q_id
stringlengths 5
6
| title
stringlengths 3
296
| selftext
stringlengths 0
34k
| document
stringclasses 1
value | subreddit
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 4
110
| answers
dict | title_urls
list | selftext_urls
list | answers_urls
list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ff2jhh | why do giraffes require so little sleep? | They only need a couple hours of shut-eye whereas humans need 8.
What's going on here? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ff2jhh/eli5_why_do_giraffes_require_so_little_sleep/ | {
"a_id": [
"fjvzolh"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Basically, the more likely you are to be eaten by something, the less you can sleep.\n\nThis also has to do with the time you spend eating (and finding something to eat). If you can have all your energy intake in one meal, you can sleep the rest of the day (conserve the maximum of energy), wake up at some point to reproduce, job's done."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
4i6y2c | why don't evolutionary traits apply to everyone? | This question is honestly the biggest reason as to wyh I believe these "Evolutionary phsycology" has actually nothing to do with evolution and purely because of how we're raised. But I like to keep an open mind, and not to mention i don't know the first thing about how genes work, anyway
What I mean is things along the lines of;
If Men like voluptuous women with wider hips because it suggests high fertility, why didn't this apply to when the ideal woman had a boyish and waifish figure?
If Women like powerful men because they can provide for their offspring, why doesn't it apply to every single woman, why do some women prefer submissive and small men?
(These are just examples)
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4i6y2c/eli5_why_dont_evolutionary_traits_apply_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2vs907"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"In short concise words: the outside factors of survival and survival of our future genes has changed during the history of\nMan.\n\nHumans are very complex when it comes to our behaviors and more so with sex and love. There are also many different factors that lead to this. For one; in a time where we were closer to our ancestors, we didn't live to be 70+ years, had a lack of tech and overall civilization. So as animals( which are technically animals) we have one purpose: reproduce and pass on our genetic material. Back in time, a man that was strong, and muscular could feed and protect his mate and offspring. NOW however, we have money, jobs, grocery stores. So now a female would pick a mate who most likely and feed and protect their family with the new adaptions of civilization. A male, in older times, would seek a mate that can give off the healthiest children with the highest chance of survival. \n\nIf you think about humans are a worldwide scale, majority of the humans have jobs and the basic requirements to provide food/shelter etc to their mate and offspring. It allows other traits to be desired, based solely on preference, not need. \n\nAnother example would be \n\nFor example; I prefer blonde lean women who are tall. It has no reflection on whether or not she is capable of providing healthy children to pass on my genetics. But if i were in caveman times; I would need a mate that could bear my children with the most success, thus the wide hips and such. Technology has greatly helped humans survive, what would have normally killed us."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
16ebwt | why is jpeg still the standard for almost all images? | From what I understand, jpeg is a very old standard dating back something like 20 years. Why haven't we got anything better to compress images with? I have heard of standards like jpeg2000 which is meant to be better, but why is it never used? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/16ebwt/eli5_why_is_jpeg_still_the_standard_for_almost/ | {
"a_id": [
"c7v9e4e"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Because the first person to use them will find that most people can't read those images -- most software doesn't support it. And no software writers include support for it because no one's using it, catch-22. \n\nJPEG2000 and other superior image formats are used in certain niches (like professional video editing) where the userbase can be assumed to be following industry developments closely, or in niches like online piracy where alienating some of your 'customers' isn't a concern.\n\nJPEG in particular is unlikely to be unseated because it's already good enough -- internet connection speeds and storage sizes have grown so fast that JPEGs are basically nothing size-wise now, and the quality is so good that most people will never notice that it's been compressed. On the other hand, HD video *is* very bulky, taking up lots of space and bandwidth, so people have been more willing to go to the hassle of adapting new formats for that."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
6bcpti | why cant windows uninstall 2 things at once at control panel ? | all the answers i found are pretty complicated . i dont know anything about being a programmer . | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6bcpti/eli5why_cant_windows_uninstall_2_things_at_once/ | {
"a_id": [
"dhljvz3",
"dhlneao",
"dhm8k7z"
],
"score": [
11,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Programs add their configuration settings to the registry and the file system. Windows needs a way to track what those changes are. If you install or uninstall two programs simultaneously, Windows has no way to know which program made which changes in case something goes wrong.\n\nIt is quite a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist.",
"It's really just a safety measure. If you only allow one program at a time to alter the system, you *significantly* cut down on the chance that two separate tasks will have any sort of conflict & run into problems.\n\nSince uninstalling programs is a relatively uncommon thing, there's very little reason to put extra work into making it so you can safely remove multiple programs.",
"When windows installs or uninstalls a program, it does several things, the first and most obvious is the installation of files, such as the .exe file that serves as the launching point for many programs. the second is it edits the registry - an operating system level database that stores settings for things like user accounts, drivers, security functions, and the kernel, and that last one is the biggest reason why windows doesn't want two programs being installed/uninstalled at the same time.\n\nThe kernel is the lowest level of an operating system, it is the part that takes information from the physical aspects of a computer like the CPU, RAM, GPU, and Storage and communicates it to Applications. If the kernel develops a problem, you're computer will have very serious problems.\n\nSo if an application is editing the registry and something goes wrong or there is a malicious piece of code, your computer can crash, and if those changes saved, your computer won't boot again except into safe mode, at which point you need to start going through recovery procedures. However, if two applications are editing the registry at the same time, Windows doesn't have a way of knowing which application made which edits.\n\nI saw you made a comment to another response in which you state that you normally just delete the folder and its contents, and that will free up the drive space. However when you do this the registry is not edited and the settings for the removed program are still there. On older systems especially, if the registry becomes to large it will slow down computer boot-up and may even prevent the computer from booting entirely. While the effects of an over-large registry are significantly reduced on operating systems like Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10, the fact is that if you have your computer for years your registry could eventually build to the point where it is a problem."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
4dl8mb | why do we blink more when we try to count how often we blink? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4dl8mb/eli5_why_do_we_blink_more_when_we_try_to_count/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1s2g9x"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The muscle that controls blinking is 'automatic'. When you start being conscious of your blinking, it gets switched to 'manual' mode, and now you get to control your blinking all you want. At this point you can only guess how often you blink; you may overestimate or underestimate, and it will not be 'natural' anymore."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
3ue8c5 | how can some cars have slow acceleration and a high top speed, whilst some have fast acceleration and a low top speed? | Surely more force means greater acceleration and top speed? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ue8c5/eli5_how_can_some_cars_have_slow_acceleration_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxe3vme",
"cxe400h"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Heavier cars will accelerate more slowly. Lighter cars and/or cars with a lot of torque, like many diesels or pickups with big engines, will accelerate more quickly. Cars with high horsepower, but low torque will have a higher top speed, but their engines need to be operating at high rpm to accelerate to that top speed.\n\nEdited for punctuation.",
"Acceleration is more dependant on weight whereas top speed is more dependant on design (air resistance being a bigger issue). "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
69zqgv | why aren't stars visible from the moon? | I was looking at pictures from outer space, and I noticed that when looking past the earth or from the moon it's just black. Why aren't we able to see the stars that we see at night? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69zqgv/eli5_why_arent_stars_visible_from_the_moon/ | {
"a_id": [
"dhakj7r",
"dhakkh8",
"dhakmxk"
],
"score": [
8,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It's a photographic exposure issue. If you expose the image long enough for the stars to show up, you'd significantly overexpose the earth/ moon. \n\nThe stars are there and would be visible if you were actually there, they're just not bright enough to show up in the photo.\n\nYou have exactly the same problem on earth. If you ever see a photo with a perfectly exposed moon, and perfectly exposed stars, you're proabably looking at two different photos with different exposurez that have been blended together",
"The sensitivity of the camera is adjusted for the foreground scene lit by direct sunlight. The stars are simply too dim to appear. If you turn up the sensitivity to the level needed to see the stars, the foreground will become a blinding mass of pure white.",
"Stars are perfectly visible from the moon. The problem is that cameras aren't terribly good at capturing them.\n\nWhen you take a picture, you let light in for some period of time & it makes an image. When you have very bright things next to very dim things, you're left with two choices:\n\n1. Capture enough light that the bright thing is clearly visible. This means that the dim things don't show up.\n\n2. Capture enough light that the dim things are clearly visible. This means that the bright thing will be completely washed out and overexposed.\n\nWhen you're taking pictures of the earth or the moon, you want to look at the earth or the moon. You don't bother trying to set your exposure levels to capture stars."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
9jrxxu | why does the shadow of a plane pass over us so rarely? where is the shadow usually? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9jrxxu/eli5_why_does_the_shadow_of_a_plane_pass_over_us/ | {
"a_id": [
"e6ts7f4"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It does pass over you, but it's so high up it doesn't block all the light that would make it to your location. The plane is small relative to the rest of the fairly bright sky so the \"shadow\" of the plane only makes the spot below it a tiny bit dimmer\n\nConsider the size of cloud it takes to noticeably dim the sun, a plane is wayyy smaller"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
46t75u | why can a piano go years without being tuned, but you need to tune a guitar every time you use it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/46t75u/eli5_why_can_a_piano_go_years_without_being_tuned/ | {
"a_id": [
"d07ovfv",
"d07oxve",
"d07ozem",
"d07pqnz",
"d07ptav"
],
"score": [
3,
53,
7,
2,
8
],
"text": [
"I might be wrong but I'm sure because the guitars get moved they are affected by different temperatures (expanding and shrinking of material possibly) and the movement itself (accidental knocks etc) however a piano stay in one place and relatively the same temps etc.",
"Piano strings are strung on a cast iron frame. Guitar strings are strung on a piece of wood (usually with some partial steel reinforcement in the neck). Environmental variations (temperature and humidity) will cause much greater variation in the wood in the guitar than the cast iron of the piano.\n\nIn addition, guitar strings are under about 18 lbs of tension, whereas piano strings are under about 180 lbs of tension. Slight variations in that tension cause a much greater effect when the tension is less.",
"Pianos can't go years without being tuned. Depending on the model and how often you play it should be tuned every six weeks max or even every day. I know professional pianos or ones used by concert halls at universities are tuned as much as twice a day, depending on how it's used (you can fuck up tuning with prepared piano pieces). \n\nBut the reason you don't need to tune it as often comes down to how they're played and designed. Most piano strings are longer than guitar strings, which means that they are under a lot more tension than guitar strings. When you pluck or strike a string, more tension means the same amount of force will pull the string less from the pegs that secure it. Basically because the strings are shorter playing them doesn't unwind the string as much. \n\nAs well, with a piano you have 1-3 strings per note. Guitars only have 6 for all the notes, you play different notes by pressing your finger down on the string at different places. This exerts a tension on the string that will unwind it from the peg. That's why prepared piano pieces which involve placing things on the strings and directly messing with them can detune a piano very quickly. ",
"Don't think that's true. That sounds like speculation, so let me rephrase: I don't know that to be true.\n\nPianos need tuning — to recommendation to a serious hobbyist — every 6 months.\n\nGuitars have the knobs that you modify right out in the open and it's portable so moved around a lot so it gets untuned more easily. \n\nIt depends a lot on the quality of your strings, though.\n\nAnd also, of course, all the physical (based on physics) things people mentioned like the length and thickness of the strings, etc. etc. make a difference when looked at in practice.\n",
"You don't have to tune a guitar every time you use it. If you have a good guitar and you put good strings on it and don't knock it around it should stay in tune for awhile."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
2smj1q | how do we get footage of isis training for the news? | Watching the news this morning it kept showing videos of ISIS training. Are they taking these videos themselves? It seems like something like filming training would be thought of as below these people who are "on a holy mission". | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2smj1q/eli5how_do_we_get_footage_of_isis_training_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"cnqutgp"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Pay really close attention next time, and you'll see it's the same footage they used last time. On Fox News they use the same video EVERY time they talk about terrorists. Doesn't matter which group, that video is shown. My guess is it was footage recorded by ISIS, and then sent out in hopes that people will fear them and take them seriously. Terrorist groups like ISIS also claim attacks as their own doing for the same reason. Also, anytime they mention nuclear weapons in the middle east, they show a video of 3 guys wearing heat resistant suits, and pouring molten metal into a cast. Worst part is that it's not even a nuclear facility. It's an aluminum foundry."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
3wvd5r | how do schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder differ? | [Context here](_URL_1_)
The first link I found after googling it was from [Christian Survivors](_URL_0_)... And then I gave up. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3wvd5r/eli5_how_do_schizophrenia_and_dissociative/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxzf2l9"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"DID is often a response to severe trauma (torture, extreme abuse, etc.), and therefore tends to be more of a sort of coping mechanism. Alternate personalities form or surface during episodes of dissociation, and often times the afflicted person may not remember chunks of time (those moments when that person may have had a personality shift to a different \"alter\"). A person with DID can have anywhere from three alternate personalities to over twenty, to sometimes even upwards of a hundred. Alternate personalities can split into other sub-personalities, etc. Often times there are common themes of alters, such as \"protectors\" or \"littles\" (child-like personalities). Alternate personalities may \"communicate\" with one another in the afflicted person's mind, and sometimes the person will be aware and \"hear\" these conversations in their mind, and sometimes they won't. This is not the same as a hallucination. This is more akin to when you \"hear\" your own thoughts in your own mind. Like if you imagined a conversation with a member of your family in your mind, and it's more akin to that rather than experiencing an auditory hallucination. Although, in some extreme cases, auditory hallucinations could possibly occur, as such symptoms can occur in many different psychological contexts if psychotic features are present (e.g., Depression with psychotic features). \n\nSchizophrenia is more directly related to a physiological disruption in the brain, causing a sort of misfiring of communicated information delivered through synapses in the brain. Although there are many factors that can figure into the affliction, symptoms of schizophrenia most often fall into two broad categories: negative and positive symptoms. Positive symptoms are the presence of symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech. Negative symptoms are the absence or lack of functionality of certain features, such as flat affect, apathy, social withdrawal, and low energy. A schizophrenic person may have a delusional belief that they are a different person, but this is not the same thing as an alternate personality in the way that might be the case for a person with DID. A schizophrenic patient once described schizophrenia as feeling like he had been shattered like glass into pieces and left on a sandy beach with a tide coming in. Schizophrenia is a fragmentation of thought. DID is more the case of hiding from trauma and a means of coping. \n\nEDIT: Made some tweaks for clarification. It's been a LONG time since I've mused over psychology and I'm a little rusty...!"
