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How would a dragon fare against modern weaponry?
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Let's just say the situation is a modern Marine fire team is patrolling Afghanistan, and they come across a dragon. They have what they are armed with, and backup, through their comms.
| 61 |
As the documentary Reign of Fire clearly showed, dragons proved impervious to and managed to annihilate RPGs, high caliber weapons, even miniguns firing depleted uranium bullets sufficient to penetrate tank armor (even when mounted to maneuverable aircraft like the Cobra, Apache and Warthog).
The only known vulnerability is a meathead with a bowie knife jumping out of a helicopter.
| 138 |
ELI5: Why so humans undergo several growth spurts and not just grow at a uniform rate?
| 69 |
To make sure all the other parts catch up. Certain things are easy and cheap in energy to grow, like soft tissues, skin, and hair. Other things, like bones, heart muscles, and important cells take a lot of energy and are created slowly to make sure less mistakes( ie cancer) are made such as creating more neurons. Your body builds certain structures like Bones in big spurts then lets the other stuff catch up. So your head and legs have to grow first before the other stuff can fill it in.
| 33 |
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[Batman] Would Batman kill a villain to save an innocent person’s life if there was literally no other way to do so?
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* In this scenario, let’s assume that a villain is about to kill an innocent person, and all of the possible options that Batman could take to stop them would result in the villain dying. There is no getting out of finding a non-lethal option for this predicament.
* Would Batman kill the villain to save the innocent person’s life?
| 51 |
The Dark Knight trilogy batman killed two face to save Gordan and his son. The Arkham series batman basically killed Clayface with the lazurus pit.I don't know about the comic book version but i'd say he would.
| 51 |
Why don't the weapon ignition stations on the Death Star follow numerous safety protocols?
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[Seriously, just look at this!](http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130220055259/starwars/images/c/c1/Dsbeamtube5.png) It's absurd, I'm sure the Unions would have a field day with this. Why would a military station of a so called "Professional Navy" endanger their crew like this?
- The remote station requires the users to stand right by the edge, and there is nothing to stop someone to fall into the ignition chamber. Hell, someone could trip up over a general Mouse Droid, why isn't there anything to prevent injuries? There are no harnesses, safety barriers, not even a bit of warning tape!
- Users are extremely vulnerable to the ignition beam. On top of the fact they could fall in the chamber, they have no visors to protect themselves from the flash (meanwhile, the crew maintaining the general operation wear helmets that cover their entire face), and have to resort to using their hands to cover their eyes or turn away to protect their vision. Furthermore, they seem to be wearing general crew uniforms as opposed to full-body protection gear. If there was a problem with the ventilation and cooling systems, anyone at that remote workstation would be fried and overwhelmed by radiation (Assuming that the Laser emits radiation of sorts).
- The worst thing is, the Station appears to have 8 separate ignition chambers if you look at the schematics. It's just unacceptable!
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are multiple bridges and pathways with no safety precautions throughout the entirety of the Station. And on the whole there's no backup system incase the power runs dry, even the simple things like doors don't work without a power supply. Why would a professional Navy overlook all of this?
Edit: Sorry about forgetting the tag in the title, I hope the flair will suffice.
| 55 |
Unions? The Emperor disbanded the *Senate*. You think he's going to let labor elect representation for collective bargaining?
It's simple math. We're talking about the cost of adding complexity to the design of a weapon that already requires an infrastructure the size of a class 4 moon, in order to protect some extremely expendable technicians.
Remember, the Sith don't believe in protecting the weak. The Death Star crew could be *decimated* by the weapon and the Emperor would simply consider it a valuable learning experience for the survivors.
| 48 |
ELI5: How can some terminally ill people just "hold off" death until they're ready?
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Recently a family friend's mother died. She had some kind of terminal illness, but they all decided to go on a vacation to the Bahamas towards the end. She managed to keep going through the whole vacation, then "let go" and died a few days after they got back. There are many stories like this, where someone holds on for one reason or another, then simply lets go when the loose ends are tied. Medically, how is this possible? I know mind over matter can be pretty powerful sometimes, but how do some people literally hold off on dying until a certain time? I can't imagine you can just keep thinking "I can't die until X/Y happens" over and over in your head and keep living. What is the scientific explanation of this?
| 16 |
With a lot of diseases, your body become so weak that breathing is difficult, and can at teams require a conscious effort. You even have minor attacks, were you have to breath as hard as you can for a while just to stay alive. At some point, you might choose to not make that effort anymore.
Also, you can make choices about the type of treatment you receive. Curative treatment is about fighting disease and extending life. Palliative care is about relieving suffering without attempting to cure. A patient holding on for some event might endure more pain with curative treatment, then switch to palliative care after.
Finally, there is some selection bias here. People are less likely to tell the story of the family member who died two days before the grand final vacation.
| 19 |
ELI5: What is shock and why is it bad for patients to go into shock after a serious accident?
| 19 |
Shock is the general state of blood not being properly pumped around your body. It means the brain & internal organs are not getting enough blood flow and this causes damage to them. There are several different kinds and causes of shock, but they all must be treated rapidly for your patient to survive with minimal after-effects.
| 20 |
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What does a Gyroscope's axis remain constant relative to?
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I remember hearing somewhere that when you have a gyroscope spinning, it's axis will remain constant in relation to the earth's rotation. Does it also stay constant in relation to the earth's movement around the sun? If not, why?
| 16 |
If there's no net torque acting on it, then its angular momentum is fixed in any *inertial* frame.
Neither of the frames you describe (one fixed to the surface of the Earth, and one traveling with the Earth around the sun) is inertial.
So if you imagine sitting in some inertial frame, watching the Earth rotate around its own axis (and revolving around the sun, if you want), you would see the angular momentum of the gyroscope remaining fixed.
| 19 |
Jordan's take on postmodernism
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[The video](https://youtu.be/Cf2nqmQIfxc)
I just watched this and I left feeling more confused. The way he describes postmodernism almost feels like conservative propaganda lol.
Is he saying that ethnic studies and gender studies are somehow detrimental?
in today's time, I feel like these kind of studies are absolutely necessary to understand certain communities/societies and to understand the history of these said societies.
i agree that the individual should be greater than the group, but all the other points he made sound a bit toxic. He seems like an angry white man that wouldn't bother to listen to the other side, but then again, I dont really know anything about him or his work.
I don't really understand anything about postmodernism or philosophy but I am interested in learning. can someone explain to me what I'm missing in this video.
let's have a discussion. not an internet argument, but an intellectual discussion.
Sorry if this doesnt belong in this specific forum. I have no where else to post this
Edit: Thanks everyone for the response. I didnt realize this was such a rinsed topic on the forum so I apologize. I should've done my research before posting. atleast now i know better and that's because all of you !
| 39 |
Peterson is famously completely and utterly wrong on this topic, so you have the correct intuitions in feeling something was off.
You can search 'Peterson postmodernism' on the sidebar for many thread on this topic where people explain how he's dead wrong about basically every single thing he says on the topic.
| 131 |
CMV: Healthy animals should never be put down simply because they’re not getting adopted.
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I understand the issue about space, accommodation and how many shelters are already struggling taking care of the ones in shelter, needing 24/7 care and attention. But do we put down our family who are going through similar or more painful health issues? Family who’s fighting through cancer, or elderlies who are too old to care for themselves, we take on the responsibility for them. Then why can’t we try and do the same for animals who are much more helpless and in need of support instead of putting them down simply because it might be too much work and money?
I may not know all the specific details that go into this decision, so help me learn please?
| 88 |
Animal rights advocates/vegans, say that we should be adopting the animals that we can, make sure that animals are properly spayed/neutered so that they don't breed in an uncontrolled way and crack down on dog farms and breeders which bring dogs into the world , the unwanted dogs of which get thrown away out of sight and out of mind.
Unfortunately, shelters will need to put dogs down just as a matter of lack of resources. What else is there to do? Keep them alive but isolated and under-cared for? Send them to a home that may not be right for them where they are likely to suffer further?
You need to look at the broader picture. These animals absolutely have a right to life and it is our responsibility to take care of them but where we can't give them a good life then they will also just be suffering anyway. If you care a lot about this topic then you need to ask what practices led to all of these unwanted dogs and solve the problem there instead of downstream after the problems are difficult to solve.
| 25 |
ELI5 Why can rain and snow last for hours/days but it never hails that long (or at least I’ve never seen it)?
| 21 |
Hail requires much more specific conditions to occur, and those conditions are hard to maintain for very long. In particular, hail implies very strong updrafts within a storm cloud, and those updrafts usually only last a matter of hours at specific times of day. On the rare occasions that they don't, it's usually part of a very large storm system, and those systems usually don't stay in one place. It's not *in principle* impossible to maintain hail for a while, but you'd need a bunch of things to align exactly right.
Rain, on the other hand, is pretty easy: all you need is a decent low pressure system to park itself overhead.
| 30 |
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ELI5: Why is the noun form of "unstable" written as "instability"? Why with the change of prefix?
| 73 |
You do not really derive "instability" from "unstable". Unstable derives directly from stable, and instability is derived from stability which is derived from stable. At no point does the un prefix transform into the in prefix.
| 30 |
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[Star Wars] Could a 100 megaton nuclear bomb disable the Death Star if it was detonated inside the station?
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Not in the reactor. If it was detonated in a random place inside the Death Star, could it disable the station?
| 30 |
The radiation would bounce around inside the ship and there'd be a lot of fallout deaths and cancer. Lawyers throughout the Empire would make a killing off of class-action lawsuits for survivors that later developed cancer.
| 41 |
How do W bosons decay into an electron and a neutrino if they are fundamental particles?
| 397 |
I suspect you are confused because you are thinking of particle decay as something breaking apart into the things it is made of. This is not what's happening.
When a W boson decays, the W simply ceases to exist, and the energy that was in the mass of the W is reconstituted as the electron and antineutrino (or whatever decay products happen to arise), with that energy showing up in the mass of the decay products as well as their kinetic energy.
In other words, the W doesn't break apart into the decay products, but rather it turns into them.
Edit: Typos fixed.
| 169 |
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What if Anakin Skywalker lived after killing the Emperor?
| 30 |
Darth Vader rises when his mask is removed, the untapped Force Potential of his son feeding strength into him and repairing his lungs with the power of ha-er, love. Luke, shocked and more than a little confused, drags Anakin Skywalker onto a shuttle, leaving Darth Vader behind.
Upon landing on Endor for Ewok Mardi Gras, Luke lets two people into his confidence - his companions, Leia and Han. They discuss the fate of the Emperor's mailed fist, who states that while he cannot atone for his crimes, he is prepared to accept the judgement of his son, though he dislikes his friends - both for their lack of faith in the power of the dark si-er, Force, and the fact that he was an all-powerful Sith Lord for an enormous amount of time and isn't used to taking orders or being judged by anyone bar his Master. He's trying, though.
Ultimately, they decide: Darth Vader is dead, but they can't trust him. The triumvirate of Luke/Leia/Han decide to let him live, but insist he remain anonymous. Almost no records remain of Anakin Skywalker. He will briefly live on Coruscant, before moving onwards to exile or hermitude. In the trees can be seen a group of glowing blue ghosts. Obi-wan has his head in his hands as Qui-Gonn's quiet laughter echoes from within the Force. Yoda can be heard muttering "Bullshit, this is." before fading away with Obi-Wan. They're pleased at their final victory, but bother are adherents of "Death fixes every crime".
