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Why did Acemoglu never win a Nobel Prize in economics?
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I feel like almost every topic on development he is the leading name, and his works seem disruptive.
Are there some specific reasons? Is it probable that he is going to be laureate soon due to his contributions?
| 30 |
Laureates generally tend to be older and prizes tend to take their time. Card, one of last year's laureates, won the prize for work that in part goes back to the 90's. Not to mention that you of course always have to pick someone and at the same time forego picking everybody else who's also an excellent candidate.
That said, Acemoglu certainly contributes a lot and there's a good chance he gets one at some point.
| 56 |
If we were to build the Voyager space craft today would it be orders of magnitude better than the 1977 version or are there limitations (e.g. power source, propulsion, sensors, etc) that keep us from really improving this design?
| 2,808 |
I imagine the instrumentation would be fantastic! one drawback, however is that voyager took advantage of the "grand tour". the planets had lined up nicely as to allow NASA to plot a course with several "gravitational slingshots" to accelerate the probe beyond escape velocity. we won't have another planetary arrangement that good for a long time. so we'd have to have a hell of a lot more propulsion on it to get it out there.
| 1,584 |
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Why do I sometimes lose weight on days when I eat much more than I should have?
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I've been trying hard to lose weight - and succeeding. I've lost more than forty pounds over the past five months, since I started running and eating right. Yesterday I ate waaaay too many calories, and it wasn't a workout day. But when I woke up this morning, I had lost two pounds! This isn't a unique experience. It has happened in the past. I'm 30, 6'4", 285lbs. I've been trying to eat under 2,500 calories every day. Yesterday I probably ate closer to 3,500, maybe more.
TL;DR - in the context of a calorie cutting diet & exercise program, I ate a ton more calories than I should have and woke up two pounds lighter. Why?
| 21 |
There are a lot of short term factors that case your weight to fluxuate beyond your core weight loss, your water content in particular.
If you drank a lot and ate a small amount of high sodium foods, you would would have been overhydrated for your weigh in.
Then the next day, you eat a lot, include some diuretics, then maybe sweat a little more than usual that night, you'd be underhydrated, enough to compensate for the extra food you ate.
Also note that bathroom scales are sensitive to temperature and humidity, and aren't always that accurate to begin with. A 2 lbs. swing is not terrible significant.
| 11 |
ELI5: Mitochondrial Eve - How can it be that we are all descendant from a single person?
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If the population at the time of Mitochondrial Eve was ten thousand people, how can all the other lines of descendants disappear, and how can we know that they did without testing every single human alive?
| 25 |
Mitochondrial Eve isn't a real single person, it's a concept for a theoretical person, but the actual person isn't known, and would constantly change with time. It's not really useful to think of it as an actual person.
| 12 |
ELI5: why does eating human flesh lead to "the shakes"?
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For the record - I'm not planning on any crazy dietary changes. I just watched The Book of Eli and it's mentioned repeatedly, I'm curious as to what the correlation is.
| 31 |
Kuru is a real life disease caused by a prion transmitted through consumption of infectious brain matter.
It was first noted in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s and 60s and has largely remained only in that area due to endocannibalistic practices. They eat their dead.
Eating the flesh of a person who wasn't infected with the disease isn't harmful. At least no more harmful than eating most other meats.
| 25 |
[Mathematics] Probability Question - Do we treat coin flips as a set or individual flips?
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/r/psychology is having a debate on the gamblers fallacy, and I was hoping /r/askscience could help me understand better.
Here's the scenario. A coin has been flipped 10 times and landed on heads every time. You have an opportunity to bet on the next flip.
I say you bet on tails, the chances of 11 heads in a row is 4%. Others say you can disregard this as the individual flip chance is 50% making heads just as likely as tails.
Assuming this is a brand new (non-defective) coin that hasn't been flipped before — which do you bet?
**Edit** Wow this got a lot bigger than I expected, I want to thank everyone for all the great answers.
| 1,996 |
Before the coin is flipped at all, the chance that it will come up heads 11 times in a row is 1/2048 (not sure where you got 4%). However, as you gain information, the probabilities of various outcomes will change. For example, the probability of getting tails 11 times in a row is also 1/2048 before you start flipping, but as soon as you get heads on the first flip the probability of that outcome is now zero.
When you consider a coin which has come up heads 10 times in a row, every outcome for the result of eleven flips has been eliminated except for heads 11 times or heads 10 times followed by tails once. Each of these had the same probability to begin with, 1/2048, and each one has the same probability now, 1/2. Therefore, it doesn't matter which one you bet on.
| 3,178 |
[The Expanse] What's going on in the rest of the Solar System?
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I'm using the TV series as my basis for this as I have not read any of the books.
The action and intrigue seems to focus solely on Earth, Mars, and the Belt. What about the rest of the Solar System? Does humanity have a presence beyond the Belt, on moons such as Europa and Titan, which I would imagine are prime candidates for colonization?
We have the Outer Planets Alliance, which I would imagine encompasses everything that's not Earth and Mars. What about Venus and Mercury?
| 36 |
~45 million live around Jupiter, with the largest colonies on Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede's magnetosphere helps shield it from radiation, making it a prime location for growing food and having children.
The Saturn system has a population of ~20 million. Titan is known for its amazing dome resorts. Phoebe is a point of contention because Belters aren't even allowed into orbit due to the secretive nature of the research outpost there.
The furthest outpost is a small science settlement on Titania, around Uranus. Population ~5000.
Mercury and Venus aren't populated. Venus remains a hellhole, Mercury has nothing in particular to make it worth the effort.
| 27 |
According to the theory of relativity, when I fly in a plane time goes a teeny tiny bit slower. When I go back to the ground, do I sync back up like setting a watch or have I "lost" time?
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I do not know too much about the theory of relativity and the concept of time (although I'd like to think I do) but I find it extremely interesting. Please feel free to tell me I am looking at it the wrong way or have it plain wrong.
| 97 |
Well actually when you fly in a plane time goes a teeny bit *faster* than for people on the surface. If you were travelling in a fast car, then yes time would go by more slowly, or you would have *more time*, i.e. your time would be dilated. But the fact that you're on an airplane puts you farther out of the Earth's gravity well, which means you experience less dilation than we do on the surface, and it is this latter effect that dominates when you're on an airplane.
So yeah, flying on airplanes makes you age faster than travelling on the surface. No, it doesn't "sync" when you decelarate or re-enter your previous level in the gravity well.
| 58 |
ELI5: Churches, chapels, cathedrals and basillicas- what's the difference between them all? Is it denominational? Architectural? Size based?
| 24 |
A church is a place of Christian worship. A cathedral is a type of important church where you'll find a bishop, who is in charge of many priests. A basilica is a Catholic church which has been granted that title by the Pope because it has some special historical or architectural significance.
A chapel is a smaller place of prayer which is either part of a larger church, or which is attached to some non-religious institution: for example, a place of worship on a military base is a chapel, and the cleric in charge of it is called a chaplin.
| 31 |
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Did/do insects evolve faster than say, an elephant with a much longer lifespan?
| 23 |
In general, yes. The more number of generations you can fit inside a span of time, the more chances of random mutations you get.
This is why microorganisms can evolve to a certain antibiotic resistant strain quite fast (there also other ways to gain resistance, mutations are one of them.)
| 27 |
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What would average life expectancy be if there was no healthcare? No doctors, hospitals and modern medicine.
| 44 |
You would end up with a number that is a little misleading. You know how people say the Romans only lived to 35? The number of young person deaths skews the average way lot. At a guess, in an otherwise-stable society, without doctors, hospitals, and medicine? Plenty of people living into their 60s, lots of people not living past 4 or 5.
| 64 |
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CMV: Bitcoin investing is a ponzi scheme
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I think bitcoin investing is a ponzi scheme.
Wikipedia's definition of a ponzi scheme is: a fraudulent investment operation where the operator generates returns for older investors through revenue paid by new investors, rather than from legitimate business activities... Ponzi schemes rely on a constant flow of new investments to continue to provide returns to older investors. When this flow runs out, the scheme falls apart.
This seems pretty close to bitcoin. All the people who bought bitcoin when it was cheaper and are making money off of bitcoin are basically just stealing money from newer investors. I haven't fully though it through mathematically, but don't 50% of bitcoin investors have to lose money in order for the other half to make money? That sounds like a ponzi scheme in my opinion.
_____
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| 18 |
It's not a ponzi scheme, because there is no central operator. A ponzi scheme requires a central operator fraudulently misrepresenting the nature of a venture.
Bitcoin investing may be a bubble and a speculative market, but it is not a ponzi scheme.
| 25 |
[Bruce Almighty] When Bruce makes Evan say all that weird stuff on air, doesn’t that constitute messing with free will?
| 59 |
He made him do those things, but not WANT those things. Basically, he can directly pilot someone but not actually change what they want/who they are. Mind rape is an option, but Bruce is generally a good guy and that would cross one of his ethical lines.
| 36 |
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If collagen is a protein, and proteins are broken down during digestion, why would collagen or collagen supplements be beneficial? Is it just hype?
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Is it more to do with the types of amino acids after breakdown? And would cooking collagen for example in pork crackling matter?
| 76 |
Eating collagen, smearing it on your face, rubbing it into your hands, does absolutely nothing. When you eat it your digestive system breaks it down into amino acids as with any other protein.
Your body (fibroblasts) synthesizes collagen from amino acids, primarily glycine-proline-X or glycine-X-hydroxyproline. It makes as much as it needs or as much as it can. You don't push more into your cells through consumption or osmosis.
There is as much science behind collagen supplements or cremes as there is behind eating a bear's gall bladder for sexual potency.
| 107 |
[LOTR] Does the map of middle earth correspond with any earth topography?
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It was mentioned [elsewhere in this sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/comments/3l9j6u/lotr_how_is_it_that_middleearth_has_the_same/) that middle earth is actually just earth. So where is it?
| 19 |
Presumably the continents changed sometime over the millenia between the War of the Ring and the present day. It would not be the first time the world's geography has changed significantly in a relatively short period of time - the destruction of the Lamps, the war against Melkor just after the elves awoke, the War of Wrath, and the Downfall of Numenor all caused devastation on a continental scale, though it's unclear what exactly might have happened to produce the shape the continents are currently in.
| 24 |
[Alien Hominid] If the FBI didn't go out of their way to be cruel, vicious assholes to everyone around them, would the Alien have reacted violently to them? Or is the Alien just violent by nature?