]
} | []
| [
"http://www.christiansurvivors.com/didvsschizophrenia.html",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/3wsgwv/house_hunting_with_brother_we_stumbled_upon_a/cxyq3na"
]
| [
[]
]
|
|
2u0qs4 | how does an automated phone system know when an answering machine or voicemail picks up vs a human? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2u0qs4/eli5_how_does_an_automated_phone_system_know_when/ | {
"a_id": [
"co42f7v"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"There are various different ways of performing automatic Answering Machine Detection (AMD). I actually wrote a program once that was used by a call center to do AMD.\n\nThe most common method is to simply look at the audio level on the called party's side and time how long it takes for there to be a pause/silence. Most people answer the call and almost immediately say something short like \"Hello\" or \"Dr. Smith's Office\" (~1 second of talking) followed by a pause/silence as they await a response from you. As soon as you reach a threshold like 500 ms or 1 second of silence (or almost-silence), you treat the call as though a human answered.\n\nAnswering machines (typically) don't pause like this. They answer the phone and immediately begin spewing off a big long message without any breaks because it's obviously a one-way message/announcement to the caller. Thus, when no pause / silence period is detected, you treat the calls as if an answering machine answered.\n\nMany AMD systems also look for the special 'beep' / tone that is characteristic of most answering machines. Some sophisticated AMD systems will re-evaluate their decision about whether the call was answered by a human or not after detecting the beep. For example, if the AMD incorrectly identifies an answering machine as human, but then later hears the voice mail beep, it will sometimes start the message again / switch to the voice mail message - attempting to correct its previous error."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
4bbbfq | people say you can't exceed the speed of light, but relative to what? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4bbbfq/eli5people_say_you_cant_exceed_the_speed_of_light/ | {
"a_id": [
"d17m7hs"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Special relativity states that the speed of light is the one exception to the principle you are describing. That is, no matter the reference frame that the speed of light is observed from, that speed will always be exactly c. Therefore nothing, in any reference frame, can ever move as fast as or faster than c."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
bgdaox | what actually happen to things when they're fried? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bgdaox/eli5_what_actually_happen_to_things_when_theyre/ | {
"a_id": [
"elk67w1"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"The water in the cells are trapped within the \"skin\" once seared, thus cooking it with its own juices.\n\nIf it is deep fried, the juices are trapped by the oil and breading."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
2euxch | this whole anti gluten phase we're suddenly in? | Why when only an estimated 1 in 133 Americans, or about 1% of the population, has celiac disease? That's roughly 2,353,383 Americans if I did my math correctly, and it *far* more widespread than that. It's nearly engrained into our culture now, it seems. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2euxch/eli5_this_whole_anti_gluten_phase_were_suddenly_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck360wx",
"ck36hz5",
"ck36lv4",
"ck37byp"
],
"score": [
9,
6,
3,
4
],
"text": [
"For awhile it was thought that gluten intolerance was something that you could get by consistently eating foods with gluten in them (a sort of gluten diabetes) and so people were favoring gluten-free foods. It has since been proved not true, but that sort of thing hasn't stopped people in the past (anti-vax)",
"For a while it was thought that along with celiac disease, there was a sort of \"celiac sensitivity\" that made gluten-free a healthy choice for people who got a little indigestion when eating gluten-y carbs. Studies since has shown that that's just indigestion, and there's no real sensitivity unless you actually *have* celiac.\n\nWhen that was going on, gluten-free became a much more common menu option, which is a good thing for those who actually have celiac disease. \n\nUnfortunately, everyone (generalizing) started seeing \"gluten-free\" on menus and cookbooks and associating it with things like \"fat free,\" thinking it's healthier or better for a diet. This misconception has persisted, and food distributors and restaurants are capitalizing on it.\n\n\"Gluten-free\" doesn't mean \"healthy,\" it just means there's no gluten. Similarly, \"vegan\" and \"all-natural,\" or \"organic\" tell you nothing about how healthy your food is. \n\nYet my roommate continues to brag about how much healthy her gluten-free, vegan meals smothered in heavy sauces and cooked in lots of oils are. I've got some anger, guys.",
"I have celiac disease and I love the trend. I have so many more choices now.",
"People just think that they're eating healthy by avoiding gluten.\n\nTechnically they're correct. If you stop eating gluten you have to avoid a lot of high-carb, high-sugar foods like processed white bread and cake. Plus you end up with more grain variety in your diet, which is better for your body.\n\nMost people don't have celiac disease, it's true, but gluten isn't essential to your diet either."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
2uw67x | why is porn advertisement so bad? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2uw67x/eli5_why_is_porn_advertisement_so_bad/ | {
"a_id": [
"coc7o1y"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The sites don't determine who get to advertise on their site... The companies that want to advertise *pay the porn site* to have their ads there. And it's not like the porn sites are going to turn down the offer for (basically) free money. I guess that dating sites and sex shops have enough advertisement in different places, or they don't feel that advertising on a porn site would be worth the investment.\n\nA lot of companies don't want to be connected to anything that creates controversy. It's why you don't see Bud Lite commercials with your porn. For the websites, it means they sort of have to take what they can get, when it comes to ad income."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
3uz2hg | why when you empty a bath does the water form a tornado shape? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3uz2hg/eli5why_when_you_empty_a_bath_does_the_water_form/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxixll1",
"cxizss9"
],
"score": [
5,
7
],
"text": [
"**In order to preserve the angular momentum of the barely perceptible rotation in the water in the bath tub, the rate of rotation must increase dramatically when the radius of that rotation is reduced to the size of the drain. This also happens when an ice dancer spins faster by pulling arms closer to the body.**",
"Translating /u/i_only_bold_comments 's comment, the water in the tub is spinning, very slightly. The spin is maintained when the water goes into the drain, so the same water speed has to spin faster, and the discrepancy between the top and the bottom of the water pushes water away from the drain (centripetal force), creating a vortex."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
2k4rtg | what excactly is a mole and how was it discovered? | Hey, basically i just read that today is mole-day and now i finally want to know what exactly this mole is. Way back in school my teacher didnt explain it to us. Can someone please solve this mistery for me, thanks. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2k4rtg/eli5what_excactly_is_a_mole_and_how_was_it/ | {
"a_id": [
"clhw5kr"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"A ['mole' is a unit of measurement](_URL_0_). The amount of 'things' in a mole, that number is 6.02 x 10^23 -- science geeks celebrate at 6:02am on 10/23 every year in honor of the mole. The date really doesn't have anything to do with the discovery of the mole, or physics itself, it is just where the calendar lines up with an unusual number, which helps people remember it. Like me, when you said 'mole day', I knew exactly what the number was without looking it up, and I haven't taken a chemistry class in thirty years."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_\\(unit\\)"
]
]
|
|
expi9r | why can we control certain parts of our body but not others? for example you can control the lungs and how they breathe but not the intestines on how they digest | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/expi9r/eli5_why_can_we_control_certain_parts_of_our_body/ | {
"a_id": [
"fgavfyy",
"fgaxmer",
"fgb8x9q"
],
"score": [
7,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Because not only is there no benefit to having conscious control over something like your digestive process, but there's a serious drawback. There's only so much we can be consciously aware of at the same time. If our conscious minds were constantly were occupied with controlling our digestion or keeping our heats beating, we'd have no capacity left to do anything else.",
"The basic answer is just because that's how we evolved. There is no why, only that it simply is. However, we can discuss the evolution advantages that controlling or not controlling certain body parts brings.\n\nFor your example, it's worth noting that the only parts of it body we control are muscles. For example, when we breathe, we don't actually control our lungs. We control our diaphragm. By lowering the diaphragm, we create a cavity in our bodies. The cavity makes it so the air currently in our bodies is less dense than the air outside or bodies, so the air outside will rush in through the nose or mouth to balance it.\n\nIntestinal digestion doesn't involve any muscles; food is broken down by acids and absorbed through the intestinal walls by diffusion. There are muscles involved in digestion, just not the intestinal part. The esophagus pushes food down to the stomach, the sphincters open and close both ends of the stomach, and the stomach churns food.\n\nThe main reason it's better to not be able to control is because certain functions are so critical to survival that if we didn't do them automatically, we'd die. At some point in history there was likely an ancestor who didn't automatically digest food, and they died of starvation before reproducing. The ones who didn't have to think about it survived, and here we are today.\n\nOf course, that brings up the question of why we're able to control our breathing because that's also important for survival. Again, all that's required is for an evolutionary trait to allow an individual to survive long enough to reproduce. In the case of breathing, there are advantages to controlling it, such as when we're underwater--we wouldn't want to automatically breathe and drown. There are other mechanisms our body uses to make sure we breathe when we need to, such as pain when we haven't taken a breath in a while, so we've evolved to cover any possible issues as best as possible.",
" Because different parts of your body are controlled by different parts of your brain. There’s the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is run by the hypothalamus near the start of your spinal cord. The hypothalamus is basically our ape brain. It releases hormones to tell us when to be scared of a predator or when to be happy about having sex. And it controls the functions of our body that we don’t even think about.\n\nThe somatic nervous system (SNS) is different. It’s your conscious brain controlling your body. It gets its orders from all over the brain, telling it when to move your eyes, contract your muscles, etc. It can override the ANS sometimes, for instance if you intentionally breathe slower or swallow something quickly. But it can only do that with muscles like your tongue or diaphragm. It can’t control the intestines because they aren’t muscles. \n\nIn our evolution we started out with very simple brains, but there was a benefit to higher brain functions, so we developed those on top of the hypothalamus. They gave us critical thinking, problem solving, and the ability to analyze the past to predict the future. But we also kept the ape brain because when we’re in danger, we can still fight, freeze, or flee in an instant without taking the time to think about it. I wonder though if the SNS will be able to take over more parts of the body as we evolve. Maybe future humans will be able to consciously control their organ functions."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
2a0k7s | what would happen if someone admitted to committing an extreme crime such as murder or any type of crime during a religious confession? | Can the priest do anything about it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2a0k7s/eli5_what_would_happen_if_someone_admitted_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"ciqbn3l",
"ciqboic",
"ciqbqlc"
],
"score": [
7,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"[Catholics consider compelling priests to testify a breach of their religious freedom](_URL_0_). Complying with civil law to report crimes incurs automatic and immediate excommunication, and is believed to - if not repented and forgiven - lead to eternal damnation.\n\nThat's a pretty strict religious law, if you ask me.\n\nSo the secret will be kept, but there is no forgiveness without contrition (a sincere attempt to make things as right as possible) . A priest would likely say \"God will forgive but you must turn yourself in to the civil authorities and accept their just punishment.\"",
"It is a violation of cannon law for a priest to reveal anything about a person's confession, even if it is murder. However the priest will almost certainly refuse to give absolution unless the confessor turns himself in.",
"I heard that religious confession is actually very highly protected, just like attorney-client privilege. If you tell your lawyer you killed someone and he turns you in, the judge will throw that evidence out of court. The same with a priest. If you confess and the priest turns you in for it, it's inadmissible in trial. That's not to say the police won't now be on to you and start looking for new evidence, but the prosecution can't say \"The defendant confessed\" because the priest's report is inadmissible evidence. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0059.html"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
1qa1iv | why do some companies sell an item for $.01 but tack on a huge shipping charge? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qa1iv/eli5_why_do_some_companies_sell_an_item_for_01/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdaox01",
"cdaoyqe"
],
"score": [
5,
5
],
"text": [
"So that their listing looks like the lowest price and comes up first in the search by price low to high, and then they make the sale to the unobservant.",
"Because it's still profit. At the end of the day all they care about is how much money did they make. A CD that cost $2 to make and costs $7 to ship still have a $6 profit margin regardless if I tell you to pay $13 for the CD and $2 for shipping or $0.01 for the CD and $14.99 for shipping. Their costs stay the same, they profit the same. \n\nSome benefits are on a site like Ebay it allows you to show up first when someone filters by price. Also in auction sales many inexperienced buyers think they are getting a deal when they see the $0.01 price and later realize the shipping is $14.99 after they have already committed to the purchase. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
btdz3o | why do the wealthy benefit from welfare? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/btdz3o/eli5_why_do_the_wealthy_benefit_from_welfare/ | {
"a_id": [
"eowf9kw"
],
"score": [
14
],
"text": [
"We have a system where somebody had to do all the crappy jobs but we dont want to pay a lot. Welfare allows people to just kind of scrape by while doing those marginal jobs. For instance a large percentage of Walmart's hourly employees rely on welfare to make ends meet. Welfare represents a cut rate way of maintaining a slave class. \n\n_URL_0_"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-workers/half-of-walmarts-workforce-are-part-time-workers-labor-group-idUSKCN1IQ295"
]
]
|
||
22f2vi | how come videos (e.g. maxed graphics) do not require the same processing/rendering as the game? |
For example; if i were to play Battlefield 4 on max graphics, my computer would die on me, but videos don't.
Why's that?
(I tried searching, but i could not find anything) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22f2vi/eli5_how_come_videos_eg_maxed_graphics_do_not/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgm63r6",
"cgm64it",
"cgm64ws"
],
"score": [
10,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Do you recall those little flipbooks, with an picture drawn near the edge of every page, and when you put your thumb on the edge, pull the pages back, and let them flip past, you see a moving picture? That's what a video is like. All the images are fully rendered, and you're just displaying them.\n\nRendering the game is like taking a pencil and drawing each of those images *while you're flipping the pages*.",
"Video is pre-processed. It's basically a fast slideshow of pictures that your computer displays, with some sound added. Your computer is only being told \"display this on screen\" and doesn't have to do a lot of thinking of its own.\n\nVideogames require way more processing because every frame has to be \"calculated\" on the fly. For every frame, the computer has to look up the current state of the virtual model for the videogame that you're playing, and figure out how to translate that into an image. It has to represent the position of objects, how big/small they look, and how the lighting affects them, with their reflections, shadows, etc. \n\n",
"It's because when you're playing the game, your computer is actually creating the images. It knows where the players, vehicles, buildings, scenery, lights, etc. are, and it has to figure out what it looks like from your characters perspective given all that information. It has to figure out what colour each pixel should be.\n\nPlaying a video is completely different. Your computer is not really creating the image itself. The video already says what colour each pixel is. It doesn't have to know anything about what's in the image, it just sees it as a bunch of pixels.\n\nI'm simplifying a bit because decoding video takes some processing power because it is compressed. But it still thinks of a video as a bunch of pixels that change over time rather than a 3D scene with objects moving around and rays of light bouncing around.\n\nThink of it this way, your PC makes no distinction between pre-rendered CG videos and video of real people filmed with a physical camera. But that doesn't mean we can make games that are completely life like."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
561wub | how does day trading on the floor of the nyse work? | Who is involved? What are those funny little black hand held devices they are working with? Why are they always yelling? What are those hand signals??? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/561wub/eli5how_does_day_trading_on_the_floor_of_the_nyse/ | {
"a_id": [
"d8fnikp",
"d8fp7g3",
"d8fq2bv",
"d8frbup",
"d8fujkx",
"d8fv144",
"d8fwp8q",
"d8fx838",
"d8g0iul"
],
"score": [
11,
29,
13,
313,
152,
61,
32,
6,
3
],
"text": [
"Never knew how much I wanted to know all of this until I saw this question! Hope someone answers this!",
"It really doesn't anymore. I don't know to what extent it still does, but I know it really isn't much. It's essentially a TV set now.",
"It doesn't so much. All the \"Real trading\" is done in a data centre in New York. \n\n_URL_0_\n\n",
"So like others have said, it's largely defunct, but this is how it used to work before the internet.\n\nSay I want to buy 100 shares of Ford. The last thing I want to do is call up all my friends and family trying to find someone who wants to sell 100 shares of Ford. So instead, I call my broker and tell him \"I want to buy 100 shares of Ford at whatever the market price is.\"\n\nBroker writes up a \"buy\" order. He calls his guy on the NYSE stock exchange with the buy order. The NYSE broker then approaches a guy known as a \"Market Maker\" who represents an investment firm, say Goldman Sachs. He owns tons of different stocks, with positions in all the S & P 500.\n\n The Market Maker looks at the last price Ford was traded at, say $15, and gives the broker a \"bid\" price of $14.90 and an \"ask\" price of $15.10. My broker's representative confirms the purchase at the Market Maker's ask price of $15.10, and buys the 100 shares. He then contacts my local broker dude, who let's me know I just bought 100 shares of Ford for $1,510 + his fee.\n\nThe new price of Ford stock is now $15.10, so the next guy who want to buy/sell Ford shares will do so off the new Bid/Ask price (known as the spread) based around $15.10. This is why stocks go up in price when people are buying them, and down when people are selling.",
"the whole system is called the open outcry.\r\n\r\npit traders and brokers are all in there. when someone wants to buy they will start looking for quotes. the hand signals indicate direction and size. palms in mean \"I BUY\", palms out \"I SELL\".\r\n\r\nwhen a trader finds a price and size he agrees with he says \"MINE\" or \"YOURS\" to confirm the trade.\r\n\r\nso like the example earlier a guy is looking for FORD he goes around asking \"WHERE IS FORD?\".\r\n\r\nhe may get quotes \"14.90 offered at 15.10\", which means the bid is 14.90, the offer is 15.10. or something shorter like \"14.88 at 15.03\", \"14.88 at 03\".\r\n\r\nthen the broker might say something like \"15.03 I BUY 100\" or \"I PAY 15.03 FOR 100\" with eyes firmly locked with the 15.03 seller, palms in or a palms pulling in gesture, index finger pointing out to signify 100.\r\n\r\nthe 15.03 seller will then confirm the trade staring back into the broker's eyes and saying \"YOURS\". he may affirm the direction by making a pushing out gesture with his palms.\r\n\r\nthen they meet up and write up two tickets to confirm the trade. if they have the black device i guess that's where they key the trade details into. it goes to the middle and back offices who then matches the trade details and settle the trades.\r\n\r\nif the broker wants to sell he may say something like \"I SELL 100 AT 14.90\". and if the pit trader agrees he will say \"MINE\".\r\n\r\nthere are patterns in the way the orders are given, the way the sentences are structured. the words used are also quite specific. this is to minimize miscommunication. saying something slightly jumbled, like \"I BUY 100 AT 15.03\" is one way to get beat up.\r\n\r\nedit: there's a lot more stuff in there of course, participants are not just broadcasting their markets but also their activity, telling people where the market is trading (the 'flow') so that they may decide to further participate.",
"Not much real trading occurs on the floor of the NYSE anymore. It is largely the set of TV shows and used as a venue of certain types of publicity events such as the traditional ringing of the opening bell and IPOs. If you tune into CNN most times in the morning, you have a chance to see much of this in the background. \n\nMarket participants (usually specialists, market makers, sometimes brokers) that are interested in being \"members\" of the exchange, or specifically a designated firm that helps keep order and provide markets in a specific stock, must buy \"seats\" on the exchange and is required to have a physical presence on the floor. These are the people you see hanging out in the background with colorful jackets. In the past they had a much more active role, but now they are there more out of tradition. Their old responsibilities have been largely automated or made into electronic processes that firms participate in without a need for any physical presence on the floor. \n\nThese people with colorful jackets used to communicate with one another using a special sign language called \"arb\" (not to be confused with arbitrage). In the past the floor was busy, loud, and this arb facilitated communication. It can still be seen used on other exchange floors, but rarely at NYSE. \n\nI think I answered your questions, but let me know if you have others. \n\nsource: am an (electronic) options trader",
"For those who are curious...\n\n\nI'll ask my boss if I can take a small video or photos of the Toronto trade floor at RBC. Canadas largest trading floor :) \n\nI'm the IT dude that resides on the floor for immediate assistance.... no calling India here folks....\n\nUpdate: i have a feeling I won't be able to take s video b/c audio of live deals \n\nI'll be sure to snap a photo from the floor overlooking \nAnd of a few baller desk set ups haha \n\nALL of course if I am permitted ",
"Weird fact... NYSE was bought by Euronext. Then bought by a company called ICE. Who knew you could buy a stock exchange.",
"So I'm confused. Can I just like go to a website and click and buy 100 shares of Ford stock now adays?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-27/meanwhile-over-new-york-stock-exchange-lots-lasers"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
5l18tj | is speed constant in space? | I posted this in /r/askscience, and was promptly ignored. Go figure. I guess I should have known better.
So, my brother and I had a disagreement over something, and admittedly it's very stupid. But, we couldn't seem to agree, so I figured I would turn to who else but Reddit for help.
It started while we were playing a game called "Kerbal Space Program"; this part of the story is unimportant, but it provides context. Basically, the disagreement began when my brother was attempting to describe to me (a newbie at the game) how gravity and physics work in the game. KSP is, in a nutshell, a NASA simulator, and a surprisingly detailed one. We had a misunderstanding when he didn't specify he was talking about the physics specifically in the game when he said that you are always affected by gravity. Of course, not knowing he was talking about only in the game engine, I was confused. You see, in KSP's physics engine, you never really escape an orbit or gravitational pull. The game can only be so realistic, you know? You just move from one gravitational pull to the other, it doesn't have actual "billions of miles" kind of distances.
Eventually, we realized that we were both talking about two different things. I was talking about real life, he was talking about the game. We then started an intense debate about how gravity, orbit, and speed work in space. Being that I'm not a scientist and only having a college education, I was under the impression that speed is constant in space. My brother seems to be under the impression that this is not the case, however. I've always been told that if you escape Earth's gravity at a certain speed, you will go speeding off into space until something slows you down. As in the movies, astronauts go floating off into space on accident and they are doomed to float forever and ever. There's nothing to slow down your speed in space, right? But my brother is telling me that eventually you will fall into orbit around the sun, assuming a planet or other object does not catch you first.
Is he referring to orbit as in the way that planets orbit the sun? To me, that sounds more like "orbit" in big Dr. Evil style air quotes. Everything in the solar system "orbits" the sun, technically, but that's because the planets are so very big. A 5'10" "average" human would not really orbit around the sun, would they? Does the pull of the sun's gravity affect your speed while you're going through outer space? Is it like a bungie cord, where eventually you'll just be pulled back to the sun? I'm thoroughly confused, but I feel like our argument eventually just boiled down to semantics.