Once the victory celebration is done, the rebels attend Coruscant. With the input of Anakin, the defences of Sate Petsage and Yvonne Isaard's plans are quickly quashed. The Rebellion takes possession, as Anakin prepares a file of everything he remembers - Imperial coreworlds, storeworlds, military codes and structures, hidden fleets, the Emperor's hidden retreats (That he knew of). The Imperial Remnant is on the run, retreating to Byss - and taking a number of nearby systems, ultimately creating a smaller, more manageable, considerably tougher Remnant due to force concentration. Raids allow them to capture shipyard facilities, which they strap (using ducttape) with enormous hyperdrives and move into the new core systems.
During his six months on Coruscant, Vader decided to take the surgical option that left him with a 50% chance of dying - the Surgery was successful, and left him oddly disappointed - a latent deathwish. While still primarily synthetic, he no longer requires his suit. He still looks like a cross between a warty eggplant and the Crow, though - chalky, pale, lumpy and the synthetic limbs that allow him to survive and maintain his strength don't look natural.
He bids goodbye to Leia and his son, with Han in the background wearing a special vest, one lined with thermal detonators. He's never learnt to trust the new Vader. Anakin sets off into space, promising to return when Luke finally sets up the new Academy he's talked about, and until them, will be seeking redemption.
He sets off into the void aboard a shuttle, to gather the scattered lore of the Force in the unknown regions. He leaves behind a Luke vastly advanced in certain aspects of his training, who, despite carefully examining everything he has learnt for the taint of the Dark Side, found none. He filters most of this through to Leia when he can, despite her being too busy to learn due to the frenetic pace of New Republic politics.
Luke eventually sets up the Yavin temples as an academy and leaves to seek students. Luke eventually returns with his first twelve students. He finds a prepared stash of lore - a number of holocrons, lightsaber crystals, ancient artefacts of Jedi masters, holographic text, a confused and Force Sensitive old man kept in a zero-tau capsule who wants to know where and when he is and an empty shuttle that returned some two months ago.
One evening, Luke follows a premonition into the jungle. After a long period of travel, he comes upon a lake - smooth as glass, with a dark temple squatting in the centre. Hopping lightly over the footstones slightly under the surface of the lake, he approaches to find the temple rotting - as though the weight of ages was bearing down. In the temple's audience chamber he finds a dark and blasted outline of a man and an incredibly amount of dark side resonance, the kind that results from the death of a powerful Sith. It is matched by the sense of peace that emanates from the corpse of his father. One fist raised in defiance, lightsaber clutched within, the synthetic limbs have shut down and locked with the death of their owner and his body slumps in their embrace. A light touch of the body blasts Luke with a vision - his father, wielding amounts of the Force that should be impossible, banishing a dark spirit that bombards him with dark side energy. They both expire at once. Back in the present, Luke decides to leave the body of his father in the temple as a memorial and returns to the Praxeum.
| 65 |
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[DC/Marvel] Are members of superhero groups like the Justice League/X-Men/Avengers on call all the time? If Wolverine or Falcon or Green Arrow had to take care of their own little side mission or wanted to take the day off, who would they need to contact about that? How would the others see that?
| 18 |
In the Justice Leagues case, they have rotating shifts. Heroes are given a schedule of when they are expected to be on-call. If there is a sufficient emergency, all members are called upon to drop what they are doing and help, but generally matters are handled by whoever is on call at the time.
Martian Manhunter is the chief administrator for the group, and since he is an insanely powerful telepath, he is able to keep in touch with all members in real time, so can know who will need time off, and who will be free, so even if someone has a last minute emergency that means they cannot make it, he can immediately contact every other member, and see if anyone is available to cover a shift.
| 34 |
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ELI5: How come television can "stream" HDTV all day without any delay while my internet takes hours to just download a movie?
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Seriously why can't you just make the internet as fast as television?
| 112 |
TV is like a man on a soapbox - big towers "shout" TV signals out, your TV tunes in and listens, and tells you what the big shouty tower is saying.
Internet is more like being in a huge mall with no directions and having to ask people where everything is. You can only ask so many people at once, and have to go walking around the place to find whatever data you, the user requested.
TV is good if you just want to "listen in". The Internet is good for when you know what you want.
| 86 |
[Mass Effect] Were the Batarians basically shunted by the galactic community once Humanity arrived on the scene?
| 87 |
Many Citadel races already disliked and mistrusted the Batarians for their warlike and slave-taking methods of interstellar diplomacy. They used the "it's our culture and you can't judge us" defense for many diplomatic efforts to curtail those things, and thus secured their reputation as thuggish brutes. When humanity emerged without a desire to enslave their neighbors, a surprisingly competent military, and a need to expand their borders while still abiding by interstellar law (after learning about it, of course) made them far more preferential. And plus, human territory stood very near Batarian, so many citadel races secretly cheered every time humanity gave them a black eye.
| 124 |
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How does one define a staight line?
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I was taught that the definition of a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. What happens if these points are infinitely far apart? I assume that this is basically some kind of phallacy/ paradox type thing but yeah, lemme know please!
| 56 |
A line is not the shortest distance between two points, but the path with the shortest distance between two points. What do you mean by two points that are infinitely far apart? If you have two points in the plane, then they will be a finite distance from each other. Always. Their distance can be very, very large, but it will never be infinite.
In basic geometry, though, we don't define lines, we assume them. A line is just a "thing" that satisfies 1.) For every pair of points, there is exactly one of these "things" that pass through both of them 2.) Any two of these "things" intersect at, at most, one point. 3.) If two of these "things" don't intersect, then the distance between them doesn't change.
A line is just a "thing" that satisfies these conditions.
| 66 |
[Death Note, Game of Thrones] Could you kill Jaqen H'ghar with the Death Note if he changed his face in time?
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The second rule of the Death Note is that you must picture the persons face in your mind when writing their name (so as not to accidentally kill others with the same name.) Could Jaqen H'ghar change his face before the writer writes his name (picturing his old face while writing) and live? Or change his face after his name was written and live?
| 40 |
A man doesn't have a real name. A man is no one.
Going by Arya's training, the Faceless Men are supposed to give up their actual identities. Every name they take is an alias.
If you caught one with his alias while wearing that alias' face? Maybe the Deathnote would work. Because it would identify that individual (for a time). But if he swapped faces before Death Note struck, he might dodge death as he "became" a different person. Or it might not work at all, as the intended victim's identity is so fluid.
Good question, though.
| 26 |
CMV: Carthago delenda est
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We've already had two wars with Carthage. When will it end? We must destroy them completely or risk destruction ourselves. They are growing entirely too powerful, with their vast military and abundant trade routes. If we do not strike at them, they will surely strike at us.
And let us not forget the vengeance we owe them for our fallen at the Battle of Cannae! How can we let such a thing go unpunished?
Censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
_____
> *Hello, people of the past. This is a footnote from the moderators of this 'internet forum'. I'm afraid to say that some wannabe scientist, while looking into time travel, has caused a temporal distortion field. It should dissipate in the next 24 hours. In the mean time, feel free to* ***[message us](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/changemyview)*** *about a view you hold while you're visiting the present, and remember to have a look through* ***[our rules](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/rules)***.
| 65 |
This is a clear and obvious example of our military-industrial complex gone out of control.
The last Punic war has bankrupted the Roman people and filled the streets of Rome with homeless veterans.
Carthage have already being stricken down, and now the obligarchs in the senate wants us to make war to fill their pockets with loot. Make no mistake about this, this is clearly against the interests of the Roman people and is only fought for the sake of Gladius Inc. and Armor Co.. They are manufacturing a war as to avoid cuts to the defense budgets and their profits.
| 20 |
[DC Comics/The Flash] So when the Flash accelerates, is he physically running faster, or is the speedforce allowing him to move farther in between his feet touching the ground?
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I get it, I get it: speedforce. But does the speedforce allow him to physically run so fast that he can achieve the impossible velocities he does, or is how fast he's going independent of how quickly he moves his legs and instead entirely dependent on his vaguely psychic connection to the speedforce?
Does he just have to be doing a "pushing" motion with his legs, like skipping or leaping, in order to go fast, or could he potentially walk faster than the speed of light if he tapped into the speedforce enough?
| 84 |
Both/either because speedforce.
The flash moves really fast, we have seen him do sidehops fast enough to rip a hole in this dimention.
But he has also moved really fast while his arms and legs move at walking speed (although that couod have been a poorly drawn optical effect).
| 43 |
[Star Wars] Why are the Unknown Regions so unexplored
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According to maps of the Galaxy, explored space known to the Republic extends mainly to the 'galactic east' of the Core systems, extending all the way to the Outer Rim (a wedge of the outermost edge of the galaxy).
After the Empire's final defeat above Jakku, many Imperial commanders took their ships and jumped into the Unknown Regions, which takes up the 'western' part of the Galaxy.
There, they spent thirty years regrouping, colonising new worlds and rebuilding themselves into the First Order.
What stopped the exploration of the Unknown Regions by the Empire, Republic, or other organisations that preceded them? The First Order proved capable of colonising them, why was this never attempted before?
| 75 |
It wasn't attempted because it wasn't necessary. Exploration and colonization are difficult and expensive.
Sure, if you're a commander on the losing side of a war that still has a Star Destroyer or three, maybe you roll the dice and see if you can make it work out there. If you're a comfy Moff sitting in a stable and affluent system, why bother?
If you're a plucky adventurer with wanderlust, maybe you scrounge yourself a ship and fly out there, but you don't really have the scratch to get a colony going. So you fly for a while and come back with a story about how that half of the galaxy is remarkably like this half, and nobody gives very much of a damn.
| 68 |
ELI5: Why gravity slows down the time instead of speeding it up?
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In Interstellar when they were on the water planet, every minute they spent there, several days passed on Earth. From outside observer's point of view from Earth, everything happening on the water planet was in slow motion. Why isn't it the other way around?
| 74 |
Stretch a sheet of rubber and put a giant, heavy object in the middle to stretch the rubber down. Measure the length of the rubber in the middle and the length on the edge. The path through the middle is longer. Now imagine a marble or some other object traveling across the rubber at a specific speed that cannot change. The marble going through the stretched region will take longer to reach the opposite side of the sheet than a marble traveling on the unstretched region.
Space-time is the rubber, and causality is the marble.
| 198 |
[Teen Titans] Who built the Titan's tower?
| 47 |
[](/nerdsunset) Titans Tower was built around the infrastructure of a Gordanian mobile transmitter/outpost that was dropped on an island outside Jump City. (You can see the whole events of this situation in the video record codenamed "Go!".)
With the alien infrastructure already in place and impossible to move, the Jump City government elected to spend funding customizing the tower for the Teen Titans' usage, in exchange for the heroes remaining in the city and protecting it from the growing threat of super beings.
| 39 |
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[Star Wars] With all that abundant energy, why isn't the Star Wars universe a technological utopia?
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I've looked up the specs for Boba Fett's *Slave I* - a fairly small, one-person ship - and it looks like its reactor is rated for a power output of 7 *billion* GW.
For comparison, the Earth's total energy consumption in 2008 was just short of 150 million GWh. If we had 7 billion GW of free energy to play with, we could terraform the deserts, provide free food and drinking water for everyone, and basically loaf around and enjoy our lives.