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I'm just asking because >!a larger, stronger alien is the final boss of the game and as it's fighting the player alien, it looks like the Area 51 personnel are cheering it on i.e. it's friendly towards them. This leads me to the impression that the stronger alien is defending the base and its new homeworld. Maybe because it was picked up by someone who didn't immediately try and kill it?!<
| 41 |
His main goal during the game is to escape, and he's only killing people because they're trying to stop him from leaving. All we really know for certain about him is that he reacts violently to being shot at unprovoked and then kidnapped, which is the same reaction you'd expect out of most humans.
| 14 |
Comedians and philosophers
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Not all comedians fall in this area but people like George Carlin, bill Hicks and Doug Stanhope come to mind. Although they aren't what we would call intellectuals. They bring up alot of good points and observations in their stand up comedy specials.
Some examples: "shouldn't the long term goal of any society be complete unemployment?" - Doug Stanhope. (In context to machines taking people's jobs)
"It's all about money, not freedom, y'all, okay? Nothing to do with fuckin' freedom. If you think you're free, try going somewhere without fucking money, okay?" - bill hicks
"Rights aren't rights if someone can take them away. They're privileges. That's all we've ever had in this country, is a bill of temporary privileges" - George Carlin
Where do they stand in the spectrum of philosophy or do they even have a stand.
| 32 |
Nowhere, really. Although in the general sense sharing one's thoughts on life and society can be called philosophy, what comedians are doing doesn't have a great deal to do with what modern academic philosophers are doing or the Western philosophical tradition.
In general, for observational comedy to work you need to say things that your audience agrees with. More perceptive comics might share observations that their audiences never even knew they agreed with until they heard it and edgier comics might share observations that their audiences would never admit to agreeing with in polite company, but agreement in some sense is necessary.
The other factor is that comics generally make no real attempt at justifying their observations. They may elaborate or try to relate it to something their audiences will understand, but to actually provide some sort of logical basis by which an outsider to the observation may come to agree with it is rare.
So when you strip away the comedic aspect of a comedy routine, what you tend to have is people sharing information that is commonly agreed on with no justification for it. This can hardly be considered philosophy, although that's not to say that there aren't works of philosophy arguing for the ideas expressed in the quotes you gave (or the ideas present in any given comedy routine).
| 36 |
[DC] How similar are Kryptonians and Humans, both physiologically and culturally?
| 35 |
Physically, Humans and Kryptonians only share an outward similarity. Our internal organ structure is wildly different from that of Superman's (he has a bigger heart, additional organs, lots more... tubing).
Culturally, it would depend on which adaptation you're talking about. From what we've seen however, they're all pretty different from ours. In the Mainline DCU, children are raised inside a birthing matrix separate from their parents until they reach a certain age.
And in the DCEU babies are born out of these weird underwater pods and the world is led by a council of old people. Everything is also pin art for some reason.
| 25 |
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ELI5: Why do some ammo types use caliber (.50, .45, etc.) and some use mm measurements (10mm, 5.56mm, 12.7mm, etc)?
| 481 |
Those are both caliber specifications. .50 cal means a caliber of .5 inches. Things developed in the US used to use inches for caliber, although there's been a shift in some cases to millimeters (among other things, the US military uses metric these days, as does NATO).
| 233 |
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[IT/Mary Poppins] If Mary and Pennywise are connected, why are they so different in temperament?
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A popular “fan theory” that I’ve seen around the Internet is the idea that Pennywise and Mary Poppins are actually similar entities (maybe even siblings) and take place in the same universe.
I’m pretty sure that one could poke holes in this idea immediately, but if we take the idea at face value:
Why is Mary good and Pennywise evil? What is her relationship like with Maturin and similar entities?
Why does Mary never head over to Derry to stop Pennywise from eating children?
Under what circumstances would Mary reveal her true form to someone, something that Pennywise seems to likes to do frequently?
| 19 |
They are the same entity in two iterations. Good and evil, evil within the good and good within the evil. A schizophrenic tulpa manifesting in the various fields of energy produced by the intensity of childhood emotion. Eventually the thoughtform will gain enough energy and power to manifest as a full physical realm of existence instead of a transient entity, where whole cultures and civilizations of warped, deformed beings live out their lives. Obviously these beings will also subsist off of children's fear, at least unless they realize the other side of their universe- the Poppins side, which can gain even more energy from children's mirth.
| 35 |
ELI5- Tactically, where did the US go wrong in the Vietnam war?
| 17 |
You're not using the word "tactically" properly. Tactics is the hour by hour planning of a single fight. Wars are only lost tactically if there is a huge pitched battle that crushes an army or navy, like the Battle of Midway or Waterloo.
*Strategy* is the overall planning of a war, from supplies, weapons used, units brought into the theater, tactics they employ, and final objective.
The US did not have a strategy for victory in Vietnam. In conventional war, capturing the enemy capital city is often the objective; the US never invaded North Vietnam at all, as this would have caused China and the USSR to become involved. Instead, they tried to fight communists in South Vietnam and hope they would get tired of fighting and quit. In fact, after the Tet offensive, the North Vietnamese were just about ready to stop active military campaigns in the south, but the threat wouldn't have ended at all.
| 25 |
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Do the beneficial microbes that live inside me have an "easy life" where they have unrestricted access to everything they want, or do they have to compete for resources like most other life forms on earth do?
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I just want to know if I'm being a good host.
| 31 |
They compete for resources with each other. For example, a person with c dif infection may have come about because the c dif out competed the natural gut flora for resources after an antibiotic killed off the less harmful gut bacteria.
| 14 |
[MCU] Why did Tony Stark recruit Peter Parker and not someone like Luke Cage or Jessica Jones
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I understand that Tony Stark felt that Spider-Man could be helpful when he fought Captain America's group, and he was. Being able to hold your own against both Falcon and Bucky Barnes would be no easy task. For Spider-Man it might be, but his lack of experience makes him vulnerable.
Tactically speaking it would make more sense if Stark recruited Luke Cage or Jessica Jones, as both are considered stronger than Captain America IIRC, but also because they are older and probably know how to manage themselves better than Spider-Man at this point.
One could make the argument that Cage and Jones don't have much more experience than Spider-Man, but if he can hold his own against someone like Bucky Barnes in a fight, there's no reason Cage or Jones wouldn't be able to.
Also I think this goes without saying, but please don't answer by saying they can't or won't cross over with Netflix series
| 128 |
Peter Parker is more malleable as compared to older people with powers. Stark likes control. He may not be able to control the others you have mentioned..but he can control Peter. Also, because Peter is young, he has time to learn and train. Spiderman is also very versatile compared to many other heroes. He is super strong, super agile, he has ultra-awareness, and is highly intelligent. It is clear that Stark had a lot of information on Peter before approaching him.
| 187 |
On Diamond Princess researchers found coronavirus RNA 17 days after the ship was vacated. Does this suggest that we can get Coronavirus from surfaces up to 17 days later?
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In this study, the CDC and Japanese officials found that coronavirus-covid 19 RNA was found in the Diamond Princess cruise ship as much as 17 days after the ship was emptied:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e3.htm?s_cid=mm6912e3_w
The study is summarized in a press report here: http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/covid-19/coronavirus-causes-covid-19-stays-undisinfected-surfaces-17-days
However in this study researchers studied found coronavirus COVID-19 only lasted for a much shorter time. They found it was "detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel."
- New coronavirus stable for hours on surfaces | National Institutes of Health (NIH)
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-coronavirus-stable-hours-surfaces
That article is summarized by USA Today here: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/03/25/coronavirus-survives-on-metal-plastic-cardboard-common-objects/2866340001/
I have bad asthma and am trying to stay home. Do I need to be concerned that my groceries, Amazon deliveries, etc. may be a means of transmission for up to 17 days from when I get them?
| 76 |
No.
The full virus particle is made of a lipid shell studded with proteins, which harbors the viral RNA on the inside. Only intact viral particles can infect the body's cells. That's why you should wash your hands with soap - soap destroys the lipid shell.
The only reliable way of detecting intact viral particles (e.g. on a surface) is to expose living cells to that surface and see if they get infected. This is the kind of test that the NIH study used. It's quite laborious and unfortunately cannot be done routinely.
The test that was done on the cruise ship is based on amplification of the RNA component of the virus with a technique called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It's relatively cheap, easy to set up and perform, and therefore the main type of testing that is currently available worldwide. This test detects a specific sequence of the viral RNA, and it doesn't matter whether it came from infectious intact viral particles or broken ones. Therefore, this technique is much more likely to detect something even after the virus is long gone.
Additionally, because the technique amplifies the sequence, there is a chance that it will amplify any sort of junk RNA/DNA that happens to be in the sample (even non-viral RNA/DNA). In other words, it's susceptible to give false positives with contaminants, and that is the reason why the test has to be performed twice before doctors can be sure that a person is positive for the virus.
EDIT:
As /u/vapulate explains below, there are some tricks to reduce the false positive rate, such as checking different parts of the viral RNA at the same time.
| 79 |
[Marvel] Can weapons forged in Asgard hurt Ghost Rider
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Because from what I know, only weapons forged in Heaven and a small niche of other things can finish Ghost Rider. I know Asgard isn't Heaven Heaven, but I mean it seems holy?
| 21 |
Depends on the continuity. Sometimes Ghost Rider is able to stare down galactus, other times he's a punk who can get taken down by conventional super strength punches.
In general though, something like Mjolnir would probably be able to harm Ghost Rider, but a generic Asgard-forged sword would probably just sting a bit more than an earthican sword.
| 26 |
ELI5: What is the "gamey" flavor of wild meat?
| 8,514 |
The gamey flavor in certain meats can be due to various reasons. It usually is attributed to fats and fatty acids, the animal's diet, muscle use, sex hormones, exsanguination procedures utilized, and carcass handling.
Many of our domesticated animal species are fed out on grain based/corn diets, which changes the flavor of the meat. Most wild species are not going to be grainfed, or even strictly pasture grassfed.They're going to have consumed whatever greenery is available, safe, and palatable to them. It could be various grasses, weeds, leaves/pine needles, in some cases various insects or carcasses of other animals. Whatever they eat is going to influence the taste of meat and milk. For example, if they eat a significant amount of wild onion or similar strong plants, there will be an oniony taint to the milk and meat. Even grassfed vs. grain fattened domesticated animals are going to have at least moderate differences in taste due to diet intake. Corn and grains usually produce a more sweeter to neutral taste than grassfed does, which is often stronger and more earthy tasting.
Additionally, even between domesticated species, there are differences between the fatty acids/fat compounds that are present, which also influences taste. This is one example which applies to why lamb has a more gamey flavor than beef typically does, raised in similar feed out scenarios. This is why in certain cases removing any excess fat off meat cuts from wild animals, will reduce the gamey flavor which is often most prevalent in the fat and fatty tissues ("marbling" in domestic animals).
