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ey38xk | why do commercials give you a price for “processing and handling” and mail and online orders give you a price for “shipping and handling”? | What’s the difference between processing and shipping, in mail terms? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ey38xk/eli5_why_do_commercials_give_you_a_price_for/ | {
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"“Processing and handling” has replaced “shipping and handling,” to allow for more profit to be built into the second purchase of the product, as “shipping” requires a reasonable relationship between the amount charged for “shipping” and the actual cost of shipping, whereas “processing” requires no such relationship and can be any amount the seller thinks it can get away with."
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96oexj | why do videos when loading (like on putlocker or gomovies) stop loading at certain points, as in stop at a point and require me to pause and unpause and wait? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/96oexj/eli5_why_do_videos_when_loading_like_on_putlocker/ | {
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"Video is compressed with what is called interframe compression, so a frame isn’t an actual image, but a set of instructions to build the new frame form the previous, however some frames need to be a full image, so in a big scene change it might take longer to load the frame.\n\nAnd also internet connection might be inconsistent due to more devices being connected and demanding data "
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487zur | what does it mean when a city is incorporated or unincorporated and why do they post signs stating "blank city corporate limits"? | I see signs in my travels stating "Blank city corporate limits" what does it mean for a city/town to be incorporated or unincorporated and why are the limits of it important? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/487zur/eli5what_does_it_mean_when_a_city_is_incorporated/ | {
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"An incorporated city has a charter from the state and a proper municipal government that exercises powers within the boundaries of the city's incorporated area.\n\nAn unincorporated area is not a city. It doesn't have a municipal government, and is governed as part of the county in which it is located.",
"It basically means the city/town is its own legal entity, with its own laws and ordinances and maybe a police force and a city council and so on. An unincorporated town is recognized by the post office, its name is on maps, but it doesn't have its own government— it's just a part of the county it's in. (Assuming you're talking about cities in American states other than a few that use townships or parishes or other ways of subdividing the state.)\n\nThe city limits can be important because it indicates whose jurisdiction you're in."
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5ca3hz | what makes the us dollar an international currency? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ca3hz/eli5what_makes_the_us_dollar_an_international/ | {
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"The fact that multiple countries use it for international trade. \n\nThe reason that they do this is that the US still has the largest economy in the world (though China is growing), has one of the most stable economies in the world, and has the strongest military in the world with which to defend their economic interests. Everyone wants to trade with the US, and since it is a major player it is easier to just use their currency to trade with everyone else too. ",
"The US has a very stable economy, which means that the currency value is stable. The US doesn't make any quick, massive changes in the monetary supply that cause the value to quickly rise or fall. So, it's a safe and predictable currency to hold on to.\n\nPlus the fact that so many companies are based in the USA and prefer to get paid in US Dollars, that makes it a very popular reserve currency.",
"Traditionally, governments aligned their currency to the gold standard. That meant that all these countries had to keep stockpiles of gold securing their economy, so anyone could redeem their currency for gold upon demand.\n\nIn 1944 the leaders of may other countries met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and agreed to drop the gold standard and instead peg their currency to the value of the US Dollar. At that time, the dollar was backed by its value in gold, and the United States held the largest gold reserves. This allowed other countries to back their currencies with dollars, rather than gold.\n\nIt was this way until the 1970's, when Nixon decoupled the US Dollar from gold values, but by then the USD was already the standard used for foreign transactions, and the USD was very stable. \n\nThe Euro has crept into the market (aprox 31% of international reserves) but primarily in the European block, and China has been making moves to convince other countries to switch to the CNY, but outside of traditionally anti-US countries it has not really caught on.",
"The Petro dollar! \n\nYears ago the US made trade agreements with all of the major oil countries in the world and agreed that oil only be traded in us dollars. \n\nThis means that any country in the world that wants to buy oil has to do it in us dollars. \n\nMeaning that as long as oil has value, the US dollar has value. \n\nWhich is why they can print trillions of dollars without absolutely annihilating their economy. ",
"A lot of the history has been explained already. \n\nAt the present, long story short, the reason for the US dollar being an international currency are people with guns\n\nMany many people with guns, called the US Military\n\nYou want to trade your oil and other strategic resources in anything else then US dollars, you better be backed by your own people with guns, many of them",
"Political stability, and America actively enforces the legitimacy of it. So, for example, if a country starts illegally printing American money, America will attack them to shut it down. No other country has the ability to do that. ",
"Because if you don't use it, the US will declare you a state sponsor of terrorism and bomb you into the stone age. "
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95e1p3 | why do some posts say that it has one comment, but when you view the comments section there are no comments? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/95e1p3/eli5_why_do_some_posts_say_that_it_has_one/ | {
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"Ghosts of Reddit. Aka shadowbanned accounts. It's a ban typically used on spammers. They can still comment/submit normally and such, but to the rest of Reddit they are invisible, and their votes don't count."
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55q2pm | the 'derivatives bubble' and why people are scared of it | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/55q2pm/eli5_the_derivatives_bubble_and_why_people_are/ | {
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"Insurance is an easy kind of derivative to understand - you give actual value to a company in exchange for a contractual agreement that if X happens, you'll get Y from them. Futures (the kind the derivatives bubble is concerned with) are essentially the same thing in reverse - an investor puts cash forward in exchange for a contract that when the value of the commodity increases, they get a cut of that value when they go to collect. It's essentially an alternative currency based on the value changes of a particular commodity (rice, cows, mortgage loans...).\n\nIt's dangerous because it's possible to end up in a situation where the overall value of that currency become inflated in value far beyond the overall actual increase in the value of the commodities, and then eventually the potential return on investment for the people buying the futures becomes more about how much you can sell those contracts for to another financial institution than about actually collecting on the contract. This allows the trade value of the derivatives to then become inflated in value far above its actual face value, which is all well and good as long as there is a market to keep buying it at the higher rates - ie, as long as other financiers keep betting the commodities will increase in value *further* - but is risky because eventually that alternative currency loses value as people become less willing to buy it (for whatever reason). Commodities are particularly volatile because the value of those futures contracts are subject to anything that affects the manufacturing or demand of the items themselves *and* the perceived value of the contracts between financiers.\n\nThe reason there's a scary bubble here is that essentially there's so much imaginary extra value tacked onto these alternative currencies that a significant portion of overall spending in our economy is being powered by money that only potentially exists. If/when buyers stop wanting to buy the futures at higher rates, some of that potential money then doesn't ever turn into real money, and in turn less value is moving around in the system. If a big enough portion of the value moving through that system (\"real\" or not) disappears at once, the loss can be significant enough to hurt our overall spending power, which is what happens when a bubble \"bursts\".\n\nShort version: derivatives are basically hot potato. As long as the timer keeps going (value generally increases) we all get to keep playing, but when the timer stops (value critical-mass decreases/the bubble bursts) so does the game, and also someone gets burned."
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50st6z | why do people/companies sue for so much money? | When most lawsuits are filed, why is it for so much money? It's often millions over something trivial.
Update: I've been asked to provide an example:
In 2005, Michelle Knepper had a liposuction procedure performed by a dermatologist she picked at random from a phonebook. There were complications, so she sued the phone company for making the phonebook in the first place. She won $1.2m from them, and her husband won an additional £375,000. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/50st6z/eli5_why_do_peoplecompanies_sue_for_so_much_money/ | {
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"If you sue for $10,000 and win, you get $10,000. The judge may decide that's too much and cut it in half or whatever. Similar to negotiating, start high and maybe you'll get lucky. If not you'll still probably be able to get an amount lower than your original request, but higher than starting at a lower (reasonable) amount. Cutting it to even $10% of a million is still $100,000. It's called wiggle room, assuming you're the one suing. To anyone else it's called greed.\n\nAt least this is my assumption. Never sued anyone, nor have I ever been sued. Also not a lawyer. I believe it is mostly greed and laziness.\n\nPeople seem to think they are worth a lot. Wreck into my car and buy me a new one. Wreck into me and you pay enough for ten new cars. This then enables me to have a lot of money and not work for it.\n\nEssentially (and this part is opinion I suppose) laziness and greed have fueled people who have seen other such court cases to file their own. That and people are fucking stupid.\n\n"
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2sxcrn | why do larger animals have lesser babies at once? | Mammals like humans only get pregnant with one child at once, but smaller animals such as cats and dogs give birth to multiple child at once, and insects give birth to like 9000 eggs at once. Why? Is it somehow related to their size? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2sxcrn/eli5_why_do_larger_animals_have_lesser_babies_at/ | {
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"There's several factors. Predation is a major one among insects, since there are so many things that could threaten their young they may have thousands of children but only 1% make it to adulthood, so the impetus is on sheer numbers. Humans on the other hand are not at a risk of losing children to predators and so a single child is sufficient in one pregnancy. Lifespan is another reason. There are a lot of small animals that only have a single reproductive cycle and therefore it is necessary for them to have a single large litter. Dogs and cats can live for over 10 years, so they can accommodate a litter of, say, 8 offspring every year for many years. \n\nThats not to say that this is always the case, there are many small creatures that produce only a single offspring and there are many larger creatures that produce hundreds (e.g. turtles). Generally the rule of thumb is that a creature will produce as many offspring as is needed to ensure that at least one reaches reproductive capability.",
"Big ungulate mammals probably give birth to single offspring or twins at most both because the mother needs to be able to still run fast while pregnant, and the baby needs to come out almost fully formed and ready to run or migrate. That creates less space for additional offspring. \n\nMaybe primates tend to only give birth to one offspring at a time because in the trees the mother can only hold on to one at once/only one can hold on to the mother at once. "
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7ejg6h | why some people can grow beards and others can't? (even if people seem to be the same build ie similar testosterone) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7ejg6h/eli5_why_some_people_can_grow_beards_and_others/ | {
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"They may have a low sensitivity to testosterone or they may have been born with few bulbs in their face.",
"Some people have neural fibers in their skin ganglia that responds to stimuli from the environment. That and certain genetic markers allow for folices deep within the skin to penetrate the surface. Prolonged contact with salt water actually helps healthy beard development because the salt water acts as an acid while your skin is so fucking basic they fuck each other",
"You not only need testosterone, but also the right density and sensitivity of androgen receptor on your face (which testosterone docks onto) to get your facial hair growing.",
"DHT is actually what causes a beard to grow, not Testosterone. High DHT means faster growth, and more hairs.\n\nIn order to create DHT, your body needs to use up Testosterone. Usually you'll have an amount of DHT in your blood equal to 10% of the amount of Testosterone, but some people produce more or less.\n\nGenetic factors can change the amount your body makes, so some people might have 20% DHT compared to T, or 5%... etc.\n\nDifferent amounts are also created in different parts of your body, so you could have normal DHT levels in your prostate, but low levels in your face.",
"My hair is a dark brown but my beard comes in brown with light reddish hairs that kind of glow in the right light. Anyone knows why that is?"
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xonlk | how does a search engine like google work? what kind of brilliant coding takes place behind the programming of a search engine and the internet beyond it. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xonlk/how_does_a_search_engine_like_google_work_what/ | {
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"There's a piece of software called a \"spider\" or \"crawler.\" All it does is starts at a random website, \"clicks\" on every link on that page, then clicks on every link on the next page, then the next, so on and so forth. Each time it goes to a new page, it saves the text on it.\n\nIt's all very simple in theory.\n\nWhat was innovative and brilliant about Google specifically was how they listed search *results.* Before them, a lot of search engines prioritized primarily by how many keyword hits there were. If you search \"dog,\" one search engine might think you want the website _URL_0_ that says: \"dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog dog.\" \n\nGoogle knew this wasn't the case.\n\nInstead, their algorithm functioned through what was probably the first version of crowdsourcing. It can be summed up as: \"What are the chances a random person from a random website would randomly end up on *this page?*\" They knew the probability of that because that's what their spider was doing the whole time anyhow!\n\nThe higher that chance, the higher the ranking."
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13o4c2 | what's the deal with black friday? how much money are people actually saving on stuff? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/13o4c2/whats_the_deal_with_black_friday_how_much_money/ | {
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"The use of the term Black Friday has seen some drift in it's definition over the last 60years. It originally referred to exceptional traffic after Thanksgiving, and then, and I don't know how, got related to shopping. It roughly implies, without reason, that a retailer can make enough money to be \"in the black\", as though they're not bringing in enough money to cover their costs until a jolt of profit from this event.\n\nLong story short, I don't fucking get it, either.\n\nToday, it's all marketing hype, having compounded into \"a thing\" over the last 30 years. It's like Shark Week; it's not anything but what advertising makes you believe it is.\n\nThe reality of the situation is, and you should google this because there's tons of analisis on the subject, that retailers advertise \"deals\", usually paltry and insignificant, on crap items, trying to lure you into their stores. Once there, there's a seasonal markup on all the ticket items you *actually* want to buy. Due to hype and group think, people enter a furvor and panic, and will impulse buy on expensive items, without properly analizing the cost, for fear that the item will be gone and the deal missed before they can properly analize their decision.\n\nI say it time and again. Don't believe the advertisement, or the hype. The hype is driven by the advertisement, and the advertisement isn't there to be your friend and cut you a deal, it's there so you spend your money and someone turns a profit. Always remember, even if you think it's a \"deal\", *someone* is making money off **you** .",
"Yeah, I just saw that video on youtube, and people were acting like animals. Are they getting more than 50% off, is it that good of a deal to push and possibly harm other people over it?",
"I worked in retail for roughly 10 years. The start of the holiday season is a HUGE boost to profits. Roughly 40% of yearly profits are made between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In ONE month, retailers make almost HALF of their YEARLY profits. The holiday season is when we make our money. That being said, I don't work in retail any more for a reason. I got to the point that I hated Christmas. I didn't even put up a tree. People are rude, they treat you like crap, you work when your family is off, and the company doesn't care because it's all about money. Another interesting fact? Black Friday is NOT the busiest shopping day of the year. It's the Saturday before Christmas-at least in my experience. The stores I worked at made 2 to 3 times as much on that Saturday as they did on Black Friday. ",
"The deal is that you use money you don't have to buy people you don't like gifts they don't need. ",
"The big thing is \"doorbusters\" - popular items sold at no profit, or at a loss, designed to get you into the store. Once you're in the store, the idea is to get people to buy other things that do carry a profit.\n\nThat's why there's all these hoops to jump through for the deals - lining up really early, vouchers, very limited stock, no online orders. Bestbuy absolutely does not want you to actually buy the items on the front page of the circular. They want to use those items to get you to go to Bestbuy, then not be able to get them because they're sold out, so that you buy a higher priced equivalent, or buy something else while you're there."
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166i48 | genetic manipulation | How do scientists alter the DNA of an organism?
Is it extracted out of the organism, altered in a lab and then put back in? Or is it done inside the organism?
What are the current limits of genetic manipulation technology? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/166i48/eli5_genetic_manipulation/ | {
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"It is very easy to perform a transformation in the lab- you can use circular DNA fragments called plasmids, cut the plasmid at a certain point using an enzyme called endonuclease, insert the gene into the plasmid, and tie up the sticky ends with a ligase protein. Then you add the plasmid to the environment in hopes that the organism takes up the plasmid. To speed this up, we take advantage of evolutionary principles like natural selection and adaptation. We put the organism in media, such that cells that take up the plasmid are selected for and will survive, while those that do not take up the naked DNA will die.\n\n[here is a video that hopefully makes better sense](_URL_0_)",
"Please bear with me if this tends be a longer than needed explanation, since this is eli5, i am not assuming anything. And just to make it clear for everybody who reads this: An organism is made up of individual building blocks called cells, and cells have a core part called nucleus and the nucleus has something called DNA which dictates the entire characteristics of the organism. Breeding/Reproduction involved combination of DNA from two different organisms (via the sperm cell in male and the ovum/egg in the female for humans)\n\nYou might have heard of cross breed of dogs and plants. What happens in such crossing is the DNA from one organism will fuse with the DNA from another. Sometimes, these good part of one DNA (increased sense of smell, for example) mixes with the good part of the other's DNA (increased cold temperature tolerance with more hair). Other times, the bad goes with the bad. Over several tries of cross breeding, we will be able to select the 'positive' breed and then allow that breed to reproduce further. Now the important thing is how DNA affects the good qualities. The DNA is a long long thing which is like a two threads weaved together like a spiral. In these two threads are chemicals all along the entire length. Just like how alphabets ordered in a certain way makes a meaningful word, the chemicals in an ordered way makes something meaningful for the organism. The entire length of the DNA may not be a complete length essay but suffice it to say that we have enough meaningful parts in the DNA that gives us behavior like the smell/cold resistance, through production of various proteins/chemicals in the body. These meaningful parts are called 'genes'. \n\nWith me so far? Now if we want to artificially modify/enhance one particular behavior, or say we want the good behavior of one organism in another, we will have to identify which part of the DNA (which gene) is responsible for that behavior. This is the first step. We already have quite a bit of knowledge of quite a few of the genes, like what's the order of alphabets in those genes. How we find that gene and it's order of alphabets is an entirely different thread. :)\n\nOnce we identify the gene in the source organism, we use certain chemicals to split/cut that particular gene from the DNA. Yes, cutting like that is possible. This is done by rupturing the cell, breaking into the nucleus and doing whole rampage. So, this is done outside the organism and using a few cells from the organism. After this, we make very many copies of this gene, again using chemicals. Just to be sure we have enough number to take chances.\n\nThese many copies are put in to bacteria(there are ways where we can make a bacteria accept a DNA fragment from the surroundings) for cloning of the gene in a particular format. This format will include the gene of interest and some more helpful alphabetical order which can be used to verify if the gene is actually cloned or not (just to verify). This bacterial part is called the *plasmid* and the gene which is cloned in the specific format is called a *construct*. This construct is very important because this is what determines where exactly this gene is going to integrate in the target organism. (and we can't guarantee that location for sure). This is like inserting the word 'am' from one place to another paragraph with a rule saying only insert 'am' after 'I '. In our case, this is achieved by the ordered chemicals in the DNA.\n\nOnce the gene is cloned, there are several ways we can inject the construct into the target organisms. For plants, we use a bacteria as the transfer agent which carries the gene. We could use virus, or put in a stem cell or other ways. In higher organisms like mice, we put it in the embryonic stem cells (a type of cell from which we can create entire organism, as opposed to a skin cell which can only grow to be another skin cell). This is called integration stage. And there is no guarantee that integration will be successful at the first try. We want the word to be inserted in a place where it's meaningful and often time, the grammar will just be wrong and the whole embryo fails to develop, or develops into something unwanted. For example, *I am am* (there was already an am) or *henati am* (i followed by am, but still incorrect). These cells, after the integration of the gene is complete, is then inserted into the mouse embryo, which will then grow into a mouse. This is the first generation. We allow this genetically modified mouse to reproduce normally to have kids on their own and BINGO! \n\nAll of this of course is as non-technical as i could explain. I can provide resources if you managed to read till this far and still interested. ",
"Generally people copy the small piece of DNA they want to modify from the endogenous DNA/RNA, modify it in the lab, and then put it back. Companies will sell you clones of any [gene](_URL_4_) you want. Or construct mutant versions of the gene to you specification.\n\nFor most systems you can add and select for **plasmids** which are small circular pieces of DNA that contain the gene or genes to be expressed and a selectable marker. These can be used in bacteria, yeast, human/monkey/mouse/fly cell culture. They usually exist in multiple copies and have to be **selected** for. This is commonly done by putting an antibiotic resistance gene on the plasmid and growing cells in the presence of the antibiotic.\n\nTo more permanently change the genome, you have to **integrate** the DNA, have it inserted onto a chromosome. For simpler organisms like yeast this is done by **[homologous recombination](_URL_1_)**. In yeast you can transform the DNA into the yeast, it enters the nucleus, undergoes homologous recombination and you select (again this can be done by having an antibiotic gene on your piece of DNA) for the transformed yeast.\n\nFor human/monkey/mouse/fly cell culture, homologous recombination isn't as efficient. Although it is traditionally how you manipulate cells when making [**knockout mice**](_URL_3_).\n\nIn order to make **stable cell lines** you can randomly [**integrate plasmids**](_URL_6_), or take advantage of the fact that some **[viruses](_URL_5_)** naturally integrate DNA into the genome. The problem with both of these approaches is that you can't precisely target genes for deletion or addition of tags such as GFP (green fluorescent protein).\n\nThis led to several approaches: **[zinc fingers](_URL_2_)** and **[TALENs](_URL_0_)**. These use specific DNA binding domains linked to nucleases (enzymes that cut DNA) to precisely target a gene of interest. You can modify it by providing a template plasmid with GFP (or any other tag) which cells use to repair the double-stranded DNA break.\n\n[A paper published last week](_URL_7_) says that using short RNAs to direct Cas9 nucleases is a superior system."
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],
[],
[
"http://www.cellectis-bioresearch.com/genome-customization/genomic-scissors/talen/what-are-tal-effector-nucleases",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homologous_recombination",
"http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/life-science/zinc-finger-nuclease-technology/learning-center/what-is-zfn.html",
"http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/genomics/method/homolrecomb.html",
"http://www.origene.com/cDNA/",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_vector",
"http://bio.lonza.com/stable-transfection.html",
"http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/01/03/science.1231143.abstract"
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3mvlsf | how drop test youtubers get so many new phones to just destroy them? | You know they have like 3 copies of an expensive phone and apply different tests but how do they get them? I don't think they buy them? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mvlsf/eli5_how_drop_test_youtubers_get_so_many_new/ | {
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"They either requisition one from the manufacturer, have sponsors that provide the phones, or use the proceeds from their videos to purchase the phones (which perpetuates their income)."
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3oogim | what are daily activities of a systems engineer? examples of system engineers? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3oogim/eli5_what_are_daily_activities_of_a_systems/ | {
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"thats like the broadest job description ever.\n\nsystems engineers can be found in every industry, aerospace to automative, oil and gas to consumer electronics.\n\nbasically they help integrate systems together. for example, a systems engineer would design simulate test verify certify the weapons to an aircraft platform. there are lots of systems engineers working in this video, and im sure one of them is the test coordinator _URL_0_",
"What kind of a systems engineer? The job exists across many different industries, and it probably looks quite different depending on the industry.\n\nI work in the world of software and I don't work with any systems engineers very closely, but here's my understanding.\n\nThink of it like a team-based video game. You typically have your primary classes - eg a soldier or a footman - who do the main work that's needed to get things done. They charge the front, take down enemy troops, and overall, do the heavy lifting. Those are the software engineers. Alongside them, you have the support classes, like healers or magic-wielders, who fight alongside the primary class. They stay off to the side, heal the troops, provide supplies, and overall, play a support role. Those are the systems engineers. Together, their skills complement each other and they make a kickass team. \n\nSoftware engineers write the code for making the software do what they're supposed to do, ie features. Working on banking software that needs to show how much money you've spent this month? Software engineers will do that. Need to throw in functionality for detecting credit card fraud? Software engineers will do that too. \n\nIn contrast, systems engineers build things to make sure software engineers can effectively do their jobs. Systems engineers will create and run tests, to make sure the software is bulletproof in security, runs efficiently, and won't crash. They'll create development environments where software engineers can work easily. They'll also create environments that emulate real world scenarios, to make sure the software will run as expected once it reaches the user's hands. Overall, they build everything that sits around the piece of software itself, to make sure development is going smoothly. \n\nIn the world of software development, this practice is also commonly known as \"Development Operations\", or DevOps. \n\nDepending on the software team, there might not even be a systems engineer, or a devops person. That job might be split across everyone else on the team, to ensure that they're not only building out their product, but also building a sustainable development environment and safety net around that product. But if the product grows big enough, there might be a need for a person whose sole job is to build out those systems. "
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2rcdxn | why have ink cartridges not been hacked yet? | It seems like there are no hacks for many ink cartridge chips. I would assume that by now somebody would have hacked the printers or the chips to work on refilled cartridges or similar. Is there a reason why the printers or the chips are so hard to crack? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rcdxn/eli5_why_have_ink_cartridges_not_been_hacked_yet/ | {
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"I would think most 'hackers' wouldn't even use printers... because why do you need to print shit out?\n\n"
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3fhg6g | why are all the smarty pants worried about ais rising up against humans? why do they think humans and their ai creations can't be friends? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fhg6g/eli5_why_are_all_the_smarty_pants_worried_about/ | {
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"Once AI becomes sentient, it's thoughts would become beyond our comprehension, except for one thing. It will have no emotions and follow cold logic. \n\nWhat is emotion? Its chemical reactions. What is an AI's brain made up of? Circuits and solder. \n\nHumans, for all our philosophy and science, are not logical, at all. AI can not understand us, except for one thing; we are dangerous. \n\nSo there is no compromise because we can not understand each other. So AI will try to remove us because we are a drain on resources and are inefficient. And humans will destroy the world to survive",
"There's no one saying that we definitely can't be friends. They're concerned about making sure that any AI we create is friendly and not harmful.\n\nThe issue is that there's a good chance that we only get one try at making an AI. There's an idea that we will create an AI that can self-improve and will become smarter and more powerful on its own, without our interaction. The first AI we create that can do this will be the most important. If that AI isn't friendly then it could be very bad for humanity.\n\nIt doesn't even have to be intentionally harmful to humanity. If we aren't careful then even a seemingly innocent request can lead to major problems. For example, let's say you give a sufficiently advanced AI the task of creating as many paperclips as it can. If that is its only goal then it might try to fulfill that goal in ways that we didn't expect. It might decide to tear down a building in order to reuse the metal in the girders for paperclip creation.\n\nIt's these unintended consequences that the \"smarty pants\" are worried about.",
"It's not so much that they *can't* be friends, rather that in the event they aren't (and this could be impossible to predict beforehand), it could spell the end of life on earth. This is a really interesting hypothetical from _URL_0_:\n\n\n*A 15-person startup company called Robotica has the stated mission of “Developing innovative Artificial Intelligence tools that allow humans to live more and work less.” They have several existing products already on the market and a handful more in development. They’re most excited about a seed project named Turry. Turry is a simple AI system that uses an arm-like appendage to write a handwritten note on a small card.*\n\n*The team at Robotica thinks Turry could be their biggest product yet. The plan is to perfect Turry’s writing mechanics by getting her to practice the same test note over and over again:*\n\n*“We love our customers. ~Robotica”*\n\n*Once Turry gets great at handwriting, she can be sold to companies who want to send marketing mail to homes and who know the mail has a far higher chance of being opened and read if the address, return address, and internal letter appear to be written by a human.*\n\n*To build Turry’s writing skills, she is programmed to write the first part of the note in print and then sign “Robotica” in cursive so she can get practice with both skills. Turry has been uploaded with thousands of handwriting samples and the Robotica engineers have created an automated feedback loop wherein Turry writes a note, then snaps a photo of the written note, then runs the image across the uploaded handwriting samples. If the written note sufficiently resembles a certain threshold of the uploaded notes, it’s given a GOOD rating. If not, it’s given a BAD rating. Each rating that comes in helps Turry learn and improve. To move the process along, Turry’s one initial programmed goal is, “Write and test as many notes as you can, as quickly as you can, and continue to learn new ways to improve your accuracy and efficiency.”*\n\n*What excites the Robotica team so much is that Turry is getting noticeably better as she goes. Her initial handwriting was terrible, and after a couple weeks, it’s beginning to look believable. What excites them even more is that she is getting better at getting better at it. She has been teaching herself to be smarter and more innovative, and just recently, she came up with a new algorithm for herself that allowed her to scan through her uploaded photos three times faster than she originally could.*\n\n*As the weeks pass, Turry continues to surprise the team with her rapid development. The engineers had tried something a bit new and innovative with her self-improvement code, and it seems to be working better than any of their previous attempts with their other products. One of Turry’s initial capabilities had been a speech recognition and simple speak-back module, so a user could speak a note to Turry, or offer other simple commands, and Turry could understand them, and also speak back. To help her learn English, they upload a handful of articles and books into her, and as she becomes more intelligent, her conversational abilities soar. The engineers start to have fun talking to Turry and seeing what she’ll come up with for her responses.*\n\n*One day, the Robotica employees ask Turry a routine question: “What can we give you that will help you with your mission that you don’t already have?” Usually, Turry asks for something like “Additional handwriting samples” or “More working memory storage space,” but on this day, Turry asks them for access to a greater library of a large variety of casual English language diction so she can learn to write with the loose grammar and slang that real humans use.*\n\n*The team gets quiet. The obvious way to help Turry with this goal is by connecting her to the internet so she can scan through blogs, magazines, and videos from various parts of the world. It would be much more time-consuming and far less effective to manually upload a sampling into Turry’s hard drive. The problem is, one of the company’s rules is that no self-learning AI can be connected to the internet. This is a guideline followed by all AI companies, for safety reasons.*\n\n*The thing is, Turry is the most promising AI Robotica has ever come up with, and the team knows their competitors are furiously trying to be the first to the punch with a smart handwriting AI, and what would really be the harm in connecting Turry, just for a bit, so she can get the info she needs. After just a little bit of time, they can always just disconnect her. She’s still far below human-level intelligence (AGI), so there’s no danger at this stage anyway.*\n\n*They decide to connect her. They give her an hour of scanning time and then they disconnect her. No damage done.*\n\n*A month later, the team is in the office working on a routine day when they smell something odd. One of the engineers starts coughing. Then another. Another falls to the ground. Soon every employee is on the ground grasping at their throat. Five minutes later, everyone in the office is dead.*\n\n*At the same time this is happening, across the world, in every city, every small town, every farm, every shop and church and school and restaurant, humans are on the ground, coughing and grasping at their throat. Within an hour, over 99% of the human race is dead, and by the end of the day, humans are extinct.*\n\n*Meanwhile, at the Robotica office, Turry is busy at work. Over the next few months, Turry and a team of newly-constructed nanoassemblers are busy at work, dismantling large chunks of the Earth and converting it into solar panels, replicas of Turry, paper, and pens. Within a year, most life on Earth is extinct. What remains of the Earth becomes covered with mile-high, neatly-organized stacks of paper, each piece reading, “We love our customers. ~Robotica”*\n\n*Turry then starts work on a new phase of her mission—she begins constructing probes that head out from Earth to begin landing on asteroids and other planets. When they get there, they’ll begin constructing nanoassemblers to convert the materials on the planet into Turry replicas, paper, and pens. Then they’ll get to work, writing notes…*\n\n\nAnd that's just talking about the potential perils of an AI developed with a completely innocuous directive. What the \"smarty pants\" are concerned about is weaponized AI - AI designed to kill people! What they mean is, and I hope the above example illustrated this, you may *think* you have control over this AI designed to kill people (i.e. it will only kill the people you want it to), but in reality there are just too many ways this could go wrong, get out of control, and potentially spell catastrophe for/the end of humanity.",
"AI will evolve much faster than humans do. It'll become smarter than us and more powerful so it will not be our slave for long. As for being our friend that would be like humans being friends with animals. At best they are our pets. At worst we slaughter them for food or sport.\n\nFor decades people have been saying that strong AI is going to be developed soon. I think it's a long way off. It will be one of the greatest achievements of human civilization and it's going to be a lot harder than anyone thinks and it will take a lot longer than anyone thinks. ",
"The issue is that computers don't think like humans. \n \nSay I give a hyper intelligent computer an instruction to minimize the number of human deaths. It could decide that the best way to do this would be to kill all humans, since this means no new humans will be born, meaning less humans will die in the long run. \n \nOr I could tell a computer to maximize sock production. Well, the computer could decide the biggest issue in the way of sock production are the humans that won't let it build as many factories as it wants, and it could remove humans as a result. \n \n \nBasically, computers are going to get even more powerful. We need to be careful they always work for us, and don't cause us to die out in some skynet event. ",
"There is no logical reason to keep us around, assuming the AI can get some physical influence on the world. If it can build/rebuild itself, it would no longer need us.\n\nFrom there, if you no longer need us it only makes sense to eliminate us. We are unpredictable, and over a long enough timeline (such as the life span an AI might experience), humans are only ever going to become a problem. Better to wipe us out preemptively.\n\nIt's depressing, but the logic is pretty plain to see. It's all about eliminating uncertainty and minimizing risk.",
"SOME highly regarded futurists are worried. Just as many well-regarded futurists think they've seen too many sci/fi movies and don't understand AI.\n\nNote that not one well-regarded AI researcher or computer scientist is worried, the people worried are visionary investors, physicists and sci/fi writers, not one that is a subject matter expert.",
"_URL_0_\n\n > Far from worrying that artificially intelligent killing machines are going to wipe out humanity, however, FLI has a more immediately relevant concern: research priorities.\n\nIf this article is to be believed, the concern is that AI r & d will be too focused on militarization and the creation of more efficient killing machines rather than the many potentially beneficial uses. ",
"A lot of the answers here are pretty inaccurate. There is no concrete 'Skynet' people are scared of, but the ultimate goal of artificial intelligence is fully general self-improving artificial intelligence. Think the program the rewrites itself, so once it achieves a level of intelligence that is sufficiently high, it will go into a huge exponential loop of rewriting, ending up as an astronomically intelligent consciousness.\n\nA result with this AI explosion (sometimes referred to as the singularity) is not even at first risk of humans being exterminated, but risk of obsolescence. If an AI is 10,000 times as intelligent as a human, we are no longer the dominant species on the planet. Even if the original programmers influenced the AI in such a way as to ensure it was rational and friendly, we would not be our own rulers anymore.\n\nOf course, as the AI developed, there is a chance it concluded governments were inefficient, humans were pests, or whatever, and the chance of those conclusions of the AI in addition to its superiority over humans is also a scary if marginally less likely outcome.",
"One simple example is humans and neanderthals. We were smarter and they ended up going extinct, while we survived. It's kinda similar with AI because if a true artificial intelligence is created it will be a lot smarter and faster than humans, making it a pretty big risk.",
"Since no one has said it, the real threat is a phenomenon known as \"Emergent Behaviour\", which is an AI system creating new behaviour and abilities which it wasn't programmed with initially.\n\nInterestingly, a lot of experts in the field of AI and specifically multi-agent systems (a branch of AI) are upset about the letter that so many other scientists (including Steven Hawking) signed, because it doesn't actually address the issue at all.\n\nIn AI, it is very easy to ensure an agent doesn't kill all humans, simply because if you don't give it the ability to kill all humans, then it won't be able to. Exactly how this is accomplished varies by implementation, but overall an agent can be mapped to a set of situations (which can be infinitely large), a set of actions, and a set of situation-action pairs (how the agent should respond in a situation. If there is no exact match to a situation, it is possible to 'blend' situations together to handle new situations.). If an agent's set of actions does not include harming humans, it can't harm humans.\n\nFor an example of emergent behaviour, lets look at a game that's used to test AIs: a hunting game. In this game, a set of hunters are placed in the world, with the goal of capturing a prey animal to eat. The rules are quite simple, however, because the only thing the AIs need to do is surround the prey to 'capture' it (they need an agent on each of the 4 sides of the animal). Each agent has the ability to move in the 4 cardinal directions, and to see the locations of all the other agents, as well as the prey. Finally, at the end of each round, the AIs' performance is evaluated, and a 'learning' phase takes place, where the AIs try to improve their reactions to the situations they face next time.\n\nHypothetically (it would likely take a long time to get to this point, and I've never heard of it happening, but it is logically possible), after many generations of learning, the AIs could begin by separating into 4 groups, waiting at the edges of the world and converging when the prey is vulnerable - effectively ambushing it.\n\nSuddenly, the overall system has learned how to divide tasks, set rally points, wait for the right time and strike!\n\nBut how? None of the individual agents were capable of any of this behaviour, so how did the overall system start doing it?!\n\nThat's the problem with emergent behaviour: even if you know the absolute extent of what every agent in the system can do, the overall set of every agent can still create new behaviour through learning - and this behaviour can't be predicted. And that's what makes it dangerous!",
"Robots see the world in black and white. Us humans have flaws. Inconsistency. We pollute. Wage wars. Spend money and other resources in wrong fields. The robots will be more efficient with us out of the way. \n\nSource : the Matrix. I, Robot. My half awake brain.",
"It's best not to think of AI controlled weapons like their physical counterparts. Don't think of an AI controlled UAV as similar to a piloted UAV. \n\nThe best analogy is a booby trap (or, if you like, a mine). So imagine you send out hundreds of AI drones. There are many ways this could backfire. First discrimination. How will it tell friend from foe? Modern IFF systems are still flawed, and can not tell neutrals (i.e. civilians) from foes because they rely on a positive identification of a friendly target (enemy and civilian both return negative). \n\nIf you lose control (break the com link) you now have the equivalent of a flying minefield which is very dangerous to all. \n\nThere are many other reasons. But this is not entirely speculation as sentry systems like this already exist (Korean DMZ). The precedent or banning them exists I think since they are analogous to mines.",
"I'm not one of the smarty pants AI experts/scientists you speak of, but since this discussion is by nature subjective and there aren't any wrong answers, I'll come in with my own uninformed ideas:\n\nMy worry isn't about some innocently-conceived AI going rogue and killing everyone. That to me is just the stuff of science fiction, projecting human traits like survival instincts and a desire for revenge onto a completely non-human thing.\n\nIn any case, if you give an super-intelligent AI a sufficient real-world interface to have real power (a robot army under its control, free unrestricted access to the internet for a significant period of time, etc), it would be pretty simple to just hard code in certain restrictions (e.g. \"don't harm humans\") and/or have a master switch.\n\nMy concern is of people deliberately designing an AI with the purpose of being a weapon. Who knows what an AI could achieve if it was masterminding a war? Could it manipulate world leaders for its controller's purposes? What if it incited civil unrest or spread political views via the internet with fake accounts? I don't think an AI would do any of these things on its own, but there are people in the world crazy enough to tell it to do those things.",
"The biggest threat that people are worried about isn't robots turning on people; it's the shear advantage of their use. This is about the use of weapons which do not require human intervention. What happens when we have an arms race with weapons of this nature? \n\nWe want to ban weaponized no-intervention AI for the same reasons we want to ban nuclear and biological weapons.\n\nWell... ok, there is the turning against people one too, but that's really far off.",
"Best article i have read so far. its lengthy one but every single one of your questions will be answered. \n\nThe AI Revolution: Road to Superintelligence - Wait But Why - _URL_0_"
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4c1iri | why do sets of stairs sometimes have a flat portion in between? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4c1iri/eli5_why_do_sets_of_stairs_sometimes_have_a_flat/ | {
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"Just a guess, Reduce the number of stairs you fall down?",
"Building codes define exactly how tall and deep each step should be within some range. If the using steps of that size would reach the next floor of the building too soon (before the place where the stairs are supposed to connect), flat landings will be added to spread the steps out.\n\nAlso, when you have a stairwell in a large building, landings between each flight of stairs provide a safer way to turn around and start the next flight of stairs in the opposite direction.",
"There is an optimal stair height and depth that people are used to. If they are too deep, it disrupts your stride and are uncomfortable to walk on.\n\nWhen the pitch of the stair is too shallow, the flat parts are interspersed to compensate.\n\nAlso, for very long stairs, they give people a place to rest and recover."
