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ELI5: Why are there risks of suicidal thoughts when taking antidepressants? What risk causes this?
| 35 |
It is not so much that the antidepressants cause suicidal thoughts, but they can, seemingly paradoxically, make people more likely to act on them. This is due to the fact that antidepressants take a while to even out your system. It's sadly not a case of starting to take them today and you start feeling better tomorrow. It takes a while and you start feeling better in stages. One of the first changes people notice is that they start feeling more motivated to do stuff. The problem is that that increased motivation combined with already present suicidal thoughts might lead to an impulse to do something that one was previously too unmotivated to do. That is why it is so important to always keep in contact with your doctor when taking antidepressants and preferably to combine them with some form of cognitive therapy. That can help you deal with those impulses without doing anything that you might regret.
| 43 |
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[A:TLA/LoK] Most, if not all, bending forms are based in martial arts styles. Are benders actually good at martial arts?
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Watching them, they seem to act like students in a dojo practicing forms, rarely actually using their styles for hand to hand combat. If for some reason a bender couldn't bend, would they be able to adapt their forms to actual hand to hand combat and be proficient, or do their particular skills not translate like that?
| 24 |
Let's take a person from our world that's really good at shooting a gun. Now let's take the gun out of their hand and have them try to shoot. What's gonna happen? Fuck all. Now, the comparison isn't perfect, but it's good. Bending shares a lot with regular martial arts, and a skilled bender would definitely have a leg up in learning hand to hand combat, but they don't know it by default.
| 16 |
ELI5: Why do all pictures of Jesus depict him as a white man, even though he was from Israel?
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I've always wondered this. I know it might sound like something George Carlin would say to support his claim that religion is bullshit, but I legit want to know. If you're in some way offended by this question, and just want to blow off steam, please don't comment.
Thanks in advance =)
| 28 |
Because what cultures were/are the most supportive of Christianity? White ones. Much of the artwork done (such as in the dark ages/Renaissance ) was done by Europeans. In addition, later on many philosophies like eugenics became prevalent, and led many to assume he was white (as it was seen as the "master race")
| 40 |
Can a black hole be pried open with another black hole?
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If two black holes were to move very close to each other, could their gravity pulling in opposite directions reduce the escape velocity near the event horizons enough to make it possible for matter that once crossed over to escape?
| 85 |
Classically, no. That would require the area the event horizon to decrease, which is forbidden by the "second law of black hole thermodynamics", which has a better name: the area theorem. The area of an event horizon can never classically decrease.
If two black holes are in a bound orbit and the orbit is not disrupted, then they will emit gravitational radiation until they merge. If two black holes are in an initially unbound orbit and gravitationally scatter, they may emit enough gravitational radiation to enter a bound orbit.
Black holes just want to merge, basically.
The area theorem is violated by Hawking radiation, though; that is quantum mechanical. It's also on such a long timescale that it's astronomically unimportant.
| 59 |
ELI5: What can Congress actually do to Facebook for censoring news feeds?
|
REF:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/05/did-facebook-suppress-conservative-views-senate-committee-wants-answers/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-senate-republican-calls-on-facebook-to-respond-to-censorship-accusations/
Let's say all the worst is true - Facebook is censoring news feeds to present a liberal slant, blocking conservative stories, etc. What can Congress actually do? Would Facebook's actions actually be illegal or actionable? Could the company claim First Amendment privilege?
| 18 |
Congress can't do a thing. Just like Fox News slants to conservative views. However if Congress could prove FB is denying someone their first amendment rights they could go to court. However the first amendment only applies to the government censoring you or the media, not an entity you use of your own volition.
| 19 |
[General]What are examples of Heroes and protagonist who would be very, very dead if their villains or antagonist wer not complete morons?
| 147 |
Pretty much any hero.
Villains tend to gave extreme flaws ranging from insane egos or just wanting to fuck around. If Joker wanted to kill Batman he probably could, as does Lex Luthor to Superman. If either of them didn't depend entirely on making it a show of power it wouldn't be that hard.
| 127 |
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ELI5: Why is falling through the map/level such a common glitch in video games?
| 1,043 |
Games like first person shooters that have maps on them don't separate the world into solids, liquids and gasses like real physics does out here in non-cyberland. Out here, when we press on a solid, it kind of presses back. Even if we break through the top of that solid and press on what's underneath it, such as if we sand off the top inch of a thick table, it's still solid underneath and so we won't go through.
Games don't do that. They don't have a solid object so much as a "layer" that you can't penetrate through, and they do their best to write the game's logic and test the map so that you can't possibly break through. But if you DID somehow manage to pass through that "layer" there's no solid stuff underneath like in a real table-top to stop you, so you keep falling because the game doesn't have logic for "if you're in a solid object". (In fact, a lot of earlier shooter games had really hilarious stuff happen if part of your body was on one side of this layer and the other part was on the other side. Characters would often go completely spastic when that happened.)
The more complex and numerous your world's shapes and characters are and the more ways they can possibly move, the harder it is to properly detect every single tiny little spot where you might break through that infinitely-thin layer and are suddenly in BizarroWorld. It's harder to keep all that math straight at corners, on steep slopes, or when dealing with physics events that cause your game character's body to move in unexpected ways, such as multiple simultaneous explosions or getting hit with something REALLY heavy like a jet airliner.
So once you're on the other side of that layer, the game calls its "falling code", and your character's downward velocity starts building up. The game would normally stop you when you contact the layer that's below you... except since you broke through already, there IS no layer below you, so in some games you'll fall forever.
| 567 |
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[Breaking bad] Do you think Walt Jr ended up getting the money from Elliot and Gretchen?
| 35 |
There's no reason given to believe Elliot and Gretchen wouldn't give the money to Walt's family as instructed. Even if they stop fearing the "assassins", they're still altruistic enough to *want* to help Walt's family. Especially once he's dead and they know they're helping only innocent people (... Well, to the extent you consider Skylar innocent, but that's an entirely seperate discussion).
| 40 |
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ELI5: Why is japan so strict against muslims?
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Do the japanese just wanna play it safe? How long has it been? Not a good subject to tell a 5yo, i know /: .
| 27 |
Japan is extremely strict against all immigration. They have a relatively small country that does not really have enough space for its existing population and they are extremely prideful in their cultural heritage and do not want that to become too diluted by external influences.
| 59 |
[Ex Machina] spoilers. NSFW
|
I get why Ava killed her creator. But why did she leave Caleb in the house? Also is Caleb now stuck in the house forever? Bonus question: Can those robots really be fucked? Like do they have flashlights for a vagina?
| 35 |
Caleb was no longer necessary as part of her plan to escape. His usefulness was at an end, so there was no logical reason to continue manipulating him.
Edit: Thanks to everyone who pointed it out, Caleb would also be a huge risk to her survival were he allowed to leave.
| 22 |
What would happen if everyone invested their disposable income?
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What would happen if everyone *wisely invested their disposable income, rather than consuming unproductive stuff?
*Investing in companies not related to consumables
Obviously, major consumable industries would go out of business. Ignoring the short-term unemployment, what would the economy eventually look like?
| 53 |
The level of GDP or income per capita in the US strictly increases in the long run as investment increases. So GDP per person would go up.
However, the savings rate (or investment) that maximizes consumption per person in the long run is equal to capital's share of income, which in the US is about 40% of total income (GDP).
For reference. The current rate of investment in the US is under 20% iirc, far from the 40% "golden rule".
If we invest up to that amount, our consumption per capita (standard of living) and GDP per capita would both increase. GDP per capita would increase by more than consumption per capita.
If we save/invest at a level greater than 40% of GDP, our consumption per person would be lower. Why would GDP per capita go up but not consumption per capita?
With such an excessive amount of investment going on, greater than the "golden rule rate of savings" of 40%, the size of the capital stock would become extreme.
Capital depreciates with time (things break, become out of date, and need to be replaced or repaired). With a capital stock of enormous size, an excessive portion of GDP go towards replacing the depreciating capital stock and cannot be used for consumption. GDP grows little for each unit of additional saving/investment, but the "cost" is the ability to use that unit for consumption instead. At the theoretical extreme, when 100% of income is invested, GDP per capita is highest but 0 consumption occurs obviously (because 100% of the income is being saved/invested).
​
This is all insights from the Solow Model.
| 59 |
My friends have always told me that LSD hangs around in your spine for years after you use it, which I always assumed was a fairy tale. However, I'm curious about the actual effects of LSD and why users experience flashbacks. Can anyone elaborate?
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BTW, I am not a user, nor have I ever used LSD. Just really fascinated by the brain. Thanks!
**EDIT:** Thank you guys so much, especially itsbrownmagic, for weighing in on this! Awesome information guys and girls!
| 76 |
Medically speaking, LSD is metabolized quickly (half life of 175 minutes). That being said, it can be concluded that even if LSD somehow crossed the blood-brain-barrier and entered your CSF (cerebrospinal fluid), it's metabolism is so rapid that it would not be there for any relevant period of time.
Leading theories on the phenomenon of "flashbacks" point to 2 possible major causes:
#1) The flashback is similar to PTSD (fear conditioning) where the user had a "bad trip" and certain cues later on in life can bring the person back to that trip. This would be facilitated by your memory circuits in the hippocampal region of the brain.
#2) Use of LSD inhibits and/or activates certain neurons, which when stimulated, can give the impression that one is "tripping" again. This isn't because the drug is still in your system, but is because the drug has modified receptors in the brain permanently. The region thought to be affected would be the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus.
| 86 |
ELI5: Can a person with Alzheimer’s disease get addicted to drugs or would just forget about it?
| 34 |
The physical symptoms of withdrawal are not dependent upon memory. Common examples: a person with Alzheimer's who was opioid-dependent or on SSRIs will experience withdrawal (nausea, sweating, irritability, fever) if not continuing to take the medication.
Source: Pharmacist.
| 40 |
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Is anyone here familiar with process philosophy, more specifically as developed by Alfred North Whitehead?
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I'm fascinated by the cosmological framework he built, most notably in Process and Reality. It does seem to be to be a viable contender for a metaphysics which can be scaled up and down to incorporate the very large and very small. I'm curious as to whether or not any Redditors share my interest in this field, as I don't see process thought being discussed often here and on r/philosophy.
| 17 |
A particularly lucid example for understanding process ontogenesis for example, can be found in Jorge Luis Borges' description of language on the planet Tlön, whose inhabitants take process as their default:
'For example, there is no noun that corresponds to our word “moon”, but there is a verb... “to moonate” or “to enmoon”. “The moon rose above the river”... translates [as] “Upward, behind the onstreaming it mooned”'
(2000, pp. 13).