Someone, explain like I'm five. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5l18tj/eli5_is_speed_constant_in_space/ | {
"a_id": [
"dbs754n"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"So everything with mass has a graviational impact on everything else with mass, at every distance.\n\nAt far distances, or if the objects are small the impact is very very small.\n\nThe earth orbits the sun because the sun is so massive that it's gravitational pull on the earth is huge enough to keep it from flying off into space, even at huge distances.\n\nThe international space station orbits the earth because the earthis so massive that it's gravitational pull on the ISS is huge enough to keep it from flying off into space, even at the distance the ISS orbits at.\n\nThe problem is that there is some amount of atmosphere, even where the ISS is. It's not a lot, but it still exists. This means that ever so slowly the ISS will slow down, and as it slows down it will get progressively closer and closer to the earth, and it will crash down to the earth unless we push it away a bit (which we do, so don't worry).\n\nIf you slip away from the ISS you'll **eventually** burn up in earth atmosphere, you won't get pulled to the sun because the earth pulls you much more than the sun does because it's much closer.\n\nI think that generally covers what you're asking.\n\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
1rjca3 | how come i can focus where i look with only one eye open? | I thought the focus of the eyes had something to with the point where the line if sight of both your eyes cross is your point of focus. For example, when I squint everything is blurry, because my point of focus is in the air. However, I can still focus on objects both close and far away with only one eye open. Why is that? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rjca3/eli5_how_come_i_can_focus_where_i_look_with_only/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdntmaz"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
" > I thought the focus of the eyes had something to with the point where the line if sight of both your eyes cross is your point of focus.\n\nNope. Your eyes focus by using tiny muscles to change the shape of the lens."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
g1briu | how do supermarket/grocery stores' supply chains work (from farm/manufacturers to isles)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/g1briu/eli5_how_do_supermarketgrocery_stores_supply/ | {
"a_id": [
"fngrlp6"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"My example if chicken. I work for a chicken feed manufacturer in the uk which supplies thousands of tonnes per week. These different types of feed go to our companies farms where thousands of chicks are fed and grown until full size if approx 6 weeks. Then they goto the killing plants and killed and cut into pieces which are then sold to all the supermarkets. \n\nSide not. The chicken are grown very quickly with various additives to help grow which are then removed when then near maturity so no additives are present in the final chicken."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
fzty97 | what makes a code language work | Like I get that scripting and code = working OS. But why does that jumbo of words and numbers and shit make a working system and how is that even recognized | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fzty97/eli5_what_makes_a_code_language_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"fn63sqh",
"fn64sge",
"fn64u1c"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Computers store billions and billions of ones and zeros in specific order:\n\n```\n1010 0101 0101 0001 1010 0000 1010\n```\n\nWe have made computers in such a way that we can give them simple instructions to change the values of these ones and zeros. These instructions look something like this:\n\n 0x 60 01 00 84\n 0x A4 01 02 00\n 0x 60 02 00 00\n\nAs you can see, this is not very easy for a human to understand. It is possible to learn this kind of machine code, but it would take a very long time to learn and making a modern app with machine code would take something like a thousand years.\n\nTo make coding simpler, we have made coding languages that are easier for people to understand. These languages usually have many instructions written in English. For example, you can probably figure out what this code prints even if you don't know how to code:\n\n let x = 6;\n if(x < 5) {\n print(\"x is less than 5!\")\n } else {\n print(\"X is more than 5!\")\n } \n\nWe can write the code in a way that is easier for people to understand and use a special thing called compiler to turn that code into the machine code and then tell the computer to do what the code says.\n\nEdit: Typo",
"The compiler converts human readable to machine readable. Different compilers for different languages.",
"There are several levels of abstraction here.\n\n At the CPU level, there is machine code, composed of 1's and 0's. These are fed into the CPU in packets called instructions. Every CPU has an instruction set, which is basically a predetermined set of operations that it can perform. For example, let's say that 01010101 is interpreted by the CPU as an instruction to add two numbers, which follow. Those will also be encoded in binary 0 and 1. CPU level operations are very basic, but they are very fast with modern CPUs capable of processing hundreds of millions of them per second.\n\nThe next level of abstraction is the assembly language. It's still very low level, but instructions are given labels so instead of 01010101, you might need to write ADD in assembly language. The way it's converted into machine code is that assembly instructions are translated via painstakingly written machine code where the mapping of ADD instruction to sequence 01010101 is defined with all of it's requisite rules, such as that adding two numbers requires providing two numeric inputs. The good thing is that the translator only needed to be created once (and tested thoroughly), and then there is little need to go back to machine code unless for some very specialized applications.\n\nAssembly language in turn is used to write translators (or compilers) for languages such as C, C++, BASIC, etc. Translation works according to a similar rule where writing something like x = a + b is translated into assembly language (which uses ADD instruction) and that in turn is translated into machine code (which uses 01010101 instruction). This way the programmer need not see machine code or even assembly code. Higher level code can still look very cryptic to the uninitiated, but it's a heck of a lot better than underlying layers.\n\nThere is yet another possible layer for interpreted rather than compiled code. Some languages (Java, PHP, Python) are not pre-compiled ahead of time. They are translated in real time when the code is run or they use a hybrid solution where a sort of compilation happens at the beginning of a program run and then things proceed as usual. These languages are often less strict in terms of syntax, meaning that they may accept things that are \"wrong\", but will not prevent the user from running the program.\n\nIf you want to know more about compiling/translating/interpreting code, then look up \"parser\" or \"compiler\" on Wikipedia and go from there."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
aza0ca | why do adults’ breath stink after a day of not brushing and infants have (relatively) odorless breath? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aza0ca/eli5_why_do_adults_breath_stink_after_a_day_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"ei6cg22",
"ei6ciji"
],
"score": [
3,
10
],
"text": [
"Infants don't have teeth, or very few, for starters. Infants also don't tend to eat foods that are likely to contribute to bad breath. ",
"Diet. Infants are eating only breast milk or formula so there is no food residue in the mouth for bacteria to feed on, have no teeth so fewer surfaces for bacteria to be present on. Breastmilk is antibacterial. Far lower bacterial activity in the mouth to generate odors"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
7xchtn | why do first names change over time? | I understand that there are fads, and names become more/less popular/etc. But why? Why is this a thing people mess around with? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7xchtn/eli5_why_do_first_names_change_over_time/ | {
"a_id": [
"du78b23",
"du7bgde",
"du7edvc"
],
"score": [
30,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Popular names percolate down through the socioeconomic ladder. People with high levels of wealth and education choose some names. Then people with less wealth and education emulate them. The names then become associated with lower socioeconomic strata, so the people of higher socioeconomic status don't want to name their kids those names any more.\n\nGirls' names change more than boys' names do. I suspect this has to do with (probably mostly unconscious) ageist/sexist stereotypes about older women.\n\nThe grass is greener. People think their lives would have been better if their names had been different. My sister is a Jennifer born in the 1970s. She often had another Jennifer in her class in school. She chose more obscure names for her own kids. Maybe she didn't like being one of several Jennifers in her class, so she didn't want that sort of thing for her kids.\n\nNames are associated with ethnicity. As ethnic demographics shift, names shift. If you have more Hispanic people, for example, you're going to have more Spanish-inspired names. Growing representation of ethnic minorities in TV and movies might also make ethnic names go more mainstream.\n",
"Major events can influence baby names, Luke the moon landing could have made a lot of people name their children Neil, Micheal, or Edwin. ",
"Many parents believe they will give their children a better life by giving them a distinctive name.\n\nMany others just want to give a name from someone they admire -- this is influenced by the news and by what performers and fictional characters are currently popular."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
2eq339 | why do i sleep like shit when my alarm is set to wake me up, but sleep great when no alarm is set at all? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2eq339/eli5_why_do_i_sleep_like_shit_when_my_alarm_is/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck1txqr",
"ck1vh6y",
"ck200pr"
],
"score": [
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"A lot of people find that they cannot sleep as well when they have set an alarm, because they fear missing the alarm. The knowledge that the alarm is coming makes them anticipate the alarm, and so they aren't able to sleep as well. That's why a lot of sleep specialists will tell you to place an alarm in a place where it will still wake you up, but so that you cannot see the actual clock face. Watching the clock and agonizing over your need for sleep is the best way to fail at sleeping.",
"If you're referring to how you feel when you wake up, it's about the stage of sleep you're in when you wake up. When you wake up naturally, it's because you're at the lightest stage of sleep, and you're more likely to feel rested when you wake up. If you wake up to an alarm, you could be at any sleep stage, and if you were in a deep sleep when the alarm woke you, you'll feel like shit",
"_URL_0_\n\nI'm sure everyone here can do basic math but this is a handy little site that will tell you when to go to sleep or even when to wake up."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"http://sleepyti.me/"
]
]
|
||
7wiymz | why scientists still couldn't figure out how trees turn co2 to oxygen? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7wiymz/eli5why_scientists_still_couldnt_figure_out_how/ | {
"a_id": [
"du0q1d6",
"du0q58u"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Knowing how something works and being able to recreate it are not the same thing.\n\nSee: Leonardo da Vinci.",
"They use CO2 to make their food via photosynthesis (carbohydrates). Oxygen is released into the atmosphere as a byproduct in the reaction. It’s described by the equation 6CO2 + 12H2O — > C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O. Basic biochemistry \n\nEdit - sorry, not to say basic in a condescending way. This is just what I’ve learned in biochem. If it’s been shown to be false pls correct me :)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
en37in | what kind of math do you need in physics? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/en37in/elif_what_kind_of_math_do_you_need_in_physics/ | {
"a_id": [
"fdtno0i"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
" \nAll of it. The trick is to study as much math as you can without becoming a mathematician."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
3nix4a | why is it considered bad, that europeans took the native american's land, and can sue the government for land. when historically imperial countries have done this all the time outside of the american continents. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nix4a/eli5why_is_it_considered_bad_that_europeans_took/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvoi79q"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"First of all, public or private land? If Russia invades Crimea and says \"This is Russia now\", but they're not removing you from your home or seizing your assets. Which is what happened with native americans. The other thing is the way that business was done with native americans. We didn't just grab guns and shoot them. We also negotiated treaties where they ceded their land to us in exchange for permanent rights to reservations. After that happened, we slowly nibbled away at the treaties, effectively breaking every one, taking larger and larger portions of their reservations, until they were left with the least productive terrain.\n\nTl;drThe US government reached an agreement with Native Americans and broke that agreement."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
de9sax | . why do ciggarettes make hiccups so much more aggressive? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/de9sax/eli5_why_do_ciggarettes_make_hiccups_so_much_more/ | {
"a_id": [
"f2to1wa"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"I smoked 30+ a day for around 10 years and I never experienced this. My hiccups were the same then as they are now (I gave up smoking around 15 years ago). Maybe its you?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
4zsvqo | how do electric shavers work? | i can't seem to find a video showing how it works all i understand thus far is the spiky blade mechanism moves side to side against the stationary one but how does it actually cut? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4zsvqo/eli5_how_do_electric_shavers_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6yirrk"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"much like scissors do, \n\nsome more explanations here\n\n_URL_1_\n\nvideo here\n\n_URL_0_"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/zvnw2hv",
"http://buyelectricshavers.com/how-do-electric-razors-work/"
]
]
|
|
3u81c3 | why are humans the only animals that need jackets? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3u81c3/eli5why_are_humans_the_only_animals_that_need/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxcmb9c",
"cxcmcrr"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Because they've evolved to live in those conditions over millions of years. We sprang out of nice, warm, and cozy African Savannahs and quickly spread to all corners of the globe. We aren't biologically adapted to those extreme temperatures so rely on our ingenuity and tools to protect us from those elements.\n\nThat said, there is an element of conditioning. If you aren't raised and adapted to colder/warmer climate, then you will find those extremes less tolerable. But it ultimately boils down to why deal with discomfort when you can just put on a jacket?",
"We started wearing \"clothes\" many thousand of years ago and because we started wearing the fur of other animals we didn't need our \"fur\". \n\nBecause growing hair takes energy and by not needing to our bodies had more resources to divert elsewhere. \n\nOver time those who had less hair and the extra resources put to something helpful which allowed them to survive and do better than the non clothes wearing ones. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
5in093 | how are compasses still useful and accurate? | With all the technology, machinery, waves, and signals operating everywhere all the time nowadays, how are compasses still accurate to true north? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5in093/eli5_how_are_compasses_still_useful_and_accurate/ | {
"a_id": [
"db9fz2w",
"db9hymy"
],
"score": [
7,
2
],
"text": [
"Compasses always point to magnetic north, not true north, but for the most part that is close enough. \n\nThe benefit of a compass is that it is not a powered device. Your phone, or GPS or radio or anything else can run out of power rendering them useless. ",
"They orient to the magnetic field of the Earth which protects us from radiation. The magnetic field strength is decreasing about 5% a century and has reversed many times in the past."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
jezjy | could someone explain money market accounts like i am five? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jezjy/could_someone_explain_money_market_accounts_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2bjopu",
"c2bjopu"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"A money market is an account that earns interest. The money you put in the account is invested by the bank. It could be used to invest in bonds, lend cash to other institutions, and other similar low-risk investments. You get a share of the money earned by the bank from its investments.",
"A money market is an account that earns interest. The money you put in the account is invested by the bank. It could be used to invest in bonds, lend cash to other institutions, and other similar low-risk investments. You get a share of the money earned by the bank from its investments."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1l18oj | can we forget what a color looks like? | Say a normal person who has lived with colors their whole life, were put into a black box, without any other color. Would they eventually forget what colors looked like, why/why not?
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l18oj/can_we_forget_what_a_color_looks_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbusglv",
"cbush84",
"cbuv76e"
],
"score": [
2,
15,
2
],
"text": [
"The area of your brain that perceives different colors is called area V8, and it organizes during infancy, and then does not change. So, given the circumstances you describe (the person is exposed to enough of the environment in infancy to experience colors and then later is put into a black box), the person would still remember colors.\n\nThere are people who forget what colors are like, but this is always due to brain damage. The condition is known as Achromatopsia and it is when someone has damage to area V8 in their brain and, as a result, can no longer see colors. Additionally, they cannot even imagine colors even though before their damage, they saw color correctly.",
"Ever heard of the colour Taupe?\n\nLook it up now, then try to remember it again in a week.\n\nI can never remember if it's a shade of yellowish-green or magenta.\n\nEDIT: Turns out it's neither, it's beige...",
"Yep. Have you ever tried to buy something to match furniture in your home by picturing the color in your head? It's never worked for me."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
zg57f | why does the us have so many different standards than most of the world (si vs metric, driving on the right side of the road, month/day/year vs day/month/year)? | I understand it's difficult to change now, but how did it become like this from the start?
Edit: I have been informed that most of the world does in fact drive on the right side of the road. Thank you mason11987 for the informative images! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zg57f/eli5_why_does_the_us_have_so_many_different/ | {
"a_id": [
"c649wh2",
"c64alj0",
"c64b7e2",
"c64bgpi",
"c64buol",
"c64c9db",
"c64cgu8",
"c64dbm9",
"c64eo7e",
"c64eol8"
],
"score": [
53,
11,
103,
2,
22,
2,
3,
2,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"Many of these units were not standardised at the time of the American Revolution.\n\nThey mostly became standardised in Europe and then exported from Europe to their colonies. There was no mechanism to export these units to America as the USA was somewhat outside that cultural milieu.\n\nThe US is slowly adopting the metric system (indeed all traditional units are now defined in terms of their metric counterparts) but it's a slow process.\n\nThe US is now party to, and frequently the leader of, modern efforts at standardisation.",
"fentunfont had a great answer, to the driving point specifically. I believe the US way is more common:\n\n_URL_1_\n\nEdit : Found this while looking into the date representation thing, you're right the US is strange here, but not as strange as Canada! Awesome page nonetheless:\n\n_URL_0_",
"Your assumption about left and right-hand-side driving is wrong.",
"Here's a brief history of Metric (which is now known as SI) and English (Imperial) units:\n\nThousands of years ago people just made up whatever units would be useful to them, eg. in [England](_URL_0_) an inch was roughly 3 grains of barley laid out end to end. Over time as measuring became more important these became standard, so rather than just making an inch roughly 3 grains of barley there would be an exact inch made and other inches would be based on that.\n\nEach country had their own set of units at this time. During the French Revolution French scientists decided that there should be better ways of measuring, something that used units that never changed and not based on barley or the size of body parts, so they came up with using a small fraction of the size of the earth and other things that never change and that all countries could use. This became first the [metric system](_URL_2_) and then the [SI system](_URL_1_).\n\nNow while France was doing this the US was actually working with them, but then they disagreed on what they should measure (the US wanted to use the length of a pendulum that swings 1 second, the French wanted to use the size of the earth) and so they couldn't agree. America couldn't develop their own system quick enough and they really needed a system, so they just went with the English system.",
"I personally prefer Year, month, day. It sorts correctly.",
"Because the US is a former British colony and Britain's current systems of measurement are worse than America's. America is actually mostly using SI units now (most tools and measurements are both imperial and metric, government institutions use metric almost exclusively, the only thing that there's no sign of changing soon is speed limits in MPH and temperatures in Fahrenheit). Very few countries drive on the left. It's pretty much just the UK and a few of their colonies. The American date notation used to be yyyy/mm/dd, but people didn't usually write the year. Due to the rarity of using the year, it was put on the end so that there could be room to add it if it were necessary, making it MM/DD/YYYY. The US is unique with this date format, but not everywhere uses the European standard of DD/MM/YYYY. Many places use the same standard that America used to use, YYYY/MM/DD. Some places, such as Canada, have no set standard and use all three systems.",
"month/day/year just makes so much more sense to me.\n\nEdit: I went from downvotes to upvotes after explaining it more below, did I win reddit, or is it because American and English redditors are on at different times? ",
"If you think about it, switching a country of over 300 million people to a different measurement standard will be one hell of a job. They managed to switch Canada in the 80s, but with the U.S's population being 10 times larger, it's nearly impossible.",
"(Keep in mind that, despite what redditors commonly believe, the US and Europe does not makeup the entire world, there are other countries with entirely different standards.)\n\nThe day-month-year format originate from religious documents in the format of \"The 6th day of September in the year of our Lord 2012\"; meanwhile the month-day-year format originate from newspapers that often print date as \"THURSDAY, September 6, 2012\". \n\nEdit: forgot to add, in East Asia it's more common to use year-month-date, because in ancient China dates are written as \"In the X year during the reign of Emperor Y, 9th month 6th day.\"",
"US is like an early adopter for standards. Just like somebody who buys the newest Apple product right when it comes out is going to get an inferior product to somebody who buys a later iteration, the early adopters get slightly dated standards which are hard to change due to them having been in place for so long."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_format_by_country",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Countries_driving_on_the_left_or_right.svg"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_unit",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introduction_to_the_metric_system"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
anctf0 | how did electron knows which path is shorter? (e.g how electricity will choose to flows through metal rather than wood) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/anctf0/eli5how_did_electron_knows_which_path_is_shorter/ | {
"a_id": [
"efscyk3",
"efsd0o5",
"efsd44b",
"efsdwcs",
"efsiyuk"
],
"score": [
4,
16,
3,
16,
2
],
"text": [
"Think of the movement of electrons in a metal like a newton's cradle: slam an electron in at one end and a different one pops out the other side.\nYour electron didn't actually travel all the way. ",
"They follow the easiest route not the shortest. Similar to how a river will flow the easiest way and not up a cliff. ",
"It doesn't know, but instead it is a special case of laminar flow - _URL_0_ -basically they follow the one in front. Imagine that you have two electrons and two really tiny rods one made of wood and one of metal behind the two electrons is a whole stack of other electrons waiting for either of the first two to move. Now of the two electrons the one going down the rod of metal moves first and so the queue behind it follows down the metal rod and as each one moves so does the one behind it. ",
"Imagine a huge crowd of people trying to get into a building with two doors. For them, the doors look identical, but inside the building, one of them leads to a nice, wide corridor, but the other leads into a tight maze.\n\nYou dont know that one path is much easier than the other, but since the tight path is clogged up with people and therefore everyone just moves slowly, you will probably end up on the easy path even if you just mindlessly press forward into the crowd.",
"Think of it as water running down a rocky mountain slope. The more resistance, the less the slope and the more rocks in the way. The water will go down the steepest slope. It doesn't matter if it's height difference or voltage difference, it's the steepest way down which counts."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/8N2BKglHQhE"
],
[],
[]
]
|
||
3lwfep | why light reflection/white surfaces is not used to reverse global warming? | Dark surfaces absorb light more and contribute to heating via radiation. If larger areas on earth are somehow coated with reflecting materials, it would help reducing heating by sun, right? It would lead to climate changes but with today's technology it should be easily modeled, right? Seems like it is named as Solar Radiation management. _URL_0_
Why it is not a common practice? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lwfep/eli5why_light_reflectionwhite_surfaces_is_not/ | {
"a_id": [
"cv9wjnl",
"cv9wrma",
"cva2rky"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Why not read the article you linked?\n\n > As well as the imperfect cancellation of the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming, there are other significant problems with solar radiation management as a form of climate engineering; not least of these are effects on the global hydrological cycle[15][16] and the inability of such techniques to reduce ocean acidification.\n\n > Particular to solar radiation management, a risk of abrupt cessation exists. If SRM were to abruptly stop while masking a high degree of warming, the climate would rapidly warm.[17] This would cause a sudden rise in global temperatures towards levels which would have existed without the use of the climate engineering technique. The rapid rise in temperature may lead to more severe consequences than a gradual rise of the same magnitude.[17]\n\n > SRM has been suggested to control regional climate,[18] but precise control over the geographical boundaries of the effect is not possible.\n",
"This is actually the reason why want the ice at the poles not to melt. Because it is white and reflects light. So it becomes a bit of a viscous circle once it starts. Heat leads to less snow which leads to even more heat and so on.\n\nBut it's hard to reflect light on the scale to many any difference. You would need to cover entire continents in white to make a difference, which is obviously impossible to do.",
"Part of the problem is that shiny surfaces down here on Earth don't really reflect heat back into space, but rather back into the atmosphere. To *really* manage solar radiation, you need to put the equivalent of giant umbrellas in orbit to keep the radiation from reaching the Earth to begin with."