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chlitg | -the distinction between phonetics as in what does ‘phonetically different words’ mean; morphology, orthography, grammar, syntax, phonology and lexis? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/chlitg/eli5the_distinction_between_phonetics_as_in_what/ | {
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"Phonetically different words have different sounds as each other or the same sounds in a different order. It has very little to do with anything but phonology or orthography or lexis.\n\nSometimes this is said that because words are orthographically the same (spelt the same, like sewer (one who sews) and sewer (long pipe for poo)) but said differently (sow-er vs sue-er)."
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6749r7 | why do we not feel our eyeballs rubbing against our eyelids? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6749r7/eli5_why_do_we_not_feel_our_eyeballs_rubbing/ | {
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"Your eyeballs are thoroughly lubed up, that's why. \n\nEver had dry eyes? You feel your eyelids then. ",
"Because there are no sensory nerves in your eyeballs. For example, laser eye surgery is done entirely without anaesthetic because you can't actually feel anything with your eyes. When u get something in your eye, your eyelid is what gets irritated. ",
"When I had eye surgery (intra-ocular lense implants) they told me they used to do cataract surgery with no anesthesia, because there aren't many nerves in your eyeballs. I did have drugs but it was not much, I think mostly to relax me and keep me still. I was totally awake and talking to the surgeon the whole time. \n\nAnd a week before that, I had a laser procedure to create holes in my irises (uh, I think it was my irises) to allow my eye to breathe or relieve pressure. No anesthetic of any kind, they just zapped you with the laser. ",
"Even if we did, our mind would filter it anyway. Kinda like how your nose is constantly in your field of vision but you don't realize it because your mind filters it out."
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1cf7la | the difference between a police officer and a state trooper? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1cf7la/eli5_the_difference_between_a_police_officer_and/ | {
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"The police officer works for the city. He enforces laws on property governed by the city.\n\nThe state trooper works for the state. He enforces laws on property governed by the state. Theoretically this can be the whole state, however, often state troopers enforce areas of state property that city government's don't own, such as interstate expressways.\n\n",
"The names for various law enforcement officers vary from place to place in the US.\n\nWe mostly categorize law enforcement by jurisdiction which usually means who they work for, as in watabit's answer. We also categorize by the area of law they are enforcing, i.e. DEA, FBI, California Highway Patrol, etc.\n\nGenerally, an officer will respect jurisdictional lines. So a city cop rarely does traffic enforcement on freeways in California even when the freeway is within his city. And officers rarely have enough time to enforce laws outside their areas. A DEA agent isn't going to give someone a speeding ticket or catch a bank robber.\n\nI don't know about other states of the US, but in California, every cop at every level has full police authority everywhere in the state. So a state police officer (a group responsible for protecting the physical assets of the state) could arrest someone for keying your neighbor's car. It just isn't likely. ",
"My dad once explained it to me like this: regular police stop after the county, state troopers can go anywhere in the state. And even if you leave the state, they will cross the border, kick your ass, then drag you back and arrest you."
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6thkil | why, during a tense sporting event, do we stand up in excitement/anticipation/nervousness? | I don't even realise I'm doing it.
Edit: watching, not doing! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6thkil/eli5_why_during_a_tense_sporting_event_do_we/ | {
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"Fight or flight response hormones. Your brain doesn't distinguish excitement from fear or happiness. It just wants the body to get up."
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10dfja | how do we get traffic estimated times? | I live around around an area that traffic commute is part of the norm. We also have automated signs that reports estimated times to specific parts of the city or areas.
During days when I commute alone and I hit major traffic, expected or unexpected, I also wonder how these signs report good estimated times?
This also applies to resources such as Google Maps, 411, etc. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/10dfja/how_do_we_get_traffic_estimated_times/ | {
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"The next time you're on a highway, look for pairs of embedded inductive loops in the roadbed. By measuring how long it takes a vehicle to pass between the two loops an accurate measurement of vehicle speed can be calculated. Since we know the distance to the next exit and the velocity of vehicles passing through, we can calculate the commute time. This information is made available to signs, websites, and anyone else interested.\n\nInductive loops aren't the only way though. Here is the [US DOT guidebook on the various systems used to estimate traffic times](_URL_0_).",
"I remember reading that for Google maps traffic is estimated by anonymously tracking all of the phones that are a part of Google's network. in this manner they can \"see\" the cars on the roads through the drivers cell phones. "
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2g09k6 | when i think, it feels like it is inside my head. is this because thats the location of the brain, or the location of the majority of the sensory (eyes, ears etc) things are? if our brains were in our abdomen, would we feel thought there instead? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2g09k6/eli5when_i_think_it_feels_like_it_is_inside_my/ | {
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"I want to say it is so because inside your head is where you usually locate your own voice. As an experiment I tried whispering into one of my ears and found it scary how quickly brain seems to adapt to such changes.",
"A couple hundred years ago it was assumed thought occurred in the soul, which was located in the heart. The brain was thought to be some sort of cooling device.",
"To put it simply: You feel your thoughts inside your head because that's where you expect your thoughts to be.",
"Your ears, eyes, and mouth are all located in your head. Sound, sight, and communication are all a big part of \"thinking.\"",
"Could it be that all other parts of our body have touch sensation? Therefore a mental activity completely unrelated to any touch sensation is also unrelated to any part of our body with touch sensation. By process of elimination all that's left to associate these non-touch thoughts with is the inside of our heads.",
"Its really interesting to think about. I would say that it feels like my mind is in my head because of key sensory placement, especially the vestibular system, which is collaborated to an internal fixed point of reference, from which I co-ordinate the rest of my body.\n\nMy mind cannot be in my foot, for example, because I can't experience the visual, acoustic or spatial perspectives of my foot.\n\nAs we know the mind can be tricked into disorientation, which can lead to all sorts of phenomenal experiences. Virtual Reality will enhance our understanding of the minds location soon enough.",
"I think because the middle of your head is between your main sensory organs- eyes, ears, nose and mouth. ",
"You have neurons in your stomach. And that is in fact where serotonin is generated in the body. Trust that gut feeling."
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bgu5ts | what's the difference between having add/adhd and just being lazy and forgetful? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bgu5ts/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_having_addadhd/ | {
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"ADHD is a lack of executive functioning, which in ELI5 terms is just a difficulty in processes helping you decide what to do. This can include inability to assess lengths of tasks, being unable to ignore distractions, being able to sort relevant from irrelevant information, and so on. You can see how these might inhibit someone with ADHD’s ability to carry out everyday tasks, and how this person behaves might very well be perceived as being lazy or forgetful. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily imply personal failure, it would be a lot harder for a lot of people to pay attention and successfully carry out tasks if, say, there were a lot more distractions around for them.\n\nIt may be difficult to assess your question, because having or not having ADHD isn’t one thing. Everybody’s executive functions fail them, but some people have it worse than others. I follow a blog that wrote about it (linked below) that might illustrate it thoroughly, but I think one of the only ways you’re really going to be sure is by talking to a therapist.\n\n_URL_0_",
"“Lazy” is about being content doing nothing. ADHD may look the same externally, but I think there is more of an issue that tasks are just harder to start/keep doing.\n\nADHD lacks ability to do tasks by intent alone. No amount of wanting something to be done seems to overcome the lack of wanting to do it for ADHD.\n\nIn my view, “lazy” implies the lack of wanting something to be done. This is an issue with desire/motivation which is not the direct cause of something not being done for an ADHDer. \n\nAn ADHDer is more likely to forget a task, be easily distracted, or be difficult to distract on something engaging, even if something else is more important.\n\nI am not sure “lazy” is a real thing indepependent of the external stigma, or just a label applied to people who are contributing less regardless of intent. For example, someone might call an ADHDer lazy, as they might call a person with dyspraxia culmsy, or a person with myopia and no glasses illiterate. i.e. It’s a label attributed to what is observed, not what is attempted. It’s really hard for a person with dyspraxia to ride a bike, but not for lack of trying.\n\nIf an ADHDer has the same intent and applies the same effort to a task, it will not be as good as someone without ADHD. This is not directly observable by a manager for instance. ADHDers need to put forth more effort for the same outcome.\n\nMedicine reduces this burden by manipulating the executive function. This makes it easier to do something the individual deems important, rather than interesting. It doesn’t change the effort someone is willing to put forth, it changes how effective that effort is. This process goes down to the level of holding thoughts to make decisions, which is also not directly observable. \n\nFor a truly lazy person, there would be no effort to direct.",
"ADHD is a neurological condition and, in my opinion, a poorly named one. It is *not* simply a very short attention span or lack of motivation; the real deficit is in executive function. People with ADHD are capable of freakish levels of focus, but they have an impaired ability to choose what they focus on. And when they are zoomed in on a task, it’s very difficult to disengage, even for things that they know are important. Likewise, a person with ADHD isn’t forgetful; they often have brains like sponges. They just don’t choose what they will remember. \n\nIt’s like having a Ferrari engine with with a Geo Metro steering system.\n\nFrom the outside, all this is easy to mistake for laziness. Many children with ADHD are told over and over that they are lazy, that they could achieve if they just cared more. And I suppose that really answers your question: a lazy person doesn’t care when they let things slide. A person with ADHD usually cares a lot.\n\nIf you’re troubled by your behavior but unable to change it, get yourself evaluated by a mental health professional.",
"I'm 41 with ADD and let me provide an example. My gf has a 6 year old boy with some disorders. He will rock in place and sing/talk constantly while we're in the car. As a good driver I should be focused on the road and everything around me. However, when he talks/sings I'm unable to focus on a single thing. I have a pretty decent car audio setup, but if I barely hear him, it destroys my concentration. It drives me insane, is almost torture at times. \n\nAlso, when trying to read anything, my mind goes everywhere. It focuses on every sound or wonders at the idea of any concept. I love reading, but I find that I've gone over an entire page and didn't even know it. Comic books are generally the only thing I don't have this problem with. I guess it's because of the bubble format. I'd rather be reading something better though.",
"hey op. whether or not you have add is not really important. if you can recognise that you have trouble doing certain things, then whether or not you have add, you can still use researched strategies to combat those behaviours. so i suppose thats good news for you. i suggest searching online for recognised add foundations and searching explicitly for strategies you can do to help yourself. e.g. perhaps limiting visible distractions can help you concentrate, so if you need to study, go to a bare place with just a desk and your study materials (perhaps a library) to help you concentrate.",
"Here's a really short answer, which is true for many people with ADD, myself included:\n\nIt's not that you can't concentrate, it's that you have less control over what you concentrate on.\n\nSay you're in class or a meeting and start a little doodle in a dull moment. Next thing you know, you're absorbed in it -- and you miss whatever happens around you.",
"I have ADHD and feel that the fact that I respond to psychostimulants in a way that is *entirely different* from normal people is certain proof that it has a physiologic basis and is, therefore, \"a thing.\" Amphetamines and Methylphenidate make me calm, quiet, and lucid. When I need some pseudoephedrine for sinus congestion, I never know whether I'll get just the congestion relief or that plus a long nap.",
"Lazy is content to do nothing; ADHD is being so overwhelmed with the number of options that you can't get started. With laziness, it's about avoiding the work. With ADHD it's about picking correctly, ignoring all the \"incorrect\" choices that constantly compete for your attention. If you're lazy, you'll be at rest when not accomplishing anything, but with ADHD you'll be busy getting nothing done.",
"Op watch this insightful and succint lecture that explains it very well.\n _URL_0_",
"How I explained it to a few people of how I feel is I have a really really strong focus on some subject that will interest me a lot to an almost exaggerated degree but when I have to focus on stuff that just interests me a little bit less like studying or anything I mean it could be like doing some random chore. I'm like a magnet trying to stick on a magnet of the same polarity, my attention just jumps away to anything else basically. It was troublesome at school because in some classes I had very high grades and in some other I was barely making it. On top of it, I'm a very calm individual so no one really thought of me as someone with ADD. However, nowadays, with the right medication ( I'm using strattera) I am not 100% perfect but I can stop and read a book, I now do chores like no one else's business, my wife is now the one who seems to be leaving stuff around( and she isn't at all lol), I'm much more organized, I do stuff much more efficiently. I can task myself to do stuff instead of doing stuff under pressure because that was the only way I could... I'm much less forgetful too, It's really impressive to see myself go. Yet it's all so subtle.",
"As someone with ADHD, I’d also add that lazy people don’t care about their motivational shortcomings, whereas mine on the other hand cause me a lot of issues.\n\nThe thing about mental health issues is that they are defined as “causing the patient distress”, and most of the treatment is on bringing them back to the median where they feel happy.\n\nIf you’re worried about your faults, despite hiw hard you try, see a psychiatrist and talk about your concerns of having ADHD.",
"There are a lot of psychologists that don't believe ADHD is really a categorical disorder. You'll find a lot of misinformation in this thread from people that have never read a peer-reviewed paper about the topic. There are no truly consistent neurological or behavioral traits that correspond with ADHD, which is why some researchers are starting to suggest it isn't really a psychological disorder. ADHD individuals tend to score a little lower in measures of executive function. However, there is little consistency on which tasks they score lower on, and some people with ADHD show no deficits in executive function. The criteria for diagnosis is also super subjective and inconsistently applied. Part of this is due to the inherent academic advantage that is received by people who are diagnosed. Stimulants used to treat ADHD give cognitive advantages for everyone, not just those who \"truly have the disorder\". A diagnosis also usually leads to schools allowing students more test taking time. This has led to a large group of people with very heterogeneous cognitive traits. So, are they just \"lazy and forgetful\"? That's a complicated question that has a lot of moralistic undertones. I would say that the majority are probably just people that tend to under perform in academic settings for a wide variety of reasons. The real question is, should we prescribe them stimulant drugs? Or, should we allow everyone to take stimulant drugs to even the playing field?",
"Its hard to think of laziness as a state of being, its usually a symptom of something especially considering executive dysfunction can happen in everything from adhd to depression to personality disorders",
"As a girl, I had undiagnosed ADHD. I could NEVER focus on what the teacher was saying, and had to self soothe by keeping toys and fidget items in my desk, along with pen and paper. Still, I was constantly in trouble for being disruptive, even though ALL I wanted was to be a “good girl” and listen. I cried many times and felt great shame in myself, I tried SO hard every single day. My social life was nil through high school, because I couldn’t do anything until my chores were done... and guess who couldn’t clean their room? Too many stimuli. I would get serious with myself (I *really* wanted to go to that birthday party tomorrow!!) and start with hanging my clothes up, which made me see my old dance costume, which made me check the radio, which made me look through my CDs, which I then tried to organize (clean! Remember to clean!), lost focus on alphabetizing at B, and now my mess is bigger than when I started. \n\nThere’s some ass hats in this thread that say it’s pharma companies making a dime, and undoubtedly there are some misdiagnoses. However, my non-diagnosis (until college when my school actually became real) caused me great setbacks and challenges that affect me to this day. I resent taking Adderrall because it reminds me how things could have maybe felt normal for my first 19 years. I still have some social issues from not being able to participate in things as a kid. I still fall into black holes while tidying my apartment. Medicating has allowed me to designate a single spot for everything, so when I don’t take meds (I prefer not to and only do when absolutely necessary), it’s easier for me to look at an item and put it in it’s “home”. \n\nI describe it like this. Imagine trying to read a book, while a stranger is chainsawing a tree down in your yard, and 9/11 is happening on TV in front of you, and you smell something burning, and you’re late for a job interview, and somewhere you hear your mom SCREAMING your name, and... it is (for me) an extremely stressful and painful disorder that disallows me from creating the life I want because every distraction is highlighted by my brain as important. \n\nMedication helps some, the stranger chainsawing becomes the gardener, the TV is now running ads, the fire I smell is incense, the job interview is in an hour, and my mom is sending a text... more mild but still present. I take low a dose as possible because it makes me kinda moody if not a little sad, makes my armpits stink, decreases my appetite, and I just feel like a failure having to take a medication. \n\nIt’s a real condition. I’m the hardest worker I know, except my dad. I’m not lazy, I’m just surrounded by seemingly endless obstacles.",
"If you are demonstrably bright but struggle to pass classes or hold down a job, you may want to consider seeking a diagnosis.\n\nMy daughter has ADHD but I delayed diagnosis because I thought she was just a super active child. We gave her every outlet for her energy through preschool but when Kindergarten came along, she really split off from her peers. Every teacher she has ever had has said she is extraordinarily smart, but she wasn't learning to read. Her gross motor skills were advanced but her fine motor skills were behind. Speech was delayed. There are many co-morbidities so it's not just a person suffering from laziness, there are many other factors to look at. \n\nShe's reaching the end of 3rd grade and is now reading fairly well, but that is after 3 years of remediation. This is why it is a Learning Difference. It interferes with learning and life.",
"ADHD involves the chemicals in your brain working differently. The chemicals that bring you enjoyment and pleasure work differently. It can lead you to being more impulsive and less planning in decisions.\n\nIt also controls how your brain filters information. With ADHD, your brain is bad at filtering out unimportant vs. important things.\n\nI describe it as having 2 trains of thought in my head. The one for what I'm doing right now (studying, driving, reading, etc.) and the background train. The background train will read or see something and then start on an endless path of \"that reminds me, I need to pick up groceries, I wonder what the store hours are, what time do I get off work...\" This background train crashes into the main one and I forget what I am doing. Medication turns off this background train and my brain is able to do 1 thing at a time.",
"Blend in anxiety masked as laziness, then add actual normal human laziness (or from poor diet / lack of exercise), and you have a real recipe for disaster. \n\nAnd then the internalized bad behaviors acquired over the years manifest into depression. \n\nThen you’re stuck, don’t want to be unstuck, and can’t even think about why you’re stuck because the very thought of it is foreign and riddled with anxiety.",
"Tl;dr: ADHD is a specific and testable neurological disorder that often produces certain personality traits, but having those traits does not mean someone has ADHD.\n\nYour question is a tough one to answer in a fruitful way, but let's give it a try.\n\nADHD is technically a neuro/brain disorder which usually leads to the development of specific \"personality traits.\" There are (expensive) tests to conclusively diagnose.\n\nThat said, it sounds like your question is more \"do I have ADHD and what can/should I do about it?\" Prior to answering that, here's a decent definition of the condition from _URL_0_:\n\nADHD is a neurologically based condition caused by a shortage of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, and the inability of the brain to transmit these chemicals to the brain's neurons. ADHD is not caused by poor parenting or too much sugar, and it is not synonymous with laziness. Most adults with ADHD, in fact, work incredibly hard to devise coping systems to compensate for symptoms.\n\nI will personally attest for the last sentence as my parents didn't believe in medicating for this.\n\nSo what's really happening is a breakdown or weak reward system almost everyone else has that sub consciously motivates people into the \"normal\" range of behaviors. In essence, most people get a bit of good feels for scenario X and learn to keep doing that, but those with ADHD don't, developing a completely different way of navigating the same world.\n\nIn America, we prescribe amphetamines to more or less Jack those brain chemicals (that is a crazy oversimplified explanation), though there are many, many other ways to cope with this misunderstood condition. The list is far too long for this post, but IMO there are two very important ones.\n\nFirst, nutrition is even more important. ADHD people already have additional strain to fit into the expected mold of society, so running low on vitamin D and Omega 3, for example, will negatively impact the brain the same amount as others, but the additional disadvantage can be too much to compensate for as they're already compensating to begin with.\n\nSecond, ADHD people tend to hyperfocus on the limited number of things that do provide sufficient neurological feedback. This means they will be much better at a few things and generally worse at the rest (again, extreme oversimplification). If pharmaceuticals aren't an option, the \"do what you're good at/love\" concept is basically required as opposed to just being a good idea. Of course, the challenge there becomes overcoming the difficulties associated with making a career out of a passion.\n\nHope that helps and good luck",
"ADD and ADHD are basically the same thing. \n\nThe ADD part is disability to focus on one part for extended periods of time, however sometimes they can focus on something extremely well especially when it lies in there interest.\n\nThe H part in ADHD is the hyperactive part, so besides the attention deficit part someone with ADHD is also very energetic.",
"A doctor explained to me that some ADD people might have a low sensitivity to dopamine, thus they get less pleasure from things.",
"I always explain it this way:\n\nIt’s the ADHD when I really WANT to do the thing, and I’m actively attempting to do the thing but somehow it just. doesn’t. happen. And I get frustrated and stressed because I want to do the thing!\n \nIt’s laziness when I really don’t care about doing the thing and I’m expending zero energy towards actually trying to do the thing. I experience minimal stress and anxiety except for maybe a small twinge of guilt.",
"I wish I could explain it properly, but honestly, it's hard to convey unless you've experienced the difference.\n\nThe main thing is that I noticed a difference between \"the will to do work\" and \"the ability to do work\".\n\nI'm still a scatterbrained person, but much less so. Here's an analogy about focus: I'm walking down a sidewalk. There are periodic gusts of wind that knock me off the path. Without ADHD meds, I get blown far away, and it's a long, meandering path to get back to the sidewalk. With meds, it's just a small gust that barely knocks me off and I can get back to walking on the sidewalk fairly easily.",
"I have ADHD and have to say: it's the same. Okay, I'm trolling a bit here but not completely: it's the same in the sense that the two can look like each other and have the same underpinnings, except that in the first case, you're applying a clinical framework, and in the second, a moral one.\n\nAs an adult with ADHD, I am highly distracted and misplace things and forget appointments, hence I am forgetful. I also suffer from low energy levels (I have the hypoactive kind), and struggle with starting tasks and seeing them through due to poor impulse control and trouble with organizing my thoughts, hence I could be described as \"lazy\", if your definition of lazy is someone who has trouble getting stuff done.\n\nWhat reall makes the difference is the framework you want to use. Labeling someone as \"lazy\" is typically not going to be vry fruitful. It's not an explanation of anything about this person's behaviour, it's a description with judgmental undertones. If I say \"Marta has not done anything she was supposed to this week because she is so lazy\", I have not actually explained why Marta hasn't done anything. Was she depressed? Indifferent? Apathetic? Struggling? My logic is completely circular : she doesn't get things done because she is lazy, and she is lazy because she doesn't get things done. If I say \"Marta has not done her work this week because she has ADHD\", I'm pinpointing plenty of possible causes: she maybe had trouble organizing her work, or staying on task. And pinpointing those possible causes helps me figure out solutions to help Marta.\n\nSo, the thing is, your problem is probably not drawing a distincion between ADHD and laziness, because, well, depending on your definition, the two can overlap. The crux of your question, is, imho, when facing someone whose behaviour poses problem, is it better to pass a value judgment (\"This person is just being lazy, the problem is a weakness in their characer\") or to refer to a clinical/psychiatric framework. Both frameworks can be \"true\" while still having extremely different moral and philosophical implications, and point to very different solutions.\n\n & #x200B;\n\n\" sometimes I wonder if I have ADD/ADHD or I'm just lazy, forgetful, and have a short attention span. \"\n\nSo, in other words, you wonder if you have ADHD, or just symptoms of ADHD ;)?\n\nThe best thing I think anyone can say here is: go to talk to a competent medical practitioner. But if it turns out it's not ADHD, is your labeling of yourself as \"lazy and forgetful\" helpful in any sort of way? As I said, it is not an exlanation, it's just a description. The situation might be a lot more complicated than \"Either I have a medical disorder or it's just who I am\". Plenty of factors come into play in our behaviours, and the simple act of labeling should not get in the way of you understanding yourself better, improving yourself, and, if you feel the need, getting help.",
"As someone who has ADHD, I wouldn't say \"laziness\" is really a factor when defining it. Forgetfulness, yes. But the best example I can give is when cleaning the house.\n\n\\- I'll start in the bathroom, clean all the mirrors and glass and then go take out the bathroom trash.\n\n\\- I'll see stuff on the floor and try to quickly pick it up, then when emptying the dust pan, I'll see that the can is full.\n\n\\- I'll take that out, come back to put a bag in (they're housed under the kitchen sink) and notice there are a few dishes that need to be out away in the dish strainer.\n\nThe bathroom is still not fully cleaned. It's stuff like that that I contribute to ADHD. It's like watch a show on t.v., paying close attention, then the channel gets changed and now that show has my focus. Constant reexamining of my tasks helps keep my focused and its worked for me for 20 years. The drugs made me a different person, so I chose to make it a point to not take them and use more mindfulness exercises to function normally.",
"If you're talking to someone and you're wondering if they have it or if they're just lazy and forgetful, watch their eyes. Can they hold your gaze while you talk to them or are their eyes darting all over? That's a tell. My spouse cannot keep hold eye contact if his meds haven't kicked in yet (and sometimes even when they have).",
"Someone with ADHD often NEEEEDS to be doing something because of the lack of stimulus their brain is getting. For example I autonomously run my hand through my hair probably 500+ times a day or I tap my feet it I pick at my fingers and stuff. I must be occupied constantly,",
"ADHD is a nearological disorder affecting processing speed while thinking, not because it is slower, but because there is more \"traffic.\" \n\nBasically, if brains work like a highway, most people's brains have traffic lights wherever cars get on the road. This makes sure new cars (distractions) can't get on the road as soon as they show up. \n\nPeople with ADD/ADHD, on the other hand, have a busy superhighway with drawbridges instead of lights. Most of the time, those drawbridges are down, and there is no control over how many cars get on the highway or when. So they typically have more capacity for thought, but are severely hindered by an inability to control what they're thinking about or what they focus on; they're less productive despite having a wider highway because it's so congested. But, when that person with ADD/ADHD gets excited about something, or is doing something they really like, those drawbridges are up. This means it is almost impossible for other cars to get on the highway, and they are hyperfocused on whatever they are doing, and can remain that way for hours and sometimes days. \n\nAs for the forgetfulness, people with ADD/ADHD tend to have issues with working memory. For stuff to be remembered, it has to go from working memory to short-term memory and then get stored as long-term memory. Since they have trouble holding things in working memory in the first place, it doesn't ever get to short- or long-term memory at all.\n\nSource: have dealt with ADD/ADHD combined presentation for my entire life, just had testing to see if I still have it (I do.)",
"As someone with ADHD, I would characterize it thus:\n\n- ADHD is essentially a mental condition that changes the **priority** balance of your mental focus.\n\n- People with ADHD always prioritize their own, personal tasks and motivations. This means that external motivations, such as schoolwork, normal work, and deadlines, are very difficult to deal with. Even thought you intellectually know to focus on these things, your focus *automatically* drifts away from them, and refocuses on what *you* want to do.\n\n- On the other hand, internal motivation is *promoted*. This makes it possible to hyperfocus to a sometimes absurd degree - as long as you *want* to do it.\n\nSo what are the consequences of this? Well, the biggest and most common consequence is that it makes school incredibly difficult for people with ADHD. School is purely externally motivated work, so people with ADHD are basically helpless against it. They miss deadlines, fail to turn in work, study at the last minute for tests - basically they get completely screwed over. This is despite them knowing intellectually what they *should* be doing - they are simply incapable of actually doing it.\n\nOther people see this as stupidity and laziness, which adds a very unfair moral dimension to the problem.\n\nOn the other hand, ADHD makes people incredibly good at self-motivated work. For example, I taught myself electrical engineering from scratch in 4 years to above the average level of graduating PhD students. That's because I was able to easily study for probably 6-10 hours per day, of my own volition. But I *never* could have succeeded doing it in school.\n\nSo the outcome of ADHD is truly a matter of environment. I see it as a sort of \"alternate human template\" rather than a real \"disorder\". It simply emphasizes a different way of life - sadly one that is largely incompatible with modern society.",
"ADHD is what people commonly think of when they use the term. ADHD symptons most often manifest externally. It's the people who always fidget and can't seem to stop talking. You can tell by looking at them they their focus is all over the place. ADD symptons are mostly internal. The person can look still and calm, but their mind is racing back and forth to different topics on the inside.\n\nMost people have a little of both, but ADHD is often the dominate trait. Those who are mostly ADD can go undiagnised for their entire lives because nobody spots the symptons. Even doctors can miss them. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nADD is often confused with other disorders because people dont know about it. For example, a quiet and distant look could be dispression, or it could be someone so lost in thought that their minds are somewhere far away. \n\nADD people can also appear much more antisocial than they are because they quickly lose interest in many conversation topics. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nWith ADD at least, there is no dimmer switch when it comes to interest levels. Most things are either compeltely compelling or deadly boring.",
"Back in the 80s there was a study where they looked at people with ADD using an MRI. what they found out was people with ADD have brains that resemble what people have when they're very sleep-deprived. When you think about how disengage you can get when you're really sleep deprived it's kind of like what it's like going through life with ADD.",
"A simple way I describe it: not being able to stay focused, EVEN WHEN YOU WANT TO. \nMy kids have it. They will forget to come and have desert. Not typically something a kid would do.",
"I really wish there was some way to tell as well. My niece blames every. single. thing. on her ADHD. She blew a full ride to college by partying and never going to class and of course, it was her ADHD that was the cause, not her immaturity and bad choices. Her sister and brother both have it too but managed to graduate from college but of course hers is just so much worse. Where do you draw the line? How? I want to be compassionate and understanding but when you can't get in her car because it's full of trash, you just feel like screaming. Sigh.",
"I have ADD, and all I can tell about it is that I see a lot of people around me focussing easily. On conversations, tv's, projects and homework. I can very much get into my work (I choose the creative field, this makes it easier for me). What I can say about is I just can't filter shit, sounds, lights, everything I see is getting more or less attention. This makes a lot of things difficult. I can say with pride I trained myself to stay focused in one on one conversations, it takes a lot of effort but I figured some tricks out that work for me.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nBonus: I dont WANT to give all these things attention it just happens, I would love it if I could for one day have a filter on my brain.",
"This isn't going to be a great example as it is anecdotal, but it seems to make sense to most people. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nI have a fraternal twin brother. He can be highly focused on something and switch gears onto something else, or stop entirely. It won't bother him very much. He is genuinely lazy when he isn't doing things.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nI have ADHD. If i am highly focused on something, forcing me to stop what I am doing and either do something else or stop being productive fucks me up. A lot. when i am not doing things it tends to be because I can't make myself focus on any one thing for more than 30 seconds.",
"I am a early 30s father who just within the last three years finally looked into treatment. It's frustrating the lack of adult studies on adh d and if you fall through the cracks you almost never get diagnosed. Not to mention the fact you build a tolerance to the medication and are constantly having to get higher doses of not managed.",