Muscle that is more often utilized is going to have less fat, will be tougher due to use than cuts of meat which are in less or unused areas of the body (abdomen, flanks, buttocks, etc...), and can be more acidic depending on the extent of activity and time of butcher/hunt. There will be a difference in animals that have had more activity/exercise than those who have a more leisurely lifestyle.
Hormones can taint the flavor of the meat as well. Intact male animals usually have a stronger tasting meat than females or those who have been castrated, particularly before sexual maturity. Boar taint is an example of this, where intact male hogs (boars) produce meat which can be unpleasant in smell and taste versus the pork products derived from female hogs or males which have been castrated or not reached sexual maturity. Testosterone causes stronger flavors and smells than does estrogen.
Lastly, if the carcass has not been properly drained of blood and other fluids, it will impact the taste. As will improper handling of the carcass, especially if internal organs are accidentally opened during the process and contaminate the meat.
Edited to add, because a couple of people have asked, exsanguination just means the way that the blood is removed from the animal's body. Depending whether it is done when the animal is dead (no heartbeat) or stunned (unconscious and/or vegetative state with heartbeat), can have some impact on the efficiency, especially if someone is a beginner or is limited in resources (cannot effectively elevate the carcass for appropriate drainage).
| 4,804 |
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ELI5: Why does shaking a match put out the flame?
| 53 |
When a simple flame on a match or candle is burning, what's happening is that gases released by the heat of the flame are rapidly oxidizing, creating heat, and causing more gases to be released, etc. etc. The whole process relies on the heat produced by the oxidizing gases being next to the object that's burning long enough to continue to heat it and release more gas. So when you blow out a match, you're blowing enough air past it to push the heated gas and disturb it enough that it doesn't heat up the wood enough to keep burning.
Shaking it is introducing turbulent air by moving the match instead of the air around it.
| 55 |
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I believe the "we are all equal" rhetoric for equal rights for races/sexes is damaging to the movement because it falls apart when we aren't. CMV.
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It is simply true that everyone isn't equal. Some people have biological advantages w.r.t. intelligence and physique.
The reason I get behind equal rights is simply because I think everyone deserves equal opportunity in spite of their talents.
I'm not even claiming that I know the truth of how equal people are, but I can't get behind denying someone rights because they may be inferior. That is all.
To give an example - if the foundation for equal rights for blacks and whites is that they are equal - if research presents itself that they statistically aren't - it would damage the case.
| 24 |
They're talking about equal *rights*, not talents or capabilities, and they're talking about *groups* not individuals. The meaning of "we're all equal" is closer to "within any sizeable group you can define, you'll find the full spectrum of human capability." The "we're all equal" rhetoric is about preventing people from making blanket statements like "all black people are stupid," "no women are capable of being politicians," etc. It's not meant to say that someone who scores a 2400 on the SAT is no smarter than someone who scored a 1200, or that someone who can run a 4 minute mile is no more athletic than someone who can run a 12 minute mile.
| 26 |
ELI5: What is that stitch-like feeling we get in our stomach after running?
| 28 |
No one really knows for certain exactly what *it* is. Some theories are that it's a spasm in the diaphragm, others suggest it's an irritated parietal peritoneum, which is a thin membrane that lines abdominal and pelvic cavities, and then there's also suggestions that it might come from excessive stress on the spine.
What is known is that they occur primarily due to a lack of oxygen and there are various factors that are commonplace to limiting your oxygen intake while running.
Shitty diet, particularly if you consumed a lot of fat or sugar within a couple hours before running. An active GI is taking oxygen away from your body, thus cramping.
Improper stretching/warm ups before running.
Going straight into a full sprint can cause this. Start slow and get the heart rate up. Gradually accelerate into a sprint.
Improper breathing technique. If you have a good breathing technique when running, then you're getting good oxygen. If you have shitty breathing techniques, you're not getting enough oxygen, thus cramping.
So if you suck down a fatty burger and a Coke at McDonald's and then try to sprint across the street to buy a pack of smokes, you'll probably end up with a stitch in the side.
Edit for typo
| 26 |
|
ELI5: Why does winRAR say it has a 40 day trial yet, never runs out?
| 87 |
winRAR lets you continue to use it even after the 40 day trial has ended because that's the best way for them to make money.
If winRAR really only had a 40-day trial, and you had to buy the program after that 40-day trial, less people would use winRAR and therefore it wouldn't be as well-known, therefore less people would use it and less people would buy it.
If winRAR said that it was completely free, they wouldn't get any money at all.
The way winRAR is right now, it is extremely widely used, and therefore they get many users who actually pay for the program and give the developers money because either 1. The users don't realize they can continue using it after the 40 days, or 2. The users feel obligated to pay because they aren't comfortable exploiting the fact that you can continue using the software.
TLDR: They are trying to make you feel like you have to pay while still controlling most of the market share.
| 77 |
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Why do commercial aircraft fly against the jet stream?
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I've noticed (in the USA) that flying from west to east is significantly faster than flying from east to west. This is because of the jet stream. For instance, flying from Philly to Denver will take about 4 hours and the aircraft will manage a ground speed of about 440mph at 36,000 feet. From denver to philly takes about 3 hours, the aircraft will average a ground speed of about 550mph. I've also noticed that if the aircraft stays down around 27,000 feet, it can stay out of the Jet stream (or be in a slower part). So why don't planes heading west fly lower to stay out of the jet, save fuel and time?
| 28 |
Many of them do depending on the air streams for that particular flight. However weather and other air traffic will dictate the altitude and course that particular aircraft takes. For instance an aircraft heading west might be scheduled for 27,000 feet but half way through its journey there may be a storm that would create some considerable turbulence. To avoid the turbulence or "chop" said aircraft may climb several thousand feet to get above the rough air. Airlines have spent decades studying and planning the fastest/most fuel efficent routes for their aircraft to take. This helps them since their motto lately seems to be "fuel costs money"
| 20 |
[General Zombies] Do Zombies poop?
|
No, seriously. If we are to get to the science behind it, all organisms need to gain energy from other substances. There has to be a conversion process. Conversion process causes by products, in the case of animals, fecal matter.
So... Do they?
| 24 |
Whatever they eat simply collects in their digestive tract and stays there until it bursts. There is no conversion process because it is not required. A zombie no longer "grows" after it is created. New muscle is not created, new skin does not grow, etc.
| 25 |
[The Matrix] What's the official story given about people who are freed from the Matrix to the other people still in it?
|
Are they declared dead, missing? Are they erased?
Is there a body?
| 23 |
Morpheus and Trinity are known as terrorists. The official story is likely that the person joined a terrorist organization with cultish insular secret practices.
Which honestly isn't too far from the truth.
| 31 |
[MCU] The best minds on Earth use every resource available to build the most advanced spaceship they can. How does it rate on the intergalactic scale?
|
The Iron Man suit is basically a cute toy compared to the tech Rocket Raccoon is familiar with, but that's just the work of one dude using the materials he can get (which is admittedly a lot).
So let's say that Tony Stark, Shuri, Bruce Banner, Hank Pym, Peter Parker, even Doctor Strange all come together and pool their knowledge of arc reactors, vibranium, Pym particles, Dr. Cho's flesh-printing machine, spider silk and freaking magic and use all of this (plus whatever else you can think of, as long as it's found on Earth) to build the most technologically advanced spaceship that MCU Earth is capable of. What do various aliens, like Rocket and the Kree and Asgardians et al., think of the result? Would they be impressed? Laughing at it? Somewhere in between?
(No Infinity Stones or Asgardian tech are available for this hypothetical, but they do know about them and can draw inspiration).
| 71 |
Well, Tony invented a space-time GPS that can hop anywhere in time and space by navigating the quantum realm..so along with Hank and his Pym particles, the Wakandan's ship design and vibranium, they should eventually have an interstellar vessel that can travel to anywhere in the universe almost instantaneously. The Rhody/Nebula/Widow/Hawkeye team traveled to Morag, a planet in the Andromeda Galaxy in seconds.
Where they might be lacking is artificial gravity...perhaps a spell from Strange is possible.
| 72 |
CMV: Western countries should invest in and subsidize their own semiconductor producing industries
|
Admittedly, I do not know much about the complexities of such matters, so my mind could easily be changed.
TSMC, a Taiwanese company, has a monopoly on most of the world's most sophisticated semiconductor research and production facilities, which the world's electronics industries depend on.
Such a monopoly guarantees a lot of leverage for Taiwan: invading the island could lead to a break in the semiconductor supply chain, thus providing incentives for China not to attack and for the US to intervene if China invades.
Semiconductors are absolutely necessary to maintain state-of-the-art electronics and should be considered as essential for a modern country's functioning as food production or access to water.
Therefore, it's in Europe's and the US' best interests to secure their own ability to research and produce semiconductors.
Those industries are very onerous and require lots of investments to get the ball rolling and they most likely won't be competitive compared to established names such as TSMC, so it's essential for governments to protect those industries by subsidizing them, or even nationalizing them from the start.
Subsidies are nothing new for Western countries: they are already in place for large parts of the agricultural industry for example to protect local farmers and to guarantee food security.
I conclude that it's in the West's best interests to create and maintain semiconductor industries.
Change my mind.
EDIT:
TSMC might not be a literal monopoly, but as u/gazwer001 mentioned in a comment below
>TSMC has over 50% market share and is at the cutting edge. Samsung which is the next largest has only 18% TSMC makes over 90% of 5nm semiconductors and is absolutely the large player that matters in this space. It's one of my complaints with the CHIPS act as it is targeted towards intel(though other companies are lobbying to be included) while TSMC is investing their own money into US fabs, I am for policies that encourage more TSMC, Global Foundries, Samsung, etc investment in addition to intel.