**i.e, process philosophy is dope y'all.**
It should be our default metaphysics. It has such enormous implications for ethics and politics too, and areas outside of philosophy - just as a fundamental assumption - because it leads us to understand everything in a radically different and more constructive fashion.
Man process philosophy is the shit.
I love process philosophy.
| 16 |
CMV: Refusing service to people in North Carolina due to their recent LGBTQ law is a logical fallacy.
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Mississippi recently [passed a law](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/04/05/mississippi-governor-signs-law-allowing-business-to-refuse-service-to-gay-people/ ) that would allow business owners to refuse service to gay people, and North Carolina passed a similar law restricting towns from enacting civil rights protections for gay people.
To begin (this isn't the part I want to discuss, just framing my viewpoint), I don't think people should have the right to refuse service to customers based on their sexual orientation. In an ideal world I might agree with that right, since I don't think people should be forced to associate with people they don't want to associate with, and an affected customer would be able to go down the street to the next supermarket to buy their goods. But we don't live in an ideal world, and it's possible that in many towns every supermarket owner would decide to refuse service to gay people, causing serious problems for the LGBTQ citizens of that town.
Regardless of my view on the topic, however, I think refusing service to people in an area because you disagree with this view (like [Bruce Springsteen](http://m.brucespringsteen.net/news/2016/a-statement-from-bruce-springsteen-on-north-carolina ) did recently) is completely logically inconsistent. You are blatantly using the very tactic that you are arguing should be outlawed. This has been pointed out by many supporters of the North Carolina law, and so far I agree with them. So go ahead Reddit, CMV.
| 69 |
Springsteen and others who are boycotting are not refusing service. Anyone who wishes to attend a Springsteen concert is welcome to pay for the privilege. He's just saying he won't come to NC. If you live in NC and want to see him, no one is stopping you from going elsewhere to achieve that.
In order for this to be hypocritical, he'd have to perform in NC and not allow certain groups in, or prevent NCers from attending any show anywhere.
| 51 |
[Mass Effect]How would the Citadel Council have reacted to a spacefaring culture that developed it's own equal or superior tech base completely independent of ME technology?
| 129 |
Your tech would be *ridiculously* valuable to the galaxy at large. That kind of outside context science and engineering could seriously disrupt the balance of power.
So, the Asari would want to bring you in peacefully, probably shower you with technological aid in areas your deficient in, developmental, aid, preferential trade, etc.. They'd also try their darndest to make sure you only share your goodies with the Citadel Council races, and preferably only the Asari.
The Salarians would be similarly amenable, though it's entirely likely they would just try and steal whatever knowledge you have through use of the STG teams--and they would probably be pretty successful at it too.
The Turians would be stand-offish at best. Non-ME technology makes you a threat, and if there's one things Turians hate it's threats. They're... not big on curiosity. They'd try everything in their power to keep this theoretical power pushed into a corner and deprived of anything that could make them more powerful, while they devoted themselves to studying exactly how to crush it should it make the wrong move.
Humans? Well, humanity would probably put everything they have into becoming your very best friend, because tech like that would finally allow the Systems Alliance to not have to worry about cow-towing to the Council all the time. An Alliance with non-ME tech and a new best friend could probably become anew de facto power bloc (though they would probably remain nominally under Citadel control, they'd just politely ignore most of the directives coming down from the Council).
| 133 |
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[Culture] Okay, I'm bored with life now, how do I sublime?
| 19 |
You by yourself can't. Subliming is a group/civilization event. You could go and find a group of people that is planing to sublime and go with them. You could also find a Mind and see if it would take you with, but Minds don't sublime that often or always tell people they are going to, so good luck.
| 10 |
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ELI5: Why do employers (usually) not explicitly state what the hourly wage of a position will be preceding the interview process?
| 67 |
because they advertise it too low then some people wouldn't bother applying. and if they advertise it too high then some people wouldn't bother applying.
so they don't advertise it at all and so you come in and interview and they ask you what your pay history is and try to make the lowest offer they think you'll accept.
| 50 |
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[Marvel] Who exactly is in charge of numbering all the universes?
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Who decides that one Earth is 616, another is 8096, and another is 199999? Was there debate over who would get to be Earth-001?
| 124 |
The numbers originate with the interdimensional Captain Britain Corps. They’re basically a super-powered police force which operates across thousands of realities.
Interestingly, the system seems to apply even in realities with no reported sightings of Corps members.
| 139 |
[Marvel] How would Thanos feel about Apocalypse?
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They would get along well, wouldn’t they? They’re like two peas in a pod. They both have the god complex.
| 27 |
Familiarity breeds contempt. They would actually probably hate each other.
There can be only one god (e.g. supreme being) so anyone else thinking that they're it would be a natural enemy.
Second, their goals are somewhat in opposition. Thanos is a nihilist obsessed with death (figuratively and literally) while Apocalypse desires to remake the world in his image.
Thanos would probably see Apocalypse as a failure. Someone with so much power whose ambition is rather quaint: rulership of a single unimpressive world.
Apocalypse would see Thanos much like we all do: as an insane being bent on the annihilatio n of the universe.
| 31 |
[WH40K] We have all this ridiculous technology, why do most our battles take place at close or even melee range?
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Gears of War is another such universe. All these ridiculous technologies and capabilities yet the main line of troops still have weapons with chainsaws and bayonets on them. I'd always imagined we be vaporizing our enemies from miles away in the far future, not engaging from less than 100 feet away.
| 50 |
In the 40k universe, its all about praising the emperor and meeting your enemies head on. Glassing a planet is a last resort kind of thing, and the cities in 40k are packed so densely that it be simple impossible to engage in a long range battle most of the time. Combine that with the factor that pretty much every water drain and holo-vid shop is sanctified in the name of Teh Emprah and they just can justify destroying everything in sight.
In real-world tactics, close range is what you will often find yourself in as well when fighting in a city environment anyway so i guess its also more for practical reasons so that a more thorough clean up can be made over long range combat. Dont forget that long range assault is also used, planetary or ground wise, often to soften up a target before reaching it and going in close.
| 40 |
Are different cultures more prone to closer friendships?
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I got into a discussion with a friend who stated that she thinks people in wester cultures like the US would not sacrifice as much for their friends and don't have as tight knit bonds. There is a lot to unpack here, like how to operationalize "closer" or "friendship", but I was wondering if there has been any research or frameworks on the subject.
| 53 |
There are cultural differences between the nature of friendship and the characteristics sought by friends from each other.
Gonzalez and colleagues (2004) compared Canadian and Cuban friendships. Cubans are more likely to focus on giving and receiving help, and character admiration. Canadians are more likely to focus on common interests and shared history.
They concluded that these different types of friendship reflect the dominant ideals of the societies in which they're based (individualistic/pluralistic).
| 31 |
ELI5: Moles. How do they form? And are there people who don't have any of them? Is it even possible to not have any birthmarks or moles at all?
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Edit: I'm confused. English is my second language and i searched the word before. Leo.org said it's mole or birthmark
| 7,223 |
Since no one is answering the second part of your question: yes, there are people without moles or birthmarks. There's nothing special to it though. They're random, harmless mutations that occur frequently. And sometimes they just don't happen. That's all there is to it.
| 2,793 |
Why is Orange juice murky but Apple juice clear?
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Apple juice is transparent whilst Orange juice is not. Why is this?
Edit: Thanks Guys!
| 342 |
**Apple juice is not clear at all**. The clear type you are seeing is made from concentrate. Apple juice when squeezed is cloudy and can purchased like that in large jars.
And yes, it's a whole lot tastier
| 469 |
ELI5: what does the spleen do with old/unviable red blood cells after it has filtered them from the bloodstream?
| 20 |
Healthy red blood cells simply pass through the spleen by virtue of their shape and ‘youthful’ flexibility making it possible to pass through a series of small “passages”. Damaged, malformed or otherwise misshapen and nonconforming red blood cells are caught in that network and broken down by white blood cells.
| 37 |
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CMV: Animated child pornography should be legal.
| 76 |
This is like saying that standard pornography makes people want to have less real sex with other adults. Clearly, this isn't the case since porn has not curbed sexual desire, but only introduced more hardcore sex acts into the mainstream. It would only serve to legitimize an unwanted act instead of discouraging it.
| 34 |
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[Dragon Ball]Where does all that extra hair come from in SS3?
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I live in a pretty large city which inexplicably has a large desert wasteland adjacent to it. I was traveling through it for work when a huge battle broke out between two flying creatures. At least one of them was a creature, one looked like a human. Any who, during the fight the guy's hair turned blonde. Afterward, it suddenly grew to waist length. Where did that hair come from? I mean wouldn't it get pulled or something?
| 16 |
The flying guy you witnessed was an example of an alien species known as a Saiyan. Saiyans have the ability to convert ambient particles in the universe into pure energy while under extreme emotional stress, also known as going "Super" Saiyan. This sudden influx of power in their bodies turns their hair golden and cause rapid growth as a way of storing the excess power.
When the energy absorption ends the storage is drained and their hair returns to its natural colour and length.
| 24 |
ELI5: Why aren't people attracted to family members?
| 20 |
I mean they can be, incest is a thing. But if you want an evolutionary explanation, incest can often lead to severe birth defects in children and as a result, it is evolutionarily beneficial to have a hardwired response to avoid that. And that is likely what happened (I say likely because all current evidence seems to be anecdotal).
| 18 |
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[Harry Potter] How different are religious beliefs in the wizarding world?
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Most miracles spoken of in different religious texts could be explained in the magical world as being done by a wizard, so I'm wondering which religious beliefs are present in the wizard world. Where do wizards believe their souls go?
| 15 |
Jesus was obviously a wizard, although there is a lot of speculation as to whether he faked his death with magic, had a horcrux, or was actually resurrected before the philosopher's stone was created. Many muggle religions bleed into wizard society, from muggle borns being raised to believe in their faiths. They simply adopt the religion to their society, just like how Jesus is portrayed as European or Asian depending on where the church is, regardless of his actual ethnicity.
Because of the delay in wizards adopting muggle trends, there likely aren't many wizard scientologists yet. But wizard Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Muslims, etc are common too.
| 14 |
[GTAV] Why did Michael have vivid hallucinations of aliens but Franklin was still stone sober during the side mission where they interact with that 'activist'?
| 23 |
Each main character is a lot of things. But they all also have different backgrounds if you remember correctly.
Franklin is on medical marijuana, and interacts with it regularly. Trevor, on the other hand, huffs gas and does Meth. Michael has a history of tobacco and alcohol, but those are fairly tame. The point is that Michael and Trevor have little experience with weed, and thus mostly got blind sided by the special strain Barry has. Trevor even says that he would rather suck d*ck than smoke marijuana, and he knows because he has done both. Michael mentions a preference against his son's weed habit not because of the unhealthy lifestyle (he is a hell of a lot worse, after all) but because he dislikes weed itself.