]
} | []
| [
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_radiation_management"
]
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
xpwaq | why does an appendix need to be removed when infected and can't be treated? | It seems brutal (albeit life saving) for a part to be cut off if diseased. Surely there should be a way to treat it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xpwaq/eli5_why_does_an_appendix_need_to_be_removed_when/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5ojyo6",
"c5olh59",
"c5olilg",
"c5om8bm",
"c5omnh1"
],
"score": [
124,
2,
8,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"You have a cool red fire engine toy that has a white flag on top of it. One day the flag gets super dirty while you're playing with the truck. Now, you can clean the flag but because it's white there's no guarantee that it'll come clean. If you don't manage to clean all of the flag some of the dirt will get on the truck itself and will totally ruin it! But there's another option: because the flag doesn't really do anything you can just throw it away instead and then there's zero chance of bad stuff happening to your truck from the flag.",
"But are we 100% sure it doesn't do anything??? Or are we building material for future Dark Matters: Twisted But True series.... Just wondering...",
"They actually did a study recently treating appendicitis with high dose antibiotics. [63% of the patients were able to go without surgery after a year](_URL_0_). That isn't a great percentage, almost 1 in 3 did need surgery, and they all had to be closely monitored to make sure the infection wasn't recurring. If an appendix gets so infected it ruptures, it is extremely life threatening. If it were me, and cost wasn't a major factor, I would go for the surgery, and get it over with.",
"Think of your appendix like a pinky finger. Attach your imaginary pinky finger to a sewage pipe going through your living room, but in such a way that nothing actually gets into it.... except the one time it does. Now there's sewage in your pinky. And it's getting infected and swelling up and you didn't really have much extra room in your pinky in the first place... KABOOM. Now not only is your living room splattered in exploded sewage-pinky, the sewage pipe is leaking into it.\n\nMy brother's appendix blew up less than 12 hours after he started experiencing symptoms. I doubt that even if they'd gotten him to the hospital when he first started feeling bleurgy that antibiotics would have been fast enough. GreenStrong posted an interesting study, but I think I agree with him about just having it out.",
"They remove the appendix because that's the most effective treatment, and you can live quite normally without an appendix. But recent studies indicate the appendix may not be useless after all--it appears to serve as a \"refuge\" for the intestinal flora that help you digest your food. When a disease like disentery, for example, \"cleans you out,\" the bacteria in relative safety in the appendix might then re-populate your gut."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2156"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
7v11v2 | why is it when you bury something there's less dirt then needed? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7v11v2/eli5_why_is_it_when_you_bury_something_theres/ | {
"a_id": [
"dtooyx2",
"dtopy6g"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"If you put the dirt that's removed in a tarp or a wheelbarrow or something, it'll be the opposite.\n\nYou pull out compacted earth. You move it to the side. Some of it gets scattered, stepped on, or just gets below any grass or plants and isn't easily picked back up by shovel or hand.\n\nThe type of soil matters too. Something like red clay earth isn't going to lose as much as potting soil, which loses less than sand.\n\nMind you, unless the hole is pretty small, you shouldn't be losing enough to not be able to fill the hole back in, especially if you're putting something else in there.\n\nUsually, solid things like fence posts or the like take up enough space there's no way you'll run out. But sometimes things like plants with really loose roots will end up taking enough back in that loss through scattering can be visible as a declivity.\n\nPlus, the amount of moisture can play a role. Really moist but not wet soil can dry out enough over a few hours of working in a garden that there's less volume left when it's time to move it back. Combine that with loss of material and it can be significant.",
"It's actually the opposite of what people said, but there are a few reasons.\n\nOne, if you are shoveling your dirt and making a pile on top of other dirt, you are probably leaving some behind when you are putting it back in (can be resolved by putting your spill pile on a tarp or something, does not include dirt lost to the winds!).\n\nTwo, you typically are removing the topsoil/bio-matter, such as grass and roots which holds together a lot of clumps of dirt.\n\nThree, you are more likely compacting the dirt more than what it was dug up as, and may have even disposed of some larger rocks."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
7n0054 | how do silica packs absorb moisture | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7n0054/eli5_how_do_silica_packs_absorb_moisture/ | {
"a_id": [
"drxzwuq"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [ELI5: What does the silica packets in boxes of shoes do and why? ](_URL_1_) ^(_5 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: How exactly do those silica gel packets keep my jerky and shoes fresh? ](_URL_0_) ^(_7 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: How does Silica Gel packets work? ](_URL_2_) ^(_9 comments_)\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3zt3ej/eli5_how_exactly_do_those_silica_gel_packets_keep/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/75plpv/eli5_what_does_the_silica_packets_in_boxes_of/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2t733w/eli5_how_does_silica_gel_packets_work/"
]
]
|
||
3bsv7i | why people common associate cats drinking milk when the generally aren't supposed to? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3bsv7i/eli5_why_people_common_associate_cats_drinking/ | {
"a_id": [
"csp6kll"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Cats like milk, a lot. It's not good for them but give a cat milk and it will be into it like crazy. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
8eaqo8 | why do warm clothes i just picked out from the dryer make me electrical static and give me electric shocks whilst if the clothes get cold do not? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8eaqo8/eli5_why_do_warm_clothes_i_just_picked_out_from/ | {
"a_id": [
"dxtrezb"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"It happens with clothing that has a natural tendency to generate static when rubbed together, certain synthetic fibres are really bad for it. \n\nHow good or bad materials are at this is notated on the [Triboelectric Series](_URL_0_). The further apart on this list two materials are, the more static they'll generate if rubbed together. So you see the human body is right near the top, and polyester is right near the bottom, which is why certain clothing made of polyester is wont to generate static when worn and taken off. \n\nOr, for example cotton and polyester. Those could be in a dryer together, rubbing which will generate static. What makes static even more prevalent is a warm, dry environment. Can't get much more warm and dry than a dryer at the end of the cycle. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://soft-matter.seas.harvard.edu/images/0/09/TriboCharge1.jpg"
]
]
|
||
f5oi9i | why is caffeine relaxing for some as opposed to causing energy spikes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f5oi9i/eli5_why_is_caffeine_relaxing_for_some_as_opposed/ | {
"a_id": [
"fhzwvkc",
"fi04l5n"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"I'm not a biologist, but I was able to find the following, hope it helps:\n\nThe caffeine in coffee works as a stimulant primarily by blocking a neuromodulator called adenosine. In a normal waking cycle, adenosine gradually accumulates at certain synapses in the brain and in doing so will contribute to increasing drowsiness. But caffeine acts as an adenosine antagonist, blocking the sites to which it binds and preventing it from working — the result is a feeling of increased alertness and energy which begins within a few minutes of consumption and continues for several hours.\n\nHowever, the body will tend to produce more adenosine to compensate for the fact that adenosine doesn't seem to be working under the influence of caffeine; this means that once the caffeine wears off, increased drowsiness is likely to result. This 'vicious cycle' is responsible for the addictive quality of caffeine, and withdrawal for a very heavy and regular caffeine user can be most unpleasant and even medically dangerous in some cases.\n\nI am aware of no clear-cut pharmacological reason that caffeine in and of itself should make a person feel sleepy rather than wakeful, but I can think of several murky possibilities:\n\nThe coffee you are drinking may not be very \"strong,\" and is perhaps weakly brewed with a low caffeine content. Try ordering an Americano with two shots of espresso and drinking it quickly on an empty stomach; if that makes you sleepy, I'd be concerned about your planet of origin!\nYour coffee may be heavily sweetened, and the drowsying effects of the associated sugar crash may be stronger than the opposite effects of the caffeine.\nThere is some evidence that stimulants affect persons with ADD/ADHD much differently than others, though this distinction is mainly applied to a family of stimulant drugs which are dissimilar to caffeine, and your reaction to caffeine should not be taken as a marker for such disorders.\nCaffeine does seem to affect different people in different ways — but caffeine does not chemically induce drowsiness as a primary effect and would never be used in such a way by a physician, for example, so it is probable that something quite funny is going on if you find that even large doses of caffeine routinely make you sleepy.\n\n[Source](_URL_0_)",
"Disclaimer: This isn't at all proven science, but:\n\nLots of ADHD people agree that caffeine levels us out. ADHD is treated with stimulants, and some of us find caffeine has a similar effect as our medication, helping us focus and therefore ending up more chilled out.\n\nPersonally, it helps my unmedicated ADHD but I still get the negative effects: anxiety, irritability, and the inevitable crash."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://www.quora.com/Why-does-coffee-make-me-sleepy-instead-of-active-I%E2%80%99m-an-18-year-old-female-and-I%E2%80%99ve-been-drinking-coffee-since-I-was-13-or-so-Does-this-mean-I%E2%80%99m-tolerant-or-something"
],
[]
]
|
||
1rzd5m | please eli5: why does it feel good to fall into that blank stare? | You know when you just start staring, not at anything particular, sometimes its like your looking "through" something. "Zoned out" When your eyes just relax focus and for some reason it feels good. That relaxation of the brain and eyes...? We've all experienced this before! Is there a good explanation for this? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rzd5m/please_eli5_why_does_it_feel_good_to_fall_into/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdsenjh"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Looking at things and thinking is taxing on your eyes, brain, body. Zoning out is a form of relaxing, just like lying down."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
ckqb2e | how is sea salt washed after harvesting without dissolving the crystals that took months to form? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ckqb2e/eli5_how_is_sea_salt_washed_after_harvesting/ | {
"a_id": [
"evpkxay",
"evplu16"
],
"score": [
2,
6
],
"text": [
"Washed?\n\nIt's not. Salt prohibits microbial growth, so there is no need to \"Wash\" it to get it clean.\n\nNow that doesn't mean there are not other potential contaminants in the salt, but as far as biologics there is no concern.",
"It's washed in brine- since the brine is already saturated with salt, no more can dissolve into it"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
27dqpi | what exactly is happening with your compy sound system when you adjust software volume vs hardware volume. | Naturally I think of Software as "boosting" signal strength to the speaker hardware .... and the volume knob on the speaker is nothing more than an amplifier?
So what is the difference if I say ..turn my speaker knob to 100% volume while VLC media player is at 1%
versus ... turning my speaker knob to 1% while VLC media player is at 100% ?? it should be the same right?? but it isnt ....there are many diff levels of sound quality ..it seems. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/27dqpi/eli5what_exactly_is_happening_with_your_compy/ | {
"a_id": [
"chzt807",
"chzudk1"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The software will adjust gain control. Think of it as a pre-amp. It basically adjusts voltage before sending it to the actual amp (this can either be separate or integrated into a sound card) . This will induce noise (static) the higher you adjust it, unless you have a quality DAC. When the amplifier receives that signal, it must amplify it further to get your speakers to play. I've noticed that on many amps, when cranked to full volume with a lower voltage input will also induce static through the speakers. Try to find a middle ground. Neither should be maxed out (in my experience). I'm sure someone with audiophile gear can chime in further with a more relative experience. ",
"On the software side, you have to know how a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) works. Music in electronic form is stored as digital information that needs to be converted into an analog voltage. This is done through DAC chips that output voltages at a certain resolution. When you adjust the software volume, you are increasing the scale of the voltage that is output from the DAC.\n\nResolution determines how many unique values of voltage can be output. If the maximum voltage that can be output is $1.00 and you can only output in steps of $0.10, you can see you only have 11 (including zero) unique values. If you lower the software volume to 10% of the maximum, you only get 2 values ($0.00 and $0.10). The song is only going to a series of beeps! This is known as quantization noise as the limited resolution of the DAC adds noise since it cannot replicate the original signal. Thankfully, most DAC converters are 8-bit or higher. 8 bits means 2^8 = 256 unique points between the maximum and minimum. You will still hear the quantization noise if your software volume is too low.\n\nHardware volume is another thing entirely. Hardware amplification is generally required because the electrical current from your computer's sound isn't enough to drive your speakers. Thus, the voltage signal from the software needs to be amplified again. Hardware amplification on the output both amplitude and frequency dependent with nonlinearities. This means that the gain between say, 0-50% max volume and 50% - 100% does not scale equally. This can mean louder sounds sound different when you crank up the hardware volume. For frequency dependance, it means that low or high sounds may get amplified differently depending on the volume. You may have excessive highs or lows that may change with how high or low you set your hardware volume settings.\n\nYou should maintain both volumes to some medium value. If you have low software volume you will hear quantization noise. If your hardware volume is too high or low, you may get more non-linear effects."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
5fbsll | the difference between glycemic index & glycemic loading. how should we consider them as part of our diet choices? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5fbsll/eli5_the_difference_between_glycemic_index/ | {
"a_id": [
"daj19fx"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Glycemic index is a fixed value. Glycemic load takes G index and quantity of food into account to estimate the impact on glucose levels.\nIf you've seen Back To The Future III, think of the train and the blocks of fuel Marty puts in it:\nEvery color grants different boosts in speed (different GIs), so that the top speed (GL) reached at the end of each batch is different (and higher in the movie)."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
3vyhlw | why do scrambled eggs and fried eggs smell so different when they are cooking? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3vyhlw/eli5_why_do_scrambled_eggs_and_fried_eggs_smell/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxrrpfk",
"cxrsfoo",
"cxrxowe",
"cxs0n6h",
"cxs0r2x",
"cxs108o",
"cxs85i2"
],
"score": [
144,
19,
6,
2,
16,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"My initial thought is that when you cook a fried egg, mainly you are cooking egg white. Comparatively, when cooking scrambled egg, you are cooking both white and yolk. As egg yolk has a different composition (see below) to egg white, there will be a variety of smells generated from cooking these substances. \n\n\nEgg Whites\n\nEgg whites are a low-calorie, fat-free food. They contain the bulk of the egg’s protein. The egg white contains about 4 grams of protein, 55 mg of sodium and only 17 calories. A single egg white also offers 1.3 micrograms of folate, 6.6 mcg of selenium, 2.3 mg of calcium, 3.6 mg of magnesium, and 4.9 mg of phosphorus and 53.8 mg of potassium.\n\nEgg Yolks\n\nIt is true, egg yolks carry the cholesterol, the fat and saturated fat of the egg. However, what is often overlooked are the many nutrients that come with that, such as the fat-soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids and other nutrients. One egg yolk has around 55 calories, 4.5 grams of total fat and 1.6 grams of saturated fat, 210 mg of cholesterol, 8 mg of sodium, and 2.7 grams of protein.\n",
"Do they? I've never noticed a difference. ",
"My first thought is because of the maillard reaction. When you fry an egg you brown it, when scrambling you don't(typically)",
"I'm not a scientist or nutritionist, but the most immediate, likely answer that comes to mind is the egg yolk, which is the smelly part of the egg. With fried eggs, you leave the yolk in tact, and remember, the yolk has a thin membrane covering it. As such, the smell is kept in and you mostly smell the cooking whites.\n\nWhen you scramble eggs, you break up the yolk, which permits its smell to propogate, which it would certainly do when cooked.",
"I think several of the answers contain correct responses but none answer it fully. The different preparation of the egg are done in different ways. For example oil is usually used when frying an egg. The oil is heated to a higher temperature and therefore will release a different smell than the butter in your scrambled egg which remains at a more even temperature because you are mixing the egg around and reducing the overall heat of the oil or butter.\n\nIn addition when frying an egg you are leaving the same parts of the egg touching the pan for a longer period of time. This heats those parts to a high temperature which will burn or char giving you that crisp fried egg. Burning the proteins and fats in the eggs gives off a different smell than when you cook it all evenly as in the scrambled egg.\n\nAlso milk or cream is usually added to scrambled eggs giving an additional creamier smell.\n\nFinally I think there is something to cooking the whites and eggs separately with the yolk intact in the membrane rather than breaking the yolk and releasing the smells of the combined fat and protein from the egg and yolk together.",
"Is it not because fried eggs are cooking in oil and scrambled eggs use milk?",
"All this talk about maillard reaction and high heat with fried eggs. Off that is happening, you are doing it wrong. Use medium heat with fried eggs. You don't want to brown them."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
etwiev | why is it that operating a car or bike in lower gears is better for going uphill? | I’ve had this explained to me before but I just don’t get it. Gears and transmissions in general are confusing to me. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/etwiev/eli5_why_is_it_that_operating_a_car_or_bike_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"ffiyuqg",
"ffj2cwd"
],
"score": [
5,
13
],
"text": [
"At lower gears, the engine (or pedals) need to turn faster in order to turn the wheels one revolution, but it also takes less force to do so. \nPicture riding a bike, in lower gears your legs might be going like the clappers, but you aren’t having to put a great deal of effort into each stroke.",
"Next time you open a door try this. First, open the door normally by pushing roughly in line where the handle is. Then, open the door by pushing close the hinges. It will be noticably harder.\n\nWhat your experiencing is “torque.” Essentially, it is easier to rotate an object if you apply a force farther from the axis of rotation (i.e. this is why you push a door open far from the hinges) since you produce greater torque, which is essentially a rotational force.\n\nNow look at your bike gears. If you look at the gears near the back wheel, your “lower” gears are the big gears close to the wheel, and the “higher” gears are the smaller gears farthest from the wheel.\n\nWhen you’re in low gear, the larger gear means you chain is pulling on the gear at a larger distance from the center of the axis of rotation, thus generating more torque and making it easier to turn the wheel.\n\nAs you get faster, however, higher gears will help you produce greater speed. A smaller (higher) gear turning the same distance as a larger gear (not angular distance but actual distance around the gear) will result in greater angular velocity and thus greater angular velocity on your wheel, which means greater speed.\n\nIt’s a bit tricky to explain without a physics education, but hope this helps!"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
cjl0qr | how does scar cream work (does it even work)? | I've been using a top brand scar cream for 3 months on 2 new scars and have not seen a change. Is it a gimmick or it is actually doing something? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cjl0qr/eli5_how_does_scar_cream_work_does_it_even_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"eve1ezq",
"eve2ojq"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"It doesn't. Scars are fibrous tissue where the wound closed up under the skin without the skin cells covering it. They usually fade over time because skin will regenerate over it over time but that takes a long time. \n\nCreams say they make scars \"softer, smoother and less noticeable\" which basically mean they hydrate your skin and maybe have a small amount of make up. \n\nYou could get the same results with some lotion and some make up foundation.",
"There's some evidence that massage can help to reduce the size of scarring. When you break the skin, the body panics and throws down a fibrin mesh and platelets at it to seal the whole ASAP. Over time, small injuries will be replaced with normal skin, whilst larger wounds will use the original seal as a base and therefore have different-looking skin over the wound - the scar.\n\nMassage in theory helps break down the scar and encourage the body to produce normal skin instead. However, it probably only works within 8 weeks or so of the original injury and will not complete eradicate the scar.\n\nScar creams therefore DO work, but you could rub any old shit into it - it's the rubbing that is efficacious."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
b4vrd4 | how are pictures of planets so focused and not blurred, when they move at a speed of several km/s? | How do telescopes a) keep celestial bodies in the frame, b) focused and c) not blurred, when said bodies move at really high speeds (googled Pluto: ca 5km/s)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b4vrd4/eli5_how_are_pictures_of_planets_so_focused_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"ej9ek22",
"ej9elrk",
"ej9eyhu",
"ej9i9t3",
"ej9idyg",
"ej9jrag",
"ej9k1hc",
"ej9lbp6",
"ej9lc1m",
"ej9levk",
"ej9lr0j",
"ej9n0u0",
"ej9r0wx",
"eja5pxp",
"ejb7gs0"
],
"score": [
3009,
6,
161,
93,
9,
29,
2,
5,
2,
6,
8,
2,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"They're very far away. \nIt's like looking at a distant mountain, or any object on the horizon, when you're in a car. It's far enough that it looks almost stationary. Compare it to the nearby objects that seem to zoom past, even though your speed doesn't change.\nAlso, you often have to adjust the telescope every few mins, to account for the earth's rotation, but that can be done automatically using modern hi-tech telescopes",
"The clearest images of planets and dwarves are not taken by telescope. We sent probes out there.\n\nFrom a much closer vantage point, and travelling at similar speeds, the images were able to be as clear as we needed.\n\nCloser and larger planets (Mars, Venus, and Jupiter) were able to be observed with decent detail using telescopy, but the high res images you see in textbooks are either artist renditions or probe-based.",
"Essentially, it's the rate that the angle of view changes that matters, not the speed of the object. Whether it's far away and moving quickly or close to and moving slowly, the angular change is the same.\n\nWhen photographing moving objects, it is also possible to \"pan\" the camera, change the angle of view to follow the object. That technique is more often used for terrestrial photography like racing cars. But a reverse of that idea is used for terrestrial astronomy where the telescope mount moves over time to counter the rotation of the Earth.",
"Because they are far away.\n\nIt's like how you can look at a plane flying at 600 kmh in the sky versus a car going at 90 from the side of the road ",
"Ever saw a car pass by you at a high speed? You'd have to move your head a lot to keep the car in focus. Now imagine watching a car 500m away. You wouldn't have to move your head a lot to track that car, right? So it's all about distance.",