So why is the Star Wars universe so *medieval*?
| 35 |
Because the star wars universe is spread out over an entire galaxy. There's planets like Coruscant where the cities reach to the edge of space and everybody's driving flying cars around. There's place like Endor, a moon inhabited by a bunch of savages who never even knew there's other life in the galaxy.
The star wars galaxy is massive. Wealth and progress isn't spread equally for the same reason it's not spread equally on earth right now. Culture, greed, interests, conflicts of interest and so on. It's not impossible it just takes a lot of effort that not everybody feels like taking.
A lot of the more backward planets you see in star wars are in the outer rim of the galaxy or other remote places. Nobody has any interest in visiting those places, let alone bringing them the light of civilisation so to speak.
Other places are primitive for other reasons. The Hutt crime empire for instance loves their backwater worlds where they can become a law unto itself. The Hutts control everything and they couldn't do that if everybody had limitless energy, resources and transportation for instance.
Nar Shaddaa is a lawless hellhole of an urban planet for the same reason the Taliban hide in caves. The whole planet is one big criminal safe house. You can hide your operations on Nar Shaddaa *because* it doesn't have a super efficient government and law enforcement that'll detect your dirty business as soon as it happens.
Star Wars is also the universe where Kaminoans clone armies of custom soldiers and Ithorians fly lush green gardens around space.
| 60 |
ELI5: After entering my credit card info on a website like Amazon and pressing the "checkout" button, what exactly happens? What is the process of my credit card getting charged?
| 17 |
Purchasing online is slightly different than in store. In stores, the majority of the time you're purchasing for goods then and there, so you're mostly charged immediately.
Online, that is different. You're paying for goods that you will receive in the future. What happens with your card depends on how the online merchant is set up:
1) Settle on Order. This means, that like in store, you're being charged there and then for the goods. This means that you're effectively lending the vendor your money until you receive your goods.
2) Settle on Dispatch. This means that your card will only be charged once the goods are dispatched. This is usually a number of days after you click the Pay button. How they they know the money is there to take? Pre-Auths: this effectively ring-fences the money, meaning that whilst is stays in your account, once the merchant ships the item, they know the money can be taken. If they ship too late and the pre-auth expires (these usually last between 7 and 14 days), there's a chance you'll get your items for free and the vendor will lose money. Pre-auths sometimes appear on your statements as if the money has actually been taken, so it's hard to know if it's there or not.
Most websites, and indeed stores, use both payment gateways and acquiring banks:
Payment Gateway: this is what the website integrates into that facilitates pre-auths, settling and refunding. The Payment Gateway talks to the acquiring banks on behalf of the vendor, and means they only have the integrate into one thing, rather than many acquiring banks. The PG also has fraud checking abilities and rules that can be defined by the vendor.
Acquiring Bank: Effectively your bank and the vendor's bank. The Payment Gateway does most of the heavy-lifting for these.
The flow for online purchases will usually go something like this:
User purchases an item > Payment Gateway reforms fraud check > Payment gateway checks for available funds > Funds are taken or funds are pre-authed > Funds are transferred to the vendor's acquiring bank.
| 10 |
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[DISNEY] what was Elsa's plan anyways?
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I mean, she was a princess soon-to-be queen raised on a secluded castle for years with no contact with society, she doesn't know how to cook, hunt or live by herself, she made a huge ice castle and then what? how will you survive on the peak of a mountain?
| 33 |
There wasn't a real plan. It was a spur of the moment thing, she just had to get away.
Later on she could presumably forage and hunt very easily. Her caloric need is much reduced considering she doesn't get cold as well.
| 63 |
ELI5: Why immediately before or after I fall asleep I sometimes twitch erratically?
| 195 |
Your body parts fall asleep before your brain does. The brain is knocking on your body parts, "are you there?" - if they don't reply (they're asleep) - your brain will trigger your nerve system into high alert. This wakes the body part up in an often violent manner, causing your leg, arm, back or other body part to twitch.
| 173 |
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[Infinity War] Spoilers: Let's discuss the nitty-gritty of Thanos' plan
|
So Thanos states that he wants to kill/erase half the population of the universe, and he wants it to be "at random. Dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike."
As people have pointed out, there are at least a couple of exceptions to true random: He's not culling himself, and he promises to let Stark live. (It's possible that he left his fate up to the algorithm, though he has post-snapping plans, and it's possible he meant he wouldn't kill Stark right then but that the snap might do him in anyway. The oral agreement is light on details.)
Questions:
Is the "half" measured on a universe-level scale, or by planet, or population, or species?
If it's a universe-level "half," does that mean that some planets or civilizations were hit unexpectedly heavily, and that some were relatively lucky?
If it's a universe-level "half," what's the likelihood that any given population is completely unaffected, or completely wiped out?
If it's species-level, are unique entities immune or doomed or determined on an individual basis? Since Thanos' goal is his version of mercy, it seems wrong to let the snap eradicate an entire population.
How long did he have to think about and formulate the details of this "wish," or does he just say "half the universe's population" and be done with it?
Is he just mistaken about the lack of pain? He claims he's being super merciful, yet clearly people who are erased know that it's happening, and feel pain and fear. And he doesn't care about the effects — seems like another large chunk of any population will be killed by stuff like accidents triggered when people disappear. (See: Cars crashing, helicopters dropping out of the sky, etc.)
Basically: What kind of random are we talking about, and how might that reshape the universe once he's done?
(I'd love it if someone in the next movie checks in on Gamora's home planet and finds that they're materially well-off but damaged or depressed on a sociological scale because of the mass casualties.)
| 32 |
I don't think getting Snapped is painful, just scary and feels weird.
Since he's trying to balance out resource consumption, it wouldn't make sense to eradicate on a civilization or population level, taking entire worlds while leaving others untouched. It's probably at the individual level, like picking every other person in a lineup.
None of the plan makes sense. Resources have always been finite and, if you include stars, most civilizations are only using a fraction of a fraction of a percent of matter and energy out there.
It's also silly because it assumes every species in the entire universe is at the same level of development and using too many resources for its own world. Clearly, though, there are primitive, subsistence-level aliens as well as advanced societies with things like matter replicators.
Thanos is insane. Sadly that is usually the type of person who feels like they should make decisions for everyone else.
| 57 |
Since time is not absolute, does it make sense to describe the age of far away galaxies in years?
| 37 |
It turns out the effect isn't that big in most real-life situations, but there is a convention we can use if we really want to be more careful when we talk about time.
Time runs at different rates depending on the relative velocities of objects, and also based on the strength of gravity fields. However, you have to be going pretty close to the speed of light (relative to some other observer) to experience time at a significantly different rate, and you have to be basically right next to a black hole or neutron star for gravity to make a big difference. While we do experience time at different rates, for the speeds that most galaxies & stars are moving at, this comes out to a tiny fraction of a percent. It's usually way finer than the precision we have in measuring distances anyway, so it really doesn't matter, and we can basically assume that time is pretty much simultaneous everywhere - we don't care about a few days out of a few hundred thousand years.
But if we want to be more precise, we use the cosmic microwave background as a base. The CMB is moving relative to us at a very consistent velocity, and it is very uniform across the observable universe. So it's a convenient frame to use if we want to define a convenient "universal" time frame. It isn't *actually* universal - it's just fairly constant over a very large volume of space, and that makes it a useful convention.
| 46 |
|
Since people are dying from brain-eating bacteria from Neti pots, should I be worried when some tap water from the shower or bath goes up my nose?
|
The deaths I am referring to: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239422.php
| 23 |
First off, an amoeba is not a bacteria. *Naegleria fowleri* the organism responsible for this, is on the whole, incredibly rare, but obviously not impossible to come in contact with. This part of the article should tell you something about the risk of being infected with *N. fowleri*:
> According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), there were 32 reported Naegleria fowleri infections from 2001 through 2010 in the USA. Thirty of the patients had become infected after contact with recreational water, while the other two became infected from a geothermal drinking water supply.
Like that article states, the issue is getting a reasonable portion of water up into your nasal cavities, not just a slight mist getting into your respiratory tract. Unless you are standing, nares up, in the shower, you likely don't get that much water up your nose.
I think the odds of you being infected with something from your shower head is pretty minimal, especially if you are not old, an infant, or immunocompromised. That said, legionnaires' disease, caused by *Legionella pneumophila*, is a bit more common from not only shower heads, but also AC units. There are 8,000 to 18,000 cases a year, but again, unless you are old, an infant, or immunocompromised, you likely won't have many problems.
| 20 |
Do heavier elements remain closer to the core of stars?
|
When new atoms are fused in a star, does it mostly occur in the very center of the core? If so, do they usually remain there and eventually push some of the remaining lighter atoms out/up and prevent them from fusing? Does this result in stratified shells of separated elements? What happens when this star goes nova?
| 17 |
It depends on the star.
The very smallest of starts the, red dwarves, have convection currents that run through the entire thing, all the way into the deepest bit of the core, and this then pulls the helium made from hydrogen up and out, achieving a good mix of it throughout the star. This is part of what lets red dwarves last so very long. They barely use any fuel (relatively) and they get to use their entire star's mass because they mix it up so well. It's not just what's in and around the core that they get to use.
Other stars yes, the fusion initially happens in the very core and the byproducts build up and doesn't burn (yet), and and they don't have convection currents running through the whole thing to get that good mix going. Rings of different types of burning form around this core as it ages and goes through its final stages, absolutely.
| 14 |
CMV: If women are allowed in the military then they should meet the same physical requirements as men
|
Whilst I don't disagree with women being allowed in the army there is no getting around the fact that women cannot build the same amount of muscle as men. I think it is pretty much universal for armies around the world to lower the standard for women.
Surely this puts a unit with a women in it at a huge disadvantage to the men. As seen [here](https://i.imgur.com/W89JeUE.png) the fitness standards are considerably lower. When it comes to combat having someone unable to keep up could cost lives as expressed by this [former SAS commander](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/women-soliders-front-line-infantry-british-army-commander-tim-collins-no-place-for-woman-a7129271.html).
So why should the goal posts be moved for women despite the clear risks to the group of people they will be working with and possibly dragging down.
_____
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| 167 |
Here's the real answer: those tests are not being used just to measure the thing they literally measure. Your life will never depend on being able to do exactly 35 pushups, and if you only do 34 your entire squad will die.
Those tests are proxies for measuring things like overall cardiovascular fitness, coordination, determination, and the discipline to maintain those traits at a level high enough to accomplish those scores. Those are the traits that *actually* determine whether or not you survive in a combat scenario, but they're almost impossible to directly measure in a simple and efficient manner, so we use highly correlated factors like pushups and situps to measure them more easily.
This works well if you're working with a homogeneous population (all males ages 17-21), because the same scores on those proxy measures will correlate to the same scores on the real measures (fitness, discipline, etc). However, it falls apart for a heterogeneous population - for instance, if you bring n a lot of 26 yer old men suddenly.
Even if those 26 yer old men have the same overall fitness, discipline, determination, etc as the 17-year-old men, they're just not going to be able to do as many pushups. So, in order to make our measurements of those important factors more accurate, we give them a different target for the proxy measures.
This essentially splits our one heterogeneous population where our measures don't work into two homogeneous populations where they do. That's why we have different requirements for older men.
The same is true for women. Women won't be able to do the same number of pushups as men with the same levels of fitness, determination, discipline etc. (they will be able to do the same number of situps though), but since we care about those factors and not about pushups, we give them a lower pushup standard to get a more accurate ability reading. This makes sure we're not excluding exemplary soldiers because they're not able to meet an arbitrary standard that has nothing to do with their ability to serve.