So, in short Franklin isn't special, he was just the only one of the three who actually has experience with odd, special, and otherwise atypical strains of weed. And experiments have shown that you can develop smoking weed similar to a skill, with limits of course.
| 37 |
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ELI5: Why is Spain so dry compared to Italy? (even Portugal)?
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I just went to google maps and just at quick glance the central-east part of Spain is almost a dessert compared to same latitude parts of Italy. Also Portugal seems to be more green (maybe closer to Ocean).
I've been told that the Sahara winds dry up that region but idk if that's true or why the Sahara winds only dry up that region and not Italy. I've been googling without much luck.
| 15 |
Spain is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, the dry areas occur after the prevailing winds, mostly from the west, pass over mountain ranges. The rain falls over the mountains and this exhausts the clouds. In the driest parts of Spain prevailing weather would have to come over the central chain or the Sierra Morena or the Betic chain.
| 15 |
ELI5: If cat saliva is antibacterial, why do they suffer from tooth decay and gum disease?
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Is their saliva only antibacterial to certain strains of bacteria?
| 17 |
Bacteria have adapted to live off sulfur in boiling water, a cat's mouth is easy to adapt to by comparison. It's warm, wet, and frequently contains food - so yeah, something definitely lives there. That said, there's not a lot of funding for feline dentistry research so it's not very well understood.
Cats don't have the same kind of tooth decay that humans get. They don't get cavities. Instead, they have
1) Gum disease. Pretty much the same as human gum disease. Tartar builds up on the tooth and creates a pathway for bacteria to get into the gums and eventually to the root of the tooth.
2) Tooth resorbtion. Cats apparently re-absorb some of their juvenile teeth. The cells responsible for this hang around, and later in life may attempt to re-absorb an adult tooth; causing loss of the tooth and a painful knob of exposed bone. Generally this is resolved on its own as the gum grows to fill in the gap.
| 10 |
CMV: I could live my whole life in a lab with all my senses being cheated without ever knowing
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I never bought the whole ‘brain in a vat’-discussion: I am a neuropsychologist, and from everything I have learned, the entire brain is built to receive sensory input, interpret them and perform motor-actions accordingly. In other words: A brain needs embodiment. But then I recently figured... Our technology is becoming so advanced, so am I able to tell that I am not a body in a lab with all my senses being cheated... I mean: We have technology to play movies directly on the retina with lasers, and similar ways to ‘cheat’ the other senses. How do I know I do not move around in a lab with some sort of big hamster-wheel designed for me to never realise that my whole life is some kind of experiment. This is maybe the advanced brain in a vat speculation.
So here is the catch: I have OCD and this has become the worst obsession I have ever experienced (yes, you can be a psychologist with OCD - laugh away 😁). So, as a psychologist I know that it is crucial to seek reassurance for an obsession only once, otherwise you will increase the intensity of the cycle by seeking reassurance multiple times. So this is my one attempt at seeking reassurance that this is somehow not possible, and if a satisfactory argument does not exist, I will take it as a sign that a new round of personal therapy is needed for me. I have never been SO blown away and scared to my core by an obsession before. So please... anybody out there capable of changing my mind?
Love to everybody on this interesting sub <3
Edit: I have corrected initial typos
| 20 |
This is really philosophy, the idea that the senses are unreliable, and that we cannot _logically_ draw conclusions about reality. That is, it is, you have to "arbitrarily" assume that the senses work in order to make conclusions about reality. It's been a while, but IIRC, Kant, Hume and Descartes all tried to "fix" this, in varying ways that often ended up with some fairly circular arguments based in religion.
So what do we do? Assume, for a moment, that this idea is correct, that everything we see and perceive is perfectly falsified, i.e. the idea that we live in a simulation. There are a couple issues with this worldview from a scientific point of view:
- It is unfalsifiable. Any statement about reality can be explained away due as it being simulated.
- It is very unproductive. If we truly are so in the power of something else to the point of living in a simulation or as a "brain in a vat", then there is _nothing_ we can do about it.
So we cannot know whether it is the case, and if it is the case we only have two possible actions: we can either give up, and assume that everything is pointless, or we can ignore it. The best outcome in both situations is to just carry on as if it was not the case, so that's what we do.
I can imagine that this is a bit of a disappointing conclusion. If it helps, there is no real evidence whatsoever that we live in a simulation. It is as valid as "Last Thursdayism", the idea that the world was created last Thursday, with all our memories from before that being fabrications.
It is very easy to come up with unfalsifiable concepts, criticism of religion often use the same arguments I've used here. If any criticism of a belief or idea can be explained away by manipulation of our senses or minds, then any statement can be made to always hold, independent of reasoning or evidence.
| 10 |
ELI5: Why does dying or falling in a dream cause you to suddenly wake up, no matter how deep of a sleep you are in?
| 110 |
When your brain is telling you that you are in mortal danger (falling from a great height, about to be hit by a large object, etc.) your brain releases adrenaline, which is the all-purpose contingency plan for dealing with danger. That rush of adrenaline effectively prevents you from sleeping, and wakes you right up.
| 84 |
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CMV: Draft dodging is perfectly reasonable and ethical under Trump
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When a country goes to war it must be done for justice and done so wisely. When a citizen looks at the justification/wisdom of a war they must admit there are often a number of hard to determine variables such as the probability that a peaceful solution could work and the probability that there are ulterior motives of their leaders.
So, when one looks at an individual like Trump, what does one see? What you see is man who is very poor at critical thinking (lacks wisdom) and is very unethical with likely ulterior motives (lacks virtue of justice).
(((Just in case you need a little evidence Trump is a poor critical thinker: https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories-2016-5 )))
Therefore, one is foolish to risk their life or kill on the command of someone who lacks the virtue to make a wise or just decision about other's lives. Just because an elected leader asks you to fight doesn't mean there is an obligation to fight. People who hold power mostly use the rest of us as cannon fodder for their own hopes and dreams which have nothing to do with the good of the people. If you like being alive and not killing people, screw the leadership, especially when it's someone like Trump!!!!
| 2,107 |
A draft would have to be authorized by Congress. Since Democrats control the House, any draft authorization would have to be bipartisan.
Trump can't order a draft on a whim. It would take agreement from both sides in Congress. For that to happen, senior leadership on both sides would have to agree about the severity of the situation.
| 1,564 |
ELI5: Why have no plane passenger parachutes been invented?
| 2,201 |
* Passenger airplanes are not designed such that 200 untrained passengers can jump out of them quickly and safely in an emergency.
* Parachutes are heavy. Carrying a parachute for every passenger of every flight would cost hundreds of billions of dollars in wasted fuel, while not really making anyone safer.
| 2,609 |
|
Why does it seem as though it's more common to get sick when the seasons or weather change?
| 502 |
Many reasons... An important one is that when the weather/temp/humidity changes it can dry out the mucus membranes of your nose and eyes as well as the rest of your skin. Dry skin equals micro-cracks in those tisues which can allow microbial invasion.
| 123 |
|
[Harry Potter 7] When they started processing half-bloods,considering them as no witches/wizards, what was their sentence? What did they do to them?
| 21 |
There was a whole range of possibilities. The simplest and most "merciful" route would likely be the snapping of their wand followed by a Memory Charm before releasing them into the care of the Muggles (such as it was). Remember, the Muggles' *dominion* was Voldemort's overall goal, not necessarily their *genocide*.
| 22 |
|
[Guardians of the Galaxy] Yondu is OP! How can he be defeated?!
|
So I just realized Yondu is overpowered he basically can attack and kill his opponents nigh instantaneous razor.
| 90 |
Blow up his ship. Any half decent sniper. Anyone not made to tissue paper?
Half the things in Marvel are pretty much bullet proof. The Razor would probably just stick awkwardly in Ronan's pec rather than going clean through.
| 117 |
CMV: There is no way Legolas misses that orc with the torch at Helm's Deep
|
Throughout the entire series, we've seen Legolas having perfect precision with every single one of his shots. Even in The Hobbit, Legolas is never anything but precision perfect.
At the battle of Helm's Deep, he's seen hitting orcs one after the other, even while sliding down a shield on the ramp!
Now it's time to take out the orc that is running through the mud, wide open, from an elevated position and Legolas actually having time to aim his shot more-so than the quick-fire shots he's made previously with pinpoint precision.
And he misses.
CMV that there is any good in-canon reason for Legolas to miss this shot.
Edit: Yes, I realize that Legolas didn't miss the orc. He missed the critical spot that would have dropped the orc. Hitting an orc in the shoulder isn't going to do jack shit.
| 5,338 |
As others have already stated, he didn't miss. But if we are talking about canon, then that scene simply wasn't in the book. It was just dramatic flair added for the movie.
The orcs did blow a hole in the wall, but when they did Aragorn, Jomer, Legolas and Gimli were just standing around talking because there was a lull in the action.
>Even as they spoke there came a blare of trumpets. Then there was a
>
>crash and a flash of flame and smoke. The waters of the Deeping-stream
>
>poured out hissing and foaming: they were choked no longer, a gaping hole
>
>was blasted in the wall. A host of dark shapes poured in.
>
>'Devilry of Saruman!' cried Aragorn. 'They have crept in the culvert
>
>again, while we talked, and they have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath our
>
>feet. Elendil, Elendil!' he shouted, as he leaped down into the breach; but
>
>even as he did so a hundred ladders were raised against the battlements.
>
>Over the wall and under the wall the last assault came sweeping like a dark
>
>wave upon a hill of sand. The defence was swept away. Some of the Riders
>
>were driven back, further and further into the Deep, falling and fighting as
>
>they gave way, step by step, towards the caves. Others cut their way back
>
>towards the citadel
| 1,110 |
[Star Wars] Given that each on represents an important part of lightsaber combat, why do the Jedi and Sith teach seven different styles instead of just combining the best aspects of each one?
|
* In both the Canon and Legends continuities, there are seven different styles of lightsaber combat, each with their own focus, strengths, and weaknesses.