"1. Distance. The planets are very far away, so they don't seem to be moving much from here.\n2. Equatorial telescope mounts. These compensate for the earth's rotation, helping to keep the telescope locked onto a distant object, like a planet, and allow a long esposure without blur. Most of the movement we can see from the earth's surface is from the Earth's rotation (once a day), not the movement of Earth and the other planet around the sun (once a year - much less change in an hour or so). \n3. Image stacking. Many photos of planets and other celestial objects are actually stacks of images. Many photos are taken, then special software is used to stack the images together, keeping only pixals that all of the seperate images have in common. Photoshop will do this, but there are other tools that are targeted just for Astral photography. This helps eliminate blurring from movement, fringing from the telescope optics, and other undesirable artifacts by averaging them out. ",
"Most of the images are combined using specialised software and are digitally enhanced - many telescopes so not operate in visual range ",
"It is exactly like asking why our eyes can focus on car or even planes when they are going at 1000km/h speeds. It all depends on the distance between the object and you",
"Two reasons: they are so far away you can't really see the movement and most astrophotography is done with a tracking mount that follows the object through the sky",
"I’m guessing that this question is prompted by the most recent post about photos of Pluto 25 years ago versus today? 25 years ago the photo of Pluto was just a blurry dot because it was taken from Earth or a very far away photograph. The most recent photo was taken by a satellite that passed very close to Pluto and was able to match speeds with Pluto. Even today when taking pictures of celestial bodies from Earth, the photos are not very clear. That’s why we have the Hubble and other satellites. Furthermore for far-away objects, they are moving fast but because they are far away their moment of arc is very low. Far away objects seem to travel slower because they are far away so you don’t have to swing your camera as much.",
"Angular speed is what matters, not absolute speed. \n\nAngular speed is what portion of a circle something moves in a given unit of time. ",
"I believe the term would be angular velocity. Its just not moving that fast in contrast to its distance from us. Like how far off mountains dont look like they are wizzing by when you're miles away even though they are technically going by you at however fast youre moving.",
"Stand close to the freeway and the cars wiz by. Go back a few miles and they barely move. Also some telescopes can track objects, because they do move. Jupiter takes only about 15 seconds to leave the frame of view in a 10 inch dobsonian telescope that's about 2.5m long.\n\nFor example the international space station croses the whole night sky in about 50 minutes. If it were perpetually dark so pluto could do the same transit in one night it would take 140 years.\n\n",
"Quite a good video by Curious Droid on the very topic _URL_0_",
"Just adding my two cents, if you look at plane in the distance you might percieve it moving slowly or almost not moving at all at some angles and distances yet alotn of them have average speeds of 500 plus mph"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrD1oe5_zvw"
],
[]
]
|
|
43vhgr | why does incest have this negative connotation and stigma around it, when royals and other high-class families have been doing it for generations? | I mean, aside from the obvious pollution of the gene pool, what ETHICALLY causes it to be wrong? As long as they don't have kids, what's the problem other then subjective ethics? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43vhgr/eli5_why_does_incest_have_this_negative/ | {
"a_id": [
"czl8ohl",
"czl9vql",
"czlarg8",
"czlcmyu"
],
"score": [
9,
5,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Is your cousin that hot?",
"From a scientific standpoint: you and your closely related family are going to be sharing a lot of the same genes. If both of you are holding dominant traits of something, the odds are extremely high that any offspring between you two would possess those same traits. So pretty much any genetically passed illness (it's 7 am, I can't think of the proper word) would be almost certainly passed on to the child. In other words, it's going to guarantee children born with some level of physical, or mental, problems. This will only get worse the longer the close-breeding continues. \n\nFor an example of this with humans, see the Ptolemies. \nFor an example of this in other animals, see Lions. \n\nMost royal families weren't quite like the Ptolemies and did have some degree of separation between siblings and lovers, but there were certainly a lot of blood relations in royalty (google \"World War I monarchs related\") This does mean that they've experienced some bad genes getting passed down, including Haemophilia in the British royal family. ",
"Check out the [**Habsburg family tree**](_URL_0_) and compare those at the start of the aristocratic incest with those at the end. The effects were not pleasant.\n\nAnd the royal and aristocratic families who practiced historical incest frequently did it specifically for the purpose of having kids. They're aristocrats and royals, they need heirs, and incest was a way to make sure the wealth all stayed within the family.\n\nRegarding current condemnation of incest, in addition to the genetic problems there is the problem of consent. The specter of consensual adult incest is a red herring - the vast majority of incest cases begin as child abuse. Within immediate family the imbalance of power between parent and child or even between older siblings and younger siblings make unambiguous consent effectively impossible.\n\nRelationships from outside immediate family are allowed. You can legally marry your first cousin, though because of the aforementioned genetic problems some states will require you to be sterilized first.",
"The bible. In Rome is was not nearly so taboo, Christianization eventually made it that way. The bible does not forbid cousins, and that is most of what high class families did. Cousins were pretty accepted until more recently when we learned of genetics."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/18/b9/ef/18b9ef5e9f93e5489f0695166547481f.jpg"
],
[]
]
|
|
5x48uk | 10 seconds in microwave, still cold. 10 more seconds, hot as hades. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5x48uk/eli5_10_seconds_in_microwave_still_cold_10_more/ | {
"a_id": [
"def2vqp"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Not sure what to tell you other than the fact that 20 seconds is twice as long as 10 seconds."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
9qjahk | how does a hydrogen bomb release such a large amount of energy? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9qjahk/eli5_how_does_a_hydrogen_bomb_release_such_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"e89ln8o",
"e89lzi3"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"An atom has a relatively large amount of potential energy holding the nucleus together, if you do something to break those bonds, then that energy is released, which causes a cascade reaction throughout the sample, and a big badaboom.",
"Chain reaction, when stuff goes bang it makes the thing next to it go bang too. Repeat. It stops happening when thing spread out far enough so that the bangs don't make things next to them go bang anymore. Start with tightly packed stuff ready to go bang. The amount you start with sets how much it will spread out before things stop going bang. These bangs are quite violent and unpleasant."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1nb5kh | why do browsers "freeze" and why does each browser "freeze" differently? | Such as when Firefox Freeze/Crashes it does it as a whole, but when Chrome Freeze/Crashes, it usually only affects one tab? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nb5kh/eli5_why_do_browsers_freeze_and_why_does_each/ | {
"a_id": [
"cch08zs"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"As to why programs (such as a browser) freeze or crash, you can read here:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nRegarding Firefox vs. Chrome:\n\nIn Firefox, all the tabs and windows are part of the same process. This means that if one of them has a problem, it can bring the whole process down, forcing the other tabs and windows to close as well.\n\nIn Chrome, however, each tab runs on a separate process, so when one tab crashes or freezes, it can be closed without interrupting the rest of the tabs."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1n8z9j/what_makes_a_computer_programvideo_game_crash_or/"
]
]
|
|
1f40in | how does carbonation work? | Also, who invented it, and why the heck do we like carbonated beverages so much? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1f40in/how_does_carbonation_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"ca6lbi4"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Gasses can dissolve in water. In a way, it's sort of like evaporation and condensation, but with the roles of the gas and water reversed.\n\nThink of a sealed bottle half full of water. The bottom half is liquid water, and the top half is gas or air. Some of the water will evaporate and mix with the air. Some of the air will mix in with the water, too. What you end up with is a gas that is mostly air, with a little water vapor in it, and liquid water with a little air mixed into it.\n\nYou can change how much water the air can absorb. If you heat up the bottle, more water will evaporate. When you cool the bottle back down, the air won't be able to hold as much water, so the water beads up on the sides of the bottle.\n\nYou can change how much air the water can absorb by changing the air pressure. If you pump a whole bunch more air into the bottle, then the water will start to absorb more air. When you lower the pressure, the gas starts to form bubbles on the walls of the bottle. This is why you only start to see bubbles after you open a bottle of soda.\n\nI don't know why so many people like carbonation."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
66ujwh | since it has been proven that the water of flint michigan is toxic, why hasn't someone gotten a lawyer and filed a class action lawsuit? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/66ujwh/eli5_since_it_has_been_proven_that_the_water_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"dglfd6a",
"dglfzlt",
"dglnq2a",
"dgluq4e"
],
"score": [
6,
68,
3,
4
],
"text": [
"I'm not a lawyer, but I wouldn't invest the time and effort into it if the case didn't have a fair chance to succeed. I imagine it would be difficult to prove who exactly is to blame and why given that this is such a massive problem.",
"There are a few class-action suits revolving around the Flint water situation, including one being led by the famous water-safety activist and legal investigator Erin Brockovich.\n\nHere's the problem: these lawsuits keep getting dismissed. There's a district judge, John Corbett O'Meara, who keeps dismissing any and all class-action suits regarding Flint's water, claiming that each has a jurisdictional problem. In one case, O'Meara dismissed a federal suit suggesting activists should pursue their case in state court. In another, he dismissed the suit claiming that any court ruling on negligence would circumvent the legal authority of the federal Safe Water Drinking Act. He then ordered the plaintiffs to pay the legal fees for the defendants. Many legal observers described this ruling as bizarre and unexpected.\n\nThe legal system is extremely complicated stuff, and financially, it's stacked against the poor. I wouldn't be so dismissive of those you elsewhere refer to as \"social justice warriors\" who are working tireless hours to try to put together cases in a system that is largely stacked against those without power.",
"Part of the problem could be that the water system is owned and run by the government and they have sovereign immunity. Can't file suit against them without their permission. ",
"The Governmemt owns the water system. Governments have what's called [sovereign immunity](_URL_0_) which means you can't sue them without their consent. Incidents that happen with greater frequency(police misconduct) would typically already have legislation in place that would allow a lawsuit against the Government. This is so unprecedented that there's likely none in existence. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sovereign+Immunity"
]
]
|
||
7s6nvv | why are prepackaged cold cuts folded in a way that makes it difficult to remove slices? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7s6nvv/eli5_why_are_prepackaged_cold_cuts_folded_in_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"dt2dzza"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I think they are folded to make the product volume appear larger by introducing air pockets. The breaking apart problem OP describes becomes a side effect."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
cxnx45 | why/how do different exhausts make different sounds? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cxnx45/eli5_whyhow_do_different_exhausts_make_different/ | {
"a_id": [
"eymbnba"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Different chambers in the muffler will make the air passing through sound differently. Some companies like Ferrari, spend millions of dollars for R & D of their exhaust systems."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
ao5s1a | why do men with dwarfism are small all over but have normal sized penises? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ao5s1a/eli5_why_do_men_with_dwarfism_are_small_all_over/ | {
"a_id": [
"efyde4e",
"efydkri"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"There are different types of dwarfism. Some result in the men affected having 'normal' sized penises others not.\n\nI guess the problem would be to casually mention in conversation that you are in the former category.",
"There are multiple things that can cause somebody to be a “little person”\n\nHowever with the main condition basically stops you from growing to your full size\n\nSee in our body we have growth plates, these are what allow us to grow taller. These are open until we reach our maximum height and then they close around the age of 20. \n\nWith the condition it basically affects your bones only. So your bones won’t grow longer and you effectively stay small, however soft tissue isn’t affected. \n\nThe penis is pretty much all soft tissue and because of this a dwarfs penis isn’t effected by his/her condition. In the same way that facial features aren’t.\n\n(There are multiple conditions but the most common doesn’t affect the penis. Some of them will but are rare)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1nsssr | what is defcon? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nsssr/eli5_what_is_defcon/ | {
"a_id": [
"cclo88s",
"cclogwp"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Defense Condition. It's basically the level of readiness of the U.S. Military to respond to a nuclear attack. DefCon 5 is the lowest level and DefCon 1 is we're launching nuclear Armageddon. ",
"This is what [Wikipedia](_URL_0_) is for."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFCON"
]
]
|
||
d8sxzt | why are we told to “brace for impact” when people who walk away from crashes are usually able to do so because their bodies were completely relaxed? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d8sxzt/eli5_why_are_we_told_to_brace_for_impact_when/ | {
"a_id": [
"f1cgzzn",
"f1ch1vc",
"f1cht3n",
"f1cippt",
"f1cofv3",
"f1cwvyx"
],
"score": [
3,
6,
9,
2,
27,
2
],
"text": [
"This is an area where we know little about as it is unethical to set up controlled studies and hard to gather accurate data from real events. What accurate data we do have is for low impact studies which does show that bracing helps prevent damage. However there are quite recent studies that have looked at automotive accidents that suggests otherwise. However they are conducted under quite different circumstances then an aircraft during an emergency landing. It is also just a theory to try to explain the lower casualty rates among drunken drivers compared to similar events with sober drivers. There might be other factors at play that we do not control.",
"When is the last time that you were instructed to brace for impact by someone?\n\nIt's either a hollywood method of raising dramatic tension, or useful in cases where there aren't things like seatbelts to keep people strapped in, and the primary concern is people's entire bodies flying around and potentially hitting one's head on something.",
"If it matters, the Mythbusters did an episode on the myth that airline passengers are told to brace for impact because it ensures death, which would be less expensive for an insurance company to pay out compared to a lifelong injury.\n\nThey found that being in the brace position lowers the amount of g-forces your body is exposed to when dropped.",
"You brace against something and so, since you are next to that thing, you hit that thing with less speed and momentum. If that fails and you end up flying through the air then yes it's best to be relaxed upon hitting something, but it's better to brace against it and hit it from a few mm out than fly into it no matter how relaxed you are.",
"That whole \"drunk drivers survive because they are relaxed\" thing is largely a myth. Drunk drivers survive because are usually the one running into things, and that is the situation most safety features are designed around. T-boning someone is much safer than being T-boned.",
"One familiar situation where you brace for impact is on airplanes. In this case, bracing doesn't mean tensing, it means protecting your head. Its a faster way of saying \"prepare for impact\". Airplanes aren't equipped with airbags and things flying around the cabin is a legitimate danger. \n\nAlso, the whole drunk people survive because they're relaxed might be completely inaccurate. [This study](_URL_0_) found that drunk people survived *comparable* injuries more. Meaning they potentially aren't less injured in car accidents; they're just better able to survive the comparable injuries that they do sustain."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://today.uic.edu/alcohol-provides-protective-effect-reduces-mortality-substantially-after-injury"
]
]
|
||
4x8gi8 | other than 'having better computers', what advances (in maths, physics, others...) allows them to produce more realistic animation movies than the ones produced, say, ten years ago? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4x8gi8/eli5_other_than_having_better_computers_what/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6davwv",
"d6db3fr",
"d6dnl4c"
],
"score": [
6,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Skills are increasing. Also, libraries are being maintained. Where a previous Pixar animator would have had to individually move each hair, one today might just have to import Short_Blonde_Hair.",
"tbh it is primarily their hardware limits that allows them to render at a certain quality. \n\nthe maths behind what they are doing with the exception of compression (maybe) doesn't really change a great deal. just as things get more powerful, they are able to break up each individual item into smaller pieces, which they can then make more detailed. \n\nas an example, if we start i have a computer it can draw 1 tringle a second. so i draw a single triangle. \nnow i get a computer that can draw 3 triangles a second, i can either draw 3 triangles. or draw one triangle, using all 3 triangles. i can give each a different colour or shade. \n\nthen we get a computer that can draw 10 million triangels a second. i can now add so much more details to that original triangle that i looks almost real. \n\nwhat i'm doing isn't changed (drawing coloured triangles) just the volume i'm able to produce. ",
"Better computers is most of it. Rendering takes a ton of computing power. Not only does this mean the final product can be more detailed, but the artists' computers can show more detail during their work, so they can better see how it will look, and not have to wait so long to see results.\n\nThere's also improved software and tools. Faster, more accurate physics engines (thanks to video games); better, cheaper motion capture equipment; more reliable operating systems. (Windows 9x were so easy to crash...)\n\nAlso, the general process has been improved and polished over the years. They have more existing resources (made for previous movies) they can reuse (even if they change it, it's still less work than making a new one), better processes and policies^1 , and experience.\n\n^1 fun fact: Toy Story 2 was almost completely destroyed due to a mistyped computer command. They were fortunate that someone had a copy on their own system. That's one example of improved processes: they learned to make proper backups, and set up the systems better so that one typo can't cause disaster."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
m7po3 | cult movies. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/m7po3/eli5_cult_movies/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2yrp46",
"c2yrp46"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Do you mean movies deemed as \"cult classics\"? What do you want to know about them? The term \"cult classic\" applies to movies which do very well outside theaters. For the most part, studios determine the success of a movie based on how much money it makes while it is in theaters. They don't tend to take the DVD or VHS release into account.\n\nThe movie \"Office Space\" actually lost money when you only take a look at the box office numbers, but has many fans today (_URL_0_).",
"Do you mean movies deemed as \"cult classics\"? What do you want to know about them? The term \"cult classic\" applies to movies which do very well outside theaters. For the most part, studios determine the success of a movie based on how much money it makes while it is in theaters. They don't tend to take the DVD or VHS release into account.\n\nThe movie \"Office Space\" actually lost money when you only take a look at the box office numbers, but has many fans today (_URL_0_)."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Space"
]
]
|
||
1rjswg | how come we can see pictures of space probes as far as saturn if they are so far away? | If light, which is the fastest traveling subject in the universe takes so much time to reach the edges of the solar system, how come we can get information, pictures and stuff like that so fast from probes like the voyager and such? Wouldn't the info take years to arrive? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rjswg/eli5_how_come_we_can_see_pictures_of_space_probes/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdnyeok",
"cdnyhnr",
"cdnyn0j"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"No, the solar system is only a few light-hours wide, even if you include Pluto.",
" > Wouldn't the info take years to arrive?\n\nNo, it takes about an hour (I think) from the edge of the planetary solar system.\n\nIf it took a year, then it would be a light-year away which is 9.5×10^12 kilometers wheras Uranus (the farthest planet that's not [Neptune or] Pluto) is at most 2 billion (2x10^9 ) kilometers away. So that's three orders of magnitude closer than a single light year.\n\nSo if the speed of light is about 1 × 10^9 kilometers / hour then it would take two hours to send a message to Uranus and another two hours to hear back. It would be quicker for closer planets like Jupiter.",
"To be specific, Voyager I, the farthest man made probe we have, is 1.899×10^10 km away. It takes light (and therefore things like radio signals) just over 17.5 hours to reach that from the earth."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
3y693f | how does an egg contain enough energy to make a chicken? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3y693f/eli5_how_does_an_egg_contain_enough_energy_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"cyavqwv",
"cyax9yn",
"cyb6bhl"
],
"score": [
5,
8,
4
],
"text": [
"Much better question is how does a chicken have enough energy to create an egg almost every day...",
"Almost enough, but not quite. The egg lets in air, so the developing chick can breathe. And the hen (or incubator) provides thermal energy, keeping the developing chick warm. Other than that, yes. Eggs are nutritious! \nAlso, I have to point out that until hatching, the chick just kinda sits around growing. Which doesn't take as much energy as you might think.",
"The real question is: which came first? The chicken or the egg?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
u17fj | what the big deal between motorola and microsoft is, and why they're trying to get ms products banned everywhere? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/u17fj/eli5_what_the_big_deal_between_motorola_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4rjcio"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It is not limited strictly to Motorola and MS, it extends just as much to Apple, Oracle, Samsung and HTC. And other companies too, I am sure.\n\nFirst: If you can't innovate, litigate. This means that lawsuits between companies are a common way of stopping other companies from selling their products. They think that if their rival's product enters the market, they will lose profits. So they use the patent system to try and stop others. There are arguments that the patent system simply stifles innovation for this very reason. That's how, in recent news, MS got the Motorola devices banned and how Apple got the HTC devices halted and how Oracle took Google to court and how X got Y banned in so-and-so country. \n\nSecond: Don't be seen as a pup. The company wants everyone to know that if anyone does infringe their patents, they won't sit back and allow it. Else people will see that the company is weak and more and more people will use their patents without asking. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
13qkis | why is it called 'lactose free' milk, when really the only difference is that the milk contains the enzyme lactase? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/13qkis/why_is_it_called_lactose_free_milk_when_really/ | {
"a_id": [
"c768usm",
"c76csmn"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Because lactase breaks down lactose to glucose and galactose therefore it's free of lactose.",