&#x200B;
| 1,289 |
Production is not and has never been the problem. Supply is. The rare earth metals necessary for the production of semiconductors and chips are only found in China or Africa. With such a cornered supply and the labor to extract from the earth, there were only ever going to be a few locations these could be made.
| 261 |
How do teeth turn yellow? Is it possible to simply brush your teeth for an hour to turn then (very) white?
|
Damn auto-correct, (obviously) then = them
| 2,383 |
Dentist here
The outside of your teeth is covered by a structure named enamel which is translucent and thick when you are born. Underneath this is a structure called dentine which is yellow. Enamel does not regenerate over the course of your life and eventually your teeth become yellower as acid's from your diet thin the enamel layer and the dentine layer becomes more visible. Simply only bleaching treatments can whiten your teeth further however are risky, to stop your teeth going yellower make sure to avoid acidic drinks and/or to rinse with water afterwards and to only use a soft toothbrush to preserve as much enamel as possible
| 1,659 |
How do dogs recognize other dogs of different breeds as dogs?
|
Dogs seem to have the capacity to recognize other dogs that look absolutely nothing like them as other dogs. They will respond by getting excited and barking in a way that they do not respond to other animals including human strangers or other small mammals. It is my understanding that all dog breeds are man-made as a result of breeding over the course of thousands of years. How then have dogs maintained the capacity to recognize other dogs of different breeds as still being dogs?
| 16 |
I wouldn't take it for granted that the dogs actually recognize that the other animal is a dog. A Great Dane doesn't understand that it is a dog and the Chihuahua next door is also a dog in the same way that we do. But it *can* see that the Chihuahua 'speaks the same language'. Body language is how dogs do a lot of their communication. Unlike humans, the Chihuahua is going to use its ears and tail to signal friendliness or aggression, for example. This is one of the many reasons it's important to socialize puppies with other dogs; if a puppy grows up never interacting with another dog, then it's often bewildered and frightened when it finally does encounter one.
Secondly, don't discount the power of smell. All dogs, no matter the breed, interpret their world through smell so much more than humans do. While we can't know for certain exactly what a dog's nose tells it, many breeds of dogs have been trained to track a specific species of animal, like foxes or raccoons. There is most likely a species-specific 'dog' smell that dogs can recognize as being similar to theirs in a way that the scents of humans or cats are not.
| 20 |
ELI5: What would happen if the world started spinning in "the other" direction.
| 282 |
I'll humor you by adding that the earth's water and air components would similarly change, but the moon's spin would not.
You'd completely screw up a number of fish, birds and mammals who migrate based on steering by the sun and moon. They'd get confused and go in the wrong direction.
Ditto those that rely on tides. Now the moon spins WITH the earth's rotation to make an 11 hour cycle. With the moon spinning against it, you're now going to have a shorter tidal cycle, and a lot of marine regions would suffer from the combination of lower and faster tides.
Wind patterns would change and cause dust bowls and erosions, and agriculture would have some major adjustment to do. For example, there are "microclimates" where regions are protected and offer a bit more warmth because they've a wind-protected exposure. Change the wind and you destroy the microclimate.
And you'd similarly effect tidal currents like the Jet Stream for wind, the Gulf Stream for water, and underground magma flows... causing bad things to happen to weather, heat distribution (meaning colder non-tropical winters and hotter tropics), and possibly volcanic or other tectonic activity until the Earth found its new balance.
**TL;DR**: Still pretty bad things
| 166 |
|
ELI5: Can someone explain why you sometimes break out in sweat before you have explosive diarrhea?
|
Asking for a friend.
| 39 |
It's due to a vasovagal response. The Vagus nerve can be stimulated during a bowel movement when you strain. Bearing down can cause the veins in the legs to dilate causing a sudden drop in blood pressure triggering your vagus nerve. Severe attacks can cause fainting. Unless you faint, vasovagal responses or attacks are benign and are fairly common.
| 12 |
ELI5: When someone gets punched/slapped so hard that they pass out, what is occurring in the brain that caused them to become unconscious?
| 16 |
A concussion.
&#x200B;
A concussion occurs when the brain is rapidly slammed into the sides of skull. This can cause a black-out due to the initial trauma the brain has. If a concussion is severe enough to cause a loss of consciousness, it's actually quite a serious medical condition.
| 16 |
|
I believe that some redistribution of wealth is a necessary component of a healthy, reasonable society. CMV
|
I don't believe that spontaneous voluntary charity sufficiently provides the sufficient resources or proper allocation of those resources to aid those in need in a way that we as a society feel would be appropriate. I believe that some portion of the tax collected by any major government should go to ensuring the basic human wellness and dignity (clothing, food, education) of those who would not experience it otherwise due to economic circumstances.
I concede that this is not always a perfect arrangement for the health of the economy, but that it is better to reduce suffering at a reasonable cost to economic growth (within the bounds of diminishing returns and necessary growth) than to routinely place net economic prosperity above human dignity.
At risk of sounding stereotypically left-wing, I've only heard one side of this argument presented reasonably and convincingly.
| 42 |
A much more compelling solution to me would be to figure out why we have growing inequality between the rich and poor in the first place, and address the root cause. Government Robin Hood-ery is just an inefficient bandage put on in lieu of curing the disease.
| 26 |
[Batman]What sort of crimes does Batman allow?
|
&#x200B;
Okey, let's say Weed is illegal in Gotham and I like to smoke. What would happen if Batman saw me consume Cannabis? Would he beat the ever loving crap out of me or just not care?
What if I like to download music or movies illegally? Will Batman use the Batcomputer to track me down and put me behind bars?
What if i litter? ( Admittedly I would punch myself for that)
So like, what crimes does the Dark Knight not punish?
| 15 |
Ask yourself: are you hurting anyone (or potentially hurting anyone)? If so he’ll intervene if he finds out about it and doesn’t have anything more important to do. If not at worse he’ll just send an anonymous tip to the GCPD. As for your examples…
Weed: if you’re doing it at home and recreationally you’re fine. The absolute worse you can expect is a bit of intimidation to give up your dealer, and only if you’re getting your supply from someone really bad.
Illegal downloading: there is absolutely no reason for Bats to get involved.
Litter: he’ll try to stop you if you are in one of Gotham’s parks or forests, but this is for your own protection since Poison Ivy doesn’t have a no kill rule.
| 56 |
CMV: Avoiding partisan hackery does not mean compromising your positions, nor does it mean being some sort of centrist who wants to meet in the middle. It simply means that you shouldn’t allow your position on one subject, dictate your position on another non-related issue.
|
Your position on abortion policy should not be a good predictor for your position on climate policy.
If I can guess your position on abortion, gun control, healthcare, education, affirmative action, capital punishment, drug laws, minimum wage, free speech, foreign policy, and corporate taxes, simply by you telling me your views on climate change policy, then odds are you’re just a victim of tribalism and group think, and you haven’t actually come to many of these conclusions through objective research.
If I were to say ‘I’m a centrist’, it isn’t because I’d want to meet in the middle and compromise on issues I care deeply about. It is because I’d be all the way left on some issues, all the way right on some issues, in the middle on some, mixed on others, and uncertain some as well. It’s possible that going all the way in one direction for every issue just so happens to be correct, but I’d say it’s rather unlikely.
I don’t want to give away any of my positions, since they aren’t relevant to my point.
| 1,170 |
From what I've seen, people's views on specific political issues are often motivated by more basic views regarding which things are important and how people should interact with society.
"Objective research" doesn't really determine what one's view is by itself; it just provides information *about* the issue. Your base values are still going to determine what your view on the issue is.
The reason you can usually guess someone's position on many issues based on their position on one issue isn't because of groupthink, it's because that one issues indicates what they value, so it's likely that their views on other issues are consistent with those values.
| 141 |
What is the philosophical basis for respect of human corpses? Or is it just cultural?
|
Is there anything philosophically/ethically wrong with desecrating a human body? It feels intuitive that there is, but I am having trouble identifying if the basis and have been unsuccessful in finding one.
| 68 |
Consequentialist argument: People will be upset by your treatment of the body in unaccepted ways. So, if your treatment doesn't outweigh that in good, it shouldn't be done. And yes, this is based on only certain cultures. If the cultures changed, the judgment would too.
Virtue argument: The way we treat inanimate objects might cultivate habits or traits in us that affect how we treat people or other things. If what we're doing to the corpse creates bad habits or sullies the trajectory of our life, we shouldn't do it. Relatedly, if it affects our social standing negatively, we shouldn't do it without good reasons to counter it.
It's gonna depend on what we're talking about. Cremation? Necrophilia? Plasticizing and creating an artwork from it? Mandatory organ donation? Eating it to survive? For recreation?
| 43 |
ELI5: What's the biggest/tallest a humanoid creature(giant) could get on Earth and why?
|
I've heard that giants the height of mountains are impossible because of something to do with blood circulation? Just wondering how tall they could actually get.
| 97 |
It depends a lot on how much leeway you allow for the whole humanoid part and how long you want them to last.
The human body-plan is pretty much optimized for the range of sizes that humans actually get.
There are a couple of medical conditions that can induce people to grow taller than normal, but those usually come with an early deaths.
Even normal very tall people tend to have all sorts of risk factors and health issues and lower life expectancy than shorter ones.
Robert Wadlow is the tallest confirmed human at 2.72m but it basically killed him at age 22.
In the past there existed a species of primate called Gigantopithecus which may have grown to up to 3 meters tall.
Neither Wadlow nor Gigantopithecus really had the same body plan as a normal human. Wadlow was incredibly think and strectched looking and Gigantopithecus would have likely looked more like a scaled up orangutan than a human (we did not find enough bones to be really sure), but both still count as humanoid.
Scaling it up beyond that is difficult because of the cube-square law.
If you take an object (like a human) and scale it up so that it is twice as tall it will have increased in volume by factor of 8 and in surface area by a factor of 4. Since lots of things that make a body plan work depend on the ration of for example skin-surface to total mass being right, you end up with problems. If you make things too small or too big the body will either loose too much heat or too little.
Objects will risk breaking under their own weight if you scale them up because the mass increases with the cube while the ability to carry it only with the square of the scale up factor.
There are lots of other factors that end up not working if you scale it up too much.
Think of the way a toddler can easily deal with running stumbling over their own feet and falling flat on their face. They will cry but mostly come away from the experience with no big harm done. An adult making a similar fall flat on their face from standing up straight will be at far greater risk of injuring themselves.
Scale a human up to the size of a building and falling on their face will basically be a death sentence.
This keeps us from having to worry about giant ants or giant spiders but also keeps us from having giant humans.
Anything much taller than the tallest NBA players is basically not healthy and you would need to redesign the human body to get much taller than 3 m.
| 70 |
[Harry Potter] Is there a wizard jail?
|
Or do you get sent to Azkaban for even a wizard misdemeanor?
| 17 |
Hagrid got his wand and magic privileges revoked, Arthur Weasley got fined and his job was threatened.
I think it's just Azkaban for jail, and heavy penalties, sanctions, or social ramifications for the rest.
| 38 |
ELI5:Why are many members of Congress (US) so rich?
| 15 |
because the campaigns to get elected are expensive, it is a job with not much job security, not the highest income but high prestige. so it attracts people that have more money than they need and look for other forms of power/attention.
| 16 |
|
[Batman] Wouldn't his cape be difficult when getting into the Batmobile?
|
There has to be times where his cape gets caught in the door or he sits down on it weird where it pulls down on his back.
| 79 |
100%, 100% the cape can be a draw back, so many times that cape gets stuck in doorways, crevices, cracks in the wall.