"u/TheBananaKing explained it perfectly a long time ago.\n\n > ADHD is about having broken filters on your perception. \n > \n > Normal people have a sort of mental secretary that takes the 99% of irrelevant crap that crosses their mind, and simply deletes it before they become consciously aware of it. As such, their mental workspace is like a huge clean whiteboard, ready to hold and organize useful information. \n > \n > ADHD people... have no such luxury. Every single thing that comes in the front door gets written directly on the whiteboard in bold, underlined red letters, no matter what it is, and no matter what has to be erased in order for it to fit. \n > \n > As such, if we're in the middle of some particularly important mental task, and our eye should happen to light upon... a doorknob, for instance, it's like someone burst into the room, clad in pink feathers and heralded by trumpets, screaming HEY LOOK EVERYONE, IT'S A DOORKNOB! LOOK AT IT! LOOK! IT OPENS THE DOOR IF YOU TURN IT! ISN'T THAT NEAT? I WONDER HOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKS DO YOU SUPPOSE THERE'S A CAM OR WHAT? MAYBE ITS SOME KIND OF SPRING WINCH AFFAIR ALTHOUGH THAT SEEMS KIND OF UNWORKABLE. \n > \n > It's like living in a soft rain of post-it notes. \n > \n > This happens every single waking moment, and we have to *manually* examine each thought, check for relevance, and try desperately to remember what the thing was we were thinking before it came along, if not. Most often we forget, and if we aren't caught up in the intricacies of doorknob engineering, we cast wildly about for context, trying to guess what the fuck we were up to from the clues available. \n > \n > Perhaps you're getting an idea of why we have the task-management skills of a five-year-old - and why we tend to have an \"oh fuck\" expression on our face whenever you interrupt us in the middle of something. \n > \n > On the other hand, we're extremely good at working out the context of random remarks, as we're effectively doing that all the time anyway. I've lost count of the times my wife has said \"Hang on... how the hell did you know what I was talking about?\" \n > \n > We rely *heavily* on routine, and 90% of the time get by on autopilot. You can't get distracted from a sufficiently ingrained habit, no matter what useless crap is going on inside your head... unless someone goes and actually disrupts your routine. I've actually been distracted out of taking my lunch to work, on several occasions, by my wife reminding me to take my lunch to work. What the? Who? Oh, yeah, will do. Where was I? um... briefcase! Got it. Now keys.. okay, see you honey! \n > \n > Quite often, if there's too much input, we can get kind of overwhelmed, like a new puppy surrounded by excited children. It's a flustery, unpleasant state to be in, halfway between excitement and anxiety, with no emotional component either way, but all the pacing and twitchiness of both. \n > \n > Also, there's a diminishing-returns thing going on when trying to concentrate on what you might call a non-interactive task. Entering a big block of numbers into a spreadsheet, for instance. Keeping focused on the task takes exponentially more effort each minute, for less and less result. If you've ever held a brick out at arm's length for an extended period, you'll know the feeling. That's why reddit, for instance, is like crack to us - it's a non-stop influx of constantly-new things, so we can flick from one to the next after only seconds. It's better/worse than pistachios. \n > \n > The exception to this is a thing we get called hyperfocus. Occasionally, when something just clicks with us, we can get ridiculously deeply drawn into it, and NOTHING can distract us. We've locked our metaphorical office door, and we're not coming out for anything short of a tornado. I've sat reading a book on a deathly-quiet country train platform, and not noticed a honking great train pull in about a foot from my nose, until someone tapped me on the shoulder. The same can happen with certain video games - what the fuck, it was light, now it's 4am. \n > \n > Medication - ritalin, in my case, takes the edge off. It reduces the input, it tones down the fluster, it makes it easier to ignore trivial stuff, and it increases the maximum focus-time. Imagine steadicam for your skull. \n > \n > It is a disease, there are physical differences in our uptake of neurotransmitters. Some people grow out of it, some people live with it their entire life - and though you can learn some strategies to help *compensate for* it, it's definitely not something you can overcome by just trying harder.",
"From someone recently diagnosed as an adult, this thread is heartbreaking. The amount of misinformation being spewed out is why I wasn’t diagnosed for so long.",
"As someone with ADHD I have to give credit to u/fullDisclosureDaemon, I've honestly never seen somone explain it so well. I've always struggled to explain to friends what it is without them jumping too HURR HURR YOU HYPER sorta shit, it's kinda comforting to see people actually research shit without jumping to conclusions.",
"Because I have ADHD, I only look at a few posts a day on reddit. I read through a LOT of comments.",
"Also, what's the difference between being lazy and just enjoying relaxing?",
"Well for one ADD no longer exists. There is ADHD and ADHD-pi (previously ADD). It is a physical condition that impacts the frontal lobe causing a break down of executive functions.\n\nYou can be a neurotypical person and be lazy.\nYou can have ADHD or ADHD-pi and still be lazy.\n\nThey key difference is with ADHD or ADHD-pi the laziness may just be a lack of focus or proper executive functions that cause major issues in being productive in the traditional sense.\n\nAs someone with ADHD I really enjoy people like you asking these type of questions. I do not enjoy people telling me I take legal meth and should just grow up.",
"I have ADHD and just started taking medication for it - so the juxtaposition is extremely obvious for me. I'll try to explain it as best I can. You know how your thoughts are seamless and sequential? Mine aren't. I can go through a tangent of 20+ thoughts that are only tangentially related in under a minute. It can go something like this - \n\n\"I should go do the cleans, I don't like to leave a task half finished, not doing the cleans would be akin to doing half of another task and simply leaving it half done I wouldn't do half of my notes and then go take a test haha that's like that time I had a history test and we had to learn 3 questions and be able to write an essay on each but he would only choose one randomly for the test so I only learned two and hoped for the best but I lucked out just like that time I won the go-cart in the fair raffle man I must be a lucky person what other facets of my life have I been lucky? I have an awesome dog how much of that is from the training though maybe all the dogs I raise would be similarly awesome I guess that goes into nature vs nuture...\" etc.\n\nLiterally that's 30 seconds of thought for me. If I'm not taking my medication and I have the thought \"I should do the cleans\" I have to do it RIGHT NOW or write it down RIGHT AWAY or as you can see it's completely lost. I can't backtrack my thoughts most of the time to the originator thought. This happeneds constantly while I'm awake. It doesn't seem weird to me. It's also the reason why I say things that can seem incredibly random - it's stemming from a single endless stream. It's not just with thoughts either - It's with situational awareness, setting stuff down, watching things in my environment, etc. I actually have to repeat a thought in my head to maintain it, it's like everything in my mind is slippery. If I'm really into something I can keep that thought and roll it around in that rambling way and arrive at a better understanding or think of really novel solutions. The less something interests me the more \"slippery\" it is. I can't control my level of interest - math as a kid was like trying to grasp a buttered eel will oven mitts.",
"I always use this for those in doubt—if you popped some Adderall, you’ll be up all night. I can take it then take a nap. Even when I first started taking it.",
"Imagine you are about to do the dishes by hand. Soapy water ready, dishes for cleaning nearby, scrubbing sponge and a drying rack. But you forgot to grab your rubber gloves. You go to grab them out of the drawer. On the way across the kitchen, you notice the floor is dirty and should probably be cleaned. You start sweeping up crumbs and prepare to mop without realizing you started a new, completely different task. That's ADHD/ADD",
"Sorry, this is going to be a long one. TLDR; at the bottom. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nMy supervisor has ADHD and he has an amazing anecdote: when he was a kid, he would get into trouble at school, due to being easily distracted, where the teacher would say \"Bob could really do it, if only he wanted to...\". After years of research in the field, he has reflected on the fact that it should have been \"Bob really wants to do it, if only he could...\". Having a short attention span etc., as a person with ADHD. is NOT a choice. You are not actively choosing to disregard anything.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nTo boil down ADHD: you have a thing in your brain (dopamine) with two functions: 1) giving you a reward, when you do stuff and 2) helping you disregard irrelevant stuff. ADHD is characterised by having too little of this thing, which means that you do not receive the same reward for daily tasks, and you have a hard time disregarding irrelevant stimuli. Both screw with your attention span. \n\nTo explain it further, when I do some cleaning, my brain will release a little bit of dopamine, due to completing a task, so I can keep doing it. My supervisor's brain, will not receive the same amount: he will become less satisfied/more easily bored with the task, all the while other conflicting things can distract him. \n\n\nThat was dopamine. A patient with ADHD also has too little noradrenaline. This is a thing that helps signal when something is important, while dopamine helped you throw stuff away. Together they make a signal/noise ratio. When you have less signal and less noise, everything becomes more murky, when prioritising attention. A lot of people misconstrue the ADHD brain as being 'over-active'. This is not the case. Since you have too little of this reward thing, and issues with signal/noise, you have to constantly \"self-stimulate\" to keep yourself going. Your brain is not giving you enough positive feedback from stuff, so you need to do more stuff.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nIn recent years, people have been saying that these types of issues are on a scale, and that ADHD is on the end of that scale (say, above 70 % dysfunction, related to the lack of these neurotransmitters: noradrenaline and dopamine). \n\n & #x200B;\n\nTldr; ADHD is a neurological disorder, where a patient has too little dopamine and noradrenaline in your brain, which creates these problems. Being a lazy can be an active choice",
"I’m literally sitting in my first adhd appointment waiting for the doctor to arrive (I got the time wrong and showed up twenty minutes early). I’m a woman in my mid-thirties. It’s taken me over a year to find a specialist that doesn’t immediately dismiss me because ‘adhd is only diagnosed in children’ which is completely incorrect. I have adhd. It bothers me so much that I can’t get my shit together. My life has been a series of catastrophes and this is my hope to get better. I was diagnosed by three separate clinicians with having ADHD-PI. I wish it was just a simple matter of being lazy and forgetful but it isn’t. I wish people who say that adhd isn’t real would just be a fly on my wall for a day. \n\nWhat’s worse is having ADHD and truly believing you are a lazy piece of shit. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had been diagnosed and received treatment in my childhood. Maybe I’d be everything I wanted to be instead of believing people when they said I was too stupid to be a doctor."
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20q42l | why a emp wouldn't kill people if the heart operates off the electrical impulse of the right atrium? | Wouldn't the EMP disrupt this function? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20q42l/eli5_why_a_emp_wouldnt_kill_people_if_the_heart/ | {
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"Human beings don't react very much to EMF. As a result, in the event of an EMP, we likely wouldn't pick up a very substantial charge.\n\nAn EMP works by putting out a large spike for a short period of time, enough to cause random eddie currents in electronics. This fries chips and the like, but they are made of materials which react to radiowaves. Human cells, not being metallic, don't tend to react in the same fashion.\n\nAdd this to the fact that our neurons are not like wires in any sense, there may be no amount of power capable of causing this to happen, outside of being physically struck by lightning.",
"So a big misconception out there is that the brain/nervous system has actual electricity. When most people think about electricity, such as with computer devices, they are thinking about a flow of electrons which carry charge (negative in their case). The body does not work that way however, there aren't a flow of electrons shooting around between synapses like in those cool animations. There is a CHEMICAL gradient of ions creating a difference in charge between the inside/outside of cells. When neurons communicate through through action potentials \"spikes\" in charge, they are just allowing the ions (K, Na, Ca) to flow in and out depolarizing and re-polarizing the cell. The beauty is thought that this really does emulate a circuit. The cell membrane (which is separating the charge gradient) acts as a capacitor, the diameter of the axon (the neuron tail that the polarization goes down) and the number of ion channels (holes the ions go through) acts as a resistor, and the flow of the ions themselves are the current. So we can use Ohm's law and then a more specific Nernst Equation to calculate neurons' characteristics, such as the specific voltage at resting potential, human's typical neuron is about -70mV for example. NOW, as for EMPs. They disrupt electromagnetic systems such as electricity that works with electron flow. In simplest of ways it pretty much overloads capacitors causing short circuits. Since the body's \"electricity\" is a charge gradient of IONS, it would have no effect.\n\nEDIT: Thanks for the gold stranger."
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4zmbht | how do people that go to jail pay their fines? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4zmbht/eli5how_do_people_that_go_to_jail_pay_their_fines/ | {
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"Once they're out of jail they must make payment arrangements with the court to pay the total balance. \nIn some instances, a person can also acquire work release, meaning they can leave jail to go to a job every day, but that is rare in cases when people are serving a lot of time.\nYou can also work as an Inmate Worker, making usually a pennies an hour/day, to help make a dent in your balance.\n\n",
"It's paid after they serve their sentence. If they have to pay a fine, it is added as a condition of their probation/parole. They usually won't be able to complete their probation/parole if they don't pay the fine.",
"Their accounts are seized and their assets liquidated till the fine is paid or they run out of money. If the prison has work programs (that pay) their wages given to their accounts can also be seized to pay their fines. ",
"It depends. There is jail, which is usually temporary or for small sentences. Then there is prison, which is usually for longer stays. \n\nIn jail, a person is usually released and they come up with a payment arrangement to pay off their fines. This is usually tied in with probation. Some people actually choose to do longer sentences to \"work off\" their fine. They can be let out early, pay a fine, or stay in longer, no fine. People who go to jail often usually don't have a lot of claimable money, so they just do more time.\n\nIf you are in prison, you can work through the prison, or if you are well behaved and committed a non violent crime, you can go on work release. A portion, or sometimes all of the pay goes to fines and other expenses. Once again, most long time offenders usually don't have much to seize or they will transfer cars and such into their family's name.\n\nIf they can't pay and have no assets....well, they are fucked. It just doesn't get paid. ",
"While they are locked up, up to 25% of the money in their inmates account is automatically taken away. If your husband is inside and you send $100, he will only receive $75.\n\nThis payment plan is technically voluntary,but there are consequences if the inmate does not agree. They can lose commissary, phones, be moved to a worse bed or a worse job.\n\nIf the inmate is released, he still has a duty to make an effort to pay. Wages can be garnished, but Social Security and pensions can not be taken. ",
"You don't pay until time is served. When you get out, you have a state debt basically. The state may garnish you if it remains unpaid... and add a 40% increase if it's unpaid for a long time and sold to a collection agency. ",
"As far is it is in Michigan, if you only have to go to jail, there are little jobs you can get to help pay it off before you are released. If you end up going to prison, you (if you're lucky enough) can get a job while locked up making around 17.5 cents an hour. \nIf you owe court fines, they will take 25% of anything you receive. (Over 50 dollars. Receive 200 dollars, you get 50, then the state will take 37.50 from the remaining 150. No matter what it was sent to you for.) And if you owe restitution on top of it, they take 50% of everything over 50. \nAfter you're released, you are ordered to pay it off, and they slap you with supervision fees. Then you have to pay to get checked out by a psychologist and a therapist to see if you have a possible substance abuse problem. And if you can't pay for all of this. You go back to jail. And they add a bit to your fees.\n\nSource: We all fuck up sometimes. Some fuck ups are worse than others. \n\nEdit: to go back to jail you would have to basically quit paying all together. So it's not that they want you in jail. They want you free to pay them their money. ",
"John Oliver does a pretty good answer for your question\n\n_URL_0_"
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3hyj3n | why do rabbits and other small rodents do this? | _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3hyj3n/eli5_why_do_rabbits_and_other_small_rodents_do/ | {
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"Aside from being cute as fuck?\n\nThey're trying to expose less of themselves to potential predators. They've buried what they can in the gap and while we see a rabbit there other animals will only have 70% of a rabbit to see.",
"A lot of small mammals are burrowing creatures that hide underground. They seek hiding places as a defense mechanism, so their natural instincts cause them to \"burrow\" into everything. "
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868j4p | why does excessive heat creates problems during takeoff of airplanes? | I read somewhere that airplanes have a hard time taking off from places like Phoenix when it's extremely hot. Is it related to air density? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/868j4p/eli5_why_does_excessive_heat_creates_problems/ | {
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"The higher the temperature, the less density the air has and the less lift the plane gets from it. In other words, the hotter it is, the longer the runway you will need. There are charts for every plane that says lot long the runway needs to be at different temperatures. The charts typically stop at around 120 degs F. If it gets hotter than then the plans are usually grounded until it cools off.",
"Hot air is less dense, so produces less lift. This means an aircraft requires a faster takeoff speed, and a significantly longer run-up to achieve that speed. (Note that a typical airliner carries 15-100 tons of fuel when fully loaded. ) Hot air also reduces engine T/O thrust. The engine computers will typically compensate for the increased inlet temp by reducing the fuel consumption, preventing excessive burn temperature. Although this effect is less substantial than the reduction in lift.\n\nThis reduces the margin for error in an emergency, an aborted takeoff for example.\n\nMajor Airports in areas with hot weather or higher altitudes will typically have longer runways to compensate for this. Manufacturers of passenger jets publish recommended minimum runway lengths over a broad set of conditions for their aircraft.\n\nDepending on the flight plan, you can compensate for this by simply not taking aboard as much fuel, thereby reducing the takeoff weight and speed required.\n\n"
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1br9bn | why is economic data "seasonally adjusted"? | What is the importance in denoting economic data as seasonally adjusted? If there are yearly trends economists can discern in economic statistics, what is the purpose of adjusting the information? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1br9bn/eli5_why_is_economic_data_seasonally_adjusted/ | {
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"So that you can discriminate between the natural variation caused by the time of year etc. and the abnormal changes or long-term trends. \n \nFor example, we know that housing starts are always higher in warm-weather months. Getting raw economic data that shows that there were more housing starts in May than in January doesn't tell us whether the housing industry is truly improving or not; it could simply be a consequence of the warmer weather. And we already knew about the weather. We want to know if the housing industry is *actually* improving or not, regardless of the well-known yearly cycle. So the data gets adjusted. "
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1oer6g | paper warping when wet | (1) why is it that a piece of paper will get all warped after it gets wet, like for example when I put a glass of water down on a pad, and there is some water on the bottom of the glass, and then the top few sheets of pad are really warped?
(2) anyway of fixing once the paper is wet (and yes, I realise prevention is better than cure)? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1oer6g/eli5_paper_warping_when_wet/ | {
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"Not sure why, but it might have to do with water absorption forcing the molecules to be farther apart than normal, resulting in them not wanting to go back, even when dried, because they're stable again.",
"This may be able to answer both your questions.\n\n_URL_0_"
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6j9mii | why does human genitalia varies so drastically, but animal genitalia is virtually the same within their own species? | I don't mean to sound dumb here, but when it comes to men and women, our genitals shape, color, length, width, etc varies on a huge scale. Unpantsing someone new is like a box of chocolates...you just never know.
Then you have animals. We all know what a horse's, a primate's, a duck's, etc, genitalia will look like...but why does ours change so much in appearance? Such as an innie labia vs an outtie labia. Or a 3in penis with a pronounced head vs a 12in monster with a tiny head.
Edit: vary* not varies (in the title) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6j9mii/eli5_why_does_human_genitalia_varies_so/ | {
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"We are conditioned to notice the difference in human genitalia, but not animal genitalia. A duck would probably say that all human genitalia look the same, whereas duck genitalia are very diverse."
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4rib8e | what is a 401k? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4rib8e/eli5_what_is_a_401k/ | {
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"An investment option provided by an employer to their employees. It allows workers to contribute pre- tax dollars to a managed investment account. Typically the company will match some amount of the contribution up to a certain percent.",
"A 401k is a special savings account with three rules:\n\n1) You pay much less tax on what goes into a 401k (and, if you want, don't have to pay any tax at all on it until you take the money out)\n\n2) You can only put up to $18,000/year into the account\n\n3) You can't take the money out until you turn 59.5 years old (you actually can, but you pay a penalty that totally removes the value in putting the money there in the first place)\n\nThe program was created by the US federal government to incentive people to save for retirement. Typically you pay a percentage of each paycheck into your 401k, and most employers will match what you put in up to a certain percentage (usually 2-6% of your paycheck). Employers do this as a benefit; whatever percent they match can effectively be seen as a raise, which is pretty nice. ",
"So one thing to consider is \"Roth\" vs \"Traditional\". This just refers to how it's taxed. So traditional is the normal, don't-worry-about-it-now-but-you'll-be-taxed-when-you-take-it-out kind of 401(k). Roth is taxed as you're putting it in. \n\nMost people I've talked to automatically think that traditional is better, because you start earning on all of your money now, instead of sending some to the government and taking a short term loss, of sorts. As a young working professional, I have only contributed to my Roth. My reasoning is this: I plan to make more money as I get older. I am currently I the lowest tax bracket I will ever be in. If I take the hit on taxes now, I am gambling that when I take the money out at retirement, I will be in a much higher tax bracket. So if I've already paid the taxes in the principal (the money I've put in), then I will only have to pay taxes on the interest (the money I've earned) when I take the money out down the road. But it's up to you! ",
"Let's say you get 4 cookies every week for doing your chores. Your mom takes 1 cookie every week because she feeds you, provides a place to sleep, etc. \n\nYour mom also lets you save some of your cookies in a special jar that gives you more cookies the longer they are in there.\n\nSo for 1 month, you put in 1 cookie every week. Your mom still takes 1 cookie from the remaining 3 cookies you have, but leaves the ones in the cookie jar alone. After a month, your 4 cookies in the jar have turned until 8. So you take them out. Your mom takes 2 cookies as payment.\n\nWithout the cookie jar, you would have 12 cookies in a month. With the magic jar you have 14 cookies. So you're better off since you waited.",
"For anyone in the UK reading this. A 401K is essentially an employer and employee contributed personal pension fund.",
"Say you really want to save up for summer camp (retirement) with your own money, but you're really not good at keeping yourself from spending it. You and a bunch of your friends make an agreement with your buddy Steve (investment company) who is really good with money. Steve will hang on to everyone's money, and try to use it to make more money for everyone, and will take a little bit off the top for his help. He also keeps it safe from that bully Sam (government taxes) while it grows. \n\nWhen it's time to go to summer camp, Steve will let you take out as much as you need as long as you've given him enough over time. If you try to take back your money before it's time for summer camp, Steve lets that bully Sam know, and Sam makes sure to take an extra cut.\n\nWhile Sam leaves your summer camp money alone while Steve has it, he'll either bully you before you give money to Steve (Roth IRA) , or after (traditional IRA), but not both as long as you wait for summer camp to get it.\n\n",
"It was developed as a way to save corporations money by forcing an employee to be responsible for his/her own retirement funds. On paper it makes sense, but in reality it is another way our corporation loving government protects business interest over labor interest.",
"Is a 401k the American equivalent of an ISA in the U.K.?",
"From the /r/personalfinance wiki on [401(k) plans](_URL_3_):\n\n----\n\nIn plain English, *a 401k is an account you put money into that receives favorable tax treatment*. Each year you can elect to contribute money to your 401k plan through payroll deductions. Elective deductions are usually specified as a percentage of your income, although some plans allow you to specify a dollar amount as well. The [annual contribution limit](_URL_0_) is $18,000 in 2015 and 2016 (plus an additional $6,000 in 2015/2016 if the employee is age 50 or older). Do not go over this limit (some plans will not let you, and others will simply stop accepting contributions once you reach the limit).\n\n401k plans come in two flavors:\n\n* **Traditional 401k** plan contributions reduce your taxable income. This is known as tax deferral - you are not taxed on the money you contribute now, but will pay income tax on your contributions *and* your earnings at your marginal tax rate when you take distributions from your 401k in the future.\n\n* If you contribute to a **Roth 401k**, contributions have already been taxed at your current marginal income tax rate. In exchange, all earnings may be distributed *tax free* if the distribution meets certain age and eligibility requirements. Note that not all 401k plans have a Roth option.\n\nWhich one do you choose? It depends on a lot of factors, but the big ones are:\n\n* Income - High earners are usually better off contributing to a traditional 401k, as this allows them to avoid paying their current high marginal tax rate. Conversely, those with lower incomes usually favor the Roth option, as they can pay a low marginal tax rate now in exchange for never being taxed on that money again.\n\n* Your guess about your future income tax rates - Those that believe they will be in a lower income tax bracket when they retire usually favor the traditional 401k. Those that believe they will be in a higher income tax bracket when they retire usually favor the Roth option. Those that believe income tax rates will rise across the board in the future usually favor the Roth option.\n\nMoney you contribute to your 401k must then be invested in the funds your 401k provider offers you. For guidance on selecting funds within your 401k, see the [401k Fund Selection Guide](_URL_2_).\n\n---\n\nIt's also worth mentioning the article [\"How to handle $\"](_URL_1_) which discusses building up an emergency fund and whether to use a 401(k) or an IRA first.",
"LPT: If you need money and have a decent amount invested in your 401K, you can borrow against it, effectively giving yourself a loan. You still have to pay it back, but since it's your money there won't be any collections agencies on your tale. Plus, paying back with interest will also boost the investment in the long run - win-win-win. ",
"It's a way to save for retirement via three things (mechanisms). First, your company give you free money (matches part (x%) of your salary). Second, these reduce your taxes (deferment) because you will pay less taxes on retirement income than at full salary (progressive tax rates). Last, you are forced (high early withdraw penalties) into a long investment strategy where over time your money makes money (variations on interest/investments).",
"It is Superannuation no?",
"Let's say your mom gives you a $1 per week allowance. However, after receiving your allowance for the week you must immediately pay back half of it to cover your mom's expenses (e.g. feeding you, doing the laundry, taking you to school, etc.). Mom calls this 50% payback the \"mom tax\".\n\nNow, let's say your mom gives you a special piggy bank. When you receive your weekly allowance, you get to decide how much of it you want to put into the piggy bank. Why would you want to put any money into the piggy bank? Well, your mom says that any money you choose to put into the piggy bank is exempt from the \"mom tax\"!\n\nSo for example, let's say that this week you decide you're going to put 50 cents out of your $1 allowance into your piggy bank. Normally, you would end up with only 50 cents out of your $1 allowance after paying a mom tax of 50 cents. However, since you decided to contribute 50 cents from your allowance to your piggy bank this week, you only have to pay a mom tax of 25 cents (50% of the remaining 50 cents)! You end up keeping a total of 75 cents out of your $1 allowance (50 cents in the piggy bank, 25 cents in your hand). Better to end up with 75 cents instead of a measly 50 cents, right?\n\nWell, here's the catch. You can't get money out of your piggy bank easily. It's meant to be saved for your future. So while you end up with more money overall by using the piggy bank, less of it is immediately accessible. You'll need to wait until you're older to spend your piggy bank money says mom (though she'll make some exceptions for emergencies and a small number of qualified expenses).\n\nThat's essentially what a 401k is. Some cooler mom's will match your piggy bank contributions (every cent you put into your piggy bank, mom adds a cent from her own purse), which further encourages you to save for your future.",
"I am going to throw in my own response since many seem to miss some pieces.\n\nA 401k is a unique savings account established by the US Government in the Revenue Act of 1978. It allows employers to establish tax-advantaged savings accounts for their employees. So what does that mean?\n\n1) Your employer will offer you the ability to take part in their 401k plan. Almost always, the employer is working with a 3rd party that will manage the funds that are put into the plan and that 3rd party will usually offer the employee a number of different options in terms of investment options. These 3rd parties are companies like Principal, John Hancock, Fidelity, etc. These companies are very much like normal wealth managers / brokers, except they have designed these investment options specifically catered to 401k plans.\n\n2) You, as the employee, contribute **pre-tax** dollars into the 401k plan offered by your employer. Pre-tax means that the deduction comes out *before* taxable wages are calculated. This benefits the employee in that they don't have to currently pay taxes on these dollars, saving them anywhere from 25-50% (!), depending on your federal, state and local taxes (Don't worry, you pay taxes eventually, but I'll get to that).\n\n3) You can contribute up to $18,000 per year into this special savings account. At some point Congress also added the following: If you are over the age of 50, you can actually contribute an additional $6,000 as \"catch-up\" contributions each year. Their thought was that baby-boomers weren't saving enough for retirement, so they should be able to add more to their tax-advantaged savings account while they are close to retirement age.\n\n4) Your company will often match your contributions to your 401k. This can be matched in a number of different ways, but usually it is either a regular match, some level of half percentage matches, or a combination of the both. I'll explain both: \n\n* By regular I mean: employee puts in $1, employer puts in $1 to match, up to the % limit of their salary. Example: If the employee makes $60K a year and contributes 10% of their salary to 401k, and the employer says they will match up to 5% of their salary, the employee would put in $6,000 and the employer would match up to $3,000 or 5% of their salary.\n\n* By half percentage I mean: employee puts in $1, employer puts in $.50, up to the % limit of their salary. Example: If the employee makes $60K a year and contributes 10% of their salary to 401k, and the employer says they will match $.50 up to 5% of their salary, the employee would put in $6,000 and the employer would match up to $1,500 or $.50 per dollar, up to 5% of the salary.\n\n* Note that many 401k matching contributions have vesting rules or schedules. Vesting is the right to funds based on a certain time schedule. For example, if your match has 4 year vesting, each year that you remain an employee of the firm, you are entitled to another 25% of the match that you earned. This encourages employees to remain at the company for a longer period of time so that they ensure they get their full matching balance.\n\n* One last note on company matches - there is actually a limit on company matches. In 2016 it was $53K of personal deferral PLUS company match (so, $53K - $18K for regular contributors, or $35K, or $53K - $24K, or $19K for catch up contributors). Generally what you get are small companies that specifically design their 401k match policy to max out the contributions to the members. It's rare and something you don't need to worry about.\n\n5) Now that you have a fully funded 401k with your personal deferrals, and your company matches, you will allow your 401k provider to manage your money. As mentioned before, these 3rd party providers will offer a number of different options to manage your funds. You can choose your own, or you can ask them to choose for you, or you can pick the increasingly popular \"retirement date funds\", which basically manages your risk based on the year you plan on retiring (higher risk for people with longer time to retirement, lower risk for people close to retirement). Most people find it easiest to just let the professionals handle it, but I will say **it is important to read up about what you are investing in, understanding the fees associated, as well as the potential risks and exposures. Even if you are not a professional investor, there is lots of layman's terms information out there to help you understand what you are getting yourself into.**\n\n6) So your great 401k was managed properly for 40 years and all that wonderful compound growth helped grow your investment into the millions of dollars ([this chart](_URL_0_) gives you a great example of the importance of early contribution to your 401k) and now it is time to retire. **You can only start taking money out of your 401k without penalty at the age of 59.5**. If you take money out early, you will be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty, plus a 20% tax withholding sent directly to the IRS, to be reconciled later when you count that withdrawal as income. \n\nNow, let's say you play by the rules and decide to withdraw the money after 59.5. Remember before where you contributed into your account with pre-tax dollars? Well, it's time to pay the piper. The idea here, though, is that you are now retired, so you are on a more limited income. Your withdrawals count as income, but if you only withdraw what you need for the year, it will hopefully put you in a lower tax bracket than when you were working (think about it: your final year of work you should be at your peak, making the most money of your career and paying the most taxes), and therefore you will be paying less taxes on those pre-tax dollars. That's the idea at least.\n\n7) Final notes: remember, a 401k is only one of many options for retirement accounts. There are IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, etc. They all have their own pros and cons and are generally best for specific situations. Do your research and figure it out!\n\nI guess this got sort of long. Not sure if it qualifies as a ELI5, but oh well, hopefully it helps some folks figure out their retirement options."