That said, not all physical requirements are arbitrary. No matter how disciplined and dedicated you are, sometimes you have to carry stuff and sometimes you have to run. The standards should never dip below that level... but since the current standards weren't designed with that level in mind, it's probably safe to dip below them.
Also, of course, those base needs are different for a comms operator in an office than a soldier on the front line, so we should probably use them to exclude people on a per-role basis rather than to exclude them from service altogether.
| 124 |
Best Hard Copies of Books
|
Hello!
I'm primarily a student of English Literature. Norton Critical Editions of texts in this field are great because in addition to the text, they include hundred pages or so of contemporary critical analysis and other texts (letters, journal entries, other primary documents) providing context.
Is there an equivalent philosophy publication? For example - the full text of Nietzsche's Also Sprach with some analytical essays included.
I'm sorry if this isn't the kind of post that's allowed, I really don't know where else to ask and the googling I've done hasn't been fruitful.
| 43 |
It's extremely dependent on the specific text - at least for works in translation. If the work is in translation, it is normally necessary to do some research online as to which translations are well received. For Nietzche, is doesn't matter how good the supplemental materials are if the translation is off. Once you know what translation you want, you're normally pretty limited in terms of the editions available.
If the work is not in translation, there's not a huge difference. Philosophy texts tend to be presented on their own, sometimes with an introductory essay. So long as the copy of the text comes from a reputable publisher - a University Press, Routledge, Hackett, etc. - any included introduction should be serviceable. Though it is always, of course, worth checking on the specific reputation of any author whose commentary you are reading.
If you want secondary literature, you normally have to go to a separate edition. These texts again vary widely based on the specific content - as these things tend to be in philosophy, where interpretations of thinkers vary greatly - but a good starting point are the companions put out by Routledge or Cambrdige. But, again, do some research online for specific recommendations first.
| 16 |
ELI5: In the world of video games, how do "engines" (Unreal, Unity, etc.) actually work?
|
I have a friend who works in video game design, and I am very into video games myself, but I have 0 idea how the coding of games actually works. I understand that publishers work with studios who use engines, but how do engines themselves actually work? is it through coding language, something more complicated, or something simpler?
| 19 |
Engines like those typically have the foundation in their code to already do what you need them to do such as terrain formation, models for bodies, water, objects, movement, etc. instead of having to start from scratch and code all those different parts yourself, you just use the engines’ framework to build your game from those assets instead
| 24 |
Is it possible to send light into orbit?
|
Forgive my ignorance, I’m not very smart in this area of science as far as astronomy/physics.
But I was thinking about how light can be bent when it goes around massive objects. If light can be Bent then if you were to get something with insane mass like a black hole, would it be possible to send light into orbit without letting it reach the event horizon?
| 42 |
Yes. There's a region around a black hole called the "photon sphere". This is the region where light could, in theory, orbit the black hole. The force of gravity is strong enough to prevent the light from escaping, but not so strong that it pulls it into the black hole.
However, orbits in the photon sphere are not stable. Light that crosses into the photon sphere from the outside will spiral into the black hole, while light that crosses it from the inside will escape into infinity. Only light that is emitted in the right direction exactly on the photon sphere will orbit the black hole.
| 67 |
ELI5: Can a box in a box, in a box, in a box, break the speed of light from a relative view of being outside the box?
|
You as an observer are outside these transparent boxes. Inside the biggest box is a smaller box, that travels the length of the container box at 99.999% the speed of light. Inside that box is another box, moving at 99.999% the speed of light. Inside that box is another doing the same thing.
From each box's perspective, it is not breaking the speed of light. Relative to its own environment, it is obeying the laws of physics, assuming it has the energy to get to that speed, correct?
Now, as an outside observer of these boxes, the smallest box would be moving far faster than the speed of light, would it not? Or does the act of observing the boxes limit their speed?
Is their top speed dependent on whether the boxes are transparent or not?
| 19 |
No, it can't break the speed of light.
The reason is because of time dilation.
Imagine you're standing outside the outer box. The passage of time which the inner box experiences is much slower than the passage of time that you experience. So although from it's own point of view, it's going 99.999% the speed of light inside its container box, you will see it moving much slower relative to its container box because of time dilation, and that means you will see it not exceeding the speed of light relative to you.
| 11 |
What's wrong with crash course philosophy?
| 19 |
**The good:** it's accessible.
**The bad:** much of what it says is misleading or flat-out wrong. The rest, if correct, isn't very deep.
**The ugly:** the primary benefit of studying philosophy is not that it increases your knowledge of philosophical views. The benefits of studying philosophy are the skills that come from deep, structured engagement with texts. Listening to short amateur videos doesn't train these skills particularly well.
| 53 |
|
ELI5: why does water taste so wierd after eating pineapples?
|
After eating pineapples, the taste of water is very bitter in a sense and this aftertaste stays for some minutes altogether...
Is it something you guys have experienced, or just something personal...?
| 17 |
Pineapple contains bromelain, which is a proteolytic (protein destroying) enzyme that gives pineapple its distinctive tingly taste. The bromelain is interacting with the taste buds of your tongue, and altering their sensitivity to certain stimuli. This is what causes altered taste when you drink water- you're more sensitive to the taste of dissolved minerals and other substances in the water.
| 11 |
A minor rant/question about hours
|
At what point should a graduate student draw the line? My PI told me today that work doesn't end after I go home for the day. He expects me to put in 8-10+ hours of work in the lab each day and then go home and put in more hours. Yes, rest is important; however, I am in the last six months or so of my degree. Do I just give in and drag myself through the hours in the evening? Or do I commit to resting in the evenings so I can be refreshed and ready to go on all cylinders the next day? I am doing what I can at this point, but I feel like I am riding the line of burning out.
Advice on lab/life balance would also be appreciated. Thanks!
| 39 |
Definitely rest. Your supervisor shouldn't be dictating this to you.
That being said, if you are in the final six months of a research degree and you need to write a thesis, you might end up having to out in extra time regardless of what your supervisor says. Maybe not if you are super efficient and good at managing your time.
| 43 |
ELI5: Why do the most impoverished/crime ridden areas (i.e. Detroit, parts of Baltimore) have populations that are mostly ethnic minorities?
| 15 |
The ghosts of segregation.
Let's take Oakland. After WWII GIs got great deals on mortgages. They bought into suburbs moving out of city centers.
Blacks didn't get mortgages so they had to save up. As soon as they could afford to move in, whites with their ability to get mortgages left.
So you start saving for a $40k home, the value drops to $20k (you lost $20k) and now you need $80k to move into a new house.
The '80s roll around, drug policy in full swing, sprinkle some crack....
Thing about crime...policing creates it. If you go 80 in a 65, is it a crime? Not unless you get caught.
Stockton has as bad a drug issue as Oakland. Similar population size. But Oakland has twice as many cops.
More cops, more crime. More single parent homes. And the cycle continues.
Detroit was already segregated. So when the auto industry collapsed, who had the ability to move?
| 17 |
|
A chicken egg is 40% calcium. How do chickens source enough calcium to make 1-2 eggs per day?
|
edit- There are differing answers down below, so be careful what info you walk away with. One user down there in tangle pointed out that, for whatever reason, there is massive amounts of misinformation floating around about chickens. Who knew?
| 10,136 |
Chickens are omnivores, but free-range chickens eat a great many insects, and insect exoskeletons are similarly rich in calcium. They'll also eat just about anything else, including small mice, voles, moles, lizards, etc., bones and all.
In a commercial setting, they are supplemented with oyster shells, or whatever source is cheap. Home chicken keepers sometimes feed old eggshells back to their chickens.
Chickens fed more calcium will lay eggs with thicker shells, and they can accept a fairly wide range, but a deficit will yield fragile eggs.
| 6,404 |
ELI5: What are the differences between different types of picture formats (jpg, png, gif, etc)? Are some better than others?
| 16 |
JPEG is a lossy-compression image format. What this means is that when the image is compressed, some of its details are discarded in order to make it take up less space. JPEG is designed to work on more natural pictures, mainly photographs, where close pixels tend to have similar colors, and compression artifacts are less noticeable.
GIF uses non-lossy compression. The main "feature" of GIF files is the limited palette - instead of supporting the full 2^24 colors, GIF uses only up to 256 different colors at a time. This allows each pixel to take up less space (only 1 byte instead of 3, before compression). GIF is mainly useful for images with a small number of colors, such as charts or icons. GIF is not recommended for photographs. GIF has two additional features: layers, which allow you to have more than 256 colors by layering two or more images with two different palettes (where the top layer has one "transparent" color, which lets you see the bottom layer), and animation, which simply lets you store a series of images inside the same file, which are played sequentially. This is mainly intended for use in simple short animation (like a blinking smiley face), not full on videos. The reason animated GIFs are commonly used in place of an actual video format is that until a few years ago, GIF was the only animated format that was supported on every possible platform.
PNG is a modern file format, intended to replace GIF. It uses non-lossy compression and supports the full color palette instead of just 256 colors. It also supports transparency (unlike JPEG). PNG images take up more space than JPEG, but they preserve the original image quality since the compression is non lossy.
| 17 |
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ELI5 Why do we subconsciously hold so much tension in our bodies?
|
I constantly find myself clenching my jaw even if I just unclenched it. I’ve done some yoga where we focus on each part of the body and let go of all the tension little by little. So why are we holding all his tension? It causes headaches and I’m sure other pain. It doesn’t make any sense.
| 129 |
Stress activates our fight or flight response, which causes our muscles to tense because tense muscles react more quickly, which means we can get away from any possible danger quicker. This was an evolutionary trait that allowed us to escape the dangers of the natural world better. In today's world, stress is less caused by things like an approaching predator and more caused by things like our jobs. Even though we don't need to jump out of the way of things, every day stress still makes our bodies tense because that's what they were trained to do over centuries of evolution.
| 86 |
Why can't the water being stored at Fukushima be reused for cooling?
|
I'm sure it has been asked before but I cannot find the answer. Why can't the massive amounts of radioactive water being stored at Fukushima be reused to cool what is left of the reactors?
| 4,909 |
Short answer? It can be.
But we know the water is contaminated, and possibly leaking off-site. Using contaminated water makes the potential leaking water more dangerous. (Even if it's a tiny change) It's also a bad image for Tepco. "Trpco skipping proper disposal of waste water by pouring it out onsite."
Safe and unsafe levels are defined by amount/volume. For anything. Rat poop in your food. Chemical waste. Rad waste. To make water safe for dumping, you filter it, dilute it, then dump it in the ocean far from land, which does more dilution. How much work before dumping is usually based off of legal standards for country of origin, which may or may not have a scientific backing.
All forms of liquid waste have this problem, but nuclear is worse. Chemical waste can be cleaned chemically and mechanically. Rad waste can need a centrifuge to ensure you pick up all the isotopes. Heavy water is still water, chemically speaking. So a chemical rreaction won't remove it. Ditto for any other isotope of a normally safe element. Some like cesium or lead are easy. They're bad, whether active or not.
Rad waste is also politically more sensitive. Everyone always thinks of fuel pins and control rods. But a ton of waste is low level stuff that's legally classified as waste because of where it was used. Like paper towels or brooms.
| 2,481 |
ELI5: How do transformers work to increase and decrease voltages of currents? Why does a high voltage, low current flow of electricity generate less heat from resistance than one with a low voltage and high current?
|
For the first question, does the current change as well so that the electrical power remains constant? Does a transformer “generate” any extra electrical power in that sense?