* [The Seven Forms](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lightsaber_combat/Legends#Individual_Fighting_Forms)
1. [Shii-Cho](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_I/Legends): A simplistic style that balanced traditional maneuvers intent on maiming and killing with a focus on disarming an armed foe and was used against a multiple opponents
2. [Makashi](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_II/Legends): Regarded for its elegance, graceful presentation, and balletic approach in wielding a lightsaber. It was notable for its primary focus on facing a single opponent, preventing disarmament, and quick, very precise strikes
3. [Soresu](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_III/Legends): A defensive style that utilized tight, controlled movements and strict economy of action
4. [Ataru](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_IV/Legends): An acrobatic and aggressive lightsaber combat style that placed greater emphasis on using the Force to enhance movements in all areas of combat and required great room to attack from all directions
5. [Shien/Djem So](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_V/Legends): Both versions of Form V are based around using an opponent's attack against them, with the Shien variant focused on blasters and the Djem So variant focused on lightsaber combat
6. [Niman](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_VI/Legends): This style balanced the qualities presented in all the other forms but did not incorporate any notable strengths. Less demanding than all the other previous combat styles, its approach was a careful balance between offense and defense but leaned towards the latter and extensive integration of Force powers
7. [Juyo](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Form_VII/Legends): Focuses on aggressive assault and a mindset that drew upon anger and negative emotions to fuel relentless assault
* It seems strange to me that each style seems to focus on only one or two important aspects of lightsaber combat instead of teaching one style that teaches all of the important aspects and most effective techniques of lightsaber combat.
| 195 |
Because you cant simultaniously be fighting in a balanced, Elegant, Defensive, acrobatic, simple, and aggressive way.
Styles arent just do one thing and ignore the rest, they incorporate what they can while focusing on one aspect
| 291 |
[Fallout] If 'Med-X' is morphine, and 'Psycho' is a methamphetamine, what are the other chems?
| 53 |
Med-X is morphine, Psycho is PCP, Jet is meth, Daddy-O/Day Tripper are hallucinogens, Mentats are basically Adderall (and a required member of any noble's house staff), Buffout is steroids, Fury is PCP+steroids, X-Cell is ~~NANOMACHINES, SON~~ magic
| 66 |
|
Could a human survive on a planet with a thinner atmosphere and a higher oxygen concentration?
| 662 |
That's exactly how astronaut EVA suits work. 100% oxygen at 0.3 bar.
So, the answer is yes. The term "partial pressure" is often heard in this topic: as long as at least 0.2 bar of pressure are produced by oxygen alone, then you can add as much (or as little) as you want of a diluent gas on top of it. Of course this diluent gas has to be inert enough to avoid interfering with respiration, e.g. helium or nitrogen.
High oxygen concentrations are avoided in all other context because of fire safety. A diluent gas makes flames propagate more slowly. NASA learned this the hard way with the Apollo 1 fire.
So, if you're speculating about a sci-fi planet with e.g. 80% oxygen and 0.4 bar, yes, that's entirely survivable, as long as all other conditions are still suitable for humans (temperature, radiation, toxic gases, etc).
| 707 |
|
ELI5: What is catnip and how exactly does it work?
|
Why do my cats go absolutely ballistic when they are exposed to catnip? I've heard that it is comparable to marijuana, but how does it work through direct inhalation? Last time I checked, my cats don't have any pipes or rolling papers!
edit: relevant picture of my cat
http://i.imgur.com/G0vGl.jpg
| 155 |
It just so happens that it mimics cat pheromones. They inhale it, it binds to protein receptors in their ~~brains~~ noses that trigger a response in their brain's olfactory bulb - the part of the brain the nose is wired to.
Bear in mind that cats have a much more sensitive sense of smell than humans. It literally means that chemicals they smell have more causal efficacy (effect) in their brains than for humans. In particular, cats use chemical signals to incite a wide variety of behaviors associated with everything from mating, to hunting, to territory marking. These in turn are caused by physiological states in the brain that correspond to compulsive behaviors such as vocalizing and marking with scent glands. A cat's sense of smell is much more deeply wired into the parts of the brain used for regulation and coordination of the cats behavior - in particular the hypothalamus and amygdala. The result is that it triggers an arousal response.
What this means is that, just like people (in general) can't help but be aroused by particular visual signals, such as porn, cat's can't help but feel major emotional and behavioral changes to things that they smell.
**TL;DR** : Catnip, literally, makes them horny - by triggering receptors in their noses already wired to cause behavioral changes in response to smells.
Edit: spelling, clarity
| 65 |
ELI5 - If fire extinguishers are supposed to be directed at the base of the fire, why do large fires often have firefighters on extended ladders shooting water from above?
| 15 |
Fire extinguishers and water used by firefighters are not the same.
Most fire extinguishers are ABC dry chem extinguishers. They have a chemical powder that disrupts the chemical reaction of burning. So disrupting the reaction needs to occur as close to the source of the fire as possible.
Firefighters use water. The water in liquid form hits whatever is burning absorbing its heat energy and converting to steam. Raining down water and getting coverage, even on things that aren’t burning, cools the material, creates steam, and absorbs energy. There is also the consideration that large streams of water have the force to penetrate burning material.
| 59 |
|
ELI5: What's going on with 4chan screenshots and imgur and why is everyone so concerned about it?
|
Explained here: http://puu.sh/kjvLI/f57b37ccc0.png
I've read like 3 other people trying to explain it and still have no idea what it means.
| 59 |
Imagine if you went to a store and asked for a 4 pack of beer but unknowingly to you, an evil magic imp steals 2 more 4 packs and hides them in your bag. The store will run out of stock a lot quicker than expected.
Someone has found a way to put an evil magic imp inside imgur links that are found on 4chan which ask 4chan for a load of useless content. All of these requests will clog up 4chan servers.
Not only is doing this bad, but it means that other evil imps that can do even worse things could potentially be hidden inside the images.
| 42 |
ELI5: How do spam telemarketers make money since almost everyone just hangs up?
| 20 |
With VOIP and cheap offshore labor, it costs virtually nothing to make those calls - partly *because* no one answers, or hangs up immediately. If you make 10,000 calls - that's every number in an exchange - and get three or four bites, you've made money.
| 11 |
|
[Stephen King's IT] Why does IT need Henry Bowers to kill the loser's club?
|
I'm assuming that it is explained better in the book, but why exactly does IT need Henry Bowers (this psychopathic 40-50 year old man) to help kill the loser's club. We've seen IT kill people before, mostly children, so it's not as if IT is incapable of killing people.
My assumption is that, since IT's power comes partially from your belief in IT, and partially from your own mental weakness, IT isn't quite capable of killing an adult loser's club. The adult loser's club is mentally unstable and weak enough that IT can scare and appear before them, but they are mentally strong enough to not completely give themselves over to fear like they were as children, and therefore IT can't kill them just yet. Therefore, IT uses Henry Bowers, a completely mentally unstable individual, as a physical conduit to kill the loser's club.
Am I right in my assumption, or is there some other reason that is better explained in the book as to why IT needs Bowers?
| 47 |
The Losers can defeat IT by, in part, not being afraid.
An unstable adult human is not weakened by a Loser, or any other person, not being afraid of him.
Which are you more likely to have more genuine fear of? IT doesn't need for the Loser to be afraid of IT, IT feeds on the fear no matter where it comes from. If IT can add an additional element to instill genuine fear in the Losers, all the better. IT doesn't need Bowers to kill the Losers, just to create the credible threat.
If Bowers does kill any of the Losers, it's just a bonus.
| 52 |
CMV: The world would be a better place if we could see everyone's age online.
|
It is my belief that the simple presence of children in online conversation has a deleterious effect on our civilization. In a very real way we have created a "Lord of the Flies" situation where ignorant children have an undue say in how our nations are run, due to the fact that they age-anonymously participate in the majority of conversations happening online.
We are quite literally trying to have a debate about how we should run our world at the kid's table, but whenever anyone speaks no one knows if it's a kid or an adult.
The negative outcomes from this, I believe, are manifest: any type of important discourse quickly deteriorates because each side of a debate will end up engaging with the other side's kids without anyone realizing that's happened. This bleeds through from the internet into popular society because there is little distinction between the two now. We simply cannot have a serious discussion anywhere because there are kids everywhere.
This is not to cast aspersions on any individual under the age of 18 for taking an interest in their world. In fact, I contend that by making everyone's age visible online it would be better for those children who use the biology of their developing brains to notice things those of us who have stopped growing our brains may miss.
Put simply, the value in knowing if it's a 10 year old commenting versus a 50 year old is greater than what is lost by removing age anonymity.
P.S. I realize this is the most boomer thing I have ever said, thanks.
| 30 |
It seems like this would be great for child predators. It helps you figure out who to target and groom online. Or for cyberbullying. It sure would help adults bully children for example.
The internet isn’t actually the place for serious policy debate (that’s what real life, or heck, the Federal Register is for), but bypassing that, if you are really concerned about online discourse, why not just age gate areas of the internet? Require access by something like an unique identifier number (for example a drivers license number).
| 41 |
eli5: Why can we upscale video to 4k and even beyond (Nvidia Shield) but cant upscale audio from low bitrate files?
| 313 |
You definitely can. The issue is the same as with upscaled video - you're generally not actually accurately representing the missing data, just making a somewhat good approximation of what the computer thinks should be there.
Few people really have 4K TVs large enough and watch their TVs from a visual distance where it is extremely obvious whether you're looking at 4k or not. Therefore, crappy "4k" video still looks decent.
Doing an okay job of approximating the tone of an instrument or voice based off of a low quality sample is going to be easier to notice.
| 184 |
|
Why does the cold virus always seem to progress through the same stages of symptoms in the same order? (sore throat - sneezing - congestion - runny nose - cough) Also, what is the cold virus actually doing during each stage?
|
My girl friend and I always get the same symptoms in the same order. However, she travels through each set of symptoms very quickly. (2-3 days total) It takes me 2 weeks to progress through the stages.
Why does she get to the cough stage in 2 days, while my body takes over a week? Assuming my immune system is compromised (because the cold takes longer to heal) shouldn't I get to the cough stage in 2 days as well or even sooner?
| 76 |
The "cold virus" is just a term for any virus that causes mild respiratory illness. The majority of cold symptoms are actually caused by your body's response to viral replication. What you experience in a cold is less an issue of what the virus is doing and more an issue of how your body's response starts, progresses, and resolves.
When your body detects a viral invader, it mounts a rapid, nonspecific response. You get inflammation (redness, pain, swelling, fever) and an antiviral response from interferon production (more fever, muscle aches, fatigue, and generally feeling lousy). Since the infection is occurring on surfaces in the upper respiratory tract, there is also increased mucus production. The inflammatory response irritates tissues, and together with mucus can cause congestion, coughing, and sneezing.
These responses are shaped by genetic factors. Not everyone experiences the exact same symptoms for the same duration in the same order. Also, you are not necessarily symptomatic longer because your immune system is compromised. Your immune response takes longer to resolve. In some cases, the overzealous responses of "healthy" immune systems can increase the duration or severity of disease.
| 27 |
CMV: Political Parties are harmful public cults.
|
Every political cycle I wonder to myself, why are no independent candidates voted in? Why are we so invested in cults of political allegiance, that we miss the potential value of independent representatives?