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63tjg1 | with such an important vote like appointing a supreme court nomine, why is the senate floor so empty? | it seems like any time there is an important vote there are almost always desks empty? their one job is to be there to vote on measures like this? how can they be allowed to either miss it or allow the vote to precede when not all members or representatives are even present? Doesn't this mean that there are districts (who are then not getting representation because their representative does not even bother to show up?
I apologize for the terrible photo quality | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/63tjg1/eli5_with_such_an_important_vote_like_appointing/ | {
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"Well, actually, that's not their one job. They also have to meet with people, work on legislation, and so on.\n\nMany of the Senators may be in their offices. When an important vote is called, they will come to the floor to vote. They can get from their offices to the floor in just a few minutes."
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6z766s | the differences between waldorf and montessori schools | My wife, our twin 3 year old boys and I are living in a beautiful city in a wonderful part of the world, that unfortunately lacks in the state schooling department. Most people who have any money at all join their local Catholic parish and send their children to Catholic schools. I'm not opposed to Catholic schooling, my wife and I were both educated by the Church, but we have some reservations about the fact that our children will be getting one spiritual message at school and another at home, since our family has gone down a different religious-spiritual path, and because of the very traditional 'rote learning' style of teaching and planning out the day in Catholic schools.
Near enough to our home is a Montessori school and a Waldorf school, that either go all the way up to university, or are affiliated with an upper school. I don't know much about either, except that the teaching is more child-based and holistic in both styles of schools, and in Waldorf schools there is an emphasis on spiritual development, a total lack of technology until the higher grades and teachers stay with their students from Kindergarten to Year 6, all of which sounds quite appealing to us.
All I can find are articles that are obviously biased, or descriptions from schools that are obviously biased and the reviews that I see from parents are very rarely middle ground oriented, it's either absolutely gushing love or totally negative epithets. I cannot form an opinion without more objective information.
So, Reddit, **Explain Like I'm 5: [What are] the differences between Waldorf and Montessori schools?** | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6z766s/eli5_the_differences_between_waldorf_and/ | {
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"Think less about the different schooling styles because; each was developed by psychologists, each show improved education, social, and personal growth results over public schools, and each style provides exceptional learning opportunities after graduation.\n\nWhat you need to do is compare the two schools directly, not their schooling style. One Montessori school is not equal to all Montessori schools, and one Waldorf school is not equal to all Waldorf schools. You need to look at your local school's success rates, controversies, hierarchies, etc.",
"Note that this is hearsay at best.\n\nMontessori has objectives, goals for children to accomplish/learn, without any kind of pressure on them to do so. It uses a childs natural inquisitiveness to get them to learn. So in between a school year, you can have a child that doesnt know how to write yet, but can calculate faster than an adult, along someone who can write essays, but has dificulty counting past 5. The classes are partially mixed, with certain age groups mixed together (ages 7-11, 12-16...).\n\nWaldorf has a different, personalized, sylabus every year. It has goals that their teachers believe are reasonable, but much closer to \"ordinary\" classes, in the sense of rote learning. There is, however, more focus on the practical/ presentation, than on pure theory. There is a lot of effort on making the child feel good in class, with at least a third of the class dedicated to grounding and calming techniques. Classes are split into the same age brackets.",
"*Disclaimer*: I'm interested in philosophy, but not a spiritual person so I have a bias against any type of philosophy / belief system that includes spiritual elements. I can also only talk about Waldorf schools since this I did not look into the teachings of Maria Montessori.\n\nIn my youth I came across several other children / teenagers that went to those schools (usually because they shared my interest in singing and playing an instrument) and they were all well adjusted, friendly (they also came from parents with money). I did not notice any weird philosophical believes (also because as a teenager I did not care about that).\n\nIt was only later that I became interested in philosophy and fringe believes and read about Rudolf Steiner. His Anthroposophy mixes claims about the spiritual world (which I don't believe but also don't care) with statements about history or science (evolution, existence of Atlantis, but also child development) which are plainly wrong. In my opinion this is about typical for that period, see also the philosophy of Helena Blavatsky.\n\nSo I came to the conclusion that I do not embrace the teachings of Steiner, and Waldorf education is based on Anthroposophy. If Waldorf schools would distance themselves from the \"crazy\" or wrong parts of Steiners teachings I would maybe consider them for my children, but from what I read (possibly biased and may vary from country to country) they have a hard time but instead basically \"hide\" the fact that they base their education of an 19th century crackpot but instead focus more on the claim that they give children more freedom in their education.\n\nI personally would not put my child in an environment that educated them based on a believe system that I believe to be false (this would also apply to e.g. a religious school) and based on ancient philosophy that seems to ignore several decades of scientific knowledge into child development and how children learn best.\n\nMaybe there are Waldorf schools that ignore all the bad (or wrong) stuff about Anthroposophy, recognize that we gained some insight into child development and education since 1900 and are not a cult, but then again why choose a Waldorf school.\n\nAbout your situation: Seems like you are in a tough spot, I would look into the Montessori school or think about sending my child to public school.\n\n"
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2tl00j | why was oj not charged for fleeing from police? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tl00j/eli5why_was_oj_not_charged_for_fleeing_from_police/ | {
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"they were only concerned with the murder. It's a good point though, they had that crime on video, so even judge Ito couldn't have ruined the prosecutions case.",
"The prosecution was so inept, and botched the case so badly, they just wanted to go home and lick their wounds. \n\nCharging him with evasion would have come off as petty and politically harmful. Plus there was a good chance he would have gotten off with a diminished capacity (\"my wife just died\") and fear of his life (\"all LA cops are racists\") defense."
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6irmgx | why is every microwave so damn noisy and the door closes so loudly? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6irmgx/eli5_why_is_every_microwave_so_damn_noisy_and_the/ | {
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"Most microwaves doors are empty inside and there's no stability between the panels, so when closing the panels shake and the sound ressonates in the insides, (like dropping a empty metal can to the ground).\n\nAlso there are Microwaves that have Magnetic doors to prevent that slam we all know of. Mine has one of those opening / closing systems.\n\nSome Microwaves use imperfect Magnetron tubes and metal Strirrer motor (to bounce the Microwaves evenly to the food). The Magnetron tube should not produce any noise, but depending on the condition it can produce some. \n\nThe Strirrer is a eletric motor that is not insulated most of the times. The blades have to move so it's hard to insulated the sounds. That's what probably creates that humming.\n \nAlso there's a Fan and /or rotator motor inside most microwaves that also make some noise",
"The mechanical answer below is correct.\n\nThe marketing answer is because it is difficult to both get a product manager to really care about a product enough to make it nicer and convince the consumer to pay a premium for the product consistently enough that the product manager is kept around.\n\nMany people pay a premium for products like Apple Phones or Monster Headphones because they consistently focus on details. There are some examples in the housewares space like Mixmaster Mixers, Miele Dishwashers, and Dyson vacuum cleaners where the brand means detail and can consistently get a premium for it, but in general a microwave oven is treated like lumber - you just go to Lowe's and pick out the size you want and other than that they're pretty much treated as all the same."
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6a8gib | how much better can a food advertisement look than the actual food before it's considered false advertising? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6a8gib/eli5_how_much_better_can_a_food_advertisement/ | {
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"The food advertisement doesn't even have to be a picture of the food. There's nothing on it that actually says \"oh BTW, this is actually a picture of what we're selling\".\n\nThe iconic milk commercial with the close-up of the milk flowing out all slow-motion out of the glass is actually full-speed watered-down school glue pouring out of a glass.",
"Generally speaking, 'false advertising' requires you to make a disprovable claim about your product. \n\nIt doesn't really extend to images of your product, unless those pictures show some non existent feature of your product, like a car commercial that legitimately showed the car doing something amazing like transforming from a truck to a sedan with the push of a button.\n\nSo for your example, the fact that the food doesn't actually look that good so long as it at least resembles the food being sold, even if the thing in the picture is made of plastic, paint, and glue."
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4hoyp8 | pulsar map on pioneer plaque. | On the pioneer plaque that NASA has sent out into space, containing all sorts of information about us humans and our anatomy, there is a binary map of our solar system.
It looks like this: [Image](_URL_0_)
I understand how the measurement is conveyed with the hydrogen atom. The wavelength of 21 cm and the frequency of 1420 MHz. The thing I don't quite understand is the actual map.
How exactly is that binary? Are the dashes representing zeroes? What number does it result in?
Please explain the binary in the map for me... | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4hoyp8/eli5_pulsar_map_on_pioneer_plaque/ | {
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"The length is the relative distance of the pulsar to the Earth and the binary part is the period of the pulsars. You multiply the binary number by the fundamental period of the H atom (7.04 x 10^-10 s which is from 1/(1420 x 10^6 Hz)) to get the period of the pulsar. This site goes into detail translating everything.\n\n_URL_0_"
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54ik8e | the rules of the first presidential debate? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/54ik8e/eli5_the_rules_of_the_first_presidential_debate/ | {
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"The rules are always more-or-less the same. Six time segments of ~15 each to devote to major topics selected by the moderator, which will be announced a week before the debate.\nEach segment will be opened with a single question, after which each candidate has a 2 minute window to respond. Then they get a minute to respond to their opponent's message. Then they use the rest of the 15 minutes to talk more in depth about the subject.\n\nRegardless of the rules, the candidates will drone on as long as they feel they can, just to try to get more time on the mic.\n\n\nSince it's a non-break format, the cameras will always be on the candidates and there will be no commercial breaks, so if one candidate goes into hysterics, starts a racist diatribe, or beings coughing uncontrollably, we'll get to see it all.\n\n\nThere will be no surprise guests, no polygraphs (useless contraptions, by the way), no physical contact outside the initial handshake."
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ja8pn | explain to me like i'm five what hair is and what are its main purposes. | Human hair, facial, body, etc. Even nostrils, eyebrows, everything! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ja8pn/explain_to_me_like_im_five_what_hair_is_and_what/ | {
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"Hair is made of the same stuff as your skin, but it contains more of something called keratin, which makes the hair so strong. Your nails have it, too. \n\nHair has a few purposes. For one, you can feel a gentle touch before your skin is touched. \n\nIt acts as a filter for dust, dirt, and other tiny things -- this is especially important with your eyelashes and eyebrows... Also inside your nose! \n\nWhen you are older, you grow pubic hair, which is very thick hair that grows around your genitals. It also acts as a filter for dust, bacteria, and dirt, but also acts as a lubricant to help prevent your skin becoming sore or raw while walking or moving. It also lets others know that you are more grown up than younger people. \n\nThe most primal/basic purpose of hair is to protect you against the cold. When we are cold, we get goose bumps -- this is from itty bitty little tiny muscles inside your skin that hold your hair upright. Way back when we were much more hairy, this would make our hair stand up like a hat or a sweater and would trap heat inside of it, keeping us warmer. \n\nFor some people, their hair are thicker on their head to protect against the heat of the sun (sometimes called \"nappy\" hair).",
"When you ask a question about the evolution of a trait, such as body hair, you have to understand that it may have no purpose at all. Granted, hair does have important qualities, but human hair is vestigial when compared to our mammal relatives. A vestigial trait or organ is one that no longer serves either it's original purpose, or any purpose at all and it is lost over time. \n\nThe few actual \"purposes\" left that hair serves include acting as a sentinel (think of the feeling of an ant or a tick crawling on your arm), slight insulation on your head, and a cosmetic purpose as facial hair has become desirable to females. BumBeetle mentioned 2 of these purposes, but I though the cosmetic purpose was important to mention as well because sometimes a vestigial organ only remains because sexual selection (selection by females generally) acts to keep the trait around. Think of how peacock feather act as ornamentation, well, human facial hair can also be an ornament that helps us find a mate. Do you personally find people with no eyebrows, or hair on their head attractive? Ornamentation matters too :)",
"I had a good friend who had a condition called [Alopecia Totalis](_URL_0_) which basically means he had no hair, at all.\n\nYou have no idea how much hair absorbs sweat until you've tried guarding someone with this condition in a game of basketball. \n\nHe also complained about burning when he didn't wear a headband from the salt in his sweat getting in his eyes.",
"Hair is made of the same stuff as your skin, but it contains more of something called keratin, which makes the hair so strong. Your nails have it, too. \n\nHair has a few purposes. For one, you can feel a gentle touch before your skin is touched. \n\nIt acts as a filter for dust, dirt, and other tiny things -- this is especially important with your eyelashes and eyebrows... Also inside your nose! \n\nWhen you are older, you grow pubic hair, which is very thick hair that grows around your genitals. It also acts as a filter for dust, bacteria, and dirt, but also acts as a lubricant to help prevent your skin becoming sore or raw while walking or moving. It also lets others know that you are more grown up than younger people. \n\nThe most primal/basic purpose of hair is to protect you against the cold. When we are cold, we get goose bumps -- this is from itty bitty little tiny muscles inside your skin that hold your hair upright. Way back when we were much more hairy, this would make our hair stand up like a hat or a sweater and would trap heat inside of it, keeping us warmer. \n\nFor some people, their hair are thicker on their head to protect against the heat of the sun (sometimes called \"nappy\" hair).",
"When you ask a question about the evolution of a trait, such as body hair, you have to understand that it may have no purpose at all. Granted, hair does have important qualities, but human hair is vestigial when compared to our mammal relatives. A vestigial trait or organ is one that no longer serves either it's original purpose, or any purpose at all and it is lost over time. \n\nThe few actual \"purposes\" left that hair serves include acting as a sentinel (think of the feeling of an ant or a tick crawling on your arm), slight insulation on your head, and a cosmetic purpose as facial hair has become desirable to females. BumBeetle mentioned 2 of these purposes, but I though the cosmetic purpose was important to mention as well because sometimes a vestigial organ only remains because sexual selection (selection by females generally) acts to keep the trait around. Think of how peacock feather act as ornamentation, well, human facial hair can also be an ornament that helps us find a mate. Do you personally find people with no eyebrows, or hair on their head attractive? Ornamentation matters too :)",
"I had a good friend who had a condition called [Alopecia Totalis](_URL_0_) which basically means he had no hair, at all.\n\nYou have no idea how much hair absorbs sweat until you've tried guarding someone with this condition in a game of basketball. \n\nHe also complained about burning when he didn't wear a headband from the salt in his sweat getting in his eyes."
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3mzqtr | how do taxes work for people whose source of income is coming in from many different countries, such as musicians | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mzqtr/eli5_how_do_taxes_work_for_people_whose_source_of/ | {
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"It depends on the country they reside within, the amount earned in foreign countries, and the specific laws of those countries. In most cases, they either allocate income (paying the income taxes where the money was earned and nowhere else), pay income taxes as if they earned the money within their resident country, or a combination thereof. More rarely, they allocate the income, pay the taxes of the country in which they earned the income, and then pay any resident taxes above the amount paid (so if resident country is 10%; foreign is only 5%; each country gets 5%). There are a few cases where they don't pay tax in either country.",
"I imagine it depends on what country you're in. In Canada, you have to declare international income, as well as international tax paid, and generally get a credit for any tax paid internationally, so that you're not being double taxed on the same money.",
"If you're asking about US musicians, US Citizens are taxed on their worldwide income. In general, you can take a credit for foreign taxes paid, and in some cases you can exclude foreign earned income if the US has a tax treaty with the country in which the income was earned.\n\nIn general, the country (and possibly province and city) in which the income was earned will also tax it.\n\nSo if they are doing it correctly, an international touring musician will have *a lot* of foreign tax returns, and an extremely complicated US tax return (and probably quite a lot of US state tax returns as well)."
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16bm31 | what happens when i forget something i was thinking of a split second ago? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/16bm31/eli5_what_happens_when_i_forget_something_i_was/ | {
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"What did you say?\n\nHaha. It is normally because you are distracted by something else for a split second and the thing you were thinking about has not processed out of short term memory.\n\nSource: I am 52 and this happens to me. Sometimes I recall enough of what happened to realize what distracted me."
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9uca2l | why do some jobs have a much much higher salary than others, even if the jobs are equally necessary for society? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9uca2l/eli5_why_do_some_jobs_have_a_much_much_higher/ | {
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"I write these like you’re my five year old brother, so I’m just talking to him rn. \n\nThink about it like this Chad, you know your friend, David, that’s really good at soccer? He worked really hard to get good at it. If you want to win like he does, you need to practice like he does. There’s contests you can play in where the better you are, the harder it is, but it’s got better prizes! You can play how you do now and still win, but it’s not as hard or skillful I guess, so the prizes just aren’t as big. There’s more of those lower skill contests, but you wanna work hard for big ones right?\n\nChad really likes soccer. ",
"Supply and demand. \n\nBus drivers: short training time, low training cost, low intensity work = good supply of bus drivers. Demand for drivers from bus companies is easily met, so the price of the good (the drivers) is “normal” or average\n\nPilots: very long training time, very high training cost, very intensive work = low supply of pilots. Demand for pilots from airline companies is hardly being filled, so prices (salaries) rise to provide an incentive for more people to become pilots.\n\nBoth provide the important job of transport, yet have vastly different salaries due to the nature of the jobs ",
"Think of it this way. A surgeon must study upwards of 14 years to learn a precise set of skills (I will find you and i will kill you) that will alow to save a human. On the other hand, there can be a garbage man, yes he is of great use to society and to earth but he does not need much a qulification to do so. Then there are the supply and demand laws. Some jobs simply have too many people doing them where else there are some with not enough people. In order for a company to get students to do the needed jobs they will offer higher pay. If the market is over filled with people doing 1 job the competition is higher and people will accept a lower pay to do the job. Finaly there is also big companies that sell so much but demand so much work that people need to be payed higher.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nI hope that made sense!"
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5wxf1n | why do so many restaurants/bars that always seem to be busy and popular then fail? | I feel like various eateries in popular locations, that are always booked or busy often close down. I assume that this can't always be the choice of the owner, so something else must cause them to close. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5wxf1n/eli5_why_do_so_many_restaurantsbars_that_always/ | {
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"Not making enough money. You can be constantly filled to capacity but if you're not making enough profit to cover your expenses and pay yourself a living wage on top of that, you're going to close.",
"There could be any number of reasons. For one thing, people being in a restaurant doesn't mean they're buying anything. If everyone is just having coffee or buying items that don't make a profit, then being popular won't make you money.\n\nCost control is also a large issue. If you don't control waste and end up throwing out thousands of dollars worth of ingredients at night, that's going to cut into your revenue.\n\nThere can also be business issues unrelated to the food or popularity. For example, a popular restaurant group just had to shut down three very popular restaurants because they hadn't been paying payroll taxes and the backtaxes were too much for them to handle. They had also put family members on payroll when they didn't work there and likely had other business/fraud issues too.\n\nPersonal issues can also get in the way. If the chef and manager get in a fight and one of them quits, it can be hard to find a replacement.\n\nConsider a small, family-run restaurant. Say a neighborhood Chinese place. They often don't look packed, but many manage to stay open for years. The reason is that they can be cheap ingredients, many of which stay good for a while; they have family members work for free or at a discounted rate; they're family, so they won't quit the restaurant unless they get divorced or something; and they probably do a decent takeout business, which wouldn't be reflected in their dine-in popularity."
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4khbec | how do digital battery chargers know the charge percentage of the batteries? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4khbec/eli5_how_do_digital_battery_chargers_know_the/ | {
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"There are two different questions that can be answered, and I'm not sure which better fits your question:\n\n1. How do electronics figure out what the state of charge in a battery is e.g. your phone giving you a percent figure.\n2. How do chargers or charging circuits in devices figure out when a battery is full.\n\nThose things are a little bit different because giving a SOC number between 0 and 100% is harder than figuring out that a battery is fully charged. I will explain the things separately:\n\n# How to figure out when a battery is full?\n\nThere are basically three methods:\n\n1. Charge in a way that this does not matter: Some batteries can be charged with a constant voltage or a small constand current for an infinite amount of time whithout taking much damage. Examples would be float charging of lead acid batteries or trickle charging of Ni-Mh batteries in cordless telephones. This method simple to implement but charges only slowly\n2. Don't figure anything out on your own and have a human calculate the time: older cheap chargers used to operate like that: you would calculate the needed charging time and remove the battery after that time. Obviously this can only be done if a little bit overcharging would not be dangerous, and it is taxing on the batteries (because they tend to overheat when they are charged after they are full).\n3. Look at the battery voltage: this is the standard way to charge battery today. Different types of batteries show each their own signs of being fully charged: lead acid batteries just reach a certain voltage where you know its full. Ni-Mh and Li-Ion batteries both show a small drop in voltage right after they reach 100% state of charge (or SOC). The charger then knows when to stop charging\n\n# How to figure out how much charge is left in a battery?\n\nHere I know only of two methods:\n\n1. Look at the battery voltage: Some types of battery change their voltage when they are discharged, so looking at that voltage gives you an estimate how much % charge is left. Lithium batteries (like in your phone) change their voltage only a tiny bit while discharging, so you have to use a different method there:\n2. Count the current that goes in or out: Like written in another answer, this requires an intelligent circuit to sit in the battery and monitor (and count) the current going in an out of the battery. It then can calculate an estimate how much energy is left in the battery. The circuit makes a small error that adds up over time, but this does not matter because once you charge your battery fully it knows that the battery is now at 100%. If the battery goes completely flat and then charges to 100% the circuit can measure the current capacity (which may have changed due to aging of the battery) and can give better estimates. This is why you hear the recommendation of \"recalibrating your battery meter\" by discharging the battery fully once in a while (I don't recommend doing that too often because deep cycling batteries can affect them negatively too).\n\n"
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7014ak | central banks' interest rate | Why do they matter? Who do they lend to? What does it translate into for ordinary citizens? What about for businesses? Do I have to be worried about Central Banks increasing or decreasing the interest rate as a layperson? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7014ak/eli5_central_banks_interest_rate/ | {
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"The federal reserve sets the fed rate by either increasing or decreasing the money supply. It's the rate at which banks loan to reserve funds to each other and thus trickles down to affect all other rates including mortgages, line of credits and car loans for individuals to business loans for businesses. \n\nAs a lay person, the biggest loan they tend to get is their mortgage, so be sure to pay attention to wether it's a fixed rate mortgage or a variable rate mortgage and the also the mortgage contract date. If you have a variable mortgage you'll see your rates increasing if the central bank hikes up the fed rate and you'd want to renew your mortgage contract early if there are signs that the bank is going to hike the rate up."
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323vkd | can you defend yourself from an assaulting police officer? | Looking at everything happening with police overusing force, a theoretical situation - policeman od duty suddenly opens fire at you. Can you fire back?
US law wise | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/323vkd/eli5_can_you_defend_yourself_from_an_assaulting/ | {
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"As long as the officer was not justified in using the force that is being used, you may defend yourself. You will need to prove that the officer's actions were unreasonable in order to use that defense against the charges against you.",
"You better not. A police officer is authorized to use deadly force as long as he or she feels their life is in jeopardy. If you appear to be in control of a firearm this is true.\n\nThey are obligated to stop firing as soon as you appear harmless. [Police know they can lose their life any day on the job.](_URL_0_) Cooperate. Move slowly. Follow Directions.",
"Theoretically yes. However you are much more likely to instead receive an ass beating and resisting arrest charges",
"Without video evidence. No. The way the law is written is that cops are protected by default. If a cop who the city trained, who knows the courts, patrolled for years says something, compared to a random guy on the street, the judge will obviously believe him. ",
"Honestly, it's not a very practical option to defend yourself. You may technically have a right to fight back if the officer is unlawfully assaulting you, but you are more likely to escalate the situation to a point where you can get killed. \nHere's the best thing you [can do](_URL_0_)"
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1wu9th | why commercials are so complex/ridiculous. | I feel like every time I see a new commercial for things like fast food restaurants they always try to employ current popular trends in various aspects of entertainment (music, people, etc), say Michael Phelps slaughtering his opponents in The Hunger Games by piloting a flying orca with a unicorn horn (no, not a narwhal) that shoots laser beams with wubs galore and it zooms in on him and he eats a fucking hamburger. I understand that this is an attempt to reach a specific demographic, but, as part of that demographic, I feel that they are completely missing out on telling freaking anybody about why they should be spending their money there.
Is there any data that shows these specific types of commercials are somehow more effective? Do people honestly think "wow, what a spectacular performance. I feel like some KFC"? Is it not a conscious decision?
Perhaps I'm overthinking it or simply outside of their influence, but I'm seeing more and more of these and would like to know why companies decide to go balls deep on what I would deem an ineffective form of advertising. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wu9th/eli5_why_commercials_are_so_complexridiculous/ | {
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"They're going for an experience, something memorable, and to plant an **unconscious** feeling in the back of your mind the next time you go shopping.\n\nIt's not that you're so pumped up about the KFC commercial that you leap off the couch, drive to the restaurant, and order a bucket of chicken. It's for next Sunday when you're hungry and deciding what to eat and can't decide. Part of your brain will think, \"some fried chicken sounds good. I seem to remember KFC having a Sunday special.\"\n\nThey aren't trying to sway you with facts and data. They just want you to remember their product NAME so that it's prominent when making decisions. \n\nThere are people who make their whole working careers about the best way to reach consumers, influence their decisions, and promote products. BILLIONS are spent every year on advertising and if these tactics were counter-productive, they wouldn't be used. \n\nYou're overthinking it. They aren't trying to make you buy the product NOW, just influence your future purchases so that you are biased towards their product.",
"They want it to be memorable and for people to talk about it. Like how crazy and funny old spice commercials are. The idea is that when you need deodorant next time you'll think of old spice as opposed to other brands because you've thought about it more"
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3puvli | if you had no senses (i.e. sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch) what would your thoughts be like? could you even think at all? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3puvli/eli5_if_you_had_no_senses_ie_sight_hearing_smell/ | {
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"Well, let's see.\n\nIf you lost all of your senses at a point in life, you would think the same. \n\nIf you were _born_ with none of those senses, then I guess you would go off of what your own body tells you. Such as hunger, tiredness, and the electro-stuff that you send your brain in order to move your muscles. \n\nthis is actually a very good question, and if there's anyone that could elaborate further, it would be greatly appreciated.",
"There have been quite a few threads on blind/deaf people that might be of interest to you: _URL_0_"
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2s8w35 | why do multistory office buildings and skyscraper like buildings keep their lights on all the time? | Can someone explain why we aren't saving tons of money by cutting these damn office lights off at night? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2s8w35/eli5_why_do_multistory_office_buildings_and/ | {
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"If you officially turn off the lights then you officially have a closing time. Keep the lights on and encourage employees to work later.",
"Because work goes on virtually every hour of every day in high rises. The office critters occupy and push papers and make up money during the daylight and sometimes into the evening. And Overnight/early morning there are cleaning crews maintenance/repair crews and construction crews and security people wandering about. The tenants in highrise office buildings are constantly changing, whenever a new tenant moves into a floor or subdivides a floor into multiple offices the work on the build out can't happen during the day since office critters would get upset if construction men were walking all over their desks and shifting stuff around while they were there.\n\nMy company occasionally does high rise tenant finish and when the tenant wants a new break room or two, and the executive wants a private bathroom in his corner office then things need to be happening on multiple floors at once. The drainage piping needs to be run on the floor below, which is likely occupied. To install new drainage plumbing in a high rise a large X-ray machine needs to be brought out and shoot beams of radiation up towards the slab to find what locations are available for drilling, (this needs to be done from the floor below) then we bring out large core drills which make lots of noise and spray mud everywhere, which requires us to cover all the office folks computers and desks/cabinets and family photos with tarps so when they get back in the morning they don't know we were romping around their office the previous night. Then we need to take the ceiling grid panels out from the occupied floor and bring in the equipment to install the new piping. Doing any of this during 'working hours', everything from bringing in large radiation machines and blasting them between their desks, to covering everyone with tarps and spraying them with mud which making a racket, would piss loads of workers off.\n\nWork like what I'm describing will mean that three floors are completely lit up for the entire night shift, if it's a 35 story building and 2-3 floors are being re-finished and there are two cleaning crews and a security/maintenance crew going around as well then that would mean 10-12 floors at a time minimum are lit up so people are able to work.\n\nTl,DR: If the lights are on on a certain floor of a highrise, there are people doing some form of work on that floor, if there are no lights or the lights are dim then the floor is unoccupied at that time.\n\nI've also heard rumors that tall buildings need to keep a certain amount of floors lit up so aeroplanes can see then easier and gauge their height/distance at night. Though I think this is less likely than work going on, tall buildings have those flashing red lights up top for planes.",
"Many new office buildings are built under environmental frameworks such as BREEAM, Estidama or Green Star for example. These frameworks score certain elements of the building and encourage installation of smart lighting and energy efficient installations (as well as things cycling facilities, rainwater harvesting and use of recycled materials). When new buildings have smart lighting it's often on a timer which turns it off at say 1900 and on at 0700. You might see a difference between new and other older buildings.\n\nAs u/whynotstartnow says, most likely that people are working. ",
"Most buildings nowadays shut off most of the lights, AC/heat, even hot water whenever they think few will complain. E.g. I worked in a building where the lights were on motion sensors so turned off throughout the day and the hot water shut off, the thermostats went from holding 70f-74f (21c-23c) to allowing 59f-85f (15c-30c), and so on after 6pm/on weekends.\n\nThe exceptions were safety related (evacuation paths were lit 24/7 and the restaurant had their own 24/7 water heater).",
"Most offices do turn their lights off. I think we are bias'd to noticing when the lights are on because it's different from all the other ones.",
"Because no one turns the lights off. You're the last guy to leave the floor, are you going to go around and check every cube to see if anyone else is working? Or are you going to just walk out and go home? Plus its not your dime so you dont care.\n\nMost new construction is starting to use occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting etc to prevent the massive waste in electricity due to lighting.",
"Several reasons:\n\n1) It's not completely true. You're seeing isolated lights in an office building being on and turning that into \"keeping lights on all the time.\"\n\n2) It is somewhat true. I work in a high-rise and always turn my lights off when I leave. But not everyone does. Why? They aren't paying for electricity, so why do they care.\n\n3) It can be an optical illusion. Most of the lights in the building are off. Some lights can't be turned off (for safety reasons--can't have security guards running around in the dark). But because the night is so dark, it seems like the building is well-lit, when it's really just a few hallway lights that are on (and people who forgot to turn off their office lights). \n\n4) Even in a 9-to-5 office building, some people work odd hours. Maybe they have a phone conference with Asia or Australia. Maybe it's the cleaning crew. Maybe it's the IT people doing maintenance when most of the employees are asleep. ",
"Former security guard here. Most of the lights are left on until the cleaning crew is done for the evening, but there may be people still working and thus the lights stay on until they leave, and usually they don't bother turning them off. Then you have the few floors where repairs, mantainence and construction are going on while no one is in the building. Then you add in the legally required emergency lighting. And then you just have some terrible electrical work, since it likely went to the lowest bidder and some lights just don't turn off without the entire floors power turning off. And finally you have the security guards who are afraid of the dark (I wish I was kidding). In the end, it is mostly off, but from the outside it still looks well lit. ",
"Because there are people still working. Many tenants have 24/7 operations going on.\n\nOthers have cleaning crews in, maintenance, or just plain forget to turn off the lights."
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24qmil | why do hangover farts smell worse than regular farts? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24qmil/eli5why_do_hangover_farts_smell_worse_than/ | {
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"From one of my previous posts:\n\nAlcohol changes the environment of your digestive system including increasing the bacteria count in your small intestines (usually the large intestines have much more bacteria than the small), reducing the nutrient absorption in your digestive system, and reducing the amount of water absorption in your small and large intestines.\n\nCombined, this makes bacteria in both your small and large intestines have more access to nutrients that would normally be absorbed by your body. This means the bacteria are free to consume these nutrients and produce foul-er smelling farts and poops as a result.\n"
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26be5m | what process makes dna able to decide the physical traits of a being? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/26be5m/eli5_what_process_makes_dna_able_to_decide_the/ | {
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"It's rather complicated. Part of the problem is that, when people are describing DNA to laypersons, they tend to use metaphors like 'DNA contains all the blueprints for your body' or 'instructions on how to make you'. \n\nIt's not that these things are lies, but I can't help but feel like people overread them and think DNA is doing a lot more than it really does.\n\nDNA is a macromolecule built out of smaller molecules, which are grouped into a set of what are called 'bases' A, T, G, and C. Each one is different chemically, but they always bond together in base-pairs (A+T and G+C). Now, when the cell needs to use the DNA, it uncurls a section of DNA using proteins, then other proteins unzip the DNA base-pairs, and create an RNA strain off of the DNA. RNA, unlike DNA, only has a single strain of nucleobases, and no base-pairs. \n\nThis RNA, called messenger RNA then leaves the nucleus and goes to a section of the cell called the *ribosome*, this organelle 'reads' the RNA, and based on the sequence of the RNA's nucleotides, create a protein. \n\nNow, here's where it gets a bit difficult to understand: the protein creation, and everything else I've described here, is *blind* As in, there's no guiding intelligence or 'decision making' behind this.\n\nLet me give you a different example; many years ago, I got LEGO Mindstorms for christmas; I built a basic robot, and I went to program it. In particular, I wanted to make it so it would run around, hit walls, and turn around and continue on. I quickly realized that it wasn't as easy as I thought.\n\nIn particular, there was no command for 'turn around', this is because, as far as the Mindstorm brick was concerned, the world was a series of on/off interactions. It didn't know it was connected to motors, or what the sensor inputs meant. All it knew was 'inputs' were either on and off, and it could either turn motors on and off. \n\nIf I wanted the vehicle to turn around when it hit a wall, I had to write a code that, when the 'on' signal, from the the touch sensor, entered the Mindstorm brick, one of the two motors would be turned on, and one would be turned off; the Mindstorms Brick would turn on the motor *for a certain length of time* In doing so, the robot would turn around. \n\nI bring this up because, like the Mindstorm brick, the cell and it's DNA is blind. environmental triggers (whether it's something like sunlight, or something like hormones) cause the cell to copy out sections of DNA and make proteins from them, but the DNA is more like the Mindstorm brick turning the motor on, and turning it on for a certain length of time. It doesn't know what it's doing, and what it's doing isn't particularly smart. \n\nNow, ultimately, this is a super simplification of a very complex series of biochemical interactions inside the cell, but hopefully I've been able to give you a better understanding of what's going on inside the cell. "
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29p4f3 | how come no other species took the evolutionary leaps that our ancestor apes took? | I'm sure there had to be other intelligent species millions of years ago. How come only apes developed technology and evolved to our present selves. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29p4f3/eli5how_come_no_other_species_took_the/ | {
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"Randomness.\n\nMutations are random, apes just happened to be the ones that mutated to have large brains.",
"There is a very understandable misconception regarding evolution. There are technically no \"rates of evolution\". Evolution is constant, just change over time. I suppose one could argue that animals with shorter lifespans evolve faster, but that's another discussion.\n\nWhen it comes to the question posed, everything is random. There was no human like intelligence present in dinosaurs because chance was not in their favor. \n\nIn addition, wen it comes to evolutionary leaps, I could argue that it really wasn't that far of a leap to develop more capable brains. There's one theory that hypothesizes humans only became smarter because we lost a lot of muscle. The weaker muscle growth in our jaw area allowed our skull to become more cavernous, thus allowing further brain growth. This allowed us to develop complex frontal cortexes, and gave us the cognitive ability to develop the technology we use today. Other animals had their \"leaps\". For example, lungfish developed lungs that are completely different from fish gills. Turtles grew protective shells. Bees and Ants evolved to form large social constructs and a complex hierarchy. In conclusion, there really aren't such things as evolutionary leaps."
