronized clocks.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
1ihirp
|
bioenergetics
|
You can make it more conplex than 5 if need be but what is it? Is there a benefit to doing "bioenergetic movements"? What does it do for tbe body?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ihirp/eli5_bioenergetics/
|
{
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"cb4om64"
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"text": [
"Bioenergetics is the study of energy movement through organisms. This isn't \"energy\" in the mystic sense, and \"bioenergetic movements\" isn't like Tai Chi. Instead, think about eating a cheeseburger; somehow that allows you to walk around and exercise later in the day, but how?\n\nOrganisms consume energy and pass it around chemically. It is important to understand how this is done. Diabetes for example is the result of a damage in the process of chemical energy flow within the organism; sugar isn't being processed into other forms to continue the chain."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2un130
|
what's the difference between pubs and bars? and where do pubs get their names?
|
Just a thought that has crossed my mind a couple times - I also wondered why so many pubs have the same, or similar names?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2un130/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_pubs_and_bars/
|
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"text": [
"\"A pub /pʌb/, formally public house (a house \"open to the public\", as opposed to a private house)\"\n\nPubs serve beer & ale and often meals\n\nA bar serves a variety of alcoholic drinks but not meals",
"I'm assuming this us a UK based question?\n\nThe word pub comes from the name public house. It originally meant a building that was open to the public to come and relax, socialise and most importantly consume alcohol.\n\nNoawadays the name public house means a building owned by a brewery, run by a tenant, for the sale and consumption of alcohol. In UK law you must have a license to sell alcohol, a license to have it consumed on your (public commercial) premises and another personal license to facilitate this sale. A pub in the UK is owned by the brewery. They have a tenant that buys the business within the building and then gets to keep the profit made from the sale in exchange for meeting the brewery's minimum sale requirements. They must buy beer from the brewery and if they don't buy enough they will be kicked out and another tenant will be found. This leads to, in more recent times, more pubs shutting down due to the aggressive nature of breweries. \n\nHowever you can also have free houses (woohoo) which are owned and run by the same person. They are open to buy beer from wholesale shops at a much cheaper price than would otherwise be available through the brewery. This means freehouses generally are cheaper than pubs and can have a different clientele.\n\nA bar is normally much more about alcohol than socialising. In a pub it is totally fine, in fact often expected, to sit at the bar with your drink and talk to the other people at the bar. You are of course not looked down upon by finding a private area, that is your choice, but it is often polite to stay and chat for a while. Bars are more aimed at limiting the bar area to sale only, once you have your drink you leave and go back to your private area and socialise mainly with those that you came out with.\n\nPubs will often provide entertainment such as music, darts, snooker and/or pool, with snacks and occasionally food served too.\n\nBars also open different hours to pubs. Because pubs are a social location, in the UK at least many pubs open earlier in the day than bars, sometimes noon, but quite often around 4pm I have found. Bars are more aimed at night time and weekend rushes and are a more commercial location",
"I was always under the impression a \"bar\" is a feature (usually a counter) in an establishment that serves it's specialty. For example; oyster bars serve seafood, salad bars serve bunny-food, alcohol bars serve alcohol. \n\nSimilar to a kitchen, which prepares food in a restaurant. \n\nSo a pub could have a kitchen and bar inside meaning it serves food and alcohol.",
"In the US, the term bar pretty generically apples to all drinking establishments while a pub refers to a place that tries to capture the style and atmosphere of a UK pub. A bar can be a dive bar, shorts bar, wine bar, dance club, night club, tavern, pub or any of a countless number of other types of drinking establishment. It can range from a tiny 3 seater at the back of a restaurant to a sprawling multi acre monstrosity. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2f3xqa
|
how does a server from one continent communicate with a server on another?
|
They're not all connected via huge transatlantic cables are they?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f3xqa/eli5_how_does_a_server_from_one_continent/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ck5o7v4"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Yes. There are many transatlantic (and transpacific) cables carrying internet traffic."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1egw2w
|
how are pharmaceuticals made - does prozac or, say, acetaminophen start as a plant somewhere?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1egw2w/eli5_how_are_pharmaceuticals_made_does_prozac_or/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ca041a5"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Many pharmaceutical agents actually _are_ naturally found in plants, but high demands basically prohibits extracting from natural sources as a viable option. They're usually made chemically or biochemically - but the starting material may very well be from plants (albeit in the form of very different compound).\n\nTaking acetaminophen as an example - the synthesis requires phenol, which is made from benzene, which is a product of petroleum.\n\nMore complex compounds can be made via biochemical methods - so some sort of microorganism is used to produce the compound. An example would be insulin.\n\nFinally, some drugs are quite complex, and are made straight from plants - an example being [erythromycin](_URL_0_).\n\nIn short, it really depends on how big the molecule is, and how complex it is."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythromycin"
]
] |
||
3toxx3
|
why do bugs and viruses in people seem to become more common in winter? how does the colder weather not make them less potent, or is it all a big myth?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3toxx3/eli5_why_do_bugs_and_viruses_in_people_seem_to/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cx7yhfe",
"cx80gv8",
"cx82frn"
],
"score": [
11,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"I think it has to do with the fact that during flu season it is generally colder outside, which cause people to be indoors more. If everyone is inside, it increases the chances of coming in contact with someone who has the flu. \n\nHowever, the seasonal nature of the flu has not been established by research. The temperature isn't likely to have anything to do with it. Being colder doesn't have a direct effect on the immune system, and nothing about warm weather will kill the flu virus.\n\nSource Via [this thread.](_URL_0_)",
"Closer/confined spaces are definitely a factor. Also, cold temperature is a stress on the body, which lowers the functions of the immune system.",
"Some of it is because of the humidity in the air. In winter, the air is more dry (you heat it). The flu virus survives longer in dry air and stays in suspension longer. \n\nThink of it like this: \nYou know when you sneeze and you see all this stuff floating in the air? This is contagious, that's why your mother wants you to sneeze inside your elbow. When the air is humid, this floating stuff picks up water and drops to the ground. When the air is dry, it continues floating around, and other people eventually breathe it and get infected.\n\nIt's not really that the virus is more potent, it's just easier for it to infect other people because it's chilling there in the air people breathe.\n\n[A bit more info](_URL_0_)\n\n > Dr. Palese bought some guinea pigs and exposed them to the flu virus. Just as the paper suggested, they got the flu and spread it among themselves. So Dr. Palese and his colleagues began their experiments.\n\n > By varying air temperature and humidity in the guinea pigs’ quarters, they discovered that transmission was excellent at 41 degrees. It declined as the temperature rose until, by 86 degrees, the virus was not transmitted at all.\n\n > The virus was transmitted best at a low humidity, 20 percent, and not transmitted at all when the humidity reached 80 percent.\n\n > The animals also released viruses nearly two days longer at 41 degrees than at a typical room temperature of 68 degrees.\n\n > Flu viruses spread through the air, unlike cold viruses, Dr. Palese said, which primarily spread by direct contact when people touch surfaces that had been touched by someone with a cold or shake hands with someone who is infected, for example.\n\n > Flu viruses are more stable in cold air, and low humidity also helps the virus particles remain in the air. That is because the viruses float in the air in little respiratory droplets, Dr. Palese said. When the air is humid, those droplets pick up water, grow larger and fall to the ground."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2m39gf/eli5_why_is_there_a_flu_season/"
],
[],
[
"http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/health/research/05flu.html?_r=0"
]
] |
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