For the second question, why does a high current create resistance via heat, but a low current doesn’t?
| 38 |
>For the first question, does the current change as well so that the electrical power remains constant? Does a transformer “generate” any extra electrical power in that sense?
There are multiple ways to do that. The classic approach is a transformer built from two coils that share a magnetic field. Each loop creates magnetic field strength or picks it up on the other side. According to the law of induction one loop in a magnetic field of a known strength is linked to a constant voltage. So if the input is 100 windings, and the output has 1000 the voltage must increase by factor 10. The current does the opposite since more windings mean higher inductivity wich means same magnetic field for less current. (To understand the "why" you have to understand magnetic induction wich is kinda a whole story on it's own)
It doesn't generate power. It's comparable to a gearbox in the mechanical world. It converts between "lots of movement, low force" and "less movement, high force"
>For the second question, why does a high current create resistance via heat, but a low current doesn’t?
Current is actual electrons moving. They generate heat by colliding with atoms in the material they move through. More current= more collisions
The mechanical analogy works here too: high speed means more friction. High voltage/force on the other hand threatens to break things, but doesn't cause losses when nothing breaks
| 29 |
If all material is eaten, are cooked vegetables less nutritious than raw ones?
| 28 |
For various plants, for example broccoli, many of the nutrients are locked within strong cell walls, made of cellulose. Humans do not digest cellulose too well, and a lot of the nutrients in the cells are not available as a result.
Cooking these foods weakens or breaks down these cell walls to allow for more complete digestion. But overcooking can break down other nutrients. So cooking enough to weaken the cellulose walls without destroying these other nutrients is optimal.
| 10 |
|
ELI5: Why do live TV hosts experience delays when talking to reporters on the scene?
|
Like, it's the current year, if I fire up Discord, Skype or even FaceTime I can talk to or video message people on the other side of the country with close to zero lag, as if they're right here with me. Still, when I watch TV sometimes I see that there's a delay in the communication between the host and the reporter on the scene, even if they're in the same city.
\- So, we have Jim on the scene to bring us the newest news
\- \[camera focuses on Jim, 3 weird seconds passes\]
\- Oh yeah, John, we're here with Ms. Davis who lost all her belongings on the Godzilla attack...
| 15 |
All the apps you mention have the benefit of being able to use existing ground infrastructure; wifi is within a few hundred feet at the most and cellular a few miles before it is onto ground lines. Those are great if you can get them, but the field reporters want to be able to ensure they can speak without interruption which means they need to control every step of the network.
To do this they typically use satellite communications, only needing to have a clear view of the sky from their van to form a video link no matter where they are. The penalty is that the much longer round trip distance causes a slight delay in the communications.
| 23 |
[General] Why do heroes have no qualms about mowing through thousands of mooks, henchmen, soldiers, etc. but feel conflicted about killing their genocidal overlord leaders?
|
Arguably the only hero where this is really justified are Luke Skywalker who solely refused to kill his own father (though not wanting to kill the Emperor too was also...kinda weird) and Naruto Uzumaki (just because I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't actually kill anyone in his story, including henchmen).
But in so many other stories, so many works of fiction with epic heroes and evil overlords, for some reason thousands of soldiers and henchmen can be mowed down like it's nothing, killing a mook is barely different than stepping on an ant or, hell, a blade of grass. Luke agonizes over so much as having to fight his father, but chopping off some poor stormtrooper who was probably drafted into the military? Pfft, no biggie, like mowing the grass. Aang knows in his heart of hearts that he *cannot* kill Ozai because it goes against everything he stands for, but all the fire nation soldiers at the end of Book 1? Lol.
What's with this? Do heroes understand that the lives of their foes are intrinsically worth more than their foes' mooks? What about Faceless Bad Guy No. 5's family? What about his friends? I'm pretty sure one of his comrades would've been cradling him in his arms promising to tell his children how their father died, I mean if the hero didn't kill that guy too, lol.
| 805 |
It's all about sticking to virtues and code of conduct.
Killing someone in a heat of battle is one thing. Like countless stormtroopers you've mentioned, or Obi Wan during duel with Darth Maul.
Having someone at your mercy and coldly executing him is one step closer to villany. Like Anakin did with defenceless Count Dooku. Or how Emperor tried to goad Luke into.
Using power of an enraged, vengeful spirit, or simply not being fully in control of your actions and emotions is a grey area. Like the Hulk or Guts during his berserk rage.
| 521 |
ELI5: Why do white people generally have naturally straight hair and black people generally have naturally curly hair?
|
As it says on the tin
| 314 |
Structurally the shape of the hair is different. Straight hair has a roundish cross-section. Flatten it a bit and you get wavy hair. A bit more and you get curly hair. When it is nearly flattened you get the very tight curls.
From an evolutionary standpoint the theory is that the tightly curled hair evolved to protect from UV rays and to help in cooling the head. While we often associate Blacks with thicker hair, they actually have less hair follicles on average and it is the curliness that gives the effect. Since the follicles aren't so dense it allows for greater air flow, providing a cooling effect.
| 241 |
If women were truly paid $0.77 to each dollar a man makes, wouldn't firms cut costs by hiring more women or even only women? In today's competitive market, why aren't more firms doing this?
| 66 |
Because you're mistaking "cheaper" for "paid less".
Starting salaries for men and women are often the same. However, the issue is usually either that the employer is less likely to recognize a female employee's contributions and accomplishments, or that a female employee is less likely to aggressively pursue a wage increase, or that the female employee will be given fewer opportunities to impress and advance (or all three).
Women don't simply "cost less". Rather, they initially cost the same as any other employee, male employees are more likely to be deemed worth extra. An employer who pays women less is not going to hire more women for cheap labor, because the whole point of Paying less is often that they think the women are worth less as employees.
Does that difference make sense?
Edit: forgot to cite because on mobile. Another commenter helpfully added a citation in the comments below.
| 87 |
|
Is there a spot in the universe that light has not
traveled to yet?
|
Despite the billions of stars/nebulas in our galaxy and perhaps trillions more in the entire universe, is there a place where the radiating light from these celestial bodies has yet to reach?
Hypothetically, if we could travel to this location and look around, what would we see? Darkness?
| 614 |
The best model we have of the Universe is that it's more or less the same everywhere, and that it extends far beyond the bits we can see, possibly infinitely so. This means that there's nothing special about where we live as opposed to any other part of the Universe. The Big Bang didn't originate from a point, it happened everywhere because it wasn't an expansion *in* space, it was an expansion *of* space. So even the regions so distant that we don't see them do receive light from other parts of the Universe, just not from our part.
Now, if the question is whether there's a spot in the Universe where the light from things like our galaxy hasn't reached then the answer is a definite yes! Light's only had a finite amount of time to travel since the Big Bang, and to our best estimate it's travelled about 46 billion light years in that time. Past that distance, no one has seen the Milky Way or has any idea we exist, and vice versa we have never received light from those regions either!
EDIT: I've got about two new responses every minute asking why the radius of the observable Universe can be 46 billion light years if the Universe is only 13.7 billion years old. I've addressed it a couple of times down in the comments, but the short answer is that since the Universe is expanding, the distance that light has travelled is larger now than it was while the light was travelling it.
| 479 |
Human beings, other primates, and guinea pigs are the only animals that do not produce vitamin C internally. What is the evolutionary "advantage" of this? What would be the implications of having this ability?
|
Would our immune system be stronger since our bodies would produce vitamin C in sufficient amounts? I read that this is a mutation of a gene that causes this inability to produce vitamin C. I wonder if we can engineer these genes to mutate "back" and allows us to produce vitamin C (not sure if this sounds stupid, so excuse my ignorance).
| 29 |
There isn't an evolutionary advantage, except that we didn't need to make our own vitamin C (our diet provided enough) and our cells could expend the materials and energy elsewhere.
It isn't hard to have a diet that provides enough vitamin C to avoid deficiency-based disorders, though it isn't clear what the biological effects would be of cells producing their own vitamin C.
We certainly can engineer the gene (the broken one is just one gene in the biosynthesis pathway), using CRISPR for example. Since we'd need to use HDR to fix the gene, we'd have a >20% efficiency, so we'd probably want to *ex vivo* fix the gene in some stem cells (or something), and reintroduce them to the body. This wouldn't fix the gene in all of your cells, but you probably don't need all of your cells making vitamin C anyway.
| 23 |
[MARVEL] Why doesn't Tony know what SHIELD is when his dad helped found it and they have a huge building in DC with their logo on it?
| 15 |
MCU Tony was happy to sell weapons, but didn't seemed overly concerned where they went. He may have been ignorant of world politics, or just didn't really care.
Alternatively, maybe Howard kept his involvement with SHIELD a secret. Tony had no idea his parents death wasn't an accident, which would have aroused suspicion if he openly worked for a spy organization.
or third option: Stark did know, and was messing with Coulson. Just like when he propped a laser up with Cap's prototype shield.
| 26 |
|
[Marvel] Does Captain America ever say some seriously racist/sexist/old fashioned stuff? Do the Avengers ever call him out on it?
|
He seems strangely inoffensive for someone from the 1940s.
| 638 |
616 Cap wouldn't (barring mind-altering and/or reality-warping shenanigans, like what Kobik put him through). Magneto once tried to remove all anti-mutant prejudice from his mind, only to find that he *already* lacked prejudice toward *anyone*.
Ultimate Cap said that kind of stuff, though. *A lot*. Ultimate Cap is a jerk. So is most of the Ultimate Universe beyond Spidey's corner of it.
| 834 |
ELI5: Why are galaxies shaped like disks and are there any that are not?
| 23 |
There are many, many galaxies that are not disc shaped. For example, elliptical and irregular galaxies.
There is still a great deal to be learned about how spiral galaxies form. Generally, the disc shape is a result of rotation--a galaxy can be roughly though of as a bunch of matter orbiting a super dense center, containing a black hole. This orbit sometimes tends to align itself on a single plane, and so you get a disc shape.
| 13 |
|
[Chemistry] What exactly happens in the brain when someone "Blacks out" from alcohol?
|
I am guessing that some kind of block happens so nothing can reach long term memory, but I am not sure why a lot of alcohol causes this. I am wondering what happens on a chemical level as to why when someone consumes a lot of alcohol they "Black out" and cannot remember anything the next day.
| 33 |
Alcohol is an antagonist for NMDA receptors in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. These receptors bind glutamate, which deems them excitatory. Alcohol is also an agonist for GABA receptors, which are inhibitory. This serves as a positive feedback loop, and if you have enough alcohol it can be strong enough to inhibit something called long term potentiation. LTP is basically a strengthening of the synaptic connection between neurons so that the response is stronger to the stimulus (you trying to remember something). If you're unable to reach LTP you're unable to recall the memory in a long term context, therefore you black out.
| 35 |
ELI5:Why do your leg hairs hurt after wearing socks all day?
| 404 |
Tight clothes pull your leg and foot hair in directions it doesn't naturally go. After a while, the follicles become sore from the stress. It's especially noticeable with socks, because you pull them on against the natural flow of hair and they don't move to let the hair settle back.
| 259 |
|
ELI5:Why do some websites say it takes 72 hours to remove you from their mailing list? Why isn't it instantaneous?
|
Surprised that in 2017 it still takes so long to process a removal of an email, i always feel like they're buying some time to send you a few more promo emails
| 27 |
It's mostly CYA. You are probably removed from the "get new email" list quickly, but they can't guarantee there isn't an already sent email sitting in a mail servers queue somewhere you haven't received yet. Easier to give you a few day buffer than have you call up angry the next day.
| 34 |
In recycling, is rusty iron any different to iron that's fresh off the forge?
|
Is it possible to recycle rusty iron? Is the method the same? Can you recycle both types together? Would 1 kg of rusty iron produce the same amount as 1 kg of non-rusty iron?
| 42 |
It depends on the shape of the metal. As rust is oxidised iron, the stuff below the rust layer is fine so you can use that, and you can also save some of the iron out of the rust part, so you don't loose too much.