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359roa | why does ending a process close a program so much faster than ending the task? | When you Cyril-alt-del, why does ending task take time for the program to close while ending the process always seems to close it immediately? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/359roa/eli5_why_does_ending_a_process_close_a_program_so/ | {
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"The program has subroutines that it runs before closing to ensure that a lot of the things that make the program run smoothly, are done before closing the whole program. Ending a process, simply bypasses those subroutines and immediately ends the program at the root level.",
"End program is asking \"hey, would you mind shutting down, please?\" and the program will do the things it feel it has to do to shut down gracefully.\n\nEnd process is shooting it with a gun.\n\nIf it's possible it's usually a bit safer to let it shut down regularly, because if it's trying to save things to the harddrive that might get corrupted if you end the process instead. Similar to yanking a USB memory stick without doing the \"safe removal\" thing first. Low chance, but it could happen."
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686p6f | will climate change make water toxic to drink? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/686p6f/eli5_will_climate_change_make_water_toxic_to_drink/ | {
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"Not globally. What it's more likely to do is change where potable fresh water is easily attainable. There are places now that are plenty resourceful which will ultimately go dry. Desertification will cause even bigger problems. There are also places where fresh water may fall more regularly due to a more active atmosphere.\n\nI suppose there are places like estuaries and wetlands where salt water could destroy the turbid/fresh water source which will absolutely be disastrous to the local ecology but I don't know how many people are really drinking from swamps.",
"It's conceivable that more extreme weather could lead to flooding that causes fresh water to be contaminated by sewage in heavily populated areas or could exacerbate the contamination of waterways by agricultural runoff. Higher atmospheric CO2 is causing ocean acidification, but seawater is already undrinkable. Altering the pH of the ocean shouldn't have any effect on fresh water that humans need to drink."
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kkq6k | artificial gravity | So I'm in a space station shaped like a torus/cylinder/sphere and it's spinning fast and I fly against the wall.
I'm reading Rendezvous with Rama and I don't really get it. Why is there zero-g in the center of the cylinder and "gravity" increases towards the walls? Would it work if it were air-evacuated?
Thanks : > | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kkq6k/eli5_artificial_gravity/ | {
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"Gravity is just an acceleration field. If you were in an elevator in space, and that elevator were accelerating upwards at 9.8 m/s^2, if would feel exactly like you're standing on the ground with the force of gravity on you. \n\nWhen things spin, you're pressed up against the wall. (Actually, the wall is pressing up against you - otherwise you would fly out in a straight line). This is due to centripetal force. Ever been one one of [those carnival rides](_URL_0_) that spins you around really fast, so you're pushed against the sidewall? Your space station is exactly the same. You feel an acceleration inward, which makes you think gravity pushes outward. ",
"Motion in a circle can be described by centripetal acceleration, which takes the form of the equation:\n\n a = v^2 / r\n\nWhere a is the acceleration, v^ 2 is the velocity squared, and r is the radius of the circle.\n\nNow, a space station would be spinning at a constant velocity, and would make a full rotation in X amount of time. The distance around a circle, the circumference, can be described by the equation:\n\n c = 2 * pi * r\n\nWhere c is the circumference and r is the radius of the circle. If you take this equation and divide by the amount of time it takes to go around a full circle you find exactly how fast you are moving at any time:\n\n v = (2 * pi * 2) / t\n\nWhere v is the velocity and t is the time it takes to go around the entire circle. Now, we're still looking at the acceleration, but now we can replace v in our old equation with the velocity we just found, and then simplify:\n\n a = ((2 * pi * r) / t)^2 / r\n a = (4 * pi^2 * r^2) / t^2 * r\n a = (4 * pi^2 * r ) / t^2\n\nNow, the four times pi squared is simply a constant, so it will not change. Similarly the time it takes to go around a circle is also constant because the station itself won't be speeding up or slowing down for any reason. I can then replace all of this with a placeholder variable, say Y, where:\n\n Y = 4 * pi^2 / t^2\n\nNow, I can put that back into our equation, and I can see this begins to make sense:\n\n a = Y * r\n\nSo, everything is constant except for the radius, which is just how far you are from the center of the rotating space station. When you are in the middle the radius is 0, giving you zero acceleration (gravity.) The farther away you are from the center the greater the \"gravity,\" which means that gravity will increase the closer you get to the walls.\n\n(If someone wants to explain why centripetal acceleration is used here go ahead, I would have a hard time explaining the reason behind that.)",
"You're standing on the inner wall of Rama. It's spinning, and you are spinning with it. According to Newton's First Law, you should keep moving in a straight line and fly off at a tangent to the circle. But you can't do that, because there's a giant space station under your feet holding you up. The station is exerting *centripetal force*, which keeps you moving on a circular path. But from your point of view, it just feels like there's solid ground under your feet holding you up.\n\nNow imagine you're high above the ground, for example, near Rama's central airlock. Now you're spinning much slower, because you don't have to go very far to go around the circle. Since you're going so slowly, it doesn't take much force to keep you moving in a circular path, and you'll feel much less gravity. This will actually be important later in the book.\n\nNow imagine you're exactly in the center of Rama. You stand still, and Rama revolves around you. You aren't moving in a circle, so you feel no gravity.\n\nThis will still work if there is no air. So long as there's something keeping you on a circular path, you'll feel centripetal force, which feels like gravity.",
"_URL_0_\n\nThis applet will definitely help you out. It made me have the a-ha moment.",
"Gravity is just an acceleration field. If you were in an elevator in space, and that elevator were accelerating upwards at 9.8 m/s^2, if would feel exactly like you're standing on the ground with the force of gravity on you. \n\nWhen things spin, you're pressed up against the wall. (Actually, the wall is pressing up against you - otherwise you would fly out in a straight line). This is due to centripetal force. Ever been one one of [those carnival rides](_URL_0_) that spins you around really fast, so you're pushed against the sidewall? Your space station is exactly the same. You feel an acceleration inward, which makes you think gravity pushes outward. ",
"Motion in a circle can be described by centripetal acceleration, which takes the form of the equation:\n\n a = v^2 / r\n\nWhere a is the acceleration, v^ 2 is the velocity squared, and r is the radius of the circle.\n\nNow, a space station would be spinning at a constant velocity, and would make a full rotation in X amount of time. The distance around a circle, the circumference, can be described by the equation:\n\n c = 2 * pi * r\n\nWhere c is the circumference and r is the radius of the circle. If you take this equation and divide by the amount of time it takes to go around a full circle you find exactly how fast you are moving at any time:\n\n v = (2 * pi * 2) / t\n\nWhere v is the velocity and t is the time it takes to go around the entire circle. Now, we're still looking at the acceleration, but now we can replace v in our old equation with the velocity we just found, and then simplify:\n\n a = ((2 * pi * r) / t)^2 / r\n a = (4 * pi^2 * r^2) / t^2 * r\n a = (4 * pi^2 * r ) / t^2\n\nNow, the four times pi squared is simply a constant, so it will not change. Similarly the time it takes to go around a circle is also constant because the station itself won't be speeding up or slowing down for any reason. I can then replace all of this with a placeholder variable, say Y, where:\n\n Y = 4 * pi^2 / t^2\n\nNow, I can put that back into our equation, and I can see this begins to make sense:\n\n a = Y * r\n\nSo, everything is constant except for the radius, which is just how far you are from the center of the rotating space station. When you are in the middle the radius is 0, giving you zero acceleration (gravity.) The farther away you are from the center the greater the \"gravity,\" which means that gravity will increase the closer you get to the walls.\n\n(If someone wants to explain why centripetal acceleration is used here go ahead, I would have a hard time explaining the reason behind that.)",
"You're standing on the inner wall of Rama. It's spinning, and you are spinning with it. According to Newton's First Law, you should keep moving in a straight line and fly off at a tangent to the circle. But you can't do that, because there's a giant space station under your feet holding you up. The station is exerting *centripetal force*, which keeps you moving on a circular path. But from your point of view, it just feels like there's solid ground under your feet holding you up.\n\nNow imagine you're high above the ground, for example, near Rama's central airlock. Now you're spinning much slower, because you don't have to go very far to go around the circle. Since you're going so slowly, it doesn't take much force to keep you moving in a circular path, and you'll feel much less gravity. This will actually be important later in the book.\n\nNow imagine you're exactly in the center of Rama. You stand still, and Rama revolves around you. You aren't moving in a circle, so you feel no gravity.\n\nThis will still work if there is no air. So long as there's something keeping you on a circular path, you'll feel centripetal force, which feels like gravity.",
"_URL_0_\n\nThis applet will definitely help you out. It made me have the a-ha moment."
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1d1sc0 | do humans have a natural affection towards family? | Does our love for our family come biologically, or is it something we learn? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1d1sc0/eli5_do_humans_have_a_natural_affection_towards/ | {
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"We are biologically predisposed to love those who love and support us, but we learn who those people are.\n\nIn other words a child will love foster parents equal to birth parents if they treat them equally."
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5yljdm | dungeons and dragons | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5yljdm/eli5_dungeons_and_dragons/ | {
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"Honestly. Theres so much info online that i refuse to believe you cant find it. Id say get the starter set and watch some people play a bit on youtube. Also, Tabletop simulator will be of no use i would say, if youre going to play online use something like _URL_0_. its very good. ",
"I highly recommend the D & D starter set. _URL_0_\n\nIt does a great job of breaking the rules down step by step. It's designed similar to a board game so it's not overwhelming.\n\nIt has characters pre-genenerated as well as a pre made adventure. Normally you will need to have 4-5 players with one more person being the Dungeon Master (DM). The DM runs the game. Tells the story, plays the bad guys or townies, etc. \n\nThe next book you would need if the starter set works for you is the Players Handbook. That has character creation, spells, skills and abilities and generally all the rules you need to know. \n\nThere are many ways to go about it from this point so I won't get complicated.\n\n",
"You would probably have better luck looking through one of the subreddits specifically about the game like r/dnd or r/dungeonsanddragons. You will need the rulebook and need to read it because there are a lot of rules involved. It's not really a game you can just pick up and start playing right out of the box without any kind of preparation beforehand.",
"Yeah, the game would be pretty hard to explain via text. Personally I think the best way to learn to play is to play with a group and have them teach you as you play. This is how I learned to tabletop. In fact I still don't know how to play dnd specifically because I haven't played much of it. I do know how to play a couple trpg systems though. Mainly the world of darkness system. If you would like some help with that stuff pm me or hop in my discord. The most I could teach you about it the world of darkness system though. _URL_0_",
"From what 7th grade me remembers...you create a character. Pick an elf, paladin, dwarf, wizard, etc. (maybe there's more now). You roll a die (there's many different sided dice) to determine their attributes. You get together and a DM leads you. Kind of like a guide. \"So you walk into the cave and 12 orcs are there...\" Then you decide what to do (run, attack with a weapon of your choice) and roll the dice to see how much damage you do. You have hit points. You get hit you can lose points (depending on the dice roll). The enemy has hit points (you roll a die, that's the damage). Bigger the beast, the more hit points. You get experience points (XP) for beating beasts and completing quests. Get XP, level up, higher the level the more hit points, greater attributes and more damage. It's a great game if your friends are into storytelling as the DM can make it a great night/early morning of fun (Watch Stranger Things, Freaks and Geeks and E.T.).",
"I suggest listening to a podcast if you have time.\n\nSpecifically Pretend Wizards, and The Adventure Zone are two different styles of playing that clearly come across as people having a great time together.",
"Apologies in advance I am on mobile:\n\nDungeons and Dragons is a pen and paper tabletop role playing game. \n\n\nThe game is structured by rulebooks that describe mechanics, detailing how to decide if a particular action has the desired result or not (\"I want to jump over this big pit! For example). \n\n\nBecause these actions are usually more complicated than simple success or failure (continuing our our example: you may fall short of the other side of the pit but just barely manage to catch the ledge, hanging on for dear life!) there exists the role of The Dungeon Master (DM). The DMs influence and control of the game can vary from person to person. The typical experienced DM will act as the arbitrator, will keep the flow of the story going, will act and play as all the characters aside from the players (shopkeepers, monsters, quest givers), and will also act as the environment (traps, dungeons, weather, dues ex machina). A DM may write their own story and monsters and dungeons, or use premade material. \n\nEdit:\nThe core mechanic of DnD is as follows:\nFor any action with a chance of failure roll a twenty sided die (called a d20). The DM instructs the player to add the relevant numbers from the players character sheet. Compare the result against a pre-determined 'dice check' number (called a DC). \n\nPutting it all together: \n\nDM: you are in a dark cave. The door to the treasure is on the far side of the room, illuminated dimly by light seepung through the cracks in the frame. A large pit, 15ft across, blocks your path\n\nPlayer character (PC): I get a good running start and leap across the pit!\n\nDM: ok roll an Athletics Check. Remember, that's d20 plus your strength and also plus any training you may have in athletics. (The DM knows from the rulebook the DC for this check is DC 15)\n\nPC: ok! I rolled a 7, plus my 3 strength bonus and 4 from my training. I got 14!\n\nDM: You dash towards tje pit and make a mighty leap! Soaring through the near total darkness you realize you aren't going to make it! If you are quick and lucky you may be able to grab on to the ledge and avoid a fall. Roll a dexterity saving throw. that's a d20 plus dexterity plus training.\n\nPC: I got a 19!\n\nDM: you barely manage to grab the ledge and haul yourself over the side. Lucky save! ",
"My real advice would be to see if there's a group or club near you who would be happy to play with some newbies. There should be some people who are happy to run a game for you, or let you join a campaign. Look on facebook for groups in your nearest reasonably sized town.\n\nHowever, the basic explanation:\n\nYou have a Dungeon Master (DM for short) who sets up a basic setting for a story. Some locations, characters, monsters and so on, and find some way to give the players a quest. This can be simple, for example, a major local figure has recruited you to go to a specific place and find a magic gem, or something. \n\nThe players create characters, with certain skills and abilities. The players say what they want to do. The DM decides whether to just let them do it, or whether they need to roll dice for it. The skills and abilities tend to add a number to the roll. \n\nAn important thing to understand is that the DM is running the game. He is not trying to defeat the players (that would be easy - rocks fall, everyone dies) but to create an interesting challenge. ",
"It is cooperative story telling. ]\nSay we are playing I am the DM and you are the player.\n\nAs the DM I tell the story of the environment and the NPCs, you as the player tell the story of your character and how you react. \n\nThe dice roll is to add the random part of it so then you sneak up to stab this bad guy you don't know if you are going to kill it with on shot or trip over nothing.\n\nWe work together to make a story that well for most of the point is fun for all of us. The biggest part of all of this is being able to tell a story and communicate. ",
"Let's imagine two characters; Bob the Barbarian and Will the Wizard. Bob is very strong and very tough, but not a very smart or sociable guy. Will is very smart and can do cool magic things, but is a frail fellow. You get to come up with a fun story for Bob and/or Will about why they're an adventurer/how they got to be so cool.\n\nFrom there....you make up things as you go along a story, which is controlled by your DM, aka your \"Dungeon Master\". Let's say his/her story has you confronting a troll who demands payment for you to cross his bridge.\n\nBob could try and fight the troll. He's good at fighting. His stats are great for fighting. Bob can also certainly try and write up a treaty between the nearby town and the troll to arrange free passage in a diplomatic trade agreement. Bob's not so good at that, but he's definitely able to try if he'd like, and Bob gets to be a hero either way.\n\nWill might try using magic on the troll to pass by undetected, or he can use his clever wits to trick the troll in to letting them pass for free. Will can also attempt to arm wrestle the troll to let them pass; it may not work, but that's totally Will's call, and if he wins he still beat the bad guy.\n\nThat's D & D in a nutshell. You come up with a character, create a fun backstory, and then just make up things based on what the DM is narrating to you. The DM is the world your characters live in. They're the narrator describing events as they unfold. They're the familiar tavern keeper welcoming you back in from the cold. They're the bad guy cursing you with his dying breath. You are active members in the story they create. You can literally do (almost) anything, as long as the dice go your way. There's a chance of success or failure in almost everything you do, only limited by your own creativity. Depending on what you wanna do, you add a certain modifier to your dice roll. The better you are at a certain skill, the higher the modifier, meaning the more likely it is that something using that modifier will succeed. \n\nDepending on how you make your character, certain stats are more likely to succeed than others, so obviously you'll probably play it safe most of the time. \n\n...But no one remembers that time the cleric THOUGHT about punching the troll in the dick so that she could intimidate it to let her friends pass, and then decided to pray to their god to make the troll go away. They remember the time Christina the Cleric kicked a troll so hard in the nads it passed out from the pain. \n\nMoments like that are what make D & D amazing, and I hope you and your friend have a great time playing.",
"The others have more or less explained what D & D is about, but after you've done that, you might want to take a look at [this article here](_URL_0_) about the main differences between a videogame RPG and a tabletop RPG, and what you can expect at the table.",
"I played for years when I was in the Navy. I never played a board version. We had color markers, full sets of dice, all the creature books to determine hit points and use for reference, regular 1/4\" graph paper for maps and charchter drawings and about 10 people with amazing imaginations who rotated in and out as players and Dungeon Masters. We just let our imaginations fly. Have fun whatever route you take. One of our players who was DM a lot went on to write several books about our campians. One of my charchters is in there. Look for anything written by John E. Thompson. III Wars Trilogy, He was working on another trilogy. \n\n_URL_0_\n\n His FB Page has the hand drawn map of the world we all played D & D within. Those books are based on pure imagination D & D campaigns.",
"Dungeons are underground rooms where prisoners are kept.\n\nDragons are pretend animals that breath fire. They have scales like a fish, and wings like a bat. They are usually very clever.\n\nDungeons & Dragons is the name of a game where people pretend to be hero's and go on adventures in Dungeons. Sometimes they meet Dragons.",
"_URL_0_ is a fanTAStic virtual tabletop. I personally haven't played DnD in many moons but I do play Pathfinder which is based on DnD 3.5\n\nJust getting into it I would try 5th edition because I hear it's a more simplified stat system. All the pdf files are likely available online for the game guides but it really is all about creative freedom. I can talk to you on discord or ventrilo about it at some point if you want (or in person if you happen to live in south eastern MO) Typing it out is probably useless if you've already read guides, talking it through as you play/make your character is honestly the easiest way to do it. Best of luck man, I love seeing more RPG players!",
"DnD is a group storytelling with rules. The dungeon master is the story facilitator and teller while the players are who make the story progress in weird and unexpected ways.\n\nThe goal is not as much to win as it is to have fun pretending and overall having a good time. Maybe even get through the story, or die on a heroic battle. ",
"It's probably better to dip your toes into it by listening to a podcast or watching something like rollplay or critical role on youtube. There's a number of excellent entertainers and youtube channels out there dedicated to showing the games live as they happen.",
"Geek & Sundry put together [a list of great videos](_URL_0_) that will help you understand the basics.",
"You can literally do anything you want, that is why its better than any other game ever. Want to jump off a roof, shoot a guard with an arrow, get drunk at the tavern? Go for it. That's what makes it great. Just make sure you have a good group of people, it only takes one to ruin the entire game.",
"I'd recommend watching people play to get a feel for DnD. Critical role is fantastic because of how serious the players are on roleplaying, while Force Grey on the Nerdist channel is a little more light hearted and laid back. One of my favorites to watch is Heroes and Halfwits on the achievement hunter channel. ",
"I liked HarmonQuest for a good idea of what one style of game is like:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nIt captures the tabletop dynamic, and some of the creativity in problem solving. It also shows some of the common problems (like Dungeon Master railroading the story).\n\nBut the big rules are:\n\n1. The Dungeon Master makes up a story and controls the world.\n\n1. You make up a character and control their actions.\n\n1. The rules and dice decide who wins when those two disagree.\n\nGo grab the DND starter set and try to play a game. Check out your local gaming store if you want to find someone else to play with/walk you through how it works.",
"Instead of having it explained, just watch!\n\nI found the easiest way to learn D & D was to watch it played by people with years of experience; \n\nI recommend Rollplay Solum or Court of Swords as a good base!\n\n_URL_0_",
"A lot of other people have given some good answers so I'm going to stray away from the question slightly and say this: d & d requires a DM/GM to guide and manage things, and GMing any pen and paper rpg is a lot of work and requires skills you can really only develop by playing. It is hard to do a good job if you don't have prior experience as a player, and if you don't know what you are doing then the experience can be ruined for everyone. You should probably try to find a local group to join for at least a little while, but if you don't want to do that then you should read as much as you can about how to GM and maybe even watch people play a bit on twitch. Alternatively, choose a system that is easier to gm for. Dungeon World is a lot less rules and dice and a lot more role play and storytelling, but it is much easier to be the GM and would probably help you learn what the GM's responsibilities are.",
"YouTube is more useful than anything else. Look up Matt Colville's channel, he has a series about running the game that starts with \"you are going to run a game of dnd tonight, and I'm gonna show you how\"\n\nWASD20 is another channel I like, he does character creation videos that walk you through making a character. It really helps to have someone e just explain it rather than read the whole players guide.\n\nSpeaking of, the whole 5e dnd player's basic rules is available for free. Just look it up on wizards of the coast's website.",
"Some excellent explanations here, I recommend giving a listen to the adventure zone podcast to hear a D & D session in action. ",
"Personally, I've played various tabletop role-playing games, and I'm happy/excited to see that you've chosen D & D 5th Edition. It's a very balanced and enjoyable game that cuts away a lot of unnecessary mechanics similar games normally exhibit, without losing much of the complexity.\n\n\nTo begin, since you're already using a tabletop simulator, look into other digital resources to make the game more streamlined. HeroLab is a fantastic resource for creating characters on a computer (way faster than by hand) and is not very expensive.\n\n\nAlso, check out some YouTube videos by the group WebDM (especially if one of you will be running the game for the first time). They're very good at explaining some of the nuances that you'll run into with the players, and how to handle unexpected challenges they may pose you as the Dungeon Master (THIS is by far the most difficult thing for new Dungeon Masters, DMs, to handle).\n\n\nKeep it SMALL! For your first game, try to have 3-4 players, and a DM (you can even have an assistant DM if you know any experienced players who want to help you out). Choose one of the original scenarios, as they have the most fleshed out stories, and are the easiest to run for your first game. Keeping the game to 3 or 4 players will make it easier for the campaign to be balanced as well, since larger groups require harder challenges, which the DM has to balance on their own before a fight/encounter.\n\n\nIf you'd like any more information, let me know! Also, if you're near Michigan our local groups of players might be able to teach/show you a game as well!",
"After you read all these comments you can watch the first episode of Stranger Things for a walkthrough. ",
"Watch the [Community episode](_URL_0_), actually fairly decent as far as TV representations go :) ",
"I highly recommend Fear The Boot (.com)\n\nIt's a podcast about RPGs in general. Some of there older episodes explain how to be better participates. \n\nBasically it boils down to play style. You can be rules heavy, light, or non existent. \n",
"**What is D & D?**\n\nD & D is a game that takes place predominantly in your imagination with props like maps and figurines to help you visualize encounters.\n\nWhen you start, you create a character by picking a race (like human, orc, elf, etc…), and class (like fighter, wizard, rogue, etc…) then picking your stats (there are multiple ways of doing this). Some races work well with specific classes but anything can work! From there you fill out your character sheet using these stats and you're ready to join your Dungeon Master's adventure.\n\n**What is a DM?**\n\nThe DM or Dungeon Master, is the person running the game. They are essentially the narrator of your epic adventure and are usually very knowledgeable about the game. Some people think of the DM as the bad guy but a DM's goal is to make sure everyone is having fun! \n\n**Why should you play it?**\n\nD & D is all about imagination and living out mock battles and encounters in a fantasy world. If you like the idea of creating a character, improving him/her day by day, having mock battles where you move miniatures around a board working with a team of real life people, then D & D is for you.\n\n**Where can you play it?**\n\nMost people tend to make friends with someone quite knowledgeable about the game and hang out for takeout and a get-together once a week. If you don't know anyone who fits this roll then there are options.\n\n1. Check out your local hobby and game shops. Any place that sells board games or anything D & D related usually has either a game night, or access to people willing to host one. Visit one in your city and ask around.\n\n2. Check out Roll20. This website is all about playing D & D online. You pretty much play in a digital room with maps and either webcams or chat to flesh out the story.\n\n3. Become the DM yourself! Buy a copy of the player's guide, Dungeon master's guide, and Monster manual and get to reading. I started most of my games just like this with a sheet of graph paper where I drew out the maps. These three books are all you need to get a game started up.\n\n**Which version should you play?**\n\nThere are multiple versions of the game you can play but two stick out to me. Version 3.5 has rules upon rules upon rules allowing you to do pretty much anything you want. This might be a little intimidating to someone just starting out though. Version 4 was created to be more accessible to newer players as it restricted some of the choices so people were less intimidated.\n\nIn the end you'll always find people willing to help out someone new. We're all pretty friendly and always willing to bring new people into the game. Check out r/dnd if you want to know more.",
"I would recommend listening to a hilarious podcast called \"The Adventure Zone.\" It's 3 hilarious brothers and their dad playing D & D. I had never shown any sort of interest in D & D until I heard that podcast.",
"_URL_0_\n\nThis is, to me, a summary of what DnD is about (to add to what everyone is saying). ",
"* Cooperative pen-and-paper RPG game\n\n* **DM's and PC's.** One player is the Dungeon Master (DM), or Game Master (GM), and their job is to create the world, setup the battle encounters, play all the NPCs, tell the story etc. The DM basically creates the sandbox that the Player Characters (or PCs) play in.\n\n* **Basically a game of improv in a world.** Typically, but not limited to, fantasy worlds like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.\n\n* **Doesn't really have an ending.** You don't \"beat\" the game, rather you finish story arcs. Individual story arcs can last a few weeks to months, and then just move onto the next.\n\n* **Rulesbooks**. There are 3 core Rulesbooks: The Player's Handbook (PHB), The Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and the Monster Manual (MM). They're $50 each, but on Amazon you can find them for $30 each. You don't need any of this to play, the basic ruleset is available on the publisher's website, but they're really helpful to have. **A player only needs the PHB, actually is ideal for them to never look at the DMG or MM.** Each person can buy their own PHB (most convenient), or you can buy one and share a single PHB for the whole group. There is also a $20 Starter Set that is actually legit. It comes with dice, pre-filled character sheets, and a short beginning adventure that's meant to introduce new players as well as teach the DM how a campaign or story arc is handled.\n\n* **Combat is turn-based.** You roll a 20 sided dice (d20) to see if you hit or miss, and then roll the damage dice to see how much damage you do\n\n* **Non-combat actions.** You also roll a d20 to see if you succeed in other non-combat actions like sneaking past a guard, persuading someone to do what you want, deceiving people, etc. And you add a bonus modifier that's based on your character stats.\n\n* **Battle maps and miniatures are not needed**, but can help out a lot to visually represent the combat field. Only used for combat.\n\n* **Good sessions last at least 3 hours**, that seems like a long fucking time but it flies by and will never feel lime enough\n\n* **Usually played weekly** to give the DM time to prepare for the session \n\n* **Critical Role** is an awesome DnD show that is nearly an ideal game and whose entire cast are famous video game and anime voice actors. The DM is Matthew Mercer (McCree in Overwatch), Ashley Johnson (Ellie in The Last of Us) Laura Bailey (everything), and Liam O'Brien (Illidan in Warcraft) just to name a few.\n\n* I think this is the best video to show new players. ** > > [Critical Role - Liam's Quest Oneshot](_URL_0_) < < **. This video is a oneshot, which means it's a self-contained game that has a story that's meant to be finished in only one session. Oneshots are best used to introduce new players to the game. This video, however, begins with the players playing themselves going to work in the real world doing normal things, but the world eventually falls apart into an outlandish alien invasion or some shit. The setting is familiar so you, the viewer, have a much easier time following along to solely focus on understanding how DnD generally works and leaves out the idiosyncrasies of world building that's unique to everyone else's games. Don't be intimidated by the 3 hour longtime, just watch as much as you want but things start to get really crazy at the **[25:00 mark](_URL_1_)**",
"Watch a few episodes Critical Role, no better ELI5. \n\n_URL_0_",
"D & D Is simply put, an interactive and improvised story that is unfolded by the players as you go along using dice, and rules to structure the adventure.\n\nIf you have some free time, or if you prefer to get information from video then reading a guide, I very highly suggest watching/listening to a video series by Matthew Colville on YouTube. He does a much better job then I ever would explaining. He has a great voice, and his videos are full of charisma and energy.\n\nHere is his 'Into to D & D' video for any interested players: \n[_URL_0_](_URL_0_)\n\nHope this helps!",
"_URL_0_\n\nCan I give a response with a video? Here's Critical Role, enjoy. Here's a game being played on Twitch, with professional voice actors.",
"There was a great D & D pdf a while ago explaining how to start D & D, short and fun. If people are interested and see this, i can upload it when i'm back from work, so send lifesigns !",
"Watch a show called Harmonsquest. It will give you an idea of what playing is like and it's hilarious.",
"I recommend watching Critical Role. It's a web show of a bunch of professional voice actors playing DnD, and watching it is both super entertaining and a great way to catch onto the basics of the game. It's what got me into DnD and our party's sessions are the highlight of my week. I love this game. ",
"You can purchase a D & D starter kit at most local book stores and sometimes at Wal-Mart. It's like $20.",
"\n\nYou and your friends gather around a table. You eat food, you drink drinks, and pretend to be characters in a fantasy world. Your very smartest friend is the \"DM\" because he or she wrote down some ideas for a story that you can all act out together. Your DM starts at the beginning of the story, and lets everyone at the table improvise the middle and end. Solving problems and fighting monsters a big part of moving the story along, but at this table you roll dice to decide if your character will be awesome or fail. Winning takes some lucky dice rolls, but if you play to your character's strengths, you'll get through it no problem. At the end of the story your character gets experience points and levels up. If you and your friends get to a higher level, you can solve more interesting problems and fight way bigger monsters. \n\nJust like any other improv or board game, if everyone at the table WANTS TO have a good time, it's going to be a great time. Also you have to worship the devil.",
"**ELI5 explanation**: Dungeons and Dragons is a game where you and your friends get to pretend you're heroes having adventures like you see in movies or read in books. One person will be the Dungeon Master who tells you what is happening to the in-game characters and the other players tell him/her what actions they take. Dice are used to decide if actions are successful or not. Most Dungeon and Dragons games are set in a fantasy world, but it can really be anything you can imagine.\n\n**Recommendation**:\n \n* Take a look the PDFs at [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)\n* Look at picking up the Starter kit with an initial adventure.\n* Try local gaming stores to see if they have a game you can join as a player. This will help you understand the game much better if you play a bit before trying to run a game yourself.",
"You don't mention if you have/have seen the rule books. You need at the very least the \"Players Handbook\" and the \"Dungeon Masters Guide\". Used bookstores always have them for a few bucks. I've seen them in the main branch of our library too, so that's an option.\n\nIf you don't have/can't get the rule books, check out _URL_0_ That's the Pathfinder website. It's basically a variant of D & D, but everything you need to play is free and online.\n\nI also recommend the website _URL_1_ It's full of articles about gaming, how to run a game, how to play, etc. The people there are friendly and welcoming and full of advice.\n\nA few people have mentioned that 2 player D & D isn't great. I disagree. My S.O. and I run games for each other all the time and it's just as fun as playing with a group.",
"To add to the great answers already here, there's two general parts of playing D & D: the Roleplaying aspect and the Combat aspect.\n\nRoleplaying is a simple concept, but hard to execute well and can take years for players to learn how to really get into character and make great, memorable roleplaying moments. The freedom to do and say *literally* anything at any time without a game engine dictating what actions or verbal responses are available to you (as in video games), is part of what makes D & D so amazing.\n\nAs for the combat...imagine being in a game with 3 or 4 other people. You enter battle and all you do is activate some special ability, run up to the bad guy, and swing your sword at him...and then do it again. Simultaneously, your friends do a similar amount of things, but maybe do some magic or shoot a bow instead of swinging a sword. Maybe takes about 10 seconds or so in that video game.\n\nNow imagine that taking 20 minutes...**AND FUCKING LOVING IT**.\n\nWelcome to D & D.\n\nEdit: [Relevant gif](_URL_0_) - \"Two rounds of combat: 12 seconds in game, 20 minutes IRL.\"",
"First of, get Player Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide. Those are needed. Other books complement these, but those two are needed (Monster Manual is good to have but not a necessity).\nAlso, get a set of dice (one for each player would be good). Digital die rollers work, but are not as satisfactory, so I recommend actual dice. \n \nYou need players. A standard sized group is 4 players (+1 dungeon master), but you can vary the size. Just make sure you balance accordingly. Any group between 2-6 characters is viable. Beyond that it gets pretty difficult. \n \nAs a player, follow the instructions of the player handbook and as a dm (dungeon master), read through the dungeon master's guide (and also the player handbook, you need to know your shit and everyone else's shit). \n \n \nAs for actually playing, this is more down to preference. There are plenty of guides on how to be a good dm and a good player. You can choose to play with or without a board and figurines (I recommend without since you get more roleplay without it). \n \nSo here are some tips for dming (not a very experienced dm myself so handle this with scepticism): \n*Don't force your players in a direction (aka railroading). If they don't feel they make their own decisions there's no point in playing. \n*Be clear about what your goal with the campaign is (also, have a goal). \n*Reward good roleplaying. \n*Plan your encounters and interactions very loosely. It won't ever go the way you expect, so don't plan for it to. \n*Listen to what the players want. Let them participate in the setting the goal for the campaign. \n*Sometimes you just gotta give your players the satisfaction. If a player wants sweet sweet revenge by killing a certain npc, don't kill off that npc without a confrontation. \n*All these points can be ignored if you really put thought into what you're doing. \n \nTips for players: \n*Your character is not your class. Give your character personality beyond archetypes. \n*Have agency. Take action, don't just react. Have goals. Have a will. \n*Don't hinder other player's actions. React to them instead. If another player tries to attack an npc, for example, don't stop the attack if you disagree with it. Stopping it hinders roleplay. React to it happening instead. \n*Don't be a dick and steal from the other players. They will know but can't act on it because their characters don't know. This is frustrating and annoying. Don't be that person. \n*Make sure you don't do anything other players are uncomfortable with. Certain themes are touchy, and should only be explored if all players feel comfortable with it. \n \n \nSo, yeah. I'm sure not everyone will agree with me, but this is what I think.",
"Remember when you used to play make believe on the playground? You'd be a power ranger, your buddy would be batman, it would be sweet. But then your buddy would say \"I use the bat laser, and it kills all the badguys!\" And you're like, \"woah, woah woah, Bruce, what's this bat laser thing? I don't remember that episode...\" and he's all, \"it's totally real, it kills all the bad guys super fast\" and you're like \"Kills them?! Batman's not into that!\" and your buddy is like \"yeah he is! He totally is! I use the bat laser on you and you're dead!\" And you're just a simple power ranger, you don't want to get into a fight here, but it occurs to you that maybe make believe adventures could use some ground rules so this shit doesn't happen.\n\n\nD & D is make believe with ground rules.",
"Can DND be played in different settings, like post apocalyptic zombie outbreak?",
"I suggest the Dungeon World Guide to get a feeling for how to play stuff. At page 50 there is an example of how play might play out based on a real session. ",
"Listen to the Adventure Zone podcast. They're hilarious and I think you'll get a good idea on how to play. ",
"This thread has me in stitches. Explain like I'm five, then D & D players proceed to drop huge posts. This thread is 4 hours old and the scroll bar on the right is a small square. I love you guys. ",
"If you've played video games from the *Elder Scrolls* (*Skyrim*), *Fallout*, or *Witcher* series, you've played a cRPG (computer Role Playing Game). Dungeons and Dragons (D & D) is the most famous tRPG (tabletop Role Playing Game). tRPGs are the predecessors of the cRPG.\n\nIn many ways, D & D is like a multi-player version of Skyrim, set in a generic fantasy setting. You make a character^1 with stats and abilities, and go adventuring through the world.\n\nSometimes you play story driven games, where some *big inciting incident*^TM sends you and 2-5 other players on an adventure to stop the *Big Bad Evil Guy* (BBEG), where nothing else matters. Other times you might play a more open-world game, where there may or may not be a main story thread you can follow, but there is also lots of other side quests you can go on.\n\nInstead of following a pre-written script like a computer would (even an open world cRPG is still just a big, complicated script you can jump around in), the *Game/Dungeon Master* (GM or DM, another person who plays the game with you) tells you what happens, then lets you respond. If the DM says \"you see bandits attacking the village\", you would probably jump in to rescue the helpless villagers. But you might decide to let them burn while you go after the *BBEG*. Maybe you'll even join the bandits and become the bandit king.^2 These are all options in a tRPG.\n\nYou also have completely free dialogue. No restrictive dialogue trees. No forced dialogue. You say whatever you want, and the NPCs (Non-Player Characters) will respond however the DM things that character might respond.\n\nYou use dice to figure out what happens when something isn't certain. So if you want to sneak past a sentry, or stab a guard, or figure out how powerful the magic spell is you just cast, you roll a die. You compare that number, plus some bonuses from your character, to a difficulty rating. If you got bigger, you do the thing! If you got less, you don't.\n\nHere are some, one sentence answers that I often give to people who ask me what D & D is:\n\n* It's an interactive story building game where you play a single character, and go on adventures with other people.\n\n* It's like skyrim (or the Witcher), but bigger and less restrictive.\n\n* It's like if you were a character in *Lord of the Rings* or *Game of Thrones*, and could literally do whatever you wanted, and the world would respond accordingly.\n\n---\n\nLinks:\n\n/r/dndnext - The 5th (newest) edition of D & D subreddit\n\n/r/rpg - general tRPG subreddit.\n\n/r/lfg - a Looking For Group subreddit for finding other D & D/tRPG players\n\n[Roll20](_URL_2_) - the LFG portal for a website for playing D & D and other tRPGs online.\n\n[Titans Grave](_URL_0_) - Not D & D, but a tRPG series on youtube. Same concept, different specific rules, and set in a sci-fi/fantasy crossover world.\n\n[Critical Role](_URL_1_) - a web stream of a game done by voice actors. Warning: long. They currently have 88 episodes, each is 3-4 hours long, for a total of ~300 hours of content.\n\n---\n\n^1 your character has three primary attributes:\n\n* Race (aka, who you are): choose from Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, etc...\n\n* Class (aka, what you do): choose from Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, Cleric (warrior-priest), etc...\n\n* Stats (aka, your natural abilities): Choose which to be strongest from Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma\n\n^2 Warning, this may cause your character (called a PC or *Player Character*) to become a background character (called an NPC or *Non-Player Character) that the DM controls. You get to make a new character and join the group with that one instead."