If we're looking for more political diversity and stability in the long run I think political parties should be regulated in the same way governments *should* regulate corporate monopolies.
If political parties were banned outright, I believe that we'd have more political innovation, more governmental efficiency, and voters would need to research more before voting because their choice doesn't come pre-labelled. I believe that representatives would be more effective at representing their citizens because the party is no longer the primary shareholder in their beliefs.
Everyone being independent would make our government more stable because it avoids the extremes of political swings and overshoots.
What am I missing?
| 331 |
What you're missing is game theory. People play games in the way that allows them to win.
For example, say you're playing Monopoly. You could decide "I won't buy any properties this game." But then you'll lose. So it's a bad strategy. So people don't play that way.
The United States is set up so that whoever wins the most votes, wins everything. There is no prize for second place. So if Candidate A gets 40% of the vote, and Candidate B gets 35% of the vote, and Candidate C gets 25% of the vote, then Candidate A gets everything and Candidates B and C get absolutely nothing.
Which means that the supporters of Candidate B and Candidate C have one thing in common: they don't want Candidate A to win, and they lose if they just vote for their preferred candidate. So if they're rational, they'll narrow it down to one candidate and throw their 60% behind that candidate, and then they'll win.
America has flirted with third parties and independents for hundreds of years, but it always comes back to two candidates, because of simple game theory. People tend to play the game the right way to win.
If you want to change the way people play, you have to change the game. It's as simple as that. You need to change the way democracy is structured.
| 130 |
CMV: Self defense and basic firearm safety should be taught as a part of public education in the US
|
I realize at face value this view might seem extreme, but I feel I have practical reasons and rational thought behind them so I am interested in hearing different perspectives.
I believe that in the effort public education makes to turn people into contributing, autonomous functioning members of society, one massive oversight that people tend to not want to talk about is violence.
We clearly live in a world that sadly, is still sometimes violent, and we must be able to respond in a way that enables us to preserve ourselves.
To be clear, my view is that this would do more good than bad, and as such should be part of the standard regimen of public education.
I believe that in the basic physical education requirements for someone to graduate, part of this should be basic self defense via a martial art (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Krav Maga etc. whatever is available). This would give people the opportunity to adopt a skill that could one day save their life.
When I went to high school, it was required that everyone learned how to swim, I see defending oneself as arguably more important since you *can* control when you are near water, but you *can't* control when violence comes to you.
Here in the US, there are more guns than people and more than twice the number of guns than there are cars. There are well funded public schools that have a drivers ed program, yet there are quantitatively less cars than guns.
Most people in their lifetime come into an interaction with a firearm. This seems to be an inescapable reality. I believe the best way to avoid the misuse of firearms is to increase everyone's familiarity with them, at a basic level.
The same fundamentals taught in a drivers ed program regarding turn signals, putting the car in park, use the brake, etc.
This would parallel to basic firearms fundamentals such as loading, unloading and clearing a firearm. As well as the universal rules of firearm safety. It is worth noting everything I just mentioned can be done and taught with *no live ammo whatsoever*
Anyways, yeah this is my view and interested to hear the other side.
Edit: I'm not going to be responding to anyone being disrespectful or comments that completely ignore the purpose of CMV and this post. So keep it civil or dont bother commenting
Edit 2: I find it hilarious people will comment not even having read the entire post but yet wanting to "change my mind". Thanks to those who have taken the time, tried to see things from another perspective and provided their own perspective in a respectful manner.
| 239 |
Okay, for the purposes of the argument, I'll accept that proper gun safety is important -- but why should it fall under the jurisdiction of public education?
Here are some other important life skills: how to change a tire, how to file income tax, how to be in a healthy romantic relationship, how to cook basic meals, how to know the difference between formal and business-casual attire, and how to properly brush your teeth.
Should *all* of these things be taught in public education? After all, they're equally important, and probably arise more frequently for the average person than firearm safety. But if we taught all that, when would students learn math or English?
At a certain point, you have to accept that some things are simply outside the scope of public schools. Sure, they're important, but they should be taught by family, community, and life experience.
| 79 |
ELI5: Why is blue light from screens harmful and strenuous on our eyes, while blue objects in the environment, are not?
| 38 |
The issue is that screens shine blue-rich light straight into our eyes, When we are outside, the light is mainly sunshine, which is green-rich.
The other problem is this blue light acts like sunshine to our brains, telling them that it is still daytime, and that we should remain alert and awake. If you are using your device late at night, this is going to mess up your sleep. Blue light in the daytime is fine, because it's good to be awake in the daytime. And blue items in your room are only lit by what lights you have - generally more yellow-rich warm white lighting fixtures - and are a whole lot dimmer.
| 17 |
|
What is the origin of the southeastern US incest stereotype?
| 28 |
It's mostly an Appalachian stereotype. Back before automobiles and paved roads, travelling from one valley to another could take vast amounts of time and effort. Combine that with a distrust of outsiders, and people tended to marry people who lived nearby, and those people were often relatives.
It's important to remember that this sort inbreeding occurred in all parts of the world in the past, but because of the geography of the mountains, it lasted longer there. It should also be noted that children of cousins don't actually have substantially greater genetic problems than those of strangers.
I think the biggest factor in the negative perception of "hill billies" is a combination of localised cultural habits of isolated people which seem backwards to outsiders, along with a bit of a "brain drain". Those people with the most ability and drive would move out of their isolated hollows to more populous areas.
| 40 |
|
[the Matrix] With residual self image, is the avatar in the matrix confined to being human?
|
I was just curious as there are people who refuse to admit that they are human in RL.
so why would the residual self image, especially since I found out you can be transgender, be limited to just human form?
| 87 |
Switch was a different gender in the Matrix (or at least androgynous).
There are no known instances of someone being non-human. That sort of thing appears to be restricted to programs with specialized combat attributes (like the werewolves and ghosts). It's likely that there are safeguards in place to stop humans from enhancing themselves beyond certain limits. The best known workaround is bringing lots of guns into the Matrix, since the restrictions on objects permit heavy weaponry.
| 54 |
ELI5: Is humanity stunting our evolutionary development with all our modern conveniences and advancements?
|
I have just finished rereading the book "Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit" which I first read in High School. SPOILERS Towards the end, Ishmael talks about how the "takers" have removed themselves from the "Gods" and have therefore also taken themselves out of the evolutionary path forward. While the "leavers" are still with the "Gods" and are so still evolving because they constantly are being impacted by the natural world around them. I can understand that we highly influence our environment by being able to control many aspects of it, and I can also see how we may negate "natural selection" by allowing those of us who wouldn't normally be able to find a suitable mate or who wouldn't survive long enough to have the opportunity to procreate. I am particularly interested in the Webs ability to find partners for those individuals who may not normally find someone compatible with them, as well as our modern medicines and treatments allowing people to overcome an illness or other genetic condition which may have previously prevented them from producing offspring. Is this going to have a lasting impact on our evolution as a species? I apologize for my ignorance - but dammit Jim, I was a Chemistry Major, not an evolutionary biologist!
Edit: Grammar and sentence structure.
| 84 |
The problem here is that such a question contains a faulty premise. Evolution is not progress towards a "better" state. At least, not in any absolute sense. Hell, evolution isn't really even "progress" since "progress" implies an end goal and evolution has no end goal.
Evolution is merely the process of an organism adapting to its environment in ways that make it more likely to survive in that environment. If the environment changes (for any reason, including the organism's own actions), in ways that allow differing traits to be advantageous, then it's not a case of natural selection being "negated" but rather, simply, a case of natural selection continuing by responding to an altered environment.
There's definitely an effect, but to call that effect "negating natural selection" is only possible if one doesn't really understand what natural selection *is*.
| 144 |
ELI5: How does witness protection work with education/certificates?
|
For example, if a guy has a specific degree like a Ph.D. in underwater cat breeding or served in the military then goes into witness protection, how do they maintain their degrees / service benefits / other awards?
| 281 |
You will be issued a equal or greater certification from an institution that fits the narrative created for you. If you grew up in the UK, but the new your grew up in Utah. Your new degree would likely before from BYU or the like. Anyone who checks at the college would be able to pull your records and verify you degree. If we can't find a college that is as good, we give you a better GPA. If they were an expert in their academic field and would like to continue working, we have in the past created a pseudonym they may publish under. Keep in mind most in witness protection are taken care of financially.
(I used to do this for foreign nationals we relocated to the states after providing intel or being compromised before doing so.)
| 185 |
[Lovecraft/Pokemon] What's the deal with Missingno?
|
I caught an odd... thing... the other day.
Brought it up in the 'Dex, it just... blinked an odd red light a couple times, and hummed until it fried and sparked.
Meanwhile, the thing is, I've been getting boons... Strange boons.
99 items, always in multiples of ninety nine have been washing up on the oceans.
Been hearing strange whispers from the sea, of forbidden ancient caverns and creatures, of a language that life above has forgotten.
How does I learn it?
| 62 |
Don't. Take your boons, then release the Missingno and walk away. Some people who have had too many encounters with Missingno have reported permanent hallucinations. And there's rumors that it can get much worse.
As for what the cause is, it's generally believed to be a mistake made by Arceus. Something is wrong with reality, and whatever rules Arceus gave the universe are acting in a way they never intended.
| 44 |
[General] Where characters with a minigun replacing a limb store their bullets?
| 32 |
Depends on the character, you'll need to be more specific. In some cases, especially the more magical end of technology, the "bullets" are actually mana energy (or some equivalent) drawn from the user themselves. In other universes, they have compact ammunition drums. In other universes, it literally doesn't matter because they play so loose with physics and logic that any answer would do.
| 23 |
|
ELI5: Why do smokers crave a cigarette more directly after a meal?
|
The title says it all.
It seems to be the case for every smoker I know.
| 63 |
The best part of smoking for me was always the routine of it. You wake up on a cool, crisp fall morning, light that smoke and have a moment of reflection with a smoke. You're at a party and someone gives you the look, and you know you're going to have a cool conversation, almost a party in a party, outside on the driveway or whatever with the other smokers. That cup of coffee or whiskey after work, light a smoke.
Same with after a meal. Especially if you had a nice meal, then you get to do this other thing you really enjoy, and it's relaxing and cathartic.
Part of why it's so hard to stop is because you basically begin rewarding yourself for doing regular old stuff. It becomes routine.
| 39 |
CMV: You should have to pass the citizenship test to vote in the US
|
Take three people, Persons A, B, and C. They live in the US.