"So just a little bit of background here. Compounds that end with -ose are sugars (such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, etc).\n\nSome of these sugars are \"simple sugars\", also called \"monosaccharides\". Some of these are disaccharides (and there are others not relevant to this discussion, polysaccharides).\n\nTable sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide. This means that it can be broken down into two monosaccharides, in this case glucose and fructose. The enzyme that does this is called \"sacrase\". Anything that ends in \"-ase\" is an enzyme that breaks down the corresponding \"-ose\".\n\nSo sucrase breaks down sucrose into monosaccharides, and lactase breaks down lactose, another disaccharide, into two monosaccharides, glucose and galactose.\n\nIf you are not lactose intolerant, your body makes lactase, so when your digestive system encounters it, this enzyme breaks it down and you then metabolize these simple sugars. If your body doesn't make lactase, then it can be added to food or drink with lactose sugar in it and it will break down into the simple sugars your system can digest.\n\nSo the reason that lactose-free milk is lactose-free is because the manufacturer adds lactase, which breaks the lactose sugar down into glucose and galactose. This is why lactose-free milk is sweeter than regular lactose-containing milk, because there are twice as many sugar molecules locking into your taste receptors on your tongue."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
3kiz8z | why are fireworks illegal in nearly half of american states? | I'm from the UK and I'm aware of the illegality of fireworks from TV shows but it never gets explained | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3kiz8z/eli5_why_are_fireworks_illegal_in_nearly_half_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuxrxus",
"cuxwy1j",
"cuxyji2"
],
"score": [
18,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Because lots of booze and fireworks means that every Fourth of July, a bunch of completely plastered people end up lighting houses on fire right and left.\n\nOr forests/grasslands/etc. And considering we have forests and grasslands larger than your entire country, this becomes a problem in a hurry. A week or two ago we had fires in my site that had been burning without stop for days or weeks because there were not enough firefighters in the entire western half of the nation to deal with all of then.",
"Generally speaking, they're legal but require a ton of paperwork and a fire department presence. The laws are written so only institutions, preferably local governments can send them up. In practice, this means that small-scale fireworks are effectively banned because no city is going to put sparklers in their Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular.",
"Why don't we just ask ol' stumpy?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
5hjpes | what will happen to the world-wide economy if america were isolated from the rest of the world? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hjpes/eli5what_will_happen_to_the_worldwide_economy_if/ | {
"a_id": [
"db0pmzm",
"db0rwf3",
"db15pbd"
],
"score": [
74,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"Imagine your school allows the sale of candy between students. This rich kid absolutely LOVES candy and the parents are all too happy to give the kid money because they have a ton of it. He literally is buying up 15-20% of the candy by himself. With all this money, more and more students get into selling candy because they see their buddies making all this money! The candy market is booming! \n\nAll of a sudden, the kid moves into 6th grade and in to a new building. Now there is so much candy that ISN'T being bought. The kids selling candy had bought so much because they were able to sell so fast. Kids were using their candy profits to go buy video games, lunch food, playing cards etc. \n\nNow in order to get rid of the loads of candy they bought, they have to sell it for cheaper... and cheaper... Now less and less kids decide to sell candy because there is so much uncertainty. They're not sure if they could sell a piece of candy for .10 let alone a dollar. And since there isn't money being made in candy sales - these kids aren't buying playing cards off each other, they're not going to the movies... It may takes years for the candy market to recover and all the other things the candy sellers used to buy with their extra money will also suffer. ",
"At some point every other trading partner would choose another currency and would ignore American patent laws and suffer some loss from American physical resources. Then the world would continue",
"Poor-middle class Americans would immediately lose about half of their purchasing power and in the long run the economy would become even worse as america could not specialize in the areas they are most productive. Real incomes would fall substantially.\n\nGoogle \"white house who gains from trade\" see page 13 in particular"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
1uc7b0 | why dogs want to attack you if you stare into their eyes for too long? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1uc7b0/eli5_why_dogs_want_to_attack_you_if_you_stare/ | {
"a_id": [
"cegknop",
"ceglipm",
"cegpjxe"
],
"score": [
8,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Not all dogs do this, however it is a Dominance thing. You're placing yourself above them and challenging their authority. ",
"Most wont attack but staring into their eyes is a confrontational/threatening behavior to them,so they could react in anger or fear. Usually if angry they will give a warning like a bark or growl first.\n ",
"Dominance. It's basically the same as any \"stand off\" in a bar fight. Two guys shoving each other, one waiting for the other to take the first swing.\n\nThey're sizing each other up, trying to show their dominance. \n\nWhen the dog is staring back at you he's doing the same. He's trying to decide whether he can take you and should attack, or whether he should back down while at the same time tensing up in case you attack first.\n\nSource: Dog owner and frequent bar patron ;)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
2zaghy | in layman's terms what could the british have done differently to win the american revolution? | I'm not a kid doing homework...just a guy watching The Patriot on TV right now wondering how close it was to swaying the other way... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zaghy/eli5_in_laymans_terms_what_could_the_british_have/ | {
"a_id": [
"cph3mz5",
"cph4e61"
],
"score": [
10,
3
],
"text": [
"Not have most of their forces across the Atlantic ocean?",
"General Washington was a terrible war strategist, especially when the war first started. In the 1976 Battle of New York, he had a giant chunk of the Continental Army trapped in upper Manhattan/Long Island. Keep in mind that this was before France came in and helped the US. If General Howe had decided to attack, then the Americans would have been forced to fight their way out as Washington put it, \"under every disadvantage\" or starve to death. Luckily for the US, Howe was slow on the uptake and Washington got away. That was the single best chance for the British to win the war in a quick, simple, and decisive victory.\n\nKeep in mind that this war was really a proxy battle between France and Britain. If the war had stretched on too long, eventually they would have just signed a treaty and moved on. That would mean that who ever happened to be standing on the land when the treaty was signed would get to keep it. In 1781, Britain controlled South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the Carribean Islands, everything west of what is now West Virginia, New York, Maine, and Canada. If they just didn't lose anymore, they probably would have gotten to keep all those territories and encircle the US. But General Cornwallis got demolished at Yorktown and Britain ended up losing everything but Canada."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
16192t | how can competing products advertise negatively their competition? | Example a Pepsi commercial that talks smack on Coke (no pun intended). I would have though there was some sort of law or something about this? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/16192t/eli5_how_can_competing_products_advertise/ | {
"a_id": [
"c7rqn20",
"c7rqnj8",
"c7rz5f2"
],
"score": [
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Well you can't lie, but you can state things like \"in our trial we were preferred more then coke\".\n\nThat doesn't normally happen though (they use things like \"other national brands\") because it might hurt their advertising objective just by bringing up the name of other competition. Coke is known everywhere by everyone though so you can't really make it more well known by mentioning it's name.",
"Different countries have different laws regarding their media, but usually it's ok to say something that is fact, but not ok to say something that is opinion.\n\nFor example, a fact might be that one product is cheaper than another. That's a simple yes/no because you can go down to the store and look at the prices.\n\nOpinion would be that one product tastes better than another. You can't prove that. What tastes better to one person might not to another. There is no taste scale, so you usually can't say \"Pepsi tastes better than Coca Cola\" in an advert.",
"The best rule of thumb I've heard is you are allowed to use a specific brand when you are making a specific comparison to that brand and where no substitute would have been appropriate for what you try to convey.\n\nSo, for example, if you're doing a commercial about how your burgers are better than burgers that give you cancer... And you show McDonalds... That's going to likely cross a line or two, because there was no legitimate reason to pick on McDonalds for that.\n\nBut if your goal is to compare your burger to, say, a Big Mac, then it is a bit more fair and you aren't picking on McD's arbitrarily. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
4r10pa | how does stephen hawking communicate electronically? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4r10pa/eli5_how_does_stephen_hawking_communicate/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4xgf4y",
"d4xghjp",
"d4xgntm",
"d4xk73h",
"d4xkepp",
"d4xlt6y",
"d4xm31f",
"d4xmanl",
"d4xogev"
],
"score": [
871,
32,
4,
6,
11,
2,
240,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"He doesn't do it quickly. In speeches, he has pre made speeches, his natural speech takes a while to put together. He has a sweeping bar on the screen that activates by him twitching his cheek. When the sweep bar passes over a letter, he twitches, it initiates a letter. [He teamed up with SwiftKey to make his tech predict better](_URL_0_) so he can type faster. \n\nInitially, he had a single button he could still squeeze even as his disease set in, but his motor control of his hand muscles is now completely gone.",
"They use movements in his cheek muscles and his eyes to detect characters, and his accuracy and speed is a product of years of R & D and testing",
"I'd add that recognizing scientifically exact words is by no means harder than recognizing \"soup\"",
"When he says things that haven't been set up beforehand, he has suggestions to fill in a word for him. It reads what he was saying before and when he starts typing the next word, it suggests things that the computer thinks he might want to use. It stops him from having he type the whole word and shortens the amount of time it takes. ",
"Won't belabor the cheek and eye muscle system below but I worked as a home aide to a gentleman with ALS who was in a similar position of disability. At work he would use a Brain Computer Interface that utilized a cap of surface electrodes to pick up on electrical signals correlated with a specific letter. Essentially a surface Electroencephalogram. Six words per minute at most. We also used a system of eye movements at home to spell out words letter by letter; aide would spell out alphabet slowly, he would look towards aide for yes and away for no.",
"Off topic-ish but is he in constant pain due to his illness or its just that he doesn't feel anymore?",
"My wife works as a Communicative Disorders Assistant (AKA speech therapist's/audioligist's assistant) and spent 5 years at an ALS clinic prior to 2003. So the mind control stuff was at its infancy at the time. She worked mostly with Occupational Therapists while nurses and doctors would also come in to assess ALS, monitor and assist any medical needs patients had on their declines.\n\nGiven the nature of the disease, the clinic's purpose is to do its best to maintain some semblance of quality of life as the disease progressed and the patient loses their abilities to move and communicate normally.\n\nThis would be compensated with low tech like laminated cardboard or books with picture symbols that someone could point to. High tech like Dynavox talking computers (Famous for Hawking's voice) iPads with Proloquo software and I even saw a few Speak and Spell devices from the 80s during her time there.\n\nAs the patient lost more and more motor control, depending on what was still available to the ALS patient, there would be gaze measuring devices to let them point at words/letters to compose their communications.\n\nThen, as that dissappeared, there are switches. If a patient can actuate a switch with some muscle, including their lung diaphram, they could setup a scanning keyboard or scanning a digital version of their picture board. \n\nThe speech therapist (or assistant) would have worked with the client to have figured out the words that the patient uses the most and programs the word prediction lists that are most efficient for the patient. A scanning word/picture keyboard would usually highlight groups of words or picture lists and the patient would actuate the switch when the right list was selected. Likewise, if the word isn't on the list, it can be flipped to keyboard mode with something like a double tap. Assuming the patient lives long enough, they get very familiar with the lists and the scanning speed can be increased to suit. \n\nSome patients choose to be ventilated/placed on a breathing machine while Hawking and a Canadian judge are the only two cases where the disease progressed extremely slow to the point that they are still breathing on their own and that there is still a muscle that could be controlled for some sort of switch actuaion that I heard of. \n\nFor those that get ventilated, becoming locked into their bodies (No more autonomous control of anything physical about their bodies) will happen. The mind control switch (yes, it's still just a binary/on-off switch) back in the early 00s was about generating measureable brain activity that was different from whatever the baseline state was.\n\nIt was reported that one had to think of some rather extreme (practically violent) thoughts in order to actuate the mind control switch at the time. Hopefully it's gotten finer tuned so that it doesn't require going too extreme to be able to actuate.",
"I wonder if Stephen's genius would've been wasted if he had been born with same condition in the 19th century or if they would have found a way for him to communicate regardless.",
"If we invent a way to upload your mind to a computer, let me be the first subject so we can just destroy my mind if it fails and we get to save his mind till it works flawlessly."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://blog.swiftkey.com/swiftkey-reveals-role-professor-stephen-hawkings-communication-system/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
avlis4 | how and why do harmonics work on a stringed instrument? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/avlis4/eli5_how_and_why_do_harmonics_work_on_a_stringed/ | {
"a_id": [
"ehg6ymp",
"ehg8qz4",
"ehg9hnv",
"ehgd7hu"
],
"score": [
10,
5,
11,
2
],
"text": [
"Strings (and sound waves themselves) vibrate at particular frequencies. Picture a sine curve (the wavy one that goes up an down around the x-axis). It takes a certain amount of time (or distance on the x- axis) to go from center, to top, down through center to the bottom, and back to center.\n\nPicture a second curve wave that cycles slightly faster or slower than the first and lay them on top of each other. You will notice that the points where these curves cross are not 'clear' points - i.e. they are not the top, bottom, or center of the cycle. These intersection points create a kind of auditory emphasis, which in this case will likely be dissonant because they are happening at uneven points. The two waves are fighting each other, so when they get to your eardrum, the vibrations they are sending are unclear.\n\nNow picture a third sine curve that cycles exactly twice as fast, or exactly half as fast and lay it on top of the first curve. You will notice that the points where these curves cross are interesting and clear points - top, bottom, and center of the curve. In this case, the intersection points create emphasis a clear emphasis at the top, bottom, and middle of the curve. The two waves are resonating together, so that when they get to your ear drum, your ear drum can vibrate in a clear and consistent pattern.",
"When you pluck a string, you get a wave. But, it's not a simple wave with even ups and downs. It has different frequencies. It's a messy wave. All those messy ups and downs create different noises in our ears through different air compression, and it doesn't sound like chaos because it repeats. Put all together, we hear a note with timber.\n\nYou can take away those frequencies in that wave, until you run out. The second harmonic splits the string in half, the third in thirds, the fourth in fourths, etc. Each of those reduces how many frequencies (or sounds) you hear. This happens because waves cannot repeat without precise distances to travel, and immediately cease to exist. You basically cut off the wave mid-movement. Just like if someone cut you off mid-sentence. You then only hear the remaining frequencies, which will always be higher pitched because the wave distance is shortened. If you YouTube harmonics, you'll get some great visual demonstrations.",
"I’m guessing you’re talking about that noise it makes when you place your finger gently on the 12-fret or 7-fret?\nWhenever you play a sting, at any fret, you create a whole set of frequencies of sound (i.e. pitches), all of which are natural frequencies of the string at that particular length. All these frequencies play on top of each other. \nThe lowest frequency we call the fundamental frequency, or 1st ‘harmonic’. The fundamental frequency decides the note of the sound you play. For example, if the lowest frequency (fundamental) of a played string is 440 Hz, we call it the note “A”, even if it plays some higher notes on top of it. \nThe other harmonics, such as the 2nd and 3rd harmonic, are some of those higher frequencies that are played on top of the fundamental. For a regular string played at a fret (or open), the 2+ harmonics are just multiples of the fundamental. So if the fundamental is 440 Hz, the 2nd harmonic is 880 Hz. The third is 1320 Hz. \nThe harmonic number also relates to the number of crests/troughs of the standing wave you make on the string. Do a google image search to see what I mean. \nWhen you place your finger gently at the 12-fret, you prevent the first harmonic of the open string from resonating. This is because the peak of this wave occurs at the 12 fret (the halfway point on the string). In fact, you cancel out all odd harmonics. You keep even harmonics because the standing wave is at the equilibrium position at the halfway point on the string. Your finger has no effect. This leaves you with a unique set of frequencies and thus type of sound. \nSimilar effect when you place your finger gently at the 7th fret. This cancels out both the first and second harmonics, but allows the third (because the wave for the third harmonic is at equilibrium at the 7th fret, which is one third the length of the string). ",
"When you pluck a string the entire string vibrates. When you put your finger down anywhere on that string and pluck it the string vibrates only from where your finger is pressed down. If you lightly touch the string exactly halfway down the string and pluck, it will vibrate equally on both sides of you finger exactly one octave higher than the open string. If you set you finger lightly exactly 1/4 down the string, from either the top or the bottom, it will vibrate equally in four quarters down the whole string and sound exactly two octaves higher than the open string. This works because your finger is in a spot where the vibration or wave on one side of the string is meeting the wave from the other side of the string. The part where they meet is cancelled out so it feels like no vibration at all. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
1v0sct | what's the argument against charter schools | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1v0sct/eli5_whats_the_argument_against_charter_schools/ | {
"a_id": [
"cenl0aw",
"cenl3oz",
"cenl4wn",
"cenlo3m"
],
"score": [
5,
17,
3,
5
],
"text": [
"Very, very simple explanation:\n\nWhy not just make ALL the schools good enough so ALL the kids get a good education? Don't just let the smart/hardworking kids escape the awful school they would otherwise go to.",
"A charter school is a school that is payed for by taxes, but privately managed. There are several arguments against them (there are arguments for charter schools as well, but OP asked for the con side).\n\nCharter school operators are not interested in education. Critics argue that charter schools are simply a way for non-educators to use tax money to open a school and use that money for personal gain rather than public good. As charter schools result from a business oriented approach to education, critics argue that education is *not* a business and should not be treated as one.\n\nCharter schools tear apart communities. Traditional public schools are not just places of education, but also community centers. This is especially true in low income neighborhoods where strong community centers (a YMCA, good public libraries, etc) are lacking. These schools get replaced by charter schools, creating a fractured neighborhood.\n\nCharter schools are a way of further stratifying education. Charter schools are opt-in. You must apply, not always through a competitive process (it might just be filling out some forms). Because it is opt-in, charter schools will only attract students and families willing to go an extra step for their education. Because of this, inequalities become exaggerated as high achieving students leave public schools and lower achieving students stay. On a related note, critics also argue that this is why charter schools' gains on standardized tests are overstated.\n\nCharter schools do not create any significant gains over public schools in terms of testing. Many will cite a study done at Stanford's CREDO Institute, saying that while some charters outperform their public school counterparts, most perform on par, and many also underperform public schools. On the whole, there is no noticeable difference.",
"Three things:\n\n1: They are desired by some religious groups and may people feel taxpayer dollars shouldn't be mixed with religious institutions for education.\n\n2: They may take the best students out of the general public schools, making the population that is left look worse by comparison. This \"editing\" function could have significant social effects on the school as well as more involved parents also leave, and as the demographic mix of the student body changes (likely to be poorer, less educable, etc.)\n\n3: They undermine the union closed shop that we currently permit in our public schools and may create wage and mobility pressure on the union workforce, and may undermine union positions on teacher qualifications, performance review, compensation, work rules, tenure, etc.",
"Charter schools respond to the free market and as such there are winners and losers. a small number of charter schools are very good, innovative, give their pupils a shot they could never have dreamed of. A small number are terrible, run by people who should legally never be near children and who are basically stealing public money. The rest are average, the same as public schools, but without any public oversight into how they are run. Don't like it? Don't attend. \n\nThe problem with charter schools is that they are assumed to be better than public schools (even when they are the same quality). They also are alowed freedoms that public schools don't have, though this depends on state law. Some charter schools have longer than average school days. Some have extreme disciplinary policies. Some don't take their fair share of disabled students (this affects how they fare on No Child Left Behind testing) Many require parents to come to an interview before admitting students, which weeds out kids whose parents are apathetic about education.\nPublic schools can not do these things. Public schools must educate EVERYONE- the kids who don't speak english, the kids who are frequently truant, the kids whose parents don't care, and they have to do it alongside other students who don't have these problems. Public schools are also unable to have longer hours or tougher discipline the way charter schools do- they fear lawsuits from families who disagree or trouble from the families of kids who need to get out early to pick up their younger sibling or go to sports practice.\n\nWhen charter schools are able to get the best kids from a disadvantaged area, it hurts public schools, who are unable to kick out mentally challenged and/or disruptive students and who are unable to use the strategies that the charter school uses. During the days of No Child Left Behind, when charter schools took all of the good students, public schools test scores would drop and the school would possibly even close. After many public school closures, more difficult students were put in charter schools, and the high score of the charter school goes straight back to normal (but now with disadvantaged families having no oversight over the school) Also as more public schools manage to stay open, but only with the most troubled and disruptive students, public education itself is seen more and more akin to welfare- something to be used only by people society doesn't care about, something to cut the budget of.\n\nEDIT to add: also the vast vast majority of charter schools are non-union. Though teachers union gets a bad rap, it is important for teachers to have protections from unreasonable working hours and from being fired for political reasons (this happened quite a lot before teachers unions existed, female teachers couldn't get married or have children without being fired)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
5hcqrf | resting meat! how is it done properly? | So, I have heard from many reputable sources that you should rest meat for as long as you have cooked it.