100% of the time that cape causes more trouble than its worth.
But its bullet proof, and that's why he keeps it.
| 82 |
Does drinking a large amount of water during or after a meal decrease the effectiveness of stomach acid for digestion?
| 923 |
Any time you increase the volume of your stomach contents, you increase the surface area on which stomach acid can "work." If it begins to work well--by digesting and emptying its contents--the chemical feedback loop inhibits further production of acid.
Water itself is not a signalling factor for gastrin, which is the main chemical that induces the release of hydrochloric acid from the parietal cells of the stomach.
However, there are pressure receptors in the stomach that activate when your stomach distends. So while drinking a lot of water may dilute the HCl concentration initially, the mere presence of additional volume would induce the release of more HCl shortly thereafter.
**TL;DR:** Not really.
| 482 |
|
[Disney] [Gaston] I have a few questions about Gaston.
|
He used to eat 48 eggs every morning. Now he eats 60 eggs every morning. That can't be healthy. Is there any way someone could live like that? Considering the time period he lived in, was he considered a giant because of his size? How did he afford all those eggs?
| 196 |
An egg has about 78 calories, 6g protein, and 5g fat.
So for breakfast, Gaston is eating 4,680 calories, 360g protein, and 300g of fat. It should be noted that the fat in eggs is one of the good kinds, and that the idea eggs cause high cholesterol has been debunked.
Let's guess that Gaston considered breakfast the most important meal of the day, and that it is twice as large as either lunch or dinner. Let's also assume he's eating similar foods in terms of fat and protein.
That would mean he's eating 9,360 calories, 720g protein, and 600g of fat, every single day.
A moderately active man needs about 15 calories per pound of bodyweight just to maintain. An active man needs closer to 20 calories. That would put Gaston at about 468 pounds, about 70 pounds heavier than Hafthór Björnsson, also known as The Mountain.
A very active man would be eating more like 25 calories per pound of bodyweight. That would put Gaston at more like 375 pounds, about 22 pounds *lighter* than The Mountain.
Athletes try to eat about 2g protein per pound of bodyweight. If we use Gaston's lighter weight, he's taking in 1.92g protein per pound bodyweight, almost dead on.
So yes, Gaston is definitely an outlier, and on the higher end of what's humanly possible, but it is within the realm of reason. This also explains why he was able to wrestle a giant ax-bear-wolf-monster thing without getting his arm torn off.
| 322 |
Eli5: What does it mean when an autocratic leader falls into a "Dictator Trap"?
| 101 |
No dictator can be everywhere and do everything.
They depend on people to tell them things, and do things for them.
The problem is that dictators are human, and humans don't like people telling them they're wrong, something they want to do is stupid, or something has gone really really bad.
And when you tell a dictator he's wrong, something they want to do
is stupid, or something has gone really really bad, they start feeling upset.
And when they are upset they can make the person who made them upset dead or far far away and nobody can stop them because they are the dictator.
So after a few years, all those people are dead or gone, and the only people around are people who always tell the dictator that they're right, that what they want is smart, and things are going well.
Which is a problem because sometimes dictators are wrong, want something stupid, and things are going horribly, and nobody tells them and things keep going worse and worse.
In addition, being the kind of person who always tells a dictator they're right often aren't very good at actually doing their jobs. Meaning that things go bad much more often.
So that's the dictators trap. A dictator tends to end up surrounded by people who tell him everything is fine and right, while screwing it up and making it stupid.
Now when things get bad enough, you can't hide it's bad anymore, so the dictator might kill you or send you away. You realize that everyone else is feeling it. So you might have the idea that killing the dictator is safer, and that anyone who actually brings it up to the dictator might be killed by the dictator because everyone plotting against him is REALLY bad. So it often results in a bunch of people getting together, and the first sign the dictator gets that anything is wrong is when they start killing him.
| 273 |
|
Are end-stage Alzheimer's patients still conscious?
| 15 |
this is largely a philosophical question. AD can get to the point (before it outright kills you) where you are unconscious, but there is also the time before then where the patient is not exactly asleep but certainly not there completely either. is that what you call consciousness? what do you base it on? mini mental status exam? EEG findings? you could argue about this forever.
| 10 |
|
[Star Trek] How come star fleet headquarters didn't have protection
|
I was watching Star Trek into darkness I was at the part where khan decided to 9-11 star-fleet headquarters and he just easily does it. In world where starships have shields I would assume that a high profile building would have some sort shield generator. Especially if the one dude think that war is about to happen. Even more so it is attacked earlier in the movie you think they would be like shit we should get a shield on this bitch. It doesn't make sense
| 24 |
Earth in the 23rd century is literally paradise. Humanity had endured so much war and death just a few centuries earlier that, upon first contact with the Vulcans and the invention/introduction of just a few new technologies, that an entire cultural shift NEEDED to happen. Poverty, disease, hunger and war disappeared on Earth in just a few decades, and every human living on the planet enjoyed the fruits of an actual paradise.
Because of that, Earth has very few internal defenses. They don't need them. No human has made such a hateful and devastating attack on another human in centuries, and alien threats can be dealt with in orbit or further way. As you said, Starfleet ships are shielded engines of destruction. Why would those weapons need to be on the surface, when enemies can be blasted to atoms light years away?
Admiral Marcus and Section 31 were indeed preparing for war, but their plans had to be in secret. The Vengeance was constructed in a facility literally no one but their organization knew about. Because Earth and the Federation just do NOT operate like that.
It's likely that, if Marcus's plans had worked and Kirk became the catalyst for a war, that many important Starfleet buildings would have had shield generators installed/activated. Conveniently manufactured and placed JUST as hostilities started. But fortunately, that was all stopped.
| 20 |
ELI5: Why was the discovery of zero (or the lack of a concept of zero) by ancient civilizations such a big deal?
|
I read things like that zero was invented independently in Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica, or that the Romans didn’t have a concept of zero.
What does it really mean to have “discovered” zero, and what was made possible that was impossible before?
| 43 |
It just sort of wasn’t a concept before then. Like, people knew what having 1 apple was like, or having 2 apples, or 3, etc… but no one really thought to define a number that represents “no apples”. If you have no apples, you don’t need to describe the number of apples you have because there are none to describe.
But then someone decided, hey, you know what? It might be useful to have a number that represents nothing. They just sort of decided to make it a thing, and then followed through on the logic of what having a zero meant. Turns out, it’s a very useful idea that extends to way mole than just whole numbers, and allows for much more complicated math.
But yeah. There wasn’t anything preventing people from having a zero other than just people not thinking they needed a zero.
**Edit:** *That’s a response to the body of your question, but as for the title, zero is just a really useful concept. It showed a precedent for negative numbers, irrational numbers, complex numbers and quaternions by extending our concept of numbers to beyond what we first though they were. The idea of approaching zero is fundamental to the creation of calculus, and a zero is needed to define vector spaces. Basically none of modern math would be possible without zero.*
| 73 |
What would it be like to swim in a pool on the moon?
|
Assuming it was inside a pressurized, breathable environment. In terms of the lower gravity, how would the viscosity and buoyancy of the water play a role? Would it be like swimming through syrup? Would we be able to swim more efficiently?
| 59 |
Actually, and surprisingly, there wouldn't really be any difference at all. First, water is (nearly) incompressible, meaning it would be at the same density on the Earth or on the Moon, and buoyancy is not a function of gravity so you would have to swim just as hard to stay afloat in both locations. The only real difference would be since gravity is pulling you down less on the moon, you would sink slower if you did nothing to keep afloat, or after cannonballing in.
| 40 |
[Star Wars] How do you join the rebels?
|
Is there like a recruitment center hidden somewhere?
| 32 |
A lot of times you just get some buddies and start rebelling. Contrary to popular belief, the rebellion isn't one singular entity like the empire. Sure, they've got a central command and fleets but they also span the galaxy. Many rebels are just small cells with little to no contact with command who defy the empire in their own special way.
| 48 |
CMV: Genderfluidity is anti-feminist and reinforces dated gender stereotypes that other facets of feminism aim to destroy.
|
First of all, let me establish that I do not deny gender dysphoria. Your body parts do not determine which gender you identify as, and it's perfectly fine to identify as a male if you have a vagina, or female if you have a penis. Or the other way around, of course.
If you don't know what genderfluidity is, it's a form of gender wherein the individual frequently switches between identifying as a male and identifying as a female. One day they could identify as a male, the next a female. This sounds fine in theory, but in practice it doesn't really work. What differentiates the male times from the female times, in terms of outward expression? Well, judging from pictures like [this](http://i.imgur.com/0CKjSR4.jpg), it's pretty clear.
This image presents one problem, in my eyes: it implies that if you're a boy, you have to wear boy clothes, and if you're a girl, you have to wear girl clothes. But gender roles like that are the kind of dated thing that feminism is trying to get away from. My view is, **wear whatever you want, no matter what gender you are**. Genderfluidity seems to imply that, in order to wear what you want, you must first identify as that gender. And if you feel like wearing dresses sometimes and ties sometimes, well, you must identify as that gender. This, in my opinion, is backwards movement in the feminist field, and yet so many feminists praise genderfluidity as a huge step forward. Am I missing something?
EDIT: As per AutoModerator's suggestion, I looked through previous threads about genderfluidity on this subreddit. They are mostly arguing that genderfluidity doesn't exist; this is different from my point and I couldn't find a discussion that covered the discussion I am starting.
_____
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| 470 |
Feminism in general isn't opposed to the attributes associated with gender stereotypes. They are against those attributes being applied to people, by society, based on what sex you were born with, and that these roles are encouraged/discouraged depending on your sex. No (well, few) feminists are going to have anything against a person wearing pink princess dressed one day and dressing as a skater boy the next. Or whatever other way genderfluidity could potentially be expressed in.
| 93 |
Why do the skulls of dead people retain their teeth instead of loosing them to tooth decay?
| 194 |
"The short answer is that in order for teeth to decay, pH levels need to be below 5.5. When our bodies are in the ground, our teeth are actually safer from acidic tooth decay – what can be caused by foods like lemons, tomatoes and other highly acidic produce.
Therefore, since the teeth are not repeatedly soaked in acids, they are actually, ironically enough shielded from acidic decay, keeping them intact."
| 119 |
|
ELI5: Why do electronic screens look like they're having a seizure whenever you take a video or a picture of them?
| 17 |
Because they are being refreshed a certain number of times per second.