Person A was born here and is a citizen. They happen to be a huge idiot and don't even know what the president DOES. They have the right to vote with literally no requirements other than surviving for 18 years and registering. They can vote.
Person B is basically Albert freaking Einstein. They have the highest known IQ in the world. They know every position of all the candidates and can vote with the utmost qualification. Before they do this, they must pass a citizenship test. They do, and they can vote.
Person C is just as dumb as Person A. They're not sure why people speak French in Montreal despite having lived in Canada their entire life. They moved to the US and are unable to pass a citizenship test after living in the US for the requisite time. They cannot vote.
Only Person B is qualified to vote, yet Persons A and B can both do so.
Why not have Person A take the same test as Persons B and C before they can vote?
EDIT: People below have already changed my view. (If you have something new to say, though, say it! I'm interested in what people think.)
_____
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| 30 |
Voter turnout and registration is already abysmally low without another hoop to jump through. Further, it would have a lot of potential to discriminate against certain kinds of voters, similar to literacy tests in the 1960s. Finally, passing a citizenship test doesn't mean they fully understand how the country works anyways. Terrible drivers pass the written driving test all the time because it's just fact recall.
| 29 |
ELI5: Why do fruits like apples or bananas get "bruised" when bumped or dropped?
| 30 |
Its usually an example of the skin of the fruit being lightly damaged, which allows the organic chemical compounds in the fruit to react to outer factors.
The bruising is an act of these compounds oxidizing, which takes on a brownish color.
| 18 |
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ELI5: Why do Xbox One/PS4 games need to be installed to the hard drive, but every console before this generation you could just put in a game and play.
| 57 |
Game sizes (and therefore texture sizes) have increased. Larger files take longer to load. Especially if you're playing an open world game where parts of the map are constantly loading in. The disc drive could never keep up.
| 51 |
|
ELI5: What happens in our brain when we argue with ourselves?
| 15 |
Our minds aren't monolithic, they aren't a single, unified thing. It seems like our minds are composed of several modules, only one of them being the thing that thinks "I am here reading this explanation right now". So when we argue with ourselves, modules with different motivations (survival, pleasure, morality) act more or less at the same time, competing for the attention of the control module.
| 11 |
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[MCU] Does Loki have more power of his own than Thor?
|
When Odin banishes Thor to Earth, he takes away all of his power, and Thor is left as little more than a big buff dude. Loki, on the other hand, becomes an open enemy of Asgard, yet retains his illusion abilities. Does Loki have a greater reserve of power and ability (which couldn't be taken away by Odin) than Thor does?
| 25 |
Odin cursed Thor with human attributes. A normal Asgardian wouldn't have been knocked out like Thor nor would their skin be pierced by needles. So Thor had more than *his* power taken - he was actually modified by Odin's magic to be human (or close enough).
Presumably, Odin could do the same to Loki. In fact, it seems like he already did do this to Loki as a baby when he disguised him as an Asgardian.
So why didn't Odin curse Loki? Because once he was captured, Odin had no reason to think he needed to. Loki was going to be executed or spend eternity in a cell. Who cares if he can still do some illusions?
| 25 |
ELI5: Can you actually go blind from looking at a solar eclipse with out proper eye protection? why?
| 44 |
Your pupils get large because the light levels are low, but it's still giving you a lot of UV light. Your pupils would normally get smaller to protect you from such a thing, but the eclipse fools this mechanism.
You absolutely can go blind, or at least have seriously damaged eyesight from retinal damage caused by ultraviolet light. Don't ever do that, seriously. Don't look directly at the sun, and never during an eclipse.
| 30 |
|
How did Copernicus arrive at the conclusion that not the Earth but the Sun was the center of our solar system?
|
Considering he made this discovery over 500 years ago, even before telescopes had been invented, how did he know that? What were the reasons for him to start to doubt the then almighty image of geocentrism propagated by the Church and most of his fellow scientists of that time? To me it sounds like a terrific discovery for a man living in medieval times!
| 18 |
Copernicus used his and others' observations of the motions of the planets to develop a mathematical framework that described the positions of the planets accurately while being consistent with a heliocentric universe. Unfortunately, because he still held to the concept of heavenly spheres, he couldn't get rid of epicycles. His model predicted the movement of the planets accurately enough to be useful for making predictions. However, since it kept the mathematical tricks used for geocentricity and wasn't better matched with observations, it wasn't obvious that it was correct, or closer to correct, than the geocentric model.
| 15 |
[Marvel] Does Quicksilver move fast or slow time?
| 73 |
His mutant power of super speed gives him a lot of secondary powers like super durability so he doesn't rip himself apart while running through rain, one of his secondary powers is seeing everything in slow motion constantly. Which is usually why he is so impatient and agitated in the comics.
| 73 |
|
[Seven] What happens to Detective Mills after the ending?
|
So, Mills has killed John Doe, executing him on the spot.
What is the media response like? Does he wind up going to trial for executing an unarmed man? Would he be likely to face any time incarcerated? Would it be possible for him to plead a case of temporary insanity, or perhaps a crime of passion, given the fact he had just found his wife's head in a box?
| 16 |
Legally, it would be voluntary manslaughter: murder committed under provocations such that a reasonable person might utterly lose control. A man handing you your wife's severed head certainly counts.
Publicly? John Doe was a monster. Like, horrifically so. Few people will fault Mills. "Hero Cop kills Sadistic Serial Killer after he showed him his wife's mutilated corpse" gets everyone on Mill's side. And politically, cops have protected their own after far worse acts then this
He likely faces some punishment, maybe a short sentence. But not much. The man strapped some poor bastard to a bed for a year. No-one's chomping at the bit to avenge John Doe.
| 31 |
[Starship Troopers] Who named Klendathu?
|
The bugs don't have a language as we would understand it, so we are not using their name for the rock... So a human would have named it... but if it was a human, why give it such an alien sounding (to western ears) name?
Who named it?
| 26 |
> but if it was a human, why give it such an alien sounding (to western ears) name?
To make is sound more threatening.
The Bugs were never a direct threat to Earth. That was manufactured by the military to force a war with them.
| 39 |
ELI5: What causes the feeling of butterflies in one's stomach when they feel nervous/excited?
| 284 |
Part of your flight of fight response is to prepare your body for action in cases when you think something dangerous is about to happen. Part of that response is to decrease blood flow to non-vital areas of the body, so that blood can flood into your muscles, where it will be more useful. Digestion is one of the areas that isn't real important in the middle of a fight, and the body decreasing the blood flow to the stomach is what gives you the butterflies in the stomach feeling.
| 290 |
|
ELI5: Why doesn't the West openly say the Russian military is fighting in Ukraine?
| 37 |
West excluding Russia: not enough evidence.
Russia's military doctrine is called 'maskirovka', and revolves around deception. It's a tactic that has been used for approximately a millennium, and is still as effective as ever. Basically the Russians deny everything, admit nothing, and play dirty; for example there is some evidence that they painted trucks white, disguising them as an aid convoy, and used them to ship ammunition and soldiers into Ukraine.
Any other nation would probably admit that they have invaded another country, but Russia's MO is deception, disguise, and denial.
| 25 |
|
[StarWars]How was Order 66 such a blistering success?
|
Hey guys, this is my first post here so please comment what I'm doing wrong before you downvote. I'll try fixing anything asap.
So as most know, the Jedi lose the majority of their numbers to Order 66. My question is, in the scenes where the clones turn on their generals, how were they able to kill the Jedi without any resistance? Are the Jedi not able to sense a disturbance in the force or even forsee the near future? Doesnt the force aid them in deflecting the blaster bolts? I know that they would have been taking fire from both sides, but in that scenario, they could have used the force for defensive purposes and too escape. Also, a lot of the ones killed were completely battle-hardened and competent warriors like Plo Koon and Aayla Secura.
| 159 |
Firstly, the Jedi as a whole were pretty much unable to foresee the future due to years of Palpatine's influence clouding their minds, so they couldn't have been able to sense the impending danger in the month, weeks, days, or hours before the order was given.
Secondly, the Jedi's numbers had been dwindling since the beginning of the war. Thousands had died in the war, exacerbating the already dwindling numbers in the years preceding the war. This meant that most remaining Jedi were either imbedded in Republic Army units or in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, making them very easy to find and kill.
Thirdly, the clones that would have been closest to Jedi generals and commanders in the field would either be their subordinate Clone Commanders (who were the first to receive the order) or crack troops (if the Jedi was leading a mission personally). They're some of the best soldiers the galaxy had ever seen: cloned from the greatest bounty hunter, trained by its greatest warriors, given state of the art equipment and near infinite resources, a few of them are a tough match even for combat proficient Jedi. Additionally, the clones carried out Order 66 without malice or hate, something the Jedi would have clued into through the Force to give them more warning. The clones were just following orders.
Ultimately it worked so well because Palpatine designed it to. It was just the last pin in a very very long plan that knocked the Jedi down closer and closer to extinction with every move he made.
| 129 |
Are all elements solid at absolute zero?
|
I know liquid nitrogen is extremely cold, but it made me wonder if solid nitrogen would be even colder, and is that impossibly cold point absolute zero?
| 52 |
A lot of people here are saying that absolute zero implies no atomic motion. Classically this is true, but due to quantum effects there is motion at absolute zero. It's called zero point energy if you want to look it up.
Anyway, to answer your question, helium is liquid at regular pressure at absolute zero, and very sparse cold systems like Bose-Einstein condensates are not solid.
| 47 |
ELI5: If modern man has been around for 50,000 years, why have we only begun to scientifically progress over the last 2000 years or so?
| 39 |
1. We were busy surviving. Doing real science takes a certain amount of free time, and when all of your time is taken up getting enough food, clothing, shelter, etc. then you don't have much to devote to R&D. Unless it helps you win wars, which was one of the drivers of scientific progress (and to an extent still is).
2. Religion and similar philosophies explained how the universe worked already. Who needs empirical data when the shaman knows why things are the way they are and how its going to be? There was no culture of testing ideas and conclusions with experiments; if things didn't go the way the priests said it would, there was always an explanation.
3. Science builds upon science. You gotta get the foundation, and get it mostly right enough. Then you refine, improve, expand. It appears that scientific progress improves on something like an exponential curve. Exponential curves start out slow when you look back from high up on the curve. To be fair, there was scientific progress long before 2000 years ago, but it was spotty and slow. For example, look at ancient Egypt. They had many examples of good-enough science (and plenty examples of non-science, too). You have to remember, things like the wheel and agriculture are very much based on science and technology.
| 48 |
|
[I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream] How would AM react to a human who is entirely unafraid of his manipulations?
|
Let’s say Batman (but any imagined character can work) is the only survivor that AM was able to keep a hold of.