& nbsp;
Most recently, with Christmas round the corner, I heard a chef say that if you cook your turkey for 3 hours then you should rest it for 3 hours.
& nbsp;
If I was to rest if a turkey for that long it would surely go cold! How do I get it back to eating temperature? If I heated it in the oven would that not defeat the object of resting it? And, what exactly is the meat doing when resting that makes it taste better? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hcqrf/eli5resting_meat_how_is_it_done_properly/ | {
"a_id": [
"daz73ra"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"I'm not sure on exact timings but resting for the same amount of time as cooking is definitely wrong.\n\nI rest steaks for 5-10 minutes, I'd probably rest a turkey for 30-40 mins. Remember turkeys will keep cooking from their residual heat while you rest them.\n\nWhile the meat is resting the juices are being distributed evenly throughout the meat, which means that it is more moist and also that you don't get a pool of meat juices your plate. \n\nYou might be better posting this on /r/cooking or somewhere :)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
517dha | why are flavors commonly used to describe people like a salty person, a sweet person? ect ect.. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/517dha/eli5why_are_flavors_commonly_used_to_describe/ | {
"a_id": [
"d79wyc8",
"d79yikb"
],
"score": [
3,
4
],
"text": [
"Well salty would be a reference to sailors. Traditionally we think of sailors as using profanity more often and telling sexual jokes more often. This would be due to them not staying in a city for long and most of their time among other other sailors. \n\nAs for calling a person sweet I seem to remember hearing years ago that this was related to a person lacking substance. Like eating a sweet. It provides little actual nutrition but is pleasant to have. Much like a swert person is pleasant to be around but their presence makes little difference in the final outcome. I could be wrong about this one.",
"Languages are very metaphorical. When we need to talk about things that aren't physical, that we can't touch or see or smell or put in our mouths, we still resort to words that are used to describe those sensations, because we are physical beings. So we describe people as hard/soft, or warm/frigid, or having a sweet/bitter/sour/spicy personality. \n\nThese words are often good or bad based on whether we find them comfortable and pleasing or not. With someone who has a *spiky* personality, you don't want to say the wrong thing or you'll get hurt. An *oily* person is not comfortable to be around, but a *sunny* person makes you feel at home. You like someone who is *chill* or *breezy* or *fresh*, but not *cold* or *hot*-tempered, and you don't want them to be *flighty* because they are hard to grasp when you need them. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
blty19 | why are most cities on or near the coast of that country? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/blty19/eli5_why_are_most_cities_on_or_near_the_coast_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"emrc9nt",
"emrcf54",
"emre8tl"
],
"score": [
3,
12,
2
],
"text": [
"By far the cheapest and easiest way to transport products and people have been through water, so the first cities anywhere will be on water because those are the first places people will arrive, and the easiest place to resupply with goods the people need.",
"Ocean access means trade routes, fishing, and increased defense from land invasions. These are still important nowadays, but even more so centuries ago when most cities were founded.",
"Because until recently with introduction of trains and later truck on road almost all transportation of humans and good was with ships by sea or on rivers. So most large cites are at the cost or close to the coast on the mouth of a large river or some other natural harbor like a bay.\n\nCities was build as a hub for trade along that river where to change cargo from river boats to sea going ships. If you controlled the mouth of a river you had a good opportunity to tax trade along the river.\n\nThere is a reson that canals have been dug because even if you include the cost of the canal it was worth it compare to transport goods on wagons or on horseback \n\n & #x200B;\n\nEven today the cheapest long distance transport is by sea the difference have been reduced so citys today can exist away from waterway that did not happen in the past."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
8hbkdr | how are megabites/gigabytes (eg) physically stored? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8hbkdr/eli5_how_are_megabitesgigabytes_eg_physically/ | {
"a_id": [
"dyiivr2"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"It hard drives and tape it is stored in the direction of the magnetic field in the media.\n\nOn a CD/DVD/BluRay is stored small grooves or nor groves in the plastic that is coated with reflective material.\n\nOn a SSD or a flash memory it is stored as electrical charge in a floating-gate transistor. RAM memory is similar with charge in capacitors.\n\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
a9k1q6 | how does insulin and some drugs work when you can just inject it anywhere? | How can some drugs be injected into the thigh or stomach but drug users always have to find a vein? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a9k1q6/eli5_how_does_insulin_and_some_drugs_work_when/ | {
"a_id": [
"eck35zs",
"eck3rjz",
"eck5113"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The bloodstream is very effective to distributing stuff everywhere the body. \n\nFor medications like insulin, time until the drug enters the bloodstream isn't critical, and injecting into a muscle or under the skin is a lot safer and easier than directly to a vein. \n\nHowever, injecting directly into a vein results in the drug being absorbed very quickly, which is desireable for recreational drugs. It also takes a long time to set up, which is why emergency administration of some medicines, such as naloxone (for opiate overdoses) isn't done by IV unless an IV line is already set up.",
"It depends on the drug. For fast acting drugs, you want to inject it into the vein so that it will be carried away by blood circulation to the target site immediately.\n\nSlow acting drugs can be injected subcutaneously (just below the skin but not into the muscle). The drugs will slowly diffuse into the bloodstream, giving a sustained effect.\n\nInsulin is usually not urgently needed, at least not as urgently as say, adrenaline for allergic reactions. So there’s no need to inject it into a vein. Also, you want a slow release over time to mimic natural behaviour, so subcutaneous injections are more relevant. Anything else would lead to a spike in insulin, which will drop back down quickly and not have the intended effect.\n\nMost people use recreational drugs for instant highs, so vein injections are more popular. But there are some who do subcutaneous injections for longer lasting highs.",
"Insulin is designed to not be given iv. It has somemixed stuff that delay the release. I sometimes give iv insulin to my patients if their sugar is skyhigh, but generally You dont want hypoglycemia."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
276b0i | how wood density affects the sound of a string instrument | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/276b0i/eli5_how_wood_density_affects_the_sound_of_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"chxvfeo"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It really depends on how the wood is being used in the instrument and what the other physical properties are of the wood (stiffness, resonance/damping, etc.). There isn't a single simple answer.\n\nFor example, in the case of xylophone or marimba bars where the pitch is directly dependent on mass and stiffness, changing the density will raise or lower the pitch of that bar. You could then re-carve the bar to return it to the original pitch, but it would have a different tonality.\n\nIn the soundboard of a guitar or violin, an increase in density would also change the tonality and would probably make it slower to respond to the strings.\n\nI'm not sure what effect it would have in the rim of a tom-tom drum or in the body of a flute or clarinet. But in those cases, the wood is acting as a (theoretically) rigid frame for the actual vibrating medium--i.e. the drum skin, or the air column--so the effects should be somewhat less.\n\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
2r8ddx | can i get sick from myself? | If I am sick and eat out of say a peanut butter jar straight out of it with a spoon and a week or so later when I'm no longer sick eat out of the same jar can I get myself sick again? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2r8ddx/eli5_can_i_get_sick_from_myself/ | {
"a_id": [
"cndf5a6",
"cndg56t"
],
"score": [
25,
53
],
"text": [
"The short answer: No, because you've already been sick from that strain.\n\nThe long answer: When you get sick, you get sick from a very specific strain of virus, and your immune system develops antibodies that are specially-made for this strain of virus that you're fighting. When your body finally expels the rest of the virus and you get better, your body develops an immunity to that particular strain. If you eat this peanut butter, you will not get sick. However, **make sure nobody else eats it!** Hope that helped!",
"If you are sick from viral infections: no.\n\nThe immune system works in a way that it builds immunity from previously encountered viral pathogens. This prevents you from getting sick from the same flu strain a week after it has cleared your body.\n\nIf you are sick from a bacterial infections: yes.\n\nWhen you put e.g. diarrhea causing bacteria on your food and eat from it a week later you might get sick again with the same infection. These bacteria could be in your stool and get onto your hands and transferred to your food. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
20u2mm | why isn't gasoline pricing uniform like coca-cola and other goods? | I get that gas costs more in CA because we have additives required of it. But why within Los Angeles are they all different pricing? Why aren't all the Chevrons selling at the same pricing? If I buy a coke at one Chevron station, it's going to be the same at the Chevron a few blocks away. If I buy a sandwich at McDonalds, it's going to be the same a few blocks away and all over the state. It can't just be because of the "transportation costs". | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20u2mm/eli5_why_isnt_gasoline_pricing_uniform_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"cg6pm3w",
"cg6qflg"
],
"score": [
4,
17
],
"text": [
"Well actually I think you'd find that Coca-Cola prices are not consistent across a couple of blocks. If you go to four different supermarkets you'll likely find four different prices for a two liter. At McDonalds in New England you can get a large sweet tea for a dollar but large sodas cost almost three dollars. In South Carolina you can get a large soda for a dollar but a large sweet tea costs almost three dollars. There are very few things which have even prices all around. ",
"Gas station owner here\n\n > Why aren't all the Chevrons selling at the same pricing? \n\nMost gas stations are individually owned and operated franchises, so other than a name and logo, most stations of the same brand have nothing in connection. They have very little corporate intervention, so there are very few things that have a fixed price.\n\nThe costs of doing business will vary greatly from location to location. Cost of land, rent, and taxes will be all over the chart, the difference between being on one side of a street or another can also affect things. Overhead will also vary, a larger place will cost more to keep running than a smaller one.\n\nAs for the gas price itself, most gas stations in an area get their fuel from the same place, and it comes on the same truck. After the truck leaves my Sunoco, it heads down the road to fill up a Getty and a Mobile. All 3 of us are paying the same price for fuel. From there we decide what to sell our gas for. We usually sell gas at a loss of a couple cents, meaning I pay more for gas than you do. We try and undercut the other guys to get you into our shop, as gas stations these days are only profitable in the convenience stores and repair shops. \n\nThere are no such things as stand alone gas station anymore, all the stations that only sold fuel have died off due to competition. You can't stay in business long if the only product you sell has to be sold at a loss to be competitive. The only exceptions are the ones on freeways, they make up for this by selling the gas often at a 20+ cent profit to take advantage of the convenience of not having to detour."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
1pf4lo | how is it legal for some states to disobey federal regulations? | Eg. Federal minimum wage limit, the sale and production of cannabis. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pf4lo/eli5_how_is_it_legal_for_some_states_to_disobey/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd1nli4",
"cd1p0k9"
],
"score": [
5,
2
],
"text": [
"It's legal until the federal government challenges it in a federal court. And in such a case it would probably work its way all the way up to the Supreme Court.\n\nThat being said, the federal government has other ways of making states fall in line. Withholding federal funding for, say, highways, is pretty popular. ",
"As has been said, states can basically pass any laws they want and that's the law until a court says otherwise.\n\nBut also, for some things, they aren't actually disobeying the law. The federal government might say:\n\n > The minimum wage is no lower than $5 per hour\n\nThen the state can say:\n\n > Our minimum wage is $8 per hour.\n\nThey're totally following the federal rules. The rules just say \"not less than $5\"; the rules don't say \"exactly $5\"."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
2esv88 | how do they decide who is at the top of an organ transplant list? | I have been watching a bunch of medical dramas recently, and just started wondering this.
I figure it is partially based off of need, but is there a geographic radius for organs (city, county, state?), or is it a free for all over the entire country? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2esv88/eli5_how_do_they_decide_who_is_at_the_top_of_an/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck2lxck",
"ck2lzcz",
"ck2mfyr"
],
"score": [
12,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Officially, multiple factors, including:\n\n-Need\n\n-Blood type/compatibility\n\n-Size of organ matches\n\n-Location to donor\n\n-Time spent on list\n\n\nLocation is a huge factor since organ transplants are more successful when they go in ASAP. The country is split into transplant regions. If no one in the region is eligible, it gets offered to everyone else. Source: _URL_0_",
"Hospital have a committee that determines who get the organs they have available. Factors usually include who is the best match genetically, who can benefit the most, who has the best chance with the operation, time spent on the list vs need, and who is \"worthy\". This last part can get a bit tricky and the ethics committee can have a hard time determining this. Some factors are clear; alcoholics and smokers tend to have a harder time getting a liver and heart respectively. Age is usually a large factor as it overlaps with the others I mentioned: Young people have better survival rates and have greater potential for using it(more years ahead of them).\n\nI am not sure as to the exact radius for organs but it must be relatively small. Organs only have a small amount of time of viability after extraction so flying a heart from montana to pennsylvania may not be the best use of resources. For kidneys, the most commonly needed organ, often the donor will travel to the hospital where the procedure is done even if it is a distance(to my understanding there are NGOs and such to help facilitate this). For ones that are extracted from dead organ donors though, it is probably kept fairly local.",
"It depends on how urgently someone needs it, and how viable the organ is.\n\nFor instance, obviously someone in immediate need of a liver in the local hospital wins out over someone a town and half over and still has partial function.\n\nBut it's rarely that cut and dry. It most often becomes a case of \"The person has been dead for 30 minutes, there is someone here with 40% liver function, and someone else in the hospital with 10% function, that's 2 hours away\" In which case they have to decide who it can go to.\n\nAs for where you are located on the list, if you have a slightly failing liver, you're obviously going to be placed lower on the list than someone who was in an accident and needs one immediately."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/about/transplantation/transplantProcess.asp"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
4icu9l | how do doctors know somebody actually has an anxiety disorder? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4icu9l/eli5_how_do_doctors_know_somebody_actually_has_an/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2x0flg",
"d2x0jpp",
"d2x0o99",
"d2x0ss1"
],
"score": [
20,
2,
16,
2
],
"text": [
"Are you familiar with the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)? Check out the \"diagnosis\" section at _URL_0_",
"The DSM is a book that doctors use to diagnose someone with a psychiatric condition, it's split into 5 axes:\n\n- Axis I: The actual description of the disorder;\n\n- Axis II: Any personality disorder that may be shaping how you're coping to the Axis I disorder;\n\n- Axis III: Any medical or neuro problems that may be affecting how your Axis I disorder is developing;\n\n- Axis IV: Any psychological stressors that you may have faced recently in life;\n\n- Axis V: A gauge of how well you're functioning in daily life.\n\nDiagnosis will be looking mostly at Axis I, where they give a list of symptoms, and the doctor goes through the list, if you have a minimum X number of symptoms over a duration of X time, you're labelled as having that disorder.\n\nThe new edition (DSM-V) is a bit different since it dropped the Axes model for Sections I, II, and III, but the idea is similar.",
"It's pretty much the same as any mental \"disorder\" like a phobia or depression. They take and analyze how a person describes the way they feel when certain things happen.\n\nMost people have fears of spiders or heights, but not all those people have arachnophobia or acrophobia. Those who have phobias completely break down and are unable to function because of their fear.\n\nMost people have bouts of very sad, depressed feelings, but not all those people have depression. People with depression cannot function normally because of their sadness and it can persist for unusually long periods and be at abnormal times, like when they should be very happy they can't help but be sad.\n\nMost people have moments they feel anxious, like when a doctor has told them they need to come in to discuss something on a test or when they aren't sure if they'll be liked when they go to work. Not everyone feels anxious, for example, just ordering a #1 with everything on it except pickles at the local fast food joint. People with anxiety disorder, much like people with depression, have a hard time even leaving their house.",
"Thank you guys. I feel very much enlightened!"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder"
],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
8ytzgs | why does yamaha make so many different things | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8ytzgs/eli5_why_does_yamaha_make_so_many_different_things/ | {
"a_id": [
"e2dnvvc",
"e2dogbz",
"e2dohzc",
"e2eaivr",
"e2ekxo7"
],
"score": [
11,
4,
37,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Started as Piano makers... When Honda motorcycles became an instant success in the early 60's, they jumped on too...And- being a post war Japanese company, Quality and affordability made them one of the best Companies in the world- to this day",
"Would you wear Yamaha clothing if they made that too? Yamaha high heels and underwear? Or would you eat Yamaha potato chips?",
"Yamaha is a Japanese company and Japan has historically taken a very different approach to \"the corporation\" then U.S. or European companies. This exists formally (companies doing lots of things) and informally with a system called \"kereitsu\", this itself is an evolution of the broken up family-based conglomerates called \"zaibatsu\".\n\nEither way these are focused around functional capability rather then what you see in the U.S. which is often based on brands. These were roughly horizontal, vertical or distribution based organizations - leveraging a capacity in one of these and then piping all sorts of products through them.\n\nIn the U.S. we'd say \"a car company couldn't make refrigerators\" and the Japanese company might say \"a company is really good a manufacturing with metals\". ",
"Dude look into all the shit [Samsung](_URL_0_) makes. From Phones, to Computers, to Cars, to Engineering, etc.",
"You should also know that for a long time they have also had music schools, singing schools, English as a second language schools and what not; in Japan at least. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.google.be/search?sa=X&hl=en-BE&q=Renault+Samsung+Motors&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAEWQQXKDMAxFh13aSXddZuHpBYgTB8JVsslgjAU4OGAZJ3BEjtRVy1Q0O73R1xtJm93XW9zGez5lJruwzt3VUHhkuVUMSxfqokR21wzzFgcLc_SXtjbN5uh9qcX-2IWe4JCa1vM1tTipEQQEb-doG0PM-0SbRFmzGhLhT4IgC-cRgKDxh0rBSzEVv_CxKLgcj41O4bw6rHh2QH4urzeDjVuzhe1QhttIe2lXVYHmJkibhyZIJh96_D_FS96_RtzpO_qkNzAcJNaqzl1d4g_wVaohQwEAAA&ved=0ahUKEwjllpn-yZ_cAhVEa1AKHTMuDhsQxA0I8gEwHA&biw=1745&bih=825"
],
[]
]
|
||
2lxzi3 | what is the super high pitch sound my watch makes when i use the backlight. | It sounds roughly like ringing ears after a loud bang. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2lxzi3/eli5_what_is_the_super_high_pitch_sound_my_watch/ | {
"a_id": [
"clz7nqh"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Your watch has an electroluminescent backlight. EL lights glow when an alternating current is applied to them. Your watch is powered by a battery, which provides DC. This means an inverter has to be used to make AC power from the DC. Cheap and small inverters make a whining noise. It's pretty much unavoidable."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
29zitk | what is l1, l2, l3 and l4 cache and what is the difference between them? | I have a fairly good knowledge of computers, this specific bit was never explained to me. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29zitk/eli5_what_is_l1_l2_l3_and_l4_cache_and_what_is/ | {
"a_id": [
"ciq132l"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The lower the cache level, the faster the cache, but the smaller it is. I.e. the L1 cache is the fastest, but smallest, the L2 cache is slower, but larger, etc."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
1rm3v5 | why are nazi's so universally hated, but not others? | I understand that Nazi's are bad, and horrible things happened. However, so many other horrible things happened too.