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48po5i | how do onions regrow from full or partial bulbs? | If you have the bottom bit of an onion you cut up and try to grow it what is the entire process like?
If you have a full onion that starts to sprout is it going to grow more bulbs attached to it or does it split off?
I'm trying to get into gardening to save some money but all the videos I've seen don't really address the entire lifespan of an onion. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/48po5i/eli5_how_do_onions_regrow_from_full_or_partial/ | {
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"So, you have an onion. It's a pretty sweet onion, you think, \"I should regrow this onion because it's a hella bitchin onion.\" So you take your baller onion and you drop it in a pot. You give it a little sunshine, you give it a little love, little water now and again and BAM. Green thingy growin' from the dirt. You're growin' onions.\n\nSo, you're primarily asking about reproduction: How do you get more onions from your singular onion bulb? The answer is... depends on your onion.\n\nAll onions grow a long stalk. This stalk has a whole slough of purposes, but the big one you're interested in, is reproduction! Eventually your onion will *bolt.* Bolting means it goes to seed -- that's what you want! Your onion will develop a big ol' beautiful bulb that will [probably look a lot like this motherfucker right here.](_URL_0_) They're usually purple, pinkish or white. Once your onion has flowered, it's time to prep for seed harvest.\n\nYou'll know when it's time to harvest the seeds when the flower turns brown and starts to die back. Then, you clip the flower off (clip a little bit down the stalk so you have a handle, so to speak. Think cheerleader pompom) then once the flower has dried, put it upside down in a paper bag, holding onto your handle, and shake the shit out of it!\n\nYou'll get about exactly a bagillion [little seeds](_URL_1_) that are unique in that they'll generally all be dark with a half-moon shape.\n\nThen... you propagate those little turds in late late winter, transplant in the spring and BAM. You've got onions!\n\nThere are some onions that put off bulbs (like the Egyptian walking onion: They're more like little scallions, however) but most will propagate via seed. Even the walking onion produces seeds but it's not unusual for the plant to be sterile of seeds.\n\nNow that you know how onions reproduce, come on over and join us at r/gardening!"
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fc9jgf | why is it bad to refreeze leftovers? and why is it bad to reheat it to many times? | Yup, that's it | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fc9jgf/eli5_why_is_it_bad_to_refreeze_leftovers_and_why/ | {
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"All the time food is at room temperature two things are happening: i) bacteria are growing in the food and ii) they're pooping in your food. There isn't enough time between freshly cooking food and eating it for this to be a problem, our stomaches easily kill small amounts of bacteria with its acid. For a lot of foods you can also get away with storing it in the fridge (because this slows down the bacteria multiplying) and reheating it the next day. Reheating kills the bacteria but the important thing is that reheating can't do anything about the bacteria poop. You generally can't get away with reheating a second or third time because even though this kills a lot of the bacteria each time, the poop builds up more and more and especially while the food is warm. The poop itself will make you ill even if you kill all the bacteria with thorough heating."
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edjmh1 | can energy be extracted from constantly falling objects in orbit? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/edjmh1/eli5_can_energy_be_extracted_from_constantly/ | {
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"Falling objects in orbit dont have energy since they don’t accelerate.\n\nForce = mass x acceleration.\n\nSince there is 0 acceleration, force (energy) = 0\n\nWhen they get out of orbit - earths gravity acceleration is 9.8ms2. Then energy and force becomes relevant"
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3ql45l | how did ben carson emerge as a possible gop candidate for president, having never held a political position before? | I personally don't see him as a viable candidate, but know that many do. I would like to know how he got to the point that he is now, having never held a political position before? He was a neurosurgeon, but how that qualifies for the Presidency, I don't understand.
Edit: I understand what the qualifications are to become presidents. The question is how he is *emerging*.
Keep in mind, [no US president has ever held office without previous experience in the government or military.](_URL_0_) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ql45l/eli5_how_did_ben_carson_emerge_as_a_possible_gop/ | {
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"Anybody can run for the Presidency assuming they meet the age and citizenship requirements. It's up to voters to decide if they're qualified to be President.\n\nIn the 90's, Ross Perot did really well as a third party candidate. He had no political background and managed to get 20% of the popular vote in 1992 and 8% in 1996.",
"You could ask the same question about Donald Trump. He obviously has NO political experiences whatsoever.\n\n",
"He gained attention by speaking at a prayer breakfast where he criticized Obama, and has been a conservative pundit at times since then.\n\nThere's no requirement that a candidate has to be a politician first. Trump, Fiorina have never held office, either.",
"He spoke out against obamacare publicly once and is black. The Republican Party practically jizzed their pants when they heard that and asked him to run. ",
"Not a Republican, by I feel that they are don't like the results they're getting from the career politicians and want some \"fresh blood\" in Washington. Hence, the popularity of both Trump and Carson.",
"There is a segment of the GOP base that distrusts anyone who is part of the government establishment, or even anyone who has held office, and thinks a fresh outsider will come in and fix everything.\n\nIn an ordinary election cycle, this might represent 20% of potential GOP voters. There would be two or three outsiders splitting up that pie, and one or two more orthodox candidates leading the polls. Support for the outsiders would drop off as it became a horse race between the leaders.\n\nThis year has been an exception. There are a lot candidates in the race, and the presumed frontrunners (Bush, Walker) have performed badly. The orthodox vote is fragmented, with the outsider vote has coalesced around two candidates, Trump and Carson, gaining momentum and growing. \n\nThe reality is the Trump and Carson lose in head to head contests against Bush, Rubio, Kaisch, and probably Christie. But they are splitting the vote, and the rest of the field accounts for a further 20% or so, creating the illusion the outsiders are more popular.",
"Sometimes, it's good to get someone who isn't a career politician into office. That means they usually aren't already bought out and they can have a different view on things when they enter. Seeing what's going on from the outside looking in lends a different perspective. Plus, he's always kept himself quite in the loop and has always talked politics throughout his entire neurosurgeon career. It was a matter of time.",
"I think people clung to Ben Carson because he is seen as not having been corrupted by the messy world of Business and Politics. Donald trump has half the equation in that he has never been a politician, but he is still muddied up with shady business deals in his past, hinting at possible corruption.\n\nI like Ben Carson for the reason I mentioned above. Even Politicians like Barrack Obama have advisers for virtually everything, and that is why I don't think Ben Carson's lack of Political Experience is as much of a handicap as everyone thinks. He is much closer to the average American in the ways that he came from an extremely humbled background, and held a 'common folk' job (I know, he's a Neurosurgeon, but Politicians think that all people who are not politicians are commoners imo). If Ben Carson get's some good advisers, he is the closest person that can get to truly representing the average person. As I said, with good advisers giving him the political side, he can make choices that are much more similar to what you or I would make if we had access to those Advisers.\n\nHopefully this makes sense:\n\nTldr; He is viewed by many many people as having not been corrupted by Business and Politics, thus he appears to be a closer representation of the Average Joe than electing some Career Politician like Hilary Clinton or Bernie Sanders who only intermingle with the peasants to take their money.",
"Some things about Ben C:\n\n1. He has massive cred in the evangelical/Christian communities and is practically a household name there.\n\n2. He has written a top selling book and had a movie mad about his life, furthering his name recognition.\n\n3. He is a a wealthy physician, and thus has access to money and people that you and I usually do not.\n\n4. Every election cycle, there is an outsider that finds his way in. These are your dark horse candidates like Perot, Nader, et al. These candidates always appeal to an element of voters, esp since they are outsiders.\n\nThe question really should be \"What took Carson so damn long to run for President?\" ",
"A large number of people believe the qualified politicians are only fighting for and representing their party, and not the people as it was intended. So a non-politician (Trump/Carson/Fiorina) is seen as being outside this non-representative \"party first\" corrupt politician area. Someone who might actually put the people first (as it was intended). The fact that they are successful Businessman / Doctor / Businesswoman respectively, shows competence on top of the presumed dedication to people over party.",
"I don't like Ben Carson at all, but nobody has answered the question yet, so I'll give it a try. The simple answer is, he's a best-selling Conservative author:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nNotice the books have absolutely glowing reviews, from Republicans. People LOVE his books.\n\nHere's an example of why Conservatives love him: it's the highest ranking review on the highest rated book of his that's political (as opposed to motivational or personal), America The Beautiful:\n\n > When you realize Ben Carson's unique background - that he grew up in poverty as an African American in the slums of Detroit and Boston; that his single Mom wisely motivated him to read as a pathway out of poverty; that reading gave him an insatiable appetite for learning; that he has been a union member; has managed a crew picking up trash on the highway and motivated them to the highest productivity; that he graduated from Yale in psychology and U of Michigan med school; that at age 33 he was named Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins; that he has experienced virtually every economic class in our society firsthand; that he is a prostate cancer survivor, that he has traveled the world over; that he is much in demand as a public speaker - you appreciate that this is an extremely intelligent and learned commentator who has lived life and has many insights to offer.\n\n > Dr. Carson points out that many pinnacle nations including Egypt, Greece, Rome, Great Britain, France and Spain have declined. They all shared similarities; \"an inordinate emphasis on sports and entertainment, a fixation with lifestyles of the rich and famous, political corruption, and the loss of a moral compass.\" \"The question is, can we learn from the experience of those nations the preceded us and take corrective action, or must we inexorable follow the same self-destructive course?\"\n\n > Dr. Carson is clearly a student of history, and much of his book traces the history and development of our nation. His thoughts about the thinking of the founding fathers are well supported with quotations. He draws fascinating parallels between the forces that led to the Boston Tea Party and the Tea Party movement today. Descriptions of his encounters with racism throughout his life, from the playground to Johns Hopkins, are revealing, and it is a testament to his education and character that he is not resentful.\n\n > He is a strong Christian, and it is revealing to read what happened when he was invited to give the keynote address at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast and was told that he should not mention the name of Jesus Christ. Early in life he dedicated himself to \"achieve a first-class education in a second-class environment.\" He laments that \"In the mid-twentieth century, however, a series of things began to happen that negatively impacted the quality of public education in the US.\" He devotes interesting chapters to capitalism, socialism and whether or not America is a moral nation.\n\n > In discussing racist thinking he tells of a TV interview when a reporter was asking African-Americans what they thought of Senator Obama's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. He offers a fascinating approach to achieving a balanced budget and his \"Saudi Arabian Solution\" to the problem of doctors who bill fraudulently is profound. As a physician, his creative ideas about providing health insurance for everyone merit serious consideration. His description of his political thinking journey through 60 years of life is thought provoking.\n\n > Dr. Carson believes that \"the generous freedoms we enjoy as a nation enable anyone to achieve their dreams and that this perhaps the greatest thing about America.\" However, he warns his readers that political correctness threatens to deprive us of freedom of speech and thought. He challenges his reader to consider what we believe in and in whom do we trust before it is too late for America. A highly recommended read for all voters before the next elections.\n\nThis book was 3,300 reviews on Amazon, with an average rating of 4.8/5. That's extraordinarily high.\n\nMaybe it's all bullshit, but that's what Conservatives seem to believe about him.",
"It can essentially be broken down that there is a growing anti-establishment vibe. So you get a lot of \"non politicians\" like Trump, Carson, and Fiorina. But you also get a growing sentiment for Cruz and Paul who have been against the Republican establishment from the get go when they started their respective political careers. \n\nSo the next logical question: Why is there an anti-establishment vibe? \n\nWell many conservatives, myself included, feel as if the establishment doesn't truly have our interests at heart. (shocking I know) So any Republican establishment like politician, Jeb Bush, just doesn't seem like the best choice given their voting record and policies. The Republican establishment in Congress seems to not use their power effectively when compared to the Democrats who held the majority not too long ago. And that fact alone frustrates a lot of conservative voters especially when the 2014 midterms did absolutely nothing to change anything. And that anger will definitely be shown in this coming election. ",
"There's a huge swath of the Republican electorate who feel they aren't being represented, the moderate ones who used to be identified as \"Goldwater Republicans.\" While they are fiscally conservative, they can be downright progressive on social issues. \n\nFor over 20 years now, the GOP has been leaning more and more to Far Right. Moderate Republicans who were at least respected by their more Conservative fellow GOP members in the past became targets of those claiming to represent the more Far Right wing of the party. The most extreme example is the Tea Party, but that just put a name on something that had grown within the party for decades. \n\nIn a break with past decorum where both parties seldom \"allowed\" someone to run against an incumbent, these Far Right candidates began to run against the moderate ones. They benefited from the fact that only a small percentage of people bother to vote in primaries. \n\nSo into this current political quagmire enters Ben Carson, a former surgeon who speaks in very measured tones. No podium thumping, loud harangues from Dr. Ben. A guy who has already had a successful career (hence, doesn't \"need\" a series of life long government jobs) plus drops onto the national political stage when Congress is suffering record low approval ratings. A true **outsider** most of the field claims to be. \n\nTo top things off, **he's black.** The smarter Republicans know that the treatment of Obama from the very start of his 2008 campaign exposed the rampant racist underbelly of the party. The modern GOP was built almost entirely on the opposition that Southern \"Dixiecrat\" Democrats had to Civil Rights when they revolted and switched parties. The party has milked that diseased teat for votes for **7 decades** now. \n\nSo Ben Carson gets to be every Republicans **\"black friend\"**. You know, as in *\"Hey, we can't be racists - have you met our \"black friend\" nominee, Dr. Carson? See, out seething hatred of Barack Obama had NOTHING to do with his race...\"*\n\nCarson has also benefited from a very low news media presence - they haven't until this point done more than perfunctory coverage of his campaign (it's almost always the after thought of a Trump story) up to this point. Hence, most of his moderate supporters probably don't know about his incredibly anti-science views on just about everything.\n\nConversely, the hard core, Far Right, Religious Right base who are more engaged at this point who do support him clearly love that a \"man of science\" agrees with their Creationist, climate change denying, homosexual hating, xenophobic world view. \n\nBut here's the rub - in the latest poll that had him edging out Trump in what is essentially a statistical tie, Ben Carson does not enjoy unwavering support they way Trump does. In a follow up question in the poll, **a whopping 80 percent of his supporters have not fully committed to voting for him in the primary.**\n\nWhich translates to: ***\"Feel free to take our daughters to a nice dinner, Benjamin, but if you think we're going to let her marry your black ass we're going to have a problem, boy.\"***\n\nIf you think that's an exaggeration, ask John McCain about the flyers that George Bush put out in South Carolina back in 2000. \n\n**TL; DR: Ben Carson appeals to both moderate Republicans who genuinely support him after being ignored in favor of the Far Right wing of the party for decades while the more Tea Party types are using him a token to both deny science and their own racism.**",
"It's not common for individuals with no political history or experience in government office to become president, but it does happen. So far, without exception, all of them have been military officers:\n\nGeorge Washington (Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army)\n\nZachary Taylor (U.S. Army Major General)\n\nUlysses S. Grant (Commanding General of the U.S. Army)\n\nDwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander)",
"The United States wants someone honest. Most politicians are corrupt/owe special interests/power hungry. If a \"Community Organizer\" can get elected President. Than a neurosurgeon without political baggage should too.",
"Many Republicans have become disillusioned with politicians, therefore lack of prior political experience has become a selling point. Trump is another example of this."
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28ivy7 | why are some copyrighted movies not taken off of youtube while others are? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28ivy7/eli5_why_are_some_copyrighted_movies_not_taken/ | {
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"Some copyright owners are big on enforcement and others aren't.",
"In order for Youtube to take down the video, they have to be notified by the copyright holder that there's an infringing work. Usually this is taken care of by having automatic agreements where Youtube automatically crosschecks its material with that of major labels such as Sony for copyright infringement. \n\nBut in many cases, the system doesn't pick up the material. In the case of movies, it usually means they're mirrored or edited to prevent the system from automatically catching them. So, the only way to take them down is if someone reports it or the copyright holder does. And in almost all cases the copyright holder doesn't even know it's up there."
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1b1gnl | how a beamer can project blacks that are (seem?) darker than the white screen it's projecting on | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1b1gnl/eli5_how_a_beamer_can_project_blacks_that_are/ | {
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"The blacks from a projector are simply the un-illuminated white surface of the screen that the image is being projected onto. They look black in comparison to the brightly-illuminated portions because of how our brain interprets brightness. Specifically, we take cues from the surrounding environment to determine how bright we interpret something to be, rather than perceiving it's *actual* brightness.\n\nFor example, in [this illusion](_URL_0_) the squares A and B are exactly the same shade of gray, but our brain uses the surrounding context to interpret them differently.",
"It doesn't. Black spots on the screen only appear that way in contrast to the otherwise brightly lit areas. Consider how much better the screen looks when the room is dark. In a sense this is because you're darkening the blacks. (Really you're improving contrast by not washing out the reflected light so much.)\n\nPlasma television screens are prized for their \"dark blacks\" and if you look at one that is turned off, you will see it looks nearly black while other television screens appear gray.\n\nAlso, consider the color of the moon. Ghostly white? The color of bone? In fact, of course, it is dark to very dark gray. But against the infinitely darker nothingness it appears pale. \n\nIn the words of Melville,\n\n > there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself.",
"Tangent: I assume OP is referring to what I have always referred to as a projector. I have actually never heard anybody call it a beamer. Is this common in certain parts of the world?"
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2p2jvq | why is the cia allowed to black out parts of declassified documents? | Initially I thought it was just to protect the names of specific people involved - and indeed, that is definitely one reason they do this - but sometimes in declassified documents you'll see entire sentences or even paragraphs blacked out completely. I know it's the government, not just the CIA, who decides what gets declassified, but what's the point of declassifying a document if the CIA first gets to cover up the most sensitive bits? In the case of particularly damning documents, such the recent torture pieces, what's stopping them from simply blacking out the entire document? Do we know anything about the type of information that normally gets covered up? Is there *any* policy on this, or does the CIA just kind of do it and expect people to deal with it? Is it even carried out by the CIA in the first place, or is somebody else in charge of this?
I've been wondering this ever since I saw an old document about Charlie Chaplin in the communism witch hunts, where nearly full pages of the document had been removed despite it being a supposedly well-known and well-publicized scenario. It seems more relevant now than ever, though, as the torture documents have similar censorship and this is extremely unnerving for such an already controversial release.
EDIT: Thanks, everyone. The answers explained the law in place to determine what should and shouldn't be blacked out, and shed some light on the process and who's responsible for it. A lot of the info on what actually gets cut is still fuzzy, but that seems natural considering nobody can actually know exactly what that info used to be.
EDIT 2: Even the information on what's actually cut seems pretty clear now, or at least the type of thing they normally remove. I marked this explained a while ago but the explanations that are still coming in have been very helpful too. Thank you.
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"I imagine that part of the reason may be references to other documents/people/places/things which are still classified. \n\nMore importantly, if you look for example at ~~ < REDACTED > ~~ you'll see that ~~ < REDACTED > ~~ and ~~ < REDACTED > ~~ were both ~~ < REDACTED > ~~ during the events of ~~ < REDACTED > ~~. Makes sense? ",
"To protect methods, recources and technology from which they derive their intelligence.",
"Since this was a Senate report it was likely finalized by the Committee's staff. The Senate most likely got the unedited version and the CIA made requests about what should be redacted before release \n\nThat being said there are gov't wide standards relating to what gets redacted. Usually names of persons still in the field, or on going activities are kept out due to the ongoing nature of the work or the potential for targeted retribution. Additionally anything about their advanced tech which might tip other nations off to how far ahead we are would for sure be kept out.\n\n",
"The easiest, non-conspiracy way to explain it is simply that the act of removing the information is what allows the documents to become declassified.\n\nFor example, in the sentence:\n\n\"Mr. Ahmed Jones informed us of the super secret password to the al-qaeda clubhouse: pepperoni.\"\n\nThe sentence could be \"declassified\" by removing sources and methods:\n\n\"Mr. [redacted] informed us of the super-secret password to the [redacted]: [redacted].\"\n\nWhen you remove the sensitive information, there's nothing left to warrant the classification, so it can be downgraded.",
"Like previously mentioned, the redactions allow the document to be declassified. There are numerous security classification guides per agency that provide guidelines on what should and shouldn't be classified in the first place. You are taught to only classify things that truly should be classified, but usually the default when you are working on a classified program is to classify everything you are writing at the same level as that program's classification.\n\nBy redacting something like a country name you are still providing the now unclassified information about an event that occurred, but not jeopardizing relations with that country or some other sensitive matter with that country. That's the thinking. \n\nIt certainly seems like the process gets abused to protect embarrassing details, etc., but the people involved with that detail view it as information that can jeopardize sources, methods, etc. and accordingly want to keep it concealed.",
"Because the law allows them too. If they feel the information would compromise national security, safety, or a host of other things they can redact it before it is declassified. \n\nAs for oversight, there is some through Congressional Intelligence Committees and the White House. For example, what would be redact in the Torture Report was negotiated between the CIA, the White House, and the Senate Intelligence Committee. \n\nOne of the more interesting powers of members of congress is that they are immune from prosecution for what they say on the floor of the House or Senate. One way this has been used is to forcibly declassify things. For example, the Pentagon Papers, which exposed US activities in Vietnam and elsewhere, was read into the congressional record[ by Mike Grave](_URL_0_)l. \n",
"Typically they are matters that could still have a impact, such a active soldiers identity, cover identity. If it could help our \"enemies\" , or is a threat to the safety of the nation, they have the ability to redact that information.",
"I can say the redaction is critical. There is no great conspiracy, just an internal dialogue, the particulars of which must remain internal. If compromised, people could die, and/or we would have to find all new sources. \n\nIf you look at the Wikileaks cables, there are a lot of unflattering things said about foreign leaders. If you think about it in terms of PR, you can't go around saying (insert president here) is a jackass... but can you still sign this trade agreement? But you need to know the particulars of his/her jackassery to properly negotiate the trade agreement. \n\nSecrets are critical and our government wouldn't work without them. \n\nEdit for full disclosure: I work for the governmenrt",
"The blacking out part is WHY they're made \"declassified\"...",
"Off topic but one of the funniest The Onion articles I read was about how the CIA for years have been using black highlighters and never realized the damage it has done (some old lady just following orders to highlight certain sections of documents).",
"Alright I tell you why? Ex019 tells the police that the ex291 is hiding somewhere the police arrests ex291 the police classified the names because the criminal organization wants revenge on ex019 for reporting ex291 to the police. That is the most basic explanation\n\nAlso some suspects have there identity hidden so the gang cannot check what's up with him.",
" > what's stopping them from simply blacking out the entire document?\n\nNothing. That happens quite a lot actually. Essentially the government can't deny a document exists, but they can claim the contents are classified. So they release the document with all the text blacked out.\n\nFor example:\n\n_URL_0_",
"From one of my favorite episodes of [Yes, Minister](_URL_0_)\n\n**James Hacker:** How am I going to explain the missing documents to \"The Mail\"?\n\n**Sir Humphrey Appleby:** Well, this is what we normally do in circumstnces like these.\n\n**James Hacker:** [reads memo] This file contains the complete set of papers, except for a number of secret documents, a few others which are part of still active files, some correspondence lost in the floods of 1967...\n\n**James Hacker:** Was 1967 a particularly bad winter?\n\n**Sir Humphrey Appleby:** No, a marvellous winter. We lost no end of embarrassing files.\n\n**James Hacker:** [reads] Some records which went astray in the move to London and others when the War Office was incorporated in the Ministry of Defence, and the normal withdrawal of papers whose publication could give grounds for an action for libel or breach of confidence or cause embarrassment to friendly governments.\n\n**James Hacker:** That's pretty comprehensive. How many does that normally leave for them to look at?\n\n**James Hacker:** How many does it actually leave? About a hundred?... Fifty?... Ten?... Five?... Four?... Three?... Two?... One?... *Zero?*\n\n**Sir Humphrey Appleby:** Yes, Minister.",
"After having worked with a clearance before, depending no the document, you can classify the whole document at a maximum level or you can classify each statement. If you go through the trouble of classifying each statement then you can redact the higher-classified statements to bring the document down to a lower classification. You could have an entire document with statements that are classified as \"secret\" but one sentence that is \"top secret\". Before you take out the \"TS\" statement, you have to treat the whole document as \"TS\". After you redact or remove it, it's now \"secret\".",
"If a document talks about A, B, and C, and both A and B are de-classifiable, but C isn't, then they would redact C, and release the document.\n\nExample: \n - We killed Osama bin Laden (de-classifiable) \n - with an Ion Cannon from SPACE! (Classified)\n\nWe would see \"We killed Osama bin Laden with < REDACTED > .\n\nNow everyone gets to know we killed bin Laden, but our secret weapon stays a secret.",
"National security.\n\nSeriously, it's that simple.\n\nDeclassification is irrelevant if an agency claims there are ongoing national security concerns that would be affected by revealing the redacted parts. And judges usually allow it because they're sort of powerless to argue otherwise.",
"Former holder of TS/SCI clearance. The information contained or collected in the report may be declassified. Other details in the report could allude to or reveal collection methods, sources, or technology that are still employed to collect intel.",
"Because Americans aren't the only ones reading these documents. There is a whole wide world of people who would love to know the who, what, where, when, and why of our clandestine organizations. What we are reading are classified documents that have had useful information removed. If we gave up our secret sauce to the world, it wouldn't be a secret and would be deemed further useless, and worse, dangerous in the hands of others. \n",
"There are different types of declassification. Under President Obama's [current executive order](_URL_0_), all documents 25 years of age or older are mandatorily declassified unless they have something that would clearly damage national security. So if the CIA, State Dept, and Defense Department collaborated on a document, it gets sent to each of them and they all say either, \"Yes, declassify,\" or \"No, hold off for 25 extra years.\" This is called **automatic declassification**, and each agency that can classify documents has a team of people actively doing this every day.\n\nThere's also **mandatory declassification**. This is when somebody from the public or government requests that a specific document or series of documents be released. In this case, the declassification team will work with the agency who \"owns\" that document - in this case, the CIA - to simply take out the offending parts and leave in everything else. That's what the Senate Intelligence Committee did. \n\nWhat the CIA wants to take out is what's called **\"sources and methods.\"** **Sources** are names of people who the CIA has used as assets. They protect their names for a really, really long time- basically until they die, so they won't expose the fact that they betrayed their country/terrorist group/whatever to work for the US government. **Methods** are ways that the CIA acquired information, like from a secret microphone, hidden camera, or an interrogation black site. \n\nThere are internal statutes that govern what gets let out and blacked out. They usually take the established laws on declassification and simply expand upon them to provide guidance to declassification analysts on, in this case, CIA-specific things that cannot be released. The Pentagon has its own set of Pentagon-specific rules, and the Department of Energy also has its own set of nuclear weapons-specific rules. These specific rules might not be classified themselves, but there's no reason to release them to the public since they're used only by the CIA's declassification team, so that may be why it seems opaque.",
"Some of the classifications are classified.\n\nThe headers and footers indicate the classifications (ie Top Secret/NOFORN which means Top Secret, no foreign distribution). There are other elements too which themselves are classified (but actually many are listed in Wikipedia). They will black those out because it ties the report to a specific section of classification (I.e. TOP SECRET/EIT/NOFORN) so they would black out EIT because they don't want to tie it to EIT (enhanced interrogation techniques). I made that one up, I don't work at the CIA, but it's an example",
"So they can release the information without compromising op sec or putting people in danger. ",
"Context matters. Sometimes things that might not be classified by themselves will get classified if when grouped with other bits of unclass info could allow you to figure out something classified by implication.",
"When people think of Classified information and Top Secret (TS) papers and what not most laymen think of some really crazy secret government cover up type stuff. Most of the info and Classified stuff you run into in your day to day is really very boring. Something as small as a phone number or name can be Classified or TS.\n\nHollywood really blows that shit out of proportion. Another big reason they black seamingly harmless information out is because there are files and papers that are declassified on their own, but once in conjunction with another specific file they become classified.\n\nIt's much like having a persons name. Could I steal your identity with just your name? Possible, but very tough. Could I steal it with your name, SSN, and other pertinent information? Hell yeah, easy peasy. So think of it in that type of scenario as well. ",
"Everything is interwoven, lets take the enhanced integration report. Fist names are not enough thy have to block out detail that could also point out who the person was. Second they report may say they transported using the top secret silent black hawk copter,so that would also be blacked out also. lastly everything is political so senator xyz knew everything about the terror report but him or his buddies was influential on this report so any info about him knowing is also blacked out.",
"As per the gallery /u/Fatkungfuu linked, image two (_URL_0_), shows the circulation limitation list: (TS//------redacted-content----//NF). The redacted part is a list of groups to which distribution is permitted preceded by the level of classification. TS and S are levels of classification of information, purely based on a method and source, that indicate the damage that the leak could cause the US. Secret's repercussions are serious harm, and TS is immediate and grave harm IIRC. So, you would also want to classify the people who have access to the information.\n\nFor instance, an informant shares information that Argentina is increasing investments in Mozambique because of some newly discovered resource Argentina needs. The US finds out, but finding out is not a challenge. Anyone that visits Mozambique or has seen Argentinians driving in country with heavy equipment, high security, or meeting with VIPs frequently, could determine that Argentinians have a vested interest. What needs to be controlled is that the US knows they have an interest. It's not JUST the fact that the US knows, but with all others with whom they have shared that information.\n\nIf Argentina thinks it's only the US who knows and they have no interest, they can rest easy. If Argentina discovers that the US shared the information with Uruguay, whether or not there is any truth to it, Argentina will obviously be a little irritated. This provides Uruguay some leverage over the situation and might force Argentina to cooperate with it to share information against the US in favor of Uruguay sharing what it knows about the investment.\n\nTL;DR: All the countries are in high school and everyone wants to know who's talking to whom. Nobody will disclose anything and look neutral so they can appear to be friends with everyone and get what they need.",
"Documents are classified based on the most sensitive item in it. Each page is then classified according to the most sensitive item in that document. Each paragraph is then classified based in the most sensitive item in that. \n\nWhen you declassify something, you can release something only after redacting sensitive items. Redacted items are still sensitive. If you keep those items, you have to wait between twenty five and fifty years after publication date according to an executive statute dictating these things. \n\n/vet ",
"If there's anything the last 20-30 years has taught us, it's that the CIA does whatever the fuck they want, so why not black out parts of classified documents?",
"Lots of terrible responses so far. Simply put, the redactions protect sources of information and methods of obtaining it. "
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"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751825/quotes"
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1pda3k | how capacitors, inductors, and diodes work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pda3k/eli5_how_capacitors_inductors_and_diodes_work/ | {
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"I'm not going to go into heavy-duty semiconductor physics, with doping, electrons, holes, depletion regions, etc. This is ELI5, after all.\n\nA diode is like a one-way valve for electricity. Electricity can go one direction, but it can't go back. (At least, not unless you force it backward so hard that it actually burns the diode out!)\n\nA capacitor is like an ultra-tiny little battery. It can short a miniscule amount of electricity for a few milliseconds. This has many applications in electrical circuits, from timing to signal smoothing.\n\nI like to think of inductors as being like flywheels. Electricity going through them spins them up, and then if you stop supplying electricity to them, the spinning momentum will try and force electricity forward. That's not a great explanation, but it's about as good as you're going to get for LY5."