AM throws every physical and emotional torture at Batman for centuries, but Batman being Batman, he refuses to break or engage in AM’s games.
AM says “There’s fruit 500 miles away, go walk and get it.” Batman replies “Go fuck yourself.” Then endures whatever torture AM responds with.
How do you think AM would react or think about such a human?
| 275 |
There's plenty of ways to torture someone. And the general idea is no matter who you are or how strong willed or physically strong you are torture will work eventually. Sooner or later you'll break and AM has all the time in the world to find your soft spots. Like not being able to sleep. Or playing a song on repeat for three days then starting to mess with the timing of song or skipping parts just to antagonize you.
| 238 |
[Star Trek: VI] What happens next to the Enterprise
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At the end of the footage from the bridge of the Enterprise, we see the remaining crew of the Enterprise around the bridge, having just been ordered back to Spacedock for decommission. Spock, suggests replying 'go to hell'. Kirk then informs Chekov to set course for 'the second star to the right, and straight on til morning'.
Given the lack of crew aboard, and the sentiment aboard the bridge...
1) Ignoring future shows, and movies - what happens next to the crew?
2) Considering the future movies and shows, what does the crew do next?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUPK2tTx0tc
| 35 |
They're about to take the *Enterprise* on a joyride. Anyone else would be in pretty deep shit, but the command crew are living legends who just averted interstellar war and are only days away from retirement. Not a fight that anyone at Starfleet command is going to start. Eventually they'll return to Spacedock, with Kirk offering some half-assed excuse about taking the scenic route there. From there most of them retire. As for the rest of the ship's crew, they followed the orders of their commanding officers which is hardly something they can be reprimanded for. Most go on to serve in Starfleet or leave when their term of service is up, and tell the grandkids stories about how they once served with James Kirk and the *Enterprise*.
| 22 |
ELI5: If the flu shot contains a non-active version of the flu, then why are "flu like symptoms" common for the days following?
| 24 |
the non-active proteins trigger an immune system response which can involve some inflammatory system responses.
once the immune system is activated for that infection your body will react more readily if the actual infection gets into you.
| 31 |
|
What causes hair loss from eating disorders?
|
Is it a high stress level? Or lack of nutrients or something
| 208 |
Malnourishment.
When a person’s body is malnourished, such as during an eating disorder, the protein stores in their body become depleted. When this occurs, the body has to make sure that it takes care of essential functions (such as organ function and retaining muscle tissue) above all else. Our hair, which is made up of a protein called keratin, is not as essential to our body’s functioning. So, hair growth stops so the body can focus on keeping that person alive.
Depending on a person’s age, genetic makeup, and other developmental factors, regular hair growth will most likely return to normal after a person maintains nutritional stabilization for six months or more.
| 226 |
CMV: Crime in the ghetto isn't due to just poverty, it's due to violent & drug culture
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[Looking at the list of countries by homicide rate,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate) there are countries which have generally much worse poverty than ghettos, yet astonishingly low homicide rates.
In the slums of Indonesia for instance, murder is almost nonexistent. Yet, compare the living conditions of someone in the ghetto, and it's vastly better than those of the [poorest in Jakarta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Jakarta_slumhome_2.jpg).
Even if you say guns are the main issue, since you need a license to own a gun in Indonesia, if you just look at non-gun related homicide, the ghetto still has a far higher rate of homicide via stabbings and beatings than that of Indonesia.
Education isn't the issue. The quality of inner-city education is still leagues better than those in these slums, where kids often must quit school at a very young age to [become workers or prostitutes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Indonesia)
In some of these slums, there are no bathrooms, or running water for miles. You simply cannot argue that the ghetto even approaches how bad these living conditions are.
There are also far fewer safety nets in the slums. There's no food stamps, and there's no medicaid, and there's no subsidized housing.
| 29 |
The way crime manifests itself differs between community / across society, poverty has some impacts that transcend boundaries, but the way people live in poverty deal with then more 'generic' aspects of poverty (lack of resources) will depend on the place they live in, and what options they have available to them. The options they have available will depend on many things, culture, law, politics, ideologies / beliefs etc, demand and supply systems will be similar in principle / process but will involve the acquisition, processing and distribution of different products and services.
Many places across the world focus on other crimes that, in the ghettos of the West are relatively uncommon, think organ and people trafficking. Such things are more common in Asia, Eastern Europe etc, where due to differences in socio-economic and political standing, and the society itself, offers different opportunities for making money / alleviating many of the symptoms of poverty.
At the end of the day, people in precarious situations, or those whose survival is unclear, will be more likely to set aside their morals and engage in controversial activities. What results is an almost cyclic underworld economy and society, that utilises the same economic model as the rest of society, but seeks profit out of activities that are significantly regulated by laws, or outright illegal, bypassing the aforementioned regulations.
This is not ideal, but if your kids are starving and family need food, nourishment and shelter, your consideration for your neighbour, or people outside your community becomes distorted, as your priority is yourself and your immediate environment.
Those in more stable communities have the time, and resources to contemplate and consider the lives of others, they have the capital, agency and autonomy to benefit and change the lives of others without significant detriment to their own, as a result they have the time to muse over others circumstances and suffering, and are therefore less likely to engage in controversial activities.
That does not stop people, many people with stable jobs, great educations etc, will engage in illegal / morally questionable activities to further their position socially, economically, or politically. Each person and their circumstances is different, despite appearing on the surface, relatively similar.
| 12 |
ELI5:Why is music by Mozart, Bach, etc. considered intellectually stimulating?
|
Deciding to call one type of music supremely complex to others and then say it helps learning, focus, etc. seems very arbitrary to me. Objectively speaking, Mozart and Bach are just sound, and likewise Drizzy Drake, JBeebs, and LDR are all just sound––but this doesn't mean Drake is intellectually stimulating.
Feel free to cite stuff
| 188 |
saying "it's all just sound" is just garbage, the Parthenon is just a pile of stone and cement and so is the latest government-housing block of flats to go up in your city. Doesn't say anything, does it?
The reason why classical music is considered more complex than typical pop music is that *objectively speaking*, it typically is – in terms of structure, rhythm, harmonics, composition, etc. Taking the example of Bach, a lot of Bach's compositions revolve around a technique called counterpoint whereby different voices are played with different rhythms but in harmony. Compared to a Drake song with a beat of two-bars and 3 chords over and over, to not only listen to but to *appreciate* Bach would require more appreciation and artistic appraisal because *there is just more to it*. This is the reason why Bach would be considered intellectually stimulating.
also, getting more into aesthetics and taste, it could be argued that classical music expresses more refined or heightened emotions or sentiments, much like "high" literature might be seen to compared to pop literature.
edit: make sure to check out the comment form /u/REDLiteDJ
| 234 |
[General] Does Claustrophobia exist in underground cities/societies?
| 31 |
Given that underground societies can still, at least in fiction, have large open spaces, it's likely not unheard of, but the constant lack of really open spaces probably reduces it. Imagine if your concept of an open sky was a twenty foot roof. You'd get claustrophobic in a smaller space than a person who lives above ground. Panicking in a coffin instead of a jail cell, essentially.
| 35 |
|
eli5: Why do certain fruits keep growing, even though we have genetically modified many fruits not to have seeds?
| 24 |
Most seedless plants are grown from cuttings, which makes the plants all genetic clones of each other.
Potatoes for example have flowers and seeds, but if you plant the seeds the resulting plant won't make potatoes you recognize. Specific Potato varieties are so heavily modified that they can only be grown from cuttings.
While this is good from a volume and consistency perspective in farming, this can actually pose some serious problems.
Supermarket Bananas for example are all the same cloned plant. The specific variety we know and love is called the Cavendish but because all the trees are clones they are vulnerable to a specific fungus that is killing them all off.
Banana plantations are also full of trees that are all the same age because they were planted at the same time and large plantations are starting to either lose all their trees due to age, or they are being killed off or forcibly burned down due to the fungus.
Within a decade or two the bananas we know will be functionally extinct. The good news is we'll just start eating a different variety, and this has actually happened before. The Gros Michel banana that was widely eaten in the late 19th and early 20th century went extinct for the exact same reason.
| 26 |
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[d&d/star wars] How would you carry a double bladed sword like in d&d or starwars?
|
I was thinking about darth mauls lightsaber and wondering how he carries it so how would you actually carry one?
| 32 |
In star wars you would just turn it off and clip it to your belt or put it in a pocket or holster.
In DnD, it depends. Double bladed swords will have a pair of leather covers to slide over the blade so you don't accidentally cut anything, then you'd just strap it to your pack or the back of your horse, or maybe just use a strap to carry it over your shoulder, or just toss it in the wagon and grab it when you need it. Double blunt weapons you'd carry the same way, or maybe even use one like a walking stick. And there's the classic of just carrying it in your hand, and setting it down when you need both hands.
| 40 |
ELI5: Why do antibiotics and alcohol not mix well?
|
I've taken both basic and advanced anatomy & phys. classes, basic human physiology, and other medical courses. I don't quite understand why these chemicals don't mix. Maybe I'm missing a chemical reaction, but I don't understand why doctors warn so harshly against this mixture yet no one knows about the damage that can happen if you take cocaine and drink. Is it really that much more severe or am I missing something
| 35 |
Doctor here.
Certain groups of antibiotics can have weird and dangerpus cross-reactions with alcohol. The reason the general advice is to avoid alcohol when on antibiotics:
1. People have bad enough compliance as it is and alcohol worsens that. If you’re someone who itches for a drink and can’t abstain for a week or two when you’re sick then chances are you should drink less anyway.
2. People cannot be expected to know the difference between different groups of antibiotics. In their mind everything is Penicillin, and if they get the go-ahead to drink during treatment once they might do it again when getting isoniazid or linezolid etc.
3. Most antibiotics are metabolised by the liver, as is ethanol. Effective doseage might be affected when drinking.
I don’t know where you got the idea that no one knows what happens when you take cocaine and alcohol at the same time. For one thing we know that the risk pf sudden death is like, 15-20x higher in people who take cocaine and alcohol together compared to people taking cocaine by itself.
| 52 |
ELI5: Whenever I see behind-the-scenes footage of a movie, directors are always seen talking to their actors while they're acting. What do they do to remove the director's voice in the final product?
| 48 |
Two things.