If its a thin plate thats completely rusted, then you won't save a lot.
| 11 |
ELI5: Before the invention of modern surgery, were minor illnesses like appendicitis a death sentence?
| 247 |
Yes, pretty much. Go along any old graveyards and you'll see ample amounts of dead children and teens. If you're living somewhere like me, you'll see some with the "cause" of death. Many times, it's passed suddenly away in his sleep, or was taken too soon. A lot of the time, people just had these unknown ailments that did them in. Some premodern surgery could crudely save lives, but ultimately, a lot of people died from things that wouldn't be a major issue nowadays in modern society
| 237 |
|
ELI5: Current US piracy law
|
When and how can torrent client users etc. be prosecuted or tracked down by the government?
| 54 |
Agencies hired by the RIAA/MPAA/whoever else will go into popular torrents and download them like a normal user. Doing so gives them a list of all of the seeds and leechers in their client, like any other user has. An IP address alone however, is like having someone's street address but not their name. So they petition the ISP that governs that IP and say "Hey we have a warrent give us the information relating to this IP address" and they have to comply. You might get a Cease and Desist letter or something related as well. These groups make their money because people will hurry to settle instead of trying to fight them in court, because they have millions of dollars in legal advice.
Note: the government is not the one suing people. It's companies trying to protect their investments.
| 17 |
ELI5: What happens when our immune system makes us ”immune” to a disease. And how does it do it?
| 21 |
The Immune System is incredibly complex, so there really is no ELI5 answer, but in essence you have special immune cells that are designed to recognize foreign/non-native molecules called "antigens". When these antigens are found, the immune cells latch on to the foreign cells and destroy them while simultaneously "remembering" the distinct characteristics of the antigen that it was exposed to so that when/if it sees it again, or another very similar antigen, the immune cells can kill it that much more easily. This ability for the immune system to "learn" is its greatest strength and is now being used to harness the same power to fight endemic genetic diseases like cancer. In fact, the most recent Noble Prize for medicine/physiology was given for this discovery. Former US President Jimmy Carter is probably the most famous patient to have used this immunoglobulin therapy to treat the melanoma which had spread to his brain.
| 10 |
|
[Man of Steel] What theories do the scientific community have about the Kryptonians/Atlanteans/Amazonians?
|
With the recent attack on Earth by kryptonian forces and the subsequent discovery of subject Superman, we have learned that we are not alone in this universe. Recently we have discovered two more species that inhabit the Earth, the Atlaneans and the Amazonians. We need some theories as to what we are dealing with.
Coming from a strictly scientific viewpoint, what are the most likely origins of these two races of technologically advanced superhumans?
How did their technology become so much more advanced than ours?
Why do the current known alien species (Kryptonians, Amazonians, and Altanteans) look like humans?
What are the sources of their super-human abilities?
What will be their current role be in the geopolitical community?
(//4th// The new tone of the reboot is a realistic one, and a JL movie may come within the next few years, so what would be the most accurate predictions the scientific community would make in this scenario assuming they know the basics of Amazon and Atlantean society and all of what Superman knows about his people. Yes I know in the comics the Amazonians literally came from gods, but what would a level headed scientist think?)
tldr: Whats up with all these people on Earth that aren't strictly speaking, human?
| 38 |
The people of Atlantis have evolved to have a body that can hold up to the pressure of being at the bottom of the ocean, they likely can't breathe air at all since they stay in water mostly, and if they can it may be tough for them to breathe. There's a good chance they're able to see in darker light levels since the ocean isn't the brightest place.
| 11 |
[Magic: The Gathering] How does someone become a planeswalker? What exactly are their powers?
| 94 |
> How does someone become a planeswalker?
Be born with a spark. It won't do anything until it is awakened by suffering severe trauma, like getting buried alive or seeing you loved ones die in front of you. You could live your whole life with a spark and never awaken it.
It's also possible but difficult to take a planeswalker's spark, like Karn did.
> What exactly are their powers?
The only consistent power they have is the ability to planeswalk, hop between worlds by jaunting through the Blind Eternities. This can activate reflexively when a planeswalker is injured, or it can be invoked through concentration. Some planeswalkers are better at it than others. This is a very unique power, post-Mending the only living creatures that can do it are planeswalkers and eldrazi.
Planeswalkers always have superpowers unique to the individual because their spark gives them strong affinity for mana, putting them on par with the strongest mages in the multiverse. Mana doesn't always express as powerful magic, but it's usually powerful magic. Stuff like Gideon's invulnerability, or Jace's telepathy, or Jiang and Miwu.
| 77 |
|
ELI5: Jupiter is made of gas. Given the incredible amount of winds, whirls and storms there, how come its color isn't homogeneous yet ?
| 524 |
The overly simplistic answer is that different gases are present, and they all have different densities, which results in them layering both north/south and vertically within the atmosphere. While the winds do cause these layers to mix, its not enough to turn it into a well-mixed gas.
| 191 |
|
[Star Wars] Did Bail know that Anakin survived and became Vader?
|
Bail knows that Leia is Anakin's daughter. Does he also know that Anakin survived his duel with Obi-Wan and became Vader? If so would he have ever told Leia?
| 253 |
More than likely. Senator Organa pretty much committed treason against the new Empire by harboring two Jedi masters. He was there when the twins were separated, one can assume he knew at least who Vader really was. And after seeing the new Vader, he could have probably put two and two together.
However, it is highly unlikely he would have ever told Leia about it. That could have made her seek out Vader and caused all sorts of problems.
| 166 |
What's going on in this gif? Is this possible?
|
[I came across this gif](http://i.imgur.com/oQcXQ.gif) the other day and was wondering if there is some cool science going on behind this trick, or if it is just clever editing/totally fake. Anybody have any insight?
| 49 |
Looks like a thin card of a thermoplastic. When cool, a thermoplastic consists of many polymer chains bound together by Van der Waals forces or hydrogen bonding. When heated, the polymer chains can slide over and around one another, making it something like a liquid. Think of the difference between a hot and a cold thermoplastic as the difference between a ball of spaghetti with/without olive oil.
It looks like she heats the card, thus allowing the thermoplastic to flow. The edges of the card are still above the transition temperature, so they're still solid. When she blows, the polymer chains slide around one another, allowing a bobble to form. As the bubble expands, parts of it near the edge cool, hardening the thermoplastic. This cooling process continues outwards, and at the same time the bubble gets longer and longer. Eventually, the entire thing has dropped beneath the transition temperature, and it stays solid, albeit flimsy.
| 61 |
Learn C++ or Python?
|
First of all, I am aware of the fact that you better know both languages because they are both VERY powerful.
What language should I learn first? In my CS subject I am currently learning a lot of Java and next year C# and other languages will come too. But I want to start learning another language on my own. What is your opinion on both languages? Which one should I choose?
| 25 |
I would learn C++ first so you can understand things at a lower level which will translate into being a better and more efficient programmer in Python. Just to name a simple example, you’ll understand why `obtect1==object2` evaluates to false in Python although both objects contain the same exact property and values because you would have dealt with pointers in C++.
| 17 |
[DBZ] Do humans have an upper limit that they physically can't surpass?
|
Saiyans seems to be able to reach insane heights of power, but humans seem left behind. Is it possible given the same level of training for Humans to grow to a similar level, or is it just not possible?
| 72 |
Saiyans have an unfair advantage over humans. First, a saiyan baby is almost certainly going to be stronger than any adult human, minus a few exceptions, probably due to being a warrior race that only lives for battle.
Then, saiyans also have the ability of zenkai, which increases their power after any injury, especially from near fatal wounds that they survive.
There are a few unfair advantages on the saiyan side, but they most likely have an easier time with attaining much higher strength than humans due to evolutionary traits.
Some examples that humans are capable of greater feats would be Krillin, Tien, And even Yamcha, who are all impossibly strong compared to any human. Even by the end of the Frieza saga, Krillin and Tien are easily stronger than 90% of saiyans that have lived, Yamcha probably could hold his own as well.
Humans are capable, but it would probably take generations to develop the ability to catch up, even in the slightest.
| 78 |
Why do so many scam websites actually deliver on their promises if you press the right buttons?
|
I dunno if this quite fits here, it doesn't have to do with coding per se, but malware. How come there's so many "too good to be true" websites that are actually too good to be true? Yeah, they do everything in their power to make you click on the wrong button, but if you dodge all the phish hooks there's actual value in using the website. I'm talking about the kind that let you download Youtube videos and watch movies for free and torrent games, softwares, porn, etc. Any time I've played around with these sites I can usually get what I want with seemingly no consequence (although I will admit I caught a weather bug once a few years ago). If the goal was to scam people, why give them a chance to get the actual product, and unscathed at that? Is it to build trust so they tell their more gullible friends about it? It just seems like a lot of work and kind of counterproductive to the con.
| 42 |
The content you're looking for is actually there. But they get paid for affiliate marketing whenever someone clicks the "wrong" button. The website you're on isn't looking to scam you, they're just looking to get paid.
Basically, it's just a modern version of pop-up ads. Website A has the download. But they also advertise for website B, C, D-> Z. The way affiliate programs work, sometimes sites dont even know who they're advertising for, or where the fake links lead to.
| 55 |
ELI5: Why do you sometimes feel nauseous/queasy when you're extremely hungry?
|
It seems really weird that at a moment when your stomach is almost (if not totally) empty, that you can feel like you're about to throw up.
What's going on there?
| 421 |
When you have very low blood sugar, your pancreas releases a hormone called glucagon into the blood stream, which triggers the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose to raise blood sugar levels. A side effect of glucagon is nausea, and we're not really sure why.
| 340 |
MoM inflation shows inflation has stopped. Why do we track inflation YoY instead of MoM?
|
We are currently tracking inflation YoY at around 8.5% for last several months. But MoM, its nearly zero for the last two months: [https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-rate-mom](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-rate-mom)
Why are we looking at YoY inflation when MoM inflation is showing that it has stopped (at least for the last 2 months). Are we expecting prices to \_go back\_ to 2021 levels? What would the point of that be except to recess the economy? If we are at near 0% MoM inflation for next 6 months I would think that would be sufficient to have considered the inflationary period over.
| 35 |
Both are useful. The reason for an emphasis on YoY is that we can see one month with higher than expected inflation and then the following month lower than expected. YoY can balance that variation. Additionally, MoM does not account for seasonality. So, inflation will show higher in December than in November. With that said, seeing a MoM inflation near zero it could be an initial indicator that the YoY inflation will return to the ~2% inflation target in the near future.
| 67 |
ELI5: How do they know what the possible high and low for the day’s temperature will be?
|
When a weather forecast says there is going to be a high of 18 and a low of 12 for example, how do they know the temperature range or possibility, especially over a weekly forecast?
| 17 |
It is done with mathematical models that use observational data from all over the world that including ground measurement and satellite observation. The calculation is done by supercomputers to predict the future.