Mao Ze Dong killed up to 4x as many as Hitler. Stalin killed more than Hitler. The spanish/english/US virtually wiped out the Native Americans (and Americans believed we were blessed by God and it was what we were supposed to do... Manifest Destiny...) Many other people did horrible things, yet we always remind ourselves and Germany about Hitler.
Why is this? Is it simply a case of the victors writing the history books? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rm3v5/eli5_why_are_nazis_so_universally_hated_but_not/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdolkxs",
"cdoll7j",
"cdotpcr"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"I think it has to do with some scapegoating of its own. Single out the blame to one person and more people will agree. It also might have to do with the fact that the Nazi Holocaust attempted to kill off entire groups of people instead of indiscriminately killing like Stalin. That's not to say Hitler was worse because in the end both were very evil people",
"We do vilify Mao and Stalin, just not to the degree of Hitler. Here's why. Hitler made his genocides institutional and industrial. The act of murdering people on an industrial level by sending them to camps as slaves, performing medical experiments, and then gassing them is more recognizable as genocide. Hitler's genocide was also targeted at ethnic groups such as the Jews and the Slavs etc., and while Stalin and Mao did discriminate against certain minority ethnicity, their purges were mostly based on political dissent. Stalin and Mao did send their prisoners to death camps, but at a much smaller level. Stalin only sent about 100,000-600,000 people to camps, and I'm not sure about Mao. Most of the millions of people who died that you've mentioned, died from starvation/famine which could be intentional, but it is much easier to pass off as failed agricultural reform. ",
"What ethnic group runs hollywood and mass media?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
4fn3ii | how can we have heart-lung bypass and kidney dialysis but not liver dialysis? what makes creating liver dialysis so difficult? | Is it the functional complexity of the organ? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4fn3ii/eli5_how_can_we_have_heartlung_bypass_and_kidney/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2a9loq",
"d2aeyri",
"d2afo7n",
"d2ag5ls",
"d2ahnvd",
"d2aiet2",
"d2aigr1",
"d2aigv9",
"d2ajfe9",
"d2ajwyw",
"d2al9gk",
"d2anby4",
"d2anjoq",
"d2anz3x",
"d2aobvi",
"d2ap487",
"d2ap62n",
"d2apohb",
"d2apxbd",
"d2ar415",
"d2askln",
"d2aufsn",
"d2awqve",
"d2b20iv"
],
"score": [
564,
2,
2,
2,
6,
2,
207,
79,
2,
2,
2,
2,
11,
3,
1345,
2,
2,
2,
16,
2,
7,
5,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"(15 year-old taking biology here, if I get anything wrong, don't judge as it came out of my notes made last week, but feel free to correct me)\nKidney dialysis, as you (probably) know, is done by a machine the size of mini-fridge. A kidney about the size of a fist. \nIt does multiple jobs, such as filtering blood, but not as much as the liver. The main functions of the liver is bile production, iron storage, glucose (a sugar) storage (as glycogen), the deamination (break down) of amino acids and finally detoxification of harmful substances (like alcohol). \nAs you can see, 2 of the functions include storage, which is a problem for dialysis, which does not happen all the time. The glucose storage part is important, as the body stores glycogen (basically energy) in the liver, and if the body experiences a sudden drop in glucose levels, it has to convert the glucose that is not really glucose (stored as fat or other forms) in other parts of the body into into glucose THEN use them. The problem is similar with diabetics. As the hormone insulin, which tells the liver to release more glucose into the bloodstream is not being produced. Therefore, with both, the release of glucose is either heavily delayed or it never happens at all. The brain, being one of the most demanding organs, if it experiences a fall in glucose levels, it might cease to function, resulting in fainting, among other things. \nThen the topic of iron storage, iron is an important part of haemoglobin, the protein which carries oxygen around your body, held in your red blood cells. If the iron leaks from its storage, it will poison your cells, resulting in cell death.\nA machine can produce bile, break down amino acids and detoxify blood. But it cannot do all those things, along with storing glocose and iron while being the size of a liver, as they require lots of space for each step.\n\nTL;DR: Liver = stores sugar & iron, among other things. No store of sugar that can be quickly accessed = loss of energy = fainting. No place to store iron = no protein to carry around oxygen = lack of oxygen in blood = life threatening",
"My guess is there are too many chemical reactions taking place in metabolism and detoxication reactions. \n\nIt's not impossible, but is very difficult to replicate.",
"The liver's function is incredibly complicated. Just within the realm of detoxifying compounds from food (plus all the microbes that were on the food and their waste products) there are hundreds, more likely thousands of chemical reactions that need to take place to prevent harm. As other people have pointed out, there are also important compounds that the liver produces, like albumin, bile salts, and new glucose. ",
"Yes, it's the functional complexity of the organ. The liver has hundreds of functions, many probably yet to be discovered. ",
"The liver metabolizes things for your kidneys to catch and you to pee out. You have first phase and 2nd phase metabolism which basically chemically alter the shapes of what you want to remove (ethanol, drugs, whatever) into something less reactive, and easier for the kidneys to grab onto. You cannot use a machine to do something so complex as manage all of your bodies metabolism. \n\nIf you really want to go in depth look up the class of cytochrome p450 enzymes and what they alone do. They do everything from acetaminophen, to alcohol, to marijuana. Then scale that up and realize we have so many more. ",
"We do have [liver dialysis](_URL_0_), but it [has not been shown](_URL_1_) to have a significant survival benefit. You are correct that part of the difficulty is organ complexity, but also because of the heterogenous group of people that suffer from liver failure. ",
"Others have hit some of the big points -- namely that the liver just does SO MUCH that it's difficult to replace every function. \n\nThat said, liver dialysis does exist in two forms. First is actually a type of kidney dialysis that also works for liver failure. Its called continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) which utilizes a fundamentally different \"filtering\" mechanism than traditional dialysis, called hemofiltration, which makes it very useful for liver as well as renal failure. Second, there is another new technique called a molecular adsorbant recirculating system (MARS) that may start becoming more common for liver failure patients. \n\nLastly, many of the things that the liver does can be replicated by other medical treatments; the treatments are just not as straightforward as dialysis. We can give certain blood products for help with clotting, drugs that will decrease certain toxins that the liver normally clears, give IV fluids with sugar to normalize glucose, etc. ",
"1. Liver drains all of the intestines via the portal vein\n2. Liver makes clotting factors for the blood\n3. Liver produces albumin which prevents edema\n4 Liver has a portal triad and central vein system with kuffer cells (macrophages) \n5. Because of this system bile flows from the central vein towards the portal triad, blood flows from the triad away towards the central vein\n6. Liver also helps get rid of ammonia\n7. Liver also has CYP450 enzymes which help degrade drugs and alocohol and toxic metabolites\n8. Basically as you can see this is just a small list of the functions. Which would be pretty hard to integrate into one machine. You would need many different enzymes, flow systems, and you would have to deal with bile as well. \n9. Plus there are a lot of other things I didn't mention",
"don't you die really fast if your liver fails?",
"What about chelation therapy for people that have iron build up due to having thalassemia major? That sort of a dialysis for the liver.",
"I've once heard they used a live pig as liver dialysis. This may as well also have been an episode of House MD. Not quite sure. Could somebody verify/deny this? I'm too lazy to Google this.",
"The kidneys are like a glorified filter. Sort of. This is fairly easy to replicate with say, a filter. Plus some other stuff added in. Picture that scene in Bio-Dome (makin' a filter, makin' a filter....). If your body was a country the kidneys would have one main job in that country, say waste removal, easy to replace with another company. \n\nA liver is way more like a whole city's worth of functions - it makes certain substances used in other parts of the body (albumin, cholesterol, clotting factors) - the equivalent of a factory in our city, deals with many many enzymatic reactions - this is the sewage plant, water purification, garbage dump, etc; and also can make glucose (sugar) for us to use when we run low - this would be a power plant in our city. So much harder to replace all those functions with just one machine. ",
"The liver is the metabolic service center of your body, if your body wants something special, your liver is your main man. A incomplete list of its functions:\n\n-controls cholesterol levels in blood and where/if it gets stored\n\n-Breaks down/removes \"toxins\" from the blood\n\n-Stores large amounts of iron\n\n-Converts lactic acid back to glucose (muscles produce lactic acid when burning glucose when oxigen is low)\n\n-Stores a part of the glycogen (animal starch)\n\n-Creates bile (as emulsifier of fats/oils in your intestine)\n\n-It synthesizes different kinds of proteins\n\n-In a fetus it can make bloodcells (and when your bone marrow is\nseverely comprimised it will try to make blood cells again)\n\nMaking a machine that can preform one of these functions is extremely difficult, let alone all of them.\n\nFun fact, when red blood cells are old the iron in the hemoglobin is recycled. The remaining protein is called bilirubin, which is yellow/brown and its expelled via the bile. When you loose liver function you turn yellow while your poops turn white :D and you die :(",
"I can give you an in-depth explanation about the physiology of the kidneys and circulatory system in contrast to that of the liver. \n\nBut since this is ELI5 the simplest answer is that we know how the kidneys work and can replicate that, the same holds true to our blood supply. On the other hand we simply don't yet fully understand the physiology of the liver and how it can do all the things it does, it's like a chemical factory in there!",
"ELI5 version: The kidney is a filter. The liver is a factory. We can build pretty good filters, and add stuff back in if we need to. Replicating every single synthetic and metabolic function of the liver would take a machine that can perform thousands of different reactions at controlled rates.",
"We actually do:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nWe are not at all close to removing our brain out of our heads and putting it into a life support machine for immortality, but we are making some progress ...",
"I know almost nothing about the specific answer to this question, but I did learn (recently) that a healthy liver regenerates itself every two years. That's why you can give someone a portion of your liver. ",
"Well first, we DO have liver dialysis now. It takes longer than kidney dialysis, and is not a replacement for the liver, because the liver has many more functions than filtration. Dialysis is simply a filtration system. It cannot replace the other functions of the liver, such as producing the proteins that allow blood to clot, storing and releasing nutrients at the time our bodies need them, breaking down fats in our diet to allow them to be converted to energy, metabolizing proteins, and much more. It's a stop-gap measure, to give a patient more time to find a matching liver donor in cases of complete liver failure, but it by no means can replace the liver. ",
"Physiologist here.\n\nThe functions of a heart-lung bypass machine (pumping and oxygenation of blood) and kidney dialysis (filtration of blood) are simple functions that are achieved by relatively simple mechanical machines that employ relatively simple materials that have been in use for well over 50 years.\n\nThe liver, in comparison, literally performs thousands of complex biochemical reactions and produces scores of biological components that are essential to life. The function of the liver, therefore, cannot be easily reproduced by simple mechanical machines employing relatively simple materials.\n\nIn order to produce a machine capable of **some** of the function of the liver would requires a machine that takes blood out of the patient, and passes that blood over liver cells that would be kept alive in the machine, and then returning the blood to the patient's body.\n\nBiomedical engineers have produced such machines, but they are very complicated, expensive, and still have key problems that are not easily solvable (like preventing the patient's immune cells from attacking the foreign liver cells in the machine).\n\nIn short, that's why we don't have a \"liver function\" machine like we do for the heart and the kidney.\n\n",
"The heart, lungs, and kidneys all have (relatively) simple mechanical functions with a basic primary purpose that can be replicated through some basic laws of physics and chemistry. Heart is just a pump, lungs just diffuse oxygen into the blood, and the kidneys are (primarily) just a filter that can be (mostly) replaced with a few membranes and specially formulated fluids. Obviously, there is a lot more that goes into it to make it work, but those are the fundamentals.\n\nThe liver, on the other hand, doesn't have a single function, nor can it be easily replicated by just applying some basic laws of physics and chemistry. The way the liver operates is primarily through hormones, enzymes, and proteins that are all very complex in nature. It doesn't just passively filter the blood -- it actively does so. It's the difference between living off interest from investments in the stock market and going to work every day 9-5 to make a living. It is a very reactive organ, and has multiple, equally vital, roles that all need to be replaced on any type of artificial liver.\n\nThat being said, liver dialysis does exist. However, it is still relatively crude and ineffective, and it requires other supportive treatments to really work. It's mostly used as temporary supportive treatment, or for people in severe liver failure in a last ditch effort to keep them alive until a donor liver is found.",
"Oh good it's ELI5 and not AskScience. I'm a bioengineer and former neuroscientist but dear lord I don't feel like getting in the nitty gritty here.\n\nOk you're kidney is vital but only does a couple basic things. Namely the kidneys maintain the ratio of water to salt in your body. Ever pee and have it be pretty yellow after eating a lot of salty stuff? That's your kidneys pumping out all the excess salt! Same if you drink tons of water and have very water like pee, that's the kidneys keeping in the salt and getting rid of the water.\n\nPretty simple right? Ya liver's not simple at all.\n\nHere's a very reduced list of liver functions. _URL_0_\n\n\nEach of those functions is about equivalent to the whole function of the kidney or heart or lung. That's a super over broad statement but that's the idea. Heart does one thing, it moves the blood. Lung does one thing, it gives space for blood to add/remove 02/C02 (Diaphragm moves the air). Kidneys maintain the salt/water balance.\n\nWhen there's only a single function like pumping, chemical balance, exposing a surface area; those are things that are easier to model. You can build a machine to do the same thing. That's what's so hard about the liver, it does so many things at once, in harmony, and sometimes tied into eachother. We just can't model it well because we don't understand all the ins and outs of those processes.\n\n\n\n\n",
"As a liver transplant and end stage liver disease pharmacy specialist, the amount of GOOD information in this thread makes me very happy... usually I'm shaking my head at posts like this. ",
"The kidneys are basically a filter system, they take blood and filter out certain compounds.\n\nThe liver is not a filter it is a processor. Enzymes, hormones and digestive compounds in the liver fulfill a massive range of functions for the body.\n\nA super-simplified way of thinking of it would be the kidneys are like an air filter, the liver is like the catalytic converter on a car or even more accurate the urea emission-control system on a diesel truck: it's not just trapping stuff and getting it out of the air stream, it is using chemicals to engage in reactions that change the bad stuff into less bad stuff.\n\nAnother analogy. If the kidneys are a restaurant grease trap, which just keep stuff from getting into the sewer, then the liver is a septic tank with active bacteria and enzyme chemicals that break down sewage into harmless substances and let it filter into the ground.\n\nBoth of these only address one liver function: detoxification, or getting rid of dangerous stuff.\n\nIn reality the liver does so much more. It also releases hormones like glycogen which works together with insulin to control our blood sugar level.\n\nAs if that wasn't enough, the liver also makes and regulates bile and other digestive enzymes that help us digest and get nutrition out of fats and proteins.\n\nThese functions are hard to duplicate outside the body because they require precise control. In dialysis they can remove all the urea, you don't want that in your body at all. But the difference between \"enough\" and \"oops he died\" with, say, glycogen, is tiny and constantly shifting as your body uses sugar. We don't have a good way to duplicate that functionality because unlike a liver cell the best technological ways we have to measure blood sugar are not real-time and require a chemical reaction done on a test strip. Similarly, even if we could inject someone with all the different liver enzymes that do various things for the body, we couldn't adjust levels constantly via feedback from the body.\n\nTLDR: the liver isn't just a filter it is a chemical factory with a huge range of complicated functions from helping us digest fats to using specialized chemicals, to turning dangerous chemicals into ones that can safely be excreted from the body, to helping regulate our body's internal chemistry through the use of hormones.",
"It probably is the complexity function of the organ. Remember kidney dialysis is where they're just cleaning the blood. That's about as simple procedure as one can get. I've also heard that sometimes the pancreas is involved with the liver functionality so this makes it more complex. I'm think hepatitic pancreas duct or whatever it is poses a problem with liver dialysis."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_dialysis",
"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24126646?dopt=Abstract"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_dialysis"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=anatomy-and-function-of-the-liver-90-P03069"
],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
segjl | explain to me what reverse racism is, li5 | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/segjl/explain_to_me_what_reverse_racism_is_li5/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4dd4jc",
"c4dd6zk"
],
"score": [
12,
6
],
"text": [
"Racism is preferential treatment based on race, typically by a majority against a minority.\n\nReverse racism is preferential treatment based on race, by a majority against *in favor* of a minority, to avoid the appearance of regular racism.\n\nFor example, let's say two people are up for a promition, a white guy with 10 years experience, top rated performance reviews and several industry certifications, and a black guy with 2 years of experience and average performance reviews, and missing key certifications. The company is currently being sued for discrimination in an unrelated case, so they promote the black guy to give the appearance of being more inclusive. In this case the white guy would be a victim of reverse discrimination, and may have grounds for legal action.\n",
"A quick note, 'reverse racism' is often the label people *incorrectly* give to unconventional racism. For example, an Arab fellow profiling a white person as terrorist due to being white. \n\nThat's still just racism. I hear a lot of people using the phrase in that context though, so I thought I would clear that up. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1pgt40 | why are the last seasons of some tv series (mad men, breaking bad) split into two (sorta) half-seasons that air over 2 years? | This bugs me because the number of episodes is still the same, so instead of one long season we get two shorter seasons. Do they get a lot more viewers this way, and if so, how is that? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pgt40/eli5_why_are_the_last_seasons_of_some_tv_series/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd264wp",
"cd265gh",
"cd27jm1"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"It probably depends on the show and its network, but in some cases (like *Community*) the show actually hasn't done well enough to warrant the production of a full season, so a \"mini\" or \"half\" season is produced. This can drag on for a few years, in some cases, if the show is just barely getting by and the actors and director are still interested in working on the show.",
"Regular TV shows have an open ended plot that lasts basically until the viewer get sick of it.\n\nThese shows both revolved around a tragic hero on a path of self destruction, and have definite, inevitable endings that everything is leading up to. So the writers and producers all along pretty much knew how the last season was going to go down.\n\nUsually the last season is about wrapping things up and turning off the lights. But cable networks have a less regimented schedule, and because these shows were so popular, and because the money and ratings were there, they can make the events of the last season unfold as elaborately as they like...or alternately, they can pad it out for more advertising revenue.",
"The Walking Dead has been split into two half-seasons since the second season. While this is a bit speculative on my part, I've always been under the assumption this is due to the fact that if they made it one continuous season, it would be going up against NFL playoffs in December and January, which are extremely difficult to compete with. The Walking Dead always goes on hiatus right at the beginning of NFL playoffs and comes back shortly after the Super Bowl.\n\nAs for shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, those are hit shows and hit shows are hard to come by. The network has an incentive to make them last as long as they can since they attract large, reliable audiences, which means AMC can sell ads for more money. They can make more money over a longer period of time by selling high-priced ads over two, eight-episode runs than they might with one, 12-episode run.\n\nLikewise, part of the old TV model is to attach a new or up-and-coming show to your big hits. That is, a new show will come on right after the established show. This is a way to try to build an audience for, say, Low Winter Sun, by piggybacking on the success of, say, Breaking Bad. If you split the season into two, it gives you more chances to build an audience for the new show. AMC really wanted to try to suck Breaking Bad's audience into Low Winter Sun so they could maintain their audience and, by extension, ad numbers."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.