1. It is surprisingly common to film without audio and dub everything in later. This is done for most outdoor scenes, and scenes shot in unusual locations. It is less common today now that small efficient microphones are available but still happens; back in the 50s and 60s, it was common especially in Italy to just shoot *everything* without sound and dub later. There are a lot of reasons for this: there may be nowhere to put the microphones in a scene that requires a very wide shot, the environment may be unsuitable for recording sound (noisy streets, factories, etc), they may only have 2 hours to film in a specific place like Times Square and so just film the motions and worry about getting good line delivery later, there may be complicated actions like pyrotechnics that require unusual sounds or require crew members to yell during the shoot, etc etc.
2. You may be watching a run-through, like a last-minute set rehearsal. Actors do rehearse scenes ahead of time obviously, but may not be rehearsing on the actual set, or the director may want to guide and change certain things based on how it looks on the monitors (he has a little screen set up to see what the final product will look like). So they'll run through the scene a couple of times with live guidance before actually shooting. This stuff is especially likely to be seen in Making Of documentaries because it's more engaging to watch and because they usually don't want some guy shooting a Making Of featurette on his camcorder bustling around the set during an actual take.
| 60 |
|
[Skyrim] If the Dragonborn is a legendary hero that has Lycanthropy and has pledged themselves to each Daedric Prince, where do they go upon death?
|
It seems like everyone is trying to get the Dragonborn to sit at their table at the high school lunch room that is the afterlife. But obviously Dovahkiin can only go to one, so which overruled the rest?
Hircine seems to have a pretty big say with any werewolves (even those perfect for Sovngarde), as does Nocturnal with those appointed as Nightingales. Sovngarde seems perfect for the legend that is the Dragonborn, but as the champion of Peryite then it's also possible they end up as a guardian of The Pits.
So if The Last Dragonborn (or anyone for that matter) allies themselves with multiple Daedra/Aedra, where do they end up?
| 21 |
This is a very common question.
The most likely answer is that Akatosh has the biggest claim on your soul because you have the soul of a dragon. Since dragon are his children it would make sense that he has the strongest claim.
He is also the god of time and that stuff so i imagine most would not want to go up against him.
| 41 |
ELI5: Why is dryer lint so flammable?
|
What it says on the ~~tin~~ title.
&nbsp;
Per rule 7, performed a search and found a 4 month old post with two replies and no real good answers, and a few comments in related threads about lint that touched on the suspect but didn’t really answer it.
| 4,490 |
Things ignite easier if there is maximum surface area between the air and flammable material.
It's the same reason why grain silos filled with grain dust can spontaneously combust if they get hot enough.
Lint is made up of lots of tiny fine particles stuck together.
So there is a LOT of surface area between air (oxygen) and the combustible material, lint.
Conversely, it's hard to ignite a large log from just a match, because there is not enough relative surface area between the wood and the air to sustain the combustion.
| 3,183 |
ELI5: How can bots like !remindme bot simultaneously scan through thousands of comments posted every minute under many different posts, in different communities?
| 18 |
Because it's not a single entity. Think of it like a (massive) company instead. There are a large number of workers, each assigned to look at new comments from a small number of sources (possibly down to an individual person). When things get busy they probably even do the computer equivalents of calling in temp workers to handle the extra load.
| 11 |
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I have come to the conclusion that socialism is the best viable form for an economy to take. Does anyone care to CMV?
|
Socialism is defined as a democratic control of the means of production by the working class for the good of the community rather than capitalist profit. The line of thinking being that when the working class becomes their own executives (supervisor, factory owner, company owner, manager, etc.) workers will be able to receive pay proportionate to the work they do and their usefulness to the company. Workers will no longer be a simple piece of machinery, designed to assemble the components and make pennies on the dollar compared to the supplier of the components, the large shareholder, and the factory manager, all of whom are able to sit back and let their wealth generate more wealth. Socialism is about the community, not the individual, and will ensure meaningful and relevant work for anyone who is willing to learn a profession.
| 24 |
Why should a factory worker putting parts together be as valuable to a company as the engineers who make the company's existence possible? Why should people want to strive for more if they're equally served doing less? A full transition to socialism removes all reason to excel and advance past pure intellectualism, which, while nice, isn't very fast because not enough people pursue it.
Why not have a partial change instead and move towards being a social state where everyone is supported equally and able to survive and be happy, but the more useful have more than the less useful?
| 13 |
ELI5: Why does Japan have such huge cities?
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I was on Google Earth the other day and when I was looking at Japan I was astounded as to how much city there was. There were loads of them and they were huge, incomparable to American or European cities. Why is this?
| 31 |
Population density. Like most places, Japan has been urbanizing since before the second World War. Good health care combined with historic longevity pushes the population up and up. Being an island, there is limited opportunity to build new cities, so the existing ones creep outwards and upwards - there are some really cool skyscrapers in Tokyo.
| 17 |
When an ISS astronaut goes out for EVA, do the airlocks conserve air, or vent it? What about airlocks on other space vehicles?
|
I have read the layman articles on the Joint Airlock Module, but if this is answered in any I missed it. I am curious if the atmosphere in the intermediate chamber is pumped back into the station or vented out into space as the astronaut goes through.
| 296 |
The Quest Joint Airlock works like this: an astronaut from either the U.S. or Russia enters the chamber, and the vacuum pump lowers the presure to 3 psi, and then to zero psi. After the air has been evacuated, the external door opens. There's also an equipment airlock that's used for overnight campouts to remove Nitrogen from the crew's bodies to prevent them from getting the bends when they depressurize.
It would be wasteful to let their limited air into space.
Edit: depressurize
| 151 |
[Dragonball Z] Who all has canonically seen all three of Cell's forms?
|
Mainly referring to Cell's "Imperfect", "Semi-Perfect", and "Perfect" forms, as no-one has really seen him outside of those three forms, save for the test tube.
| 19 |
In person, Piccolo, Krillin and Trunks. Piccolo saw each of them in order. Trunks saw the Imperfect form last when he traveled back to his future. Trunks and Krillin even saw the larval form, when they went back to Gero's lab to wreck up the place.
| 29 |
ELI5: Why is Angry Birds (and other apps) free on Android but it costs money for the iPhone?
|
I found this: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/angry-birds-exec-calls-android-too-complex-iphone-no-1-125769
But I found it too confusing
Edit: if you are just coming here to mock iPhone users, I will not deal with it. There is a reason to buy an iPhone just as there is a reason to buy an android. They are for two totally different people, and I for one would never buy an android because the iPhone is the simplest device for what I need it for.
| 155 |
From what the the head of marketing at Rovio seems to be saying is that, he believes making it free with advertising will, and does, make him more money than a paid app does. He says that Rovio makes more money in a year from the free version on Android then the paid on iPhone. He also says that paid apps don't sell at all while free ones do.
It's basically the reason why facebook is free as it makes it's money through advertising.
| 74 |
Black holes slow down time of nearby clocks relative to an outside observer. What is the theoretical effect that a white hole would have on time?
| 62 |
The same. The metric for a black hole is the same as that of a white hole. The exterior part is the same, the black and white hole are different *inside* regions, the former in the future, the latter in the past. In fact, the normal Schwarzschild solution describes a spacetime with both a white and a black hole, simultaneously, sharing an exterior region outside their horizons.
In real life, the white hole part is unstable and does not occur. Only the black hole in the future forms as the past region is cut short by the fact that well, that's actually where the original star that collapsed was.
| 22 |
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ELI5 How can a blood oximeter read your level of oxygen in the blood without requesting a drop of blood?
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My mom bought one of those recently and I still can not figure out how that thing works without a drop of blood.
Edit: Oh this really did blow up. Thank you all for responding. I have more knowledge that I anticipated on this little thing now. Very useful.
| 4,462 |
The trick is they shine two colors of infared light in your skin, and then look at the reflection.
The two colors reflect very differently off oxygenated and unoxygenated blood, and the ratio between the brightness can be used to figure out the oxygen concentration in your blood.
| 4,294 |
[MCU][Watchmen] What would Dr. Manhattan think of Thanos?
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How do you think Manhattan would feel about Thanos wiping out 50% of Life in the universe? Manhattan says at the end of the movie [Watchmen], that he'll maybe create some Life. So what do you think his opinion would be on the matter?
| 134 |
I don't know much about him in the new DC continuities, but *Watchmen* era Manhattan was ready and willing to stop Veidt from murdering far fewer people, despite Veidt's arguably noble intentions. Manhattan would also be smart enough to realize that Thanos' plan, unlike Vedit's, was completely idiotic.
Manhattan would most likely snap Thanos out of existence as soon as he learned about him.
| 178 |
[Warcraft] The story says "Arthas bad" for you-know the infected villagers, but what were the possible never-mentioned alternatives?
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So Arthas decides to kill all the infected villagers.
They keep going on and on about how it's wrong and he became evil while trying to do good and therefore he must be stopped, but they never explain what were the supposed alternatives, nor what would be the cost...
So what could have been done instead?
| 46 |
There was no "good" alternative, and that was the beauty of the Lich King's trap. No matter what happened at Stratholme, Arthas was going to be pushed to the extreme edge of sanity, and forced to pursue Mal'ganis to Northrend.
Uther and Jaina would have preferred to surround the town and observe, then likely try to engage the Scourge somewhere away from the civilians. They wanted to take a more compassionate approach, even if that compassion involved a strict quarantine of the entire city that would have looked and felt much like a siege.
Unfortunately, all of the townsfolk had eaten the plagued grain before Arthas arrived, and they would have all become mindless undead in the fullness of time. Which would have caused them to swarm the soldiers surrounding the city, or worse, attack the Alliance forces from behind when they tried to deal with Mal'ganis in a "safe" location. They would have been doomed, and Arthas would have witnessed that destruction and suffering firsthand. He would have mindlessly pursued Mal'ganis in a quest for revenge either way.
| 44 |
ELI5: How were battles fought during the American Revolution?
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I'm watching the show Turn on AMC, it's about Washington's spies in the Revolution War. There's one scene in season 2 episode 10 where they battle.
During those times, were battles really so clunky and unimaginative? I mean, do both side just line up in rows and fire one after each other? It seems so non-strategic. First row fires, reloads, second row fires, reload, switch, etc. They just stand there like sitting ducks or human target bulleyes. What's up with that?
| 18 |
You had limited communication, limited mobility, limited range to your weapons.
Good discipline and volleys made it harder for your enemy to advance while broken ranks, charging or retreating left you more vulnerable. Pikes had made calvary charges a bit less efdective than they used to be while guns were not at a point that charging horseback had a lot of options.
As your side weakened the other you could move in and around and split the lines, etc.
Gatlin guns and pistols in the Civil war started to give the advantage back to aggression to a certain extent, but trenches flipped war back to being more defensive.
The history of war can in some ways be looked at as the history of which was stronger at the time, a defensice or an offensive strategy.
| 14 |
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