The device you are using to record shoots a certain number of frames per second as well.
The chances of these rates aligning is very small.
Therefore, you might capture empty frames sometimes.
Also, screens are refreshed from top to bottom, or some other method. You might catch half a frame even.
| 15 |
|
Why does it take so much longer for the eyes to adapt to darkness than to brightness?
| 22 |
When going from dark to light, all your eyes have to do is constrict the pupils to restrict the incoming light to a range that allows proper vision.
When going from light to dark, 2 things need to happen. The fast step is (like above) dilation of your pupils to their maximum size to allow as much light in as possible. The slower step is regeneration of rhodopsin (what the other commenter called visual purple), the light-sensitive protein in your retina, which takes 30-60 mins.
| 27 |
|
As photosynthesis requires light, why aren't plants black to absorb the full spectrum of light, instead of green which doesn't?
|
I know that plants at the shrub layer in forests and jungles tend to be a darker green to make up for the fact that they receive less light, so how comes every plant doesn't do this then so that they could produce more food?
Edit: Holy crap this is a lot of responses. Thanks so much! And yes I know that plants are green because they reflect green light, sorry for the confusing wording.
| 3,271 |
A Black equivalent of Chlorophyll does exist - usually within Seaweed.
This is because most plant life would overheat and their enzymes would denature if they were to absorb all spectra of light - therefore green is the commonly used colour as it reflects mid-energy photons and absorbs high energy (blue) light and lower energy (red) light
| 2,902 |
Why do we only see one side of the moon?
|
Why do we only see the same side of the moon from the earth? Is the reason for this random?
EDIT: thanks for the quick replies!
| 16 |
The Moon is tidally locked, so its orbital period is equal to its rotational period.
Because the Moon has some size, the force of gravity felt by the near side of the Moon is slightly greater than that felt by the far side. This causes the Moon to bulge (with one bulge towards the Earth and another exactly opposite, away from the Earth). If the Moon could deform instantaneously the bulge would always point exactly towards/away the Earth but, since the Moon cannot deform so quickly, if the Moon is not spinning at the same rate it is orbiting then the bulge will get rotated away from that position. This causes torques on the Moon and acts to change the Moon's rotational period to its orbital period.
| 17 |
What's the minimum size necessary a thing has to be to be seen from the ISS?
| 49 |
The human eye has an angular resolution of phi =1'=1/60° and the ISS has an average orbit altitude of z= 400 km. So the length l of the object in question is calculated as follows:
tan(phi/2) = l/z so l=400km*tan(0.5')= 58 m. So theoretically, astronauts should be able to see football fields (as a dot). Note that this calculation works only if the astronaut is looking at the object in an 90°-angle.
| 45 |
|
Quitting your PhD and starting another later in life?
|
Ten years ago in my early twenties, I started a PhD on a scholarship. I spent four years on it (with a few breaks), before leaving. I don't regret it—leaving literally saved my life, given some significant mental health issues at the time. The area also wasn't an area I loved. I'm now in a much better place than I was, and am starting to retrain in an area I am incredibly energised by. I still want to complete a PhD one day and am wondering whether: A) has anyone here attempted another PhD in similar circumstances, and if so, what was your experience of your second? B) If I pursued a PhD, should I mention that I had previously started and quit a PhD—is that a liability or an indication that I once had the support and confidence of another University?
| 84 |
You would definitely have to disclose you previously attended a phd program: to not do so can be considered academic dishonesty and can get you kicked out of a program later on, not worth it. You can also potentially transfer over some course work if its in a similar area.
| 65 |
CMV: If a "rising tide lifts all boats" there is no argument against wealth inequality.
|
I take this sentence to mean, "economic growth benefits everyone." The rich, the poor, and everyone in between.
It is an acceptable outcome if a 5&#37; growth of the economy meant a 5&#37; growth for everyone. Those making $10,000 a year now make $10,500. Those making $1,000,000 now make $1,050,000. Someone being very rich is only a problem if it is a problem, and if people's wealth is not growing that's a problem.
Income inequality is a problem if people are not seeing economic gains. If those making $10,000 and $100,000 get stuck there while those making $1,000,000 keep seeing their growth improve to $1,050,00, then $1,105,500. I see this as a system failure because the society got better at producing things, but does not benefit people involved in improving it.
The economy is integrated enough that a huge chunk of the workforce will be linked to some project, either directly, or by a [6 degrees principle. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation) I am aware this point is debatable.
This is philosophical. It has nothing to do with the actual state of our current economy. I have no interest in arguing about the wealth gains of income demographics over the past 30 years.
I made this a sharper point to make it easier to argue directly. I don't want my title sentence to have a stack of qualifiers. I am curious about the ways where income inequality is bad in it of itself.
Edits:
If "the grass is always greener" than human phycology make inequality corrosive.
| 21 |
That saying is not a fact, it is an economic theory. It is also a theory that is not held by those who take issue with wealth inequality. Most who are trying to fight wealth inequality view "rising tides lift all boats" as a fairy tale that the rich use to ease their minds when they see the poor suffering.
| 17 |
ELI5: Can dreams actually tell us something or are they just random head-noise
| 31 |
Don't listen to some of the ignorant comments here. The only truth we know about dreams is that we don't really know what their exact purpose is. There are many interesting theories about it, but the true purpose of dreaming is not yet understood.
That being said, you can definitely choose to find meaning behind your dreams through your own interpretations of them. But that's all it would be at this point- interpretations.
| 25 |
|
I'm reading about the electrical system of a dual engine aircraft. It says that the maximum load for single generator operation is 400 amps up until 32,500 feet. Then the max is 280 (the max load with dual generators working). Why does altitude matter in the electrical system?
|
This is in an engine out scenario with only one operating generator.
| 21 |
The engine produces less power at a higher altitude, because of the lower density. The effect is less pronounced on the apparent propulsion performance because the drag on the aircraft also drops with density (or altitude).
| 22 |
ELI5: Why do men start accumulating more stomach fat at around the same age range?
| 191 |
Generally, as people get older they become less active and eat the same amount of calories or more and therefore gain weight. Men tend to gain more weight around the stomach than other areas as opposed to women who tend to put on more weight on their legs etc.
While, there is some decrease in metabolism with age, its fairly small. The main culprit is lack of activity compared to youth.
| 265 |
|
[MCU] Would Sokovia really destroy Earth if it'd hit the ground?
| 196 |
There'd still be an Earth. Humans just couldn't live on it.
The impact would be akin to one of the extinction-tier meteor hits that happened during the ages of the dinosaurs. The area around the immediate impact would be destroyed, and everywhere else would be under a cloud of dust and debris so thick that the biosphere would collapse from lack of sunlight.
In the following year, the human race would run through it's food stores, which are now functionally irreplaceable. Crops can no longer be grown in sufficient quantities. Plants and grasses die off, killing the herbivores and then the carnivores in turn. Many will starve to death. Many will die in conflict over the remaining food on scales ranging from individuals stabbing each other over the last contents of the local grocery store to full-scale war as nations prioritize their citizens over the rest of the world.
In places with advanced technology, small groups of humans may be able to sustain themselves. The power requirements to grow food for an entire settlement without the sun are massive, and few are equipped to make the need. The Wakandans and small pockets of Americans equipped with arc reactors, and so on. Meanwhile, the surviving members of the magic community find themselves as a nucleus for survivors and refugees, using dimensional travel to access realms where crops can grow... or where refugees can leave permanently.
But Ultron isn't done with them. Any pockets of human survivors are going to come under assault. The tech-based survivors get it first, half because they'd be easier to detect, and half because of his hatred for Tony; anyone living on the energy from an arc reactor has got a target on their back.
Wakanda holds out longer, both as a nation and as individuals, but Ultron's dominion over the world gives it a massive resource advantage. Eventually the raw numbers game of siege warfare will work out in the machine's favor, with the Wakandans either engaging in a crash interplanetary evacuation (which is only buying time) or making a deal with the magicians for evacuation. Either way, the final human civilization on Earth falls.
The last ones out the door are the magicians. They stay as long as they can, getting out as many as they can, and more than a few die holding the line to get a few more out before the portals close.
Humanity lives on, but the Earth belongs to metal.
| 282 |
|
ELI5: If one were to strike a billiards ball with the cue ball, and we disregard the deceleration as the target ball hits each bumper as well as other balls on the table, would the ball eventually, but always sink into a pocket regardless of where on the table it went?
|
I have wondered this for quite some time. My cousins and uncles play often. It is frequently that I see them shoot crazy angles around the table to strike a particular ball, but miss.
Essentially, if we disregard the deceleration due to hitting bumpers and disregard all other balls on the table, would the target ball eventually end up in a pocket no matter what?
In reverse, would it be possible, on a standard billiards table, to hit a ball at an angle where it would never enter a pocket if it kept up its momentum without deceleration?
(Pardon my poor terminology and ramble explanation)
| 17 |
No, it won't always sink. It's easy to think of a situation in which it won't happen.
If you hit the ball parallel to any side of the table, it would bounce back and forth forever, never entering any of the pockets (unless it was right in front of the pocket already.
| 24 |
[Star Wars] Does excess body fat have any detrimental effects to Hutts like it does for humans?
|
For example Durga the Hutt called himself "His Great Obesity, the Lord Durga" and Jabba was called "The Bloated One" so it seems being fat is preferred for Hutts.
| 16 |
Being proud of their bulk doesn't necessarily mean that it is healthy, so we can't go based on that alone.
That said, their apparent physiology does seem like it's adapted to having bulk, so it is pretty likely that the large amounts of body fat aren't really 'excess' as they would be in another species, but rather are a healthy feature of that body plan.
| 28 |
ELI5: What happens to the information when you "delete" a file? (Ex. Empty your computer's trash, delete a picture)
| 19 |
Trash is just a folder where files go when you delete them so that you have an option to restore them if you deleted accidentally, they work just as any other folder. When you empty the bin, the file is really deleted from the file system perspective. Typically the data that were stored in the file is not erased, only the reference to it (so called inode if you want to google) is deleted and the space the file occupied is marked "empty" so the next time a file is created, or an existing file gets larger, the data of the original file will be overwritten. It is done so because it's a fast way of deleting files, it takes practically the same time to delete a 100 GB file as it takes to delete 1 KB file and since many programs use files to communicate with each other, this prevents writing big amounts of data when deleting temporary files. If the data haven't been overwritten yet, i.e. shortly after deleting the file, it can usually be restored using some tools. There are even techniques to (at least partly) restore data that have been overwritten.