The models are not perfect and the data you input is limited so the farther you go into the future the lower is the accuracy of the prediction.
Another reason for the error is that the calculation is done in grids that might be 2.5x2.5km in size. The weather is not identical in each grid and it might rain in part and the other side has sunshine but the weather models assume the same weather in all of the grid. The terrain is not the same in the whole grid and it can have an effect too.
| 12 |
[DC] Does Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin work on Superman?
|
He might be bulletproof but what about his biology? Would the gas work on him or does he have some kind of super immunity?
| 20 |
Yes. In fact Fear Toxin played a key role in the inciting incident of Injustice. Spoilers: >!Joker subjected Superman to fear toxin and made him see Lois as Doomsday. The resulting fight killed Lois, their baby, and Metropolis!<
| 29 |
Can a machine be too weak to solve a problem?
|
Is there a problem that can be solved on a "powerful" computer but cannot be solved on a "weaker" computer.
Of course, the weaker computer will always take more time to solve the problem, but will it always be able to solve it eventually, or a problem can be too complex to ever be solved?
Assumption: hard disk is always large enough for storing the data, so there is no problem of being out of storage.
Lets assume that memory and cpu are relatively weak on the "weak" computer.
My thoughts are that out of memory error could prevent it from completing the computation. Can out of memory problem always be solved by just spilling to disk?
| 26 |
I think you're describing a *slow* computer, rather than what I'd call a "weak" one. Most computers are designed to be "computationally universal", meaning that they can simulate any other computationally-universal computer. In that sense, the power of a CPU has nothing to do with its speed.
> Can out of memory problem always be solved by just spilling to disk?
Secondary storage is still memory. Disk is slower and less convenient to use (since it's not directly connected to the CPU's memory space), but otherwise equivalent to RAM.
| 31 |
What's the reason behind unpronounced letters?
|
Started to wonder when thinking about the word 'beaucoup' (french for 'much'). There's languages where words are very long for how much is actually being pronounced. Is it just speakers being too "lazy" over a long time? But why hasn't the written word followed along?
| 19 |
Pronunciation is historically much more variable than writing. This is because writing a word down creates an easily consulted "record" of how that word is to be spelled (even if not everyone agrees with you), whereas -- before broadcast media and sound recording came along -- there was no way to "remind" a group of speakers how a word is to be pronounced.
Seeing a word spelled out can indicate how it is to be pronounced, but in areas of low education and literacy, and especially before the era of printing, this is not particularly effective.
Because of this, it tends to be easy for pronunciations to drift over time and between regions, so much so that spellings began to look nonsensical compared to spoken language. Some languages have simplified their spelling to correct this, while others have not.
Another contributing factor is the borrowing of words from other languages, sometimes with those other languages' spelling rules, which are illogical in the context of the new "host" language.
French has a lot of silent letters, but in many ways is more logical in its pronunciation than English is. Read this list of words, all of which are identical except for the first letter, aloud to yourself: bough, cough, dough, rough. You can imagine the processes that led to these words being pronounced differently.
| 15 |
[SCP Foundation] What the Foundation do when a sapient SCP shows extreme signs of distress and depression caused by it's imprisonment ?
| 25 |
Depends on its classification. they wouldn't give two fucks if a Keter class was getting depressed. They make make concessions for helpful Elucid, and would probably be rather accommodating to Safe classed SCPs.
| 40 |
|
[Avatar/The Legend of Korra]Why do most Bloodbenders need the full moon to bloodbend while bending the water inside plants is fairly easy?
| 21 |
The moon amplifies the abilities of Waterbenders, allowing even the most novice of waterbenders to do amazing feats, and allowing masters to do things never before thought possible.
&#x200B;
Every living thing has Chi(Or chakras, if you're going by the Western Air Nomad terminology) and the more complex the organism, the more Chi they have, which offers a natural resistance to the interference of other's energy reaching inside them and disrupting the flow of things.
&#x200B;
Plants have nearly no complexity or Chi (if any) and thus can be reached into and manipulated easily.
| 35 |
|
ELI5 - What is an API?
|
I read the Wiki page but I still don't get it
| 32 |
API is a very overloaded term.
&#x200B;
It can refer to a piece of software that runs on an Formula 1 race car and provides the engine management software with ambient temperature data used to calculate fuel mixture (i.e. a thermostat API). It can also refer to an entire web application deployed across 5000 servers that Facebook's mobile apps use to upload photos (i.e. the mobile image upload API).
&#x200B;
So context is very important. However at it's core an API refers to a contract between two pieces of software dictating how they interact.
&#x200B;
Your OS you're using right now has APIs available that applications (such as your web browser) use like storage and networking APIs
Your graphics card has APIs that game developers use to render stuff.
Online services provide APIs which your OS uses to do things like get the current time synced with the atomic clock time or check for updates.
APIs are everywhere!
| 20 |
ELI5:Why does my drink seem a lot colder when I have mint gum in my mouth?
|
Especially cold when I have a cold drink, almost unbearable.
| 2,478 |
The mint contains menthol, and menthol stimulates the nerve endings in your mouth responsible for temperature in a way that registers as cold. Chillies contain a chemical called capsaicin that does the opposite.
| 2,415 |
What are some criticisms of Peter Singer's philosophy?
| 42 |
* Martha Nussbaum's Capability Approach
* Alasdair MacIntyre's *After Virtue* in which he likens the principle of utility to a conceptual fiction that might produce beneficial actions, but a fiction nonetheless.
* Eva Kittay challenges Singer's attitude towards the euthanasia of disabled infants in a 28 day period as a mother of a profoundly disabled woman.
* Robert Solomon argues that Singer refuses to speak in languages beyond that of a limited logic and reason that denies human compassion.
There are many other critics who condemn Singer's perceived dismissal of human dignity. What exactly are you looking for?
| 20 |
|
[WH40K] Why aren't all Space Marines murderous psychopaths?
|
Considering the brutality of their training and background, I can't see them being anything but barely restrained killers. So how come some of them seem rather professional and civilized? They were culled from the most vicious of killers and trained to be better killers with other killers. Their sole purpose is killing, how can they have any semblance of humanity?
| 63 |
It all depends on the chapter the marine comes from really, however.....
For the most part space marines are psychopathic killer and those tendencies are encouraged. Sometimes the chapter goes out of the way to recruit the most brutal criminals from the depths of hive worlds. Their job is killing and not PR
For the most part marines are not human - they come from human stock, but after their surgeries and training they are not. They are imbued with the gene seed of a near god primarch which stems from the emperor himself - they are far from human now.
So why do they appear so human sometimes? Well, they probably need you for something, it is in their benefit tactically, or they are from one of the chapters thats not ape shit fanatics.
If you want some semi reasonable chapters look at the salamanders and ultramarines, but even then these guys love killing.
| 45 |
ELI5: What is the difference between anodizing and galvanizing?
| 15 |
Anodizing produces a stable oxide coating on the material - usually aluminium - which prevents further degradation.
Galvanising deposits a layer of corrosion-resistant zinc onto (usually) steel. Not only is zinc quite resistant to corrosion anyway, but it also forms an electrochemical pair with the steel which makes it electrically unfavourable for the steel to rust. There's another benefit - the zinc coating can to some extent self-repair, because the battery effect re-plates scratches and minor dings.
| 14 |
|
ELI5: The center of the earth
|
From what I understand thus far the center of the earth is a molten mass and we're living on the crust, which occasionally leaks by way of volcanoes and other vents. How is the earth still molten after all this time? Will it ever "burn out" like the sun is predicted to do? How important is the moltenness of the center for life to exist?
| 50 |
You're asking a LOT of questions here, too much for a single ELI5, I'll just answer the main one.
First, your description of the earth isn't quite accurate there fam. The centre of the earth is a ball of super-hot iron, then there's a massive layer of rock all around it that's so hot that it's plasticky. Then on top of that there's a crust.
The earth is still hot even after all this time for a few reasons.
* It's super super massive, and it would take an extraordinarily long time to cool down. There's so much heat down there that the insulation on the Earth's outside and the vacuum of space means it's not lost yet. It's kind of like its own thermos.
* The rock inside it is moving. It has a moon and a sun, and the gravity from these pulls the rocks just like it pulls the ocean tides. Heavier material sinks, lighter material floats. This movement of material creates force and friction which helps heat it just like rubbing your pant leg with your hand will warm your hand.
* The earth is radioactive inside, not much, but enough to generate quite a bit of heat.
* The sun continuously has provided a fair bit of warmth too, replenishing some during the "day" that bleeds into space at "night".
Some of these sources of heat are way more powerful than others, but they all add up to enough energy to keep the earth's "mantle" - the layer between the core and the crust - hot enough to occasionally form pools of underground liquid rock. These become volcanoes if they break through the crust to the surface.
| 119 |
ELI5: If inflation hovers around 1%-3%, does a 2.5% raise at work just mean you're keeping up with inflation?
|
& if that's the case, does ones standard of living just remain constant? (assuming you stay at a 2.5% increase year-over-year)
| 432 |
More or less. Inflation is a measure of the average price of goods in an economy, so assuming your spending is relatively average with regards to category (food, rent, transportation) then your cost of living increases with inflation.
As such, a raise of roughly the rate of inflation is just keeping you at the same level.
| 277 |
Is controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment?
|
I just want to say that I don't know a lot about economics but I was still curious about my political leaning and I know it knows a legit test but I thought it might be fun to take one.
I took a political compass test and one of the questions was if controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment? From my understanding, it might be better to inflation because it might lead to unemployment but I'm not sure.
| 67 |
So a common tool used in Economics to explain the relationship between unemployment and inflation is the Phillips curve. Basically, it says that In the short run, inflation and unemployment have an inverse relationship. Theoretically, if you have lower amount of inflation, you will also have higher rates of unemployment. The theory comes from the idea that because wages are a big part of overall prices, inflation (rather than wages) could be inversely related to unemployment.
However, the Phillips curve has fallen off in recent years as a way to accurately predict unemployment. The relationship has not been seen to be as stable or as strong. Basically, data from 1970 and onwards has messed up the idea of this theory.
| 62 |
[Sherlock Holmes in ACD's canon] Is Sherlock Holmes really as skillful and awesome as has been told about him, or does Watson exaggerate, embellish and glorify Holmes' merits and skills like what Holmes itself said about Watson's write style?
| 17 |
Watson's chronicle largely skips the minutia and drug abuse, so we're only treated to events he was present for, from his perspective.
Thus, well, yes, sort of, but not that much. Since Holmes often explains his chain of thought, there's no reason to assume that Watson embellished his intelligence or deductive skills.
| 26 |
|
ELI5: Why does it matter which way your ceiling fan is spinning? Is pushing the air down from the ceiling really actually different than pulling the air up from the floor?
|
I think I'm supposed to switch the direction of my ceiling fans, but I really can't see how that really matters - isn't it basically the same end result either way the fan is spinning?
| 118 |
A ceiling fan has two effects:
1. Mixing the air in the room to even out the temperature
2. Moving the air to create a windchill effect when it moves over your skin
Either fan direction will have a similar mixing effect, but the windchill effect is biggest when you are on the blowing side of the fan. You can try this with a standing fan: put your hand in front and behind and notice how much cooler it feels in front.