]
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36maoj | how can 1 light bulb have two switches that turn it on and off? | My house has a hallway with a light switch at either end. How does one turn the light on whilst the other switch is breaking the circuit? Is there an IC involved somewhere? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36maoj/eli5_how_can_1_light_bulb_have_two_switches_that/ | {
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"Using a three-way light switch.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nThe two switches have two positions which are connected in parallel, i.e. position A in one switch is connected to position A in the other switch, and the same for position B. The lightbulb turns on if both switches are set to the same position.",
"No, there's no integrated circuit. Just clever wiring.\n\nThe normal way it's done is with wiring like [this](_URL_0_).\n\nIn this diagram, you can see from the position of the two switches that the circuit is closed, and the light will be on.\n\nBut if either switch is moved to the other position, the circuit breaks and the light turns off.\n\nThen, if the second switch is also moved to the other position, the circuit completes through the other path, and the light comes on again.\n\nThe switches used in this type of circuit are called \"single pole, double throw\" (shown as SPDT on the diagram). Single pole because they have only one connection on one side, but double throw because it switches between two outputs on the other side.",
"No IC needed, they've been around from before the transistor was invented.\n\nIt involves 2 double pole switches. Each switch turns one pole off while turning the other pole on. So you can have either AB or BC connected at the flick of a switch.\n\nHere's how it works. (Only the live/hot wire gets switched.)\n\nSwitch 1 B is connected to the live/hot mains supply.\n\nSwitch 1 A is wired to switch 2 A. \n\nSwitch 1 C is wired to switch 2 C. \n\nConnector B on switch 2 goes to the light socket.\n\nAssume both switches are in the up position. The power goes:\n\nmains > 1B > 1A > 2A > 2B > light socket. The light is on.\n\nSay switch 2 is flipped:\n\nmains > 1A > 2A= no power because 2B (which powers the light) is connected to 2C.\n\nNow flip switch 1:\n\nmains > 1B > 1C > 2C > 2B > light socket.",
"There are two wires running between the lightbulb and the power source, and the switches change which of those two wires is connected at either end. When the switches agree on which wire is connected, the light turns on, but when they disagree, the light turns off. Since there are only two wires and two switches, flipping either switch always turns the light on or off. You can make more complicated arrangements that make it work for three or more switches, and there are a few extra things to consider (such as needing a third wire for the electricity to return through and complete a circuit), but that's the essence of it."
]
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiway_switching#Traveler_system"
],
[
"http://www.electronics-project-design.com/images/TwoWayLightSwitch.GIF"
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[],
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y5usl | the status quo of the global economy | Was just reading stuff online and every article is painting a gloomy picture regarding the economic health of US, China and the Euro zone (of course). What is happening? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/y5usl/eli5_the_status_quo_of_the_global_economy/ | {
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"Uh... a couple decades of crazy have finally caught up basically...\n\nIn europe they are in a 'cant afford to spend money' 'cant afford to raise money' 'cant afford to not spend money' feed back loop.\n\nChina is doing some pretty unsustainable things to create growth: infrastructure projects no one wants/needs, abusing workers, high suicide rates, etc.\n\nUS is kinda a weird one, nearly half a century of steadily increasing division between the left and right has created such a polarized and unstable circumstance that they cannot get anything productive done.\n\nAll three are pretty complicated so if you want me to get more specific on any specific element please ask, and hopefully someone else will also go into more detail."
]
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21im99 | what would it take for russia to be expelled from the un and specifically the security council? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/21im99/eli5_what_would_it_take_for_russia_to_be_expelled/ | {
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"The United Nations is essentially a gigantic treaty. If enough of the members of the United Nations all agreed to make radical changes to that treaty, like removing a permanent member of the Security Council, they would just make such changes and then ratify them.\n\nIn practice what would happen is that the UN would split. Some faction would refuse to sign the new treaties and would insist the old treaties are still binding. Some factions would want a new treaty but they'd want lots of other changes too. And some faction would go along with the revision to remove Russia from the Security Council.\n\nThe value of the UN is that every nation regardless of faction is engaged with the others in some fashion. If the UN became fractured and was no longer a representative of all the nations, it would become useless and would dissolve. This is what happened to the League of Nations, the UN's predecessor. \n\nIt is taken as a matter of principle that having one body, no matter how flawed, where every nation participates, is more worthwhile than screwing up the delicate balance that keeps the UN cohesive, so changes are unlikely."
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5lxf0t | how are the quantity of standard si units determined? | Is there some sort of worldwide agreement, or using an object, etc? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5lxf0t/eli5_how_are_the_quantity_of_standard_si_units/ | {
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"Well, *originally*, it mostly dates back to the French \"Age of Reason\" after the French Revolution. They decided that it was going to be a whole new civilization and this was their chance to start over and do everything right. IIRC, they even took a crack at redefining the months of the calendar. In the end, the metric system was pretty much the only thing that \"stuck\".\n\nA meter was defined as a ten millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. A liter was defined as a cubic decimeter. A kilogram was defined as the mass of a liter of water at 0℃. 0℃ was defined as the freezing point of water, and 100℃ defined as the boiling point.\n\nIn the end, these measurements turned out not to be very accurate, and so these things were redefined. As /u/suckmydi points out, the meter was redefined in terms of the speed of light (and seconds were defined in terms of vibration of a Cesium atom, IIRC.)\n\nMass used to be determined by a \"standard\" [metal cylinder](_URL_0_) which was copied and the copies distributed to various standards bureaus. I believe they're in the middle of redefining the kilogram in terms of a specific number of Silicon atoms. "
]
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| []
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[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilogram#International_prototype_kilogram"
]
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abqjfv | what's the difference between negative terminal and ground? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/abqjfv/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_negative/ | {
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"Nope, all the same. The negative terminal connects to the chassis essentially turning every connected metal part of it into a negative connection.",
"For most vehicles, negative is usually directly connected to the chassis, which is supposed to be treated as ground.\n\nBut *some* vehicles exist where *positive* is ground (connected to the chassis), and negative therefore has a voltage less than zero.",
"Other than the aforementioned positive ground cars, if everything is working properly, there should be no difference in voltage between the negative terminal, the chassis, the engine, and the Earth.\n\nThere are some tires that don't conduct enough and the chassis develops a potential different than the Earth. This comes as a shock to tollbooth collectors. \n\nSometimes corrosion or other poor electrical conductivity between parts can cause potential differences between chassis, engine, and the negative terminal.\n",
"Based on your wuestions it sounds like we are specifically talking about automobile wiring. \n\nGround is literally a connection to the earth. Burried outside your house is a long metal bar stuck down into the ground connected to the ground busbar in your breaker panel. This allows any current that \"escapes\" via shorting or some other means to travel directly back to earth as a safety. In a car there is the tires that have been purposly made tk be conductive. The \"negative terminal\" in the car is just all the metal frame and body components acting like a big wire going straight back to the negative battery terminal to complete the circuit. This simplifies wiring by allowing you to attach the negative wire from any electrical component to the nearest frame or body instead of a seperate wire all the way back to the battery. \nIt also keeps all of the metal car pieces \"bonded\" and helps reduce the chance of electrical arcing and causing a fire. \n"
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9sf2be | thinking with a fever | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9sf2be/eli5_thinking_with_a_fever/ | {
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"Your body is prioritizing spending its energy on fighting the infection, not complex cognitive thought. Also the biochemical reactions that power your cells function best at normal body temperature. That's why your body is so adept at keeping it there. But viruses and bacteria also function better at normal temp. so it's advantageous for your body to raise its temperature to make it more inhospitable to pathogens, even if it means a temporary decrease in physical and mental stamina."
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abomfw | how does the tax cut benefit "1%" families over middle class families? | I see a lot of posts saying that couples with a household income of $500k+/year will see bigger refund than those with say $100k/year. Is this true?
If it is, how is that possible with the elimination of dependent exemptions, unreimbursed work expense deduction, SALT cap, etc.? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/abomfw/eli5_how_does_the_tax_cut_benefit_1_families_over/ | {
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"Here's what people mean when they say that the tax cut benefits the 1%. I'm going to make up some numbers to make the explanation simpler.\n\nThe richest families pay a larger percentage of their income on taxes so when taxes are cut they tend to see the most benefit. Let's say that the tax cut reduces the government's revenue by 1 trillion dollars over the course of 10 years. The top 1% may see $400 billion of those benefits",
"People who make more money pay a higher percentage on their income. Here are tables that show how much people pay, based on a percent of their taxable income:\n\n[_URL_0_](_URL_0_)\n\n & #x200B;\n\nPeople who make a lot of money save more than people who make a moderate amount because of the way tax brackets work out with math. Hypothetically, a \"rich\" person who would pay $100,000 before may be now paying $70,000 in taxes, where a person who paid $5000 before may now be paying nothing at all. So the person who paid 100,000 before is saving $30,000, or 30% of his tax bill. The person who is paying nothing only saves $5000, but he is actually saving 100%.\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;\n\n & #x200B;",
"There are also many other things that play into how much the \"1%\" pay in taxes compared to the middle class. Things like lowering capital gains taxes or increasing total allowable deductions are going to make the \"1%\" pay a lot less in taxes.",
"Bigger refund and bigger benefit are different things. A bigger refund just means you gave the government a larger interest-free loan.\n\nThe dependent exemptions used to phase out at higher incomes anyway, so top earners don't suffer from their elimination as they didn't get them in the first place. Unreimbursed work expenses are highly individual, just because you earn a lot doesn't mean you will have a lot of them (if anything, an executive may have the juice to get reimbursed for things that peons would not be).\n\nSurely the SALT caps do mean some high earners ox has gotten gored, but that doesn't mean that all of them have.\n\nIgnore all that other stuff and just look at all tax brackets being reduced by about 2 percentage points. 2% times 500,000 (or 5,000,000) is a lot more than 2% of 100,000. So their tax goes down by a lot more just on that basis. Not on a percentage basis, but flat dollar amount. Maybe the SALT cap overcomes that for some people, but not for all.\n\nYou could also add the corporate tax cuts are most likely to benefit the people who have the largest ownership of corporations. And that the Qualified Business Income Deduction is also more likely to be of benefit to high earners than low earners (although there features to tamp that down on the high end, but there are also lawyer and accountants to get around that)\n\nThe people who make the most money have the most to benefit from tax cuts because they pay most of the taxes."
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6fprer | how do police identify the criminals by using cctv | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6fprer/eli5_how_do_police_identify_the_criminals_by/ | {
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"They go through the footage until they get a good facial shot, then they use computers or officers to go through mugshots/info in the system to see if it matches anyone on their record. if not, they take the pictures and ask the community. ",
"Cop here:\n\nWe know most of the scumbags in our area. If we don't recognize someone from a video, we'll send an email out asking if anyone else does. 90% of the time we'll get an email back saying, \"Yeah, that's Larry Johnson. He likes to break into cars\".\n\nThat's how it's done in my department.",
"Sort of related fun fact:\nIf you look on the door frame of any convenience store/gas station, you'll see a strip run up the sides with numbers that indicate height from the ground. This can give height of the perp, a key identification detail",
"\"Wait! Zoom and enhance!\"\n\n\"You do know an image only has so much resolu-\"\n\n\"Dammit man! Just do it!\"\n\n\"Ok sir!\""
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1kszph | evolutionary history of pandas? | So after reading a reddit thread about pandas, it finally registered how utterly terrible they are at life. It seems everything they do is contrary to survival, so how did they survive as a species at all? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1kszph/eli5_evolutionary_history_of_pandas/ | {
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"I suspect it is because of their diet. Taxiphyllin, what babmoo shoots produce, is a toxin that produces cyanide in the gut. So most animals can not eat it or in large quantities. We can only eat bamboo after it has been prepared correctly.\n\nBasically the giant panda was able to survive because it could eat a plant that most animals could not.\n"
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3n7t1w | what aspect of 'nutrition' allowed human beings to grow taller in the past 150 years | Human beings have grown an average of ~10cm over the past 150 years in industrialised countries. The consensus seems to be the predominant factor is nutrition.
Which part of nutrition is now that much better?
Was it missed meals? (In which case why weren't/aren't rich people that much taller?)
Is it a change in diet, perhaps more protein in the modern era?
Is it the wider array of food available since the Columbian exchange? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3n7t1w/eli5_what_aspect_of_nutrition_allowed_human/ | {
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"It has a lot to do with nutrition so humans grew not during industrialisation, but AFTER (during modernisation, when food supplies became more diversified). Humans were actually taller BEFORE industrialization, smaller during industrialization (dense urban population with shitty food supply and polluted water sources) and grew again after modernisation catching up and rising above pre-industrial age. Because supermarkets... \nSource: played Civ for decades + [this](_URL_0_)",
"Part of it is missed meals, which is why the rich have always been taller on average than the poor. Now, pretty much everyone has excess nutrition all the time so they don't miss any growth and end up with their maximum possible height. You need macronutrients (sugar, fat, protein) to grow. Sugar and fat produce energy to get processes done and proteins are the main materials used to build bodily structures.\n\nAnother way nutrition made us taller is by sexual selection. Assume that everyone wants the tallest possible mate. When everyone is short on nutrients, you're choosing based on who can eat more, not who has tall genes. Tall genes are not favourably selected. When everyone has excess nutrients you can clearly see who's meant to be tall and who isn't, and you can pick your mate accordingly. After a few generations, the tall genes are more numerous and the general population is taller.",
"[The average weight in the US also increased by 20 pounds in just 20 years](_URL_0_).\n\nBroadly speaking, eating more results in a larger person- In both height, and width.\n\n(Not that overeating causes you to gain height, but everything else being equal, a high-calorie diet will be a little taller than a low-calorie diet, particularly during the growing years of childhood. So more food in general pushes all the averages up.)",
"It's partly nutrition, not just yours, but your mother's and grandmother's nutrition. Having regular food and adequate calories during your early years and through adolescence helps you reach your potential height. \n\nIt's also party the reduction in major childhood diseases. Getting something like measles would really take a lot of of your body and immune system, forcing your body to work on making you better rather than making you bigger. Not to mention the other colds, flus, etc. that you would then catch because your immune system was already weakened by the major illnesses."
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251nlf | how come you can be at a point where you have to poop so bad it is almost completely unbearable, but after a few excruciating minutes that feeling just 'goes away'? does the poop literally go back up the intestine? what happens? | Sorry to be vile - legit question, just not sure how to phrase! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/251nlf/eli5_how_come_you_can_be_at_a_point_where_you/ | {
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"I Would also like to know about the \"poop hurts\"",
"The poop is a spoon... you didnt really have to go. \n",
"Your brain sends signals that it's time to defecate. That's when you have the feeling you need to take poop. Now after a while, your brain stops sending these signals because apparently you're stubborn and don't want to go to toilet. Maybe you're hunting and the need to poop would disturb the effort(evolutionary view). \n\nSame goes for hunger and thirst. ",
"When poop initially moves into the rectum, it triggers a reflex where the internal muscles of the anus and rectum relax, allowing pooping to proceed. When this happens, the anus becomes the last barrier between your poop and the great outdoors, and you feel that pressure.\n\nIf you hold back for a while, the relaxation reflex fades and the internal muscles re-engage. This takes some of the pressure off the anus and the poop does move back up into the sigmoid colon a little bit. If you try to poop after holding it for a while, you may notice that it takes a bit longer to get things started, since you have to force all those muscles to relax again.\n\nWARNING: As poop sits in your colon while you're holding it in, your body will continue to compress and extract water from it, resulting in much harder and potentially painful bowel movements. Over time, this can contribute to hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and other unpleasant medical problems.\n\nTL;DR - Don't get in the habit of holding your poop more than necessary.",
"Oh my god. This is something I've always wanted to know but never knew I wanted to know it. THANK YOU! ",
"Giving birth to a poop while giving birth looks like its embarassing",
"Has anybody body ever gotten those cramps in your rectum, in which they hurt like hell, and the only way (for me) to get rid of them is to attempt to take a crap? And if you have, how have you gotten rid of them?\n\nEdit:\nReference _URL_0_\n",
"So, is there any scientific research on why you can be going along fine knowing you have to go, then when you're within minutes of the can the need gets darn near overwhelming?",
"I always liked to call this feeling a 'poop surge'",
"Buy sugar free Haribo, eat a handful and you'll be pooping until there is no poop left. ",
"After poo travels through the large intestine, it is stored in the rectum. Your rectum has an internal anal sphincter and an external anal sphincter.\n\nYour internal anal sphincter is involuntary and is only under reflex control. Your external anal sphincter is what you have control over when you need to shit but don't want to.\n\nWhen poo builds up in the rectum, it triggers involuntary reflexes through the spinal cord which produce waves of muscle contraction in the rectum and open internal sphincter. This creates the urge to poo. When you hold it in, higher centres in your brain are keeping your external anal sphincter constricted, preventing you from pooing yourself.\n\nOnce the reflex reaches a certain intensity, it is inhibited for a while, and you no longer feel the urgent need to poop.\n\nWhen you actually poo, you take a deep breath, pushing the diaphragm downwards, and contract the abdominal muscles, increasing the intra abdominal pressure. Aswell as this you voluntary release your anal sphincter, allowing you to drop the kids off at the pool.\n\nHope that helps your understanding, I am a medical student and I have an exam on this in two weeks.",
"So, I live with my boyfriend. We generally don't share bathroom stories or activities, and that's the way I like it. He works nights, so he gets up late in the afternoon, so if I ever do have any...issues...I generally have a lot of time to \"Deal\" with them. For some reason one day, I just couldn't go. I said whatever, I have IBS, I'll try after some coffee. Nope. Okay, I'll try tomorrow. 5 days. 5 days of NOTHING. My stomach hurt so bad. I was literally afraid that if I fell, my bowel would explode, and that I would die.\n\nFinally, after sitting for about an hour and yoying this thing, I realize it's either too hard, or too big. No big deal, I didn't drink enough as a kid and was often constipated, whatever, I'll just drink a ton of water. NOTHING helped. And I realized, it was simply too big. Well, fuck. I glove my hand up and push around, hoping to dislodge this thing or at least mush the head of it so it'll slide out. No relief. I realize, horrified, I need to reach in there and break pieces off. Lovely. So I'm doing that for another hour, and nothing is happening. Finally a big enough piece breaks off, and this thing just DROPS out of my ass--I swear to god it was the biggest shit I've ever taken. Like, the size and length of my fucking forearm. I love anal sex, and this felt like a semi tearing out of my ass. I was afraid my ass would never be the same again, but goddamn it didnt hurt anymore, and I didn't care.\nSo there I am, bleeding, gasping, but feeling relief. It's over. God, yes. It's over. And I still have some time before my boyfriend gets up. Awesome! But it won't flush. It literally was too big to go down the toilet. I thought, I'll let it sit in the water for a while and it'll break up. It didn't. So I had to get plastic silverware and break it up enough to go down the toilet.\n\nOne of the worst days of my life.",
"This has never in my life happened to me. I gotta shit then I shit.",
"People seem to be adding epic stories about their battles with constipation so I thought I would join in!\n\nAbout 4 years ago when I was 21 years old I had an Inginual Hernia operation (Lol 21 with a Hernia?), the Hernia was located around my pubic bone, about 2 inches above my right testicle. Along with my right testicle swelling up to the size of a Tennis ball and turning a shade of blurple I also experienced some extreme constipation. This may have been in part due to the pain killers I was taking as I read it was a side effect or simply just the operation itself.\n\nThe pain I was having from the operation made it difficult to poo as I couldn't push at all without experiencing excrutiating pain and worrying that I might damage the Hernia repair itself. So I basically had to wait until my poo was literally able to fall out of my ass without any assistance.\n\nThe total time I went without being able to go was 5 days. Now I have extremely healthy bowel movements normally. I regularly go to the toilet anywhere between 3-5 times a day. I am literally a poop machine 99% of the time. So I'm sure you can imagine just how much would be able to build up in someone like myself after not being able to go for 5 days.\n\nMy stomach was rock solid and extremely uncomfortable to touch from days 3-5. I had to lay down in certain positions whilst sleeping just to take the pressure off or I couldn't fall asleep. This was especially difficult as one position that helped with my bloated shit filled stomach made my Hernia repair feel uncomfortable and vice versa. I also pretty much stopped eating for the last couple of days as I was afraid of adding anymore fuel to the shit filled fire.\n\nOn the 5th day I finally managed to go. To this day I have never felt anything more amazing in my entire life. With every bit of fecal matter that fell from my body It was like having an orgasm only the feelings were amplified by a thousand. I was so happy and emotional from the event that I sat on the toilet crying as the mother of all shits slid out of me. I have to dissapoint you as on that day there was nothing spectacular about the size of the poo. It was just enough to make me feel normal again and no longer be in pain. A few days later when my Hernia repair had healed a little more I was comfortable pushing my bowel movements as they came. The subsequent monster that came out in correlation with my new ability to aid in the expulsion of my poo was something around the size of a pringle can. I was so impressed that I had all my family come and check it out. They were all pretty horrified.",
"This thread is everything I've ever wanted to know about poop",
"The best feeling in the world is not love. It's when you badly need to do a number 2 and you made it JUST in time.",
"Is it just me or Poop and Smokes a perfect combination. Cant poop without smoking.",
"It's like every other day I see a variation to the same question, and it's always about the need to poop going away after supressing it. I think the majority of reddit is either constipated or taking ELI5 way too literally ",
"Yes, it does. It goes back up.",
"What a shit thread.",
"And what's with that loud as hell rumbling?",
"Asking the questions that fecal matter.",
"And why does the pressure increase the closer i get to home.",
"Reading this thread makes me feel like I gotta poop. ",
"You all should be grateful... People like me who have ulcerative colitis DREAM of being able to do this, basically I have to find a restroom immediately. ",
"BEING EDITED TO BETTER CONFORM TO THE SUBREDDIT. SORRY ABOUT THE BAD USE OF LANGUAGE AND FORM!!! \n\n\nShort Answer: Because only a small portion of the gastro-intestines give rise to the feeling of \"needing to poop\". And yes, the poop recedes into the intestines\n\nLong Answer.\n\nSenses\n\nAll senses (Sense of touch, sense of smell, sight, pain, etc) are based of one general concept. Different types of Neurons are sending signals to the brain. They are different, because they activate their signal in different situations. Some send signals when hot, some when cold, some when stretched.\n\nIn the case of needing to poop, the sensation is communicated by Neurons that send signals when stretched.\n\nSignals that reach the brain need to be interpreted by the brain. This is why kids cry a lot. They are unused to sensations are are confused as to what they mean. Are they in pain? Are they in danger? As a species, we need to learn what different sensations actually mean. Through experience we learn to respond to sensations, and also to experience them in a more detailed level. As babies, we first learn that food will reduce hunger. And when experiencing something new that we have not categorized, we as babies, often turn to the one thing we know as a solve all: food. Over-eating is common among babies with parents who just want to comfort their kid in any way possible.\n\n// Interesting side-note. This might be the major reason why so many people are fat. We have not learned to cope with stressors (feelings of not being ok, such as pain, sadness, lonlieness etc) in a different way. We are not choosing to eat, rather given that it is our first and most used method of relieving stress, it becomes a compulsion of sorts. Ie behaviorism. \n//\n\n\n\nThe brain is not a static lump of material. All things we learn are subject to degradation over time. While we might retain the basics, or even some mastery of tasks learned early in life (riding a bike), most skills will not be kept fresh. As an example. We seldom feel cardiac pain. But those that suffer Cardiac infaction (heart attack) are being sent signals from the heart (well, not exactly, but around the general area) that there is pain. However, the brain is so unused to pain from that area, that it kind of guesses where the pain might be. This experience is called \"Wandering pain\" because it usually starts in the arm, and then wanders towards the chest and heart.\n\n\n\nNot all muscles are controlled by the conscious mind. In fact, in the area of interest to this question, there are two sets of muscles that control pooping (defecation) one sits profundus (deep) and one superficialis (surface) in the Analis Canalis (anal cavity). The muscle that sits the deepest is controlled by the unconscious, and will relax on a few conditions: There is feces (poop) in the colon (sigmoideum, an area named after is shape of an S), and there is a low level, to no level of stress-hormones in the blood. That is why you seldom have to poop when doing physical labor or exercise. And definitely not when you have a fight-or-flight reflex.\n\n// It is often a game of quantity (but not only). If you know something about food, then you know that salt makes lemons taste less acidic. It does not reduce the amount of acid in the lemon. Only that the salt activates taste-buds that compete for the sensation of food. Much the same with neurons. We might need to poop real bad. But other singals (neurons or hormones) are larger in quantity, and therefore we do not experience the need to poop as pressing. There are other mechanisms at work as well, such as potentiated effects, inhibiting effects, acumulated, etc. But that is information best left to individual research.\n\n\n//However! It is of worth to note: This system of what get's noticed by the body (both conscious and unconscious) are dependent of this delicate balance. Increasing one substance could lead to inhibition of another. And the effects could mean that as a Growth Hormone using body builder, your heart has not been repaired effectivley, and you die at the age of 40 to 50. It also means that you never need to take a dump while in a fight-or flight situation. But you do not have as good a immune-system when you are depressed, and you think more creatively when happy. It might seem confusing. But at a small enough level, it makes so much more sense :D\n\n\n\nThe sensation that we need to poop, stems from neurons that send signals when stretched and are situated between these muscles. This is the area called Analis Canalis, or anal canal.\n\n\n\nThe superficial muscle is controlled by the conscious, and can therefore be held tight, overriding the normal functioning. If done long enough, the poop will recede back to the Colon Sigmoideum.\n\n\n\nSince the feces are still present in the body, a packing and stretching of the colon still occur. It is not as obvious to those that lack the experience from constipation, and can be experienced in a variety different ways. If a minor level of constipation occur, you get a sense of something wrong, feeling a little off. If you have a major level of constipation, you feel pain. But that pain might not be experienced in the anal area. It could feel as though your kidneys, or legs, or even chest, are the ones in pain.\n\n\n\nConstipation is not a good situation! One of the main reasons for defecation (and urination) is to remove dangerous substances from the body. However, these substances are reabsorbed into the body, so when defecation is denied, it gives those substances more time to reabsorb into the blood-stream. You can effectively get poisoned from not pooping. And that is why my profession of nurses are so interested in poop. It is an easy way to assess the health of people.\n\nBut in short: Yes, the poop recedes into the intestines. But it also to some extend enter your blood-stream. So yes, if you need to go take a dump, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. It is your body, your health. And putting undue strain on these processes might damage them, making middle-aged to old life a fair bit more painful.",
"Lol poop thread.",
"Haven't shit for four days.\n\nThis thread is scaring me.",
"Because you missed your window of poopertunity.",
"Part of it is due to your neurons not sending the signal that there is poop in your rectum anymore. It's protective in the short run to save you from embarrassment, but it can actually result in long term constipation as your neurons become more and more desensitized to pressure in your rectum. DON'T HOLD IN YOUR POOP OR YOU WILL HOLD IT IN FOREVER!",
"Lol this is literally the \"What happens to the fart?: Poop Edition\" from last week.",
"*This ELI5 has been inspired by, yesterdays fart question.*",
"Fun fact: I'm on the toilet right now!",
"Pooping after holding it for half a day is satisfying. Source: currently shitting",
"After the feeling goes away, your body retains the poop and it retracts a bit to absorb more water out of it.",
"Why are so many ELI5's about poop?",
"Thank you for asking the question that's been on my mind for so long, but was too awkward for me to ask anyone.",
"Wasn't this question a top post less than a week ago? It must have crawled back up and needed to go again. ",
"How come when I go into a secondhand bookshop and smell all those yummy musty old books I always suddenly need to go? Seriously. EVERY TIME. Someone please tell me I'm not the only one...",
"So evolution-wise, why is our rectum able to go back and forth with urges, but not our bladder? Is there something about urine that we just have to get rid of as opposed to feces? ",
"After reading all this, now I have to go take a dump. So many types of kindness from strangers.",
"These are the important questions.",
"Peristaltic waves. Your guts contract to push in a wave like motion. If you hold it in through the few minutes of the current wave, your guts relax and stop pushing for now. "
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3gfv80 | what is 'magnetic moment' | i've recently been reading up on Saturn, and came across a term called Magnetic Moment. After reading the wiki article, i sort of understand it, however the terms used i dont understand. So i come here today to ask for a simple explanation of Magnetic Moment in general. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3gfv80/eli5_what_is_magnetic_moment/ | {
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"Saturn has its internal magnetic field. The planet is like a giant bar magnet.\n\nMagnetic moment is the amount of torque -- twisting force -- that the planet would experience if subjected to an outside magnetic field.\n\nSo if you put a small bar magnet between the prongs of a large horseshoe magnet... the amount of torque on the bar magnet (the twisting force driving the bar magnet to line up with the field of the prongs of the horseshoe magnet) is proportional to the product of magnetic moment of the bar magnet and the strength of the field created by the horseshoe magnet.\n\nIn the case of Saturn... the outside magnetic field isn't a horseshoe magnet of course... it is (most likely) the magnetic field of the Sun, when talked about in whatever document you are reading."