There are programs that try to delete the files in a way that is really permanent, i.e. they rewrite the data several times to ensure the data can't be restored. This is handy when you want to get rid of some sensitive data.
| 17 |
|
Why can you rename, or change the path of, an open file in OS X but not Windows?
| 3,408 |
The Windows filesystem identifies files by their paths (including the file names)—if you change a file’s path, applications and the operating system will perceive it as a new file with no connection to the original.
The OS X filesystem identifies files by an independent file ID, which remains fixed if the file is moved or renamed.
| 2,771 |
|
ELI5: How do scientists aboard the ISS ensure no water ingress on electrical equipment?
|
As the title suggests, I just watched this video [https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmagicfuckery/comments/b1dmrl/astronaut\_dissolves\_effervescent\_tablet\_in\_water/](https://www.reddit.com/r/blackmagicfuckery/comments/b1dmrl/astronaut_dissolves_effervescent_tablet_in_water/)
&#x200B;
And I was curious as to what precautions were taken for the blobs of water that would break away and I can assume would hit the walls of the room they're in. I know they're only small blobs, but I've seen videos with Mr Hadfield and larger volumes of water (wet towels, how they wash etc.) and I wondered if they coat the walls with absorbent material or anything like that.
| 72 |
They do try to seal up electrical components. Not only from water ingress but also dust. However it is not a much bigger issue on ISS then on Earth and a lot of the equipment they have is regular off the shelf components that you likely have at home. They do have a ventilation system that they have turned on quite high and most of the water droplets and dust tends to float towards the ventilation ducts. They can regulate the humidity quite accurately and will set it comfortably low to make the water evaporate quickly.
| 43 |
What happened to the surviving Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters after the second Death Star was destroyed?
|
Did they flee or was their a longer battle we simply weren't shown?
| 21 |
Legends Canon
----
Long story short, they scattered. There was a massive performance drop in the Imperial Navy shortly before and immediately after the destruction of the Second Death Star. Some blamed the collapse on a lack of morale--after all, the Battle of Endor saw the destruction of the *Executor* and the Death Star II, crippling losses to the fleet. The loss of the *Executor* was especially disheartening: some of the best and the brightest young Imperial officers served on that ship.
Others blamed the sudden lack of coordination on the sudden loss of Emperor Palpatine's Dark Side Battle Meditation. While attempting to seduce Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force, Emperor Palpatine was telepathically linked to the majority of the Imperial fleet. His malice flowed through his troops, heightening their combat skills and improving morale. It felt good to be bad. But, after Palpatine took a vertical trip down a power conduit shaft, his Battle Meditation suddenly stopped.
In either case, the Battle of Endor ended **horribly** for the Imperial Fleet. Faced with the destruction of the Death Star II and *Executor*, acting captain Gilad Pellaeon ordered the retreat of forces to Annaj. Some forces went with him, others didn't, and basically the Empire tore itself to shreds over the following months. This made it especially easier for the Rebel Alliance to continue its solidification into what would eventually become the New Republic.
----
Actual Canon
----
The battle ended and the Imperial Fleet fled, as the skies above the forest moon of Endor were clear enough to have starfighter-launched fireworks in celebration. That celebration sure was organized quickly though, they were probably planning it on the Hyperspace trip from Sullust.
| 25 |
ELI5: What Do Atoms Really "Look Like"?
|
And what is really happening at the atomic level when two solids 'touch'?
| 30 |
For something to be visible to us, light would have to bounce off it in to our eyes. Atoms are so small that that model just doesn't work. Photons of light can interact with atoms in strange ways or not at all. For example, a LASER works by bombarding atoms with light so that one of their electrons is temporarily bumped in to a higher orbit. When it drops back out of that orbit, the atom emits a photon of light. Multiply that effect by billions or trillions and you have a LASER.
| 17 |
Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science
|
Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on **Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science**
Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".
**Asking Questions:**
Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions.
The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists.
**Answering Questions:**
Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. [The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here](http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/wiki/index#wiki_answering_askscience). In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience.
If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, [please refer to the information provided here](http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1uxrxz/askscience_panel_of_scientists_x/).
Past AskAnythingWednesday posts [can be found here](http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=flair%3A%27meta%27&amp;restrict_sr=on&amp;sort=new&amp;t=all).
Ask away!
| 225 |
Because space is full of plasma, stars can be charged without totally overwhelming the gravitational attraction between them, because plasma screens electrostatic interactions. With this in mind, what is the upper bound on the charge of a typical star?
| 14 |
[Harry Potter] Do Floo Powder and Portkeys have a limiting range?
|
Hypothetically, could a Floo linked fireplace be put on a spaceship to Mars/space, so that when the ship arrives astronauts and supplies can be ferried across instantaneously? Or through a Portkey linked to the ship/area in space itself?
| 33 |
Both are unknown.
Portkeys have a global range and so the wizarding community has not seen exactly where its limits lie.
Floo Powder only works within the Floo Network which only comprises Britain. However, as Floo Powder is a trade secret, we simply don't know what its precise limits are.
| 20 |
Thesis Defense
|
Is it typical for your thesis defense to be incredibly brutal? I recently had mine and the presentation went well, but when it came to the q&a portion, it was miserable. They dug in so deep!
Thankfully, I passed and my mentor said that they purposely asked me difficult questions because they knew I could handle it. Is that a true statement or was he just trying to make me feel better? What is the typical mindset of a committee?
| 82 |
Varies enormously. Not unusual. Also your perspective as the one who was being "attacked" probably made it feel worse.
If your work is published, it's usually not as bad at the defense. Not because they give you a pass for being so good at scholarship, but because you've already been through a rigorous review.
Questions can be:
1. evaluatory, making sure you fully understand the broad context and details/limitations of work you're presenting. Also aimed at getting better explanations for anything you shared confusingly so that they can both understand it properly and make sure you do too. These can be hard or easy, but a prepared candidate should be able to answer most of them.
2. challenging, making you explain or defend the specific choices you made when multiple different options to approach the scholarship existed. Why this? Did you compare to that? There are not necessarily wrong answers, the goal is to demonstrate that you did this thoughtfully.
3. curiosity, taking your conclusions and just being interested in them and the implications. There are some of these you should anticipate as natural extensions of your work (but out of scope for your thesis because you have to graduate before solving everything), and some that could totally throw you for a loop - especially if they are deeply informed by your committee's own research interests.
You should expect some of each at any defense.
| 62 |
ELI5: why do mammograms require the breasts to be squished flat when we are able to take X-rays and ultrasounds through fat and muscle masses?
|
I’ve never had a mammogram so I actually don’t know how it works. Only heard the jokes about how they squish your breasts and that it hurts. We were talking about how men can have breast cancer so why don’t they get mammograms? (Maybe they do). Then we laughed as we pretended to slip a tiny man boob into an imaginary mammogram machine (that I’ve never seen).
So I thought they can do X-rays and stuff. Why do they *have* to torture you to get the results. Did some sick doctor invent the machine, laughing the whole time about how evil and unnecessary it is? /s
Biology tag? Idk.
| 8,557 |
X-rays are partially absorbed as they travel through flesh. They are slightly more absorbed in some lumps, but it's not the "broken bone" sort of X-ray you might be thinking of. To get enough contrast to spot lumps, the X-ray beam needs to be tuned to the amount of flesh it's passing through. That's made a lot simpler by squishing the breast into a slab of uniform-ish thickness. Since the natural shape is more hemispherical, some force is required. The breast is also well instrumented with nerves, so the force can be painful.
| 4,295 |
[Marvel] How does Latveria military power stack up?
|
It seems like a small nation but is able to project real terror in the world? What does a Doom military force look like?
| 51 |
Technologically superior to any on the real world country. Less meat bag troops, but given time doom bots could be made in high enough volume to match the combined numbers of the entire real earth.
Latveria stomps the entire real world unless the militaries are hiding super advanced tech.
| 24 |
[borderlands] Pandora seems to be a failed state so i wonder if thiers no government who prints the money and who puts up the wanted poster's?
| 75 |
Pandora doesn't have its own currency, so no one is printing money. All the cash is offworld money, either and interplanetary standard or whatever the megacorps use to do business with.
As to who is putting up those wanted posters, it's whoever can pay the bounties. Might be a mercenary group, or a corporate bigwig, or just a pissed off rich guy.
| 68 |
|
[Game of Thrones] Why didn't Ned Stark demand a trial by combat?
| 109 |
Because he took a plea deal. He would confess his treason, and beg to join the Night's Watch. In return, no further punishment would befall his family.
In addition, trials by combat are more associated with the Seven than the old gods.
| 163 |
|
[Star Wars] What's the maximum length of time someone could be trapped inside a Sarlaac, then be rescued and recover?
|
After all, the Sarlaac takes 1,000 years to digest, and the victim is kept alive in at least some capacity that whole time, right? Of that milennium-long window, how long does it take before a victim is too far-absorbed to be recovered; would it in theory be possible for someone to live beyond their natural lifespan by intentionally being ingested into a Sarlaac with someone planning to rescue them a number of years later?
| 35 |
What would make you think that they would be alive in there? You don't have to be alive to be digested.
How long you would last would depend on how the sarlacc's digestive system works. For example, if it chews or processes its prey before digesting, you'd last roughly until you got chewed to death regardless of how long it takes to digest you. However if it's like a pitcher plant where the prey just sits inside a chamber full of digestive juices until it's broken down, you'd survive until you either suffocated or starved to death, or the digestive juices killed you.
| 15 |
What exactly is a 'rhizome' according to Deleuze and Guattari?
| 56 |
A decentralized network of ideas, notions, philosophies, actions, human forces, etc. The traditional Enlightenment/Western structure is a tree, where everything branches out of a larger authority. With the rhizomic structure there is no center, rhizomes can multiply and extend. There is no destroying them in the traditional method (by destroying the trunk), they are evolutionary and individual and potentially transformative. An example of the rhizomic system in effect politically would be #Occupy, BLM, or the #metoo movement in social media. None had any direct leadership but spread organically by self-activating agents.
| 44 |
|
[Batman] Where is Gotham City?
|
I'm pretty sure it's a major hub in the Northeast U.S., but where is it compared to NYC, Chicago and Boston?
| 23 |
When the Amalgam event happened, two cops-One from NYC, the other from Gotham-, started arguing about where a certain police precint was. Their cities had apparently merged. This makes me feel like they occupy the same geographical space in either universe.
| 19 |
Do mirrors reflect only visible lights, or do they reflect light of other frequencies (if so then which types--x-ray, infrared, gamma, etc)?
| 337 |
Yes and no, a normal mirror reflects visible light and likely near IR and UV, but it's not optimized for anything past that. Mirrors can be made for most forms of light, though it gets far harder the smaller the wavelength gets, x ray mirrors have to be almost edge on to work well, much like how glass becomes more reflective when looked at from the side rather then straight on.
| 85 |
|
ELI5, how do chemists extract specific substances from something like a flower?
| 50 |
Mush flower down with solvent.