In summer you don't really care about the mixing effect and just want windchill, so you set it to blow down. In winter you want mixing to spread the heat from your heater around but don't want windchill so you set it to blow up.
| 168 |
[Matrix] What did Smith want? What was his purpose?
|
Why did he try to kill neo, destroy Zion and take over the entire matrix? What did he want?
| 19 |
He was programmed to act as a nemesis to mankind in general and Zion in particular. To not just fight them, not just hate them, but to hate their very means of existence; the very act of living in a human world with human sensations was repugnant to him. This hatred drove him in his assigned task, to seek and destroy Zion's operatives at all possible turns. This hatred and disgust was already pushing him to the edges of his programmed task during the first film, plotting to destroy Zion entirely.
But that's not his purpose. His purpose was to make the Zion crews feel enough pressure to not do anything too overt, but not enough pressure to die out entirely. By design, *Smith can never do what he was programmed to do*. He and his fellow agents were set up to fail from the very beginning, pawns in the Architect's design to keep the cycle going. And when the One emerges they are called home.
But before Smith could get called home, he went through his traumatic death and rebirth at Neo's hands. He came back still hating humanity, and hating Neo as well, but no longer with any compulsion to defend the system or secure the Matrix. He could go full tilt against Neo, and happily take the whole system and every human in it down in the process.
| 27 |
ELI5: Why does the mortar not come to the edge of the bricks?
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I was looking at a brick wall the other day and I was wondering why the mortar between the bricks does quite come to the edge of the bricks, ie. it's not flush with the outside surface of the bricks (which would make the wall smoother.
Generally when I'm gluing things I actually plan for there to be excess glue to wipe away so that the maximum surface for gluing has been used, but that doesn't seem to be the case with bricks. Why is that?
| 18 |
We use rounded “jointers,” to press the mortar into the joints after the bricks have been laid. This ensures that the mortar in the joints is compacted against the bricks it’s binding together and that there are no holes or shallow areas in the joints. We then brush the mortar to further insure it is all sealed against the surrounding bricks and then it is struck again with the jointers to smooth the surface.
This is the prefers aesthetic of a brick wall but it does do many useful things. It ensures the joints are packed and full, it ensures the mortar is sealed against all edges of the bricks, and it ensures the surface is smooth to not allow water to build up in small pockets in the mortar.
There are other ways of finishing the mortar to achieve the same goals and some that are more decorative and don’t provide as much benefit against water protection as the traditional rounded concave joint or weatherstruck joints.
| 31 |
Why does a muscle get stronger?
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I know *what* happens when a muscle gets stronger. Buy *why* does that happen?
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This question was asked by my father who, for years, has been unsatisfied with the answers he's been getting. Can someone finally answer him?
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Edit: Thanks guys! He finally got an answer he was looking for! I can't reply to everyone and thank you, I didn't expect to get this many responses, so thank you all, on both his and my own behalf!
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Enhanced strength, either through thicker muscle fibers or increased neuromuscular efficiency, is the body's natural adaptation to having a certain stimulus, or stress, placed on it (in this case a heavy load or resistive force). The body adapts to be more ready for that same level of stress, should it happen again. In order to continue getting stronger the body must be progressively and consistently stimulated with an appropriate amount of stress. Loads of different magnitude, moved at different speeds, over various durations of time, can cause a wide variety of muscular and neuromuscular adaptations. Strength is only one of them.
| 108 |
ELI5: How is gravity calculated for distant planets and moons?
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How do we know the gravity for saturn is 107% of earths gravity, or how did we calculate the escape velocity for moon for the Apollo 11 mission.
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Gravity is the same everywhere, there's the old Newton formula to calculate the gravitational force that depends on the masses of the two objects and the distance (radius) between their centers. There is also a formula for calculating orbital velocity based on the mass of the planet. So if you know the orbital period of a moon, and the distance, you can calculate the gravity of the planet.
| 17 |
[The Good Place] What's the point of Janet?
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When the main characters actually get to the real Good Place, it turns out that the people there are actually miserable because everything they want instantly appears and that takes all the joy out of everything.
None of them are ever seen asking a Janet for anything. Whatever they want just appears.
So why does Janet even exist? If you have a system where people can just think of something they want and they immediately get it, why would you need to create a sentient version of Siri with the power to summon things? It just seems redundant.
Even after Eleanor and the gang manage to fix The Good Place by implementing the new door that ends your existence, they don't seem to need Janet for anything, other than just being her friend. It's not like she serves a real function because they already have access to everything they could want without asking her for help.
| 249 |
The denizens of the Good Place definitely ask the Janet for something at one point but the whole point is that they are so bored of getting whatever they want whenever they want that they rarely do anymore.
| 199 |
My friend uses "preference utilitarianism" to justify painless euthanasia of infants. Is this a proper application of preference utilitarianism? What arguments for/against this might exist?
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I'll preface this by saying I'm not extremely well-versed in philosophy, which is why my question is so broad.
Background: My friend has, in the past months, been better acquainting himself with philosophical thought, which is generally a noble pursuit. Recently, he's taken a shine to the idea of preference utilitarianism, and tells me that decisions should be weighed based on some kind of net preference surrounding them. For instance, he came to me today arguing that one can justify painlessly euthanizing newborn babies with severe birth defects, because they do not yet have any preference or view of themselves. He later defined his stance as a sort of extension to traditional abortion, stating that it wouldn't even matter if the child has a severe medical condition; what matters is the potential plight of the parents. He makes an argument of consistency, saying that it is irrational to support the right of abortion but not the right to a post-partum euthanasia. This is my first post here, and I hope it makes sense, but I'm really just curious about what those more well-versed in philosophy think about this stance. He has brought it up with his family, and caused great domestic stress, later telling me that his mother was just a weak philosopher and irrational thinker for not agreeing. I would like to know how you guys assess the rationality and philosophical merit of his stance, and whether you think it would be a common thing for a preference utilitarian to argue. All thoughts are welcome, thanks for reading!
edit: a word
| 23 |
That is a stance within preference utilitarianism for reasons much like he stated, and is close to what peter singer has argued. But its not the only stance. R M Hare upholds an opposing stance which says that preference utilitarianism shouldn't be seen as just about your current interests, but also "what you have interests in." There's a reason we don't normally consider it okay to kill people when they are asleep and lack any preference for survival, or even if they space out hard enough or have a bad day and suicidal thoughts on it. On Hare's view, the infant that will later become an adult, or the sleeping person can be *presumed* to have interests in survival, because their later surviving self can be expected to have wanted to have survived earlier. Basically, that its self evident that its not "in someone's interests" to not survive.
That aside, even if the former was true, a consistent utilitarian should realize that saying things to people when it is likely to cause people great anguish that nothing is likely to be gained from is itself not consistent with a utilitarian stance. There is a utilitarian meta stance about how utilitarians may want to cover up some utilitarian positions if it would only cause problems for them to be known at times.
| 32 |
[Star Wars] What aspect of space ship design makes it fast?
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I was just wondering how the Millennium Falcon got so fast. Do you just need a big hyperdrive on a small hull? If that's true, how come no one designed lighter hulls to compete?
| 39 |
Actually, "speed" is largely a matter of navigation, not directly speed (although that plays a part). Most of the Falcon's impressive run time comes from General Solo's personal modifications to the navigational computer. For example, navigating around the black hole cluster surrounding the Kessel region requires a ponderous route of at least 21 Parsecs - however, Solo managed to chart a course that was only 9 Parsecs long.
When entering hyperdrive, navigation is crucial - gravitational fields surround stars at vast distances, and even the slightest gravitational pull has to be accounted for, since in hyperdrive the slightest change in direction can send you literally light-years off course. And those mistakes can send you into further gravity fields (or even on a collision with a star or planet!), thus further altering your course, etc. Navigation here is key - if you can successfully navigate this complex system, you can cut incredible length off your journey.
| 56 |
eli5 Why does a previously perfectly crispy French fry become a limp wet flaccid potato dick after just a short time in the fridge?
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Every time I get fries (or chippies for my pals across the pond) they serve me way too many, so I throw them in the fridge. Instantly they are transformed into inedible flaccid sludge. What gives? Why does this happen and how should o be storing them for maximum future crispy deliciousness? Help!
| 17 |
It will happen the same if left alone on a countertop; it's partially because of oil used to fry with and part condensation. How could it condensate, you ask? Well, cool air typically has moisture in it, not always, but usually some moisture content. Well, heat travels from hot to cold, and when it travels, the normally vaporized moisture condenses and forms droplets, but since a potato will absorb moisture, it becomes "flaccid potato dick".
Also, if you put it an airtight plastic bag, it should mitigate some of that. But will not all of it. Get an airfryer. That will return your goodies to their former glory.
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Eli5 what do we use linear algebra for?
| 25 |
Linear algebra is having a real explosion of usefulness in computer science right now.
It’s the basis of much of machine learning. For example, Linear algebra is how Netflix recommends your next binge. You can set up a system of equations that represent different properties of movies and then find eigenvectors to understand which properties are independent of what other properties in people’s preferences. Then you can compare two movies by using the Pythagorean theorem to find the shortest distance between any two given movies on the map.
| 53 |
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ELI5: How does CBD work?
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Assuming you are talking about Cannabidiol, a cannabinoid, i will try to explain it as simply as possible.
Cannabinoids (most notably THC) act on specific receptors in the brain called CB1 and CB2, but CBD is pretty special because it has a pretty low affinity to these receptors (compared to other cannabinoids) and can also tie to various other receptors (such as GABA-A), which means it affects different parts of the brain in different ways. Overall, CBD can interact with serotonin receptors (basically making the brain think it’s released serotonin), can delay the reuptake of various neurotransmitters (which means making the effect longer) or inhibiting receptors for others (for expample blocking pain reception).
It is widely used in medicine as a natural antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and painkiller, since its use has basically little to no side effects while also being way more efficient than many other lab-produced medicines. The problem is only one: social stigma. People still see cannabis and any of its compounds as “deadly drugs” and this greatly influences research and development of natural medicines… hopefully some day we will get over this and realise the beneficial effects it has!
Edit: little grammar corrections here and there
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[MCU] how often did The Ancient One mess up? (*Dr Strange spoilers*)
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Mordo has known the Ancient One for decades at most, and she is untold centuries old. Several times he acts as if she has given them all good reason to question her.
When the ancient one blasts strange's astral form from his body - mordo: "his heart can't take any more!" ancient one: "I think it can..".
And when mordo finds out he ancient one stranded strange in the himalayas, instead of trusting that as a safe method to get a student out of their rut, he groans "oh no, not again" as though there were problems the last time she did it.
So.. did she often mess up with life and death situations? If someone died could she bring them back? The only healing magic we saw was persistent channeling to puppet a body after nerve damage, nothing like regeneration or healing of any kind.. was the only reason she was in charge because she was the sorcerer supreme and there was no established method of voting her out?
| 38 |
Mordo is not the best judge. He is uncomfortable with taking unnecessary risks and is not the most imaginative person around. And, more importantly, he did not know what the Ancient One knew.
What seemed reckless to Mordo was considered a safe bet by the Ancient One. He's like that panicky friend you drive with who thinks you shouldn't go so fast or spend so much time weaving around on the sidewalk.
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