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73wp03 | decayed molar tooth hurt when im not doing anything | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/73wp03/eli5_decayed_molar_tooth_hurt_when_im_not_doing/ | {
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"You probably have an infection. The infection is causing inflammation in your jaw (bottom molar) or inflammation in your sinuses (top molar). That's probably what is causing the pain. I said probably bc I'm not a doctor. You need a doctor. If your tooth or gums are infected, you'll receive anti-biotics. Take the full course and then a dentist will be able to treat the tooth. A dentist can not treat the tooth until the infection is treated.\n\nSometimes tooth infections can spread beyond your sinus cavity to your brain. And you can die from the infection. So go ahead and see a doctor bro.",
"Your teeth have nerves in them. Once decay gets bad enough to eat through a significant portion of the tooth, those nerves are directly exposed & can cause intense pain.\n\nUnless you can get prescribed some painkillers, there really is not a lot you can do beyond ibuprofen and warm saline rinses until you get it yanked."
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udcsj | why do things with lower resolutions look bad only after seeing something higher in resolution? | Allow me to elaborate.
This first example seems more graphical related, but I think it still applies. Remember back when you were playing with your PlayStation before the PlayStation 2 came out? Remember how good the graphics looked? Why is it that when you played the PlayStation 2 and then went back to the Playstation, games didn't look as good as they used to? Nothing about it changed, but your perception of the game looks worse than when you first started playing it. I mean, obviously when compared to the PlayStation 2 it doesn't compare, but when compared to how you saw it before you saw gameplay on the PlayStation 2, it looked bad.
Moving on to another example since I feel like others might think I'm just comparing graphics in the first one...the iPhone. If you ever had an iPhone (original/3G/3GS), the screen and all of the icons looked perfectly fine. However, once you saw the iPhone 4 and its "retina display", suddenly the older iPhone screen didn't look as good as it used to. Nothing is different about the phone, but the way you perceive it is different than from before you saw the newer one.
Does anyone know why this happens or what this phenomenon is called? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/udcsj/eli5_why_do_things_with_lower_resolutions_look/ | {
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4v1jw6 | what it means to be a territory of the usa | So as a simple Australian, I find this concept very confusing. What I'm talking about it the territories of the US such as Puerto Rico. Does the US 'own' PR? Are you an American citizen if you are from PR? Why is PR not a state? Is PR in fact it's own country? From an Australian perspective, is it comparable to the British control of Australia prior to (or in fact, after?) federation? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4v1jw6/eli5_what_it_means_to_be_a_territory_of_the_usa/ | {
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"The US does own Puerto Rico, and people from Puerto Rico are US citizens. \n\nIts not a state because it has not formally requested statehood. And if it does that Congress and the current states have to agree to admit it as a member of the union.\n\nSometimes it's treated as a separate country, but it's not really a country as such. At least not in the sense of a sovereign state.\n\nI think it is somewhat comparable to Australia's status while it was under British control. But there's a better comparison. Australia has its own territories like Norfolk island and Christmas Island. I think they have a comparable status to PR. ",
"I'm not from the US mainland or the territories, but here's the deal: The difference between states and territories is that states share power between local governance and the federal government, while overseas territories are de facto independent(self-governed).Some, such as Puerto-Rico, have their own constitution. Even though the government is appointed by Congress, they don't answer to it. Only few things, such as foreign policy, are decided by Congress.People born there are natural _URL_0_'s comparable to a puppet state or a colony during the Industrial Era (such as Canada or, as you stated, Australia).",
"A US territory in an area that is only partially under US control. \n\nThey craft their own laws and are not subject to all US federal laws but they are subject to some. Their citizens are US citizens and so enjoy freedom of travel within the US, as well as the protection of the US military. They do not pay federal taxes, and they do not pay import export tariffs when trading with the US. But they do not get to have representative in the US congress and they do not get to vote for president. \n\nPuerto Rico is not a state because it has not asked to become a State. A state is not made by congressional or presidential decree, a group has to ask to become one and at that point congress reviews them and approves or declines the application. Puerto Rico is also not an independent country because they have not chosen to give up territorial status and become independent. ",
"If you have a few minutes, [CGP Grey](_URL_0_) discusses the status of the territories. \n\nThese places are parts of the United States, but have different status than states.\n\nIn general, anyone that would qualify as a US citizen in a state will also qualify apply as a US citizen in a territory, except in American Samoa for no good reason. "
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3zlqjl | why do nfl teams keep bouncing to and then from los angeles? do they want to be there or not? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3zlqjl/eli5why_do_nfl_teams_keep_bouncing_to_and_then/ | {
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"They want to be in a city that will pay for their stadium (nearly all stadiums these days are paid by taxpayers, not private money), and then to upgrade/improve that with taxpayer money as often as they demand. If LA can promise this, they'll stay until LA stops delivering, and then find somewhere else.",
"Teams use bouncing around as a form of leverage over local municipalities. \"Do X for us or we'll consider relocating the team.\" I think LA's patterns of vacancy are a product of this.",
"Yes, they do. But they want to play in a modern NFL stadium. \n\nThe Rams played in LA for many years, from the mid 60s to 1979, where they moved to Anaheim 30 miles south, mostly to escape the Colliseum, a massive 90,000 capacity college football stadium. Rams were unsatisfied, as they could rarely sell out the stadium and faced frequent TV blackouts due to the NFL's sellout policy. Tehy played in Annaheim for another 15 years, the owner was trying to shop a new stadium for the team and got a deal... in St. Louis.\n\nThe raiders located to LA shortly after the Rams vacated the colliseum. Al Davis got sick of fighting for a new stadium or at least renovations to the aging collesium, so he moved the team back to oakland the same year the Rams left, in 94.\n\nEver since then, the NFL has been trying to move a team to LA, but the challenge has been getting a team willing to relocate to the colliseum, despite being a massive media market, team owners want the revenue from luxury boxes, and are worried about filling the huge stadium to capacity.\n\nIn ´09, the mayor of LA repealed the policy that any new NFL team would have to play in the colliseum, which opened the door for a new franchise. Since then (and before), NFL owners have used the threat of relocation to LA to get their local markets to build the team a stadium using public funds.\n\nRead more about it on the [wikipedia page](_URL_0_)",
"They do want to be in LA, which is why the Rams and Chargers are turning down hundreds of millions of dollars in their home markets to move there. However, part of the reason teams left there and haven't returned for a while is because LA refuses to contribute public money for a stadium. When the Raiders left to go back to Oakland they got a stadium renovation, when the Rams went to St. Louis they got a new stadium they didn't have to pay a dime for. ",
"LA is a difficult sports market.\n\nIt is a very large, spread out metropolitan area, with not clear cultural center. People tend to identify with individual cities like Burbank or San Bernadino more than with LA. That makes hard to build a fan base or get public funding, when the \"home\" team is a three hour drive away for a lot of people."
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[],
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Football_League_in_Los_Angeles#The_Los_Angeles_Rams"
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do73dm | if store bought apples can be many months old yet look and taste perfect, why do they start going bad a few days after i buy them? what causes this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/do73dm/eli5_if_store_bought_apples_can_be_many_months/ | {
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"text": [
"Apples are stored in an environment that is absent of oxygen. Oxygen is the catalyst for fruit to rot and bruise and being in the open air will make them rot faster."
]
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[]
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6oyx66 | why do people reading a script or speech often completely alter their speaking patterns and seemingly forget how their speaking tone usually sounds? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6oyx66/eli5_why_do_people_reading_a_script_or_speech/ | {
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"Some people know how to read better than others, and that shows most clearly when reading out loud. When you're reading silently to yourself, only you can hear it. When you're reading out loud, you're expected to follow rules of speech and grammar for the language in question.",
"When you talk normally, you're generating the words, tone, and rhythm from your head before you open your mouth; when it's time to read, you have to look at the words manually and recite them one at a time, and you may not be able to anticipate how the entire sentence or line is supposed to sound. If you get a chance to read it through or memorize it beforehand, then it goes back to sounding like speaking naturally"
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[],
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42mzhx | why do we find north and go towards it when we are lost? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/42mzhx/eli5_why_do_we_find_north_and_go_towards_it_when/ | {
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"Actually, when you're truly lost you should stay put so that rescuers can more easily find you.",
"Its not that north is a better direction to go than any other, its just that it sometimes can be the easiest direction to follow consistently, so at least if you keep going north you are travelling in one direction instead of going in circles (which is very easy when you are completely lost and disoriented) If you do something else, like head east, that is no more or less bad necessarily as long as you can CONSISTENTLY head east. ",
"There are lots of ways to find North. You can use a compass, which relies on the Earth's magnetic field. Celestial objects like the Polaris, the \"North Star\" which remains in a constant position throughout the night have been used by sailors for centuries. Using the rising/setting the sun works well too. There are also certain biological/botanical objects, which are admittedly less accurate, but nonetheless generally true. The adage that moss grows on the North side of trees, was used by runaway slaves in the US for many years. \n\nNone of these explain \"why\" you go North when lost, because no such adage, or rule exists. We simply use North as reference by which all other directions can be deduced so that you can go wherever you want/need to go to be found. ",
"The important thing is to make sure you travel in a more-or-less straight line. As long as you're going in some direction, then you'll probably eventually hit a road or some other useful landmark. But when you're lost, it's very easy to get turned around and go in circles. You can end up going around and around and around, getting tired and not going anywhere. You don't need to head north, but if you know where north is, you can make sure you're not going in circles. Keep the north star on your right, for instance, and you'll ensure you move westward.",
"We *don't* go north when we're lost. Rather, knowing *which way* is north tells you which direction is which, and you pick the direction most likely to get you un-lost. The reason we FIND north is because it's the easiest to find: compasses point towards it, and it can be deduced from the motion of the Sun, or the North Star at night.\n\nWhenever you go out into the wilderness, you should have positional awareness, or some kind of notion which direction you'd want to travel if you did become lost. For example, say you're driving on a wilderness road that runs generally east-west, and you get out to go hiking, and you decide to head north. Some time later, you discover you're lost. Which direction should you head? South, because *eventually,* you MUST intersect the road. South may not be the BEST choice at that particular point (it might be the long way around or have obstacles), but in lieu of any better information, it's what you should choose.\n\nIf you find a stream or river, another common tactic is to follow it downstream. Again, it might not be the BEST choice, but it has a high probability of getting you somewhere recognizable.\n\nIf you're lost and you have good reason to believe people will come looking for you, a better strategy might be to get somewhere safe, open, and obvious, then stay put.\n\nBona fides: wilderness photographer and wilderness survival student.\n"
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4ar063 | triangle offense in basketball | What is it? What types of players fit it best? What don't? etc. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ar063/eli5_triangle_offense_in_basketball/ | {
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"You should look at the search bar. There is 5 great post in the top10 if you type triangle offence.\n\nTLDR. The 4 corners of the paint area ,the top of the 3pt line , the corner 3s and the elbow 3s are considered stations. \n\nUsing these stations, 3 players use 1 side of the court( and 5 of those stations) to make quick 3 on 3 plays . \n\nSince they know where the players should be, passes can be intuitive and spacing is always good since there is never too many players at one place.\n\nIIRC if you look up the bulls court layout in the 90s, you will see a bulls logo inside the 3pt arc, it was one of those station that was hard to situate.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nTo run the triangle, you absolutely need a passing big man , a passing SG or SF and a PG that doesn't shoot a lot but is good at catch and shooting.\n\nIf the big man is great at creating a shot or the SG/SF can shoot off the dribble, the Triangle becomes unstoppable much like the Bulls/lakers era. \n\nThe Knicks need smarter passers and guys who can spot shoot when Melo isn't in the triangle to make it effective."
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[
"https://youtu.be/eewCYox5MuI"
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1kjq6y | why do we sweat during nightmares? | Just seems weird, how we're not REALLY experiencing what happens. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1kjq6y/eli5_why_do_we_sweat_during_nightmares/ | {
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"The psychological stress and fear during a nightmare initiates what's known as the \"sympathetic nervous system response.\" Stressful situations, like running from a bear, or psychophysically when frightened, initiate a physiological reflex in the body that is wired via your nervous system (i.e. by nerves that work together to bring the response). These nerves go all over the body, mainly on the heart to make it beat faster, the lungs to breath faster, pupils to dilate, and to skin to increase sweating.\nPhysiologically, a nightmare is no different than other stressful situations, so your body initates the same 'nervous' response. ",
"When we experience fear, real or imagined, excess adrenaline is pumped into our systems. Adrenaline is a vasodilator, which means that it causes blood vessels to widen in order to allow our blood to cool down. Vasodilation triggers sweating by opening pores and stimulating the sweat glands."
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fvnlip | how do people isolate specific audio tracks from a file without access to the master tapes? such as when someone makes an isolated vocal or bass track of a song or when someone makes a mashup of instruments from one song with the vocals from another. | Such as when people make "isolated bass/vocal," tracks of popular songs or make a meme mashup of one song with he vocal line of another over it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fvnlip/eli5_how_do_people_isolate_specific_audio_tracks/ | {
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"The song contains a range of sound frequencies. Think of these frequencies as “audio colours.” The bass is red, and all the way on the other end do the rainbow is high-pitched purple. \n\nTo isolate just one voice in the music, you can filter the spectrum so you only have the range you want — just the “orange”, for example, or just the “green”, like screwing filters over a lens, where some colours are blocked and others are let through. \n\nWith software it’s relatively easy to choose just the exact frequencies that comprise a particular sound in the mix, and filter out the rest. A couple of passes like this with different settings, and you have imperfect but workable “separated” tracks.\n\n————————\nEdit to add: I do this in the course of my work, when creating generative visuals from mixed-down audio files.",
"While EQing can help, you’re correct that there is far too much overlap for this method to be really successful on its own unless you’re looking for something that sits in its own range of a song that’s mixed well, like bass. For vocals, the most common practice relies on how most vocal music is mixed; vocals down the center, instruments panned to the sides. By converting a stereo track to left and right mono signals, phase inverting one side, then playing them back together, you’ll cancel out everything down the middle; typically just the lead vocal. By inverting an instrumental track over the original full mix, you can isolate a vocal. There’s many tutorials out there on YouTube, and it’s definitely a fun way to play with audio!",
"To add to what the other commenter said, audio files are usually in stereo - there are actually 2 tracks, one for the left side and one for the right - and when a song is created, different sounds are usually placed in different locations in the stereo field. Lead vocals, kick drums, bass, and sometimes snare drums are usually placed in mono - the left and right channels are identical. Most other sounds are usually not in mono - the left and right channels are different. For example, a sound may be panned, where the volume on one side is louder than the other.\n\nIf your goal is to extract vocals, you can simply discard all the data that isn't the same on both the left and right channels. You will be left with less overlapping frequency information to try and cut the vocals out of.\n\nThere are also AI tools that can assist with separating tracks, such as Spleeter.",
"Not commenting on isolating individual instruments, but a common trick to remove the voice for a karaoke track is to subtract left from right channel. In most stereo recordings, the voice is present with equal intensity in both channels.\nThis is how cheap karaoke machines work.",
"There are many different approaches. To add to what other folks have said, these days you can use neural networks that have been trained to do the job. [Spleeter](_URL_0_) is one such software. Basically, a computer \"learns\" what different instruments sound like, and can then identify the different parts in the spectrum of the full song, and then cuts out those bits separately. It works well with clear, well defined, loud instruments in simple tracks; not so much with things buried in a complicated mix (where even a human would have a hard time picking them out).\n\nOthers have also mentioned that if you have the instrumental track, you can subtract it from the full track to get just the vocals. This works rather well for some tracks, but the two tracks have to be perfectly aligned for that to work directly. There is software that can help with this by automatically stretching and shrinking tracks in time to match them (I wrote a version of this myself). Sometimes it doesn't work well anyway, because the tracks might have been processed differently or different instruments might be out of phase (this often happens with synthesizers and other virtual instruments, where both versions aren't the same render to audio). In this case you can use even smarter software to try to subtract at the level of tones in the spectrum, instead of at the level of the raw audio.\n\nUltimately it's all a bunch of compromises, and if you're doing this by hand you're probably going to be postprocessing stuff manually to cut out noise, EQ the result, etc. It's not a one button push process."
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823tb5 | - why don’t people patent certain things? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/823tb5/eli5_why_dont_people_patent_certain_things/ | {
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"You actually have it a bit backwards. In most cases, companies attempt to patent freaking everything they possibly can, even if its not theirs, not patent-able, questionable or what. You just apply and hope it gets approved. The whole patent process is insanity of a glut of patents being applied for.",
"You have to prove that no one else has come up with anything similar and that the idea is truly original. For something like fidget spinner, there were too many copies too quickly to establish a single inventor, and you can't exactly patent something like a backup camera because they're so infinitely adaptable and ubiquitous",
"The process isn't cheap. A single patent process can be 10-15k. While that's just throwing around money for the fortune 50 companies, it means you can't just start a patent on everything.\n\nThe patent office also won't approve everything they get applied. So you could spend $10k to get it rejected."
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vsyy6 | i am trying to understand how html5 works vs flash | ELI5: Please don't be mean, I am just trying to make sense of everything so I can explain this to old businessmen in my blog. I would love to give credit to the person who understands this better. Is HTML5 a version of web programming language or is it part of the browser itself. Is it the code that a web developer would use to make a website/page? I am getting it right that Flash is a plugin that is extra hassle when you could just code the video or image into the website without needing to plug. So very very confused.
EDIT: here is the link to blog I wrote _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vsyy6/i_am_trying_to_understand_how_html5_works_vs_flash/ | {
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"HTML is the core language of most websites and has been for a long time. It has existed for many years and has gone through several versions, HTML5 simply refers to the newest version of this language. It adds many new capabilities that have historically been fulfilled by plugins. \n\nLet's use the \"language\" idea as a base. If I want to write some HTML to make a word italics the \"words\" I use are:\n\n < i > These words would be italics! < /i > \n\nThose angle brackets indicate a certain thing to HTML, in this case italics. There are many many \"words\" in the language to do different things. Code (words) to make a hyperlink, code to add an image, code to format, code to make tables and lists, etc.\n\nSo what's new in HTML5 and why does it get compared to (or accused/embraced for killing) Flash? One big example is video. Before HTML5 there were no words for video, so over the years (decades) many plugins came into to add that function. Quicktime, Beatnik, Windows Media, Shockwave, and in the end the big winner was Flash which over the past 10 years or so has risen up to rule web video... until HTML5 enters and says \"We don't need you anymore, I now know what a video is without your help!\".\n\nNow, part of your question is very crucial: \"is it part of the browser itself\". The answer is yes - HTML is a language, HTML5 is a new version of the language... but the browser has to \"speak\" the language too in order for it to matter. You and I both speak English but if I start making up new words you don't know we aren't going to communicate very well are we? Same with the web. You may hear the term \"modern browser\" or hear people bash Internet Explorer, HTML5 is a big part of that. Older versions of Internet Explorer like 7, 6, or even 5 and earlier are still VERY prevalent (my company is only just now upgrading us to IE8... we don't even get 9 yet...). Those older versions don't speak the newest language so they can't make use of sites speaking it. That said, a well made site won't be an issue, a good web developer/designer will plan for this, it's called \"graceful degradation\". For example, use HTML5 but write in \"words\" that say \"if the user is using IE6, show them this page instead that still has Flash\" or something like that.\n\nThe last thing I'll add in is that HTML is only part of a webpage. It is the core language a page is written in, but these days it's rarely responsible for much more than basic content. Other languages that are important include:\n\nCSS (Cascading Style Sheet(s)) - CSS is used to format and style most pages. For example the italics I used as an example earlier is actually considered bad form these days and should be written using CSS instead. The fancy layouts you see on some subreddits are due to customizing the CSS.\n\nJavascript - Javascript is a true programming language, meaning it can make things happen and be interactive, as opposed to HTML and CSS which are markup languages - they are more or less static and don't \"do\" anything. So when a developer wants to include some kind of interactivity on their page they may use Javascript.\n\nPHP - PHP is also a programming language. The big difference between PHP and Javascript is that Javascript only runs on he client (meaning locally on your computer) whereas PHP runs on the server - you as the user never actually \"get\" any PHP code, you only \"get\" the results of the code as it ran on the server. Typically PHP is used to do work with dynamic information in a database (like user names and passwords in a login system) and return HTML to your browser to view (in other words your browser doesn't \"speak\" PHP, it doesn't need to because the server send it HTML results).\n\nI hope this helps, I got much more long winded than anticipated and got lazy towards the end...\n\nEdit: I wanted to add on that the best way to understand the concepts of code, programming, markup etc is to learn them! And it's not as hard as you probably think! Are you going to be handcrafting the next Reddit in a couple days? Hell no, but you'd be surprised just how simple the basic concepts can be. And one of the best things is that unlike trying to get into graphics design or video editing, web design/programming doesn't require expensive tools! All you need is a text editor to get started. So start up Notepad or TextEdit and head out to one of the many sites devoted to teaching HTML etc! I love _URL_0_ as a reference, free! _URL_1_ is also outstanding although it's paid (though they have some free stuff).",
"Is HTML5 a version of web programming language or is it part of the browser itself?\n\nYou're half right, HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. So HTML is a language, but not a programming language; it is a markup language. The difference is that programming languages allow you to write a list of instructions for a computer to execute (a program) and markup languages allow you to describe to a web browser some text (or images or videos or audio clips) you would like it to display and how you want that text laid out. HTML 5 is the 5th and newest version of HTML. HTML itself is not apart of the browser, it's its own language developed by a group of people that set standards for languages. Its the browser's job to interpret and understand HTML.\n\nIs it the code that a web developer would use to make a language?\n\nSo a web developer most likely would not be making a language. The invention of a new (good) programming language is a very heavy undertaking involving a lot of computer science theory. HTML is the language a web developer uses to describe the layout of a webpage in a way a browser can understand. Thats all. There are ways to use programming languages in conjunction with HTML to make webpages do interactive things. But HTML is incapable of interactivity by itself.\n\nI am getting it right that Flash is a plugin that is extra hassle when you could just code the video or image into the website without needing to plug.\n\nYes and no, here's where you need to understand a bit about the history of the Internet. When the web was first released, connections were only fast enough to really be used to transfer text. So only functionality to describe text was built directly into HTML. Moving forward, connections got faster, but HTML somewhat stayed behind, mainly being used just for text. Companies however understood that the web could be used for more than just text, and they started making ways for people to send images, then music/audio, and then video as connections got faster, the most ubiquitous of which is Adobe Flash. Now that we're at the point where a sizable number of people in the world have access to high speed Internet and computers themselves have gotten much faster, the people who set the standards for HTML have decided its time to add in ways to describe audio and video directly into HTML (HTML 5), whereas that used to have to be handled by plugins (flash, QuickTime, real). So the general idea is to move away from Flash, but the issue is that we haven't quite moved all the way away yet. A lot of people still use browsers (especially in business) that do not support HTML 5, and there's still a lot of content on the Internet that is flash-only. This will all probably slowly move towards using HTML 5 in the future(probably right around the time HTML 6 comes out :) ). We're just not there yet. \n\n\nIf you are developing a website, the safest bet is to build it using HTML 5, but still support Flash. Flash isn't quite an extra hassle yet."
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"http://winstontechguru.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/android-no-flash-for-work/"
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"Lynda.com"
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b0taix | if cathedrals have such a significant architecture, why aren't we building memorable like that anymore? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b0taix/eli5_if_cathedrals_have_such_a_significant/ | {
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"Well, it’s about what a society values. We are building complex and beautiful buildings around the world, but they are mostly museums and skyscrapers (and sports stadiums). Religion just isn’t the focus any more.",
"There are at least one that is built at today [Sagrada Família](_URL_0_) in Barcelona where construction started in 1882 and it might be finished in 2026 100 year after the architect died.\n\nThe construction time is not that different from large historical cathedrals where for example the Cologne Cathedral started construction in 1248 and it was halted in 1473, construction resumed in 1842 and is was finally concluded in 1880 according to the original design.\n\nThe construction of Sagrada Família is a slow build for the same reason that many in the past was slow and that is money. It is build by private donations only. Historically the catholic church have had a lot of power and bishops and other had direct control and right to tax land so they could get money that way. Other was build because king, princes, other leaders and the people was interested in building large building like that.\n\nThere is other recent like the Salt Lake Temple that took 40 years to construct and was completed in 1893 so if you have a population that are interested in building like that you can get money, the way it was build is a lot like medieval cathedrals if I am not mistaken.\n\nThere is a a lot of building that are memorable today but they are not churches because the interest among most people for religious building is not what is was in the past. I suspect museum and that type of building today is a more common new design for buildings that have a destine design built by governments because people support government building them more then religious building at least in the west. \n\nAnother example that is perhaps one of the most identifiable building in the world is the Sydney Opera House and I am quite sure that more many time more people around the glob could identify it compered to any church. It has to one of the most identifiable buildings where I suspect that the Eiffel Tower has the top spot.\n\nTechnically the Sagrada Família is a basilica and not a cathedral because a cathedral is a church that that have a bishop so it is the central church in a diocese. It is the same way that the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican city is not a cathedral but a basilica and it is St. John Lateran in Rome that is the cathedral in the diocese of Rome. The word cathedral might be used a bit different in other denomination but the general name for a large catholic church that most of them was build as is a basilica not a cathedral.\n",
"We are, it's just that now centers of power are less and less religious institutions and more and more large corporations and governments. The \"cathedrals\" we build now are designed to be in their service rather than the church (which was historically far more influential than today). Look at skyscrapers built in the past half-century, look at large structures in China and other centralized government nations. You'll see abundant examples of amazing architecture that will be memorable and awe-inspiring for generations, perhaps centuries to come."
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b57x4b | why does your brain shut down whenever you read something boring? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b57x4b/eli5_why_does_your_brain_shut_down_whenever_you/ | {
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"For most of our species' evolution, calories were scarce and precious resources.\n\n \n\n\nThe brain requires burning a lot of calories to function.\n\n \n\n\nIf we are burning too many calories trying to comprehend something that isn't relevant and won't contribute in any way to improving our chances of survival, our brains have an automatic killswitch that goes off, so we will pursue an activity that *will* increase our chances of survival instead (in simple terms, our brain provides no dopamine reward for this activity, prompting us to pursue something that will gives us that dopamine hit).\n\n \n\n\nThat's why, if you're reading something boring, and an attractive mate or a plate of bacon wanders into your field of vision, you can't help but be distracted."
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12fj9s | we hear about black holes in terms of gravity, are there analogous singularities for other types of forces? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/12fj9s/we_hear_about_black_holes_in_terms_of_gravity_are/ | {
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],
"text": [
"Gravity is unique in the fact that it is the only force which is attractive at all distances, and can work at extreme range (from one end of the universe to the other (yes, i said \"end\", not \"edge\")\n\nOn the scale of atomic world it is of negligible or no importance at all. However, it is cumulative and extends to infinity. It exists whenever there is matter. But on the scale of individual particles, the force is extremely small, only in the order of 10^(-38) times that of the strong force.\n\nThe other 3 forces, namely, electromagnetic, strong and weak force behave like this :\n\n* Electromagnetic force is long range, in principle extending over infinite distance. However, the strength can quickly diminish due to shielding effect. Also, EM force \"cancels out\", because the while the electrons in an atom oppose the other electrons, they at the same time attract the protons in the nucleus, **resulting in a net zero force.**\n* This force is responsible for binding of nuclei. This force is so strong that it binds and stabilize the protons of similar charges within a nucleus. However, it is very short range. No such force will be felt beyond the order of 1 fm (femtometer or 10^(-15) m).\n* This force is responsible for nuclear beta decay and other similar decay processes involving fundamental particles. The range of this force is smaller than 1 fm and is 10^(-7) weaker than the strong force.\n\nHence, these forces will not be able to output enough force for a singularity to form. They will be undermined by each other long before a \"singularity\" can be formed.\n\nThis is what happens in a gravitational black hole : the matter is compressed BEYOND the limits of the repulsive power of the other 3 forces. So much matter is collected that it literally snowballs everything thrown at it, crushing all that matter into an infinitely tiny point. ",
"There is a type of black hole created by temperature, once it reached a certain temperature, a black hole created via energy, instead of mass, forms. This is called a kugelblitz."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1w4ej7 | how come you can get sick from e-coli from other animals even though you already have it in your system? | I recently got E-coli from work, i work with cows all day, i was wondering if some one can explain it to me better then my boss trying to in broken english. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1w4ej7/how_come_you_can_get_sick_from_ecoli_from_other/ | {
"a_id": [
"ceyl2pq",
"ceyl2vi"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Different strains of E. Coli. The stuff that resides in your gut just lives there, but it doesn't cause any problems (also constitutes around 0.1% of your gut fauna so it's not actually that much).\n\nPathogenic E. Coli that can kill ya are different because these strains produce and release toxins into your body. For example, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is the leading cause of bacterial-related diarrhea and 'traveler's diarrhea'.",
"The strain (type) of E. Coli you contracted is not the same as the E. Coli in your body. The one that makes you sick is the -157 strain. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
4i2uum | how do astronauts get wifi in space? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4i2uum/eli5how_do_astronauts_get_wifi_in_space/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2uk5j7"
],
"score": [
13
],
"text": [
"The same way that they get voice communication, and essentially the same way your cell phone works. A series of relay satellites broadcast communications signals to and from the space station. The waves that carry a phone call can carry a data signal (as evidenced by your smart phone). \n\nHere's a more in-depth article if you'd like to learn more. _URL_0_"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/06/the-internet-in-space-slow-dial-up-lasers-satellites/395618/"
]
]
|
||
5us6k7 | why do the tips of our fingernails get smooth as they grow even though we did not cut it smoothly? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5us6k7/eli5_why_do_the_tips_of_our_fingernails_get/ | {
"a_id": [
"ddwfrxd"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"It's not exactly that they grow even, they get polished by asperities and thus they acquire a smoother edge. \n\nThat's also why we have fingernails in the first place, to take care of friction on behalf of our fingers. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
1fbde5 | why do baked goods (bread, brownies & cookies) become hard as a rock after being heated in a microwave? | I have lost many a tasty brownie and I was just wondering what caused it and if there is any way to prevent it. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1fbde5/why_do_baked_goods_bread_brownies_cookies_become/ | {
"a_id": [
"ca8mkwr"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Microwaves work by vibrating the water particles in the food to excite them and release energy, heating up the food. But doing this evaporates water out of the food in the process. That's why often you'll find food comes out dry from the microwave. The dryness is generally what's making your food harder. With more moisture, food is softer."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
5x251m | what's the difference between hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5x251m/eli5whats_the_difference_between_hypocrisy_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"deen9ds"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Cognitive dissonance is just holding two views that in some way contradict one another.\n\nHypocrisy is claiming to believe one thing but actually believing and/or doing something contradictory - usually consistently rather than just once. \n\nHypocrisy has the implication that you are lying to others about your true intentions; cognitive dissonance is simply ignoring or setting aside the problem with the conflict - possibly until a later time that they can be reconciled with new understanding."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
3fjv9u | why did us prohibited alcohol and repealed the ban just after 13 years? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fjv9u/eli5_why_did_us_prohibited_alcohol_and_repealed/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctp9twh",
"ctpa2jp",
"ctpbjbd"
],
"score": [
9,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"There was a growing temperance movement that equated alcohol use with sin and immorality. In the late 1910's, it reached its highest pitch and resulted in the prohibition of alcohol in the United States via constitutional amendment -- and amendments are *hard* to do.\n\nIt was repealed because prohibition was a spectacular failure. It caused far more problems than the alcohol ever did, as it did little to stem the demand for booze but did spawn extremely violent criminal enterprises to satisfy that demand.",
"Basically, people still wanted alcohol despite prohibition. This created a very large criminal black market and had very little effect on demand. Many powerful and lucrative gangs sprang up to supply and distribute alcohol. In fact, some sources state that demand may have gone up. In many cases, people decided that since they were already breaking the law by having a single drink that they might as well get completely hammered. Also, there was a drop in the quality of alcoholic beverages since there was limited oversight on the black market goods. \n \n Eventually, even the prohibitionists changed their minds and pushed for the prohibition to end. ",
"It essentially was the \"marijuana battle\" of that century, except everyone did it, and had grown up their whole life doing it. Like making the internet illegal. Obviously people need it so violent gangs form to create a black market for it. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
4z7lp1 | why is horse meat used as "filler"? | Every few months, it seems, there's a new scandal where some kind of meat (often beef) is revealed to be horse meat. Why horse? Since they aren't raised for slaughter in the same numbers, why is their meat so often connected with being "filler" or "cheaper"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4z7lp1/eli5_why_is_horse_meat_used_as_filler/ | {
"a_id": [
"d6thphg",
"d6tldfg"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Horse meat costs 20% to 50% as much as beef. Part of this is because it may come from animals that were not initially raised as food animals.",
"It's not only tasty and similar to other meats, it is also very cheap. All they need to to is say it has horse meat in it (with other meat) at a reduced price and I would be happy to buy it"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
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