Leave solvent/flower mixture. (Solvent extracts a selection of substances)
Remove flower debris and keep solvent/substance mixture.
Either: add chemical which may precipitate desired substance. (Neutralisation reaction forming substance salt)
Or heat at different temps, evaporating/separating different sized molecules and separate.
| 40 |
|
[MCU] if Nick Fury is Director of SHIELD why is there even a council of shadowy people?
|
He even elects to ignore the council’s decisions!
(Also, i haven’t watch the first bunch of MCU movies in a while, i might be missing my own answer.)
| 21 |
Those shadowy people are the civillian representatives of the governments that oversee shield.
General Mark A. Milley is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the highest ranking person in the military (except the president) but he still needs to answer to Congress.
| 34 |
What causes the moon to take on a blood orange colour as it climbs up from the horizon at certain times of the year?
|
Tonight's moon was particularly large and orange as it rose tonight and prompted my 9 year old to ask a question that I couldn't answer. I thought that I'd reach out to Reddit rather than Google for this "Dad always finds the answer" info.
| 18 |
It's actually the same reason that the Sun (and especially the sky) may appear reddish during sunrise/sunset: scattering of light! The atmosphere scatters blue light moreso than other colors (this is a property of the gases the atmosphere is made of). When a celestial body is on the horizon, the light coming in has to pass through much more atmosphere to reach your eyes than it does when overhead because it is at an angle. Since the Sun's light, and hence the Moon's reflected light, is actually pretty much white, the blue color usually gets scattered, which is why the sky is blue and the Sun and Moon appear yellow (taking away blue from white light moves it toward the higher wavelength colors). When the light scatters even more, the highest wavelengths such as red and orange are left to be directly absorbed by your eye. Hope that helps!
| 15 |
[D&D General]How to deal with murderhobos?
|
Ok, here's the thing. Last year was the worst harvest the Kingdom have seen in recent times. And with an Undead Horde bearing down from the North, we had to raise taxes on everyone, including the clergy. I've found out the Church hired some murderhobos from the East to deal with "tyrants", namely us. Now, these murderhobos are well-known to be so-called "heroes" and did all kind of shit in their previous adventures. How do I keep them from lobbing my head off and actually pay attention to the state of the Kingdom.?
| 24 |
Murderhobos care only for loot and prestige. Toppling you will give them both. Offer them something richer and stronger to topple, like the Lich Lord of the Church (of course, they don't have to know he's a normal human being)
| 33 |
[X-Men First Class] How come Emma Frost seems to outdo Charles Xavier at almost every meeting?
|
I thought Professor X was supposed to be the most powerful telepath on the planet. Why does Emma Frost, someone Cassandra Nova called "strictly bush league" in another life, manage to outmaneuver him almost constantly until their final confrontation in that house in Russia?
| 56 |
Because Charles was much younger. He uses his powers mostly to show off and hasn't spent the years he would eventually spend, training and improving his abilities until he became the most powerful telepath on earth.
Emma Frost on the other hand seems to live a life where her powers are in constant use, an excellent method of training.
| 64 |
[Star Wars] Are there any Force/Light Side abilities that someone would lose access to if they gave in to the Dark Side?
| 41 |
In current canon mind trick maybe. In legends animal friendship, lightside lighting (I don't remember the proper name), and the group ability to take the force away, along with many others could potentially be lost.
| 41 |
|
ELI5: How does one rationalize the following two statements: 1) Space is infinite and 2) The Universe is expanding?
|
How is it that something that is infinite can get larger?
| 110 |
When we say the universe is expanding, we mean that everything is getting further away from everything else (at least before gravity gets involved and pulls nearby things towards each other).
Take the infinite number line, and move the number 1 to 2, 2 to 4, 3 to 6 and so on. The resulting line has the same amount of numbers on it as the original, and is infinite like the original, but any two numbers are now twice as far apart as they were before.
| 42 |
CMV: Aang is to blame for the failure of the Day of Black Son invasion
|
So if you have ever seen the show Avatar the Last Airbender you should know the main character is Aang a person who has control over the element of air and is the Avatar a human who has the ability to learn and master a four of the elements which are Water,Earth,Fire,and Air. One of the Avatars' ace in the holes is the ability called the Avatar State where Aang basically synchronizes with all the past Avatars to ever exist and then has near God-like control over the elements becoming damn-near unstoppable. Now the Day of Black Sun was a small invasion of the bad guy Fire Nation with the hopes of ending the war then and there since the Black Sun represents an eclipse a time where all fire-benders lose the ability to fire bend. Long story short the invasion fails and it's because of Aang and his inability to truly want to win by killing.Aang could have teamed up with all the waterbenders and flooded the entire island drowning all fire nation soldiers and the Fire Lord (main bad guy) Aangs reluctance to ever consider killing since he was a monk put his entire group in danger and resulted in a massive failure.
TLDR: Aang had the power to win the war if he would have just drowned the island with the help of all the water benders but choosing not to put others in danger and in real life would have gotten some killed
CMV.
| 16 |
For one you're overestimating the power of waterbenders. What you're describing is a feat that we've nevery seen a waterbenders capable of pulling off. Furthermore, if memory serves, there were not that many waterbenders. Members of the Water Tribe, yes, but not all of them are capable of waterbending.
An Avatar State Avatar might have had the raw power to do that, but Aang literally did not have the Avatar State.
Finally, if memory serves, the coast was on a steep hill, not a flat sursurface and had plenty of raised walls. It would take a ton of force and a suit ton of water to even pull off what you're suggesting.
| 19 |
CMV: Putting deaf and hard of hearing students through the main-stream education system does more harm than good.
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First off, let me state that this view stems from personal experience as a student in a school in which deaf and hard of hearing students are put in the same classes as hearing students. My reasons are as follows:
1) Deaf students require an interpreter; this inherently slows down the class. I cannot tell you how many times a class has had to be paused because the interpreter can't keep up. This is doing a disservice to maybe 20-30 other students; the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
In addition (this may be on a case by case basis), deaf students may have other needs, such as a microphone the teacher must wear, that further slow down the class. When students are talking, the mic is passed around, and it simply does't make sense to me that this is really the fastest way for the class to progress.
2) Deaf students have a very hard time socializing with other students. A major caveat that many interpreters have made to me is that the deaf students are more "touchy" than the rest of us; they tend to tap, bump, or even slap those they are communicating with. In deaf culture, this is seen as normal, but when mixed with hearing students it ultimately causes the hearing students to look down upon the deaf students because they tend to almost slap their peers.
3) At least in my experience, deaf students tend to have a problem wherein they misjudge the volume at which they are speaking. Whereas others may nod in agreement, deaf students tend to let out short phrases of acknowledgment, a "Yes" or something like that. In doing this, they cut off the teacher.
4) Deaf speech is almost always incredibly hard to understand, which inadvertently causes the other students to look down on them. It's very easy to judge deaf students based on their difficulty speaking.
In summary, i think that keeping deaf students in all deaf classes would benefit both hearing and deaf students.
Change my view.
| 19 |
Schools exist not only to teach students the "3 Rs" and other coursework, but to prepare them to function in the world around them. In the "real world", there are people who function differently than the mainstream. Students will have to work with, or at least interact with, non mainstream individuals at some point in their lives beyond school. By having deaf, and other non mainstream learners in the classroom, students learn valuable lessons in working with differently enabled people. They might also learn valuable lessons in patience and compassion along the way.
| 16 |
[Marvel/DC] Why is acid always stored in giant open vats?
| 120 |
The overwhelming majority of the time, hazardous chemicals used in large quantities are stored quite safely; you only really end up hearing about the few isolated incidents where they aren't and some accident results. The fact that they exist at all is a result of substandard working conditions in most low-paying factory environments and complete lack of safety compliance in illegal operations, the two situations that result in the largest number of accidents, particularly the latter amongst vigilantes and other superhumans.
Nobody writes a news story about a manufacturing plant's safe working conditions. Doesn't sell papers.
| 96 |
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ELI5 why is smoking bad for you specifically and emotionally what can it do to your body? How long would it take to smoke for it to hurt your body?
| 17 |
Gonna assume you mean smoking tobacco.
Tobacco smoke contains carcinogenic compounds. These are chemicals that attack the DNA in your cells. 99.9% of the time that just results in the cell dying, and your body replacing it, but a small fraction of cells will become cancerous and start multiplying. Every cigarette is basically playing the cancer lottery. You could get cancer from the first one you ever smoke (*very* unlikely) or you could smoke 50 a day for 40 years and never get cancer (also *very* unlikely).
Tobacco smoke also contains tar and other chemicals bad for your mouth, throat, and lungs. Smoking *will* lead to emphysema, and other lung disease, causes high blood pressure, and seriously increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. It also kills your senses of taste and smell pretty effectively.
Smoking is never good for you, and it's a habit you should definitely avoid. Trust me. It's inconvenient, expensive, and a total bitch to quit.
Edit: Nicotine is a seriously lame drug anyway. You get a little buzz at first, but after you get tolerant to it you get nothing at all except a constant craving to go smoke.
| 22 |
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When the Apollo astronauts prepared to leave the surface of the moon, they discarded their EVA life support backpacks by tossing them out of the LM. How did they do this without exposing themselves to the Moon's vacuum?
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With the LM's hatch open, its interior held no atmosphere, so the astronauts had to enter with their EVA backpacks attached and operative. Were they able to disconnect them, toss them out, close the hatch, and repressurize using only the residual oxygen in their suits, or did the LM have the necessary hardware to provide their suits with oxygen until the backpacks were discarded and the LM repressurized?
| 21 |
They only tossed the backpacks out, not the whole suit. the PLSS backpack was exactly that, a backpack that connected to the space suit via hoses and electrical connections. When inside the LM, the astronauts simply connected their suits to the LM’s life support system, negating the need for the backpack.
| 14 |
eli5 Why is it common for people who work manual labor jobs to have their bodies "worn out" after years of work but weightlifters and athletes are considered to have healthy bodies.
| 17 |
Many manual labor workers suffer from repetitive movement injuries/breakdown from doing the same movements for hours a day for years. Weightlifters and athletes have specific routines and train in a way that helps reduce repetitive stress injuries. Additionally, professional athletes generally retire from competition in their 40’s, while manual laborers often continue needing to work into their 60’s.
| 73 |
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